In a room piled up with empty bottles of coke and boxes of food, a young man was firmly focused on his screen. Usually, he'd be all over the place, eyes tracing every angle. But this time, he looked relaxed... euphoric as he started one of his favourite games on the PC.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, masterpiece".
He looked behind him, the room was a mess, 'When was the last time I cleaned this place...?'
He decided to partake in the annoying endeavour later.
Almost instinctively, he went to a particular website among his favourites in the main tab of the browser.
If one looked at the official speed run site, for Modern Warfare 2 rankings, there would be a name at the top with a difference so abysmal with the second place that nobody doubted that person was...
The Best.
Lone - 1h 10m 40s 132ms, 2 years ago.
His name shone at the top alongside a Japanese Flaw. Mashiro Yamanaka was a simple man of twenty-three years of age; he played a game over and over and over, cleared it over and over and over, until making the best time, the best run. He'd record the tape and post it on his socials.
Partners would pay him money for views while he also built his reputation in the community.
A speedrunner.
Most particularly, one with a very infamous reputation for breaking unreachable records.
A hacker. The community didn't have proof, but no doubts.
Was he a hacker? No.
Was he a cheater? Also no.
Was he vicious? Yes.
He was just a young, extremely talented asian who also dedicated twenty hours a week to his passion.
To create the perfect tape, hours, days, and sometimes even months were necessary. It wasn't just skill with the keyboard but also exhaustive amounts of research, months of speedrunning and trials in order to achieve an hour, sometimes half-hour tape that would be posted and break records.
It also wasn't just clearing the game; it was also about looking for exploitable vulnerabilities in the game's code that would allow him to skip animations, stages, fights and all sorts of boundaries in order to make the best time.
The competition was fierce. Fiercer than any salaryman would think, people would compete over a video game. Nevertheless, with his reputation, at the meagre age of 20, Mashiro left his home to live off his earnings as a speedrunner; around 470.000 Yen a month (3K USD)
He'd been living alone in a rented appartment in Tokyo since. Spending most of his time speedrunning, sometimes going to the gym or going to meetings with other people from the community, but mostly at home, doing what for him was passion, or so he thought at first.
Because, as with any passion, once money comes into the equation, fun and entertainment jump out the door. His parents didn't approve until he started making money out of it, as always. But when he did, the pressure started.
It all started when his views weren't doing well while playing the games he wanted. Sometimes the games you like are not the games other people like.
Always having to go to the newer games, it didn't matter if they were entertaining or not. As long as they were trending, he'd have to speedrun it; that's what the audience wished.
It was no longer a game. It was work.
Therefore, after making a rather successful speed run in the latest game, Elden Ring. Lone felt like taking a step back.
When it came to new games, most speedrunners thought what was important was to make the first record, to harness that initial attention. Lone thought differently, he thought what was best was to take as much time as necessary while making sure to make an unsurmountable record, a record that would last for years, hopefully decades.
Which took him back to one of the first records he made.
Lone - 1h 10m 40s 132ms, 2 years ago.
To play for fun once more? What other game than the campaign of Call of Duty Modern Warfare II? Sometimes, when playing a game or watching a masterpiece anime or a movie, one would hope to be able to forget so that one can experience the same thrill once again.
Lone felt it when watching the anime Death Note, also while playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare II, among other games and wonderful franchises. But it was impossible to forget. What one could do, though, was let time dilute the memories, blurring them... so that one could then come back and experience once more.
The impact wouldn't be so exhilarating, but it could definitely topple one of those wannabe masterpieces of today.
"Have you eaten yet? Please, son, touch some grass" He received a text message from his father, which sounded a bit too personal. Lone ignored the message, groaning. There was something rather unerving about the way he said it.
He decided to touch grass later and spend his time playing the game. Lone enjoyed the intro, the playthrough, and the old shooting mechanisms that had segmented today's shooters. He played calmly until he reached the infamous mission 'No Russian', the fourth mission.
This mission was quite infamous back in the day and even more so today. If this game had come out today with this mission, it would have been cancelled for sure. They said this was the mission that determined heroes and villains.
It consisted of assaulting a crowded airport in Moscow while being a deep undercover CIA agent. The mission was savage and involved a cold-blooded massacre of innocent civilians.
The mission could be skipped; you could also choose not to shoot anyone, your comrades would do it for you.
