The Illegitimate Who Devours Weapons

Episode 4

The child chose the sword.

Lee Tae-shin narrowed his eyes as he looked at the sword his son had chosen.

“You chose that.”

A double-edged sword with a flat back.

It was closer to a Western sword than an Eastern sword. The name of the ancient sword, whose material was unknown, was Heukya (黑夜).

A sword that the founder of the Lee family is said to have discovered in an unexplored area.

However, over the years, no one has been able to unleash its hidden power, and it has remained hidden behind a veil, gathering dust.

It was a sword that was sharper and stronger than most holy relics, but it was just that – a longsword.

Although it cannot be classified as a celestial level based on known abilities alone, it has been kept together with the celestial level due to its symbolic nature of being associated with the ancestors.

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

Lee Tae-shin looked at his son.

Is it just a meaningless choice of a newborn baby, or is it some other great destiny?

It might be a fitting choice for this child who has created an unprecedented wire-frame.

“Young-i has chosen the Black Night. With this, I will end the ritual.”

The consciousness of the iron wire, which had been so full of confusion, came to an end.

* * *

Time has passed since the incident at the iron fence, and I am now 9 years old.

Time passed incredibly quickly.

I got used to moving my body differently every day.

And as soon as I could walk, run, and do other things freely, I started training.

“Nanny. I’m going to training this afternoon. Get my training clothes ready.”

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

We trained for three hours each, starting at 6 AM and 6 PM.

The nanny looked worried, as it was something that a normal 9-year-old would never be able to do.

“It’s okay, Nanny. Just get enough rest and do it.”

“I’ll see you off. Come with me.”

The nanny looked at her little lord and let out a short, inaudible sigh.

A child who is looked down upon because he is an illegitimate child.

A child who is so kind and smart, but who has no support and has to try hard alone.

She always felt sorry for the young master.

When I was young, I felt sorry for not being able to do much, and after I grew up, I felt sorry for the way I worked hard without resting.

How lonely and how unfair it must be.

The young master was much more profound than his age.

Perhaps he instinctively knows that he has to work much harder if he doesn’t receive support.

“Master. I’m always on your side. If you have a hard time, you must tell me.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

The nanny’s eyes felt moist.

The nanny who said she would only see him off ended up following him to the training ground.

I headed inward as usual.

“Your Majesty. Other areas are empty, so why do you insist on going to Area 1? Isn’t Area 1 too old?”

The direct-only training ground was divided into ten sections, with the higher the number, the more modern the equipment was.

It was natural that the training grounds with the latest equipment would be better, but for me, the best training ground was Area 1.

“Because there is someone waiting.”

I smiled at my nanny.

That was when.

As I was passing by District 7, I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“That’s not it! If you grip the sword too tightly, your hand will hurt. Always handle the sword as if it were your own body… … .”

“Ah! Teacher. Why are you nagging me so much? No matter how you hold the sword, just hold it!”

“No, miss. Calm down a bit and try again.”

The man was struggling to teach the girl how to use a sword.

“The eighth army.”

The eighth fire.

A child who went through the same ceremony as me, and who will most likely have a naming ceremony with me as well.

“Your Majesty. You should call me Sister.”

“It’s only a 5 month difference, what’s wrong with you, sister?”

If you look at how I grew as a newborn, that would be roughly the right amount, but since I’m not sure when I was born, even that isn’t accurate.

And even if it were true, I had no intention of taking that girl as my older sister.

Instead, her gaze went to the man who was teaching her how to use a sword.

The nanny noticed my gaze and immediately opened her mouth.

“The person teaching Miss Hwa is Captain Baek I-Hyeon, a 4th-grade warrior. He is the leader of the warrior group within the Heukdan family.”

The leader of the Ebony Swordsman, and a 4th-rank warrior, was said to be an incredibly skilled person.

He is a great teacher for a nine-year-old child.

The nanny said with a worried expression.

“… … Master. This nanny has been searching everywhere. A good teacher who will recognize your true worth will soon appear.”

She is worried about the exam I have to take soon.

