I Became a Squinty-Eyed Character with Time Stop Ability.

After a moment of deliberation, I smiled kindly and extended my hand.
“Ahaha, my name is Ichimaru Shiki. Please take care of me from now on.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too!”
Kitagawa Kenichi grabbed my hand with an equally friendly face.
The strength transmitted through the grip was quite robust, showing he was naturally strong-boned.
In terms of game mechanics, it must be the protagonist buff.
‘But I could easily subdue him now if needed.’
No matter how much of a protagonist he is, at this point before the episodes start, he’s just a civilian with a good physique.
On the other hand, I already have a superhuman body and the ability to manipulate time.
Killing him would take just a moment, and similarly, subduing him without injury and taking his necklace would be just as easy.
Right now, I could steal the necklace and awaken it as my demon sword, not his.
The demon sword of all ability nullification.
Having seen hundreds of bad endings, I knew.
The sword’s ability to nullify anything it touches, whether it’s high-level magic from a great mage or special techniques deployed by unique yokai entities.
At first glance, it seems like a one-dimensional ability… yes, in fact, it is just that.
That’s why even after getting beaten hundreds of times, I only cleared half the episodes.
‘Usually, there would be some way to break through with passion or an overwhelming protagonist buff…’
But this garbage game ‘Apocalypse LoveCom’ just introduces characters with more and more outrageous physical specs and abilities as you progress.
There are those who overwhelm you with physical specs regardless of whether their abilities are nullified, and monsters that spread their abilities in all directions to the point where it’s impossible to counter.
The protagonist’s demon sword wasn’t a bad weapon, but it was insufficient to save the world with just that alone.
Yes, if it were just that.
‘But as a secondary weapon, it’s a different story.’
All ability nullification.
If used not as the main weapon to face enemies but rather as a supplementary means, it would be quite effective in blocking potential variables.
Moreover, although it’s just a cross-shaped necklace now, once awakened, it becomes a demon sword with an extremely sleek design.
“…It was quite hard to give up because of that.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
After shaking off a moment of regret, I smiled again and shook Kenichi’s hand.
Taking the protagonist’s demon sword would certainly be a sacrilegious yet thrilling act, but since I wouldn’t be using dual swords anyway, it’s an inefficient choice in reality.
After all, I can handle most ordinary enemies with my ability.
Variable blocking and design are important aspects, but if I rarely use it, its significance diminishes.
Furthermore, our garbage game’s protagonist, Kitagawa Kenichi, was a hopeless case who couldn’t even awaken without his sword.
Just a civilian with strength.
In another game, he would have been an overwhelming alpha male, but to be born as the protagonist of such a garbage visual novel… it’s just pitiful.
‘…I think I’ve grown attached after using him for hundreds of games; he’s a bit pitiful.’
If the effect is the same whether I use it or he uses it, let’s just let him have it.
Anyway, later on, there will be situations where problems need to be solved simultaneously using companions.
Rather than completely abandoning him, I should raise him and bring him along as an ability nullification shuttle.
‘You’re now my Sword Shuttle No. 1.’
Having come to that conclusion, I nodded my head with a generous, charitable mind.
“I think we’ll be good friends.”
“Yeah, let’s get along well from now on!”
Kenichi, who was very welcoming despite it being our first meeting, and Hotaru, who was somehow fidgeting beside him.
I spent time chatting with them sitting in the seats behind me for a while.
Even though the seats were temporarily assigned, it wouldn’t hurt to become friends quickly.
After some time passed, a homeroom teacher who looked like a yakuza came in.
With an already fierce face further furrowed with frowns, he spoke in a deep voice.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Yamamoto Baki, who will be the homeroom teacher of Class A for the next year. I also serve as the grade head, so if there’s any problem, come to the faculty office and let me know.”

Since it’s a school where monsters appear later, the teacher also looks like a slaughter tank.
After the homeroom teacher’s brief self-introduction, the class’s first event soon began.
“Each of you come forward and draw lots.”
It was the official classroom seating arrangement. This too could change later according to the students’ and the homeroom teacher’s preferences, but for the time being, we would sit according to the results.
I briefly considered using some tricks but simply went forward and drew a lot comfortably.
“Hmm, number 25.”
As seats were filled from the front of the classroom in numerical order, I was lucky to get a back number.
And it was by the window, in the very back row.
I didn’t know who my seat partner would be, but it seemed like I had drawn a fairly good number.
‘I’m lucky.’
But that thought didn’t last long.
“Oh, Shiki! This time our seats are reversed! Looking forward to being with you again!”
“Looking forward… no, me too.”
