Driven by a desire for wealth, fame, strength, power, and above all, adventure and thrills, you have departed from your hometown.
Your destination is the Licht Kingdom, a land still plagued by monsters and demons in its mountains and forests, where swords and magic clash—a perilous realm.
Here, beastmen and demons walk the streets as a matter of course, and the strong prey on the weak, where those called Adventurers constantly vie for survival.
Dreaming of success in this land, you continue your journey and finally arrive at a place where you can see Ramur Town, the gateway to the Licht Kingdom.
At this rate, you should be able to enter Ramur Town by today.
Just as relief washes over you, a cry echoes from ahead on the road.
“Thieves! Someone help!”
After a moment’s hesitation, you draw your beloved sword and rush towards the sound.
The clash of steel and the sounds of struggle reach your ears.
Squinting, you see a fierce battle unfolding before you.
Thieves targeting a stopped carriage, and merchants desperately trying to protect it.
One of the merchants cries out.
“An Adventurer? Thank goodness! I’ll pay you if you help us.”
You nod silently to the merchant and charge at the thieves.
Your adventure begins—
Recalling the introductory story written on the official homepage, I gaze once more at the scene unfolding before me.
It was so long ago that I don’t remember the details clearly, but this setup is definitely the starting event.
It’s the quest notorious for killing beginners, commonly known as the “Lizardman’s Trap.”
I don’t remember the formal quest name, but it was probably something like “Protect the Merchant.”
Though precise statistics might not exist, it’s said that over 90% of Players are killed by this event at least once. I myself was easily killed without understanding what was happening during my first playthrough. I only understood what was going on during my second death.
The reason this event is so difficult isn’t just that the enemies are strong, but more importantly, the difficulty in grasping the situation on your first playthrough. Moreover, Players who are accustomed to games are more likely to fall into this trap.
Let’s reconfirm the situation.
Closest to me is a sword-wielding female, with her back to me. Then, four Lizardmen surround her, weapons raised, with the carriage behind them.
Now, do you understand?
At first glance, it looks like Lizardmen are ganging up to attack a human female. However, the Lizardmen are fighting with the carriage at their backs. Furthermore, if you observe more calmly, you’ll notice that the woman has superior equipment—leather armor, a curved sword, and a shield—while the Lizardmen are wearing simple clothes and carrying only defensive items like knives and clubs.
In other words, this is a scene of a fully equipped, fearsome female thief attacking harmless Lizardman merchants riding in a carriage.
If you read the story from the official site or the manual, you’d learn that there are indeed multiple merchants, but it doesn’t mention that the merchants are Lizardmen. Most Players, with the preconceived notion that Lizardmen are enemies and the assumption that the smaller group would never be the aggressors, turn to attack the Lizardmen. This leads to fighting with allied NPCs, the Lizardmen, and while fighting them, you get stabbed from behind by the female thief you thought was an ally.
This, indeed, is the “Lizardman’s Trap.” Or rather, the Lizardmen themselves have no malice and are simply attacked because they look scary, putting them in a pitiable position.
There are Players who have fallen into this “Lizardman’s Trap” and died here more than ten times without understanding what happened. Some elementary school students who played this also became traumatized by this incident and couldn’t play VR games for a while. Whether intentional or not, this outrageous starting event contributed to “New Communicate Online’s” reputation as a quirky game.
Of course, I, who now knows the trick, would never make such a blunder. However, even setting that aside, the difficulty of this quest is high. After all, the female thief is a skilled fighter, capable of fighting four merchants alone, despite the difference in weaponry. If you don’t cooperate well with the Lizardman merchants, beginners will be easily killed.
As I draw my sword and approach a distance where I can clearly see their faces, a sense of tension suddenly washes over me. I can clearly see the faces of the Lizardmen and the ferocious smile of the fighting female thief. It possesses a realism I’ve never experienced in a game. This world is clearly not just a game.
If this were a game, I could fight. Even if my stats were reset to their initial values, I wouldn’t be so inept as to struggle against early-game enemies. But this is not a game. At the very least, it is a space with a level of realism indistinguishable from reality.
Moreover, whether I can revive if I die in this world is unknown. Even in games, NPCs don’t naturally revive when they die, and in “New Communicate Online,” death means returning to a loaded save point. I don’t know if that would be effective in this world.
(Can I do this?)
Suddenly, anxiety overwhelms me. If my game experience is valid in this world, I should be able to win.
—Really?
The burgeoning doubt accelerates my impatience.
“Ah!”
Was I too lost in thought? I dropped my sword with a much louder clatter than I intended.
“—!?”
Both the female thief and the Lizardmen fighting stop and look towards me in unison. I scramble to pick up my sword, but it’s too late. Exposed to five pairs of uncongenial gazes, my feet freeze.
This is bad. I thought. I should be fighting alongside the Lizardmen, but in this situation, which has become reality rather than a game, will they think of me as an ally? I am of the same race as the female thief, and I came from the same direction. Wouldn’t they mistakenly think I’m her companion?
Suddenly, I became scared. Without any ideas, yet wanting to say something, I opened my mouth and…
“…Uh, um…”
But it was no longer necessary.
“Tch!”
With a click of her tongue, the female thief moves. She turns her back on the Lizardmen she was facing without hesitation. Understanding the danger of being caught in a pincer attack, she seems to be retreating.
I thought I was saved, but that was a mistake. She hadn’t given up the fight. She had merely changed her priority. Her next target was…
“M-me?!”
To avoid the danger of a pincer attack, she intends to kill me, the variable element, first, and then attack the Lizardmen.
No way! I thought, wanting to do something, but my body wouldn’t move.
“Ahhh…”
The female thief approaches. Her curved sword glints ominously, and her cruel smile already seems to exude confidence in victory. Before I can do anything, the distance between the female thief and me shrinks rapidly. The distance that was once ten meters is now practically zero.
“Die!”
This time, the female thief raises her sword with murderous intent. Seeing that, I…
