Spoiler Alert!

You feel your body ache all over as you get to your feet.

The dim light from the cavern’s white crystals barely pierce the darkness.

The last thing you remember is falling into a dark, bottomless chasm in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. You were using your Transmute Skill to delay a horde of rampaging monsters on a stone bridge while your classmates got to safety. When you tried to follow them, a blast of magic knocked you into the shadowy chasm below as the bridge collapsed.

You must be somewhere deep in the Labyrinth where no one has ventured before.

Anyway, you should try to find some stairs to get back up…

A rabbit…?

It turns around. Its eyes are hideous.

Without warning, it does a forward backflip in the air. Instinctively, you dodge left and the wall behind you is inflicted with a deep fissure, as though a massive sword cut it!

Did the rabbit do that?

You have no chance against it!

You back away slowly as the rabbit advances on you, then it seems to glance away.

What’s it looking…at…

?!

With a swipe of its huge paw, the monstrous bear mauls the rabbit to pieces. It then begins to chew and lap up what’s left of the rabbit.

An even bigger predator! And you’re the prey! It’s like a jungle down here!

You’d better get away while it’s busy!

The growls behind you get louder as you run.

Hmm?

Your left side feels a bit lighter for some reason.

What hap…

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Your ARM! YOUR AAARRRM!!

Fighting tears, you swivel around as you cradle the stump your left arm was. It HURTS! HURTS!

You see your dismembered, bloody arm on the floor in front of you.

The bear shuffles to your arm, picks it up and devours it.

No, no, no, no…why is this…happen…ing?

Why…how…must get…away…

You press your back against the cavern wall as the bear eyes you hungrily.

Wait, that’s it!

Despite the dizziness, pain and terror filling your mind, you use Transmute to dig yourself into the wall.

Transmute, transmute, transmute, transmute, transmute!

Away, away, away, away, away!

Mustn’t stop! Mustn’t stop! Mustn’t stop!!

…

…

So…tired…dying?…

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest (ありふれた職業で世界最強, Arifureta Shokugyō de Sekai Saikyō) is a web novel, light novel series, manga and anime written by Ryo Shirakome (白米 良, Shirakome Ryō).

An entire class of Japanese high school students suddenly find themselves transported to the fantasy world of Tortus. Among these students is the shy otaku Hajime Nagumo, who was long bullied for his friendly relationship with Kaori Shirasaki, the class’ most popular girl. While all of his classmates receive powerful abilities, Hajime receives only the Transmute Skill, which uses basic alchemical magic to analyze and manipulate solid matter. During an expedition in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, he is betrayed when one of his classmates attacks him with a blast of magic that causes him to fall into the unexplored depths of the Labyrinth.

When Hajime awakens, he almost immediately loses his left arm to a huge Claw Bear. After digging himself underground to hide, he accidentally finds a Divinity Stone, a crystal that secretes a liquid that could heal any injury. Badly injured and starving, the delirious Hajime is consumed with despair and rage as he vows to survive by any means necessary. After recovering, he hunts the Labyrinth’s monsters, eats their flesh and swiftly grows in power. Eventually, he kills the Claw Bear that ate his arm.

Later, Hajime discovers and frees an imprisoned vampire girl he names Yue. The pair eventually fight their way to the lowest level of the Labyrinth, where they discover the mansion of the Labyrinth’s creator, Oscar Orcus. A magical recording left by Oscar tells Hajime the darkest secret of Tortus: the god overseeing the world, Eiht, is the god of humans and demons alike and is a cruel, malicious manipulator who plays everyone’s lives against each other for his own twisted amusement. Inheriting Oscar’s Creation Ancient Magic as a reward for conquering the Labyrinth, Hajime gets the idea to find and conquer more Labyrinths in order to acquire their stored Ancient Magics and use them to return home.

During their travels, Hajime and Yue are joined by the rabbit girl Shea and the dragonborn princess Tio. At the request of an adventurers’ guild, Hajime eventually returns to the Great Orcus Labyrinth and defends his classmates from a powerful demon. Immensely relieved and now aware of her feelings for Hajime, Kaori decides to join his team in their quest to find a way home.

Meanwhile, the god Eiht takes steps to eliminate a particularly vexing problem…

Main Characters

Hajime Nagumo (南雲 ハジメ, Nagumo Hajime), a 17-year old Synergist and a former high school student. Betrayed by a classmate and forced to survive alone in a labyrinth filled with hostile monsters, the once-gentle teenager is now cynical, pragmatic, stubborn and unsympathetic. Hajime has no mercy for those who get in the way of his goals, especially his wish to return to Japan, and will happily destroy anything that gets in his way. Despite this, he cares deeply for those who have earned his trust and is willing to do whatever he can for them within reason.

