Clichéd situation!

Cold and dark, moist but like still ice.  That seemed to be the end for him, he felt it too, it was as deep as an abyss.

In the dark of his closed eyes, memories flashed endlessly, carrying emotions like a sea storm’s waves.

Regret. Relief. Hate. Love. Longing. Sadness. Happiness.

The many faces of his life and the many faces he knew. Reaching for an answer, but still getting more and more satisfied and unwilling to continue.

Gratitude. That’s what remained.

He shed many tears his whole life, but at that time… The single tear seemed too pure for those watching the man lying down on the bed. His smile said all that was needed. Rested in peace.

On a sunny Friday, close to his birthday, a tomb stele was erected. Engraved with the name of a man loved by his parents and friends, marking the end of Yun Ji-Yoon on that plane. At the bottom of the stele was written the phrase, “I’m really lucky.”

.

.

“My body should be warm, still, but dead people can’t dream. Where am I?”

After looking around, he knew something very strange must have happened. After all, ‘The plane of the dead should at least receive a new soul properly, right?’ he thought. But there was no guide or whatever to explain anything.

Moreover, his body was way too small, ‘Is this the form of my soul? No, something is wrong.’

A creepiness assaulted Ji-Yoon. His clothes are way too strange, just like the ancient robes people used centuries ago. They covered his small arms and legs completely and felt a bit heavy.

Hearing the strange noises coming from all directions of the forest, he had the urge to climb a tree to hide immediately but eventually managed to control himself.

“It can’t be…” A strange thought made him shudder in fear of the unknown.

‘I didn’t die? How!?’

The unknown is one of the scariest things. Even though he died once!

He read many novels in the past, and also desired to be a protagonist and transmigrate, but now… he only shallowed his saliva while trembling.

Many strange thoughts came to his mind, trying to explain the situation, but he tried his best to calm down and make wise decisions.

After breathing deeply for a moment, he stood up from the damp, wet ground and looked up at the sky beyond the leaves and branches of the tall trees around him.

After getting a simple sense of direction by looking at the sun, he started to walk cautiously, always checking the trees around and trying his best to walk in a straight line.

Splash!

After washing his face in a small stream that coursed in the forest, Ji-Yoon was amazed to see a small immature face as a reflection.

‘This is… me?’

Even though it was unbelievable, he had to believe it. This small face was familiar to him, it was just like him when he was a child.

‘Did I go back in time?’

After drinking water and resting a bit, he followed down the course of the river, hoping to find other people. It was a bit risky since other animals surely use the stream as a source of water, but he can’t bet on anything else.

Trying to console himself with the fact that he was lucky to not be in a desert without a supply of water, he laughed bitterly.

‘How good it would be if I were a protagonist… After all, protagonists don’t die easily, and can even get…’

[Ding! Dong! Starting…]

Stopping in his tracks, he rubbed his eyes and wondered if he ate something weird that made him hallucinate.

[Ding! Dong! Lucky Prick System is on!]

[Ding! Dong! Congratulations, you won the right to own me by luck, your future is limitless!]

[Ding! Dong! As your exclusive cheat pass, this system can’t let you continue ignorant! Bear the pain!]

‘Pain?’ Ji-Yoon had a bad premonition.

“ARGH”

After scaring all the birds near, Ji-Yoon endured the headache for a few minutes while receiving a lot of info dump.

‘I… I, indeed, fucking, transmigrated! What? Could it be that I’m in a novel too!? Where is my privacy!? And why me!? What should I do from now on?’

[Ding! Dong! Host, it’s possible that no one can answer it for you, not even the most powerful being in this world. You were chosen because of your luck, you are absolutely no special guy, don’t worry!]

‘Can you help me to go back to my original world? Or at least get out of here?’

[Ding! Dong! Don’t worry, host. There’s no danger in this forest, you are transported here for convenience.]

‘Huh? What do you mean? And please, stop with this repetitive sound and answer my previous question!’

[Ding! Dong! As you now know, this world is very dangerous, with powerful people like clouds and villains in hordes. You must be powerful enough to protect yourself. This is a common unvisited forest on the border of a mortal kingdom, but all dangerous animals here were killed for your convenience. It’s a perfect place for you to be, where no one will bother you.]

