Episode 3
"Log out!"
Cannot log out at this ti due to an unknown error.
"Delete character!"
Cannot delete this character at this ti due to an unknown error.
"Delete account!"
Cannot delete account at this ti due to an unknown error.
"You crazy ga...!"
After shouting the sa words into the void for hours until my throat was raw, I collapsed into a chair with a look of despair.
"Sob, my throat hurts..."
I sniffled, clutching my painfully raw throat.
It wasn't actually hurting, but as the brain synchronized with the virtual reality, it made a certain amount of pain feel real.
Of course, only 'to a certain extent'.
If they made you feel extre pain leading to death, they'd be hit with a class-action lawsuit from the users...
It was that mont.
Recovery Potion Containing Lizard's Vocal Cords
Drinking this potion temporarily increases HP recovery speed and gives you strong vocal cords, allowing you to scream nonstop like a Lizard.
You have enough of the required ingredients. Would you like to craft this potion?
(Craftable quantity: 100)
"Huh."
I let out a dry laugh at the system window that suddenly popped up.
Co to think of it, since I was an NPC, I could instantly craft any item or potion I wanted, as long as I had the ingredients.
I was thrilled when I was saving up money, but now that I was trapped in the ga, it was just absurd.
"...How on earth do I get out of here?"
Staring blankly into space, I muttered, on the verge of tears again.
I'd tried to exit the ga countless tis, but it wouldn't close, as if there was a connection bug.
"My body... will it be okay?"
Two years. Two years!
No matter how fast ga ti flows compared to reality, two years would an at least 24 hours had passed in the real world.
The ti a human can survive without eating or drinking anything is 72 hours.
If I don't get out within that ti, I might be front-page news.
'Woman in her 20s dies from ga addiction, the dark side of virtual reality gas...'
A plausible headline popped right into my head.
And on top of that, my miserable form, starved to death, huddled at my desk with the VR device on...
"Nooo!"
I shot up from my seat and paced anxiously around the small shop, trying to think of a way out of the ga.
If I lived with my family, soone would have told to quit gaming and forcibly taken the VR device off .
Unfortunately, I was an orphan with no living relatives.
Besides, as long as I was logged into the ga, it was considered being at work, so no one would even notice I was missing.
'I'd have to be on the connection standby screen to even use the operator chat.'
Since I was already connected to the server, all I had were the permissions available to an NPC, like 'Block Malicious User (Ban)' at best.
It would be better to find another operator who was logged in and ask for help...
"...Wait. Chat?"
Suddenly, an idea struck like lightning.
This ga, whose official release had been postponed for years due to over 300 version upgrades for bugs, had, true to its reputation, installed bug report NPCs all over the place.
Reports were in a real-ti chat format, and any operators logged in had to check and address them as the top priority.
'Good! I. Will report. A bug. Right now.'
Usually, I got pissed off by users who constantly cursed in the chat for trivial reasons like delayed rewards.
But now that it was happening to , I fully empathized with the users who cursed it out as a 'buggy-ass shitty ga'.
I ran out of the apothecary with a look of grim determination, but soon stopped in the middle of the main street, looking dismayed.
"Right. I'm the only NPC here..."
The bug report NPC was usually inside the temple or church in each region.
But Dover Village was disconnected from the scenario and a place users rarely visited, so it didn't even have a temple.
The bug report NPC was probably in the next village over, near Count Hailey's estate, but it was a four-hour walk.
Normally, a user would never have to walk.
They'd buy a 'Teleport Scroll' from a general store NPC or would have tad a horse or pet monster to ride early on.
But there was no way I, who had just been holed up here mining coins, would have anything like that.
"Damn it, what do I do."
It was then.
"Since Jack left the village, this horse is mine! How dare you block a Hero's path!"
A commotion suddenly erupted in a part of the village busy cleaning up the damage from the monster horde.
"B-But, Hero. These horses originally belong to my family..."
"Still, this bastard! Are you a Hero or sothing? Huh?!"
Dover Village Hero Gayle
Dover Village Stableboy Tom
It seed one of the Hero lackeys was still around; a large brute and a much smaller boy were arguing in front of the stable.
But that's not what caught my eye.
Lv.9 Swift Steed-type Monster
'That's it!'
Level nine was pretty decent for this rural backwater.
I quickly jumped in front of the stableboy, who was just about to be hit by the lackey.
"Tom, will you sell this horse?"
"Shari...?"
"What. You're that witch, the potion junkie bitch?"
Angered by my sudden appearance, the Hero lackey grabbed my shoulder hard with a nasty expression.
"Can't you see I'm talking?! Don't ss with . My comrades must have caught all the monsters before they left, and you selfishly snatched... "
"Ban."
'Dover Village Hero Gayle' is permanently banned from this region.
