I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 380
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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 380
Ep. 380
The demonstration of the Reaper’s Spear, which had instantly elevated Jia’s combat prowess by several tiers, concluded rather abruptly.
Next came my turn.
I needed to test the Sun God’s Blessing and the newly acquired skill, “Temporal Distortion Snipe.”
In truth, it was far less elaborate than Jia’s demonstration.
I summoned a single Eodukshin roughly five kilometers away.
Since I was testing the sniper rifle anyway, there was no need to place it nearby.
“…What is that, big brother?”
“Something you have to hunt in the 90s.”
…
“Wow, Suyeon, what can you see? Your eyes must be incredible for an Archer Hunter~”
Suyeon’s expression became somewhat complicated upon catching sight of the Eodukshin from afar.
Yunjung, oblivious to her thoughts, clapped her hands beside her in amazement.
I lifted the sniper rifle lightly and aimed it at the Eodukshin.
“…Hmm.”
“What’s wrong?”
However, even after completing my aim, I lowered the rifle without pulling the trigger, prompting Leon to tilt his head curiously.
Was something the matter?
I looked down at Leon and spoke.
“I awakened the soul, but the rifle hasn’t changed at all?”
The Spirits and Blue had certainly said that awakening the soul would bring tremendous advancement to the rifle’s capabilities.
Yet upon actually aiming, I detected no discernible difference.
The fusion with the demon’s horn had felt far more tangible.
Having poured two Soul Stones into it, if the only change was Leon’s appearance, it felt somewhat disappointing.
Leon then nodded with a serious expression.
“Of course there is.”
“Oh?”
I waited for Leon’s explanation with renewed anticipation.
Could there be a difference I’d only discover upon firing?
Perhaps the bullet would home in on its own regardless of aim?
Leon spoke as if such a thing were far too modest.
“I was born, wasn’t I?”
…
I was profoundly disappointed.
Seeing my expression, Leon flinched and added hastily.
“No wait! I may look like this, but I was a former Watchman! You’re probably the only one who wouldn’t be thrilled to have a soul like mine bound to an item!”
“So, what appears on the 101st Floor?”
“Who are you?”
I was enormously disappointed.
What use would a former Watchman be to a Gun?
When I actually ask him about information he should know as a Watchman, he just clams up and plays dumb.
But Leon wasn’t entirely useless.
“Distance 5,314 meters, temperature 20 degrees, humidity 44%. With your skill level, you can just aim through the scope and fire.”
He was fulfilling the role of a spotter, the kind who typically pairs with a sniper.
Perhaps because he was a Spirit dwelling in a sniper rifle, Leon rattled off sniper-related information even while we were outside.
However.
“That’s all displayed on my scope anyway.”
….
“You’re just reading what’s already there, aren’t you?”
“Who are you?”
The problem was that this was something I could already handle perfectly well on my own.
I casually probed to see if Leon could possibly have deep knowledge of sniping, and it seemed I’d hit the mark.
Leon began rattling off his responsibilities as if losing this argument meant the end for him.
“I manage the Gun’s internal maintenance, notify you when durability drops, handle reloading if needed, and increase skill efficiency!”
“Hmm.”
Since it seemed he did have some role to play, I simply nodded.
“You honestly think I’m not very necessary, don’t you?”
“That’s not it.”
“It’s written all over your face!”
Leon watched me aim again without further comment and began muttering to himself, “Seriously, I’m not someone who gets treated like this anywhere else.”
And I immediately fired a mana bullet imbued with the sun attribute.
Bang—!
‘Oh?’
So this is what an S-rank item’s attribute could do?
I’d tested several attributes before, but the sun attribute was on a different level entirely.
First, the noise upon firing was minimal, and befitting an attribute related to light, the bullet velocity was extraordinarily fast.
The mana bullet flew through the air, scattering golden radiance.
Whoooosh—!
And blazing flames trailed in the wake of the mana bullet’s path.
Well, as a sniper who needed to conceal my position, it wasn’t exactly an effect I’d welcome, but at least I could say the visual spectacle was certainly satisfying.