After talking a bit more with the system and also understanding that it was useless to plead for some answers, Ji-Yoon felt a bit tired. It was still a bit too much for him. Even if he already experienced death!

[Ding! Dong! Do you want to open the storage space? You received a starter pack.]

Ji-Yoon looked at the middle finger of his right hand, there was a ring invisible to others there

‘Open’

Instantly, Ji-Yoon felt a connection to the ring and could feel everything inside it, including the “starter pack.”

[Ding! Dong! Starter pack opened, and you won a lottery premium ticket.]

[Ding! Dong! Opening lottery in advance]

In his mind, Ji-Yoon saw a huge roulette, with many items listed. From mortal to divine grades. He also received information about the lottery.

‘Use the ticket now!’ Ji-Yoon’s breath was a bit fast. He understood the preciousness of the premium ticket, with a bit of luck he could reach the sky in a single step!

[Ding! Dong! Lucky Prick lucky moment detected! Congratulations on receiving the mythical grade item: Mortal Martial Accomplishments of the Untitled Ascetic Sage.

[Mortal Martial Arts are inferior to Immortal Cultivation, which is a True Powerhouse’s Path. It’s a profoundly limited way, a peak martial artist can at most fight someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, which can be considered a beginner Realm of cultivation.

[However, host, it can be extremely useful on one’s cultivation path. Do you want to use the item now?]

‘Sounds awesome, regardless of its limitations. There’s any danger to it?’

[Ding! Dong! With the help of the system, it will feel like a lifetime in a single instant and all memories won’t affect your ‘self.’ Don’t worry!]

‘…If not because I experienced it once at my dying breath, I wouldn’t understand. Use it now!’

Time seemed to stop for him at that moment, but he could still see himself training every day, fighting for his life, getting stronger and stronger, climbing higher and higher until finally reaching the mortal martial arts peak.

The Sage’s experience of fighting against himself, and also against his enemies, it all became Ji-Yoon’s experience.

Blinking his eyes once, Ji-Yoon completely changed. His expression, posture, and aura changed. He could feel something inside himself, something he only could understand because he inherited part of the Sage’s memories. All memories related to Mortal Martial Arts and internal energy techniques were absorbed by him safely.  Somehow, it didn’t affect his own ‘self.’ It was truly unexplainable.

From being weaker than the weakest street thug to the Third Rate Fighter, then Second Rate Warrior, First Rate Warrior, Peak, Transcendent, Profound Ream… all the way up to the Life and Death Realm. He climbed to the peak of the mortality ‘mountain.’

‘This… is way more extreme. What I felt at my death isn’t comparable. This is ridiculous!’ Feeling the changes in his body, mind, and newfound internal energy, Ji-Yoon trembled. He finally understood why the item was graded as mythical, even though it wasn’t related to immortal cultivation. What was even more ridiculous was the fact that even the amount of his internal energy was equal to the Sage.

His body went through an extreme metamorphosis, his height and body shape changed. Even though he was still a “child”, his muscles and everything else became developed, even his blood and marrow went through changes.

A great amount of air converged toward his nostrils wildly and he could feel the great amount of energy inside himself being in harmony with nature itself.

“A lifetime in a single instant” is not an understatement, and it’s difficult to believe. ‘Is this the power of a myth graded item. Unbelievable!’

Even though the changes are extreme, he didn’t feel it was strange. It was like he polished himself for decades to reach this state.

[Ding! Dong! Congratulations on reaching the peak of mortal martial arts, the Life and Death Realm. You can now be considered a powerhouse in the mortal kingdoms and empires.]

[Ding! Dong! Congratulations host for your incredible luck, this forest is now useless! Do you want more information about this world? You are now capable of supporting a greater transfer of knowledge.]

‘Yes… I need to plan my next steps too.’ After calming his heart and breathing. He circulated his internal energy naturally and jumped high in the sky while grinning like a fool.

‘If this is a dream, I wish to not awaken at all.’

Typically, people take decades or an entire century to reach the realm he is, which allows one to fly with internal energy. But he can do it so easily that he would make any martial artist doubt their lives.

