My Lousy Father, the Hero (And I will make him pay for it all!) - (Original Isekai Fantasy World)
If you wish to Donate and Support: ptreon DOT com / socialistbukharin
A year ago, life was... tough.
One can say that this is true for most of us, but there is something quite meaningful in what I had to go through.
My name is Tamura Shinji and, at the time, I was the average highschooler. I didn't have any major ambition as, from a very young age, I had been told to not try beyond what I could afford to accomplish with my current strength.
Plus, my family's situation was complex.
My father, Shintaro, was a salaryman. A man that, despite his distant attitude towards us, was quite the hard-working man. I never asked for more than I was given as I knew our finances were tight, and he had a lot of issues with his own workplace.
My mother, Fujiko, was a housewife that had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. She used to be quite the active person, but ever since she had to take some strong stuff to delay the inevitable and perhaps get to a proper chance to remove her tumor, things have gotten very difficult for both me and my father.
He had to work more than usual, and I had to ditch the school club for the sake of handling the house chores. With mom's body so strained, I had to work twice as hard to keep up with the hurdle.
She always tried to interject and help, but her bouts of coughing forced her to first sit and then lie on her bed. It was rough for a while, but I grew accustomed to the pain and I found dignity in doing the right thing.
Some of my classmates were not as understanding. And some girls even lamented that I wasn't ever going to land myself a girlfriend if I was such a 'shut-in'.
It was ironic that I was doing this less for selfish reasons and more because I was taught to be a good person.
Still, it worked. Dad managed to churn out enough money to not only handle the expenses, but slowly build up some funds in case of a potential surgery that the doctors we consulted implied being possible as her illness was treated accordingly.
For months, there was hope we could solve this big issue together, as a family.
...
Then dad outright vanished.
The first hint that things were about to get worse came to a call from his workplace. I was out to get the groceries when that came, and I found mom standing up from bed, sickly-looking and crying.
"S-Shin-chan. Y-Your father- he- he is not-"
She was a wreck for the next weeks. The police got involved, but nothing could be found about the man. While mom had yelled for a proper investigation, the police had its hands tied: it could have been a case of a person trying to 'disappear'.
I remember hearing this first at school - people that, with troubled lives, decided to 'disappear' from their homes. They changed names, they moved to the countryside and they just 'moved on'.
I was utterly shocked by this possibility, but I thought it absurd. Dad may have been upset over the need to work more hours to raise his wage each month, but it felt absurd for him to leave his family. He loved mom, he loved her to death.
...
But he still left. And I was soon stuck in a loop that lasted four months.
It was my last year of highschool, so this curveball coming out of nowhere scrambled my already tense mind. I barely slept as I heard mother's crying at night. I studied hard, but my grades were declining. I had been given a week off after my dad's disappearance, and dad's workplace sent a substantial amount of money as a 'thank you' for dad's decades of working.
Both were temporary reprieves. And I was soon facing a tough decision as I finally reached adulthood.
For a long month, I tried to make this work, to try and wait until I was done with highschool and then get myself a big job that could assist mom but...
The situation got too bleak. Mom's conditions worsened upon dad's disappearance and more medicines were listed. The expenses increased by relation and the funds we had set aside and the money from the company soon ran out.
Hence why, in a move that both my parents would have loathed, I found myself sitting by the principal's office. The old man gave me a stern look, but it was mellowed by the understanding that I didn't really have much of a choice.
"You will lose the chance to reach higher jobs. You will not be able to go to any university."
A bitter vocalization of what I already knew I was bound to lose. But I nodded nonetheless.
Paperwork was signed, my stuff was recovered by my lockers, and I was soon back home and looking into newspapers for work applications.
I found a place at a canning factory. It paid little, so I took another job as a janitor to a candy shop at the same time. I barely was at home, my body tired and drained with each passing day.
Mom's conditions kept on worsening until...
I was alone in front of a picture frame, the incense burning my nostrils as I was at my mother's wake.
