The consciousness flickers.
As if the world momentarily went dark when I blinked, I found myself in a completely new place I had never seen before.
An entirely pure white space enveloped me.
Staring blankly at this overwhelming white void, which felt like it could drive me insane, something popped up in front of my eyes with a cheerful sound effect.
Ding-!
[New user recognition completed.]
[Checking biometric information….]
[User already approved.]
[Welcome, User 1201102.]
“O….”
Notifications like some kind of alert message flew by in a flurry.
A scene that seemed like it belonged in a sci-fi movie set in the near future made me involuntarily exclaim in awe.
Those notifications that appeared earlier seemed to be some kind of system messages.
[User 1201102, please register the nickname you will use from now on.]
“A nickname, huh.”
It wasn’t really something I had to think hard about.
If it were before, I might have spent a lot of time deliberating, but now I had a nickname I used regularly.
“Kayak.”
A name that was merely a gaming nickname had become more familiar than my real name.
Most of what constituted me was related to Kayak.
It felt like the significance of the name Kayak within me had grown tremendously. I hadn’t exactly calculated it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it surpassed half.
[Would you like to use ‘Kayak’? Y/N]
As I pressed Y to confirm, another message quickly popped up above.
[Nickname already in use.]
“Eh.”
I blinked in confusion for a moment.
It’s one thing for duplicate nicknames not to be allowed, but already in use?
This isn’t even an officially released device!
“Don’t tell me….”
Isabel, is that you?
The only people who have used the VR equipment are Isabel, the research team, and a few test participants, and out of those few, who would specifically use my name?
No one else but her would pull such a stunt.
“Ugh, Isabel….”
Just how much do you like me?
Things just got a little annoying, but it didn’t matter. I could just use a different nickname.
[Would you like to use ‘Weak Camilla’? Y/N]
[Nickname is available.]
[Nickname creation complete.]
[Welcome, ‘Weak Camilla’. Enjoy various activities at End Brown.]
Isabel’s Brown Group and the game development company High-End merged into End Brown? Honestly, the name sounds like garbage.
[Would you like to proceed with customization?]
[TIP: Go ahead and customize! You can walk around in the appearance you’ve customized not just during gameplay but also in your VR home and waiting room!]
“Ooh….”
It seemed that the VR device Isabel created wasn’t just for playing games.
In this virtual reality, you could play games, customize your avatar, and use it as a communication hub with other people. It’s a multipurpose space. This virtual world.
“If it gets commercialized, it could be pretty useful.”
Not just gamers, but even those who don’t enjoy games might buy it and use it.
Didn’t they say it would be released in the year after next? I was convinced that as long as it launched normally, it would cause a huge wave in the market.
Maybe we’ll reach a future where every household has a VR device, replacing computers.
Anyway, back to the point.
“Customization, huh…”
If customization was possible, I usually put a lot of effort into shaping my appearance.
The end result usually ended up looking similar to Camilla, but I did put in the work on the customization itself.
[Would you like to skip customization?]
[If you skip, your VR device will scan your actual appearance, and that will be set as the default avatar.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
“Yes.”
However, this time was different.
I needed to play Abyss as quickly as possible. I had to see for myself what Camilla, who lived and breathed inside Abyss, looked like with my own eyes.
Skip, skip, skip it all.
[Would you like to connect to Abyss? Y/N]
It was only after skipping all those random settings that I could connect to Abyss.
*
[Rank Game: Unavailable]
[Regular Game: Unavailable]
[AI Versus Match: Available]
[Story Mode: Available]
While I successfully connected to Abyss in VR, I couldn’t play ranked games as usual.
It wasn’t just ranked games; even playing regular games was impossible.
Of course. It wasn’t linked to users playing on PC, and I was the only one playing in VR.
So, it was a tantalizing situation, but the only things I could play were the AI battles and story mode. Those two modes were infamous for being boring among users.
“Hehe, huhu, hehe….”
But whether I was facing off against AI or diving into story mode, I was completely satisfied.
That’s because the abyss I was playing in felt more real and immersive than anything I had ever dreamed up in my head.
“Watch out!”
