Chapter 2: A Little Curiosity
The sun sat high in the sky as a young man made his way home. It was a study day, so usually, he would be hitting the books at the library right about now, but Lin Hayashi, his roommate, had insisted that she needed to show him something, and although it probably had something to do with games again, she had slowly but surely worn him down with the fact that they were mere hours away from her birthday.
Kurai Tachi sighed as he made it to the front door and reached into his pocket for his keys. Honestly, if they hadn't been next-door neighbors and friends since kindergarten, he doubted they would've even noticed each other given how much their interests clashed, but a mere tumble over a sandcastle had sealed their fates, and now, even at university, they seemed to be joined at the hip most days.
The thought made Kurai wryly shake his head as he opened the door to find Lin's bookbag, which had clearly been carelessly discarded the moment she'd arrived home. Sure, they were joined at the hip…at least until Lin's fight-or-flight instincts made their appearance when her so-called 'bibliophobia' kicked in.
He shook his head fondly and gently picked up the bag before leaning it against the umbrella stand. Setting it down in Lin's room would only lead to her forgetting it once she inevitably sleeps through half of one of her morning classes again.
With Lin's parents owning one of the largest tech companies in the world and one of her older brothers being a developer for a major gaming company, it wasn't much of a surprise that she'd turned into someone that tried to avoid the 'real world' as much as possible through her games. Naturally, she was studying IT.
Kurai's own parents, on the other hand, had both chosen more academic pursuits and, as a result, they had been quite strict on regulating his free time even when he stayed at the top of his class. His current studies included two different courses: toxicology and chemistry.
The thought reminded him of the upcoming exams and he quickly searched through his bag to ensure that he had everything he needed for a study session.
Kurai then made his way to his room to set down his things, but he barely made it halfway down the corridor before a hand suddenly grasped his arm, and he was bodily yanked into Lin's room, "What took you so long? The beta is opening in 25 minutes, and if we don't log in early, we'll be stuck in the queues or worse! I spent the whole morning in line to get the gear, and there are only 500 spots open to the public!"
Lin was practically jumping in place with excitement, and Kurai fought off an encroaching sense of vertigo before he placed his hands on her shoulders to get her to stand still, but then her words registered, "Wait, so you skipped review class for a game? Lin, this isn't…!"
She immediately held her hands up in surrender as her eyes widened, "It was just today! You know, I've been ranting about this game for months now, and if I didn't get it, then, well, I would have to wait for another two years just to be able to play it."
Lin's shoulders slumped slightly, and Kurai internally winced. Lin had been studying and attending more classes than usual. He just hadn't realized that it had been in preparation for the game.
The upcoming exams crossed his mind for a moment, but then he forcefully pushed it aside with a sigh before steeling himself, "Fine, but you will be attending early morning classes with me on Monday."
Lin gave a long-suffering groan but nodded nonetheless before her excitement took over her once more as she dragged him over to her computer. Her 'setup,' as she called it, consisted of a modern black desk that had been bolted to the wall, and on it stood three separate screens that merged seamlessly into a single screen while also creating a slightly curved look.
Above the three screens, another screen took up the center portion of the wall, though this one was mostly reserved for watching anime or when Lin wanted to quickly research something regarding the games she played. Even her computer was mounted precariously to the wall, and Kurai spent most days wondering how a few brackets and screws could carry the weight of a box that was even heavier than him.
His thoughts were interrupted as Lin nudged him lightly before motioning to the strange device she held in her hands, "This is the newest VR prototype that they created for the game; it's supposed to make you feel as if you are actually IN the game, can you believe it?"
Kurai shook his head wryly, but as usual, Lin didn't allow his skepticism to ruin her excitement as she started explaining the theories behind the device in her hands.
Most of it went right over his head, but he had to admit to himself that it would be cool to feel as if you were flying even though your feet were stuck safely on the ground.
An alarm suddenly went off, and Lin hurriedly deposited the device into his hands, "Shoot! I forgot the snacks! Log in for me quickly; my Avatar has already been created. Just follow the prompts until you get to the loading screen. I'll be right back!"
His refusal fell on deaf ears as she rushed from the room, and Kurai glared at the device in his hands before sighing and carefully placing it over his head. Even though he disliked games in general because they held no use for him if he wanted to have a successful career, he knew that Lin would be heartbroken if she didn't manage to land a place in the game, so he carefully tried to follow the instructions. A faint buzzing started up in his ears, but he ignored it.
