Chapter 1: uh oh

In the bustling world of East View High School, where the smell of blue raspberry vape assaults the senses during restroom breaks and friendships are forged in the hopes of snagging a dollar for a vending machine snack, a young student named Donny sat alone in his 4th-period class. His anxiety disorder cast a shadow over his social interactions, while his peers chattered and laughed. He kept his head down and focused on classwork.

After class, he found himself outside, sitting under a tree in the world of "The Elementalists," a captivating visual novel that had become his sanctuary.

"FUCK! I missed the QTE. You would think I have ADD, how quickly I lose focus. Now I have to redo the whole chapter for this playthrough. Damn, I hate Mobile Visual Novels," he muttered to himself.

Donny was never a big fan of mobile visual novels, as they would lock crucial decisions in the stories behind hundreds of dollars worth of microtransactions. But The PendPals had somehow wedged a hole between him and this mild distaste. He wondered if he could ever be as charismatic as the main character. Ever since he could remember, he was never really talkative, even towards his siblings and parents. Whenever he tried to talk to somebody, it was as if the words were stuck behind a fork in his throat. This state of slight crisis and embarrassment often led him to enter a stance his mom liked to call "The Penguin" and end up not saying anything at all.

As he got older, the penguin went with his childhood, but the effects of his lack of social interaction stayed with him. He had some friends that stuck with him through kindergarten, but he could never seem to make any other friends in school. As much as his friends tried to introduce him to people they knew, the most he could do was small talk. He never really knew how to start up a conversation or keep one going for long. Socializing just wasn't his strong suit.

Sighing, he remarked to himself, "D*sney really sugarcoated the high school experience. It's just drug addicts, whores, and predatory teachers." Dismissing that odd thought, he clicked the redo chapter button for his final playthrough when a strange pop-up interrupted his gameplay.

"Do you wish to change the fate of this world?" the pop-up read.

"These Niggas will do anything to advertise microtransactions," he muttered, clicking "no." However, the pop-up just reappeared again, and a little annoyed, he clicked "no" five more times before giving up and just clicking "yes."

"Curses, microtransactions! This isn't the last you'll see of me," he grumbled as he noticed that his Apple Pay information didn't appear, but another pop-up asked him, "What would you wish for to help you change the fate of this world?"

Realizing his stupidity, he thought, "Oh... it's a user survey. I'm an idiot... Wait, aren't user surveys supposed to be optional?" Brushing it off, he filled in the blank boxes with his wishes.

"Hmm, if I were to change the fate of Penderghast, I'd definitely want a system to help me out, give me quests and rewards, and a shop to buy things so I'd have something to work towards. I've always had a problem with priority management, honestly. I feel like we all do. Wait, who am I talking to?"

"Anyways, for a second wish, I'd definitely want to have the physique to where I could utilize magic to its fullest, akin to a source but not limited to just one type of magic, like sources. And I want the source of my magic to be from my growth and not connected to the sources themselves so they can't just manipulate my magic."

"And for my final wish, I'd want to have the gamer's mind and body skill from the webtoon 'The Gamer.' I'd want the gamer's mind to have eidetic memory added onto it, as well as for the gamer's body to have adaptability added onto it so I build resistances to whatever harms me."

He would come to regret only thinking about it for 5 minutes.

Another pop-up appeared: "Your New Fate Begins Now, Young one."

"Huh?" Seconds later, everything went black, and he was suddenly at the bottom of a lake, coughing at the edge of a mystical lake as odd-looking fishes made a weird face at him, which he found irritating, as if they were laughing at him for being gill-less. Ignoring them, he did a quick recap of the events.

As he was flailing around in shock and confusion, a strong hand gripped his forearm and pulled him up out of the water. A dark-skinned man with a look of shock and worry entered his view as he climbed out of the lake, taking a big gasp of air. The air was incredibly fresh, unlike the air he was used to, which

"It was comparable to cigarette smoke. It was as if a 300-pound weight was lifted off of me. I felt like I was living for the first time in my life.

The man extended a hand to help him up off the ground. I took it and pulled myself up, gathering my bearings. I turned to thank him, but I noticed that the familiar surroundings of East View had vanished, replaced by the familiar crest of an ouroboros that I knew I'd seen somewhere.

With a deep breath, he suddenly remembered the man's existence as the young man patiently waited for him to regain his bearings. I looked towards him, finally understanding where I'm at and slowly comprehending what's going on. My pulse quickened with a mix of trepidation and exhilaration. I cleared my throat and spoke, "...'"

To be continued...