As soon as my ally AI character, Shan, shouted, countless shells rained down in front of us. The thunderous explosions were just the icing on the cake.
A massive blast. It was the ultimate skill of the enemy AI character, Obelious.
I had to move my body to escape its range, or my HP bar would rapidly drop, leading to my ultimate demise.
The level of immersion here was on a different dimension. No matter how engrossed I got in a game in reality, there were always limits.
Even if I tried to immerse myself, I couldn’t actually get sucked into the screen.
In reality, even if I played hard, all I did was manipulate the keyboard and mouse with effort.
But here? It was different. The moment this became reality, I could no longer sit back and casually grip my mouse.
A strange sensation of my brain cells sizzling, feeling as if I truly stood and moved within this world’s terrain, and the moment I let my guard down, my life would be at stake.
“Get it together, Weak Camilla! This isn’t the time to dawdle!”
“…Okay!”
The idea that an AI could talk as realistically as a person had long since faded away.
My ally tank, Shan, was a comrade, fighting back-to-back in this grueling battlefield.
This was a battlefield, not a comfy corner at home where shells and blades flew around.
My heart raced. Adrenaline pumped, and my sympathetic nervous system kicked into gear.
Focusing my nerves caused my pupils to dilate, and my widened field of vision sent back more information.
Just a bit more, just a bit more, just a bit more.
Faster. More agile. Heavier.
– You have eliminated the enemy.
– Weak Camilla is going wild!
– Triple kill!
“I beheaded the enemy commander!”
“Nice job!”
“Everyone, charge! She’s opened the way!”
Wow-!
With the cheering of my allies, we charged forward.
And finally, we found ourselves in a moment where only the enemy’s core was left.
In that life-or-death moment.
Ping-
[Connection from outside detected.]
[Game will now end.]
“…Huh?”
I felt a flicker in front of my eyes and opened them once more.
I opened my eyes again, feeling a familiar sensation.
Pushiiik—
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WGwxUi9tUUNpUTdIN1lMVXlHbXNIdzh0VDJGM0pRNWh6RzFFY2lCa1FQWg
Soon, the capsule opened, and Isabel, looking relaxed, spoke to me.
“How was it, honey? I came to wake you up after two hours—.”
“…Aah, aahhhh…!”
I started to wail like a child who had their toy snatched away right in front of them.
“Shan, Lily, Theodora, Kassia, Ran…!”
I left you all on the battlefield while I came back alone!
The embarrassment of fleeing to a safe place while leaving my comrades behind, the despair that the fierce battle just moments ago had all been an illusion, and my slight resentment toward Isabel, who was looking at me with a bewildered expression—
A whirlwind of complex emotions surged within me.
“What’s wrong? Was there a problem?”
“Why now! Why! Why did you wake me up!”
Isabel, startled by my childish tantrum, continued to speak.
“But it’s been two hours… Experts say if you use it for more than two hours, you need to rest for at least 30 minutes to be healthy—.”
“Take me back to the battlefield!”
“No way! Come out and rest! I mean, can’t you just take a little break and go back?”
“Iiiiiik…! Iiiik…!”
Screeeech.
Just like there’s no parent who can win against a child throwing a tantrum, there was no way Isabel could win against me throwing a fit.
I felt a bit guilty for throwing a tantrum at Isabel, who even made this equipment for me, but it couldn’t be helped.
Thinking about how much my comrades, who’ve shared life and death with me, must be suffering right now without me made my heart ache.
“My heart is about to tear apart right now.”
“Um, I’ll just finish up what I was doing and come back. Love you, Isabel.”
“Seriously… don’t you think you say ‘I love you’ way too easily?”
As if she couldn’t win against me, Isabel mumbled while closing the capsule again.
“Totally addicted to the game… over-involved… unexpected… need to take action—.”
Game addiction and being overly involved, can’t argue with that. I never imagined I’d enjoy a game this much.
But it can’t be helped. It’s all Isabel’s fault for making such good equipment.
Who told her to make it so realistic? Huh. So, this is partially Isabel’s fault too.
Finishing my self-justification, I jumped back into the battlefield.
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