Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 6: Let me ask you, where is this place?
"Now I'm starting to get the hang of it."
It had been three days since I got Napoleon's Rifle.
In the meantime, I had hunted various monsters and gained experience, and now I was able to handle Napoleon's Rifle to some extent.
I had successfully raised the efficiency from only 1%—the maximum I could pull out without losing control—to a solid 3%.
Of course, if I wasn't careful, I’d be in the same situation as the first day, drained of mana and near exhaustion, so I had to stay alert.
‘My mana is still insufficient.’
As an E-rank Emotionist, my mana was, at best, below average.
In terms of numbers, I was roughly thirty times weaker than an A-rank hunter.
No matter how good Napoleon's Rifle was, with this level of mana, I wouldn’t even be able to shoot a few times before exhausting myself.
In other words, Napoleon’s Rifle was like a high-end sports car with the worst fuel efficiency.
That said, I couldn’t just drink expensive mana potions like water every time to replenish my mana.
‘I should get a mana stone or something.’
While I was sitting at the counter, thinking about this, the bell on the door rang.
Ding!
A sturdy-looking man entered the general store.
I immediately scrutinized his appearance with a slightly cautious gaze.
Sneakers, sweatpants, and a black baseball cap.
‘A modern-day person.’
Fortunately, he wasn’t a historical figure like Napoleon.
"Do you have a longsword here?"
"Welcome! If it's a sword, it's over there."
I personally guided the man to the shelf where the swords were displayed.
In this era, where monsters were rampant, obtaining weapons wasn’t as hard as one might think.
A store that dealt with hunters was required to have weapons, after all.
Since I ran a general store, I had a small selection of weapons on display as well.
All of them were items I brought from Samdocheon.
"Oh! This is quite a good item."
‘...Is it good?’
I was puzzled as I watched the man inspecting the katana.
Uchigatana
Attack power: 30~35
It was just a plain katana with no added effects.
For comparison, Napoleon’s Rifle had an attack stat of 3000~???.
The stat difference was at least 100 times greater, yet the man looked genuinely pleased as though he had struck a jackpot.
"This isn’t even a store specializing in swords, and it’s an uchigatana... It’s a proper shop."
"...Thank you."
It was a weapon I had picked up randomly from the gate, so hearing it being called a luxury item made me feel a little awkward.
Once again, I realized just how overpowered Napoleon’s Rifle was.
"Oh, and do you have any vision goggles?"
"They’re on the shelf to the right over there."
As I watched the customer carefully purchasing various magical tools, I curiously asked.
"Are you going to attempt the gate raid?"
"Haven’t you heard? Today is the day the Trial Gate opens."
"Oh, it's already time for that."
The Trial Gate was a gate that opened once a year.
It ranked participants based on their ability to clear the gate and provided magical tools as rewards.
Hunters who performed well were often scouted by guilds, and it was sometimes referred to as the "College Entrance Exam Gate."
"They say the first-place prize this year is a Seolhwa Stone."
"Sounds like a good prize."
"Haha, that's right. My goal is the Seolhwa Stone."
"I’ll be rooting for you."
I smiled at the fresh-faced newbie, waved him off, and returned to the counter, tilting my head.
Wait.
‘Seolhwa Stone?’
Isn’t that the mana-replenishing stone?
"Right."
I quickly searched the internet.
Seolhwa Stone
A mystical stone infused with both fire and ice mana. It is rarely obtained as a reward from the Trial Gate.
Hmm.
"Should I try participating too?"
My goal was first place.
As I headed towards the trial site, there were countless hunters gathered in front of Dobongsan, the location of the Trial Gate.
This was the usual scene every year when the Trial Gate opened.
However, this time, a specific spot had attracted more people than usual.
‘She’s here too.’
Kim Ha-yoon.
The 3rd Team Leader of Yeomyeong's Constellation Guild and a rising star who recently defeated the Udamhwa in one strike.
She seemed ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to be attempting the Trial Gate as well.
I briefly watched Kim Ha-yoon before shifting my gaze to Dobongsan.
At the top of the mountain, a strange white pedestal stood out, protruding into the sky.
I focused on it.
───
Suddenly, my consciousness became hazy, and I found myself in a white, temple-like space.
About twenty hunters who had arrived before me were gathered there.
"Alright, everyone. Please gather around."
A tall man called the hunters over.
"My name is Kim Woo-jin. I’m a C-rank hunter, and this is my third time attempting the Trial Gate."
Emphasizing that it was his third time, the man naturally took charge of the conversation.
"Please introduce yourselves, along with your awakening grade and occupation."
"My name is Kim Jin-hee. Awakening grade: C. Occupation: Healer."
"I’m Oh Jun-seok. Awakening grade: D..."
As people introduced themselves one by one, the man turned to look at me.
"What about you?"
"E-rank."
"Oh, I see. And your occupation...?"
"Emotionist."
The man didn’t look at me again after that.
Everyone seemed preoccupied with finding party members, but I didn’t pay attention to them. I was planning to go solo anyway.
"What should my nickname be?"
Before entering the Trial Gate, I needed to decide on the nickname that would be recorded for the rankings.
Connector
I wrote down my abilities exactly as they were without much thought.
After setting my nickname, I looked around, and I saw about ten stone gates surrounding the temple.
I approached one of the gates, and as soon as I stood in front of it, the stone gate opened automatically with a creaking sound.
Beyond the gate was a dark path.
