I sit cross-legged in the dark, my back pressed against a wall stained with ramen broth and regret.
The light from my screen flickers across empty bottles, cold air drifting through a half-broken window.
My room smells like instant noodles and crushed dreams — classic otaku aroma. I haven't spoken to anyone all day. No messages. No missed calls. Just me and the silence I've made a home in.
It's funny, isn't it? You grow up thinking life is gonna give you something magical. Then one day, you realize the only magic you get is watching anime in 720p because you can't afford premium.
I shift slightly, brushing crumbs off my hoodie. "Let's see if today's the day I finally get something right," I mutter, booting up my VR-AI pod — the only thing in this dump that cost more than my rent.
Welcome to Aetheria Online, the calm female voice hums through the speakers.
Ah yes, Aetheria.The world where I'm not a loser, where I don't flinch when someone speaks to me, where I can be literally anything. Warrior. Mage. God.
Or... just a guy who doesn't suck.
I pull the pod helmet over my head. My heart beats a little faster. Not from excitement — I think I stopped feeling that years ago — but from that little twitch of hope I haven't managed to kill yet.
"New season. New account. New roll," I whisper.
I could've taken the free beginner pack. Everyone does. But that'd be playing it safe.
And when you've got nothing left to lose, sometimes... risk feels like the only thing that makes you feel alive.
Logging in... Syncing neural data... Welcome, player: SaiJi94.
"Let's spin this damn gacha and see what fate tastes like."
Little did I know, that one click — that one defiant choice — would rewrite everything.
And maybe... just maybe, I was never meant to be just a player.
The loading screen fades into golden mist — a swirling expanse of light particles and rune symbols.
I'm standing in the Hall of Origin, where every new player gets their starting gear, avatar setup, and, of course, the infamous first gacha spin.
Players usually squeal here. They screenshot. Share it on forums. Brag about their beginner epics or bitch about getting a trash-tier sword.
But I stand still.
Something about the air feels... heavier.
A female NPC dressed like a priestess approaches, her eyes glowing faintly violet — AI-generated beauty with that synthetic warmth that almost feels real.
"Welcome, traveler," she says with a bow. "You have one spin of fate. Will you claim it?"
I nod. No words. Just a pit in my gut and a flicker of defiance still smoldering in my chest.
She gestures to the monolithic gacha orb behind her — a floating crystal sphere swirling with ethereal energy and loot icons blinking across its surface.
"Remember," she says, voice suddenly echoing louder, "what is pulled cannot be undone."
I step forward. Tap SPIN.
The orb explodes into motion — whirling images of weapons, armor, mounts, outfits, mythical mods, class upgrades. A blitz of color. Blue. Purple. Gold. Red. Then—
—BLACK.
Everything stops.
The orb shatters.Not fades. Not ends. Shatters. Glass rains upward, as if gravity's reversed.
"ERROR: Asset ID #666: Werewolf_King_Legendary.exe has been released."
Wait, what?
The world around me flickers like an overclocked GPU. Glitches tear across the floor, distorting NPC faces, melting buildings into wireframes.
The priestess gasps and stares at me. Her pupils dilate like she's seen a demon. "You... You're not supposed to exist," she whispers.
My body feels hot. Burning. No — transforming.
My hands stretch into claws. Bones crack. Muscles bulk. Fur erupts from my skin. My breath grows heavier, throat dry, fangs biting down over a scream I never let out.
"System override: Sai Ji has merged with NPC template — Werewolf King."
The sky turns blood red. I collapse to my knees — or what used to be knees — howling as a primal roar tears through me.
Then...
Darkness.
Total.
And the sound of something... breathing beside me.
Pain. That's the first thing I feel.
Like every nerve has been rewired with lightning.
Then… cold. Wet soil. Wind on my face — no, snout?
My vision snaps open. Everything's blurry at first, then sharp. Too sharp. I can see the dew trembling on leaves ten meters away. Hear birds miles off. Smell blood somewhere close.
I push myself up.
But I don't have hands anymore.
Thick, furred arms. Muscular. Heavy. Clawed. Covered in dark silver hair that catches the moonlight. I breathe out and steam rises from my nostrils.
What… what is this?
I stagger forward, feet pounding into mossy ground. A lake glistens nearby. I crawl toward it on all fours — instinctual. Animalistic.
I see the reflection.
A monstrous wolf-man stares back.
Eyes burning gold with fangs sharp. Shoulders like a fortress. A crown of bone and iron curls from my head.
The Werewolf King.
"No way…" I murmur. My voice is deeper. Rough. Alpha.
I am the boss. The glitch wasn't cosmetic — it merged me with the top-tier NPC.
But why? Why me?
Snap.
A branch breaks in the distance. I spin. Instinct kicking in hard.
Something's nearby — watching.
Two figures emerge from the treeline, cloaked in wolf-hide armor, both armed. Their eyes widen when they see me… and then they kneel.
One speaks, his voice gravelly with reverence.
"Alpha… you've returned."
The other bows lower. "Our King lives again. The bloodline is not broken."
I blink. NPCs. Not players.
And they remember me. Like I've always existed.
"Who… are you?" I manage.
"We are your sworn. Fen and Lura," the first says. "We've searched for your rebirth ever since the betrayal. Now… it begins again."
I don't understand.
But I feel it.
This body. These instincts. This kingdom waiting somewhere out there.
I was supposed to play the game.
Sai Ji didn't even get a chance to ask more questions. The forest answered for him.
Three howls from different directions.
Hostile. Not like Fen and Lura — these were hunting cries.
Fen snapped his head toward the sound, eyes narrowing. "Scouts. Low-tier Dire Wolves. They are Wild."
"They smell your awakening," Lura growled. "You must kill or be hunted."
Sai's heartbeat thudded in his ears — no, not fear. Excitement. His body was already moving, muscles shifting, claws flexing. His instincts didn't ask permission — they pulled him into position.
The HUD flickered to life in his vision.
[WOLF SENSE – Passive Skill Activated]
Threats: 3 (Feral Dire Wolves – Level 22)
Territory Invasion Detected – Alpha Response Required
"What the hell?" he muttered, barely registering the text. He could feel where the enemies were — smell their sweat, hear their breath through the trees.
He didn't wait.
With a thunderous leap, he surged forward.
The forest blurred with every motion smooth, raw, violent.
A Dire Wolf lunged from the side — teeth gnashing, yellow eyes rabid. Sai Ji twisted mid-air, catching it by the throat with one clawed hand. The beast yelped, kicked — but he slammed it down, hard. Bones cracked under the weight.
He tore it open in a single motion.
Blood sprayed the leaves.
No hesitation. No tutorial.
He was a king of predators.
Another wolf pounced. Lura intercepted with a blur of motion, slicing its leg with a curved bone blade. Fen crushed the third with a mace-like hammer formed from twisted root and iron.
Sai Ji stood over his kill, chest heaving. His fur was streaked with blood, but he didn't feel guilt. He felt…
Alive
"What… was that?" he asked, voice rough.
Lura knelt beside the dead wolf. "It was your first hunt, my king."
Fen chuckled. "A clean kill. They'll know now. The Alpha has returned."
Sai Ji stared at the corpse.
He wasn't just playing the Werewolf King.
He was becoming him.
And the game world — this twisted, gorgeous, dangerous simulation — was about to learn what a real boss fight looked like.