"Could you push it in a bit deeper? It doesn't feel quite right—I want more. Yes… just like that. Do it again," the woman said.
"Is this deep enough? It's already at the limit," Arthur replied, trying to stay professional.
The two of them were in a furniture store, surrounded by sofas, recliners, and beds on display. The woman was perched on a demo recliner, fiddling impatiently with the controls, before motioning for Arthur to adjust the lever on the side.
"Not quite there yet. Could you try again? Deeper this time," she said.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll do my best," Arthur muttered as he leaned over to adjust the mechanism, acutely aware of the curious glances being cast their way by other customers.
He could almost hear the whispers and stifled laughter, and it didn't take much imagination to figure out what they were assuming about the exchange.
"Oh, yes, that's perfect! Just the way I like it. I want this one delivered to my apartment," she said with satisfaction, reclining back in the chair.
"Yes, ma'am, I'll arrange that for you," Arthur said.
The woman stood up, gave him a brief smile, and walked off, her heels clicking against the store's polished floor.
Arthur exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from his brow. That was his last customer of the day, and the exhaustion was hitting him hard. Balancing the final stretch of high school with the demands of his grueling job had left him utterly drained.
This had been his life for the past five years, ever since his mother passed away. With no one to rely on, Arthur had taken on part-time work to keep himself afloat. The modest inheritance left by his parents wasn't enough to sustain him comfortably, and sitting around waiting for a better opportunity was never an option.
Survival meant action, no matter how tough it got.
He checked his watch—it was already 9 PM. Gathering his things, Arthur hurried out. He still needed to study for tomorrow's exam, the last hurdle before graduation. With that out of the way, he could finally explore better job opportunities and build a more stable future for himself.
He stepped out of the store, letting the cool evening air wash over him, and pulled out his reading device. Over the past few days, he'd been completely engrossed in a novel so captivating he found himself wishing for the school exams to end sooner, just so he could dive back into the story.
This book was something special—the first he'd come across that so perfectly matched his tastes.
It was a LitRPG fantasy, a genre that had exploded in popularity in recent years. With thousands, if not millions, of titles flooding the market, most followed familiar patterns, recycling the same themes and tropes. Yet Arthur had a knack for seeking out the overlooked and obscure—the books that most readers passed by or didn't even know existed.
While others gravitated toward popular titles with predictable plots, Arthur hunted for hidden gems, the ones where authors dared to take risks and break conventions. The novel in his hands was one of those treasures: a post-apocalyptic fantasy that defied the rules.
And it had him hooked.
The book was a post-apocalyptic fantasy set in a world reshaped by Mana and ravaged by monsters. Wait… wasn't that just the same old formula? A generic book?
At first glance, it seemed like every other title in the genre—predictable and uninspired. But as Arthur delved deeper, he realized this was no ordinary story. The author wasn't following the usual playbook.
This author was fearless.
For instance, they killed off the protagonist's younger sister in the early chapters. Most authors would never dare kill off such an important, likable character, especially one so integral to the emotional core of the story.
Then there was the main character himself: morally ambiguous, cunning, and willing to resort to deceit and manipulation when necessary. He wasn't your typical noble hero. He schemed like a villain but was presented as the protagonist—not in a villain-centered story, but in a standard narrative where readers were expected to root for him.
And perhaps most controversially, the author wasn't afraid to let the female lead—the character readers usually root for—experience deeply traumatic events, including harassment by another man. It was uncomfortable, even shocking.
Most writers avoided such risks, especially after carefully crafting strong chemistry between their leads or endearing the female character to the audience. Doing something like that was practically a crime in this genre.
But this author? They didn't care. They wrote boldly, unflinchingly, and without fear of backlash. And that daring approach was exactly what had drawn Arthur to the story.
Still… Why did this book have so few views? It wasn't even new.
Arthur stopped in his tracks.
Right in front of him, a little girl—no older than five—had tripped and fallen onto the pavement. She burst into tears almost instantly, her small hands clutching her scraped knees.
He glanced behind her and saw the mother rushing toward her, panic etched on her face. Without hesitation, Arthur sidestepped the scene and continued walking.
He didn't care.
"You should've helped her! It wouldn't have cost you anything!"
The woman's voice cut through the air, clearly directed at him.
Who the heck cares?
In this world, in this era, you're wrong no matter what you do. He'd been through this before. Once, he'd tried to help a child who had fallen, only to have it backfired spectacularly. The parents had reported him to the police, accusing him of being a predator.
What the actual fuck were people even thinking?
