DanKatsu Volume 1, Chapter 1

 

Chapter 1: <The Nameless Starting Village> – Prologue

Tremble. Tremble before this list of Jobs.

A shiver ran through the massive gymnasium—it wasn’t an earthquake, but something in the air, a tension you could feel on your skin.

It was the Job Assessment, the moment many students had dreamed of and prepared for, held during the entrance ceremony.

A Job is your lifelong partner.

At age 16, everyone must choose one Job.

However, the options presented weren’t always fair. They varied from person to person. It was normal not to see the Job you truly wanted. That’s just how it was.

But that idea is about to be shattered—bluntly, and spectacularly.

I could feel it. Every eye in the place was locked on my list of Jobs.

"Oi… what is that?"

"How many… how many Jobs are even on there?"

Some students stared at my list in disbelief, as if their eyes were playing tricks on them. Others stood frozen, just silently gaping.

"You've gotta be kidding me… There are high-ranking Jobs in there!"

"Wait, wait, 【Hero】? That’s on the list, too? I’ve never even heard of half of these!"

"Who the hell is that guy…?"

Some people trembled in awe—those dream Jobs they’d always longed for were right there, in front of them.

Others looked as if they were hallucinating, seeing Jobs that had never been seen or heard of before.

And then there were those staring straight at me—the one responsible—with eyes full of pure shock.

The murmur of the crowd grew louder, rising like a wave.

But you guys are getting it all wrong.

In this world… everyone can become whatever they want.

Open your eyes and behold! This is just a fraction of the legendary 1,021 Jobs that make up the world of DanKatsu!

This is my Job List!

◇   ◇   ◇

"Wait… isn’t this <The Nameless Starting Village>?"

When I came to, I was in an unfamiliar place—or rather, a place I recognized from a game screen.

I saw familiar houses, a shrine in the distance, and a strange little village with no farmland.

This was the central hub of the game’s first area: <The Nameless Starting Village>.

I tried to brush it off—No way, right?—but I’d played the hell out of this game. Over 8,000 hours. There’s no way I’d mistake it.

The game’s full title: <Dungeon Job-Hunting Guide>—a.k.a. <DanKatsu>.

Yeah, not the most graceful name. People always joked: They seriously couldn’t come up with anything better? But the content? Insanely deep. A hardcore RPG. The game’s biggest features were its massive Job variety, character customization, and leveling system.

First off, the Job count was nuts—1,021 Jobs.

You could create your character, pick the most suitable Job from that huge list, and assign it. Not only that, but the way you trained each Job varied a lot. Even two characters with the same Job could end up vastly different depending on how they were developed. You could make a one-of-a-kind, ultimate character.

The game also lets you attend a school, start a guild, and have up to 50 characters under your control.

You’d build characters, train them, form your own strongest guild, take on dungeons, win guild battles, climb the ranks, and charge toward the ending.

That was the main hook—and biggest draw—of <DanKatsu>.

There was also tons of postgame content, including tons of hidden Jobs. Beating it once wasn’t even close to enough. If you wanted to see everything <DanKats> had to offer, you had to go through at least 2 or 3 playthroughs.

<DanKatsu> wasn’t just a game—it was a life-consuming beast of a game. A "god-tier" title, often called a hikikomori-making machine.

And me? I was fully hooked. A grey warrior—a gamer through and through. I lived and breathed that game.

Or… I used to.

"Ugh—my head!"

The moment I started to remember, my brain freaked out, like it was rejecting the thought.

But it didn’t matter. The memories came rushing back anyway.

A nightmare for any gamer. A real-life disaster. The end of my world.

Fire and flood came for me.

One day, I got home to my apartment—and the unit above mine was on fire.

It was a huge blaze—like, 30 fire trucks on the scene. Sirens everywhere. Water blasting out of hoses. I just stood there, watching like an idiot.

The fire was put out quickly, but the water poured into my unit from above, soaking everything.

My console was ruined. And with it, all my precious save data. All the hours I’d poured in, gone. Wiped clean.

The last thing I remember was collapsing in shock, foaming at the mouth. I think I saw my own body from above… my face looking totally messed up like I was on some serious drugs.

Yeah. That was probably my end.

I must’ve looked that bad.

"Wait, then… what the hell am I now?"

How am I alive?

I mean, sure, I’ve never heard of someone dying because they lost a game save, but… still. What the hell?

I patted my body. Something felt off.

"Was I always this… fit? And what’s with these clothes—aren’t they from the game?"

It was my body… but way more toned and muscular than it should be.

And the clothes—I recognized them. They were from the game. Like, traditional villager gear from the early game. Not modern clothes at all.

I touched my face and… yeah, that was weird too. But I couldn’t quite tell how. Someone give me a mirror, please!

Still, at this point… the answer was kind of obvious.

"Wait… could this really be happening?"

"Zephyrus, there you are. Are you ready to head to the academy?"

"Huh—Village Chief?"

