Life in another world...
For people who love anything fantasy-related, they might think, "Oh, I want to live my second life in another world."
But just a few hours after Ryan... no, Kai woke up, he already wanted to go back to his old world.
The world he was living in now was like a Temu version of Earth. What kind of place was this? The planet was still called Earth, but the country names and some other things were different. And the whole vibe felt stuck in like... 2018.
Would a pandemic happen again in two years or so?
Who knows. But honestly, this place was really weird.
He lived in a city called Chaepstow.
The main city in the game — a classic European-style place, located in the country of Shania.
This city sure feel similar to Barcelona, Spain. Because the area also had beaches and was super walkable and pedestrian-friendly.
Kai walked to school together with Risa. This year was 2017. If he remembered correctly, this was the start of his second year in high school, since Risa was one year below him.
Risa glanced back at her older brother. "You're weird today. Usually you keep trying to talk to me... Are you sick?"
Kai looked at Risa and thought how lucky he was to have Mimi back in the old world — because this little sister right now was seriously an upgraded version of Mimi's annoying traits.
If he remembered right, in Risa's route... the reason Risa ended up liking the main character was because her older brother, Kai, was too perfect in their parents' eyes.
It made Risa constantly feel insecure, and that pushed her further away from him... even though Kai kept trying so hard to get closer throughout the entire route when 'he' play her route in the past. No matter how much effort he put in... the protagonist, Ren, was always one step ahead. Maybe that's just what you get when you're the main character.
"Oi, are you actually sick?" Risa asked again.
"Sick? No. Just thinking a bit." Kai said while looking at Risa. She paused for a second, then took one step ahead of him again.
Risa kept walking slightly faster than Kai. After a while, she murmuring without turning back. "You're always like that... I hate you for it."
Kai heard Risa's mumble. But he chose not to reply, because... he already knew. Besides, the old 'Kai' had already completed every single route in this 'game'.
Back then I said I didn't need the skip feature... but now I wish there was a skip button that could just jump me to the next scene.
Kai thought while continuing to walk with his little sister toward the school gate.
Once they reached the school area, Kai watched his sister run toward four people walking together.
Seeing a harem in real life somehow felt kinda make Kai little shiver.
"Big bro Ren~ Good morning~" Risa said as she grabbed Ren's arm, hugged it tight, and rubbed her cheek against it like an attention-starved cat.
"Hehehe~ Risa is so cute~" Daisy gently patted the top of Risa's head. "You didn't come with your brother?"
Risa made a sour face and huffed. "Of course not... My only big brother is big bro Ren."
Chloe let out a small laugh. "Hahaha, is Kai really that annoying? I think he's actually a good brother."
Daisy added, "Hehehe, he's one of the smartest guys in school, always ranking above Lily. Isn't it something to be proud of, having a brother like him?"
Lily just smiled. "Yeah... even though I don't really know Kai that well, he's always number one and I'm number two."
Ren, who had been listening the whole time, changed the topic. "Hey... let's go inside. Why are we even talking about Risa Brother? C'mon let's move."
Lily, Daisy, Chloe, and Risa glanced at each other before nodding.
"Okay Ren, let's go." Lily waited for Ren to start walking, then the four girls followed after him.
Kai could only watch the five of them head into the school building. He thought that people who simp so hard they fall in love were seriously out of their minds. Love is blind after all, they said.
And just as Kai expected, Ren really was trash-protagonist material... He probably thought he was perfect because he was handsome and charismatic, but honestly, he was completely empty inside.
Genuine trash personality. Kai continued walking into the school building.
Somehow his body already knew where to go and which classroom was his... It seemed the memories in this new body had fully synced with the 'old' memories from before he became 'Kai'.
He was in class 2-B.
He pulled out his chair and sat down. Someone called his name — it was one of the capture targets, Daisy.
"Hi Kai. You're quieter than usual today. Are you sick?" Daisy asked with a curious look.
Kai turned to see Daisy's face and thought about her future. How could such a cute girl like her can end up becoming a 'night butterfly' if she didn't stay with Ren.
Kai put on a small smile. "Ah, no, I'm not sick... maybe just feeling a bit off."
Daisy tilted her head slightly. She probably still didn't fully buy what he said.
Don't look at me with that face...
Kai let out a short sigh, then forced another small smile. "Ehe, see? I'm very fine. Right?"
"Hmm... I don't know, but if you say so, I guess you're okay."
Daisy's smile made Kai feel a little calmer. He thought maybe he should start getting used to being the 'Kai' persona, not 'Ryan'... since 'Ryan' didn't exist in this world.
He was Kai now.
Not long after, the teacher came in and started the lesson.
Class was boring as usual — especially for him, who used to be a college student before entering this body. So high school material was still fresh in his mind, and yeah... he can denied this body, 'Kai's' brain was seriously sharp.
"Ugh... 'Kai' should've been the protagonist, you know. Why do developers always make side characters way cooler and more complex than the actual main character."
Kai grumbled in less loudly speak while sitting in class.
Throughout the lesson, Kai just kept thinking about what he should do next. He was literally just a side character or an NPC in this world.
Even though this was a game world, from his perspective now... this was real life. Everyone here — including himself — wasn't just a game character.
No quick save, no load, no skip. Everything just moved forward in a straight line.
Would the capture targets' fates still follow the predetermined routes?
Who knows... Kai still didn't really understand, and he wasn't thinking too hard about it... for now.
✦•✩•( - ⌓ - )•✩•✦
After a few hours of class, at 9:25, first break time started.
Students were free to do whatever for 45 minutes.
Some went to the cafeteria, some stayed in class, some went to club rooms, or hang out with friends.
Daisy noticed Kai organizing his desk. "You're not going to the cafeteria, Kai?"
"Hmm... not hungry." Kai replied. "What about you? Not going with Ren and the others?"
Daisy chuckled and stood up from her seat. "Of course I'm going with him and everyone else. Wanna join?"
Kai shook his head. "Emm, no. I don't want to stare at Risa's grumpy face the whole break."
"Heheh, okay then. I'll head out first. See you later, Kai."
Kai watched Daisy leave the classroom. No long after, he also stood up from his chair to step outside. Maybe walking around to get familiar with the place would be a good idea what to do next.