It was a waste of ti to even deal with this insignificant AI bastard.
I had no idea what was happening to my real body at this very mont.
"Oooh! As expected, Gayle has also left for another village, following the other Heroes..."
Shushushuk
The boy muttered as he watched the man's form vanish in an instant.
It seems that's how a permanent ban looks to the AIs. Whatever.
"I'll give you 100 coins."
I dug into my pocket, pulled out a gold coin, and held it out.
It was a good thing I didn't take off the robe. The NPC-exclusive costu, the shabby robe, had a pocket, or rather, inventory, with unlimited capacity.
Paying 100 coins to Dover Village Stableboy Tom to purchase Lv.9 Swift Steed-type Monster.
Current Coins: 4,012,900 C
Unlike those bastards who ripped off the villagers just because they were 'Heroes', I, who had legitimately purchased a mode of transport, was a bit surprised to see my coin balance.
I hadn't looked at it in a while, so I didn't realize my illicit savings had piled up this much.
"...Are you also leaving to beco a great Hero now, Shari?"
The AI character asked as it watched prepare to leave.
"As if. Why would I do sothing like that?"
If I get out of here, I might just permanently delete my ID and quit my job.
I snapped back irritably and hopped onto the horse.
Using one Potion of Lizard's Leg Muscle.
- A potion blended with the toughest leg muscles from a Lizard's muscle fibers, effective only on the sa monster type...
"Heeheeheeng!"
I frantically fed the horse potions and whipped it repeatedly, cutting the four-hour journey down to two.
As soon as I entered the Count Hailey's estate region, I ran straight for the temple.
Count Hailey's estate was the region where the first main scenario unfolded, right after the tutorial, so the temple should have been bustling with users.
But maybe because of the access restrictions from the ergency check, it was quiet except for the AIs.
This was an incredibly sad thing for , as I needed to ask for help from anyone who was logged in.
Fortunately, I quickly found the bug report NPC, who was wearing the sa robe as .
In the center of the temple were statues of the gods worshipped in this ga world, and the NPC was right in front of them.
"Welco, pitiful priest. The gods are always open to all who seek help."
As the priest-like NPC recited its fixed lines, a nu appeared in the air.
1. Check current region map.
2. Check current region quests.
3. Check monsters appearing in current region.
4. Check current region character relationship chart.
5. Report malicious users and bugs.
"Bug report! Bug report!"
The system window imdiately changed into a chat window format.
Bug reports are handled via real-ti chat consultation. Connecting you to an available consultant now.
...
I stared at the chat window with its blinking cursor, my eyes full of elation.
...
...
We are sorry. It is currently outside of real-ti chat consultation hours. Consultation hours are weekdays from AM 09:00 to PM 19:00...
But my jaw dropped at the ssage that imdiately popped up.
"Ha, ha... Does this make any sense?"
I laughed hollowly.
'It's not consultation hours because it's past seven?'
Of course, I also thought that getting off work on ti was very important.
I also wanted to kill the bastards who, as if they'd planned it, would start a chat at 6:59 PM, right when I was the only operator left, to complain that quest rewards were too low.
But, but...
At least those bastards could screw over, go back to playing their fill of the ga, log out, and sleep soundly, couldn't they?!
"Please... I'm so scared..."
I shoved both hands inside my hood, tore at my hair, and shrieked.
"I'm going to die like this! I'm telling you, I'm going to die...!"
'Becoming a pathetic ga addict who starved to death wearing a VR device...!'
I sobbed and collapsed in front of the priest NPC.
As if it was trying to mass-produce addicts, the ga wouldn't let you know the real ti once you were logged in.
On top of that, this ga went beyond simple virtual reality implentation and transmitted sll, taste, and even a sense of space and ti via brainwaves, so ga ti was experienced just like real ti.
'Is that why users stuck around despite over 300 version revisions?'
It was truly an amazing and fucked up innovative technology.
At least there was a warning that popped up after a few hours of ga connection, but maybe because I was an NPC, I didn't even get that.
Therefore, I had no way of knowing how much ti was left until daybreak in reality.
I could only... keep waiting.
And so, one day, after about two months had passed in ga ti.
: Excuse , I'm an operator. This ga won't log out.
It is currently outside of consultation hours.
: XX, I said the ga won't log out!!
It is currently outside of consultation hours.
: You XX bastards!! It's been a month!!! Why would you make a shitty ga like this, XX! XX!
It is currently outside of consultation hours.
: Please save ... T_T There's a person here T_T
To , who had been leaving furious chat ssages while traveling back and forth between Dover Village and Count Hailey's estate every day.
GM Ari: Hello, this is GM Ari. You've encountered a ga logout bug?
A reply from a consultant finally ca.
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