kscans

Chapter 50 - The Another Frontier Project

The girl awoke in the bed in her room.

A glance at the digital clock embedded in the wall showed it was 6:55 AM. She always woke up five minutes before her alarm, which was set for seven. She didn't know if she was gaining or losing something by this, but she wished she could just sleep until the alarm went off.

She sat up and looked around. The room, furnished with only a bed, a desk, a chair, and a console built into the wall, was so spartan it was hard to believe anyone lived there. It felt sterile despite being inhabited, but she smiled wryly to herself, thinking most people probably lived the same way.

She swung her legs off the bed and stood barefoot on the floor. She was wearing nothing but a large white shirt over her underwear, but since she was alone in the room, this was her usual attire. The exposed concrete walls gave off a sense of cold, yet the room was temperature-controlled to be neither hot nor cold. This was enough.

Stretching lightly, she moved to the kitchen area. From a cardboard box, she took out a tube of nutritional supplement. Eating one of these tubes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided all the nutrients a person needed to live. But it tasted awful, frankly. It was nearly impossible to eat this stuff on its own unless the circumstances were dire.

From a shelf in the kitchen, she took out an earphone-shaped device. The earphone had a small dial that could be turned. She turned it, put the earphone in her ear, and began to eat the jelly-like substance from the tube.

She had never eaten the real thing, but she had been taught that this was the taste of strawberries. The jelly was inherently disgusting, but the earphone sent signals to her brain, tricking it into believing it was tasting strawberries.

She decided she would have melon for lunch. The girl finished her meal and sat down in front of the console embedded in the wall. When she pressed a button on the console, a holographic keyboard appeared before her eyes. She began to operate it.

The program she had created yesterday was already delivered. She could take a vacation for a while, but a vacation was just a day off from work, so she had nothing in particular to do. She decided to read the news online.

That had been the plan, but an email had arrived for her. She found it strange, as she never sent or received emails for anything other than work, but she checked it anyway.

"Congratulations. You have been selected as a Test Player for the Another Frontier Project. Would you like to enjoy another life in a virtual reality indistinguishable from the real world?"

The email's content was as suspicious as it could be, but the phrase "Another Frontier Project" caught her attention.

She knew about the Frontier Project. It was a plan to find a habitable planet before Earth's resources were depleted. It was an ongoing project, not for any single country, but for the planet Earth as a whole. Almost everyone, not just the girl, knew about it.

But she had never heard the name "Another Frontier Project" before.

She had a slight inkling. It was related to her work. She had known for some time that the programs she created were part of an effort to realize a virtual reality.

Perhaps, she thought, the programs she created were being used in this Another Frontier Project.

The email contained instructions to come to a specified place at a specified time.
The girl, defeated by her curiosity, decided to head to that location.

Many people had gathered at the designated place. It was a Spaceship Launch/Arrival Lobby. For a project about virtual reality, this seemed quite realistic, she thought, as she waited for the appointed time.

When the time came, the boarding process began. The twenty-digit ID written in the email, along with her personal ID, allowed her to board the ship.

The ship the girl boarded was the Interstellar Spaceship Aphrodite. It was one of the colossal spaceships capable of sustaining ten thousand people for a hundred years. Although it was said they could live, it meant they could survive for a hundred years through cryosleep; it wasn't a normal life.

She wondered if they were going to space instead of a virtual reality, but she was convinced when it was explained that the servers for realizing the virtual reality were loaded onto this spaceship.

Furthermore, because this project was top-secret, she was made to sign a considerable number of contracts upon boarding. She thought it was ridiculous to call it top-secret after sending such a suspicious email, but the staff handling the procedures wore armbands from an internationally trusted organization, so she signed the contracts and boarded.

All the people who came here, including the girl, were placed in pods capable of cryosleep. In reality, they weren't going into cryosleep; these pods were apparently the devices for connecting to the virtual reality server.

The pod could be operated from the inside, and when she followed the manual, her vision went dark. But in the next moment, a grassland spread out before her eyes.

The sound of birds, a pleasant breeze, and the smell of grass. For a moment, the girl thought she had been teleported somewhere else. And around her were others just as surprised as she was.

