Chapter 1

A rather peculiar domestic console game was released and became a huge hit.

I was working from home and staying indoors due to the pandemic, so I was tempted to spend a fortune on the chip and got completely hooked, thinking, "Oh, this is fun."

When I reached a point where there was nothing left to do, a hidden character was unlocked.

"Oh, so this is what a pre-set character is!"

I had seen it on the forums of hardcore players.

A pre-set character means you can set the character's abilities as you like.

However, there's a catch: if you lose something, you gain something.

"Hmm, what kind of character should I create?"

At first, I made a normal one.

Next, a slightly special one.

Then, an even more special one.

As the difficulty increased, it became harder and harder.

When I thought there was nothing left to do, I created an extremely difficult character.

[Emaciated, malnourished, cold extremities, chronic headache, chronic fatigue, respiratory disease, hemoptysis, loss of motivation, pulse blockage]

The worst stats and numerous status abnormalities.

"Hehe, I created it, but I'm crazy. How am I supposed to beat this?"

I chuckled, thinking I would start in earnest tomorrow, and lay down on the bed.

But then...

***

"Where am I? Ugh, this awful smell..."

The stench of feces was so overwhelming that I wanted to pinch my nose.

"What is this clothing?"

I was wearing tattered, rag-like clothes.

That wasn't all. I had become younger.

Probably around 15 or 16 years old.

"Let's go."

Someone called me from behind.

I turned around to see a man dressed in clean, high-quality clothes, far superior to mine.

"You... Douden?"

I recognized the face.

He was an NPC from the game I had played countless times.

"Master, the ring has been confirmed."

Master?

Ring?

My eyes automatically went to my hand.

A faded gold ring on my left thumb, which didn't match my attire at all.

I know what this ring means.

It's proof that I'm a bastard.

"The lord is waiting. Let's go to the carriage."

Though he spoke politely, he firmly grabbed my arm.

"Should I resist?"

But I was younger, and this body was extremely thin and weak, so I had to get into the carriage almost by force.

"Cough, cough. Where are we going?"

I asked, but I couldn't stop coughing.

"To Lord Vandike."

Vandike. One of the main characters in the game.

"Cough, cough. What kind of person is he...?"

It was a familiar name, but I asked to confirm if it was the same person I knew.

It was hard to accept the current reality.

He stared at me silently, almost glaring.

"Sigh, he's your father. Don't you know? I sent a messenger yesterday to explain everything... Your mother... groan, your mother passed away, so you were in a daze? Let me explain briefly..."

He sighed and groaned, as if he had no choice but to explain.

Listening to him, I realized it was indeed the game.

Vandike, who had led knights and soldiers to slay monsters, had seen my mother, a shepherdess, and lusted after her. He left her after giving her a ring, and I was born.

My mother, who had raised me alone for over 15 years, sought help from the temple when she fell terminally ill. An investigation was conducted.

However, before the investigation was completed, Vandike quickly acknowledged me as his bastard.

The reason was his bad memories associated with the temple.

In his youth, Vandike was one of the five demon minions under the Duke of Shaya Blackmeer, known as a bloodthirsty demon.

These five committed countless atrocities.

As a result, the temple officially condemned their sins and even sent inquisitors to investigate if they had fallen into heresy.

When the situation became dire, Duke Shaya sent these five to their respective fiefs and severed all ties with them.

Vandike was particularly bitter about this.

He had done all the dirty work as the Duke's dog but was abandoned.

Given his discomfort with the temple, Vandike acknowledged me as his bastard to avoid the investigation, and I was summoned urgently.

It would have been good if my mother had heard the news, but she had passed away just a few days ago.

"How did this happen... This isn't even a VR game. It's a console game."

But how...

"Is this a dream? Is all of this a dream?"

But it was too vivid.

I've had many dreams in my life, but have I ever had a dream that felt this real?

A dream where all five senses were so realistic?

I pinched my thigh hard, and it really hurt.

"Ha! It's not a dream... It's not a dream, right? Is this the situation where I'm inside a game, like in genre novels?"

While I was in disbelief, the carriage started moving.

The stench of feces was still overwhelming, but it didn't distract me from my thoughts.

"Let's try to log out. Logout!"

There was no response.

Pause! Exit! Menu! Menu screen!

No matter what I tried, nothing worked.

"Damn, what am I supposed to do? Can't even call up the status screen? Status screen!"

Poof.

Points: 0

Diseases: None

Physical: FF (FF)

Mental: SS (SS)

Sensory: FF (FF)

Trait: Great Genius (SS)

Status: Emaciated, malnourished, cold extremities, chronic headache, chronic fatigue, respiratory disease, hemoptysis, loss of motivation, pulse blockage

"It works!"

