“I opened my eyes and I’m still in the Martial Arts World, damn it!”
“Shit!”
“Help me, please!”
Honestly, I thought it was all just a dream and I’d wake up in my studio apartment, but that hopeful thought got smashed to pieces and turned into meat!
My studio…!
There might not be shit in there, but compared to this Martial Arts World, it’s paradise. I thought I’d wake up there, but here I am, still stuck.
“…”
Yeah.
Let’s admit it.
I’ve completely ended up in another world. Some sort of dimensional twist? A rift? I probably came here by accident and now there’s no way back.
So I have to live here, whether I like it or not.
I was thinking about this yesterday too… sigh.
Since waking up hasn’t changed anything, it makes me ponder again.
“Get a grip!”
It’s still early morning.
If I want to survive today, I need to head to Dahoebang and find work. They remember my face at Dagumjeonjeong, so I just have to mention that.
*Thud!*
After giving my face a little smack, I got ready for work. The morning of a worker is always busy. I have to slice through the time and finish my tasks before heading out.
But I can’t skip breakfast. Too bad I’m broke, so this is a pass. Normally, I must eat breakfast, but there’s just no way around it.
*Gurgle!*
I’m damn hungry, but let’s tough it out and work today.
Since they said that if I work full-time I’d earn 100 coins, I won’t starve from dinner onwards. That’s all I need to think about for now.
*Huff!*
I let out a shout of determination and stepped outside the inn.
“The morning air is cold.”
It feels familiar.
My mornings have always felt like this.
Knowing the way, I headed straight to Dahoebang.
“The door is open.”
Looks like they’re working early today, so I stepped in to greet them.
“Good day! I’m here for work today.”
“Hmm? You came too early?”
“Too early?”
“You should’ve shown up after a half-shijin.”
Half-shijin?
That must be a martial arts way of talking about time.
Half a shijin must mean thirty minutes, probably.
“Oh.”
Oh, damn it.
I wasted sleep. Gotta wake up about 30 minutes later next time. I somehow manage without an alarm.
No choice.
I went outside Dahoebang and spent about 30 minutes hanging around before coming back.
“Still not starting?”
“What’s the matter?”
“You’ve got a half-shikin left. Come back after the half-shijin.”
What the hell?
I came back thinking about spending about 30 minutes just lounging around, and now I’m told I’ve got a half-shijin left?
Wasn’t half a shijin 30 minutes?
I pondered for a moment and figured out that a full shijin is 2 hours. A half shijin is actually 1 hour.
Martial arts timekeeping is seriously complicated.
“I’m here for work!”
“You’re full of enthusiasm… Let’s see.”
“Oh, actually, I was told to come back to Dagumjeonjeong yesterday.”
“Then take this over there.”
A free pass.
I took the ticket and headed to Dagumjeonjeong. When I got there, I realized I was the first one, and most of the workers weren’t even up yet. It’s true that you can’t laze around in any world if you want to survive.
Are those who got here before me from a different place other than Dahoebang?
If they’re that diligent, I’ll probably see them around often. Should I try to befriend them? No, I shouldn’t. Even if I’m adaptable, it’s only the second day in the Martial Arts World. If I end up talking too much and start exposing my lack of common sense, they’ll think I’m weird, so for now, I’ll just stay a loner. No need to make connections.
… Is this what a time traveler’s fate looks like?
So lonely.
“Hello! I heard you’re great at digging!”
“Come over here.”
While waiting for the workers to gather, that little rat from yesterday called me.
“Dig.”
“Yes!”
I grabbed a shovel and got to work right away.
“If you finish by tonight, you’ll earn 100 coins.”
“Got it!”
Can’t resist the 100 coins!
*Shift!*
I don’t feel any muscle pain. I’ve always done manual labor, so I’m fine. My condition hasn’t changed from yesterday, so I dug through the dirt like a bulldozer.
“Whoa… you really are impressive.”
“You’re very skilled at digging.”
The workers next to me started complimenting me.
“Hahaha, once you get the hang of it, anyone can do it.”
“Is that so?”
We casually chatted while working.
I’m keeping my ears open. I need to eavesdrop on the conversations among the workers to learn about the ways of the citizens of the Martial Arts World.
Even if it seems like idle chatter, it’s really helpful to me right now. I need to fill my knowledge.
“Hehe.”
I kept at it.
Of course, I’m not some fool who depletes all my stamina just from enthusiasm. That’s the trick; when a supervisor is watching, you show your skills, but when no one’s around, you take it easy.
That way, I can keep going until the end.
Balancing stamina is vital.
“Ah!”
I took breaks in between to gulp down water from a big jug. This has to be done with some subtlety to blend in with the other workers. No matter what, you can get some water time, but if I were to do it alone, I might leave a bad impression.
As I worked like that, soon enough, lunchtime arrived.
“I’m really dying here.”
“Don’t even say it.”
“I need to eat something meaty for dinner.”
The workers who brought food began gathering in groups to eat.
*Gurgle!*
Damn, I want to eat too… my stomach’s rumbling.
I could die from hunger.
“…”
But there’s no food, what can I do? The best choice is to lie down and take it easy. I found a nice shady spot and lay flat.
As soon as I closed my eyes for a moment…
“Afternoon work starts now!”
In an instant, I had dozed off and woke up.
“Ugh.”
Has time flown by so quickly?
I casually stretched and headed back to the work site, digging the whole afternoon again. It’s not really tough, but it’s boring.
Then the sun began to set.
“Work is done!”
“Yayyyyy!”
