5.Worldgate Offline

Part 1
(Yanagi’s PoV)
“You alright…?”
“It’s fine… I’m outside now…”
I answered languidly to the voice behind me.
The water-soaked handkerchief covering my eyes felt cool and
comforting, and the pit in my stomach that had been churning earlier
had somehow subsided, apparently no longer worried about wreaking
havoc in the crowded station.
Well, I got sick while I was riding the crowded train to travel from the
countryside where I lived to the city. To be more exact, I didn’t get sick
because of traveling by train. I got sick because of the crowd inside it.
“You’re never like this in the game.”
Reiji muttered something while pushing the wheelchair I was sitting in.
As for the reason I had to use a wheelchair, I couldn’t move as much as
I’d like from my waist down because of a past injury that had damaged
important nerves.
I wasn’t completely immobile, however. I could stand for short periods
of time if I could hold on, and with a cane I could walk short distances
around the house, but for the most part, I used a wheelchair.
“You see, even though this game felt much more realistic than anything
that came before, I still think people are aware that their characters are
not flesh and blood.”
No matter how beautiful the graphics of “Worldgate Online” might be,
it was impossible to simulate all real-life events.
For example, even a single cloud, for example, could only be made to
resemble a real cloud by randomly connecting several prepared
patterns together, and there was no way that every grain of sand on
the ground or every leaf on a tree could be generated individually.
The same was true for the characters. They could be touched, and if
someone touched their skin, they could feel the softness and body
heat, but the texture of the tissue under the skin was reproduced only
by large bones at best, and the fact that their blood vessels and the like
couldn’t be seen left them feeling more or less like dolls.
Thanks to this, I didn’t fear people as much in “Worldgate Online”
because I didn’t perceive them as real “humans”. Even though the
avatar of “Iris” attracted people and their eyes were focused on me, I
could maintain my performance to the extent that I was able to
maintain it without breaking down, aside from my inner thoughts.
More than anything else, the sensation of pain in “Worldgate Online”
was much duller than real life, and even if I was cut, I would only feel
numb at most. Even if the same thing from before happened to me, my
mind would still eventually be at ease.
…I feared “living” humans.
I was the victim of a robbery and murder in the past, which resulted in
the loss of my parents and the freedom of my legs.
The unreserved media coverage that continued during the subsequent
hospitalization was so stressful that my grandfather had to step in and
moved us to the countryside where he lived.
Because of this, with the exception of Ayame, Reiji, and a few other
acquaintances I trusted, I couldn’t get rid of the thought that the next
moment other people would pull out their blades and attack me.
I could still tolerate it if there were few people, but not in places where
people gather like schools or train stations. Instead of time resolving
the problem, it gradually worsened, to the point that I finally dropped
out of high school.
However, I thought I was gradually getting used to it as I interacted
with people on “Worldgate Online”. In the past, I would have likely
panicked even if there were two people nearby, but now I only felt a
little sick. That’s why…
“Don’t look so gloomy. I’m getting better, and I’m sure that one day, in
the not-too-distant future, I’ll be fine, I hope.”
I reached out to the head of Ayame, who was looking down next to me,
and tapped it lightly.
I was stabbed when I was protecting Ayame who fell down while
running away from a robber, so she blamed herself for my own injuries.
There’s no need for her to beat herself up like that. My sister, who was
only 5 years old at the time, deserved to be protected.
She had grown up to become a beautiful woman, and I felt sorry for her
to be tied up in my care forever.
Though, I wouldn’t mind if Ayame and Reiji ended up together.
While I was thinking in a daze, the traffic light in front of me started
flashing as we approached, and I was slightly floored by the wheelchair
that suddenly stopped.
“Oops, my bad. Should I have kept going instead?”
As I wriggled back into my seated position, a concerned voice called out
to me.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m more afraid of not making it across.”
The speed of the cars on the main street showed no restraint, and we
probably would have had to stop around the median. Therefore, Reiji’s
judgment was not wrong.
Again I waited for the traffic lights to change, I saw the rear wheels of a
large truck trying to make a left turn in a narrow space in front of me…
Hey, wasn’t this too close?
“Watch out!”
“Wah?!”
Reiji, who was standing behind me, lifted the wheelchair I was sitting in
and moved it to the side. Right afterward, the big rear wheel of the
truck crossed the spot where I was just before.
My face started to turn pale at the life-threatening event that just
happened, but more than that, I was concerned about…
“Onii-chan?!”
Ayame rushed over and checked my body for any injuries.
“I think I’m in one piece. Reiji saved me just in time. And…”
“Goddammit! Don’t you see there’s a wheelchair over here?! What the
hell was that drifting?!”
Reiji, who had just saved my life, couldn’t help but swear at the truck
that just left. Didn’t he realize what he had done earlier…?
