I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 196

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

Episode 196
Ep. 196
In any case, it was true that Roel had helped Frontier without complaint.
He had definitely contributed to Minjeong’s skill improvement as well.
Claude looked at Ihyeon and spoke.
“Understood. We will take on the task of crafting this core.”
“Really?”
Ihyeon asked with a brightened expression.
“In return, I would appreciate a favor from Ilgyeok befitting this occasion.”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t a particularly burdensome request.
Whatever Frontier might ask would likely be Gates or instant Towers that were difficult to clear alone, but that wasn’t something Ihyeon would hesitate over.
Besides, places difficult enough for those of Frontier’s caliber wouldn’t appear that frequently.
What excited Ihyeon more was how this unprecedented treasure—an S-grade complete Golem Core—would transform in every conceivable way.
“How long will it take?”
“Well… Golem crafting is honestly a secondary process. Completion depends on the core’s will. And since it’s an S-grade core at that.”
Golem crafting, which completes itself if left in the same space as the materials without needing a Mage’s assistance.
In other words, the Mage’s role is to create optimal conditions so the Golem doesn’t go astray midway and to control variables as much as possible.
For Roel, this was an unprecedented challenge, so it was natural he couldn’t give a definite answer.
Ihyeon didn’t mind either way.
“Thank you so much. Then I’ll leave it in your hands and be on my way…”
“Wait.”
Just as Ihyeon bowed and turned to leave, Roel suddenly stopped him.
“Yes?”
“It’s less of a condition and more of a request.”
Roel said this while pointing at Jia.
More precisely, at the ring on Jia’s finger.
“Let me meet those guys once.”
“Ah.”
Ihyeon wondered why this hadn’t come up sooner.
He could have guessed from Roel’s initial reaction alone.
When he thought about it, both Roel and the Knights of the Evil God belonged to the Overlord’s faction.
And regardless of how Ihyeon saw it, they likely all held positions within their respective factions, so it made sense they would know each other.
Ihyeon nodded and glanced around the surroundings.
Then he spoke to Claude and Minjeong, who still didn’t quite understand what was happening.
“This place seems too cramped. We should move somewhere else.”
“Yes? Somewhere else?”
Ihyeon immediately opened a passage leading to the makeshift shooting range.
Everyone seemed startled by the portal that suddenly appeared before them, but there was no need to make a fuss over an item’s effect.
“Wow… what kind of place is this?”
“It’s a simple shooting range. A place where I often practice. Inside here, you won’t be injured or killed.”
“Interesting. What a peculiar space.”
Still, I found myself fascinated by the otherworldly landscape within.
Once everyone entered, Ihyeon nodded toward Jia.
It was a signal for her to summon the Knights.
Whoosh— Whoooosh—
Simultaneously, black smoke-like wisps swirled around Jia before the Knights of the Evil God materialized before us.
“Wow!”
The appearance of the Knights, their eyes gleaming with brilliant azure light, was a sight that struck everyone as magnificent and awe-inspiring.
…Though if they had witnessed the rebellious demeanor these creatures displayed upon their initial summoning, followed by Ihyeon’s hellish training regimen, their impressions might have been considerably different.
Meanwhile, Roel and the Knights seemed to recognize each other from the moment they appeared.
“You all….”
“Mage!”
As if reuniting with long-lost family, Roel and the Knights approached each other with glistening eyes.
‘Well, they probably never imagined they’d meet again under these circumstances, so their emotions must run deep.’
Ihyeon and the others watched their reunion with considerable sentiment.
“How much these vile creatures tormented you all…!”
“Please, say no more, Mage Roel!”
“….”
Their conversation was beginning to grate on my nerves.
Azure tears streamed down the Knights’ faces.
‘What is this, some kind of training camp graduation ceremony?’
I was exasperated, but decided to hear them out without interrupting.
“Well, um. Haha, you certainly have impressive subordinates, Ilgyeok.”
Minjeong offered an awkward compliment from beside me.
“Didn’t I tell you, Master? I said we need to crush the pride of those Overlord bastards, right? See what I mean~”
Elsie shrugged her shoulders beside me, criticizing them.
And Jia, the Knights’ new master, simply—
Goooooooo———!!
—conveyed her feelings brilliantly through sheer aura alone, without uttering a word!
