Renz was a very ordinary person. Aside from his good looks, he was pretty average—at least until he turned fifteen. He went to school every day, came home every day, and his grades were neither excellent nor terrible. His hobbies consisted of reading novels and playing games.
However, everyone has something they're good at. It's impossible to be bad at everything. One day, Renz reached the number one spot on the competitive ladder of his favorite game, and a club reached out to him. When they offered a guaranteed monthly salary of over ten thousand, Renz hesitated. His family wasn't wealthy, and that amount was already considered quite high. But Renz wasn't stupid. He knew that e-sports was a short-lived career. After a few years as a pro, with no other skills, he'd be left struggling.
So, he signed an amateur professional player contract with the club—one that wouldn't interfere with his studies. His academics would be put on hold during his pro career but could resume afterward. Of course, the professional road was tough. Was being number one on the ladder that impressive? Not really—it only meant he had potential. His first month as a rookie was rough, and viewers criticized him heavily. But Renz didn't give up. He kept training, improving, and learning to work with his teammates—especially since the club was paying him. What followed was a legendary year of growth.
But then... he encountered choices that clashed with his values. To cut losses and block other teams from negotiating a transfer, the club triggered a contract clause that sent Renz to study in Japan for four years. If not for that, Renz never would've gone to Japan as a foreign student. And who would've guessed that on his very first day studying there, he'd encounter a ghost?
He had just finished the transfer procedures and was ready for classes to begin. Returning to his rental apartment, he got bored, found a game disc lying around, and decided to try it. A bit of casual play—then suddenly, he woke up and found his entire world changed.
Wife. Son. Daughter. All at once.
Completely outrageous.
The most shocking part was, Renz had never even imagined himself getting married. That part, he truly didn't understand. He wasn't exactly easy to get along with. His personality could be described as "dense," or more bluntly, stubborn. Once he believed something was right, he followed it through; if it clashed with his principles, he'd rather die than compromise. That's partly why he had fallen out with the club.
Then it hit him.
Erina Nakiri. That had to be it.
She was stunning—not just blonde, but perfectly curvy. She was rich. She could cook. She had everything a man could ask for. So, that must've been the reason. Under such circumstances, marriage didn't sound impossible.
But another question popped up: Why would she be interested in him? What strengths did he have?
Renz narrowed his eyes in thought. Did he eat a lot? Was he particularly good at games? Did he throw money around on in-game purchases? None of these could be called actual strengths.
The answer likely lay in those ten blank years in Japan. What exactly had he done during that time?
On the subway, Renz mulled over the meaning of life. It was rush hour—crowded and noisy. He sat in a seat with a little boy next to him and Rina on his lap. The odd combination drew glances. Renz looked quite young. Technically, he was twenty-seven, but he appeared barely into his twenties. Rina, noticing the attention, squirmed uncomfortably and buried herself in Renz's arms, her tiny hands tightly clutching his shirt.
They arrived at their station.
Stepping off the subway, Renz held little Haruki Nakiri by his left hand and the petite Rina Nakiri by his right. After walking a few hundred meters, they finally reached the kindergarten. He'd relied entirely on his phone's GPS to get there. His first day as a dad had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Meanwhile, Erina Nakiri was rummaging through the house. As Renz had mentioned earlier, what they lacked now was information—details about their lives, connections, and professions. Thankfully, Erina had a habit of keeping a diary. She found the key to a drawer tucked inside her bag. Since childhood, anything private or important, she'd hidden there.
Opening the dark-colored cabinet, she found her diary, the family register transcript, and some old photo albums. And then she noticed something odd: Why were there wedding photos in every single room? Erina couldn't picture her future self being so affectionate with a guy she didn't even particularly like. Besides thinking fast and having a somewhat ordinary appearance, Renz didn't seem like someone with any remarkable qualities.
At that moment, Erina found herself studying Renz.
She never thought her taste in men was poor. On the contrary, she believed she had very high standards. To marry and have children, the other person should've had at least some special qualities, right?
Could it be that having no obvious traits was itself a trait? Erina began to wonder if her future self's judgment had seriously malfunctioned.
Just then, the sound of the door unlocking echoed from outside. Renz had returned.
"Erina, where are you?" he called out, sounding a bit helpless. The villa was spacious—three stories high, multiple rooms on each floor, and even a basement with a pool table. Four people in such a large house… the Nakiri family really was wealthy.
Hearing the noise, Erina quickly tidied up and stepped out of the room, appearing at the top of the second-floor staircase.
"You didn't send the kids to the wrong place, did you?" she blurted out, slightly flustered. Internally, she had been comparing and criticizing Renz nonstop. Now, suddenly facing him again, she slipped up with an odd question.
Thankfully, Renz didn't notice anything strange.
"How could I make such a rookie mistake?" he said, brushing it off. "What about you? Any clues about our future professions?"
Erina shook her head. After searching for a while, she had discovered that she was a special-grade chef, but found nothing about Renz's career. However, she did notice one room in the house had been turned into a gaming setup.
"Are you good with computers?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. A person's job often aligned with the hobbies they had ten years ago. Hers certainly hadn't changed much.
"I used to be a professional gamer," Renz replied. "But realistically, that can't still be my job. Ten years ago today, I came to Japan to study and gave it up."
As if guided by instinct, Renz pulled out his phone. He opened a search engine and typed in his name. Even though his game had been niche, he had won championships. He might not be world-famous, but he should at least show up on some sort of encyclopedia.
Sure enough, Renz's name appeared.
And along with it, his new profession.
Under the title "Former Professional Player," the last line revealed something important:
Contracted game streamer for the Host Zone of Another Dimension Station.
His future self's profession… was a streamer.
---Support with power stones