Today, I realized for the first time that something can be both cold and hot.
Whoosh.
Inside the transparent gemstone, which resembled an ice crystal, flames were flickering.
SnowStone.
This beautiful gemstone, which could also be used as an ornament, appeared before me when I stepped out of the trial crown.
Visually, I liked it, but what pleased me most was the fact that it could replace my insufficient magical power.
==
“SnowStone
Magic Capacity: 2500/2500
“Wow, this is really good.”
I was very satisfied with the magical capacity, which exceeded mine by five times.
‘Now I don’t have to worry about exhaustion.’
As long as I adjust it properly, I shouldn’t collapse while using Napoleon’s rifle.
By the way…
“I’m hungry.”
After wandering around all day, my stomach was empty.
I brought a gas burner, boiled some water in a pot, and added ramen seasoning.
“Ah, this is it.”
As I added the seasoning, a pleasant aroma filled the air.
Just as I was waiting for the noodles to cook in the boiling water…
Ding—
The sound of a bell rang, and the door to the Manmul Shop opened.
‘Ah, I forgot to lock the door.’
I had planned to close early today and test the SnowStone, so I apologized to the customer entering.
“Sorry, we’re closing for the day.”
But…
“I’m sorry. I lost my way in the heavy rain.”
Whoosh…
Outside, torrential rain was pouring down.
“May I take shelter here for a while?”
As I looked at the middle-aged man who said that, I was momentarily speechless.
Thunder rumbled!
The face of the middle-aged man illuminated by the lightning was so familiar.
With a large frame, reddish beard, and bulging eyes.
He was someone who no Korean would fail to recognize.
He was the hero on the statue in Gwanghwamun and on the 100-won coin.
The great general who built the undefeated legend and saved a crumbling nation.
“Is that… Admiral Yi Sun-sin?”
“Do you know me?”
I have encountered Yi Sun-sin from a failed world line.
The second customer of my Manmul Shop.
It was none other than General Yi Sun-sin, the great hero of the Joseon Dynasty.
“I’ve seen you from a distance.”
“I see.”
In reality, I’d only encountered him through history books, statues, or the 100-won coin, but in a figurative sense, it could be called from a distance.
‘He looks quite emaciated.’
The image of Admiral Yi Sun-sin in modern times is often depicted as gentle and kind, but he seemed quite different.
His face was gaunt, with prominent cheekbones, thick lips, and eyes as fierce as a bull’s.
Despite this, it was amazing how instantly recognizable he was.
“General.”
“Please refrain from calling me that. How could you address someone who has been dismissed as a general?”
“Did you get dismissed?”
“Because I lied, His Majesty dismissed me and commanded me to serve in white robes, and I am following that command.”
As Yi Sun-sin said, he was wearing pure white robes.
‘No wonder he looks so thin.’
According to history, Yi Sun-sin was repeatedly ordered by King Seonjo to defeat the Japanese invaders who had taken control of Busan.
However, Yi Sun-sin saw these battles as ones he would undoubtedly lose.
In the end, Yi Sun-sin disobeyed the orders, and angered King Seonjo, who seized on the excuse of false reports to dismiss him from his position as general, ordering him to serve in white robes.
At the age of 52, he was commanded to walk 670 kilometers from Seoul to Hapcheon.
Therefore, while serving in white robes, Yi Sun-sin had knocked on the door of my Manmul Shop to escape the rain and wind.
And this meant…
‘This is right before the Battle of Myeongnyang.’
The great naval battle that turned the tide of history, where Yi Sun-sin defeated 133 Japanese ships with only 13 of his own.
The battle that saved a nation on the brink of destruction and earned Yi Sun-sin the title of “Holy Hero.”
“Help Yi Sun-sin win the Battle of Myeongnyang.”
As soon as I understood the situation, the status window threw out the quest.
What is this…?
It was the worst quest yet, even worse than during Napoleon’s time.
I felt dizzy from it.
Noticing my bewilderment, the status window message continued.
Reward: Legendary Artifact
“…Is this for real?”
Yi Sun-sin, serving in white robes, had a companion.
“Anwi,” he said.
Anwi was Yi Sun-sin’s right-hand man and the key figure who helped lead the victory in the Battle of Myeongnyang.
‘Did Anwi serve in white robes too?’
I wondered, but this was something I could not know.
Since this was a failed world line, the historical events might have been different.
“The rain isn’t stopping.”
Although it was late at night, the thunder, lightning, and heavy rain continued to pour outside the window.
“If it is not too much trouble, may I stay here for the night?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Thank you. I will make sure to repay you.”
Yi Sun-sin and Anwi sat at a table on one side of the Manmul Shop, resting.
‘Good thing I placed this here.’
By the way, the table and chairs were from Napoleon’s time.
Originally, there was no space for rest, but when Napoleon visited, he left them behind.
Which means, that table was also an artifact.
It was the very table where the great hero Napoleon had shared a drink with his friend Choi Seo-jun.
“Napoleon’s Table” – A table where Napoleon, the hero of the French Revolution, shared a drink with his friend Choi Seo-jun. Sitting at it gives you a sense of recovering from fatigue.
Fatigue Recovery: 10%
‘Artifacts aren’t so great after all.’
Even an ordinary table becomes an artifact when a great hero sits at it.
Of course, since that table is also an item from another world materialized by my magic, if I were to exhaust myself, it would disappear just like “Napoleon’s rifle.”
Until now, I hesitated to bring it out, but now it seemed alright.
