The hunters stood in a loose circle, murmuring among themselves about the best location for today's hunt. Some argued that the deeper regions of the forest had more prey, while others insisted on staying closer to the village to avoid unnecessary risks. Their voices, though hushed, carried a sense of urgency, their breaths forming small clouds in the freezing air. The discussion was a daily ritual, yet today, there was a sense of heightened alertness among them. The recent sighting of snow goblins had put everyone on edge, making every decision more critical than usual. The forest was vast and dangerous, and if they made the wrong call, it could cost lives.
It was at this moment that Sharun arrived, following closely behind the muscular man who had saved him. As soon as they stepped into the gathering, the hunters' conversation ceased. Their eyes turned toward the new arrivals, scanning Sharun with curiosity and confusion. Some exchanged glances, while others openly examined him with furrowed brows. The air around them tensed as if they could sense something was different about him. He felt their stares bore into him like daggers, and an uneasy silence settled over the group.
One of them, a burly man with a thick scar running across his cheek, stepped forward. "Sha-run? Where the hell were you? What were you doing at dawn?" His voice was gruff, laced with a mix of concern and reprimand.
Before he could answer, another hunter chimed in. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to wander alone? Especially when the snow goblins and hobgoblins have been getting bolder. We lost three hunters last winter because of them."
More questions followed, their voices overlapping. "Did you get lost?" "Were you out track-ing something?" "Why didn't you tell anyone before leaving?" "Did you see anything unusu-al?" Each question carried weight, pressing against Sharun's mind like an avalanche.
Sharun swallowed, his mind racing. He had no idea what to say. He barely understood where he was, let alone what his supposed past was in this world. He was just about to come up with an excuse when one question silenced everything.
"Do you even know how worried your elder sister was?"
His breath hitched. His mind went blank for a moment. Elder sister?
A strange feeling settled in his chest. In his previous life, he had no siblings. But here, in this world… he had a sister?
Memories didn't suddenly surface, but the realization struck deep. He wasn't alone. There was someone in this world who cared about him, who worried about him. The weight of it was almost suffocating. His heart pounded in his chest. What kind of person was his sister? Did she know about his abilities? Did she suspect anything?
Before he could process this new revelation, a familiar blue glow flickered before his eyes.
[Gift System Activated]
His eyes widened as the glowing interface appeared once again. Unlike before, there were no grand announcements or explanations. Only a simple message flashed in front of him.
[This system is bound to the host's soul.]
That was it. No further details, no immediate guidance. It simply confirmed its existence be-fore shifting to a new screen.
[Status Window]
The system displayed his stats, and as soon as he saw them, a sinking feeling settled in his stomach.
[Name: Sharun]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 4 +5%]
[Agility: 3]
[Endurance: 5]
[Mana: 0]
[Skills: None]
Sharun felt his heart drop. He was weak. Far weaker than any of the hunters around him. If this world followed the same rules as the novel Road to the Haven, then these stats were nothing short of pathetic. Even an average villager would have better stats in some areas. It wasn't just that he was weak—he was at the absolute bottom.
His hands clenched into fists. He had no memories, no experience, and now, even his starting point was this miserable. If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to have any hope in this world, he needed to get stronger. Fast. The hunters around him could fight, hunt, and protect themselves. But if he remained like this, he was as good as dead weight.
As the system interface faded, the hunters were still waiting for his response. But now, Sha-run wasn't just answering them—he was answering himself.
He had to find his place in this world. He had to meet his sister. And most importantly, he had to grow stronger before it was too late. Because if he didn't, he would become nothing more than a footnote in someone else's story. He had seen characters like this before in nov-els—weaklings who got left behind. He refused to be one of them.
Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the hunters. "I… I just needed some air," he said, forc-ing his voice to remain steady. "I didn't mean to make anyone worry."
The hunters exchanged glances, some still suspicious, but the tension gradually eased. The muscular man beside him gave a small nod, signalling that the explanation was enough for now.
