I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 138

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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 138
Ep. 138
Still, wasn’t this a negotiation between a national government and a large-scale secret organization operating internationally?
There must be numerous regulations to follow, yet it’s being processed on the very day of the announcement?
Perhaps sensing Ihyeon’s doubt even through the phone, Deokhuun chuckled and replied.
– Just think of it that way and wait for now.
“Fine by me. I’m happy if it comes out quickly.”
And as time passed, evening arrived.
Ihyeon sat in the living room with Minjeong, Donghoo, Jia, and finally Elsie, watching television together.
An ordinary news broadcast covering stories about Ilgyeok.
Minjeong, who had been folding laundry, asked Ihyeon as she placed a freshly dried towel in the bathroom.
“Did you clear another floor well today?”
“Yes, as always.”
“Other Hunters usually spend half a day clearing a single floor, but you finish so quickly?”
Flinch—!
Without any warning, Minjeong’s sharp question pierced through, and Ihyeon’s shoulders tensed.
‘Did I give myself away too much?’
True, other Hunters, as Minjeong said, would spend a long time in the Tower before returning.
Entering the Tower every single day like Ihyeon did was itself a remarkable feat.
With injury recovery, rest, and countless other circumstances that inevitably arose during clearances.
But Ihyeon would enter the Tower after Minjeong and Donghoo left for the supermarket, and by the time he returned from work, he was already playing with the Spirits.
…Though he hadn’t actually been playing children’s games, in any case.
‘How could anyone clear floors that quickly? Or could my son possibly be Ilgyeok?!’ Such thoughts wouldn’t be strange at all!
‘But if I just sat in the Tower all day, the chances of my identity being exposed to others would increase significantly.’
Ihyeon thought for a moment, then laughed awkwardly and made an excuse.
“Ah, it’s because I’m still on the lower floors. And you always say safety comes first, Mom. I have to be as careful as possible to avoid injuries.”
“That’s right, your health is what matters most. Aren’t you so happy that I bought you a new TV and massage chair? Mmm, ahhhh….”
Donghoo, who had been leaning back in the massage chair Ihyeon bought, spoke in a drowsy voice.
By the way, Donghoo, who had been folding laundry until just now, had switched places with Minjeong after she finished her massage.
But even with Donghoo’s support, Minjeong looked up at Ihyeon with sharp eyes.
“Hmm….”
‘What exactly do you know?’
The more she stared, the more Ihyeon’s entire body tensed as if he were prey.
He had never felt this level of fear even when facing Trolls in the Tower!
But then Minjeong looked at Ihyeon once more and spoke with a hint of regret.
“Ilgyeok is already at the 70th floor, they say….”
Surge—!
“…It’s the 74th floor, not the 70th.”
Ihyeon couldn’t tell whether he felt a surge of emotion because Minjeong was comparing her son to Ilgyeok, or because she had downplayed it as the 70th floor instead of the 74th.
“I deliberately left out 4 floors so you wouldn’t feel bad.”
Mother, I’m that Ilgyeok—wouldn’t it be even worse if you left me out!
Ihyeon felt relieved that Minjeong hadn’t discovered his true identity after all.
Since it was his own fault for not revealing it, he could understand everything.
“Of course, Hyeon, you seem to be earning money well, but maybe it’s time to pick up the pace a bit. The kids are doing well too, right?”
Minjeong spoke carefully.
“Ahem.”
Donghoo also expressed his agreement with Minjeong’s sentiment through a small cough.
Ihyeon understood what they truly meant to some extent.
As he climbed the Tower, Ihyeon’s personality had brightened considerably, and his parents were quite fond of Jia and Elsie.
But they must be worried that Ihyeon might become too absorbed in safety and fall back into helplessness.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t hide the fact that their son was a Hunter while urging him to accelerate his pace.
Ihyeon suddenly felt the sting in his nose as he realized how much he had worried his parents all this time.
“You have no idea how much the neighborhood ladies go on about Ilgyeok whenever they come to the supermarket. As if he were their own son. Mom can’t brag about her son out loud, but at least let me feel a little proud inside.”
“….”
Whose nose was stinging again?
Ihyeon lay back down on the sofa with a cold expression.
Minjeong startled herself and spoke without waiting for his response.
“W-wait, you don’t mean one of those ladies’ kids is actually Ilgyeok, do you?”
“No way, how could that be?”
“Why not? The One-Strike Service Corps started in our neighborhood too. People even call this place a holy site… Oh my, I really should dig into this soon.”
“Hey, don’t go poking your nose in. What if people find out he’s Ilgyeok?”
“We’re keeping our son being a Hunter secret too—why would those women be any different? If I find out who Ilgyeok is, I can report it and maybe get something out of it!”
A chill ran down his spine—!
“W-what are you saying, Mom! You have to respect people’s privacy!”
“The whole world is in an uproar trying to find one Ilgyeok—don’t people have a right to know? And while we’re at it, we could promote our supermarket too, right? I’m not doing this for money!”
