1
Chapter 1
There is a game called [Survival as a Holy Knight].
It's an online game with a simple yet intuitive plot: a wandering Holy Knight fights to save a world ruined by demons.
It shut down ten years ago due to a lack of content and a subsequent drop in revenue, but I really enjoyed it as a child.
I even went as far as to send a 'New Content Proposal' to the game company's email address.
Well, since it was sent by a child, it wasn't exactly substantial.
[Subject: (Surprise!) A Revolutionary Idea to Increase the User Base
Dear Developers, I'd like to share my honest opinion.
Don't you think the game failed because the only enemy units that appear all day are demons and Demon Worshippers?
Instead, let's create a new enemy faction.
You know those Barbarian tribes that appear as NPCs in the mountains? How about them?
The Barbarian concept is based on primitive religions and Voodoo. We could make Voodoo Shamans or Shamans elite mobs, and the native spirits they serve—the Loa or whatever—as boss characters.
Doesn't that sound fun?
Let's make their patterns and concepts different from the demons. To put it simply... (omitted)]
I believe that was roughly the content of the email.
I never got a reply. That was normal. Who would care about feedback sent by a brat?
It's also normal that the broke game company went under less than a year after shutting down [Survival as a Holy Knight], its flagship title, and that the middle schooler waiting for a reply grew up to be a convenience store part-timer.
[You have received an email!]
"Hmm?"
In that case, is a reply from a defunct game company after ten years normal?
No. It is clearly abnormal.
Half-shivering and half-curious, I checked the subject line of the email.
[Subject: 'Ultra Sanz, Crazy for Massacre Mode on Moonlit Nights' Holy Knight, thank you for your feedback!]
"Give me a break."
That 'Ultra Sanz' something is an old game ID I used to use. I guess it's cringey to see now since I made it when I was a kid.
Honestly, every kid back then had a nickname like that.
Regardless, it succeeded in piquing my interest. I clicked the email to read the full text.
[Let's fight for justice!
A world-saving story RPG! This is Survival as a Holy Knight.
Thank you for your valuable feedback, Holy Knight.
Your suggestions for content improvement, for which you took precious time, were forwarded to the relevant department and implemented to the best of our ability after consulting with the Loa.
Additionally, the character settings you suggested were also passed along as improvement ideas.
We are doing our best to show you a better version of the game. Please enjoy the new mode!
Once again, we ask that you keep a close eye on Survival as a Holy Knight as it evolves in a better direction.]
"What is this talking about?"
What improvement is needed for a game that's already dead? Why does a company that went bankrupt ten years ago have a 'relevant department'?
Consulting with the Loa? What kind of concept is this?
"Tsk."
My interest vanished instantly.
Still, it was a game I once loved, so I was a bit—actually, a lot—excited. It's just a shame.
I turned off the screen of my phone, thinking it was just some prank by someone who had gotten hold of the game company's email address.
Then, in the blink of an eye.
"...?"
In front of me lay a pile of dead wild animals.
A massive bonfire roared like a huge campfire.
People dressed in animal hides surrounded the fire in a circle.
"Uo! Uo! Uo! Uo!"
Between their strange chants and everything else, I had arrived in a place I'd never seen before.
- Uh...
A deep, resonating voice escaped my lips.
"H-He has responded!"
A massive man draped in bear skin shouted as he watched me.
He was the one standing at the very front of the circular crowd.
"The Loa has responded!"
The man, whose booming voice echoed in my ears, hoisted a double-edged axe.
Loa? The gods the Barbarians worship?
What was that supposed to mean?
"Mallak! Mallak! Mallak!"
The people cheered, chanting the strange name.
Regardless of whether they were men or women, everyone held weapons, and their eyes gleamed with a level of madness that was genuinely terrifying.
Their muscular physiques only added to my fear.
I tried to push myself up with my arms to do something—escape, anything...
Wait, I don't have arms? I don't know. Let me just try to stand up...
I don't have legs either.
I didn't feel any restraints, so it wasn't like I was tied up.
Now that I think about it, my vision is strange. It zooms in and out, as if I'm looking through a camera.
Startled, I shifted my gaze, and my view spun around with incredible speed.
I remember hearing that the human field of view is about 135 degrees vertically and 200 degrees horizontally.
My vision just spun a full 360 degrees and returned to where it started—right in front of the muscular man wildly swinging his double-edged axe.
Is there something wrong with my neck? Or my eyes?
As the sudden terror paralyzed my reason, something strange caught my eye in the corner of my vision.
A white, rectangular piece of paper... no, it looked like a status window you'd see in a game.
[Name: Mallak]
- Available Blessings: None
- Available Points: 0
- Vassals: Paya
- Enter Community
- ...
A suspicious reply after ten years.
The mention of 'enjoying a new mode' and 'watching from nearby.'
And my body, which had clearly changed.
No matter how I looked at them, they resembled Native Americans. More accurately, they looked like the Barbarians from [Survival as a Holy Knight], who were based on them.
And then there was the status window in the corner of my vision.