Descendants born into the Lee family must overcome three major tests as they grow up.

First, the wire ceremony held around the time of the stone.

And the second is the ‘naming ceremony’ that is held when one turns 10 years old.

Even if the naming ceremony was a test taken by a newborn baby who couldn’t even walk properly, it was a dangerous test where one could lose their life if they made a mistake.

So, for this naming ceremony, the children of the Sungmu family take all kinds of elixirs from a young age and receive teachings from excellent teachers.

‘And many strong men come to Sungmoo to become their master.’

But so far, no one has come to me to ask for my teacher.

They probably don’t want to be the teacher of an illegitimate child who has nothing to gain from it.

‘I don’t feel sorry or angry.’

They don’t come to you to see the person. They come to you to see the background of the person and to gain something from it.

I don’t need a teacher like that even if I were given a hundred people.

“Don’t worry, Nanny. In principle, it’s not right for a child who hasn’t had a naming ceremony to have a teacher.”

“In principle, yes, but these days, it’s considered natural to have a teacher. I heard that other young masters and young ladies even take elixirs.”

The Sungmoo family’s rules are thoroughly fair.

There is no distinction between illegitimate and legitimate children, nor is there any discrimination based on the order of birth.

So, in principle, all direct descendants were not allowed to have a teacher before the naming ceremony.

‘But rules and reality are always different.’

I smiled and reassured my nanny.

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

“You already had a teacher? And teachers?”

The bewildered nanny opened her eyes wide.

I just smiled.

* * *

Direct-only training ground, Section 1.

The direct training grounds of District 1 were, to put it nicely, old-fashioned, and, to put it badly, poor.

Instead of new shock-absorbing materials, the floor was covered with old stone slabs, and instead of measuring instruments or weight machines, there were only scarecrows and old-fashioned strength training equipment.

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

‘In fact, it’s closer to a symbolic space than a training ground.’

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

While countless buildings collapsed and were rebuilt during cataclysms and world wars, the training grounds, which had no buildings in the first place, remained in the same place.

-The building has collapsed and people have died, but this land where we have suffered through many hardships remains intact. Isn’t this the place that symbolizes our Lee family?

The hero who revived the Yi family, whose fortunes had been on the decline, the head of the Jeonjeon family is said to have said this as soon as he returned from the battlefield.

The name of the first section of the direct-only training ground, Sungmujang (崇武場), was thus given.

But whatever the symbolism, there was only one reason why I came to Sungmujang instead of other training grounds with state-of-the-art facilities.

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

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

You can tell right away how old it is and if it’s been neglected.

Anyone else would pick up any sword and start training, but my training began with selecting a sword from the armory.

The hundreds of training planes located here were my teachers.

‘Here it is.’

I soon came out, holding an old iron sword.

As soon as I entered the training ground, I lightly put my sword down and closed my eyes tightly.

At that moment, a black energy released from his heart and wrapped around his training sword.

When I opened my eyes again, the scene before my eyes had changed 180 degrees.

A group of swordsman wielding swords.

-It’s basic.

The man at the very front of the inspectors opened his mouth.

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

A man wearing an old-fashioned warrior’s uniform, the kind that only exists in the Lee family museum, imitated his movements.

From top to bottom, left to right, back to front, diagonally and straightly and with a single point.

-That is the basics. It is like a main beam that never wavers. Establish the basics on your sword.

The fantasy didn’t last long and ended unnaturally.

Soon the black energy surrounding the training sword dispersed.

The strength gained after returning.

The ability to fill in the elixir or teachings I lack.

‘Is it still lacking in skill?’

I read the weapon’s ‘memory’ with this black energy coiled around my heart.

And the moment I completely read the weapon’s memory, I was able to transform the weapon into magic power at will.

The old weapons that exist here are my most reliable teachers.

“Phew… … .”

I took a pose and regulated my breathing.

Basic swordsmanship learned by the Lee family’s bodyguards.

Seven-Star Sword.

Hwaak-!

The sword cut through the wind.

Even though it was too heavy for a child to swing, the sword did not waver.