As a result of devouring many monsters in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, Hajime has gained many Skills and is now far stronger and faster than any human at the cost of being no longer human. A gifted engineer and inventor, he has used Creation Ancient Magic to craft an artificial left arm, modern-day vehicles and many weapons such as various firearms, grenades, Shea’s warhammer and a katana for one of his classmates. An expert fighter and marksman, Hajime prefers to dual wield two revolvers, Donner and Schlag, in battle, but he can use different firearms or even fight unarmed if the situation calls for it.

Yue, a vampire Divine Priestess and a one-time Queen of the Avatari Kingdom. Childish, graceful, quiet and somewhat sadistic, she is utterly loyal to and in love with Hajime. Yue is actually a name given to her by Hajime, but she has accepted it in order to put her old identity behind her. A powerful magician, Yue can use a wide variety of combat magic such as fire, ice and lightning spells.

Shea Haulia, a rabbit girl Diviner and the daughter of the Haulia Tribe’s chieftain. Courageous, friendly, optimistic and somewhat selfish, she has grown in confidence and strength since joining Hajime’s team. Shea is in love with Hajime and aggressively pursues him. After training with Hajime and Yue, Shea is now a skilled fighter, particularly when using her custom-made warhammer, Drucken. As a Diviner, she can foresee vague moments in the future.

Tio Klarus, a 563-year old dragonborn Guardian and princess. Determined, honest, kind and wise, she has become hopelessly masochistic and perverted as a result of Hajime defeating her in battle by roughly shoving a metal rod up her anus! While Tio is generally upstanding, her newly discovered fetishes often overtake her. Like all members of her race, she can transform into a winged dragon. Like Yue, Tio is a powerful, experienced magician.

Kaori Shirasaki (白崎 香織, Shirasaki Kaori), a 17-year old Priestess and a former high school student. Caring, gentle, kind and responsible, she was, and still is, the most popular girl of her class. Kaori has held a crush on Hajime since middle school, but only realized this when she saw him fall seemingly to his death. Since then, she resolved to be more assertive and determined, even after learning about Hajime’s new ruthless attitude and joining his team. As a Priestess, Kaori can use powerful healing magic and spells that enhance the abilities of others.

Personal Thoughts

Broken by horrific betrayal and the desperate need to survive on his own, Hajime is a determined, pragmatic antihero. In fact, he reminds me of Wolverine from Marvel Comics’ X-Men and the Man with No Name portrayed by Clint Eastwood! Despite this, Hajime becomes a beloved, all-powerful hero in his story and eventually gains a harem of beautiful women. His worldliness, his iron determination and his awareness of others are what make him a hero. Even with his cynical attitude, Hajime doesn’t act on his resentments or force anyone to share his beliefs.

By contrast, a few of Hajime’s classmates have become deluded, entitled and self-centered during their time on Tortus. Hoping to gain the power to achieve their selfish desires, these teenagers made dark pacts with demons in exchange for power, betraying their friends and becoming unrepentant criminals themselves. Another classmate, Kouki Amanogawa, means well and does his best to be a hero, but he is proud and self-righteous to the point that he tries to impose his moral standards on everyone and he shows mercy to malicious people who don’t deserve it. An ace student who excelled at everything in school, the naïve Kouki is flabbergasted when his black-and-white beliefs don’t work in the real world and when he sees Hajime, someone he looked down on, succeed where he failed.

This story is a fantasy example of youths suddenly thrust into a harsh reality in which they have to learn how to survive. The rules we learn in the relatively sheltered environment of our schools and homes must be tempered in a world where people are more likely to take advantage of us. While it is possible for us to adapt and even prosper, it is also possible for us to become corrupt and ruthless. It’s especially dangerous to believe that life is a game in which we are the heroes while no one else matters.

Moral

Life isn’t a game in which only you matter. Be considerate of others.

Greetings and Happy New Year, everyone!

It’s been a year since I started this blog about isekai stories. Occasionally, I also wrote posts about any anime or manga that I found interesting. I honestly never thought I’d have the drive to keep writing in this blog and I don’t regret it! In fact, my only regret is not starting it sooner!

