I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 136

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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 136
Ep. 136
Upon arriving at the 72nd Floor forward base, I wiped away the sweat pouring from my intense workout despite the biting cold and checked my rewards.
「72nd Floor Rewards
You have obtained 2 B-Grade Maesek Guns.
Please check your inventory.」
「S+ Grade Clear Bonus.
2 additional B-Grade Maesek Guns will be awarded.」
Just as with the 71st Floor, the 70s had finally granted me the B-Grade Maesek Guns I’d been longing for.
They were substantially larger than C-Grade stones, now roughly the size of my palm, with each piece commanding a price exceeding 5,000—absolute monsters in terms of value.
And they were the highest grade of Maesek Gun humanity had ever discovered.
What emerges from the 90s remains unconfirmed, but B-Grade was the last to circulate on the market.
Yet I had a far more important use for them.
‘Mana, welcome aboard.’
When I cleared the 71st Floor, including the S+ bonus, I received 4 stones.
Combined with Jia’s and Elsie’s shares, I obtained a total of 12.
Of those, I invested exactly half—6 stones—into mana.
‘Even with just this, I’m gaining three times what others would get… it’s genuinely absurd.’
If I invested half again this time, I’d have 12 Maesek Guns remaining.
Climbing just two floors while achieving the effect of others ascending six—the word ‘absurd’ hardly sufficed to describe it.
Honestly, I no longer needed to worry about money.
Hadn’t I witnessed it before?
A single Goblin bone surpassing 50 million won in an instant—a staggering sight.
For reference, that bone’s price climbed steadily throughout the day, finally selling for 65.15 million won.
Enough to purchase a decent luxury vehicle outright.
Even so, since B-Grade Maesek Guns were the highest grade publicly revealed thus far, I didn’t pour everything into mana.
Regardless, my current mana stat had reached 211.
‘I can fire the Maesek Gun 200 times…? It’s truly a different world.’
Could this really be the same Choi Ihyeon who collapsed after firing the Maesek Gun twice?
My mana had increased over a hundredfold compared to then.
Now I could fight without worrying about mana depletion under ordinary circumstances.
Just as in the early days after entering the Tower, I couldn’t help but think, ‘If only I’d possessed this mana back then.’
Yet my perspective had shifted slightly.
‘I should use this mana to save more people. My squad members would want that too.’
Considering how my squad members died, it was simple.
They didn’t flee to save their own lives only to be slaughtered.
They charged forward without hesitation, risking death itself to rescue isolated civilians, and fell in the attempt.
I would climb to the Tower’s end and save as many people as possible.
That would be the most beautiful way to honor my squad members’ sacrifice.
And this was far from the end.
“Item, ‘Ihyeon’s Sniper Gun’ leveled up.
Please check your status window.”
My level had also reached 34.
Just one more level until 35, when the next skill would be granted.
At this rate, it seemed I could acquire a skill in the late 70s floors.
‘It’s good, but another level up… The Watchman must have given an incredible amount of experience.’
I recalled my encounter with the Watchman in the second space of the 70th floor.
Back then, I leveled up once after defeating the Doppelganger, and leveled up a second time after passing the Watchman’s mission.
I thought that pace was already absurdly fast, but then another level up after just 2 more floors?
Though an enigmatic figure, I could only express gratitude to the Watchman.
I asked the Spirits cheerfully as well.
“You all leveled up too, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Yep.”
Of course the Spirits were also level 34.
At this point, there was nothing more to do inside the Tower.
“Then let’s head back now.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Ice cream!”
“You rolled around in the snow that much and still want ice cream again?”
“Ice cream is always right~ Even if I freeze to death, I won’t forget ice cream?”
“…How do you even know that?”
I exited the Tower and returned to my room.
* * *
When I came out of the Tower, my phone showed a missed call from Deokhuun.
There were messages too, and now personal chatting was possible, but Deokhuun was the type to call like this often.
He insisted that for important matters, he had to convey them by voice, or something like that.
I understood his reasoning well enough, so I called him back right away.
– Ah, hyung. I heard you finished clearing the floor. You’re not injured anywhere, are you?
“Yes, fortunately it went well.”
– But today it’s not because of you—there’s chaos over something else.
“Something else?”
– It seems to be about Elsie… but it would be easier if you just checked the One-Strike Cafe yourself.
“Ah.”
Even without hearing more, I had a rough idea what it was about.
I’d experienced it myself before attempting the 72nd floor.
Probably something about the One-Strike Service Corps this and that, and the red-haired child this and that.
I minimized the call app for a moment and checked the One-Strike Cafe.
[Title: (Notice) Opening a new board for Ilgyeok’s Guardian Spirit, the Red-Haired Baby Angel!]
Content: You’ve all heard about the miracle on the 71st floor, right? Thanks to the overwhelming support from our members, we’ve opened a new board for the baby angel~ Please post lots of fan art and praise posts!
└ Wow! That was a quick response;;
└ Everyone, this is Ilgyeok’s second miracle! Let us all praise him!
└ One strike! One strike!
When I interviewed the members of the Ilgyeok volunteer group, they were crying so much that I ended up tearing up too ㅠㅠ
“…Something feels off about this.”
I found myself voicing an honest impression without thinking.
Baby angel? Hymns of praise?
I was beginning to suspect that the One-Strike Café was heading in a direction quite different from what I had envisioned.
A modest fan café would have been fine, but this was starting to resemble some sort of cult.
As I scrolled through the posts, the content only grew more excessive than the announcements.
