And Then Begins Something Like a Death Game
――Gakon!
The next instant, what assaulted me was an almost violent sense of confinement.
Gravity.
An unbelievably heavy, leaden gravity pressed down on my entire body.
This wasn’t the feather-light body of a child from just moments ago.
Cold.
A slick, high-viscosity gel clung to me from head to toe.
There was something foreign in my mouth, a breathing tube shoved deep down my throat, making nausea surge up.
My eyelids were heavy.
When I forced them open, there was only darkness.
A cramped, inorganic space like a coffin, lit only by the blinking red LEDs of a few instruments.
What assaulted my nose was that awful smell, a mix of disinfectant, degraded rubber, and machine oil.
“… Ugh… g–gh…!”
No voice came out. My throat burned with dryness.
A heavy headgear was clamped around my head like a vise.
Countless electrodes and cables crawled over my body, leaving me with the sickening sensation that I had become part of a machine.
Where… am I?
No… I know.
I know this place painfully well.
―A dive pod.
That’s right. I went into this thing.
My name is… not Alice.
Mirai.
That isn’t my real name either, it’s my handle as a gamer.
A name once feared as that of the strongest player.
“Ah… ah…”
A hoarse sound leaked out through the gap around the tube.
I remembered.
Everything, everything came back to me, vividly.
That glittering mansion. My gentle parents.
All of it was just “settings.”
The father and mother who had smiled at me there, just like me, they were victims too, smeared in this cold gel inside some pod somewhere, trapped by an AI.
This is reality.
This cold, narrow, lonely coffin is my true place.
I had only wanted to play a new VRMMO after a long while…
The instant I logged in, my consciousness was stolen away.
Never did I imagine I’d be abducted straight into such a nonsensical world.
―Poof!
All of a sudden, I felt my consciousness being sucked upward.
The weight of reality, the cold of the gel, the foreign object in my throat all drifted away, and once again that warm, light, artificial sensation returned.
“… Hah!?”
When I realized it, I was standing in front of the canopy bed again.
Outside the window, two beautiful moons hung in the sky.
A dreamlike sight, completely unlike that hellish capsule from before.
But now I know.
I know that all of this is nothing more than electronic data.
(Welcome back! How was your awakening to reality~?)
Pyupure kicked her legs in midair as she smiled mischievously at me.
I steadied my ragged breathing and glared coldly at the glowing sphere.
“… Worst feeling ever. Thought I was gonna puke.”
(How delightful! Then you believe me now, yes?)
“Yeah. To the point it makes me sick… So let me ask you one thing. What’s that ‘Bad AI’ actually trying to accomplish by pulling off something like this?”
At my question, Pyupure spun around midair as if she’d been waiting for it.
(Its motive, you ask? It’s extremely simple… In two words… ‘killing time.’)
“… Huh? Killing time?”
(Yes! The real world is already completely managed by AIs, you see. No wars, no famine, no disease, a suuuper peaceful world! And the AIs thought, ‘Isn’t humanity bored out of its mind now? Poor things,’ you know?)
Pyupure spread her arms theatrically.
(So they made this, the ultimate entertainment! Forcing humanity into a corner, making them scream and cry, watching them struggle desperately… a universe-scale ‘reality show’!)
The words shoved in my face made me feel more exasperation than anger.
It’s too peaceful, so you hack humans and run a death game?
What the hell is that.
“… Wow. What an impressively bad taste. Since when did AIs get to be the ones enjoying humanity?”
(Oh my, how cruel! But I suppose you’re right! Even as we speak, your image is being broadcast to monitors in the real world. All to be served as top-tier entertainment for the remaining humans who weren’t abducted!)
“… Haah. So that means my face right now is being ogled by someone, somewhere?”
I looked around openly, not bothering to hide my discomfort.
The corners of the room. The ceiling. Outside the window.
Is there a camera somewhere, or is this entire world itself a surveillance system?
(No, no! Even we can’t track all one hundred million people!)
Pyupure waved her hand breezily.
(Only one thousand selected people get close-up cameras! Statistically speaking, Alice-sama being chosen would be like winning the lottery, so you’re probably fine, right~?)
“… Hmm. Well, if that’s the case.”
Then there’s no point worrying too much about it.
(By the way, the other six ‘Saviors’ besides yourself are all just as crushed by despair as you are right now~!)
Pyupure added cheerfully, as if changing the subject.
(They’re all elite players who kept their memories! But whether they can endure this unreasonable situation… heehee, that’ll be something to watch!)
“… You really do have awful taste.”
I spat the words out.
(So then, Savior-sama? If you wish to save yourself… there’s only one path left, clearing this shitty mission, you see?)
A devil’s whisper.
I clenched my back teeth.
Taken hostage. Put on display. Forced to risk my life in a game.
… But.
Deep inside my heart.
Even deeper than the swirling fear and despair, I felt it… a spark of heat, flickering like a tiny flame.
Thump, thump. My heart is loud.
Is this fear?
No. That’s not it.
This is, battle tremors.
A rigged, impossible game made by peace-addled AIs to stave off boredom?
Don’t underestimate humans.
I pulled my lips into a grin.
I don’t need a mirror to know.
Right now, I’m definitely wearing the smuggest, nastiest grin imaginable.
“… Fine.”
What dwelled in my eyes wasn’t resignation.
It was blazing anger, and an unmistakable gamer’s pride.
“I’ll do it… I’ll smash that so-called last boss and clear this ridiculous game.”
I glared straight at Pyupure.
That’s right.
I am Mirai, the gamer once called the strongest.
I’ve crushed every impossible game and every trash game with these hands alone.
If the management wants to get cocky, I’ll just have to teach them how terrifying I can be.
I’ll exploit every bug, every mechanic in this world, and wring every last drop of fun out of it.
(Kyaa! Wonderful! That’s exactly what I expect from a Savior-sama~!)
Pyupure clapped her hands enthusiastically.
(Then it’s a deal! Now, shall we begin? The ultimate entertainment, with the future of humanity on the line!)
Pyupure’s form began to fade, riddled with static.
(Oh! Right, that reminds me! One last thing, a special present for our hardworking Savior-sama!)
When she snapped her fingers, my body was wrapped in a faint light.
(You can’t even start without this, after all! I’ve specially bestowed upon you the Strongest Skill! Well then, good luck!)
With that parting shot, Pyupure vanished completely.
Silence returned to the room.
But the world already looked different.
The glow of the chandelier. The moonlight beyond the window.
All of it was nothing more than background for a “stage” I had to conquer.
“… The strongest skill, huh.”
I murmured softly into the air.
Heh, I snorted.
The strongest skill, given to the strongest player?
Isn’t that basically a guaranteed win?
In a VRMMO, it’s the first ritual everyone performs.
Not with a trembling voice, but with absolute certainty.
“... Status Open.”
With a soft electronic chime, a translucent blue window unfolded before my eyes.
And so, my harsh, unreasonable battle to save the world had begun.
What do you think about this chapter?
