Exit

It was over so quickly I couldn’t help but watch Saga in blank amazement. She was her usual self, but at the same time also completely different.

Her clothes were the ones I programmed into the game; the same dull garb that Kai and I also wore. Such plain clothes on a beauty like her created an interesting contrast, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. She still had her glasses and had her dark hair in a braid, but her eyes… they looked completely different now.

If before her gaze was of the coldest ice, now there was a certain kind of flame burning within them as she raised her sword aloft.

That sword, too, was a work of art. Slim, long and sharp with a gleaming blade that looked like it was made of the purest silver, while the hilt was as white as the finest ivory. It somewhat resembled a katana.

Blood still gushing from its wound, the headless goblin fell still. Sometimes I surprised even myself by how realistic I made this game look. Confirming this result with a glare, Saga lowered her sword. She seemed to have no sheathe or anything, so she simply held the blade right above the ground.

I looked at her eyes again. Whatever emotions flared within them a moment before, they now faded away into the usual coldness.

“S-Saga!” called Kai, who was the first to recover from his shock at this scene.

“Hah, looks like I’m here just on time,” said the girl, looking between me pathetically sitting on the ground and Kai even more pathetically clinging to a branch.

My eyes went to her blade again. “How did you… but…”

“Hey, can you help me get down?” called Kai. “No, actually… can you help me log out of this stupid game? What the hell is going on, C?”

I opened my mouth, but then closed it.

I shared Kai’s exact same question. This was a game I created to be as realistic as possible, to be sure, but not to the extent of actually getting hurt by the mobs. Not to mention the whole thing about there being no UI, menus or anything.

I only spared very little thought about what happened to my two guests, seeing I was in danger before, but now that we all gathered together it was time to face this important question.

“I… I don’t know. This isn’t how my game works, it wasn’t supposed to happen,” I mumbled while rising to my legs. I started patting off the dirt from my pants and shirt.

“You boasted about this thing,” Saga pointed out.

“Yes, but still—it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Something’s very wrong and there doesn’t seem to be a way to log out, either.”

“Yeah, I noticed!” said Kai indignantly from above. “I’m about to freak out here… how are you so calm about this, Saga? And what’s with the sword, anyway?”

Right, where did it come from? “Did the character creation process work for you?” I added in surprise.

Saga at first tilted her head, then shook it. “Hah, no, I just found this.” She gave the sword a shake.

Found it? Really? I didn’t remember programming this sort of weapon into the game… but that was probably the least weird thing about this situation.

Meanwhile, Kai seemed to make it down the tree just fine, for all of his previous whining. He, too, was covered in dirt and some bruises, possibly from fighting that goblin before.

“What have you done, C?” he complained as he approached me, actually giving me a push. He looked furious.

“Again—I’m as confused about this as you are,” I said, frowning and glaring back at him. “There’s no logout button, no vocal commands…” I stopped for a moment, thinking of something. “There are other ways, but I wonder…”

“Other ways to log out, you mean?” Kai said excitedly. “Then spit it out already!”

A part of me rather enjoyed seeing Kai like that—usually he was so cocky and sure of himself, but now he looked completely out of his element. Despite being in the same situation as him, it felt good seeing him get taken down a peg.

On her side, Saga was as calm and collected as always. Her chilly image was now especially strengthened when combined with the wicked-looking sword of hers still dripping blood on the grass. Almost gave her a serial killer image.

“Hello? Earth to C!” Kai called again, breaking my ruminations.

Not like we were on Earth anymore. “Alright, alright, calm down,” I said, taking a step back. “One way is to get killed in game, but we probably don’t want to risk that right now.”

“Hell yeah, we don’t! So? What else?”

I briefly took in the surroundings. The area was familiar to me, just like I expected. “Our predicament notwithstanding… this is the world I’ve built without a doubt. This tutorial area is not too large, and past a certain point there’s a barrier of trees you can’t get past. That’s not the point. Basically, I set up an exit point there. Just in case.”

“Really? Great,” said Kai, breathing in relief. “Where is it, then?”

“Somewhere to the north from here,” I said, gesturing with a hand. “There’s a large door, you can’t miss it. We should be able to get out… if it works.”

“Awesome! Let’s get going, then.” Kai very nearly started running, before he noticed us not making any move. “Well? What’re you waiting for?”

In my case, I kept thinking about what happened right as I activated this game… I couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t irrelevant to our current situation.

Even assuming the door led outside—what waited for me there?

Was I even alive?

What if it was just my mind stuck here, while my body was smoking bacon right now?

I was afraid to even ask them about this. Surely Kai would have mentioned something like that with his countless complaints if it happened, right?

As for the girl… I honestly had no idea. Both of us looked at her, causing her to actually frown a little.

“Hah, fine. Let’s see if it actually works,” she said nonchalantly then started walking ahead. Her eyes darted here and here, perhaps making sure there weren’t any other enemies.

Her blade was still poised and ready.

Apparently she really was experienced with games like Divine Hunting Grounds, judging from the expertly way she treated this situation.

It was a short walk. After playtesting this area a lot, I already knew it like the back of my hand. We did end up encountering a couple of mobs on the way, but Saga took quick care of them. Kai just stood behind me the whole time and I didn’t have a chance to see if my MP got replenished; Saga simply dashed ahead with flowing movements, slashing with her sword and easily killing goblins and slimes alike.

Eventually there was a clearing, and in that clearing was a door.

It was a simple wooden door that stood there as if it had sprouted from the ground. Nothing fancy, nor something that made sense for the area.

However, it instilled me with some hope that it might really work, this time.

“Alright,” I said. “The way this works is that you open the door and step through it to log out. That’s it. I think.”

Even so, the three of us all just stared at the door. Kai glanced at me, a complex expression on his face. Was he worried that this was some sort of false hope?

Eventually Saga sighed. “Hah, you cowards. I’ll open it.”

She approached the door, grabbed the handle and pushed it open. The way I programmed it, there was supposed to be an endless white corridor inside… but there wasn’t.

Instead, it was green. But it wasn’t the same green as the infinite woods stretching out behind it as part of an impregnable barrier. It was the green of a wild, dense, untamed forest.

Unlike anything I built for this game.

If that wasn’t enough, before we could even consider what this meant, a voice suddenly spoke. It came from the sky, or at least echoed all around us.

I definitely hadn’t programmed that, either.

“Welcome,” it said, distorted and heavy, “to the world of Avallux, the Crossroads of the Worlds. And prepare for your challenge.”