---
There was no light.
No sound.
Only a quiet warmth, like floating in a soft dream where the world didn't matter.
Then, slowly, the boy opened his eyes.
Above him, a wooden ceiling greeted his gaze—aged, cracked, yet calm. It wasn't the cold, sterile ceiling of a hospital. It was natural. Familiar.
He blinked.
The smell of soil and smoke hung in the air, mixed with something warm and herbal.
He tried to move.
His body felt strange—smaller. Weaker. Lighter.
"Ah! You're awake!"
A gentle voice reached him. A woman in her mid-40s rushed to his side, carrying a steaming bowl of something thick and fragrant. Her clothes were rough, hand-sewn, and patched at the elbows. Her eyes were kind.
"You've been asleep for two days," she said, placing the bowl beside him. "We found you by the river, bruised and shivering. We didn't think you'd make it."
He stared at her, confused.
"Where... am I?"
"This is Roon Village," she said with a soft smile. "You're safe now."
He tried to sit up. His arms were thinner, his body younger. Maybe... around five or six years old?
But how?
Hadn't he just—
His mind spun. He remembered the car. The pain. The cold.
Death.
He had died.
But now… he was here. Alive. And small.
A second life?
---
The villagers were kind.
They didn't ask him where he came from. They simply assumed he had no home, and took him in. The woman who found him, "Auntie Miru," became his caretaker. She gave him simple chores—sweeping, feeding chickens, helping with herbs.
There was no shouting. No slaps. No locked doors.
At first, he feared it wouldn't last. That one day, they'd tell him to get out again. So he worked harder than anyone, waking up early and helping everyone without being asked.
Slowly, the fear faded.
The years passed. One by one.
When he turned ten in this new world, something strange happened.
He was tending to a tree on the edge of the village when a sudden blue light enveloped his body.
Time seemed to freeze. The world became quiet.
A voice echoed in his mind—cold, mechanical, distant.
> [System initializing...]
[Analyzing host potential...]
[Result: Insufficient strength. Not suitable.]
[System deactivating.]
And just like that, it disappeared.
He blinked, confused.
What was that?
He waited days, even weeks, hoping it would return. But nothing happened. No powers. No changes. Just silence.
He thought, Maybe I really am weak… even in this world.
So, he gave up on the idea of being special.
---
Instead, he embraced a simple life.
He worked the fields, learning to till the land and plant crops. He helped build fences and herd goats. He mended roofs and carried water from the well.
When wolves came down from the hills, he would chase them off with a stick. Strangely, they always backed away.
When crops began to rot, he walked through the field at night, whispering words of encouragement.
The next morning, the plants would bloom brighter than ever.
Villagers praised him, calling him "lucky" or "a child blessed by the forest."
He never believed it. He thought it was coincidence.
But it wasn't.
What he didn't know—what no one knew—was that he was invincible.
Not just strong. Not just skilled. Truly invincible.
He could not bleed.
He could not fall sick.
He could not be killed.
But even he didn't realize it.
---
When he turned fifteen, the village chief, a gray-haired man with eyes like mountains, called him to the town square.
"You've grown tall," the chief said, handing him a leather pouch and a tattered map. "There's more to the world than this village. Go find your path."
He bowed respectfully and left with only a small sack of food, the map, and a wooden walking stick.
His journey had begun.
---
He walked through winding forests, over hills and rivers. The stars were different in this world, but the moon felt familiar.
In the first town he reached, a merchant offered him work carrying crates.
He carried ten times more than the other boys without breaking a sweat.
In the next village, he helped build a dam during a storm. A section collapsed. He jumped into the raging waters and pulled two men out, barefoot and without rope.
No bruises. No cuts. Not even a cough afterward.
They said he was "lucky" again.
He said nothing.
---
Side Story: The Plague That Passed Him
In a village north of the mountains, a fever swept through like wildfire. One by one, people fell. He stayed to help.
He touched the sick. Carried the bodies. Slept among the dying.
But never got sick.
The healer asked, "How are you still standing?"
He replied, "I guess… I'm used to suffering."
She gave him a strange look but didn't ask more.
---
One evening, while visiting a trade town called Astrell, he arrived in the middle of a crowd gathered in the main plaza.
People were whispering excitedly.
"New heroes!"
"Did you see their clothes?"
"They say they were summoned from another world!"
He moved closer, curious.
Standing on a wooden platform were several young people—dressed in clothes he recognized.
Modern shoes. Korean backpacks. T-shirts with English logos.
His heart skipped.
Earthlings…?
Then, in the crowd of new arrivals, he saw her.
The girl who once watched him from a balcony. The girl who didn't speak when he was thrown out.
His stepsister—Ji-Hye.
Her hair was longer now. She wore silver armor and stood with pride beside a group of other summoned heroes.
She didn't see him.
But he saw her.
His heart raced.
Memories flooded back—the cold floor of the kitchen, the slap, the silence, the accident.
Why is she here?
And more importantly…
What should he do now?
---