The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

43. Hellish Group Project (2)

We’re D-3 from conquering the mock dungeon.

Early in the morning, I headed to Arsen’s physical training room, which was usually crowded with 2nd-year students. Now, it’s filled with 1st-year students.

Among them was Kail Ivanstear, holding a dumbbell.

“Hey, Sion. Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Hey, Sion, you’re still not fully recovered, are you okay? If you ask to be exempt, I’ll vouch for you.”

I appreciate his concern, but for some reason, I couldn’t help but smile wistfully. If I could regain half of my regeneration ability, that would be great.

“I’m fine, so you focus on your training.”

“Then…alright.”

Kail Ivanstear scratched the back of his head, looking a bit awkward. I took a few steps back, sensing his sharp gaze.

However, there were two people I knew besides Kyle in this place. The first one was Serin Anett, surrounded by trainees, standing like a kindergarten teacher.

“…I didn’t say that part. Plan B is more efficient.”

“You’re being too optimistic, aren’t you? If it fails, all the kids behind us will be wiped out.”

“Then isn’t Plan A more unstable? Even if there are two instructors, if the vanguard can’t hold out, it’s pointless.”

Serin Anett was racking her brain.

Since they had merged two teams into one, they had two leaders. With two minds thinking, the two leaders were engaged in a fierce debate.

The other team members just stood awkwardly, listening in. This was why there should be only one leader.

“…….”

“Huh……?”

I glanced over and caught Serin Anett’s eye. We exchanged a light nod.

And lastly, there was Airi De Sugamon. She was standing with her eyes closed, operating a combat simulator.

She was honing the Sugamon family’s vision-based swordsmanship, which amplified her entire body’s senses. Although her stance with the sword hadn’t changed much from before, she had eliminated some minor flaws.

I approached her quietly to check the current stage and level without disturbing her.

It seemed she had taken my previous advice, as the difficulty was set to level 1. She had apparently decided to start from scratch again.

Beep!

A warning sound rang out, and the red lights flickered.

The holographic enemies poured in just as the 1st stage began. Airi waited until they approached and then reflexively slashed them. Four enemies were defeated in one blow.

However, she was still inexperienced.

“What, ah?!”

Airi regained her stance, but her step faltered, and she stumbled. As she got up from the ground, she unconsciously looked in my direction.

“Oh, Si-on sir. When did you get here?”

“…….”

I pretended not to see her and quietly left the training room.

…That afternoon.

The time when the sun was setting.

I headed to a vacant lot behind Arsen, where I had previously arranged to meet Kazuha.

There was no one here. In fact, it would be better to practice at the training room, but Kazuha had refused.

“Is it really comfortable here?”

“I have bad memories of the training room, so…”

I thought she might be secretly practicing her family’s vision like Airi.

“In fact, I broke some equipment in the middle of the night, and I’m afraid it might still be there. If I get caught, I’ll be in big trouble. So, I’m a bit scared to check…”

“The table with the broken corner, was that because of you?”

“How did you know…?”

How did I know? My eyes were like those of a sage.

Kazuha had carelessly broken the table corner, which had torn her uniform.

“Will I get penalized if I get caught?”

“I don’t know… It’s probably not a big deal. They won’t give us penalties for slightly breaking some equipment during training.”

Unless someone like Rian Von Hildegarde intentionally vandalized it.

Arsen was an organization that invested heavily in training its students. They wouldn’t give out petty penalties for minor damage during training.

“That’s that, have you practiced what I told you?”

“That’s still not it. I’ve sent you some materials related to whips a few days ago. Since there were instructors using whips at Esperanza, I gathered some information.”

A whip is basically a weapon that prioritizes ‘impact’, but if you can control its power well, it’s not just a weapon, but can be utilized in a broader sense.

For instance, it can be used to grab and pull teammates who are in danger, or to catch and return flying objects. It’s a classic trope often seen in old adventure movies. If Kazuha becomes more familiar with the Mana-infused whip, she’ll definitely achieve significant results as a supporter.

“Anyway, you know more about whips, but I thought I could give you some advice on its versatility. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Kazuha bowed briefly and scurried off. As someone from the Eastern region, who values etiquette, she’s quite diligent in this aspect.

“First, let’s practice controlling the whip’s power.”

Kazuha grasped the whip and struck the tree trunk.

Whoosh—

I expected it to only make a sound like cutting through the wind, but instead, it produced a loud explosive noise, like a cannon firing.

