I woke up, and the world had changed. Everyone's appetite had inexplicably shrunk by a thousand times. The gym bros who used to inhale three steaks for dinner now couldn't finish a teaspoon of rice. The self-proclaimed "Food God" influencers struggled to finish a single cracker over three days. Only I retained my original appetite. That day, I was livestreaming myself eating a popsicle like usual, and the comments section exploded: "Oh my god! He ate the whole thing!" "This has to be fake!" "It's impossible for a human to eat that much!" In this new world where everyone had the stomach of a hummingbird, I, a regular guy who liked snacks, became a national idol just for eating a single popsicle. Chapter 1 I woke up and found myself in Tiny Belly Nation. Here, wealth is determined by appetite. The bigger your appetite, the richer you are. A normal meal consists of a single grain of rice. Three grains a day is the standard. The most famous competitive eaters online can manage four grains in one sitting. During lunch, my deskmate, Julian, was watching a competitive eating stream while savoring his single grain of rice. He sighed wistfully. "When will I ever be as amazing as The Great Gobbler?" I glanced over and couldn't help but joke, "Feeding the birds?" Julian shot me a cold glare. "Oh look, it's the broke kid. Can't afford lunch again? This is limited edition imported rice my dad bought me. You'll never taste anything this high quality in your life!" He pushed his plate towards himself protectively. I was confused. It was just one grain of rice in the center of the plate. On his phone screen, "The Great Gobbler" was attempting the impossible: eating five grains of rice in one meal. Julian watched with intense focus, swallowing hard. As the streamer on screen swallowed that fifth grain, Julian put his own grain into his mouth. He finished and let out a satisfied burp. "Wow! The Great Gobbler set a new record! Five grains! Success!" At that moment, a notification pinged. The Wealth Ranking updated. The Great Gobbler shot to number one. Next to his name was the number: 5 grains. Just like his record. I scrolled down to find my name. It wasn't even ranked. Next to it was: 0.3 grains. I realized I was probably the poorest kid in this class. Arguments broke out among my classmates. "The Muncher is challenging it too! Don't get excited yet. Wait until Muncher succeeds, then we'll see who's laughing!" "Gobbler is the best!" "No, Muncher is!" Listening to them bicker over rice grains, I blurted out, "Five grains? That's not even enough to get stuck in my teeth." The air froze. Everyone turned to look at me. Then came the tidal wave of mockery. "You're full of it! Stuck in your teeth? I've never met someone who brags this hard!" "You can't even finish one grain, and you're talking big? Don't forget, finals are tomorrow. If you fail the one-grain test again, the school is going to expel you!" "Students like you are a disgrace to this academy!" I responded calmly, "I'm not bragging. I can eat three bowls of rice." The laughter grew louder. Class President Maya tugged at my sleeve, looking worried. "Leo, stop posturing. Three bowls of rice could feed the entire country for three days. How could you possibly eat that?" "Just apologize to everyone and let it go." I ignored the kindness in her eyes and emphasized again, "I can eat three bowls of rice." Someone shouted, "I'll go to the cafeteria right now and buy it for you. If you can't eat it, you drop out voluntarily!" I was starving, so I agreed immediately. "Deal. But get me some sides, too." I wasn't just a rice bucket. I needed flavor. The guy hesitated. "Sides? Only the upper class can afford sides. We can't buy that!" Julian glared at me. "I'll buy them!" His dad could eat two and a half grains per meal. They were considered a wealthy family. Meeting Julian's provocative gaze, I didn't flinch. "Okay!" Chapter 2 Not long after, Julian came back, his face dark. The class looked at him expectantly. "Julian, where's the food?" "He definitely can't finish it. Let's watch him humiliate himself!" "Where is it? Give it to him!" Julian scowled at me. "The cafeteria doesn't have that much rice. Did you calculate this beforehand?" I paused, my stomach growling loudly. "I'm starving to death here! Do I look like I'm joking?" Plan A failed. I wanted to scam a free meal off Julian, but it seemed hopeless. I sighed and went back to my seat. But Julian followed me. "This... this should be equivalent to three bowls of rice. If you can eat this whole thing, I'll believe you!" I looked up. "A popsicle?" Seeing my hesitation, Julian smirked. "Scared? I knew you were bluffing!" "You should honor the bet and drop out!" Maya stepped in to de-escalate. "Alright, alright, it was just a joke between classmates. Julian, let Leo go. His family is struggling enough as it is. He can't lose his education." Julian looked at me with pure malice. "Fine. If Leo gets on his knees and licks my shoes clean, I'll let him go." "Lick it!" The surrounding classmates started chanting. "Lick it! Lick it!" Maya looked at me with concern and tried to intervene again. Julian pushed her hard. "Get lost!" "Leo is ugly and poor. Why are you defending him? You got a crush on him or something?" Julian's words made everyone scan Maya and me with judgment. Maya blushed furiously. "What are you saying! I'm the class president. I speak for every student!" I finally snapped. I caught Maya before she fell. My voice was cold. "Fine. I accept." "If I can't finish it, I'll drop out. But if I do finish it, you have to apologize to the class president in front of everyone!" Chapter 3 Julian laughed coldly. "Keep dreaming! Everyone, watch how a liar dies!" I sneered. "What, you scared?" "Who said I'm scared? I promise, if you finish it, I'll kneel and apologize to Maya in front of the whole school!" I smirked. This idiot just raised the stakes himself. Exactly what I wanted. I took the popsicle. Looked it over. I really wanted something hot for lunch. Eating ice cream on an empty stomach... my mom would kill me if she knew. Noticing my hesitation, Maya tugged my shirt. "Leo, it's okay. Just apologize. Don't force yourself." "A whole popsicle... if you eat it all, your body won't handle it!" I looked at Julian. He was staring at me with disdain, waiting for my surrender. I smiled. "It's okay. Trust me." Maybe my smile reassured her. Maya stood by my side silently. I raised the arm holding the popsicle. Every eye in the room was glued to that piece of ice. Chapter 4 I devoured it in three bites. Then I licked the stick clean. Julian stared at the clean wooden stick, his jaw hitting the floor. I smacked my lips. A bit cold. Everyone was stunned into silence. The air froze for a second. Then someone broke the quiet. "Did... did Leo just eat the entire popsicle?" "I... I think so..." "That's impossible!" Julian refused to believe it. He snatched the stick from my hand, examining it closely. "How is this possible? This is impossible! How could you eat a whole popsicle?!" Maya was still worried. "Are you okay?" I shook my head. "I'm fine." Back home, I'd never stop at just one. Eating it in one go left me wanting more. Julian screamed, "You cheated!" "You definitely cheated!" "You can't even finish half a grain of rice normally! How could you eat a whole popsicle today!" "Where did you hide it? Take it out!" Julian rushed at me, patting me down. Pulling at my sleeves, checking my pockets. He looked like he wanted to strip search me right there. I pushed him away. "Julian, you lost. Don't forget what you said." Class started. I walked calmly back to my seat. Julian kept muttering. "How? That's physically impossible!" I felt the gazes of the entire class burning into my back. But I didn't care. I just realized something important. It seems the Wealth Ranking only updates when you eat rice.
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