Chương 32: Game

Ch 32 - Game Despite his protest and insistence that he wasn't Junhao's fan, Evan still took the three autographs and stored them in his room. He had been half joking when he asked Reid to get Junhao's and Selena's autographs, never expecting the man to actually get them. What were the chances of encountering those S-ranks? Apparently, pretty high if you were the overpowered protagonist. Opening his phone again, he messaged Hiroto. [Are you free today?] It barely took any time for Hiroto to start typing, though it took quite a while before an actual message was sent. The typing bubble lingered on the screen for an uncomfortably long time. [Yes.] [I mean] [Of course!] Evan replied, [Want to play some games?] [Games? I've got some consoles in my room if you want!] Hiroto said. [Okay. I'll come over.] After spending more time together, Evan had learned where Hiroto's room was.

While he and Reid lived in Residence Block Four, Hiroto lived in Residence Block One. Knocking on his door, Hiroto quickly let him in. For a second, Evan could only stare at the room before him. While his and Reid's rooms were similar in style and size, Hiroto's was at least thrice as large and even boasted a bigger bed. There was a separate entertainment area with a large TV, and in one corner sat a high-end gaming rig. Shelves lined the walls, packed with various game consoles.

"You really weren't joking when you said you're a gamer," Evan said as he walked over to the row of expensive devices.

"Haha... well, I don't really have any other hobbies, I guess," Hiroto said, scratching his head.

"What do you want to play?" Scanning the collection before him, Evan's eyes eventually landed on two bulky headsets resting on a charging dock. Each had a thick matte-black visor that completely covered the wearer's eyes, while a sturdy frame wrapped around the sides and back of the head. Cushioned padding lined the interior, and several metallic sensor pads protruded from the inside where they would press against the temples and the back of the skull.

"Are these the Neural Visors? You have two."

"Oh, no. Technically, only one is mine. The other one was Reika's, but she barely ever used it, so I figured she wouldn't mind if I borrowed it." Hiroto said. Wow, it really paid to be the son of a Guild Master. Hiroto could afford something as expensive as this without a second thought. Full-dive systems were far beyond anything Evan could have dreamed of owning.

While the wealthy bought them as the ultimate gaming setup, Awakener families used them to let their children train in realistic simulated battles without exposing them to actual danger.

"You want to try it?" Hiroto asked.

"Sure. I've never used one before, though. Is it hard?" Evan asked, picking one up.

"No, it's pretty easy to use," Hiroto said as he helped Evan put it on.

"I'll help you sync it up, and then we can try playing some co-op games." After some tinkering, Evan managed to enter the virtual lobby. Blinking, he glanced down and saw his virtual body materializing in shimmering pixels. It wasn't a perfect one-to-one recreation, however. Only his face and hair had been fully scanned, while the rest of his body had been replaced with a generic avatar. Next to him, Hiroto's avatar also appeared.

He waved his hand, and rows of game icons materialized before them, floating in midair.

"Which one do you want to play?" Hiroto asked. Evan scanned the various game icons. Some were sci-fi, others fantasy. There were even story-focused games. It surprised him that there was this much variety considering how expensive these devices were. How did the developers even make money? Those thoughts quickly disappeared as his eyes settled on a particularly grim-looking icon. It depicted a horned beast with a maw glowing like molten fire. Beneath it was the title Night Hunt.

"What about that one?" Evan asked, pointing at it.

"Oh? That's not a bad pick. It's a short game about hunting a demon in a castle," Hiroto said.

"It can get a bit gruesome, though."

"It's fine. Let's play it." With their choice made, Hiroto selected the game, and the two were once again teleported away. They found themselves standing outside a castle, dressed as medieval soldiers. Evan glanced down at the steel plate armor covering his body, a deep blue surcoat draped over it. A longsword hung at his hip, while a kite shield bearing a crest rested on his left arm.

"So the story is pretty simple." Hiroto gestured toward the grim fortress before them. Beyond the towering walls and watchtowers rose a massive stone castle, its weathered masonry scarred by black scorch marks while an eerie crimson glow seeped through shattered windows beneath the storm-darkened sky.

"We're knights who pledged our allegiance to its lord. Unfortunately, he succumbed to a demon's temptation, and out of loyalty, we swore to save him." Evan nodded. He unsheathed his sword and gave it a few experimental swings. The device responded almost instantly to his thoughts, translating them into his avatar's movements. It was surprisingly responsive considering this was just a headset and not one of the more expensive full-dive capsules.

