When he finally got back to his apartment, he headed straight for the sofa and let himself collapse onto it with a heavy thud.
The memory of almost getting hit by the truck and the ridiculous conversation with that talking crow kept replaying in his head like a broken record stuck on the same track.
He let out a long, weary sigh, trying to calm his restless mind.
Reaching into the pocket of his shorts, he pulled out his phone and turned it on. The screen lit up, revealing the icon of his favorite game—a retro-style RPG with simple yet charming pixel graphics.
This game was his escape. A place where he could become a hero, defeat monsters, and explore worlds without ever having to leave the comfort of his home.
"At least I still have this game to cheer me up," he muttered softly, his fingers starting to dance across the screen, controlling his main character with practiced precision.
He had always been a big fan of retro RPGs like this. To him, the fantasy worlds in games were far more interesting and made more sense than all those cliché isekai stories he couldn't stand.
That day, he made up his mind to finally finish the game once and for all.
He felt a fierce determination, as if proving to himself he could still control his fate, even in something as trivial as a game.
Hours slipped by as he lost himself completely in his phone, banishing every memory of the morning's madness.
His fingers moved swiftly and skillfully, completing quest after quest, defeating powerful bosses with clever strategies, exploring every inch of the map, collecting every rare item he could find. Until finally… the screen displayed the words he had been longing to see:
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE GAME!]
A satisfied smile spread across his face. At last, the game that had been his companion for months, maybe even years. Was finally complete.
A wave of relief and pride washed over him.
But his smile vanished almost instantly. His eyes went wide in shock as a new dialogue box appeared below the congratulatory message, with a font that looked slightly different, almost as if it came from another dimension:
[TUTORIAL COMPLETED. DO YOU WANT TO START THE REAL GAME?]
[OPTIONS: YES / YES]
His eyes widened even more. He blinked several times, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
There was only one choice? "YES"?
This was way too familiar, eerily familiar.
What if pressing "YES" made the world change completely? Would a dungeon or a massive tower suddenly rise from the ground, plunging the world into an apocalypse? Would choosing "YES" give him some kind of system and turn him into the strongest person alive thanks to his knowledge of this game?
"Haha…" a hollow laugh slipped from his lips.
It felt like the universe was playing a cruel joke on him, trying to force him into the role of a protagonist he never asked to be.
He chuckled, this time not out of sarcasm but from a strange mix of disbelief and deep, deep frustration.
"What the hell is this? Am I really destined to become a protagonist?" he whispered to himself, a small, bewildered smile still on his face, but his eyes glinting with a stubborn resolve.
He stared hard at the phone screen, lost in thought.
If he picked "YES", would he suddenly gain magic powers? Superhuman strength? Or maybe the ability to see other people's stats like in the game?
Or worse… would the world transform into a giant dungeon or tower, with monsters spilling from portals and everyone forced to level up just to stay alive?
A terrifying thought flashed across his mind. If that happened, what would become of his family? His aging parents, his younger sister still in college? His friends who'd always been there for him? His comfortable and stable job? He didn't want to lose any of that.
He didn't want any of it to change. He loved his "boring" world just the way it was.
A world grounded in reality, with its own flaws and beauty, not some crazy fantasy realm with no logic or direction, like in those novels or games he used to read.
Without a second thought, jaw clenched and eyes burning with determination, he raised his phone and gripped it tightly with both hands, like it embodied the fate trying to shackle him.
With all his strength, he bent the phone until it snapped in two. A loud "CRACK!" rang out, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
The phone's screen split cleanly down the middle, the display flickering out instantly as if giving up the fight.
"It's over," he breathed out with relief, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths from the effort he'd just exerted. "There will be no dungeon or tower, no system, no superpowers, or anything else."
He tossed the broken pieces of his phone into the trash bin, as if he were throwing away every absurd possibility that had tried to worm its way into his life.
He still had responsibilities to fulfill, people to make proud. And maybe… someone to find and share his life with, right here, in this world.