1 Chapter 1

Have you ever fantasized about being the main character in a story where you're sent to a fictional world with one or more overpowered abilities to do as you please?

Me? Well, I often fantasize that kind of situation… I blamed the cliché wish-fulfillment power-fantasy fanfiction that rotted my brain!

By the way, my name was Reinhard Frost. I was then 19 years old.

I lived alone in one room of the apartment building I inherited from my deceased parents. They died several months ago in a traffic accident.

When my parents were alive, they didn't have high expectations for me other than wanting me to grow up to be a respectable and responsible person. Looking at my current lifestyle, I couldn't help but wonder what they'd say.

I was far from the proper responsible and respectable adult my parents wished me to be. I was a shut-in Otaku who excessively indulged in fictional works: anime, manga, novels, and fanfiction to name a few.

I wasn't in college, and I wasn't working either. The rent from my tenants was more than enough to support my life and my hobby.

I wasn't like this when my parents were alive. Sure enough, I often indulged in my hobby, but it wasn't this bad.

The drastic shift in my personality happened after the death of my parents. I used my hobby to forget the pain from losing my parents.

Apart from my favorite works of fiction and fanfiction, I had no attachments in my life. Even so, I still feared death… I meant, who didn't fear death?

Anyways, enough with my backstory. Let's focus on this story.

One night, after I uploaded several chapters of my first fanfiction, I got an online ad. Normally, I would close annoying ads, but this one was different.

"A challenge to be the Shield Hero? What the heck is this?" I bemusedly stared at the screen of my smartphone.

'Who's so bored to create and publish such an ad?' I incredulously wondered.

After regaining my senses, I skimmed the content of the ad. It was a challenge to be the Shield Hero in a timeline where the Spirit of the Shield was unable to summon Naofumi Iwatani.

The challenge was to preserve the world's survival indefinitely. If the world was destroyed, it was game over.

By the way, Rising of the Shield Hero is one of my favorite series. Therefore, I'd read the light novel up to the latest volume before the author, Aneko Yusagi, went on hiatus.

More than a year break from writing… Yeah, I hoped that it was only a hiatus and not being dropped.

Anyway, back to the story.

"Has my turn to be like the main character in those wish-fulfillment power-fantasy fan-fiction finally come?" I asked myself jokingly.

I wanted to close the ad but stopped myself at the last moment.

"Actually, I have nothing to lose except a few minutes if I try this ad. Okay, let's give this thing a try," I decided.

I touched the confirm button. The ad loaded a new content that ordered me to write one thing in the text box, be it an ability, an item, or even a character, as my boon.

After careful consideration, I inputted "Skill Creation with no energy consumption, no cooldown, and no expiration" and touched the confirm button.

Yes, of course, I realized what I inputted was too much. A skill like that would make me too strong and capable of breaking the balance of the story, but I didn't really care about the balance of the story or whatever.

'It's not like I'm gonna be Isekai'd for real…' was my thought at the time.

As I waited for the ad page to load the new content, I realized what I'd done. I got carried away by what amounted to nonsense.

'It seems I was expecting this ad to be real in my subconscious! Hilarious!' I inwardly mocked myself.

Shaking my head, I put aside unnecessary thoughts and looked at the new content of the ad.

[ Warning: You will never be able to return to your current life. Proceed with caution! < Confirm > < Decline > ]

I let out a huff in amusement. A moment later, I touched the confirm button unhesitatingly.