“Good Game,” William said, victorious once again.

He wanted to keep going and load into another match, but William had already spent the last twenty or so hours on the MOBA he was playing. Deciding to get up early the next day to continue, he turned his PC off and made his way to the bed. The journey was perilous as the floor was covered in scattered video game cases, dirty clothes, and old manga volumes. His larger size made the process tougher, the struggle in his gait presenting its own issues. He cursed as the bottom of his foot pressed on the corner of a game case, causing it to crack and for a stinging pain to flare. He struggled a bit more and made it to his destination, flopping onto the bed and causing the base to creak under the weight.

William looked at the flat of his foot and noticed that it was red, but not cut deep. A discomfort prodded into his left shoulder blade, bringing his attention away from the stinging foot. He rolled to the right slightly and managed to pull out the source of his discomfort. In his hand, he held one of the new releases of his new favourite manga. The cover read: “Is it Okay to Tame Slimes in a Dungeon with a Smartphone and a Devil King?”

William laughed at the name of the manga. He had always found it interesting how long Japanese Manga titles became when translated to English. The story was pleasantly surprising to him and William was pleased with his decision to follow the series. He had paid for the bus with his welfare money he received for his weight condition to go out of town to the next nearest one where he picked up his games and manga.

His town was small and only had a population of thirty. They didn’t even have their own sheriff. The police department in another nearby town protected their home as it fell under their jurisdiction. The community were devout and rural in nature, raising their own crops and selling enough produce to keep the town running. Not one game store, cinema, arcade, or popular takeaway existed in the small town he called home.

He put the manga down on his crowded night stand, carefully balancing it on top of an empty ice cream tub and another stack of assorted manga he had read recently. It would be fine there he affirmed to himself, laying down and trying to get comfy. His bedroom window was ajar, letting the midnight air crawl in and cool his already sweating body. The air in his room was musty and smelt strongly of body odor. William had the dilemma of being too big to fit into the bathtub and due to an issue with the shower, couldn’t have a hot one. He hated the idea of a cold shower and never bothered with it.

He felt his long hair and noticed how it was greasy and tangled. When was the last time he had it cut? It had to have at least been a few years now. He had haphazardly cut it a few times when it got too long, but that was primitive and left it in even more disarray. He hated going out the house unless it was away from town. Everyone either ignored him, or bullied him. Whenever he went into the store for snacks and drinks, the man behind the counter always gave him a once over and seemed to judge William for his eating habits. William hated the look. He hated himself for his addictions, but couldn’t stop them. They didn’t judge him, his games didn’t hurt him, his manga was always there when he needed support and to escape his reality.

Even his own family left him to his own devices. Yes he was nineteen and an adult now, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to feel the comfort of having someone that loved him. So many times he wanted to ask for a hug from his father, mother, and sister. He always stopped himself as he had noticed their winces as he walked passed them when he came and went from the house. He always caught them in his peripheral vision when they held their breath and wrinkled their noses. He had glanced at them a few times and saw them put on lukewarm smiles as if nothing was wrong. He knew his hygiene was bad, but it didn’t make him any less deserving of emotional support.

His Mother was always at the church doing community work in the name of god whilst his father worked on the Duncan family farm as a farmhand, so neither were at home until the evening at earliest. His sister was focused on her singing and performed in the choir during Sunday Mass as well as meeting up with her girlfriends. The thought of Sunday Mass made him chuckle. He was probably the only person in his town to not be in the church on a Sunday, something a lot of people in his town didn’t appreciate. He wasn’t drinking the religious kool-aid though and wouldn’t ever do so.

His thoughts fell on his sister then, and he remembered fond memories of their childhood. They were a little over one year apart in age, him being older, which was the most important point, obviously. Those days were long gone and while she never seemed to ignore him, she didn’t go out of her way to interact with him. Eventually he had started doing the same, but he couldn’t remember when that had started.

William pushed those thoughts aside and lay there, looking up at the ceiling, trying to let his mind wander. It did for a few moments but then it went back to his weight. It was always a curse that plagued him whenever he went to bed. He was a bit over three hundred pounds and had a second chin as well as scruffy facial hair. He was not even remotely desirable. He had considered going to meetings for that kind of thing, but always took the lazy option of sitting on his ass and eating to cope with his self loathing. It was a never ending spiral that he had no control over. He had already struggled with fluid movement as his haunches and legs were starting to get close to forcing him into a waddle. How long would it be until his heart or something else gave out due to the weight gain?

