I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 301

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 301
Ep. 301
“Salute to our lord!”
“Loyalty! Honor!”
At the Vice Captain’s command, every member of the One-Strike Knight Order within the fortress raised their hands in salute to Ihyeon.
Ihyeon entered the fortress slowly alongside Purung, accepting their salute.
The Refugees living within the fortress seemed to recognize Ihyeon’s presence, as murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“Is that the lord the knights were talking about?”
“The One-Strike himself?”
“Must be!”
The Refugees already knew everything Ihyeon had accomplished outside these walls.
He had defeated countless Duogsinis and the Bishop, who had been the object of their terror.
How could they not know when he had performed a miracle that shattered the eclipse hanging over their very heads?
Moreover, the One-Strike Knight Order that had taken them in spoke of nothing but “our lord, our lord” day after day—they’d heard it so many times their ears had callused over.
…Though not all of it had been pleasant to hear.
But embarrassing pasts were still the past.
“You’ve all worked hard these days.”
“My lord!”
At Ihyeon’s words, the One-Strike Knight Order wept tears of blue in unison, dropping to one knee in reverence.
The familiar scene caused Ihyeon’s Tribal Members to murmur among themselves.
“Who are they calling Kaez their lord?”
“And it seems everyone in here knows Kaez too?”
“Kaez, what is the meaning of this?”
‘Ah, I hadn’t thought about this yet?’
Though Ihyeon had been pleased and had accepted their reverence without objection, it certainly must have seemed strange to the Nomads watching.
Kaez, who had lived with them since birth, was being treated as a lord by a group they’d never seen before.
It was the quick-witted Vice Captain who rose to smooth over the situation.
“We are soldiers who rode the comet alongside our lord! Due to circumstances, we have been waiting here until we could meet our lord again!”
Ihyeon was slightly worried whether people would actually believe such a flimsy excuse.
‘Those who came from a star? This isn’t a drama—how does that even make sense?’
Though Ihyeon bore the nickname “Child of the Comet,” that was merely a fortunate coincidence at birth.
The idea that a hundred or so dark-skinned soldiers had ridden that same comet with him simply didn’t hold up.
Ihyeon turned to try to offer a more plausible explanation.
But then.
“Ohhh…!”
“Child of the Comet!”
“We never knew until now….”
“Your brother said you were no ordinary person when he first saw you. So that’s what he meant.”
“Ah yes, there is an ancient legend that comets are approaches from mysterious otherworldly realms.”
The people accepted it without question.
Not only the ordinary Nomads but even my Uncle and the Shaman were glistening with tears, believing it all quite sincerely.
‘At the very least, you shouldn’t be doing this!’
Those entrusted with the duty to guide people correctly were playing along with such absurd nonsense—what was I supposed to do about that?
But regardless, I was in a position where I needed to deceive them.
It would be strange to miss an opportunity when they were willing to be deceived.
“Yes, that’s correct. I hadn’t remembered until now, but seeing their faces brings it back vaguely. Of course, I’ll need to discuss it further, but there’s definitely a connection between us.”
Laying groundwork by claiming I hadn’t remembered earlier, just in case someone asked ‘Why didn’t you mention this until now?’
I expected this explanation to be more than sufficient and appropriate.
“Nah, that doesn’t add up.”
“How does a forgotten memory come back just from seeing their faces?”
“Something seems off….”
‘These people!’
I seriously considered using a method that had proven very effective in situations like this.
Letting the long sniper rifle strike the ground with a heavy thud.
That usually resolved most problems quite naturally.
Swish—
But the moment the people saw me adjust my sniper rifle slightly, they read the room on their own.
Having lived long in the wild steppes, they possessed a talent for danger detection rivaling any sniper.
“L-let’s just cheer for Ilgyeok!”
“Waaaah!! Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok!”
“The hero who defeated the Bishop and the Duogsinis!”
“A miracle that even breaks the eclipse!”
The Knights, the Nomads, and even the Refugees who had already entered the fortress all praised me in unison with one heart and one voice.
There was another reason they could blend in so smoothly without any particular issues.
“Hey, aren’t you Wiguter?”
“Gasp! Ulshi, you survived too!”
Among the Nomads who had to flee here and there, experiencing unexpected separations from loved ones, quite a few reunited in this place.
With them serving as bridges, the fusion of the two groups seemed to pose no problems.
I was relieved that they understood well enough without me needing to intimidate them, and I turned back to face the Vice Captain with a stern expression.
“But where is Jia? Is she with you all?”
It was essentially the most critical matter in the current situation.
Only then did the Vice Captain become serious again, nodding with a grave expression.
“Yes…. She has been with us from the beginning, but it seems you should see her yourself, my lord.”
“Take me to her.”
The Vice Captain silently turned and led me to Jia.
Startled by my sudden movement, the Nomads decided that only my Uncle, the Shaman, and one of the Former Apostles would follow me as representatives.
The rest were guided by the Knights to a temporary place to rest.
The Vice Captain led me into a cave within the cliff.
The interior was quite spacious and well-ventilated, but since it was built from a natural cave, the uneven floor and numerous corners seemed unavoidable.
How much deeper did we go?
Unlike the corridor, a spacious cavern opened before us.
Within it lay a spring that occupied nearly half the cavern’s expanse.
The Shaman cried out first.
“A sacred spring!”
Since he had mentioned from the beginning that a sacred spring lay hidden in this place, his exclamation was hardly unreasonable.
However, my Uncle and the Former Apostles furrowed their brows in bewilderment.
“For a sacred spring, the water seems rather… unclean, doesn’t it?”
“I share that sentiment, but…”
Indeed, the spring’s water had turned pitch-black, emanating an ominous aura.
