Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 1

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 1

My life had been a series of failures.

Bastard, illegitimate child, incompetent, half-wit.

These were the names I was called instead of my own. The label of a bastard was a target for jealousy and contempt, and powerless, I lived each day having my possessions stolen.

There was a time when I had expectations for my life.

For example, when I realized the weight of the Soongmoo Lee clan as a child.

When I was chosen by a top-tier weapon in the Iron Selection Ceremony.

I thought.

If I continue to be recognized little by little, and constantly strive, maybe I too can be acknowledged by everyone.

But that never happened.

-Hmm, I’ve never seen a magic circuit like this before. It’s not suitable for learning magic… and martial arts are too unstable, so that’s out of the question. It’ll be difficult to even become a 9th-grade martial artist.

After my unique constitution was revealed, the events at the Iron Selection Ceremony and Naming Ceremony were dismissed as mere flukes or errors.

Even those who had a glimmer of hope for me eventually left, thinking, ‘I knew it.’

Still, I persevered out of spite.

And I achieved some success.

Contrary to the prediction that I wouldn’t even become a 9th-grade martial artist, I proved my qualification as a 7th-grade martial artist at the age of 25.

A qualification that other children of the clan achieved before even becoming adults.

Then, at the age of 30, I was finally expelled from the clan.

I was able to leave this iron-blooded clan with all my limbs intact, largely thanks to the help of my eldest brother.

And yet…….

‘So, it has come to this.’

The visitor who came to my house was an unexpected person. Or perhaps, I had foreseen this moment.

A man clad in black.

The moment I saw him, I felt my heart grow cold.

That unique attire, a fusion of modernized hanbok [traditional Korean clothing] and a Western coat, was the uniform of the Spirit Sword Unit, who only listened to the orders of the head of the Soongmoo Lee clan.

He produced a white envelope from his breast pocket.

“This is the order issued to Young Master. Please confirm it.”

“Young Master?”

Haha, a low laugh escaped my lips.

‘Even if I abandoned it myself… this cursed bloodline will follow me until the day I die.’

I accepted the order.

Even after erasing my tracks and living like a dead man for ten years, the clan had finally found me.

I broke the seal, and a brief mission description was written inside.

[Mission Order]

Subject: 9th Young Master Lee Chul

Content: Investigate the abnormal phenomena in the unexplored zone B-1. Join the expedition team by 18:30 today.

-Head of the Clan Lee Gun-sung

I was so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped my lips.

Not a dungeon or a gate, but an unexplored zone.

A hell of monsters that has not been explored for hundreds of years.

The unexplored zone was a place teeming with ancient monsters that had already adapted to Earth’s environment.

Especially the B-1 zone, wasn’t that a singularity where abnormal phenomena had recently occurred?

“Are you aware that ordering a 7th-grade martial artist like me to explore this place is a death sentence?”

“Do you refuse the order?”

The Spirit Sword Unit member’s posture remained unchanged, but I felt a chill run down my spine.

Refusing an order without a valid reason meant death.

I rubbed the head of the clan’s seal at the end of the order with my finger.

‘Head of the Clan Lee Gun-sung… so my third brother finally became the head of the clan.’

It was a chaotic time.

As the unexplored zones expanded and monster attacks intensified, my father, the head of the Soongmoo Lee clan, who was called the pinnacle of South Korea’s martial power, passed away.

The most likely successor was my eldest brother.

He was outstanding in terms of legitimacy, character, and ability.

But the one who won was my third brother.

“Then prepare yourself. I will visit you in an hour.”

The Spirit Sword Unit member disappeared into thin air like a phantom.

“Haha, fuck.”

I crumpled the order in my hand and gnashed my teeth.

* * *

“We’re going to die. This is insane.”

“Damn it. Lee Gun-sung. That son of a bitch…….”

The expedition team, which had 150 members when it started, was now only 48 members.

The distance traveled was only 10 km in 10 hours.

An expedition team consisting of Soongmoo Lee clan warriors had to lose over 100 members to travel just 10 km.

‘Was this a purge disguised as an exploration?’

I bit my lip and stared at the Spirit Sword Unit member who was controlling the expedition team under the guise of escort.

‘What on earth did my third brother do to them?’

The Spirit Sword Unit suffered no damage even in this hellish unexplored zone.

It wasn’t because they were strong.

Even when seriously injured, they recovered instantly like monsters.

Even with their arms cut off or their chests pierced, they never died.

Spirit Sword Unit.

The loyal warriors who only moved on the orders of the head of the clan had now become monsters of unknown origin.

“Let’s move. Expedition leader. The destination is just around the corner.”

