Gamers

TL: qbomb
Editor: Deus Ex Machina

I can"t empathize with a mediocre main character who loves an uneventful everyday life.

The reason is, I"ve never experienced putting myself in that "ordinary everyday life".

Three years ago, I found myself playing puzzle games in an arcade.

…Before that, I have no memory of anything.

I wasn"t holding any identification, wallet, or a phone; instead, there was a small handgun haphazardly jammed into the inner pocket of my jacket.

…For as long as I can remember, my life was the exact opposite of "ordinary".

When I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, both my facial features and my body looked like that of a middle schooler"s, but I didn"t know my exact age. The uniform I was wearing looked more like a military uniform than a school uniform, and on my armband, the letters "E.G.G." were written in the silhouette of a griffon. It sounded like some name of an organization.

Aimlessly wandering the town without a particular destination, I encountered a girl confronted by men in black suits pretending to help in a back-alley. Going with the flow of things, I helped her out. Once the incident was over, the girl, Riki, finally arrived at her destination—it was her parent"s home, the mansion of the Misumi family.

After being frank with my circ.u.mstances and with a stroke of good luck, the head of the Misumi family, possessed by a strong sense of duty, brought me into the family as an adopted child, and so I became the person I am today—"Misumi Eiichi".

And so I was given food, clothing, and shelter, but even then, my life wasn"t by any means calm.

A mysterious organization that was aiming for my step-sister would often contact me, glimpses of a past relations.h.i.+p between me and that organization would occasionally appear, the family"s pharmaceutical company seemed to have a few secrets, my sister would always get mad whenever I talked to a girl from school, and I would often be attacked by people who wore the same uniform I was wearing when I first woke up…

And most recently, the most beautiful girl from Otobuki High School, Tendo Karen-san, called out to me and invited me to the Gamers Club for some reason (my sister had a sullen expression).

Well, at any rate, in the life of Misumi Eiichi, there was no such thing as an "ordinary, boring day".

As a result, since I don"t know what merit being "ordinary" has in the first place, whenever I read a manga or a novel depicting a protagonist that treats it as an important thing, I don"t understand. Because my everyday life has always been in "a state of perpetual action", whenever a work depicts an "ordinary life", I can only think of it as a boring, flat, and a useless depiction.

So I, starting now, will tell a story.

A story using the typical, overused light novel setting, though I feel very regretful doing so.

At the end of the day,

Starting from the time when the special main character who wished for something extraordinary is called out by the beautiful girl, this is an extraordinary tale that makes me empathize to a remarkable extent—

—This is a story about a game.

＊

"Is it… the local TVGT preliminaries?"

"Yea!"

In the clubroom of the Gamers Club, the beautiful as ever president Tendo Karen-san, confidently pushed forward a proposal.

Kase-senpai was playing an FPS, and Oiso-senpai was playing a fighting game quietly, so the only two first-years in the room were idling. In the scattered setting of the clubroom, Tendo-san faced towards me and handed me a flyer. While I quickly scanned through the flyer, Tendo-san kept enthusiastically rambling on and on.

"Total Video Game Tournament, or TVGT for short. It"s next Sat.u.r.day, so it"s a bit sudden, but I wanted to invite you to partic.i.p.ate in this tournament. Of course, I will too."

"Yes, that"s no problem, but…"

While talking, I sent a fleeting glance towards the senpais. Even though we were talking about game tournament, they look strangely uninterested. Tendo-san had a bitter smile.

"Those two… well, I mean, other than the two of us, no one else will go."

"Eh, is that the case? Why?"

"I"m sure you know by looking at the flyer, but this tournament"s biggest feature is being a "comprehensive game tournament"… in other words, you compete in all genres of games. So, a game with some compet.i.tive aspect will be randomly selected right before the next round."

"Heh~, that sounds somewhat like a festival; it looks fun."

"Right? I also think that way and go every year, but look at these other club members…"

"Ah… I see."

Understanding how Tendo-san feels, I nodded my head. Other than Tendo-san and I, the other members of the Gamers Club were people who are fundamentally "specialized". They"re people who have an interest in and are good at specific games like FPS or fighting games.

Naturally, they don"t have a reason to partic.i.p.ate in the "comprehensive game tournament. …Now that I think about it, that might by why Tendo-san wanted people like Amano and I who haven"t "matured as gamers".

After looking over the flyer and noting the key points briefly, I turned to Tendo-san with a smile.

"Alright. Then, let me accept your kind offer, and let"s partic.i.p.ate together. Well, I"m a beginner, so I"ll probably be eliminated pretty early on anyway…"

At my reply, Tendo-san"s golden hair fluttered in the air as she smiled.

"OK, good! You can sign up here. Let"s both do our best."

"Yea. Please take care of me."

After finis.h.i.+ng her explanation, Tendo-san went back to her seat. I looked over the flyer once again.

"(A tournament, huh. This kind of event sounds more exciting than our usual club activities. …As I thought, I still don"t know what it means to have an "ordinary life".)"

Looking forward to the new experience and the fierce battle to come, my heart leapt in excitement.

—However, a disturbance that would surpa.s.s my expectations awaited me at the game tournament.

＊

I think the part that makes games fun is that unlike reality, for every action, there is a proper "reply".

It"s probably different for unreasonably bad video games or games based on chance, but fundamentally, most games are based on predetermined rules. If the player presses a b.u.t.ton, the character will respond, if your HP goes down to zero, it"s game over, and if you defeat the last boss, the game ends.

This "rule-bound world" felt very comfortable to me.

