I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 131

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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 131
Ep. 131
Setting aside the minor bickering among the One-Strike Service Corps members.
Seongcheol and Jonggeon, who were relatively well-informed about the Tower, were conversing with a tone of “Could it be…?”
“Brother, as far as I know, only one person has ever cleared the Highway of Death until now.”
“Yeah… that’s what I know too.”
Only one person had ever reached the 71st Floor forward base through the Highway of Death.
That person was.
“The Hero.”
Standing at the very pinnacle of humanity at the 95th Floor in the United States.
The Hero.
He was known to wield a longsword-type weapon, but information about him had been classified as top secret for the past several years.
Except for occasionally appearing briefly at major American events, ordinary people had no chance to even see his face.
To such an extent that conspiracy theories circulated claiming even those appearances were by a lookalike actor.
However, one thing was certain—he was currently on the 95th Floor.
If Ilgyeok was now shattering all previous records and carving his name into the Tower with an S+ rating.
Then the Hero was at the forefront of humanity, etching his rating onto a new floor.
Other outstanding superhumans were currently in the extreme late stages of the 80th Floor range, or had only just stepped onto the 91st Floor, so the weight of the Hero’s name was truly immense.
Yet even he, after clearing the 90th Floor, had returned to the 70th Floor range and climbed the Highway of Death.
The rating he obtained at that time was A.
After a grueling battle lasting an hour and a half, he succeeded in clearing it, and while it fell slightly short compared to his previous S rating, no one dismissed his achievement.
The Highway of Death was treated as essentially a non-existent path for Hunters.
Until the Hero cleared it, it was merely regarded as a system trap.
And now Ilgyeok had chosen to take that path himself.
What did this signify? It was quite straightforward, wasn’t it?
*Gulp*
“So Ilgyeok is now…”
“Saying he’s superior to the Hero?”
He would prove he could surpass the Hero.
There was only one reason the Hero stood at the forefront of humanity.
He had become a Hunter before Ilgyeok.
Whether to call it arrogance or confidence, no one could say for certain.
But the conclusion would come soon.
One only needed to see whether Ilgyeok could reach the 71st Floor or not.
If he completed the Highway of Death, even with a slightly lower clear rating, Ilgyeok would truly stand on equal footing with the Hero.
And Hunters in the 70th Floor range, like Seongcheol and Jonggeon, were thinking similarly.
The news that “Ilgyeok is climbing the Highway of Death” had already spread outside the Tower through someone’s chat.
The die had already been cast, and there was no way to turn back.
A direct confrontation between the current strongest and a rising powerhouse destined to join that rank!
No Hunter or spectator could help but be thrilled by this headline.
So was Ihyeon really challenging the American Hero as these people interpreted, conscious of their existence?
‘This desolate path is nice, no one around.’
Of course, that wasn’t the case at all.
I simply needed to choose the most deserted route to climb the path with peace of mind.
Well, I was somewhat curious to test just how notorious this Highway of Death truly was.
But even so, I hadn’t given a single thought to this American Hero nonsense or any talk of a confrontation.
「Bong Jangseondal: Sir, the news just broke that you’ve entered the Highway of Death?
Ilgyeok: The news?
Bong Jangseondal: Yes, they’re saying you’ve challenged it head-on since only Heroes have been able to climb this path before… You’re truly remarkable, sir!」
‘What nonsense is this…?’
So when I heard this news, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.
By the way, Bong Jangseondal was Deokhuun’s username.
But bewilderment aside.
‘Since I’ve already started, I need to see it through.’
I’d already accepted the 71st Floor mission.
If I turned back now, the S+ rank that could only be obtained on the first clear would slip away.
Setting that aside, people were already convinced that the confrontation between Ilgyeok and the Hero had begun.
I’m not the type to enjoy such childish competitions.
‘But once I’ve started, I can’t afford to lose.’
For Ihyeon, this became another reason I couldn’t back down.
I didn’t know what rank the American Hero had cleared this path with, but it didn’t matter.
‘I’ll clear it with S+.’
Ihyeon didn’t choose this path simply because he was looking for a deserted route.
Srrk—
Ihyeon’s sniper rifle began to change its form.
* * *
Meanwhile, Jia was leading the way up the Highway of Death following Ihyeon’s instructions.
Normally, she would need to focus all her attention, stepping carefully one foot at a time, never knowing when the ground beneath her feet might transform into a crevasse.
But Jia’s method was nothing short of extraordinary.
Once she sensed they’d entered a somewhat dangerous zone, Jia immediately raised her shield high.
Then.
Boom——!!!!
She drove the shield straight into the ground, creating a heavy tremor.
A massive vibration so great it could be felt even at the base camp below.
Then cracks began spreading throughout the Highway of Death.
The crevasses that had been hidden beneath weak ice and snow, not solid ground, began revealing themselves one after another.
Opening the path was completed in an instant.
But other Hunters hadn’t chosen this simple method because they didn’t know about it, or couldn’t execute it.
To reiterate, the Highway of Death was originally a place where Snow Rabbits spawned overwhelmingly more frequently than other routes.
Opening the path through vibrations like this was fine, but if one actually attempted such a thing….
Rumble, rumble, rumble——….
“What, what is it? A landslide?”
“The vibration rang out earlier, is it because of that?”
It was because countless Snow Rabbits were literally swarming like a swarm of bees—no, like an avalanche, pouring forward with overwhelming force.
The tremor transmitted through the ground was so violent that it was hard to believe it came from a herd of rabbits.
In fact, it was only natural when you thought about it.
Snow Rabbit.
Despite their name, these creatures were monsters that boasted bodies far larger than ordinary bears.
