I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 35

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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 35
Episode 35
Having worked as a Hunter from the Management Bureau all this time, I had witnessed countless scenes that ordinary Hunters never saw, or so I had been confident. But this time was different—on an entirely different scale.
An overwhelming force that could hardly be called that of an individual.
Despite possessing such power, I killed only one creature at a time, as if making a display of it, as if performing for an audience.
…Of course, that was because a sniper rifle could only fire one shot at a time.
I had killed the Commander Kobolt with black bullets and the rest of the Goblins with bone bullets to avoid unnecessary mana consumption.
But to the Management Bureau Hunter already drowning in misunderstanding, such details were irrelevant.
‘Perhaps… a warning against rash approach?!’
The moment this thought crossed my mind, my entire body trembled with fear.
“Hey, did you figure anything out?”
The Assassin Hunter approached, stepping over blood and corpses, and asked.
The Management Bureau Hunter turned to look at him with a vacant expression.
“Please, please contact us! Please! Please! The Republic of Korea is waiting for you! I beg you, please!”
Having resolved himself to death, he shouted this to fulfill his duty, then hurriedly left the 26th floor.
At his somewhat grotesque appearance, the Assassin Hunter’s eyes darted nervously before he looked at Minjeong with awe.
“Without using mana to accomplish such a feat… you truly are Ilgyeok.”
“Hey, wait!”
“Eeeek——!”
Minjeong was about to offer a very reasonable counterargument—’How could you use magic without using mana?’—but.
Awe also carried fear within it.
The Assassin Hunter, terrified that a similar hole might be drilled through his own head, didn’t even listen to Minjeong’s words and left the floor.
In the end, only Minjeong, Heeuwon, and Ihyeon’s Dummy remained.
“Ilgyeok! You’re going to collect the byproducts this time, right?”
“Huh? Ugh… I’m not Ilgyeok. Yes, I’ll collect them, I’ll collect them.”
“Wow, these are bones, aren’t they? The pointed ends—are these processed finger bones? I really don’t know who Ilgyeok is, but it’s certain he’s a Dark Mage, right?”
“Yes, yes….”
The contrast between the highly excited Heeuwon and Minjeong, who seemed to have lost her soul, was quite striking.
The sight of the two bending at the waist to collect byproducts in the wasteland ironically resembled a certain masterpiece depicting women gleaning grain.
And Ihyeon, watching them from a distance, was.
‘…That was a close call.’
Feeling profound relief that I hadn’t immediately replied to the Management Bureau Hunter’s message.
‘What? The Republic of Korea is waiting for me? Are these guys seriously insane? Wow, I was wondering why they hadn’t found me all this time, but they were waiting until they had concrete evidence, weren’t they? This is terrifying, absolutely terrifying….’
I had nearly naively contacted the Management Bureau saying, ‘I am Ilgyeok.’
The Republic of Korea is waiting for you.
Wasn’t that just another way of saying return to the military immediately?!
…If Seongnyun heard these words, he would have done about five somersaults on the spot and beaten that Hunter’s head about ten times, but unfortunately(?) this was only Ihyeon’s thought.
And leaving traces of bullets also bothered me a little.
‘Well, it doesn’t seem like he thought those were bullets, but should I refrain from doing that in the future?’
This was a moment when various concerns weighed on Ihyeon’s mind.
In any case, once the dungeon was cleared, Heeuwon smiled and urged the Dummy forward.
“Healer! You should grab the byproducts too! And is Ilgyeok’s identity really such a secret?”
“…I understand.”
“Seriously, how can someone lack social awareness to this degree?”
“Pardon? I’ve made it this far precisely because of my social awareness…”
“Ugh! Though, it might be better if you didn’t notice in that regard.”
Minjeong casually collected the byproducts while stealing glances at the Dummy.
From the circumstances, it was certain that the Healer was Ilgyeok’s avatar.
Then, for a moment, her eyes met the Dummy’s.
‘W-wait, he’s not going to kill me just because I figured out his identity, is he?!’
Such a worry suddenly gripped her.
Her earlier determination to extract proper compensation had vanished without a trace.
Minjeong had absolutely no desire to end up like the Kobolds scattered across the ground.
Meanwhile, Heeuwon beside her was.
“Hehe, thanks to Ilgyeok these days, every single day feels worth living.”
Just spouting such nonsense.
After that, Minjeong kept her distance from the Dummy, collected a few more byproducts, and fled as if escaping.
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Healer. Enjoy yourselves.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“You should thank Ilgyeok instead. Ah, and you must absolutely keep this secret, understood?”
“Of course.”
Ihyeon nodded the Dummy’s head.
No one guarded Ilgyeok’s secret better than Ihyeon himself.
Well, Minjeong had become quite formidable too now.
‘I shouldn’t say anything bad like that person seems to lack social awareness more than skill…’
Once everything was settled, Ihyeon let out a sigh.
From the 27th floor onward, I needed to clear things even faster and move into the 30s as quickly as possible.
That way, I might be able to shake off Minjeong and Heeuwon.
‘From the 30th floor onward, party play won’t be forced like it was in the 20s.’
It was because I would have much more breathing room than now.
* * *
Meanwhile, Seongnyun immediately summoned the Hunter who had mentioned being in the same party as Ilgyeok in the tower.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, sir. I’m certain. All the circumstances you mentioned matched perfectly.”
The Hunter recounted everything about the S+ clear rating, the mysterious magic, the finger bones, and the stern impression.
Seongnyun was overjoyed.
“That’s it! That’s it!”
Finally, I had succeeded in making contact with Ilgyeok for the first time.
Even if it was only an avatar.
