The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

15. Entrance (5)

“It’s over…….”

On the mountain ridge of Daveuran, a rocky terrain.

Serin Anett, the current number one, brushed off the dirt on her hands.

This place, which had once boasted a beautiful natural landscape, was now filled with remnants of destruction.

Even the rock where she sat was covered in scars. The scattered clothes and broken items of the students who had fled were strewn about like decorations.

…It was a battlefield.

Fifteen students had gathered here.

Originally, she had only been facing off against three of them, but as more students arrived after hearing the commotion, the situation escalated.

Most of the students were defeated on the spot and sent back. Some managed to escape, but at a great cost.

And Serin Anett was the last winner to emerge from that battle.

On her wrist, multiple bracelets taken from the students hung. As Serin counted them, she suddenly looked to the side.

“Ah, I’ve been found.”

A student, who had been quietly approaching, raised his hands high in the air.

He looked completely harmless, but Serin instinctively sensed something was off.

“Stop!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

The male student had a foolishly kind face. However, Serin’s instincts told her that things weren’t as they seemed.

“Ah……!”

A sudden surprise attack. But the attack was deflected by the man’s sword.

Serin quickly regained her composure and launched another attack. The man seemed amateurish, but his swordsmanship was surprisingly proficient.

“You……!”

But the attack was blocked.

This man was somehow able to deflect the attacks that other students couldn’t.

What was even more bizarre was that he didn’t seem to be exerting any killing intent. The man, who had taken a few steps back, simply smiled awkwardly.

That only made her angrier.

In the end, Serin decided to hold back for a moment. She had thought she could easily take him down, but the man in front of her wasn’t that simple.

From the moment she couldn’t take him down with a single blow, it was clear that the fight would be prolonged.

“What’s your name, exactly?”

As Serin sheathed her sword, the man also put away his.

“Ah, I’m Kyle. Kyle Ivanstear.”

“…….”

Serin glanced at the man, then operated the watch on her left hand. There, a name that had suddenly risen to second place appeared.

2nd – Kyle Ivanstear (51 points)

Serin gripped her sword tightly. The second-place ranking seemed laughable, given the man’s carefree demeanor.

Was it because of that innocent face?

That thought flashed through her mind.

“We may have met as enemies now, but I’ll be expecting great things from you in the future.”

He was a strange man.

***

As the thorny vines were severed, a golden light overflowed the area.

I picked up the apple-like object from the remains. My face was reflected on its mirror-like, shining surface.

Cameron’s Golden Apple.

A special item that can only be obtained in the early stages of the game, on Mount Daveylan.

It looks like an ordinary apple, but its skin shines with a golden color. That’s why it’s called the Golden Apple.

It looks like something you can’t eat, but if you do, it will temporarily increase the user’s magical power. It’s like the elixir from Esperand, but without any harm to the body.

“There’s one more.”

There was another apple. I handed the remaining one to Airi. Airi hesitated, but eventually took it.

“Uh, this…?”

“Eat it.”

“Is it really okay to eat this? It looks like it’ll break my teeth…”

The golden apple shone brightly.

Of course, Airi’s concerns were valid, but it was a beneficial item for the body.

“I’m hungry. The test will take a while too.”

I took a bite of the apple first. Despite its appearance, the inside was soft and juicy, like a peach.

“Wow…”

Airi also took a bite of the apple. With this, we cleared the first hidden piece.

“Then, now…”

I checked the map on my watch.

There wasn’t just one hidden piece on Mount Daveylan. A total of three items were hidden throughout the mountain.

Our next goal was the spring water.

We had to find the spring water that flowed from the rocky area where the battle had taken place earlier.

Its effect was to gain a temporary buff that lasted for a certain period of time. It was a small buff, but one that could greatly affect the outcome of battles.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the exact numbers in the game.

Status window unavailable

…I didn’t know right now.

If I used the measuring device at the Arsen training hall, I could find out my exact current stats, but I had to pass the entrance exam first.

