Lurolona, the First City
“Huh…?”
I lost consciousness for only a few seconds.
Well, if you think of in real life–time, I was out for maybe only a few nanoseconds.
If you believe what the developers say, then from this instant on, time is passing by at two different rates—one in this world and the other in real life.
And as explained earlier, I’ll be living in this world until the game is completed.
I look around to find an ultra-realistic setting.
A Western-style castle peeks out in the distance and white paving stones line the streets. Call it realism or whatever, but if you look closely, the stones even have grime on them, like they’ve actually been trodden on.
Around me are other players that have just logged on and reacting the same way. Some are even talking about it; their voices becoming the bustle of a thriving town.
I’ve played other VRMMOs before, but never have I experienced anything on this level.
That’s probably one of the reasons why we’re directly connected to the servers, though I haven’t really thought about that until now.
“Alrighty then, enough with being moved to tears, let’s—huh?”
That’s weird. Why is my voice so high?
Your voice is among the many things you can freely fine tune in the character creator.
I’m sure I made my guy sound cool and stern.
Even if I didn’t, I shouldn’t sound like a little girl.
Did I mess up the settings or something?
… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
I tilt my head down to look at my body.
“I’m definitely a girl. Thanks a lot,” I subconsciously mutter out.
I’ve got long black hair, a petite body, small hands and feet, and a chest that can be described as “lacking”.
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s novice equipment, but I’m wearing a simple white dress.
It’s a little breezy down there, as if I’m wearing a skirt again.
—Kizuna†Exceed, you have received a new private chat request. Accept?
I hear the voice directly speaking to me from inside my head.
Though I don’t know who Tsumugi†Exceed, the sender, is.
But judging from how awfully similar their name is to mine, I bet it’s the one who set me up.
From just having the thought of accepting the chat request in my head, the game goes ding and I hear the girls’ voices.
“Hey, Big Bro!”
“’sup!”
Both of their voices ring out.
Are they using their real voices? It doesn’t sound like they’ve changed it.
“Big Bro? Wait a minute! Your character and your name too! Why’s everything totally different?! Oh, Big Sis is gonna regret it big time!”
Our older sister’s name is Kanata†Exceed. Whose bright idea was this anyway?
All our names are structured the same way—Japanese first name, a symbol, and a random English word? This is some late-stage terminal eighth-grader syndrome shit.
“All your older sister ever wanted was another little sister…”
“I’ve always wanted a little sister too!”
“Ugh…”
I reflexively let out a groan, making my character groan out loud too.
Now that I think about it, she never did ask me what I was gonna look like. She must’ve edited my character yesterday.
“And, y’know?”
“Hmm?”
“Since we’ll be in this world for months or even years, I wanted us to all get along…”
“Kanata…”
Seems like she’s got reasons of her own.
Wait, I can’t just say whatever and look the other way. She totally accessed my data without permission and changed me into a girl.
That means until the game ends, I’m a GIRL—Guy in Real Life!
… that’s just great.
“And, y’know…”
“What?”
“’Two sisters and a brother’ is kind of a mouthful, don’t you think?”
“…”
What, was that a joke?
Anyone else would be steaming mad by now.
“Ugh, okay, I get it. Whatever. I’ll live my second life as the other sex.”
It’s not like it’s the first time I’m getting screwed over by my sisters. Such is life for being the only brother.
I’ll hold my tongue. If I get mad, I’ll just spoil the fun for everybody.
“What are your plans, Big Bro?”
“Mm, I was thinking of leveling up my fishing skill, so I think I’ll try it out.”
“Starting off with a minigame, huh, Big Bro Kizuna?”
“Big Bro Kizuna…”
… being called that just does not sit well with me.
It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice though.
“I was just gonna go hunt. How ‘bout you, Sis?”
“I haven’t decided on my equipment yet, so maybe I’ll go take a look in the shops.”
“So, we’ll split up then?”
“It looks like it. I’ll phone you guys later—err, rather, I’ll send you a chat later.”
“See ya.”
—Private chat ended. Returning to regular chat.
Alright, let’s go fishing like I planned from the beginning.
If I remember correctly, it’s a skill I have to learn.
By focusing my thoughts, I open up the menu screen and click the “Status, Skills, and Item” screen.
Name/ Kizuna†Exceed
Race/ Spirit
Energy/ 1,000
Mana/ 50
Serin/ 500
Skills/ Energy Production I, Mana Production I
Items/ Novice Weapon Chest, Novice Energy Potion ×10, Instruction Manual for Spirits
I select Instruction Manual for Spirits from my inventory.
As soon as I do that, a book about the size of a paperback novel appears in my hands.
