Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 91: Summary (1)

“Would you like to have a meal before you leave?”

“Thank you, but I’ll decline.”

I politely declined Wolfram’s offer for a meal.

“I have to go back; there’s only about two hours left before Jeanne and Vanessa’s time as incarnations runs out.”

There was still work to do when I got back, so I had to leave at this point.

“I see. That’s a shame.”

Wolfram didn’t push any further and escorted us to the outside.

“It was an honor to meet you.”

At the mansion’s door, Wolfram said something meaningful to Jeanne.

He had seen Jeanne’s face hidden under her robe.

It seemed he had figured out that Jeanne was a saint.

“Would you pretend you didn’t see anything?”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m the one who should thank you. I sincerely appreciate you healing my daughter.”

With Wolfram’s parting words of inviting us anytime, we got into the vehicle he had prepared.

“Where should I take you?”

“To Gaia’s Garden, please.”

After getting into the vehicle, we returned to Gaia’s Garden, and then used the "Exit" function on the status screen to return to Korea.

[Exiting Gaia’s Garden.]

As my vision blurred, the familiar sight of the living room greeted us.

It was noon in Greece, but from the window, Korea was already in the pitch-black night.

“You both must be tired.”

“You too, Seo-jun.”

“Good job, Eun-gong.”

After picking the golden apples and bringing the artifacts back to the Kreutz report, it had been a hectic day.

I had spent an entire week hunting in the Moon’s Garden, after all.

Though I longed to rest, there was still one more event left.

That’s why I had refused Wolfram’s suggestion to stay for a meal and had returned.

“Jeanne, let’s change the flag now.”

“Yes.”

Jeanne took out the Saint’s flag from the slot.

It was just a short metal rod with a white cloth hanging from it, but because it was owned by Jeanne, the saint, the artifact level of the flag was an ‘Ancient’ grade.

However, considering that Jeanne’s rank was legendary, the flag itself could be said to be below her level.

If the material of the flag changed, the artifact grade could be expected to rise as well.

And Jeanne had the best materials from Kreutz’s report.

‘Better than the best.’

I looked at Jeanne’s left hand, holding an elegant wooden staff, and my eyes lit up with anticipation.

==

[Lephobos’ Guardian Staff]

Artifact Level: Ancient

The staff once used by Saint Christopher, who carried Jesus and crossed the river, was made from the branches of a palm tree grown from the staff’s roots.

When used, a protective shield activates to protect the owner.

Mana: 1500

‘Lephobos’ Guardian Staff.’

Lephobos was another name for Christopher.

A Christian saint known for carrying Jesus across a river.

The staff made from the palm tree grown from the roots of his original staff was the very item Jeanne was holding in her hand.

Since it was related to Lephobos, a saint of the same god, this staff was the perfect artifact to merge with Jeanne’s flag.

Jeanne then removed the flag from the metal rod and attached it to Lephobos’ staff.

─ Lephobos’ Guardian Staff merges with ‘Saint Jeanne d'Arc’s Flag.’

Whoooosh─!

Lephobos’ staff emitted a bright white light.

In resonance with it, Jeanne’s stigmata and flag also radiated a pure white light.

The light seemed to be absorbed into Jeanne’s body.

Whooosh, whooosh─

Wrapped in light, Jeanne closed her eyes, holding Lephobos’ staff.

It has to succeed.

I held my breath and watched Jeanne, who had her eyes closed.

About 20 minutes passed.

Jeanne opened her eyes.

And then.

Ding!

─ Congratulations, you have successfully merged the artifacts.

“Oh!”

I quickly jumped up from the sofa and immediately checked the status of the merged artifact.

The staff and flag, which were once separate artifacts, had now become a single artifact.

The content was equally astonishing.

[Saint Jeanne d'Arc’s Guardian Flag]

Artifact Level: Legendary

─ This is the Guardian Flag of Saint Jeanne d'Arc. When the flag is planted in the ground, it activates a sanctuary of protection.

The sanctuary of protection defends against external damage while healing those within.

※ Evil beings inside the sanctuary will continually receive strong damage.

Mana: 8000

‘A large-area ability?’

The sanctuary of protection was an area skill that buffed allies and dealt massive damage to enemies, while also functioning as a protective shield against external attacks.

The scale of the sanctuary might vary, but just reading about it made it seem like an incredibly powerful large-area skill.

Of course, due to its high mana consumption, it likely should only be used at critical moments, but it was still impressive.

After all, this was a legendary artifact born from the intertwined stories of two saints.

“Congratulations, Jeanne.”

“Congratulations, Jeanne-nim.”

“Thank you.”

Jeanne’s face lit up, clearly pleased with her newly acquired flag.

Vanessa had obtained the Black Widow, and I had acquired Artemis’ Bow, so the only thing left was to test the newly obtained artifacts.

While I had used Artemis’ bow against the monsters in the Moon’s Garden, I had yet to use it in the real world.

I was very curious about what results would come from using it.

“Seo-jun, sleep well.”

“Eun-gong, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

The two were summoned back, and I entered my room, watched YouTube for a while, and fell asleep.

The next day, I went to find the A-1 class gate at Seonyudo to test the new artifact.

