Crisis Soul [Prologue] [Free]

Heyo Guys! Gashadokai here with a new novel. I hope you enjoy this prologue while the volume is being translated, as you know, we publish the entire novels in PDF on our kappanovels.club site, so I appreciate your patience.

By the way, if you are a Souls-like lover, you will love this story 😁

We will soon publish chapter 1 as a preview for members of Kappa Scholar and The Great Kappabeast ❤

"If I'm gonna play a game anyway, I'd rather play as a girl than a guy."

That's what the game developer thought. But at the same time, he hesitated.

"But I don't want the guys around me thinking it's weird that a dude is using a female character..."

That game developer—a 48-year-old bachelor—had the exact same sensibilities as an eighth-grade boy.

And because of that, he was a genius.

"I know, I'll just make a game with a setting that forces you to pick a female character."

The answer was clear.

"Male characters will have zero magic, garbage stats, and a hard level 1 cap—strictly for challenge runs. Only the girls will get magic and level-ups, and skills will be their exclusive monopoly... Oh man! I'm an absolute genius."

And so, he made it. Over 50 million copies sold worldwide.

The game completely captured the hearts of "gentlemen" who were a little too self-conscious about what others thought of them.

"Dude, you're a guy, why are you playing a girl? Lol." "That's just softcore porn, lmao." "Oh, so this is your type, huh?" "All the characters have massive boobs." "Aren't her thighs a bit too thick?" "Why is she wearing a swimsuit to fight?"

The game provided the perfect excuse against these heartless remarks.

There was a legitimate gameplay reason why the protagonist was female, why she had ridiculously good proportions, and why she wore equipment that looked like a highly revealing swimsuit.

"No, lmao! You got it all wrong!! It's just because this character is way stronger, lol!"

Thus, Crisis Soul: A Dark Fantasy of Ash and Despair went down in history as a legendary AAA title—an absolute god-tier game.

There was one true charm to this game—the single biggest element that completely fried the players' brains: The scenario.

It featured a meticulously crafted world and cast of characters. A story that intentionally left things unexplained, encouraging deep lore dives... and a scenario that ruthlessly burned all of that to ash.

The tagline was: "Scream your despair."

Every player and streamer who touched this game inevitably muttered the exact same line:

"Yep, total trash."

The difficulty was way too high. The game balance was utterly unreasonable.

The higher your affinity with a companion character got, the more mercilessly they were killed off. The more a player got sucked into the game, the more the world broke apart.

The player and the protagonist were forced to literally die over and over again in a dying world just to challenge the bosses.

And these bosses were insanely strong.

After failing endlessly, players would throw their controllers at the sheer, unreasonable difficulty.

"Yep, total trash!" "What a garbage game."

And yet...

"...Alright, just one more try." "Wait, couldn't I use that item?" "Look at the boss's gauge!! Look at the gauge!! He's at one HP!! Just one pixel left!" "Hey, I totally dodged that!! Are you kidding me?!" "...I think I can win the next one."

Players would grip their controllers once more, screaming complaints as they charged back at the boss.

Crisis Soul earned a nickname.

Despair, lamentation, and then, a comeback.

Born from the sight of players challenging the boss over and over alongside the constantly dying protagonist, and acting as a play on the game's title, the community coined a nickname.

Crisis Soul: A Dark Fantasy of Ash and Despair—or simply:

Haikuso (Ash Trash).

***

I love peace.

I love calm, transparent, quiet moments, and the simple, good-natured people who embody them.

I hate unreasonableness.

I despise overly confident jerks who ignore logic and bully the weak just because they think they're strong.

I, Licht Tetogman, remembered my past life because of exactly that kind of unreasonableness.

There was a group of bullies beating up a beautiful boy whose white hair covered his eyes, and I was part of that group. The reason for the bullying was something like, "He's getting cocky just because he's got a pretty face." Honestly, what a load of crap.

But no matter how stupid the reason was, the bullies were strong, and the pretty boy and his dog were weak. The bullying continued in the back alleys of a Western-style town paved with brick and stone.

It was so unreasonable.

Throwing stones at the pretty boy's dog, tearing up the pictures he drew. The look on those bullies' faces, acting like they had the right to do whatever they wanted.

It was totally unreasonable.

I couldn't stand their smug faces—so I decided to punch them out.

"Huh?!"

The bullies, the pretty boy they were tormenting, and even the dog were all completely shocked. Which made sense, considering a random mob character who was just part of the bully group had suddenly attacked the leader out of nowhere.

Right after that, the bullies' older sister showed up. This burly, orc-like sister was apparently a female adventurer. As this female adventurer beat me to a pulp, I realized something.

Women are insanely strong here. It's just like that game.

The white-haired boy and his dog tried to help me, but guys were completely powerless.

Suddenly, a voice rang out. A ridiculously cute soprano voice.

"Ahaha. Gross, trash is bullying other trash. Raising your hand against a guy even though you're a woman is so incredibly lame, it's hilarious."

"Huh? What the hell did you just—bwagh?!"

"How about you realize how insanely lame you are? You garbage bugs."

The orc sister was taken down with a single kick. The bullies ran away, terrified yet somehow looking a bit enchanted.

The one who saved us was a beautiful girl with a green ponytail. With her small face and white skin, she had a vibe that was like a fusion of a summer fairy and sporty energy. Wait, I recognize her from somewhere—ah.

