Episode 1 - How about a Reset?

Mornings are supposed to be the time of day where people are full of energy, determined to finesse their work or make new breakthroughs in their lives no matter what they do.

But those kind of mornings are for the people who really set a positive mind set on things. I do get a bit jealous that I lost most of that kind of mindset, I hope to bring some of those back. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to my youth, or make a full reset.

Actually, speaking of resets. I think my dailies from the games I play have reset by now. I have made it a habit to clear my dailies as soon as I wake up so that I don't have to do them later in the day, and so that I can focus on more productive stuff. But it seems like the hectic hussle-and-bussle of the early morning travel to and fro is preventing me from doing said dailies.

I managed to squeeze through the crowd and got aboard the train, and it was surprisingly less crowded, even for a bit, than the usual. so a little bit of squeezing through didn't make much of a fuss from the people in here with me. The train is filled with the joys of youth, the anxiousness of graduates heading to their new found jobs, and the grumbles and sighs of middle-aged adults practically begging internally to just end the day.

Among those middle-aged adults aboard the train, I, Keita Sakamoto, am one of them. Though I say middle-aged, I actually just turned 30 about a month and half ago. But nowadays, some younger people call that middle-aged, so middle-aged I am then.

I got off the train and headed straight to my workplace. Not caring if I should still do my dailies early or not, despite not having a crowd in my way or any other hideous situation I could get into. I'm just looking forward to end this day already, it's a good that it's going to be a weekend tomorrow.

+-10 hours later-+

Tiring. As usual, today was a tiring day. And now I am finally heading home.

The night train is always expected to be near empty. If the morning train had a lot noise, the night train reciprocates that with nothing but the sounds of the train gliding through its tracks, the brakes grind in every stop.

After reaching my stop, I slowly walked to one of my favorite places to go: The local convenience store. One cannot fathom how handy it is to have a convenience store literally a few steps away from my home. If I needed something, I make my way here; If I wanted something, I bolt towards here.

As soon as I got in, I went straight to the beverages section, looking for some coffee or other dairy-based drink that has caffeine in it. I don't like drinking alcohol, I do drink, just that I drink it rather rarely. I spotted the bottled mocha and grabbed it and went to the ready-made meals; I can't be bothered to cook anymore.

I got the pork curry and I was ready for checkout. I saw a few rice balls, one of them had 5-in-1 so I took that while heading to the cashier.

"Good evening." The lady behind the counter greeted in a low but pleasing voice.

I greeted back. Would be rude not to.

"Would this be all, sir?" The lady asked.

"Yep."

"That would a total of 33.75. How would like to pay?"

"I'll pay 40 in cash."

"I received cash of 40." She proceeds to the usual cashier stuff. "Here is your change, sir: 6.25."

I put my items into a paper bag and took my change. "Thanks."

"Thank you for shopping with us!" Said the lady as I left the store.

I was famished. I can already hear and feel my stomach growling, begging to be fed already. I don't usually go out of work to buy lunch, so most of the time I go home very hungry.

I was already near my apartment when I heard an old man sitting quietly at a post.

"You, you there. Young man, can you hear me?" The old man beckoned weakly.

I approached him. "Good evening, sir. Why are you here?" I asked, full of worry.

"Who I am or why am I here matters not. All I ask for food for I have been here for a while now."

I argued with my thoughts. "I have a few food with me, 5 rice balls and a ready-made meal, this isn't heated yet though."

"No matter, whatever you think is good for yourself is what matters."

"Uh, it may be petty of me but you can have these rice balls. They're still quite fresh too."

"Are you sure, young man?"

"It's fine, I'll manage." I chuckled, knowing full well I have to buy again tomorrow morning. I took out the rice balls and presented it to him.

"Thank you." The old man grabbed it slowly. The hunger must have made him weaker than he already is.

He opened them gently and began to eat them, savoring each bite like it's his last meal on this world. I stood up and was about to go until he spoke again.

"What do you think of this life, young man?" He asked, his voice more clear and a bit louder than earlier.

