I had to die.

If you were to ask if there was anything valuable about me, someone who’s effort always ends meaninglessly, it would amount to my life.

In this world there exits talent that no matter how much effort I were to put in, could not overtake.

What if there was in front of your eyes, a towering wall that with just effort, would be completely impossible to get over? What would you do?

No matter how much you try, no matter how much effort you expend; like human without wings can’t fly. If I can’t reach that peak, far above my head. What should I do?

Even then, without giving up, without wilting, continuing to put in effort? Be able to live proudly, nobly?

That way of living is impossible… I mean, for trash like me.

No, that’s just an excuse.

Exactly because there were people who believed that was wrong, humanity used the wings of science to fly even through the air.

But… I couldn’t.

“Trash” with magic power of just 5.

Being called not by my name but that degrading title from my youth ended up in me completely believing it.

A kid like that giving up on a bright future isn’t that hard to believe.

Well, I say that, but to me, a world where magic power decides everything is normal. Two years before I was born, or from now, twenty years ago, a single event completely changed the world.

Suddenly, a thundering sound, as if the sky had been torn apart along with what seemed like a tear to another dimension appeared.

What fell from that tear was what looked almost like an enormous jewel box.

Like ruby, emerald, sapphire, and others like them, beautiful, humungous jewels.

As if rain, they fell from the sky and covered the surface of the earth in massive quantities.

The appearance of those giant boxes, now commonly called “cubes”, transformed the world.

With the size of a house, just like a jewel, a sparkling cube.

When people touch that brilliantly colored box, they are sucked in.

It is like a summer bug that flies into a fire, what happens to that bug next is obvious.

After being sucked in, past each box is a sprawling other-dimensional great labyrinth.

They are called “Dungeons.”

What resides inside them are hideous monsters out to murder human beings.

To highly ranked monsters, even modern weapons leave no affect.

With the introduction of that enemy of mankind, this planet on which humanity thrived, humanity suffered defeat upon defeat.

Just when people began to feel that humanity as a species was on the bring of being wiped out completely, that occurred.

Humanity’s awakening, the evolution of our species.

Humanity gained as a species almost fantasy like powers that then allowed them to finally gain the ability to face the monsters.

With that said, what that power was named is obvious.

That name is “Magic power.”

Magic power granted evolved humanity victory over the monsters.

Along with it, even the way the world worked ended up being changed.

A world where the magic power one was born with created an unfillable gap in talent was born.

The world was changed in where a single individual’s power had the ability to shift the world’s power balance.

I was born in that type of world.

Within the lowest rank, “unranked”, and even within “unranked”, at the very bottom of magic power held.

Using a measuring device with the ability to numerically display magic power, I was measured at just 5.

Categorified in unranked as a former human, a failure who couldn’t evolve.

With that reality, what I should have done was give up everything.

But even still, I can’t give up. For my beloved family, even if all I can give is my life..

So, I steeled my resolve and took one step forward.

With the courage to throw even my life away, I ventured forth towards that mysterious dungeon.

I suppose it’s for that reason.

I was granted this power.

I suppose there may be a purpose.

That to my gray world, this “Eye of God” brought color.

What that eye can see is the status of anything and everything.

The ability to see the information that nobody understood previously of all that exists in the world.

• Name: Kai Amachi
• Status: Good
• Job: None
• Skill(s): God’s Eye, Access Permission Lv1
• Magic Power: 5
• Attack Power: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Defense Power: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Swiftness: Reflection rate▶25%=1
• Intelligence: Reflection rate▶25%=1

• Equipped Items: None

Using this power, I’ll climb.

I’ll see through the secrets of the dungeons and of my enemies’ statuses.

Faster than anybody, using the shortest distance, I will carry out a full clear.

When a dungeon is fully cleared, as a reward, magic power and items are given.

Using this eye of God, I’ll go through with the world’s fastest growth yet.

Even then, in the world, unimaginably powerful beings existed.

Those being the S-Classes. With only five existing in Japan.

