2 - Noble Son, Search

In recent years, more and more MMORPG players had been opting to enjoy the game on their own, rather than joining a party. They were called “solo players.”

To find the company of others undesirable even in a virtual space certainly seemed to be the story of the modern era. But as the online world merely reflected the tendencies of outward society, it would be hard to pass judgment from outside.

Of course, as long as the games were designed to encourage party play, it would be extremely hard to continue solo play on the front lines of a game’s expanding content. Many of the most powerful monsters had stats that were leagues above any individual player, and it was impossible for one person to keep up with the infinitely spawning monsters all alone.

That applied even more in a VRMMO.

VRMMOs were played from a first-person perspective, so there were more blind spots than you would have in a traditional third-person game. It was far easier for one small miscalculation to result in you being surrounded by mobs. There were no convenient controller functions for checking 360 degrees around you, either, and the player’s own fatigue was reflected directly in the character’s abilities. Even in the top VRMMO title, Narrow Fantasy Online, you wouldn’t see anyone playing solo on its newest content map, the Delve Necrolands.

With one exception.

In the ruined city that stood at the center of the Necrolands, a black shadow raced. Points of armor covered each of the young man’s joints, over a leather jacket — beginner’s equipment. His magic-resistant coat fluttered in the wind as he danced through the land of Delve, flirting with death.

He clicked his tongue as he cut a bold stroke downward with his sword. The sword — a plain blade, bearing neither inscription nor decoration — flashed, unleashing a spirited spray of blood. A four-digit number popped up before him, and his victim could not even breathe out a curse before it faded away.

As he pulled back his sword, it sliced through the zombies that were beginning to pile on him from all sides.

In the game world, no matter how violently he used his sword, the clots of blood would not dull the edge. As long as the weapon had plenty of Durability remaining, there was no reason he couldn’t just keep slashing his heart out. He thrust forward, then brought it up diagonally to his shoulder, opening up a new path before charging forward again.

Yes, this was the world of the game. The tale of a distant world cut off from reality.

He was well aware that his real-world self was a small-framed human merely playing the role of this intrepid Fighter. This ultimate warrior, cutting down the hordes of charging demons, only existed here in this virtual world.

I know that. I know it’s all a lie. A fake. An illusion.

But being the strongest in a world of illusion still had some value.

A tool to forget my weaker self. An ideal of strength to aspire to out there in reality. To understand what that looks like, I have to keep fighting.

And when at last the image of that sword-wielding warrior and the frail child of the real world cowering in the corner overlapped, then...

Yes. Then there would no longer be any difference between the reality and the fiction.

A stench arose from the invading hordes around him. Here in Delve, there was only one debuff effect that you couldn’t avoid with “Pain Blocking.” It was a mob-exclusive skill possessed by some of the local monsters: “Stench of Stagnant Rot.” Not only was it unpleasant for the player, it limited the actions the character could take.

The young man stopped for a minute, seeking out the source of the stench.

There was a rumbling sound. His sword still drawn, the young man quickly scanned his surroundings.

“Uuuuuuogh... uuuuuuuuuogh...” An eerie wail rose up, resounding as if from the depths of hell.

A giant creature rose from the shadow of a half-destroyed building. In real-world terms, it would have been about twelve meters tall. It was impressive, but it wasn’t a boss mob. They didn’t spawn often, but it was still just a regular monster.

“Zombie Legion.” The necromancer who made his home in the Necrolands slapped corpses together like meatballs to make these twisted works of art. They had a skill called “Race Absorption” which let them pull in Greater Zombies they met along their path to restore their HP, and their toughness was feared by even many top players.

The empty eyes of the zombies turned towards him en masse.

It was a sight to make the hair on a person’s neck stand up, but the warrior did not falter. He knew what he had to do. He had to fight, and he had to win, and that was all. Any mob he met on his way was just a gauntlet thrown to him by the system. He would accept it and cut it down.

Due to their low spawn rate and extreme power, the Zombie Legion’s AI patterns hadn’t been verified, but as it saw him, it began slowly changing its path, heading towards him. It slunk purposefully across the earth, grinding the zombies milling around its feet into the ground as it progressed.

