THERE'S NOTHING TO LOSE!

Back then, I played the role of a hero who thought even death couldn’t kill him.

As I walked deeper into the forest, I heard the sounds of insects, bees, and butterflies—

Wait.

How the hell do you hear butterflies?

…Never mind. There are more important things to think about.

At that point, I had no idea what awaited me ahead.

Probably death.

A quick and efficient execution of my already miserable life.

Still, at the very least—

I was safe.

For now.

Yes.

For now.

Which, honestly, was a phrase with the same energy as saying “everything is under control” right before the entire situation collapses.

I had no clue what kind of future this world planned to throw at me, so I needed a tactic. A strategy.

What was the best possible way to survive?

First rule: confuse the opponent.

Honestly, I’d been absurdly lucky today.

Not only did I escape that aura-farming, long-chinned boss man, I somehow survived that white-haired guy too.

Come to think of it, that level of luck was suspicious.

Maybe this world gave beginners temporary protection.

Maybe the author forgot to kill me.

Maybe I was secretly important.

…No.

Let’s not get delusional.

Luck doesn’t come forever.

Or even twice.

Well… twice already happened.

So maybe not a third time.

Meaning next time, I needed to be careful.

Let’s say an enemy appeared while I was completely unprepared.

Simple.

Bluff.

BS my way through with confidence.

Lie.

Stack lies on top of lies.

Then pray.

If the conversation reached a dead end…

I still had my university skills.

Back when I studied engineering and somehow joined drama class for extra credits.

That’s right.

I once acted as a hero who believed death itself couldn’t kill him.

Ironically enough, the audience praised my confidence.

Now I was trying not to die for real.

Life really was a comedian.

So not only would I use acting skills to pretend I was some absurdly overpowered protagonist—

I’d actually use my brain.

Little tricks.

Small ideas.

Cheap illusions.

Whatever it took to fool these terrifyingly broken opponents.

With enough luck and perseverance, maybe I could clear this world without ever throwing a proper punch.

Maybe wit was my actual talent.

Or so I thought.

Actually—

being weak had advantages too.

Nobody suspects the harmless guy.

Nobody fears the loser.

That meant people underestimated me.

And underestimating someone was the first step toward getting tricked.

…Wow.

I accidentally sounded cool there.

Anyway.

Time to move.

I continued through the forest.

The deeper I walked, the stranger the atmosphere became.

The trees looked normal enough.

But there was something weird.

Too symmetrical.

Too cinematic.

Like the entire forest was generated by someone who had only seen forests in fantasy anime.

Even the wind blew at dramatic timing.

Then—

noise.

Footsteps.

Multiple.

Coming from the west.

Nine o’clock.

Immediately, I stopped.

I lowered myself and crouched.

Slowly but surely, I sneaked toward the edge of the forest.

Every step became deliberate.

Avoid leaves.

Avoid branches.

Control breathing.

For a moment I genuinely felt like some stealth-game protagonist.

Then I stepped on a twig.

CRACK.

I froze.

Nobody reacted.

Thank God.

Turns out—

there was a group.

A dozen people moving quietly on foot.

And all of them looked absurdly familiar.

Leading them was—

“Oh dear God..."

"THERE’S NOTHING TO LOSE! WE CANNOT LOSE THIS WAR!”

…

Of course.

Absolutely.

No surprise there.

A blonde little girl in full military attire.

Military coat.

Uniform.

Everything.

Attached to a body that looked way too young for all that intensity.

At the front stood a red-eyed dude.

Looked like a devil.

Not metaphorically.

Actual demon energy.

And when I looked around—

elves.

Demons.

Wait.

Weren’t these characters from shows I used to watch?

What was this?

Some kind of all-star anime war?

A crossover event nobody asked for?

Did copyright die too when I got isekai’d?

I had no idea who they were attacking.

But the little commander kept speaking.

“LET’S TURN THEM INTO PIECES! THEY ARE A GROUP OF PIG BSTRDS WHO ARE AGAINST THE ORDER MADE BY GOD!”

Okay.

That gave me goosebumps.

Unlike the cringey speeches from earlier.

This one actually worked.

It felt weirdly theatrical.

Like watching a live-action performance.

Somehow, it reminded me of drama class.

Back then—

yes.

Thanos Valdigold.

And obviously—

I was fit for the role.

Actually…

our motivations weren’t even that different.

Wait.

Why am I saying this?

“RAGE, MY SOLDIERS! RAGE! GIVE US YOUR HEART! LET’S TEAR DOWN THE OPPOSITION!”

…

Oh wow.

Yet another legendary anime figure leading a squad full of stupidly overpowered characters.

And I swear I saw the Kamehameha dude somewhere in that crowd.

So—

German versus German?

Cool.

Too bad I forgot the popcorn.

Then suddenly—

they charged.

The battlefield exploded.

I couldn’t tell what exactly happened.

Blood flew everywhere.

Magic got thrown around like promotional freebies.

Aura farmers clashed dramatically in the front line.

Meanwhile healers stayed behind, preparing support.

Explosions.

Shockwaves.

Someone got launched into the sky.

Another guy casually cut a tree in half.

One dude literally screamed an attack name.

Why do people still do that?

If I were there—

I’d die instantly.

So naturally—

I watched.

Safely.

From a distance.

Like a responsible civilian.

Maybe if I stayed still—

SWOOOSH—

Something hit my face.

My beautiful face.

Right on the cheek.

I looked.

The weapon embedded nearby.

A freaking lance?!

Dear God.

That was close.

That was actually close.

No.

I refuse.

I am NOT dying here.

Without wasting another second—or my life—

I abandoned stealth.

And ran.

East.

Maybe there was another area.

Another biome.

Another piece of worldbuilding.

Anything.

I ran.

Fast.

Too fast.

Even knowing my stamina probably wouldn’t survive.

(Old soul. Smh.)

Still—

I kept going.

“Ouch!”

I slipped.

My left foot hit a tree branch—

and suddenly—

I flew.

Straight toward a cliff.

A steep one.

The kind that politely informs you there are no second chances.

So.

This is the end?

Maybe.

But strangely—

this time…

I didn’t regret anything.

My body rolled violently.

Meters and meters downward.

Tumbling.

Spinning.

Getting turned into human laundry.

And then—

it stopped.

Not naturally.

Something stopped me.

I hung there.

Suspended.

Only inches above a river.

And below that—

another cliff.

It felt like magic.

Like something was holding me.

I couldn’t move.

Slowly, I looked around.

And saw—

an angel.

No.

A beautiful elf.

Silver hair.

Purple eyes.

Standing in front of me.

Then she smiled.

“Hello there.”

She tilted her head.

“Are you lost or something, hm?”