(Brain Storage Area.)
(All characters in this book are adults. If you ask why—regulations.)
In a dimly lit room.
On a chair in front of a computer desk, a fat young man lay slumped back, his body motionless, as if asleep.
The glow of the computer screen illuminated his face.
Thick glasses.
A few pimples brought on by an irregular sleep schedule.
Hair grown long, clumped together—clearly showing dandruff and oily buildup, obviously unwashed for quite some time.
The young man lying in the chair twitched slightly, as if waking up.
A few seconds later, Tanaka Masao frowned, the fat on his face trembling along with the movement.
He suddenly opened his eyes, sat up straight in the chair, and began gasping for air, speaking with lingering fear.
"Sca—… scared the hell out of me. I suddenly dreamed I turned into a fat otaku who gets bullied every day. Thank god it was just a dream."
But the moment he finished saying that, Tanaka Masao realized something was wrong.
"Why does my voice sound so… muffled and heavy?"
At that moment, he finally noticed his surroundings.
A dark room.
A glowing computer screen.
Looking toward the screen, he saw a beautiful 2D anime girl—but the game had already reached the results screen, making her fate rather… regrettable.
By the faint light of the monitor, Tanaka Masao also noticed several crumpled balls of tissue on the desk, along with a few books whose illustrations looked suspiciously similar to what had been on the screen.
The "life-force elements" in the air cleared Tanaka Masao's head, and he couldn't help frowning.
Unable to believe what he was seeing, he shakily extended his hands.
Plump.
Dirty.
And… kind of sticky…
He was absolutely certain—these were not his hands.
Lowering his head to look at his belly, overflowing with fat, he slapped it hard.
Smack.
A crisp, solid sound.
Yeah. That was one high-quality beer belly.
Feeling the burning pain radiating from his stomach, Tanaka Masao finally confirmed it.
He had really transmigrated.
Silently pulling up his pants, Tanaka Masao leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes, and calmed himself while sorting through his thoughts.
How did he get here?
It seemed like the classic truck incident.
But he couldn't remember clearly—those memories were extremely blurry.
As for the dream he just had, it wasn't really a dream at all.
It was the memories of this body's original owner.
He had simply experienced them in the form of a dream.
The original owner was Japanese and had lived in Chiba Prefecture since childhood.
Both parents were ordinary working people. Life wasn't difficult, and the family could be considered harmonious.
But the original owner definitely had problems.
He had been overweight since he was young, average-looking, appearing slow and dull, with an introverted and timid personality.
In a country where school bullying is relatively severe, someone like him naturally became the perfect target.
Back in elementary school, plenty of boys took pleasure in bullying him—hitting him once and then laughing as they ran away.
The original owner was clumsy. Even when he wanted to fight back, he couldn't catch up.
Once, when he tried to retaliate, he tripped and fell instead, causing the others to laugh even louder and become even more brazen.
Over time, the original owner grew more withdrawn and cowardly.
Later, he discovered the world of 2D culture and, naturally, evolved into an otaku—immersing himself in a false but beautiful world in search of emotional comfort.
As for why Tanaka Masao ended up transmigrating into this body—
Naturally, it was because the original owner DIY'd himself too hard and died suddenly, allowing another soul to enter this body.
...
After sorting through all the memories, Tanaka Masao couldn't help but let out a sigh, his expression somewhat dejected.
"Aren't transmigrators supposed to turn into universally adored pretty boys…? Why am I the exception?"
In his previous life, he wasn't handsome, but he was average-looking and in decent shape.
Nearly 1.8 meters tall, weighing 65 kilograms—on the slim side, with faint muscle definition.
But now…
His height hadn't changed much—around 1.75 meters, still above average.
But his weight had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
One hundred… kilograms!
That already counted as severe obesity—not only unattractive, but also harmful to health, capable of causing all kinds of diseases.
Still, it wasn't without its benefits.
Tanaka Masao patted his belly.
Although it was just soft fat and not muscle, mass was mass—he still had some strength.
And all that fat made him more resistant to getting beaten up.
Come to think of it… wasn't the reason he was bullied before because of all this fat?
Hitting him didn't hurt much, and with all that padding, there was no risk of breaking him.
That actually made a lot of sense.
Still, he silently resolved to lose weight.
Whether he'd have the willpower to actually do it later was another matter—but at least he needed to think about it first.
After all, doesn't everyone naturally start thinking about dieting the moment they get fat?
Setting those thoughts aside, his mind now fully awake, Tanaka Masao remembered—
Since he was a transmigrator now… what about a system?
So he softly called out.
"System, system. Little System-chan? Hey system? Yo, buddy?"
As his words fell, a sound rang out by his ear.
[Ding. System loading…]
As the sound faded, Tanaka Masao felt his vision blur, and the computer screen in front of him suddenly flickered.
The original display vanished, replaced by a long progress bar.
As the bar rapidly filled, Tanaka Masao felt, on some indescribable level, that he was establishing a connection with something.
After only a brief moment of shock, joy surged through him.
His cheat had arrived?
A system right after transmigrating—wasn't that the standard loadout?
But after only a few seconds of excitement, Tanaka Masao grew nervous.
[Wait—aren't systems supposed to appear directly in your head?
Why is mine showing up on the computer?
Don't tell me this is just a system update?]
Uncertain, he could only pray in his heart that this really was a cheat system.
Thankfully, the loading time was short. Before Tanaka Masao had to wait long, the progress bar finished.
Four red characters appeared on the screen.
[Degeneration System]
The corner of Tanaka Masao's mouth twitched.
"Why does this font look so familiar…? I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. System, can you hear me?"
[I am here, Host.]
"Why are you inside the computer? Do I have to contact you through it? What if the computer breaks?"
[Rest assured, Host. That will not be an issue. This system can freely choose its medium—computer, phone, books, or it can appear directly in your mind.]
[The reason it chose the computer is based on your lifestyle habits. This is your preferred mode of interaction.]
"So that's how it is… You're actually pretty considerate, System."
Holding the mouse, Tanaka Masao began operating the interface.
The system UI looked just like a game system—one glance was enough to understand how it worked.
The system currency was called Degeneration Points, which could be exchanged for various items.
However, since his current Degeneration Points were zero, the shop button was still grayed out.
Then there was the inventory.
It stored items obtained from the system.
One slot was already occupied—by the universal starter reward every newbie gets.
Tanaka Masao didn't hesitate and opened the Beginner's Gift Pack.