“……Understood.”

It was a demoralizing march.

And.

Before the expedition team, which had advanced leaving countless casualties, an unidentified ruin appeared.

“Why is there a ruin here?”

“Why has such an old ruin been preserved until now?”

Roofs and walls had collapsed in places, making it no different from a ruin, but it was clearly the remains of an oriental-style building.

It was absurd that such a structure was preserved intact in an unexplored zone where monsters were as numerous as grains of sand on a beach.

As the expedition team stopped in confusion, the Spirit Sword Unit member urged them on.

“Enter.”

Moving their feet again, they reached the deepest part of the ruins, and a huge open space appeared.

On all sides of the open space, the bones of unidentified people were scattered here and there.

And the expedition team discovered something huge in the open space and was shocked.

“What, what on earth is that?”

It was the corpse of a giant monster.

The fossil of a giant monster, now only a skeleton, was located there.

“Found it.”

The Spirit Sword Unit member’s eyes gleamed.

And said.

“Begin.”

“What do you mean, begin?”

The Spirit Sword Unit member lowered his mask and smiled bitterly.

“What else, a purge.”

Swish!

Blood stained the air.

“You, you ruthless bastards! I knew it……! Keuk!”

“No, no!”

“This is the 21st century, this is ridiculous……!”

“The Third Young Master has gone mad! You impudent bastard!”

Death followed each time the Spirit Sword Unit members swung their swords.

“What on earth are you doing!”

“Didn’t you all know? You were all going to die anyway. But you should consider it an honor to have been used for the sake of the clan.”

“Ugh!”

“Keuk!”

A one-sided massacre unfolded.

The huge open space was soon filled with the stench of blood.

And a Spirit Sword Unit member approached me.

I gripped my sword and held it out in front of my chest.

The Spirit Sword Unit member raised the corner of his mouth and sneered.

“There was an order from the lord. To take you here and kill you as cleanly as possible if you don’t resist.”

“Shut up!”

I have no intention of dying as you wish.

I kicked off the ground and swung my sword.

“How pathetic.”

The Spirit Sword Unit member lightly flicked his sword.

Clang-!

And my sword broke.

The sight of the sword made of steel shattering like a piece of wood and flying into the air was clearly visible in my eyes.

After escaping from the clan with the help of my eldest brother, I hadn’t missed a single day of training.

But only one exchange.

I couldn’t withstand even one exchange.

Bang-!

Another flash of light flickered before my eyes.

“Cough!”

My consciousness was cut off for a moment.

When I came to my senses, I had flown dozens of meters from where I had been and was stuck in the monster’s skull.

“Even though you’re only half-blooded, the direct line is different. To not die after taking that hit.”

I endured the pain as if my bones were shattered and struggled to get up.

It was miserable.

I was despised by the clan for being weak and eventually ran away, but now I have to die because of that bloodline.

I had to run away because I was weak, and I had everything taken away because I was weak, but now I’m going to have my life taken away?

‘I can’t…… I can’t die like this.’

I needed a weapon.

At that moment, a strange object came into my blood-reddened vision.

It was a sword stuck in the monster’s skull.

There was no time to think about why the sword was stuck here.

I reached out my trembling arm and grabbed the sword.

Crack-.

But as soon as I grabbed the sword, it crumbled and turned to ashes.

The heavens did not even allow my last struggle.

“To think that the blood of the Lee clan could be so pathetic.”

Swish-!

The Spirit Sword Unit member’s sword tore through my back.

A hot sensation, as if molten iron had been poured from my back, spread throughout my body.

‘Ah…….’

In the midst of terrible pain, a slideshow of memories flashed by.

The terrible moments of my life.

And I thought.

If I am reborn.

I will never live like this again.

Woo-!

Beyond my fading consciousness, the ashes that remained after the sword crumbled seemed to crawl towards me.

My vision turned black. I lost consciousness.

* * *

My whole body was aching and my mind was confused.

My eyes were too bright, and every breath I took and every touch of air on my skin stung like needles.

The sounds I heard were so loud, like thunder, that my eardrums felt like they would burst.

‘Ah, ah, such pain. Have I fallen into hell?’

I couldn’t help but open my mouth and scream in the midst of the terrible pain.

Wah! Wah-!

‘Huh?’

A baby’s cry?

Could it be that even babies can fall into hell?

“Is this the child? Yu-jeong’s child.”

It was a low voice.

I felt goosebumps all over.

‘Father?’

A calm, subdued, and stern voice.

It was faint, but it was definitely my father’s.

“What happened to Yu-jeong?”

“When we found her, she was already…….”

