Loneliness is the one thing humans despise. Even an introvert, at least once, must have wished to meet someone like themselves. Unfortunately for Budi, the people around him avoided him as if some guardian spirit were driving them away. Whether at school or at home, everyone treated him like a weirdo and eventually left him behind.And Budi, in return, thought everyone else was strange.
Crushed by loneliness, Budi became a living statue — breathing, but empty. He went to school only to be ignored, and returned home without uttering a single word. Even his closest family — his father, mother, and little sister — always seemed awkward whenever he tried to speak. Unable to understand why, he locked himself away and decided to befriend the game console he bought with his own money.
"They act like I'm not even human. Weird. We speak the same language, don't we?" Budi mumbled to himself, eyes fixed on the television. His fingers danced swiftly across the controller, his eyes following the pixelated movements on the screen.
TING!
A sharp chime rang from the clock above his desk. Budi glanced at it — the hands pointed to twelve — then simply went back to the game.
"Skipping school for a day… I doubt anyone cares. No matter how hard I try, people still avoid me. So what's the point of going?"
The night felt narrow and suffocating as Budi sank deeper into the fantasy unfolding in colorful pixel art on the TV screen. Entranced, he forgot everything about the real world. Hours slipped by until dawn, but his eyes never once acknowledged the ticking clock above him. He was absorbed in the tale of a hero defeating the Demon Lord — the only thing in his mind was how the story would end, no matter how dark the bags under his eyes became.
"Almost there! Die already, Demon Lord!"
The clock hit six just as the evening sun painted Budi's window orange. Budi shouted in victory, jumping in pure excitement as he finally finished the game.
"Ah—! My body seriously hurts!" Budi grumbled, holding his aching back.
He stared proudly at the TV screen, chuckling as the ending text scrolled. And then… the epilogue appeared. Curious, he read the dialogue.
Demon Lord: "Congratulations, hero. You have defeated me. My throne is now yours."Hero: "Can it return my life to how it once was?"Demon Lord: "The world is now in your hands."Hero: "Then I gladly accept the throne."
"The End."
"What the fu*k?! What is THAT supposed to be?!" Budi exploded, hurling the controller.
"After all that tragedy?! All the heroines died and he becomes a Demon Lord just to fix his life?! You forgot everyone who fought for you?! And you choose to be selfish?! Hey, you stupid hero!"Budi kept yelling until his lungs burned. Then he exhaled sharply and collapsed onto his bed like a rag doll.
"Stupid stressful game…" he muttered before his eyes finally shut.
* * *
"Do I have a sleepwalking disorder?"
That was Budi's first comment when he woke up in the middle of a grassy plain. He slapped his cheeks, tugged his own face, and touched the tall grass around him.
"I must be going crazy. Is this some hallucination from playing too long?" He scratched his scalp for no reason — and only then noticed his right hand was gripping a sword.He instinctively screamed and threw it as far as he could.
"I'm definitely insane!!" Budi pulled at his hair in panic.
"Idiot! Don't throw the sword!"
A woman's voice shouted — but strangely, there was no one there. Budi scanned the surroundings. Empty.
"Great… first sign of schizophrenia. I really should've dated a cartoon girl or a Vtuber…" he muttered.
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"
"Stop it! I might be lonely, but I'm still SANE!" Budi yelled into the air.
"Good! If you're sane, then pick me up or we're both going to die!" the woman shrieked.
"What?" Budi frowned. Pick me up sounded very wrong.
"Are you blind? What did you throw just now?"
"Uh… a sword?"
"Exactly! That's ME! Now pick me up, you dumbass!"
Budi felt personally offended. Such a foul-mouthed woman. Still, he picked up the steel sword and inspected its shining blade.
"I really must be insane… getting scolded by a sword," he whispered.
GRAAAAA!!
"KYAAAAA—!!"Budi screamed — very much like a grown man.
The roar made him fall flat into the grass. His body trembled violently as he stared at the source: a gigantic broccoli, easily three meters tall, blocking the sun. Standing — literally standing — with broccoli arms and broccoli legs. A broccoli titan. That was the only explanation his brain offered.
"Huh?!" Budi was stunned.
"Huuh?! Hoh?! ATTACK, YOU MORON!" the woman in the sword yelled angrily.
Too late. The broccoli's hand slammed into Budi's face, launching him four meters away. He landed headfirst.
"Ugh…" Budi groaned as fresh blood trickled from his nose and temple. He staggered to his feet and stared in fear as the colossal broccoli stomped toward him, each step shaking the earth.
"This has to be a dream. A nightmare because I'm allergic to broccoli," Budi tried to deny reality.
"Injuries don't lie, kid. Steel yourself and use the skill [Slash], now!"
"What is that? How do you do it?!" Budi panicked.
"Say 'Slash' while swinging the sword!"
Budi didn't ask further — the giant was already too close. If this was like a game, maybe it could be fun. He posed dramatically, copying the samurai stance from an anime he just watched. The distance closed — only one meter left.
"SLASH!!"
The sword swung, glowing white.
THWACK!
The broccoli punched Budi again — fifteen kilos of vegetable knuckles caving into his face. He went flying even farther, crashing headfirst into the ground.
"IDIOT! That's a Sword, not a Katana!" the woman screeched.
Budi could only surrender. His face throbbed, his body screamed with pain, every nerve on fire. Weak and shaken, the boy who rarely exercised could barely twitch his fingers.
"A pathetic hero! The Lord must be joking or punishing me! This is just a level 1 human!!" the woman kept ranting, furious. Meanwhile, the ground trembled harder and harder.
"Get up! Do you want to die?!" she yelled once more.
Shut up… Budi cursed quietly in his head — even his tongue couldn't move anymore. The pain was overwhelming, his body no longer obeyed him.
Budi stared helplessly at the sky, gasping for air as the woman's endless scolding mixed with the thunderous footsteps of the monster. He never thought his life would end as bizarrely as it had been lived.
The sun disappeared behind the looming shadow of the broccoli giant. With no face to show cruelty, Budi couldn't tell what expression the monster wore — not that he wanted to know. He shut his eyes, refusing to witness the last moment of his life.
"To think it ends right when it just began…"
"Hey! Stay with me!"
A deafening impact tore through the air.