Chapter 3: The Unknown World

When Thomas opened his eyes, the sight that greeted him was not the attic he was previously in.

 

What greeted him was the shade of a large tree, with deep green leaves covering parts of the clear blue skies without a cloud in sight.

 

'Huh? Where the hell am I?'

 

Realizing he was still lying down, Thomas sat up and looked around, trying to find out where he was. However, what shocked Thomas even more, was the open field of lush green grass going on for what seemed like forever in front of him.

 

Thomas, being more confused now than when he woke up a minute ago, turned around expecting to see more grass, but was instead met with a Chinese-looking town only a couple of hundred meters away from the tree where he had woken up.

 

As he was near some sort of civilization, regardless of how advanced, Thomas began to calm down and think about what had happened before waking up under the tree.

 

'Okay, so I was cleaning the attic with my dad when I found a pedestal with a sword.'

 

"..."

 

'Then I read the characters above where the sword was resting.'

 

"Mang!"

 

'Then I fell over after pulling the sword out from the sheath and reading what was on the blade."

 

"MYEOL MANG!"

 

Hearing somebody say something from behind him, Thomas turned around, only to be met with a chop to the head.

 

"OW! What the hell was that for!?"

 

"I've been calling your name for a while now, and you haven't said a word back!"

 

Looking up, Thomas saw a guy who looked to be fifteen to sixteen years old, with greasy black hair and grayish-green eyes wearing dirty, worn-down clothes, and his face was tanned with spots of dirt on his cheeks.

 

"Okay. Why have you been calling me? I don't even know you!"

 

"...."

 

"...."

 

"Did you hit yourself on the head with a rock?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"It's me, Sung Ho. Don't you remember? We've lived in the same orphanage for three years now."

 

"No, I don't remember any of that. The last thing I remember was waking up under this tree."

 

Being in a different place than he used to be, without any memories of who his friends were or not, Thomas decided to play along with the loss of memory. Thinking ahead, Thomas asked.

 

"Wait, so my name is Myeol Mang?"

 

"SO YOU COULD HEAR ME!" Sung Ho exclaimed. Striking him on the head again.

 

After hitting Myeol Mang on the head, Sung Ho explained to Myeol Mang about their life. About how they were Orphans whose parents were murdered by a horde of masked men.

 

About the orphanage that had taken them in when they were fending for themselves, begging for money and food in the streets. About the bullies within the orphanage who beat both of them daily.

 

"Huh, so our lives are pretty shitty right now?"

 

"Yea, but we can't do a damn thing about it, saying the orphanage is our home for now. All we can do is hope someone takes pity on us and takes us in."

 

"Well, If what you say is true, can you show me the way to the orphanage?"

 

"Alright, c'mon then." Said Sung Ho as he got up and started walking towards the nearby town.

 

As Myeol Mang and Sung Ho were walking toward the town, Myeol Mang was lost in thought, trying to understand what had happened and where he was.

 

Recalling everything Sung Ho said and the knowledge he had before he passed out.

 

Myeol Mang assumed that the sword he had touched had some type of power. And when someone with the blood of 'Myeol' touched the sword, they gained access to this world.

 

But as one question was answered, two more came.

 

'Does anyone else on my mom's side of the family have this power? And how specific does it mean by "Blood of Myeol"?'

 

With too many questions and no answers, Myeol Mang decided to just leave them alone for now, as pondering on useless questions in an unknown world could end badly for him.

 

Letting out a long sigh, Myeol Mang looked up from the ground and observed the bustling street he was walking on.

 

Seeing those around him dressing in clean, nice-looking clothes, Myeol Mang started to feel out of place in the town as if a poor child from the slums had walked into a party full of wealthy people.

 

Still following Sung Ho, Myeol Mang noticed the quality of people's clothing started to downgrade until their clothing didn't look much better than theirs at all.

 

Stopping in the middle of the road, Sung Ho walked over to a broad, worn-down building that looked like it had been standing for decades.

 

"Here it is. The orphanage."

 

Walking inside, Myeol Mang noticed that despite the poor conditions of the outside of the building, the inside was quite nice. The walls and floors looked freshly scrubbed, and the tables and stools in the open area didn't have so much as a spec of dirt or dust on them.

 

"Man this place is clean, hey Sung Ho who cleans this place?"

 

"We do, this place is an inn, so for us orphans to stay here we have to work as servants and clean the place."

 

"So we're more like workers than orphans then, just instead of getting paid we get a place to stay for the night."

