—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I’m screwed.
That was the conclusion I came to after much deliberation.
I was utterly and completely screwed.
I replayed the events of the last few minutes in my head, leading me to this inevitable conclusion.
After the dive, when I first connected to “The Gods’ Sandbox,” I saw a sight typical of any fantasy JRPG: a crowd of users, myself included, huddled within a giant magic circle, an elderly NPC who looked like a king staring down at us with a solemn expression from a raised platform, surrounded by what appeared to be soldier NPCs.
Oh, and there was also an NPC who looked like a priest.
If it were a typical hero story, we would’ve received a quest from the king and set off on our adventure. That was how these things usually started.
Though I wasn’t sure if the Connecting series had ever used that kind of opening before.
The first thing that struck me as odd were the graphics.
N Corporation was known for their preference for a cartoon-rendered, anime-like aesthetic over realistic graphics.
But what I saw before me were visuals so real they were difficult to distinguish from reality.
Even the clothes worn by the dazed users around me were the same ones they had on back at the game show booth.
I was sure of it, especially since I even spotted a few cosplayers in the mix.
‘…Did they have a scanning feature?’
It wasn’t unheard of for games to offer a feature that scanned your real-life body to create your in-game avatar.
However, “The Gods’ Sandbox” was not that kind of game. At least, not as far as I knew.
And then came the moment when my “odd” feeling escalated to full-blown “I’m screwed” panic. It was the sense of touch.
Top-tier gamers, especially pro gamers, and most definitely genius gamers like myself, are incredibly sensitive to things like sensitivity settings.
In battles where victory and defeat were decided in milliseconds, adapting to the controls’ sensitivity was crucial.
The problem was, the sensitivity in this game was way off.
Unless my brilliant, national-treasure-level talent was malfunctioning due to old age and causing a sensory error, this sensitivity was a 1:1 match with reality.
100% sensitivity.
“…This wasn’t in the contract, was it?”
Contract or no contract, this was a disaster of epic proportions, enough to bankrupt a gaming company.
No matter how realistic a game aimed to be, no sane developer would set the sensitivity to 100%.
First, it was incredibly difficult to implement.
Programming a full-dive system required coding each and every sensory input individually.
It was a whole different ball game compared to traditional programming.
Unlike in the past, where the input devices were a mouse and keyboard, in a VR environment driven by full-dive technology, the brain was both the input and output device.
Every single sensation had to be individually programmed.
This inevitably resulted in a bulky program, and as the development time increased, so did the cost.
Even if you were going for realism, it was incredibly inefficient.
And even if you disregarded the first reason, the second reason was far more serious.
Even military simulators used to train special forces didn’t exceed 30% sensitivity.
Anything higher significantly increased the risk of shock-induced death.
No country in their right mind would allow the distribution of entertainment that carried the risk of death.
In Korea, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family would have a field day, and in Japan, the PTA would be foaming at the mouth, ready to shut it down.
No, any society with a lick of common sense would oppose this.
Maybe it would be possible in a third-world country where laws were meaningless.
But even then, those places probably couldn’t afford to even have capsules in the first place.
And with the target audience shrinking drastically if they slapped an 18+ rating on it, there was no reason for developers to do something this reckless, even if they had a thing for wacky concepts.
There was no reason… there shouldn’t be… and yet, here it was.
Right here, right now.
What a complete and utter shitshow.
Did they think I was a lab rat?
Fortunately, it seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Some people were too busy marveling at the incredibly realistic game world to notice the danger, their brains still innocent of the gravity of the situation. However, others were already testing their senses of touch, their expressions hardening with each passing second.
I shook my head and quietly muttered, “Menu.”
Thankfully, the menu UI appeared as it should.
I had only agreed to participate in this showcase to boost my profile in Japan and earn some extra cash.
I certainly hadn’t signed up for this kind of dangerous stunt.
I had a ton of money saved up that I hadn’t even had the chance to spend. If I died because of their negligence, who would they answer to?
Corporations were notorious for dodging responsibility and denying everything when things went south.
There was no guarantee that I’d receive proper compensation.
“Logout.”
And then I waited.
Soon, the dive would end, the connection between my brain and the game would be severed, and I would regain consciousness.
Any minute now.
Just a little longer…
…
……
……?
What the…
“Logout.”
I tried again, but there was no response.
Panicked, I scrolled through the menu.
But it wasn’t there.
The logout option was nowhere to be found in the unusually short menu list.
I wasn’t the only one who was starting to panic.
Glancing around, I saw that everyone else, their faces now reflecting the same dawning horror as mine, were frantically trying to log out, their previous amusement at the realistic graphics replaced with fear.
Perhaps sensing the shift in mood, even those who had been leisurely admiring the beautifully rendered palace gradually quieted down.
“Logout! Can anyone log out?”
A bespectacled man who looked to be the sharpest tool in the shed shouted, looking around desperately.
His words triggered a chorus of panicked cries as others tried to bring up their menus.
“Logout! Logout!”
“Logout! What the hell!”
“…What is this? What’s going on?”
The realization that they were trapped, unable to escape, washed over everyone simultaneously, their faces twisting in fear and confusion.
