I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 144

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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 144
Ep. 144
Even so, there was no need to say it like that!
‘What’s wrong with me? I’m quite cute, you know, and I’m a promising prospect… Korea’s first Frontier Agent with an S+ grade item, and I even studied to be a civil servant(?)’
Minjeong began desperately recounting her strengths to fill the rapidly plummeting void in her self-esteem.
Meanwhile, Elsie, who had so effortlessly deflated Minjeong’s confidence, nudged Roel, who had been deliberately avoiding her gaze, and asked.
“Hey, why have you been so quiet this whole time?”
“…What do you expect me to do about it…?”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking—why aren’t you doing anything?”
“Such insolence…”
Roel exuded an ominous aura, but it was merely for show; he made no actual move.
“Heh, you too must be thinking our master made a mistake choosing—”
Thwack!
Unable to watch any longer, Ihyeon flicked Elsie’s forehead and scolded her.
“Elsie, behave yourself.”
“Master, but this guy really needs his spirit crushed—”
“Roel isn’t doing anything, so why are you stepping in? Do you want to go back to the inventory?”
“Whimper… I was only doing it for you, Master…”
Elsie couldn’t defy Ihyeon’s words and retreated with a pouty expression.
‘It seems discipline is slipping without combat to keep them sharp.’
Ihyeon’s thoughts were remarkably military in nature.
There was a saying, after all.
The more grueling a unit’s duties, the fewer internal irregularities; conversely, the easier the duties, the more rampant the misconduct tends to be.
Ihyeon fixed Elsie with a stern gaze that silenced her, then headed toward the third floor.
But perhaps the thought itself had taken root.
On the third floor, for the first time, Ihyeon and the raid party found themselves needing to pass through a door within the tower.
Ihyeon and Claude both furrowed their brows slightly as they surveyed their surroundings.
“Hmm… Claude, this seems to be…”
“Yes, it appears we must pass through the door at least once.”
The third floor was even more complex than the second.
It was likely the same pattern would continue through the fourth and fifth floors.
But what changed starting from the third floor was that sections of the corridor had walls and ceilings constructed in a tunnel format.
Moreover, as they navigated through mirror passages to avoid blind spots, they inevitably ended up in one corridor, and to advance to other points, they had to pass through the tunnel and enter the connected door.
In other words, their previous workaround was now blocked, so as Claude said, they would have to pass through the door.
However, Claude didn’t find this particularly troubling.
‘No, I expected something like this would happen eventually.’
Claude, who had observed the changes between the first and second floors and anticipated combat by the third floor.
And he had already carefully formulated a plan for it.
“Everyone, gather around here.”
At Claude’s words, Minjeong, Jack, Roel, Jia, and Elsie assembled around the two men.
Claude informed everyone that they needed to break through the next gate by force, and simultaneously revealed the battle formation he had devised in advance.
“This will be our first time coordinating our combat rhythm. Stability is paramount, so please follow my instructions carefully. Since we’ve reached the third floor, there will definitely be far more monsters than what we identified on the first floor.”
Claude’s plan was as follows.
Leveraging the fact that Minjeong and Roel were both dark mages, they would construct a defensive line centered around a large number of undead.
“And at the center of the front line, Jia will serve as the main tanker.”
Frontier had been conducting steady analysis of Jia in the meantime.
Even if her true abilities were concealed by Ilgyeok’s shadow, she was more than capable of serving as a main tanker even on the eightieth floors.
Elsie and Jack would cover the rear, slicing down the surging monsters in a flanking formation.
“I primarily use magic, so I’ll provide rear support from behind. Finally, Ilgyeok, since you are an assassin, please provide support from the very back wherever it’s needed.”
Indeed, given their track record of handling numerous instant towers and gates, it was an efficient and stable arrangement.
For Jack, Minjeong, and Roel, it was rational enough that there were no objections whatsoever.
Particularly Roel, in stark contrast to his gloomy demeanor since entering the tower, wore a sinister smile as he entertained such thoughts.
‘Combat… if it’s a battle dominated by darkness and malice, then I too have a chance of victory…!’
Consider it.
A chaotic melee with countless undead and monsters tangled together.
