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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 04
With Napoleon’s permission, I was allowed to observe the siege of Toulon firsthand.
Apparently, even back then, as long as you had a high-ranking officer’s approval, you could spectate battles.
“Of course, he’s a firepower fanatic..”
I clicked my tongue as I looked down at the three hundred cannons lined up on the hills.
Napoleon, unsatisfied with the artillery he was originally given, had ransacked every single arsenal around Toulon and gathered every last cannon he could find.
It was exactly the kind of move you’d expect from history’s original firepower enthusiast.
After all, this was the man who would go on to conquer Europe with sheer artillery dominance.
“What are you drinking?”
“Cola.”
“Let me have a sip.”
Napoleon, who had somehow crept up beside me, reached for my canteen.
Ever since he became a regular at my shop, Napoleon had gotten a taste for cola. Every time he visited, the first thing he did was ask for some.
Since my supply was limited, I only shared it with him a few times.
“This drink is nothing short of divine.”
“You must be busy. What brings you here?”
Napoleon, still savoring the cola, pulled a rifle from his side and handed it to me.
“Even as an observer, you might still find yourself in danger. Keep this with you.”
“Thanks for looking out for me.”
I accepted his offer without hesitation.
I wasn’t expecting trouble, high ground was usually safe but you never knew what could happen in the chaos of war.
After giving me a quick crash course in handling the rifle, Napoleon prepared to leave.
Before departing, he turned and asked:
“Do you have any advice for me?”
“Do your best.”
I had given Napoleon plenty of advice up until now.
But today, there was nothing left for me to say.
The moment Napoleon set foot here, my role had ended.
There was no strategy, no tactics I could teach to a true genius of war.
All that was left… was to sit back and watch his victory unfold.
***
The third general assigned to the siege was a career soldier.
Unlike his predecessors, he fully understood Napoleon’s tactics and most importantly, executed them properly.
The results were nothing short of spectacular.
‘This guy really is a genius.’
Napoleon split his 300 cannons into three divisions and used them to surround the enemy fortress.
The batteries ‘Jacobin’, ‘The Fearless’, and 'The Purge' were advanced forward, gradually squeezing the enemy like a tightening noose.
It reminded me of a popular Korean online game, War of Stars, where the human faction would slowly push forward by building bunkers to wear down the enemy.
This strategy, known as ‘Siege Containment’, was devastatingly effective.
And just like in the game, the enemy cracked under pressure.
—Retake the gun positions!
—Destroy their cannons!
The fortress gates burst open.
The Royalist Coalition soldiers surged forward, charging at Napoleon’s artillery lines.
It was a mistake.
They were now nothing more than perfect targets for the waiting guns.
“Fire!”
BOOM—!
Boom—!
Boom—!
"Aaaah!"
The coalition forces, abandoning the fortress, were swept away by the concentrated bombardment of the cannons.
After suffering heavy casualties, they managed to capture a single battery position, but the tide of battle had long since shifted in favor of the revolutionary army.
And then...
"General O'Hara has been captured!"
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
The victorious news of the coalition forces' commander being taken prisoner echoed throughout Toulon Harbor.
The revolutionary army, momentarily forgetting they were still at war, erupted into cheers.
"It's done, it's finally done!"
Even the usually composed Napoleon couldn't hold back and shouted in triumph.
As he reveled in the joy of victory, Napoleon instinctively turned to find Choi Seo-jun.
And at that moment.
"!?"
His blue eyes widened in shock.
The figure of Choi Seojun, standing atop the hill, began to blur.
In mere moments, he vanished completely.
As if he had never been there to begin with.
Staring blankly at the empty space, Napoleon murmured under his breath.
"…So he truly was a messenger of the gods."
"Commander, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing."
Shaking his head at his aide’s inquiry, Napoleon lifted his gaze to the clear blue sky.
"I hope... we meet again someday."
Then, lowering his eyes once more, he raised his voice in a powerful command.
"All troops, charge!"
"Charge!"
Thus came the moment that brought the long battle of Toulon Harbor to an end.
***
"Hmm."
When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking at the familiar sight of the general store.
"What the hell? Did I doze off?"
Still leaning against the counter, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
I had been watching Napoleon’s battle at Toulon Harbor. But at some point, my vision had started to blur, and sleep had overtaken me.
And now, I have woken up here, in the general store.
"Was it... just a dream?"
The memories were so vivid that I couldn't help but feel disoriented. Then, something on the wall caught my eye.
A single rifle, propped up against the wall.
The moment I saw it, I knew.
This wasn’t just a dream.
— It may be dangerous even as a spectator, so keep this with you.
That was the rifle Napoleon had given me.
And yet...
==
「Napoleon’s Rifle」
Relic Rank: Unique
- A rifle gifted by Napoleon, the hero of the French Revolution, to his comrade Choi Seojun during the Siege of Toulon.
Attack Power: 3000 ~ ???
Accuracy: +60%
==
"What the hell is this?"
Seeing the status window pop up in front of me, I widened my eyes in shock.
The rifle, which had been completely ordinary, had now transformed into a "Relic." But even more baffling was its rank.
"Unique?"
I tilted my head, unfamiliar with the term.
As far as I knew, there were exactly eight recognized relic ranks:
Transcendent, Mythical, Legendary, Ancient, Epic, Rare, Common.
