CHAPTER 1: THERE IS NO GOING BACK NOW

"After him!"

A shout echoed through the narrow alleys of Ironwood City. The sounds of heavy footsteps slamming against the cobblestones could be heard in the distance. Kang Joon-woo sprinted through the slums, his heart pounding in his chest. The air was filled with the stench of garbage and hopelessness, Kang Joon-woo wasn't too unfamiliar with it, as he lived in those dirty parts almost all of his fifteen years of life.

As he ran, he couldn't help but notice that the heavy sounds of the footsteps were becoming louder with every second, they were almost catching up to him, but there was no time to think or hesitate. Under any circumstances, he should not stop now, not even to catch his breath, because if he couldn’t escape these guys, it would be the end of his miserable life.

He took a sudden turn around a corner,  while narrowly avoiding a stack of rotten barrels. As he entered the alley, his eyes darted from left to right searching for a way out. But alas, the alley was a dead end. There was nothing there, just a crumbling wall full of vines and weed and the unsightly remains of what had once been a small shrine. His heart began to beat even faster than before, he was already thinking of his soon to be ended life.

‘No, I can’t shake in fear, I survived all these years, I can survive now too’

His running came to a stop, as he skidded in front of the wall. His breath coming in short, he was too exhausted. Gang members' voices could now be clearly heard. They were just right beside the corner. Joon-woo’s eyes darted from the wall to the shrine

‘There has to be a way out, there has to be-’

He was fixated on the shrine now, looking at it, he could almost feel pity. It was a sad thing to look at, weathered by years of neglect, full of cracks, even the idol of the shrine was barely recognizable because of all the moss and dirt. In a way, he felt he was similar to the shrine, in many ways than just one. Even though it wasn’t a situation where he could afford to stay and gaze at something, it was strange, the shrine called to him, he could almost hear whispers coming from it.

Unconsciously, he rushed towards the shrine and ducked himself behind it. Trying to make himself as unnoticeable as he could. And he managed to do it just right in time, as the gang members burst into the closed aley.

“Where’d the little rat go?” One of them asked, his voice filled with malice.

“Does it really matter? He’ll come back, little rats like him always do” another one replied, cracking his knuckles.

“I know what you are saying senior, but we should still check this area better, you know our Boss doesn’t like loose ends-”

“Hey, have you heard that?”

Joon-woo pressed his back against the wall of the shrine, while he planted his hand on his chest, his heart was about to burst. 

‘This is it, huh…’

At this point, the sounds of the members were drowned out by blood that was pounding in his ears. He closed his eyes, he was already prepared for the worst. He was exhausted, he spent the little energy he had left, in his last attempt to run away from them, but alas, it was for naught. He was in no shape to fight against them, it would only make his suffering worse.

He wanted to close his eyes, but a faint glow caught his attention. The shrine was glowing. The cracks of the shrine emanated a warm and soft light. It was faint and almost barely noticeable, but it was there.

Almost by instinct, Joon-woo reached out and touched the shrine. When his hand brushed against the stone, the world in front of his eyes began to spin. It was harder to breathe, the light from the shrine was not just a faint glow anymore, it surrounded him in a bright and warm light.

But, that was just for a couple of seconds, as right after, all of the light vanished, and not just the light, everything around him as well. Everything was swallowed up by darkness.

A faint glow caught his attention, and he opened his eyes. The shrine was glowing, a soft, ethereal light emanating from the cracks in the stone. It was faint, barely noticeable, but it was there. He was no longer in the alley. As he looked around, he was just in a vast and empty space, even the ground beneath him disappeared. The air was not heavy anymore, it was cool, soothing almost. And the stench… that foul stench typical of the slums was no longer present.

“What.. What is this place?” he whispered to himself, as he turned and observed this world of darkness.

“Did they kill me? Am I dead?”

"You have been chosen."

A deep and resonant voice echoed around him. The aura of this voice seemed to reach even his very soul. Joon-woo spun around, trying to find the source, but there was no one there.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice trembling despite his best efforts to keep it normal.

“I am the System,” the voice replied. “And you, Kang Joon-woo, are now my host.”

 “Host?” Joon-woo asked in confusion, with a small faint of fear.

“You are weak, pathetically so,” the System said, its tone neutral, almost indifferent. “You lack power, strength and purpose. But that can change, if you accept my guidance, I will help you. I can make you stronger, I can help you reach levels you wouldn’t even be able to conceive. Using me, you can rise above your circumstances. Together, we can walk the path of the heavens.”

Joon-woo was at a loss of words. This had to be a dream, he must have passed out because of his exhaustion and fear. That must have been it. Any second now, he will wake up. But still, one fact still remained. The weight of the System’s voice, the strange energy he felt before arriving in this endless dark space… it all felt too real.

