Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 31: Stigma

I spent the entire week freely roaming around outside.

I showed Jeanne the sights of Seoul that we hadn't gotten to before, and we also went around eating delicious food, doing everything I wanted to do.

In the past, I had to be careful to avoid revealing my identity, but now that wasn’t necessary anymore.

Since Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild guaranteed my anonymity, I was able to move around freely.

Of course, even while having fun, I continued with gate raids.

I needed to earn money from the by-products and increase my mana so that I could reduce Jeanne’s summon cooldown time.

With Jeanne by my side, the gate raids became easier.

In front of Jeanne’s divine power, even the fiercest monsters couldn’t hold up and were washed away.

However, since her divine power was still limited, I was using it mostly for support.

Screeeech—!

A giant orc swung a baseball bat towards my head.

However, the bat didn’t move past a certain point, as if blocked by something, and it couldn’t go any further.

Thoom—!

Napoleon’s Medal, which I received from Rachel, was glowing red.

- The Shield of Protection has been activated.

[Remaining uses: 2]

[Cooldown: 8 hours]

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

“Grrr!”

Thoom—! Thoom—! Thoom—!

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

“Hm, this won’t work.”

The Shield of Protection itself was usable, but the mana consumption was unnecessarily high.

Even after just one use, my Seolhwa Stone had lost 20% of its mana.

At this rate, it would be better to dodge with Shadow Cloak.

Bang—!

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

I lowered Napoleon’s Rifle and moved to take the Seolhwa Stone from the fallen orc.

Sssss—

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

**Seolhwa Stone**

Mana: 6000 / 6000

Over the past few weeks, I had steadily hunted monsters, and the Seolhwa Stone’s mana had more than doubled from its initial amount.

It was the result of hunting high-level monsters during raids on the Myeongnyang and Toulon gates.

C-4 Gate Raid Completed

Raid Rank: SSS

After clearing the Bukaksan Gate, I was on my way back home.

“Jeanne, should we get that?”

“Fish-shaped food? That’s unusual.”

“It’s called ‘Bungeoppang.’”

I pointed to a Bungeoppang stand at the corner of a market.

It had once been common, but the price had skyrocketed at some point and faded into the memories of the past.

If you happened to find it while walking, you’d stop with excitement at the sight of this beloved snack.

“Excuse me, can I have one bag of Bungeoppang?”

“Are you two going to share it? Where is the young lady from?”

“She’s from France.”

“...Wow, the foreign girl speaks Korean well. One extra for you.”

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

“Be careful, the inside is hot.”

“Okay.”

Jeanne carefully bit off a small corner of the Bungeoppang, her eyes sparkling.

“How is it?”

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

“It’s sweet red bean paste. It’s beans pickled in sugar.”

“Oh, so that’s why it tastes sweet.”

Jeanne ate the Bungeoppang with small bites, her dainty mouth enjoying the crispy outside and warm, sweet red bean paste inside.

It was a favorite winter snack that anyone could love.

I smiled as I watched Jeanne blow on the Bungeoppang to cool it, then suddenly glanced at the Seolhwa Stone in my pocket.

*‘Still not working.’*

The mana absorbed from the gate into the Seolhwa Stone had been spit out again.

It had been like this for the past week.

“Still not working?”

“No, I think it’s reached its limit.”

This was a major problem.

The Seolhwa Stone was my "mana battery" that replenished my lacking mana.

If the capacity of the mana battery didn’t increase, not only would it be difficult to raid higher-level gates, but I wouldn’t be able to shorten Jeanne’s summon cooldown either.

*‘This is also a problem.’*

[Summon 3/3]

*To increase the maximum limit, you must add a slot.*

*To add a slot, your abilities must be enhanced.*

The total number of summon slots I could activate with my current abilities was three: Napoleon’s Rifle, the Twin Dragonsword, and Jeanne.

All three slots were already filled.

To welcome a new "Transcendent," I needed to expand the slots.

*‘Lately, nothing has shown up.’*

I was wondering if the reason no new Transcendents had appeared was because the slots were all full.

Napoleon, Yi Sun-sin, and Jeanne.

It had only taken about a month and a half in real time for these three to appear.

However, after spending a month with Jeanne, no new Transcendents had appeared.

It was like a hotel with all its rooms booked, but no guests coming in.

For now, everything was fine, but this would become a problem when raiding gates.

There would definitely come a time when I couldn’t handle things with the current relics.

If that time comes, it’s over.

I would die, and Jeanne would be trapped somewhere in the rift of the world, never able to be summoned again.

In other words, expanding the slots was essential.

And the slots could be increased by raising my mana capacity.

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

“Can’t we get another mana stone?”

“It’s no use. It won’t register.”

It was like carrying multiple batteries but not being able to plug them all into a phone at once.

Only one mana stone could be recognized at a time.

That’s why the Seolhwa Stone was so precious.

The Seolhwa Stone was the only mana stone that could absorb mana and "grow" on its own.

“Hm, I guess the only option is Essence.”

“Essence?”

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

Essence.

