Then, without warning, a bright light burst from the corner of Jung-min's screen.
It wasn't like a flash from the game itself. It didn't come from the forest, the fort, or the enemies loading in. It came from the strange line of text that had appeared moments ago—
[NPC DATA LOADING…]
The glow spilled out from the monitor like liquid sunlight.
The chat didn't react.
They couldn't see it.
Only Jung-min did.
He squinted, instinctively raising one hand to shield his eyes. "Uh—what is this?" he muttered, leaning back in his chair. "Why is the screen so bright all of a sudden?"
The light pulsed again, stronger this time, flooding his room with a harsh white glare. His heart skipped. The music from the game distorted, stretching into a warped hum that sounded nothing like flutes anymore.
"I'm going to give this game a zero," he said sharply, irritation replacing confusion. "This is unacceptable—some kind of visual bug or shader error—"
But his voice trembled.
The chat was completely lost.
"Yoo, what's wrong?"
"Is the game really that trash?"
"Bro already mad."
"Dev team is cooked 💀"
Jung-min gripped the edge of his desk. The light grew brighter, crawling up the walls of his room, swallowing the posters, the shelves, the closed curtains. His webcam still showed him clearly, but his face had gone pale.
"Why… why can't you guys see this?" he whispered.
His ears rang.
His vision blurred.
The fort on his screen seemed to move on its own. The NPCs inside it turned their heads—not toward the player character, but toward him. Toward the camera.
For a split second, Jung-min thought he saw the elder elf step forward.
Then pain shot through his skull.
"Gh—!" He groaned, pushing his chair back. "What kind of bug is this…?"
The light exploded.
Jung-min's body went limp.
He collapsed forward onto his keyboard.
Keys clacked wildly under his weight.
The mouse slid across the desk and hit the wall with a dull knock.
His microphone picked up the sound of shallow, uneven breathing.
The game kept running.
The fort quest timer continued counting down.
The chat froze for a second.
Then it erupted.
"BRO???"
"Is this part of the stream?"
"Did he just faint?"
"Welp… guess the game really was that trash."
Some viewers laughed.
"Oh hell nah 💀"
"The game knocked him out."
"Fort Fantasy too powerful 😂🤘"
Others panicked.
"Someone call emergency services!"
"Is he okay???"
"MODS DO SOMETHING!"
His camera showed only the top of his head resting against the desk, hair covering his eyes. The bright light was gone now, replaced by the normal glow of the monitor. The game music played softly, almost mockingly peaceful.
In the game, the elder elf NPC stood at the fort entrance.
Elder Elf: "Traveler… are you still there?"
No one answered.
Jung-min's chat continued to scroll endlessly—fear, jokes, confusion, all mixed together into one chaotic river of text.
"This has to be a prank."
"He'll get up any second."
"Bro really died reviewing this game."
"Fort Fantasy undefeated."
But Jung-min didn't move.
The keyboard kept pressing random keys beneath his weight, causing his character to spin in circles inside the fort courtyard. NPCs walked past him, repeating their idle dialogue as if nothing strange had happened.
Inside his headset, the sound of the world outside his room faded.
And somewhere between the flickering screen and the silence of his body, the last thing Jung-min saw was not his chat, not his room, not his streaming setup—
but the glowing walls of a wooden fort.
Then he woke up.
Not slowly.
Not gently.
It was the kind of awakening that felt like his soul had been thrown back into his body.
"W–what the—!?"
Jung-min gasped, his whole body jerking forward as if he had fallen from a great height. His heart pounded violently against his chest, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe properly. His hands clawed at the ground beneath him, cold and rough, and the smell of damp stone filled his nose.
"Maybe… maybe it was a nightmare," he muttered, his voice shaky. "Yeah… just a nightmare…"
He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
The world did not change.
Instead of his dark room, his monitor, and his keyboard, he saw narrow stone walls rising on both sides of him. Moss grew between cracked bricks.
Trash and broken wooden crates were scattered across the ground. A faint golden light spilled in from somewhere beyond the alleyway's entrance.
"What the hell…?" he whispered.
He pushed himself up, palms scraping against the dirty floor. His balance felt wrong, like his body was lighter than it should be. When he stood, the world felt slightly taller, slightly wider, as if his perspective had shifted.
Then pain hit him.
Not hunger.
Not dizziness.
Real pain.
"Ght—!"
He doubled over instantly, clutching his stomach as a sharp ache twisted inside him. It felt deep, like something was wrong beneath the skin. His breathing turned ragged, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Why does it… hurt this bad…?"
