Somewhere inside a tiny, damp office located in Tokyo Japan [2030], 5 Years after the ‘Second enlightenment’:

“For example, here’s one from Arthur C. Clarke: ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’, doesn’t that give you something to think about?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure Reo… I just don’t believe the youth of today want to hear some vague quotes from dead people, they want apps to drive away their boredom… look, I hired you to design apps that keep teenagers glued to their screens for as long as possible, not for this semi-educational bullshit. I mean seriously, an app that wakes you up with a new and ‘inspiring’ quote every day?! I just don’t see us making any money of this…”

“I… I understand madam, I’ll just continue working on ‘Super Idle Gundam Builder 2’, sorry to bother you.”

“Reo wait… I took you in because you managed to create a number 2 Appstore hit all on your own, but… it’s already been a year, so far you’ve yet to design anything worthwhile. You’re a good programmer, but that’s about it. We… We decided to let you go from the company.”

“Madam, no, Koemi, you can’t do this to me! I’ve been working my ass off for the company this past year, even working overtime without extra pay!”

“I know Reo, and we’re very thankful for all your work, however, we hired you as an app-designer not a programmer. Look, we’ll even compensate you with a full weeks pay if you don’t make this difficult for us.”

“Oh wow, really generous of our company’s director. I must truly be the luckiest man on earth since I was blessed enough to work for this righteous and fair company for even a year.”

“Don’t push it Reo! I can still let you go without giving you any pay! Make the smart choice kid, don’t try to anger me!”

“Whatever, screw your so called ‘generosity’! Just don’t come begging to me for money when I make it big some day!”

I look back over my shoulder while storming out of the room, as I see Koemi’s face turning red with anger, I can’t help but smile a little… but man, I sure could have used that extra pay… shit… oh well, only one way to deal with my sadness and regret now: booze!

I aimlessly walk a couple of blocks, passing several billboards and posters on the way. They’re all just advertising dungeon-equipment stores or magic-cartridges, there are even a few recruitment posters for low ranking guilds… *SIGH* things would be much easier for me if I was one of those Machia’s, I could dive a couple of dungeons and come out as a millionaire…

Well, to be a Machia, you’ll first have to be abducted and have a chip implanted right? Otherwise you can’t even use those magic-cartridge-thingies. Although an abduction sounds a bit scary to me, I’ll definitely won’t back down given the chance. Machias are like superstars nowadays, I even heard the government lets the really strong ones marry multiple wives…

NO, screw those Machias! If it weren’t for them, my military-defense-programming-degree wouldn’t be worth the same as toilet paper right now! *SIGH* Who could have predicted dungeons would suddenly appear around the world, with monsters that modern weapons don’t even have any effect on…

Eventually, I arrive at a local pub and sit down at the bar.

“So, what shall it be for you today sir?”

“Give me some of your strongest stuff, something that’ll make me forget about my worries.”

“Sure thing, I have just the right liquor for that.”

As he’s pouring my drink, the old barman continues talking to me:

“So anyways, what brings you here at this time of day? Girlfriend broke up with you? Lost a loved one?”

“Ha, you’re a nosy old man, aren’t ya?.” – “I find that talking about your problems always helps, besides, it’s just you and me in this old bar right now and I’m not gonna judge such a youngster as yourself.” – “Fine… I didn’t lose a loved one or anything, or well, not recently at least… just lost my job, that’s all.”

“Aighh, happens to the best of us. I bankrupted 3 other bars before I finally opened this one. There is only one piece of advice I can give you: If you want to be successful, in anything really, you have to keep working towards a single goal and slowly you’ll get closer to it, it’s tiring, difficult and you might not even be rewarded at the end, but you’ll reach it, you’ll eventually reach it.”

“Yeah, that’s definitely something to think about…”

…

After a couple of drinks, I stumble out of the bar and head towards my home: a shitty, one room apartment that looks like it could fall apart at any moment.

“Ugh… that barman wasn’t joking around, I feel like the entire sky is breaking apart. Wait… is it? Am I hallucinating? What’s that silver thing in the middle of those swirly lines?”

*PZING*

I panic as I suddenly get enveloped in some sort of light that’s pulling me up towards the silver thing.

“Oh god no please, I can’t die a virgin! I still need to make my parents proud! Well, I guess I can finally see them again though… this might be for the best actually… it’s not like there’s anyone left to mourn my death… this is fine, I can finally stop pretending to smile all the time.”

…

“Kio estas tio?”

“Mi ne komprenas.”

“ĝi fariĝis legendoj.”

What’s happening… where am I? I look up at 2 grey blob looking people, or rather I wouldn’t really call them people, they have four arms and have the body shape of a thumb on legs… I try speaking, but I can’t hear my own voice. I can only hear those two aliens talking in a weird language I don't recognize…

After a while, the blob-people notice I’m looking at them and appear a bit panicked. They quickly grab an IV looking thing with one of their weird tentacle arms, press a button, and the next thing I know I feel a wave of tiredness washing over me. I try communicating one more time as I pass in and out of consciousness, but I eventually give up and pass out.

…

“Oooh fuck… my head hurts.”

I wake up on the floor-mattress that’s laying in the middle of my shitty apartment... did I really dream about an abduction? *SIGH* I guess I really do want to become a Machia. So stupid, I never heard of anyone waking up in the middle of their abduction, they usually just wake up with a chip implanted somewhere in their bod-

I… I can’t believe what I’m feeling: as I touch my chest on the place where the infuse-looking thing in my dream was attached to, I can feel a square object under my skin… no way.

I quickly stand up and check myself out in the bathroom mirror… I see my familiar long and skinny body frame, my black hair and blue eyes and… a black square surrounded by red lights in the middle of my chest?! It’s just sitting there, under my skin, about 10 centimeter wide…

“I- I became a MACHIA ?!”