Chapter 13 - An Encounter Through the Screen
Some time passed. Each time her skill came off its recast time, Sora endured a fierce battle against dizziness, nausea, and a host of other unpleasantries. Just as she had declared, she managed to master the skill within about an hour.
Confident that she could now use it in actual combat without issue, we returned to the hub and purchased a shortbow as a ranged weapon for Sora.
We immediately zipped back to the boar plains to test it out against a Fool Boar.
"Okay... Here I go."
"I'll back you up if things get dicey, so just relax."
I offered some words of encouragement to Sora, who looked a little nervous about her first try. She responded with a shy smile before gently placing her fingertips on the bowstring.
With a pinching motion, a translucent, faintly glowing arrow materialized. It was a peculiar feature of this game: bows were apparently pure magic weapons that didn't require physical arrows. Your remaining shots were determined by your MP, not your quiver.
Now, according to her, she had never even touched a bow in real life, but the game apparently provided a system assist for that. She must have been receiving some kind of guidance, because she drew the bow with a beautiful form that was far from amateurish.
She glanced over at me. With my straight sword in hand, I gave her a nod that said, Whenever you're ready. Sora held her breath and let her first arrow fly.
The result was—a perfect shot. It landed squarely between the boar's eyes.
"It hit!"
The boar let out a pathetic squeal, and Sora whirled around, beaming with joy—wait, Sora-san, it's not dead yet!
"Whoa there!"
"Fwah?!"
Whipping out a great axe, I slammed it into the ground to intercept the boar charging at Sora's defenseless back. I angled the shaft to parry its momentum, sending the Fool Boar flying past her and off into the distance.
"S-Sorry...!"
"I get it."
It was her first real attack on her second day. It's no surprise she got a little carried away.
"Were you using Observer's Eye just now?"
"I was. I still have it active."
"So the duration is pretty long?"
"It seems to last as long as I have the MP for it."
"So it's a sustained-cost type."
Excellent. That meant she could maintain it for extended periods, depending on her MP pool.
We chatted while watching the Fool Boar lumber through a slow turn after its charge. She probably wouldn't let her guard down a second time, and I could have left it to her, but—
"Guess I'll play vanguard."
I switched from the great axe, which my base STR couldn't handle properly, to my straight sword and stepped in front of Sora, twirling the blade idly. Since we were already working on the premise of being a pair, it would be better practice for her to have me in front.
"I'll hold back on my attacks, so whenever you think you have a shot, go for it."
"O-Okay... Um, sorry if I hit you."
"Well, I doubt a single shot from a beginner's bow would one-shot me... I don't think so, anyway? Yeah, probably, maybe."
Averting my eyes from Sora's wry smile at my noncommittal reply, I ran off to grab the Fool Boar's aggro.
No, surely I'll be fine... right? Don't let me down, 5 VIT...!
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Hhhnnnggghhh..."
It was exactly noon, real-world time. Having logged out of the virtual world for lunch, I was now lying on my VR machine, letting out a groan worthy of an old man.
My body felt so damn heavy. Probably because I'd built my avatar to be an agility specialist, the perceived weight difference between my body over there and here was just too great. It had been bad when I logged off last night, but I had a feeling it was even worse now that I'd spent the status points from the two boss fights.
"Is this something all Arcadia players go through, or is it just my poor VR aptitude...?"
I'd be bummed if it was the latter... With a grimace, I slowly moved my incredibly sluggish real body. Sensing my shift in posture, the machine automatically opened its lid, and the bed, which also functioned as a reclining chair, lifted my back.
...This thing is a gaming console, you know? A marvel of advanced technology from top to bottom.
"Alright, time for food."
No matter how much I jumped around in virtual reality, my real body was just lying there. I got out of the machine and stretched my stiff limbs before leaving my room.
My parents both work, so they weren't home. I passed through the quiet living room and raided the fridge for ingredients.
I may have logged out, but my mind was still completely absorbed in the virtual world. Sora's combat training had gone smoothly, and our progress as a pair was right on track. We'd taken a temporary break for lunch, and to my delight, she had asked if I'd be willing to continue afterward.
