The First Conqueror
“I ask, where is this place?”
“Now I’m getting the hang of it.”
Three days had passed since I obtained Napoleon’s Rifle. In that time, I had hunted various monsters and accumulated experience, enough to handle the rifle with some proficiency. I had managed to raise its efficiency from a mere 1% under controlled conditions to over 3%. Of course, the slightest lapse in concentration would still drain my mana to the point of exhaustion, just like the first day, so I had to stay sharply focused.
My mana is still lacking.
As an E-class Appraiser, my mana reserves were below average at best. Numerically speaking, there was nearly a thirtyfold difference compared to an A-class Hunter. No matter how powerful Napoleon’s Rifle was, I would run dry after only a few shots. In short, it was like driving a high-end sports car with terrible fuel efficiency.
And I couldn’t exactly chug expensive mana drinks like water every time I needed a refill.
I really need to get my hands on a mana stone or something.
I was sitting at the counter, lost in thought, when the bell above the door chimed.
A sturdy-looking man stepped into Seojun’s General Store. I examined his outfit with a hint of tension—sneakers, a tracksuit, and a black baseball cap.
A modern person.
Thankfully, he wasn’t some figure from the past like Napoleon.
“Do you carry longswords here?”
“Welcome. The swords are over there.”
I guided him to the display shelf where the blades were arranged. In an era overrun by gates, obtaining weapons wasn’t particularly difficult. Any shop dealing with Hunters was expected to stock them. Though I ran a general store that sold everything, I kept a small selection of weapons on hand—all of them brought back from Samdocheon.
“Oh! This is quite the fine piece.”
…Is it?
I looked at the Japanese sword the man was examining and felt a twinge of doubt.
A perfectly ordinary Japanese sword with no additional effects. For reference, Napoleon’s Rifle boasted an attack power of 3000~???. The gap was at least a hundredfold, yet the man’s face lit up as though he had struck gold.
“This isn’t even a specialty sword shop, and you have an uchigatana? You run a proper establishment.”
“…Thank you.”
It was embarrassing to be praised for a weapon I had simply picked up from a gate. I was reminded once again just how fraudulent Napoleon’s Rifle truly was.
“Ah, do you also carry vision goggles?”
“You’ll find them on the right shelf.”
Watching the customer carefully select various magical tools, I asked out of curiosity, “Heading into a gate?”
“Haven’t you heard? The Trial of the Gate opens today.”
“So it’s already that time again.”
The Trial of the Gate was a gate that appeared once a year. It evaluated participants’ performance, ranked them, and awarded magical tools accordingly. Hunters who placed highly often received scouting offers from guilds, earning it the nickname “the College Entrance Exam Gate.”
“I hear this year’s first-place prize is a Seolhwaseok.”
“That’s a good reward.”
“Haha, it is. That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”
“I’ll be rooting for you.”
After seeing off the fresh-faced newbie with a small smile, I returned to the counter and tilted my head.
Hold on.
Seolhwaseok?
Wasn’t that the stone that replenished mana?
“Right.”
A quick search online confirmed it.
Rarely obtainable as a reward from the Trial of the Gate.
Hmm.
“Maybe I should enter too.”
My goal was first place.
*
A crowd of Hunters had gathered at the foot of Dobongsan, where the Trial of the Gate had manifested. It was the same scene every year. Yet one spot in particular drew everyone’s attention.
She came too.
Kim Hayun. Third Team Leader of Yeomyeong-ui Seongjwa and the rising star who had single-handedly eliminated the Woodam Flower. She, too, was challenging the trial.
After watching her for a moment, I turned my gaze toward the mountain. At its peak stood a strange white gate, gleaming like a palace. I focused on it.
────.
In an instant, my consciousness blurred. When it cleared, I found myself inside a pristine white temple-like space. About twenty Hunters had already arrived.
“Everyone, gather over here, please.”
A tall man called the Hunters together.
“My name is Kim Woojin. I’m a C-class Hunter. This is my third time in the Trial of the Gate.”
Emphasizing his experience, he naturally took the lead.
“If everyone could introduce yourselves—your awakening rank and class—I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m Kim Jinhee. C-class, Healer.”
“Oh Joonseok. D-class……”
As people introduced themselves one by one, the man turned to me, still standing quietly.
“And you?”
“E-class.”
“Ah, I see. And your class is……”
“Appraiser.”
After that, he didn’t look my way again. Everyone else was busy searching for party members, but I paid it no mind. I intended to move alone anyway.
What should I use for a nickname?
Before entering the trial, I had to choose a nickname that would appear on the rankings.
—Connector
Without much thought, I entered my ability as it was.
After setting the nickname, I looked around. Radiating from the temple were over a dozen stone gates. I approached one, and it rumbled open on its own.