“Ohoho, please take care of me.”
Right in front of me, the pitiful protagonist Kitagawa Kenichi and the Fire Priestess Ichinose Hotaru were assigned.
What’s this? While inwardly questioning this surprisingly beautiful seating arrangement, I exchanged greetings happily.
Even if they weren’t my seat partners, we would talk often since we were neighbors.
Yes, up to this point, I thought fortune was greatly favoring me, but the next part was the issue.
Soon, my designated seat partner approached with a beautiful smile and greeted me.
My partner was a woman with light pink hair and a large chest.
Her eyes, ominously flickering, gazed directly at me.
“Hello, I’m Sawamura Sento. Looking forward to being with you as seat partners?”
“Oh.”
Looking at the pink-haired woman sitting next to me, I realized how things had progressed.
‘She did this.’
The Ancient Weapon, Sawamura Sento.
An aggregate of spells that governs human ‘desires’.
She was a character who could become a boss in the episode depending on the branch point, while also being a main heroine.
She smiled with the eye-smile of a woman who anyone would find beautiful, but I instinctively realized.
That it was a smile without sincerity, artificially crafted.
It might be because I have superhuman senses, or perhaps because we are similar types.
Anyway, what was certain was that she had intentionally approached me first.
Wondering why when our gazes had only met once, I spoke to her with my usual grinning expression as if wearing a mask.
“Ahaha, looking forward to it! My seat partner who came to me as if by fate.”
It seems a pink-haired yandere has attached to me completely unintentionally, but…
‘I actually prefer it this way.’
I was a man who loved obsession.

Perhaps because it was the first day of school, all classes from Japanese (that is, Japanese language) to mathematics, science, and history after the homeroom period were conducted leisurely.
Simple guidance on how each subject’s teacher and students would introduce themselves and how the classes would be conducted in the future.
The so-called orientation.
A time to take it easy, a special feature of the first day of classes.
Honestly, for me who didn’t come to school to study, this was very welcome news.
‘I wish every day could be like this.’
I know it’s an excessive dream, but still, I can dream a little, can’t I?
After pleasantly finishing the morning classes, I had lunch with Kenichi, Hotaru, and others sitting in front of me.
As expected of a Japanese high school in a game, there’s no cafeteria, and everyone brings lunch boxes.
Sawamura Sento, who had approached as if she was going to do something, listened to the classes diligently throughout the morning and then vanished somewhere as soon as lunchtime arrived.
“Kenichi, I brought your favorite special rolled eggs and umeboshi (pickled plum) rice balls.”
“Oh, thank you. Your mother’s cooking is always delicious.”
The protagonist Kitagawa Kenichi and the Fire Priestess, Ichinose Hotaru, exchanged their food as if showing off that they were childhood friends.
Compared to Kenichi, who had a lunch full of meat dumplings, Hotaru with her balanced diet seemed to be at a disadvantage, but she shared her food without any reluctance.
“…Um, Ichimaru-kun, would you like to share too?”
My goodness, perhaps because I looked pitiful with nothing yet placed on my desk, she spoke to me as well.
And to think that the rough Ichinose Hotaru would be this careful in her attitude!
How pitiful must I have looked for her to be like this?
“Share, you say… that’s nice!”
Feeling unnecessarily hurt in my pride, I quickly shrugged my shoulders and took out my secret lunch box from my bag.
BOOM—!
It was the appearance of a three-tier bento box—the finest—with a jet-black exterior finished with lacquer, mother-of-pearl inlay work.
The 1st tier contained rice balls and various side dishes, the 2nd tier had meat dishes, and the 3rd tier even had fruits for dessert.
“…Wow.”
“…I-is this a lunch box?”
Perhaps they had never seen such a luxurious lunch box before.
Kenichi and Hotaru looked alternately at the lunch box and me with envious eyes.
After taking out a container with soup as well, I spoke to them with a relaxed attitude.
“Haha, my landlord packed this lunch for me, and they’re quite generous. It seems too much for me alone… would you perhaps join me?”
“Really?!”
“Wow! Thank you very much!”
The adolescents, at an age of rapid growth, pounced on the luxurious lunch box saying it was great.
‘Everything is going according to plan.’
If I could recruit them just with food, I was willing to bring lunch boxes every day for a year.
Yes, I’ll feed you until you become pigs.
After a heartwarming meal with them, I stepped out of the classroom to take a short digestive walk.
“Exploring is essential before hunting, after all.”
While muttering that and strolling leisurely, I noticed some people going down the stairs ahead.
“Lady Eris! I’ve found a good spot!”
