I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 21

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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 21
Episode 21
What is the greatest terror of a cave?
It was the darkness that prevented you from seeing even a single step ahead.
Because of this, from the 16th Floor onward, even Hunters who had stubbornly insisted on solo play typically switched to party play.
Whether Warrior, Mage, Archer Hunter, or Assassin—having one hand fixed holding a torch was an enormous penalty.
You were vulnerable to ambushes, and if you constantly switched a hand’s purpose during combat, it could quickly lead to a threat on your life.
However, I couldn’t form a party due to my circumstances.
So my plan was to break through using overwhelmingly superior stats compared to my level and efficient skill usage.
I’d even looked into getting a short sword as a bayonet substitute just so I could engage in close combat.
But standing before the skill selection at level 15, my deliberation had returned to square one.
No, there was no need to deliberate in the first place.
「1. Reliable Grip (E)
The grip of the handle improves.
The owner rarely loses their grip on the handle.
Stability increases slightly.」
「2. Dark Barrel (D)
The barrel darkens and does not reflect light.
Concealment increases.」
「3. Thermal Scope (D)
A thermal detection function is added to the scope.
Precision and firepower decrease slightly.」
Mediocre grades ranging from E to D.
However, the third option was far too problematic.
“A Thermal Scope…?”
A skill like this exists at merely D-grade?
My hands trembled in disbelief.
Even during my time in the military, I’d rarely seen thermal imaging capabilities, and only a handful of times due to their expensive price tag.
And it was being offered right before entering cave terrain.
It felt like a gift from heaven itself.
But I quickly corrected my thinking.
‘No, a gift from heaven? It’s the result of my own effort to level up before entering the cave.’
A sniper always needed unwavering confidence and steady nerves.
Humility?
Show humility in front of an enemy and you’ll get a hole blown through your head.
Everything was purely my choice, so of course a skill like a Thermal Scope would appear.
In any case, there was no need to deliberate over this skill.
I immediately selected the third skill.
Reliable Grip had diminished importance, and Dark Barrel would certainly be useful, but not now.
‘After all, higher-grade stealth-related skills will appear later anyway.’
As always, the application was instantaneous.
「You have acquired the Thermal Scope (D).」
Along with a brief notification, the scope underwent a subtle transformation.
The lens portion felt as though it had been coated with a thin layer.
And the eyepiece had been modified so it could rotate.
Click—
As I turned that section, the skill activated with a crisp sound.
“…Does it actually work?”
I brought my eye to the scope with a skeptical expression.
The system had never lied to me before, but this one was simply too difficult to believe.
“Oh.”
Yet the Thermal Scope’s effect was unmistakable.
The landscape visible through the scope was completely different from moments ago.
Blue, green, yellow, and more.
The silhouettes were distinctly differentiated according to the heat each object possessed—a true thermal scope in action!
‘What was I thinking, dismissing my sniper rifle like that?’
I resolved to reflect on my foolishness, if only briefly.
And seized by curiosity, I waved my hand in front of the scope.
Indeed, it registered clearly in red.
I couldn’t determine the exact body temperature of the Dungeon Orcs, but I could certainly pinpoint their location and shape.
“That’s more than enough.”
Still peering through the Thermal Scope while imagining hypothetical enemies, I twisted one corner of my mouth upward.
* * *
The 10th Floor Common Area had always been noisy since Ilgyeok’s emergence.
Still, during my recent repeated clears for leveling, the buzz had diminished considerably, so the crowd had thinned out somewhat.
Of course, even so.
“Hmm… That person seems to have quite a bit of mana?”
“Should we try asking?”
There were still many people searching for Ilgyeok, armed with clues: Mage, can disguise as other classes, possesses very high mana.
High-level Scouts would casually try to poach any Hunter with unusually high mana.
After all, even if it wasn’t Ilgyeok, someone that conspicuous would be worth scouting.
