Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 4

Weapon-Eating Bastard 4

The child chose a sword.

Lee Tae-shin narrowed his eyes, looking at the sword his son had chosen.

“So, you chose that one.”

A double-edged sword with a flat back.

Its shape was closer to a Western sword than an Eastern one. The name of the ancient sword, whose material was unknown, was Black Night.

It was said that the ancestor of the Lee family found it in an uncharted territory.

However, no one had been able to unleash its hidden power for generations, and it had been veiled in mystery, gathering dust.

It was sharper and sturdier than most sacred artifacts, but that was all it was—just a long sword.

Its known abilities alone wouldn’t classify it as a Celestial-grade weapon, but it had been stored as such due to its symbolic association with the founder.

‘It was also a sword that no ancestor was chosen by.’

Lee Tae-shin looked at his son.

Was it just a meaningless choice by a newborn, or another great destiny?

Perhaps it was a fitting choice for this child who had orchestrated the unprecedented Iron Selection Ceremony.

“Yeong has chosen Black Night. With this, I conclude the ceremony.”

Thus, the Iron Selection Ceremony, filled with chaos, came to an end.

* * *

Time passed after the incident at the Iron Selection Ceremony, and I was already nine years old.

Time flowed by faster than ever.

I grew accustomed to moving my body day by day.

And as soon as I could walk and run as I pleased, I started training.

“Nanny, I’m going to afternoon training. Please prepare my training clothes.”

“…Young Master. This nanny is worried that you might be overdoing it.”

I trained for three hours each in the morning and from 6 PM.

It was something that an ordinary nine-year-old could never do, so the nanny looked worried.

“It’s okay, Nanny. I’m resting enough while doing it.”

“I’ll escort you. Let’s go together.”

The nanny looked at her little master and sighed briefly, unheard.

A child despised for being a bastard.

So kind and smart, yet he receives no support and strives alone.

She always felt sorry for her young master.

When he was young, she felt sorry that he didn’t need much care, and after he grew up, she felt sorry for his relentless efforts.

How lonely and how unfair must it be?

The young master was much deeper than his age.

Perhaps he instinctively knew that he had to work much harder because he couldn’t receive support.

“Young Master. I’m always on your side. If it’s hard, you must tell me, okay?”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

The nanny’s eyes felt moist.

The nanny, who said she would only escort me, ended up following me to the training ground.

I headed to the innermost area as usual.

“Young Master. Other areas are empty, but why do you insist on going to Area 1? Isn’t Area 1 too old?”

The direct line’s [the main family’s] exclusive training ground was divided into a total of ten areas, and the higher the number, the more modern the facilities were.

It was obvious that the training ground with the latest facilities was better, but the best training ground for me was Area 1.

“Because there’s someone waiting.”

I smiled at the nanny.

It was then.

A strange voice was heard from Area 7, where someone was passing by.

“That’s not it! If you grip the sword too tightly, your wrist will get hurt. Always treat the sword as if you’re handling your own body…”

“Ah! Teacher. Why are you nagging so much! However you grab the sword, you just grab it!”

“That’s not true, Miss. Please calm down a little and try again?”

The man was flustered and teaching the girl how to use the sword.

“The eighth.”

The eighth Hwa.

A child who went through the Iron Selection Ceremony with me, and a child who would likely go through the Naming Ceremony with me as well.

“Young Master. You should call her Older Sister.”

“There’s only a 5-month difference, what Older Sister.”

Judging from the way she grew up when she was a baby, that was about right, but even that wasn’t accurate because I wasn’t sure when I was born.

And even if it was accurate, I had no intention of treating that girl as my older sister.

Rather, my gaze went to the man who was teaching her how to use the sword.

The nanny noticed my gaze and immediately opened her mouth.

“The person teaching Miss Hwa is Battalion Commander Baek Yi-hyun, who has a Class 4 Warrior qualification. He is the commander of the Black Unit, a warrior group within the family.”

Black Unit Commander, and a Class 4 Warrior, meant he was an incredibly skilled person.

He was more than enough as a teacher for a nine-year-old child.

The nanny said with a worried expression.

“…Young Master. This nanny is searching in every way possible. Soon, a good teacher who recognizes your true worth will appear.”

She was worried about the test I would have to take soon.

The descendants born into the Lee family must overcome a total of three major tests as they grow up.

The first is the Iron Selection Ceremony, which is held around the time they turn one year old.

And the second is the ‘Naming Ceremony,’ which is held in the year they turn 10 years old.

