Isekai Kansha - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: First Battle and the End of the Tutorial — And Then…

〔Tutorial ④: Let’s Fight〕 … Engage a monster in battle and achieve victory.

"Alright, this will be the final tutorial. But before fighting a monster, I’d like you to spar with me first."

With that, Chris drew their sword and faced Jin.

"Are you ready? You may come at me whenever you like. My level is high enough that your attacks won’t hurt me in the slightest. So don’t hold back. Oh, and don’t worry about the wooden sword—you can’t break it or damage it, so swing freely."

In this game, weapons and armor don’t have durability. In reality, a wooden sword would’ve snapped long ago, but here it held up no matter how much force was put into it.

Jin, who had already grown fond of the wooden sword, was grateful for such a forgiving feature.

"Please take care of me."

He bowed once, then charged at Chris with all his strength. Jin thought it would be absurd to hold back just because he was an old man fighting against a master. He swung his sword over and over with everything he had.

Naturally, Chris brushed aside every blow with ease. Without striking back even once, they simply parried Jin’s furious swings for several minutes.

"That’s enough. Please stop now."

Chris finally called out after Jin had been attacking nonstop for what felt like two or three minutes.
In reality, Jin’s body would’ve given out after thirty seconds, but here in this virtual world, he could keep going without trouble. And his clumsy, aging body moved more smoothly than it ever could in real life.

That exhilaration had made Jin genuinely enjoy the sparring, so he was a little disappointed when it ended.

"You don’t have any combat skills yet, Jin-san, but at this rate, you’ll soon acquire the Swordsmanship skill. And though it costs a bit, the town does have dojos where you can learn how to use skills and arts. It might be worth visiting one."

Hearing Chris’s approval reassured Jin. The training itself had been fun, too, so the thought of learning martial arts at a dojo actually sounded appealing.

"Now, this time I’d like you to receive my attack. Don’t defend—just take the blow and let your HP decrease."

That startled Jin, and he instinctively leaned back.

"This is so you can experience what it feels like to be hit. In ordinary life, no one gets slashed by a sword or bitten by a monster. If that first shock threw you into a panic, it could be fatal in a real fight. Think of this as a rehearsal. Of course, I’ll hold back, and you won’t feel pain like in reality—only the impact. That’s the important part. Do you understand?"

Hearing the reasoning, Jin nodded. It made sense—if he went into battle still imagining how it would feel to be cut by a real sword, panic would be natural. And since this game actually had death, the experience was even more vital.

Death here meant being sent back to a save point, but dying was still dying, even if it was "just a game." Better to be prepared.

"Here I come… Hah!"

Chris swung their blade in a diagonal slash, from Jin’s left shoulder down to his right side.
The sword didn’t cut him. Instead, a heavy impact ran along his body, as if his flesh had absorbed the blow without tearing.

Though Jin felt a surge of fear, the prior explanation kept him calm. When he checked his HP, he saw it had dropped by nearly half.

"How was it? That amount of impact is what you’ll feel from an attack strong enough to halve your HP. You can adjust the intensity in the settings menu, but no matter what, you’ll never feel real pain. Even if a monster were to bite off your arm, you’d only feel the shock—your body itself can’t be damaged. In a way, Jin, your body is just like your weapons and armor: unbreakable."

In the military and sports world, training simulations often aim to replicate real sensations as closely as possible, and while that yields great results, it has also caused trauma and PTSD in VR users before. Those problems were common in the early days, but with countless safety measures in place now, such accidents have almost disappeared.

And this was just an ordinary game, not military training. There was no reason to push realism to dangerous extremes. By sacrificing some realism, the risk of trauma was eliminated.

Naturally, Jin had no complaints about such a safeguard.

"Now then, it’s time for you to fight a monster. But before that, take this."

Chris handed over the HP potion Jin had appraised earlier. Gratefully, Jin drank it, and warmth spread through his body as his HP was fully restored.

"The training fight will begin now. It’ll only be one monster. And since this is a tutorial, even if your HP drops to zero, you won’t die—you’ll just restart the fight. So stay calm, and give it your all. Are you ready?"

Suppressing his excitement, Jin took a deep breath, drew his sword, and steadied himself.

"Yes. Please, let’s do this."

"Then let us begin. I wish you victory."

The moment Chris finished speaking, a magic circle flared about five meters ahead, and from it emerged a slime.

Its form was that of a translucent, faintly blue jelly, quivering as it slowly inched toward Jin.

Jin raised his sword and cautiously closed the distance.

Just as he was about to step into striking range, the slime suddenly stopped moving. Its jiggling body compressed, preparing to spring.

Sensing some kind of tell, Jin braced himself and tried to back away. In that very instant, the slime compressed its gelatinous body and used the rebound to hurl itself at him.