 

"Yeah, but just because the owners here take care of us, doesn't exactly mean they have affection for us. They're just greedy bastards who only care about money and when their property is damaged."

 

"So that's why they don't care when we get beaten up by the others, and as long as we can work we have to, regardless of our conditions."

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"Well that's unfortunate, anyways can you show me where my room is?"

 

"Sure."

 

Walking towards a hallway in the back, Sung Ho was suddenly stopped by three people in the middle of the hallway. They were no taller than Sung Ho, yet he looked worried when they stepped in front of him.

 

"Well, would you look at who came running back!"

 

"Hey Sung Ho, is this the Dae Hyun guy you were talking about?"

 

"Yea, that's him alright."

 

"What are you two on about huh? Why is Myeol Mang acting like he doesn't know me?"

 

"The last beating you gave us knocked his head in a daze, I mean he couldn't even remember who I was."

 

Swinging his fist at Myeol Mang's head, Dae Hyun yelled.

 

"Huh, so if I give him another beating as bad he should get his memory back right!?"

 

However, something was wrong. Myeol Mang couldn't even see the fist coming, despite being in fights all his life as Thomas. As Dae Hyun's fist connected with Myeol Mang's face, he was sent tumbling across the floor, leaving scuff marks across the floor as he slid.

 

"I think that beating earlier really did do something to him, I mean you used to be able to dodge at least one of my punches before getting hit."

 

Getting up, Myeol Mang didn't seem all that bothered by getting punched a minute ago. He actually looked rather confident.

 

'While his punches are fast, they don't pack as much power as Elijah's fists do. And judging by how my body isn't in much pain, I reckon I could beat him if I wear him down.'

 

Running towards Dae Hyun, Myeol Mang started to pull back his arm in preparation to punch him when Sung Ho suddenly stopped him and pointed behind Myeol Mang.

 

Wondering what he was pointing to, Myeol Mang turned around only to see a person standing at the beginning of the hallway, wearing clean clothes and not a single ruffled hair on his head, the man said with a seething face.

 

"Who scuffed my floors?"

 

"...."

 

"WHO SCUFFED THEM?"

 

"Myeol Mang."

 

Hearing Myeol Mang's name, the man pointed to the ground and said.

 

"Myeol Mang, you are going to clean this floor until it looks better than when you scuffed it. And if you don't, then you won't get dinner tonight."

 

"Yes sir. Hey Sung Ho, where is the broom at?"

 

"In the corner by the front of the dining hall."

 

"Thanks."

 

Walking into the dining hall as he replied, Myeol Mang looked at every corner while trying to find the broom.

 

Finding the broom in the far corner of the hall, Myeol Mang walked past a table with a single man eating a bowl of soup. Looking up as Myeol Mang passed him, the old man stood up.

 

"Young boy, you said your name was Myeol Mang, correct?"

 

Surprised that the man stopped eating to talk to him, Myeol Mang responded.

 

"Yes sir."

 

"I have a question for you, please sit." said the man pointing his hand toward an empty seat at his table.

 

After Myeol Mang sat down, the man asked.

 

"Would you rather live here, forced to work in order to have a place to sleep. Or would you rather come with me to learn martial arts?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"What I mean is would you rather live here, bullied by that other boy over there and forced to work grueling tasks in order to have food and sleep? Or would you rather learn martial arts from me and have a place to eat and sleep without being beaten daily?"

 

"If I choose to go with you, can my friend come along? He's been with me since we got here three years ago."

 

"Sure, just as long as he agrees to learn from me as well."

 

"Thank you, sir," said Myeol Mang as he got up and ran over to Sung Ho, who was waiting at a table across the hall.

 

As Myeol Mang sat at the table, Sung Ho asked, "What did he say to you, and why does it concern me?"

 

"Alright, look, you don't have to accept his offer, but he wants to take me in as a disciple. And I said I would agree if you could come along as well."

 

"What?"

 

"Yea, so as he told me. Would you rather stay here and work while being bullied, or would you rather learn martial arts with me, so we don't get shoved aside by others just because we are weak?"

 

"Well, I might as well take his offer. It seems like Dae Hyun has it out for us today. What's the guy's name though?"

 

"Oh, I didn't get it; let's go over and ask him. Since we will both be leaving with him."

 

Getting up and walking back over to the table the man was sitting at, the two boys sat down across from him and asked.

 

"Sir, what happens to be your name?"

 

"Me? My name is Jin Tang."

 

"Wait, JIN TANG? The wandering martial artist who trains people he sees talent in? That Jin Tang?"

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