I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

A night plunged deep into the abyss. 

The red, smoldering ashes remained as the silver-haired boy lay on the wooden bed, lost in his thoughts.

‘Act 1, Scene 1, ‘Artena Academy Entrance Exam.’ 

Even if I’d played the game over enough times for the database to be full, the details of Act 1, Scene 1 remained ingrained in my mind. 

The number of magical beasts that first appeared was roughly around 10.

When Professor Mason mentioned low-level beasts, he wasn’t referring to the ordinary ones. 

In fact, there were dozens of them wandering around, and what he meant were monsters classified as mid-level.

Mid-level magical beasts.

Those creatures lived in the northern part of Magic Mountain, an area so treacherous that humans couldn’t enter. 

I didn’t know why they’d shown up in the southern part of the mountain, but it must be because the difficulty was set to Nightmare.

‘This is going to be tough.’

That was my assessment.

Ten mid-level beasts could easily wipe out an entire village. Even if I were to gather all the supporting characters, an all-out battle would be nearly impossible.

I remembered when I played on ‘Nightmare’ difficulty, how I barely managed to deal with each beast and struggled along the way. 

Even then, I succeeded only because I got incredibly lucky and exploited a glitch. If I had made even a single mistake…

‘I would have faced game over like everyone else.’

As someone who only has one chance in this ‘possession’ scenario, I needed to be cautious.

I decided to abandon the strategies I had used in the past.

‘What about external intervention…?’

Next, I considered whether help might come from the academy.

‘That’s a no.’

I quickly dismissed the idea.

Even if the academy staff noticed the mid-level beasts, they wouldn’t intervene.

In typical academy settings, the staff always acted late when something happened. 

Plus, the magical beasts were surrounded by a barrier, which meant those outside the test area couldn’t detect them. Any magical signals inside the barrier were barred from escaping.

“In the end, I’ll have to take them down myself.”

By the time the academy staff intervened, it would already be too late. By then, key allies who played significant roles in the story would either be dead or severely injured. 

If Ciel Dunhart were to encounter a magical beast, it would lead directly to a bad ending. I had no choice but to deal with it myself.

To hunt the magical beasts, I’d have to enter the barrier, which wasn’t particularly wide. It meant that, as a sniper, I’d need to step into the range where the beasts could sense me.

No doubt, it was going to be a difficult and dangerous endeavor.

Knowing this, all I could do was cheer myself on.

‘To my future self, good luck.’

With that comforting thought, I closed my eyes.

Chirp! Chirp—

The sound of insects filled the air.

The night grew deeper.

———

“Hah…!”

When I opened my eyes, I was deep in the forest. It appeared Professor Mason’s teleportation spell had ended.

Act 1, Scene 1: Artena Academy Entrance Exam started immediately.

Gathering information was my first priority.

I looked around.

“No one’s here yet.”

Luckily, no other students had been teleported near me. If I’d been unlucky, I could’ve been thrown straight into combat.

“Then again, most will be laying low at first.”

The Artena Academy Entrance Exam was a survival test. If you desired to get in, there was no reason to hunt down other students. Most would probably be hiding, hoping the exam ended without them being noticed.

But there’s always a predator hunting those who hide.

Ciel Dunhart. 

She would be aggressively searching with her eyes set on claiming the top spot. If I ran into her, the best option was to flee. Though whether I could escape was another story.

“For now, let’s head over there.”

My plan was to head to the top of the mountain where the magical beasts would appear and hide out. After about five hours, the magical beasts would start appearing all at once at the summit.

I had to deal with them there to prevent them from attacking the other students.

“Phew… Is this the place?”

I climbed the southern mountain. It took me a solid three hours to get there. But the biggest problem… Was a sniper’s terrible stamina.

Cold sweat trickled down, and my legs were trembling.

I sat down on a rock at the summit, surveying the area.

“There it is.”

There was an obvious strange spot in the distance. A group of stone pillars was arranged in a hexagram, with a complex magic circle drawn inside. It was a web-work of straight and curved lines.