The sword he had been wielding in one hand he now took in both as he glared directly at the Zombie Legion. He nearly licked his lips in anticipation.

Like a pitcher taking the mound at the bottom of the ninth.

Like a striker glaring at the goal during a penalty kickoff.

Like a runner at the starting line for the championship race.

Out of everyone on the front lines of Narrow Fantasy Online’s new content, he was the only one who had continued playing solo. He hadn’t bought a single microtransaction. He was just an ordinary man who had worked hard to increase his own level and skills. Yet there was not a single heavy online gamer, international or domestic, who did not know of him.

The Japanese gaming champ. Real name unknown. Past unknown. True face unknown. Age unknown. Gender unknown. Nothing at all was known about this widely-renowned player.

But from time to time, he surfaced in some online game, charged forward with purely solo play, and became one of that game’s top players. He was, naturally, undefeated in fighting games, as well. The name usually changed in some basic ways from game to game, but there was no mistaking that that unflinching stance belonged to just one person.

Most gamers, out of reverence, as well as to separate him from the copious other avatars with the same name, called him this:

King Kirihito.

A slash of his sword.

As he brought it back towards him, a visual effect exploded outwards. The giant Zombie Legion slowly began to crumble. He was victorious, and yet... a chill ran through his heart.

Yes, I’ve grown strong, but this is still just lines of code. The true enemy I need to fight is something fundamentally different.

He wondered if he was strong enough to fight “them” as he was now. Would he be able to keep his cool in the face of overwhelming malice and animosity?

He wasn’t sure. And he couldn’t stop until he was.

“Why don’t we try the Grand Quest?” They were taking a break on the cafe terrace when Kirschwasser proposed the idea.

Their decision to search for Felicia’s friend had already run aground on the terrible realization that their one clue, the avatar name “Kirihito,” was not going to be useful in the slightest. Ichiro and Felicia had been counting the Kirihitos coming and going along main street in Starter Town.

“It’s only natural that the leading VRMMO would have a lot of players naming their avatar ‘Kirihito.’ You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one! But the majority of them will be casuals or beginners.”

Kirschwasser seemed to be building up to something. Ichiro and Felicia prompted him onward with genuine curiosity.

“But Kiryu, who has been playing the game since October, without even going to school, should be among the ranks of the top players by now.”

“Hence the Grand Quest?”

“Yes.”

Grand Quests were large-scale event quests that tied in to the overall story of NaroFan. Generally they were engaged in by players strong enough to explore new content without fear. By clearing the event, they could open up new fields and towns.

In other words, they triggered game updates.

Narrow Fantasy Online had a huge update coming up in August to mark its one-year anniversary, and there were currently a number of smaller-scale updates and events being held in preparation for that. But the one all the top players were focused on was the Grand Quest. As one of those top players, Sera Kiryu, a.k.a. Kirihito, was likely to be there, as well.

“Also, the higher the level of the area we’re in, the fewer Kirihitos we’re going to run into.”

“Natural selection, right?”

“Yes. Contact with the harsh environment will weed out the casual Kirihitos.”

If they went to where the Grand Quest was being held, there would be fewer Kirihitos, increasing the likelihood that any they met would be Sera Kiryu. That was what Kirschwasser was getting at, and Ichiro did agree that it seemed the best way to find Sera.

But there was just one problem. He raised a finger to point it out. “It’s going to be difficult for Felicia to survive in that high-level environment.”

“True...”

The level range for top players was somewhere between 90 and 120. Ichiro just barely qualified, but it would be hard going even for the level 68 Kirschwasser. Felicia was only level 38. She was in for a lot of trouble.

But Ichiro continued. “If Felicia’s the only one having problems, then you and I just need to keep her safe.”

“True.”

“Um, um...” Felicia, naturally, was hesitant to agree to this arrangement.

“Now, there’s no need to worry. Kirschwasser here can tank while I annihilate our enemies. And I have an infinite supply of recovery items.” As he spoke, Ichiro opened up the menu window and began manipulating the panel with well-practiced gestures.

With a pop, potions and fatigue recovery items appeared on the table.

“Itchy, did you just buy those?!”

“Yes, why?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Felt like it.”

There were many reasons to purchase downloadable content in a game, but that was probably the worst one imaginable.