The Knights, sensing the pressure emanating from Jia, hastily corrected themselves.
“Please, we misspoke!”
“Our leader and our lord treat us so wonderfully! We are truly blessed!”
“Every day is a joy to be alive!”
“?”
Roel tilted his head at their sudden change in tone.
“You need not lie in my presence…. I understand all of your hardships….”
“No, that’s not it.”
“We speak the truth, Mage.”
Despite Roel’s unusually gentle expression, the Knights remained unmoved!
Roel spoke with solemn finality, as if asking one last question.
“Is that truly so? I find it hard to believe the Watchman’s followers would treat you all so well.”
“We’re really happy, sir.”
“Is that genuinely the case?”
“Yes, yes, Mage.”
“Do not hide anything….”
“Ah, please just be quiet!”
“???”
The Knight had finally lost patience and fired back.
Roel stood there with his mouth agape, clearly not expecting to hear such words, before nodding reluctantly.
“W-well then, that’s a relief…. I understand.”
Minjeong watched this unfold and sighed deeply.
“Honestly, he just goes around making enemies without reading the room….”
As she spoke, she glanced at Jia and Elsie standing beside Ihyeon.
They’re both S+ grade items, so why do they act like that?!
Ihyeon felt awkward watching this and asked instead.
“Well… surely there’s something you’re good at too, Roel?”
“Pardon? What would that be?”
“Hmm….”
“Um, aren’t you thinking about this for too long?”
“Golem crafting…?”
“….”
I shouldn’t have brought it up.
After a brief reunion, Roel let out a shallow sigh and spoke to Ihyeon.
“I don’t know what method you used, but you’ve completely won them over….”
“No, I didn’t bribe them.”
“Nevertheless, past connections are connections. I wish to bestow a small blessing upon them.”
‘A blessing?’
Ihyeon heard this and hesitated before responding.
Then Roel suddenly grew angry.
“Why do you hesitate! Do you mean to say you don’t even want a blessing from me, a limb of the Overlord?!”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“I was wondering whether it’s appropriate to receive a blessing from a Dark Mage, not a priest.”
“….”
Roel fell silent at Ihyeon’s accurate point.
Claude and Minjeong nodded in agreement.
“That’s certainly a fair point.”
“It’s so accurate I can’t even refute it.”
“Our Master only speaks the truth~”
However, Roel himself wasn’t entirely without words to say.
“Ah, I can bestow blessings upon the Knights of the Evil God. After all, they’re part of our faction….”
The Knights of the Evil God didn’t deny it either.
“That is correct, my lord. Your blessing would be most useful to us, so please grant it.”
“If you put it that way, then what.”
Ihyeon shrugged his shoulders as if there was no particular need to stop them.
If it wasn’t harmful, why not accept it?
Then Roel muttered something like ‘The one bestowing the blessing has to be asked for permission, what is this….’ and extended his hand toward the Knights.
Soon, a dark aura rippled from Roel’s palm before being divided and absorbed by the Knights.
A notification window appeared before Ihyeon’s eyes.
「The item, ‘Ring of the Knights Guild Leader of the Evil God,’ is being strengthened by a kindred aura.
The item’s effectiveness increases slightly.」
“Oho.”
“Why did you do that, Master?”
“So that really was a blessing after all.”
“How could you listen to me like that!”
Roel burst out loudly again at Ihyeon’s tone of voice, which suggested he hadn’t expected it.
Of course, the problem was that there was no one here who would actually listen to his tantrum.
“To all living beings, the very embodiment of terror and lord of darkness, I, Roel Agriatus….”
“Oh my, Grandfather, there you go again. Ilgyeok, may we leave now?”
“Ah, yes. I’ll open the exit for you.”
Minjeong left first, taking the constantly grumbling Roel with her.
Then Claude approached Ihyeon.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask since the last instant Tower.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“It’s about the Overlord and the Watchman that Roel was talking about…. No, rather, mentioning.”
As Claude spoke with a serious expression, Ihyeon nodded as well.
In fact, the term “Watchman” was quite well-known among Hunters.
In the early days when the Tower first appeared, a legend spread—though no one knew where it originated—that said “Those who climb the Tower shall become Watchmen.”
But as twenty years passed after that, the saying was gradually forgotten, as if it were nothing more than a hollow legend or complete nonsense.
