NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Prologue
The man looked down at himself.
“Are you hurt… anywhere?”
“I’m fine. What about you, mister?”
“I’m… fine too.”
He carefully helped the girl in his arms stand up.
“This place, ugh! It’s dangerous, so hurry back to your mom.”
“Ah, mister, you’re bleeding from your side.”
The girl’s large eyes looked as though tears the size of chicken droppings were about to fall.
Just as the girl said, the man’s side was stained red.
“I’m an Awakened. A wound like this is nothing, so just go.”
The man pushed the girl gently on the back.
The girl hesitated for a moment, looking at him, but then dashed toward where her mother was.
The woman, who appeared to be the girl’s mother, gave him a thankful bow.
Once the mother and daughter disappeared, the man collapsed where he stood—or rather, his legs gave out, and he could no longer remain standing.
The ruined city unfolded before his eyes.
All around, Awakened and monsters were still locked in the battle. The aftermath of their clash caused buildings to crumble.
“This… is the best I… can do….”
His eyes fell on someone battling a monster with ferocity.
It was his closest friend, known by the moniker “Sword Dragon.”
Though they were friends, envy gnawed at him.
Unlike him, his friend had fully inherited their family’s martial arts.
It filled him with so much longing.
If only he, too, had inherited their family’s martial arts.
‘I could have… fought like that too….’
No matter how desperately he trained,
the commonly known Three Elements Breathing Technique only allowed him to reach the level of a D-rank Awakened at best.
Rescuing a child was the extent of what he could do.
“Damn it….”
A sense of powerlessness washed over him.
His heavy eyelids began to close.
A deep slumber came over him.
And then.
[The Martial Arts Route trait has been unlocked.]
He had awakened a trait.
On the Verge of Death
“Damn it….”
A curse slipped out before he could stop himself.
Who was it mocking now?
He wanted to hurl every insult he could think of at the Awakener system, but he couldn’t.
A deep sleep had already swallowed him whole.
***
Chapter 1
‘Ugh….’
Every time Lee Jun moved his body, his muscles screamed in agony.
It felt as if someone had beaten him to a pulp.
Suddenly, a strange sensation came over him.
‘I… died, didn’t I?’
He could feel his body vividly.
Unlike being overtaken by deep sleep, his mind was fully intact as well.
‘Is this the afterlife?’
Lee Jun slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view was a ceiling.
“What the…?”
He abruptly sat up.
“Ugh.”
The muscle pain from earlier surged back, causing him to grimace as he rolled his shoulders to ease the tension.
As he looked around, something about the surroundings felt oddly familiar.
“A dorm… room?”
Being an Awakener, he had been granted a small private dorm room, roughly 8 pyeong in size.
It had a bed, a refrigerator, a TV, a sink,
and even a tiny bathroom.
Everything he needed was there.
While scanning his surroundings, his eyes landed on something.
“January 2, 2025… 2025?”
Lee Jun tilted his head in confusion.
The date seemed wrong.
It was seven years before the day he died.
“That’s strange….”
Without realizing it, Lee Jun moved his hand downward.
The moment he did, a hologram appeared before his eyes.
“Why is the Awakener system showing up?”
Wearing a bewildered expression, he glanced at the date displayed in the top-right corner.
“This… this can’t be happening.”
He rubbed his eyes with his hands and looked again.
[2025.01.02]
Lee Jun slapped his cheek hard.
A stinging pain surged from his reddened cheek, but the date remained unchanged.
Just to be sure, he checked the desk calendar in his dorm room.
Even that wasn’t enough to convince him, so he jumped to his feet.
He strode over to the tightly shut window and flung it open.
“Ah.”
A sprawling field came into view.
Some students were jogging leisurely, while others were swinging swords.
“Did I… go back seven years?”
All those people were students attending this school.
For a moment, he stood there in a daze, staring at the field.
After a while, he shut the window and sat back down on his bed.
“I’m certain I died….”
There had been a gaping hole in his side.
He could still vividly remember the sensation from just moments ago, and yet, here he was in the past.
Something that seemed straight out of a novel had happened to him.
“What do I do now?”
The thought of having returned to the past brought on a flood of worries.
“Sigh.”
A heavy sigh escaped his lips.
The Great War is seven years from now.
Back then, with only the Three Elements Breathing Technique under his belt, he had been powerless to do anything.
“For now, I should check my current state.”
When he waved his hand in the air, a status window appeared.
[Basic Information]
Title: Loser
Name: Lee Jun
Age: 18
Potential: Out of Rank
Skills: Three Elements Breathing Technique (FF), Three Elements Swordsmanship (FF), Three Elements Steps (FF)
Trait: Martial Arts Route (??) (Please select a route.)
[Stats]
Health: 10/100
Physical Strength: 10/100
Power: 10/100
Agility: 10/100
-Special Section-
Inner Energy: 10/50
Mental Strength: 30/150
“This is the trait I saw before I died.”
With trembling hands, Lee Jun tapped on the Martial Arts Route trait.
Ding—
A notification sound echoed as a message appeared.
[Trait Martial Arts Route (??) is activating.] [Please select a route.]
Immediately after, a long list unfurled before his eyes.
Lee Jun muttered to himself, his voice even more agitated than when he first saw the trait.
“Why is this showing up here?”
