[Comic adaptation now available on Piccoma!]
Life is a game.
And a terrible one at that.
They say there have been quite a few people saying such things for over half a century now.
Surely, if they saw the world today, they would likely say the same thing again.
—That it’s just like a game.
Levels.
Classes.
These words, often heard in games, have now become known to everyone.
Half a century ago.
Around that time, humans possessing special abilities began to emerge.
They were born with a ‘Class’ and grew stronger in conjunction with their ‘Level’ increase.
And around the same time.
‘Dungeons’ started appearing all over the world.
Within them were ‘Monsters’ capable of overwhelming even armies, and ‘Item Drops’ that surpassed human understanding.
Hunting Monsters yielded experience points.
Acquiring Item Drops brought great wealth.
Given that, it was probably inevitable that they would challenge the Dungeons and come to be called by RPG-like terms such as ‘Adventurers’.
The modern era, seemingly encroached upon by a game.
Ordinary person or Adventurer.
Bottom-feeder or genius.
The disparity that existed from birth became greater than anything seen before in history.
It seems God threw away any attempt at balancing the world.
So this time, I’ll say it in my own words, emotionally.
—Life is a terrible game.
☆
“That’s why… we’ve decided you’ll be leaving the party as of today.”
It was a notice of dismissal.
Caught off guard by the sudden declaration, the black-haired young man—Kageura Keiichiro—couldn’t utter a word.
The party he belonged to was 【Holy Sword】.
They lived in the same area, went to the same elementary school.
A party formed for such simple reasons.
You could even call it a group of close friends.
It was a party formed without considering team balance, one that shouldn’t have amounted to much.
But perhaps it was a twist of fate?
The friends who gathered were all geniuses, capable of reaching the pinnacle in their respective fields.
—All except for one, Kageura Keiichiro.
His companions, possessing absolute talent, continued their rapid advance, and now they were known as the strongest party in Japan.
The public already called 【Holy Sword】 by another name.
—The 【Hero Party】.
“…Are you listening?”
A woman peered into Keiichiro’s face.
Hair like golden threads flowed loosely.
Flawless white skin.
Though her waist was slender and cinched, her feminine curves traced beautiful lines.
Her expression was impassive, giving her a slightly melancholic impression.
Her name was Hagane Kurenai.
Keiichiro’s childhood friend—and the leader of 【Holy Sword】.
Furthermore, Kurenai was born with the class [Valkyrie], making her the strongest and fastest attacker in the country.
It was just a few minutes ago that he had been called to her room.
Visiting without any particular caution or mental preparation, he was immediately confronted with the words spoken earlier.
“Ah, yeah… I heard you loud and clear.”
Saying so, he looked down slightly.
He couldn’t even meet Kurenai’s eyes.
—Normally, being expelled from a party is considered the greatest dishonor.
It serves as proof that the individual has significant problems, making it difficult for them to even join other parties in the future.
Therefore, suggesting voluntary withdrawal is usually the common practice.
This was a forced expulsion that ignored such customs.
However, Keiichiro felt neither dissatisfaction nor anger.
Rather—he felt apologetic.
“I see…”
“You can no longer keep up with our battles. Therefore—”
Kurenai declared as such.
The reason for expulsion—the difference in strength.
Kurenai and the others were geniuses, possessing power that allowed no others to follow.
In contrast, Keiichiro lacked even average talent.
The difference in their abilities was obvious; his presence was undeniably a burden, even without being told.
A Monster that Kurenai could fell with a single stroke.
Keiichiro would lose his life just by being grazed by such a Monster’s attack.
It was absurd for someone with his level of strength to delve into the same Dungeons as them.
Kurenai’s level was 254.
Considering that even Adventurers fighting in the highest difficulty Dungeons averaged around level 150, this number showed just how overwhelming her power was.
Meanwhile, Keiichiro’s level was 75.
There was a reason for such a level gap despite being in the same party.
—His Class.
The Class Keiichiro was born with was [Trapper].
Known as—the weakest.
The experience points gained from defeating Monsters are determined by the percentage of damage dealt to the Monster.
And a [Trapper] can only set traps and wait.
Therefore, they cannot rack up damage, and the experience points distributed are few.
Less experience means levels don’t rise, resulting in insufficient firepower.
Insufficient firepower means less damage dealt, reducing the experience gained.
This negative spiral caused the level gap to widen.
The weakest class, lacking any active means of attack.
That was the [Trapper].
“Sorry…”
Keiichiro forced the word out.
“Really, I should have been the one to say it.”
Being in a party beyond his capabilities, delving into Dungeons of a difficulty unsuited to his abilities.
How dangerous that was.
Companions with top-tier strength in the country.
On the other hand, himself, lacking even average ability.
Recent Dungeon explorations had been almost tantamount to suicide.
Still, it might have been acceptable if the reason he survived was his own strength.
But Keiichiro had only survived because he was protected by his friends.
There were times when his companions helped him level up.
Even so, the gap in ability continued to widen.
Understanding this, Keiichiro still remained a member of 【Holy Sword】.
—He was just scared of being left behind by his friends.
Such selfishness could no longer be tolerated.
The burden of his selfishness fell upon his companions.
That’s why he should have been the one to say it.
—I can’t keep up anymore.
—My adventure ends here.
That’s what he should have said.
Because he couldn’t even say that, this moment had arrived.
A moment where he forced his friend to make such a cruel declaration.
—Forced expulsion is frowned upon.
That’s because it harms the party’s reputation as well.
Being forced, it’s an action that carries risks even for the expelling side.
Nevertheless, Kurenai chose forced expulsion.
Because she judged that otherwise, Keiichiro wouldn’t be able to give up.
Because she judged that in the not-too-distant future, he would lose his life due to his recklessness.
“—The procedures are already complete.”
Kurenai turned her back.
An expulsion requires only the party leader’s permission; the member’s consent is not necessary.
Meaning, Keiichiro was already no longer part of 【Holy Sword】.
“I’ll transfer a quarter of the party’s shared funds into your account, Keiichiro.”
“—No, I don’t need it.”
Keiichiro shook his head.
“Use it all amongst yourselves. Equipment suitable for you guys must cost a fortune, right?”
Even a quarter of 【Holy Sword】’s assets would amount to no less than several hundred million yen.
It was too much for him, now becoming an ordinary person.
He couldn’t be shameless enough to accept something like that.
“Farewell, Keiichiro.”
“Goodbye, Kurenai. —It was fun.”
The two exchanged brief words.
With those words as the last, Keiichiro left the room.
The door closed.
But he couldn’t walk away from the spot.
All he could do was stand there, fists trembling.
(You knew this would happen, didn’t you?)
An end he knew would come someday.
(Our talents are just too different.)
From the starting line, Keiichiro was far behind.
He was at a distance where he couldn’t even reach out to touch their backs.
(*But—I wanted to adventure with them more…!)
And so, Kageura Keiichiro was expelled from 【Holy Sword】.