Kirschwasser picked that very excellent moment to change the subject. “If I may, Lady Felicia, you are a Beast Tamer, are you not?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Beast Tamer was a “flavor class.” You could form contracts with a monster in the wild and summon it to fight for you, but in order to level up your monsters, you had to invest your own skill points in them. Of course, the Beast Tamer’s own stats increased as they leveled up, but they tended to have fewer skills with lower skill levels than other classes of the same level, so they ended up falling behind. Thus, it was a class you saw less of as you got to higher-level areas.

Ichiro’s Magi-Fencer was also a flavor class. In his case, this was because it required an equal division of skill points between physical stats and magic stats, creating a “jack of all trades and master of none.” They definitely tended to be weaker than other players of the same level.

“I think I’ve got Thief and Scout classes, too, though I’ve given almost all my skills and arts to my monster.”

“What monster did you contract?”

“Power Golem.”

“How Spartan... I thought you might pick something a little fluffier.”

It was a monster you saw from time to time in the Wrath Wyrmhollows, an artificial weapon made by an ancient culture that had once existed on the continent of Asgard. They were said to be related in some way to the player race Machina — at least, that was what the setting notes said, anyway. They were quite strong and extremely tough. Depending on how she had raised it, it could potentially serve as a tank in Kirschwasser’s place.

At Kirschwasser’s words, Felicia smiled brightly and nodded. “Yeah, and, um... a player who came with me when I contracted it said that if you’re going to raise a monster, you should specialize it, so I focused on skills that would increase its power and endurance!”

“Excellent.”

“Felicia, could you call it out now?” Ichiro couldn’t help but be curious himself.

“Huh? R-Right here?”

“If it’s possible.”

“It is possible, but... here?” Felicia scratched her cheek shyly.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to?”

“W-Well, I’ve specialized it so much, it’s a little embarrassing...”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Specialization is one of the fundamentals of character building,” Kirschwasser said, assuming a lecturer’s air.

He seemed just as curious as Ichiro as to what sort of creature Felicia’s partner monster was. Since you saw fewer and fewer Beast Tamers as you got to higher levels, it was a natural curiosity.

Felicia was still embarrassed, but she seemed to steel herself, and drew out her dagger. It was known as the Dominion Dagger, and it was a type of Tamer Stick, a weapon unique to Beast Tamers. You played it like an instrument, and the sound controlled the monster. Felicia put her mouth to the Dominion Dagger, and suddenly, a shadow fell around them.

“Oh?”

That was strange. Starter Town was always sunny. Kirschwasser looked off the terrace as he noticed the ground suddenly racked by tremors. It was there that he realized why Felicia was so embarrassed.

Towering over everything from the fountain plaza to main street was a massive iron giant standing at least fifty meters tall. The Power Golems Kirschwasser had encountered had topped out at four meters. This one definitely looked strong and sturdy.

“Well, that’s big,” Ichiro murmured while sipping his tea. “If it flies, that would expedite our travels.”

“Oh, it flies. The only skills I gave it were ‘Giant Servant’ and ‘Flying Servant.’”

An extremely specialized build. But then Felicia hung her head in embarrassment.

“But its fatigue limit is really low... it can only go for about three minutes before it runs out of gas...”

“That’s not a problem. I have fatigue recovery items. See?” Ichiro manipulated the menu, causing fatigue recovery potions to spill out onto the tabletop. In bottles, of course.

“Itchy! Stop reflexively microtransacting!”

“But you would be an excellent Beast Tamer if you could surmount the gas mileage problem. Right, Kirschwasser?”

“Well, that’s true... But...” Kirschwasser murmured as he gazed at the giant golem looming over the terrace. “It is blocking the street, so you may wish to take it away for now.”

In this game, when you were in a town, no matter what kind of physical blows you took, you couldn’t lose HP. Cries of resentment rose up from the Kirihitos trapped beneath the feet of the enormous golem.

Kirschwasser listened to their screams and mulled over the pros and cons of immortality.

It would be difficult to sum up the terrain of the continent of Asgard in just a few words.

Players took the role of adventurers, began in Starter Town at the continent’s easternmost point, then headed west to tame the land.

