The Beginning

Briingggg! Bringggg!

The alarm clock rang aloud in the dark and tiny room, and because of that, the man lying down on the mat awoken.

Oli reached for the alarm clock to stop it from ringing, and when it stopped, he slowly sat up and released a deep breath.

"Sigh. As always, same usual."

Oli started to get up from the mat and do his daily routine. Light exercise and jog early in the morning around the city. accomplishes

After he exercised, he took a shower and ate his leftover dinner last night, and while eating, Oli couldn't help but think about the events in his life.

Oli is twenty years old and has no parents. He grew up in an orphanage, and never once in his life did he know and feel what having a parent is.

Ever since Oli became aware of everything, he had only seen two purposes in his life; to be successful and have many children he can and make them feel the love of a parent he never felt.

But now, it seems vague that it will happen because of his current status right now.

When Oli turned eighteen, he left the orphanage to pursue his goals in life, and because he was still in the early stage of his life, he had strong self-confidence, determined that Oli could achieve his two goals but all ' that changed when he experienced the real challenge of life.

Oli is only a high school graduate and, because of that, it was difficult for him to find a job and, if he could find one, his salary was small. Not a day goes by that he doesn't stop working to save money and build his own business, but because his salary is not enough and his income goes almost to his daily needs, he has no savings at all.

When Oli noticed that he finished eating the food, he got up to put on his work clothes. Oli wore his orange multi-pocket functional pants and orange long sleeves with yellow stripes on the front and back, and then, he put on his safety boots and took his hard hat, and stood in the front of the mirror to look at himself.

All he could see was an Asian young man with messy black hair and black eyes who, if stared at, were as deep as the black hole, had a pointed nose and a noticeable tiny mustache for not being able to shave. Medium body, the muscles are not that big and, one can say that it is a physically fit body and age-appropriate.

A little grooming and self-cleaning will reveal Oli's hidden grace. Yes, Oli is handsome and, even though he doesn't take good care of himself, women still look at him, and what if he fixes himself? One would think that he was a top model of a famous clothing and perfume brand, a top-class handsome.

And with the lack of a budget, Oli is no longer able to organize himself very well. The money he will use to buy body care products will go for food and house rent.

Oli let out a deep breath and left in the front of the mirror. He looked at the clock and, when he noticed that the bus was about to arrive, he hurried out of his room and locked it.

A little did he know that today, the day he will never forget until his final breath, the day that would serve as a bridge for him to attain his goal.

A brand new world is waiting for him.

***

When Oli arrived at the bus stop, there was a long queue to wait before Oli could get on the bus.

"Tsk! Because I'm overwhelmed with thoughts of what happened to me, I'm last to the queue. Too long!" Oli just released a deep breath.

Admitting defeat, Oli promised himself that he would wake up earlier so that he would be first in the queue. While he was waiting for him to board the bus, Oli searched the money in his pocket and, when he found it, he grasped it to calculate if his fare was correct.

But when he took it out, a coin fell from his hand and rolled to the ground away from him.

"The heck? Wai-- sigh" Oli said and started chasing the coin that fell.

If it's someone else, they'll probably let it go, and they wouldn't mind it, but it was Oli who dropped the coin, and for Oli, every coin counts.

The coin rolled quite far from the bus stop and stopped in front of an...

old man: a beggar.

The old beggar picked it up and slowly lifted it and, at the same time, Oli raised his head and looked at it and, as if they were in a romance movie because the two of them were looking at each other in slow motion.

They stared at each other for a minute, but when Oli remembered his coin, he immediately blinked and looked away at the same time said

"Ah, Excuse me, sir, that coin is min--." Oli didn't finish what he was saying when the old beggar suddenly spoke and bowed to him repeatedly.

"Thank you so much, young man! This money is a big help to me! I can finally buy food!"

"Ah, sir, no, that is acci--." Again, Oli did not finish what he was going to say when the beggar suddenly laughed and spoke in a low voice.

"Kurururu, there are still good people at the moment and this era."

Oli was perplexed by what the old man was saying and, then he thought...

'Ah no, it was just an accident that the coin fell and rolled in front of you, and you haven't let me finish speaking.'

