Ten different sets of memories.
And a hauntingly similar notification.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Arghhh, fuck!"
By now, I had become slightly more adapted to taking in the memories that opened my head apart, but the pain underwent zero change.
Unfortunately, I still wasn't able to comprehend the memory set that seemed completely foreign to my own—I had only understood its unknown nature due to the jarring sensation that would wash over me as it arrived.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
11 sets of memories.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
Fifty…eight sets of memories maybe?
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
What on Earth was happening?
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Arghhhhh!"
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
An eternity of agony passed.
"Fuck, fuck, at least get rid of the pain damn it! My head's going to explode!"
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
…
Again, and again. Although I wished dearly to at least move from this godforsaken position, my body still wouldn't budge an inch—giving me no chance to even vent my anger out.
Memories kept pouring in, each set being just an inception of the other. At first, I believed them to be of no use to me, only serving the purpose to inflict suffering.
However, a miniscule change had occurred inside myself.
Had my mind adapted or something? Now, the memories had a smaller disorienting effect on me, allowing me to have slight clarity when I gained consciousness.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
More resets happened. The change was small but undeniable; more and more clarity was entering my mind during my conscious moments rather than entering a state of perplexity.
With that clarity came an increased ability to recall specifics from my memory—a skill that allowed me to conclude that by now above two hundred resets had happened. However, past that memory mark was blurry even to the memory constantly becoming enhanced.
Why?
Because the amount of the memories I was receiving were increasing in scale, meaning recollection and comprehension was becoming harder.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Test 2."
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
"Ten seconds, huh."
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Test two."
One.
Three.
Eight.
"Huh?"
Was it 10 seconds?
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
What?
Ah, that's right.
Ten seconds. The time period was ten seconds.
Resets occurred with such words of self confirmation for a time period I couldn't confirm. The further into the resets I entered, the faster I was able to recall the timing.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
Ten seconds.
Undeniably, each reset is ten seconds.
"So this is how you do it."
With such a colossal memory set entering my mind, it was nigh impossible to filter and comprehend the information about the duration being ten seconds. So, the only way to carry the information on was to force a significant part of the memory set to be dedicated to its duration.
What were my current significant memories? Pain, and the 'idea' of my clarity increasing every reset.
It was with these two memories that I had discovered an interesting fact.
By simultaneously focusing on the current situation and the memory of every part reset, the memories would group together to form a separate space that could be deposited at only the separate space, creating a smoother inheritance of every memory set.
Permanent memory package. That was the name I chose for this new ability—holding packages of memories that seemed to be permanent across the resets.
"What's next?"
My line was one of extreme danger—too many mindless resets and insanity would follow. Humans had to strive towards something if they wished to even be classified as alive.
And so, I decided to consciously make a counter inside my head. If I remained without any sense of direction or time, the mental damages would be catastrophic.
A grand ambition. One, however, that simply wasn't feasible at my current state.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
Ten.
"I should make another counter, right? Or else I'll go insane. Yeah, a counter for how many resets happened should be good."
One reset has occurred.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
'I think I need to measure something else for my safety…a counter. One reset has occurred.'
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"I think I'll—ah."
'It's already been one?'
Two resets had occurred.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Huh?"
Inside my head a new memory packet had formed, a space that held thoughts about a reset counter.
I could specifically feel four separate memory sets inside my head—one that was dedicated to the reset duration, another dedicated to the suffering I was undergoing, the packet recollecting my awareness and an unrecognisable one.
As curiosity arose, I took a small peek inside.
"F-fuck! Fuck! No, no, there's no way!"
The line between insanity—its distance seemed negligible now.
708,345 sets of memories recalling the number of resets that happened awaited me inside the new separate space.
"So then…this is 708,346?"
Ha.
Haha.
Hehahaha!
"Why is my face wet?"
God had forsaken me.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
…
"945,878."
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
…
"1,000,000."
…
I give up.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
1,442,876?
Huh, strange. Although I massively reduced the amount of focus placed on the counter, it was still working efficiently.
Guess my mind got a bit sharper.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Eighteen permanent memory packets have formed—my thoughts are becoming more complex."
As I checked inside a certain memory packet that showed me 3,464,899, I couldn't help but realise the splitting pain from inheriting them had nearly become zero. Not an ounce of pain nor disorientation overcame me as I opened them.
Memory control had also become far easier, as by now I wouldn't have to spend hundreds of resets focusing on a single thought to form a memory packet.
I didn't fucking care, however. What was the point? I was still stuck.
Everything was pointless.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
4,000,000.
Boring.
So fucking boring.
Anger had long faded out from my mind, enthusiasm to seek solutions had also begun to diminish inside this loop. This must be what they called emptiness.
There had to be one—
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
...
45,903,885.
…
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
40,134.
"Bastard."
Seriously, there had to be someone managing the timing of the reset.
"Haaa, if only I had a little longer."
Man, how did I even end up here? Did the manager really hate me so much that he went and sent me inside a time loop?! 40,134 times! If every single one of them was 10 seconds, then that's 401,340 seconds!
Sadly, I didn' think I could figure out how many days that was, but it should've been a lot goddamnit!
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Fuck! I know it's you, Madariame! Is this the virtual reality that they talk about?! Stop, okay, I'll be more focused from now on! Please!"
Silence.
"I'll kill you when I get out of here you bastard!"
I could feel my heart start to race—would Madariame really keep me in this virtual reality forever just for being a bad worker?
No, it couldn't be! Virtual reality hadn't advanced that far that people couldn't leave by their own will; there had to be a way to leave!
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"My memories, my memories! I have to check the start of my memories! The log out option has to be there!"
Scouring through my head, I skipped past the two memory packets placed in a discreet manner and entered inside the massive agglomeration of random memories.
Lifetimes. All it was were the experiences I had before I entered virtual reality. Maybe I would have to look at a different area?
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
40,789.
"Alright, if all the new memories are added on from the north position, then wouldn't the start memories be at the very south? Can I move my focus all the way back there?"
I would have to try.
Readying myself for a struggle, I focused on my—
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Fuck!"
There was no time to waste.
I rapidily glided my attention towards the very south of the vast memory set but it seemed I only managed to reach a fraction of the distance before I heard the disgusting sound.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
How could I do this?! Recollecting such vague memories required intense focus, and they would dissipate by the any disturbances!
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
56,880.
It was hopeless.
No matter how quickly I moved my attention down, it wasn't feasible to reach the far south in ten seconds. Furthermore, the random memory set was growing rapidly due to the number of resets that were occurring.
So really, it was fucking pointless.
[Damage inflicted!]
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
78,003.
…
Useless.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
458,055.
"Haha..haahahhaha.hahaaaa! Hahahahah! So that's what is happening! Kuhahaha, it was a shitty god, huh?! Fuck, I guess even I could make things work sometimes!"
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
4,678.
"Am I hallucinating?"
Or had my manager done this to me?
"The hell is happening, why do I keep coming back to this floor?"
I had to play back through my memories to see if I could understand what was happening.
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[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
9,237.
"Why the fuck are my memories getting larger?! No, fuck, how can I even focus if it keeps reseting every ten seconds!"
No. I had to work under the assumption that I would always be distracted. Instead of complaining, I had to learn how to go back through my memories even whilst in a hectic environment.
"Wait for it."
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"Now!"
If I had ever taken steroids, this would've been how I described it. My entire mental strength was placed onto 'focus', trying to continue further down the memory set.
[Human: Arden Droden will be sent back!]
It was too wishful, however.
As I returned back, the focus had instantaneously returned back to the start. But now, the next step had become clearer to me.