Truck-kun

It was a quiet night, and I was looking forward to getting to my rented apartment to rest after a long day of work.

"I really was naïve after leaving college," I sighed, regretting underestimating how exhausting my life would become.

Then, the silence was broken by the deafening roar of a roaring engine echoing in the night air.

I looked up bewildered to see an old pickup truck, painted a faded blue, emerging swiftly.

The vehicle wobbled slightly, evidencing a lack of control on the part of its driver as it accelerated toward me.

My heart was pounding as I instinctively backed away, desperately seeking an escape route to avoid the crash.

Unfortunately, it was too late; the impact was inevitable. I could only watch as the van plunged violently onto the sidewalk.

The last thought that crossed my mind was the cold certainty that I would die before experiencing enormous pain for an instant, 

Then, I was plunged into a deep, serene darkness.

―○●○―

The professor's voice drifted past one ear and out the other as I rested my cheek on my left hand and my right arm on my desk.

As an engineering student, high school math seemed trivial, making it difficult to pay attention.

And yes, as you may have noticed, the 25-year-old adult returned to his school days when he was 15 years old in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.

Over time, I noticed big and small changes in 2018 Japan, but broadly speaking, it remained the same.

Apparently, the theory of parallel worlds was not a pipe dream. Maybe time travel isn't either; too bad I don't remember the winning lottery numbers.

Well, I had plenty of time to carefully evaluate how to take advantage of future information, like those novel protagonists.

After all, it was June in my first year at Sugisawa Municipal High School. 

As I pondered my situation, I waited for the bell to ring, marking the end of the school day since it was the seventh and final period.

Although thinking about it now, it was a pity that, despite dying because of Truck-kun, I had not received any cheat.

Upon hearing such rambling thoughts, many would have laughed angrily and wondered how anyone could be so greedy.

Despite having time-traveled back to my youth with the benefits that entailed, I now wanted more. How brave!

But as has always been proven, the world is never fair, and sometimes God plays favorites, even if the outcome is unpleasant and biased.

[You have acquired the rights to become a Player. Will you accept?]

Letters suspended in the air, arranged on a transparent, floating screen, suddenly appeared.

I closed my eyes and then opened them again but "it" continued to float in front of me.

Also, I realized that I was the only one able to see the floating screen with that suspicious message, fortunately.

Still slightly dazed, I tried reaching my hands toward the floating words, but my fingers went right through the screen.

I swallowed saliva as a hard-to-describe emotion coursed through my body. Is this what it is? I wondered.

A realization hit me hard as the bell stopped ringing, and the students began to prepare to leave.

This realization came from the web novels I had long stopped reading due to work and limited time in the distant future.

I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts, gathered my things quickly, and headed home, wishing to be alone for obvious reasons.

...

Once home, I bolted my room and warned my mother by phone not to interrupt me as I planned to study.

My mother owned a bakery. My father, who had passed away, was not a concern. 

Here is one of the big differences between this dimension and the original one, if my dimension could even be evaluated as such.

My father was not killed in a car accident when I was just 3 years old. Instead, he was murdered, the culprit, still out on the streets.

My mother hasn't wanted to talk to me much about it, but from some of the things I've heard at family gatherings, it was brutal; she pales at the memory of it.

Anyway, to the subject at hand.

I did not know what awaited me, but I also suffered from immense curiosity. After a debate about whether to take this step, I finally made a decision.

I steeled myself, slapping my cheeks and fixing my eyes on the floating window. I gathered my resolve and then said: 

"Yes, I accept the right to become a Player."

The next moment, the window that had unchangingly awaited my response dispersed, only to be replaced by a new one.

[Congratulations on becoming a Player.]

Accompanying this new message, a Tti-ring resounded from who knows where reminding me of typical novel systems.

[You have new messages.]

So far, I have not felt any different, but I must continue exploring this System to unravel its mysteries.

It reminded me a lot of the structure I saw in many games. I tried several phrases to see those new messages until I found the right one.

"Open the message window."

The moment I uttered the word 'open,' that phantom beeping sound that seemed to originate from my head sounded once again, and the window changed.

Tti-ring! 

[There are two unread messages.]

- Welcome to the new [Players] (Unread).

- [Daily quest: Preparations to becoming stronger] (Unread).

The whole process up to this point was clunky, and a tutorial would undoubtedly be helpful, but it's not like I can complain to the developers.

"Let's look at the first message first," I said. Besides, with previous trial and error experiences, it was easier. Although slow, it still.

'Confirm.'

Another discovery was that I could interact with this System without speaking words or commands aloud.

[Welcome for new players.]

[This System will support the growth of the 'Player.']

[Failing to comply with the System's instructions will result in potential penalties.]

[If comply successfully, you will receive a rewards.]

Penalty?

That sure didn't sound like a good thing. Not only that, but the penalty's severity, danger, and limits were also important questions.

He was a bit terrified, as he still didn't want to die, but the step was already taken, and now it only remained to continue, even if he was wary.

On the other hand, I was naturally very interested in the rewards. But thanks to the vagueness of the message, I remained very cautious.

But there was no time to worry about that. I still had to read the next message. Gulp, I swallowed nervously. 

[There is one unread message.]

- Welcome to the new [Players] (Read).

- [Daily quest: Preparations to becoming stronger] (Unread).

This mission was likely related to those rewards and, more importantly, the penalties previously mentioned.