Chapter 1 : The Game of G.o.ds
「You are Kanzaki… … Kanzaki Kanata, right?」
A neutral voice that couldn"t be distinguished, whether it"s a man or woman, called my name.
Thus I opened my eyes to look for the source of the voice.
I was… … floating in a white room.
I was formless to be exact.
There are black swirl-like things that surround me, but my hand pa.s.sed through when I tried to touch it.
Is this… … a dream?
The one who most likely called my name previously, was standing in front of me.
It was a person who wore black ceremonial clothes with curly, green colored hair.
Its body shape suggested that it should be a human, but its gender… was hard to tell.
They have something similar to a westerner"s face with blue eyes.
「Let"s start from the introduction. I am a G.o.d. To be exact, a lower ranking G.o.d who acts as a slave for the higher ranking G.o.ds. My name is…. Well, since our names in the G.o.ds" language is rather hard to be understood by the human language facility… I go by the name of Nyarloteph.」
A… G.o.d?
「You, what are…! Mugu!」
Suddenly, I couldn"t open my mouth
「I zipped your lips since it"ll be annoying if you suddenly started shouting like a madman. I"ll tell you only the bare necessary information so that we can progress onwards without any annoying interruption. I"ll unzip your lips afterward, but… If you ask a stupid question at that time, I"ll make you experience something that is more painful and worse than death. 」
The green haired person, Nyarlhoteph, said with an aloof tone….
Although those words echoed inside my head… strangely, I noticed he didn"t even open his mouth to say those words. Even more strangely, it felt like I knew what Nyarlhotep said rather than hearing it.
「Congratulation. You have been chosen to be in my show, and my duty is to provide those superior G.o.ds with entertainment.」
Enter-…-Taiment?
「Kanzaki Kanata, a 20 year old freeter[1]…… you"ve no hobby, no special skills, no dream, no friend, no lover, and no close relative.」
Nyarlhotep read my information with an uninterested voice.
…It was kind of a sad profile but… what Nyarlhotep said was true.
I"ve no particularly close friend or relative, nor do I have a dream or hobby in my life.
My parents pa.s.sed away in my senior year of high school.
「You don"t seem to have any lingering attachment to your previous world, and now I have to raise a piece of s.h.i.t like you. Have you ever heard the story about being transferred to another world? You ought to know right? It"s part of your cultures after all! Forget it, You like these stories that way- it makes you happy right?」
I nodded at him.
I do know about these kinds of stories since I read a few of them.
It was the type of fantasy story where the protagonist was summoned to another world by G.o.d out of convenience because the queue for rebirth was too full. The protagonist then makes full use of their original world"s knowledge or utilizes the cheat that they received from G.o.d.
But, what did Nyarlhotep mean by "raising"…
「In fact, those Superior G.o.ds almost never adhere to these stories. However, those Superior G.o.ds also, preferred and enjoyed these stories. They are akin, in a human perspective, the rich. Here lies my role in all of this, I created a world by borrowing the power of these Superior G.o.ds. I"ve also created a fantasy game-like system to make the world more suitable to send the likes of you in there. The world you"re going to be transmigrated into is called ""Rookroa"…. A fantasy world with slightly different fundamental laws than the world you used to live in. What do you think? It"s interesting right?" 」
C-Created….. A w-world! ?
「I"ve made that world by using the cliche that often come out in the novel of your world, but it"s just another entertainment for Superior G.o.ds. It"s been over ten thousand years since the creation of Rookroa you know.」
The scale is just way too big for my small brain….
Nyarlhotep"s seemingly displeased seeing me at my wit"s end.
N-No good……. Let"s digest the explanation slowly and take my time to understand the situation.
Though I have no way to know Nyarlhotep"s gender, he(temp.) told me that he(temp.) hated trivial remarks.
I couldn"t afford to offend him(temp.).
「So, we can start now. I don"t hate clever children you know. I mean…. You"re already being watched by those superior G.o.ds even now you know?」
Nyarlhotep snapped his(temp.) fingers.
The s.p.a.ce distorted and from there…….. I saw various faces surrounding us.
Some of it look like a mask, some look like a clock.
Heck, I even saw a floating eyeball.
When I tried to look at those weird fellas… chills ran down my spine.
「Fufufufu….. Human of Earth, The G.o.ds are looking forward to seeing you rampage as you like in Rookroa with your cheat skills. Whether you choose to become a hero, or a demon king…… Or even if you choose to lay low, hiding your power as you enjoy your life to the fullest, the choice is yours. What do you think? It"s not bad compared to your s.h.i.tty life on Earth right? Aah, what a lucky person you are! 」
Nyarlhotep was laughing while covering his(temp) mouth.
「Well, everything you do is for the entertainment of my customers, the Superior G.o.ds! For more entertainment"s sake, this Nyarlhotep will send another 《Protagonist》 to Rookroa! But then, a weaka.s.s trash from Earth will definitely be turned into mincemeat the moment they are sent to Rookroa, the world dominated by sword, magic, and demons! Thus, in addition to basic skills like 《Rookroa Language Comprehension》 and 《Status Check》, what kind of skills shall I give to him now? And this time where shall I send him?! 」
Nyarlhotep spread his(temp.) arms in a flashy manner as he spoke.
It seems that he tried to appeal to the Superior G.o.ds.
The eyes of the Superior G.o.ds started to roll around, as though they had said something but I couldn"t understand.
That aside…. That was truly a bizarre scene.
I just dumbfoundedly stood as I saw this scene.
「Ooo…….. That"s wonderful! Yes, yees, let"s try to asking for Kanatkun wish! 」
And then, I felt that the power that bound my lips were released.
