I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

At that moment, a fierce battle was taking place at the lower part of the southern mountain.

“Come at me!”

A male student shouted, casting a spell. He enveloped himself in a basic wind magic spell, ‘Gale Force’, and charged toward a girl. 

In his hand, he held a dagger coated in a transparent wind barrier.

The dagger was enhanced with ‘Wind Blade’, increasing its cutting power to the point where it could slice through wood like tofu.

‘If it hits, it’ll be a clean cut.’

“Do we really have to fight? Don’t you think so, Gale?”

However, the girl watching him showed no signs of distress. In fact, she was casually talking to someone as if the boy’s attack posed no threat at all.

“You’re not even paying attention to me? I’ll make you my points, no problem!”

The boy charged at her. How could she stand there so calmly even after witnessing the enhanced dagger? He was determined to teach her a lesson as he closed in on her.

Raising his arm high, he brought the dagger down.

At that moment, the boy saw it.

“It would be good to cool off.”

The girl had merely tapped his shoulder with her fingertips. And behind her was the form of a massive tiger…

His vision twisted.

Whooosh!

An explosion of wind sent the boy flying far into the distance. Startled, Lumina turned to look at Gale.

“Gale? What did I tell you earlier? I said to take it easy, didn’t I?”

[It was a fitting response for someone who dared to threaten Lady Lumina with a weapon. I simply wished to offer him a little payback.]

“You’ve been like this a lot lately. If you keep acting like this, I’ll have to cancel your manifestation. I know you’re excited since it’s been a while, but maintaining your form already drains too much mana. If this keeps up, I might end up failing.”

[My apologies. I’ll be more restrained.]

Gale suddenly looked downcast. His body might be that of a mighty tiger, but his behavior resembled that of a sulking cat.

‘Is Gale acting this way because of… him?’

Ever since she had met Kyle yesterday, Gale had been acting unusually. 

Normally, Gale was busy and only appeared a few times a day. Now, though, he showed up immediately whenever summoned. 

If she was discussing anything with the lower-ranked spirits or mentioning Gale, he would appear out of nowhere to manage the situation.

Especially when Kyle’s name was brought up, Gale would somehow always show up, quietly listening in from the shadows.

Lumina couldn’t understand why Gale was acting this way. Spirits of Gale’s rank were usually much more dignified and composed.

Could it be because Kyle was occupying the mountain?

Although there were many spirits in the Magic Mountain, Gale was by far the oldest among them. 

Having lived on the mountain for so long, it made sense that he might dislike humans, especially those who disrupted nature.

Lumina asked Gale, “Is this because of Kyle?”

[…!]

At that moment, a rough wind swept through the area. Leaves rustled, and branches swayed and crackled. 

Had she hit the mark?

Lumina looked at Gale with a knowing expression. The kind that said, ‘Mom knows everything.’

Gale hesitated before speaking.

[There was once another contractor. He wasn’t just a contractor but also my closest friend.]

“Oh, a story from the past? This sounds interesting.”

[It’s a tale from over a hundred years ago. And it wasn’t some romantic first love story, so please drop that teasing look.]

“Heh. Sorry.”

Gale began to tell his story in earnest, and Lumina listened closely. But then, something happened.

Boom!

The ground trembled. A flock of birds took to the sky against the shadow of the red sunset, and soon after, a black vortex devoured the heavens.

It was a sudden disaster. Lumina realized that something had gone wrong with the entrance exam.

Gale shouted urgently.

[Th-this is bad! Lady Lumina! We must run at once! I can sense the presence of dark energy!]

But Lumina couldn’t move.

At that very moment, a pillar of light pierced through the black whirlwind.

“What is that…?”

It was the same overwhelming energy that had annihilated the demon the day before. It was so similar to her benefactor’s power…

And then, Lumina realized something.

——-

“What in the world is going on…?”

Ciel turned her head toward the source of the deafening noise. Atop a small pile of stones—not exactly a high peak—a bright beam of light had shot into the sky before everything fell silent again.

It was the calm after a sudden storm. But things weren’t over yet.

Ciel’s gaze turned toward the horde of magical beasts blocking her path. They had been momentarily startled by the loud noise, but now they refocused on her.

Ciel responded by preparing her magic circle once again.

‘If I don’t summon my mana quickly, I might lose.’

Judging by the ominous aura, those were at least mid-level magical beasts. Each and every one of them held that level of strength.

Ciel knew she had to rely on mid-tier magic for this fight. She could handle that much, at least. 

However, if mid-tier magic wasn’t enough and she had to escalate to high-tier spells, her mana circuits would begin to freeze.

