When I woke up, I was supposed to be in my house, but instead I was in a dense, thickly wooded forest.
Why? I was supposed to be playing an Internet game in my home.
The texture and smell of the grass was so real that it was disorienting.
I began to seriously contemplate the possibility that I had been summoned to another world, as it often happens in light novels, and then I noticed a semi-transparent window at the edge of my vision. When I turned my attention to it, the window expanded and the game's menu screen appeared.
Damn, that scared the shit out of me. I actually got the feeling that I was in another world. It was too high quality for virtual reality.
But when did they start developing dive type VRMMORPG? I felt as though the technology had progressed tremendously.
After settling down, I opened the menu again. As I looked at the menu screen, I could see my status, skills, equipment, and companion information, as well as being able to turn on or off the map display.
I tried turning on the map display. A new semi-transparent window appeared, with a single red bright dot glowing in the dark window. It seemed that the red dot was my current location.
I walked around the area a bit to verify, and the dark screen started to change color. In other words, the dark areas were those that had not been explored yet.
Next, I checked my status.
Kent, Majin, Male, 15 Years Old
Combat Job: None
General Job: None
Combat Skills: None
Unique Skills: Handsome, Protective Greed, Female Killer, Sexual Prowess.
General Skill: None
Equipment: None
Language: Western
Reading Comprehension: None
It was the same as when I created the character. It's hard to tell if he's strong or weak. It's like an RPG or something. For now, I've configured the bar to display HP and MP at the edge of the screen.
All that was left in the menu was the inventory and skills sections. I heard that you can put your belongings in the inventory section, but I didn't have any at the moment, so I decided to skip it for now.
The skills section was divided into combat, correction, and general, and the combat skills were further divided into combat skills and magic skills. I took a look at the skills I currently had there.
When I checked the skills I currently had. The explanation that popped up said.
[Handsome/Beautiful] ...Likely to greatly increase your friendliness towards the opposite sex. Unique Skills
[Protective Greed] ...Attracts the opposite sex's protective desire, making it easier to obtain funding and cooperation. Unique Skill
[Female Killer] ...Significantly increases the level of affection when performing sexual acts against the opposite sex. Unique Skill
[Sexual Prowess] ...no longer drains physical strength from sexual activity against the opposite sex. Unique Skills
Although all of them are rare and unique skills, they all seem to have the same characteristics. It was like I was being told that the best available jobs for me were porn star, host, or a marriage fraudster.
However, much to my relief, I was able to confirm that the skill only activates against members of the opposite sex.
Because I'm normal! Why the hell did I get dragged into this?
Once I had finished checking the menu, I realized one thing. I couldn't figure out how to log out and I couldn't find anything in the menu indicating that I could log out.
Maybe they only allow you to log out at a save point or something.
There was no point in thinking about it, so I started to walk into the forest to look for a house. A few minutes later, I began to regret my lack of thinking.
Yes, I had lost my way.
I mean, there was a map display, but there was no navigation system to tell me where to go to get to the city. I was walking at random, so I got lost. Moreover, I was beginning to get both hungry and thirsty.
While I thought the game was overly realistic, it may have been designed to make it so that you don't get too engrossed in the game.
What am I supposed to do when I don't know how to get to the city or how to log out? I would like to give the developers a good lecture.
As I was complaining about the developers, the grass behind me began to rustle and shake. I turned around and saw a silver praying mantis. However, it was rather big.
I was so startled by the huge praying mantis that suddenly appeared behind me that I ended up falling on my butt.
A three-meter-tall praying mantis is a foul sight.
As soon as the silver praying mantis caught sight of me in its beady eyes, it raised its huge silver scythe and its mouth, which had been moving impatiently, seemed to grin.
It seemed he had identified me as his prey. As I struggled to move my arms and legs, a huge silver scythe swung down with a whooshing sound and snatched my cheek. I felt the pain in my cheek and knew I was in danger of dying.
"Oh, come on... this is a game, right?"
The pain was so great that I couldn't help but scream. I could see that my HP, which I had set to be displayed, was decreasing at an alarming rate.
Seriously, this is impossible. It was just too hard.
The giant silver praying mantis came closer and closer to me, as if it had found its perfect prey. The pain and fear made me want to run away, but if I showed my back I would be vulnerable to being stabbed with the sickle, so I could only squirm backwards.
The standoff was broken in an instant. To my surprise, he leaped at me. And he was about to swing his scythe at me as he clutched me and bound my limbs with his legs.
I was experiencing a realistic fear of death. I flailed my arms and legs in an attempt to escape death, but I couldn't move my bound limbs at all.
At that moment, I thought that maybe I could log out if I died here because it was just a game, but I was too scared to think as pain came when the sickle nicked me.
The pain brought me back to reality. The sickle struck his cheek again. The praying mantis flashed a triumphant glint in its beady eyes.
Once again, the sickle nicked my cheek. My body shrinks in fear. I could feel a warm sensation spreading through my lower body.
For a moment, I thought it was blood, but it seems I leaked out of fear. The mantis must have gotten bored as it raised its sickle in an attempt to finish me off.
I gave up and closed my eyes. I hoped that it wouldn't hurt too much. Then, a stream of hot liquid landed on my face. As I stiffened involuntarily.
I wondered if it was my blood that had just been spilled.
But the pain didn't come at all. I fearfully opened my eyes, and there was a praying mantis whose head and sickle were missing.