The evening sky painted the city in hues of orange as Jang Hyunwo walked home. After a warm shower and dinner, he collapsed onto his cold mattress. It had been a long day, and as usual, he opened his favorite novel app before sleep.
Title: Godslayer's Testament
A story filled with action, magic, swords, adventure, and harem. Since middle school, he had read and followed every update. There was one character that always kept him coming back—Erin, a strong girl who would become the most powerful mage in the story and eventually marry the main character.
Hyunwo often dreamed of living in that world... and marrying Erin.
But that was only a dream. Erin was just a fictional character.
Until he fell asleep.
And woke up... in an unfamiliar place.
---
The morning sunlight blinded his eyes. Before him stood a majestic building with golden gates—a sight he knew all too well. A symbol once confined to imagination now towered before his very eyes.
Astrael Academy, the training ground for mages and young knights of the Elvoria Empire.
His eyes widened.
"This… can't be…"
He looked around. Students in brown uniforms walked past him, unbothered. He looked down at his own clothes. The same uniform. But it wasn't the main character's.
His hands… smaller. His arms… unfamiliar. Even the sword sheath on his waist didn't belong to any significant character in the story.
Panic rising, he rushed to find a mirror. In the academy's main hall, he found a large glass wall. He stared into the reflection.
"That's not me… I'm not the main character!"
The face was unrecognizable. He wasn't a hero. Not a villain. Not even a side character. He was… just an NPC—a background character in the novel he once read.
But his mind was still sharp.
"I've been transported into Godslayer's Testament... as an NPC?"
Fear clawed at his chest. But behind the chaos, there was one ray of hope:
He still had all the memories from reading the novel.
Every character. Every secret. Every disaster.
Including one thing above all—
"The Great Calamity will strike in 30 days…"
And worse—
"The main character... is still too weak to stop it."
---
Hyunwo swallowed hard. If he did nothing, this world would perish—and so would he, now trapped inside it.
But... he never wanted to be a hero.
His dream was simple: a peaceful, quiet life.
So he made a decision—
He would pretend to be weak.
Even though he knew how to form a Mana Circle up to level 10, he hid his ability. In this world, being too outstanding only invited trouble.
While the main character slowly grew stronger, he would live as a commoner. And when the time came, he would appear under a false identity to save the world—
Then vanish.
That was the plan.
But life… is never that simple.
---
As he exited the academy hall, he accidentally bumped into a girl. An elegant figure with golden hair and sharp eyes glared coldly at him. Her royal dress and the emblem on her collar revealed her identity.
Princess Ellen.
The second heroine of the story.
A princess of the Elvoria Empire. A key character in the original tale.
Hyunwo quickly bowed and stepped back. He knew his place—just a commoner NPC. In the story, even the main character was once punished for disrespecting the royal family.
So without saying a word, he turned and walked away, ignoring the princess completely.
Ellen watched him leave in silence.
"Who is he?"
---
Back at the dormitory for lower-class students, Hyunwo gently shut the door and took a long breath.
"Why did I end up inside the novel I used to read? Was it because I read it too much? Or because I wanted to marry Erin that badly?"
The questions echoed in his mind.
But one thing was clear—
He had to survive.
That night, he took a sword from the rack and began training. His movements weren't as refined as the protagonist's, but he knew the proper techniques. He also sat cross-legged and began forming his Mana Circle.
Thanks to his knowledge of the novel,
He reached Circle 5 in one night.
But he stopped there.
"If I break through to Circle 6, there'll be a reaction. Someone might notice."
He had to stay in the shadows.
For now, pretending to be weak was the key.
---
The next morning felt normal.
But deep down, Kael Varion—formerly Jang Hyunwo—knew time was ticking. The disaster would come.
And when the world fell into darkness…
A nameless NPC would stand between destruction and hope.
---
"My name is Kael Varion…"
Hyunwo—now Kael—stared at his reflection in a small mirror inside the dorm. Long silver hair, pale skin, and a frail body. No trace of nobility. His father was a farmer. His mother ran a cloth shop in the outskirts of Elvoria. The only reason he got into Astrael Academy was his brilliance in magic theory and perfect written exam.
Yet, in everyone's eyes, he was nothing more than a low-class student.
A commoner.
Kael sighed.
"I'm a nobody. But I know this world better than anyone else."
