The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

it has started……

Su Qi blinked, and the passive ability of the Eye of Truth took effect. The world in front of him was instantly deconstructed into a collection of countless 3D structures, energy fluctuations, force field ranges, annotation information, and appearances seen from different sensory perspectives.

In an instant, a massive torrent of information flooded his mind. An ordinary human would have gone insane or become an idiot from the unbearable pressure, but his vast soul and powerful mind, far exceeding the limits of mortals, could easily absorb it and reclassify and integrate it into his unique, profound vision—far broader, higher, more subtle, deeper, more multifaceted, and closer to the essence of the world than that of ordinary beings.

Because it was entirely an ability inherent to his soul, Su Qi adapted to his new perspective in the blink of an eye and turned to look at his side.

"Name: Natsuki Subaru, Gender: Male, Age: 17, Weight: 62 kg, Height: 172 cm, Blood Type: B, Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan, Birthdate: April 1, 2001... Grip strength... Arm strength... Physical strength... Maximum instantaneous explosive power... Maximum instantaneous speed per second... Nerve reaction speed... Hand length... Arm length... Current health status..."

Instantly, the surface information that constitutes the existence of "Natsuki Subaru" was read by the Eye of Truth, and then flowed into his consciousness in a way that he could easily understand, giving him a deep and simple understanding of the former's body in an instant.

Natsuki Subaru, the male protagonist of "Re:Zero"...

Looking sideways at the boy in sportswear beside him, Su Qi felt a little complicated.

Before his transmigration, when he was watching the anime "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-", he was actually quite dissatisfied with the male protagonist, Subaru Natsuki. Compared to other male protagonists in various isekai (another world) genres, Subaru Natsuki was just too mediocre in every way except for his obsession with Emilia and his relatively sound values. Sometimes he would even lose his mind and do some embarrassingly childish things.

After he himself was transported to another world by saying "I could do it too," he fully experienced the difference between giving orders on a keyboard and actually doing it himself, which changed his opinion of the weak protagonist, Natsuki Subaru.

Su Qi didn't think he had made a mistake in his initial assessment of the male protagonist, "Natsuki Subaru," because his behavior was indeed like that. Even the original author himself admitted that the male protagonist was powerless, ignorant, incompetent, reckless, and particularly slow-witted. However... because he had experienced similar pressure, Su Qi was able to understand Natsuki Subaru more deeply and understand that there were reasons for the stupid things he did, and that he could be more lenient with him. So now that he had met him in person, he felt a little ashamed.

Such emotions, of course, could not shake his reason in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Natsuki Subaru, who was standing nearby, also recovered from the sudden change that had occurred at the beginning.

Before him lay a wide avenue paved with stone slabs, various buildings resembling those in the Western medieval style, numerous covered wagons pulled back and forth by large lizards, and a bustling crowd of people in strange costumes.

They had hair in various colors, including red, blue, gold, green, and curry, and wore leather armor, iron armor, robes, and even sexy costumes resembling those of dancers. Some had animal heads like cats and dogs, some had lizard heads, and some had long, pointed ears, looking like the orcs, lizardmen, elves, and other demi-human races often seen in Western fantasy novels. Of course, there were also some who looked exactly like humans, but I didn't see anyone with black hair like him.

Amidst the rumbling of the car, a covered wagon pulled by an earth dragon drove past him, the dust it kicked up causing Natsuki Subaru to cough involuntarily, giving him an even more tangible sense of reality.

"This scene, this phenomenon, in other words, it's that..."

Exposed to a large number of unfriendly gazes, he pointed to the crowd staring at him from a distance because of his strange appearance and shouted, "The so-called summoning from another world has finally descended upon me!"

"Immersed in their own world, completely disregarding the opinions of those around them, and doing things that are hard for others to understand, that's probably what 'chuunibyou' is."

Just then, another voice suddenly rang out from the side, "It's rare to travel to another world together, but the companion is a chuunibyou teenager. Should we pretend we don't exist and hide the fact that we come from the same place?"

Huh? Time travel? Are there any fellow countrymen who came to this world with me?

Natsuki Subaru was slightly startled and turned his head to look. He found a young man in his early twenties, dressed in pajamas, with black hair and black eyes like himself, standing next to him. He had been too focused on what was in front of him to notice him.

With an appearance similar to her own, wearing distinctly modern pajamas and slippers, her tousled hair was slightly messy, her eyelids were slightly lowered, her eyes were deep, and a faint smile played on her lips. Her demeanor was calm with a hint of languor...

Natsuki Subaru sized up the other person, and combined with what they had just said, he confirmed that the other person was indeed from the same world as him. He couldn't help but feel a little happy, and he didn't even care about the other person's slightly sarcastic words.

Although he had just used his skillful "bluffing" to cover up his inner turmoil, it was impossible for an ordinary person not to feel uneasy when suddenly transported to another world. Now, seeing his "fellow countrymen" naturally brought him a sense of kinship.