I was just standing there in a daze when someone suddenly called out to me. I turned around and saw a very familiar face.

It was the village chief from the <DanKatsu> tutorial—the starting area known as <The Nameless Starting Village>.

By the way, Zephyrus is the name of my character.

I’ve always used that name in <DanKatsu>, and apparently, the me who exists in this world is also named Zephyrus.

Yeah… no doubt about it. This really is the world of <DanKatsu>.

"What’re you spacing out for? Pull yourself together. You’re turning sixteen this year, Zephyrus. Didn’t we just talk yesterday about you going to the academy to get a good Job?"

I have no memory of that conversation.

I literally just woke up in this body moments ago.

Is this one of those isekai body-possession stories from light novels? I wondered… but there wasn’t a single memory left from whoever originally owned this body.

Sorry, Chief. I don’t remember a thing.

"Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten, you bird-brained fool!"

I didn’t forget—I just never heard it in the first place.

"Well, maybe you’re the one who thought you said it and actually forgot—"

"Nonsense, you idiot! Bah, I’ll say it again."

"Ah—no need, really."

"Huh… wha?"

I cut him off before he could launch into a long explanation, and he just froze, making a funny face.

Yeah. Let me breathe for a second.

I needed time to process everything.

I’d been overwhelmed with confusion until now, but after chatting with the chief, my head finally started to clear—and something about this scene felt familiar.

It was from the very beginning of the game. This conversation was almost identical to the one between the village chief and the protagonist in the prologue.

Alright. Let’s just focus on getting through this for now.

I pulled from memory and said the same thing the protagonist says at this part in the game:

"I’ve already packed my things. Just need to say goodbye to everyone before I leave."

"So you do remember. Good. Be sure to thank the villagers who’ve taken care of you."

The chief, veins bulging slightly in annoyance, nodded and stomped away—probably heading back to his house, which also happens to be his usual spot in the game.

As I watched him leave, it finally sank in what was going on.

That whole conversation just now? It was the trigger for the "Farewell Quest" in <DanKatsu>.

In the game, once you turn sixteen, you're required to enroll in the academy to receive a Job and learn how to master it. This was the event that marked the beginning of that journey.

Which means… I’ve become the sixteen-year-old protagonist.

That realization hit me like a punch to the chest.

Wait… is this really happening!?

I mean, come on—this is a game world!

This is a reincarnation!

And not just any game—it’s the world of <DanKatsu>, the game I poured a ridiculous amount of time into until my life was practically made of ash and grinding!

Starting <DanKatsu> over—in real life…?

"This is the beeeeeest thing EVER!!!!"

My heart exploded with joy.

"Thank you, Life! Thank you, Reincarnation! Thank you, <DanKatsu>!!"

I completely lost it from sheer gratitude.

I yelled like a lunatic.

Threw my hands in the air and did three rounds of "Banzai!" while spinning in circles.

Even when the nearby villagers started giving me weird looks, like I was high on something dangerous, I couldn’t care less.

That’s how happy I was.

So what if my save data was lost? That was nothing! A minor blip. My head was so full of joy I couldn’t even remember being upset.

"LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!!"

Playing <DanKatsu> in real life…

That had been my dream.

"Huff… huff… huff…"

Okay, I was tired.

Not sure how long I’d been going wild, but the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the ground.

I wanted to keep trembling with excitement, but apparently, my stamina said otherwise.

As I caught my breath, I started calming down a bit.

What a waste.

Then again, it’s not like I want to stay in freak-out mode forever.

Besides, I’ve got a whole real-life <DanKatsu> to enjoy—I need to keep my head on straight.

"Alright… now then, what should I do first?"

I jumped up with unnecessary flair.

Even though I’d calmed down a bit, my hype level was still sky-high.

I hummed to myself as I started planning out my next moves.

"First up: Jobs. Since this is real, I can’t mess around with joke Jobs… kinda sucks, honestly. Guess I’ll go for the strongest setup I remember."

<DanKatsu>—as the name implies—is all about dungeon-crawling.

Getting a Job, recruiting all kinds of companions, forming parties and guilds together, and taking on dungeons—a fantasy game.

And the number of Jobs? A whopping 1,021.

It’s honestly ridiculous.

They even published six entire strategy guides just to explain the Jobs in detail—that feat alone has become legendary.

(And yes, I bought them all.)

No wonder the game takes so long to master.

Out of all those varied Jobs, I now have to pick just one to enjoy my real-life <DanKatsu>. Well, worst case, I could always change Jobs later—but if you’re a true efficiency-minded gamer, you don’t waste time on detours. You pick your main from the start and commit.

I’ve simulated this moment countless times in my head.

Even though I never truly believed it would happen, I often wondered: If I could really live in the world of DanKatsu, what Job would I choose?

After running through hundreds of simulations, I’d already made my decision.

"Alright. Time to go fulfill the conditions to unlock my Job."

With excitement bubbling up, I set off—

—picturing the real-life <DanKatsu> adventures that lay ahead.

