Sniper's Love

"Steven, bring out the storage!"

Lucius was very excited. He was finally going to teach Alex about the way of the sniper. He had been looking forward to teaching him all about guns, but he couldn't wait to teach him everything regarding sniper rifles, hence he just decided to start with it.

Alex was not as excited. He appreciated Lucius for teaching him something new, but he personally never liked using a sniper rifle. He had never completely gotten the hang of shooting from long range, so his mentor hadn't pushed him too much to learn long-range shooting with a sniper rifle.

The ground started to shake. It was a very large area, so the tremors were a bit unexpected, but he soon got to know more about the source of these tremors.

A truck entered the field. Yes, a truck. Steven was driving it, which was really bizarre because he was 13 years old.

"Get in. It's going to be a short ride."

Alex walked into the back of the modified truck, but the sight that greeted him left him dazzled.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Steven, who had switched places with his father, was enjoying his face. Alex was inside of a truck which deserved to be called a 'storage'

Guns everywhere. Automatic, semi-automatic, manual, pistols, machine guns, rifles and so much more. Everything was neatly hung on the walls along with magazines of all sizes. One of the rifles had been kept inside of a transparent carbon fiber box.

"That gun is his prized possession. It is a custom made Heckler & Koch PSG1, which had been given to him by grandpa for his last birthday."

Steven said. His father probably loved that gun more than any of his possessions and had killed almost 70 people within a year with it. This was the first give that his father had given him in years, so he treasured it the most.

"Want to hold it?"

Alex declined. He wasn't really interested in the gun, his interest had only been piqued by the special care that went into it.

"You are no fun."

He proceeded to type in a pin in a module that had been attached to the safe. He proceeded to take out the rifle. It was way too heavy for him, so when he lifted the rifle, his face immediately turned red due to the pain in his arms. Alex was confused, because if he knew about this rifle, why was he trying so hard to lift it, even when he didn't have the strength to do so?

While hugging the rifle and panting, Steven saw his look and said,

"This rifle is my mission. Father said that the day I can wield it easily, I get to keep it as my own gift. He specifically wanted me to have this rifle because he wanted me to feel the same emotions as himself when he received this rifle from his father. It's a long way to go, but I have to reach it."

And the rest of the ride continued in silence.

-------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in Cleveland.

Alex got out of the truck. Steven had already kept his father's rifle inside of the box because he was already exhausted due to its weight.

"Have fun. Father is going to train you even harder than before."

Alex felt alarmed when he saw the smile on the face of a panting Steven, who was looking forward to this training session.

Out of nowhere, Lucius appeared in front of him. He entered the storage part of the truck and brought out two sniper rifles, one for himself and one for Alex.

"Here, take this. This is a modified Desert Tech SRS A2 Covert rifle chambered for the .308 Winchester cartridge, perfect for a small guy like you. You still can't handle the big guns yet, so start with something small."

Alex took the rifle from him, and it was surprisingly lightweight. He analyzed it while holding it in his hand, and sighed. He didn't want to do this.

"Wipe that expression off your face. Sniping is the most fun part about guns, and it enhances your patience level as well as helps you master analyzing your surroundings."

Lucius noticed that sigh, and immediately gave out reasons to make Alex more interested in sniping.

"This is an undisclosed location, so we can continue practicing without any hindrance. First, let's see how good your aim is. Come with me."

They walked for around two minutes and reached an empty shooting range. Lucius pointed towards the ground, and said,

"Take position here. That is your target."

He then pointed at a board that was shaped like a human, which wasn't too far away from their position. Alex did what he was asked too, and remembered the tiny bit of training that he had done with his master with one of these. He was still struggling to handle the rifle a bit, because this rifle was still long for his arms, even with the modifications. Seeing his disciple struggle, Lucius proceeded to help him, and Alex was in the correct position. He looked through the scope with his right eye and aimed at the target.

Something didn't feel right. Alex adjusted the rifle slightly and continued to aim, but he still didn't feel comfortable. He started to adjust his rifle and continued to adjust it for 20 minutes straight. Lucius was once again surprised by his disciple. He wanted Alex to make a mistake so that he could correct his weakness with a smug face, but Alex didn't make this mistake, much to his surprise. Aiming was an integral part of shooting, but just aiming was not how a pro sniper would shoot. The rifle position, wind current, distance from the target, everything had to be factored in. Lucius himself took 2 years to master all of this, along with the other weapons. This test was supposed to help Alex learn how to adjust the rifle and position it to its ideal state according to one's preference.

Alex finally came to a halt. The constant feeling of discomfort was gone, and his aim was perfect. He shot the rifle while clutching it with all his strength, to absorb the recoil and make sure that the trajectory isn't hampered.

"Bang!"

And he succeeded. The bullet was lodged directly into the center of the head of the board.

Lucius was lost in thought. This couldn't have been his first time shooting a rifle. There was no way that he had such good instincts while shooting for the first time.

Steven, who was observing Alex back from the truck, was dumbfounded. Alex was a true prodigy when it came to combat, and he was now completely convinced. His milkshake had fallen from his hand due to his excitement filled shivering.

Alex knew why this had happened. Weapons master. That skill had maximized his long-range rifle efficiency and given his body and brain enough insight to help him aim without actually knowing how to do it with such precision.

"How much of a monster can you be?"

Accidentally, Lucius said it out loud. He was still looking at the target from a distance and was still unwilling to believe that this was done by a 10-year-old.

After standing there for a few more minutes, a wide smile appeared on his face. Lucius was ecstatic due to the excellence showed by his disciple.

"Well done. Since you know how to aim, let's kick it up a notch."

A moving target. Lucius signaled towards Steven, who had finally regained his composure. He pushed a button on the device in his hand, and the target started to move.

Alex took his position again. This time, it was faster and only took 12 minutes. After adjusting the rifle, he aimed and took another shot.

"Bang!"

Bullseye! His shot was perfect, and this time it was because he took a position and aimed based on the movement of the target. Because it was doing the same thing again and again, it wasn't too hard to predict its movement and location, and shoot accordingly.

Lucius was even more thrilled. This was fate. Alex was fated to be his disciple.

Alex too started to enjoy himself. The feeling of discomfort wasn't pleasant, but whenever he took perfect aim, he felt satisfied.

"Bravo! You have an insane aim, Alex. Even I am a bit jealous, but my emotions are more heavily leaning towards extreme pride."

Alex got up from his position. This wasn't an actual assassination, so the situation was completely different, and he could remain calm.

"Thank you or the complement. It really felt good."

As soon as he got up, he started feeling dizzy. his body swayed and before he could fall, Lucius held him up again.

Increased brain activity. His fatigue bar had been filled too fast, so his thinking had been affected.

"Take a break. We will continue once you feel better."