It Wasn’t a Martial Arts World, but the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1. First Step into the Martial World!

I liked martial arts novels.

The flashy martial arts techniques, the protagonist growing through trials, the cool mentors, and all that.

I liked martial arts itself, but there was a different reason why I became so immersed in martial arts novels.

Chivalry, Righteousness and Morality.

In this modern age where things like romance have all but died, the path pursued by martial arts novels felt truly beautiful.

The words that stirred the primal desires of a man had turned me into a captive of the genre.

As a result, martial arts novels and I were inseparable—on the subway to work, in the bathroom, and even under the covers before I went to sleep.

Maybe that’s why.

One day, I woke up in a different world.

Without any warning, I opened my eyes to get ready for work and saw people dressed in clothes I had never seen before.

Not only that, but the buildings looked like something out of ancient China, a language I had never studied was automatically translated in my head, and out in the fields, people were swinging swords and training martial arts!

It was impossible not to get excited.

I was convinced.

This place was definitely inside a martial arts novel.

This had to be one of those common possession clichés.

Such vague thoughts floated through my mind like fluffy clouds.

But heaven is truly indifferent.

The body I possessed was not in good shape.

Black hair, black eyes, a child who looked about 7 years old.

Because I was so thin and frail, I often became a target for the village kids.

Since I had no parents, the villagers gave me pitiful looks, and because I had no home, I had to hide in alleyways, barely surviving day by day.

Living like this, I figured I wouldn’t even live long enough to worry about martial arts. So, the first thing I did was find a place to stay.

Though calling it a “place to stay” was a bit of a stretch.

Since I was nothing more than a kid with nothing to my name, all I could do was use the meager knowledge I had picked up from watching Survivor to build a small hut in the forest.

In any case, as time passed, I gradually adjusted to this world.

I hunted to eat, swung a stick around in preparation for the day I would learn martial arts, and when I saw little kids looking like beggars, I shared my food with them, pretending to be a heroic warrior.

That’s how ten years passed.

Finally, around the time I began to accumulate something resembling internal energy.

“First step into the martial world!”

I came down from the remote mountain, taking my first step into the wider world once again.

With a grand dream of one day reaching the peak of martial arts mastery.

—

“…Was what I used to think.”

Looking back now, I was crazy back then.

No, I wasn’t just crazy; I must have been possessed by something.

Why did I ever think this world was part of a martial arts novel?

Was it because my body had become that of a child, so my mind had regressed too?

Yeah, that’s the only explanation that makes sense.

“But still, you have to admit it was an understandable mistake! Why else would it be like this?”

“Brother, what are you going on about this time?”

As I sighed deeply with a stick in my mouth, my sworn sister, Haryeong, looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“Rather than lying around, get up. The bandits are coming. The kids have already confirmed it!”

“Ha…”

“Brother! This isn’t the time for jokes, hurry up!”

“Haryeong, do you even understand your brother’s feelings?”

“Why do you always start whining when things get urgent?!”

Haryeong grabbed me by both armpits and started dragging me.

She was putting so much effort into it that sweat was dripping down her once pretty face, and watching her like this made me chuckle.

“Come on, it’s just a bunch of bandits. Why are you freaking out so much?”

“You’re not human, Brother. You’re basically a monster! The rest of us can’t handle that many! Look over there, just at a glance, there are at least 30… Ah.”

Haryeong slapped her forehead.

“We’re screwed.”

“It’s the perfect warm-up, with that many.”

“What’s so perfect about it?! Oh no, we’re doomed. Just bury me next to you when I die.”

“You’re unusually loud today. Is it that time of the month?”

“…What the heck! Just grab your weapon already!”

Flushing red with frustration, Haryeong pulled out a dagger from her waist.

At the same time, she furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth, like she was promising to get back at me later, which made me sigh once more.

“You fool. Did you really think your big brother was just lying here doing nothing?”

This should be enough.

I clenched and unclenched my fist.

My whole body felt light.

After adjusting my scattered internal energy, I felt like I was once again approaching the level of a top-tier expert.

“Like I always said, the most important thing is organizing your energy. Your posture, your breathing, the flow—gather the energy flowing through your body into your dantian…”

“Here we go again, saying things only you understand! Hurry up already! Hiyahh!”

Wait, did she just…?

I raised and fed her, yet here she was acting so ungrateful.

Well, whatever.

I drew my sword and stepped forward.

As Haryeong said, the number of bandits easily exceeded thirty.

By the time we finished our conversation, they were already within striking distance.

“Hey, you bastards! Put down your weapons and don’t think about running! You’re already surrounded!”

The bandit at the front yelled.

“And the girl ain’t bad-looking, huh?”

