บท 3: Create New!

Akio rose from his chair, powered down his computer, and stretched his back and arms. As he gazed into his father's eyes in the portrait on the wall, an unexplained sinking feeling and shaky legs overcame him. Was it fear or nervousness? Uncertain, he shifted his attention to the cube.

"This game is more than just a silly project my dad was working on. If you can play this while you sleep, does that mean 2 hours could equal a day or maybe half a day?" he questioned internally.

Akio had dedicated weeks to understanding the game, not for himself but for his father's sake. Now, he was certain that all the previously elusive information made sense. The leveling system's difficulty, the need for weeks of grinding to see minimal progress, and the revelation when he hacked his father's computer—no events planned, no dungeons created, just a plain world.

"That's why I hated the game… I couldn't believe him when he would come home from work bragging about it. But what has me more on edge is why he isn't listed as one of the lead developers? Or why he never mentioned anything about his past? Naturally I never spoke about the game to friends or anyone for that matter, in fear of emberrament if the game went south. A game with its own mind and capable of time travel… I guess, that would explain the hefty price."

The game's price was astronomical. To secure a hard copy, one would have to cough up the equivalent of three months' wages for an average salary worker. The game's massive success was fueled by hype, but without it, the exorbitant price alone would deter most buyers.

"Akio! Food's ready!" his mother shouted. "Don't worry; he already ate; I saw him scarf down his food earlier," his father mentioned, scrolling through the news, in his tablet, at the kitchen table.

"I already served him his plate… oh well, I guess he must be that excited then?"

"I'm hoping that's the case! You think he knows you're also one of the developers?"

"I don't think so; I mean, you saw the chat room picture Fujitora posted of the developers… I should've been there; I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it; you have the world's most valid excuse to be on vacation!"

His father got up, rubbing the belly of Akio's mother. Akio had siblings; one was a month away from being born, and the other two were far younger.

"You think he'll be mad if he ever finds out we orchestrated the chat room he's in?"

"Maybe, he has hacked my computer multiple times already. I hope he doesn't stumble upon it. Luckily, everything in there is intentionally rigged to trick him into thinking our game is utter garbage!" he said with a laugh.

"Poor Akio… oh, look at the time! 43 minutes left till the server goes live!" Akio's mother said while looking at her wrist watch.

Akio prepared himself by donning his most comfortable pajamas and socks. Although not planning an extended stay if the time difference was just a gimmick, he got comfortable just in case. After following some stretch workouts recommended in the manual, he checked the time. It was 18:57, with three more minutes until the official launch.

Suddenly, a soft knock on the door interrupted his preparations.

"Could it be Dad coming in here to tease me for actually trying the game out? No, this knock sounded soft and light," he thought. "Come in."

"Onii-San!" a little girl said, peeking her head inside the room.

"Kazuko?! Get out of my room."

"Why didn't you eat with us?" she said, tearing up. Kazuko, Akio's little 4-year-old sister, was always vying for his attention.

"I already ate… don't cry, please. Look, I'll play with you later, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you, Onii-San!"

"Alright, time to focus!" Akio shouted in his head, attempting to brace himself for something he felt compelled to do. He cracked his neck, promising it would be the last time he did some sort of stretch.

"Okay, time to dive."

Akio hopped on his bed, placed his head within the cube called the Hyper Dive Cube, and turned it on through a button on the outside. He ensured his head was comfortable and closed his eyes. The cube adjusted the comforter to an even more comfortable position than Akio had placed it. "Perhaps it adjusts further once measuring the weight of the head?" he thought.

"Hello and welcome to the Hyper Dive Cube," a voice said. The cube's opening closed shut, and Akio's head was completely enclosed. No light came in. A video began to play within the cube. Akio was surprised; he was sure he never saw any tech that could've displayed this video.

"Hello, right now, the HDC is sending signals to your brain to display this video! First, we will go over the terms of service…" a voice of a young girl said.

"Boo!" Voices in the background were heard. "Yes, yes, I know, boring, but this is important," she said while raising her index finger. She was a young girl with red hair and a freckled face, wearing a lavish red dress.

"First, the HDC is a very powerful and complex tech, however, it has been rigorously tested to meet all safety requirements. You are in no danger whatsoever. If you are ever disconnected, the HDC will wake you up naturally. If someone is trying to communicate with you from the outside, you will be displayed a text message in-game. There are several other concerns that we will go over, but the most important of all is this one—the HDC works by tapping into your dream state and making you conscious. 2 hours inside the HDC will be equivalent to 30 minutes IRL. That means that after 6 hours IRL, you would have successfully spent an entire 24 hours within the HDC. If you do not feel comfortable with this, please open the walls of the cube, and if you desire to return your HDC, you will be issued a refund. If not, we hope you enjoy this feature that we kept a secret!…hehe. Now let's go over…"

"That's amazing— I can't believe tech like this is possible. 30 minutes IRL is 2 hours in-game. There is no way I would have ever guessed that this feature would be allowed to be put in a video game. I'd imagine this to be something of a government secret… probably to be used to train soldiers or for war purposes."

"… so with that being said, are you ready? Ehem, excuse me? Hello…"

"Is she talking to me…" Akio muttered.

"Yes, you!"

"You can hear me!"

"Yes, I can. Were you even listening to the terms?"

"Ummm… yes."

"Okay, ahem," she said, clearing her throat even though she had no physical throat. "Are you ready to Dive?"

"Yes," Akio replied.

In that instant, as Akio replied, his mind blurred, and he closed his eyes to once more prepare himself mentally. His body seemed to be in a trance, and he could no longer move a single muscle. He felt as if he was being lifted into nothingness, like an out-of-body experience. He kept floating until he looked down and saw the earth spinning on its axis.

"Is this the boot-up sequence… there's no way that being in space looks like this," he said in awe as he turned his head, gazing at the stars and the rest of the Milky Way galaxy. And suddenly, blank. A large field of a white void enveloped Akio. A large logo appeared in front of him. The 3-dimensional logo read 'Welcome to Three Realms Online!' Then a voice said, 'Say Start, to load into your last save— or say Create New to begin Character Selection in a new save.'

"My dad has his save file still on here? Should I?…No, I need to experience the game as a complete beginner…" he thought.

"Create New!"