On a silent night, when most people were asleep. Long wavy brown hair reflected in the glow of the computer screen, where she sat wearing a black coat.
She was scrolling through TikTok, and her For You page showed a video of an orange cat repeatedly getting hit in the face with a soft ball.
The cat made a squinty, unamused expression — like the classic "grumpy cat meets judgmental old man" meme.
A small smile tugged at her lips, breaking the gloomy atmosphere of her office.
She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and took a careful sip of her steaming coffee, still hot and comforting in her hands.
Seated at the table, she tapped her pen against her finger.
The soft tap echoed in the quiet room. Her ID badge rested beside her, the name Fia Hart printed clearly, along with her company details and department code.
Fia sighed.
In her 29 years of life, she'd once been a passionate gamer.
During her younger years, she spent hours immersed in different games, losing herself in digital worlds. But college changed things.
Her schedule became packed, and the games she once loved gathered virtual dust in her Steam library.
She played occasionally here and there but now, she barely had the time.
She had once dreamed of becoming a game developer.
It was her passion.
Her parents believed that a stable corporate job offered security and better long-term prospects compared to uncertain work in IT.
The college she attended didn't offer any game development courses, and under pressure, she followed the path her parents chose for her.
Unlike colleges in the US or elsewhere that now offer game-related subjects, her options were limited.
Her mind adjusted to the corporate world — her heart still lingered in the world of games.
Fia, in one of her so-called big brain moments, had chosen to pursue a career as an accountant worker.
It wasn't that being an accountant was the worst thing, it was just exhausting. First, she was actually bad at math. Second, why did she choose this? To punish herself? Now she regretted it deeply. Even so, the paycheck was high compared to her first year.
It was the result of grinding through tireless work, pushing herself even without motivation or desire, like a robot, and that was what made her rise in her career in the blink of an eye.
Of course it took years of effort.
She slumped her shoulders and rested her chin in her hand while absentmindedly scrolling through her feed.
Suddenly, one of the videos glitched.
Her hand froze midair, the mouse hovering just above the desk.
The screen went black, then flickered back on in a glowing blue hue.
[ Do you want to create games in another world? ]
Fia squinted at the screen.
Was this one of those "choose your path"interactive videos that had become popular lately? The visuals were stunning.
She was about to scroll past, but the high quality editing made her pause.
It was asking if she wanted to create games…
She let out a small, dry laugh.
As if.
She didn't even know how to code or what kind of game she would make.
But before she could second guess it, her mouse clicked on the [ Yes ] option.
As soon as she selected the option, the question on the screen changed.
[ You can bring games from your world into another world. ]
She chuckled when she read the sentence, "Isn't it basically just copying?" If she did that, her game would be taken down immediately, like what happened to Rules of Survival (ROS), which was basically a copy of PUBG.
It wasn't only because of that, though, it was also because the game was full of hackers that ruined it, and with other games like PUBG, Free Fire, and COD around, it was soon forgotten
[ Do you want to proceed and enter another world? ]
Fia blinked. "?"
It was cheesy.
Is this really what younger people are into these days?
She didn't get it anymore.
Maybe she was getting old.
"Other World, huh? Isn't this what younger people read these days?" Fia had seen her friend's eldest daughter reading this kind of stuff.
When she babysits her friend's younger son, the daughter had eagerly told her to read the novel.
Fia was good with children, and since she knew she would be coming here often and was bored of scrolling through her feed all day, she agreed, thinking she would have a topic to talk about with the girl the next time she visited.
She rubbed her chin. "If that was the case in the other world, those IPs don't exist yet." The thought made her pause for a moment, as if the possibilities were opening up in her mind.
A whole market with no competition, no giants overshadowing her work.
For a second, she felt a spark of excitement she hadn't felt in years.
Then, without overthinking it, she clicked yes
The screen flickered again.
[ Are you sure? ]
Then again.
[ Are you really sure? ]
It kept asking over and over if she truly wanted to continue.
Out of boredom, Fia began spamming [ Yes ] without a second thought.
Her mouse clicked rapidly, click, click, echoing through the quiet room.
Realizing the question still hadn't changed, Fia let out a long, tired sigh.
She was exhausted.
If this screen didn't stop asking her the same thing, she would just give up and fall asleep at her desk.
This was her final attempt at patience. But this time, her instinct told her to click the yes button.
Finally, after clicking [Yes] one last time, the screen didn't ask again. Instead, a message popped up:
[ Congratulations. You have been chosen. ]
Then everything went blank.
"..Huh?"
She felt like she was drifting weightless and half awake — floating through a vast, empty void.
It was like a dream, or maybe a dreamless sleep.
At some point, she even wondered if she had just passed out from exhaustion.
She didn't know where she was going, but one last line echoed in her mind:
[ Your dream will be achieved. ]
My dream?
She didn't even know which dream it meant.
Was it the one about creating games? Probably.
That was what the video she played about.
Suddenly, she felt her body again like her senses had returned all at once.
She opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar room, sitting on a bean shaped leather chair.
Dazed, she blinked, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
Something felt off.
Her body didn't feel quite like hers.
Then it hit her a wave of memories that weren't her own came rushing in.
She was now… Felix.
A young man who loved playing games and had a small but loyal fanbase from his game streams.
