“Now I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

It had been three days since I obtained Napoleon’s rifle.

During that time, I hunted various monsters and gained experience, allowing me to handle Napoleon’s rifle to a certain extent.

I succeeded in increasing the efficiency, which I could only pull out 1% of at first, to an impressive 3%.

Of course, if I let my guard down, I would still be drained by the magic, just like the first day, barely hanging on the verge of exhaustion.

So, I had to stay sharp.

“My magic is also lacking.”

As an E-grade empath, my magic was, at best, below average.

In terms of numbers, it was nearly thirty times weaker than an A-grade hunter’s magic.

No matter how good Napoleon’s rifle was, with my magic, I wouldn’t be able to shoot much before running out of energy.

In other words, Napoleon’s rifle was a high-performance sports car with terrible fuel efficiency.

And I couldn’t just drink expensive magic potions like water to replenish my magic.

“I need to find a magic stone, at least.”

While I was sitting at the counter, thinking about this and that, I heard a bell ringing from the door.

A well-built man entered the shop.

I nervously examined his outfit.

Sneakers, a tracksuit, and a black baseball cap.

“A modern-day person.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t someone from the past like Napoleon.

“Do you have any longswords?”

“Welcome. If it’s a sword, it’s over there.”

I guided the man to the shelf where swords were displayed.

In times like these, with monsters running rampant, it wasn’t that difficult to acquire weapons.

For shops that dealt with hunters, weapons were a must-have.

I was running a general store, so I had a small display of weapons as well.

All of them were items I had acquired from Samdocheon.

“Oh! This is quite a good item.”

“…Is it really that good?”

I couldn’t help but question the man’s reaction as he looked at the katana.

==

Uchigatana
Attack Power: 30~35

It was just a plain katana with no additional effects.

By comparison, Napoleon’s rifle had an attack power stat of 3000~???.

The difference in stats was at least 100 times.

Yet the man seemed to think he had struck gold.

“This isn’t even a specialty sword shop, yet you have an uchigatana. This is a proper store.”

“Thank you.”

I felt a little embarrassed as he praised an item I had just picked up from the gate.

It made me realize just how overpowered Napoleon’s rifle truly was.

“Ah, do you have any vision goggles?”

“They’re on the shelf to the right.”

Watching the customer carefully picking out various magical items,

I asked in curiosity,

“Are you going to challenge the Gate?”

“Didn’t you hear? Today is the opening of the Trial’s Gate.”

“It’s already time for that.”

The Trial’s Gate opened once a year.

It was a gate where participants were ranked based on their ability to clear it, and given magical items as rewards.

Hunters who performed well would be scouted by guilds, so it was also called the ‘College Entrance Exam Gate.’

“This year’s first prize is a Snowstone.”

“A great prize has been set.”

“Haha, yes. My goal is to get the Snowstone.”

“I’ll be rooting for you.”

I chuckled at the bright-eyed newbie and waved him off before returning to the counter, pondering.

Wait.

“A Snowstone?”

Isn’t that the stone that replenishes magic?

“That’s it.”

I quickly looked it up online.

「Snowstone
-A mysterious stone imbued with magic. Rarely, it can be obtained as a reward from the Trial’s Gate.

Hmm.

“Maybe I should participate too.”

My goal was first place.

As usual, numerous hunters had gathered in Dobongsan, where the Trial’s Gate appeared.

Every year when the Trial’s Gate opened, this scene unfolded at Dobongsan.

However, among them, one place stood out.

“She’s here too.”

Kim Hayun.

Team Leader of the 3rd Team of the Dawn Constellation, a rising star who recently defeated Udamhwa in one blow.

It seemed like she was also challenging the Trial’s Gate.

I briefly stared at Kim Hayun before turning my gaze back to Dobongsan.

At the summit of the mountain, a white, strange pillar-like gate had appeared.

I focused my attention on it.

In an instant, my consciousness blurred, and I found myself in a space resembling a white temple.

Around twenty hunters had already gathered there.

“Alright, everyone. Gather around.”

A tall man called the hunters over.

“My name is Kim Woo-jin. I’m a C-grade hunter, and this is my third time in the Trial’s Gate.”

Emphasizing that it was his third time, the man naturally led the conversation.

“Please introduce yourselves, your awakening grade, and your job.”

“I’m Kim Jin-hee. My awakening grade is C, and my job is a healer.”

“I’m Oh Jun-seok. My awakening grade is D…”

As everyone took their turns introducing themselves, the man turned his attention to me, who had been silent.

“How about you?”

“I’m E-grade.”

“Ah, I see. Then your job is…….”

“Empath.”

The man didn’t look at me after that.

Everyone seemed busy searching for party members to join, but I didn’t care. I was planning to go solo anyway.

“What nickname should I choose?”

Before passing through the Trial’s Gate, I had to decide on a nickname that would be recorded for the rankings.

-Connector

Without much thought, I wrote down my ability as it was.

After deciding on the nickname, I looked around, and there were several stone gates arranged around the temple.

I walked up to one of them, and it opened automatically with a rumbling sound.

Beyond the stone gate, a dark path stretched out.

As I walked down the path, a massive cavern appeared before me.

In the center of the cavern, a skeleton knight with ominous red glowing eyes was standing.

