I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1
Episode 1
Crack—crack—crack——
It was a rainy day.
Choi Ihyeon emerged from the Bachelor’s Quarters, quickly wiped the rainwater from his combat boots, and entered the Military Camp.
Some soldiers passing nearby caught sight of me and saluted.
“Loyalty.”
“Yes, loyalty.”
I acknowledged their salutes and continued on.
“…Tsk.”
A faint laugh reached my ears.
Sharp, like a blade piercing my back.
Pause—
I stopped walking for a moment.
But I didn’t turn around to call out those soldiers.
Because I knew that disciplining them would solve nothing.
Quick-fire dud.
This contemptible nickname, which epitomized the military’s insularity, was mine.
I couldn’t deny it either.
I was not a Hunter, but an Awakened One.
Unlike Hunters who grew by leveling up, I had only two system functions available—mana manipulation and weak physical enhancement—making growth impossible.
Despite being an Awakened One, my innate mana reserves were woefully inadequate.
The limit: firing a mana rifle twice before collapsing from exhaustion.
Could any nickname describe me better than this?
Before reaching the Administrative Office, I encountered several more soldiers and officers.
Each time, small or blatant mockery stabbed at me.
Yet each time, I offered cheerful greetings and light jokes in return.
That was my way of dealing with them.
Creak—
As I pushed open the worn door and entered the Administrative Office, I found Junghwan, the Battalion Commander of the Blue Dragon Special Forces Battalion to which I belonged, conversing with Company Commander Seokjun and Master Sergeant Donghyeon.
In modern times, even Special Forces Units focused on large-scale monster warfare.
They maintained enhanced troop numbers compared to before, so there were more soldiers than usual.
“So what I’m saying is—”
“Loyalty, Battalion Commander. You’re here?”
I greeted the Battalion Commander with a cheerful tone.
“Ah, Choi Ihyeon has arrived.”
But the moment I entered, the conversation awkwardly ceased.
The Battalion Commander, Company Commander, and Master Sergeant all stared directly at me.
It was unusual for both the Battalion Commander and Master Sergeant to visit the company’s Administrative Office.
“Is something the matter, sirs?”
Ihyeon asked.
Junghwan shook his head in response.
“No, no, it’s nothing serious. You know we’re heading to the firing range tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Right, our battalion—actually, we’re ranked first in the entire brigade. The brigade commander is sending someone to observe tomorrow. Looks like rain though?”
“No problem at all! I’ll put every shot on target!”
Ihyeon nodded confidently as he spoke.
Rain was no obstacle to me whatsoever.
I simply fired, and I hit.
Junghwan chuckled softly and patted my shoulder.
Then he asked as if confirming something.
“Good. But… you’ll just be using a regular rifle tomorrow too, right?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded with a slightly stiffened expression.
After the Gate opened, the snipers of the Special Forces Battalion, composed of Awakened ones, primarily use ‘Mana Stone Rifles’ that belong to individuals.
I naturally use a Mana Stone Rifle as well.
However, since firing just two shots depletes all the mana precisely, I use a standard rifle for training.
“Understood. I’m heading to see the battalion commander.”
“Yes, sir. Loyalty!”
Seokjun and I saluted as Junghwan left, and he simply waved his hand before closing the door.
Seokjun’s expression seemed odd as he sat back down.
Seokjun opened his mouth as if to break the atmosphere.
“So… there’s never been any sign of improvement with those two shots?”
“Sir, even you haven’t seen any increase in five years.”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Why had he suddenly asked such a meaningless question?
I couldn’t bring myself to ask the reason.
* * *
Bang—! Crack—!
Battalion Firing Range.
One sniper per squad, totaling twelve, plus me as the battalion’s direct sniper—thirteen in all.
My shooting was underway.
Approximately 600 to 800 meters distance.
Targets were rising randomly at the maximum training distance, one rarely used in other snipers’ exercises.
With no assistant gunner assigned to me, I had to visually confirm each target’s position before firing.
It wasn’t much of a problem.
The targets were designed in the shape of monsters anyway, so they stood out even at a glance.
In the control station, Battalion Commander Junghwan and the brigade’s Personnel Manager were observing my shooting results through binoculars.
Even the Personnel Manager, known for his exacting standards, couldn’t help but whistle in amazement.
“This is… unbelievable. Without an assistant gunner, no less.”
