In a cramped apartment above a 24-hour laundromat, Niko Watanabe lay belly-down on his bed, legs kicking in the air, his pink hair slightly ruffled from a full day at school. His tablet was propped up on a stuffed alpaca plush, and his attention was consumed by drawing a cute bunny knight with his stylus. Music blasted softly through his earbuds, some bubblegum J-pop track he had stuck in his head for days. His room was covered in posters of cute anime, and he had enough plushies to open a small gift shop.
Then—
Din-don!
One new email.
Niko blinked. “Huh?”
He sat up and yanked out one earbud, tapping on the notification.
The Digital World Needs Your Help!
Niko tilted his head, and kept reading.
“Evil is afoot in the Digital World. Rival armies vie for control of the land, and heroes are needed to save the innocent! You’ve been chosen to protect those who can’t protect themselves. What say you?”
Beneath that: a glowing pink button that said “I want to help!”
Niko’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Ohmygod is this a game? This looks so legit! Wait, is this one of those shady pop-up viruses? Oh no what if it’s malware? WAIT NO it’s too pretty to be malware!”
He thought about it for exactly ten seconds, biting his lower lip, before throwing his hands in the air. “YOLO.” He tapped the button.
A flash of light burst from his tablet screen. Niko shrieked and flailed backward, arms flapping wildly. “WHA-OHMYGOD—WHAT IS HAPPENIIIIIIING—!”
When he opened his eyes, he was sprawled flat on polished white marble.
Niko blinked at the ceiling. “Okay. So either I’m dreaming, or I got isekai’d via Google Doc. Honestly? Wouldn’t be the weirdest Tuesday.”
He sat up, rubbing his head. “Wait—is this a palace?! Am I in a fantasy palace?! Am I a chosen one?!”
He looked around—and then saw them.
Other people. Strangers. Probably also confused. Definitely not NPCs.
Niko immediately panicked.
“Oh no,” he whispered, trying to shrink himself. “Real people. With real eyeballs. What if they think I’m weird—what if they already think I’m weird—what if my hair looks dumb—”
But then, he spotted one girl. He took a breath. Put on his biggest, brightest smile. “Hi!! I’m Niko!” he chirped, bouncing up and down. “Isn’t this like, the coolest thing ever?! I mean, it’s also terrifying but like—I’m super ready to save the Digital World or whatever! Are you ready? I’m ready! I mean I think I’m ready—unless we have to fight bugs. I hate bugs. BUT I’M STILL READY!” He paused. Blinked. “…Sorry. I talk a lot when I’m nervous.”