Learning
Learning
Tattattattatta- Tattattattatta- Good morning~
I woke up to an alarm sounding more terrible than the roar of artillery shells on a battlefield.
Reaching out to check the time with half-asleep eyes, it was 1 PM.
My wake-up time was completely twisted because I had been playing the Techrun Challenge until late at dawn.
Well, my wake-up time changing was a familiar occurrence, so it wasn't a problem.
It was something I made sure of to get used to life on the battlefield.
Does this part not change even if my body has changed?
This must be proof that the human mind is stronger than the flesh.
Dragging my unfamiliar-feeling body, I headed to the bathroom.
Humans are animals of learning.
Even if an unfamiliar change occurs in our environment, we quickly learn and adapt.
Just like me, who adapted in a few days to the bizarre change of my body turning into a woman.
Washing this needlessly long hair was a hassle, but it wasn't hugely difficult.
Sometimes I thought I should just cut it off, but whenever that thought crossed my mind, an instinctive repulsion arose.
Even if they say the mind is stronger than the flesh, the mind still ends up following the flesh.
My mind must have been dyed to fit this body over these past few days.
Well, it wasn't like my identity would be shaken to that extent.
Anyway, finishing my shower, I roughly dried my body with a towel.
I head to the room. I open the closet.
For underwear, I only put on the bottom piece.
Bras were annoying and⋅⋅⋅ above all, the sensation was irritating.
I put on a white t-shirt and shorts⋅⋅⋅ though they were way too short to be called shorts.
What did they call these again?
Dolphin pants?
The reason I wore these was⋅⋅⋅ because they were the most comfortable thing to wear.
In my heart, I wanted to wear men's clothes, but I didn't have the luxury to do so.
I would just have to be satisfied with this for lack of better options.
Moving to the living room, I opened the refrigerator.
The inside was completely empty.
Why were there clothes in the closet, but absolutely nothing in the fridge?
There really was no consistency.
Letting out a small sigh, I closed the fridge and rummaged through the shelves.
Cup noodles were stacked in a corner.
It seemed the previous owner of this body had been a cup noodle aficionado.
I roughly grabbed a random one and boiled some water.
I tore off the cup noodle's packaging and poured the water in.
A brief wait.
And then.
Hururuk-
Ggulkkeok- Ggulkkeok-
The meal ended quickly.
I devoured a single cup noodle in a flash and rinsed my mouth out with water.
Feeling the satisfaction of replenishing my calories, I opened the Capsule.
As I stepped inside the Capsule, Aki fluttered its two pairs of wings and approached me like a dog coming out to greet its owner.
[User-nim. Hello. What kind of story shall we talk about today?]
"Hello."
I lightly accepted Aki's greeting and took a seat.
"Aki. My shoulders are stiff."
Was it because I was carrying two heavy things on my chest?
Even though I hadn't done any particular physical activity, my shoulders felt stiff.
Aki immediately activated the massage function at my words.
Just as my body felt like it was melting into the sensation of the shoulder-relaxing massage.
[User-nim. There are two hours left until the start of the preliminaries!]
Two hours.
If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have slept a little longer.
What should I do during the remaining time?
While pondering, I gestured toward Aki.
Aki, coming closer in response to my gesture, floated a question mark above its head.
"Is there a video saved of the challenge I did yesterday?"
[Yes! It is saved. The automatic recording setting is turned on by default!]
Aki spread both its arms and projected a semi-transparent window.
A folder labeled 'Recorded Videos'.
I could see video files sorted by level.
[Which part would you like to see?]
"Does it normally categorize things this specifically? That automatic recording thing."
[No! I, being a high-performance AI, categorized them separately!]
"Really? Good job."
I skipped the videos categorized by level.
And checked the 1 hour and 30-minute long 'Extreme Challenge' video.
The Extreme Challenge is a mode where levels 1 through 10 loop infinitely.
It has the characteristic of getting progressively faster as it loops.
I watched the latter half of the video.
I could see myself moving exactly as I had learned the set patterns.
If I had kept going like that, I easily could have lasted another 30 minutes.