Ilgyeok must have been somewhere in that place.
At last, I finally had something to report to my superiors.
“So, what is it?”
“That is… we still don’t have an answer. However, there is something I must tell you.”
“What?”
“You did say that Ilgyeok might possibly be a criminal, did you not?”
“Yes, I did. It seemed likely.”
The Hunter hesitated before voicing his opinion.
“Though it may be presumptuous, that assessment appears to be correct.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, as if killing people were nothing more than a trivial task to him…”
“Why? Did you have some conversation with him?”
“No, that’s not it.”
The Hunter shared what he had perceived.
Despite it being merely a phantom, that emotionless, impassive demeanor and expression that betrayed not a single feeling.
The decisiveness with which he obliterated his targets without hesitation.
The cruelty with which he slaughtered even fleeing enemies without mercy.
Even Seongnyun, who had heard testimony about the deaths that occurred on the 26th floor, felt his hair stand on end.
“I-I see…”
Though I had anticipated it to some degree, the situation seemed far more serious than expected.
Well, no wonder he said nothing even when I offered to recommend a pardon.
It must mean he understood the weight of his own crimes.
“What should we do… I never thought Ilgyeok would be such a person.”
“This is terrifying, absolutely terrifying.”
The other Employees listening to Seongnyun and the Hunter’s conversation also shook their heads in slight dismay.
Ilgyeok, who was supposed to be South Korea’s hero and hope—surely not a vicious criminal?
It was a truth they simply could not bring themselves to believe.
At that moment, the Problem Manager from the Talent Search Division, that rising star, tilted his head and asked.
“But isn’t killing monsters something all other Hunters do the same way?”
Rather, if he overwhelmed them and did so efficiently, it simply meant he understood perfectly well what his role was supposed to be.
Like a well-trained soldier.
But when the Employees heard the Deputy Manager’s words, they immediately rebuked him.
“No, the atmosphere is different from other Hunters, the atmosphere!”
“Even after clearing it, massacring them is a different story!”
“Well, I don’t know about atmosphere, but Hunters need to collect byproducts to make money anyway…”
“You there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go stand facing the wall.”
“Ah…”
In the end, the Deputy Manager who had been expressing his convictions found himself standing before a wall for quite some time.
“Perhaps it was a warning about the Management Bureau approaching too hastily. That is what I thought.”
“Gasp! What do I do then? Should we give it some time for now?”
“Yes, that seems like the best approach.”
“Alright, you’ve worked hard. Go get some proper rest for now.”
‘No matter how much I think about it, my reasoning seems sound….’
The Deputy Manager, standing before the wall, didn’t voice his thoughts, yet his conviction remained unshaken.
* * *
Beyond the 26th floor, I burst forward once more at tremendous speed.
「The 27th floor clear record has been updated.」
「The 28th floor clear record has been updated.」
「The 29th floor clear record has been updated.」
Up to the 29th floor, I conquered them at an astounding pace.
I had reached the threshold of the 30th floor.
At this point, it was genuinely quite a considerable height.
Of course, the highest American record was the 95th floor and Korea’s was the 84th floor, but those were truly the pinnacle of pinnacles.
Generally, even the 50th to 60th floor range was considered high-tier territory, densely populated with exceptional star Hunters.
Moreover, I had cleared every single one of those floors with an S+ rating.
This was precisely why the so-called “Ilgyeok Syndrome” showed no signs of subsiding—it only grew more intense.
[ Title: I’ve been having such thoughts lately.
What if Ilgyeok is just a bug in Korea’s main tower? lololol
There are plenty of posts about Ilgyeok, but honestly, who knows how Ilgyeok actually clears it?
There’s even talk that the person suspected of being Ilgyeok didn’t even realize they cleared it themselves…
What if it’s just a bug that clears automatically the moment you enter? ]
Such opinions had begun to surface.
By human nature, no one could accept the conclusion that their hero was actually a non-existent bug, so this theory gained no real support.
Of course, there was unanimous agreement that Ilgyeok was a “bug-tier Hunter”—operating on an entirely different level from all previous Hunters.
「Item ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ has leveled up.
Please check your status window.」
While the entire world buzzed with speculation about my identity, I had reached level 19.
At this point, I decided to take a brief pause.
‘I think it’s best to reach level 20 first.’
If the next floor were an ordinary one, it might be different.
The 30th floor was still guarded by a Floor Master.
If there was a skill I’d obtain at level 20, I had no way of knowing how the strategy might change—it was best to check before proceeding.
Besides, having already conquered up to the 29th floor, I no longer needed to worry about my party members’ expectations.
「Will you enter the 25th floor of Korea’s main tower?
Please select ‘Solo Clear’ or ‘Party Clear’.」
‘Solo.’
I could simply repeat the 25th floor, which I could clear alone anyway.
A fresh attempt that would no longer require meeting the “single shot” standard I’d set as the criterion for S+.
Bang— Bang— Bang—
Rather than needlessly charging forward with a Dummy and straining myself to escape the Death Magician’s perception range like I had during the first clear, I simply gave a shot each to the irritating Skeletons and Ghouls.
Given the firepower at my disposal, there was a satisfying punch to each shot, making it excellent stress relief.
It was a shame that I couldn’t use poison rounds since my opponents were Undead.
How many days had I spent on this reclear attempt?
Click-clack— Click-clack—!
“Fire.”
Bang—!
With the crisp sound of the bolt action chambering a round, the bullet I fired blew the Death Magician’s head clean off.
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ leveled up.
Check your status window.」
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ reached level 20.
Select a skill.」
Finally, the notification window I had been waiting for appeared.

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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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