I Was Born Lucky, but That Wasn't Enough
Fortunately, I was born into nobility.
In this fantasy-based other world, research on swords and magic had really taken off.
Knights swung their swords every single day, and mages stayed up all night trying to invent more efficient spells. Nobles naturally taught their children swordsmanship and magic, and even little kids dreamed of someday joining in a glorious war.
But I had zero interest in any of it.
Why fight, anyway?
Honor? Status? Power? Money?
Those are the things I had no reason to bet my life on. If I was going to risk death, I’d bet it on something that actually mattered.
Like, say, games.
“Damn boring.”
My casual mutter caused the veins on the forehead of the middle-aged gentleman sitting across from me to bulge out. The surrounding crowd kept murmuring nonstop.
“H-hey, stop joking. How did something like this…!”
On the table sat two chairs facing each other, with a chessboard placed between them.
A black-and-white battlefield. A duel of pure brainpower filled with countless strategies and psychological warfare.
The youngest Grand Master.
Ten years of world champion experience.
345 consecutive undefeated games.
All-time highest rating.
Reven Graham.
The best chess player of this era, and a living legend.
The challengers facing him were sweating bullets while staring only at the board. And me? I just sat there staring blankly at the empty space, waiting for his move.
I’d dabbled in every turn-based game imaginable. Chess, of course, but also checkers, go, card games, strategy simulations, roguelikes, deck-builders, auto-chess—everything.
I had ten years of experience rotting away from the previous life. Against people who hadn’t even properly researched basic openings in this ancient era, there was no way I could lose.
Each player got two hours of decision time.
On my side, 1 hour 55 minutes left.
On his side, only 1 minute left.
The board was already overwhelmingly in my favor.
“It can’t be… I’m a noble…! How could someone like a third-rate noble who didn’t even receive proper training…”
He kept muttering with a face like the world had ended. It almost made me feel a bit sorry for him.
But what could I do? Competitive games are brutal from the start.
Click.
Only one move left to checkmate, and the opponent had nothing but the king remaining.
His remaining time: 4 seconds.
He had to move something even though he knew he was losing. He should’ve already surrendered, but his pride wouldn’t allow it.
“Hic…!”
The tears streaming from the middle-aged man’s eyes were almost pitiful.
Sighs erupted from the audience seats. Everyone was staring at him with sympathy.
“He didn’t stand a chance…”
“How did a monster like that even get born?”
“I thought Lord Andrighi was finally going to win this time…”
Everyone was certain.
Reven Graham’s eleventh world championship title.
No one doubted it for a second.
“Haa…”
At that moment, a deep sigh slipped out of my mouth. I propped my chin on my hand and looked at him.
“Uncle, why don’t you just retire and be the chess champion?”
“W-what? Of course I want to. For the past few decades, I’ve been fighting for this position—”
“Then you do it, Uncle. World champion.”
I stood up right there and said it.
“Chess is finished.”
World champion, dropped.
***
-17th World Champion, Victory with Nothing but Scars
-Genius on the Verge of Holding the Throne for 11 Years Suddenly Declares Retirement
-World Champion Lost. What’s Next?
The headline on the front page of the newspaper had been plastered with my story for days now.
Kingdom’s top genius.
The most overwhelming talent in chess history.
And the first human in history to throw everything away at the peak.
Honestly, isn’t this making too much of a fuss?
Chess isn’t going to make or break the country just because I quit.
Scrape.
The sound of the newspaper being folded reached my ears.
Duke Dicles’s second daughter, Rose Dicles, looked down at me sprawled out on the sofa and spoke.
“Little brother.”
“What?”
“The whole world is in chaos right now, yet you’re not even thinking of anything?”
Sunlight streamed in through the window for a long time. It was a warm afternoon.
“Yeah.”
Rose, with an utterly bewildered expression, swung the newspaper and slammed it right onto my face.
The photo was huge—me yawning in front of the chessboard.
…Fuck, seriously? The photo sucks.
“The entire kingdom is flipping out. The imperial family even sent people. The association is in an uproar. Reporters have been camped out in front of the mansion for days. How many petitions have been sent to you?”
“No wonder it’s been noisy outside lately.”
“Don’t talk about other people’s business. This is your doing.”
I waved my hand lazily.
I honestly didn’t care whether it was the chess association or nobles.