"Shall we head in?" Hiroto asked.

"Let's go." Entering through the castle gate, they stepped into the outer courtyard, where numerous bodies lay strewn across the ground. Some were missing limbs, others their heads. Several had their stomachs disemboweled.

"Do you want me to activate the censorship?" Hiroto asked.

"No need. It's fine," Evan said. Their footsteps echoed across the stone courtyard and through the empty castle. The wind howled overhead as dark clouds rumbled with distant thunder. Passing through the inner gate, Hiroto slowed his pace.

"There'll be an enemy soon. Since there are two of us, there should be two hellhounds. Do you want me to handle both, or...?" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"You take the front. I'll back you up," Evan replied. Taking the lead, Hiroto stepped into the inner courtyard. The moment he did, a low growl emerged from the darkness. Both raised their swords and shields. The next second, two hellhounds burst from the shadows. Their eyes and maws burned with crimson flames, contrasting against their black fur marked with glowing red streaks. Hiroto lunged forward and slammed his shield into the first hellhound charging him, the impact sending it reeling.

In the same motion, he twisted and followed through with a clean slash at the second hellhound as it leaped toward him. Evan raised an eyebrow. How curious. Unlike their sparring sessions at the academy, Hiroto moved with complete confidence. The hellhounds' HP bars dropped with each hit. The first was inflicted with a Stunned debuff, while the second began Bleeding. Seeing the opening, Evan drove his sword into the stunned hellhound's chest, cutting its HP in half before finishing it with a slash across the neck.

Meanwhile, Hiroto sidestepped the second hellhound's bite and struck its back with the pommel of his sword before plunging the blade into its body. With the two enemies defeated, they continued forward until they stood before the entrance to the castle keep.

"We can either head straight for the boss or follow the story and obtain an item that weakens it. Which do you want?" Hiroto asked.

"Let's do the story," Evan said. The two of them headed inside. As they crossed the great hall, several more hellhounds lunged at them, but they cut the beasts down one after another. Hiroto then led Evan through a corridor to the library on the first floor, where a ghostly woman sat weeping in the corner.

"Alas, my husband, what cruel fate hath claimed thee! How couldst thou yield thy soul unto so foul a demon? O, if only thou couldst remember thyself... if only..." the woman wailed. Evan grimaced at the overly Shakespearean dialogue. Did the developers dump all their budget into the gameplay and neglect the story? Even for a full-dive game, they could have put a little more effort into the writing.

After completing the library objective, they headed back out, climbed the staircase, and made their way to the small chapel inside the castle. The holy symbols had all been defaced, and the chapel itself lay in ruins. Broken pews were scattered across the sanctuary while three hellhounds prowled between them. Evan burst forward, driving a kick into one of the beasts and sending it crashing into the other two as they charged. At the same time, Hiroto's blade flashed through the air, cutting down the third.

Together, they swiftly finished off the remaining hellhounds. But instead of vanishing, the three corpses dissolved into black smoke that flowed together at the center of the chapel. The darkness swelled and twisted before taking the shape of a single, much larger hellhound. Throwing back its head, the beast unleashed a thunderous roar as a fresh health bar materialized above it. Undeterred, the two charged forward.

"Evan, give me a boost!" Hiroto shouted. Evan crouched low and raised his shield. Using it as a foothold, Hiroto leaped as Evan launched him high into the air. Sailing over the hellhound, Hiroto brought his blade down in a sweeping arc, unleashing a crescent of energy that crashed into the beast's snout. The hellhound howled in pain. Evan rushed in and slashed at its forelegs while Hiroto landed on its back. The beast bucked and twisted violently, trying to shake him loose, but Hiroto clung to its thick fur.

Evan followed up with an arc of energy of his own, forcing the monster's attention onto him. Snarling with rage, the hellhound lunged at Evan. Hiroto seized the opening, climbed onto the beast's head, and drove his blade straight through its skull. Its HP plummeted to zero, and the massive creature collapsed with a heavy thud. The beast dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a worn diary. Evan picked it up and flipped through the pages.

Most of them were blank or too badly damaged to read, probably because the developers hadn't bothered writing anything for them, but the surviving entries told the story of a man who had begun hearing whispers from an unknown entity promising him power and wealth. Tempted by its offers, he followed its guidance until he eventually allowed himself to be possessed by a demon.

