I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 23

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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 23
Episode 23
“That’s what you should be doing, Manager Baek.”
Donghyeon’s words left Seongnyun speechless, and he fumed silently.
‘I know that already!’
If it weren’t for the rank insignia, he would have fired back just like that.
Who doesn’t want to find him? Was he avoiding the search?
But in this situation, I was the guilty one.
When Seongnyun said nothing, Donghyeon nodded and spoke.
“Yes, it seems we’re making more progress than expected, which is fortunate. A dark mage, bone-throwing type skills, high mana reserves… With this much, identification seems quite possible.”
“I’ll focus more on observing the Public Floor.”
“Now that he’s cleared the 19th Floor… the 20th Floor should be coming soon, right?”
“That’s correct. Based on Ilgyeok’s pattern, we should see a record-breaking notification as early as today.”
“My goodness, he’s truly remarkable.”
Donghyeon shook his head in amazement.
It had only been a little over a month since Ilgyeok first appeared.
While others were still stuck in the early 10th Floors, he was already at the 20th Floor—double that?
If such talent were lost for any reason, it would be far more than just a national loss.
Donghyeon stood up to wrap up the meeting, saying:
“From the 20th Floor onward, party-based strategies become the norm, so make sure to keep a close eye on things. We’ll have easier access to information, but the same goes for others.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The others in the conference room nodded as they saw Donghyeon out.
‘As he said, everything changes once we reach the 20th Floor.’
Seongnyun was already carefully mapping out his plans for what lay ahead.
The Public Floor that opened in the 10th Floor range would undergo another transformation in the 20th Floor range.
The full implementation of the party system.
Since it randomly assigns five people from those attempting to clear the same floor, Ilgyeok wouldn’t be able to avoid it either.
‘Let’s see how long you can stay hidden… Ilgyeok.’
Determination flickered in Seongnyun’s eyes.
* * *
The 20th Floor.
Like the 10th Floor, it was guarded by the second Floor Master.
As was typical of most Floor Masters, the 20th Floor’s Floor Master also had a notorious reputation among Hunters.
Both for its tremendous power and its grotesque appearance.
‘Ugh, what is that thing?’
Even I, who prided myself on having seen all manner of monsters through my time in the special forces, found my brow furrowing at the sight.
Its name was the Giant Cave Prog.
As the name suggested, it had the basic form of a frog.
That alone would be enough to terrify many Hunters, but it didn’t end there.
A pallid, sickly body.
Grotesquely elongated hind legs that wobbled with each shambling step.
Despite this, a pair of enormous eyes—nearly half its face—constantly swiveled independently, forever hunting for prey.
Splurch——!!!!
Screech—
With a single lash of its powerful tongue, an unfortunate Dungeon Orc passing nearby was instantly skewered through, its body pierced clean through.
The grotesque sight of it coiling its blood-stained tongue around the corpse and swallowing the Orc whole was nightmare incarnate.
Beyond its devastating tongue, the raw power in its legs—capable of closing distance in a heartbeat before delivering a devastating kick—was the stuff of Hunter nightmares.
The acrid, fishy stench that assaulted the nostrils of anyone who dared approach only amplified its fearsome reputation.
Yet none of this truly applied to me.
Though I did furrow my brow, I was observing the Cave Prog from atop a cliff that encircled the vast hollow of the cavern where it dwelled.
I had positioned myself on a jagged outcropping at a considerable height.
Finding this vantage point had required maximum utilization of my concealment cloak and even switching sniper positions.
Given the effort invested, the satisfaction was immense.
The Cave Prog’s back of the head was perfectly centered in my scope.
Fortunately, light streamed through an opening in the ceiling of the hollow, so I didn’t even need my Thermal Scope.
Was this the Tower’s mercy—refusing to force a boss battle in complete darkness?
In any case, the creature’s back of the head visible in my scope was grotesquely writhing as it struggled to swallow the Dungeon Orc it had just consumed.
‘Just go on down.’
