Ohritro

Eli Turner had perfected the art of coasting through life, gaming, lounging, and vibing with no grand ambitions beyond the next high. But his laid-back existence is upended when his laptop inexplicably transforms into a gateway to another world. What starts as a surreal escape becomes a perilous journey as Eli finds himself wielding a mysterious system that allows him to level up, fight monsters, and gain abilities beyond his wildest dreams.  

At first, the portal world feels like a haven, offering purpose and adventure Eli never knew he craved. Guided, or manipulated, by Azrael, a mischievous god orchestrating the game, Eli rises as one of the system's chosen players. But as the quests grow more dangerous and Azrael’s true intentions begin to surface, Eli struggles to balance the fantasy world with his life back home. His girlfriend, Sara, and his friends are left grappling with a version of Eli they hardly recognize, as the lines between his two lives blur.  

When the system expands to players worldwide, Eli crosses paths with others drawn into Azrael’s cosmic experiment: Yumi Tanaka, a fiercely disciplined Japanese student with a perfectionist streak, and Arjun Mehta, a charming Indian playboy with secrets of his own. Each carries their own burdens and ambitions, but all three must face the harsh truth: Azrael’s game is far more than it seems.  

As alliances are forged, rivalries ignite, and the stakes escalate, Eli must confront not only the dangers of the portal world but the growing rift between the person he is and the hero he’s becoming. In a game where every move is a test and every choice ripples across both worlds, the question remains: can Eli, Yumi, and Arjun uncover the truth before the system consumes them all?

I Got a Notification on my Laptop and Got Legendary Powers

The air vibrated with an eerie hum, the remnants of the creatures dissolving into static wisps. The vortex ahead pulsed erratically, tendrils of raw energy flickering out like grasping fingers. Every instinct in Yumi screamed that they were stepping into something they weren't meant to.

Azrael was already moving, his steps precise, unhesitating.

"This place is unstable," Arjun muttered as he fell in beside Yumi. "If we don't figure out what's causing it soon, we might not get out."

Eli shot him a wry look. "Great. Love it. Let's keep walking toward the giant void tear, then."

But Yumi wasn't listening to their banter. The whispers had changed. Before, they were warnings. Now, they sounded almost... pleading.

They crossed the threshold into the heart of the void. The landscape shifted around them—what had been a shattered plane of broken data was now something impossibly vast.

Skyscrapers loomed in the darkness, their structures translucent, flickering between states of existence. The streets were empty, save for the occasional echo of movement—shadows that disappeared the moment she tried to focus on them.

"This isn't just a void," Yumi whispered. "It's a memory."

Azrael slowed. His gaze swept the remnants of the city, his expression unreadable.

Eli's grip tightened on his weapon. "A memory of what?"

"Of what came before."

From the darkness, a figure emerged. Unlike the corrupted phantoms they had fought before, this one was solid—almost too real. Its form was draped in a long coat, its face obscured by an ever-shifting veil of static. But the presence—it was overwhelming.

"You are trespassing on the edge of oblivion," the figure intoned, its voice layered, as if a thousand versions of itself were speaking at once. "Turn back, or be consumed."

Azrael stepped forward. "We seek the truth."

The figure tilted its head. "The truth is a burden none of you are prepared for."

The vortex pulsed violently behind them. The whispers crescendoed into a cacophony of desperate voices.

Arjun exhaled sharply. "Yeah, well... we've come too far to stop now."

The static figure seemed to consider them for a moment longer. Then, it raised a hand. The cityscape around them began to distort, the buildings twisting like reflections on water.

The Rift Beckons