I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 162
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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 162
Ep. 162
Despite the unexpected crisis I faced on the 76th Floor—a level that Hunters typically considered manageable contrary to their expectations—I pressed forward.
「77th Floor Clear Record Updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
The next day, I cleared the 77th Floor without incident.
It was indeed a region where Highland Gorillas appeared more frequently, but that was all.
Just as on the 76th Floor, I methodically eliminated the sentinel creatures and advanced, passing through quietly without any unnecessary commotion.
Since I’d already defeated the Leader, there was no chance of encountering a new one as I traversed the entire 77th Floor.
Though these two floors had been filled with tension for me, to those unaware of the circumstances, they were merely two uneventful days.
And in a certain location—one of the safest houses operated by the Management Bureau, shrouded in secrecy above all others.
“Hmm… You’re telling me she cleared the 77th Floor?”
Seo Suyeon, ranked first in Korea, tapped her chin with her index finger as she gazed at the notification window that had appeared before her eyes.
She’d anticipated it, but this was truly a rapid ascent.
Moreover, she’d just caused an avalanche incident on the 76th Floor.
“At this rate, won’t I really be caught up soon?”
Despite her words, Suyeon’s expression seemed subtly exhilarated.
Suyeon’s current location was the 86th Floor.
After clearing the 85th Floor—a level that could be called extraordinarily perilous—she was conducting reconnaissance at a leisurely pace.
Of course, the 86th Floor also presented an exceptionally tricky structure with no obvious solutions.
Regardless, if nothing else was scheduled, her daily routine was quite simple.
Securing experience and byproducts on the 84th Floor, then training on the 86th Floor as much as her stamina allowed.
Occasionally, she would undertake party clears with other 80-level Hunters.
‘Everyone here tends to move alone, which gets tedious.’
That was only when arrangements were made through guilds or the Management Bureau; most 80-level Hunters operated independently.
In any case, while information on the 70-level floors was difficult to find on Hunter Now but known to those in the know, the 80-level floors were treated as classified information by most nations.
Every detail—the terrain, the monsters—could directly permit other countries to pursue advancement, making information a strategic asset.
As a result, positioned at the forefront of the Tower of South Korea, Suyeon had no choice but to proceed with caution, step by step.
She had to use the 100-day timer as carefully and deliberately as possible.
Well, due to Suyeon’s ‘fatal weakness,’ it was inevitable that she’d proceed this way regardless.
In any case, Ilgyeok—who’d been a mere possibility—was already on the 77th Floor.
Whether she’d catch up to Suyeon remained to be seen, but they’d likely meet soon on the shared 80-level floors where Suyeon resided.
[ Title: Conquest On
Author: Suyeoning
Content: Emoticon ]
Suyeon logged into the one-room café, already flooded with clear verification posts, and uploaded a simple message.
It took less than a minute, but now skipping even a single day felt oddly incomplete.
When others found it impossible to ascend even one floor per day, Ilgyeok was climbing while broadcasting notifications worldwide each time. Seriously.
In any case, I’d completed everything I needed to do at the Tower today, so the remaining time was Suyeon’s to spend freely.
Suyeon opened the Hanban Café’s free bulletin board.
The posts were dominated by countless praises for Ilgyeok and various information exchanges about the Tower.
‘I saw a news article recently saying Hanban Café has now become Korea’s second-largest community after Hunter Now… It’s really impressive, I have to say.’
The status of Hanban Café, which had undergone explosive growth at a pace rivaling Ilgyeok’s ascent through the floors!
In particular, the administrators were donating all the advertising revenue generated from running the café and consistently verifying these donations, so the motto of so-called “sustainable fandom” was gaining even more attention.
Just how much interest did Ilgyeok, who was the owner of Hanban Café yet refused to reveal his appearance, command?
Suyeon also sometimes imagined things about Ilgyeok, just like other people uploading fan art of him.
