Noryang Gate was in a funeral-like atmosphere three days before its rampage.
They had attempted the raid four times, but all had ended in failure.
There was no hope of success in sight.
It was due to the peculiar fire attributes possessed by the anomalies inside Noryang Gate.
‘Ordinary water-attribute relics won’t work.’
The flames surrounding the anomalies could easily evaporate even the strongest water-attribute relics.
At the very least, they needed a rare-grade or higher water-attribute relic.
However, rare-grade relics weren’t something one could simply acquire at will.
There were rare-grade water-attribute relics overseas, but borrowing them was difficult.
Even if they could borrow one, it would be impossible to get it in time before the gate’s rampage.
As an alternative, they decided to use relics from the Imjin War.
Relics from that era had been effective against anomalies related to the Imjin War.
If the relic was not only from the Imjin War but also had water attributes, that would be ideal…
‘But there’s no way we’ll find such a relic.’
The reality was that even finding an Imjin War relic in Korea was difficult.
Most relics from that time had been smuggled overseas, leaving only a handful in the country.
‘If only someone who cleared the Myeongnyang Gate would appear right now.’
Myeongnyang Gate was closely related to Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
And Yi Sun-sin was a hero who embodied both water attributes and the Imjin War.
His relics were the “key” to conquering Noryang Gate.
If someone had cleared Myeongnyang Gate, they might have obtained one of Yi Sun-sin’s relics.
But no such person had appeared.
Despite the entire nation closely monitoring the entrance to Myeongnyang Gate, there was no trace of the individual who had cleared it.
Hajinwoo didn’t care if that person never showed up—he just wanted to obtain Yi Sun-sin’s relics somehow.
He didn’t even wish for the Twin Dragon Swords that the admiral was said to have used.
That relic’s existence itself was uncertain.
Even a mere fragment of a relic related to Yi Sun-sin would be enough.
Hajinwoo firmly believed that if Kim Hayun had just that, she could conquer Noryang Gate.
‘The problem is, even that doesn’t exist…’
On a whim, he had put up an advertisement searching for relics, but the chances of success were slim.
If even the government couldn’t find them, there was no way an individual would possess one.
Just as Hajinwoo was sighing in frustration—
Bzzzz.
His phone rang. Hajinwoo answered it without much expectation.
But then—
“Team Leader! We found it! An Imjin War water-attribute relic!”
“What?! Where?!”
Hajinwoo sprang to his feet.
His voice was so loud that everyone in the guild turned to look at him.
With a bright expression, he shouted—
“Hayun! They found it! An Imjin War water-attribute relic!”
“Really?! Where?!”
“At the general store in Yeoksam-dong!”
At the mention of the general store, Kim Hayun’s eyes widened.
Without hesitation, Hajinwoo and Kim Hayun headed to the Yeoksam-dong general store.
A young shopkeeper came out to greet them.
“You must be Choi Jeosun, the one who called?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“We’re from the Dawn Constellation. Where is the relic you mentioned?”
“Here it is.”
“…Hmm.”
Hajinwoo felt disappointed as soon as he saw the relic Jeosun handed him.
It was an old sword, covered in rust, with several chipped edges.
‘Of course…’
There was no way they would find such an important relic at a small neighborhood store.
Even if it was truly from the Imjin War, its condition was too poor.
Jeosun seemed to realize this as well, scratching his head awkwardly.
“It’s too worn out, isn’t it?”
“Yes, honestly, I don’t know if we can use it. But we’ll have it appraised.”
Hajinwoo instructed the appraiser they had brought to evaluate the relic.
However, he had already dismissed it in his mind, convinced it was useless.
‘We should give up on conquering the gate and focus on minimizing the damage from the rampage.’
Just thinking about how to handle the Noryang Gate crisis filled his mind.
“Hayun, you handle the conversation. I need to step out and call the guild leader.”
“Understood.”
Just as Hajinwoo was about to leave the store—
“M-Match!”
The appraiser, who had been examining the relic, shouted in a trembling voice.
“This is an Imjin War relic!”
Hajinwoo, who had stopped in his tracks, asked,
“Is it water-attribute?”
“Yes, it has water attributes! But that’s not all. This is a hwandao used by the Joseon navy!”
My god! A hwandao used by the Joseon navy!
Both Kim Hayun and Hajinwoo were shocked.
And for good reason—the Joseon navy was the key force that aided Yi Sun-sin in ending the Imjin War.
