I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 130

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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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Episode 130
Ep. 130
Though I had prepared winter gear with considerable ambition, in truth it held little practical value.
This was because Jiana and Elsie, being Spirits, were not significantly affected by cold and heat the way humans were.
As for Ihyeon, the Dark Robe maintained his body in perpetual comfort, so there was no real need to prepare cold-weather measures.
Yet considering the atmosphere of the 70th Floor range, it was impossible to venture forth without acquiring such clothing.
Ihyeon checked his team members’ condition and nodded.
He immediately entered the common area of the 70th Floor range.
Upon affirming the prompt to enter, one found oneself standing in a completely different place in the blink of an eye.
Until now, the Floors had resembled proper settlements where people gathered—Castles or Villages—but the atmosphere of the 70th Floor range was entirely different.
Yes, it was indeed a place where people gathered.
Whoooooosh————!!!!
“B-b-brrrr, it’s freezing!”
“We should hurry up and climb to the next Floor already!”
But that gathering place was merely a base camp of mountaineers like those you’d find in the Himalayas or the Alps.
And that was not all.
Between the huddled leather tents, a biting wind howled with enough force to sweep everything away.
Blizzards obscuring visibility were merely a bonus.
Though Ihyeon’s team remained unaffected by such cold, the 70th Floor range had earned its notorious reputation among Hunters precisely because of this merciless chill.
Of course, one had to actually reach the 70th Floor range to experience that notoriety.
In the common area of the 70th Floor range, the number of visible people was noticeably reduced.
Generally speaking, eight or nine out of every ten people encountered here were at least vaguely familiar faces.
And one might call it a new culture beginning from the 70th Floor range.
‘There are certainly some displaying the mark of murderers.’
Here, even if someone bore an orange skull above their head, people would pass by without paying much attention.
After all, by the 70th Floor range, the absolute number of people decreased significantly, which meant the influence of Vigilantes and Guilds from lower Floors diminished considerably.
Moreover, having passed through the 60th Floor range—a paradise for Villains—many had inevitably committed murders in legitimate self-defense.
And most importantly, from the 70th Floor range onward.
‘There exists confidence that even if a Villain attacks, one will not fall easily.’
This consciousness also formed the underlying foundation.
Most would first acclimate to the cold by the campfire in the central base camp, where the wind and blizzard were somewhat less severe, before departing to their respective Floors.
The 70th Floor range’s theme, as visible, was mountaineering.
Each Floor was replaced by an advance base positioned midway up a treacherous mountain before the peak, whose summit was not visible.
The paths to each advance base had known routes, but in principle, they were free.
In other words, even if one circled the entire mountain and reached the 71st Floor, it would be recognized as a clear.
Upon reaching each advance base, one could thereafter teleport to that base from the central camp.
However, since this was Ihyeon’s first time on the 70th Floor range, he had to reach the 71st Floor advance base this time using only his own power, without teleportation.
“Well, there’s little information available from here onward, so I really will have to climb using my own strength.”
Moreover, the pre-exploration research that had been such a tremendous asset to Ihyeon until now had become nearly meaningless.
Even after searching foreign communities, all that emerged was rough characteristics of the monsters and the notably well-known easier routes—nothing more.
‘But I can’t use that route either.’
That option was closed to me as well.
No matter how few people operated on the 70th Floor and beyond, or how much spacing there was between parties entering, ascending a well-known route meant risking exposure to countless eyes at any moment.
Ihyeon climbing that path with a massive sniper rifle slung across his back?
It would be announcing to the world that Ilgyeok was a sniper.
So Ihyeon had decided to take the route that no one else would ever choose—the infamous “Highway of Death.”
But before that.
“Elsie, your eyes are getting worse. Put them on quickly.”
“Hehe, got it.”
At Ihyeon’s words, Elsie promptly pulled sunglasses from her pocket and put them on her face.
These were special sunglasses designed to work even within the Tower.
They were expensive, but far better than wandering the white snowfields of the 70th Floor with bare eyes.
