Processing

Life has been tough recently.

I got fired just earlier today, lost years to depression, still studying for my bachelor with people ten years younger than me and barely able to provide for my toddler, husband and wife.

Most people would assume I am in my early to mid twenties due to my round baby face and lack of grey hairs. But this old man is 31 at his point. I am usually unkempt and dressed sloppily, but took extra care of my wardrobe today, which means mismatched shirt and trousers but both are clean at least. Now I am waiting at the bus stop to head home and tell everyone what happened.

With a sigh I open my reader app and open one of the many stories that I downloaded. Today I decide to read another one of the inverse Isekai stories. One of those of the popular genre where the world turns to a game and protagonist knows what's going to happen.

They either reversed time or more rarely they read or played the story that's going to happen.

There's plenty of those and they are rather soothing to read. And a good read is what I need right now.

I chuckle as I read how my boy keeps taunting the actual protagonist for the figurative hundredth time just to get the good ending.

"What's so funny?" Justin, a former colleague who doesn't know I got let go, is waiting at the bus stop with me. "Oh, just some funny bits in my stories." He nods, knowing about my binge reading, like everyone in the office.

Our ride is so late, the next one after is already behind schedule. As the clock hits 19:30 a UI element appears in front of me, the text saying loading.

My mind races. Is this from a story I know? I look at Justin, he looks surprised at thin air, but I see nothing. Private windows, doesn't narrow it down. Background black with green text, monospace font, looks like a Linux terminal. That leaves only stories where the UI is not described, as I don't recognise it. "Do you see that?" Justin asks, slightly rattled. I shake my head "no, but you can't see my window either. If my stories are anything to go by, you should call home and tell them to prepare for trouble in the near future" He looks at me andnods, before getting his phone and calling someone.

I call my wife and husband over discord. Alexandra, my wife picked up. "Nik? You also got a window? Eric is having a panic attack from it appearing and the baby seems to be trying to touch something in the air, so everyone seems to have one." In the background a high voice shouts "I am not a baby!" It's our son, Karl. Eric joins the call.

Eric: "What the fuck is happening? Are you alright?"

Me: "Yeah, for now. Before you panic, write everyone to prepare, something will happen once the window updates. I don't know how long we'll have. Even the Internet could die any second. Al can hopefully explain what this is, if I get cut off. I suspect a dungeon scenario like being sucked in a multiplayer game. Remember the many rpg scenarios I made, with us playing ourselves in a fantasy world? Similar to that. I will head home, stay calm and help others, we don't want the usual result of panic of something like this. I will probably need to walk, this might take until tomorrow."

Alex: "I could try picking you up with the car"

Me: "Not a good idea, the other drivers could be panicking. One more important tip, do not assume a genre!"

Eric:"What do you mean?"

Alex: "Probably that you die in a movie, if you think it's a different one. The gritty supernatural horror survivor would become the unhinged psychopath if the genre was mundane thriller. And that even in zombie movies you never know how it spreads, even if you know its setting is zombie apocalypse."

Me: "Exactly, try to figure out the setting. We don't know what will come. Stay near home and..."

Eric: "My scroll rolled up, I think it's happening."

Me: "Scroll? What do you..."

I get cut off by the Internet dying and the terminal starts updating.

Processing complete.

Nikopol Alset has been assigned highest Meta rank.

To protect integrity, Nikopol Alset will be moved to special stage Labyrintos.