2020 was likely a rough year for all of us. Not only are we in danger of becoming infected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but we also have to deal with the ramifications of long-term quarantines. However, we must remember to do what is necessary to survive this. We can endure hardships and we can adjust our lifestyles, but we cannot replace lives. Many have died because of COVID-19, so it’s up to us to ensure things do not get worse for the sake of our loved ones. Hopefully, 2021 will bring happier and healthier prospects for all of us!

One thing I consider universal for all fiction is that they reflect us and are inspired by us. Within each story, to various degrees, is a lesson that we can all take to heart to improve our lives. All characters, whether hero, villain or otherwise, give shape to these realities and are also reflections of traits found in all of us. Motives such as curiosity, ambition, hope, greed, love, vengeance and the simple desire for a quiet life are natural instincts found in all humans.

As for Isekai Eye, my current most popular post is about The Golden-Haired Elementalist. I’m not quite sure why this post got several hundred views so far, with most of them in December 2020 alone! Over the past year, only one comment has been posted for the entire blog! I would appreciate more comments and likes for my posts so that I could have a better idea of your opinions.

Why do I write about isekai stories? I feel that, in a way, they relate to readers a bit more personally. Most of the main protagonists of these stories are people you would pass by every day in the streets, even if they’re mostly from Japan or Korea! Students, office workers, soldiers and professionals of various stripes could suddenly find themselves in another world where they get the chance to shine as individuals and perhaps build a more fulfilling life for themselves. We can feel for them because I think all of us want at least some recognition from others for our abilities and accomplishments!

In regards to this, I believe that The Duchess’ 50 Tea Recipes is the most inspiring story I’ve read so far. On Earth, a corporate accountant struggled to retain everyone’s favor by doing whatever they wanted, no matter how unreasonable. On another world, a timid, weak-willed noblewoman was the laughingstock of a haughty aristocracy. When the accountant finds herself in the noblewoman’s body, she stands up for herself and her lifelong passion for tea. Despite many challenges and those who try to discredit her, she perseveres, builds loving relationships and accomplishes her dreams. This story is an example of why self-esteem and self-love are keys to a better life.

I have learned many things from reading isekai stories and will continue to do so. There’s always more out there and I love to share what I’ve learned with you. I’ll also improve some of the posts already sent out, if I have time.

Thank you for reading and have a happy, healthy new year!

Spoiler Alert!

*yawn*

Looks like you fell asleep while reading your favorite novel again. The story escalated quickly when Prince Lucas and Ainspener started fighting over Elisha!

Hmm?

Whose bed is this? It’s so big and fancy!

Wait! Where ARE you?

Huh?

You look at your hands and your clothes. They aren’t yours!

Seriously, what happened?!

You see an elegant dressing table with a mirror in one corner of the room and dash towards it.

Who…?

!!

You know this face, but…you’ve seen it in the pictures of your novel!

Duchess Roselia Chaid!

The wicked stepmother of Ainspener Chaid, the novel’s villain, and the wife of Duke Cassius Chaid, the terror of the Empire!

How did this happen?!?

The last thing you remember was reading a novel in bed after another busy day at the children’s daycare center you work at.

You’ve read many stories about people waking up in another world, but…

Hold on! Alright, calm down now…

There’s a much bigger problem right now…

“Mother?”

A boy’s voice? Who…

An…angel?

Wait, you know him!

This is Ainspener Chaid himself! The ultimate villain!

The reason why he became such was that Roselia (that’s you!) abused him at every opportunity, from harassing him with dogs to humiliating him publicly at social events.

Was she crazy?!

Abuse this little angel?!

What’s worse is that Ain would eventually murder Roselia, according to the novel.

There’s only one thing to do…

Raise him with love and affection, thereby preventing him from becoming a villain!

You give your warmest smile.

He gives you a slightly bewildered stare.

Did you do something wrong?

As a daycare teacher, you know it’s important for the adult to make the first move.

“Ain, shall we have breakfast together?”, you ask.

“R-really?”

“Of course!”

Yes, family should spend time together and get to know each other better!

…

This is awful.

Why didn’t he say anything about his allergy to peaches?

He…he probably thinks you fed him peaches on purpose during yesterday’s breakfast!

“Why…why did you eat them?”

“I’m sorry…”

It’s like your good intentions have somehow turned into abuse!

You feel tears welling up in your eyes. Despite being allergic to peaches, the boy still ate them because he didn’t want to upset you!

“It won’t happen again, Ain.”, you sob.

“No, no! You’ve done nothing wrong, mother!”

You have to make sure it never happens again…

You will protect him!

