Chapter 31 : Stigmata

I roamed freely outside for a week.

I did everything I wanted, like showing Jeanne the parts of Seoul we hadn’t seen yet and eating delicious food.

Before, I had to be cautious because there was a risk of my identity being revealed, but now that was no longer necessary.

The Dawn Constellation had promised to protect my anonymity, so I became free to move.

Of course, even while having fun, I continued to strategize for the Gate.

I needed to earn money from by-products and increase my mana to reduce Jeanne’s summoning cooldown.

Thanks to Jeanne being with me, the Gate strategy was easier.

In front of Jeanne’s divine power, even formidable monsters couldn’t hold their ground and were swept away.

However, since my divine power was still lacking, I was mostly using it as a support.

Screeeech!

A huge orc swings a baseball bat, aiming for my head.

However, when the bat reached near my head, it seemed to hit something and stopped moving forward.

Thwung─!

The Napoleon Medal I received from Rachel glowed red.

==

I used the Shield of Protection.
[Remaining uses: 2]
[Cooldown: 8 hours]

==

The ability of Napoleon’s Medal, the Shield of Protection, activated and blocked the attack.

“Grraah!”
Thwung─! Thwung─! Thwung─!

The enraged orc swung the bat wildly, but it only hit the shield.

“Hmm, this isn’t useful.”

The Shield of Protection was decent, but it consumed too much mana.

Even though I used it once, the mana of the Snow Stone had decreased by 20%.

At this point, it was better to dodge using the Shadow Cloak instead.

Bang—!

The orc, who had been swinging the bat, collapsed with a hole in its head.

I lowered Napoleon’s rifle and took the Snow Stone from the fallen orc.

Ssssss—

The mana flowing from the orc was absorbed by the Snow Stone.

==

「Snow Stone」
Mana: 6000/6000

==

By hunting monsters consistently, the mana in the Snow Stone had more than doubled.

It was the result of hunting high-level monsters through the Myeongnyang and Toulon Gates.

==

C-4 Gate cleared
Clear rank: SSS

==

On my way back home after clearing the Bukak Mountain Gate.

“Jeanne, should we eat that?”

“Fish-shaped food, that’s unusual.”

“It’s called bungeoppang.”

I pointed to a bungeoppang shop at the corner of the market.

It used to be common, but the price skyrocketed, and it disappeared from public memory over time.

If you happened to find it while walking, you’d stop in joy and get one. Bungeoppang was that kind of food.

“Sir, please give us one bag of bungeoppang.”

“Are you two eating together? Where is the young lady from?”

“She’s from France.”

“…She speaks Korean well for a foreigner. One’s on the house.”

I received four freshly made, piping hot bungeoppangs and handed one to Jeanne.

“Be careful, it’s hot inside.”

“Okay.”

Jeanne, cautiously biting the tip of the bungeoppang, her eyes sparkled.

“How is it?”

“It’s delicious. What’s the black thing inside?”

“It’s sweet red bean paste. It’s made by soaking red beans in sugar.”

“Ah, so that’s why it’s sweet.”

Jeanne ate the bungeoppang well with her small mouth.

The crispy outside and the warm, sweet red bean paste inside made bungeoppang a beloved winter treat.

I chuckled at the sight of Jeanne puffing air onto the bungeoppang, and then suddenly looked at the Snow Stone in my pocket.

‘Still not working.’

The Snow Stone, which had been absorbing the mana from the Gate, was now expelling it again.

It had been in this state for the past week.

“Is it still not working?”

“Yes, I think it’s reached its limit.”

This was a big problem.

The Snow Stone was my “mana battery” that replaced my lacking mana.

If the capacity of the mana battery didn’t increase, it would be difficult to clear higher-level Gates, and I wouldn’t be able to reduce summoning cooldowns either.

‘This is also a problem.’

==

[Summon 3/3]
※ To increase the maximum limit, you need to add slots.
※ To add slots, enhancement of abilities is required.

==

I currently have three summon slots that I can use.

Napoleon’s rifle, The Twin Dragon Sword, and Jeanne.

All three slots were filled.

In order to welcome a new “Transcendent,” I needed to increase the slots.

‘These days, they haven’t shown up at all.’

I wondered if the reason a new transcendent wasn’t showing up was because my slots were full.

Napoleon, Yi Sun-sin, Jeanne.

It only took about a month and a half for all three to appear.

But after spending a month with Jeanne in the real world, not a single transcendent had appeared.

It was like a hotel with all rooms booked, yet no guests arrived.

For now, it was fine, but this would become a problem during future Gate strategies.

There would certainly be a moment when I couldn’t handle it with the current relics.

And that would be the end.

I would die, and Jeanne would remain trapped somewhere in the cracks of the world, unable to be summoned forever.

So, adding slots was essential.

And slots could be added by increasing the mana amount.

But it seemed the Snow Stone, which replaced my mana, had reached its limit.

“Wouldn’t it help if we got another mana stone?”

“It won’t work. It won’t be recognized.”

Just like how you can’t plug multiple phone batteries into one phone, mana stones work the same way.

Only one mana stone can be recognized.

That’s why the Snow Stone was valuable.

The Snow Stone was the only mana stone that absorbed mana and ‘grew’ by itself.

“Hmm, then Essence seems to be the only option.”

“Essence?”

“It’s a magical elixir that strengthens mana.”

Essence.

The essence of mana, which can be obtained very rarely from the Gate, is used to enhance abilities.