His eyes began to water and he broke down into a crying fit. William curled up as he did so and pulled the cover over his head to muffle the sound. He was too prideful to risk letting his family hear his emotional weakness. He knew it was a dumb pride as he had nothing else to be proud of, and everything to hate. Most of all, he hated himself. He had no friends, no proper family, was doomed to die from future obesity, would never find someone to love him, and would never be remembered by anyone.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

It was then that the dark thoughts he suppressed started to rear their heads. Why let it go on? Why bother fighting what he had to do? Why not be done with this world? He wouldn’t be missed and at least his family could rent out his room for some extra money when he was gone. It would be his gift to the family he had let down. How could he not do a benevolent act of kindness as his last action in this world?

These thoughts were always pushed down and repressed by William. Every night they appeared and every night he fought them until they were gone and sleep took him. It would be the same tomorrow though. He would wake, buy a day’s supply of snacks and energy drinks, then hop on his computer for the day, reading some manga throughout the day as a break from the screen, then he would struggle to get into bed, and consider suicide.

William let out a long sigh and pulled the blanket down, tossing it onto the floor. He rolled over to the side his night stand was on and pulled the top draw out. Inside was an unprotected razor blade. He had picked it up a few days ago. The shop clerk had looked at his chin and William assumed the guy thought it was being bought to shave the scruff from his face. Oh how wrong he was. William pulled it out and held it between two fingers, the glint of the star-fighter lava lamp reflecting off of its metallic face. He ran his finger a long it lightly, hissing slightly at the pain as blood started creeping out of the thin slit in his finger. He watched the blood run down his palm, then his wrist, before dripping off of the end of his elbow, creating little blood splatters on the bed sheet.

William then ran the razor along his wrist from left to right three times, testing the blade more. Every cut stung and more blood began running down his arm. The cuts were superficial, but he wanted to make sure he did it right. He laughed, thinking to himself that it would be both the first and last thing he did right in his life. He remembered something he had read on a forum recently that was intended as a joke but would help him make this quick. Cut horizontal for attention, cut vertical for results.

He did just that, creating two agonizing red lines down his two arms and then lay there waiting for the end. He began to wonder if he would reincarnate into another world like in his favourite Isekai manga. His body began to grow cold quickly and he closed his eyes, resolved to his end. Suddenly, a screen flashed into his mind:

{Ascension_Protocol}

{Candidate settlement found. --- Commencing integration.}

{Good Luck}

{End}

“Huh, already delirious. This won’t take much longer then I guess.” William thought, as feeling started to leave his limbs.

"Maybe it was real. Maybe I'll get a second chance."

A bright light started to consume his vision before all he could see was white.

“So it isn’t a fade to black. Guess this is it.”

The white remained, then he started to feel his skin nit back together and warmth begin to cover his body. He felt his whole body heat up yet could only see white. He couldn’t even think clearly as the heat grew to an absurd intensity within him, drawing his full focus. He didn’t feel any pain, and instead felt rejuvenated. He then appeared in a grassy field, letting out a yelp as he appeared from the white on his back and facing up at the sun. He took a few moments to recover from the natural flash-bang he had just been hit with before getting his bearings.

As he rolled onto his side, he felt another screen, or prompt, appear in his mind:

{Ascension_Protocol}

{Introduction}

Congratulations William, you and your settlement have been chosen for integration into the world of GAEA. Please select 2 base classes for yourself. List is as follows:

- Fighter

- Scout

- Archer

- Mage

- Medic

- Enchanter

{End}

“No fucking way!” William said, with joyful surprise.

Reincarnation was a thing! He whooped at that and got to his feet. His thoughts were draw from the prompt however, as he took in a vast landscape of hills, greenery, and mountains. He turned and saw much the same in every direction. As he come to the end of his three sixty view of his new home, his joy was quashed as he saw every single person from his old town at the end of the field they were all in.

His heart sank and he looked down in disappointment. Apparently, he wasn’t reincarnated as there was no way everyone died at the same time as him. He wasn’t special it seemed, and he wouldn’t be able to escape the people from his past. A glimmer of hope come into his mind then however as he looked at the prompt and saw some parallels to when he would start a new RPG video game. He may not be special as he had hoped, but he could become special. The gamer apparently would have his day.

{Ascension_Protocol}

{reminder Prompt}

Decision Required

{End}

He had felt a slight, prickling sensation in the back of his mind as the prompt appeared and he got the hint. It was time to get his classes.