I Became the Villain’s Mother (악당의 엄마가 되어버렸다, Agdang-ui Eommaga Doeeobeolyeossda) is a web novel and web comic written by Yulji (율지).

After falling asleep while reading her favorite novel, the 28-year old daycare teacher Haena Seo wakes up as Duchess Roselia Chaid, the abusive stepmother of Ainspener Chaid, the main villain of said novel. Upon seeing Ain as a child, the new Roselia’s motherly instincts overtake her and she resolves to give Ain the happy childhood he never had in the novel. She does this by talking to him daily, accompanying him at mealtimes, playing with him and occasionally taking him on outings. When Roselia learns that Ain takes minute doses of poison as part of his “training”, she becomes angry and rebukes her husband, Duke Cassius Chaid, and the household staff for such cruelty to a child.

Intrigued by his once-indifferent stepmother’s change of heart, the cold-hearted Ain now plays the part of an innocent, cheerful child whenever he is with her. At the same time, Cassius also feels the curious desire for the affection his wife gives to his son. Although Roselia is keen on spending every moment she has on Ain, she is much more hesitant to do so with Cassius, whom she sees as cruel and dominating man. Over time, Cassius learns to consider the feelings of his family and opens up to them, which is quite a feat since he had been taught to never show weakness since childhood. For her part, Roselia eventually realizes that her attitude towards Cassius is quite selfish and she learns to see her husband as a person instead of a story villain. Cassius and Ain, once distant to each other, develop a peculiar rivalry of sorts as they both compete for Roselia’s affection.

Unknown to Roselia, the Chaids are a family of assassins who have the secret duty of maintaining their Emperor’s rule by any means necessary. Among the Chaid family’s many enemies are a group of nobles, led by Premier Julien, who hope to usurp power from the Emperor himself. With Roselia warming the hearts of her once-distant husband and stepson, only time will tell what the future has in store for the Chaids.

Main Characters

Duchess Roselia Chaid, formerly Haena Seo (서해나, Seo Haena), Ainspener’s stepmother, Cassius’ second wife and a former daycare teacher. Compassionate, dedicated, kind and warm, she is devoted to giving Ainspener Chaid the happy childhood he never had in the original novel’s story. While the original Roselia was an ambitious socialite and an abusive stepmother to Ain, the current Roselia prefers a quiet life of doting on Ain, protecting him and caring for her family. However, she is naïve about the darker side of her stepson’s personality, having only seen the kind-hearted boy he presents himself as to her. Roselia gets uncomfortable with the affairs of state her husband deals with and tends to get bored when gossiping with other noble ladies. Many familiar with Roselia’s past behavior are bewildered by her now-caring attitude, but have gotten accustomed to it as time goes by.

Ainspener Chaid, the young heir of the Chaid family. Cold-hearted, quiet, shrewd and a bit paranoid, he has been taught all his life to fight any and all weaknesses, as is the tradition of every child born to the Chaid family. Ain is gradually touched by Roselia’s love and becomes afraid whenever it appears to be directed elsewhere. As part of his noble education, Ain is familiar with economics, politics and courtly etiquette. He is a competent swordsman and is skilled in the ways of stealth. As part of his family training, he takes regular minute doses of poison to build up a natural immunity, but he now does this in secret since Roselia has forbidden him from doing so. Despite having an allergy to peaches, he still eats them sometimes in order to eventually overcome said allergy.

Duke Cassius Chaid, patriarch of the Chaid family. Cold-hearted, calculating, proud and ruthless, he is an adult version of his son in many ways. Intrigued by the sudden closeness between his son and his wife, he gradually finds himself wanting such affection as well. While Roselia is put off by Cassius’ intimidating nature at first, the two slowly become close as Cassius opens up to his wife. As a secret enforcer of the Emperor’s will, Cassius is a master assassin and torturer. He is also highly skilled in the use of poison and keeps the Empire’s largest collection of exotic poisons in his basement. Once a year, Cassius suffers inexplicable convulsions for a week. He goes to great lengths to hide this weakness from everyone, but he finally gains Roselia’s trust when she learns about this and looks after him.

Personal Thoughts

Suddenly thrust into an unloving noble family, a passionate daycare teacher now devotes her life to bringing love and care to it. It’s rather touching to see the hard-hearted Chaids, having once seen the entire world as their enemy, gradually open themselves up and find true happiness in caring for someone they love, especially someone who gives them love without expecting anything in return. On the flip side, the Chaids are a family of assassins who have done clandestine deeds for their government for generations. Feared locally and abroad, both father and son both are secretly dissatisfied with being the “villains” but they keep their vulnerabilities within the family.

