Chapter 3 – Setting Goals and Tutorial


“Shizuku, Hey Shizuku! I started «Fantasy Frontier Online», so let’s play together!”

“No thanks.”

As the day started, I woke up and finished the various household chores. While carrying over her breakfast, I suppressed my impatient excitement and invited Shizuku, but only received back a cold reply.
I hung my head in dejection from the unexpected response and from the corner of my eye, I thought Shizuku had opened the door slightly for me, but she simply took her breakfast and shut herself in her room again.
As expected, this couldn’t be overlooked. I lifted my head up and desperately petitioned to my precious younger sister.

“Why!? I heard from Ranka, Shizuku was playing the same game right!? Onee-chan bought it too so let’s play together!!”

“It’s the same game, but I was a serious player that started half a year ago when service began. The hunting grounds where I usually am would be too strong for a beginner like Onee-chan to follow into.”

“I’ll accompany you!! Onee-chan will keep up with her spirit, so please!!”

“Even if Onee-chan had that much spirit, it was useless in the actual game. This game had lots of situations where player skill meant everything, but you still had to be leveled at the minimum or else you wouldn’t even be able to damage the enemies.”

“Then, if I get stronger! If I become stronger, will you play with me!?”

“If you’re stronger, huh. You can say that after you’ve at least subjugated the field boss in the forest area in 3 minutes or under.”

“Okay!! Onee-chan will try her best!!”

Yeeess, I’m filled with energy! Today, I’ll absorb myself in the game non-stop!! I’ll definitely become stronger!

“……You don’t have to try so hard, just go to sleep punctually for today.”

“No way, I don’t want to be told that by you Shizuku!! You always stay up later than me don’t you!?”

Of course, yesterday I stayed up a little to configure a variety of initial settings, but Shizuku is the one who’d always stay awake until late.
That’s why I refuted, but her response from beyond the door was simply a deep sigh.

“I’m a shut-in who doesn’t attend school, so if I feel like sleeping, I can do so during the daytime.”

“Having such an unhealthy lifestyle was no good! Good kids have to properly sleep at night and wake up in the morning in order to lead a good lifestyle you know!?”

“I don’t wake up as early as Onee-chan in the first place and I took naps in the afternoon too, which meant compared to Onee-chan, I actually slept more. So Onee-chan, you too, should pay attention to your own health.”

“I take naps in school so it’s fine!”

“Wasn’t that the same as me?”

With that sharp remark, I averted my eyes even though I knew fully well that she couldn’t see me.
Yeah, I unintentionally made a slip of the tongue and it was completely a case of double standards. What a blunder.

“…… Anyways, just leave me alone. I can also order meals and have them delivered so you don’t have to make anything. I’m not exactly troubled when it came to money, so you could even quit your part-time job if you want.”

“No way, your nutrition would become unbalanced so I’m definitely making it! As for money, I was properly saving for the future!”

Well no, I did just buy the VR gear so that point was a bit wrong……
If anything I wanted to win those online rewards like Shizuku did too. Though, that would’ve been unreasonable for yesterday and today.

Nevertheless, this time Shizuku drops the interrogation and simply uses a low, disinterested tone with the intent to reject me.

“…… If that’s the case, I’d like to eat that so called nutritional meal now, so go home.”

On that final note, my conversation (?) with Shizuku was cut off and replaced with the clattering sound of a plate. It seemed like she really did start on her breakfast.

Uu, I thought Shizuku would play together with me if I had the same game…… Go home, she said. In the first place, this was the house I’d return to, you know…… Sniffle.

No, it’s too early to give up. she said she’d play together with me if I became stronger. That’s what Shizuku promised me after all. If that was the case, I’ll get stronger at any cost, thoroughly beat up that field boss (?) or whatever and Shizuku will definitely have to accept me!!

But what Shizuku said was right, I was certainly a beginner and lacked too much information to be used as reference, so first, I’ll turn to my close friend and ask what to do.

“Ah, sorry Suzune. I won’t be able to play for a while.”

“Eh, how come?”

And so, I went back to my room, deciding to rely (?) on my best friend Ranka. I called her and that was the reply I got in return.
When I asked for the reason, An extremely reluctant answer resounded through the phone.

“That’s because, mama discovered the math test I hid and until I passed the supplementary exam, I was banned from gaming……”

“Ah……”

Now that you mention it, the other day, Ranka scored a 7 on her math midterms which almost seemed like a joke.
Since that was discovered, well, it was inevitable it would turn out that way.

“Aaah~, If only I was as smart as Suzune~. I’d be able to indulge myself in gaming without having to worry about studying for tests.”

“In Ranka’s case, it was your fault for only gaming and not studying at all, jeez.”

Certainly, I was good at memorizing, but Ranka’s situation was just a case of reaping what you sow.
When I pointed that out, I heard a “bu~” and a seemingly pouting voice replied to me.

“Haa….. Well that’s how it is, so do your best playing alone for a while okay Suzune?”