No matter how superior Ilgyeok’s faction’s skills were, in such chaos, one misstep meant instant death.
If the assassin Ilgyeok carelessly passed in front of the undead he controlled?
Even if he thrust a rusted blade between the ribs and tore out the heart, who could blame him?
If he then seized that moment to deliver a finishing blow with dark magic under the guise of an accident, it would be perfect.
Jia and Elsie, who should have been protecting their master, were currently dismissing him entirely, making this a golden opportunity indeed.
‘Kuhaha…! I have been concealing my true power for this very moment…!’
The consequences of underestimating Roel Agriatus de Flobang Kaiser Tusrianu the Third would be truly harsh and lamentable!
…Remarkably, no one paid attention to what Roel was thinking.
While Roel was concocting his sinister scheme, Jia and Elsie’s reactions were lukewarm.
Claude asked.
“Do you perhaps have a different opinion?”
He didn’t know Jia and Elsie’s true capabilities precisely.
So their perspective might be different.
But Jia politely shook her head.
“That’s not it. Rather, I think your tactics are very sound, Claude.”
“Then why…?”
“It’s just that….”
Jia turned to look at Ihyeon with an apologetic expression.
Ihyeon had heard all of Claude’s plan and quietly stepped back to prepare for the conquest.
Then, as everyone’s gaze turned toward him, he awkwardly said this.
“Ah… well, thinking about it, I think I might be able to do it alone.”
“???????”
Everyone who heard Ihyeon’s words gasped in astonishment.
Of course, Jia and Elsie simply nodded as if it were obvious.
Claude, unable to comprehend what he had just heard, asked in bewilderment.
“So… you’re going to do this alone?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
The next question came from Minjeong.
Ihyeon wondered how to explain this, but quickly changed his mind.
‘There’s no need to complicate things with unnecessary words.’
Showing them directly would be the simplest approach.
And it felt like the right time to demonstrate.
If I formed a proper formation as Claude suggested, it would actually hinder me instead.
Whoooosh——
“???!?!?!!?!”
I pulled out my weapon from the inventory—the one I hadn’t shown them until now.
A sniper rifle.
Those who had never imagined seeing such a thing inside the tower opened their eyes, nostrils, and mouths as wide as they could, utterly bewildered.
I laughed and spoke.
“You’re surprised because you thought you should be surprised again, aren’t you?”
Their eyes were clear, reflecting the thought that they wouldn’t fall for it this time.
Of course.
“This time I’m genuinely shocked!”
“Wait, why are you suddenly pulling out a gun?!”
“Oh, Jesus!!! Tarakdwaeji Minjoo!”
“Why is my ID showing up there?!”
This time was different.
At my calm question, Claude, Minjeong, and Jack all protested with expressions of utter disbelief.
It was genuinely unbelievable.
Even being generous, let’s say that gun was a ‘real’ Maesek Gun developed specifically for high-rank monsters.
Even so, it was common sense that Maesek Guns couldn’t be brought into the tower.
Moreover, that Maesek Gun had such pathetic attack power compared to Hunters that it couldn’t even properly take down an Orc.
It was essentially an emergency measure created for Awakened ones who had only awakened mana without a level, just to provide some initial response.
Yet here was Ilgyeok—none other than the Hunter currently climbing the tower at the fastest speed in the world, and the one most likely to claim the seat of the strongest Hunter in the future—pulling out such a Maesek Gun?
Everything they had believed until now was crumbling away, incomparably more so than the mirror corridor incident.
Claude’s, Minjeong’s, and Jack’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Was that really Ilgyeok’s weapon?
Was he saying he’d break through corridors filled with monsters with that?
He achieved S+ rank up to the 74th floor with a real Maesek Gun?
Countless questions arose and disappeared, then arose again.
Yet there was one person from the Frontier side who couldn’t empathize with their shock and confusion.
“Why are you all like that…? It’s certainly an oddly-shaped staff, but… is there really something to be shocked about…?”
It was Roel.
Earlier, Jia and Elsie had also mistaken the sniper rifle for a peculiarly-shaped staff.
Roel, having spent all these years as a Dark Mage and witnessed every conceivable type of staff, was particularly convinced of this fact.
