The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

12. Entrance (2)

One hour before entering the examination hall.

While student council members were busy preparing the Geord Observatory, Rebecca sat in a chair, tilting her teacup.

“Sion Illeonhart…”

Sion Esperanza, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had changed beyond recognition.

It wasn’t just his appearance. His personality, behavior, and even his subtle hand movements had changed.

“…You’ve completely become a new person.”

Sion Esperanza had changed so much that I couldn’t even recall his past self. But the Sion I had met before had given Rebecca another shock.

Sion said,

-I’m Sion Illeonhart.

…The person sitting here was not Sion Esperanza, but ‘Sion Illeonhart’.

The sharp line he drew was still vivid in my eyes.

“Perhaps, you don’t remember?”

Sion Esperanza, who seemed to have erased his past completely. Whenever I thought of his deep, green eyes, I couldn’t help but feel sentimental.

There was no lingering attachment. We hadn’t shared emotions to that extent from the beginning.

“…….”

Rebecca closed her eyes.

It was the broken bond between the two families from long ago.

– I’d rather die than get married to someone like you.

– What are you talking about, Sion?!

– I’m being rational, hyung. It’s for our own good, and I think it’s the best way.

The engagement that was dragging on was finally broken off.

It was Sion Esperand who declared the breakup.

Years later, when they met again, Sion introduced himself as “Illeonheart”.

With a completely new persona.

As if he had forgotten his past.

– I don’t expect anything from Rebecca-nim. If I had to wish for something as Sion Esperand, it would be to acknowledge me as Illeonheart.

He was someone who had drawn a clear line, saying he had no relation to her anymore.

But Sion’s words were different. Rebecca quietly recalled the memory.

– I know more about you than you think, Rebecca-nim.

With an arrogant tone, as if he knew everything about her.

The memory of that time when he touched her reverse scale came flooding back, making her feel uncomfortable, like a snake crawling up her arm.

“…….”

Rebecca opened her eyes. She felt a presence outside.

Ding-dong-

“Rebecca-nim.”

The door creaked open carefully. Rebecca snapped out of her reverie.

“The exam is about to start. Everyone’s gathered at the Geord auditorium.”

“Yes, I’ll go now. Secretary.”

It was Amelia Secretary, who had come to fetch her.

As always, Amelia had a stack of documents in her arms.

“I’ll go first. Please don’t be late.”

Rebecca, who had been watching the secretary’s back, suddenly looked up.

“Wait a minute, Amelia.”

“…Yes?”

Although she had stopped impulsively, Rebecca herself didn’t know what she wanted to say. This was the first time she was speaking her mind without thinking.

“Can you investigate the Raknia Cave on the east side of Arsene one more time using this method?”

“The Raknia Cave? I thought it had already been excavated…….”

“Yes.”

Rebecca carefully unfolded a note she had tucked away. It was a note Sion had left after their meal with Professor Vien.

She didn’t trust Sion. It was just a desperate hope. She spoke with a grasping-at-straws mentality.

“Please, Amelia.”

“…….”

Maybe, just maybe, what she was looking for was really there.

Rebecca’s expression was resolute. Her face was set with determination.

Amelia couldn’t understand this Rebecca.

***

The Geord auditorium, where the entrance exam was taking place.

The lined-up trainee students were entering the gate one by one.

“This, is it really okay? The gate is black.”

“Artificially created gates are originally dark in color. It’s normal.”

“But…”

“There are people waiting behind you. Please enter now.”

Many trainee students were intimidated by the ominous black light of the gate. However, if they didn’t enter on their own, they would be pushed in anyway.

The entrance exam was mandatory. Regardless of their scores, they would either pass or fail as soon as they entered.

That was something the trainee students had to do, and the instructor, as if it wasn’t their concern, led the students in line into the gate one by one.

“Entrance confirmed.”

“Next.”

Some trainee students who were pushed into the portal looked a bit pitiful.

Of course, it was understandable. With so many people, it was inevitable. If they waited one by one, it would take all day to enter.

“A-839, Sion Illeionheart. Enter.”

Before I knew it, my turn had arrived. I stood in front of the gate according to the call.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s all the same, anyway.”

The instructor’s last words of encouragement before I entered the portal.

Pa-zizzle!

I jumped into the gate.

In an instant, my vision blurred. My whole body felt like it was submerged in water, and it was a brief moment. I squinted at the suddenly bursting light.

And when I opened my eyes again…

Chirp-chirp-zizzle!

I was thrown into a dense forest. The cool air blew in. Mountain air was usually like this.

Beyond the gate, life existed.

A flock of birds flew over the dense trees.

This was a place that existed yet didn’t exist.

The gate was a phenomenon that was difficult to define, and even the setting collection had a tendency to gloss over it.

…If I had to express it, it was like a distorted dimension or something.

Beep!

Without any warning, my watch beeped. My location was marked on the map.

Of course, it was impossible to see the location of other students. The professors had provided the map as a consideration to prevent us from getting lost.

“What, this…!”

“……!”

At that moment, I heard a commotion. It was exactly a mix of cheers and screams.

I lowered my body and hid in the nearby bushes. Since the height was too low for camouflage, I lay flat on the ground.

