Growing up, whenever I had to introduce myself, whether to a teacher, a fellow student, or even a stranger on the street, I'd say:
"I'm Sonny." (Sonny, meaning 'little son' in English, or 'bright and warm' in modern connotation.)
But without fail, the response would come like this:
"Huh? Your name is Sunny?"
And I'd quickly correct them:
"No, no... it's Sonny, not Sunny."
"Is that so? You have a peculiar name."
I always wondered if something like that was meant as a compliment. Of course, there were always those who used the opportunity to tease me.
"Pfft–! Who the hell names their kid Sonny?"
"Little son? More like little dick! Hahaha!"
How exactly does Sonny translate to little dick? Ugh, nevermind.
Well, it's not like I could blame them. My father was rather poetic, being something of a writer himself. That's why he gave me the name Sonny. From what I heard from my mother, if fortune had been on their side and they had a daughter, then they would have named her...
"Luna."
Unfortunately, I'm an only child, so they missed the golden opportunity to name their kids "Sun" and "Moon."
Anyway, to put it simply: my name's Sonny, 21 years old, a healthy male, and single. My hobbies include playing video games, watching random videos, and reading web novels.
"Hey, did you hear? Anna Fox just uploaded a new video!"
The sudden voice made me raise my head reflexively. The bus was crowded today, more restless and noisy than usual. The loud voice belonged to a young boy, probably a high schooler, chatting excitedly with his friends.
"Really? What did she post this time?"
"A collab stream with NightCrow! Dude, it's trending already!"
"Tch, lucky bastard. Why does that pretty boy get all the chicks?"
"Right? Uuuuuuuugh, I'm so jealous! It's not fair!"
…What are these guys even sulking about? You do realize she probably already has a boyfriend, right?
"The story of most Vtuders usually follows this format."
I sighed and leaned back into my seat. Anna Fox, huh? Hard not to know the name if you spent any time online. One of the top Vtubers, the kind who could pull tens of thousands of viewers with a single tweet. I wasn't exactly a diehard fan, but I'd seen a few of her clips. Energetic, funny, and her voice was pleasant enough. Yeah, I could see the appeal.
Not that it mattered much to me at the moment. I had bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that I was already running late for college… even though I didn't want to go in the first place. Geez, what's so wrong with working from home, especially when I could easily make decent money as a programmer?
Much to my misfortune, my parents didn't understand a thing about programming. To them, my reasoning sounded like nothing more than an excuse for being lazy and refusing to go outside.
…Which, fine, might have been partially true. But still, what was really out there for someone like me? Definitely not some ivory-tower life of prestige nor am I burdened with some glorious purpose.
Everyone has their own way of living, their own story. And every story, in a sense, has a genre. Mine, however, was stuck in realism and mediocrity.
But what if my story belonged to a different genre?
"Ugh…"
Realizing how pointless that line of thought was, I let out another sigh. With nothing better to do, I pulled out my phone and opened a familiar app to kill time.
It was a game developed by Umbra, a relatively new gaming company that had only been around for two years. Despite their inexperience, they somehow managed to release a global sensation with nearly a billion downloads.
After a brief loading screen, the main interface appeared:
[Welcome to Steelverse Online]
[T A P]
I tapped the screen, and the familiar imagery of the game's lobby unfolded before me.
My avatar stood at the center, clad in tier-five armor that enveloped his body in smooth, weightless onyx plates. The design was eerie: almost silk-like at close glance, resembling tangled spider webs, yet offering quick mobility with no sound.
His hair flowed in ghostly white strands down his shoulders, framing a face hidden behind a black mask. The mask's maw split into a feral grin, jagged teeth bared with four fangs jutting forward. From its crown sprouted three twisted horns, curling upward like the roots of some ancient tree. Within the hollow sockets of its eyes lingered only darkness, an abyss that seemed to swallow the light.
In his hand rested an odachi that had slain countless abominations. Appearance wise, he looked less like a player's character, more like those mythical horrors described in stories. Looking at my avatar, an overwhelming sense of pride and joy ignited in my heart.
Steelverse wasn't a game where you could simply roll a dice and advance. It was an open-world action role-playing game (ARPG), much like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, except this one was fully multiplayer.
My mind drifted back to the hardships I endured to secure my place as the 2nd-ranked player globally.
