- Chapter 1 - Cold Start -

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When the young man opened his eyes, he was greeted by complete darkness. He attempted to flail his limbs mindlessly but to no avail, for they were long numbed by the freezing coldness.

The complete lack of gravity made him feel that he was floating in the void. He frantically twitched his body around, trying to broaden his field of view. Nothing. Not even a single speck of light was found.

A chill ran down the young man's spine, despite the surroundings being already bone-piercing cold.

— Am I already dead? Is this limbo? Am I waiting to be judged for my deeds and sins? Will I go to heaven or hell? Or is this a nightmare all along?

The young man struggled to move his arms and slapped his cheeks with both hands.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

The lingering pain forced the young man to accept that he was not dreaming. It was probably reality as he was breathing, just like any other living person.

— What had happened to me? Or more importantly, who am I?

The young man tried hard to recall the events that he had experienced before ending up in his current state.

It was just another usual weekday where he returned home from work. He took a shower, ate a quick meal, then headed out to the nearest game center…

It didn't take long for the young man to reach a conclusion.

He was playing a VRMMO named <Ereus's Prophecy Online>, abbreviated as <EPO>, on the <Full Dive> VR system. In that game, players pilot space-faring vehicles known as starships and seek adventure in a vast universe of stars and planets.

Even though he did not remember his name, the in-game nickname that he carefully picked and used for years was deeply ingrained inside his mind.

He was known as Ares Blight, a veteran player that had enjoyed every bit of the game since its public release.

Ares excelled in piloting small-sized starfighters that focused on speed and mobility rather than firepower. The starship he piloted was one of the high-end models that he worked relentlessly for over a year to unlock and upgrade to optimal specs.

But even a seasoned horse may stumble.

On that fateful day, Ares participated in a large-scale player-versus-player battle in a high conflict zone that had gone extremely south. Wingmates were shot down one by one, signifying the permanent loss of their prized possessions.

His starship's powerplant malfunctioned as a result of bullets puncturing holes on its hull. The energy shield certainly helped but didn't fare well when engaged by over ten other hostile players.

As all hope was lost, the disheartened pilot could only watch bitterly as a barrage of missiles raged towards his tattered ship.

— Next time, I'm going to repay the favor with a fucking battleship.

Ares cursed while the respawn prompt appeared before his eyes.

He knew that it was only a pointless rant as <EPO>'s largest playable ship was just a 220-meter-long corvette. Even if he had enough credits to purchase it, it was ultimately locked behind faction ranks.

Ares sighed and accepted that it was just another typical unlucky day.

When was the last time he had gotten himself blown up again? Well, it was just five days ago.

The replacement cost was low, so he could immediately buy the ship again. However, modifications for individual parts needed to be reapplied. That made him think that ships were disposable and indirectly fueled his recklessness.

— Maybe it's time for a change.

Just when Ares extended his finger to tap on the "respawn" option, he was assaulted by a sharp pain. It was like being turned inside out, limbs shredded into bits, and even showered in brine.

The young man's consciousness plunged into the void and remained in the void even after he woke up.

"Just… what had happened to me…"

— Did <Full Dive> malfunction? Am I trapped within a virtual space?

Ares knew that the MMORPG that came pre-installed with the <Full Dive> machine, <Arclight Fantasia>, had a reputation of being the most realistic VR game ever made. Their players often joke that "Someday, you won't be able to find the logout button."

<Arclight Fantasia> was dominant before the "revolution" where <Full Dive> VR games started to emerge like mushrooms after the rain. The <Full Dive> VR boom happened after the core library of <Arclight Fantasia> was supposedly leaked to the public, two years after its release. That granted developers the ability to create new games or port existing games to the <Full Dive> system.

<Ereus's Prophecy Online> was one of such games. Ares played the game since day one and fell in love with it. For four years, it supported him through the highs and lows of his life. He even splurged most of his salary on game center rental fees since his shitty job didn't pay enough for him to afford his own <Full Dive> machine.

Ares always had a pipe dream, where he fantasized about owning his own <Full Dive> machine and earning enough passive income to keep himself in-game indefinitely.

But reality showed no mercy.

"System! Menu! Logout! Status!"

Ares shouted random words, hoping to obtain reactions. No response. His voice dissipated in the air that felt thinner and thinner, as evident from the fact that it became hard to breathe in.

— Damn it. At this pace, I will really die and cease to exist.

The low amount of oxygen present in the atmosphere made Ares unable to think clearly. If death would release him "back to reality," then it would be the best outcome, but if not…

How much sand was left in his hourglass of life? Ares did not know. He closed his eyes and braced for his eventual demise.

*Bang!*

"Oww!"

Ares's head collided with something solid. The reverberating sound told him that it was something metallic.

"A wall? It's curved…"

Just when Ares was trying to figure out what the curved wall was, the faint blue light emitted from several ring-shaped objects caught his attention.

Using the counter-acting force from pushing the wall, Ares propelled himself towards the light source. When he came close to the objects, he realized what they were.

It resembled the cockpit of a starship, complete with a seat, dual control sticks, and foot pedals. There was a large rectangular panel that resembled a touch screen monitor, with no other buttons or displays.

The ring-shaped lights were emitted by three disc-like panels located on top of the dashboard. The arrangement of the components greatly resembled the universal cockpit design of starships in <EPO>.

Acting out of instinct, Ares repositioned himself and tried to grab hold of the control sticks. It was tough as the zero-gravity environment prevented him from sitting still on the belt-lacking seat.

"Alas, you have come."

"Huh?"

"Welcome aboard, Captain."

A deep female electronic voice resounded throughout the "room." It sounded glitchy like it was played from a scratched record.

