For the first time, I bought a game console with my own money. And a piece of Goldrish Games hardware at that. The price was 50,000 won. Far too cheap for a product using a famous game company's proprietary technology.
In truth, the tricky thing to get was something else. The file for a game called 'Brigantes Chronicle.'
The game had been released 7 years ago, one of the single-player games that had led Goldrish Games's early success. In a word, a super-deluxe epic game made by grinding capital and developers into it.
But it was currently discontinued, so it was impossible to buy officially or download from a secondary seller.
Thanks to that, with the hardware delivery box sitting there perfectly fine in my home, I didn't even dare open it and spent four straight days just hunting for the game file. In the end, I barely got it through an acquaintance of an acquaintance of an acquaintance, but I still don't know where this file came from. Probably bought at a used-goods auction.
I put the game file into a console the size of my palm and took out the most important parts, the connected lenses and the sensory electrode patches. The culmination of the proprietary technology Goldrish Games boasted so much about. A trace of golden liquid sloshed between the lens membranes.
I put in the slightly stiff lenses and my vision blurred, then, recognizing body temperature and eye movement, the lenses started up on their own.
[LOADING......]
[Synchronizing data......]
[Checking body device attachment......]
[Optimizing program......]
[Verifying user......]
[Scanning wearer's neural circuits......]
Text floating in midair appeared and vanished in no particular order.
[Welcome to your first login, kr_wdoase43.]
Along with the dry greeting, an empty blue space unfolded. Dozens of displays covering my field of vision slowly drifted through the air.
"What is all this?"
Is this the virtual reality space I've only ever heard about?
The displays showed recommended games and downloadable games, and next to each game a price tag was helpfully attached.
99,000 won, 78,500 won, 198,000 won.
Games are this expensive these days? Did I misread a zero? I rubbed my eyes again and again, but the numbers didn't change. That was the moment the cheap price of the connected lenses made sense.
But that wasn't where I needed to look today. Local Files-DOWNLOAD-Games-BrigantesChronicle_Gpk.
I touched the file, and after a brief delay.
[Reconstructing World......]
[Running Self-Manifestation Program......]
[Reconnecting to 'Silver Cylinder' Project......]
[Producing Pseudo-Body Dummy......]
[Default Settings Applied]
[Verifying AI Version......]
[Verification Confirmed]
My whole body tingled as if a light electric current were running through it, and then in an instant, bright light covered the entire world.
I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut, then cracked them open at the cool breeze I suddenly felt on my forehead.
"......So this is a game."
Lush green grass.
Cool, refreshing air unlike air-conditioning. The faintly bitter scent of grass and soil.
A sky bluer and clearer than what I was used to in Korea. Sunlight pouring down bright. And over there, far in the distance, a tall gray castle and a yellow-and-black lion banner fluttering atop its tower.
While I was looking around like a primitive man dropped into 21st-century civilization, a copper-colored title slowly appeared in midair along with a soft harp melody.
「Brigantes Chronicle—
<First-Time User> Confirmed:
Character creation required.」
「Free Character Creation:
Freely set up a character with the appearance and traits the user desires. Suited to experienced players familiar with games.」
「Story Character Creation:
Takes on the appearance and traits of an in-game character as is. Suited to new users and beginners.」
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I balked at the densely packed text. It's this serious already?
Groping at the air, I roughly pressed this and that. Story Character Creation. Everything else on random. Random. Random.
Suddenly my surroundings turned pitch black again and cautionary text came pouring up, and before I could properly read it, my vision was stained black.
The next time I opened my eyes, my hands were tightly bound behind my back in front of people I'd never seen before. A stinging pain came from my wrists, scraped by the rough rope.
Below my feet, humans in clothing far removed from the modern day glared at me with faces full of hostility.
And in the corner of my vision, a translucent square box floated.
「Albion Story Quest:
The walls of the new coastal city of the small kingdom of Loegria have collapsed several times. The reason is two dragons fighting beneath the ground, a secret known only to you, who see through magical mysteries. Before you become the sacrifice for the city's construction, tell this prophecy to everyone and survive.」
"-What the hell is this, you fucking otaku?!"
The scream burst out on its own.
Why am I standing here like this?! More importantly, who are these people, and why are they in my room?
When I screamed in terror, I could clearly see the face of someone below crumple with a crunch.
A man who looked like a bandit roared with veins bulging in his neck.
"Snap that insolent wretch's neck and throw him to a pack of dogs, now!"
"W, wait a second!"
Soldiers came and dragged me down. They slammed my head into a hard plank, and along with the sharp pain of my forehead splitting, something went trickling down.
My vision went blood red. A translucent warning window flickered.
