Nero just sat there.
Blank as a Windows.exe screen after it crashes.
Motionless as a dead NPC.
Except for the slow blinking. Like his brain had blue-screened and was stuck in some infinite loading loop.
"...Wait. Did that actually... work?"
He didn't dare move at first.
The room was dead quiet. Too quiet. Even the obnoxious buzzing from his potato PC had vanished, like it got spooked and decided to peace out.
"...Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool."
He pinched his cheek… Hard enough to leave a mark.
"NGHH—ffffuck!"
Yep, that stung like a bitch. It's definitely real.
He slapped his face next. Both cheeks like he was trying to wake up from the matrix.
*SMACK–SMACK!*
Then he blinked.
Again.
Once... Twice...
It's still there.
Still floating right in front of him like some bootleg AR filter that won't turn off.
A generic system window.
The exact kind of crap you'd see in every bottom-tier isekai that gets churned out in every anime season.
No, it wasn't on his phone. Not on his busted PC. Not projected on any screen.
Just... floating there.
Dead center in his vision like it owned the place.
A neon blue box pulsing like it had a heartbeat, which was honestly kinda creepy…
"... Oh my God."
He leaned forward like he was examining some rare artifact.
Squinted his bloodshot eyes.
And read every single glowing letter like his life depended on it.
---
Name: Nero Walker (Jobless Degenerate)
Race: Human
Level: 1
Stats:
STR: 1.1/10
DEX: 0.9/10
INT: 1.2/10
VIT: 1.2/10
LUCK: 1/10
CHA: 0.8/10 (oof.)
Active Skills:
– [Empty]
Passive Skills:
– [Empty]
Unique Abilities:
– [Empty]
---
Nero's jaw just... unhinged itself.
He waved his hand in front of it like he was trying to swat a fly.
He even tried rubbing his panda eyes to see if his chronic sleep deprivation had finally made him lose his sanity.
But the system window stayed put like a stubborn stain.
Obviously it was showing his pathetic stats.
Though, he can definitely see that the system decided to throw in a completely unnecessary roast next to his charisma stat…
I mean, he knew he wasn't handsome, but his looks weren't THAT bad, right?
… Right?
"...What the actual–"
But of course, the universe wasn't done screwing with him.
The robotic voice came back, still sounding bored as hell.
[Dimensional Merging will commence in 3…]
"…Wait, what?"
[2…]
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! NO, WAIT! WHAT'S MERGING–?!"
[1.]
*BOOOOOOOOM!!!*
The entire apartment shook.
His walls cracked like they were made of graham crackers.
The glasses shattered in the kitchen.
His precious waifu body pillow got yeeted off the bed like it was trying to escape from this mortal plane.
His limited-edition anime posters?
Ripped into poor tiny pieces.
His collection of anime figurines that cost him his entire savings account?
They tumbled into the void like his hopes and dreams.
It was like watching his bank account commit seppuku in slow motion while dramatic music played.
"HOLY SHIT—"
He scrambled to his feet, nearly face-planting on a bag of stale cheese puffs.
He swore he felt his soul shatter when one of his figurines looked up at him with those painted eyes... like it was saying its final goodbye.
But just as Nero was about to lose his shit in misfortune.
"What the…"
His eyes locked onto whatever nightmare was happening outside his window.
Something was seriously, catastrophically wrong.
He bolted over to check what flavor of apocalypse was going down.
Outside... no, beyond his crappy window...
The sky was straight-up cracking.
Like glass.
Like an ACTUAL glass.
Thin lines spread across the heavens, glowing like neon spiderwebs stretching across some cosmic dome.
It looked like reality was having a mental breakdown.
And then,
*CRRRRRAAAAAK!!!*
The cracks split open like a busted phone screen.
Purple light came pouring out. No wait, not light... flames.
Weird otherworldly flames that made his eyes water just from looking at them.
Nero slammed the window open with a heaving chest.
From that second-floor view, he watched the world basically lose its mind.
It was a scene that would be burned into Nero's brain for however long he had left to live.
High above, things started falling through those cracks.
Massive shadowy shapes.
Definitely not from this dimension.
They were making sounds that probably violated several laws of physics.
Some with wings. Some with too many legs. Some with eyes… just eyes, floating in the air.
A dragon tore through the clouds, roaring loud enough to make car alarms sound like whispers.
An ogre the size of a three-story house stomped into the main avenue, smashing a row of parked cars like they were soda cans.
Countless huge bats wavered through the sky as if it's their free real estate.
He could hear pure chaos erupting from every direction.
Screams that made horror movies sound like lullabies. Sirens going absolutely mental. More explosions than an action movie marathon.
The night sky was glowing this ominous red color.
As if the world had blushed into a tsundere and no one was there to answer her confession.