He turned toward the window.
The morning sky began to glow. The fictional world he once read… had become his reality.
---
That night, in the elite dormitory's corridor, a soft set of footsteps echoed. Dressed in her elegant nightgown, Princess Ellen walked slowly, her eyes darting around to ensure no one followed.
She stopped by an empty room that led to the second-floor observatory. A place she often came to stargaze.
But tonight… she wasn't here for the stars.
She was looking for someone.
"Kael Varion…"
She whispered his name.
Her lips pursed slightly without her realizing it. Since that morning, his image hadn't left her mind.
"Why am I thinking about him?" she thought.
"He didn't even bow. He didn't apologize. He didn't beg."
That attitude… only piqued her curiosity.
And from that night onward, Ellen—the second heroine of Godslayer's Testament—began secretly observing Kael from afar.
---
The next day, Kael walked into the academy's main square. The air was tense. It was class selection day: A, B, C... all the way to E.
Class A was for noble geniuses.
Class E... for the "lucky" commoners with no real potential.
Kael stood amidst the crowd. Eyes glared at him. Some nudged his shoulder with mocking laughter.
"Hey, farm boy. Sure you're in the right place?"
"Look at those shoes! Last year's model!"
"Just wait 'til the practical test. He'll be the joke of the year."
Kael sighed. His eyes drooped—not from sadness… but exhaustion.
Tired of pretending.
Within, he knew advanced magic formulas, ancient elven mana blade techniques, and the best path for vortex formation.
But all of that, he hid.
"I want a peaceful life. I don't want to be a hero. I don't want trouble…"
But the world…
Didn't seem to agree.
---
"Name: Kael Varion," said one of the instructors during the results tabulation.
"Written exam: Perfect. Theory test: Perfect. Practical test: …awaiting."
An older instructor with sharp eyes looked him over.
"Low-class student, huh? Interesting."
Kael stepped into the training arena.
Before him stood a bronze golem, three meters tall—standard for testing basic mana control. Beside it, a wooden rod for students who hadn't fully formed their circle.
All eyes were on him.
Including Ellen, watching from the balcony.
"Let's see who you really are, Kael Varion…" she muttered.
But Kael looked down.
He grabbed the wooden rod… and failed to channel mana properly.
"Ugh… too weak…"
He deliberately jammed his vortex, blocked his fifth circle's flow.
The golem didn't budge. Nothing happened.
The crowd erupted in laughter.
"What an idiot!"
"He's a theory genius? Hahaha!"
"Can't even break a rock!"
The instructor sighed.
"You… Class E."
Kael bowed slightly and walked away, ignoring the ridicule.
But deep down…
He knew it was the right move.
Behind his tired expression, his mind worked like clockwork—
Mapping secret rooms, monster spawn points, and even the hidden basement where the main character, Rein, trained each night.
His knowledge was his greatest weapon.
---
Meanwhile, on the balcony...
Ellen didn't laugh.
Instead, her golden eyes stared at Kael's fading silhouette… her curiosity growing deeper.
"He's… not ordinary," she whispered.
---
Kael arrived at the Class E dormitory—an old building on the academy's southern edge. Inside, only three broken beds and a rusty stove. The air smelled damp and musty.
But Kael smiled faintly.
"A quiet place… suits me."
That night, while everyone slept, Kael opened the window and gazed at the night sky. It wasn't as beautiful as Earth's—but not as bad as he feared.
"I don't know why I'm here… but if this is a test…"
He clenched his fist.
"…I'll pass. On my own terms."
From the darkness, a faint whisper echoed—
"…Kael Varion…"
Kael turned.
No one was there.
Yet his heart trembled.
Someone—or something—had started watching.
And this…
Was only the beginning of a fate that would not let him remain a nameless NPC.
---
In the middle of the night, as clouds veiled the sky and winds whispered memories from the past, Kael stood alone behind the dormitory, staring at his hand that had just emitted a faint light.
"What… is this?" he murmured.
The light faded, but a strange warmth lingered.
As if something ancient had just awakened inside him—
Something that had slept for thousands of years.
Far away, in the eastern mountains,
an ancient dragon opened one eye—
glowing gold and violet.
"Finally… you've returned, Arvion."
Unaware, Kael's fate was now sealed.
The peaceful world he wished for—
had just shattered for the very first time.