※Notice※
The venue for the 2022 April Fools’ event will be “Not the Protagonist!”
To commemorate the first anniversary of the serialization of “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~” and the start of the fourth arc, we will be releasing a limited-time collaboration IF story with Nekoneko!
As you know, this work, which began serialization last spring, starts with Ryuu Shinozuka, who was summoned by Princess Fals A.pril of the other world Next March, defeating the Demon Lord.
I thought I could defeat the Demon Lord and return to Japan, but for some reason, dungeons have appeared even in Japan, the transfer destination… and so the story of “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~” progresses. However, in this special IF story of “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~,” unlike the main story, it is not Ryuu, the protagonist of “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~,” who comes to Japan where the dungeon exists, the setting of “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~,” but Soma, who is unrelated to “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~.” Therefore, while sharing the same setting as “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~,” the development will be different from “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~.”
Fortunately, I have a plan and have already written down the story from when Soma was involved in the dungeon world until he returned to his original world, so I plan to update it daily!
Now, please enjoy a different story from the original version. A.
“…Huh?”
The next thing I knew, a blood-red sky and a ruined cityscape stretched out before me.
“Huh? No, what is this…”
I was sure I was playing “Nekoneko” in my room in Japan just a moment ago.
I started a new game with the “naked restriction” and just as I was playing for the 102nd time and almost beat it, something happened…
(Could it be that I’ve entered the world of Nekoneko again without realizing it?)
I asked myself, but immediately denied it.
After defeating the Evil God in the materialized Nekoneko world, I was able to travel between the Nekoneko world and the real world by using the gem of the magic “Magical Pocket,” which creates a mysterious storage space.
However, I hadn’t used any Magical Pocket magic this time, and looking at my right arm, I was wearing the “Mage’s Ring,” which I only wear in the real world.
“—Magical Pocket.”
I tried chanting the spell, but it had no effect.
If this were the Nekoneko world, the magic should be effective, so that possibility can be considered almost nil.
However, if it were the real world, that would also be strange.
I was playing a game in my house, and I couldn’t explain this red sky and collapsed buildings.
“What in the world is going on…”
As I looked up at the sky in despair, a large shadow fell over my head.
“Eh?”
It was a one-eyed giant, out of place in the ruined city.
The monster that suddenly appeared raised the club in its right hand towards me as I stood there in shock.
“Ah…”
And then, the next moment.
*The giant’s carelessly swung club, thicker than a person’s height, came crashing down on me.*
※ ※ ※
“Ah, gotta get outta here!”
Having dodged the giant’s club at the last moment, I cursed as I rolled on the ground with momentum.
“What the hell was that thing?!”
It looked like a recolored version of a Gigant Giant from the caves in the middle part of Nekoneko, a bonus monster usually stuck in narrow passages, or a Gigant Hill Giant that only appears in flashbacks and whose strength is unknown, but it’s probably not.
If it were really a Gigant Hill Giant or a Gigant Giant, its left arm would be bent backward due to a 3D modeling error.
However, the giant that swung the club just now showed no such signs. It’s attacking me, swinging its club with a smug look, as if saying, “There’s no way an elbow can bend backward, that’s common sense.”
(So, a completely unknown monster? No, more importantly, what do I do!?)
I have no weapon and only the attack power of an ordinary person.
If the next attack comes, will I be able to dodge it…
As I hesitated, unsure of what to do…
*—Status Effect Activate.*
Suddenly.
With absolutely no warning, those words flashed through my mind.
“…Status Effect, Activate?”
My instincts, honed by years of playing crappy games, prompted me to repeat the words.
And that choice was probably the right one.
“Wh—!?”
As soon as I finished saying the words, a mysterious window appeared in my vision.
——————–
【Souma Sagara】
Class: Gamer
LV: 1
HP: 133/133
MP: 72/72
STR: 333
MAG: 5
CON: 32
MND: 48
SPD: 91
【Common Skills】
Swordsmanship Lv2
Fire Magic Lv1
Accelerate Lv6
【Unique Skills】
Torture Resistance
Perverted Movement
Shortened Incantation
——————–
A status screen that looked like a game suddenly appeared before me.
