Chapter 14
The next day, early in the morning—the day of the audience ceremony.
Dong-! Dong-!
With the resounding beat of massive drums, Kim Jung-heon, the ceremony's host, stepped forward to officiate.
"From the heavens above, where you gaze down upon us, Your Majesty—!"
The first order of business before the rites was a formal greeting to the ruler of Joseon. The assembled yangban, clad in their ceremonial robes, bowed deeply toward the invisible pinnacle of the court high above.
"We gather here the descendants of heroes who shall uphold Your Majesty's will and defend Joseon!"
"Before this glorious event, the people of Joseon offer their respects!"
"May you enjoy eternal health and prosperity, forever watching over this land of Joseon!"
"Watch over us—!"
Echoing the rallying cry of the elder officiants, every yangban in attendance bowed their heads in unison. A rite directed at His Majesty observing from the Geunjeongjeon Hall far above. The patriarchs of the Sedao Clans, who dominated Joseon, were all prostrating themselves toward that unseen sky.
"Kim Chang-un."
Once the most solemn rite concluded, just as the ceremony's centerpiece—a group sparring match—was about to begin, my half-brother Kim Hyun-woo sidled up to me, glaring daggers.
"For a powerless wretch like you to show your face at this sacred event... Have you no shame?"
"Participation in the audience ceremony is determined by lineage, not ability. Even a powerless nobody like me knows that. Why bother asking?"
"......!"
He clicked his tongue in disgust and promptly lost interest in me. He'd realized that arguing further would only make him look foolish.
As the rites wrapped up and everyone returned to their seats...
"You there."
I turned at the familiar voice to find Yu Sang-hyun waving me over, eyeing me with a touch of wariness unlike yesterday. It seemed he'd done some digging on me in the interim.
"Who would've thought the boy who played with my daughter was from the Andong Kim Clan."
"Andong Kim Clan, huh... Well, now."
I shot back lightly, gesturing to one side. There went my clanmates, vanishing to a corner of the venue as if I didn't exist.
"Do you take us for a family that treats me like a person, General?"
"......I see. Enough said."
Watching them, Yu Sang-hyun's sharp expression softened with understanding. Powerless, on top of everything else. It was obvious how a clan like mine would treat someone like me.
"Care to sit with me? I'm a stranger in this distant land, and I could use some company."
"Sitting with the Iron Tiger Commander would be an honor. But... would you really want to be seen with the likes of me?"
"Mutual, isn't it? Who's going to welcome a backwater bumpkin like me from Hamgyong Province?"
Yu Sang-hyun scratched his head with a wry chuckle. And he wasn't wrong. To the central yangban, a man who'd come down from Hamgyong was anything but welcome.
'Stay holed up in your frontier and mind your own business—why crawl into the capital?'
'Now he wants to sell his daughter off to worm his way into the center? Pathetic ploy.'
'The Iron Tiger Army... To think those lowly tin cans will strut around the capital. Has Joseon's decorum decayed this far?'
Most of the looks thrown his way were laced with contempt, mockery—and an undercurrent of fear.
"And yet... you came here anyway. Why?"
"For my A-rin."
Yu Sang-hyun's face clouded over.
"Ever since the First Monster War, when King Gwangjo was active, the Iron Tiger Army has guarded Joseon's frontiers. The Imperial Army's support dried up ages ago, supplies are abysmal... but we've managed."
"......"
The Iron Tiger Army. A special monster-hunting unit formed to support the aura-wielding Imperial Army. Composed entirely of non-auras with no innate power, they relied on high-grade cybernetic bodies to slay monsters. Unlike the aura-exclusive Imperial Army, anyone—regardless of status—could enlist, making it a progressive force.
But once Sedao politics took hold, the yangban twisted it to their advantage.
Open to all, regardless of birth. The yangban exploited that clause, slowly corrupting the army. Soldiers from commoner or lowborn stock without power bases. Political exiles pushed out of the game. Joseon's rejects, funneled into a human dumping ground. That's what the Iron Tiger Army had become.
"As its commander, I have a duty to protect this land of Joseon. Until my dying breath."
"......"
"But A-rin... I don't want to burden my daughter with such a harsh fate."
He let out a weary sigh heavy with fatigue.
"Is that why you came to Hanseong?"
"Yes. Hoping to find a decent match for her. That's why I've been sucking up to these ink-stained scholars."
Yu Sang-hyun gave a bitter laugh.
"A-rin... I just want my girl to live in a good environment, see good things... peacefully."
