A fat teenager, around 18 years old, stared blankly as his girlfriend kissed another man right in front of him. They had been dating for just over a week, and already, she was cheating on him.
"Oh, looks like he caught us," the handsome young man said as he pulled away from the kiss. A smug smirk played on his lips as he turned to the fat teen, his demeanor oozing confidence and complete disregard for being caught.
"That ruins everything," the girl said with a smirk, her eyes fixed on the fat teen's disbelieving expression.
"We were never actually dating. It was all just a prank," she continued, her tone laced with mock disappointment. "But now that you've found out, I guess we'll have to call the whole thing off... and after we worked so hard to buy that filthy, stinking water."
"I'm sure we can still break him. Look at him—so desperate for even the slightest hint of love," the young man said, laughing as the fat teen's face twisted, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Unable to bear it any longer, the boy turned and bolted, his heavy frame jiggling with every hurried step.
Their laughter followed him, echoing down the hallway like a cruel melody. Attending a college like this while being an overweight outcast was pretty much an unforgivable sin.
So what if he was smart? That only made him an even bigger target. But it wasn't just his size that drew their ridicule. He carried with him a disgusting odor, one he desperately tried to cover up with layers of cheap cologne. Even then, it was never enough.
The chubby teen ran as fast as he could—or as fast as his body allowed. It wasn't far before he was out of breath, wheezing heavily and clutching his sides.
It didn't make sense. For someone who only ate healthy food, why was he so overweight? For someone who worked out regularly, why did he keep gaining weight? Even limiting his food intake didn't help. No matter what he did, it was as though he were cursed—a cruel fate that ensured he'd always carry this burden.
Breathing heavily, he pushed past the disgusted stares of students in the hallway. Some wrinkled their noses as he passed, while others went out of their way to avoid him entirely. He didn't care anymore—or at least, that's what he told himself.
Exiting the college, he stepped into the crisp outdoor air, where an old, run-down car sat waiting for him. It wasn't much, but it was his only escape from the suffocating judgment inside those walls.
He got into the car, the driver's seat worn and misshapen under his weight. He sat there for a long moment, staring blankly at the steering wheel. Then, without warning, the tears came.
For the first time in as long as he could remember, someone other than his grandmother had shown him even a hint of affection. And for the first time in as long, he had felt happy. But it was all a lie—a cruel joke at his expense.
All he wanted was to be loved. Was that too much to ask? Who didn't want to feel accepted, to belong? But as the tears rolled down his cheeks, something inside him broke.
Too many times, he had been hurt chasing that elusive feeling. Too many times, he had let others use his longing against him. No more. He swore to himself, in that moment, that he would never allow anyone to hold that kind of power over him again.
Love was a foolish dream, anyway. Who could ever truly want someone like him?
Starting the car, he drove off aimlessly until he reached the riverside. Parking near the edge, he sat in silence, staring at the gently flowing water. His mind was blank, void of thought. He just wanted to escape—to be alone.
But his solitude was abruptly shattered when the ground began to shake violently beneath him.
The earthquake was unlike anything he had ever experienced. The car rocked as though it might tip over, and the surrounding landscape seemed to twist and groan under the strain. Bridges that weren't strong enough collapsed into the river, sending plumes of debris into the air. Old buildings in the distance crumbled like sandcastles, their destruction marked by clouds of dust rising into the sky.
And it wasn't just here. The earthquake wasn't isolated to one place. It struck everywhere—all over the world. Chaos erupted as the planet itself seemed to rebel.
The internet went dark TVs, radios, even cell phones—nothing worked. It was as if the very fabric of global communication had been ripped apart.
Even the sky seemed to tremble as the earthquake raged on. The clouds above fractured and dispersed, as if torn apart by the sheer force of the upheaval. Chaos engulfed everything.
The chubby teen had no choice but to move quickly as the ground beneath him began to split apart. Scrambling out of the car, he ran as fast as his body would allow, desperate to get to safety. Luck was on his side—for once. The widening crack in the earth wasn't heading toward him. But his car wasn't so fortunate. He stopped briefly, watching in dismay as the vehicle his grandmother had gifted him tilted and tumbled into the gaping pit.
His heart sank. That car wasn't just transportation; it was a symbol of his grandmother's love and belief in him. He wanted to save it, but there was nothing he could do. He turned away, forcing himself to move.
If it had been possible to save the car at the cost of his own life, he might have done it. As he trudged forward, his thoughts darkened. His grandmother was the only reason he saw to keep going, the one tether keeping him from surrendering to despair. Without her, he couldn't see a reason to keep living at all.
The earthquake lasted only a minute—sixty seconds that felt like an eternity to the world. When the ground finally stilled, humanity collectively paused, taking a moment to catch their breath and survey the destruction.
But their attention was soon drawn elsewhere. Across every city, massive openings in the earth had appeared, jagged and unnatural. Something about these gaping voids was deeply unsettling. A primal fear stirred in every human who gazed into their depths, an instinctive warning of danger.
For the fat young man, that feeling was overwhelming. Years of being bullied had taught him one invaluable lesson. when to leave before trouble arrived. He knew better than to linger.
Without waiting for anyone else to react, he turned and began moving away from the fissure, his pulse quickening. Whatever lay within that opening, he wanted no part of it.
{The Awakening has begun. Please survive for... #%*#!}
The sudden appearance of a strange message shocked Adam. It hovered in front of him like a hologram, glowing faintly. It reminded him of something out of Solo Leveling, an anime he'd enjoyed where a system helped the protagonist grow stronger. But this… this felt unnervingly real.
"Adam," a voice spoke, calm yet invasive as if it echoed directly in his mind. "You have completed your life on hell mode. Survive all your life without friends, without loved ones, and as an outcast. Impressive. Although, I must admit, your hallucination of your deceased grandmother was... unexpected. Without that illusion, you would have certainly ended your own life long ago."
The message flickered out, replaced by silence. But the voice persisted, gnawing at his thoughts.
Adam frowned, his hands clenching into fists. The tone, the cadence—it felt familiar, like something from a distant, foggy memory. He tried to recall where he'd heard it before, but the harder he tried, the more his head throbbed with a sharp, unbearable pain, forcing him to stop.
What shocked Adam even more than the voice was its claim that he had hallucinated his grandmother. Deep down, he had always suspected it, but he had chosen to ignore the sad truth. Accepting it meant acknowledging the harsh reality: there wasn't a single person in his life who truly cared about him.
Before he could dwell on the thought, the voice spoke again, cutting through his spiraling emotions.
"Of course, you don't understand what I'm talking about. You've forgotten everything—that was part of the deal. No need to worry about the details right now."
The voice paused briefly, almost as if savoring his confusion.
"Now, here's the important part. You will receive four roles to choose from. Each role corresponds to a person whose abilities you can inherit. Choose wisely, as their skills define what that role is all about."
Before Adam could react, a glowing screen materialized in front of him, displaying the roles.
{You have 500 points per role. Pick your template.
SuperPowers: Goku (300 points), Naruto (100), Sasuke (150), Luffy (100), Zoro (100), Madara (300), Whis (450)....
Talent: Gojo (300), Goku (400), Naruto (250), Sasuke (250), Itachi (300), Madara (300), Luffy (250), Yoriichi Tsugikuni (310), Medaka {500}...
IQ: Bulma (250), Senku (240), Shiro Nai (350), Saiki (350), Truth (600), Anos (400), Gojo (200)...
Treasures: Ainz Ooal Gown (300), Sinbad (300), Gilgamesh (500)...}