In the 21st century, gates through which monsters emerge became rampant, and those who hunted them were called “hunters.”
However, even in the past, gates were rarely observed, and monsters and awakened beings also existed.
In the 15th century Joseon, awakened individuals were called “Rebellious Spirit” and were objects of fear.
Confucius did not speak of Rebellious Spirit.
Confucius did not mention Rebellious Spirit.
The forces of “monsters” that even Confucius avoided were not considered the same as humans in Joseon.
They were not human, but also not quite monsters; they were fearsome beings.
Joseon gathered these Rebellious Spirit to form a special unit.
The “Chakyo Gapsa”, or Monster-Hunting Corps.
Their mission was simple:
- Exterminate the monsters.
Yi Sun-sin was one such “Chakyo Gapsa” born with the power of Rebellious Spirit.
Despite this, he gained recognition for his abilities and rose to the rank of general.
Thus, it was only natural for Yi Sun-sin to hunt down Baesol, who had betrayed the country and become a monster.
Yi Sun-sin would want to capture Baesol, who had betrayed the nation and become a monster, in order to restore his tarnished honor.
The problem was that “Anwi” was accompanying him.
Though it seemed trivial at first, upon reflection, this was no small matter.
According to protocol, Yi Sun-sin should have received a reinstatement order the day after meeting with Anwi.
However, despite being with Anwi, Yi Sun-sin was still serving as a common soldier.
This meant Yi Sun-sin had not yet received the royal decree from King Seonjo, as he would not be wearing the common soldier’s attire if he had.
“How many days have you two been together?”
“Well, I last saw the general at Noryang, so it has been fifteen days and two more days.”
“Have you been looking for Baesol during this time?”
“Yes.”
I inwardly sighed at Anwi’s words.
If what he said was true, it meant that Yi Sun-sin had delayed his reinstatement for over two weeks.
For Yi Sun-sin, who was preparing for the Battle of Myeongnyang, this was a fatal waste of time.
“I need to catch Baesol quickly.”
If we delayed any further, the Battle of Myeongnyang might turn into a defeat.
We had to get Yi Sun-sin to Hoeryongpo in Jangheung, where twelve warships awaited, as soon as possible.
To do that, we first needed to capture Baesol, who had become a Rebellious Spirit.
“Let’s search the valley first.”
“Is it really true that Baesol has become a Rebellious Spirit ?”
“I once witnessed a Rebellious Spirit wandering in the mountains. There are no other monsters in the area, so it must be Baesol.”
“Meeting with the Seonin was fortunate.”
Along with Yi Sun-sin and Anwi, I headed toward a shadowed area in the valley where Rebellious Spirit would likely hide.
The shadow monster, Rebellious Spirit, preferred cool and dark shadows.
“But shadows are too vague.”
Yi Sun-sin muttered quietly.
Indeed, in the vast mountain range, there was an abundance of cool shadows.
Valleys, rocks, caves, the shade of trees, and so on.
There were countless shadows in the mountains.
If Baesol had crossed over to another mountain, we would need to search the shadows there as well.
“As the general says, finding Baesol with only the information of shadows would be difficult, no matter how much time we had.”
“Is there another way?”
“Yes, we need to find a crow.”
“A crow?”
“Rebellious Spirit is a monster that hates life. It must have killed nearby animals. If so, there will be corpses, and if there are corpses, wild animals attracted by the smell of blood will gather.”
And the most common wild animal found near corpses was the crow.
“So that’s a possibility!”
Yi Sun-sin showed a surprised reaction.
“I’ve never heard that Rebellious Spirit hates life. Seojin knows a lot about monsters.”
The fact that Rebellious Spirit hated life was revealed only in the 21st century.
It was not easy to understand the behavior of Rebellious Spirit, which avoided awakened individuals.
Information about monsters was not well-known in the 15th century, so this was not something that could be easily known at the time.
“I’ve taken an interest and researched a bit.”
I vaguely brushed off the source of my information, but neither Anwi nor Yi Sun-sin questioned it.
Their response was that if someone was a Seonin, it was natural to know such things.