“Reiji-san, is your arm alright?”
When Reiji turned his attention back to us, he looked quizzical at
Ayame’s question.
“Hmm? What are you talking about… Ah!”
He finally realized what he had just done. On such a spur of the
moment, no matter how well trained Reiji was and no matter how
scrawny I am, I couldn’t believe that he could lift a wheelchair with one
adult male in it as if it were a toy.
“Huh? Why? It totally didn’t feel heavy…”
“I-Is this the so-called adrenaline rush, ahaha…”
Like the matter of him beating his grandfather from yesterday, I still
wondered if something was going on.
I felt like my doubts that I once sank were starting to rise again, but that
didn’t change the fact that Reiji had saved me, like he always did.
“Thank you all the same, Reiji. You saved my life.”
So, even though I was late, I thought I should at least express my
gratitude.
“…Oh? Okay.”
For some reason, he fluttered his eyes for a while and now rubbed
them. He looked at me again and started mumbling something. What
on earth was he doing?
“…Hey, isn’t that just mean? I’ve always been grateful to you, you
know?”
“Nonono, I didn’t mean it, it’s just that you looked… Nevermind that,
let’s go.”
With a face as if he had seen a ghost, he pushed my wheelchair again
and started walking through the crosswalk that had turned into a green
light.
“…What the hell… Yanagi just now… He looked…”
“Arks VR Technologies”… The company stood in an inconspicuous
location on the somewhat suburban outskirts of a certain governmentregulated
city in the Tohoku region.
The “Worldgate Online” service we were familiar with did not disclose
its location, and all communication, except by phone, was done
through its parent company. Therefore, there was no company signs,
and from the exterior alone, it appeared to be just one of the
somewhat newer city buildings.
However, it was said that there is a large server room in the basement
filled with a large amount of very expensive equipment.
“Well, I’m going to hang out at one of those bookstores around here. I’ll
be back in a couple of hours.”
“Sorry about that. We’ll buy you a drink on the way home.”
“Nice. Good luck with your work.”
I waved my hand and watched his back as he walked away, tapped my
cheek to cheer myself up, and rang the intercom, which immediately
made a clanging sound.
“It’s me, Kuga. I’ve come as promised.”
As I was saying that much, the front door started to make a flurry of
noise, and one slightly flirtatious-looking Onii-san popped out. I knew
him. And I didn’t like him.
“Kuga-kuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
That person… Higami-san, ran toward me while shouting my name. He
braked just in front of my wheelchair, stopped abruptly, bent his waist
at a right angle, and bowed.
“I love you, please marry me!”
“Good morning, Higami-san. You must mean a wedding in the game,
right? I kindly refuse.”
“I don’t mind marrying you in real life!”
“Even more kindly refuse!”
…He must be joking, right?
Good grief, he wasn’t a bad person, but he was so quick to pull these
kinds of pranks that it bothered me. See, he even made Ayame scared…
wait a minute, these eyes were killers.
This person, after all, was the art director a.k.a our superior, and if he
were to suddenly disappear, we would be in serious trouble.
While I was fussing, a kind-looking woman in a suit came out from the
back of the room, clapping her hands. She was the company planner,
Hatakeyama-san.
“Come on now, these kids came here to help us. Welcome, Yanagi-kun,
Ayame-chan. Did he trouble you too much?”
“T-Thanks for your concern… It wasn’t too bad today, to be honest.”
“He got a little sick, but he seems to have calmed down now… He
doesn’t seem to be taking it too hard.”
“Mmm, if Ayame-chan says so, then we’re good to go.”
“What about me?!”
Why didn’t she trust me?! I only pushed myself too much and collapsed
during a consultation just once!
“So, has Kuga-kun finally reached level 110?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, I’ll let ‘that person’ know about it.”
I put my hand on my cheek and let out a sigh.
The genius scientist who kickstarted this place… Aureo-san, tended to
make last-minute changes quite often, and it’s a lot of work.
Still, I had a lot of experiences that I normally wouldn’t have had, and I
even got a job. I was enjoying it to the fullest, to say the least.
“I appreciate that. Thank you very much.”
I sat down and bowed my head. When I looked up, Hatakeyama-san
was smiling a bit shyly…
“…Higami-san, what’s the matter?”
The other person, Higami-san, covered his mouth and stared at me
weirdly… I think this was the second time today someone did that to
me.
“N-Nothing. I’m sure my eyes are just a little tired right now. Kuga-kun’s
character is a Highborn Bishop, am I correct? That means…”
“It’s something ‘he’ personally prepared, so I’m very excited to see
what happens… I look forward to your reaction to the upcoming event.”
“Um, what are you talking about?”
“”It’s a trade secret.””
Hey, don’t leave me at such a cliffhanger!
“…Mr. President? It’s rare to see you come out of the development
office.”
