Episode 1: NEW Route
Question: Is it wrong to fall in love with a game’s heroine?
Everyone has had their heart stolen by a character from manga, anime, or games at least once. Having been born as a man in this country of lovable perverts and culture, Japan, everyone has a bride who is one dimension away.
Speaking of which.
As expected, I fell in love with a game’s heroine.
And, impurely, I fell in love with two heroines at the same time.
If I were to consult someone, they’d probably call me an idiot.
They’d say, “What’s the point of falling in love with someone you can’t touch? Are you stupid?”
Moreover, two of them?
They’d probably tell me to wake up from my delusions and face reality.
I know that.
More than anyone, the ones who know that are not the commentators who connect anime to reality with knowing looks.
It’s us, who understand that no matter how much we yearn, it’s hopeless.
But still, it happened, so there’s no helping it.
How many times have I thought, “I want to go to that world.”
If I went to that world, what would I do?
But I know that’s impossible.
So today, I’ll go meet them in the world created with a cold startup sound.
Today, this time, I want to save them.
From this shitty scenario.
The two of them.
…
“The winner is, player name, Sword!”
I gave a small fist pump.
PN Sword, real name Kenyu Mitsurugi, that’s me, I won.
“Whoa!!!”
“Amazing!! He won with Takemikazuchi!”
“How can he dodge that?”
“As expected of the previous world champion, he has half his HP left.”
An online tournament for a certain game was being streamed on a famous streaming site.
And the winner, that is, the Japanese champion, was decided, and the viewers were excited, with over 200,000 viewers in Japan alone.
I’d like to say the venue was buzzing, but unfortunately, it was the chat that was buzzing.
Today’s tournament was online, so there was no venue, and it was all done online.
As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have to show my face, so it’s convenient, but it must be tough for the organizers.
Blame it all on the infectious virus.
And then, the winner’s, or rather, the champion’s interview begins.
“How do you feel?”
A woman who looks like a net idol asks me something innocuous through the internet.
I think she just kept saying “amazing” during the match, so she probably has no interest in the game.
Especially not in us otaku gamers.
Her outfit looks like something an otaku would like, like a princess of an otaku circle, but she probably has a normie boyfriend.
I’m so twisted that I can immediately come up with such sarcasm.
“Yes, it’s been about six years… I’m very happy that I’ve kept playing this game.”
“Six years! So you’re a veteran player from KOG Season 2!”
“That’s right.”
“Knight of the Giant,” commonly known as “KOG,” is a globally popular game.
The reason why it became such a huge hit is because it’s a VR game with a high level of perfection and it fulfills the dream of boys all over the world: to ride a robot.
KOG is a game where you fight by controlling a so-called robot with a special controller and VR equipment.
There are many battle modes, starting with 1 vs 1, 3 vs 3, and even battle royales with over 100 people.
By the way, the name of this robot, that is, the machine name, is “Knight of the Giant.”
If you translate it directly, it means Giant Knight.
So everyone calls the machines KOG.
Some call it Kog, others call it K-O-G, it varies.
“Today was the Japanese representative decision match for 1 vs 1, but will you not be participating in other modes such as 3 vs 3?”
“I won’t, I like being alone.”
(That’s a lie, it’s because I don’t have any friends. If I could, I’d like to form a team of three!)
I’m a loner.
I wonder why I’m a loner, is it because I’m a truant?
No, is it because I’m a loner that I’m a truant?
“I see…”
“…”
“…”
Silence falls, and the chat is filled with sad words telling me to understand.
The idol doesn’t know how to respond, and my heart hurts too, change the subject quickly.
“Well, then, that’s the end of the interview!”
(It’s over!!)
And I sighed, went offline, and took off my headset.
Today’s event is over, it’s been a while since I talked to someone.
In front of me is my PC, this is my room and my home.
Even though it’s called a home, it’s a small rental apartment of about six tatami mats.
“Winning isn’t that exciting the second time around.”
I also won last year’s tournament.
I’ve been a truant since middle school and have dedicated my life to this game.
Since high school, it’s safe to say that I’ve dedicated almost everything to it.
I think I had talent.
My reflexes seem to be better than others, and if I believe the information on the internet, I’m quite excellent.
The speed at which I recognize and react is within 0.1 to 0.2 seconds.
I tried it in a game that measures reflexes on the internet.
It’s something that people who like FPS often do.
So, I had talent.
But there was no one to share the joy with.
I stood up and opened the refrigerator.
Inside, there was only water, eggs, and seasonings, a lonely refrigerator.
If you ask if I live alone, that’s the case.
