I Got a Cheat Skill As a Quiet Kid in Elite School

Ars Segrain, a seventeen-year-old anime enthusiast, spent most of his days reading fantasy novels and binge-watching isekai anime. Living alone, he enjoyed a relatively carefree life. However, everything changed when he encountered a storm—not a literal one, but a storm of depressing anime.

Ars laughed in the face of melancholy plots, confident he could handle them. But he was wrong. After watching A Silent Voice, he found himself spiraling into a brief depression. Eventually, his strong will prevailed, and he returned to his beloved isekai anime. His all-time favorite was The Eminence in Shadow. Upon finishing this masterpiece, Ars began imagining himself as the protagonist of his favorite stories.

One day, he noticed a recurring theme in these shows: the protagonist was often killed by the legendary Truck-kun before reincarnating in another world. Suddenly, Ars had an epiphany.

"I got it! Yeah, I got it!" he exclaimed. "If I get hit by the legendary Truck-kun, I'll be reincarnated in a fantasy world too! I'll have a life of adventure and maybe even marry a princess or a beautiful elf queen!"

Lost in his fantasies, Ars was brought back to reality by an unwelcome thought: rent was due. The one thing he feared more than anything was his rent, and he had no money to pay it.

Last month, Ars had quit his part-time job after a heated argument with his boss. Worse, he had spent all his savings on manga and anime merchandise. Now broke, he had no choice but to find a new job. Determined, Ars left his apartment with a smile, convinced he'd secure work quickly.

Standing tall at 190 cm with striking looks, Ars turned heads wherever he went. Girls couldn't help but stare as he passed, but Ars, ever the Sigma male, paid them no mind. Instead, he focused on his dreams of buying new anime figures, upgrading his ancient PC, and indulging in video games once he earned his salary.

As Ars walked, daydreaming about his future purchases, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion. His heart skipped a beat. Strangely, no one else seemed to notice the sound. Alarmed and confused, Ars ran toward the source of the noise.

When he arrived, he was stunned to see a glowing portal in the middle of the street. Even more bizarrely, people were walking through it as though it didn't exist. Ars pinched himself, hoping to wake from a bad dream, but the portal was real.

"This can't be happening," Ars muttered, his voice trembling.

Terrified yet intrigued, Ars approached the portal. His mind raced with possibilities: was it a gateway to a world of demons and monsters, or could it be the door to the fantasy realm he had always dreamed of? Excitement replaced his fear as he whispered, "Is this... my chance for reincarnation?"

Ars thanked the heavens for this miraculous opportunity. He imagined wielding magic, living a life of luxury, and leaving behind his mundane existence. To Ars, wealth meant endless anime marathons on a giant screen and indulging in his favorite foods without financial worries.

Gathering his courage, Ars reached out to touch the portal. His fingers passed through its shimmering surface—it was real. As he prepared to step inside, a horrifying sound stopped him in his tracks. The unmistakable roar of an engine approached at full speed.

It was Truck-kun.

Before Ars could react, the truck hit him, ending his story—or so it seemed.

In his final moments, Ars's mind replayed the happiest scenes of his life. The memory of Luffy's Gear 5 transformation from One Piece filled him with excitement and nostalgia. But then a dreadful realization struck him: he hadn't watched Dragon Ball Daima yet, the last work of his favorite author.

"I can't die before watching it!" he screamed internally.

Summoning every ounce of strength, Ars forced himself awake. Adrenaline surged through his body, jolting him back to consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital bed, covered in bandages.

It wasn't reincarnation. It was reality.

Tears welled up in Ars's eyes, not from the pain of his injuries but from the crushing truth: he had no money to pay for his treatment.

And so, Ars's journey continued—not in a fantasy world, but in the harsh, unforgiving reality of life.

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