Roll... Roll...
"Aish… I can't even get a 9-stat with free-to-play. Is this really the limit of f2p luck?"
The sound of virtual dice echoed across my dimly lit room as I glared at the screen. Another failed roll. Another trash item. My friends in the group chat were already flexing their S-tier pulls while I stared at my gray-ranked sword like it was a curse.
I sighed, tossing my phone onto the bed.
"Figures. Even in games, the world hates me."
Luck. That one stat I could never raise no matter how many I did.
But I didn't know that my luck—
the same cursed, miserable stat I hated—
would one day decide the fate of an entire world.
"In any case, I should just farm up more tomorrow. This night's just not my day after all."
I muttered those words to no one but myself, the faint hum of my old computer filling the silence of my room. My desk was a battlefield—empty instant noodle cups, soda cans, and piles of half-finished notes from school. The light from the monitor flickered across the posters on the wall: characters from games I loved but never excelled at.
"Even in pixels, I can't catch a break," I said with a bitter laugh.
Tomorrow came faster than I wanted.
---
The sound of chatter flooded the classroom the next morning.
Desks clattered as groups of students huddled together, laughing over weekend stories, phones glowing with pictures, messages, and videos. The morning sun poured in through the windows, painting the air golden. It should've felt warm—but for me, it only made my corner feel lonelier.
I kept my eyes glued to my phone screen, pretending to scroll through my inventory in the same game I failed at last night. It was easier to look busy than to look alone.
"Oi, Satoru, you're at it again?"
I flinched slightly at the voice. Turning my head, I found Ryo Kisaragi, the class clown with messy black hair and an ever-present smirk. Behind him were two other guys — Daichi Mori, tall and broad-shouldered, the soccer club ace, and Tsubasa Higure, whose quiet grin usually meant trouble.
They leaned over my desk before I could hide my phone.
"Still grinding that gacha game?" Ryo snorted. "Man, you're hopeless. How much have you spent and still can't pull a decent stat?"
"I'm… not spending anything," I said quietly. "I'm free-to-play."
Daichi laughed, clapping Ryo on the shoulder. "Oh, that explains it! Of course, you'll get trash luck if you're f2p. You gotta pay to win, bro."
Their laughter drew the attention of a few girls nearby.
One of them — Aki Tanaka, cheerful and sharp-eyed — giggled while scrolling through her own phone. "He's still playing Mythic Realms? That game's ancient! I maxed my healer there last year."
Beside her, Haruka Nanase, quieter but no less judgmental, gave a small smile. "He probably still has that gray starter sword."
The words stung because they were true.
I kept my head down, thumb brushing over the cracked edge of my phone case.
"Man, you really have the worst luck," Ryo said, shaking his head in mock pity. "Even your hair looks unlucky. What's with that cowlick?"
More laughter.
I tried to smile along, but it came out awkward and stiff. "Guess someone's gotta be the unlucky one, right?"
Ryo chuckled and walked off with the others, leaving me to the quiet hum of whispers fading around the room. Aki gave me one last glance — not cruel, not kind, just... pity. Then she turned back to her friends.
The bell rang.
I stared out the window as the wind stirred the cherry blossoms outside. The petals drifted through the air like tiny, fleeting chances — always landing somewhere else.
Somewhere luckier.
The final bell rang, and the classroom slowly emptied with the usual chorus of chatter and scraping chairs.
"Yo, karaoke tonight?" Ryo stretched his arms wide, grinning at his circle of friends.
"Count me in!" Daichi said, already scrolling through his phone for a reservation.
"Me too! Let's invite the girls."
Aki and Haruka exchanged smiles as they packed their bags. "Sure, I could use a break," Aki said brightly.
Satoru sat at his desk, his reflection faintly visible on the black screen of his phone. He'd already finished packing, but he didn't move. The others' laughter filled the room like background music he wasn't part of.
Ryo glanced at him once. Just once.
Their eyes met — for half a second — before Ryo looked away, pretending to adjust his bag strap.
No invitation came.
There never was one.
"Let's go before it gets crowded!"
The group's footsteps faded down the hall, their laughter echoing until it was swallowed by the distance.
Only Satoru remained, along with a few scattered classmates who quietly left one by one. The setting sun poured through the windows, painting the classroom in orange and gold.
He let out a small breath. "Guess I should get going too…"
But his hand didn't move. His phone screen flickered to life again — the familiar gacha interface loading. He didn't even know why he opened it. Habit, maybe. Or maybe because it was the only world that didn't expect him to talk.
He stared at the digital dice spinning endlessly on the screen.
Roll... Roll...
"…It's not like I want to be alone," he whispered.
The words were quiet, but in the empty classroom, they sounded too loud.
He hated silence. He hated being left out.
But he hated trusting people even more.
Ever since that day—
No. He stopped the thought there.
There was no point remembering things that couldn't change.
He clenched his fist, forcing the thought down, watching the last light of the sunset fade behind the horizon.
That was when the air changed.
A faint hum filled the room — like the vibration of a tuning fork inside his skull. The remaining students froze as a soft, blinding glow descended from above.
"What the hell—?" someone gasped.
One by one, golden rings of light formed above their heads. Halos, shimmering and pulsing with energy. They rotated gently like ripples on water.
Satoru blinked, raising his head.
A halo appeared above him too — but for a brief moment, it glitched, flickering between gold and static, distorting like a broken image.
Then came the voice.
Calm. Deep. Resounding across every corner of the classroom.
"Heed my voice, chosen heroes."
Every student froze, their bodies trembling as the light from their halos grew brighter.
"Your world has been deemed unworthy. You shall now walk the path of trials. May fortune favor those blessed by fate."
Satoru's phone slipped from his hand, hitting the floor. The screen cracked, the spinning dice frozen mid-roll.
A golden light swallowed the room—
and everything else vanished.