Boom—!
The 5km distance became zero in an instant, and the Eodukshin, unaware of my existence, was pierced through and consumed by flames, dying in the process.
The firepower seemed to receive a considerable buff from the added attribute as well.
For what was supposed to be a simple basic attack, it had an almost skill-level effect.
Even Leon was shocked, his mouth hanging open as he cried out.
“He was already broken, and now the Sun God gave him this too?!”
“Well, he did save my younger brother, so it’s not particularly strange.”
“Even so, that’s too much!”
It was an enlightening moment where I could see at a glance just how much the balance of the Tower I’d been carefully managing all this time had collapsed.
Unable to bear seeing Leon suffer, Elsie spoke to comfort him.
“But Leon, if Master becomes stronger, isn’t that good for you too?”
At that, Leon stopped his anguish for a moment, pondered thoughtfully, then broke into a smile as he spoke.
“You know, that’s true. Elsiya, you’ve grown so much—and not just in height.”
“Hehe, you’re too kind.”
As Leon and Elsie shared his newfound understanding, their bond deepened further.
Leon flew up into the air and gently stroked Elsie’s head, and she laughed with delight.
‘Those two really do get along well.’
It seemed likely they’d been playing together like this even before I came along.
As if all misunderstandings about me had been cleared up, Leon spoke with a benevolent smile.
“Since we’re experimenting anyway, why not try the Sun God’s Blessing too? I’ve never seen it myself, so I’m curious.”
“Oh, that sounds good?”
Elsie also chimed in enthusiastically, apparently interested as well.
“Ah, unfortunately at the Makeshift Shooting Range, I can’t die to activate it… Wait.”
I was about to explain that I couldn’t use the Sun God’s Blessing, a skill that only activates upon death, when I furrowed my brow and glared at Leon.
The Sun God’s Blessing was ultimately a one-time-use skill.
If I carelessly wasted it here at the Makeshift Shooting Range, it wouldn’t just be a painful blunder—I’d deserve to die with my nose buried in the dirt.
Wearing that benevolent smile while harboring such sinister schemes!
“Ahem, ah, it’s been a while since I came out into the world, and I’m feeling a bit tired. I’ll be going now.”
Realizing he’d been caught by me, Leon let out a nervous cough and with a pop sound, returned into the sniper rifle.
Naturally, my gaze shifted to Elsie, who remained.
“I, I really didn’t know! I was just curious because Leon suggested it… Really, Leon shouldn’t do this~”
Elsie shook both her hands and head vigorously, vehemently denying any involvement.
She even dropped the honorific she’d been consistently using for Leon!
‘Well, since it’s the Makeshift Shooting Range, even if I’d been fooled, it wouldn’t have activated anyway.’
If it was Leon, he would have thought through even that much before playing the prank.
…Probably.
Finally, I decided to test the innate S-rank skill: Temporal Distortion Snipe.
After hearing a brief explanation of the skill, Suyeon and Yunjung tilted their heads in confusion.
“An S-rank skill?”
“Yeah, I got it as a reward for reaching level 85.”
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, then.
“An S-rank skiiiiiill?!?!?!?”
Soon they turned back to me with expressions that defied description as shock.
S-rank items, well, I suppose that’s one thing.
Though it did seem like they appeared excessively often for me, they weren’t exactly items that didn’t exist in the world.
But an S-rank skill?
“Y, Yunjung, did S-rank skills even exist?”
“W, well, there were many cases of raising skills from lower ranks up to S-rank, but….”
Both of their pupils trembled uncontrollably.
In fact, compared to Ihyeon, other Hunters who leveled up at a completely different pace naturally saw far more skill selection options given every five levels.
From that point on, it was entirely a matter of personal luck.
With good fortune, one could develop primarily around their main skills, but with bad luck, skills that completely contradicted one’s original intentions could pour out endlessly.
Even so, after choosing from dozens of skill options, at some point most Hunters could raise two or three main skills to S-rank.
After all, Hunters at the level of Suyeon and Yunjung possessed several such skills.
But an innate S-rank was an entirely different matter.
