The General Who Isn't Yi Sun-sin
“W-wait, please don’t eat me…!”
Tap-tap. The turtle immortal tapped the ground with his staff. As he did, the scenery around us began to blur, slowly shifting into a different form. This was it. This was— ‘I, I’m being kidnapped…!’
“Shiro…! Wait—”
Kyak-kyak, bwong-!
As the background changed, Se-eun Unni vanished. Even my summons, Jeolmi and Bombe, were gone. About three seconds passed like that. The churning space slowly began to sharpen. The scenery hadn't changed all that much. It felt like the forest where we had been, just much more lush?
A pond rippled with blue water to my side, and a massive tree stood behind the turtle immortal. It was twice as large as the tree I’d seen when I fought against Kang-cheol. Pink petals drifted down in a flurry.
Baekdusan seokmadojin, Duman-gang suumma-mu.
(The stones of Mount Baekdu are worn away as I sharpen my sword; the waters of the Tumen River are swallowed as I water my horse.)
Nam-a isip mipyung-guk, huse suching daejangbu.
(If a man cannot pacify the country by age twenty, who in later generations will call him a great man?)
‘Chinese characters…?’
Elegant characters were carved into the bark of the giant tree. I’d never studied them hard, so I couldn't read them.
“N-no, I don’t know.”
The turtle immortal looked up at the tree with his hands behind his back, as if lost in nostalgia. But since he was a turtle with a shell, his hands couldn't actually reach behind his back.
Bonk- His staff hit my forehead. How did he read my mind…! Can all immortals use telepathy or something…?
“How did you know…?!”
“How do I make my soul quiet…?”
The more we talked, the calmer I felt. At first, I was terrified at the thought of being kidnapped, but I was feeling okay now. His gentle tone and the nobility in his voice… it felt familiar, like talking to Grandfather Yong-su.
“Aren’t you the Turtle Immortal?”
Chungmugong? Could it be…! “Are you Admiral Yi Sun-sin—”
Bonk- The staff flew at me faster than before. I tried to dodge it, but the strange, curved angle was a work of art. “Wh-why?!” I teared up, holding my forehead in frustration.
“So, Admiral Yi Sun-sin—”
Bonk! “Ouch!”
“General Nam I…?” Nam I? Nami Island? Ah…! The general who was buried on Nami Island…! Wait, but was a Joseon-era general a turtle…?
“Huk.”
Even though he kept hitting my forehead with his staff, I could feel a kindness in his gentle tone. Looking at his gaze, it seemed he liked children. It wasn't wrong. If an adult greets you first, it’s only right to greet them back… except for the fact that I was currently kidnapped. Regardless, he didn't seem like a bad person, or maybe that’s just how I felt, so I gave a polite bow. “I-I’m Shiro. I’m a future SSS+ rank hunter of Korea.”
“Yes? Ah… well… I’m B-rank right now, but I’ll be SSS+ soon—”
“What about it?” I’m definitely Korean! Of course, I didn't know which country this body belonged to, but it didn't look like anything other than a Korean face. Maybe Chinese or Japanese if I stretched it? But even among East Asians, there are subtle differences… so Korean was the most accurate.
“I’m nine years old.”
What does that mean? It’s true this body doesn't look human. Honestly, I had a beauty that would work anywhere across borders. He wasn't talking about my looks. “R-right? Haha, I’m embarrassed….”
“Old times? And what is ‘crossed over’?”
Rumble- I asked what General Nam I meant, and suddenly thunder roared from the clear sky.
“I have to realize it myself?”
“Successor? What is that?”
Kwarurung-! Thunder roared again. With a sound louder than before, the ground nearby shook, as if lightning had struck close by.
“Ugh…!”
I was scared because the thunder kept rumbling. I never liked loud noises or thunder. My ears were a little more sensitive than others. As I clutched my clothes with both hands, distressed, General Nam I’s hand stroked my head. Miraculously, all my fear vanished, replaced by a clear, refreshing sensation.
“Wow…!”
“Yes…? What do you mean…?”
General Nam I smiled and tapped the ground with his staff again. Small, round green pebbles with arms and legs crawled out from the earth. Dancing- Then, they suddenly surrounded me, held hands, and danced in a circle. They were about the size of Jeolmi when he was a long-tailed tit, so they were kind of cute. Not as cute as me, though. A moment later, the pebbles went back underground, and a fresh, green mana flowed into my body.
New skill registered.
“Eh? What is this—”
“General?”
Swoosh- I closed my eyes and opened them, and the space had changed again. “Shiro!”
Kki-kkiung! Bwong-!
Se-eun Unni hugged me immediately. Bombe and Jeolmi also rushed over and clung to me. It felt warm and cold, but my heart was so full that I felt great.
“Are you okay?! What did that crazy turtle do to you?!”
