Chapter 8 …
The superhuman of South Korea and the undisputed Rank 1.
“Divine Archer” Seo Suyeon.
Sitting comfortably on a sofa with her long black hair draped over her white shoulders, she stared at the notification window floating before her with a complicated expression.
[The 5th Floor clear record has been updated.
Location: Korea Tower
ID: Ilgyeok
Rank: S+]
This was the fifth time.
The record of S+, a rank no one had even known existed, had appeared.
“…Who on earth is this?”
Suyeon herself had achieved the incredible result of Rank S on floors 1 through 4.
But on the 5th floor, her rank had dropped to A+.
Because her trait was “Divine Archer,” her strategy was fundamentally based on long-range combat.
She could shoot arrows from distances far beyond other archers.
However, on the 5th floor, that strategy failed.
‘It isn’t widely known yet… but beyond a certain distance, it throws spears.’
Whenever she aimed from far away, the monster would immediately throw a spear.
The speed and power were impossible to compete with.
But if she moved closer down the hill, the other goblins became a problem.
The A+ result she obtained came only after killing the approaching goblins one by one, and then defeating the Goblin Warrior Chief with her third attack.
Two arrows to break through the armor.
One arrow to finish it.
Even in real combat, landing three arrows precisely in the same spot was enough to prove Suyeon’s skill.
Only recently had the United States produced a Rank S clear for the 5th floor.
‘I had it easier since I use a bow.’
Suyeon thought about the conditions required to achieve an S+ clear.
A single strike.
Just as the ID Ilgyeok suggested.
If the Goblin Warrior Chief were killed in a single attack, perhaps that impossible rank might appear.
But how?
Even Suyeon could not solve that mystery.
‘Unless someone used a gun…’
She laughed at her own childish thought.
No matter how absurd things had become, that idea was even more absurd.
There were no hunters who used guns.
Weapons that couldn’t be brought into the Tower had no meaning.
And besides—
A gun fired by a child or a special forces soldier was still just the same gun.
Its power didn’t change depending on the user.
“No matter how surprised I am, I can’t believe I even thought of that.”
Suyeon waved her hand as if scattering the thought away.
Ilgyeok had been accomplishing so many unbelievable things that her mind kept drifting toward ridiculous possibilities.
She casually opened the community window.
“Baekbalbaekjung.”
That was Suyeon’s ID.
She had registered it casually at first, but now that she had become famous, typing in chat with that ID felt embarrassing, so she usually stayed silent.
Of course, her fans loved her quiet and dignified attitude.
Whenever she did type something, internet articles would explode with headlines about it.
Still, she wasn’t planning to type in the public chat room.
Instead—
**[Private Message]
ID: Ilgyeok
:**
Every now and then, for no reason at all, she would open a private message window to Ilgyeok.
Of course, she had never actually sent a message.
It was known that Ilgyeok had blocked all private messages.
‘…Still, I’m Seo Suyeon.’
She had considered it once or twice.
But if she ended up being blocked too, the disappointment would be unbearable.
Once again, Suyeon stared at the empty chat box for a moment before closing it.
“…Later. I’ll send one later.”
* * *
While the Divine Archer was opening and closing the private message window after seeing Ilgyeok’s announcement—
Lee Hyun had returned home and was lying in the living room.
[Breaking news. The fifth S+ rank clear by ID Ilgyeok has been confirmed. The identity of Ilgyeok remains unknown, raising curiosity among citizens. Reporter Kim Minjong reports…]
‘The world moves fast these days.’
It had taken less than five minutes to walk home from the empty lot.
Yet the news had already broken.
Watching reports full of speculation—secret government weapon, hidden rookie of a private guild—Lee Hyun thought:
‘I’m just an unemployed guy lying at home.’
Scratch—scratch—
He stuck his hand under his shirt and comfortably scratched his stomach.
Seeing this, Minjung asked him:
“Son, is work going well?”
“Yes. I just finished work today and came back.”
“What kind of job ends that quickly?”
From a parent’s perspective, it was understandable.
Her son left saying he was working, yet returned in less than thirty minutes.
Lee Hyun stopped scratching his stomach and answered seriously.
“It’s just the early stage. It might take longer later.”
“I see.”
Minjung nodded as if she understood everything.
Recently, Dongho had sent her a message.
He said Lee Hyun seemed to have started playing a game.
If he had just started, he was probably dying quickly at first.
Since it might feel awkward playing games at home, he probably went to a PC café.
Minjung didn’t know much about games, so she vaguely assumed that was the case.
Of course, considering what her son had gone through in the military, she wouldn’t mind if he lived beside her forever.
But that wouldn’t be good for either the son or the parents.
After a moment of silence, Minjung looked at the TV and asked:
“Son, why don’t you become a Hunter?”
“?”
Lee Hyun stopped scratching his stomach and turned toward her, surprised.
‘What?’
Was this the intuition of a sniper’s mother?
Or perhaps the intuition of Ilgyeok’s mother?
Since when had she been watching him like that?
Lee Hyun panicked more than he had when facing the Goblin Warrior Chief.
Of course, Minjung, busy with housework, didn’t notice.
‘Guess she doesn’t know.’
Lee Hyun turned back to the TV and said:
“I suffered enough in the army. I don’t want to go fight monsters too. And my retirement pay will come soon, so don’t worry for a while.”
“Well, that’s true. Keep the money for yourself.”
Minjung nodded in understanding.
Lee Hyun felt a bit guilty for lying to her.
But the thought “It’s okay if it’s just family” was exactly the kind of careless thinking that led to security breaches.