Powerful beings that even outclass world powers such as in America and China.

As well as those who proclaim that they will kill God, the terrorist organization “The Church of the Destruction God.”

For my beloved sister and for the sake of the world to be destroyed by the darkness.

“Congratulations, Kai Amachi. I pray that your merciful heart, beautiful, dazzling soul may one day wipe the darkness that covers the world away.”

This is no one other than my hero’s tale of saving the world’s first page.

But at that time, I was still merely “trash.”

◇　◆　◇

“HAa…HAa… Help me! Help me!”

While I was still a middle schooler, I was attacked by a demon.

Hideous monsters that suddenly out of nowhere appeared in droves in the middle of class and slaughtered many students.

Friends, acquaintances, bullies, without favoring one or the other.

Everyone, equally, was killed. Every one of them being incomparably stronger than I.

Inside the classroom stained with blood, the screams of students and the hideous monster’s roars rang throughout.

I had been caught up to by that monster.

Ahh, it’s over I thought as tears welled up.

Here, without resistance, I’m going to be crush by that huge club.

An expression of despair and legs that won’t move.

When I had turned my eyes away from what was in front of me and closed them, she appeared.

Our ages aren’t very far apart, I think.

Highschool age maybe, a body covered by a black school uniform, contrastively beautiful, long sparkling hair that exuded a far from Japanese air.

Half maybe?

She was like an ice statue, beautiful enough for me, even in this situation to become naturally transfixed by.

Even with that considered, she was simply strong.

“Huh?”

With her school bag in the left hand, and with the hand that held nothing, her right, she simply waved horizontally.

Immediately after, in just a few seconds, every one of the demons had been cut down by a silver light.

Just as if they didn’t even begin to be considered opponents, without granting even a single ounce of resistance, not even granting me the ability to reorganize what had happened with my eyes.

She cut down every singly monster.

“Are you okay?”

The reached-out hand I had unconsciously grabbed, I’ll probably never forget.

That ice like, cold, motionless expression and as if opposites, that warm hand.

As beautiful as an ice sculpture.

I might have looked up to that.

Up to that girl in the heavens who someone like me couldn’t even hope to compare to.

Up to that girl who I couldn’t have even a single chance of resisting.

The unranked that is me.

◇Multiple years later Kai Amachi 18 years old The year of high school graduation

Inside the dungeon, I, Kai Amachi, was rummaging through bodies.

Even though this place resembles a cave, alongside the wall in the man-made dungeon, torches lit the thin darkness.

There, while hefting a bag that was about the same weight as I, was with my green, blood-stained hands, rummaging through bodies.

“Alright, I got it.”

Using a knife, I dug into the abdomen of the corpse and pulled out a stone about two centimeters in size.

I cleaned the blue-white glowing stone with a towel and put it into my bag.

As I looked up, there was another corpse.

It was a green, ugly-faced goblin with a long nose and pointed ears. I bent down to cut it open with my knife, but a furious voice interrupted me.

“Hey! Hurry up, you trash! All you’re good for is scavenging corpses, and you can’t even do that properly!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll be right there!”

One of the group leaders yelled at me and pushed me aside.

I quickly and efficiently removed the stone from the corpse.

These stones, called magic stones, are obtained from monsters and can be sold for a lot of money, so they must be collected.

One of the members of the leading group yelled “Garbage!” at me and pushed me away. I quickly removed the stones from the corpse. These were magical stones that could be obtained from monsters and turned into gold, so they had to be collected.

I collected all the magical stones from the corpses and re-joined the leading group.

“Hey, Garbage. Get me some tea,” someone said.

“Y-yes, understood! Wait a minute,” I replied.

As soon as I collected all the magical stones and joined the leading group, a guy who was always bossing me around ordered me to do some chores. It was always like this, I could only do chores, so there was no help for it.

“O-Okay. Sato-kun!?” I handed Sato the tea in a paper cup.

Sato took the tea and immediately threw it at me.

