[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Target Identified: ARYAN
Title: [NONE]
Skill: [ERROR]
Aryan sat on his toilet seat, staring at the bathroom tiles like they held the secrets of the universe.
"Okay, so I skipped today," Aryan muttered to himself. "And I'm gonna skip the day after. And after that is a holiday, so when I go back after the holiday, the teacher will forget that I was absent. Then I will skip one more day. Logic? Flawless. Aura? Infinite."
In his own mind, he was a tactical genius. While his classmates were rotting in a room smelling of sweat, he was sitting there, taking a dump and planning his master plan. He skipped school constantly, but somehow he was still one of the top student. He was just built different, he guessed.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Target Identified: AYUSH
Title: [NONE]
Skill: [ERROR - NONE]
Meanwhile, at school, Ayush was standing outside the Principal's office. The reason? His glorious, curly hair.
"Man, f*** this school, seriously," Ayush grumbled, crossing his arms. "They just don't get the vibe. These curls are the only thing keeping my personality alive. If I cut them, I'll just be another background character. I'd rather be suspended than look basic."
He glared at the office door. Why was that bald principal so obsessed with his head anyway? The guy needed to focus on the crumbling walls, not Ayush's hair, which was an absolute work of art.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Target Identified: VIKAS
Title: [NONE]
Skill: [NONE]
Inside the hallway, Vikas was leaning against a locker, looking like a total creep while staring at girls.
"Hey Shreya..." Vikas said smoothly. "Heard you went to Mussoorie. The mountains looked... mountain-y in your stories."
Shreya frowned, taking a step back. "Vikas, my account is private and we aren't even friends on Insta. How did you know?"
Vikas smirked. "I have my ways... you know..."
By 'ways,' he meant he had been heavily stalking her alternate accounts. Honestly, someone needed to give him a trophy... or a restraining order.
School finally ended. Aryan was walking towards the gym, feeling fresh as hell after his strategic 'stay-at-home' day, when he spotted the two losers walking out of the school gates.
"Yo! Look at this a**h*le!" Vikas yelled, pointing an accusing finger. "We were suffering in class and this man is going to the gym?"
"Shut up, Vikas," Aryan rolled his eyes. "I have to stay at the gym because my relatives are at home. Their kids are literally doing parkour on my bed. If I go back now, I'm gonna end up in jail for child abuse."
Ayush looked completely drained of life. "Is the gym even open?"
"It's a 24/7 gym, you uneducated potato," Aryan said. "Come with me."
The trio walked down to the gym, only to find the heavy metal shutter pulled all the way down. A sign was taped to the front: "Closed for maintenance."
Vikas slowly turned to Aryan. "Wow. Great plan."
"Fu** you, Vikas said," Aryan snapped. "How was I supposed to know?"
"Fu**. man," Ayush groaned, tilting his head back to stare at the sky. "My hair got insulted for nothing. I'm bored. I'm frustrated. I want to do something wild."
Vikas's expression suddenly shifted. He looked around shiftily before leaning in close. "Listen... hear me out. We are all single. We have absolute zero game. Let's go sneak into that sketchy underground VIP club downtown. Let's finally talk to some actual girls before the Board Exams kill us anyway. For the plot, boys!"
Aryan stared at him. "Wait... you mean... that shady place? Bruh, that's risky." He paused. "But... honestly? I wanna see some real fun and maybe actually get a number. Let's go."
"I am broke," Ayush said deadpan. "I don't have money for the entry fee."
"Ok, ok, I'll pay your money," Aryan smirked. "But just call me dad one time..."
Ayush didn't even hesitate. "Let's go d...d...dad!"
Aryan and Vikas erupted into laughter.
"Yeah, let's go son...!" Aryan grinned.
They were just one street away. They could see the neon signs of the club and the bouncers standing in the distance. The "vibe" was finally becoming real, and Aryan's heart was racing.
Suddenly, everything went dead quiet. The sound of the city completely vanished. A weird, high-pitched mechanical humming echoed directly inside their skulls.
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
Scanning Target: ARYAN
System Compatibility: 100%
Status: Initializing Isekai Protocol...
Countdown: 3... 2... 1...
"Guys..." Aryan grabbed his head. "Do you hear a lady voice in your head?"
"I only hear the sound of my future—WAIT, WHAT THE FU** IS THAT?!" Vikas screamed, pointing down the road.
a massive white truck appeared. It was drifting around the corner like it was in a movie, heading straight for them at 150kmph.
"OH MY GOD!" Aryan shrieked. "Not like this! I forgot to delete my browser history. If I die here, my mom is gonna check my browser history! My reputation is finished! THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING, FR!"
"NOOOO!" Ayush wailed. "I was so close! I was literally 5 minutes away from finally talking to a woman! I'm gonna die without ever holding a girl's hand! THIS IS A SCAM! I HATE YOU GOD!"
"We're fued... we're literally fucd," Vikas whispered in sheer terror. "Goodbye, Shreya... you never deserved my stalker skills anyway."
Everything turned into a blur of blinding white light and pain. For a second, it felt like being squeezed through a straw.
Aryan snapped his eyes open. He wasn't on the road anymore. He was lying on the hard ground in the middle of a thick, dark forest. It looked like a normal jungle—just dirt and massive trees.
He looked up at the sky. His heart completely stopped.
There, hanging clearly in the sky, were two moons. One was giant and silver, the other small and blood-red.
Aryan slowly looked to his left. Ayush was face-palming on the ground. He looked to his right. Vikas was frantically checking his pockets to see if he still had his phone.
The realization hit them all at the exact same time.
Vikas, Ayush, and Aryan looked at each other and let out a legendary, unified scream:
"FU***********!!"**
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Welcome to the small jungle.
Quest: Survive the next 30 minutes.
Reward: maybe