I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 4

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

Episode 4
Episode 4
After the clear message, I noticed several notification windows appearing simultaneously.
But I dismissed them from my mind.
As long as bullets remained, and as long as enemies remained, I would simply continue pulling the trigger.
Bang—!
Crack—!
Crack—!
A deafening roar that tore at the eardrums.
With each thunderous shot, a Goblin was erased by roughly half.
Dark crimson blood gushed from the cross-section.
A twitch of the finger, and someone dies.
In this moment, the sniper experienced a peculiar sensation.
A faint omnipotence.
As if becoming the Grim Reaper himself, carrying death in his wake.
But I cast aside such exhilaration and focused solely on firing and hitting my targets.
I held my breath and pulled the trigger again.
Crack—!
Screech——!!
The two remaining Goblins looked around frantically, wailing.
Hum—
My sniper rifle vibrated softly as it absorbed my mana.
After firing five shots, all the mana that had been loaded was depleted.
‘So it’s one shot per mana point.’
I eliminated the remaining two Goblins with my own mana.
All strength drained from my body.
No Goblins remained.
From my position, I rolled over into a completely prone posture and gasped for breath.
I had fired seven shots in succession.
Using a Mana Stone Rifle.
“Ha ha… ha ha ha.”
Though I could barely muster the strength to twitch a finger, laughter spilled weakly from my lips.
Even though I had merely defeated Goblins, this moment felt special to me.
Because I had managed to fire seven shots.
I spoke.
“I want to leave now.”
「Would you like to exit from the 1st Floor?」
“Yes.”
The next moment, I found myself lying on the dirt ground of the Open Field, not on the Tower’s lawn.
After catching my breath for a moment, I felt strength gradually returning to my body and rose to my feet.
After that dreamlike shot.
Now it was time to check the results.
I had ignored them while concentrating, but suddenly quite a few notification windows came to mind.
I began checking them one by one from the beginning.
「1st Floor Clear Confirmed.
Please register your ID.」
‘Ah, an ID.’
Awakened individuals with levels can register an ID after clearing the 1st Floor of the Main Tower.
Once an ID is created, it becomes officially registered in the system, and I gain access to a community divided into four main chat rooms: General, National, Global, and Personal.
National and Global, Personal—those were self-explanatory.
General was the chat room used among Hunters on the same floor.
It becomes primarily used after the 10th Floor when ‘Common Floors’ truly begin to appear.
Well, it wouldn’t really apply to me anyway.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“Ilgyeok.”
One shot, one kill.
It was my creed as a sniper and the only way I could survive when I could only fire two shots.
「Will you register as ‘Ilgyeok’?」
“…No, without the Chinese characters.”
If I wrote it with Chinese characters, wouldn’t it seem a bit too pretentious?
The system registered the ID ‘Ilgyeok’ according to my instructions.
I would check the chat rooms later and moved on to the newly appeared notification window.
「1st Floor Clear Record has been updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea.
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
“…?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Everything else was ordinary.
However, the rank section was problematic.
‘Wasn’t S the highest?’
Until now, the highest record had been S.
Yet somehow my rank was recorded as S+, surpassing that.
That’s why such a global announcement appeared.
“Well, I did clear it quite quickly…”
Since I killed the Goblin Warrior in a single shot, there couldn’t be a more perfect clear than this.
The fastest and most efficient method imaginable, unless one were to overturn an entire plain with some massive spell.
However, for me, who wanted to hide my identity, it wasn’t a welcome message.
Of course, this announcement alone wouldn’t allow anyone to identify that Ilgyeok was me.
But it would certainly cause quite a stir.
Ilgyeok’s identity had become a matter of intense interest.
At minimum, on the 1st Floor alone, I had proven myself superior to superhuman beings wielding national power.
But was the difference between S and S+ really just ‘one tier’?
At the end of the announcement, a brief notice was appended.
「S+ is only awarded on first clear.」
…I gazed quietly at the S+ rank for a moment before moving to the next notification window.
「Item ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ has leveled up.
Check your status window.」
Initially, clearing each floor grants experience points precisely matching that level’s requirements.
For instance, the 1st Floor provides experience to advance from level 1 to level 2.
The 2nd Floor provides experience to advance from level 2 to level 3, and so on.
Of course, once you reach around the 10th Floor, the required experience gradually increases, and inevitably you hit a wall and repeat clears, breaking that pattern.
“Status window.”
As I opened it, the stat distribution I had allocated last night appeared once more, exactly as before.
“?”
I tilted my head in confusion again.
This was definitely strange.
At level 1, a hunter can distribute stats manually, but afterward the system automatically allocates them based on performance within the floor.
Since I’d leveled up, the stats should have changed.
