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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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My family, the Sima clan, was wealthy, but had no connection to the martial world. So, until I grew older and experienced the world, I was unaware that I had been reborn into a world of martial arts.
In fact, I only recently realized that this world is a muhyup world.
Now that I think about it, wouldn’t it have been better if I had been reborn into a fantasy world? I could have dated an elf.
Dating an elf aside, aren’t you curious about what they look like? Personally, ever since I was young, one of my biggest curiosities was what elf ears would taste like if I sucked on them. And the web novels and manga I mainly enjoyed were almost all fantasy.
As for muhyup, all I’d seen were Kung Fu Hustle, Kung Fu Panda, Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin as a child, and recently… should I call this recent? Right, the last thing I saw on Netflix before I died was Hitman 567.
I don’t enjoy muhyup, so I don’t really know what martial arts techniques exist, or what I should learn. Besides, I was born with a limp, so there’s not much I can do.
Yes, that’s the most important thing. There’s not much I can do. There’s nothing to do for fun.
Based on memories from my past life, I made board games like Yut Nori, Mahjong, playing cards, chess, etc., and coaxed my family, servants, and the neighborhood kids into playing a few games, but the skill gap is so wide that my boredom doesn’t go away.
Honestly, muhyup or whatever, I’m dying of boredom.
“Ah~ If I was born in a fantasy world, I would be learning magic. Fireball! Chain Lightning!”
“Young Master, stop your nonsense and study. You’ll get scolded by Madam again.”
As I threw aside the boring scriptures as usual, stretched, and made a fuss, our family’s strongman, Jang Sam-bung, chided me. That impertinent punk.
“Forget it. Let’s just chat. Young Master is dying of boredom.”
“What is ‘chat’?”
“Let’s just have a friendly conversation. Don’t worry about the details.”
Jang-sam (he hates being called Sam-bung) and I are pretty close, all things considered. Even though there’s a big age difference, since I’m a reincarnated person, I know more than my age suggests, and Jang-sam also knows a lot about the martial world that I don’t know, so we became close by having these sorts of conversations.
“Since Young Master knows nothing about the martial world, I’ll explain it to you again today.”
Jang-sam, too, knows that it’s more comfortable to chat with the youngest master than to be dragged away by the head servant to work, so he cleared his throat and started to unpack his stories.
“Continuing from last time, the forces in the martial world are largely divided into the Orthodox and the Unorthodox Sects.”
‘Orthodox? Unorthodox? What are those? Are they like the right-wing and left-wing? A difference in political stance?’
Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects. My head tilted at the unfamiliar terms.
“Jang-sam, what are the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects?”
“The Orthodox Sect, using the character 正 (jeong, meaning ‘right’ or ‘correct’), refers to the righteous martial arts forces. The Unorthodox Sect, using the character 邪 (sa, meaning ‘evil’ or ‘heterodox’), refers to the evil martial arts forces.”
“Hmm~ I see. Then who decides whether someone is Orthodox or Unorthodox? Does the government hold an exam for an Orthodox Sect license or something?”
“How dare they! There’s a law of non-interference between the government and martial arts! How could the government discuss the Orthodox Sects!!”
I immediately hit Jang-sam’s head with my Staff as he suddenly crumpled his face and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Ouch?!”
“What’s with the sudden yelling? Hey, I’m the young master of the house, and you’re a servant. We’re friends, but let’s keep things proper.”
Jang-sam is fine, but he gets too immersed whenever we talk about the martial world. Anyway, it seems the shock therapy worked. Jang-sam rubbed his bruised head and came back to his senses.
“Ahem~ There are several factors that distinguish the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects, but one of them is whether or not they belong to the Martial Alliance.”
Martial Alliance~ So, in terms of my past life, it’s like the EU? But if you belong to the Martial Alliance, you’re Orthodox, and if you don’t, you’re Unorthodox. The criteria seem strange. Is it really a proper organization?
