I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 91

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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 91
Ep. 91
55th Floor.
True to the nature of the 50th floor range where Hunters must climb solo, it was famous for being where a mid-boss appeared that casually trampled upon the willpower of Hunters.
And finally, Ilgyeok had reached that 55th Floor.
As always, the public had much to say about this, debating back and forth.
[ Author: TigerRoarsLikeATiger
Title: A Reflection on Ilgyeok and the 55th Floor.
Content: I know worrying about Ilgyeok is honestly pointless, but I’m bored so I’m writing anyway. As is well known, Ilgyeok has Goblin Warrior traits, right? But there’s often talk that he has terrible compatibility with the 55th Floor mid-boss. I think so too… ]
Predictions that even with Ilgyeok’s remarkable abilities, the 55th Floor mid-boss would still be difficult for him appeared far more frequently than before.
Naturally, the higher one climbs, the greater the difficulty of conquest becomes.
[ └ It’s true, the Troll Gargoyle is seriously impossible for Goblin Warriors;;]
└ My cousin went up to the 55th Floor and said that even swinging at full power doesn’t leave a scratch?
└ That’s why people usually buy defense-piercing potions before going, right? ]
The master of the 55th Floor, the Troll Gargoyle, boasted such formidable defense that it didn’t lose out even to bosses on higher floors when measured by defense alone.
So those who thought of Jia as Ilgyeok—that is, as a Goblin Warrior who wielded a spear—could only view it pessimistically.
Of course, counterarguments existed.
[ └ Stop talking nonsense. Are you saying Goblin Warriors are advantaged in the 40s so they all reached S+ and even EX?
The hero of the 43rd floor didn’t get that nickname for nothing.
“└ Haha, it’s already established that top laners get called out for solo carrying unfavorably.”
The argument was that Ilgyeok had already proven he could ignore such compatibility disadvantages.
Just as they said, the 40th floor range composed of Undead was also evaluated as quite unfavorable for Hunters who primarily engaged in close combat, making their point reasonably valid.
However, it was certain that voices of concern about Ilgyeok had noticeably increased compared to before.
And what was frequently mentioned in all this was precisely the defense-piercing potion.
Commonly called the “defense-shred elixir.”
When a Hunter uses it, for a certain period, a degree of defense-piercing effect is applied to their attacks.
An extraordinarily high price tag, and moreover, an effect that could never be said to be worth the money.
As it was counted among the worst value-for-money potions, it was only used in a select few floors where it was deemed absolutely necessary.
And the most famous of those floors was precisely the 55th.
Therefore, among those well-versed in Tower matters, there were some who saw this 55th Floor as an opportunity.
For instance.
“Ilgyeok will challenge the 55th Floor soon, won’t he?”
“Yes, Director.”
Seongnyun of the Management Bureau.
“There’s something absolutely necessary on the 55th Floor, isn’t there?”
“The defense-piercing potion, Chief?”
“Exactly that!”
And people like Claude of Frontier.
They had coincidentally thought of the defense-piercing potion at remarkably similar moments.
Seongnyun, as if the idea alone was good, smiled broadly and gave instructions to an employee.
“For now, track down anyone purchasing defense-piercing potions. Check the official shops, the merchants on the common floors, and even the crews. Shake them all down.”
“Even the crews, sir?”
“Yes. Tell them we’ll run a surprise inspection if they don’t cooperate.”
“I see….”
Claude was thinking along the same lines.
“Not many people buy defense-piercing potions anyway. We just need to watch and wait….”
“So we should focus on monitoring those who do purchase them, correct?”
“Exactly! Let’s investigate every purchase route our intelligence network can reach.”
Their methods of thinking were remarkably similar.
In the end, both the Management Bureau and Frontier sought to find Ilgyeok based on comparable clues, neither knowing the other’s true identity.
“…Say, doesn’t it feel like those people keep staring at us?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s been what, two days now? At least they still buy things from us occasionally.”
While both groups sharpened their resolve to investigate everyone purchasing defense-piercing potions.
Had Ihyeon actually bought the potion as they predicted?
“How did it go?”
“There’s no one, sir.”
“…What?”
Seongnyun as well.
“Captain, we’ve searched everywhere, but no one has purchased the potion.”
“…Really?”
Claude too.
Unfortunately, their ambitious plan had failed.
‘Well, I wouldn’t really need something like a defense-piercing potion anyway. Buying something like that might just draw suspicion.’
The reason was simple: Ihyeon had never been interested in defense-piercing potions in the first place.
He’d heard plenty of talk on Hunter Now about how you absolutely needed defense-piercing potions for the 55th Floor, and he’d considered it once, but that was all.
Consider the path Ihyeon had walked so far.
There had been many times when his destructive power was too great to be a problem, but never once had it been insufficient.
Even the legendary Troll Gargoyle, renowned for its exceptional defense, changed nothing.
So it was that Ihyeon entered the 55th Floor the very next day after clearing the 54th, as naturally as water flowing downstream.
As Ihyeon’s eyes confirmed the familiar urban landscape before him.
Elsie asked him with eyes brimming with anticipation.
“Why didn’t you tell us the strategy beforehand today? The Troll Gargoyle is stronger than I thought!”
Unlike before, they hadn’t discussed strategy in advance this time.
For Elsie, even that was an exciting element.
However, Ihyeon couldn’t fulfill Elsie’s excitement.
“There’s no need for you all to get involved this time.”
“What?! Are you seriously saying you’ll clear it alone and be stingy about it?”
“…Does that really make me stingy?”
“…Ah, I suppose not?”
Naturally, Ihyeon wasn’t being stingy at all.
