Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods

“Finally getting the hang of this thing.”

It’s been three days since I got my hands on Napoleon’s Rifle.

During that time, while hunting various monsters and gaining experience, I’ve managed to get somewhat proficient with Napoleon’s Rifle.

I’ve successfully increased its efficiency from a mere 1% to an impressive 3%.

Of course, one slip-up and I’m still at risk of being drained of mana like on the first day, leaving me on the brink of exhaustion—so I can’t let my guard down.

‘Mana’s still lacking though…’

As an E-Rank Appraiser, my mana reserves are well below average, even if you’re generous about it.

If we compare numbers, there’s nearly a thirtyfold difference between me and an A-Rank Hunter.

No matter how great Napoleon’s Rifle is, I can barely fire a few shots before collapsing from exhaustion.

In short, Napoleon’s Rifle is like a high-end sports car with terrible fuel efficiency.

And I can’t exactly guzzle down expensive mana drinks every time I need a refill…

‘I should probably try to get a mana stone.’

I was lost in these thoughts while sitting at the counter when…

Ding!

The bell on the door rang as a burly man entered the shop.

I gave him a slightly tense look, quickly scanning his attire.

Sneakers, tracksuit, black baseball cap.

‘A regular modern guy.’

Thankfully, he wasn’t another historical figure like Napoleon.

“Do you have any longswords?”

“Welcome! Swords are over there.”

I guided the man to the shelf where I had some weapons displayed.

These days, with all the monsters running rampant, getting your hands on a weapon isn’t too difficult.

Any shop dealing with hunters has weapons as a basic necessity.

Even my jack-of-all-trades shop stocks a small selection of weapons, all sourced from Sandouchon.

“Wow, this is quite the find!”

‘Is it really?’

I looked at the katana the man was inspecting with interest.

===

「Katana」

Attack Power: 30~35

===

A plain old katana with no special effects.

For comparison, Napoleon’s Rifle has an attack stat of 3000~???.

There’s a hundredfold difference in stats, yet the man seemed thrilled as if he’d struck gold.

“Not bad for a shop that doesn’t specialize in swords. You clearly know what you’re doing.”

“…Thank you.”

Just picking up random weapons from around the Gate and calling them masterpieces made me feel a bit awkward.

This only highlighted how absurdly powerful Napoleon’s Rifle truly was.

“Oh, do you have any goggles of sight?”

“They’re on the right-hand shelf.”

Watching this customer carefully select various magical tools, I curiously asked, “Are you heading out to conquer a Gate?”

“Haven’t you heard? The Trial Tower opens today.”

“It’s already that time of year, huh.”

The Trial Tower is a Gate that opens once a year.

It ranks participants based on their performance and rewards them with magical tools accordingly.

Top performers often get scouted by guilds, earning it the nickname “Hunter College Entrance Exam.”

“I hear this year’s top prize is a Blizzard Stone.”

“That’s a good one.”

“Haha, exactly. My goal is that Blizzard Stone.”

“I’ll be rooting for you.”

Seeing the fresh-faced newbie off with a chuckle, I returned to the counter and tilted my head.

Huh?

‘Blizzard Stone?’

Isn’t that the magic stone that replenishes mana?

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

A quick internet search confirmed it.

===

「Blizzard Stone」

-A mysterious stone imbued with mana. Rarely given as a reward from the Trial Tower.

===

Hmm…

“Maybe I should give it a shot.”

My goal was clear: first place.

*

Dozens of hunters had gathered at the entrance to Mount Dobong, where the Trial Tower would appear.

Every year, this same scene plays out when the Trial Tower opens.

Among the crowd, there was one particular spot drawing a lot of attention.

‘There she is.’

Kim Ha-Yoon.

Team Leader of Dawn Star Constellation’s Team 3 and current rising star who single-handedly took down Udanghua.

She was here to challenge the Trial Tower as well.

After briefly watching her, I turned my gaze back to Mount Dobong.

At the summit, a brilliant white tower stood eerily aloft.

I focused my attention on it.

Suddenly, my consciousness blurred and I found myself transported to a pristine white temple-like space.

About twenty other hunters who had arrived earlier were gathered there.

“Alright everyone, gather ’round.”

A middle-aged man with a stern appearance called the group together.

“My name’s Kim Woo-Jin. I’m a C-Rank Hunter and this is my third time attempting the Trial Tower.”

Emphasizing that it was his third attempt, the man naturally took charge of the conversation.

“Why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves, along with our awakened ranks and classes?”

“I’m Kim Jin-Hee. Awakened Rank C, Healer class.”

“I’m Oh Joon-Seok. Awakened Rank D…”

As people took turns introducing themselves, the man eventually turned his gaze to me.

“What about you?”

“I’m E-Rank.”

“Ah, I see. And your class?”

“Appraiser.”

After that, the man didn’t bother looking at me again.

Everyone was busy trying to form parties, but I wasn’t concerned—I planned to go solo anyway.

“What should my nickname be?”

Before entering the Trial Tower, I needed to choose a nickname that would be recorded for the rankings.

-Connector

Without much thought, I simply used my ability as it was.

After setting my nickname and looking around, I noticed there were over ten stone gates surrounding the temple.