Once they found their footing, they could cross the Volgund Volcanoes and arrive at Glasgovara Merchant Town, where they could buy equipment prepared by manufacturing-class players before heading further west. They would then pass through a number of small villages and come out at the Great Sandsea.

Because that field was so big, people generally had to make use of the NPC-run “Sandship” service to get around. To get to the Necrolands, you had to go due west from there.

To the north of the Sandsea was the Doom Range; to the south was a large body of water called the Mediterra Demon Sea. And to the west were the Delve Necrolands, the site of the current Grand Quest.

The players had hypothesized from early on that the Delve Necrolands would be the site of the next expansion quest, so the majority of exploration and cataloging was already being done there. But the public announcement of the Grand Quest had brought even more explorers.

A massive object tore through the sky above that great desert: a Power Golem.

“It’s been nearly a year since I started playing this game,” Kirschwasser said gravely from his place riding in the golem’s hand. “But I never thought I would be traveling around in this fashion.”

“Although having to refuel it every three minutes is quite annoying,” Ichiro commented. Over and over again, Ichiro purchased a “Basic Item Pack” from the microtransaction menu and gave Felicia the item she needed to give the golem.

“I would never have thought of refueling it this way, either...” Felicia muttered as she gave the fatigue restoration item to the golem.

“Perhaps we all would have been happier never knowing about it...” Kirschwasser agreed.

“I see no issue with using money to solve problems, where possible,” Ichiro said.

“Whenever you say that, Master Ichiro, I... no, never mind.”

In the end, Ichiro, Felicia, and Kirschwasser had decided to head for the Delve Necrolands, the site of the Grand Quest. It was said to be full of high-level zombies; not a place that was good for your heart, by any standard.

“Felicia, what kind of person is Sera Kiryu?” Ichiro asked, trying to cut through the boredom of the long trip through the sky.

“Oh, um...” Felicia started. “Cool, I guess...”

“Hm.”

“Hard to read. Quiet. But... capable, or so I thought. That’s why I was surprised when I learned about the bullying and the dropping out of school.”

She had heard that people like that were the ones whose personalities changed the most in online games, but she’d never been inclined to put much stock in a stereotype.

“And then escaping into a game like that...” she continued... “I couldn’t believe it.”

“Everyone needs a retreat now and again,” Ichiro offered as he handed her his umpteenth pay-to-download fatigue restoration item.

“Have you ever run away from anything, Itchy?”

“I have not. I’ve always been the strongest and best in every situation I’ve ever been in.”

“Oh, really! How incredible!” Felicia snatched the item away from Ichiro, clearly angry about something.

“It’s difficult for me to imagine someone using the game as a means of escape,” Kirschwasser murmured as he gazed at the scenery. It was a reasonable perspective from a gamer. “Perhaps it’s merely a vehicle for something healthier.”

“Like what?” Felicia asked.

“A... A proxy method for learning how to deal with reality... perhaps.”

“How is that any different from running away?” she shot back.

Felicia’s response was surprisingly responsible coming from a 14-year-old, and Sir Kirschwasser did not try to argue.

Bullying...

Ichiro was not unfamiliar with the experience. The college he had attended in America was reasonably sympathetic to both grade-skippers and foreigners, but he had still experienced jealousy and scorn. He had been an eccentric person even back then, so he hadn’t let it bother him. But it had been an education in how malicious people could be.

“Incidentally, Felicia. There’s something I forgot to mention earlier.”

“What is it?”

Ichiro gazed at the desert spreading out below the golem’s hand as he spoke. Far in the distance, a set of ruins — the Necrolands, most likely — could be seen.

“I have agreed to help you find your friend, but that is as far as my assistance goes. What happens after that will be up to you, and none of my concern.”

A silence fell on the group after that. Neither Felicia nor Kirschwasser said anything. But a few seconds later, Felicia nodded forcefully.

“Okay. Got it.”

“Wow...” The sound that poured from Felicia’s mouth was full of wonder.

It was a stuffy little town, crowded with an array of elite players unlike anything an intermediate player like her had ever seen before. (Of course, Ichiro and Kirschwasser could be regarded as such elite players, but she didn’t think of them that way.)

