I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 40
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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 40
Episode 40
The 30th Floor.
The domain of the third Floor Master, a gatekeeping threshold that must be conquered to advance into the 30th Floor tier, where the Tower undergoes yet another transformation.
Unlike the previous floors, the 30th Floor lacked an overwhelmingly dominant boss monster, yet this very absence made many Hunters despise it even more.
The objective on the 30th Floor was surprisingly straightforward.
‘Eliminate the Kobolt King.’
The Kobolt King itself wasn’t a particularly difficult monster.
It was merely an aged Kobold, possessing neither special abilities nor skills.
But the true challenge lay in what had to be traversed to reach and slay the Kobolt King.
A fortress of natural advantage constructed between towering chasms.
Commonly known as the ‘Kobolt Castle,’ it swarmed with thousands upon thousands of Kobolds.
And their varieties were diverse.
Common Kobolds, Warrior Kobolds, War Kobolds, Archer Kobolds, Mage Kobolds….
In essence, it was a complete assemblage of every conceivable type of Kobold one might imagine when envisioning a Kobold society.
Should Hunters attempt to assault the Kobolt Castle, they must steel themselves not merely to slay a single Kobolt King, but to topple an entire Kobold nation bound together by unwavering loyalty.
Because of this, there existed a profession that received particularly special treatment on the 30th Floor, unlike other floors.
One could see it from the four Hunters waiting before the colossal Kobolt Castle for their fifth party member to arrive.
“Phew, thank goodness the Dark Mage is here. You’re really a lifesaver on the 30th Floor.”
“Hehe, just trust me. I’ll do my best.”
The Dark Mage, precisely.
The countless Skeletons summoned by a Dark Mage were particularly effective in large-scale battles like this.
Minjeong, whose ID was Tarakdwaeji Minjoo, was in an exceptionally good mood lately, feeling the clean(?) atmosphere of her party.
First of all, Carrie Machine Heeuwon wasn’t here.
They had happened to chat on a Public Floor recently, and she had said she didn’t think she had what it took to climb to the 30th Floor tier, so she’d be satisfied staying around here.
‘Besides, the 20th Floor tier too….’
Minjeong, naturally kind-hearted, couldn’t bring herself to say harsh things to someone who had decided to settle at the 20th Floor tier.
And most importantly, there was no sign of that damnable stiff-faced Ilgyeok either!
‘This feels absolutely refreshing, truly.’
In truth, Minjeong was a Dark Mage of considerable skill, though she’d been overshadowed by Ilgyeok all this time.
No, rather, she was confident!
While not as swift as Ilgyeok, she too was certain she could climb quite high.
From the 27th to 29th Floor, when Ilgyeok wasn’t around, she had practically solo-carried, so Minjeong was thrilled at the prospect of showcasing her true abilities on the 30th Floor as well.
“But the last person still hasn’t arrived.”
“Yeah, it’s strange. The 30th Floor usually doesn’t have trouble assembling a party.”
But who could have known.
In truth, all five party members were already present in this place.
「Difficulty Setting Complete.
S+」
Ilgyeok had never revealed her true face to anyone.
In other words, she was like a ghost of a Hunter who was never visible from the start.
“What, what is this?!”
“S+?”
The party members gasped in shock at the notification window that suddenly appeared.
Not only had the clear suddenly begun before they’d even left the starting area, but
the S+ rank had essentially become synonymous with Ilgyeok herself.
The Hunters, startled and glancing around, looked at Minjeong and wore expressions as if they’d discovered a great secret.
“So, Ilgyeok is a Dark Mage, they said….”
“And they also said she’s a woman….”
“And cute too….”
Above all, now that they saw her like this, didn’t it explain why she’d seemed so confident earlier, asking them to trust only her?
Minjeong’s expression turned fierce in an instant.
“Eek! N-no, if you find out my identity and try to kill me, th-that’s illegal, right?”
Interpreting that expression however they did, the Hunters all retreated backward at once.
But Minjeong paid them no attention whatsoever.
‘This time, I’m going to do something and see it through to the end!’
Ilgyeok?
Of course she’s amazing.
And honestly, whether by coincidence or not, the fact that she’d continued to clear dungeons alongside me was a precious experience, I thought.
But so what?
I was also clearly an excellent Hunter, and I had to do my part.
Given the unique leveling system, being carried like this wasn’t entirely beneficial.
In fact, because of Ilgyeok, when I leveled up without doing anything, useless stats like health—which were worthless for a Dark Mage—had increased, hadn’t they?
Clatter— Clatter—
Minjeong immediately summoned the Skeletons.
There were roughly thirty of them, which wasn’t too few.
“Forward! Smash down the gate!”
At least I need to attack something to feel satisfied!
The Skeletons, receiving Minjeong’s orders, each gripped their weapons and walked toward the gate.
“Oh… are those Ilgyeok’s Skeletons?”
“They don’t look particularly different on the surface, do they?”
The Hunters behind them were watching the sight.
The number of Skeletons certainly seemed like a lot for their level, but whether they matched the reputation of ‘Ilgyeok’ was questionable.
…In fact, since Minjeong wasn’t Ilgyeok, it wasn’t so strange.
In any case, Minjeong boldly sent the Skeletons charging toward the gate.
She’d hoped to draw the Kobolds’ attention somewhat.
Whoosh— Whoosh—! Whoooosh——!!!!
“?”
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Dozens of massive boulders suddenly erupted from the castle walls.
A trebuchet.
Upon witnessing that overwhelming weight, Minjeong and the other Hunters fell silent.
Were there things like that on the 30th Floor originally?
No.
No.
It seemed to be a newly emerged defensive weapon, likely due to the absurd S+ difficulty rating.