My face and clothes got wet with the cold tea, but since it was Summertime, it wasn’t as bad as it would have been otherwise.

“Gyahahaha! Did that wake you up a bit?” he laughed.

“H-haha, please stop it.”

I smiled and hid my clenched fists behind my back. Then I poured more tea and handed it to Sato as if nothing had happened.

“Sato-san! How about having a drink tonight with the earnings from this dungeon?”

One of my companions made a gesture of drinking alcohol to Sato. They were my high school classmates and thus underage, but they were delinquents who had been smoking and drinking as they pleased since high school, so it was no surprise.

“Great idea! Well then, let’s clear this dungeon quickly!”

Sato and the three others stood up. I had to carry all their equipment and dropped items without a break.

I didn’t have much fighting power or magical ability since I belonged to the “Old Human” race with magic levels of 10 or less, also known as “Unranked”.

After a while, we reached the front of the giant gate. The ominous emblem glowed suspiciously purple, indicating that there was a boss inside this dungeon.

Sato and his companions opened the door without hesitation, and once we were all inside, the door closed slowly, trapping us.

Inside, there was a particularly large goblin. A hobgoblin, a monster that stood between beginners and intermediates.

The battle between Sato and his companions and the hobgoblin began, or should I even call it a battle?

“OI! DIE!!”

“hAHAha! Shitty bugs!”

Because it was a massacre.

Sato and his companions easily beat the hobgoblin to a pulp without much trouble. They killed the monster that could easily be defeated with their power, even though this dungeon was classified as E rank by the Dungeon Association’s difficulty level…

But they were ranked as D-class and Sato as C-class explorers based on their magic power levels.

So, even it’s a boss, there’s no way it could ever be a match for them.

I collected the magic stones from the boss who had died too easily.

With this completed, the dungeon will enter a dormant mode and will not collapse.

This is our job; we must periodically thin out the monsters in the dungeon and defeat the boss.

If we leave it alone, monsters will come out of the dungeon.

This phenomenon is called “dungeon collapse.”

“It was an easy win again this time.”

“Seriously. It’s easy money, getting almost 100,000 yen for clearing a dungeon.”

Sato and the others laugh as they rest their swords on their shoulders.

After waiting there for a while, particles of light enveloped our bodies.

“Oh, our ride is here.”

This is the signal for the clearing of the dungeon. Suddenly, my vision darkens.

After being attacked by a floating sensation, I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by walls that shimmers in all directions, like the blue surface of water.

It’s a box about 10 meters high and wide, surrounded by walls that are as beautiful as sapphires.

The walls of the box slowly tilt outward in all directions, and we are thrown out into a familiar cityscape.

Passers-by glance at us for a moment, but quickly return their attention to their smartphones.

It’s Tokyo, a big city where people aren’t interested in the affairs of others at all.

“Phew. I’m glad we achieved our quota this month.”

I stroke my chest while looking at the falling wall that seems to be blending with the ground.

This is the square box called the “cube,” which is the entrance to the dungeon.

It’s also the exit that we’re teleported to after clearing the dungeon.

When entering from the outside, you must simply touch it, but to get out from inside, you have to touch the same kind of box that is located at the entrance of the dungeon or defeat the boss.

When it’s in dormant mode, the walls are tilted to the ground, and when it’s active, it becomes like a box.

Then, my shoulder is strongly tapped.

“Alright, the trash. All that’s left it to report. Distribution is as usual, make sure you transfer it properly.”

Sato and the party members waved their hands at me as they left, and I assume they’re going out drinking without even saying a word to me, a, at least on paper, party member.

“G-got it!”

While laughing lightly, I waved bye.

I’m this party’s bag and errand boy.

They, through their own good will, even let someone like me, who had no fighting power, a being who couldn’t even be called an awakened, into the party.

Rather, I only have thanks.

For letting someone like into their part.

For that reason, I have no complaints.

Thinking that way, I stared at Sato’s back. Then he pointed at me and laughed, as did the people around him.

I felt frustrated and looked down.

