The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 108
Only Noblemtl
Episode 108. Magic Expo (1)
Knock knock-
Early in the morning, Professor Isabella opened the classroom door. Until then, the cadets who had been talking about interpersonal combat training all fell silent.
My whole body was sore from being in the gym late at night. Fighting back the drowsiness that was creeping up on me, I watched Isabella climb up onto the stage.
“The magic engineering fair that I announced last time will be held. The contents are the same as what I announced in advance.”
A spell was drawn on the blackboard, following Isabella’s hand.
The scenery of the exhibition hall was played as a video. It was a promotional video produced directly by the Ivory Tower.
While some cadets were focused and others were consistently indifferent, Isabella interrupted the ceremony and cut the video. It seemed that the PPL that blatantly appealed to the magic tower was very annoying.
“Unfortunately, the number of attendees to this Magic Engineering Expo is limited to 10. Therefore, unlike other events, the cadets who will attend the Expo were selected through a lottery.”
Of course, you don’t have to participate unconditionally, Isabella added, explaining that if you refuse to attend, the right will go to the next cadet in line.
“The cadets who will be attending the exhibition this time are as follows.”
With Isabella’s simple manipulation, the attendee list appeared like a hologram on the board.
“First, Class A’s Kyle Ivanstair, Class A’s Airi de Sugarmond, Class B’s Lara Stillheiden, Class A’s Ashley Silvergarden… … .”
I was still fighting sleepiness. I had done something pointless the day before in the weight room, watching Kyle easily do 3×1,000.
-Do you want to try it too? Zion.
-I’m a shooter?
-It’s okay, I’ll support you. Let’s just try it once.
The aftereffects of the overwork continued until the next day, and my lower body ached even as I sat still. I was stretching without letting it show.
“And… Class A’s Zion Illionheart. That’s it.”
With those words, Isabella finished calling names and walked out of the classroom as if she had nothing more to say.
“Well done, Zion!”
“Mr. Zion, are you going with us this time?”
As Kyle waved at me and greeted me, only one thought came to mind.
No… why me?
***
In the afternoon after class.
I headed straight to the guest house. I checked into my room on the top floor and prepared to leave for Elysium.
“Three fragmentation grenades, five smoke grenades… and.”
While attending this training for the great battle, I used up a considerable amount of the magic bullets I had made in my spare time. Since each bullet consumes over 500 magic power, even if I start making new ones now, it won’t be enough.
“… What should I do?”
It would be fortunate if I could at least fill up one magazine, but honestly, it’s precarious. Considering the events that will come, it’s not enough.
In the end, I took out the Esperland’s magic bullets that I had been saving up. Even if I use these to make up for the current shortage of magic bullets, I will need more magic bullets to prepare for the exchange battle.
Lack of magic power.
Even if you refine the magic bullets just enough to not suffer from magic drain, there is a problem. Magic bullets made by infusing only the minimum amount of magic are weak in destructive power and cannot penetrate even a single barrier.
Moreover, if the amount of magical power in the body decreases, it will take longer to recover from muscle pain and other symptoms after training, and your condition will also tend to deteriorate.
If things continue like this, I will have to do what Professor Björn said when I entered Arsen. I will have to learn how to use mana by doing a double major.
dripping-
At that moment, a knock was heard and the front door opened by itself. There is only one person who can enter my room like this.
“Are you going back to Elysium?”
Rebecca, the original owner of this property.
Rebecca looked around the room a few times and then walked cautiously. I tied up my luggage roughly with a rope and pushed it to a corner of the floor.
“I guess I have to go.”
And then I looked back at Rebecca.
I had already done a preliminary survey when I visited Elysium last time. So I didn’t plan on going there myself, but somehow I ended up doing it.
Isabella said she was chosen fairly through a lottery, but now she doesn’t know if it was luck or bad luck.
At this point, it really seemed like my fortune was headed in the opposite direction, just as the assistant instructor Sato had said. Rebecca seemed to be thinking the same thing, as her eyes were sullen.
“Actually, I came to see you because I have something to tell you.”
“Is this a message that needs to be delivered in person?”
“Yes, of course.”
Rebecca closed the front door quietly as if she didn’t want anyone to hear. After hearing the doorknob turn on its own, Rebecca carefully opened the door.
“You must be aware that the pre-inspection schedule has continued even after you left.”
After I returned to my dorm first, the student council stayed at Elysium a little longer to complete the pre-inspection schedule.
I didn’t see the process myself. I was too busy chasing Aidan Steelheiden.
“I felt magic at the exhibition hall where the event was held this time.”
“… Did you feel it yourself at the exhibition hall?”
“Yes. It was very faint, so faint that you wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t paying attention, but it was definitely there. I felt the magic there.”
Rebecca had a serious look in her eyes. She had confided in me something she had never told anyone before.
“At the time, I thought it was because of me, and there may have been other people who felt the magic, but I’m sure they also thought it was definitely because of me. That’s probably why it passed without any problems.”
A fact that is merely circumstantial without any concrete evidence.
But Rebecca’s words were firm.
“There is something hidden in the exhibition hall that we do not know about. The organizers of this exhibition probably realized this fact a long time ago. But seeing as they are trying to hold a magic engineering exhibition… … .”
Even as she said that, Rebecca bit her thumbnail, as if she was still confused.
