The planet is littered with radiation, with practically no healthy land left on Earth. The air is also heavily polluted. Spend one day outside of a city, and your lungs would be painted pitch-black. Dust covers the sky, shutting out the sun most of the time. Occasionally, radioactive rain could be seen. Without a protective suit, you would be hard-pressed to step foot outside.
You are a third-class citizen, resident of the tertiary city. You are worth less than a pile of garbage. In these parts, various groups have formed in order to survive the harsh environment. You can choose which group to join:
-The group led by the Blood-Soaked Holy Mother that is attempting to conquer the Far East City.
-The group whose members don’t hesitate to kill other players for their money and goods.
-The group whose members trade for profit with the goal of becoming residents of the Far East City.
-The group that will serve as mercenaries to anyone willing to pay the price.
-The group of bounty hunters who make a living going after criminals with bounties on their heads.
-The group that spreads the teachings of the Way of the Messiah, a religion observed mostly in the Freedom City.
In addition, you can customize yourself and choose which paths to take. A Mech Warrior created by cybernetic technology, a Wielder who uses various skills, Spellcasters who use magic, Tradesmen, who are skilled in things like business or farming, are only a few options. In the Far East City, you live however you want. There are no laws or moral boundaries, here. Besides, a third-class citizen like you has no effect whatsoever on this world. So, I have only one thing left to say... Live an ugly life, and die an ugly death.
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Reading the nostalgic intro, XX burst out laughing. The messy worldview and the antagonistic intro both drew XX’s attention. This is what got XX into the game.
“Akira’s the best. Like, he’s dead-on my type.”
“Good for you.”
“What’s with the cold shoulder? You’re the one who got so into the game you started the new Way of the Messiah group.”
“Too long ago to remember.”
“Whatever you say. Now beat it. I want to go to bed.”
“...What do you want from this world? No, what are you planning to do in this world?”
“Nothing. Just play and sleep. Hey, look. This part about magic spells? I was the one who taught the gist of it to Akira...”
“You just explained it to him. I was the one who helped with the actual programming. And fuck off at the speed of sound.”
“No way. I already decided to live out my NEET life right here.”
“I’ll still keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
“Sounds fun, weirdo. Nighty night!”
With that, XX jumped into bed and curled up under the covers. The white figure watched for a while, but eventually sighed and disappeared.
The white figure had jumped to a giant building. The office at the top floor held a sign that read “42 — OMG,” which was a world-renowned video game company. The white figure took a seat at the luxurious leather chair in the CEO’s office, as an elderly gentleman in a butler’s uniform expertly poured a cup of tea. An elegant aroma filled the room. Without a word, the white figure sipped the tea.
“Any changes...?” The gentleman asked.
“Still unemployed. I have no idea what’s gotten into...”
A frown crept on the white figure’s beautiful face. Remembering how much trouble XX had brought about was causing a headache.
“Still obsessed with Akira as ever.”
“Excessively fond of Mister Ono, it seems... In my personal opinion, I suspect that Mister Ono may have a... gift, in that department.”
The gentleman insinuated something. The wise white figure immediately picked up on it, and denied it.
“Don’t be foolish. I have no interest in that boy.”
“Is that so...?”
The gentleman let out a polite chuckle and topped off the teacup.
“In any case, keep up the surveillance.”
At this command, the gentleman took a deep bow and left the room. Once alone, the white figure couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“To think they were left behind for this... That one’s almost at a breaking point.”
The white figure, eyes closed, appeared to be concerned about something.
Epitaph: The Day A World Was Born
Another six months passed after the conversation between XX and the white figure. Akira had created the new world over the course of that year — a world where the Empire ruled over all. Reviewing the numerous files he had completed, the ruthless Game, the Sleepless Castle, the Demon Lord and his advisors, Akira shouted:
“It’s my best work yet...! I’m a freakin’ genius! Ha ha ha ha!”
Pumping his fist into the air, he burst out laughing. Whether he was a genius or not, Akira’s determination was unparalleled. He had created an entire world all by himself. It wasn’t an easy feat.
Akira uploaded the files onto his server one after another and launched the game. On the screen was the Demon Lord of the Empire, wearing a dauntless grin.
“What’s up, Kunai? Nice to meet you, I guess. Well, from today on, you... will be what I am.”
It was another indie game, which were much more prevalent during the internet’s infancy. What set this game apart, however, was that the creator of it was an endlessly determined man who never gave up.
——A particular day in 2001.
A pair of twins noticed the change. As identical twins, even their facial expressions and gestures were exactly that.
“It looks like Ono’s back in the game,” said the older brother, who went by the name Max online.
“Yep. The website’s updated,” said the younger brother, who went by the name X online.
