Chapter 18 : Yi Sun-sin’s Three Gates (6)

“Yi Sun-sin’s Helmet?”

I checked the quest clear reward and widened my eyes.

If this was the helmet used by General Yi Sun-sin, it was definitely not an ordinary relic.

It wasn’t as well-known as the Twin Dragon Swords, so I wasn’t sure if it was of legendary grade.

But at the very least, it was certain to be an epic-grade relic or higher.

On top of that, the difficulty of obtaining it was extremely low.

It wasn’t even a D-rank quest—just an E-rank.

Considering that the Battle of Myeongnyang was rated as D-rank, an E-rank quest was practically a free giveaway.

‘I like that the reward is a helmet, too.’

With my Twin Dragon Swords and Napoleon’s Rifle, I could take down even C-rank anomalies in one shot.

I could also move quickly using Shadow Step.

However, my physical abilities were weak.

Using Shadow Step left my legs sore, and my defense was so low it might as well be paper-thin.

That was why, despite possessing legendary relics, I hadn’t attempted any gates above D-rank.

One wrong hit from an anomaly, and I’d be dead on the spot.

In that sense, Yi Sun-sin’s helmet was a relic I truly needed.

I wanted it, but I didn’t jump into the quest right away.

The situation was different from when I had to enter the Myeongnyang Gate unarmed.

After selling Anwi’s curved sword, I had gained a massive sum of 5 billion won.

With that money, I could buy top-tier magic gear and still have plenty left over.

There was no reason not to buy it.

Since I had no idea what unexpected dangers might arise inside the gate, thorough preparation was essential.

“Time for some shopping.”

I took a taxi to a high-end magic item shop in Cheongdam-dong.

Our own pawn shop carried magic items too, but I was looking for much higher-end gear.

It was time to flex.

“Welcome! Are you looking for something specific?”

“I’m here to buy a mithril anti-magic vest.”

‘Mithril’ was the most preferred material for armor among hunters.

It was durable, had excellent mana conductivity, and, most importantly, could block attacks from anomalies.

Being able to block an anomaly’s attack was practically the same as having an extra life.

“You’re in luck! We only have a few mithril vests left.”

“How much?”

“The price varies depending on the mithril content.

The lower-grade one is 500 million won, the mid-grade is 1.5 billion won, and the high-grade mithril vest is 2 billion won.”

2 billion won for a single vest?

It felt outrageous, but considering it was the price of survival, it wasn’t too expensive.

And if I regretted it later, I could always resell it.

Mithril was always in demand.

“…I’ll take the high-grade one.”

I clenched my teeth and dropped 2 billion on the vest.

There was no point in being stingy when it came to staying alive.

“Would you like to pay in full or in installments?”

“Is there interest on installments?”

“It’s interest-free for up to 24 months.”

“I’ll take the 24-month installment plan.”

After purchasing the mithril vest, I headed straight for the Noryang Gate.

Entering the Special Gate: Noryang.

Whoosh—

A wave of intense heat engulfed my entire body.

If the Myeongnyang Gate was an underwater battlefield, then the Noryang Gate was a sea of flames.

Crackle, crackle.

The burning Japanese fleet illuminated the night sea, while fire raged across the land.

‘Good thing I wore the mithril vest.’

The vest’s cool touch shielded me from the scorching heat.

Creak—

On the burning ground, ghostly soldiers in different naval uniforms wandered about.

Judging by their attire, they seemed to be Ming and Joseon navy soldiers rather than Japanese warriors.

After all, the Ming army had also participated in the Battle of Noryang.

Wooong—

The Twin Dragon Swords resonated.

‘Is it telling me to go that way?’

I walked leisurely in the direction the swords were leading me.

Whoosh!

The raging flames parted to either side, repelled by the Twin Dragon Swords’ aura.

As a burning ghost soldier approached, I raised the Twin Dragon Swords.

Upon seeing them, the ghost soldier simply continued on its way.

The first time was difficult, but the second time was easy.

‘If they’re not attacking, they probably don’t have souls.’

This place was an alternate dimension created by the gate, based on the memories of the Battle of Noryang.

Either these burning ghost soldiers had never had souls to begin with, or they had been laid to rest during the first clearance.

They were simply making way for me, instinctively recognizing the Twin Dragon Swords.

Following their guidance, I crossed the sea of fire and boarded a half-sunken Panokseon warship.