"We got the last key item," Hiroto said.

"During the boss fight, we can call the lord by his real name, Alaric. It inflicts a debuff on him." Shouldn't we already know the lord's name if we're supposed to be playing as his knights? Evan thought dryly. Leaving the chapel behind, the two finally reached the lord's chamber. The once-grand room had fallen into ruin, with shattered furniture scattered across the floor and black veins of demonic corruption spreading through the cracked stone. At its center stood a towering knight encased in charred black armor.

Jagged horns curved from its helmet, and crimson flames burned behind the visor where its eyes should have been. Resting a massive greatsword across one shoulder, the demon slowly turned to face them.

"Who art thou that darest trespass upon my domain?" the boss growled.

"We're here to save you, Lord Alaric!" Hiroto shouted.

"Save me?" the boss mocked.

"I need not thy aid nor thy salvation! I am stronger now than ever I was! Mwahahaha!" What a cringeworthy line. Evan's mouth twitched, but the Weakened debuff appearing under the boss's health bar confirmed that calling him by his real name had worked. Without wasting another second, they rushed forward as the boss answered with a sweeping greatsword strike that carved through the air. Evan leaped over the arc while Hiroto dropped into a low dodge beneath it.

Evan's blade struck the demon's shield and skidded off harmlessly, but Hiroto was already in motion, cutting into the exposed joint at the elbow. As Evan landed, he pivoted and drove his sword into the gap behind the knee. The boss staggered, and they pressed the advantage, striking in coordinated bursts that targeted every exposed seam in the armor. Each hit chipped away at its HP until the demon threw back its head and let out a deafening roar. Dark energy erupted from its body.

The charred armor buckled under the surge before exploding apart in shards of steel, revealing a far more monstrous form beneath. A towering, scaly demon emerged, its massive bat-like wings tearing free from its back, and its clawed hands dripping with corrupted energy. Phase two had begun. With a violent burst of wind, the demon shot through a shattered window and soared into the sky above the courtyard.

"After it!" Hiroto shouted. They burst outside as the creature circled overhead, unleashing a barrage of fireballs that forced Evan to track and deflect them with sweeping arcs of sword energy, each strike cutting through the air like streaks of light. The demon remained airborne until Hiroto sprinted up the roof of a nearby stable, using its slope as a launch point to rocket into the air and meet it head-on.

"Wake up, Alaric!" he shouted as his blade connected. The debuff flared again, and the demon convulsed midair before crashing into the courtyard, stone exploding outward on impact. Evan was already closing in. He activated his second skill, and light condensed along his blade until it burned like a miniature sun before erupting into a concentrated beam that slammed into the fallen demon, dropping its HP to a quarter. The boss struggled to rise, but Hiroto did not let it.

He appeared behind it in an instant and drove a blade of condensed energy straight through its back and out its chest. The HP bar emptied, and the demon collapsed to its knees as the corruption peeled away like ash caught in the wind, revealing a weary old man beneath. Alaric lowered his gaze and whispered, "Truly… this folly is mine and mine alone. I was once a man of reason and will, yet I didst open mine heart unto the darkness, and thus was I undone." [Congratulations! You've finished the game!] the game's system notification appeared.

"So, how was it?" Hiroto asked, grinning.

"Pretty fun," Evan admitted. The story was bare-bones, but the combat was surprisingly enjoyable. He could see why wealthy people who could only dream of becoming Awakeners would spend a fortune on games like this. It also made him wonder how much more immersive the experience would be inside a full-dive pod instead of using only a headset.

"But it's interesting how good you are at fighting in this game, quite unlike how you perform during our regular spars," Evan added.

"Hehe, I actually replay this game pretty often, so I can read enemy movements," Hiroto said.

"Why? Do you like fantasy? Being a knight and all that?"

"No way," Hiroto laughed.

"I just think demons are cool. Before the apocalypse, every culture had stories about them. Then the monsters appeared, and people started calling them demons. We know that's not true now, but it's still kind of odd. We've explored so much of the Rifts and the Tower, yet nothing we've found has ever really been a demon."

"What if they do exist?" Evan asked.

"Eh?" Evan locked eyes with Hiroto.

"What if demons exist, and those who use Demonic Arts now roam in Nova Terra?"