Unquestionably, Sori Hwa, a traditionalist martial arts fan (TL Note: ‘Mutteuldda’ refers to someone who is old-fashioned or a ‘boomer’ in the context of martial arts genres, preferring traditional martial arts stories.), had never read a novel set in such a world.
Fusion martial arts was what Sori Hwa detested most.
She considered such works heretical, damaging the authenticity of martial arts.
Mixing martial arts with cyberpunk, fantasy, or modern fantasy—Sori Hwa wouldn’t even touch such a hodgepodge.
Thus, it was unclear whether this place was a novel or not.
At the very least, it was certainly content Sori Hwa had never encountered.
When she had only seen the letter inside the cave, it had clearly been a common martial arts world.
Her rough guess was that more time had passed than she expected while she was frozen after consuming the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal.
Given the martial arts she had mastered, and the sight of criminals using lightness techniques to flee and soar through the air, it was evident that internal energy and martial arts truly existed in this world.
However, it was no longer an era for flaunting them and performing acts of chivalry.
– “What’s it like to have someone with internal energy as a coworker or neighbor?”
– “Oh, terrifying. I’d worry they might hurt people if they suffered from qi deviation (TL Note: ‘Juhwaimma’ is a common martial arts trope where internal energy goes awry, causing physical and mental harm.). I’d prefer not to have anyone like that around me.”
– If you abolish your Dantian (TL Note: ‘Dantian’ is an energy core in martial arts, believed to be the center of internal energy.), your neighbors will be happy.
– Free Dantian Removal Surgery!
– Contact your nearest public health center.
– This campaign is brought to you by the Public Security Bureau (TL Note: ‘Gong’anbu’ refers to the Public Security Bureau.), the New Jungwon Movement Headquarters (TL Note: ‘Saejungwonundongbonbu’ refers to a fictional organization, with ‘Jungwon’ being a traditional term for the central plains of China, often associated with martial arts settings.), and the Public Service Advertising Council.
“……”
The television, which Sori Hwa had turned on to fill the quiet house with sound, was airing such an advertisement.
That damnable Dantian Abolition Movement.
It was an advertisement that truly played endlessly.
The logic of this trashy world was simple.
In such a highly advanced modern society, there was no need to cultivate strength and clash swords, so everyone should just abolish their Dantians.
Treating people as potential criminals just for possessing internal energy and a Dantian was an added bonus.
“What kind of martial arts world is this?”
A martial arts world where everyone enthusiastically encouraged each other to abolish their Dantians.
There was a limit to how disappointing things could be.
Legally, the public display of internal energy in public places was prohibited, and those who maintained a certain level of internal energy habitually had to wear internal energy restriction ankle monitors.
In such a situation, the martial arts Sori Hwa had dedicated years to studying had become utterly useless.
There was nowhere to flaunt her internal energy, and doing so would only earn her a fearsome electronic ankle monitor, so why would she use martial arts?
Furthermore, no matter how diligently a martial artist trained, they would still die if shot by a gun.
Before a gun, even a peak master fell in one shot, and a third-rate martial artist likewise.
How fair.
Recently, a video briefly trended on BigTube (TL Note: A fictional video-sharing platform, similar to YouTube.) showing someone flaunting their martial arts only to be hit by a taser gun and twitching on the floor; that had been amusing.
– “Release your internal energy!”
– “Don’t speak informally to me!”
– “Subdue them!”
– “Let go of me, you bastard!”
– “It’s no use, shoot!”
– (Chizizizizik)
“Hehehe. What a sharpshooter.”
Sori Hwa replayed the video saved on her phone, rolling around on the bed.
No matter how many times she watched it, the person’s reaction when electrocuted was excellent.
Suddenly, Sori Hwa’s body twitched, much like the person in the video who had been tasered.
“Ugh, damn it. It’s starting again.”
This chill rising from her meridians was an unbearable kind of pain.
It felt like receiving shockwave therapy over her entire body at an orthopedic clinic.
Sori Hwa trembled, fumbling for the pill bottle on the nightstand beside her bed.
This had been an intermittent seizure ever since she had fallen into this world.
The cause was obvious.
The letter had already explicitly stated it was the Nine Yin Severed Meridians (TL Note: ‘Gu’eumjeolmaek’ is a common martial arts ailment, where vital meridians are severed or blocked, leading to severe coldness and pain.).
In fact, one of the first things Sori Hwa did after emerging from the cave was to visit a hospital.
The letter had said she would live for at most ten years, and she had been in the cave for at least five years, though she couldn’t be sure.
According to the letter, Sori Hwa had less than five years left to live.
Indeed, the frequency of her meridian-severing seizures was shortening, and they were becoming more painful.
Beyond the regret of losing the precious body of a martial artist, death itself was a naturally existing fear.
Initially, the hospital doctor didn’t believe Sori Hwa when she claimed to have Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
It had been fifty years since meridian-severing vaccinations became mandatory, so how could she still have it?