These were the Achievers and Explorers that pushed the front lines of NaroFan. Most of them were brawny, and those that weren’t projected an atmosphere of grandeur to a novice, with their glorious equipment and their air of mastery of everything around them.

This was the frontline base for the domination of the Delve Necrolands.

It was a snug little town sandwiched between the spacious fields of the Necrolands and the Great Sandsea. Registration for the Grand Quest took place in this town, and during the event, it was extremely lively.

“Ohh...” Kirschwasser moaned. “Just as one would expect of the Grand Quest. The participating players are all so impressive.”

“Are there any celebrities here?” Ichiro asked.

Kirschwasser nodded, and to illustrate, he pointed out a hard-faced giant standing not far from them. The man was swarthy, with close-cropped crimson hair and a hawk-like nose. He was clad in full-body red plate armor and held a greatsword in one hand as he spoke seriously with his allies around him. With him were a Dwarf with a catfish mustache, a female Knight dressed in white porcelain armor, and other seeming long-time veterans.

“They’re known as the Sunset Knights. They’re a guild of Achievers, said to be the strongest in the game. The leader is Stroganoff the Monstrous. His sub-commanders are Baron Gazpacho and Saint Tiramisu.”

“Sounds like a delicious group.”

“The word is that their leader runs a restaurant in real life.”

Ichiro wondered if it was healthy for someone with such a busy job to be working so hard at a VRMMO that he advanced to the top of the player ranks.

“There’s Matsunaga, the leader of the Dual Serpents, an explorers’ guild.” Kirschwasser now indicated an Elf clad in a dark green coat.

He was a truly beautiful man, but his carefully guarded, darting eyes gave the impression of a bird of prey. Around him stood an indistinguishable band of avatars all dressed in the same dark green coats and Detect Goggles, bowguns at the ready.

“They’re greatly feared for their highly polished and extremely thorough teamwork, though they’d probably lose to the Knights if it came to an out-and-out fight. Whenever a new field is opened, they’ll be the first ones to rush in and catalog all the mob appearance rates and trap gimmicks.”

“Matsunaga is the name of the person who runs the VRMMO wiki, isn’t it?”

“They do appear to be one and the same. He runs a VRMMO news aggregator site, as well. He apparently makes quite a living off of affiliate advertising. I admit, I’m jealous.”

Felicia had seen a little bit of the official site, too, but she was more curious about something else. She tugged on Kirschwasser’s sleeve.

“Mr. Kirsch, you seem to be enjoying this.”

“Describing all the strongest people here feels like a scene out of a manga. Isn’t it exciting?”

“But don’t the people described in those scenes usually end up losing to make someone else look more powerful?”

“Perhaps so.” It seemed Kirschwasser wasn’t thinking about it all that deeply.

“I see members of the Akihabara Forging Guild, too,” Ichiro murmured to himself, staring off into the distance.

“It seems like it,” Kirschwasser agreed.

They were looking in the direction of a diminutive Dwarf with a white mustache and a Machina in full plate mail. Perhaps it wasn’t surprising to see Premium Pack-exclusive races here on the front lines.

“Itchy, do you know them?” She couldn’t imagine he’d done a whole lot of research on the game’s heavy users in advance.

“They’re a manufacturing guild that operates primarily in the merchant town. We had a few minor interactions in the week before I met up with you.”

Though extremely curious about those “interactions,” Felicia opted not to pry any further.

Ichiro liked using roundabout turns of phrase, but he wasn’t an especially secretive person, which meant that when he did intentionally avoid talking about something, there was nothing you could do to make him loosen his lips.

“Speaking of which, I’ve never seen any of that stuff of yours before, Itchy.” Hunting around for a new subject to switch to, Felicia settled upon the subject of his “armor.”

He wore a black jacket and trousers that quite resembled the suit he had worn to their great-grandfather’s party. The design certainly stood out in the middle ages fantasy world of NaroFan.

At last, Ichiro turned his gaze back to Felicia and smiled. It was a very nice smile, one that she hadn’t seen from him much lately. It took her aback. “Yes, isn’t it a nice design? I’m the only one in this game who has one like it. If we have time later, I’ll tell you the story of how I got it.”