A variable occurred at an unexpected timing.
The space where the Techrun Challenge took place was a location made of countless platforms.
The walls on all four sides and the ceiling were all made of platforms as well.
At first, I thought they were merely a simple design.
I watched myself in the video fall over in surprise at a pillar made of red platforms jutting out from the wall.
"Hah, wow."
It was a ridiculous sight even looking at it again.
Having fallen, I was exposed to the red platforms and was eliminated just like that.
Setting a record of 1 hour and 30 minutes, my Extreme Challenge came to an end.
I watched the video again.
I had been flustered by the sudden variable, but I had successfully reacted to it itself.
I could say my response itself wasn't bad.
But as a result, I failed.
Humans are animals that learn.
Learning is the essence of all actions taken by humans.
And learning is achieved through repetition.
I can fail.
But I shouldn't just simply fail.
There has to be something gained from the failure for there to be progress.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was simple.
If I did it again right now, I could get past that section.
A competitive spirit squirmed faintly in my heart.
Should I do it?
"No. It's too ambiguous."
There were only 2 hours left.
Even though I was a scoundrel who learned how to kill people with guns at an age when I should have been fulfilling compulsory education.
I still knew how important it was to be on time.
"Aki. Show me the scene where the pillar protrudes in slow motion. Repeatedly. Until I tell you to stop."
[Understood.]
I repeatedly watched the slowly playing video.
For right now, I would hold myself back with just this.
[User-nim! An invitation code has arrived from Cereal Company!]
Stopping myself from rewinding the video, I closed the window and shifted my gaze.
Aki was pointing at the invitation code with shining eyes.
I connected to the virtual reality.
Just as Aki had shown inside the Capsule, an email containing the invitation code from Cereal Company appeared before my eyes.
[User-nim! That virtual reality server is protected, so if you enter using the invitation code, your communication with me will be completely cut off! I'd like you to keep that in mind!]
"Acknowledged."
I manipulated the virtual pad and entered the invitation code.
At that moment, a loading screen appeared, and simultaneously, the surrounding scenery changed.
Perhaps because this was the highest-performing Capsule currently in existence, the loading was virtually non-existent.
Having been moved to a new place, I checked my surroundings.
A pure white space. People numbering roughly in the hundreds just by a quick count.
Their commonality was that they were all wearing the same outfit and masks.
Also, their clothes had number tags attached to them.
Let's see⋅⋅⋅ I was number 500.
Well, because of that, I could immediately tell.
That they were participants in the preliminaries, just like me.
'The electronic display board.'
Everyone's gaze focused on the electronic display board visible directly in front.
Naturally. Since there was absolutely nothing else.
Uuung-
The space vibrated shallowly.
A podium slowly rose up from beneath the electronic display board.
Standing on that podium was Cereal.
Ungseong-ungseong-
The noise of those who saw Cereal filled the space completely.
The electronic display board's lights turned on, capturing Cereal's face.
Cereal on the screen inhaled as deeply as he could.
I raised both my hands in advance and covered my ears.
"Quiet-!!!"
Silence descended alongside Cereal's shout.
Within that silence, Cereal smiled brightly.
"I would appreciate it if you could remain silent. Participants."
Bursting into hearty laughter, Cereal bowed his head and formally greeted us.
"Welcome to the Zero Point Project. I am the one in charge of hosting and broadcasting⋅⋅⋅ but you all probably know that without me having to tire my mouth out explaining it, right? Haha! Just joking. Um, again, again⋅⋅⋅ Keuheum, keum! I will formally greet you! I am the Nutuber, Cereal! It is a pleasure to meet you all!"
Waaa-
Cheers rang out.
Hmm, should I cheer too?
I played along with the atmosphere and acted like I was appropriately cheering.
"Before we begin, explaining the rules⋅⋅⋅ is honestly boring and pedantic, isn't it? I trust there isn't a single participant here who hasn't familiarized themselves with the tournament rules. Now then, let us begin immediately."
Cereal snapped his fingers.
The participants were dyed in outfits of varying colors.
"Trample them, and survive."
