I Became the Academy’s Munchkin Sniper

“Hmph. I shouldn’t have signed up for this.”

Ivel slowly descended the steep mountain path. Ever since Kyle had pushed her over earlier, she was in a sorry state. 

The dainty shoes and white stockings gifted by her late mother—both cherished items—were now covered in dirt and dust. It left her feeling unjustly wronged and in a foul mood.

“Ugh. These weren’t supposed to get dirty….”

Eventually, Ivel crouched down and brushed them off with her hands. The sensation of dust clinging to her fingers was irritating. 

Despite having spent a year at Artena Academy, experiencing all sorts of trials, she still wasn’t used to this.

Mages typically focused more on theory than practical work. Outside of evaluations or duels, situations like this were rare. 

That’s why she regretted signing up for this academy work-study program.

If it weren’t for this job, she would be spending her time meeting with fellow students or relaxing at her family home. 

The memory of a tea party she attended with her senior classmates before winter break flashed in her mind—when she’d made an impulsive mistake.

— Ivel, why not sign up for the work-study program? They say you can learn a lot!

—Yeah~ Ivel, you’d be great at it!

— Plus, if you get along with the professors, you might establish a good connection. I’ve heard they give better grades to those who catch their eye!

It had definitely been the devil’s whisper.

What seemed like friendly advice from her seniors was, in reality, a deceptive ploy. 

The student council had been scolded by professors for the lack of students applying to the work-study program. They were sweet-talking others into signing up. 

At the time, Ivel didn’t have enough experience or connections to see through it.

— R-really?

— Absolutely!

Caught up in the flattery from her seniors, she carelessly applied without thinking.

Back then, Ivel had been excited about the prospect of her work-study experience. Now, she knew the truth.

None of that was real.

What awaited her was nothing more than a site of exploitation, where students worked hard for little reward.

The only thing she earned was being seen by the academy staff as ‘a hardworking noble,’ while her peers subtly mocked her behind her back. 

The supposed benefits—gaining new experiences and impressing professors—turned out to be meaningless.

“Seriously….”

One mistake had saddled her with this responsibility for the entire second semester, and she deeply regretted it. She wished she could go back and stop her past self, but it was too late.

Ivel had long since accepted her fate.

“At least the work isn’t too difficult, I suppose.”

Most of her duties involved processing paperwork and occasionally helping out with tasks overseen by the academy staff. 

While the pay wasn’t great, the student welfare benefits were substantial. 

Discounts at the student cafeteria, scholarship preferences, lower interest rates on student loans, and reductions in dormitory fees were all perks.

For commoners with limited funds, such offers would have been irresistible.

“But none of that matters to me.”

However, Ivel belonged to the Adford family and was a count’s daughter. She was far too wealthy. 

They had paid Artena Academy’s four-year tuition in a lump sum and gave her a monthly allowance of several dozen gold coins.

It was an extravagant lifestyle that even most nobles couldn’t dream of. Normally, she would have been content with that and not given it much thought, but something was bothering her.

‘Kyle Adford….’

The existence of her estranged older brother, who had been cast out of the family. After their ties were severed, she had no idea how he had been living.

But the Kyle she encountered this time seemed to have gained considerable strength and had clearly been through a lot.

His behavior was completely different. He no longer had that sharp, harsh demeanor or crude language. Instead, there was a sense of dignity and rationality in how he moved.

He wasn’t hiding like a commoner in bushes or caves, but deliberately making his way up the difficult mountain path, ensuring he wouldn’t be easily found. Just the fact that he chose to make himself harder to reach showed a strategic mind.

If she hadn’t mentioned the minimum cutoff score, his judgment might have been flawless.

“What exactly has he been through?”

Considering Kyle’s dramatic change, Ivel wondered if his expulsion from the Adford family had transformed him.

Whenever someone has new experiences, they tend to gain insight and grow from them. Even though she had changed somewhat through her work-study program, it didn’t feel like a positive change…

In any case, people often change when they hit a turning point in life, but it appeared Kyle’s transformation went beyond that.

Memories of their time together at the mansion resurfaced.

— B-brother, look, I drew this today… Ah!

— Get it out of my sight. That’s horribly done. You have no talent whatsoever. When I was your age, I didn’t waste my time on such nonsense.

From a young age, he had been cruel.

— I embroidered this handkerchief…

—You call this a gift?! You must be mocking me, just like everyone else in this mansion. Get out! All of you!

As he grew older, his behavior only worsened.

It was common for Kyle to beat servants senseless for the smallest mistakes. 

Later on, he even once stabbed a servant’s hand with a fork simply for looking at him. 

Eventually, Kyle was exiled with a long list of crimes against him, though these weren’t publicly known. However, it had stirred some attention within noble society.

