The faint stench of blood lingered in the air, mingling with the smell of dirt and dust. Mocking laughter echoed around him—high school students in uniforms stood in a circle, jeering as they loomed over his battered body.
Slowly, Asher's eyes fluttered open. His vision was still blurred, but the sharp pain racking his body left no room for doubt. He had been beaten within an inch of his life.
"There! He's still breathing!"
"Tougher than he looks. Doesn't matter—you're gonna die here, trash!"
Their cruel laughter rang out once more. A heavy shoe slammed down against his face, sending a jolt of agony through his broken body. Then, everything went dark again.
But this time, it was different.
In the endless void of darkness, a familiar whisper echoed in his mind:
"Possession in progress… Synchronization complete… Welcome to the human world, Asher."
Memories not his own came flooding in like a shattered dam. The warmth of loving parents. The gentle smile of a younger sister. And endless scenes of torment—relentless bullying, beatings, humiliation. The final memory was of a boy's body, lifeless, sprawled across cold concrete.
A smile tugged at Asher's lips.
"At last… the boredom is gone."
He could feel it—the immense power coursing through his veins. A power he himself had created. He whispered a single word in his mind.
"Status."
—Shing!
A translucent window materialized before him, numbers and words floating in the air.
Name: Park Daeyeon
Rank: Unawakened
Level: 1
HP: 1/100
Mana: 10/10
[ STR 1 | SPD 1 | CON 1 | INT 1 | LUK ? ]
Asher's smile widened.
Unawakened. The lowest state in the very system he had designed. Perfect. Exactly the kind of amusement he sought. After all, he controlled the system itself. Numbers meant nothing to the Creator.
"From this moment on… things will never be boring again."
The boy's frail body—Park Daeyeon's body—slowly rose from the ground. The eyes that had once been filled with fear now glimmered with resolve… and a power hidden deep within.
A passing Hunter barely spared him a glance, seeing only a bruised student dragging himself to his feet. He walked away, never realizing that before him stood the very Creator of the universe—returned to the mortal world, intent on finding his own entertainment.