It was 2:14 PM. The sun was shining somewhere far away, not that I'd know.
My blackout curtains had been closed since New Year's—of last year.
A single beam of light slipped through the gap in the curtains and landed right on the unopened energy drink can next to my bed.
It glinted like a health potion. I ignored it.
I lay flat on a futon that hadn't seen fresh sheets in at least two anime seasons, the hum of my laptop buzzing like a tired NPC trying to offer me a quest I'd never accept.
My room? Think landfill meets otaku shrine. Half-eaten snacks, three unwashed mugs, and a plastic figurine of Celestia from
school Waifus Online sitting judgmentally on my desk.
I was nineteen years old. Hoodie on. Hood up. Phone on 1%. Life on 0%.
No girlfriend. No job. No XP.
I wasn't suicidal. Let's get that clear. I just didn't care if I woke up tomorrow or not.
It wasn't pain—it was nothing. An empty kind of nothing.
The kind that makes your soul feel like a browser with too many tabs open, but none of them loaded.
Scrolling through short videos, one hand under the blanket, I tapped and swiped through a parade of people with better lighting and more interesting lives.
Gym bros lifting weights like gods. Couples traveling. Streamers yelling over games.
Every one of them alive in some way I wasn't.
I blinked.
"Life is an RPG. Stop being a Level 0 loser."
That was the title of the next video in queue.
I should've scrolled past. But for some reason, I didn't.
Maybe it was the thumbnail—a pixelated sword buried in the ground.
Maybe it was the voice in my chest whispering, "You don't even know what trying feels like anymore."
I hit play.
And my life started to load again.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Like a frozen game finally responding.
The video wasn't anything special—just a crusty PowerPoint-style montage with motivational royalty-free music and a guy narrating like he was five Red Bulls deep.
"No one's coming to save you. You're not anime's chosen one. You're the background character until you change your script."
Something about that line slapped harder than it had any right to.
My thumb hovered. Rewinded. Replayed.
"You're not the chosen one… until you change your script."
I sat up.
Literally sat up. That was an event. My spine cracked like dry toast.
I stared around my cave of a room—like I was seeing it for the first time.
And maybe for the first time, I hated it.
Celestia-chan looked at me again, her plastic eyes less judgmental now. Or maybe I imagined that.
My hand reached over. I cracked open the energy drink. Took one sip.
Swallowed ambition.
And then—opened a search bar.
[GYM NEAR ME OPEN NOW]
Found one five blocks away. Said "Free Trial for New Members." Bingo.
I didn't shower. Just threw on a hoodie, cargo pants, and the only shoes not anime-branded.
The moon hit like a flashbang when I opened the front door.
I squinted. Smelled air that wasn't gamer chair.
My legs moved weird. Like I'd been in a cutscene too long and suddenly had to control my character.
Every step felt like I was walking away from something, though I didn't know what yet.
2.37am - "MUSCLE FORGE " 24 HR Gym
Inside the gym, it smelled like sweat and steel.
People grunted. Machines clanged. Everyone looked like DLC content I hadn't unlocked.
It looked like a dungeon entrance for gym bros
Dim neon sign.Brick walls
One guy bench- pressing enough weight to crush my bloodline
Receptionist barely looked up "Trial Pass" he asked.
I nodded.
I felt out of place. Like a glitch in the tutorial area.
But I was here. And something in me refused to turn back.
I tapped on the elliptical. Pushed a few reps on a light bench.
Nearly died trying a pull-up.
Still—I kept going.
Somewhere between the third set of nothing and the sweat dripping down my back, I felt it:
A save point.
I wasn't better. I wasn't fixed. But for the first time in years, I'd taken one action. One input.
And life responded.
On the way out, the sun had begun to rise.
Orange spilled over the sky like it was painting me into a different timeline.
And that's when it happened.
Lights. Horns. A blur of white.
Truck.
Freaking.
Kun.
Everything froze.
[SYSTEM REBOOTING… PLEASE STAND BY]
Darkness.
Not the "eyes closed" kind, but the infinite void, digital-loading-screen kind.
No pain. No limbs. Just... existence.
[Booting... ReLife OS]
[Syncing Neural Memory Logs…]
[Initializing Player: Ryuu Shinohara]
"Huh?"
My voice echoed like it was bouncing around inside a CPU.
Then—light.
A sterile white expanse stretched forever. No walls, no ceiling. Like I was inside a blank Google Doc.
And then—she appeared.
Floating in midair, pixel particles swirling around her, was a holographic waifu. She looked like a crossover between an idol, an AI, and your dangerously addictive gacha unit.
She smiled like she'd been waiting.
"Good morning, Ryuu~! Or should I say… welcome to your new game!"
I blinked. "Am I... dead?"
"Dead-ish," she chirped. "You got Truck'd. Classic entry method."
She spun, and floating beside her appeared a massive screen showing my limp body mid-air like ragdoll physics were enabled.
"Oh god…" I mumbled.
"Don't worry!" she grinned. "You've qualified for the ReLife System. Congratulations!"
Cue confetti.
"What... system?"
"Think of it like a life reboot. But gamified," she said. "Your stats are pathetic, your romance points are at zero, and your cultivation potential is... untapped."
"Cultivation?"
"Modern cultivation—fueled by karma, romance, effort, and vibes."
I blinked again.
She swiped and opened my character sheet.
> Name: Ryuu Shinohara
> Class: Loner Otaku (Undiscovered Potential)
> Level: 0
> Romance Score: 0
> Luck Stat: ?
> Cultivation: Locked
> Special Trait: Hidden Grit
"Wait—what's romance got to do with this?"
"Everything. Your heart affects your fate. Love isn't a side quest—it's part of your main storyline."
Then she clapped her hands.
"Your first mission: Talk to a girl within 24 hours of reboot.Failure equals 1-week coma penalty."
My soul deflated.
"A girl?"
She beamed. "Your new life starts… now."
The white space collapsed into pixels.
As I fell back into reality, I screamed:
"THIS IS WORSE THAN DARK SOULS!"