Chapter 1 – Doll Master Mari

Rea​d on ​Kat​R​e​adingC​afe

It’s only natural for someone immersed in a game, aside from sleeping, to dream about it as well.

However, for that dream to become reality—that’s anything but natural.

–

A refreshing scent of grass wafted from all directions.

The forest, filled with lush greenery, appeared peaceful at first glance, but beneath its bright exterior lay a brutal ecosystem of survival of the fittest.

And within that order, two beings faced each other. One was a rabbit with long ears perked up, and the other was a wooden doll carrying a dagger as large as its own body.

The wooden doll, wielding a dagger as big as itself, looked precarious, as if it might collapse at any moment. Yet, it stood firmly on its thin wooden legs, facing its opponent with dignity.

It was only natural, given the effort I had put into making it.

At any rate, the brown-furred monster with glowing red eyes hopped around, maintaining its distance as if sizing up the wooden doll. Then, at some point, it stopped and began twitching its nose. It started thumping the ground with its hind legs, as if threatening me.

A prelude to an attack—stamping. Just as I had read in the strategy guide, I swallowed hard, and without warning, the rabbit kicked off the ground and leapt high into the air.

A jump high enough to easily surpass the wooden doll’s height! But since I already knew it was coming, the chance of losing was close to zero!

“Gooo—!”

The wooden doll kicked off the ground and leapt toward the charging rabbit. Simultaneously, it mercilessly swung the dagger in place of its arm. 

Swish, swish, swish—! 

The rapid slashes tore through the air and struck the rabbit.

No matter how much larger the rabbit was compared to the wooden doll, as long as it was armed with a blade, victory was on my side! Just as I was about to mourn the rabbit, which would soon be sliced into 17 pieces and collapse—

“Squeak!”

Crack.

“Whaaa?!”

The rabbit suddenly shifted its posture mid-air and kicked the wooden doll, Doll 505, breaking its neck.

After all the effort I put into making that! As I let out a shocked cry, unlike the pitifully fallen remains of Doll 505, the rabbit landed gracefully and immediately turned its gaze toward me.

Then, it kicked off the ground again and leapt toward me—wait, it’s coming this way?!

“W-Wait, ugh?!”

“Squeak!”

Before I could even run away, a soft sensation slammed into my face, and I couldn’t help but fall backward. 

Thud—! 

A sharp pain shot up from my tailbone, but the bigger problem was that the rabbit was still stuck to my face.

“Ugh!”

The rabbit, now perched on my face, seemed to know I couldn’t get up and started stomping its feet in place. 

Slap, slap—! 

Its wide paws repeatedly smacked my face, and despite the softness, the pain gradually became noticeable.

I didn’t want to lose to a rabbit, so I frantically signaled to Doll 505, but the doll, now decapitated, didn’t budge.

“Hah, I surrender! I lost, okay…?”

My HP was already zero… As I stopped struggling and tearfully shouted my surrender, the rabbit snorted and hopped off my face. It circled around me once before disappearing into the forest.

Did it just teabag me? I felt a surge of frustration at being looked down upon by a mere rabbit, but there was nothing I could do. After all, I was weak enough to be defeated by a rabbit.

Wiping away the tears that had trickled out with the back of my hand, I slowly got up and approached the remains of Doll 505.

“What a mess…”

At first glance, I thought only the neck was broken, but upon closer inspection, its limbs had also fallen off. Well, I had focused solely on making it move, so its shoddy craftsmanship wasn’t surprising.

But despite my rational assessment of the situation, I struggled to hold back the tears threatening to spill again. I opened my inventory and collected the remains. I considered using the remaining dagger to try hunting myself, but I soon shook my head and stood up.

Even in my sorrow, the sky was clear.

“I worked hard today, so let’s head back…”

Muttering words of self-encouragement, I trudged out of the forest.

–

A month ago, I was summoned to another world.

To be precise, it wasn’t another world but an incredibly large island. A floating island in the sky, to be exact. Novice World—or so it was called. Of course, people just called it the Floating Island.

When I say “people”, you’ll understand that I wasn’t the only one summoned here. About 300 people, roughly the size of a high school grade, had been summoned to this Floating Island.

At any rate, the being—likely a god—who summoned me and the other 300 people to the Floating Island conveyed a message through a representative, and its contents were quite shocking.

The worlds of those gathered here were destined for destruction. However, it would be pitiful to let them perish without resistance, so they were given a chance by being summoned to the Floating Island.

But not everyone would be granted the power to escape destruction. Only those who cleared the dungeons arranged by the god and earned their qualification could return to their original world and prevent its destruction. Conversely, those who failed would be doomed to follow the path of destruction.

