I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 172
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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 172
Ep. 172
I thought they’d be delighted by some magnificent destructive weapon, but to be honest, from the Spirits’ perspective, it actually seemed weaker than the previous sniper rifle.
Besides, the Spirits knew little about snipers and sniper rifles, so they couldn’t help but fail to understand why I was so pleased with it.
In the end, I decided I had to show these Spirits—who lacked appreciation for sniping—what I was truly capable of.
“Follow me to the makeshift shooting range.”
“???”
They followed along, but was this really something to be so solemn about?
In any case, the obedient Spirits followed me without complaint into the makeshift shooting range.
The demonstration shooting location was, as always, my old military unit’s firing range.
I settled into the firing pit, positioned the rifle comfortably, then lined the Spirits up behind me and spoke.
“A sniper rifle isn’t just about appearances. Though it’s grown a bit antiquated, its performance is no worse than modern rifles.”
“I see.”
“Is that so?”
Only then did the Spirits’ expressions become serious.
Though my Master occasionally displayed strange behavior, when it came to sniping and strategy, he was nothing but sincere.
And the Spirits knew very well the truth that one shouldn’t judge items and people by appearance alone.
Though it looked terribly worn and shabby, if my Master said so, it might indeed be a supreme destructive weapon with the potential to topple towers.
Bang—!
“??”
They watched the shot with hopeful anticipation.
‘Is there a difference?’
The Spirits tilted their heads in confusion.
In fact, there didn’t seem to be any particular difference.
Well, of course there were subtle differences.
“The bullet hole has become remarkably small, Master.”
“Exactly? You have a keen eye, Jia.”
“You’re too kind.”
Until now, as my mana bullets increased in firepower, the bullet holes also grew considerably larger.
Any monster hit once would have entire body parts blown clean off.
But with the Bolt Action II, the bullet holes had become almost as small as bone bullets.
It seemed to be the effect of dramatically increased stability, concealment, and precision—facts I was discovering for the first time myself, yet I was thoroughly pleased with them.
In truth, the increasingly large bullet holes weren’t ideal for collecting byproducts, and they became a burden in my situation where concealing my identity was preferable.
‘How can our Bolt Action II have not a single flaw?’
At this point, even saying it was flawless seemed insufficient.
Well, when I needed wider-range strikes, I could always use the Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle or the standard form, so it was certainly advantageous in many ways.
Click-clack— click-clang—!
“Hah! Don’t you feel anything hearing this sound?”
“…?”
I asked the Spirits cheerfully, listening to the bolt’s retreat and forward motion—a sound that seemed to sweep through my entire body like a refreshing breeze.
Of course, the Spirits couldn’t comprehend it at all and merely tilted their heads in confusion.
‘Then there’s no helping it.’
Ihyeon nodded as if he’d already anticipated this and spoke to Jia.
“Jia, could you summon the Knights again for me?”
“The Knights, sir?”
Jia seemed a bit puzzled as to why the Knights were suddenly needed, but she summoned the members without hesitation.
“Combat!”
“What kind of enemy this time?!”
Though their pride had been wounded considerably since meeting Ihyeon, they were still the Knights of the Evil God, thirsting for battle and slaughter.
Even having just finished their battle with Pulisto and Mikhail, they always welcomed combat.
With their blue eyes gleaming brilliantly, the fierce Knights grasped their weapons and searched for their enemy.
Click-clack—click-clang—!
“???”
What greeted them was not the roar of a ferocious monster or the clash of weapons, but the sound of a bolt being cycled back and forth.
The Knights stared at Ihyeon, who was contentedly stroking the bolt, with bewildered expressions.
No matter how they looked around, they couldn’t see any monster they were supposed to fight.
Meanwhile, Ihyeon suddenly asked them this.
“How is it?”
“…What do you mean, sir?”
“What do you think?”
Click-clack—click-clang—!
“How is it?”
“??????”
The Knights felt it in that moment.
Something was very wrong.
They couldn’t fathom Ihyeon’s intention at all.
That oddly-shaped staff was certainly producing a refreshing sound, but surely their lord hadn’t summoned the Knights of the Evil God just to listen to such a noise?
The Knights looked toward their captain Jia with blank expressions, but even she had no clever solution.
Meanwhile, seeing that the Knights didn’t understand his meaning at all, Ihyeon shook his head.
“This won’t do. I’ll have to give a demonstration.”