"I see."
Who knew I'd learn the Iron Tiger Commander's inner thoughts like this? Dying and coming back had opened up all sorts of experiences.
"...Well, damn."
But that thought didn't last.
"To think I'd spill so much to a friend I've just met."
"Honestly, I wasn't sure how to respond."
"Hahaha, is that so? Sorry about that. It's my first time seeing her make a friend, so I got carried away."
Yu Sang-hyun flashed his trademark affable grin. To open up like that to someone he'd barely met—naive, or just pure-hearted? The sight drew an involuntary chuckle from me.
Because...
I knew the truth.
A peaceful life. A safe environment. Yu Sang-hyun's fond wish would never come true.
And the very choice you're making will provide the spark.
Offering his daughter to Hanseong's yangban. That decision would ignite the revolution that burned Joseon to the ground—led by the girl he cherished, avenging her murdered father at this very audience ceremony.
"By the way, General."
"Hm?"
His guard was down now—perfect timing. Keeping things light, I said to Yu Sang-hyun,
"About the food bill from yesterday with the young lady."
"Ugh."
He flinched at the sudden mention, fumbling for his interface.
"I'll pay it now. Let me check the transaction history..."
"No. Instead of the bill, I have a favor to ask."
This conversation had made one thing crystal clear. To survive the revolution led by the heroine, Yu A-rin, I knew exactly what to do.
"A favor?"
"Yes."
I'd save her father, Iron Tiger Commander Yu Sang-hyun.
"Simple. And very strange."
Pull him from his fated death.
And change the future.
Thwoom—!
"Arrrgh?!"
A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground, scattering the onlookers like fallen leaves.
"I-I forfeit! Forfeit!"
"This is as far as I go."
"What kind of aura is that...?!"
The young heirs from yangban families staggered, their auras depleted. All eyes locked on Kim Hyun-woo at the center. Lightning crackled around him, a crushing force dominating the space. No other aura user could even approach, let alone land a hit.
"Incredible aura. Five Imperial Army soldiers couldn't touch him at that level."
"The properties are superb too. Thunder and wind—an ideal combination."
"The Andong Kim Clan has produced a gem."
Overwhelmed by his dominance in the training field's heart, the yangban youths forfeited one by one.
In the end, only Jo Seong-hwan, eldest son of the rival Pungyang Jo Clan, remained. Focusing his mind, gale-force winds evoking a typhoon swirled around him—the Pungyang Jo's hereditary wind-aspected aura.
"Aura with wind properties...?"
"He's gotta put up some fight, right?"
Jo Seong-hwan leveled his sword with predatory glee. Focusing deeper, typhoon winds howled around him.
"Interesting."
Muttering that, Kim Hyun-woo reined in his dispersed aura. This was a stage to display his power—and scout potential 'enemies' who might challenge him. Jo Seong-hwan, standing against him, made perfect practice fodder.
So...
"Time you learned your place."
With those curt words, Kim Hyun-woo unleashed his aura. Thunder roared, shaking heaven and earth—a force that numbed the legs of all who beheld it.
"Not bad."
Gazing at his son's overwhelming aura dominating the crowd, a rare satisfied smile crept across Kim Jung-heon's face.
"The dual properties blend well, and control is flawless. Raise him right, and he'll grow without issue."
His tone appraised not a son, but prime livestock. Unaware, the clan elders around him nodded eagerly.
"The patriarch is right! Young Master Hyun-woo's aura is utterly dominant!"
"A product of the clan's full resources. As expected of our finest."
"Look at Jo Kang-un's face over there! Hahaha!"
"......"
Fawning sycophants desperate to prolong their miserable lives. Swallowing my disgust, I noticed Kim Jung-heon's gaze snag on someone. Iron Tiger Commander Yu Sang-hyun. When word came of the frontier tiger descending, he'd puzzled over the intent. Not worth worrying about now, though.
And the seat beside him...
Empty. Who was there just now?
To vacate one's seat at such a crucial event. Who?
As Kim Jung-heon narrowed his eyes...
Krrrng—!
"Argh?!"
Lightning struck the training field's center. Jo Seong-hwan, charging Kim Hyun-woo, flew backward like a ragdoll.
Combat incapacity.
With that, Kim Hyun-woo had subdued every yangban heir present.
"It's over."
No yangban successor could stand against him alone. The Andong Kim era extended another generation.
As Kim Jung-heon rose to leave...
Beeep!
