The Lone Sniper: I Was Just Minding My Own Business Sniping Players, and I Ended Up Becoming a Raid Boss

Chapter 109

Chapter 109

"It's over"

The one-hour training session ends. Ms. Ren and I suffered a crushing and consecutive defeat.

We couldn't win even once......

(Stronger than any world champion of any game......! Across every game, this person is definitely the strongest!!)

Yet each time we fought, I felt we were steadily closing the distance.

"You two are already standing at the entrance. You've reached the zone where ∞ Burst can be activated. All that's left is to form the image, and you can attain it."

"Image—what exactly am I supposed to imagine?"

"Your completed self. Your ideal form."

My ideal self......

What is my ideal? A sniper's life is range, so would a sniper with the longest possible range be my ideal? Somehow that doesn't feel quite right.

"Also, you two need to understand your own characteristics better."

"Even if you say that......"

"I can't believe I possess any special talent like Ms. Tsukinami's 'Slow Starter'."

Ms. Tsukinami glances at Ms. Ren.

"Ren...... Your characteristic is written as 'Mind's Eye'—'Shingan.' You excel at reading the hearts of foes or allies."

"To figure that out in such a short time......"

"I'm good at deciphering human nature."

Come to think of it, this person identified me as Shiki just by looking at my real body. Her powers of observation are extraordinary.

"Shiki, yours is written as 'God's Eye'—'Shingan.' You possess another eye unlike anyone else's."

"A-another eye!? N-no, I don't have anything scary like that!"

I speak while hiding my forehead.

"Divine viewpoint, third-person view, hawk-eye—an ability to survey your surroundings as if looking down from above. People with such powers have existed since ancient times. What you have is similar."

"I agree. Your reactions to attacks from blind spots are too good. You can't explain that without another eye."

Reactions to blind spots...... I've always had a sensitivity to human gazes I call the lone-wolf sensor. Lately, though, I feel I sense people's stares even more easily. It was the same when I fought Rabi-chan. Near the end, I'd definitely lost sight of Rabi-chan. She wasn't in my vision.

Yet in the end, I could picture Rabi-chan's exact form in my mind.

Indeed, I might possess some special eye.

"I'm returning to the moon. I've taught you all I can."

"Wait a moment."

Ms. Ren calls out to stop her.

"Leaving aside friend-like Shiki-kun, why did you give even me ∞ Burst training? What do you gain by making me stronger?"

"Only gains. If you grow stronger, you can become Shiki's training partner. If you and Shiki hone each other, both will improve, and the day I lose draws nearer."

"The day you lose draws nearer—is that okay?"

"......I'm always seeking someone who can defeat me."

I remember the conversation on the school rooftop.

Right—Ms. Tsukinami's goal is something Ms. Ren can never comprehend.

"To make myself lose, I'll do anything. Lately, it's 'good.' A strong wind has begun blowing even to the moon. The age called the golden age is almost here."

"Golden age?"

"An age when talents gather. And the one who will lead that golden age will surely be......"

Ms. Tsukinami looks at me.

"That's all. —∞Arts, 'GodAccel' activate."

Ms. Tsukinami activates ∞Arts, sending energy coursing through her wings.

"Ah—yeah, I really don't get you at all! ......But I'll say thanks anyway. Lately, my player skills had hit a plateau, but I've definitely broken through another layer. Thank you."

"I-I also had great training. Thank you very much!"

"No need for thanks. Well then."

Ms. Tsukinami smashes through the simulation room wall and exits outside.

"......Does she never consider leaving through the door?"

Base alarms blare one after another. Probably because the strongest security system of the Oceanus military is being shattered to pieces by Ms. Tsukinami. Like demolishing a sand castle with a drill.......

"Shall we play a bit more?"

"Is that okay? Aren't there preparations for the final battle......"

"I've already given most of the orders, and the base is in this state anyway."

(All I can say is condolences.)

"Let's exchange Friend Codes too. It's getting annoying to go through Ness every time."

"Y-yes! I'd love to!"

I exchange Friend Codes with Ms. Ren. But I'd better not call her too much myself. She's a king, so it's basically better to go through Ness.

—Beep!!!

"Whoa!?"

A particularly high-pitched siren rings out.

"This is...... the siren that reports an S-level emergency. —Ness, what happened?"

Ms. Ren produces a window from her wristwatch terminal. Ness appears in the window.

"Lady Ren! Emergency! An enemy fleet believed to be the Mētis military has appeared off the coast of Ashia!"

"What!?"

"Judging by their numbers, they don't seem to be aiming to take down Mother Base. Their target is likely the maritime surveillance system."

"Right. If that's destroyed, the sea monitoring network will unravel. That would affect the final battle. But why couldn't we detect them until they were this close?"

"We did detect them, but it took time to reach us...... or rather, our communication system was temporarily down."

"Why would that happen?"

"That's because...... White Meteor destroyed the comms antenna when it breached here, and on the way out it flattened the control room."

It's Ms. Tsukinami's fault!?

"Will the defense make it in time? What's the battle situation?"

"We have the advantage in numbers, but several tough humanoids are stalling our advance. If we can deal with those humanoids, we should be able to break through......"

Ms. Ren points at me and says,

"All right, Shiki-kun, go take them down."

"Ehh!? M-me? Wouldn't it be better for you to go out with ∞Arts......?"

"I don't want to reveal ∞Arts' specs too much. It'll be key in the final battle. They might have brought some kind of countermeasure for ∞Arts.——Besides, it's your friend who caused this situation, so you deal with it!"

Urk, why am I the one getting scolded......?

(Well, whatever.)

I'm curious about those strong humanoids. Maybe the Shirahoshi copy is among them. I want to take that one down myself. I promised Ms. Tsukinami I'd beat it.

"Understood. I'd appreciate it if you could prepare transport."