… And now, she's showing her wrath upon the world.
The whole skyline was going full isekai and no one got a tutorial.
Shit went from 0 to 100% real fast.
Nero felt like he'd accidentally skipped about fifty chapters of plot development.
'How did ordering pizza and failing at gacha games turn into... THIS?!'
His knees started doing that thing where they forget how to be solid.
He couldn't form words.
His body backed away slowly until his legs bumped into his gaming chair.
And still... he couldn't tear his eyes away from the madness.
His heart was beating like it was trying to escape his chest.
His breathing sounded like a broken air conditioner.
Every functioning brain cell he had left was screaming at him to hide under his desk and pray.
But then something else happened.
Something snapped inside his already damaged brain.
"Heh... hehe... HEHEHEHEHE."
He started grinning like a maniac who just won the lottery.
Wide. Completely unhinged. Definitely not mentally stable.
"OH HELL YEAH!!"
He slapped his chest like he was trying to wake himself up.
"THIS IS IT! THIS IS MY MAIN CHARACTER MOMENT!"
He sprinted back to the window like some lunatic who just got told he was the chosen one in his own personal anime.
"Come on, status screen! Hook me up with a legendary sword or a hot demon waifu or SOMETHING!"
He started tearing through his room like a caffeinated raccoon, yanking open drawers, looking under his bed, searching for any sign of plot armor or protagonist powers.
But then reality decided it wasn't done screwing with him.
*BOOM!!*
Something massive crashed into the roof above him like a meteor made of pure "fuck you."
Dust and concrete chunks started raining down like the world's worst confetti.
"Ah crap–"
*KRSHHHHHH!!*
The ceiling just... ceased to exist.
Wood. Metal. Brick.
All obliterated.
Blasted inward like someone had detonated a bomb in his living room.
Nero dove behind his desk faster than he'd ever moved in his life, arms covering his head.
*THUD! THOOM! SHHKRRR-K-K-KK!*
Something heavy and definitely unfriendly landed in his room.
Something that probably wanted to eat his face.
Dust clouds swallowed everything like a sandstorm from hell.
He coughed and wheezed, waving away the smoke with tears streaming down his face and his heart still doing a death metal drum solo.
And then...
He saw it.
Crawling out of the crater in his ceiling was some abomination that looked like a rejected boss design from every horror game that got cancelled for being too disturbing.
Six legs that bent in ways that hurt to look at. Twisted and armored like a nightmare chitlin.
Hide covered in bony plates that shimmered like an oil spill having a seizure.
No eyes anywhere. Just one massive glowing mouth that split open sideways, showing off rows of vertical fangs that looked like they could cut through steel.
The whole thing twitched and jerked like it was lagging in real life, which was honestly more terrifying than smooth movement.
And the sound it made...
*K-KRRRRRRR-GKKKKKHHHHH!*
Like someone was grinding metal against dinosaur bones while nails scratched a chalkboard.
Nero didn't breathe, move or even blink.
He just stared with eyes wider than dinner plates.
Then, in the most casual voice possible...
"...Yo, That thing just no-clipped through my ceiling."
The monster took a step forward.
*CRACK!!!*
The floor cracked under its weight like it was made of paper.
Another step and his bookshelf just gave up and collapsed.
It turned what he assumed was its head toward his trembling form behind the desk.
And what did our delusional protagonist do?
Cry like a normal person?
Have a panic attack?
Run for his pathetic life?
Hell, no.
He wasn't a pussy.
Nero wasn't about to be some background character who dies in the first five minutes.
Instead, he grinned. Again.
Manic. Wide. Absolutely unhinged.
With that special glint in his eye that screamed "I've completely lost touch with reality."
"...I knew this day would come."
He stood up slowly like he was in some sort of dramatic action scene.
With his shoulders back and legs shaking like leaves in a hurricane…
"Alright, you eldritch nightmare reject," he cracked his neck like some kind of action hero,
"You picked the wrong weeb's mental breakdown to crash."
The monster let out a snarl that sounded like a garbage disposal eating rocks.
Nero cracked his knuckles like he was getting ready for the fight of his life.
No sword. No shield. No magical powers... yet.
Just him. In his cheap pajama pants. With a system window floating beside him like the world's most useless sidekick.
Still...
He took a step forward like he actually had a chance.
"I've been waiting my whole pathetic life for this moment."
The creature hissed and its mouth opened wider than the laws of physics should allow.
Nero didn't even flinch. His survival instincts had apparently gone on vacation.
He raised his index finger with all the confidence of someone who'd clearly snapped.
Then pointed straight at the abomination like he was challenging it to a duel.
"You're my tutorial boss, you ugly piece of bitch!"
The monster lunged at him with the speed of impending doom.
And just like that, his first insane fight began.