#363. Sniper (2)
Hearing the loud noise overhead, Barnia immediately jumped out of bed.
“… … !”
Barnia jumped up to the signboard, checked the surroundings, and held her breath.
The damage to the ship was extensive. There was even damage to the surrounding canals.
However, the center of the ship was intact.
Eriol raised his hand and unfolded it… … It seemed to be thanks to defensive magic.
“How did this happen… … .”
“Eriol!”
Before Varnia could finish speaking, Senia ran out of the cabin and ran to Eriol.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?!”
“We’ve been attacked! Everyone, don’t move!”
Charlotte and Tirpitz, who appeared next, also tried to run, but stopped moving at Eriol’s loud voice.
“Eriol, what kind of attack did you get?”
“I don’t know! It’s probably some kind of light magic… … .”
Eriol kept his head up.
His gaze was directed towards the starry night sky.
“It fell from the sky!”
“what?”
The moment when Barnia looked up at the sky in surprise.
There was a ‘flickering’ that was distinctly different from other starlight.
“… … !”
Barnia tried to deploy defensive magic in a hurry, but it was already too late.
Only Eriol’s barrier field, which had been prepared in advance, did its job.
“Ugh!”
Kwaaaaaaaang!
A ray of light fell from the sky and was blocked by Eriol’s barrier field.
The light was so strong that some of the photons scattered around, affecting the terrain.
If it weren’t for Eriol’s barrier field, the Mauritania would have sunk immediately.
“A beam attack from above?!”
It was a sure thing.
Some wizard from up high in the sky attacked this place using his light ray magic.
If so… … it was clear that it was a surprise attack by the Golden Cross.
“Eriol, is there an enemy in the air?!”
“Then shouldn’t we also go up into the air and respond?”
Senia and Charlotte looked up at the sky and gave their opinions.
But soon, Tirpitz’s cold voice was heard.
“It’s not that easy.”
“yes?”
“Senior Tirp, what are you talking about?”
Tirpitz is right.
Barnia had already figured out the situation.
“Everyone, listen carefully.”
Barnia looked up at the sky and frowned.
“I can’t see where the wizard who fired the beam is.”
“You can’t see it?”
“Are you using stealth magic?”
“That’s not it, you idiots.”
Sighing, Barnia clutched her head.
“It’s so high up in the sky that we can’t see it with our eyes.”
The moment Barnia said that, Eriol bit his lip.
* * *
It was pure luck that I was able to block the beam.
Fortunately, I was on deck, looking down at the canal. If I had been inside the cabin, I would not have been able to react at all.
I reflexively used the Draupnir system to deploy a powerful barrier field, which was able to properly block the light magic.
The problem was… … there was no way to guess from what height the enemy was firing the beam.
“Eriol, where do you think you are?”
“I don’t know.”
I answered Barnia’s questions honestly.
As of now, I have no idea.
“It is clear that it is far above what we can see with our eyes.”
“Are you saying that it’s higher than the limit we’ve been able to strengthen with magic?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Besides, it’s night now.
If you were wearing black, you would never be able to find it with your own eyes.
“Well, why can’t we just keep going up and look?”
“What if I get sniped while I’m looking around up there? It’s more dangerous up in the sky.”
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“oh…….”
After refuting Senia’s opinion, Barnia looked at my face again.
“Eriol, your opponent is the Golden Cross, right?”
“I guess so.”
Professor Shainas and Pope Lucrecia are already dead.
There is no one left among the world’s known luminous magicians who can perform such attacks.
One must assume that the Golden Cross had a magician of incredible brilliance.
“There are two… no, three surprising things about this assassin.”
“Barnia said in a nervous voice.
“First, we have risen to heights we could never have imagined and are operating there.”
“Yes, it will rise to a height that cannot be reached by the body of an ordinary wizard.”
Maybe it went up to the stratosphere where the mirage fortress was.
Even the flying and crawling wizards of the Academy could not get there naked, so they used magical airships.
“Second, the powerful beam magic was used to descend from that height to the ground.”
“If it were normal light magic… … it would weaken as it passed through the air and dissipate.”
It wasn’t just a simple blast of powerful light.