“Just how long does he plan to keep his identity hidden? It won’t be easy on the 80th Floor.”
Until recently, everyone had thought Jia, whose identity as his proxy had been revealed, was Ilgyeok.
Honestly, when Suyeon saw Jia’s appearance, she was startled by her beautiful looks and the overwhelming power she couldn’t hide.
[ Title: What I Hope From Ilgyeok.
Author: Suyeoning
Content: If you’re clearing it together with Jia, I honestly think you should pay a bit more in taxes… emoticon ]
“Hehe, well, even if I write like this, Ilgyeok probably won’t see it anyway. And he wouldn’t know it’s me, right?”
Suyeon looked at the post she’d written again and giggled to herself.
Writing mischievous posts on Hanban Café these days was Suyeon’s other hobby besides enjoying comics!
It also reflected Suyeon’s wish to ascend the Tower with a Spirit like Jia.
└ You’re right! I totally agree with what the author said haha
└ If it were me, I’d pay 300 percent more! Of course, I’m not a Hunter. ]
“Man, the café people are really funny~”
As the comments started flowing in shortly after, Suyeon began giggling again.
Meanwhile, in one apartment in the old apartment complex in Gaecheon-dong.
“What I hope from Ilgyeok…? What could anyone possibly hope from me?”
After finishing the 77th Floor, Ihyeon happened to stop by Hanban Café and clicked on the post Suyeon had written.
The content was about paying more taxes.
‘Now these people are trying to drag me into tax evasion too!’
Well, it wasn’t exactly illegal, but since Ihyeon had been practically freed from tax issues through Deokhuun, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt every time he heard such things.
In fact, if his identity were ever truly exposed, wouldn’t he be implicated not just in military service evasion but also in tax evasion?
Ihyeon casually clicked on the nickname “Suyeoning” and started digging through the list of posts.
And what do you know.
[ I heard Ilgyeok shoots guns inside the Tower, so you must have served in the military, right? That’s so cool. ]
[ I’m curious about the red-haired child that Ilgyeok supposedly carries around! I bet they’re super cute, right? ]
[ I went to the Gaecheon-dong shopping mall, which is supposedly Ilgyeok’s holy site, and it was huge~ Everyone should go check it out! ]
“This is completely malicious!”
A toxic member who habitually posted all sorts of false slander(?) and fake information(?) about Ilgyeok!
“Master, why is this bothering you? It’s nothing serious.”
…That’s what only Ihyeon thought.
He wanted to report it to the police, but there was no way anything would come of it.
Ihyeon ultimately decided to suppress his frustration and remember the nickname “Suyeoning.”
‘But somehow it feels familiar… Did I see it before because she posts so frequently?’
A vague sense of unease lingered, but Ihyeon couldn’t have known the secret behind it.
And back to Suyeon’s apartment.
Suyeon, who had been liking comments on her posts one by one, suddenly paused and thought.
“Should I go meet him once?”
Ilgyeok was about to challenge the 78th Floor.
It was rare for Suyeon to descend to lower floors.
‘This time it might give me a clue to solving the 86th Floor! Two birds with one stone!’
Excuses were easy enough to fabricate.
Suyeon began planning with a giddy smile to descend to the 78th Floor tomorrow.
What if Ilgyeok suddenly didn’t attempt the floor tomorrow?
‘…I’ll just go again~ I’m not going to meet Ilgyeok, I’m going to get a clue about the 86th Floor!’
Suyeon didn’t seem particularly concerned.
The deadline remaining for the 86th Floor conquest was quite generous, so even if she took a brief trip to the lower floors, the management office wouldn’t say anything.
* * *
The next day.
Ihyeon climbed to the forward base on the 77th Floor as planned to ascend to the 78th Floor.
But the atmosphere of the forward base felt slightly off.
Usually it was desolate and quiet, but today it seemed somehow excited.
“Jia, Elsie. Would you two move to the designated location in advance? I’ll look into what’s going on first.”