「Albion Story Quest: Failed」
「To return, please enter 'Stop.'」
"Something's gone wrong with th—"
As I opened my mouth one last time, all that stayed vivid was the sensation of a soldier's heavy foot stomping on the back of my neck.
-CRACK.
***
I let out a breath.
I was back at the game's character selection screen. That safe place where the grass swayed in the breeze. A safe waiting room only users could access.
"Fuck. This is insane, fuck......"
What the hell was that just now? Seriously? I rubbed my forehead, but there was no blood or bruise. It was fine, as if it had never hit anything in the first place.
The moment the soldiers came, dragged me down, and slammed my head into the ground.
My numb, stinging forehead. The sensation of something trickling down.
The warning window rising as my vision flashed blood red.
「Albion Story Quest: Failed」
That's fucking terrifying. It was all the scarier because it really felt like something out of a nightmare.
There wasn't a single wound on my real body, but the sensation of flesh tearing and blood flowing was far too vivid.
If a quest fails, it should just end with the window closing, so why try to kill a person out of nowhere? Crazy bastards.
I took out the lenses with shaking hands. I kneaded the nape of my neck, trying to forget it somehow, but despite my efforts, the chilling sensation replayed at the back of my neck on its own.
Around the time I'd failed the first Story Quest about 7 times and was gradually getting used to the feeling of my neck breaking.
I couldn't put in the connected lenses anymore. I had no idea how you were even supposed to play a virtual reality game. Was there a command to jump like in Ma*io or use moves like in Tek*en?
In the end, I searched the internet and learned for the first time that day that game communities existed. Is this what it feels like to find an oasis in the desert?
I frantically sold off my personal information to sign up and promptly left a post on the free board.
───────
SJW / 2028-10-15
[Question] Requesting a game walkthrough
I am playing a VR game.
I failed a Story Quest. What would be the best thing to do? Is there a separate command I need to enter?
There was no guide at all other than telling me to reveal some secret and survive.
Experts, your help would be appreciated.
───────
Good. Now people will see this and reply.
Just as I was about to turn off my phone, full of hope, a short vibration and a pop-up notification appeared. This fast? There sure are a lot of kind people. I immediately checked the comment.
──────
ClockOutMaster: ?lmaooooo what walkthrough are you talking about in a story quest? (121.173)
GodGameAppraiser: just look at the quest and do it? (59.5)
TankerJobCrisis: storyyylmaooo questlmaooo got you stuck? are you a retard? (118.221)
Anon: lmaooooo go play Beat*amer or something (59.687)
──────
These bastards?
──────
GodGameAppraiser: just look at the quest and do it? (59.5)
└SJW: How do I do that?
└GodGameAppraiser: ?? I'm telling you just look at the quest alert and do it
└SJW: I did look at the quest. But I don't know how to do it, so I seem to be stuck.
└GodGameAppraiser: no just do it it tells you what to do in the quest just look at that and do it
└SJW: But no other panels came up. Is there something like a command to enter? Or do I need to connect a controller or keyboard?
└GodGameAppraiser: fuck what are you even saying?
└ClockOutMaster: dude so did you get the quest?
└SJW: Yes. I received the Story Quest.
└ClockOutMaster: it usually guides you did you read what came up there?
└SJW: If you mean what appears in the translucent window, I read that too. It told me to reveal some secret and survive.
└GodGameAppraiser: yeah just do exactly that
└SJW: How?
└ClockOutMaster: no just do it fuck are you too dumb to understand?
└SJW: Like I said, I don't know how to do that.
└ClockOutMaster: fuck I feel like I'm going to croak from high blood pressure
└TankerJobCrisis: lol this trolling is fucking incredible
──────
I said I don't know how to do it! That's why I posted a question! I'll report all of you!
Just then, a new person joined this pandemonium.
──────
└JerkCollector: dude is this your first time playing a VR game?
└SJW: Yes, this is my first time.
└JerkCollector: have you played other games? which ones?
└SJW: Not really. Recently I tried Candy Crush.
└GodGameAppraiser: ah
└TankerJobCrisis: ah
└ClockOutMaster: fuck if that's how it is shouldn't you have said so you fucking bastard?
└SJW: You didn't ask.
└ClockOutMaster: FUCK!!!!!!!!
└JerkCollector: lol;
└GodGameAppraiser: ok dude I get it normally a VR game is easy if you think of it as you becoming the character dude have you ever done a school play? if you play a tree in one people see you as a tree that's what it is
└SJW: Are you saying I'm a tree?
└GodGameAppraiser: I'm saying that's how the NPCs see it if you pick a baker you just act like a baker what matters is immersion just think of it like a play
└SJW: So in the end, how do I clear the Story Quest?
└GodGameAppraiser: well you said it told you to reveal some secret and survive so just do that player=character so you speak and act yourself like that
└SJW: I have to speak myself? Me, personally? With my mouth?