How much time and what kind of experiences would it take for someone like him to change so drastically? 

It was hard to predict.

Some people live in ignorance their entire lives. He appeared like someone who would never change, yet here he was, transformed.

As Ivel brushed the dirt off her notebook, she made a note under ‘people to watch out for’: Kyle. 

If things continued as they were, Kyle had a high chance of passing the entrance exam by hunting the magical beasts. 

The way he skillfully took down three low-level beasts at once showed an impressive level of mastery.

No doubt, she’d run into him again…

Rustle. Rustle.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, there was a faint sound nearby. Looking up, she saw the entire area in front of her freezing over with white frost crystals. 

There was only one student skilled enough in ice magic to create such a scene.

“Ciel Dunhart…”

Ciel was the number one name in Ivel’s observation notes.

The only daughter of the renowned Dunhart family from the northern empire. She was considered a prodigy born from two brilliant minds—a girl of exceptional talent. 

When it came to ice magic, she was unmatched. People already considered her a candidate for the next Archmage, one of the key figures who would lead the future.

“…”

Eventually, Ciel came into view. Her long, icy blue hair fluttered behind her. They were tied up into a neat, short ponytail. 

The moment Ivel met her cold gaze, Ciel’s magic circle began to take form. 

Ivel immediately shouted.

“Stop! I’m a proctor!”

“Hmm. I see…”

Ciel nodded and dispelled her magic. She resumed walking down her path.

But as Ciel brushed past her, Ivel grabbed her arm.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

Ciel turned her head slightly to look at Ivel and her cherry-colored lips parted as she spoke softly.

“To the summit. Why?”

“You’re going to the summit? There’s no one up there.”

“No… There is.”

Ciel showed Ivel her bracelet, which indicated the compass was pointing toward the summit.

‘The summit…?’

Ivel thought for a moment.

There was only one person at the summit.

Could Ciel be heading for Kyle?

If that happened…!

“Nothing to say? I’m leaving.”

As Ivel stood frozen, Ciel began walking again. For most students, climbing the mountain might be difficult, but for Ciel, it was no problem at all. 

She’d find the student hiding at the summit and easily earn more points.

“Wait. Hold on!”

Ivel reached out and stopped Ciel once more. If she let Ciel go now, Kyle would almost certainly be eliminated. 

No matter how many low-level magical beasts Kyle defeated, Ciel was in a league of her own as a mage.

“What is it? Got something to say?”

But Ivel couldn’t speak. 

What she was doing right now was well beyond the authority of a proctor. 

Besides, what did it matter to her if Kyle was eliminated? He was still just an evil person in her mind. 

When she first saw him, she had even hoped he’d fail.

That’s why…

“It’s nothing…”

After hesitating for a long moment, Ivel let her go. She couldn’t understand her own actions. 

Was there a part of her that was rooting for Kyle to pass after all?

The thought that Kyle might not be purely evil made her head spin.

“Alright then.”

Ciel passed Ivel and continued toward the summit. The place she left behind was like a frozen statue—every living thing was encased in crystal-clear ice, as if the world itself had stopped.

Ivel hugged herself against the cold.

“It’s freezing… I should head down.”

A snowflake tickled Ivel’s nose.

“Achoo—! Well, I guess he’ll figure it out.”

With that, Ivel shrugged it off and made her way back down the mountain.

———

“I’m not too late.”

Thankfully, I arrived just in time. The stone pillars were pulsating, and the magic circle was glowing red. If I’d been just a little slower, the release would’ve already begun.

I ran to find a good position. The magical beasts would be summoned in just five minutes.

“This spot will do.”

I chose a location atop a rock at the summit, overlooking the stone pillars and the magic circle. I’d had my eye on this spot earlier.

“I have to fight within the barrier.”

For a sniper, giving up distance meant losing the primary advantage of long-range combat. And that was something I couldn’t afford.

The reason was due to the recovery time that followed a sniper. 

Unlike a machine gunner, a sniper can’t just shower bullets. At most, I could fire two or three shots, and even then, considering the recoil, it would be a close call.

When I was with Ivel earlier, the situation with the three low-level magical beasts made it clear. As soon as I gave them distance, I almost got attacked. 

If it weren’t for my ‘Crisis Detection’, I might have been injured.

So, the solution was obvious.

A way to create distance even in flat terrain was to use high ground.

All I needed to do was buy time before the mid-level magical beasts could reach me. 

Since I’d already taken down demon beasts in one shot before, mid-level beasts should also fall with a single hit, more or less. 

As the ten of them climb toward me, I’d have to use stealth to take them down one by one.

It was a risky gamble, but I didn’t have any other options.

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground shook. 

The sky, which had been burning orange, turned crimson.