Inside, I discovered a vast interior.

At the center stood a burning skeletal general.

I instinctively halted in surprise.

Creak—

The black-flamed skeletal general turned its skull toward me, its hollow eyes glowing with dark fire.

Then, as if uninterested, it averted its gaze.

“…That scared me.”

Judging by the armor, it was a general from the Ming side.

It must have assumed I was a Joseon general since I was wielding the Twin Dragon Swords.

I sighed in relief and continued forward.

The Twin Dragon Swords pointed past the skeletal general.

As I approached the indicated area, I tilted my head in confusion.

“What am I supposed to find 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, and the same thing happened—it slipped through effortlessly.

“Oh, is this some kind of formation? How interesting.”

I had heard that ancient Chinese strategists used strange techniques like this.

They were supposedly all lost after the Tiananmen Incident, but here was proof that such methods had existed.

Beyond the wall, I found a small, dust-covered shelf.

The Twin Dragon Swords pointed toward an old helmet resting on the shelf.

When I picked it up, a status window popped up.

Ding!

You have obtained Yi Sun-sin’s Helmet.

「Yi Sun-sin’s Helmet
Relic Grade: Ancient
The helmet worn by Yi Sun-sin during the Battle of Noryang.
Defense: 1800」

“Oh.”

The mention of an ancient-grade helmet made my eyes sparkle, but I immediately grimaced.

“Ugh, I’m definitely going to have to wash this before using it.”

It was so old that the smell was unbearable.

The day after the news broke that Anwi’s curved sword had been discovered, shaking up South Korea—

“Are you ready, Hayun?”

“Yes, I can enter at any time.”

Kim Hayun stood at the entrance of the Noryang Gate.

In her hand was the epic-grade relic, Anwi’s curved sword.

“You don’t have to clear it all at once, so don’t overdo it.”

“I will clear it no matter what.”

After responding to Ha Jinwoo’s encouragement, Kim Hayun entered the Noryang Gate with ten water-attribute hunters.

Whoosh—

As soon as they stepped inside, scorching heat engulfed Kim Hayun.

The heat couldn’t penetrate her mana, but she could only endure it for at most three hours.

Within that time, they had to conquer the Noryang Gate.

Since it was divided into twelve zones, there was no need to clear them all at once.

However, it was crucial to break through as many zones as possible.

‘I hope this works.’

Anwi’s curved sword was an epic-grade relic, but that didn’t mean she could blindly trust it.

After all, her water-attribute attacks hadn’t been very effective against the burning skeletons.

The only way to find out was to use it herself.

Clenching the sword’s hilt tightly, Kim Hayun lifted her head.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With Kim Hayun leading the way, the ten hunters stepped onto the burning land of Noryang.

A burning skeletal soldier wandering through the flames noticed Kim Hayun and charged at her.

It felt as if a ball of fire was hurtling toward her.

But something was strange.

The flames of the skeleton weren’t hot at all.

It was just like a regular skeleton attacking.

‘Is this the sword’s effect?’

Feeling a sense of astonishment, Kim Hayun dashed toward the skeletal soldier.

Swoosh—

An A-rank water-attribute skill was activated, and a swirling torrent enveloped the curved sword.

Kim Hayun swung the now water-infused sword with all her strength at the burning skeleton.

Sizzle!

As the water clashed with the flames, a thick cloud of steam rose.

And then—

Fwoosh!

The overwhelming torrent extinguished the skeletal soldier’s flames effortlessly.

Crack!

Its skull shattered, and it collapsed.

[You have defeated a Burning Skeletal Soldier.]

Kim Hayun stared at the fallen skeleton in shock.

Its broken bones were completely soaked in water.

‘That was… way too easy?’

She couldn’t believe it.

She had struggled so much just to take down a single burning skeleton before.

It had always taken a significant amount of mana to extinguish the flames that kept reigniting.

Even after all that effort, she could only defeat a few before being forced to retreat.

But now, with just one swing of Anwi’s curved sword, the flames had been snuffed out effortlessly.

It was hard to believe there had ever been fire there at all.

‘This relic is incredible.’

The Anwi’s curved sword that Choi Jeosun had given her was a completely overpowered item.

With this, clearing the Noryang Gate would be a piece of cake.

‘Alright.’

Reinvigorated with confidence, Kim Hayun gripped the sword tightly and charged into the flames.

And then.