Higami-san was surprised to bump into a man in a very distinguished
suit.
The president of this company… Mr. Aureo Uber, whom I saw many
times on the news at one time or another.
Up close, I could see that this man was quite fit. With his magnificent
silver hair and neatly trimmed beard, he looked like he could be a
movie actor.
“Things have settled down for the moment… Oh, are you that Kugakun,
the player controlling that ‘Iris’ girl?”
“Yes, that’s me. It’s been a long time since we met like this.”
“Please, make yourself at home… I have high hopes for you, so keep up
your good work.”
“Eh? I’ll do my best.”
He suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. But, for all his anticipation, I
didn’t see myself in his eyes, and he seemed to be looking somewhere
far away, not here, which sent shivers down my spine.
“Well then, I shall take my leave for now. You can leave your meeting
materials at my desk as usual.”
With that, he left the building with a clacking sound of his shoes.
“Huh, is that it?”
“Only you would behave like that, Higami-kun… I’m so nervous.”
I agree with Hatakeyama-san, I would never have the courage to be
that frank like Higami-san.
“…Something about the President makes me curious.”
“Little sister, what’s on your mind?”
Ayame, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly raised her hand
and spoke up.
“I’m wondering if the King of Nordglacier, where we’re based in the
game, was modeled after that person? Whenever I’ve seen him up
close at events, he kind of looks a little…”
“Now that you talk about it…”
“…I can see the resemblance…”
In hindsight, all of us here might have already sensed something
mysterious at that time.
(Author’s Note)
The protagonist may not be aware of it, but he’s got a rather beautiful
face as well, just like his sister.
Part 2
(Yanagi/Iris’s PoV)
It was early summer, but there was still snow on the ground in a long
coniferous forest.
After passing through the cobblestones of a barely discernible,
dilapidated roadway, I came upon a dilapidated building.
Despite the battered exterior, the cold air damage that had tormented
me along the way did not exist, and I was able to proceed through the
building without incident, with no enemies in sight.
In the last room, there was a warp gate that I had seen many times in
the game. When I went through the gate, which I had been told about
beforehand, I found myself in a mysterious space where I could see
nothing but pure white, indistinct even on the floor or walls.
And right in front of me, on a pedestal, was an opulent book with blank
pages opened. As I touched it, blood-red letters appeared on the page.
Do you wish to leave your current body and unleash new powers?

• Refuse
• Cardinal
• Saint/Saintess (Unique class)
• Lightwing (Unique race)
  

“Unique… race?”
Did such an option exist?
I opened a party chat and contacted two people who were preparing
for a hunting trip that I had promised them in a village about 30
minutes away on foot.
“What, did something go wrong?”
“I just want to ask something… When you two changed classes, did you
have three options? Oh, except for cancelling it, of course.”
“………”
A moment of silence. Then…
“No, there were only two: the normal route and the unique class
route.”
“Me too. What’s the third one?”
“Uh, a unique race called Lightwing.”
As a matter of fact, this existence sounded familiar.
“I think I’ve seen that name coming up in events from time to time.
Anything else you could find?”
At Saul’s voice prompting me to continue, I hovered over the bottom
option and additional information popped up.
“…’If you choose this race, your race and class will change to an
exclusive one, changing your racial traits and granting you the
additional ability… Wings That Transcend The World: Heal the wounds
of the world and return things to what they should have been…’”
“Wounds of the world… aren’t those the locations of some of the raid
bosses?”
“Some of the dungeon entrances as well… Does it mean you can turn
them off?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s something that could destroy a dungeon or
anything like that… I mean, you wouldn’t put something that malicious
in something that a single player could learn, would you?”
If there were such a thing, it would be too much authority to give to
one player.
“Right… If it turns out to be a minefield of an ability, we’ll definitely be
with you, so don’t worry about it.”
“Ditto what he said. Besides, there might be a lot of other hidden
elements like this, you know.”
I did feel a lot of anxiety.
But no matter what happened, those two would be with me. Those
words alone were more than enough for me to take a step forward in
prioritizing my curiosity for the unknown.
“Thanks a lot, you two… Alright, if this turns out to be really bad, we’ll
just look back at it as some funny story.”
A choice that had never been reported before. With anticipation of
what awaited me, I tapped the bottom option, the Lightwing race.
That was the start of everything.
(Higami’s PoV)
“What the hell…”
I, Kyouya Higami, was stunned by what was happening in front of me.
At first I thought it was a small bug.
A small distortion of the field. I thought it was a quick fix and that was
the end of it, not something that needed maintenance.
However, the breakdown that began at a certain starting point…the
location of the reincarnation event, commonly known as the “White
World”, quickly spread throughout the virtual world, and now all inhouse
devices were emitting rattling alarms.
