Berry Bad luck? Chapter 1
( First POV)
An alarm blared, jolting me awake. Yep, that's me—Berry. My full name is Mason Berry, but everyone just calls me Berry. You might ask why? Because they think it's berry funny. Get it? Yeah, okay. Moving on. You're probably wondering why I'm talking to you like I am a crackhead in New York. Honestly? I'm not sure. Maybe I've gone insane, and this is some weird coping mechanism. Anyway, let's start from the beginning… Wow, that was berry cliché…Goddammit.
So, I'm Mason Berry. Sounds like the name of a cartoon commander in some cheesy children TV show, right? My life is, well, boring. Very average. Shocking, I know. I come from a big family: three sisters, two brothers, one dad, one mom, a stepmom, and two stepsisters. Oh, and we've got a dog—can't forget her. Damn mom really went into overdrive uh?
My parents split when I was young because my dad left us. Or so I thought. Turns out, my mom didn't let him see us. Yeah, my mom's a piece of work, but I still love her. My dad's a friendly guy but super strict. My stepmom? Pretty much the same, just less friendly.
Then there's the rest of the family. My youngest sister is a spoiled baby who cries over everything—honestly, it's a pattern. Most of us cry easily. Probably just me, though. My middle sister? Hot-headed but nice overall. My older sister is all about fashion and does nails as a side hustle while still in high school but kinda of a bitch.
My younger brother's a gamer and dabbles in anime(My favorite brother don't tell anyone), meanwhile my older brother just started college. Unlike me, he's obsessed with fashion and collects these tiny baby dolls. He's a nice guy, but super prideful—he'd never admits when he's wrong. Think Rarity from My Little Pony, but without the accent, the skills or …well, you get the idea.
My youngest step sister is like a mini version of my older sister but even more of a hothead. And the oldest stepsister? She's kind of like me, except mentally stable. I mean, I'm literally narrating my life like I'm in a TV show. Hell, I'm even imagining an audience right now…
My life feels lonely, even with a big family around me. Most of my time is spent gaming or eating. No surprise I'm a "big" guy—and not in a good way. Anyway, let's rewind to the morning.
I woke up to my alarm blaring at 8:20, reminding me it was time for community college. After dragging myself out of bed, I ate some cereal, took a quick shower, and—because I'm me—went back to sleep for a little longer. The college itself is small, just big enough for about a thousand students, but somehow it feels even smaller when you're trudging through it like a zombie in plants vs zombies.
Going through the motions of life is exhausting. I shuffled to my classes like a slug, barely paying attention to anything around me. And what did I do after school, you ask? Well…nothing. Absolutely nothing. Berry disappointing, right? Yeah, I've embraced the joke now.
But you're probably wondering: if my life is so mundane, what's the big deal? Why do I think I've gone insane?
Well it all started late at night, around 3 a.m. Yes, I was still awake—don't judge me. I was just about to log off when something unusual happened. My screen flickered, and then a strange notification popped up:
[Congratulations, Mason Berry. You have been chosen.]
At first, I stared at the screen in confusion. "Chosen for what?" I asked aloud, my voice breaking the silence of the room.
For any normal person, this would've been strange but alright. For me? It was terrifying. I mean who just gets a message like that out of nowhere? I figured it had to be sleep deprivation messing with me. But when I woke up on Friday morning, my favorite day when I have no classes, the message appeared again—this time while I was gaming.
I stared at the screen, my heart pounding. This wasn't just a late-night hallucination; it was real. The same message flashed before me again:
[Congratulations, Mason Berry. You have been chosen.]
I sat there frozen, unsure whether to be excited, shit myself, or probably both. Before I could decide, a new message appeared.
[Do you accept? Yes / No]
This was berry unexpected, and now I was faced with a choice: reject it or accept it. For all I knew, the devil himself could be behind this, waiting for my dumb ass to click Yes. But… what if it wasn't? What if this was the leap of faith I needed—or secretly wanted?
Now you might be wondering why I felt so nervous. Well, picture this: the screen was black, the text glowing ominously, and I was sitting in a dark room. Yeah, I have a fear of the dark, especially when I don't know what's lurking in it. And let's be real—who just gets an offer like this? Something for free, without strings attached?
Most people in anime or manhwas get powers after dying, or a deity grants them abilities. But here I was, alive and breathing, being handed something completely unknown.
"Okay," I whispered to myself, gripping the mouse tighter. My hand trembled as I hovered over the option. "Let's see what happens."
I clicked Yes.
The screen went black, and for a moment, I thought my computer had crashed. Panic crept in, but then, a series of words started typing themselves out:
[Welcome, Mason Berry. Your system is initializing…]
[Setting up interface…]
[Synchronizing data… Complete.]
The last line glowed for a few seconds before the screen went completely black again.
….. then I passed out.