The Iron Selection Ceremony was a test for newborns who couldn’t even walk properly, but the Naming Ceremony was a dangerous test that could even cost them their lives.

So, for this Naming Ceremony, the children of the Esteemed Martial Lineage [a prestigious family known for their martial arts] take all sorts of elixirs from a young age and bring in excellent teachers to teach them.

‘And many powerful people come to become teachers of the Esteemed Martial Lineage’s direct descendants.’

However, no one had ever come to me wanting to be my teacher.

They probably didn’t want to be the teacher of a bastard who had nothing to gain.

‘I don’t feel bad or resentful.’

They don’t come looking at the person. They come looking at the person’s background to gain benefits.

I don’t need a hundred of those kinds of teachers.

“Don’t worry, Nanny. In the first place, it’s against the rules for a child who hasn’t taken the Naming Ceremony to have a teacher.”

“That’s technically true, but now it’s considered natural to have a teacher. I heard that other young masters and young ladies even take elixirs.”

The Lee family’s rules are thoroughly fair.

They don’t divide between bastards and direct descendants, and they don’t discriminate based on the order of birth.

So, in principle, all direct descendants are not allowed to have a teacher before the Naming Ceremony.

‘But rules and reality are always different.’

I smiled and reassured the nanny.

“Don’t worry, Nanny. Actually, I already have teachers.”

“You already have teachers? And there are multiple teachers?”

The bewildered nanny’s eyes widened.

I just smiled.

* * *

Direct Lineage Exclusive Training Ground, Area 1.

The Direct Lineage Exclusive Training Ground in Area 1 was, to put it nicely, antique, and to put it badly, dilapidated.

Instead of new materials that alleviate shock, old flagstones were laid on the floor, and instead of various measuring instruments and weight machines, only scarecrows and old-fashioned strength training equipment were present.

The training ground’s armory and supply room were still using wooden buildings built during the Great War.

‘In fact, it’s more of a symbolic space than a training ground.’

Area 1 was a place that symbolized the long history of the family.

While numerous buildings were destroyed and rebuilt during the Great Cataclysm and world wars, the training ground, which had few buildings in the first place, remained in its place.

-Buildings have collapsed and people have died, but this land, where we have repeatedly refined ourselves, remains the same. Is this not the place that symbolizes our Lee family?

The hero who rebuilt the Lee family, which had been declining, the previous head of the family, said that as soon as he returned from the battlefield.

The Direct Lineage Exclusive Training Ground, Area 1, was named Sumoo Ground in that way.

But whatever the symbolism, the only reason I came to Sumoo Ground instead of other training grounds with the latest facilities was one thing.

‘The armory here stores older weapons than any other training ground’s armory.’

As soon as I opened the door to the armory, the musty smell of iron and dust flowed out.

You could immediately tell how old it was and whether it was being maintained.

Other people would just grab any sword and start training, but my first step in training was to select a sword from the armory.

The hundreds of training weapons located here were my teachers.

‘It’s here.’

I soon grabbed an old iron sword and came outside.

As soon as I came to the training ground, I lightly held the sword and closed my eyes tightly.

At that moment, a dark energy was released from my heart and wrapped around the training sword.

When I opened my eyes again, the scene in front of me had changed 180 degrees.

A group of swordsmen wielding swords.

-Basics are key.

The man at the front of the swordsmen opened his mouth.

-Whether it’s advanced swordsmanship or low-level swordsmanship, the foundation is the same. Build a solid foundation.

A man wearing an old-fashioned warrior uniform that only existed in the Lee family’s museum followed his movements.

From top to bottom, from left to right, from back to front, diagonal and straight lines, and a single point.

-That is the foundation. It is like a pillar that never shakes at any time. Build the foundation into your swords.

The illusion did not last long and was unnaturally cut off.

Soon, the dark energy that had been wrapped around the training sword dissipated.

The power that came after the regression [reincarnation].

The ability to fill in the elixirs and teachings that I lacked.

‘Is my proficiency still lacking?’

I read the ‘memories’ of weapons with this dark energy coiled in my heart.

And the moment I completely read the memories of the weapon, I could convert the weapon into magical power according to my will.

The old weapons that exist here were my teachers, more reliable than anyone else.

“Hoo…”

I took a stance and organized my breathing.

The basic swordsmanship that the Lee family’s bodyguards learn.

Seven Stars Sword.

Swoosh-!

The sword cut through the wind.