It seemed like it had been given a special spell to maintain its power properly all the way to the ground.
“And the third and final thing is… … that they aimed at us so accurately from such a long distance.”
“Yes, honestly, that’s the most surprising part.”
This was absolutely incredible.
The opponent took precise aim at me from high in the sky.
It must have looked as small as a bean, no, as small as a speck of dust, so how on earth did he aim it?
“I didn’t shoot it once to see where it hit and then correct for any errors. I just hit the target from the first shot.”
“This is truly insane skill. How is this kind of aim possible? There is no wizard in the Academy or the Magic Tower who can do such long-range sniping. It seems impossible for a human.”
When we were having that conversation.
A voice spoke in my head.
‘Master, I have a guess.’
Edelweiss, who had become one with me, spoke in a calm voice.
‘It is possible with the Gungnir system.’
‘Gungnir System?’
‘This is a system magic that enables long-range sniping. It guarantees a 100% hit rate no matter how far away the target is.’
‘then…….’
‘However, it does not have the ability to climb to high places or cast powerful light magic. That seems to be an individual ability of the wizard.’
While I was listening to Edelweiss’s explanation, Barnia spoke to me with a suspicious expression.
“Eriol, what’s wrong?”
“Edelweiss told me. It seems like they used the Gungnir System, a system magic from an ancient civilization, to perform long-range sniping.”
“Oh, really? That’s a useful AI.”
Last time I said that AI was useless, but it seems my opinion has changed.
“But isn’t it just as difficult? You’re saying that they attacked from a distance that would be impossible to hit without using the system magic of an ancient civilization.”
“that…….”
“Even if we counterattack, we won’t be able to hit the enemy. That is, unless we develop a targeting technique here that surpasses the systems of the ancient civilizations.”
“… … .”
I was lost in thought for a moment.
Could something like that be developed?
‘Long-range sniping is something I know nothing about. It’s impossible to create such a technique right now.’
So what should we do?
No method came to mind.
“Eriol.”
Then Tirpitz opened his mouth.
“How about we first find out from what altitude the enemy is attacking?”
“Ah, I also agree with Senior Tirp’s opinion.”
Charlotte nodded.
“We need to start with what we can do right now.”
“Okay, then let’s do this.”
Barnia looked at me and said.
“Eriol, next time you defend against the beam attack. Then Tirpitz and I will use our analysis magic next to it to find out from what height it is attacking.”
It certainly seemed like the best thing to do right now.
“Xenia, Charlotte. You spread out to the bow and stern and keep a close watch. There may be others targeting us, separate from the attacks from above.”
“Oh, I see. Okay, I understand!”
“I’ll do as you say.”
Senia and Charlotte each headed towards the player and stern.
And Varnia and Tirpich stood on my left and right, looking up at the sky.
“Okay, keep attacking. We’ll analyze it as best as we can and take you down.”
“Then I will deploy my analysis magic.”
After we finished preparing like that, we continued to look up at the sky.
We’ve prepared everything so that we can deploy the barrier field precisely at the right time.
but…….
“… … .”
“… … .”
“… … .”
No matter how long I waited, the third attack never came.
I kept looking up at the night sky, feeling tense, but there was no attack for over an hour.
“What the heck? Could it be that this attack ended in two?”
“There may be a limit to the number of attacks.”
“I really… … .”
Barnia slumped her shoulders as she spoke to Tirpitz.
And then he yawned with a tired expression.
“Something feels off, if this is really the end for today, then for now we… … .”
While Barnia was making such a fuss.
A light flashed across the night sky.
“Now is the time!”
“… … !”
Paaang!
A ray of light fell, cutting through the darkness.
There was no damage because it was blocked by a barrier field, but it seemed to be more powerful than before.
“What, what? I thought there was no limit to the number of times you can do it?”
“Compared to the last attack, there was no decrease in power or accuracy. And… … .”
Tirp said in a nervous voice.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t analyze it properly, so we couldn’t calculate the exact altitude. However… … it might be higher than we expected.”
“Senior Tirp, then… … .”
“It is possible that the attack is coming from the stratosphere where the mirage fortress was located.”
“… … !”
