Chapter 2
-life has more than a family that isn't warm-
I've woken up three times today, but the nightmare still won't go away.
The nightmare of becoming a character in a game.
To escape the fate of being a punching bag, I thought about moving to a distant city or completely avoiding football so I wouldn't get caught up in the game's story. That way, I wouldn't have to meet her—the game's protagonist.
But seeing my family's current situation, I just can't do it.
Assarun's family has five members: Zefur the father, Agnes the mother, Assarun the eldest son, and the twins—Levina the older twin sister and Truno the younger twin brother.
Zefur works as a district officer, but his salary isn't enough to support five people. Being a hardworking, honest civil servant who never thinks of corruption, the result of his goodness is poverty—barely able to feed his own family.
Our financial situation has reached the point of eating salt just to survive. Mom has to work at a clothing store from dawn to dusk every day just to help support the family. Seeing this situation, how could I just run away? It would be such a waste—everything costs money.
And about football too—I can't just not play or pretend I'm not interested. As everyone knows, this is a football game world. Football is everything in this world. Being a footballer here is like being a hero adventurer in a fantasy monster-fighting game.
Even though it requires exhausting training and risking your life, the rewards are worth the risk.
Right now, Assarun—or rather, I—am receiving payment as a trainee player for the city's football club. This income helps the family tremendously, and it's practically the only way for an eleven-year-old kid like him to earn decent money.
So as long as I can't find another job to replace this income, for the sake of my family's livelihood, I shouldn't quit the club yet. I should keep playing football.
I never knew before that Assarun had such a difficult childhood. It's quite pitiful, really.
Poverty reduces life's choices. Whether it's the real world or a game world, it's all the same...
Whatever!
Assarun won't meet the story's protagonist until he's twenty-five or twenty-six anyway. Right now he still looks like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old high schooler. There should be enough time to change his fate. So for now, I'll just struggle as hard as I can.
Walking to wash my face, when I turned to the sink, the answer to who I am now appeared clearly on the mirror.
A young man around seventeen or eighteen years old. Sharp, intense features. Bright golden hair messily spiked in an unnaturally wild way. Plus the ultra-cool distinguishing marks—an X-shaped scar on his left cheek and a cut mark over his right eye.
What the hell was the character designer thinking? Even though Assarun is supposed to be a delinquent leader, he's still a high school student! Where did these hardcore scars come from?
When I frowned and stared at my face with confusion, something startling appeared. It was the character information window from the game G.O.A.T TRICKS, and the text was showing my power levels and status.
Assarun . LV3
Position: Forward
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Dominant foot: Right
Status
Shooting Power: LV0Speed: LV0Physicality: LV0Strength: LV0Offense: LV0Defense: LV0Technique: LV1Mentality: LV7NEX: LV1HP: 130MANA: 100Experience Points: 0/100Skills: NoneNickname: NoneDescription: Completely useless, utterly pathetic
The text listing my status was quite interesting. I couldn't help but think of all the level-grinding games I played in my past life.
But I couldn't smile with pure joy—almost every stat was basically 0.
And what's with that description? Isn't it a bit too casual? Too harsh on the psyche? Not professional at all.
What does this mean? Even though Assarun is supposed to be a punching bag throughout the story, in his first fight he could hold his own against the protagonist pretty well. His skill level should be above average. At the very least, he should have his signature move "Cyclone Crash" in the skills section.
Or maybe because of my reincarnation, all of Assarun's abilities got completely reset.
Oh man, this is really unlucky.
When people cross into another world, they usually start with godly stats, godly skills, godly magical items, godly everything—completely overpowered.
But mine is all 0, 0, 0—boiled eggs, boiled eggs, boiled eggs. I'm sick of it already.
Sigh But at least my mental strength stands out a bit.
I left the bathroom with a tiny bit of hope.
Walking straight to the living room, I saw my little sister Levina standing in the kitchen. Her small frame was on a wooden chair that was swaying back and forth. It looked like she was trying to cook. Truno, the younger twin brother, was standing beside her, helping hold the chair legs steady so it wouldn't rock.
It's probably because an eleven-year-old's height doesn't reach the stove, so she had to climb up on a chair. But Mom already made breakfast before leaving for work. What are these two twins doing?
"Sister Levina, I don't think you should do this. Mom told us kids shouldn't use the kitchen or fire. There could be a dangerous accident," the little boy said with worried eyes.
"Hmph, Truno... just hold the chair legs properly. If your sister masters cooking, I can help Mom with work. From now on, Mom won't have to get tired cooking alone anymore," the little girl replied, using her small hands to vigorously stir what looked like a very large ladle.
Seeing this made me feel affectionate toward the twins, and also ashamed of myself. Because Mom has to go to work early in the morning, and there's this useless delinquent older brother, little sister is trying hard to learn housework and cooking.
Ah, truly adorable and pitiful, my little siblings.
Geez, Assarun, having such a wonderful family, why did you still become such a worthless delinquent?