However, since Roel, the Spirit of the Tower, was openly talking about Watchmen, Claude couldn’t help but become curious.
“Do you know something about this, Ilgyeok?”
“I don’t know exactly yet either.”
Ihyeon shook his head.
The Watchman and the Overlord must be situated in the deepest secrets of the Tower.
Those names were so vast that information inevitably leaked out anyway, but he didn’t know the exact details.
Even the Spirits only answered with “We cannot tell you yet.”
However, there was something Ihyeon was inferring.
“It’s probably as the early legend said.”
“If you reach the end of the Tower, you become a Watchman?”
“Yes, but I believe the opposite is also possible.”
“You mean the Overlord and the Watchman are opposing factions. Come to think of it, just hearing about Roel’s… well, I can guess what you’re getting at.”
‘This person is cleverly saying both what should and shouldn’t be said, isn’t he?’
Ihyeon regarded Claude with an ambiguous gaze for a moment, then nodded.
“That’s right. Does the Frontier not have any other information?”
“Well, we’re just wanderers roaming here and there. We’ve only managed to secure a few pieces of evidence that the Watchman isn’t merely a fabricated tale. But the Overlord remains unclear.”
That alone should be considered remarkable.
Honestly, without the Spirits, where would people even obtain information?
When simply climbing the Tower demands everything one has.
“It seems I’ve naturally come to belong to the Watchman’s faction. Though I suppose I won’t know for certain until I see how things unfold.”
As Ihyeon spoke, Jia and Elsie immediately stepped forward from behind.
“No, Master. Everything is merely your choice.”
“That’s right! Besides, for now~ we believe in our Master!”
It appeared that moving between the Watchman and Overlord factions wasn’t entirely impossible.
To be more precise, while they were in conflict, it wasn’t a relationship where meeting eyes would necessitate a fight to the death.
The Knights of the Evil God were the same, and Roel was currently keeping a low profile as well.
Hunters unaffiliated with any faction would find such transitions far more natural.
But even so, a moment of choice would inevitably come someday.
‘There’s definitely something I can feel.’
Ihyeon’s ascent through the Tower, floor by floor, was accelerating that moment of choice.
Spirits that had never existed suddenly appeared—three of them.
Perhaps the trigger was the S+ grade that Ihyeon had first achieved.
‘Since then, there have been one unprecedented event after another.’
The EX grade on the 45th Floor.
The Soul Stone obtained there.
The one on the 70th Floor who claimed to be the Watchman.
There was also an A-grade Magic Stone and a complete S-grade Core.
They might seem trivial in some respects, but they were certainly bringing change to the Tower.
“We’re cooperating now, but someday we may have to cross blades, Claude.”
Ihyeon spoke to Claude with a stern expression.
He wasn’t displeased with his current life.
No, he was rather overflowing with happiness.
But he didn’t want to force Claude’s choice based on his own happiness.
After all, he couldn’t yet know Claude’s true intentions.
It was possible that Claude might someday belong to the Overlord’s faction.
However, upon hearing Ihyeon’s words, Claude laughed loudly.
“Hahaha! Why would we cross blades?”
“Well…”
“The Frontier doesn’t agonize between the Watchman and Overlord, whom we don’t even know. Surprisingly, I’m quite the pragmatist.”
The light in Claude’s eyes as he looked at Ihyeon was resolute.
“We stand with Ilgyeok. That fact will not change.”
“Why do you treat me with such kindness?”
Ihyeon laid bare his honest feelings.
The reason why this remarkable Frontier showed him such boundless goodwill.
Ihyeon still did not know that reason.
“Well, because you are Ilgyeok?”
“….”
“You are conveying far more messages to people than you realize. Whether you intended to or not.”
Claude said this while giving Ihyeon’s shoulder firm, reassuring pats.
“At least, everything I’ve seen from Ilgyeok’s actions so far hasn’t differed greatly from my own thoughts. Isn’t that enough?”
At Claude’s question, Ihyeon let out a light laugh this time.
“That may well be true.”
And then Claude leaned close to Ihyeon’s ear and spoke thus.
“Fundamentally… I simply don’t wish to take Roel’s side….”
“Ah.”
So that was it.
Ihyeon nodded deeply at that moment, as if he understood perfectly.
That was acknowledgment, indeed.

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