I was able to observe the siege of Toulon under Napoleon’s permission.
At that time, it was clear that, with the approval of senior officers, it was possible to observe wars.
“You’re definitely a firepower enthusiast.”
I clicked my tongue while looking at the 300 cannons lined up on the hill.
Napoleon was not satisfied with the cannons given to him, so he thoroughly searched the armory around Toulon and gathered every cannon he could find.
It was an action worthy of the man who is called the original firepower enthusiast.
Napoleon was the great figure who conquered Europe with firepower alone.
“What are you drinking?”
“Coke.”
“Give me a sip.”
I handed Napoleon the canteen with Coke, which he had approached without me realizing.
A regular at all things, he tasted the Coke and, from that moment, whenever he visited the store, he would look for the Coke first.
Since I didn’t have much to drink myself, I didn’t give it to him often.
“This is amazing, no matter when I drink it.”
“You must be busy, what brings you here?”
I asked as I watched Napoleon praise the Coke, and he handed me the rifle he had on his side.
“If it’s dangerous even as an observer, you should keep this.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
I gladly accepted Napoleon’s kindness.
Though it was a high-altitude area, so there was no real danger, one can never predict what might happen.
After briefly giving me a crash course in rifles, Napoleon asked before leaving.
“Do you have any advice for me?”
“Hang in there.”
Though I had never been shy about offering advice to Napoleon, today, I had nothing to say.
My role ended the moment Napoleon arrived here.
There was no strategic advice I could offer to the genius of war, Napoleon.
What remained was just to watch Napoleon’s victory unfold.
The third general of Toulon was a career soldier.
He fully understood Napoleon’s tactics and executed them flawlessly.
Thus, Napoleon’s tactics, which shone brilliantly, were indeed unbeatable.
‘As expected, a genius.’
Napoleon divided the powerful 300 cannons into three directions and surrounded the enemy fortress.
‘Jacobins,’ ‘The fearless,’ ‘The removal of the ruffians.’
He had deployed three artillery units forward to pressure the fortress.
It was a strategy like the one used in the famous online game from Korea, “War of the Stars,” where the human faction builds bunkers and gradually pressures the enemy.
Commonly known as ‘the squeeze.’
In “War of the Stars,” when the human faction applies this strategy, alien species are often pushed to the point of breaking and rush out to destroy tanks.
The royalist alliance was no different.
-Recapture the artillery positions!
─Destroy the cannons!
As the fortress gates opened, the royalist alliance charged towards the artillery positions.
This was easy prey for Napoleon’s artillery.
“Fire!”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
“Uaaaah!”
The royalist alliance, who had fled the fortress, was swept away by the concentrated fire of the cannons.
Though they managed to capture one artillery position after many sacrifices, the tide of battle had long since shifted in favor of the revolutionary forces.
And then…
“General Ohara has been captured!”
“Waaaah!”
The news of the royalist alliance’s commander being captured echoed through Toulon Harbor.
The revolutionary forces erupted in enthusiastic cheers, forgetting they were even at war.
“It’s done, it’s done!”
Even Napoleon, usually composed, could not contain his joy and shouted.
Overjoyed, Napoleon suddenly turned his head to look for Choi Seo-jun.
The next moment…
“1”
Napoleon’s blue pupils widened in a daze.
The figure of Choi Seo-jun, standing on the hill, gradually blurred and then disappeared as if washed away.
It was as though he had never existed in the first place.
Napoleon, watching this in a daze, murmured quietly.
“…As expected, was he an emissary of God?”
“Commander, what happened?”
“It’s nothing.”
Shaking his head at his adjutant’s question, Napoleon looked up at the blue sky.
“I hope… I will meet him again later…”
Lowering his gaze, Napoleon shouted in a loud voice.
“All troops, charge!”
“Charge!”
It was the moment the long battle of Toulon Harbor came to an end.
“Ugh.”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the usual scene of the store.
“What? Did I fall asleep?”
I rubbed my eyes and got up from the counter.
I had been watching Napoleon’s Battle of Toulon, but at some point, my vision gradually became blurry, and sleep overwhelmed me.
When I woke up, I found myself in the store.
‘Was it a dream?’
The vivid memory made me confused, and as I was pondering, my eyes caught a rifle standing against the wall.
The moment I saw it, I realized that what I had experienced was not a dream.
“It could be dangerous even as an observer, so keep it with you.”
That was the rifle Napoleon had given me.
But…
Napoleon’s Rifle
Artifact Grade: Unique
- This is the rifle that the revolutionary hero Napoleon gifted to his friend Choi Seo-jun during the siege of Toulon.
Attack Power: 3000~???
Accuracy: +60%
“What is this?”
I blinked my eyes in surprise when I saw the status window appear in front of me.
The once ordinary rifle had now turned into an ‘Artifact.’ But what was even more surprising was its grade.
“Unique?”
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar grade.
There had been eight known grades for artifacts up until now:
Transcendent, Mythical, Legendary, Ancient, Epic, Rare, Common.