You could remain a hero.
But, naturally... most people wouldn't choose this. As a speedrunner, Lone was used to skipping this mission and saving himself some precious minutes of the run. This time, however, he decided to enjoy himself; it had been a while since he played Modern Warfare II without speedrunning it.
Without a shred of contemplation, he started shooting civilians left and right inside the game. Blood splattered everywhere as he smiled, still recalling the feeling of exhilaration this mission gave back then, the first time he played it. For one, it was unbelievable that they'd allow this in a game, but being just a kid (who wasn't even supposed to be playing an R-rated game), he enjoyed it a lot.
"Not bad, Lone... keep going~", he heard Makarov, the terrorist boss, said wickedly in his dialogue, and that was something that stopped Lone on his tracks.
"What?" Lone thought he had heard wrong and kept playing, but it didn't end there...
"You've got talent for this, I am impressed by what you can do when you're not rushing it".
"Wouldn't it be interesting to make the game more... realistic?"
Makarov kept saying things that he didn't remember him saying, dialogues that shouldn't exist. Lone felt a bit off but continued to play, attributing it all to his fatigue and hunger. He even ordered some food on Uber and shook his head continually.
The mission continued for a bit without Makarov talking, something that sent an involuntary relief down his spine. He had been imagining it...
No.
"I still ain't got your answer, kid? You in or not?" Marakov asked once more while taking his gun and putting a bullet through a woman's gut as she screamed in Russian, asking for mercy.
Lone couldn't even understand; he smiled, albeit with a droplet of sweat starting to trail down his forehead.
"Shut up, man, what are you saying?" He laughed it off and continued playing, but... Makarov didn't like that.
"This is fun, boys. We should do this in Tokyo next, what do you think?!" Marakov taunted with hollow eyes while the other members of the group started laughing at him and at Lone.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Lone froze in place, hands shivering. He looked to right and left in his desolate room instinctively. Something wasn't right. Was it a hallucination?
"No need for an answer. It is not like you have a choice, Lone".
That was it, Lone, unerved, released the keyboard and mouse, then glared at the screen, but then... shock. His character kept moving on its own.
"You don't get a say in this. You're in, Lone" Makarov said again.
"W-What the fuck is going on...?" Lone started panting, watching how his character moved on its own, massacring everyone in the airport.
At some point, even his comrades stopped helping and just watched as he did it all on his own, showering the floor in blood as they moved towards the objective amidst their hollow laughter.
"Since you want to play a funny game so bad... then let's start this rumble~".
Lone picked up the keyboard, the buttons pressed themselves, and the mouse moved on its own. Terrified, he leaned back, only to find that his body couldn't move; he was shackled to the chair by an invisible force, unable to even look away from the screen.
!!!
'What is going on, what is going on?!'
With his sight firmly pressed on the screen, everything else in the periphery became darkness, as if he had been engulfed by a huge seamless blackhole. The atmosphere in the room grew still until they finally reached the last part of the mission. After the massacre was done, they had to escape... but he remembered, he knew how this mission was supposed to end. And the moment the main character tried to get into the ambulance with the rest of the terrorists, Marakov turned around with a wicked smile, pointed his gun at his head and fired.
*BAANG!*
Lone gasped, feeling a terrible pain in his head, falling onto his chair, sprawled and with his vision numb.
"Well then, good luck, player~'.
Another shot and then... darkness.
**
**
[Initialising system... system established]
[First speedrun has been decided: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei]
[You have received a speedrun starter package]
[Opening package... You have obtained a skill: Anti-Material Burst]
[Determining conditions of clearance...]
[...]
[Main Mission I: Destroy the main HQ of the International Organisation Blanche].
[Main Mission II: Destroy the Organisation 'No Head Dragon'].
[Main Mission III: Eliminate Zhou Gongjin].
[Side Mission I: Defeat Shiba Tatsuya] + 80SP
[Side Mission II: Defeat Angie Sirius] + 80SP
[Side Mission III: Make Yotsuba Clan submit to you] + 100SP
[Side Mission IV: Destroy Great Asian Union (GAU)] + 500SP
[Side Mission V: Destroy the New Soviet Union (NSU)] + 500SP
[Side Mission VI: Destroy the United States of North America (USNA)] +500SP
[Time limit: 10 days].
