Sniper's Stakeout on Hyeongmun Mountain
Fucking hell, beep beep beeping! Clutching my throbbing head, I slowly dragged myself upright. The sunlight streaming through the window made my bleary eyes water automatically. I gotta buy some blackout curtains. Yawning so wide my jaw ached, I shuffled to the fridge.
"Shit. My head's killing me."
At the wild after-party bash, Park Jisu went berserk. She bulldozed through our classmates' hands with that tiny frame of hers and latched onto me, pounding away. Guess that's why she's the class rep. A pint-sized powerhouse... Full of rage, her punches left me no choice but to surrender. The smartphone buzzing in my ear was probably capturing my humiliating defeat for posterity. Limping on my sore legs, I chugged some cold water, and my mind started clearing.
Then my eyes landed on the long metal case sitting alone in the living room.
At least she's sweet about it.
Unlike Cha Eun-woo, Park Jisu gets Association sponsorship, so at the end of the party, I begged her for a loaner. Click. A chill metallic snick as I opened the case revealed the M200 ShayTac sniper rifle, its long steel barrel gleaming proudly. Her main weapon.
Park Jisu's ability as class rep—Remote Strike—no one gave a damn about. It would've made her a killer sniper, but her small stature held her back.
'Little squirt can only yap so much.' What's the point of strength with those stubby limbs? I started fondling the well-worn rifle, getting a feel for it. Supplied by the Association, it was in pristine condition unlike civilian guns. With mana-toughened bodies, firearms had long been the domain of normals and 1st Awakenings. But the Association pushed one on her just in case, and that's when Park Jisu's power took off.
As a 2nd Awakening, her bullets carried mana, plus her Remote Strike trait boosted damage by distance. A fixed artillery piece, basically.
'That's why she signed with the Association... Or vice versa?'
Her shining moment? Sniping, of course. Overwhelming range paired with scaling power that even pro hunters couldn't handle. Up close, though... weak sauce.
Click. Tick! Dry-firing the cleaned rifle sent a light recoil through me. I borrowed her gear for one reason: mana. Skills run on mana. Training them hard and fast is standard. Master your personal ability, and you unlock body enhancement or mana bursts.
'But I can't feel mana flow.'
I groveled to classmates for tips, snuck peeks at my character window while testing—nothing. My power had zero mana ties; my dantian stayed dead silent.
So what now? Jump into a wuxia game. Mana or qi, same difference.
Truth is, wuxia worlds systematize energy better than reality. Learn flashy martial arts suited to me? Perfect. Midway through the party, I locked in my plan and grand-slamed Park Jisu, sulking in the corner surrounded by the girls. A quick phone check—yep, my feed was flooded. Assholes... I sighed, but whatever. Stroking the sniper rifle before me,
'Heh. Dumb chinks.' Useless against mana-spewing masters without a shooter's trait, but I wasn't aiming that high. A bullet from kilometers away would drop any non-expert martial artist. They're just qi-boosted normals, not superhumans. No fancy barriers—one headshot, lights out.
'If only I could wield mana...' Sighing, I plopped at my desk and booted the PC. Post-load, time to hunt games. Criteria: easy-to-grab ultimate martial arts opportunity for current-me power.
Greedy? Sure, but with endless games, one's bound to fit. How long did I scour forums? My eyes locked on a logo.
"Guizhou Canglong Sword."
Classic good-triumphs-evil RPG. Play as Namgung clan heir, star in the righteous-demonic war, become wuxia hero. Cliché, but steady seller vibes. What caught me? Not the player char—the NPC lead.
I skipped player stuff. No dev hands out opportunities to players; they want grind. 'Great martial arts and backing.' Smirking, I downloaded.
The player's library has been updated.
'As expected...' Spot-on. I printed the floating community lore dump. RPG means playing wastes time; zero interest in Namgung background.
'Swords are for slimy fucks like Cha Eun-woo. Real men like me are different.'
Stuffing my face, I dug into prep intel. Flipping pages, it hooked me like a story, not study. Hours later, outside was dark night; lore dump nearly done.
'This should do. Grab more later if needed.' Finally, I pulled survival gear from inventory, checking stocks. Destination: primitive ancient China. Pack heavy.
'Gonna be filthy as hell.' Shuddering at the chain of thoughts, I steeled myself. Primitive or not, wuxia world. Weak and no backing? Sliced like dog meat. Gotta dodge those cliché blackouts turning me into Kang San dumplings.
The service for Guizhou Canglong Sword has opened.
Please set the character's background and viewpoint.
I exhaled slowly, applying my prepped settings.
"Login."
+++
Eyes snapping open to vast mountains, I moved out. Location: Hyeongmun Mountain near Dongjeong Lake. Here, an NPC rises from first-rate to peak realm, debuting as lead—his opportunity spot.
No exact date, so early entry accounting for season... 'Survival class from freshman year paying off.'
I snuck into a nearby village, swiping clothes and cash. Mostly empty houses—women in fields—so smooth op. No bras back then; jiggling tits stirred me, but their faces killed the mood.
'Skinny from malnutrition, but curves extreme. Bet they reek.' No frequent baths; even close, the stench would hit. Sour grapes? Nah, no sweaty-crotch pussy for me. Filthy for sure. My dick's precious.
Shivering, I hurried to Hyeongmun peak. After grueling climb, I scouted. Beautiful waterfall, rugged peaks everywhere. Lore: scant lines. Cave overlooks peak; early summer midday. Timing about right, two weeks out.
Patience game now. Gulping fresh air, I pitched tent, prepped camp.
'Ramen first.'
+++
Triiing! Triiing! Wristwatch alarm yanked me from my book; I grabbed the rifle spot. Nine days on Hyeongmun peak. Sick of the grind routine.
Machine-like: Wake, inventory breakfast, scope sweep mountain 10am-2pm. Then movies/books on laptop if clear. Battery dead; rereading books and lore.
'Fuck. Wrong time setting?' Lore said "midday" sun overhead. Banking on it, but anxiety crept. Not two weeks yet. Duty calls...
Scoping routine, something felt off.
'What the?'
Sensing anomaly, I watched. Through leaves, sparkling NPC nickname. Swallowing a cheer, I steadied, chambered round.
Come on already, don't torture me.
"Let's go, customer."
His wild-animal zigzags through mountains drew awe. First-rate warrior, yet flashy movement? C-grade hunter like me in reality... Right spot.
'Qinggong pro...'
Twenty minutes of aerial show, he halted. Scope showed rugged terrain, tiny cave ahead; NPC marveled. Confirmed—my finger hugged the trigger without hesitation.