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

Chapter 2

To whom it may concern.

Sorry. I got carried away.

"What is this..."

One week after PKing that trio—first thing in the morning.

When I logged in, there was a crowd of people.

The area in front of the "Abandoned Castle Abyss" is nothing but wasteland, yet on that wasteland... more than a hundred players had gathered.

They all had the eyes of warriors who had steeled themselves. Getting that many people together in a game as deserted as this is incredible.

"Let's go, everyone!"

Wha—!? A loudspeaker!? Some old guy's voice is booming everywhere!

He's broadcasting indiscriminately to every nearby player... Couldn't you just form a party...?

"Today we finally bring down the sniper lurking in Abyss... 'Abyss Hawk'!!"

Abyss Hawk!? What the—are you talking about me!?

"I will be taking command of this raid!"

Ugh. So now I'm being treated like a raid boss?

Guess I'll just shoot that masked guy who looks like the leader.

"My name is Halton=Vi=Ufo—!?"

I blew his head off mid-introduction.

Take out the commander first. That's basic battlefield common sense.

With the commander insta-killed, I started picking off the other panicking players as well.

They have the numbers, but I've got the terrain. I'm holding a position that's both "elevated" and "unapproachable," so there's almost no way I can lose. The only way to beat me is to snipe back, but exceeding my range is impossible.

And besides, they're out in the wasteland. There's barely any cover.

I didn't plan it this way, but this terrain is way too much in my favor.

(A few of them vanished using stealth...)

Landmines start going off all over the wasteland.

"Glad I set these up yesterday."

The mines I placed are called charged mines; anyone who steps on one gets paralyzed by an electric shock. They do almost no damage, but they'll stop anyone, no matter their level.

I shoot the paralyzed players one after another.

"Sniping is fun, but I hate standing out... Still, it was a good game; maybe I'll look for the next one."

Fourteen minutes after the battle began—I had buried 122 players. Drop items were scattered all over the wasteland.

(Still, these targets were no challenge at all. I wish there was someone who could actually break my perfect sniping stance...)

I holstered my rifle, traced the air with my finger, and opened the system menu. I selected logout. Logging out anywhere other than a save point carries a penalty, but whatever. I'm bored.

"...Whew."

I'm back in my own bed. I take off my headgear-type terminal.

"Sigh... What should I do next..."

The walls of my room are lined with countless model guns, and the plastic models in their display cases welcome me back to reality.

As you can tell from this room, I'm a military otaku... or rather, a gun otaku. The "gun" in gun-otaku refers both to Gundam's "gun" and to firearms. It's a greasy hobby, very un-girly.

"Rei-nee! Dinner!"

My little sister's voice comes from beyond the door.

"Coming~"

My name is Furumiya Rei. The "Rei" is written in katakana. Because of that, it really stands out on class rosters and the like.

Aside from standing out, I don't really hate the name...

I leave my room and head to the living room, where my beloved little sister has dinner for two set out on the table, waiting.

"Morning, Azuha-chan."

"Hey, Rei-nee, this is dinner. Your sense of time is broken."

Even though they gave me a name like Rei, my little sister got a proper, cute name like Azuha. I'm jealous.

Azuha is in her third year of middle school, but she can do everything way better than me. Cooking, laundry, cleaning, studying, sports—she's good at all of it, and she's the student-council president and a total beauty. The only thing I can beat her at is handling guns.

I envy her, sure, but I don't feel jealous, because I'm honestly saved by how capable she is. Especially how good this food is... The ginger pork is insanely tasty. The miso soup is simple perfection: just tofu and wakame. And takuan on the side. Amazing. I totally want to marry her.

Mom is a war-zone photographer and is always flying off overseas, and Dad just vanished, so right now it's just the two of us in a one-room apartment. Having no parents around is normal for us, and honestly, it's pretty relaxing.

"What were you up to today, Azuha-chan?"

"I went shopping with my friends. Rei-nee, I bet you were gaming alone again, right?"

"Huh? Why do you just assume I was alone? Didn't you consider the possibility I was playing with friends?"

"Nope. Because you don't have any, Rei-nee."

"Ugh!"

"A high-school girl spending her day off silently gaming alone—how pathetic is that? Doesn't it feel empty?"

"Stop, Azuha-chan... My life gauge just hit zero!"

I've always preferred guns over flowers, so I never shared hobbies with my classmates.

While everyone else was playing dress-up dolls, I was airbrushing plastic models. While they were obsessed with girls' anime, I was analyzing the Universal Century. While they collected trading cards of male idols, I was collecting AWM (bolt-action rifle) model guns from various companies.

And then, right after summer break in my third year of middle school—still fresh in my memory—I brought my homemade model gun to school because I wanted a friend who shared my hobby. We had a summer craft assignment to make whatever we liked, so I chose to build and display a model gun.

"Whoa~! That's an M1911, right? You shaved the grip so even a girl could hold it easily. And you extended the trigger too, so it's easier to pull. That's awesome! Who made this—?"

That's what I imagined someone would say.

In reality, everyone recoiled. Even the boys who liked guns were creeped out. When the quiet, gloomy kid suddenly shows up with a model gun, of course they'd freak. I get it now.

I was already a loner, but that moment pushed me into super-loner territory.

"Oh, right. Sis, here, this is for you."

What Azuha-chan placed on the table was a boxed game.

The title on the package—

"Infinite Space."

"Huh? What's this for?"

"My friend gave it to me, but I don't have any intention of using virtual space for anything other than studying or socializing, so you can have it."

"Infinite Space"... A VRMMO that launched three years ago and became insanely popular. Even now, three years later, it still ranks high in monthly software sales.

In other words, the exact opposite of a deserted game. A super-crowded one.

The system itself seems like exactly my kind of game, but popular titles always come with social interaction. Tough for a loner... Still, I don't have anything else to play right now.

(Since Azuha-chan went to the trouble of giving it to me, maybe I'll just try it out a bit...)

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――――――Afterword――――――

The model gun Rei made is far beyond middle-school level. It's not just an M1911; it's a fully custom job, crafted so well even hardcore gun maniacs would gasp.

But her classmates recoiled, and even though it wasn't metal, it looked so realistic that a teacher who knew the firearms law inside out screamed at her (it almost became a police matter). The model was smashed with a hammer right in front of her.

Ever since, she's been labeled "that scary girl who makes guns," and isolated. The teacher's fury and her classmates' cold stares became trauma, turning her into a super-shy girl. So everyone, be careful when handling model guns!