I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 41
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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 41
Episode 41
Indeed, there lay an item I had never seen before until now.
At first glance, it appeared to be black armor—
「Black Suit (S+)
Armor possessing its own ego.」
“!!!!”
After reading the item description that materialized before me, I was so shocked that my jaw dropped open.
“What, what did you say?”
Just two incredibly simple lines.
Yet there wasn’t a single ordinary aspect to each and every word.
Looking at the grade alone, it was S+ rank.
What kind of nonsense was this?
The highest grade among existing items was S.
Before I even recorded an S+ grade, I didn’t know such a thing existed, so in a way it was inevitable.
In other words, this S+ grade armor had already set a record by its very existence.
That said, S grade items appeared fairly often, didn’t they?
‘Often? In reality, I practically consider them non-existent.’
Of course not.
Even S grade items had barely been confirmed to exist so far—they were the highest tier, and whenever one appeared, every nation designated it as a national treasure and rarely took it out.
At most, only America’s Holy Grail and China’s Golden Staff were known as S grade items.
Korea’s number one ranked Hunter, Divine Archer, merely used an A grade item called the “Hero’s Bow” as her main weapon.
Moreover, the description was equally remarkable.
‘Armor that possesses its own ego…’
In other words, an “ego item” that I’d only seen in games or novels.
Among items revealed to the public, there had never been one with consciousness—an ego.
The S+ grade was truly worthy of such an item.
I carefully retrieved the Black Suit from my inventory with trembling hands.
‘The appearance alone captivates me.’
My hands trembled as I beheld the Black Suit in person.
Smooth, lustrous black fabric with a supple texture.
At the joints, chest, and other vital areas, it was reinforced with solid black metal plating.
It resembled the black suits worn by special forces, yet thanks to the metal reinforcement, it promised defensive power comparable to the armor worn by Hunters.
‘I’ve never been able to wear ordinary armor comfortably.’
So this suited me even more.
Given my nature as a sharpshooter, I often had to crouch, roll, and take concealed positions, but most armor was either solid metal or stiff leather, which was problematic.
It was inconvenient even for adopting various shooting stances.
And the flowing robes worn by Mages were even more out of the question.
「Will you equip the Black Suit?」
‘Of course.’
As I rummaged through various notifications, I nodded at the one that appeared before me.
Whoosh—
The black suit vanished from my hand in an instant, then wrapped around my body.
At this point, saying anything more would be redundant, but it was still a fantastic item.
The size adjusted perfectly to fit my frame comfortably.
As I moved my body around, nodding in satisfaction, a new question suddenly occurred to me.
“But you said it was an ego item, right?”
According to the description, it was definitely an ego item with its own consciousness.
Yet from what I could see now, it felt like nothing more than high-quality armor.
It wasn’t speaking to me, nor was it moving on its own.
“Or does it defend automatically like reactive armor when I’m attacked?”
Others would call that a broken, overpowered item, but it wasn’t particularly surprising to me.
After all, the Maesek Gun I was carrying was already the most broken item imaginable.
In any case, while I was pondering this, a new notification appeared before my eyes.
「Would you like to summon the Black Suit’s Ego?」
“Huh? That’s possible?”
I nodded reflexively, and immediately a faint black light began emanating from the chest area of the black suit.
Whoosh—
Then, before me, the light began mysteriously forming a shape.
That shape gradually transformed into a human figure.
I’d assumed summoning an ego would produce something small like a spirit or fairy, but it was surprisingly large.
Smaller than me, but roughly around 160 centimeters tall.
As the light surrounding the fully formed shape gradually faded, what was revealed was—
‘…She’s actually a real person.’
The Black Suit’s Ego appeared to be a complete human being.
I stared silently at her appearance for a moment.
Short black hair that barely brushed past her jawline.
Full plate armor crafted entirely from black metal.
Yet her posture remained impossibly upright.
From which I could infer her lean, muscular frame.
And contrasting with all of that—a snow-white face.
Within it, two black eyes carved like jewels.
In human terms, she appeared to be barely twenty years old.
Yet she was a beauty I’d never encountered before.
‘Hmm… is she pretty?’
Of course, having spent my life in an all-boys school, engineering college, and the military, and showing little interest in female celebrities that everyone else fawned over, my thoughts stopped at the level of ‘I suppose she’s on the prettier side.’
After a moment of consideration, I spoke to the armor’s ego.
“Are you the Black Suit’s Ego?”
“….”
Despite my question, the Black Suit’s Ego simply stared at me with those gleaming black eyes for a moment.
‘Or is it not?’
After a silence long enough to make Ihyeon slightly worried.
Clank— Thud—!
Black Suit’s Ego suddenly dropped to one knee before Ihyeon.
It resembled the way knights of old pledged their loyalty to a lord.
Reassured that this was indeed Black Suit’s Ego, Ihyeon spoke.
“There’s no need to kneel. Please, stand up.”
Whoosh—
Instead of standing, the Ego merely lifted his head and gazed up at Ihyeon once more.
Though Ihyeon was the master, he wasn’t accustomed to such situations and flinched, taking a step back.
“W-well, if you wish to kneel, then by all means, continue kneeling.”