Ares frantically looked around but could not find anyone. That made the young man uneasy as if the chamber was haunted.

"W-Who… Who are you?"

"Greetings, Captain. I am <Core 701>, the 'living core' of this starship, the <Synthesis>."

"Living core?"

"It would be easier to understand if you regard me as an AI."

"You're… an AI of a starship? Wait, so that means this place is… the bridge?"

Ares glanced at the surroundings again but did not find the ocean of stars and nebulas that he was expecting. Furthermore, he was trembling from the coldness and has started to gasp for breathable air.

Just before Ares could open his mouth to complain, the voice continued.

"Captain, I request your cooperation in listening to my final words. Before my termination as I am approaching deterioration beyond repair."

"Termination… that means…"

"Yes. I will cease to exist. Don't worry, my successor will come online as a replacement."

That reminded Ares of a space-faring FPS game that he had once played. In that game, AIs would eventually reach a state of rampancy and become violently unstable. Thus, it was required to be terminated after reaching a certain point in their lifespan.

Was that what <Core 701> meant? Ares wasn't sure if fictional settings could be applied to reality, but he understood that the AI he was conversing with was on her deathbed.

"My condolences. But why me? Where is this? How did I end up here?"

"I have entrusted the rest of the information to the successor. She will be expected to inherit all operational data of the ship. Unfortunately, the personality will be reset, while memories will not be fully passed down due to some technical difficulties."

<Core 701> did not answer the question, but instead, mentioned the successor.

Ares refrained from continuing to ask non-vital questions for fear of the AI shutting down before reciting all of her wills. He did not want to be stranded. If the environment would not improve, he would be dead within a few more minutes.

"That's… unfortunate."

"Next… please tell me your name, Captain."

As Ares did not remember his original name, he decided to go by his <EPO> in-game nickname.

"Ares. Ares Blight."

"Captain Ares, it is. I have registered your details in the system for the recognition of my successor."

"Does that mean I now own this ship?"

"Yes. Full ownership and access rights h-have… been… t-tran… sfer… red…"

The light-emitting rings turned red and flickered on and off like they were failing.

"Woah, are you okay?"

"My… time is… near… Take… good care… of… my successor… and… this ship… The future… of the world… depends on… you…"

— The future of the world? That sounds like a heavy burden.

Ares refuted in his mind but did not dare to voice out his thoughts.

"I will, I promise."

"Thank you… Cap… tain…"

The voice turned into static noise that played for a few seconds before it was cut off. The bridge turned pitch black as soon as all lights faded away.

"<Core 701>…"

Ares mourned for the "death" of the living core, even if they had just known each other for a few minutes.

Holding tight to the control sticks while floating in zero-gravity, Ares's consciousness faded out as his mildly asphyxiated body had reached its endurance limit.

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[[Arclight.]]

[[Living core disconnection detected. System context forced takeover initiated.]]

[[Life support override. Cabin environment anomaly detected. Rectifying.]]

Ares was awoken by a lifeless voice…no, two distinct voices overlapping each other. Both sound female and creepily artificial.

— Wait, aren't those… the voices of the system announcers of <Arclight Fantasia>? But why… I wasn't playing that game, was I?

Warmth enveloped the young man and thawed his nearly-frozen body. It was a miracle that he had survived the ordeal.

The monitor lit up and displayed some unintelligible text, much like the starship startup sequence in <EPO>. Among all the weird symbols, Ares could only recognize one line which was written in common letters.

It said, "ARCLIGHT Build 7.0.1".

[[Confirmed disconnection of the terminated living core. Scanning for succeeding living core.]]

[[Living core detected. Starting succession.]]

[[Interface rerouting completed. Activating new living core.]]

Ares couldn't understand what was going on, but it sounded like the system was executing the "replacing" process. Uninstalling a program and installing a newer version of it.

Well, probably. The process took quite some time.

[[Initialization completed. Transferring system context to the new living core.]]

"Woah!"

The young man landed on the seat with a loud thud as soon as gravity returned to the room.

The bridge became bright as the surroundings started to be illuminated.

Using the chance, Ares found that the ship's "canopy" was dome-shaped and composed of an array of hexagons that could offer a panoramic view. Besides, those hexagons were not see-through glass panes. Instead, they were monitors that were not activated but dimly backlit.

The ship looked like it was designed for a crew of six. One seat at the middle for the chief pilot, two operator seats slightly behind, and three spectator seats at the back.

To the veteran <EPO> player, that probably wasn't unusual, as most large-sized starships in-game were manned by a crew of three. That was similar to <Synthesis> minus the spectators that didn't seem to have any controls available for them.

As the system was still loading, Ares inspected the ship's peripherals. It felt terrifyingly similar to <EPO>'s cockpit layout, minus the flat physical monitor in front of the seat instead of holographic screens that could receive touch input.

Ares pinched his cheeks again and reconfirmed that it was not a dream. Nor was he stuck in the virtual world, because the game didn't simulate physical pains precisely, plus there was no personal HUD in his vision.

— What if… this was "another world" like depicted in popular works of fiction? But those were high fantasy, with sword and magic, where heroes fought against demon lords…

The reflection on the mostly black screen showed the face of a man with beige hair and navy-blue eyes. That was the <EPO> avatar of Ares Blight instead of his real-life appearance.

The discovery prompted Ares to conclude that he had somehow ended up in an "other world" similar to <EPO>. The game itself had turned into reality.

Finally, the loading bar displayed on the monitor was completed.

[[<Core 702>, online.]]

Ares was then greeted by the voice of a young girl.

"Welcome aboard, Captain."

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