No Game No Life-Vol 1 Prologue

Prologue

—[Urban Legends].

a type of [Desire].

—For example, the conspiracy of the Freemasons in the American dollar bills.

nuclear shelter, Area 51, the Roswell UFO incident, etc.

pattern between them.

was real'.

becomes a [Rumor]. This kind of thinking was not strange to the world. Since ancient times,

was likely the accidental product of astronomical probability.

Looking from this way of thinking, the world was not chaotic, but orderly. By imagining out a

values of this world.

be something that was born from earnest [Desire].

illuminate the skies, there are truths mistaken for legends. In the end, n.o.body knows if they were

—Don't be mistaken, this does not mean that the aforementioned urban legends are true.

Now then, how did this [Urban Legend] come about? It started as any ordinary [Rumor]. But it

And that kind of [Rumor] is like this one.

more than 280 Online Game Rankings, there was a player with an undefeated record that always

way something like that could exist." That is right. Anyone would think the same way. That was

A simple theory was accepted. That is, in order to not expose his ident.i.ty, a certain game

rumor spread explosively as a wave throughout the community, it took on a different form: in

But the strange thing was that 『 』 partic.i.p.ated in wars and many players have faced against

He was said...to have beaten a chess program that even Grandmasters cannot defeat. He was

He was said...to have been so strong that even if you use Tool a.s.sists and Cheat Codes, you

He was said...was said...was said...

further.

first in either a Consumer Game, PC Game, or Social Game, that person would surely have an

But how could such a person exist?

own account for every game console and SNS. The number of games on the accounts were

—With that, the mystery thickened. Some even hypothesized that 『 』 was a hacker that erased

invited to, etc.

—However, in this case, the person who allowed this 『 』 rumor to be created must also be

Because he had an account, he was given the right to speak, but he completely ignored this

provided any information.

Since there was no provision of information, everything was a mystery besides the fact that 『

urban legend was accelerating.

—Let us introduce.

He has truly been crowned in the world ranking for his victorious battles in over 280 games. This

『 』 —his true ident.i.ty———!

"...Aa.....I'm dying....aa, now I died for real.....hey, my little sister, hurry up, rez[2], rez~!"

"Whatever hurry up, my little sister—or should I say, my sly little sister—even though I have not

battle."

"Nii, do you want to eat too...? Something like Calorie Mate[3] or so...." "Ah, that thing that only

"...*Zuzuzu*... okay."

"What a novel way to describe eight o' clock in the morning, as 'night'. Then, what day is today?"

"Wait, my little sister. I don't mean how much time has pa.s.sed since we started pulling allnighters

"Does that even matter...to Nii who is a NEET?"

—Like that, it was a conversation of a certain boy and girl playing internet games. Inside the

The size of the room was around sixteen tatami mats[5]. Considerably wide. However, inside it

On the floor there were many game packages that were already unsealed, and also [Food]—

the room being 'wide' unable to be felt at all.

which had been up for a while already, mostly blocked by the curtains.

"...Then why don't you also go to school, my little sister?" "..."

Just like that they ended their conversation and no one spoke of the subject thereafter.

communicate well. Game freak. Wearing a T-s.h.i.+rt and jeans that gave the impression of being a

The little sister—s.h.i.+ro. Ten years old. Truant. Didn't have any friends. A bullied child.

her brother because she had white hair in contrast to his. Her hair was so long that it flowed

their home since she transferred schools.

and s.h.i.+ro (白 ).

Even if everybody knew this, n.o.body would want to pursue or accept this truth, and would

Part 3

before, [Urban Legends] are Humanity's [Desires].

full of 'accidents'. It is a world that is unreasonable and irrational. This world has no meaning at

It does not matter if a person recognizes this truth or chooses not to accept it. Everyone would

[Urban Legends].

will provide everyone with a new [Urban Legend].

—The story begins with this opening.

One day, an e-mail came to a 'player' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a

When one clicks on it, a certain game will be started. Once that person has cleared that game,

Part 4

"Wait! You're the one that's in charge of the team's recovery, and if you log out—" ".....If it's

"Theoretically, it's possible! If I operate my own two characters with both my hands and also two

".....Fi...ght!"

see, I've gone and died!"

that these siblings have already done all-nighters gaming for five days straight.

console as her pillow.

Suddenly a tone notifying the siblings that they had mail sounded. "....Nii, an e-mail."

on four different screens? You want a request from me, but I really don't have any extra

He skillfully operated the mouse using both his hands and his feet. He furiously commanded a

"I'm sure it's just another advertis.e.m.e.nt anyway, just ignore it—" "....What if....it came from a

"Whose friend?"

