I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 183
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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 183
Ep. 183
The landscape of the 81st Floor was utterly transformed from what came before.
The moment I stepped inside, a scorching wave of heat assaulted me.
The acrid stench of sulfur and noxious gases stung my nostrils.
Blazing light and darkened rocks irritated my eyes.
Boom—Crash!
Steam erupted suddenly from various points, and in several places, lava fountains spouted forth intermittently.
A place where I had to be cautious not only of monsters but of the terrain itself.
If fortune turned against me, even the most exceptional Hunter could suffer fatal wounds from blind torrents of lava.
That place was the frontline of the Main Tower of South Korea—the 80th Floor range.
“Hehehehe… So, how does it feel now that you’re inside? You can sense it’s no trivial place, can’t you?”
Hanryeol furrowed his brow deeply, yet burst into laughter at the sight of Ihyeon’s flustered expression.
Even if I came and went as freely as visiting my own home, the lava zone of the 80th Floor range was a place where I wanted nothing more than to turn back immediately—far from adapting to it.
Hanryeol himself could only endure this much by wearing accessories related to wind and water, and when some first entered the lava zone, there were cases where they fled without even attempting to clear it.
If even someone as formidable as Ilgyeok were to lower his tail and say, “Perhaps we should postpone the confrontation for next time,” it would be far from ideal!
With that, Shin Gung’s rightful partner would be…
“Yes, well, it seems to be something like that.”
“?!?!?!?!”
Yet contrary to Hanryeol’s expectations, Ihyeon appeared not merely unaffected but positively refreshed.
He gazed around leisurely as though taking a casual stroll, nodding his head contentedly.
The effect of the black robe, which maintained optimal condition for its wearer at all times.
This held true even on the 80th Floor range, and it was precisely because Ihyeon felt conditions nearly as pleasant as spring weather that such composure was possible.
Meanwhile, Hanryeol, completely unaware of this fact, was so startled his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“What… what is this?”
“Is something the matter?”
Ihyeon asked with a smoothness that the Spirits found almost irritating to witness.
“Ah… no, it’s nothing. Yes, if you’re Ilgyeok, you should be capable of this much.”
Hanryeol wondered if perhaps he was simply more sensitive to heat than others, and glanced at the other two Spirits.
Jia appeared even more composed than Ihyeon.
“Ugh! No matter how many times I come here, I can’t adapt! Phew, it’s so hot I’m dying! This Spirit is dying!”
Elsie was voicing her discomfort with the heat while fluttering the collar of her yellow training suit.
…Hanryeol couldn’t fathom why she wore training clothes inside the Tower, but since it was cute, he decided to overlook it.
“Hmm…”
After watching Elsie suffer from the heat for a moment longer, Hanryeol
took off one of the rings he was wearing and held it out to her.
“Here, wear this.”
“Huh? This is a ring imbued with Spirit power?”
“A water Spirit crystal is embedded in it. It should help with the heat.”
Just as Hanryeol said, the water Spirit crystal proved immensely helpful in warding off the oppressive warmth.
It was an essential item for the 80th Floor and beyond.
“Oh~ You’re actually a better person than I thought? I take back what I said about you being crazy!”
Elsie accepted the ring with a bright expression, as if wondering where this fortune came from, after glancing at Ihyeon’s reaction.
Along with the warmth came a wave of coolness.
Though the ring was sized for Hanryeol’s finger and didn’t fit Elsie properly.
“Wait a moment, Elsie.”
When Jia used her dark energy to hang it around Elsie’s neck like a necklace, that problem was solved.
Ihyeon also looked at Hanryeol with fresh eyes, wondering if he was unexpectedly kind.
“Haha! Ilgyeok, what good is enduring the heat well? This is what true nobility looks like! You, who can’t even properly care for your own Spirits, are disqualified!”
Hanryeol spoke with triumphant confidence, as if he’d already scored points before the competition even began.
Psychologically, at least, he had won.
‘B-by just giving away one ring, it’s gotten this hot…! Did I make a mistake giving it away?!’
Naturally, as Elsie cooled down, Hanryeol heated up, and his situation was far from pleasant.
Left with no choice, Hanryeol.
Clap—!
He clasped his hands high toward the sky and cried out as if in prayer.
“Oh, Water Dragon!”
Whoosh—!
By borrowing the power of the Water Dragon that governed water, he could gain the strength to endure the heat to some degree.
“Oh, thank you!”
However, that only applied to Hanryeol.
To others’ eyes, it was merely one madman making a commotion and shrieking loudly.
…And there were three of those ‘others’ here.
Regardless, Ihyeon deliberately ignored Hanryeol and suddenly remembered something, pulling an item from his inventory.
“Since a water Spirit helps, try this too.”
“Huh? Ah!”
Elsie’s expression brightened even more when she saw what was in Ihyeon’s hand.
It was the crystal of an ice Spirit obtained after defeating Mikhail.
Though it wasn’t processed like Hanryeol’s ring, the raw stone itself contained tremendous power.
After hearing that the 80th Floor was a lava zone, I’d taken it back from Deokhuun just in case.
“Wow! This is seriously amazing, boss!”
Elsie jumped up and down with joy at the coldness that far surpassed the water Spirit ring.
It seemed there would be no problem displaying her true abilities at that level.
Shortly after, Elsie returned the ring to Hanryeol.
“Yeah, I think I’ll be fine now. Still, you’re a good guy, aren’t you?”
“W-well…”
Hanryeol accepted the ring back with an awkward gesture.