However, I wasn’t too optimistic.

Through Esperand’s training, I realized I was just a frog in a well. Even just arm-wrestling with Kamel Esperand would leave me defeated in an instant.

So, I focused on developing techniques that targeted weaknesses rather than head-on battles. Fighting wasn’t just about brute strength.

I took Airi deeper into the mountain. To avoid drawing the attention of other students, we had to move as deep into the forest as possible.

In the process, we encountered a demon beast.

-Haaah!

The demon beast’s roar, like a tiger, or rather, a bear.

Defeating the demon beasts on this mountain would also increase our score. Since I had eaten my fill, I let Airi take care of it.

Swoosh-!

Airi’s sword sliced through the demon beast’s neck.

“…It feels like we’re just taking a stroll.”

As we climbed up a tree and looked around, I heard Airi’s voice from below.

“It’s not a stroll, is it?”

“When I fell, I thought I was going to die, but compared to that, this is like a stroll.”

“Well, you could think that way.”

…Was it originally this hard to find?

There were only similar-looking branches everywhere. In the game, it was just an item that dropped with a snap, but now I had to find it myself and break it off.

Who would have thought I’d use my clairvoyance here?

I infused my eyes with magic to enhance my vision. I found a branch with uniquely sparkling leaves attached.

I carefully broke it off and pulled it out whole.

“…Found it.”

This isn’t something you can eat, but it’ll be used as material for making weapons later.

…Like wands or arrows.

It’s undecided where we’ll use it, but it’s better to have it when we can get it.

“What’s, all, this…?”

When I suddenly held up the branch, Iri’s expression changed to one of utter disbelief.

It was as if she was looking at a lumberjack.

I first put the branch into the spatial rune. At that moment, there was a rustling sound from the edge of the forest.

The underbrush was shaking violently. Iri and I reacted simultaneously.

“Shion.”

“I saw it too.”

Iri grasped her sword, and I held my Glock.

With [Clairvoyance] activated, I scanned the front. Beyond the underbrush, a giant’s figure came into view.

The guy was hiding, but the underbrush wasn’t tall enough to conceal his massive size.

A tuft of hair peeked out.

I fired a warning shot, and the guy hiding in the underbrush revealed himself.

“Just a minute! I’m not here to fight!”

But the figure that emerged from the underbrush was familiar. It was a male student resembling a gorilla.

When I thought about where I’d seen him, I remembered the guy I met at the Geord Observatory.

“I’m not here to fight! Just a minute!”

The guy, who repeated the same phrase, was covered in wounds. His school uniform was torn everywhere, revealing his bare skin.

Well, he hadn’t given up yet. I suppose his tenacity was admirable.

The gorilla-like guy looked at me. He seemed to remember who I was.

“You, are you still alive?”

That’s what I should be saying.

Before I could respond, Iri took a step forward, her sword at the ready.

“…That person.”

Iri whispered, her voice barely audible.

Through Iri’s explanation, I learned about the circumstances of her injury.

“That student who attacked me is that person. There were four others with him, but… they’re not visible now.”

I spoke on Iri’s behalf.

“What happened to those friends of yours?”

“That’s…”.

Click-

It seemed like Gorilla had just finished reloading his gun and was now explaining the situation.

“Those kids! They fought among themselves and all got eliminated! At the Rocky Area!”

“…Rocky Area?”

“Yeah, that place!”

Gorilla took a deep breath. His labored breathing didn’t look good at all.

“There’s a monster-like girl there. You can’t win against her alone… or even with two people.”

Somehow, the ranking had suddenly skyrocketed.

It seemed like Gorilla and his friends had lost to Serin Anet.

“So…”.

I had only heard that much, but it already felt ominous. The rest of the story was predictable.

“Let’s form an alliance. Just until we take down that girl.”

“……!”

Iri was the one who reacted.

She kept glancing at me with a sidelong look, as if she still had PTSD.

“Shion-sama… our alliance…”

“Of course.”

