Prologue (1/2)

—Live another life in an alternate universe.

Phase II of Project Second Life is live!

Now accepting new partic.i.p.ants, but hurry—offer ends soon!

“Whaddya think?”

The characters and background art were so realistic, they almost had me fooled.

This feature took up seven pages in this gaming magazine, so it’s gotta be quite popular.

“I don’t know what to say…”

Two girls—actually, my older and younger sister—showed up out of nowhere with grins on their faces. They stuck this video game magazine in my face and hounded me over the article.

Honestly, I have no clue as to what they’re trying to do.

Well, I’d be lying if I said I had no interest in games. But the write-up seems to be about an MMORPG. I’m more of a fan of games like Harvest M○○n and Animal Cr○ssing. I like that comfy, casual pace.

“Ugh, you’re suuuch a b.u.mmer!”

“I know, right?!”

“…”

What’s with them? They’re so hyper.

Even if it’s me saying, I think we get along well.

We game together since both of my sisters are very into it.

Well, it’s probably because of my influence on them, considering that I’m the only guy of us three.

“So? So? Whaddya think?” my younger sister asks me in a cutesy voice.

Her excitement is almost annoying, but since she’s my sister, I hold my tongue and continue reading the magazine pushed up against my face.

Dimension Wave

Looks like it’s an online multiplayer.

Skimming through the pages, it looks like players get to work together with allies to fight off enemies. All their weapons, magic, and monsters are pretty typical too.

Oh, you can also go fis.h.i.+ng.

I like stuff like that. It’s nice and relaxing.

There are various races to choose from too.

Oh? The description seems kinda odd.

What’s this?

—Continuing with the well-acclaimed playstyle of the first phase, Phase II of the game will also not allow players to log out until the session has been completed. This further encourages players to fully experience a second life in the game. However, in-game time differs from real-life time.

Though each session will require years of in-game time to be completed, it will translate to 24 hours of real-life time. This means that even players who are in full-time employment will be able to enjoy all of the content. We are now accepting new applicants, so don’t hesitate to sign up! Please visit the address below for details.

So it says.

Oh, that’s right. I remember now. It was about a year ago when they caused a big stir.

It was the guy who planned to create a whole “second life” thing in a VRMMO world.

And as it says in the magazine, months and years in the game will only be just a few hours in the real world.

The game targets young professional. For the sake of giving them the chance to live a second life, players also can’t simply logout until the game is done.

Content is released monthly to pretty high praise, save for a vocal minority. Or so I’ve read on a gaming news website.

Even my buddies were raving about it after trying it out. Is it really that good though?

The problem is that people’s demeanors change after playing. I mean, if you spend seemingly years in the game, it’s bound to affect your personality.

There’s even this disgraceful b.a.s.t.a.r.d who not only got a girlfriend in the game but is still going out with her IRL.

f.u.c.kin’ normies!

… I should mention that cost of entry is rather high.

Not only do you need special equipment, but the game itself costs a lot. After all, the developers and retailers need to make money. In short, it’s not spare change for a student at the very least.

“So? How are you going to pay for it?”

Honestly, even if you begged Mom and Dad for it, they’ll tell you off…

“Heh heh!”

My older sister remains reasonably excited and brings out an envelope.

The Second Life Project is written as the sender’s address.

“No, you didn’t…”

“I sure did! Here’s the acceptance letter.”

“How did you get this? Who did you have to—”

“Remember that tournament I won a while ago? This was the prize!”

She spoiled the answer but also my joke.

The license was a prize for winning a tournament for this fighting game, which was made by another company of the same conglomerate. I’ve read that they’re making a lot of money lately.

My sister definitely signed up the tournament just so she could get her hands on the license.

It’s almost weird being related with these girls.

“Three people can sign up with one of these licenses, ya know!”

Here is my older sister who’s grinning from ear to ear and my younger sister who’s almost physically buzzing with excitement.

“Three people? That’s an odd number, eh?”

Isn’t it normally two or four?

I’ve heard stories of couples who played together and came out with a stronger bond than ever.

But I’ve heard that the game made things worse for some people too.

In any case, it looks like I’m invited too.

… wait, hold on.

“Hey, why don’t we put these up on an aucti—boof!”

Before I could finish my sentence, my right cheek encountered my younger sister’s fist.

“No way, you dummy!”

“No, hear me out. Selling just one of these would give us enough money for a family vaca—boof!”

This time, it was left cheek, older sister.

“I believe I can leave the whole taking care of Mom and Dad thing until after I become a productive member of society.”

They sure are loyal to their desires.

Well, it’s not the license is mine anyway, so I don’t really have the right to tell her what do with it.

“So, who’s player three?”

“Huh?” they simultaneously interjected.

“Hmm?”

The two girls stare at me as if I were speaking alien.

“Don’t you want to play too?”

“Uhh, not really?”

It does sound interesting, but I’m iffy about VR games.

“And plus, I get kinda woozy from VR setups.”

VR machines and these fully-immersive online games have been sweeping through the gaming industry.

Just before, the sci-fi subgenre of cyberpunk was very popular.

Fully-immersive online games made a big splash when they first came out as it was almost as if cyberpunk has become reality. A large portion of gamers were very positive about it too.

Firstly—and I think a lot of j.a.panese gamers can sympathize—is that a lot of these physically-stimulating virtual reality games rub people the wrong way.

For example, like how retro-styled games with pixel art are still really popular, people are used to gaming through a big TV screen. It’s hard to transition away from that concept.

Even though I was born into a world where beautiful 3D games were the norm, I’m sure there were people who rejected the transition from pixel art to low-poly graphics.

Well, if that’s the case, I shouldn’t be opposed to these fully-immersive games.