“…This is insane.”
As I glanced downward, I couldn’t help but curse in shock.
There was a reason the stats hadn’t changed.
「Unallocated Stats: 15」
They simply hadn’t been distributed yet.
Just like at level 1, fifteen stat points were waiting for my direction.
“Is this even allowed?”
It was certainly beneficial for me, but I couldn’t shake the unease.
I could allocate my own stats freely?
This was cheating in its purest form.
Why do hunters risk their lives and throw all their strength into brave confrontations with monsters?
Partly because it’s the only way to clear, but also because that’s how appropriate stats increase.
If a warrior uses their intellect and pulls off a brilliant trick to clear?
Then wisdom and mana would increase instead.
To raise strength and agility, hunters have no choice but to defeat monsters in ways that suit their characteristics.
But I faced no such constraints.
The advantage of being able to grow however I wished as long as I cleared—just imagining it was enormous.
“…Is it because it’s an item?”
That was the only hypothesis I could form at the moment.
But what did it matter?
If a hunter—if a sniper could grow stronger, that was all that mattered.
‘Let me move on to the next one.’
I had considered distributing the rewards first, but I decided to postpone it for later.
The most important things came last.
It wouldn’t be too late to do it after confirming and processing all the notification windows.
「1st Floor Reward.
You have obtained 3 F-grade Magic Stones.
Check your inventory.」
「S+ Grade Clear Bonus.
3 additional F-grade Magic Stones will be awarded.」
“Yes, this is it!”
I let out a cheer at the unexpected additional notification.
Magic Stones—materials for magic stone guns.
They were also a hunter’s primary source of income.
F-grade stones were worth about 50,000 won each, but the price increased exponentially with each higher grade.
Once I registered as a hunter later, I could sell them.
On top of that, I had doubled my haul with the S+ grade bonus.
I didn’t know how long these rewards would continue, but a rosy future was quietly taking shape in my mind.
‘Let me take a look at them first.’
I pulled out a Magic Stone from my inventory.
Byproducts and Magic Stones in their raw form were automatically stored in a hunter’s inventory, so ordinary people rarely got to see them.
Whoosh—
“Oh.”
I gazed curiously at the Magic Stone gleaming with a beautiful violet light.
Being F-grade, it was only about the size of my thumbnail.
“With F-grade stones, I can’t even make a magic stone gun, tsk.”
My sniper rifle had seemed that way until it awakened, but it was actually quite a remarkable piece made from C-grade Magic Stones.
How many floors would I need to clear to get a C-grade Magic Stone?
After examining it, I tried to put the Magic Stone back.
Bzzzzt—!
The magic stone gun I had placed beside me vibrated.
“Huh?”
When I turned my gaze, it quieted down again.
Bzzzzt—!
When I tried to put the Magic Stone back in, it vibrated once more.
After doing this a few more times, I spoke with a suspicious look in my eyes.
“…You want it?”
No answer came back.
It was only natural—it was a gun, after all.
Still, just in case, I brought the Magic Stone close to the gun’s body.
….
There was no change whatsoever.
It was the same even when I held it against the muzzle.
The stock was the same too.
“…Or not?”
As Ihyeon tried to put the mana stone back into his inventory.
Whoosh—!
The gun fired again.
There was only one place that looked promising.
When Ihyeon brought the mana stone to the mana injection port.
Whoosh—!
“Huh?”
The mana stone instantly transformed into mana, then became smoke and was absorbed into the gun!
“My 50,000 won!”
Ihyeon cried out reflexively in shock.
It was only an F-grade mana stone, but that was serious money for an unemployed person!
For Ihyeon, who had been thinking of exchanging it for money to buy new underwear for Donghoo and Minjeong, this was quite unfortunate.
Then, another notification window appeared.
「Item, ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ has absorbed an F-grade mana stone.
Mana : 6」
“Well done! Excellent work!”
After reading the notification, Ihyeon immediately changed his attitude and hugged the gun tightly.
So it had the function to increase mana with just 50,000 won.
What a remarkable piece!
I can buy my parents luxury underwear later when I earn more money!
New companies were supposed to reinvest instead of paying dividends anyway.
And I’d be getting severance pay anyway!
“Here, try this too.”
Ihyeon immediately pulled out a mana stone from his inventory and brought it to the mana injection port.
Whoosh—
“There we go, eating well. Come on, just one more bite.”
Whoosh—
「Mana : 8」
Now I had eight bullets!
Ihyeon nodded with a satisfied expression, looking at the remarkable mana stone gun.
For now, I decided to feed it only three mana stones.
‘The remaining three… I might need to sell them later just in case.’
There was no immediate need, but what if someone later accused me of having the wrong number of mana stones?
