The Illegitimate Who Devours Weapons

Weapon-Eating Illegitimate Son Episode 23

I was out at the training ground as usual, sweating under the sun.

“Oh, I’m losing concentration.”

My aunt, who was placing her hand on my back, spoke firmly.

Although she was a wild and wild aunt, she was more serious and strict than anyone else when it came to training in magic.

Woof-

I focused on magic again.

He gathered the energy of Jaha Seokcheong and Nectar that had not yet been resolved and pulled it into the magic source.

How much time has passed like that?

“Whew. Let’s stop here for today.”

My aunt took her hand off my back and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

After briefly organizing the magical power within my body, I opened my eyes.

“Jaha Seokcheong? I’ve been looking at it for a few days now, but it’s amazing. It’s incredibly pure. It’s a magical elixir that only appears in old documents, but how on earth did you take it?”

“I say this every time, but I was lucky.”

“Huh! If you don’t want to talk, just say you don’t want to talk!”

“That’s not it… … .”

I couldn’t answer any better than that.

Because I really still don’t remember that time clearly.

“Well, to obtain that level of elixir, you need to have a connection. However, it was stupid to take two elixirs without any preparation. Even if you take just one elixir, you need to prepare a lot. Don’t do that again.”

“Yes, I know. I just happened to take it when I was in a panic.”

Even thinking about it now, it was a dizzying situation.

Even though I was fully prepared, I didn’t know what would happen, and I ended up taking two elixirs while in the worst possible condition.

“By the way, there’s something I don’t understand. If the Jaha Seokcheong had the effects it had in the records, your magical power should have increased significantly… … To be honest, your magical power has increased significantly, but it’s not that much, right?”

“Could it be used to restore the body?”

“Even considering that, it doesn’t make sense. And you couldn’t even use the recovery technique because you were unconscious? If taking an elixir could instantly cure trauma, why would a potion have been created?”

“That is true, but.”

My aunt tilted her head and folded her arms.

“Could it be that the undigested energy was lost? Hmm, I don’t think so… … There must be some reason. Maybe the Jaha Seokcheong was a worse elixir than the records say. It could also be because of the magic herb or mana booster you mentioned.”

“That might really be true.”

I didn’t tell my aunt, but I actually had a guess.

‘Maybe it’s because of this.’

I felt a stirring in the pit of my stomach.

An unidentified energy different from magic.

Black flag.

Since the naming ceremony, the amount of black flags has increased explosively.

The fact that the guy who had been growing bigger after absorbing weapons suddenly grew in size could only be explained by Jaha Seokcheong.

“Anyway, Aunt. How is work going today?”

“That, that is… … .”

“You didn’t miss work, did you?”

“Uh, I’m on my way to work. But I have a morning drama that I’m watching today, so I’ll just watch that… … .”

“No, you can’t. You have to work hard to achieve results.”

“But, but Ha-min is Min-jae’s daughter!? And her father has leukemia!”

At first I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

I led my aunt with a determined expression.

“Please watch it again and then go quickly.”

“I’m working on weekends without pay, so I can take a break!”

“Are you sure you’re not going to break your promise?”

“You, you damn brat! I would have taken off my shoes and stepped forward for you!”

“You were running wild and causing a ruckus in the conference room by yourself. I negotiated with my father to get you out of the situation, even though you might be severely punished.”

“How cheeky! How dare you talk back to an adult!”

“I think these days, people call those kinds of adults old farts.”

“Profit! Profit!”

My aunt stomped the ground with her foot.

Recently, my aunt received a senior position and was working as a researcher in the family’s research department.

As a reward for my struggle, I asked for permission to appoint my aunt as a senior and to accept her as my teacher.

There were two problems.

First, the elders must perform regularly, and second, the aunt is awaiting disciplinary action.

-Do you think your aunt can handle the work assigned to her? Besides, the child probably doesn’t want it.

-If it’s at the research institute, you’ll be able to demonstrate your abilities. And I’ll try to convince you.

I managed to convince my aunt, using threats, and my father instead disciplined my aunt by having her work for half a year without pay, including weekends.

‘My father must have been worried about my aunt wandering around like a wild man, so it must have worked.’

Even if it was a reward for the struggle, it would have been impossible if it had not pleased his father.

This is because being a senior member of the Sungmu family requires complicated procedures and qualifications to be granted enormous authority.

“Oh no! I’m being bullied by my nephew. I’m sad.”

“You won’t even get a single grain of rice, so go and work.”

“Eww!”

I said, pushing away my aunt who was clinging to me like a leech.

Asking for my aunt’s position as a reward was not only for my aunt’s sake, but also because it was something I needed to do.

‘The support that the elders receive from their families is enormous. If my aunt can settle down, it will help me too.’

After a long struggle, my aunt finally got up from her seat, exhausted.

“Then, honey. Are you going today too?”

“Yes, because today is the last day.”

“What on earth are you looking for that you’re wandering around like that for?”

“I need to find out something.”

What my aunt was talking about was the right to enter Janggyeonggak.

Three days can be long if it’s long, and short if it’s short.