It’s not a happy reason like being away from my parents because high school is far away.
My parents divorced.
The common reason was that they each had someone else they liked, an affair.
They both agreed to divorce, but there was a problem.
Me, who was supposed to be the crystallization of their love.
But once they lost their love, I was just a nuisance.
I still remember it.
Both of them arguing loudly, saying they didn’t want to take me in.
Did they not think about how a child would feel listening to that?
The last time I received affection from my parents was when I was in elementary school.
I felt like I was still cherished back then, but time is cruel and easily changes people.
But I also thought that I was naive for not being able to completely hate them because of the memories from that time.
The condition that the two of them, who were getting divorced, came up with was to split the child support.
And this small room and a child support account were given to me.
That was the last gift from my parents.
The path that a child who has been abandoned by their parents takes is predetermined.
It’s no wonder that a boy who no longer hears the nagging, happy shouts telling him to go to school becomes a truant.
Well, there’s another reason why I stopped going to school…
So today, I’ll stay home and jump into that world.
“Well then, let’s do it again today.”
After a short break, I start the game.
There’s a game that I’m spending most of my life on right now.
It’s a KOG visual novel game.
Originally, KOG only had cute heroines as a setting, and there was no story mode.
Even so, the KOG fighting game was.
“Kenyya! Do your best!”
“Kenyya, help me!”
“Kenyya, I love you…”
The heroines were so popular because they said things like that during the game.
I was easily charmed by them, as expected, but it can’t be helped.
The destructive power of VR heroines is amazing.
As if embodying the cries of those otaku hearts, a VR visual novel game was finally created.
You can enjoy the world of KOG with the heroines with a sense of realism as if they were really there.
Moreover, it’s authentic because it even has events where you actually control KOG and defeat enemies in the story.
So, it’s very enjoyable, and my heart leaps at the thought of being able to talk to the heroines.
That’s what I thought, but…
…
“I love you, Kenyya… I love you so much. Goodbye.”
The heroine died.
“Kaguyaaaa!!!”
Tears flow every time at this scene.
Even though I know it, tears come out.
Because this heroine is my youth.
And I restart the game, try different things, and search for a new route.
“I’m sorry, Kenyya-kun… Please live. I loved you, you…”
The heroine died.
“Reinaaaa!!”
And with a scream that I don’t know how many times I’ve done today, my other bride died.
There are two heroines in this work.
And no matter which route you choose, the heroine who wasn’t chosen dies.
Writer who wrote this shitty scenario, come out, I’ll kill you.
Moreover, it’s supposed to be the very beginning of the story, and I can’t progress at all. I have no intention of progressing through a story where the heroine dies, and I don’t want to.
While spitting out such resentful words, I challenge it again and again.
“Is it really impossible…”
I almost drop the controller, about to give up.
I’m not the type to play games while looking at strategy guides.
But when I’m at my wit’s end, I’ll do some research.
Actually, I’ve looked into this route, but no one has found a route where both of them survive yet.
Maybe there isn’t one in the first place.
The developers and scenario writers have decided to remain completely silent, so there’s nothing I can do.
“Haa… I have no choice but to give up… Huh?”
Today, I’m looking at the KOG visual novel game thread, being careful not to see any spoilers, hoping for new information.
A post caught my eye as I sighed.
=========================================
After analyzing the program, I found something that looks like a route hidden behind the loss event at the very beginning.
I don’t know what it is, but even if I modify it, I can’t get to that route.
Someone please break through that event.
=========================================
“The loss event, is that…?”
What Kenyya is thinking about is the absurd event at the very beginning where it’s 1 vs 100.
The reactions of the thread users were cold; they didn’t think anyone could break through that.
=========================================
No way… If anyone could break through that, it’d have to be someone like the Japan champion, right?
=========================================
=========================================
It’s not even designed to be winnable in the first place. Not even the Japan champion could do it.
=========================================
Seeing those comments, my fingers stopped.
“Me… maybe…”
It felt like they were talking directly to me. But I shook my head and denied it with a dry laugh.
“Haha, no way, that’s a crap event…”
Kenyya stared at the controller and VR headset. What came to mind were the final moments of his two-dimensional wives he had fallen head-over-heels for.
Unconsciously, he reached out.
“But if there’s a harem route with them beyond that…”
Kenyya grinned. It was a habit of his, a habit when taking on something difficult. He laughs when things are tough.
It’s not like he’s a masochist or anything, probably. He just likes clearing difficult missions. That’s why he gripped the controller, designed to be attached to both arms for KOG use.
He pictured a happy future with the two heroines. Then, what he had to do was clear.