Unable to watch any longer, I loaded an Orc Bone round.
A round that increased firepower compared to standard ammunition, but reduced stealth and rate of fire.
Click-clack— click-clack—!
As always, the crisp, satisfying feel of the bolt action stimulated my senses.
Simultaneously, was it the effect of reduced stealth?
Whoosh—! Splatter—!
The Cave Prog, belatedly sensing my presence, lashed its tongue toward the rock outcropping where I stood.
‘Too late, you bastard.’
But I remained composed.
I’d weathered attacks like this countless times before.
Breath held.
Then I squeezed the trigger.
Bang—!
The dull report cracked through the air as the Orc bone round tore from the muzzle, streaking toward the Cave Prog.
It narrowly crossed paths with the creature’s lashing tongue.
The Cave Prog’s tongue was legendary for its hardness—even ordinary blades could barely scratch it.
‘But you’re facing a gun.’
Shuuuaaack——!!!!
The round shredded the tongue nearly in half before slamming directly into the creature’s body.
Its prized hind legs never even had a chance to be deployed.
Boom—!
‘…Is that really the sound of a bullet impact?’
A heavy, resonant sound echoed through the hollow—one that caught me off guard.
The sound of its body rupturing was entirely different from those creatures that had seemed packed with muscle until now.
It was almost like the sensation of a water balloon bursting.
The neck and head of the Giant Cave Prog struck directly by the bullet flew off in a straight line.
Bone rounds fundamentally leave limited ballistic marks, but the rifling caused the firepower to leave such a massive wound.
Splatter——
Chunks of the creature’s wet flesh rained down around me a beat later.
The distinctive fishy stench grew even more pungent and nauseating.
In places, I could even glimpse the remains of Dungeon Orcs the creature had swallowed.
Since I couldn’t bring myself to descend and collect the remains, I checked the notification windows that appeared one by one from where I stood on the rock.
「Giant Cave Prog defeated.
You have cleared the 20th Floor.
Rank: S+」
One shot and it was over, so naturally this floor was also an S+ clear.
「20th Floor reward.
You have obtained 1 D-rank Magic Stone.
Check your inventory.」
“Oh, D-rank?”
My eyes widened slightly at the reward notification for the 20th Floor.
I had already reached the limit of mana I could raise with E-rank stones.
Of course, since this was a boss, I wasn’t sure what kind of magic stone would come from the 20th Floor range, but a rare item is a rare item regardless.
「Item ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ has leveled up.
Check your status window.」
And right on cue, I achieved a level up.
I pulled up my status window.
「Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle
Lv.17
Firepower: 50
Range: 20
Precision: 30
Stability: 30
Stealth: 45
Rate of Fire: 20
Mana: 49
Distributable Points: 40」
The stats themselves hadn’t changed from level 15.
I’d leveled up twice from clearing the 16th through 20th Floors, so only 40 points remained.
I invested the magic stone I’d just obtained into Mana to round it out to 50, then closed the status window for now.
‘For now, there’s nothing lacking, so I’ll save the rest.’
Ordinarily, I would invest in gear even if it meant being over-equipped, but this time was different.
I too was keeping in mind the characteristics of the 20th Floor and beyond that were about to unfold.
Random party clearing.
I had to avoid standing out at all costs, but excessive destructive power wouldn’t help matters either.
Since I’d sent the Floor Master of the 20th Floor flying in a single strike, I wouldn’t struggle with firepower for quite some time.
Though honestly, I was deliberately ignoring the fact that my current destructive power was already excessive.
‘I wish some kind of firepower adjustment function would be added later.’
After closing the status window, I moved on to the next notification.
A system-wide announcement that S+ rank had been achieved on the 20th Floor.
And then.
「S+ Rank Clear Bonus.
You have obtained the item ‘Random Skill Ticket’.
Please check your inventory.」
It was an S+ rank bonus that granted special rewards every five floors.
“A random skill, nice.”
I didn’t know what skill would appear, but acquiring skills was always beneficial.
