The city was noisy in a way that never really stopped anymore. Not just traffic or crowds. Something else lived in the background, like a low hum under everything.
People said it was the mana. After the apocalypse, it was just part of life, like the smell of rain or dust.
Deb had gotten used to it.
He stood outside the station, waiting for the light to change, backpack hanging off one shoulder. He didn't rush.
There was nothing to rush for. Classes were there. They would still be there even if he walked slow.
Across the street, a giant screen played another dungeon stream.
Some guy in silver armor stood inside a dark cave, surrounded by glowing rocks. Monsters crawled along the walls, ugly and loud.
The hunter smirked for the camera, said something cool, then sliced one in half like it was nothing.
Comments scrolled underneath. Likes jumped every second.
A sponsor logo flashed.
Another product.
Another smiling face.
Deb looked at it for a moment, then looked away.
He wasn't bitter.
He just didn't feel anything big about it anymore.
When the mana apocalypse first happened, everyone thought it was the end. Then everything changed.
Some people cried, some panicked, others celebrated.
Now, years later, it had settled into something boring.
There were still rules. Still schools. Still jobs. Still taxes.
Just with monsters and portals added.
The lucky ones — the awakened — had abilities. Classes. Skills. Fancy weapons.
They trained, joined guilds, went into dungeons, made money, became famous.
The number was always repeated in news videos:
15% awakened.
85% didn't.
Deb was in the larger group.
He remembered the mass awakening check. One needle. One reading. One line of text on a small device.
"No awakening detected."
Nothing tragic happened afterward. No dramatic music. The doctor just nodded, said thanks for coming, and told him to step aside for the next person.
That was it.
Life went on.
He crossed the road when the signal turned green.
People brushed past him — students, workers, vendors pushing carts, a few hunters walking like they owned the place.
He walked past a store selling cheap charms. The sign claimed they increased mana.
Everyone knew they didn't, but people still bought them.
He checked his phone.
Low battery
He slipped it back into his pocket.
The bus rolled by. Someone shouted. Someone laughed.
A kid pointed at the dungeon gate visible in the far distance — like a tall crack in the world, shimmering blue. Guards stood around it in uniforms, bored, leaning on barriers.
Deb walked.
He wasn't late. He just felt slow.
Sometimes, he wondered if this was all his life was going to be: walking places, studying things, working random jobs, getting tired, sleeping, repeating. No sudden changes. No twist of fate.
No super skills.
He tried not to think about it too much.
Thinking about it made the air feel heavier.
He turned onto the side street toward the university entrance.
And then he saw it.
A banana peel.
Bright yellow. Right in the middle of the walkway like someone had placed it there on purpose. For a second, he stared at it, brain lagging a bit.
He thought about stepping around it.
He didn't.
His foot landed right on it.
His shoe slid forward faster than he expected. His body leaned backward. His arms flailed a bit, like he was trying not to fall in front of people.
He had just enough time for one dumb thought:
Seriously… this cliché thing actually happens?
He waited for the pain of hitting the concrete.
It didn't come.
The world blinked out.
Not the dramatic kind where explosions go off or the sky tears open. It was just… gone.
Like a light turned off.
He floated.
It felt like falling and standing still at the same time. His stomach twisted, but nothing else moved.
Then a sound pinged inside his head.
Like a notification. Too soft to be annoying. Too clear to ignore.
Lines of light formed in the darkness.
Not handwriting. Not even real letters — just clean text floating in front of him.
SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
He blinked.
"Okay," he said quietly. "That's weird."
More words appeared.
WELCOME, USER.
BANANA PEEL SYSTEM ACTIVATED.
He stared for a moment.
Of all the names he expected, that one wasn't on the list.
"Banana… peel?" he muttered.
Nothing answered, so he shut his mouth.
The text changed again.
YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR AN UNCONVENTIONAL PATH TO POWER.
Power.
He didn't react dramatically. No shouting. No cheering. Just a slow blink. A part of his brain wanted to laugh, another part wanted to ignore it, and another part just watched.
