Chapter 2: A World That Demands a Choice

Rei returned to the inn in Akibahara as the virtual sun began to set.

Inside the modest room, he opened his inventory. Pale blue light filled the space as his armor materialized—not the best equipment he owned, but more than sufficient for whatever awaited him outside. His trusted sword followed, its blade reflecting a faint glimmer.

He equipped everything with movements born of long familiarity.

“Alright…,” he murmured. “Ready.”

Before leaving, Rei placed a few coins on the table. Not because it was required—just an old habit. The world may have changed, but small things like that still felt important.

His destination was Citra Village.

He needed to report his delayed quest to the Black Bear Guild—and settle his business before Black Tidal Wave truly began.

His steps carried him along an asphalt road that gradually climbed toward the hills.

That was where he met someone.

“Are you the Rei who once cleared Black Tidal Wave alone?”

Rei stopped.

A man in a black robe stood at the roadside, leaning on a staff. His posture was straight despite his white hair betraying his age. Yellow eyes regarded Rei without pressure, yet without hesitation.

“Yes,” Rei answered shortly.

The man smiled faintly.
“Then I do need to speak with you.”

Rei studied him for a moment before asking, “Merlin?”

“Call me Serizawa,” the man replied. “Or Hondo. I prefer that.”

Rei nodded.
“Very well, Serizawa-san.”

A brief pause followed. A gentle wind passed between them.

“I want to ask something,” Rei said at last.

“About what?”

“About a way out,” Rei replied. “Are you truly searching for one?”

Serizawa did not answer immediately.

He looked ahead down the road, as if searching for something unseen.

“Rei,” he said quietly, “I want to be honest with everyone.”

He took a slow breath.

“But there are truths that are… not easy to speak.”

Rei did not interrupt.

“This is about responsibility,” Serizawa continued. “And about the pride of someone who may have brought too many people into this world.”

Rei understood that meaning more than he expected.

Before he could say anything, footsteps approached.

A blue-haired woman, neatly dressed, stood a short distance away.

“Sir Serizawa,” she said politely, “the meeting of guild leaders, parties, and families is about to begin. They are already waiting at the city center.”

Serizawa nodded.

He turned back to Rei and sent a friend request notification. Rei accepted without hesitation.

“If anything happens,” Serizawa said, “contact me.”

A horse-drawn carriage carried them away.

Rei resumed walking.

Yet that brief encounter left something he could not ignore.

Even the creator of this world… was uncertain.

The central hall was filled with noise.

Not panicked screams, but heated debate. Leaders stood speaking rapidly, cutting one another off.

“We’re trapped here!”
“And the event starts in just weeks!”

The name Black Tidal Wave surfaced again.

TOK.

The strike of a gavel silenced everything.

The doors opened. City guards entered first, followed by Serizawa stepping into the center of the hall.

“I will not lie,” he said bluntly.
“We cannot log out.”

Silence fell.

“For now,” he continued, “RE: Deep Dive World is our world.”

Some faces hardened. Others lowered their gaze.

“Because of that,” Serizawa said, “we must survive as one city.”

He promised no safety.
He promised no escape.

Only one thing—

“No inter-guild conflict.”
“No territorial disputes.”
“We will face Black Tidal Wave together.”

Not every face looked convinced.

But no one objected.

The decision was made not out of full trust, but because there was no other choice.

Rei did not know the full contents of that meeting.

Yet as he continued his journey toward Citra Village, system notifications appeared one by one—temporary regulations, conflict restrictions, and the city’s command structure.

So this is the path they chose, he thought.

Citra Village came into view in the distance.

That was where his quest awaited.

Yet for some reason, Rei’s steps slowed.

Not out of fear.

But because of a strange sensation that had lingered since the previous dungeon—a feeling that this world had begun to take notice of him.

He slowly clenched his fingers.

If I die here… there will be no peaceful end anymore.

Strangely, that thought did not make him want to stop.

Quite the opposite.

He stepped forward.

Unaware that today’s decision would drag him into an unplanned encounter—
and a bond he would no longer be able to abandon.

Black Tidal Wave was drawing closer.

And this world…
had begun to demand a choice from him.