I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 186

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

Episode 186
Ep. 186
Ihyeon tilted his head in confusion.
He’d seen plenty of lines in comics and movies like “This is my defeat, not the defeat of my will!” but he’d never seen anyone speak backwards like Hanryeol did.
“Armor Fox, is that right?”
“I’m not sure, Elsie.”
The Spirits seemed to find Hanryeol’s words equally strange, exchanging this conversation between themselves.
As expected.
Whoosh—
“Ugh… I’m growing weaker…”
Suddenly, a negative aura emanated from Hanryeol’s body, and he, who had been lying helplessly on the ground, became even more powerless.
“What in the world.”
Ihyeon suspected that Hanryeol might be an even more pathetic person than he’d initially thought.
Still, he didn’t entertain the bitter thought of “How has South Korea’s safety been in the hands of such a person all this time!”
…It was real.
Ihyeon clicked his tongue and approached Hanryeol, speaking.
“Say it backwards.”
“Say it backwards…?”
“Yes. Instead of saying the dragon within me was defeated, say it’s my defeat, something like that.”
“Why…?”
‘Should I just punch him?’
Ihyeon thought that South Korea’s future truly was quite bleak.
In any case, Hanryeol accepted Ihyeon’s advice and spoke again.
Whoosh—!
“Oh, I’m growing stronger!”
And just like that, he regained his power!
“Truly wondrous, young master. It seems you understand my nature better than I do myself.”
“That’s because you’re an id… um.”
“Yes, Master showed great restraint.”
“Indeed, Master possesses formidable patience.”
The Spirits approached behind Ihyeon and patted his back.
Hanryeol didn’t understand the situation and tilted his head, but no one offered him an explanation.
Truth be told, one could say Hanryeol had drawn a bad opponent this time.
Ordinarily, Hanryeol rarely found himself in such a predicament.
To reiterate, Hanryeol was ranked 10th in South Korea, an Assassin worthy of standing anywhere in the world… truly.
In any case, Hanryeol brushed himself off and stood, deliberately avoiding eye contact as he approached Ihyeon.
Though he’d suffered complete defeat in the bet to catch Lava Lava, there was still one more condition remaining for clearing the dungeon.
That was to return the Frost Stone to its proper place and calm this region.
“Hmm, while you’ve done well catching Lava Lava, finding the Frost Stone would be difficult without my assistance. Experience must accumulate before one gains the knack for such things.”
Of course, even for Hanryeol, finding the Frost Stone in one go would be difficult.
“Finding a Frost Stone on the 80th Floor is no easy task, even for a seasoned master like myself. So follow me closely… huh?”
As Hanryeol glanced toward where Ihyeon stood, he let out a bewildered sound without meaning to.
Ihyeon had already moved far ahead with the Spirits.
“W-Wait, this is dangerous! Finding a Frost Stone isn’t something you can do by moving about recklessly!”
Hanryeol urgently called out to stop Ihyeon and the Spirits.
But Ihyeon, in turn, didn’t understand Hanryeol’s actions and spoke instead.
“What are you doing back there?”
And Elsie, speaking with perfect composure, pointed toward one edge of the horizon.
“It’s probably over there. I’m quite good at finding Frost Stones.”
“Right, Elsie. You’re the best at this.”
“Hehe, I’m definitely better than that Armor Fox, aren’t I?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“Cough….”
Hanryeol chased after Ihyeon’s group, who seemed ready to abandon him at any moment, and shouted.
“H-Hold on, that’s not the direction I was thinking of!”
Then Ihyeon turned back and asked.
“Would you like to make another wager?”
Flinch—
“N-No, that won’t be necessary….”
Having glimpsed even a fraction of Ihyeon’s terrifying obsession with wagers, Hanryeol quickly backed down.
Finding a Frost Stone was far more difficult than hunting monsters, so his confidence was correspondingly low.
After following Ihyeon and the Spirits timidly for some time, it happened.
Whoosh—
A distinctly frigid air, clearly different from the surroundings, became perceptible.