I chuckled and looked at Gorilla.

“Sorry, but it won’t work. If I add you to our party, we’ll end up with four members in the end.”

“What’s sorry about?”

It seemed like he didn’t understand. But did I really need to explain it again?

Bang-!

I pulled the trigger instead of answering. Gorilla was enveloped in a beam of light and disappeared.

My party was already full. Even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have formed a party with Gorilla.

My trained [intuition] had read the subtle hostility and killing intent that Gorilla possessed. The possibility of getting stabbed in the back was higher.

“…I’m shocked. Me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought you might cross the line, so…”

“Why would I form a party with him.”

“But, there’s a one-in-a-million chance, right?”

Iri’s murmurs were audible, and I almost burst out laughing at the sight.

Quaang-!

A forest in the distance erupted into a cacophony. A flock of startled birds took to the sky.

Rocky Area.

A place where Serin Anet was likely to be.

“Let’s go.”

“What?”

“The entrance exam is already in its later stages. We should go see the end.”

“That’s right, then…”

I checked the rankings before we departed. The names of the top-ranked students who initially took the top spots were now gone.

The mediocre students had all dropped out, and the remaining students were all exceptionally talented.

Since the entrance exam was already in its final stages, the competition was going to get even fiercer.

1st place – Serin Anett (73 points)

2nd place – Kyle Ivanstear (51 points)

3rd place – Elin Bernard (44 points)

4th place – Sion Illeonhart (42 points)

5th place – Aire De Sugamond (33 points)

There was no need to look at the bottom of the list; the focus was on the top five.

…Among them, 2nd place. As expected, his name was firmly planted in the top ranks.

“…I thought it was later, but I finally made it.”

“What’s up?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Kyle Ivanstear.

The guy who suddenly appeared and rose to fame like a comet.

‘Kyle.’

He was the one who was going to become the protagonist of this world.

Beep!

Just as I was about to estimate the remaining number of students, my watch suddenly went off.

Airi and I simultaneously checked our watches. A message was flashing on the screen.

-From now on, the rules of the entrance exam will be changed.

-Please climb to the top of Mount Daeburan. The student who captures the flag at the top will be declared the winner.

-We wish all the remaining students the best of luck. That is all.

The final, most intense flag capture battle had begun. At the same time, the smile on my face disappeared.

“Sion, what’s wrong?”

“……”

In reality, the outcome of this final exam would determine what I would do next.

The entrance exam was also a benchmark to measure the difficulty of this world.

Originally, you could choose the difficulty level when starting a game, but now that I was trapped in this game, I had no choice.

From easy to hard, the exam proceeded with the rule that only one person could emerge victorious.

It wasn’t that difficult. The students you encountered were randomly determined, but with leveling, they were adjusted to be around the same level as the player, making it manageable.

However, above hard, it was different. From then on, a ‘pecific character’ would appear as the final boss.

In the case of extreme difficulty, ‘Lara Steilhaiden’, whom I had encountered before, would appear as the final boss, but not now.

1st place – Serin Anett (73 points)

Serin Anett.

She was the strongest among the students entering this time, and one of the promising newcomers who had already begun to unleash her potential.

The current 1st place holder, who was going to appear as the final boss along with Kyle, was someone I had to take down.

No matter how strong Serin Anett was, there was a strategy to defeat her. I might be able to somehow overcome her.

The real problem was, well, that.

Serin Anette’s name had been consistently ranking first, so it was somewhat expected, but still, I had some hope.

That fragile hope was shattered.

It was ridiculously difficult from the start of Esperand’s training process, and now I finally understand the difficulty level of this world.

No, it’s confirmed.

This damn world is set to the most difficult level. It’s not about receiving a special talent, but about suspecting the intentions of the angel who created this.

“Shion-san?”

“…….”

The difficulty level was hell.

The angel didn’t send me to hell, but to a world with a difficulty level comparable to hell, throwing me a special favor to survive somehow.

……Please spare my life.