At the very least, an outrageous event like

that happens in real life is less believable than any event that occurs in a high quality game.

In that kind of world, it"s completely possible to have "victory" or "defeat" without killing or injuring anyone… it"s really wonderful.

"…Today"s finally the tournament, huh."

Sat.u.r.day morning. After finis.h.i.+ng my breakfast with the family as always, I was sitting in the dining room, sipping coffee, while thinking about games. —When I realized, though, my sister, Riki, was still in the dining room, although she usually finishes her breakfast quickly and leaves the room.

Sitting across from me, she looked at me sullenly while resting her cheek in her hands. She"s a dainty girl that looks like a really delicate doll.

I started the conversation with a harmless and inoffensive smile.

"What"s wrong? You look somewhat unhappy today."

"…Not really~. Rumors have been reaching my all girl"s school that Eiichi has plans on his day off with a popular, beautiful woman known as Tendo Karen, but that has absolutely nothing to do with me, so…"

Rika talked with a sullen look on her face. …As the ojou-sama of a respectable family, even though she usually acts elegantly, she can be childish from time to time when she"s talking to me. …Honestly, it"s pretty embarra.s.sing, but I guess it means that she"s opening up her heart to me… well, I am a little happy.

When I chuckled unintentionally, Riki pouted and stuck out her lips.

"A-are you that excited about going out with Tendo-san?"

"Huh? Ah, well, I guess. Actually, I"m really looking forward to today."

Anyway, ever since joining the club, I, as a beginner, found my hands full learning about all sorts of games, so I never had the chance to ever play against anyone. Because of that, I felt even more excited for today.

"(Actually, it"s because that game was really fun. When Tendo-san, Kase-senpai, Oiso-senpai, and Amano all played together…)"

Thinking back on those fun times, I unintentionally smiled. I don"t know what she was thinking while she was looking at me, but Rika, in a really bad mood, hit the table and stood up.

"Thank you for the meal!"

"Oh, Riki, if you"re also going out, make sure to be careful of the usual organization—"

"Tch, i-it has nothing to do with Eiichi! Well then, have a good day!"

"Ah, o-ok. You too, Riki, have a good—"

Before I could finish, Riki quickly walked out of the dining room. …Hmm, I wonder. By any chance, did she want me to hold her bags today? What a natural ojou-sama. Well, I"m sure she"ll cheer up later.

"…Alright!"

Drinking the last of my coffee, I pumped myself up and walked out of the house.

The local TVGT preliminaries were being hosted at the biggest game center in the area.

After meeting Tendo-san, we both registered for the compet.i.tion and got nameplates with the registered name and number. Once that was finished, we sat against the wall together and pa.s.sed time until our first event. …However…

"…Even now, Tendo-san, when you"re going out… or rather, when you"re outside, you attract a lot of attention."

Ever since we met up, I have been unintentionally wincing since we were attracting everyone"s attention.

However, Tendo-san seemed to be used to it, and looked confident instead.

"Is that so? Misumi-kun, if you feel mindful of it, I don"t mind if we separate."

"Ah, no, I"m normally used to the attention, but…"

In the last three years, I got involved in quite a few troubles downtown, so I"m pretty resistant to attention. …But in this case, Tendo-san stands out too much.

While looking at the crowd with a strange admiration, Tendo-san suddenly laughed as if she saw something really funny.

"Huh? What"s up?"

"Eh? Ah, no, it"s nothing. When we were talking about being used to attention, I thought of Amano-kun."

"Ah, he looks like the type that would be bad with these kind of things."

While we were talking back and forth about a common friend, Tendo-san suddenly started talking enthusiastically for some reason.

"Yea, that"s right! Whenever I get close to him, his face immediately turns red. I guess he feels somewhat embarra.s.sed. …Fufu."

I blinked my eyes in confusion as I looked at Tendo-san, who was laughing really hard in enjoyment.

"(H-how strange, for her to laugh like this. …She"s usually pretty gentle, so I didn"t think she had this kind of side to her…)"

I"ve never seen this Tendo-san at the Gamers Club. …Personally, I didn"t think our conversation about Amano-kun was that funny… Rather, I only think that Amano-kun is pretty pitiful, but…

I couldn"t bring myself to laugh about Amano-kun with her, so I changed the subject.

"Anyway, there are a surprising amount of people at this preliminary. I mean, this area isn"t even a city."

"Yea, that"s right. Well, the preliminary level really feels like a festival, so the threshold is pretty low. Misumi-kun, if… if this were a serious fighting game compet.i.tion, you would"ve hesitated to join, right?"

"Yea, probably."

"TVGT opens its doors pretty widely and lets a lot of partic.i.p.ants join. …But because of that, I don"t think there"s a "true warrior" partic.i.p.ating here today."

""True warrior", huh…"

Unable to imagine a "true warrior" for games, I tilted my head in curiousity. Tendo-san said, "For example… look, the one in the white hat" and looked towards the corner of the room.

"He"s one of the more famous players. Look, he has that glint in his eye."

"What…"

I was lost for words. The one in the white hat looked like a university student with the characteristic freckles…

"He"s went to the strip mahjong seats and sat down magnificently with his legs crossed!?"

Tendo-san talked calmly while I was still in shock.

"…Isn"t it shocking? Look at that face full of confidence. He"s disregarding even the families accompanying other members looks of disdain as well. You look like you haven"t thought about why no one dares to enter that area in all this confusion and bustle.

"Gulp… c-certainly a warrior… a warrior that only looks at games…"

It seems like gamers follow the path of terrifying fights and battles.