Fortunately, his wariness paid off. Though inwardly flustered, Jin shifted his body aside at the last second, and his reflexes sent his wooden sword smacking into the slime’s flank. He felt the impact, proof that he had dealt damage, and quickly turned to face it again.

The slime landed, trembled slightly, then coiled itself once more—only to launch into another body slam. This time, Jin was ready. He dodged with ease and delivered a solid, forceful strike.

Sensing an opening, Jin pressed the attack. He swung his wooden sword down in a wide arc, striking just as the slime landed. With a burst of shimmering light, the creature dissolved into motes and vanished.

Left behind on the ground was the drop item: 〔Slime Jelly〕.

The exhilaration of having struck the final blow with his own hands—a sensation impossible in ordinary monitor-based RPGs—was something only virtual reality could provide. Riding the high of his first real battle and his first victory, Jin happily stowed the jelly into his pouch.

〔Tutorial ④: Engage in Combat – Clear!　Reward: MP Recovery Potion (Small)〕

"Congratulations, Jin-san. That concludes the final tutorial."

"Thank you, Chris-san. You’ve been a tremendous help."

Jin replied with a broad smile, his joy plain to see.

"Hearing you say that makes it all worthwhile. As your guide, it’s my honor. Now then, here is your completion reward—500 gold."

Chris handed over a small leather pouch heavy with coins, the game’s currency. Jin gave thanks and tucked it safely away, only for Chris to hesitate slightly before making a suggestion.

"You must be tired after all that, Jin-san, but… would you like to try a few additional battles? You see, you currently lack both occupational skills and proper equipment. With the gold you have now, it might be a little difficult to prepare yourself adequately."

"Eh? You’d allow that?"

"Of course. The fights here won’t let you learn new skills, and since your only Job Skill is Appraisal, there’s little benefit in terms of skill growth. But you can still raise your stats, and I can even purchase any drop items from you. With about ten battles, I believe you’ll reach level two, maybe even three. That should give you much more leeway financially as well. Most importantly, you can’t die here, so it’s a safe environment to get used to combat. What do you say?"

In truth, this offer was made to every player once the tutorial ended. But most players turned it down. To them, the tutorial was already a tedious chore, something to skip through as fast as possible so they could rush into the main story.

But Jin was no ordinary player. In reality, he was an old man. With age comes caution, and being brand new to VR, he had every reason to take things slow. A safe place to practice fighting while also earning extra money? To Jin, it was like being handed a gift from heaven.

And besides, he was touched by Chris’s concern. That, too, was reason enough to accept.

"Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness. Please, let’s do it."

Gratefully, Jin took up the offer. And so, he fought battle after battle, again and again.

The original plan was around ten fights, but Jin was having so much fun he ended up going beyond that. Not only was his body moving far better than expected, but Chris cheered him on warmly each time instead of showing the slightest hint of annoyance. That encouragement only made Jin push himself harder.

The monsters he faced were three kinds: slimes, horned rabbits, and goblins. Each looked surprisingly real, yet still had a touch of stylized charm in its design.

The horned rabbit, for example, looked like a fat, short-eared bunny with a twisted horn jutting from its forehead. The goblin was a green-skinned runt wielding a rusty shortsword and clad in ragged leather. Like with the slime, Jin dispatched them without much difficulty.

For an old man who had always been clumsy at sports, to fight so competently could only be thanks to his Martial Talent.

Eventually, Jin even asked Chris to send two enemies at once. Against them, he couldn’t avoid every strike and sometimes took a hit or two. But even so, he never once let his HP drop to zero. Every fight ended in victory.

Afterward, Jin sorted through his loot. The goblins had dropped HP potions, which he decided to keep. Everything else he planned to sell—except for one item Chris advised him to hold onto: a Horned Rabbit’s Horn, as it was a rare drop.

Following that advice, Jin appraised it:

〔Horned Rabbit’s Horn – A rare horn from a Horned Rabbit with healing power. Primarily used in alchemy. Enhances the effects of recovery items when crafted. ?????・??????・??????〕

It was indeed a valuable item. Perhaps it could fetch a high price, but better to keep it. Jin agreed with Chris’s judgment.

Reflecting on it, Jin realized something: without appraisal, he never would have known this was a rare drop. If Chris hadn’t told him, he might have sold it without a second thought. To waste such luck out of ignorance would have been unforgivable.

And so, Jin once again gave heartfelt thanks to Chris.

After finishing the extra battles, Jin’s status was now:

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Name: Jin
Age: 18
Occupation: Freeman
Level: 1 → 3 (+2)
HP: 49/49 (+26)
MP: 20/20 (+10)
STR: 23 (+10)
VIT: 20 (+8)
INT: 14 (+4)
DEX: 20 (+8)
AGI: 20 (+8)

Inventory:

• HP Recovery Potion (Small) ×5 (+2)

• MP Recovery Potion (Small) ×3

• Horned Rabbit’s Horn (New)

Gold: 787 (+287)
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

His equipment and skills hadn’t changed, but his level was now three, and his stats had risen significantly. Still, Jin couldn’t quite feel a difference in his movements yet.