Moreover, based on my experience so far, it seemed like skills suited to a Scout kept appearing.
Though it was possible that something like ‘Powerful Slash’—a skill used by Goblin Warriors—could pop up despite being called random.
‘Still, as a Scout, I’ve learned plenty of bayonet techniques anyway.’
There were ways to use that too, so it was best to just accept whatever came!
I immediately opened my inventory and used the ticket.
Whirrrrrr———!!!
Then a slot machine-like notification window visible only to me began spinning dizzily.
Below it, a ‘Select’ button.
When I pressed that button, the skill would be determined.
One of a Scout’s most crucial virtues is exceptional dynamic visual acuity—the ability to target even the fastest moving targets!
‘…I mean, I can’t see it.’
Of course, such a meticulous system wouldn’t have such a loophole.
In the end, I decided to squeeze my eyes shut and press the button.
‘Please, just give me a Scout-tailored skill, something actually useful! Preferably something I can use on the 20th Floor and beyond!’
Whirrrr——
Even with my eyes closed, I could hear the slot continuing to spin.
But gradually it slowed, the sound growing quieter.
When the sound finally stopped completely, I cracked open my eyes and checked the skill I’d won.
“Uh, u-huh?”
A naturally deflating sound escaped me.
I had definitely prayed for something useful on the 20th Floor and beyond.
But.
「You have acquired Perfect Target (B).」
“You’re giving me something this useful?”
Had I ever been this fortunate in my life?
Ihyeon found himself reflecting on his entire existence in that moment.
* * *
Perfect Target.
Reading that description left me utterly astonished.
「Perfect Target (B)
Creates a perfect target.
The target can act and speak according to the user’s will.
When the target is active, stealth increases significantly.
The target cannot deal damage.
Appearance can be customized.
Cooldown: one day.」
“No matter how many times I read this, it feels like cheating.”
Ihyeon tilted his head, having read the skill description countless times at the Makeshift Shooting Range.
Was this truly the power of a B-rank skill?
Then what in the world could A and S-rank skills possibly be?
Other Hunters with different attributes would find boundless possibilities depending on how they utilized it.
For a sniper like me, there was even more to say.
“Perfect Target.”
Seeing is believing.
I activated the skill.
「Please set the appearance.」
“For now, make it look like me.”
Whoosh—
Instantly, a target that looked identical to me appeared before me—or more accurately, a dummy.
Its expression was rigid, its posture stiff.
“Can’t you smile more naturally?”
When I spoke, the dummy faithfully followed my will.
Grin—
“…No, just stay still.”
It had genuinely tried to comply.
It wasn’t some cartoon character, but the way it stretched its mouth into a grin was unsettlingly grotesque.
‘I’ll just leave it like this when I put it in front of others.’
Apart from that, it was excellent.
Just as the description said it would move and speak according to my will, it moved as I thought.
“Hello, nice to meet you, pleased to work with you.”
It spoke well too.
Others might find the speech somewhat mechanical, but as someone with a military background, it didn’t strike me as particularly odd.
Finally, combat.
‘It said it has no combat ability….’
I summoned a few Goblins to test it out, and it worked exactly as described.
Though I flailed about with punches and kicks, the damage dealt to the Goblins was nonexistent.
It was no different from merely going through the motions.
“Still, this is better than nothing.”
I was reasonably satisfied.
Now that I had to ascend into the 20th Floor range, the role of this skill for me was quite simple.
‘Just arm it with a sword or two and station it in my place.’
My decoy.
Especially while the dummy was active, my concealment improved dramatically—enough to fool the eyes of players at the same level, or so it seemed.
Hadn’t I successfully deceived a Scout before?
Watching the Goblins vanish as the dummy registered their deaths, my fists trembled with excitement.
“This way… I can delay my re-enlistment a little longer.”
My goal was ultimately to hide my identity from others until I accumulated sufficient strength.
A sniper was always better off keeping their identity concealed for as long as possible.

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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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