A Mob Character Who Just Wants to Get Banished and Escape This Death Game vs. The Party Members Driven Mad by the Radiance of His Brilliance - Chapter 1

In a city reduced to rubble, a lone rookie soldier was running.

“Hah… hah… hah…!”

Panting heavily, he raised his rifle and took aim at a beast lunging toward him—a creature like a black wolf.

A deafening gunshot echoed through the deserted alleyway.

The bullet flew straight toward the beast’s head.
But the creature, protected by fur as tough as steel, didn’t suffer so much as a scratch.

The rookie’s squad—nearly ten soldiers strong—had all been devoured by this monster.
Now, with the beast pinning him to the ground, the rookie’s own life was on the verge of ending.

Hot, putrid breath washed over his face as the beast opened its jaws just inches from his eyes.

“N-No…!”

Just as the rookie shut his eyes tight in surrender, it happened.

He felt something sweep past like a gust of wind.

When he cautiously opened his eyes, the beast lay at death’s door—sliced to pieces—and standing beside it was a lone soldier.

“That person… could it be…?”

He knew that face.

The man who had once held back the fairies’ invasion for three consecutive nights.
The one whose kill count had surpassed a thousand.
His feats were so numerous, they could no longer be counted.

“…Damn, I got separated from the party.”

The man who had saved him was none other than Mikkanen, humanity’s greatest hero.

“You’re badly hurt. Lean on me—I’ll get you back to the camp. Can you make it?”

“Y-Yes, I’m sorry to trouble you…”

Realizing the rookie was wounded, Mikkanen let him lean on his shoulder.
As the rookie apologized timidly, Mikkanen gave a soft smile.

“Don’t be. It’s thanks to you and others like you that we can continue fighting the fae. Get some rest. We’ll meet again soon—I won’t be leaving the battlefield anytime soon.”

His eyes were so beautiful as he said those words that, for a moment, the rookie saw humanity’s hope in the figure of that heroic man.

◆◆◆◆◆

“When the hell am I getting out of this war zone? Damn it…!”

After dinner, I dove into bed, buried my face into the sheets, and smothered the scream rising from deep within my chest.

What? You’re asking if what I said to that rookie was a lie?

Of course it was. Believing otherwise would be foolish.

Who in their right mind would enjoy life in a battlefield crawling with death like roaches?

The food’s like rubber—tasteless jerky and soup that’s basically water.
At night, we can’t even sleep thanks to constant attacks.

They might call me a “hero” or whatever, but none of that matters.
All I care about is getting the hell out of this place.

And there’s another reason I want to get as far away from here as possible.

I took off that cursed hunter’s coat—the same one I used to see through a screen.

“Of all places, it had to be that death game. Who knows what kind of event I’ll get dragged into next?”

It didn’t take long after I was born to realize I had somehow ended up inside a game.
I recognized the place names and historical details.

What crushed me completely was the moment I confirmed which game it was—Hunters of the Faeries.

A world where humanity and fae have waged a brutal war for over a thousand years.
As a hunter of fae who feast on human flesh, the player is cast into an endless hell.

That’s what Hunters of the Faeries is—a full-blown death game.

Enemies so difficult they felt like bugs, cruel traps laid in every corner.
Some players couldn’t even clear the first stage.

So what do you think happens to background mob characters like me in that kind of game?

Most die in battle—or get torn to shreds and eaten.
Some mob characters even hung themselves or drank poison from sheer terror.

And you can’t just desert the army without permission.
Do that, and you become a criminal under military law.
One mob tried and got executed by firing squad.

No way. I didn’t survive this long just to die here.
I’ve fought this far with one thing in mind: quitting the army and living in peace behind the lines.

Still, not all hope is lost.

“If they just banish me, I can leave the army for good…”

Most mob characters in this game meet tragic, meaningless ends.
But among them, there was one—just one—who reached the ending without losing his life.

And what separated this particular mob from the rest—doomed by reckless party leaders or blind bad luck—was painfully clear.

He had been banished.

It happened when a player gave advice to the heroine in the mob’s party, prompting her to report him to a superior officer. As a result, the mob was dishonorably discharged and sent back to his family home.

In a normal game, that would’ve been a bad ending for a mob character.
But in Hunters of the Faeries, it was considered the luckiest outcome possible.

In fact, during the game’s ending, there’s even a scene where he’s shown tending the fields on his family farm, learning through a passing traveler that the war against the fae has finally ended—and lamenting that he was banished before it happened.

Considering that even most of the heroines didn’t survive until the end of the war, it was clear just how fortunate that mob was.

It became something of an inside joke among fans: “If you want to survive this game, just get banished.”

Of course, when I was playing the game, I laughed along with everyone else.
But now that I’m actually inside the damn thing, banishment has become my final lifeline.

“That’s why I’ve been doing all this reckless crap—charging into hordes of fae while the rest of the army retreats, pulling stunts just to earn the party’s hate.”

And yet, no matter how much time passes, no one banishes me.

I have no doubt most of the party members despise me.
But whether they’re too scared or too stubborn, none of them has reported my idiotic battle strategies to a superior.

“At this point, I don’t care how it happens. If they won’t act, then I’ll push them myself. It’s a leader’s duty to inspire courage, after all.”

Lying in bed, I made up my mind.

Good fortune wasn’t going to fall into my lap while I slept.
If I wanted to be banished, I’d have to take the initiative—and convince someone to report me to command.

◆◆◆◆◆

“Isfana. Perfect timing—I need to talk to you.”

Luckily, I knew just the person.
Someone who hated me enough to throw me out of the army without hesitation.

“Make it quick. There’s nothing more worthless than wasting time on a nobody like you.”

Isfana, seated alone in the lounge and focused on a chessboard, scowled as soon as she saw me.
Perfect.

Her sleek golden hair, cut short, shimmered lightly over her shoulders.
Her deep crimson eyes, like bl00d frozen solid, were as cold as the northern frost.

“Let me ask you one thing first. You hate me, don’t you?”

“Hmph. Of course I do. Not for a single moment have I felt anything but contempt for you—for stealing the spotlight and burying a magical genius like me in the shadows.”

Isfana sneered.

I quietly let out a breath of relief.

She believed everyone but herself was a mere mortal.
It made sense that someone like her would hate a so-called “hero” like me soaking up all the praise.

“In that case, you want me gone too, don’t you?”

“Are you stupid? Don’t ask the obvious. If not for military law, I’d have already bathed in your bl00d.”

Victory.

I was already imagining life after banishment.

With the fortune I’d earned on the battlefield, I could afford a modest house on the outskirts of the royal capital—spend my days sipping wine, nibbling cheese, living in peace.

“So? What did you want to talk about? Don’t tell me you suddenly care that I hate you.”

“No, nothing like that. I’ve decided to leave the army. I was hoping… you’d help get me banished.”

I glanced at Isfana’s face as I said it—and immediately realized something was off.

Her eyes—those frigid, expressionless eyes—were trembling.

“You’re… kidding, right?”

The queen piece in her hand shattered.

As the sound of breaking ivory echoed through the lounge, I was gripped by a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread.