The Sniper's Silent Triumph
[You have defeated the **King Gargoyle**!]
The system message had barely faded when it hit me. I was still sitting in my cramped one-room apartment, wrapped in a blanket, one HP left, feeling like I’d just swallowed a bug. The sudden rush of relief was undercut by a deep, uneasy twist in my stomach. The sensation of that impossible shockwave brushing past me. If only I’d caught it more clearly. If only it wasn’t my imagination. But right now there was nothing I could do about it, and the monster itself was already gone. So I made a firm decision: from now on I would focus solely on finishing monsters as quickly as possible. The sniper shots would simply have to be more precise.
I scanned the sky. Five gargoyles left, give or take. Even the other hunters were busy. I could see them below, clearing waves like it was nothing. Two of them were soaring high in the air, exactly where I’d aimed. There were more hunters on the ground than I’d expected—swords, hammers, spears raised. I’d guessed there weren’t many long-range specialists here. Well, that was fine. I locked onto the two highest targets and squeezed the trigger with laser-focused calm.
*This spot is definitely adapting now.*
My heart rate steadied. Breath in. Breath out. Finger on the trigger.
*Bang—!*
Missed.
My confidence sank like a stone. *Just try again.* I fired twice more. Then, almost simultaneously, three gargoyles slammed into the ground from the rooftop above me. The three hunters below were already on their way, clearing the last ones in record time.
---
**【Mid-High-Rank】【Wave】 Gargoyle Legion**
■ All gargoyles defeated [100/100] ■ Boss “King Gargoyle” defeated [1/1]
---
The crisis that had begun with the name “Gargoyle Legion” was over. Zero civilian casualties! Zero civilian casualties! *Waaaaah!*
I let out a soft “Ooh…”
Public broadcast through the system—pure hunter joy ringing in every hunter’s voice. Clap. Clap. Clap. I was still in my filthy corner apartment, so I clapped too. Softly. Good things deserved it. But loud applause would cut my HP and risk sudden death. …Don’t do that.
Then the message flashed again.
- Zero deaths! “Ooohhh!”
This one made me grin. I hadn’t shot any humans. I chugged a bowl of Gevitskon to wash away the lingering weirdness and muttered, “Yeah. That felt good. Nice.”
While I was about to clap again—
- Seventeen injured! “Ooohhh…”
Injured? Not dead, but close enough to wish for death? - No serious injuries! *Waaaah!*
“Ooohhh!” It was perfect. Clean gate clear.
Then the familiar chime rang out.
---
**【Position-Specific Detailed Rankings】**
• Attack #1 = Unregistered • Boss #1 = Unregistered • MVP = Unregistered
---
*Got it.*
This one I could accept. I had poured everything into those shots. And since no one knew my real identity anyway, it didn’t matter that “Unregistered” was plastered all over the world. I could just enjoy it now.
The part that actually mattered was the gold. Gate-clear rewards: 300,000 gold per gargoyle, 2 million for King Gargoyle, 5 million for MVP. And other bonuses… After the quick math: *Positive. Definitely positive.*
Air bullets were expensive; maintenance costs had been my biggest worry, but the ledger was in the black. “Patronage will make up a big chunk of gold, but that’s something I can’t control. I have to handle my own food and living expenses.”
While I was lost in those thoughts, the system pinged.
[Gate-clear EXP provided.] [ Boss-kill EXP provided.] [ MVP bonus EXP provided.]
*Right. Same as with the Black Minotaur.*
[EXP has exceeded the gate-clear level-up cap.] [Level-up capped at +10 per gate.]
*Again?* Current level was still tiny, but MVP made the growth feel insane.
[LV11 → 21] Level 21.
[Remaining EXP saved for the next gate.]
Still some left, apparently.
[New skill available.]
With the level-up came another skill.
---
**【Attack Category】 [Warning]**
Causes the same amount of hallucination in a struck target. (Cooldown: 10 seconds) ※ Actual damage = nullified.
---
*What the hell is this?*
I’d actually landed a hit, but zero damage? *Where am I supposed to use this?* Penetrate had been ridiculously useful. This one felt like I needed to brainstorm.
*Hmm…*
Skills related to survival. I’d expected something like that. Would I finally get a way to handle 1 HP? Whatever. I was an extreme survivalist, so I’d just keep leveling and looking for opportunities.
Then the System menu opened.
---
**【Sniper Shelter】** **【Sniper Shelter】 [LV 21]** ■ Barrier = 2,100 / 2,100 ■ Passive: Air purification, temperature & humidity control ■ Hired Agents: None
---
*As expected. It follows my level.*
The barrier had hit 2,100. Back when it was 1,100 I’d tanked a Stone Golem punch. This sweet, perfect stability. I couldn’t even describe it. As long as I stayed inside, I was golden.
---
**【Shelter Upgrade】 [Hire Agents] [Function Improvement] [New Features]**
I pushed the upgrade later. Hire Agents was still grayed out. New Features mentioned the supply depot—something to check later.
*Function Improvement.*
This was what I’d been waiting for.
*Oh!*
Two new skills.
I slammed them in without hesitation. LV 15: **Pest Eradication** LV 20: **Surround Sound**
A little sticker on my apartment entrance now read “Sanitary Shelter.” The status window showed “Listen to music with vivid sound.”
