In a dimly lit room,belonging to the first years medical student dormitory.
A youth lay on the bed contemplating about his choices in life and how f*cked up it is.
He looked over to the dilapidated ceiling,with his puffy but bright eyes, of the room and started his daily dose of self analysis and berating towards himself.
'"Ugh,this bloody f*cking situation of mine!...
Why didn't God make me grow up in a wealthy household.
Atleast I wouldnt have to think about finances at the age of 19,right!"
The youth sighed and shook his head,thinking about his poor condition.
His name was Sakya,but he liked himself be called as Zack,as the name Sakya sounded to much Indian ,despite himself really being one.
Zack was a average guy in every field he worked in.Be it in sports ,video games,art or any other mumbo-jumbo shit.
Even his height, his intelligence,his weight and even his hairstyle was average.No mohawks,no undercuts ,no six pack abs , no tattoos,absolutely nothing.
But the only thing which was better for him was his above average facial features , contributing much to the jealously of the overprotective boyfriends.
However ,It didn't make him more popular,rather made him more of a loner,as guys or even girls didn't want to be genuine friends with him.
And despite being above average in his facial features,he failed to be in a good relationship with a girl.
Why?
Because,Who the f*ck even dates a guy who just reads medical books and webnovels?
No one ?Right!
Zack was such a guy,he cared about no one than his parents,had no real friends to speak of and even if he had some,most of them would only be at aquantaince level in the otome game called "Real life"(Pun included).
But the only sliver lining in his life would be his hardworking and kind parents .
He always cared about them and they did as well but the pinch he is now in just f*cked up any sense of sanity from his mind.
Why?
Because was a medical student!!!
A god dammed medical student!!
But whats the problem in that?
In a private college,thats the problem!!
Why ?
Cause it requires millions to study in one and Zack being from a middle class household,couldn't afford one.
His learning capability was so average ,he only managed to get admission in a private college which resulted in only increasing the work and stress load for his mother.
But the only redeeming feature in him was his ability to commit and put in the hardwork .
That was how he got the college seat by competing amongst 17 Million students across India only to get one seat in the general category with limited seats of only 70000.
But just an achievement didn't ease his worries but rather increased them.
Even more so as his father was bedridden after an accident and his mother was sick and tired of working part time jobs just to sustain the family.
Even his mother's health was detoriating at a rapid pace as she already had been diagnosed with Rheumatism.
So our little Zack who was just a 19 year old fresher at his college was laying on his bed,inside his dorm room, thinking of ways to improve their family conditions.
***
I continued squirming for a while before standing straight up from my bed and taking in deep breaths.
"I need to do something about my situation as fast as possible "
"I shouldn't burden Maa with new expenses of my college.She is already paying so much of my tution fees.Asking for pocket money doesnt sound feasible either."
I walked up to my 2nd hand laptop on the chair beside my bed and started looking for online and flexible jobs on the internet.
As I scrolled down my *nked In profile ,I suddenly saw that the screen became glitched before returning back to normal again.
'Umm what was that?.....hmmm...nevermind'
I thought nothing of it and returned back to my job hunting spree.
"I need to work and for that ..hmmm..let's see.. that one looks nice."
[Job description]
[Get to try and design the latest VR technology implemented gaming present on the planet!]
[Hyper realistic visuals,stunning graphics and your own high fantasy role playing storyline!!]
[Forge your own story by answering the survey ]
[Admissions totally free!!]
'Unh, this looks shady but looks interesting enough to check out once.'
'I mean ,I was considering being a online fantasy writer,so might as well help someone else get inspirations.'
'Lets check out the survey now!'
I scrolled down the webpage and clicked on the icon depicting a survey.The webpage suddenly entered full screen mode and prevented me from exiting before completing the survey.
The survey was in a Q&A format and started by asking for personal details like name,age,profession,etc.
I scrolled down to see the number of questions but became tensed looking at it as it numbered one hundred.
'This is weird....but well atleast I'll have something to do duing the night now rather than playing Minecraft.' I said looking at my wristwatch.
I looked up to the my laptop screen and started solving the questions.
The questions were easy at first, like.
[1.What is you favourite genre?]
To which I answered,'High fantasy'
[2.What race would you prefer? ]
I answered,'A human,with better analytical and information storing ability',considering the fact that an intelligent character would be better rather than a super talented one.
I didn't chose other races like elves,dragons or vampires as they specialized in very particular fields and we're not balanced enough.
For example,an elf had more stats in agility and intelligence but had less stats in strength which only made them suitable for ranger or magical combat classes.
An orc had more stats in strength but had less stats in agility or intelligence which made them unsuitable for learning magic and more dumb.
