In front of me stood the White city, the capital of Korjea and this time’s host of Heaven’s olympia.

When I first heard about Heaven's olympia, I imagined a poor, rundown, overpopulated city filled with crime. But reality proved me wrong. Contrary to my expectations, it was a prosperous city filled with life and vigor. There were people happily walking down the streets, children playing in the parks and martial artists sparing.

The entire city was themed around the arts of fighting. From the research I did, I found the reason why. 24 years ago, this city was nothing more than a poor town. While it had abundant forests and greenery, the locals lacked sufficient education to turn a profit. But all that changed, when it hosted Heavens olympia for the first time. The lax laws were perfect for an event such as that, so the shady dealings and monetary power of the participants brought immense wealth to Korjea. The event alone was responsible for half of the annual profit of the entire country. All that capital focused on a single town was truly overwhelming.

Within years, the previously degrading area turned over a new leaf and prospered. In thanks, the locals dedicated a large portion of the city to martial arts.

Contrasting the white buildings was a streak of red temples, styled after Korjean culture.

The central street was filled with all sorts of traditional foods, stalls, shops, crafts and more.

It started at the port and continued through the city, until it reached a hill with a flat top. The plateau held a magnificent stadium visible from tens of kilometers away.

It was dubbed the Cloudy Peak Arena and was the heart of the city. It wasn’t a coincidence that that was our destination.

***

We rented a hotel at the shore, left our luggage there and hired a boat.

To feel the full experience, boats were used to carry passengers to a wooden port, which was the entrance to the central street.

The boat ride took a few minutes but it made all the difference. The atmosphere slowly changed and accumulated, until all thoughts of a modern city were washed away, leaving behind only the full immersion.

The smell of food became overwhelming, as all sorts of roadside stalls made their presence known. Even with my training and discipline, I struggled to resist the allure. I felt the intense urge to explore and try everything. My curiosity couldn’t be satiated.

But a hand grabbed my shoulder and I turned around, seeing Bolin with a serious face.

“Alan, as long as you stay on the central street, you will be in no danger. BUT this isn’t the case for the rest of the city.”

Confirming that I paid attention, he continued.

“If I see you take a single step off the street, I will drag you on the first boat leaving for home.”

With a determined expression I nodded. Seeing this, he smiled and patted my shoulder.

“Now, there are a lot of things to see here. But most of the good things require money. Or tokens to be precise.”

“The only currency accepted here are tokens. They come in values of 1, 5, 10 and 100. There are no others. If you see anyone wanting to trade tokens with you, refuse. They are most likely counterfeits. If they try to pressure you or guilt trip you, just look for the nearest ‘exchange’ sign. There, they can trade all the tokens they want.”

Seeing me nod, he continued.

“We will regroup in 4 hours at the bottom of the hill.”

“Here are 200 tokens. This should be more than enough for you. Save some for the next two days, to get yourself some dinner. And do leave some dishes for tomorrow, will you? It is boring to try everything on the first day.”

“With everything said, here is a list of my favorites. Try some!”

With that, he left. I looked down on the piece of paper and saw a few scribbles.

Hot and spicy rice cake - Ddukbokkie - Stall A17 - 5 T

Marinated beef barbecue - Bulgogi - Stall B01 - 8 T

Pork Belly - Bossam - Stall F12 - 6 T

Spicy Kimchi Stew - Kimchi Jjigae - Stall F18 - 11 T

* description, name, Area & Stall number, price

* PS, I recommend you get a token string - look for Stall A00

‘He gave me quite a lot of money, huh.’

‘He must be quite rich. But this is probably still peanuts compared to getting the ticket to the olympia.’

Armed with this knowledge, I began walking around.

*

Immediately, I saw the token string shop. It was quite crowded, but the people moved quickly. So not even five minutes later, I held two strings in my hands.

I moved to the information board that held instructions for it, but it wasn’t really necessary. The design was quite simple actually.

Since the tokens had a square hole in the middle, you could put a string through the middle to hold them. To prevent them falling off, there is a big knot on one side and a pin on the other. The pin can be used to ‘stab’ through the knot and bend afterwards to hold everything in place. A simple but effective design.

There was another, more robust version, which had a square rod instead of a string and pushbutton switch to prevent falling off. It was the better alternative, but was ten times as expensive.

Both came with a needle that could be used to securely hold them on the insides on a hoodie or jacket. Useful.

***

I was eating a burrito like food, which I wasn’t certain originated from Korjea, when I was interrupted.

“You have quite good taste”

I sighed, thinking this was another scammer, targeting a child all by himself. With a disinterested gaze I turned around only to see a kid that couldn’t be older than 10.

“Name’s Tristan!” He said energetically, as he extended a hand.

“Alan”

“Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure” I nodded.

“So what are you doing all by yourself?”

“Eating”

“...”

“...”

“You know that's not what I meant!”

“Yeah, yeah, calm down tiger.”

“...”

“Anyway, what brings you here?”

“Food”

“Cool”

“Hey, aren’t you gonna react or something?”

“Why would I?”

I could swear I saw him pout a little.

“You’re no fun”

“Anyway, are you from around here?”

“Nope!” He said proudly.

“I traveled all across the world, all by myself!” He elaborated.

“Isn’t it dangerous for a child?”

“I’ll let you know I’m 12!”

“My point stands”

I was a bit surprised, but managed to hide it.

“I am pretty strong, you know?”

I gave him an unamused look. Yes, I could see his developed muscles, but just this bit of strength wasn’t enough.

“So how old are you?” He asked me.

“Eight”

“To be honest, I don’t know what I was expecting. On one hand, you look really young, but the way you talk and the atmosphere around you speaks otherwise.”

“I guess you are right. But I’ve been like this ever since I can remember. I’m probably just weird.”

Hearing this, Tristan nodded sagely.

“Anyway, wanna check out the ‘B’ area? I heard they have a lot of fun things there?”

“Sure!” I agreed.

And with that, we started running around the central street, trying everything it had to offer.

But sadly, all good things must come to an end, as the four hours were nearly up. With a sigh, I said my goodbyes to someone I will likely never meet again.

“You ready?” Asked Bolin, as we stood before the Cloudy Path, the ‘ceremonial’ path towards the Cloudy Peak Arena.

“Yeah” I affirmed.

With that, we started the climb, along with many others. In less than an hour, the Heavens olympia will begin. I am really excited.