It seems I"m allowed to speak now.
「Now then, make your wish!！ But then……. Let"s add some restrictions otherwise, it"ll become a boring game! 」
Nyarlhotep looked at me with eyes full of antic.i.p.ation.
After I thought about what he(temp.) for a while.
They might become angry if I said this but still……… No, I have no choice but to say this.
「Uhm…. Can you send me back instead? 」
Those noisy Superior G.o.ds became silent the moment those words escaped from my lips.
Nyarlhotep expression twisted into anger.
「Eh? Why? I"ve done my research about you and found that you have no lingering affection left on Earth. Getting cold feet, are you? Don"t worry… If what you"re looking for is a steady life, I shall grant you a cheat skill to make it possible.」
「I have a pet cat you know. Even though you said that I am a lonely person…. My pet cat, Kuromaru is my family. My pet cat is the reason why I didn"t lose hope in living after losing my parents in an accident.」
Kuromaru is a hybrid cat…… one day, it just suddenly appeared in front of the door of my house.
Though I felt awkward and wanted to abandon Kuromaru at first, I kept it in my home only until I could find another person who was willing to take care of him.
But then I realized, Kuromaru already became part of my family.
Although Kuromaru might be able to survive in the wild even without me…. I felt that I couldn"t just depart to another world without saying a proper farewell to Kuromaru.
I mean I was someone who understood the best the sorrow a.s.sociated with being left behind all by yourself.
Nyarlhotep expression contorted even further due to rage.
His(temp.) eyes, mouth, and nose warped in a spiral fashion, basically his face was distorted in an indescribable way by human standards. [TL : Explained below]
Parts of his(temp.) hair and face combined in a strange way.
I gulped in seeing that.
Maybe Nyarlhotep true form wasn"t a humanoid one.
His(temp.) true form might be so bizarre that he can make such an "angry" expression.
「It seems that this one……. Showing such unpleasant att.i.tude, what a waste. How interesting it was going to be to see a human rampaging around as they like, with their greed, and egoism as their drive. Read the atmosphere already, d.a.m.n it. That was the reason for me to go out of my way to look for a s.h.i.tty human like you. Even though the Superior G.o.ds have been waiting eagerly for the next new transported individual, what you did just shamed me. Just how much time I need to transfer you to another world, d.a.m.n it? Just how much time I wasted on looking up your information to send you to another world, d.a.m.n it? A G.o.d like me shouldn"t throwing a tanthrum at a puny human like you. And look at what I got, A CAT? ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME? 」
In the first place the one who forcefully summoned me and misunderstood my nature was Nyarlhotep, but still…. it seems I angered him(temp.) instead.
Nyarlhotep body swirled even faster…. His(temp.) green hair and skin melded together with his black cloth.
He(temp.) twisted in a strange way, and transformed into a green tree-like monster.
Nyarphotep"s strange giant green colored arm stretched out towards me.
「HYIII! 」
Though I tried to run, my body refused to move.
I was caught by his(temp.) giant arms immediately.
His(temp.) scrawny and sharp claws stabbed into my back.
H-He(temp.) is going to kill me huh,
I couldn"t even scream in fear.
「But…….. Yeah. Killing a trash like you is way too easy for me, but you"re the long awaited entertainment that the Superior G.o.ds have been waiting for, for so long. I can"t just kill you in a fit of rage…. Aha, I"ll give you a chance.」
C-…. Chance?
Am…… Have been I spared?
「I should"ve given you some ability but, I change my mind. I guess Language Comprehension and the Status Check ability are good enough for trash like you. And now….. I"ve decided to send you to 《Cocytus》 of Rookroa. So you can rejoice. To explain in a language that is easy for you to understand, it"s a place you call the "Extra Dungeon" in the game. Numerous highest ranked items in the world and the worst kind of demons are waiting for you in there.」
Something… like a large ring composed of calculations and letters from different languages that I couldn"t understand floated around me until it reached my navel, and circled around me, where I was in the center.
「You should"ve guessed that this is a magic square, right.」
Nyarlhotep brought his(temp.) face even closer to mine.
His(temp.) human face that had almost collapsed, the middle of his(temp.) face was an empty hole that swirled like a spiral, stared at my face from point blank range.
「Now then, my honored Superior G.o.ds…. My apologies for bringing in such human wastrel in front of you. Well then, how long will Kanatkun survive and how will he die in the worst dungeon in Rookroa? Please enjoy this entertainment to the fullest! 」
Shouted Nyarlhotep, as he(temp.) raised my body high in the sky as if to display me to the Superior G.o.ds.
「Well then, since you"re basically a good-for-nothing. Be careful on the way to 《Cocytus》 You might never met us again. Time-s.p.a.ce Magic 28th Rank, 《Another Gate*》」[TL* : The kanji is "Dimension Teleportation" read as "Another Gate"]
My body floated in the air as the magic square started to shine.
The surrounding scenery distorted as I was enveloped by the bright light.
Before I knew it, I……. was inside a strange building.
It was made of hard stones and seemed like the remnant of a temple.
A devil-like face carved into the wall with firelit in its mouth.
Stone pillars were carved to look like humans were spread wide and far.
If there"s something strange about this scene……. it was because those pillars have red blood-like stains.
「W-What in the world is this…」
Though I muttered in amazement, deep down I understood.
It seems that I……. was sent by Nyarlhotep magic to 《Cocytus》, the worst dungeon in Rookroa.
[1]ED note: Freeter is someone who is not working full time and underemployed. They do not want to be fully productive in the workforce.