“Excuse me, I’m from a promising guild’s recruitment team….”
“Yes, I’m from the Assault Guild’s recruitment team.”
“Oh, Mr. Shin?!”
“…You’ve been quite tired lately, haven’t you?”
Of course, the locals all possessed comparable mana levels at this stage, so it was frequent for exhausted Scouts to make such mistakes.
But surely Ilgyeok himself—me—wouldn’t find this troublesome?
“Uh, senior, who is that person?”
“…Man, does that person’s mana seem high to you?”
“Uh….”
“Looks like you’ve barely managed to clear the 10th Floor. Don’t bother someone who’s worked so hard—come here. Do you have any idea what a nightmare it is when complaints get filed with headquarters?”
That situation never came to pass.
While I’d prioritized investing in the Maesek Gun’s mana capabilities above all else, my own mana reserves remained at a level where just two or three shots from the Maesek Gun would deplete them entirely.
To the Scouts, I appeared unmistakably like an agility-based assassin, which bore absolutely no resemblance to the widely-known image of Ilgyeok.
Watching the Scouts effortlessly exclude me from their suspicions, my feelings grew complicated.
‘Should I be happy about this or not?’
Of course, all of this was the result of my deception of Daejun, but still—being overlooked entirely as a suspect didn’t sit well with me.
Do I really look that ordinary?
Even if my mana reserves are limited, shouldn’t there be something about my aura that seems unusual at first glance?
There wasn’t.
I proceeded through the Public Floor without any interference and attempted to enter the 16th Floor.
There was a mandatory route I had to pass through to enter the 16th Floor.
“Cave torches for sale! Cave torches! These never go out!”
“We’ve got torches here too! Full refund if ours burn out before the shop next door!”
“Such a lack of merchant ethics…!”
It was the street of stalls specializing in cave terrain that began from the 16th Floor onward.
Here, Merchants sold everything needed to conquer caves—torches, luminescent stones, pickaxes, large water containers, and more.
Under normal circumstances, I would have had to browse these stalls for quite some time.
“Hunter, don’t you need a torch?”
“Tsk tsk, your eye for people is terrible. That person clearly hasn’t reached the 16th Floor yet.”
“Oh, is that so?”
‘I don’t need you either!’
I passed through this street without a moment’s hesitation.
And as I entered the entrance area, a notification window appeared in accordance with my will.
「Do you wish to enter the 16th Floor of the Main Tower of South Korea?」
All preparations were already complete.
There was no room for doubt.
‘Let’s go.’
With my nod, my body transferred to the 16th Floor.
* * *
Damp and unpleasant odor.
The first thing to assault my senses was the distinctive smell of an utterly unmanaged cave.
I scrunched my face and pulled my cloak over my head.
Perhaps it was the system’s consideration.
The 16th Floor, being the first stage of cave terrain, wasn’t structured to ambush Hunters the moment they entered.
Hunters had sufficient time to adjust to the darkness or prepare their strategies.
Most would start by having a Mage character create light or by igniting torches.
I was different.
Click—
‘This is surprisingly addictive, I have to say.’
With a crisp sensation, the scope of the Maesek Gun transformed.
As I brought my eye to it, the cave interior bloomed with new colors.
After leaving the Tower yesterday, I’d conducted various experiments at the shooting range and discovered that the thermal scope’s resolution surpassed even military-grade equipment.
For instance.
Tap—
‘Even something like this stone becomes visible.’
With sufficient concentration, I could discern even the smallest pebbles scattered across every corner of the cave floor.
Such stones could easily produce loud sounds if I wasn’t careful, requiring special attention.
No matter how concealing my cloak was, a single careless noise would expose my position and identity in an instant.
Items were merely supplementary tools; I alone bore responsibility for my own survival.
Though viewing through a scope with only one eye was inconvenient, this level of clarity was more than satisfactory.
How far had I ventured in?
Splash—
A faint sound reached my heightened ears.