It was a simple test, but I couldn’t just take on an ordinary gate.

The rewards for clearing higher-level gates improved, so I needed to fill at least five higher-level gates.

To get the Transcendent’s Fragment, I need at least an A-class gate.

The dark cave.

Hehehe─

Pale figures floated through the air, laughing.

They were the dark specters I had seen in the Vatican Despair Gate.

From A-class gates onward, such high-level anomalies started appearing, even though they were more common in S-class gates.

The difference between A-class and S-class gates was usually defined by the strength of the boss-level monsters.

The number of them might cause more trouble than I expected.

I hadn’t done much gate-clearing lately, and the cave was filled with dark specters, nearly a few hundred of them.

But that wasn’t all.

“Grrr...”

Tattered dark ghouls wandered through the cave.

I aimed at one of the ghouls and shot Artemis’ bow.

Fwoosh─

The mana-infused arrow flew and pierced the ghoul’s head.

Thud─.

“Nice.”

Without even using Hydra’s poison, I took it down with just one shot, and I nodded with satisfaction.

The difference between Napoleon’s Rifle and Artemis’ Bow lay in their power.

Napoleon’s Rifle couldn’t match Artemis’ Bow in terms of the destructive power of each shot.

However, since Artemis’ Bow had the ability to curve, it was much better when dealing with single targets.

The rifle, on the other hand, was faster, making it perfect for dealing with minor monsters.

It was best to mix them depending on the situation.

“Vanessa-nim, be careful—”

Shuaaa─!

I was about to warn Vanessa to be cautious with the Black Widow until she got used to it.

But before I could finish my sentence, Vanessa swung her hand, and five lines of threads were drawn.

Boom─!

The ghoul, now split into six pieces, collapsed.

“Eun-gong, what did you say?”

“...Nothing important.”

She didn’t need my advice.

Vanessa was already wielding the Black Widow effortlessly.

Shuaaa─! Shuaak─!

Every time Vanessa swung her hand, the lines of thread cut down the passing ghouls.

“Grrr...”

Like a conductor leading ten swordsmen, Vanessa moved her hands gracefully.

Boom─! Boom─!

With smooth hand movements, the ghouls in the cave shattered into pieces.

Meanwhile, Jeanne walked toward where the dark specters were.

“Jeanne, be careful when planting the flag, you’ll be defenseless, so...”

Boom─!

Kyaaahhh─

“...”

A pure white sanctuary unfolded, and hundreds of evil spirits screamed as they were collectively purified.

It was as if they were sucked into a vacuum cleaner.

As I looked at the now spotless cave, I couldn’t help but be speechless.

I don’t know either.

─■■■■!

I aimed Artemis’ bow at the headless mounted knight, the Dullahan, at the far end of the cave.

Fwoooosh─!

The Dullahan raised its shield as it saw the incoming arrow.

Normally, the arrow would have been blocked by the shield, but just as it got near the shield, the arrow suddenly changed direction upward.

[Bow Curve]

─ You can now perfectly aim at your target from any direction.

Thwack─!

The arrow that passed over the shield pierced the Dullahan’s chest.

[Breaking News. The state of the Frozen Castle Gate in Geumcheon-gu has become unstable.]

[Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild has announced plans to tackle the Frozen Castle.]

“Hm, that looks tight.”

“What’s the Frozen Castle?”

“It’s a gate. It seems it’s about to break loose.”

We were watching TV while talking after clearing the gate.

It seemed the gate was on the brink of collapsing, but I wasn’t too worried.

Seoul was protected by the Yeomyeong’s Constellation Guild.

The guild leader, known as the Human Weapon, was Shin Su-a.

One gate like this would surely be handled well.

What I was more concerned about was checking the list of gates through HuntWeb.

Even in Korea, there were plenty of urgent gates like the Frozen Castle.

As I scrolled down the list.

[The Black Tower has appeared in Incheon, Wolmido!]

[Some hunters are trying to buy entry tickets to the Black Tower...]

Looks like a tower has appeared.

‘Towers’ were time-limited gates that appeared all over the world. They offered massive rewards if cleared within the time limit.

But if you failed the raid, a Gate Break would occur, making it a gate that needed to be cleared once it appeared.

It was a dangerous gate that could obliterate an entire city if handled poorly.

Moreover, the anomalies appearing inside each tower were all different.

In Incheon, the chaos from the appearance of the Black Tower was incredible.

But...

[It has been reported that a Nightmare has appeared inside the Black Tower...]

[Due to the appearance of the Nightmare, guilds are struggling to clear the tower.]

‘Nightmare?’

The word Nightmare caught my eye.

Nightmares were creatures with the ability to mesmerize [N O V E L I G H T] people.

Even skilled hunters could be helpless against them if they lacked resistance.

But I was Artemis’ apostle.

The Moon Goddess Artemis, another name for the goddess of purity.

[Artemis’ Bow]

Artifact Level: Mythical

[Purity Protection]

─ You are completely immune to any form of coercion or mesmerization.

The Nightmare’s allure had no effect on me.

And as I read that, the status screen popped up in my mind.

Ding!

[You have been granted entry to the Black Tower.]

[Upon clearing the Black Tower, the Transcendent’s Fragment will be awarded.]

“!"