Charles was exhausted. The day had been a whirlwind thanks to final exams at university, but now that he was home, to unwind, he'd spent the night playing a video game on the hardest difficulty setting.
The last thing he remembered was flopping onto his bed, controller still within reach, before shutting his eyes to sleep.
His mind had been gearing up for the next exam he'd face tomorrow—completely unprepared, of course—but now…
"Huh? Where am I?"
Charles snapped his eyes open and found himself on his knees, a damp rag in his hand and a bucket of water by his side. He was wearing a white tunic, slightly grimy at the edges, and the background noise was… chaotic.
There were shouts, cheers, and the sharp crack of something breaking.
Charles blinked, bewildered. He glanced around and realized he was in a narrow hallway with worn stone walls.
A few meters ahead, the hallway opened into a wider area where people sat in stands, all fixated on something he couldn't see from where he was.
The ground trembled faintly, and a splash of water rained down from above, hitting the floor.
Charles looked up. There was an elevated platform—like some kind of arena—and water kept dripping from its edge.
"The winner of the match is Kael Cole!" a deep voice boomed from the platform, amplified by the echo of the place.
The crowd went wild. Some clapped enthusiastically, while others cursed and chucked what looked like silver coins onto the ground.
Charles covered his ears—the noise was getting unbearable.
What is this? Am I stuck in the plot of a fighting game? he thought, frowning.
Charles had read novels about people ending up inside games or fictional worlds, but this place didn't resemble anything he recognized.
Charles played video games every day, hopping between titles because no single game ever fully clicked for him.
I need to gather more intel, Charles thought as he stood up, no longer kneeling.
If he could get a better look around, maybe he'd figure out what was going on—or, best-case scenario, wake up from this dream.
But as Charles took a step toward a set of stone stairs leading up from the hallway, someone shouted behind him.
"Hey, Rian Cole! What the heck do you think you're doing?"
Charles, assuming it wasn't about him, ignored it.
"You there! The one climbing the stairs! Stop!" the man insisted when Charles didn't respond.
The scolding felt so real that Charles froze mid-step and turned his head.
A scrawny guy, wearing the same white tunic as him, glared at him with a furrowed brow. He held a rag in one hand and a bucket in the other, his face red with irritation.
Judging by the look of disdain the guy shot his way, it was clear he wasn't a fan.
"Did he just call me Rian Cole?" Charles muttered under his breath.
"What are you doing?" the man demanded, stomping over with quick steps. "Rian, have you lost your mind or what? We've got to clean all this up!"
The man waved his arm dramatically, gesturing at the hallway and its dusty, stained walls.
"You already used your bathroom break earlier, so stay put and get back to work!"
Charles blinked, confused.
Bathroom break? he thought, racking his brain.
If he was trapped in a game or a novel, he figured he must've taken over the body of someone important, but…
Who the heck was Rian Cole?
Charles couldn't recall any character by that name from the video games he'd played recently, but something else hit him too…
His memories of friends and family from the real world were starting to blur.
As the man kept chewing him out, Charles had an idea.
In tons of games and novels, there was a system—a pop-up window showing stats or info about the character you controlled.
Status, Charles thought, hoping something would float up in front of his eyes.
But… nothing happened.
Charles frowned and, a little embarrassed, tried it out loud this time.
"Status."
The man stopped mid-rant and stared at Charles, puzzled.
"What'd you say, Rian?"
Charles coughed, feeling heat creep up his cheeks even though he was pretty sure this world wasn't real.
I don't need to pay attention to this background NPC. I've got to play this right, he thought before raising his voice:
"Status."
Still nothing.
No window, no glow, no sound popped up in front of him.
Charles tried again, switching it up.
"Status! Oh… wait, maybe it's… Stats? Menu?"
The man took a step back, totally thrown off by Charles's muttering.
"Are you okay in the head, Rian? What's wrong with you today?"
Charles froze, staring at the guy, unable to believe it.
There was no system.
No matter how hard he tried, no floating screen with stats, skills, or quests appeared before him.