As you get older, you realize there's no better hobby than VR games.
Golf, fishing, travel, hiking, hunting...
You can enjoy them all in virtual reality without the burden of cost or physical strain.
And that's not all.
Murder, theft, assault, arson, all sorts of crimes are totally possible too!
"Nice."
Time to blow off some steam from work.
After a quick shower, I lay down in a comfortable position on my back-friendly bed.
Ready to log into the game.
"..."
"..."
Something was wrong.
A girl who hadn't been there a second ago was looking down at me from close enough to touch noses.
"Who...?"
"I'm Elise, your maid."
The girl stepped back slightly and answered while brushing her golden sideburns behind her ear.
Elise.
She seemed like a helper who shows up when you first log into a VR game.
'Wow... she's really pretty.'
Universally beautiful features that anyone would find attractive.
That's not as easy as it sounds, but she was a beauty without a single thing excessive or lacking from head to toe.
"My maid?"
"Yes."
"Damn."
If this wasn't a game, I'd be really happy right now.
"Did I say something wrong...?"
"Oh, sorry. You're so pretty it made me curse."
"Should I take that as a compliment?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
Elise gracefully held the edges of her skirt with both hands and bowed in thanks.
I sat up and looked around the bed.
'There's nothing here.'
Just a bed sitting alone in the middle of a wide space.
I was inside a game I didn't know.
"...Why? What are you staring at?"
Elise was staring at my face sitting on the bed, making me uncomfortable.
"You haven't asked any questions."
"What questions?"
"Aren't you curious who you are or where this is?"
"I am curious."
Guess I'll do the tutorial.
"Your name is Ronan Marcus. The youngest son of the Baron Marcus family."
"Ronan Marcus. Got it."
Ronan Marcus.
Youngest son of a baron family.
The protagonist was a nobleman with a pretty maid.
"Young master, you were born and then experienced your entire life in a virtual reality called Earth."
"Wait."
"Yes."
"Earth is virtual reality?"
"Yes."
Earth, where we were born and raised, is virtual reality.
It's a hypothesis that's been around forever.
"If Earth is VR, then what's this place?"
"Reality, of course."
"I see."
Really stupid question.
"Young master. Do you feel dizzy or like you want to reject these thoughts?"
"No."
I'm not that stupid.
"That's a relief. And you don't seem to be showing any erratic behavior like chanting weird spells or jumping out windows."
"Why would I do that?"
"It's a simple diagnostic. There are many cases of people having fits while denying reality."
I took a deep breath, worried they'd throw me in a mental hospital if I acted crazy.
"Listen. I'm very calm right now."
"I understand."
"Let me recap."
"Yes."
"So the baron's youngest son has been living in VR until now, right?"
"Yes."
"And this is reality?"
"Yes. This is reality."
"..."
But something was suspicious above the head of the girl claiming this was reality.
[13]■■■■■
Numbers and bars that looked like a level and vitality hung there like a banner.
'Keep lying if you want!'
I'd dreamed of a fantasy world since I was a kid and wanted to escape this unfair world too.
But reality was being an office worker who had to get up at 6 AM every morning or face trouble.
"Young master? Your heart rate just spiked."
"How do you know it spiked?"
"From the sound of your heartbeat."
"You can hear that?"
"Crystal clear."
"...Even your hearing is fantasy. Don't worry. It's nothing."
"Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. Totally fine."
Looks like I'd logged into some VR game I didn't know about.
***
Parents' passion for education keeps rising day by day.
And this isn't someone else's story.
I started learning foreign languages at 10, my son at 5, and my granddaughter started with prenatal education.
As an extreme development of that era's trends and culture, advanced learning where you learn about life right after birth became popular!
'...So that's the setting?'
Got the prologue.
But I wanted to end the game soon, except I didn't know how to log out.
The maid insisting this game was reality wasn't helpful either.
[13]■■■■■
"If this is reality, what's that above your head?"
"You have good focus. Status windows only appear when you concentrate on a target."
"I see."
I was speechless at the logic that seeing status windows was natural.
'Am I trapped in the game?'
I never imagined I'd be the victim of the ridiculous accident that showed up on the news like a joke sometimes.
'Well, it'll be fine.'
My wife comes home every weekend, taking care of our granddaughter while my son and daughter-in-law work.
And the gaming rig has a feature that automatically shuts off if the gamer's condition gets bad.
'Still... maybe I'll play a bit?'
Just waiting around is boring. Might as well game until I get disconnected.
First, let me check my avatar's status window, basically my alter ego.
[1]■■■■■■■(0%)
It should normally be invisible hanging above my head, but I could sense it naturally like it was part of my body.
'Level 1! Cute.'
I saw my avatar's reflection in the window.
A pubescent boy with black curly hair and tan skin.
I didn't like the predatory eyes and pink irises, but befitting this game's protagonist, the face definitely wasn't ugly.
'Avatar appearance passes.'
I looked away from the window back at Elise.
"What do I do now?"
"You need to run."
"Run? Right now?"