While I trembled, thinking about its various meanings, the loudspeaker made a screeching sound, and then an announcement was made over the PA system.

After the standard greetings and rules, they finally announced the details of the tournament. The tournament had been divided into 3 groups, and they were starting to be displayed on several monitors throughout the building.

While I checked my number and my name, the partic.i.p.ants of group A had started being listed. Tendo-san talked as the numbers were being displayed.

"That"s me. My genre is… puzzle games. Then, people to watch out for… ok, it doesn"t look like there aren"t any famous players to look out for. That"s too bad."

"Well, I"m glad that I didn"t have to meet Tendo-san in the preliminaries."

At these preliminaries, one person from groups A, B, and C win in their respective groups… so, in the end, three people get to advance to the next stage. In other words, if I"m not in the same group as someone else, we don"t have to fight in this round.

While Tendo-san said, "Oh, that"s too bad", in a mischievous way, the announcement for group B started.

I looked attentively as my heart beat loudly… finally, I saw my number listed.

"The genre is… t-tennis games? Uwa, it"s a genre I"ve never tried before."

Feeling that I"d be eliminated in the first round, my mood was dampened. Tendo-san, while in a fl.u.s.tered state, responded.

"B-but look, your opponents are also probably bad at tennis games— …"

"Huh? Tendo-san? What"s wrong?"

Seeing that she abruptly stopped talking, I looked at my opponent in the group.

"Number 43… uh… Echizen-san? Um, do you know the person?"

Tendo-san stayed silent to my question and looked towards the corner of the room. Is he over there…?

"…Uh… what about that strip mahjong person—wait, by any chance…"

While I was trying to guess, Tendo-san broke out in a cold sweat as she nodded…

After a few moments of silence, Tendo-san only said a few words with a grave look on her face.

"That person is, your opponent, Echizen. His playstyle involves provoking others by talking in an extremely condescending manner and he"s known as the . In other words… he"s one of the best players of tennis games."

While I was lost for words, Echizen, having seen my nameplate, broadly grinned.

And while sitting on the strip mahjong chair—he looked towards me, who was trembling, and with confidence dripping from his freckled face, he muttered something.

"You still have a long way to go."[1]

＊

The match consisted of a single set, first to four wins. As expected, Echizen started out ma.s.sively dominant.

Game 1. I didn"t know how to play and straight up lost. Echizen smiled.

"You still have lots more to work on… (Mada mada dane.)"

"H-hah, is that so… (What?)"

He said something with a smile on his face, looking like he was being cool and refres.h.i.+ng, but I couldn"t hear him very well so I gave an ambiguous reply.

Game 2. Having learned how to play the game at last, in the end, I lost once again. Echizen said a few words.

"I will advance."

"H-hah, is that so… (It"s a tournament, so you"ll advance if you win…)"

This person surprisingly seems like he loves taking things at his own pace. It"s as if he"s a game character that only says a few fixed lines.

"(By any chance, are all gamers like this for their whole lives—)"

While I thought about it, Tendo-san was shaking her head violently in denial. …It was my first time seeing Tendo-san with such a desperate look.

Game 3. As a result of the improvement of my own skills and the mistakes from Echizen"s overconfidence, I was able to take a point, but eventually lost.

"Won"t you teach me how to play tennis?"

"…Uh… (I don"t think he has the right to be speaking so sarcastically. Besides…)"

He still had the stereotypical lines, but his smug look disappeared.

And then, it was game 4.

"…Fu, fu~n, not, not bad…"

His voice shook, but kept saying fixed phrases. I glanced at him briefly, but looked back down at the game screen. …I didn"t want to lose focus.

Finally, I took a game from him; this feeling.

Changing up the flow of things, the surroundings started to become noisy, and game 5 started.

The result of the game was…

Echizen forgot his typical lines after that game, and I looked at my screen with a calm gaze, waiting for the next game… Unlike us, however, the spectators were getting amped up.

"H-hey, this guy just took two games off Echizen!"

"It was… by chance, right? It"s gotta be a lie. He was a complete amateur in the first game…"

The attention had s.h.i.+fted away from the famous player Echizen and towards the no-name player, Misumi, who had just won two games.

Gritting his teeth, Echizen had a desperate look on his face. Game 6.

"I… I will defeat you and make it to the nationals!"

He shouted a war-cry during the match, but to no avail. I beat Echizen once again. …This time, he was only able to take a point, and my skill had surpa.s.sed his.

Everyone watching the match was holding their breath. All the excitement had already pa.s.sed, and instead, the atmosphere was a mixture of antic.i.p.ation and awe as a strange mood hung over the crowd.

And the deciding game… game 7.

"…I want to become stronger. More… moooooorrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeee!"

Echizen had all but collapsed and forgot his lines and his character, but—

As if it was a throwaway game, I… uninterestedly looked down at my controller, and without losing a single point, won the match.

For a short while, only the sound of the game echoed in the room.

But right after, the silence was broken by loud cheering.

"A-amazing! What is this!? An amateur just beat Echizen at a tennis game!"

"T-that"s a lie! He"s a famous player, so I bet he got lazy and lost!"

"No, you saw what just happened, right!? He didn"t lose on purpose, he was actually beaten by a complete amateur!"

"But in the last game, didn"t he look like a pro player!?"

"A-are you saying he got better…? In.. in those seven games…?"

During the confusion of the surroundings, I calmed myself down and let out my breath.

Looking to my side, I saw an exhausted Echizen grumbling to himself, saying "Where did the pillar of Seigaku go?". …Even to the very end, I still don"t get what this guy is saying. Well, it"s not like I heard anything he said.