“Still, that person must have their own circumstances….”
And yet Minjeong kept insisting she should dig into it.
Thinking that if she dug, she’d only dig up her own house, Ihyeon shook his head.
‘If Mom ever finds out I’m Ilgyeok… Ugh, it’s horrifying. Just horrifying.’
It was truly a terrible future.
When Ihyeon had only confessed to being a Hunter, he’d eaten nothing but pickled radish for several days.
If she found out he was Ilgyeok too, she might make him starve altogether.
Then he’d lose forever—doenjang-jjigae, kimchi-jjigae, braised mackerel, japchae….
Minjeong’s exceptional cooking skills, and Ihyeon could accept that, but Elsie might go on strike immediately.
While he was imagining such horrors, the atmosphere of the news, which had been covering Ilgyeok stories ordinarily, shifted.
Donghoo tilted his head.
“Huh? Isn’t Frontier a foreign organization?”
“They entered Korea not long ago.”
Frontier.
Ihyeon thought to himself.
‘It’s finally here.’
* * *
The Administrative Bureau received a report from Samhwa Guild regarding the problematic Instant Tower conquest.
The Bureau was deeply troubled over how to handle it.
“It’s fine that they reported it, but why is the fallout landing on us….”
Seongnyun, who had been enjoying peaceful days during the recent calm period, found himself sitting with his employees for an emergency meeting after a long time.
As expected, the Storm Manager, who had been handling affairs without incident under Seongnyun’s watch lately, spoke up.
“Isn’t it our job to find Hunters or Guilds to conquer it once we receive a report?”
“Who doesn’t know that?!”
Seongnyun shot a sharp glance at the Storm Manager, who was cowardly trying to settle things by the manual.
The Storm Manager couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘Then why are you complaining if you know?’
But as he said, the Talent Search Department was originally the primary department responsible for matters concerning reported Instant Towers.
It was the Administrative Bureau’s duty to ‘find talent,’ so naturally the Talent Search Department should handle it.
To be honest, it was a task they had been unfairly saddled with since the Bureau’s inception—what you might call ‘bad timing’—but twenty years made it history and tradition.
Seongnyun spoke with a sigh in his voice.
“Still, if we handle it well and resolve it, we’ll get performance bonuses, so let’s put our heads together and do our best.”
The good thing about the Administrative Bureau was that despite being civil servants, there was a clear give-and-take system.
Naturally, because they dealt with matters that could escalate into national emergencies, they received correspondingly generous compensation.
And originally, this work wasn’t particularly difficult.
Because all sorts of unusual monsters appeared and rewards were given, usually multiple Guilds would inquire immediately upon receiving a report, asking if they could take it on.
The problem was cases like this one where anyone could see it was something people wanted to avoid, but such cases weren’t that common.
Seongnyun first asked the employee in charge of liaising with large Guilds.
“Have you contacted the Guilds above Samhwa?”
His tone suggested he wasn’t particularly hopeful.
The employee shook his head as well.
“As you know, sir… they all say they have their hands full, you know.”
“Don’t they ever have their hands empty? What good is it when the nation provides support?”
It was frustrating but unavoidable.
In modern society, civil servants couldn’t grab private organizations by the collar and drag them along.
“That’s why this time, some are saying they’re completely full.”
Zzzt—!
“….”
“Sigh, then we have no choice but to summon the top-ranked Hunters….”
Moreover, there was one more reason why the Administrative Bureau couldn’t speak more forcefully to the top-ranked Guilds.
Because they could always counter that the Bureau itself was just dumping this on them to preserve its own forces.
In fact, the Administrative Bureau also possessed forces comparable to large Guilds, though in smaller numbers.
Several top-ranked Hunters evaluated as national-level forces who weren’t affiliated with Guilds for various reasons naturally fell under the Bureau’s influence.
However, because they were truly ‘national forces,’ there was reluctance to deploy them recklessly.
They weren’t people who coordinated with each other every time like a Guild’s conquest team.
“It’s not something the Bureau should say, but… if Ilgyeok would just resolve it cleanly like last time, that would be really nice.”
Given the situation, I found myself harboring such wishes, even if only in complaint.
Honestly, I’ve endured considerable mental strain since Ilgyeok appeared, but I’ve also reaped considerable benefits in return.
Unaffiliated with any guild or the administrative bureau, I was in the freest position among Hunters capable of handling Instant Towers solo at this level.
The Employees nodded in agreement with Seongnyun’s words.
If only Ilgyeok would suddenly declare, “I will now cooperate with the administrative bureau,” it would be perfect.
Given how unpredictable and prone to sudden action Ilgyeok was, it seemed nothing he did would surprise anyone anymore.
“If he would only do that, I could guarantee a pardon for any crime, no matter how severe.”
“Speaking of which, how did the negotiations with the Ministry of Justice go?”
