The Villain is Too Good at Sniping - Chapter 132



Only Noblemtl

Episode 132

Episode 132. Blue (1)

It took four full days until the gate was closed.

“Water! There’s no water!”

“What else do you need besides water?”

“I need something like a quick meal that I can eat inside the gate… … .”

“The jerky in front of you will be enough.”

Kyle and Serin Annette, who had set out to conquer the ruins, showed up almost once a day. Because the ruins were quite deep and difficult, they were not able to advance as fast as they had hoped.

“How far did you push today?”

“In front of the third stone statue. If I could just break through there, I think I could get through it quickly, but the puzzle is too complicated, which is a problem. I wouldn’t know if Senior Edel was with me.”

“If you really don’t know, look around the place where the statue is looking. The ancients wouldn’t have placed the statues just anywhere.”

“… I’ll take note of it.”

Kyle came out of the ruins every day to report the situation. He must have felt a great sense of responsibility for the gate raid, but his expression was always dead whenever he came out.

“By the way, Zion, are the other kids okay?”

“As for the other kids… well. I bet they’re having a good rest at the professors’ camp?”

Lara Steelheiden and Ashley Silvergarden also showed up exhausted. I don’t know how things are going inside the gate, but it seems like they’re having a hard time.

“Everyone is holding up well, so don’t worry about this place and just focus on conquering.”

A dungeon break has already occurred.

Dungeon Breaks will occur periodically until the gate closes, and if monsters escape elsewhere, a large-scale search operation will need to be conducted.

That is why the faculty and students are setting up camp in front of the ruins. The punitive force stationed at the ruins responds as soon as the monster appears, and they are defeated on the spot to prevent them from leaving the island.

Although the original purpose of the training had already changed significantly by the time I received help from the professors, this was still a valuable practical experience. I also stopped by the ruins with Airi and prevented the dungeon break.

… And so, four full days passed.

The ruins, which resembled a giant temple, shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred, then reassembled themselves and changed their shape. There was a huge commotion, and the professors led their students out of the ruins.

“This concludes the training. Thank you all for your hard work, cadets.”

A cruise ship carrying students departed. I saw a tropical island covered in green from above. As I looked at it, I thought I understood why it was called the Green Hell.

There were no deaths, no injuries, and the end-of-semester survival training ended successfully. This marked the end of the first semester and the end of this main quest.

[Complete Main Quest: End of Semester Survival Training]

? Defeat the Mountain Lord, Owlbear: Defeat Owlbear (Complete)

?Uncover the Secrets of the Island: Ancient Ruins of Alkenis (Completed)

? Survive until training ends: Survival Check (Complete)

?Basic Reward: All stat points +0.4

?Additional Reward: Magic Power +330

? Additional goal achievement reward: Talent experience +100, Slight increase in stamina regeneration

* Overall rating: A

***

The end-of-semester survival training has ended, and all first-year cadets who were on the tropical island have returned to Arsene.

When I came to my senses, I was back at the Grand Saint Hall. It felt like I had been on a deserted island for over a month.

Next to me, Lara Steelheiden looked at the instructor with wide eyes.

“Is it really over?”

“Yes, this concludes the end-of-semester survival training. The final exam’s practical ability assessment is also over.”

However, the instructor added that even if you have completed the practical exam, you must take the written exam.

“But I think the number of cadets here is a bit small.”

“There are still many cadets who haven’t finished their training yet. Those who finish their training the fastest will have to wait a little longer.”

“Will you finish as soon as possible…? Us?”

Lara shakes her head, saying that it can’t be true.

“Usually, those who land on tropical islands are the last to finish, so this is a special case.”

Lara wasn’t the only one with a dumbfounded expression.

However, the cadets cheered in unison at the instructor’s next announcement.

“Until the other cadets finish their training, you may spend your time freely.”

“Instructor! The phrase ‘spending time freely’ is difficult to understand.”

