The sun was dipping below the horizon, spilling a warm orange glow over the quiet village nestled between rolling hills and dense forests. The air was calm, filled with the faint scent of wildflowers and the distant murmur of a river. This was the place Ji-hoon called home.A simple life shaped by humble dreams and the steady love of his grandparents.
Ji-hoon stood outside the small wooden house, staring blankly at the horizon. The events of the last few years weighed heavily on his young shoulders. His father had died when Ji-hoon was only twelve.An accident that still felt like a cruel nightmare. His mother had passed away giving birth to him, leaving him with nothing but her name and a void in his heart. Since then, his grandparents had raised him with unwavering care, their faces lined with age but eyes filled with warmth.
But that fragile peace was about to shatter.
For weeks, rumors had spread through the village.Stories whispered by traveling merchants and nervous hunters of strange lights and eerie sounds in the distant mountains. At first, no one paid them much mind. The world had always been unpredictable, and the village had endured storms and hardships before.
Then, one fateful night, everything changed.
Ji-hoon was sitting alone outside, gazing at the stars that blanketed the sky like scattered diamonds. The air was crisp, and the gentle rustle of leaves soothed his restless mind. Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath his feet, a deep rumble shaking the earth.
He looked up.
A massive, swirling portal had torn open the sky.A jagged wound glowing with unnatural light. Through it spilled creatures of nightmare, their shapes twisted and terrible. They emerged like shadows come to life: beasts with claws sharper than swords, eyes burning with cold hunger, and snarls that echoed like thunder.
The village erupted into chaos.
Screams filled the air as people ran for their lives. Flames flickered in the distance as homes were set ablaze by the invading monsters. Ji-hoon's heart pounded in his chest as he sprinted toward his grandparents' house, hoping beyond hope that they were safe.
He found them standing in the yard, backs to each other, faces grim but resolute. Their weapons were simple.His grandfather's old hunting rifle and his grandmother's sturdy walking stick.But their determination was fierce.
"Ji-hoon!" his grandmother called out. "Get inside. It's too dangerous!"
"No," Ji-hoon shook his head, ignoring her plea. "I'm not leaving you."
The beasts closed in.
The battle was brutal but short.
His grandparents fought with every ounce of strength left in their aging bodies, but the monsters were relentless. One by one, they were overwhelmed. Ji-hoon watched in horror as the creatures tore into the only family he had left.
He tried to help, throwing rocks and anything he could find, but it was useless.
When the last beast finally fell, it let out a guttural curse, a hateful roar that seemed to rip at the fabric of reality itself. Then, it breathed its final breath and collapsed.
Ji-hoon stood frozen, tears streaming down his face as he looked at the devastation around him. The bodies of his grandparents lay broken among the scorched earth and shattered wood. The sky was still cracked open, the portal pulsing ominously.
His mind screamed for justice, for revenge.
"I swear," he whispered, voice trembling but fierce, "I will make them pay. I will stop this."
Then, amidst the swirling grief, something inside him awakened.
A warmth spread through his chest, a faint glow beneath his skin. His vision blurred as a voice, calm and unyielding, echoed in his mind.
System Activated.Welcome, Ji-hoon.Your journey begins now.
Before him, a translucent interface shimmered into existence, hovering in the air like a second skin. He saw bars, numbers, and icons.None of which made sense yet. There were no skills listed. No weapons. Just a single number: Level 1.
But there was one other thing.
An infinite inventory. Empty, but vast beyond comprehension.
Ji-hoon's breath hitched.
"What… is this?"
The voice answered without speaking aloud.
This system will aid you in your quest for vengeance and survival.Your choices will shape your power and destiny.
He reached out and touched the shimmering interface. It felt cold but real.
The world around him hadn't changed, but Ji-hoon knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
Over the next few days, Ji-hoon wandered through the wreckage of his village, burying his grandparents with trembling hands. He avoided the newly risen guilds and hunters.Those who had come from the cities to claim rewards and glory. He was different. A nobody.
Without skills, weapons, or allies, even basic hunts were life-threatening.
The monsters grew stronger. The world was adapting. The old peace was gone forever.
But inside him, something else grew.A quiet determination.
He spent hours each day studying the system, learning its rules and limitations. Quests appeared sometimes, small and incomplete, but enough to keep him moving forward. He discovered he could gather materials from the ruins and the bodies of defeated beasts. Sometimes, he tried to craft skills himself, but without the perfect materials, they failed.
Five years passed like this.
Ji-hoon was no longer a frightened boy. He had learned to survive in a world turned upside down. He had faced impossible odds and walked away scarred but unbroken. Yet, despite all his efforts, he remained Level 1.No skills, no weapons, no breakthroughs.
The other hunters surpassed him, fueled by better prey and faster progress. Ji-hoon was left with the hardest, most dangerous hunts.The scraps left behind.
Then, one day, everything changed.
He entered a gate like any other, expecting monsters. But this time, the chamber was silent. No snarls, no claws. Just a single artifact, resting on a stone pedestal at the center of the room.
The artifact glowed faintly, humming with an energy Ji-hoon had never seen before.
He reached out, hesitant, and the moment his fingers brushed its surface, a wave of calm washed over him.
The artifact's power was unlike anything else.It nullified changes to reality, but only for its owner. The rest of the world twisted and shifted around him, but Ji-hoon stood untouched.
Two days later, a terrifying beast attacked the continent of Asia.A creature so immense and powerful that cities crumbled beneath its roar. In its dying breath, it cursed time itself, unleashing a shockwave that tore through reality.
Ji-hoon felt the world shift beneath his feet.
Suddenly, he was standing five years in the past and two days before the gates first opened.
But he was not like the others. Thanks to the artifact, his memory remained intact.
And within him, a new power stirred.
The Fragment of Oblivion.
A weakened echo of the Constellation of Oblivion's legendary abilities fused with his essence granting him powers he barely understood.
It was a gift. A curse. A second chance.
Ji-hoon clenched his fists, feeling the weight of fate settle on his shoulders.
The road ahead would be long and treacherous. But now, he had something no one else did time.
And with it, the hope to rewrite the future.
The journey had truly begun.