Well, in Ihyeon’s case it wouldn’t be a false accusation, but still.
Since the S+ privilege was something only I knew about, I had to keep the original reward as a reserve to prevent such misfortunes beforehand.
“Anyway, while the momentum is good, should I distribute stat points too?”
I opened my status window and pondered how to distribute the fifteen stat points.
There was one thing I obviously needed to invest in first.
Firepower?
‘No.’
「Mana : 13」
Mana.
Even though I’d consumed three mana stones, my top priority stat remained unchanged.
Even on the 1st Floor alone, I had to pour every last drop of my mana into killing all the monsters.
If hordes of monsters were to pour out in the future, I’d need to invest substantially in ammunition reserves for the time being.
Unless I found another way to resupply later.
‘Firepower is still sufficient.’
Besides, my primary stat of firepower was already at an excessive level.
After all, I’d obliterated the body of a Goblin Warrior—one of the tougher goblins—without leaving a trace.
「Precision : 2 → 3
Stability : 2 → 4
Stealth : 0 → 2」
I distributed five more stat points.
Range was also sufficient for now.
The effective sniper range on the 1st Floor was approximately 300 meters.
For me, that was practically point-blank.
This distance would remain adequate for the foreseeable future.
‘And what matters more than effective range is how accurately I can hit within it.’
This was also why I’d invested considerable stats into Precision and Stability.
Of course, even without stat assistance, I was confident I could hit a monster’s eye accurately from within 800 meters.
But unlike my military days with comrades’ support, now I had to handle everything alone.
All I could do was maximize safety.
Assigning two new points to Stealth came from the same reasoning.
Increasing firepower seemed to amplify noise proportionally, so a certain degree of stealth was essential.
Five stat points remained.
‘I’ll hold onto these for now.’
I closed the status window without finishing the distribution.
I planned to keep them in reserve and invest them later in whichever stat proved necessary.
Whether it was firepower or rate of fire.
And thinking about it briefly, I’d already used ten points while keeping five in reserve.
Compared to ordinary hunters who could barely raise five points, I’d already grown considerably stronger.
By simple calculation, my total stat sum was already at level 5.
Savoring the satisfaction, I picked up my sniper rifle and stood up.
The 1st Floor conquest was a resounding success.
No—it was an achievement beyond that.
“I’ll have to go back in tomorrow~”
I hummed a little tune as I headed home.
Then I suddenly caught sight of the massive sniper rifle in my hand and rushed off.
Rather than stuffing it back into my inventory in the middle of the street, it seemed better to just brazenly carry it as if it were a toy gun.
From now on, I’d need to handle such matters inside the Tower before leaving.
“…Should I at least paint the muzzle orange?”
And there were those watching me in secret.
Could they possibly be the Dark Forces who had figured out my identity?
“Hey, is that guy crazy?”
“Right? Why is he carrying a toy gun and muttering to himself like that?”
“Ugh, I’m scared. Let’s just smoke somewhere else. It’s best to avoid crazy people.”
“And his body is seriously ripped too… Let’s just look elsewhere. Geez, where are students supposed to smoke?”
The Dark Forces were correct.
They were delinquent students who had skipped school and happened to see me emerging from the Tower while trying to smoke!
These students were far too bold for ones attempting to smoke.
“I’m home!”
“Where did you go? You’re back already?”
“Just out!”
Meanwhile, I rushed straight into my room as soon as I arrived home.
And then I witnessed something quite astonishing.
「Private Messages: 1,853
Please check your private chat room.」
“…What is all this?”
An enormous flood of messages had arrived for the ID ‘Ilgyeok’.
Just from the preview, the volume was dizzying.
「Doruru: Greetings. Upon hearing news of the remarkable achievement you accomplished today, I have taken the liberty of…
Bongsbong: We, the Daejin Guild, dare to boast that we are South Korea’s finest guild…」
Seeing the contents only made me dizzier.
I had just cleared it—how were they moving so fast?
‘Well, a global announcement did go out, so it’s strange if they were slow.’
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
“Block all.”
「All private messages will be blocked.
You will no longer receive notifications.」
Though it’s called blocking, new messages still arrive—only the notifications are turned off.
But this was sufficient.
I might need to use the feature later, after all.
“Now it’s clean.”
I nodded in satisfaction.
For a sniper, discretion is everything.
Private messages were a luxury I couldn’t afford.
* * *
The Republic of Korea’s Administrative Division: the Tower Safety Management Department.
Commonly known as the Tower Safety Department.
Under this department, which wielded considerable authority over the management of Towers and Hunters, there existed an external agency specifically called the Hunter Management Agency.
Both the Tower Safety Department and the Management Agency suddenly found themselves in emergency mode.
