The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 128



Only Noblemtl

Episode 128. Dungeon Break (1)

Serin Annette still has her spear pointed at me. Kai Alma and Gardner Meridian are still wary of us, but they haven’t taken the initiative.

Kyle Ivanstairs, Esili, and Elin also did not back down. While the six of them raised their weapons at each other, I was the only one who faced Serin Annette without drawing my weapon.

“I can’t believe everything you say. I need to see it with my own eyes.”

Serin Annette had not backed down yet. Esili, unable to stand by any longer, shouted.

“Why did you send me into the cave knowing what you were going to do?”

“I am only trying to determine whether Zion Illionheart’s words are true or not.”

“You might suddenly try to kill me!”

“Elin, you’re a bit… …!”

However, both Serin Annette and Kyle are still immature. They lack practical sense and experience, and it takes a long time for them to make decisions.

“What’s there to complicate? Serene Annette.”

And above all, I lack patience.

“You can just knock them all down and check. I clearly remember you saying that with your own mouth, so why are you just wasting time here?”

Gardner clenched his fists. Kai Alma snapped his neck and glared at Elin. The two cadets waiting behind also raised their mace and short staffs.

Likewise, Kyle, Elin, and Ashley, who were standing across from me, also finished preparing. They exchanged glances and gave me a signal with their eyes.

A gesture to attack at once. I was about to put my hand on the holster when I realized that this wasn’t enough.

“I…….”

Before I knew it, Airi was walking out from inside the cave.

“Is that… is this enough?”

Iri de Sugarmond glanced at me first, then approached Serene Annette straight away.

Esili flinched. So did Serin Annette, Elin, and Kyle.

In Airi’s arms was an owl bear the size of a soccer ball. It almost looked like she was holding a teddy bear.

Unlike the adult owlbear we faced earlier, this small entity poses no threat.

Of course, when this owlbear grows up, it will be as big and ferocious as its mother, but at least not for now. It is just a baby owlbear with a small beak.

“Of course! They’ll grow up to be vicious later on! But not now, right? Even if the goal of this training was to subdue the demons, I don’t think they’d tell me to catch the cubs.”

The owl bear in my arms yawned slightly.

A harmless, tiny, yet ferocious little devil. However, at least among them, there is no one who would readily raise a spear or sword after seeing that appearance.

In the original work, there was a description that someone attached to Serin Annette secretly released a few puppies. At the time, it was just used as another source of conflict, but things are different now.

The silence was long. Gardner and Kai Alma frowned, and Airi mouthed something to me.

‘Is this enough?’

‘Probably so.’

As I carefully removed my hand from the holster, Kai Alma turned her head away. Gardner Meridian also turned around, spitting on the floor.

Even if he had a bad personality, it would have been impossible to mess with him. That’s why he was able to be a comrade in the original work. At least he wasn’t a villain.

And Celine Annette, who was looking down at the ground with the most disturbed expression.

“… … .”

Eventually, the window was put up.

***

We didn’t talk to each other separately.

Serin Annette and her group descended first, and we returned Owlbear safely to the cave before we descended the slope.

However, Kyle still felt uneasy and couldn’t stay still throughout the descent.

“…Is it okay?”

“Iri showed it to you herself. You wouldn’t touch me unless you were crazy.”

“I think so too, but Serene Annette didn’t say anything.”

“Gardner and Kaido, who were there, shook their heads, but would Serin Annette really step forward on her own? She should have just stayed still, at least for the sake of the others.”

Airi, whose name was called, scratched her cheek as if embarrassed. I was honestly surprised that she disappeared without a trace, but she took the risk and came carrying Owlbear.

I was willing to pull the trigger if necessary. I wasn’t going to fire a live round, but I was willing to at least fire a warning shot.

In the end, it turned out well, but that made it impossible to know how things would turn out in the future.

One thing that is certain is that the conflict between Kyle and Serin will not be as deep as in the original. That alone is a blessing. Serin may not have thought it, but this incident has brought her one big step closer to completing her end-of-semester survival training.

Unlike the climb up, the descent was quick and easy. The humid air of the rainforest was still unpleasant, but the cool breeze on the way down made it bearable.

The moment we successfully completed the Owlbear subjugation and were returning to camp.

Quagmire?!

Everyone in the group except me flinched at the sudden thunder. Kyle cautiously looked up in the direction where the sound came from. I also followed Kyle’s gaze and looked at the sky.

The sky, which I thought would naturally be covered with dark clouds, was clear without a single cloud. Kyle tilted his head for a moment.

“What… … ? Didn’t it just thunder?”

The moment Kyle turned around, lightning struck and set the giant tree on fire. It was literally a bolt from the blue. The fact that the thunder came first was an unusual phenomenon that did not occur naturally.

“Acili, can lightning actually strike without dark clouds?”

“It’s not impossible, but I don’t know. It seems a little strange.”

“…I didn’t see things wrong, did I?”

“…I saw it too, so I’m sure.”

