His vision was greeted by a scene straight out of a medieval fantasy tale.
Rustic houses made of wood and stone stretched across the landscape, while enormous ancient structures could be seen in the distance.
The wind carried the scent of fresh grass, and the sound of people chatting echoed through the streets of that unfamiliar city.
Hitori could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Until a voice brought him back to reality.
Tea: “I am the support artificial intelligence. My name is Tea.”
Not knowing where the voice was coming from, Hitori looked around in confusion.
Hitori: “Whe…re…”
He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a blue light shining above his head.
Then he understood.
The voice was coming from there.
Hitori: “I see…”
Hitori: “Nice to meet you, Tea. I am—”
Tea: “Hitori Senki.”
The immediate response caused the boy’s eyes to widen.
Tea: “I will guide you through the initial tutorial so that you may become accustomed to the world you are currently in.”
Hitori: “Alright…”
Still somewhat dizzy from the sensation of traveling between worlds, Hitori tried to focus on the explanation.
Tea: “MMO: Isekai no RPG is an open-world game with a medieval fantasy setting. The objective of adventurers is to reach one of the Four Royal Capitals and take the entrance examination for the Great Orders.”
Tea: “Players may join the Knights, the Heroes, the Berserks, or the Scientists. However, to do so, they must level up, complete quests, carry out missions, win battles, and fully master their starting weapon.”
Tea: “Only the strongest will be able to join the Royal Orders and confront the enemy forces threatening the kingdoms.”
As Tea spoke, a new landscape appeared before Hitori’s eyes.
Tea: “Your first city is Elvrin, the Novice City of the East. Here, you will find quest guilds, taverns, residential buildings, weapon shops, potion stores, blacksmiths, and a prosperous marketplace.”
Hitori: “I see… so this place has everything a good RPG needs.”
Tea: “Exactly. Now, let us proceed to your initial data.”
Hitori: “Data? But I haven’t even created my avatar yet…”
Tea: “Your character has been automatically created based on your memories and personal characteristics.”
Hitori: “What?!”
That statement startled him.
Normally, games allowed players to customize their appearance, clothes, and even their voices.
Confused, Hitori looked down at himself.
His clothes were different.
Without thinking twice, he ran to a nearby stream and examined his reflection in the water.
His face remained almost unchanged.
But everything else…
Was completely different.
Before, he wore simple clothes: a black T-shirt with gray accents, dark pants, and ordinary shoes.
His hair had been entirely black and spiky.
Now, however, he wore a much more stylish outfit.
A black shirt covered by a white jacket with purple details at the edges.
His pants were black, his shoes completely white, and the tips of his hair had gained a deep shade of purple.
Even his height had changed.
From 1.60 meters to 1.75 meters.
His eyes remained the same…
But his irises seemed brighter and more striking.
Hitori: “Whoa…”
Tea: “Now that your doubts have been addressed, we shall continue the tutorial.”
Tea: “You begin at Level 1. By completing missions, quests, and challenges, you will gain EXP and increase your level.”
Hitori nodded.
That was standard RPG stuff.
Nothing particularly surprising…
Except for the automatic avatar creation.
Tea: “Touch the right side of your chest.”
Tea: “Doing so will open your status panel, displaying your skills, attributes, equipment, level, EXP, and identification.”
Hitori obeyed.
Instantly, a glowing gray screen appeared before him.
He silently examined his attributes.
And quickly noticed something disappointing.
Most of his stats were incredibly low.
Strength.
Endurance.
Speed.
Vitality.
Almost everything was below 1.0.
Which made sense.
In the real world, Hitori spent most of his time sitting around playing games.
But one particular attribute caught his attention.
Courage — 1.8 / 2.0
Hitori: “Huh…?”
Even he found that strange.
His starting money also caught his attention.
100 Gold Coins
Then something else came to mind.
Hitori: “Wait… you mentioned a starting weapon.”
Tea: “Yes. It has already been equipped.”
Hitori blinked in confusion.
Only then did he notice something hanging from his waist.
Slowly, he placed his hand on his hip and drew the weapon from its sheath.
CLANG!