We all have flaws and weaknesses in body and character but we often hide them in public to maintain a mask of normalcy in polite society and not let others ridicule or take advantage of us. Someone who could accept us for who we truly are, strengths and flaws, is a rare person indeed. Having someone who would unconditionally love you and look out for you is truly wondrous. We usually only find such people in our families and even that’s not a guarantee! Such love should be appreciated and never taken for granted.

Affection and care are keys to growing up well as a person, but not everyone in the world can have them. We are all capable of being greedy and selfish, some more so than others! We must also keep in mind that no one is perfect, because all of us have limits. Our beliefs and personalities are dependent on our circumstances, but we all have the choice to become better people through determination. By giving care to others, we can also encourage people to be more selfless as well and understand that a certain kind of happiness can be found in caring for others.

Moral

We are only human, so it’s better to give than to receive.

Spoiler Alert

You should get home quickly. Mayumi is still at your house, sleeping off from tonight’s drinking. Somehow, you didn’t feel like you’ve had enough, so you bought some beer at a convenience store.

Hmm?

Isn’t that…Aoi Kirimine? She’s been stalking you for years since the day you saved her from a bunch of punks. It’s a bit odd, but she’s like a little sister to you…

“Aoi-chan, is something wrong?”

She doesn’t respond.

Something feels off. Her usual cheery face isn’t there, replaced by an expressionless mask staring darkly at you.

“Aoi-chan?”

You step towards her.

?

Oww…

You look down and see Aoi plunging a knife into your stomach. With your enhanced strength, it doesn’t hurt that much but…what’s this tingle?

An…electric knife?

Before you can react, she kicks you onto the floor and gets on top of you.

AAH! AAGH! OWW! AUGH!

With every excruciating thrust into your body, you feel your muscles go numb.

Despite your psychic abilities, you can only watch as Aoi stabs you in a silent frenzy.

Is this…even happening?

So…weak…

!!

…

…

Huh?

A dream?

No…that was definitely painful.

Sleepy…

Who’s…that…? So green and…ugly…

“Here you go, little one.”

Did you eat something?

Still…sleepy…

…

…

*yawn*

Uhn…

You can’t move?

Where are you anyway?

Are these goblin babies? Goblins from RPGs?

Wait a minute…

Is this your hand?

So that explains why you can’t move. You were just born!

Might as well get some more sleep.

…

*yawn*

Morning alrea…

?!

You look yourself over.

You’re about the size of a 7-year old child. Weren’t you a baby yesterday?!

Is it because goblins grow up fast?

Anyway, you should go outside!

You spend the day running, jumping and play fighting in order to get accustomed to your new body. While it feels weaker than your previous human body, you definitely feel stronger compared to yesterday!

You feel so alive!

ALIVE!!!

At the end of the day, you collapse, exhausted, onto the crude stone floor of the cavern where all the newborn goblins sleep.

Alright, your mind is made up!

You must make the most of this second chance.

Yes, you must live your life to the fullest!

Re:Monster (リ モンスター, Ri Monsutā) is a web novel, light novel series and manga written by Kogitsune Kanekiru (金斬 児狐, Kanekiru Kogitsune). A strategy game app, Re:Monster Goblin Reincarnation (リ・モンスター 〜ゴブリン転生記〜, Ri Monsutā 〜 Goburin Tensei-ki 〜), developed by AlphaGames Co., Ltd., is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for smartphones.

Born in the future, the 25-year old Kanata Tomokui was an ESPer, one of the rare few who possessed psychic powers. He himself possessed the rare ability Absorption, which allowed him to gain the abilities of other beings or objects by consuming them. No matter how hard or poisonous something is, he can render almost anything edible. As an ESPer, Kanata hunted monsters and evil ESPers on various planets for a living. His short, eventful life came to a violent end when Aoi Kirimine, a girl he saved years ago, stabbed him to death out of jealousy for bringing a female co-worker back to his apartment.

Kanata is reborn as the goblin Rou on another world, where monsters such as himself can evolve into stronger forms using the world’s Rank Up System. As a goblin, he matures rapidly and goes on his first hunt in the Kuuderun Great Forest three days after his birth. Retaining his memories from his previous life and his Absorption ability, Rou swiftly grows in power by consuming any monster or humanoid he kills, soon evolving into a hobgoblin and becoming his community’s leader. He also befriends several other goblins, such as Kichi, Mi and E, who join him on his hunting expeditions and evolve as well. Rou later saves five female human captives from being raped and makes use of their skills for his own plans.

