Chapter 1
—I am lightning amidst the raindrops, and the dark, murky clouds—
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I feel like I've been hearing this type of question quite often lately. How should I put it... Personally, I think it's a good question, even if in the end the person asking turns out to be selling some life-changing mindset course or trying to recruit you into multilevel marketing. Either way, it's still an interesting question.
This question makes you suddenly think about what you are right now, what you'll do in the future, and what will happen to you.
It's like indirect psychology, encouraging you to live your best life now so that the future you imagine will come true.
But when I tried to think of an answer to this question, I felt so dejected that my spirits fell completely. Because I can see and perceive the image of hopelessness in my future with absolute clarity.
Getting slapped around by the protagonist from the first meeting. Getting my position as deuteragonist stolen by some loser until I become a long-suffering supporting character whose only job is to wait around and deliver comic relief. Getting my leg broken mercilessly by enemies. Being used as a punching bag by the first arc's boss while waiting for the protagonist to come finish the job. When a new arc starts, getting blown up by some small-fry demon in a suicide attack. Getting my guts pierced by cyborgs. Having my love life sabotaged by popular villains. Entering the dark side to level up my power, but ultimately still losing to the protagonists anyway.
All of that is what will happen to 'Assaran,' a character from the game G.O.A.T TRICKS.
Why does the fate of a character who was once the story's first villain end up so pathetic? Even though it sounds pitiful, I really can't help but laugh. What kind of crazy person would be so unlucky?
This character's patheticness gave birth to the meme "Assaran the Great Punching Bag God," making people laugh all over the place. I was one of those people who cracked up every time I saw memes of this character.
Uh, I'm not going off-topic here. I'm not being delusional about my own life becoming like a game character. Who would want to become a punching bag character like that? But it really is like that. All of that is what will happen to me five years from now.
Why, you ask? Because right now I have become that very character.
I've become 'Assaran'!
I don't remember what happened or how it happened.
Like, I woke up in an unfamiliar room with a headache, and as soon as I saw my face in the mirror, I immediately remembered my past life.
I still can't remember much about my life or identity before this. I have a vague feeling I was a vocational student. I can't fully remember Assaran's body's memories either. It's like the two sets of memories are clashing until everything's all mixed up. I barely know which is my true identity anymore.
But anyway, I'm confident that I'm now Assaran, and the world I'm in now is the game G.O.A.T TRICKS.
This really sucks.
Of all the game characters to become, why did it have to be this punching bag?
Damn it, I can see the fate of getting beaten up coming from miles away. I'd rather become a background extra who just walks back and forth, or a villain who appears once and then disappears forever.
Assaran might be a main character in G.O.A.T TRICKS, but in reality his only job is to provide comic relief through physical comedy and serve as a punching bag for villains to show their cruelty.
G.O.A.T TRICKS
It's the name of a super football game that was so popular it reached legendary status in my previous life.
In a world where football has become so popular that it can determine the world's fate, the story begins with a protagonist who loves football setting out on a journey to train and chase his dream of becoming the strongest football player.
Of course, along the way, whether good or bad, our protagonist gets involved in many stories. The protagonist's first obstacle or enemy is a delinquent kid with a bad attitude from an old football club—Assaran, which is now me.
It follows the formula: the protagonist will easily succeed in defeating punks like me. But after that, we don't become allies. Assaran continues to hold a grudge against the protagonist, but then circumstances arise that force them to cooperate and overcome all obstacles together.
(Don't call it cooperation—Assaran's job is just to get hit by finishing moves until he's rolling on the ground.)
In the end, the protagonist gathers his companions to deal with all the villains and successfully becomes the world's strongest football team.
It sounds like simple, enjoyable fun.
But don't forget! This is a SUPER football game!!
Or rather, the level of absurdity in this story's football reaches supernatural levels. The power scale has broken through into space. Every kick threatens to shatter the world. Everyone in this story has a special power with universe-conquering bragging rights called NEX inside them. Characters in the story develop, train, and use this special power to create skills or finishing moves for use in football.
Of course, when a game sets up a power scale like this, it has to go completely over the top with mountain-exploding, hut-burning explosions.
The protagonist's first finishing move is called "Shooting Fire." Just the name sounds intimidating, right? If you actually see the protagonist use it, you'll feel even more impressed.
It starts by channeling power into a flame aura covering the entire body. Then he jumps up into the sky to about eight meters high. The protagonist then performs a spinning volley kick on the ball in mid-air.
When the ball flies toward the goal, the flame aura covering the ball explodes outward, crashing into everyone in its path. People hit by that aura feel like they're being scorched by flames and fall flat on the ground. According to the story, when Assaran and his minions get hit by this move, they all go rolling and tumbling to lie flat on the ground.
Which means that someday, I'll have to face off against that damn Shooting Fire ball.
I know getting hit won't kill me, but still...