"Hey, weapon shop owner! Brought you the lunch you forgot!"

"Oh, if it isn't Zephyrus! Thanks—I totally blanked on that."

The first thing I did on my quest to fulfill the Job unlocking conditions… was deliver a forgotten lunch to the local weaponsmith.

Despite his square-jawed, rugged look, the lunch I handed him was in a cute, floral-patterned bag—tiny and adorable. Seriously, it didn’t suit him at all.

Well, his wife was the one who made the request, so it was clearly a lovingly prepared lunchbox.

...Kind of makes me jealous.

I handed it over, and the old guy accepted it with a happy look on his face. I waited for what came next.

"Come to think of it, Zephyrus, you’re sixteen now, right? You’ll be heading off to the academy?"

"Yeah, I’m scheduled to leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!? That soon? …Wait, yeah, I guess it is about that time of year."

The weaponsmith scratched his head and grunted thoughtfully before pulling something long and wrapped in a cloth from under a shelf.

"Then take this as a parting gift. It’s a sword I used back in the day—still works just fine. You should take it with you."

He unwrapped it, revealing a simple one-handed longsword.

Yep—this was the reward I wanted from the subquest <Deliver the Forgotten Lunch>.

Just as I’d hoped. I smiled and accepted the blade with a grin.

"Thanks, old man! This’ll really help. I’ll go slice and dice some monsters with it!"

"No problem. Just make sure you advertise my shop while you’re at it!"

"Haha, got it. Oh yeah—anything else you need delivered? I’m going around the village saying goodbye, so I can drop something off if you want."

"Actually, yeah—could you take this to the armor shop owner? I’ve been stuck here and can’t leave the shop right now."

"Sure thing. Leave it to me."

He grabbed a small parcel from the shelf and handed it to me.

At the same time, a notification echoed inside my head.

『Subquest <Deliver the Forgotten Lunch> has been completed.』

『Reward: Acquired Short Sword.』

『Subquest <Deliver the Parcel to the Armor Shop> has been accepted.』

Whoa! I actually heard it in my head, not through my ears!

In the game, these messages would just appear on-screen with a voice line, but in real life, this is how it works?

The voice was the same emotionless female one I remembered—but now there were no pop-up messages, just the voice in my mind. Kind of surreal.

Grinning to myself at how smoothly that quest went, I left the weapon shop.

Right now, I’m progressing through what’s basically the <DanKatsu> greeting questline.

In the game, this is part of the tutorial: you greet villagers, go around the village, and complete three out of ten available subquests to advance the story.

If this really is the world of the game, then the next big objective is to progress the story, enroll in the academy, and officially receive a Job.

Which is why I’m working on these subquests now.

Still holding the package, I headed to the armor shop. The route hasn’t changed from the game days, so there’s no chance of getting lost.

Man, it’s so refreshing to see scenery I’d only ever seen on a game screen come to life right in front of me!

While I was getting emotional, I arrived at the armor shop. I stepped in and completed the quest.

"Hey, old man—got a delivery for ya!"

『Subquest <Deliver the Package to the Armor Shop> completed』

『Reward: Received a Buckler』

"Alright, now I’ve got both a sword and a shield. Let’s keep it rolling!"

Still riding that high energy, I headed to the forest just outside the village next.

Even though all the subquests take place inside the village, there’s a reason I’m going out—this is where a hidden quest triggers.

One of the most important events in progressing through <DanKatsu> is this hidden event right here.

Clearing it unlocks more job options.

In <DanKatsu>, there are a ridiculous number of jobs, but that doesn’t mean you can just pick any job you want right from the start. The answer is no.

To unlock a job, you need to meet certain activation requirements.

For example, if you’re holding a sword and have a certain level of skill, you’ll unlock the 【Swordsman】 job. If you have a high affinity with animals, you can unlock 【Beast Tamer】.

These job requirements can usually be met by completing quests, subquests, or making certain choices.

For instance, clearing the subquest 【Sword Combat Training】 will count as fulfilling the "has a sword and a certain level of skill" condition.

So why go through all these roundabout conditions? It’s because there are tons of subquests that count toward job unlocks. Just for 【Swordsman】 alone, I remember over 200 quests and choices that counted toward it.

The hidden quest I’m heading for now is one of those job unlock requirements.

The first time I played <DanKatsu>, I had no idea this quest existed since it was hidden, and I missed out on meeting the unlock conditions. I totally regretted it.

Ah, nostalgic memories...

Ever since then, whenever I start a new game from scratch, I always make sure to complete this quest.

It’s a rare event quest packed with requirements for rare jobs—super worth it.

No way I’m skipping it.

Alright, I’ve entered the forest and made it pretty deep inside.

Is it about time?

Just as I thought that, a high-pitched scream echoed from deeper in the woods.

"KYAAAAAH!!"

Nice! The quest has triggered!

I took off running toward the source of the scream, totally pumped.

Illustrations - TOC - Chapter 2