[Gu Yang Divine Art]
[Dharma’s Tendon-Changing Sutra]
[Sky-Reaching Great Abyss Divine Art]
……
……
……
Every single one of them was a legendary martial art.
Not something any student at this martial arts academy could possess.
Each was a priceless treasure, coveted beyond imagination.
The kind of tetechniquenly obtainable through a one-in-a-million lottery chance when advancing to a higher grade.
As Lee Jun marveled at the list, a prompt interrupted his awe.
[Please select one of the martial arts routes.]
“So, you’re telling me to pick one of these?”
Lee Jun fell into a delightful dilemma.
The breathing technique he was born with, the Three Elements Breathing Technique, was leagues apart in quality compared to the divine arts displayed here.
He struggled to calm his racing heart.
[Choose carefully. Once you select a route, it cannot be changed.]
Faced with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Lee Jun weighed his options with utmost caution.
Still, he managed to eliminate a few choices.
“I’ll skip any martial arts tied to clans.”
Currently, not just South Korea but the entire Asian region mirrored the martial world depicted in wuxia novels.
Only the era had shifted to modern times.
But in essence, it was no different from the traditional martial world.
This was all due to the first generation of Awakened.
They were given two choices:
One was the magic and aura of the continent of Grantus, and the other was the martial arts of the wuxia world.
Europe and the Americas chose the continent of Grantus, while Asia chose the martial arts world.
This choice persisted into modern times, becoming fully entrenched.
Thus, the modern-day factions of fantasy and martial arts emerged.
Anyway, as seen in the list, there were martial arts from the Nine Great Clans and the Five Noble Families.
“Is there any martial art that doesn’t belong to any of those groups?”
Lee Jun scrolled down the list, and his hand suddenly stopped.
Among the numerous entries, one martial art caught his eye.
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art] [Jaha Divine Art] [Honyuan Divine Art]
At the very bottom was the Honyuan Divine Art.
Based on Lee Jun’s knowledge, it was a martial art that didn’t belong to any orthodox, unorthodox, or demonic sect.
“I’ll go with the Honyuan Divine Art.”
Having made up his mind, he clicked on it.
[You have mastered the Honyuan Divine Art (SSS).]
[You have chosen the Honyuan Divine Art route.]
[Deleting the existing Three Elements techniques.]
[Main Quest 1 – Begin Honyuan Sect Training has been created.]
“What!”
Lee Jun couldn’t focus on any of the other messages. His eyes were glued to the “SSS” next to the Honyuan Divine Art.
***
Lee Jun climbed the quiet mountain behind the school.
This was where he had always trained in the past. Free from prying eyes, he didn’t need to worry about being seen.
Sitting cross-legged in the clearing, he closed his eyes and took deep, steady breaths.
“Whew…”
He slowly circulated the recently acquired Honyuan Divine Art. Even after a brief practice, he could feel the energy around him stirring.
Hours later, Lee Jun’s eyes snapped open.
His pupils flickered with a grayish light before returning to normal.
“This is what an SSS-grade technique feels like!”
Grinning brightly, Lee Jun stared at the hologram displaying the Honyuan Divine Art.
[Honyuan Divine Art (SSS) – 1 Star]
Description: A martial art left behind by the Ultimate One after achieving enlightenment in his later years.
Remarkably effective at gathering dispersed energy between heaven and earth and pairs well with any martial technique.
A world apart from the Three Elements Breathing Technique.
Even after just a few hours of practice, the speed at which his inner energy accumulated was beyond comprehension.
Now that he had experienced the Honyuan Divine Art, he could understand why those who bragged about their D-grade inner techniques had been so arrogant.
“With this, I can become strong, too.”
For the first time, Lee Jun felt a glimmer of hope.
He could see a path forward—a way to live his life.
Having obtained the tool to grow stronger, he knew he had to make the most of it.
He closed the description window and opened the quest window.
[Main Quest 1 – Begin Honyuan Sect Training]
Difficulty: D
Description: The Honyuan Sect is a single-lineage sect created in the later years of the Ultimate One, who grew disillusioned with the world. To officially become a disciple of the Honyuan Sect, the Honyuan Divine Art must reach a certain level.
Completion Condition: Honyuan Divine Art – 2 Stars
Rewards: Honyuan Ring, 100,000 Tech Tree Points, Next Route Unlock
For the quest’s difficulty, it seemed relatively easy.
Was it because he had obtained the SSS-grade Honyuan Divine Art? His motivation surged.
He felt like spending hours, or even an entire day, immersed in cultivating the technique.
Closing the quest window, he immediately shut his eyes.
“Let’s finish the quest first.”
He began circulating the Honyuan Divine Art slowly.
The trace amount of inner energy collected in his dantian started moving cautiously, but before long, it began surging forward like a runaway train.
It didn’t take long for him to become entirely absorbed in the practice of the Honyuan Divine Art.
Was this the state of absolute focus he had only heard of in tales?
Before he knew it, an hour had passed. Soon, two hours had gone by as well.
He had no intention of stopping and continued practicing relentlessly.
By the time an entire day had passed, Lee Jun’s face alternated between being flushed and pale.
Whether or not he was aware of his condition, he remained completely engrossed in the Honyuan Divine Art.
It was then that a voice reached his ears.