"YAAAAAAA!"

"Finally...Finally...I have done it...Did you see this, bastard? I finally achieved perfection."

"Now watch, fucker…This is my peak."

"Told you, there is nothing one can't do if he or she sets their mind to it," William screamed at the top of his lungs as if asking for attention from everyone in the class.

After basking in attention from the jealous gazes, he looked at the score.

A perfect 1000 out of 1000 across 10 subjects.

Feeling a high sense of euphoria, he looked back at a dark-haired gloomy kid in the corner and approached him with a curvy grin.

"Now, what do you have to say?" William shouted, slamming the report card on the table and snickered.

"Now we are the same."

"TSK!"

The boy, who seemed uninterested, raised his chin to meet William's gaze and slowly opened his lips.

"Listen here, William..."

"You are misunderstanding something."

William's brows furrowed, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart.

"You got this because that's the best you can get, whereas I got full marks, but that's all there was to get."

"We aren't the same."

"WHAT?"

The smile on William's face cracked, leaving him dazed, but just as he was about to say something, the boy got up and was already on his way, ignoring the murmurs of the class as if all of this had nothing to do with him.

……….

Grades...I was at the top of the class and always got full.

Sports...

Whether it was a solo sport consisting of running, swimming, fencing, kendo, karate, taekwondo, or a team sport like basketball, football, baseball, and many more.

I was first and best in all, going up to the regional championship in every one, earning recommendations for nationals, but...

I refused, feeling bored.

I achieved everything I could...I worked hard to the point I sacrificed my sleep, forgot to eat, and forgot to hold my smartphone.

I practiced and exercised until my body could bear no more...

I did every possible damn thing to improve myself...

The reason?

Because I wanted her to be happy and smile at me.

As she watched over me and as I met her gaze, I could proudly say that I have tried my best.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

CREAK!

"Mom...I am back," I spoke with a joyful voice.

Placing the shoes well at the entrance, I stepped inside the hall, entered the living room, and started narrating my day.

"It was again an eventful day. As always, I got full marks in every subject, played football, scored some goals, and talked with the teacher about what I want to do in the future."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Certainly, it was boring, but it wasn't that bad."

"You know that guy, William, right? That idiot took me as a competitor. Huh?"

"No, Mom, I am not mocking him. I just think he shouldn't be obsessed with me and push himself so much just to measure up to me. Instead, he should focus on his aspirations."

"Am I not right?"

"Hahaha! I knew you would say that."

I changed my clothes while keeping up with Mom, then I got into the kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and some fruits.

Preparing a meal, I entered Mom's room.

The room was clean and pristine without a single layer of dust, but it wasn't neatly organized, as on one side of the wall behind my gaming PC, there were heaps of paper attached to the wall.

It was an important note designating routes and info about the recent game I had been playing.

I switched on the computer and turned around. I went near the bed and placed the ball on the table.

"Mom, here is food...Uh?" I paused and then bent down to observe the picture of my mom.

There was a faint dust stain on it.

I immediately took the frame and cleaned it on my shirt.

"Ohh! Mom, your frame caught some dust. I should buy a new frame for you. So, what kind of design would you like..."

My eyes glimpsed at the brown-haired Caucasian woman smiling brightly behind the frame. It was such a warm, tender smile that was enough to melt one’s heart, alas...

The smile that graced me with energy every morning was no more.

"Ha!"

A sigh of weariness escaped from my lips as I put back the frame after wiping the stains.

My father was a Commando. Sadly, he died on a mission a few days after my birth. As for my mother, she followed him when I was 10.

My mother wanted me to follow in my father's footsteps, and I agreed. My mother smiled a lot less after my father's death, so I did everything to ease her heart and make her proud.

I can even remember the final time she asked me to do my best in everything, and I always did it.

No matter the job, I always finished it to perfection.

Sadly, she wasn't present to accompany me. As for being in the army, I too was fascinated by them.

The world...The world seems to be too ordinary, and my heart seeks the thrill of some adrenaline-pumping action.

Clearly an effect of being an otaku influenced by manga and anime.

While contemplating my life, I peeled the banana, but before I could bite, I heard a beep sound.

Turning my head toward the source of the sound, I was greeted with surprise, seeing the computer screen flashing with a blood-red color emitting some foul, ghostly noises.

"Now, what is this bullshit?"

I squinted my eyes, wondering how the fuck the screen opened up when I had yet to click the monitor switch and CPU.

Curious, I decided to check.

But before I could take more than a few steps, an unsettling sensation coursed through my body. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, causing my steps to falter. As my balance wavered, panic gripped me, and I struggled to regain control.

"Kurgh!" I choked out, my voice barely audible as I fought to stay upright. My vision blurred, and the world around me spun in a disorienting whirl.

I was slowly losing my mind, my sensation, and my perception of the world as if my soul was disengaging from this world. But just then, the intuition honed by reading thousands of demonic scriptures with the godly intuition of an otaku, I spoke out loudly.

"I don't know which fucking god you are, but if you want to put me into some shitty fucking world like playing a prank, I ask you to reconsider, 'cause I will commit suicide and bring down your fucking plans."

SWOOSH!

The dizziness disappeared immediately, and my vision started to clear as if all of this was an illusion.

"Haaa...Haaa..."

Once the effect subsided, I clutched my chest, gasping heavily for breath and sucking it in voraciously. My entire body was drenched in sweat for a fleeting moment as I collapsed down.

Fortunately, I reached the table and put my palms on it to support myself. As I did, a message reflected in my eyes.

[Congratulations, player Mr. Per781, for clearing all hidden conditions. Now, you are eligible to play the hidden route as deemed by the game developer.]

[Do you want to proceed?]

[Yes] [No]

"What the hell is going on? Are you really a God from another world?"

"Don't you think this bullshit way of reincarnation is too overused and bland? Instead, use Truck-kun or Taxi-chan or kill m—"

BANM!

KYA!

The screen burst out with a nightmarish scream, and a blackish hand shot out from the screen and grabbed my face, following which an enhancing aura erupted, leaving my vision red.

Then, with a sickening gurgle, the hand pulled me in, taking me with it.

"WhAA!"

My voice choked as my face smashed against the screen, and soon, my vision went red.