Want to know what it's like to struggle for 4 years after getting your degree?
I'll spare you the cute details and keep it short.
No stuff like "he fought for his dreams" or "despite everything, he kept hope."
No!!
Just a guy in a crappy studio crashing on a friend's couch who had already warned him:
"You can stay a month, no more."
Spoiler: I stayed eight months.
My name's Alex. My last name? Not important. Respect my privacy, please.
I'm 24, computer science graduate, no connections, zero network, and an impressive track record of rejected interviews.
You know what it feels like to send your hundredth resume and get the same automated response, like:
"We were impressed by your profile, but..."
What the fuck?!
Huh?!
Yeah, you're a loser, Alex.
Get lost.
That was their hidden message, well-wrapped in their corporate politeness... a bunch of hypocrites.
So I stopped trying.
I sold my books and some objects related to my former studies.
After that, I worked in a fast-food joint... Yeah, I lasted a long time.
Just two weeks.
Still, I gritted my teeth.
And then, I started hitting a punching bag.
And after that, people.
Not because I enjoy violence... No, far from it.
Out of necessity!!!
Underground fights pay badly.
But they gave me an illusion.
Yeah, an illusion of control.
And me, I needed to hit something. To feel like I was still holding the wheel of this piece of crap car that was my life.
So, smashing something helped me hang on.
Not walls.
Not myself.
Another guy like me.
Lost. Tired. No future.
Stuck in his own illusion to escape reality.
That's how I survived.
A cigarette in one hand, a bag of ice in the other to soothe the pain of my swollen temple.
And a philosophical phrase in my head, to keep my sanity... well, what little I have left.
Why so much importance on philosophy?
Because we all need something to hold onto in this raging ocean that is our lives... right?
Mine?
If I can't find my place in this world, I'll create it with my fists.
Funny philosophical vision, haha.
Especially when you've never won more than three fights in a row.
But it was fine.
At least, this illusion was enough for me.
Because deep down, I didn't care.
I was already half-dead...
No. I was already dead.
Then, that night, it happened.
I was in an alley, pissing against a wall — yeah, not very classy — when a notification popped up on my phone.
The sound was weird. Too loud. Surreal.
[Would you like a new life?]
I burst out laughing reading this weird email.
A real laugh. A good one. Like I hadn't had in a long time.
"What kind of uncreative scam is this...?"
I wanted to click on no, but I slipped because of the wet ground, freshly frozen by winter.
So yeah...
I clicked yes.
"Ok... I'll have to alert my bank, to avoid suspicious withdrawals."
In the end, I went back "home"... No, to another friend's place. A guy too nice (or too stupid) to have let me crash "a few days" in his living room.
Lol, I've been sleeping there for several weeks now, raiding his fridge and abusing his patience.
I half hate myself for it. The other half? Too busy surviving in this shitty reality.
And then it happened.
[Congratulations, you have been selected by "the Absolute".]
[Please follow the steps to benefit from the New Life program offered by the Absolute.]
New Life?
The Absolute? Like the god from the Solo Leveling manhwa or just another cheap knock-off Rob?
Questions raced through my head, then I shrugged.
I was lying on the old couch before finding myself in this weird black void, facing a holographic panel straight out of an unimaginative cliché isekai.
So, I was sure I was dreaming.
"I must have really burned my last three brain cells to dream something like this..."
Tch.
I clicked my tongue before reading this damn menu.
[Reincarnation World]
[Trait to select]
[Character creation]
[Selection of existing character]
[Disadvantages] / [Advantages]
[Available points: 0]
"Great... Even in my head, I'm poor."
According to this digital delusion, I was supposed to choose a host world, then create a character with traits and advantages... paying with points I don't have for certain paid options.
So yeah.
I have to take disadvantages to hope to have the right to exist with my head held high.
Fuck. Even the other universes in my dreams don't want me.
It's official: I'm getting screwed without lube... by myself.
Do I have a mental problem? Very likely.
But that's not new.
Anyway.
"Let's choose the host world..."
Kakegurui? Nope. I'm not smart enough for that, and gambling addicts freak me out.
City Hunter? Not enough supernatural stuff for my taste. Too many people reeking of free testosterone.
After scrolling through the list for a while, my finger stopped on a name:
"The Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World."
An isekai-type manhwa that stands out.
A protagonist with no freely given power, a rich universe, sexy goddesses, and an androgynous dragon king.
Normally, I would've just scrolled past.
But there...
"Weird... I never thought I'd have things in common with a half-crazy Asian bodybuilder who hasn't seen a woman in 22 years."
Well. What do I have to lose?
It's just a dream.
And even in my dreams, I'm escaping into illusions.
So, I validated The Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World.
I don't like original characters in isekai fics, so I chose "reincarnation into an existing character."
Except that...
"Damn, there's practically no interesting human in this series."
Unlike some, who choose another race in isekai stories, I'm a human supremacist.
So, it's unpleasant to find no interesting humans besides that blond torturer.
I grimaced in frustration for a moment, before finally giving in...
"If I have to become an original character, then I'll have the best genetics."
I decided to create a character who would be the son of Zenovia and Garhan.
Why those two?
Goddamn it, I don't want to be poor anymore!!!
That's why I didn't consider the Barolt option.
Especially since I respect that man too much to put him in a relationship with another woman than the one who died on that damn island.
"By becoming the child of those two, I'm literally a prince of two kingdoms... jackpot!!"
I even forgot why I hated OCs in the first place...