[Welcome]

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

The bullet shattered the skull in an instant.

It was a critical hit.

[Your remarkable feat has earned you 1000 contribution points in the Trial’s Gate!]

Behind the fallen skeleton knight, another passage continued.

Without hesitation, I moved to the next stage.

The stone golem that appeared next looked pretty sturdy, but it couldn’t withstand Napoleon’s rifle either.

[Congratulations! You’ve passed the Trial’s Gate!]

After defeating the two monsters, I was transported back to the temple.

The hunters I had seen earlier were still looking for party members to join for the trial.

It seemed like no one had completed the trial yet, as the other stone gates were still intact.

I walked over to the man I had seen earlier and asked for directions.

“Excuse me, where is the exit?”

“Hmm? You’re out already? Are you giving up on the challenge?”

“No, I’m finished. I’m out now.”

“Haha! I see. Don’t be too disappointed. Many people fail at first. This is my third time.”

The man looked at me with a pitying gaze, as if seeing a fellow dropout.

It felt like he was judging me for denying reality because I had failed.

He nodded as though remembering when he was in the same position.

But, to be honest, his reaction was pretty normal.

It would have been hard to believe that I had passed already, especially without Napoleon’s rifle. It was an impossible speed without it.

“You should definitely try again next year. I’m sure you’ll do better. If I may give some advice, you must form a party. Even if you manage to defeat the Death Knight, the golem that comes after it is really troublesome.”

“Where is the exit?”

“Go stand by that wall over there, and you’ll return to the entrance of Dobongsan.”

“Thank you.”

I walked towards the wall the man had pointed to and was transported back to the entrance of Dobongsan.

At the same time, a notification message rang from the Trial’s Gate.

【The first person to pass has emerged!】

“……Oh?”

The man stared blankly at the direction I had disappeared.

Kim Hayun was waiting for the rankings to be revealed after completing the Trial’s Gate.

She was hoping to get the ‘Snowstone,’ which was awarded to the first-place finisher.

The Snowstone, imbued with both fire and ice magic, was a perfect fit for Kim Hayun’s magical properties.

“Sister, my score should be good, right? I just hope I get at least 3rd place.”

“I’m not your sister. I’m your team leader, Arin.”

“Yes, sister.”

Kim Hayun flicked Seo Arin’s forehead.

“Hehe.”

Seeing Seo Arin stick her tongue out, Kim Hayun shook her head.

Her teammate Seo Arin, who had also passed the Trial’s Gate with her, was trying to ease her nerves by playfully messing with herself.

Kim Hayun, who knew Seo Arin’s abilities well, thought it was unnecessary worry.

“You’ll do fine, don’t worry.”

“Still, the first place will definitely be you, Team Leader Hayun, right?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Kim Hayun said that, but deep down, she believed the first place would be hers.

There was no one in this year’s participants who seemed like a serious threat.

However, she couldn’t concentrate because of another thought.

“Who could it be?”

The person occupying Kim Hayun’s mind was the man she had seen holding a rifle at Han River Park.

The person who was presumed to have defeated Udamhwa.

At first, she thought it was just a coincidence, but after seeing the man’s performance in the publicly released hunting footage, she became certain that he was the one who had defeated Udamhwa.

Though his face was hidden by a mask, the rifle was unmistakably the same, and Kim Hayun couldn’t miss it.

She was investigating the man’s identity based on the impression and attire she had remembered.

Breeeeng-

At that moment, her phone in her coat pocket rang.

The caller was Team 3’s vice-captain, Kim Jin-hyuk.

“Hayun, I found him.”

Kim Hayun’s eyes sparkled at the words “found him.”

She had entrusted Kim Jin-hyuk with the investigation of Choi Seo-jun.

The fact that they had found him so quickly meant that Choi Seo-jun was a well-known person.

“Really? An ordinary…?”

“Yes, a regular general store owner.”

“That can’t be right. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

Kim Hayun narrowed her delicate eyes.

It was impossible for an ordinary general store owner to defeat Udamhwa in one blow.

“There is one peculiar detail.”

“What is it?”

“He’s an E-grade empath, exiled from Samdocheon. That’s why I was able to find him quickly.”

“E-grade empath? Him?”

Kim Hayun was stunned by the information that didn’t make sense.

Her eyes suddenly widened.

“Could it be a false exile!?”

There’s no way they would exile someone who could defeat Udamhwa so easily.

Unless they pretended to exile him and secretly sent him outside.

Could it be that the E-grade empath identity was a fake prepared by Samdocheon to hide his real identity?

“Then the general store is… Samdocheon’s…!?”

Kim Hayun continued her reasoning, piecing together the secret she had just uncovered.

“Unni! The rankings are out!”

Seo Arin shook Kim Hayun’s shoulder.

Kim Hayun snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the status window.

For a moment, her eyes widened.

1st place: Connector
2nd place: Cheongeomhwa
3rd place: Arin

Kim Hayun’s nickname was Cheongeomhwa. But it wasn’t in first place.

“Connector?”

A nickname she had never seen before was above hers, meaning…

“…Ah.”

The Snowstone…!

Meanwhile, at the same time that Kim Hayun was in shock for not obtaining the Snowstone,

“Excuse me. Where am I?”

Choi Seo-jun, who had returned to the general store, was greeting a new visitor.