The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

13. Entrance (3)

-1st place has changed. Dario Onin has obtained 4 points.

-A-3 section is in combat. Please check immediately.

-Two students are approaching the restricted area. Please turn on the E-8 barrier.

At the same time, in the situation room.

The cries of the instructors echoed everywhere.

This was the largest-scale test since Arsen’s establishment, unprecedented in history.

All the instructors were busy moving around, but even so, there were not enough hands.

-B-7 section is in combat confirmation.

-Eight students are participating. It’s a fierce battle.

-C-228 has dropped out. Recall is complete.

The situation was rapidly unfolding, and there was endless work to be done.

The word “leisure” did not exist here. However, there were those who were watching the situation unfold with a calm and collected attitude.

They were Arsen’s professors, the core administrators in charge of this entrance exam and the final decision-makers.

“…Is that side already finished?”

“It seems so. It’s a bit regretful, though.”

The monitor showed the scene of the entrance exam taking place on Mount Dave, with hundreds of cameras broadcasting the exam’s landscape. There was no place that was not visible here. Any cheating would be immediately discovered.

-A-210 student, cheating confirmed. Points will be deducted.

-B-3 section, excessive violence confirmed. All will be disqualified.

With the press of a button, five students were recalled. Their stunned faces were broadcast live on the CCTV screen.

-What’s going on? What’s happening?

-Why did we suddenly get sent back here?

The students who were recalled to the Geord observer room had faces that showed they didn’t understand the situation.

They were holding their luggage and were chased out of the Geord observer room. The words “cheating confirmed, disqualified” were engraved on their backs.

“Those students went too far.”

“I agree.”

On the screen, the reasons for their disqualification were being replayed.

One student was surrounded and bullied, and points were being stolen. It was a cruel act that used recovery magic to obtain points.

As a result, all were disqualified.

“There are already students like that.”

“Recovery magic isn’t meant to be used for that kind of thing.”

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that we discovered it early.”

Their attitude was like they were watching a movie, but the professors’ hands held score-checking boards. They were watching the live broadcast of Mount Dave and recording each student’s score in real-time.

The assigned scores were immediately reflected.

The rankings, which had been stagnant, began to change. A certain name kept appearing.

“Shion Ileleonhart. 1 point acquired.”

“…Shion Ileleonhart, suppressed three people in the A-9 zone. Total of 7 points acquired.”

“Shion Ileleonhart. Suppressed two people in the B-13 lake area. 3 additional points.”

A staff member raised an eyebrow at the constantly being called out name.

Two staff members watching the screen next to each other exchanged glances.

“…Is that, isn’t that cheating?”

The female staff member with a ponytail operated the keyboard.

Shion Ileleonhart.

The camera was clearly pointing at his location, but…

“Where is he? He’s not showing up on the screen.”

“The camera is normal. A-839, Shion Ileleonhart is inside.”

“But why can’t we see him? Is the screen frozen?”

A staff member furrowed their brow and looked at the screen. Still, nothing was visible.

It was clear that Shion was in this zone, but he couldn’t be caught on camera anywhere. It felt like some kind of supernatural phenomenon, making the staff member’s hair stand on end.

“This is weird. The camera is normal, but why can’t we see him……”

“Could it be an invisible magic? It’s impossible for a student to have already learned transparency.”

As the confusion deepened, a professor stood up from their seat.

“The camera is normal. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Professor Reina from the Archery Department. The invisible sniping continued on the screen.

-No, what’s going on! What’s happening! Ahh……!

-Lie down! You’re being sniped!

-There’s no place to hide here! Get out of the way!

The students who couldn’t even resist and fell down powerlessly.

Professor Reina’s eyes narrowed. She was the only one who had grasped this bizarre situation.

“This looks like cheating……”

Just as a staff member watching the screen was about to raise an objection.

“……?”

“Uh…?”

The bushes rustled, and a large, dark mud lump rose up.

“That, that, that, that!”

“It’s not a monster…!”

The bewildered staff members. Professor Reina, who had been watching from behind, burst out laughing. She pointed at the screen with her finger.

“I told you. The camera is normal, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

The mud lump on the screen took off its mask, revealing a clear, blue eye. A few sweat droplets rolled down its jawline.

“It’s Gilly Suit.”

Shion Ileleonhart, who had revealed his appearance, was readjusting himself. A staff member raised a question. Even they had never seen anything like this before.

“…I thought deceiving students or excessive violence was prohibited, Professor Reina.”

“That’s within the allowed range of disguise.”

“…Is that Gilly Suit?”

“No, there’s never been a student who’s done that before, so it’s not unfair, technically speaking.”

Professor Leina said so, but to the instructors watching, it was simply questionable.

On the screen, two students were literally being “hunted.” No matter how you looked at it, it was an unreasonable act of violence.

– Die, die! Ahh?!

– Where are you?! Come out! Come out, I say!

