Chapter 0

For small business production workers, gaming is a basic skill.

Of course, some people didn’t consider it gaming. They couldn’t accept mobile apps that only involved auto-hunting, in-app purchases, and gacha as real games.

But for small business production workers, these games held value beyond just gaming.

It was a clever genre that allowed them to level up their specs even while working, tucked away in a cabinet.

Even if their salaries didn’t rise, their levels did, and that was fun.

Above all, it made up over 70% of the conversations among team members, so it felt more like modern social life than just gaming.

However, when it came to PC or console games, gaming was a bit of a distant hobby for production workers. Their hobbies were usually drinking (casually), drinking (company dinners), drinking (with women), or fishing.

In that sense, it was quite rare for his hobby to be gaming.

He was a pretty diligent gamer.

Small business production workers typically worked in two shifts, alternating between day and night shifts, with short cycles of 2 days off after 2 days of work or 1 day off after 2 days of work.

So, he would sleep like the dead, then sit in front of the monitor sipping cold beer from a thermos, spending his vacation that way.

He wasn’t picky about games.

He enjoyed the life of an outlaw roaming the Wild West in games, and as a superhuman commander, he saved Earth after destroying a few planets to stop alien invasions.

The rebellious son who killed a god was also fun.

But most of his experiences were as a warrior or mage in some medieval-like Western setting.

Then, someone commented on his post asking for game recommendations.

ㄴTry “Martial World Life and Death Chronicles,” it’s fun.

ㄴChinese game, lol.

ㄴNo, seriously, it’s fun;; There’s even a Korean patch, hey, give it a try.

Martial World.

The only Martial World he knew was from a few Stephen Chow movies, like “Shaolin Soccer.”

Was it the Buddha’s Physical Body that appeared in “Kung Fu Hustle”?

Recalling that, his curiosity was piqued.

He didn’t hesitate and bought the game.

Since he lived alone, his wallet was quite thick, so there was no reason to hesitate.

While the game was downloading, he searched for more information.

It was made in China (unofficial Korean patch 99.6%), an open-world RPG with high freedom.

The fact that a user-made Korean patch was available was a guarantee of some level of fun.

Who would bother translating a boring game?

You could freely farm and grow, and once you reached a certain reputation, major events like early, mid, and late-game crises would randomly start.

Overcoming them would lead to the ending, and you could continue playing or start a new playthrough with descendants.

It offered multiple endings depending on the content.

He didn’t know much about wuxia games, but it seemed to have some recognition.

He preferred overpowered characters that could sweep through enemies rather than overcoming difficult challenges.

He liked following proven builds rather than pioneering new paths.

He looked up character creation and build recommendations, pondering how to grow his character.

Already excited, he smiled with satisfaction.

Soon, the game finished installing, and he applied the Korean patch.

Then, the long-awaited game start.

Since he had just read some guides, he quickly proceeded with character creation.

Difficulty: Wanderer (easy mode).

Since it allowed multiple playthroughs, he could raise the difficulty in the second round if he found it fun.

Body type: Blood Poison Body, which made gameplay smoother.

Fate: Heaven’s Kill, the most powerful.

And for gender, it was a no-brainer—female.

He had a firm belief that if a game allowed female characters, he would always choose a female.

Unfortunately, customization wasn’t supported.

He had no choice but to pick a preset with a large chest from the available options.

After all, he wanted to see a well-drawn character.

Smoking and drinking beer while admiring the female character’s figure on the screen was his joy.

A privilege of being a single man.

Then, in the character name field, he pressed Ctrl+V.

阿靑 (A-Qing).

The pre-copied Chinese characters were entered.

He couldn’t understand why someone would be named A-Qing.

But it was in the recommendation post.

It said that entering this name would allow him to start with one of the game’s most overpowered martial arts, the Moon Woman Sword Technique.

Now, character creation was complete.

Before pressing the “Enter Martial World” button, he pulled up a guide on his smartphone detailing the farming route to take before progressing the early story.

In open-world games, it’s standard to farm like crazy right from the start before diving in.

But, in the end, it was a useless preparation.

The moment he pressed the “Enter Martial World” button—

He found himself standing in a chilly cave.

With a sudden, heavy weight pressing on his upper body.