I felt a sense of inevitability about my stats, displayed at the top.
At the same time, I felt a surge of power, unlike anything I’d ever experienced, welling up from within my body.
No, that’s not all.
(I… I know how to use my skills!)
With that conviction, I shouted the name of a skill.
“—Accelerate!!”
Instantly, I felt a sensation as if my body had become lighter.
Following that, I easily dodged the giant’s club.
“Seriously…”
With that, I had concrete proof.
This power, and the status screen before my eyes, were “real.”
(No, not yet. I need to verify more, verify!)
While dodging the relentless attacks of the giant, I analyzed the new power I had acquired.
First, the status screen.
(What I can definitely say is that these stats are not from Nekoneko. The display items are too different. Also… if I focus on an item, will a detailed explanation appear?)
While dodging the club attacks right and left, I investigated the status screen that appeared before my eyes.
I noted the strange lag between focusing on an item and its details appearing, but it was fine for now.
Next was skill verification.
(Accelerate!! …Huh?)
Just before the giant’s attack, I tried to use Accelerate again, but nothing happened.
Puzzled by the skill’s failure, I narrowly dodged the giant’s attack on my own.
“So, that’s how it is. It doesn’t respond to orders or focusing.”
I murmured the revealed fact aloud.
Orders and focus are the first stage of a mind-control UI, the savior of games that freed us gamers from tedious things like taps, clicks, and buttons.
“Damn it! This is a crappy game with these specifications!”
Disappointingly, it seems that this “Status Effect” skill needs to be activated by voice.
“It’s not like we’re playing on some old-generation fossil hardware! Skill activation by order is standard nowadays!”
While muttering complaints, I dodged the giant’s attacks with Accelerate, and when I saw an opening, I pointed my palm at the giant.
“‘Blazing crimson arrows, pierce the enemy! Fire Arrow’!”
With the chuunibyou-esque incantation I grasped by examining the status in detail, a flame arrow appeared and struck the giant.
…But.
“It barely did anything!”
The one-eyed monster continued to pursue me unperturbed, as if nothing had happened.
(But, I learned one more thing.)
I kept my eyes on the status screen in the corner of my vision, watching its changes.
(…It’s decreasing, MP.)
Every time I used “Accelerate” or “Fire Magic,” the MP value in the status decreased.
From the fact that the “Magical Pocket” magic didn’t activate earlier, I had thought there was no magic in this world.
But, that’s wrong!
This world has its own magic, operating on completely different logic than Nekoneko!
(Hahaha…! What is this, it really is like a game!)
My excitement, something I hadn’t felt even in Nekoneko recently, surged.
Magic is understood.
Next is physical attacks.
Judging by my status, I’m more suited to being a warrior than a mage.
I want to find a way to dodge the giant’s attacks and land a hit, but…
*The problem is that I have no weapon.*
I looked around, wishing I had at least a bamboo sword, but unfortunately, there was nothing convenient lying around.
“Damn it!”
As a second-best option, I picked up an empty beer bottle lying nearby and faced the giant.
However, as expected, the giant paid no attention to the bottle in my hand and swung its club with glee.
“Hah, crap!”
In desperation, I met the attack with the beer bottle.
“Uwaah!?”
There was no way a beer bottle could match a giant club, and the beer bottle broke halfway, sending shards of glass flying into the air.
But…
“—You broke it, huh?”
As I said that, I grinned, holding the now-broken beer bottle.
The giant swung its club again, but,
“As if that’ll hit!”
I dodged the attack with ease.
Not only that, but the next attack and the one after that didn’t even graze me.
“Breaking the beer bottle was the end of your luck.”
To use skills consecutively, you need skills or magic that can cancel movement skills, or special abilities.
Before, I didn’t have the weapons, magic, or Pegasus Shoes for that, so I couldn’t perform my signature consecutive movements.
But now, I have this… this “broken beer bottle”!
In Nekoneko, broken beer bottles scattered in various places were classified as “swords.”
So…
*—Step Cancel, Slash!*
Now I have the attack skill “Slash”…
And the “Godspeed Cancel Movement,” a signature move of Nekoneko players who incorporated short cancels of Slash between movement skills!