“Great! I didn’t expect to have a companion who was sent to another world like me…” Natsuki Subaru turned to face Su Qi, unable to hide his excitement, and said, “Are you also Japanese? I am Natsuki Subaru, just an unemployed bum. Please take care of me.”

Su Qi smiled slightly, "I am not Japanese, I am Chinese."

"Uh……"

"Also, generally speaking, it wouldn't be appropriate to say 'That's great' at this point. It would be better to say 'Unfortunately, we've been swept into another world together. Please help each other out from now on,' right?"

"Uh……"

As if he didn't see the awkward expression on the other person's face, he extended his right hand and introduced himself: "Hello, I am a Chinese living in Japan. My Chinese name is Su Qi and my English name is Nicholas Zos. I hope we can get along well in the future."

Part 486: This volume is based on the original novel. Subaru in the anime is even more chuunibyou (delusional) than in the novel...

Second: I couldn't find out what year 486's birthday was, so I made one up myself. You can see it as a parallel world and for the sake of the plot.

Chapter Two: My Method of Time Travel Was Rather Traditional

"I'm sorry..." Natsuki Subaru smiled wryly, took Su Qi's hand, and bowed very formally, saying, "I've always been told that I can't read the room, so if I said anything wrong just now, please accept my apology."

"It's alright." After gently shaking hands and withdrawing his hand, Su Qi smiled and said, "You didn't say anything wrong. On the contrary, I was the one joking with you before. I should be the one apologizing."

"Well, Su Qisang wasn't actually wrong. I'm also somewhat self-aware, and I've often been told that I'm hard to understand..."

A hint of melancholy flashed in Natsuki Subaru's eyes, then he shook his head and changed the subject, saying, "By the way, how did Su Qi-san get here? I just stepped out of the convenience store, rubbed my eyes, and suddenly I was here from Japan."

"Oh, you're quite trendy. I'm more of a traditional truck-style cross-country driver."

"Truck-style crossing?"

"It was hit by a big truck."

"Huh!?" He looked Su Qi up and down in surprise. "But Su Qi doesn't look injured at all."

"Because I have a passive skill that makes me immune to truck-type attacks."

"Oh, I see... Just kidding!" Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but complain. "What kind of weird skill is that? And what's with the truck attribute? There wouldn't be an attack with that attribute in the game, would there?"

Su Qi looked shocked. "Huh? You don't have it?"

"Oh no! What's with this ominous feeling that my usually reliable companion has suddenly turned into a complete airhead? Was everything just my imagination?"

"It was just a joke, to lighten the mood and maybe even make us feel closer."

“I knew it…” Natsuki Subaru seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “I felt that Su Qi-san should be the kind of genius-type powerful partner, it’s impossible for him to suddenly become an airhead.”

"Why do you say that?"

“Because…” He looked at Su Qi and said seriously, “Because Su Qi-san looks very calm. Even when he appeared in this other world in his pajamas, he looked relaxed and leisurely, completely different from a weak guy like me who can only rely on bluffing to encourage myself… This is probably the composure of a strong person, right?”

"Oh, you have good taste."

Giving the other a thumbs-up, Su Qi slightly raised his head, gazing into the distance at a 45-degree angle, his face bearing the reminiscence of an elderly hero. He slowly said, "I fought against great demons during the Warring States period, defeated a great Onmyoji who attempted to destroy all of humanity, washed the deck of the Hyperion, and chatted with heroes from various eras at Chaldea... Ah, speaking of heroes, I think of mythology, and speaking of mythology, I think of 'Journey to the West,' one of China's four great classical novels..."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Natsuki Subaru suddenly felt that something was wrong. "The Chaldea that Su Qi-sang mentioned, could it be the Chaldea, the organization in the gacha game that guarantees the continuation of human reason?"

"Of course..." Su Qi asked doubtfully, "Are there other Chaldea schools?"

"..."

Subaru Natsuki was speechless, a deep sense of powerlessness welling up inside him. He hadn't heard of the first three items, but he knew that Chaldea was a setting in a gacha mobile game, which he had played himself. So it was obvious that the first three items were probably about things in the game.

"How naive..." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I thought Su Qisang was serious, and I was shocked and incredulous. I didn't expect him to be joking."

"I'm telling the truth," Su Qi said seriously. "You might not believe it, but I, Su Qi, always keep my word and treat people with sincerity. I absolutely did not lie."

"Yes, yes, I believe Su Qisang."

Natsuki Subaru's response was rather insincere. In his mind, Su Qi had successfully downgraded from a reliable and powerful partner to a seemingly unreliable and enigmatic one.

"By the way, does Su Qisang know why we traveled through time?"

To avoid hearing the other person recount their gaming adventures, Natsuki Subaru changed the subject once again, secretly hoping for Su Qi's answer.

