Chapter 1: Prologue [1]

—Hey, brother! are you really not going to play the game?

An energetic voice filled with positivity entered my ear. Normally, a person's mood would naturally brighten when they heard such a bright, joyful voice.

But to me, it only served to irritate me more.

"I'm not."

Flatly, I replied.

Games?

As if someone like me had time for them.

"I'm too busy with work to even consider the notion of playing a game, besides..."

I paused for a moment. Within my mind, an image vividly painted itself.

A faint curl appeared on the edges of my lips.

"...I'd rather go outside and play some golf."

Lush fairways, meticulously carved acres of beautiful pine, and oak trees...

There was nothing more relaxing and enlightening than being on a golf course, surrounded by the beauty of nature.

What other luxury could a man ask for?

—Tsk, how boring.

In an effort to convey his displeasure, my brother clicked his tongue.

An irritated reply followed.

—Work and golf, is that all you ever think of? You're what? Twenty-eight and you still don't have a girlfriend? Brother, oh brother, if you continue like this you'll end up wasting your youth away!

My eyes narrowed.

"And how are games supposed to help?"

—...

Silence ensued.

It was evident that my brother had been left speechless by my rebuttal.

After clearing his throat, my brother replied stutteringly.

—...Eh. Ahm, well, ugh, fine...you win.

"Per usual."

While it wasn't often that we argued, I always tended to win whenever one occurred.

'Guess that's the perk of being an older brother...'

I smiled briefly, but it quickly faded as I recalled my past experiences.

I wasn't one to look back at the past, as I preferred looking ahead, but thinking back about the incident that took away both my parent's life away.

...I

"Haa..."

Bringing my head down, I sighed.

'It really is hard to forget, huh.'

With a bitter smile, I looked at the crosswalk that lay before me. A nauseating feeling swept over me briefly, but I quickly dispelled it and looked to my left and right.

Keeping an eye out for cars, I crossed the street.

—...Brother?

Jolting me out of my thoughts was my brother's voice.

—You seriously not going to play?

"No, I'm not playing the game."

Once again, I flatly refused.

—...Fine.

He answered dejectedly.

Ultimately, he couldn't do anything except give up in dejection.

The truth was, he knew better than anyone else that my mind couldn't be easily swayed.

There was a brief pause in our conversation. Just as I was about to hang up, he spoke in an audible whisper.

—...Ehm, brother?

"What is it now?"

—Keum...I'm running a bit short of cash, and I was wondering if...

"Haaa..."

I sighed.

He didn't have to finish his sentence for me to understand what he was trying to ask.

"...You want me to buy the game, don't you?"

—Will you?

'I knew it.'

Over the last week, my brother had repeatedly asked me to buy him a certain game that had recently come out. As I had no interest in the game, I never paid much attention to it, although it had apparently swept the market like a storm that had never been seen before.

Still didn't care.

Anyhow, in the case of my brother, he was a high-school student who lacked the money to buy the game and could only rely on me to do so.

Hence why his constant nagging.

Closing my eyes once, I eventually relented.

"...Fine."

'This might set me back a bit, but...'

—Hell yeah! You're the best!

Listening to his excited voice, a soft smile appeared on my face.

If there was anyone that could make me do something, it would have to be my brother. The only remaining family I had.

In my heart, he was the only soft spot I had left.

...and maybe golf.

Just maybe.

—I love you so much, brother! You are the best! I love you!

Hearing his excitement, I shook my head.

'I might've made a mistake.'

"Alright, I'll go buy the game for you. What's it call—"

—Rise of the three calamities.

His response was quick.

He did not even give me the chance to finish my sentence before he had already answered.

"Rise of the three calamities?"

—Yes, yes!

"I see..."

My forehead creased a little.

'What a peculiar name.'

"Alright, I'll go get it now. Stop bothering me for now. I'll see you in an hour."

—Yaaay! Thank you so—

Before he could finish speaking, I quickly ended the call.

"Let's get this over with."

After checking the time, 7.P.M., I adjusted my glasses and headed to the nearest game store.

It wouldn't hurt to take a little detour from my usual routine.

*

"This should be the place."

Double-checking with the GPS on my phone, and making sure that I was in the right place, I entered the shop.

Upon entering the store, I was greeted by a colorful display of lights. An array of posters and banners hung from the ceiling of the place, illustrating different games and characters.

Suddenly, I saw rows of games lined up in a straight line along the aisles of the store.

"Eh..."

Scratching my head, I wandered along the aisles of the store to look for the game.

"Where is it, where is it..."

I spent the next few minutes searching for the game, but in spite of my efforts, I couldn't locate it anywhere.

"Did they already sell out?"

'Guess they weren't exaggerating when they said it was popular...'

Turning around, I proceeded to look for one of the workers in the store. Perhaps I was just looking in the wrong place.

Soon, I spotted a worker wearing a blue shirt standing on a small footstool, sorting one of the games on the top of a tall shelf.

"Excuse me."

A rather flustered reply came from his side when I called out politely.

"...Ye.yes."

As he turned around, I was able to get a good glimpse of the worker.

'Small frame, short brown hair, lackluster skin, pimples, flipped tag, and a pair of thin glasses that hide the bags beneath his eyes...'

