The man was surrounded by the white void once again.
He opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the endless, blinding emptiness.
"…So status sends me here," he muttered under his breath.
SYSTEM POP-UP *
Kang Jaehyun
Level 30
HP — 400 / 400
MP — 300
Weapon — None
Armour —
Items —
Class — Godspinner
He noticed something he hadn't seen before.
Everything was written in plain black text…
except one thing.
Godspinner.
Outlined in a faint, golden glow —
like the system wanted him to notice it.
Or like it was marking him.
Beneath the tabs, a new option flickered quietly into existence.
Points
Kang hesitated for a moment, then pressed it.
The entire white space shifted —
and a massive skill tree unfolded in front of him, branching outward like roots of light stretching into an infinite void.
He stared.
"…A point system… great."
He clicked on the Points tab.
Another block of text unfolded in front of him, lines of glowing white letters stacking neatly in the void.
SYSTEM POP-UP *
HEALTH — 5
Your life force.
STRENGTH — 5
The raw physical power of the user.
He scrolled down the list of stats again, eyes landing on STRENGTH — 5.
"…Strength, huh…" he muttered.
He sighed.
"A weapon would be useful…"
SPEED — 5
The quickness and reflexes of the user.
MAGIC — 5
The destructive capability and mastery of the arcane.
MANA — 5
The amount of mana you can suppress and express within your soul.
ENDURANCE — 5
Impacts your stamina, cardiovascular durability, and resistance.
DEXTERITY — 5
The mastery of weaponry, accuracy, and precision.
A final line blinked beneath the list:
Would you like to allocate points?
Remaining Points → 90
"…Ninety points… right.
That thing was level ninety. I guess… this matches."
He blinked and lifted his finger slightly.
"…I guess… health," he muttered.
He tapped the HEALTH stat twenty times.
The number jumped instantly.
HEALTH → 25
A new system sheet unfolded in front of him.
SYSTEM POP-UP *
HEALTH — 25
Your life force.
STRENGTH — 20
The raw physical power of the user.
SPEED — 15
The quickness and reflexes of the user.
MAGIC — 20
The destructive capability and mastery of the arcane.
MANA — 15
The amount of mana you can suppress and express within your soul.
ENDURANCE — 10
Impacts your stamina, cardiovascular durability, and resistance.
DEXTERITY — 10
The mastery of weaponry, accuracy, and precision.
A final line blinked beneath the list:
Would you like to allocate points?
Remaining Points → 0
He looked down at his palm.
That symbol from the Wheel — the one that appeared when he fought the wolf — was still there.
Faint.
Glowing.
Burned into his skin like some cosmic mark he didn't ask for.
He slowly curled his fingers into a fist.
The white void around him began to fade, dissolving at the edges like fog burning away under sunlight.
"I need to get stronger…" he whispered.
His mind flashed back —
the cold metal of the knife,
the shock of being stabbed,
the landlord trembling behind him,
the helplessness drowning his whole body.
He shut his eyes tightly.
Took a deep breath.
And when he opened them again—
He was back where he left off.
He opened his eyes as a man stood directly in front of him.
Kang stumbled back instinctively.
…oh crap… his inner voice panicked.
He swallowed and muttered,
"Hey— you okay…?"
The man didn't answer.
His back was turned, shoulders twitching unnaturally as he made strange, gargled sounds—
half-breathing, half-growling, almost like a starving animal trying to speak.
Slowly… painfully… the man turned.
A small, rusted axe hung in his hand.
A system tag flickered above his head:
Henry the Brute
NPCNPCNPC
Thick saliva dripped down his chin.
His eyes were bloodshot— glowing faint red, trembling with rage or hunger.
Kang couldn't tell.
Henry lunged.
Kang yelped, sprinting backward and putting as much distance as he could between them.
He snapped his fingers out of pure desperation— eyes shut tight as he braced himself—
Nothing.
He opened his eyes.
Warmth.
No—
Burning.
He was on the ground.
Flat on his back.
Dirt pressed into his spine.
It took several seconds for his brain to catch up.
He'd been punched.
Hard.
The snap didn't do anything.
"…oh."
Henry staggered forward, gripping his axe with both hands, breath rasping, a low animalistic howl rising from deep in his throat.
