Chapter 4:

Adapt Pt1

Fallen Omnipotent Writer Perspective


['Player Mentality' has been enforced.]

Ben threw all the baggage he had in his head earlier and focused on acting as fast as he could.

This wasn't a world where he could be 'weak'…

Those who were pushovers in this world were either screwed or fucked… but mostly the former.

As for what that meant, the first thing that needed to be clarified was that this was based on a MMO.

Some peasant bastards would think that meant it was similar to an RPG, but they would be WRONG!

An MMO didn't necessarily have to be a Role-Playing Game with paladins, dragons, and shit.

What was necessary in a Massively Multiplayer Online experience was a user friendly interface.

It had to be simple enough to store on a hard drive that was as big as a fridge, but small enough so that more content could be added later on. You wouldn't highly detailed MMOs often due to this.

There are probably going to be hundreds of people running around on real time burning the processors limits… to the point that RAM would need to sell her first born child just to get herself running again.

Oh the tragedy of MMO game processors…

Anyway, the point of all this was to say that there was no such thing as a 'powerhouse' on low levels.

Everyone started at the same level, usually…

That meant that only those who 'made the right decisions' would be rewarded in these scenarios.

Wouldn't that give him the edge on most?

Usually, being the writer and all, he should've been able to use his knowledge or cheats to power through. At least, that's what he'd thought would happen when he accepted that initial blue screen.

Reality was harsher than fiction…

Who would've known that even though 'Sidmund Tailor' had possessed him, his soul was too weak.

This lead to Ben taking priority instead.

Thus, he was in the worst state physically.

But that could be covered with knowledge, right?

Surely he could use his head in this situation, right?

Well, if he was capable of doing that, his personal Growth Characteristic wouldn't have been 'Horny Materialistic Couch Potato'. That's exactly why his self-insert had his entire personality rewritten.

Sidmund Tailor was literally 'tailor-made' to do the fucking of this world. A gigolo every woman loved.

Even Julie was supposed to fall for him…

…but that was impossible now.

He'd nervously let it slip that he was the 'author' of this story to that girl. It wasn't the same anymore.

In fact, following the 'original plot' was impossible from the start. His big 'novel' was of low quality.

It was just things happening to the protagonist because of highly specific reasons. A mess of a story that had no consistent 'flow'. It went all over the place regardless of the reader's own opinions.

But one thing went the same as the Webnovel.

When the sun arose, everyone was alive again. It was almost like they'd never died in the first place.

They looked at each other with crooked eyes…

Of course, most remembered their time groaning.

Those who asked for assistance, but were met with coldness. Some tried surviving by depriving others.

It had been a chaotic mess before this 'morning'.

There weren't any families here, and this service was mostly made up of those from his workplace.

That's to say that… most of them knew of 'Stats'.

"…This can't be happening."

"Were we transported into a game?"

"When the place fell over, didn't I… I… I… d-die?"

"This can't be real…"

Rejection was the first stage of coming to terms with their new reality. This was all they had…

Wasn't this all his fault?

No, he couldn't be weakened by this fact.

Even if it was his fault… He must not cower.

There was no way to redo that decision anyway…

"Hello~! Is everyone here doing good~?" The same golden blonde woman from earlier just appeared.

Without making a sound, in a flash of light, there she proudly stood… knowing of their disorientation.

"Welcome to the Underworld." These were the familiar words he'd written without much thought.

But now they were being spoken, it felt a bit different. Almost like those words were meaningful.

The woman glanced in his direction momentarily…

"Who the heck are you?! Where did you magically come from anyway?!" A loud voice broke tension.

It was a voice he couldn't believe after he'd heard…

'Why is that fatty here?' Even though the first scenario was about him beating up his boss, it didn't make sense that the highest rank person of his workplace would take the tram to work.

What was with this inconsistency…?

It made sense within the bounds of a novel, but why was the 'plump man' from earlier that fatty?!

