This fictionalized version of Dillington High School has a more medieval design when compared to the real one.
Essentially, it looks more like a castle than an actual school building.
I enter the building's premises, and I'm greeted with a curiosity: The main lobby is unlike the real-world version.
The accounting and principal's offices, which are connected to the main lobby, are much smaller, in particular.
That's typical RPG building and dungeon design for you.
Amazed and befuddled by the fact that my high school alma mater is in Daig'digaia, I bump into a teenage boy.
He wears the standard school uniform – which is simply a white buttoned-down shirt and navy blue pants – but in a neat and orderly way.
He has short brown hair and large eyes.
I pause for a moment, and ask...
"Are you... Damenon Satolieri?"
The boy replies, "How did you know my name?"
"I just know you by heart. By the way, my name is Benoit Valmonte. Nice to meet you."
I then shake hands with him.
"Nice to meet you too. How did you end up here?"
"Well... I was playing a video game, got sucked in, and ended up in this... um... virtual-looking world."
"What? Don't tell me... you, a full-blooded human being, are inside a game?"
"Yes, I am."
"Hey! Revealing the whole secret will ruin the fun of playing it."
"Oh, you mean spoiler alerts. And, by the way, where are Bamelin and Akalina?"
"Uh... I forgot the name of the continent... It was... um... Sarb... Man! I really forgot it!"
He lets out an insignificant sigh before continuing.
"Now we'll switch topics. I forgot to introduce someone to you. He is over there near the computer center, singing Mariah Carey songs."
"Mariah? You mean Gershwin Cannell?"
And I hurry towards where Gershwin is sitting, which is in the quadrangle.
Damenon never says a word after that.
Speaking of the quadrangle, nothing much has changed in terms of the basic design.
The wide-open space is accentuated by cement tiles, and the school's logo is proudly emblazoned in its center.
As to where in the quadrangle Gershwin is sitting, he is sitting near the doorway towards the computer room.
The school's computer club, by the way, aims to broaden its scope from just plain old computing to both retro and modern computing, given the prevalence of smartphones nowadays.
I say, "Hi, Gershwin! How are you?" in an enthusiastic way.
Knowing that I have his attention, he presses the stop button on his high-fidelity portable audio player, removes his earphones, and turns his head to face me.
He then asks, "Are... you... Ben...oit?"
"Yes, I am."
"Yeah! Thought I could never see you!"
And he gives me a high five.
"It's been... almost a year, right?"
"Sure. May I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Did... you... enter this virtual world?"
"Wait. Before I answer the question, let's head to our old classroom."
***
Gershwin Cannell. Age: 17.
He has orange hair, and his favorite color is... you guessed it... orange.
I personally know him to be a huge fan of Mariah Carey, to the point where he can belt out a soprano-like voice, which is unusual for a male like him.
But still, a talent is a talent.
We were in the school choir together, and his tenor designation greatly complements my baritone voice.
Well, in my case, I was assigned to the bass designation, since there's no baritone one.
One time, he told me about his dreams and aspirations.
"I've wanted to become a geologist. I... I just wanted to be known as more than just the 'male Mariah clone'. Sometimes, that talent of mine just dangles over my head. What if one day, I lose that voice; and suddenly, I don't meet people's expectations?"
"You've got a point. Some people just have the 'never live it down' thing. And that shadow just eats at their own beings."
"So that's why... instead on relying on my talent alone, I must contribute to society in another way, and being a geologist is the best path for me."
"Tell me more about it."
"When the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake happened, I wanted to learn more about those seismic waves that rumble the ground underneath, and how I can come up with ways to accurately predict earthquakes, which can save lives."
"Yeah, that's a noble thing to do."
"And how about you?"
"Well, we're all Seattleites, and Seattle is one of America's primary hubs of gaming and game development. So naturally, I want to walk that path."
"Ah, yes. Game development has so many paths to choose from. You've got programming, art creation, design..."
"And I want to become a narrative designer myself."
"Why's that?"
"Naturally, as a kid, I'm quite enamored with games that have rich, intricate stories. Especially role-playing games. So naturally, I have to go down that specific path."
"Nice."
"We do have our own dreams; and unfortunately, due to the crushing reality, some of us have to abandon those dreams at some point. But there will come a time when we'll be able to pick up that dream again and finally fulfill it."
"Never said it better."
***
We head towards the classroom we still remember, on the main building's fourth floor.
