Chapter 1 : Is no one there?

Lost Memory.

It’s one of those common mass-produced gacha games, often referred to as a “trash game” by people.

Game reviews found on the internet all say the same thing: “A doomed game that survives only on its illustrations.”

The official community was in a state of chaos, with distress signals coming in several times a day and endless trolling.

It was such a mess that you’d believe the game was on the verge of shutting down.

And this game, which hasn’t even been out for three months yet, is already being called a trash game because…

Reasons why Lost Memory is a garbage game (ᄋᄋ(11.88))

I usually don’t write posts like this, but this game is truly hopeless.

I tried to keep playing because the character illustrations are pretty, but the developers are practically telling me to quit.

What kind of new game updates only once a month? And every update comes with at least five hours of extended maintenance?

And even after all that maintenance, they don’t fix the bugs or optimize the game properly.

The game freezes and crashes every three minutes—how does that even make sense?

And why are the loading times so long? I spend more time looking at the loading screen than actually playing the game.

I won’t complain about heating issues since phone performance varies, but even with my fairly new phone, the temperature reaches 52°C in just ten minutes.

I could use it as a hand warmer in winter.

And the story is boring.

The main story, which is supposed to be the most important part, just keeps repeating the same cycle: defeat a monster, return, defeat a monster, return.

Is this for real?

Do they seriously think this is fun?

There are plenty more issues, but the developers probably won’t even read them, so I’ll stop here.

And no matter how generic a game is, a gacha game without a pity system? Who the hell thought that was a good idea?

Maybe they should receive their salaries through gacha to understand the pain. Damn idiots.

– Upvotes: 185 – Downvotes: 2 –

Delayed updates, endless bugs, no pity system in gacha.

And every time a new character is released, the power balance gets wrecked…

“This is truly a doomed game.”

I could ignore everything else, but a gacha game without a pity system?

Even if you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars, bad luck alone means you might never get the character you want.

This is just, just…

“I love it!”

“This is the best.”

Unable to hold back any longer, I hit the download button for Lost Memory.

…?

Why download a game that everyone is calling trash instead of looking for another one?

Well… you’ve probably seen people who take weak, underused characters and push them to the limit.

Or those who play games with unconventional item builds that no one else uses.

People who don’t want to follow the same path as everyone else.

Trash connoisseurs, hipsters—something like that.

That’s exactly who I am. Heheh.

As I scrolled past more posts complaining about the developers and lamenting how the characters were trapped in the game,

I saw that Lost Memory had finished downloading.

With excitement swelling in my chest, I pressed the Start Game button.

And then, my vision went dark, and I found myself inside Lost Memory.

That’s how I ended up in this situation…

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I looked at the small mirror in front of me.

A tiny child, even smaller than the mirror itself, was staring back at me with an expression that looked like they were about to cry.

Snow-white hair and jewel-like blue eyes.

Chubby, soft cheeks that hadn’t yet lost their baby fat, proving just how young they were.

That, combined with their sad expression, made them look pitiful enough that I wanted to comfort them right away.

Anyone who saw this child would probably smile without realizing it.

So cute. Really cute, but…

It would have been much better if that kid wasn’t me.

And not just any child—but the mascot character of Lost Memory.

The starting character and the game’s icon, “Maru.”

My life is a joke…

“Haa…”

I was speechless.

I never cursed at the developers, never sent them a 57,000-character-long letter.

All I did was press the download button…!

Why? Why the hell did I end up like this?

“What do I do now…?”

Swinging my tiny legs that still didn’t reach the ground, I looked down with a gloomy expression.

I saw an ant crawling along the floor, carrying a breadcrumb with its tiny front and back legs.

It looked pretty cute.

Where are its friends? The base is just concrete—there shouldn’t be an ant nest here.

Could it really be alone?

…No, no. Get a grip. This isn’t the time to be watching ants.

I shook my head.

My white hair swayed and smacked me in the face.