Kang scrambled back, heart pounding in his chest.
Henry's footsteps dragged closer, the axe scraping against the dirt.
Kang's heartbeat pounded in his skull.
A sudden window slammed into his vision.
SYSTEM POP-UP — MANDATORY QUEST
Exclusive to: Kang Jaehyun
Failure to comply: User termination.
Termination outcome: Unacceptable.
Mission Info:
Survive.
YES
or
YES
Kang stared at the screen, voice cracking.
"…Are you kidding me?"
Adam didn't know why he felt dread.
Was it the popup…
or the man in front of him, about to shove a metal axe into his skull?
He didn't know.
But he knew one thing:
He couldn't die here.
Not now.
Not again.
Kang forced himself up to his feet.
Henry swung immediately, aiming straight for his head.
Kang ducked—
the axe slicing the air above him—
and he bolted forward, ramming his elbow hard into Henry's ribs.
The brute flinched, coughing out a harsh grunt.
His grip loosened.
The axe toppled from his hand.
Kang grabbed it instantly.
A UI flickered in the corner of his vision.
Health → 300 / 800
His eyes widened.
…He did one punch and it dealt 500 damage…?
Kang whispered shakily,
"So if I didn't upgrade my health back then…"
His breath stuttered.
A flash in his mind—
Earth.
The landlord.
The knife in his stomach.
The warm blood spilling down his hoodie.
His life slipping away in a cold, dirty stairwell.
He swallowed hard.
Not again.
The brute charged at him, screaming.
Kang froze.
His hands trembled as he raised the axe, barely holding it steady.
He inhaled shakily.
"…Get ready…"
"1…"
Wait— no, he's coming way too fas—
Henry tore the axe from Kang's hands with brute strength.
The weapon ripped free so violently Kang felt the shock through his bones.
Henry roared and swung it down toward Kang's skull.
Kang clenched his hand.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know how.
Even years later—
he still wouldn't understand.
But the words came out of his mouth, calm and controlled, as if spoken by someone else entirely.
"…Come."
The brute was a millisecond away.
The axe was already descending— just inches from Kang's lips—
And then it appeared.
The Wheel of Fate.
Spinning violently above him, symbols blurring into streaks of light.
Four glowed:
Fire
Thunder
Wind
Water
Three remained greyed out:
Ice
Dark
Holy
But where it landed—
Was the eighth slot.
Love.
A hand materialised out of nothing and grabbed Henry's face.
Fingers dug in.
The brute let out a strangled scream as the invisible force slammed him into the ground.
The earth erupted.
Boulders cracked.
Grass tore.
The ground shook violently, the impact rippling outward like an earthquake.
Kang opened his eyes—
barely breathing—
and stared at the motionless brute.
SYSTEM POP-UP
Henry the Brute — Defeated
Rewards — Nothing
A soft voice drifted behind him.
"…I love you."
Kang turned.
A girl stood there.
Slim.
Long hair covering her face.
Her presence felt familiar— too familiar—
like a distorted reflection of someone he knew.
His landlord.
But not.
Because those eyes—
those eyes were wrong.
Deranged.
Devoted.
Hollow.
She stepped closer.
"What did you say…?" Kang whispered.
She tilted her head.
"I love you, Kang…"
His stomach dropped.
A name tag flickered above her head:
??? — The God of Love
She reached out and gently touched his face, her smooth hand brushing his cheek.
Her long blonde hair spilled forward, drifting past his jaw.
Her touch should've felt warm.
Instead, Kang felt sick.
He blinked, trembling—
And she was gone.
Vanished.
Like she was never there.
Kang was shaking.
…What the hell was that…
That couldn't be her…
It couldn't…
His breath hitched, his chest tightening in panic.
A new window blinked harshly in his vision.
SYSTEM POP-UP *
You have met your stamina's max capacity.
His knees buckled instantly.
The world tilted—
blurred—
drifting sideways like his consciousness was sliding off reality.
Kang collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
His vision dimmed, colours bleeding together.
The wind brushed past his ears— soft, distant.
Trees whispered.
Leaves rustled.
Birds chirped somewhere overhead, flying in scattered patterns.
The sounds grew fainter.
And then—
Everything faded to black.