I'm the Blacksmith in the Starting Village, and All the Players Work for Me

[Native NPC Awakening + Online Game Another World + No Romance + Slow-burn, Not a Thrilling Novel]

Transmigrating into a game world? No.

My name is Karl, and I am the only blacksmith NPC in the starting village of "Anno" who has awakened self-awareness.

I am not a time traveler, nor do I have a system.

When I am no longer a loop of data, I will feel tired, confused, and I will ask the starry sky above me—who am I?

From analyzing a piece of iron ingot to understanding this continent, I am like a newborn baby, learning to become "existent".

When the bell rang to signal the end of Season 0, everything returned to zero. But I, this mistake that should never have existed, escaped with all my memories into the real continent of Aethera, which was about to welcome tens of thousands of "players".

They call me an NPC, and see me as a tool and background.

But I know that, like them, I am searching for my own answers in this world.

This is a journey that begins in ignorance and ends in self-discovery.

I will use my forged hands to personally carve an undeniable proof of my existence.

The world will eventually respond: Karl came, lived, and became himself.