Lee Hyun, once a true soldier—and a true sniper—was extremely good at keeping secrets.
* * *
[All enemies defeated.
You have cleared the 6th Floor.
Rank: S+]
“Hm.”
The next day, even after seeing the notification that he had cleared the 6th floor with S+, Lee Hyun didn’t smile.
The reward for this floor:
Level up + 6 F-rank mana stones.
The S+ bonus was also 6 mana stones.
Lee Hyun quietly reviewed the battle after distributing 10 stat points among Firepower, Precision, Stability, and Stealth, leaving the mana stones untouched.
‘The problem was that it was too easy.’
The 6th floor required defeating a detachment of 10 Goblin Warriors.
Honestly, he had expected it to be easy.
If even the Goblin Warrior Chief died in one shot, ordinary warriors were practically paper.
His real goal on this floor had been testing the Stealth Cloak he obtained.
But—
“I just walked around wearing the cloak and they still didn’t notice.”
The cloak worked too well.
Even when he walked openly, the warriors noticed nothing.
Which made sense.
Archers who could identify humans by scent carried by the wind were rare.
Warriors were usually dull.
After all, even without stats, Lee Hyun had once avoided their sight simply by crawling.
Of course, relying only on a cloak to approach enemies as a sniper was basically suicide.
His Rapid Fire stat only slightly improved firing speed.
It didn’t turn the sniper rifle into an assault rifle.
And attacking canceled the stealth effect.
Still, it wasn’t useless.
When he fired the first shot while wearing the cloak—
Thunk!
The sound was noticeably reduced.
The muzzle flash was also reduced.
Stealth was extremely useful.
The goblin warriors died one after another without even knowing where the attack came from.
“Still… I wish the same situation as last time would happen again.”
Lee Hyun clicked his tongue.
He remembered the intense sniper duel with the Goblin Warrior Chief.
The terrifying instinct that had located him despite no wind and no movement.
If he could meet that guy again, he could really test his improved Stealth stat and the cloak’s effect.
There was only one way.
“Just go back in.”
5th floor retry.
There was still time, so there was no reason to hesitate.
If he went home too early, Minjung would only ask:
“Son, why don’t you become a hunter like Ilgyeok?”
Unless he answered:
“Mother, I am Ilgyeok!”
There was no escape.
[Would you like to re-enter the Main Tower of Korea, Floor 5?]
Lee Hyun stepped outside and immediately re-entered the 5th floor.
[Re-entry detected.
Clear rewards cannot be obtained.]
[Second entry today.
Resource collection is restricted.]
With the notifications appearing, Lee Hyun took position on the familiar hill overlooking the goblin camp.
Of course, he was wearing the Stealth Cloak.
He waited in the same sniper position as before.
After roughly the same waiting time, the Goblin Warrior Chief emerged from the tent again.
Receiving cheers from the goblins, it walked forward.
‘Around this time… he noticed me last time.’
Lee Hyun watched nervously.
He trusted the cloak’s effect.
But the chief’s instincts were also exceptional.
“….”
Lee Hyun swallowed.
“….”
His finger twitched slightly.
Whoooosh—
‘Ah, damn it.’
Suddenly the wind blew—from Lee Hyun’s direction toward the camp.
Now he was definitely going to be discovered.
Lee Hyun immediately placed his finger on the trigger.
If the chief showed even the slightest sign of noticing him, he would fire instantly.
“….”
But—
“…?”
Strangely enough.
Despite the wind blowing—
The chief calmly walked around the camp once.
Then—
Thud.
It lay down in the center of the clearing and started taking a nap.
“Uh.”
Lee Hyun thought for a moment.
‘Isn’t this item kind of broken?’
He had struggled so much to kill it yesterday.
He never expected the cloak to be this effective.
Now he understood the cloak’s performance perfectly.
BANG—!
Lee Hyun pulled the trigger.
[Goblin Warrior Chief defeated.
You have cleared the 5th Floor.]
He returned outside the Tower again.
Breathing in the fresh air of the empty lot, Lee Hyun muttered:
“Do they give rewards like this every five floors? If so… that’s insane.”
The important thing was:
The Stealth Cloak was only a 5th floor bonus reward.
Better rewards would surely appear later.
“…Oh? Wait.”
While fiddling with the cloak, Lee Hyun suddenly had an idea.
He draped it over his shoulders.
A notification appeared.
[Item ‘Stealth Cloak’ can only be worn outside the Tower.
However, in special situations such as Gates, its effects may activate.]
“Hm… that’s a shame.”
He had expected that.
Although it was unclear what exactly was disappointing.
‘At least it activates automatically when fighting outside.’
Still, he wasn’t too bothered.
It was already a huge advantage.
Feeling refreshed, Lee Hyun decided to get used to the cloak.
He started doing calisthenics, PT exercises, and light strength training.
Back in the army, he had done this every day.
But after discharge, he had become lazy.
For a sniper, the most basic requirement was physical stamina.
One mistake with a bullet could be fatal.
But without stamina, you couldn’t even fire that one shot.
“Whew… feels good to move again.”
Even though he shared some stats with the rifle, real exercise was still different.
Feeling refreshed, Lee Hyun started jogging home.
“Ugh, that crazy guy is doing it again here.”
“Where did he even get that cloak?”
“The world’s gone to hell. Can’t even smoke in peace. Spit!”
…and after accidentally witnessing Lee Hyun exercising while wearing the cloak, a group of delinquent students—the forces of darkness—firmly decided never to come back to this place again.
Of course, students weren’t supposed to smoke anyway.
But they were evil enough that such rules didn’t bother them at all.
