Lafayette, I’m here… Open the door!“Uwaa!”
The tents which were clumped together erupted in flames which lit up the snowy night sky as the troops inside descended into chaos from being besieged by a torrent of cannon fire.
Thunderous roars and the clash of swords filled the ears of the youth.
An altered world map would be the best description of what is known as the “world”. And the youth was currently standing in a place called Berlin where tens of thousands were engaged in slaughter and bloodshed.
— A flag emblazoned with a black double headed eagle swayed on the battlefield as the battle continued with neither side gaining a decisive lead.
A shimmering silver blade rapidly swung down at the youth from a cavalryman who had a ferocious look that seemed like a starved beast that had found its prey.
There was nothing that resembled a HP bar in the youth’s eyes, and all sensory information gave the impression that he was in reality. Everything was real, even the thick smell of blood and gore that filled his nose.
— Even if this was a game…
The youth’s quiver had been exhausted but one arrow left, and his left hand which held a pitch black longbow trembled. In a world where bows and arrows have long since been rendered obsolete, his actions were really strange.
“Your majesty!”
Even though he was already exhausted to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if he blacked out, he still forcefully took a deep breath to calm his breathing. He knew that in this world, his abilities were not much more different from that in the real world, except for his battleworn jet black military uniform and his pitch black longbow.
What appeared in front of him was just virtual reality with stupid programs who could never hope to understand his plans and so could only fall one by one to his forces.
But, this was really unfair.
These 1s and 0s only needed to get one hit through to him to lay waste to all his hard work, while he had to fight off stronger and stronger opponents every round.
— This really sucks, having to risk lose everything every time.
“Ah…!”
The youth rolled to the side of the soldier on horseback, and simultaneously pulled out a dagger from his waist. Though he was gasping for air, he managed to swiftly ready his stance and stab the dagger deeply into the warhorse’s side before it could dodge.
“Ah…!”
The cavalryman was thrown off his warhorse into the air as the warhorse flailed about and cried in pain, and eventually collapsed in a pool of blood that formed from its wound.
The youth did not spare the cavalryman, and charged forth with his face caked with blood and grime. He got on top of the cavalryman and used his hard st.u.r.dy bow to strangle him, his face grim and devoid of compa.s.sion as always.
“Uwaa…”
The cavalryman uttered a small cry before quickly joining the bled out horse in death.
“Your majesty!”
Just then, the silver haired girl who had been yelling rushed over and prepared to leap at the youth.
…
“Your majesty, wake up!”
“Ah… Why is the alarm clock sounding now!!”
He flipped out of bed as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and scratched his head of black short hair vigorously. He felt an intense desire to destroy the alarm clock by his bedside but he hesitated before stopping the alarm gently.
It was now 20XX, an era where full dive VRMMORPGs were widely accessible and young people could spend months on end inside the games without having to exit for food and drink. Tu had kept this antique alarm clock all this while and destroying it would be a terrible waste.
(TL: Yes Tu is his name.)
He did have attachment to his belongings after all, and that alarm clock was made to project a certain girl’s voice which had recreated using software from his memories. That certain girl was also the same girl in his dream.
That dream was not strictly just a dream, and was a recollection of an actual event that Tu had experienced in the game called “world” which was his most vivid and intense experience as it was the closest he had been to death.
That game had incorporated many elements of VRMMORPGs and was highly antic.i.p.ated. Closed beta invitation codes were highly sought after, and now that it was open beta, its popularity soared.
It was after all a game that had the support of the united earth government which had gathered together technological powerhouses from all over the globe to build this super game. Add to that, constant media coverage which were able to capture the attention of even the disaffected youth.
The most critical factor, however, was that the in-game currency could be directly and easily exchanged for real world money.
And the connection console used for this game, which looked like a high pressure oxygen chamber from the previous century, was actually able to provide nourishment for gamers, on top of taking care of waste and even giving haircuts.
— This was all thanks to nanomachines that were inside the console, though Tu, who had only just graduated from high school, did not understand how it worked.
— Who cares though, as long as he can play the game. Now that he is free, it’s time for some hardcore gaming!
When Tu thought of this, he excitedly rushed to the toilet to have a shower.
His seemingly endless high school exams were finally over and the mountains of preparatory materials which were covered in black ink from notes and practice were still piled up on his desk.
— Supposedly his grandfather had been through all this as well, this exam tradition of China was truly persistent.
“Faster! Why am I wasting my time thinking about such things…”
Tu shook his head to rid himself of thoughts that would come in the way of his gaming and quickly put on his clothes. Though technological advances have been made, normal daily living is still mostly the same as it was a century ago.
