In the 31st century, technological advancements had improved to such an extent that there was a thin line between reality and the digital world.
This was due to a certain high-tech neurological software developed in the year 2999, marking the end of the 30th century.
The technology in question arose out of concerns that the planet was rapidly becoming overpopulated, facing food scarcity, and grappling with global warming.
Therefore, transferring consciousness to a digital world seemed to be a viable solution.
The tech was widely known as the Cerebrus Paradiso.
The device was helmet-sized, allowing whoever wore it to feel, taste, and smell in the digital world as though it were reality.
At first, it was used mostly for miscellaneous things such as family gatherings, attending work and even long distance relationships.
And of course, only the rich had access to such technology.
A century and a few decades have elapsed since its creation, and it was now the year 3124.
Thanks to the Cerebrus Paradiso, online gaming had grown exponentially in popularity, so much so that people essentially lived inside these games, only logging off to eat or relieve themselves.
These games were known as "Deep Dive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games," or "DDMO-RPGs" for short.
Players could also game professionally, so most of them needed only to play without financial worries.
"Wow~ I want to play so badly!"
Exclaimed a young boy clad in rags that were not even worthy of mopping up sludge, his eyes beaming with excitement despite his otherwise grim reality.
[I'm going to play one of those games when I grow up!]
His hopeful gaze reflected the game's highlights on a broken screen at an abandoned store.
See, this boy was on his usual scavenger trip for food, clothing, or whatever he could scrape by.
Clenching his muck-filled fist, he turned his back to the screen, his eyes reflecting the concrete jungle that lay before him.
/
*Twenty years later.*
Through sheer grit alone, the boy was able to escape his environment and toiled for an education, hoping to land a high-paying job.
But...
Click! Click!
...Reality was far too unfair. No matter how much he tried to save, his living expenses only increased along with the price of the technology he craved the most.
[Ah, can it please just be 22:00 already...]
Click! Click!
His once hopeful eyes had now darkened, the bags under them heavy with depression and extreme fatigue.
What was once a dream was now a prison...
Click! Click!
He continued typing on his holographic keyboard, and it produced a realistic sound that bothered him to the core. He honestly loathed whoever had come up with such a feature.
[How am I a slave at my own company?! Damnit!!]
After realizing he could never save enough money to buy the Cerebrus Paradiso, he, being young and full of hope, decided ten years ago that he would create his own game.
"Haaa..."
[So many bugs, and the game hasn't even launched yet...]
He gulped from a jug filled with an energy drink on his left, hoping to rebuke his fatigue.
Click!
[I was thankfully able to get sponsors after having basically sold my soul, but they only gave me enough money to hire a small office space and buy some equipment.]
[But that's it... I can't afford to hire that many competent personnel, so I have to do most of everything myself...]
He sighed heavily and continued squashing any bugs he found, aiming to log off by 22:00, a deadline he set himself to avoid spending the entire night working.
[They need results in order for me to launch this game. If I can just perfect this code...]
[My dream will finally be at hand...]
His lifeless eyes reflected the numerous 1's and 0's that flowed through his screen like a turbulent stream of water.
"Cerebrus Paradiso..."
He muttered in a dry voice that was almost mechanical in its emotionlessness— No, rather, it was tinged heavily with obsession.
[Ah... I'm so tired.]
Click!
He finally finished his bug fixes, and it was now 22:01.
[A minute, huh... I owe myself some expensive chocolate.]
He grinned bitterly and laid his head on the cold steel table. At that point, he had long forgotten the warmth of another Human.
[Looks like I'll be spending the night in the office again.]
He mused, his heavy eyes lingering on the neatly folded futon just a foot away.
[Ugh... It's so far.]
[I guess I'll read a few novels. Maybe they'll wake me up a bit...]
It was a strange excuse from someone too lazy to unfold his bed and go to sleep. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a thin, transparent glass.
Doop~
At the touch of his fingerprint, the transparent screen illuminated, and he began scrolling on his phone.
"Ugh..."
He expressed great displeasure as he continued searching for something to read.
[Why is every title something about an Extra? What the hell is happening?]
[Are they all written by the same author?]
He squinted his eyes and found that the answer was otherwise, but he eventually discovered something that piqued his interest, prompting him to start reading.
He enjoyed it so much, in fact, that he was binge-reading before he knew it.
But...
"Oh, come on! Why would you lock them at chapter sixteen, you dumb author?!"
For someone who was supposed to be extremely fatigued, his voice was remarkably lively at that moment.
"Sigh... I guess I'll read it when I'm rich."
He smiled bitterly at the fact that he couldn't even purchase a few coins despite being the CEO of a company.
