Idle Talk   The Life of a simple man

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　I love Japan.



　I am not sure when and for what reason I became interested in it, but I can say this much. By the time I can remember, I had already fallen in love with Japan.



　I was always researching about Japan, ignoring my studies at school, much to the dismay of my classmates. These things were an everyday occurrence, and when I opened my mouth, it was Japan, Japan, Japan. I didn't care if they called me Weeb or Otaku. Finally, I started to study Japanese.



　This was how I made it through my school years, and although my grades at school were terrible, I was able to get a job as a translator after graduation.



　I loved this job; I loved it so much. For translation, it was necessary to interpret every detail of the Japanese language. How wonderful is that? For me, it was something I would be willing to pay to do, such as being able to interact with the Japanese language. It must have been a calling because I was getting paid for it.





　Looking back, maybe I was too straightforward about what I liked.



　The only clothing I would wear was always from Uniqlo.

　I would not drink a drop of alcohol unless it was from Hinode Beer.

　My car had to be a Tomida.



　All of these things, the reason was because I like them.



　For my part, I did not intend to be thorough in this. I think that because I like it, it was natural for me to use what I like. However, to others, my tastes seemed foreign, and I was frequently criticized for them. "You're too straightforward," they said.





　That's probably right.



　It was only recently that I became aware of this.





　Just before I turned 30, I came across a game called 『Mobius Online』.



　It's a game that changed my life.



　The world's largest VRMMORPG produced by a talented Japanese team. It had all the elements I liked, but when it came to time to play ...... this was no longer the kind of fun I could express in words, which was uncharacteristic of me as a translator. I would say it was the biggest shock of my life.





　I immediately reduced my workload to the bare minimum.



　The reason was to play Mobius.



　I had grown to love Mobius more than my job, which was becoming more and more of a dead end.





　Then my Mobius life truly began.



　Specifically, when work was not urgent, I played Mobius all the time from after breakfast until before dinner. And sometimes even after dinner.



　My character's name was 0k4NN (Reikan). I had heard that many Japanese FPS players in the past preferred to use Leet writing in their names. The idea was that by giving a name that the opposing team could not instantly read during a team game, it would give your team a time advantage, which would be a plus for your own team.

　Hence, I named my alter ego after my favorite number in my own way, in Japanese, following the Japanese way of naming things. The ring of zero, that is, the coexistence of nothing and something, or the truth of the world. It expressed reincarnation, the eternal state of finite events repeated endlessly.



　My growth type was sorcerer. I personally loved the Japanese view of magic. In particular, magic systems, which manipulated several attributes, played a tremendous role in the creations portrayed by the Japanese and was reason enough for my admiration for it after reading numerous Japanese novels.



　For these and other reasons, I became more and more absorbed in the world of Mobius day by day.



　I was immersed in it. I was devoted to Mobius' 【magic】. The simplicity of the four attributes and five types of skills, but the feature that the number of skills was greater than other skills, making it easier to raise INT and generate firepower, and the fact that there was a strong element of bargaining due to the compatibility of attributes, to name just a few of the charms, made it a perfect fit.





　As much as I loved magic, there was no way that I could say that my becoming the "first Eishou" was inevitable ....... It was the result of a series of coincidences.



　A game that had just begun was, from the time aspect, obviously not played by players in every corner of the world. I was able to poke that hole with great success.



　In the Eishou title tournament, when everyone was new to the event and the rules for participation were not even clear, I used "magic tricks" knowing full well that I could be disqualified.



　I took that skill, which at the time was called "magic loading," and I put it on magic itself, of all things.



　Naturally, the contestants all seemed to think that I would be disqualified. However, the referee's answer was "Allowed". As a result, I was not disqualified, and I was the uncontested winner.



　……No, that was a misstatement. To be correct, I was not an uncontested winner. I won outright to the finals and just barely managed to win the championship there, I guess.





　I still remember it. The man who faced me in the final.



　A man who later became the undisputed and perfect world number one――「Seven」.





　He was outstanding. To use a cliché, he was truly a genius. I was struck at first sight by the silverous charm of his, which overflowed from his body without end, combining the qualities of a champion, the air of a winner, and the dignity of a victor, in addition to his radiant youthfulness.



　The match was won. However, I lost the game. He was fascinating. He even managed to get a good match against me, a despicable magician who used tricky magic by using nothing more than normal magic.



　And after the match, he told me one thing.





"It was fun. I think it is a good idea. It made me laugh."





　……I will find out later. He was more "competitive" than any of the other players. Perhaps even at that time, underneath his smile, he must have been staring at me with tears of blood and a devilish expression on his face. But he was also someone who could swallow all those feelings and then genuinely admire others.



　That too-sweet and precious respect of his, like the nectar of the golden fruit that the heavenly gods eat, was directed to me, no one else―― it was a shuddering pleasure.





　How could I not become a fan? Would you not agree?



　I grew to love Seven.



　I always cheered for him at his games.

　When I played matches against him, I tried with all my might.

　When he was beaten, I defended him with anger; when he was praised, I agreed with wholehearted joy.



　That alone was enough to make me happy.



　Every day I would play my favorite mobius and support my favorite Seven. Those were truly dreamy days.







　The reality, however, was not so simple.



　After three years, the reduced workload would make life more difficult.



　The uncertainty of the future was stressful.



　My position in the world rankings dropped from maintaining around 38th place to outside the top 100 in one fell swoop.





　And most stressful of all was that ...... he, Seven would lose.



　He was human, too. Even though it was far less than others, he could still lose. I know that.



　But I just hated to see him, the perfect world number one, lose.