With over thirty boulders flying through the air, the thirty Skeletons appeared nothing more than a handful of dust.
Crash—————!!!!
As expected, without even putting up a fight, the Skeletons crumbled to dust and were summoned back.
“Hmm.”
Even with a single strike, could I not handle dozens of trebuchets?
Or would they now summon Death Knights or ancient Dragons, saying something like “Well, the reconnaissance phase is over”?
The Hunters began wondering whether they should comfort Minjeong or instead hold onto hope.
And.
Though no one knew, there was another Hunter standing atop the sheer cliff beside the Kobold castle.
‘With the sniper point conversion, this is easy.’
It was Ihyeon.
From the moment I began preparing to clear the 30th Floor, I had thought about securing a sniper point atop the cliff, but the means to do so had been lacking.
I had considered buying a few short swords and forcibly climbing up, but thanks to my upgraded sniper point conversion, the task became simple.
By repeatedly finding protruding rocks and climbing, I could reach the cliff’s summit in an instant.
‘But trebuchets… how are other Hunters supposed to break through this?’
I gazed at the dozens of boulders towering across the plain before the castle and clicked my tongue.
No matter how S+ rated this was, wasn’t this a bit much?
But I didn’t realize.
What other Hunters truly found excessive was myself—standing atop a cliff with a clear view of the castle, planning to snipe only the Kobolt King and be done with it.
Just as calculated, the hall containing the Kobolt King was clearly visible from atop the cliff without any obstruction.
A structure seemingly designed for sniping.
Of course, the sheer cliff served as a natural fortress wall, so the Kobolds’ intelligence would never have imagined such an attack coming from this direction.
Perhaps because they had noticed the Hunters’ arrival outside.
The interior of the hall visible through the scope was quite chaotic.
Kobolds darting about, creatures shrieking and squealing.
And the king himself, seated upon the throne, overlooking all those Kobolds.
In my vision, those chaotic elements began disappearing one by one.
Pure concentration.
The castle walls disappeared, the trebuchets disappeared, the Kobolds disappeared…
At the moment just before the trigger, I felt a peculiar sensation.
As if only myself and the target remained.
Everything in the world vanished, leaving only the two of us.
Whiiing—
And in that moment when a desolate wind swept between him and the Kobolt King before vanishing,
like a single droplet falling into a still pond.
Click—
I pulled the trigger.
Boom—!
A dull sound accompanied by a heavy recoil that struck my braced shoulder.
The mana bullet fired from the muzzle flew straight toward the Kobolt King.
There weren’t as many obstacles in between as I’d expected.
Crash—!
Just a poorly constructed brick wall and part of a window stood in the way.
The Kobolt King, unaware of anything, met his end in an instant.
For a leader guiding an entire society, even if composed of monsters, it was a remarkably anticlimactic conclusion.
「Kobolt King defeated.
30th Floor cleared.
Rank: S+」
And it was the end of this conquest as well.
「Item ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Rifle’ leveled up.
Check the status window.」
The cheerfully appearing level-up notification was a bonus.
I subtly rotated the scope and directed my gaze toward where my party members were.
I could see Minjeong standing blankly and the other party members clapping and making a fuss.
“Wow! The Skeleton was just bait?”
“How did you even clear this from here? How?”
“We couldn’t even see the Kobolt King?”
The party members reflected on their own ignorance for daring to evaluate Ilgyeok so poorly.
How could they possibly assess someone like that with mere Skeletons!
‘I couldn’t see the Kobolt King either though….’
Of course, Minjeong was feeling a sense of futility they couldn’t even imagine.
What on earth was he doing and where?
Judging by the distant explosion, it seemed like he’d blown away the Kobolt King’s location with magic, just like last time.
Well, he certainly possessed that level of destructive power and accuracy.
Minjeong let out a hollow laugh.
She found it rather amusing that she unconsciously referred to Ilgyeok with such destructive power and accuracy.
Minjeong turned to her party members and spoke.
“I’ll be heading out now.”
“Huh? Oh, yes! Thank you for carrying us!”
“We’ll definitely keep this secret!”
Whether they kept it or not.
Before leaving the floor, Minjeong swept her gaze around the surroundings.
The 30th Floor range was a completely different space from what had come before, so there was no chance of meeting Ilgyeok again now.
‘Anyway, I made it up here without any fuss, so thanks, and let’s never meet again.’
While others desperately wished to encounter Ilgyeok even once, Minjeong felt quite the opposite.
Meanwhile, though the distance made their conversation difficult to hear clearly, Ihyeon could gather the gist of the situation just by observing.
“Well, I really should buy her a proper meal sometime later.”
In a way, wasn’t it thanks to Minjeong that I had managed to come this far without drawing particular attention?
Of course, the Management Bureau seemed to have already grasped that Ilgyeok used a Dummy, but I couldn’t ignore Minjeong’s contribution regardless.
Had Minjeong heard this, she would have shot back with ‘That’s enough, thanks!’—but still, I decided not to forget this debt.
Watching the Party Members gradually exit the 30th Floor one by one, I turned my attention to checking the rewards.
‘Since it’s the 30th Floor, there should be something pretty decent besides magic stones, right?’
Every five floors, the S+ rank clear bonus provided excellent rewards, so I was looking forward to this as well.
But then.
「S+ Rank Clear Bonus.
This is your 30th clear.
Reward algorithm upgraded.
Please check your inventory.」
“Huh?”
I tilted my head at the notification window’s contents, which differed slightly from usual.
Normally, the system would inform me of the reward in advance through the notification window, and I would confirm it later.
Moreover, there was that phrase inserted in the middle.
‘Reward algorithm upgraded?’
The system had already provided me with sufficiently satisfying rewards until now, yet it was saying it had upgraded further.
Without hesitation, I opened my inventory.
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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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