I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 168

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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 168
Ep. 168
Ihyeon felt as though the grave deliberation that had consumed him moments before suddenly lifted, soaring skyward and vanishing like a wisp of smoke.
Perhaps that was the right approach after all.
‘I came here to clear this floor, after all.’
Ihyeon smiled faintly and spoke to the Spirits.
“If you’re cold, let’s head inside now.”
“Yeah, let’s finish this quickly and get out of here, Master.”
Elsie immediately took the lead and ventured into the Cave.
Her demeanor suggested that merely escaping this biting wind and swirling snow would be salvation enough.
‘But do Spirits actually feel cold?’
Ihyeon found himself curious about this, though observing that Jia’s complexion was similarly poor, it seemed they did experience the cold after all.
Previously, she had flown about effortlessly wearing only a thin garment, suggesting their tolerance threshold was far higher than that of humans.
“In any case, I’m grateful for you both. Information about the 80th Floor is impossible to find no matter how thoroughly I search the internet.”
“Hehe, just trust us! Well, actually you don’t need to trust that armored fox.”
“It is only natural for an item to be of service to my Master.”
In response to Ihyeon’s gratitude, Elsie spoke with supreme confidence.
Under normal circumstances, he would have dismissed this as Elsie’s characteristic arrogance, but this time he had genuinely received substantial assistance.
In truth, even for the 70s floors, information was difficult to obtain even on Hunter Now.
At best, one could find rough details about what monsters appeared on each floor.
And even those were largely unreliable rumors.
Few Hunters reached the 70s floors to begin with, and their numbers visibly diminished with each ascending floor, making the information exponentially scarcer.
Most who ventured this high belonged to major Guilds, which tended to control information at the organizational level.
Consequently, the materials Ihyeon had consulted were mostly years outdated.
If the 79th Floor was like this, what of the 80th?
As a result, Ihyeon had to rely on the Spirits’ memories and Deokhuun’s information network.
The Spirits had claimed they’d ascended to the 85th Floor themselves, so there was no question there, but Deokhuun had been genuinely surprising.
“That fellow Deokhuun is quite capable, isn’t he? They say he’s from a wealthy family, and he certainly knows quite a lot.”
“Right. And the quality of his information is far superior to yours.”
“Master!”
When Ihyeon deliberately needled Elsie, she bristled immediately.
Now that he thought about it, Deokhuun had introduced himself from the start as a byproduct processor and Tower consultant.
The concept of “Tower consultant” had been so unfamiliar that he’d wondered what it meant, but honestly, given how detailed Deokhuun’s information about the 80th Floor was, the title seemed well-deserved.
‘Well, his father is the chairman of the Tower Industry Association, so what else would you expect?’
The Tower Industry Association had no official direct connection to clearing the Tower.
Yet in certain respects, it possessed advantages in gathering information superior to independently operating Guilds.
Those very Guilds had to process byproducts exclusively through the Association, and one could reasonably say that Guild operating funds originated from the Association itself.
From the Guilds’ perspective, they had to maintain even closer relations with the Association to secure their own interests.
Especially if that relationship involved competition with other Guilds.
In essence, the Association was the Guild of Guilds.
The fact that Ihyeon had requested information about the 80th Floor, and within less than a day, all of Korea’s strategy records—and even several foreign accounts—had been delivered to him was hardly surprising.
‘I didn’t realize he was that capable, but joining forces with Deokhuun turned out to be an excellent decision in many ways.’
From this single instance of information gathering alone, Ihyeon felt he owed Deokhuun a considerable debt.
So then, what kind of place was the 80th Floor, based on the information he’d obtained?
“Giants and fairies—how romantic.”
Ihyeon was quite surprised by a combination that seemed more fitting for a fairy tale than the Tower.
More precisely: a Lava Giant and an Ice Fairy.
The image that came to mind was straightforward—the Lava Giant handling tanking and close-range damage from the front, while the Ice Fairy unleashed magical attacks from the rear. But the reality was different.
Without the information from Deokhuun and the Spirits, Ihyeon would never have known the truth.
“I’ll say it again—the important one is the fairy. Defeat the fairy, and you’ve essentially cleared the floor.”
The Lava Giant had nothing to do with the clear conditions.
The condition to clear the 80th Floor was the defeat of the Ice Fairy.
“As if it’s that simple.”
Yet even knowing that condition, actually clearing the 80th Floor was an entirely different matter.
Whoooosh—
How far had they walked into the narrow cave?
Though not quite as severe as outside, the cave was like a bone-chilling cold valley, when suddenly heat surged forth from ahead.
The entrance to the 80th Floor.
What unfolded before their eyes was a sight they could scarcely have imagined encountering in the 70s.
Splurt— Splurt—
A massive bell-shaped cavern.
From the walls on all sides, lava like freshly melted metal flowed down sluggishly.
The lava that flowed down gathered in a lava pool at the center of the cavern, and the problem lay in what occupied that pool.
Goooooooo———
A giant that nearly filled the entire cavern.
What origin could have spawned such a creature, and was such a thing even possible?
Witnessing it directly raised countless questions, but truthfully, that wasn’t what mattered.
‘In a Tower where so many monsters pour out, where’s the realism in any of this anyway… but this one is certainly overwhelming.’