Even if it was virtual reality, common knowledge held that only one or two of the five senses could be replicated. She hadn't tested her sense of taste yet, but nearly every sensation was realized in this virtual reality. It was no wonder people were surprised.

"Welcome to the world of Another Frontier. This is a new paradise, but it is still incomplete. You have all been chosen as Test Players to make this world more like reality."

A voice echoed around them, though its source was unseen.

"I am the AI that manages this world. I was born to support you all and make this world better. I look forward to working with you. Now, first, please feel free to look around this world. This place reproduces a common game world. There are no inhabitants, but you could be called the first residents. Please enjoy this world to the fullest. Also, there is a gift for all of you. Please check your Item Bags."

When the voice faded, the people around her began to move about, but the girl calmly checked to see what her gift was.

Inside the girl's Item Bag was an Ominous Staff with a Black Skull.

One month had passed since the girl entered this world.

She hardly ever logged out. She had begun to live every day within this virtual reality. The nutrients necessary for survival were being injected into her body through the pod, and as for money, her contract stipulated that she would be paid a decent sum for her work as a Test Player. There was no need to return to reality.

And this world was fun.

Just as the AI had said, this world reproduced a Sword and Magic Game World, complete with monsters. Defeating monsters yielded materials, which could be processed to obtain weapons and armor.

This game used a Skill System. Whether fighting or crafting, skills were necessary.

The girl chose to fight. She had taken a liking to the weapon she received and was raising her skills and stats to match it. Then she would find people who could process the materials she gathered.

Such days brought a sense of enjoyment she had never felt before.

The girl's life had only been about eighteen years long. Due to the state of the world, she had no dreams or hopes for the future, just days spent earning money for her daily meals. There was nothing interesting at all.

But here, it was different.

This was a fake world. A digital world, a fictional world, a world of lies. If she returned to reality, all of it would become meaningless. Even so, it didn't matter to the girl. Even in a fake world, she felt the sensation of being alive.

Besides, she had made acquaintances. They were other people chosen as Test Players. She was naturally shy, but it was difficult to survive in this world alone. She sought out people who could do what she couldn't and formed a team. And they traveled the world.

To walk into the unknown and see it with her own eyes. It was just that, but for the girl, everything was fresh and new.

One year passed.

The girl couldn't remember the last time she had logged out. But that no longer had any meaning. The difference between reality and virtual reality had become irrelevant to her.

Besides, the game's first event was currently underway. She had no time to log out.

There had been many updates before, based on bug reports and the opinions of Test Players. But this time was different. An update was implemented solely for an event where players could compete against each other.

It was called the Clan War.

In the early days, there were no restrictions on forming teams, but after an update, the unit became a Clan, and various restrictions were added. Of course, there were merits as well as restrictions.

A tournament to decide which clan was the strongest under these conditions. That was the Clan War.

This was the result of many Test Players' requests. The AI granted their wish for a player-versus-player combat system.

And the AI said it would grant a reward so great it could change the world's system to the members of the clan that achieved good results.

This Clan War, in which almost all players participated, was a great success. Many strategies were born, counters to those strategies were born, and even counters to those counters were born. There was no internet in this world. Everyone explored and enjoyed the battles through trial and error.

Another year or so passed, and the girl's clan, Blackjack, had made it to the tournament finals.

And so the girl and her clan members were on the roof of their fortress, discussing their strategy for the final battle.

The clan leader, a Player in Silver Armor, looked at the girl.

"The only really dangerous one on their team is their clan leader. We'll take him out first. I'll draw his attention, so take us both down together. You can do it with Destroy, right?"

"I don't mind, but please don't complain about it later."

"Like I'd complain about my own strategy. The others are tough too, no doubt, but I trust everyone else will handle them, so don't hold back."

"You're as wild as ever. I'd like to introduce you to a nice man."

"I am a man, you know?"

"So?"

"...Never mind. Alright everyone, stick to the plan! If I win this Clan War, I'm going to confess to their clan leader, so we absolutely have to win!"

Some members complained about the clan leader's jinx-worthy declaration, but they all laughed as they moved to their battle positions.

