The Lone Sniper: I Was Just Minding My Own Business Sniping Players, and I Ended Up Becoming a Raid Boss

Chapter 27

I pick up a random sniper rifle from the table and look through the scope.

There are 13 conveyor belts. They're all constantly sliding sideways. The spacing between the prizes is about one meter, so there are decent gaps. The furthest conveyor moves from right to left, and any prize that enters the hole on the left immediately pops out again from the hole on the right.

The moment when there's a straight line of sight from the Snipe Circle to the bear plushie at the end lasts only 0.4 seconds.

Full-auto or three-round burst types are out of the question. If I'm going to bet it all on one shot, I need a high-precision bolt-action rifle.

(McMillan TAC-50...)

A bolt-action sniper rifle that has successfully landed shots from over 3,500 meters away. Among the ones laid out here, it's the best suited for precision shooting...

(But—)

My eyes are drawn to a particular sniper rifle.

"Mosin-Nagant M28-30 Rifle"

The rifle used by the White Reaper, Simo Häyhä.

The original model was developed in 1891, making it a "veteran" in the world of guns. There's nearly a 100-year gap between its development and the McMillan.

Of course, its specs fall short of the McMillan. But this gun has a proven track record. Simo Häyhä used this rifle to snipe without a scope, relying only on the front and rear iron sights. In this game where scopes can't be used, the fact that this rifle has a history of successful scope-less sniping is a huge plus.

Also, while I've never used the McMillan in other games, I'm familiar with the Mosin-Nagant. Just like with the M1911, familiarity goes a long way.

"I'll go with this one."

"Which conveyor number will you target?"

"Number 13."

"Understood."

The lighting on the furthest conveyor brightens.

I glance over at Tsubasa-san—

"Eh!?"

There's a line forming in front of her!

She's giving autographs. A signing event!? Why!?

(Oh no oh no oh no...! There's no way I can snipe calmly in front of such a crowd...)

"Ah! Shiki-chaan! Do your best!!"

Tsubasa-san notices my gaze and waves at me. At the same time, everyone's eyes pierce into me. Tsubasa-san even turns her body toward me while still signing.

"Uwahhh...!"

Trembling, I step into the circle and, completely unfocused, pull the trigger. The bullet crashes into a prize on the frontmost conveyor.

"Eh!? Shiki-chan!?"

"Wawawawawa...!"

I fire the second, third, and fourth shots—each one veering wildly off target.

"H-Hold on! Time out! Time out!"

Tsubasa-san steps into the circle.

"...What's going on, Shiki-chan? You're not even close. Are you really a sniper?"

"Ahhh, um, the eyes... When there are too many people within a ten-meter radius all staring at me, my body locks u-u-u-up...!"

"Whoa!? You're like a broken doll!!"

My neck is stiff. My back is tingling. My vision is spinning~!

"So what, you can hit if no one's looking at you?"

"Y-y-y-yes. P-p-p-probably..."

"...Got it. So I just need to draw everyone's attention to me."

Tsubasa-san opens her item pouch and pulls out a microphone.

"This is a casino, right? If it hypes people up, then an impromptu live show is totally fine♪"

"Eh...?"

She steps away from me and—

"Everyone~! Are you having fun!? I'm Shinkai Tsubasa, your high school idol! I was supposed to be off today, but I'll sing a special song just for you~!!"

Boom. The whole casino shakes.

All the gamblers and guests turn their eyes to Tsubasa-san.

(An idol!? Wh-whoa, that's some insane cheering...! The moment she started singing, she pulled every gaze in the room toward herself. It's probably a huge disruption from the casino's perspective, but... even the dealer looks like he's enjoying it, so I guess it's fine? Anyway—)

Now all the attention is off me.

All right. Time to redeem myself—no, I'll say it proudly: time to redeem my disgrace!

(With those first four shots, I figured out how the Mosin-Nagant works in this game. I've used old models during the Golden Age too. I've got the bullet trajectory and speed down perfectly.)

I step into the circle.

I'm no longer even looking at anything behind the third conveyor. I'm visualizing it all in my head.

The conveyor movement is consistent. Once I memorize the positions of the first three rows, I can deduce the positions of the rest from there.

"Suuu~ Haaa~..."

Yeah, this feels good.

(It's probably the rebound from the over-tension. My shoulders relax naturally.)

All unnecessary tension leaves my body.

(Sounds fade from my ears. Even without seeing or hearing, I can picture the surrounding scene in my head. My fingertips sharpen, and a bit of drool collects at the corner of my lips. My body forgets to blink, and the faraway target comes into clear view.)

It happens sometimes. That moment when you know the shot will hit even before pulling the trigger.

I take up a sniping stance and lock onto the target.

"Bounce."

I aim for the 0.4-second window that appears every 30 seconds. The bullet hits the white-winged bear plushie on the furthest belt.

"Hit! Congratulations!"

(Still got one bullet left.)

Next, I aim at the inverted-color version of the plushie—the one with black wings—and fire. The bullet is drawn right into it.

"What!?"

(No way I'd miss.)

The bullet hits the center of the target dead-on.

"...Perfectly on point."

Time resumes its normal flow.

"H-Hit... A-a-and it landed... Th-this actually happened...!"

The two prizes I shot are added to my item pouch.

"You're the first person to ever win two prizes from conveyor number 13 in a single game..."

"Is that so? Ah, I guess it's not a very popular game..."

"N-no, that's not it... But still...!"

This NPC sure is expressive—sweating, looking shocked, all that.

"S-Shiki-chaaaan!"

"Wah!?"

Tsubasa-san jumps on me and rubs her cheek against mine.

"T-Tsubasa-san!?"

Oh no. The audience is staring at me again...!

"Incredible! Unbelievable!! Two hits on number 13 in a row!? Who are you!? It's a waste—such talent shouldn't be going unused! You can do it... You and Tsubasa can aim for the top!!"

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what...!?"

"——If you're okay with it!"

"A-a-a-anyway, here! Take this!"

I materialize the two plushies from my pouch and shove them into Tsubasa-san's hands.

"Well then, I'll be going now!"

"Eh, wait! I haven't given you your reward—"

"Excuse me!"

I make a quick getaway.

Tsubasa-san tries to chase after me, but gets swallowed up by a horde of fans and disappears into the crowd.

(Idols are amazing. Even if I had a hundred lives, I could never be one...)

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