I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 228
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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 228
Ep. 228
While numerous criteria determine Hunter rankings, the primary Tower remains the most decisive factor.
No matter how impressive one’s Gate and Instant Tower records are, ultimately the Hunter with superior progress in the primary Tower climbs the rankings.
Therefore, there was no doubt that Hanryeol’s ranking would skyrocket after successfully clearing the 84th floor alongside three Rankers.
Especially since Ihyeon’s contribution to Hanryeol’s rise in status could not be overlooked.
「BlackDragonKing : Oh, mighty One-Strike Dragon, when shall you grace us with a clear attempt? Duseok and Lady Yuna seem quite eager as well.」
‘…Does this guy think just adding “dragon” to the end of every sentence fulfills some condition?’
Hanryeol contacted Ihyeon almost daily, probing whether they could meet up sometime soon.
At first, Ihyeon had interpreted it as a traditional Korean greeting—the classic “let’s grab a meal together sometime”—but given the frequency, he was beginning to wonder if he should actually schedule something.
“Well, I don’t have much to do for a while anyway.”
It wasn’t a bad proposal for Ihyeon either.
Building friendships with single-digit, top-tier Rankers could only be beneficial.
“Come to think of it, Master knows everyone from 2nd to 7th place?”
“Huh? 2nd through 7th?”
Ihyeon tilted his head at Elsie’s words.
“So~ that means Master is 1st now, and Suyeon is below, down to 7th!”
“Uh…”
Elsie promoted Ihyeon to 1st place with such confidence.
Ihyeon hesitated before accepting her words.
“I won’t jump straight to 1st place though. Suyeon should still be 1st for now… and since Hwi-yeong has better Gate records, I’d be around 3rd?”
The fundamental principles of ranking.
1. Primary Tower floor progression
2. Gate and Instant Tower records
3. If the above two are similar, then various indicators such as when the highest floor was reached, guild affiliation, expert evaluations, etc.
Reputable media outlets cited these criteria, and people generally had no complaints.
“I believe you will rise to 1st place, Master.”
But now even Jia seemed convinced of Ihyeon’s ascension to 1st.
“Come on, people don’t even know what weapon I use yet. I can’t just be placed at 1st like that.”
Ihyeon repeatedly declined the Spirits’ endorsement, feigning modesty.
Then Elsie nodded as if there was nothing to be done and spoke.
“Right, it’s not like we’re deciding the rankings anyway. We’re drinking the broth before even giving the rice cake.”
“…”
But you can’t just switch gears like that so suddenly!
Ihyeon stared at Elsie with a cold expression.
Shouldn’t the atmosphere call for a few more exchanges of kind words, followed by laughter before wrapping things up?
They’d just finished praising him generously, and now suddenly spouting that proverb made Ihyeon look like he was being conceited.
“Where did you learn that saying?”
“50 Proverbs Elementary School Students Must Memorize.”
“…Fine, well done.”
“Hehe, right?”
As I clicked my tongue in praise, Elsie seemed delighted that even that counted as compliment.
Meanwhile, I opened the chat window, which I rarely used, and sent a message to Hwi-yeong.
Since he’d apparently just cleared Floor 85, I suddenly had something I wanted to confirm.
「Ilgyeok: Hunter Hwi-yeong, I heard you cleared Floor 85. Congratulations.
Hwi-yeong: Yes.」
‘This guy is the same way in chat too.’
He was someone of very few words.
「Ilgyeok: Actually, I had one thing I wanted to ask. Would that be alright?
Hwi-yeong: Yes.
Ilgyeok: How many Dokkaebi clones were on Floor 85?
Hwi-yeong: 3.」
“This is so unfair…!”
Grrrrrrr——
“Whoa, Master, I don’t know what happened, but hold it together!”
“Master, please calm yourself.”
After hearing Suyeon’s explanation, I had some idea, but Hwi-yeong also said three.
