Chapter 1

A lot of the time, I wish the world was just a game.

My name is Jeriah Printik. I'm a 23-year-old game dev who just happens to be bored out of his mind on New Year's Eve, chillaxing on a wonderfully soft bean bag. Normally I would just pull up a mobile game or something and play, but instead I'm busy pondering my own existence. As if it will change anything. I can sit here and hate where I'm at all I want but it's not going to get me any closer to what I really desire.

I like thinking, but not this much. When I start thinking about myself things get muddy. I'd rather think about the new game we're making at the company or something. I keep checking my phone to see the countdown as if that makes me think less.

5 minutes and 43 seconds. It feels like I'm waiting for my least favorite game to update.

This world we live in now is so basic and boring compared to games. In the world of games, you have a purpose, you have freedom, you have power. In this world, you have to make your own purpose, you have to earn your freedom, and you have little power. Maybe it's better that way to some, but to me, I want to be the 'chosen', the 'hero', or 'protagonist'. I want people to cheer for me. I want to be analyzed as a character so others can criticize my flaws and appreciate my virtues. I want to be something greater than just a person. I want to be an ideal. I want to be the perfect protagonist.

I'm not satisfied now, and nor will I be soon. I'm stuck in a perpetual loop of motivation then despair. But I can't give up now, can I? I wouldn't be a good protagonist if I couldn't persevere through such a simple struggle. I need to be more. No matter what. I need to create bonds, shoulder the pain of others, and become that perfect protagonist I so truly desire to be.

Is it selfish? Yes. I will not deny that I am a selfish man. But even then, the byproduct of my selfishness leads to something good, so it's not like it means nothing. Maybe I'll be a source of entertainment to the gods and prove to be worthy of something at the very least.

In honesty, I am simply bored.

Bored of struggling to little avail. Bored of pushing myself towards something so trivial just because something greater is too far out of reach. Bored of taking my life and wasting it all on such nonsense. I am bored of being bored. I am bored of being boring.

This New Year's Eve, I've done nothing but ponder my own useless existence. I have no friends, no family, no one to love or cherish. I wish to ponder no longer. I wish to simply be.

3 minutes and 12 seconds. Once the new year begins, I'll be sure to make a difference. I'll make this world into a game. I'll make myself the perfect protagonist. I'll give everything I have to this cause, and no one will stop me. I'll take everything I have and burn it down if it means I can take another step forward. I will cherish the bonds I will eventually create. I will forge a new path for people to take, and become a name within history.

...

What am I even saying? I sound like a teenage kid who just finished watching his favorite crappy anime-

[Your Newfound Determination Has Allowed For You To Reach Greater Heights.]

Thats what appeared in front of me with a big, fancy, blue screen. It glows and everything. I'm not even sure how to react to this. Maybe I should just lie down for a bit. Maybe then I'll stop hallucinating.

Another screen, this time it's a countdown until the update finishes? You mean the new year? Wait I'm talking to it now. I really need to take a break. Maybe all of that excitement of motivating myself filled me with too much adrenaline.

But then again, I guess it'd be nice if it was real, wouldn't it? Why don't I just let it do its thing for now and see where it goes? Maybe I'm dreaming and I'll just get to enjoy it for a while.

1 minute and 3 seconds.

I guess I wasn't wrong when I said it feels like an update. But this time feels different. This time feels like a whole new game instead of just an update. Maybe I'm in a simulation and I've completed the tutorial and now I'm being sent into the matrix or something. Maybe I'll really get to be that perfect protagonist.

10 seconds.

I hope it's real. I really do.

5 seconds.

Please be real. Please make my life worth something more. Please get me out of this hell.

1 second.

...

[Welcome To The Game.]

...is that it? Just another screen? No matrix shit? I guess it's a title screen. Do I click it or do I just do it with my mind-

The screen suddenly changed when I thought about that, so I'm guessing the telepathy or whatever works. Now it's asking for a username. I guess I'll go with what I normally do.

And another screen. This time welcoming me to the game as ZeroZero.

Thanks for having me?

I can't tell whether it was offended or not, being that it immediately read "From Now On, You And The Rest Of The World Will Be Thrusted Into Deadly Scenarios Such As Monster Outbreaks, Dungeons, Bosses, Duels, And More." right after.

So... like a Reverse Isekai or something? I hope I didn't just doom the world or something.

[Magic And Gods Now Exist. Please Enjoy Your Newfound Freedom.]

Wait, magic? Gods? Are you telling me that everything I've ever wanted to be real is real? I'm... thank you whoever created this game. I am grateful beyond words.

Another screen pops up. "Designing Skill To Match Character..." with a loading symbol twirling around like I just reloaded the play store. Wait, I get a skill right off the bat too? Wait what if it's bad? Please don't be a bad skill.

[Plot Armor] [F]

[When In A Life Or Death Moment, A Newfound Power Based On The Predicament Will Appear.]

[One Use Passive Skill]

Wait, that's actually really good. That's really, really good. I have literal plot armor. I'm literally a protagonist. I can't believe this. Please gods don't let this be a dream.

Suddenly you're just pulling up a screen that says, "Good Luck"!? Wait I still have a lot more questions!

Oh, okay. It took me to the 'Help Desk' Uhm, first off, how does this game work?

Oh, is that my status window? It displays my username, my level, how much xp I have vs. how much I need, and my stats. There's five stats: Strength, Agility, Endurance, Perception, and Mana.

Im liking where this is going. I'll ask it a few more questions and see what I can learn.

A few hundred questions later and I think I found out everything I wanted to know. For one, every hour each 'sector', which is apparently an area of about 10 miles by 10 miles, gets a random dungeon spawned in. It takes the place of a random structure within the sector and swaps it out with a cave or something depending on the dungeon. Once a dungeon is cleared it swaps back to the regular building. There are leaderboards too for beating a number of dungeons.

Speaking of dungeons, to find one I need to just think about it, since this system can apparently read my mind. I'll probably wanna go check one out before everyone else to get a head start. Who knows how fast the government will react if they find out about this too...

A blue screen five times as large as the status screen appears, showing me the part of the city that I live in. A big ol' marker keeps blinking around the neighborhood a few blocks down from here. Okay so that's where I'll wanna go. I should probably go by car. It'd be easier to drive off if something stupidly strong is there or something.

Wait, I'm actually preparing to go to a dungeon. In real life. Words cannot even come close to describing my excitement right now. I'm finally getting a chance to become something more. I'm really going to do it. I'm really going to be the perfect protagonist. I just hope I don't go overboard on the grinding like I usually do...

The beginning of a new playthrough begins here. I'm going to take everything I have left and focus it on this game. I'm going to reach the peak of whatever leaderboards there are and conquer this game like I do any other.