"Haha, how weird, somehow I can feel you stabbing me through my chest with such an ironic

"I don't...want you to say...it's mine.........."

going to sleep, please help me a bit here—Noooo, died, I've died!"

Unable to communicate well. Game freak. It's not boasting but, it wasn't just that he didn't have a

the younger sister.

s.h.i.+ro tried to wake her consciousness and muster all her strength to get up. It would have been

advertis.e.m.e.nt about a new game.

"At three o'clock from there, in the second mountain of eroge from the left, and placed around

Ignoring the brother who was in anguish, s.h.i.+ro easily found it in the exact location that Sora

But that is, of course, a foolish question, because the answer is obvious that it is used for gaming.

countless e-mail addresses, but even excluding the addresses that were not for gaming use, there

"....The sound is Ring— so it came from..... the third address of the main account......is it this

The white-haired girl whose memory was extraordinary compared to an ordinary person, easily

people in real-time combat by manipulating four roles at once, let out a roar of triumph, before

【 New mail----Subject: To the both of you, 『 』 .】 "...?"

E-mails that were addressed to 『 』 were not rare.

receive, but— "...Nii."

alone in the game, and in the end didn't sleep and still left your physically tired brother to play?""

As if she didn't hear the sarcasm from her brother who didn't look like he was about to listen,

"Hmm—what is this?"

"Saving. Okay, that's done. Checking the item drops, that's done too."

continuously running since five days ago and switched the screen to show his inbox to check out

"...How does this guy know that 『 』 is actually a pair of siblings?"

main problem lies not from what was written as the subject, but from the content that said:

this?"

It was a somewhat, no, it was a considerably strange message. It also included a URL that they

domain name. This URL was pointed to a specific page—and it looked like it was linked to a

"...What should we do?"

Which means that she would just leave the decision up to her brother.

be a bluff in the end, let's just treat it as another amus.e.m.e.nt."

while the security software was running full throttle. What appeared there on the screen was just

"Wait, wait, wait! This is a challenge for 『 』 , you know. If the other party has an advanced

Sora tried to stop his sister from sleeping. "...Who plays chess well...these days...." "Umm, I

A program that was able to beat even the strongest Grandmasters. Even with that, the little sister

"It wouldn't be forgiven if 『 』 lost. Please at least stay awake until we know the extent of the

And then Sora started the game. After seeing her brother do one move, two moves, s.h.i.+ro began

knew it half of the board had already been filled with pieces. s.h.i.+ro suddenly snapped her eyes

"...Huh? This guy is...."

players..."

her older brother could do no more at this point. In other words, s.h.i.+ro recognized that the other

started to plan her moves.

and occasionally point game. In theory, a surefire way to win existed, but in the end that is just

them. A person who could do that surely did not exist.

and could comprehend the large—no, enormous— amount of possible moves in chess. If you

you went second the way of escape was a draw. That is how the theory goes. What about against

chess program was proven not to be perfect enough for the little sister when she had won twenty

"....No way."

This, I'm sure the other party is human."

"In a program's case, it would always choose the best move to play. In one way that is a good

programmed to use. That's why you can win against them easily. But this guy is—"

"The other party lured you in and made you play a bad move, and if you feel that it is natural for

"....Uuu."

—Of course, regarding their abilities playing chess, no, in most games s.h.i.+ro and Sora were

exaggeration. In s.h.i.+ro's case, she can only act based on her logic. That's why she can easily

people's [Motives] is dull. That's why, at times like this, s.h.i.+ro needed to leave it to Sora. Even

unexpectedly outstanding.

lose. Don't be taken in by his provocation. I will point out every one of his provocations and

This is the reason behind their success in becoming the world's best gamer.

from their brains, making them forget their fatigue from doing all-night gaming for five days,

lasted for several days.

the game could be heard from the speakers.

That was the siblings' win. ""...""

They each took a long breath. It was almost as if the game had made them forget to breathe.

"Amazing......it's been a while.....since I've played in a hard fight like this."

though, right?" "...Nii, is the opponent.....really a human?"

play a bad move, and when it didn't work I could sense a feeling of disturbance from him. I'm

"...I wonder what kind of person he is."

"Maybe a Grandmaster? Programs are exact, but a human is complex after all."

"Will the Dragon King even accept your shogi challenge? Why don't we find out!"

were talking.

