I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 44

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

Episode 44
Episode 44
At the last moment, it seemed Jia was slightly surprised, though I couldn’t be certain.
“Why would I call you out here if I’ve gone through the trouble of hiding you away?”
But as far as I was concerned, it was a necessary precaution.
I had already completed my reconnaissance of the location needed to conquer the 31st Floor.
If Jia happened to draw the monsters’ attention while we traveled there, it would complicate things.
I also canceled the Perfect Target skill.
It was only meant to prevent troublesome incidents in the village, but it wasn’t necessary for this conquest.
Well, Jia would probably feel suffocated just staying inside the armor, so I’d summon her again once we finished moving.
I draped the concealment cloak over myself and moved toward the sniper position as stealthily as possible.
Despite the grandiose way I’d described it, the location wasn’t particularly far.
“We’ve arrived.”
I looked up at the structure before me.
A tower roughly five stories tall.
It was quite deteriorated from age, with bricks missing in places and numerous cracks throughout.
That said, it didn’t look like it would collapse immediately.
My reason for choosing this tower was quite simple.
‘This place is definitely higher than the surrounding trees.’
From the tower’s summit, I could survey the entire surrounding area at a glance.
It secured the most crucial element for a sniper—visibility.
Considering the characteristics of the Muscle Ape, my target for this mission, this position was even more critical.
I quickly climbed the tower and summoned Jia again.
Whoosh—
For some reason, Jia appeared to be summoned slightly faster than usual, and she scanned the surroundings once.
….
After confirming everything, she quietly lowered her gaze before me again, just as she normally did.
If she had questions, she could just ask.
I thought she looked exactly like a fresh recruit arriving at their first unit.
“Jia?”
“Your orders, sir.”
The way she responded promptly whenever called.
After summoning Jia, I turned my gaze outward from the tower.
Everything remained quiet with no movement yet.
I had a plan in mind, but since Jia seemed to want to play some role, I should broach the subject first.
“Would it be possible for you to draw the monsters toward us?”
“Yes.”
‘Interesting.’
So an S+ grade armor does possess taunt abilities after all?
Just as I was about to be pleased that things were proceeding smoothly.
Rat-a-tat-tat————
“Wait, wait, hold on!”
Sensing an ominous aura radiating from Jia, I hastily grabbed her.
‘What is she trying to do, bury someone under monsters and get them killed!’
For just a brief moment, it felt as though the entire forest was trembling.
Our objective was to hunt five Muscle Apes—why would we massacre every monster in the vicinity?
And if we summoned them all like that, how would we handle the aftermath!
‘…Ah, she might actually be capable of it.’
I had to admit it to myself.
After all, Jia had demolished the Cobalt Fortress—there was no reason to believe she couldn’t flip this entire forest upside down.
Since her attacks worked through reflection, the more enemies there were and the stronger the attacks, the better it would be within the range she could withstand.
But right now, there was absolutely no need for that.
I spoke calmly to Jia, who was staring directly at me.
“We need to complete only our assigned mission and leave. Just summon the Muscle Apes nearby. Five of them should be sufficient as planned.”
Since I was giving an order, I conveyed my intention as concisely and clearly as possible.
After hearing my words, Jia
—seemed to pause.
She appeared to be staring at my face quietly.
‘Why insist on doing it that way?’ as if asking.
Of course, if we hunted more monsters and gathered more byproducts, that would be good for me too.
If this were an ordinary floor, I would have certainly considered it.
But from the 31st Floor onward, it’s an open field.
There might be other Hunters nearby, and if we caused such a commotion and got discovered?
If a horde of monsters rushed toward the Tower and exploded—and then an announcement appeared saying ‘Ilgyeok has cleared the 31st Floor,’ what would people think?
Jia didn’t actually object to my order.
She simply obeyed when commanded.
Jia, who seemed to be calculating something for a moment, gently placed her hand on the ground.
—!
In contrast to before, a low and brief vibration.
And changes occurred in the forest.
Whoosh—!
Exactly five movements were detected from all directions.
Extremely fast, agile, and reckless.
The masters of the 31st Floor—the Muscle Apes.
Screech—! Screech—!
Their unpleasant and rough roars reached my ears as I stood atop the Tower.
The Muscle Apes’ forms lived up to their name.
Humanoid apes whose entire bodies seemed packed with muscle.
When standing properly, they easily exceeded 2 meters in height, with weight reaching 500 kilograms.
With their tremendous grip strength, they could easily crush boulders larger than their own bodies.
Creatures notorious for charging through the forest with their massive frames and overwhelming strength, moving like arrows shot from a bow.
After hearing their cries a few times, many Hunters had given up and returned to the 20th Floor after facing Muscle Apes that dropped down from above like meteors.
But this tower—the position I had chosen.
‘Things are different from up here.’
The reason Muscle Apes were so threatening was the poor visibility in the forest and their unpredictable attacks from unknown directions.
But from atop this tower, I could see their positions.
Though they moved quickly, tracking the swaying trees with my eyes made pursuit possible.
「Distance: 20 → 25
Precision: 30 → 35
Stability: 30 → 35
Rapid Fire: 20 → 25」
I had already allocated points to these four stats in preparation, having deprioritized them previously.
This would be effective against Muscle Apes charging rapidly from multiple directions.
