kscans

Chapter 2 - Waking Up in a Dream

Even when you just say 'VR,' the concept is rich with diversity within works of fiction.

There's no end to the examples one could give, but the system used by [Arcadia], the world's only realized VR device, was touted as being a 'full-sensory immersion' type.

Users lie down on a bed inside a capsule that completely envelops their body and simply 'sleep' to enter the virtual world. In short, it's a full dive.

The user's brain, lulled to sleep by hypnotic waves from the device, resonates with [Arcadia] via special radio waves. This leads them into a fabricated 'dream' known as the virtual world—

...or so they say. The detailed technology is a complete black box, a piece of ultra-tech that has experts throwing up their hands and declaring it 'utterly incomprehensible' even after disassembling it down to the last screw.

For an ordinary person like me, even attempting to speculate on it would be presumptuous.

It's an existence with one foot, or perhaps both, firmly planted in the realm of fantasy. However, due to its nature of using human dreams as a stage, the world, while a game, is not constructed with existing graphic technologies like 3D polygons.

I don't have the knowledge to explain how it works, but... the one impression universally shared by those who have witnessed that world is the well-worn phrase in the gaming industry: 'indistinguishable from reality.'

...Anyway, having spent three years shutting out information to the absolute limit for the sake of my own sanity, I now found myself diving into the virtual world I'd longed for with almost zero prior knowledge—

"So this is Arcadia... the world of virtual reality, huh?"

As the very embodiment of ignorance and incompetence regarding this world, I was, as expected, standing dumbfounded in what was likely an initial setup space—a hall of pure white.

The only thing in the white plaza was a single, large full-length mirror. Other than me standing in front of it, there was nothing else in this space.

Inevitably, what the mirror reflected was me. The person looking back at me, a perfect mirror image, was an all-too-real version of myself, identical to my real self down to the last detail.

"—Welcome to Arcadia."

"Tch...!"

The person in the mirror opened its mouth.

The sight of 'me' in the mirror, speaking with my face and my voice, was a genuinely terrifying experience. I flinched involuntarily, and the other 'me' reflected in the mirror's surface offered a smile—

"Welcome to your other reality."

"Wha—whoa?!"

The next moment, as if being dragged by an irresistible force, my body was sucked into the mirror.

"Hey, what the—"

I instinctively shut my eyes, and when I opened them again, I was no longer in the white hall, nor was I in the mirror.

"W-wow..."

I was in the sky—floating in the middle of a clear blue sky where clouds drifted by.

A wind that felt utterly real gently brushed against my cheek... and then I began to fall.

"Wait, no—whoooooaaaaaaahhh!"

I burst through the clouds, my body accelerating endlessly. Looking down, I saw a blue different from the sky's—water—

"The ooooocceeeaaannn—glub glub glub!"

I was slammed mercilessly onto the water's surface. There was no pain, but I was tossed about by a tremendous impact. I was on the verge of panic, but as I struggled, I realized that, strangely, I could breathe—

The moment I wondered why, I, who should have been swallowed by the sea, was standing on a grassy plain.

A warm breeze reminiscent of spring caressed me, and the vast expanse of green rustled with a soft sound.

"—This world is your second home."

A woman's voice came from behind me as I stood there, stunned. When I turned around, there was no one there—instead, a dazzling ball of light was floating in the air.

"Okay, anything goes at this point..."

This is a pretty wild, chaotic, and rough introduction, I thought, aware of the strained smile on my face.

"What do you desire, that you have come here?"

The light pulsed in time with the voice.

"What do you seek, that you have come here?"

Suddenly feeling a strange sensation in my body, I looked down.

Just a moment ago, I should have been wearing the same clothes I had on in the real world... but what I saw was an unfamiliar—and decidedly cliché—set of simple initial equipment.

"Everything you desire and seek is in the hands of your second self."

And with those words, the presence of the light began to fade.

When I raised my head, I saw the same large mirror from before. The figure reflected in it was... a young man who looked very much like me, a familiar face.

It was the spitting image of my real-world self, with only the color of the eyes differing—none other than the avatar I was asked to prepare when I ordered [Arcadia].

—A searing heat bloomed deep in my chest.

It's time, right?

It's okay now, isn't it?

The distinct 'pull' I feel from this great mirror, beckoning me—that's what this is all about, isn't it?

—It's telling me to take that first step.

"Hh...!"

Then let's begin.

Right here, right now—my adventure into a new world!

◇◆◇◆◇

The moment I leaped into the mirror, my vision went black. As my temporarily lost senses returned, I felt my consciousness, which had been strangely fuzzy during the opening sequence, sharpen.