“S-sure. I wonder if I’ll be alright on my own when I’m just starting out.”

“You’ll be fine. If you play conventionally, you’ll somehow manage one way or another. It’s Suzune after all.”

I don’t know if she really had confidence in me or anything, since the Ranka that said that was always optimistic.
I was a bit uneasy but…… Well, for the time being, my objective was to, “level up and get stronger, clear the forest boss in 3 minutes or under.” Would I be able to somehow manage that?

“I got it. For now, I’ll just try playing. Ranka, do your best on studying too since having to repeat the supplementary exam meant you wouldn’t be able to play at all for a while.”

“Ugugu, I knew that already. See you later then”

A beep confirms that the call had been hung up. I relaxed my shoulders a bit and…… Pashin! I slapped my cheeks to psyche myself up.

“Alright, I don’t know how it’ll turn out but, game start!!”

Since I was a complete novice, I’m felt anxious going into it without anyone’s guidance, but at the same time, I was also a little excited.
Sure enough, it seemed to have made Shizuku and Ranka entirely engrossed in it, so exactly what kind of world was it?
With such expectations in mind, I crowned myself with VR gear and launched FFO.
I was done with the initial settings, so instead of entering the cyberspace like I first did, an abrupt white light enveloped me and when I opened my eyes, what spread out before my vision was an infinite blue that seemingly extended to the ends of the world.

“Uwaa……!!”

A blue sky without the presence of any clouds and a clear blue sea. The two shades of blue intermingled at the end of the ocean’s horizon while the sun’s light shines like a sparkling jewel in the middle of the water.
Gazing at such a spectacle, I was on top of a swaying boat which flowed along with the waves. The old wooden boat was being pulled forward by the wind and that oscillation then came transmitting through my legs.
The scent of the drifting tide, the cold water that occasionally splashes on my skin. It really made you involuntarily question whether this was actually a world inside of a game or not. The provocation towards my five senses would not stop.
I didn’t know that the games nowadays were like this~. If such amazing scenes continued throughout the game, I could certainly agree and see how you would become captivated by it.

With that being my first VR experience, I was really looking forward to it. When I looked around at the other passengers on the boat, I realized that everyone seemed to be nothing but tanned, burly men.
They were also uniformly dressed in the same colored bandana and light tank top. Most likely, everyone that I had assessed was an NPC.
Within this group, there was a particularly friendly man that approached me with a smile on his face.

“Yo, you’re heading to «Fantazuma»¹ too right? Got your preparations ready?”

“Preparations?”

“Aah, if no one’s told you yet, if it’s alright with you, want me to explain some things? It’s not the first time I’ve sent adventurers like you over there yonder.”

As soon as that happened, a pon~ sound arrived in my head and a message window appeared in front of my eyes.
Let’s see, what’s this what’s this…… “Would you like to accept the Tutorial Quest?”

“A tutorial huh. I should take this shouldn’t I.”

Pon~, I tapped on the OK button. Then, the NPC man gave me a nod without answering anything in particular.

“No problems here. Then, I’ll firmly teach you all the tricks and know-hows you’ll need to survive on that continent.”

Having said that, the man informed me of the many basic functions.
I received an explanation of each item on the menu screen and their purposes as well as details on equipment.
Then, we got to skills which was perhaps the most important of them all.

“Skills were greatly useful when it came to fighting and exploring. There was various types of skills and anyone was able to learn them, Some required you to be a certain class, though amongst all them, the skill that should be learned first and foremost was none other than the «Attack Skill»! There was a big difference between having it and not having it when it came to surviving on «Fantazuma». Go on, try shooting over there as a test.”

Po~n. The window appears once again, detailing the method to invoke the skill. Apparently, whenever you shouted out the skill name, the system would recognize it and it would come into effect.
At any rate, was the NPC necessary in order to display this? It seemed so, but since this was a VR game after all, having every progression being in display windows would be dull so it might only be for now. With that said, I placed that trivial topic to the side and promptly tried using the skill.

“«Mana Shoot»!!”

As I exclaimed that, From my beginner’s equipment, «Wooden Staff», a white orb of light launches out and flies off towards the surface of the sea.
Ooh~, so this was a skill…… I kind of feel like an actual mage somehow. Cool.

“Your aptitude for this is pretty good. Magic skills were a bit different from the others since they used a lot of mana and had a cooldown time, so be sure to be careful with how much mana you have left.

“‘Kaaay”

“Now then, on to the next step. Getting a grasp on skills was good, but in actual practice, the monsters on that continent will be moving around and rushing at you. I’ll become your sparring partner for a bit, so you can get familiar with how to fight against monsters.”

Another po~n sounded and the displayed window now read “Attack the «Sailor» with a skill.” Eh, is it really okay to attack him?
Well, the person himself said he’d be my opponent so it was fine, right?

“Here I go, «Mana Shoot»!!”

I used the skill once more, aiming and firing the bullet of light towards the Sailor-san.
My aim was right on trajectory, hitting the sailor in his abdomen……

“What’s wrong, come at me seriously! You won’t be able to survive like this you know!?”

