It wasn't a dream?

"Phew. This is also a trial from Buddha. If it continues like this, it seems a demon might come."

At the moment when the patience of the monk who had been practicing asceticism for thirty-five years reached its limit, fortunately, the sound of the morning bell announcing the end of the dawn training echoed through the temple.

"It's almost meal time, so we'll end our early morning training here!"

"Yes!!"

"Understood, Sasukjo-nim!!"

Ignoring the responses of the other fellow monks, Hyu Jong briefly glanced at Mu-Jin before abruptly turning away.

"After seven days and seven nights, the sutra will be struck."

However, whether Hyu Jong thought of such things or not, Mu-Jin had already lost interest in Hyu Jong.

"Phew. I've really worked out my muscles."

If it had been his original body, he would have had to repeat far heavier weights and far more sets to feel the same muscle pain and grounding sensation as he did now.

Perhaps because it was still the body of a child unfamiliar with exercise, the effects were coming out immediately.

Mu-Jin, who was feeling a strange pleasure from the rewarding sensation of muscle pain, was a true gym-goer even in his dreams, thinking about muscle growth.

"If this wasn't a dream, it would have been better."

Muttering to himself like that, Mu-Jin realized something strange.

"But why does it hurt if it's a dream?"

It wasn't until after the exercise that Mu-Jin began to feel that something was odd.

An argument with an old middle-aged monk. And it was a problem I didn't deeply consider because I was focused on exercise and muscles."

"Ugh... Surely I haven't entered a novel, right?"

It was an absurd thought, but conversely, considering his current physical condition, it was entirely possible.

Especially when recalling the conversations he had had so far, it seemed even more plausible.

Although he had conversed without much thought, upon reflection, he hadn't conversed in Korean.

Thinking it was a dream, he let it slide, but realizing it wasn't a dream was incredibly strange.

At the height of Mu-Jin's confusion...

"Mu-Jin... Why have you been muttering strange things since earlier? Are you really going crazy?"

The fellow monk, Mu Yul, who had woken Mu-Jin up in the dawn, once again woke him up from his thoughts.

It was the kind of expression that made one think he could even ask if he was crazy with such an innocent face.

"Your name is Mu Yul... right?"

"Now you've even forgotten my name? Seriously, is there something wrong with your head, Mu-Jin?"

"No, forget about that. Do you want me to hit you once?"

"...!"

Mu-Jin said this to confirm whether this was a dream or not, but Mu Yul looked at him with a truly pitiful expression.

"If you're not going to hit me, forget it."

Ignoring that expression, Mu-Jin slapped his own cheek with his own hand.

Watching the scene of his cheek making a smacking sound, Mu Yul muttered with a defeated expression.

"Sigh. Mom said not to hang out with crazy people."

"...Am I really not crazy?"

Mu-Jin replied while touching his stinging cheek that had begun to turn red.

"Darn it. Is this really not a dream?"

From the start, there was no need to slap his cheek. Just looking at the muscle pain felt all over his body was evidence enough. He had just tried to mentally rebel against accepting this reality.

"Oh right! Mu-Jin, we have to go eat now!"

And the fellow monk, who had been watching Mu-Jin with a worried expression, as if just remembering, exclaimed.

Even though he was treating him like a crazy person, the way he cared for him made it unclear whether he was kind or strange.

"Hoo. Well, let's eat then."

If this wasn't a dream, then he really needed to eat even more.

Having exercised his muscles for two hours since dawn, he needed to consume nutrients. Wasn't there a famous saying? That eating is also part of exercising.

But he was so deeply caught up in the uncertainty of whether the current situation was a dream or reality that he realized the crucial fact too late. 

This was Shaolin Temple. In other words, it was a temple."

* * *

The dining hall of ShaolinTemple, which arrived following the instructions of Mu Yul, who takes care. Inside the dininghall.

"Is my eyesight failing me?"

Why was that?

All that was visible on the table was either green or yellow. Yellow was barley rice, and green was vegetables.

