Genocide Reality

“Alright, let’s stop by the Oracle Shrine.”

“Oracle?”

“Yeah, it’s like a temple there, and you should be able to find out your profession.”

The right weapons to buy will depend on your profession. Well, for armor, I’d say hard leather armor is the best choice.

“Should I touch this place?”

A small stone temple, with a large granite stone.

I let Seki touch it, and a wave spread out from there on the polished stone, and eventually, an indication appeared.

‘Seki Midori Age: 16

Occupation: Priest

Warrior Rank: Newbie

Acrobat Rank: Newbie

Monk Rank: Novice

Sorcerer Rank: Newbie.’

Seki is a priest. It’s a lower-tier profession, but it’s a decent one.

The warrior rank is easy to train and it is good to have mana from the beginning. For equipment, a suitable blunt weapon like a hammer would be ideal.

I hold up my hand and check.

‘Wataru Shinjo Age: 16

Occupation: Medium Fighter

Warrior rank: Apprentice

Acrobat rank: Newbie

Monk rank: Newbie

Sorcerer rank: Newbie’

Medium Warrior, huh? It’s a lower-tier profession, but it’s well-balanced. However, it’s concerning that both magic-related rank categories are at zero.

I took a flask and recited ‘beginner’s low stamina (Den)’ as if praying. It’s the easiest potion to make.

“Okay, thank God.”

A trickle of yellow water pools at the bottom of the flask.

It seems there was just a little bit of mana.

Even a small amount of mana can be useful; as long as I continue to replenish it with gems, I can quickly develop my abilities.

Medium and Heavy fighters sometimes have zero mana. Considering this, I was lucky.

If the mana cap were zero, I’d have to wear equipment that increases the cap and level up.

Since such amulets are not sold in stores, I would have had to fight with an ill-suited sorcerer’s wand in my hand, recovering mana as I went.

It would have been a hassle to change hands to recover mana every time and would have cost me a lot of time from the beginning.

“Eh, Shinjo-kun. What’s that?”

“Oh, this? It’s a recovery spell. When you chant according to the instructions on this scroll, it creates a healing potion in the flask. The one earlier was a stamina potion. Literally, it’s a fatigue recovery elixir.”

I give Seki the scroll I just bought at the general store. By the way, I bought this scroll as an excuse, but I have memorized all the spells.

“Heh, ‘Beginner Low Health (Lis)’. It’s true, I’ve got blue medicine in my flask.”

“Yes. That’s a health potion. So, as you do magic successfully and gradually increase your rank, you also increase the ranks that you just saw.”

Incidentally, the ranks are as follows: Newbie, Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Craftsman, Artisan, Adept.

From adept and up are the master ranks.

The next ranks are Expert and Low Master, but you have to spend a lot of time to get there, so I don’t think I need to explain them now.

If you just want to complete the game, for example, each individual can manage to raise his or her rank to Expert in his or her specialty.

In other words, anything above that is a matter of hobby.

This is what makes “Genocide Reality” so interesting. Although it is a high-difficulty game and there are various restrictions, a warrior type can train to become a sorcerer or evolve into a versatile type.

In this way, by continuously raising all ranks and developing the character into the strongest, it became possible to adventure alone.

No, rather, it is a game that encourages you to “adventure alone”.

The genius game creator of the masterpiece RPG ‘Genocide Reality’, Lord Knight.

Using such a ridiculous pseudonym and refusing to give any interviews, the undercover creator loved his solitude.

I think that’s why he created a game that allows you to play around forever, alone in a cold stone labyrinth.

I got hooked on the game “GenoReal” and even started a walkthrough website, so I admire Lord Knight. I felt like I could understand his feelings.

I had been guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter by my parents in exchange for going to a school I didn’t want to attend and doing things I didn’t want to do.

Eighteen years of imprisonment before graduating from high school. I had to endure it until I could live a decent life on my own. The only place I could escape was in the game.

And now I was shown the possibility of living in the game world, free from the gloomy reality. How could I not be happy?

Why I ended up here doesn’t matter. I’ve been set free from my chains. In this fiercely beloved, brutal death game world, I can live freely all by myself.