“I mean, you can literally spend your time freely. There will be no classes or training until all the other cadets finish their training. Now that you’ve finished your final exams, you’ll need that much rest.”

but.

“However, if you drink alcohol or do anything that violates the rules on campus, you will be penalized immediately upon being caught. That’s all I want to convey.”

Cadets who completed their end-of-semester survival training on a tropical island enjoyed a brief period of free time while the other cadets completed their training.

… Five days passed like that.

The cadets who completed their training began to return to Arsen. While the cadets who were dropped on the tropical island, including Kyle, had five days to regroup, many of them suffered during survival training.

Although the professors did not officially reveal it, there is actually a deadline for the end-of-semester survival training. If certain conditions are not met by the date set by Arsene, the training will be stopped there and the cadets will be forcibly recalled.

Of course, in this case, the score also goes down. Cadets who somehow managed to survive will be able to avoid failure with just their survival score, but since they are not that different from other cadets, they are just average. Those people will end up having to take the written exam.

Cadets who completed the end-of-semester survival training immediately took a written exam.

“Then, we will begin the written exam for the end-of-semester evaluation. I hope you will show us all the skills you have accumulated and refined so far.”

I took the test paper that was handed to me from the front seat. It was locked with a sealing technique, so I couldn’t look at it before the test started.

But I could see the flow of mana that made up the sealing technique. I could see what it was made of, so I could probably cut it with a dagger.

Of course, this is just a story of how it might work out, not of actually doing it. I calmly put the test paper down and moved the remaining papers to the back of the seat.

“ah…….”

It seemed as if I heard Airi’s voice swallowing her sleep from somewhere.

***

Arsene’s cafe terrace, the afternoon after the written exam.

“Elin. How did your exam go?”

“Well… judging from the answers I’ve given, it seems like I got half of them right, but also half of them I didn’t. What about you, Kyle?”

“I haven’t tried it yet. Ashley said it would be better not to try it?”

“What do you mean it would be better not to try?”

“I said there was no need to match it. It was obvious even without looking.”

Kyle puffed out his chest proudly, while Ellen’s expression was crumpled.

“Aren’t you relying too much on the practical exam?”

“Oh, it’s not really like that?”

“What if you don’t get enough points on the practical exam? You failed the written exam last time too. You’ll end up failing the grade.”

“It’s okay. I told you it would be okay.”

Kyle Evanstairs, still full of unfounded confidence. This guy is impossible to talk to for the time being. Elin finally shook her head.

“I don’t know. You’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t know. Okay, let’s go eat.”

Kyle, who had been walking briskly, looked back at me as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh, right. Then see you next time, Zion. Let’s have a meal then.”

“Okay. Have a nice trip.”

Kyle drags Elin out as soon as I greet him.

Actually, I was offered to join in on the after-party, but I gently declined. I felt a bit embarrassed to be in the company of Ashili, Elin, Lara, and others who had helped me successfully complete the survival training at the end of this semester.

It would be better to leave the main characters’ stage as the main characters’ stage. Instead, I have another promise.

[Isabel: Where are you now, Zion?]

[Zion: I’m at the cafe terrace.]

[Zion: Could you please come here, Father Isabelle?]

[Isabelle: Ah… … .]

[Isabel: This isn’t something you should share in a crowded setting.]

[Isabel: If possible, I’d like to talk privately in a quiet place.]

‘…Move seats?’

A question mark appeared in my head.

But soon I was able to guess quickly. The part where they said they wanted to meet separately was the clue.

If Priestess Isabel asked to meet with me alone, it would be a secret that no one else should know about. I wrote down a reply immediately.

[Zion: Then I’ll see you at the guest house.]

[Isabel: Can we go to the same place as last time?]

[Zion: Yes. That’s the only safe place.]

There’s no place safer than a guesthouse with restricted access. I’ll have to check on Rebecca separately to prevent another unfortunate incident like last time.

[Isabel: Okay. See you later.]