Yes. The diet provided by Shaolin Temple. It was naturally a temple diet, which meant vegetarian.

Well, so what? What's wrong with eating temple style-food at a temple?

However, to someone like Cho Kang-hyuk, this was not just wrong, it was very wrong.

He had been torturing his muscles for two hours since dawn. And the other youngsters, who had exercised very inefficiently compared to him, were also in a very sore state in many ways.

And they expect me to eat this kind of meal with no protein whatsoever?

"This is clearly child abuse!!"

"Hmm!! Who dares to chatter during mealtime?!"

The moment Mu-Jin shouted out in frustration, all the monks and fellow practitioners in the dining hall turned their heads towards him.

Of course, Mu-Jin wasn't someone who couldn't speak up when he felt all eyes on him.

"After such intense morning exercise, is it reasonable to expect us to sustain ourselves with just these vegetables and barley rice!?"

Unable to contain his anger, Mu-Jin's outburst was met with a chilly silence throughout the hall.

Those who had been with him during the dawn training session looked at him with expressions like, 'Is it him again?' while others gazed at him with expressions like, 'What's wrong with that crazy guy?'

Just as the disciple monks and others who were preparing the meal were about to stand up and admonish him, a laugh from the Head of Bandang, Hyun Mun, broke the silence first.

"Hehehe. It seems our disciple was quite hungry after the morning exercise."

As an elder of Shaolin Temple, who had already passed the age of fifty and was in charge of a hall, Hyun Mun simply considered the young monk's actions as childish tantrums.

Even if the regulations of Shaolin Temple were strict, it would be ridiculous for him, as an elder, to scold and discipline young monks one by one.

"I've also gone through times like yours, so how can I not understand your feelings? Alright then. If you want more food, I'll make sure to provide it. But raising your voice like this goes against the rules. Understand?"

That's why Hyun Mun tried to overlook it generously. Unless Mu-Jin's subsequent words contradicted him.

"I'm fine with this amount of food."

"What's the problem then?"

"Protein supplement. Aren't there any chicken breasts?"

"...?"

What's wrong? Is he crazy?

Not only had he never heard of protein supplements, but why would there be chicken breasts at a temple?

Fortunately for Hyun Mun, there was a child who could express his sentiments for him.

"Mu-Jin, why have you been like this since dawn? Are you really losing your mind?"

Mu yul, who was next to Mu-Jin, asked.

Mu-Jin, who had been spouting nonsense, began to stare blankly at Mu yul, who was tugging at his sleeve.

More precisely, at his own reflection in Mu yul's round and innocent eyes.

With a physique just about to enter puberty, he had a small stature and a buzz cut. Add to that a yellow and orange robe that one might have seen in old martial arts films.

The unmistakable appearance of a Shaolin Temple disciple reflected in Mu Yul's eyes.

"Haa. Right. This is Shaolin Temple."

Now that Mu-Jin fully accepted the fact that the current situation was not a dream, he decided to apologize to Hyun Mun.

"...I'm sorry. I spoke out of turn because I was too hungry."

Eating only vegetables at Shaolin Temple was, from their perspective, only natural. But Mu-Jin's sudden apology only deepened Hyun Mun's suspicion.

'...He's definitely a crazy kid.'

A crazy disciple entering Shaolin Temple. Hyun Mun couldn't help but feel uneasy.

While Hyun Mun was worrying about the future of Shaolin Temple, Mu-Jin spoke up again towards him.

"I'm sorry, but do you happen to have beans or mushrooms instead of chicken breasts?"

Apologies were apologies, but Mu-Jin needed protein.

After finishing a tumultuous breakfast, the first task of the morning was scripture study.

Truly befitting of Shaolin Temple.

'Whose idea was this ignorant schedule?'

From Mu-Jin's perspective, it was anything but an honor.

Having exercised intensely since dawn and then studying right after breakfast felt more like a battle against sleep than studying.

Tap!

"Ah."

