Napoleon had significant input into many major event leading up to 1798, which all contributed to his rise. Not only did his skill and talent play a huge part in this, but other factors like key events all played a role in his rise to 1798.
For many reasons, his rise to 1798 could be seen as due to his own skill and talent. His skill and talent was seen from very early on in his childhood. Due to his Corsican upbringing, he was always seen as an outcast during his years in education. This subsequently led to Napoleon being very withdrawn, and spending a great deal of his time studying. He excelled in maths, which greatly helped him in his future military career. This early appearance of his skill and talent paved the way for his future, and his rise to 1798. After excelling at his normal studies in school, Napoleon went onto Paris to study in a military college, and became the first Corsican to graduate. This natural military skill also goes on to help him further throughout his rise.
After the French Revolution, not only were many of the French population against the new government, but also many foreign countries feared the spread of the revolution and tried to stop it. Toulon like many other towns suffered a federal revolt, and the British got involved to try and keep Toulon away from the new French government. The French government at the time saw this as an obvious threat, and tried to retake control. After becoming the commander of artillery in Toulon after the former commander was injured, Napoleon gained his first chance to administer his military talent. His skill and talent at being able to easily use the terrain to his advantage and capturing key positions led to his ultimate victory on 19th December 1793. Although this victory was not necessarily all down to him, Napoleon was more than willing to accept all the credit for this, showing a new talent he was developing.