Approaching one of them caused it to creak open automatically.

Beyond the gate lay a dark passageway.

Following the path led me to a massive underground chamber.

In the center stood a sinister-looking skeleton knight with glowing red eyes.

[Welcome… I am…]

BANG!

I aimed Napoleon’s Rifle at the skeleton knight’s head and fired.

The magical bullet instantly shattered its skull.

Critical hit.

【Your extraordinary performance has earned you 1000 points toward your Trial Tower ranking!】

Behind the fallen skeleton knight lay another passage.

Not wasting any time, I immediately moved on to the next stage.

The stone golem that appeared next was fairly sturdy, but still no match for Napoleon’s Rifle.

【Congratulations! You have cleared the Trial Tower!】

With those two monsters defeated, I was transported back to the initial temple.

The other hunters were still busy trying to form parties.

All the stone gates remained intact, indicating no one else had completed the trial yet.

I approached the man I’d seen earlier to ask for directions.

“Excuse me, where’s the exit?”

“Hmm? Are you giving up already?”

“No, I’ve finished.”

“Haha! Don’t be discouraged. Many people fail their first few attempts. This is my third time too.”

The man looked at me with a sympathetic expression, like he was viewing a fellow failure.

That look, as if he’d been in the same position once, made me uncomfortable.

But thinking I’d failed was a natural assumption.

Without Napoleon’s Rifle, clearing the trial so quickly would have been impossible.

“You’ll do better if you try again next year. My advice is to definitely form a party. Even if you can defeat the Death Knight, the golem that comes after is a real pain.”

“Where’s the exit?”

“If you stand against that wall over there, you’ll be sent back to the base of Mount Dobong.”

“Thanks.”

Standing against the wall the man pointed to, I was transported back to the mountain’s base.

Simultaneously, an announcement echoed through the Trial Tower.

【We have our first successful completion!】

“Wha…?”

The man stared blankly in the direction I’d disappeared.

*

Kim Ha-Yoon was waiting for the rankings to be announced after completing the Trial Tower.

She was here to claim the Blizzard Stone awarded to the first-place winner.

The Blizzard Stone, containing both fire and ice mana, was perfectly suited to her magical affinity.

“Big sister, do you think I’ll get at least third place? Please?”

“I’m not your big sister, I’m your team leader, Ah-Rin.”

“Okay, big sister.”

Kim Ha-Yoon flicked Seo Ah-Rin’s forehead.

“Hehe.”

Shaking her head at Seo Ah-Rin’s antics, Kim Ha-Yoon spoke.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

“But surely Big Sister will get first place, right?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Though she said that, Kim Ha-Yoon privately believed first place was hers for the taking.

There hadn’t been anyone noteworthy among this year’s Trial Tower challengers.

However, something was distracting her.

‘That person…’

Ever since seeing the rifle-wielding man at Hangang Park, Kim Ha-Yoon couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Initially thinking it was a coincidence, the combat footage released later confirmed beyond doubt that he was the one who defeated Udanghua.

Despite his masked face, the rifle was unmistakable to Kim Ha-Yoon’s trained eye.

She’d been investigating his identity based on the features she’d memorized.

Vrrrr-

Her phone in her coat pocket buzzed.

The caller was Kim Jin-Hyuk, Deputy Team Leader of Team 3.

“This is Kim Ha-Yoon speaking. Did you find him?”

“Yes ma’am, we did.”

Her sharp eyes lit up at the confirmation.

Having entrusted the investigation of Choi Seo-Joon to Kim Jin-Hyuk, receiving results so quickly meant he must be someone easily identifiable.

“There’s no way…”

“A simple shopkeeper who runs a general goods store.”

“That can’t be right. Are you sure?”

“Yes ma’am, it’s confirmed.”

Kim Ha-Yoon narrowed her elegant eyes.

There was no way a simple shopkeeper could take down Udanghua in one shot.

“Is there anything else unusual?”

“There is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“He’s an E-Rank Appraiser who was expelled from Sandouchon. That’s why we were able to find him so quickly.”

“…”

E-Rank Appraiser… could that be him?

The information was too baffling for Kim Ha-Yoon to process.

Then suddenly her eyes widened in realization.

‘Could it be a staged expulsion?!’

There’s no way Sandouchon would expel someone capable of instantly defeating Udanghua.

Perhaps it was a ruse to send him outside while making it seem like an expulsion.

Could the E-Rank Appraiser status be a fake identity prepared by Sandouchon to conceal his true nature?

‘Then the general goods store must be…’

While deep in thought about these revelations, she was interrupted.

“Big Sister! The rankings are up!”

Seo Ah-Rin shook Kim Ha-Yoon’s shoulder.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Kim Ha-Yoon checked her status window.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

===

1st Place – Connector

2nd Place – Thousand Sword Blossom

3rd Place – Ah-Rin Ah-Rin

…

===

Her username, Thousand Sword Blossom, wasn’t in first place.

‘Connector?’

Some unknown username was above hers. Meaning…

“…Ah.”

The Blizzard Stone…

*

Meanwhile, as Kim Ha-Yoon was reeling from not getting the Blizzard Stone…

“Care to tell me where I am?”

Choi Seo-Joon had returned to his shop to greet a new visitor.

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