I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 50

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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 50
Episode 50
“Would you like to accept a mission on the 34th Floor of the Tower of South Korea’s Main Tower?”
As always, a notification window appeared asking whether I would accept the mission, but I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I naturally continued the conversation with Jia.
It was just ordinary talk between party members preparing for a dungeon clear.
Yet even as we spoke, my senses as a soldier remained sharp, carefully observing my surroundings.
Any properly trained soldier would never overlook such a promising ambush position.
As a sniper who devoted meticulous attention to concealment more than any other profession, my search was swift.
‘…There it is, as expected.’
My expression hardened slightly.
I had found a trace without much difficulty.
The peaceful public Village of the 30th Floor range.
What could be happening here?
But I didn’t want to give myself away.
‘If I look suspicious here, I could become a target.’
In situations like this, the best course was to act as ignorant as possible and move on.
I subtly quickened my pace and entered the Forest.
The presence I had felt around us disappeared.
“Master.”
Jia called out to me after composing her expression as usual.
“Hmm?”
When I responded, Jia spoke.
“There were some suspicious individuals mixed in with the crowd in the Village earlier.”
“You noticed too?”
I asked, sounding surprised.
It would have been difficult to notice without military training.
Jia nodded as if it were obvious.
“Of course. I monitor everything that could potentially harm you, Master.”
So all that talk about vanilla and chocolate was camouflage based on thinking similar to mine?
I chuckled, thinking that Jia might have more talent as a sniper than I had expected.
“Impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“For now… let’s proceed with the dungeon clear as planned. We don’t even know if this is connected to us.”
I recalled the scenery of the Village for a moment.
On the 30th Floor, there were self-defense force members operated jointly by the Management Bureau and major guilds.
Whether they had noticed or not was unclear, but since they were all personnel who operated on higher floors than the 30th, they would at least serve as a minimal defensive measure in case of emergency.
‘I hope it ends at the level of the self-defense force.’
I pondered briefly and looked upward.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
If they had truly come here with intent.
And if they were people who had been properly trained in how to ‘deal with humans’.
I nodded in acknowledgment.
「You have accepted the 34th Floor mission.
Eliminate 10 Atom Hawks.
Check your mission log.」
The operation had begun.
* * *
ID: Ventuma.
Very few knew his real name, and he simply used his ID like a codename wherever he went.
Hardly anyone had ever seen his face.
He always wore a crude black mask.
A Hunter belonging to Russia’s TGF special operations unit, though he had been naturalized in Korea and operating here for several years.
For Hunters, the naturalization process was remarkably simple.
Of course, taking positions in the Management Bureau or other government offices was impossible, but employment at private organizations like Guilds was easy enough.
But he had never forgotten his true purpose.
In the special operations unit, there was a term for people in circumstances similar to Ventuma’s.
They called them ‘bullets’.
Consumables that fulfilled their purpose with a single firing.
Of course, being consumables with high training costs, they were rarely used.
‘Today is that day.’
But the trigger wasn’t pulled forever.
Ventuma waited in the grass near the common Village of the 30th Floor range, awaiting orders.
Korean Hunters who knew nothing laughed and departed to clear the Floors.
How many ‘bullets’ were loaded in the chamber?
Even Ventuma didn’t know the exact details of the operation.
He only knew it was a joint operation with China.
And that his superior, Specter, was directly overseeing the operation here.
‘Ilgyeok…’
Ventuma thought of the mysterious figure who had recently shaken the entire world.
No matter how thoroughly trained to strip away human emotion, even he as a Hunter found Ilgyeok nothing short of miraculous.
Had he accepted the offer and gone to the Republic, receiving the title of national hero wouldn’t have been impossible.
Honestly, not just Russia—anywhere would have done the same.
But Ilgyeok blocked all approaches and climbed the Tower alone in silence.
‘A sword no one can possess will eventually break.’
Ventuma thought it was only natural.
Ilgyeok certainly possessed tremendous skill.
But what difference did that make?
Dealing with monsters and dealing with humans were entirely different matters.
It had been 20 years since the Tower appeared.
But in the history of warfare, that was ‘merely’ 20 years.
Humanity has spent thousands—no, tens of thousands of years studying how to kill one another.
Ventuma was a professional who had mastered only the most efficient and devastating techniques from those tens of thousands of years of research.
‘And Specter…’
Ventuma shook his head as he recalled Specter’s skull balaclava.
He was a killer so ruthless that even the members of Russia’s special forces units—filled with human weapons—would be left speechless.
The way he appeared like a phantom, pierced only the vital points of his targets with precision, then vanished.
His skills were specialized solely in assassination.
Once you worked an operation with him, you understood why he was called ‘Specter’.
No matter how remarkable Ilgyeok was, his achievements were focused entirely on clearing monsters.
He could never match Specter.
In fact, if Ventuma himself seized the right opportunity, he was confident he could slit Ilgyeok’s throat without hesitation.
Just then, a notification appeared in Ventuma’s chat window.
「Specter: Ilgyeok has entered the 34th Floor. Remember this. Once the clear notice appears, the ‘Flea Market’ begins.
Ventuma: Clear notice, then ‘Flea Market’ begins.」
Ventuma answered briefly and looked up at the sky.
I had hunted Atom Hawk before.
My highest record was the 56th Floor.
In truth, if I had continued clearing after that, I could have climbed without difficulty.
But I simply chose not to climb further because of the crimson mark that appeared after completing a single mission.
Still, Atom Hawk remained in my memory as a considerably troublesome monster.