I was like a fish in water.
With the sensation of revival, I linked skills freely.
*—Step, High Step, Slash, Step, Slash, Step, Shukuchi!*
Thanks to my base Speed and Stamina cap increasing through my adventures in Nekoneko, and being able to use High Step and Shukuchi, I was now beyond the reach of a mere giant.
“Grrr, Gaaaah!?”
The giant let out a cry of confusion. The moment I was sure it had lost sight of me, I thrust my right hand forward.
“HowAboutThis! ‘Fire Arrow’!!”
Using the shortened incantation to activate “Fire Arrow” with a short keyword, the skill I had newly acquired that seemed to have the most attack power, I caught the enemy off guard.
“Grr, Oooooh!?”
And in that instant, as the fire arrow blinded the giant, I went for broke.
*—Step, High Step, Shukuchi, Tenha Mukyu Hisho Ken!!!*
Changing from a defensive posture to an offensive one, I leaped from the ground at the giant’s feet and unleashed the strongest blow I could muster in this situation!
The move, which completely caught the giant off guard, struck its weak point, the single eye, with perfect accuracy!
It was undoubtedly a super-effective blow! I started to strike a pose in mid-air, but—
“Eh?”
The giant, showing no signs of being fazed, swatted me down to the ground with its palm.
“Gah!?”
The unexpected attack made the broken beer bottle slip from my hand.
While desperately rolling to avoid further attacks, I used Step to create distance.
(Damn it. This is a crappy game after all.)
I had hit the enemy’s weak point with the most destructive skill among those I could use with Status Effect.
Or so I thought.
Yet, not only did I fail to defeat the giant, but it didn’t even seem like it took any damage. Instead, it was approaching me with renewed fighting spirit.
(After all, I can’t win at my current level… can I?)
Thinking about it, it’s only natural.
I don’t know the level design of this “Status Effect” thing, but that giant clearly doesn’t look like something a beginner-level Level 1 player would fight.
At best, its intended defeat level is much higher.
Even in Nekoneko, where comebacks were possible, there were many situations where you just couldn’t win without sufficient power, no matter how many bug exploits you used.
Even if you performed flawlessly, if your attack power couldn’t overcome the enemy’s defense, it was a dead end.
(…Is this it for me.)
I closed my eyes with a sense of regret. The ring on my right arm, which I had removed, fell to the ground with a “clink.”
The giant approached, its footsteps shaking the ground, but I saw no point in moving anymore.
I simply watched with indifference as the giant twisted its lips in the joy of the hunt and raised its massive club.
“—’Seiken Zuki’ (Straight Punch).”
My counterattack, a straight punch, landed on the giant, and with explosive force, its body disintegrated.
※ ※ ※
(Ugh. Strength increased through the “Seed of Death” bug is a bit too cheaty, isn’t it?)
I picked up the “Mage’s Ring” that I had removed from my right arm earlier and sighed.
The reason I was able to defeat the giant, with whom I had been struggling until just now, with a single punch, was this ring.
“It would have been best if I could have won using the power of my new abilities while wearing this.”
This “Mage’s Ring” is one of Nekoneko’s broken-performance equipment, which I took from deep within a dungeon to use in the real world.
The description reads, “A bracelet worn by a mage who has dedicated themselves to magic. It increases magic power by 20% at the cost of a 10% decrease in strength.”
That might not sound like much, but it’s far from it.
*When you actually wear this ring, your magic power decreases by 80%, and your strength becomes zero!*
The exact cause is unknown, but the widely accepted theory among Nekoneko experts is that the effect, which should be a 1.2x multiplier for magic power and a 0.9x multiplier for strength, somehow incorrectly resulted in a 0.2x multiplier for magic power and a -0.1x multiplier for strength.
Unlike attribute bonuses, when strength becomes a negative value, it is treated as zero. This results in a truly “broken” piece of equipment that decreases magic power by 80% and sets strength to zero.
To suppress the unnecessarily high strength I had gained through the “Seed of Death” bug, I used to wear this ring when I was in Japan to control my strength.
