บท 5: 2.1 Hello World?

I really didn't know what kind of primordial god I managed to piss off when I was getting transported to this world. Nor did I ever even entertain the notion of having to navigate a world so bafflingly beautiful that I can feel my brain melting just trying to look at it. But here we are.

In hindsight, I should've expected something like this to happen when the damn thing took four hours to load in.

"Woah..."

Was it too late to say that the game was an absolute work of art and not an incomplete mess? Cause what I'm seeing right now was probably the best thing I had ever seen in my life. Finding myself in a grassy plain with a dark, purplish sky, the world around me felt like it was something out of a fantasy setting. Despite the relative darkness, the sky above me seemed to twinkle with countless stars, each one bright enough to light up the world around me as I took in a deep breath.

[Welcome to Kattleyna]

The prompt above me blinked out of existence as soon as I laid eyes on it. It was a little bit fast if you asked me, but it was good enough for me to know what this place was called, at least.

Simply put, Guidance had good taste.

*S-so you're in the game world now... right?* Guidance stuttered, half-yawning as she sounded absolutely tired now. *I'll... uhh... go to sleep now...*

Huh. So the woman needs her sleep... Understandable. Maybe this was just a side thing or a hobby for her? "Sure thing."

*See you.... tomorrow....*

And just like that, the world around settled into a comfortable silence as the sounds of nature eventually overtook all of my other thoughts. Having rarely spent time outside of a city, the hustle and bustle of cars and people sometimes got to my nerves, especially when I just wanted some peace and quiet during my off days. And with me wearing a headset for more than ninety percent of my time being awake, it was a welcome experience for me to just let absolute silence take me to places that constant music never took me...

Ah yes... the tiny flapping wings of bugs in the foliage... the bristling of leaves and grass fluttering against the wind... It really felt like I was one with nature...

That was, of course, if I ignored the sounds of light breathing coming from the back of my nape.

I was pretty sure that there was nothing behind me, so I could only assume that whatever, or rather, whoever was causing this was most likely Guidance herself. Her soft breaths felt like she was right behind me; as if she was lying down next to me... Like one of those ASMR videos that I certainly do not watch to help me sleep at night...

Awkward...

Yeah... I feel like a pervert somehow, knowing that I'd probably have a decent friendship with this girl if she didn't just leave me here to die. Yep, ignoring the breathing now.

Letting myself lie down on the short grass, the twinkling stars above me made for decent eye candy as I let the ambiance of nature soak in. Even the fact that I currently had guns with infinite ammo didn't stop me from relaxing and letting it all settle in. I was really in another world right now. Granted, it was actually a game world with a developer still actively participating in it, but it was still a foreign dimension where anything was theoretically possible.

And speaking of which...

"Let's see how this whole thing works..."

With the one person that knew about my situation here gone and asleep, I was left on my own to figure out the nuances of this world. If this was a game world, then surely there'd be some sort of system in place for me to check and navigate. Whether it be a simple inventory window or some kind of character sheet, if the tropes were to be correct, then I should be able to see my stats. And I literally just filled one out a few hours ago.

"Do I have to think for it? Or..."

Straining my brain for a few seconds, I imagined some sort of window popping up in front of me. Visualizing a popup or a floating chart full of stats and numbers, I closed my eyes for a few seconds as I started seeing it materialize in my mind's eye. I didn't know if this was just my imagination or if it was actually the real thing, but this was a decent start to figuring stuff out in the meantime, right?

Slowly, the numbers coalesced in my vision; the stat numbers from before seemingly materializing into an organized manner as they displayed my current stats. Unfortunately, I didn't really remember my real numbers so my vision fell apart on that. But if I opened my eyes right now, surely a stat screen will appear in thin air...

Or, at least I hoped it would work...

"Okay...."

Opening my eyes, a part of me expected nothing to happen. And sure enough...

"Yep," I sighed, popping my consonants with my lips in exasperation. "Nothing."

Why did I even think that would work? Oh right... Tropes are king in these kinds of scenarios. Still, that was just one method of calling up the metaphorical cheat sheet for any transmigration story. Not that I was expecting it to really make me stronger just because I put some numbers into it, but it was still a tangible way of showing that I somewhat improved.

Raising my arm to the sky, the next thing I had to try was some kind of magical swipe technique to make it show up. Not the most convenient of the numerous stat screen-summoning methods in the world of fiction, but it was still a decent idea, all things considered.

Gently swiping my hand down in front of me, the cool wind of the world around me was the only thing I felt as nothing happened. Then again, that was the most generic swipe I had ever done in my life. So maybe it was a different swiping technique?

Swiping up this time, nothing still appeared as I began to feel the strain of outstretching my hand towards the sky. I should really do this sitting down, huh...