"hahh...hahh..."
The sound of ragged breathing echoed alongside each bead of sweat trickling down.
Flames suddenly shot up from both sides, illuminating his face.
"WOOOOO!!!"
Cheers erupted from the stands, roars filling the air everywhere.
Before him lay a gauntlet of deadly obstacles — ones he wasn't sure he could even survive.
He gritted his teeth and looked up at the sky.
"GET ME OUT OF HEEEEERE!!!!"
...welp, here's the situation — a few hours earlier, I guess?
"Hmmm... Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?"
"Forgetting what?"
"...dunno, probably not important anyway?"
This is Harry Osborn, a spoiled rich kid with daddy issues.
Beside him is Peter Parker, his best friend and a certified nerd.
After the incident at the beach, he and Emma were successfully brought back to New York.
And to keep things secret, all he remembers is that he and his friends went to the beach.
...well, if he hadn't encountered anything weird, he wouldn't think twice about it. But this time, he'd gone through... uh, three things? The first one still lingered vividly in his mind, so the later ones left him with a strange feeling despite the memory wipe.
But Harry is still Harry — if he can't figure it out, he just stops caring.
"Oh, where's Gwen? I remember she'll stick to you like glue."
"...over there."
Following where Peter pointed, Harry looked.
Gwen was fighting a gorilla.
"...why does this feel kinda normal?"
"What? You don't think a girl fighting a gorilla is weird?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
After all, normal people don't know Gwen is Ghost Spider.
"I dunno, I just have a feeling... this is gonna happen a lot?" Harry scratched his head.
"..."
'HEY! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY WORLD? PEOPLE'S COMMON SENSE IS BREAKING!'
[Why blame me?? Your universe was already messed up the moment I got here! I just made them more open-minded!]
'SO YOU DID DO SOMETHING!!'
While Peter and the outer god were arguing, Harry saw someone approaching them.
"HELLO FRIENDS! DO YOU KNOW NINJA?!!!"
Hearing that, Harry and Peter looked at each other.
"I know. Why?"
"THEN DO YOU KNOW NINJA WARRIOR?!!"
"Dude, speak softer, my ears are ringing."
"IF YOU KNOW! THEN WE'LL INTRODUCE YOU TO A NEW GAMESHOW INSPIRED BY NINJA WARRIOR AND ITS NAME IS... wait, I forgot."
He flipped through his papers while the two of us waited.
"Ah, here it is! IT'S CALLED NINJA OMEGA ULTRA HYPER MEGA NEIN NEIN NEIN WARRIOR!!!"
What an unnecessarily long name??
"IN THIS GAMESHOW, CONTESTANTS MUST OVERCOME MANY DIFFICULT CHALLENGES, AND IF YOU WIN, YOU GET $100,000 AS THE PRIZE!!!"
"Ummm... I don't need money." Harry waved his hand, showing he wasn't interested.
"Don't look at deserialized me, I'm busy coding a game."
Seeing us refuse, the guy leaned in close and whispered:
"And there's more... besides the money, you'll get... a Latina girlfriend as a bonus prize—"
"Peter, cheer for me."
Peter flinched, staring at Harry.
Harry was now more serious than ever, like he'd just stepped out of some bizarre manga.
"Dude, I thought you didn't need money?"
"I don't need money, but I do need love." Harry clutched his hands dramatically.
Don't turn this into a soap opera!
"OHH! YOU'VE GOT SPIRIT, MY FRIEND! COME THIS WAY, I'LL TAKE YOU TO THE SHOW!"
"Hehe, Latina..."
Harry followed him, only to get punched in the gut, knocked out, then a bunch of men in black showed up, tossed him into a van, and drove off.
"..."
"Peter! I got Harambe's banana—wait, where's Harry?"
"Kidnapped."
"Ohhhh... Anyway, want Harambe's banana? Eat?"
You don't care about him at all?
***
"uhhhh..."
Harry opened his eyes and looked up.
That's a strange ceiling—wait, isn't that what every isekai protagonist says?
He tried to stand, then scanned around.
He was in an iron cage, inside some pitch-black place!
...what?
"Hey, hey!! Why am I locked up like a wild animal?? Let me out! I still have a Latina girlfriend waiting for me!!"
Right after that, a deafening voice boomed:
"WELCOME! THIS IS CONTESTANT #666, NOW JOINING THE SHOW!!"
A thunderous wave of applause followed, leaving Harry utterly confused.
Then wooden panels were yanked away, light flooding into his eyes.
"..."
Before him: tens of thousands of spectators watching. And the host? The same bastard who knocked him out!
"LET'S GIVE A BIG WELCOME TO CONTESTANT HARRY OSBORN!!!"
"WOOOOOOO!!!"
The crowd roared.
Harry broke into a cold sweat as he stared at the course ahead.
"IN NINJA OMEGA ULTRA HYPER MEGA NEIN NEIN NEIN WARRIOR, THERE ARE TRAPS, OBSTACLES, AND BLAH BLAH BLAH—BASICALLY, NO ONE'S EVER BEATEN IT! JEFF, HIT THE BUTTON!!"
DING DONG!
Instantly, the path ahead shifted and transformed, revealing its true form.
"...oh my fucking god."
Spikes. Guillotines. Auto-crossbows. Lava. Bulls. Robots. Mega Starmie. And every deadly thing under the sun.
But two tiny details caught his eye:
Blood splattered on everything. And human bones.
Tiny details? Those are massive red flags!
"LET ME OUT!!!" Harry screamed, rattling the cage.
"No no no, Contestant 666, you already agreed—there's no backing out now, my friend! Play to the end! Scared?"
"Scared shitless! I still value my life, you psycho!!"
"If you're that weak... JEFF!!!"
A screen flickered on, showing three faces:
Emma. Gwen. Peter.
"Huh?!" Harry's jaw dropped.
"IF YOU DON'T PLAY, THEY DIE!"
"WHAT THE—?!"
Over there, Peter looked completely baffled.
"The heck? I came to watch, not be a hostage."
"Peter! We're on TV!!"
"AGHH!!! SOCIETY IS STARING AT ME, I'M GONNA DIE!!" Emma buried her face, trying to hide.
"You're not dying."
Harry couldn't hear them, but the situation was dire.
"Kuhhh... Fine! I'll do it! Just don't touch my friends!!"
"A WISE CHOICE! JEFF!"
DING DONG
Countdown started! 10 minutes and counting!
"WHAT THE HELL, ONLY 10 MINUTES??"
"Ten minutes is generous, buddy," the host said casually.
Harry gritted his teeth, staring at the gauntlet of death ahead.
"SON OF A BITCH!!!"
He charged forward with pure determination!