Peekaboo Snipe Debut
[Will you exit the training ground?]
Will you exit the training ground?
I took Jenny back to the room.
"Gasp!"
- Pat pat pat...
As if remembering the rules of conduct, Jenny put as much distance between us as possible.
- Snap!
She was standing right up against the wall, facing it.
That extreme?
I figured explaining the details in depth would be too complicated, so I glossed over my HP 1.
Something like, my body is extremely frail, so I could die if anything goes wrong?
- "H-Huh! You can't die! Absolutely not!"
That horrified expression she had back then. After that, it seemed like she was constantly drilling it into herself not to even let a hair touch me.
What is the life of a sniper?
Shooting well? Of course that's important, but...
No risk.
Not getting caught is the top priority.
In that sense, always being one step from death makes me extra sensitive to these things.
I was tinkering with my gun in the corner of the room when the thought suddenly hit me.
Fuck. If I only shoot from here, won't they eventually track me down?
There's no guarantee that holing up in this one-room forever keeps me safe.
The problem is 'unregistered location pinpointing.'
In some comic, there was an S-rank assassin who could kill remotely by writing names in a black notebook.
- "Yooou... right around heeere, huh...?"
He gets into crisis when an S(EX)-rank genius brain pins down his rough location.
- "This broadcast... is only airing in Tokyo...? (Sweat)"
It became possible by establishing a sample of murders happening from a 'specific location.'
And I'm firing from this limited one-room spot. And I have to keep doing it.
The shelter getting exposed is absolutely unacceptable. I don't even want to imagine it.
Eventually, I'd be too scared of getting caught to even fire a single shot out the window.
Jenny's addition was designed to address exactly this anxiety.
Our operation is simple.
Jenny connects space, Kim Yu-hee peeks a shot. Done.
Essential elements: 'stealth' and 'target location intel.'
'Stealth' is my skill, so controllable, and it even grows with levels. Pass.
The issue is 'target location intel'...
"Jenny. If you only know either the location or the image, space magic might not be precise, right?"
"Y-Yes... I'm sorry. I'll really try harder."
"No."
That's the problem. Both image and location need to be clearly recognized for best results.
Honestly, rough locations can be handled with Google Earth.
- "Huuuh! You can really see everywhere so vividly?! More amazing than magic!"
- "Nah, not quite. It's not real-time, so it's like... roughly this location and this image."
I explained, and Jenny said, 'Even this much is a huge help!'
Not perfectly accurate, but knowing 'this is where it is' is plenty useful.
Plus, Jenny's magic growth looks promising as a positive variable.
Then,
"Gasp! Something dangerous!"
Jenny, waiting beside me for orders, jumped in shock.
"Haaah."
Terror incidents have been exploding lately. Probably Necrophilia.
I brushed off the feeling that they were doing this to catch me.
It was too widespread—not targeting me specifically, just causing chaos across Seoul.
Wait.
Villain movements shared in real-time via Hunter Universe.
Far from my shelter.
"Jenny, that building rooftop way over there. The one we tested from the training ground earlier. Can you do it?"
"Th-that one? Ah! Yes! I can!"
Since we'd tested it in training and she'd seen it with her own eyes in reality, her confidence was up.
Even I'm more confident since it's a practiced spot. With stealth from the rooftop, I can use it in real combat once.
Just my gun, of course. I never go out.
With that, Jenny knelt, closed her eyes, and focused.
- Woooong...
Sure enough, spatial distortion formed in my one-room.
Without saying a word to Jenny, I ever so slightly...
Don't tense up. It's just peeking the gun out. Just the gun...
Active (00:59...)
I extended just my sniper rifle and scope through the distortion point while stealthed. Then,
- Baaaang...
"Kyaaack!"
Sounds I couldn't hear from the shelter echoed vividly in my ears.
I was truly peering through the scope from the precise rooftop edge distortion point.
Damn. It really works. Pull back?
Scary as hell. Even if it was an empty rooftop with just the gun out...
Then,
- Kuooooh...
I spotted a villain herding three undead orcs.
Obviously exec-level, standing out.
Certified hunters rushed into combat from afar.
The problem?
This... people are about to die right in front of me?
Civilians cornered between buildings—over five by rough count. The undead orcs clearly aimed to kill them.
Too urgent; certified hunters couldn't cover the civilians.
I confirmed nothing around.
Active (00:41...)
- Click.
This counts as test-firing too.