"I wish you luck."
Along with that closing remark, a loading screen appeared before my eyes.
The scenery revealed after the loading finished contrasted with what I had seen previously.
A dark space. An electronic display board indicating a timer with about 30 seconds remaining.
People were slowly being summoned in random locations, as if the loading had just finished for them.
Even while everyone was bewildered, the timer did not stop.
During the little time remaining, I recalled the tournament's rules once more.
The participants in the preliminaries numbered 500.
The first event was Tech Run.
The criteria for elimination were coming into contact with a red platform or becoming 'incapacitated'.
I quickly scanned my vicinity.
There were three people nearby.
I calculated the shortest route and inputted it into my head.
3⋅⋅⋅
2⋅⋅⋅
1⋅⋅⋅
Zero.
Tadadat-!
Red blinking platforms.
The speed was slow.
They weren't an obstacle just yet.
"He, hello?⋅⋅⋅."
A man extended his hand toward me.
Had he not fully grasped the situation yet?
He was full of openings.
I dug inside in a flash and threw a punch towards his abdomen.
Before he could correct his balance, which had been disrupted by the impact, I quickly circled around his back and wrapped both my arms around the man's neck.
And then I crushed it with all my might.
Udeudeuk-!
Even if he wouldn't get hurt and wouldn't feel pain.
As long as this was 'virtual' reality, he wouldn't be able to move.
[49/50]
-Participant #496 eliminated.
The preliminaries, the first event Tech Run.
The monumental first eliminated participant had occurred.
The reason for elimination was not contact with a red platform, but an automatic elimination due to being judged as in a state of incapacitation.
The preliminaries of Zero Point.
Its first event, Tech Run.
It was being held using the most famous mode, the 'Extreme Challenge'.
The 500 participants were divided into 10 groups.
A challenge of death that wouldn't end until half of them were eliminated.
Even though Cereal himself was directly broadcasting it.
Being human, it was impossible for him to broadcast 10 groups simultaneously.
Because of that, various creators affiliated with Cereal Company took charge of different groups and conducted the broadcasts.
Setral looked down upon the internal Tech Run room of Group J in administrator mode.
While the timer was running, they could not move.
Turning their heads was possible, but that was it.
Setral, who was examining the faces of the participants one by one, saw a familiar face.
The woman who had written down a strange special skill, whom he had placed on the candidate list last.
It was possible because, from the administrator's perspective, he could see the faces beyond the masks.
Because the broadcast perspective was fixed to the broadcasting camera attached above Setral's head rather than Setral's own perspective, the transmission screen showed the participants properly wearing their masks, so there was no risk of a regular person's face being exposed.
Anyway, upon seeing that woman's face, Setral's intuition cried out.
Telling him to set the broadcast perspective to that woman.
Since there was nothing to lose by doing so, Setral obediently followed his intuition.
"Participant number 500. She's turning her head and checking her surroundings, but her gaze is somewhat strange. It's as if she's constantly reconfirming the positions of the three people near her⋅⋅⋅."
Setral arbitrarily prattled on, assigning meaning to participant number 500's actions.
Even if it wasn't a live broadcast, no, exactly because it was a live broadcast, the audio couldn't be left empty.
"She looks like she's plotting something⋅⋅⋅ The count is gradually decreasing. 3⋅⋅⋅ 2⋅⋅⋅ 1⋅⋅⋅!"
Zero.
The restrictions placed on all the participants' movements were lifted.
And simultaneously, participant number 500 dashed forward like she was shot out of a cannon.
Participant number 496 extended his hand, seemingly trying to offer a greeting to number 500, who had instantly closed the distance to stand right in front of him.
"Ah, is he trying to propose cooperation? Certainly, there was nothing in the preliminary rules explicitly prohibiting teaming⋅⋅⋅ But what use would teaming be in Tech Run⋅⋅⋅."
Setral, who had been broadcasting the situation, lost his words at number 500's subsequent action.
Udeudeuk-!
Along with the gruesome sound of bones breaking, number 496 fell silent.
It was the moment the first eliminated participant of Zero Point occurred.