An Unfamiliar Ceiling and the Call to Adventure

"Hahhhh" I sighed, throwing my game controller onto my bed. A jovial fanfare played as text rolled across the screen:

「Sword of Dismarais: The End」

The screen dimly lit up the room, the world around me quiet save for the rolling end credits. Though I had just finished the game, I didn't look particularly happy. Well, how could I? The story just killed off my favorite character and without addressing it twice, ended nonchalantly with the smug protagonist wrapped around a randomly chosen male lead.

My phone buzzed. Picking it up, I realized it was a message from my friend who lent me the game.

Yo Ryu did u finish it yet? How was it?

Yeah I just beat it. The gameplay was good, like you said
Not a fan of the story tho :(

Rly? Isn't Marie so cute tho? 
Cuteness is Justice (･ω<)☆

I clicked my tongue and put the phone down, staring up at the ceiling deep in thought.

[Sword of Dismarais] was a new type of otome game developed in an RPG style, complete with a robust leveling system with stats and skills. Having heard great things about the gameplay itself, I - an avid RPG player - had borrowed the game from a friend but now that I'd finished it, was left with a sour taste in my mouth. 

The gameplay being its only saving grace, the story was as linear as could be with player choices only affecting who appeared at the player's side during cutscenes; there seemed to be no effect on the actual story. 

'This is what happens when the devs combine too many genres together' I thought to myself, still staring at the ceiling. It was well past midnight and with an early morning class threatening to cut my sleep short, I dozed off in my chair.

***

I stirred as shafts of sunlight beamed into my room. A rickety wooden ceiling greeted me as I opened my eyes groggily. Huh? A wooden ceiling?

I shot up and scanned my room. The very image of austerity: a hard bed, a flimsy desk, a sparse closet, and a table with one leg replaced with a pile of bricks. 

I ran to the window and flung it open, taking in a deep breath of... cow dung. I retched and immediately closed it, falling backwards in a coughing fit. So much for a fantasy opening.

I opened it carefully this time; the smell still lingering and with my nose pinched, I took a look outside. It was a run down village with no defining characteristics except for a small brick church whose spire could be seen in the distance. Wherever this place was, it was certainly not modern day Earth.

I rummaged through my closet to find two identical sets of threadbare clothes which didn't smell particularly good. Oh well, there was not much I could do about it. I changed and stepped outside, wondering where exactly this was. 

Farmers headed back home for a meal after their morning labor and children ran about the dirt paths. I meticulously avoided suspiciously brown puddles as I made my way to the church, the only building where it seemed I could find a clue as to my whereabouts. 

It was a humble building but built not so differently from what I'd recognize as a church. The circular symbol on the spire in particular threw me off. With some effort, I managed to pull the mismatched wooden doors open and peeked inside. 

Barring the devotees, only one priest was present. I made my way to the front and sat down at an empty pew just in time for the priest to begin his sermon.

He rattled on for a while about the importance of showing your devotion to the church in the form of tithes before saying a few prayers. I looked around as he did, the other churchgoers bent over in prayer as well. That's when I realized it, the circular symbol with a sword in the middle that everyone had around their necks, of course! That was the symbol of the Church of Dismariais, the leading religion in the world of 「Sword of Dismarais」! 

I waited eagerly for the prayer to end, planning out my next steps. If this was indeed the world of Dismarais, then that meant I had to have access to the in-game RPG system, and that meant a status! I dashed out of the church the moment service ended, running all the way back to my ramshackle hut. Panting, I sat down at my table and took a deep breath.

"Status."

A translucent screen popped up in front of me. Yes! This is it! The dream of every gamer! However, my excitement soon dissipated when I began to read.

Name: Alfonse Thibault
Age: 15
Race: Human
Job: Orphan
Level: 2
Titles: Destitute
Stats: 
HP: 47, Strength: 10, Magic: 8, Defense: 9, Resistance: 8, Speed: 11, Luck: 6
Skills (skill-points: 3):
Farming (E)

The name was all too familiar: Alfonse Thibault, one of the male leads from 「Sword of Dismarais」, infamous in the community for being the least popular amongst the already lackluster romance options. According to some forum posts, the devs were going for a good natured lad who became money hungry and a sadist due to being orphaned and left in difficult times and clawed his way out of poverty. In the game however, he just came off as incredibly caustic, irrational, and one-dimensional, leading to him being the least popular male lead in popularity ranking polls. I was surprised people even voted for him.

Unfortunately, I was now in his shoes. Abysmal stats aside, what the hell is up with the job of 'Orphan'? Is that his entire defining characteristic? I slumped back in my chair, deflated. 

But wait, I've cleared this game. If this world is indeed the same as the game, then I know everything there is to know about it! Plus, I might even have some player perks. I checked my status more closely and sure enough, several menu bars were there: status, map, inventory, and quests. 

I switched to the map tab which showed me in a small village on the outskirts of Sardonia, the main city of the region. A marker hovered over the town square in the city. I switched to the quest tab and sure enough, there was one already listed: 

Mainline Quest:
『Head to Sardonia and become an adventurer by registering at the guild hall.』

That's right; Alfonse had made enough money to attend Bellefontaine by becoming a B rank adventurer over the course of a year. I wasn't too keen on following the quest line down to the letter, though, as it would probably result in Elise dying again.

Elise! She must also be in this world somewhere? I pored over the map again, searching for the Mercia domain. It was in the easternmost part of the kingdom of Besfort right on the coast. 

Elise von Mercia: the villainess in 「Sword of Dismarais」and the only one sane character in the game. She was screwed over by her fiancée, the first prince of Besfort, then screwed over in the academy by baseless slander, then resorted to black magic to get back at the protagonist and ended up dying at the hands of the player as the final boss. A stale and hardly savory development for any party involved. 

Regardless, I was sure to come across her in a year when, at 16 years of age, we would all head to the academy. I checked the map once more and, after taking a deep breath, headed off on foot towards Sardonia, eagerly anticipating the adventurer life.