Only then did I begin to understand the situation I was in.
No way... did they really reincarnate me into their game just because I sent some feedback?
And all because of a single email sent ten years ago?
So, since I've become this being called a Loa, do I now have to lead these people to fight a Holy Knight?
Me, a convenience store part-timer of only three months?
***
Let's get this straight.
I was on the verge of losing my mind, but I had to verify things. At the very least, I needed to know what state I was in.
- Mirror.
I requested it as solemnly as possible from the muscular man standing before me. He was likely the chief of the Barbarians.
"Lord Mallak has commanded that a mirror be brought forth!"
As he barked the order in his characteristic thundering voice, the Barbarians moved quickly and placed a large mirror in front of me.
Whether it was a matter of primitive technology, the mirror was incredibly opaque.
- Ah...
How should I even describe my appearance?
A snake with its head poking out of a coil? With the deer horns and beard, it also looked somewhat like a dragon.
But it wasn't just a snake or a dragon. It was a human-sized wooden statue.
The blue glow flickering in its eyes gave it a bit of an imposing look.
But what was the point? I couldn't move.
I wasn't even a living creature. I was just a piece of wood. This thing is a Loa? The god of the Barbarians? A wave of futility washed over me.
The chief, gauging my reaction, asked cautiously.
"Are you displeased with the totem? High Priest Paya—daughter of Find and Ulla, and sister to me, Kanto—crafted it with all her heart."
I don't care who she is, no matter how hard you explain it.
A High Priest is a High Priest; why are there so many useless descriptors?
- Hmm.
I recalled the game's lore.
High Priest. A being who communicates with the Loa and oversees various shamanic rituals. In modern terms, they'd be something like a Pope.
Since the Barbarian tribes were essentially religious groups, they held a status equal to, or perhaps even higher than, that of the chief.
Anyway, the High Priest here was the chief's sister.
- That's not the point.
Whether I liked it or not, she was someone I might have to spend my life with. It would be a headache if we clashed from the start, so let's just brush it off.
Who knows if this fierce, hulking man was a lunatic who would smash the totem if he thought his sister had been insulted?
I still didn't know how much influence a Loa wielded in this society.
- I want to see the High Priest. Where is she?
Given the circumstances, it seemed she was the one who summoned me. Maybe she could send me back to Earth.
It was a meager hope, but I had to check first.
"High Priest Paya is recovering from the aftermath of the ritual. ...Shall I bring her here?"
- There's no need for that.
It would be wrong to pester a sick person like that. So what now? Damn it. My brain just isn't working.
- I'll hear everything after High Priest Paya wakes up. All of you, be at ease.
Right, let's secure some time first.
I'm too confused right now. There's just too much information to process.
"Thank you. Please enjoy the souls of the animals that were just slain."
The chief and the Barbarians left, leaving the pile of animal carcasses behind.
I looked at the status window again.
Available Blessings. It says none. Does it open later? Let's move on for now.
Available Points. This is also unknown for now, so pass.
Vassal... it says Paya. Paya was the High Priest's name.
Perhaps the person who summoned me or tied a contract with me is listed as a vassal.
Enter Community? What's this?
Only this one is glowing with a faint blue light.
Should I click it? But I don't have hands to click.
Damn it.
As I stared intently, a white screen larger than the status window appeared next to it.
[Dino Punch: 145th Gathering Diary]
[Corner-room First-pick: The Pope's breath stinks like hell again today] (4)
[Ppu Ppu Ppung: Where is the Grand Cathedral?]
[Corrupted Power Knight: How to distinguish Demon Worshippers. Fact]
[Golden Dragon King: Day 14 of homelessness] (1)
[Love Death Nyan: (Moving through the 384th multiverse) Nyan nyan...]
[Morning Tent Installation Knight: I can't get it up anymore] (4)
[Hobi Chunpae: On whether the Chief God of this world is just or unjust] (1)
[I Trusted the Monkey Uncle: The Holy Knight is totally fucked in real time;;] (2)
[Balo Malo: I don't want to die...] (3)
[Melee-type Spy: I literally only sinned by playing the game but I fell into this world and those fucking demons...]
[Holy Holy Knight: Holy Knights~ please have a del.i.cious meal today~!] (1)
[Not a Netkama: Anyone here ever killed a person in this world?] (2)
What the hell is this?
As if possessed, I clicked the first post. Not with a hand, but with my eyes.
[Dino Punch: 145th Gathering Diary
Today's meal is something that looks like a matsutake mushroom. It tastes like tomato. Not bad.
I've been feeling unwell lately. Depressed. I feel like I'm the only one left. Which I actually am.]
...It really is a community.
I felt a mixture of curiosity as to why this existed and a sense of relief that I might not be the only one who came to this world.
Should I try writing something too?
As I stared intently at the [Write Post] box and the keyboard window that had appeared, the text was written according to my gaze.
Maybe I'll start with a short and light greeting.
[Ultra Sanz Crazy for Massacre Mode on a Moonlit Night: Hi~]
Ah. What's with this nickname?
How do I delete this?