In terms of sheer size, it was smaller than the Behemoth or Amogratl he’d seen in the past Instant Tower.
Yet despite that, the overwhelming aura of presence it radiated.
The ego of a powerful being, seemingly emanating from the very soul.
Even compared to the Floor Masters he’d faced thus far, this colossal Lava Giant of a different caliber filled Ihyeon’s entire vision.
“Hah… it’s certainly different. But if we proceed as planned—”
Ihyeon endured the giant’s suffocating presence and attempted to signal the Spirits to prepare for battle.
Yet for some reason, the Spirits’ eyes had widened slightly.
Ihyeon sensed something familiar in their expressions.
‘Could they possibly—?’
“That’s not the one, is it?”
“It’s definitely different, Master.”
“….”
Why do sad premonitions never miss their mark?
I barely suppressed the sigh threatening to escape and asked.
“What’s the problem this time? It’s a Lava Giant, just like you said, isn’t it?”
“Well, it is a Lava Giant, but… that’s not the one we were talking about.”
“Originally, they’re supposed to be only slightly larger than half that size. But this one… it defies all logic.”
So it truly was illogical?
I found myself relieved that the Spirits and I finally saw eye to eye, yet simultaneously furious at encountering another absurd situation.
Then, a notification window materialized before my eyes and the Spirits’.
「???’s Intervention.
Lava Giant, ‘Pullistro, the Mountain King’ and Ice Spirit, ‘Mikhail’ appear」
The boss’s name had been revealed.
The implications were far from simple.
A ‘Named’ monster—something I’d experienced when defeating Behemoth.
However, the Floor Master of the 80th Floor bore no resemblance in stature to the creatures I’d seen in some C-rank instant Tower.
My original plan had been to draw the Lava Giant’s attention away with the Spirits so it wouldn’t notice my presence, then precisely target only the Ice Spirit to clear the floor.
“That won’t work anymore, will it?”
I instinctively sensed that my existing strategy had gone significantly awry.
As if to prove my ominous premonition correct.
Kuooooo——!!!!
Pullistro, the Mountain King, unleashed a roar.
The entire snowy mountain trembled violently in response to that fury.
The lava that had been oozing down the walls erupted ferociously, spraying in all directions.
Before the Spirits and I could even begin our operation, the boss had already detected us and entered combat stance.
Mikhail, too, abandoned the leisurely movements from before and began darting about frantically.
Jia asked.
“Master, shall we change our strategy?”
I deliberated briefly.
But it was truly only ‘brief’.
With the situation escalating so rapidly, if I delayed any longer, I might have to withdraw without even drawing my blade, let alone striking anything down.
I couldn’t accept such a hollow conclusion now.
“No, we proceed as planned.”
My choice was to continue the operation.
However, the method of execution required modification.
“Jia! Summon the Knights! And charge!”
“I receive your command.”
Jia bowed her head and faithfully followed my orders.
From the cavern entrance where the Spirits and I stood, reaching Pullistro required descending a rather steep slope.
Jia descended that incline without hesitation, her gleaming spear and shield gripped firmly in each hand.
At the same moment.
Shhhhk— Shhhk—
Dark silhouettes materialized behind her, their numbers swelling rapidly until they formed a cohesive group.
The Knights of the Evil God had manifested at the command of their captain, Jia.
Whoosh—
Jia raised her spear lightly, aiming it at Pulisto.
That gesture alone conveyed all the orders necessary.
Simultaneously, the Knights positioned behind Jia surged down the slope in a coordinated charge.
“Master, should I move as planned?”
Elsie, still on standby.
“Yes. But be especially careful. Leave defense to the Knights. You and Jia shouldn’t take unnecessary risks until we’ve gathered sufficient information.”
“Of course!”
Ihyeon issued his warning.
The 80th Floor’s boss had emerged as a Named monster.
Already starved for information, it was nearly impossible to predict how much the power gap would widen from this change.
Certainly, the Spirits had gained some sense from their previous encounters with the Lava Giants, but that was all.
This was the creature that Jia—someone who rarely commented on any monster—had deemed “unreasonable.”
That alone suggested she anticipated a grueling battle.
Ihyeon decided to observe the initial collision between the Knights and Pulisto.
‘I need to draw aggro away from myself regardless.’
Though a significant variable had emerged, my strategy remained unchanged.
End it with minimal shots.
And the true target on this floor was ultimately Mikhail.
In other words, the shots I needed were.
‘Just one.’
As always, only one shot.
Crash—
At that very moment, the first collision erupted between the Knights led by Jia and Pulisto.
A massive forearm that appeared forged from lava swept horizontally across the ground.
Crash, crash, crash—!!!
The Knights’ flank became exposed, yet their response was equally swift.
Shield Bearers moved instantly to form a wall, and the curse of the Evil God seeped into the forearm.
But no matter how quick the response, one could not prevent the collision itself.
The overwhelming difference in mass and volume spoke for itself.
Boom—!
With a deafening roar, the firmly positioned Shield Bearers trembled violently.
Several Knights couldn’t even withstand the first collision and were immediately unsummoned.
“Hold the line!”
Yet the Knights were not merely taking the assault passively.

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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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