Should save the people dying in front of me.
Hold on.
- Rat-a-tat. Rat-a-tat.
I zoomed the scope to 3.5x. Cornered civilians trembling in terror, undead orcs closing in.
I aimed at the villain controlling the undead orcs.
You first, die.
That seemed the key strike.
"Huuuuh."
Active (00:34...)
Fully relaxed, I aimed at the villain.
- Phut...!
Fired.
- Paaaang!
Missed again. Fucking thing.
Despite practice, the undead orc right next to the villain exploded.
But the villain flinched hard, scanning around.
Orcs wavered too.
Active (00:22...)
Okay. Hunters can handle it now.
Hunters nearly there. My job mostly done, but
You, take another.
Time left, so one more shot.
- Puuuung!
This one hit the villain, exploding him.
Hunters arrived simultaneously. One team mopped up weakened undead orcs, while others scanned around in confusion or even backed away.
I helped you guys. Don't forget...
Active (00:07...)
Little time left, so I pulled back through the distortion to my room corner.
"Huff. Huff. Huh."
"What happened, Captain? Was there a problem? Did I make a mistake...?"
"No."
Tension. Training and real combat feel totally different.
Even though my body didn't leave, just connecting to outside the shelter freaks me out...
Plus, I ended up sniping for real.
Still, one gain: nothing beats real experience.
Shelter-hidden operation. This works.
I fully got the feel.
Huge success just now. Sniping from a rooftop decently far from my one-room.
Even sniping from that building to a spot clearly far away.
Impossible to trace my activity range.
In training, I'd planned several peek snipe points including that rooftop.
To make position impossible to estimate.
But operating only in Seoul could still be an issue.
Expand range gradually. Go provincial, nationwide activity.
Using Google Earth and such to expand safely. Bonus: more gate clears, faster levels, more survival options.
Decision made,
"Jenny! Good job!"
"!!!"
First sense of accomplishment since awakening, so I praised Jenny who made it all possible.
She froze, eyes wide round.
? Why so surprised?
Then,
"What the hell?"
Why's it dominating every hunter's status window?
Uneasy, I read the breaking news.
"???"
Summary:
A black dragon will totally wreck Seoul.
If we don't catch the apostles quick...
Please. What fresh bullshit is this?
A few hours later.
Seoul
Hunter Management Bureau – Emergency Ops Room
Kim Chun-gyu had gone ahead and announced the apostles' appearance.
Rumors already spread worldwide via intel channels. Might as well go public instead of hiding it.
Except the egg's location—kept classified for ops.
We can do this.
Apostle extermination.
Invasion suppression.
Both simultaneously.
Invasion focused on Seoul, growing in scale and density. Team 2 regulars heavily deployed for suppression, defending Seoul core.
High-rankers fixed on anti-apostle ops. But
"Second apostle located! Nearby high-rankers..."
Apostles appeared in the 'provinces.' Not Seoul.
Main forces dispersed.
Intent clear.
Strategic. Annoyingly so.
Lure big hunters away from Cartibes' egg.
Kim Chun-gyu assigned high-rankers to apostles.
"Contact high-rankers by distance. Private guilds too—we got prior buy-in!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
Unregistered helped us before, but no guarantee ongoing.
Can't base strategy on him.
"I believe. I believe."
Kim Chun-gyu prayed.
For high-rankers to do their part.
That moment,
Busan
Rank 2 - [Certified Management Bureau] Kim Chi-gon
Kim Chi-gon, yakuza tattoos and clutch bag.
Ombros, the so-called apostle, stood before him.
Already gruesomely murdered five or six citizens. Notable: no shadows on the corpses.
One more eye-catching thing.
"Fuck. Why me two? Gonna die tired."
Quest clearly one apostle [0/1].
But two visible. What gives.
"Worship..."
"Heeek, scary! Looks scary!"
One huge as Kim Chi-gon's build, solid-looking, eyeless, reeking death. Victim's thigh clutched like a club.
The other, basketball-sized coward on its shoulder. Multiple eyes. Drool fountain from mouth.
"Don't care. All come at me. You fucks."
Kim Chi-gon's face pure rage as he rolled up his sleeves again.
That moment,
Kim Chi-gon and shadow apostles battling. Far, insignificant, ordinary... tree stump deep in the mountains.
- Woooong...
A subtle, heat-haze-like distortion began forming.
Perfectly overlooking their fight vividly.
End