It grows the Snow Stone, of course.

“The problem is that it’s difficult to get proper essence.”

“It must be a precious resource.”

“Yes, if even a single decent one appears, the whole city would turn upside down.”

Essence, which is in short supply, is first distributed to S-class hunters.

And sometimes, it’s so scarce that it cannot even be obtained.

But to add a slot, essence is needed. Not much, just a few drops.

‘If I run a few rounds in a Gate like the Myeongnyang Gate, it should show up…
Should I just wait until the quest shows up?’

That’s what I was thinking.

[Cardinal Francis is willing to provide any support if a saint candidate appears.]
[The Solomon Gate, which must be stopped at all costs…]

The news was playing on a large screen in Gangnam.

“Jeosun, does the church have essence?”

“Well, they probably do…”

The Vatican, which owns the most “sacred relics” in the world, is an organization with a long history.

Naturally, they have essence as well.

“I’ll go to the church and bring back some essence.”

“No, you can’t.”

I opposed it.

Although she didn’t show it outwardly, I knew Jeanne felt disillusioned with the church.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have avoided going there even once in modern times.

Even though times had changed, the church was the one who had tried to burn Jeanne at the stake.

I couldn’t let Jeanne go to the church because of me.

“I’m really okay. Please let me help.”

Seeing Jeanne’s calm expression, I hesitated for a moment.

Jeanne still hadn’t received a proper apology from the church.

But after over six centuries, would an apology even matter?

I didn’t think it would.

It seemed Jeanne herself didn’t care much.

However, if it was revenge, that was something I could do.

If I could take as much as I could from the Vatican, I would feel relieved.

Even if Jeanne wasn’t interested, I wanted to do that.

The saint that I had been searching for had appeared, but if that saint didn’t choose the church, it would be a tremendous shock to the Vatican.

After thinking about it, I spoke.

“Alright, but I will go with you.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s me who should be thanking you.”

I decided to also take some sacred relics while I was at it.

That way, I could fill Jeanne’s lack of divine power as well.

Late at night, at the Daeseong Cathedral in Yeoksam, Seoul.

After completing the mass, Cardinal Francis was praying in the sanctuary.

Cardinal Francis’ expression, while praying, was one that rarely brightened.

The 72 Demons of Solomon.

The gate of the demonic attribute named after the seventy-two demons that King Solomon sealed himself.

Among them, the gate of “Despair” Astaroth, which had been dormant, was beginning to show signs of activity.

In the past, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
The Vatican had the miraculous saint, Mother Teresa.

But after Teresa’s passing, the Vatican had failed to prepare a countermeasure for the demonic attribute gates.

At this point, Cardinal Francis himself had been traveling around the world for over a week, unable to stop the Despair Gate.

It was very unusual for him to stay in one country for this long.

But Francis had no intention of leaving “Korea.”

‘The traces of divine power were real.’

After personally inspecting the scene, Francis was certain that this was a miracle caused by “divine power.”

Having been with Teresa, he was the most knowledgeable about divine power.

Francis pinned his last hope of stopping the Despair Gate on Korea’s saint candidate.

However, no matter how much time passed, the saint candidate showed no signs of appearing.

At this point, it was safe to assume he had been rejected, or perhaps there was no saint candidate from the start, and the divine power was a natural phenomenon.

Either way, there was no time to delay.

The Despair Gate would soon go out of control.

‘I should return.’

Francis, with a bitter smile, stood up. He had to prepare to return to the Vatican.

At that moment.

“Cardinal!”

Archbishop Ambrosio rushed in.

“What is it?”

“They’ve arrived!”

“One.”

Though the person wasn’t named, Francis instinctively knew it was the saint candidate.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Francis followed Archbishop Ambrosio to the chapel.

In the chapel, a young man with a mask covering his face and a blonde girl were seated.

After observing the two, Cardinal Francis asked,

“Which of you is the saint candidate?”

“It’s me.”

The blonde girl replied.

Francis was stunned.

If the girl was indeed the saint candidate, this would be a great blessing for the church.

“Does your coming here mean you wish to assist the church?”

“I came to make a deal.”

“…A deal?”

“Yes.”

At the unexpected answer, Francis was taken aback.

The young man next to the girl spoke up.

“We will cooperate in the strategy against the Despair Gate. In return, we want something.”

“W-what should I give you?”

“We want a sacred relic of epic grade or higher and the highest grade essence.”

“!?”

Francis’ eyes widened.

The young man spoke casually, but these were not things that could be mentioned lightly.

A sacred relic of epic grade or higher was a relic that had been proven to cause “miracles” within the church, and the highest grade essence was a rare treasure, something even the Vatican didn’t possess in abundance.

Yet they were asking for not one, but two of these precious items?

It was an impossible request to fulfill.

“That’s too much, even for a saint candidate…”

Wham!

At that moment, a dazzling light erupted from the girl.

The light that enveloped her made Francis’ eyes tremble.

This was a sensation he had felt before.

‘No, this is even warmer…’

Startled by the feeling he had mistakenly perceived, Francis was drawn toward the girl by the light.

Soon, as he reached the source of the light, his eyes opened wide.

“This…!”

Light was flowing from the girl’s back.

A brilliant light that no clothes or bandages could conceal.

The light was taking the form of a miracle.

A voice of disbelief escaped Francis’ lips.

“S-Saint’s Wounds…?!”