Elsie shook her head and patted Roel on the back.
“That’s right, keep thinking that way from now on.”
“…This insolent brat…!”
Whoosh— Thunk—
“Well, I suppose it’s time I drew my blade as well.”
“…So it really isn’t a staff…?”
Roel, who looked ready to punch Elsie on the spot, averted his gaze upon seeing the massive claymore that reached up to his shoulder height.
Mages were naturally weak in close combat, after all.
Since they were now bound together as a party for this dungeon run, the Dark Mage couldn’t secure the advantageous distance he needed.
So for now, he would let it slide….
Unfortunately, no one was there to sympathize with Roel’s grievance.
In any case, Ihyeon couldn’t possibly recount the entire long history behind this sniper rifle, so he simply said one thing.
“Originally, the only ones who have seen this gun and lived to tell the tale are my Spirits….”
A chill ran down their spines——!!
Ihyeon’s expression, which usually wore a smile, wasn’t particularly menacing.
But when he spoke like this with his face hardened into a rigid mask, the Frontier members felt ice creep down their backs.
“I, I even have experience negotiating with terrorists?!”
“Mom… Mom, your daughter is dying here…!”
“Captain, it’s been a pleasure serving with you!”
People speaking their piece, trying to appease Ihyeon, attempting to invoke his sympathy.
Of course, Ihyeon.
“? What are you all talking about?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, naturally you’re seeing this for the first time aside from monsters. There’s no need to worry.”
That wasn’t what he meant by what the people were worried about(?).
“Then you should have said so from the start!”
“Mother, Father….”
“Phew, phew….”
In any case, after the misunderstanding was smoothly resolved, Ihyeon decided to demonstrate the gun’s power directly to answer the various questions.
Tap— Tap—
Ihyeon walked calmly toward the tunnel’s exit door.
This was trouble in a different sense entirely.
“Ilgyeok! No matter what, at least let us set up a vanguard first…!”
“That’s right, we still don’t know much about it….”
“Listen to the captain! But didn’t Mingzhu see Ilgyeok clearing it?”
“Well, that’s….”
Complete chaos.
Even if one were to make a thousand concessions and say that the Maesek Gun was indeed a remarkable weapon beyond imagination, it was ultimately still a ranged weapon.
Naturally, it was impossible to deal with monsters charging madly one by one.
It was reasonable to conclude that Ihyeon, who traveled with powerful Spirits like Jia and Elsie, had been relying on them for close combat while he provided sniper support from the rear.
Yet the Spirits were standing with their arms crossed, looking frustrated instead.
Minjeong recalled Ilgyeok’s strategy from the twenties that she had glimpsed briefly.
Though “glimpsed” was hardly the right word.
Back then, she had simply watched as Ilgyeok obliterated every Kobold’s head without even knowing where he was positioned.
‘If, if that’s what a gun can do… I suppose it makes sense, but even then the terrain was much wider!’
The Kobold floor had been extremely favorable for a sniper.
A corridor, on the other hand, was as disadvantageous as it could possibly be.
I had to talk him out of this somehow!
To prevent Ilgyeok, the world’s hottest potato, from dying pathetically inside an instant dungeon!
“It’s a sin for a handsome man to die so anticlimactically!”
Minjeong shouted with her eyes squeezed shut, wondering if she really had to go this far.
By sheer coincidence, no one else was speaking at that moment, so her words rang out clearly.
“….”
Silence fell within the instant dungeon.
“Good heavens… please don’t joke like that… I’m ashamed to call you my master anywhere… ”
Only Roel offered a brief comment.
Minjeong waved her hand defensively.
“No, no, it’s just that Ilgyeok was about to rush straight into the tunnel. I was just trying to stop him for a moment….”
Unfortunately, no one was listening to Minjeong’s earnest explanation.
Claude and Jack decided to ignore her words completely, as if they hadn’t heard anything.
They figured that bringing it up would only lead to an awkward situation.
But the worst part for Minjeong was.
“Pardon? What did you say?”
Even Ihyeon hadn’t properly understood her words.
It was truly the second most terrible day of Minjeong’s life.
Of course, the first was when she was forced to reveal her ID to the Hunters from the Management Bureau on the twenties floor….

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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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