The black blade reflected the sunlight.
For a moment, Hitori’s face lit up with happiness.
But that joy vanished almost instantly.
Hitori: “My starting weapon… is a dagger?”
He stared in complete disappointment at the small black weapon, which was only about thirty centimeters long.
Tea: “Correct. The weapon was determined based on your avatar and combat compatibility.”
Hitori: “This is terrible…”
Hitori: “I’m going to become a laughingstock even here.”
Hitori: “‘The mighty warrior Hitori Senki wields an ugly dagger like this…'”
Hitori: “What am I supposed to do with this?! Rob people?! Become a thief now?!”
Hitori: “Ahhh… I’m going to end up sleeping in a gutter on my very first day…”
Completely defeated, Hitori sat down by the riverside while recalling Tea’s final words.
Tea: “You have completed the initial tutorial.”
Tea: “Reward received: 15,000 EXP.”
Tea: “Your current level is now 5.”
Tea: “Good luck on your journey, noble adventurer.”
Tea: “Should you require assistance, press the right side of your chest twice in an appropriate location to summon Tea.”
Hitori spent nearly three hours going through the tutorial, during which he learned how to use his dagger and his starting abilities.
Hitori: “This is ridiculous… My entire skill set amounts to creating black spheres and launching them through my dagger.”
His self-esteem seemed even lower than before.
Slowly tightening his grip around the dagger, Hitori thought for a moment.
Then—
A wide grin spread across his face.
Hitori: “I came here…”
Hitori: “To become the strongest guy this world has ever seen!”
Hitori: “I’ll defeat all of you!”
As he shouted toward the heavens, several players and NPCs passing through the area looked at him strangely.
Merchant NPC: “Another weird newbie…”
Player: “This guy’s way too fired up…”
Hitori immediately noticed their gazes.
Hitori: “They’re looking at me like that even here…”
He let out a sigh, dusted off his clothes, and sheathed his dagger once more.
Despite everything…
He had made up his mind.
He would level up.
He would become stronger.
And he would prove to everyone in this world that he was not a nobody.
Without further hesitation, Hitori set out on his first mission.
Quest Received
Defeat Magic Skeletons in the Cave
Reward: 1,000 Gold Coins
EXP: 500 Points
Difficulty: Beginner
The dungeon was dark and damp.
Gray crystals embedded in the walls emitted a faint ghostly glow, casting distorted shadows throughout the cave.
The constant sound of water droplets falling from the stalactites echoed through the deep corridors like whispers.
Hitori walked slowly.
His black dagger tightly gripped in his hand.
Every nerve in his body was on alert, ready for whatever might emerge from the darkness.
Hitori: “This place gives me the creeps…”
The cave seemed endless.
He had been descending for several minutes when he finally arrived at a larger chamber illuminated by ancient torches.
Before him lay a fork in the road.
Two separate paths.
Hitori stared at them silently.
Hitori: “Which one…?”
Hitori: “Hmm… You know what? Whatever.”
Hitori: “Eeny, meeny, miny—”
Before he could finish—
CLACK…
CLACK…
CLACK…
The dry sound of bones rattling echoed behind him.
Hitori’s body froze.
Even though he had experience with games like this, this was completely different.
He himself was the avatar.
Feeling a chill run down his spine, he slowly turned around.
Three tiny skeletons, each about one meter tall, stood there wielding rusty little axes.
Hitori: “Finally, something alive…”
Hitori: “Or… whatever you’d call this.”
Seeing how small the monsters were, some of his courage returned.
Confidently spinning the dagger in his hand, Hitori smirked.
Hitori: “So…”
Hitori: “How do you want to do this?”
An arrogant smile appeared on his face.
The skeletons glanced at one another.
Then charged at him ferociously.
Hitori: “Black Spheres!”
With a swing of his dagger, five small black spheres materialized and shot toward the skeletons.
One after another, the monsters were struck and collapsed without moving again.
Some dropped shields.
Others dropped axes.
A few even dropped swords.
But every single piece of equipment was damaged.
Hitori: “This junk is only good for selling to some blacksmith or weapon shop.”
He gathered the drops and stored them inside his bottomless inventory pouch, which initially held around one hundred items.
Hitori: “I’ll go deeper and see if something actually worthwhile shows up.”
Chuckling to himself, he continued descending deeper and deeper into the cave.
Eventually, he arrived at what appeared to be its center.
Bones littered the ground.
Numerous tunnels stretched into the rock walls.
Hitori: “This place…”
Hitori: “Feels like a boss room…”
No sooner had he spoken—
The mountain of bones before him suddenly began to move.
The scattered remains merged together.
Forming a gigantic skeleton.
Skeleton King
Level 15
Heavy Axe
Hitori: “Huh?”
He slowly raised his head.
SWOOSH!
CLANG!
THUD!
In less than five seconds—
Hitori was utterly annihilated.
His HP plummeted to zero almost instantly.
Before he could even understand what had happened, his entire body was engulfed in a blue light and sent back to the dungeon’s entrance portal.
A familiar voice echoed in his ears.
Tea: “You have just activated the Return function.”
Tea: “It automatically triggers when a player is on the verge of death, bringing them back to the initial portal while restoring their health.”
Hitori collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.
Hitori: “You took way too long to activate it!”
Hitori: “I thought I was actually going to die!”
Tea: “It is uncommon for players to lose to the Skeleton King.”
Those words pierced Hitori’s chest like arrows.
Losing on his very first mission…
That was humiliating.
Hitori: “Damn it…”
Hitori: “I didn’t even have time to react…”
Hitori: “But I’ll try again.”
After recovering his HP, he returned to the dungeon.
And lost again.
Then he went back.
And lost again.
Then once more.
And lost.
Again.
And again.
His face had already become the embodiment of absolute frustration.
Hitori: “ONE MORE TIME!”
This time, however, he had a plan.
As soon as he reached the boss chamber, he immediately sprinted toward one of the side passages.
Hitori: “I have to protect myself from the first attack.”
However, the moment he entered another room—
There were skeletons behind him.
Hitori: “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Before him stood dozens of skeletons far larger than the level 3 monsters from before.
They were the Skeleton King’s generals.
Some carried swords.
Others held torches.
Several wore broken armor.
Slowly, they all turned their heads toward him.
Hitori: “Ah…”
Hitori: “I’m screwed.”
He tried to run back.
But it was already too late.
The smaller skeletons had already flooded the chamber where the Skeleton King resided.
Now he was surrounded.
Completely trapped.
The skeletons advanced from every direction.
With no escape left, Hitori closed his eyes and crouched down, waiting for the Return function to activate once more.
Hitori: “It’s over…”
But then—
FWOOOSH!
A wave of heat passed beside him.
Immediately afterward, metallic sounds echoed throughout the room.
CLANG!
SHING!
CRASH!
Hitori slowly opened his eyes.
Then raised his head.
Standing before him—
Five warriors clad in shining armor were charging into battle against the skeletons.
Their swords gleamed brilliantly as they destroyed the monsters with absurd ease.
Every strike was powerful and elegant.
The skeletons were torn apart before they could even react.
???: “Melisa, use your Chrono!”
Melisa: “Right!”
Moments later, the warriors defeated the Skeleton King using a power of light.
Hitori: “What is this…”
He stared at them in awe.
The sheer strength they displayed left him speechless.
???: “Are you alright?”
The sound of that voice caused Hitori to quickly turn his head.
Standing beside him was a noble-looking warrior.
Long golden hair flowed down to his shoulders, and his silver armor reflected the torchlight inside the dungeon.
The man extended his hand toward Hitori.
At that moment—
Hitori felt something strange.
Slowly, he raised his own hand to accept it.
But—
Just as their fingers were about to touch—
The warrior pulled his hand back.
Hitori immediately lost his balance.
THUD!
He fell face-first onto the ground.
???: “Hahahaha!”
???: “You’re really an idiot. Thanks to you, we managed to find the Skeleton King’s chamber.”
Without understanding what was happening, Hitori could only hear laughter echoing throughout the room.
The other warriors laughed at him shamelessly.