└ClockOutMaster: then who the fuck is going to say it for you?
└GodGameAppraiser: yeah if you speak out loud in real life the game's voice recognition handles it
└SJW: So it's not just me, all the other virtual reality game users are also muttering alone in their rooms as they play, acting out plays, holding their own solo school plays? You're saying that to play games, you necessarily have to endure humiliation?
└JerkCollector: you fucking bastard stop stating facts you're giving me a reality check
└GodGameAppraiser: if you get stuck or don't understand something in the game go into system settings no idea about your game but game companies usually put in at least one AI guide setting
──────
So there was a separate AI help guide. No wonder there were strangely no question posts on the board.
Feeling like a barbarian left behind by the times, I quietly left the community. Access history, all deleted.
Because being over thirty and not knowing how to play a virtual reality game was kind of embarrassing, to say the least.
***
[Brigantes Chronicle— Proceed with Archmage Albion's Personal Story?]
When I closed and opened my eyes, the same scenery was there.
The people gathered below my feet. The man who'd raged wildly for my neck to be snapped. The rough rope binding my wrists. The quest window still keeping its spot. That quest I'd failed seven times.
「Albion Story Quest:
The walls of the new coastal city of the small kingdom of Loegria have collapsed several times. The reason is two dragons fighting beneath the ground, a secret known only to you, who see through magical mysteries. Before you become the sacrifice for the city's construction, tell this prophecy to everyone and survive.」
But this time it's different! This time!
Before my neck could get cut off or broken, I took a huge breath and shouted.
"Th, there's a dragon hereee......!"
......Of course, I was so scared that my voice didn't come out right.
The expression of the king, who'd been raging wildly up to the last run, subtly changed, visible even from here. The translucent quest alert before my eyes seemed to buffer for a moment, and then,
「Albion Story Quest:
Proving an Archmage's Aptitude (Complete)」
「Congratulations! You have completed Albion Story Quest Chapter 1!
Quest Reward → 50 Pennies」
「From now on, the player-exclusive
'Chipping Market' is available!」
「From now on, the dedicated guide
'Titania' can be enabled!」
「New Quest Unlocked: Head to Puil」
'......I did it!'
I finally got past the first Story Quest!
'Save Complete' had barely appeared on the screen when I logged out of the game and went out to the waiting room.
A gear-shaped settings icon, a settings list, and a panel at the end of the list after graphics, audio, data overwrite, export and so on.
「Playable-Exclusive AI Guide, Titania (Disabled)」
That must be the dedicated guide I'd seen in the comments. Faster than picking up a spoon when hungry, I frantically jabbed at the enable panel, thud, thud, thud. And then,
<Hello!>
"Waaah!"
<What are you so surprised about?>
A tiny fairy that had suddenly appeared right under my nose giggled and fluttered her transparent wings.
She resembled Tinker Bell from the Peter Pan animation I'd seen as a kid, but this fairy had long black hair and wore a crown of green vines. When she landed on my shoulder, the feathery flutter of wings touched my cheek.
<My name is Titania. I'm the fairy who'll help you on your adventure in Brigantes Chronicle. Let's get along, okay?>
"A, a fairy?"
<Of course. You can't possibly have never heard the name Titania, can you? The queen of fairies who splendidly adorns A Midsummer Night's Dream!>
A hand smaller than my fingernail tugged my hair. It didn't hurt.
<......And you're a fairy too. To be exact, a human with fairy blood. Still, let's be good friends as fellow fairies, okay?>
What? What fairy? Be friends? This crap isn't what I called up, is it?
"Guide? Where's the guide?"
<What are you talking about when I'm right here? I'm telling you, I'm the fairy, who'll help, you. Or don't you trust me? Then why did you call me? You called me yourself. You activated me with your own hand, so why are you saying something else now? Want to die?>
The fairy, Titania or whatever, slapped me on the cheek, whap whap, at the end of every sentence. Not that it amounted to more than an itch.
But why the hell would a virtual reality game even have the sensation of being slapped by a fairy? Is the developer a perverted bastard?
"It's not like that! Ah, stop hitting me! I asked because I don't know anything!"
<What don't you know?>
"Just everything, all of it! I wasted days doing this fucking shitty quest! How does it make sense to just throw me into the game without even telling me how to do it? You said you'd tell me, you said you're the guide!"
Titania's slapping stopped. The fairy thought it over, and her face brightened into a broad smile.
<Ah, I get it! I understand. So this is your very first adventure? Then leave it to Titania! I'll definitely take you into the most wonderful dream in the world!>
Flying up from my shoulder, the fairy giggled. Then she pressed the game start button on her own, and everything went pitch dark.
What the hell is going on?!