I closed the chat window and drank the coffee on the table in one gulp. It had a bitter aftertaste, but it wasn’t as bitter as the life I lived in this world.

‘Time flies.’

I originally thought it would happen a little later, so I marked it separately in my summer vacation schedule.

One of the main events of Act 2.

An incident that caused friction between the current Pope Benedict II and Arsene, leading to a major turmoil and ultimately the collapse of the existing Holy Order and the establishment of a new one.

The Holy Order has finally caused trouble.

***

The top floor of the guest house.

I had a private meeting with Father Isabelle for the first time in a long time.

“I’m sorry for calling you out so suddenly, Sion. It must have been that important.”

Isabel was the first to bow her head. Her pale face clearly showed how much she had been struggling with this issue.

“Do you remember what you said last time?”

“Are you talking about reforming the Holy Order?”

Isabel was speechless. It seemed as if she was debating whether it was right for her, a mere priest, to say something, or whether it was right for her to talk to an outsider here.

I tried to pour a drink that I had prepared in advance to at least relieve some of the tension.

“Just a moment.”

But Isabel stopped my hand. Then she took a long glass of wine from her bosom.

“Because I have something better.”

“Is it okay for a priest to drink alcohol… …?”

“If I don’t drink something, I don’t think I’ll be able to talk.”

Well then… I guess there’s nothing I can do.

Isabel deftly opened the lid and poured the liquor into the glass I had brought out earlier. The glass was filled to the brim with dark blue liquid.

“under.”

Isabel drank it in one gulp and looked as if she could finally live.

“There was an accident at the Holy Church.”

“Accident?”

“Yes. That was an accident that resulted in casualties. However, because the scale of the incident was large and many things were intertwined… … .”

There is no one to share the story that occurred within the Holy Order. As I said before, even if you try to tell the higher-ups, they cut you off in the middle, and the same priests do not believe Isabel’s words.

The male priest who came with Isabel was the same. He was so devout that he denied reality, saying that such a thing could not have happened.

Because Isabel had no one to vent her frustrations to, she came to me one last time. She thought I would listen to her story since I knew the corruption of the Holy Order and our interests aligned.

“That’s how it started. The heretic inquisitor caught someone, but when he actually caught them, he wasn’t a mine, but just an ordinary person.”

This is just one of the countless incidents that have occurred so far. There have been countless instances of the Inquisitor’s judgment being wrong.

“But, that’s a bit… … .”

“Are you saying it’s suspicious?”

“Yes. It’s strange. It’s as if the evidence was set from the beginning and then all the circumstances were put together to fit that.”

“… … .”

They set the right answer and fit the target into it. Since they set the right answer from the beginning, appealing to the higher-ups won’t work. They’ll just be ignored by a stronger power.

It was the so-called ‘Dapjeongneo-style’ work.

“So I searched around and found out, and as expected… … .”

Isabel looked at me, probably worried that what she said next might offend me.

“You were involved with Esperland, right?”

“…yes.”

Isabel, who had been fiddling with the glass, lowered her head. She continued talking, looking only at her feet.

“I saw with my own eyes how the Holy Church buried people. I thought it was impossible, but it was true.”

“It’s not that I didn’t trust Zion. I just wanted to believe that it wasn’t true. But the Holy Church wasn’t a religious group that worshipped Aad.”

“A corrupt religious group that only uses the name of Aad… No, it’s not a religious group.”

Words filled with terrible self-loathing. Priest Isabel’s voice trembled and then sank low.

“A pigsty of monsters who seek to fulfill their own desires in the name of God… … .”

However, Isabel could not finish her words. She drank the wine without saying a word. After this was repeated two or three times in a row, I gently grabbed Isabel’s hand and stopped her.

“What do you want to do, priest? You didn’t come here to talk and have a drink together.”

“I am…….”

Isabel’s eyes, raised as she did so, were filled with disillusionment, insult, and anger.

“I want to destroy the Holy Church.”