In a tiny room.
A cramped apartment no larger than 20 square meters was packed to the brim with stuff, so much so that every inch of space was crammed like a squeezed toothpaste tube.
It would've been a shame to call this place a home. It looked more like a storage room that had long outgrown its original purpose.
Among the clutter, the most eye catching items were countless sheets of sketch paper, each covered with vivid, hand drawn manga panels. They were stacked high, forming mountains of ink and dreams.
At the farthest corner from the door, on what barely qualified as a bed, lay a thin, pale young man with his eyes shut. His facial features were sharp, almost beautiful, but the lifeless stillness in his expression gave off the unsettling vibe of a corpse.
BANG BANG BANG!
Suddenly, loud and rapid knocks broke the silence.
Before the man could even react, an impatient voice barked from the other side of the door, "Kyle Floyd! There's a call for you!"
The man's eyes snapped open. He sat up abruptly, only to wobble forward and collapse, coughing violently.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
From his mouth spilled dozens of tiny white tablets, scattering across the floor like spilled pearls.
"What the hell… What kind of sleeping pills are these?!" Kyle muttered as he wiped the drool from his chin, slowly rising to his feet.
Only then did he realize, what he had been lying on wasn't a proper bed. It was an old, rusty iron fitness rack with a thin, worn-out mattress tossed on top.
Beside it sat an glass of water and an empty bottle of medication.
With a weary sigh, Kyle dragged himself barefoot across the room, out the door, and down the narrow hallway of the apartment building. He stepped into the nearby office located on the first floor.
"Kyle, there's a call on line one." The landlord, a gruff middle-aged man, waved lazily toward the counter, not even bothering to pick up the receiver. He'd clearly had enough of this tenant's strange behavior.
Kyle gave a warm smile, "Thanks, Dongle!"
The landlord's face twitched. "My name isn't Dongle… Why does he keep calling me that?" He grumbled under his breath. Then he shook his head. "Forget it. This kid's always been weird."
Kyle picked up the landline and a bright and excited female voice burst through the line.
"Hello, is this Mr. Floyd? I'm Ayumi Ito from the Manga Editorial Department of Genco Culture!"
Kyle blinked in surprise. "Oh! You're from that company I submitted to. Wow, lucky timing."
"Lucky?" Ayumi sounded confused. "What do you mean?"
"If you had called even a little later…" Kyle replied, "You probably wouldn't have been able to reach me. I was about to leave to another country."
"I see!" Ayumi said, suddenly understanding. "Well then, Mr. FLoyd, would you be able to visit our office? We're very excited about your work Edgerunners, and we'd love to discuss its potential, both creatively and commercially."
There was a brief pause.
"…Wait," Kyle said, suddenly unsure. "Edgerunners? Are you sure that's the title?"
Ayumi blinked. "Um… isn't it?"
"I could've sworn I titled it Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners," he mumbled.
Ayumi nearly laughed out loud. So this author was that kind of person. But she held back and replied with a soft chuckle, "Yes, it is Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners. So, when would you be available to come in?"
Kyle thought for a moment. "How about… tomorrow?"
"That soon?" Ayumi was startled. "I haven't even prepared a contract or the paperwork…"
Kyle's tone suddenly grew serious. "I have an important matter to attend to. A matter of survival."
Ayumi froze. "S-Survival?"
"Yes," Kyle said in a completely straight voice. "I haven't eaten in days. I'd like to have a meal with you. By the way… does your company have a cafeteria?"
Ayumi stared blankly at the phone.
…This man was definitely not normal.
She opened her mouth slowly, choosing her words carefully. "Our office doesn't have a cafeteria, but… I can treat you to lunch! Please bring the original manuscript and your ID when you come."
On the other end, Kyle's voice brightened instantly. "Great! I'll be there tomorrow morning!"
"…Okay," Ayumi managed a smile, feeling slightly overwhelmed.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The line went dead.
Ayumi gently placed the landline back on the hook and exhaled slowly.
"I've heard some manga artists have… unusual personalities," she muttered. "But this one takes the cake."
