“Hm? Where am I?”

I wake up in a luxurious room.

The bed I’m lying on has its own canopy, and the chandelier above is golden.

I’m still half asleep, so it’s a little hard to think.

But when the sleepiness finally goes away, I realize one thing...

“Wait. This room. Isn’t it the room I designed for my character in Realm of Fantasies?”

It’s a globally popular MMORPG that supports Full Dive VR.

Normally, I’d also play it in VR to immerse in the world.

But I remember playing it on a portable handheld console earlier.

That’s right. I was walking home from the station when it started raining.

I had to run to a nearby temple to take shelter.

The rain wasn’t letting up at all, so I took out the console to play RoF.

I’d connected the save data between the two platforms, so it was possible to play like that.

I was just going through my storage and arranging all the stuff.

And then, I guess I fell asleep while waiting for something to load.

After that, I woke up here, in the player housing space that I’d purchased.

I stand up and go to the mirror.

Hmm.

Everything looks fine. I’m not missing any limbs.

More importantly, I look exactly like the avatar I’d created.

A black-haired man with a tall and muscular build.

I spent a lot of time on customizing the face to make it look good.

I call it “good,” but others may think it’s a bit ordinary.

Anyways, if my body has become like this, then I guess it’s okay.

Better than turning into some ugly monster, right?

Now, let’s see if this is just a dream or not.

I bite my forearm and feel intense pain.

Afterward, ther are even realistic bite marks that remain on my skin.

This is definitely not a game.

No publisher is allowed to crank the realistic pain parameter up this high.

That’s illegal and could lead to the devs getting arrested.

Well, if it really isn’t a game, then did I get thrown into the game world?

Does it have something to do with the temple that I fell asleep in?

All of the answers I wish to get are probably back on Earth now.

I guess there’s no helping it. Freaking out now won’t help me deal with it better.

I’ve read enough novels and manga to remain calm in a situation like this.

Shall I do some basic tests to see if this is still a game or not?

There are three things that can clear my doubt.

One, in the game, it’s not possible to activate skills and magic indoors, ever.

Two, there is no sense of smell in the game; it’s just not that realistic yet.

Three, inappropriate behaviors will automatically be punished.

If you do something weird or sexual to an NPC, a super strong GM will show up and destroy you.

Let’s start with the first one.

When I have the intent to cast a spell, a certain feeling rises within me.

I try to focus on it and notice that it’s branching out to many different directions.

So, basically, it’s like a main menu that’s hidden inside the player’s mind.

If I focus on one of the branches, it leads me to the knowledge of a spell.

Once I select that specific spell, the magic formula forms in my head.

From there, I can freely adjust all the variables, like range, strength, etc..

It’s a lot more complex than when it was just a video game, but it’s amazing.

I try to lower the strength to minimum and execute the spell.

With almost no time lag at all, a small fireball takes form and floats above my palm.

I’m still inside a player housing space, and yet, it’s possible to cast a spell.

Let’s move on to the second test.

This one’s easy. I simply go to the bathroom and open a bottle of shampoo.

Hm, it smells nice, but a little faint.

Let’s try a higher quality bottle.

These are all decoration items in the game, but if this is reality, then it’ll become essential.

I open the cap of a shampoo bottle of a higher tier.

As expected, the smell is vivid. I’m definitely not dreaming this up.

Now, the last test will determine whether I’m still bound by game’s rules or not.

If there’s a system in place to make sure that it’s just a “realistic” game, then this might be dangerous for me. But I’m never against pushing my limit. I want to know if the game has really become reality.

I try to call up the control console, but get the weird feeling from earlier.

Once again, when I focus on it, I can “feel” the different “menus” to select.

When I focus on the “Characters” menu, a large amount of information appears in my head.

I see, so all the characters are still the same.

Hm? Damn, even my smurf accounts are in here? How the hell?

Not only my support characters and pets, even my alt’s are all included.

I have two support NPC’s, way fewer than other end-game players.

However, they’re individually strong.

If they combine their strength and fight me, I might lose.

I put a lot of time and effort into grinding their levels and equipment.

I wanted to create a small raid team that can clear any dungeon at any difficulty.

For a while, my main account became a little famous thanks to that.

These two support NPC’s are my pride.

I issue a command to each NPC through the mind console.

Now, will this work...?

------Knok knok.

It seems like the commands have gone through without problem.

“Come in.”

The door opens, and two beauties step in.

One of them has straight, black hair that reaches the middle of her neck.

The other one has wavy, blond hair that reaches her back.

The black-haired girl wears a cute variation of the maid outfit with a short skirt.

As for the blond girl, she dons a formal, fantasy variation of office wear.

One’s a faithful maid, and one’s a trustworthy secretary.

“Good morning, Chief. What may we do for you?”

They both respectfully bow toward me, but only the blond girl is talking.

It seems like the settings I put in their flavor texts are still in effect.

Although they hold equal positions in my guild, the maid will act like a loyal servant.

That’s why she stands one step behind the secretary who’s, theoretically, closer to me.

“Right. I sensed a strange phenomenon, so I just wanted to make sure you two were okay.”

“As expected of you, Chief. I also felt that.”

Eh? You did? I just made that up, though.

“I see. So, are you not feeling well?”

“No, I’m not feeling ill. If anything, it seems like my mind has become clearer.”

So she’s gotten more aware of herself and the world.

She’s definitely not an NPC anymore.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to answer my questions.

NPC’s aren’t supposed to have the intelligence to think outside of their settings.

“Good. How about you, Kyoka?”

“I feel the same as Emily, Danna.”

Ah, that’s right. I set her up as a Japanese maid.

Hearing her actually address me with the title “Danna” is a hard to describe feeling.

“Hmm. So it’s some sort of a mental effect.”

I play dumb, since it doesn’t seem like they know anything about “the game.”

“I think so as well.”

Kyoka also nods to what Emily says.

“In that case, we should be safe than sorry. Mind if I test your loyalty and ability to think?”

“Not at all. Please, by all means. We also wish to ascertain our mental conditions.”

“I agree with Emily.”

They bow and agree just like that; no hesitation at all.

Their demeanor is so professional that I almost feel bad for exploiting them.

But I also have something to ascertain myself, so I won’t get too hung up on that.