I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 22

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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 22
Episode 22
After clearing the 15th Floor and maintaining a brief lull, Ilgyeok appeared once more.
「The 16th Floor clear record has been updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea.
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
Other users would have struggled considerably with the suddenly altered terrain, but it seemed Ilgyeok faced no such difficulties.
Still S+ rank.
No, not just the 16th Floor either.
「The 17th Floor clear record has been….」
「The 18th Floor clear record has been….」
「The 19th Floor clear record has been….」
[ Author: MonthlyKick
Title: Is this real?
Content: It is what it is
└ Nope.
└ Pinch your thigh right now and you’ll snap back to reality.
└ Ah… Ilgyeok was pushing it a bit, wasn’t he? S+ all the way to the 19th Floor doesn’t make sense lol
└ Check out that unity lolol ]
Making all the repetitive strategies thus far seem meaningless, Ilgyeok updated the records without fail—once per day through the 17th, 18th, and 19th Floors.
Online, naturally, all the discourse surrounding Ilgyeok was nothing but praise.
Though initially it wasn’t entirely clear, there had been various suspicions here and there.
Claims that there must be some trick involved, that he’d shine briefly at first then fizzle out.
Yet now he was already at the 19th Floor.
During this time, there had been quite a few Floors that Hunters had regarded as nightmares, and Ilgyeok proved everything through his rank.
Moreover, he wasn’t climbing by abnormally raising his level—aside from a period of rest, it was simply an unstoppable momentum.
With just that alone, the pace was incomparably faster than what ordinary Hunters maintained, so what more could be said.
Yet as always, where there is light, there is shadow.
As Ilgyeok’s praise grew louder, there were those receiving criticism on the other side.
[ Author: Saram Sireoda
Title: So what’s the management office doing?
Content: Is finding one Hunter really that difficult? They take our hard-earned taxes and live off them, yet can’t find one Ilgyeok—that’s legendary incompetence;;
└ How much tax do you even pay? Seriously
└ Don’t shift the argument. I pay more than you do
└ But if he’s deliberately hiding, how are they supposed to find him? Should they conduct a nationwide search warrant?
└ That’s not what I’m saying lol The management office was created to find and manage Hunters, so they should do their job
└ So how do they find him lolol A couch potato Hunter fan sure talks a big game
└ Am I supposed to tell them that? And then later when Ilgyeok emigrates abroad and some villain shows up causing trouble, they’ll be the first to panic—legendary incompetence;; ]
It was precisely the government and management office that had yet to make a clear identification of Ilgyeok.
Most of the posts were filled with anger and written in blunt language, which generated considerable backlash, but the opinions themselves couldn’t be dismissed.
It shouldn’t happen, but I couldn’t deny that promising rookies sometimes disappeared due to foreign lobbying or kidnapping.
No matter how talented a rookie was, their abilities wouldn’t fully manifest until later.
If high-level Hunters decided to move against them right now, they’d be subdued without resistance.
In that context, I had to be vigilant about whether I myself might become a villain, or whether villains might cause trouble.
In other words.
“Why don’t you all share your thoughts?”
….
The atmosphere in the conference room of the government officials who were the targets of this criticism was heading straight into the abyss.
The large conference room was dark with all the lights turned off.
A single beam projector with a white background was on, making it possible to distinguish people’s faces and clothing.
Most wore business suits, and occasionally someone in Military uniform was visible.
On the screen was a single line of text reading “ID Ilgyeok Countermeasures Meeting”—merely stating the topic without any real substance.
The one urging people to speak was Ihyeon Dong, the Tower and Hunter Senior Secretary from the Presidential Office.
Commonly known as the Tower Senior Secretary.
The nickname came from overseeing matters related to the Tower and Hunters, but recently it’s also used to mean “Top Secretary” due to his strong actual authority.
He could be said to be the most powerful person gathered in this place.
Unless the Tower Safety Management Minister attended, but he wasn’t present at this meeting.
The rest—all Directors and below from various departments—simply kept their heads bowed, watching the atmosphere in silence.
Donghyeon looked around with an uncomfortable expression and pointed to someone.
“Manager Baek?”
….
“Manager Baek?”
“Who is Manager Baek?”
“Tsk…. Answer quickly.”
At the title without department and name specified, people looked around as well.
Baek Seongyun, the Manager of Talent Search at the Management Bureau, snapped to attention and answered belatedly.
“Who… Ah, yes! I’m Baek Seongyun, Manager of the Management Bureau.”
“Did you find out anything?”
“Well….”
Seongnyun hesitated, gauging the situation.
“We’ve been continuously tracking and monitoring Hunters who registered as new during Ilgyeok’s appearance and those who subsequently cleared lower floors….”
But there was no confidence in his answer.
Donghyeon’s brow furrowed.
“So, you’re saying you couldn’t find them?”
If I answered honestly that I couldn’t find them here?
A hole might open in my secure Civil Servant position.
Even if a hole didn’t open, I might end up stuffed away in some dusty filing cabinet.
How I phrased not finding something could reveal just how desperate the situation was.
Seongnyun squeezed his eyes shut and answered.
“I… I, well, we do have a clue.”
“A clue?”
“Yes, yes. According to intelligence, Ilgyeok likely possesses an exceptionally high mana pool suited to wizard-class characteristics…”
Seongnyun spoke these words while glancing at those in military uniforms.
The information probably came from their side, and it seemed rather amusing to see himself speaking like this in front of them.
But then.
“…”
‘Huh?’
Unexpectedly, the Military showed no particular reaction.
‘Is it not them?’
When I glanced toward the NIS side, they were simply nodding with serious expressions.
‘Then where is it from?’
Seongnyun fell into brief confusion.