I nearly lost my sanity in the process.
To be honest, it was a brutal, almost unbearable experience. If I ever lost my account, I knew I would genuinely lose my mind.
Perhaps more than any Souls game, Steelverse was a cursed game with a ridiculous hellish difficulty.
Not only did the game lack any tutorials, the player had to figure out everything on their own. As if not knowing what to progress where the monsters and bosses were absurdly strong wasn't already bad enough, once the player's avatar dies whether slain by a boss, mob or from falling into a trap or pithole, they would lose all their progress and start over from the beginning. Meaning, no save points.
Oh, did I mention that there are no safe zones in this accursed game? Which meant you could get jumped any mob or worse yet, players!
As the painful memories resurfaced, I could feel the strength coursing through the hand clutching my phone.
But its all in the past.
It was just a distant memory of a time when I knew nothing about Steelverse.
Of course, the game also had its merits. Like any online multiplayer games, there was a gacha feature where you could achieve items like weapons, armor and components for crafting. If you're a beta tester, there was a higher chance you would get something of great value. But I'm a guy with extremely bad luck.
Despite being a beta tester, having spun the [Wheel of Fortune] thousands of times, I rarely got anything good and usually got things I didn't need. Not even one Exilus item! Even though the chances of obtaining a Primed item were supposedly a mere 0.1%, and Exilus items were less than 1%, it still felt incredibly unfair.
Fortunately, I had been one of the first players to dive into Steelverse, which meant I'd picked up plenty of tricks along the way.
Just then, a notification slid across the top of my phone screen.
[You have one new mail.]
A message from Steelverse? Could it be… that?
Intrigued, I tapped on it.
[Congratulations. You are one of the few players to successfully slay the 99th Guardian, ὄφις. As recognition of this achievement, you will receive a random reward.]
[Your reward will be delivered at 8:00 a.m.]
Ah, so it was about the reward for defeating that colossal serpent. But what exactly was I going to get?
With only a little time left, I forced myself to wait it out. Each second dragged on, my thoughts racing faster than the ticking clock. Maybe this strange anticipation was its own kind of reward.
Then, finally, the numbers on my phone flicked over to 8:00 a.m.
And at that very moment...
A brilliant light flashed up ahead. The light was so bright that I was forced to cover my eyes. If I didn't, I would have probably gone blind right there and then.
Kiiiiiiiik—!
The bus lurched violently, shrieking like rusted metal being torn apart.
Passengers screamed, clutching the rails and each other as bodies were thrown forward. My phone almost slipped from my grip, the Steelverse notification still glowing faintly on the screen.
"What the hell?!"
The brakes groaned, but the bus never fully stopped. Instead, it jolted forward again, rattling as if the entire chassis were about to collapse. The driver wrestled with the wheel, cursing under his breath.
Then...
Thud!
Something slammed into the side of the bus. Or maybe it was the bus that slammed into something. Either way, the vehicle lurched violently before screeching to a halt.
Confused voices erupted in the cramped space.
"Um… what?"
"Did we just crash into something?"
A middle-aged man with a large belly immediately vented his frustration, his voice booming louder than the others.
"Dammit! What's wrong with you, huh? Are you trying to get us killed?!"
The bus driver didn't respond. His hands clutched the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the window.
"Hey! I'm talking to y—"
The grumbling man froze mid-sentence. His face drained of color as his gaze drifted to whatever lay outside the window. The others followed suit, and in an instant, the bus fell into a suffocating silence.
It was the silence of a graveyard. No one dared to breathe too loudly. Every pair of eyes was glued to the same thing beyond the windows, struggling to process the impossible scene before them.
And then, chaos broke loose.
"W-What is this?!"
"Where the hell are we?!"
Damnit, my head hurts so much. Why's going on?
As expected of someone cursed with bad luck, when the bus staggered out of control, the jolt sent my skull crashing against something hard. If I was lucky, for once, I wouldn't end up with a concussion.
Groaning, I forced myself upright, trying to steady my spinning vision.
'Huh?'
Without meaning to, my eyes drifted toward the window on my right. The moment I saw what was outside, my entire body went rigid at once.
Pure goosebumps crawled down my spine. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head.
Hallucination? Maybe… but if so, then everyone else on the bus was sharing the same one.
Which left only one explanation.
"Transmigration."