Fortunately, the deadline set by the god was quite generous. If one earned their qualification within 10 years, they would be sent back to their original world.

Moreover, the god’s generosity didn’t end there. Even if one died in a dungeon, they could be resurrected at the church, and with game-like system assists such as status windows, growth could be achieved quickly if one put their mind to it.

After all, it had only been a month since a group of modern humans with no formal martial training were summoned, and they were already on the verge of clearing the 5th floor of the dungeon.

Of course, not everyone showed such rapid growth.

“…Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah…”

I replied weakly to the concerned voice, and a gentle hand touched my cheek.

“Heal.”

A soft voice echoed, and the warmth from the hand touching my cheek spread. Even without looking in a mirror, I could feel the rabbit’s paw prints and scratches on my face fading away.

Unconsciously, I rubbed my cheek against the warm hand, and a stifled laugh came from above me.

“Ah, s-sorry.”

“It’s fine. In fact, I’m glad Mari relies on me.”

Startled, I quickly pulled away and bowed my head. As always, the blonde nun comforted me with a gentle voice. I tried to calm my flushed face with a forced cough and bowed again.

“Thank you, as always, Sister Andreina.”

“I told you to call me Dria.”

It still felt a bit burdensome to call her by a nickname. Unable to come up with a proper response, I hesitated, and Sister Andreina smiled warmly, as always.

“Of course, I’m not forcing you. If Mari feels comfortable, you can call me that whenever you’re ready.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“By the way, it’s almost mealtime. Would you like to join me?”

“Ah, no. I ate before entering the dungeon.”

“Is that so? Then let’s eat together next time.”

“Ah, yes. Then…”

After saying goodbye to Sister Andreina, who saw me off, I hurriedly left the church.

“Oops, I should put on my hood…”

As the sunlight poured onto my face, I quickly pulled up my hood, covering half the world.

All I could see were the stone pavement and people’s legs. But at least this way, I was free from their gazes.

It’s not that I dislike people. It’s just that my long hikikomori lifestyle made me a bit uncomfortable around them. In games, I could interact with others normally and get along just fine.

This discomfort was only in real life. And now that reality had become like a game, I was just moving accordingly.

Of course, there were other reasons too. I quickly ran home, careful not to be seen.

–

“Haa, haa…”

Only after arriving home, out of breath, did I finally relax. I took off the hood I had been wearing and fumbled for the light switch.

Click—! 

The interior lit up. While the exterior of the house looked like something out of a medieval fantasy, the inside was incredibly modern.

It had proper plumbing, electricity, and even a Western-style toilet!

Whether it was a consideration for the modern-day summoners or something built by those who might have existed before us, it was a huge relief for me.

If everything had been as medieval as the exterior, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a day.

After shaking out the robe I had worn during the battle by the window, I hung it on a hanger and inspected myself. My body was just as dirty as the robe.

“I need to wash this too.”

I had fallen on my butt, and my pants were covered in grass and dirt. While I could just shake off the robe since it was hard to wash, I didn’t want to do the same with my pants. Besides, these were my only pair, so if I didn’t wash them, I’d have nothing to wear.

I might as well take a bath while I’m at it. With a sigh, I headed to the bathroom.

Despite the modern interior, the setup was simple. There was a bathtub and a shower, but the only toiletry was soap. Of course, soap was all I needed.

For a man, shampoo and body wash are luxuries…!

“—Not that such an excuse would hold any weight now.”

As I muttered, I looked in the mirror and saw the face of a girl.

She looked about fifth grade. Her brown hair was tied in twin tails, and her bluish eyes had a droopy look, making her seem perpetually sulky, even without any expression. She looked like one of those sad country dogs that greet you when you visit the countryside.

There was no way to associate her with a sturdy adult man. If anything, she looked more like someone’s little sister.

A month ago, before being summoned to the Floating Island, I had been a man. But when I was summoned, I had become this.

I wasn’t the only one who had undergone such a change. A significant number of people had become fantasy races, like something out of a novel or game.

Compared to those who had completely lost their human appearance, changing only my gender and age was relatively mild… but why did it have to be this form?

I knew the girl in the mirror all too well. How could I forget? I had spent an entire day customizing this appearance, pouring my heart and soul into it.

“I’d rather have been a warrior or even a mage…!”

But there were so many better options. There were muscular, strength-focused warriors and glass-cannon mages with monstrous magic power. Why did I have to become a doll master, a character I had created as a backup dummy?

I shouted in frustration. Of course, my appearance didn’t change just because I yelled.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Long time no see…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
New novel yes, seems like this is the first work of this author after going incognito for a while?

Either way, this one is completed, so no rushing things needed! 

So as usual, check out the raws and support the author if you can, then enjoy the translation!

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