Only a human was balanced enough for the staring phase and even if one wanted to change the race midway ,the game might give out quests or help the users change them manually as well.
Also for a moment I was tempted to write'An orc with a big dick' but I stopped ,thinking about the judgemental eyes the employer would have given me.
[3.What element would you want your fictional character to possess? ]
Now this was a tricky question as there were lots of elements to chose from and such a question was not unexpected as well considering the high fantasy setting.
I was in a pinch thinking about my preferred element and as an avid fantasy reader,I wanted somthing edgy like aether or void ,darkness or anything depicting anti-hero,but stopped myself thinking about it as other people might not like such a trope.
Instead I answered this --'A metal,fire and darkness affinity with synchronisation rate in the ratio of 3:3:4' ,as such a affinity might help the character to try new professions like blacksmithing or alchemy.
And why I chose the darkness one ....well because....I liked being edgy.
[4.What starting skill would you like your character to have? ]
Now this was the easiest one as I already had my answer to it which was 'TELEKINESIS'
[5.How would you like your character to start as: an Imperial prince ,Aristocrat,Commoner or Serf?]
This was a little tough as all four choices might determine the progression and genre of the story.
An Imperial prince was absolutely a no -no as it had the risk of getting involved in politics, other schemes ,and wars of succession but on the other hand provided better opportunities for growth in a safe environment.
An aristocrat was in the middle as even they had the same conditions as the Imperial princes ,not to mention the over saturated trope of 'A worthless noble boy waking up from coma and becoming a swordmaster' was really common.
A serf was also not feasible as it provided less opportunities for growth but was great under dog material considering the genre of the game being role playing.
So the only option left was that of a commoner ,so I answered
'The heir to a wealthy commoner merchant'-cause who dosent like some starting wealth..right!
***
After the first ten or twenty questions, most of them were mostly of my preferences or behavioural patterns and some of them were vague like.
[58.If you had to control any of your human qualities ,what would you control?]
To which I answered 'Emotions'.
Or
[79.For which side would you fight for,the hypocritical righteous or the nesscessary evil]
To which I answered 'Neutral and Self-serving' ,as more the character would be neutral,more would it lessen his hardships and as for self serving ....it was just a personal preference ....just personal.
***
The questions went on and on with the same types of vague questions being repeated and for some reason It gave me a feeling of deja vu of getting interogated before being summoned to another would to spread otaku culture.
I was excited at first but stopped the fake feelings of exhilaration and focused on the last row questions of the survey .
[99.If the whole world turned it's back on you,what would you do?]
I wanted to write in my own edgy way like,"I SHALL GO AND CUCK ALL PROTAGONISTS or I WILL BE THE DEMON KING AND FUCK THE ELVEN QUEEN ",but stopped mid way and after a series of self reflection I wrote ,"Be super strong and start farming."
It was funny to write this but this was all it came down in my mind.
And finally I saw the last question which for some reason put a dazzling grin on my face.
[100.Single Female Lead Or Harem?]
I answered the same what most nerds would answer
"HAREM"
***
Right after submitting the survey, I hurriedly clicked on save and sent my survey along with my resume to the employer.
Cracking my knuckles ,I looked up to the wall clock to check the time.
Realising that It was already 4 o clock in the morning ,I decided to get some sleep before College.
But just as I stood up ,my mind suddenly went haywire and banged my head hard on the wooden handles of the bed and before I realised what was really happening to me ,I was already laying on the concrete floor ,as blood oozed out of my orifices.
I never expected to die in such a way as crude as it may sound like ,but at that moment all I could think of was the worn out face of my mother and my bedridden father.
I hope you forgive me for giving up on you both in such a distasteful way,I hope my death would somewhat ease your burden.
With guilt and anxiety filled within my heart ,I breathed my last breath inside this barely clean dorm room of my college.
***
After the light in Zack's eyes dimmed,a translucent figure flew out of his laptop and plunged into Zack's body , squirming inside him.
The body kept squirming and after a few minutes it stopped and the light which left the youth body came back again.
The 'dead' body then stood up form the floor,magically devoid of blood and looked himself in the full body mirror beside his study table.
The figure then looked at his reflection and spoke in a sad voice,
"I'm sorry ,Zack ,but this was all master could do to save them,I hope you forgive him for this as he had no other choice than to pick you"
"I hope you don't hold him responsible,till then I will look after you parents."
The now possessed Zack then moved towards the window as the morning sunrise and cool breeze blew his short hair.
The 'now 'Zack smiled amicably at the sunset as he though of his new assignment in this new world.
***