Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 94

Although it didn’t yield any immediate results, Valerie seemed determined to continue her research and investigation personally.

I ended up spending some time in Valerie’s workshop afterward.

I needed to examine what we had obtained from the tomb.

It was the day after hearing about Behemoth from Valerie.

I carefully took out the ancestor’s scroll that I had hung up.

‘It doesn’t seem ordinary.’

A long coat with white patterns on a black background.

I hadn’t noticed it when I saw it in the tomb, but the pattern was a bit peculiar when I looked closely.

The patterns were hexagonal, overlapping like a turtle’s shell, closely packed together.

I ran my hand over the surface, my eyes gleaming.

‘It’s not embroidery after all.’

It doesn’t seem to be ordinary fabric in the first place.

I had a feeling that this pattern wasn’t just for aesthetics either.

‘Should I try wearing it?’

Swish!

The moment I put my arm into the sleeve, I was startled.

The clothes moved just now.

‘Am I mistaken?’

No way.

I definitely felt the sleeve tightening.

I carefully put my arm in again.

Swish!

The length and width of the loose sleeves were reduced to just the right size.

It felt like the clothes were automatically adjusting to my size.

I put my other arm in and wore it completely.

Swish, swish!

There was no need to adjust the clothes.

The robe naturally clung to my body and transformed into the most stylish form.

“This… is pretty good?”

Clothes that automatically adjust their size.

I was worried about the cumbersome nature of traditional clothes, but thanks to the perfect fit, there were no worries.

Moreover, it was very stretchy, making movement quite comfortable.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

Valerie burst into the room, opening the door wide.

“Hey! What are you doing tonight! Let’s get chicken… What. Hehehe!”

Valerie covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her shoulders as she laughed.

“Well, it’s about that time. Spinning around in front of the mirror. That’s what 15-year-olds are like. You were so picky when you went to see clothes with me last time, but as expected… Huh? Huh?”

Valerie, who had been chattering away, suddenly widened her eyes.

“What is that outfit?”

Then, blinking her eyes, she approached and reached out to grab the hem of the robe.

“Why are you doing this? All of a sudden.”

“Wait, just a moment. Let me see for a second!”

As I tried to pull away, Valerie grabbed the clothes tightly and instantly unleashed her magic.

“Th-this.”

Valerie opened her mouth so wide it looked like her jaw might fall off.

I slapped her hand away from the clothes.

“Why did you infuse it with magic? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Wh-where did you get this? Did you perhaps go out to get this?”

“Why are you so surprised? Do you know what this is?”

I didn’t know, but Valerie seemed to know something.

Valerie’s eyes trembled.

Then she continued.

“This… it’s definitely Celestial Silk [a mythical fabric]. The patterns on the outside are definitely some kind of spell. There’s no magic resistance either. I-it’s certain!”

“Celestial Silk?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what it is?”

Reading my expression, Valerie said as if she was dumbfounded.

“It’s a thread created by a spirit creature that looks like a silkworm called the Celestial Silkworm. I know that it barely makes one thread every few decades, and y-you made clothes out of this?”

Valerie couldn’t help but doubt her eyes.

“Is it that precious?”

“Is it *just* precious?”

Valerie took a step towards me, her eyes glazed over like a drunk person.

I took a step back without realizing it.

“That, if it’s all Celestial Silk, it’s the same as celestial-grade equipment!”

“Celestial-grade?”

I happen to have Mujin and Black Night, which are celestial-grade weapons, but in fact, celestial-grade weapons are rare treasures that barely exist in the world.

Even sacred-grade items are treated as national treasures, so how much more would celestial-grade equipment be?

“Aren’t you just misunderstanding a little? When I looked with my magic eye, I didn’t feel that special of a power.”

I felt a mysterious energy that I had never seen before, but it didn’t seem to possess a special power to the extent that it could be called celestial-grade equipment.

Then Valerie licked her lips and replied.

“Of course. Celestial Silk is not a complete thread in itself. It’s a thread that grows with its owner. Moreover, it’s so precious that at most, shamans use it as a medium for spells… and you made clothes out of it. This is an amazing piece of equipment that will never exist again in human history!”

Valerie’s eyes gleamed with greed.

I instinctively unleashed my magic.

“J-just show it to me properly one time. No, there’s so much, so it’s okay. L-let’s just take one thread. Just one thread is enough….”

Flash!

Valerie’s eyes flashed.

I felt a threat to my life in those eyes that could only be described as madness.

Thud!

I took another step back, but my back hit the wall, and there was no room to escape.

Valerie’s wriggling hand finally came right in front of me.

* * *

In conclusion, Valerie couldn’t take even a single thread from my ancestor’s robe.

“N-no way, it recognizes its owner. It already has a spirit (靈性) [spiritual awareness]! This is crazy, crazy!”

Valerie was even more excited even though she didn’t achieve her goal.

It was 10 minutes later that Valerie, who had been muttering for a long time, calmed down.

“Are you a little calmer now, Valerie?”

“Ah, y-yes. Sorry.”

I was in Valerie’s lab.

Valerie took out a very old book from the study.

-Compendium of Divine Arms

“Here, read this.”

Valerie quickly flipped through a few pages and handed me the book.

There was a thread drawn there.

-Celestial Silk.

-It is a spirit that eats magic and grows in a place where yang and yin are balanced. It lays eggs once every 10 years and turns into a cocoon after 20 years. Dissolve the cocoon in a divine elixir called Cheonyeongsu [a mythical liquid]….