So it meant only I had to face an absurd eight clones plus the main body—nine in total.
…Of course, unlike Suyeon and Hwi-yeong who cleared it completely alone, I had two Spirits and the Knights of Ilgyeok fighting alongside me, but still, it felt unfair.
‘Or maybe they should use S+ or S-rank items too! …No, that might be too much.’
Thinking it over that way, it didn’t seem worth getting angry about, so I let my frustration settle down.
Considering that Suyeon had been using a raw A-rank bow as her main weapon until recently, I had nothing to say as the Master.
“Yeah, yeah, the Master has to endure and live, what else can I do.”
Noticing that my anger had subsided, Elsie patted my shoulder encouragingly.
I stood up from the sofa and spoke.
“Hmm… alright, since things have come to this, I should deal with one thing first and then think about it.”
“What matter are you referring to?”
When Jia asked, I smiled faintly and said.
“Let’s go conquer Floor 86.”
“Huh?”
“Floor 86?”
The Spirits were startled by the sudden remark.
From what they’d heard me say so far, it seemed I intended to climb with considerable caution starting from Floor 86.
But my thoughts were slightly different.
“That’s right. For now I plan to focus on leveling up and build a solid foundation, but I think clearing Floor 86 would still be good.”
“Hmm… well, that makes sense too.”
Even though I didn’t explain the reason precisely, the Spirits seemed to understand my intention well enough.
To level up, I needed to repeatedly conquer the highest floors possible.
But my current highest floor was 85.
That meant I’d have to repeatedly conquer the Dokkaebi, and thinking of that bloody struggle, it was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
Catching the Volcano Worm on the 84th floor had been quite tedious as well.
It wasn’t without reason that Hunters in their 40s remained there despite being capable of ascending higher for experience.
Choosing a floor advantageous for repeated conquests was just as important as targeting higher floors.
That’s why Ihyeon’s plan was to first conquer the 86th floor, a regular floor, and then use it as a base to push his level as high as possible.
“To do that, there’s something I need to take care of first, right?”
With that, Ihyeon picked up his phone and made a call to someone.
* * *
The next day, Ihyeon received word that things had progressed well and was heading toward Deokhuun’s warehouse.
“You’re really going to conquer the 86th floor?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to raise my level through repeated conquests there. You’ve been to the 86th floor before, haven’t you?”
“I have, but… it does seem good for leveling up, though it’s not exactly an easy place.”
“What easy place exists in the 80s anyway?”
Naturally, Suyeon was riding in the passenger seat beside me.
Suyeon was now both my teammate and the only useful source of information who had actually been to the 86th floor.
I was planning to conquer the 86th floor together with Suyeon.
When we arrived at Deokhuun’s warehouse, he greeted us warmly, already waiting outside.
“Sir, welcome! You’re all welcome too!”
“How have you been?”
“Haha, you’re a senior too, so please speak comfortably with me.”
“Oh, really…?”
“Yeah, thanks, Deokhuun.”
“But you speak comfortably with Elsie…”
In any case, Ihyeon had a reason for gathering the team members here again.
Yesterday, Ihyeon had sent Deokhuun to the administrative office.
It was specifically to consult with them about conquering the 86th floor.
“You said things wrapped up well, right?”
“Yes, sir. The administrative office actually seemed welcoming about it. It’s been quite a while since Suyeon conquered the 85th floor.”
Suyeon’s conquest of the 85th floor had happened just before I cleared the 50th floor.
“Nearly two months have passed since then… it feels a bit rushed, but there’s no reason to hesitate at this timing.”
“Right, exactly. If we can conquer it, finishing early is good too.”
I had explained the purpose of the early 86th floor conquest to Suyeon on the way here.
Yet for Suyeon, there seemed to be more anticipation than the tension of conquering a new floor.
I asked her.
“Suyeon, are you confident that I can conquer the 86th floor right away?”
“If it’s you, wouldn’t it be possible?”
