Sachi dreamt of a past long forgotten. Originally, his father was the one that taught him kendo. The other kids growing up around him were invested in more normalized sports; basketball, baseball, football, everything close to that.
That made it harder to connect with any of his peers. He didn't have a whole lot in common with any of them to create any connection he deemed worthwhile.
Even despite that, Sachi loved kendo. His father was a strange man, always holding a stoic attitude with anything he did.
Anything except kendo.
Sachi had few memories of his father, much less of his father smiling. But when he was smiling, it was when they practiced kendo together.
'Maybe… if I keep practicing and get better… maybe he'll come back…'
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the crack of a branch behind him. His eyes shot open, staring at a familiar scene of shivering leaves from the shaking branches of trees through the blinding light of dawn.
He tried to push himself up, but his body writhed in agony from the soreness of yesterday's battles.
"Ah! You're finally awake Sachi!" It was Lyra's warm voice that echoed in his ear. "Look, someone else wants to help us out!"
Immediate alarm bells rang in Sachi's head. 'Anyone offering to help has something they want in return.'
Right behind Lyra was a tall, lanky man. He could be no older than twenty-two. He had silver hairs that stood atop his head as if they were a helmet. His outfit wasn't much different from Lyra's, it was just cleaner and intact. A plain tan tunic with a pair of brown leather pants and boots to match. The most striking part of this character was the gargantuan hunk of metal on his back. It was apparent that it was meant to be a sword, but there was simply no way a man of such a skinny build could wield that thing effectively.
"It's nice to meet you Sachi! Lyra has told me absolutely wonderful tales about you! A hero who plays off his achievements as if they were just as natural as breathing! Oh, it's such a harrowing tale I just had to meet you myself!"
He spoke at such a rapid and excited pace that Sachi could barely follow.
"Oh but where are my manners. My name is Dion Bennett, I'm a Minor Champion under the God of Steel, Vyrnax."
He had been carrying firewood in both his hands, but despite that he bowed forwards, revealing elongated and pointed ears.
Lyra chimed in now, equally if not more excited than Dion's tone. "Get this Sachi, he's an elf, a real one! There's more than just humans here!"
'As if that was something to be excited about.'
If elves were here, that means any kind of fantasy creature could be here, and that means they could have all kinds of advantages over Sachi.
Serendelle sat down next to Sachi, and spoke in hush voice. "I've been watching him, he seems like a genuine soul. Give him a chance."
Sachi sighed and turned back to Dion. "What's with that thing on your back?"
Dion placed the firewood down next to an extinguished fire pit, and spun around to showcase the weapon on his back. The long hunk of metal was about half his own body's width, and almost his entire height. He was much taller than Sachi too, the sword was most definitely taller than him. The sheathe it sat in was shockingly the most eye catching part. A pure black sheathe with flame decals. Sachi didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or to laugh at him.
"This is my faithful weapon, the 'Giant's Night Blade'. It was made for me by my trusty companion. And this-" he pointed to the flame decals. "-this is my own personal touch, to let my enemies know I'm not just strong, I'm fast too."
Sachi crossed his arms. "Why did your god make you a giant's sword?"
Dion began to scratch his head. "Well… when he gets an idea he just has to make it. He's not exactly open to commissions though…"
Sachi became even more lost in this conversation. This man was in a killing game, and he's with a selfish god who doesn't even bother to look after him.
"And where is your god?"
Dion darted his eyes away and scratched his neck. "He's uhh… still in his domain. He's never left, actually. He first brought me there and gave me some of his equipment to test, and now I'm here."
Sachi narrowed his eyes. "'Some'?"
Dion nodded. "Take a look at this."
He reached his hand out, and a small portal opened, almost like he reached through the air itself into another dimension. When he reeled his hand back, he displayed a metal helmet. The portal quickly closed behind his hand.
"Vyrnax's own little storage realm! He gives me access to it since he wants me to test out a bunch of his equipment."
'That could be useful…'
"Say, you have any other weapons you could use? Something more practical, preferably."
Dion began to laugh. "Oh trust me, this baby's practical alright. You just haven't seen me fight." His grin displayed his shiny white teeth, all perfectly aligned.
Sachi gave him a strange look. "Right."
Serendelle leaned over to Sachi. "Sachihiro, if we're going to be traveling with more people, why not make use of the party system I included for you?"
Sachi raised an eyebrow. "Party system? I don't remember seeing that."
Sachi opened his menu and scanned for a party menu, but there was none he could see.
"Look, it's right there." Serendelle pointed to a small tab on the side of the screen with a single letter that was barely visible, the letter P.
'I guess a goddess wouldn't know much about good game design…'
He pressed the button and watched the screen open.
[Would you like to invite "Lyra Emberwind" to your party?]
'Continent that is knows her full name.'
[Yes]
Lyra shrieked as a screen suddenly appeared in front of her. "What is this?"
Sachi raised his hand slightly. "Sorry, that's me. It's so we can stick together easier."
[Do you accept the party invite from "Sachihiro Takahashi"?]
Lyra clicked the button that said "yes".
[A Champion has joined your party!]
Serendelle laughed and clapped her hands together as if to boast about how proud she was of her system. "See? It's real easy, plus I added some features that might be handy for you."
[A party member is looking at you.]
Sachi looked up from his screen to see Lyra staring at him, it was evident she had questions about the phenomenon that she just witnessed.
"What all does it tell me? And why doesn't it say her name?"
Serendelle laughed again, putting her finger to her glossy lips. "You'll just have to find out. As for her name… it's a bit difficult to manage with my current strength."
Before he could respond, another screen appeared in front of him.
[Would you like to invite "Dion Bennett" to your party?]
He looked beyond the screen to see Dion staring at him with glowing eyes.
"What was that!? You can create menus like a game!? Oh, give me one too!"
Sachi let out an awkward chuckle as his finger hovered over the "no" button.
"Sachihiro, it could be helpful to have another ally."
As much as he didn't want to admit it, Serendelle was right. He had gotten lucky so far that the Champions he fought were weak, excluding the assassin. He needed to kill to get stronger, but he needed allies to protect him to live longer.
Sachi sighed and pressed "yes".
The same screen appeared in front of Dion, and his overjoyed expression was the only thing brighter than the sun the beamed down on them.
[A Champion has joined your party!]