Junghwan spoke with a rigid expression.
“The guy shoots a rifle like he’s possessed. In twenty years of military service, I’ve never seen anyone like him.”
“Setting aside the accuracy at that distance in the rain, how does he knock down the monster target? With a standard rifle?”
What puzzled the Personnel Manager most was the secret behind the monster target falling one hundred percent of the time.
Unlike standard targets that fall with a simple bullet hit, monster targets require a strike powerful enough to actually kill a monster to go down.
If other snipers had used standard rifles, the probability of the target falling even at a much closer distance than mine would have been….
“The target is made realistically. If you hit the eyes with a standard rifle, it goes down.”
“…Excuse me?”
The Personnel Manager’s expression was as if he’d heard some absurd joke.
Hit the eyes and it goes down?
That meant I had struck every target’s eyes so far.
Was that even possible?
Yet despite witnessing this miraculous series of shots, the surrounding snipers’ reactions were peculiar.
“Hehehehe. Premature XX, he’s trying hard, real hard.”
“Does he think trying like that will get him back to active duty?”
“If you had any sense, you’d just leave quietly.”
“Hey, that’s enough, anyway….”
Even the Assistant Gunners, who ranked below me, let out blatant mockery.
Though it was raining, it was loud enough for the sniper to hear.
The Personnel Manager furrowed his brow.
“Why are they acting like that?”
“Leave it. They know what’s going on. Military intuition is sharp.”
“….”
The Personnel Manager said nothing.
Both he and Junghwan were directly involved in what ‘they knew.’
“It’s a shame. If only that incident hadn’t happened.”
“Right. And it wasn’t even his fault.”
Crack—!
The wet sound of a trigger echoed, and as expected, the monster target fell.
Junghwan briefly looked away from the scope to watch Ihyeon fire.
Then he added one more thing.
“Actually, you could say it wasn’t entirely without fault either.”
A cursed mana pool that allowed only two shots.
Being born with such a body while possessing that level of marksmanship skill—that was a fault if anything was.
It had been a year ago.
My squad, 1st Company, 2nd Squad, had been deployed for emergency response to the Tower of the Open Gate.
Originally, it should have been 1st Company, 1st Squad going.
If only the 1st Squad Leader hadn’t done something stupid like tearing his leg playing soccer the day before.
Junghwan still remembered the conversation he’d heard when he deployed the 2nd Squad.
“Hey, you think you can manage with just two shots?”
“Hah, with just two shots, isn’t that all we need to do? I’ll make sure everyone returns safely, so don’t worry.”
It wasn’t an impossible task.
According to the 5-minute standby team’s reconnaissance that had deployed earlier, the only enemy powerful enough to require a magic rifle was a single D-rank monster—a heavily armored orc.
If they landed their shots properly, they could return safely.
But that day, the 2nd Squad that deployed was completely annihilated.
With only Ihyeon, who had been sniping from the rear, as the exception.
Crack—!
Ihyeon pierced the heavily armored orc’s eye with a single shot as if in training, and the operation seemed to be proceeding smoothly.
Then another heavily armored orc appeared.
Crack—!
After taking down the newly emerged heavily armored orc with a second shot, Ihyeon was dragged back by the rear support unit and forced to withdraw from the front lines.
There was nothing more I could do.
Should the other squad members have retreated here as well?
Should they have retreated upon seeing the third heavily armored orc that appeared like a calamity?
No.
By then, it was already too late.
The 2nd Squad members who confirmed civilians trapped inside did not fall back.
And they were helplessly swept away by the horde of orcs, led by the heavily armored orc whose body couldn’t be pierced by bullets.
When the personnel who arrived later finished the cleanup, half the bodies had vanished, and most of the members couldn’t even be found.
Ihyeon confirmed all those corpses—or their deaths—together with their bereaved families.
It was then that Junghwan first heard the saying that one could suffer dehydration from crying too much.
And because of that incident, Ihyeon’s already precarious position—having been dismissed by other snipers as a half-awakened one except for the 2nd Squad—became even more dire.
I had completely lost my standing within the battalion.
Perhaps the other snipers’ complete ostracism of me was a form of self-defense to overcome the self-loathing that they possessed far greater mana reserves yet could do nothing.
