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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 05
"Why did Udamhwa…?"
Kim Hayoon, Team 3's Leader of Dawn Constellation, couldn't comprehend what she had just witnessed.
It didn’t make sense.
Udamhwa was infamous for its tenacious vitality.
Its relentless regeneration meant that unless it was overwhelmed with overwhelming firepower all at once, extermination was impossible.
And yet, no one at Hangang Park had unleashed such an attack on Udamhwa.
In fact, only three hunters present including herself were even capable of producing that level of firepower.
"Team Leader! Was it you who took it down?!"
One of them, high schooler Seo Arin, asked in shock.
"It wasn’t me."
Kim Hayoon lowered her gaze to her sword.
The legendary blade of Silla’s great general, the Heavenly Dragon Sword of General Kim Yushin.
Its surface still smoldered with blue flames, bits of Udamhwa’s severed stamens clinging to it.
But that was all.
Unfortunately, her attack lacked the firepower necessary to fully destroy Udamhwa.
She had seen it begin regenerating with her own eyes.
So it definitely wasn’t her.
It wasn’t her deputy either.
And judging by Seo Arin’s own shocked reaction, it wasn’t her, either.
‘Then who…?’
Kim Hayoon scanned the gathered hunters, most of whom were too busy recording the event on their phones.
But even after carefully searching, she saw no high-ranked hunter who could have possibly taken down Udamhwa.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone lowering a rifle.
Choi Seojun.
‘No way.’
The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head.
She had seen him fire a shot.
But his target wasn’t Udamhwa it was one of its spawns.
Shooting a mere spawn shouldn’t have been enough to make Udamhwa explode.
Well, it wasn’t completely impossible, but for that to happen, the firepower would have needed to be utterly ridiculous.
‘At minimum, he’d need to own an Ancient-rank relic or be a high-ranked hunter.’
But Choi Seojun was neither.
If he had a relic as powerful as that, she would have recognized it immediately.
And there was no way a high-ranked hunter dressed in such ragged clothing had ever gone unnoticed before.
Erasing Choi Seojun from her list of suspects, Kim Hayoon continued searching Hangang Park for the mysterious Ranker who had taken down Udamhwa.
***
"Huff… Huff…"
After quietly slipping away from Hangang Park, I barely made it a short distance before collapsing against a tunnel wall.
My heart pounded wildly.
"What the hell…?"
My hand, still gripping Napoleon’s Rifle, trembled uncontrollably.
It was mana exhaustion.
The instant I pulled the trigger on Udamhwa’s spawn, every last drop of my mana had been devoured by the rifle.
All of it just from firing one shot.
But what was even more shocking…
Was the sheer destructive power of Napoleon’s Rifle.
"That was only ten percent?"
I had only been able to tap into 10% of the relic’s power.
Yet it had caused a boss monster with a title to explode.
"…This is insane."
I sat there, staring at Napoleon’s Rifle resting on my knees, my hands still trembling.
"Huh?"
The rifle’s form suddenly began to blur.
And then, it vanished completely.
For a brief moment, I panicked.
But then I realized that Napoleon’s Rifle hadn’t disappeared entirely.
==
◆ Relic Inventory
- Napoleon’s Rifle
==
It had simply been stored in a newly created relic inventory.
"Damn, that scared me."
For a second, I thought it had been taken away. Nearly gave me a heart attack.
‘Maybe it vanished because I ran out of mana.’
Even though Napoleon’s Rifle was a relic, strictly speaking, it wasn’t truly a physical object in this world.
The ‘Failed Timeline’ meant that Napoleon had lived in a different reality from mine.
So, in the end, this relic was just part of my awakening ability.
If I had to compare it to game mechanics.
It was basically a bound item, something that couldn’t be traded or stolen.
‘Actually… that's a good thing.’
It meant no one could ever take it from me.
And with this, one thing was now clear.
Napoleon’s Rifle.
This relic was at least Ancient-grade.
It might even be Legendary.
On the very first day of opening my general store.
I had obtained a divine weapon.
***
Over the course of a day, I managed to figure out a few things:
First.
When I run out of mana, Napoleon’s Rifle disappears automatically.
Second.
Once it disappears, I can’t summon it again for a set period.
From my tests, Napoleon’s Rifle had a cooldown of one hour.
Meaning, if I wasn’t careful, I could end up completely defenseless for an entire hour.
And finally, third.
Napoleon’s Rifle is a ‘Magic-Devouring Armament’.
It drains mana indiscriminately, without my control.
If I lose focus, it could suck up all my mana in an instant.
The only way to deal with this flaw…
Was practice.
And the only way to really practice with a relic like this.
Was in actual combat against monsters.
"Guess I’ll have to avoid Hangang Park for now."
The internet was flooded with videos of Udamhwa’s detonation.
【Udamhwa Explodes in Hangang Park! Kim Hayoon, a New Ranker?!】
【Udamhwa Emerges Is the Government to Blame?】
【Was Udamhwa's Appearance a Chinese Conspiracy?】
From political baiting to stitched-together fake news, YouTube was a chaotic mess.
