I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 132
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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 132
Ep. 132
‘So he really is the leader of the One-Strike Service Corps—does he have some connection with Ilgyeok?’ The sparkling eyes conveyed the meaning all too clearly.
‘I, I don’t know anything about that.’
Seongcheol was momentarily flustered, but he recovered by recalling the miraculous conquest he’d just witnessed and offered this explanation.
“That wasn’t competitive spirit against the Hero! He was simply trying not to obstruct people.”
“Obstruct?”
“Right! If he’d unleashed an attack like that on the path we’d cleared, what would happen?”
“Well….”
Only then did the people nod in understanding at Seongcheol’s words.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
“Waaahhhhh——!!!!”
“Ilgyeok——!!!!”
The Volunteer Corps members, their massive frames belying their actions, collapsed sprawling on the ground and began wailing uncontrollably!
Upon realizing that Ilgyeok had deliberately chosen that treacherous path to honor their efforts, their tender sensibilities were pierced as if by a blade.
…Strictly speaking, one could have asked ‘Did Ilgyeok even struggle in the first place?’, but once their tears had begun, they showed no sign of stopping.
“This is no time for this!”
“Everyone, grab your hammers and chisels and get up!”
“Let’s break through to the 71st Floor by today!”
“Yeahhhhh!!! I’ll help too!”
And so the One-Strike Service Corps rose with morale reaching the heavens!
It was only moments after they’d entered the passage with their tools in hand.
「The 71st Floor clear record has been updated.
Location: South Korea Tower
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
With a single strike, Ilgyeok obliterated all the Snow Rabbits that had been pouring down like an avalanche, reaching the 71st Floor forward base in the blink of an eye.
The other Hunters at Base Camp, who harbored unspoken jealousy wondering ‘No matter how strong Ilgyeok is, how quickly could he really ascend the Death Highway?’, were ultimately forced to accept the truth.
“…How long has it been since the notification that Ilgyeok started heading to the 71st Floor?”
“So… 10 minutes?”
10 minutes.
No more, no less—a mere 10 minutes.
Not only the people outside the Tower who only heard news of Ilgyeok through reports.
The Hunters who directly witnessed how Ilgyeok conquered the Death Highway perceived the time as less than half of that.
And inevitably, even such absurd incidents began to occur.
[ (2nd Report) Ilgyeok enters 71st Floor, aka ‘Death Highway’… 1 hour 30 minutes compared to the Hero?
└ Yes, Ilgyeok cleared it in 10 minutes
└ Reporter, please correct the article
└ Article from the past lol lol lol ]
Before the journalists could even analyze the 71st Floor, the Death Highway, and the Hero’s record, Ilgyeok had already broken through—a truly farcical turn of events.
Thanks to this, Korean internet users were able to fill themselves with pride as a nation possessing Ilgyeok.
However, it was also true that the United States expressed both amazement and a hint of displeasure.
[Title: So Ilgyeok finished the Highway of Death in just 10 minutes.
Content: It’s impressive, sure, but did he really need to go that far? He must have known that the Hero currently holds the record.
└ I agree. Wasn’t Korea our ally? We should have shown some consideration for each other’s pride.
└ At the very least, he should have shown some courtesy by waiting until he conquered the 80s floors before leaving.
└ Still, it’s pretty amazing lol
Haha, big brothers of the superpower nation, even if you give me a trillion won, I can’t take down a single hit~
└ What is this Korean person saying?
└ We couldn’t scout Ilgyeok even if we gave our entire defense budget.
└ What are you talking about? Not the defense budget—give the entire government budget. That would actually help us more :’-( ]
The United States, home to the Hero—the only person to have cleared the Highway of Death until now—expressed amazement at Ilgyeok’s achievement while harboring a bittersweet atmosphere.
And with the nation’s mood like this.
No matter how tightly wrapped the Hero was in layers of secrecy.
“So Ilgyeok cleared the Highway of Death in just 10 minutes.”
“I saw it too. The announcement just came out.”
There was no way to avoid hearing the news.
A dark room with not a single light turned on.
