Chapter 2: The Protagonist Of My Own Story
My na is Alex.
Twenty-one years old, single and not ready to mingle.
I'm your typical otaku who doesn't touch grass and likes to play gas, watch ani, and read webnovels.
It might seem like I have no life, but I'm actually a pretty amazing person, you know? In the ga I'm currently playing, I'm even in the Top 69 of the Global Rankings... And it pays. Yes. Money. The true winner in life is .
Though I'm not sure how long that will last.
You see, I am currently in a very tricky situation.
What kind? Tied reaaally tight from top to bottom, squeezed inside a giant cannon aid at outer space.
Are you wondering how I found myself in such a predicant?
Frankly, I also want to know! Desperately!
Here's what happened...
After finishing the tutorial quest in the ga I play—which took a year, by the way—I went to the convenience store to buy snacks.
As I left the store, a little girl wearing an oddly familiar Red Riding Hood cosplay approached .
Thinking that a little kid shouldn't be wandering the streets alone at midnight, I decided to be a good samaritan and ask her where her parents were.
But she told
she had no parents, so I felt bad for her. Out of guilt, I offered to escort her back to wherever she was staying.
Besides, it was dangerous to walk alone at night, even more so for soone as young as her.
It didn't take
long to realize that she looked like one of the mascots of the ga that I played, Endless Leveling Online.
The one I had played for half an hour before going to the convenience store.
There had been quite an unexpected surprise in the end—a very amazing cinematic scene, which ended with the God of Gas inviting
to go to the world of Arcana to forge my own destiny.
As an orphan, I didn't hesitate to click yes, even hoping I'd get hit by a truck and be truly taken to a fantasy world, like those main characters in the stories I read and gas I played.
As expected, after clicking the 'YES' option, I was still in my chair.
And on the screen, the God of Gas only smirked and said...
"I'll send soone to pick you up, so just wait."
After that, I was involuntarily logged out of the ga.
Thinking it might just be so bug, I tried to log in again, but it wouldn't work, and I almost flipped my table in frustration.
Damn those devs. Did they make the tutorial quest nearly impossible to clear because they were too lazy to fix a bug?
I was ready to go to the world of Arcana, and beco an isekai protagonist. Unfortunately, it seed that the developers of the ga had had fun writing the script and decided to ss around.
If this had been one of those isekai novel stories like, No Ga No Waifu, I might have already been sent to Arcana, where I wished to transmigrate or reincarnate as the Protagonist of my dreams.
With these thoughts swirling inside my head, I walked down the familiar streets of the small town where I grew up.
I'd lived here all my life, and because of this brief mont of nostalgia, I couldn't help but think of the future.
I had been playing ELO for the past six years, and although I still loved playing it, I knew that nothing would change if I just remained inside my rented apartnt, following the sa routine over and over again.
While I was deep in thought, the little girl who looked very much like the ga's mascot character, Lily, turned around and eyed
with a smile.
"Big Brother, you're a good person," she began, "but didn't anyone tell you not to talk to strangers?"
Frankly, I found her statent quite cute.
I was confident that, unlike a helpless little girl like her, I could handle any ordinary street thug because I had trained in boxing.
"But aren't you also talking to a stranger?" I asked back, lightly patting her head. "Enough talk. Let's just go to your ho. It's already late, and it's dangerous out here in the streets, especially at night."
"You're right, Big Brother." The little girl giggled. "It is indeed very dangerous at night."
She then started to hum as she walked toward the park near my apartnt building.
Thinking she wanted to play on the swings for a while, I decided to follow her for a bit.
But when we entered the park, she turned around and asked
another question.
"Dear traveler, if you were given one wish, and one wish only, what would you wish for?"
For a brief mont, I rembered that one scene in the ga.
The Goddess, Lily, who looked exactly like the little girl before , had asked
this question after I had created my character in ELO.
My wish back then was...
"I wish I could—"
"I wish I could be the Protagonist of my own story," the little girl answered before I could finish my sentence. "Big Brother, this is your wish, right?"
"Eh? How did you know?" I asked in confusion. "Is my wish too common?"
"Not at all," the little girl replied. "But it's the wish of many people who are unsatisfied with their current lives. However, Big Brother, I think you and everyone else are having a very big misunderstanding. All of you are already the Protagonists of your own stories."
A sigh escaped my lips before I looked at the stars in the sky.
"What's the point of living this sh*tty life story of mine?" I asked, raising my hand to reach out toward the distant sky. "I want to start over in a fantasy world where I can really be the Protagonist. Start an exciting adventure as I travel the world. Just like a player traveling the world of Arcana."
"Is that what you really want, Big Brother?"
"Yes. That's what I want."
"Then, in that case, I will grant your wish."
"Really?" I asked as I lowered my gaze to look at the little girl.
She was now holding a baseball bat from god knows where, and it looked like it would really hurt if it hit soone.
"Really," the little girl replied cutely.
Before I could react, she smacked
with the wooden bat. I collapsed on the ground in disbelief because I never expected sothing like that to happen to .
Just as my consciousness was about to fade, I saw a little angel appear beside the little girl, holding a bow and an arrow.
"Lily, this is my first ti kidnapping soone," the little angel said. "It feels so exciting!"
"I know, right?" the little girl nad Lily replied, high-fiving the angel as if they had done sothing good.
That was the last scene I rembered before I found myself in this tricky situation that I was talking about earlier.
"Big Brother, do you have any last words?" Lily asked as she peered down the muzzle of the cannon to look at .
"Mmh! Mmmmhh!! Mphhh!" I tried to shout, but my lips were covered with duct tape, preventing
from saying anything.
"He's probably thanking us for helping him grant his wish," comnted Cupid, who also peered into the muzzle. "He's such a nice guy even after we kidnapped him."
"I see!" Lily nodded with a smile. "Well, then, Big Brother. I hope you enjoy your new life! See you soon!"
"Mppphhh!! Mmphgghhh!"
My protests fell on deaf ears, but sothing caught my attention.
Rows of text appeared in front of , and a lively AI Voice spoke inside of my head.
[Retrieving Character Data...]
[Character Data retrieved...]
[Character na "Alex Stratos".]
[Resetting Stats...]
[Resetting Skills...]
[Resetting Job Class...]
[Character Reset Complete!]
[Loading Story Mode...]
[Story Mode Loading Complete!]
[Choose your Level of Difficulty]
< EASY >
< NORMAL >
< HARD >
< NIGHTMARE >
< HELL >
[YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY!]
Although I was still confused, I knew that making a choice was very important.
With every bone in my body, I shouted my answer to make my intentions known.
"hhzee!"
"hhzee!"
"hhzee!"
[Um? I can't understand you. Can you repeat it?]
If not for the fact that I was tied up, I would have definitely face pald because the AI voice sounded as if it was talking to an idiot who couldn't even speak properly.
"hhzee!"
"hhzee!"
"hhzee!"
[Hard Mode, right? Understood!]
This damned F*cker!
"Mach yuu!"
"Mach yuu!"
"Mach yuu!"
[I changed my mind. Hell Mode it is!]
As I was internally cursing the AI, which I believe to be a SYSTEM given to players as their guide in the ga, the sound of a countdown reached my ears.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."
[SIMP CANNON VERSION 2. FIRING!]
A mont later, I felt myself being launched from the cannon.
And then... there was no then.
Everything around
turned black as I fainted for the second ti, not knowing if I would be able to open my eyes ever again.
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