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What’s more, the whip’s movement was barely visible. Considering my [Thousand-Mile Eyes], the destructive power was truly immense.

After the dust settled, I examined the tree trunk that Kazuha had struck. The thick bark had been torn off in one hit.

If she had used that same power on a living being, it would have been terrifying.

“Wow…”

“I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Let’s try again, but this time, hold back a bit. You have a habit of unconsciously infusing Mana, so let’s fix that first.”

This is a sincere piece of advice. I made a similar mistake when I was at Esperanza, and it led to Mana exhaustion.

Just then, a dark figure appeared before Kazuha and me.

“Wait, wait, just a minute!”

“……!”

The tree that Kazuha had struck finally fell, and we barely avoided getting hit. We were both covered in dirt.

“Are you okay?”

“Eh…”

I helped Kazuha up, who was still in shock from the impact.

The favorability of ‘Yuuki Kazuha’ increased slightly.

Why did the favorability increase over something trivial like this?

…

…

That night.

Before returning to the guesthouse, I stopped by the student council room. I didn’t have any grand business, but there was something I needed to confirm.

Student Council Room, 2nd floor, Infirmary.

The school nurse, who was about to close the door, looked somewhat taken aback by my sudden visit.

“So, can I take off the cast now?”

In three days, we’ll be entering the mock dungeon. Wearing a cast would be inconvenient, and controlling the Glock’s recoil with one hand is more difficult than I thought.

Especially when I need to amplify my firepower with Mana, it’ll be even more troublesome.

But the teacher shook his head.

“No way.”

“There’s a mock dungeon attack coming up soon. This guy’s thinking is really annoying, but…”

“If you solve it now, you might get ahead of yourself. Or, you can apply to be exempt from the exam now.”

I shook my head too. With the sudden event already announced, I couldn’t afford to fall behind.

***

It’s D-2 until the mock dungeon attack.

The afternoon training room was crowded with first-year students again today.

“No way, Kyle! Get in sync with us! You’re always going solo and messing up our formation!”

“Ah, I messed up again. Sorry. Let’s try again.”

“This is how we’re going to practice? Ugh…”

I passed by Kyle and Elin, who were arguing as usual, and headed to the training simulator in the back of the room.

I wasn’t here to train, but to check if the users who came before me were doing well.

“Whoa…”

Airi was standing with her eyes closed again today.

The Sugamond family’s visionary swordsmanship. If she practiced like this every day, she might awaken her talent faster than expected.

“Ready!”

Pajijik—

Airi opened her eyes and swiftly swung her sword.

The horizontal sword trail left behind a faint, pinkish afterimage. The enemy units in the area were cut in half.

But there was still a long way to go.

Airi was clearly putting in effort, but it would take some time to fully master the Sugamond’s visionary swordsmanship.

“Ah?!”

Airi stumbled again today. This time, she was watching with her arms crossed, but eventually had to come closer to me.

“D… did you see that?”

“Yeah, I saw. That’s it.”

“……”

Airi’s embarrassed face, with her pink hair, resembled a peach.

…An hour later, at Arsen’s courtyard.

Kazuhah was whipping the tree again today. I watched from a distance, not wanting to disturb him, and waited for an opportunity to sneak up on him.

Kazuhah’s whip was fierce. Every time he cracked it, it made a loud noise and shook the tree… but…

“Ah?!”

Kwajik—

However, his poor reflexes were the problem, and he kept failing. The falling apple dropped to the ground and smashed again.

“This isn’t working out. How do I aim for the falling object…?”

In the end, Kazuhah asked for my help. I put down the apple I was eating and picked up a glove.

“Don’t think too quickly, and watch carefully.”

“Eh…”

“It’s not about hitting the falling apple, but about reading the trajectory of its fall.”

In other words, he needed to read the flow.

Don’t aim for the falling objects themselves, but predict their trajectory and attack. This part requires a lot of practice and effort to develop your senses.

In my case, I have a natural talent [famous archer] that gives me a huge advantage in this area. I can show you a good example.

Bang—! Bang—!

Two perfectly shot bullets.

As the shell casings flew out, Kazuha’s mouth opened wide in surprise, and her face was faintly visible.

Whoosh—!

The two bullets precisely pierced the falling apple. The shattered apple pieces scattered everywhere.

“This is nothing. As a skilled marksman, it’s easier for me, but you—”

“Amazing (cool)……”

“What?”

