Kang woke up lying on the floor.
He pushed himself up slowly, blinking at the world around him.
Everything was… clean.
The cracked earth was gone.
The scorch marks were gone.
No shattered rocks.
No Elite wolf.
No barbarians.
No girl.
Just villagers walking around like nothing had ever happened.
"…Did the world… reset?" he muttered.
A woman approached with a stiff smile.
Jane the Villager [NPC]
"Hello there, Hero Kang! Would you save my twenty bunnies from a level eight Dire Wolf, young Hero Kang?"
A chime rang.
SYSTEM POP-UP*
QUEST — Save 20 Bunnies
Progress: 0 / 20
YES
NO
Kang sighed.
Huh… so it really is scripted.
They're not even real.
Out of boredom — and curiosity — he lifted a finger.
And tapped her arm.
A small poke.
SYSTEM POP-UP*
???
It vanished instantly.
The woman froze.
Her expression shifted from cheerful to offended in a single breath.
"Did… you just touch me?"
She glared.
"…Creep."
Kang blinked once.
Then twice.
"Huh…?"
He looked up at her name tag.
His stomach dropped.
Jane the Villager [NPC]
was gone.
Replaced by:
Kwon Sohyun
No title.
No [NPC] tag.
Nothing.
Just a name.
Kang stared at her, breath stuck in his throat.
"…What… the hell?"
She scoffed.
"Stop staring at me like that. What's wrong with you?"
She walked past him — naturally, freely — not on a loop, not repeating an animation.
She didn't glitch.
She didn't reset.
She didn't freeze.
She just… existed.
A real person.
And Kang had no idea why.
Kang turned to look at her as she walked away.
Shoulder-length blonde hair.
Red eyes.
Soft features.
Pretty.
Elegant.
Nothing like an NPC.
Nothing robotic.
Nothing scripted.
Just… a normal woman.
He swallowed and opened his UI.
His heart dropped.
Mana: 0 / 400
"…Huh?" he whispered.
He hadn't fought anything.
He hadn't cast anything.
He hadn't used the Wheel.
He just touched her.
And now he was empty.
Completely empty.
He stared at the 0 glowing in front of him, cold and unchanging, while Kwon Sohyun kept walking — perfectly human — without ever looking back.
She kept walking.
Then she stopped.
The wind brushed past, blowing her shoulder-length blonde hair to the side as she slowly turned around.
Her red eyes narrowed.
"Where the hell am I going…?" she muttered, irritated.
She spun fully, footsteps sharp as she marched straight toward Kang.
Her gaze was cold.
Assertive.
Nothing like an NPC at all.
"Who are you," she demanded, voice steady and sharp,
"and where am I?"
Kang stared at her in silence.
His UI still showed Mana: 0/400.
And Kwon Sohyun stood in front of him —
a woman who shouldn't exist,
with a name she shouldn't have,
asking questions no NPC was ever meant to ask.
Kang opened his mouth.
"…My name?"
His thoughts slipped for a second.
Adam Jo—
He swallowed the instinct.
And muttered:
"…Kang Jaehyun."
Kwon Sohyun stared at him — really stared — eyes scanning him up and down, almost judging him, almost annoyed that he existed.
Her expression didn't look scripted.
Or polite.
Or automated.
Just human.
Cold.
Direct.
Blunt.
Kang felt his throat tighten.
I've played a lot of JRPGs…
and games…
but an NPC losing their tag and their name changing…
That's new.
She suddenly turned away, lifted her arm, and jabbed a finger toward the sky.
"Well, Kang…"
Her tone sharpened.
"Tell me what the hell that thing in the sky is?"
Kang followed her finger, squinting.
At first his eyes adjusted slowly—
Then he saw it.
A massive megastructure.
A holy tree.
But not like any holy tree he'd ever seen in any story or game.
It was…
Upside down.
Its roots pointed toward the sky like a crown of spears.
Its branches hung downward like twisted spires.
Buildings — actual buildings — were attached to the roots as if glued to the structure.
Ancient stone.
Metallic supports.
Floating platforms swirling around it.
And the entire thing hovered in the air, motionless.
Clouds wrapped around the top like a blanket, completely hiding whatever was above it.
Kang's eyes widened.
"…What… is that?" he whispered.
Kwon Sohyun stared at him, unimpressed.
"That's what I'm asking you, Kang."
She crossed her arms.
"You're acting like you live here. So tell me what that thing is."
Kang said nothing.
Because for the first time—
He realised:
She really didn't know.
She wasn't an NPC anymore.
She wasn't scripted.
She wasn't acting.
She was confused.
Lost.
Scared.
A real person.
And he had no idea why she existed.
"I really… don't know," Kang said quietly, almost shy.
Villagers walked past him in perfect loops.
"Hero Kang! Hero Kang!"
They shoved past Kwon without hesitation.
"Please help us!"
Kwon grit her teeth and snapped:
"Hey—watch where you're going!"
The villagers didn't react.
Didn't look at her.
Didn't slow down.
They only crowded Kang more.
"Please help us, Hero Kang!"
Wait… Kang's inner voice whispered.
Kwon stepped directly in front of one.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
She reached out and grabbed for the villager's arm—
Her hand passed straight through.
Like he wasn't solid.
Like she wasn't there.
"OH HERO KANG PLEASE HELP US!!"
