The First Clone Is the 6th Commander
....Status window.
Name: Venice
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Unique Ability: Clone Master (???)
You can summon your clones. The form and abilities of the clone are random, and you can control the clone as if it were your own body.
You do not feel any pain the clone experiences! When the clone dies or is destroyed, the user can recover it!
What the hell. A real status window just popped up.
I’d muttered the words half skeptical, half curious, and sure enough, a blue window floated before my eyes.
Whoa. Did I really get transported to another world?
I had simply gone to sleep like any other night, yet an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me when I opened my eyes.
An unknown wooden house, an unknown bed, and a strange sense of disconnection humming inside my body. Birds sang beyond the window—something you’d never hear in the concrete jungle of an apartment complex.
It looked like I had been dropped into another world overnight.
“Anyway… so this body’s name is Venice.”
Name: Venice
Age: 20
Gender: Male
According to the window, this body’s name was Venice.
“Well… damn.”
The otherworld reincarnation I had only read about in novels had actually happened to me. But—
“No phone, no internet, no computer… what the hell am I supposed to live for?!”
I was a classic internet shut-in. Aside from sleeping, I had never been separated from the net for even ten minutes at a time.
And now I was expected to live in a world where none of that existed? For the rest of my life?
“Aaaargh…”
The future already looked pitch black. What was I supposed to enjoy anymore?
“Oh. Status window.”
Clone Master (???): You can summon your clones. The form and abilities of the clone are random, and you can control the clone as if it were your own body.
You do not feel any pain the clone experiences! When the clone dies or is destroyed, the user can recover it!
While I was groaning with my face buried in the pillow, a sudden idea made me call the window again.
Clone Master, huh.
If I use this right, couldn’t I treat it like a full-dive VR game?
As a hardcore gamer, I had spent years dreaming of true full-dive systems where every sense was alive.
A clone that felt exactly like my own body? Wasn’t this basically full-dive? And it even said I wouldn’t feel any pain?
“All right. There’s nothing else to do anyway. Let’s try it.”
Having maintained top ranker status in every game I’d ever played, I was confident in my ability to control something.
“But how do I summon it?”
To summon a clone body, simply shout “Clone Summon!”
…Was it listening to me? Well, thanks anyway.
“Clone Summon.”
A strange sensation rose from my chest, as if something were being drawn out of a bucket that had been filled with liquid.
“Did it work? Where’s my clone?”
I definitely felt the activation, yet I couldn’t see any clone anywhere inside the house.
The clone is randomly generated somewhere across the continent! Its appearance and abilities are likewise random! To synchronize with the clone, shout “Synchronize.” Your current main body will fall asleep and you will awaken inside the clone. To return, simply say “Synchronize Release.”
I see. So that’s how it works.
“Then let’s do it immediately. ‘Synchronize.’”
The moment the words left my mouth, my eyelids slammed shut as if someone had injected me with a sleeping agent. An irresistible wave of drowsiness swallowed me, and I surrendered to it completely.
Then, have a pleasant time!
…Huk.
I bolted upright on the soft bed. Since the room was completely different from the one I had just been in, the synchronization must have succeeded.
“Status window.”
The frail, youthful voice from before had vanished. A deep, resonant male voice echoed in its place.
Name: Venice
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Unique Ability (Magic Eye): Eyes that can see magic power. You can perceive the flow and trajectory of mana and use it far more efficiently.
Unique Ability (Talent Grasp): You can instantly discern another person’s talent. Their unique abilities and potential are visible at a glance.
Unique Ability (Superior Body): Your body is superior in every way, as if forged by the gods themselves! Stamina, strength, situational judgment… every physical ability is dramatically enhanced!
…Wow. This is broken.
Three unique abilities in one body. And every single one of them was completely overpowered.
Why would the clone be stronger than the original?
“Still, this body is overflowing with power.”
Thanks to the Superior Body ability, strength surged through every limb. Right now I felt like I could lift a car without breaking a sweat.
“Up we go.”
I rose from the bed and headed for the bathroom.
“…Oh.”
The mirror showed a man with sharp, fierce features—yet so handsome that ten out of ten people would call him good-looking.
