Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 14

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 14

Children of the Sungmoo Yi Family who turn 10 years old abandon their childhood names through a naming ceremony and awaken their own names and the inherent abilities dormant within their family’s bloodline.

Unlike the Cheolseon Ceremony, which direct descendants and relatives within the fourth degree of kinship can attend, the naming ceremony grants the right to challenge even collateral relatives within the eighth degree of kinship who bear the Yi surname, provided they are willing to participate.

However, the number of collateral branches challenging the naming ceremony was never very high.

This was because no parents wanted to subject their children to a test that could potentially lead to death, even for direct descendants.

Therefore, the only participants in this naming ceremony were me and Hwa.

Unlike the Cheolseon Ceremony, which was so bustling with everyone under the name of the Sungmoo Yi Family gathered, the naming ceremony only had a brief send-off ceremony.

Even then, hardly anyone came to see me off.

“I’m sorry.”

The eldest brother, who had finished his send-off speech on the platform, smiled bitterly as he looked towards Hwa.

Where Hwa was standing, all sorts of family elders and important figures were approaching to offer words of blessing.

“What are you sorry for?”

“Just… because this is the family we are.”

I looked at the eldest brother with a slightly surprised expression. It wasn’t the kind of thing I expected to hear from my brother, who had a special pride and love for the family.

“Myeongjeong, you rascal. Why do you have to say such things?”

Despite my uncle’s scolding, the eldest brother only wore a bitter smile.

“Brother.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Which Trial Chamber are you thinking of challenging?”

“It’s a secret.”

The eldest brother was momentarily taken aback by my words, then chuckled.

“Is it because of that competition again?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Don’t even try to deny it. Do you think I don’t know your personality? Fine.”

He seemed to think I would challenge the same Trial Chamber as him.

‘That’s really not it.’

I didn’t bother to say it. If I did, this warm atmosphere before departure would be ruined again.

“Oh, my baby! I’m sad to see you go, but you have to do what I told you!”

“Yes, I understand, Aunt.”

I briefly greeted my aunt and headed towards my nanny.

“Nanny, I’ll be back.”

“Yes, young master.”

The nanny nodded calmly.

She was probably pretending to be okay so I wouldn’t worry.

I grinned.

“Nanny, when I come back, I’ll want to eat the food you make.”

“Yes……?”

“I’ll safely and perfectly complete the naming ceremony. So, Nanny, please prepare delicious things.”

At my words, the nanny’s eyes widened. Then, she smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes! I’ll show off my skills by the time you return, young master!”

I smiled at my nanny and headed to the vehicle prepared to take me to the training grounds.

Finally, the naming ceremony begins.

* * *

The naming ceremony was held on a small uninhabited island floating near the West Sea in the northern region.

Jeokcheong Island.

It was known as an island where the color of the land changed to red or blue depending on the amount of magic in the atmosphere.

It was close to a dangerous zone, and across the northern sea, it bordered an unexplored zone.

“The items we are distributing now are for location tracking, so please wear them on your body unless it’s a major issue.”

The Yeonggeom Unit [Special Sword Unit] member who had escorted Hwa and me here handed over a wristwatch-type device and a small brooch.

It was said to be for location tracking, but in fact, this device also had a video transmission function for evaluation and a function to measure heart rate and body temperature.

The small amount of field ration cake supplied twice a week was sent through this location information.

“I’ll keep the explanation brief since you probably already know. There are three tasks given to the young lady and young master participating in the naming ceremony on this island.”

Survive.

Hunt.

And challenge the ‘Trial Chamber’.

The quality and quantity of magic within Jeokcheong Island are significantly higher than in the mainland.

If people stay for a long time, side effects can occur, and the scent of that magic has even attracted numerous monsters to Jeokcheong Island.

Although there are no monsters that children cannot handle due to the presence of a certain barrier, except for the local guardian, the number of monsters filling the island was still enormous.

“You two will have to survive on Jeokcheong Island for three weeks and prove yourselves by hunting monsters. This evaluation will also affect future assignments.”

“The Trial Chamber will be open for two days after the end of the final third week. The Trial Chamber is not just a place to test martial prowess, so please consider and choose to challenge it based on the information you have learned in advance.”

This Trial Chamber is the real test of the naming ceremony. Only those who pass this test can awaken the abilities dormant in the blood of the Sungmoo Yi Family.

“Then, I wish you good luck.”

With those words, the Yeonggeom Unit member left the island.

Hwa, who was standing blankly staring at the island, opened her mouth.

“It’s an ominous place.”

“It’s not exactly a good land for people to live in.”

Despite being a rocky island, Jeokcheong Island was full of overgrown primeval forests. The roots were intricately intertwined, resembling human blood vessels, and the forest exuded a gloomy atmosphere even though it was still midday.

