The darkness was comfortable to me – Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – White room and skill design

「U…..un….?」(Hikaru)

How long did I sleep for?

Despite my weak consciousness, I opened my eyes.

A white room.

A pure white room with no dirt or stains.

I’m currently lying on the floor dressed in white clothes like a hospital patient.

「Am I alive..? Hospital….?」(Hikaru)

There was no bed in this hospital room.

There is a desk and a chair, and something that looks like a computer on the desk.

「My wounds….」(Hikaru)

I reflexively move my hand to my back, but there was no wound there. Or maybe I was hit with a blunt weapon, so there were no wounds in the first place?

Either way—I’m alive.

「…..no way, could this be the world after death…?」(Hikaru)

It was natural for me to think so.

「…dead, no I was killed….just like Nanami….Nanami…..」(Hikaru)

My memories come back to me in a flashback.

The fact that Nanami was killed was an even heavier blow than my own death.

Rather than the pure-white room I now found myself in, I was more concerned with the grief from losing my childhood friend.

「It was all a dream…..wasn’t it…..?」(Hikaru)

Though there’s no mistaking the fact that this pure-white room is likely reality.

The smell of blood that overwhelmed the natural smell of Nanami’s room.

Nanami, who had become unresponsive and expressionless, like a doll.

「Gu….fu….」(Hikaru)

My tears overflowed.

Was I upset that Nanami was killed, upset that I was killed, or both?

I couldn’t get up for a while, the intense feeling of loss dominated me.

Why did we have to be killed?

Nanami was someone who wouldn’t even hurt a fly.

Why—-why—why—-

Nanami cried because she didn’t want to go to the other world.

The criminal and cause of all this, I don’t even know his name.

Now for some reason, I’m in this kind of place.

The mind was messed up.

Sadness, doubt and resentment swirled in my mind. For a while I stay crouched and couldn’t move.

I don’t know how long I stayed like that, because I had lost all sense of time.

No-one had entered this room.

I shed so many tears, that when I finally stopped it felt like I was withering. I stood up and steadily approached the computer.

The words displayed there were more than enough to cool my raging thoughts.

「…you can’t be serious…」(Hikaru)

The words were—

『You have been selected as a transferee to be taken to another world. Complete the allocation of bonus points to set out for the new world』

—it seems that my life will continue.

　◇◆◆◆◇

「Why…why was I chosen…?」(Hikaru)

Does that mean that Nanami’s rights have been transferred to me because of how close I was to her?

No….that theory can’t be right.

When a transferee is killed in a certain country, somebody completely random from another country would be chosen to replace him. In other words, if the transferee dies, the lottery will be held again. (TLN: I previously translated that the lottery won’t be held again, apologies for this)

Of course, as a result of Nanami’s death and the re-lottery, the possibility that I was selected by chance is not zero, but the probability in that case is about 1/7 billion. It’s a number that can be said to be zero, besides I must have died long before the lottery was held again.

When I was stabbed in my back and lost consciousness, it was a full hour before the scheduled transfer time. It’s hard to imagine that I had survived for an hour since then.

There is a possibility that someone else who has nothing to do with Nanami died somewhere and the lottery was redrawn because of that…

「….maybe Nanami is in another room at the same time as me」(Hikaru)

It’s a possibility because I was originally supposed to be dead.

Because God has the ability to transfer us to other worlds, he must be a real God.

Nanami who was dead at the time, left behind her body and has likely been reincarnated in the other world right now…

It’s also possible that Nanami is still alive.

I didn’t measure her pulse, she might have just looked dead.

I remember reading somewhere that humans are actually difficult to kill.

Besides, I prayed to God before falling unconscious.

Maybe God listened and rescued me and Nanami from our unfair deaths.

I knew it was a long shot, but I still wanted to believe.

Neither I nor Nanami were dead, we can have adventures with each other in the other world—

Wouldn’t that be fun?

I pat both my cheeks and grab the mouse.

I’ll do it, I’ll go to the other world and meet up with Nanami.

The moment I made up my mind, I looked at the screen.

A pon~ sound echoed as a notification appeared on screen.

『3 minutes left until transfer』

「Eh…」(Hikaru)

Looking closely, there seems to be a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen. The value is slowly decreasing.

Probably–no, the timer surely started when I arrived in this room.

「Only 3 minutes–」(Hikaru)

Anyway I don’t have the time to slowly choose.

I’ll choose first and then adjust it if I have enough time remaining—it seems that’s my only option.

I need to avoid stalling or I’ll run out of time.

『Allocate skill points. Your total bonus points are: 73』

「73 points?」(Hikaru)

I’m not too sure, but it seems like a lot.

There was no information about this released by God.

What we do know is that if your age is 24 or over, your points are decided by a v-shaped graph.

In other words, it could be said that God values “experience” and “physical maturity” over the “potential of youth”

According to God, the better the ability, the more points required.

Either way, I don’t have enough time to allocate points carefully.

――――――――――――――――――――

・Name: Kurose Hikaru

・Age: 15 Years Old　▼

・Gender: Male

・Special Ability　▼

・Physical Ability　▼

・Resistances　▼

・Spirit Arts　▼

・Items　▼

・Transition Point　▼

・Debuffs　▼

　Remaining bonus points: 73p

――――――――――――――――――――

It’s surprisingly simple.

In this case, maybe I can make a good choice even with only 3 minutes.

A short explanation appeared whenever I hovered over an option.

For instance when I hovered over special abilities, it said『special power beyond human knowledge』

Roughly speaking, this may be God’s intention.

I’ll take a quick look at each one.

First of all, it’s strange that even age can be changed.

I click the ▼ mark to expand the window. It seems that you can gain points by increasing your age, subsequently, it costs points to reduce. it.

I’m 15 years old now.

Depending on the situation, it may be best to increase my age to earn some extra points.

Next, I open the special abilities window.