I flip through the pages and see it written in some foreign language. But for some reason, I can understand it.
I think it’s the Spirit language.
“Let’s see…”
—Unlike other races, Spirits do not have levels, HP, MP, STR, AGI, INT, MIND, DEX, or LUK.
Instead, the stat “Energy” replaces them all. The more Energy, the stronger the character.
While—with enough Energy—Spirits can withstand any attack from enemies, be careful that any damage to HP or consumption of MP will result in a corresponding usage of Energy.
I see. That’s pretty unique.
In short, if I have a lot of Energy, I have a lot of attack, defense, HP, and MP. On the other hand, I’ll be super weak if I don’t have enough.
I don’t totally understand it, but let’s see what’s next.
—Like with other races, acquiring or upgrading skills costs Mana. Using them costs Spirit.
These are the two things consumed by Spirits.
—Performing actions will unlock skills, the same as other races.
For Spirits, acquire skills by spending Mana once they are unlocked.
Acquired skills may have a passive drain on Energy. As such, players can choose to level down skills, refunding 50% of the Mana spent on acquisition.
Furthermore, skills will be leveled down at random when Energy goes below +1.
It seems like it’s important for Spirit players to manage their Energy.
Well, I’m sure I’ll learn along the way.
I slam the manual shut and put it back in my inventory.
Next, I selected Novice Weapon Chest.
Lots of different weapons are in the box.
They’re all pretty normal-looking and they all have Novice in the name.
I grab a one-handed sword. You can’t go wrong with one of these.
As soon as I make contact, a simple explanation of the sword pops up. But I threw the sword back in the box without reading the text.
Even though there are descriptions of them all on the game’s official site, both Kanata and I reserved our judgement to see how they’re like in person.
“Oh?”
I caught a glimpse of an interesting-looking weapon and take it out of the chest.
Weapon/ Novice Gutting Knife
Description/ A knife made for field dressing game.
—Detailed description: A weapon made for breaking down game and plants.
Causes monsters to drop items upon their death.
That’s a brief explanation.
If I choose the one-handed sword, I can equip a shield at the same time too.
But this one’s more interesting. It even has a bonus effect.
I choose the gutting knife.
So, do I just grab it with my hand to equip it? I’m not too sure.
My status screen lists out stuff like my Energy and Mana, but there’s no equipment section.
Well, that’s how you’d usually do it in VR games anyway.
Anyway, I must have a rod to fish.
I wonder where they sell fishing rods.
It’d be appropriate to sell them in a general store or something.
I open up the menu and select the map.
Lurolona… that’s the town I’m in right now.
There’s a place with a bag symbol showing on the map, so I’ll head over there.
It’s closer than I thought. I mean, I had my head down reading the Spirit guide. Luckily, though, I’m standing right before the shop.
It’s a grey rectangular building. A sign with the symbol of a bag juts out from the wall.
All of a sudden, a lot of people appeared—Humans, Lycanthropes with their dog ears and tails, pointy-eared Elves, and Jewels with blue gemstones embedded in their chest.
… I’m the only Spirit in here. That’s just a coincidence, eh?
Inside the general store was a bunch of different stuff.
They’ve got restorative potions, seeds, scrap paper, copper, hammers, pots, pans, mortars, pestles, hoes, pickaxes, shovels… and fishing rods.
Oh, goodie.
But this is just a wooden stick with a bit of string attached to the end. It’s a shoddy rod that look like it’s ripped straight out of a comic book.
But how am I going to fish without it?
Let’s see how much it is.
—600 serin.
Oh, so that’s what serin is.
But I’m missing 100 of those.
Is there anything I can sell?
I have my brand-new gutting knife, Novice Energy Potions, and the clothes on my back.
It feels like I’ve got underwear too. I could always buy more clothes later…
Seems like Novice Energy Potions sell for 20 serin each.
“I’d like to sell these.”
‘I can give you 20 serin for each Novice Energy Potion.’
I’ve heard the shopkeeper’s voice before.
From an anime, maybe? His voice actor has definitely voiced a bunch of different characters before.
Hmm, whatever. Gotta deal with the matter at hand first.
‘That will be 100 serin for five Novice Energy Potions.’
I hear a ka-ching as my wallet ticks up to 600 serin.
I go grab the fishing rod and come back.
‘That will be 600 serin for the Shoddy Rod.’
Hey…
You can’t call your own products “shoddy”…
One of the Humans browsing through the shop lets out a chortle.
If this is what shops are like in this alternate universe, then I’m never shopping again.
Dang NPCs making fun of me.
I stop myself from lashing out at the storekeeper and then grabbed my Shoddy Rod.
