[The player currently holds seven permanent talents: Childhood Sweetheart from Heaven (Gold), Unforgettable (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Grand Pooper Scooper (Purple), Martial Artist (Purple), Modest Assets (Blue), and Close Friend (Green)] [The player currently holds two items: Blessing of Ichinose Honami, Self of Ichinose Honami]
"Ahhhhh!"
Ryo stared at the words appearing line by line on the screen, grabbed a pillow, and rolled around on the bed several times.
"Finally, finally, I got a good ending."
It was only a life restart simulator, but somehow he'd managed to make it feel like a dating sim. With all kinds of events and branching paths, plus a huge number of endings, it seemed the development team had put quite a lot of care into it.
Ryo lay on the bed with his eyes closed. Compared with the first two runs, he'd felt a little more involved in the third. Still, all he'd done was choose to use the item "Temporary Talent Card" just before the final showdown. But the core gameplay of Life Restart Simulator was to simulate a life by combining talents, putting together a set of talents suited to achieving the final ending. If the player got too involved, it wouldn't be much different from an ordinary text adventure game.
Ryo pursed his lips. But midway through the story, both in the second run and in the latter half of the third, he really had felt the awkwardness of being an outsider. It was like being a reader simply watching the story unfold: he could clearly see the tragedy coming, yet could only watch helplessly as it happened.
He raised his phone in front of his eyes. Instead of immediately starting another simulation, he followed the clues to the game development studio's official website. What struck him as strange was that, even though this version of Life Restart Simulator had a remarkably polished story, he couldn't find any reviews of it online. Even the website for the studio called "Classroom of the Elite" seemed completely lifeless, as if no one was maintaining it.
He couldn't even reopen the download link he'd stumbled across by chance.
Ryo tried sending them an email:
"After trying Life Restart Simulator, a game from your studio, I think it's a simulator well worth playing. Perhaps there hasn't been much discussion so far because it hasn't been promoted enough, but I believe good work will always shine eventually. This really is a great game!"
Ryo didn't expect much when he sent the email. In the end, he'd only wanted to encourage the developers as an ordinary player. But to his surprise, just about a minute later, he received a reply from the "Classroom of the Elite" studio.
"Thank you for your interest in our game. Life Restart Simulator is currently in a small-scale beta-testing phase. Your email has shown us how enthusiastic you are about the game. Would you be willing to serve as a beta tester?"
Ryo looked at the email in surprise. He'd heard that some major games went through several rounds of closed and open beta testing before release, but those were generally the various virtual-reality games that had become popular in recent years. Did a purely text-based game that still relied on a phone really need beta testers?
"Please rest assured. This life simulator is currently only at the early stage of script development. The final version will also use Unreal Engine to build its world. If you're willing to serve as a beta tester, you'll have the opportunity to experience the game more fully in virtual reality."
Perhaps sensing his reservations, the "Classroom of the Elite" studio promptly sent a second email.
Ryo looked around his cramped basement room and replied with some regret:
"Sorry, I don't have any virtual-reality gaming equipment."
He was barely scraping by in society. Some people could play the latest virtual-reality blockbuster, Sword Art Online, on the most advanced virtual-reality equipment. Ryo, on the other hand, could only lie on his bed, using his phone to simulate a life through text and imagination.
"We've just checked the backend data and learned that you're currently the only player to have completed Chapter One. This proves that you and this game are meant to cross paths. If you're willing to serve as a beta tester, our studio will provide you with virtual-reality equipment free of charge so you can experience the game."
"Our studio believes that working with you would be a win-win."
It had to be said: the offer was certainly tempting. Without this opportunity, he might never have been able to experience any of this in his entire life.
"Okay, I agree."
The "Classroom of the Elite" studio was remarkably quick. The day after Ryo filled out his personal information, a package larger than he was arrived at the basement, which was about two meters underground. It took him a full two hours to assemble all the various components by following the included instructions. Then he pushed his desk farther inside, barely managing to fit the huge device in the room.
Although it was his first time playing a virtual-reality game, Ryo had already learned the process by heart from spending so much time online, so he wasn't too clumsy.
He put on the gaming wristband, then the headset, and connected to the virtual network. After selecting the only game in the menu, Life Restart Simulator: Classroom of the Elite, Ryo entered the game without hesitation.
In the haze of his consciousness, lines of white text appeared:
[Verifying identity... successful] [Verifying ID... successful] [Confirming iris... successful] [Life Restart Simulator] [Each time you simulate a life, five random talents will be drawn. Talent levels are divided into five grades: White, Green, Blue, Purple, and Gold. After each simulation, the player may choose one talent to make permanent and carry over to the next simulation.] [Please note: each chapter allows a maximum of five simulations. If all five simulations fail, the game is over.] [After successfully completing each chapter, the player will permanently obtain all talents held at the time of completion and may use them in the next chapter's simulation.] [Complete all chapters to receive a Mysterious Prize.] [Enjoy the game.]
One line after another appeared amid the brilliant starry sky.
According to the "Classroom of the Elite" studio, the game was still in development, and only its story CGs allowed players to immerse themselves directly in the experience. The everyday simulation information was still presented as text. But for Ryo, this was already far better than staring at words on his phone and filling in the rest with his imagination. He lightly touched the already-unlocked second chapter. Its white-bordered UI shattered into fragments, then reassembled:
[Chapter: Karuizawa Kei's Autumn Lie] [Please name your character] [The player chose the name Kitagawa Ryo] [Name confirmed] [The first simulation of Chapter One will now begin.] [Seven talents have been drawn for the player, as follows:] [Single-minded (Gold): You are wholeheartedly devoted to the heroine of this story. When I open my eyes, the moonlight and breeze are you, the flowers and trees are you; the vast seas and mountains are you too. When I close my eyes, every star in my dreams becomes you. (If you complete the game with this talent, your final score for this simulation increases by ten points.)]
"Oh, this one's good. My character already has so many permanent talents. If he isn't the kind of guy who plays the field, completing the objective should be pretty manageable."
Then, as if he'd thought of something, Ryo frowned.
"Wait, I don't think the second chapter's objective has been announced yet. The first chapter's objective was to change Ichinose Honami's past, so the second chapter's should be to change Karuizawa Kei's past, right?"
[Allure of the Masses (Purple): Greatly increases your personal charm (effective on both men and women)]
"...I honestly don't know whether this talent is better or worse than 'Tokyo Handsome Guy.' Too bad I don't have something like a Talent Refresh Card this time."
[Captain Tsubasa (Blue): Your soccer skills are exceptionally good, making you one of the best among your peers. (Take this! A bicycle kick!)]
"Another talent that's better than nothing. But I remember meeting Karuizawa Kei in Chapter One because of a friendly soccer match."
[Scion of a Prestigious Family (Blue): Your family is well-known in the local area. (Reborn as a Rich Brat 2)]
"That suddenly brings back all kinds of bad memories."
[Aloof (Green): You always act aloof in front of outsiders. (Only handsome guys get called aloof.)]
"This seems like an upgraded version of 'Taciturn,' and not much of an upgrade at that."
[Carnivorous Type (Green): In a romantic relationship, you long for more physical contact and even something more. (Better to take everything in a relationship than to have everything taken from you.)]
"Aloof plus carnivorous type. What kind of smoldering combination is that...?"
Ryo was already covering his forehead. Especially since he had no Talent Refresh Cards or upgrade cards this time, the only thing he could count on now was the item "Self of Ichinose Honami."
[Pseudo-Sister Complex (Green): You have a peculiar fixation on the role of a younger sister. (Your biological sister, yet you feel nothing.)]
"If a green talent doesn't cause trouble, that's a win in itself. Besides, there's no way Karuizawa Kei has a younger sister like Ichinose Honami does, right?"
[Talent selection complete. The item "Self of Ichinose Honami" has activated. Randomly drawing talents to upgrade...] [The talent Close Friend (Green) has been upgraded to Kindred Spirits (Blue)] [Kindred Spirits (Blue): You have a good friend with whom you can talk about anything (same sex)] [The talent Carnivorous Type (Green) has been upgraded to Carnivore (Blue)] [Carnivore (Blue): In a romantic relationship, you always long for more physical contact, and something more. (You're used to taking everything in a relationship.)] [The talent Scion of a Prestigious Family (Blue) has been upgraded to Heir of a Noble Clan (Purple)] [Heir of a Noble Clan (Purple): You're the sole heir of the Kitagawa Family, a local clan with a legacy spanning a hundred years. (Reborn as the Urban Tycoon)] [Player's talent selection complete] [Childhood Sweetheart from Heaven (Gold), Unforgettable (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Single-minded (Gold)] [Grand Pooper Scooper (Purple), Heir of a Noble Clan (Purple), Allure of the Masses (Purple), Martial Artist (Purple)] [Modest Assets (Blue), Carnivore (Blue), Kindred Spirits (Blue), Captain Tsubasa (Blue)] [Aloof (Green), Pseudo-Sister Complex (Green)] [Chapter Two objective: Find Karuizawa Kei's personality weakness and correct it, until she can live independently at Tokyo Koudo Ikusei High School] [Simulation begins]
Chapter Two: Story Preview: Return of an Old Friend (Part One)
[Story preview CG triggered: Return of an Old Friend] [Return of an Old Friend: The fantasy of love and of a boyfriend who would never return again was even more exhausting and hateful to the girl than the cruel reality.]
[Read this story preview CG? (It may help with your upcoming game.)]
