The invader was a Korean man by the name of Kim Yi-An. He, like many protagonists in martial arts stories, had a dark past. His soul comes from another world full of martial artists. He was a martial artist who was from a place called Murim. He belonged to the most powerful sect in the nation and came from a righteous faction, and he was a brilliant martial artist who had been killed in a duel by a Heavenly Demon Warrior.

Kim Yi-An’s story, however, did not end there. His soul had been transported to this world, which was brimming with supernatural abilities and spiritual powers more strange than his.

And now he was here. How, you may wonder? It’s quite simple. He had a talisman from antiquity that, for some reason, was linked to a talisman like it from another world, and his soul was pulled into it. As his soul traversed the space between the worlds, a thing called System™ was linked through the ancient talisman and him. This System allowed him to stay in this world for fighting other martial artists.

This was a fair deal.

The System improved Kim Yi-An’s body or was given new abilities and power every time he defeated a martial artist.

With that, his progress hit a wall. To become the strongest in the world, he had to defeat all the best martial artists on the planet. He had no choice but to travel abroad.

Following his victory over the martial artists in his “home,” Korea, he then traveled to Japan. Why? Because he had heard that there were more powerful martial artists than anyone in his homeland. He desired to battle the most powerful opponents and to possess the greatest amount of power possible.

After a lengthy and exhausting journey across the sea, he was finally here, in this unassuming dojo. His system directed him here, and he arrived.

Kim Yi-An entered the tournament hall after easily passing through the barrier that surrounded the dojo. He didn’t expect that the crowd would take notice of him and attack him at first sight.

To identify people in his proximity, he used an identification feature on his system. It was a simple function, but it did the job. He knocked them unconscious after determining that they were weaker than him before moving on to stronger opponents.

He wasn’t concerned about killing them because the system forbade it. It prevented him from killing individuals unless they were genuinely evil and deserving of death. If it didn’t, they’d just become paralyzed.

It happened quickly. He was standing next to the entrance one second, and then he was surrounded by several people the next. Without hesitation, they went after him, but Kim Yi-An was prepared. With his qi infused hands, he repelled them. Others took a step back, while others collapsed to the ground.

When Kim Yi-An noticed this, he advanced. He made his way to the hallway’s center and waited there. His heart became still as a calm presence settled over him. Two men soon appeared in front of him.

Kim Yi-An was drawn to them by their aura. As soon as they arrived, the air seemed to become more dense, and there was an odd feeling. He was confronted by an elderly man and a young man who were both waiting for him to act. He turned on the System and examined their ‘stats,’ as the System referred to them.

The old man’s stats were frightening:

Grandmaster Takemichi, the person he was examining, appeared to be a true master with the collection of numbers that reached hundreds after the text above, which he never attempted to understand properly. His aura was so dense that he could almost feel it.

Kim Yi-An ignored the man next to him. He’d found the one he needed to defeat. He opened his mouth and raised the wooden sword he had just picked up.

“Grandmaster Takemichi, I’m here to challenge you.”

Kim Yi-An said this sentence in his broken Japanese, and the old man said nothing. He stood there watching, waiting for him to make the first move.

Grandmaster and the man next to him exchanged glances. The young man removed the cloth from his sword after they communicated without exchanging a single word. He took it out and held it in his hand. When the young man glared at him, his eyes turned gold and released a tremendous amount of pressure, which caused the air to tremble.

Kim Yi-An made a mistake. That man... was more powerful than expected.

He was already in battle mode. He was all set to fight.

Kim Yi-An knew what he needed to do, but it was too late. He used the Systems identification function once more.

However, it did not work.

And then his quest changed.

The window vanished with that. Kim Yi-An was taken aback. What on earth is going on? But he had little time to think about it.

His entire body was wrapped in a powerful force the moment he realized the change. He felt like he was in a tornado, but he could still move. His senses became dulled, and the aura’s pressure became unbearable.