After all, the one undertaking the conquest was me, so whether I summoned spirits or not was entirely my decision.
Besides, I hadn’t insisted on doing it alone just to avoid disappointing Elsie.
Until now, I’d had to send her ahead because we needed to locate the Totem and Troll Gargoyle, but the 55th Floor was a different story.
Jia spoke to Elsie in a calm voice.
“Elsie, on the 55th Floor, we won’t be able to provide much assistance to Master.”
“Why, armored fox?”
“Because the Troll Gargoyle’s location is fixed.”
“What do you mean… oh, I see.”
Elsie, who had been about to object, soon grasped the meaning behind Jia’s words and nodded in agreement.
Watching Elsie, I chuckled softly and spoke.
“Good. Now let’s go. It’ll be nice to finish quickly and head back.”
“Sure…”
* * *
Unlike the previous floors, the 55th Floor doesn’t take place in a randomized forest but in a single location.
It’s a temple within the forest.
Though called a temple, it didn’t have the grand appearance of Greek temples.
A massive entrance was carved into a cliff like a cave, and a Troll Gargoyle stood guard at that entrance.
Once I destroyed the Troll Gargoyle and entered, I could find the 55th Floor’s Totem shortly after.
Of course, even if two or more Hunters entered the 55th Floor simultaneously, each would have to clear it as if the dungeon were duplicated, so I didn’t need to worry about encountering anyone.
This was precisely the difference between whether party clearing was possible or solo was mandatory.
In any case, upon entering the 55th Floor through the Gate, I would start on a mountainside where the Troll Gargoyle could be seen in the distance below.
This was why Elsie didn’t need to venture ahead to search for it.
Elsie looked at the Troll Gargoyle and asked suspiciously.
“I know you’re strong, but will you really be okay without our help? I’m telling you, the Troll Gargoyle is genuinely tough.”
“Probably no problem.”
Though phrased as a question, I spoke with unwavering confidence in my success.
At that, Elsie let out a soft laugh and nodded.
“Well, it doesn’t matter! I haven’t really seen you properly use that gun staff thing anyway.”
Since joining up with Elsie, she’d been rushing ahead like a hunting hound to find targets every time, so her observation wasn’t wrong.
I occasionally used the gun when destroying Totems, but that wasn’t fighting monsters, and I’d deliberately reduced firepower through controlled output.
Even an ordinary Mage’s fireball could easily destroy ordinary rocks and Totems.
I nodded in agreement.
This opportunity to see me attack properly would be quite helpful for future battles.
Elsie showed interest in my gun.
“Anyway, the name itself is unique. The shape is strange too, but why do you call the staff by such a name?”
With its elongated form and various attachments hanging from it, the spirits found it quite peculiar in appearance.
‘A medieval person seeing a modern gun would probably think the same way.’
Jia smiled faintly at Elsie’s adorable misunderstanding.
Jia understood exactly how my gun worked.
Besides, she’d witnessed the catastrophic skill called Armor-Piercing Round twice already.
I positioned myself behind an appropriate boulder and switched to the Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle.
“Oho! The staff got longer!”
After shouldering the gun, I aimed the scope at the Troll Gargoyle….
“Huh? I can see Master’s face from here? Kyahahaha, that’s hilarious!”
Just as I was about to aim, Elsie’s small face and her blazing crimson hair suddenly filled the scope.
I fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“…Move, Elsie.”
“Ugh? Tch, you’re being so petty about the staff.”
Elsie grumbled, but before I could say anything more, Jia pulled her back on her own.
Knowing better than anyone that she couldn’t match Jia’s strength, Elsie quietly retreated.
“Armored fox, don’t you need a lot of preparation time to cast magic powerful enough to blow away a Troll Gargoyle anyway? And Master, why are you using magic in such a complicated stance?”
To reiterate, Elsie had never actually seen me fire the gun properly.
When we hunted the Troll, she only saw bullets flying from a distance, so while she was searching for monsters, she simply assumed I was doing some kind of casting or concentrating mana—all sorts of preparations.
“You’ll understand when you see it, Elsie. And it doesn’t take that long.”
“Huh?”
Elsie tilted her head, still not understanding.
But Jia was right.
It didn’t take long.
The crosshairs of the scope converged at a single point, and the Troll Gargoyle’s head, standing motionless like a statue, aligned perfectly with it.
‘No wind anomalies. No temperature anomalies. Distance… naturally no anomalies there either.’
For me, who had conducted operations in cities where the environment was always complex and there were countless factors to consider, the Inside the Tower was actually the optimal place to fully display my skills.
Only myself, the gun, and the target.
I only needed to account for the supplementary natural environment.
What followed was merely a simple process that had become as familiar as taking a step.
‘Hold breath. Fire.’
Bzzzuung— Booooom——!!
“??!?!!? What, what was that? That, was it that powerful? No, setting that aside, this fast?”
For Elsie, who knew nothing about guns, it was simply astounding.
It was on a completely different level from when she had been destroying totems before.
Mana moved for just a brief moment, and then a mana projectile of tremendous power burst forth from the end of the staff—the gun.
Was only the Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle’s power beyond common sense?
The speed at which the projectile flew also left Elsie dumbfounded.
When those two things combined.
Screeeee—
Before Elsie’s small head could even fully turn.
Craaack——
The mana projectile traveled a considerable distance and reached the vicinity of the Troll Gargoyle.
However, the Troll Gargoyle was a mid-boss of the 50th Floor range whose stats and nature alike were focused on ‘defense’.
Unlike other monsters, it didn’t helplessly fail to notice anything and get neutralized.
Screeeech—

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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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