My Sniper System

Chapter 12 - Another Chance

Did I really want this to end? If it was, what was Midori’s sacrifice, then? It was all for nothing…

If I gave up right now, Hina and her parents would die. They were the ones who took care of me as if I was their child. Why would I even let this happen?

Of course, I wouldn’t. Of course, I wanted to live for another day and hear my step-sister call me her brother. I wished to save them. Every cell inside my body hollered the same thing again, and again, and again, and again, and again. It was never-ending. And all I had to do was…

“Pull this trigger.”

The second I mustered my courage, I carried my sniper and aimed my scope at the Grim Reaper. I placed my trauma aside and vowed to save Hina. She was everything I had. This family gave me another chance, so why would I fucking throw it away? Why wouldn’t I risk my life to save those who believed in me?

I pulled the trigger and witnessed the arcane bullet racing towards the Grim Reaper despite my shaking hands. The shell’s size was just around half an inch. And when the bullet hit the ghoul on its chest, the monster screamed in agony. It created a thunderous sound that satisfied my brain, paired with the growling sound coming from the ghost. The bullet also stunned my enemy, forcing the ghoul to tumble to the ground. That entity didn’t have blood, but the damage I dealt was real. It was evident from the decreasing health bar that appeared on top of the Grim Reaper.

But this fight was just the beginning. I had to continuously hit the Grim Reaper with my bullets before that monster could kill me. It was a battle of speed and precision. I knew the ghoul was slow to attack, despite its superb movements thanks to its weapon. However, I wasn’t sure if I could dodge the ghoul’s attacks just like I did from before.

“One bullet deals one-fourth of the Grim Reaper’s health. So I have to hit him with three more bullets to take it down!”

That was my opening. Hina, who had also witnessed it all, had her mouth gaped open. If she had awakened and summoned walls out of nothing, I could finally use my system to kill the monster. We were special. And we had a fighting chance against the ghoul that wanted our soul.

“Brother…” Hina mumbled in relief, and tried running towards me.

But I raised my hand and stopped her tracks.

“Stay back, Hina. You can’t fight the Grim Reaper! Find a safer place far from here! I’ll be back before you can even say ‘brother’.” I said, and formed a snicker on my face.

I knew I could win. And I didn’t want Hina to pull me to the ground. She would be a liability more than an ally in this match, so I had to push her away for the greater good. And... I didn’t want to lose her. If this clash went south, she could always retreat and return to her family. I, who was an orphan, should be the one to die than Hina. Fortunately, Hina understood my message and hid behind a boulder a few feet away from me.

As Hina and I conversed with each other, I reloaded my sniper and its lost bullet. My magical sniper could store up to ten rounds in a single magazine. And just like in any other shooting game, this sniper needed more time to prepare before I could fire again. Some professional players would also claim that these guns were “high-risk, high reward” rifles that could win or lose the game.

While that happened, the Grim Reaper had regained its balance and glared in my direction. Those silver-coloured eyes sent shivers down my spine, but I never faltered or ran away. Not this time. I had finally conquered my fear and managed to protect my sister from harm’s way. The only thing I had to do now was to be consistent with my movements and kill the Grim Reaper before it could kill me. I was three bullets away from my opponent, after all.

“Come on, you piece of shit. Give me your best shot!” I taunted the Grim Reaper, unsure if it spoke the same language as me.

Luckily, the ghoul took the bait and hovered like a rocket towards my figure. The Grim Reaper was faster than before. Was it because of my taunt? Or did it finally realize that I could kill it using my weapon?

The prey became the predator. Instead of the Grim Reaper hunting me, I became the hunter to chase its tail.

The battle was like a cat-and-mouse fight. When the Grim Reaper closed the distance, I slid to the side and used the terrain to my advantage. As soon as the ghoul swayed its scythe, I used the tombstone as my wall and restricted its attack. Thankfully, the graves turned the tables around and absorbed the impact from the Grim Reaper’s weapon. That moment provided me a chance to aim my sniper once more and fire the shot for the second time.

I missed. Since I wasn’t an expert in handling a real gun that weighed like a bag of rice cakes, my aim was a little off. No. My aim was something that a six-year-old kid would do on a battlefield. Now that I thought about it, the shot I fired earlier was just plain luck. It just happened that the Grim Reaper stood in front of me, motionless. And that allowed the trajectory of the bullet to reach the ghoul’s chest. It was painfully embarrassing on my part and dreadful at the same time.

The ghoul sensed my mistake and captilised it against me. When the Grim Reaper realised I had to reload and prepare my eight bullets, the Grim Reaper dove toward me. It didn’t use its blade. That ghoul dared to use its claws just like that bastard did earlier. Considering the monster was using a different weapon besides its scythe, the attack was more accurate and faster than the heavy weapon.

