Reboot

Death was supposed to be the end.

At least, that's what Leon thought as his vision faded in the hospital bed. The rhythmic beep of the heart monitor slowed, stretching into a single, endless tone. His body felt weightless, distant, like he was floating away from himself. He knew he should be afraid, but there was only an odd sense of peace.

The last thing he remembered was typing out a glowing review for Star Revenant, an obscure but brilliant spaceship survival and adventure game filled with cosmic horrors and janky mechanics. He had spent tens of thousands of hours upgrading his ship, dodging eldritch abominations, and figuring out how to exploit the game's many glitches. His final message:

"Dev, if you're reading this—thanks for the masterpiece. Even the glitches were fun. Wish there was more."

Then, darkness.

A void deeper than space itself.

And then—a pulse.

A low hum reverberated through his chest. Sharp, artificial lights flickered to life. The scent of sterilized metal and burnt circuits filled his nostrils. His ears picked up the faint, familiar sound of an engine idling unevenly, struggling to stay online.

Leon's eyes snapped open.

His first thought wasn't 'Where am I?' or 'How is this possible?'

It was—"I died... or nah?"

The ceiling above him was lined with hexagonal lights, flickering erratically like a cheap sci-fi set. He turned his head, squinting at his surroundings. Rusted control panels. A cracked viewscreen showing swirling nebulae and distant stars. A single, empty captain's chair labeled "CAPTAIN" in faded lettering.

It was a cockpit.

And not just any cockpit… he knew this place.

Leon sat up quickly, a little too quickly, because his body felt lighter than it should. His limbs responded faster, smoother, almost like—wait.

His hands.

They were different. Smaller. Younger.

"The hell?" His voice sounded normal, but his skin was… fresher. Like he had rewound a decade.

He pinched his arm, winced, then exhaled. "Okay. Not a dream."

The ship groaned as if in response, a distant metal creak echoing through its hull. Reality settled in. If this was real… where was he? How did he get here?

"Did I get isekai'd?"

Before he could panic, a faint [ping] echoed in his skull. It was subtle, like an unread notification in a VR headset. Instinctively, he muttered:

"Status."

A translucent blue screen flickered into existence before him, floating in the air like a game UI.

[Personal System]

═══════════════════

✬ Name: Leon

✬ Race: Human (?)

✬ Age: 10

✬ Level: 1 ⌬ XP: 0/100

✬ Innate Skills:

 ◈ [■ ■ ■] – [???]

 ◈ [Adaptive Evolution] – Passively enhances body and mind over time.

 ◈ [System Integration] – Can directly interface with the ship's system.

✬ Skills:

 ◇ [Basic Piloting] – You won't crash immediately… probably.

 ◇ [Survivor's Instinct] – Your body reacts faster in dangerous situations.

✬ Available Evolution Paths: ⌬ [Locked]

✬ Status Effects: None

══════════════════

Leon's eyes widened.

"Holy shit. It actually worked."

He reached out, waving his hand through the blue panel. It rippled slightly but remained in place. His heartbeat quickened.

A second later, another message appeared—but this one was different. The font was jagged, almost like it was scrawled by hand.

"Leon,

*You were the only one who saw my world for what it was.

*So I'm giving you a second chance.

*Don't waste it.

- Dev"

Leon stared.

Then, after a moment—he laughed.

A sharp, disbelieving, yet childish laugh that echoed in the empty ship.

"Hell yeah!"

Whatever the hell was happening, whether this was a game, an afterlife, or a dev's twisted experiment..

He wasn't going to waste it.

Grinning, he turned his attention to the ship's status panel.

[Ship System – Codename: ???]

══════════════════

✬ Ship Grade: ⌬ F

✬ Integrity: ⌬ 50%

✬ Power Level: ⌬ 10

✬ Size Class: ⌬ Small (Single-Pilot Class)

✬ Structures:

 ◇ [Command Console] – Basic controls, barely functioning.

 ◇ [Living Quarters] – Cramped and uncomfortable.

 ◇ [Storage] – Rusty containers, limited space.

✬ Available Upgrades:

 ◇ [Hull Reinforcement] ⌬ (F → E) [Requires: 10x Scrap Metal, 5x Nanofiber]

 ◇ [Energy Core Stabilization]

[Requires: 1x Power Cell]

══════════════════

Leon exhaled, feeling excitement build in his chest.

So it was Star Revenant. Or at least… something that looked like it. The cockpit, the ship UI—it all matched the game he had obsessed over. But this wasn't some glitchy, pixelated world.

This was real.

And if the system worked just like in the game—that meant he could upgrade.

That meant he could evolve.

A wild grin spread across his face.

"Alright," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Time to see what this baby can do."

He gripped the controls and turned to collapse into the captain's chair.

Bad idea.

The moment he sat down, the entire chair creaked ominously before something snapped underneath him. The seat tilted backward at an angle so uncomfortable that his spine screamed in protest.

"What the—?! This piece of junk!"

Leon scrambled to adjust himself, but no matter how he positioned his body, it felt like he was sitting on a pile of rocks.

"This is my first goal," he announced, pointing at the chair like it had personally insulted him. "Upgrading this damn thing."

The system pinged immediately.

[Upgrade Request Detected]

◈ [Captain's Chair Upgrade] – Locked

 [Requirements] — Ship must be at Rank E.

Leon froze.

"Huh?"

He quickly checked the ship's rank.

F.

That meant—

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me I can't get a decent chair until the entire ship is upgraded to E-rank?!"

The system didn't respond.

Leon sank deeper into the terrible chair, covering his face.

He knew how difficult it was to rank up a ship in Star Revenant. Every single component needed to match the higher rank before an overall upgrade could happen. That meant getting an entirely new hull, engines, weapons, shield system—everything.

All that work—just for a freaking chair.

…

"WHO SAID THIS GAME WAS A MASTERPIECE!?" (him)

"I hate it." he muttered.

But there was nothing he could do. Not yet.

Sighing, he straightened up—ignoring the way the chair stabbed his lower back with its broken support bar—and refocused. First things first.

"Ship status," he commanded.

The blue screen appeared — same as before.

"This is real.."

Leon couldn't contain his excitement anymore

and thus decided to try everything.

"Okay, let's move"

The ship groaned again, almost in response.

Leon leaned forward, gripping the controls, his pulse thrumming with anticipation.

This was just the beginning.

And he had a whole universe to conquer.