Complex contents were written, and as I calmly read the contents, my eyes stopped at the part written after that.

-Celestial Silk has spirituality, recognizes its owner, and absorbs magic. It is like a life in itself, so even if it is cut by a sword, it absorbs magic and recovers on its own, does not get wet in water, and even if it burns, it is quickly restored to its original state in the ashes, so there is no such divine object in the human world.

-It can contain the principles of yin, yang, and the five elements, and as a divine object that grows according to the will of its owner, it should not fall into the hands of the wrong person….

I put down the book and looked at Valerie.

“Does that mean the equipment has consciousness?”

“It’s a little different, but similar. The most important thing is that it’s equipment without limits. It’s incredibly difficult to find the materials, and it’s even more difficult to make. I’ve seen them make strings out of Celestial Silk, but to make clothes… there’s no precedent.”

Valerie put a cigarette in her mouth with trembling hands.

“The magic resistance value was just completely gone. Even if you wear magic itself as clothes, it wouldn’t be that much. Even a third-rate shaman could become a first-rate shaman with just that? Damn it! If it wasn’t already bound, I would have taken just one strand!”

Valerie spat out cigarette smoke, frustrated.

Sorry, but whether it was bound or not, I had no intention of giving even one strand.

It was a legacy left by my ancestor, so there was no way I would give it to someone else.

I glanced at the robe I was wearing.

I knew it would be special, but I didn’t know it would be to this extent.

‘I received a great gift.’

I thanked my ancestor in my heart.

“What’s its name?”

“Eunhan (銀漢) [Silver River/Milky Way].”

I showed Valerie the letters written in white patterns on the inside of the robe.

Eunhan, a word meaning the Milky Way.

There couldn’t be a more fitting name than this.

Valerie sighed as if she still had regrets, but soon chuckled.

“Well, it suits you well.”

I looked at Valerie, who was puffing on a cigarette, and stroked Black Night on my waist.

A sword containing the black night and clothes containing the Milky Way.

They weren’t a pair, but they seemed to go well together like a pair.

‘I got something precious.’

Not a finished piece of equipment, but a piece of equipment that grows with me.

I fastened the collar of Eunhan and felt the sensation remaining on my fingertips.

* * *

Unexpectedly finding out the identity of Eunhan was a great gain, but in fact, there was another reason why I had to be in Valerie’s workshop.

It was because of the Black Night Records.

‘The interpretation is taking longer than I thought.’

I unfolded the first volume of the long bamboo slips consisting of three volumes.

The material was written in old Chinese characters, and thanks to that, I was having difficulty deciphering it.

I could show it to Valerie and she could easily interpret it, but I couldn’t show Valerie the story related to the family’s secrets.

‘But it’s thanks to Valerie that I can get these books.’

The books that Valerie had obtained for the interpretation of the stone tablet were helpful.

Somehow, I felt indebted in many ways.

‘I’ll have to repay her later.’

I organized my thoughts and gradually interpreted the Black Night Records.

-I leave this writing to my descendants.

A book that begins with such a sentence.

The bamboo slips were written in a fluent and powerful handwriting by none other than the 2nd family head, Ancestor Lee Hyang-seon.

-I am leaving the story about Black Night against my father’s will. But I thought it was necessary to leave the story for future generations. Therefore, I leave this record.

-I cannot be sure that this record will be safely passed down to future generations. If… does… then it will be….

“What is it?”

I focused and examined the bamboo slips.

Some of the contents of the bamboo slips, which had no damage as I had written just before, were crushed as if they had been kneaded.

It felt like the ink had smudged.

‘All the other contents are intact, but why… only these?’

Except for a few specific letters, there were no smudged letters.

This appearance could not have come out unless someone intentionally erased it.

‘Was there someone who entered the tomb before me?’

No, that can’t be.

There were no traces in my ancestor’s tomb.

‘Besides, did the ancestor predict this would happen?’

Content that the record may not remain.

I unfolded all three volumes of the Black Night Records and examined them all.

‘It wasn’t just here. Specific words are missing in places.’

I tapped the desk for a while and thought about it, but it was a concern that could not be answered.

I read the next content for now.

-What I am writing is about the hidden history of Black Night.

Written in the middle volume was an explanation of the sword.

There wasn’t much written about the seal than I thought.

Just about what my first brother found out and announced to the outside.

There were some parts that were not interpreted in the first place, but in my opinion, it seemed that the ancestor could not write it either.

‘Ancestor Lee Hyang-seon was not chosen by Black Night either.’

That’s why I didn’t know the detailed contents of the seal.

There was no additional information except for the first three seals that I had already released.

‘My first brother didn’t hide it on purpose. It’s just that only that much is written.’

Anyway, the contents about the seal were something that could be found out by directly solving it.

Second half of the middle volume.

I slowly interpreted and read the Black Night Records.

As I slowly interpreted it, I stopped my eyes at that moment.

-Black Night was a sword forged by God to cut… and….

God.

It wasn’t a misreading.

There was clearly a letter written there that said God.

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

A sword forged by God?

What does that mean?

“What is this.”

At that moment when I was worried.

Buzz!

A vibration sound was heard.

It was the vibration of a smartphone.

And at this point in time, there was only one person who could contact my smartphone.

‘Jung Jin-soo? Why all of a sudden?’

-Something happened. I would like to see you for a while.

Such content was written in the short text.