“What’s the point in telling you? Unconditional pardon for anything he’s done. Even organized crime gets blanket amnesty if we just hand it over to him? By V’s directive, they’ll even replace the Prosecutor General if necessary to make it happen.”
It was absurd, but it was an expression of the upper echelon’s willingness to do anything if they could bring Ilgyeok into the fold.
And yet they were preparing so thoroughly!
But hoping for Ilgyeok’s help while letting go of control was no different than performing a rain-summoning ritual to stop a drought.
Seongnyun regained his composure and began issuing instructions to the Employees.
“Still, it looks better if we have other guilds handle it. Our Hunters aren’t like Ilgyeok, but their identities are classified too, right? We need to minimize exposure.”
“Yes, Personnel Manager.”
“We have time, so let’s persuade the Samhwa-tier and above guilds. Actually, guilds in that range wouldn’t be bad either. If we use this opportunity well, we could definitely surpass Samhwa, right? Review what benefits we can offer from our end and let them know.”
“That would be the straightforward approach. But Personnel Manager, you’ve seen the data too, so you know this Tower… isn’t easy. Even if we commit fully, it looks like it’ll take over ten days.”
One Employee frowned while reviewing the file in his hand again.
It was the report from Samhwa Guild regarding the Hosung City Instant Tower.
Just as he said, Seongnyun had reviewed it so many times he could nearly recite it.
It was certainly troublesome.
B+ rank itself was a rare high-grade Instant Tower.
Yet it felt like it was designed to be impossible to clear.
If not for the two months remaining, it would have felt standard to prepare with the resolve to open the gates and accept the consequences.
But that comfortable timeframe was precisely the problem.
“We have 60 days left. Korean guilds are conquest experts. They can handle it one way or another. If it really stalls… we can always assign one of our rankers as support.”
“Yes, sir!”
There were some concerns, but countermeasures were prepared swiftly and efficiently.
With established precedents and manuals for handling Instant Towers that had been problematic before, there was nothing particularly difficult about it.
For guilds, Instant Towers are both crisis and opportunity.
If cleared, they could expect substantial rewards instead of the sluggish Main Tower returns.
With gentle persuasion, there was a high probability that one or two guilds would step forward, pretending they couldn’t resist.
And for a veteran like Seongnyun, he was well aware that the guilds’ current response was a form of collusion.
‘They’ve learned that resistance makes the carrot we offer bigger… I need to shift the atmosphere somehow.’
It had been twenty years since the Tower appeared.
Initially, people rolled up their sleeves with the spirit of saving humanity and the nation without regard for self-interest, but now they were accustomed to extracting maximum profit.
Especially among the top-ranked guilds, the hierarchy had solidified long ago, creating an exclusive league of their own.
What they called the catfish effect.
A dramatic catalyst to shake up the stagnant Tower was becoming increasingly necessary.
Much like Ilgyeok, who was ascending from the First Floor with the momentum to overturn everything about the Tower.
‘An individual’s strength is beyond question, but still, an individual is just an individual. Ilgyeok truly needs solid backing to spread his wings properly.’
This was also why Seongnyun had initially tried to bring Ilgyeok under his wing.
No matter how powerful, an individual’s capabilities have their limits.
If the government became Ilgyeok’s backing, he could use that as leverage to gain momentum for reform.
Though it wasn’t necessary for him to join the government.
At minimum, he had to prevent Ilgyeok from being absorbed into any of the major guilds, so recently Seongnyun had deliberately stopped seeking him out and instead focused on behind-the-scenes work to allow Ilgyeok to remain independent.
After all, the government itself could be seen as just another rigid part of the Tower.
So if a fresh force were to emerge—one that had exerted almost no influence on Korea until now—that could become a new source of strength for Ilgyeok…?
But having thought this far, Seongnyun let out a quiet laugh.
‘How could such a force have remained hidden all this time? It would be more realistic if Ilgyeok unified Korea’s villain organizations to create a third faction.’
Even to himself, it sounded like nonsense.
Yet one of the employees scattered across the office following Seongnyun’s orders suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted.
“Manager! They’ve arrived!”
“Really? Which guild? First? Five Stars?”
Seongnyun thought that dangling carrots was indeed the way to get bites, and glanced at him without much thought.
But the name that came from the employee’s mouth was both strangely unfamiliar and oddly familiar.
“Fr-Frontier wants to help us clear the Tower…? We got a call?”
“Frontier Guild? There’s a guild like that?”
Seongnyun tilted his head in confusion.
Frontier—he wondered if there was actually a guild using that name in Korea.
Usually, anyone recklessly using that name would be treated as a fraud, so they’d adopt a different one instead.
“No, no! The real Frontier! The international organization that held a press conference in Korea recently!”
“…The international organization Frontier?”
“Yes! They contacted us directly under Representative Claude’s name!”
“?????”
At those words, Seongnyun involuntarily jumped to his feet and shouted.
“What are you doing?! Prepare a press release immediately!”

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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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