In a dimly lit and untidy room, a twenty-one-years-old young man groaned from his bed as he rose sluggishly and walked towards his bathroom.
Ivan lazily brushed his teeth, while glancing at his messy hair and dark circles under his eyes in the mirror on the wall.
"Good morning self"He muttered before returning to his bedroom where used soda cans, pizza boxes, and cup noodles littered the space.
His unwashed clothes were strewn around the floor, mirroring the room's untidiness.
On his desk, was his computer, a device that had become his habitual means of escape to reality.
The only reason he clung to this monotous life was the countless light novels, manga, and anime stored on his computer.
He came from an orphanage in the suburbs.
He was left there by his parents when he was a baby, well that was the explanation the nuns gave him.
No one adopted him for all those years, so he can only strive and study hard for the future.
He became independent at the age of 18, at that time Ivan experience how harsh reality can be.
Problems came one after another like tuition for school, bills for the electricity, water, rent for the apartment and many more .
Daily expenses are also one of his problems especially with the daily price inflation, Ivan knew he had to fend for himself.
Therefore, he worked as a part-time crew worker in fast food restaurant in weekdays.
He had no friends and the concept of a 'girlfriend' was something he could only dream of.
Although he wasn't good-looking, brown skin, and have an average height, he was optimistic that things would get better in the future.
Today was Sunday, and it was the only time he could freely indulge in what he truly loved.
He managed to prepare a morning coffee for himself before taking a seat on his favourite chair and switching on the computer.
"Time to watch," Ivan remarked. His eyes fixed on the computer screen as he began browsing the internet.
Ivan's fingers danced across the keyboard, typing in the familiar URL: 'www.crunchyroll.com.'
"The new movie of One piece should be here"He muttered while waiting for the page to load.
"It was One Piece Fan Letter if I remember correctly." Ivan said as he started scrolling through his premium account.
'Ding'
Ivan squinted at his screen, slightly puzzled.
"Hmm... Why is there an ad in here?"
A bold text box flashed onto his screen.
[Congratulations, you are chosen to be transported to another world.]
[Please press YES to accept.]
A single button below the message gleamed: [YES]
Ivan snorted, rolling his eyes. "Hoh, if this is true, then that would be cool, but man, marketing ads nowadays are totally doing crazy things." He shook his head, but curiosity tugged at him. With a small grin, he decided to play along, clicking YES. Almost instantly, another prompt popped up.
[Please select your character, artifacts, and powers you want to have. You have $350 to buy these things.]
"Interesting... and cheap," Ivan muttered, leaning closer to his screen as three sections unfolded before him.
---
[Character]
• The Cursed Prince - Beast: $30
• Spirit of Winter - Jack Frost: $50
• The Tamer of Dragons - Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: $30
• Green Ogre - Shrek: $10
• Prince of the Southern Isles - Hans Westergaard: $15
• Hero of Man - Maui: $60
[Powers]
• Devour: $100
• Nightmare Sand: $90
• Ginormica: $60
• Fire Breath: $50
• Flight: $30
• Lycanthropy: $25
[Artifacts]
• Winter Staff: $25
• Magical Fish Hook: $70
• Magic Mirror: $20
• The Amulet of Daylight: $55
• The Croc's Cape: $5
• The Book of Guidance: $10
---
"This is... characters and items from animated movies." Ivan chuckled. "Can I pick two characters?" He experimentally selected two, and to his surprise, it worked.
"Cool," he whispered, excitement bubbling up. He rubbed his hands together, contemplating his choices. "Hmm... For the character, I'll choose Jack Frost and the Beast. That'd be $80... Maui's tempting, but he's kinda powerless without his fish hook. Shrek and Hans? Meh, not my style."
He clicked on Jack Frost and the Beast and moved to the next section.
"For powers, I'll go with Devour — a very cliché but awesome skill — and Nightmare Sand. If I remember right, Pitch Black used it to make nightmare horses. And... Lycanthropy. It'll be interesting if the Cursed Prince can transform with this skill." He smirked, a bit too excited about the idea.
He glanced at the numbers. "Alright, that's $295. I still have $55 for artifacts." Ivan browsed through the options, finally making his selections. "I'll take the Winter Staff, the Magic Mirror, and the Book of Guidance. Total... $350. Perfect."
With a satisfied sigh, he confirmed his choices and clicked DONE.
A final message popped up.
[Thank you for your cooperation. You'll be experiencing death shortly. Your new world awaits.]
His smirk vanished. "Wait... What?"
After those final words were displayed, his computer blackened out suddenly.
"W-What happening... " Ivan stuttered and stand abruptly while wondering what happened to the computer.
Ivan was not prepared at all for what happened next. The moment he stand in his seat, his computer began to shake.
He only had time to furrow his brows and wonder what the hell was wrong before his computer screen exploded in a blinding white light leading to his death.
In that terrifying moment, a haunting realization crept into his thoughts: "I still haven't watch the new movie of One piece."