The golden eyes then vanished. All he saw was a young man wielding an old, blunt sword. He thought he was going insane. He felt as if he were losing control of his own body. His powers were gone, he couldn’t feel his qi, and his body was weakening.

But he refused to give up.

He fought back.

***

The sudden pressure emitted by Ichiro did not faze Grandmaster. Given that he was his disciple and that he exuded a similar aura, it was only natural.

The old man had no intention of displaying his strength. He simply wanted to see how his disciple had grown and to assist him in his growth. That was his goal.

Ichiro observed the man and thought he looked like a main character from a martial arts manhwa or manga. Bishonen. That word came to mind. The guy appeared to be one. He was a big man with broad shoulders and muscular arms who appeared intimidating at first glance. If it had been cosplay, he would have given it an 8/10, maybe even a 9/10 if he knew what character he was portraying.

Ichiro gave the intruder a commanding stare. The man averted his gaze and tried to avoid Ichiro’s gaze. Ichiro closed his eyes, and he was trying to concentrate. Two years had passed since his last sword training duel, and he was on the verge of forgetting what to do. But he remembered. Both the words of his master and the manner in which he battled were in his mind.

He opened his eyes and looked at the man again, ignoring the terrified crowd. He didn’t know why the people were scared, but he was certain it was because of the intruder.

The intruder’s pupils dilated even more. This did not bother Ichiro. He was grateful to his master for teaching him how to intimidate people, and he was not ashamed to use it. It crept into his everyday life from time to time, but he knew how to keep it under control.

Ichiro approached him with such menace that the man had to take a step back. He saw fear and a determination to fight in the man’s eyes. He smiled broadly and opened his mouth.

“My name is Yamashita Ichiro. The Grandmaster’s final fifth disciple and your worst nightmare.”

Ichiro had an extremely powerful chuunibyou state today. Ichiro was aware of his complete delusion when he spoke those words. But it made no difference. His master’s intimidation techniques worked well enough to frighten some of the nearby children.

However, the man who was staring at him was not amused.

“My name is Kim Yi-An. My title is Undefeated Warrior of Seoul, and I challenge you, Grandmaster’s fifth disciple.”

It did not impress Ichiro. ‘He’s a liar,’ he thought. Despite this, he was polite and gave his response in the style of a wuxia novel he had just recently read two days prior while stuck in traffic.

“Let’s get this over with as soon as possible, Undefeated Warrior of Seoul. I don’t have time to waste.”

Ichiro had plenty of time to kill, in reality. His clothes were still being washed at his mother’s house, and he had nothing to do but laze around the dojo.

“All right, let’s do it.”

With that, Ichiro drew his sword and assumed the sword kata stance. He was ready to start the duel.

Kim Yi-An was in a similar position. He was in a state of panic inside. He was in a situation he had never imagined. His system, his backbone, the thing that made him who he was, had been suppressed.

And he did not know how to handle it. His identity had been stripped from him, and he was left unsure of how to deal with this young man—no, a being—who had suppressed the System.

He did not know what had happened to his system, but he had no choice but to fight.

And he had to win.

Kim Yi-An launched the first attack.

The man swung his sword in the air, aiming for Ichiro’s neck. Ichiro stepped back after blocking the attack with his old sword. Ichiro’s stance shook slightly because he hadn’t expected the force of that blow. He shifted his weight and braced himself for another assault.

The man struck again.

Ichiro moved his sword to deflect the blow, but the attacker’s sword was faster this time, and if he hadn’t dodged it in time, it would have nearly pierced his shoulder. He barely escaped the attack, and the man was taken aback. He thought it was an accident and hadn’t expected to push Ichiro so hard.

Ichiro was astounded, as well. The man was far more powerful than expected. It took some time for him to adjust and reassess the situation. The blows from both sides continued until Ichiro became accustomed to them. He suddenly experienced an internal conflict and the sensation that two people were battling inside of him. One side wanted to flee, while the other wanted to fight. E

His fighting instincts eventually triumphed, and his movements became more fluid.

