The angel disappeared.

Gone through the portal.

No longer here to tell me her name or to call me Cracken.

"I guess she's not coming back...?"

Claire. Or Clare. That's what she said her name was.

She popped her head through the portal just to tell me that.

At least she didn't call me Cracken again that last time.

But every other time, she insisted on calling me by my MeTube handle. What was up with that?

I even asked her to call me by my name and she just cut me off.

That was weird, huh.

But enough about her and my name. It wasn't the time for that. Let's review what she'd said.

A party of heroes would soon arrive. People to fight monsters together with. They would come through the portal just as she did.

And I was supposed to lead them? Be their leader and kill monsters by night and share food and stories by day? Sure, being a leader sounds cool, but I knew it was usually a headache.

I have a little, unfounded belief. People who don't feel uncomfortable leading others are neither good people nor good leaders. If it's too easy for them, then it's a problem. They weren't going to take proper responsibility.

So, a "party of heroes," huh.

"Where have I heard that before?"

It sounded familiar. Too familiar. I knew I had heard it somewhere before.

"Hm."

I was lost in thought when I noticed the portal forming.

A membrane of light came together in the ring of the portal.

The light moved unpredictably, eventually forming a vortex.

Another "hero" was about to arrive. Or would they arrive all at once? I had no idea. I just knew I'd have to fight and kill monsters with them.

※※※

3 minutes later.

What walked out of the portal was green.

It walked on its two feet, but the skin was unmistakably a deep green.

The green creature, with red eyes, made its way out, facing me.

It was a goblin. Exactly the kind of goblin I got used to seeing thanks to modern American and Japanese video games. That goblin.

But there was another problem. The goblin looked familiar. Too familiar. It wasn't just a generic goblin out of a video.

It was the goblin out of Fantasy Survival.

That was the game I had died playing.

I made a bunch of videos using Fantasy Survival. The videos helped really launch my MeTube career.

I loved Fantasy Survival. I also knew the game inside out. This could work in my favor.

I remembered what the man who got me in this situation had told me.

We're working on a 'sister world' for a DLC.

That's what he had said about Fantasy Survival.

His company─my employer now─created the world behind Fantasy Survival. Now they were working on a DLC.

And here I was, in front a goblin hero straight out of Fantasy Survival. I was certain.

Otherwise, why would the game look identical? Moreover, which games utilized goblins as a "hero?" They were the mob in other games. One of the first monsters you fought as a low-level character.

But none of this made me very happy. I was dissatisfied. I was worried. For two reasons.

One. Goblins were the worst kind of heroes you could get in Fantasy Survival. You can't communicate with them. In the game, this meant that they would ignore your commands.

They didn't attack you or anything, but they were controlled by the AI. And it's no surprise that they aren't the smartest. Not only were they not much help, they made strategizing more difficult because they would charge and retreat by themselves.

Second reason I was unhappy. It was a text floating above the goblin. Provided, I assumed, by what the angel called the [System].

[Goblin (F)]

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And F-Rank goblin. I was starting out with dead weight. But here's what scared me more.

Remember the party I pulled for the video? The video I was filming when I died? It was, "Beat Fantasy Survival on the hardest difficulty, using the worst party I could get."

That party happened to have an F-Rank goblin. Now, this didn't tell me anything. However, I just couldn't shake off the feeling.

What if the party I was playing before the earthquake is the one I'm given here?

You're over-thinking, I told myself. It's called a coincidence. An error the brain commits. Don't worry.

You're lucky. You're going to be fine.

※※※

15 minutes later.

Damn it! What is this?! Is this some joke?

[Goblin (F)]

First it was the goblin.

[Priestess (F)]

Then it was the priestess.

[Elven Archer (F)]

Then the elf archer.

[Vampire (F)]

Then the vampire.

[Succubus (F)]

And now the succubus.

A party full of support characters. Not a melee character in sight other than the goblin. The goblin who wouldn't listen to what you said.

Actually, it was worse in "real life."

I tried communicating with the goblin. You know, just in case. I had hope. After all, this wasn't a video game I was playing. (Or was it?)

It wasn't that he wouldn't follow my orders. He didn't resist or give me attitude. No.

He simply couldn't understand what I was saying.

And I couldn't understand what he was saying.

His grunts and snarls had some regularity to them. I'm no linguist, but the sounds he made sounded like that of a language.

But I wasn't gonna pick up goblinese in a few days with my life on the line. (Was it though? I had no idea what would happen if I died. However, I didn't trust my instinct, because the skill [Beta-Tester's Mindset] had complete control over it.)

I didn't even know if I could make most of those sounds. Like clicks or Chinese tones, it was something completely foreign to me.

My head was hurting again. I had a problem to solve─the monster wave─but I couldn't see a way out. Too many variables─adverse variables.

That was when another popup window appeared out of thin air.

[Your party of heroes have joined you.]

[It is imperative that comrades in battle are familiar with one another.]

[Examine your heroes. See what strengths, weaknesses, and specialties lie behind their impressive exterior.]

[Hint 1: In your mind, designate a target. Then, think the word, "Status."]

[Hint 2: Start with yourself. In your head, think of yourself, then call to mind the word, "Status."]

This really is like a video game, I thought. Whatever the [System] was, it was guiding me, just like an actual video game would.

No reason to resist.

Status.

[Name: Cracken]

[Class: N/A]

[Stats]

[Strength - 4]

[Dexterity - 3]

[Sense - 10]

[Mana - 0]

[Faith - 1]

[Abilities]

[Beta-Tester (Legendary)]

[Translation & Interpretation (Rare)]

[Innovative Self-Torture (Unique)]

※※※

5 minutes later.

"Translation and interpretation, huh."

I had a thought. An interesting thought. I looked at the goblin.

"Activate 'Translation & Interpretation.'"