Chapter 1. The Unhidden Strength of a Porter

Back when I was putting all my effort into job hunting, I wrote on my resume:

"My strength is that I can quickly adapt to any work environment."

Even though I had squeezed out those words in a hurry, I thought they weren't entirely wrong.

I genuinely believed I was quite adaptable, and I was willing to go wherever they sent me, as long as they hired me.

Whether it was the Marado branch or a special correspondent in Afghanistan, I was ready.

But the martial world had crossed a line.

* * *

"Die!"

—Whoosh!

"Huh!"

I rolled to avoid the bandit's hand axe.

I really thought I was done for.

"You little brat!"

I immediately used the Hell Sweep to kick the bandit's front leg.

By the time you've been in the martial world for about three years, you can use basic techniques like the Hell Sweep and the Wind God Palm.

The bandit who tried to split my head open screamed and fell, and I promptly stomped on his head.

—Crunch!

I felt the sensation of a watermelon bursting, and something like juice splattered on my feet. I saw something like a rock candy fly far away, but it was probably an eyeball. Ugh, disgusting.

I had seen human eyeballs before, but my modern sensibilities made it impossible for me to get used to them. So, I immediately kicked the twitching bandit's head with a roundhouse kick, and the twitching stopped.

After dispatching one, I looked around and saw everyone engaged in a bloody battle.

I was carefully observing, ready to run if necessary, but the overall situation was in favor of the escort guards.

"Die!"

"Kyaah!!!"

Nearby, an escort guard was seen slicing off a bandit's head with a flashy sword move. It's not an easy task to cut off a human head with a sword.

As I stood there in amazement, the severed head rolled toward my feet, so I kicked it away.

It flew pretty well.

The sight of the bandit's head flying through the air, spraying blood, was quite a spectacle.

In wuxia stories, escort guards are often depicted as being at the bottom of the martial world's food chain, even lower than beggars. But the escort guards I've encountered are nothing like that.

In fact, it's one of the most enviable jobs for someone like me. While it's not a job with the four major insurances, it has pretty good benefits. The salary is also reliable.

Compared to porters like me, it's a completely different position.

'They're really good with swords.'

By the time you become an escort guard, your martial arts skills are quite advanced. They can easily take out a dozen street thugs from a seated position.

If you put any random escort guard in the modern world, they could probably control a city the size of Ulsan without much trouble.

In any case, they're not like delivery drivers. They're more like luxury car transporters.

So, I should leave the fighting to the guards and find a place to hide...

"You!"

"What?"

I was catching my breath when a bandit ran toward me. This is really getting out of hand.

Actually, there were more bandits, and that's why they were losing. Porters like me would usually just cower or run away, but they were targeting us.

It's easier to kill us, and if you search our pockets, you might find a few coins.

"Kukuk, you! Stand still!"

A rather large bandit continued to chase me. If he didn't have that sword, I might have tried to fight him, but the sword made it impossible to gauge the situation.

I took out a hidden dagger and shouted,

"Come any closer, and I'll throw it!"

"Huh, you're quite a feisty one."

The bandit chuckled and lightly swung his sword. The broad side was perfect for deflecting a dagger.

"Go ahead, throw it. Kukukuk."

He taunted me, wiggling his fingers. To him, I probably looked like a rookie trying to survive with a kitchen knife.

There have been plenty of people who ended up like that.

Without hesitation, I threw the dagger.

The dagger flew in a precise trajectory, but not particularly fast, toward the bandit's head.

The bandit, as if he had expected it, easily blocked the dagger with his sword—Clang!

The sound of metal clashing and—

"Ugh!"

He screamed as the dagger pierced his stomach.

It must have felt like a red-hot poker stabbing into his gut.

I know because I've been stabbed before.

The bandit's eyes were filled with confusion, as if he had been hit by magic.

Actually, the trick was simple.

I threw the dagger twice in quick succession.

The first one was slow enough for him to block, and I threw it in a straightforward trajectory.

While he was blocking it,

I pulled out another dagger from my clothes and threw it faster than the wind.

This was the Double Swallow Flight technique I had learned over the three years I spent in the martial world.

The bandit, unable to hide his confusion, tried to pull the dagger out of his stomach, but a sword isn't something you can easily remove.

Even the slightest touch can cause excruciating pain, making it impossible to touch it with normal willpower.

And with one hand?

Absolutely impossible. You can't even apply any force.

I know from experience. It's impossible.

The bandit soon realized this, dropped his sword, and tried to pull out the dagger with both hands—

"You're an idiot."

Would I just stand there and watch?

I quickly ran over and stabbed him in the throat.

As yellow corn popped out of his mouth, I put him in a neck lock and continued to kick his stomach with knee strikes.

"Ugh, Kyaah, Huh!"

"Go to hell, brat."

After about thirty knee strikes, I felt the bandit in my arms stop struggling, his breath reaching the tip of his throat.

He was dead.

Just like all the other unlucky ones.

I caught my breath, slowly picked up the sword and dagger he had dropped, and pocketed a few copper coins from his body.

It was a bit of extra income, but I didn't feel particularly good. A bitter taste, like drinking a really bad coffee, lingered in my mouth.

But that was all.

In this world, killing someone only left a bitter taste, like drinking a bad coffee.

This was the world I had fallen into,

the martial world,

the Jianghu.