And when the disciples began to doze off, the attendants who were on standby would tap their shoulders to wake them up.

But Mu-Jin had never been tapped even once. It wasn't that he didn't doze off or get caught, either.

On the contrary, he wasn't even paying attention to the scripture class. If he had been listening to that boring class, he would have immediately fallen asleep.

The reason he had been able to endure without dozing off until now...

'Right. I don't know how it happened, but let's assume I've entered a novel. So, what should I do now?'

It was because he was organizing in his mind what he should do going forward.

Why he ended up in the novel. Why such extraordinary events happened to him.

Now that the event had already occurred, that wasn't important. Mu-Jin knew very well that understanding and coping with the current situation was more important than worrying about those aspects.

'Hmm... If I've entered a novel, maybe I need to finish the story in the novel to leave?'

It wasn't certain, but it seemed the most likely. And from that perspective, the current situation wasn't entirely pessimistic.

As the body of this disciple named Mu-Jin was likely the protagonist of the novel, there was a high probability of possessing exceptional talents.

Moreover, the place he was currently in was none other than that place that inevitably appears in most martial arts novels. Shaolin Temple, located at the foot of Mount Taesansong in the martial world.

If he could master the protagonist's talents and the martial arts of Shaolin Temple, returning to the original world wouldn't be so difficult.

The only problem was...

"Am I seeing things clearly now?"

It was Mu-Jin who finally realized that he had caused a huge accident in the early morning.

But.

"Well, nothing can be done about that."

He didn't regret his actions in the early morning either.

For him, who had experienced a breakdown before, Shaolin Temple's training methods were an area he could never accept.

So, there was only one option left.

In the sparring scheduled a week later, to defeat his opponent and gain recognition for his own training methods.

That was truly a solution that suited Mu-Jin's temperament.

* * *

While Mu-Jin was analyzing the current situation, focusing on memorizing the scriptures with one ear, Hyun Mun, the person in charge of the hall, and Hyu Jong, who was responsible for the basic training of this year's newcomers to Shaolin Temple, were discussing Mu-Jin.

"What on earth is that kid?"

"When you say 'that kid,' are you referring to Mu-Jin, Hyun Mun Sasuk?"

"Yes. I mean that kid, Mu-Jin."

"Could it be that Mu-Jin caused some trouble even during mealtime?"

"What do you mean 'even during mealtime,' do you mean he caused some trouble during the early morning training?"

"That's... "

Hyu Jong cautiously relayed what had happened during the early morning training to Hyun Mun Sasuk.

"Ha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha."

And when Hyun Mun heard the whole story, he burst out laughing involuntarily.

He had felt it since Mu-Jin asked for chicken breasts, but to enter Shaolin Temple and deny the thousand-year-old training methods...

"He truly is a crazy kid."

It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty.

"So, did you just let that kid be?"

"After giving him seven days, we instructed him to spar with Mu Gungg and prove his words."

"As expected of you, Hyu Jong. It's truly a wise solution."

Hyun Mun nodded with a satisfied expression at Hyu Jong's words.

As a disciple of the Buddhism, they couldn't persecute someone just because they thought they were crazy.

But since that kid dared to deny the thousand-year-old training methods of Shaolin Temple, he would have to prove his words himself. Giving him seven days to prove it was truly not just mercy but also the right thing to do.

Moreover, Hyun Mun was even more pleased that Mu-Jin had chosen Mu Gung as his sparring partner.

"He was one of the most noticeable kids among those who entered this year."

When it was time to choose new three disciples at Shaolin Temple, dozens to hundreds of kids entered every year.

Some of those disciples couldn't withstand the rigorous training of Shaolin Temple and dropped out, and some became inner disciples after learning only a few basic martial arts techniques.

Becoming a true disciple was not easy for those who had just entered.

Therefore, among the disciples who had not yet become official three disciples, the number of kids whose names were known by the first or elders was limited.

And Mu Gung was one of the few kids among them.