On the original difficulty, there wasn’t anything like this. Sometimes there would be small Easter eggs, like a simple inscription saying, ‘The great spirit rests here,’ hinting at the underground cavern episode in Act 1, Scene 4.

I approached the pillars and read the inscription on one of them.

[The liberation of the great spirit is near.]

Wow! This was a fancy way of saying, ‘You guys are screwed.’ 

‘Can I break this thing?’

I slammed my sniper rifle into one of the pillars.

Thud—!

“Nope.”

As expected, it was blocked by an invisible barrier. Looks like I had to wait until the mid-level magical beasts were summoned.

There were two hours left until they appeared.

In the meantime, I still needed to score enough points to pass, which meant hunting down some low-level magical beasts.

The summit gave me a clear view of all the surrounding areas.

Swoooosh!

BOOM!

The sounds of battle began to echo from different parts of the forest.

The most noticeable was a storm made of ice particles. As the vortex passed, everything in its path froze solid.

“Got Ciel’s location. No problem.”

As for the other students, they were hard to spot with the naked eye, so I focused my mana into my vision.

In an instant, blue markers appeared all around me. They easily numbered in the hundreds.

‘Are those all people?’

I even noticed a few heading in my direction. Upon closer inspection, there were also a few low-level magical beasts among them.

I couldn’t just let them be.

Magical beasts typically followed a hierarchy. When mid-level beasts show up, the low-level ones tend to become even more aggressive.

It was better to thin their numbers now, so it’d be easier later.

Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!

I steadily dealt with the magical beasts one by one. Since the low-level beasts weren’t too strong, their stats didn’t scale up much. 

For mid-level beasts, I would need to invest at least 500 mana, but for these, half that amount was more than enough. 

Even the other exam participants could manage them without too much trouble.

And most importantly…

[1 Level Up!]

[1 Level Up!]

[1 Level Up!]

[You have points available for stat investment!]

[You have earned 2 Karma points for your good deeds!]

“This is sweet….”

The EXP were delicious. Since my level was lower than the beasts, my growth rate was rapid.

“Should I just take them all down?”

For main and supporting characters who’d already grown, there was not much EXP to gain from hunting low-level magical beasts. It was better for me to take them out and reap the rewards.

I set my sights on the next beast.

Bang—!

The body of the beast roaming near the lake exploded. As I shifted my view, I noticed someone approaching the summit.

It looked like this was their destination.

“Guess I don’t have a choice.”

I originally planned to leave the other students alone, but if they were coming this way, that changed things. 

I only needed to deal enough damage to destroy their magical tool… Nothing more.

I glanced over in that direction, but what I saw wasn’t a participant. It was a silver-haired girl with twin braids.

“She’s not a test participant?”

She was wearing an armband that said ‘Exam Proctor’. Judging by her youthful face, she appeared like a student working as a proctor, probably as part of an academy job.

“I can’t shoot her….”

I slowly lowered my sniper rifle. Attacking a proctor would mean instant disqualification.

But letting her come this way would only cause unnecessary interference. 

She was just a proctor sent by the academy; she didn’t have any real authority. 

Even if she noticed something unusual about the magic circle, there was nothing she could do. 

The barrier had long since blocked any signals from being transmitted outside.

The best option was to send her back somehow.

I started descending the ridge, moving towards the path she was taking, pretending it was a coincidence.

“Oh!”

We met face-to-face.

But her reaction was extreme. Her mouth slowly fell open, and her face turned completely pale with shock. With trembling hands, she pointed at me.

“H-How are you…?”

Wait… What?

“How did you pass the first test!?”

Did we know each other?

I kept my expression neutral as I looked at the girl. We both had silver hair and blue eyes. Could it be?

“You didn’t cheat, did you? And that wooden case you’re carrying on your back—don’t tell me you’re here to… To…!”

‘No. It’s not what you’re thinking.’

It appeared like we knew each other. And not just casually—there was some kind of familial bond.

I didn’t know much about Kyle’s past. All I knew was that he was a fallen noble, and that his family had a reputation for being a bit… Unusual. 

So, I had no idea what kind of relationship Kyle had with this girl, and I stayed silent. Seeing my reaction, she wrapped her arms around herself, like a tiny hedgehog bristling its quills.

