He was an ordinary person you could see anywhere.
Born in an era where ordinary effort couldn't sustain an ordinary life, with a broken exchange rate, he lived for 30 years in a corrupt society that easily divided, cursed indiscriminately, and incited, while moderately filling his stomach with wary glances.
As a result, he grew into a young curmudgeon who could reminisce about not-so-distant times, saying, "Those were the good days," and "Back in my day," making him a solid youth perfectly suited for 21st century Vietnam.
Still, he was a precious son who grew up without greatly disappointing his parents, a friend, and a lover, without any rough edges.
At the same time, like many of his peers, he was a light gamer.
The reason for the 'light' modifier was because he had recently become acutely aware of his diminishing gaming stamina.
In fact, he had deleted even his beloved online cooperative battle games, not wanting to experience stress in games on top of his work life.
Instead, he started eyeing PC or console games that he could enjoy comfortably alone.
It was relatively recent that he began to thoroughly explore masterpieces with solid worldbuilding and storytelling.
The last game he enjoyed was the saga of a rookie police officer's struggles on his first day in a virus-infested city, a title with a very satisfying balance of horror and action.
He considered trying the sequel, but playing the same genre consecutively didn't suit his taste, so he gave up.
So the new game he found was "Project Neo."
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It was a title strongly recommended by a younger acquaintance.
"Oh, brother, it's really fun, I'm telling you! Have you ever seen me lie?"
"I don't know about cyberpunk."
"Come on, you don't need to know. Did anyone start knowing everything?"
The pestering was too intense to refuse.
At some point, he found himself installing the game.
Estimated time: 51 minutes 13 seconds.
He used the ample interim to search for various information.
Project Neo.
An open-world RPG in the cyberpunk genre.
Looking a bit further, it wasn't just cyberpunk, but a truly mixed worldview combining arcane punk and biopunk as well.
To his unknowing eyes, it seemed like a dystopian setting with robots, magic, and zombies all mashed up together, but despite that, the gameplay was excellent, making it quite popular among enthusiasts, if a bit niche.
In fact, skimming through the community, there were plenty of recommendation and information posts lined up.
He clicked on one of them.
※Tips for newbies to PN (Last edited 24.03.28)
Even in his student days when he had much more time than now, he enjoyed referring to so-called verified builds that others had already walked through.
He believed that since it was a solo game anyway, easier and more convenient was best.
So, slowly scrolling down the mouse wheel, he read the tip post thoroughly, alternating between screenshots and text lines.
Finally, as the game launched, the screen went dark.
Having previewed it, the selections went by quickly.
Difficulty: Easy.
Since it could be adjusted during gameplay, he planned to start with the mildest flavor and increase it if it felt appropriate.
Life path: Nomad.
Originally, the fun in these games was clawing your way up from the bottom, so corporations or families didn't appeal to him at all.
Traits: Irregular, known for its excellent versatility.
The basic perk: Fast Recovery, said to ease worries about tight early-game potion costs.
Having no talent for customization, he made it just moderately handsome.
Being able to adjust even genital size was innovative, though.
Thinking that good is good, and to be happy at least there, he maxed it out within the allowed range.
Finally, entering the name completed the character setup.
Before pressing the game start button, he placed cup noodles and cola on the desk to satiate his hunger.
After all, slurping ramen intermittently while enjoying the game was the ultimate delicacy.
However, he never got to eat the prepared late-night snack.
The moment he pressed the game start button with anticipation,
He opened his eyes in a dark alley.
With his face planted on the damp ground.