Located underground, it was essentially pitch-black—nothing visible to ordinary people.
The Hero’s Manager bowed his head quietly in the darkness, as if he had nothing to say.
Clap—
A light sound of applause.
At the same time, the darkness in the room lifted, and hidden lights throughout the space illuminated.
Only then did the interior of the Hero’s chamber come into view.
Fresh blood.
Dark crimson blood was scattered haphazardly across the cold concrete floor.
The source of that blood was three ogres—creatures that inspired terror in countless Hunters.
Gates deliberately left open and the creatures captured solely for the Hero’s regular training.
It was possible because America had vast stretches of unused land.
It was also America’s confidence that ogres could be captured as easily as desired.
Though he had witnessed this scene countless times, the Manager couldn’t help but flinch at the sight.
Indeed, an ogre’s head—easily reaching up to his waist in height—lay just a few paces away with vacant eyes, collapsed on the ground.
Even though death was certain, the ogre’s notorious reputation created the illusion that even its severed head might move at any moment.
The distinct, acrid stench of its blood only added to that dread.
Meanwhile, the Hero who had felled three ogres in that pitch-black darkness stood alone in the center of the vast concrete chamber.
The muscles on his back, turned toward the Manager, glistened with exertion and sweat.
Blood dripped steadily from the long blade he held in his hand.
The Hero.
That epithet was not simply a name born from American pride or his ID.
Until Ilgyeok appeared, he had been the most powerful force that might liberate humanity from the tower’s relentless threat—so much so that even people from other nations called him the Hero without hesitation.
Until now, the Manager had shown no particular reaction upon hearing stories about Ilgyeok, yet she remained cautious.
“Chris, but don’t worry. You’re still standing higher than him.”
If the Hero’s standing were to waver, America’s standing would waver in turn.
America’s second-in-command, ‘Superstar,’ had just broken through the 90th Floor and now dwelt on the 91st.
Even that was a height no other nation’s top-ranked Hunter had achieved.
That’s precisely why America understood it so well.
In fact, only America truly grasped it.
Just how absurd the gap between each successive floor in the 90s truly was.
Even if Superstar suddenly obtained some fortuitous opportunity and experienced a vertical surge in power, estimates placed his maximum potential around the 93rd Floor.
Ultimately, the Hero was irreplaceable.
‘Even if Ilgyeok proved far more formidable than expected and broke through the Highway of Death, that fact remains unchanged. No—it must remain unchanged.’
The Manager’s thoughts were precisely those of the American government.
Should Ilgyeok prove to be material capable of surpassing the Hero, America would take immediate action at that moment.
The strongest Hunter must ultimately belong to America.
The tyranny of China and Russia’s joint venture in Korea’s top 30-floor range barely warranted consideration.
The strongest Hunter belongs to the strongest nation.
To employ force would be tantamount to admitting one is not the strongest nation.
While the Manager remained lost in such thoughts, the Hero turned halfway and asked.
“I’m not concerned.”
“Ah… my apologies.”
Even the Manager found it difficult to read the Hero’s true intentions.
He possessed such a taciturn nature to begin with, and outside the Tower, he engaged in virtually no activities.
That’s why they employed a stand-in actor for public appearances.
One whose personality resembled the Hero’s, yet possessed at least a modicum of star quality.
With Hollywood’s technological prowess, such things were entirely feasible.
“Korea… Korea, is it…”
The Hero murmured thus.
The Manager, uncertain what he might say next, slightly raised her head and observed his movements.
‘S-surely he’s not about to declare an attack on Korea…?’
She tensed, uncertain where the world’s greatest power might be directed.
Yet moments later, upon hearing the Hero’s words, the Manager’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“W-what?!”
* * *
The day after news of Ilgyeok’s conquest of the 71st Floor reached even America’s most heavily secured facilities.
An urgent meeting was also underway at Korea’s Lord Hotel.
Though hastily convened, whether the meeting’s contents were equally urgent remained a matter of debate.
“Oh, Mingzhu can also go to 71st Floor. 71st Floor is easy, yes.”
