I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 236

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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 236
Ep. 236
‘The tactical map can be substituted with the hideout for now… and the thermal scope is still sufficient as is.’
There was another reason I’d chosen the high-explosive rounds over the other two skills.
‘It can be combined with bone rounds. This is the best option for aiming at critical points.’
Since my sniper rifle boasted such outstanding capabilities with just basic mana rounds, my usage of bone rounds had decreased significantly compared to before.
But bone rounds possessed various effects, so they were definitely an advantage unique to me, and I wanted to secure a way to utilize them.
I opened a makeshift shooting range to demonstrate my newly acquired skill.
“This time it’s an offensive skill.”
At the mention of an offensive skill obtained after so long, the spirits rejoiced, saying their master had grown stronger.
Suyeon and Deokhuun, who had just been calling me a fraud moments ago, also followed along with anticipation, seemingly eager to see what I’d do.
The target was a Lava Slime.
They were creatures so grotesque that merely looking at them could make one dizzy, but they were perfect for testing the high-explosive rounds.
“Ugh, Lava Slimes again?”
Elsie seemed to share my sentiment.
I hadn’t summoned them in mountain-sized quantities like on the 86th floor, but I’d still brought out a small hill’s worth.
‘Considering my firepower stat, I should prepare this much.’
Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d acquired an explosive skill.
The closest things I’d had before were skills like Piercing Rounds or Poison Rounds, but those were far from true explosions.
But what kind of place was the Korean military I’d served in?
A group that pursued overwhelming firepower—nothing but overwhelming firepower.
They were so serious about artillery and explosives that they’d earned the nickname “Artillery Corps,” and that dedication was genuine.
In fact, that philosophy remained the same even after the Tower appeared.
The Maesek Gun squad leader position I’d held was a prime example.
While most nations focused on developing rifle rounds with enhanced stopping power against monsters, Korea had prioritized developing the Maesek Gun, determined to kill monsters with personal firearms no matter what.
According to rumors, they were even developing a Maesek Cannon by linking dozens of Maesek stones together, and at that point, it could be used not just against monsters but in actual warfare, so other nations were supposedly keeping it in check secretly…
Regardless, within that background, I too harbored a romantic notion toward powerful explosions and firepower.
‘Honestly, my sniper rifle is strong, but isn’t the effect a bit… boring?’
I entertained this audacious thought without hesitation—the kind that would make other hunters weep and tear out their hair in frustration!
And with that, I calmly activated the high-explosive round skill.
Clang—! Clank—!
“Oho?”
Even the loading sound was unusual.
Rather than a rifle’s loading sound, it resembled something closer to a grenade launcher—a slightly hollow noise.
Assuming a standing shooting posture, I aimed at the Lava Slime hill with practiced ease.
Thunk—!
Then I pulled the trigger.
The form itself wasn’t much different from the mana rounds I usually fired.
A white, luminous beam-like appearance.
The thickness seemed slightly thicker, but it wasn’t noticeably distinct enough to be immediately obvious.
But the result was.
CRAAAAAASH———!!!! WHOOOOOOSH——
“???????”
Drastically different.
The moment the high-explosive round collided with the Lava Slime mound, an intense flash of light erupted alongside a tremendous shockwave.
Despite maintaining a safe distance, not only Ihyeon but even the team members behind him instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.
Only after the light and wind subsided did they reluctantly lower their arms, finally comprehending the sheer destructive power of the high-explosive round.
“Th… Th… Whoooosh…. You’re a fraud.”
Suyeon nearly suffered another breathing episode, but by now she’d developed enough resistance to handle it gracefully on her own.
The high-explosive round’s power was that shocking.
Where the Lava Slime mound had stood moments ago was now pristine.
It wasn’t just that a significant number of slimes were eliminated—the area was genuinely spotless.
Only the viscous lava still flowing there served as proof that Lava Slimes had ever existed in this location.
“Wh… what on earth is this…?”
When Ihyeon’s firepower combined with the explosion, it produced truly devastating results.
In truth, his firepower stat had always felt slightly excessive.
It was perfect for one-on-one combat, but inefficient for large-scale battles.
Enemies outside the mana round’s range of the Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle simply couldn’t be targeted.
…Of course, few would agree with Ihyeon’s assessment, but if one had to identify his weakness, that was it.
This high-explosive round, however, seemed to be a skill that would substantially compensate for that weakness.
“At this rate, the 86th floor should be quite manageable, right?”
