LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 3.1
1–3.1. Around That time, on the Surface
《A certain NEET’s room》
The man, having suddenly received a bizarre, incomprehensible signal, was ecstatic.
He believed that, in this very moment, he would be reborn.
He might face hardships.
But there would be comrades (beautiful girls), and in the end, he would become the strongest.
Of course, troublesome matters were annoying, so he’d avoid those. He’d keep his newfound powers hidden. Though eventually, they’d be discovered—but by then, he’d be an unstoppable monster, so it wouldn’t matter.
Dreaming of his heroic tale, he called forth his status.
────
Shigetake Deochi
32 years old
Job: None
Karma: -12,533
Level: 0
Magic Power: 7
Skills:
[Flower]
Titles:
[Lost Cause]
────
“Huh?”
What was this status?
An overwhelming aura of weakness.
And his skill… [Flower]?
He tried using the skill, and a single small white flower appeared in his room. It was the kind of flower you’d find blooming among weeds.
“What… what the hell is this?”
Why?
Why, why, why?
Even Deochi knew about karma.
In fact, his knowledge leaned heavily toward such terms.
He had no memory of doing anything to accumulate karma.
If anything, wasn’t this society that made him like this the real culprit?
This was clearly a complaint-worthy situation.
Yet, no matter how much he pleaded to the unseen, silent figures in his room, only silence responded.
Wouldn’t a god bored of being worshiped take interest in someone like him with his cheeky attitude?
Deochi cursed under his breath, glaring at his status screen.
And then, he made a discovery.
When he thought deeply about karma, a log of its deductions appeared.
There it was:
Aggressive behavior and violence toward his elderly parents, intimidation of young girls, posting defamatory comments online under the veil of anonymity, ostracizing others in online games, and more.
A record of petty, insidious sins was laid bare.
Individually, each act had a small deduction, but he’d committed them so routinely that they piled up into this staggering figure.
“Tch, how annoying. But, heh.”
Being a typical Japanese person without deep religious inclinations, he didn’t take this seriously.
Someday, this number would reverse, and he’d gain an incredible cheat power. He convinced himself this was just the prologue to his future heroics.
For now, he figured he’d look for a private dungeon to conquer.
However, religious leaders took this situation very seriously.
In fact, they were in utter panic.
Incidentally, no such convenient “private dungeon” was ever found.
《A certain religious organization》
The man, after hearing the mysterious voice, summoned his subordinates and ordered them to punish whoever was responsible for this nonsense.
Traces of this prank must remain in the building, and they’d find them soon enough.
Punishment, of course, didn’t mean killing—just ensuring the culprit would be arrested.
However, his subordinates looked uneasy.
Normally, they’d leave immediately after receiving orders, but they stood trembling, staring at the floor.
“What’s wrong? Hurry up and go.”
Puzzled, he urged them. One subordinate hesitantly spoke.
“Th-the voice earlier… it was broadcast to the entire world simultaneously. And… what it said about karma is true. If you focus, you can learn your own abilities and karma.”
What nonsense was this? The man frowned but, seeing his subordinate’s unusual demeanor, decided to test it himself.
He focused, wanting to know his status.
And then:
─────
Need Todeni
81 years old
Job: None
Karma: -99,135
Level: 0
Magic Power: 7
Skills:
[Flower]
Titles:
[Great Sinner]
─────
“What?!”
His status appeared before him, and the man was stunned.
“W-what the hell is this?!”
Panicked, he looked at his subordinate, who continued,
“I-I don’t know either. But if you focus on each section, you can see detailed explanations. God… God has revealed my sins… Ah, ahhh… God, forgive me…!”
Mid-sentence, the subordinate fled the room in tears.
It was an incredible act of disrespect, but the man didn’t care.
He was too preoccupied with the terrifying numbers in his own status.
When he focused on why his karma was so abysmally low—practically bottomless—the details emerged.
The explanation was simple.
Those who served God were given countless opportunities to increase their karma.
Looking back at his humble youth, the man had amassed explosive amounts of karma. At one point, his karma had even reached +10,000 through repeated acts of kindness.
But as his rank rose within the organization, and he became aware of the power that came with it, things took a dark turn.
When someone serving God committed evil, their karma deductions were doubled.
His fall was swift.
No wise king forgives those who abuse their name for selfish ends. The same applied to God.
By using God’s name to fulfill his desires, he’d accumulated unimaginable sin, reflected in his title.
“Don’t mess with me…!”
He decided to label the mysterious voice as a demon and announce it to the world.
Having gained enough power to control the organization from the shadows, he couldn’t accept this.
Besides, this wasn’t even a Buddhist organization!
However, he never got the chance.
During a meeting of the organization’s upper echelon, the man was ensnared by countless dark hands emerging as if from the underworld.
He shriveled up and died on the spot.
This incident marked a turning point, prompting the organization to re-study its founder’s teachings.
Meanwhile, politicians took a different approach.
Most of them were already in the twilight years of their lives, and the first thing they focused on was karma.
The mysterious voice had said:
“The Karma-based Status System created by God—”
This strongly suggested the existence of God.
Moreover, granting the ability for every human worldwide to view their status screamed of an extraordinary being.
For politicians nearing death, the combination of “God” and “Karma” was terrifying.
Even if they didn’t fully understand why karma wasn’t strictly Buddhist, it didn’t matter—it was still dangerous.
Politicians who had led with integrity or strived to guide others well generally had positive karma.
In fact, some had higher karma than the average person.
In the shadowy world of politics, where declining bribes could sometimes mean death for oneself or one’s family, even reluctantly accepting bribes didn’t always lead to negative karma.
However, politicians who sought excessive personal gain or were deeply corrupt had karma so low it seemed to radiate dark energy.
For those engaged in the worst acts—such as ordering murders through connections to violent organizations—their karma resembled a pitch-black void.
If reincarnation were real, they might shrug it off, thinking their sins would carry over to their next life.
But if karma determined whether they went to heaven or hell…
Though it seemed absurd to worry about death, they couldn’t risk being wrong.
What if they found out too late what those numbers meant?
The politicians moved with astonishing speed.
Governments worldwide ordered immediate investigations into karma.
Japan was no exception.
All weapons turned to dust, but the world was heading toward love and peace!
Everyone was desperate.
In parallel, the Japanese government took swift action to seal off dungeons and prohibit skill usage.
Being a manga-loving nation, some ministers had privately simulated fantasy scenarios and predicted disastrous outcomes if civilians entered dungeons unprepared.
Warnings were broadcast nationwide, urging people not to enter dungeons or test their skills.
Police officers and self-defense forces worked tirelessly to prevent accidents.
Thanks to these efforts, Japan suffered minimal damage.
The 24 identified dungeons in Japan, including one into which an important figure fell, were promptly sealed.
Japan shared its actions with other governments, urging them to do the same.
As other nations followed suit, a global network of dungeon closures emerged.
Still, many had already entered dungeons, driven by curiosity or ambition.
One American YouTuber, finding a dungeon in his yard, armed himself with a bat, crowbar, knives, and chocolate bars before entering.
In the dungeon, he encountered a medium-sized dog floating black iron spheres near its body.
The ensuing fight was brutal, ending with the dog tearing him apart.
This day marked the beginning of countless similar tragedies worldwide.