Karuizawa Kei had always been proud to have an "all-purpose" childhood friend. She'd heard that children thought their parents were all-powerful when they were young, but to Karuizawa Kei, Kitagawa Ryo seemed even more capable than her own parents.
For example, her parents wouldn't fly into a rage and start a fight with the boys who bullied her just for her sake. Even when she mentioned at the dinner table that her classmates hated her... Back then, Karuizawa Kei didn't even know how to write or understand the word "bullying." She waved her chopsticks around as if trying to express something, but in the end, all she got in response was, "Finish your dinner first."
After dinner, Karuizawa Kei could finally speak plainly, all in one breath, about how her classmates teased her. They called her an attention-seeking pest. The girls wouldn't talk to her, and the boys made faces and stuck out their tongues when they passed by. She was almost at her breaking point.
"If it's only one or two people who dislike Kei, there's no need to worry. It's not as if everyone could like you."
Her father spoke as he looked at the newspaper.
"But it's not one or two people—it's a lot of people."
Karuizawa Kei hurried over and made a big circle with her arms, stamping her feet anxiously as if trying to show how serious it was.
"I apologized to them, but it didn't help."
Children were taught to ask their parents for help when they ran into something they couldn't handle. Yet when Karuizawa Kei had finally gathered the courage to tell them about it, they dodged the issue as if they'd written her a blank check.
"Did they hit you?"
Her father asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Um, no. But they deliberately mess up my pencil case and desk. When I bend down to pick up my pencils, they pretend to step on my hand by accident. A few of them will be chatting happily, but as soon as they see me coming, they deliberately stop talking. When I can't answer the teacher's questions in class, they laugh louder than anyone else. And when we're on cleaning duty, they give me the most work and then go off to play..."
Karuizawa Kei counted her misfortunes on her fingers. Seeing that she still had plenty more to say, her father nodded slightly before getting up to go to work.
"All right, I understand."
Karuizawa Kei tilted her head and pouted. She didn't know what her father understood. She hadn't even finished telling him everything.
She didn't understand what he meant. Did she have to be hit square in the face before he and her mother would stand up for her?
How strange, Karuizawa Kei thought.
Karuizawa Kei had always been a competitive and assertive girl. Before she left home and entered school, she'd thought everything would go the way she wanted. Everyone loved her, and she could do anything.
But after she started elementary school and grew older, that way of thinking began to clash with reality. Karuizawa Kei had nothing special about her. Her grades and athletic ability were merely average. Most of the time, she seemed like a child who couldn't do anything at all.
"It's strange. I thought Dad and Mom would be... angrier?"
Karuizawa Kei said this to Kitagawa Ryo in the sandbox at the park. She watched with little interest as he tried to build a castle—the word he'd used for it. In reality, it was just a pile of sand made of a large cuboid with a smaller cuboid on top and a cube above that.
"They're always saying they love me, that they like me, that I'm their precious daughter, but they don't even want to listen to me finish a whole sentence. And even when they do, they just talk about something unrelated. It's like when I tell them I like hamburger steak, they say I should eat more vegetables too."
Karuizawa Kei poked the sand with the twig in her hand and turned toward Kitagawa Ryo.
"Are your parents like that too, Ryo?"
"Hm?"
Kitagawa Ryo paused slightly at Karuizawa Kei's question.
"I don't know."
"I've never met them."
He scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"My grandpa's raised me all along. He says Dad and Mom can't come see me yet."
Karuizawa Kei had never heard anything like that before. She nodded, somewhat bewildered.
"Oh, I see."
And so they continued playing in the sandpit until the sun set. Then the grandfather Kitagawa Ryo had mentioned would come to take him home. He was a middle-aged man with an air of authority, his gaze sharp as a blade and his presence imposing.
Karuizawa Kei tossed the twig in her hand aside. An entire afternoon hadn't been enough for Kitagawa Ryo to build the castle he'd described. The winding sand wall—he said it was the castle's rampart—was trampled flat by a stray cat shortly after they left. But that didn't matter; they could build it again tomorrow. Kitagawa Ryo hadn't really intended to make a castle out of sand anyway. He didn't like such flimsy imitations, which fell over as soon as the wind blew.
Karuizawa Kei grew more and more troubled. She worked hard to change her personality, and now she could say "I'm sorry" to other people quite smoothly. Whenever she finished, Karuizawa Kei would look hopefully into their eyes, wishing the words had the magic of a fairy tale and could instantly erase every barrier between them.
But the magic of an apology eventually ran out. Only then did Karuizawa Kei realize that apologizing didn't do much. At first, the other person had treated "getting her to apologize" as an objective. Once that objective became easy to achieve, they grew bored with it.
All that mattered to them was making her feel humiliated. They didn't care about their motives or the consequences. They only wanted to look down on me, to put me beneath them—to make themselves feel superior to me and find comfort in that illusion.
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