It only shaves off a little of his HP and the effect ends.
Huh? It’s somehow a little different from what I imagined. This Sailor-san didn’t seem troubled in the slightest.

“That’s weird…… «Mana Shoot»!!”

I fired off one more shot just to see and the result was the exact same.
I continued subsequently with two shots, three shots, and finally reduced a third of his HP. As I thought, it’s weak.

“Hehe, that’s passable. Well then, this time I’ll be the one attacking! Dodge if you can!!”

While I was tilting my head, Sailor-san clenches his fist and springs at me. If you looked, you could see that the contents of the quest had changed into “Evade the attack from the «Sailor»”

Well, this was simple. The sailor’s movements were only on par with the average student delinquent. Was it because it was just a tutorial?

I lightly sidestepped away of the incoming fist and Sailor-san slightly stumbles. He staggers past the place where I was standing before taking his fighting stance once again.

“You’re pretty good, in which case, it’s about time for me to get serious, so let’s see if you can do better!!”

Po-n. The quest changed once again, this time saying “Defeat the «Sailor»”
I guess it’ll be an unrestricted battle starting now?

“SEIYAA-!!!”

“Oops! «Mana Shoot»!”

I nimbly avoided the Sailor-san’s punch and fired a «Mana Shoot» into his side which was as unchangingly weak as before.
Hmm, It wasn’t like it’s power was dropping due to distance or anything. Maybe the sailor was actually strong? Or could the problem be that I was just doing it incorrectly…… Hmm.

“SEII-!!”

While I was in the middle of thinking, the sailor came attacking relentlessly.
Jeez, can’t this just stop for a moment? I couldn’t concentrate on my thinking like this.
Can’t be helped, I’ll put him to sleep for a bit.

“There we go”

“UWOH!?”

I dodged the fist that came flying towards me and killed the momentum behind it by grabbing him. With all my strength, I hurled him away.
It was a technique that ignored the difference in body build. I learned this during junior high from a third degree black belt teacher (self-proclaimed) in order to rescue Shizuku if she was ever assaulted by a scoundrel for being too cute.
Why don’t you continue down the path of martial arts? I heard my proficiency was at least good enough to be suggested to do so and it seemed like those skills were still going on strong inside the game as well.
As if it was a joke, Sailor-san was thrown by the hands of a young girl like me, spinning and tumbling until his body smacked against the deck.

“Gu!? N-not too shabby……”

The sailor stood up while groaning. I glanced at the HP bar above his head and tilted my own in confusion.

…… Huh? Somehow this did a lot more damage compared to when I attacked with the skill, but why?

“«Mana Shoot»”

I shot another one, attacking with the magic skill to experiment, but the damage was only slight.
I don’t think I even know what magic is anymore and on that account, I rushed forward. evading the incoming fist, and tried slamming my staff into his abdomen.

“GUOH!?”

Again, the sailor-san is sent flying like it was a joke.
It took the magic skill numerous shots just to reduce his HP by only a third. However with this, a single hit decreased it by the same amount which meant it had reached 0 now.

Eh? As I suspected, striking him did more damage, why? Wasn’t the «Magician» a class that fought using magic?

“Not bad at all. You, if you keep that up, you might just be able to live on that continent.”

While I was in doubt, the sailor had revived before I realized it and he patted my shoulder with a smile.
I was pretty sure I had beaten him up quite one-sidedly, yet he still said such encouraging words to me. What a kind person.

When I thought that, a fanfare chimed in my head for the completion of the quest. As for the reward, I received 3000 credits which was the currency.

“That money’s a farewell gift. I’m always here at the harbor, so feel free to come asking questions when you encounter something you don’t understand. Stay well!”

The very same man I had just clobbered, gave me money and even cheered me on.
Yep, looking at it from the impression alone, it was an incomprehensible situation but, well it’s a game after all! You’ll lose if you think too hard!

“Okay, thank you very much!”

With that reason, I obediently expressed my gratitude. It seems like I had reached the harbor before I knew it.
I could’ve sworn that neither the land’s silhouette or figure could be seen a few minutes ago, but I pretended to ignore it and stepped down from the ship.

Thereupon, what spread out in front of my eyes was a base camp filled with huts.
Though the image they gave off made it seem like they were quickly mended together, it was a complete change compared to how it was in the ship. There were various weapons and armors, as well as people who were wearing peculiar native dresses. It was a lively space filled with energy.

This was a place that would support every player’s adventures, it was the starting town.

“Well then~, let’s do this! Wait for me Shizuku, Onee-chan will show you that she”ll definitely be able to become stronger!”

I got through the tutorial, but I was still riddled with things I didn’t understand…… However, I’ve decided on what I had to do.

Pashin~! I slapped my cheeks and regained my motivation. In order to defeat some monsters immediately, I looked towards the outside of the base camp and broke off into a sprint.

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¹ : Written with the kanji 幻想大陸, meaning continent/land of illusions/fantasies.