Chapter 1
The RoFan Novel Fan Has Reincarnated Into A Martial Arts Novel
Chapter 1: Prologue
Late at night, Yeon tightly clutched her phone and anxiously scanned her room, despite being alone. She even pressed her ear to the wall to listen intently.
After confirming that she was indeed alone, Yeon let out a long sigh and groaned from the muscle aches that had taken over her body. She had endured a grueling training session that afternoon, led by her father, a world-renowned fighter known as the “Last Martial Artist” of the modern era.
Thinking of her father’s impressive title, Yeon muttered under her breath in a rough voice, “I know it’s impressive, but I don’t have to follow in his footsteps, do I?”
Although her father wanted her to become a fighter like him, he may not have realized that her exceptional potential was evident even to him, given his status as a world-renowned fighter.
In other words, she possessed a natural aptitude for martial arts, excelling in physical activities from a young age. However, her gender posed a significant challenge in pursuing her passion.
The limitations imposed by gender in the sport of martial arts were clear, and as she grew older, the gap between her and her male counterparts became increasingly apparent. Though her father may have been aware of this, his stubbornness prevented him from acknowledging it.
As she lay down, a bitter sigh escaped her lips, and she felt a yawn coming on. Though she could easily fall asleep, she forced herself to turn on her phone screen, knowing that there was something she had to do before retiring for the night.
With a swipe of her finger, she opened a web novel app and was immediately greeted by illustrations of a man and a woman dressed in medieval garb. The deadly glint in their eyes, coupled with their daring poses, and the straightforward title all served to captivate her attention.
『The Darkened Duke Of The North Is Obsessed With Me』
She had become engrossed with her favorite romance novel these days. She didn’t even notice her lips curling up in excitement as she pressed the latest chapter.
As she dove into the story, her attention was captured by the letters on the screen, and she found herself getting lost in its pages. She caressed the screen slowly with her thumb as if savoring each word.
This episode was the highly-anticipated climax of the story, featuring a scene where the male lead, who has an unhealthy obsession with the female lead, coerces her into loving him.
[“I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means killing innocent people, to have you. The choice is yours. Will you let that tragedy happen or will you come to me?”
“Elrond…!”]
“Ah!”
She let out a high-pitched scream, just like the female lead in a typical romance novel. With rich blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, she wore a stunning dress that gave her an elegant appearance.
However, in reality, her hair was always kept short and she never wore pretty skirts because it would interfere with her workout routine. Her father’s advice was to do more push-ups instead of worrying about those things.
Was it because of that?
The word “lady” felt so fancy. Just imagining herself in that way made her heart beat faster.
“Oh, it’s already over.”
Despite her disappointment, she turned off the screen after the episode ended. She scrolled through her phone but found no other shows as captivating as her current favorite. Although it was late, she couldn’t sleep due to the excitement.
‘If I don’t sleep soon, tomorrow’s training will be difficult,’ she thought to herself, worrying about tomorrow’s training. As she tried to close her eyes, the fantasy world she had just witnessed began to play out in her mind.
Yeon murmured unknowingly.
“I wish I could live as a lady just once……”
In her heart, she wanted to possess a character even if it meant becoming a spirit. Well, it didn’t necessarily have to be a possession, but as a modern person, she couldn’t regress.
Reincarnation?
“That’s when you must start from when you’re a baby. It’s too much of a hassle.”
Continuing her useless delusions, Yeon finally gave up and took out an old book. It was a martial arts novel passed down to her by her father, a special remedy in times like this.
『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』
The handwritten title on the faded cover gave off a dull feeling.
‘Because he thinks I’m not interested in anything other than martial arts.’
Nevertheless, it was said to be a very famous book in the past. If it were released with such a title these days, no one would have read it.
‘What’s with 『The Unrivaled』? It should at least be something like 『The SSS-Class Martial Artist Rips The World Apart』.’
Yeon grumbled as she unfolded 『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』. The front pages were worn out as if they were from a math textbook stuck on a bookshelf.
[Nothing is known about his background, he is evaluated as having reached the peak of martial arts. A powerful martial artist with infinite strength. White clouds (白雲) surround all directions every time his Qi (氣) is released…….]
Her eyelids quickly became heavy from the attack of the Chinese characters scattered throughout. It was only about a character yet Yeon couldn’t finish reading 『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』. She had made some progress at one point, but eventually, she gave up on it.
As she flipped through the bookshelf, the drowsiness that had fled returned and wrapped around Yeon as if to say, ‘When you want to sleep, there’s nothing but 『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』.’
“I wish I could wake up in a world of martial arts novels.”
With that wish in mind, Yeon fell asleep with a grumble.
* * *
On that night, Yeon had a dream. It was about her being reincarnated into the fantasy world that she had always hoped for. She enjoyed her new life to her heart’s content, playing the leading role in 『The Darkened Duke Of The North Is Obsessed With Me』. Her blonde hair, blue eyes that seemed to sparkle every time she moved her head, and her gorgeous dress were all perfect. As a lady, she met the male lead, Elrond, and felt like she had everything as they held hands and spun around.
“I finally met you, Elrond! Ahahaha! Ahaha…?”
Suddenly, she woke up with a start upon hearing her laugh in reality. “It was a dream.” She thought, but as she looked up, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
“An unfamiliar ceiling?”
As a fan of fantasy novels, Yeon instinctively realized what had happened. This was undoubtedly a cliché of reincarnation.
“Could it be that I really reincarnated into a fantasy novel?!”
As her eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and excitement, the door suddenly creaked open. She quickly turned her gaze toward the sound and saw the figure of a girl. However, to her surprise, the girl was an oriental woman dressed in traditional clothing instead of what she had expected.
“…Oh?”
Yeon and the girl made a dumbfounded sound and their eyes met.
Crash!
The bowl the girl was holding fell and shattered into pieces, and the pungent smell of medicine filled their noses.
“La-Lady Hwangbo Yeon?”
‘Hwangbo Yeon?’
“You finally woke up, Milady!”
A moment of ominous feeling crossed Yeon’s mind.
‘…Wait a minute. Hwangbo Yeon is a character from 『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』.’
It was a character she remembered because her name was similar to hers.
Looking around, she saw a scenery similar to that of a martial arts drama set. Yeon’s heart was pounding, and her lips trembled.
‘Is this not a situation where I have transmigrated into a romance novel……?’
The girl, sensing something strange about Yeon, asked cautiously.
“Um, Milady……?”
Yeon finally realized that the girl was speaking a foreign language. The fact that she could understand it without any difficulty was also strange.
The reality that she didn’t want to believe hit her along with a dizzy feeling. Yeon’s wish had been granted, but this was not a world of romance fantasy. She had transmigrated into 『The Unrivaled Martial Artist』.
“I finally got reincarnated, but why of all things……”
A hoarse voice came out of Yeon’s mouth.
“Pardon?”
“I-I wanted to become a lady[1]……”
“La…jy? Does that mean something is coming, Milady?”
Yeon looked up at the bewildered girl. Her eyes were moist with despair.
As soon as the girl tilted her head, Yeon let out a loud cry.
“Milady!”
A piercing scream echoed throughout the Hwangbo residence, the ruling family of the martial arts world.
~
[1] : The word lady was spoken as an English word, hence it’s different from when the servant was calling her lady or milady.