The doctor diagnosed her with ordinary cold hands and feet and tried to dismiss her, but Sori Hwa persisted, and he reluctantly performed the meridian-severing test.
The result, of course, was Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
The doctor was utterly astonished that it was quite advanced.
Fortunately, Nine Yin Severed Meridians was no longer an incurable disease like before.
It was a curable illness if one had enough money.
It just required a substantial amount of money.
The amount Sori Hwa had to bear, being uninsured, was beyond imagination.
From then on, Sori Hwa’s goal became money.
She had been a s*ave to money even in Korea, and now she was a s*ave to money even after falling into the martial arts world.
What a truly unfortunate life.
“Ugh.”
Swallowing the pill with water, Sori Hwa barely managed a sigh.
It was a painkiller that soothed the meridian pain.
This world was quite messed up in that such painkillers were not covered by insurance.
Not that it mattered to Sori Hwa, who was uninsured anyway.
Suddenly feeling disillusioned (TL Note: ‘Hyeonta’ or ‘Sage Time’ is a Korean slang term referring to a moment of post-clarity or disillusionment after an intense experience.), Sori Hwa went to the mirror.
Though it wasn’t a full-length mirror, Sori Hwa’s body fit perfectly within it.
Would her height be around 140s centimeters?
A small physique befitting her short stature.
Silken silver hair that reached her waist.
Mysterious red eyes.
And that wasn’t all.
Her flawless, fair skin, as pristine as freshly crafted porcelain, and her delicately assembled, cute features possessed a powerful charm capable of instantly disarming people’s wariness.
If she were to self-evaluate her own face this way, it might be called narcissism, but objectively, it was true.
Indeed, Sori Hwa could feel people’s gazes drawn to her whenever she walked down the street.
“Will this body not grow?”
It had been at least several years since Sori Hwa had tripped and fallen off the cliff, yet she didn’t seem to have grown at all compared to then.
She had suffered countless disadvantages because of this small body and cute face.
The only thing Sori Hwa had was the martial arts she learned in the mountains, but occupations that allowed martial arts were extremely limited, such as manual labor, shipyards, and mines.
Applying for jobs in such macho environments with her appearance, she naturally couldn’t even get an interview.
Even when she emphasized her martial arts skills, they didn’t believe her.
Did these guys not know the saying in the Jianghu (TL Note: ‘Jianghu’ is a term referring to the world of martial artists and vagrants in Chinese martial arts fiction.) to be wary of the elderly, women, and children?
Her appearance was that of a woman and a child, and considering her age, she would be considered elderly, making her a triple risk factor to be cautious of.
Ultimately, the only jobs Sori Hwa could do were repetitive and simple tasks.
Things like attaching eyes to dolls or simply pressing a machine in a factory.
Even for such jobs, her fatally cute appearance often prevented her from being hired.
Although she managed to intermittently work in a few places after much pleading, factory owners who saw Sori Hwa working would all panic, fearing accusations of child abuse, so she couldn’t work for long.
In the end, it was inevitable that Sori Hwa fell into stock trading.
Unable to find a regular, normal job, she decided to manage her own money.
Treating the Nine Yin Severed Meridians required a large sum of money, and there was even a time limit.
The doctor had said Sori Hwa had about seven years left.
Those seven years were likely an extension due to the advancement of modern medicine.
At first, she made quite a profit, leading Sori Hwa to believe she was a god of investment.
From then on, she stopped going to the occasional factory jobs and instead delved into analyzing Shaolin Temple’s financial statements or attending Mount Hua Sect’s investor relations meetings.
She even attended all shareholder meetings without fail.
Then she fell in love with a stock called ‘Shaolin Temple’ and, confident in herself, went all-in with margin betting, leading to her current predicament.
“I’m going crazy……”
Sori Hwa lay back on the bed and checked her securities account on her phone.
The account was as blue as an ordinary person’s face after being assaulted by Jon Jones.
Two years after leaving the cave, instead of accumulating money, she had accumulated a debt of eighty million nyang (TL Note: ‘Nyang’ is a unit of currency often found in historical or martial arts-themed Korean novels.) of silver from her failed margin bets.
“What’s the water temperature of the Yangtze River?”
The quilt nailed to the ceiling swayed in the draft coming through the window.
It didn’t matter.
Even without that quilt, the ceiling was leaking rainwater anyway.
“……Still, I’ll live.”
But dying like this made no sense.
Even though it was severely twisted, wasn’t this the martial arts world she had wanted to come to?
Moreover, she had mastered martial arts.
However, no matter how much she thought, there was no answer to her situation.
Just then, the phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.
[ Jomeohyeop Live On ]
Jomeohyeop.
He was an internet broadcaster Sori Hwa occasionally watched.
Since she followed him, she received a broadcast notification.
“Sigh.”
Sori Hwa knew it wasn’t the time for it, but she clicked the broadcast link, seeking dopamine.
