Jinwoo could still feel the phantom pain of his past death. It haunted his bones, whispering a silent warning of what the future could become again if he failed.
It had been two days since his return to the past. The world bustled around him unaware that its second chance rested in the hands of a young man deemed worthless by society. As he sat by the Han River, his gaze fixed on the rising sun, the System interface floated quietly in front of his eyes.
[Main Quest Activated: Clear the Forgotten World — Floor 1]
Objective: Resolve the tragedy of the desolate village in the Forgotten World.
Reward: Level Up x2, Hidden Skill Unlock
Time Limit: 72 hours (in-world time)
Jinwoo stood. He had no intention of failing again.
---
Tower Dispatch Gate: Seoul District
The enormous gate shimmered with a blue vortex. Dozens of hunters passed through daily. Jinwoo approached quietly, keeping his identification crystal close. As an F-Rank, he wasn't allowed to enter any active floor unless part of a larger guild.
But this time, the rules didn't apply.
[Hidden Role Assigned: "Lost Descendant"]
[Entry Permission: Solo Allowed]
The guards barely glanced his way. The moment he stepped into the vortex, his surroundings bent, warped, and collapsed into light.
---
Floor 1 – Forgotten World
It was cold.
Jinwoo found himself standing on the edge of a broken forest. Trees curled inward as though sheltering from some ancient grief. Snowflakes drifted lazily down from a pale, unmoving sky. Ahead, the remains of a village stood in solemn silence.
As he took a step forward, a notification chimed:
[Role: Lost Descendant of House Myra]
You have returned to your ancestral village. The bloodline memory stirs. Save your kin or avenge their fall.]
A child's laughter echoed in the wind. Jinwoo flinched. There, at the edge of the ruins, a small girl stood watching him with wide, colorless eyes.
"You're... alive?" she asked, voice faint as snow.
Jinwoo's heart cracked. This wasn't a dungeon. This was a world. These were people.
---
Village Myra, Forgotten World
The villagers had been cursed — trapped in a repeating winter, unable to age or die, locked in sorrow. Their source of suffering: the Tower had torn through their skies and fractured their time. A cruel sorcerer who arrived on the previous clearing attempt had slaughtered many and left the rest cursed.
Jinwoo explored quietly, interacting with the villagers, learning their names, their pain:
Elyra, the snow-eyed girl, was the village head's daughter.
Thane, the old blacksmith, had forged weapons no one would wield.
Luma, a healer, who had tried saving her family and failed.
They didn't trust Jinwoo at first. But when he repaired the broken temple bell and brought warmth back into their hall, they started to believe. He wasn't like the others.
---
System Notification:
[Quest Update: Discover the source of the time fracture.]
[Side Quest: Uncover the memory of the previous visitor.]
In the shattered temple, Jinwoo found it — a soul fragment.
A memory of the man before him.
A high-ranked hunter, twisted with power, had used dark energy to force the Tower's timeline into collapse. He had chosen the second path: annihilate the world.
Jinwoo clenched his fists. Not this time.
With the system guiding him, Jinwoo reached the Heart of Winter — the fracture's core — and faced the creature born from despair: a wraith made of frozen time, built from the villagers' regrets.
The fight was brutal. His sword shattered twice. He bled. But the system responded.
[Level Up! Level Up! Skill Unlocked: Soulflare Blade – Shadow Variant]
With a single strike of dark flame, he purified the wraith.
Snow stopped falling.
The villagers wept.
Elyra hugged him, whispering, "Thank you for choosing to see us... not just the reward."
---
System Notification:
[Floor 1 Cleared — World Restored]
[Bonus Achievements: Saved all 56 villagers | Broke the Cursed Cycle | Chose Redemption Path]
[Rewards Claimed: Level +2 | Hidden Skill: Empathic Sight | Favor of Myra (Rare Title)]
---
Back at the Tower Gate, Seoul District
Hunters and staff watched in confusion. Jinwoo had entered as an F-Rank. He returned an hour later glowing with a silver-gold aura.
A lone system message hovered before him:
[Well done, bearer of fate. Your true story begins now.]
He walked away silently, vanishing into the crowd.
To be continue...