Suwon City – South Korea
Day 62 since Ha-Joon disappeared
It had been two months since the night Jung Ha-Joon left the house with a few bills in his pocket and a smile on his face.
He had gone to the convenience store, just down the street, to buy a bottle of soy sauce. His mother had reminded him twice.
He never came back.
---
The police were called.
Neighbors were questioned.
Security footage? Strangely corrupted.
The convenience store clerk didn't even notice when he left.
No signs of a struggle. No evidence of a runaway. No contacts. No accidents. Just… gone.
---
In the Jung family home, silence had become normal.
The laughter had disappeared.
His mother quietly did the chores. His father worked more overtime shifts. His older sister Ha-Rin managed the small corner store every day, but she always left one rice ball and a canned drink in the fridge.
"Just in case," she had told herself once.
She no longer said it out loud.
---
That night, Ha-Rin closed the store at sunset.
She locked the shutters, gathered the leftover kimbap, and walked slowly down the street.
She paused near the convenience store—the one her brother had entered two months ago.
The very place he was last seen.
She didn't stop because she expected to see him.
She stopped because… she couldn't move on.
---
The street was normal.
Kids walked by laughing.
Delivery bikes zipped past.
But to her, the corner still felt heavy. Like something was unfinished.
She clutched her brother's student ID in her pocket and whispered under her breath.
"Where are you, Ha-Joon?"
There was no reply.
Just the hum of the streetlight above.
---
Inside the Endless Realm
Trial Tower – Floor 2
Ha-Joon sat on the stone steps of the massive tower, staring up at the glowing symbols floating in the air.
He had passed the first major trial.
His body had already changed—stronger muscles, faster reaction time, and battle instincts no eighteen-year-old boy should ever have.
But right now, he wasn't thinking about strength.
He was thinking about home.
---
He missed the small dining table.
His mother's warm tofu stew.
His father's tired but smiling eyes after night shifts.
His sister teasing him every time he spilled rice on his shirt.
They weren't rich. Never had been.
But they were together.
And now, here he was. Somewhere… far from anything he knew.
"Are they okay?" he whispered to himself.
He had no answer.
No communication. No system notifications. No hints. The tower told him nothing of Earth. No confirmation that time was moving the same—or faster or slower.
For all he knew, years had passed out there.
Or minutes.
---
He stood up slowly.
His spear rested against his back.
He checked his status screen, but not because he cared about stats right now.
It was just… habit. Something to distract himself.
> [Status – Jung Ha-Joon]
Class: Survivor of the Impossible
Level: 6
Skills: Energy Absorption Lv.3, Pain Resistance Lv.2, Danger Sense Lv.2
Passive: Limitless Evolution
Title: Mist Survivor
Condition: Stable.
Mental State: Focused.
He closed the screen.
Then looked up at the next challenge gate.
> [Trial of Regret – Floor 2]
Warning: Emotional Memory Distortion Active.
Objective: Walk through your past without breaking.
Reward: Unknown.
---
He entered.
---
The light faded.
He opened his eyes… and found himself back home.
Or at least, an illusion of it.
The apartment was dimly lit. He could smell rice cooking. The television buzzed softly. It looked… peaceful.
But it wasn't real.
He saw himself—a younger version—sitting at the table, frustrated with a math workbook.
His sister walked by, flicking his forehead.
His father came in, rubbing his knees. His mother called from the kitchen.
Ha-Joon's chest tightened.
"I remember this," he whispered. "This night... was just before exams."
---
The scene warped.
Now he stood outside the hospital.
He watched his mother lying in a bed, her hands covered in burn marks from overwork.
His father asleep in a chair beside her.
His sister standing in the hallway alone, looking at their family's medical bills.
And himself.
Back then—just a boy. Crying silently, unable to help.
---
The illusion whispered to him.
> "You couldn't protect them."
> "You were a burden."
> "Even now… you're gone. And they're still suffering."
His hands trembled.
But he gritted his teeth.
"No."
He stared down the false voices.
"I was weak… but I tried. And now I'm not weak anymore."
---
The illusions cracked.
And shattered.
---
> [Trial Cleared – Regret Floor Passed]
Reward: Soul-Forged Skill – Ironheart Pulse Lv.1
Effect: Temporary Invincibility (3 seconds) when protecting loved ones
Passive Boost: +2 Vitality, +2 Mental Resistance
---
The tower room returned to its stone form.
But Ha-Joon's breathing was steadier.
He had walked through pain—and emerged stronger.
Not because of stats.
Because of will.
---
Back in Suwon, the night grew quiet.
Ha-Rin stood under the same streetlight.
She had tears in her eyes, but didn't let them fall.
She simply looked at the night sky and whispered softly,
"If you're alive… come home."
And somewhere far beyond reach, a young man gripped his spear and kept climbing.
Because he still remembered their voices.
---