The Phantom rifle felt like a heavy, alien object in my hands. I rested its long barrel on top of the air conditioning unit, using it as a brace. My knuckles were white. I pressed my face against the stock and looked through the powerful scope.
The world lurched into focus. The distant rooftop, which had been a blurry shape to my naked eye, was now sharp and clear. I could see the enemy sniper perfectly. He was crouched behind a low wall, his own rifle pointed in our direction. He was wearing the black and red armor of Ouroboros. The serpent and gear symbol was painted on his helmet.
My mission was simple. Put the crosshairs on his head and pull the trigger.
I tried to aim. But the crosshairs were shaking wildly. They danced around the target, moving up and down, left and right. My heart was pounding too hard. My breathing was fast and shallow. Every breath I took made the scope sway. It was impossible. I could not get a steady shot.
As I stared through the scope, new HUD elements faded into view, specific to this weapon. In the bottom corner of my vision, a small message appeared: [HOLD BREATH TO STABILIZE]. Below the central crosshairs, a thin, arcing line appeared. A label next to it read: [BULLET DROP INDICATOR]. This was too much. Too many new things to learn while I was being hunted. I was completely overwhelmed.
CRACK!
Another shot from the enemy sniper. This one hit our cover even closer. A chunk of metal broke off and flew past my head.
"He's finding our range!" Anya yelled. She was pressed flat against the concrete, trying to make herself a smaller target. "He's walking his shots in. Stop panicking and shoot back!"
She saw the way I was struggling with the rifle. She saw my hesitation.
"Control your breathing, Leo!" she shouted, her voice a sharp command. "The gun is just a tool. It's part of your body. If you're shaking, the gun is shaking. It's that simple. Take a deep breath. Let half of it out. Hold it. Then squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it. Squeeze it slowly."
Her instructions were simple. Direct. They were the words of someone who knew exactly what they were doing. They cut through my panic.
I tried to follow her advice. I took a deep breath, aimed at the distant black and red figure, and fired.
BOOM.
The sound was a deep, powerful roar that seemed to shake my bones. The recoil was a massive, violent kick against my shoulder. It was much stronger than I expected. It threw my whole body back. My view through the scope was thrown up at the empty blue sky.
I wrestled the heavy rifle back down. I got the scope back on the target.
I had missed. The bullet had hit the wall of the building, far to the left of the enemy sniper. A cloud of concrete dust was the only sign of my shot. I had wasted a precious, heavy-caliber round. And now the enemy knew exactly where I was.
The Ouroboros sniper took advantage of my mistake. He popped up from his cover.
CRACK.
A bullet screamed right between me and Anya. It was so close I felt the heat of it pass by. We were running out of time. Our cover was starting to crumble under the assault. We could not stay here.
"Come on, Leo! Focus!" Anya screamed. Her voice was strained. She was just as scared as I was. But her fear made her sharp. Mine was making me clumsy.
I had to calm down. I closed my eyes for just a second. The roar of the wind, the distant sounds of the city, the pounding of my own heart. I forced it all out. Breathe. Anya's voice. Control your breathing. The HUD prompt. Hold Breath to Stabilize.
My objective was to survive. Panicking would get me killed.
I opened my eyes. I found the target in the scope again. He was hiding behind his wall, probably reloading.
I took a deep breath, just like Anya said. I let half of it out. Then, I focused my thoughts and gave the command to the system. Hold Breath.
It worked. A small icon of a lung appeared on my HUD, and it began to empty. Through the scope, the world suddenly became still. The wild shaking of the crosshairs stopped. They were steady. Rock steady.
Just then, the enemy sniper peeked out from behind his cover. He was preparing to take another shot.
The Bullet Drop Indicator on my HUD lit up. The arcing line showed me that because of the distance, I needed to aim slightly above his head to hit him.
I adjusted my aim. I moved the steady crosshairs up, just a little. I placed them right where his head would be.
I remembered Anya's last instruction. Squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it.
I curled my finger around the trigger. I applied slow, steady pressure.
The rifle roared.
The recoil slammed into my shoulder again, but this time I was ready for it. I controlled it. I brought the scope back down to the target faster.
I looked through the lens.
The enemy sniper was gone.
The glint of his scope was gone. The spot where he had been crouching was empty.
For a terrifying second, I thought I had missed again. I thought he was just hiding.
Then, a beautiful blue notification box appeared in my vision.
[ENEMY PLAYER ELIMINATED]
A headshot. I had done it.
I actually did it. A wave of shock and relief so powerful it made me dizzy washed over me. I lowered the rifle, my arms trembling from the strain and the adrenaline. I had killed an enemy from hundreds of meters away. With a single shot. A small, hysterical laugh escaped my lips.
Anya peeked out from behind our cover. She looked at the distant rooftop, then back at me.
"Not bad, newbie," she said. A hint of genuine respect was in her voice. "Not bad at all."
The immediate threat was gone. We had a moment to breathe. The wind no longer sounded like a threat. The silence from the enemy was a relief.
But the moment was shattered.
A loud, flashing alert appeared on both of our HUDs. It was a pulsing red warning.
[WARNING: CONTROL POINT A CONTESTED!]
We both looked toward our objective. Point A was on the rooftop right next to us. Two new red dots had just appeared on my minimap, right on top of the control point's location.
We heard the sharp, chattering sound of assault rifles. Then a scream. It was short and cut off abruptly.
A new notification flashed in my vision, confirming my fear.
[BLUE TEAMMATE ELIMINATED]
Two more Ouroboros members had somehow flanked us. They had ignored the central bridge and come around the side. They were now at Point A, the place we were supposed to capture. They had cut us off from our objective.
And now, they were turning. Their red dots on the minimap were moving. They were advancing on our position.