"Yes. About 15 minutes ago, the baron was killed by bandits."
"Oh."
Not surprised. A kid without parents is standard for fantasy protagonists.
Probably why authors prefer it, no risk of character controversies.
"...Young master?"
"What?"
"You do understand, right?"
"Yeah, I know. My father died defending the estate."
"You're so calm I thought I misunderstood. I apologize."
Of course I'm calm. It's just game lore.
"What about the rest of the family?"
"They all evacuated to the safe house. Just you and me are left."
"Okay. Where do we go?"
Let's speed through this tutorial.
"Young master. Come closer to me..."
"Here."
"..."
"Elise?"
Something was wrong with the helper.
She spoke to me with a very serious expression.
"The bandits figured out the safe house."
"Ah."
I didn't ask how she knew what was happening at the safe house from here.
All half-assed games are like that.
"I have to go right now. I was ordered to stop the bandits."
"Should I come with you?"
"...No."
Elise hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
"But you said the family's in danger?"
"You need to escape somewhere else, young master."
Pop pop.
A pistol and a box of bullets materialized in her palm.
"A revolver."
Revolver.
A pistol that rotates a cylinder to swap chambers instead of using a magazine.
Simple structure means few malfunctions, but slow reloading and rate of fire are the downsides.
"You know how to pull the trigger, right?"
Elise asked as she handed me the revolver.
"Aren't you underestimating me a bit?"
"I'll listen to complaints if you survive till the end, young master."
"Fine. Watch me."
My skills weren't what they used to be, but I wasn't so pathetic I'd die in a game tutorial.
"...Yes. I hope we meet again."
"I won't die."
I'm this game's protagonist. I've got protagonist buffs.
The proof was that my avatar's vitality was higher than Elise's.
[1]■■■■■■■
[13]■■■■■
"Good luck."
"You too."
"Goodbye..."
Elise bowed deeply in an elegant greeting, then disappeared in a flash of light.
***
This game was incredibly unfriendly from the tutorial. Including the helper who looked down on gamers!
'Her name was Elise, right? Just wait.'
Ignoring her warning, I planned to kill every bandit that invaded the estate.
'Can't help it if I die first though.'
It's just a game anyway.
If I die, I'll just start over from the beginning.
I carefully peeked out the window of the bedroom where I'd first woken up.
[8]■■■■■■
[4]■■■■■■
[6]■■■■■■
Bandits were loading expensive items onto an airplane that had landed in the garden.
'Bandits using airplanes?'
Seems like a error in the game.
Anyway, their levels were higher than mine. There were quite a few of them too.
'If I get surrounded, I'm done.'
This time I looked through the crack of the bedroom door into the hallway.
"Score."
[2]■■■■■■
I saw a bandit taking down a picture frame from the wall.
Did they think everyone had escaped? He wasn't watching his surroundings at all. And he was alone.
"Very tutorial-like."
I was a bit worried since I hadn't zeroed the sights, but I aimed the revolver's barrel through the door crack.
'If I miss at this range, I'm not human.'
I pulled the trigger smoothly.
Bang!
"Gah?!"
The bandit hit by the bullet let out a piercing scream and collapsed.
His vitality was drained in one shot.
[2]□□□□□□
'What?! No censorship?'
Modern games censor anything even slightly sexual or violent with mosaics. Even with adult verification!
But this game showed everything graphically. The corpse didn't even disappear like dust.
──────────────
Achievement: First Kill (Human)
Reward: 1 Level
Description: You killed a human for the first time.
Rating: None.
──────────────
A cheerful female voice kindly read aloud the text that appeared in my mind.
'There are achievements too.'
[2]■■■■■■■(55%)
I gained a level as a reward.
But no time to celebrate. The bandits who heard my revolver shot would swarm here soon.
"Where?"
"The sound came from over there!"
"Who shot that?"
I left the bedroom and ran down the hallway. But I didn't know where to go.
'What game doesn't have a single map!'
I didn't even know where I currently was. This was no different from reality.
To hide for a moment, I randomly entered a room that already had a visitor.
[3]■■■■■■
"Whose underwear is this... hm?"
I gifted a bullet to the bandit rummaging through a wardrobe.
[3]■□□□□□
But he didn't die in one hit. Not a scratch on the head where the bullet should've hit.
'Defense scales with level, huh.'
Not a groundbreaking discovery. Super common system in games. Basically common sense.
The bandit urgently dropped the underwear and tried to draw the pistol at his waist.
"That's not it."
Instead of looking for a weapon, you should've thrown yourself behind cover like a bed or sofa first.
I pulled the trigger one more time.
Bang!
[3]□□□□□□
The bandit with a hole in his head sprawled on the floor.
I quickly checked my status window.
[3]■■■■■■■(10%)
Leveled up again.
Already level 3.
'Because it's still early game?'
Levels were going up really well. I felt stupid for worrying about the bandits' levels being high.
'But... something's kinda weird?'
This wasn't the reaction speed of the 'me' I knew.
I felt young again.
"No way."
Must be protagonist buffs.