「Uu…..! The points cost is so high?」(Hikaru)

――――――――――――――――――――

●Special Abilities

・Courage – 20p

Gain the power to face your fears and move forward.

・Super Concentration – 30p

You can forget about eating and drinking and just concentrate.

・Presence Detection – 15p

You will be able to notice the signs of living beings.

・Night Vision – 15p

Even places with little light, become visible

・Intuition – 20p

You will be able to choose the most advantageous option.

・Apnea Activity – 10p

You will be able to hold your breath for 2 minutes.

Through training, this can be increased to 15 minutes.

・Widen Field of View – 10p

Gain a wide field of view, unlike a human.　

・Communication – 30p

Become able to communicate with animals.

・Loved by spirits – 30p

All spirits will love you.

・Charm – 50p

Gain a constitution that attracts others.

・Different world language　０ｐ▼

You will be able to read and write letters and common words based on your transfer location

―――――――――――――――――――

All of them seem useful, but their descriptions are ambiguous or unclear.

For example, how good are courage and presence detection? If the level of courage is too high and it becomes recklessness, that’s no joke. If the presence detection ability can’t even detect an enemy coming close, what use is it?

By the way, when I clicked the arrow icon under different world language▼「Currently Selected: plus 20p if you deselect」it’s basically a landmine!

A quick glance at the time shows that 1 minute has already passed.

There’s no time to complain.

After thinking for a while, I choose「Night Vision」and「Loved by spirits」

The two together cost 45 points and so only 28 points remain, but the two clearly can’t be gained through effort.

Above all, I find them extremely useful.

Originally I would choose more carefully, but now there’s no time.

My younger sister once said『in this type of game, it’s safe to spend a lot of points. Usually those expensive abilities are pretty useful, so don’t forget that』

I don’t know where she based that off of, but my sister is a real genius.

I can trust her.

Next, I open the physical abilities menu.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

●Physical Ability

Increase in physical ability due to spiritual power.

・Physical strength up. Level 1~5. 5/7/10/15/20

・Vitality up. Level 1~5. 5/7/10/15/20

・Spiritual power up. Level 1~5. 5/7/10/15/20

・Eyesight up. Level 1~3. 3/7/10

・Hearing up. Level 1~3. 3/7/10

・Smell up. Level 1~3. 1/3/5

・Taste up. Level 1~3. 1/3/5

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

The number on the right seems to be the cost for each level of the ability.

In other words, if you choose level 3 of physical strength up, you will spend 10p.

I read the description for physical strength up.

『Level 1 gains a 2x increase, level 3 a 5x increase, level 5 gains 10x. This skill is recommended if you plan to take part in life or death battles. Even if you don’t, it’s one of the best improvements even at level 1, along with vitality』

I wonder what the description is for vitality up?

『Vitality is hard to express numerically, but essentially it represents sturdiness in the face of injury or death. It also increases mental strength. In terms of games, it’s the equivalent of HP. If you don’t want to die, then raise it』

It seems to provide a considerable advantage in the other world, particularly in regards to mental strength.

There’s also spiritual power up, which is currently unknown to me.

『Spiritual power is the power consumed when using a spirit art. Increasing this stat increases the amount of spiritual power stored in the body. Originally the amount of spiritual power you can store in your body differs from person to person and can’t be easily quantified. If you plan on using spirit arts, definitely get this spiritual power up』

It’s difficult to understand, but if spiritual power differs from individual to individual. Then it may be useful even if your MP is originally low…

Although I really want to use spiritual power, it’s probably best to increase physical strength and vitality.

It takes a surprising amount of time to read the explanations.

There’s one and a half minutes left.

In any case, physical ability can probably be「strengthened later」since it has levels which is different than my previous world. So I should consider whether to choose it first.

I decided to look at resistances before choosing.

After all, resistances sound difficult to acquire or maybe even impossible.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

●Resistances

・Poison resistance. Level 1~3. Level 3 grants poison immunity. 3/7/10

・Disease resistance. Level 1~3. Level 3 grants disease immunity. 1/3/5

・Age resistance. Level 1~5

Immortality is granted at level 5. Aging rate halves at level 3. 3/5/7/10/15

・Natural resistance up (wounds). Level 1~5. 3/5/7/10/15

・Natural resistance up (spiritual). Level 1-5. 3/5/7/10/15

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

「The cost of immortality is too low!」(Hikaru)

That must be what my sister meant when she said『There will be certain abilities that cost little points, but are extremely useful』

The required points are so low, everything else is overshadowed.

Even with my remaining points, I can easily get level 5.

I wonder why disease resistance is so cheap? Maybe the other world has few illnesses?

I think that improving natural resilience, especially wounds, will be useful, but it depends on the degree. For example, if level 5 is taken and even a fatal injury was completely healed after a while, it would be vital to acquire it, but it may just subtly heal small injuries.

「I shouldn’t get lost here」(Hikaru)

I allocate points to aging resistance level 3 (7p) and disease resistance level 2 (3p). Then I immediately open the age column and raise it to 17.

By adding 2 years, 6 points are added.

Age resistance level 3 doubles my lifespan, so it’s a good deal.

Right now I’m not ready to be immortal.

With this, I have 24 points left.

The remaining time is quite tight, so I quickly check the spirit arts section.

『Only one spirit art can be obtained, each spirit art is useful for different reasons. There are no direct attack abilities, and since only one spirit art can be obtained, it’s not very efficient』

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

●Spirit Arts

・Fire spirit art – 10 points

・Water spirit art – 10 points

・Wind spirit art – 10 points

・Earth spirit art – 10 points

・Light spirit art – 10 points

・Dark spirit art – 10 points

●Magic

・Recovery magic – 50 points

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

「50 points」(Hikaru)

Only recovery magic is classed as “magic”. I don’t know how it differs, but the rarity of it might affect the price. 10 points seems fairly reasonable given the prices I’ve seen before.

