Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Becoming Even Stronger
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Kang Yu-jin opened his eyes to find himself looking down at the ground from a bird's-eye view.
The time was 1592, during the Imjin War.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Japanese forces crushed the Joseon army in a string of victories, pushing all the way to Hanyang in less than a month.
The first battle where the crumbling Joseon forces, who fled or lost every time they met the Japanese, finally claimed victory was a small win at Yangju.
Shin Gak was the deputy commander of the army led by Commander Kim Myeong-won.
Kim Myeong-won's Joseon troops clashed with the Japanese across the Imjin River and suffered a crushing defeat, nearly annihilated.
Shin Gak rallied the demoralized Joseon soldiers scattering in all directions and headed to Yangju, where he struck down the Japanese troops who had been focused on plundering.
A monumental first victory.
But Kim Myeong-won reported that Shin Gak had deserted without orders and disobeyed commands. The court decided to execute him.
Shin Gak also submitted his report to the court soon after, but it was one step too late.
A few days later, news of the victory reached the court as well, but the herald who had already been dispatched with orders to execute him was long gone.
The court hurriedly sent another herald to revoke the previous order, but it was too late.
"This is a royal decree! Deputy Commander Shin Gak, hear this!
After your defeat at the Han River battle, it was only right that you rush to the commander and submit yourself. Instead, you wandered off on your own, ignoring the court's orders—this is a violation of military discipline.
By military law, you are sentenced to death!"
The herald who tracked Shin Gak to his location announced coldly.
And so, he was beheaded despite achieving the Imjin War's first victory.
Kang Yu-jin watched his wrongful plight from an omniscient perspective.
Tears flowed from his eyes.
This was the death of the ghost who had revealed himself as "Shin Mo."
He had already awakened from the dream before he knew it.
He turned his head to stare at the human-shaped figure emanating black energy.
"To think you had such a past."
Necromancers could glimpse the past of the spirits they contracted with through dreams.
Shin Mo had lived a life on a completely different level from Kang Ja-su, the strongman he had contracted with before.
Kang Ja-su's life had amounted to nothing more than killing a few Jurchens in the north during peaceful times.
Kang Yu-jin searched for Shin Mo's name.
He learned quite a bit of information.
Necromancy summons ghosts right after death, so they don't know what happened afterward.
"Shall I tell you what happened after your death?"
At Kang Yu-jin's question, the ghost shook his head.
From this distant future that looked like the late Joseon era, where something resembling Hangul was being used, he could tell that Joseon had won.
"Whether I received good evaluation later or not, do not speak of it. It may not be reversible."
He feared that if it was a bad evaluation, he would surely become a powerful evil spirit and wreak havoc on the world.
Conversely, if it was a good evaluation, he couldn't ask to be told either.
If Kang Yu-jin kept silent, it would confirm a poor evaluation, so he told him not to say anything at all.
Kang Yu-jin's chest tightened.
It felt like he had eaten a mountain of sweet potatoes.
This was the grudge of the spirit affecting the contractor's mind and body. Even Shin Gak, a hero of his time, hadn't gone mad despite carrying such resentment, but Kang Yu-jin, a young man just turned twenty, was different.
Consumed by his own grudge and Shin Gak's, Kang Yu-jin emanated killing intent.
Anyone who saw him would surely feel a chill.
Regardless of good or evil, a weak contractor could go mad or lose themselves just from glimpsing a fragment of such a resentful spirit's soul.
This was exactly why people were warned not to contract with resentful spirits.
In the end, he lost his sense of self and became confused about reality.
"It's the fault of those treacherous assemblymen who made the wrong laws. I'll kill them all."
He resolved to attack when the National Assembly was in session.
'Strike when the most lawmakers are gathered.'
***
"Student. Have you ever killed a person?"
At the question from Lee Chan-hyuk, whom we had invited as an instructor, I couldn't help but panic.
'How did he know?!'
I glanced at the others.
They were all watching the spar closely.
'Pretend it's an accident during sparring and kill him? Did he approach me knowing I'm the Dark Knight? If I kill him, who all? I have to spare Park Ha-yeon...'
In that brief moment, countless worries flooded my mind.
'No. He might just be probing. Calm down first. I need to stay calm.'