“Ow.”

Maru’s body was incredibly small.

And being short was incredibly inconvenient.

I had struggled just to climb onto a chair earlier.

And my hair was ridiculously long.

If it grew any more, it would start dragging on the floor.

How long would it take to wash hair this long? An hour or two? That sounds like a hassle.

As I absentmindedly ran my fingers through my hair, the soft white strands slipped through them with a gentle rustling sound.

…Speaking of white hair, it reminded me of the honey thread candy I bought a week ago.

That stuff was delicious. I want to eat it again.

“Wait, no! My thoughts keep drifting away!”

I don’t know why I keep having so many random thoughts.

They say children have trouble concentrating, but is my mind already being influenced by my body?

I shook my head to snap out of it, and as my hair swayed in response, it started attacking me again.

Ouch!

In the end, I got hit again.

That annoying hair… I’ll cut it short later.

Sigh…

Anyway, no matter what, I will return home.

With determined eyes, I strengthened my resolve.

“First, let’s come up with a plan.”

Yeah.

I can’t just sit here and complain forever.

They say that even if you’re bitten by a tiger, you can survive if you stay calm.

Even though I’ve become a little kid and my only knowledge of the original work comes from lurking in online communities…

Someday, I’ll return to my original world.

I’ll make it happen!

Let’s go!

As I jumped up with confidence, an ant beneath me seemed startled and quickly scurried away.

What a weak little thing. Getting scared just from my movement.

Even if my body has changed, does this mean my fiery spirit from the days of eating spicy ramen in one bite still remains?

Thanks to that, I can feel my confidence soaring through the roof.

Right now, I can do anything!

“Huh?”

…Wait a second.

Suddenly, my body lost balance and wobbled. What’s going on?

“H-Huh? Huh?!”

“Oh, right. I was on a chair.”

I forgot since my feet weren’t touching the ground.

“W-Wait…!”

I flailed my arms wildly to regain balance, but it was already too late—my body, shaking violently, showed no signs of stopping.

In the end, my body, swaying like a dangerous acrobat, lost balance and…

“Eeek!”

—Thud!

…I fell flat on the floor.

Wait, I should have landed headfirst.

But rather than feeling pain, I don’t even feel like I hit the ground at all.

It’s not completely numb, but it feels more like my head gently touched a soft mattress.

This is definitely not the kind of sensation I should be feeling in this situation.

“What the…?”

Could it be that the floor of the command center isn’t concrete but something like clay?

But if that were the case, the floor should feel much softer…

I slowly opened my eyes, which I had instinctively shut tight.

A fallen chair, a small mirror, and a cracked floor came into view.

Wait, a cracked floor?

Huh?!

Thinking I might be seeing things, I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

It was the same.

A massive crack had formed on the floor, as if it had been struck by a hammer.

…Right around where I had fallen.

“That’s… insane.”

Honestly, I was shocked. But at the same time, I felt relieved.

If this had been my original body instead of “Maru,” I’d probably be lying unconscious on the ground right now.

Knocking myself out from jumping on a chair and falling?

No way. That would be way too embarrassing. I’d die of shame.

I’d spend the whole night kicking my blanket, unable to get over the embarrassment.

As I imagined myself foaming at the mouth while passed out on the floor, a thought crossed my mind.

If “Maru,” who’s treated as a minor character, has this level of physical ability… just how strong are the other characters?

Wait a minute. Other characters?

Now that I think about it, are there even other characters here?

“Why is it so quiet here?”

When I first arrived, I was too panicked to notice, but now, the silence in the command center felt eerie.

“Is anyone here?!”

My voice, sounding a little softer than I expected, echoed through the command center…

But I couldn’t sense any presence.

“Is anyone here?!”

Thinking my voice might not have been loud enough, I raised it slightly.

Yet, only my own voice echoed back at me.

The command center remained silent.

It felt chilling, as if not a single living being existed here.

…Am I the only one in the command center?