“Yeah, boss, she might fetch a good price.”

At the bandits’ conversation, Haryeong let out a gasp and shivered, then quickly hid behind me.

From there, she boldly declared:

“Y-you’re the ones who are dead now! If you get caught by my brother, you’re all finished!”

“Huh, this girl’s head is full of flowers, ain’t it?”

“You’ll all get a blade to the head instead! Come at us if you think you can!”

Why was she acting up when she wasn’t even the one who’d be fighting? Did I raise her wrong…?

The lead bandit burst into laughter at Haryeong’s words.

“Hahaha! Let’s see about that. You just wait right there, little girl. We’ll be done in no time.”

The lead bandit finally drew an axe as large as his own body.

The other two bandits next to him, Bandit 2 and Bandit 3, also pulled out their weapons and started approaching slowly.

Is there no way they can change up this cliché routine?

After listening to all their lines, I dusted off my shoulders and yawned.

“Hey, why are your tongues so long? Do you even know why I came all the way here?”

“Huh?”

Seeing my sudden change in attitude and hearing the click of my tongue, the bandits’ expressions noticeably shifted.

Shock, confusion—various emotions flashed across their faces.

I guess to them, I looked like a crazy brat confidently stepping forward in such a situation.

But their expressions wouldn’t last much longer.

I have a principle: bad guys need to be cut down.

In a split second.

I raised the hand holding my sword, and the sunlight reflected off the blade, casting a glint onto the lead bandit’s face.

“…W-what?”

– Swoosh!

That was the last thing he saw.

Before he could even scream, his head was cleanly severed.

The head rolled and thudded to a stop near my feet.

“Heh, what an ugly mug.”

I lifted his head by the hair. His face looked like the definition of a bandit.

Just as I was frowning at the sight, a loud scream assaulted my ears.

“Boss! Booooss!”

It was Bandit 2’s desperate cry.

“Man, you’ve got some lungs. Why didn’t you take up a job using that voice?”

“You little bastard!”

His movements were exaggerated. For someone wielding a sword, he had way too many unnecessary flourishes.

The outcome was obvious.

I aimed not at the blade itself, but at the flat side of his sword.

– Clang!

His sword went flying far into the distance. In baseball terms, it was a home run.

A sword without proper force behind it can easily be knocked away like that.

Bandit 2’s expression was that of someone who had lost everything. It was almost pitiful.

“That’s what you get for killing innocent people.”

“Shut up and die!”

Now it was Bandit 3’s turn.

I didn’t even need to use my sword.

In an instant, I closed the gap between us, extending my palm.

Burst Palm .

A technique that channels internal energy into the opponent’s body, causing damage from within.

It was the first martial art I had learned in this world.

– Boom!

“Gah!”

Bandit 3 was sent rolling several times before crashing into a tree, his body going limp.

“Do you remember the woman you killed today?”

Crunch!

I immediately grabbed Bandit 2 by the throat and lifted him.

“S-spare me… ugh!”

He struggled, but it was a futile effort.

Desperation to survive would do him no good.

The remaining bandits standing behind were too petrified to even think about rushing in.

I looked them over and continued speaking.

“She was a widow, working hard to support her only son after losing her husband.”

“Gah…! I-I was just following orders…!”

“Is that right? A moment ago, you were all about avenging your boss, weren’t you?”

“Please… spare… my life…”

“If you’ve done bad things, you should die quietly. It’s always that mouth of yours that’s the problem.”

“You… filthy… bastard…!”

– Crack!

There was no point in listening any further.

I threw Bandit 2’s body aside like the others.

“Next.”

At my words, not a single bandit dared step forward.

“Can’t you overlook something like this during such chaotic times?! You look like you’re one of us, anyway!”

The man who spoke up was scruffy and bearded, gripping his axe tightly as he trembled.

It was hard to believe that these bandits—who slaughtered entire families and plundered their wealth—could now be so paralyzed with fear.

I clenched my fist.

It was laughable how even monsters like these would beg and cry when faced with death.

Suddenly, a memory came to mind.

A house reduced to ashes, bodies sprawled on the ground, axes buried in them.

A woman who had embraced her child until the very end, and children who died with their eyes wide open.

It was a gruesome sight.

And as the bandits had said, this scene wasn’t unique to this place.

Indeed, it was a time of chaos.

The mighty Han Dynasty, which once seemed eternal, was now on the verge of collapse.

With the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the eunuchs’ tyranny, all these events were unfolding.

Yeah, it was a story I knew all too well…

Ten years since my possession.

Ten years of training.

At the age of 17, I finally realized.

This wasn’t a world inside a martial arts novel, but a world within the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“Next!”

And just to be clear, this wasn’t me taking out my frustration!