She looked exactly like a child of that age—putting on sunglasses and saying “Wow, it’s nighttime~”, then taking them off and saying “Wow, it’s daytime~”.
Of course, Ihyeon had brought one for himself as well.
Jia said that using her face guard reduced the light reflecting off her eyes considerably, so she didn’t need one.
With that, all preparations were complete.
Ihyeon nodded to Jia and spoke.
“Just a bit more patience and this annoying business will be over. I’m counting on you for a while longer.”
“If it helps you, Master, I can endure it forever.”
Once the cooperation with Frontier was fully established, Jia would no longer be known as Ilgyeok, but as Ilgyeok’s representative.
Then she would be able to act as Jia herself, without needing to draw people’s attention like now.
Ihyeon felt sorry for the taciturn Jia, having to step forward before people under her own name each time.
Jia put on her black helmet, created sufficient distance from Ihyeon, and revealed her presence.
Naturally, people’s reactions followed.
“Huh?”
“A new person.”
“That’s Ilgyeok, isn’t it?!”
However, they didn’t display the enthusiastic fervor of swarming like clouds as before.
Partly because the base camp was simply too harsh an environment for that.
Most were people who had little interest in Ilgyeok from the start and focused only on their own progression.
Yet all of them clearly etched the image of Jia in black armor wielding a long spear into their minds.
That remarkable Hunter who stirred the entire world—had finally reached the threshold of the highest floors.
This very place where they themselves were staying.
Meanwhile, Ihyeon himself didn’t particularly focus on hiding his appearance here.
‘No matter what I do, I’ll be discovered anyway.’
Most of the elite Hunters were on the 70th Floor and beyond.
Especially since Korea’s Tower’s current record was Suyeon’s 85th Floor, the 70th Floor was effectively the highest tier except for the handful of Hunters in the 80th Floor range.
It was somewhat like how among soldiers, the real power isn’t held by the sergeant major but by the sergeant.
Indeed, looking at the faces on the 70th Floor, famous Hunters were abundant—guild strategy headquarters directors and strategy team leaders whose names alone were recognizable.
And as Ihyeon had anticipated, after Jia passed, there were indeed some Hunters who noticed his presence.
“An Assassin? I’ve never seen this face before either.”
“These days, with Ilgyeok around, it’s hard to even know who’s coming up anymore.”
“Hmm… I did hear that the young upstart from the Bakjo Guild would be climbing into the 70th Floor range soon.”
“You mean ‘Snowman’? He came up a while ago. He’s probably reached the 73rd Floor by now?”
Normally, reaching the 70th Floor range was a cause for celebration for any organization.
Major Guilds would announce which of their Hunters had reached such milestones through official notices, and the news would cover it fairly extensively.
But as they said, these days every issue was consumed whenever Ilgyeok climbed even a single Floor, so unless one paid special attention, it was easy to overlook such achievements.
Because of this, the Hunters who would normally have received praise and support were feeling quite a sense of deprivation, or so I heard.
The lukewarm response in the 70th Floor common area, different from other places, had such reasons mixed into it.
But on the path heading toward the 71st Floor forward base.
Unexpectedly, the new face in the 70th Floor common area wasn’t just Ihyeon.
“Service Corps! Service Corps! Service Corps!”
“Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok!”
“Haha, we’ve successfully pioneered a safe rope route up to the 1km mark!”
“Wooooow!!!!”
‘…They’ve come this far?’
The One-Strike Service Corps.
Under Seongcheol’s leadership, they had proclaimed their commitment to service while upholding what they called the “Ilgyeok Spirit,” and they were active here as well.
They had recognized that in the 70th Floor range, Hunters struggled not only against monsters but also due to the harsh mountainous terrain.
They were installing various safety devices so that Hunters could operate with peace of mind even in places like crevasses and cliff edges.
Though they weren’t in an easy position either, and had only managed to pioneer the easiest path among those already established, it was still enough to draw cheers.
While Ihyeon was resting, quite a few members of the Service Corps had also crossed into the 70th Floor range, and among the newly recruited members were many high-level Hunters, or so I heard.