“Since you were kicked out of the family, everything changed. I’m sure you hold a grudge, and now you’re here to take revenge… Let me make one thing clear. You are not my brother anymore. If you lay a hand on me, I’ll report you to the academy staff and have you expelled. So just….”

“You want me to stay quiet?”

“Glad you understand.”

It was clear that Kyle didn’t have a good relationship with this girl. Since he was the only one exiled from the family, it wasn’t hard to imagine that something bad had happened. 

In the original story, Kyle was the kind of guy who caused trouble for the player, so his behavior must have been just as bad back then.

So, I nodded in agreement with her words and then asked her a question.

“Why are you here?”

“Why do you want to know? That’s suspicious. I don’t owe you an explanation. In fact, it’s more suspicious that you’re here. You must be planning to pass the second exam at all costs.”

She looked at me with contempt, but to me, she just looked cute.

“Is that a problem? It’s a smart move.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but the number of spots in the Magic Department is very limited. And most of those spots will go to nobles. Why? Because they’ll rack up points through duels, while commoners like you hide, hoping to survive. And by the way, if you don’t meet the minimum point requirement, you’ll fail. No one who relies on luck can ever get into the Magic Department. Got it?”

“Oh. Is that so?”

“You seem surprisingly calm. Are you planning to drop out voluntarily? If you want, you can break your bracelet. Want me to help?”

“No. I don’t need help.”

She gave me a pitiful look.

At that moment, I noticed her name tag peeking out from under her armband.

“Ivel Adford?”

“Ugh. Don’t say my name.”

So, her name was Ivel. Adford, huh? That confirmed it. She was from that infamous villainous family I knew about.

Now that I knew her full name, I could think about how to improve this broken relationship later. For now, I set down the wooden case I was carrying.

Just then, a blue cross marker appeared behind us. Three of them, to be exact. I checked with my eyes. They were magical beasts.

“W-what are you doing!?” 

She panicked and fumbled with her bracelet, probably trying to report the situation, but that was blocked. 

I pulled out my sniper rifle, aiming past her.

The blue markers were getting closer, faster than expected. Given the recoil and the time between shots, it was going to be tight.

Having made my decision, I lunged toward Ivel.

“Why isn’t this working!? Aaaah—!”

Thud—!

I pushed her out of the way as she screamed and immediately started shooting.

Bang—!

The first shot blew off one of the beasts’ heads.

Bang—!

The next bullet tore through the body of the second beast. But the last one was already right in front of us.

[Danger detected! Evacuate immediately!]

The proximity warning turned my vision red. This was how Crisis Detection worked.

I rolled to an area that wasn’t marked red, just as the beast’s claw slashed the ground where I had been standing.

Even while in a kneeling position, I kept my aim steady and said.

“Goodbye.”

Bang—!

The final shot pierced the last beast through the head and body, and it collapsed.

“Phew.”

The points and EXP were rolling in nicely.

I turned to look at Ivel. It would’ve been bad if the proctor had gotten hurt.

“Are you okay?”

“How…?”

Ivel stared at me in shock, clearly not expecting me to be this strong. It made sense—within the Adford family, Kyle was notorious for being a reckless troublemaker. His titles even included phrases like ‘Most Notorious Scoundrel.’

I approached her and offered my hand, but she stood up on her own.

“Th-thanks for the help this time. But the second test won’t be this easy! You’ll need at least 13 points to pass, okay?”

She quickly spat out her words with a flushed face.

“I’m heading somewhere else. I’ve stayed here too long already. Ugh. If only I hadn’t run into you, I’d be at the summit by now!”

Muttering about how it would be hard for me to pass, she hurried down the mountain path.

At least I managed to stop her from reaching the summit, so that’s a relief… Right?

I looked up at the sky.

“It’s almost time for the summoning. I’d better get going.”

The once clear blue sky had turned into a deep orange as the sun began to set. It was now 5 PM—time for the magical beasts to appear.

I didn’t want to be late and risk a disaster by letting the mid-level beasts run rampant, so I quickly started making my way up the mountain trail.