“Let’s show them! The power of the Japan champion!”
I rewound time to the event.
I started the event with determination.
“I’ll save you! Kaguya, Reina!”
~Half a day later.
“No way, no way, no way!”
After the 100th attempt, I threw the controller down.
“There’s no way you can win this crap game!”
I stared blankly at the ceiling for a while. Normally, even 1 vs 2 is difficult. Imagine playing a fighting game 1 vs 2. It’s impossible without a significant skill difference. And this was 1 vs 100, though you only fight about 5 at a time.
No matter how many times I tried, I ran out of strength around the 10th kill. A normal person would give up.
But Kenyya picked up the controller again.
“Haa… It feels like when I was getting wrecked by smurfs in the first rank. But…”
Even while calling it a crap game, I picked it up again. Even while saying I’d never do it again, I gripped it in my hands.
It was like an electronic drug. An addiction, I couldn’t stop even though I knew it.
Because.
“It’s fun!”
~Two months later.
The time had come. My beard had grown out, and I no longer looked like a fresh high school student.
I had challenged it countless times since then. I had analyzed the enemy’s algorithms. I wrote it all down on paper and planned my strategy countless times.
1 vs 100. An impossible and overwhelming difference in power that normally wouldn’t even be a fight. But the only advantage was the infinite number of attempts. Not giving up, that was his only weapon.
Using that, he tried again and again, pulling on a thin thread. Superhuman reflexes and the control skills he had dedicated his youth to.
“I can do it! I can do it! This is… 90!”
The 90th enemy, 10 remaining. In the virtual world, Kenyya reached the peak of concentration.
“Kaguya! You’re too much of a tsundere! Hurry up and dere!”
91, 92, 93…
“Reina! I love it when cool characters dere! Smile for me!”
94, 95, 96…
“If there’s a way for both of you to survive…”
97, 98, 99…
“I want to see it!”
100!!
The last enemy was defeated, and the KOG enemy character exploded and scattered.
“I did it… I did it… I did it!!”
Kenyya made a triumphant pose. It was long, a thousand? Ten thousand? No, more? It felt like I had been doing it every day from morning till night.
A quest that felt impossible. But Kenyya finally overcame it, with nothing but his feelings for the two.
Then, a message appeared in front of Kenyya, who was riding the KOG in the VR world.
『Congratulations on a fantastic victory!!』
“Congratulations on a fantastic victory…?”
Immediately after, the message changed.
『A NEW route has been unlocked, do you want to challenge it?』
▶Yes
No
Seeing that, I shouted.
“Yessss!!”
Without hesitation, I pressed “Yes.” And the story began.
The story of a high school student who was just a socially inept gamer. His story was now switching to a new route. To the story of a high school student who might become a hero if the world changed.
『Good Luck!』
With that message, Kenyya’s vision went dark.
…
“Huh?”
Immediately after, his blurry vision gradually became clear. When it became bright, he was in a familiar room.
In other words, he was at home.
“What?”
Kenyya was at home. But there was a sense of incongruity, because it was slightly different from his familiar home.
“Huh? When did I take off the headset? Wait, it’s not here?”
He looked around, but there was no VR headset.
And on the desk was an unfamiliar envelope. It was sealed with a mark he had never seen before.
Kenyya unconsciously picked it up and opened it.
“Enrollment certificate… Second-Class Aasgard Empire Citizen, Kenyu Mitsurugi? What is this?”
Immediately after, a roaring sound like an airplane rang out. Wondering what it was, he opened the window and looked outside. There was no familiar Tokyo scenery, but instead, an alien scene that looked like a military base.
He couldn’t understand the scene, but there was something even more unbelievable there.
“Huh?”
Kenyya couldn’t help but make a sound. It was impossible, his jaw dropped.
He checked his head several times, but the headset was not on. He pinched his cheek, and it hurt.
Then, was this reality? Or a dream? He didn’t know.
But he knew what was there. At the end of Kenyya’s gaze, there was a black giant about 6 meters tall.
The robot he had ridden so many times. As the name suggests, it was a Knight of the Giant, or rather.
“KOG?”
The Knight of the Giant.
In other words, the “Knight of the Giant” was standing there.
“No way… what’s going on…”
The world he had longed for.
That world he had dreamed of.
The world he had admired, knowing it was impossible.
If.
If he had really come to the world he had longed for.
What would you do?
Afterword
Hello to those who came from the comic adaptation, this is KAZU.
This work is complete, so please enjoy it.
If possible, I would be happy if you could support the manga as well, both the author and the original author.