— Who knows where those bureaucrats in the united government spent the tax dollars on…
— But again, it didn’t matter. What did was that he had 3 months to go crazy on gaming which his parents would have no objections to now that he had finished his exams.
“Good thing I had gotten a closed beta code that was only given to about a dozen people. If not, I would probably have to waste a lot of time and money on getting an open beta invitation…”
Open beta invitations were restricted from online sales, and any offline spots which offered to sell them were a.s.sailed by a sea of hopeful buyers, and it was said to be such a long queue at all places that there were many professional ‘queuers’ were there to offer their services.
In any case, queuing and the like were irrelevant to a seasoned gamer of the “world” like Tu, since he was a partic.i.p.ant in the game from the very beginning. Though he didn’t do very well at first, he got much better with practice as time went by…
The earlier he entered, the better, since there was the choice of one’s starting country. He couldn’t understand the game designers’ decisions to wipe out all data and settings, any closed beta partic.i.p.ant would definitely want to return to their selected country with their closed beta data!
— My Prussia which I have poured in so much blood, sweat and tears, you must wait for the return of your Kaiser.
“Initiate connection!”
The endless gra.s.s plains as the backdrop for the login stage was truly nostalgic huh…
“h.e.l.lo, Tu!”
On hearing a crisp female voice, Tu spread his arms out and twirled on the spot.
When first registering in the game, manual scan of each player’s body has to be done and you would essentially play as a character that looked like your real world self. Thereafter, login would be done based on face recognition.
This was for a safety measure to deter hacking as the in-game currency was equivalent to real world money after all and many black hats were closely following this game. This measure was rather restrictive but it was the work of the government and it could not afford to screw it up.
“Please select your country. As you are a closed beta partic.i.p.ant, you may choose to be the ruler of a country.”
— It’s here it’s here, the thing I’ve been waiting for.
Tu was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with excitement as this was what he had been thinking of for many days and nights and now it was before him.
This game’s world was actually based on a modified version of the real world, and set in the 18th-19th century and the world would progress along based on historical events and the players’ actions.
The wars and conflicts of countries in the modern era, the politics and machinations… All in all, this was the ideal game for Tu, who was an ardent history buff.
— Cat ear maids? Silver haired girl in black knee socks?
What the h.e.l.l am I thinking about…
Tu shook his head and gave a answer without having to think.
“Prussia! Prussia! Prussia!”
It was the place he had worked so hard in and there were many memorable places and NPCs after all. He wondered what happened to the table in the Schloss Sanssouci and whether it was covered in dust by now.
(TL: Of all things he misses in a palace in a game, it’s a table? Please let me know if there is some special table in the Schloss Sanssouci.)
By Tu’s reckoning, the so called rulers, were just a t.i.tle that gave some fringe benefits and did not have an actual effect on gameplay. Though the game website had only stated these t.i.tles without giving details on the benefits, making it seem unnecessarily mysterious. But at least this game had no money sink like a gacha feature.
— If not, the cash-strapped Tu would not be able to get far in the game…
— Prussia! Prussia! My Prussia! My double headed eagle!
(TL: Seems like it’s from German confederation era.)
“Sorry, but Prussia has already been selected by another player.”
“Haa!?”
Tu who had been overly excited, suddenly became deflated, before being filled with rage.
“What the f.u.c.k… Who was the idiot who stole my Prussia?!”
— To have been quicker than me, that guy must also be from the closed beta. But to have picked Prussia, he must have b.a.l.l.s huh.
Tu was really mad, and he stamped his feet but found that it was no use and he quickly calmed down.
He had indeed thought about this situation before, but he had not believed that it would actually come to pa.s.s.
And so he came to a decision.
— Even if Prussia isn’t available, I must match up to my closed beta days!
“Sorry, Prussia has been selected by another player. Please choose again, or join the Prussia team.”
The system reply resounded again, and Tu smiled as he already knew what he should choose.
“France it is then! The France which I beat black and blue!”
In the game’s setting, France was formerly a dominant world power but had become weak to the point where it was the weakest country. Its lands were few, and was engaged in conflict with countries in all directions.
— But it’s because it’s a challenge that I am compelled to try my utmost to win. This is probably the same feeling as when I was thrown into Prussia back then.
“Please confirm your selection. After you have made your selection, you cannot change it.”
“No more questions! France it is!”
“You will now be transferred to the Palais des Tuileries, we hope you enjoy the game.”