That night out with the guys drinking was a mistake. After all, I had never been drinking before, but I knew I needed to celebrate my high school graduation in some way. The fact that I never indulged in intoxicating substances and wild parties made me what you may call a dull guy. After devoting so much time to reading irrelevant content on the internet, I simply knew better.

Anyhow, I should have known better than to go out drinking that night. I should have gone home and had a party with my parents, who I knew cared the most about what happened to me, and then I should have done what I do best: played videogames until I gave myself brain damage and passed out until the next morning, and done this every day until it was time to go to college.

Heh. College. I was eagerly anticipating it. For a career in the video game industry, I was dead set on earning a degree in graphic design and animation. That's what I intended to do. But no. And hell, no! Simply because I couldn't say no, I ruined them. They invited you to join them. They assured us it would be entertaining. It's true; I accompanied them. In fact, I made out with three separate girls, sometimes with two at once.

But what they didn't warn me was that I'd be staring death in the face because I'd been drinking and couldn't discern that the green signal was for cars and not pedestrians. Parents knew I was going to drink, so they didn't trust me with the car even though I knew how to drive. I had planned on calling them to come pick me up, but in my intoxicated wit and wisdom, I opted to walk home instead.

That piece of garbage really got to me. A bright light and an obnoxious loud sound blared on my intoxicated senses as I had lurched forward, ignoring the warning of the homeless guy who was sitting next to the lamppost on that corner, and slowly raised my head. I have no idea how I've remembered this so clearly, but this is what I recall. Before being hit by a car that night, I had a terrifying experience in which my entire life flashed before my eyes.

Half of my bones shattered, piercing most of my vital organs, and that's all I can remember. It hurt like hell when it happened. After what felt like milliseconds (I have no idea how my brain processed such a short amount of time), I realised that the impact from the car had jarred my head loose from the rest of my body. I saw myself being flung several metres away before my focus shifted to the man's frightened gaze.

But beyond anything else. As my senses dimmed and I knew I was dying, I saw ten words flash before my eyes.

//

END OF MATCH

Do you wish to make a second attempt?

Yes/No

//

Maybe it was the dying person's instinct for self-preservation that decided for me. As my head left my body, I have no idea if my thoughts questioned the illogic of random sentences coming to me. All I really knew was that I had a chance to go on living. Because of this, my gut reaction was to mentally agree with yes. No longer could be made out. As the car that murdered me continued to crush the rest of my body, my head kept flying farther and farther away.

However, I was suddenly aware of something else.

========

//

You've already spent the night in your own bed. Both your HP and MP are back to full health. There is no longer any sickness to be found.

//

What

In

The

Actual

Fuck!

Although my mind was racing a million miles an hour, I kept my face, or at least the part of my face I could see, blank as I peered at the blue box with the black letters. Just when I thought I was dead and reflecting on my life's choices, I found myself lying in bed staring at a message box that looked eerily similar to the ones in the recent volume of "The Gamer" manga I've been reading.

I frantically looked about to attempt to figure out where I was, but the room was filled with posters of naked women who were both stunningly attractive and impressively endowed. Just as I was ready to begin hyperventilating, a sense of tranquilly washed over me, and my brain refocused my attention on the matter at hand.

My location was mysterious. Finding my whereabouts is my top priority. The secondary goals are to figure out why the letters were staring at me when I woke up, how they were related to a manga I had read before, and why I wasn't having a heart attack when I should have been.

At that point, a second box materialised.

//

Warning: Quest Ahead

//

To put it simply: where the hell am I?!

Even before you've had a chance to fully process the fact that you're awake, strange things are happening all around you in this unfamiliar place. Discover your current location. Secondary goals include expanding your knowledge of the strange events unfolding all around you.

//

500 Experience Points have been awarded. 1000 Experience Points if the secondary goal is also achieved. Methods Manual. To avoid appearing to be a dolt.

//

When the pop-up box appeared, I squinted my eyes and realised it looked just like the ones that would show up for Han Jee-Han whenever he was given a quest. That is to say, these "odd things" were actually just the unmodified form of The Gamer ability playing out in front of my eyes. That my assumption was true was shown by the fact that the plus symbol next to the secondary objective in the quest message box became grey when it was accomplished.

The fact that I didn't immediately freak out after acquiring this information confirmed to me that Gamer's Mind was doing its work and was altering my personality. Because I wasn't in any kind of dream and could clearly recall my entire life up until the moment I 'died,' I got out of bed and went in search of a mirror to have a look at myself. Perhaps it will provide some light on my previous whereabouts. For obvious reasons, I thought I'd stumbled into The Gamer's universe.

_____

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