Man, I was happy. I was honestly worried I might be using up all my lifetime's worth of luck with this sudden popular-guy routine, but I'd gladly accepted. My afternoon was now booked for an otherworldly adventure with a presumably beautiful girl.
"So thankful for this chain of coincidences... A stir-fry should be fine. I can't be bothered with anything complicated."
I grabbed some random ingredients and put a frying pan on the stove. If you're not making anything fancy, cooking involves a surprising amount of waiting. Right now, I was antsy to dive back into the virtual world for as long as possible, so even the short wait for the pan to heat up felt tedious.
Out of boredom, I decided to turn on the living room TV.
"Whoa, it's been three years since I last touched a TV remote."
It had been three years since [Arcadia] was announced. To protect my sanity, I had cut myself off from every possible source of information. Not just the internet on my phone and computer, but I'd even done my best to avoid newspapers and magazines, dedicating myself to my part-time jobs.
There were many times I'd accidentally stumbled upon information about [Arcadia], but each time, I managed to dodge it by using work and studying as an excuse.
So it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I'd been left behind by society for the past three years, but that was how much effort it took to completely shut out any news about a colossal title like [Arcadia].
But now, having finally gotten my hands on the dream of virtual reality, there was nothing holding me back. In fact, if I was going to get serious about clearing the game, I'd need all the information I could get. With a sense of deep emotion, I turned on the screen, and what appeared was—
"Oh, speak of the devil."
By some coincidence, it was a program related to the virtual world that currently occupied one hundred percent of my brain. A banner at the top of the screen read something like, Arcadia's Strongest Sword King! Uncovering the Secret to Their Strength!?
"Who the heck is the Sword King?"
With zero information, talk of the 'strongest' or a 'Sword King' went right over my head. As I tossed oil and ingredients into the preheated pan, I pictured a muscular giant wielding a massive, golden greatsword—
"—Whoa...!"
A few seconds later, when the so-called "Strongest Sword King" appeared on the TV screen, I found myself unconsciously holding my breath.
—She's beautiful. So beautiful that describing her with generic compliments like 'amazing' or 'incredible' felt inadequate. There, on the screen, was a stunningly beautiful girl.
Silvery hair with a faint blue tint, and large, garnet-red eyes—an almost frighteningly perfect beauty.
[Arcadia]'s graphics were nearly indistinguishable from reality; even up close, people looked almost exactly as they would in the real world. And yet, the girl on the screen looked like a character straight out of an anime or manga.
Frankly, she was far more beautiful than any heroine from a work of fiction. Was this the third dimension surpassing the second...?
"Well, I mean, it's just an avatar, but still..."
Even so, she was on another level. Even if that beauty was the result of character creation, it was a masterpiece that made the other handsome men and beautiful women I'd seen in Istia's capital seem plain.
...What about Sora? Well, they're in different leagues... This girl is the 'stunning' type, while Sora is the 'cute' type, so you can't really compare them—and it's impossible anyway. When you reach that level, you're not even human anymore; you're an angel. Sora's an angel too, of course, but she's an angel in a more 'girlish' way, my personal source of comfort, whereas the Strongest-chan on the screen has transcended humanity—
"Whoa, crap!"
I snatched the frying pan, now smelling faintly of something burning, off the heat. I can't believe I was just standing there, captivated! I splashed in some water as an emergency measure, saving the pan from becoming a gateway to the abyss.
"That was close..."
Taking a breath, I turned my eyes back to the TV. It seemed to be an interview-style show. A player dressed like a reporter was asking all sorts of questions, but... a lot of them were pretty technical. As a complete newbie, it was all, "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying."
"Hmm, her voice is cute too."
At the very least, she didn't seem like the boisterous type. Her voice was graceful and carried a pleasant sweetness that perfectly matched her dignified, princess-like aura.
I still couldn't follow the interview at all, but just watching the girl's mannerisms was a treat for the eyes. No matter what, a beautiful girl is a good thing, even in virtual reality. Their mere existence can bring comfort to complete strangers.
With these silly thoughts in my head, I quickly prepared my lunch. I spent the meal shoveling stir-fry into my mouth while watching the girl known as the "Strongest Sword King"—Iris.
That's it for the morning session. I plan to post another update this evening.