「The 1st Floor clear record has been updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea.
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+」
It was due to this system announcement that had suddenly appeared.
Even if it had been an event in another nation, it would have warranted emergency operations and full activation of information channels.
But there it was, clearly written—Tower of South Korea.
Moreover, this marked the emergence of a new rank, S+, which applied only upon first conquest.
The Hunter Management Agency’s Talent Search Division and Deputy Manager Baek Seongyun immediately summoned their subordinate employees.
“Who is it?”
“…Excuse me?”
The employees tilted their heads at Seongnyun’s question.
Who is it, just like that.
They understood well enough whom he was asking about.
Naturally, he was inquiring about the identity of the Hunter with the ID ‘Ilgyeok’.
However.
‘If I knew that, would I even be working as a civil servant….’
It was a question he simply could not answer.
The employees shot him looks of resentment.
The public perception of civil servants these days was terrible among the younger generation.
Should they just submit their resignations and teach him a lesson?
Then Seongnyun let out a deep sigh and showed them his phone.
– Director: Who is it?
– Bureau Chief: Who is it?
– Vice Minister: Who is it?
– Minister: Who is it?
– Secretary: Who is it?
– VIP Secretary Chief: Who is it? The V is asking. Hurry.
A veritable cascade of pressure from above!
Only then did Seongnyun’s subordinate employees let out sympathetic sighs.
“…Ah.”
So our boss was ultimately a subordinate to others as well!
Likely the other deputy managers had received similar barrages of messages.
The entire Talent Search Division exhaled in unison—a remarkable sight.
“At least it’s not someone from higher up, right?”
“Of course, Director.”
Announcements only appear for a Hunter’s first record achievement.
If someone had already cleared the 1st Floor, whether they got S+ or S+ grandfather status, there would be no announcement.
Moreover, hadn’t the system kindly informed everyone that S+ was a rank achieved only on the first attempt?
Most critically, this was a completely new name—unknown from the ID onwards, nowhere to be found in any records.
Seongnyun spoke with exhaustion etched across his face.
“Right, so our department is definitely going to take the most heat, isn’t it?”
“That would seem to be the case….”
The expressions of the people around him grew gloomy.
The Talent Search Department they belonged to.
It was practically the optimal position to be blamed.
“Contact all regional management offices. Tell them that if anyone newly registers and tries to sell F-grade Magic Stones, report it immediately. This is urgent! Right now!”
“Yes, sir!”
At Seongnyun’s sharp command—so unlike his usual leisurely demeanor—the employees scattered to their desks and began typing frantically on their keyboards.
Typically, newly awakened Hunters register within a day or after clearing only the 1st Floor.
That’s how they can properly conduct Hunter activities within the system.
In a sense, now was the golden window of opportunity.
The employees who had sent notices to the management offices whispered among themselves in low voices.
“But just how strong could they be?”
“Right… I heard even superhumans were only S-rank. Could they be from the special forces?”
“Nah, that can’t be it. If all special forces operatives were S-rank, the Tower would’ve been cleared already.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Hunters from special operations units did have advantages, but that only applied in the C to B-rank range.
Beyond that, it came down to traits and talent—in other words, initial stat distribution—rather than background.
The employees continued murmuring among themselves afterward.
From what they’d heard, even S-rank was nearly perfection itself.
How on earth could one achieve S+?
Despite the gravity of their work, joy and hope bloomed on the employees’ faces.
Whoever this person was, whatever traits they possessed, it seemed certain that the conquest of South Korea’s Tower would proceed far more smoothly.
Of course, there were variables.
“Surely they won’t become a villain…, right?”
“Don’t say such unlucky things, Deputy Manager!”
The possibility that they might become a villain—operating in the underworld without state control.
Given Hunters’ superhuman abilities, they could only be suppressed by fellow Hunters, making them the worst kind of criminal imaginable.
Moreover, villains showed little interest in Tower conquest, which made it an even bigger problem.
“Yeah, they’d be incomparably more dangerous than some lunatic running around with a gun.”
Seongnyun also reprimanded the subordinate who had uttered such nonsense.
Still, they had put out a search for a new Hunter settling F-grade Magic Stones, so results should come soon.
But as that day passed and the next day arrived….
“…Still no one’s shown up?”
“Yes… well, there are new registrations.”
“Why haven’t we settled the accounts?”
Not a single Hunter had settled the First Floor’s stone markers.
“Is the money substantial?”
“So it really is a villain’s doing….”
“Wait, Deputy Manager!”
Seongnyun, who had been pondering for a moment, sighed and spoke.
“At least create a list of just the new registrants for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Was this what they meant by settling for chicken when you can’t have pheasant?
At least chicken had flavor, but this had none whatsoever.

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