Being a Guardian

Baek Yisoo looked around after making sure of the mission rewards. The dark corridor was alarming. He didn't know what would come out of it. However, thanks to Koo Mihyun's Clothing Set, he got used to the darkness very quickly.

'I can't possibly get out of here at this hour. What should I do?

At this time of night, only senior servants and guards were in the mansion. Ordinary servants and attendants would go home. At first, Baek Yisoo thought of disguising himself as a guard and leaving the building, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

'Even the weakest of the guards is a third-level warrior. The number of second-level ones is not small. If I want to go all the way from here to the exit, I have to pass at least three checkpoints. Even if I want to escape from the garden, I will be caught by the guards outside.'

After thinking about it for a while, Baek Yisoo didn't wait any longer and moved forward in the darkness. A few rooms to the right of Baek Iseul's room was an empty and dark room. There was nothing in it except a bed, a dusty desk, and a closet. Baek Yisoo quickly entered the room and quietly closed the door.

This was the room the first young lady used when she was single. Since she had already gotten married, it had fallen into disuse and was now empty.

Baek Yisoo lay on the bed and waited for the sun to rise. At the same time, he was checking his mission rewards.

'I wonder how useful the points are, it's been almost a day and I haven't even met Minji. Anyway, once I'm free, I'll be able to go outside the mansion and stand on the same level as Minji.'

He currently had 11 Stat Points. Baek Yisoo was thinking of spending all of them on appearance. Because he was so ugly and unkempt that all his tactics would fail because of his appearance.

---

Just before sunrise, Baek Yisoo left the mansion disguised as a maid. As he walked through the gates, he realized how important self-confidence was. He pretended it was something he always did and no one turned him away.

He didn't have enough time to sleep. He had to take care of the horses before sunrise. In the middle of the road, he took off his servant's clothes and put on the clothes from the inventory. Then he went to the stables and began to take care of the daily chores.

As he continued to complete the system's tasks, his confidence grew. This made Baek Yisoo even more attached to life. It didn't matter how hard it was. Baek Yisoo vowed to complete the system's tasks and improve himself.

Around noon, he finished most of the work and took a small opportunity to rest. He threw himself on the lawn next to the barn and took a nap. The night had been intense and stressful. He was mentally exhausted, and not used to such pressure.

Baek Yisoo opened his eyes when the sunlight was interrupted by something. As soon as he opened his eyes, he jumped out of his seat.

"I see you're quite relaxed?"

"Ah, sir! I was resting my eyes..."

Kok Seong was in charge of training the Baek Clan's guards. He was a tall, rather hairy old man.

'Were you just eyes resting? You were asleep, bro. You were sleeping.' Kok Seong Baek clicked his tongue when he saw the smile on Yisoo's face. "Pack your things and come to the training ground when the sun is high. Your slave status has been removed.'

'She must have been very scared.'

Baek Yisoo smiled as he remembered how scared Baek Iseul had been at night. He couldn't blame her, though. The social pressure on women was a great burden for them. They could not move freely.

Kok Seong thought that the reason behind that smile was that he had finally gotten his freedom. It was no big deal for a slave to be freed. Slaves who earned enough money could buy their own rights.

Still, it was an event worth celebrating.

For Baek Yisoo, however, the abolition of slave status was just the beginning. He now officially 'existed' in the world. He was a free individual with his own rights!

"You will undergo three months of accelerated training. If you fail to learn the basic martial arts of the Baek Clan during this time, you will have to find a new home. Remember this..." After warning Baek Yisoo about a few more things, Kok Seong didn't wait there any longer.

'Can I make my first move now?'

With a thoughtful look, Baek Yisoo went to the ward and packed his 'wardrobe' of a few items. Since he didn't have much, he arrived at the training ground in just ten minutes.

The training ground was packed to the brim. Twenty or so uniformed martial artists were lined up in orderly rows, swinging their swords in different ways, and letting out blood-curdling roars. They were strangely synchronized. They were like limbs of the same body.

When Kok Seong saw him enter the field, he gestured for him to come. When he stepped onto the field, the guards stopped practicing and began to stare at him.

The stares were really piercing.

"His name is Baek Yisoo. Until a while ago, he was one of the clan's slaves. However, he was recommended by the clan line and qualified for martial arts training. He will train with you for the next few months."

Baek Yisoo bowed respectfully to the guards.

"Let's get along well, my seniors..."

Kok Seong wasn't going to deal with him anymore. He pointed to a young man in the crowd, "Muk Sung-Hoon! You will be in charge of the newbie. Once Instructor Mo starts turning him into something, we'll put him through real training."

"Yes, sir!"

Muk Sung-Hoon was a young man with a high nose. He was close in age to Baek Yisoo, although his face was a bit long and he looked like an incredibly honest person. But his body was developed. He was slowly acquiring the qualities of a warrior.

Kok Seong didn't watch the training any longer and went to take care of his business. Even though he was a trainer, he was training real guards; not guard candidates like the ones here... Instructor Mo took care of the candidates.

In short, there was no reason for him to stay here.

After Kok Seong left, the others returned to training.

Muk Sung-Hoon came to Baek Yisoo's side.

"Brother Yisoo. We're close in age, can I call you Yisoo?" 

"No problem. I'll too call you Sung-Hoon."

"Follow me first. I will show you where we will stay." Sung-Hoon led the way and brought him to a large building. Baek Yisoo knew it was a boarding house for the guards.

Even though the Baek Clan was a middle-upper-ranking clan, it had a lot of soldiers at its disposal. This was mainly because the clan leader was the leader of a famous division. They valued military power - which was why there were very few clans in Shaanxi at their level that had so much military power.

"Because we are currently in training, we have to spend eight hours a day training. The clan gives us a monthly allowance of fifty nyang. With this money, you can do whatever you want. But be warned, even if the allowance is high, don't indulge in pleasure! Instructor Mo is ruthless. If you don't pass the training, you'll have to look for a new place!"

A middle-class family could get by on 50-100 nyang a month. Considering that, the Baek Clan was pouring a lot of money into the guards. If they were paying that much allowance just for a trainee, how much did the real guards make?

"Your bed is here. And your clothes are over there."

Sung-Hoon pointed to the beautifully folded blue clothes. No guard group outside the royal family could wear red. That's why the guards of noble houses tried to avoid the color red.

"Just so you know, Instructor Mo has followed and trained under the patriarch for a long time. He is very different from the instructors of other families. This difference is reflected in the training. So you better prepare yourself for hell."

"How long have you been here?"

"It's only been a week."

"A week?"

"Yes. I have a martial art that I learned from my family, so I have an advantage over others."

Baek Yisoo nodded his head in understanding and placed his bundle on the bed. He picked up the guard uniform, which was crude in embroidery but dozens of times better quality than his previous clothes, and glared at Sung-Hoon.

"Can you come out, I'm a little shy."

'As if I'm interested in your body.' Sung-hoon left the room in disgust and left Baek Yisoo alone.

After he left, Baek Yisoo rolled his eyes and put on his clothes. After fixing her hair, she slapped herself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

'I'm really free...'

Excited, he left the room and walked to the training ground.

"Hm? What is this?"

When he entered the training ground, he was horrified by the scene he saw.