Chapter 1 – I Reincarnated in a Familiar... but Deadly World
The white ceiling light hurt his eyes.
Blaze blinked a few times, trying to understand where he was. The smell of disinfectant, stiff sheets, the muffled sound of footsteps... it was a hospital.
"How did I end up here...?"
He sat up slowly. His entire body ached in places he didn't even know could hurt. Disjointed fragments crashed into his mind: monsters, screams, blood — a dungeon?
Then the headache brought something far worse: flashes from his former life.
Anime. Manga. A plane. Turbulence. Silence.
And then... nothing.
"Wait... I died?"
He slowly raised his hand to his forehead. His skin was paler, his fingers thinner. With some effort, he turned toward the mirror next to the bed.
The reflection wasn't his.
It was that of a Korean boy with red hair streaked with blonde, a weary expression, and eyes that seemed to carry the weight of a recent nightmare.
— This... isn't me. I reincarnated? In another body?!
His eyes scanned the table beside the bed, where a hospital admission form lay.
"Jin Ha-Joon, 17 years old."
A chill ran down his spine. The name didn't mean much at first — but the world around him did.
He looked up at the window. Across the street, a massive screen displayed a breaking news headline in red letters:
> "Hunters' Guild Faces S-Rank Dungeon!"
His eyes widened.
— This is... Solo Leveling?!
It hit him all at once. "Jin Ha-Joon" could be anyone — but this world... was unmistakable.
— No... it can't be... — he whispered, bringing his hand to his mouth.
"Gates... monsters... this is the world where the weak die like insects."
He tried to organize his thoughts.
"Jin Ha-Joon... I'm an E-rank hunter. I was in a raid with... my childhood friend's brother..."
His thoughts stopped cold.
A name surfaced.
— Sung Jin-Ah...?
His eyes froze. The file in his hand began to tremble.
— No... It can't be... she's the sister of the protagonist... Sung Jin-Woo.
His throat dried.
— If she exists... then he exists too. And if he exists... does that mean the System hasn't chosen anyone yet? Or has it already picked him?
The hospital room door opened suddenly, cutting through his spiral of thoughts.
— Good to see you awake — said the nurse with a smile. — As expected of a hunter... even the weakest recover fast.
"Even the weakest..."
Blaze forced a smile.
"I'm just an E-rank. I can barely fight goblins. If an orc shows up... I'm done for."
— Nurse... how long was I unconscious?
— Three days.
— Three... days?
"Damn... Jin-Woo had a D-rank dungeon scheduled the day after our raid... If three days have passed, then has it already...?"
— Oh, it's nothing. Just trying to piece everything together.
— I understand. I'll let you rest.
As soon as the nurse left, he muttered:
— I reincarnated... but I'm just a background character. A side character with no system, no powers... What a miserable life.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to accept the reality.
— Best to give up being a hunter.
— Why are you giving up on being a hunter?
The gentle voice made him open his eyes. A girl with dark hair and lively eyes walked into the room and sat beside the bed, curiosity dancing in her gaze and a faint smile on her lips.
— Huh? Why are you giving up? — she repeated, tilting her head.
Blaze froze.
"It's her. Sung Jin-Ah."
The protagonist's sister. The one who, in the future, would suffer so much.
Seeing her there — so real, so alive — tightened his chest.
— I just... realized I'm not the protagonist. I'm just an E-rank. Too weak to change anything.
— And now that you've given up being a hunter... what are you going to do? — she asked, calm and curious.
---