Although the latter successfully changed his public image with witty remarks, he believed that his composure was genuine. The other party might actually know some inside information, but he didn't know whether, given the current level of trust, they would tell him or pretend to be ignorant and let it go.

"It's probably fate."

Unexpectedly, the other party gave a very straightforward answer, but it was somewhat difficult to understand.

"Destiny?"

"Can't you see that in various light novels and anime with the isekai (another world) theme?" Su Qi said seriously, "The protagonists who travel to other worlds either build a harem, establish a kingdom, defeat a demon king, or save the world. They can always use their special abilities and modern knowledge to achieve earth-shattering feats in the other world; so the two of us must also be destined by fate to appear here in order to accomplish some great thing."

"Oh, oh, oh, that's an exciting answer! If it's true, that would be great! But that's just something from light novels and anime, isn't it? And including building a harem in the list of great achievements, wouldn't that be unfair to the Demon King?"

"Superficial!" He grabbed Natsuki Subaru's shoulder, stared into his eyes, and said seriously, "Natsuki-san, now answer me seriously and honestly, as a man, don't you want to have a harem?"

Staring into those deep, dark eyes that seemed to see right through you, Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He swallowed hard and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Well... I can't deny it. I guess most normal men would have those thoughts?"

"So, for you, wouldn't building a harem be considered a great achievement?"

After a moment of silence, he clutched his chest with a pained expression, "I've been hit hard, Mom... my heart hurts so much."

Su Qi released his shoulder with satisfaction. "In short, I think the reason we were chosen is because there must be something special about us. At least I'm not an ordinary person, and Natsuki-san should be the same."

Thinking it was just a joke, Natsuki Akira didn't take the "I'm not an ordinary person" part to heart and shook his head, saying, "I'm really sorry for holding you back, but I'm just a completely ordinary person and a penniless guy from the Undying Demon Realm."

"Really? Maybe you have some special talent that you haven't even discovered yourself?"

Su Qi gave him a meaningful look, then changed the subject, "Alright, we've stayed at the starting point long enough. That fierce-looking fruit stall owner behind us is about to reach his limit and transform into a man-eater. Let's leave here first."

"Who would eat someone?!" The shopkeeper, as expected, started shooing them away. "You two brats, if you're not buying anything, get out of the way!"

"Don't be in such a hurry, uncle. Maybe we can become guests too?"

"You have money?"

"Absolutely not! We're both penniless, but we might have money in the future."

"Then get out of here right now!"

Natsuki Subaru shrugged and said as he walked out, "Alright, it seems we can't stay in that stingy boss's territory anymore. So, Su Qi-san, where should we go next?"

As Su Qi followed, he said, "You can decide that yourself."

"Ugh?"

"Because we're going to part ways here."

Oh right, I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter. Because many people felt that the "brotherly god" was inappropriate, after thinking about it, we realized that there were indeed some parts that were not suitable. Therefore, the last chapter of the second volume has been revised to make the protagonist pull back from the brink and change the "brotherly god" into a super light energy user.

Chapter Three: I Have High Hopes for You!

Why...why?

Natsuki Subaru was taken aback at first, then stopped and looked at Su Qi behind him, saying anxiously, "We've been transported to another world, not on a peaceful school trip where we can just enjoy the local customs. We don't even know what the situation is like here, whether there's any danger, or if we'll encounter any trouble... In a situation like this, staying together and working together is the best option, right?"

“That’s right, under normal circumstances that would be the better choice…” Su Qi continued walking, speaking as he walked in front of Natsuki Subaru, then suddenly stopped, his face turning cold as he glanced at the latter, and said in a deep voice, “However, I refuse!”

"It's you! Rohan Kishibe!"

Su Qi's expression changed slightly, and he said solemnly, "Could it be... that you are also a Stand user?"

"Hehehe..."

Natsuki Subaru curled the corners of his mouth into a deep, cold smile like a villain. Then, he spread his legs wide, right leg behind, left leg forward, tiptoe, twist his waist, and faced the camera. His right palm was open, facing outward to block his forehead, while his left palm was closed and held horizontally in front of his neck. In what he thought was a cool, deep voice, he said, "Stand users are attracted to each other."

But the next moment, strange gazes swept over from all directions, making even someone who thought he had a thick skin feel a little overwhelmed.

On a whim, I struck a JoJo pose on a busy street. What kind of embarrassing pose am I doing...?

"Ahem..." While mentally cursing himself, Natsuki Subaru immediately stood up straight again, coughed a few times, and put on a serious expression, saying, "So, Su Qi-san, why did you have to break up?"

"Actually, there's no particular reason." Su Qi had already regained his normal expression and said casually, "It's just that I'm more used to being alone, and I find dealing with strangers a bit troublesome. I think Natsuki-san can understand that, right?"