The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Character Creation

I am a 42-year-old single living in a certain provincial city. My occupation? Salaryman. 

Neither my looks nor abilities warrant any special mention. Well, I think that my specs are at least average. Unfortunately, marriage is the only thing that I’ve had zero luck with. 

As for my hobbies, I think gaming is about it. 

I’ve dived quite deeply into the minor genre of tabletop RPG, to the point where I’ve organized conventions and helped write doujins.h.i.+s. I haven’t been able to play much in the past ten years though. 

However, this commonplace life of mine ended quite suddenly. 

Right now, I’m in a s.p.a.ce with absolutely nothing inside. 

Nothing above, nothing below; I can’t even register my own body. It’s like my self-consciousnessness is the only thing floating in this void. 

“I kind of wanted to live out 20 more years or so……”

The only thing I understand is that I’ve already died. 

My social acquaintances, friends, family, neighbors. Unfinished work. Novels and TRPG books that I had yet to read. Games that I had yet to play. 

The emptiness of losing all those envelopes me. 

I’m not exactly regretting the 20 years of holding back on gaming for the sake of work, but now that things have become like this, I’m thinking that it might not have been so bad to do more of the things that I’d wanted to do. 

After having lost even the sense of time, a voice suddenly calls out to me. 

“I am ‘The Guardian.’”

I can’t see him, and it is also impossible for me to be hearing his voice. Despite that, I am properly receiving his words. 

“From now, you will be transferring over to a world beyond the event horizon of this one. In other words, a parallel world.”

“Parallel world? Transfer?”

There is a mountain of things that I want to ask, but I can’t properly put them into words. 

“I looked up this dimension’s information, and ‘parallel world transfer’ seems to be the most apt descriptor.”

“I understand.”

Out of habit, I voiced my acknowledgment. 

I’m not sure what that says about me as a salaryman, but I think that there is some part of me that has already accepted all this. 

I am aware that of late, this genre is quite popular in anime and light novels. In the first place, before even the term ‘light novel’ was coined, the parallel world transfer and reincarnation genre has already existed. As examples, there are A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and the John Carter series. 

(T/N: The first one is really great fun. The second, never heard of it.)

“So, after I get transferred over, what then?”

“A physical body will be made to facilitate your actions in the other world, so please provide me with the necessary information. The other world will be, in the terms of this world, ‘a fantasy world of swords and magic,’ so something adaptable to that would be preferable.”

“Physical body in a fantasy world……”

Fantasy world? New body? 

When I heard those words, what first came to mind was my character in the western TRPG Dungeons & Braves, which I had played for so many of my school years. 

Having reached max level under super rank rules after 7 years, this character is the one that I have the greatest attachment to. 

Wizard [Great Mage] Gio Margils. 

“Searching completed. Based on the rulebook in your own room, supplements, settings reference notebooks, and character sheet, the physical and mental abilities of ‘Gio Margils,’ as well as all personal belongings, shall be reproduced. However, due to possible negative effects on your pysche, alterations will not be performed upon your outer appearance.”

In other words, this G.o.d or superior ent.i.ty has looked through the notebooks that I had filled during my student days. Right now, I am unnaturally calm, so there’s no effect, but if it was the usual me, this would be the part where I repeatedly slam my head against a wall. 

That aside…… seriously? 

“Creation of Gio Margils completed.”

Along with ‘The Guardian’s words, the feeling of having a body returns to me. 

Black robe, satchel, staff in one hand. 

My appearance is still that of an average black-haired, black-eyed j.a.panese, so it totally feels like I’m cosplaying. However, my insides have definitely been altered, as evidenced by this unbelievable amount of vitality that I am feeling. 

“Is there any damage to your knowledge or memory?”

“...... I do not believe so.”

Indeed, inside of my head is Gio Margils’ magical skills, the techniques to make his magical items, and the way to use his personal items. All of the various ‘settings’ that I, with the help of my game master, had diligently written down have now been etched into me as ‘knowledge.’

“I really have become my TRPG character……”

‘Gio Margils’ is a level 36 magic user, a maxed-out character even under super rank rules. 

The excitement, as well as unease, of having become such an existence envelopes around me. 

The game called ‘D&B’ is commonly thought of as a dull one where groups of characters clear dungeons filled with bats and mice and goblins, with one or more party deaths before the ending a guarantee. 

Those used to the more modern TRPGs that emphasize on flashy characters and detailed storylines would be unable to believe this, but D&B is exactly that kind of game. 

However, that dullness is limited to the basic rules. As the character grows, the nature of the adventures change drastically. There are a total of 4 sets of rules that correspond to character growth: basic rules, mid rank rules, upper rank rules, and super rank rules. For characters that have reached super rank, having founded a country or being a guildmaster is a given, and they are mostly occupied with fighting against G.o.ds or devils in other dimensions or out in s.p.a.ce, or taking part in equally epic history-changing wars. Depending on circ.u.mstances, they might even be on an adventure towards becoming a G.o.d themselves. 

Such growth would require clearing at least a hundred scenarios. Even I had spent more than 7 years nurturing Gio. 

If I was the game master of a short TRPG session, there is no way that I’d be allowed to use this character. 

With the exception of scenarios specially planned out for super high level characters, it is only all too obvious that Gio is a game breaker. 

“Doing all this, what is it that you want of me?”

“After the transfer, I will neither interfere with your actions nor give you any orders.”

After going to the trouble of transferring me to a parallel world, telling me to do as I please? 

There is definitely a hidden agenda somewhere. 

I can feel it, not from his words, but from the atmosphere being given off by the one who’s named himself as ‘The Guardian.’

“The punchline wouldn’t be that after I make a magic user, it turns out that I can’t use Gio’s magic in the other world, right?”

There just might be the possibility that rather than a fantasy world, this actually turns out to be a black science fiction. If something seems too good to be true, first doubt it--that is a trait that I’ve gained from being a salaryman. 

“The magic from this game is different from that of the parallel world on a fundamental level, but its processes still lie within the range of the existent laws. It is the same for your physical abilities and knowledge.”

“Are you sure things are fine like this? I might completely mess up this other world.”

“If such is your intention, I do not mind.”

Well, I mind. 

Although it’s true that I’ve had dreams of becoming Gio, I have neither the energy nor desire to do anything on the scale of saving or destroying the world. If this had happened 20-or-so years earlier, my answer might have been different though. 

This is, so to speak, my mandatory retirement, I guess? 

Be it a parallel world or j.a.pan, I’d be satisfied as long as I get to eat good food everyday, enjoy hot springs, and read interesting books. If I am to get extravagant, then I would also add being able to play TRPGs to the list. My age being what it is, I’m no longer particularly desperate for women. 

While convincing myself in this way, ‘The Guardian’ has his last say. 

“With this, you will now be transferred to the parallel world called the ‘Sedia Continent’ in the language of its inhabitants.”

With those words, my consciousness fades to black.