Vol 1 Chapter 2 – Game Over for My Life【Vol 1: The Hero Awakens】 

(It’s over…… everything.)

I stayed slumped on the living room floor, just staring into empty space.

I lost Misaki.

I lost the future I believed in.

I even lost my reason to live.

All I could feel was the cold flooring beneath me, reminding me I was still here.

In the dark living room, my eyes landed on the only thing with any color.

The PC monitor I’d left on.

Displayed on it was a familiar game title screen.

“Arks Ende”

It was supposed to be just a game—something I played to escape reality.

But that blue, glowing logo looked like the only light left in my world.

Like it was calling to me—.

“…Ha.”

A dry laugh slipped out.

What “light,” seriously.

The moment I’m looking for salvation in something like this, my life’s already over.

Misaki was right.

I’m a no-good piece of trash with nothing to offer.

That’s why I got betrayed.

It’s all my fault.

(Whatever…… I don’t care anymore.)

I didn’t even have the energy to stand.

I’d just stay here and wait for morning.

No—morning never has to come again.

Throb!

My head hurt again.

It felt like my fever was climbing, too.

Body and mind—both were already wrecked.

With my foggy head, I kept staring at the monitor.

The “Arks Ende” logo looked like it was swaying, wavering.

A game I’d cleared over and over.

Every hidden element, every best-in-slot piece of gear, every part of the story—I knew it all.

That’s about the only thing I can be proud of.

Pathetic doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Whirrr…….

Out of nowhere, the PC fan started to groan.

A low, grinding drive noise I’d never heard before.

“…What the hell?”

The monitor’s light began to flicker irregularly.

Flicker, flicker—like a scene out of a horror movie.

(So it finally broke……)

This junk PC hit “game over,” just like my life.

That was when it happened.

Crack!!

The monitor blasted out a light far too violent to be called a flash.

“Whoa!?”

I threw an arm over my face without thinking.

A white glare bright enough to burn into my eyes.

The entire room lit up like it was midday.

What—what the hell is this…!?

A short? A fire?

I peeked at the monitor through the gap between my arms.

The light had died down.

But the “Arks Ende” title logo was writhing, disturbingly alive.

It rippled like water, and its center slowly stained black.

(…What is this?)

Thump, thump—my heart started making an ugly sound.

Not like a headache.

This was instinctive fear, taking over my whole body.

The black stain gradually turned into a circular vortex, spreading without caring about the monitor’s frame.

It looked like a “hole” connecting the other side of the screen to this side.

Creeeak…….

Something crawled out of that hole.

A green, filthy, wrinkled finger hooked over the edge of the monitor.

Then the other hand.

And then a grotesque face slid out—slick and wet.

“Hih…!?”

A soundless scream leaked from my throat.

This wasn’t a hallucination.

Not the fever, either.

Something unreal was unfolding right in front of me.

When it leaned halfway out of the monitor, it flopped onto the floor with a wet splat.

A rancid stench like raw sludge stabbed into my nose.

It was probably under a meter tall.

About the size of a kid.

But it definitely wasn’t human.

Ugly green skin.

Long, sharp ears and a pointed nose.

And those blazing yellow eyes locked onto me with unmistakable killing intent.

(No way…… why……)

I couldn’t stop shaking.

My legs locked up—I couldn’t move.

I know it.

I know what this is.

In “Arks Ende,” it’s the weakest monster—the first thing the player fights.

(A goblin…!)

Why is something from a game here!?

That’s impossible.

There’s no way this can be happening!

The goblin twisted its mouth as drool dripped down its chin.

In its hand was a rusty dagger.

The exact starting weapon from the game.

“Kreeeeaaah…!”

With a shrill screech, the goblin charged straight at me.

Short legs—yet it closed the distance with shocking speed.

(I’m going to die…!)

My mind went blank.

I had no way out.

I’m just a part-time worker.

I don’t have a weapon.

There’s no way I know how to fight.

(So this is how I die…… my life……)

Betrayed by Misaki, crushed by despair.

In the end, I get killed by a trash mob from a game.

It’s hilarious.

Isn’t this exactly the kind of pathetic ending that fits me?

The goblin rushed right up to me and raised the rusty dagger.

Its tip aimed straight for my throat.

Fine—do whatever you want—.

The instant I braced myself for death and squeezed my eyes shut tight—

Vrooooom!!!

The monitor erupted again with a terrible light and sound.

Not light this time.

Darkness.

The hole the goblin came through expanded fast, like it was going to swallow the entire room.

“—Guh!?”

Right before the goblin’s blade could reach me, its movement stopped dead.

No—wrong.

Not the goblin.

(I’m…… getting pulled……!?)

A brutal suction force.

Like dust getting vacuumed up, my body was dragged toward the monitor.

The goblin stared at me like it couldn’t believe it.

That hideous face kept getting farther and farther away.

“W-What the hell is this!?”

I couldn’t resist it.

My body lifted into the air, and I was sucked into the darkness without being able to do a thing.

My vision warped.

The room smeared together like paint, turning into a meaningless mess of colors.

Floating.

Falling.

Spinning.

Every sense of direction collapsed, my brain screaming.

A searing pain—like a massive amount of information was being forced into my head.

(Ah…… I…… I don’t…… get it……)

Misaki’s face. Takashi’s face. And the goblin’s face.

They flashed through my mind like my life replaying in fast-forward.

The end of my empty life.

My consciousness faded fast.

And—

My world went completely black.