It would also be difficult to find food in this place where monsters lived on a large scale.

“What are you going to do?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“……Don’t be so petty.”

Hwa kept opening her mouth as if she had something to say.

Then, in an instant, she made up her mind, her eyes shining as she stared straight at me.

“Hey. I have something to say.”

I didn’t avoid her gaze.

“So, you finally decided.”

“Huh? What?”

“You’ve been trying to say something since we received the education.”

“H, how did you know that?”

Hwa’s eyes wavered at my words.

“How could I not know? Tell me. I’ll listen.”

Hwa tightly closed her mouth and put the brooch and wristwatch, which she hadn’t worn yet, into her pocket.

As if she couldn’t show them from now on.

Then, Hwa took something out of her pocket.

It was a small glass bottle.

I frowned when I saw it.

“What is that?”

“It’s poison.”

Hwa spat out those words and looked relieved. On the contrary, I forgot to breathe for a moment.

“The name is Mimaong. It’s a treasure of the Aerial Fortress [a powerful organization]. There are many conditions for using it, but anyway, it seeps into your body and causes long-term damage to your mana circuit.”

I felt my heart chilling.

I stared at the glass bottle in Hwa’s hand.

‘……So, that was it.’

If it had the effects Hwa described, it was clear that this was the very thing that had ruined my life in my previous life.

A poison that didn’t cause problems with life but damaged the mana circuit, colorless and odorless with no trace. There weren’t many poisons with such distinctive characteristics.

Mimaong of the Aerial Fortress.

Thanks to investigating and studying it as soon as I regressed, I had been anticipating it.

But I never expected to see it in front of me, still unused.

‘Did Hwa do it in my previous life too?’

No, that couldn’t be.

Mimaong has strict usage conditions. I had no particular contact with Hwa in my previous life, so this is the influence of this life.

“Who did you get that from?”

“I’m not going to tell you that.”

Hwa clenched the glass bottle tightly and threw it at a distant rock wall.

Smash!

The glass bottle shattered with a small sound.

“Now there’s no evidence. The poison will evaporate in five minutes.”

Hwa stared at me with confident eyes.

“I’m going to beat you fair and square. I won’t take help from such poison. So, you too, take the test with all your might.”

Listening to Hwa’s determination, I felt the agitation of my emotions quickly subside.

‘I was preparing for it anyway.’

I closed my eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them and replied.

“……I’m going to do it with all my might even if you don’t say that.”

“Good.”

Hwa nodded.

“Lastly. Challenge the center of the island after you’re familiar enough. The depths are quite dangerous, you know.”

“…….”

“The amount of magic in the atmosphere is high in the center, so the monsters are strong and numerous. They’re also fierce because they’re in a fierce survival competition.”

“I know. But why are you telling me that? Are you worried about me?”

“What? Worried?”

Hwa said with a look of disgust.

“Don’t say creepy things. I threw away the poison while making that resolution, so it’s because I don’t want you to die in some strange place.”

-Boo-ooo-!

At that moment, a heavy reverberation like the sound of a passenger ship’s horn was heard nearby.

“Then don’t die. I’m going first.”

Hwa darted along the coast towards the west of the island.

I stared at the darkness lurking inside the forest for a while before entering the primeval forest.

Towards the center of the island.

* * *

On the large screen in the Sungmoo Yi Family’s headquarters control room, a small map was being updated in real time.

And below that, several divided screens were being broadcast.

“As expected, the eighth [referring to Hwa] is excellent. The number of monsters she’s already taken down is considerable.”

It was Elder Council Chairman Yi Cheoljung. He stroked his beard and said with satisfaction.

“It’s practically her first time in actual combat. Well, who awakened her sixth sense? It can’t be clumsy. Was it only 47 days?”

Yi Cheoljung smiled and looked at the man sitting in the corner of the conference room.

It was Yi Junggwan, the leader of the Bloodhound Unit.

He silently watched the video before opening his mouth.

“That child wasn’t originally that good. I expected her to fill the full two months.”

Yi Junggwan still thinks so. Hwa has outstanding talent, but that was it.

But there was someone who stimulated her.

The ninth [referring to the protagonist].

That child stimulated Hwa, and thanks to that, Hwa was able to overcome the limits of her talent.

“Hmm, the eighth is amazing. But I’m worried. It would be dangerous even if she did it by the book, but she’s continuing to fight like that…….”

Chief Manager Yi Taehong looked at the eighth’s screen with some concern and opened his mouth.

Safe shelter, water, food, fire. These are the things needed to survive in the wild.

It was amazing that the eighth was fighting monsters without preparing all of that, but he was also worried.

“Haha, Chief Manager, you’re always so worried. How many children have taken the test while sticking to the book like that?”

That was also true.

At the Sungmoo Yi Family, they teach the basics of survival, but not many children follow them. Because they have strong bodies and excellent sixth senses that allow them to survive without such basics.