My physical sensations were back, but for some reason, I couldn't move.

I was enveloped in a chilly sensation from head to toe... Could I be buried in something, or perhaps trapped?

Since I'd arrived today without looking up any advance information, the only prerequisite knowledge I had about this game was the utterly useless premise that it was 'basically a fantasy world.'

However, my intuition, honed by a life dedicated to 2D media before I fell to the life of a part-time warrior halfway through my first year of high school, was telling me—this has to be the 'sealed away' trope, right?

If that's the case, some kind of event should trigger before long... and there it is.

A single point of light appeared in my vision, which had been pitch black, either due to my eyes being barely open or a lack of a light source.

Just as I thought, I seemed to be sealed in some kind of translucent material. Through what looked like frosted glass, I could see the pale blue light that had appeared on the other side, flickering and swaying as if trying to tell me something.

...I'm truly sorry to say this while you seem so desperate, but I still can't move a single finger, nor can I speak. Unfortunately, no matter what you're trying to convey, I can't even offer a word of comfort.

It seems the light figured that out quickly enough. It stopped its flickering and, as if mustering all its strength, its glow began to intensify—

"—Hh...!"

A sound that was high-pitched, profound, delicate, and magnificent all at once rang out, and the thing that had imprisoned me shattered.

Thrown into the air, I still had no control over my body. My helpless form fell, and what it touched was hard rock—I guessed I was probably in a cave.

Realizing I could barely move my neck, I looked up at the light twinkling above me. It was flickering, on the verge of disappearing.

—Even though it had no face or eyes, I felt clearly that we were looking at each other.

Perhaps it thought the same thing. The light seemed to flash once, brightly and with satisfaction... then, as if its role was complete, it scattered and vanished ephemeral.

..................—Alright, I can move.

Perhaps the event's compulsory hold vanished along with the light, because I could feel a distinct sensation return to my limbs. Confirming that control of my body had finally been returned, I shot to my feet with a surge of energy, ready to begin—

"Heh...! Nice!"

With a light, bell-like sound, a series of user interfaces popped up in my vision.

Some whose purpose I didn't yet understand, and others I could vaguely grasp.

Various UIs lined up in my view... finally, a two-tiered frame, likely for HP and MP, settled in the top-left corner, and the green and blue gauges began to fill.

Within the stylishly designed frame shone the letters of my name: 'Haru.'

Suppressing my endlessly rising excitement, I checked each of the interfaces in order. While struggling with the much-rumored 'thought-based controls,' I called up the system menu and proceeded to read—or rather, skim—through everything.

I see, I see... not a minimap, but a radar. No idea what it shows, but—ah, yeah, this has to be the time display. What the hell is 25:00? Oh wait, I think there was something about the flow of time... so that's that, and this is this, and that's that—

"Got it!"

I pride myself on being fairly experienced with games, and I actually have a decent amount of experience with online games, or MMOs.

Even in VR, a game is a game. I should be able to apply what I know where there are commonalities.

Having quickly finished my checks and settings, I dismissed the translucent menu window floating in the air as if throwing it away—more specifically, I literally crumpled it up with both hands and tossed it... wait, what's with that useless feature? It was so surprising the shock hit me a second later.

I can call it back up, right...? I thought, nervously opening the window again before finally finishing my system check.

—And with that, it was finally time for gameplay.

The current location seems to be a dead-end chamber in a cave, with nothing particularly noteworthy. In the end, it seems I was trapped in some kind of mysterious blue crystalline substance, and its shattered remains are scattered all over the place.

I thought about picking up a few as souvenirs... but when I picked up a shard of the crystal, it strangely melted away like ice.

Uncollectible item, got it. In that case, I have no more business here.

—It looks like a straightforward path, so I guess I'll head forward!

The cave is still pitch black, but things similar to the crystal I was sealed in are jutting out from the rock face here and there, emitting a faint glow.

The pale blue lights floating in the darkness are sufficient guideposts, as long as you don't consider how creepy they are.

"...Well, hey, I'm not generally bad with horror or anything?"

So this feeling of my legs about to freeze up has to be my imagination.

Muttering to myself rather than trying to convince myself—I stepped into the single path filled with darkness.

---

I want to write a story of freedom. It would be my honor if you would join me.

※Added 2024/11/9: This work is a hazardous material that aims to melt readers with a battle x romance double-plotline, containing rom-com elements that rival or even surpass the battle action parts.

From the mid-game onwards, please be prepared to drown in a sea of sugar.

If you read this with a similar mindset to other works in the SF (VR Game) genre, you may suffer severe burns from the heat of the red-hot sweetener, so please be careful.