For an example of what I mean, it might be easy to obtain spirit arts over there, but extremely difficult or impossible to gain recovery magic.

….in any case, 50 points is impossible.

「What about items」

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

●Items

・Assorted basic items – Recommended for transferees – 10 points

《Money (Medium)・Assorted recovery potions・Beginner’s “arts” scroll pack（「Fire Spear」×1「Wind Blade」×1「Earth Wall」×1「Water Healing」×1「Phantom Light」×1「Dark Fog」×1「Small Healing」×3「Medium Healing」×2「Large Healing」×1「Dispel」×1「Fear」×1「Short Teleportation」×1）・First aid kit・Map of surroundings・World Map・Compass・Adventurer’s equipment set（Shirt・Cloak・Pants・Belt・Underwear x3・Socks x3・Boots・Hat・Leather Gloves・Leather Chest Guard・Short Sword・Short Spear）・Note・Writing Set・3 days worth of food (bento/water bottle)・Long term food storage set・Tableware Set・Towel x5・Hankerchief x5 Pocket Tissue x10・Knife・Blanket・Lantern・Oil・Match・Hand Mirror・Portable Shovel・Rucksack・Belt Pouch・Nylon Rope・Wire・Cloth Tape・Sewing Kit・Hemp bag x2・Every type of spirit stone x1》

Some items can’t be obtained outside the basic pack, so please be aware.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

「I see, it would suck to be transferred naked. I mean, without this basic pack, would I still be wearing this hospital outfit when I transfer?」(Hikaru)

Isn’t that hard mode? I’d be barefoot as well right?

But 10 points is too much, I only have 24 points left.

If I start in the city, I’ll only need clothes and money, rather than the other items in this pack.

Perhaps it’s better to buy the essentials individually, it would be much cheaper than 10 points.

Under the basic pack, there are a large variety of items lined up and it seems that you can pick items out individually.

I skimmed through it, but you can exchange points for weapons, armor, tools, magic scrolls, potions and maps. Even money can be purchased with points.

There aren’t many type of weapons and armor, but it seems that you can exchange for an armor than matches the size of each transferee.

There were also magic swords and armor, but all of them are in the tens of points range, so it’s unlikely anyone would buy them.

In any case, it’s better to exchange for those type of things later.

「With the remaining points, I’ll buy clothing and money. After that, I’ll put everything else into improving my strength and vitality and confirm my choice」(Hikaru)

The remaining time is only 40 seconds.

For the time being, I open the “transfer point selection” menu.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

●Transfer point selection

・Transfer to a relatively safe place – 27 points

Transfer to a place that is low-risk to humans. You will be transferred to a secluded place within the vicinity.

・Transfer to safe place – 30 points

Transfer to a place where dangerous wild animals are all but eliminated. You will appear within a city.

・Random transfer – 0 points (random transfer selected by default)

No guarantee of where you will be transferred to, but you won’t be transferred somewhere where you will instantly die such as the middle of the sea, lava or huge forest. However, if you’re luck is bad it could be very dangerous.

If you are lucky, you may transfer to a secluded area.

Potential for an early comedic scene. Not recommended.

　―――――――――――――――――――――――――　　　　　　　　　　　　

「E…eh….?」(Hikaru)

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what was written.

There are only 2 high-point options and that’s it? I thought.

I read it twice and finally understood.

The default option is a random transfer.

I can’t believe there’s such a trap–

「My remaining points!?」(Hikaru)

I had 24 points left.

Even for the most basic option『transfer to a relatively safe place』I didn’t have enough

If I don’t reroll now, I’ll be transferred to the other world as is.

By the way, people all over the world will be watching me in real time.

I should have considered this possibility as the God has a playful personality.

「Dangerous dangerous! It’s dangerous! Any safe place is fine, I need to erase my points and reroll–」(Hikaru)

By now I was completely panicked.

If I had operated the PC calmly, I would have had enough time.

However, in my rush I accidentally applied points to the wrong menu.

「Ah!? Which skill did I choose? Certainly I should have chosen physical strength and vitality–」(Hikaru)

The confusion was cleared up in a moment.

I hadn’t applied any points to physical strength yet.

It was a loss that would only take 5 seconds to fix.

—-but those 5 seconds were deadly.

I immediately close the physical ability menu and open the special ability one.

II just need to turn off night vision and open the transition point menu–

The timer is reflected in my eyes as it has reduced to single digits.

Erase one ability and increase another.

If I don’t make it in time, I’ll lose all the special abilities.

The moment that thought left my mind, I stopped moving the mouse.

The timer’s numbers had reached 0.

『You will now be transferred. If there are any points remaining, you can continue your build after transfer. However some abilities cannot be selected after transfer』

The screen dimmed and this message was ruthlessly displayed.

The PC froze after that, it did not respond at all, just the words “30 seconds to transfer” were displayed.

「….I felt like 73 points was a lot, I should have focused more on my instincts than thinking too much」(Hikaru)

The fact that the transition point was random cause the blood to drain from my body.

「I’m sure there are about 24 points left right….?」(Hikaru)

It’s good that I can exchange my points after the transition.

There was a possibility that the remaining points would disappear.

—in any case, the die has been cast.

『10 seconds remaining』

『5 seconds remaining』

『1 second』

『Now then, have a wonderful life. I wish you luck』

Then, I was surrounded by a bright light.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

・Name: Kurose Hikaru

・Age: 15 years old　▽

　　　　Increase age: 2 years +6p

・Gender: Male

・Special Abilities　▽

・Night Vision – 15p

・Loved by spirits – 30p

・Physical Ability　▼

・Resistances　▽

・Disease resistance: 2 – 3p

・Age resistance: 3 – 7p

・Magic　▼

・Items　▼

・Transition Point　▽

・Random Transition – 0p

・Disadvantages　▼

Remaining bonus points – 24p

―――――――――――――――――――――――――

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The darkness was comfortable for me – Chapter 4

TLN: This chapter depicts cruelty, so be aware. Any issues let me know in the comment section.