The sound of footsteps splashing through pooled water on the cave floor.
‘They’ve appeared.’
The infamous monsters of the 16th Floor—Dungeon Orcs.
I slowed my pace even further.
The overwhelming consensus was that these creatures, having lived in caves, possessed degraded vision but exceptionally acute senses of smell and hearing.
No matter how brightly Hunters illuminated the space with torches and light sources, these grotesque beings would suddenly emerge from the darkness, delivering nightmares to all who encountered them.
Consider it.
That pale, ghastly face with unfocused, milky eyes, drool dripping from its mouth, a rusted axe descending toward you….
Yet I possessed considerable expertise in such matters.
Specifically, in delivering unintended death to my enemies.
Just beyond the corner ahead.
Several forms registered on my thermal scope.
‘Their body heat isn’t particularly high.’
Even through the thermal scope, they didn’t stand out distinctly.
Their temperature was only slightly higher than the surrounding rocks.
Yet their exhaled breath and the slithering quality of their movements unmistakably revealed them as living creatures.
Click—
A knee position that balanced stability and mobility perfectly.
With one eye perceiving darkness and the other seeing the thermal world, I calmly aimed at the foremost Dungeon Orc.
The ammunition type was black rounds.
I intended to eliminate them without a sound.
Given the cave’s chaotic terrain, the distance was point-blank by normal standards.
Breath held.
Then, trigger pulled.
Whoosh—
Even black rounds weren’t completely silent.
Yet even to Ihyeon’s heightened senses, it was barely audible—a faint sliding sound.
The noise was far quieter than if a suppressor had been used.
In the world of sniping, this degree of sound was nearly silent.
And the moment the trigger fired.
Thump—
One orange-hued form collapsed to the ground.
Huh—?
The bewildered Dungeon Orcs thrashed their heads about in confusion.
They had no idea what had just happened.
I smiled silently to myself.
The Dungeon Orcs, always the ones launching ambushes.
But now, in this moment, the situation had completely reversed.
‘Let them taste what invisible death feels like.’
Whoosh—
My finger began pulling the trigger again.
The number of Dungeon Orcs I needed to hunt on the 16th Floor wasn’t particularly large.
Even with Blackbolt consuming 3 mana per shot, it was well within my capacity to handle.
…How much time had passed like that.
「All enemies eliminated.
You have cleared the 16th Floor.
Rank: S+」
「S+ Rank Clear Bonus.
3 E-Rank Magic Stones awarded as bonus.」
「16th Floor Clear Record Updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea.
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
Three familiar notification windows—though I hadn’t seen them in a long time—appeared before my eyes.
“Easy, so easy.”
I stood in the center of Dungeon Orc corpses, all of them sprawled out.
For other Hunters, this underground terrain would have been their first encounter, making the Dungeon Orcs themselves formidable regardless of numbers.
But with my Thermal Scope, I felt far less tension than I had on the previous floors.
‘At this rate, I’ll breeze through the cave terrain.’
The cave environment, which would have been a disadvantage for others, had become an advantage for me.
I hummed to myself as I began collecting valuables from the Dungeon Orc corpses.
And when I returned to the Public Floor.
“Ilgyeok did it again!”
“Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok!”
“He even slaughtered the Dungeon Orcs!”
The Hunters erupted in cheers at the rare clear record notification that had just appeared.
Hunters who had been staying here, of course, and those trickling in from outside.
Even people returning after abandoning their ongoing raids.
‘…Is it really worth making this much of a fuss?’
I watched the spectacle with displeasure while draped in my concealment cloak, then slipped away from the return area.
I was merely a Hunter who had just cleared the 16th Floor.
Of course, I’d cleared every single floor with an unprecedented S+ rank.
‘I should make even more of a commotion.’
I felt a quiet sense of satisfaction as I walked forward.
And just as I was about to remove my cloak in a spot away from prying eyes and join the others in cheering—
“Hey! You there!”