Before the discussion could shift, the hunters resumed their debate about the hunting grounds. Some argued for the deeper forest, while others insisted on staying near the out-skirts due to the goblin threat. Sharun barely paid attention. His thoughts were still tangled in the revelation about his supposed sister.
It was then that Raj approached him.
"Sharun," Raj's voice was firm yet calm. "Do you have any idea how much your sister, Jasmin, was worried about you?"
Sharun stiffened. Jasmin?
The name struck him like lightning. His thoughts spiralled as he connected the pieces. Jas-min—the main heroine of Road to the Haven. The girl who was supposed to be an orphan after the tragic death of her younger brother. The story began a week after that loss, shaping her into the strong and independent woman who would later walk beside Raj, the protago-nist.
But if today was the day Sharun had "died" in the original story… then that meant the main events of Road to the Haven were set to begin in exactly one week.
His breathing turned shallow. This explained so much.
Sharun's gaze remained fixed on Raj, his mind still processing everything. The realization that he was inside Road to the Haven had shaken him to his core. This was no dream or illusion—this was reality now. And he had to survive it.
Raj, noticing Sharun's silence, took a step closer. His sharp eyes searched his face, concern evident in his expression. "Sharun, what's going on? You've been acting strange."
Sharun hesitated. He knew that if he suddenly acted like he remembered everything, it would raise suspicion. So, instead, he took the safest approach.
"I… I don't remember much," he said finally, his voice calm but distant. "Everything is a blur."
Raj's brows furrowed. "You don't remember? Not even what happened this morning?"
Sharun shook his head. "I woke up in the snow. Then a snow goblin attacked me, I tried to defend myself, then he came and shoot an arrow at that goblin's leg and I killed it. That's all. But I don't remember anything before I wake up. But he told me everything. Now I know my name is Sharun. And I am from village Arzunheim, the village of hunters. Now I also came to know I have a sister. "
Raj looked at him for a second, "You know everyone was worried. And your sister was too much worried. I don't know why you were there, but if I had to guess.. you probably ran away cause you were afraid."
Sharun confusedly look at him, "I was afraid? Afraid of what?"
Raj start to explain, "From our childhood, you were afraid of blood and killing. But see what your fate have done to you. Today you not only forget about your fear of killing, but also your past too. And the cause was probably your fear of killing?"
Sharun looked at raj with more confusion.
Understanding Sharun's thoughts, raj explained. Raj said, "If I am correct, you were afraid of today. Today is the day of our awakening ceremony. And after today you will become a hunter, if you don't awaken a upper rank gift. So you probably run away in the midnight. And somehow you fell off and injured your head, forgetting everything."
Everything is clear to raj now. But there is still many questions in his mind. In the novel, boys and girls awaken a gift after they turned 14. Gift is a unique skill that born in their bodies after they turned 14. But people normally says that they are gifts bestowed by gods. Gifts are divided into three categories. First is god rank or SSS-S rank. Second is upper rank or A-D rank. Last is lower rank or E-H rank. According to the novel, the day he ran away from his home, was his awakening day. Not only his but also it was the day when his sister, raj and others of his age was supposed to awaken. After a week when the demon KARA will attack, it will be revealed that he didn't ran away, but he was trying to win his fear. He goes out in night with a axe so that he can hunt a goblin and changed himself.
After remembering theses, Sharun started to laugh. What the previous Sharun tried to achieve, he achieved it in his body. But he still didn't understand how did it all change? And why did he have the mental stability to fight against a snow goblin. He wasn't powerful. No. not by a chance of devil, he didn't even kill a human or an animal in his past life. So how come he adapt so easily? He doesn't know. He also don't know, how the previous Sharun died? Or is he really dead? How come he didn't go in the KARA's territory and died before even going in the territory of the goblins?
Is someone playing with him?
He stopped thinking about of all these. Now there is one goal for him. Survive. Before that lets get awaken man.
Sharun looked at raj. Sharun said, "let's go back."
Raj looked at him for a second, then he smiled and said, "Yes. Let's go back. Jessica is waiting."