Ihyeon summoned a suitable Troll at the edge of the shooting range.
Only then did the Knights understand what they were supposed to do, and they cried out with menacing fervor.
“Should we fight that creature?”
“Leave it to us!”
Though their circumstances had become somewhat pitiful now, they were still the proud elite unit of the Overlord, the holy knights serving the Evil God, berserkers mad for battle!
They were skilled enough to make short work of an ordinary Troll in less than a minute.
But before the Knights could charge forward, Ihyeon—
Bang—!
“???”
—simply pulled the trigger once and reduced the Troll to particles of light.
Naturally, the Knights who had lost their composure stared blankly at me.
Click-clack— click-bang—!
I worked the bolt back and forth again, as if asking, “Now do you understand?”
“How is it?”
“….”
The Knights remained silent.
I sighed helplessly and thought to myself.
‘If they don’t understand, I’ll have to drill it into them until it becomes second nature. That’s the spirit of a soldier, after all.’
It seemed that these otherworldly beings simply couldn’t match the mental fortitude of Earth’s military culture.
When your direct superior takes possession of the ball, even if he has the cursed feet of a demon with no talent for soccer, it’s only natural to clear a highway straight to the goal!
…Of course, I wasn’t expecting such flattery from the Knights, but still, since they’ve come all the way to Earth, wouldn’t it be good for everyone if they experienced some of our fine culture?
How much time had passed since then?
“How is it?”
I asked the Knights with eyes gleaming with peculiar anticipation.
“Wahoooo!!!”
“Truly magnificent!”
“In all my life, I have never heard such a refreshing sound, my lord!”
The Knights wept blue tears from their blue eyes, clapping their hands and jumping about in absolute frenzy.
“Mm!”
I let out a satisfied exclamation and nodded my head.
Then, as if to show them off, I called the Spirits.
“Jia, Elsie. Look at this. Even the Knights who’ve never seen a gun before admit how wonderful the sound of my sniper rifle is.”
But by that point, the Spirits had already.
“Zzzz….”
“Elsie, wake up now. Master is calling for you.”
“Huh? Is it over?”
They had retreated far away from me and the Knights, enjoying their own precious rest time.
I couldn’t say how many hours we’d spent loading and killing monsters, but one thing was certain: the Knights had properly absorbed the military spirit.
“It was an honor to hear the clear sound of my lord’s weapon.”
“The destructive power is truly remarkable!”
“One can only say it is an unparalleled instrument of war.”
“In that regard, would it be acceptable for us to take our leave now?”
I nodded readily.
“Yes, you’ve worked hard. Go on back now. Jia, send them back.”
“Yes, Master.”
I watched the Knights disappear as they were unsummoned, my smile deeply satisfied.
“They really are elites—they understand instructions so well. Don’t you think?”
“I believe they are useful fellows.”
“Good heavens, how many hours did you keep them here….”
Click-clack— click-bang—!
“Listen to it one more time. What do you think?”
“I-I’m sorry, Master! I was wrong!”
Ihyeon and the Spirits exchanged such words before leaving the makeshift shooting range and returning to their room.
Though they didn’t know it, Ihyeon had gained a certain degree of fame in a particular world because of this incident.
And there was one more thing Ihyeon had forgotten.
「A Somewhat Special Lava Giant’s Bone*1」
It would be quite some time in the future before Ihyeon would notice the existence of this bone and use it in a different way than before.
* * *
「Friend List
Baekbalbaegjung
Bong Jangseondal
Cloud
Tarakdwaeji Minjoo
ForeignLabor」
After unexpectedly registering Suyeon as a friend.
Ihyeon decided to register all the Hunters he had maintained connections with.
Though “all” only amounted to five people.
‘After all, I have Jia and Elsie, so you could say that makes seven. Well.’
Ihyeon decided not to worry about it with that thought.
Even if it was only seven people in reality.
‘Shin Gung probably has hundreds of people filling her friend list, right? She must have met quite a lot of people while clearing dungeons all this time.’
Ihyeon assumed that Suyeon’s friend request to him was an extension of that same context.
After all, so-called social butterflies supposedly have their phone contacts so full that you’d need to scroll for quite a while to reach the end.
‘Given Shin Gung’s personality, she might not be a complete social butterfly, but she still has her position.’
As Korea’s number one Shin Gung, her friend list would surely be far more diverse than anything Ihyeon could imagine.