‘If I learn the Seven Star Sword… … I’ll almost be done with all the weapons in this training ground.’

The older and more excellent the weapon was, or the more it was used by the user, the more vivid the memory was.

In the case of other training grounds, the training weapons were too recent, so they were kept in Sungmujang.

‘No matter how old it is, it’s still at the level of a training ground armory.’

I was disappointed with the level of the weapon masters. I had already read most of the memories of the weapons buried in the armory after only two years of training.

I glanced at the entrance to the training ground.

‘Isn’t he coming today either? It must be about time for him to come.’

But I decided to just focus on training because I might lose concentration if I just kept looking at the entrance.

An hour like that.

Two more hours.

When the number of sweat drops falling on the stone slabs increases one by one.

I put down my sword.

‘Now the Seven Star Sword is finished.’

I instinctively realized that it was over.

That was when.

The expected voice was heard from a corner of the training ground.

“That’s amazing.”

I bent down to confirm the owner of the voice.

“I am meeting my uncle.”

“Haha, even if you call me Little Daddy. Is this the first time you’ve seen me since the Lunar New Year?”

Lee Tae-hong.

A 4th-grade warrior who serves as the head of the Lee family.

‘The time has finally come.’

I smiled softly.

* * *

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

But there was one person I could call my teacher.

-I heard you haven’t found a teacher yet. I’d like to help you out a little. Is that okay?

Director Lee Tae-hong. My uncle.

In that way, I was able to receive teachings from my uncle, who had the title of 4th-grade warrior.

However, my uncle was responsible for the important duties of the family. He could not devote much time to me like the teachers of other heirs.

‘And after my uncle was pushed out because of family politics… … .’

It was a breakup as it was.

I haven’t heard from my uncle since then.

My uncle sat down on the dusty training ground floor without any hesitation.

If it were other elders, they would have been terrified and thought it was rude, but Lee Tae-hong seemed to have no interest in such things.

That’s why I like this person.

“What are you doing standing there? Your neck hurts, uncle. Sit down for a moment and cool off.”

Lee Tae-hong knocked on the seat next to him.

“thank you.”

“You’re working hard. I saw you come to the training ground every day without fail on my way to and from work.”

In fact, I already knew that my uncle passed by here every time he went to and from work.

I deliberately scheduled my training time accordingly so that my uncle would come to see me a little earlier.

“Is it very difficult?”

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

It must have been difficult for a young child to face so much discrimination in this place known as the Iron-Blooded Clan.

If Lee Tae-shin wasn’t there, he wouldn’t even be invited to holidays like Lunar New Year or Chuseok, so how much worse must it be on normal days?

“It must be very difficult to be discriminated against compared to other brothers. I don’t think you can understand it. But I hope you can overcome it.”

“it’s okay.”

It’s hard.

Yeah, there were tough times.

In the past, I was hurt a lot as a child around this time, and I often shed tears out of frustration and resentment.

But now?

“Anyway, I am also a descendant of the Sungmoo clan.”

I lifted the training sword I was holding and showed it to him.

“After all, I just have to prove it with this. I learned that it is our family, and that it is the meaning of the two letters that modify our family.”

Lee Tae-hong’s eyes widened.

Sungmu.

Could there be a better word for those two letters?

Lee Tae-hong looked at his little nephew.

Outstanding talent, brilliant effort, a personality to match, and a brilliant mind.

‘Alas, how could such a child have been born as an illegitimate child?’

It was such a pity.

Lee Tae-hong immediately shook his head.

What should I do if I, who thought that being discriminated against as an illegitimate child was an ugly side of my family, feel sorry for being an illegitimate child?

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

My eyes lit up.

‘come.’

This is the first opportunity I’ve been waiting for.

How I have waited for the day I would meet my uncle, and for him to say these words.

Although he retired from active duty and became a practitioner, my uncle was a man who was on the verge of becoming a third-class warrior in his younger days.

And he is a big shot in the Sungmoo family who is so resourceful that he rose from the position of an illegitimate child to the position of head of the family.

I answered carefully.