‘Could it really be us…?’
Was there information I had overlooked all this time?
But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Seongnyun said everything he knew and fell silent.
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, Donghyeon seemed to decide not to torment Seongnyun further and moved on.
Or perhaps he hadn’t expected much from the start.
“I heard the NIS found something through police investigation.”
“Ah, yes. The on-site investigation we conducted during the last Gaecheon Intersection Gate incident has been completed.”
An NIS Manager stood and spoke.
His confident expression paid no heed to the tense atmosphere in the conference room.
Seongnyun sensed it instinctively.
‘Ah, looks like they found something big.’
If you find something like that, share it early!
The NIS Manager received an object from behind and showed it to everyone.
“Take a look at this.”
What the Manager held was a white, pointed object.
Donghyeon’s eyebrow twitched as he asked.
“What is that?”
At the same moment, the beam projector screen advanced.
A photograph showing the white object greatly magnified, and another photograph of the location where it appeared to have been discovered.
The Manager continued his explanation.
“This is ‘evidence of Ilgyeok’ discovered at the Gaecheon Intersection Gate.”
The room erupted in reaction.
“Ohhh…”
“That?”
So the first concrete evidence of Ilgyeok to emerge was this tiny object.
“According to our investigation, Ilgyeok not only conducted long-range attacks using mana, but also killed monsters in a single strike through these small projectiles. Of course, the Dark Orc boss was killed using mana. We estimate he employs both methods in combination, taking into account factors such as destructive power.”
“W-what is that?”
Donghyeon’s voice grew slightly urgent.
He too was in a difficult position within the Presidential Office, lacking much to report.
If such findings emerged, he could certainly gain face.
At that moment, someone made a guess.
“Could it be… bullets? They look similar?”
“Ah, Director, did you serve in the Military as well?”
“That’s…”
Various reactions followed, but they certainly appeared to be bullets.
However, the Manager shook his head.
“As you all know, Hunters don’t fire guns.”
“What does a non-veteran know, speaking so hastily?”
“Ah, does military service matter? Haven’t you seen movies?”
It was a natural rebuttal.
No matter how much the projectile resembled a bullet, the fundamental premise was wrong from the start.
There are no Hunters who fire guns.
“And when we analyzed the composition of this object… surprisingly, it was Goblin bone.”
“Extraordinary!”
“Goblin?”
The high-ranking civil servants reacted with intense focus to every word the Manager spoke.
The Manager turned his gaze toward Seongnyun and spoke.
“Our investigation goes this far, but I believe Baek Seongyun, the Manager from the Regulatory Agency, is the expert who can explain this better.”
It was exactly as he said.
From the moment Seongnyun heard the Manager’s explanation, his mind began working rapidly.
The pieces fit together perfectly, didn’t they?
Seongnyun nodded with a stern expression and opened his mouth.
“Necromancer.”
“Necromancer?”
“What is that?”
“That… seemed to be a dark sorcerer who dragged around zombie-like creatures.”
“Extraordinary! Ilgyeok has such characteristics?”
“Not bullets but finger bones, finger bones!”
“It still looks like a bullet to me…”
“You, if you haven’t served, stay quiet!”
“What? You? Are you done talking?!”
“Quiet, quiet!”
Donghyeon calmed the increasingly chaotic atmosphere and then gestured to Seongnyun.
“Please continue.”
“Yes, Necromancer—as you all know, the formal term is dark sorcerer…”
Those who wielded bones and specialized in long-range combat were dark mages, commonly called Necromancers.
Since Necromancers were a type of mage, achieving S+ rank from the First Floor wouldn’t be easy.
“However, if they possessed such magic from the beginning, it’s understandable. Long-range techniques with sufficient destructive power are extremely useful in the early floors. I suspect the reason they’ve hidden their identity until now is due to the perception surrounding dark mages.”
The perception of dark mages ranked among the poorest of all classes.
Their numbers were few, and because they dealt extensively with corpses and poison, they reeked and appeared dangerous.
Moreover, even if the summons were raised by an ally, fighting alongside rotting, decomposing corpses simply wasn’t pleasant.
Consequently, dark mages increasingly turned to villainy, and the poor perception only worsened—a vicious cycle.
It made sense why Ilgyeok had gone to such lengths to hide their identity.
“However, if Ilgyeok truly is a Necromancer, there’s one more reason we need to find them quickly. Dark mages grow stronger as they progress through the later floors.”
This was generally true of all mages, but especially so for Necromancers.
The more corpses they could raise and the stronger those corpses became, the more formidable the power of those called one-man legions grew exponentially.
“Your analysis is accurate, Manager Baek.”
The NIS Manager nodded in agreement with Seongnyun’s words and continued.
Now it was time to reveal what information the NIS could provide.
“We’ve confirmed a meaningful increase in illegal border crossings from neighboring nations including China, Russia, and Japan.”
“….”
Silence followed.
I could roughly guess why the NIS was bringing this up.
“Though I’m confident they haven’t discovered Ilgyeok’s identity either, the fact remains that we must find them.”
Whether through kidnapping, assassination, or reckless terrorism.
Foreign forces entering the country rarely brought anything good.
Seongnyun added his own words.
“Exactly. That’s why the Management Bureau operates the SR Team in coordination with other agencies. With Ilgyeok, there’s nothing more to say.”
The SR Team.
An abbreviation for Special Rookie.
It was an organization that managed rookies showing exceptional promise in the lower floors at the national level, ensuring they didn’t stray down the wrong path.
That “management” encompassed not merely favorable treatment to keep them in South Korea, but also comprehensive measures including reinforced information control and security.
Donghyeon, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“That’s your job, Manager Baek.”
“….”
Seongnyun fell silent.

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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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