I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 157

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 157
Ep. 157
An ambiguous expression—neither clearly pleased nor disappointed.
Could it be that despite being an S+ exclusive reward, something utterly useless had dropped instead?
Yet Ihyeon was the type who would brush off even ordinary magic stones with an indifferent shrug, which made this reaction all the more puzzling.
Ihyeon stared at the notification window with a lukewarm expression, offering no explanation.
「An additional item has been granted: ‘Ring of the Evil God’s Knights Guild Leader.’」
“Something appeared…”
The strange expression on Ihyeon’s face stemmed largely from not understanding what this item actually was.
On a whim, he opened the auction house to check.
However, not a single Ring of the Evil God’s Knights Guild Leader was registered there.
Well, items related to bosses had abysmal drop rates unless they came from S+ exclusives like this.
The only related items you could find on the auction house were weapons and armor used by the Evil God’s Knights—swords, spears, and the like.
‘This seems like a higher-tier item than those.’
There was one person Ihyeon could ask in situations like this.
「Ilgyeok: Deokhuun, are you there?
Bong Jangseondal: Yes, hyung! What’s the matter? Selling an item? Need quick cash? Legal or economic matters? Or just a personal call? I just heard about the 75th Floor conquest!」
Setting aside the instant response, it was like dealing with a customer service chatbot.
「Ilgyeok: That’s not it. I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of an item called the Ring of the Evil God’s Knights Guild Leader.
Bong Jangseondal: I haven’t heard of it. Looks like you obtained it on the 75th Floor. One moment. I can figure it out roughly using my Sales Skill.」
Deokhuun’s Sales Skill had numerous items from the Tower registered in a catalog format.
Items whose existence was unknown remained hidden as ‘???’, but known items revealed their names and rough prices. The more you sold them, the smaller the margin of error became, and the selling price increased accordingly.
This meant that items never sold before would inevitably have their prices severely undercut.
After a brief moment, Deokhuun’s response came back.
「Bong Jangseondal: Hyung… forgive me, but what exactly did you obtain?
Ilgyeok: Why?
Bong Jangseondal: The price isn’t showing up.
Ilgyeok: ?」
The price isn’t showing?
Deokhuun said this was his first time experiencing something like this.
The item name ‘Ring of the Evil God’s Knights Guild Leader’ did appear, but the price was displayed as ‘market rate.’
‘What is this, some kind of auction house? What does that even mean?’
Weren’t all items in the Sales Skill system technically market rate anyway?
「Bong Jangseondal: I haven’t dealt with items from such high floors very often… This is my first time with something like this. I’m truly sorry, hyung.
Ilgyeok: It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.」
Ihyeon decided to just open his inventory and check the information directly to see what kind of item this actually was.
This was the most reliable method, though accessories were inherently hit-or-miss items.
「Ring of the Evil God’s Knights Guild Leader (S)」
“!”
But the rank itself was already unusual.
An S-rank item just dropped?
‘It seems my Sales Skill can’t determine the price of S-rank items. Well, at that level….’
I interpreted Deokhuun’s words in my own way and shifted my gaze to what came next.
「A ring belonging to the Knights Guild Leader, a powerful subordinate of the Overlord.
Upon use, you can summon the Evil God’s Knights.
Strength and stamina increase significantly.
The number of summoned Knights is proportional to the user’s total stats.
???」
“What in the world is this….”
But the more I read, the more astonishing revelations kept appearing.
‘The Overlord appears here too?’
The Overlord and the Watchman.
Likely the two entities most powerfully intertwined with the Tower’s secrets.
Among them, I had already encountered the Watchman before.
Setting aside the personalities of Jinwi and the one who introduced himself as the Watchman for now.
And what about those final ‘???’ marks?
When I relayed the item’s description to the Spirits, both Jia and Elsie’s expressions grew serious as well.
“Hey, Armored Fox, that thing somehow….”
“Yeah, Elsie.”
As Elsie was about to speak, Jia nodded as if she already understood completely.
Then she knelt on one knee before me and spoke.
“Master.”
“Why the sudden formality?”
Jia had never been anything but serious.
But she rarely knelt like this.
“While that ring would certainly show powerful effects even if you were to wear it, Master, I humbly request that you bestow it upon me.”
“You?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Come to think of it, Jia’s appearance was also quite similar to that of a knight.
People called her the Black Knight, after all.
Elsie chimed in from beside her.
“That’s right, Master. I think it’d be good to give it to the Armored Fox and see what happens.”
“Well… there’s no reason not to.”
I nodded and handed the ring to Jia.
There was an option for significantly increased strength and stamina, but it held little merit for me.
My firepower and stability stats would increase, but I already had more than enough of those.
‘Most importantly, there seems to be a secret hidden in that final ??? option.’
This was my true intention.
There was no way an item’s option would be hidden without reason.
There had to be specific conditions to unlock it.
I had once witnessed Roel, Minjeong’s spirit, absorb an entire S-rank item.
At that time, Elsie had said it was possible because cursed items shared similar wavelengths, but given such precedent, the Knights Guild Leader’s ring would likely hold secrets as well.
The moment the ring passed into Gia’s hands, notification windows began flooding my vision.
「The spirit Gia, bound to the item ‘Eboncloak,’ has encountered the item ‘Ring of the Demon God’s Knights Guild Leader.’
Hidden information regarding the ‘Ring of the Demon God’s Knights Guild Leader’ has been unlocked.