“Um, Shinjo-kun. You’re going shopping, right?”

“Oh, that’s right. I have to buy clothes and equipment.”

I’m about to embark on a journey on my own. Without being bound by anything, I’m descending into the dark depths alone.

However, I’ll think about the one friend who became my salvation from this gloomy student life. In this harsh world, I must teach Seki how to survive.

“Armor-wise, we need Hard Leather Armor for everyone. Pants and shirts for everyone too. Let’s also get knee pads, cloaks, and boots.”

When I walked into the armor shop, there were no specific sizes.

I guess they want us to adapt to the items. It’s going to be heavy since we have to buy for five people.

I had to equip my own, and I managed to carry the girls’ by tying a rope to my body as a packing rope.

Next came the weapons.

“I’ll take the katana, Seki needs a Holy Mace, and Kumiko prefers a spear, so a long spear should be fine.”

I thought about getting weapons for Sashiki, the busty girl with glasses, and Tachibana, the bob-cut girl, but I decided against it.

I’m still at a low rank, so if I carry something too heavy, it’ll limit my movement. It’s also a hassle to transport back and forth. I’ll just give them money, and they can buy what they want later.

“But I’ll also have to buy a scramasax, which is a big knife.”

It’s a heavy, cheap sword that cuts more with its weight than it does with its blade.

To be honest, it’s the worst weapon, but buying it has a purpose.

“It’s kind of big and has a strange shape.”

“Seki can hold that for now.”

“Is this weapon strong?”

“It’s a primitive sword, the heaviest you can buy in the store, and it’s not very sharp. Don’t give me that look. It’s a garbage weapon, to say the least, but it has its uses.

I’ll explain that later. Kumiko and the others had just gotten out of the bath when Seki and I returned to the inn with our large bags.

Not a stitch on them… Not exactly. They were wearing white gowns and probably underwear.

However, there’s something about the scent of a young girl after a bath that’s indescribably sweet.

I’m not completely thoughtless to the point of attacking them, but I can also understand why Seki hesitated to stay in the same room.

Even though they were wearing thin gowns, the smell of a girl’s wet hair after taking a bath, their perky bosoms, and the slender legs of a high school girl were irresistible to young men.

Don’t think too much about it. Getting deeply involved with a girl you don’t know will only cause unnecessary trouble.

Well, in a situation like this, if you’re kind and protective of girls, they might just fall for you. But that’s something for guys who are good at that sort of thing.

I’m not good with girls, and I’m more attracted to a blood-boiling adventure game than any pretty girl.

“Next, the bath is ready.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave your gear here. There’s enough for all of you, so take as much rest as you want and take it with you. I don’t want your money either, so share it as you like.”

“You’re very generous, Wataru-kun.”

“I just bought everything I needed. Even if I had extra money, it would just be extra baggage. You’ll need money to live in this safe town, and no matter how much you have, it won’t be enough.”

That’s right, you need money to live in town.

It’s safe here, but you can’t stay holed up forever. At the very least, we’ll have to earn some money on the first floor.

That’s where that geeky fuzzy head (what’s his name again?) comes in. (What’s his name again?) immediately mentions the strategy information.

What happens to the other guys is none of my business.

“Hey, Shinjo-kun. I wasn’t sure if I should ask you this or not.”

“What is it, Seki?”

“You know a lot about this world, don’t you, Shinjo-kun?”

“Ah, what was the name of this world? ‘Genocide Reality,’ was it? It seems like one of those game worlds. That guy with the fuzzy hair…”

“You mean Mikagami Ryuji-kun?”

“Yes, I heard him talking in class a while ago.”

Mikagami Ryuji, huh? That fuzzy-headed guy had such a cool-sounding name.

Since he’s going around telling everyone he knows about the world, it wouldn’t hurt to blame it all on him.

“Well, we’re in the same class, aren’t we?”

“Yes, I talk to people other than Seki, too.”

I lied. I’m a stranger in F class, and the only person I talk to is Seki.

I’ve never talked to Ryuji Mikagami, the fuzzy-head, even though we’re in the same class. Maybe they talked to me one way or the other, but I can hardly remember the faces of the people in my class.