"Good job, Misumi-kun. …You were great."

Making my way back through the crowd, I went to go meet Tendo-san, who was smiling, but had a stiff look on her face. Wondering why, I returned a smile while saying, "You too, Tendo-san".

"In the first round, you were winning handily unlike me, right?"

"Yea, I was, but… but you…"

Tendo-san was talking in a roundabout way. She was looking down as if she was thinking about something, and looked up after a few seconds.

"Misumi-kun, you… is this really your first time playing these tennis game?"

"? Yea, that"s right. Or should I say, it was my first time trying out the tennis game genre itself."

"…That"s right…"

Looking at Tendo-san, who had a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, I thought I somehow said something bad, and tried to follow up in a panic.

"Ah, b-but, it was a real fight! It was completely different from playing alone, and I feel like I learned a lot. It"s all thanks to the ."

"…Yea… because it was a fight… huh. …Then, that time when you visited the Gamers Club…"

"L-look, Tendo-san! More importantly, your second match is about to start!"

"Eh, oh, y-yea. I"ll be off, then."

"Ok, take care."

After saying goodbye and making sure that she got to her destination, I unintentionally let out a deep sigh and looked at my own hand.

"(Yes, this feeling of satisfaction. Challenging a difficult obstacle, and overcoming it with all my might… Because I have these moments, games are… no, an everyday life filled with accidents is the best.)"

Grabbing my trembling hands in excitement, I looked towards the monitor to check the location of my second match.

＊

After the momentum from beating Echizen, I made my way through the preliminaries and eventually won the group B tournament.

After the simple award ceremony finished, Tendo-san and I made my way back. Leaving the stuffy arcade, the air outside was really refres.h.i.+ng… It"s not like the arcade was uncomfortable, but I felt relieved, as if I returned to the world I belonged to.

"At any rate, you"re amazing, Misumi-kun. For someone who just started playing that game, you got a lot better."

While walking side-by-side, Tendo-san would praise me from time to time. However, it looks like she considers winning group A handily was a natural and obvious outcome. With a bitter smile, I replied to Tendo-san, who was the same as ever.

"No, you"re exaggerating things, Tendo-san. I… I was just desperately trying to hold on by imitating others."

"Your ability to concentrate isn"t normal, Misumi-kun. Even Kase-senpai has recognized you."

"No, like I was saying… Also, today"s tournament was actually a really friendly match for beginners."

"Ah—… Well, that"s certainly true, but…"

Tendo-san nodded. Her best virtue is not overestimating or underestimating other people.

Tendo-san touched her chin in thought, and then continued talking.

"Today"s preliminaries was restricted to a small region and had that "festival" kind of feeling, so for a genre like tennis games, the compet.i.tion ends up having a lot of beginners. For a structure like that, it really suited your fast growth rate. But…"

"Yea, I also understood that. If the match was completely decided on a single game, I wouldn"t be able to do anything. My complete loss in my first game to Echizen-san is a good example. If that was the end of the match, I wouldn"t have been able to improve."

"Yea. I think it"s a completely worthy a.s.sessment of your skills, but sadly, the opponents in the next round will gradually get harder and harder. In other words…"

"Unlike this time, I won"t be able to get used to a completely different game from the beginning, huh."

To my words, Tendo-san regretfully nodded.

"And another bad thing is that since TVGT is such a big compet.i.tion, the schedule"s usually really crowded. So…"

"So I have limited time to learn the games in advance. …By the way, the next round is…"

"One week from today, Sat.u.r.day."

"One week…"

Since I don"t even have the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, making a dramatic power-up is pretty difficult.[2]

As one would expect, I pretty much gave up on my hopes of advancing any further. After pondering over something, Tendo-san looked at me with a sharp glint in her eyes.

"…If it"s your growth rate, possibly…"

I tilted my neck, not knowing what she meant. Tendo-san stayed silent for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts, and then came up with a suggestion for me.

"It"s pretty sudden, but tomorrow, Monday, I was thinking of going to the club. Since everyone has appointments, I can"t make any definite promises, but I think I can force everyone to partic.i.p.ate."

"? Huh? Uh, that"s fine with me, but, I don"t think I have to be that extreme during club activities, you know? Actually, all I"ve been doing during club time is just learning the controls and rules to each of these games."

I was just trying to speak honestly and wasn"t trying to be humble, but Tendo-san denied it.

"No, the policy of our Gamers Club was wrong. In your case, it is more important to experience the actual compet.i.tion rather than learning the fundamentals. If you look at the match between you and Echizen, that much is clear."

"Hah… Well, I certainly do like competing, but…"

Remembering the exhilaration of the compet.i.tion, my body trembled. Facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent, thinking desperately of ways to defeat them despite looking up to them, trying out different strategies and getting experience from each attempt, and attempting to make note of their skills and using it myself… At last, I felt what I was longing for since the beginning and exceeded it; you could call it ecstasy.

Certainly, the compressed exhilaration is much better than aimlessly playing games. I feel like there"s absolutely no truth to Amano-kun"s "Slow, fun game theory" that I heard about from Tendo-san. I understood what it meant to confront a strong man for the first time.

…Huh? Confront a strong man for the first time? …Ah, in other words, my growth…

Suddenly understanding what I have to do from now on, Tendo-san smiled broadly as if she was confirming my answer.

"The members of the Gamers Club, except for me, all specialize in a certain genre. In other words, in the week before the compet.i.tion, you will keep playing those remarkable senpais over and over again—"

"Are you hoping for a… remarkable growth?"