Spirit Gia has been promoted to ‘Knights Guild Leader Gia.’」
“?!”
Though I had witnessed countless astonishing notifications throughout my journey, this time I truly could not contain my shock.
“S-something like this exists…?”
Unlocking hidden information I could have anticipated.
But Gia’s promotion?
Whoooosh——
Simultaneously, the black aura emanating from the ring began transferring to Gia.
The energy that had been swirling around her in what seemed like a collision momentarily settled, then was absorbed entirely into her body.
Uncertain of what had transpired, Gia, who had briefly furrowed her brow, spoke to me.
“It is complete now. Would you like to verify the details?”
“Y-yes, let’s do that.”
I opened the description window for the ring once more.
The earlier contents remained largely unchanged, but the problematic ‘???’ had been replaced with new information.
「The Ring of the Demon God’s Knights Guild Leader becomes bound to a spirit possessing suitable qualifications.
The ring’s effects are amplified.
The spirit’s rank is elevated.」
“Wow…”
The ring, already treated as a national treasure, had become even more powerful.
But that was not all.
「
The summoned Demon God’s Knights can attack the user.
」
This hidden option, which had been written there, vanished the moment it was confirmed.
‘…It was a trap item.’
A trap option concealed beneath the name of an S-rank item.
The Demon God’s Knights could have cut down their own master the moment they were summoned if circumstances aligned poorly.
Though the exact conditions remained unknown, had I summoned them in a moment of joy, disaster would surely have followed.
If the Demon God’s Knights had been summoned near me and immediately attacked at close range?
‘I could guess the outcome, but… I would have been caught off guard.’
At that thought, a chill ran down my spine.
I returned the ring to Gia and spoke.
“This seems to be your item after all. Thank you.”
“It is far too little to repay the Master’s kindness.”
Gia declined my gratitude as though she had merely done what was naturally expected of her.
Just as I had once received Rex Lizardman’s spear and small horns had appeared on my shoulder armor, obtaining this ring brought subtle changes to Jia’s appearance as well.
A faint golden circle had been drawn on the left side of her breastplate.
Noticing this, I decided to ask about it.
“What’s that circle?”
If it were merely drawn there, I might have simply thought, ‘Something changed again,’ but it seemed too incomplete to leave at that.
It had the form of something half-finished, as if still being drawn.
Jia glanced down at her own breastplate for a moment, then nodded and replied.
“Would it be possible for me to borrow that location?”
“That location?”
I tilted my head in confusion for a moment before understanding what Jia meant.
It seemed she was asking to borrow the Makeshift Shooting Range.
Perhaps to demonstrate the ring’s performance, or something similar.
“No problem.”
It felt satisfying to cleanly wrap up the rewards I’d obtained.
I immediately activated the Makeshift Shooting Range.
“Do you have any specific terrain in mind?”
“No, sir. I am grateful simply for borrowing this space.”
The basic empty expanse of the Makeshift Shooting Range, devoid of anything.
Jia bowed her head slightly to me, then walked forward with steady steps as if to secure a safe distance.
“What exactly is she trying to do?”
As I muttered to myself, bewildered by her actions, Elsie spoke leisurely with her hands clasped behind her head.
“Master will naturally understand once you watch. That Jia looks like a docile lamb in front of Master, but behind the scenes she’s a complete fox, a fox indeed.”
“Jia?”
“Yes! Master absolutely must not be deceived? The only one Master should trust and rely on is the Legendary Sword Elsie—”
“Elsie.”
“S-sorry.”
As Jia lightly called Elsie’s name while walking, Elsie quickly apologized.
In any case, we were now about fifty meters apart, and Jia seemed to think this distance was sufficient, as she came to a stop.
Then, placing the Knights Guild Leader ring on her finger, she began doing something.
Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—
Soon, black energy began undulating from the ground before her.
Just as with the Overlord’s Knights, if you looked closely, hints of red were mixed in as well.
“Hmm?”
Without needing any explanation, I could tell well enough what this was.
The Overlord’s Knights were being summoned.
There were quite a few of them.
Roughly more than twenty but fewer than thirty.
I wasn’t sure if they were stronger than the original Overlord’s Knights I’d encountered on the 75th Floor, but considering the Tower’s system that limited party size, this was truly a broken item.
Clank— clank—
Click— click—
The summoned evil god’s Knights Guild, who had been kneeling on one knee, finally completed their summoning and rose from their positions.
The sight was quite magnificent.
The clang of metal plates striking together, the sound of weapons settling into place—such sounds were more than enough to stir the hearts of onlookers.
“Wow… looking at this, I feel like I’ve become some kind of Squad Leader.”
“Squad Leader?”
“It’s a rank. A higher position.”
“Ah, something like a mercenary captain?”
Since Ihyeon had only been a Sergeant, becoming a Squad Leader was a rank he could never dream of unless he transferred to a training facility.
As my level increased, the number of Knights would grow larger, and eventually I might truly be able to command a proper squad-sized force.
‘It seems the faint circle in Jia’s chest was probably because we hadn’t performed the summoning ritual.’
Ihyeon reasoned it out in his own way.
But Ihyeon’s prediction was only half correct.
On one hand, he was right that a proper summoning was necessary to create a clear circle.
“You dare summon us as if you’re some Knights Guild Leader?”
“?”
The Knights Guild’s attitude being far worse than Ihyeon had imagined was the half he got wrong.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————