At the very least, they should have put up some resistance. But every time Sion pulled the trigger, he hit his mark, and the students didn’t even realize who was attacking them or how.

“Is that… acceptable?”

“The balance is off, isn’t it…?”

“That’s not a level of camouflage for a reserve student…”

Despite the explosive reactions from all directions, Professor Leina just smiled. It seemed like the injustice the Archery Club had suffered was finally being resolved.

“You’re doing well. If you keep this up, it’ll be great.”

Had anyone shown such high scores in the past few years?

As far as Leina remembered, no one had.

A student with exceptional skills had finally enrolled. She wanted to cheer them on, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

After all, she had to maintain fairness.

Still, she couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s like how you use swords or magic; that’s his weapon.”

“But, Professor!”

“A swordsman has a shield, and a magician has a staff. All reserve students have a way to supplement their abilities and use them according to the situation, don’t they?”

“…….”

Professor Leina’s words were the absolute truth.

“And Sion Illeayonhart is not a swordsman, but a hunter.”

“Still, Professor… that’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“Isn’t it not against the rules?”

There was nothing to say.

The instructor, who had been silenced, scratched the back of his head. His wandering eyes swept the floor aimlessly.

“A hunter has their own way of fighting, suitable for a hunter.”

A swordsman would charge forward, and a magician would blast through with powerful magic. A hunter would usually provide supporting fire from behind a tanker.

But this was a one-on-one battle.

A hunter without a team was like a walking scarecrow. If it were a magician, it might be different, but in this situation, the hunter was always at a disadvantage.

Since the opponent wouldn’t wait for the hunter to finish aiming, the hunter always fought at a disadvantage.

That’s why Sion Illeayonhart’s method made Professor Leina smile. As an evaluator, she shouldn’t show bias, but she felt vicarious satisfaction.

Sion Illeayonhart: 17 points acquired

Sion’s name, which had been at the bottom of the rankings, was slowly rising.

“I, Leina of the Archery Club, will recognize Sion Illeayonhart’s combat method as normal. That’s not unfair.”

It was just that this had never happened before.

Some instructors and professors expressed discontent, but they couldn’t say anything. According to the rules, Professor Leina’s words were correct.

“But…”

It was clear that a clause about camouflage would be added from now on.

Professor Leina looked at the screen again. Sion was searching for his next prey, still camouflaged.

Like a beast.

“…Like that….”

A female student approached him, unaware of the danger.

***

“What did you do? You got a gun? You’re going to take me down with that?!”

Taang-!

Sion Illeonhart: 3 points acquired

The guy who was lying down was enveloped in light and disappeared. The torn fabric of his clothes fluttered in the wind.

I reorganized and checked the rankings. There was still a long way to go.

1st – Serin Anett (35 points)

2nd – Elin Bernard (27 points)

3rd – Lara Stillhaiden (22 points)

4th – Gardener Merdian (21 points)

5th – Sion Illeonhart (20 points)

The 1st place score was an astonishing 35 points.

The results showed that the most intense battle was taking place at the rocky area in the middle of the mountain. Serin Anett was sweeping up points there like crazy.

[Cheonrian] accurately captured Serin Anett’s weak point.

“…No way.”

I couldn’t pull the trigger carelessly.

The remaining students were protecting themselves with magical shields. Serin was no exception.

Even with my weapon, I only had one handgun. It was a useful artifact, but it couldn’t penetrate magical shields.

A normal inspector’s swordsmanship could block at least ten attacks, and that was with reserve student standards.

Even someone like the current 1st place, Serin Anett, could easily block handgun bullets with their magical shield.

No matter how much I received compensation for my unique abilities, I couldn’t take on Serin right now.

I desperately needed a firepower boost. Even if I emptied my handgun, it would be nothing but a joke against top-ranked students.

But I couldn’t load magic into every bullet either.

I had earned a lot of points, but I had also consumed a lot of magic.

“It’s a bit unsettling…”

Serin Anett’s name was nagging at me, but for now, retreating and reorganizing was the priority.

There was no need to rush. The exam had just reached its midpoint.

The initial chaos was over, and now everyone would focus on reorganizing.

The remaining students were all strong, with several points each.

Two hours into the entrance exam, an implicit ceasefire had been established, just as planned.

I tried to check the reversed rankings by operating my watch.

“…?”

A sudden sense of unease.

I felt a weight on my back. Something was sitting on me right now.

…What is this?

My right hand was still holding the handgun. I was frozen in place, unable to move.

“Ahh, t-this…!”

However, I smelled blood.

There were muddy shoes beside my head, and when I took them off, I saw a bruised ankle.

In other words, an injured student.

It seemed like they were sitting in the nearby bushes (above me) to reorganize themselves.

“Aaah?!”

I sat up.

The person who was sitting on top of me had fallen to the ground. Before that student got up, I immediately pointed my Glock at them.

“Wait, just a minute! Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! Please don’t!”

…The person who revealed their identity was someone I never expected.