I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 63

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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 63
Episode 63
Meanwhile.
In the Forest where Muscle Apes, the targets of the 31st Floor mission, roamed.
There, a single Dark Mage hunted Muscle Apes with solemn and serious determination.
To a Dark Mage who befriended the Undead and commanded spirits, a party was a luxury.
…Or so one might say, but naturally there were plenty of Dark Mages who formed proper parties and cleared the Floors.
In any case, the Dark Mage in question quietly recited the incantation.
“Skeleton Rise.”
Clatter— Clatter—
Then dozens of Skeletons rose sluggishly from the ground in response to the Dark Mage’s call.
An immortal legion that inspired confidence just by looking at it.
“Strength Bone, Force Grudge, Rotten Weapon….”
As the Dark Mage’s enhancement skills stacked upon the Skeletons one by one, the ominous aura of the black mana-infused Skeletons grew even more sinister.
‘This is the Dark Mage legion of Tarakdwaeji Minjeong, who solo-cleared the 30th Floor….’
Tarakdwaeji Minjeong—or rather, Minjeong—gazed at her minions with a satisfied expression.
After witnessing Ilgyeok absurdly clear the 30th Floor, Minjeong had gnashed her teeth in frustration.
She would not ascend to the 30th Floor range until she cleared it solo, just as Ilgyeok had!
That was the only way to satisfy her self-esteem as a Dark Mage, even minimally.
Since then, through grueling level grinding, skill training, and item farming, she had finally managed to break through the 30th Floor alone.
…Of course, catapults hadn’t rained down like when she was with Ilgyeok, and the castle hadn’t swarmed with Kobolds quite as densely as expected, but still, a solo clear of the 30th Floor was achievement enough.
Moreover, because her comparison was Ilgyeok, in absolute terms it hadn’t even been a full month.
This was proof that Minjeong was a sufficiently talented Dark Mage.
If she submitted her resume now, she’d receive acceptance calls from most major guilds!
Yet Minjeong still belonged to no guild.
She couldn’t match Ilgyeok, but she wanted to walk her own path as a Dark Mage.
‘The 20th Floor range was absolutely cursed with bad luck—first Ilgyeok, and then even Carrie Machine…ugh, I’m sick of it.’
Minjeong shuddered at the horrific memories from the 20th Floor range.
Because of those two, hadn’t she been forced to reveal the ID she’d intended to keep secret her entire life!
But the future that lay ahead from now on would surely be rosy.
Minjeong deliberately laughed darkly and stretched one arm forward dramatically.
“Go forth, my armies. Slaughter those muscle-brained apes.”
This was none other than the self-proclaimed ‘Dark Legion of Tarakdwaeji Minjeong’!
But then.
Clatter— Clatter—
The heavily enhanced Skeletons turned to face Minjeong, their jaws clattering, but showed no intention of moving.
Only then did Minjeong realize her mistake and awkwardly issued new orders.
“Find the Muscle Apes and kill them.”
Clatter— Clatter—
Only then did the Skeletons begin to advance forward.
My dark legion still required me to state the exact monster name for it to recognize and respond.
‘Why don’t Skeletons have an intelligence enhancement skill? Sigh, well, it should all be resolved once I reach Death Knight anyway.’
There were some regrettable aspects, but it was still a sufficiently improvable point!
I figured something good was good enough.
But then.
Screeeech—!
“?”
WHOOOOSH——— CRASH———!!!
“?!?!?!”
Not everything good was good.
A terrible shriek erupted from somewhere, and my enhanced Skeletons were instantly shattered by boulders that came flying from out of nowhere.
Naturally, they were boulders being hurled by Muscle Apes.
No matter how enhanced my Skeletons were, there was no way they could withstand boulders larger than their own bodies flying at them.
At the same time.
Shrieeek——!
“Kyaaaah!”
Hearing the terrible shriek from beside me, I spun my head around and let out a cry similar to the Muscle Ape’s own.
It was a natural reaction upon seeing a massive, brutish gorilla-like monster plummeting from the sky.
THUD—! CRASH—!
Fortunately, the Muscle Ape’s target wasn’t me, but rather an unlucky Skeleton that happened to be nearby.
Like a scene from a movie, the Muscle Apes swung their long arms wildly among the skulls, displaying a masterclass in overwhelming force.
THUD—! THUD—!
