The sound of an alarm clock ringing filled the room as a groaning teenager tried to reach for the snooze button, but instead, his hand landed on the desk. After a few attempts, he finally managed to silence the alarm and stop the ringing.

Five minutes later, the teenager slowly rose from his bed, resembling a zombie emerging from the ground. He sat on the edge of the bed, supporting his head with his hands. His hair was disheveled, and the bed was a mess, but at least the room was clean - that was all that mattered for now.

Dragging himself to the bathroom, he brushed his teeth with half-closed eyes. He then took a bath and changed into fresh clothes before preparing some toast with eggs and orange juice for breakfast. As he looked around his empty house, he muttered to himself, "Why did I have to be an only son?" The loneliness weighed on him, wishing he had a sibling to talk to and share the load, even if it meant more work and the possibility of laziness from the sibling. It would still be better than being alone in this house with only his thoughts.

Finishing his breakfast, he slowly rose from the chair and cleaned up the dishes. He put the house key around his neck like a necklace and made sure the door was locked before leaving. Glancing at his watch, he realized he had plenty of time before school started. He used his time wisely, going to the nearest store to buy snacks and daily necessities. After shopping, he dropped off the groceries at home, ensuring everything was in its place, and then used his bike to get to school on time.

Arriving at school, he attended his classes with a bored expression on his face.

Time skip to after school.

He walked home, and as he did, it felt like time had paused as a screen appeared in front of him.

"Do you wish to become a player?"

He stared at the screen, feeling as though time had frozen along with him before mentally choosing "yes." It had to be his imagination playing tricks on him due to lack of sleep.

"Congratulations on becoming a player," the screen read as he swiped it away and continued walking home. He was tired and dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him in his exhausted state.

He did his homework and collapsed into bed, dead tired. Unbeknownst to him, it was a daily quest that had been automatically accepted. There was a warning on the quest, stating that failure to complete it would result in punishment, but he had missed it.

As he slept, the timer on the quest ran out, and suddenly, he felt as if he were lying on scorching hot sand. He jolted awake, feeling as though he had burned himself, and looked at the screen in front of him, where a message appeared.

"Due to the player not completing the daily quest on time, he will be punished."

A new quest appeared: "Survive for 8 hours."

Rewards:

- [Status Recovery]

- [3 Stat Points]

The quest had been automatically accepted, but the teenager's mind was focused on the words "survive." He glanced behind him and saw it - a gigantic centipede emerging from the sand, accompanied by many more approaching him. Instinctively, his fight-or-flight response kicked in, and he started running for his life.

He ran as if his life depended on it, because it did. Though relatively fit and regularly exercising to avoid becoming overweight, he knew his stamina had its limits. There was no way he could run for such a long time without passing out from lack of oxygen.

...A/N side project go brrr