Lurolona, the First City
“Huh…?”
I lost consciousness for only a few seconds.
Well, if you think of in real life–time, I was out for maybe only a few nanoseconds.
If you believe what the developers say, then from this instant on, time is passing by at two different rates—one in this world and the other in real life.
And as explained earlier, I’ll be living in this world until the game is completed.
I look around to find an ultra-realistic setting.
A Western-style castle peeks out in the distance and white paving stones line the streets. Call it realism or whatever, but if you look closely, the stones even have grime on them, like they’ve actually been trodden on.
Around me are other players that have just logged on and reacting the same way. Some are even talking about it; their voices becoming the bustle of a thriving town.
I’ve played other VRMMOs before, but never have I experienced anything on this level.
That’s probably one of the reasons why we’re directly connected to the servers, though I haven’t really thought about that until now.
“Alrighty then, enough with being moved to tears, let’s—huh?”
That’s weird. Why is my voice so high?
Your voice is among the many things you can freely fine tune in the character creator.
I’m sure I made my guy sound cool and stern.
Even if I didn’t, I shouldn’t sound like a little girl.
Did I mess up the settings or something?
… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
I tilt my head down to look at my body.
“I’m definitely a girl. Thanks a lot,” I subconsciously mutter out.
I’ve got long black hair, a petite body, small hands and feet, and a chest that can be described as “lacking”.
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s novice equipment, but I’m wearing a simple white dress.
It’s a little breezy down there, as if I’m wearing a skirt again.
—Kizuna†Exceed, you have received a new private chat request. Accept?
I hear the voice directly speaking to me from inside my head.
Though I don’t know who Tsumugi†Exceed, the sender, is.
But judging from how awfully similar their name is to mine, I bet it’s the one who set me up.
From just having the thought of accepting the chat request in my head, the game goes ding and I hear the girls’ voices.
“Hey, Big Bro!”
“’sup!”
Both of their voices ring out.
Are they using their real voices? It doesn’t sound like they’ve changed it.
“Big Bro? Wait a minute! Your character and your name too! Why’s everything totally different?! Oh, Big Sis is gonna regret it big time!”
Our older sister’s name is Kanata†Exceed. Whose bright idea was this anyway?
All our names are structured the same way—Japanese first name, a symbol, and a random English word? This is some late-stage terminal eighth-grader syndrome shit.
“All your older sister ever wanted was another little sister…”
“I’ve always wanted a little sister too!”
“Ugh…”
I reflexively let out a groan, making my character groan out loud too.
Now that I think about it, she never did ask me what I was gonna look like. She must’ve edited my character yesterday.
“And, y’know?”
“Hmm?”
“Since we’ll be in this world for months or even years, I wanted us to all get along…”
“Kanata…”
Seems like she’s got reasons of her own.
Wait, I can’t just say whatever and look the other way. She totally accessed my data without permission and changed me into a girl.
That means until the game ends, I’m a GIRL—Guy in Real Life!
… that’s just great.
“And, y’know…”
“What?”
“’Two sisters and a brother’ is kind of a mouthful, don’t you think?”
“…”
What, was that a joke?
Anyone else would be steaming mad by now.
“Ugh, okay, I get it. Whatever. I’ll live my second life as the other sex.”
It’s not like it’s the first time I’m getting screwed over by my sisters. Such is life for being the only brother.
I’ll hold my tongue. If I get mad, I’ll just spoil the fun for everybody.
“What are your plans, Big Bro?”
“Mm, I was thinking of leveling up my fishing skill, so I think I’ll try it out.”
“Starting off with a minigame, huh, Big Bro Kizuna?”
“Big Bro Kizuna…”
… being called that just does not sit well with me.
It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice though.
“I was just gonna go hunt. How ‘bout you, Sis?”
“I haven’t decided on my equipment yet, so maybe I’ll go take a look in the shops.”
“So, we’ll split up then?”
“It looks like it. I’ll phone you guys later—err, rather, I’ll send you a chat later.”
“See ya.”
—Private chat ended. Returning to regular chat.
Alright, let’s go fishing like I planned from the beginning.
If I remember correctly, it’s a skill I have to learn.
By focusing my thoughts, I open up the menu screen and click the “Status, Skills, and Item” screen.
Name/ Kizuna†Exceed
Race/ Spirit
Energy/ 1,000
Mana/ 50
Serin/ 500
Skills/ Energy Production I, Mana Production I
Items/ Novice Weapon Chest, Novice Energy Potion ×10, Instruction Manual for Spirits
I select Instruction Manual for Spirits from my inventory.
As soon as I do that, a book about the size of a paperback novel appears in my hands.
