Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Hell
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I’m an ordinary person.
The epitome of what it means to be ordinary.
So, what exactly is an ordinary person?
Just your average human. Nothing more, nothing less—right in the middle of the pack.
That’s my place in the world.
And I have no intention of denying it.
Unfortunately, the world was never fair to begin with.
Only a tiny handful of geniuses can change that unfairness.
Effort?
Of course it matters.
But does a dullard’s hard work mean the genius just sits back and watches?
Assume a genius and a dullard put in the same effort.
Who wins? It’s obvious.
People like me are just stepping stones for the geniuses to trample over.
Someone once said,
“In the novel called life, you’re the protagonist.”
What nonsense. Or maybe it’s from some third-rate novel.
Of course, I wasn’t always this cynical.
There was a time when I truly believed I had some special talent.
Until cold, hard reality hit me square in the face.
Thanks to that, I now clearly know I’m nothing special.
But is that really so bad?
Does not being a genius mean you’re doomed to misery? History gives us the answer.
To cut to the chase.
Even geniuses come in their own flavors.
Plenty of them lived unhappy lives and passed on.
Conversely, not every ordinary person leads a miserable existence.
In the end, happiness isn’t about talent—it’s about acceptance and contentment.
Know your own limits and vessel.
Never overstep your bounds. That’s the secret to my happiness.
Resignation. Or recognition.
Accept that you don’t fit into the “special” category.
Then cultivate your own happiness instead.
Who could call that escapism?
Who could say facing reality and living within your means is giving up?
Let me say it once more.
I’m just a regular guy who knows his place all too well.
No more, no less.
That is, until I started that damned virtual reality game.
Even if I’m nothing special in reality, I still have my escapes.
And vicarious satisfaction is a pretty great way to scratch that itch.
Not that I’m dressing it up too fancy.
It’s just enjoying novels or games and the like.
Protagonists in games are almost always special. Same with novels.
So I project myself onto them and live the satisfaction by proxy. Like I’m the hero myself.
Personally, though, I preferred games over novels.
They offered way higher immersion, in my book.
That’s why I bought the virtual reality game Undefeated in a Hundred Battles.
Undefeated in a Hundred Battles
A strategy simulation game based on a romance fantasy novel of the same name.
Yet its difficulty crushes most strategy titles—it’s a hardcore game for veterans.
Fictional nations, rulers, and generals like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, packed with talent.
You pick one and carve your own role-play—that’s the game’s strength.
You could aim for hegemony as an emperor, or struggle as a loyal retainer to save a crumbling homeland.
As long as it satisfies you, any RP goes. Naturally, I chose the latter.
Overcoming hardships from a weak start is way more fun than beginning with everything handed to you.
So the faction I picked was the minor kingdom of Arpen Kingdom, right next to the Empire.
Arpen Kingdom has a shallow talent pool, no resources, and barely any population.
Usually, if the AI controls it, it gets swallowed by the Empire in no time.
Even Undefeated in a Hundred Battles veterans boast of its infamous difficulty—one slip or bad luck, and it’s unified.
Even if the Empire sits still, Arpen can crumble from endless bad luck.
‘Eh, let’s give it a shot. If it sucks, I’ll just use cheats.’
Games are for self-satisfaction, after all. The thrill of conquering tough challenges is nice.
But I’m not here to stress myself out.
Work gives me plenty of that.
With that thought, I logged in lightly.
And…
Hell began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A blue sky.
Dazed by the scorching sunlight pouring down, I slowly turned my head.
The first thing that caught my eye was a wretched wall.
The ground was cracked, on the verge of collapse.
Holes gaped here and there. But I had no time for such trifles.
Clank. Clank.
An army marched from beyond the horizon, the clash of metal echoing.
At least a thousand strong.
The soldiers in black armor and helmets looked no different from reapers.
“Ah, right. This is a virtual reality game.”
It was so realistic, chills ran down my spine for a moment.
If this were real life, I’d have bolted already.
From atop the wall, I leisurely surveyed the oncoming army like a wave.
Not just soldiers—siege weapons and mages too. They’d come prepared.
But one fundamental question lingered.
“Usually, enemies don’t invade right at the start, do they?”
Don’t games normally kick off with a tutorial?
A faint sense of wrongness crept in. From the chill prickling my skin,
To the spreading tremor of fear. But I pushed it aside.
It’s a VR game. Modern ones had advanced to the point where you couldn’t tell virtual from real, I’d heard.
Plus, with its brutal difficulty, maybe the tutorial was tough too.
Rare, but not unheard of.
As stray thoughts flitted by, the army halted at a suitable distance—close enough to take the castle, yet they didn’t.
The reason they hadn’t drawn swords was clear: they demanded surrender.
Raise the white flag.
Open the gates yourself.
Do that, and they’d spare our lives. No words needed—it was an unspoken threat.
“What bullshit.”
No way I’d bow to that. The moment I chose to resist, a blazing fireball came flying.
‘…Huh?’
That’s when I noticed something off.
Heat searing my skin, an explosion deafening my ears.
The pathetic wall crumbled in an instant, flames leaping to the remaining debris and barricades.
Then steel rain from the sky.
Survivors from the magic were massacred one-sidedly.
No mercy in the process.
Collapsed walls.
A burning village.
People thoroughly ravaged. Their screams and wails pierced my ears like arrows.
“Th-the game’s too realistic. Maybe I’ll call it here for today?”
I’d survived the arrow storm by sheer luck.
Overwhelmed by my first taste of war’s horrors, I could only stammer a log-out with a trembling voice.
“Log out!!!”
I yelled with all my might, but my voice echoed hollowly until it faded.
Nothing changed.
This couldn’t be happening.
Again and again,
Denying reality,
Screaming at the top of my lungs.
Yet the gruesome scene before me remained unchanged.
The soldiers who’d ravaged the people now approached the culprit behind this massacre.
A sinner too ignorant to know his place, daring to spurn His Majesty the Emperor’s mercy.
Overcome by greed,
Leading everyone to ruin—the vile lord.
As punishment, I was bound hand and foot, dragged like a beast.
Their verdict on the sinner: beheading.
No judge, no defense—a sham trial.
Limbs bound, I was forced to my knees before everyone.
Even then, I clung to denial.
“The game’s insanely real. But when does this end…?”
“Sir Valentis, this bastard’s laughing.”
“Looks like he’s lost his mind. Tsk, a trash with no honor or skill… What are you waiting for? Execute him.”
A single dry command.
More than enough to kill a man.
The blade fell on my neck. Cold metal bit into flesh.
My vision shook. My severed head tumbled across the dirt.
But it didn’t end there.
One soldier thrust a spear into the fresh stump.
My head was hoisted high on it.
“We’ve slain the enemy commander!!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!!!”
The soldiers cheered at my impaled head. That was the last thing I saw.
That’s how I died.
I should have died.
“...Huh?”
But like a lie, my eyes opened again.
The shabby wall and, beyond it, the Empire’s army advancing like waves.
The exact scene I’d witnessed right before dying was replaying perfectly.
Yes—even resignation wasn’t allowed. This hell had only just begun.