Chapter 2

Chapter 2. The World I Faced

At twelve o'clock, the app activated.

I was so excited that I don't remember much of what happened in between.

Anyway!

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a space that looked like a character creation screen.

It was simply blue everywhere, slightly dark in some places, and seemed unbelievably vast.

[Please create your character's appearance.]

“Ooh, ooh! A blue window! Ooooooh…!!!”

I twisted my entire body, expressing the pleasure rising from the deepest part of my heart.

Then I suddenly remembered that the company employees were probably watching me.

I awkwardly covered my embarrassment with a forced cough.

Hiding the corners of my mouth that kept rising, I lightly tapped the ‘Yes’ button on the game message window in front of me.

With a brilliant flash of light, a huge mirror appeared.

“Ooh, so the default appearance simply uses the player's real appearance?”

“Hmm, I suppose that makes sense.”

“Making it as similar as possible to the original appearance would probably feel less strange.”

“Wait, did I see that wrong?”

“Why are there so many races?!”

The character's appearance could be customized in incredible detail.

Moving my finger across the mirror, stretching, shrinking, and adjusting things here and there was more fun than I expected.

Of course, since the base was my own face and body, there wasn't much to look at.

“Ahhh, you shouldn't give me content like this…”

“I'm the kind of person who spends at least two hours on this stuff…! Hehehe!”

Right now, what I wanted to do was play the game.

And since this character would obviously be reset after the beta test, it would probably be easier on my mind to simply choose one of the preset characters.

Haa.

Seriously.

Just wait until the official release.

I'll show them what a truly insane gamer looks like.

I'll show them what happens when a person plays games without even eating.

I'll show them what an unbalanced gamer looks like when their entire life revolves around games to a worrying degree.

[If the character's gender differs from your actual gender, you may experience severe discomfort.]

“Ooh, then it would be difficult to play as a female character…?”

“Or maybe not?”

I stood in one place and thought about it for a moment.

In the end, I chose my default appearance.

There was nothing particularly special about it, but there had never been anything particularly lacking about it either.

If I spent my time in the game living as a handsome character and then happened to look into a mirror in the real world, I didn't think I could withstand the self-loathing I would feel.

Still, I adjusted things like my skin and muscle mass.

But it was a painful moment when I discovered the unfortunate truth that even if I exercised hard and took care of myself, I still wasn't particularly impressive.

I had once heard people say that if your face was hopeless, you should work out until your body became incredible.

Did that advice depend on the person, too?

“Alright, so what's next?”

“A new adventurer has arrived.”

Oh!

A transcendent being who spoke in an extremely stereotypical manner had appeared.

She was probably someone who would have a huge influence on the main storyline!

The central story of this game was based on traditional fantasy, after all!

…Tsk.

Of course, the game was focused more on free experiences than its story.

But if it also had an immersive storyline on top of that, it would have been an even greater masterpiece.

It was a little disappointing that they didn't seem to have put much effort into the story.

No.

Wait.

Thinking about the company's previous games…

Yeah.

A stereotypical story wasn't called stereotypical for no reason!

If something worked, then it worked.

“I sincerely welcome you to the world of our Project: New World, Adventurer.”

“I thought the game would have an actual name internally by now.”

“Are you still using a temporary name like Project: New World?”

“Pardon?”

“Huh?”

“?”

Wait.

What?

What was that?

Hold on.

What was with that NPC's surprisingly free reaction, behavior, and facial expression?

Wait a second.

What?

Had the AI technology in this country already advanced to this level?

Wowww!

Our country is amazing!

…Did I really think that?

If I assumed she was one of the game operators, it wasn't particularly strange.

How else could they create an AI this smooth and realistic?

The company was using such an enormous amount of land that it was no wonder if they even had a place where employees specializing in NPCs stayed.

“Or is it not?”

“Is it strange?”

“They made a game like this, so maybe something like that really is possible?”

“Is something troubling you, Adventurer?”

“Is there something you're curious about?”

“Ah, well…”

I didn't have enough confidence to say, Let's meet face-to-face after I get out!

But if I directly asked whether she was a human, I felt like I'd just look like someone who couldn't keep up with their technology.

Besides, even though I knew she was an NPC, I could barely look her in the eyes.

Why was I even thinking of asking something like that?

As always, my brain was far too impulsive.

“Never mind.”

“Very well…”

“Then, first, please enter your name, and choose your desired starting location.”

“Starting location?”

“What is that?”

“In the world of Project: New World, there is a vast land.”

“Many different forms of life live upon it.”

“And civilizations and nations formed by those beings also exist.”

