The next day at work, I sent a message to my colleague.
"Hey. This second character is fun, but it’s a total grind."
『Ugh. Over here, it’s not even fun. It’s just pure, unadulterated suffering.』
"Are you serious?"
Even if in-game communication was prohibited, being able to reach out in the real world was a massive advantage.
『I want to see Alto-chan again...』
"I want to see Tria-chan too. And I really miss Penpen’s cooking."
『That! Exactly that! You hit the nail on the head!!』
She sent a series of stamps showing someone slamming their fists onto a desk.
『Over here, I’m stuck in a cave eating something called "Defilement." It’s basically just mud. And it tastes like absolute garbage...』
"Wait, Defilement? Can’t you just use Auto Mode to have her eat it for you?"
『If I do that, there’s some kind of bug where only the foul taste gets transmitted through the sensory system... It’s freaking brutal.』
"Oof."
What was that, some kind of unintended side effect of the VR sensory system?
『There’s no other food, and if I don't eat, I’ll die. So I’ve been exercising and training to keep the line between my HP drain and digestion at the absolute limit. Yesterday, I finally finished right when my Vitality started to consistently increase. I’m just stuck in this cave with no visual changes at all. It’s a nightmare.』
"That sounds like an unreasonable amount of penance for a game."
『I lost all sense of time. Before I knew it, a whole week had passed in there...』
"...Wait, what?"
『I couldn’t logout until I either died or a week passed...』
"Well, hey there, colleague. Glad to see you again after one whole day."
『Right? When I looked at the actual date, I had to double-check it five times... Ugh, I don't want to go back...』
Time really was warped in this game.
『Anyway, how’s it going on your end? You said it was fun, right?』
"It’s more of a monster action game. My Slime uses Predation to grow bigger, then hunts more things to eat, that kind of thing."
『What?! I’m so jealous! That sounds way more fun! Swap with me, damn it!』
Well, aside from the fact that the things I ate tasted like sand, rocks, or dust, it actually was fun. I felt a little bad for her.
『So while I’m over here suffering through a training montage, you’re off having a grand old time with a Slime-girl?』
"Actually, now that you mention it, my second character hasn't spoken a single word yet."
『Oh? My second one, Nika-chan, talks quite a bit. Though it’s mostly just complaining.』
"Must be nice. My Miti-chan seemed like her ego was on the verge of vanishing when the scenario started... I’ll have to work on developing that side of her."
If anything, I wanted to raise her to be a cheerful girl. A bright, energetic Slime-chan!
"Well, I’ll turn her into a humanoid eventually. The Slime action is a blast, though. I’m in a state-run facility conducting internationally illegal research, playing the part of a runaway monster prowling through the shadows. That’s me—or rather, Miti-chan."
『Ooh! That sounds like the kind of route where whether or not you eat the captive test subjects changes the ending!』
"Ha, you’re right. It wouldn't be strange if there were other test subjects besides Miti-chan."
After all, the person whose room I had ransacked was just a single employee of the research institute. It was highly likely there were other researchers and labs conducting different experiments. And in one of those labs, a captive heroine might be waiting. It was a classic setup.
『Ooh. Is this the route where you go 'nom nom' on the heroine?』
"I’m obviously not going to do that. I can’t save and load, so I’m aiming for a Heroine Survival Best Ending. Assuming one even exists."
『Good luck... Ugh, as soon as I get home, I have to go back to eating that disgusting mud and doing strength training. I have to clear this so I can see Alto-chan and Penpen again...』
"Why not use your SP to pick up a resistance skill or something?"
『...There’s something called Bitterness Resistance, but I feel like if I use SP to get it, I’ve already lost.』
Now that I thought about it, she was exactly the type of hardcore gamer who would dive headfirst into suffering for the sake of the challenge. This "Kite a Lise" was a mysterious game she had tracked down with that exact mindset, after all.
『It feels like my brain is being scraped with sandpaper, but it’s not unbearable.』
"Isn't that just your personal opinion, though? The girl on your end shares her sense of taste with you. No wonder she’s crying about it."
『Well, she’ll get used to it eventually. If we don’t eat, we die, right? Honestly, I’m pretty much used to it now.』
"Your real-world pain tolerance is insane."
As expected of someone in sales, her resolve was on a completely different level.
『Anyway, have you checked the Wiki?』
"Actually, I haven't looked at it for the last few days. Was there any interesting info?"
『Someone tried to compile a world map, but apparently the information doesn't line up at all. Like, a town where one player is located doesn't even exist when other players try to look for it.』
"Maybe they’re in different eras?"
『That’s possible. I’m just glad we were able to meet up properly.』
Come to think of it, for a social game, we never ran into other players. The game felt far too deserted. I had wondered if it was even profitable, but maybe the servers were just completely separated. Surely they didn't have a single server for every small group of players, right? If that were the case, the operating costs would be a disaster.
Then again, considering that VR function, it wouldn't be surprising if the game transcended standard logic like profitability.
"Oh, speaking of maps. I actually found one in the documents at the research institute."
『For real?! Right, a local map. I didn't think about using in-game sources like that!』
"According to that, my second character is currently in a place called the Republic of Majark."
『Huh... Is this the first time an actual country name has appeared?』
"Maybe. I’ll share the map data with you once we meet up."
We had town names, but I didn't even know what countries Tsudon or Wantos were in. Once I finished the second character scenario, it might be worth investigating.
"Was there anything else?"
『Oh, also, apparently there are Spirit-possessed who aren't players.』
"Wait, really?"
『Assuming the person wasn't lying. It was a comment from someone playing a racing game.』
"A racing game, huh? There was an option like that in the second character selection."
『Apparently, all the horse beastmen entering the races have halos floating over their heads. There’s an uncountable number of them—at least thirty, maybe more.』
No way.
Wait, an uncountable number of Spirit-possessed gathered in one place? Over thirty of them?
"Is it possible that a massive number of Spirit-possessed are gathered on that server, and our area is just a deserted server...?"
『It’s possible. Since we’re the day-one players, maybe we’re getting some kind of special treatment.』
"I’d be happy if it’s a perk, but as a game, I wonder about the design. Wasn’t this supposed to be a social game?"
『What even is "social" then... right?』
Well, if we could play in that VR Mode, maybe everything else didn't really matter.
God, I wanted to eat some real meat. I was sick of tasting dust. Once I got home, I needed to rush through the second character scenario so we could regroup.
『When I head home today, I’d better leave a memo of my work tasks along with my daily report.』
"You sound like you’re prepping for a long vacation, lol."
『The "me" that shows up tomorrow will probably be the "me" from a week in the future...!』
It sounded like the title of a movie. Rather poetic, in a way.