.

.

‘How satisfying! How good it is to be a beast king in those mountains! Food, women, and weak humans to kill for no reason.’

‘It is the best!’

The mighty mountain king, a dark-blooded ape, thought to himself with a smug smile. He was a magical beast that gained sentience a century ago, and since then not even once lost a battle!

As usual, he was patrolling his territory at dawn when he suddenly heard something coming from behind.

Startled at not having detected the presence of another living being, he quickly turned around but there was no one behind him.

Confused, he scratched his head and resumed patrolling. Once in a while he would wave his hands and smile at the females on his territory. Unfortunately, those female apes didn’t gain sentience and could only make weird noises at him.

Thinking about how he can mate with any female he wished, the ape felt very great and powerful and started to hit his chest, roaring with all his strength.

“What a strange but interesting being…”

Scared shitless, the ape turned around again just to see a human kid looking at him curiously.

‘Courting death,’ thought the ape.

The ape was furious since he thought it was a powerful enemy, instead of a child, attacking without hesitation, trying to smash his provoker to a pup.

Ji-Yoon caught the punch of the ape without much effort and praised with wide eyes, “According to the power scaling of this world, you would be around the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm. Not bad for a common ape.

“If in my previous world, you would be the strongest being alive, probably.”

Of course, the ape didn’t understand him. Although it gained sentience, it couldn’t understand human language without anyone to teach.

“Incredibly, random animals can gain human-like intelligence,” Ji-Yoon muttered, ignoring the panicked ape.

Although he received a lot of info from the system, some things are still difficult to believe for a modern person like him.

Ji-Yoon clenched his left fist and punched the ape on its chest, sending it flying far away, beyond the horizon. A strong shock wave scared all female apes near the place.

With a smug smile and full of himself, he flew away in the direction of the Moonlight city, where he had been gathering information.

He learned a lot of things since he transmigrated, about a week, such as the culture of this world. It seemed to be at its ‘ancient age’. There’s no advanced technology, not even steam machines. The language the people use is new to him, but he quickly adapted with the help of the Sage’s memories. The streets stink and the commoners have little sense of hygiene.

Fortunately, he is already a peak mortal martial artist and doesn’t need to worry about being unclean, since his body has no impurities and he can use his internal energy to clean himself.

“Sir, your bearing is extraordinary, are you perhaps a martial artist? You look too young,” asked the inn owner, “Could it be that you went through the legendary rejuvenation?”

“Having good eyes isn’t necessarily a good thing,” said Ji-Yoon while eating, not bothering to spare the owner a glance. But at the same time, he thought the owner was right since he can be said to have gone through a type of rejuvenation, albeit otherworldly.

“I’m sorry if I offended you, great sir. But even in the great five mortal kingdoms, it’s extremely rare to see someone at your level. It would be my honor even if I die in your hands!” the owner smiled brightly and explained. He looked to be quite young, at most in his late twenties.

‘But why would such a powerful person cut his hair so short?’ he wondered, not daring to ask more questions.

Ji-Yoon sighed and went to his room after paying for the food. He was already used to these curious expressions. He was often called a “stray slave” by some street vendors because of his short hair.

Moreover, the mainstream dream of the youngsters in this world is to become great martial artists, so he didn’t find the owner’s curious behavior strange.

The social pyramid of this world has three levels, with ordinary people at the base, martial artists in the middle, and immortal cultivators at the peak. But at the same time, all people who aren’t cultivators are called mortals. Even though there are no immortals in this world.

Although he was already very strong, it was only in the mortal world. In the world of cultivators, he was still weak.

Different people have different goals. The common people desire to become martial artists, but those, in turn, desire to become cultivators. Ji-Yoon wasn’t different.

Sitting in a chair, he started to think about his next steps.

[Ding! Dong! Host, it’s time for the daily check-in!]

Ji-Yoon raised his eyebrows and grinned, albeit a little bitterly.

‘Really, it’s still strange for me… Check-in!’

[Ding! Dong! Congratulations on receiving the item: Qi Condensation Pill *100]

‘Another useless prize for the moment…

 

‘I should get going to this so-called ‘immortal world’ and start my journey of cultivation.’