Chapter 1: 1

The world is rife with injustice.

There are those blamed for wrongdoings and those who take credit for others’ accomplishments. Time and time again, people will face injustices throughout their entire lives. And why, you ask? The answer is obvious.

I just have to wonder though: is there anyone else in this world who has been wronged as much as I have? Why do I have to suffer like this? What have I done to deserve this?

No matter how many times I ask myself, no answers come to mind. And yet, here I lay, in a hopeless situation at the bottom of a ravine, with not a single soul around to ask.

…It all began several days ago.

 

It happened one evening, on a weekday towards the end of September.

I was on my way home from work, tired to the bones both physically and mentally. You could say I ranked at the bottom of the totem pole as a laborer in a factory, barely making ends meet. The main reason I got to this point is because I partied around a little too much in high school, and by that, I don’t mean with friends or girlfriends, or anything.

I was a gamer. I was so into gaming that I paid zero attention to any of my studies. My grades fell away into the abyss, and so did any opportunities for university. I failed at hunting down a good job, and so, cheap labor was my last resort.

I have zero friends, I’m straight up a virgin, and I don’t even have good looks to get me by, as if I’m some shoddy work of art masquerading as a man.

And thus was the very beginning of the hardships I’ve faced in my lifetime. I’ve done absolutely nothing with it, and never will.

If I could meet my sixteen-year-old self, I’d tell him that life is a struggle. Life will kick you down and wear you out. I’d tell him not to waste his life away playing games, but to take a seat and put his head to those books.

But, that’s a conversation that will never happen. I’ve continuously spent my days fantasizing about living in another world or that I’d make some changes to my life, or something along those lines.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I came across a park in my neighborhood. I realized I’d be home soon.

There were some shitty kids who hung out around this area. I’d have to be careful not to cross their paths.

And, just as I thought that, lo and behold…

There, chilling out right in front of me, were some kids wearing the uniform of one of the lower ranked schools around here. There were four of them, looking every bit the part of your typical hoodlum. I’d decided I’d make myself as invisible as possible and head right on home.

There was something about the situation, though, that bothered me.

“Well, well, lookie what we got here.”

“Hey, why don’t you take me with you, huh?”

It was an alarming conversation. Looking more closely, it seemed like the guys were harassing someone, and it seemed like it was a girl. She didn’t seem like the type to hold her own against guys like them – I could tell she was scared and shrinking away from them with fear. There was a big chance they’d turn violent if she tried to get away.

Should I call the cops? Would they even make it on time? Was anyone else around? Nope, just me, apparently, and it wasn’t like I had anyone to call to help out.

Of course I’d be the one to have to do something.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have long been gone already. I can’t fight to save my life, and there are four of them on top of that. I obviously can’t save her.

But, at that very moment though, and I’d lay blame on all my idling thoughts about life from earlier, I –

“H-Hey, how about you guys lay off her?”

– chose to step in and help her.

I definitely regretted it – both the fact that this situation even existed in the first place and that I said anything at all. I’d said it loudly that there was no getting out of this now. I’d have to carry this through until the very end.

“Huh?”

A boy with blond hair turned around and glared at me. He didn’t look too bright, but was fairly tall.

“Fuck you say, old man?” asked a different kid, his head shaven.

“I’m only twenty-five. Nothing old about me,” is what I wanted to say, but no words came out of my mouth.

“I-it looks like…you’re giving her a hard time, so just… let her go? I mean, let her go!”

My voice trembled a bit, but I made sure my intent was clear.

They took one look at me and burst into laughter.

“Hah! You some kind of knight in shining armor or something?!”

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“You look like some kinda otaku to me! Hahaha!”

“Look at the old man, shaking in his boots!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “You’re still bothering her, though, so why not go home before you get yourself into some real trouble?”

A deadly expression appeared on the face of the kid with long hair.

Uh, I’d like to go home, myself. However, because I chose this one time to meddle, I had a feeling things wouldn’t go smoothly for me if I just left.

I inhaled a deep breath.

My trembling stopped.

“You’re all going to regret going down this path.”

“Huh?”

I threw the words I’d wanted to say to my younger self right at these kids. “I know for a fact that if you continue this way, you’ll find yourself at the lowest of the low, just like me. Take a second to think about what you’re doing, and stop acting this way.”

“…Say what?”

I couldn’t tell if he was angry or what was going on, but the blond kid’s face started to turn a redder hue.

“The fuck you say?! Say what? We’re trash, what, like you?! You’re fucking pissing me the hell off!”

“GAH!”

He hit me with a resounding punch. For a moment, my breath completely stopped. Fierce pain swept through my body and I fell down onto the ground.

“Take this!”

“Die, you piece of crap!”

“Shut your fucking mouth!”

They came in around my fallen self, launching one hit after another and another. By pure instinct, I curled into a ball to protect myself. They threw kicks at me without a moment of hesitation. I was beside myself with pain, but the onslaught never stopped.

It hurt! It hurt so much!

I couldn’t get used to it…

My whole body was on fire. I didn’t think there was even one place left untouched by their kicks. Even my lip was split open, and I could taste my blood upon my tongue.

The reign of pain continued, and I realized I couldn’t feel it as much anymore. Did this mean I was about to die? I quickly glanced upward.

Why was that girl still there? She had all the chances in the world to run away while I was getting beat up to an inch of my life. She was looking at me with so much concern in her eyes. I couldn’t tell if she’d wanted to go home but couldn’t because she felt bad, or if maybe her legs couldn’t move, but either way, she stood there in place, just looking down at me.

They kept up their abuse for a while longer, and then suddenly, like nothing ever happened, they stopped. I’d briefly thought that maybe they’d grown tired of hurting me when my vision went dark.

What the?

Maybe they kicked me so hard, I’d gone crazy?

Right after I’d thought that, the darkness changed into something else entirely. Everything in front of me flashed round and round from mountains, to snow, to the desert, a forest, and a village…

It took me by surprise so much, I was rendered speechless.

The scenery continued its changes before finally settling on one place. I saw before me a floor complete with marble stones, and standing upon them, a single woman dressed in a robe. Other people were equipped with armor, and one person was dressed in luxurious clothing, and every single person’s attention was affixed upon us.

Not to mention, they were all white – not even one was Asian.

There was a throne towards the back of the room, although no one was currently sitting in it.

There was so much confusion around me, I couldn’t figure out what was going on at all.

When I looked around me, I saw the hoodlums from before, along with that one girl, and each and every one of them looked just as confused as I felt.

Within that chaos, the woman in a robe looked towards us calmly and coolly.

“Welcome, brave heroes. You have all been summoned into this world through a great, secret art.”

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