I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 143

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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 143
Ep. 143
C-rank? That thing?
An item that not only ignores the Tower’s constraints to form passages but can also perform remote retrieval—this absurd artifact is merely C-rank?
Claude found himself wanting to sigh as he recalled the countless C-rank items piled up in his own inventory.
Typically, the baseline for C-rank was what Hunters active in the higher floors considered “passable enough.”
But that was merely the extent of it—such items never exerted this magnitude of influence on Instant Tower conquests.
Moreover, from what Ihyeon had said, I could infer he possessed at least one S-rank item as well.
‘Well, he already has two S+ items, so there’s nothing strange about it.’
Claude nodded, thinking there was nothing left to surprise him.
One-Strike’s S+ clear streak clearly had the backing of such formidable resources.
…Though if I heard the effects of Ihyeon’s S-rank item, the mana auxiliary battery, I might still cry out ‘This is cheating!’ regardless.
In any case, as Claude was settling his inner turmoil, Ihyeon called out to him casually.
“Claude?”
“Ah, yes?”
“Which corridor is next?”
“Well, that’s….”
Claude glanced around briefly before pointing to one corridor.
*Whoosh!*
Ihyeon casually tossed another mirror, and it flew in a picturesque arc before landing precisely in that corridor.
“Let’s go in.”
“Y-yes….”
At this rate, it felt less like exploring an Instant Tower and more like sightseeing at a theme park.
As long as they didn’t encounter monsters, where else on Earth could such a place exist?
‘I feel like I’ve become a tour guide.’
Claude thought as he pointed to the next corridor.
The serene feeling of directing someone to the post office or municipal office rather than the path to the next floor.
This was made possible not by Claude himself, but thanks to Ihyeon, who brought that absurd mirror item.
If Claude had come alone, surely….
“Phew, Claude. We’re really lucky. If only we had come in, we’d have had to break through so many corridor monsters by now… We wouldn’t have even cleared two yet, would we?”
“Exactly, Jack. With an Instant Tower like this, I’d want to come back countless times.”
“For training, we need to challenge difficult places too, Mingzhu.”
“But sometimes this is nice~”
Without noticing his feelings, Jack and Minjeong followed along, laughing and giggling among themselves as if his sentiment had become theirs.
Well, there was one person who understood Claude’s heart.
“Ehehehe… How about it, don’t you feel a thirst for vengeance against those Watchman followers…! Join me….”
It was Roel, who clung subtly behind him, whispering such things.
Like a demon’s whisper—Roel’s ominous voice, sweet with honeyed words and promising immense power!
Claude turned to look at him with a serious expression and spoke.
“I haven’t thought about it that much?”
“Ugh….”
Roel returned to Minjeong with a deeply wounded expression.
“Stop wandering around and stay right by my side. Otherwise, I’m logging you out of the drama streaming app?”
“Anything but that…!”
Despite being an S+ grade item in name, his treatment was no different from what people called a precious darling.
“Haha, it seems you and your item really get along well, Minjeong.”
It appeared her preference was drama rather than ice cream.
Ihyeon, unfamiliar with their circumstances, nodded with an understanding expression.
The existence of the Spirit within an S+ item was certainly more valuable than its performance alone.
Now I couldn’t imagine clearing a dungeon without Jia and Elsie by my side.
I assumed Minjeong had built such a bond with her Spirit just as I had, which is why they were so comfortable with each other.
Minjeong averted her gaze with an embarrassed expression and spoke.
“Not at all. As a Dark Mage, I always prioritize peace and respect.”
“? Ah, yes. That’s truly admirable.”
Since I hadn’t expected such a serious answer, I was slightly puzzled, but I praised her anyway, thinking it was a good sentiment.
Elsie, who had been watching intently, shook her head and spoke.
“Ugh, Minjeong’s putting on airs?”
“Don’t say things like that, Elsie.”
In any case, the process of Claude pointing to the next corridor and passing through the mirror hallway didn’t repeat many times.
The First Floor was structured so that it could be cleared quickly once you found the proper doors.
In far less time than Claude had anticipated, we arrived before the stone gate leading to the 2nd Floor.
However, even as we drew quite close, the stone gate showed no sign of opening.
“It won’t open?”
“Hehehehe… Since there are Watchman’s spawn here… it has rejected us….”
Minjeong’s confused tilt of her head and Roel’s ominous remark—surprisingly, no one paid attention—followed one after another.
In that moment, a thought flashed through Claude’s mind with a snap.
“That’s it!”
“Do you have an idea?”
Since Claude had overwhelmingly more experience with Instant Towers, I gave him a look that showed I respected his opinion.
Claude answered with an oddly triumphant tone.