Chapter 4 – Nanami, the end of one

The time has finally come, when God will send the 1000 selected people to the other world.

The time designated for the transfer was Midnight on January 1st, Greenwich Mean Time.

In Japan due to the time difference, the time of departure was 9am.

Unfortunately it was raining that day, despite the morning news admitting that it was rare for it to rain on new year’s day.

I left home with an umbrella in hand, to say goodbye to Nanami.

As I left the front door, I saw a TV station crew in the distance, pointing their cameras at me. I gave a light bow.

My house faces a busy road despite it’s small size, so when TV station crews block the road, traffic jams occur.

When Nanami was chosen, they were troubled by that fact, so they decided to camp on the sidewalk a little further away. Well, today will be the last time they would chase after Nanami.

God did not disclose anymore information other than necessary about the other world.

What we do know is that the world is similar to earth, except for the swords and magic. Transferees can strengthen themselves with the points assigned to each transferee, exchange points for items and choose which state to start in—that was about it.

I don’t have anymore advice for Nanami.

Even if she could strengthen her body a little beforehand, I couldn’t imagine Nanami fighting monsters. With that being the case, is there an option to live safely within a city?

In that case, it’s better to exchange points for items and money rather than attribute strengthening. However, even with items and money, if you’re too weak you might be robbed and killed….then is power necessary…? I couldn’t get an answer with such roundabout way of thinking.

My little sister said that she should choose strengthening because there’s a chance she might not get a lot of points in the future if she wasn’t strong.

So in the end, she’ll have to choose what type of power she wants. On top of that, she will have to allocate her points in a balanced way.

That’s the conclusion I came to.

「…am I late? Nanami’s house seems too quiet, right?」(Hikaru)

It was still only 8am in the morning, but perhaps everyone is still sleeping despite the fact that Nanami is transferring today.

The transferees were originally going to be moved to a venue in Tokyo whilst being watched by a large crowd, but Nanami declined. She also refused to have her transfer viewed on television, preferring to spend her last moments with her family.

Well, I had thought that the media wouldn’t read the air, but no-one has forced their way in. Surprisingly, they may be listening to the last wishes of the transferees.

Or maybe they are too afraid of God’s punishment to do anything unreasonable.

「Good morning! It’s Hikaru!」(Hikaru)

The front door was open, so I went inside without permission, but the situation was strange.

The lights were on, but everything was silent.

I’ve been to Nanami’s house ever since I was a kid, it’s hard to believe no-one would have woken up on the day their daughter would leave forever.

I took off my shoes and went upstairs.

The door leading to the dining room was closed, but the lights were on, there was only silence.

「Good morning!….this is strange」(Hikaru)

Has she already transferred?

I had a bad feeling for some reason and headed for Nanami’s room.

Her room is upstairs.

In this house filled with silence, only the sound of the pouring rain, my heartbeat and the trembling sound of my teeth echoed.

「Nanami….? Are you there?」(Hikaru)

When I knocked on the door to her bedroom, there was no reply.

I slowly opened the door to her room.

She was there.

Nanami was laid down with her eyes closed, leaning against her bed.

On her abdomen…no, there were traces of red-black blood flowing from her entire upper body. The excess blood formed a sea that dyed the carpet a dark colour.

「Na…Nanami..!」(Hikaru)

I ran up to her and collapsed on my knees.

「Nanami! Oi! Wake up! Nanami…!」(Hikaru)

When I shook her shoulders, her head flopped to the side with no support.

A figure without any power, like a doll.

I felt the blood in my whole body drain in an instant.

–dead?

–Nanani was killed…?

I don’t understand.

Going to another world is scary.

My childhood friend desperately wanted someone to take her place.

She was fine yesterday.

She wasn’t seriously injured or anything.

Yet she was now dead on the day of transfer.

I don’t know how long I was stunned for.

It may have been just a moment, it may have been over an hour.

I couldn’t even imagine what had happened to Nanami’s aunt and uncle, my whole body trembled and I couldn’t even breathe properly.

It was if my brain and heart refused to accept the reality my body was showing them.

「Fo…for the time being, I should call an ambulance–」(Hikaru)

As I regained a little calm, I took out my smartphone. Then suddenly, I felt a hot sharp pain coming from my back.

「….ga!? What is this…!?」(Hikaru)

The front of my eyes was dyed bright red. Heat spread from my back as if it was bleeding. My consciousness almost faded with every beat of my heart.

My back was burning hot.

As if a red-hot poker had been thrust into it.

「Well, don’t freak out. You’re….Kurose right? Were you guys going out with each other? Sorry I killed your girlfriend」(???)

A boy about the same age as me entered my vision.

I’ve seen him before, he’s from the same school.

However we’ve never been in the same class, so I don’t even know his name.

Even though he’s from a different class, he sometimes comes to my class and I can barely remember his face.

I remember one thing though. with a loud voice he always lamented the fact that he was not selected as a transferee.

Why did this guy…to Nanami….　

Why does this guy know my name….

「Well, soon I’ll disappear to the other world. Kurose you should give up, don’t you think it’s nice to die with your beloved Nanami?」(???)

Hahaha, the man laughed maniacally with a pale face, but his eyes were shining brightly.

「Wh….why…..」(Hikaru)

I squeezed out as much strength as I could to make those words.

Why did you kill Nanami?

「Haa? Don’t you know? If you kill one of the chosen, the rights will be transferred to the killer. I really want to go to another world you see. Well, I did something bad to Nanami-chan, but she said she was afraid to go to the other world anyway. Besides, even if she went over there, she would die soon. Everyone would be much happier if it was me chosen and not her」(???)

「…bastard..!」(Hikaru)

If you kill a chosen, the rights get transferred.

It was originally a rumor on the internet, but now it’s an urban legend at best.

There were many chosen who had been killed, however there was no evidence that the transfer rights were transferred to the person who killed them.

