The Admiral's Helmet
After checking the quest clear reward for Yi Sun-sin's Three Gates (6), I widened my eyes. If it was a helmet once worn by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, it couldn't possibly be an ordinary relic. Though not as famous as the Twin Dragon Sword, it was surely at least an Epic-grade artifact or higher. The clearing difficulty was absurdly low, too. Not even D-class—just E-class. Considering the Myeongnyang Gate had been D-class, an E-class below it was basically free.
"The reward being a helmet suits me just fine."
With the Twin Dragon Sword and Napoleon's Rifle, I could wipe out even C-class anomalies in a single strike. The Shadow Step also let me move at high speed. The problem was my physical abilities. Using Shadow Step left my legs cramping, and my defense was paper-thin. That was why I hadn't challenged any gates above D-class despite holding Legendary relics. One wrong hit from an anomaly and I'd be dead.
In that sense, Yi Sun-sin's helmet—an armor piece—was exactly the relic I needed. I wanted it badly, but I didn't rush into the quest. Conditions were different from when I'd entered the Myeongnyang Gate empty-handed. Selling An Wi's Hwando had netted me a cool five billion won. That kind of money left plenty after buying top-tier magical tools. There was no reason not to spend it. Thorough preparation was essential when you never knew what might happen inside a gate.
"Time to go shopping."
I hailed a taxi and headed to a high-end magical tool shop in Cheongdam-dong. My own general store carried magical tools, but what I wanted was far more expensive equipment. It was time to flex.
"Welcome. Are you looking for something specific?"
"I'm here for a Mithril Anti-Magic Vest."
Mithril was the material hunters preferred most for armor. It was durable, had excellent mana conductivity, and could even block anomaly attacks. Blocking an anomaly's strike was like having an extra life.
"You're in luck. We only have a few Mithril Anti-Magic Vests left."
"How much?"
"The price depends on the Mithril content. Low-grade is five hundred million, mid-grade is one and a half billion, and high-grade is two billion."
"……"
Two billion for a single vest. It felt excessive, but when I thought of it as the cost of staying alive, it wasn't so bad. If I ever regretted it, I could always resell it later. Mithril was something people couldn't buy even if they wanted to.
"…I'll take the high-grade one."
I closed my eyes and bought the two-billion-won vest. You don't skimp when protecting your life.
"Will that be cash or installments?"
"Are there interest charges on installments?"
"No interest for up to twenty-four months."
"I'll do twenty-four months."
Entering the special gate: Noryang.
Whoosh— A wave of intense heat slammed into my entire body. If the Myeongnyang Gate had been an underwater realm filled with water, the Noryang Gate was an ocean of fire in every direction. Crackle, crackle. Burning Japanese warships lit up the night sea, and flames covered the ground.
"Good thing I bought the Mithril vest."
The coolness of the Mithril blocked the heat seeping toward my skin. Creak— Creak— Burned white-clad soldiers in two different naval uniforms wandered the scorched land. Judging by their non-Japanese armor, they appeared to be Ming and Joseon naval forces. I recalled that the Ming dynasty had also participated in the Battle of Noryang.
Hum. The Twin Dragon Sword resonated.
"So that's the way."
I followed the Twin Dragon Sword's guidance at a leisurely pace. Whoosh—! The raging flames parted left and right before the sword's aura. Creak— When a burning white-clad soldier approached, I raised the Twin Dragon Sword. The soldier simply continued on its way. The first time had been difficult, but the second was easy.
"They don't have souls, judging by how they don't follow me."
This place was an alternate dimension the gate had created based on the memories of the Battle of Noryang. The burning white-clad soldiers either had no souls from the start or had already attained enlightenment during the first clear. They merely stepped aside instinctively upon seeing the Twin Dragon Sword.
I crossed the sea of fire as the sword directed and boarded a sunken Panokseon on the shore. Inside the ship, a vast interior was revealed. At its center stood a burning black-clad general. I stopped in surprise.