“The Martial Alliance is a collective of Orthodox Sect groups, largely composed of martial artists belonging to the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans. Here, the Nine Great Sects are…”
“No… No… Explain that later. Tell me more about the Unorthodox Sect. Don’t they have any organizations like the Martial Alliance? Don’t they have alumni reunions? Don’t they have company dinners?”
“Ah~ Young Master, why do you think the ‘sa’ in Unorthodox Sect is the character for ‘evil’ (邪)? Those guys don’t know the meaning of cooperation. Because they don’t know how to cooperate, they don’t form alliances (盟). They all do their own thing.”
Hmm~ To put it simply, the Orthodox Sects are like a hiking club where like-minded people gather and enjoy camaraderie, and the Unorthodox Sects are, at best, free individualists. At worst, they’re extremely selfish people who lack social skills?
So is that all the difference between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects? The presence or absence of social skills?
Of course, social skills are important, but isn’t it a bit much to label them as an evil group just because they lack them? Everyone has their own personality… Really….
“The Unorthodox Sects, calling themselves martial artists is generous, they’re a collection of bandits and pirates who set up shop in the countryside, exploiting farmers and robbing passing merchants. They’re very bad people.”
“They’re organized crime gangsters!? Give me back my sympathy!!”
I thought they were the Unorthodox Sect (gloomy, timid, introverted, can’t speak well, but if they dressed up they’d be the prettiest girl in town, a virgin) being bullied politically by the popular Orthodox Sect. But they were just bad guys.
“Why doesn’t the government clean up the Unorthodox gangster bastards and just twiddle their thumbs? Tax thieves.”
“The Unorthodox Sects also have their share of masters. They could be eradicated if there was a concerted effort, but it would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest, so they avoid it.”
Are they that powerful? That martial arts masters are strong enough to make the authorities hesitate? In fantasy terms, are they like Sword Masters, 8th Circle Archmages, or something? They’re incredibly strong.
The house I’d felt safe in suddenly felt like a completely unsafe space. If some crazy Unorthodox master suddenly went on a rampage, would there be any way to stop them?
The thought of an Unorthodox master, offended by something, shooting energy blasts and rupturing people’s internal organs, devastating the village, sent shivers down my spine.
I didn’t know. Muhyup is a terrifying world.
Seeing my frightened face, Jang-sam patted me on the shoulder as if to reassure me and said in a bright voice,
“Don’t worry, Young Master. This is why the Orthodox Sects exist.”
“Oh~ I knew I could count on the Orthodox Sects! Damn~!!”
Well, they’re not ashamed to put the character for ‘right’ (正) in front of their name. They can’t be bad guys. They must be the type to volunteer and greet people politely.
“The Orthodox Sects are responsible for each of their territories to protect the powerless common people. They maintain the peace of the region and cooperate with small business owners to prevent the Unorthodox Sects from gaining power.”
Responsible for each of their territories? Cooperate with small business owners? I felt something was off, so I asked Jang-sam,
“Uh… Jang-sam, what is the Orthodox Sects’ main source of income?”
“Yes? Of course, it’s the protection money they receive from merchants and wealthy people in their assigned territories.”
“Is, is that included in the taxes paid to the government? Like… as a subcontractor sharing the government’s role…”
“No~ Of course, taxes are separate~ Protection money is separate.”
I hit Jang-sam’s head with my Staff.
“The Orthodox Sects are also organized crime gangster bastards!? What kind of scam are you pulling!!”
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It was so absurd. I came out for a walk to clear my head.
It’s not like they’re good Yakuza protecting their territory from foreign mafia. It’s just a damn turf war between gangsters, with all this Orthodox and Unorthodox nonsense. I’m speechless.
I almost acted rashly, thinking, ‘Since I’m born in a world with martial arts, why not learn some?’, and almost became a gangster myself.
I will never, ever become a gangster. I swore an oath. It’s a memory from my past life.