However, the random lottery was never held again.

This idiot believed the urban legend and murdered Nanami.

「Who is the stupid one? You don’t look in good shape right now」(???)

He kicked me whilst saying so, I collapsed on top of Nanami’s body.

I was not in a state where I could resist, my consciousness was already fading.

The heat on my back had disappeared, now all I could feel was coldness.

I could instinctively understand that death was approaching.

「Well, only 1 hour left. I should lock the door in case someone comes back again」(???)

The boy left the room as if no longer interested in me and Nanami.

「…..kuu….fu…..at least telep…..hone…」(Hikaru)

Despite the pain, I managed to call the police.

However I dropped the smartphone and no longer had the strength to pick it up again.

「Nana….mi….」(Hikaru)

My consciousness was fading, my vision clouded with tears.

The thing Nanami was holding to her chest was reflected in my eyes.

「Nanami….idiot…」(Hikaru)

It was a pastel colored pocket photo album.

Perhaps she chose it as it wasn’t too inconvenient to carry around, but this notebook sized item was clearly prepared as the hand baggage item for the other world transfer.

Nanami had said that she would rather bring an album to the other world, rather than body armor.

Maybe she was homesick.

What was more important to her was this world, with her loved ones, rather than the other world with no acquaintances.

I stretched my quivering fingers as I lightly touched it.

–in the end, did Nanami decide to bring an album full of memories for fear of homesickness?

However, I will go to the same place as her soon.

Well, it was already decided that we couldn’t go to the other world together.

Hopefully God.

Will let me continue being childhood friends with her in the next world–

[Previous Chapter] – [Table of Contents] – [Next Chapter]

The darkness was comfortable for me – Chapter 3

Translator Note: These sections are important, they are the bulletin boards from God’s website and the author designed them in such a way that they allow him/her to explain certain intricate parts of the plot you may have missed, as well as demonstrating what the people of Earth think about the protagonist’s actions.

I’ll apologize in advance because they use a lot of “net speak” here and I’m not familiar with it, so it makes 0 sense to me. I’ll try my best to improve before the next bulletin board. Though I tried my best to fill in what I could.

Chapter 3 – Different world bulletin board 【Country・JPN-C】3679th

1: Anonymous from Earth

Summary so far.

1000 people were selected, unfortunately there is no way to substitute with others.

When the transfer starts all illness will be completely cured and eyesight will recover to 2.0.

Resistant to viruses is similar to the natives (unknown viruses won’t make you sick)

43 Japanese selected.

You can allocate given skill points to strengthen yourself before you travel to the other world. It also seems possible to change your age.

Different world translation ability is given to everyone. You can also read and write their characters.

The world over there is almost like a medieval fantasy game. Magic and spiritual power can be used to strengthen the body somehow.

You can only bring in one item as long as it fits into one hand. A complex item such as a gun is also possible, but only the magazine that comes with the gun can be brought in.

2: Anonymous from Earth

Will there be a development in which God confuses a normal person with a transferee and acts like TUEEE!?

3: Anonymous from Earth

Damn it, don’t say that

4: Anonymous from Earth

Nanami-chan kawaii kawaii

5: Anonymous from Earth

I’m worried whether Nanami, a normal high school girl, can live in a different world of swords and magic.

…she’s almost always stiff on TV and rarely speaks.

6: Anonymous from Earth

If I were her parents I would be too worried and anxious to even live.

7: Anonymous from Earth

Kuu! If only I could take her place..!

8: Anonymous from Earth

Let me just go…! I will take over…!

9: Anonymous from Earth

Everyone thinks the same way

10: Anonymous from Earth

The chat is so fast compared to usual

11: Anonymous from Earth

No, it’s still late right now, it’s midnight.

12: Anonymous from Earth

Each country is well prepared, even Japan understands the ABC of survival.

13: Anonymous from Earth

Chat is insanely fast though, can’t really follow.

Can’t afford to fall asleep just yet.

14: Anonymous from Earth

There is an urban legend that killing the other party transfers the right to transfer to another world…

15: Anonymous from Earth
It’s already been disproven. By the way, it seems that the criminal who killed him was sentenced to death. It’s a famous story from overseas.

16: Anonymous from Earth

Anyway, I’m looking forward to it. Another week.

17：Anonymous from Earth

In the blink of an eye, the internet has become another world…

18：Anonymous from Earth

There are too many characters to choose from!

Is there a recommended player?

19：Anonymous from Earth

The player is the character…

Everyone let’s go at the risk of our lives!

20：Anonymous from Earth

After all it’s Jeanne from the French national team!

21：Anonymous from Earth

Maximillian Marshall is still 3rd in the popular vote.

I want him to crush me.

22：Anonymous from Earth

He’s good. Muscular.

He seems to be an active SP and I want the other world to see the power of us earthlings. (TLN: Likely SP is Security Police of Japan)

23：Anonymous from Earth

Jeanne is cute, but isn’t she the abandoned gamer everyone is talking about. (TLN: Not sure about this line, will clarify in future chapters)

Is that alright….

24：Anonymous from Earth

It seems that physical ability can be improved, so it’s okay…probably.

Also Jeanne isn’t representing France on her own.

It’s just that she’s the most popular French player.

25：Anonymous from Earth

By the way, it seems that they will even broadcast cruel scenes

26：Anonymous from Earth

Maybe she will get attacked by goblins and disgraced….?

27：Anonymous from Earth

According to God, everything will be shown as is.

28：Anonymous from Earth

Some people are looking forward to seeing beautiful girls showing such miserable expressions….

29：Anonymous from Earth

People all over the world will be watching, it’s not strange that some people would find it fun.

30：Anonymous from Earth

I just want to see them fighting monsters normally.

31：Anonymous from Earth

But, fighting monsters with your life on the line.

It would be very traumatic right?

It’s not a movie.

32：Anonymous from Earth

When the player dies, the screen becomes dim and blood characters emerge spelling GAME OVER. I bet 2000 souls!