Seongcheol, the captain of the One-Strike Service Corps, wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite the cold weather as he spoke.
“I would have no regrets if Ilgyeok would use this path as well.”
“Actually, Ilgyeok did come.”
“Huh?”
Seongcheol’s eyes widened in surprise as he hadn’t anticipated this, and he looked around.
Indeed, in the distance, Jia could be seen leading several people forward.
Of course, Ihyeon couldn’t meet Seongcheol’s expectations.
Jia had changed direction early on, heading toward a completely different location from where the One-Strike Service Corps was stationed.
The disappointed sighs of the onlookers.
However, Seongcheol continued with practiced ease.
“That must be a sign for us to work even harder. We may not be able to match Ilgyeok, but we’ll do our best to follow along floor by floor from now on.”
“Wow! The Service Corps is amazing!”
Jonggeon, the second-in-command of the One-Strike Service Corps, quickly stepped forward.
“For inquiries about new recruitment, please check our Kakao Cafe!”
Though their goals had differed at first, Jonggeon was gradually coming to understand the true taste of service and social recognition!
Of course, the taste of the sponsorship money pouring in was still a bit sweeter compared to when he was active as a Villain, but still.
In any case, by now Jonggeon was following the Ilgyeok Spirit alongside Seongcheol without complaint — though truthfully, even Seongcheol didn’t quite know what the “Ilgyeok Spirit” actually was.
Regardless of that.
Now the people who had turned their attention away from the One-Strike Service Corps toward Ilgyeok himself.
They looked to where Jia was heading and gasped in shock.
“That, that place!”
“Surely not?”
As I mentioned, the strategy for conquering the 70th Floor range was simple.
Regardless of the method or path taken, reaching the forward base of the next floor was all that mattered.
However, nearly all Hunters invariably chose the well-established route that had proven relatively safe and boasted high success rates.
Very occasionally, rumors emerged of a Hunter armed with keen adventurous spirit pioneering a new path, but globally it happened only once every few years.
Even then, only the successful ones made headlines; most were trapped between terrain and monsters, unable to even recover their bodies.
Yet there existed a path that neither ordinary Hunters nor those with adventurous spirits would ever choose.
Its name was the “Highway of Death.”
It was a route to the 71st Floor via a ridge that required walking considerable distance from the base camp, and at first glance, it appeared deceptively easy.
A relatively gentle slope with snow piled beautifully, not a single jagged rock protruding.
The name “Highway” was not given without reason.
Yet no one dared attempt to ascend via that path.
Why?
The Highway of Death merely appeared as an ordinary path on the surface, but the moment one set foot upon it, it thrust those who walked it toward death.
The seemingly flat path would reveal bottomless crevasses yawning open with each step.
Moreover, even if one somehow navigated through the crevasses and pressed forward, it was nearly impossible to withstand the frenzied onslaught of Snow Rabbits, the primary monsters of the 71st Floor.
In the end, it meant certain death—either torn apart by the ferocious Snow Rabbits or swallowed by a crevasse.
And now Ilgyeok was attempting to ascend that Highway of Death without hesitation.
“But, but since it’s Ilgyeok…?”
“No, even so, does that make any sense?”
Since many Hunters had lingered long in the 70th Floor range, many knew well the fates of overconfident Hunters, making the shock all the greater.
To the point where they seriously considered whether they should stop Ilgyeok regardless, simply to save a life.
But before they could recover from their alarm and even call out to Ilgyeok, Jia set foot upon the Highway of Death.
The people exhaled sighs of regret.
Given this turn of events, they found themselves unable to muster the courage to follow Ilgyeok.
After all, it was an unwritten rule that the Tower was climbed alone, unless part of a party.
Even if one chose death of their own accord, that was still their own choice, was it not?
However, the One-Strike Service Corps watching this scene reacted somewhat differently.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Isn’t that the Highway of Death?”
“What’s the Highway of Death? Is it dangerous?”
“…You hear the word ‘Death’ and feel no concern?”
“Why, if someone says ‘that outfit is killing it,’ is that also an insult?”
“Oh, it wasn’t?”
“You bastard!”

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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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