I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 248

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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 248
Ep. 248
The end of the Tower.
Everyone vaguely sensed it existed, yet no one could truly fathom when or where it might be—a concept shrouded in uncertainty.
Twenty years had passed since the Tower’s emergence.
In all that time, humanity as a whole had barely surpassed the 95th Floor, and even then, they hadn’t reached the end. Thus, thoughts of completion naturally faded into the background.
But here, now, Ilgyeok and the Hero were discussing the very matter of putting a period to those twenty years of history.
Gulp—!
Not only those directly involved, but Suyeon and Hwi-yeong, who were listening from the side, swallowed hard.
I understood now why the Hero had flown all the way to Korea and gone through such considerable effort to meet Ilgyeok—it was certainly worth the trouble.
Even the Erubein Representative hadn’t anticipated this, and the conference room had transcended mere attentiveness, settling into an almost unbearable tension.
As if one wrong touch would cause everything to explode….
“Achoo!”
“….”
“Oh, sorry. Go on. Is there dust or something….”
Thanks to Elsie’s sneeze from beside me, I confirmed that at least an explosion wouldn’t happen.
Erubein nodded and continued his explanation.
“What is the difference between a Watchman and an Overlord?”
“Well….”
Ihyeon hesitated before offering an answer.
When I thought about it, my understanding was merely an impression gleaned from the connotations of the two words and the differing atmospheres of the Spirits.
But was that truly a distinction between good and evil?
I didn’t think so.
After all, one wouldn’t call a typhoon evil and a gentle breeze good.
Then again.
“It’s a difference in how one approaches the Tower.”
Erubein offered his own answer.
“This is merely my thought, of course. I cannot presume to judge until one has reached the very end.”
“That’s nearly accurate.”
At Jia’s affirmation, Erubein nodded once in gratitude.
“Those who climb the Tower may have various purposes, but there are those who climb to see the stars and those who climb to possess them.”
“Those who climb to see and those who climb to possess.”
“It would be difficult to call either inherently evil.”
Ihyeon affirmed Erubein’s words.
Of course, the Watchman and the Overlord seemed to oppose each other.
One could see this from the first meeting between Jia, Elsie, and Roel.
Without going far, even the One-Strike Knight Order hadn’t been so defiant at first.
“The 90s are the true verification. After that, I suspect there won’t be much Tower remaining. And its form will be distinctly different from before.”
“The Tower conducts verification? For what purpose, exactly?”
Seongnyun’s question.
Erubein answered immediately.
“It is a verification to find the new Master of the Tower.”
“Then what about the First Floor through the 90th Floor?”
“Basic physical conditioning.”
….
At Erubein’s immediate response, silence descended upon the conference room.
Basic physical conditioning, he called it.
For the sake of that basic conditioning, countless Hunters had perished over time, and even more civilians had lost their lives.
One might call it despair.
The sensation of falling into an endless void, as vast as the universe itself.
The moment when one acutely feels the depths of one’s own insignificance.
“Then, what do you mean by accumulating karma?”
Among them, only Ihyeon pressed forward.
“The missions in the 90s are linear in nature. Each mission is segmented yet interconnected. This is something you will likely understand once you begin the full-scale conquest.”
“I see.”
“Within those missions, you must accumulate karma and history. The clear grade for each floor is determined by the magnitude of both.”
Ihyeon absorbed every word that fell from Erubein’s lips.
This moment was essentially the only opportunity to obtain information about the 90s.
Even if they requested it from the American government, they would never reveal it.
‘Moreover, seeing that the Tower’s restrictions have been imposed at the Hunter level, it’s highly probable that even the American government doesn’t know.’
In short, hearing it directly from a Hunter who had experienced those floors was the most accurate method.
“But isn’t that no different from before?”
Suyeon, who had been listening quietly, asked.
Excluding the still-vague concept of ‘karma,’ the difference from before was indeed unclear.
A system where the clear grade is determined based on performance in each floor.
Erubein shook his head.
“The 90s are ten floors, and simultaneously, they are one floor.”
“Then….”
“If you fail to achieve sufficient results on the 91st Floor, that could ultimately become a fatal mistake in failing to overcome the 90s.”
!!!
At Erubein’s shocking statement, the conference room recoiled as though it had been bombed once more.
Ten floors, yet one floor.
‘The magnitude of karma that must be accumulated in the 90s is fixed, and if that requirement is not met, one cannot advance to the 100s.’
Ihyeon understood Erubein’s meaning without difficulty.
Though no words were exchanged, the other people present here, being experts on the Tower without question, likely reached conclusions similar to Ihyeon’s.
Only then did the puzzle pieces of Erubein’s words—’verification,’ ‘a test of qualification,’ and so forth—click into place.
And the person most shocked by Erubein’s words was none other than.
“I… Chris.”
The one closest to him, his Manager.
With a pallor so ashen it could be called deathly, he carefully began to speak.
“I’m asking this just in case, but if a single mistake could lead to a fatal error that prevents you from surpassing the 90s floors… then you would…?”
His voice trembled, his words unclear, yet the emotion contained within them transmitted clearly to everyone present.
What he was worried about was evident to all.
Erubein’s typically stoic face bore traces of sorrow and despair.
“It is as you suspect. I….”
A brief pause.
“Cannot advance beyond the 100s floors.”
“Ah…!”
The Representative was engulfed in despair.
Erubein’s words carried that magnitude of impact.
It was essentially a death sentence for America.
Chris Erubein, the world’s strongest, cannot advance beyond the 100s floors.