He gave a relieved sigh when he finally reached the loading screen, and the buzzing stopped, but when he moved to take the headset off, it didn't feel like it was on his head anymore.
He frowned as he carefully moved his hands over his face to where the device should have been resting over his eyes, but still, he found nothing, and he rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Lin; I don't know what trick you pulled this time, but please undo it. The game is almost done loading, and you haven't taught me how to play yet."
He waited for the telltale feeling of something being removed from his head, but nothing happened. Instead, he found himself appearing in a room that held only the most basic things; a bed, a cupboard, a small kitchen, and a bathroom.
For a moment, he marveled at the detail of the place as it had been done in an Eastern style that made everything seem slightly medieval. The thought made him look down to see whether his clothes were Eastern style as well, and it took him a few seconds to realize what he saw as he blinked down at his body.
He blinked once more, just to ensure that he wasn't just seeing things, but the sight that met him was still the same, so he rushed into the bathroom to look into the mirror.
His hands shook as he brought them up to the face that both were and weren't his before he quickly lowered them. He slowly glanced down at the shaking hands before him, then blindly walked backward to sit on the bed.
Lin had mentioned earlier that she'd already created her Avatar, so it shouldn't have surprised him, but suddenly finding himself in a body that looked like a gym-junky version of himself was something he hadn't expected. Was Lin pranking him again, or was this how she saw him?
Kurai decided to try out Lin's Avatar while he waited for her to return, but the Avatar's frame was a lot bulkier than his own, which made it harder to move around. He easily admitted to himself that he preferred his real body a lot more, but then a strange thought made him a few shades paler than before, "What if I'm stuck like this?"
The thought had him hurriedly glancing around before he noticed a scroll on the bedside table as well as a pouch.
He quickly picked up the scroll, hoping that it would have some instructions that would tell him how to exit the game. Getting into the game once should ensure that Lin was entered into the beta, right? It's not like they would expect people to be in the game 24/7.
He unwrapped the scroll and then opened it, but instead of being able to read it, the scroll glowed blue for a second and disappeared, leaving a floating message in its place:
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Welcome to Seradeihn
As a new resident of Seradeihn, the land of history, you have been granted a basic living space and gear as well as a few coins to cover basic living expenses for seven days.
To equip gear, simply enter your inventory and tap the chosen item. Warning: Items higher than your level cannot be equipped, and items lower than your level may be less efficient. Please pay attention when selling acquired gear and items, as sales cannot be reversed.
Main Story Quest: You are the last heir of a prestigious clan, and you have been tasked to discover the truth about the Missing Eons. Due to the danger of the quest, you will be accompanied by a guardian.
Quest Status: 0% complete
Clan Renown Status: 0 renown
Inheritance Status: Locked (0% progress made)
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Kurai blinked at the message in confusion. Clan renown? Inheritance? How would he be able to unlock those? The zeros were truly getting on his nerves as he only ever strived to get full marks, and even though this was currently in a game, it was no exception.
The message faded away as he tried to tap on it, and Kurai growled under his breath. Wasn't there supposed to be something that he could interact with? The thought had him freezing, and he glanced down at his hands once more. Maybe he had to use keyboard commands?
Kurai took a deep breath but then released it again as he looked around, just to make sure that there wasn't some strange viewer function, as Lin always loved to live-stream her games. He didn't want to end up making a fool of himself.
Finally, after the third scan, his search still revealed nothing, so Kurai stepped into the center of the room with a grimace before shouting out commands, "Escape! Enter! Alt! Tab! Shift! Uhm-menu!"
None of them seemed to work, of course, so Kurai started calling the functions out by their abbreviations and then the ABCs out of pure frustration, which also did not work.
Finally, he became so irritated that he placed the palm of his hand against his forehead to stave off an imaginary headache, only to blink in surprise as a small menu popped up before him on a similar screen as earlier.
His eyes eagerly scanned the menu, and he cheered in triumph as he noticed the 'Exit' button on the left side of the screen, "Hah! Wait until I get my hands on you, you little weasel. You've tricked me for the last time, Lin!"
He quickly pressed the button and then froze as he waited for something to happen, but nothing did. He tried to press it again, but the option became gray as another message popped up:
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Warning: 'Exit' function disabled
This function has been disabled for the user's safety. Please review Section 14, Point 3 in your digital contract for more information, or contact your guide.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Mortifae
Mortifae This is the first chapter that I had typed up for a while now before I fixed it up. I will publish the next chapter as soon as I am done writing it so please tell me what you think so far :)
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone