So, that's it, huh? End of service after only 3 years.
Another weaksauce game.
Hot garbage. The weakest of weaksauce.
Gimme one that takes 10 years to beat.
Hm?
A game that never ends? Yeah, right.
Let's look at the difficulty settings.
Easy, normal...
What the? "Hell Mode"?
"Regret is the least of your worries. For you shall be faced with utter despair."
Pssht, like I've never heard that before.
Bring it!
Hot damn. A ton of character classes to choose from.
There's Swordsman and Spear User...
Wow, we can even choose Demon Lord?
Huh?
Why is the difficulty rating for Summoner so high?!
Okay, I'll bite. This defaults you to the "serf" social class.
And it's still in alpha-testing?
Then how I am even able to select it?
Whatever. That actually seems like a fun challenge.
I'll be your guinea pig!
Everything feels lukewarm all of a sudden...
But you know, this is pretty relaxing. I can dig it.
Wait, scratch that!
What the hell?! It's getting tight in here!
Oh! It's breathing!
You did amazing, sweetheart!
Welp. This is a literal take on the "reincarnation" trope.
Gee, thanks for making it so obvious!
There, there. Daddy's got you.
Oh! It's a boy!
I've already got your name picked out, little fella.
You are... Allen!
Is it yummy?
Num-nums!
Eat all you want, Allen.
I used to be a 35 year-old, uneducated, broke-ass, romantically inept,
white-collar worker named Kenichi Yamada.
But I've been reincarnated as this little dude, Allen.
Right now, I'm one year old.
I can't talk just yet, but I have no problems thinking to myself or understanding words.
So it seems like Japanese is the common tongue here.
Someone's got a healthy appetite!
Thank God for that.
Guess he takes after me, huh?
I've been born into a serf family, just like how I chose at the start.
This is a frontier village where pioneers pay tax to a ruling lord to cultivate the land,
so it doesn't have a name yet.
Make sure to get your fill, Theresia!
My father's name is Rodin.
He's a real family guy who works hard day after day.
I assume he's around 20 years old.
Thank you, honey.
There we go! Nice and clean!
My mother's name is Theresia.
She's very pretty. And as sweet as can be!
Probably in her late teens.
I'm their only kid right now.
Goodness me, honey! Seems we have two babies who need their faces cleaned.
Dats wight!
I imagine it's only a matter of time before I get siblings.
Aww. Is it time to go beddy-bye?
Yesh...
Nighty-night, Allen.
Time for the adults to have dinner.
Stat window, open!
Welp. Getting my diapers changed and suckin' on titties is great and all...
but I'm supposed to be a Summoner now.
Really wish I could do something with it.
I've lost count of how many times I've tried.
Stat window, open!
Allen?!
Oh, crap! I can't let them see!
Go away, book!
Are you okay, Allen?!
Just talking in his sleep, I guess?
Gosh, that scared me!
Sleep tight, little fella.
Whew, close call.
Let's try that again.
Appear, my book!
And open!
Now we're talking!
After a whole year of trying...
I can finally get a look at my stats!
Level one. My class is...
Summoner!
This page has details on my summoning skill.
Apparently, summon and create have their own skill EXP.
Guess that means they level up the more I use them.
Oh! I have summons available! That sounds promising!
Looks like I'm limited to just insects and beasts right now.
Is the "H" supposed to be their rank?
Talk about bottom of the barrel...
What now?
God of Creation?
It's some kinda letter from the administrator.
Let me skim through...
Basically, they're apologizing
for sending my grimoire late.
Guess they still have some hiccups to work out for Summoner.
Anyways, I wanna summon stuff!
Come forth! Insect!
Huh? What the-? Wha-?
Summon: Insect!
Abraca-bug-ra!
Okay, lock in, man.
There are no game FAQs or walkthroughs in this world.
Gotta mess around and figure it out myself.
Oh! Maybe I have to use the create skill first!
Create: Insect!
Whoa! Houston, we have a card!
Here goes! I summon you, Insec- ah.
Oh, good. He's fast asleep.
Better keep it quiet.
I'll save the summoning for tomorrow.
Crud. I'm actually sleepy now.
Stupid one year old body...
Be a good boy and take a nappy-nap.
Okay, time to get back to it!
Grimoire!
I summon you! Insect H!
Jeez, that's a big-ass grasshopper...
Will it listen to my orders?
Hey, buggy. Come dis way.
Have no fwear. You may appwoach.
Nope. It's just a dumb bug.
Maybe the grimoire can offer some help.
These are the grasshopper's stats.
I get to pick its name, huh?
For a grasshopper... I guess "Denka" works.
What else is there?
Buffs? What does that mean?
Plus one to endurance. Plus one to agility.
Wait a sec.
Whoa! It actually boosts my stats!
Dude, that's...
Aweshome!
Allen?
Oh, crap!
What's wrong?
Ew, bug!
Oh no, Denka!
Hello there!
After serval days of toying around with my skills, I eventually moved on to creating Beast H.
Come forth, Mousey!
Mousey is as dumb as rocks, just like Denka.
Scurry!
But at least they use their ability whenever I say so.
Oh, if you're curious, Denka's ability is hop.
It seems this world is crawling with a bunch of powerful monsters.
But I ain't beating any with these two...
I can stock up to ten summon cards for each creature.
The most important thing is their buffs.
For example, by stocking ten of Mousey's cards...
my attack stat goes up by ten.
Now I pack enough punch to easily surpass what any regular baby can do.
The EXP required to level up skills and characters in Hell Mode
is a hundred times the normal.
Talk about a hellish grind...
I'm home!
Welcome bac-
Honey! What happened?!
Huh? Oh, this? It's just blood from a hunt!
I'm not hurt.
Thank heavens. You scared me!
Hey, Allen! You being good for mommy?
Guess what?
Your daddy took down a boar today!
Boawr?
Wow, really?
You bet!
Rodin is a serf, but when fall and winter roll around,
he goes monster hunting with the other men of the village.
It was Great Boar! They're humungous!
You wanna see?
Woot! My first look at a real monster!
Wanna see Gweat Boawr!
All righty!
They're carving it up now. Let's go check it out.
Yay!
So, this is what's it like outside the house.
It's my first look around.
See there, Allen?
Those are Albaherons.
Awabahera?
Albaheron.
They flock together and head north at this time of year.
They're monsters that signal the coming of fall.
Monshter?
Oh, sorry!
Here's a little fun fact, Allen. I named you after the Albaheron.
For them, the sky is the limit.
They can use their wings to fly wherever they want in the world.
That's true freedom.
Sounds great, huh?
But Theresia totally bit my head off when I told her. Guess that's what I get for naming you after a monster.
We're here, Allen.
This is a Great Boar!
Vewy big.
I know, right?
It's actually terrifying to see up close!
I couldn't beat this thing.
Yo, Rodin!
Hi, Gerda.
Hey, fellas! Today's heavyweight champion is here!
You rock, Rodin!
Hoorah!
Aw, come off it. I just got lucky.
Whatever you say, Mr. Humble.
Oh! Brought your son, did you?
He really does have dark hair and dark eyes, huh?
Allen. Say hello to our neighbor, Gerda.
Nishe to meetchu. I'm Allen.
Holy cow! And this kid is just a year old?
My little Krena is the same age, but she's nowhere near this civilized!
Good to meet ya, Allen.
My pweasure!
Aw, ain't that adorable!
So, Gweat Boawr is strong?
Hmm. Well, boars are C-rank monsters.
They're tough!
We need at least 20 guys just to take one down.
That gives me a benchmark, at least.
Well, time to head home!
Boom, baby! That's how we do it!
I'm feeling the gamer adrenaline rush now!
S-s-s-stat page, open!
Hell yeah!
Looks like I can create G-rank creature cards now!
Plus I gained a skill that fuses summons together!
And my card inventory space has doubled!
Sweet, that means I get double the buffs.
Now we're cooking!
And my grimoire even has a note feature, huh?
They really covered all the bases!
I wanna fuse some stuff together, but I don't have enough MP...
Gotta eat and recover it!
Tanks for the num-nums!
Let's get cracking!
Mousey one and Mousey two, fusion go!
Huh?
What?! But I recovered my MP to max!
Fine, whatever. I'll just create a new summon card instead.
Create: Beast G!
Bruuuh...
Are you telling me I can't fuse or create anything new
with my current max MP?!
Freakin' Hell Mode, man.
Hopper and Moley, fusion!
Sweet! That scored me a Bird G card!
Your name will be Chappy!
Come on out, Chappy!
Your ability is... Voice Mimic?
Your ability is Voice Mimic?
Wow! That's a perfect imitation!
Pretty cool. That might be good for tricking enemies!
Come forth, Hopper! Moley!
Hopper, use Provoke!
You'll make for a great distraction during battle!
Moley, use Dig!
Whoa, you could make a ton of pitfall traps!
Good stuff. These G-rank summons are pretty useful!
Dominate the stats and you dominate the game!
The key to becoming a kickass Summoner is knowing all about the various stat buffs of your creatures!
So much depth and complexity! Now THIS is hardcore gaming!
Ow! Ouch, ouch, ouch...
But I'm still not fighting monsters anytime soon.
Already 3 o'clock, huh?
Here comes trouble...
Allen! Let's play dueling knights!
I am Krena the Fierce! Have at thee!
I am Allen the Honorable!
I accept your challenge to a fair duel!
Ugh! This is the opposite of cool.
But I have to take these play fights with Krena seriously.
Dude, how is she so fast?!
I poured all my creature buffs into agility and I can barely keep up!
She is too OP!
I'm only getting started!
Aw, it's Krena! Come for another playdate?
I played dueling knights with Allen!
How nice.
But it's getting dark now. So you should head home, okay?
Okay!
See ya tomorrow, Allen!
What a trooper.
That's my son for you!
Huff.
Oh, Mommy! Let me take those!
Why thank you.
You're such a good boy, Allen.
Hey, Daddy? I wanna help you guys harvest the taters, since Mommy has a big tummy now.
Huh?!
I can do it, I'm strong!
At any rate, it's safe to say that I have the stamina of a full grown adult now.
It's okay. Kids like you shouldn't have to work.
Just play with Krena, okay?
Your mom's right.
You've already been helping us around the house. That's plenty!
But...
No buts.
You'll end up doing it eventually. So enjoy life without farm work while you can.
Oh, right.
We're basically stuck in the serf class forever.
And working the farms is on a different level from house chores.
It's real grueling stuff.
I wouldn't wish that on my three year old son, either.
Okay.
Good to hear!
Say, Allen? I noticed you've been throwing rocks at the tree out back lately.
What're you doing that for?
You told me there are monsters in the forests outside the house.
So I'll protect mommy from them with rocks!
Shucks! Aren't you brave?
To tell the truth, I was only doing that to see if I could learn skills aside from summoning.
You're such a good boy, Allen.
You'll protect Krena, too, won't you?
Mm-hmm.
You two have so much fun playing knights. I can't wait for your Appraisal Ceremony!
What's that?
When you turn five years old, there is a divine ceremony to determine what kind of talent you have.
With any luck, a good talent will help you break out of serfdom!
A talent, huh?
Oh! Denka's still bouncing like a champ.
So, now I know that I can summon a creature for a whole day without any problems.
Great! That's big progress!
Allen!
Oh, crap!
A fat lot of good it does for a Summoner to hone sword skills!
You're wide open!
Yargh!
Yo, Allen! Looks like you didn't get knocked flat this time...
Never mind.
Theresia, I'm home!
Welcome home, honey.
Theresia?!
Oh, crap! I left Denka out!
Theresia!
