"Damn, it's fucking huge."
"I don't think it fits in either..."
Alex muttered, looking at the huge monster hog on his shoulder.
"It's really too much for my humble home."
At this point it started to rain, so he decided to leave it right there.
Thud!
Placing it next to the entrance, he entered the home.
Immediately there was a squelching sound under his feet.
"Ah, I still can't get used to this..."
Alex muttered, looking down at his muddy feet.
He looked around.
His dwelling, devoid of all light, met him with a quiet twilight. It was a picture that had lately become very familiar to him.
"How long have I been here?"
A moment later he answered his own question.
"I think it was a little over a week ago?"
It had been about a week since he had entered this world.
And now he was sure. This world was the world of that damn game.
Going back to his past life...
It was a popular game. Fans, followers, fame – it had it all.
But still, Alex had never played it.
He didn't even know its full name, only heard a friend shorten it to ❮TRY❯ or something like that.
Whether it was ironic of fate or not was unknown, but while he never planned on even touching this game...
His bastard best friend, an avid player of ❮TRY❯, was constantly telling him stories from the world of the game and as if to lure him in each time, he especially emphasized its pros.
Almost endless choice of Endings. Solid World design. And unique Heroines that give a sense of total immersion.
All of this was complemented by characters with tragic stories that touch hearts.
After all, Alex couldn't help but be attracted to it. He was willing to give it a try.
That day, his best friend parted from him with the brightest smile on his lips.
"You'll be blown away as soon as you open it, I promise."
Ignoring this, Alex returned home and launched ❮TRY❯.
A few nerdy lines appeared on the screen, talking something about fate and choice. He skipped them.
Finally, the main screen of the game opened up. There was only one blinking line in the background of the grandiose scene.
[Press any key to begin your Journey...]
With high expectations in his heart, Alex didn't hesitate to click.
Click.
The next moment, the computer screen went blank, and he... was hit by a truck.
Yes, by truck. And yes, at that moment he was still at home, sitting in his favorite cozy chair in front of his computer.
A truck that appeared out of nowhere literally drove into his house and rammed through several walls before reaching him.
Thinking back on it, Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
At the very least, he should praise its perseverance.
Who knew the first one to go that far for him would be a 3-ton truck?
The next time Alex opened his eyes, he was already in this place.
Even though it now seemed like years had passed since he had come to this world, he still remembered the moment when he first came here.
When Alex opened his eyes in an unfamiliar place and surveyed his surroundings, the only thing he uttered was.
"I fucked up."
He wasn't stupid enough not to realize what had happened.
The opening of the game, the truck that appeared and the now unfamiliar surroundings.
All these events, tied together in one clear line, led him to one disappointing conclusion in his mind.
Slapping himself on the cheeks a couple times, he could no longer deny it.
"I... traveled to another world."
Just those words alone caused a storm of emotion in him.
If it weren't for the realism of what was happening, he would have even thought he was the protagonist of yet another transmigration novel.
After a while, his breathing calmed down and returned to normal.
"Okay, it's just getting into another world. Who doesn't that happen to these days?"
The experience of the many novels he had read made it surprisingly easy for him to accept.
His shock was replaced by curiosity and anticipation. He looked around.
"But where am I now? Is this some kind of barn or stable? It really stinks here."
He examined it, but found nothing to catch his eye.
"It seems this is where my journey full of friendship, love and adventure is to begin, huh."
He grinned. Although it sounded cliched, it wasn't so bad.
Finally, he rose from his seat and moved toward the door.
His friend often complained about the game, but it didn't seem like such a bad place.
"What's the worst thing that could happen anyway? There's no reason to worry."
Walking up to her, he opened her wide.
"I've heard that this world even serves a great banana smoothie—"
His smile, as well as his entire body, froze in place.
"Haha… you've got to be kidding me..."
The lost sun. The endless hordes of Monsters. And the Eternal Night that has fallen upon the world.
That was all that met him outside the door.
Without his knowledge, this World has long since fallen.
It was no longer a place for humans. It was now the land of the Monsters, where humans were reduced to the level of pitiful prey.
A world devoid of all light and hope.
Quietly closing the door, Alex took slow steps, as if in a trance, to some pile of rags and sat down on it.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, hoping that when he opened them, it would all turn out to be just a dream.
Of course, even as he opened them, all that met him was a grim reality. His new reality.
"I really, really fucked up."
If this was a dream… it was a freaking nightmare.
Before he could regret it, the musty air of the place forced him to come to his senses and gave him a cold realization.
Regrets, resentment, and sniffles couldn't save him.
"Information… I need information..."
Information was the key to everything, after all.
Alex started with the memories of the owner of this body. He had lived in this world all his life, so his information was the most relevant.
Immersing himself in it, he soon came to a conclusion.
This body had no memories. Or rather, it had memories, but they were destroyed to the point where they were unreadable.
Faces, voices, places and events jumbled together, becoming indistinguishable. There were only a few names in his head, apparently important to the owner of the body, that stood out clearly and vividly from the rest.
Among them he found the name of this body.
"Rhys... Rhys..."
After repeating the name a couple times, Alex imprinted it in his memory.
The following was his own information.
The only thing Alex himself knew was the game's main screen, on which a huge black dragon was devouring the sun.
Since it was the last thing he saw in his life he remembered it clearly, including every tiny detail.
He was confident that he could find this dragon out of a thousand...
But what should he do now with this information?
Having no choice, tried to remember what his best friend had told him about this game.