"Young man, there is a saying that if someone gives you something, give them something in return." The beggar said as he took the ring from his pocket.

The ring is black with a black stone on it. You can see in this ring that it is extremely aged, and the design engraved around it dates back to the Middle Ages.

Oli was shocked by what he saw and, after a while, one could see the disgust on his face. 'The fvck? Is he crazy?!' Oli just said to himself still having disgust on his face, and the old beggar noticed it.

"Kurarara, KURARA KURARA, don't fret young man. I did not propose to you. I'm not into men, geez. I want a woman with busty boobs." The old beggar said while grinning.

'What a pervert. Well, a woman with busty boobs is beautiful and attractive but, sometimes flat is justice! Yeah! Flat is justice!' Oli thought while also grinning.

"Kurara Kurara, look, you agree with me too!" The old beggar said as he pulled Oli's hand and placed the ring on his palm.

"Don't worry, young man. That ring will help you, and I'm sure you'll like it. Just a little tip, resolve yourself and fight for what you believe in." The old beggar said seriously to Oli and folded his fingers to hide the ring.

Oli blinked a few times. Then he looked at his hand that is currently in a closed fist. A few seconds have passed, Oli looked again in his front only to find out that the old beggar was nowhere to see.

"What the fuck?!" Oli was just astonished by what he witnessed and experienced. Then unexpectedly, he felt a shiver in his whole body.

"Is he a ghost?! Damn! I'm talking to the ghost?! Shoot! I'm late! Damn that old man!" Oli said, then he put the ring in his pocket and go back to the bus stop.

He didn't know that ring would change his life forever.

***

In the tall building, a majestic and dignified white-haired old man wearing a golden robe with the embroidery of a clock at the back of his robe was standing on the rooftop while looking at the young man running back to the bus stop. He didn't look like a beggar who had talked to Oli because now the way he dressed and his appearance is far from being a beggar.

"Kurarara, remember what I told you Oli, your journey will be one of a kind! Kuraa, I'm sure it's fun to watch it! Looks like I won't be bored for a while!"

Then suddenly, he was enveloped in golden light, and then quickly rose into the sky and suddenly vanished from sight.

***

It was about six o'clock in the afternoon when Oli got home. He immediately took off his safety shoes and long sleeves and lay on the mat.

"What an exhausting day."

Oli said, and he was about to close his eyes but, when he remembered the ring that the old beggar gave him, he immediately opened his eyes and got up, and took the ring from his pocket and examined it.

"How much will it cost if I sell it? It looks antique, so it's probably priced high. Tomorrow I'll go to the antique shop to ask about the price. If it is expensive, I'll sell it."

Oli said while looking at the ring. Then out of nowhere, a thought suddenly came to Oli what if he tried to wear it? Oli just shrugged then, put the ring on his right hand on the middle finger, and, when he put it in, a burst of green light came out of the ring.

"What the?! Argh!"

Oli covered his eyes with his other hand so that he would not be dazzled by the green light. The green light also lasted a few minutes before it completely disappeared and faded.

"What the hell was that?!"

Oli cussed hard when the green light disappeared.

"What sorcery is this?! What did that old man give me?! Cursed? Shit, will I lose myself and destroy the world?! Haaaa what, am I saying. Maybe this ring is just battery-powered, so it shines."

"Argh ugh"

Oli tried to remove the ring from his finger but, he could not remove it.

***

It's been almost 15 minutes, but Oli still can't remove the ring on his finger. Oli just sighed then looked again at the ring.

"What the heck is this ring? Also who's that old man?"

Oli said while accidentally touching the black rock on the top of the ring, and a few moments later, Oli noticed something at his feet that appeared to have a dim green light, and when he looked at it, Oli was immediately stunned by what he saw.

What he saw was the shape of a door and, the surroundings had a faint green light, while the inside of the door was very dark and, he could not see what was inside.

Oli immediately backed away when he saw the door in front of him. Although nervous, Oli quickly took his umbrella just in case someone or something came out of the weird door, Oli had a weapon to use, but a few minutes later, nothing changed in the door.

"What the fuck is this? Wait, this is what I read in manga, manhwa, and novels? Is this a portal? A portal to what?"