In the breeze of the early summer, the trees by the road rustled.

With the setting sun in the background, and with a confident look similar to that of Echizen"s, Tendo-san declared the name of her strategy.

"Let us start Operation "History"s Strongest Disciple Eiichi"!"[3]

＊

And thus, I started the journey to become the strongest all-purpose player.

However, the road through TVGT starting from now is a long tale in a short amount of time, and if this were a comic, would take about 20 volumes to complete.

For this reason, from now on, I will only tell the important points of the story.

"History"s Strongest Disciple Eiichi, Digest~"

First of all, by playing with my senpais, I gained the skills in FPS and fighting games to approach the top players. Of course, I wasn"t able to reach Kase-senpai and Oiso-senpai"s overwhelming skill overnight, but I was able to win 2-3 games out of 10.

Furthermore, by playing Tendo-san and the two kouhais, I was able to learn a new special ability, "Hasty Preparataion", that makes the best use of my learning ability. By boosting my powers of concentration, it"s an ability that lets me copy my enemy"s moves perfectly for a duration of three minutes. Imitating someone, by itself, can only result in a draw at best, but for my ability, "Quick Growth", the ability to "earn time" is irreplaceable.

In this way, I was able to easily pa.s.s through local tournaments, but once I reached the semifinals, I unexpectedly struggled in a match for the first time.

This time, the genre was "Rhythm games", and as one would expect, it was one of the genres that I didn"t practice in the past week. Furthermore, the opponent this time was—

"Give up, Eiichi! Your journey ends here!"

"R-riki!? Why are you here!?"

—my step-sister, Misumi Riki.

Actually, Riki"s super good at rhythm games, and had me cornered this time. What"s more, she…

"You going to nationals together with Tendo-san, I won"t allow iiitttt!"

…Saying those kinds of things, she entered with a strange fighting spirit. Feeling shaken and unable to do my best seriously, I was rapidly being cornered even further.

When I thought I was going to be defeated instantly… suddenly, Tsundere gla.s.ses-senpai, also known as Kase Gakuto-senpai, who always thinks of his kouhais and secretly came to watch, fiercely rebuked me, who had already given up.

"You"re not a man who would lose here! Misumi Eiichi!"

After I regained myself from those words, I started to go after her. Using my skill , I stayed close in points, and during the match, I developed another skill… and put that to use as well. By imitating her skill and making it my own, I was able to barely beat Riki. I won and advanced to the finals. (By the way, Riki looked like she was about to cry, but when I hugged her and patted her on the head, her mood got better and she returned home.)

However, when I then arrived at the finals, my opponent was…

"Finally, you"ve come all the way here, Misumi-kun…"

"Tendo-san…"

the existence that could be called my s.h.i.+sho of games, Tendo-san.

The genre was racing games. …I hadn"t mastered this type of game, and also, it was a genre that Tendo-san was good at.

The atmosphere became tense, and the game finally started. …If I spoke honestly, at this point in time, since I just got another skill from the battle with Riki, I had the confidence that I would beat her.

However, my composure was broken in a split second.

In a best of seven, I was handily beaten in the first three races. …If she takes one more game, I"ll lose without even being able to grow.

Tendo-san smiled, as if sneering, and about to reveal a secret trick to me, who was dumbfounded.

"Did you think that I wouldn"t have a countermeasure for your growth ability, ?"

"By any chance… for these last three games, have you been using "Moderation Play"!?"

"Fufu, noticing now is too late, Misumi-kun. I"ve been holding back my strength. In the next game, no matter what ability you use… you can"t learn enough to beat me!"

"d.a.m.n… !?"

"You may think it"s underhanded, but it"s the president"s duty to take a new member down a notch or two!"

With her declaration, the fourth race started. Even from the start, Tendo-san pulled way ahead. Even when I continued to use and , she pulled into high gear and surpa.s.sed my growth.

When the match was nearly decided… in the bottom of my heart, something awoke.

"(…! …I want power… I don"t want to lose! I… want to win!)"

In the next moment, I thought I was able to see a line above the course, and as if my hand was following the course, the car automatically started to move.

"Hey—"

I started to pursue Tendo-san right on her heels, the voices of Tendo-san and the crowd fading away. In the last lap, finally…

"I-it"s a lie, right!?"

Barely overtaking Tendo-san, I pa.s.sed the finish line.

Looking at me in disbelief, she grit her teeth and exclaimed, "The next race is the last, so I"m going to be serious now!".  After playing the 5th, 6th, and 7th races with all my might, I now…  

"…This…"

After completely beating Tendo-san, I smiled broadly.

—And so, the curtains closed on the b.u.mpy road through the local tournament with my overall victory.

My new ability helped me rampage through the nationals that started a week later.

The ability allows me to perceive the "Road to Victory" once I understand both the game and my opponent. My eyes, mind, and body all move together to ensure a victory.

With this ability, no matter how strong all the partic.i.p.ants were at the nationals, no one was a true opponent.

People with skills like "Wing", the ability to treat a soccer ball in a game as a friend, "Data Game", the ability to do quick mental computation, and other people like a mysterious gamer who plays dance games with fis.h.i.+ng poles, a pac.h.i.n.ko pro blessed with luck, and even a cheat onee-san like Tatsumi… anyway, I piled up victories over everyone.[4]

However, after getting through nationals and having arrived at "World Champions.h.i.+ps", as one would expect, I had several difficult battles.