“Hmm, but what on earth is that guy doing?”

The Elder Council Chairman frowned as he looked at the ninth’s video below the screen.

The ninth was just moving aimlessly.

He was walking inside very carefully, not fast. When a situation arose where he seemed likely to encounter a monster, he deliberately held his breath and hid.

“He seems to be looking for a shelter.”

It was Yi Junggwan.

He snorted with a look that he found it ridiculous.

“Hmm, the blood of the Sungmoo Yi Family…….”

“He’s going to run away like a rat. What a coward.”

“……Finding and preparing a shelter in a dangerous place should be praised rather than criticized.”

Yi Myeongjeong carefully opened his mouth with a stiff expression.

“Ahem, that’s true.”

“Haha, we must have raised our standards by looking at the eighth. Frankly, it’s not easy to do that at that age.”

The elders awkwardly agreed, looking at Yi Myeongjeong.

However, Elder Council Chairman Yi Cheoljung was not.

“Mediocrity is a sin in the Sungmoo Yi Family.”

It was a low voice. Nevertheless, the room fell silent at those words.

“Isn’t that right?”

Wrinkles that made him look like a friendly old man appeared on Yi Cheoljung’s smiling face.

It certainly looked like the smile of a kind old man, but he was dominating the surrounding atmosphere.

“That’s right. I think that’s right.”

“It would be funny if someone who inherited the blood of the Sungmoo Yi Family acted like an ordinary person.”

The elders started chattering again as they pleased.

Yi Myeongjeong felt his chest tightening as he listened to their conversation.

‘Why has our family become like this?’

Creating a shelter is a basic thing that is written in the code of conduct.

Even though there aren’t many people who follow the basics, they usually keep this level of basics. It’s not a matter of discussing mediocrity or extraordinariness.

They know that too. It’s just that they’re looking at the youngest with colored glasses because he’s a bastard.

‘No, maybe it was like this from the beginning.’

He probably hadn’t seen it.

These were thoughts that he wouldn’t have been able to have if the youngest hadn’t been there.

‘But…… why is that guy acting so cautiously?’

For a moment, he felt sorry, but Yi Myeongjeong was feeling uneasy instead.

He glanced at the Chief Manager, but his expression was the same.

‘He’s not the type to do that. It wouldn’t be strange if he suddenly rammed into the local guardian…… what is that guy trying to do again?’

One more person.

There was someone else who found the youngest’s actions strange.

‘Hmm, that brat isn’t the type to do that? The guy who tested the instructors and tried to fight back against me is acting so safely?’

It was Yi Junggwan.

They knew the ninth’s personality, so they couldn’t understand his overly passive movements.

Soon, Yeong found a suitable cave and began to examine the inside.

After burning mugwort and some herbs and throwing them into the cave to drive out insects and bats, he skillfully weaved trees to block the entrance and finished concealing himself.

It was beyond the basics, to the point of being skillful. Even some of the disgruntled elders watched with interest.

Even so, Yi Myeongjeong and the Chief Manager still couldn’t hide their unease, and Yi Junggwan couldn’t hide his doubts.

Then suddenly, the ninth took off all the video output devices.

Was it because he was uncomfortable? It’s not mandatory to wear them, but the fact that he did that as soon as he made a shelter. Yi Myeongjeong was a little worried.

But that wasn’t it.

“Th, that!”

“No, that guy!”

The elders were horrified.

Wasn’t the ninth mercilessly taking off the bracelet and brooch that output the video and putting them on the ground? Then he tore off wide tree leaves from afar and brought them.

“Wh, why is he…….”

Yi Taehong stammered with a trembling voice.

Immediately after.

Thud!

A shadow fell on the video.

Everyone sitting in the conference room opened their mouths wide.

“As expected of a bastard, he does all sorts of things.”

Yi Cheoljung laughed heartily.

“Haha!”

Yi Junggwan burst into laughter as if he was satisfied.

Yi Myeongjeong and the Chief Manager rubbed their foreheads.

* * *

“There’s no need to show it unnecessarily.”

Hunting right now doesn’t help the evaluation much. Right now, it was more important to obtain what I needed from this island without being noticed.

It’s enough to show these things only when they can help with the evaluation.

While I was at it, I also threw the iron sword I had brought into the cave. After all, the reason I brought the sword was because of other people’s gazes.

Something better than that mediocre sword was stuck on my finger.

I slowly raised my magic power.

Whoosh-!

The black ring on my finger, Mujin, wriggled and transformed into the form of a dagger.

Due to continuous training and increased magic power, the speed at which Mujin changes its form has also increased.

“Then shall we go?”

Now that I’ve come to Jeokcheong Island, I had to get as much as I could.

I threw and caught the dagger with a flick and kicked off the ground.