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After a simple glance, I was able to come to the conclusion.

'He's sleep-deprived.'

It was a bad habit of mine.

But whenever I tended to meet someone, I would always end up observing their every movement and behavior.

It was something I had developed over time due to my sales job.

Any information regarding the customer, from their situation to their facial expressions, could serve as a means of appealing to them and selling them a product. In short, it was a necessary skill.

"I..s there anything I can help you?"

The worker shyly asked in a stuttering tone.

A faint smile spread across my face as I looked at the employee. Shifting my eyesight toward his foot that was near the edge of the foot tool, I calmly moved my body forward.

'Just in case.'

"Do you still have any copies of the game Rise of the three calamities?"

"...Rise of the three calamities?"

Cocking his head to the side, the employee mused for a moment before his eyes lit up. Next, he glanced at a green basket next to the foot tool he was using.

It could be that he was too excited, or too tired as the employee's foot suddenly slipped down the foot tool. He quickly closed his eyes.

"Ah, yes...yes..I—Ukh"

"Watch it."

In anticipation of this outcome, I extended my hand and supported his body up, preventing his fall.

"Huh?"

Realizing that he had not fallen, the employee slowly opened his eyes.

"I...I didn't fall?"

He asked, in a rather surprised voice.

"You didn't."

I replied from below.

Lowering his head and realizing what had happened, the employee lowered his head and quickly thanked me.

"Tha..thank..thank you."

"No problem."

"So.Sorry."

The employee kept apologizing as if he wasn't satisfied.

Helpless I could only continue waving it off.

"Don't worry about it. It was nothing big."

"But still..."

Pursing my lips, I shifted my attention toward the green basket.

'If I'm not wrong, He looked over here when I asked him where the game was.'

"I'm So—"

"About the game."

Cutting the employee off, I slowly bent down toward the basket. In a soft voice, I asked him.

"Where exactly is it?"

"Ah..game, yes."

Seemingly recalling my request, the employee got off the foot tool. The moment his feet touched the ground, he wobbled slightly before crouching beside me and checking out all of the games.

"Let me see..."

"Okay."

I backed off.

Out of curiosity, I asked him about the game.

"Just out of curiosity, do you know what this game is about?"

His hand paused briefly before he continued to remove the games one by one.

"The three calamities?"

"Yes."

"Well..."

While putting aside a couple of games, the employee blinked a couple of times before responding. His stutter stopped as he spoke.

"The premise of the game is rather simple, and that is to save the three calamities from being killed."

'Preventing the death of the three calamities?...what?'

Clueless, I cocked my head a little and asked.

"What are these three calamities, and why would it be bad if they died?"

Glancing my way, the employee answered.

"...Hidden within the soul of each calamity lies another soul. One belonging to a thousand-year-old with unimaginable power. Upon their awakening, they will lead to the destruction of the world."

"Sounds terrible..."

I commented.

My interest was quickly waning.

It didn't really sound that interesting if I had to be honest.

Oblivious to what I was thinking, the employee continued speaking.

"The setting of the game is located inside a medieval fantasy world, and it starts with the protagonist entering Kretneltz academy, a famous magic academy for aspiring warriors and magicians..."

Pausing, the employee glanced at a game box. Just as he was about to throw it away, his hand stopped moving.

"Found it!

It was then that with a loud shout the employee brought the box in front of him. With an excited look, he quickly passed it to me.

"Here you go, sir."

"...Thank you."

Taking the box, I gave it a brief glance.

"So these are the three calamities?"

"Mhm, thats' correct."

Presented on the cover of the box were the images of six figures. Designed to look like figures without any flaws, they were all beautiful women. From the cover alone, the only thing that set the six apart was their different-colored hair. Two were silver, two were purple, and the other two were blonde.

'What a strange design.'

The reason why there were two sets of the same colored hair was because they seemed to be the same person. Just with different ages, as the younger version was up front, while the older counterpart stood behind. Regarding the older ones, they all wore weird grins and had much more voluptuous figures.

'They must be the real calamities...'

My eyes narrowed for a bit before I sighed.

'...Are you seriously telling me that this is what is trending these days?'

Standing up, I shook my head.

As I turned to thank the employee who had assisted me and waved my hand.

"Thank you for your help, and..."

My feet came to a pause.

"You should probably get some sleep. It's not good for you to work in that condition."

A blush spread across the employee's face as he lowered his head in response to my words.

"Than..thank you."

Smiling, I turned around and headed for the cashier.

"Ah, right."

In the midst of heading for the cashier, I recalled something. With my head lowered, I searched for a price in the game.

'How much is this?'

I had a limited budget, so I had to make sure I could afford it.

But...

"Hmm? There is no price?"

After flipping the game over, I was still unable to find the price.

My brows furrowed tightly.

"Maybe, inside?"

Scratching the back of my head, I opened the game.

Just as I was about to open the game, a familiar voice echoed behind me.

"Thank you for purchasing the game."

"What a—"

At that moment.

A darkened world surrounded me, and the world around me started to stretch.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks started to form around the area around me, as light spewed from their narrow gaps.

The world around me shook.

...and I couldn't remember much after that. 

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