I held back my attack for the moment.
"I've hunted plenty of monsters in dungeons, but I've never killed a person."
I answered in as neutral a tone as possible.
I thought showing any sign of panic might arouse suspicion.
"Hmm... Well, it was rude of me to ask a hero aspirant something like that. Your attacks are so sharp, with no hesitation at all—that's why I asked. Don't take it to heart."
Lee Chan-hyuk bowed his head slightly in apology.
'It was just a casual remark! I almost caused big trouble over nothing.'
I sighed inwardly in relief.
"Let's call it here."
Lee Chan-hyuk thrust his shield forward and closed in on me in one breath.
I swung my spear to block his approach, but the shield left me defenseless.
'That shield is seriously OP.'
I felt the impulse to use 'Throat Slash' and end it in one go.
Before I knew it, Lee Chan-hyuk had closed to sword range, leaving me no choice but to slash.
"Good work."
"Yes. Good work."
The spar ended in my defeat.
We exchanged silent bows respectfully.
I was a bit shocked.
Even with my skills and stats sealed, I hadn't expected to be so utterly helpless.
"The first feedback I want to give, since you're aspiring to be a hero, is to go for non-lethal moves. You won't last long as a hero striking like that."
A hero who kills villains.
It might fly once or twice, but repeated incidents would draw public backlash, leading to contract termination with your agency.
That was practically retirement.
'It’s unusual that the Dark Knight gets defended, but even in my case, this reality feels a bit regrettable.'
The public distinguishes between a hero killing a villain and the outlaw Dark Knight doing it.
"Yes. I'll be careful."
I accepted it readily.
I had no interest in hero work, but given the setup, he was right.
"And it seems you haven't trained spear techniques formally. When they close distance like just now with sword and shield, fake a thigh attack then thrust the upper body."
Lee Chan-hyuk picked up a spear and demonstrated.
I watched his movements closely.
"Another option is targeting the feet. Lower the spear tip to touch the ground, stab the opponent's foot, or feint and slash the thigh."
He demonstrated again.
It made perfect sense.
I committed it to memory.
"Thank you."
I didn't forget to thank him.
"Actually, it'd be better to learn longsword along with spear. Hunters aside, heroes might face villains in heavy armor, and spears are weak against that. Or just go with a halberd."
A halberd was a bit much.
The reason I stuck to spears wasn't just because they're the king of weapons—my ultimate weapon later on takes spear form, which was a big factor.
With that, heavy armor or whatever gets shredded.
"Hmm. I'll consider it."
I nodded in acknowledgment anyway.
He didn't know the details.
"Wow, it’s been ages since I had such a thrilling spar. Felt like I was back on active duty."
At Lee Chan-hyuk's admiration, Yang Min-seo’s group and Park Ha-yeon turned their attention our way.
They hadn't received even a word of praise from him after their spars ended.
"I learned a lot myself."
I responded positively to his words.
Lee Chan-hyuk looked slightly excited.
"Next time, let's try javelin and polearm vs. polearm. Spear vs. sword is pointless, so we'll skip that."
Spear vs. sword overwhelmingly favors the spear.
"Just me?"
I asked without thinking.
The others got simple feedback, one technique tip, and done.
"The other students will need time to master what I taught today. But you, Shin Noda, are a joy to teach. You're already polished enough for targeted refinements."
I nodded.
No reason to refuse when he offered more.
But glancing at the others, Oh Ha-na looked displeased.
And so, I spent the whole day receiving comprehensive spear training from Lee Chan-hyuk.
I later learned he taught me more than what Yang Min-seo had paid for.
He gave the others bits of attention in his spare time while focusing on me, so no one complained.
"That concludes the lesson. Good work, everyone. I hope you all become great heroes. Here's my card—if you need one-on-one sessions, give me a call. It costs a bit, though. Haha."
Lee Chan-hyuk handed out his business cards.
He whispered to me privately, "For you, student, I can give a discount if you want."
'I don't need a man's obsession, though.'
For some reason, Lee Chan-hyuk seemed fixated on me.
"Thank you."
Hiding my irreverent thoughts, I bowed and expressed my gratitude.
Today had been highly instructive.
I gained deep insight into subduing opponents without killing and spear techniques.