“……I see.”

A rough hand touched my body.

It was clearly a very careful touch that stroked my body, but it felt rough and hard.

“Wah! Wah-!”

The sound that came out of my mouth when I opened it without realizing it was a baby’s cry.

‘Su, surely!’

That crying sound I’ve been hearing…… is coming from my mouth?

‘Father, and Chief Butler Choi? How can they look so young?’

I tried to turn my eyes. Then I could see it clearly.

The greatest swordsman of the time.

Lee Tae-shin, the head of the Lee clan.

The Lee clan’s unique dark black hair. A stern gaze and light-colored brown eyes beneath it.

My father, who had clearly died, was standing there.

At that moment, my eyes met my father’s.

My father stared down at me with interest.

“……Young(英) would be good. This child’s childhood name(兒名) [baby name] will be.”

“As you command.”

“Assign a nanny to him, just like the other children, and assign some of the Spirit Sword Unit as escorts.”

“Understood.”

“When is the eighth Iron Selection Ceremony scheduled for?”

“Next April.”

“Have Young attend as well.”

“……Are you speaking seriously? The youngest young master is not ready, and there is a difference in months with the eighth young lady.”

“It won’t matter.”

My father looked down at me once more and then turned around.

I laughed in vain.

Chief Butler Choi, who had been looking forward to his old age, was in his prime, and my father, who had passed away, was alive and well in his former upright state.

And the story the two were telling.

‘If it’s the Iron Selection Ceremony…….’

A special ceremony for babies held at the Lee clan’s first birthday.

I opened my eyes and brought my hand to my eyes. Just that one gesture was difficult.

After that, I struggled to move my eyelids and looked at my hand.

What came into view was a small and adorable hand like a doll.

‘No way.’

It didn’t make sense…… but I couldn’t deny it.

A bad feeling was creeping up, but I couldn’t deny it.

I was born again into this damn clan.

* * *

Several months have passed since I woke up in a baby’s body.

I don’t know the exact date of birth, but the nanny seemed to be estimating that I was around 9 months old based on my development.

However, since the blood of the Soongmoo Lee clan grows incredibly fast, even that wasn’t accurate.

‘To see the nanny again.’

I felt complicated as I looked at the nanny feeding me baby food with a tired expression.

I’ve gotten a little better recently, but until a few months ago, the nanny couldn’t sleep even two hours a day.

Even those two hours had to be taken in short naps as she had to check on my condition in between.

All I could do was eat formula well, pretend to sleep, and burp early.

“Our young master is so kind. He eats baby food well and falls asleep so easily. Young master. Nanny will eat some food for a while.”

The nanny yawned loudly, laid me down in the cradle, and began to peel an apple.

Not her own child, but she raised me like her own and was one of the few people who stayed on my side here until the end.

To me, who didn’t have a mother, the nanny was like a mother.

‘But even that nanny was eventually kicked out of the clan due to the checks of my older brothers and sisters. I couldn’t protect her.’

The nanny, who was holding a knife and nodding off, looked precarious.

I closed my eyes tightly.

‘Regression, I have regressed.’

Then, will my talents and physical characteristics be the same?

Yes, it will definitely be the same.

I might once again be deprived of everything in the clan as a half-wit who can’t even learn magic.

-To think that the blood of the Lee clan could be so pathetic.

The voice of the Spirit Sword Unit member cutting my back seemed to be heard.

I feel a burning sensation in my spine.

A slightly different feeling from resentment or revenge.

It was the powerlessness and misery I felt so desperately at the moment of death, and the anger towards myself.

‘I want to get stronger.’

I didn’t want to live like that again.

In my second life after being reborn, I can’t wallow in such misery again.

Thud!

At that time, the nanny, who had fallen asleep for a moment, dropped the knife right in front of my nose.

‘I was so surprised.’

It was within reach if I reached out my hand.

I pushed the knife away so that it wouldn’t get scratched.

At that moment.

Crack-.

Black particles stretched out from my body, wrapped around the knife, and absorbed it.

-Oh, this knife is really sharp. I don’t even sharpen it well.

-I heard that Chief Butler Choi got that knife from a famous craftsman. A retired secretary told me.

-Really?

.

.

.

-Young master. Nanny will eat some food for a while.

Unfamiliar memories flashed through my head.

I can say with certainty that these were words and memories that I had never seen or heard.

‘What was that just now?’

That wasn’t the end.

I couldn’t help but be shocked with my mouth wide open.

Woo-!

A faint cluster of light was floating at the tip of my hand.

The power that I had to work hard for my whole life in my previous life to barely obtain.

It was magic.