Chapter 0
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Episode 0 - The Hero in a Ruined World
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From my point of view, everyone can be categorized as heroes, common people or villains.
However.
Not all heroes are great figures hailed as salvation or hope.
And not all ordinary people can be considered ordinary.
Therefore, not all villains are bad people.
Although many in our society might think otherwise.
"So what am I?"
Without a hint of doubt...
...Without justification or denial.
"I'm a villain."
***
"Ughhhh..."
I groaned as an excruciating pain took over my head.
The pain was so intense that I couldn't move an inch, but it began to subside after a while, and only after a while I was able to open my eyes.
And for a moment, I could only stare in disbelief.
I couldn't help it. What I saw before me was far from what I was used to.
Locked in a room with four blank walls without any doors or windows and a bright light in the center of the ceiling.
Four people inside.
Three men and a woman.
I felt like I needed to wake up these four people before the story could move forward.
Waking them up wasn't too difficult.
It wasn't very difficult to wake them, although they grimaced as they sat up to see if they were suffering from the same excruciating headache as me.
"Ah...what the fuck?"
"What, what's wrong?"
"Where am I!"
The three people stood up, each vomiting out their own impressions.
But his actions were different. The golden-haired man cursed and raised his brow as if he was still trying to understand what was happening.
The high school girl in the school uniform went to a corner and curled up hugging her legs, and the last man to stand up...
He was looking around in surprise.
Deciding that it was necessary to calm the situation somehow, he clasped his hands loudly and said;
"Listen, please!"
His words were met with looks that were far from friendly, but the man realized he was used to that kind of attention and spoke.
Noticing the attention, he raised his voice.
"Regardless of how we got into this situation, I think we all need to stay calm."
"Calm? What kind of calm? What do you have to do with this situation?!"
'Bang!'
Suddenly, the blonde lunged at him like a bull, hugging him and pushing him against the wall. The high school student retreated to a corner of the room amidst the sudden commotion.
The other man could only scream and move restlessly and helplessly. Finally, the man pushed against the wall let out a small sigh and grabbed the blonde's back, extending a knee to hit him in the chest.
It was just one blow, but it was enough to make the blonde stumble back, clutching his chest.
The situation couldn't get any worse.
Before he could leave, the man spoke.
"My name is Henry and I woke up here just like you."
"You expect me to believe that? I don't know what it is, but..."
"¡My name is Zeth Dover!"
At my sudden words, the high school girl also revealed her name.
"I'm Elia!"
It was a strange moment, but as soon as they spoke in unison, the atmosphere began to flow strangely.
Naturally, the blonde could only click his tongue in frustration.
"Shit. My name is Frey."
Once they learned their names, the excitement seemed to calm down a bit. And just as someone was about to open their mouth, a small window appeared in front of us.
— — — || Main Scenario || — — —
Category: Main
Difficulty: F+
Conditions: Survive the underground prison.
Time limit: None.
Reward: 500 coins.
Failure: Death.
Progress: In progress.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"What is this?".
The first words out of Frey's mouth were filled with frustration, and he began to gesticulate. Not just him.
Henry was shaking his head and Elia was opening and closing her eyes, so it was likely that this strange sight in front of her wasn't just for one of them.
It seemed that this strange sight in front of me was not visible only to one person.
After closing and opening her eyes several times, Elia raised her hand and said.
"...I can't be the only one seeing something strange right now, right?"
"Ha, fuck. Did I drink too much last night? What kind of hallucination is this?"
"Well, calm down for a moment. I don't know what's going on, but right now a window called "Main Scenario" has appeared before our eyes, right?"
"Yes. Unless all four of us are hallucinating at the same time."
"What the hell is going on here? Let's all get together. I think we all need to talk."
"You're an idiot. Why are you suddenly trying to take the initiative, huh?"
Hey! Is it important now? We have to find out what's going on!
"Ha, you're a damn high school student, huh?"
It was a shitty five minutes, to say the least.