“I-I’m okay! He wasn't a crazy turtle….”
Hmm… honestly, I was kidnapped, but it didn't seem like he had bad intentions. I didn't know his true identity, but he gave me a gift… so it felt wrong to badmouth him. And he was General Nam I. If you think about it, he was basically an ancestor, and badmouthing an ancestor in the Land of Morning Calm was a bit….
“He said he was General Nam I…!”
“What? General Nam I?”
Se-eun Unni loosened her hug and looked at me. She must have been so worried; sweat was streaming down her face. I blew a light, cold breeze at her and nodded. “Uisan-gun? Chungmugong? He said he was General Nam I.”
“Chungmugong? If it’s Chungmugong, that’s Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Isn't he just a crazy turtle?”
Bonk- Something hit the top of Se-eun Unni’s head. Did he really disappear only to reappear and flick her forehead for badmouthing him?
“You idiot! There are plenty of people who received the posthumous title of Chungmu besides Admiral Yi Sun-sin!”
Ah, it was Yeon-hwa Unni. I’d felt it before, but it was surprising how she went down to protect her hometown of Cheorwon, and how she knew so much about history. On the outside, she looked like a total delinquent, but the more I knew her, the deeper she seemed. But I couldn't understand her crush on Grandfather.
“You say you go to Nami Island often, and you say things like that?”
“I can’t know everything! Do you know all the history of Cheorwon then?”
“I do, though?”
Oh… she was an Unni with impressive patriotism, and even more impressive local pride.
“So what did General Nam I say? I’ve never heard of anyone actually talking to the Turtle Immortal on Nami Island.”
Yeon-hwa Unni looked at me with an intense gaze. Even if she asked, there wasn't much I could actually tell her. “Just… I think he mistook me for someone else? He said things like ‘old times’ and ‘crossed over’… weird things.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. Immortals usually have a mysterious image. Ah, maybe that’s why he spoke in a way that was hard to understand?”
“Hmm… Ah, and I got a new skill.”
“What?!”
Se-eun Unni, who had been listening quietly, grabbed my shoulders and shook me. It wasn't that hard, but I felt a little dizzy. Ugh. Oh? But as she did, the green mana inside me wiggled and flowed into my head. Soon, the dizziness subsided in an instant.
“W-well, when the General tapped the ground with his staff, strange pebbles came out and danced, and… a new skill was registered.”
“Hmm…? O-okay. Shiro, what’s the skill name?”
“Uh… it’s written in Chinese characters, so I don’t know.”
“Ah, then—” Se-eun Unni picked up a twig from the ground and handed it to me. “Can you write it on the floor?”
“Ah! Yes, okay!”
I looked at my status window and wrote it on the floor as hard as I could. Of course, I couldn't guarantee my handwriting. I mean, I was writing on the dirt floor? And I was nine years old? I trusted they would understand if I couldn't write the characters well.
Nam-i-ji-ho
After I finished writing, it was at least legible. “Okay, then I’ll search for—”
“Nam-i-ji-ho? Doesn't that mean ‘Protection of Nam I’?”
Yeon-hwa Unni, you’re even good at Chinese characters? At this point, I was curious about her true identity. When I saw it on the internet, they said Mr. Jong-wu basically raised her. Was she actually from a famous family in Cheorwon?
“Protection of Nam I? Then it’s a protection bestowed by an immortal.”
“That’s right. Since he said the General gave it to me. Seems correct.”
The Unnis seemed to be pondering the new skill together. I was the one who received it, but I was quite satisfied to see them both showing interest.
“Inside my body… hmm… green mana appeared, and it seems to get rid of headaches and recover stamina.”
“Sounds good? Though you should ask the Association President about the specifics.”
“The Association President?”
“Ah, Mr. Jong-wu.”
So Yeon-hwa Unni calls Mr. Jong-wu ‘Mister’ too. I just learned that.
“We can ask him when we go to find Shiro’s dragon pearl next time, right?”
“That’s a great idea!”
I nodded along to Se-eun Unni’s petting. Nami Island… it’s nice, isn't it?
***
“Haa.”
At that moment, the Association President, Lee Jong-wu, was lost in deep thought while staring at the dragon pearl. It wasn't that the appraisers’ skills didn't work. The problem was the content.
“The appraisal result is… ‘Only the Child of Snow can use it’—is that really all?”
“Yes… no matter how many times we try, that’s the only information we get.”
Child of Snow. It wasn't hard to guess. The dragon pearl already held a power similar to the mana of the child, Shiro. However, the amount of energy felt within it was extraordinary. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it held more power than any other loot registered as a ‘dragon pearl’ until now.
“I don’t know… what words I should say when I give it to Shiro.”
Jong-wu had a headache, but he decided to proceed with more tests in various ways. It was for Shiro’s sake.
‘Because doing what is best for Shiro is doing what is best for the nation.’