33：Anonymous from Earth

That would be in bad taste right?

34：Anonymous from Earth

In other countries there are many transferees learning martial arts in preparation for the other world.

35：Anonymous from Earth

That may work on human opponents, but will it work against monsters?

36：Anonymous from Earth

It’s better than nothing isn’t it?

37：Anonymous from Earth

It’s better to learn parkour, at least it’s more useful for getting away right?

38：Anonymous from Earth

It’s okay to bring firearms, a group of warriors with assault rifles would be cool.

39：Anonymous from Earth

In some countries, they are letting other people carry the magazines. Isn’t the limit of rounds that you can carry with one hand about 300?

40：Anonymous from Earth

From the other world’s point of view, we are invaders.

41：Anonymous from Earth

If the gunner and the magazine holder don’t start in the same place, they’ll both have a bad time…

42：Anonymous from Earth

You can’t choose the transition location right?

43：Anonymous from Earth

You can’t choose. However, you can choose from「Safe」「Normal」「Dangerous」but everything else will be random.

44：Anonymous from Earth

If you’re unlucky you’ll be sent to another world with 100 kilos of magazines.

45：Anonymous from Earth

Even if they spawn safely, I can only see a future where the gunners shoot and kill to steal the bullets from the magazine holder.

46：Anonymous from Earth

I’m looking at the player information, but I can’t see the difference between overseas players and they think all asians have the same face…

47：Anonymous from Earth

I’m going to support the transferees in my country, though I feel the signs of a proxy war forming.

48：Anonymous from Earth

The broadcast is really 24 hours long….

I’ll be quitting my job because of this….

49：Anonymous from Earth

I understand, I’ll also quit.

50：Anonymous from Earth

Stop betting your life on the transferees lol

51：Anonymous from Earth

What’s the most popular Japanese video site?

52：Anonymous from Earth

Youtube is still strong. You can create programmes that are conscious of your viewers.

53：Anonymous from Earth

Programmes….

Real-time broadcasting right?

54：Anonymous from Earth

Even so, I think it’s great if you have that kind of experience.

Because it’s a live broadcast.

55：Anonymous from Earth

By the way, what happens when we view a channel stream?

56：Anonymous from Earth

The one granted to the transferees? We don’t know until it starts, but it’s like YouTube right? Points are paid depending on the number of channel subscribers and views.

57：Anonymous from Earth

Points…

58：Anonymous from Earth

It will be like youtube.

59：Anonymous from Earth

So it’s a different world reality program?

60：Anonymous from Earth

Popular players monopolize the points and become strong, and as they become stronger they get more attention right? Resources are limited and with this system, does that mean there is no support system for the weak?

61：Anonymous from Earth

Can you buy potions with points?

62：Anonymous from Earth

It seems that you can get a lot of items using points, e.g weapons, armor, magic scrolls. You can also improve your abilities using points. Detailed information has not been released yet, but if you think about it normally, you can see that your play style will define whether or not you get points.

63：Anonymous from Earth

As expected, you’re thinking about points again

64：Anonymous from Earth

Points…

[Previous Chapter] – [Table of Contents] – [Next Chapter]

The darkness was comfortable for me – Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The noise of the world and the childhood friend

Immediately, the world was in turmoil as if it had been turned upside down.

After all, 「God」 had appeared.

It had such a profound impact, particularly on countries with deep religious roots, common sense had been turned on it’s head.

Most of the media, such as the internet, TV and newspapers were taken up with news of 「God」.

What was that? Was it really God? What is God in the first place?–

They were unanswered questions at this stage, but it was certainly the biggest 「Incident」 of the century. After all, God had appeared on all displays around the world at the exact same time.

It was morning in Japan, but it seems that there were some areas where God appeared in the middle of the night or extremely early in the morning due to time differences.

Each country’s religious leaders released a message about God.

However the only thing they had in common, was that they never truly admitted that it was God.

it seemed to have power like a god, that was certain, but it appears that admitting that it was god for that reason was equivalent to fundamentally destroying the current view of religion.

One religion declared it was a demon, and another country claimed it was international cyberterrorism.

In one country, there was a tragic incident in which a boy with a mark was killed by a group thinking that he was in league with the devil. The news reported that the mark disappeared due his death, and that the mark was transferred to the person who killed him, however this news was not credible.

In that regard, Japan’s response was simpler.

Most people simply admitted that it was God and paid more attention to the so called different world.

43 people were selected from Japan.

Considering the population ratio, it seems we were extremely lucky, but I wasn’t so sure.

The problem for me is that my childhood friend, Nanami had been chosen.

「Uuu…it’s the worst….the worst…is there no way to come back…?」Nanami

「I’m not sure, but given the information we have right now, it seems impossible」Hikaru

「My life plan….why did it have to happen to me…Uuu…」Nanami

Nanami had been sobbing in her bed for about half a day.

It was a little suprising that Nanami, the easy-going type, had a life plan. But it was certain that going to a normal school and having a normal job was not possible anymore. Though saying that, it could potentially be possible to go to school and get a job in the other world.

Since the incident, fragments of information had been continously released by God.

However right now, there was no current information that could reassure her.

There was little time left for Nanami.

Assuming that all the information released about the different world was real, the preparation period for the time of transfer was only half a year.

For half a year, the various media and the countries would not leave the 「chosen ones」 alone.

Whenever Nanami was at school, people would call her over to show them her mark.

After all, there are only 43 people with marks in Japan.

It took only 3 days for the media to begin to stake out the school gates. As such, the principal asked Nanami to be endure and wait it out at home.

I was also feeling anxious at the sobbing of my childhood friend that I could do nothing about.

The least I can do is collect information in advance so that she can live comfortably over there.

　◇◆◆◆◇

Everyday passed with the same noise.

My life hasn’t changed much, but Nanami’s life has already change drastically from the day of the incident to now.