Even though it was a weight that was difficult to wield with a child’s body, the sword path was unwavering.

‘Once I master the Seven Stars Sword… I’ll have almost finished all the weapons in this training ground.’

The older and more excellent the weapon, or the more the user cherished it, the clearer the memory was.

In the case of other training grounds, the training weapons were too recent, so I was in Sumoo Ground.

‘Even if it’s old, is this the level of a training ground armory?’

The level of the weapon owners was disappointing. Already, two years after starting training, I had read most of the memories of the weapons buried in the armory.

I glanced at the entrance of the training ground.

‘Are you not coming today either? It should be about time for that person to come.’

But if I kept looking at the entrance, my concentration might be disturbed, so I decided to focus only on training.

One hour passed like that.

Then two hours again.

As the number of sweat droplets falling on the flagstones increased.

I lowered my sword.

‘The Seven Stars Sword is over now too.’

I instinctively realized that it was over.

It was then.

The voice I had been expecting was heard from the corner of the training ground.

“Amazing.”

I checked the owner of the voice and bowed.

“I greet you, Uncle.”

“Hehe, just call me Little Father. Is this the first time you’ve seen me since the Lunar New Year [a major holiday in many East Asian cultures]?”

Lee Tae-hong.

A Class 4 Warrior and the one who is performing the duties of the Lee family’s Chief Manager.

‘The time has finally come.’

I smiled quietly.

* * *

In my past life, no one came to me to become a teacher.

But there was only one person, someone I could call a teacher.

-I heard you haven’t found a teacher yet. I want to help you a little, would that be okay?

Chief Manager Lee Tae-hong. My uncle.

That’s how I was able to receive the teachings of my uncle, who held the title of a Class 4 Warrior.

However, my uncle was in charge of important tasks in the family. He couldn’t devote as much time to me as the teachers of other direct descendants.

‘Moreover, after my uncle was pushed out due to politics within the family…’

That was the end.

After that, I didn’t hear from my uncle.

Lee Tae-hong sat down on the dusty training ground floor without hesitation.

If it were other elders, they would have been horrified at the lack of decorum, but Lee Tae-hong didn’t care about such things.

That’s why I like this person.

“What are you doing standing there? Little Father’s neck hurts. Sit down for a while to cool off.”

Lee Tae-hong patted the spot next to him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re working hard. I saw you coming to the training ground every day without fail when I went to and from work.”

In fact, I already knew that my uncle passed by here every time during his commute.

I deliberately adjusted my training time to match that in order to bring forward the day my uncle would come to me.

“It must be hard, right?”

Lee Tae-hong smiled bitterly as he looked at his nephew, who was sweating profusely.

In this place called the Iron-Blooded Family, receiving so much discrimination must be difficult for a young child.

When Lee Tae-shin was away, he wasn’t even invited to holidays like Lunar New Year or Chuseok [another major Korean holiday, similar to Thanksgiving], so how much worse would it be normally?

“It must be very difficult to be discriminated against from your other siblings. You probably don’t even understand. But I hope you persevere.”

“It’s okay.”

Difficult, huh?

Yes, there were times when it was difficult.

In the past, around this time, I was deeply hurt in my young heart, and I often shed tears of frustration and resentment.

But now?

“Whatever the case, I am also a descendant of the Esteemed Martial Lineage.”

I slightly raised the training sword I was holding.

“In the end, I just have to prove it with this. That’s what I learned from our family, and that’s what I learned is the meaning of the two letters that modify the family.”

Lee Tae-hong’s eyes widened.

Esteemed Martial (崇武).

Could there be a more fitting word for those two letters?

Lee Tae-hong looked at his little nephew.

Outstanding talent and shining effort, along with a character and intelligent brain to match.

‘Ah, how could such a child be born a bastard.’

It was a pity.

Lee Tae-hong shook his head.

What was he doing feeling sorry for him as a bastard when he had been thinking that being discriminated against as a bastard was an ugly side of the family?

“Actually, I came here wanting to help you even a little. I want to be your teacher.”

My eyes lit up.

‘It’s here.’

The first opportunity I had been waiting for.

How long had I been waiting for the day I would meet my uncle, and for my uncle to say these words?

Although he had retired from active duty and became a working-level employee, my uncle was someone who had been on the verge of becoming a Class 3 Warrior in his prime.

And a big shot in the Esteemed Martial Lineage who was good at managing things to the point where he became the family’s Chief Manager from the position of a bastard.

I answered carefully.