Starting with the masters of each guild, executives, and beyond that, the management office, the Ministry of Defense, and so on.
He had no idea that Suyeon’s friend list actually contained only three people, even fewer than his own.
In any case, those who received Ihyeon’s friend request could only be shocked.
First, Frontier.
「The ID ‘Ilgyeok’ has sent you a friend request.
Do you accept?」
“Pfffffuuuup!!!!”
“Kyaaaack! Have you lost your mind, mister?! What’s this all of a sudden?!?!!”
Claude, who happened to be with Minjeong, couldn’t help but spit out the ramen he was eating at Ihyeon’s sudden friend request.
For reference, Minjeong was accompanying Claude to protect her from the notorious overcharging scams that the entire nation had heard about.
At first, Minjeong’s parents were worried, but after hearing the daily allowance Claude provided, they changed the password and said she didn’t need to come home.
Though one might wonder if it needed to go that far.
In any case, suddenly spitting out ramen was absolutely unacceptable rudeness for the ID ‘Tarakdwaeji Minjoo’, who was armed with grace and elegance.
Claude wiped his burning nose and apologized to Minjeong.
“Cough! I-I’m sorry. A friend request suddenly came in…”
“A friend? Claude doesn’t have many friends, does he?”
Of course, unlike Ihyeon and Suyeon, Claude had hundreds of registered friends alone.
He was someone who managed an organization from the start, and to operate that organization, he had to maintain contact with external figures—it was only natural.
But this time, the other party was different.
“It’s a friend request from Ilgyeok.”
“Pffffffffffft!!!!”
Minjeong, hearing Claude’s words, reacted much the same way.
This time, Claude glanced at Minjeong and asked.
“Ugh, what the hell are you doing, Tarakdwaeji Minjoo?”
“S-sorry. Ilgyeok sent a friend request?”
“That filthy Watchman’s follower… sending a friend request…?”
“But you’ve been going on about the Watchman this and that for a while now… what are you talking about, Roel?”
“I cannot speak of it now….”
“What? Then just stay quiet.”
“Cough…!”
Roel’s treatment had somehow grown worse ever since meeting Ihyeon.
Not included in the conversation, Roel quietly withdrew and slurped his ramen.
Meanwhile, at the mention of Ilgyeok’s friend request, Claude was absolutely thrilled.
“Doesn’t this mean Ilgyeok has finally accepted me with genuine sincerity?!”
“Hmm… maybe he just discovered the friend function and is registering everyone he knows? Honestly, since Ilgyeok has been clearing dungeons alone until now, it could be that.”
“How could you say such a thing! No matter how much you call her Tarakdwaeji Minjoo, I cannot accept such speculation!”
“No, why do you keep calling me by my ID?”
“Didn’t you call me mister earlier?”
Claude and Minjeong, who had grown quite close after spending several days together, bickered back and forth.
In the midst of this, a notification window appeared for Minjeong as well.
「ID ‘Ilgyeok’ has sent you a friend request.
Do you accept?」
“Oh, I got one too?”
“What? Don’t tell me Ilgyeok sent a friend request to you as well?”
“Yep.”
“Hmm….”
Claude, who had been pondering for a moment upon hearing that Minjeong received one too, nodded his head.
“It seems he’s just adding everyone he knows after all. I was reading too much into it.”
“No, he probably only sends them to people who are important to him. Ilgyeok has standards—he wouldn’t send them to just anyone.”
“No, it looks like he sent them to everyone whose ID he knows.”
“That’s not it.”
Now with their positions completely reversed, the two bickered again.
Slurrrp—
Meanwhile, Roel, continuing to eat ramen in the corner, let out a snort of derision at their childish squabble.
‘Hmph, making such a fuss over a friend request from that Watchman’s follower… I would never accept a request, no matter what….’
As he did, Roel kept glancing toward the corner.
As if he were waiting for some message to arrive.
‘If Ilgyeok were thinking about it, he would send me a friend request too… After all, isn’t there a saying to keep your enemies closer than your friends….’
But no matter how long he waited, the friend request never came.
‘Could it be that he doesn’t even know you can send friend requests to Spirits? How typical of a follower of that foolish Watchman… Spirits are treated as half-Hunters anyway….’
No matter how long he waited….
Slurp—!
Even as Roel consumed the last strand of ramen remaining, Ilgyeok’s friend request never arrived.
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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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