Stratosphere.
The Trigger family used teleportation magic to get there, and the Academy barely managed to get there using magic airship.
“When the next attack comes, I think we’ll be able to calculate the exact altitude.”
“Okay, I’ll try to block it again.”
“Damn, it’s not going to fall again in an hour, is it?”
We looked up at the night sky again.
I opened my eyes wide so as not to miss the moment when the light fell.
But… … an hour passed and the light did not go down.
“… … .”
It didn’t fall off even after 2 hours.
“… … .”
It didn’t fall off even after 3 hours.
“… … .”
And it was not until four hours later, at dawn, that the light finally came down.
“… … !”
As we blocked the fourth ray, we were able to realize:
I don’t think the wizard in the sky will be able to kill us with light magic right now.
What he’s after is to tire us out.
‘If the rays keep falling irregularly like this… … I can’t even sleep!’
You never know when a ray of light might fall from the sky.
In that state, can we stretch out our legs and rest?
Right now, only Barnia and I can block such powerful light magic.
Additionally, since Varnia does not have the Draupnir system, it is difficult to block multiple consecutive beams.
In the end, I have to keep my wits about me and watch the heavens.
‘And then, if you doze off for a moment… … .’
Edelweiss or someone else might wake you up, but it would be too late.
To react to the beam falling at super-fast speeds, I have to capture the moment of launch myself.
‘The assassin sent by the Golden Cross… is trying to kill me?’
Beyond the dawn sky, I felt as if an assassin whose face I couldn’t recognize was smiling sinisterly.
* * *
Stratosphere.
There, Rubias was observing the ground with a cold smile.
Even if it’s a Gungnir system, it can’t distinguish the facial expressions of people on the ground from the stratosphere.
But Rubias was feeling it.
The targets on the ground are starting to feel fear.
“You are slowly becoming exhausted in fear, Eriol Valencia.”
Eriol Valencia is also human.
I can’t stand it if I keep looking up at the sky without being able to sleep.
Rubias intended to fire the beam for days, even tens of days, until Eriol collapsed from exhaustion.
“I don’t think you guys would ever think of running away to somewhere else. With your personalities, that is.”
Rubias has already looked through all the materials provided by the Golden Cross.
Even in this situation, Eriol and his party will not be able to ask others for help.
Even so, you probably know that you’ll just become Rubias’ prey.
“You can’t afford that.”
Rubias muttered as he put the pill into his mouth.
This is a special nutritional supplement that allows you to obtain a day’s worth of nutrients with just one pill, and was originally developed by Hedleas.
Rubias is a wizard who can survive at this height, but he has to find food separately from the ground.
“I’m confident I can hold out until you get to the Academy. What about you?”
Rubias looked down at the ground with a smile.
Next time… …I think I should fire the beam around lunchtime.
* * *
You have to be on guard 24 hours a day against the rays that could strike at any moment.
Everyone’s faces hardened in this desperate situation.
“Damn it, Tirpitz. Can’t your magic airships go up to the stratosphere?”
“The Zeppelin was destroyed in the Yosteras Incident. The technology… …was lost when the head of the production department, Hernus, died.”
“So, we have no choice but to intercept him here? But how do we aim?”
Barnia bit her nails and grew impatient.
As the Lord of the Tower, Barnia has defeated countless powerful enemies, but this seems to be the first time she has been this helpless.
“Damn it… … Eriol, just close your eyes for a bit. The next time a ray of light flies, I’ll block it.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“What’s okay? You’re still… … .”
“Because I want to block the next ray too.”
“… … ?”
Barnia’s eyes widened as she heard me.
Tirpido was also looking at me with surprise.
“You, what are you… … .”
“Eriol, have you got an idea?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I looked up at the sky, fighting off the drowsiness that was creeping up on me.
“It is impossible for me to use magic that goes up to the stratosphere, or to use attack magic that reaches the stratosphere.”
That would be a realm that a wizard from beyond the sky would reach after much effort.
I am still a novice and cannot imitate it with my abilities.
“But… … I think this method might work.”
A wizard who shoots a one-sided beam of light at us from high above.
An idea to shoot him down popped into my head.