Starting with a beautiful silver-haired female spirit, "s.h.i.+nra" hara.s.sed me with a bunch of completely inexplicable phenomenon that crossed the boundaries of a game.

The Indian representative, whose favorite saying was "Things will probably work out well", made me tremble with her mysterious positive att.i.tude from beginning to end.

The battle with the French representative, who had the ability , was the toughest battle in since I wasn"t able to imitate him at all.

After such various battles, it was the finals at last.

"…Ex… we met… long ago…"

My opponent appeared, calling me with a strange name. Wearing the same exact uniform as I was when I awoke, the mysterious girl"s name was Machina.[5]

With impressive blue hair, the girl stayed emotionless and silent, and whenever I asked a question, she would always reply with "If you win, I"ll tell you". And as I was feeling uneasy and anxious, the finals, which were puzzle games… started with a one-sided beatdown by Machina.

It wasn"t uncommon for me to struggle in the beginning with my growth, but her game technique was too far off the beaten path.

In the world, there is a way of playing a game by using Tool a.s.sist and getting the "highest possible score" in a game. Her playstyle was just like that.

She easily approached the limits of the system, without making a mistake.

This ability is certainly the strongest ability.

Machina handily won the first three games of the finals, which was a first to 4 series. The crowd was silent because of the one-sided game.

When I was crushed with hopelessness… several voices of encouragement rang out from the crowd, breaking the silence.

Looking out towards the crowd in surprise, I saw the Gamers Club members who had taught me how to play games, my precious younger sister Riki, and… all the opponents that I had played to get here.

With the willpower to "not give up", I used all of my ability and started playing without thinking of the consequences.

Desperately stealing Machina"s playstyle, I was able to pull off a draw by getting the highest possible score.

"You"re only exhausting yourself in vain, Ex…"

Not minding Machina, who was looking at me in pity, I continued to desperately keep up.

The series continued, and reached about 20 draws.

"Ah…"

Finally Machina made a slight… a very slight mistake, and in that gap, I finally took a game.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Like that, I took two, three games off her, but Machina regained her composure, and the draws started to pile up again.

Machina, noticing that a cold sweat had appeared on my forehead from all the overworking, urged me to surrender.

"Ex will never win against Machina like this. You"re only shortening your lifespan. You should quit now."

"Is that… so?"

I smiled broadly. … In the next moment, my eyes looked like the world was s.h.i.+ning.

started operating.

In that moment, universe; nature; I felt like I could understand anything.

"Hey… this is…"

As Machina and the whole crowd held their breath, I silently operated the controller as if I was G.o.d.

These movements aren"t the same as trying to obtain the "highest possible score".

Only because I have a body that can grow, this is possible. Furthermore, those mysteries from before… I was able to use those strange moves that were astronomically difficult to reproduce.

This miracle-like ability to widen horizons—it was the revelation of the new skill, .

"Lies… this is…"

"This… ends here!"

Surpa.s.sing the highest possible score, at last, I crushed Machina.

Even though it fell silent for a second, the crowd started cheering excitedly, and my friends came running over towards me.

As the venue, no, the world, started to get wildly excited, Machina walked towards me.

"Ex… …Machina, completely, lost."

"Machina… …Won"t you tell me? What kind of people are we?"

"Of course. …But after this."

For the first time, she broke her expressionless look and smiled.

"Congratulations, Ex. You"re the true champion of the gaming world."

—And so, the curtains closed with vigor on the story of the game tournament.

"History"s Strongest Disciple Eiichi Digest~" Fin

＊

"…Fu."

TVGT… Total Video Game Tournament World Champions.h.i.+ps, one week later.

After having gone through all those hards.h.i.+ps, I returned to my school life… now standing in front of the clubroom, I let out a sigh.

Because…

"(Going to the Gamers Club… is there even any meaning to it?)"

After school, I walked to the Gamers Club out of habit, but… after having made my way to the door, I suddenly had this doubt.

With my backpack on my shoulders, I stared at the doorway.

"(Honestly, I"m already… better at games than anyone in this world. Although that"s not the exact reason, I fear that it"s likely that Kase-senpai and Oiso-senpai aren"t even close to me in level. In this situation… if I left the Gamers Club, what should I do from now on?)"

Even winning the national tournament didn"t appeal at all. …In other words, I need somewhere to use my enthusiasm for games, not easy objectives like that one. It"s like the feeling of Son ○ku fighting Yam○a right after beating Fr○za.

Looking down at my hands, I clasped my hands a few times.

"(Should I… stop playing games? According Machina"s story, the organization I was in is a very shady organization, and she said she partic.i.p.ated in the game tournament because it looked fun. …What meaning is there to keep playing games…)"

At any rate, deciding that I didn"t have to do club activities anymore, I left the area before someone could find me. …It"ll probably be fine to tell them I"m quitting later.

Leaving the old school building that the clubroom was in, I started making my way home. While wondering whether or not Riki and the new freeloader, Machina, were fighting at home, I saw the back of a person I strangely missed.

Unlike the usual timid me, I ran over and a.s.sertively called out to him.

"Amano-kun! Long time no see!"

"? Oh, M-misumi-kun. I-i-it"s been a while!"

His face flushed when he noticed me, and in a panic, the small animal-like male student bowed, unbefitting of someone the same age I am.

I made a wry smile at Amano-kun, who was acting as usual, and started walking next to him.

"Amano-kun, are you also going home right now?"

"Ah, y-yea! …? Uh, Misumi-kun, are you not going to the Gamers Club?"

"Ah, yea, well…"

I returned a vague smile. Amano-kun, without doubting my reply, only said "I see" and continued walking.