‘SnowStone’ was replenishing my magic.
“It’s strangely refreshing.”
“It seems so.”
Yi Sun-sin and Anwi, who were sitting at the table, also seemed intrigued by its effect.
Having rested there, all their fatigue seemed to have disappeared.
The two of them began chatting, perhaps feeling at ease.
I pretended not to listen but couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
“We must find Bae-seol.”
“Do not worry. He could not have fled far.”
‘Bae-seol…’
While Yi Sun-sin was serving in white robes, there was the reckless naval commander Won Gyun, who destroyed the 300 ships Yi Sun-sin had painstakingly gathered.
Bae-seol, who had led the desertion with 12 of those ships, was the one Yi Sun-sin was chasing.
Later, those 12 ships that Bae-seol had deserted would become the last ships that led to the Battle of Myeongnyang, where Yi Sun-sin would turn the tide.
Bae-seol deserted out of fear, not to preserve the ships, though.
‘Why is Yi Sun-sin chasing Bae-seol?’
As I wondered why Yi Sun-sin was still chasing Bae-seol while serving in white robes,
Sizzle.
The ramen on the gas burner started bubbling.
I cracked an egg on the edge of the pot and added it to the ramen.
The aroma that stimulated the appetite spread throughout the shop.
Yi Sun-sin and Anwi had stopped talking and were now staring at the ramen.
I could hear the sound of them swallowing, but they didn’t say anything and just gazed at the ramen.
Feeling awkward, I spoke up first.
“Would you like to eat some?”
“Would that be alright?”
Anwi replied, as if he had been waiting for the invitation, and I chuckled.
“Yes, there’s plenty of food. You may have as much as you want.”
Even a great general is just like anyone else when hunger strikes.
“This is really amazing food.”
“Ugh, it’s spicy, but it keeps going down.”
Anwi and Yi Sun-sin devoured the ramen as if they hadn’t eaten in days.
I had to cook six packets of ramen to feed the two of them.
‘So the old stories about people eating a lot were true.’
The “high rice” they used to mention, where rice is piled up like a mountain, was something I now understood after watching the two of them.
“Hey, what kind of dish is this?”
“This is ramen.”
“Ramen? This is the first time I’ve had such delicious noodles.”
Anwi marveled, expressing his sincere admiration.
Yi Sun-sin also nodded silently, as if he agreed.
It was proven that even people from the 15th century Joseon era could get hooked on ramen.
“I have a question. Where is this place?”
Yi Sun-sin, who had emptied his bowl of ramen in an instant, asked me.
“This is Manmul Shop.”
“Manmul Shop? Then are you a sage?”
“Excuse me?”
“I heard of a man named Dongbangsak, who is immortal and runs a tavern with mystical objects. His house was said to be filled with such items.”
After tasting the gas burner and ramen, Yi Sun-sin seemed to have mistaken me for a sage who practices mystical arts.
It wasn’t surprising, considering that a person from the 15th century would think that way when seeing a gas burner.
“Well, you could say it’s something like that.”
Since there was no other way to correct the misunderstanding, I vaguely brushed it off.
If you think about it, traveling between worlds could be considered a form of mystical art.
“I see. No wonder the table felt so refreshing.”
“It’s fate. To have found a sage’s home while seeking shelter from the rain.”
I let Yi Sun-sin and Anwi continue their misunderstanding.
The next day, Yi Sun-sin and Anwi left Manmul Shop early in the morning when the rain stopped.
However, they didn’t leave completely.
“Sorry, but may we stay here for a while? I will compensate you.”
“You don’t need to pay. It’s good to have company.”
“Ha-ha, thank you.”
After refusing the bundle of coins that Anwi offered, I allowed the two of them to stay at the Manmul Shop.
Outside the shop, the mountains stretched out, and the two of them went out in the morning, only returning by sunset.
“This might not be the place.”
“Let’s look around a bit more. He might still be nearby.”
From their conversation, it seemed they were searching for something.
‘Are they looking for Bae-seol?’
The next day, Yi Sun-sin returned again, still without having found what he was searching for, his expression dark.
Having a hunch, I approached Yi Sun-sin, who was resting, and asked.
“Excuse me, may I ask what it is you’re looking for?”
“Have you seen someone named Bae-seol around here?”
As expected, the person Yi Sun-sin was chasing was Bae-seol.
‘Could the timing have been moved up?’
Bae-seol, the naval commander who had deserted with 12 ships.
After handing over the ships to Yi Sun-sin, he deserted once more.
Yi Sun-sin’s diary mentions that Bae-seol showed signs of severe anxiety, which led to his desertion.
People speculate that Bae-seol may have deserted due to PTSD.
However, when Bae-seol deserted, he somehow broke through the Japanese occupation and escaped to his hometown in Gyeongsang Province.
Some even joke that Bae-seol must have been a “human weapon” to break through the Japanese forces.
But Bae-seol was neither suffering from PTSD nor a human weapon.
Modern studies revealed that Bae-seol wasn’t human anymore.
He had become something monstrous, a “monster.”
If the time of his transformation had been moved up, it would explain why Yi Sun-sin was chasing Bae-seol.
Yi Sun-sin was originally from a monster-hunting unit, after all.
“To find Bae-seol, you should head to dark and damp places. Look in valleys, caves, or under rocks.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because those are the places he likes.”
Bae-seol had turned into the shadow monster, “Geusendae,” which appears in Korean folklore.