It was a rare substance that could sometimes be obtained from gates, and it was used to enhance abilities.

It could also help grow the Seolhwa Stone.

“The problem is, it’s hard to get proper Essence.”

“It must be a valuable resource.”

“Yes, whenever a decent one comes up, the whole city turns upside down.”

Because of the scarcity, Essence was distributed primarily to S-rank hunters.

And there were cases where even they couldn’t get any.

But to increase the slots, Essence was necessary. Not a lot, just a few drops.

*‘If I run a few rounds of the Myeongnyang Gate, I should get some...’*

Should I just wait for a quest to pop up?

While I was thinking about it, the news on a large screen in Gangnam caught my attention.

[Cardinal Francis: Willing to offer support once the sainthood candidate is found.]

[Solomon Gate must be stopped at all costs...]

The news played on the big screen.

“Seo-jun, does the Church have any Essence?”

“Well, they must have some, but...”

The Vatican, with the most “sacred relics” in the world, was an institution with a long history.

Of course, they would have Essence too.

“I’ll go to the Church and get the Essence.”

“No.”

I opposed it.

Although Jeanne never openly showed it, I knew she had doubts about the Church.

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

Even though times had changed, the Church was still the institution that once tried to burn Jeanne at the stake.

I couldn’t make Jeanne go to the Church because of me.

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

“...”

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

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

But would an apology now, after six centuries, even mean anything?

I didn’t think it would.

Jeanne didn’t seem to care either.

But if it was revenge, I could do it.

I could make the Church pay for everything they’d done, extracting as much as possible from them.

Even if Jeanne didn’t want it, I wanted to do it.

The Church would be shaken to its core if the saint they were looking for didn’t choose them.

After some contemplation, I spoke.

“Alright, but I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

I’d also make sure to take some holy relics while I was at it.

That way, I could fill Jeanne’s lacking divine power.

*

Late at night, at Seoul’s Yeoksam Cathedral.

Cardinal Francis, having finished the mass, was praying in the chapel.

His expression, as he prayed, didn’t seem to lighten.

The Solomon 72 Demons.

The Dark Attribute Gate named after the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ seventy-two demons sealed by King Solomon.

Among them, the “Despairer” Astaroth’s gate had shown signs of activity.

If it had been in the past, there wouldn’t have been any problems.

The Vatican had a miraculous saint like Mother Teresa.

However, after Teresa’s death, the Vatican had failed to address the Dark Attribute Gates.

Cardinal Francis himself had been traveling the world because there was no way to stop the Despairer Gate.

For Cardinal Francis to stay in one country for over a week was a very rare occurrence.

But Cardinal Francis had no intention of leaving “Korea.”

*‘The traces of divine power were real.’*

Having confirmed it himself, Francis was certain that it was a miracle caused by divine power.

Having worked with Teresa, he was one of the most knowledgeable about divine power.

Francis pinned the last hope of overcoming the Despairer Gate on Korea’s sainthood candidate.

But despite the passing time, the sainthood candidate still hadn’t shown up.

At this point, it seemed safe to say that he had been rejected.

Or perhaps there had never been a sainthood candidate, and the divine power was simply a natural phenomenon.

Either way, there was no more time to waste.

Soon, the Despairer Gate would go out of control.

*‘I have to go back.’*

With a wry smile, Cardinal Francis stood up. It was time to prepare to return to the Vatican.

Then, suddenly—

“Cardinal!”

Archbishop Ambrosio rushed in urgently.

“What is it?”

“They’ve arrived!”

“!”

Although no name was mentioned, Francis instinctively knew it was the sainthood candidate.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Francis followed Archbishop Ambrosio to the chapel.

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

After examining the two, Cardinal Francis asked.

“Can you tell me which one of you is the sainthood candidate?”

“It’s me,” the blonde girl answered.

Francis was stunned.

If this girl was truly the sainthood candidate, it would be a great blessing for the Church.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

“By coming here, do you intend to assist the Church?”

“I came for a deal.”

“...A deal?”

“Yes.”

Francis was taken aback by the unexpected answer. The young man beside the girl spoke up.

“We will assist in the Despairer Gate raid. In exchange, we want a reward.”

“What...what would you like?”

“A relic of epic grade or higher, and top-tier Essence.”

“!”

Francis’s eyes widened.

Though the young man spoke lightly, those were no small requests.

An epic-grade relic was one that could perform miracles, and top-tier Essence was a precious resource that even the Vatican barely had.

Yet they were asking for not one, but two of them?

This was an utterly impossible request.

“No matter who the sainthood candidate is, that’s too much...”

Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the blonde girl.

Francis’s eyes wavered as the warm light surrounded him. It was a sensation he had felt before, but this was far more intense.

*‘No, it’s even warmer...’*

Francis, confused by the unfamiliar sensation, moved closer to the girl, almost drawn to the light.

As he reached the source of the light, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“This...this is...!”

Light was streaming out from the girl’s back.

The dazzling light couldn’t even be hidden by clothes or bandages.

The light was taking the form of a miracle.

In disbelief, Francis murmured.

“Stigmata...?!”