Lower-tier artifacts existed, but they were considered useless and not classified separately.
In fact, among all the known artifacts, ‘Legendary’ was considered the highest grade.
‘Transcendent’ and ‘Mythical’ were things only identified in the pre-human age, in the divine era.
Zeus’ Lightning Spear, the Monkey King’s Ruyi Jingu Bang, and such.
Artifacts from the divine era were highly controversial since their authenticity was often unclear.
The general classification of artifacts had been based on ‘Legendary’ as the highest, dividing them into six grades.
However, ‘Napoleon’s Rifle’ didn’t fit into any of those six grades.
Still, there was no way this rifle was an ordinary artifact.
Napoleon was one of the greatest heroes in human history.
The artifacts he left behind were all immensely valuable.
“Should I test it?”
I took Napoleon’s rifle and left the store.
What lay outside was not the scene of 18th-century Europe but the 21st-century Seoul.
As the polluted air of the city seeped into my nose, I finally realized I had returned.
“…Only a day has passed.”
I checked the date on my now working phone and was a bit dazed.
It had felt like I had spent almost three months with Napoleon, but in reality, only a single day had passed.
Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye, but that was already in the past.
It could only remain as a feeling of regret.
“Shall I go?”
With the rifle slung over my shoulder, I started walking.
The destination was Han River Park.
It used to be famous as a spot where couples enjoyed their dates, but now, it had turned into a paradise for monsters, reduced to ruins.
Being an Emotionalist doesn’t mean you’re stuck indoors only processing emotions.
Collecting byproducts from gates and analyzing them was the main task of an Emotionalist.
Especially if you’re an Emotionalist in a major guild like Samdocheon, the workload is deadly.
Having handled the workload of Samdocheon, I could be considered an expert on monsters, more knowledgeable than most hunters.
They say even a dog learns poetry after three years, but I had been involved for ten years, three times that amount.
I was like a walking, talking low-tier monster wiki.
From my perspective, Han River Park today was quite dangerous.
“Ahhh!”
“Run!”
“Udamhwa!”
No, it wasn’t just me—it was dangerous for anyone.
“Did I choose the wrong day?”
In the middle of the Han River, a huge red lotus was floating.
At first glance, it looked beautiful and auspicious, but it was a carnivorous flower that fed on humans.
Udamhwa.
It was a monster named after the legendary flower Udamvara in Buddhist mythology.
Though Han River Park usually had weaker monsters, sometimes strange and terrifying ones like this would appear.
‘A boss monster has appeared.’
With the appearance of Udamhwa, SUVs from major guilds were rushing towards the Han River.
“Look over there! Kim Ha-yoon is here!”
“Wow!”
“Seo Ah-rin is here too!”
As the famous hunters from large guilds got out of their vehicles, the crowd went wild, as if they had seen idols.
“Everyone, don’t worry! Udamhwa will be defeated by our guild, Dawn’s Constellation!”
The named hunter who appeared was a high school girl who looked more like an idol than a hunter.
She was Kim Ha-yoon, the team leader of the 3rd team of the large guild Dawn’s Constellation in Gangnam.
Blue magical flames were rising from her sword.
She was wielding the legendary sword of General Kim Yu-shin, symbolizing Silla.
Kim Ha-yoon, a direct descendant of General Kim Yu-shin, was the rightful heir of the general’s artifact.
‘This is a damn luck-based game. Seriously.’
It was a world where awakening abilities and bloodlines determined everything, so there was no way to avoid it.
Someone like me, with E-rank abilities, wouldn’t even be looked at.
‘But since I’m already here…’
I had come out to test the performance of ‘Napoleon’s Rifle,’ so I couldn’t just leave.
Looking around the park, I saw countless wriggling red flowers in full bloom.
They were the ‘offspring’ of Udamhwa.
These monsters were connected to Udamhwa’s nervous system, so eliminating them would deal a blow to the main Udamhwa as well.
Well, how much damage could it really do, though?
‘Should I shoot?’
I aimed Napoleon’s rifle at the largest of the Udamhwa offspring.
The target was the center of the flower petals, where the stamen was located.
“Hey! It’s dangerous!”
A female hunter, noticing I was aiming at the flower, shouted in alarm.
But by then, my magic had already fused with Napoleon’s rifle.
Bang!
The rifle fired, and in the blink of an eye, the blue magic bullet struck the stamen of the offspring.
Boom!
In an instant, the offspring of Udamhwa exploded, disappearing without a trace.
I was still stunned by the power of the shot when suddenly—
Screeeeeeeeeech!
A piercing scream filled the air, echoing through Han River.
It was the scream of Udamhwa.
“Ugh!”
“Why is it doing that?”
Hunters, startled by the unexpected scream, covered their ears and grimaced.
At that very moment—
Boom!
“!!!!”
Udamhwa exploded.
The remnants of Udamhwa scattered in all directions, painting the Han River banks red.
I watched the dazzling explosion in a daze.
In my vision, one phrase appeared:
[Efficiency 10%]
…This is just 10%?
What kind of rifle did I bring?
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