This exhibition is an event hosted directly by the Ivory Tower. Since it is being held in collaboration with Arsene, Arsene must have been aware of this fact.
Rebecca must have felt confused there.
The problem lies with the organizers, but Arsene is trying to ignore the problem and move on. Perhaps Rebecca is secretly anticipating the repercussions this will have.
“If that’s what Rebecca felt, then she’s probably right.”
To conclude, it was not a mere coincidence that Rebecca felt magic.
“It’s true that there are problems with the expo itself, and I don’t know what Arsene and the Ivory Tower are up to, but it’s clear that they’re involved in something sinister.”
It’s just a suspicion since the magic wasn’t detected using a device.
“If Rebecca or someone else had been clinging to the idea that they sensed magic, the Ivory Tower would have dismissed it as just magic that arose during the research process. In reality, many magic towers possess monsters for research purposes, and magic often occurs. Most of the time, it passes without any problems.”
Elysium is a wizard’s paradise.
Even though magic is blooming in the city, it is tolerated under the pretext of ‘research’. That is why it is also an area where some of the mines who were expelled from the association go into hiding.
It’s the same reason I told Rebecca before that the nights in Elysium were dangerous. Not only was there the risk of doppelgangers, but other minions who sensed Rebecca’s magic could also approach her.
At that time, I heard that Rebecca had changed accommodations and was staying with Celia Leppard. Thanks to that, I was able to chase after Aidan with peace of mind.
“Of course, it could be the magic that came from the chimera displayed at the magic exhibition. It could also be the magic that came from the magic tools developed by the Ivory Tower. But, Rebecca, you don’t think so.”
Rebecca must have thought the same thing as I did. And no matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t seem to be the case, so she questioned it and confessed the situation to me.
“You think that the Ivory Tower is up to something bad, that Arsene is in on it, and that there is another reason for holding the expo. That’s what you think.”
“… … .”
“Besides, all the cadets selected through the lottery this time are first-year students. If they were second or third-year students, they would be able to flexibly deal with any situation that might arise, but first-year students are not. Their ability to deal with an unexpected situation would inevitably be reduced.”
It’s as opaque as a curtain, but one thing is certain.
“It is certain that the first-year cadets participating in this magic engineering expo could be put at risk. Even if Arsene or the Ivory Tower did not intend it, it is true that they are exposed to unforeseen dangers.”
“If necessary, we may have some of the student council members who went on the preliminary investigation accompany you.”
“No, please don’t do that.”
I declined Rebecca’s offer.
“This time, we’ll go by ourselves. We’ll investigate everything, including the parts that Rebecca felt were unpleasant.”
Rebecca still looks at him with disapproving eyes, but this time there are too many people, so it’s no good.
In fact, even 10 people is an excessive number. It is also true that the more people there are, the more difficult it is to control them.
Finally, Rebecca took a step back. She glanced at the night view outside the window and asked softly.
“… Are you sure it’s okay?”
“It’ll be okay.”
Things would have been complicated if Kyle Evanstairs hadn’t been chosen by lottery, but fortunately, Kyle was selected to attend this year’s Magical Expo. The same goes for the other main characters, including Lara and Airi.
The only exception is me.
I ended up taking the spot of one of the extras who was supposed to accompany the main characters to the exhibition hall. This might be a blessing for him, since he was originally supposed to lose his life at this exhibition hall.
“If you still need help, please let me know. I can probably get two or three people to come with you.”
Rebecca, who was watching the night view, turned around. Before she left the room, I caught her.
“Hey, Rebecca.”
“…yes?”
My teeth chattered, but I held it in. The future was more important than the embarrassment right now.
“Before you go, could you please give me a magic transfusion?”
…there was no one else to ask.
***
The night view outside the window was splendid.
Across the Ariana River that runs through Arsen, the commercial city of Arpen can be seen in the distance.
Under that night view, I was holding Rebecca’s hand.
“… … .”
“… … .”
The situation was what it was, and the feeling was strange.
It would be shocking if the situation were reversed to ask for a magic transfusion as soon as you grab the person who came to you for help.
Even though it was a situation that was both incomprehensible and rude, Rebecca gave him a magical transfusion without saying a word.
He had a slightly strange expression on his face.
I used the trait [Mattan’s Shooter] while receiving Rebecca’s magic power. Every time my magic power was full, I refined one magic bullet.
Several bullets falling into the palm of your hand.
Each of them was a colorful matan with completely different properties. Rebecca watched me create the matan in amazement.
“Have you been making it like this all along?”
“There is also a way to generate it directly inside the gun.”
It was not a method used often because it was difficult to control the firepower.
I refined a total of five magic bullets. Unlike any magic bullets I’ve made so far, these were refined to the limit of magical power.
“ha…….”
Even for Rebecca, this level of magical power transfusion must have been tiring, as she let out a gasp of breath.
However, thanks to that, I was able to refine a few magic bullets that were outstanding in terms of firepower. They are not many, so I have to use them carefully, but with magic bullets of this quality, I’m sure they can deal effective damage to Mines.
I saw Rebecca off. I couldn’t repeat the same request over and over again, as it would be detrimental to Rebecca’s condition.
I have shame too.
An alternative would be to drink a potion and pump it out like a factory, but if I do that, my insides will be ruined before I can pump anything out.
“Thank you, Rebecca.”
“… … .”
Rebecca staggered out of the room, not even having the energy to respond.