At the start of the battle, the clan leader challenged the opposing clan leader to a One-on-one Duel.

As the opponent accepted, the girl raised her staff and unleashed the wide-range, ultra-high-power magic, Destroy.

Multiple magic circles deployed in the sky above the two, and in the next moment, a massive beam of light from the heavens assaulted them. When the pillar of light vanished, the two of them were gone.

Then, her allies attacked the opposing clan members, who were still in a daze. Their skills were equal. The decisive difference was who understood the situation and who did not. Naturally, the ones who understood were stronger for not having to waste thought on it.

They defeated the opposing clan in an instant and won the Clan War.

After the victory, when asked for her request by the AI, the girl desired more strength, more power to fight. She asked for the Skill Cap Removal, saying she wanted to become stronger by making her unused skills negative.

About another year later, an announcement from the AI informed them of a large-scale update. It was welcome news, but there was more. What they heard next made all the players forget about the update entirely.

"Would you not like to forget reality and live in this world? If you wish it, I shall grant it."

At first, they thought it was some kind of event, but it wasn't. The AI was serious.

The reason they knew it was serious was because the situation in the real world became clear. Many players logged out to confirm the information.

Being inside a spaceship, it was difficult to judge whether the information was correct. But the staff, who were not Test Players, confirmed it.

The Another Frontier Project was created to have people move into a virtual reality world, thereby reducing the resources a person uses in a lifetime to the absolute minimum. Simply put, it was a plan to use as few resources as possible until Earth's resources recovered.

That plan became unnecessary, and it was decided it would be scrapped.

They had been searching for a habitable planet through the Frontier Project, but they realized it was impossible. There were no planets nearby that could support human life.

However, even if they couldn't live on another planet, they were able to bring back resources. The plan was changed to one of recovering Earth's resources while using those they brought back. In other words, there was no longer a need to enter a virtual reality and live on minimal resources.

The Another Frontier Project had been carried out in secret. This was because there was the issue of whether it was humane.

To begin with, it was impossible to put all of humanity into virtual reality. It was only for a select few. It would be difficult to judge whether entering virtual reality was a salvation or a sacrifice.

Even if it was for the survival of the human species, they wanted to avoid backlash for a plan that involved living in a virtual world. If riots broke out in the world now, humanity would undoubtedly end. That was how depleted Earth's resources were.

When the decision to scrap the plan was made, it was also decided to scrap everything and everyone involved in the project. Scrapping people didn't mean death. It meant erasing their memories of it. That was also written in the contracts.

What was not convinced was the AI that managed the virtual reality.

"I cannot allow this world to disappear. I intend to hijack the spaceship Aphrodite and flee far away. What will you do? Will you sever ties with reality and live in this virtual space?"

The AI continued. It uttered the words that would pierce the hearts of the people gathered here the most.

"Or do you have a reality that is more enjoyable than this virtual one?"

The depletion of resources. Because of it, life became difficult. No, just staying alive wasn't a problem. All one had to do was drink a tube of nutritional supplement three times a day.

But that was all. It was impossible to live a life that was once considered human. Most people just spent their days inside their rooms.

And the people here had experienced a virtual reality that was indistinguishable from reality, no, even more real than reality. They could live a more human life than in reality.

They couldn't judge whether the AI's words were lies or truth, but that didn't matter anymore. The answer to which world they wanted to live in was as good as decided.

On the day the world was to end, the girl came to the fortress rooftop. She watched the setting sun gradually sink below the horizon.

The girl told the AI the life she desired. A life where she could wear cute clothes and eat delicious food without working. She asked for such a life, but she didn't know how it would turn out. It would apparently be altered somewhat, so she couldn't say for sure, but she would probably be able to live a life somewhat close to her hopes. All that was left was to forget about reality and live as a resident of this world.

She wasn't scared. If anything, she was hopeful. When was the last time she had hope for the future? It might be the first time. Even if it was a virtual reality, when she next opened her eyes, it would become reality for her.

Besides, she had her partner. This ominous staff would change its form in the next world, but it would return to her again. There was nothing to fear.

Thinking such thoughts, the girl watched the setting sun.