“Your Korean is fine, so why the foreign accent?”
“I, I not good at Korean. Only been in Korea for three months, yes.”
“What is my ID?”
“Tarakdwaeji Minjeong.”
“KYAAAAAAHHH!!!!”
“Ah, no, that’s not what’s important right now.”
Claude watched Minjeong and Jack begin fighting before him as though they were mortal enemies, feeling slightly exasperated.
He certainly enjoyed teasing her about her ID whenever he saw her, but Jack displayed a truly maddening level of annoyance.
If Jack mocked him like that, Claude thought he might just rage so hard he’d have her expelled from Frontier.
Regardless, despite the chaotic atmosphere, this was none other than Frontier’s ‘One-Strike Countermeasure Meeting’.
There were five participants in total.
Of course, Claude, Jack, and Minjeong were naturally in attendance.
And then there was the new face who had recently joined.
“Roel, how are you finding the outside world?”
It was Roel, the consciousness contained within Minjeong’s S+ rank item.
Roel spoke in his characteristically eerie voice.
“Such things are… not important… I simply wish to meet Ilgyeok soon…”
“Haha, your voice never ceases to be fascinating no matter how many times I hear it.”
It was as though some special effects device had been installed in his vocal cords.
However, contrary to that atmosphere, Roel had never caused any particular problems or acted out of line until now.
Partly because Roel himself acknowledged that Claude and the other members of Frontier surpassed his current abilities.
“Roel, you really love dramas. You might actually want to see the final episode of ‘My Perfect Hunter’ before meeting Ilgyeok. Yesterday you were crying while watching episode 10?”
“Oh, My Perfect Hunter~ That’s so fun!”
“…How dare you speak such words aloud…”
The truth was, he was adapting far too quickly to life outside the tower—or more precisely, to life in South Korea.
Though he himself seemed unwilling to admit it.
Beneath that mysterious appearance and voice that sounded like it belonged in a horror film, there was something quite foolish about him.
According to the agents who had observed several of his dungeon raids, his actual abilities were ‘genuine’.
In any case, for Claude, who had to manage all of this, it was something of a relief.
“Tarak… no, what floor is Minjeong on right now?”
“I’m on the 59th floor… and I told you not to call me by that ID!”
“Ah, my apologies. I was habitually about to tease you, but Jack already did. Well, the result is the same. But the 59th floor, you say…”
Claude stroked his beard thoughtfully.
Minjeong’s growth rate was, to be honest, absolutely dazzling.
When he first met her, she was around the 30th floor, wasn’t she?
She had already surpassed nearly 30 floors, and if Ilgyeok hadn’t already reached the 71st floor, her speed would be utterly absurd by ordinary Hunter standards.
Especially with the swordsmanship that Elsie had taught her, and the degraded version of her own technique that she had received before parting ways.
And then with Roel, an S+ rank item, added to the mix, her acceleration had only intensified further.
Normally, a Dark Mage would find it easy to achieve victory by commanding Undead from the rear, but it was difficult to maintain speed.
In Minjeong’s case—though she seemed to suffer greatly for it—she fought at the front, wielding her sword, so the Dark Mage’s weaknesses had essentially vanished.
According to Jack’s reports, she even possessed hidden talents she wasn’t yet aware of, and they seemed considerable.
As Claude fell into thought, Jack, Minjeong, and Roel all grew serious as well, setting aside their playfulness.
They all knew well that even though Claude seemed careless most of the time, he became an entirely different person once work began.
Few people within Frontier possessed the ability to draw Claude’s consciousness back once he had begun to deliberate deeply.
One of them was precisely the fifth and final participant of this meeting.
– Listen, Claude. Why on earth did you call me in the first place?
“…Ah, sorry Jenny.”
It was Jenny with her crimson hair, participating via video conference from the heart of a sandstorm in a desert whose location I could scarcely fathom.
She was already struggling to manage the site that Claude had essentially abandoned and left behind, so when he summoned everyone for a meeting out of nowhere, she had every right to be disgruntled.
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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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