I flip through the pages and see it written in some foreign language. But for some reason, I can understand it.
I think it’s the Spirit language.
“Let’s see…”
—Unlike other races, Spirits do not have levels, HP, MP, STR, AGI, INT, MIND, DEX, or LUK.
Instead, the stat “Energy” replaces them all. The more Energy, the stronger the character.
While—with enough Energy—Spirits can withstand any attack from enemies, be careful that any damage to HP or consumption of MP will result in a corresponding usage of Energy.
I see. That’s pretty unique.
In short, if I have a lot of Energy, I have a lot of attack, defense, HP, and MP. On the other hand, I’ll be super weak if I don’t have enough.
I don’t totally understand it, but let’s see what’s next.
—Like with other races, acquiring or upgrading skills costs Mana. Using them costs Spirit.
These are the two things consumed by Spirits.
—Performing actions will unlock skills, the same as other races.
For Spirits, acquire skills by spending Mana once they are unlocked.
Acquired skills may have a passive drain on Energy. As such, players can choose to level down skills, refunding 50% of the Mana spent on acquisition.
Furthermore, skills will be leveled down at random when Energy goes below +1.
It seems like it’s important for Spirit players to manage their Energy.
Well, I’m sure I’ll learn along the way.
I slam the manual shut and put it back in my inventory.
Next, I selected Novice Weapon Chest.
Lots of different weapons are in the box.
They’re all pretty normal-looking and they all have Novice in the name.
I grab a one-handed sword. You can’t go wrong with one of these.
As soon as I make contact, a simple explanation of the sword pops up. But I threw the sword back in the box without reading the text.
Even though there are descriptions of them all on the game’s official site, both Kanata and I reserved our judgement to see how they’re like in person.
“Oh?”
I caught a glimpse of an interesting-looking weapon and take it out of the chest.
Weapon/ Novice Gutting Knife
Description/ A knife made for field dressing game.
—Detailed description: A weapon made for breaking down game and plants.
Causes monsters to drop items upon their death.
That’s a brief explanation.
If I choose the one-handed sword, I can equip a shield at the same time too.
But this one’s more interesting. It even has a bonus effect.
I choose the gutting knife.
So, do I just grab it with my hand to equip it? I’m not too sure.
My status screen lists out stuff like my Energy and Mana, but there’s no equipment section.
Well, that’s how you’d usually do it in VR games anyway.
Anyway, I must have a rod to fish.
I wonder where they sell fishing rods.
It’d be appropriate to sell them in a general store or something.
I open up the menu and select the map.
Lurolona… that’s the town I’m in right now.
There’s a place with a bag symbol showing on the map, so I’ll head over there.
It’s closer than I thought. I mean, I had my head down reading the Spirit guide. Luckily, though, I’m standing right before the shop.
It’s a grey rectangular building. A sign with the symbol of a bag juts out from the wall.
All of a sudden, a lot of people appeared—Humans, Lycanthropes with their dog ears and tails, pointy-eared Elves, and Jewels with blue gemstones embedded in their chest.
… I’m the only Spirit in here. That’s just a coincidence, eh?
Inside the general store was a bunch of different stuff.
They’ve got restorative potions, seeds, scrap paper, copper, hammers, pots, pans, mortars, pestles, hoes, pickaxes, shovels… and fishing rods.
Oh, goodie.
But this is just a wooden stick with a bit of string attached to the end. It’s a shoddy rod that look like it’s ripped straight out of a comic book.
But how am I going to fish without it?
Let’s see how much it is.
—600 serin.
Oh, so that’s what serin is.
But I’m missing 100 of those.
Is there anything I can sell?
I have my brand-new gutting knife, Novice Energy Potions, and the clothes on my back.
It feels like I’ve got underwear too. I could always buy more clothes later…
Seems like Novice Energy Potions sell for 20 serin each.
“I’d like to sell these.”
‘I can give you 20 serin for each Novice Energy Potion.’
I’ve heard the shopkeeper’s voice before.
From an anime, maybe? His voice actor has definitely voiced a bunch of different characters before.
Hmm, whatever. Gotta deal with the matter at hand first.
‘That will be 100 serin for five Novice Energy Potions.’
I hear a ka-ching as my wallet ticks up to 600 serin.
I go grab the fishing rod and come back.
‘That will be 600 serin for the Shoddy Rod.’
Hey…
You can’t call your own products “shoddy”…
One of the Humans browsing through the shop lets out a chortle.
If this is what shops are like in this alternate universe, then I’m never shopping again.
Dang NPCs making fun of me.
I stop myself from lashing out at the storekeeper and then grabbed my Shoddy Rod.
