Ren lay on his friend's bed, feeling bored, while his friend sat in front of the computer screen, completely absorbed in his new game. The game had originally started as a famous novel before being adapted into a video game, and what attracted him the most was the ability to create characters and participate in the story. This feature alone made him obsessed with it, especially since he was so passionate about the original novel that he had even forced Ren to read it.
His friend muttered incomprehensible words, prompting Ren to turn toward him with a heavy sigh and say, "We have an exam next week, don't forget that."
Without taking his eyes off the screen, his friend replied, "Yeah, yeah, just give me ten minutes."
Ren furrowed his brows and said sarcastically, "If you put this much effort into studying, your grades would be much better."
All he got in response was an unclear hum. Ren shook his head in frustration. He wasn't really in a position to lecture anyone, especially since he himself didn't put much effort into studying. That's why he preferred spending time at his friend's house—because he knew that if he tried to study alone, it wouldn't be long before he got distracted by his phone or ended up watching TV.
A voice from downstairs interrupted his thoughts.
"Lucas! Come down now! I forgot some things when I brought in the groceries!"
"One moment!"
"No, now! Can't you do a single thing without writing a list?"
His friend sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration before getting up and heading downstairs.
Ren smirked as he watched him leave, then lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It didn't take long before boredom crept in again. His eyes wandered to the glowing computer screen, and eventually, he got up and took Lucas' seat.
The character creation screen was still open.
When his eyes landed on the stats, he couldn't help but frown.
"What is this?"
Strength, agility, and other attributes were in terrible shape, while the magic stat was at zero. But what caught his attention the most was the ridiculously high charm stat.
"...!"
He knew the game was extremely difficult—players were summoned from different worlds and had to survive against deadly monsters that appeared at night. However, there was also a social aspect that allowed players to interact with other characters and develop relationships with them, whether positive or negative. According to his friend, raising the charm stat increased the chances of winning over the heroines by 33%.
"How typical of him."
But what drew his attention even more than the stats was the skill his friend had added to the character.
"Time Manipulation?"
He clicked on it and found a detailed explanation.
The skill allowed the player to stop time for everyone except themselves or make their body immune to all attacks. But what made it even more interesting was how it worked—it required 100 points to activate, and the only way to earn points was by making other characters develop strong emotions toward the player. The stronger the emotion, the more points they would gain.
"This skill... is it even in the game? I don't remember players being able to add custom abilities."
Ren was about to get up and call Lucas back when the screen suddenly flickered.
At first, he thought it was just a random glitch—until a strange message appeared on the screen.
"Hope you enjoy the game, Lucas."
Ren furrowed his brows, but before he could even process what was happening, the screen flashed with a blinding light.
"What the—?!"
And before he could do anything…
Everything disappeared.
The light.
The sound.
Even him.