“I’ve brought well-steeped black tea!”
“I’ve got cookies from a famous shop…!”
It was the blonde midget and her minions.
Eris Betelgeuse was leading the way down the stairs, followed by her devotees.
While it’s true she was doll-like pretty, I couldn’t understand why they were so crazy about her to that extent.
‘Well, it’s a matter of taste.’
As I tilted my head and was about to pass through the corridor, I suddenly noticed an anomaly.
One of the female students following Eris, watching only her back, missed her step on the stairs.
Naturally, the female student’s balance was disrupted.
She leans forward.
“…Huh?”
The female student with a surprised, dazed expression for a moment.
By the time her body had tilted about halfway, Eris and her minions began to turn their## 1. I Obtained a Demon Sword.
Do you know what?
In manga, it’s common knowledge that when a character draws a sword, their ability activates.
Of course, what I’m playing now isn’t a manga but a visual novel game titled [Apocalypse Love Comedy], and there was only one protagonist character who was a swordsman with special abilities, but that was fine.
A demon sword (魔劍) that can slice through anything.
A game where a protagonist with special abilities clearly forms a harem of beautiful girls and saves the world—isn’t that truly appealing?
Yes, if it had been full of lovey-dovey scenes like the game title suggested, and if it had been a witty game, that would have been the case.
If it had plenty of service scenes like a proper visual novel and easy gameplay, it really would have been a godly game, but…
[…Is it really the apocalypse after all.]
The visual novel protagonist, who had a gallant impression when first starting the game, was now looking up at the darkened sky with a face fallen into despair.
Dragons and giants that bring about the apocalypse were emerging from the dark clouds.
Even one of them appearing would result in a bad ending, but the sky above Tokyo, the setting of the visual novel, was already filled with all sorts of monsters.
I tried commanding him to quickly defeat the monsters, but the protagonist character didn’t budge.
The demon sword that could slice through anything was broken in half, rolling on the ground, and the female characters who were the protagonist’s companions had either all betrayed him or were already dead.
[If there’s a next life…]
The protagonist, who had been muttering with an empty gaze, soon closed his eyes.
A giant shadow enveloped his entire body, and a thunderous voice came immediately after.
BOOM—!
The giant’s foot trampled the city.
[Bad Ending!]
It was the 132nd bad ending.
Forget about a happy ending—I hadn’t even experienced a single service scene or couple formation event.
I was starting to get confused about whether I was playing a cute girl conquest game or one of the world’s toughest raid games.
“…Who the hell recommended this piece of garbage game? Shit, why did I even buy this?”
I was fooled by the pretty female characters on the sign and the impressive monster artwork.
Date the most gorgeous beauties in a simulation, and defeat grotesque monsters.
It’s killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?
…Of course, the big problem was that none of it worked out as I thought.
Well, I wasn’t particularly lonely.
Looking around the internet, I could find many other ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’ comrades besides myself.
[Damn, who recommended this?]
Barely passed chapter 1, but can’t get past chapter 2…
Someone mentioned before that there are fifteen episodes.
Don’t tell me you have to clear all fifteen episodes to see one adult scene for each main character?
For real?
Who recommended this trash game;;
Anonymous1 – Yes, aren’t you the one who paid 25,900 won for this trash? This is the path you chose, right?
ㄴDamn it.
Anonymous2 – Still, do you agree Eris is the official wife?
ㄴNowayHotaru is the official wife~
Anonymous3 – If you think of it as a Souls-type game rather than a visual novel, it’s easier on your mind. The artwork is surprisingly good, yes…
ㄴNo, I came to play a cute girl game… this is just all about the artwork.
ㄴAnonymous1 – Yes, aren’t you the one who paid 25,900 won for this trash? This is the path you chose, right?
ㄴDamn it, stop it.
“Hmm, it’s always a mess.”
Usually, in visual novel communities, comments like which female character is the prettiest or most arousing are abundant, but here in the ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’ community, there were only the whining voices of users who encountered bad endings and the gameplay records of those seriously trying to beat the game.
The so-called whiners and the sages.
Just how do you move on to the next chapter?
How much sincerity do you need to pour in to see the affection scene of your favorite character?
I was among the sages who were seriously discussing such matters.
It wasn’t so much that I wanted to see the adult scene of a particular character, but rather a stubbornly bundled determination.
For me, who started this game with a romantic notion about being a demon swordsman, this was a huge challenge.
‘I will definitely beat this trash game.’
Even though it had already been a month since its release, no one in the world had cleared it, so I was beginning to doubt whether it was even possible to beat in the first place, but there weren’t any other games I was interested in lately, so I just kept playing.