In particular, the One-Strike Service Corps members had been swiftly transported to hospitals, leaving behind tear-filled interviews.
They spoke of death drawing near, only to be saved by the venerable Ilgyeok himself, who graciously sent down an angel…
I closed the café after reading that far.
“Hey, armored fox, look at this. Didn’t I tell you I’m the master’s guardian spirit? Now you should acknowledge it, right?”
Meanwhile, Elsie, who had been peeking at the posts beside me, boasted triumphantly as she nudged Jia repeatedly.
Jia maintained an indifferent expression as if she didn’t care much, but I could sense her facial muscles were tenser than usual.
Her equipment was armor-based, and her role was that of a tanker.
The title “guardian spirit” should have suited her best, yet this swordmaster had snatched the designation away, and she seemed to feel the sting of jealousy.
But neither Jia nor Elsie—I had no desire to be deified like this.
I felt a slight throb in my head as I spoke to Deokhuun.
“Well, it should settle down in a bit.”
– Pardon? I don’t think that’s likely. Elsie’s popularity is enormous. If word gets out that there’s a little boy in the Tower, he’ll definitely become a mascot.
“It will settle down.”
– Yes. If you say so, then it must be.
Deokhuun, having experienced(?) this before, wisely backed down before I could get truly irritated.
“Did the talks with Frontier go well?”
In any case, the main point of Deokhuun’s call was likely this.
Before I entered the Tower, I had said I would meet with Frontier directly and discuss matters myself, so by now, some conclusion should have been reached one way or another.
As expected, Deokhuun responded in a very serious tone.
– Yes, it went well.
“What was your impression of this Claude fellow?”
What I was most curious about was this person named Claude.
I had seen his face once at the last press conference.
He was refreshingly straightforward, handsome in an unpretentious way, and his personality seemed like the very epitome of an honest, good-natured man.
But a direct evaluation from someone with Deokhuun’s discerning eye, seen in private, could be quite different.
‘Well, since he said it went well, he must have been a decent person.’
Deokhuun evaluated Claude with a still-serious expression.
– He’s an extremely untrustworthy person. If it weren’t for your orders, I would have just stormed out of there…!
“???”
I tilted my head in confusion at Deokhuun’s completely unexpected assessment.
Though Ihyeon hadn’t spent much time with Deokhuun, he wasn’t the type to level baseless accusations either.
Rather, if it would benefit Ihyeon, he would highlight the best aspects—so why such a harsh evaluation?
‘What on earth could he have done…?’
Still, Deokhuun was sent as the Black Knight’s representative.
If someone like Deokhuun had formed such an impression, it seemed he must have committed quite a serious offense—which essentially meant he’d disrespected One-Strike itself, didn’t it?
Could the gap between public and private conduct really be that wide?
…Ihyeon couldn’t possibly imagine that Deokhuun’s anger stemmed from Claude’s innocent remark about age.
In any case, Deokhuun was a cultured individual who knew how to distinguish between public and private matters.
Setting aside personal feelings (?), he began offering an objective assessment of how beneficial Claude as a person might be to Ihyeon.
– That said, it’s my personal opinion. To get straight to the point, the organization called Frontier will be an enormous asset to you.
“Hmm, is that so?”
Hearing a proper evaluation, Ihyeon felt his judgment had been correct.
Frontier would establish itself as a solid backing for One-Strike’s existence.
Frontier itself was a secret organization shrouded in mystery until Claude’s last press conference.
They must possess exceptional skills in secrecy maintenance, organizational management, and information gathering.
Having had to negotiate with numerous governments behind the scenes, their capabilities were beyond question.
Weren’t they perfectly suited as a partner for Ihyeon?
If such an organization extended its hand first, only a fool would refuse to take it.
Deokhuun then informed him of several major points of agreement.
– They came forward so favorably that there wasn’t really much to agree upon. Claude said he’d welcome direct contact from you anytime. He’ll accommodate your requests to the fullest extent possible. Of course, I also obtained the manager’s contact information. As for joining Frontier, they said it wasn’t necessary on their end. They said accepting someone too prominent would actually be burdensome for them.
That certainly made sense.
One-Strike was already drawing the attention of countless people.
For now, operating as an individual meant no amount of tracking could yield results, but if I were to join an organization like Frontier, clues would inevitably surface.
In that case, both One-Strike and Frontier would find it equally burdensome.
– And I mentioned this to you before, but they suggested confirming mutual trust through a joint conquest in the near future. For now, within Korea.
“Yes, I heard about that.”
It was something Claude had mentioned when Ihyeon sent him a message.
– Considering the nature of the Frontier organization, they won’t target easy locations, so they ask for your understanding.
“That’s what we want as well.”
– As expected of you, sir…!
Deokhuun trailed off with a tone suggesting he’d been impressed once more by Ihyeon’s straightforward answer.
After all, this would be a joint conquest between One-Strike and Frontier.
If they aimed at instant towers scattered everywhere or unremarkable Gates as their first target, neither side would gain face.
They both possessed sufficient capabilities to succeed in solo conquests of such places.
– They’re asking me to leave it to them, saying they’ll devise a plan beneficial to both you and Frontier. I hate to admit it, but that Claude fellow seems to have decent abilities.
“Yet you seem to harbor some ill feelings toward Claude.”
– Hmm, it’s nothing much.
‘It doesn’t seem like nothing….’
Deokhuun’s tone would intensify whenever Claude’s name came up.
Ihyeon was quite curious about the details, but he didn’t press the matter.

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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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