When two more Muscle Apes appeared on top of that, my mind went completely blank.
‘How… how am I supposed to defeat these things!’
Ilgyeok had cleared this in S+ rank instantly, so I honestly thought I could manage a clear too.
And with so many Skeletons at my side, my confidence had grown.
But facing the Muscle Apes directly, they were truly ferocious beasts.
‘First, I need to run!’
I hurriedly replenished my fallen Skeletons while deciding to flee the area.
Of course, the Muscle Apes didn’t let me escape so easily.
“Skeleton Rise! Skeleton Rise!”
Being a Dark Mage was a blessing in times like these.
I repeated the cycle of drawing the Muscle Apes’ attention with Skeletons and running away countless times.
At some point, I realized everything had gone quiet, but I immediately grimaced.
“Damn… where exactly am I?”
In my panicked flight, I had completely lost my way in this massive forest.
The one fortunate thing was that due to the recent terrorist attack on the 30th Floor, Vigilante patrols had become significantly more active.
If I wandered around long enough, there was a good chance I’d luckily encounter a Vigilante patrol.
But just how much worse could my luck get?
Screeeech———
From afar, the tiresome roar of a Muscle Ape echoed once more.
“Ugh… this is really bad.”
My mana was nearly depleted at this point.
Why didn’t any items exist that could replenish mana?
If there were an item that restored mana three times a day and could even cause the surrounding enemies’ mana to go haywire in a pinch, I could traverse and conquer the Tower as freely as Ilgyeok does.
“As if such an item exists. I need to stop indulging in such fantasies.”
Even in this situation, Minjeong reproached herself for entertaining such absurd imaginings and shook her head.
This was no time for such thoughts.
Even now, the Muscle Apes were pursuing me to find me…
“Hey! Dark Mage!”
“Huh? W-what?! Vigilantes?!”
At that moment, a voice I was delighted to hear called out.
The tone was arrogant and fussy beyond measure, but what did that matter?
Simply meeting another person filled Minjeong with such joy that she had no time to notice or care about the manner of speech.
Suddenly—
“You’re in a hurry right now, aren’t you? Want to party with me?”
“…You’re just a child?”
But the one who emerged from where the voice came was not a Vigilante as one might expect, but rather a girl.
With fiery crimson hair and a face so adorable that she would have drawn screams if seen outside the Tower rather than within it.
She wore a sword at her waist that was long and ornate relative to her body, and her strange clothing was a bit odd, though the same could be said of Hunters.
Could such a young child even enter the Tower as a Hunter?
For a moment, Minjeong considered reporting the system for labor law violations.
‘That’s not what matters right now.’
Minjeong asked the girl with a look of concern.
“Hey, are you being chased by Muscle Apes too? This isn’t the time for this—you need to run away quickly!”
Truly, Minjeong was without prejudice!
Upon hearing her words, the girl’s expression darkened considerably.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“W-what?! That’s not something you say to your senior…!”
“Hey! Even if I’m younger than you, I’ve lived at least two thousand years more! Why aren’t you using formal speech?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry?”
Only then did the girl seem somewhat satisfied and nod her head.
Then, sniffing Minjeong and the surrounding air, she asked.
“Sniff sniff, anyway, you’re in a hurry right now, aren’t you? From what I can tell, you’ve used quite a bit of mana. And those muscle monkeys are chasing you, right?”
“Yes…”
Minjeong nodded dejectedly.
Never in her life did she imagine she’d be confiding her troubles to a child like this.
When she first awakened as a Hunter, she wanted to become a cool adult.
But the girl instead wore a confident expression and made the proposal again.
“Party with me. Then I’ll save you.”
“You…?”
Crackle—!
“What?”
“Yeah, even though I look like this, I’m incredibly strong, you know?”
I scrutinized the girl’s petite frame from head to toe with skeptical eyes.
“So, are you going to do it or not?!”
“Y-yes, I will!”
But there was no time to pick and choose right now.
At the girl’s urging, I nodded in agreement.
I wasn’t sure if the girl was truly as strong as she confidently claimed, but regardless, it was my duty as an adult to rescue and protect her.
「ID ‘Elsie’ is requesting to form a party.
Do you accept?」
“Y-yes.”
“What? Your ID is Tarakdwaeji Minjoo? Are you a pig beastkin?”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
Crackle—!
“….”
For a small child, Elsie possessed remarkably sharp eyes.