How to put it.
He felt worse than if he’d been rejected from the start.
‘Ilgyeok, were you planning this from the beginning to give me these feelings?!’
Hanryeol glared at Ihyeon with eyes blazing like molten fire.
There was no other way to explain what had happened.
To possess something like an ice spirit’s crystalline core and then reveal it precisely when he was showing goodwill—it was infuriating.
He’d heard long ago that Ilgyeok was ruthless and would stop at nothing for his reputation, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.
Or so Hanryeol thought to himself.
Hanryeol steeled his resolve to win this confrontation and spoke to Ihyeon.
“This verification is between you, Ilgyeok, and me alone.”
“Yes.”
“You won’t cowardly bring your spirits into this, will you?”
“No.”
“…Are you not listening to what I’m saying?”
“No.”
“Listen to me!”
How dare he treat the dragon’s agent Hanryeol this way!
“Ah, my apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
Ihyeon honestly wasn’t paying attention to Hanryeol.
Instead, he was surveying the landscape of the 81st Floor, where lava and steam erupted from countless places.
Little was known about the monsters of the 80th Floor range, but on the 81st Floor, creatures called “Lava Larvae” appeared.
Beings composed entirely of molten lava.
They took almost no damage from simple physical attacks like swords or blunt weapons, and instead melted mediocre arms—strange creatures indeed.
Moreover, if a Hunter didn’t deal with them immediately, they unleashed a ranged attack, scattering the lava they’d accumulated within their bodies in all directions.
But the most troubling aspect was that they could burst forth unpredictably from anywhere on this ground, which was essentially covered in lava beneath one’s feet.
‘A Thermal Scope wouldn’t be much use here either… This is going to be annoying in many ways.’
Ihyeon reaffirmed that the 80th Floor range was no easy matter, and only then responded to Hanryeol.
“So, what were you saying?”
“Ugh… I was warning you that this is a fight between you and me, so don’t resort to the cowardly tactic of fighting alongside your spirits.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Ihyeon nodded readily.
He’d wondered what grand statement was coming, but it was simpler than expected.
After all, even normally, if Ihyeon set his mind to taking the lead in clearing the floor, the spirits’ role could be greatly reduced.
But Hanryeol tilted his head, surprised by Ihyeon’s response.
“You’re accepting this more readily than I expected?”
“Well… I’m accustomed to clearing floors without the spirits’ help.”
Hanryeol was momentarily taken aback, but quickly judged it to be Ihyeon’s bluff.
Carrying around an S+ grade item and not using it?
What kind of foolish Hunter would do such a thing?
‘He must normally rely heavily on his spirits to achieve S+ grade, but he won’t fool my eyes!’
Hanryeol pointed this out with calculated sophistication.
“Ha! Then why do you carry the spirits with you? That makes no sense!”
“….”
Zzzt—!
At that sound, Ihyeon, who had maintained a composed expression until moments before, suddenly fixed Hanryeol with a predatory gaze.
“H-huh!”
Hanryeol was so startled by the intensity that he stumbled backward.
‘D-did I misspeak? Or has my bluff been exposed…?’
At this rate, they wouldn’t settle their match by clearing the 81st Floor—it seemed we’d be clashing in a rather different manner.
…Unconsciously, Hanryeol felt fear emanating from Ihyeon.
I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that I was paying proper attention, the aura radiating from Ihyeon was far from ordinary.
Meanwhile, Ihyeon felt something closer to bewilderment than anger.
‘I’ve deliberately avoided saying such things until now, and yet I had to bring it up!’
From our first meeting, I’d roughly anticipated this, but this fellow had absolutely no sense of reading the room!
Ever since I first met Jia, watching her weep and ask if I would abandon her now, I had deliberately assigned small tasks to the Spirits.
The Spirits of items cared deeply about whether they could be of strength to their master or not.
That’s why I always emphasized being one team, telling them you are essential to me—and yet Hanryeol had to go and strike a nerve!
Sniffle—!
Sure enough, Jia and Elsie were staring at me with expressions of great distress.
Though they said nothing, the meaning in their eyes came through to me clearly.
I irritably pressed Hanryeol further.
“What do you mean by that! The Spirits are so precious to me! I could never have climbed this far without being together with them!”
Of course, I probably could have managed without them.
There would have been numerous difficulties, but at least in terms of ‘climbing up,’ it would have been possible.
Meanwhile, after seeing the Spirits sniffle, Hanryeol felt acutely aware that something had gone terribly wrong.
When you thought about it, wasn’t he the one who made them cry?
“I-I’m sorry… I spoke carelessly.”
In an instant, Hanryeol abandoned his previous confident demeanor and apologized with a deeply guilty expression.
Only then did Ihyeon’s and the Spirits’ expressions soften slightly.
But that didn’t mean I intended to forgive Hanryeol.
“The Spirits are one with me. Though they won’t participate directly in combat, please acknowledge their existence.”
“O-of course! I never intended to deny the Spirits either… I apologize once more.”
Hanryeol apologized again, deliberately averting his gaze.
Because he was avoiding eye contact, he failed to notice it.
‘Okay, now there’s really no problem at all.’
The faint smile that quietly bloomed at the corner of my lips.
Meanwhile, unlike Hanryeol, the Spirits who clearly saw my smile shook their heads.
“Our master can be really scary sometimes.”
“But his affection for us must be genuine, Elsie.”
And so, the formal verification of Ihyeon and Hanryeol’s true abilities (?) began.
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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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