Meanwhile, Ihyeon, who’d left everyone in shock, nodded with a composed expression.
Just a few shots would deal significant damage to the slime mountain.
“…Sigh, he’s my Master, but really.”
“I’m starting to dislike my brother….”
Disregarding the spectators’ comments, Ihyeon continued his experimentation with the high-explosive round.
The primary reason he’d chosen the high-explosive round.
Combination with bone rounds.
“Let’s start with the White Panther bone round first.”
The White Panther bone round he’d used even in the Lich Instant Tower.
Its effect was freezing the target upon impact.
Ihyeon created another Lava Slime mound just like before, then unleashed a combination of White Panther bone round and high-explosive round.
Clang— Clang—!
Boom—!
The result was remarkably intuitive.
CRAAAAAASH——
“…They’re all frozen?”
“Unbelievable….”
Area-wide freezing of all enemies within the high-explosive round’s range.
The Lava Slimes, composed of lava itself, froze solid without any resistance whatsoever.
Elsie and Suyeon rushed over to test whether the creatures were properly frozen solid.
Clang—! Crack—!
“They’re… they’re actually frozen…!”
“Well, what else would they be?”
As Elsie’s claymore and Suyeon’s arrows came down on one creature each, the Lava Slimes shattered instantly.
Not even a trace of sticky lava flowed from within.
The magma itself had frozen solid, rolling across the ground in chunks.
Even if Lava Slimes were commonly called ‘easy monsters,’ was it really possible by any reasonable standard to freeze an 80s-floor monster so perfectly?
Suyeon found herself questioning this for a moment.
‘Well, I shouldn’t expect common sense from someone who gains 20 stat points per level and reached the 80s floors before even hitting level 40.’
Then she promptly resolved her own doubt.
If I’m being generous, it’s actually quite straightforward.
Ihyeon’s experiments with various bone bullet combinations continued after that.
None of them had effects as dramatic as the White Panther round.
Most felt similar to fragments scattering in all directions the moment they impacted.
It was the same for Goblins, Kobolds, and Orcs.
“It’s less impressive than I thought.”
“Master, aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”
“Divine… what?”
“Oh, never mind.”
Of course, only Ihyeon held such thoughts—the observers saw things quite differently.
With each shot dealing near-total annihilation to the Lava Slime colony, hearing “it’s less impressive than I thought” felt almost surreal.
“Well, you did clear floor 86 with bone bullets alone, so I guess it does seem a bit boring.”
“Right? You really get it, Suyeon.”
“Hehe.”
Suyeon nodded repeatedly in full agreement with Ihyeon’s sentiment.
“…Fox archer, I feel like you’ve let go of something important here?”
Elsie shot her a look upon witnessing this, though it wasn’t particularly significant.
The subsequent experiments proceeded largely as expected.
Either increased firepower or area attacks without too much fanfare.
With the Troll Ghoul bone bullets, they confirmed that enemy regeneration was blocked in an area, and the Lava Slimes’ proliferation was also prevented—that was the notable achievement.
The only ammunition that truly satisfied Ihyeon was the final one: the Amogratl bone bullet.
‘I can’t test this with just the colony.’
Ihyeon summoned an enormous quantity of Lava Slimes identical to floor 86 and stacked them into a mountain.
Metallic clang— metallic ring—!
Boom—!!
Then he fired it combined with a high-explosive round!
“Everyone down!”
“Already down, Master!”
Since Ihyeon could roughly estimate the destructive power of a high-explosive round combined with an Amogratl bone bullet, he had his team take defensive positions well in advance.
The result was.
—————!!!!
“Uwaaahhh!!!”
“Elsie!”
Even Elsie, who appeared as a small child, was sent flying by the shockwave.
Of course, that wasn’t all—the entire Lava Slime mountain was completely obliterated.
‘This… isn’t this on the level of a Sky-Piercing Round?’
As expected, anything related to Amogratl never disappointed me.
The only regret was that I didn’t have many Amogratl bones, so I had to use them sparingly in normal situations.
“Ugh, my head… Master, from now on, keep that in my inventory and use it.”
“That sounds good.”
Though there wouldn’t be many occasions to use it anyway.
* * *
Every time I conquered a new floor of the Main Tower, I received a fresh 100-day timer.
I used those 100 days that Suyeon and I had earned incredibly efficiently.
「Twice a day….」
「Three times a day….」
「Four times a day….」
「Five times a day….」
‘Ugh, I’m dying.’
