CHAPTER 1. THE UNKNOWN MIST FOREST. Darkness. Cold. Silence.
His fingers curled into the damp soil beneath him. The scent of moss, bark, and rain filled his nose. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The sky above was hidden by towering trees with glowing green veins. Beasts he had never seen before circled silently, watching. Strange light danced in the air. The forest... was alive.
"So, this is the afterlife?"
His voice was low. Emotionless.
Memories clawed back into his mind.
Friends… no, betrayers.
Knives in his back, figuratively and literally.
The people he trusted most had sold him out — for power, for money.
He touched his chest.
Still whole. Still breathing.
And yet… his soul felt shattered.
He stood, muscles stronger than before, body wrapped in black traveler's robes. Around his wrist, a strange glowing bracelet pulsed.
[System Syncing...]
[Name: ash ]
[Mana: ∞]
[Inventory Unlocked: Online Shop Connected]
[Title: Reincarnated One – Forest Bonded]
He stared blankly.
"Online shop...? In a forest?"
He tried focusing, and instantly, a transparent screen floated before him. Rows of modern goods appeared:
Cooking pot: 5 silver coins
Camping set: 10 gold coins
Rice, Sugar, Salt…
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"So I'm alone... again. But with Amazon Prime."
No smile followed the joke.
CRACK.
A beast lunged out of the bushes — a silver-furred wolf the size of a buffalo. Its eyes glowed with spiritual energy. Its mouth dripped with hunger.
But he didn't flinch.
He raised his hand.
The trees responded.
Roots shot up from the ground, wrapping the beast gently like a mother embracing her child. The wolf didn't struggle — it bowed its head.
"...You fear me? Or... accept me?"
A soft hum echoed through the forest.
The leaves shimmered.
A voice — not human—whispered in his ear.
"You are the one we waited for. Betrayed by the people. Chosen by nature."
He looked down at the wolf, who now lay peacefully by his side. A spark — barely a flicker — touched his heart. It wasn't joy.
But it wasn't painful either.
"Then let's make a home."
Far away, in a castle built on greed, a scout stumbled into the king's chamber.
"Your Majesty... the forest… it moved."
The king's face went pale.
"Impossible."
But deep within the woods, the man who forgot how to smile was waking. Not as a king.
Not yet.
But as the root of something greater.
To be continued...