Creak— The black-clad general turned its skull and stared at me with pitch-black flames in its eye sockets before losing interest and looking away.
"…That startled me."
From its attire, it was a Ming general. It must have judged me an allied Joseon general upon seeing the Twin Dragon Sword. I let out a sigh of relief and kept walking. The Twin Dragon Sword pointed beyond the black-clad general.
When I approached the indicated spot, I tilted my head. "What's supposed to be here?"
Only an empty wall stood before me. Curious, I reached out—and my hand passed straight through the wall.
"Huh?"
Startled, I tried with my other hand. It, too, passed through. "Oh, an illusion formation? Interesting."
I'd heard stories of ancient Chinese formation masters performing such bizarre techniques. They supposedly became extinct after the Tiananmen Incident, and almost no one knew them now.
Stepping through the wall revealed a small, dusty shelf inside. Resting on it was an old helmet—the object the Twin Dragon Sword had been pointing to. When I picked it up, a status window appeared.
◈ Defense: 1800
◈ The helmet Admiral Yi Sun-sin wore during the Battle of Noryang.
"Whoa."
My eyes lit up at the words "Ancient-grade helmet," but then my face twisted. "Ugh, this thing needs a serious cleaning."
The smell was no joke—probably from how long it had been stored.
The afternoon after news of An Wi's Hwando being discovered threw South Korea into an uproar.
"You ready, Hayun?"
"Yes. I can enter anytime."
Kim Hayun stood at the entrance to the Noryang Gate, the Epic-grade relic An Wi's Hwando gripped in her hand.
"No need to clear it in one go, so don't push yourself."
"I'll definitely clear it and come out."
After answering Ha Jinwu's encouragement, Kim Hayun entered the Noryang Gate with ten water-attribute hunters.
Whoosh— The moment they stepped inside, intense heat assaulted Kim Hayun. The heat couldn't penetrate her mana, but she could only endure for three hours at most. She had to clear the Noryang Gate within that time. Though the gate was divided into twelve sectors and didn't require clearing all at once, pushing through as many as possible was only natural.
"I hope the effect works."
An Wi's Hwando was an Epic-grade relic, but she couldn't trust it blindly. Her water-attribute attacks hadn't worked properly on the burning skeletons before. She had no choice but to test it herself.
Kim Hayun tightened her grip on the Hwando's hilt and lifted her head. "Let's go."
"Understood."
Kim Hayun and the ten hunters stepped onto the burning land of Noryang. Creak— A white-clad soldier wandering through the flames spotted her and charged. It felt like a fireball was rushing at her. But something was strange. The soldier's flames didn't feel hot at all. It was just like an ordinary skeleton charging.
"Is this the Hwando's effect?"
Surprised, Kim Hayun charged straight at the white-clad soldier. Whoooosh…… Her A-class water-attribute skill activated, and a torrent of water swirled around the Hwando in her grip. She swung the water-clad blade down with all her strength.
Hisssssss! The torrent met the flames and produced thick steam. Then— Fwoosh! Overwhelmed by the water, the white-clad soldier's flames extinguished pathetically. Crack—! Its skull split, and it collapsed.
[Burning White-Clad Soldier defeated.]
"!"
Kim Hayun stared at the fallen soldier in shock. Its shattered bones were soaked through with water. "It was this easy?"
She couldn't believe it. How much effort had she poured into defeating even one burning white-clad soldier before? Extinguishing flames that reignited required consuming massive amounts of mana. Even then, she could only defeat a few before having to retreat. But swinging An Wi's Hwando made the flames vanish as if they'd never existed. She could barely tell if there had been flames at all.
"What an incredible relic."
The Hwando Choi Seojun had given her was an absurdly overpowered item. With this, clearing the Noryang Gate would be trivial.
"Alright."
Confidence surging, Kim Hayun gripped the Hwando and charged into the flames. And then—
[Noryang Gate Sector 1-1 cleared.]
