I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 150
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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 150
Ep. 150
Claude’s tears startled not only Minjeong but also Jack, who had been watching him for so long.
In their mental image of Claude, he might drool and have a runny nose, but tears were something entirely foreign to him.
‘Why, why is he crying? Does he think I’m treating him like a beggar?’
Ihyeon, in his own way, earnestly searched for the reason Claude had suddenly started crying.
He had only decided to share the items in good faith.
Especially since these items were useless to Ihyeon anyway, while Frontier had the Dark Mage Minjeong right there, so wouldn’t they be put to good use?
Still, as Claude had briefly expressed earlier, Ihyeon’s contribution to clearing this gate was overwhelmingly high, so it seemed reasonable to set some conditions as well.
Ihyeon nodded slightly and added,
“This is also, ultimately, to strengthen our friendly relationship with Frontier going forward. Please don’t feel burdened and accept it.”
Sharing the conquest rewards that should naturally be divided, and yet incurring a debt of gratitude?
This was an enormous gain for Ihyeon.
Frontier, who had already learned back in the 40s that Jia was his agent, could quite actively lend him their information network, couldn’t they?
If he ever got caught up in trouble, they could handle it on their own.
After all, that’s why Ihyeon had made contact with Frontier in the first place.
Swoosh—
Claude immediately wiped away his tears and grasped not just the item Ihyeon offered, but Ihyeon’s hands themselves.
“Thank you, Ilgyeok. Frontier will think of you as a brother.”
“I’m grateful that you would say so.”
He seemed deeply moved indeed.
Once Ihyeon assured him and fully handed over the items, Claude and Minjeong checked the descriptions together.
Then.
“W-what is this??”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Why are you so startled… Mingzhu…”
“S-sorry. It just felt like I had to react this way.”
“This is really frustrating…”
Their eyes widened in surprise, as if the performance exceeded their imagination.
Ihyeon had checked the descriptions before, so recalling them now.
「Lich’s Dark Grimoire (A)
Upon equipping, the exclusive skill ‘Lich’s Aura’ is granted to Undead summoning-type skills.
When Undead summoning-type skills are activated, there is a probability of gaining the modifier ‘Strengthened by the Lich’s Name’.
Mana increases.」
「Cursed Dark Awl Staff (S)
Upon equipping, the exclusive skill ‘Protection of the Dark Awl’ is applied.
When offensive Dark Magic is activated, the Dark Awl attribute is additionally granted.
Magic power increases significantly.
Mana increases.」
These were jackpot items that fully deserved their A and S grades.
The Dark Scripture that strengthens Undead into a Lich summoning version, of course.
But the Dark Spike Staff went even further.
The blessing of the Dark Spike was essentially a custom-tailored skill for Dark Mages who struggled in close combat.
Approaching monsters or projectiles would automatically trigger spikes to burst forth and defend.
It could even be wielded like a whip according to the user’s will.
And apparently, when using offensive dark magic, the Dark Spike would automatically be granted as well.
Finally, there was a massive increase in magical power stats that affected the potency of spells.
For a Dark Mage, it was nothing short of a top-tier set item.
Minjeong stared intently at Roel while holding the Dark Spike Staff in one hand.
“Why… why are you looking at me like that…?”
Roel, like someone caught red-handed—or rather, like a Spirit—stepped back and asked.
“No, I mean… do you really need it?”
Minjeong didn’t bother adding a subject to her question.
Of course, Roel was an S+ grade item, but Minjeong’s thoughts were different.
‘When I look at Ilgyeok’s Spirits, they’re so loyal and capable, but what about this guy? All he does is summon a few skeletons… always speaks in that eerie tone to scare people, and he stirs up discord…’
Having a Spirit at all was a demerit!
When she knew nothing better, she’d thought it was at least nice to have a Spirit—albeit a handsome one—but seeing Elsie and Jia, he seemed utterly useless.
…Of course, if Roel, who had taught Minjeong countless dark magic techniques and participated wholeheartedly in battles, had heard this, he would have been deeply wounded, but that was the reality.
Well, actually, just from Minjeong’s gaze alone, he was already wounded enough.
“I can’t take this anymore…!”
So Roel decided to show her why he was an S+ grade item!
With movements far more forceful than usual, he demonstrated what it meant for a plus sign to be attached to the S grade, snatching the staff from Minjeong’s hand.
“Kyaaah, my staff!”
“…I haven’t even said I was giving this to you yet…”
“Oh, I’m sorry… but Roel, what are you trying to do?”
“Just watch…”
Roel began pouring his dark magic into the staff with furious intensity.
Soon, the Dark Spike Staff’s form began to change gradually.
Watching this, Ihyeon felt a sense of doubt within.
‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before? …Ah!’
I recalled what the sense of déjà vu was about.
I had actually seen it many times.
It was remarkably similar to the effect when my sniper rifle transformed into a new mode after using enhancement stones.
Soon enough, a notification window appeared before Minjeong’s eyes.
「Item ‘Cursed Ashes’ Staff’ absorbs Item ‘Cursed Dark Spike Staff’.
Most of the stats from Item ‘Cursed Dark Spike Staff’ have been absorbed.
The absorbed item disappears.」
So that was what it meant to be an S+ grade item.
Roel laughed with an eerie voice as if he’d just removed a thorn in his side.