Beyond it stretched a dark corridor. Following the path, I soon entered a vast cavern. At its center stood a skeletal knight with ominous red eyes.
[Welcome—— I am——]
Taang—!
I aimed Napoleon’s Rifle at the knight’s head and fired. The mana bullet shattered its skull in a single shot.
It was a critical hit.
Behind the fallen knight, another passage appeared. Without hesitation, I moved on to the next stage.
The stone golem that appeared next looked sturdy, but it too could not withstand Napoleon’s Rifle.
After defeating just two monsters, I was returned to the temple. The same Hunters from earlier were still there, searching for party members. Judging by the untouched stone gates, no one else had attempted the trial yet.
I approached the man I had seen first.
“Excuse me, where’s the exit?”
“Hm? You’re already out. Giving up on the trial?”
“No, I finished and came out.”
“Haha! I see. No need to be too disappointed. Many people fail on their first try. This is already my third attempt.”
He looked at me with a pitying gaze, as though regarding a dropout in denial. The way he nodded, as if he had once been in the same position, irritated me. Still, his reaction was understandable. It was hard to imagine someone clearing the trial so quickly.
Without Napoleon’s Rifle, it would have been impossible.
“Try again next year. You’ll surely do better. My advice: you absolutely need a party. Even if you defeat the Death Knight inside, the golem that follows is incredibly troublesome.”
“Which way is the exit?”
“Stand by that wall over there and you’ll be sent back to the entrance of Dobongsan.”
“Thank you.”
I walked to the wall he indicated and was transported back to the mountain’s base. At the same moment, a notification echoed through the trial.
“……Huh?”
The man stared blankly in the direction I had vanished.
*
Kim Hayun had cleared the Trial of the Gate and was waiting for the rankings to be announced. She wanted the Seolhwaseok awarded to the first-place finisher. The stone, which contained both ice and fire mana, suited her mana affinity perfectly.
“Unni, my score will be good, right? I just hope I at least get third place.”
“It’s Team Leader, not unni. Arin.”
“Yes, unni.”
Kim Hayun flicked Seo Arin on the forehead.
“Hehe.”
Watching Seo Arin stick out her tongue, Kim Hayun shook her head. Her teammate was trying to ease her nerves by joking around. To Kim Hayun, who knew exactly how capable Seo Arin was, the worry seemed unnecessary.
“You’ll do fine. Don’t worry.”
“Still, first place will definitely go to Team Leader Hayun, right?”
“It’s too early to say.”
Though she said that, Kim Hayun was confident the top spot would be hers. None of the challengers this year seemed particularly threatening. Yet her mind kept drifting elsewhere, preventing her from focusing.
Who could it be?
The man with the rifle she had seen at Hangang Park occupied her thoughts—the one suspected of eliminating the Woodam Flower. At first she had thought it coincidence, but the hunting footage released afterward had convinced her. Even with his face hidden by a mask, the rifle was unmistakable.
She was currently investigating his identity based on the impression she had memorized.
Vrrrr—
Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. The caller was Kim Jinhyuk, the deputy leader of the third team.
—Hayun-nim, I found him.
Her eyes sparkled at the news. She had assigned Choi Seojun’s investigation to Kim Jinhyuk. The fact that he had found him so quickly meant Choi Seojun was someone well-known and easy to locate.
“As expected, he’s no ordinary person……”
—He’s the owner of an ordinary general store.
“That can’t be right. Did you check properly?”
—Yes, I’m certain.
Kim Hayun narrowed her elegant eyes. It was impossible for the owner of an ordinary general store to kill a Woodam Flower in one strike.
—There is one peculiar detail.
“What is it?”
—He’s an E-class Appraiser who was expelled from Samdocheon. That’s why I was able to find him so quickly.
“……”
An E-class Appraiser? That man?
Stunned by the incomprehensible information, Kim Hayun suddenly widened her eyes.
Could it be a fake expulsion!?
There was no way Samdocheon would expel someone capable of instantly destroying a Woodam Flower. Unless they had only pretended to expel him and sent him out into the world instead. Perhaps the E-class Appraiser identity was also a fabricated cover prepared by Samdocheon to conceal his true self.
Then the general store is Samdocheon’s……!
Just as she was piecing together the secret she had uncovered, Seo Arin shook her shoulder.
“Unni! The rankings are out!”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Kim Hayun looked at the status window. In that instant, her eyes grew wide.
1st — Connector
2nd — Cheongeomhwa
3rd — ArinArin
...
Kim Hayun’s nickname was Cheongeomhwa. Yet that name was not in first place.
Connector?
An unfamiliar nickname sat above hers. That meant……
“……Ah.”
The Seolhwaseok……!
*
Meanwhile, at the very moment Kim Hayun was reeling from losing the Seolhwaseok, Choi Seojun had returned to his store and was greeting a new visitor.
“I ask, where is this place?”