Black-Haired Foreigner In The Martial Arts World – Chapter 29

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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My heart pounded like crazy.

An inner core, an inner core!

That thing that always appears in martial arts novels!

The inner core, the very thing that boosts internal energy and strengthens martial artists, appeared before me!

“Even a mouse hole has its day in the sun!”

Now, say goodbye to crappy Taekwondo and Yuk Hap Kwon! One strike, leaves falling in the wind! Three Talents Sword Technique? Screw that now! With this, I’m a martial arts master!

“This is insane…!”

I killed the powerful chieftain and obtained the inner core I’d only read about in wuxia novels.

Such a stroke of luck!

Such a sweet reward!

I actually got my hands on an inner core!

Overwhelmed with joy, I danced and spun, exploding with extreme exhilaration. It’s probably exactly how it feels to win the lottery.

Then, suddenly.

“Ah.”

Do Samcheol’s brutally murdered body caught my eye.

“…Do Samcheol.”

I snapped back to reality. I was losing it. My comrade was lying there dead, and I was dancing around because I got an inner core.

“A typical psychopath.”

There were two types of people I despise the most: psychopaths and sociopaths. What I just did was a typical psychopathic act.

This martial arts world must be driving me crazy.

My mental state was a mess. Well, it figures. It’s not enough that I’ve been killing monsters and demons, I even offed a bandit. There’s no way my mind could be normal. The nightmares I’ve been having lately are probably because of that.

“Rest in peace, Do Samcheol.”

I laid Do Samcheol’s prone body on its back and closed his eyes. You bastard sons of bitches, Oh Geunsik and Jang Yeomin. If you hadn’t run away, Do Samcheol would still be alive.

“Although we were comrades for only a day… you were a fine warrior.”

I gave a eulogy for Do Samcheol. Since he died in battle, his soul must have gone to Valhalla. I don’t know for sure, but it had to be.

I’ll take care of his body after I get back to the village.

Anyway.

“The inner core.”

I pulled myself together and thought about the inner core more rationally.

“I have to eat it.”

I absolutely must eat it.

Of course, there’s no way I can eat it here. An inner core needs to be absorbed carefully in the safest place possible. But what do I do? Doesn’t an inner core dissipate quickly once it’s taken out?

“Shit…!”

If that’s true, every minute and second I waste here is a loss… not muscle loss, but core loss. I need to get back to the village quickly.

Loot?

There’s nothing much anyway.

The chieftain’s equipment is just junk. It might be worth some money, but I’m in a hurry.

I’ll give it up.

Everyone else ran away, there’s nothing I can do alone anyway.

“Ha!”

I decapitated the chieftain and took only the bone ornament he was wearing. This will be proof that I killed him.

Then I searched Do Samcheol’s belongings, took his coin purse and Haengdomun badge, and lastly his sword before closing his eyes again.

“I avenged you, so I’ll take your sword. You could say I’m carrying on your will.”

I’ll return the coin purse to Haengdomun.

I can’t take a dead man’s money.

With that, I went down to the village.

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When I got back to the village, I saw people restlessly pacing around. Wondering what was going on, I took a closer look and saw Oh Geunsik and Jang Yeomin among them.

Those sons of bitches…!

“Oh, oh! He’s back!”

“He returned!”

“What’s that in his hand?!”

“It’s the Gobulin chieftain’s head!”

The villagers shouted as they spotted me.

“Kim Geun-hyeop! Are you alright!”

Then Oh Geunsik approached and spoke… What the hell is this guy trying to do? Acting like nothing happened after he ran away and got someone killed?

Unbelievable.

“Oh Geunsik! Jang Yeomin!”

“Gasp!”

I shouted with all my might, and everyone went silent.

Silence fell instantly.

“You ran away during the battle! Do Samcheol died because of you! He wouldn’t have died if you had been there!”

“Th-that’s…!”

“I killed the Gobulin chieftain!”

Thwack!

I held up the chieftain’s gruesome head high for the villagers to see, bone ornament and all. The villagers screamed.

“If you hadn’t run away, I could’ve killed the Gobulin chieftain more easily! Then Do Samcheol would still be alive, you bastards!”

“Th-that is…!”

“We didn’t do it on purpose!”

Oh Geunsik and Jang Yeomin shouted back, oblivious to their situation.

“Shut up! Do you want to die?!”

I threw the chieftain’s head and shouted, and the two lowered their heads and backed away.

“As we agreed, you get nothing! I’m taking all the reward this time, for myself and the deceased Do Samcheol!”

“But!”

The moment Jang Yeomin protested—

Wham!

I immediately kicked him in the chest.

“You son of a bitch!”

“Ugh!”

Jang Yeomin writhed with his eyes rolled back, and Oh Geunsik shouted in surprise.

“Wait!”

“Hey, Oh Geunsik! Are you going to spout nonsense too?!”

“No, I…!”

“Get out of here with him! If you don’t want to die!”

“Gasp!”

Oh Geunsik dragged the groaning Jang Yeomin away.

Damn them…!

I keep seeing Do Samcheol’s body!