After the goblin community takes over and moves into a nearby mine, Rou organizes the goblins into a cohesive paramilitary force named Parabellum. After evolving into an ogre, Rou discovers the hidden treasury of the late magician Velvet and defends it from adventurers. The forest is soon engulfed in a battle between the local elves and two allied human kingdoms, the Sternbild Kingdom and the Kirika Empire. Allying with elves after rescuing their chieftain’s daughter, Rou and Parabellum devastate the human armies.

Following the battle, Rou splits his forces into several groups to explore the world outside the forest. At the town of Trient, he rescues Rubriria, Princess of the Sternbild Kingdom, who pays him to escort her to the Kingdom’s capital city of Osvel. During this time, Rou evolves into an Apostle Lord and starts receiving mysterious internal messages about “The Story of the Black Eclipse King”. He later helps Princess Rubriria prevent the overthrow of the Sternbild royal family by the kingdom’s more ambitious nobles. Meanwhile, Parabellum’s forces continue to swell in numbers, diversity and professions.

Rou and Parabellum have climbed to amazing heights in the span of six months, but how far could they go?

Main Characters

Rou (朗), formerly Kanata Tomokui (伴杭 彼方, Tomokui Kanata), an ESPer and the commander of the Parabellum mercenary company (Race: Goblin > Hobgoblin > Ogre > Apostle Lord). Confident, cunning, patient, pragmatic and quick-witted, he is benevolent to his allies and ruthless to his enemies. Rou considers it his right to eat those who lose to him, both for practical purposes and as a point of honor. On the other hand, he never kills for its own sake and takes no joy in the suffering of others. His black skin is a blessing from the Great God of Origin and Demise. Rou has several mistresses, despite the fact that most of them were his captives, and is now the proud father of a few children. He also loves to drink alcohol.

Retaining his Absorption ability from his previous life, Rou has gained a plethora of abilities from various monsters, humanoids and even magical objects on top of his prodigious natural abilities. After gaining the ability Synthesis from a chimera, he practices combining his existing abilities to create powerful new ones. Rou also carries two potent magical artifacts from Velvet’s treasure trove: the scarlet longspear, Kazikli Bey, and the silver prosthetic left arm, Airgeatlámh. He also retains the combat and martial arts skills he learned during his previous life, which he teaches to other members of Parabellum.

Kichi (吉), Rou’s best friend, rival and the leader of Anger, Parabellum’s heavy weapons division (Race: Goblin > Hobgoblin > Ogre > Minotaur). Aggressive, easygoing and simple-minded, he prefers to focus on fighting and leaves the planning to Rou and the others. Since becoming a gigantic minotaur, Kichi gained the ability to breathe both fire and lightning. He prefers to use a battleax and a shield when fighting and his favorite weapon is the Great Gleaming Axe of the Fire Emperor, a gift from the Demigod of Fire.

Mi (美), Rou’s wife and the leader of Regret, Parabellum’s long-range strike division (Race: Goblin > Hobgoblin > Dhampir > Vampire Noble). Loyal and gentle, she often becomes dangerously violent whenever her husband’s life is threatened. As a vampire noble, Mi can control the minds of those who look into her eyes or whose blood she sucks. She can also use ice magic or summon undead. Her favorite weapon is Failnaught, a magical elven bow that generates its own arrows.

E (江, pronounced [ɛ]), Kichi’s girlfriend and the leader of Pleasure, Parabellum’s logistical support division (Race: Goblin > Hobgoblin > Half-Earth Lord > Earth Lord). Cheerful, easygoing and reliable, she is diligent at whatever task she is assigned to, such as fighting or mining. As an Earth Lord, E uses her massive strength and mining expertise to dig efficiently into the earth.

Personal Thoughts

On our world, there is a natural system called a food chain, which involves a series of entities each dependent on the next as food. An example of one such chain starts from a flower, to flies, to frogs, to snakes and finally to eagles. We humans are considered to be among the apex predators on Earth largely because no other native species has our sentience, intellect and advanced technology so far.

This story gives me the impression of an apex predator climbing to the top of the food chain, surpassing even humans and elves. By taking the abilities of anyone and anything he eats, Rou is well on his way to becoming the top predator of his world, just like a Demon King. In addition to this, he quickly outgrew his community and now leads it to improbable heights while making many unlikely allies along the way. At least one of Rou’s human allies joined him because nobles stymied his career progress due to his commoner background. By contrast, Parabellum’s leaders are selected purely through strength and personal merit, like how the strongest of a wolf pack are its leaders.