Henry trying to fix the situation, Frey cursing, Elia stopping them and me calming down the mess.
"And what are we supposed to do, there is no way out."
"Well that…"
The four of us suddenly froze.
".....!"
".....?"
"....."
".....!"
The light in the center of the room suddenly went out and darkness invaded us, my vision became blurry and the world around me went completely dark.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Everyone calm down!"
"¡Kaaaaaaah!"
The screams of the others were the last thing I could hear.
***
I opened my eyes but all I saw was complete darkness.
I couldn't even see the people who were close to me before, trying to find an explanation.
"What's going on?"
As I was lost in my thoughts, a glow appeared before me.
「How are you, author?」
A screen with floating letters floated in the middle of the darkness.
My chest sank and my heart began to pound.
"W-who are you...?"
I felt a lump in my throat, barely able to articulate a word.
A moment of silence. Then, the letters on the screen changed instantly.
「Who am I? It would be boring to tell you now, so I won't. Ha ha ha」
I froze, trying to process what was happening.
He was making fun of me.
"..…!"
I clenched my fist so hard that blood began to drip between my fingers.
Someone was behind that golden screen, sending those messages.
I didn't understand the situation, but it was clear that the person responsible for the messages was responsible and had something to do with all of this.
The most problematic thing was that I couldn't remember anything, I barely knew my name.
And as if I knew it, I could barely read the next words.
「Your memories are still sealed, but don't worry, I will return them to you now.」
"..…?"
"¡Ahhh!"
An unbearable pain shot through my head.
A trickle of blood ran down my nose as I grabbed my hair, pulling at it desperately.
I fell to the ground, writhing. The darkness grew even deeper and the brightness of the screen began to fade.
However...
The memories came back.
I know who I am. I know who it was. I know what I did.
".....!"
I could barely get the words out.
"I'm in my novel..."
「Yes, now you remember. Very good. In that case, I only have one request.」
Just a request?
"What do you want?"
The letters on the screen changed rapidly.
「What I want is one thing... I want you to change the original story to a funnier one, author.」
Change the original story? Make it funnier?
"Because?"
Although I already understood my situation. I was still confused by recent messages.
「For fun, of course. So, goodbye, author. I will give you a gift, as the creator of this story and I will send it to you in a few moments.」
"Wait... I still have questions to ask....."
My words faded into thin air as the screen showed a scary smile emoji.
Suddenly, my vision went dark.
The world around me slowly began to fall apart.
***
¡Thom ¡Thom!
"Hey, wake up."
The voice echoed in my head like a distant reverberation. The darkness still enveloped me, but little by little, my vision began to clear.
I blinked several times before focusing on the figure in front of me.
A woman with white hair and red eyes.
Elia.
That was his name. We had introduced ourselves before darkness enveloped us.
"You've finally woken up."
The man named Henry was watching me with an expression that could be described as concern.
But why would I be?
And who was he to care about me?
I gritted my teeth. My body felt numb as I slowly sat up, forcing myself to observe my surroundings.
We were in a place that looked like an underground sewer.
The dim light of the torches flickered on the damp stone walls. On both sides of the hallway were prisoner cells. A channel of dirty, smelly water ran down the center of the hallway, filling the air with an unbearable stench.
"What is this place?"
"We don't know. We appeared here suddenly... The last thing I remember was passing out in that empty place."
Henry let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his temples.
So I wasn't the only one confused.
Just then, my right hand brushed something on my waist.
"Hmm...why do I have this?"
I looked down and saw a sword hanging from my waist.
Also, my clothes were different from what I remembered.
'It's not just my clothes...'
I ran towards the dirty water channel and leaned over the murky surface of the water. Seeing my reflection, I felt a terrible tightness in my chest.
"Who is it...?"
The red eyes and black hair reflected in the water were not mine.
The face I saw was...surprisingly handsome, but it was covered in dust, and his disheveled hair looked as battered as the rest of his appearance.
