Chapter 68. How a Sniper Commits Massacre.
Chapter 68. How a Sniper Commits Massacre.
Judging solely by her present attitude, this was unmistakably an act of tyranny.
Anyone would feel rebellious — but Atel felt not the slightest hesitation about forcing her will on others.
No matter how unreasonable she was being, the moment her name reached people's ears, they invariably yielded their place to her.
After all, she was an S-rank who had earned the right to behave precisely that way.
'What is this little brat even talking about right now.'
That was why Atel could only see the woman in front of her — no, the being so small she deserved to be called a girl — as insolent.
Not only had she refused to step aside after the first remark, which was arrogant enough, but she was carrying on as if she genuinely had no idea who Atel was.
"...Brat, you're an adventurer, aren't you."
"I am not a brat. I am Heira."
"I couldn't care less about your name. Just answer the question. Are you an adventurer or not?"
Atel's voice was laced with open irritation.
Heira felt a twinge of confusion at the sharp glare leveled at her, but decided to answer first.
"Yes. I became an adventurer recently."
As it happened, she was not yet familiar with human society.
Perhaps the person in front of her was annoyed because of something she herself had overlooked. With that in mind, she tried to approach cautiously — but from Atel's perspective, that kind of oblivious attitude simply grated on her nerves even more.
"...Ha. So that's it. I was wondering what your deal was, and it turns out you're just a greenhorn."
Certainly, her features were delicate but she looked young, and more than anything — unlike herself — her attire was exceedingly plain.
A black cloak and the leather clothes concealed beneath it; that was all.
Anyone looking would assume she was the descendant of some hopeless rural village hunter who scraped by catching wild game in the mountains, only just now setting foot on the path of an adventurer after drifting into the city.
"You should at least know your place. I'm an S-rank Adventurer, with experience going all the way to the front lines in the war against the Demon King's Army."
Her presence in this city, far from the front lines, was purely a matter of nearby business.
She had stopped by this archery range on a whim to refresh herself — so did this greenhorn even realize how disrespectful it was to waste time squabbling with her in a place like this?
'That should be more than enough for her to learn her place.'
After all, she was an adventurer who had risen to S-rank.
Since she had every right to assert her privileges, the other party ought to bow their head and crawl even if they found it unreasonable. That was only natural.
"If you have experience going to war, does that give you the right to take someone else's spot?"
"What...."
"Why?"
To ask why in this situation — was this girl actually trying to toy with her?
"If you're an S-rank Adventurer, do you get to give orders to someone who just became an adventurer? Even though you're not a king?"
No, that wasn't it.
In the face staring back at her, there was not a single trace of what could be called malice or complaint.
This girl genuinely did not understand what she was being told — what it actually meant when a superior like herself told a novice to "know her place and crawl."
"...I knew you were from some rural backwater, but I didn't think you'd be this clueless."
Tsk. Clicking her tongue, Atel grabbed the bow strapped to her back and began nocking a practice arrow — one provided by the range — onto the string.
"Fine. If that's how it is, I'll show you firsthand exactly why you have to do as I say."
The bowstring drew taut in step with her confident voice.
Her stance alone was so precise and poised it could be called the very model of an archer, and the result matched.
—Twang!
The arrow, loosed with the crisp snap of the string, buried itself dead center in the target set far across the range.
Hitting a target accurately with a single attack — One Shot One Kill — was one of the fundamental qualifications of a sniper.
By not missing her first shot, Atel had more or less proven her worth.
"In principle, if you've picked up a bow, you ought to be able to land the first shot perfectly without error. Wouldn't you call it a waste to provide space and time to people who can't even manage that much?"
Of course, reaching her current level had demanded constant practice.
But wasn't it the natural order to cede time and space for that practice to whoever was more skilled?
"Is that all you have to do?"
Of course, if the girl still didn't understand even after being shown, Atel could simply watch her next arrows miss miserably in a fit of resentment and mock her, and that would be the end of it.
A raw beginner could never fire as perfectly as she could. Swaggering with that certainty, Atel began sweeping back her sleek hair.
"Yeah, that's a level a beginner like you can't even dream of right now. Maybe if you work at it for about ten years..."
—Fwoosh!
An arrow cut her words short as it launched.
The string of the shortbow in Heira's hand snapped forward, and the arrow that received its momentum embedded itself deep into the target.
Precisely dead center — exactly where Atel's had landed.
"...Done."
Having displayed that skill, Heira quietly lowered her shortbow and looked back at Atel once again.
Unlike Atel, who had felt a surge of pride seeing her arrow lodged in the center, Heira behaved as though landing a first-shot bullseye was truly beneath notice.
"Can I keep shooting here now?"
Faced with Heira, who stated her own intent as calmly as if she had ignored the entire preceding exchange, Atel felt a surge of fury and began twisting the bow in her hand.
"Haha, this cheeky little... Fine. So you sharpened your skills a bit hunting in the mountains. Is that it?"
The moment the mana imbued in her body began rampaging wildly in response to her will,
the other patrons of the archery range, noticing the commotion it caused, began gathering one by one around the spot where Heira and Atel stood.
"Huh? Look over there! Isn't that the Crystal Princess?"
"Why would such a big shot be in this city?"
