I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - GLSR Chapter 6 (Part 1)

After all the monsters on the 4th Floor—three Goblin Warriors, two Goblin Archers, and five regular Goblins—were slain,

Lee Hyun looked at the new notification window that had appeared before him.

「Item: ‘Choi Hyun’s Sniper Rifle’ has reached Level 5.
Please select a skill.」

Hunters acquire one skill for every five levels.

Of course, leveling up doesn’t mean one goes around with dozens of skills hanging off their belt.

If a skill has already been acquired, the option to upgrade that skill might appear instead.

That’s why most people choose to enhance their main skills as they grow.

But for Lee Hyun, this was his first skill.

To exaggerate just a little, the trajectory of a Hunter’s career could change depending on what skill they received first.

With a slight flutter of anticipation, Lee Hyun opened the list of options.

「1. Enhanced Rifling (D)
Improves the quality of the rifling.
Slightly increases range and penetration.

Soulmate (D)
10% of the item’s stats are linked to the bound owner.
Firepower and Range are applied to Strength,
Precision and Stability to Endurance,
Stealth and Rapid Fire to Agility.
Applies even if the item is stored in inventory.

Flame Shot (D)
Grants fire attribute to mana bullets.
Slightly increases firepower but slightly decreases precision.
Currently limited to 1 shot.」

“…Hmm?”

After a light scan of the skill descriptions, Lee Hyun was visibly surprised.

The “D” next to the skill names.

Naturally, that denoted D-rank skills.

“Already a D-rank?”

From what Hyun had gathered, most other Hunters receive an F-rank skill for their first one.

If they were lucky, they might get an E.

But here he was, presented with three options—all D-rank.

All three.

“Well, I guess it makes sense… I got fifteen stat points per level.”

In Lee Hyun’s case, nothing had been normal.

Starting with the fact that his weapon awakened, to the absurd stat distribution.

So if his first skill followed suit, that wouldn’t be much of a surprise either.

Not that he cared if something seemed abnormal.

As long as it benefited him, that was all that mattered.

Maybe this was the power of tears?

He patted his sniper rifle gently and carefully read each line of the skill descriptions again.

But he didn’t feel particularly conflicted in making a choice.

“Obviously this one.”

With a grin, Lee Hyun selected one of them.

「You have acquired ‘Soulmate (D)’.」

The choice was Soulmate.

The other two weren’t bad, but they weren’t immediately necessary.

As mentioned earlier, his firepower was already more than enough—any additional boost would just be overkill.

But what if he could share the rifle’s stats with himself?

Until now, he’d only indirectly felt the rifle’s effects—but even that was tremendous.

Every time he increased one of its stats, he could clearly feel the associated enhancement in combat.

Even if the share was only 10%, those numbers would continue to grow.

And as the skill itself leveled up, the efficiency would increase, too.

There was no reason not to choose it.

“Most importantly, this lets me grow stronger too.”

Hyun clenched his fist tightly.

Strictly speaking, it was the sniper rifle that had properly awakened.

Hyun himself was still only a basic Awakened, no different from how he’d been in the military.

But with Soulmate, he could improve alongside the rifle.

It was a skill he absolutely needed.

As expected, he could feel that both his strength and senses had improved, thanks to the newly applied stats.

“It applies even when it’s in my inventory, right?”

Even when stored away, the stats still applied.

True to the original system notification, the integration was seamless.

Running back and forth between the house and the clearing would now feel much easier.

「Would you like to exit Floor 4?」

“Yeah.”

Lee Hyun exited the tower and returned home.

Naturally, he had already stored the sniper rifle in his inventory.

Even though there was no real weight to it, just the thought of carrying it gave him a sense of heaviness in his limbs.

He opened the door with a firm, confident grip.

“Back already?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

Min-jeong greeted him warmly.

As soon as Hyun replied, he tried to head straight for his room—but she stopped him.

“Not so fast. You came just in time. Help me out with the shop. Let’s head out together.”

Lee Hyun showed a slight grimace of displeasure.

The 5th Floor was notorious, and preparing for it would take significant effort.

He had to start planning right now.

“Mother.”

“…What are you trying to say this time?”

“Though your son may appear idle, in truth I am shouldering a tremendous responsibility. Naturally, I require ample time to prepare.”

Hyun spoke with a dead-serious expression.

He felt a bit guilty for not being able to explain the full situation.

But—Mother!

Your son is One Shot!

The world’s first S+ ranker—who cleared all the way to Floor 4!

And yet, no mother fails to notice her child’s sincerity.

Min-jeong released her hold on his sleeve and nodded, though a bit disappointed.

“I see. Well, if that’s the case, it can’t be helped.”

As she turned toward the kitchen, she muttered to herself.

“I made some doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), but I guess I’ll have to throw it all out. I can’t serve such a dish to a son with such great responsibilities.”

And just like that, Hyun grabbed her wrist with the kind of desperation that made use of every stat he had just received from Soulmate.

“But as they say, a well-governed home brings peace to the world. I’ll eat lunch and help with the shop afterward.”

“Oh? Really? Then thank you, sweetie.”

Min-jeong beamed and nodded.

Doenjang-jjigae is not something to be missed!

After finishing a hearty meal, Hyun walked with his mom toward the shop.

“Would you believe it? Seong-ho’s mom came to the store and insisted—just insisted—on talking about it.”

While his mom chatted, Lee Hyun nodded and responded politely, all while adjusting his status window.

Translatin_Otaku

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