It was a tight schedule to read even one book on magic or a book on horror. Even if I did read it, I didn’t need it right now.

“Okay, I’ll just do whatever I want.”

My aunt got up, shaking off her seat.

I smiled lightly and walked with my aunt.

Another reward I received from this naming ceremony.

Today was the last day of the three-day Janggyeonggak visit.

* * *

Janggyeonggak was located close to the research center.

The three-story building, which appeared sturdy at first glance and had no windows, was surrounded by security comparable to that of a fortress.

“… … It’s the last day.”

The warrior controlling entry to Janggyeonggak said as he took my pass.

“I will explain again, you cannot take out documents. Simple notes are okay, but you must not copy them. The contents of your notes must also be inspected. Also, if you damage documents, you will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action… … .”

“I heard it yesterday, so it’s okay.”

“… … Yes, I understand. Then you may come in.”

Only after a search of my belongings and a lengthy explanation was I allowed to enter Janggyeonggak.

Janggyeonggak was a space that was very reminiscent of a library.

Numerous documents were stored in various storage cabinets, divided into sections by type.

The place I headed to was a bookshelf filled with magical secrets and various records from the past.

‘I need to find out about the black flag.’

I’ve already looked through a huge amount of books, but I haven’t gotten much results for two days.

If you still can’t figure it out by today… … .

‘That’s like finding out information. The fact that there’s no information even in the Sungmu family’s Janggyeonggak means that it’s probably not easy to find out anywhere in the world.’

Black aura, absorbs weapons, increases magic power, cannot be identified by anyone other than the owner, neutralizes monster peers… … .

I entered keywords into the device installed on the bookshelf and checked them by deleting them one by one.

‘Is this the last thing I haven’t read yet?’

Since reading the originals was not permitted, I displayed copies of the documents and their interpretations on a screen in the reading room.

So, one by one, I checked the documents again.

While gathering information at Janggyeonggak, I discovered an interesting book.

It was a book that contained none other than the existence of Mujin.

It was an ancient document made of bamboo slips from a time so long ago that the exact date could not be determined.

After reading the translation, I found that it mentioned a ‘weapon that can freely change its shape’ and a trigger word that would allow one to become the owner of that weapon.

‘Did the third brother get Mujin after seeing this?’

I stopped reading the translation.

[… … It was like the six livestock raised by the earth and the ocean, and it brought sorrow to many countries… … It was enveloped in a silent aura, and even monsters were afraid of it, and spears and swords did not penetrate it… … .]

[All the country’s brave generals were defeated, so there was no one to oppose them under heaven.]

In some places, the words were muddled up over time and I couldn’t read them properly.

Incomprehensible sentences that seem to describe people, monsters, or even natural harm or spirits.

‘The aura of silence, the monsters were afraid… … .’

Are you talking about the black flag?

[After hundreds of days and nights of war, the country fell into despair… … Countless heroes gave their lives to seal the northern Mangwi Mountain… … and overthrow it… … The king praised their achievements and granted them a fief.]

[The heroes were so impressed by the king’s honor that they created a sword called Mujin. They presented it to the king.]

After that, it was just another jumbled list of words.

‘Surely there is a sense of silence… … .’

Why is that?

It may be a huge leap, but it felt like a black mark to me.

‘Could it be that Mujin and Heukgi are related?’

If so, then it makes sense that the moment he was eating Jaha Seokcheong, a huge figure that looked like Gwisu Mountain appeared and said, “They” had come into the world.

‘Man-gwi-san. Man-gwi-san… … .’

The place names in ancient times and now are so different that it seems like it would take quite a bit of legwork to figure them out.

‘Still, I found traces.’

Mujin and Heukgi.

There are still many questions, but I have discovered a thin thread.

* * *

How many seasons have passed?

There wasn’t much going on for a while right after the naming ceremony.

The eighth, Lee Seo-hyeon, seemed to be called here and there, but as an illegitimate child, all I had on my schedule was endless training.

And as I focused on training like that, time passed by and I became 13 years old.

“… … Your Highness. I’m not sure if this is true. The budget from the family includes the maintenance expenses and the salaries of the employees who work hard for you.”

“Nanny, that means you should spend only the minimum amount necessary.”

“If you were buying something else, I wouldn’t say anything… … but you’re telling me to buy used weapons… … .”

The budget that was allocated to me in my previous life has now increased significantly.

With that budget, I instructed my nanny to purchase all the training weapons that each corps was planning to use and discard.

“It’s not a waste of money. I need it so much.”

This is something I really need.

The nanny sighed and closed the ledger.

“Starting today?”

To my nanny’s question, I nodded, buttoning up my collar.

“Okay, it starts now.”

“Young Master, you’re already 13 years old… … .”

The nanny looked moved again.

He was a truly emotional person in this desolate family.

“Then I’ll go now.”

I said, closing my coat.

It was definitely different from any uniform I’d ever worn before.

With brown embroidery and stylishly slanted sleeves.

“This is the beginning of cadet life.”

The life of a cadet at Sungmoo University begins at the age of 12.

Now was the real beginning.