Unlike other areas where lava and steam seemed ready to erupt at any moment, the ground itself felt noticeably stable here.
“Y-You actually found it!? On the first try!?”
The evidence of a Frost Stone’s presence was so unmistakable that Hanryeol’s eyes widened in astonishment.
How on earth could he locate the ground where a Frost Stone lay in a single attempt?
“Oh, so that’s a Frost Stone?”
“Be careful when you touch it, Master. It’s incredibly cold.”
“It’s fine for you, Master, since you’re wearing the black robe.”
Leaving the stunned Hanryeol behind, Ihyeon picked up the Frost Stone rolling on the ground, which resembled a chunk of ice.
Not far away, there was a protruding rock that seemed perfectly sized to fit the Frost Stone.
To anyone’s eyes, inserting the Frost Stone into that spot would complete the task.
At that moment, Elsie approached Hanryeol’s side and asked.
“Are you curious how he can find Frost Stones?”
“…?”
Hanryeol looked down at Elsie with vacant eyes.
Was it coincidence?
Or was it skill?
In truth, Jia and Elsie had ground through the 80th Floor range many times more than Hanryeol, who boasted so proudly of his experience, making such a feat entirely possible—though he remained blissfully unaware of this fact.
“P-please teach me, Miss Elsie.”
As Hanryeol nodded reluctantly, Elsie puffed out her chest and lifted her chin smugly.
“Use your nose properly, your nose~”
“My nose… you say?”
“Look, like this. Sniff sniff!”
“Sniff sniff….”
“Louder! Sniff sniff!”
“Sniff sniff! Cough!”
Following Elsie’s instruction, Hanryeol attempted to smell more carefully, but he couldn’t help coughing at the acrid stench of sulfur and various toxic gases.
While ordinary toxic gases posed little threat to a Hunter’s enhanced body, the natural physiological response that came from deep inhalation was an exception that couldn’t be avoided.
“Tsk tsk, how frail. Train harder.”
Elsie watched Hanryeol hunched over and coughing repeatedly, shook her head in disapproval, then returned to where Ihyeon stood.
“Oh, great dragon….”
Hanryeol couldn’t even remember when was the last time he’d heard himself called ‘frail.’
Click—
In the meantime, Ihyeon had returned the Frozen Stone to its proper place.
「Defeated 30 Lava Lava.」
「Frozen Stone repositioned.」
「81st Floor quest completed.」
「Rank: S+」
The 81st Floor clear notification appeared immediately.
Of course, the same applied to Hanryeol.
Since it was his second attempt, he received an S rank, but even that far surpassed his previous record of B rank.
「Number of Clearers: 2」
「Contribution」
「Ilgyeok 100」
「BlackDragonKing 0」
Moreover, despite clearing it together, this overwhelming difference in contribution left a profound impact on Hanryeol’s heart.
Of course, Ihyeon’s ranking included the Spirits, but even so, the fact that he occupied nearly the entire proportion remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, Ihyeon checked the reward list that appeared simultaneously with the clear notification.
「81st Floor Reward.」
「You have obtained 10 B-rank Magic Stones.」
「Check your inventory.」
「S+ Clear Bonus.」
「Item ‘Skill Rank Random Increase Ticket’ has been additionally granted.」
“Oh?”
The general rewards were clearly different from the 70th Floor range, but that was reward enough.
Ihyeon was slightly surprised upon seeing the S+ bonus.
‘Tickets never appeared as bonuses unless I defeated the mid-boss… so what makes the 80th Floor range so different?’
Even for Ihyeon, various tickets were not rewards that came easily.
Usually, they granted a tier higher magical stone than what I currently obtained as general rewards.
‘Or perhaps, A-grade magical stones are simply that precious as a reward.’
Two interpretations seemed possible.
In any case, the skill rank elevation ticket was, in a sense, a better reward than magical stones.
Since I still didn’t know the exact purpose of A-grade magical stones.
Meanwhile, Hanryeol, who lay sprawled on the ground, chuckled softly at Ihyeon and spoke.