“The gate won’t open because we passed through the mirror instead of the proper door! We really should have entered the orthodox way….”
“Sniff sniff, Master. There are five stepping stones here?”
“Ah! We need to stand on these for the gate to open, Commander.”
But before Claude could finish speaking, Elsie discovered the stepping stones, and Jack chimed in agreement.
Before Claude could even respond, Elsie, Minjeong, Roel, Jack, and Jia stepped onto the stepping stones in turn.
Grrrrk—
The stone gate, which had been firmly shut, opened as if by magic.
“…I apologize.”
As his prediction fell completely flat, Claude felt embarrassed and apologized to me.
Normally, Claude wasn’t one to feel jealous or harbor such petty thoughts, but this time we’d come this far in a way that completely defied his common sense, so it happened.
But Ihyeon simply laughed brightly and replied.
“No, to be honest, I thought the same way as you, Claude. It’s my item, but doesn’t it feel like a loophole?”
“Ilgyeok…!”
Claude looked at Ihyeon with glistening eyes.
How could such a magnanimous person exist!
From this moment on, Claude resolved to treat any attack on Ilgyeok as equivalent to an attack on himself and Frontier!
…Though in truth, Ihyeon had spoken without any particular intention.
The mirror corridor’s impact was so significant that Claude’s assistance couldn’t be overlooked either.
Throwing the mirror in the precise sequence….
‘Huh?’
As Ihyeon thought this, he suddenly felt a doubt.
When Ihyeon picked up the mirror again instead of heading to the 2nd Floor, the others looked at him in confusion.
“What are you doing with the mirror?”
Seeing is believing.
Whoooosh——!!
Ihyeon put even more force into it this time, sending the mirror all the way back to the starting point.
Clink—
The mirror flew as calmly as always and landed neatly on the ground.
“Ah, so that’s all it takes.”
“….”
There was no need for Claude to specifically point out the route—simply installing the mirror from beginning to end was enough.
Ihyeon retrieved the mirror with an awkward expression and scratched the back of his head.
“I misjudged that. Let’s move faster from now on.”
‘F-faster than now…?’
Superior trait: Adventurer.
Claude, a powerhouse who had cleared countless instant towers using this trait, felt defeat for the first time.
Then he looked at Ihyeon with a mixture of awe.
‘He did that on purpose to preserve my pride…!’
Everything Ilgyeok does has a reason.
This was what Claude had come to feel while analyzing Ilgyeok’s actions so far.
When he became discouraged, wasn’t Ilgyeok deliberately confessing his own mistake(?) to show they were the same kind of person?
This was the spirit of Ilgyeok, and the spirit of Frontier!
“That’s right, from now on I’ll do my best to fulfill my role!”
“Huh? No, Claude, you’re already doing more than enough….”
“Let’s go! To the 2nd Floor! People are waiting for us outside!”
Claude was overflowing with fighting spirit.
* * *
2nd Floor.
The notification window revealing the objective was much the same.
「Instant Tower 2nd Floor.
Stone Gate opened.
Naturally, the overall strategy didn’t change significantly.
Throw the mirror, create a passage, and advance.
However, they were greeted by a far more complex structure than the First Floor.
Since the stone gate wasn’t visible from the start, I had to navigate back and forth through the corridors again.
But unlike the First Floor, Claude’s enthusiasm was burning quite intensely.
“Over there! That way!”
“Ah, is that so? You’re right—that direction does seem to have better visibility.”
I thought, ‘Why is he suddenly like this?’ but since Claude’s directions weren’t wrong, I followed his guidance.
‘Has he been under a lot of stress?’
He seemed to have fallen victim to overpricing scams multiple times in Korea, so perhaps the stress had triggered something like mood swings.
“Captain, please compose yourself. We have Frontier’s reputation to consider.”
Jack, who had cleared countless dungeons alongside Claude, felt compelled to restrain him.
He’d never seen Claude like this before.
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
But Claude’s enthusiasm showed no signs of cooling.
“…?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, no—you speak Korean remarkably well.”
Minjeong answered Claude honestly.
I’d known he picked up languages quickly, but using exclamations like “Let’s go, let’s go!” was practically native-speaker level, wasn’t it?
“Haha, I simply enjoy these things very much.”
‘That doesn’t seem to be the case at all.’
My doubts remained unresolved.
But if that’s what he said, what could I do about it?
In any case, thanks to Claude’s enthusiastic guidance(?), we cleared the 2nd Floor with ease.
Upon reaching the stone gate on the 2nd Floor, the party exhaled as they looked back at the path they’d traversed.
“Wow… this really is unreasonable.”
It was only thanks to the mirror passages that we crossed so easily; attempting to break through properly would have been hopelessly confusing.
