32 : In The Real World – 1

“A total of 6 people from the large company, Bonbon, as well as their associates had all kinds of various things from their past exposed and were taken away.”
Monday.
I’m having lunch on campus grounds while watching the news on my phone.

“The latest popular game that’s gaining great reputation. A celebrity who just got married. A video that’s been subjected to flame which one couldn’t care less about.”
The news covered all kinds of topics.
Well, as you’d expect, ignorance would possibly sow the seeds of trouble, or maybe I should say, being too distant from the world is a problem in itself. At the very least, I should listen in on what’s going on.
It’s better to stay away from troublesome things if they’re avoidable.
However, I’m facing my number one problem right now.

“I suppose I see why it’s necessary for them to restrict the amount of time you can log in after all. If there’s a feeling of discomfort during said playtime or if you spend an entire 3 days in there and suddenly return to the real world, your own body would probably feel off.”
Compared to your avatar in CNP, your real body has low specs, I guess.
The lack of wings and levitation aren’t much of a problem, but it’s become frustrating only being able to look forward.
I never would’ve imagined how tedious it could be to have to move your neck or body every time you wanted to look in a specific direction even though that’s only natural.
Then again, because the disparity in reality is so great, that’s exactly why there’s a limit on how long you could play for.

“Oh, Taru-san. You don’t look too well, are you feeling alright?”
“Zaimichi-san”
At this point in time, someone called out to me so I had to turn my neck in order to bring that person into the center of my view.
The person standing there was one of my classmates and if I recall correctly, her name was Zaimichi Seria.
I’m pretty sure we’ve attended some lectures together.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I just got a bit too absorbed in a VR game up until yesterday.”
“Speaking of VR games, there was one that released on Friday…”
Zaimichi-san then mentions the name of another VRMMO which came out on the same day.
I mean, of course, others would imagine that I’ve started playing that one instead.
Appearance-wise, I do look quite reserved after all.

“The release dates are the same, but it’s the other one.”
“Ah, then Taru-san’s also playing CNP?”
“By ‘also,’ you mean you’re playing as well, Zaimichi-san?
“Indeed, the game seemed unusual and interesting, so I’ve started playing together with my friends. My character’s name is…”
At that moment, I turned towards Zaimichi-san and displayed an open palm to cut her off short.

“Let’s just tell each other our character names only. Anything beyond our objectives in the game is a bit, y’know. Just because we’re acquaintances in real life, it doesn’t mean that there’s a rule that says we should be forced to play together.”
“… You’re right. We’ll leave it at that then. The characters you see over on your side could be different from mine too. “
Zaimichi-san gave it a little bit of thought before agreeing with a nod.
That’s a relief. If this conversation delved into playing together, it would’ve been terrible for me since I couldn’t leave the Tower of Mice as of now.
In addition to that, one of the true thrills of CNP was the fact that the curses made people look entirely different from how they are in real life. If you found out information on what your real life acquaintance looked like in-game before you even come across them there… that would take away all of the unknown elements.

“Anyways, it’s only my character name, but I’m Zaria. What about you, Taru-san?”
“It’s just Taru. If we’re lucky enough to meet and you’re not busy, by all means, let’s play together.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Well, in the event that a couple of coincidences manage to overlap and we get the chance to join each other, I’ll think about it then.
If it’s Zaimichi-san, then I can at least do that much.

“Nevertheless, you did say you were feeling a bit under the weather after overexerting yourself in the game, but are you really doing okay?”
“Ah, I’m fine with disclosing this, but my character has a high level of abnormalities, so there’s a pretty significant difference in real life.”
“High abnormalities… Ahh, that’s included when you sign that one contract right?”
“Yep, that’s the one. From now on, I should probably do a bit of reconsidering over how long I’ll be diving into the game.”
According to what I heard from the bulletin board, my character had the maximum amount of abnormalities you can get initially.
To make matters worse, my curses weren’t exactly easy to handle. If I had to say, then I was loaded with a bunch of difficult curses.
Specifically levitation, or levitation, and did I mention levitation!?
Yeah, the inconvenience I was currently experiencing was caused by my additional eyes but in CNP, levitation was by far the most troublesome to deal with.
Because of that, it’s become necessary for me to think over from scratch on how I should be handling melee weapons.

“Still, with the amount of your abnormalities being that high, things such as equipment seem like they’d be a hassle.”
“Actually, I’m pretty stumped. I can’t work with normal weapons and my armor requires a bit of ingenuity, but I can craft most of it myself for the time being.”
“Self-crafting… Well, that method might be faster right now. Artisan-type players haven’t popped up yet anyways.”
“That’s true.”
I showed her a site that noted down weapons from various periods in time.
Zaimichi-san curiously scanned through the site with interest before returning my phone back to me.

“At any rate, if we happen meet in-game, I’ll be in your care then.”
“We’ll probably end up not recognizing each other and fighting during our first meeting though.”
“That might be the case, but that would also be quite fitting for this game.”
“That’s true too.”
Before long, Zaimichi-san had left.
Now then, in addition to the materials from the library, I’ve roughly obtained all the information that I wanted.
Hence, perhaps it’ll be better to dedicate this day to pursuing crafting.
Let’s make a bunch of different items, including weapons.