Chapter 1
THE GAME MODE I was currently fixated on was solo PvE. This involved player versus AI-controlled monster-type enemies that exhibited crafty and sometimes aggravating behaviors. I was currently tackling the Sky Garden, in a stage where players moved by jumping between floating islands on the map. Powered suits enhanced the players’ physical abilities and protected them from annoying enemies that targeted players while they were in mid-jump.
“Phew,” I muttered. “I’m halfway there.” I had reached one of the islands midway and paused to rest against a large rock. I activated my left-hand gauntlet, which featured a touch-operated, semi-transparent screen monitor the size of a small piece of paper. On it, I accessed the Crystal Points I’d accumulated so far to replenish my equipment’s ammunition.
My current main weapon was the H&K MP5A4. It was a masterpiece built by the German company Heckler & Koch. The A4 was an advanced variant of the MP5 series that featured an added burst fire function, low recoil, high precision, and was easy to control.
Upon selecting four magazines of the 9 × 19mm Parabellum ammunition it used, particles of light appeared, converged before me, and transformed into a black supply box. I opened the box and extracted the magazines. The supply box once again turned into light particles and disappeared. I slid a magazine into the MP5A4 and stashed the remaining ones in my magazine belt.
Even though Virtual Reality Multiplayer Battlefield was a virtual reality game, basic prep and in-depth knowledge required for handling firearms—such as loading the first round into the chamber—were eliminated to minimize the fetishization of guns in the real world. Therefore, once the magazine was inserted into the weapon and the safety was disengaged, it was ready to fire.
Rising from behind the rock, I readied myself to jump to the next island.
“Okay, let’s go!” I shouted.
My powered suit provided me with enhanced leg strength, and it made me run faster than any ordinary person should. Just as I leaped up, two red dots appeared on the map in my goggles. There were enemies ahead.
I quickly adjusted my posture midair, and I turned my body towards the approaching foes. I swung my MP5A4 from over my back and into a hip-fire position. This made a crosshair appear on my goggles. I switched the gun’s safety to full-auto.
The attackers were the Sky Garden’s flying hunters: the Sky Eagles. These creatures could only perform aerial charges. If they hit you midair, you’d be knocked off course. During this freefall, you could miss your intended island and fall off the map to your death.
I pulled the trigger with one hand while aligning the crosshair with the enemy. While spraying bullets, I transitioned from a one-handed to a two-handed grip, moving from hip-fire to iron sights for greater accuracy. I shot down the first bird in midair.
I managed to land sideways on the targeted island, but another Sky Eagle had timed its attack for the moment I landed and charged me. Using momentum from my landing, I jumped backward to dodge the charge while shooting the second one down.
“Too easy!” I taunted as the Sky Eagle turned into light particles and disappeared. My taunt had become something of a catchphrase for me in VMB, but perhaps this time I spoke too soon.
“What?! Whoa!”
I hadn’t landed yet. I forgot to look behind me during the shoot-out, and I fell right off the map.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hmm... Ugh...”
My cheek felt cold, and something grass-like touched my hand. I opened my eyes slowly. I was lying face down on ground that was no longer in the Sky Garden. I was on a different map.
“Where am I?” I mumbled to myself. “Is this some kind of a hidden stage?”
Normally, when failing to land on one of Sky Garden’s islands, you fell off the map and died. Then you were transported to your player’s homebase. That’s not where I was. I was lying in a grassy field with a gentle breeze blowing across my face.
“Wait, is that wind? I’ve never heard about being transported to a place like this.”
Looking around at my surroundings, I didn’t see any of the Sky Garden islands. All I saw were clouds, grass, and flowers moving with the wind. That was strange, since VMB didn’t feature elements like wind. It was also strange that my cheek felt cold. That meant I could also feel temperatures.
“This isn’t VMB, is it? That can’t be...”
Confused that I was no longer in the game, I checked my body. The MP5A4 was still there—as were its three magazines in my belt, a sub-weapon, grenades, and a knife at my waist. The gauntlet on my left arm still contained the Tactical Support System and was fully functional. I launched the monitor, and the menu displayed as usual. However, when I tried to open any emails from the game admins, I got nothing but an error message.
The map displayed on my goggles seemed to be initialized, and it showed only the light dot that indicated my position. The Crystal Points I’d accumulated so far remained unchanged. The Shop for purchasing weapons, ammunition, and supplies seemed open, and the support weapon summoning feature was still selectable.
“I don’t get it. Why can’t I contact anyone? Is it because this is some kind of hidden stage? If it is, maybe I can find some good swag.”
In VMB’s PvE mode, stage clear rewards included Crystal Points, the occasional rare firearm, and equipment that could not be purchased in the Shop. Collecting these rare items was why I enjoyed this mode so much.
“I should explore some more. But which way should I go?”
Looking around, I didn’t see a landmark or any kind of destination on the map. The map included a compass, but looking around, I saw only a forest to the north, mountains to the east, and grasslands stretching across the west and south.
“Hmm, the west and south seem empty. Considering VMB’s map structure, mountain combat is unlikely, so maybe the northern forest is my best bet.”
I was stuck in an unfamiliar stage where it was unclear where enemies could appear. While the map displayed them as red dots, the unexplored areas of this world were masked by a fog of war. Their information could not be shown to me from here.
I swung the MP5A4 to my waist and set the safety to a three-round burst. I moved north at a light jog, slightly faster than a normal person’s pace, thanks to the powered suit.
I progressed through the grassland without encountering any enemies, but as I entered the forest, the vegetation grew taller and something completely unexpected entered my view. I started seeing living creatures.
“Insects?! What the...?”
Insects did not exist in the world of VMB. Though natural maps like these forests and grasslands existed, players or enemies were the only moving entities. There was no such thing as harmless NPCs or mobs.
“This can’t be VMB. Yet, why am I here still in this outfit? Where am I?”
Who was I asking? There was no answer, and my voice disappeared into the forest, carried off by the gusting wind. I gripped my MP5A4 tightly. The solid lump of steel only weighed about six and a half pounds, but it somehow felt much heavier. I was also aware of the sound sensor in my ear that I’d never felt before, and the goggle’s bright, neon orange display. I switched off the sound sensor and retracted the goggles. I tried to log out of the TSS, but there was no response.
Looking around with the naked eye, it was apparent that what I was sensing was real. This was not the world inside VMB or any other game. This was reality.
While still grappling with my situation, something flickered through my unfocused, wandering gaze.
“An enemy?!”
Perhaps because I was dressed as I was in VMB, I instinctively thought of going stealth as enemies appeared, and I quickly hid behind a nearby tree. My hands trembled as I activated the sound sensor and redeployed my goggles. I peeked from around the tree to look in the direction where something had just passed by.
“Is it a person? Maybe another player?”
I saw three humanoid figures about two hundred yards ahead. There was something strange about them. They were hairless and only wore loincloths. It was hard to tell through the goggles’ orange-tinted display, so I increased the transparency until the HUD and map were barely visible. I moved from tree to tree in a low crouch and trailed the suspicious trio.
Once I was one hundred yards away, I noticed their skin color was off. They weren’t flesh-colored, but green, with bald heads and large ears. The creatures were four feet tall and looked like children, except that all three carried wooden clubs.
“No way, are those...goblins?”
They certainly weren’t human. Enemies like that didn’t exist in VMB, but it was the only name that came to mind. It seemed to fit.
“Where have I fallen to? Can I get back?”
I was completely confused by this unknown reality I found myself in. I pondered my current situation while I continued my undercover tracking of the goblins.