[Overtime limit: Three months].
[Iterations: 5 left].
**
[Lone's POV]
I woke up, opened my eyes, and I was in a different world, a different place from my desolate, dark room. This was a bright room where light was coming from the window; it looked white and simple.
'Didn't I die...? What's this...?
I stood up, somehow with a bit of difficulty, as if my body was fatigued. I realised I was wearing just a light hospital robe. Upon looking out of the window, I saw a massive city, a gorgeous futuristic city that was nothing like what I remembered Tokyo to be. Not like Tokyo is not futuristic, but this...? There are flying cars.
I recalled what happened last. The game Call of Duty... how Marakov was being unnerving and terrifying, and then... that shot.
I sat on the bed, confused, until I noticed something in my vision once I was not looking at the bright light of the sun.
In front of me, there was a button that flickered like a digital interface of augmented reality. I was not wearing any device on me for augmented reality.
'Could it be…?'
I almost couldn't help but smile. My death, waking up here in another world. It had to be it, what else could it be?
My finger hovered over the button.
[Start]
'Is this the legendary Isekai plot!?'
I thought about whether I should press it or not, but, unaware of where I was, all I needed were answers for now. Upon pressing the button, the world exploded in flames that shattered the whole world as an apocalypse had descended upon me. The world burned to a crisp, and even the skies gained a terrifying hue. I shrank on my bed that, despite all this, was still intact.
Even amidst the flames, I didn't feel heat. It was as if all of this was just an illusion. But somehow, it still feels so real.
[Welcome to the Speedrunning System] The interface was written in flames. Then the message scattered in flames, reforming into the form of a cute little chicken that fell onto the bed.
"… eh?"
"Nice to see you, Lone", the chicken spoke in English. Somehow, his tone sounded like Morgan Freeman's.
I looked around. The world was in flames, and then the chicken was standing there nonchalantly as if I couldn't just take it, throw it to the flames and fry it. I am still hungry, you know?
"Do you have no manners?" The chicken asked again, this time frowning. I didn't know chicken could frown.
"Fried, roasted, boiled…" I mumbled, the chicken squinted for a bit, then sighed.
"Am I supposed to be afraid? Do you think this is my true form? No, Lone… this is merely the form I choose to present myself in, just so you wouldn't be scared and piss yourself. You should be grateful".
Even though it said that. The eyes of this chicken were unusually vacant. I didn't think a chicken could be scary, but it was.
"What's your name? Where am I?" I decided to drop the jokes and get serious. I had a lot of questions that needed answering, and although I'd appreciate more to talk to a person, this chicken would have to do.
"Who I am or what my name is doesn't matter. What matters is why you and I are here," It pointed his wing and me, then at him.
"Is this some isekai plot? Save this world and all that nonsense," I asked.
"Save the world? Hahaha, you have been reading too much bullshit. No, Lone. We're not here for such a novel reason. We are here to… Uhm... have fun. You, I and some of my friends".
'Hell no...' I looked at the chicken again, a bit disgusted by the phrasing. I eat chicken... I don't have fun with it.
"I can tell you are thinking something offensive, but I am magnanimous enough to pardon your dog life", the chicken said royally, his voice no longer sounded like Morgan Freeman but rather some drunk British broadcast presenter.
"Better a dog life than a chicken life" I shrugged.
"I can't deny that" The chicken smiled, then pointed his wing at me again, "You are a speed runner, I am your spectator, a fan, dare I say. I have been watching your videos for a long time, and I couldn't help but be captivated by your dedication, your passion… but, lately… I was a bit heartbroken, disappointed even. Gone was that passion that you originally had. I couldn't help but notice your stuck potential".
'A chicken is my fan?'
"So I brought you here. To a bigger playground. There is no hidden catch. No world to save… nothing. This is merely your playground, Lone, and I am merely... just one of your spectators" It clarified.
"There are more?" I asked.
"Yes, there are~".
"So you're telling me I am just a puppet that's here to entertain everyone?" I frowned, not quite liking all this circus setting.
"Isn't that what you were before?".
"I was getting paid, though".
"And you are getting paid this time, too, Lone. Only... rather than money, something more important, power" The chicken clenched his wings like a certain fuhrer, emphasising the power.
"Understood, Mein Huhn", I nodded happily, so long as I am getting paid... but I will have to see what this power is all about.