The pain slowly dulled, turning into a heavy pressure instead of a stab. He forced himself to straighten up, but before he could think clearly, another sensation overwhelmed him.
Noise.
Too much noise.
Footsteps.
Voices.
Wind.
Distant bells.
Wood creaking.
Some kind of animal crying far away.
Everything slammed into his ears at once.
"Ah—!"
He covered his ears with both hands, wincing. They felt… strange. Too sharp. Too sensitive. His fingers brushed against something pointed.
"…Huh?"
He froze.
Slowly, he moved one hand away and felt the side of his head again.
Pointed.
Not round.
Not human.
"W–what…?" His voice dropped into a whisper. "Why… why is my ear pointy…?"
His heart skipped.
He stumbled toward a broken piece of metal lying near a crate. The surface was dull, but reflective enough to show his face.
And what stared back at him wasn't Jung-min.
Silver hair fell messily over unfamiliar eyes. His skin was smoother, paler. His face was sharper, almost too perfect, like something sculpted rather than born.
And his ears—
Long.
Narrow.
Elven.
"No… no no no…"
He touched his cheek. The reflection copied him.
He touched his ear. The reflection did the same.
His body felt wrong too.
Thin.
Not weak… but light.
Like it had never lifted heavy things before.
His arms looked longer. His hands slimmer. His legs felt sore, like he had been running for hours before collapsing here.
"A–am I…?" he murmured, voice cracking.
He straightened and shouted before he could stop himself.
"AN ELF?!"
His voice echoed down the alleyway.
A few figures passed by the entrance—tall silhouettes in cloaks and armor. They glanced in briefly… and then kept walking.
No shock.
No reaction.
No concern.
As if an elf screaming in an alley was completely normal.
"What… what is this place…?"
He stepped out slightly, peeking beyond the alley.
Wooden buildings lined the streets. Lanterns hung from ropes between roofs. Strange symbols were carved into doorframes. The air smelled of smoke, leaves, and something sweet—like fruit he had never tasted before.
People walked past him.
Not humans.
Elves.
Some wore armor. Some carried baskets. Some laughed quietly. A child ran past him with glowing blue eyes.
No one noticed him.
No one cared.
Jung-min backed into the alley again, pressing his back against the cold wall. His breathing grew shallow.
"This can't be real… This can't be real…"
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"This is just… stress. I collapsed. I'm dreaming. That's all."
He opened them again.
Still there.
The pain in his stomach pulsed faintly, reminding him that this body could feel. That this wasn't a normal dream. His hands trembled as he raised them in front of his face, turning them over slowly, as if seeing them for the first time.
"…I was in my room," he whispered. "I was streaming. I was reviewing Fort Fantasy, definitely going to give it a zero" He laughed, but it didn't last long.
The name echoed in his mind.
Fort Fantasy.
His chest tightened.
He looked around again—the stone alley, the wooden buildings, the distant fort tower rising above the village walls.
It looked exactly like the game.
The same textures.
The same architecture.
The same atmosphere.
His stomach dropped.
"No… no way…"
Then, a loud shing echoed inside his ears.
Not like a sound from the street.
Not like a bell or a voice.
It rang directly through his skull.
Jung-min staggered back, pressing his hands against the sides of his head. "What—what was that!?"
Blue light unfolded in front of his eyes, forming sharp, floating symbols in the air, as if reality itself had opened a menu screen just for him.
|[ NPC Now Conscious ]|
The alleyway darkened around him, the world blurring slightly, while the glowing text remained perfectly clear.
|[ Welcome NPC, To Your New Life ]|
|[ Current Influence: 0% ]|
|[ Influence Is A Currency In The System, It Allows You To Level Up The More Influence You Have, You Will Level Up Infinity Through The System ]|
|[ Physical Stats ]|
|[ Strength: 10 / Infinite ]|
|[ Speed: 10 / Infinite ]|
|[ Stamina: 20 / Infinite ]|
|[ Magical Stats ]|
|[ Mana: 2 / Infinite ]|
|[ Magical Capability: 10 / Infinite ]|
|[ Magical Prowess: 20 / Infinite ]|
|[ Warning! Magical Stats Are The Only Stats That Cannot Be Affected By Influence ]|
"N… P… C?" Jung muttered under his breath.
The letters felt heavy on his tongue, like they didn't belong to him. He said them again, more clearly this time.
"NPC…"
A dry laugh escaped his throat, but it sounded broken, hollow. His shoulders slumped as the meaning finally sank in.