The Coder Prince: From Debts to a Throne

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The Coder Prince: From Debts to a Throne

Autore: Mask_jay

Capitolo 1: CHAPTER 1: Cigarette Smoke, a God's Whisper, and Gambling Debts

My fingers trembled as I clicked 'refresh'. My remaining balance—which just this afternoon was still enough to pay the electricity bill and buy milk for the kids—now showed zero. Brutal. Cold. A zero that felt like a punch to the gut.

"Lost again...?"

I slammed the laptop shut. Darkness. In the gloom of the room, all I could see were the imagined faces of my wife, Laras, and our two children if they found out their father had blown the grocery money once more on false hope from a computer screen. This gambling addiction was like a monster. It started as a casual "just trying it out," then promises of "just one more time" to chase losses. And now, I was so deep underwater I could barely see the light above.

I grabbed the nearly empty cigarette pack with one lone stick left. Listlessly, I lit it and stepped outside, searching for air less stifling than this. A roadside tent stall became my escape for the umpteenth time. Cheap beer tasted bitter on my tongue, a perfect match for the bitterness gnawing at the depths of my soul. Cigarette smoke swirled, merging with the suffocating Jakarta evening haze.

Thirty-three years old. Hair starting to thin here and there. A stomach that no longer obeyed, lazily sagging beneath a tight, worn-out t-shirt. Not the picture of a hero—but then again, who cared? Life revolved around code, a never-ending mortgage, school fees, and... the monster I just mentioned.

...

That's when it happened. The cigarette smoke I inhaled deeply suddenly didn't behave normally. It danced, swirled, forming a small vortex in the humid Jakarta air. A golden light emanated from within it, slow but sure, shaping a silhouette far more majestic than any genie or fairy from the tales I'd read. The figure radiated authority—a divine aura, or at least, that's what it felt like, so potent it made me hold my breath.

"Arya."

Its voice boomed, yet felt soft at the same time, seeping directly into my mind, not merely heard by my ears.

I nearly choked on my beer. "Who—?"

"I am Remiel," it said, and the light around it dimmed slightly, revealing a figure in white robes with eyes as deep as an ocean of time. "One of the ruling gods of the world of Etheria. And I have come to offer you an opportunity."

My heart raced uncontrollably. Etheria? What kind of world was that? And why... why me? I'm just an ordinary programmer nearly bankrupted by my own stupidity.

"I... I'm just a normal man, God. My life is a mess. I have a wife, two kids... and a mountain of debt I probably can't repay in my lifetime."

Remiel smiled, but his eyes remained serious. "That is precisely why I chose you, Arya. The world of Etheria needs help. Our world is sick. The system governing life, the balance of energy, even the fate of its creatures—all are suffering from fundamental corruption. We need a problem solver. Someone whose mind is trained to read patterns and logic, not just empty power."

"I will give you a chance. I will not give you a legendary sword or destructive magic. That is not my way, and it is not your expertise. What I will give you is the opportunity to learn and survive. Your body and mind will adapt to this world. You will understand its language, read it, and learn its magical rules at an unnatural speed. That is all. For the rest, rely on that brain of yours, already trained to solve problems."

I fell silent. That's it? No great power?

"So... I can learn magic quickly? Learn to fight?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes. But you still have to study. You still have to train. You will understand a spell after seeing it once, but you still need practice to master it. You are an ordinary man with a genius talent for learning. That is your advantage. That is what we need."

My mind instantly flew to the digital bookshelf on my tablet, filled with hundreds of isekai manga and Chinese fantasy novels I read to forget life's burdens. "Knowledge is power," people say. "Maybe in this case, it will truly become my power. My only one."

I took a deep breath. This is insane. But what are my choices? Stay and watch my wife and children drown with me, or leap into the darkness relying only on... my brain and memories of fiction?

"Alright. I accept," I said, my voice sounding braver than I felt. "But... my family. They—"

"They will be under my protection," Remiel interjected softly. "They will know you left for an important mission. They will dream sweet dreams of your departure. And they will remain safe."

He extended his hand. "Then let us begin."

And without a second thought, I took it. Not because I was brave, but because I was out of options. I am not a hero. I am just a father carrying the burden of debt and a bagful of theories from comics, trying not to disappoint his family for the umpteenth time.

The world around me shook, changed, and constricted—then everything turned bright.