“What… What can I even do? What do I have to do?” He asked with hesitation

“You must cultivate,” the System nonchalantly replied. “I will provide you with quests, tasks that will test your resolve in many ways. As you complete these quests, your resolve will grow stronger too. And I will personally reward that resolve, I will give you power and abilities that will help you in our journey.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“This is nice but… what’s the catch? What if I fail on these… “Quests” of yours?” Due the way he lived until now, he knew there is nothing free in this world, because of his nature, Joon-woo couldn’t help but ask

“Failure? That parameter is not an option,” the System nonchalantly said. “ Have you lived your life with failure in mind? Until now, failure for you meant death, so that’s the mindset you will continue to have now too, it’s the only way to rise above your fate, and change your destiny”

“So, Kang Joon-woo…”

“Do you accept the Quest?”

“Yes or No”

Joon-woo slightly hesitated, the offer was tempting, a bit too tempting. But at this point, what did he have to lose? He was already living a life of constant fear and struggle in the slums. On top of that, just moments ago, he was on the verge of being killed, so if this System could truly help him change his fate, then maybe… just maybe..

“Yes, I accept” Joon-woo said, this time, with a firm voice

“Very well,” the System replied. “Your quest begins now.”

Joon-woo was taken aback as the world shifted against, the dark world was engulfed by that familiar light. After a moment, even that familiar light began to dissipate, as the alley began to reappear in the picture, with the familiar stench making its way back to Joon-woo’s nostrils. The gang members were still there, with their backs to him, as they searched the far end of the alley. The shrine was now even more cracked than before. There was no light emanating from it anymore, the glow was gone, as if it never even existed.”

Ding!

Congratulations!

As a reward for becoming the new [ host ] of

[ The System ], your stamina and health will be restored at their full capacity. 

“Warning!”

The [ host ] has been detected with the following ailments:

[Asthma]

[Common cold]

[Parasitic infection]

[Toxi Infection]

As an added bonus of being the [ host ] of [ The System ], all of your current ailments will be healed.

Joon-woo suddenly felt as he was once again engrossed in that light, he felt a burning sensation coursing through his whole body, and as the light dispersed, he couldn’t help but notice that he was not out of breath anymore, not even that, the heavy pressure that he felt all these on his lungs was gone. The pain that was coming from his stomach also disappeared. He couldn’t believe it… this vitality… When was the last time he felt like this? Was it when he was a little child? He couldn’t remember… but that was not important, he now felt like he was born anew. 

A new Quest has been created!

Defeat your pursuers Reward: 50 EXP, Basic Martial Skill: [ Iron Fist ], and 10 Qi Units

A transparent blue screen with these words appeared in front of his eyes, levitating in the air. Joon-woo stared at them, his heart began to pound. His body was indeed in a far better condition, these words for sure were real. The System was real.

So naturally, he had no choice but to fight

It may have been because of the adrenaline, and also thanks to his newfound body condition, but he felt it… his senses were sharpened, his mind was now cleared, and for the first time in his life, he could finally feel some warmth spreading through his limbs.

The gang members rapidly turned around just as Joon-woo stepped out from behind the shrine. Their eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in anger.

“So there were you, you little rat”! One of them shouted, while drawing a rusty sword from his belt. “ You think you had us, huh? You think you could have just ran away? The boss is gonna enjoy seeing your head on a platter!”

Joon-woo clenched his fists, properly feeling the energy that was coursing through him. He was still scared, but he was not trembling anymore, he found a new resolve.

He wasn’t going to cower anymore

The gang member with the sword lunged at him. Joon-woo, thanks to his sharpened senses and newfound energy managed to sidestep the attack with surprising ease, his body moving on instinct.

Without having a second thought, Joon-woo propelled himself in the air, closing the distance between him and the gang member. Joon-woo struck out with his feet. The kick connected with the gang member’s jaw, sending him straight to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the dirt. Joon-woo couldn’t believe himself, it was like he was in another body, he couldn’t believe he was moving this fast and graciously. The other gang member was in shock, he couldn’t believe that the little rat was able to send his senior to bite the curb with no difficulty.

Joon-woo turned to face the last gang member, who didn’t dare to move, it seemed like fear finally overtook his anger. Joon-woo could see it clearly, the gang member lost all of his hope in defeating him.

“Leave,” Joon-woo said, his voice cold and steady. “ Tell your boss you saw me leave the city as a wounded man, don’t ever come back looking for me”

The gang member didn’t need to hear it twice. He took his fallen comrade, and rapidly took off the alley, disappearing around the corner completely.

Joon-woo stood there, breathing, as the adrenaline slowly wore out. The alley was finally silent… well, if it wouldn’t have been for that damn stench, but alas, you can’t really have everything.

The quest has been completed! Congratulations! You will now receive your reward! Reward: 50 EXP, Basic Martial Skill: [ Iron Fist ], and 10 Qi Units

The blue window appeared before his eyes again, Joon-woo suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction. The warm light enveloped his body again, he actually could feel his strength increasing. It seems that the System had kept its promise.

Well, this was just the beginning anyway

Joon-woo took a deep breath, and raised his head to the sky above. His world was really turned upside down, and he knew there is no way he can back down now. There is no going back.