Finally, it’s quitting time!
Time to collect my pay!
As I stood in line to get paid, my heart began to race. I’m about to receive my 100 coins! What should I spend it on? Just imagining it makes me happy.
“Here you go, 100 coins.”
“Thank you!”
The moment I grabbed the linked coins, an absurd level of emotion hit me.
What is this?
Is all of this money?
Has money always been this heavy?
“My, my legs…!”
The coins are so heavy that I can’t move my legs. It feels like the spirits of money are gripping my ankles. But they can’t stop me. After managing to get the coins into my pocket, I wobbled back to Dahoebang.
Returning the ticket ended my workday.
Free time!
“Ahhh!”
Even though it just means eating and going to sleep, I don’t have much to do, but this feeling of freedom seemed to blow away my gloomy thoughts.
*Gurgle!*
I’m crazily hungry.
“Let’s go eat.”
Today, I might be able to have delicious food. That roasted sparrow I heard about yesterday? What was it called? Hwa Hwa Jang? I might as well grab some noodles and get ingredients for tomorrow’s lunch!
“Server!”
As soon as I stepped into the inn, I called for the server.
“Yes!”
Oh, this one’s different than yesterday.
“One person! One bowl of noodles and one roasted sparrow, please! Also, I’d like some ingredients for tomorrow’s lunch!”
“That’ll be 90 coins, guest!”
“Huh?!”
What did you say…!
You want to take 90% of my hard-earned coins in one go?
I immediately pulled out my coins. Noodles are 10 coins. Roasted sparrow is 30 coins. Lodging is 30 coins… so that makes 70 coins. Could it really be that the ingredients are 20 coins?
I’m feeling dizzy, seriously.
“…”
I feel like my soul is about to escape. I sat in the seat I was led to, but my body went totally limp. I earned 100 coins today, and I lost 90 in just one second.
At this rate, I can only save 10 coins a day.
If I want 100 coins, I need to save for ten days.
And if I take even a single day off, my savings disappear.
If I buy anything consumable in between, that’ll be gone too.
“…”
Thinking about all this cash and the future made negative feelings sharply rise… is there no future? At this rate, I’m just going to work manual labor and die!
To prevent burnout, I need days off, but can I afford to take even one day a week off? With my savings at only 10 coins a day, how can I take a break? At best, I’ll get one day off every ten days, and even then, I’ll be broke afterward.
I’m not joking! If I want to rest, I need to generate money to take a break.
“I’m going nuts.”
There’s no future.
Am I really just going to die in the Martial Arts World doing manual labor?
No… that can’t be right.
I must find another way.
“Your food is ready, guest!”
“Huh?!”
*Thud!*
The instant the server placed the food on my table, all those negative thoughts washed away.
The noodles look delicious. But today, I didn’t just order that. I also ordered the roasted sparrow.
And there it was, the roasted sparrow right in front of me.
“What is this mouth-watering food!”
“It’s a popular dish. Enjoy your meal.”
“Ahhh…!”
Three beautifully roasted sparrows lay on the plate, perfectly golden, and they’re smaller than my fist. Those cutely roasted little sparrows, three of them!
“They’re all dead, damn!”
The smell!
This golden aroma is driving my senses wild! Meat! Flesh! Bones! And the glossy fat! Forget about electric roasted chicken! Right now, I have the roasted sparrow!
How delicious would this be in my mouth?
With trembling hands, I carefully grabbed one roasted sparrow and popped it whole into my mouth.
And as I licked the meat with my tongue and bit down.
“Oooh…!”
Juicy fat burst out, filling my mouth with extreme pleasure. It was the heavenly taste of madness. Who knew a sparrow could be this delicious?
But the pleasure was short-lived.
Since it was such a small bird.
*Crunch, crunch.*
The sparrow was crushed in an instant in my mouth. My teeth were breaking through the flesh and bone, and my tongue was relishing the fat. An immensely satisfying texture. I couldn’t help it.
I committed an almost lewd act of eating.
“Ahh…!”
*Slurp!*
I slurped up the hot noodles and savored the broth, then shoved another roasted sparrow into my mouth while crunching through the bones.
The noodles mixed with the meat, breaking down together.
Protein. Carbohydrates. And fat are dancing and singing in my mouth. Is there a meal more rich in nutrients than this? I’m not just scoring protein but also soaking up calcium from the bones.
“Ugh…!”
But great times always end quickly.
I inhaled the noodles and roasted sparrow in no time, licking the dish clean for every drop of broth and grease. If Oldboy’s Oh Dae-su had been a dog in front of Lee Woo-jin, it might feel similar to this.
Tears streamed down my face.
Wiping my tears, I collected the wrapped coins of 20 coins for the ingredients and headed up to my room.
“Ah. That was a great meal.”
Maybe it was because I had meat for the first time in a while.
I feel a little full, and I’m satisfied.
“I want to eat more.”
This roasted sparrow suits my fancy.
Once I earn more money, I’ll treat myself to two at once.
It’s truly ridiculously delicious.
“Huh.”
Alright then.
Time to wash up and get some sleep.
As I fiddled with the coins and checked my inventory, I went down to the well to wash up and then came back to my spot to lie down.
The supplies… if I eat half of them in the morning and have some for lunch, I should be able to hold on until dinner. And afterwards, I can eat again. I wonder if I should try that chicken innards stir-fry tomorrow? It sounds awful, but the truth is, food should be consumed evenly to take in various nutrients.
In this world, health is wealth.
“Ha.”
And with that, the second night in the Martial Arts World passed by.
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