Curious, I searched to see if anyone mentioned me.
But I found nothing.
Every single video and news outlet credited Kim Hayoon as the one who had taken down Udamhwa.
└ Damn, our Hayoon is just one-shotting Udamhwa now.
└ Isn’t she basically a Ranker at this point? ㄷㄷ
└ Honestly, she’s already above Ranker level.
It wasn’t surprising.
Kim Hayoon was Team 3’s Leader of Dawn Constellation, one of the biggest guilds.
She had a face that could rival idols, an A-rank awakening ability, and even wielded General Kim Yushin’s sword.
She was basically a star blessed with every form of luck imaginable.
To her credit, she actually denied being the one who killed Udamhwa.
But nobody believed her.
└ She’s just being humble, obviously.
└ Wow, even modesty? What an icon.
└ Our Hayoon is already a world-class hero.
The comments were overflowing with praise for Kim Hayoon’s supposed humility.
I stared at the screen for a moment.
Then typed a single reply.
└ It wasn’t Kim Hayoon.
Because I was the one who did it.
The response was immediate.
└ Bro, you good?
└ LMAO, then was it you?
After watching my comment get buried under a wall of insults, I closed the page and called a taxi.
Destination: Mount Bukhansan.
A C-rank Gate, known as "Black Cave," was located in the mid-tier hunter zone there.
*
"You’re an E-rank?"
"Yes."
"And you’re an appraiser?"
"That’s right."
The gate manager at Black Cave gave me a look like I’d lost my mind.
"You do realize this is a C-rank Gate, right?"
"I do."
"And you’re telling me you’re going in alone?"
"If it gets too dangerous, I’ll leave. No need to worry."
The manager shook his head, clearly thinking I was an idiot.
But he didn’t stop me.
At Gates, your life was your own responsibility.
Stepping through, I was greeted by the pitch-black interior of a vast cave.
I reached into my bag and pulled out a black mask, covering the lower half of my face.
If anyone found out my rifle wasn’t an ordinary relic, I’d have half the hunters in the city trying to kill me for it.
"Over there! Catch it!"
"It ran that way!"
Inside, hunters who had entered before me were already engaged in battle.
Jet-black toads were leaping across the walls and ceiling of the cave, darting around like shadows.
"So it’s a Shadow Toad."
These creatures didn’t just climb walls.
They could slip into shadows as well.
I raised Napoleon’s Rifle, aiming at the darting toads.
Their erratic movements made them nearly impossible to hit with a firearm.
Bang—!
But my shot pierced straight through one’s torso.
[Accuracy: +60%]
The accuracy buff from Napoleon’s Rifle was in full effect.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
This time, I was careful not to drain my mana too quickly—
Firing one shot at a time, keeping control over the power.
"Whoa…"
"Who the hell is that?"
The hunters inside the cave had stopped fighting—
Now, they were just watching me.
"Wait… is hitting those things supposed to be this easy?"
As I moved deeper into the cave, I landed every single shot—
Not missing even once, despite the toads’ bizarre, unpredictable movements.
Then, as I stepped further in.
One of the hunters snapped out of his daze and shouted.
"Wait! That area’s dangerous!"
"KIEEEEK!"
A Poison Toad suddenly leaped out of the shadows.
Its trajectory made it nearly impossible to hit.
Bang—!
But my bullet drilled through it without fail.
A hunter in the back quietly pulled out his phone and hit the record button.
***
"Everyone, check this out."
Ha Jinwoo, Team 1's Leader of Dawn Constellation, walked into the guild’s waiting room with a laptop.
He clicked on a YouTube video footage uploaded by an anonymous hunter.
A masked man wielding a rifle was effortlessly taking down Shadow Toads.
It was Choi Seojun.
"What is this?"
"Crazy, right?"
"I mean… his accuracy’s good, sure. But is that all?"
One of the guild members tilted his head.
His expression made it clear.
He didn’t see what was so impressive about this.
And neither did the others.
After all, C-rank hunters could take down Shadow Toads without much trouble.
"Really? That’s all you see?"
"Is there something more?"
“This guy… he’s hiding his abilities. And not just a little—he’s holding back a lot.”
"…What?"
Only then did the other guild members look back at the footage.
This time, with widened eyes.
Ha Jinwoo narrowed his gaze, watching Seojun closely.
"Suppressing his power, huh? Interesting guy."
Of course, he had no idea—
That Seojun wasn’t just hiding his strength.
He wasn’t even using Napoleon’s Rifle properly yet.
"Hayoon. What do you think?"
"……."
"Hayoon?"
Kim Hayoon, Team 3's Leader, remained silent—
Eyes locked onto the video.
But she wasn’t looking at Choi Seojun.
She was staring at his rifle.
‘That rifle…’
And in that moment
She remembered the man she had seen at Hangang Park.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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