She was wearing clothes similar to those from Greek mythology.

Yet she was showing me a holographic image of the world.

Was I supposed to consider this some kind of cyberpunk setting?

I didn't know much about that genre, so I couldn't really say.

But it gave me the same kind of shock as watching my grandmother casually operate some incredibly advanced electronic device that I didn't even know existed.

“If novice adventurers wish to grow safely, I would most strongly recommend the Empire of Freone.”

“It was founded upon vast grasslands and possesses the glorious culture of the long-established Freone family.”

“I would also recommend Harmang of the International Trade City-State Union.”

“It has developed a strong market structure through maritime trade, and its mixture of various cultures allows adventurers to experience many unique things.”

They hadn't even decided on the game's name.

Yet they had created this much detail.

Could there actually be a surprisingly deep story once I entered the game?

Then again, the name of a game was pretty important.

If it became successful, the name itself could become a brand or even a common word.

“Other than those, is there anything else?”

“Then how about Fower?”

“It is a village of people who worship martial strength.”

“It is a village of true warriors who understand honor and greatly respect strong warriors!”

“Ooh, warrior…”

I liked the sound of that.

But the word warrior didn't suit someone like me, who fundamentally didn't like moving around very much.

Was there anywhere that respected people who preferred to sit around and lazily wiggle their bodies?

I heard about various other places as well.

There was the country of beastmen, Anaimere.

The country of mountains, Moyuntain.

I was also introduced to the country of demons.

However, I was told that if I wanted to live there, it would be better to change my race.

I was even told that choosing a monster race and living a life free from social restrictions, even if I was rejected by society, wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice.

As one unfamiliar name after another appeared on the holographic world, I gradually became bored.

I had already visited countless countries in countless games.

I couldn't convince myself that these places would offer me some kind of special experience.

Becoming a monster did seem somewhat refreshing.

But when I imagined players seeing me as a monster and immediately charging at me, I honestly didn't think I could handle it.

“And there is also—”

“Wait!”

I stopped the angel-like older sister, who had been happily chatting away as if this was her first chance to talk to someone.

“Can I operate this hologram myself?”

“Yes.”

“It is possible.”

“If there is somewhere you would like to see, I can—”

“From now on, wherever I point my finger will be my starting location.”

“…Pardon?”

The unknown older sister blinked her large eyes at my unexpected statement.

She seemed to be desperately trying to understand what I had just said.

If this really was artificial intelligence, then instead of using this technology to make a game, they should use it to create something else.

Something more useful to the world.

Medical equipment, perhaps.

…That would probably make them much more money, too!

“Don't ask questions!”

“Don't argue!”

“Just let me point my finger somewhere and that's it!”

“Pardon?”

“What?!”

“Then why have you been listening to my explanation this whole time?!”

Her expression clearly said she genuinely resented me.

I couldn't help but admire her reaction.

I answered with an equally intense expression, refusing to lose to the variety of expressions on her face.

If this had been reality, I would have been using facial muscles I normally never used, and I probably would have suffered a cramp.

Thankfully, that wasn't a problem in the game world.

“Because… that's my dream!”

“My roooomance!”

“…!”

After hearing my words, she reacted as if she had gained some enormous realization.

Hmm.

Those smooth emotional expressions…

Had they brought in an actual actor or something?

Soon, the angel-like older sister nodded as though she finally understood.

Then she gently moved aside from the hologram and gave me the space.

“Hmm!”

I simply nodded without saying anything.

Then I stood in front of the hologram and spun the holographic globe as hard as I could.

The hologram spun rapidly.

I stood before it and stretched my arm high above my head.

Then I extended my index finger as far as possible.

Whether I was worried now or simply excited, I wasn't sure.

But my finger was trembling slightly.

‘Is this really okay?’

There was something I hadn't been able to say when starting the game.

The line—

‘Link Start!’

I had always wanted to say it at least once.

Yes.

That was my romance!

It was embarrassing that the emotions from my middle-school chuunibyou days, which had been sleeping for so long, were slowly rising again.

But my mouth was already prepared.

It moved slightly as if waiting for the right moment.

‘Here I go!’

Finally, I was about to take a step into a world beyond anything I had dreamed of for so many years.

All I had to do was lower this finger.

With my heart pounding, I gathered all my strength and brought my finger down toward the hologram.

“Link St—huh?”

And the place I chose was—

The middle of the ocean.

“…Th-then, Adventurer!”

“I wish you good fortune!”

“Wha—?!”

“W-wait!!”

The next thing I knew, my mouth was completely filled with salty seawater.