With a synchronized, show-boaty gesture, the two brothers each pushed up their glasses with one finger. The website, which had only displayed a small block of text since the shutdown, had finally changed. In red font, it read ‘A New Age Program — Coming Soon.’
“A new-age program, huh?”
“What kind of game do you think it’ll be?”
“We’ll see. He’s a madman, conservatively speaking.”
“A new game’s fine and all, but no one got to beat Maria...”
There had been many battles over the Far East City, but no player had emerged victorious. X was still bothered by this fact. His brother Max seemed to have thoughts on the matter, too, as he gently added:
“Let’s pay him back double in this so-called new-age program.”
“When’s ‘soon,’ anyway? Today? Tomorrow?”
X began dangling the leg he had crossed over the other. Seeing this, his brother pushed his glasses with the same show-boaty gesture again and said:
“Dear foolish brother. Cease that unsightly mannerism immediately. You embarrass me.”
“Dear moronic brother. You’re the one who’s been tip-tapping your fingers on the desk.”
The brothers stared each other down for a moment. It wasn’t that they didn’t particularly get along, but each considered themself superior to the other. In truth, both of them were extremely intelligent. As they were still students, they always competed with each other on tests, and were close to the top of the national ranking of standardized testing.
“We’ll see who comes out on top soon enough when this comes out.”
“Yeah. It’ll be me, though.”
With the younger brother’s immediate comeback, Max grew visibly upset.
“Foolish brother! You just have to have the last word, don’t you!?”
“Shut up, you frameless-glasses-wearing douchebag!”
They jumped up and began wrestling on the spot. These twins would be two of the top players in the Empire-controlled world, too.
A few days later, Sho noticed the change in the website. However, he was lit up wit
h anger rather than joy. Without so much as an apology, he had really created what he called a new world. The worldview and intro text were tacked onto the page without much thought. By a force of habit, Sho clicked on the intro.
“It’s ridiculous. Who in their right mind would ever register to...?”
He opened the intro to be greeted by an astonishing set of features. The most noteworthy of them was that the game would end in a week. While basic data like player names would be saved, everything else would reset each week. Sho was astounded by the bizarre system.
“What the...? How can you call this a video game?”
Leveling up characters, growing them, and collecting items to make them stronger. That was the backbone, the fun part, and the point of an RPG. Without that structure, how could it stand as one?
“He was all confident before, but this has to be a Hail Mary...”
Sho’s anger gradually left him as something like pity replaced it. There was no way that a game like this would ever become popular. At the end of the day, Sho was still grateful for the fun he had playing the previous game, all for free. As a result, he pitied this video game that absolutely no one would play, and also its creator, Akira Ono.
“All right... I’ll register for it, at least...” He mumbled, as if preparing to send Akira Ono off on his deathbed.
——A particular day, midnight.
Sho had downloaded the new game and jumped to the registration screen. He had no interest in the game itself, but the idea that everything would end in a week made it seem more casual, so this gave him the push to register. He had no idea that his life was about to change forever.
“A week-long battle to the death, huh...?”
A character called the Demon Lord of the Empire appeared on the screen, along with various rules. Surprisingly, the Demon Lord was also named Akira Ono.
“What’s this supposed to mean? ‘Come and get me’? As cocky as always... Woah, hold on!”
Sho couldn’t help but call out the tagline that appeared on screen, which read, ‘Real-time battle royale, 24 hours a day.’ An explanation that the game would be running 24/7 followed this tagline.
“Are you kidding me...!? People have school and work, and, you know, lives!”
The system seemed to completely ignore the normal life cycle of human society. Sho couldn’t believe it. If this was the case, players could barely sleep or go to work.
“Was ‘revolutionary’ the review you were hoping for...? You just went too far.”
Next, Sho’s avatar, along with a customization screen, appeared. There were a significant number of parts. As someone who didn’t half-ass these kinds of things, Sho spent a considerable time customizing his avatar.
“How much did you put into this...?”
The graphics were way too good to be an indie game. Sho could tell that Akira, who never compromised on his worldview, must have forsaken every other aspect of life and dumped every cent he had into the game.
“I’m sure graphics are outsourced, but... Oh, they have lines.”
In addition to the character name, Sho could input lines for his character to say on particular instances. The number of those instances was shocking.
“A line said when killing another player, when activating a skill, when encountering enemies, and even when dying...?”
Sho made sure to input something for each and every one. What he set up so far was apparently basic data, and would be carried on after the week ended. It also seemed that lines could be changed any time in the arena. Now, a map of the arena appeared on screen, with the note that it would be randomized each week.
“Even the area resets, huh...? Down to a tee.”
Sho was reaffirmed that Akira had no intention of letting any player accumulate anything. With this system, everyone always started the game from scratch. There was no distinction between veterans and newbies. Experience wouldn’t necessarily translate to strength.
