10:00… 9:59… 9:58…
The timer ticked down in the corner of my vision like a taunt from Satan himself. My hands hovered over the translucent button that read **"Watch Now"** in shiny gold letters.
"This… this is the ultimate bait," I muttered, pacing in place. "Limited-time offers. The oldest trick in the freemium book. This is how they milk you dry."
9:12…
"But… free loot," I whispered.
I could feel my brain splitting in two. On one side, the rational gamer screaming: *Don't fall for it, Kenji. Save your cooldowns.* On the other, the gremlin voice of every min-maxer ever: *Free. Gear. Now.*
7:45…
I clenched my fists. "Screw it. Free is free."
I slammed the button.
---
### **Ad Marathon Begins**
The world blurred, and suddenly, I was staring at a half-dressed elf archer shooting glowing arrows at some poor monster.
> **Ad #1: Summon your waifu army today! Play Eternal Realms!**
I groaned. "Why do they all look like that? Does every fantasy game think men can't function without cleavage?"
The thirty seconds crawled by like an unskippable tutorial. Finally, the screen blinked:
> **Reward Unlocked: Starter Pack Progress 1/3**
Next ad.
> **Ad #2: Pull the pin to save the princess!**
A bearded guy in a helmet dragged his princess through lava because he pulled the wrong pin. I rubbed my temples.
"Nobody actually plays this. Nobody."
Thirty more seconds, done.
Last one.
> **Ad #3: Build your empire! Crush enemies! Pay $99.99 for gems!**
"Ah yes," I muttered. "The real boss fight: your wallet."
The final ad ended, and the reward screen exploded in golden fireworks like I'd just cleared a raid.
---
### **Starter Pack Unlocked!**
- **Weapon:** Steel Fang Sword (+30 Attack)
- **Armor:** Leather Adventurer Set (+25 Defense)
- **Gold:** 50 Coins
- **Bonus:** Ad Token (Re-roll one ad reward)
---
My jaw went slack. "Holy crap…"
I stared at the sword floating before me. Sleek silver blade, black leather grip, faint glow—this wasn't just an upgrade. This was *whale gear*. The kind of weapon you'd see on a guy named "xX$DragonLordXx" in a gacha game, who spent his rent money on a banner.
I grabbed it, feeling the weight hum through my arm. The dagger I'd used before might as well have been a butter knife.
"Okay… okay, this changes everything." I swiped through my new armor set. Simple leather, but clean, polished, and—most importantly—not covered in wolf guts.
As I equipped it all, a laugh slipped out. It started small, then grew into a full-on maniacal chuckle.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! Pay-to-win? More like watch-to-win! I'm about to break this world's economy!"
I struck a pose with the sword, imagining the salty tears of whales everywhere. In life and in death, my brand remained intact.
"Kenji Sato. F2P god. Whale killer. Now, *isekai edition.*"
---
### **Power Testing & Min-Maxing**
I gave the sword a practice swing. The air practically hissed as the blade sliced through it. On my second swing, I clipped a tree trunk by accident. The steel bit deep, sending wood chips flying.
"…Holy crap." My eyes widened. "If this is just a starter pack reward, what about mid-tier? Endgame? Events?"
I could feel the dopamine drip-feed activating. The same thrill I got from pulling an SSR after a pity roll.
I opened the skill description again.
> **Ad Surprise (Lv. 1):**
> - Watch ads to receive random rewards.
> - Daily Limit: 3 Major Ads.
> - Extra deals may appear during events.
"Events," I whispered, grinning. "Oh, now it's my playground."
Already, my brain was in overdrive, planning builds, optimizing ad timing. If I stacked buffs before boss fights and only spent my reroll token on high-tier drops…
I could break this world.
---
### **First Steps Toward Civilization**
Equipped and grinning like a madman, I sheathed my new sword and resumed my trek along the dirt path. The grassy plains stretched out before me, dotted with flowers and lazy clouds. Idyllic. Peaceful. Totally the kind of map where a noob would farm slimes.
Sure enough, I skewered two more slimes on the way like some low-budget monster hunter. One swipe each. Easy EXP.
> **Level Up!**
> **Level: 1 → 2**
> **All stats +2**
"Level two, baby," I said, pumping a fist. "Already snowballing. Love to see it."
After a while, the path curved, and I spotted smoke rising in the distance. A cluster of rooftops peeked over a ridge.
"A village," I breathed. "Finally. Starter village, here I come."
---
### **The OP Newbie Arrives**
As I approached, wooden houses came into view, their chimneys puffing smoke into the clear blue sky. Chickens clucked. A blacksmith hammered steel in the distance. It was every RPG tutorial village ever, right down to the suspiciously cheerful background music playing in my head.
People bustled about—simple folk in rough clothes. Farmers hauling hay. Kids chasing a wooden hoop. All eyes turned as I strolled in wearing polished leather armor and a sword that practically screamed "premium shop item."
The whispers started immediately.
"Who's that?"
"Look at that sword…"
"Is he… an elite adventurer?"
I smirked. *They think I'm strong because I opened the premium pack. God, this feels like flexing a rare skin in a bronze lobby.*
At the village gate, a guard in rusty armor stopped me. He looked like he hadn't upgraded since the beta.
"New adventurer?" he asked, tone wary.
I froze. Was he an NPC or a real person? Couldn't risk insulting him if this world was like SAO. I forced a polite smile.
"Uh… yeah. First day. Where's the Adventurer Guild?"
He pointed down the main road. "Center of the village. Big building with the crest."
"Thanks, man," I said, strolling past as casually as possible. Inside, though, my brain was screaming:
*Guild hall = quest hub. Quest hub = EXP and loot. EXP and loot = profit.*
But before I could take ten steps, a golden notification slammed into my face.
---
> **SPECIAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT!**
> **Double Rewards Day Coming Soon!**
> *Stay tuned for details!*
---
I stopped dead in my tracks. My grin stretched ear to ear.
"Double rewards," I whispered. "They're running EVENTS. Oh, this world has no idea what's coming."
I pushed open the guild hall doors, ready to register… and the room fell silent. Dozens of adventurers turned to stare at the shiny newcomer with the glowing sword.
I flashed them a smile.
"Yo. Where do I sign up?"