With roughly 30 days remaining on the timer to clear Floor 96.
That meant America’s remaining lifespan, at best, was less than 500 days.
Not just the Representative, but everyone listening had their expressions harden like stone.
Erubein turned his gaze back to Ihyeon.
“That is why I came seeking you.”
“…Yes.”
Ihyeon too had become incomparably more serious than before.
Erubein’s near-reckless visit to Korea would need to be reevaluated.
The man who appeared indifferent to everything had actually flown here to save his homeland—no, to save the world.
To find the only person capable of saving it.
“S+ from Floor 1 to now. If that momentum continues, the 90s floors are entirely possible.”
The Hero had been closely following the news since Ilgyeok first appeared.
He had already been in the 90s floors when Ilgyeok emerged.
…And it was precisely when he himself had begun harboring doubts about breaking through the 90s floors.
The seed of distrust buried deep in his chest had grown rapidly, collapsing him from within.
But the actual Ilgyeok was different.
Ilgyeok possessed no such distrust in himself.
He would certainly reach the summit of the Tower.
That unwavering resolve was what the failed Hero’s eyes had witnessed.
“Once you reach Floor 100, the world will likely undergo a great transformation.”
“Transformation.”
Ihyeon repeated the Hero’s words and turned his gaze toward the Spirits.
Elsie’s lips twitched as if itching to speak, while Jia nodded instead.
“It is a realm I have not visited myself, but a reasonable conjecture.”
“There is no confirmed information?”
Ihyeon asked Erubein.
Erubein shook his head, saying nothing was certain.
Of course it would be.
The Tower likely conveyed hints by unconsciously leaking information into his mind.
Evidence couldn’t possibly remain in such a structure.
Erubein merely voiced one conjecture with relatively high probability.
“The integration of all the world’s Main Towers.”
“…!”
People gasped in shock once more at those words.
If that were the case, the term “upheaval” would certainly be fitting enough.
Currently, each nation had to conquer its Main Tower separately, but the integration of those Main Towers?
Yet this was a conjecture Ihyeon had already anticipated sufficiently.
‘Perhaps I too have already received hints from the Tower….’
The flow was natural, wasn’t it?
Even if a Hero realized his limits and came to me, if the Main Towers operated separately, the effect would be negligible.
Though I’d approached the Tower’s end, with no knowing how many more floors remained, it was nothing but a gamble.
But what if someone broke through the 100th floor, and thereafter a great upheaval occurred where the Main Towers merged into one?
Naturally, the timers of other nations would synchronize with me as the standard.
The possibility of gambling success would become incomparably higher than before.
However, there was something I needed to confirm beforehand.
“Hero, how many floors can you ascend?”
The floor Erubein was currently conquering was the 96th.
The timer showed roughly one month remaining.
How much time remained for Erubein and America ahead?
It was already an established fact that as the Main Tower’s highest floor increased, the damage from opening the gate grew worse.
If the Main Tower opened its gate from the 96th floor or higher, it would be a catastrophe.
Erubein offered a reassuring faint smile.
“97… perhaps even the 98th floor should be possible.”
‘So conquering each individual floor itself isn’t particularly difficult.’
I gleaned one additional hint from that.
If the 90s floors maintained an organic flow as Erubein suggested, and thus comprehensively validated qualification to advance into the 100s floors.
Then each individual floor in the 90s might not be so difficult after all.
They simply prevented advancement into the 100s floors.
At this relatively hopeful news, Erubein’s Representative exhaled a deep sigh.
It was thanks to confirming that sufficient hope still remained.
Erubein left a final word of caution.
“Ilgyeok, remember that in the 90s floors, each of your actions influences your grade.”
“Thank you. This has been most helpful.”
I rose from my seat and bowed deeply to Erubein.
I couldn’t even imagine how heavy the burden that must have weighed upon the Hero’s shoulders all this time was.
Even those broad shoulders of his must have found it overwhelming.
And it must have become the driving force for him to grow ever stronger.
Yet now, Erubein bore all of it and came to find me.
‘So it seems I’ve become the one who must save the world.’
The weight is heavy.
Even though I haven’t fully shouldered it yet.
With Ihyeon’s bow toward Erubein, the conference that would determine the world’s fate seemed to be drawing to a close.
But something felt off about the Spirits.
“Master, over there.”
“What is it, Elsie?”
Elsie tugged carefully at Ihyeon’s sleeve as she called out.
At first, I thought she was just playing around as usual, but her expression was quite serious.
Her eyes held a hint of unease.
“The Tower’s restrictions.”
“…The Tower’s restrictions?”
Ihyeon couldn’t immediately understand why she would bring that up so suddenly.
The others also turned their gazes toward Elsie with somewhat bewildered expressions.
“The Tower’s restrictions that have been accumulating all this time seem to have become somewhat dangerous.”
“What do you mean by that, Elsie?”
Seongnyun, drawing on a Civil Servant’s exceptional instinct for detecting crises, pressed Elsie for details.
Elsie seemed unable to find the words to explain the situation easily.
Like an animal that could feel a massive earthquake approaching with its body but couldn’t convey it in words to its master.
Jia furrowed her brow and elaborated.
“Master, it appears this conference has stimulated the Tower’s restrictions far more precariously than expected. Now the backlash is returning.”
The backlash is returning.
Ihyeon asked with an expression of dread.
“By backlash, you mean…?”
“Usually… Gates open.”
Elsie, who had been nervously glancing around, spoke in a voice that had grown hollow.
Weeeeeeeeeeee————!!!!
“And very strong ones at that.”

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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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