‘Anyone who dares mock me shall be remade thus! That is the Overlord’s wrath! And as his apostle, I shall obey his command!’
However, Elsie stood beside Ihyeon, clicking her tongue with a tsk-tsk sound and offered this explanation.
“Cursed ones always have a way of communicating with each other. They make a fuss over nothing.”
“Oh, is that what it was?”
According to Elsie, when an item had the modifier “cursed” attached to it, the stronger one would often absorb the curse from the weaker one and synchronize with it.
Since this time it was the same staff, it would have been even easier.
This meant Roel’s abilities weren’t particularly exceptional.
If all S+ items could do something like that, wouldn’t Jiana and Elsie just absorb items left and right?
However, Roel’s actions this time came with a considerably larger price.
“Um, Minjeong, Roel?”
“Yes, Claude?”
“What’s wrong…”
“Well, the staff still belongs to Frontier, not to you all, so if you just go around absorbing it carelessly…”
“!!!!!!”
“It’s an S-rank item, so receiving compensation at market price from the Agent would be difficult, but taking the circumstances into account as much as possible, it comes to about this much…”
“?!??!!??!!!”
As Claude carefully whispered in her ear, Minjeong let out a gasp of shock and reflexively cried out.
“J-just take Roel away!”
“But S+ rank items are bound, aren’t they? At least until the Spirit changes owners.”
“Kyaaaah! Roel, take responsibility! Hurry!”
“Cough…”
‘Well, practical problems always exist, don’t they.’
No matter what the Tower or Spirits say, the most terrifying thing in the end is always money.
I didn’t know how much a Frontier Agent’s salary was, but from what I’d heard in passing, it seemed like they’d be tied down for a solid ten years.
I’d heard of mortgage loans in this world, but this was my first time hearing about an item absorption loan.
Who would have heard of such a thing anyway.
Still, Claude, true to his magnanimous nature, handed over another item—a scripture—to Minjeong as well.
There weren’t many Dark Mages in Frontier anyway, and exporting such high-grade items abroad was quite a hassle, so he said to just keep it and use it well for now.
He made a point of emphasizing that since this belonged to Frontier, she absolutely must not absorb it.
“Mingzhu, to pay back the boss’s money well, you gotta work hard with the items, right?”
“Don’t talk to me like that, Jack! It’s annoying!”
…Well, Jack’s point wasn’t something I could completely ignore either.
Regardless of the reason, having received support from two such powerful items, Minjeong’s pace of climbing the Tower seemed like it would accelerate even further.
In any case, this completed the Tower’s conquest and cleanup.
Now, once I exited the Tower, the conquest would be complete and the settlement would take place.
Ihyeon, thinking that he had finished his business inside, spoke to Claude.
“Then I’ll be heading out now.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work. And, there’s one more matter…”
“Yes, I’ll make sure to send Jia into the Tower.”
“Good.”
The last remaining matter was revealing Jia’s true identity.
I need to reveal that until now, it wasn’t Ilgyeok himself, but actually Ilgyeok’s Black Knight who had been acting in his place.
If Frontier’s press conference became that channel, the influence would be beyond question.
Ihyeon nodded and left the tower as is.
Jia and Elsie also made their farewells in their own ways before departing.
The only ones remaining were Frontier’s personnel standing blankly among the powerless skeletal dummies.
“Phew….”
After Ihyeon left, Claude exhaled a deep sigh.
Now that he had gone, it felt as though the thread connecting reality and self had been severed.
“It feels like crossing the finish line in a marathon.”
“Mingzhu, you’re saying something smart for once.”
“I’m always smart?! Before becoming a Hunter, I was even preparing for the Civil Servant exam!”
The bickering between Jack and Minjeong didn’t last long before it gradually fizzled out.
When following behind Ihyeon, all they had to do was rush forward with vigor, but now that it was over, they couldn’t fathom what had just happened.
‘How am I supposed to explain this once we’re outside?’
Especially for Claude, who had to conduct the press conference, such worries weighed on him.
Of course, regardless of what he said, the press conference would be overflowing with scoops.
Claude spoke in a somewhat dazed voice.
“Shall we head out as well?”
“Yes, Claude….”
* * *
The Hosung City Instant Tower, which had transformed from a worthless burden due to abandoned conquest attempts into the center of global attention thanks to Frontier’s participation.
Naturally, the area before it was packed with reporters and officials.
“When do you think they’ll come out?”
“It’s a 5-floor Instant Tower. Even for Frontier, wouldn’t it take some time?”
“The average time is said to be around 15 hours… It’ll probably take longer, right?”
“Of course. The Samhwa Guild’s conquest team is quite well-known in the industry, but they gave up after a month.”
The reporters, before being journalists, were offering worried predictions as citizens.
What if Frontier’s attempt this time ended in failure?
They had built up expectations so high that the public’s disappointment and anxiety would surge even more dramatically in return.
Though they were broadcasting live, they couldn’t overlook the backlash if things went wrong.
So in the studio now, experts continued to comment that ‘Frontier is worth betting on, but optimistic predictions should be avoided.’
In any case, it had been about an hour and a half since Frontier entered, so the conquest should be in full progress inside.
For them to emerge outside again, they’d probably have to wait at least another half day….
Swoosh—!
“????”
“Ueeng?”
“They, they came out?”
Or so it should have been, but what was this.
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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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