Ichiro had always seemed so bored with everything lately, it was a surprise for her to see him looking so satisfied about anything. It set her heart racing, but at the same time, it unsettled her.

“Itchy... Did something good happen to you?”

“I suppose it did. I think I might come to like this game a great deal.”

She should have been happy to hear that, but it set her stomach churning for some reason. She couldn’t quite tell the source of her unease, either, which she didn’t like one bit.

Before that dissatisfaction could register on the surface, though, Kirschwasser interrupted with a small cough. “Um... ahem!”

That was right. He had been in the middle of his own explanation. Ichiro and Felicia decided to quiet down and hear the rest of the elder Knight’s words.

“There are many other famous guilds, but those are the three big ones in NaroFan.”

Now that he mentioned it, a lot of players were looking at them from afar and whispering to each other. The Red Sunset Knights, the Dual Serpents, the Akihabara Forging Guild... They all had different objectives, but it was still impressive to see them all together. Each member wore their guild’s crest at the front of their collar.

Ichiro and Felicia craned their necks around, and both spoke up simultaneously.

“Oh, it’s Kirihito.”

“Hey, it’s Kirihito.”

Hearing this, Kirschwasser turned his head reflexively. He laughed. “I suppose Kirihitos haven’t gotten rare at this stage at all...”

Indeed, there were Kirihitos here.

And not just one or two. They were looking at a group of identical child-faced and diminutive young men with black hair, black armor, and all carrying a straight-edged sword. A veritable swarm of Kirihitos. At the collar of their tie-in armor — whose stats seemed a little insufficient for their level range — the Kirihitos had all mapped a texture of an original crest design.

Unlike the unruly mass of Kirihitos walking every which way in Starter Town, it was clear from their synchronized walking motions that these ones were well-trained. Their faces were all nearly identical, as well, with a level of detail that suggested a great deal more passion than most.

“What the heck? Isn’t that kind of creepy?” Felicia asked.

“It’s a combat guild called ‘The Kirihitters,’ apparently. It was founded by a passionate fan of that story I mentioned before. The only membership requirement is ‘be Kirihito,’ but I didn’t think they were powerful enough to join the Grand Quest.”

The leader of the Kirihitters, whose avatar name was “Kirihito (Leader),” seemed to hear them talking, and walked briskly up to them.

“It’s been tough, y’know? We’re all Fighters, which throws off the balance a lot.”

“I bet it would...”

“Will you be joining the Grand Quest, too?” Kirihito (Leader) asked.

It was Ichiro who responded. “As a matter of fact, we’re searching for a Kirihito.”

“I see. Well, take your pick.” The other six Kirihitos all struck poses at Kirihito (Leader)’s prompting. Each pose was a little different, reflecting their individuality. It was a little overly precious.

“You’re all very nice Kirihitos, but not the one we’re looking for. Now, do you know of any Kirihitos who began playing sometime between August and October of last year?” Ichiro asked, cutting right to the heart of the matter. At times like these, he was honestly very useful to have around.

The Kirihitos looked at each other and began an earnest discussion. It seemed the Kirihito they were looking for was not among them, but they might have a clue as to who it was. After they talked for a while, Kirihito (Leader) turned back to them with a serious expression.

“We believe you’re referring to the legendary ‘King Kirihito.’”

“K-King Kirihito?” Felicia asked, her voice cracking.

“He’s a solo player who fights on the front lines here in the Delve Necrolands. We’d like to meet him, too.”

Kirschwasser raised a brow in surprise. “A solo player? Really? In the Delve Necrolands?”

“Yeah. Incredible, right? We hear he’s a Fighter who dresses all in black and uses a straight sword as his main weapon.”

“Oh-ho. I see. The Kirihito from the novel was a solo player, wasn’t he?” the silver-haired Knight asked.

Kirihito (Leader) nodded in confirmation.

To play solo in the Delve Necrolands, the game’s highest-level story content, was an act of madness. Character death was penalized in this game. It resulted in the loss of all your items, so even elite players strove to avoid it at all costs. One death could mean the loss of hundreds of hours of work in an instant. That fear deterred most players from foolish attempts at solo play as they got closer and closer to the top ranks.

As the man talked, only Kirschwasser noticed that Ichiro had closed his eyes, as though thinking about something.