When I was young, I was deeply moved and entertained by the first part of Rustic Period. Like Luffy shouting that he’d become the Pirate King without a shred of shame in front of his Gramps, I raised both arms and declared—
“I’ll work hard and become a gangster like Kim Du-han!!”
—and got the beating of my life. Ever since then, the sight of gangsters makes my teeth grind.
Limp~ Limp~
One step. One step. I look down at my right leg, which aches with each step. With this leg, being a gangster is out of the question anyway… Well, even with healthy limbs, I wouldn’t become a gangster.
I’m not stupid. I’ll study hard and get a government position, or learn the family business from my parents and live a steady life. Living by the sword and dying a dog’s death isn’t a life worth living.
“Oh? Mancheon! I was just about to go call you.”
While I was pondering what to do with my life, Unrok came running with a big grin.
“Jeom-sun and Gap-dol are having a cockfight (not the abbreviated form of ‘Struggle and Enlightenment’, but a real cockfight)! Gap-dol is really prepared this time. He even fed his rooster chili powder!”
“Huh… They’re committing acts that would make the Animal Protection Society burst into flames without hesitation. Sounds fun. Let’s go.”
Chuckle – Real-life Tekken with animals. How can I resist? There’s a reason people still enjoy it illegally even in modern times.
“Mancheon, it might have already started. Let’s take the shortcut.”
The shortcut Unrok is talking about is probably the one that passes by Mr. Cheol-woong’s house. He keeps a huge dog there that barks like crazy every time we pass by, so I don’t really want to go that way, but it’s too late to back out now, and I’m worried about letting him go alone, so I just headed down the shortcut.
Why is it that bad premonitions are never wrong? As we entered the shortcut, I saw the dog. And it was a huge, unleashed dog. We’re screwed.
The sense of intimidation from seeing a wild animal caged and seeing an unleashed wild animal right in front of you is on a completely different level. The air feels different.
“Grrr~ Growl”
It would have been nice if it wasn’t interested in us, but it’s showing its teeth, drooling, and completely focused on us. We’re really screwed.
I glanced sideways. Unrok was already trembling, ready to burst into tears.
Crybaby scaredy-cat. It’ll be incredibly noisy if he starts crying next to me. I hate it when kids wail.
“Hey, run quickly and get some adults.”
“M, Mancheon, what about you?!”
“I can’t even run because my leg is crippled. I’ll buy some time, so go get some adults right now.”
Unrok looked back and forth between me and the fierce dog, then as the dog barked loudly, he ran away crying.
“*Growl~ Woof! Bark Bark! Grrr~ Bang Bang!!”
As my prey turned its back and fled, I aimed my Staff at the dog charging at me, spraying saliva.
Does it think I’m an idiot who would throw away my second chance at life because of one kid? I agree. I think so too. But what else can I do?
Men are creatures who show off in front of women and children. Truly a sad beast.
“Come on. I’ll show you what happens when you defy a human.”
-But it was me who got wrecked.
The damn dog was quicker and smarter than I thought. Before I could do anything, it bit my Staff, then used its jaw and body to knock me over.
“Aaaah~ Help! I’ll never show off again! Help me! Mom! Dad! Jang-sam!!”
I really thought I was going to die from a dog bite… Just when I thought that, the sky darkened. The dog had already let go of my Staff and was backing away as if frightened.
“Little one, that’s not how you wield a Staff.”
As a benevolent voice came from above, I raised my head and looked up. There stood a giant, as if he’d appeared out of nowhere.
He was clearly over 180cm tall, close to 2m, maybe even taller. In any case, it was the first time I had seen such a large person in both my past and present lives.
At the appearance of this strange person, cloaked in a tattered and worn gray mantle, I could only ask in a dazed voice,
“W, who are you?”
To my question, the stranger gave a kind smile that put me at ease and spoke softly,
“I’m not anyone worth mentioning. Just a passing ordinary man (凡夫).”
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Master in journey huh?😏