Kyle and Ashlee looked at the top of the mountain where Owlbear had been. The white giant tree was visible from afar, burning like a beacon.

“I remember it was like that last time too.”

“I think it’s a man-made phenomenon. It’s a bit strange that lightning only strikes that place. And it only happens twice a day, in the afternoon and at night… … .”

Esili rested her chin on her hand.

“Perhaps, you think that’s a hint that Arsene is giving us… … ?”

The clue that would have been realized much later, after bickering with Serin Annette, was now brought to Ashley and Kyle’s attention. The final stage of this training that everyone had been waiting for had been brought forward by several days.

With unnecessary conflicts eliminated, the green light has been given. Now it’s time for Kyle to join forces with Serin Annette to investigate the giant tree on top and discover the secrets of the island.

“What do you think? Zion, you must have seen it too.”

“I think maybe?”

I was planning to take a step back and watch quietly from a suitable distance, but if you point me out like this, I have no choice but to accept it. It was the moment I was about to say a word to Esili.

[Sudden event occurs!]

The island’s veins have been stimulated by an unknown energy. The following effects apply.

-Intermittent dungeon breaks occur in the center of the island.

-At night, the aggression of the demons living on the island increases by 60%.

-The ridges become unstable and some artifacts in the ancient ruins begin to malfunction.

Along with the lightning that struck the mountaintop a moment ago, this is a bolt from the blue.

… Yes, this is hell. This is what it deserves to be called hell.

I wondered why things were going so well. This was a world where solving one problem would cause another problem to arise, or things would get tangled up and lead to an unexpected result. But things were going as planned, so I temporarily forgot about that obvious fact.

The original surprise event was something that came unexpectedly. That’s why it was a surprise event, and it was something that reminded me every time that this world’s difficulty was hell.

But I couldn’t focus on the content of the sudden event that suddenly came to mind because Airi shouted next to me before I could properly interpret the text.

“Zion! What should I do with that?!”

Airi de Sugarmond jumped up and down, covering my mouth. I turned my head in the direction Airi was pointing.

A camp set up on the beach was on fire.

***

Same time. Camp on the beach.

Chloe Garnet and Lara Stillheiden, who were left behind in the inn, were suddenly attacked by monsters.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden! I never said anything like that… … !”

“Don’t you know?! Sion said it would definitely be okay, so why?!”

The barrier set up on the nearby shore suddenly reacted. Lara Steelheiden immediately responded and witnessed dozens of small and medium-sized monsters appearing from the forest.

Their appearance was clearly different from the demons I had seen on this island so far. Those that appeared in the forest resembled chimeras seen at the magic expo rather than living creatures.

As Lara Steelheiden desperately fought to keep the monsters at bay, sparks flew from all over the place, hitting the pile of firewood she had prepared in advance.

The small flame began to grow bigger and bigger, threatening to engulf the entire camp. As the flames neared the dormitory, Chloe Garnet canceled the area-of-effect spell she had been casting.

“Lara! Fire! We have to put out the fire first!”

At the same time, they tried to put out the fire by pouring sand frantically, but it didn’t have much effect. The fire was burning faster than it was being extinguished.

“It’s too much right now! If I back out from here, I might lose everything I have here!”

“It would be the same whether I get trampled by a monster or burn to death! What the heck?!”

Paaang!

Chloe stumbled back and fell over as the fireworks shot out like firecrackers. Lara, who was maintaining the barrier, could not retreat. If Lara retreated, the monsters wandering around the camp would all attack at once.

If the opponent was a cadet, they could easily block the two. Even if several demons attacked, I was confident that I could repel them.

“Lord Zion… … .”

However, being attacked by dozens of monsters is a whole other level.

The hastily constructed camp is not yet ready to fight against the enemy. The barricades are still half-built and I heard that they are scheduled to undergo major repairs after today’s inspection.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

If things continue like this, the camp will burn down. As despair began to bloom in the eyes of the two people defending the camp, several gunshots were heard.

A beam of light poured down like a shotgun and pierced through several monsters in one blow. Only then did Chloe come to her senses. Now was not the time to panic.

“Everyone is outside! Let’s go help!”

Lara Steelheiden shrinks the barrier. At the same time, she casts the spell she was casting, Blizzard. The pouring ice picks intercept the monsters outside the barrier.

Chloe Garnet leaped out of the barrier like a flying horse. As the rest of the group fought the monsters, Zion Illionheart’s expression was distorted.

“…Lord Zion?”

Only after calling her name did Zion turn to look at Chloe. But her expression was not good. She looked quite angry.

“Why is that?”

“No, nothing.”

But Zion dismissed the conversation. He pulled the slide and looked at the distant sky as if it was not the time to talk.

“First, let’s stop this monster and then talk.”

Zion disappears with Glock still in his hand.

Chloe frowned as she looked in the direction Zion had been looking. The sky was clear without a single cloud. However, Chloe, who did not have [Clairvoyance], could not see anything.