Arthur sighed, shaking his head as he kept walking. All he wanted was to graduate, get a job, and carve out a life far away from situations like this. He'd long ago resolved to minimize unnecessary interactions, especially the ones that could spiral into problems he didn't need.
His solace was in books.
As he approached the street, his thoughts lingered on graduation and a future free from endless shifts and exams. He stepped forward, preparing to cross the quiet street, when—
"My baby!"
A piercing scream cut through the air. Eren turned his head sharply and saw a stroller hurtling downhill toward a busy intersection. The mother, sprawled on the pavement clutching her ankle, couldn't reach it in time.
The light was already turning red.
And barreling down the street was a truck, its horn blaring.
Arthur's brain processed the situation in an instant. The baby in the stroller. The mother, overweight and injured, unable to get up quickly. The truck, moving far too fast to stop in time.
His instincts roared to life.
Without a second thought, he dropped his bag and bolted forward. His precious reading device, the one he had saved up for three months to buy, slipped from his grasp and hit the floor with a sharp thud.
His mind screamed at him—what the hell was he thinking? Since when did he trust his body to pull something like this off?
But there was no time to second-guess himself.
The world slowed to a crawl.
Every detail came into sharp focus: the deafening screech of the truck's horn cutting through the air, the spray of water from puddles left by the day's rain as his feet pounded the ground, the ragged rhythm of his own breath echoing in his ears. He pushed himself harder than ever before, adrenaline fueling every desperate step.
The stroller was just inches away from the danger zone.
With every ounce of strength, he reached out, his fingers closing around the handle at the last possible moment.
He didn't hesitate. Swinging it back with all his might.
But he couldn't stop his own momentum. He stumbled forward, the sound of the truck's blaring horn piercing his ears.
Eren turned—and froze.
The truck's massive frame loomed over him.
Time seemed to freeze as he locked eyes with the driver, who was desperately gripping the wheel.
How the hell did everything slow down like this?
He could see every detail of the approaching vehicle—the grime on its grille, the frantic movement of its tires. But no matter how fast his mind worked, his body couldn't keep up.
This was it.
Wasn't he the one who had decided not to interfere in anyone else's business?
Then why, without a second thought, had he thrown himself into this reckless, stupid rescue?
What if the baby had fallen out of the stroller? What if he became the one blamed for it? What if the mother sued him, dragging his already miserable life into even darker depths?
What had he been thinking?
None of that mattered now.
Because it didn't seem like he would have to worry about any of it anymore. The truck was going to hit him. Hard!
And when it did, there would be nothing left of him to even feel the pain.
A bitter laugh echoed in his head as his life flashed before him.
He hadn't even finished the novel he was reading! There were so many books still waiting for him. He hadn't tasted all those amazing foods he could only watch in YouTube videos. He'd never saved up enough to buy one of those high-tech gadgets he drooled over.
Hell, he hadn't even lost his virginity.
He was still poor, still stuck in the grind, still so far from ever feeling real joy.
Seriously? His life ends here?
The truck roared closer, and then—everything went dark.
Dark.
Darker still.
But why? Why could Arthur still think?
And then, a voice.
[Have you ever wished for a second chance?]
[Yes, your life was pretty awful, wasn't it? Pathetic and full of misery. Surely, you'd like to try again from the start.]
What? The fuck!
[Congratulations. You've been granted that chance.]
What chance?
[Let's make it simple. You will now live in the world of the novel you were just reading.]
"As the protagonist?"
[Not exactly.]
[But you will be one of the early characters who meets the protagonist.]
Is it the protagonist's master?
Yes it should be the protagonist's master!
He is the one who trained the protagonist in the early chapter.
Someone rich, powerful, and surrounded by a harem of beautiful wives?
Could it be true?
Was the infamous "Truck-kun" truly the herald of isekai rebirth? Had it really come to him, proving once and for all that those endless stories about reincarnation into magical worlds weren't just fiction?
My life is finally going to change!
For a moment, he could almost picture it: sitting atop a throne of luxury, with five stunning wives vying for his attention. Wealth beyond imagination. Power that bent the world to his will. No more scraping by, no more ramen for dinner every night. His every fantasy would come true!
Then a voice thundered through the void.
"They're here! They're going to kill us!!"
The words hit him, yanking him back to reality.
His five senses snapped to life all at once.
He blinked, his eyes snapping open, eager to behold his new life and the harem of wives waiting to welcome him into their arms.
Instead…
What he saw made his jaw drop.
Where were his five wives? His grand mansion? His luxurious new life?
What the hell was this?!
He was in a dimly lit room, the cracked walls barely holding themselves together. He glanced to his left, then to his right…
Both of his hands were chained in a cage!