Chapter 157 - Virtual Brain
Sora isn't bound by the virtual world—the words were accompanied by an expression of serene confidence on her face.
Seeing that look, there was no doubt she was serious. It was Ui-san's conclusion, and the two of us facing her couldn't help but tilt our heads in confusion.
She has her moments of being the Sword Saint, but it's not like her senses are completely out of tune. She accurately read our confusion and began to explain.
"This world may seem free, but in reality, it has many restrictions. And I'm not talking about the limits imposed by status values, but something else entirely."
Well, yeah... Even if it's a marvel of incomprehensible super-technology, [Arcadia] is still a game created by people. It can't be a world with zero restrictions where anything you can imagine is possible...
"Haru-kun."
"Ah, yes!"
I replied reflexively to being called out so suddenly.
"Haru-kun—if you had a hundred arms, could you move them all at the same time?"
"..........................Huh?"
Faced with a question that could only deepen my confusion, I was at a loss for words.
A hundred arms...? How am I supposed to answer that? All I can say is, "I have no idea."
"Uh... well, if it's just moving them, I guess I probably could?"
If she asked me to write with all of them at once, it'd be impossible, but if they were all properly connected as arms... That was my thought process, and apparently, it was the answer she was looking for.
The one who'd asked the strange question nodded. "I see."
"I feel the same way—however, in the virtual world, that isn't possible."
She followed up with a negation.
"Parallel Limit is one of the many restrictions in this world. Simply put, it determines how many actions a player can take simultaneously. This includes not only physical movements but also thought-based commands."
—Ah, I see. I finally get it.
"And the upper limit of this Parallel Limit varies from person to person—the talent I mentioned earlier, Sora-chan, was in reference to this."
"...I see. So, Sora's upper limit for simultaneous actions is exceptionally high."
Sora's unique ability to control a thousand blades—not as a metaphor, but literally—was now clearly defined.
I know she isn't controlling all one thousand magic swords directly, but the number she does control simultaneously is well into the double digits.
"What was it called... [Arcadia]'s proprietary technology—the External Brain, was it?"
"The Outer Brain, yes."
Ui-san nodded at Sora's affirmative follow-up.
...And when a new, unfamiliar word like that pops up, naturally...
"Um... Haru, what's an Outer Brain?"
"The Outer Brain—it's an external thought-assistance cyberbrain that's generated and connected via an instance when you launch [Arcadia]... right?"
When I cut her off to say that, Sora stared at me blankly, utterly astonished—hey, you know what? I've been studying this stuff a little bit, too...!!
"It allows for smoother thinking with less time lag than in the real world, and it's also there to reduce the load from things like the 1.5x time flow and thought-acceleration skills... It's kind of... sandwiched between your own brain and the virtual world, right?"
"...That's... correct. Um, I feel like there are other things you should be studying, so why did you pinpoint this one specific detail...?"
Well, uh... I was glancing over some of the system-side stuff, thinking it was important to understand, and a word that tickled a man's heart just happened to catch my interest...
Sora gave me an unreadable look, and my triumphant expression quickly vanished as I averted my gaze. Ui-san, who had been peacefully observing us while sipping her tea, let out a small laugh and put down her cup. "Let's get back on topic."
"About this Outer Brain, the individual differences are a matter of aptitude for this function... a sort of compatibility. You could compare it to the difference in the 'road width' connecting our brains to the Outer Brain."
"Road width... So, you mean players with a wider, thicker road have a looser Parallel Limit restriction or something?"
A wider road means more circuits to send simultaneous commands to the avatar... something like that.
"Exactly. Although I say there are individual differences, normally... for instance, for someone like me whose main action is as simple as 'swinging a sword,' no matter how complex the accompanying movements are, you would almost certainly never hit this limit—but."
She paused, her gaze shifting to the person beside me.
"Sora-chan's... magic swords, was it? That is clearly not something that falls within the normal range."
"That's..."
"Yeah, that's for sure."
I'm decent at multitasking myself, but as I thought during the battle, that is impossible for me.
Even if I were to use the [Cradle of Sword-Craft], the best I could do is probably handle a few magic swords while maintaining my own combat maneuvers.
"That's why I thought so. Sora-chan's aptitude for the Outer Brain—and by extension, her aptitude for this virtual world—might be far higher than yours or mine, Haru-kun."
"Aptitude... for this world?"
While Ui-san was about to state her conclusion, I glanced over at Sora, who had repeated the words in a slightly stiff voice—I wondered why.
The girl wore a troubled smile, her eyebrows lowered, as if she didn't know how to take the continuous praise.
...?
It was a smile... and yet.
"I know of one other player who, like you, has an unparalleled aptitude for the Outer Brain... If I recall, 'she' was initially called this—the Chosen Child of the Virtual World."
Even when receiving the kind of praise one would normally never hear, especially from someone she admired.
For some reason, the expression on the girl's face, which didn't look happy at all—
"............A chosen child, you say?"
—I couldn't help but be bothered by it.
Just before the scheduled post time, I really didn't like the writing and held off on posting. And now I haven't had time to rewrite the whole thing until this very moment, what a mess...
To everyone who looks forward to the daily noon post, I am so sorry...!