After that, my 2nd Squad was refilled with personnel gradually transferred from other units or new recruits, and I was moved out to become a battalion-level sniper—a position that didn’t officially exist.
It was supposed to be a waiting period until transfer to another unit, but everyone expressed reluctance.
The consensus was that it was difficult to accept a sniper who could only fire two shots, no matter how well they shot.
After all, the magic rifle could only take down orc-type monsters at best.
Even with perfect accuracy, two shots were worth exactly two monsters.
A sniper who could at least buy time, even if unable to kill, was far more useful in their judgment.
And so a year passed.
Still, I could only fire two shots despite my ghostly marksmanship, and a sniper without an assistant gunner couldn’t possibly go into the field.
The Personnel Manager shook his head.
“It’s certainly a waste, but like this….”
My skill was “perfection” itself—flawless if you tried to find fault.
Perhaps without that tower where monsters swarmed endlessly, I could have advanced triumphantly.
But hypotheticals were a useless word.
Now the command had made a decision.
Perhaps the military as an organization had always struggled to accommodate such exceptional or awkward individuals.
Junghwan grasped the microphone at the control center.
“Firing complete. Firing complete.”
It was time to end this.
* * *
The next day.
I received a summons from Junghwan and went to the Battalion Commander’s Office.
Knock, knock—
“Battalion Commander, Sergeant Choi Ihyeon reporting.”
“Come in.”
His voice was colder than usual.
“Sir! Sergeant Choi Ihyeon! I have come to the Battalion Commander’s Office on official business!”
“You’re not even an enlisted man, yet you carry on like this.”
I opened the door, entered, and saluted.
Junghwan acknowledged my salute curtly and gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
“Sit down.”
“Yes, sir!”
Then came a brief silence.
Junghwan spoke in a weary tone.
“This is difficult for both of us, so I’ll be direct.”
“Yes, Battalion Commander.”
“Discharge yourself.”
“….”
My smile froze on my face.
In truth, I had anticipated this to some degree.
That I had become someone unwelcome in any unit.
Or, to put it more bluntly, that I had no place anywhere.
Yet I could not immediately nod in agreement.
‘This isn’t simply about whether I keep my position or not.’
I bit down hard on my lower lip.
The faces of my squad members who had welcomed even a marksman who could only fire two shots still burned vividly in my mind.
Not knowing that this marksman would eventually kill them.
Like fools.
“I… I can do better!”
I gathered every shred of confidence I had left and answered.
“Yes, you’re good, you’re the best, Sergeant Choi. Or rather, Ihyeon.”
Junghwan nodded.
In terms of marksmanship alone, I could easily claim first place in the command, or perhaps even across the entire military.
But what good was that?
In the end, I couldn’t even use that first-rate marksmanship.
“But that’s where it ends. Don’t suffer any longer and leave. It’s better for you too.”
Junghwan clicked his tongue, as if the bitter taste was getting to him as well.
To be honest, he wanted Ihyeon to leave as well.
Since the incident, Ihyeon had become a complete headache, a source of stress for him too.
When the command issued the order for discharge, the reason he accepted it without much resistance, the reason he let the intensifying ostracism within the unit pass without serious intervention—it was all because of this.
“….”
Ihyeon couldn’t say anything.
Junghwan turned his head and continued speaking.
“I’ll process your leave starting tomorrow. Go back to your hometown and see your parents for the first time in a while. Once you’ve made up your mind, come back.”
“….”
“Why aren’t you answering?!”
Junghwan finally lost his patience with Ihyeon’s silence.
Ihyeon clenched his fists tightly.
An Awakened who couldn’t even level up had virtually nothing to do once he left the military.
Anything related to Towers or monsters would amount to little more than a porter, using his body that was merely sturdier than others.
And even that—a real porter who couldn’t enter the interior, just moving related equipment.
He hated approaching Towers in such a manner.
“Ah, do you understand or not? Answer me quickly, Choi Ihyeon!”
But as Junghwan said, would staying here any longer present any clear path forward?
There was the possibility of re-awakening, but Ihyeon didn’t believe such fortune would come to him.
Ihyeon finally answered in a dampened voice.
“Yes, I’ll take the leave and return.”
“Good, you made the right choice.”
Junghwan let out a long sigh and nodded.
It seemed a considerable burden had been lifted from him as well.
“However, regarding discharge—I’m not sure about that. If not in the field, I’d like to stay on as an instructor.”