To start with, there was coverage about her on TV and in magazines.

With the increase in sales, more rubberneckers came to our school and she was forced to stay at home for longer.

A special program was set up that gathered all 43 people scheduled to transfer to the different world. Nanami appeared on TV in the same uniform as usual.

At school, she had a weak presence like me and although she has a rather timid character, she can be daring at times.

The time of transfer was coming near and the hype was raised even further by the information about the other world released gradually by God.

I put together all the information in a notebook and explained it to Nanami.

The 1000 people chosen by God could only bring one thing to the other world, provided it could be carried with just one hand. As such, each country bet their prestige and offered the best item to each of their country’s transferees.

In Japan, ultra-high performance body armor developed in the United States was provided.

Because the other world has no concept of a pistol, the armor was designed with improved resistances to blades, shock, fire and electricity. If you want to buy it normally, it would easily exceed 10 million yen.

However, no country could force the transferees to take their items. This was due to God stating that the participants cannot be forced to take an item. Nanami had been worrying about the issue of items for a while.

「Hi-chan, for my hand baggage. I’m wondering if a photo might be good in case I get homesick」Nanami

Nanami said and took out a photo album.

It was a book full of memories immortalized in photographs.

「No you should definitely choose body armor. You don’t know what the world is like, it might not be as peaceful as Japan」Hikaru

「Eeeh….but it’s not cute…too rugged…」Nanami

「Just to be safe, I want you to have proper protection. Endure it」Hikaru

「Eh…but on the other hand doesn’t it seem too conspicuous?」Nanami

「You can hide it with a cloak」Hikaru

Body armor was the only good option at present.

After all, it’s like immediately being given an armor drop from the last boss at the beginning of the game. If it was me, I would choose it.

Nanami looked a little lonely, but it seems like she eventually chose the body armor due to advice from the country, her parents and others.

She can’t run away anymore.

Then she should make the choice that will help her survive…I feel sorry for Nanami that she was chosen by God. However there is no way to stop the transfer.

To be honest, I want to curse God and ask it to choose someone more suitable.

On the contrary, from the perspective of God, it might have been more interesting to choose a person who was not suitable. After all, the aim of this sick joke of a project was to watch the people who go to the other world for entertainment.

I don’t think it’s possible to intervene with those chosen to transfer.

Anyway it’s already been decided.

Whether you hate it or not, you can only take everything as positively as you can.

Thanks to my two sisters who are fluent in foreign languages, I was able to gather information from overseas.

Each persons chosen hand baggage had its own personality, and while all Japanese people chose the body armor, in other countries (even in the United States) there was a variety of choices. Perhaps the reason why many people chose musical instruments is the expectation that music will become a language that transcends barriers.

I’m of course worried about Nanami being thrown into another world, but I’m also envious…honestly, it’s a complicated feeling.

At first Nanami was crying, but over time she seemed to have been able to organize her thoughts and became a little more positive about going to another world.

Even so, she wasn’t as aggressive compared to the other transferees and after her TV interview and magazine appearances, she became a very popular character emote to use on SNS.

On the official website operated by God, a dedicated bulletin board and chat room was created for each transferee and traffic flooded in from all around the world. With instant translation, everyone wrote what they liked about each candidate.

I also looked at Nanami’s page with some interest, but it made me sick to see her personal information out in the open like this.

The privacy of the general public had been lost, it was like they were being treated as a giant panda in a zoo, it was impossible to stop this trend anymore.

God broadcast itself once a week.

The other world was gradually being revealed.

The 「bonus」 for each transferee was also revealed.

The official website prepared by God was constantly being accessed from all over the world every day, and in a blink of an eye, it won the position of the most popular site in the world

A popularity vote was held even though it was still a month before going to another world, and a French girl was selected as the first place. Nanami also performed well and was ranked 79th. It was the 8th place among the Japanese transferees. She was both surprised and humbled, but now people all over the world know about Nanami.

As her childhood friend, I felt a little proud.

These noisy days passed like that–

The day has finally come.

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The darkness was comfortable for me – Chapter 1

Author Note: Kon Hoshizaki here. I previously wrote 「The Amusing Other World Trading Travelogue of Net Auction Guy」 (https://www.novelupdates.com/series/netooku-otoko-no-tanoshii-isekai-boueki/)

It already exceeds 100 chapters!

Translator Note: Welcome to my first translation site! I hope you all enjoy it here. I’m excited to be bringing you all a new WN I found on Syosetu. The author is a published LN author and the chapters are decently long with quite a bit of detail so this should be exciting.

It doesn’t seem like the standard generic isekai, nor the standard revenge story at first glance. Also the author posts new chapters pretty much every day. I’m interested in the fact that the “players” have a camera following them all the time, it makes interactions with other players interesting because you don’t know if they are being their “true” selves, or just playing it up for the camera.

A few of the tags on syosetu are: R15, Cruel Depictions, Different World Transfer, Happy Ending

Due to certain reasons, it’s not possible to tell if it’s a harem or not, but I would give it a 70% chance of being one.

Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7820go

Chapter 1 – Day of descent, and the 1000 transferees

The darkness was comfortable for me.

Hiding within a labyrinth of silence and death, by stripping valuables from explorers who had turned into skeletons and selling them on the black market, I was somehow able to eat.

In the walkway leading to the burial chamber.

Cloaked in darkness, I am once again holding my breath.

I am seen by no-one.

I attract the attention of no-one.

And.

So that everyone will forget about me–

　◇◆◆◆◇

『God』 selected 1000 people of various 「births」, 「upbringings」, 「genders」 and 「ages」 to be sent to a 『Different World』, a fantasy world of swords and magic.

The ongoing frenzy began one morning in June, just as I was getting used to my life as a high school student.

For I Kurose Hikaru, this event was a turning point in my life.

No, to be more precise it was an 「Incident」.

A figure that can only be described as a silhouette of light emerged on all unused displays around the world stating.

