The sky was cloudy. Rain fell, hitting the roofs of old apartment buildings on the outskirts of Tokyo. In one corner of the city, inside a small fourth-floor apartment room, a young man sat silently while staring at the screen of his phone, which was cracked on the lower left side.
The young man's name was Takuya Minami, 17 years old, a final-year high school student. Average grades. Not many friends. A former Kendo athlete, but he had already abandoned his old hobby. Now his new hobby was playing gacha games.
"Come on, just give me one SSR Girl," Takuya complained.
He clicked his tongue in annoyance because he had already spent almost 15,000 yen on this gacha event and still had not gotten the character he wanted. He was extremely unlucky in gacha, yet he had played the same game for years.
Stupid? Maybe.
This was the last pull he could do. "I beg you. Just this once, give me the cute Elf Loli," he muttered while closing his eyes and praying.
Takuya's heart beat faster. He did not want to open his eyes. But at the same time, he had to. He hoped that he would get a character named Nagumi, a small-bodied elf girl with a bazooka.
"I'm begging you. Just this once."
Takuya slowly opened his eyes. There was one legendary character that he obtained, but the moment he touched the card, Takuya's face immediately turned gloomy. He got something he did not want. The 15,000 yen he had spent was wasted.
The cute small elf character with a bazooka on her shoulder and an adorable face did not come to him. Even though he had spent 90 percent of his money. Even though he had been waiting for this for two months.
Takuya placed his phone on the table with a face full of disappointment. "Am I really cursed by the God of Gacha?" he complained. His hand clenched into a fist.
He stood up and walked toward the door. He stood there for quite a while, staring at the door with an empty look.
"Bastard!" Takuya cursed.
BRAAAAKKGH!
Takuya punched his own apartment door with great force. He frowned. His right hand trembled.
"Bastard!" he shouted.
"Bastard!" he shouted again.
He punched the door five times hard. The sound was extremely loud. The floor even shook. Blood dripped from his knuckles. His right hand kept shaking from the pain.
"Bastard," Takuya muttered again.
He was furious because he had spent so much money, yet he got nothing he wanted. He could continue gacha and get the character through pity, but he would need to spend at least another 5,000 yen. But he had no money left.
This was the worst situation he had ever experienced.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" someone shouted from the neighboring apartment. "Be quiet or I will come over there and punch you, bastard!"
Takuya ignored it at first. He slowly stepped back and dropped his body onto the bed, staring at the dull ceiling of his apartment.
He chose this crappy apartment so he could save money on expenses. Of course, the remaining money would be used for gacha. Takuya was already addicted to gacha games. He was even willing to not eat for several days just to do gacha a few more times.
It sounded foolish, but Takuya really was stupid.
"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Bastard!" Takuya shouted.
Takuya was extremely frustrated. This time, he did not only use his living expenses, but also the money for buying books and paying for tutoring. All with the hope that he would get the character he had been waiting for over two months.
But the result was trash.
Takuya closed his eyes while holding his swollen right hand from punching the door earlier.
"Get out here, bastard!" someone shouted from outside.
It was the same man who had yelled at Takuya earlier. Now he was already in front of Takuya's apartment door. The two of them were not close at all. They had even fought before just because they made eye contact.
At that time, Takuya had spent 35,000 yen on gacha with terrible results. His emotions were unstable, and when they looked at each other, Takuya immediately cursed the man, and it ended in a fight.
This time, Takuya ignored it. He sat up and picked up his phone. He looked at the game screen again. His mood was still bad.
"Trash game," he muttered.
He pressed and held the game icon for a long time. Then the word "uninstall" appeared. Takuya wanted to press it, but he stopped himself.
"I should never have played this stupid game from the beginning," he complained.
When Takuya put his phone down again and was about to close his eyes, something suddenly happened. A bright light appeared from the floor.
Takuya panicked. He immediately stood up and tried to leave, but he was too late.
A few seconds later, the light disappeared, but the floor beneath his feet had changed.
Takuya raised his head. When he looked forward, his eyes widened. He saw something completely different.
"Where is this place?"
At the same time, a screen appeared in front of his face. A screen like something from a game.
[GACHA SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[WELCOME, HERO!]
Tap...
Takuya froze in shock.
"Is this Isekai?"