Although it was early morning, the sky was dim, blanketed by dark clouds. The oppressive air was almost suffocating.
"Why?"
Call Me Aku stood outside a wooden house, muttering amid the nauseating stench of decay. He seemed to be asking himself, or perhaps someone else.
"Why would they do this?"
It was the second day since the main force of players had accepted Chris's quest and left Bich Town.
Aku was one of those players. He had not joined the Extreme Warriors, instead signing up with another, more loosely organized player group... Mountain Tiger.
Honestly, Aku was a laid-back player. He had stumbled into this game by chance while aimlessly surfing the internet, happening upon its official website and watching the promotional video.
When he saw that the game featured executions by firing squad, Aku had not thought much of it. He had clicked to preregister, and when closed-beta slots happened to become available, he casually clicked the application button.
And just like that, Aku had secured one of the slots.
Aku had never played any game released by Hundred House Game Studio before. When he first entered the game, he marveled at its realism but gave it little further thought.
In the technologically advanced twenty-fifth century, what kind of game didn't exist?
The major game companies had long since developed plenty of fully immersive blockbusters indistinguishable from reality. Aku was not surprised by the game's realism, only amazed that a small company like Hundred House Game Studio dared to invest so heavily.
Beyond that?
Aku had felt little else. It was just a game, a way to pass the time.
Until today, on the road from Bich Town to Bolas Fortress within the Kingdom of Bagnia, after they passed through a narrow valley winding between a sprawling mountain range.