Someone called out to me in a loud voice.
‘I’ve been caught?!’
I spun around in alarm toward the source of the voice.
How could someone as skilled as me make such a careless mistake?
I’d been too complacent!
I should have done what I normally do—ventured into the most remote corner where few ever tread, lowered my stance, scanned the surroundings five times carefully, then discreetly removed the cloak and quickly stored it in my inventory as if I’d just arrived.
Countless thoughts flooded my mind in an instant.
“You’re the one wearing that beginner equipment last time, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
It turned out the person who’d called me was Kim Jeongsik, ID “LiveWellAndSee.”
“Yes, Jeongsik.”
When I acknowledged him, Jeongsik was so pleased that tears welled up in his eyes as he patted my shoulder.
“You got new armor based on my advice!”
“Mm.”
“That’s excellent. It might cost a bit, but it’s better than something going wrong in the Tower, right? Think of it as an investment, an investment.”
I’d obtained it for free.
And I’d spread false information.
When I only gave an ambiguous response, Jeongsik seemed to assume I was just being shy.
“How is it? Doesn’t the world look different now that your equipment has changed?”
“Yes, it certainly does.”
I couldn’t speak to the armor, but the thermal scope certainly made the world look different.
Jeongsik nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
“I was sorry you left so suddenly last time. Isn’t it about time you tackled the Dark Orcs on the 15th Floor?”
“No. That’s—”
I shook my head.
I’d already hunted Dark Orcs so much I was sick of them.
Of course, Jeongsik had no way of understanding what I meant.
“Oh, it’s fine. Safety first! You need to level up before your stats are high enough. Dark Orcs? Absolutely don’t touch them until your main stat exceeds 30 and your secondary stats exceed 20. I was actually planning to stop you if you said you were going to attempt them, but you’re wise indeed!”
‘When did my main stat exceed 30….’
I couldn’t even remember when, but my Firepower was 50 and my Stealth was 45.
‘So I can touch it without worry?’
Come to think of it, it did fly away in one hit when I first caught it.
Jeongsik might actually be quite knowledgeable, surprisingly.
In any case, for some reason, Jeongsik seemed utterly taken with me.
As if I were his nephew or something.
“Yes, thank you.”
Still, since he was saying it out of concern for me, I decided to let it pass gracefully.
“This time, for sure! Let me buy you a piece of equipment that beginners often overlook. Let me see… Ah, there! Dapara!”
Jeongsik, about to lead me to the most conscientious merchant he knew, tilted his head in confusion.
The biggest hardship for beginners entering the Public Floor for the first time was getting overcharged by merchants!
Knowing a good merchant would prove helpful time and again.
But.
“That person really… wait? Where did he go?”
I, who had been chuckling behind Jeongsik just moments before, had vanished without a trace.
I was willing to let things pass gracefully, but there was no need to incur a debt, was there?
A skilled marksman never formed connections carelessly.
A single word spoken here could return as a bullet fired elsewhere.
Always discretion, and more discretion!
Jeongsik’s eyes gleamed as he stared blankly at the spot where I had been.
“I’ve never met anyone who refused my help to this extent…!”
Throughout his entire life, this was the first person who made him feel an irresistible urge to help.
Just wait.
Someday I’ll definitely buy him something!
Then Jeongsik suddenly tilted his head.
“But now that I think about it, doesn’t he only seem to show up when Ilgyeok appears?”
Could it be that Jeongsik, the famous helpful man of the 10th Floor Common Area, had actually figured out my identity?
A moment of absolute crisis for me.
Soon, Jeongsik spoke with a regretful expression.
“Tsk tsk, he doesn’t seem to have much talent. A sparrow trying to follow a stork will only tear its legs… So there was a reason my instincts were drawn to him. A fan is most beautiful when they remain a fan.”
…In a way, Jeongsik had grasped my limitations well—that without a sniper rifle, I was utterly ordinary.

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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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