It still stands as proud as ever, to be simple.
There, we continue the discussion.
Gershwin talks first.
"Now for the answer. I also entered this virtual world called... whatchamacallit?"
"Daig'digaia."
"Correct. As I have said, I entered the game by accident. I was just checking my email on my smartphone, and the screen sucked me in! I felt unconscious for a moment, then woke up in a white bed. I then met this very cute nurse and she told me this is the virtual Dillington High School inside a complicated-looking game. That's all."
"You mean, our fates are meant to intertwine here in this world?"
"Yeah. That nurse also said we must..."
However... there is something sinister that interrupts his explanation.
It says menacingly, "Hahahaha!!! Your purpose for living will be gone once you die in this game! Now, attack, my minions!"
***
[Battle: Booger Slime x5]
Benoit chooses to attack Booger Slime A.
Gershwin chooses to attack Booger Slime B.
Gershwin attacks Booger Slime B, dealing it 104 damage. A critical hit!
Booger Slime B is knocked out.
Benoit attacks Booger Slime A, dealing it 63 damage.
Booger Slime A is knocked out.
Booger Slime C attacks Gershwin, dealing him 24 damage.
Booger Slime D attacks Gershwin, dealing him 23 damage.
Booger Slime E attacks Benoit, dealing him 22 damage.
Benoit chooses to attack Booger Slime C.
Gershwin chooses to attack Booger Slime D.
Gershwin attacks Booger Slime D, dealing it 48 damage.
Booger Slime D is knocked out.
Benoit attacks Booger Slime C, dealing it 64 damage.
Booger Slime C is knocked out.
Booger Slime E attacks Gershwin, dealing him 25 damage.
Benoit chooses to attack Booger Slime E.
Gershwin chooses to attack Booger Slime E.
Benoit attacks Booger Slime E, dealing it 64 damage.
Booger Slime E is knocked out.
The counter-terrorists win! That's us.
140 EXP and 25 Double Pesos acquired.
5 bottles of Potion acquired.
Benoit leveled up, from Level 3 to Level 4!
Gershwin leveled up, from Level 3 to Level 4!
***
After the monsters are defeated, the sinister thing shouts...
"That's just a glimpse of what YOU'LL be really facing! Hasta manana, suckers!"
It then disappears into thin air, leaving behind a bunch of manuscripts.
We naturally have the impulse to pick it up.
[You got a Bunch of Manuscripts.]
I sigh and then state, "Thought we could die easily in this game. Now continue."
Gershwin continues his explanation.
"What I'm trying to say is that we must unite with forty-eight other individuals to wipe out a big threat to this world, and then we can all safely log out, metaphorically speaking. And we know each other very well."
"What's the reason?"
"All of us fifty so-called 'gamers', the nurse concluded, are former high school seniors from the real-world Dillington High School."
"Oh, I see. That really brings back days of yore. It's a pretty tough job, but we can do it. For now, let's go exploring."
"Sure."
Gershwin and I take our time exploring the rest of the virtual Dillington High School.
The clinic, where the cute nurse Gershwin was talking about resides, is located on the northwestern end of the quadrangle.
The hallway that leads to the individual classrooms, as well as the library, guidance counselor's office, and faculty room, is located on the northeastern side of the quadrangle, alongside the computer room.
What's different about this multi-floored section of the school building is that it uses teleportation circles to warp towards certain floors instead of the usual stairs.
The passageway directly north of the quadrangle leads to another open area that leads to the canteen and the gymnasium.
Speaking of the canteen, one student is initially perplexed that its merchants are selling something other than food.
Two of the merchants, she says, are selling healing medicine, and one's a weaponsmith.
Then she whispers something about something called "The Movement".
Hmm... could that be the "threat" the mysterious voice was talking about?
I'll find out more to be sure.
The left and right passageways, meanwhile, lead to areas that are definitely not found in the real-world high school.
Namely, the student dormitory on the left and DHS-TV and Radio Dillington on the right.
The dormitory is a justifiable addition.
Where else can students stay comfortable after school without being bothered by monsters?
The TV and radio stations, meanwhile, are a peculiar addition.
Advanced over-the-air broadcasts in a fantasy world?
Well, there are RPGs that have some form of readily-available advanced technologies, so that's that.
After we've had our fill of the tour, we both decide to leave the virtual high school, setting off into the continent that is called Dillingtonlandia.