I walked down the path, and soon a massive cavern appeared.
In the center of the cavern stood a skull knight, glowing with ominous red eyes.
[Welcome— I am—]
Twang─!
I aimed at the skull knight's head and fired Napoleon's Rifle.
The shot shattered the skull knight’s skull in an instant.
It was a critical hit.
【Your shocking performance has earned you 1000 contribution points in the Trial Gate!】
Behind the fallen skull knight, another passageway appeared.
Without hesitation, I moved to the next stage.
The stone golem that appeared next seemed tough, but it was no match for Napoleon’s Rifle.
【Congratulations! You’ve cleared the Trial Gate!】
After defeating the two monsters, I was transported back to the original temple.
The hunters I had seen earlier were still looking for party members to team up with.
Seeing that the other gates were still intact, it seemed no one else had completed the trial yet.
I approached the man I had seen earlier and asked for directions.
"Excuse me, where’s the exit?"
"Hm? You’re already out? Are you giving up on the raid?"
"No, I’m finished and came out."
"Haha! I see. Don’t be too disappointed. A lot of people fail in the beginning. This is already my third time."
The man looked at me with a pitying gaze, as if he were seeing a fellow failure who was denying reality.
It seemed he was remembering when he had failed, so he nodded, which made me feel uncomfortable.
But, I guess it was a natural reaction.
It would be hard for anyone to think I had already cleared it. Without Napoleon's Rifle, such a clear-out speed would have been impossible.
"You’ll surely get a good result if you try again next year. My advice: make sure to form a party. Even if you defeat the Death Knight inside, the golem that comes afterward is a real nuisance."
"Which way is the exit?"
"Stand by the wall over there, and you’ll be sent back to the entrance of Dobongsan."
"Thank you."
I stood in the direction the man pointed, and immediately I was transported back to the entrance of Dobongsan.
At that moment, a message rang in my system.
【The first person to clear the Trial Gate has emerged!】
"...Huh?"
The man stared blankly at the direction I had vanished.
Kim Ha-yoon was waiting for the rankings to be revealed after clearing the Trial Gate.
She was hoping to get the ‘Seolhwa Stone,’ the first-place prize.
The Seolhwa Stone, with its powers of both fire and ice, was a perfect match for Kim Ha-yoon's mana properties.
"Sister, do you think I'll score well? I really hope I get at least 3rd."
"I'm not your sister. I'm your team leader, Arin."
"Okay, sister."
Kim Ha-yoon flicked Seo Ah-rin's forehead.
"Hehe."
Seo Ah-rin stuck her tongue out at Kim Ha-yoon, who shook her head.
Seo Ah-rin, who had passed the Trial Gate with her team, was trying to calm her nerves by playing around.
Though Kim Ha-yoon knew her ability well, so she didn’t worry much about her performance.
"You’ll do fine, don’t worry."
"But I guess you’ll be first, right, Team Leader Ha-yoon?"
"It’s too early to say."
Kim Ha-yoon said this, but deep down, she believed she’d be the one to take first place.
There was no one worth noting among the competitors this year.
But her mind kept wandering to something else.
‘Who could it be?’
The man with the rifle she saw at Han River Park.
The one who was presumed to have defeated the Udamhwa.
At first, she thought it was a coincidence, but after seeing his performance in a hunting video, she was convinced he was the one who defeated the Udamhwa.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
He had covered his face with a mask, but the rifle was the same, so there was no way he could escape her attention.
She had been investigating the man based on his appearance.
Beep—
Just then, her phone in her coat pocket rang.
It was a call from Team 3’s Vice-Team Leader, Kim Jin-hyeok.
─Ha-yoon, we found him.
Kim Ha-yoon’s eyes sparkled at his words.
She had entrusted Kim Jin-hyeok with investigating Seo-jun.
And finding him so quickly meant that Seo-jun was a well-known figure, easily recognizable.
"Is he just an ordinary person...?"
─An ordinary general store owner.
"That can’t be right. Are you sure?"
─Yes, I’m sure.
Kim Ha-yoon narrowed her eyes.
An ordinary store owner couldn't have defeated the Udamhwa in one go.
─There’s one odd detail.
"What is it?"
─He’s an E-rank Emotionist, and he was expelled from Samdocheon. That’s how we found him so quickly.
"..."
An E-rank Emotionist? Him?
Kim Ha-yoon was stunned by the unexpected information, and then her eyes widened in realization.
‘Could it be a fake expulsion!?’
No way they would expel someone capable of defeating the Udamhwa.
Unless they made it look like he was expelled and sent him outside.
Could the E-rank Emotionist status be a fake identity, created by Samdocheon to hide his true identity?
‘Then the general store is from Samdocheon...!’
Kim Ha-yoon realized something with a serious expression.
Suddenly, Seo Ah-rin shook her shoulder.
"Sister! The rankings are out!"
Kim Ha-yoon snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her status window.
Her eyes widened when she saw the results.
1st Connector
2nd Cheon Geomhwa
3rd Ah Rin Ah Rin
Her nickname was Cheon Geomhwa, but it wasn’t first place.
‘Connector?’
A nickname she had never seen before was ranked above hers. That meant...
"...Ah."
The Seolhwa Stone...!
Meanwhile, at the moment Kim Ha-yoon was flustered, not having obtained the Seolhwa Stone...
"Excuse me. Where is this place?"
Seo-jun, back at the general store, was welcoming a new visitor.