“Understood, Master.”
Ihyeon sent the Spirits to the location they’d agreed upon beforehand, then naturally blended in among the other Hunters.
It would be troublesome if the Spirits were seen by the Hunters and caused a commotion.
“Say, is something going on? Is it because of Ilgyeok?”
It couldn’t be, since he was Ilgyeok himself, but the meticulous assumption that the 70s Floors getting noisy was always because of Ilgyeok!
A Hunter near the campfire chuckled and shook his head.
“If it were because of Ilgyeok, it wouldn’t be this noisy anymore.”
‘What’s wrong with me!’
Ihyeon felt a slight pang at the Hunter’s casual dismissal of Ilgyeok, but he couldn’t let it show.
Still, the Hunter answered Ihyeon’s question with reasonable kindness.
“Well, Shin Gung came here.”
“What?”
Ihyeon asked in surprise.
There couldn’t possibly be two people with the nickname Shin Gung.
“You mean the Korea Ranking 1st, that Shin Gung?”
“Who else would it be? Hunter Seo Suyeon.”
“…?”
Why did she suddenly come down here?
‘By now she should be on the 85th Floor… no, she cleared that not long ago, so shouldn’t she be conquering the 86th Floor?’
She should be devoting herself to conquering her own floor, bearing the future and safety of Korea on her shoulders!
Ihyeon seriously contemplated whether he should report this as dereliction of duty.
Though in truth, no one actually thought such a thing.
It was Seo Suyeon’s ranking as number one that made her a topic of discussion, but in reality, it was quite common for hunters to climb to higher floors and then descend back to lower ones for various reasons.
Just when Ihyeon himself had ascended the Tower searching for Ilgyeok, hadn’t high-level Hunters flooded into the lower floors where beginners gathered?
In any case, given that Shin Gung had visited this place, Ihyeon couldn’t help but naturally infer her intentions.
‘Why on earth did she come all the way down here?’
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way Ilgyeok would coincidentally, by chance, or fortuitously happen to be on the floor Shin Gung was clearing today.
It was reasonable to assume that Ilgyeok was deeply connected to the reason Suyeon came here.
‘But if that’s the case… wouldn’t it be more natural for her to wait at the forward base for Ilgyeok? Though it seems he’s not here.’
Yet, perhaps because she was ranked number one, even Ihyeon found it difficult to discern her true intentions.
In a way, it was only natural.
Who could blame her for avoiding the awkward attention of others, or for feeling embarrassed about sitting and waiting for Ilgyeok at the forward base?
Ihyeon asked quite casually.
“Did Shin Gung head straight to clear the floor?”
“Yes. She went that way.”
“Hmm.”
Ihyeon’s gaze followed the direction the Hunter indicated.
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
The Hunter conversing with Ihyeon tilted his head and asked.
‘That’s the direction I was planning to go!’
There was no way the Hunter could have guessed his true thoughts.
The direction the Hunter pointed to was where the most desolate paths converged on the route toward the 78th floor.
Ihyeon had intended to choose a reasonably short path that people didn’t frequent, but the mere fact that Shin Gung had entered one of these routes was daunting.
“Ah, no… I was just thinking that Shin Gung always chooses the difficult paths.”
“Haha! Of course, that’s why Shin Gung is ranked first!”
Then the Hunter spoke with a subtle expression.
“We’ve been speculating among ourselves about why Shin Gung came here.”
“I beg your… no, what is it?”
Ihyeon focused intently on the Hunter’s words, as if he’d found the answer.
When he couldn’t arrive at a sharp conclusion himself, listening to others’ opinions was also a talent befitting an excellent marksman and operator.
“I think she came to compare her abilities with Ilgyeok’s in a way.”
“Compare?”
“Right. If she clears it once herself and then checks the time Ilgyeok cleared it, wouldn’t she be able to see how much the current skill gap between them is?”
“Ah!”
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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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