Kazuha, who quickly regained her composure, shook her head.

“No way! Let me try again!”

Kazuha grasped her whip again. That day, she practiced until quite late.

…

…

That night, in the infirmary.

I saw the school nurse cleaning outside the window, but I didn’t care and opened the door. Luckily, it was still operating.

“So, when can I remove the cast?”

“Please wait a bit. It’s not an injury that can heal in a day or two.”

The cast on my right arm still hadn’t been removed today.

***

Only one day left until the mock dungeon conquest.

In the afternoon training room. As I passed by the crowded students, I headed towards the simulator in the back.

Airi was still keeping her eyes closed. I was so used to it that I leaned against the wall and watched her.

As the enemy units charged, Airi opened her eyes.

Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations, but today’s atmosphere was different.

The [qi sense] was the reason. When Airi drew her sword, my [qi sense] strongly reacted.

“……!”

I raised my sword overhead and swung it down. At that moment, a flash of light occurred. Unfortunately, my eyes, being [clairvoyant], directly faced the flash.

I barely opened my eyes to see Airi’s sword stuck in the ground. The enemy unit that had been charging straight at her seemed to have been deflected by her sword.

Psss—

The holographic enemy units surrounding Airi simultaneously collapsed. At the same time, Airi, who had been standing still, suddenly fell.

I approached her, wondering what had happened, and Airi struggled to catch her breath and said:

“Shion, how was it? Did I do well?”

Exhausted, Airi couldn’t even manage her expression and smiled foolishly.

I saw it. Just now, Airi had successfully implemented the 1-second flash sword technique. Although it was only a short moment, it was crucial that she had grasped it in such a short time.

“You did well. Look, I told you you would do well.”

“Hehehe…….”

Airi let out a sigh of relief and slumped down. I patted her head, feeling affectionate towards her.

“Ah no! My hair! Don’t touch my hair…!”

Irie was already in a state of exhaustion, having lost all resistance. If left alone, she would probably melt away and merge with the floor.

I tried to calm her down, but as a result, her hair became a tangled mess, resembling a bird’s nest.

“My hair… Can you roll it for me…?”

“Where am I supposed to find hair rollers in this situation?”

“I have one in my school uniform pocket… the front pocket, not the back one.”

As Irie said, I searched her pocket and indeed found a hair roller.

She’s carrying this kind of thing around again. I should avoid touching her hair from now on.

……And today, I went to the school grounds to find Kazuha.

“Shion-senpai! Look! I succeeded!”

For some reason, Kazuha approached me with a big smile, holding a perfectly normal apple in her hand.

“Did you manage to do it this time?”

“Yes. This time, I think I succeeded in controlling my strength!”

However, behind Kazuha’s back, more than ten trees had fallen over.

“If this gets discovered, won’t we get penalized? For damaging school property or something.”

“I don’t know… maybe not?”

“Shion-senpai…?”

I don’t know about this part either. I’m not someone who memorizes Arsen’s rules.

We might get penalized for damaging the forest environment or something. I’m not sure about this part, but it’s better to be cautious.

“I don’t know, but for now… we should destroy the evidence here.”

“Is this all of it?”

“Trees originally grow and fall over, don’t they? If we make it look like they fell naturally, it should be fine.”

“Are you saying we should ‘act’ like that?”

I shook my head. Right now, I couldn’t think of a better term to replace it.

“Anyway, I’ll help you. Let’s try it once.”

If I had to be picky, using the term ‘acting’ instead of ‘destroying evidence’ did sound more innocent.

.

.

.

And the infirmary.

It was almost midnight, but the school nurse was sitting quietly in her chair, as if waiting for me. When I glanced over, the cleaning was already done, and it seemed like she had been waiting for me.

Then, I could approach her directly.

“Can I remove the cast?”

“You’re finally here. It’s been a while.”

“It’s an important matter. I think my condition has improved a lot.”

In terms of physical sensation, the part that was injured had almost fully recovered. I knew this from my experiences at the Esper Academy.

“What do you think I should say?”

“You’ll probably say it’s not allowed.”

“That’s correct. It’s not allowed.”

I was naturally pushed out of the infirmary. As I turned around, the infirmary door was roughly closed.

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Even though it’s a bit too much to treat patients like this, considering the late hour, I could understand the doctor’s perspective.

[Current Time: 00:01:05]

[Today’s Alarm – 07:00 Mock Dungeon Conquest D-Day]