There were lower-tier relics beyond those, but they were so useless that they weren't even officially categorized.
And in practical terms, the highest rank any confirmed relic had ever reached was Legendary.
Transcendent and Mythical were classifications that applied only to relics from the Age of Gods relics from before recorded human history.
Things like Zeus' Lightning Spear or Sun Wukong’s Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Because the authenticity of those relics remained unverified, their ranking was a subject of endless debate.
Thus, relics were typically managed within a six-tier system, with Legendary serving as the highest confirmed rank.
But ‘Napoleon’s Rifle’ didn't fit into any of those six ranks.
And yet, there was no way this rifle was just an ordinary relic.
Napoleon was one of the greatest heroes in all of human history.
Anything left behind by him would undoubtedly hold immense value.
"Guess I should test it out."
With Napoleon’s Rifle slung over my shoulder, I stepped out of the general store.
Outside, I was no longer in 18th-century Europe but back in modern-day Seoul.
The smog-filled air of the city seeped into my lungs, making me finally register the reality of my return.
“…Only a day has passed."
Checking my phone, which had been out of service, I felt a bit dazed.
I had spent nearly three months with Napoleon, yet here in reality, only a single day had gone by.
The realization that I hadn’t even been able to say a proper goodbye crossed my mind, but it was too late now.
All I could do was carry the regret with me.
"Let’s go."
Adjusting the rifle on my back, I started walking.
My destination: Hangang Park.
Once a popular dating spot for couples, it had now become a desolate ruin—paradise for the monsters that infested it.
***
If you think appraisers just sit indoors analyzing relics all day, you'd be dead wrong.
A major part of our job was tracking gates, collecting their byproducts, and assessing them.
And if you worked for a guild as massive as Samdocheon, that workload became downright murderous.
Having survived under Samdocheon for years, I could confidently say that I knew more about monsters than most average hunters.
They say even a stray dog can recite poetry after three years at a Confucian school well, I had been at this for ten.
I was basically a walking encyclopedia of low ranking monsters.
And right now, judging by what I was seeing, today’s Hangang Park was very dangerous.
"KYAAAAAH!"
"RUN!"
"UDAMHWA!"
No, it wasn’t just me anyone could tell how bad it was.
"Did I pick the wrong day?"
A massive red lotus floated in the middle of the Han River.
At a glance, it appeared beautiful and almost sacred. But in reality, it was a carnivorous flower that fed on humans.
Udamhwa.
Named after the legendary Buddhist flower Udumbara due to its resemblance, this creature was a monster, a supernatural anomaly.
The Hangang Park usually only had weaker monsters, but every now and then, a monstrosity like this would appear.
‘A field boss, huh?’
SUVs began speeding toward the riverbank, responding to the sudden emergence of Udamhwa.
"Look! Kim Hayoon is here!"
"Wooooah!"
"Seo Arin is here too!"
As the well-known hunters from major guilds stepped out of their vehicles, the crowd erupted in excitement, cheering as if they were seeing K-pop idols.
"Everyone, please stay calm! Udamhwa will be exterminated by the Dawn’s Constellation!"
The named hunter who had arrived was a high school girl though it was hard to tell if she was an idol or a hunter.
She was Kim Hayoon, Team 3's Leader of Dawn’s Constellation, one of the major guilds in Gangnam.
A blazing blue flame flickered from her sword.
A relic of the legendary Silla general.
It was General Kim Yushin’s sword.
As his direct descendant, Kim Hayoon was its rightful wielder.
What kind of pay-to-win bullshit is this?
A world where awakenings were random gacha rolls and bloodlines determined power. Disgusting, but what could I do?
Someone like me, an insignificant E-rank, wasn’t even worth acknowledging in their eyes.
Still, since I had already come all this way…
I wasn't about to leave without testing Napoleon’s Rifle.
Scanning the park, I saw that the area was covered with writhing red flowers.
These were Udamhwa’s spawn.
They were connected to the main body through a shared nervous system, meaning that destroying them would weaken Udamhwa itself.
Not that it would make much of a difference, but still.
"Let's try this."
I raised Napoleon’s Rifle, aiming at the largest of Udamhwa’s spawn.
My target: the center of its petals, where the stamens were located.
"Hey! Stop! That’s dangerous!"
A female hunter, noticing my actions, shouted in alarm.
But by then, my mana had already infused the rifle.
BANG—!
The rifle roared, and a blue mana bullet streaked through the air, striking the spawn’s stamens dead center.
BOOM!
The flower exploded in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
As I gawked at the overwhelming firepower!
—SCREEEEEEEECH!
A deafening shriek echoed across the Han River.
It was Udamhwa.
"Ugh!"
"What the hell is going on!?"
The sudden, agonized scream sent hunters into a panic, forcing them to cover their ears.
And then.
BOOOOOOOM—!
"!!!!"
Udamhwa… exploded.
Its remnants splattered across the riverbank, painting it red.
I could only stare in stunned silence at the spectacle.
And then, a message appeared before my eyes.
【Efficiency: 10%】
…That was only 10 percent?
What kind of rifle had I brought back with me?
"Q-Quick! Record this!"
The gathering crowd scrambled to capture the scene on their phones.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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