I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 197
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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 197
Ep. 197
The day after I entrusted Frontier with crafting a complete Golem Core.
“Today it’s the 83rd Floor.”
I was preparing to ascend to the next floor as I always did.
The monster on the 83rd Floor was a Volcano Drake.
Unlike the Mountain Drake, it moved on two legs like a carnivorous dinosaur, and its distinctive feature was several volcanic craters that bulged along its spine like eruption vents.
Beyond that, there was little data, so the information I could gather was limited.
‘Anyway, if it’s not a ranged monster, it doesn’t really matter to me.’
I didn’t think it was particularly dangerous.
“Right, the Volcano Drake is lethal to Hunters who get too close. You’ll be fine, Master.”
“I agree as well.”
The Spirits shared the same opinion.
“Good. Then let me head in now….”
I nodded and was about to enter the Tower when I paused for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, well. It’s just that.”
I stared at an alert that had come to me with a somewhat ambiguous expression.
To be precise, it was a message from someone.
Since there were only a few people who could send me messages, the possibilities were limited.
‘Why is this person suddenly….’
In this case, it was far more unexpected.
「BlackDragonKing : Young Master Ilgyeok! Is it time to conquer the 83rd Floor?」
It was Hanryeol, the Dragon’s Assassin ranked 10th, who had sent the chat.
Feeling like whatever I replied with would lead to a predictable response, I hesitated for a moment before confirming that it was indeed the case.
「BlackDragonKing : There are many rankers on the 83rd Floor. I shall introduce you to a few of them. No need for thanks.」
Hanryeol spoke as if he were doing me a favor.
‘No, I don’t really need that.’
I immediately declined, saying I would have to pass.
「BlackDragonKing : Then just come in now! The people on the 83rd Floor reside in the Tower every day anyway.」
‘This guy isn’t listening to a word I’m saying, is he?’
I sighed and relayed Hanryeol’s message to the Spirits.
“Is this what they call ‘predetermined answer’ these days?”
“Ugh, Master. That phrase went out of style 30 years ago. Nowadays, if you say something like that, they call you old-fashioned.”
“….”
Elsie, who was the most knowledgeable about current trends among the three, immediately shook her head.
In any case, Jia and Elsie didn’t seem particularly concerned.
“Interacting with the strong of this world will be beneficial.”
“Yeah. Of course, Master will just zoom out on your own, but there’s no harm in it.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true too….”
I agreed with the Spirits’ opinion.
I had already settled things with the Management Bureau, and I had already cleared one floor with Hanryeol.
Honestly, even if I asked for secrecy, those who needed to know had probably already figured it out.
Trying so hard to hide my identity had poor odds of success and simply wasn’t worth the effort.
Besides, getting to know the Rankers’ faces wouldn’t be bad for me at all.
But there was something else that weighed on my mind.
“Going with this guy seems like it’ll only cause problems.”
“Hmm….”
Meeting the Rankers was fine, but having Hanryeol tag along felt uncomfortable.
Wouldn’t it look better if we happened to meet inside the Tower instead?
「BlackDragonKing : Haha, don’t worry about such things! I may look like this, but I’m an idol of the 80s floors~」
The way Hanryeol spoke with such confidence only made me trust him less.
“W-well, but getting an introduction from someone is usually better.”
“That’s right, Master. It can help avoid unnecessary conflict.”
After hearing my words, the Spirits seemed to grow increasingly suspicious of Hanryeol, but they decided to hold onto a sliver of hope nonetheless.
“Ugh, fine, let’s do it.”
I pondered for a moment before finally nodding.
Ilgyeok, who had climbed the Tower beyond the 80th floor without facing any major crises!
But my worries had never been about monsters—they were always about people.
Especially people like Hanryeol.
Though I shouldn’t say anything too harsh about him.
Anyway, the staircase leading up to the 83rd floor.
“Yoohoo~ Young Master Ilgyeok! And greetings to the lovely ladies as well?”
Hanryeol, who had arrived early, greeted us warmly—his promise to introduce me to other Hunters didn’t seem to be a lie.
He certainly seemed to have become friendlier toward me since taking a harsh blow on the 81st floor.
‘I still don’t understand why he was hostile in the first place….’
Rankers were known to be eccentric people, so I figured Hanryeol was just one of those unpredictable types.
I greeted Hanryeol and asked him a question.
“Where are the others?”
Climbing the stairs from here would lead directly to the 83rd floor.
To clear the 83rd floor, the other Hunters would need to gather here as well.
“Huh? Ah~ Just wait a moment. Didn’t I call you here because I heard intel that you’d be starting the clear soon?”
Hanryeol seemed momentarily flustered, then nodded with a broad smile.
Elsie, who had been listening quietly beside me, stepped forward.
“But didn’t you say you’re an idol of the 80s floors? Why are you telling us to come after hearing intel?”
“…Ahahaha, Miss Elsie, you’re from a different guild, so isn’t that natural? Come now, let’s just wait a moment~”
“….”
After the suspicious silence, the Spirits and I stared at Hanryeol, who was awkwardly trying to reassure us, with very suspicious eyes.
There seemed to be quite a few things that didn’t add up.
I let out a small sigh.
‘Well, I was planning to clear this alone anyway, so it doesn’t really matter how things turn out.’
I decided that if no one entered after waiting about ten minutes, I’d just go in by myself.
But it seemed Hanryeol’s words weren’t entirely baseless.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
Before long, the air within the Tower began to shift.
Though I’d witnessed the entrance effect of Hunters thousands upon thousands of times, I found myself tensing slightly without realizing it.
This was the 80s floors.
Everyone encountered here could be called the strongest among Korea’s Hunters.
‘Just their entrance alone changes the air slightly.’
The presence of such beings was certainly distinctive.
