'Am I really living inside of Open Frontier?!' Fumi thought.
The idea alone made his stomach twist.
'No. That's impossible, right?' he thought again, his eyes drifting back down to his left arm.
The translucent GUI was still there.
Floating. Steady. Unbothered by his disbelief.
"This… is creepy as fuck." he muttered. "Am I actually living inside of a game?"
He slowly pushed himself to his feet, half-expecting the interface to vanish the moment he stood up. It did not. Instead, it followed him perfectly, hovering just above his forearm like it had always belonged there.
Fumi swallowed and leaned closer.
The screen was hollow and clean, its glow faint but unmistakable. Icons lined up neatly, each one instantly familiar.
Health Bar.
Mana Bar.
Stamina Bar.
Mini-map.
Inventory.
Skill Tree.
Custom Skills.
Stat Points.
Level.
Quests.
Craft.
Currency.
"…No way," he whispered.
He raised a finger and hesitated. For a moment, he just stared at the options, heart pounding. Then he tapped the Stat Points icon.
The interface responded instantly.
A new window expanded outward, filling his view. Rows of categories appeared, cleanly labelled.
Strength.
Durability.
Speed.
Health.
Stamina.
Endurance.
"…Yup," Fumi said quietly. "I'm definitely in Open Frontier."
He exhaled a shaky laugh and rubbed his face with his free hand.
"Seriously. This is fuckin' crazy…"
His eyes drifted downward.
Available Stat Points: 25.
"Oh. Right," he said. "You start out with twenty-five free stat points."
His fingers moved across the hollow screen, clicking each option and filling in the categories.
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Durability: 3
Health: 5
Stamina: 4
Endurance: 3
The numbers locked in place as soon as he confirmed them.
"Nice," he said, nodding to himself.
He flicked over to the Custom Skills tab without thinking.
The screen froze.
A red notification flashed across the interface.
Access Denied: Must be Level 50 to make a custom skill.
Fumi stared at it for a second, then sighed.
"Oh yeah. That's right," he muttered. "You can't make custom skills until level fifty."
He leaned back slightly and let his arm drop.
"Guess I'm stuck with whatever the skill tree gives me for now."
He scrolled through a few more tabs, his excitement slowly being replaced by something heavier. Reality.
"It's been, what, seven years since I last played this game?" he said quietly. "And I was a noob even back then…"
His jaw tightened.
"…Living here isn't gonna be easy."
As he shifted his weight, a strange sensation hit him. Cool air brushed against his skin in places it definitely should not have.
Fumi blinked.
He looked down.
"…I'm not wearing any clothes," he said flatly.
He sighed and glanced around the forest.
"I might have to make some."
His eyes landed on a nearby tree. Thick trunk. Tall. Solid.
Fumi walked up to it, raised his fist, and hesitated for just a moment.
Then he punched it.
The impact echoed through the clearing.
The tree snapped.
It tipped, cracked, and collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Fumi froze.
Slowly, he looked down at his fist.
Then back at the fallen tree.
"I see…" he murmured.
"So five mere stat points gives you the power to punch down a tree, huh?"
A slow grin spread across his face.
"This is gonna be fun."