It's all right. Just a little jump scare.
Uh-oh! Is the baby coming?!
Krena! Go fetch your mom, would you?
Roger that!
Kinda wishing I had played a birthing sim about now!
The hot water is ready! What's next?
Uh, shoot... what else is there?
Daddy!
Help has arrived!
Mathilda!
Wait, Gerda? What are you doing here?
Too anxious to stay put, y'know?
Okay, all men outside! Just let the ladies handle this!
Theresia!
Way to go, sweetheart!
Wh-what'd we get?
It's a baby boy.
Another son, huh? Oh, what joy!
You should name him, honey.
Sure! I have one ready to go!
This little fella will be...
Mash!
Mash? I love it. Mash!
Wait a second. This better not be another name that you took from a monster!
Uh, well... Theresia, my love... the thing is...
Oh, you!
Y'know, I can't help but wonder why I reincarnated.
I mean, aside from the fact I desperately wished to play a hardcore game with garbage balancing.
Speaking as the broke-ass, uneducated, romantically inept, and totally average joe I used to be...
I'm not sad to leave my past life behind.
Because there's nothing that can hold me back now.
I'm totally gonna horde the best equipment and max out every one of my stats.
But I gotta admit...
C'mere, Allen.
Say hello to your little brother.
Hi, Mash.
...this family stuff is pretty nice, too.
Oh, s-sorry!
That's okay.
You were even louder than this when you were born.
Really?
I'm not exactly sure how I'll pull it off.
But I want to free all of my family from the drudgery of serfdom.
VIDEO GAME
GARBAGE BALANCING
HARDCORE
WE OFFER YOU A GAME THAT NEVER ENDS
IN A FANTASY WORLD OF SWORDS AND MAGIC
EASY
NORMAL
EXTRA
NORMAL
EXTRA
HELL
LEVELING UP REQUIRES 100 TIMES MORE EXP
THAN NORMAL MODE
SWORDSMAN
SPEAR USER
SWORD MASTER
HERO
DEMON LORD
SUMMONER
ARE YOU READY TO START?
YES
NO
YES
LEVELING UP REQUIRES 100 TIMES MORE XP
THAN NORMAL MODE
THERE IS NO LEVEL CAP
SHOULD YOU PROVE CAPABLE OF OVERCOMING DESPAIR,
YOU SHALL DISCOVER
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE WORLD
EPISODE 1: BORN AGAIN AT BOTTOM-TIER
NAME:
ALLEN
AGE:
1
CLASS:
SUMMONER
LEVEL:
1
HP:
4
MP:
2
ATTACK:
1
ENDURANCE:
1
AGILITY:
2
INTELLIGENCE:
3
LUCK:
2
SKILLS:
SUMMON *1*,
CREATE *1*,
DELETE
EXP:
0/1000
NAME:
ALLEN
AGE:
1
CLASS:
SUMMONER
LEVEL:
1
HP:
4
MP:
2
ATTACK:
1
SUMMONER
SKILL EXP
CREATE:
0/10000
SUMMONS AVAILABLE FOR CREATION:
[INSECTS]
H
[BEASTS]
H
INVENTORY:
DEAR MR. ALLEN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE.
ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS ISEKAI WORLD?
PLEASE ACCEPT OUR SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY
IN DELIVERING YOUR GRIMOIRE.
WE'RE VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT.
SINCE YOU SELECTED A CLASS STILL UNDER TESTING,
IT TOOK TIME TO FINISH THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK.
OUR STAFF WORKED HARD TO FINISH AS SOON AS WE COULD.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY QUESTIONS
OR CANCELLATIONS IN REGARDS TO CLASS SELECTION.