'Was the novel affecting reality even before I accepted that message?' This idea made him calm.

It gave him hope, so decided to see it that way.

There was no other explanation he'd accept.

Well, at least the guy was courting death the same way he described in the 'SSSSS Class Rank Raiser'.

'More importantly…' Since she was the first to appear, that girl could only have one identity.

But why did the person look so different?

"Ben…" Julie called out while holding his arm. He was unable to understand why she got closer.

From the way she was acting, it looked like she was able to sense the 'danger' the woman had posed.

"Hey! Are you listening to me, bitch?!"

'Yup, he is courting death.' The eyes of the spear holding enigma turned towards the plump figure.

A look of disgust was in her eyes…

"Shut it." With those words spoken, the hooded figure who'd uncovered his face was thrown down.

Almost like someone knocked him out instantly…

'Right… No one dies so early, huh?' The sudden unexplainable phenomenon made everyone silent.

She made her presence known by letting out a fictional superpower known to many as 'aura'.

The ability to make others fearful or inspired.

A deathly silence looked over everyone.

"Great. For starters, I'm only here to give you all a heads up before you guys accidentally get killed. I AM the most generous person here, right?" She smiled like a tiger looking over a bunch of sheep.

Of course, Ben knew this all was nonsense.

"Aaaaagh!" Someone screamed, which turned everyone's attention to the outside of the tram.

The overwhelming sight was one to behold…

There, flying in the sky, were a bunch of insects.

However, they weren't the normal variant.

Massive horrors… Almost like they were magnified.

The same could be said for the plants. It hadn't even been that long, but the world was overrun!

Was this really the same world as earlier?

Maybe this would make sense if it was the whim of a writer, but was this happening so quickly?

Where was the line between fiction and reality?

['Player Mentality' is reinforcing itself.]

Ben calmed down enough to keep listening…

"Think of this as a Civilisation Forming game. You all will be tasked on using your skills to reform society now. As a neat bonus, you'll even have statuses and skills to help you survive this world.

Careful now. Because you guys won't be the only ones who can get stronger." The golden blonde woman put everyone on the same page. It was enough to make one person brave enough to ask.

"Ummm… Who are you anyway?"

"Just think of me as a Dragoon. Since we'll be here all day in this Q&A, make it one question per person." These words might seem flimsy, but they held enough information for Julie to go off of.

If what Ben said was the truth, then this really was a world based off the PlainsWalker MMORPG.

And a 'Dragoon' meant she has a high level Class.

However, the secretary could tell from her coworker's expression that things were amiss.

She leaned down to ask:

"What's wrong?"

"…" He didn't say anything back. His eyes seemed focused on the questions everyone was asking.

"Are we in a game? Can we 'log off'?"

"Nope. This is your reality."

"Miss, who might you be?"

"Are you hitting on me~? Well, you could call me the Game Master that brought you to this world."

"Are we able to go back home?"

"Where to? This is your true home."

"What's your real name?"

"My name is Loki, God of Tricks and Mischief."

"Liar!"

"Believe what you want."

"…" The Q&A session was active until most people had used up their questions on meaningless stuff.

Only few were left…

That's when Ben made his first move in this world.

He asked her the question:

"Is this fiction or reality?"

His question didn't seem uncommon amongst the things that were asked, but 'Loki' squinted at him.

Then grinned while replying:

"That's up to you."

Julie saw the look of suppressed dissatisfaction on Ben's face. She knew what he was likely thinking.

Then asked the last question of this Q&A:

"What is the currency of this new world?"

"Capitalism thrives even here? Heh~" The female Loki seemed amused for the first time in a while.

"My question…"

"Hunt a 'Giant Fly' and you'll find out."

When she was finally finished with this sudden public session, the golden blonde girl vanished.

Finally, they were left to their own devices…

The employees under the plump man picked him back up. Their eyes were staring at the sky.

Something must be done.