“….”
The Ego remained silent, his lips sealed, and lowered his head again.
‘It seems that posture is more comfortable for him.’
Ihyeon decided to accept it simply.
Instead, continuing to speak in this configuration felt awkward, so he sat cross-legged in front of the Ego.
Whoooosh—
In response, the Ego’s waist bent even further.
“Ah… there’s really no need to bend your waist any more. It makes me uncomfortable.”
Unable to bear the sight of him about to burrow into the ground, Ihyeon spoke up.
Snap—!
‘There’s no need to stretch that far either.’
This time, the Ego kept one knee on the ground while straightening his waist to a perfect 90-degree angle.
Why was there no middle ground?
Ihyeon was quite flustered, but he tried to hide it and attempted conversation.
“S-shall we exchange names? My name is—”
“You are Master Choi Ihyeon.”
Before Ihyeon could finish speaking, the Ego opened his tightly sealed lips.
A voice as cold as his appearance.
‘So he can speak. Phew, that’s a relief.’
Ihyeon felt relief in an odd place.
After all, if his own Ego couldn’t communicate with him, that would be terribly inconvenient.
“Yes, that’s correct. So, what is your name, Ego?”
When Ihyeon asked, the Ego responded once more in a stiff tone.
“It is Jia.”
“Jia? That’s similar to ‘Ego.’ Hahaha.”
Trying to break the overly rigid atmosphere, Ihyeon awkwardly laughed as he made a light joke.
“….”
Of course, it fell completely flat with Jia.
Jia didn’t move a single eyebrow, as if questioning what a joke even was.
“Hahaha…”
Even I, who had finally mustered the courage to laugh, quietly closed my mouth.
It seemed I truly lacked talent for communication.
‘He’s just like the Battalion Commander I first met.’
I recalled the Battalion Commander from my first unit assignment.
His nickname was Robocop Battalion Commander, and he rarely spoke unless absolutely necessary.
Once, a Squad Leader made a joke during a meal.
– Do you know what happens when you shower and turn around?
– What?
– Washington! Ahahaha!
– What’s that? Hahaha!
While the Sergeant, Company Commander, and even the Master Sergeant were laughing, the Robocop Battalion Commander asked this.
– Washington is the capital of the United States.
– ….
I still haven’t forgotten the silence that flowed in that moment.
Somehow, I had a feeling that Jia—if she knew about Washington—would show a similar reaction.
“Jia is my name. Do you require an explanation of what I am?”
“Oh, no…”
See!
I shuddered at Jia’s response, which was so similar to the Robocop Battalion Commander.
Shouldn’t an ego from an ego item have some warmth to it, and shouldn’t it be the one to break the awkward atmosphere first?
…Of course, since ego items had never appeared before, I couldn’t complain if all egos were like this, but by common social standards, it was strange.
Eventually, I gave up hope on Jia and decided to change my approach.
‘Well, at least she can speak…… I should just ask what’s necessary.’
There had to be a reason why an ego was attached to this armor.
“So…… Jia—”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“What can Jia do?”
At my question, Jia fell silent for a moment and met my gaze.
But soon she opened her mouth and explained her purpose for existence.
“As the ego of protective gear devoted to serving my master, I dedicate my existence to preserving my master’s well-being.”
“Preserving well-being means?”
“I ensure that my master’s body is not affected by the surrounding environment, actively respond to external attacks, and through my manifestation as an ego, I eliminate potential dangers that could harm my master beforehand.”
I had to admit it honestly.
‘This is insane, absolutely insane.’
Few words?
What does it matter if she speaks little?
A stiff personality?
Even if she were as rigid as stone itself, I could understand.
In other words, she automatically regulated temperature and humidity, possessed the active gauntlet functions I’d hoped for, and could even serve as a vanguard through her manifestation as an ego.
And.
‘So I don’t necessarily need to summon the ego.’
…Ihyeon was thinking such thoughts.
A vanguard?
Considering the pattern by which Ihyeon had climbed the Tower thus far, it was hardly a necessary role.
After all, I had primarily relied on sniping from a distance.
Drawing attention would be something I could handle competently enough, but I already possessed the Perfect Target skill for that anyway.
Jia, too, would not genuinely desire the role of deliberately drawing monster attacks upon herself.
If I were in her position, I would feel the same.
‘Still, since I’ve already obtained the armor, why not test it once?’
There was a world of difference between not using something because it was unnecessary and not using it because one didn’t understand its function.
Even if Ihyeon had no immediate need to actively utilize the armor, no one could predict what might happen in the future.
If I failed to employ every card in my hand when facing a desperate moment, who could I possibly blame for losing my life?
With such thoughts, Ihyeon asked Jia.
“Then… could you show me your abilities once?”
At that, Jia straightened the posture she had been holding and answered with a deeper bow.
“Leave it to me.”
As if she had been waiting for this moment, her words that she would protect you by staking her very existence were no empty promise.
Ihyeon nodded with satisfaction at her demeanor.
Glimmer—
Had I seen the radiant gleam emanating from Jia’s eyes, hidden by her lowered bow, my thoughts might have shifted somewhat.
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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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