When Arata reached the bottom of the stairs, he was shocked to find a room resembling a lab. It was extremely cold. "What is this place?" Arata wondered, but despite his shock at discovering a full lab in his basement, he continued to explore.
The room was filled with terminals, lab equipment, and scraps of metal wrapped together. Arata was in awe and began investigating to see if there was anything special.
"Wow, so my dad secretly had this entire lab. What was he working on here, and why did he hide it?" Arata pondered his father's motives, questioning whether they were good or bad.
*BEEP*
As Arata tried to make sense of the situation, he heard a beep. He looked around to find its source, and when the sound repeated, he was able to locate the device.
Arata approached the device and was shocked once again. The device was oddly shaped and emitted frequent beeps. It beeped more rapidly as Arata got closer, and the most remarkable thing was the strange energy emanating from it, as if it were somehow alive.
"Is this what my father was working on? This feeling from its presence is... something," Arata thought, unsure how to react. Suddenly, the device began to speak.
[New player detected! Checking to see if requirements are met!]
"....What?"
Arata couldn't believe what he was hearing. The device spoke in a robotic voice, but its movements mimicked human speech, which disturbed Arata even more.
It was one thing for a device to emit strange energy, but for it to speak with apparent personification was overwhelming for Arata, who was thinking of his father.
Before Arata could react, the device spoke again.
[Check Complete! All requirements met. Starting teleportation process.]
Confused and unsure of what to do, Arata watched as the device began to shine brightly. He had to look away, and at that moment, he felt a strange sensation in his body, as if it were wrapping itself inside out. Although it felt peculiar, there was no pain.
When Arata opened his eyes, he was stunned. He was no longer in the basement but in an entirely new place. Neon lights, numerous buildings emitting strange energies, and people in both medieval and futuristic attire surrounded him. The place seemed highly advanced.
"Where am I? What did that thing do to me? Am I dead? Did it take me somewhere?" Arata thought as he realized he was in a city resembling a Cyberpunk setting.