Suddenly, the mail notification tone could be heard.

But the content of the e-mail was only one sentence.

With only that single sentence, it was as if their mental states had dropped to zero degrees.

strewn over the floor, along with scattered trash and clothes. It felt as if time was frozen in that

Isolated in the narrow sixteen tatami sized room. This was the world the siblings were in—all of

—Unpleasant memories were running through their minds.

words. The white haired, red eyed little sister, who by nature, had high intelligence—but was a

pa.s.sed away. No matter how optimistically they tried to recount memories of the past— No,

The little sister silently bowed.

【 None of your business! Who the h.e.l.l are you anyways?】

called a reply or not could be doubted because the content of this new e-mail was—

guys feel at ease?】 Because of these words, the older brother forgot about his anger and made

clear from the start.

...With no clear objectives or rules, a stupid game. Around seven billion players move as they

Ones that have more than others get penalized. The little sister who was now isolated, was

was bullied.

who always failed, even when scolded by parents or teachers.

—Silence only made one a target to be bullied by others.

—Being able to read peoples' real intentions too much also made one become alienated by

Ones that do as the rules say are punished, yet ones that ignore the rules are not punished and

difficult, worst game.

Sora grit his teeth and caressed his little sister's head.

exciting game was gone. What was there, was only these two siblings who were isolated from

The sound Ring— could suddenly be heard.

But, his sister held his hands to stop him.

Sora, who had actually tried to turn off the PC just then, was unable to do anything other than

【 —A world where the objectives and rules were clear, a world on top of a game board, what

The two exchanged looks, laughing, and both of them nodded their heads. Then the older brother

【 If that kind of world actually does exist, then that really does mean that we were born into the

Suddenly—

The PC's screen gave off a faint noise and then it made a sound like a circuit breaker

stopped; only the screen with the e-mail had been left moving.

Noise could be heard within the room. There was a sound that sounded like the house itself was

quickly looked around the room, and the little sister just stared, dumbfounded. After that, the

static noise from an empty TV channel. And then from the speakers—no, from the screen of the

[I also think the same. You two were born into the wrong world.] Suddenly a pair of white hands

"...Hiii!"

[I will let you siblings be born again-again, in the world where you two should have been born!]

When they had opened their eyes again, the first thing that they noticed was the light and warmth

being burned by the light. The brother who had come to his senses first, after his pupils adjusted,

"Uooooooooooo!"

They were—in the air.

h.e.l.l is thiiiiis!"

underneath him—and other islands as well— were floating. There was also a certain creature

large chess pieces near a range of mountains, which could have made people lose their sense of

'What's with this fantasy-like kind of entrance?' is what was floating through Sora's mind. The

[Earth] that he knew. But the main problem right now, he quickly realized, was not that.

"I'm going to die!"

But, as if to break this sorrowful confirmation, a loud shouting could be heard beside him.

The [Boy] falling beside him said while opening his arms and laughing.

everything here is decided by a game, even one's life and country borders!"

s.h.i.+ro, who understood the situation as soon as she opened her eyes, embraced her brother while

s.h.i.+ro tried her best to shout while falling at a frighteningly high speed, but ended up only

"Me? About me~ I....live there."

had seen for the first time only a short while ago.

Placing his index finger on his cheek, the self-proclaimed G.o.d spoke cutely and full of

—However, n.o.body knew if what he said was true.

s.h.i.+ro!" "...............................!"

body so that he would be below s.h.i.+ro. After that, s.h.i.+ro who was in Sora's arms issued a

Seeing that, the boy who called himself G.o.d spoke to them with a happy tone. "I look forward to

blacked out.

"U....Uun....."

realized that he was on the ground.

Was this a dream? Is what Sora thought but he didn't say it out loud. "....Uu....what a weird

The little sister who woke up a bit later than Sora moaned.

deliberately decided against it.

was under his feet was undoubtedly land.

Sora realized that he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and hurriedly backed off by two steps.

An incredible landscape was laid out before his eyes.

There were floating islands and dragons. And across the mountains on the horizon were huge

Which means that—it was not a dream... "Hey, my little sister."

Overlooking the picturesque view of the landscape, he said.

m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.ts." "......Un....."

""So it finally bugged out, huh...enough, what the h.e.l.l is this super awful s.h.i.+t game!"" After

Part 6

One day, an e-mail came to a 'person' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a

When one has clicked on it, a certain game will be started.

will be invited to a parallel universe.