About 10 meters ahead. A quiet clearing in the forest.

A few trees had fallen, and two students were facing off.

“This is crazy! We just started!”

“We’ve started, so it’s fair game!”

“X- hell! Just for a moment! Just take a look!”

One of them was holding a sword, and the other was holding some kind of book. It was a battle between a swordsman and a magician. Of course, in close combat like this, the magician was at a disadvantage.

“It’s unfair! What’s going on here!”

The magician knew they were at a disadvantage, so they dodged and weaved to avoid the inspector’s sword.

They looked like a cat chasing a mouse. The inspector was hot on the magician’s heels.

The sharp sword sliced through the air, narrowly missing the magician’s uniform several times, and each time the magician let out a terrified scream.

“Just a minute, please! Time!”

“There’s no time to spare. It’s already started.”

“But…!”

However, the magician didn’t just run away.

Although the inspector’s face was unreadable, the magician muttered spells in between their dodges. They were breaking down complex magic formulas into smaller parts and casting them quickly.

“Take off your bracelet.”

“What’s the point of doing that…?”

“Watch and see. You’ll either take it off or I’ll take it from you.”

“Don’t you think there’s a better way to do this?”

Of course, the inspector had a well-honed instinct.

Even if they didn’t, the magician knew they were trying to stall for time. The longer they delayed, the more likely they were to attract attention from other students.

The inspector approached, holding the sword to the magician’s throat.

“I’ll give you 5 seconds.”

“No, just a minute, please!”

I could have intervened, but I decided to observe from a distance.

I wanted to see how the reversal would unfold with my own eyes, and besides—

“5.”

“Just a minute!”

“4…….”

“Stop! Just a minute!”

“3…….”

The situation unfolding before my eyes was too thrilling.

It was like watching a fire from across the river, where other people’s fights are always entertaining.

“Seriously!”

“2…….”

The inspector’s sword was already pressed against the magician’s throat. There was no escape. The inspector raised the sword.

“1.”

And just as the inspector was about to behead the magician—

Snap!

A wooden branch burst out from the ground and bound the inspector. The inspector’s face contorted in shock as they shouted.

“You, you…!”

“Sorry, it’s over.”

Unlike the inspector, who was caught off guard, the magician immediately cast a spell.

A sharp, pointed wooden stake shot out towards the inspector’s chest, and they let out a terrified scream.

“X… this son of a…!”

“Whoa, ah.”

The inspector bound to the tree branch was enveloped in light and disappeared. The battle was a victory for the magician.

Immediately after, the magician turned to look at me. I don’t know how he noticed, but he might have sensed the flow of mana.

“There, you…!”

The moment our eyes met, I immediately pulled the trigger.

He didn’t have time to react. Even if his magic casting speed was fast, it couldn’t be faster than a bullet.

If I had graduated from Arsene and become a hunter, the story would be different, but his magic was still at the level of a reserve student.

And my talent was ＜Sniper﹥, I poured all my magic into the first shot.

The bullet, corrected for accuracy, flew straight and hit its mark.

“Ah!”

The sound of the gunshot echoed late.

The magician, like the inspector, was enveloped in light and disappeared, leaving behind only a broken bracelet.

Thud-

I picked it up. My watch beeped. I checked and found a new alarm.

Sion Illeonhart: 2 points acquired

“2 points, that’s…”.

I sat down, still in a daze, and operated my watch.

This watch would become my communication device and almost a part of me in Arsene.

The watch is used everywhere in Arsene.

You even pay with the watch.

Student status verification is also done with the watch.

Attendance is taken with the watch too.

…And another key feature is the ‘Community’.

Although it was still grayed out and inactive, another window popped up, displaying the names of the main characters who had already risen to prominence.

1st – Lara Steelhyden (3 points)

2nd – Serin Anett (2 points)

2nd – Sion Illeonhart (2 points)

4th – ……(1 point)

My name was temporarily tied for 2nd place, but it plummeted down the rankings as soon as I checked.

The current ranking doesn’t mean much anyway. Since it’s a battlefield, the ranking will change every few minutes.

Even Lara’s name, which had been in 1st place, soon fell. The changes were displayed in real-time.

My impression of it was, that’s how it was.

“…This is a real mess.”

The early stages of the entrance exam are the most chaotic and complex battles.

Cheers and shouts could be heard from all over the forest. This was an unusual battle royale format, which was unprecedented.

As to why the genre suddenly changed to battle royale…

According to the game developers, they referenced a popular battle royale game during development.

…It seems they didn’t just reference it, but blatantly copied it, but that’s a matter for the developers to handle.

“Let’s see…”.

The protagonist’s name isn’t on the ranking board yet.

Since the story is still unfolding according to the original, I don’t know what will happen, so I’ll just have to run wild for now.

Other than that, the special privilege given to the first place winner must be given to the protagonist, no matter what. I had to make it that way for the sake of my comfortable old age.

To do that, I need to get into the top ranks in this test.

As insurance, I’ll first climb up to the top ranks and then give the first place to the protagonist. Even if I don’t want to, I’ll make them take it.

The main characters of the original story need to do well, so I can live comfortably.

As I said before, that’s enough.