“It seems the reward has startled you, young master.”
“How did you know?”
Ihyeon asked with a slight flinch.
The fact that Ihyeon was Ilgyeok was now a secret that those who needed to know already did, but it remained undisclosed to anyone else.
The truth was that I was receiving S+ tier special rewards.
Even people like Seongnyun from the Management Bureau only speculated; it had never been confirmed precisely.
Could Hanryeol have sensed this fact through a ranker’s instinct?
‘Well, for someone ranked 10th, he was certainly careless. This man must have hidden intelligence somewhere….’
Ihyeon thought that superhuman rankers were indeed different, and began considering what excuse to make.
Meanwhile, Hanryeol nodded with a meaningful expression.
“On the 80th Floor, the rewards are a whopping ten B-grade magical stones each. It will be a great help to you, young master Ilgyeok. Congratulations. You’re sitting on a fortune now.”
“….”
Ihyeon glared at Hanryeol with a coldly hardened expression.
“Why, why are you like that? Of course, I don’t mean that you’re a vulgar person obsessed with money, young master.”
Hanryeol couldn’t understand why Ihyeon’s mood had suddenly soured.
Had he misunderstood the meaning of his words?
…Rather, he understood far too well.
‘Unnecessarily making people tense.’
Of course, B-grade magical stones, each worth over fifty million won, held great value for me as well.
But did that compare to a skill rank elevation ticket?
B-grade magical stones would pour out from the Spirits once I returned home.
‘And, not that I’m bragging about money, but honestly, I’m not desperate enough to cling to B-grade magical stones….’
Ihyeon didn’t mention even this.
However, he had failed to consider something.
No other Hunters besides him had ever been given skill rank elevation tickets or any tickets at all as special rewards like he had received….
If such a thing were revealed, Hunters across the entire world might strike, saying they couldn’t clear dungeons because it was unfair.
In any case, the misunderstanding was cleared, so Ihyeon thought he should wrap things up.
“Then shall you be leaving now?”
As Ihyeon said this, Hanryeol hurriedly grabbed him.
“Wait a moment, young master Ilgyeok!”
“?”
Was there still something left?
Ihyeon paused, as if to say he would wait if there was something to say, and Hanryeol revealed his business.
“This is still a wager, after all. Since I lost the match, shouldn’t I pay the price accordingly?”
“Ah.”
Ihyeon nodded in acknowledgment.
True enough—if nothing had been at stake, it would have been rather dull.
Though Hanryeol seemed slightly off, he still carried the meticulous attention to detail befitting a Rank 10 Hunter, so Ihyeon waited with curiosity to see what reward he would offer.
“Especially! This time, I shall be generous and bestow upon you a magnificent reward.”
‘Is he going to give me an A-rank item or something?’
Hanryeol spoke with such confidence that even Ihyeon found himself anticipating what came next.
“The opportunity to add me as a friend. How does that sound?”
“….”
The atmosphere turned glacial in an instant.
It was not merely because the frost stone had returned to its proper place.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Elsie spoke up.
“That’s not a reward—that’s a punishment, you fool.”
“Well said, Elsie.”
“Ugh…!”
Hanryeol had never imagined his proposal would receive such a cold reception.
Every Hunter he had met before was desperate to add him as a friend, so why this?
“Well… I understand.”
Disappointed though he was.
Ihyeon accepted Hanryeol’s “reward” with a resigned shrug.
Despite Hanryeol’s reality being entirely at odds with expectations, he remained an undeniably influential figure in the current Hunter community.
Moreover, he held considerable standing within the Aegis Guild, which was regarded as the highest caliber in South Korea, so truthfully, registering him as a friend would incur no loss whatsoever.
If anything, it would be a gain.
“Really, you mean it?!”
The moment Ihyeon nodded reluctantly, Hanryeol’s face brightened considerably.
‘He called it a reward with his own mouth…?’
For a moment, Ihyeon entertained the uncharitable thought that ‘this guy just threw that out there on impulse,’ but he refrained from voicing it.

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