[You have cleared Noryang Gate Zone 1-1.]

The success message rang out in less than ten minutes.

[You have cleared Noryang Gate Zone 1-1.]
[You have cleared Noryang Gate Zone 1-2.]
[You have cleared Noryang Gate Zone 1-3.]
[You have cleared Noryang Gate Zone 1-4.]

A series of success messages echoed through the Noryang Gate control room.

“This is it!”

“We did it! We really did it!”

The hunters who had been nervously watching the raid erupted into cheers.

With clenched fists, they stared intently at the massive screen.

On the screen, Kim Hayun was tearing through Noryang Gate with overwhelming force.

-Clang!

Each time she swung her curved sword, the burning skeletal soldiers crumbled effortlessly.

“Haha! That’s Hayun for you!”

Ha Jinwoo laughed brightly.

Kim Hayun’s gate conquest was being streamed live nationwide through her body cam.

“The entire online community is going crazy over Team Leader Hayun! The live YouTube viewership just hit five million!”

“Haha! That’s how it should be!”

The control room—no, all of South Korea—was in a festive mood.

It was as if the entire nation was watching the World Cup finals.

Of course, not everyone was celebrating.

One person, in particular, was growing increasingly anxious.

That was Lee Taejun, who had allied himself with the Chinese Communist Party.

‘Where the hell is Wang Wei!?’

With each of Kim Hayun’s success messages, Lee Taejun’s face contorted in frustration.

If this continued for just a little longer, there would be no need for him to step in at all.

Kim Hayun would clear the entire gate by herself.

The only silver lining was that she seemed exhausted and had exited the gate after clearing Zone 1-5.

That was right around the time Wang Wei arrived, leading a team of Chinese hunters.

Lee Taejun, who had been anxiously pacing, shot up from his seat.

“Ambassador Wang Wei! You’re late!”

But unlike the desperate Lee Taejun, Wang Wei leisurely offered Ha Jinwoo his congratulations first.

Wang Wei wasn’t interested in the gate conquest itself—his true goal was Yi Sun-sin’s helmet.

He intended to let Kim Hayun do all the hard work while he swooped in to reap the rewards.

So, of course, he could afford to be relaxed.

Even from the perspective of the Constellation of Dawn, there was no reason to refuse Wang Wei’s offer of help.

If only they had known how easily Kim Hayun would clear the gate, they might have hesitated.

But that was all in hindsight.

“Let’s go inside, Taejun.”

With a team of water-attribute Chinese hunters, Wang Wei leisurely stepped into the Noryang Gate.

Since Kim Hayoon had already cleared the previous zones, the inside of the gate was eerily quiet.

“Ugh, it’s so hot. Let’s finish this quickly and get out.”

Wang Wei was drenched in sweat.

Both he and Lee Taejun had water-attribute abilities, but it wasn’t their specialty, so enduring Noryang’s flames was still difficult.

“As long as we take down the semi-boss-ranked general inside the sunken ship, you’ll have something to show for this, Taejun.”

“I don’t like it, but I have no choice.”

Lee Taejun was far from satisfied, but since the plan had already gone awry, he had to salvage what he could.

Of course, Wang Wei didn’t really care whether they defeated the general or not.

His true objective was Yi Sun-sin’s helmet, which was supposed to be hidden behind the skeletal general.

A few days earlier, Lee Taejun had entered the gate and confirmed that the magical formation was still intact.

That assurance allowed Wang Wei to remain composed.

And sure enough, upon entering the ship’s interior, the formation-covered wall came into view.

“There it is! It’s here!”

Wang Wei grinned, baring his teeth.

Creak—

“Hold him off.”

Leaving the skeletal general to his subordinates, Wang Wei approached the magical formation.

He stretched out his hand, and it slipped effortlessly through the wall.

‘Heh heh.’

His heart pounded with excitement.

Like a child about to unwrap a long-awaited present.

But then—

“Huh?”

There was nothing inside.

He waved his hands around, feeling the empty space.

Swish— Swish—

No matter how much he groped around, his hands grasped nothing but air.

Growing impatient, Wang Wei stepped fully into the formation.

And what he saw was a completely empty shelf.

The middle of the dust-covered shelf was unnaturally clean, as if someone had just taken an item from it.

It hadn’t been long since they had taken it, either.

Wang Wei’s fingers trembled with rage before he finally let out an ear-splitting scream.

“Who the hell took it—!?”