He woke up on a couch. As he sat up and looked around, his face twisted in confusion. The room around him was unfamiliar, small and sparse. The only furniture in sight was the couch he had just been lying on. A phone rested on the armrest beside him, and to his left, there was a tiny kitchen that looked barely used. Across the room, a single door stood slightly ajar, probably leading into a bedroom or another part of the apartment. The space was quiet, almost too quiet, like it had been untouched for a while.
"Didn't I just die?… Did I get reincarnated?" Silo muttered to himself, trying to make sense of the situation. He was sure completely sure that he had just been hit by a truck. There was no doubt about it.
He remembered the moment clearly: the flash of headlights, the screech of tires, the jarring impact. There was no way he survived that. Yet, here he was, sitting in this strange apartment, his body perfectly fine, without a scratch or bruise. It could only mean one thing he must have been reincarnated.
"But it seems like I've either gone back in time… or ended up in a different world that just has less technology," he said aloud, still trying to process everything. "Or maybe both?" The thought lingered in his mind for a moment.
He continued speaking to himself quietly, trying to think through every possibility. Then, suddenly, he felt something odd a kind of mental itch deep in his brain, like a signal trying to break through.
Without warning, a flood of memories surged into his mind all at once. Years' worth of information, thoughts, and moments came crashing in like a wave. It was overwhelming at first, but he focused and tried to piece it all together.
'So my name is still Silo Barlow… I'm still nineteen. I live alone in a one-bedroom apartment. My parents, who are overseas, are the ones paying for it,' he thought, sorting through the memories as best he could. 'I don't have a job. I don't have any friends either?' It felt surreal he could remember both his past life and this one, and now they were tangled up together in his mind.
'Wait… if I've been reincarnated, doesn't that mean I get a system? Like in those games?' he wondered. He had been deeply addicted to video games in his old life, always fantasizing about getting some kind of RPG-style system if he ever got a second shot. That would make this whole thing at least a little more familiar.
Almost like the world was listening, he suddenly heard a soft beep echo inside his head. A glowing purple screen appeared in his vision, hovering like a hologram. His heart jumped.
! Hello host, please open gift package from "#%^*]€¥<>" to get started!
'Ohhh it's really a system! Open!' he thought excitedly. His curiosity spiked who was this strange sender? What had they sent him?
**! Gift package opened. You've received:
• Thought Game Creation - D
• Immersive Games - A
• Game Collection - A
• Game Making Panel - C
• Free First Game - Ticket
"#%^*]€¥<>" wishes you good luck!**
The system panel displayed all of his new items, each one listed with its name and rank. He stared at it for a few seconds, taking it all in. There was a lot to process, but it was clear that this was some kind of developer's toolkit, designed for creating and interacting with games in a way he had never seen before.
"Can you explain what these are and what they do?" Silo asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and cautious hope.
The system responded quickly:
! Thought Game Creation - D: Create a game concept with just a thought. No code needed. Also makes your games un-hackable, because you can't hack someone's brain.
Immersive Games - A: Makes all your games fully immersive. Everything will feel real unless you choose otherwise touch, smell, taste, sound, and sight all included. allows players to transfer their consciousness into the game.
Game Collection - A: Allows you to collect abilities or items from your game. There's a price, and it depends on how powerful or valuable the thing is.
Game Making Panel - F: No need for a computer. You can make and upload games directly through this panel.
Free First Game - Ticket: Lets you create and release your first game without using any entertainment points.
Silo read each explanation carefully.
As Silo continued reading through the system screen in front of him, a growing sense of satisfaction settled in his chest. Each feature listed felt more exciting than the last, and he couldn't help but feel a little proud of the package he had received.
These were real tools with real potential, and they had all been given to him for free. Out of everything displayed, however, his attention was eventually drawn to one item in particular the "Free First Game - Ticket." It stood out, not because it seemed better than the rest, but because it had the word "free" in it, and that naturally raised a question in his mind.
"System, what are entertainment points?" he asked aloud, curious about how the system's economy worked. If something could be free, then that must mean other things had a cost, and he needed to understand what kind of currency he would be dealing with.
The system responded promptly, as if it had been waiting for the question.
! Host, entertainment points are what you are given when someone plays your game for an hour. Each hour gives you one EP!
Silo nodded to himself slightly as he absorbed the information. The explanation made sense. He had read enough web novels and played enough games to know that systems like these often used some kind of point or token-based system.
This didn't surprise him at all. In fact, it seemed pretty straightforward create a game, get people to play it, and earn points based on how long they engage with it. Simple enough.
He didn't spend much time thinking further about it. The idea of a point system wasn't anything new to him, and it didn't seem like something he needed to worry about right away. Instead, he pushed himself up from the couch and stretched his arms out a little.
The apartment was still dim, the only source of light coming from a streetlamp that glowed faintly through the closed window blinds. It was clearly nighttime, and the quiet atmosphere around him reminded him just how late it probably was.
Rather than starting anything tonight, he decided to check out the bedroom. With slow steps, he walked across the room and opened the door that led into it. It had been a long day or at least, it felt like one and trying to dive into game development right now didn't seem like the best move. He figured it would be smarter to get some rest and begin working on his first game tomorrow, so he went to sleep