“You bastard!”
Junghwan’s face flushed with anger.
“The command has already made its decision! We’re currently focused on mana stone rifle training—how could you possibly be an instructor! It’s either discharge or transfer to a regular unit, so understand that.”
Of course, Junghwan was absolutely right.
But Ihyeon couldn’t back down so easily.
He would endure as long as he could.
“Yes, I’ll take the leave and return.”
“You really are… Sigh, you know that mana stone rifle sharpshooters receive their severance as a mana stone rifle instead of cash, right? Keep that in mind.”
Junghwan practically settled the matter by mentioning the severance package.
This time, Ihyeon answered immediately.
“I’ve already purchased my mana stone rifle with my own money.”
“…Ah, is that so?”
Junghwan asked, apparently not having anticipated this.
Mana stone rifles were incredibly expensive.
And once registered to a user, they were bound to that person anyway.
They said they’d give a discount upon registration, so he’d made up his mind and spent every last penny he had.
It was a source of pride in my own way, and back then I thought I would stay in the Special Forces Unit indefinitely.
Since it was classified as a purchase, I could keep it even after discharge.
Given its size, it was difficult to hide anyway, and the reasoning was simple—it was a mark of respect for snipers who had risked their lives in service to the nation, and besides, hunters carried weapons openly without restriction.
But the truth was that turning it in would just make it a burden, so it felt like they were dumping it on me instead of giving me a severance bonus.
“Then it’ll come out as money. Tsk, fine. Just understand it that way and get going.”
“I won’t accept anything, sir!”
I gave a proper salute one last time before leaving the Battalion Commander’s Office.
After that, I went to the Administrative Office, asked them to open the gun locker, and retrieved the marble-patterned rifle in question.
“Why are you taking the rifle? Are you heading out on a mission?”
The duty officer, who clearly knew I had no missions to attend, asked the question anyway.
“…Rifle maintenance.”
“Ah, yes.”
I wasn’t in the mood for my usual banter, so I took the rifle and headed straight to the Bachelor’s Quarters.
It was during duty hours, but there was no one to find me anyway, and nothing that needed doing.
‘What does it matter if they call? I’m already discharged.’
I said I would hold on, but I knew it was impossible.
A soldier must obey when ordered from above—what choice do I have?
Even if that order is discharge.
The Bachelor’s Quarters—barely enough space to lie down a single body.
I had scraped by here for over five years.
I had accumulated many memories in that time.
The problem was that all the good ones were from a year ago.
“Squad Leader, where did everyone go….”
The Squad Leader who was happy wearing a First Lieutenant’s insignia.
The Assistant Gunner who rushed out saying he’d save everything after I retired.
The Weapons Squad Leader who said he’d definitely awaken and become a Hunter once he left.
The New Sergeant who had just arrived and was still green, but could shoot quite well.
“I miss you, Squad Leader… you guys….”
They were all gone now.
“If only I could have fired just one more shot….”
My voice grew thick with moisture as I wiped down the rifle.
Just one shot.
That one shot was the problem.
That one shot had taken the lives of a dozen men.
Even I, who always maintained a smile within the military camp.
As I recalled their faces one by one, fresh and vivid in my mind, tears naturally flowed.
My reason for clinging so desperately to the military was not unrelated to them.
I wanted to protect another 2nd Squad, no matter what it took.
Plop—
A thick teardrop fell onto my marble-patterned rifle.
“Sir, I need to clean it again.”
I was about to wipe down my rifle with a cleaning cloth when it happened.
Paaaaaash———!!!
“What?”
In an instant, brilliant light erupted and flooded the cramped confines of my room in the Bachelor’s Quarters.
I had definitely seen this light before.
When I awakened not long after my sergeant commission.
“Wait, could it be a second awakening?!”
I cried out.
Could this really be the second awakening I’d only heard rumors about?
Does this mean I can finally grow stronger now?
Is this the power of tears I’d only seen in movies and dramas?
I felt such profound regret.
If only I had awakened just a little earlier, even just one year sooner….
“…huh?”
But as I searched for the source of the light, I tilted my head in confusion.
If this were truly a second awakening, the light should have been emanating from my own body.
Yet for some reason.
“Why… are you glowing?”
The source of the light wasn’t me—it was my magic stone rifle….

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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