[I Reincarnated As The Extra In My Own Harem Novel, So What?]
He ingrained the title of the novel into his heart, and slowly, his eyes began shutting on their own.
"I'm almost there..."
"... My dream is within arm's reach."
He stretched out his weak hand and grasped at the emptiness, before his arm went limp and his eyes shut tight.
///
[Ugh... What is that bright light? Did someone come into the office?]
[Switch it off!]
[What the heck?!]
He wanted to open his eyes but simply couldn't, as though his eyelids were glued by a powerful adhesive.
But even so, the light was so intense that it burned his retina.
Also...
[Am I in water?!]
As his drowsiness waned, he felt a dense liquid cling to his frame. It felt like he was submerged in oil rather than water.
[If this is a prank, then it isn't funny!]
[We've only been working together for a week. I don't think we're that close yet!]
He wriggled his body but couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried.
[Wait, how am I able to breathe inside of this liquid?]
It finally dawned on him that he had no trouble with his respiratory system des —
Shatter!
[!!]
Like a fish flailing from a broken fish tank, his body was violently carried by a current.
[Urgh!]
The pain of his body scraping against the rough ground and being stabbed by shards of glass stung him. It was unbearable, as though his pain receptors were just now being put to use.
[!!]
"Mmf! Mmf!! "
He suddenly couldn't breathe anymore, and as he reached for his face, instead of feeling a nose or a mouth, the sensation of a cold, metallic object met his palms.
[W-what is this?!]
He panicked, his lungs rapidly burning, as though he were within the coil of a boa constrictor.
Desperate for oxygen, he resolved to tear off the metallic object.
[!!]
But much to his despair, the more he pulled, the more a long tube climbed up his esophagus and slithered out of his mouth.
The feeling was as dreadful as imaginable, and it felt endless to him. He couldn't help but think he was pulling out his own intestines at some point.
"Blegh!! Cough!! "
He spat out bits of the slimy water that had entered his lungs and immediately, he greedly drew breath.
"Huff... Huff..."
It was strange, the air was so pure and refreshing that he wonddred if he'd been chewing on mint.
[What the hell is going on here?!]
[Did I get kidnapped by my sponsors due to a lack of results? It's only been a week though!]
His heart began pounding out of his chest, and from the slight shiver he felt, he knew that he was naked.
[Damnit... What did they do to me?!]
He gave a silent prayer and raised his hands to his eyes because he still could not open them, and he found that they were caked by a thick layer of what felt like crust.
[...]
After removing the crust, he chewed his lips and reluctantly opened his eyes, hoping to find his employees waiting with cameras in his face, shouting 'April Fools Day!'
Well, it was August, but no matter!
People can make mistakes sometimes.
And so, desperate for his own safety, he deluded himself and finally opened his eyes.
"..."
[...Eh?! What?!]
The first thing he saw was the source of the light that's been bothering him, a large screen hovering in the air above him.
This rectangular screen was of an azure blue color, with intricate borders that looked to be carved in gold to fit the writings within the screen.
"Did I... Overdose on energy drinks?"
Those words escaped his lips, the interface before his very eyes was something he knew on a personal level, something which he'd spent hours developing and programming.
[No... This can't be real, is this a lucid dream?]
[Did I accidently take acid?]
"Sigh... I should really start getting some proper sleep."
He denied what he saw with his own eyes and glanced down at his—
[!!]
The ground... Had it always been that close?
Not to mention, why were there hundreds of pale-skinned children all around him?
[...]
His mind went numb and he finally saw his reflection on the liquid flowing across the rough floor.
[Isn't this...]
He looked to be a prepubescent with snow-white hair, skin that rivaled said hair and a pair of bright pink eyes.
"..."
He frowned and glared up at the hovering interface above his head.
"Shit..."
________________________________________
Status Window.
Name: Specimen 2946.
Race: Homunculus (Newborn)*
Level: 1 (Exp: 0/100)
Class: -
_________________
Core Stats.
STR: 2. INT: 7. LCK: 0.
AGI: 4. MP: 6. VIT: 3.
%##%: ???
_________________
Derived Stats.
HP [VIT + Gear Value+⁰]: 3
STA [VIT + AGI(30%)]: 4.2
ATK [STR + Weapon Value+⁰]: 2
EVA [AGI + LCK(50%)]: 4
CRIT [(LCK(20%) + ATK)/100]: 0.02
_________________
Skills.
Mana Sensitivity: A+ Rank.
Low-level Regeneration: E+ Rank.
Creator's Eye: S- Rank.
#>@$: SS+ Rank (Sealed)*
____________________
Attribute Points: 0.
Alignment: Neutral.
________________________________________