The magic circle blazed bright red, branding itself into the stone pillars. The catalyst for summoning the beasts had been activated.

The next step was the summoning of the magical beasts.

Just like I saw in the original story, the summoning ritual was progressing. 

Even from this distance, I could feel the eyes of the other students on me.

They must have realized something was wrong.

Now, with everyone’s attention focused—

Crack!

The stone pillars shattered, and black magic surged into the sky. It was a vortex of dark energy so thick it obscured my vision.

For a moment, chills ran down my spine.

[Danger detected! A powerful enemy has appeared!]

“Even though I knew this was coming… It’s still intense.”

It was worse than I thought. Ten blue markers had turned blood red. 

Without using Insight, I wouldn’t be able to deal with them—it was practically begging me to use it.

I aimed my rifle at the mid-level beasts and infused it with mana.

[You have selected the light element.]

[The target’s element is darkness.]  

[There is a significant level gap between you and the target.]

[The target is part of a group.]

[Insight activated!]

[Your level and stats have temporarily increased!]

[Damage amplification applied!]

[Kyle]  

Level: 40  

Race: Human  

Gender: Male  

Title: The Most Notorious Scoundrel  

Mana: 3500/4000  

Karma: 7  

Unique Trait: Sniping Master  

Traits: Perfect Accuracy, Crisis Detection, Rapid Fire, Touch of Death, Iron Man, Indomitable Spirit  

[Stats Details]  

Invested Stats Points: 6  

Strength: 25  

Stamina: 25  

Endurance: 25  

Intelligence: 25  

Perception: 25  

Mana Perception: 13  

Spirit Perception: 12  

[Talent Details]  

Element: Multiple  

Class: Multiple  

Growth Efficiency: A+  

[Active Skill Details]  

Liberation  

[Passive Skill Details]  

Shooting Mastery: C+  

Mana Efficiency: C+  

Firepower: C+  

Firepower Control: C+  

Mid-level magical beasts were around level 35. 

Normally, I should also be at level 35 for this battle, but because of the group setting, my level had been raised by an additional 5 levels.

‘This should guarantee a one-shot kill.’

I focused 500 mana into a bullet. The blue crosshair appeared again. Now that I could hunt them in order, I prepared to shoot the mid-level beast.

But just as I was about to pull the trigger—

“What’s going on here…? A magical beast…?”

A girl who had just reached the summit entered my line of sight.

‘Ciel? Ciel’s already here?’

I had been so focused on the beasts that I hadn’t noticed her approach. But even if I had known she was coming, there was nothing I could have done to stop her. 

She was bound to arrive sooner or later. This meeting was just a bit earlier than expected.

But there was something crucial to consider; Ciel’s encounter with the beasts changed everything. 

If she unleashed her power here, it would guarantee failure for the ‘Act 1, Scene 4: Underground Cavern’ episode.

Ciel suffered from an incurable disease that caused her body to freeze the more she used her magic. 

She was the product of the northern family’s head, a master of ice magic, and the former head of the magic tower. 

Born of their union, Ciel Dunhart was exceptional in ice magic but tragically cursed.

Her immense potential had become her curse. 

While she could easily handle average students without suffering much of a penalty, ten mid-level magical beasts were a completely different story.

To defeat them, she would have to use much higher tier magic spells that were considered advanced or even high-level. 

Though she could cast them, doing so would worsen her condition. And the consequences of that would snowball, especially in the ‘Underground Cavern’ scenario later.

That’s why she couldn’t be allowed to fight here.

“Come on…”

Ciel murmured and started preparing her magic circle.

If I didn’t act fast, the battle would begin, and she’d be drawn into it. But how could I stop her?

As I thought, an idea suddenly struck me.

“Ah!”

I quickly aimed my sniper rifle toward the sky and used up some mana to ‘liberate’ one of my traits.

[You have liberated Perfect Accuracy!]

Perfect Accuracy was a unique trait that ensured every shot I fired hit its target. 

It was already a great trait, but the drawback was that if the initial shot wasn’t aimed properly, it could still miss.

But if I liberated it…?

I knew what the next stage was. The ultimate evolution of an archer’s trait.

[You are consuming mana! Perfect Accuracy has been liberated!]

Unlike ‘Clairvoyance’, which had required more mana than I had, this liberation didn’t drain me.

The new name of Perfect Accuracy was.

[Perfect Aim has evolved into the Legendary-grade, ‘Certain Hit’!]

Certain Hit.

As soon as I saw those words, I pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five shots rang out in rapid succession.

Five beams of light pierced through the sky, instantly drawing attention.

In that moment—

Ciel’s gaze, the beasts’ attention, and even the focus of the scattered students below—

All of it was drawn toward the spectacular scene of light. 

I had triggered massive, widespread aggro.