Whether it had once been a sacred spring remained unknown, but it certainly wasn’t one now.
Yet.
Splash—splash—
“Kaez!”
I waded into the spring without hesitation, moving forward through the water.
My destination was the spring’s center.
I thrust both arms beneath the surface and pulled out an unknown person who had been submerged below.
A face I hadn’t seen in far too long.
It was Jia.
“Gasp!”
“W-who is this?”
Those who had never imagined finding a woman in such a place were startled.
Yet they soon realized the gravity of the situation.
Judging by my reaction, this woman was clearly someone precious to me.
The black veins creeping up her neck told a story far too simple to misunderstand.
“She’s been afflicted by the Earthworm…”
The Former Apostles shook his head in diagnosis.
The Vice Captain spoke to me.
“It had little effect on us, but strangely, the Captain was already afflicted by the Earthworm upon arriving here.”
His words were accurate.
Initially, thinking it was nothing serious, we attempted to search for me, but her condition deteriorated rapidly, making it impossible.
By the time we entered this gorge and discovered the spring, she was barely able to move, he explained.
“The nearby Nomads informed us that this spring possessed mystical properties. However, while the Captain’s condition worsened, it proved incompatible with us as well…”
Sizzle—!
The Vice Captain tested by submerging his hand in the spring.
The water bubbled and steam rose forth.
Since this spring empowered the living, it was inevitably incompatible with the dead like the One-Strike Knight Order.
Though we weren’t directly immersing our bodies, remaining in such a sacred place still posed considerable burden.
“Had the Lord arrived even slightly later, I fear we would have been overwhelmed by those dark creatures.”
Though the Vice Captain’s words carried some exaggeration, his assessment wasn’t unreasonable.
I rose to my feet and spoke to the Vice Captain.
“You’ve worked hard. Thank you for protecting Jia so well over these past two weeks.”
“Pardon? Two weeks?”
“Hm?”
Ihyeon and the Vice Captain tilted their heads in confusion, unsure what the other was saying.
Two weeks had passed since Ihyeon entered the 91st floor and parted ways with the Spirits.
The Vice Captain let out an “ah” and explained.
“We haven’t been able to leave since entering this place. We’ve been waiting ever since the moment you first arrived, my lord.”
‘That… that’s far too long to wait.’
Ihyeon broke into a cold sweat at a situation far more serious than he’d realized.
While he was away from the tower, this world line had continued flowing steadily.
Nearly sixteen years had passed.
‘No, actually, thinking about it properly, I’ve only been actively involved for a few months now… but even so, I feel terrible about this.’
This time, even Ihyeon’s characteristic ability to think lightly of things didn’t work.
Once he left the tower, he would have to properly compensate them.
The Vice Captain, though she didn’t show it, seemed quite burdened as well.
“But with the Captain in such a state… you’ve arrived, my lord, yet I can’t think of any clear solution.”
Above all, the phenomenon called Twilight Blight itself was something the One-Strike Knight Order—who had experienced every hardship imaginable—was seeing for the first time, making her feel even more apologetic toward her lord Ihyeon.
The only hope was perhaps ‘things might improve once we leave the tower,’ but that was merely hope.
「Item ‘Black Robe’ is currently beyond your control.
Inventory recovery is impossible.」
A system notification confirming that very thing.
Jia had to be restored to her original state no matter what.
‘The 93rd floor clear notification hasn’t appeared yet.’
That meant there was still work to be done.
And it wasn’t a sub-quest either—it was the main one.
But Ihyeon looked down at Jia with a firm expression and spoke.
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me. At least things can improve from here.”
“Really?! Is that truly possible?”
The Vice Captain’s blue eyes blazed brightly for the first time in ages.
Could Jia, who had been forced to lie submerged in the spring all these long years, truly stand again?
Ihyeon pulled out a pristine white healing gun and smiled.
“Of course.”
At the same time, the former Apostle standing behind the Vice Captain spoke up loudly, as if to say don’t worry.
“Have no fear. Ilgyeok saved us, who were once Apostles.”
“Hm? You were an Apostle?”
…The intention was good, but the effect wasn’t.
The former Apostle broke into a cold sweat at the Vice Captain’s ominous aura, clearly harboring deep grievances against the Apostles and Duogsinis, and hastily added an explanation.
“The other two were the truly vicious ones. I’ll tell you about them once we leave here.”
“Do that.”
The Vice Captain snorted dismissively.
Ihyeon’s return and Jia’s potential awakening meant they were willing to overlook the matter for now.
Ihyeon aimed the healing gun at Jia and stood ready.
‘Jia, you’ve endured so much all this time.’
Jia’s loyalty to Ihyeon was beyond question.
A spirit like her might feel guilt simply for failing to seek out Ihyeon, regardless of her physical condition.
Meanwhile, my Uncle and the Shaman swallowed hard.
They had witnessed Ihyeon’s remarkable abilities countless times, but could he truly purify this corrupted spring and restore the woman within to her former self?
‘According to Kaez, those afflicted by the earthworm for a long time are difficult to treat….’
Though they didn’t fully understand the relationship between that peculiar knight and Ihyeon, they could sense that considerable time had passed between them.
If that woman couldn’t recover, how much sorrow would Ihyeon endure?
That was when it happened.
Thwip—!
Ihyeon finally pulled the trigger.
The healing gun combined with the blessing—it was the finest combination Ihyeon could employ in this situation.
‘It will work.’
Though the circumstances were dire, Ihyeon trusted his abilities as always.
Considering the gun’s length, the distance to the spring was practically negligible.
Whoooosh——!!!
In an instant, white light began flooding the great spring that had been stained black.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————