*Hmph…*
Suddenly annoyed. *Damn it. Yeah. Let’s go all the way. I’m not quitting just because of this.*
I bought 54 air bullets from the Sniper Shop. *Keep the 100-shot stock topped off.* Bullets were infinite in supply, but wave gates still meant real risk.
While browsing, I noticed a gun. *After using the sniper scope all day… I wanted something like that.* Distance and accuracy. Accuracy was the desperate one. Damage was already brain-melting; I didn’t need more for a while.
*I have to be able to pick off enemies from truly ridiculous ranges if I want to grow fast, upgrade my shelter quickly, and enjoy the good life…*
I decided to buy a decent rifle.
*The artisan doesn’t blame the tool. But I’m a budget guy—I need a good one.* I didn’t want to accidentally kill an innocent person with a horrible shot.
*One minute, just look around.*
Bolt-action rifles were available, but the semi-automatic was insane and the accuracy dropped with distance. *Stick to bolt-action.*
The bolt mechanism made every shot slower. My hands weren’t happy, but it wasn’t unbearable.
*Keyword search: bolt-action, range, accuracy.*
*All too expensive.*
Started at hundreds of millions.
*Whoa… I can’t afford any of this.*
I didn’t even have a single hundred million gold. *Save up a bit more. This can wait.*
I’d get friendly with the practice sniper rifle for now.
Then the chime rang—three times.
—Ding! Ding! Ding!
Warm, familiar sound. That tone was **Patronage**.
*Right. You gave me a ton last time too.*
Contract requests had come in, but not nearly as many. Guilds weren’t that active, so I guessed most were personal.
I opened the Patronage window.
**Patronage (73)**
*??*
Too many. Way too many. Last time it was around twenty—mostly for contract appeal. This time seventy-three. Suddenly seventy-four.
*What the heck?*
The amounts weren’t huge. Instead, hundreds of thousands to millions of gold each—insanely frequent.
Even though I’d hit MVP, I wanted to know why they were sending so much, so I checked the YouTube link.
---
■ LIVE – Gargoyle Hunt Live Stream **Uploader:** Blade Hunter TV **Views:** 3,945,643 **Likes:** 70,000 **Comments:** 2,319
---
Someone on a rooftop had been live-streaming the fight. —*Peeeeeooow!* —*Pewwwwwoooow!*
Gargoyles vanishing mid-air in the video.
*This… these are the ones I shot?*
—Ding!
Two more small patronage gifts.
---
**Seoul** **Penthouse** **Cheon Seung-hyuk** Returned to his penthouse. He hurled the ruined Hero’s Armor into the trash like garbage and began searching for the source of the impossible shockwave.
*Who the hell are you?*
He still couldn’t forget it. The killing intent that felt like it would rip his body apart. The godlike destructive power that could stop a heart.
But finding the owner hadn’t been hard.
• Attack #1 = Unregistered • Boss #1 = Unregistered • MVP = Unregistered
Three words were enough. Even checking the detailed damage, *He’s on another level.*
Yeah. That was the only kind of power that could make the #1 ranker’s body feel that shredded.
*Hah.*
Somehow he understood the attacker’s perspective better than he should have. Unregistered. A name he’d never heard in his entire life. A rookie? *Right after awakening, this kind of destructive power?*
He spent hours digging through Unregistered data. He even contacted the Hunter Management Bureau. **Kim Chun-gyu, Team 1 Leader.**
“Information on Unregistered, please.”
—Got it. You mentioned it last time, right? That hunter still hasn’t accepted any contracts. Double-check. Don’t poke the bear.
*You said that last time?*
Didn’t remember, but the point stood: no contracts. *Then maybe he’s an enemy.* Even more reason to focus.
Kim Chun-gyu sent over everything. He reviewed it carefully.
[YouTube live video] [Gate analysis sheet] [Black Minotaur battle data]
The YouTube video was more than shocking—it was grotesque. —*Peeeeeooow!* —*Pewwwwwoooow!*
No warning. No movement. Just sudden disappearance in the air. *That otherworldly shockwave I felt against my body…* Probably the source.
*This isn’t human. I’ve never seen anything like this slaughterer.* But a new hunter? Even more ridiculous was that the #1 himself only felt the killing intent and couldn’t sense the power at all. He was the only one who had actually taken a hit from it.
*Are you manipulating divine authority?* At least S-rank. Top of the S-ranks. But he only attacks monsters. Never people.
*Wait.*
He picked up the discarded Hero’s Armor again. Hero’s Armor stored damage as fighting spirit. It was ruined, so it was meaningless, but the faint trace of power was still there.
—*Shuuuuck…*
He felt it. *What an unlucky bastard.*
No malice in the power. Too little left to be sure. *Sure thing—it wasn’t a demon.* No killing intent either.
*It wasn’t meant to kill… this must be it.*
Cheon Seung-hyuk sat in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a long time.
*By killing the King Gargoyle, he gave me that kind of power.*
Fast, clean deduction. *No malice to kill me, yet that much power.*
The #1 ranker’s intellect. *So did he know I existed from the start, or just that I was that strong? If I was that strong, I would have died, right?*
Pieces were clicking into place.
*Then why attack?* I was only trying to kill the King Gargoyle myself. I still didn’t know the reason.
After long thought he slammed his fist on the table.
*Hah. Interesting bastard. I get it. The reason you attacked me.*
Conclusion reached. This had to be it.
*“Do not interfere with my hunt.”* Was that what he wanted to say? Whoever it was, the wording wasn’t bad at all.