Ch.1Episode 1 – The Gray Man

# The Heroes of Dark World

The world of ‘Heroes of Dark World’ is bleak.

War, disease, disaster.

The prophesied end approaches, but the gods remain silent while humans flounder in their desires. Kings crave war, nobles hunger for power, and clergy, blinded by gold, fail to see reality.

Yet, like stars shining in pitch-black darkness, hope exists even in these dark times.

Heroes.

Beings who achieve feats ordinary people wouldn’t dare attempt.

In the game, the player’s role is fixed as a hero.

While choosing a profession is impossible, the game varies according to the player’s tendencies and items. The game received positive reviews for how choices in the scenario determine progression and endings, as well as the various events and stories that unfold while gathering companions.

The player, a hero summoned from another world.

A priestess candidate for sainthood from the Papal Territory.

An alchemist, third successor to the Magic Tower.

A barbarian warrior from the great plains.

An elven archer, sentinel of the great forest and guardian of the World Tree.

There were many other potential companions as well: paladins, heresy inquisitors, bounty hunters, necromancers, and more.

Anyway, superhuman heroes on white horses are destined to save the world. There’s no need to set out to save the world with the hero like a protagonist who’s been reincarnated into a novel. Of course, we don’t know if the hero will lead us to heaven or hell, but I believe a better future awaits than one where everyone dies.

However, to survive in this harsh world, I needed at least enough strength to protect myself. The problem was that I was born with an ordinary body without any special powers, and the Nostrim Viscounty was a family located in a rural territory far from the capital, with little influence.

When I realized this, I felt truly lost.

But fortunately, very fortunately, I was born as the second son of a viscount family. It was a mad world where people were classified by the nonsense of blue blood flowing through their veins, but ironically, that nonsense helped me. It made it easier to become part of the upper class that could at least protect their lives in these dark times.

In a world where you must die if you have no strength, no connections, and no abilities, how could I join the upper class and survive?

Kindly enough, a famous French author’s novel I’d read in my previous life had the answer.

Red and black.

Military uniform and priest’s robe.

Rise through military achievements or build connections.

So I became independent when I came of age. I graduated from military academy, built military achievements at the front lines, then moved to the rear. By the time I was known as a soldier who had risen through key positions, I thought I could survive whatever future approached.

On the day they summoned a hero to face the great calamity,

Walking on the red carpet leading to the sanctuary, I thought life was nothing but a bed of roses.

And when a woman appeared with the brilliant white light emanating from the summoning array,

Everything seemed like it would work out perfectly.

Or so I thought.

Episode 1 – The Gray Man

On the walkway near the sanctuary where the hero summoning ceremony is being held.

Everyone attending must have gone inside the sanctuary, as only soldiers standing guard and a middle-aged man sitting on a bench are visible nearby. The middle-aged man is leaning on the armrest, looking at a folded newspaper, lost in thought.

I knew this middle-aged man well.

Colonel Clevins Hendrick of the Royal Army.

A military man from the capital’s nobility. A meticulous character who can’t let even the smallest detail slip by without thorough verification. Recently stressed about his growing gray hair, constantly using hair dye. His favorite foods are grilled fish and instant coffee from the Magic Tower. He drinks coffee almost daily. Even after being scolded by his doctor about high blood pressure during his regular health checkup, he couldn’t quit.

And most importantly:

Clevins Hendrick is one of the key figures in ‘Heroes of Dark World.’

Neutral NPC ‘Clevins Hendrick,’ Brigadier General.

In Heroes of Dark World, ‘neutral’ means that friendliness and hostility fluctuate depending on the player’s choices.

Due to the shitty game mechanics, unless you set the difficulty to easy, it’s easier to lose friendliness than gain it, so apart from friendly characters, everyone can be considered potentially hostile. I remember my heart pounding when I saw friendliness levels fluctuating wildly like Bitcoin after making just one dialogue choice.

I shouldn’t have trusted that fucking sommelier’s recommendation.

I frowned without realizing it.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah… No, Colonel.”

Having apparently finished reading his newspaper, Clevins was looking at me. The colonel handed me the newspaper, which I carefully took and tucked under my arm. It was a tabloid covering gossip from home and abroad.

“Is work getting to you these days? I understand how you feel.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You can talk to me if something’s bothering you, Captain Frederick. I am your superior officer.”

That was true.

This neutral NPC and middle-aged man was my boss. It wasn’t intentional, but somehow I ended up working under him. That’s why I couldn’t help but know Clevins Hendrick well.

From a loyalist family serving in the military for generations.

An elite soldier who had never been passed over for promotion and was expected to reach the rank of general.

Despite his appearance, he has a surprisingly good personality and excellent interpersonal skills.

Having lived without showing weakness since childhood, he never displays vulnerability. He enjoys taking care of those around him, often inviting subordinates to his home for meals.

I couldn’t tell when watching him on screen, but he was truly a good person.

He was someone who would succeed anywhere, and I won’t deny he was a good superior to serve under.

