Despite what she said earlier, Headmaster didn't press me about how I turned into a Vampire and allowed me to transform back into my human form.
[You have lost your Charm attributes].
Out of consideration, she created a magical bus. One that could fly in the sky.
She could have made a portal and teleported us back to the academy with a whoosh, but I guess her intention here was for us to take it easy.
Especially considering what we experienced during our stay here.
The door opened.
To say the least, Headmaster's ability to create things was out of this world.
The bus was, well, your typical Japanese bus.
With a sound akin to smoke escaping, the door closed as we picked our seats.
I sat in the farthest back out of consideration… and well, the furthest back of the bus was my favorite spot.
And around me… was no one… it was to be expected considering my earlier display.
Although Headmaster explained stuff and diffused the situation, it was disheartening to know that not even Irysis chose to sit anywhere near me.
Not that I was expecting much…
Just as the scenery outside elevated as a whole, flying to the academy, a rather surprising person approached me.
Nanami Akari.
'Why…?' I asked no one, an answer that wouldn't return.
The situation turned weird.
Irysis and Alicia sat together by the front—nearest to the Headmaster, who was controlling a steering wheel that served zero purpose.
Judging by the look of it, they were having a fun conversation, albeit Irysis looked nervous and fidgety around Headmaster.
It is a rare opportunity to talk with the Headmaster after all. Despite her personality, her reputation was outstanding.
Even in the game, just being able to talk with Headmaster gave you a buff that increased your magic training speed.
Behind them, sitting not too far away yet leaving a few spots between them, were the two—Jin and Alice.
Perhaps still cautious of me, Jin's gaze was not on Alice. He was looking at the front, his hand on the dagger—slightly trembling…?
Sometimes making eye contact with Alice, then swaying his eyes away.
Alice herself… turned her body back and stared at us—her eyes filled with disbelief.
'Hey, I don't know what is going on as well… why would Nanami Akari come to me…?' I felt sorry.
"Let's play," whilst lamenting my own situation, Nanami Akari called out as if nothing had happened, breaking the whole dilemma.
'A game…?'
What she handed out… was a square device extremely similar to the phone from my previous life.
Except… upon activation, it lit up and expanded in size—to a comfortable size—breaking the law of mass.
"Wo-woah, isn't this the Novaterra Continent exclusive device, PlayOne? How did you get this!?" I said, widening my eyes, my previous worries replaced with excitement.
'How the hell did she get this thing when the citizens of that continent are extremely prideful and stingy with their creations?'
Alyssia Continent has a similar device you can play with, but the one from Novaterra Continent was vastly different.
Compared to Alyssia Continent, which focused on magic, I preferred the one from Novaterra Continent that focused on technology.
In terms of convenience, style, and authenticity, I preferred Novaterra's design much more.
Until my memory came back, I didn't know why, but I found out the reason recently. I am a modern society reincarnator.
I fidgeted with the buttons at the back side and familiarised myself with it.
"Alice gave it…" Nanami replied nonchalantly, unbothered by my trance.
Her quiet voice failed to reach me, for I was immersed in fidgeting with the device.
With a click, a hologram was displayed.
Then another click, the hologram materialised, forming a floating table accompanied by fancy keyboards and a mouse.
Traditional. But classic! As a PC enthusiast, my eyes practically glowed at the keyboard and felt the touch.
tap tap A bouncy sound rang out, accompanied by firm feedback.
The keycaps were perfect, ensuring my grip wouldn't slip—and every click was music to one's ear, akin to a bubble popping, giving one satisfaction.
The mouse itself, even without a pad, slid smoothly as if the roughness of a table was nonexistent.
'This. Is. Perfect!!' The best part? All you needed was PlayOne. And this monster of a technology could even materialise game controllers if needed.
"Let's play," pouting, Nanami Akari repeated her sentence, dragging me out of my trance.
"Ah, sorry… I got too excited…" I said, a steam oozing out of my head—my face red.
"But, why me…? Do we know each other?" I asked, tilting my head.
"…" Nanami looked at me with a blank face, silently observing my face.
The pause was awkward and it felt like I could die, but I waited.
"Your hand is nice."
Suddenly being praised for my hand made me embarrassed and happy.
"And… hunch?" Nanami Akari paused. Cutting the sentence short, she changed the topic.
"So, fellow gamer, let's duel," Nanami said with a small smug.
It seems like the fact that I am a gamer won over the fact that I just turned into a vampire minutes ago.
At the same time, I wondered. 'Fellow gamer? Was it in her character setting that she's a gamer?'
Despite being puzzled, I nodded to her. Being invited to play a game was a joyful situation for me anyway.
While we were wondering which games to play, Alice approached us—her eyebrows practically flaring.
"Hey, I know you have your own situation, but don't do anything strange to my Akarin!"
I nodded at her, unsure what to say. But Nanami Akari didn't pay attention to her. Instead, she instructed me.
"…Let's play a fighting game," Nanami Akari suggested, her eyes practically gleaming with the excitement of a sparring partner.
It was as if Alice Wonder didn't even enter her eyes.
I internally sighed at this. I really couldn't get a read on this girl.
Even when I played the game, I practically save-scummed to progress the romance with her. Now, she even had a hidden setting that she loved playing games.
Besides… fighting games aren't really my forte. I'd prefer it if she suggested a co-op game.
Being on the receiving end, I could not reject her suggestion and booted up the game.
'[World Fighter]? Classic of classics, I guess.' I've played the game and practically memorized all the patterns, combos, and techniques of all the characters.
Blame it on a child with practically endless time.
"World Fighter!" Upon booting, the game announced its title—along with the keyboard and mouse disappearing.
[New User has been detected! Would you like to log in and bind your account to the device or play as a guest?]
"Play as a guest."
I muttered, and PlayOne registered my voice without the need to input the button. This device wasn't mine after all. I didn't want to log into my original account.
After a short customization, during which I merely changed the hair color to white and the eye color to red, I left everything to the AI.
Perhaps the AI silently used the camera on the device. The character was slightly similar to me. 'Sheesh, talk about privacy…'
Once the customization was done, the camera shifted—introducing an unseen quality that far transcended what a mere broke orphan like me could've afforded.
Descending upon the clouds, the crystal-clear modern Chinatown rendered as far as the human eye could see.
Even the quality of the sound of the wind itself had far surpassed what I've heard in the past.
The quality, the direction at which it was flowing into. It was as accurate as real life, even without the usage of a headset.
'Th-… this is so godly… the graphics, the sound, they're so much better than the ones I've used previously! And at this max graphics, the FPS is stable at 180 even without frame generation!? Although Novaterra citizens would be outraged if I said this—This is magic in the form of technology!! All hail technologia!!'
No need to say, I was overwhelmingly excited beyond words.
When the camera finished descending, it reflected my original character—extending his palm toward the sun, blocking the sunlight with tinted eyes.
[Please Choose Your Name]
'Whatever is fine… it's just a guest account anyway,' with this in mind and unwilling to keep Nanami Akari waiting any longer, I inputted [Ten].
Upon pressing enter, the camera fused itself with 'Ten' and switched to the third-person perspective, reflecting his slender, yet mighty back.
"Are you in Japantown?" Nanami Akari called.
"Yes," I nodded.
Yes. Despite the atmosphere being more leaned toward China, the beginner town itself was called Japantown. That is because the citizens of Novaterra couldn't differentiate the difference between China and Japan.
What was the old Alyssia continent before it merged.
"Stay there, I will head to your location," Nanami Akari said without urgency.