“Master, this is dangerous. Please go inside the tower.”
Jia suggested this for my safety, either unaware or uncertain that everything was proceeding according to my plan.
“….”
This time, I was the one maintaining silence.
Instead, I drew out the Maesek Gun and immediately began preparing to fire.
Normally, mounting the gun firmly to the ground was essential for accurate shooting.
But on this floor.
‘There’s no need to mount it.’
Standing and firing—supporting the gun’s body with my left hand and bringing it to my shoulder.
Anyone with experience firing a gun would be shocked.
Even with the Muscle Apes approaching rapidly, the distance between us was roughly 600 meters.
Honestly, without a scope, it would be difficult to see them properly with the naked eye.
Five consecutive shots from a simple standing position, each in different directions?
Targeting fast-moving targets like Muscle Apes?
I steadied my breathing calmly.
‘The first shot—the one from the north that’s gotten closest.’
Activating the Thermal Scope, I could see the creature flying through the branches frantically with its thick arms.
That was all.
Obstacles in between.
Temperature.
Wind.
Humidity.
I erased those from my mind.
Not that I ignored them entirely.
I simply trusted my own skill and the Maesek Gun’s capabilities more.
‘Certainly, sniping a fast-moving target is tricky.’
But I was the command’s finest marksman, having repeatedly succeeded at impossible shots.
Others looked down on him and mocked him for firing only two shots, but.
Put another way.
With just those two shots, he possessed overwhelming skill to succeed in operations just like everyone else.
Without stat bonuses, it would have been this level through pure skill alone.
Click-clack— snap— bang—!
The bolt’s retraction, forward movement, and firing linked together as smoothly as a single motion.
My Maesek Gun fired my will into being.
And I was certain of my will.
‘A hit.’
Thud—!
The Muscle Ape, which had been flying through the trees at high speed, crumbled just as rapidly.
A massive hole pierced through its chest.
But I didn’t continue watching that sight.
Whip—
I immediately swung the gun barrel toward the next target.
Click-clack— snap—!
Chambering another round.
‘Fire.’
Bang—!
Another Muscle Ape lost its ferocity in the forest and fell.
This was the power of stat bonuses.
And the power of certainty.
For a sniper, meticulousness in perfectly controlling and calculating every variable was important.
But knowing exactly what you were capable of was equally important.
What could I do.
And what couldn’t I do.
And I.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
Fired five consecutive shots from a standing position into five Muscle Apes.
A task that seemed impossible at first glance.
「Defeated 5 Muscle Apes.
Completed the 31st Floor mission.
Rank: S+」
I had accomplished it.
“Phew.”
After finishing my shots, I finally released the breath I’d been holding and removed the gun from my shoulder.
It was a level of immersion uncommon even for me.
Just as each shot’s process flowed like water, the five shots formed an unbroken sequence of actions.
But it was worth it.
‘I feel alive.’
Just as a musician lives while performing.
Just as a pilot lives while flying.
A sniper survives while sniping.
In warfare where lives are exchanged at equal value with fierce intensity, a sniper finally confirms their own worth of existence.
The more violent that warfare becomes, the more passionately they burn.
「Conquest Members: 2
Contribution
Ilgyeok 95
Jia 5」
‘Ah.’
I gathered the lingering aftereffects that hadn’t yet faded and turned my attention back to Jia, whom I had momentarily forgotten.
Though I was the one who defeated the Muscle Ape, it seemed that Jia’s taunt skill was included in the contribution calculation.
It was a result not significantly different from the information I had gathered beforehand.
In any case, Jia had fulfilled her role faithfully, so I was about to offer her some praise.
Sniffle—
“?????”
Jia, who was looking at me with her mouth slightly open in an unusual manner, had tears welling up in her eyes.
I was shocked, having never imagined that Jia would display such emotions.
‘What, what’s gotten into her?’
In my entire life, the only tears from women I had witnessed were young girls crying on the street after falling.
So there was no way I could interpret the emotions of a woman crying after we had cleared so well.
Wouldn’t it be better that we conquered it without the tank needing to step in?
And then, as the final touch, Jia’s words spilled out.
“Will you… abandon me now?”
Why would I?
My confusion was sinking deeper into darkness.
“What are you talking about? Why would I abandon you?”
I denied it in confusion.
No, it wasn’t just denial—the very idea of abandoning her made no sense.
How could I do that to an S+ grade defensive armor I had obtained?
But Jia looked at me with suspicious eyes in response to my explanation—or so it seemed to me.
“Master, you are far too strong.”
“That’s true, but what does that have to do with… oh.”
I was naturally about to nod in agreement when I saw Jia’s expression growing even more tearful, and I realized my mistake.
I understood her feelings well enough.
‘So she’s saying that because I clear the Tower so easily, I’ll think of her as useless armor?’
…Honestly, during the 30th Floor re-conquest, I had thought something like ‘She’s strong, but I don’t really need her,’ so I felt a bit guilty.
But that’s one thing and this is another.
Jia wouldn’t need to take frontal attacks like a shield, but she could be used as effectively as she was now.
What matters most to a sniper is a cold, unwavering mind in any situation!
I tried to honestly explain to Jia her limitations and how I could best utilize her abilities.
Sniff—!
“…Hmm.”
But even for an excellent marksman, there was no need to be so coldly clinical toward a comrade, was there?
Seeing Jia’s tear-filled eyes, I quickly changed the subject.
“There’s somewhere I need to go.”

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