Once her circuits started to freeze, it would gradually spread throughout her entire body.

It was the curse of her family—a consequence of her body being unable to withstand the blessed talents she possessed.

In short, if she resorted to high-tier magic, it would be a race against time. Could she defeat the beasts before her body gave out?

“I can do this.”

Ciel bit her lip and pressed her palms together, cooling her mana. She couldn’t afford to die. Not until she fulfilled the wish of her family.

Her father’s greatest hope was for her to surpass even the Grand Mage and reach the level of a Master.

Roarrr!

The magical beasts charged at her in unison, their sharp claws aiming to tear through her.

“Rise.”

Crack!

Ciel raised a wall of ice, blocking the beasts’ approach. The creatures quickly shattered the ice and pressed forward.

But Ciel’s calm, steady gaze remained. She was simply executing her prepared spells.

Icicles and a frost storm.

From behind her, a barrage of ice spears shot forward, and dozens of freezing whirlwinds tore through the area. 

Several of the beasts couldn’t even get close and crashed into cliffs with their bodies pierced by countless ice shards.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Be trapped.”

Boom!

Ciel encased the remaining beasts in ice prisons, freezing them solid like statues.

Now, only about six beasts remained.

Her gaze shifted toward them.

Anyone watching would see that Ciel had the upper hand. This was the power of someone who was a contender to be the next Grand Mage.

However, there was one crucial detail she had overlooked. Ciel’s magic and the beasts were natural enemies.

Ice magic excelled at suppression and containment, but only high-tier ice magic could completely nullify the beasts’ incredible regenerative abilities. And right now, she was approaching her limits.

And so—

Crack. Crack.

The ice prison began to fracture. The magical beasts appeared unharmed and began regenerating, pushing the ice spears out of their bodies as new flesh formed.

No matter how much damage she inflicted, it was pointless. The beasts regenerated endlessly, while her mana was limited.

Ciel exhaled a cold breath.

“Am I going to have to use it after all…?”

Her father had warned her never to use high-level magic until a solution for her condition had been found. But she was out of options.

At this rate, not only her, but everyone else would be in danger.

Just as Ciel was about to cast another spell—

“…?”

Her gaze shifted to the sky. For a brief moment, she caught sight of a flash cleaving through the heavens. The same light she had seen earlier. It was now aimed directly at her location.

Boom!!!

Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, a pillar of light descended from the sky like a divine bolt of lightning, striking the center of the magical beasts.

The creatures, who hadn’t flinched even under Ciel’s powerful ice magic, were incinerated without warning and disintegrated into ash.

All ten of them.

Their bodies slowly crumbled into dust.

Ciel stared at the scene with trembling eyes.

“This can’t be real…”

Ciel was not one to show much emotion. Raised to be the future head of her family, she had been trained from a young age in both the ways of the world and leadership.

For someone like her to display such shock—it was an extreme reaction.

But it was understandable, given what had just happened. A force beyond her imagination had wiped out the beasts with raw power alone.

The technique she had just witnessed was something close to what she had envisioned a ‘Master’ could achieve.

“Who… Who did this? I need to find out.”

Ciel looked around, but now that the beasts were gone, there was only silence.

The summit was desolate, scarred from the battle with the magical beasts. 

No one was in sight.

Suddenly, she remembered why she had come here in the first place.

“My bracelet…”

She had come to find someone. If someone had been here all along, could it have been that person?

Fueled by rising anticipation, Ciel followed the compass. It led her to the back of the summit. As she approached a thicket, the direction of the compass changed.

Ciel pushed through the foliage, and suddenly, there was a loud noise.

“Eek! A m-magical beast?!”

A silver-haired boy yelped and fell over in fright. He looked absolutely terrified as if he had been hiding after encountering the mid-level beasts.

That would have been a commendable action, but—

“It’s not him…”

Ciel sighed in disappointment. A quick scan revealed that his mana levels were abysmally low. There was no way he could have been the one to annihilate all the beasts.

She considered eliminating him, but then reconsidered.

‘Given the circumstances, the exam is definitely going to be suspended.’

There was no telling what kind of beasts might appear next. It was better to conserve her mana for later.

Ciel withdrew the excess mana she had been unconsciously releasing. 

Even her ‘Breath of Frost’, which turned the surrounding area into an icy terrain to increase mana efficiency, was consuming a significant amount of energy.

She looked back at the spot where the boy had been.

“…”

He was gone. She had planned to ask him if he had seen anyone else, but he had vanished.

At least his survival instincts seemed sharp.

“He’s lucky.”

She would have to ask him later.

With that, Ciel left the area.

Thirty minutes later, the entrance exam at Artena Academy was officially suspended.