Jaehwan

Jaehwan is the main protagonist of The World After the Fall Webnovel*.* The story was written by a married couple that use one pseudonym: 싱숑. They are known as Sing-Shong, or singNsong in English translations.

## Jaehwan

### Aliases

Jaehwan the Persistent Stabber, Awakener, Generalslayer, Butcher of Monarchs

### Affiliation

Blade Walker (former), Carpe Diem, Gorgon Fortress, Fallbringers

### Occupation

Tower Walker (former), Master of Gorgon Fortress (former), King of Chaos

## History

Jaehwan is a young, South Korean male who was summoned to the Tower of Nightmares, a large construct consisting of 100 floors brimming with perilous monsters. Jaehwan's sole mission is climbing the Tower and saving humanity, which suffers from "Tower Impacts." As he does, he loses his allies and friends until he's the only one that remains.

## Appearance

Throughout the novel, Jaehwan is hardly described.

As of February 7th, 2022, *The World After the Fall* manhwa has been released. The cover art was released, and viewers can see that Jaehwan has black hair and a muscled build.

## Personality and Intelligence

### As an adult

Throughout the story, Jaehwan is shown as a headstrong individual that obeys his own rules. He questions authority and regards the world with suspicion. This leads him to have a stubborn attitude and a cold demeanor. This headstrong and stubborn attitude makes Jaehwan (at times) act childish, such as how he deals with issues and how he interacts with people. His first solution is (usually) stabbing or killing. Like a child, he is short with answers, explains little, and acts aloof, which often creates misunderstandings.

Jaehwan is crippled with loneliness. After everyone abandoned him in the Tower of Nightmares (either by dying or returning to the past) he became a withdrawn person. Soon after, he dedicated himself to advancing towards the future. Due to this ideal, Jaehwan mostly works alone, and he will leave others behind if they hold him back.

Despite this, Jaehwan is a kind person. He is rough around the edges, but he still cares about people. When he killed the Greens after entering Chaos, he buried their antennae, presumably as a show of respect for the dead.

After becoming the Castle Lord, he worked hard to teach and strengthen the Leaders of the Ten-Clan. With Meikail Garnard's help, Jaehwan also created his own Tower; he did this so the citizens of Gorgon could become stronger.

### Intelligence

Jaehwan is a person who can contextualize with little information and see the bigger picture. He gets straight to the point, avoids useless explanation, and always seeks answers. He saw through Demon Beastlain's deceptions and discovered the truth of the Tower.

Jaehwan can read the room, but he is emotionally dense.

### Ideals

Jaehwan hates returning to the past. When advancing through the Tower of Nightmares, Tower Walkers encountered the Returning Stone. This item allowed anyone to travel backwards in time. This resulted in mass abandonment of the present and Jaehwan was left with little allies. As they climbed the floors, his friends continued to perish.

Because of this, he resented the people who returned. Jaehwan always thought of the present world they abandoned, and it left him embittered but dedicated. Jaehwan developed a mindset of living in the present, and he respects people who share his mindset.

## Personal Experiences before the Tower

Before Jaehwan was summoned into the Tower, he was serving in the South Korean military, which is a mandatory requirement for the country's men. It is unknown if he willingly entered the service, or if he was mandated to do so, but it is known that he achieved the rank of Sergeant in the webnovel. In the manhwa, he achieved the rank of Corporal.

As Jaehwan was serving in a battalion, an abused soldier killed his fellow squadmates and superior officers, but spared Jaehwan. The soldier killed everyone else because he was suffering from mistreatment, but didn't kill Jaehwan because he did not participate in the abuse.

Jaehwan stumbled upon the incident. After the abused soldier killed everyone and spared Jaehwan, he committed suicide. Before he did, he looked at Jaehwan and said, "Thank you for everth..." but couldn't say the last word. Jaehwan witnessed everything and realized he wasn't killed by his own gun. How the shooter acquired Jaehwan's rifle is unknown.

Shortly after, other military forces approached the scene and apprehended Jaehwan. He was the only survivor of the incident. The high-ranking officers of the battalion (who presumably weren't around when the shooting occurred) were terminated from their service. Jaehwan was put on trial, but his innocence was proven after it was discovered he did not participate in the abuse of the rogue soldier. He was detained for 15 days, and summoned into the Tower of Nightmares shortly thereafter after being released.

In the translated webnovel chapter, it described the situation like this: "*It had been proven that he [Jaehwan] wasn't involved in the bullying of the soldier so he was locked up in military detention for 15 days and then was summoned into the tower right after.*"

This memory was shown as a flashback in the webnovel, and it occurred within Sirwen Armelt's 8 Gates of Hell skill.