It felt as though they drew the surrounding air toward themselves.
…Of course, Hanryeol standing beside me possessed that same quality.
Truly.
In any case, as if by prior arrangement, three Hunters appeared in the space leading up to the 83rd floor.
Their faces were ones any Korean would likely recognize.
‘The Witch of Fire, Jeong Yuna.’
A woman with dyed crimson hair reaching past her shoulders, standing well over 170 centimeters tall.
Unlike other Mages who, upon reaching a certain high level, wielded at least two or more attributes, Jeong Yuna was renowned for using only fire attribute magic.
Yet using only a single attribute was hardly a weakness—it was an achievement in itself.
It meant she had faced countless diverse monsters and pushed through with only one attribute, regardless of elemental compatibility.
Though rankings varied slightly across different media, she was generally evaluated as a top-tier powerhouse, ranked around 5th or 6th.
Had there been no elemental restrictions on the 80s floors, she likely could have demonstrated even greater prowess.
And beside her stood a giant easily exceeding 190 centimeters.
‘The Second Iron Wall, Go Dusuk.’
Though from a different organization, Duseok was recognized as the successor to Lee Yulim, the guild master of Aegis where Hanryeol belonged.
Possessing the superior trait ‘Water Gate,’ he stood alongside China’s legendary Hunter, the Earth Mage, and Switzerland’s Holy Knight as Korea’s representative in the defensive category.
He was a high-ranking ranker, trading places with Yuna but maintaining a slight edge in evaluation.
Finally, there was a man of modest height, barely exceeding 160 centimeters.
With a slender rapier hanging at his waist, his impression was distinctly round and endearing.
He was indeed the youngest of the three.
‘Just turned twenty-three, I believe.’
Before Ilgyeok’s emergence, he was considered Korea’s greatest prospect, and after awakening, he’d reached the 80s floors in just three years—a superhuman feat.
‘Swift Kim Juhyeon.’
Contrary to his young, cute appearance, once he entered combat, he became a murderer incarnate.
His ranking was clearly a step ahead of Yuna and Duseok, placing him in the 3rd or 4th position.
Though at this level, a difference of one or two ranks seemed meaningless, public evaluation couldn’t be ignored.
“These are definitely different from amateurs.”
“Cough… Lady Elsie.”
Though it was unfortunate for Hanryeol, Elsie’s assessment was accurate.
Hanryeol ranked 10th, an incredibly powerful force in his own right, yet compared to these three, he had to concede a step.
In fact, they were originally supposed to challenge the 84th Floor, while Hanryeol hadn’t even cleared the 83rd Floor yet.
Here, a single floor’s difference in power was such a stark and undeniable gap that it couldn’t help but stand out.
Meanwhile, the three who had just entered also seemed to sense something incongruous in the atmosphere.
It was unavoidable.
Ihyeon, Jia, Elsie, and Hanryeol.
There were more people here than the three who had coordinated their story beforehand.
In the sparsely populated 80s floors, such a situation was truly rare.
Among them, the three’s gazes concentrated on Ihyeon and the two beside him—Jia and Elsie.
“….”
A brief silence fell.
Jia and Elsie’s appearances were distinctly memorable.
Black armor and crimson hair.
Distinctive enough to identify them without even revealing their identities.
‘S+ tier items must leave quite an impression on Hunters.’
Many Hunters emptied their entire fortunes for better equipment, so they would certainly remember items of such unprecedented grade.
Indeed, Ihyeon’s prediction proved accurate as Jeong Yuna spoke first with an enchanting smile.
“Hm, how unexpected~”
As if to prove her identity, Yuna wore a blazing crimson robe.
Yuna approached Ihyeon with deliberate steps.
“I never thought I’d see a red-haired beauty prettier than myself inside the Tower.”
“What, what?!”
Suddenly, instead of reaching for Ihyeon, she extended her hand toward Elsie and began stroking her hair.
Elsie, who had never received such treatment before, was flustered and took a half-step back, but she couldn’t escape Yuna’s long reach.
Normally, she would have protested with ‘How old do you think I am, call me unnie!’, but for some reason, Elsie remained docile and bewildered.
She seemed quite startled by an atmosphere distinctly different from the people she usually encountered.
“Why, why are you doing this? You’re a strange person!”
Elsie scurried behind Ihyeon and hid.
Only then did Yuna straighten up and speak to Ihyeon.
“So you’re the Ilgyeok I’ve only heard about?”
Her voice was so enchanting it seemed like it had been mixed in a film.
But Ihyeon simply thought:
‘Why is she lowering her voice like that?’
…That was the extent of his impression.
Ihyeon nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You’re more impressive than I expected?”
Yuna, seemingly intrigued, glanced around here and there.
Click—
Jia stepped between them and spoke to Yuna.
“My Master will find this uncomfortable.”
“…Ah, black armor?”
Now Yuna’s gaze met Jia’s.
Jia possessed an appearance that drew everyone’s attention, but Yuna carried a different allure altogether.
Between Yuna, who wore a faint smile, and Jia, whose expression remained rigid, silence lingered for a moment.
Yet it was Yuna who broke the silence first.
“Strange…. She looks far weaker than I heard. Is it because of that robe?”
I felt it distinctly.
Yuna’s gaze, tracing across the shadow robe I wore, had transformed from its previous enchanting quality into something like a predator sizing up its prey.
‘Indeed… the robe’s effectiveness weakens against fellow transcendents.’
Had I truly exerted myself to hide, I would have been discovered regardless.
After all, I was no specialist assassin like Hanryeol.
Perhaps it was remarkable enough that I could conceal my true power at all.
As the tense atmosphere thickened, a deep voice cut through.
“Yuna, we didn’t come here to pick unnecessary fights.”
It was Duseok.
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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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