What The Hell?

"What the hell?!"

Ethan confusedly yelled.

By the time he noticed it, he had no idea why he got here.

He was in a room with a single cabinet and a plain ceiling. The ambiance was a little dark. It was your typical one-bedroom apartment.

After a while, Ethan regained his composure and checked all parts of his body.

Feeling that something has changed, he hastily jumps out of bed and went to the mirror in the room's right corner.

The person reflected in the mirror has a youthful expression.

Jet black hair, hazel dark eyes, and a face that was regarded as average.

Not too ugly, not too handsome, just a face that can tempt two women at the same time.

Ethan reflexively touched his cheek, evidently taken aback by the sight. And no, he wasn't insane enough to fall in love with his face.

It was merely that the face reflected in the mirror was his very own look in his early twenties.

"...Yeah sure, this is me in college."

Ethan unconsciously said and then attempted to assert the truth by moving his shoulders and legs.

"No kidding, I can move my body however I want."

Amused, Ethan pinches his left cheek repeatedly.

After a minute of thought, he eventually calmed himself down and rested his hand on his chin.

"First, I felt pain. Second, my entire body was reacting to my surroundings as though this situation was not merely a dream."

'But what happened last time?'

Ethan tried to recall.

Thinking back, he was at a big party, his farewell party to be exact.

It was his retirement celebration as a guild captain.

His guild was well-known; in fact, it was ranked as the number one guild in the virtual reality game UTOPIA.

After gaining numerous supporters from all over the world, the aforementioned game became a worldwide sensation.

UTOPIA was a virtual reality world that lived up to its name. Unlike previous VR games, UTOPIA includes many types of elements.

It has 95 percent neural connectivity, the highest percentage in VR worlds over the last 20 years.

The game can also accommodate smell and taste, which was previously unavailable to other games, resulting in massive popularity even during the beta testing phase.

Ethan played UTOPIA for almost six years and become one of the prominent leaders in the game.

"I was very cool at that time."

But even so, he decided to retire.

His reason? It was plain and childish.

He was simply bored.

His starting class was a Swordsman, which he advanced to become the Sword Saint.

Sword Saint was the pinnacle of the Swordsman profession.

However, reaching that point makes everything mundane, dull, and devoid of excitement.

Ethan became bored with the repetitive activities.

Yeah.

Whack and slash.

Lunge and slice.

And repeat!

He found the game monotonous.

Ethan desired something new, a different style, and he thought up a simple solution: change classes!

But even he, the 'almighty' captain of the number one guild, can't change the game rules.

ODP. One data per Player.

A player can only create one account. It was in the rule of fairness... so as the company says.

As a result, Ethan is unable to create a new account to play a different class. And no matter how much money he spends on buying other people's accounts, the game's iris scan system will not let him pass.

He is no longer able to change his class.

So well, he retired. Planning to fund a group of game enthusiasts to create a game above UTOPIA, and then play it afterward!

But who would have guessed he'd return from the past right after he'd drank all the liquor?

Who needs to die in the first place?

If he can travel back in time by simply drinking some delicious wine!

"Or did I die at the party...?"

Ethan paused for a moment, but such thinking vanished immediately as he realized it was now pointless to talk about.

He was still alive, (barely) healthy, and handsome.

After arranging his thoughts, Ethan fixed his crumbled hair, which was probably rough from sleeping on the bed a while ago.

A phone with a cheap design from the nearby table suddenly lit up while he was combing.

Ethan unhesitatingly picks up the phone and noticed the messages lining up on its screen.

"Eh, boss...? What level i—Ah! I remember now."

Ethan was about to ask what boss level it was but when he saw the exact date on the phone, he realized he had truly returned from the past.

"Hmm, as I recall, at this time I stopped going to college and began working in a restaurant."

Ethan muttered, remembering that he doesn't have enough money to support his college education.

By all means, considering his greatness, he was an orphan with a tragic past.

Both of his parents died in a car accident.

His uncle, his father's best friend, adopted him when he was only ten years old.

As he entered high school, he began to work part-time jobs to not rely solely on others. Even though his uncle was kind and his entire family adored him, he resolved not to burden them in anyways.

His uncle has a large family consisting of two daughters and a son. That's why, despite the difficulties, he works part-time while studying until he reaches college.

After that, he rented a small apartment in the city near the university he was enrolled while also working part-time at a restaurant.

It was a good start for his college days, but as time passed, he realized his funds were insufficient to cover his daily expenses. He needed to put his studies on hold for the time being and is saving money for the next semester.

Normally, his shift at the restaurant would last from 3 to 9 in the evening, but since he had stopped attending school, he was now working full time.

Ethan reads the message. The 'boss' was looking for him and wondering why he hadn't shown up at the restaurant.

His boss, the restaurant manager, was a nice guy in his thirties. So it was just a concern text, and he seems not angry...as he positively thinks.

Ethan typed a quick response that he'd be there in the afternoon.

"Hell, even if it was only half paid, it was still money."

Ethan said with a weak sigh before hopping back into bed. He intended to sleep for the entire morning. Even though the effects of alcohol had worn off, the back of his mind remained foggy.

'Perhaps some aftereffects caused by returning in the past?'

Ethan suddenly thought and soon let out a chuckle.

'This is really crazy.'

Returning to the past, regression on time, or just a lucid dream.

Even if one of them is true, it was still a crazy situation.

"Well, whatever. For the time being, I'm going to rest."

No matter what theories and principles are involved, Ethan doesn't seem to mind as he slowly closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

'Good night.'