At least, it didn’t exist within the knowledge of these two.
And the reason they were even more astonished by an “innate S-rank.”
‘Usually, as innate rank increases by one grade, the evaluation rises tremendously…?’
This was because innate rank had an enormous impact on a skill’s power.
In other words, for Assassin-type skills, everyone basically possessed the skill called Dagger Mastery.
It was an innate F-rank skill, and when selection options appeared, it showed up with high frequency, so reaching S-rank wasn’t particularly difficult.
On the other hand, the innate D-rank skill of Assassin-type, Sinister Ambush.
Despite being D-rank, it appeared far less frequently than Dagger Mastery, and even when both reached S-rank, their power levels were completely different.
Among Hunters typically called superhumans, many possessed innate B-rank or A-rank skills.
But hadn’t they already realized this while standing beside Ihyeon?
S-rank and A-rank were literally the difference between heaven and earth.
If it were an innate S-rank skill, the probability that it would be incomparable to all skills below it was extremely, extremely high.
Gulp—
Suyeon and Yunjung swallowed hard, tension gripping them without their awareness.
‘W-what kind of skill is about to appear…?’
Knowing just how extraordinary the scene they were about to witness was, they couldn’t afford to miss a single moment, and a solemn determination settled over them.
“What’s the big deal? This isn’t even the first time Master obtained an S-rank skill.”
“…It’s not the first time, Elsie?”
“Yeah, last time Master caught the Lich with an S-rank skill too.”
“This is… this is….”
At Elsie’s innocent remark, Suyeon’s mind returned to square one.
…In other words, she could barely breathe and her face had turned pale as if she might lose consciousness at any moment.
“S-Suyeon, snap out of it! Come on, follow me! Breathe in deeply, breathe out!”
“Breathe in….”
Yunjung beside her rushed to provide first aid, and Ihyeon confirmed that Suyeon’s consciousness had returned before preparing to demonstrate the skill.
‘Since I don’t fully understand this skill yet, I should summon it close this time. Preferably something strong.’
By something strong, I meant.
ROOOAAARRR——!!!
“Breathe slowly… W-what is this?!”
“It’s a creature called the Demon of the Plains.”
“Breathe in… breathe out….”
“The demon dagger I gave to Yunjung was obtained from this creature.”
“Ah, I’m truly grateful for that….”
It was Erkastrula.
Thanks to a colossal demon suddenly erupting from the ground, Yunjung, who had been teaching Suyeon breathing techniques, ended up benefiting from the same opportunity.
A mid-boss from the 90s floors—and one that emerged from a snowball rolled by clearing everything before it with S+ ratings—it possessed overwhelming power that would paralyze other Hunters with mere presence alone.
Of course, this didn’t apply to Ihyeon.
– First of all, time-distortion sniping is still sniping, so you have to reload!
‘…Much appreciated.’
Leon’s voice, residing within the gun, transmitted directly into Ihyeon’s mind.
As the gun’s spirit, he seemed capable of explaining even the minute details of skills that the system couldn’t properly describe to Ihyeon.
Though I couldn’t fathom why such a being would unnecessarily make a fuss and call Ihyeon a charlatan.
Click-clack— Click—
Following Leon’s advice, Ihyeon smoothly pulled the bolt and completed the reload.
Then he calmly aimed at Erkastrula, who was spewing malice toward him.
I’d already captured Erkastrula once, and twice if counting other demons.
Including repeat clears, there was nothing more to say about it.
There was no reason to hesitate now.
Whoooosh—
Upon activating time-distortion sniping, a peculiar aura swirled around the muzzle.
It couldn’t be called a heat shimmer, but something similar—a rippling sensation.
Even to Ihyeon’s eyes, it seemed far from ordinary.
‘What kind of skill is this, exactly?’
There was no need to ponder such things when the stage was already set.
Ihyeon immediately pulled the trigger.
Click—
The activation effect itself wasn’t much different from soul destruction.
While everyone held their breath in tension, only the light sound of the trigger being pulled echoed.
Yet Ihyeon’s eyes perceived it.
Whoooosh—!
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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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