Of course, I had gotten used to having high strength and could control it, but if I were to unleash my full power by accident, I could literally mince someone just by bumping into them.
I felt a little down that I had ended up taking off the ring and relying on brute force, which I had cultivated in Nekoneko, to defeat the giant. But I quickly thought, “Ah, well.”
Besides, he was an opponent I couldn’t beat with my current Status Effect level. And since I was using Nekoneko skills anyway, it was hardly a new topic.
(Besides, I’m not a battle maniac like Mitsuki. As long as I can win, I don’t really care.)
For now, I’ll be happy to have overcome this sudden crisis.
It was then.
(Hm, what’s that…)
In the distance, I saw the figures of several people.
Were they rescue workers? They seemed to be helping people who had collapsed among the debris while cautiously surveying the area.
*If I ask those people, maybe I can understand this situation!*
Finally, a glimmer of hope in this bewildering situation.
Filled with joy, I headed towards them using my full Godspeed Cancel Movement. However…
“D-Don’t come any closer, you grotesque cockroach! You’ll regret it if you come any closer!”
“………Huh?”
For some reason, I was treated as an enemy by the people who appeared to be rescue workers.
※ ※ ※
“I-I’m sorry. I never imagined you were human.”
After much desperate persuasion, I managed to clear up the misunderstanding.
However, I’m not entirely satisfied with being labeled a monster when I look like a human from any angle…
“N-No, I’m truly sorry. But seeing a man in loungewear with cat ears approaching us with impossible movements, wielding a liquor bottle like a… no, like a beast, I panicked.”
When they apologized so profusely, I couldn’t stay angry.
They offered to take me to a safe place, and I gladly accepted. After returning to the city safely, I parted ways with them and grinned.
Although meeting them was an unpleasant experience, I gained valuable information thanks to them.
On the way back, I casually asked one of the rescue workers, named July, for information. It turns out this place is “Japan.”
However, unlike the Japan I knew, dungeons exist as a matter of course, and people fight monsters with the power of stats.
*—Interesting.*
I don’t know why I came to this world.
If there’s someone who brought me here, their purpose, or even if they’ve prepared a way for me to return, it’s all a mystery.
But…
A new world, new abilities, and most importantly, a new bug!!
This world must be full of them!
Thinking about it, I couldn’t contain my racing heart!
…But then again, that’s for later.
“I’m a bit hungry, so I think I’ll go back to my original world.”
With that, I took out the “Magical Pocket” gem from my pocket, crushed it, and was carried back to my original world by a Bear that emerged from my storage space.
Special IF Story – The End
Phew, I’m exhausted lol.
And with this, the IF story concludes!
And now, there’s something I need to tell you all…
Didn’t you find the character names unusual when you read the introduction to the collaboration work?
Fals A.pril
Ryuu Shinozuka
Don’t these names remind you of something?
Furthermore… do you remember what the date is today?
Yes, it’s April 1st.
And speaking of April 1st… it’s April Fools’ Day!
In fact, this collaboration novel is all a lie!!
A work like “The Dual Hero is Amazing! ~After defeating the Demon Lord and returning to modern Japan, I learned many skills, but I’ve already learned them all in the other world, so it’s too late~” doesn’t exist in this world!!
…Did you really think I’d say that, you fool!!
This work has actually been serialized for a year, and the fourth arc is complete!
If you doubt me, search for the title on “Shosetsuka ni Narou” or check the link below for the date, and you’ll see that these words are not lies at all!
“Because it’s April Fools’, he’s sure to be lying.”
Weren’t you thinking that?
In this harsh world, I want everyone to learn the foolishness of doubting others.
I want you to regain your ability to trust others.
With that in mind, I wrote this IF novel and prepared a dummy serialization starting a year ago, solely to make this April Fools’ joke not a lie!
Take that, you readers, you idiots!!
…With that elegant conclusion, here’s a final announcement and operational notice: the serialization of “Not the Protagonist!” is scheduled to resume on April 4th.
On a side note, you can see a (very small) portion of the comic adaptation of “Not the Protagonist!” on ComicWalker and Nico Nico Douga, so please read that while you wait, okay?!