Finally?
Was this real?
He waited.
CONDITION: POWER IS LINKED TO POPULARITY AND CONTENT CREATION.
GAIN FAME. LEVEL UP.
That was different.
He tilted his head a little.
"Content creation? Like videos? Streams? Posts?"
He felt stupid talking to floating words, but it was easier than staying silent.
The answer came fast.
CONTENT TYPE: ADULT-RATED.
He froze. Not shocked. Just confused first.
He read it again.
Adult-rated.
He let the silence sit there, because honestly, what do you say to that?
"…No way," he whispered. "That can't be the system."
The words didn't change.
No apology.
No joke message.
No "just kidding."
More text appeared instead.
BEGINNER QUEST UNLOCKED.
OBJECTIVE: GAIN FIRST 100 FOLLOWERS.
REWARD: BASIC STATS + STARTER SKILL.
He rubbed his face.
His life wasn't dramatic before.
But now it felt like someone had picked the weirdest possible path just to mess with him.
He cleared his throat.
"So… if I say no?"
The darkness pulsed slightly.
Then:
DECLINING WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT LOSS.
NO SECOND CHANCES.
He went quiet.
It didn't threaten him. It didn't say he would die or explode. Just…
No power.
Stay normal.
Same road.
Same future.
Same small spaces and short dreams.
He swallowed.
He didn't feel brave. He didn't feel excited either.
Mostly, he felt like he had reached a fork in the road without warning, and the straight path behind him was blocked.
He spoke slowly.
"Alright. I'll accept. But I'm not doing crazy stuff."
The answer came back immediately.
ACCEPTED.
WELCOME TO THE BANANA PEEL SYSTEM.
TRY NOT TO SLIP UP.
The darkness cracked like thin ice.
Color rushed in.
Sound returned.
Deb blinked and found himself standing on the same street. Same backpack. Same buildings. People walked past him, not even glancing in his direction.
He looked down.
No banana peel.
No sign of anything strange.
He let out a breath and scratched the back of his head.
"Okay. That happened."
Then he noticed faint text floating at the top of his vision, almost transparent.
LEVEL: 0
FOLLOWERS: 0
QUEST: START.
He waved his hand through the air. The letters didn't move. They just stayed there quietly.
He sighed.
Not angry.
Not happy.
Just… tired and curious at the same time.
He walked again, slower this time.
On the way, he kept glancing at people around him.
A guy argued on the phone. A girl laughed with her friend. An older man pushed a cart with fruits. A hunter passed by with armor that looked too shiny for everyday use.
Nobody noticed anything strange.
Deb reached campus and sat on a bench under a tree for a moment. He dropped his backpack next to him and leaned back.
The system text waited patiently like it had all the time in the world.
He stared at the "followers: 0" line.
"Adult-rated content," he muttered. "Who even comes up with this?"
He had watched some streamers who did more… risky content. Joke channels. Suggestive stuff. Clickbait. But he never imagined something like this would be tied to power.
Hunters got swords. Mages got fireballs.
He got… this.
He rubbed his hands together slowly, thinking.
He could walk away.
Ignore it.
Pretend nothing happened.
Go back to his normal path. Graduate. Find some job. Live quietly. Maybe marry someone, maybe not. Pay bills. Grow older.
Or…
He could try.
Not for fame. Not for attention.
Just to see if power really came with it.
To see if life could be different, even a little.
He didn't know what kind of content he was supposed to make. He didn't know if he'd embarrass himself. He didn't know if it would even work.
But he felt something small inside — not excitement, not fear.
Just a slight push.
He stood up.
"Alright," he said softly. "Let's see where this goes."
He slung his backpack onto his shoulder and headed toward class, pretending like everything was normal.
The faint words followed him.
QUEST ACTIVE.
Somewhere far away, the hum of mana rolled through the city again.
And Deb walked on, not knowing that one stupid banana peel had changed everything.