The woman passed away not even a week ago, and she had been weirdly silent as of late. I found her unresponsive and not breathing. I called an ambulance, but the doctors confirmed she had died in her sleep.
Since my mom was an only child and both my grandparents were dead, I was alone in that ceremony.
I barely had enough to make this possible - to give her a proper burial.
The picture I chose for her frame was one from back when she was healthy - it was the right one for someone with her kind soul.
I wanted others to see that and know a good person had died.
But as I stood alone before the coffin bearing my mother's corpse, I felt something sit beside me.
I barely glanced to it to feel dread. It wasn't a human being - but mist. Dark mist with glowing red eyes turned to the frame.
"She looks beautiful," The entity muttered softly, the masculine voice making me shudder for a moment. "You are her son."
"I... I was."
"You are," The mist corrected curtly, then sighed. "Death doesn't ruin bonds between the livings. That's Life's job."
...
"What... what are you?"
"Someone that wishes to make a deal with you."
I frowned, feeling outraged by the idea of some monster trying to make a deal with me in such a circumstance. I was about to open my mouth, to lash out at such foolish request when-
"It has to do with your father."
That had me frozen up, my eyes wide open. "My... My father?"
"Tamura Shintaro. He is no longer in this world- not by Death but by Life. A goddess took him away to our world."
"...What? Is this- this a joke?" I felt my mind refuse to accept this- I knew this was an isekai situation, it felt like one, but the way I was introduced to it... it made me suddenly sick. "Did- Did he die and-"
"He chose to be reincarnated as he was still alive."
This rapid correction had me stiffen my posture. "...I-I don't get it."
"He was given the choice to be my sister's champion in our world. A paragon of Light. He was told of the ramifications of his choice but he still accepted."
...No. This wasn't possible. Dad may have been upset for many things, but he loved us- he loved mom.
"Y-You are lying. There's no way that-"
The world froze up as I was speaking, the room darkening in shadows for a moment and soon changing to a familiar place. It was dad's office room.
A white mist with blue eyes spoke up to Shintaro.
"You will be my champion, my hero. You will be given life anew and be blessed to find many friends and lovers in your quest against the Demon Lord. Will you accept?"
I felt my heart sinking as I saw father's look. His expression... he was happy.
"Yes!"
The light took him away, and then the world around me shifted. Various scenes unfolded, showing me dad's new life as Leo Caribbus, the youngest Royal Knight, the most powerful warlock and... and the many lovers he brought to bed.
In the world he was brought to, Pabbaris, there were to high Champions, the Light King and the Demon King.
The Light King had died after being poisoned by one of his sons, which had prompted a civil war that Leo ended by allying with First Princess Vellia and leading to its closure. Vellia became Queen, and she promised my father-turned-Hero that she would marry him if he brought victory against the Demon Lord.
Cue several months of training, finding party members, fucking said party members and killing off all sorts of monsters before ultimately slaying the Demon King.
Thus Leo became the new Light King, and he had a little brigade of women worshiping him as a deity.
All the while my mother was dying, this lousy piece of shit had been going through a power-fantasy, dodging his responsibilities as a husband and- and-
"Does he know? Does he care that she is-"
"No."
The single-worded question was heavy. My mind wanted to reject it, but the sight was too real for me to deny. My father, a hard-working man, had showed his true colors. Becoming entitled, becoming spoiled, becoming a monster higher than those he had killed off.
I bowed my head, finding it tough to swallow this bitter pill, and I turned to the mist.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want a Champion. But I am not as foolish as my sister as to give faith to someone just because we have common goals- you seek revenge for your father's behavior, but you will need to prove you are committed to this."
I looked at the mist with determined eyes, feeling my rage bubbling within my own heart. I had nothing else to fight for, but to pay back my father this betrayal in full.
"How?"
I heard fingers snap and, this time around, the floor gave up under me. I fell and I closed my eyes but... I was soon standing on solid ground.