???: “Look, the Skeleton King dropped the Golden Crown.”
???: “This guy came in here without a guild. Must be some stupid beginner.”
Tears began forming in his eyes.
One of the girls approached him with a contemptuous smile.
???: “What? Gonna cry, baby?”
Hitori lowered his head in silence.
There was nothing he could do.
Three men and two women made up that group.
And in that moment—
Hitori thought of the real world.
It was exactly the same.
Exactly the same.
So he did what he always did.
He remained silent.
He thought that if he simply ignored them, they would eventually lose interest and leave.
After all, they had already taken the Skeleton King’s drop.
But the insults didn’t stop.
Every word made something inside him boil more and more.
Until—
His anger exploded.
The attribute called Courage felt as though it had set his entire body ablaze.
In one swift movement, Hitori drew his black dagger and charged at the blond warrior.
Hitori: “Black Spheres!”
Five medium-sized black spheres materialized around him.
SHING!
But the man easily dodged.
???: “Who the hell do you think you are?!”
BAM!
The warrior kicked Hitori straight into the cave wall.
The blade of his dagger struck one of the gray crystals embedded there.
???: “Idiot!”
???: “EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!”
Those were the last words Hitori heard.
BOOOOOOOM!
The crystal exploded violently.
An intense gray light swallowed the entire room.
The impact sent Hitori flying.
And then—
Everything went dark.
…
…
When Hitori opened his eyes again…
He had already returned to the dungeon’s entrance portal.
Hitori: “…”
Not a single word came out of his mouth.
He simply got up and walked away.
Eventually, he arrived at a plaza in Elvrin.
Sitting alone behind a few bushes, Hitori quietly watched the world around him.
NPCs passed by.
Players crossed the bridge over the small river with cheerful smiles.
The sky gradually darkened as the evening approached, and the wind gently swayed the leaves of the city’s trees.
His eyes had completely lost their light.
Hitori: “What a piece of trash…”
Hitori: “I came to this world to finally become somebody…”
He lowered his head even further.
Hitori: “A joke…”
Hitori: “Whether in the real world or here…”
Hitori: “I’m still just someone who gets used by others.”
He let out a long, weary sigh.
Hitori: “I guess I should just give up…”
Hitori: “I can still get my money back.”
Hitori: “I’ve already figured it out…”
Hitori: “There’s no way I’ll level up without companions.”
Slowly, he stood up.
At the exact moment he finished speaking—
A voice suddenly came from within the bushes.
???: “I CAN HELP YOU!”
Hitori: “AAAAAH?!”
THUD!
Startled out of his mind, Hitori immediately fell backward.
He hit the ground hard as he stared in terror at the person who had suddenly appeared before him.
And then—
He froze.
The person standing in front of him wore an unbelievably beautiful smile.
Soft rays of the setting sun illuminated the figure, making them seem almost unreal.
For a moment, Hitori forgot how to breathe.
His eyes widened.
His mind went blank.
The stranger’s smile alone was enough to make his heart skip a beat.
And standing before him—
Was a girl.
She appeared to be around his age.
Long brown hair swayed in the evening breeze, while her bright eyes radiated warmth and energy.
Unlike Hitori’s gloomy expression, she looked full of life.
And for some reason—
She was smiling directly at him.
???: “Sorry!”
???: “Did I scare you?”
Still lying on the ground, Hitori stared blankly at her.
His brain had completely stopped functioning.
Hitori: “A…”
Hitori: “A girl…”
His face gradually turned red.
Seeing his reaction, the girl tilted her head curiously.
???: “Huh?”
???: “What’s wrong?”
Hitori: “N-Nothing!”
Embarrassed, he quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.
The girl smiled brightly.
???: “I heard what you were saying earlier.”
???: “About wanting to quit.”
???: “You shouldn’t give up so easily.”
???: “Besides…”
She puffed out her chest proudly.
???: “I happen to know a lot about this game!”
???: “So I can help you!”
Hitori blinked in surprise.
For the first time since entering this world…
Someone had approached him without mocking him.
Without looking down on him.
Without laughing at him.
And that alone was enough to leave him speechless.