His parents didn't pressure him, since his older brother was already set to inherit the family business.
That gave Felix the freedom to do whatever he wanted.
She was glad she hadn't ended up in a typical "poor to rich" cliché.
The original owner of this body came from a moderately wealthy family middle class, but comfortable.
That alone was a relief.
What confused her more was the fact that she had reincarnated as a man.
Fia, now Felix. Somehow, she had become him in this new life, and the thought alone was bizarre.
Was this part of her dream too? Maybe.
She had dreamed about being a man a few times before, and now that the dream had come true… she didn't really know how to react.
Since her parents were already in grave long ago and she doesn't have a partner she doesn't have any regrets in her previous life.
He looked down at his hand. It was thin and tan, the skin smooth but faintly dry under the light.
His fingers were long, slightly bony, with visible joints and neatly trimmed nails, giving them a delicate but worn-out appearance.
From the memories now in his head, Felix had died due to exhaustion.
He had spent months streaming and playing games without proper meals or sleep.
Eventually, his body gave out during a game session, and that was when Fia's consciousness entered this body.
Honestly, she couldn't blame him.
The technology in this world was far more advanced than what she had back home.
The games Felix played weren't just virtual — they were immersive holographic simulations.
When you played, it felt like your body and senses were truly inside the game.
Every texture, sound, and movement felt real.
From the warmth of sunlight on your face to the roughness of a cave wall, the experience was nearly indistinguishable from reality.
It was no wonder Felix had become so obsessed.
She couldn't blame him.
But as he browsed through Felix's memories, something stood out the games Felix used to play seemed… boring?
The chip beside his forehead lit up on its own, and a holographic screen flickered into view, hovering silently in the air.
He paused.
It didn't look anything like the sleek, futuristic tech he'd read about in science fiction novels. Instead, it felt strangely underwhelming.
Curious, he tapped through the interface and searched for how games were developed in this world.
What he found was disappointing.
Most games here relied almost entirely on AI for creation.
They were, in essence, copy paste templates — reused mechanics, and zero creativity.
They looked polished on the surface, but to someone who had played games from his original world, they felt hollow.
It wasn't just the games.
The entire entertainment industry had begun to stagnate.
Because people had become so reliant on AI to do everything for them, their sense of creativity had dulled over time.
The spark that once fueled innovation was nearly gone.
And Earth, the Earth he once knew, still existed — but it had changed.
Now it was known as Blue Star, renamed and reshaped over time.
Though its surface was no longer the same, its history remained intact, and many of its ancient relics had been moved or preserved across other planets.
The planet he was on now was part of the Federation, a central hub where the middle and upper class lived in comfort.
Even the lower class residents here had better living conditions compared to those on distant, neglected planets.
He even saw a news report about a president from one of the smaller planets who had entered the entertainment industry to make a living and to draw attention to their struggling small planet.
Since this world didn't have a church system or organized charity, there was no large scale funding or donations to improve the lives of others.
Everyone had to fend for themselves, and entertainment had become one of the few ways to gain influence and support.
The chip beside his temple had been there since birth.
When he touched its surface, it felt smooth — so seamlessly embedded that it was easy to forget it even existed.
As he wandered around the apartment, curiosity got the better of him.
He walked over to the window, glancing out at the futuristic skyline when suddenly—
[ Connecting… ]
A buzz sounded in the air, and a glowing blue screen popped up directly in front of his face.
Unlike the earlier holoscreen, this one had a different presence more direct, almost personal.
Felix: "?"
He blinked in confusion just as a cheerful ding rang out.
[ Successfully connected! ]
[ Hello, Host! :D ]
A system?
He paused, memory stirring.
Before he ended up in this world, there had been a strange quiz.
Something about creating games, achieving dreams — maybe this system was part of that?
Still cautious, he asked, "What kind of system are you?"
It couldn't be a LitRPG type, he reasoned.
Based on Felix's memories, the world was currently at peace, no war, no chaos.
[ I am the Emotional Feedback System! ]
Emotional Feedback System? He hadn't encountered that type before.
Was it tied to entertainment?
Considering how this world relied heavily on AI, maybe that made sense.
[ That's right, Host! The Emotional Feedback System (EFS) is a high-tech, possibly even mystical, system that converts emotional reactions from your audience —into value. This can be coins, energy, or creative points! The stronger or deeper the emotion, the better your reward! ]
It was talkative, dumping an entire essay onto his brain before he could even fully process it.
Still, he got the gist.
The Emotional Feedback System rewarded him based on the emotional responses people had while watching or playing the games he created.
It focused on four main emotional categories: joy, sadness, anger, and fear.
The more powerful the reaction, the greater the reward.
He glanced at the available [ Shop ], hoping to find something affordable.
His [ Status ] tab only showed the basic starter bonus 200 coins.
Curious, he opened the shop and immediately noticed a few familiar titles:
「Life is Strange」, 「COD」, 「Genshin Impact」.
His eyes lit up with recognition, and he quickly tapped to check their details. But as soon as he saw the prices, his excitement dropped.
Each game was listed at what looked like real world prices — just with coins instead of currency.
With only 200 coins to his name, buying even one was impossible.
At this point, he felt like collapsing on the spot.