The Grim Reaper’s efforts bore fruit and ultimately scratched my arm. It hit the area where I had my previous wound while fighting the ghoul. That monster knew that my arms and hands were my greatest arsenal, so it pinpointed my limbs and planned on immobilising them with it.

But I brushed off the damage I took and fired my eight magical bullets. Unfortunately, the shell flew to the side, almost hitting the Grim Reaper’s intangible hand. A miss was a miss, leading to another advantage piling for the Reaper. I had to reload my gun again and was on my seventh shot.

Nothing would happen if I missed my ten bullets or lost my magazine. However, I needed to replenish it using my mana, and it would take a long time before I could equip my sniper for the next fight. Reloading my bullets took me around five seconds to prepare my shot, while changing magazines took me around ten seconds. The time doubled, meaning that my enemy would have plenty of chances to defeat me or taking me down.

“I need to be careful… I’m getting punished by reloading my bullets. Things would be different if I had to change my magazine,” I told myself, and finally finished my preparations for the seventh magical bullet.

I pulled the trigger once again and missed once more. The bullet didn’t even come close to the Grim Reaper. My fifth shell then followed it—afterward, the fourth one. Unfortunately, I rained down my third and second bullet. But everything missed. And if this continued, I would eventually lose this fight. My enemy was a ghoul - a spirit made of mana or particles out of this world, while I was a human gasping for air. Eventually, my body would tire out and surrender before the battle could end. And that spelled bad news for me.

My body would suffer the most if the Grim Reaper could pull off a cheap trick and attack me. I couldn’t take one more hit from this ghoul. My appendages quivered every time I forced myself to move around the cemetery. It would take me a few minutes before my body could collapse on the floor and kiss the ground.

I had to make my bullets count… I had to! It was the only way for me to win against the Grim Reaper.

As soon as I readied my sixth bullet, I studied my habits and reviewed how I aim the ghoul before and now. Why did my bullet hit earlier? Was that a fluke? There was something missing, but I couldn’t pinpoint the problem with my actions.

While lost in thought, the Grim Reaper suddenly appeared before me. That ghoul was just twenty feet away from me just now. How the fuck did the Grim Reaper do it?

My system gave me the answers. According to my system, the boss had finally had enough and strengthened throughout the time I had wasted inside the portal. The souls of this area rose from the graveyard and went directly towards the Grim Reaper’s mouth. It was as if the ghoul sucked every soul inside this dimension. And that was enough to give the Grim Reaper the power-up it needed to finish me once and for all while I remained as a wimpy sniper that missed every bullet I let out.

A wall hastily grew below my feet when the Grim Reaper was at point-blank range. It separated me and the monster, which bought time for me to reload my final bullet.

That barricade that appeared before me came from Hina, who had returned to her post and defended my front. If she hadn’t done that, maybe I would be a human kebab for the Grim Reaper and suck my soul into the netherworld. Although I told her to stay at a safer place, my step-sister chose to fight the monster with me… even if it would cost Hina her life.

“You can do it, brother! I believe in you!” Hina cheered, as she wiped off her sweat from dripping on her forehead.

My little step-sister palpated the ground and continuously summoned walls in front of me to slow down the monster. However, the sluggish ghoul did everything in its ability to burst through the barricade to reach me. If this keeps up, I will lose this fight…

And then it hit me. I was a fool to even ask myself why the bullets were missing, and the first shot I fired didn’t.

“I FORGOT TO USE MY SCOPE!” I screamed.

This event, which should’ve been memorable to Hina and me, became a laughingstock. But it was what it was. When I first used my sniper, I looked through my scope and aimed my sniper at the Grim Reaper. But my subsequent attempts turned into a mess, where each bullet I sent to the ghoul missed. It wasn’t a fluke. My own stupidity became my downfall.

But I had learned my lesson.

After preparing the goddamned sixth bullet, I looked through my scope and calmed my senses down. Silence filled the air, despite the raging monster in front of me. As I inhaled the rotting air, my heartbeat was the only sound that traveled through my eardrums. It hurt my lungs, but the sensation didn’t matter.

I only needed one thing: to hit this bullet and kill the monster. And that was what happened. The final shot saved my life as the shell pierced through the head of the forsaken Grim Reaper. The ghoul couldn’t do much about it as the shell exploded inside of the monster, eliminating the ghoul back from where it came from.

But I couldn’t just celebrate just yet. Something might pop up and kill us from behind if my hunches were correct. There might be hidden bosses or monsters I needed to fight before Hina and I could leave this place.

Thankfully, nothing terrible had happened. Within a few seconds, a panel from the portal congratulated me for winning the fight. And, at long last, the treasure was mine.