Thus, we wandered around looking for cool shadows, especially places where crows might gather.
Along the way, Anwi dealt with the beasts we encountered.
He, too, was a warrior from the Chakyo Gapsa, serving alongside Yi Sun-sin.
With a loud swish!
A large, ignorant sword swung, and the leopard that had pounced was sliced in half.
It was a power rarely seen even in modern times.
“At least an A-rank Awakened.”
An A-rank Awakened could lead a team in a large guild, being one of the highest-ranked individuals.
Anwi was a veteran among them.
Indeed, he displayed extraordinary martial strength worthy of representing Joseon.
As I accompanied Anwi, I received various pieces of advice from him.
“The Seonin doesn’t seem to be very skilled in battle, perhaps because you don’t often engage with the world.”
“Which part are you referring to?”
“Energy should not be revealed so recklessly.”
He pointed at my Napoleon rifle.
I had hunted the attacking wolf with my Napoleon rifle, and every time, magic leaked over the rifle.
Anwi did not like that part.
“Hide your energy.”
He demonstrated by pouring his magic into his great sword.
Swoooosh…
A distinct blue magic blossomed over the sword. Anwi pushed the magic into the blade.
Then, the great sword became like an ordinary sword without magic.
It was impossible to detect any magic within the sword with the naked eye.
“Revealing your energy is a foolish act only practiced by the arrogant people of the Ming Dynasty.”
Anwi explained that releasing energy was a foolish act that showed one’s level to the opponent.
“In our Joseon, we use inner energy, not external energy.”
In other words, he was telling me to act like I didn’t have any power.
To be honest, I didn’t realize Anwi was an awakened individual at first.
I was even amazed at how sharp the sword was without any magic wrapped around it.
‘It’s different from modern times.’
In the 21st century, hunters, unlike Anwi, freely displayed their magic.
Since they fought only monsters, there was no need to hide their magic.
Because of this, the display of who could flaunt more and stronger magic became a measure of strength in modern battles.
Anwi called it a suicidal act, asking the enemy to kill me.
Although the times were different, I thought Anwi’s perspective was correct.
In battles against humans, modern hunters could not match the warriors from the Joseon era who had fought through the Imjin War.
So, how long had I been wandering the mountains under Anwi’s practical training?
“We found it.”
Yi Sun-sin, who had been quietly walking, muttered.
Right after those words, the cawing of crows could be heard.
“Caw! Caw!”
“Ugh.”
I pinched my nose to block the overwhelming stench of blood.
In the middle of the cool valley, a pile of animal corpses had been stacked, and a flock of crows covered them.
“Were you hiding there?”
Yi Sun-sin’s eyes glowed coldly.
That cold gaze landed on a dark cave beyond the mountain of corpses.
A cave thick with darkness.
Inside, something distinct stood out from the darkness of the cave.
“Baesol.”
The darkness that was called by his name began to stir. It was none other than Baesol, who had turned into a Rebellious Spirit.
‘This is no ordinary Rebellious Spirit.’
Baesol, though a fugitive, was an extraordinary warrior from the ranks of Rebellious Spirit.
He had been a general, commanding the navy of Gyeongsang Province.
Such a general, now corrupted into a monster, would not be an ordinary threat either.
But Yi Sun-sin, as if it were nothing, took large steps toward the cave.
It was a dangerous move, but neither Anwi nor I, nor anyone else, stopped him.
The reason was simple.
Yi Sun-sin was stronger than any Rebellious Spirit that had ever existed.
‘Joseon’s strongest Rebellious Spirit.’
By the time of the 21st century, there were no hunters who disagreed with the fact that Yi Sun-sin was the strongest awakened individual in Joseon.
However, his feats had not been fully clarified.
It wasn’t because there were no records.
Records abounded.
But no matter how many records you searched through, they were filled with absurd content, which made their credibility too low.
The general cut down warships, a three-meter-long sword energy shot out from his sword, and so on…
If you took the books literally, Yi Sun-sin would be a monster beyond S-rank.
Swooosh—
And here, for the first time, I was able to witness the truth.
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