---BREAK---
After hanging up the phone, Kyle softly hummed to himself as he made his slow way back to the shabby appartment room he rented.
He was in a good mood.
Very soon, he'd be able to eat proper food. Real food. Even better, he was finally going to have a job, and with income came freedom. Financial support meant he could begin preparing for a proper home.
Yes, you read that right.
Kyle wasn't just some eccentric shut-in. He was isekai'd.
But for Kyle, his isekai wasn't some majestic, novel worthy event. To him, it was a misfortune, an uninvited accident that dumped him into this strange, alternate world.
He didn't like this world at all.
He had no family, no friends, no ties here. And It wasn't like this version of Earth was a dystopian nightmare.
No, in fact, the world was nice and peaceful. But sometime around a certain historical juncture, strange, unspoken changes had swept across the globe.
Kyle was convinced these changes wasn't caused by another isekai victim like him. After all, the world hadn't suddenly jumped into a sci-fi utopia.
Science and technology here developed at a sluggish pace. And in this timeline, get this, smartphones hadn't even been invented yet.
This was a parallel world, not a future one.
Worse, many things from his past life simply didn't exist here.
No Apple. No Google. No Shounen Jump. No Dragon Ball. No Naruto.
Not even One Piece was real.
Instead, this world had completely different companies, creators, and works. It was like the global entertainment industry had been reshuffled in a cosmic lottery.
But this gave Kyle an idea, why not become a manga artist to make money using the drawing skills he'd picked up from his last life?
He had the stories. He had the memory. And, more importantly, He had a system.
Flopping back onto his creaky bed, Kyle shouted into the air
"System!"
A sleek, high-tech interface blinked into existence before his eyes, visible only to him.
[Host: Kyle Floyd]
Abilities:
Perfect Memory
Skills:
Master - Artist
Advanced - Storyboarding
Points: 250
[OPTIONS: Shop | Lottery | Fusion & Enhancement]
The system had come with a generous starter pack, 10,000 points and the ability of 'Perfect Memory'.
Thanks to that, adapting Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners from memory into manga form had been almost effortless.
With his master level 'Artist' skills from his previous life that now allowed him to instantly switch between any artistic style, whether it was realism, abstraction or impressionism. The man could probably paint using condiments if he felt like it.
Combined with his 'Perfect Memory', he could recall every panel, pose, and emotion from the shows he'd seen in his previous life.
It wouldn't even be hard to recreate classics like Starry Night, Mona Lisa, or The Scream with stunning accuracy.
Unfortunately, that kind of art didn't sell if you are unknown.
Only plagiarism could save lives.
Well… adaptation. Inspired creation. Let's call it that.
The system also came with a series of tasks based on his dreams. Kyke scrolled to his mission list.
[Current Missions]
Nobody: Create any kind of work that is praised by 3 different people.Progress: 2/3 - Reward: 100 Points
Freshman: Make 10 people remember your name and leave a lasting impression.Progress: 3/10 - Reward: 100 Points
Born to Be Talented: Show your brilliance and shake the world! Progress: ??? - Reward: Unknown (depends on impact)
The tasks didn't have time limits, but Kyle wasn't the patient type. He had always been a act first, worry later kind of person.
That's why he went all in on manga.
And he didn't choose Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners randomly either, it was pure calculation.
No one in this world had touched cyberpunk yet. The genre didn't even exist here! And when you're the founder of a genre, success comes easier.
In contrast, this world was already saturated with hot blooded shounen manga. Trying to compete with existing popular works like 'Sea of Death' would just be a losing game.
So he placed his bet.
And now, it looked like it was paying off.
After all... he was finally about to get a free meal.
Kyle grumbled, scratching his messy hair. "I just want to go back sleep. I've been here too long. My little kitten must be missing me."
He yawned and curled into a ball, pulling a tattered blanket over his body.
Within minutes, his soft, steady snoring filled the silent room.
In his dream, he was back. A warm breeze blew through the window.
And his beloved imaginary cat, Blake, had become a fluffy catgirl in a sundress. She ran up to him, tail swaying, eyes sparkling.
"Welcome home, Master~"
1543 Words.