In less than ten minutes, the clear message rang out.
[Noryang Gate Sector 1-1 cleared.]
[Noryang Gate Sector 1-2 cleared.]
[Noryang Gate Sector 1-3 cleared.]
[Noryang Gate Sector 1-4 cleared.]
A string of clear messages echoed through the Noryang Gate situation room.
"That's it!"
"We did it! It's done!"
The hunters who had been anxiously watching the clear attempt cheered. They clenched their fists and stared at the large screen. On the screen, Kim Hayun was tearing through the Noryang Gate like a storm.
—Clang! —Clang!
Every time she swung the Hwando, the burning white-clad soldiers collapsed pathetically.
"Haha! That's our Hayun!"
Ha Jinwu laughed brightly. Kim Hayun's gate clear was being broadcast live nationwide via body cam. "The community's going crazy over Team Leader Hayun! Simultaneous YouTube viewers have hit five million!"
"Haha! As expected!"
The situation room—no, the entire nation—was in a festive mood. It was as if the whole country was watching the World Cup final, everyone glued to Kim Hayun's Noryang Gate clear.
Of course, there was one person feeling anxious amid the excitement. Yi Taejun, who had colluded with the Chinese Communist Party. "When the hell is that bastard Wang Wei showing up!?"
Every time a clear message from Kim Hayun rang out, Yi Taejun's face grew more rotten. If this continued much longer, there would be nothing left for him to do. Kim Hayun would clear every sector. The only silver lining was that Kim Hayun seemed exhausted—she had exited the gate after clearing Sector 1-5. Around that time, Wang Wei appeared with Chinese hunters in tow.
Yi Taejun, who had been fidgeting, shot to his feet. "Ambassador Wang Wei! You're late!"
But contrary to Yi Taejun's urgency, Wang Wei leisurely offered Ha Jinwu congratulations first. What mattered to Wang Wei wasn't clearing the gate—it was Yi Sun-sin's helmet. His plan was to let Kim Hayun handle the clear while he swooped in to take the sweet part. That was why he could afford to be relaxed. The Constellation of Dawn had no reason to refuse Wang Wei's help either. If they'd known Kim Hayun would clear it this easily, they might have declined.
"Shall we head in, Mr. Taejun?"
Wang Wei, accompanied by water-attribute Chinese hunters, leisurely entered the Noryang Gate. Since Kim Hayun had already cleared the area, the inside was deserted.
"Ugh, it's hot. Let's finish this quickly and get out."
Wang Wei wiped away sweat. Both he and Yi Taejun possessed water attributes, but it wasn't their specialty, so enduring Noryang's flames was grueling.
"If we just take down the quasi-boss general inside the sunken ship, you'll have something to say for yourself, Mr. Taejun."
"I don't like it, but I have no choice."
Yi Taejun wasn't satisfied, but since the plan had gone awry, he had to settle for scraps. Of course, for Wang Wei, it didn't matter whether they defeated it or not. His real target was Yi Sun-sin's helmet behind the black-clad general. Yi Taejun had confirmed days ago that the formation was still intact, so Wang Wei remained relaxed.
As expected, upon entering the ship, the wall with the formation came into view. "It's here! It's here!"
Wang Wei grinned, baring his teeth. Creak— "Hold that thing off."
Leaving the black-clad general to his subordinates, Wang Wei approached the formation. His outstretched hand passed through the wall. "Heh heh."
Wang Wei's heart pounded like a child about to tear open a gift. But then— "Huh?"
His hand grasped nothing. He waved both hands around inside, but they only clutched empty air. Eventually, Wang Wei pushed his entire body through the formation. What appeared was an empty shelf. The center of the dust-covered shelf was conspicuously clean, as if someone had simply plucked the helmet away. It hadn't been long since they'd been here.
Wang Wei's fingertips trembled as rage overtook him. "Which bastard was it────!"