The status quo of our world’s food chain is something that we all take for granted. This could easily change if something stronger and more capable were to appear. In a worst-case scenario, we could end up at the mercy of a more advanced species, as if we were the cattle! In fact, the saying for this is “There’s always a bigger fish.”

Another interesting point is how Rou isn’t a hero in the traditional sense. His complex character reminds me of historical conquerors such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Napoleon Bonaparte, who all did great things on this world, good and bad.

Moral

There’s always something more capable, more intimidating or more powerful than you out there.

Spoiler Alert!

As a slave, you have no name.

The collar around your neck prevents you remembering it and leaves you completely at the command of the slave merchants.

If only you had…a sword…

“Can anyone hear me!?”

…?

Who said that?

Suddenly, you hear the flicking sound of horse reins as the wagon speeds up.

The wagon driver cries, “What the…? What IS that thing?!”

!!

You find yourself flying head over heels onto the hard forest floor.

Owww…

Fighting dizziness, you see everyone picking themselves up.

*CRASH!!*

?!!

The wagon is splintered to pieces as a towering, two-headed bear lumbers slowly towards you.

You hear a hoarse voice filled with desperate intent.

“Slaves! Stay still and keep that monster busy!!”

The magic in your collar compels you, despite your mind screaming at you to run.

Are you…going to die…like this…?

Huh?

You can…move?

You duck just as a gigantic paw passes the air where your torso was a second ago.

Run…run…RUN!!

If…only…if only…

“Pull me out! Hurry!”

It can speak?! Oh, right!

Gggnnngghh! Ugghnnh!

In your head, you hear, “Thanks! Now, concentrate and equip me! Act like I’m part of you!”

Equip…equip…part of me…

“Get ready! Here it comes!”

You open your eyes and charge the bear with all the strength and speed you can muster.

WOW! You feel far stronger and faster than you ever had in your life, as though you can slay a hundred monsters!

As you charge, you jump onto the bear’s chest and plunge the sword’s blade deep into it.

Instinctively, you somersault away and land on your feet as the bear collapses, dead.

Did THAT really happen?!

*pant* “Th-thank you, M-mr. S-sword”, you tell the sword between labored breaths. Now that you have a good look at it, it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen…

“Don’t mention it!”

“HEY! You over there!”

One of the slave merchants strides up to you.

“You’re the only one left, huh? Hmm?”

He reaches for the weapon in your arms, but you keep it close to you.

The merchant slaps you violently across the cheek and yanks out a sheaf of papers from his shoulder bag, brandishing it at you.

“Filthy little BRAT! As long as I have this contract, you’ll always be a sla…”

A resounding voice in your mind echoes, “How dare you!”

It can…move?

Without warning, your neck and wrists feel a lot lighter. You look down and see your slave collar and manacles on the floor. It feels like a weight has been lifted from your mind as well.

It’s…coming back to you!

Your name is…is…

Reincarnated as a Sword (転生したら剣でした, Tensei Shitara Ken deshita) is a web novel, light novel series and manga written by Yuu Tanaka (棚架ユウ, Tanaka Yuu). There is also a spin-off manga titled Reincarnated as a Sword, Another Wish (転生したら剣でした Another Wish, Tensei Shitara Ken deshita Another Wish).

Killed in a traffic accident, a certain man regains consciousness as a sword in the middle of a strange wilderness and quickly discovers that he could move on his own using telekinesis. Over the next few weeks, the intelligent sword kills many monsters inhabiting the wilderness and gradually grows in power by consuming their mana crystals and absorbing their Skills. One day, he decides to explore a forest beyond the wilderness and is unable to move from the spot he embeds himself in. More than a month later, a beastkin girl slave finds the sword and pulls him out to slay a monstrous, two-headed bear pursuing her. After killing the girl’s owner, the sword forms a partnership with the girl, who names the sword Teacher and remembers that her name is Fran.

Wanting to become stronger, Fran decides to become an adventurer. She and Teacher eventually reach Alessa, the northernmost city of the Kleinzell Kingdom, where Fran signs up with the Adventurer’s Guild. During their first quest, the pair discover a hidden dungeon. After returning with a cadre of adventurers, Teacher and Fran fight their way through an army of goblins and discover the dungeon’s master, a rare intelligent goblin, and a Greater Demon. After both monsters are killed, the dungeon is rendered inert. With this, Fran gains recognition among the other adventurers.