Using it so efficiently had become a problem in itself.
Once Suyeon’s competitive spirit ignited, I couldn’t stop her—now she easily handled five or more runs a day!
Even though Elsie and I showed signs of exhaustion, Suyeon and Jia kept diving into the tower like energizer bunnies, so we couldn’t overcome the 2-on-2 situation.
However, the increased number of clears compared to usual led to.
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ leveled up.
Check the status window.」
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ leveled up.
….」
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’….」
「Item….」
My leveling speed was far faster than my usual pace.
After roughly a month had passed, my level had already reached 44!
“Isn’t this speed too fast?”
I was worried enough to say this, but Suyeon always shot back dismissively.
“You’re only at level 44? You’re still far behind!”
Since Suyeon’s level had risen one tier higher to 363, I really had nothing to say.
‘Ugh, how do other Hunters do this every day?’
As a so-called ‘low-level’ Hunter, I had no choice but to be dragged around the tower by her.
Of course, I hadn’t just cleared the 86th floor during this time.
To make use of the newly acquired high-explosive rounds, I steadily collected the ‘somewhat special bones’ series that I’d passed over before.
I had obtained the special bones of four creatures: a Highland Gorilla, a Mountain Drake, a Lava Lava, and a Volcano Drake.
The Highland Gorilla bone rounds created an earthquake-like fissure effect on the ground where they struck.
The Mountain Drake simply enhanced raw firepower.
The Lava Lava fired rounds with the properties of molten lava.
The Volcano Drake possessed a terrifying effect—the flames wouldn’t extinguish until the target was completely incinerated.
Each ranked between B and A grade.
With the grades significantly higher than before, the combined effect with high-explosive rounds was extraordinary.
Particularly the Volcano Drake bone rounds—I couldn’t even consider using them outside the tower.
No matter how many warnings about their uncontrollable nature were attached, monsters might endure them depending on their resistance, but civilians and city infrastructure certainly couldn’t.
Back in Deokhuun’s warehouse room after clearing the floor.
I checked my status window and spoke.
“It seems like I’m building a solid foundation at this rate, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right. Just trust your brother.”
Suyeon spoke with overflowing confidence, exhaling a snort through her nose.
By now, Suyeon had grown close enough to crack jokes with me.
Of course, the moment we stepped into a convenience store, she’d freeze up and stammer—that was routine.
In any case, unlike me who had climbed the tower almost entirely alone, Suyeon was an elite who had steadily absorbed information from the Management Bureau since her SR Team days.
And with Deokhuun, who called himself a tower consultant, added to the mix, all sorts of unsolicited advice were being heaped upon my “foundation building.”
“Still, it’s true that your leveling pace is starting to slow down, hyung.”
“Yeah. Level 44 took just under two weeks, right?”
“The experience gained on the same floor is limited. There are statistics showing that experience decreases with each repeated clear.”
Both of them were right.
My leveling on the 86th floor was gradually slowing.
Of course, spending another month on the 86th floor before tackling the 87th was an option, but having never taken such a long break between clears, I felt considerably frustrated.
The internet was already starting to discuss this.
[ Title: What exactly did the Management Bureau say to slow down Ilgyeok’s clearing like this?
Content: Seriously. We miss the days when Ilgyeok was clearing one floor a day~ That’s what I’m saying. Go, God Ilgyeok!
Yeah, that’s true. Anyway, whenever the authorities get involved, nothing ever seems to work out properly.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s because of kids like this that people complain about the national rating. Do you even know how many floors the tower has before just climbing up recklessly? Then later if even one hit gets blocked, you’ll only have 100 days left, so who’s gonna clear that for you? Don’t come crying later saying “why did I climb up so thoughtlessly” or whatever. Just go up at a reasonable pace and adjust as you go—that’s the best way to do it.
└ There’s no one else but that comment;; Sure, clearing one floor a day would feel great. But since we don’t know what’s ahead, both sides are being careful;;;
└ Ugh, these serious types. Just chant God Ilgyeok!
└ God Ilgyeok!
└ God Ilgyeok! ]
Of course, I wasn’t swayed by such public opinion.
I wasn’t glued to the internet like some red-haired brat anyway.
Still, being stuck on a single floor for two months felt unnecessarily wasteful.
“You just hate going in seven times a day, don’t you, oppa?”
“How cowardly—attacking with facts and truth…”

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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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