　He showed growth with every loss. It's an amazing growth, at that. He created innovative and brand-new tactics each time that surprised everyone. He was the only one who rewrote the "common sense" in Mobius, over and over again. It was not something an ordinary person could do. He must have been so frustrated and disappointed. He must have studied it day and night in a frantic, death-defying manner.

　Hence, some argued that losing made him stronger. I agreed with them. He also said that for his sake, he should lose in moderation. But still, I absolutely hated to see him lose.





　At this time, I was addicted to alcohol.



　If you drank enough to lose consciousness, you could forget all about the hardships of life, the uncertainty of the future, the world ranking, and the defeat of Seven.



　If something stresses me out even a little, I drank copious amounts of booze. Knowing that this was an act of betrayal of my "love," I continued to drink in the evenings to excess, making the excuse that I did not dislike alcohol either.



　This foolish act soon became a nightly occurrence.



　My liver was quietly screaming.

　But I never thought of going to the hospital.



　I even wanted to die as it was, rather than not be able to drink, rather than not be able to play Mobius.



　Thus――









"……………………"





　――I died. I dare say.





　I found myself rocking in a small boat.



　Ocean as far as the eye can see. A dream that showed no sign of waking up. An alt character I had no memory of logging in on. A game world that did not open the management screen.



　An afterlife that was unmistakably Mobius Online.





　Just before nightfall, I washed up on Hinodejima, which was recently implemented with a major update.



　I was most looking forward to 【Sword-drawing】, its very home.



　Although not Catholic myself, my parents were devout Catholics. Hence, I was somewhat influenced by it. Perhaps that was why. Only then did I give thanks to God. Finally, thank you for this beautiful dream.......I said.





　I will stop drinking.



　I have to start over. Looking back, I could not accomplish anything in my previous life.



　At the very least, I want to leave something, even if it is tiny, for the things I love. I strongly felt that way.



　This "bonus stage" could end at any time. If so, let's get it off my chest. Let's live well. I could die at any time. Let's live such a life that everyone will say so, that he died honorably. And I want to leave my living proof to the people I love.



　I want to be a person who is honest about my "likes". This has been my flaw and at the same time my only, I would say, proud belief.





　Let the Sword-drawing begin.



　I hold those passionate days of my youth in my heart.



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Thank you for reading.

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Cheat sheet

Stats details

＜Status Details＞

• HP　Hit Points
• MP　Magic Points
• SP　Stamina Points
• STR　Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
• DEX　Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
• AGI　Quickness, avoidance rate.
• INT　Attack Magic skill power.
• LUK　Good luck, critical rate.
• VIT　Simple defense.
• MGR　Magic defense.

Types of combat skills

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

1. Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
2. Lance(Kyousha)
3. Knight (Keima)
4. Silver General (Ginshou)
5. Gold General (Kinshou)
6. Bishop (Kakugyou)
7. Rook (Hisha)
8. Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
9. Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

Swordsmanship

1. 《Soldier Swordsmanship》　                  Normal attack.
2. 《Lance Swordsmanship》　                    Piercing attack.
3. 《Knight Swordsmanship》　                   Precision attack.
4. 《Silver Swordsmanship》　                     Strong single-target attack.
5. 《Gold Swordsmanship》                           Small-range attack to all directions.
6. 《Bishop Swordsmanship》                      Quick and powerful piercing attack
7. 《Rook Swordsmanship》　                      Rush piercing attack
8. 《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　  Powerful ranged attack in all directions
9. 《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　       Most powerful range attack, takes time to prepare

List of Shieldmanship skills

Shieldmanship

1. 《Soldier Shieldmanship》　                  Normal defense.
2. 《Lance Shieldmanship》　                    Piercing deflection.
3. 《Knight Shieldmanship》　                   Defense + knockback.
4. 《Silver Shieldmanship》　                     Defense +chance to parry
5. 《Gold Shieldmanship》                           Ranged guided defense + knockback.
6. 《Bishop Shieldmanship》                       Reinforced defense (Temporarily boosts VIT and MGR)
7. 《Rook Shieldmanship》　                      Rush attack
8. 《Dragon Horse Shieldmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Shieldmanship》　       Powerful shield attack, takes time to prepare

List of Archery skills

Archery

1. 《Soldier Archery》　                  Normal range attack.
2. 《Lance Archery》　                    Piercing range attack.
3. 《Knight Archery》　                   Precise sniping range attack.
4. 《Silver Archery》　                     Strong single-target range attack.
5. 《Gold Archery》                           Weaker range attack with added knockback.
6. 《Bishop Archery》                       Strong piercing range attack.
7. 《Rook Archery》　                      Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage.
8. 《Dragon Horse Archery》　    Powerful Area of Effect piercing range attack.
9. 《Dragon King Archery》　       Powerful on-impact range attack, takes time to prepare

Types of Magic skills

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.

1. First Form　      　      Regular attack
2. Second Form　      　 Extended range attack
3. Third Form　      　    Strong single target attack
4. Fourth Form　      　  Strong extended range attack
5. Fifth Form　      　      Extremely powerful extended range attack

• Their cast time becomes longer in this order First→Third→Second→Fourth→Fifth.

Ranking of the skills

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.

1. 16th class
2. 15th class
3. 14th class
4. 13th class
5. 12h class
6. 11th class
7. 10th class
8. 9th class
9. 8th class
10. 7th class
11. 6th class
12. 5th class
13. 4th class
14. 3rd class
15. 2nd class
16. 1st class
17. Grade 1
18. Grade 2
19. Grade 3
20. Grade 4
21. Grade 5
22. Grade 6
23. Grade 7
24. Grade 8
25. Grade 9
26. Title

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 ToC    

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