Dark-gray stone-like ground that led up to a ruined castle.
Welcome to the Demon King's Castle... or what's left of it.
A window appeared in front of me, and I frowned.
"Is this... like a RPG?"
Yes. If you wish for a tutorial-
"No. But is this a common trait for all?"
Yes.
That doesn't help much but...
"Stats."
Name: Tamura Shinji
LVL. 1
Age: 18
EXP: 00/20
Title: The Scorned Son
Money: 0G 0S 0B
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
ATK: 5
DEF: 5
M. ATK: 5
M. DEF: 5
INT: 5
EVA: 5
Skills
Take (Unique Skill) - Each time you defeat an enemy for the first time, you can claim a skill of theirs at its first-level variant.
It really looked like a game, but I turned around to try and ask for questions to the mist... and it was no longer there.
I gritted my teeth, feeling lost for a moment but- then I remembered!
"Goals."
Current Goals
- Brave the Castle -
Difficulty: 0
Conditions:
-Enter the Demon King's Castle;
Reward:
-Obtain Map to 'Demon King's Castle';
- Demon Novice -
Difficulty: 1
Conditions:
-Reach Level 10;
-Defeat Boss 'Mirror Demon General';
Reward:
-Improve Skill 'Take';
- Demon Prince -
Difficulty: 2
Conditions:
-Reach Level 25;
-Defeat Boss 'Mirror Demon Prince';
Reward:
-Improve Skill 'Take';
- Demon King -
Difficulty: 3
Conditions:
-Reach Level 50;
-Defeat Boss 'Mirror Demon King';
Reward:
-Improve Skill 'Take';
-Obtain Title 'Demon King';
- Kill your Father -
Difficulty: 10
Conditions:
-Kill Leo the Light King;
Reward:
-Restore your mother's dignity;
-Obtain Title 'Balance Bringer';
I blinked over the several missions, some I could already accomplish, and the last one definitely my endgame as far as I was concerned. While it has been a while since I touched one of those games, I knew the basic steps and... I jumped in surprise as I noticed a blue blob squirming towards me.
Normal Blue Slime
HP: 10
I frowned, seeing how slow the Slime was and... I started to stomp it. I was so angry, so upset, so murderous, that it really felt like my unease at this situation mattered not. I just crushed the thing, chipping away at his HP and then killing it off.
DING! Obtain 2 EXP!
DING! Skill 'Take' has been activated!
Choose:
1) Self Heal (Active - LVL. 1) - Use 10 MP to Restore 50 HP;
2) Slime Shield (Passive - LVL. 1) - Your DEF is increased by 1%.
Common sense dictated to play it safe and get the second option, but 'Self Heal' sounded like a more effective solution to being in a fight. Since I didn't have any MP-related skill, I could actually rely a lot on this and... I could improve it at a faster pace.
"Self Heal."
DING! Self Heal has been added as a skill!
I sighed in relief as I saw that truly added to the list and... I turned to look at the castle, and I fixed my formal suit.
It was high time to get started - I wasn't going to kill my father within a few days, but I needed to get all the EXP and powers I could attain from the monsters lurking within this castle.
AN
Loosely inspired to the Uncle Isekai. I had looked for this specific genre around, but I found nothing official so... here's my take on how bad Isekai can be with the worst people! Prepare for the MC to find out that the Light isn't as 'Light' and for several entities that know about Leo, both friends and foes, being willing to accept him as the right side.
First, we brave the castle and become the Demon King!
END CHAPTER STATS
Name: Tamura Shinji
LVL. 1
Age: 18
EXP: 02/20
Title: The Scorned Son
Money: 0G 0S 0B
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
ATK: 5
DEF: 5
M. ATK: 5
M. DEF: 5
INT: 5
EVA: 5
Skills
Take (Unique Skill) - Each time you defeat an enemy for the first time, you can claim a skill of theirs at its first-level variant.
Self Heal (Active - LVL. 1) - Use 10 MP to Restore 50 HP.