Later, Fran is sent to the Spider Nest dungeon to collect magical ore, along with several adventuring groups. The Nest is found to be more dangerous than expected, with a Trickster Spider as its master and countless evolved giant spiders inhabiting the lower levels. Despite being separated for a while, Teacher and Fran both manage to survive, protect the other adventurers and eventually defeat the Trickster Spider. After returning to Alessa, they decide to travel to the western port city of Darth and travel south from there. During their journey to Darth, they encounter the devil necromancer Jean Dovy, who requests their aid in conquering a dungeon on a floating island. After getting there and fighting countless undead, the heroes confront the island’s master, a powerful lich. Despite the lich summoning many powerful undead monsters, Teacher, Fran and Jean eventually manage to defeat it in a titanic battle.

What new adventures await the sentient sword and his partner?

Main Characters

Teacher (師匠, Shishō), a sentient sword. Caring, clever and thoughtful, he acts as Fran’s weapon, partner and guardian. While he aids and protects Fran on their quests, the sword also teaches her how to grow as both an adventurer and a person. He usually keeps his sentience hidden but occasionally gets discovered by those with powerful sight Skills. When he first awoke as a sentient sword, Teacher could use Telekinesis and Telepathy. He could also analyze creatures and objects (Appraisal), repair himself using his own magic (Self-Recovery), share his Skills with his wielder (Skill Sharing) and use magic to enhance his own striking power.

By consuming monsters’ mana crystals, he can acquire their Skills and develop them for his own use. Some of Teacher’s most useful acquired Skills include Sword Technique (the use of various sword fighting techniques), Dimensional Storage (access to an extradimensional space of infinite volume), Fire Magic, Wind Magic, Recovery Magic (various healing spells), Cooking, Appraisal Block/Disguise (concealment of his own status) and Skill Taker (the ability to steal one Skill from a target, usable only once per target).

Fran, a 12-year old black cat beastkin adventurer. Brave, curious and quick-witted, she is determined to become stronger in order to someday free her race from oppression and to fulfill her late parents’ dream of seeing a black cat beastkin evolve like the other beastkin races. Fran can get reckless at times but Teacher usually persuades her to be more prudent or, at least, helps her fight her way out of trouble. As a result of spending four years as a nameless slave, Fran hates slavers with a passion and is somewhat wary of others besides Teacher. However, she reserves her greatest hatred for blue cat beastkin, a race said to have forced the black cats into slavery centuries ago. Under Teacher’s guidance, Fran is swiftly growing into a skilled fighter and adopting many of the sword’s Skills as her own. She has also collected several magic swords during the story, which she sometimes uses together with Teacher.

Urushi, a Darkness Wolf and Teacher’s loyal familiar. Originally summoned to locate Fran in the Spider Nest Dungeon, this huge wolf can use Dark Magic spells such as Dark Spear and Trap Detection. Urushi can also change its size to that of an ordinary wolf at will and hide in any shadow, usually Fran’s.

Personal Thoughts

A heartening twist on the traditional isekai idea of an all-powerful protagonist. The main character is a weapon of limitless potential that acts as the guardian of an orphaned girl once doomed to a lifetime of slavery. Under her new friend’s protection, Fran gradually gains the strength, power and wisdom needed to fulfill her own dreams for the future. While Teacher is curious about the reasons behind his condition, this is second to his wish to protect the life and hopes of a little girl. It reminds me of how compassionate parents put their cares and hopes into their children, perhaps even leaving their own youthful dreams behind in the process. Such dedication to one’s own children should be respected.

There are times when Teacher holds back and lets Fran handle situations by herself, be it fighting monsters or handling people. In this way, she gains self-confidence and learns the skills she would need to survive on her own in the event that Teacher is not there to protect her. It’s similar to how parents have to know when to let children go out into the world to make their own decisions and live their own lives, since the parents cannot protect their children forever! Teacher will still protect Fran whenever needed, just like any other responsible guardian.

In conclusion, this story mixes a fantasy-style hero’s journey with the concept of a parent and a child travelling together. As the guardian and best friend, Teacher guides and protects his charge. As the child, Fran learns from her guardian and becomes strong in her own right, ready to face the world. They bring hope and incentive to each other.

Moral

Responsible parenthood is not to be taken lightly, but it can be a source of tremendous development and joy for both child and parent.