But then again, I can't really blame the character. The person who should really be criticized is the game's scriptwriter.
"Hey you two, isn't this dangerous? If you're going to use the kitchen and fire, you should have your older brother watching too."
I spoke with a gentle tone, as if I wasn't angry but concerned.
Both twins startled at my arrival. Truno trembled with guilt, but Levina turned around smiling and responded with shocking words:
"Hmm~ So if little sister wants to ignite the fire of lust, does she need big brother to be there too?"
...What the hell?!
Wait, wait, that's not right!
Levina, Assarun's little sister, shouldn't talk like this! Assarun's sister is a minor character. She only appears when Assarun gets injured and has to go to the hospital. Her character is a tomboy girl—cheerful, honest, loves justice like her father. A polite, innocent girl who gently takes care of her brother whenever he gets hurt.
So what is this? What kind of suggestive talk is this?!
"Who are you? Give me back my angel little sister right now!!"
When I shouted like that, the girl in front of me scrunched up her face like she was about to cry. In the end, she didn't actually cry but turned back around to face the fried egg in the pan. No wait, it looked so messy it was more like scrambled eggs.
As if she wasn't shaken at all, but I could still hear her sobbing breath. Truno, seeing his sister like this, also looked like he was about to cry.
"Uh, sorry about that. I got a bit too emotional just now."
"It's okay. It's my fault for speaking inappropriately for my age. You didn't do anything wrong," Levina replied, raising her hand to wipe away tears a few times. She took a deep breath and turned around with a sweet, lovely smile, even though her eyes still showed traces of sadness.
Oh no, I made my little sister sad...
"Truno, stop crying now. Brother, let's hurry and eat. The food will get cold," Levina said, wiping Truno's tears and then taking his hand to lead him to the dining table.
An angel, clearly. Definitely a goddess. My little sister is incredibly cute right now.
But what was that suggestive joke from before? Is she hitting puberty? I can't let this continue...
During breakfast, I started teaching my little sister.
"Hey Levina, those jokes from earlier aren't very good, you know."
"Jokes from earlier? You mean the suggestive ones?"
"Something like that."
She said the word 'suggestive' with a completely straight face. An eleven-year-old girl like her shouldn't be so familiar with stuff like this.
Whose influence is this? Who dared to corrupt my pure little sister?
It must be friends from school. I can't let this slide—I need to go teach them a lesson!
"If it's not good, then why does big brother always like to make jokes like this?"
It's my own influence?!
Oh right, Assarun is the leader of a delinquent gang. When teenage boys get together, there's bound to be crude jokes and constant talk about suggestive topics. Levina must have accidentally overheard some of it.
"Uh, well, it's different. Girls like you shouldn't play or listen to jokes like this," I said, clearing my throat awkwardly.
"Huh? But Mom is also a woman. Why can Mom make those jokes then?" Levina blinked innocently.
Mom does this too?!
"What? Our mom likes to make jokes like that too? When did you hear this? Who does Mom make suggestive jokes with?"
Levina kept a blank expression for a while, then answered:
"With big brother, of course. They do it every single day without getting tired of it. Now Truno and I want to join in too—those suggestive jokes."
"...Okay, you two shouldn't make these kinds of jokes with other people, alright?"
"Who counts as 'other people'?" Levina asked.
"Everyone who isn't me or Mom."
The faces of both twins perked up, returning to happy smiles. The sadness hidden in their eyes from before completely disappeared.
What is this? Does permission to make suggestive jokes really make them this happy?
Whatever. Before teaching my little sister, I guess I need to teach Mom first.
[Relationship level with Levina increased to LV2. Acquired special move 'Spark Arrow']
[Relationship level with Truno increased to LV2. Acquired special move 'Spark Dribble']
Hey?!
What was that?! Suddenly there's this cool voice in my head.
Could it be... the game system's voice?
What did it say just now? Relationship level increased and I got special moves?
Talking with other characters, increasing relationship levels, hearing system announcements, and then receiving new special moves—that's not strange in this game.
When it's the story's protagonist doing it.
In other words, the ability to develop relationships to gain new special moves is a privilege only the story's protagonist can use.
This cheat ability is what makes the protagonist character stronger and develop faster than others.
However, it seems like I'm now getting that privilege.
I've gained the protagonist's cheat ability.
What does this mean? Am I becoming the story's protagonist?
And what's most shocking is that the special moves 'Spark Arrow' and 'Spark Dribble'—I don't even know what these moves are or how to use them. They never appeared before. They're not any character's special moves. They never existed in the game...
Heh, heh, haha!! I don't know what's going on, but getting mysterious special moves like this, getting the protagonist's abilities like this—it looks like the fate of being a punching bag is starting to fade away.
This must be the godly power I deserve from crossing dimensions.
Yes, yes! Escaping fate and fighting to change fate are different things. Now that new possibilities are shining before me, I'll take control of my own destiny.
I'll use this protagonist power to fight and change my fate.
I'll change the miserable destiny of the great punching bag god Assarun!
Wooohoooo!!!