After discussing various things, Suyeon’s usual daily routine seemed quite extreme even to my ears.
At minimum, after reaching rank 1, she entered the highest conquerable floor once a day.
After that, whenever time and energy allowed, she attempted to conquer the highest floor.
While she would retreat immediately if any remotely dangerous situation arose, it was so different from how I had climbed the Tower.
‘I just cleared one floor a day and rested all day… she really lived diligently.’
As a result, I’ve developed an unfortunate side effect—a complete and utter lack of social skills that you’d struggle to find even if you searched with your eyes wide open.
If Suyeon heard my thoughts, she’d probably ask, “Isn’t conquering a new floor every single day far more extreme…?” But everyone has their own circumstances, after all.
In any case, negotiations with the Management Bureau regarding the conquest of the 86th floor went smoothly.
“From now on, let’s gather here for a while and enter the Main Tower together. Suyeon, is that okay with you?”
“Yeah, I’m all for it!”
“Deokhuun, you’re fine with us borrowing this place, right?”
Ah, hyung-nim, noona. Please think of this as your home and make yourselves comfortable.”
“Y-yeah. Thanks.”
Just as I was about to stand up to begin the conquest.
“Oh, wait a moment, hyung-nim.”
“?”
Deokhuun suddenly remembered something he’d forgotten and quickly got up, retrieving a document envelope from the cabinet.
“Here, take this first.”
“What is this?”
I accepted it with a puzzled expression and pulled out the papers inside.
At the same time, Deokhuun gave me a brief explanation.
“It’s documentation from the Management Bureau regarding the 10 billion won reward for this successful conquest.”
“???”
I was startled by the astronomical sum that suddenly appeared.
Meanwhile, Suyeon simply nodded calmly, as if this were already familiar to her.
“S-Suyeon.”
“What?”
“Did you always receive payments like this…?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been receiving conquest rewards since my SR Team days, but since this is a highest-floor conquest, the compensation went up considerably.”
I should have told the Management Bureau earlier!
I barely managed to restrain myself from slapping my forehead in regret.
What do you mean highest-floor conquest rewards are 10 billion won each!
But the regret was brief.
I’ve always lived as Ilgyeok, brimming with pride and philanthropic love for humanity.
It meant I wasn’t the type to be swayed by mere money.
No, in fact, I wasn’t swayed this time either!
“Master does like money, doesn’t he.”
“To do good deeds, you need sufficient funds for that, Elsie. You’ve seen it plenty of times until now.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
…Of course, not being swayed was purely my own thought.
The spirits who had been with me for quite some time could see right through what I truly felt.
“Ahem… I don’t like money or anything. I was just surprised that something like this existed.”
“Wow, oppa, you’re really amazing. When I first received 10 billion won, I couldn’t even sleep wondering if I should really accept it.”
“Khem-hem!”
I deliberately turned away from Suyeon, whose innocent face only made my heart ache more.
‘You should’ve told me something like that earlier!’
Of course, rewards from clearing floors were merely secondary matters.
It was nothing more than a minor incident before entering the Tower.
Ihyeon handed the documents back to Deokhuun and spoke.
“Handle things like this on your own. Just don’t overdo it—stick to industry standards. You understand? And make sure you take your proper cut according to the transaction fee.”
“Brother…! Thank you so much!”
Deokhuun fell into a sea of emotion once again, bowing deeply to Ihyeon.
Indeed, his eye for talent skill had never deceived him!
Before meeting Ihyeon, when he’d hustled around making deals with various Hunters, things were far more cumbersome, and the transaction amounts were nowhere near as substantial.
The saying “one well-trained Ilgyeok is worth a hundred Hunters” must have been coined for moments like this.
“Well then, let’s head in. We’ll hear about the 86th floor in the common area.”
“Got it!”
“I shall follow.”
“Let’s go!”
And so, the first clear attempt of the four-person team “Watchmen” had just begun.
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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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