I couldn't look away.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Henry's voice sounded strained.
My breathing became labored as I continued to stare into the water.
"You're acting weird."
Henry insisted, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
"I'm in my novel... Right...?"
I forgot for a moment that I was in my novel, but the body I was in was not mine.
Henry looked at me confused, but I forced myself to calm down.
"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Henry exhaled, relieved.
"Good. We need to stick together right now."
I looked at him more carefully.
Black hair and dark eyes. Tall, at least 1.90 meters.
I definitely didn't know him.
"Hey, bastard, don't scare others like that out of nowhere."
The annoying voice came from a young man with golden hair. Frey.
He was sitting against the wall with his arms crossed, looking at me with a frown.
I brushed off my clothes and took a deep breath.
If this was my novel... then they were extras.
None of their names sounded familiar to me. They weren't in my story.
But the place, the oppressive feel of the atmosphere, it all fit.
"This is the beginning of the story..."
The beginning took place in an underground prison that had been destroyed by monsters not long ago.
It was an abandoned place, but it still housed creatures everywhere.
As if fate wanted to confirm it, a deep, guttural roar echoed in the distance.
"W-what was that...?"
"The roar of a monster..."
"We are in danger."
The roar sounded again, closer this time.
Footsteps could be heard and the water vibrated with each step.
It had to be something big.
'That roar should be from an orc.'
Now that I thought about it, "that" guy should be around.
"Let's go."
Henry spoke as he took out a long iron sword from his waist.
Elia, who was holding a staff with a black stone embedded in it, followed Henry.
Frey held a black iron mace of considerable length with both hands.
I did the same, drawing my sword and following the group.
So time passed and we got further and further away from the monsters.
As I walked ahead of the group, I stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Zeth?"
"There's something at the end of the hall."
Everyone looked forward, but their expressions did not change.
"I don't see anything... How can you see in the dark?"
Now that he thought about it, it was strange.
Despite the lack of light, he could clearly see the figures moving in the distance.
"I don't know… I just can."
Just as Henry was about to say something, a message appeared in front of everyone.
「The Main Scenario 'Underground Prison' has begun.」
「Say the following words: 'Survival Window' and check your personal skills and statistics.」
Silence fell over the group.
My lips parted and I uttered the following words.
"Survival Window."
A golden screen appeared before me. I heard the others whisper the same thing as their own screens materialized.
— — — || Survival Window || — — —
「Zeth Dover」
Rank: F
Level: 1 「0%」
「Statistics」
Strength Lv 1 | Resistance Lv 1 | Agility Lv 1 | Magic Power Lv 1
「Stigmas」
None.
「Skills」
Weapons Master Lv 1 | Intellectual Genius Lv 1 |
「Coins: 0」
— — — — — — — — — — — — — —
I looked at my stats and skills, and my expression hardened.
"I'm too weak."
It didn't matter that he had two decent skills; my stats were pathetic.
As I cursed in my thoughts the others spoke.
"I have sword-related skills, and my stats are at Lv 10."
Henry spoke without taking his eyes off the screen.
"I have magic-related skills, but all my stats are at Lv 5."
Elia smiled bitterly, while Frey, on the other hand, smiled arrogantly.
"Ha, looks like I got lucky. I have two skills at Lv 2, and my stats are at Lv 13."
Henry turned his gaze to me.
"What about you, Zeth? Do you want to share your skills and stats?"
I clenched my jaw.
What should I say right now?
He was the weakest of all. He only had two decent skills like that.
I was immediately frustrated.
"I'm weaker than a wizard..."
For a moment, I hesitated to tell them but I slowly opened my mouth and said.
"My skills and stats are..."
The words stayed in my mouth.
At that moment, a new notification appeared before my eyes.
「He '???' sends you a gift as the author of this story」
I opened my eyes wide.
I remembered the words on the screen when I was in that dark place.
I took a deep breath and opened the gift.
A cold smile appeared on my face.