In any case, while all this was happening, the Muscle Ape had already closed the distance to where we stood.
“W-we need to run!”
I hastily tried to grab Elsie and flee the area.
Whoosh—
But Elsie instead walked lightly toward the charging Muscle Ape.
“Hey, where are you going?!”
Startled, I let out a sharp cry.
Shrieeeek——!!
At the same moment, the Muscle Apes burst forth from the forest.
Two of them charged with their bodies, while the other two hurled boulders.
It was a cruel reality—a child as young as Elsie would face catastrophe from even the slightest contact, such was the overwhelming disparity in power.
I desperately squeezed out my mana to summon a Skeleton to protect Elsie.
But it happened before the Skeleton I summoned could even fully rise.
Whoosh—
As if watching slow-motion footage, the world began to move slowly before my eyes.
A blade slipped smoothly from Elsie’s waist.
Simultaneously, it extended in a graceful arc, radiating a soft, auspicious light.
Slice— Slice—
A faint sound tickled my ears.
….
It was all over.
“Huh…?”
Minjeong stared at Elsie and the Muscle Ape with a bewildered expression.
Or rather, what used to be Muscle Apes, I should say.
The Muscle Apes that had been flying forward with their grotesque tusks bared were now rolling across the ground with their waists severed in two.
The rocks thrown by the remaining two beasts had met a similar fate.
Crunch——
Not only did they reveal cleanly cut cross-sections, but they fell helplessly to the ground.
What on earth had just happened?
I couldn’t make sense of it.
Elsie had simply swung her sword once….
Screech—?!
Even the Muscle Apes that had thrown the rocks were confused enough to say it all.
They tucked their tails and fled the moment they met Elsie’s sharp gaze.
Minjeong asked in a hushed voice.
“Elsie, you did that?”
The casual speech came naturally now.
In the Tower, strength earned you respect as an older sibling.
Elsie, sheathing her sword back into its scabbard, spoke with a proud expression.
“Of course!”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
“Hehehehe!”
As Minjeong clapped her hands in praise, Elsie’s shoulders rose with pride.
“How many floors have you climbed? Around the 60th?”
“Even though I’m like this… I can’t say exactly, but I’ve made it to the 80th floor range!”
“Wow, that’s….”
“You don’t believe me?”
“That really is impressive. You did seem extraordinary.”
Elsie’s eyes narrowed fiercely for a moment, then she let out a deep sigh.
“Sigh, but now I’m stuck here regardless.”
“Why?”
“Why? I followed the wrong person… wait. Hold on.”
Sniff sniff—
Elsie approached Minjeong as if she had just realized something, sniffing like a dog.
“Something’s been off since earlier. Do you know Ilgyeok?”
“Huh? Ilgyeok?”
Minjeong’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
Why would this girl suddenly bring up that ID?
And if someone asked if I knew Ilgyeok, of course I would.
Who in the world hasn’t heard that name?
Of course, Minjeong had a far more special connection than most.
“I think we’ve partied together quite a few times….”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Minjeong wondered if she carried Ilgyeok’s scent, so she brought her robe to her nose and sniffed.
Beyond the musty smell of bone and chemical reagents, there was nothing particularly distinctive.
I’d heard that Ilgyeok could be a Dark Mage too—was that why, being fellow Dark Mages?
Meanwhile, Elsie spoke to Minjeong with a satisfied expression and a meaningful smile.
“This is fate, if anything is. Originally, I was planning to use you just to cross into the 41st Floor, but I’ll keep you around a bit longer.”
“What? Keep me around? You’re saying… you’ll take me with you?”
That was absolutely not happening!
Minjeong’s pride wounded, her eyes narrowed slightly.
Even if I say so myself, I’m the ID Tarakdwaeji Minjoo who solo cleared the 30th Floor!
Shing—
“Here, this is my true form, so use this instead of that pathetic magic from now on.”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about?
Minjeong stared at Elsie in bewilderment as she suddenly drew a sword from her waist and offered it.
But Elsie simply urged her to take it, extending the blade once more.
As Minjeong accepted the sword almost reflexively, a notification window appeared before her eyes.
「Legendary Sword (S+)
This is a Legendary Sword.
It possesses the spirit of the blade, Elsie, as its ego.
Warning: Currently in an unbound state.
May break free from the wielder’s control at any time.」
“?!?!?!?!?!!!?”

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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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