Kang muttered under his breath, eyes widening:
"…They can't see you…
can they?"
Kwon froze.
Her eyes snapped to the villager—
then back to Kang.
"What… what do you mean…?" her voice trembled.
She clutched her head suddenly, wincing as a sharp pain hit her.
"What's… going on…" she whispered, breath shaking.
The villagers kept chanting for Hero Kang.
Not one of them even glanced her way.
And Kwon Sohyun stood in the middle of them, invisible to everyone but him.
A loud chime echoed.
SYSTEM POP-UP*
WORLD TREE – MAIN QUEST
Clear the World Tree → 100 Floors
Pending Floors → 0 / 100
YES
NO
Another window slammed open beneath it.
PARTY MEMBER – ACTIVE
Kang Jaehyun
Health: 800 / 800
Mana: 0 / 400
Level: 30
Kwon Sohyun
Health: 100 / 100
Mana: 50 / 50
Level: 5
Kang froze.
"…Party… member?" he whispered.
Kwon Sohyun stood there, clutching her head, breathing unsteadily — completely unaware the system had just assigned her a status window.
She looked up at him, eyes trembling slightly, still invisible to every villager passing through her like she wasn't even rendered.
"Kang…" she muttered, voice thin.
"What is going on…"
The words hit him harder than any monster.
She wasn't repeating a line.
She wasn't scripted.
She wasn't coded.
The system didn't answer.
The villagers didn't see her.
Her name wasn't an NPC tag anymore.
Only one thing was clear:
She wasn't an NPC anymore.
She was part of his party.
And the world itself had accepted her as real.
Kang clicked YES.
The moment his finger touched the option, every villager froze.
Then, in perfect sync, they scattered — walking away in straight lines, stiff movements, heading toward the fields like robots sent to perform farming animations.
Kang watched them go.
So artificial…?
He exhaled slowly, then turned around.
Kwon.
She was on the floor, shaking, her breath uneven. Sweat clung to her forehead, dripping down her temples as she fought whatever was happening inside her head.
Party member…
So the system added her to my party without me even trying.
Kang muttered, lost in thought:
"…What is this world."
"Kang?"
A hand waved in front of his face.
He didn't even notice at first.
"Kang. Hey. Are you there?" she snapped, voice stern.
He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and nodded.
Kwon's eyes were sharp, irritated, but there was a hint of worry underneath.
"Look," he said softly, "I really don't know anything about this world…"
He glanced up at the upside-down holy tree in the sky — its roots spread like blades, clouds wrapped around its crown.
"…but you asked about that thing up there, and… I don't know."
He swallowed.
"Maybe call it a hunch, but I have a good feeling we'll find an answer."
She stared at him like she wasn't sure if he was delusional.
"…An answer to what?" she asked, brows tightening.
Kang clenched his fist, then opened it again.
On his palm — faint but real — the Godspinner mark glowed softly from earlier.
He stared at it.
Then at her red, scarlet eyes.
Then back at the sky.
"…I have absolutely no idea," he said.
Kwon's expression didn't change.
But for the first time, she looked just as scared as he felt.
A soft chime echoed.
SYSTEM POP-UP*
Pending Friend Request…
Kwon Sohyun
YES
NO
Kang stared at the window, then at her.
Kwon Sohyun met his eyes for a moment — her expression somewhere between discomfort, confusion, and maybe even fear.
He couldn't tell.
He lifted his finger.
And clicked YES.
Another window opened instantly.
SYSTEM POP-UP*
Relationship Status –
Kwon Sohyun : Bond 1 / 10
The box closed just as quickly as it appeared.
Kang lowered his hand slowly, still staring at her.
Kwon didn't react.
She didn't see the window.
She didn't even know anything had happened.
But the system did.
And now she was:
a real person
in his party
and someone he was now "bonded" to
Whether either of them wanted it or not.
Kwon was still on the floor.
Kang hesitated, then offered his hand.
She looked down—slightly embarrassed—before taking it.
He helped her up.
They both looked up at the sky.
No words were said.
And then—
A massive earthquake.
The ground shook violently, dust scattering around their feet.
Buildings rattled.
Villagers continued their looping animations, unfazed.
Above them…
The World Tree—already upside down—began to move.
It didn't sway.
It didn't rotate.
It shot upward.
Like something was pulling it toward space.
Kang's breath caught.
"Where…" he whispered.
Kwon's voice cracked beside him:
"What—where did it go??"
Everything went silent.
Empty.
Still.
Then—
CRASH.
The World Tree came plummeting back from the heavens, slamming into the earth with godlike force.
But the moment it hit—
It wasn't upside down anymore.
It stood upright.
Perfectly aligned.
Roots in the ground.
Branches stretching toward the sky.
Glowing faintly with a pulsing, holy light.
Kang felt chills run across his arms.
Beside him, Kwon squeezed his hand slightly harder, her red eyes locked onto the impossible sight.
He stared deeper into the radiant trunk.
His heart thumped.
So this is where it begins…
My role as a Godspinner.
The World Tree stood upright—no longer reversed, no longer frozen—glowing with a pale, holy light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Kang and Kwon stared up at it, the massive structure humming with a presence neither of them could describe.
The air shifted.
The earth trembled.
Something ancient… moved.
Kwon tightened her grip on his hand.
Kang inhaled slowly.
And whispered:
"The World Tree has opened its eyes."