[Bad Ending!]
“Ah, damn it.”
I collected the 133rd bad ending.
This time, I died after being hit by the fearsome fire breathed out by the apocalyptic dragon.
And so, my playtime accumulated bit by bit.
‧
‧
‧
‧
[Bad Ending!]
“…Huh.”
By now, with the collection of the 250th bad ending, two months had passed since the release of ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’.
There had been progress during that time, but I had only cleared about half of the episodes, and after getting beaten hundreds of times by enemies that kept getting stronger, I came to a conclusion.
[Hello! I’m Kitagawa Kenichi!]
A bright 17-year-old.
A male high school student with a strong impression and orange hair who seemed to be the protagonist.
If this had been a normal visual novel, he would have been the alpha male, but now, two months after release, ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’ was one of the world’s most notorious garbage games.
This guy, who had just enrolled in this school that should rightfully be called a demon realm, wasn’t going to cut it.
‘What? A demon sword that can slice through any ability? Wow, that’s super cool!’
This character, whom I had been enthusiastic about when I first started, was impossible to use.
It was impossible to clear this game with a demon sword that had an ability-nullifying feature attached.
I realized that just now.
“Shit, what a garbage game.”
Ding—!
“…?”
Just as I was starting to think about quitting the game, a notification arrived.
What is it? I had disabled all messengers to concentrate on the game…
Opening the message with furrowed brows, it was a notice from the game I had pre-subscribed to notifications for.
Currently, there was only one game for which I had set up notifications.
[Hello, dear players. Due to your enthusiastic support, we, the creators of ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’, have decided to release DLC, a game expansion pack…]
To summarize, because you guys are so bad at the game and can’t beat it, we’re releasing an expansion pack that makes the game much easier to progress.
“What the hell?”
I had a gut feeling.
These bastards got greedy, made the main game difficult, and now they’re releasing an expansion pack.
Feeling quite heated, I quickly scrolled through the expansion pack patch details, skimming through them.
“…Oh.”
There are this many patches?
There were many characters and events that would be added just by downloading the DLC, the expansion pack.
Also, weapons with special abilities too!
“…No way, there’s a sword that cuts through space, and even a sword that cuts through time?”
All of this could be experienced for just 15,000 won.
After nervously biting my nails and deliberating, I decided to become a happy sucker after much internal conflict.
I’ve already wasted two months, if I could be happy for just fifteen thousand…!
“…I’ll gladly be a sucker!”
After immediately purchasing and downloading the expansion pack, I launched the game.
My goal wasn’t to clear the game… but to get the time-stop sword!
While the space-cutting sword was also cool, I thought controlling time was more awesome.
Later on, when you become overpowered, you might be able to vaguely cut through space, but you can never cut through time, even later on!!!
Anyway, I memorized the information of the character listed as the owner of the time-stop sword.
There weren’t specific settings written down, just what kind of events you might encounter.
So, this character’s name is…
“Ichimaru Shiki.”
The moment I uttered it, my vision went dark.

How long had I been unconscious?
“Kyaaaah!”
I was startled by a sudden piercing scream and opened my eyes.
What entered my vision wasn’t my dark room and large monitor, but an unexpected mountain forest.
It was a scene of black wolves the size of houses pouncing on a girl in a school uniform.
‘…What is this?’
An incomprehensible scene far from my ordinary life. It was like a scene you’d only see in a game event.
For instance, the garbage game ‘Apocalypse Love Comedy’ that I had been playing until just now…
Just as I was feeling a sense of déjà vu, the girl being pounced on by the wolf screamed once more, and while my mind was dazed, my body moved automatically as if familiar with the situation.
—Swoosh.
I drew the sword at my waist.
This too was a long sword far from everyday life, one that might have been used during the Warring States period.
As the full moon light reflected off the blade, the ability activated.
—At that moment, everything stopped.
As proof, the girl who had been desperately screaming froze in place.
The piercing scream could no longer be heard.
Thump, thump, thump, the wolves that had been running on all fours toward the girl also stopped in mid-air.
As if under a petrification spell, they stood still in place.
No, if they had simply turned to stone, they would have fallen to the ground immediately, so it was truly close to a stop.
Yes, time had stopped.
Realizing this fact, I joyfully exclaimed at this amazing situation.
“Oh? Everyone has stopped moving?”
…?
What’s this?
After rubbing my lips that had uttered strange words on their own, I soon realized.
It seems that not only did I obtain the time-stop sword, but my body had also changed.
Many things seemed to have changed.