For a while, we were talking talking about ourselves. During the time I was at the game tournament, Amano-kun seems to have joined a "Gamer"s Hobby Club". He talked about people I didn"t know like Uehara-kun and seaweed girl, so I didn"t really understand what he was saying, but I only knew that he was having fun.

"Ah, sorry, I was only talking about me. How was your game tournament, Misumi-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, yea…"

I didn"t know how to reply to that. In the past month, my various experiences and incidents should be "interesting stories" that are far beyond Amano-kun"s "ordinary life". Filled with the extraordinary, tons of mysteries, and lots of stories. Even though it was wonderful, I didn"t feel like talking about it to Amano-kun.

"Well, I ended up winning… uh, thanks to the Gamers Club."

To my answer, Amano-kun, who is the type to have fun playing games by himself regularly, replied and said "Heh, that"s amazing, Misumi-kun!" with an extremely ordinary answer, as if he didn"t know much about game tournaments.

I thought about telling him that "I"m the best in the world", but instead, I continued to talk conversationally with him.

As we continued to talk back and forth for a bit, Amano-kun"s expression suddenly brightened and asked me a question.

"Oh right, Misumi-kun! Since you"re free today, do you want to play a game with me?"

"? With you, Amano-kun?"

"Yea! Actually, one of my favorite open source game developers recently released a new game, but it"s a fighting game, which is pretty uncharacteristic of them. But I also don"t have anyone to play with other than my younger brother… also, he doesn"t have any interest in open source games, so I don"t know what to do."

"Oh… so in other words…"

"Yea! Misumi-kun, I"d be happy if you"d play with me!"

I faltered from Amano-kun"s innocent proposal. …Even though he doesn"t know it, he"s challenging the best of the world right now. …Gently refusing right now is probably best for him—

"Misumi-kun, you"ve played a few games in the Gamers Club, right? Then it"s ok! This game is a fighting game that can be played by beginners! Please?"

This is dangerous. For some reason, I started to feel a bit annoyed. I guess you can call it arrogance, but… having become the best gamer in the world a few days ago, being challenged by someone like Amano-kun, who isn"t even good at games…

When I noticed, I was smiling at him.

"Alright. Let"s do it, Amano-kun. I"ve also played a few games."

I already regretted it, thinking "What a bad personality!", but it was already too late.

To Amano-kun, who was happily smiling, I couldn"t just turn around and quit now.

＊

Amano-kun"s house was completely different from the Misumi family"s house. It was an extremely normal two-story building, which was neither old nor new, and it was really the "typical middle cla.s.s house".

While he was telling me that no one else was home, I walked into the house, said "Sorry for the intrusion", and then headed towards Amano-kun"s room, which was on the second floor.

As I walked up the stairs, which creaked every once in awhile, suddenly… even though I probably don"t have any experience being raised in a middle-cla.s.s family, I felt extremely nostalgic.

"T-there"s not much, but thanks for coming."

While blus.h.i.+ng like a girl, Amano-kun let me into his room, which was practically "THE room for a quiet boy". There were lots of games and manga lying around, and although there were a few wires here and there, the room was mostly neat. It was a typical room that left a deep impression on me.

"(As I thought, when I"m with Amano-kun, I can understand what it means to be an .)"

While thinking these thoughts, he quickly put down his bag and sat on a cus.h.i.+on in front of the TV.

After doing something with his computer and the TV, he handed me a wireless controller. It looks like he hooked his computer up to the monitor.

"(…A wireless controller and an external monitor, huh… I"m worried about the latency, but…)"

As a person that lived in the world of milliseconds and frames, I was uneasy about the suboptimal gaming environment. I was irritated for a moment, but I told myself that this wasn"t a tournament. While I was calming myself down, Amano-kun finished setting up the game and then started it up. After grabbing his controller and sitting down next to me, he started to talk excitedly.

"Ah, I"ll go easy on you for now, so it"s ok! Let"s have fun, Misumi-kun!"

—As one would expect, I got annoyed. I know it"s childish, but… even then, I, as the best in the world, shouldn"t be looked down upon like this.

Clutching the controllers tightly… I started to concentrate on the screen as if it were the finals.

"(It"s Amano-kun"s fault…)"

Amano-kun was player 1, and I was player 2. As the battle started, a light spread across my field of vision.

Since it was a game I"ve never seen before, I used as well as and observed both the game and Amano-kun.

"(If it"s the me right now, even if I have to learn, I don"t think I"ll drop a single game…!)"

Even then, if I have 10 seconds, I"ll also use and .

In reality, though, this open source game made by this person named "n.o.be" was extremely shabby and looked like it was made by one person as well. It used free game a.s.sets, the key responses were crude, the character balance was off, and the motions were lacking. Everything is third-rate. To be honest, it didn"t even take me 5 seconds to understand the whole game.

Also, Amano-kun wasn"t very skilled either.

"Wah, Misumi-kun, you"re really good for your first time!"

"(The comparison is harsh, but… you"re worse than any of the partic.i.p.ants in the tournament, Amano-kun.)"

As one would expect, it looked like he was familiar with the controls, but… that was all. Amano-kun was like that before, too. He doesn"t put any importance on "growth". Always stopped… a stagnated person. …He"s exactly a good-for-nothing, ordinary protagonist.

"(If this is what being "ordinary" is… then I don"t want this!)"

Getting worked up for some reason, and even though there"s no need to, I—

—used all the skills I"ve learned until now, and started to knock down Amano-kun.

