Prologue
“Haaah…”
Another day, same as always. I sighed while tapping away at the computer.
It was raining.
More precisely, it was purified wastewater that only looked like rain. The liquid flowing down from the purification systems on the upper floors of the buildings caught the neon lights and shimmered in shades of violet as it fell.
The streets gleamed like wet glass, and electric motorcycles slid past in near silence.
If I peeked my head out the window, I could see drones hovering overhead. “New artificial retinas—20% off if you sign up today.” Holographic ads floated in the air, blocking people’s view. Corporate logos replaced the night sky; there were no stars to be seen.
Yeah, this world was definitely cyberpunk.
But the life I lived inside it was astonishingly dull.
I leaned against the window of my one-room apartment at the end of an alley, its walls reinforced with metal plating, and looked down. The window was fitted with bulletproof glass bearing a megacorporation’s logo. If you missed rent, it automatically locked.
“Another day begins.”
My muttered voice was dry.
“How the hell does anyone live in a world this boring…?”
In my previous life, I had been a game developer. Not one of those internet-famous types who raked in hundreds of millions. Just an ordinary developer at a small studio that went under after chasing “innovation.” We burned through our investment, failed to attract users, and shut down with nothing but a server-closure notice.
“Those damn executives…”
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it felt. The CEO kept changing the game to suit his own tastes, then took out his failures on us. One day we were all laid off without warning.
And then I died. Pathetically. The cause was easy enough to guess. After everything I had built collapsed overnight, I spent several days drowning myself in alcohol. My liver, already suffering from the hangover, must have finally hit the self-destruct button.
Anyway, after my consciousness sank into that drunken haze, I opened my eyes to find myself in this city.
At first, I was excited. A cyberpunk world. Cybernetic enhancements, hackers, advanced technology! And, though a little frightening, corporate wars and street shootouts. I had imagined all of that.
Reality was different.
I was a low-level data clerk in the undercity. All day I censored corporate log files, deleted illegal access records, and reported suspicious accounts. No guns, no neural chips, no flashy tech. Just the endless sound of keyboards and silent coworkers.
And the most infuriating fact of all…
“Why? Why are there no games here?!”
This world had no games. It looked like the kind of place where you could dive into virtual reality and casually enjoy murder games, yet somehow that wasn’t the case.
When I asked, the answers were always insane.
“Leisure? Why would we need that? It doesn’t improve work efficiency at all.”
“Do you really think so? One shot of Deus Corporation’s serum and all your fatigue vanishes.”
After hearing enough of that nonsense, I eventually gave up. The very concept of leisure or rest was taboo, and before long I was using the company’s products myself.
“If only I could just make one myself…”
It was impossible. Games weren’t something a single person could create on a whim. In a society that only valued work, the workload placed on one individual was already overwhelming. Finding time to grab coffee at a café was hard enough—when would I ever make a game?
“Haaah…”
Because of all that, my life here was nothing more than a cog in society. Nothing more, nothing less. Even if my previous life had been similar, this still felt wrong.
Was it because of the excessive development of science and technology? Experiencing the bleak atmosphere unique to cyberpunk worlds firsthand stirred something indescribable in my chest.
“Damn it! These people don’t understand the beauty of art at all!”
After shouting once, I flopped onto the bed. Yelling wouldn’t change anything. It was just self-satisfaction.
. . .
> Synchronization Complete
“…What?”
A strange blue window appeared before my eyes.
> Avatar Registration Confirmed
> Would you like to activate the Status Window?
“…What?”
My heart skipped a beat.
I reached out, but the window didn’t respond to touch. It only wavered faintly, as if made of light.
Avatar? Status Window?
This world wasn’t a game. At least, that was what I had believed.
“What the hell is this…”
The data streams on my monitor overlapped with the transparent window floating before my eyes. The city’s neon signs reflected off it, rippling in blue.
The steel-and-neon world that had been so monotonous began to show the tiniest cracks.
Slowly, I moved my finger toward the invisible button.
“Activate.”
In that instant—
My vision flashed as countless lines of text exploded into view.
> Art and Culture Preservation System Activated
> The ‘Muses’ are entering.
And just like that, my empty life finally began its first real “service.”