I was so happy...

Honestly, I thought it wouldn't work.

"Ugh, the status... is just as I set it."

From emaciation to pulse blockage, a series of status abnormalities.

Not only that, but my physical and sensory abilities were the worst of the worst, FF.

Even in the parentheses, FF.

I can guess what the parentheses mean, but they indicate the upper limit of what can be achieved.

So, FF in the parentheses means this character, even if reborn, can never escape FF.

But what is a game?

Isn't it about turning the impossible into the possible?

There are solutions, but they are far from easy.

Absolutely not!

Anyway, my physical and sensory abilities are as they are, and the status abnormalities are so severe that I could collapse and die at any moment.

Given my physical condition, I've been coughing since I opened my mouth.

There's no need to explain the other aspects, but does anyone not know what pulse blockage means in martial arts terms?

It's a fantasy world, but they use martial arts terms.

Pulse blockage is a condition where yin energy is too strong, blocking the blood vessels and preventing the proper circulation of qi, leading to a slow and painful death.

In this game, it means the body can hardly handle mana.

However, those with pulse blockage in martial arts are always exceptional geniuses, and it's the same here.

The Great Genius trait.

As I mentioned earlier, when you lose something, you gain something.

Exceptional understanding.

Exceptional memory.

Exceptional creativity.

The mental strength is not just SS for nothing.

However, I don't know how to use the Great Genius trait.

I haven't played the game.

"Sigh, I should have set it more moderately."

The pre-set, that is.

The only consolation is that with SS mental strength, I have high resistance to temptation, hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations.

I lifted my hand to touch my face.

Without a mirror, I could feel the sunken cheeks and prominent cheekbones.

"Even though I'm emaciated and my good looks aren't visible, if I eat well and take care of myself, I could be a handsome man..."

I only increased the difficulty to the extreme; I haven't played this character.

"Wait, appearance isn't important. How do I get back to reality? Do I need to see the ending?"

In genre novels where characters enter games, they only return to reality after seeing the ending!

"Ending... with this character?"

Groan. I groaned involuntarily.

Worst physical, worst sensory, and numerous status abnormalities to overcome.

"There are various endings..."

There's an ending where you become an emperor, an ending where you become a merchant, and an ending where you focus on personal strength to become a martial god or a great mage.

"But is it even possible with this setup?"

It felt like I was stuck in all directions.

Zing, zing.

The pain of a thousand needles pricking my head found me.

"Ugh, ugh."

The first time I felt the power of chronic headaches in reality.

"Master, are you okay?"

Douden looked at me worriedly, seeing me clutching my forehead and wincing.

"...Yes, I'm fine."

I knew how to feel better.

By going numb.

By completely stopping all thoughts.

From then on, I started zoning out to ease the headache.

"But why is it so cold? My hands and feet are numb."

I wanted to go numb, but the cold from my hands and feet was unbearable.

It was cold extremities.

A pain I never felt when controlling the character with a joystick.

"Cough, cough~ Ugh!"

I spat out what came from my mouth into my palm.

"Blood!"

Douden trembled and backed away, as if afraid of being infected.

"Damn, it was better when it was just a game."

After spitting blood, I felt all my energy drain from my body, and I couldn't even lift a finger.

Whether my head was splitting or my hands and feet were numb, I fell into a deep sleep.

***

How much time had passed?

Rattle, rattle.

"Master? Master! We've arrived at the castle."

"Ugh... We've arrived?"

I opened my eyes slightly and looked out the carriage window to see a typical medieval castle.

Neither too big nor too small.

Since I had played this character countless times, it was a familiar place.

The empty field around the castle was filled with soldiers.

There were thousands of them.

Why were they gathered?

I knew.

Vandike is about to go on a monster hunt and won't return.

Given his past as a demon minion, it's a ridiculous death.

But with the unexpected appearance of a powerful giant, even if all the demon minions were there, they couldn't have avoided death.

"Hmm, you'll meet the lord soon, so use this to clean up."

"Huh?"

"The blood on your mouth..."

Douden handed me a handkerchief.

I bowed slightly in gratitude and used the handkerchief to wipe the blood from my mouth and hands.

"Shall we go? And please speak more formally to me. The lord will be angry if he finds out. This way, please."

Without waiting for my answer, he walked ahead.

I followed Douden past the guards at the castle entrance and arrived at a large hall.

What's inside?

Damn, medieval castles are all the same.

It's far from luxurious. This is just a small castle in a remote fief.