V1C2

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Episode 02 – Into the Green Hell

“Dammit, what a mess. What was all that about…”

Sweeping away the leaves and twigs that clung to me, I clumsily stood back up. What was supposed to be my former seat laid now in ruins at my feet. Above me, the parachute that had just saved me from certain death hung loosely, caught up in branches.

“… How am I even still alive?”

After a quick inspection and damage assessment of my newly-acquired body, I let out a faint sigh. As expected of a top-of-the-line mechanical body, not even a scratch. The life points—or LP gauge—displayed in the top corner of my field of view barely went down a percent. Well, the fact that it even went down is a problem in itself…

“But first thing first. What is this place?”

Bringing up my left forearm, I took a look at the watch-like device attached to my wrist. The official name that had been given to the eight-sided shaped screen was “Yata-no-Kagami”. Using Tsukuyomi as a medium, the screen was displaying my current surroundings.

“Forest of the Beasts… Well, probably not the safest of places.”

Even after zooming out a couple times, the map still displayed forest all around.

I sat back down on the wreckage, completely at a loss.

“Oh right, let’s see what we got in the pack.”

With the Survivalist’s Pack I chose when I created my character, I might be able to get back to Susanoo.

With that in mind and without losing a second, I used the Yata-no-Kagami to bring up the inventory and take out the pack. The moment I selected the pack on the screen, a metal box landed at my feet as if thrown out from nowhere.

“I guess that’s the pack, huh? Conservation of mass…? No, it’s a game after all.”

Not thinking any further, I opened up the box.

Inside, I could spot a deep green military-like backpack, a stout-looking lantern and a folded portable stove. Well, in fact, it was more of a three-legged burner than anything. Luckily, it also came with fuel.

“Right, if I set the backpack in one of the equipment slots, it increases my total inventory space. I’ll start by putting the lantern and the stove in it…”

As I was going through the rest of the box’s content, I spied a small metal cartridge the size of a business card resting on the bottom. The engraved label on it read “Reclamation Unit Guide”.

“Hmm, how am I supposed to use this thing…

“Ah, like this.”

The moment I lifted the cartridge, a progress bar popped up on the Yata-no-Kagami screen. When the bar turned completely blue, a text file opened up on my screen.

“Uh-huh… It’s like a help file of some sort.”

“Ledge of the Reclamation and Surveying Unit. You have selected the Survivalist’s Pack and, therefore, will be airdropped in a random area outskirting Vanguard Base Susanoo.“

“Uh-huh… Uh?!” Eyes wide open, I read the message once again.

So that explains why I couldn’t get to Susanoo.

“Making use of the Survivalist’s Pack, please survey your surroundings and make your way to the Vanguard Base.“

“Isn’t that a bit too Spartan…? Could’ve at least given me a bit more supplies…”

Turns out that complaining to a message on an holographic screen doesn’t get you anywhere. And so I read on.

“Once you have landed, please make sure to check your Three Sacred Treasures.“

For us machine-dolls, the “Three Sacred Treasures” referred to the three critical parts supporting our main functionalities.

The first Sacred Treasure would be the communication terminal on my left wrist I used earlier.

The second one, named “Yasakani-no-Magatama”, refers to a fist-sized stone radiating a blue light, affixed right in the middle of my chest.

And last but not least, the third Sacred Treasure, “Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi”, a one-meter long silvery rod stored in my inventory.

It all sounded a bit too pompous and players would most likely refer to the Three Sacred Treasures as the [Mirror], the [Magatama] and the [Sword].

“The [Mirror] seemed to work just fine earlier so no problem on that side. I’ll just go through every Treasures and make sure everything’s A-OK.”

In addition to managing my inventory, the [Mirror] could also let me check my status or fiddle with the game system, display the forums, communicate with friends, and log out.

“Speaking of which, death games used to be pretty popular back then.”

It was only fiction, of course. Nothing bad ever happened. But still, I was relieved to see a logout button. And as far as I could tell, I seemed to be able to interact with it.

When checking my status, my nickname, airframe type, my current as well as maximum LP and initial attribute points were all lined up in white.

“As for the [Magatama], it looks like it’s used to generate LP and store different kinds of records.”

More simply put, on top of generating and accumulating LP, the Second Treasure acted as a black box for the airframe.

What the game referred to as LP is what other RPG called hit points, stamina and mana points. FrontierPlanet merged all of these to create a one and unique LP gauge. If the LP gauge were to be depleted, my airframe would become incapacitated. And because the LP gauge also acts as mana points, using special techniques known as “Arts” consumes it.

In short, the Magatama would be my heart.

“That leaves us with the third Treasure: the [Sword]. Hmm, what form should I change it into?”

We called it [Sword] but, to be fair, in the early stages, it was but a pretty silvery rod. It was made of Nano-machines that could change to various shapes depending on the data installed on it. Or so I’ve heard anyway.

There were five default data: the Basic Sword, the Basic Spear, the Basic Hammer, the Basic Bow and the Basic Handgun. Pretty self-explanatory if you ask me.

The game hinges on a system that grants you skills depending on your actions. Those said skills will then in turn level up the more you use them.

To illustrate, if I were to swing a sword, I would acquire the passive skill <Swordsmanship> and start earning experience points toward that specific skill. In the same way, if I were to thrust a spear, I would start getting XP points for my <Spearmanship> skill.

Such a system would allow anyone to start over at any time. Nevertheless, the first weapon should be chosen with care.

“How about a spear…”

After pondering for a moment, I settled on the Basic Spear.

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi turned limp, slowly beginning to transform into a long and narrow spear.

“The reach is longer than most melee weapons and the cooldown is somewhat short. More importantly, it seems a bit easier to handle than a bow or a gun.”

After I felt a bit more confident in handling the Three Treasures, I finally stood up.

“Alright, first order of business: breaking through this forest. Once I’m clear of this green hell, I’ll head straight for Susanoo. And if I can level up a few skills on the way, I’ll call that a victory.”

But for now, all my skills were set to a magnificent 0. I was but a newbie.

I would start by fighting weak monsters to train my <Spearmanship>, then level up a few skills I had my eyes on for a while. It’s not like I was aiming to be the best warrior or the ultimate wizard. I was to be but a humble traveler, ever in winds’ wakes.

I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and grabbed my spear. And thus, I took a first step that would forever be rememb—

“Waaaaah—”

“—?!”

“—Ouch!”

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, I was crushed where I stood by an unknown being falling from the sky. Me, along with my dreams.

Tips

◇Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

An all-purpose tool mainly composed of instant-hardening high-efficiency nano-machines. Supplied to all the Investigation and Reclamation Unit, the [Sword] is part of the standard equipment and one of Three Treasures. By uploading data stored in cartridges, it is possible to shape it into various types of weapons and tools.

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