"...The bratty protagonist?"

"——Hah?"

She looked just like the protagonist of a certain game. Way too much like her.

The words slipped out of my mouth, and the green-haired ponytail girl gave me a suspicious look.

"Bratty protagonist? Ahaha, I have no idea what that means. What are you even talking about? My name is—"

Please don't be Nia Licelaverta. Please don't be Nia Licelaverta.

But my prayers were in vain.

"My name is Nia Licelaverta. The woman who's gonna become the absolute strongest adventurer."

She introduced herself with the exact same name as the protagonist of that death game.

——A death game.

Even among high-difficulty action games, it's a genre entirely built on the premise of dying over and over until you memorize the patterns to clear it.

In my past life, I had played the absolute hell out of a certain death game.

That game was Crisis Soul: A Dark Fantasy of Ash and Despair.

Commonly known as Haikuso.

The name of this town was the "Karel Merchant District," a town that appears in Haikuso. Her name was Nia, the protagonist of Haikuso.

...I guess that's strike two.

You've got to be kidding me. Reincarnating into the world of Haikuso is not a funny joke...! It's literally the number one game you never, ever want to get Isekai'd into...!

Over the next few years, I desperately tested various things.

I devoured books at the town's church, gathered geographical info from traveling merchants, worked part-time at the town's Adventurer's Guild to listen in on the adventurers' stories, and verified my game knowledge.

The conclusion: It was no good.

I was 90% sure this was the world of Haikuso.

The contents of the history books, the names of places, and everything else matched exactly with the Haikuso Setting Material Collection (¥5,300).

It felt like an alternate world that was infinitely identical to Haikuso.

That stressed me out a bit. There were two main reasons why I didn't want to reincarnate into the Haikuso world.

First of all, human lives—especially mob characters' lives—are incredibly cheap here.

Haikuso is a brutal action game known as a death game, and its savage fantasy world reflects that brutal difficulty. There are just too many threats. Monsters, of course, but also bandits, and the inevitable "enemies of humanity" that will show up eventually.

And as for the standard Isekai tropes like cheat skills or special gifts... so far, I've got nothing. Right now, I have absolutely no way to deal with any of these life-threatening dangers. Being an overpowered Isekai protagonist or rising to the top is nothing but a pipe dream.

So, for this second life, I decided to set a realistic goal.

My goal is to live a "peaceful life."

Specifically, I'm aiming for a "safe desk job in the Imperial Capital." There's nothing more wonderful for a human being than a safe place to live and a stable job.

And to achieve that goal, I am currently... working the floor as a part-timer at the Adventurer's Guild tavern.

"Hey, boy over there! Four ales and a smoked Flame-Tail Lizard steak, please!"

"Can we get some Topaz Wine at this table too?"

"Onii-san! Where's that rare Red Tail steak we ordered earlier?"

A bustling adventurer's tavern.

Orders flying everywhere, boisterous laughter, and a battlefield-level of busyness.

"Yes, right away! Table 4, thank you for waiting, here are your four ales! The smoked Flame-Tail Lizard steak will be right out! Table 5, would you like the Topaz Wine by the glass or in a mug... Got it! One mug, coming right up! Table 6, your rare Red Tail steak is on the grill right now! Just a little bit longer!!"

I serve the drinks and food with a friendly smile... all while wearing short pants that end above the knee and an outfit that looks like a child's suit.

This outfit is awful... It might work on a pretty boy, but there's no demand for a guy like me wearing something like this. But beggars can't be choosers. First and foremost, I need money.

Since my parents died and I have no family left, I need money to survive.

The thick, stifling heat. The scent of smoked wood mixed with strong liquor and the sweet smell of women's sweat.

Flames flicker in the massive fireplace at the center of the tavern, where a giant slab of meat is being slowly roasted, dripping fat like sweat.

This is the only Adventurer's Guild in the Karel Merchant District. It's a familiar sight in Isekai fantasy, but... there's something weird about this Adventurer's Guild.

The adventurers wearing large weapons and heavy armor, chugging booze and making a racket with their comrades.

They are all, without exception, women. There isn't a single male adventurer.

And then there's me...

"Hey, look. That kid working here... must be new. Black hair, nice..."

"His thighs are so erotic... Guys who look plain like that are totally the aggressive ones in bed~."

"I wanna see his dick."

"Look at that ass... He definitely works out~. Is he trying to tempt us?"

"That 'average but just right' vibe really is the most erotic, isn't it."

"I wanna squeeze him dry. He's totally an M, that kid."

"I wanna see his dick."

I'm doing my job while getting intensely leered at by female adventurers.

This is the real reason I didn't want to reincarnate into the Haikuso world.

The defining feature of the Haikuso world: A world where women are absolute supreme.

Male and female mindsets and chastity values are completely flipped. Men are unbelievably weak, and they live in a stupid world where they can barely survive without the protection of women.

A world where human lives are cheap, combined with a world where men are completely weak and chastity is reversed—it's the absolute worst demonic fusion imaginable.

It's a Chastity-Reversed Death Game World.

...What an unbelievably stupid Isekai I've reincarnated into...!

But I won't give up. No matter what kind of world this is, I... I'm going to survive and find my peace...!