Before long, the people also came to understand the source of the vibration.
Pure white masses began rushing down the gentle ridge of the Highway of Death like madness.
They bounded frantically, destroyed every tree along the roadside, and some even leaped out from exposed crevasses.
While ordinary rabbits dug and lived in rabbit holes, these creatures inhabited the cracks and crevasses, which is why they emerged that way.
“What, what is that!”
“My goodness, Snow Rabbits gathering in such numbers?!”
The Hunters, who had never witnessed such a sight before, were utterly horrified.
Massive rabbits poured down like a flood.
And before them, Jia, appearing like a mere black dot.
Fear was evident even in the eyes of Hunters not directly engaged, so what must be the state of mind of the person standing right before them?
Some people even thought, ‘Did Ilgyeok find climbing the Tower too easy and become so bored that he wants to die?’
But all of this, in the end, was according to plan.
Before the avalanche of Snow Rabbits rushing down, Jia raised her spear.
The distance was too great, and the blizzard obscured visibility, so the Hunters couldn’t clearly see the movements.
At least the stance of raising the spear was widely known.
It was the motion Ilgyeok had consistently taken before sweeping away the Undead monsters on the 40th Floor.
In reality, it was a feint to make the attacks Ihyeon delivered appear more natural.
In any case, after spinning the spear a few times overhead, Jia brought it down to her side.
Whoosh—!
Then she thrust forward with all her strength.
At first glance, it appeared reckless—facing a massive avalanche with a single spear.
In reality, it was indeed a reckless attack.
Jia’s motion was merely a simple thrust, with no skill or special power behind it.
But behind Jia——
Boom——!!!!!
As always, Ihyeon was there protecting her.
‘Indeed, having Jia draw aggro was the right answer.’
Jia’s original purpose was powerful aggro generation.
I rarely used her for that purpose anymore, but this time was an exception.
The vibration that had initially exposed the crevasse was also a provocation skill meant to draw all nearby Snow Rabbits.
Thanks to that, creatures that would normally be hard to spot were all rushing down the ridge.
Of course, a considerable number were also running from the side of the ridge, but that was within the expected range.
As Ihyeon’s Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle, its mode pre-adjusted, erupted with fire, Jia immediately concealed herself in the crevasse directly ahead.
In other words, what now existed between the mana bullet from the Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle and the Snow Rabbits was—
‘Nothing at all.’
Kwaaaaaaaaaaa———!!!!
Snow Rabbits poured down like the fury of nature itself.
And in response, the counter-attack—the mana bullet.
Both collided in an instant, each unleashing their full power.
The outcome?
There was no question about it.
「One-Strike: Clear. You can come out now.
Jia: Understood.」
At Ilgyeok’s confirmation message, Jia leaped out from within the crevasse.
Although Ihyeon had fired the mana bullet so it wouldn’t touch the ground, the sheer destructive force was absolutely bone-chilling.
She’d worried the crevasse where she was hiding might collapse entirely from the impact.
Stepping outside, the Highway of Death had now become a literal highway in truth.
The Snow Rabbits that had been pouring down along the ridge moments before were nowhere to be seen.
The center had completely vaporized.
Those creatures at the edges had left behind only fragments or partial traces.
The ones fortunate enough to have avoided the sniper fire while descending the slope beside the ridge—
Screee— Screee—!!
Unable to comprehend what had just transpired before their eyes, they scattered in all directions at once.
That was all.
A single shot.
With that one shot, Ihyeon had completely cleared the path known as the Highway of Death.
Jia brushed the snow that had settled on her pauldrons and breastplate as though this were an inevitable outcome.
But was this truly an inevitable outcome?
“Wow… Wow….”
Even Elsie, who sat quietly beside Ihyeon, could only let out exclamations of amazement at what had just happened.
Elsie, who had witnessed Ihyeon’s power firsthand all this time, was only managing this much.
Then what of the people at the base camp, who hadn’t even imagined such a thing would occur?
“??? What was that just now?”
“It looked like an avalanche going backwards?”
“What? What just happened?”
They could only blink their eyes in confusion.
They had clearly seen the Snow Rabbits pouring down.
And they had distinctly witnessed One-Strike—or rather, Jia—taking a preparatory stance.
After that?
“Hmm….”
“What happened….”
Not a single person could say with certainty.
It seemed like some tremendous attack was being unleashed, yet the path lay completely cleared before us—what was I supposed to make of this?
Most of them didn’t even understand how Ilgyeok had launched the attack.
“I definitely saw him make a thrusting motion with his spear.”
“I saw that much too.”
It was only natural.
That’s all Jia had done.
“Sir, what on earth just happened?”
“…If I knew, would I still be here?”
Seongcheol had completely forgotten that he normally feared Jonggeon and the other service corps members, and found himself questioning back like this.
Several corps members, who had been holding their equipment to pioneer a safe route, stared at their gear for a moment before hurling it to the ground.
“Damn it! What’s the point of this?”
“My whole life’s been like this anyway!”
Ilgyeok’s overwhelmingly devastating single strike had even caused the service corps members who were beginning to taste true service to revert to their former selves!
“Stop spouting nonsense and pick it back up!”
“Don’t you know the spirit of Ilgyeok?!”
“Isn’t the spirit of Ilgyeok exactly what we just saw?”
“…What I mean is, we need to do things like this to properly follow in his footsteps! And you’re telling me you truly don’t understand Ilgyeok’s greater purpose?”
“Huh? Do you understand it, sir?”
“What is it, Seongcheol?”
Not only the Ilgyeok Service Corps members but nearby Hunters as well focused their attention on Seongcheol.

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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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