What he did feel was that he had grown far more comfortable with combat. And now that his MP had reached twenty, he could fire off two Mana Bullets. In the last battle, even a few shots had dealt considerable damage.

The thought of wielding both sword and magic stirred something inside him. A magic swordsman—that’s the dream.

And most importantly, his gold reserves had increased by more than fifty percent. That would certainly ease his worries going forward.

No matter how high he aimed, there would always be something beyond reach. But Jin told himself he had done enough here, and braced his resolve. At last, the time had come to finish the tutorial and to part ways with Chris.

"Jin-san, it seems you’ve gotten quite accustomed to things already."

Chris spoke as they watched Jin summon a gate from the pouch at his hip and smoothly store away his coins and items.

"I thought this way might feel more… authentic." 

Jin said, scratching his head with a bashful smile.

"Fufufu. I think it’s an important touch."

The two lingered, reluctant to part.

"…"

After a brief silence, Chris broke it, as if shaking off hesitation.

"Well then, whenever you’re ready, you can bring this tutorial to an end. Just step through that door over there, and you’ll arrive in the Starting Town of Alesta."

Jin followed the gesture to see a lone door standing by itself where nothing had been before. The sight made him think of a certain beloved blue robot’s secret gadgets, and he let out a small laugh. That laugh helped him shake off the melancholy that had begun to creep in.

"Chris-san, I truly can’t thank you enough. Because of you, I feel like I’ll be able to enjoy this world even more. Really, thank you."

With heartfelt sincerity, Jin bowed deeply.

"No, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to feel the joy of doing meaningful work again."

Even if it was their role, Chris often had to deal with players who treated them rudely just because they were "an NPC." But Jin’s courtesy and gratitude had been like a refreshing breeze, restoring their spirit.

"Here, please accept this."

Chris handed him a small white ring.

"This is called the Ring of Regeneration. While equipped, it will very slowly restore your HP. The effect is modest, but I hope it may help safeguard your life."

"Eh?"

Jin froze at the unexpected gift.

"I’m permitted to give this to players who I feel deserve it. Honestly, it’s not a particularly rare item, but please use it—at least for the early stages. And… if you don’t mind, please just call me Chris."

Though the full-face helmet hid Chris’s expression, Jin felt certain there was a smile behind those words.

"Thank you, Chris. Then call me Jin as well. I’ll treasure this ring."

He returned that unseen smile with one of his own, shining from the heart.

"Then, I’ll take my leave. May the blessings of the gods be with you, Jin."

Chris offered their final blessing, bowed once, and their figure slowly faded until it vanished completely.

Jin gazed at the spot where Chris had stood for a while, then gave one more respectful bow before turning around. Ahead lay endless grasslands under a wide blue sky.

Countless images rose in his mind:

The RPGs he’d played as a child.

Memories with his parents, now gone.

The everyday moments with his siblings.

The smiling faces of nieces, nephews, and their children.

His friends in youth, and the same friends now aged, are still bound by ties of friendship.

Loves and heartbreaks from his university years.

The struggles and joys of working life.

The long leave and the return.

Encounters and farewells in hospital halls.

All the days he had lived as Shinichi Jinguji.

Now, in the twilight of life, he had found a new world in VR—and a new friend named Chris. There had been good times and bad, but in the end, he thought, it had been a fun journey.

Shinichi Jinguji felt it clearly: I’ve been allowed to live.

And so he let the feeling surge up and gave it voice.

"Thank you. Thank you! Thank youuu!!"

His gratitude rang out, as if he could offer it to the whole world.

A moment later, embarrassment crept in. His feelings were real, but it had been a long time since something made him shout like an excited boy.

He drew in a deep breath, then flopped onto his back in the grass, arms spread wide. The door was there—he could go through and begin the story proper—but there was no need to rush. With such a good mood washing over him, Jin decided to relax here for a while.

"…I really am blessed," he murmured, thinking back on his life once more. It was more Shinichi’s voice than Jin’s.

Then suddenly, the truth struck him: not much of his life remained.

"If only… I could live my life over again in a world like this…"

A simple, foolish wish slipped out.

Jin chuckled at himself, lightly mocking the thought, then closed his eyes as a gentle drowsiness overtook him. Lying there in the grass, he didn’t stir.

And then—without warning—tiny lights began to shimmer around him. One, two, then more and more, until the countless motes merged into a single warm glow that enveloped Jin.

For an instant, the light flared brilliantly—and then both it and Jin’s body vanished.

That was the end of Jin’s very first VR game experience.

And the beginning of his first life in another world.

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