A buzzer sounded, and a young girl entered the arena. About twelve years old. An unlisted participant drew all eyes.
"Who's that girl?"
"Yu A-rin... Ah, Iron Tiger Commander Yu Sang-hyun's daughter. Her aura test just finished, so she's late."
"Sending a fresh aura awakener to the audience ceremony?"
"Frontier desperation, what'd you expect?"
The elders muttered disparagingly, but Kim Jung-heon sat impassively.
"If she has aura, we'll test it."
Murmuring that, he gestured. The arena screen flashed instructions to continue the matches.
The lone latecomer. Kim Hyun-woo, sheathing his sword, eyed the intruder with annoyance.
"Some frontier girl? I get you're desperate, but leave."
A curt warning. But Yu A-rin, the newcomer, tilted her head innocently.
"Why? Isn't this where we fight?"
"......"
Her childlike candor made Kim Hyun-woo sigh.
"Thinks it's a playground game."
A fresh chick crashing the finished ceremony. He had an underling fetch a wooden practice sword. No need to soil his own blade on trash like this.
'Show a glimpse of aura, and she'll scamper off in fear.'
So judging, Kim Hyun-woo activated his power.
Whoosh—!
In a flash of lightning, he surged behind the girl. One nudge to her nape, and victory was his. Human reflexes couldn't match his speed.
The moment he seized her back...
"......!"
Kim Hyun-woo's eyes widened at the girl.
She stared straight back, eyes round and unblinking.
'Danger?!'
Shwick—!
Startled, he leaped back. She hadn't counterattacked or flared her aura. Pure instinct. His body had screamed she was a threat.
"Did Young Master Hyun-woo just retreat? Why?"
"Retreat? I didn't even see it!"
The crowd murmured, oblivious. But the high-rank aura users and precautionary Imperial Army detail gaped.
"That girl just...!"
"Reacted to that speed?"
"Impossible. How could anyone...?"
But only for a moment. Kim Hyun-woo glanced up at his father, Kim Jung-heon—whose eyes bulged, fixed not on him, but the girl. As his serene face twisted, that prior aura wave surged anew.
Whoooosh—!
Just a fluke. His aura was peak among Andong Kim patriarchs. For her to match it? Impossible.
'Reaction speed boost means body-enhancement aura. A power demo won't hurt her much.'
And if it did? A frontier girl—kill her, and no one cared.
No need to hold back. Only one thing mattered: display his might before all.
Affirm who ruled Joseon here and now!
Rumble—!
Decision made, Kim Hyun-woo struck. Lightning whipped around the girl, binding her. His form became a bolt, circling endlessly.
"Ooh!"
"Linking two techniques at that age—how?!"
The crowd gasped in unison. A ring of current encased A-rin. Colliding at that acceleration would shred even tactical-grade cybernetics!
So thinking, Kim Hyun-woo charged at full combat output...
Boom—!
"......Huh?"
Silence blanketed the field.
"......!"
The girl met his charge head-on. More precisely, she caught his downward practice sword—bare-handed.
Ignoring his shocked face, Yu A-rin beamed innocently.
"Oh, got it!"
Then she hurled him into the arena wall.
Kablooey—!
"Arrrgh?!"
"What the—?!"
The mere toss triggered the barriers. Not aura. Raw power. The backlash and shockwave tore through layered shields like paper.
"This is insane!"
"Danger!"
"Nobles, behind me! Hurry!"
Imperial troops absorbed the overflow to protect the stands.
How long amid that maelstrom?
The venue drowned in silence—no cheers, no awe—just the sprawled, unconscious Kim Hyun-woo.
"Bet that's a shock."
While all eyes glued to A-rin and Kim Hyun-woo...
Only I, Kim Chang-un, looked elsewhere: Andong Kim patriarch Kim Jung-heon and the Sedao elders around him.
Frozen, eyes wide—like they'd glimpsed the forbidden.
"Th-that power... No way?"
"No... It can't...!"
The Sedao lords, who trampled the world.
Terror gleamed in their eyes.
Clear reason.
The golden glow orbiting Yu A-rin. They'd seen its like in ancient records.
The aura of Joseon's king, Gwangjo 'Lee Cheol-heon', seated on the throne even now, gazing down upon them.
-Young master. Mu-young here.
As I surveyed the hushed field, a voice crackled through the communicator.
-Received the item from the 'collaborator.' Starting fabrication at the rendezvous now.
"Good. Tell our 'collaborators'..."
I spoke slowly into the device.
"Plan's on. Operation starts now."