So I couldn’t possibly blurt out something like, “I’m worried you might be planning to crush the hero and their companions.”

“It’s nothing. Really, I’m fine, Colonel.”

“Then why the long face on a day like today?”

My mind began racing at the sudden question. I needed to craft a quick but careful answer, as saying something strange would earn me no end of grief from my seniors.

This is the sanctuary for summoning a hero. The world is going to hell, and both the Empire and Kingdom are in dire straits. Right now, the sanctuary is packed with high-ranking officials from across the continent, all gathered to witness the summoning of the hero.

Summoning a hero isn’t something that can be done anytime; it requires various procedures and agreements. That’s because arbitrarily summoning a hero could be interpreted as preparation for war against neighboring countries under international law and church edicts. Do they have time for such formalities when the world is on the brink of destruction?

Anyway, the important thing was that a hero was being summoned, and the entire continent’s attention was focused on our kingdom’s sanctuary. Months ago, envoys from various countries had been whining about wanting to visit the sanctuary, and troops were hastily deployed to secure the area. All to ensure the safety of domestic and foreign guests in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Of course, since the hero summoning is a delicate matter, ordinary people don’t know what’s happening, but the numerous villains in this stupid doomed game world would certainly know about the hero’s summoning.

So why was I frowning here in front of the sanctuary?

After quick and careful consideration, I came up with a plausible answer.

“I was worried about potential terrorist attacks.”

Pleased with my answer, Colonel Clevins nodded and smiled.

“The world is quite turbulent these days, isn’t it?”

“Wasn’t there an incident involving black magic recently?”

“That’s the result of increased persecution of black magic since the new Pope’s inauguration. When you treat people decently and then suddenly put a knife to their throat, they lash out.”

I wasn’t really worried about a terrorist attack, but I pretended to be.

One fortunate thing about this terrible world is that there won’t be ninja-like intruders slicing people up during the hero summoning ceremony.

But that’s something only I know from playing the game. These people naturally don’t know that.

“…And well, there were some intelligence reports about terrorism from the Magic Tower and the Empire, but they were just implausible fantasies, so we passed them back for them to handle. Don’t worry too much, Frederick.”

Of course, Colonel Clevins, working in intelligence, knew nothing would happen.

He was a soldier who had rooted out hundreds of spies, intercepted communications to destroy spy networks throughout the kingdom, and used those networks to eliminate numerous enemy intelligence operatives. Thanks to him, the promotion bottleneck was resolved and employment opportunities opened up, so those people should be bowing to the kingdom three times a day in gratitude.

Anyway, it’s nonsensical to think that such an elite intelligence officer couldn’t predict a terrorist attack. If such a day came, it would probably be the day the kingdom falls.

With such idle thoughts, I entered the building where preparations for the hero summoning had been completed, moving to my next position. Walking on the red carpet stretching from the entrance to the corridor, I suddenly felt a strange sensation. With the hero being summoned, it felt like everything was finally coming to an end. I could sleep peacefully without worrying about the approaching apocalypse.

Of course, I knew this wasn’t the end but the beginning. Still, knowing there would be five people fighting in my place made me feel much more at ease.

I wondered what the hero summoning ceremony would be like.

I’d seen it many times in high-definition cinematics, but I still wanted to see it in person.

“It seems they’ve already started.”

Flickering light was streaming through the gap in the door.

Though many people were surely inside, a silence enveloped the sanctuary, not even a breath to be heard.

The colonel took me across the gallery to peek into the room where the summoning ceremony was in progress.

Brilliant white light.

At first glance, sacred light flowed through the circuits of the summoning array, emitting radiance, and I watched the scene with bated breath. The circuit, filled with strange metaphysical patterns and unknown characters, emitted increasingly intense light. And when the light reached its climax, illuminating the dark sanctuary, the summoning array’s form collapsed, and white flames shot up to the ceiling.

Heatless white flames spread across the ceiling, and some people screamed in surprise as they fell back. Others clutched their chests and sank to the floor. Even I, ignorant about mana or divine power, could feel the swirling, tempestuous force.

The pillar of fire continued to burn for a long time without diminishing, then vanished like smoke.

And then,

A woman appeared from where the flames had disappeared. I couldn’t see her clearly, but her vermilion hair, like burning flames, was striking. After confirming the hero surrounded by people cheering and applauding, I turned away.

Having witnessed the successful hero summoning, I thought:

This life has been quite successful. If I just hold on a little longer until my pension comes through, by the time I return to my hometown, the hero will have saved the world, and I can live comfortably on my pension forever.

Suddenly, the 28 years of life since falling into this game world flashed before my eyes. Feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of tears, I gritted my teeth while applauding.

For the rest of my time, my life would be nothing but smooth sailing.

I thought so while applauding with everyone else for a while.

But then,

“Captain Frederick Nostrim. Congratulations on being chosen as the hero’s companion.”

Suddenly, my life difficulty setting changed to hell on earth.