I clenched my fist, but soon took a deep breath mixed with a sigh of anger before heading out.

“Phew…alright. Let’s exchange the magic stones for cash once we get back. For now, we’ve completed this month’s quota.”

While in that state, I headed home.

While on my way, I encountered a green cube, otherwise, one currently active.

“Ah, The cooldown period here also has ended. A green cube.. B-Class huh. Even if it took a lifetime, that’s impossible for me…”

Twenty years ago, when cubes fell from the sky, humanity awakened as a race through the power of magic.

That occurrence called awakening evolved humanity.

With the force known as magic power.

During the magic measurement test conducted by the country when I entered elementary school, all my friends were D-class, B-class, or A-class, while I was an, even considered rare, unranked.

At the age of seven, my life was already doomed to failure due to the unchangeable gap in talent and the power of magic that could never be filled no matter how hard I tried.

I remember feeling desperate, even as a child, and longing for the cool adventurers that I dreamed of.

“Damn it!”

I remembered the past and felt depressed for no apparent reason. I started running home, as if I was afraid my thoughts would lead me to even worse places.

I arrived at the almost-collapsing apartment.

I opened the room’s door.

This is my home.

“Welcome home!”

“Ah! I’m back.. *cough*… brother. You look like you worked hard today.”

“Nagi! You need to be asleep!”

I dropped my baggage at the entrance and supported my sister’s shoulders. Although I was happy to be greeted with a smile when I got home, her face was red, and I knew she wasn’t feeling well.

“No, it’s okay. Today I feel good. See? I’m moving my body…”

A one-room apartment in a rundown building, just 6 tatami mats in size.

There, my sister and I live together.

Our mother and father died a long time ago in a dungeon collapse.

Back then, the methods for conquering dungeons weren’t established like they are now, and the world was a living hell, so it wasn’t an unusual occurrence.

“Really? Can you… stand?”

“Yeah… easy you know? S-See! Ah!”

I support Nagi who had lost her balance.

Light, thin, a body that even now seems like it might just break.

“ehehe…thanks.”

My little sister Nagi, who should have become a junior high school student this year, is very cute. She is my treasure, the reason for my existence, and my beloved sister…

But she is suffering from a disease. A fatal illness called “Amyotrophic Magic Sclerosis” or AMS, which became a worldwide epidemic with the appearance of cubes all over the world. It was named after ALS, an existing disease with similar symptoms.

And it is the most feared disease in the world right now.

This disease does not kill you.

Humans, who were reborn with magic, use magic to move their muscles. As their magic depletes, it affects their muscles, eventually leading to a complete inability to move voluntarily, except for their internal organs.

Even with all modern medical equipment, one can still live, but the body becomes completely immobile.

And yet.

“Look! Higher, higher!”

Consciousness remains.

I hugged and lifted my little sister.

Even though I’m only an unranked high school student, it’s easy for me to lift my junior high school sister.

And Nagi… she’s so light, really… light.

“How is it? Fun?”

“Thank you, big brother.”

Nagi, who was a little embarrassed, smiled at me like she was about to break. Just being able to see that smile made me happy.

But I can’t do anything for her. I can’t do anything for my beloved sister who is fighting against a disease that is so terrifying that many people around the world choose death.

AMS, which can leave you conscious but completely unable to move.

Being stuck in one’s own body for years just to die of old age is a fear that I can’t even begin to imagine.

“…Big brother?”

“Ah, did I get something in my eye? Ha ha…”

I’m pathetic.

They say that Nagi and I are mutually dependent. I’m looking for a

If you were to say that Nagi and I have a codependent relationship, then you’d be right. I’m seeking a place and a reason to live in my little sister, and Nagi would be unable to do anything without me. Since I have no place to go and no one to rely on, this may be the only place for me.

Even so…

“I love you, Nagi.”

“Big brother… I’m already in junior high, it’s embarrassing.”

These feelings are genuine.

I’m taking my sister to her appointment in a wheelchair. I wish I could afford to hospitalize her, but I can barely make ends meet with my income.