For an Assassin who had to engage in close combat, Atom Hawk’s claws—which exploded on contact—were both shield and spear.
‘Ilgyeok is a Dark Mage, so… maybe it’ll go a bit better.’
Ventuma imagined Ilgyeok’s clear attempt in his mind and waited quietly for the notice, holding his breath.
And how much time had passed?
「The 34th Floor clear record has been updated.
Location: Tower of South Korea.
ID: Ilgyeok
Grade: S+」
A clear that ended in such a short time, truly worthy of the name Ilgyeok.
But even Ilgyeok could not have anticipated this.
That this notice would be his last.
The signal had finally dropped.
「Specter: ‘Flea Market’ begins.」
Now countless bullets—from an unknown number of operatives—would be fired all at once.
Operation codename: ‘Flea Market’.
This brutal operation, unprecedented in twenty years, had a simple objective.
The moment Ilgyeok’s 34th Floor clear notice appeared, kill every Hunter outside the public Village of the 30th Floor range.
Resistance meant nothing.
Even if I myself died by Ilgyeok’s hand or another Hunter’s, it mattered not.
Whatever I left unfinished, unnamed other operatives would complete.
Operations began at various points surrounding the public Village.
Ventuma’s eyes gleamed.
* * *
The 4-Person Party returning after clearing the 31st Floor.
“Seems like we made quite a bit today, doesn’t it?”
“Right? A Muscle Ape skeleton alone should fetch us around 50, no?”
“And that’s all thanks to my axe making such clean cuts~”
“Heh, there’s a reason people start parking themselves from the 30th Floor onward, you know?”
They chattered away merrily, imagining their bank accounts growing pleasantly plump from the decent haul.
The 30th Floor range, where one begins to be recognized as a legitimate full-time Hunter.
Having successfully cleared this threshold, pride swelled within them.
And then, before them.
A figure emerged smoothly—
“Huh?”
“Why is that guy coming out of the Forest?”
A man in black clothing appeared suddenly.
In his hand, merely a short dagger of about 15 centimeters.
On his face, a somewhat grotesque black mask.
But as the distance closed, cold sweat began trickling down the Hunters’ spines without their realizing it.
“That person….”
“A skull?”
The mark of a Villain.
A crimson skull floating above his head.
Rumors were rife, but actually seeing one was rare.
As the Hunters hesitated and stopped, the man turned toward them and twirled his dagger, speaking.
“Ventuma.”
“What, what did you say?”
“Isn’t he Korean?”
The unfamiliar accent left the Hunters even more bewildered.
But one thing was certain.
This Villain hadn’t blocked their path merely to ask directions or exchange items.
What he was after was probably….
“D-Draw your weapons!”
“We’re four strong, and if we stay calm, we’ll be fine!”
“Y-Yeah, if we hold out, the Vigilante Corps will come too!”
At the cry of the Goblin Warrior wielding an axe, the other Hunters responded, each gripping their weapons.
They had no idea why this Villain with a crimson skull was lurking about the 30th Floor range, but the numerical advantage was clear.
Four against one.
A gap that ordinarily shouldn’t result in defeat.
Ordinarily, that is.
“Aaaahhh!”
The Goblin Warrior wielding an axe charged forward first with a battle cry.
The opponent was an Assassin.
Since our party also had an Assassin, it would be better to draw their attention first while we coordinated our strikes.
Whether the Assassin noticed the Goblin Warrior’s intent or not, he subtly concealed his position.
The Goblin Warrior rushed to within inches of Ventuma and swung his axe with tremendous force.
‘Got him!’
The Goblin Warrior was certain of the hit.
He must have swung an axe from this distance thousands of times before.
Now all that remained was for the familiar sensation to travel through his hands and it would be over.
Even if the opponent was a villain, killing another person weighed on his conscience, but this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Besides, those marked with the crimson skull would be killed without the mark appearing on them.
With that thought, the Goblin Warrior smiled faintly.
But.
Whoosh—!
The axe swung with such force cut through empty air, making his certainty and self-justification seem meaningless.
More precisely, it had sliced through Ventuma’s illusion.
‘What?’
Then where was the real Ventuma?
The answer came from not far away.
Squelch—!
A sickening sound of tearing flesh.
As the Goblin Warrior turned his head with a gasp, he saw Ventuma driving a dagger into his fellow Assassin’s abdomen.
The Assassin had tried to counterattack, but Ventuma easily parried it and succeeded with his own strike.
To those unfamiliar with martial arts, it all happened in an instant.
As Ventuma drew his dagger out with a smooth motion, the Assassin staggered and collapsed.
Without immediate medical attention, the wound was life-threatening.
“You cannot escape from here.”
“What, what are you saying?!”
“That madman!”
The Hunters who didn’t understand Ventuma’s Russian cursed instead.
Ventuma laughed darkly from behind his mask.
Such reactions were delightful.
The feeling that another’s life hung entirely in my hands.
Omnipotence.
The fundamental truth that only those who can kill are truly strong.
Ventuma found his next target.
The Mage trembling like a rabbit that had spotted a wolf from behind.
‘This is truly the best. Shadow Step.’
Ventuma’s body transformed into black mist as he began moving rapidly toward the Mage.
The Goblin Warrior meant to protect him stood paralyzed by fear, unable to move.
Perhaps it was the wiser choice.
After all, with his meager strength, he couldn’t have stopped it anyway.
Just as Ventuma drew his dagger across the Mage’s throat—
Clang—!
‘It was blocked?’
Ventuma’s strike fell short of its mark.

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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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