Analyzing opponents, reading patterns, calculating the optimal move. At first it was fun.
But at some point, every single game started looking the same. Even the openings were easy to predict, and by the midgame the winner was already obvious.
It felt like replaying a game I’d already cleared. Boring beyond words.
Actually, it was basically homework.
“More importantly, are you really not coming back to chess?”
Rose asked cautiously.
“I’m not playing that boring-ass game.”
Boring-ass game.
She didn’t understand the meaning of those words. Of course she didn’t—she’d never once explained them to me—but she knew they carried a negative vibe.
She always made that face whenever I said it, like she was about to die of boredom.
“…You’re telling me you’re turning the entire world’s chess players into your enemies, right?”
“But that’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“Chess is such a deep and wise sport.”
“Boring-ass game.”
My voice came out lower than I expected.
“I got tired of it after playing so much.”
That made sense.
Some people spend their whole lives and never reach the top of that world.
But Reven had stood on the peak for ten full years without a single worthy opponent.
It was actually strange that he hadn’t gotten bored.
“Sigh… fine.”
I just collapsed back onto the sofa. The soft cushion hugged my back.
I didn’t want to do anything. Honestly.
Nothing was fun anymore.
Swordsmanship? Only muscle pain.
Magic? Casting time was a hassle.
Social circles? Couldn’t skip NPC dialogue.
Balls? Just repeating events.
Reality wasn’t worth it. Cultural level was mediocre, technology was slow, and entertainment was terrible.
The only thing that had felt remotely worthwhile was chess, and even that was finished now.
This moment felt like a broken game. I was actually feeling the pain of infinite loading.
“…Ha.”
A deep sigh escaped me.
“Why do people even live?”
Rose’s expression instantly froze.
“…Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not trying to kill yourself, are you?”
“…”
I had thought about it for a second.
More precisely, I wondered if it was better to live a long, boring life here.
In my previous life I’d gone crazy over games and lived for them. Here I ended up the same.
But now even those games had lost their fun. There was nothing left.
That was when Rose, probably trying to change the mood, opened her mouth.
“Still, there’s been something interesting coming out of the magic towers lately. Something called a magic-stone calculator, I think?”
My dazed mind snapped awake instantly.
“…What?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
My heart skipped a beat. That was a familiar word.
Too familiar, even. It gave me an eerie feeling.
I slowly sat up.
Rose stared at me with suspicion when I moved like I wasn’t a human who’d been slouched for ages.
“W-what is it like?”
“Um… it’s rectangular.”
“…”
“It has buttons.”
“…”
“They say it moves using magic stones. And it can calculate numbers incredibly fast.”
Suddenly something clicked in my head.
Buttons.
Calculation.
Program.
Magic-stone power.
Wait…
“…Could it be used to make other things too?”
“Not sure. The tower people say they’re still researching something.”
“For example?”
“Something like a program, I think they mentioned.”
Klang.
My heart pounded hard. The dead sense in me was waking up again.
Puzzles started fitting together like crazy in my mind.
This…
It’s a computer, isn’t it?
“…Hah!”
An uncontrollable laugh slipped out of me.
Rose asked with a slightly startled expression, “Why are you laughing so scary all of a sudden?”
“Sister.”
“Hm?”
“Do people in this world still not have things like save functions?”
“…Save?”
“And you don’t even know what multiplayer is?”
“What are you talking about?”
It meant civilization had only just reached the early computer age.
In other words:
No one had invented it yet.
RPGs. Strategy games. Roguelikes. Even gachas.
“…Heaven.”
“What?”
“Hallelujah…”
The lifeless slump in my body suddenly filled with strength. I even let out a weird laugh.
“Where is it?”
“…Huh?”
“The place where that calculator was made.”
Rose stared at the half-crazy me blankly.
Of course she did.
I was the kind of human who barely moved unless necessary.
Social gatherings? I never went.
Sword training? I would poke her and say it was annoying.
Balls? I would run away saying it was noisy.
The guy who lived like he and the sofa were one being had suddenly started looking possessed.
“…Your expression is seriously scary right now.”
“Hurry up.”
“T-the blue magic tower’s central research wing, I heard…”
I immediately grabbed my coat.
Rose panicked and grabbed my arm.
“Wait! Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“I’m making games.”
“…Games?”
“The most fun ones.”