The chicken stared at me with those vacant eyes that drew the darkness in.
"You could either save or destroy this world, and nobody would care. As for me? you and I won't see each other often. I am here now merely to explain your current entanglement".
"Do tell".
"If you look at the top right. You should have a button with three arrows" It instructed me.
I saw it and pressed it. A menu popped up. This menu had many tabs. But most of them were inaccessible. There were some accessible though stats.
[Name: Mashiro Yatsushiro (Lone)].
[Age: 16].
[Level: 1 (EX:0)]
[Race: Human].
[SP:0 (Skill Points)]
[Skills:
* Chronoire - Lvl1
* Anti-Material Burst (Lvl1)].
[Attributes (1F-999EX):
* Strength: 2
* Dexterity: 1
* Intellect: 5
* Defence: 2
* Vitality: 4].
...
"This is just like a game", I saw my stats and laughed, an MMO in all senses. I even have attributes which I imagine work the same as with any game: Physical strength, movement speed, magic capability, physical defence and stamina.
And then there are the skills: Chronoire and Anti-Material Burst.
'I don't know about those...'
"That's because it is, Lone. It is just a game for the likes of us~" The chicken waved its wings, and the world started going back to normal, the fire ceased, the destruction rebuilt as if time was rewinding, and soon, his room was back to normal. I looked out the window, and the beautiful city was still there.
As if nothing happened. Surely, it had to be an illusion.
"Now go to the bottom, and you should see your clearing conditions".
...
[Main Mission I: Destroy the main HQ of the International Organisation Blanche].
[Main Mission II: Destroy the Organisation 'No Head Dragon'].
[Main Mission III: Eliminate Zhou Gongjin].
...
"Those are the missions you are supposed to accomplish in order to move on to your next run. However, you have a time limit to accomplish them".
I nodded and looked at the timer at the very top of the interface. It said five minutes had already passed.
"From the moment an Iteration begins, the clock is already ticking. In order to have a successful run, you must accomplish all your missions within that time frame. The method is up to you~ you are free to do it however you want, so long as you accomplish the mission. Once you do, you will be rewarded with experience and skill points heftily, which you can use to become stronger. That is your power"
Blanche, No Head Dragon and some Chinese brother... I don't know any of them, but I know something for sure. This anime: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.
To be precise, I know it is an anime that existed in my previous life. But I never watched it, I only heard things about it. Damn it, now I wish I had watched it.
"You have ten days to speed run this world. To finish, accomplish all the main missions within the time limit. If you don't accomplish the missions within the time limit, you will enter overtime, in which you will be allowed to play around and plan your next move. Once your overtime is finished, you will be forced to iterate, and you will start once more from this exact moment".
"How will I be forced?" I asked offhandedly.
"You don't want to know~".
"..."
"All you need to know is that it will be very entertaining for us" the chicken chuckled.
"You mean us as if you and I?" I pointed at it, then at me.
"No, I mean us as in me and the other spectators. It won't be very fun for you~" It pointed at itself, then at the skies with a smirk.
"Bastards, good to know".
I looked at the missions. Ten days was a ridiculous time frame, but... at least I had the overtime, which is three months to get all the information I need, to put the pieces together, to play my cards well.
Information is key. I then saw that there were some side missions as well.
!!!
[Side Mission I: Defeat Shiba Tatsuya] + 80SP
[Side Mission II: Defeat Angie Cirius] + 80SP
[Side Mission III: Make Yotsuba Clan submit to you] + 100SP
[Side Mission IV: Destroy Great Asian Union (GAU)] + 500SP
[Side Mission V: Destroy the New Soviet Union (NSU)] + 500SP
[Side Mission VI: Destroy the United States of North America (USNA)] +500SP
...
"Destroy America, the Soviets and Asia…? In ten days? Who am I? Rocketman from North Korea?" I screamed in outrage.
Just how ridiculous are these missions? The destruction of all those nations together isn't that the same as the nuclear apocalypse...? The system wants me to destroy this world.
"Oh, come on, Lone. Wouldn't that be quite entertaining?~" The chicken laughed like all this is normal.
"You psycho chicken!" I insulted it, but the chicken puffed out its chest and spread its wings in pride.
"You are shivering, clearly you like the idea" it mumbled, and it was right. I was shivering at the thrill... I was finding all this settings quite entertaining.