SINCERELY, ELMEA - THE GOD OF CREATION
INSECT H
ENDURANCE +1 AGILITY +1
1 INSECT H-RANK CARD HAS BEEN CREATED
INSECT H
ENDURANCE +1 AGILITY +1
TYPE:
INSECT
RANK:
NAME:
NONE
*PLEASE CHOOSE*
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS:
ENDURANCE +1, AGILITY +1
TYPE:
INSECT
RANK:
NAME:
NONE
*PLEASE CHOOSE*
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS:
ENDURANCE +1, AGILITY +1
DENKA
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
TYPE:
BEAST
RANK:
H
NAME:
MOUSEY
HP:
5
MP:
0
ATTACK:
5
ENDURANCE:
2
AGILITY:
3
HP:
5
MP:
0
ATTACK:
5
ENDURANCE:
2
AGILITY:
3
INTELLIGENCE:
1
LUCK:
2
BUFFS:
HP +1,
AGILITY +1
ABILITY:
SCURRY
MP:
0
ATTACK:
5
ENDURANCE:
2
AGILITY:
3
INTELLIGENCE:
1
LUCK:
2
BUFFS:
HP +1,
AGILITY +1
ABILITY:
SCURRY
AVAILABLE SUMMONS:
[INSECT]
[BEAST]
INVENTORY:
[INSECTS]
2 CARDS
[BEASTS]
10 CARDS
LEVEL:
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
HELL
LEVELING UP REQUIRES 100 TIMES MORE EXP
THAN NORMAL MODE
10 MONTHS LATER
ALLEN
AGE: 1 AND 10 MONTHS
AUGUST
YOU HAVE REACHED SUMMMON LEVEL 2.
YOU HAVE REACHED CREATE LEVEL 2.
YOU HAVE OBTAINED EXPANSION LEVEL 1.
THE NOTES FEATURE OF THE GRIMOIRE HAS BEEN UNLOCKED.
CREATE 2
EXP
FUSE 1
EXP
SUMMONS AVAILABLE FOR CREATION:
[INSECTS]
[BEASTS]
INVENTORY:
[INSECTS]
2 CARDS
[BEASTS]
8 CARDS
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
SKILLS:
SUMMON *2*,
CREATE *2*,
FUSE *1*
EXPANSION *1*,
DELETE
EXP:
IT'S TOTALLY SICK
HOW THIS CAN
READ MY THOUGHTS
BUT MAN,
I'M GETTING HUNGRY.
HOPE DINNER IS SOON...
AND WRITE THEM ALL DOWN.
BEAST H
NOT ENOUGH MP
NOT ENOUGH MP TO CREATE BEAST G
ALLEN AGE 3
OCTOBER
NAME:
ALLEN
AGE:
CLASS:
SUMMONER
LEVEL:
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
SKILLS:
SUMMON *2*, CREATE *2*, FUSE *1*
EXPANSION *1*, DELETE
EXP:
SKILL LEVEL:
SUMMON: 2
CREATE: 2 EXP
FUSE: 1 EXP
SUMMONS AVAILABLE FOR CREATION:
[INSECTS] GH [BEASTS] GH [BIRDS] G
INVENTORY:
[INSECTS] G 2 CARDS H 2 CARDS
[BEASTS] G 12 CARDS H 8 CARDS
[BIRDS] G 2 CARDS
CREATE: 2 EXP
FUSE: 1 EXP
INSECT G
ENDURANCE +2 AGILITY +2
BEAST G
HP +2 ATTACK +2
BIRD G
AGILITY +2 INTELLIGENCE +2
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
BUFFS:
AGILITY
INTELLIGENCE
ABILITY:
VOICE MIMIC
INSECT G
ENDURANCE +2 AGILITY +2
BEAST G
HP +2 ATTACK +2
TYPE:
BIRD
RANK:
NAME:
CHAPPY
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
TYPE:
INSECT
RANK:
NAME:
HOPPER
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
TYPE:
BEAST
RANK:
NAME:
MOLEY
HP:
MP:
ATTACK:
ENDURANCE:
AGILITY:
INTELLIGENCE:
LUCK:
THE HARDCORE GAMER DOMINATES
IN ANOTHER WORLD WITH GARBAGE BALANCING