Even those who hadn’t attempted to log out yet were now staring around in alarm, unnerved by the frantic cries of those around them.
“Silence!”
Just as the chaos threatened to boil over, a commanding, booming voice echoed throughout the hall, instantly silencing the panicked cries.
“You are a rather noisy bunch.”
“Considering they have been summoned so abruptly, it’s only natural for the heroes to be confused.”
“Even so, are these heroes? Flustered and bewildered like newborn chicks. Can we truly call them heroes?”
“Everyone is inexperienced at first. Even a lion is weak when it’s a cub.”
“Hmm…”
“According to the legends, heroes possess unparalleled potential and a growth rate that surpasses ordinary beings. They may be weak now, but they will become a great power in the future.”
Ignoring the stunned and silent users, the NPC who seemed to be the king and another who looked like a high priest, or perhaps even a pope, continued their conversation as if we weren’t even there.
It made sense. It was just typical starting dialogue, assuming the heroes at the beginning would be weaklings.
However, I found their nonchalant banter incredibly irritating, especially given the current situation. Our inability to log out, coupled with the overly realistic sensory input, had me on edge. It wouldn’t have surprised me if a giant human hologram suddenly materialized and declared, “This is not a game.”
Honestly, I wanted to hurl insults at the condescending NPCs.
‘Calm down.’
The sensitivity was at max.
If this was the kind of game where insulting the king right off the bat led to a game over, the shock of dying might actually kill me in real life.
I couldn’t risk such a dangerous move just to vent my frustrations.
As if sensing my internal struggle, the NPC who appeared to be the high priest finally addressed us,
concluding his conversation with the king.
“Welcome to Elysium, heroes. We have summoned you according to the prophecy.”
“…Who are you?”
A man at the front of the group spoke up, unable to contain his curiosity.
While I thought it was a tad too casual of a response for someone talking to an NPC, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.
The high priest’s demeanor was anything but artificial; he spoke with the presence of a real person.
The atmosphere was so intense that it felt like we were watching a veteran actor pouring their heart and soul into their performance.
The high priest chuckled softly and introduced himself.
“I am but a humble servant who manages the Pantheon of the great gods who established the laws of this world.”
“Uh… so, you’re a big shot?”
A girl with a ditzy voice asked.
Was that what they called a gyaru these days?
From her appearance to her manner of speech, she didn’t exactly scream intelligence.
“I am Gilmore Braeburn, who humbly serves as the Pope of the Pantheon, Deus Idea.”
His words triggered another wave of murmurs among the users.
“Elysium? Deus Idea?”
“Was there ever a Pantheon in the Link series?”
“There weren’t even enough gods in the game to justify a Pantheon.”
“Three Golden Goddesses, the God of Darkness, the Goddess of Time, and a few other minor deities… that was about it, right?”
“What’s a Pantheon?”
“What is Elysium anyway? Is it a hidden location or something?”
“Wait, so we’re not in Hyrule?”
“There’s no Princess Zelda either, and the elf… well, I think I see one…”
Honestly, I’d never delved that deep into the Link series, so I couldn’t follow their conversation at all.
They were throwing around abbreviations I didn’t understand, comparing the current situation and settings to… something. I had no clue what they were talking about.
As a Korean gamer who typically skipped through storylines, this conversation was beyond my comprehension.
Was this how “real” fans talked?
Amidst the confusion, someone voiced the question that had been lingering in my mind.
“Has there ever been a Link game where heroes were summoned instead of Link?”
“…Hmm.”
Silence descended upon the group.
Not knowing anything myself, I kept my mouth shut.
“…But this game is an open world, sandbox-style game with multiple players, right? It’d be weird to have a specific protagonist. So maybe they went with the ‘summoned to another world’ setting for convenience.”
“Hmm… that makes sense.”
What made sense? I had no idea what they were talking about, but they seemed to have reached an understanding amongst themselves.
What the hell? Why were they discussing amongst themselves and then coming to their own conclusions?
Fill me in, guys.
Just then, I noticed a strange guy in the crowd.
He was muttering to himself under his breath, his words sounding like some kind of magical incantation.
“Different graphics from the Connecting series, real-life sensitivity, avatars identical to our appearances before entering the capsule, summoning circle, different country names, worldview, a king, a pope… mumble, mumble…”
His muttering grew faster and faster, his words becoming increasingly incomprehensible.
“This is… this is…”
…Was this guy crazy?
Everything about him, from his imposing physique to his extraordinary aura, screamed “hardcore fan.”
I was curious about his mutterings, but as I listened, I felt like I was staring into the abyss and decided to step back before it consumed me.
Suddenly, the man contorted his body with surprising agility, despite his size. Bending backward at an unnatural angle like a character from the King of Fighters series, he shouted,
“It’s an Isekai, babyyy!!!!!!”
…What the hell was an Isekai, you weirdo?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I am just imagining Dio’s pose when he says wrrry!! Hahaha,
Huh, I thought maybe I was just mistaking things during the previous chapters, but it really was meant to be Legend of Zelda, huh? Weird choice for a multiplayer isekai.