Sho clicked through to see various bags spinning at high speeds. He clicked them and his starting items appeared. It looked like even those would be randomized. Rip a good item, and even the less skilled could have an advantage. Sho had acquired a fork, a loaf of bread, and two bottles of water. Apparently, the fork was a stabbing weapon with an Attack of 1 and a Durability of 3.
Finally, the Demon Lord of the Empire and his advisors appeared on screen, with a button labeled ‘To the Arena’ at the center of the window. Seeing this, Sho couldn’t help but feel excited... and quickly shook his head to regain himself. He had only registered out of pity, after all. He wasn’t going to play the game for real. Sho clicked the button, and his screen blacked out before displaying, in blood-red font, ‘Dive into the Infinity Game.’
“...!”
A ridiculous thought crossed Sho’s mind: there was about to be a real battle to the death. A bizarre sense of nervousness enveloped him, forcing him to stare at the screen with dead-serious eyes. A beach faded into view. Even the characters’ starting points seemed to be randomized.
“Alright. The layout’s kind of like Dynasty Warriors. WASD to move, click to attack. Mouse moves the POV, jump, spring, slide...”
Sho, already accustomed to these sorts of keyboard controls, got the hang of things quickly. He could also use items or activate skills with the function keys, similar to North American MMOs.
“But how am I supposed to fight with a fork...?”
As Sho mumbled so, his screen flashed red!
“W-What the...!? What’s happening!?”
He noticed that what must have been his HP had decreased, as he was under attack. He moved his cursor to see a little girl swing an ax. The sight was nothing short of a scene from a horror film.
“How did you...!?”
“Won’t you... die for me?”
The eerie text appeared on screen. It must have been one of the lines the other player had registered during character creation.
“You little...!”
Sho had experience with various games, after all. He dodged the sudden axe attack and retaliated with his fork.
—Weapon destroyed. Your fork broke!
“Yo! Why would you break with one hit!?”
“Won’t you... die for me?”
“Shut the hell up!”
Sho successfully sprinted away from this ordeal, but cold sweat dripped down his face when he saw the gauge labeled ‘Stamina’ rapidly decreasing. Despite this being a real-time battle royale, there was a limit. Sho figured that, whether he wanted to search for something or fight someone, he had to plan out his moves if he didn’t want to end up immobilized from running out of Stamina. If he did, he was a sitting duck. It would be like a sheep left alone in the middle of a wolf pack.
“Dammit... I got to look for a weapon.”
He headed for an area labeled ‘suburb.’ It seemed most likely that he could find something here. He spotted a command called ‘Search’; when he clicked it, various items appeared in exchange for some of his Stamina.
TV — Throw weapon — 12 Attack — 1 Use
Ripton Tea — Heals Stamina — 10
Kitchen Knife — Stab Weapon — 8 Attack — 5 Durability
“These don’t seem too good...”
For having spent Stamina to conjure them, they didn’t seem worthwhile. At this time, Sho realized that, excluding what he had equipped on his character, he could only hold five items at a time.
“I have to think about what I carry, too...”
His inventory could easily fill up with things he didn’t really need.
Suddenly, his screen flashed red!
“Dammit, not again!”
“Eeeeexxxx!”
“What the hell are you!?”
Sho turned around to see a man wearing glasses and holding a club.
“Younger brothers are always the best! Eeeeexxxx!”
“Psycho...!”
Dodging the club, Sho stabbed back with his kitchen knife.
—Weapon destroyed.
Your knife broke!
“You... Pansy!”
Sho couldn’t help but scream at his crumbling arsenal. Just when he thought he was done for, loud gunshots echoed in the area and the man’s body convulsed. From the distance, another man with a machine gun came running.
“There you are, foolish brother... Die...! Die!!!”
“Brother!”
The two players went at each other as Sho hobbled away. A few seconds later, text appeared on his screen:
—XX:XX Max shot X to death.
(Last words: I don’t need to input anything, here. It’s pre-determined that I’m going to win. How could the apes defeat a genius like me?)
“Oh, come on! It broadcasts your last words!?”
As he ran away, Sho clicked open what was called the News Report to find countless records of deaths. There were numerous new players and numerous casualties.
“It’s midnight, guys... For real!?”
He opened what was called the Survivor List to see a column of avatars and their respective comments.
“Myu, here! Play nice, please!”
“Kill everyone.”
“Ono! It’s me! I’m gonna kill ya!”
“Not a virgin. Just wanted to make that clear.”
“That girl Ren’s super cute, though.”
“I will be the last one standing. I will be... the Pirate King!”
Sho let out a chuckle at the variety of comments. For some reason, it was starting to become a little fun.
“Everyone’s your enemy though...!”
He punched, barehanded, a player that was about to attack him. It felt amazing.
Demon Lord, Retry! Volume 2 Page 19