"Did you know? The main heroine only wears black underwear. Can you believe it? Yeah, I was shocked when I found out about it too. Black... why black exactly? There are so many other beautiful colors... Perhaps it's some kind of Hidden Event?"
"..."
"Yeah! I finally found a way to quickly restart the game and start from the very beginning. All you have to do is kill yourself using..."
"..."
"Felix is only a mid game boss?! Are you kidding me? She just wiped the floor with my late-game team! If I have to start over again because of her again, I'll file a complaint with the developers, I promise. By the way, can I use your account for this...?"
"..."
Finally, Alex nodded his head as he realized this.
"Maybe I should choose my friends better."
When that option failed as well, he was left to use the last thing he had – his body.
And at first glance it looked weak.
He felt an occasional thudding pain in his heart area, and his arms were covered with many scars, hinting at the hard life of the past owner of this body.
Shouting out the most common names for spells did nothing, only increasing the pain in his heart.
The only consolation was...
The experience of this body came to him, but in a different form.
Although the memories in his head were in chaos, this body knew what to do.
Even now his movements were fluid and well-honed, as if aimed at hiding himself.
It certainly wasn't how someone trapped in this unfamiliar body less than an hour ago could move.
It seemed everything the owner of this body knew how to do had passed to him, but in the form of body memory.
Yeah, it didn't give him amazing power, but it at least made perfect use of the one he had.
"Sword... I need a sword..."
In fact any weapon would do, it was just that for some reason the sword was the first to come to his mind.
After searching the entire house and turning it upside down, the only thing he found was a rusty knife with a long enough blade to be mistaken for a short sword.
Besides the fact that it fit surprisingly well in his hand, as soon as he took it, his body gained a strange sense of calm, his breathing became slower and all his senses centered on the blade in his hand.
Not even knowing what to do, he just swung it.
As if guided by masterful hands, the rusty blade drew a smooth arc in the air, silently cutting through the dark space.
"Hell..."
Although Alex couldn't fully comprehend this level, it was still an amazing thing for an inhabitant of the modern world.
Of course, beyond that, there were many other skills this body possessed.
Tea ceremonies... etiquette... eloquence.....
The owner of the body, undoubtedly an aristocrat in his time, had developed a dozen other skills he could be proud of.
It's just... in a fallen world, they weren't all that useful.
"Okay, I'm already at rock bottom. How can it get any worse?"
And then It came.
Hunger. Unbearable hunger.
Hunger, which Alex hadn't noticed before because of his shocked state, was now clearly piercing his mind.
A chill ran through his body at the thought of having to go to the outside world.
Having searched the entire house earlier, he already knew that there was no food here. If there had ever been any, it had long since been eaten by the body's previous owner.
After spending an entire day in this place, consumed by hunger and despair, he knew.
He'll die if he doesn't eat soon.
"I'm going to die for nothing? Right in this filthy stable...?"
He felt it. Anger. A strong anger rising from the very depths of his soul came over him, forcing his body to rise from its seat.
"Haha... fine. I'm going to die."
Clutching a rusty knife in his left hand, he opened the door to this world and began his first hunt.
And so, after almost a week of trying and struggling, being on the verge of starvation, he managed to catch one monster hog.
During this time, a single conclusion had crossed his mind many times.
He was not the protagonist. The world was not ready to bow down to him from his mere existence, rather... the world itself was trying to devour him.
That's how he came to the present moment.
Leaving his prey outside and entering the house, Rhys kneaded his swollen arms from that huge hog.
"I don't think I'm going to die today."
Even as he said this, hunger was consuming his mind, preventing him from thinking properly.
All his thoughts were of food, and all he wanted to do right now was roast and sink his teeth into the sweet meat of this hog.
Although it looked intimidating with its monstrous tusks, sharp fangs, and stiff black fur, he didn't care.
Today, even if the world itself collapses, he will eat it.
His stomach rumbled as if agreeing with him, though it was more like a death rattle.
And yet...
"Sorry, friend, but we'll have to wait."
Without looking back at the appetizing hog outside the door, Rhys made his way over and lay down on the bed.
Despite all his desire to eat, all he could do now was wait.
Now was a special time of day when Monsters became especially violent and aggressive, mindlessly devouring everything in their path, including their kin.
He had learned this from experience, having once nearly lost his life during this rampage.
The monotonous sound of rain slightly drowned out the howls of the Monsters, calming the atmosphere.
"Hell, I'm really going to die."
Of course, even knowing all this, the hunger didn't go anywhere.
To distract himself in some way, Rhys once again surveyed the surroundings of the place he was proud to call home.
In fact, contrary to his first impression, it was a luxurious place.
What seemed like a pile of rags and trash a week ago turned out to be his beautiful bed.
And what he called a stable after entering this world turned out to be his cozy home.
How could he not have noticed these amazing things before?
A roof that only had a few large holes in it that offered a view of the night sky, windows done in a unique 'just a hole in the wall' style and a floor that was a mud bath.
"If I close my eyes, I could easily imagine that I'm at a resort right now..."
Soon, however, the desperate howling of Monsters in the distance distracted him from his fantasies.
"Although their choice of musical accompaniment is still lacking."
Clicking his tongue, Rhys closed his eyes again.
"What else should a resort have? Stew... baked fish... ham and cheese sandwiches..."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
At that moment a distinct mechanical sound, that could not belong to this world, distracted him from his thoughts.
Along with that, a gentle blue light illuminated his face in the semi-darkness.
[The process of merging with this body has begun].