I only remember now that Seki told me that Fuzzy was in the same class as us.

Except for Seki, I thought they were all boring people.

Or maybe I just thought so.

If Fuzzy was a retro gamer like me and played GenoReal, I wish I had talked with him at least a little.

Maybe we could have had a good talk. Maybe we would have had a good time talking about retro games.

Really, it’s too late now and I’m the one who doesn’t want to hang out with other people.

“Well then, Seki, let’s take a bath, too.”

“Uh… Okay.”

I went into the changing room with Seki, but he didn’t take off his clothes and didn’t get into the bathtub.

He’s feeling embarrassed, even though we’re both guys.

“Hey Seki, hurry up and take off your clothes…”

“Don’t look here, go ahead!”

I didn’t want to wait, so I quickly went into the bathroom.

The large bath was unbelievably luxurious, considering it was attached to a six-person room. It was a large bath.

The bathtub in the back is a rock bath, and you can look down on the vast ocean through the glass.

The time was just around sunset, and the view was really nice.

“Ah, this is amazing.”

I was thinking they should have expanded the room instead of taking up so much space for the bath, but I guess a big bath is better after all.

Soaking in the rock bath and watching the sunset over the sea seemed to take away my mental fatigue.

I was planning to take a shower and go on an adventure right away, but I’m glad I took my time.

The view was so magnificent that I thought it might be a good idea to come back to enjoy this bath when I got tired of adventures.

“This bath is really amazing.”

Seki got into the bathtub with a large bath towel wrapped around his body.

I wondered if it would be a good idea to soak the towel in the water, but I won’t go into details. The bath would be over after we got in anyway.

“You guys might run out of money eventually, so you might have to endure a cheaper room.”

“Aren’t you staying in town, Wataru?”

Seki looked at me a little sadly, his face suddenly serious.

I guess he somehow understood that I was going to go alone without telling him.

“I’m thinking of going further down by myself.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? Should I come with you?”

What a good friend you are… when you were so scared before.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to bring back plenty of money for Segi, too. If you get stronger, maybe I’ll ask for your help.”

“If this is a game world, all I have to do is level up, right?”

In a normal game, that would be the case.

But this is GenoReal, so things are a little different.

“I’ll teach you how to train tomorrow.”

“Uh, yeah…”

When I got up from the bathtub to wash myself, Segi turned his head away.

As I stood up from the bath to wash myself, Segi turned his face away, blushing. Surely, he wasn’t feeling embarrassed about seeing a guy’s body… that’s unlikely.

Seki is petite and cute, with a somewhat androgynous face and slender shoulders, and looks more like a beautiful girl than anything else. It was making me feel strangely uncomfortable.

To be honest, I prefer Segi to Kumiko if we’re talking about face alone. I’m not into guys, so I wouldn’t make any advances…

No, I’m really not interested in boys!

“Maybe you’re getting too hot, Seki, why don’t you get up and wash yourself quickly.”

“No, no, I’m going to soak a little longer, go ahead!”

Seems like he’s still feeling shy, even though this is supposed to be a guy-to-guy moment.

I quickly washed my body and returned to the bathtub.

Then, as Segi also got out of the bath to wash up, I sneakily glanced at his front.

Hmmm….

“I can’t believe it, but it’s there.”

I muttered regretfully, and he covered his body with a towel and screamed with a bright red face.

His scream and bashful demeanor were incredibly cute, but it was a letdown.

“Haah! What do you mean by ‘it’s there’?”

What’s there? Well, that’s a mystery.

It would have been a happy ending if Seki had actually been a girl, but it’s not a novel, and the world isn’t really designed that way.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high hopes for such a miracle, since the story suddenly turned into a fantasy RPG.

But the reality was harsh.

“Oh, so you’re a boy….”

“Shinjo-kun, if you do it again, I’m going to cut you off!”

I apologized to Seki, who was really angry, and enjoyed the rock bath once more, warming my body and looking out at the big ocean below.

Then I got out of the bath, feeling refreshed after enjoying my last rest to my heart’s content.