Hair black as the night sky, eyes red as fresh blood. The dense, sculpted muscles and numerous scars covering his body only amplified his wild, predatory charm.
…By the way, what era is this world in? Why is there a flush toilet and a sink? There’s even a shower hose?
Whatever. I returned to the bed.
“Hm. What’s this?”
On the nightstand beside the bed, beneath a small lamp, lay a single sheet of paper. A letter?
I picked it up and began reading.
Greetings, Commander. As of today, you have been appointed the 6th Commander of the Ska Mercenary Group.
Please arrive at the Ska Mercenary Group headquarters by twelve o’clock in attire and with a mindset appropriate to the dignity of your position. Thank you.
— Vice-Commander of the Ska Mercenary Group, Cerise
The writing was cold, concise, and impeccably neat. Whoever this Cerise was, she seemed extremely strict.
“Commander of the Ska Mercenary Group?”
According to the letter, I appeared to have been chosen as the sixth commander. A mercenary group? Did those even exist here?
This world is one where magic power, special abilities, and demonic beasts coexist. As the number of victims from the overflowing demonic beasts increased, mercenary groups specializing in their extermination were formed.
You must now carry out your duties as the 6th Commander of the once-mighty Ska Mercenary Group, which once dominated the entire empire but is now slowly fading!
Oh… so that’s the setup. It really does feel like the starting point of a game. This is getting interesting.
“What time is it right now?”
The letter said I had to arrive by twelve. A clock… ah, there it is.
11:29.
“…Huh?”
I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the clock mercilessly clicked forward to 11:30.
“……I’m late!!”
I didn’t even know the geography of this place, and I only had thirty minutes left.
Crash, thud, bang!
“Hurry… hurry…!”
I frantically threw on clothes, shoved my feet into boots, and bolted for the door.
“Whoa…”
The moment I stepped outside, a fantasy village straight out of anime and games unfolded before me.
People clad in weapons and armor, merchants calling out to them.
“Wait, this isn’t the time.”
The wondrous sight had momentarily stolen my attention, but I didn’t have the luxury of sightseeing.
[…Leria Village 13-8.]
On the back of the vice-commander’s letter was what appeared to be the address of the Ska Mercenary Group headquarters.
So this is Leria Village?
I had never heard the name before. Where on earth was 13-8?
I’d have to ask a passerby.
“…Ah! Are you a customer? Welcome!”
A woman selling fruit right in front of me caught my eye, so I approached.
Ah, yes. Excuse me, but could you tell me where 13-8 is? This is my first time in this village…
I tried to ask politely. However—
“Tell me the location of this place.”
The words that left my mouth were far more curt and commanding than I had intended, slicing through the air like a blade. It wasn’t my will; my body had automatically corrected itself.
What the—?
“…………”
If your speech or actions do not match the personality type of the clone body, they will be automatically corrected!
So if other people were watching, I had to act and speak according to the clone’s concept?
Back in the house when I was alone, I could move freely. This status window seemed to be an extreme concept fiend.
“Ah… yes… from the fountain just ahead, take the road to the left and keep going…”
Even though it wasn’t my intention, my body had adopted a high-handed attitude toward the woman. She couldn’t even meet my eyes; she trembled as she gave directions.
“Mm. Thank you. That will be all.”
“Y-yes…”
……I’m sorry!
I apologized to her inside my head. She would never hear it, but still.
I began walking slowly in the direction the woman had pointed.
No! We’re late! Run!
Because of this damn concept, I couldn’t run.
The status window apparently judged that sprinting in this appearance and personality would be undignified and out of character.
Despite my desperate situation, my body heartlessly strolled along, calmly observing the surroundings.
It took more than fifteen minutes to cover a distance that couldn’t have been more than three hundred meters.
Finally…!
In the distance, I saw soldiers lined up on the training ground in front of a large building. That had to be the Ska Mercenary Group’s headquarters.
“You arrived exactly on time.”
“…Mm.”
As I approached, a beautiful woman with a cold expression and sky-blue hair tied in a ponytail spoke to me.
“It is an honor to meet you, Commander. I am Cerise, Vice-Commander of the Ska Mercenary Group.”