## Personal Experiences in the Tower

* Jaehwan was summoned to the 1st Floor.
* Jaehwan met Yoonhwan and Han Seoyul on the 7th floor.
* On the 32nd Floor, he managed to survive the "Shadow Cavern Trials" for a month. The webnovel states, "It was the first time when his [Stab] had become powerful."
* On the 54th Floor, he joined a group called Blade Walker.
* On the 66th Floor, as Jaehwan fought the Succubus boss, he looked at Han Seoyul and realized his love for her.
* On the 76th Floor, Han Seoyul died from the Death Knight's attack. Jaehwan wailed as he held her in his arms.
* On the 77th Floor, people discovered the Returning Stone, and Jaehwan felt enraged as they left.
* On the 85th Floor, people shouted in joy as they cleared it, and they formed Carpediem.
* Jaehwan finally became alone when Yoonhwan plummeted from the Tower of Nightmares, who was gravely wounded by Boss Monster Giltikas of the 98th Floor.
* Jaehwan cleared the Tower of Nighmares after killing Frost Dragon Velkisus.
* He met Demon Beastlain on the 100th Floor, who informed Jaehwan that the Tower of Nightmares was a tutorial.

## Weapons

* True Dragon Sword from the 85th Floor.
* Ice Dragon Sword made from Velkisus.
* Spirit Weapon, originally made from the Ice Dragon Sword.

## Skills and Abilities

### Stab

* **Stab** **- Webnovel**
	+ Jaehwan's main mode of attack. When he entered the tower, he was unlucky because other Tower Walkers acquired better skills. Due to this, he developed the stabbing skill, an ability outside of the system. Unlike System skills, his attack doesn't require mana, so Jaehwan may attack indefinitely.
* **Slight Stab**
	+ This is a powerful version of stab and it is the first stab he uses when attacking others.
* **Normal Stab**
	+ This is a powerful version of stab and he uses it when the opponent is strong enough.
* **World Stab**
	+ This stab can allow Jaehwan to kill multiple people in one strike.
* **(Webnovel) Twisting Kill/(Manhwa) Spiracide**
	+ This stab is a combination of Jaehwan's stab and Chunghuh's slash.

### Guardian Horn

Jaehwan received the Guardian Horn of Gorgon Fortress from Aimel Grosheck. It is a tattoo adorning his arm in the shape of a Gorgon, hence its name. Since Jaehwan received it, he became the Castle Lord of Gorgon Fortress. The Guardian Horn is one of four, and it's inherited when the previous user relinquishes it to another before death.

By invoking the Guardian Horn, also known as the Seal of Daeus, Horned monsters will not attack the tattoo bearer.

## Awakening

### **Suspicion**

1st Step of Awakening - Novel Chapter 6

* This ability allows Jaehwan to read the minds of others, although it is imperfect. Suspicion gives him the ability to acquire hidden information. This allowed him to realize the truth of the Tower. When using the ability, the webnovel states Jaehwan can see particles, and these particles are different in shape, form, and color. When these particles interact with a person, they can form words, hence the mind-reading. Additionally, Suspicion allows him to deny the presence of material and dismantle it.

#### **Understanding**

2nd Step of Awakening

* This ability contextualizes information and increases his understanding.

### Void (Webnovel) Oblivion (Webtoon)

3rd Step of Awakening

The Unique World is an ability Awakeners unlock when completing the first three steps of awakening and unlocking genesis. Each Unique World has a name, and Jaehwan's Unique World is called "World After the Fall." The Unique World is a mental projection that is validated and realized by its wielder. Each Unique World looks different and possesses their own characteristics.

Jaehwan's Unique World is described as a bloody battlefield filled with rotting corpses. Within the world is a single tree and a burning eye that looks down at the landscape below. Jaehwan called it the Eye of Asura. Surrounding the eye are flocks of crows. The first two steps he used to create his Unique World are [Suspicion] and [Understanding.]

### Creation

4th Step of Awakening - Novel Chapter 90

The fourth step of Jaehwan's awakening was realized when he discovered the keyword [Theory] and put it into practice.

### Proof

5th Step of Awakening - Novel Chapter 206

### Edit

6th Step of Awakening - Novel Chapter 220

## Quotes

* Hey, if anyone of y'all want to go back to the past, lemme know. I'll kill y'all.
* They will die because this 'ocean' exists, right? Then I will destroy this 'ocean.'

## Trivia

* Jaehwan was raised by his mother and father until the age of ten. After an incident, he was only raised by his mother.
* Jaehwan served in mandatory military service.
* Jaehwan had a girlfriend named Han Seoyul who died before reaching the 77th floor.
* Jaehwan's best friend was named Kim Yoonhwan.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2  Prologue
2. ↑  Chapter 95: Path to the Depth (4)
3. ↑  Chapter 96: Path to the Depth (5)
4. ↑  Chapter 4: Millions of Stabs (3)
5. ↑  Chapter 80: War of Revival
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1  Chapter 2: Millions of Stabs (1)
7. ↑  Chapter 3: Millions of Stabs (2)
8. ↑  Chapter 48: Master of Gorgon (6)
9. ↑  Chapter 50: Master of Gorgon (8)
10. ↑  Chapter 103: Catastrophe (4)
11. ↑  Chapter 5: Millions of Stabs (4)
12. ↑  Chapter 101: Catastrophe (2)
13. ↑  Chapter 64: Last Hope (13)