"Anyway, I just saw it — that little girl over there hit dead center on the target, just like the Crystal Princess did."
"Dead center on her first shot? That girl must be a pretty incredible expert herself."
"What's going on? Is it a duel?"
"The Crystal Princess... in a duel!?"
A stir ran through the crowd.
The commotion around them grew moment by moment.
Atel, however, welcomed the noise.
"Alright. Since it's come to this, how about we have a match."
"...A match?"
"You've got no intention of backing down from here anyway, right? Then let's just settle it with a match, and the loser bows out gracefully."
If she taught this girl her place in front of everyone, then no matter how ignorant and clueless this rookie was, she would realize who she had picked a fight with and learn to bow her head on her own.
"If I win this match, can I use this lane?"
And just as she expected, this dense brat was prepared to accept her proposal without much thought.
That must be because the girl thought hitting the center earlier was the full extent of her opponent's abilities.
"Of course. Provided you can actually beat me, that is."
What a complacent judgment.
Did she think, in the first place, that Atel could have risen to S-rank merely by hitting one accurate shot?
"Then, what kind of match will it be..."
"Shut up and watch."
Brushing Heira off, Atel concentrated her power into her bow.
Soon mana gathered densely in her hands and converged into the bow, beginning the preparations for the attack to come.
"I'll show you plainly why I'm called an S-rank Adventurer."
An attack that deserved to be called bombardment rather than sniping.
—Fwoom!
Arrows loosed the instant they were nocked, driven by the string.
They were not even properly aimed — yet every arrow that flew buried itself dead center in the target.
In nearly the exact same spot where the first arrow had struck.
By the time ten arrows had piled together in a tight cluster, the onlooking crowd belatedly grasped what they were witnessing, and cries of astonishment began bursting from their mouths.
"I-Incredible..."
"How do you get that kind of accuracy with such rapid fire?"
"As expected of an S-rank Adventurer... her fame isn't just for show, is it?"
A skill worthy of being called a divine art: landing ten arrows precisely in the center.
In a mere handful of moments, she had succeeded in capturing the attention and admiration of every archer using this range.
Yes, a situation that left nothing wanting when it came to bolstering one's pride.
'Of course I should perform at this level. Did you think I spent all that money matching my equipment for nothing?'
The first shot was pure skill — but concentration was ultimately an exhaustible resource.
Even if you focused every nerve and accurately struck your mark, landing shot after shot in the exact same spot without rest was never an easy task, even for a sniper.
And she had compensated for that shortcoming through her equipment, succeeding in climbing to S-rank.
'A circlet that sharpens concentration and helps draw in mana... a bracelet that stabilizes the flow of mana... and a bow engraved with a magic inscription that tracks the mana of the first arrow fired to correct the trajectory of subsequent shots....'
Of course, these were items far too precious to squander on a competition against a mere novice.
But in live combat, preparation — such as assembling one's equipment — was unquestionably counted as part of an adventurer's own resourcefulness, was it not?
'The man I sweet-talked this time came from a decent household too. When I stopped by his place, there was plenty to fleece... It's genuinely fortunate that it was worth the trouble of coming all the way to this city, I'd say.'
Indeed, a great adventurer like herself had gone out of her way to visit this remote city.
It would be a problem if there wasn't at least this much profit, wouldn't it?
"Now. Try shooting ten arrows into the target just like I did. Provided you can land them better than me, that is."
Whatever the case, since the point of this match was to teach some small fry her place, she felt not a shred of reluctance about freely deploying her equipment to execute her techniques.
Ten arrows lodged dead center in the target.
A normal person would see that result and be immediately daunted — turning their back and leaving the spot the moment they grasped their place.
"......."
But contrary to everyone's expectations, even after witnessing that preposterous feat, Heira merely took her stance in silence.
Was that stubbornness alone?
Or was she trying to see it through to the end simply to satisfy the formalities of a match?
Whichever it was, Heira simply did the very best she could do.
—Snap!
She nocked an arrow onto the bowstring and fired once.
Then once more.
—Snap! Snap!
Not enough to be called rapid fire, though her hands never hurried. Heira loosed arrows at a steady, unhurried rhythm.
Unlike Atel, there was no mana manipulation in her motions, nor any assistance from her equipment.
She relied solely on the power of a shortbow carved from the trees abundant in the forest, a string made of tightened beast sinew, and her senses alone to find the true path each arrow would travel.
"......Uh... uh?"
As she repeated that simple, unembellished action, a collective look of shock began spreading across the faces of the crowd watching her.
Heira's arrows landed in exactly the same spot as her previous shots.
Splitting the arrows already embedded in the target, scattering their fragments onto the ground below, without a single exception.
"Th-this is insane...."
Atel, the S-rank Adventurer, was equally dumbfounded by the sight.
The feat unfolding before her was that absurd. No matter how much of a genius the girl might be, defeating Atel — who had transcended human limits through the power of her equipment — should have been impossible.
"Th-this doesn't make any..."
"With this, I won, didn't I?"
Despite that shock, Heira spoke as calmly as before.
"May I use this lane now?"
As if to teach her that One Point Pinpoint — a skill that went beyond merely hitting with one shot — was a trivial level of mastery to a hunter who had lived for a hundred years.