I did a squat while leaning against the wall beside him. "What do you mean by that, sir?" I wondered.

"Oh, y'know, what do you think about what life has given you? Have you gained more freedom or less of it? Compared to your younger self, have you grown happier than ever before or have you fallen into a more pitiful state? Do you think you've done enough to satisfy this fragile gift given to you by whoever you believe in? Questions like that; Questions that are best asked after deciding on a major decision or after achieving or failing something that would greatly affect your life." The old man elaborated while he grabbed the last rice ball.

This was a lot to take in, the question was like a massive bomb dropped on top of my head. I have never thought of asking questions like that even during my teenage years. Never have I kept myself awake trying to come up with an answer as to why am I doing things. And this old man just made me think about my actions, actions that I have done for the past 30 years of my life.

"Hard to answer isn't it? I sense you're having a hard time trying to come up with an answer." The old man finished eating. "It's fine, there are no wrong or right answers. It is, after all, about life. What you think is wrong, will be the wrong answer and what you think is right, is right." He said as he sat up straight.

I had to say something. "I'll be honest. I don't know. I actually don't know what to think of this life. Plain, I guess? Stale, always the same thing almost everyday. Me and my friends rarely get together nowadays, I barely know them anymore actually." I sighed, deeply.

The old man sighed too but it sounded more relieved than mine. "What do you wish to do next?" He asked.

"It's either I get a better life or start anew but as someone different? I dunno, either of those I guess?" I laughed sadly, finally coming into my senses after all the struggle I've done.

The old man suddenly stood up. I never thought he could stand up. He looked so weak and pale when I saw him. Now, he's standing straighter than I do.

He approached me, looking deep into my eyes. He had aquatic cyan eyes and they began to glow as he pat me on the shoulder. "How about a reset?"

I couldn't look away, and all I can do was make a reply. And without any more thinking I replied. "Sure?"

"You are unsure, but no matter. You have shown me good, and I shall repay that tenfold." He said and the last thing I saw was a really bright glow that practically disabled my vision.

+-...-+

Black. Darkness. No light or a source of it anywhere. Great, I got myself blinded by an unknown old man, and probably crippled and deafened too.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came out of nowhere. "Welcome adventurer."

Adventurer? It's like the RPG games I used to play. Damn I miss those, but I'll horse around with what's going on right now.

"Please choose your origins:"

A HUD of some sort showed up in front of me. Sure is good news that I didn't become blind.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

|| Classes ||

\Fighter\ \Marksman\ \Reconnier\ \Enchantier\ \Guardian\ \Magus\ \Juggernaut\ \Blademaster\

|| Nations ||

\Rezine Cherry Valley\ \Kingdom of Luondar\ \City of the Clouded Gardens\

\Wintry Town of Juormuun\ \Kingdom of Nilopherim\ \The Shackled Kingdom\ \City of Staemforde\

\Tide of Phuoruna\ \Kingdom of Hnohmaein\ \Meadow Town of Strofur\

|| Races ||

\Human\ \Elven\ \Dwarven\ \Humongen\ \Goblic\ \Draculic\ \Dragonic\

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Impressive. These choices is so MMO-like. I missed seeing a HUD like this. Of course, I went with Human as a race. It is supposed to be a reset of my life.

Blademaster sounds cool, seems strong in most cases too. So I went with that. As for my nation of origin, I went with Strofur. Sounds like a laid back place.

"Analyzing choices, completing life creation." There was a bunch of digital sounds going off all around me as the voice spoke.

"Enter: Keita Sakamoto \ Age 17 \ Class: Blademaster \ Nation: Meadow Town of Strofur \ Race: Human\ Life created! Welcome to Zeronaia."

Zeronaia? I guess that's the name of the 'new world' I'm sent to. Can't say I find the name funny, too techy sounding. The voice went away and began to feel like I'm falling but everything is still dark.

I don't know what awaits me on the other side of this void or I don't know what to expect, all I know is I'm falling. Maybe I'll just close my eyes and hope for the best.

+-EPISODE 1 END-+