At least for now, I want to give Nagi some freedom. I’m registered as a licensed dungeon explorer, so I’m able to use the insurance system to make ends meet for these visits. Since it’s a life-threatening occupation, the government provides significant support.

However, if I were to quit being a dungeon explorer, I’d be forced to choose between continuing Nagi’s expensive life-sustaining treatment or letting her die. I only have a high school diploma, and the cost of treating AMS is beyond what a normal job or part-time work could cover. This illness has become too common around the world and is therefore not covered by insurance due to the financial burden it places on the country.

If I were to quit being an explorer, with no money, I’d have to choose to kill Nagi and sign.

Sign to end her treatment.

That’s something I absolutely refuse to do.

That’s why I can’t leave Sato’s party, no matter how unpleasant it is.

The reward is only a few percent of the total workload for chores, but it can’t be helped. It’s for the monthly quota of one dungeon cleared a month set by the government that must be met.

There are probably only a few crazy people like them who would accept an explorer like me who can’t fight to join their party.

Even if they just want a convenient servant or a punching bag.

I just have to bear it and make sure not to anger them.

If I endure, happiness will surely come someday.

…

“You don’t have to come anymore. The party will be disbanded anyway.”

However, reality isn’t kind, as I’m about to be expelled from the party.

“Huh?”

After taking Nagi to the hospital and exchanging dungeon materials for money, I headed to Sato’s house. Even though it was drizzling, I thought I’d get scolded if I didn’t give them today’s earnings quickly, so I headed straight to their gathering place, Sato’s house.

It happened at the front door.

“We’re telling you to leave because you’re a nuisance. You’re useless. We’ve all decided on

this.”

“W-wait a minute. Did I do something? If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize! Please don’t kick me out!”

I kneel before Sato, as if clinging to him, trying to apologize. Perhaps something had upset him. I throw away my umbrella and desperately apologize in the rain, not even knowing what I did wrong.

“No, you’re unranked. You can only do chores, and we’ve decided to aim higher. That means you’re useless now.”

However, the reason given was absolute and unchangeable: I was unranked.

“P-Please! I’ll do anything! I’ll do all the menial tasks–gah!”

I cling to Sato’s leg, and, as if to swat a bug, he kicks me.

It was probably just a light kick, but from a C-class adventurer, for an unranked, the impact was enough to make me nearly lose consciousness.

“P-Please! My sister…she’s sick, and we need to clear the dungeon…I’ll do anything…”

I plead with Sato, tears and blood pouring from my mouth as I grasp his pants on the dirty, rain-soaked asphalt. I cling to him, despite getting covered in mud, and beg him to help me.

“You’re filthy! Don’t touch me!”

“Gah!”

However, I was kicked in the chin and fell to the ground. My brain shook, and my consciousness began to fade away gradually, and I eventually could no longer hear Sato’s voice.

The last words I heard from Sato before my consciousness faded away were:

“Let the weak die in the wild. Oh, that’s right, your little sister won’t die for a while because of AMS. Gyahaha!”

It was an absolutely unforgivable thing to say.

Sato turned his back and went home.

I was still lying on the ground crying.

Rain, tears, or blood? While crying like a child. My face was so messed up that I couldn’t tell the difference.

I couldn’t forgive them.

Sato, who told my sister to die.

The world that doesn’t help weak people like us.

And above all, my own powerlessness.

Can’t I even protect my one and only sister? If I can’t meet the monthly dungeon clear quota, I’ll lose my dungeon clearer qualification and won’t be able to receive medical checkups or treatments.

If that happens, Nagi, my sister, who always deals with the pain in her body, and even then, in order to not worry me, shows me her smile, will at this rate, for the rest of her life not wake up and someday weaken and die.

“AAaAaH!!!”

I was so frustrated, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do anything.

I pounded the asphalt over and over again.

Even if my hands bled, I kept punching as if apologizing to my sister.

My screams were drowned out by the sound of the rain, and that day I was expelled from the party.