They were now on equal footing. It was now Ichiro’s turn.

Ichiro’s kobudo style was distinct from Kim Yi-more An’s free style, resulting from countless fights with various opponents over the years. Ichiro’s style was more about ‘doing without doing,’ whereas Yi-style An’s was much more about using his entire body to smash his opponent down.

Kim Yi-An realized he needed something powerful. Something that can easily break this man and take control of the battle. But Ichiro’s suppressing aura prevented him from seeing any opportunities, and he was powerless to act. He knew attacking would be futile in this state, but he tried anyway. After that...

His wooden sword splintered.

Ichiro’s favorite hoodie had taken the brunt of the damage, with pieces of wood scattered everywhere. The next thing he felt was a hard hit to the stomach, which caused him to gasp for a moment. He took a step back, horrified, and looked at his hoodie. Like lava boiling through a volcano, rage boiled up inside him.

Pressure doubled on Kim Yi-An, who realized what had happened and could only draw his actual sword from his hip. When he saw Ichiro preparing another attack with that old sword, his breath became heavier. Ichiro appeared to have completely lost control of himself.

The sword that Kim Yi-An drew was also blunt, but not as dull as Ichiro’s. The black blade glistened, absorbing the light from the lamps that shone inside the building.

And as soon as Kim Yi-An raised the sword, Ichiro’s true kobudo style emerged.

Ichiro’s movements became more precise and focused than they had been. The steps were faster and more accurate than before, and the attacks were more precise than ever. Ichiro didn’t hold back, and he did everything he could to push his opponent off the battlefield. Revenge for his ruined hoodie drove him even harder, giving him enough power to shatter everything around him if necessary.

It was now his turn. All of his rage erupted into one powerful blow after another, each harder and stronger than the last. He moved his body less while swinging his sword with significant force, creating a massive wave of air around him. Every strike from Ichiro made Kim Yi-hands An’s tremble slightly. As a result, he sweat profusely.

Kim Yi-An tried to ignore it. He knew it was impossible; he couldn’t withstand that kind of pressure without collapsing. His arm hurt like it hadn’t hurt before. He considered using emergency measures, but decided against it. He might die here if he did. The system was irresponsible, and the system’s rules did not work.

He had the sensation that he had returned to the battle in which he had died. It gave him a nostalgic, albeit unpleasant, feeling. However, the aura Ichiro emitted prevented him from making any further retreats.

Ichiro’s sword chipped slightly after the fifth or sixth hit. His mind didn’t register this, nor did it register the impact he was having. Nothing was more important than finding an opening and striking hard.

Kim Yi-An was eventually pushed out of the ring and retreated. Every time their swords clashed, there were small gaps in between hits for Ichiro to strike. Kim Yi-An realized too late and was eventually hit. Hard.

Despite the bluntness of Ichiro’s sword, his robe was slashed. Because it was chipped, the blade’s edge could still cut through cloth.

“Guh...”

Kim Yi-An exclaimed loudly as his body collapsed on the floor like a puppet with its strings severed. He was struck on the leg. The blood was pouring, but it wasn’t deep enough to be dangerous.

Ichiro remained motionless, staring at him. His hoodie was covered in small pieces of wood, and the surrounding area was littered with them as well. The fight was over in under ten minutes. Ichiro’s hands became heavy because of the amount of effort he put into the duel. After feeling lightheaded, his breathing slowed, and he noticed sweat running down his brow.

It was great. Ichiro was overjoyed after finally beating someone after two years in a sword duel.

Tempokai

I haven’t read a novel where the protagonist’s system was removed (or, in this case, suppressed) (except for one where it becomes a lesser version of itself later). I suppose they don’t do it because it’s boring. Everyone loves OP MCs, right?

Here’s extra!

Spoiler

Kim Yi-An, trying to identify you using the System™

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