If anything, it was a strategy to stop thinking, as there was no answer to her thoughts.
“Ah, ah. Kids, can you hear me?”
Upon entering the broadcast, Jomeohyeop was doing a mic test.
– I can hear you
– Joha~
– Isn’t today homework day?
– Yup
The chat scrolled rapidly.
Jomeohyeop.
He was a big broadcaster, ranking among the top ten followers on the streaming platform, Ogogok.
“Since today is homework day, please keep the chat polite.
Understood?”
– Already yawning
– Mood drop expected
– Bro, I’m cold, hug me
– Let’s just play Royal Commando, lolol
– It’s my birthday today, wish me happy birthday
As a big broadcaster, he had a diverse audience, from kids (TL Note: ‘Jaemmini’ is a Korean slang term referring to young or immature online users.) to trolls.
One of Jomeohyeop’s broadcast characteristics was that despite having so many viewers, he didn’t employ chat moderators.
As a result, many unfiltered chats appeared.
“Ah, don’t curse about ‘homework.’
I’m telling you, this is a good event for all of you!”
– Bro, I’m cold, hug me
– Don’t curse (TL Note: ‘Jjilal n’ is a common Korean internet slang, an abbreviation of a curse word.)
– It’s only good for you, lolololol
[ Shaolin Casanova donated 1000 nyang of silver! ]
[ How much did you get this time, you money-grubber? (TL Note: ‘Donmisae’ is a Korean slang term for a person obsessed with money.) ]
Already, the chat and donations were a mess.
Sori Hwa chuckled at this chaotic sight.
“I’m turning off donations now.
After the ‘homework’ is done, I’ll review the chat and ban people.
You know I don’t unban easily once I ban someone, right?”
– ^^7 (TL Note: An emoticon representing a salute.)
– ^^7
– ^^7
“……Alright! Hello, young heroes (TL Note: ‘Sohyeop’ is a term for a young hero in martial arts contexts.)!
Today, I’ve brought you a truly surprising event.
CapsuleRank has provided tremendous support!”
– Is capitalism showing in your voice?
– Only calls us ‘young heroes’ at times like this, lol
– Bro, I’m cold, hug me
Despite the continued presence of malicious chat, Jomeohyeop, like a veteran broadcaster, continued the advertisement unfazed.
“We’re going to give away one latest virtual reality capsule, the Another V12, to one lucky winner.
Just submit the form in the announcement, and we’ll draw one person from those submissions……”
At Jomeohyeop’s words, the public opinion in the chaotic chat window suddenly began to shift.
And for good reason.
The virtual reality capsule was a truly high-end machine, with even the entry-level model costing five million nyang of silver.
The latest model would surely exceed ten million nyang of silver.
– Really?
– Suddenly???????
– It’s rigged.
Sori Hwa forced a bitter smile.
In truth, Sori Hwa had considered broadcasting with her cute appearance.
But the problem was the virtual reality capsule.
The popular games in broadcasting these days were all virtual reality-based, making a virtual reality capsule essential broadcasting equipment.
It was far too expensive for Sori Hwa, who was busy just making ends meet day by day, to invest in.
“I hope I win.”
Sori Hwa submitted the survey through the form linked in the broadcast announcement and participated in the drawing.
With 20,000 real-time viewers, even if only half participated, it was still a one in ten thousand chance.
It was an absurd probability.
“Alright, let’s draw right away……”
After the submission period ended, Jomeohyeop started spinning the roulette.
The usernames of the applicants spun rapidly, then slowly began to decelerate and stop.
[ WadeulWadeul ]
– Ah…..
– Legendary situation happening lolololol
– This guy? Lolololol
– F*** lolololololol
– ?
As soon as the winner was decided, the chat window immediately erupted.
WadeulWadeul.
This was because the winner was an attention seeker who only repeated ‘Bro, I’m cold, hug me’ with their thousand-nyang donation and chat messages.
If this hadn’t been Jomeohyeop’s broadcast, such behavior would have definitely resulted in a ban.
“Wow.
Of all people, it had to be this guy?
Hey, hey.
Don’t mention usernames.
I’ll review and ban everyone who’s mentioning usernames right now.”
Jomeohyeop also let out a hollow laugh upon seeing the username.
Then, he opened a chat window with WadeulWadeul.
“Still, I have to hear your thoughts on winning.
Surely, if you act up here too, you’re not human.
This is a fifteen-million-nyang-of-silver prize.”
Sori Hwa froze, her mouth agape.
But her hands moved busily.
– Bro, I’m cold, hug me
Such a message appeared in the chat window between WadeulWadeul and Jomeohyeop.
In a way, it was a predictable outcome.
– Lololololol
– Gotta stick to the concept, lolololol
“……Insane.”
And so, Sori Hwa, whose Ogogok nickname was WadeulWadeul, unexpectedly received an incredibly expensive virtual reality capsule she could never have dreamed of affording.
