Next to the fighting, there was a local elliptical amphitheater with an arena in the very center and three tiers for spectators. In the lowest part of the facade, every hundred yards, there were arches for the entrance, one larger than the other. The middle and upper tiers looked like an ordinary gray wall from the outside. On the inner side, hidden from the eyes of the layman, open loggias and closed balconies protruded, somewhat resembling floating low-rise buildings torn from the ground by their roots. At the top of the grandiose structure was a dome, the design of which included only semicircular metal arches connecting in the very center. On a rainy day, the employees of the institution hung a decorated red velarium there. Along the entire support ring, between the arches, there were statues dedicated to different classes of the game: a sniper, an assassin, a combat swordsman, a defender (aka a swordsman with a sword and shield), a machine gunner, a hunter with two pistols, a stormtrooper with a submachine gun, a blacksmith, an alchemist, a bard, and a priest. The twelfth figure was dedicated to the magician. He was dressed in a long hoodie, his arms were spread apart at right angles as if he was about to take off, and instead of his face, there was a black empty space. Ronnie saw the Doppelganger appear on his hooded head. It, in the form of a werewolf with long claws, sat on all fours and looked around like a mad cornered dog. Ronnie aimed, the first exhalation was a breath, the second, on the third exhalation, the breathing stopped, the heartbeat decreased, the moment of truth. Ronnie pulled the trigger. A deafening shot sounded like from a tank, his ears rang, the acrid smell of gunpowder hit his nose.

Through the sight, he caught a moment in which the bullet was carried down by a wind aura, and it crashed into the upper part of the marble statue, destroying a quarter of its head. The Doppelganger took off in fright and faded away. Ronnie lowered his head and despaired. The catch could have been great, but the fish was beyond his strength. He pulled the earplugs out of his ears and was heading for the exit when he heard an iron echo. Someone was climbing up the hinged ladder. Ronnie pulled out the Stechkin's pistol and pointed the muzzle at the closed hatch in the floor.

To his surprise, the hatch opened Doffersnoah.

"What are you doing here?" he asked without lowering the gun.

"I decided to find a secluded place to take a dump, and here you are." The blacksmith was silent for a couple of seconds and continued, "judging by the smell, you managed to get here before me."

Doffersnoah pulled out a magazine with .50 BMG cartridges from a small bag and explained that during the last meeting Ronnie forgot to take them. Next, he asked the sniper for his twenty-sevenfold binoculars and said:

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Fucking hell… That’s the reason I live at the edge of the world. By I go to alchemists' district.”

"Contact."

“From the alchemists' district go to the two o'clock. Proximately 1.1 miles away from us.”

"Contact."

"Go to glass."

"That's your target, check Parallax and Mill."

“Check level holdover.”

“Ready.”

"Shoot then, what the fuck are you waiting for?"

Ronnie pulled the trigger, a deafening clang rang out in the room, but none of them moved. Both were in a state of complete concentration. Doffersnoah noticed how the bullet flew past and immediately corrected the shooter:

“Left two.”

Ronnie fired. This time .50 BMG flew at the target, but the trajectory of the twelve-caliber cartridge changed this time thanks to the wind aura of the creature. It pierced and passed several centimeters through the thickness of the bulletproof glass of the dome roof. The Doppelganger noticed this and jumped down.

"The target is lost. He's on edge, boy. He won't have enough mana left to maintain his magical defense. Two hits at most, and he's ours."

They did not take their eyes off the horizon, looking for a goal.

"He'll probably be two thousand yards away from us next time."

"Contact."

Ronnie adjusted and felt a small Lhingril crawling over his face, moving his six paws and examining the giant with all eight available eyes. Unusual purple bubbles glowed on its body. The sniper did not move.

Doffersnoah received new information from the AI, moved the eyepieces of the binoculars towards the western edge of the wall, and there the monster climbed the observation tower.

"I see the target. By I go to the eastern wall."

“Contact.”

“From the eastern wall go to the nine o'clock to the second observation tower. Proximately 1.2 miles away from us.”

"Contact."

"Go to glass."

"I see a Doppelganger. He's killing NPC lookouts on the observation deck."

“That’s your boy. Check Parallax and Mill."

“Done.”

“Check level holdover.”

“Ready.”

Ronnie fired. After 2.3 seconds, the Blacksmith saw how the bullet crashed into a brick pillar and ricocheted off the target.

“Right one.”

Ronnie took one deep breath, exhaled, and held his breath in the middle of the second breath. Lhingril ran around the left eye and stopped at the eyebrow.

Shot.

Doffersnoah felt his hands shake. A little more and the Doppelganger will jump down and hide in the woods behind the wall, but the bullet was faster and pierced the monster in the back and went through. Black blood sprayed in all directions and the lifeless body fell to its knees, and then face down. It did not move. They both waited another ten seconds, wondering if it had enough mana to regenerate. A notification with some information appeared in the HUD:

The monster has been defeated. The killer is Ronnie. Congratulations to the winner.

Doffersnoah lowered the binoculars, walked over to Ronnie, who was still not moving. He took him by the shoulder and gave him a friendly pat.

"You did it, boy. You did it."

Lhingril jumped to the floor and ran away.

Ronnie pulled away from the barrel of the Barrett turned towards his friend and smiled.