Even now, standing on the verge of clearing the 2nd Floor, I could see why—if we’d had to think this way from the starting point?
I now fully understood why Samhwa Guild had failed to properly breach the First Floor and declared surrender.
Even if they somehow managed to clear the First Floor, completely conquering the entire five-floor instant dungeon?
That would have seemed impossible.
Like the First Floor, there were five pressure plates in front of the stone gate.
Click—
As we stepped on all the plates, the stone gate opened with a smooth sound.
Beyond this floor lay the 3rd Floor.
We’d already reached the midpoint of the instant dungeon.
‘Is this even real?’
Minjeong turned to look at me with renewed astonishment.
If before I was merely convinced by Ihyeon’s outward appearance, this time it was his indescribable and bizarre conquest method that became the deciding factor.
Back when we tackled the Tower together in the 20s, honestly, I didn’t understand what was happening—it was just a repetition of opening my eyes to find success.
But this meant Ilgyeok had been ascending the Tower at this pace ever since then.
I too struggled desperately to keep up, but I was beginning to understand why Ihyeon could slip away so far ahead whenever he wanted.
‘So this is S+… Now I understand why Elsie pursued Ilgyeok so relentlessly.’
Minjeong watched Elsie with fresh eyes as she stood beside Ihyeon, whistling with her hands clasped behind her head, glancing around curiously.
Even if she were a Spirit bound to an item, she would rather follow a capable Hunter like that than ascend beside a third-rate Dark Mage like herself.
Of course, such a harsh self-assessment was something only Minjeong would make.
Anyone who knew Minjeong—Claude, Jack, and others—would have firmly insisted she was far beyond being treated as a third-rate Dark Mage.
One needs capability just to have the will to follow, and most people never even conceive of the thought “I will follow Ilgyeok.”
There was a reason Claude readily accepted Minjeong into Frontier and wanted to introduce her to Ilgyeok.
Elsie, whose eyes happened to meet Minjeong’s, approached her with a subtle smile.
“Hehe, why? Isn’t our master more amazing the more you see him?”
“Huh? Well, I wouldn’t say… but yes, he is certainly amazing.”
Minjeong reflexively tried to deny it, but after a moment’s hesitation, she admitted honestly.
What? You were going to give Ilgyeok a piece of your mind when you met him?
Demand proper compensation?
Such thoughts had long since been crumpled up and tossed into the mental trash bin back when she passed the First Floor.
Elsie spoke as if she had heard her own praise, puffing out her chest proudly.
“Ahem, our master is someone who will change the Tower~ It’s best to get in line early from now on. Of course, I’m first.”
“Well, I suppose….”
Minjeong pondered Elsie’s words carefully.
Someone who will change the Tower?
Isn’t he already changing it sufficiently?
Countless people follow Ilgyeok up the Tower, and he’s personally resolved several crises….
Minjeong had also heard the news that the One-Strike Service Corps recently created a safe route up to the 72nd Floor.
It was such an unprecedented occurrence that even foreign countries highlighted Korea’s example as an inspiring story.
All of it, when you think about it, happened because of that man—Ilgyeok.
Then Jia approached beside Elsie and spoke in a calm voice.
“I was the master’s first item, Elsie.”
“Hmph, you armored fox, stay back there!”
Given Jia’s nature, there was no bickering or fighting, but she seemed to be earnestly refuting with her eyes alone.
Minjeong asked Elsie.
“Why do you call Jia an armored fox, Elsie?”
“This creature, originally being plate armor, transformed into this form thinking it would please the master, right? Thinking he’d like it?”
“Huh, so…?”
Minjeong listened to Elsie’s explanation and looked at Ihyeon.
Or rather, at the black robe he was wearing.
So, that black robe is the physical form of a Spirit so beautiful that even a woman would have her eyes pop out?
“Eeeek!”
Minjeong’s face flushed without her realizing it.
Well, as Roel’s owner, I knew nothing could happen between a human and a Spirit, but hadn’t Elsie been the one suggesting such imaginings in the first place!
If Elsie heard this, she’d probably say “What do you mean by me?” but regardless, that was the situation.
‘So Jia is close to Ilgyeok, which is why she’s calling her a fox?’
Minjeong found it rather cute how Elsie, despite being her senior, had such an innocent side.
…Though she had conveniently forgotten that calling her “senior” in the first place seemed rather odd to others.
Minjeong asked Elsie awkwardly.
“So if I get close to Ilgyeok, am I a Dark Mage fox? Haha….”
While saying this, she glanced at Elsie’s expression, but Elsie tilted her head as if asking what she was talking about.
“No? You’re just Minjeong.”
“?”
“It means you’re not even competition to begin with.”
“Cough….”
Minjeong withdrew from Elsie with a deeply wounded expression.

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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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