Amidst the busy sounds of the mundane rhythm of daily life, a black-haired teenage boy with ash-brown eyes, wearing a yellow hoodie, blue jeans and headphones over his ears, lost himself fiddling with his phone as he boarded a crowded bus, unaware of the twist of fate about to befall him.
Thirty minutes later, he was still fiddling with his phone… or to be more precise, gaming.
"As always, once you figure out the patterns and logics of a game, it becomes easy to clear them."
Whether it'd be MMOs, RPGs, FPS, RTS or any other kind of game, Asaru Takayoshi, 16 years old and a young Japanese fan of manga, anime and games, was a gamer who could rival with any pro gamer out there.
"Yep. Nothing beats the feeling of clearing a game," he thought as he stretched his arms after clearing the game he was playing. "And I've still got 15 minutes before reaching the bus stop."
For him, everything was a game, life itself was a game. Whether it'd be school life, societal interactions and relationships, he always approached them the same way as he would a game. There was nothing that he couldn't figure out while processing everything like a game.
'Bzzt! Bzzt!'
His phone vibrated.
"Hmm? What is this?"
What he saw on his phone was a weird pop-up notification that picked his curiosity as a gamer.
[You've been invited to participate in a special event. Do you wish to participate?]
"An event? Seems interesting. Might as well give it a try."
The moment he was about to tap on the notification, a sharp jolt shook the bus. "What the...?!" he exclaimed surprised.
Before he could process what was happening, the vehicle skidded off its path. The world became a blur of screams, twisted metal, and crashing impact in a horrific accident that left many passengers in a critical state.
As the severely injured Asaru lost consciousness and died amidst the wreckage, the pain faded, replaced by an overwhelming sensation of weightlessness.
Then from the darkness of his mind, he saw a soft, glowing light. The light was a pop-up window with the same question that was asked of him on his phone, albeit one statement.
[Do you wish to survive? You've been invited to participate in a special event. Do you wish to participate? 5 seconds remaining before death. Please make your choice.]
The option "Yes" or "No" laid out before him, Asaru's thoughts raced.
"I'm gonna die? B-but if I participate, I'll live, huh? If that's case, then… fine I'll play along."
Choosing the "Yes" option, the pain, the wreckage, and chaos of the crash were suddenly gone.
He awoke in a cave, water drops echoing in the damp and humid air.
"Ugh," he groaned as he slowly rose up from the ground. "Haha. I really am alive. I definitely didn't expect to survive."
"Now to figure out where I ended up," he sat in a cross-legged posture as he observed his surroundings.
"A cave huh?"
"How did I go from being under a debris to being in a cave? Well, the screen did say something about an event, so maybe this is the event area?"
"Welp, I'll figure that out later. I should explore this thing first and foremost," he said looking at a holographic screen that was floating in front of him.
"Hmm. A… status window?"
Indeed. This game screen that was before him was without a doubt a status window, and all of Asaru's info could be read on it.
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[Name: Asaru Takayoshi]
[Age: 16]
[HP: 1024/1024]
[AP: 0]
[Stats]
[STR: 10]
[AGI: 10]
[STA: 10]
[PER: 10]
[INT: 10]
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"Guess this is my starter pack, huh?" he thought as he carefully observed his stats. "But it's weird that I don't see anything about my level. And there should be something like the amount of MP I have but there's nothing like that. Seriously, what kind of design is this?"
"Hmm?" a new window opened.
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[Please select your main weapon]
[Sword]
[Spear]
[Dagger]
[Bow]
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"A weapon? Guess I'll go with the sword then," he stated as a sword then appeared out of thin air.
"Nice~" he exclaimed as he held and swung the sword around.
"Now this is starting to feel like a real game. Maybe it's some kind of new VR game."
"Yeah, as if. I was definitely dying back there, so there's no way this is some game. There's no telling what might happen, so I better be careful from now on because…" his wryly grinned as his expression turned sour.
"…considering all these settings that means-" his thoughts were interrupted as a short spear flew straight into his left thighs.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!" he screamed as he fell to the ground, holding his thighs in pain.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shiiiiiit! This fucking hurts like hell," he cursed internally, his expression twisted in pain and his face breaking in cold sweat as he gritted his teeth.
At that moment, evil and unpleasant giggles started echoing in the cave while sounds of footsteps within the distance started growing closer and closer
Asaru's thoughts raced as the impending danger grew closer. "I knew it. This is an RPG fantasy setting. Meaning there are monsters here."
Emerging from the shadows of the cave, scrapings drew near, followed by low, unsettling snarls and an overbearing, foul, musky scent. Dozens of sickly yellow eyes materialized in the gloom, belonging to hunched figures with mottled green-brown skin stretched over sharp bones. Their dirt-stained, clawed fingers scraped the ground, and long, pointed noses twitched. Jagged teeth glinted in a predatory grin.
What was in front of Asaru was a full squadron of Goblins.
"Those are monsters. Real life monsters. Goblins. If it wasn't for the pain I'm feeling right now, I would think this is only a nightmare, but this… right now… without a doubt it's real. What do I do? What can I do?" his thoughts raced as his heartbeat rose to the extreme while his breathing became heavier.
This was when the reality of his situation really sunk in. What was an opportunity to survive soon turned into a realization that life wasn't always fun and games. That this situation was in fact a death game where his only option was one thing──survival.
But amidst this chaos, his fear only led him to have one thought constantly repeating in his mind.
"I-I'm going to die!"