This anime had become a game for me to play, speedrun it, 'I won't lie to you... It sounds fun. I just don't see how I am going to accomplish this in ten days... starting from this moment'.
"That is for you to figure out, but fret not. You have overtime," The chicken answered as if it read my mind. It is true, I have the overtime... but it is just three months.
"In each iteration, you are allowed to stay for a maximum of three months before the iteration finishes. However, as soon as ten days go by without the main missions being cleared, you can take it as the iteration being failed".
"What happens if I fail all iterations?"
The chicken's smile dropped, the hollow eyes returned, and I felt a huge pressure on my shoulders.
"I think you and I both know what's going to happen, Lone. This game, this little project, can't continue if the spectators are not happy, you know?"
"I understand", I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Being controlled by a bunch of omnipotent, possibly omnipresent beings? I can work with that. But don't think for a moment I won't try to circumvent the situation once I get the chance.
"And if I clear it?"
"Of course, if you clear it, you shall be rewarded, then you will be sent to your next speed run".
I looked at the missions, the times, the skills. There was another available tab: Shop
In the shop, there was just one available item to buy.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei's script - 500SP.
I bit my nails longingly, looking at the item.
'That's exactly what I need right now. But I don't have any SP. What I know of this show is very limited. Some overpowered boy with a sis-con personality in a world where magic and technology are bound together. That was the show's brief description by a friend'.
The show was so mainstream and plain that I didn't bother to watch it, I thought it had no substance.
"Do I have to complete main and side missions in the same iteration?" I asked, hoping for a negative... because that'd be near impossible.
"Those are optional missions that do not require completion; they're just there to make things more interesting, and of course, you will be rewarded for completing them. Unlike the main missions, you can complete them mid-iteration or during overtime. Which means, if you complete a side mission and still fail the iteration. You will still gain the corresponding SP points".
I sighed in relief, 'That doesn't make them any easier, but at least... I can do what I was thinking... complete the side missions first to get SP'.
"That's good… it makes things easier", I said.
"Nevertheless, the main objective stands. Complete all main missions within ten days. For each hour that you complete your objective ahead of schedule, you shall be rewarded abundantly with SP, so do your best and come up with the best plan to accomplish all missions as fast as possible~".
"Okay..." Everything was quite interesting, and I couldn't wait to start.
"Do you understand everything so far?" The chicken asked at last.
"Yes. You said this is all for fun, didn't you?"
The chicken grinned, "That's correct. Your fun as a speed runner, my fun as a spectator, no more, no less".
"When does this cycle end? How many worlds?"
The chicken laughed evily, "You're finished when you hit Game Over, no more iterations... no mission accomplished".
'When I fail…?' I frowned. So I am stuck here until I die?
"If you understand everything, then it is time for me to go" The chicken said and began scattering every so slightly.
"Wait! You haven't explained to me all these unavailable tabs".
...
Lvl1 - Shop (1EX)
Lvl5 - Attribute Enhancing (50EX)
Lvl10 - Skill enhancing. (100EX)
Lvl20 - Affiliation. (1000EX)
Lvl30 - Summoning (10.000EX)
Lvl40 - World Travel. (100.000EX)
Lvl70 - Skill transfer. (1.000.000 EX)
Lvl90 - The Multiversal Gacha. (10.000.000EX)
Lvl100 - ????? (????)
...
"As in any game, you have a level of progress. Hit different level milestones to unlock different system features. Each time you level up, you will get SP, and in order to level up, you need experience. You will get experience through your deeds during the run. Just make it interesting for us, and you will be rewarded accordingly. Once you reach the required level, I will personally explain to you what each module entails. For now, you have access to the shop, and as you can see, you will be able to use all sorts of useful tools, skills and other miscellaneous things in there".
I was awed by the complexity of this system, everything thought over perfectly. I wondered if I was the first person to do this...
The chicken read my mind, but it didn't give me an answer on that one. It started to scatter into inexistence, and this time I didn't stop it. Those were all my doubts.
Once it was gone, the clock kept ticking for ten minutes, and the speed run was set.
Soon, while on the bed, I felt a slight headache that sent painful waves down my body. Memories started to surge. But they weren't my memories. They were Mashiro Yatsushiro's memories.
The game had started.