Even a nameless soldier’s hwandao would be considered a rare-grade relic.
But what if this sword didn’t belong to just any nameless soldier?
‘This is huge.’
Hajinwoo swallowed hard and asked in an eager voice,
“Who was the wielder?”
“Well, the wielder is… H-Huh?!”
The appraiser, carefully examining the sword with his skill, gasped in shock.
Kim Hayun, growing impatient at the suspense, urged him,
“Who in the world used it? Why are you reacting like that?”
“A-Anwi!”
“Anwi?”
Kim Hayun asked in a stunned voice.
“You don’t mean General Anwi, Yi Sun-sin’s right-hand man?!”
“Yes, that’s right! It belonged to General Anwi!”
My god.
Hajinwoo’s mouth hung open.
Who was Anwi?
He was Yi Sun-sin’s right-hand man, a key figure in the Battle of Myeongnyang, and one of the main heroes of the Imjin War.
He later rose to the rank of Second Senior Rank (Jong 2-pum) as the Pyongan Defense Commander.
A naval general on par with the Supreme Naval Commander himself.
‘Anwi’s hwandao…’
And this old, worn-out sword was his?
‘No, its condition isn’t the issue here.’
So what if it’s old?
It was a relic of General Anwi!
Relics were always old and worn—if anything, finding one in pristine condition would be more suspicious.
‘We can just polish it up a bit and use it.’
It didn’t seem like it would last long, but that didn’t matter.
Just having it was already a miracle.
If this relic could help them overcome the Noryang Gate crisis, Hajinwoo felt like he had found salvation.
With a brightened expression, he asked,
“What’s its grade?”
“I-It’s an Epic-grade relic!”
“Hahahaha!”
Laughter burst out of me before I could stop it.
Jackpot!
An absolute jackpot.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
I looked at Hajinwoo with a strange expression as he laughed over an old hwandao.
And for good reason—Anwi’s hwandao, even if it was an Epic-grade relic, had already lost most of its durability.
Since I didn’t know the conditions inside Noryang Gate, I had no idea why Hajinwoo was so happy.
But his next words made even me rejoice.
“I’ll buy it for 4 billion won.”
“…Four billion?”
I widened my eyes at the unexpected number.
“Is that too little?”
Hajinwoo misinterpreted my reaction and looked embarrassed.
From the way he spoke, it seemed like I could push for a higher price.
Should I go big and ask for ten billion?
‘Should I take the gamble?’
Should I go all in with a beast’s heart?
No, if I went too high and he decided not to buy it, that would be a disaster.
“O-Okay, how about five billion?”
“Deal. I’ll buy it immediately.”
“…?”
Wait, that worked?
‘Should I have asked for more?’
Just as I started to regret naming too low a price, Hajinwoo spoke again.
“We won’t be able to use it many times, so I hope you understand that we can’t offer more.”
“Of course, I completely understand.”
A hundred times, a thousand times—I could understand.
Right then and there, Hajinwoo transferred 5 billion won to my account.
[5,000,000,000 KRW]
[Depositor: Dawn Constellation]
‘Holy crap, this is real.’
I gaped at the amount displayed in my bank account.
I never imagined I’d earn five billion won just by selling a single-use sword.
My hand trembled as I held my phone.
At that moment, Kim Hayun, who had come with Hajinwoo, spoke to me.
“By any chance, do you use guns?”
“No, I’ve never used a gun.”
My heart sank, but I kept my expression calm as I denied it.
“Hm.”
Kim Hayun looked at me with a knowing smile.
“I’ll pretend to believe that.”
‘What the… does she know?’
I felt nervous for no reason.
And it made sense—I had encountered Kim Hayun at Hangang Park before.
Everyone thought Kim Hayun was the one who took down the Udamhwa, even though I had done it with Napoleon’s rifle.
If she knew the truth, things would get complicated.
Even if I hid my face with a mask during my hunter activities, as long as I had Napoleon’s rifle, Kim Hayun could recognize me.
“You were expelled from Samdocheon, right?”
“So, you know. Yes, I was recently advised to resign.”
“Are you really trying to make me believe that?”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Kim Hayun shook her head and smiled brightly.
“Anyway, thanks. You saved us. We’ll put this to good use.”
With that, she took Anwi’s hwandao and left the general store.
“…?”
What was that?
‘Is she just a weird woman?’