“I… I think I understand what happened. I’m sorry. I truly didn’t know that the Gobulin chieftain would appear…”

“…Village Chief.”

The village chief approached with a grim expression.

Did he actually know there was a chieftain? I briefly considered it, but it seemed unlikely. No one would expect a Gobulin chieftain to be defeated with a single silver coin.

This was an accident.

“The Gobulin chieftain appeared, those guys ran away, and one person died. Therefore, I’ll take the entire reward. I’ll ask Haengdomun about Do Samcheol’s family and give them the rest.”

“Will that be alright?”

“Write me a confirmation with your official seal stating that I took the entire reward for the reasons above.”

That should prevent any complaints from Haengdomun.

“And I’ll take another silver coin for killing the chieftain.”

“W-well.”

The village chief gasped at the mention of another silver coin.

No one likes giving away money.

“If we had all been wiped out, two silver coins wouldn’t have begun to cover the damage. You know that, right?”

“That… I accept your proposal. I’ll give you two silver coins. I’ll write the confirmation right away…”

With that, we reached an amicable agreement.

“And I’d like to collect Do Samcheol’s body.”

“I’ll gather the villagers.”

The village chief immediately gave instructions to the people.

“Phew.”

It finally felt like things were over.

“Since the chieftain was eliminated early, there shouldn’t be any threat for a while. Hanging that head at the village entrance might be even more effective.”

“…Thank you.”

“I plan to rest here for a day. I’ll pay, so please prepare a decent room and some food.”

“Alright.”

The village chief sent someone to guide me to my lodging. It was just a house in the village; there wasn’t even an inn in this backwater place.

“Hoo.”

After resting in the room for a bit, a villager brought me a meal. Mostly carbs, the usual fare. I devoured it and then lay down to rest.

I took out the inner core.

“…”

Luminous.

I could almost believe it was jade. Is it green because the Gobulin chieftain was carrying it? It didn’t seem to have changed much even though it’s been some time since I took it out.

This is entirely mine.

If I had fought alongside them, I would have had to share this inner core. We fight together, we eat together. But I killed the chieftain alone. So this is mine.

“Heh…!”

A Joker-esque laugh escaped my lips.

Looking at the inner core made my heart race again. I sat cross-legged and practiced deep breathing to calm myself down.

“Let’s eat.”

Time to eat the inner core.

I was worried about things like Qi rejection, but it was an inner core from a Gobulin chieftain weaker than me. Honestly, that guy was a piece of cake. So I don’t expect any powerful effects. Naturally, the side effects should also be minimal.

I trusted myself and consumed it.

“…”

I grasped the inner core, which looked like a green grape candy.

Whoosh!

The moment I put it in my mouth—

“Huh?!”

I felt a strange sensation as the inner core melted smoothly. Would it feel like this if I put a dry ice bead in my mouth?

“Hoo!”

I focused on my breathing, absorbing the inner core into my body, making sure the fumes didn’t escape. It was my first time, so I didn’t know what I was doing, but everyone has a first time. I concentrated on consuming the inner core.

I practiced the breathing exercises I learned at the martial arts school.

“Hehehe…!”

I felt some kind of energy going down my esophagus. Once I’ve absorbed all of this, wouldn’t I reach the second-rate level? The more internal energy I have, the stronger I become.

Skipping the third-rate level so quickly… my talent is electrifying.

With such thoughts, I focused on my breathing exercises, imagining the energy from the inner core spreading throughout my body.

My consciousness gradually faded.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, my surroundings went dark. More precisely, I was standing in a dark space I couldn’t identify.

Dreamlike vision.

Blurry sense of reality.

I immediately realized I had entered a kind of trance state where dreams and reality were blurred after consuming the inner core.

What should I do in this situation? Should I stay calm like when I have sleep paralysis? As I thought that, something happened. Something began to appear.

It was a ghost.

The robber I killed, and Do Samcheol, who had just died. And around them were Gobulins, Lesser Demons, and other miscellaneous monsters like the Great White Snake. Even the chieftain was there as a bonus.

They clung to me.

“D-Demonic obstacles…!”

Are these demonic obstacles?!

I can’t move!

“No!”
I have to stay calm. If I’m not careful, I might experience Qi rejection. It seems this is happening because my skills are still lacking while absorbing the inner core.

“Hup!”

I have to overcome this.

If my mind wavers here, the flow of energy throughout my body will be disrupted. I don’t want that to happen. I won’t die. I’ll overcome this. It would be too unfair to die after getting this lucky chance.

Whoosh!

The ghosts tried to enter my body. To prevent them from harming me, I focused my mind and thought of my aunt.

Auntie!

Long black hair and an expressionless face. Her cold aura was so frigid that it froze and chased away even the ghosts that visited.

As always, my mama…!

My spiritual pillar who raised me!

Once the ghosts disappeared, peace returned.

I felt my consciousness rising and opened my eyes.

“Ahh.”

I felt a small amount of internal energy settled in my lower dantian.

“I… I simply worship you, Song.”

I habitually worshipped Song.

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