And thus, the result was—

<1p win!="">

"—What?"

It was Amano-kun"s victory.

I stared at the screen in complete disbelief like a senile old man. Amano-kun faced me with a wry laugh.

"Ehehe, it was my comeback win!"

"—Hah?"

Not knowing what he meant, I looked at his face with my mouth agape. …I should have won. I should have been lowering his character"s HP in flawless form.

And yet, in the next moment… my character collapsed

…Amano-kun responded with a bitter smile to my horrified expression as I wondered what kind of ability he used.

"S-sorry. If I were to tell you the trick, this game has an absurd ability that"s like an outrageous command. The ability I used right now was "Switch Sides"… well, I guess it"s this character"s special move?"

"—Hah!?"

What is this game design!? Isn"t this just nonsensical!? This game is way too absurd, so my powers of observation couldn"t even a.n.a.lyze the complete game.

While I was still in shock, Amano-kun continued to apologetically explain.

"It"s not limited to this, but rather, this game by n.o.be-san does this every round… It"s really surprising, right?"

I only said a few words to Amano-kun, who was looking at me with upturned eyes, as if he was looking for an opinion.

"Surprising or whatever, t-this…"

This game doesn"t make any sense. It"s not the "game" I know. The moment after I was about to get mad.

Amano-kun, though he still looked apologetic, laughed out loud and looked towards me.

"But that"s good, Misumi-kun; it looks like you had fun."

"—Huh?"

As I exclaimed loudly, the game screen suddenly switched and the monitor went dark. When I looked at my reflection…

I was smiling. Naturally, it was a wry smile, but… it"s been awhile since I last smiled and made such a soft expression.

While I was lost for words, Amano-kun continued.

"I don"t know why, but Misumi-kun, you looked really tense today for some reason. Ah, I-I thought… Misumi-kun was getting excited over a game like you did when you first joined the Gamers Club, so I thought you had a really pleasant look on your face… Ah, b-but, um, even though I say "pleasant", I don"t mean anything weird, ok!?"

Even though no one would make that misunderstanding, Amano-kun denied it with a flushed face. …As usual, he"s all over the place. But…

I looked once again at the TV monitor. The crude character selection screen was displayed.

"…One more time."

"Eh? Oh, yea, ok!"

Changing my character this time, the fight started once again.

…This time, I didn"t use any abilities. Without focusing on winning, I simply played the game like an idiot and let my instincts and body do the work.

…This playstyle isn"t serious at all, unlike how Kase-senpai plays against his rivals in a tournament.

"Wah, what is this!? Why is my character suddenly being eaten by a shark!? Amano-kun!?"

"Ah, sorry, this is my character"s killer technique . If you use it, your opponent dies."

"There"s a limit to how unreasonable things can be!"

"It"s ok! Look, it eats me right after! Furthermore, the shark"s the one that wins!"

"There"s a limit to how useless abilities can be!"

"Ahaha, right? But I wanted to show you this."

"Even if you lose after using it?"

"Yea. But it"s funny, right?"

"…Yea. That"s right. It"s really funny, Amano-kun!"

When I noticed, I was playing the game, smiling, and without thinking about anything. It was my first time having fun with a game like this ever since I joined the club.

…Of course, there"s no sense of "accomplishment" or "completion" in this room. Fiercely competing with veteran players, breathtaking stories, fate, or growth… none of it. By playing this game, I surely don"t get any sense of accomplishment out of it.

It"s completely stagnant. A moratorium. An element that doesn"t need to be in my story. But…

While I continued to play like an idiot with Amano-kun, I started talking.

"Amano-kun."

"Hmm?"

He continued looking at the monitor and kept playing the game.

Even then, I clumsily said my true feelings to him.

"I think it was a really good thing that I got to be friends with you."

"Ueh!?"

In that moment, Amano-kun, who was trembling more than necessary, dropped his controller, retreated to and collapsed in the mountain of comic books nearby.

"Uwa, wawa, wah! Dangerous! Dangerous!"

"Oh—! Good gracious, even with and , I didn"t expect this."

"What!? W-what are you saying, Misumi-kun? Stop thinking of those embarra.s.sing chuunibyou lines and help me!"

"Alright, time to attack Amano-kun"s character while you"re gone. Take that!"

"Hey, you demon! …Ah, but my character has a special move that instantly kills the opponent with poison if you attack him while he"s not moving."

"Waaaahhh!? What is this!? That"s terrible! Dammit, let"s play again, Amano-kun!"

"No, help me first! We"re friends, right!?"

"Ahaha, you"re funny, Amano-kun. It"s really great that I became friends with you!"

"How!? Right now, I"m only hearing you say bad things!"

"Ahaha! …Oh, right, I was thinking of leaving the Gamers Club, yea."

"So suddenly!? Or rather, just help me out!"

While looking at Amano-kun, who was crying out desperately, and the absurd game that was on the monitor… Softly, I wiped away the tears in the corners of my eyes.

This boy definitely has no relations.h.i.+p with Misumi Eiichi"s memory and tale of personal ident.i.ty.

He wasn"t an opponent that stood in my way, nor was he a strong ally, nor was he a key component to regaining my memory. Even in my personal story from now on, I don"t think he"ll have any relations.h.i.+p to the topic of games.

However, even then, this is the story I want to tell the most.

Since it lacks appeal as a light novel, it"s a story that could"ve been completely omitted in this volume.

At the end of the day,

Starting from the time when the special main character who experiences something extraordinary is called out by the beautiful girl, he simply, and without too much trouble, plays with a friend—

—This is a story about a game.