Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 97: Storm’s Magic (1)

“Are you saying it's possible... to increase the assimilation rate?”

Rachel stared at me with disbelief in her eyes, and I nodded in response.

“Yes, if it's you, Rachel, it is possible.”

In an instant, Rachel grabbed my hand firmly.

“!”

“Really, truly, is that possible?”

“...Yes, it is possible.”

When I answered her urgent question, Rachel’s grip on my hand tightened.

“Really...”

Rachel murmured in a daze, and I awkwardly spoke up.

“By the way, could you please let go of my hand?”

“Oh, ah! I'm sorry!”

Realizing belatedly that she was holding my hand with both of hers, Rachel jumped back in surprise.

“I... I wasn’t expecting to hear something like that...”

Rachel, flustered and babbling, made me smile quietly.

“It’s alright. If you didn’t know, that’s understandable.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Relieved, Rachel nodded, and I made a suggestion.

“Before I can raise your assimilation rate, I need to check something first. It’ll be difficult to check here, so let’s move to another place.”

“Understood.”

 I got into Rachel’s car, and we headed to a quiet place.

On the way, I had the chance to listen to Rachel talk about various things.

“If Sabre's assimilation rate is high, it can control ‘the gale.’”

“The gale, as in, freely controlling it?”

“Yes, it’s a power that all the past family heads have used.”

“I can’t use it, though.” Rachel said, giving a wry smile.

“But Rachel, don’t you already control the wind with your own power?”

“That’s different from the gale. My cold wind is a sharp ‘cutting wind,’ but the gale has a strong destructive force.”

“So, it’s more powerful?”

“Yes.”

I became curious and asked.

“Then, if you had the same assimilation rate as Napoleon, what would happen?”

“You’d be able to control a storm.”

Rachel looked at me through the rearview mirror, her voice carrying a meaningful tone.

“Actually, only Napoleon is said to be able to control the storm.”

“......”

There was a subtle expectation in her words, as if she was thinking I might be able to control the storm. I remained silent, realizing it was an unlikely possibility.

Even with powerful artifacts, it wouldn’t be possible for me, someone who didn’t possess wind-affinity mana, to control a storm.

‘If anyone could do it, it would be Rachel.’

While I was thinking this, the car came to a stop.

“This should be a place where no one will come.”

“Sounds good.”

We arrived at a quiet park, far from any foot traffic.

I got out of the car and stood facing Rachel in the middle of the park.

“Seojun, what was it you wanted to check?”

“Rachel, would you mind using an artifact?”

“Sabre, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Rachel, though puzzled by my request, took out the golden sword, Sabre.

She raised the sword straight, closing her eyes.

Whoosh...

A gentle breeze began to circle around Rachel, and her mana was drawn into Sabre.

I quietly watched the scene unfold.

Whooooo─

Sabre, now absorbing Rachel’s mana, started to resonate.

The surrounding winds were sucked into the sword, amplifying Rachel’s mana.

Hoooom...

The winds in the park stopped, and silence fell.

The Sabre, wrapped in the wind, exuded an ominous atmosphere, almost like the eye of a storm.

But suddenly,

Whoooosh─!

The Sabre shook violently, and the winds that had gathered around Rachel were released all at once.

Whirrrrr─!

It was as if the Sabre, reacting like an immune response, expelled Rachel’s mana.

The atmosphere in the park returned to its original flow, and Sabre’s resonance faded away.

‘Just as I thought...’

Watching the reaction, I knew my assumption had been correct.

Rachel’s assimilation rate was high—higher than I had imagined.

And that excessively high rate had backfired.

Because the wavelength it gave off was too similar to Napoleon’s, Sabre rejected it.

With a high but not overwhelming assimilation rate, an artifact would respond without hesitation. But Rachel’s rate surpassed that “ideal” range.

It was enough to wake Sabre fully, yet what it encountered wasn’t Napoleon but Rachel herself.

It was only natural for Sabre to react the way it did once it realized the owner wasn’t the one it expected.

‘Rejection.’

I knew this because I had experienced something similar many times with Rachel.

I wasn’t Yi Sun-sin, yet I wielded the Twin Dragons Sword, and I wasn’t Napoleon, yet I used Napoleon’s Rifle as an irregular.

When I first wielded the Twin Dragons Sword, I also faced a rejection response like Rachel’s.

It was only when I had been recognized by General Yi Sun-sin that the rejection disappeared.

But for Rachel, who wasn’t the original wielder of the relic and hadn’t been recognized by the original owner, the situation was different.

She was more like an intruder who closely resembled the original wielder.

Of course, Sabre would be confused, wondering whether to grant her its power or not.

Sabre’s true ability could only be granted to Napoleon.

“It’s not working.”

Rachel was discouraged.

She acted as if the fact that Sabre had remained still was her fault.

She didn’t even realize that she had been the one to awaken Sabre.

I spoke to the discouraged Rachel.

“Rachel, you have talent.”

“Huh?”

“You can increase your assimilation rate. Even more than me.”

Rachel, eyes wide, gave a bitter smile.

“Thank you for the consolation, but...”

“It’s not consolation.”

I interrupted her and said again.

“Rachel, you have talent.”

I said it with certainty.

“......”

Rachel, realizing I meant what I said, stared at me blankly, unable to speak. After a moment, she finally spoke up.

“...Do you really think I have talent?”

I smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I will make sure of it.”

 The first day ended with a simple confirmation of Rachel’s potential.

Sabre was still rejecting her, so it couldn’t proceed further yet.

‘Gate conquest will have to wait for now.’

After waiting for a day for Sabre to fall back to sleep, I headed back to Rachel’s house the next day.

“The head of the household is in training.”

The old butler, Branton, greeted me.

Following Branton, I entered and found Rachel in the yard, holding Sabre.

“Rachel.”

“Oh, Seojun, you’ve arrived.”

“Were you training?”

“I was just relaxing for a bit.”

Rachel wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel and answered. Her expression was filled with anticipation.

“Seojun, are we starting to increase the assimilation rate today?”

“Yes, let’s head to the park we visited yesterday.”

“Understood.”

After our conversation, we left the yard.

On the opposite side, the Elder from yesterday was walking toward us.

He seemed to have finished his schedule, as two other elders accompanied him.

The Elder gave a small nod of acknowledgment, then glanced at the Sabre in Rachel’s hand and spoke up.

“Clinging to artifacts you can’t use is a bad habit, Head.”

“...Elder, what do you mean by that?”

“I was simply suggesting that there might be other artifacts more suited to you than Napoleon’s legacy.”

“I’ll [N O V E L I G H T] choose the artifacts that suit me.”

“As you know, assimilation rate cannot be increased just by effort.”

“Rachel has talent.”

“?”

The Elder turned his gaze toward me, who had spoken up.