The entire staff tried to stop it somehow, but they could not keep up,
and when they tried to force a shutdown, for some reason, all attempts
to do so were rejected.
“Curses! Can you hear me, server room! Unplug the power supply!”
“We’ve already done that!!”
“Why is this happening?!”
The server room was a crucible of chaos, and I slammed the receiver
down on the phone with a cluck of my tongue.
“Code: Worldgate initiated. Begin collecting life and magic power from
all non-qualified personnel and execute sequential forced logout upon
completion… Finished. Modifications of targeted character ‘Iris’, start.”
A voice announcing a completely unknown content echoed through the
room.
Looking at one of the monitors, the HP and MP of the players present
there in the red-tinted world decreased due to tremendous slip
damage, and they fell down in a flurry. They were enveloped in a logout
light from the edge of their fall and disappeared from the game.
“Check the vital signs of everyone who had been logged out for their
safety, hurry!”
“Y-Yes, at once!”
This was something that had never happened before, so anything could
happen. At the very least, I should prioritize the players’ safely
foremost. I gave the instructions with prayers in my heart.
At such a time, someone entered the room in a rather relaxed and
normal manner at this time of emergency.
The president, Aureo Uber. Why was he looking at this situation with
such satisfaction? The blood rushed to my head at the sight of him so
carefree. I didn’t care if he is my boss or not.
“You!”
“Don’t worry about those on forced logout, there may be some mild
intoxication from being thrown out, but there should be no harm done
to the human body.”
He dismissed my concerns like it was nothing.
“…What do you know about this?”
“Everything. I’ve orchestrated this whole situation.”
From there, Aureo told me about a fantasy event that was far from the
norm I knew.
According to him, he was a resident of a different world from this one
and had been sent there by accident.
According to him, the purpose was to create and bring back the
“people” needed to solve the crisis that was happening in that world.
According to him, the “reincarnation event” was a literal reincarnation,
in which one’s body was remodeled to adapt to a world that was more
severe than ours.
According to him, there were some influences such as a slight
improvement of abilities in this world as a preparatory step for
reincarnation.
According to him…
“In a nutshell, ‘Worldgate Online’ itself was a gate connecting this
world and my own world, and it’s my long cherished desire to use it to
create soldiers who have no ties to the other side, who will become a
force to protect the world and revive the long-lost Lightwing tribe. Do
you understand?”
A book appeared before Aureo. Was that the white book that was there
during the reincarnation process? Countless pages left the book and
began to drift around him. What on earth? When did this world
become such a fantasy world?
“Modifications of player ‘Iris’ complete. Commencing transfer.
Qualified personnel within ‘Worldgate Online’, transfer complete. Begin
searching for other qualified personnel outside the game…”
In the monitors showing various locations, a magic circle appeared at
the feet of those who were still standing in the game, bewildered by
the sudden abnormal situation… and one after another they were
swallowed up and disappear.
“Let me reintroduce myself. I am Aureolus Nordglacier, and you may
have heard of me. The former king of Nordglacier in ‘Worldgate Online’
who suddenly disappeared… That person’s me.”
This was laughable. Under the direction of some inhabitant of another
world, we recreated the world he lived in as this game.
“When did you decide to remake ‘Iris’… no, Kuga-kun into that and
send him over to that world?”
“…From the very start, when I saw him at the contest. He has no
parents living on this side of the world and only one family relative, his
sister. He is a recluse with few ties, has few regrets, is a good person,
and above all, he has that appearance that makes people want to
protect him. I’ve already listed him as a strong candidate for the job.”
“You bastard!”
I instinctively tried to grab him by the chest, but a belt-like shadow
stretched out from the pages floating around him and restrained my
limbs. However, I would never stop until I tell Kuga-kun what’s going on
here. He deserved to know the truth.
“Is this how you repay his gratitude, you shithead?! You set him up
from the beginning to send him to a dangerous place!”
“Now that’s just convenient. Let me return the favor here.”
“Fuck you!”
The same magic circle also appeared at my feet. My body started to
disappear into it.
“You’re also qualified, aren’t you? I see you’re pretty devoted to him…
no, I should use ‘her’ now. By all means, you should protect her, too.
Goodbye.”
I could only reach out my hand to his back as he turned on his heel and
walked away, and soon my consciousness was consumed by darkness
and disappeared.
“Hatakeyama-san… What happened…”
“I don’t know… How am I supposed to know about this?!”
In the room where it all ended, all the terminals just kept spitting out
error screens mercilessly.
That day, the world’s first VRMMORPG “Worldgate Online” was
suspended for a long period of time due to a massive outage.
On the same day, a mass disappearance of several hundred people
caused a huge uproar… Those who tried to connect the two events
were treated as gossips before the common sense called “reality”, and
except for the sea of speculation on the Internet, the events of that day
were soon faded and forgotten.