『I am 「God」』

At the time, I was in my classroom taking my first class of the day.

The first one to notice the changes to the big television in our classroom was one of the female students from my class. Everyone was suddenly surprised to hear a high pitched scream as the word 「God」 crackled out from the low quality TV speakers.

『You must surely be surprised at the way I have descended. I was waiting. For you, my beloved children to grow up. Now that time has come』

I felt as if the voice’s tone was permeating my heart.

It sounded like both a man and a woman, I couldn’t tell the age from the voice alone.

Even the screaming girl had a stunned look on her face.

Our class teacher suspected foul play or mechanical failure and attempted to operate the remote control, but 「God」 did not dissappear, even when the TV was unplugged.

The teacher went to the class next door to see what was going on, but apparentally 「God」 was being projected in the next class also, even on the screen of a smartphone that one of the students took out of his pocket.

『I will choose 1000 people randomly from selected countries and ethnic groups around the world. Of course, there is no distinction between men and women or social class. However I will exclude babies and the elderly』

By saying 1000 people, it was confirmed that this phenomenon was not unique to the school. The total number of students here doesn’t even reach 1000.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it said selected countries and ethnic groups around the world. This phenomonon seems to be happening everywhere. This can’t be reality, it’s so unrealistic. I even suspected I had fallen asleep during a boring class and was currently dreaming. In fact, some students even pinched their cheeks to check.

『Those 1000 people will go to 「another world」 different from this one』

The words of God resounded in the classroom.

Another world.

Isekai?

『The other world is simply put, another world under my jurisdiction. To be precise, it could be rephrased as 「Another world of swords and magic where your wishes are realized」』

God’s words made the buzz in the classroom louder.

But, I didn’t feel very excited.

When I thought about it calmly, I quickly realized the possibility of being chosen, even the possibility of someone being chosen from this school was the same as winning first prize in the lottery.

Even though babies and the elderly were excluded, there are 7 billion people on the Earth.

1 in 7 billion. If it was the lottery, you would win the first or second prize. Furthermore, there is even more division by country and ethnic group, it would be more disadvantageous with a high population ratio. It’s fair to say my probability of being selected is zero.

One or two Japanese high school students will likely be chosen and it’s not as if I’m interested in a world of sword and magic–

『Those who have been selected will live as they please in the other world. There are no requests nor demands, you are free to do as you like』

For example, slaying the demon lord as a hero–it doesn’t seem to be that type of setting.

I do not know the aim of this 「God」 at all, it’s fair to think of it as an existence beyond human knowledge.

『Of course, I will not just abandon you there. I will provide you with a 「Gift」 to help you live』

Before I had realized it, everyone in class was listening quietly in total fascination at the words of the God.

When I glanced at my childhood friend who sat diagonally in front of me, she was staring at the screen in astonishment just like everyone else.

『I have also prepared a little entertainment for those left behind. I have created a special site that anyone can access through a terminal so that you can watch and support their adventures in real time. Your support will surely help them. Isn’t that fun?』

For the first time, the words of God seemed to have some emotion behind them.

Is the special site a website?

God will launch a site on the internet? Isn’t that fun?

At first I thought it was really God, but now I’m starting to believe it is a bad joke.

In any case, I have no interest in going to the other world.

Though I can get around fairly well in this world, I don’t have enough energy or strength to be thrown into a world that I know nothing about.

『We are planning to give special benefits to those transferees who attract the most attention and back them up, making it easier for them to survive. For more details, please check the special site…well it’s now time for the all important 1000 person selection. If you have been selected, I will have just now marked a part of your body with a special sign. This is something you cannot replicate with your current technology, so there is no chance of counterfeiting』

The words of God caused panic to spread in the classroom.

A mark on your body.

It’s a rather roundabout way of doing it by not telling us what it looks like, but after seeing it we will probably understand.

Some of the boys had even taken off their shirts to check.

『Why have I suddenly appeared and come forth with such a project? Fufu, actually I was planning this from the beginning. Once you reached a certain civilization level, I was planning to do something interesting. Of course my appearance may upset you depending on your religious outlook–regardless, you can think of this as a reward. Please enjoy yourself to the fullest, if you have any requests you can write them on the special site. However, I will not accept requests to become a transferee. You may feel that the selection process is unfair, but I swear to God that it is random. Fufu…did you get the joke?』

Despite being a God, it seems to have a friendly personality.

Or is it just pretending to be that way?

Whilst God was speaking, my classmates were obsessed with searching for the marks that might have appeared somewhere on their bodies. I knew there was almost no chance, but riding the wave of my classmate’s enthusiasm made me roll up my sleeve to check.

I’m the type of person who doesn’t stand out in class.

The so called anti-social type.

It would be too much for me to hear of a 「different world」 and expect me to go wild in class like everyone else.

『Ah, that’s right. I forgot to mention that the place of the mark is the 「palm」』

To the added words, everyone, even the teacher, confirms their palms.

I also checked after waiting a period of time.

(….of course, that’s right)

There was no mark on my palm.

It was the same probability of winning first prize in the lottery. Rather than this school, it would be extremely rare for anyone in this town to be picked.

That’s the scale of 1000 people against the world’s population.

I felt bad for my excited classmates, it looks like no-one will be chosen in this school.

–that was, until I saw my childhood friend.

She–Soma Nanami, immediately turned straight forward and lay her hands flat on her desk, as if to hide her palms.

Though she tried to hide it–I can make an assumption based on her actions. My mind instantly goes snow white.

Then she slowly turned her head around with a gigigigi

Her face was pale, completely drained of blood.

Her eyes teary, as if she was about to cry.

「Hi-chan….I–」

In this noisy classroom, there was not a single person other than me worrying about Nanami.

So no-one noticed that on the surface of her left palm, which she gently turned to face me. There was a mandala-like geometric pattern that continued to change colour as if alive.

God had disappeared from the television before I knew it.

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