Ribok Tracksuit, Endless Notes, and the Mysterious Plugin

Rewards, rewards, rewards. [An additional plugin has been detected.] [It is recommended that the user maintain contact with the plugin via an external input terminal for a certain period of time.]

Suddenly, the edge of my vision tinted blue.

"What the—?!"

But before I could pull my hand away, the worn artifact behind the glass reacted first.

Ding—

"...Huh?"

While I stood there dumbfounded, the status window and treasury system exchanged confirmations and processed the transaction.

"Wait a sec—"

My terminal cut off too late.

The transparent glass encasing the artifact slid away smoothly, and a suspicious relic about two finger-widths long tumbled into my hand.

I caught it on instinct and checked the number floating above the shelf.

"..."

The Imperial Treasury lived up to its name—security was airtight, but actually grabbing stuff was ridiculously easy.

More than easy, even...

"Haa."

But that wasn't the issue.

The message the status window had popped up moments ago. It detected an additional plugin and told me to keep an external input terminal in contact...

According to the treasury description, it looked like a broken artifact, but what the heck had the status window sensed here?

I flipped the object in my palm, examining it from every angle.

"Hmm. Looks kinda like a USB stick, just going by appearance."

But this thing came from a ruin of the Magic Empire. That ancient civilization, extinct at least 2,000 years ago, probably didn't use USBs.

...Right?

"For something that costs 1,000 merit points, it sure doesn't look like much."

I muttered to myself, then shook my head. No time to dwell on this here.

If I held onto it like the status window said, I'd figure it out eventually.

I shoved the artifact deep into my pocket and turned to the shelf right next to it.

"Can't keep Yaruru waiting too long."

#

"Chase! Why'd it take so long—"

The vault door had barely opened when Yaruru came running. She spotted the items in my hands and her eyes went wide.

"What's with all that stuff you're carrying, you know?"

She wasn't wrong—my hands weren't exactly light. One hand held what looked like a bundle of gray fabric... a piece of clothing. The other had a small artifact. My pockets were bulging too.

Even the attendant raised an eyebrow slightly at my haul.

"You seem to have found quite a few things to your liking."

"Ah, right—you recommended Zone 7."

Thanks to his tip, I'd walked out with some solid picks.

Yaruru pointed at the gray bundle in my hand.

"What's that, you know?"

"Clothes?"

"If you're taking it from the treasury, it must have special functions, you know?"

"Bingo."

I unfurled the gray tracksuit.

"Weird design, you know."

"Can't deny that."

Yaruru scrunched her face but kept reading the description, her expression turning to shock.

"Design sucks, but the abilities are insane, you know..."

"That too."

When I first saw it, I even stumbled in shock. It looked exactly like the gray tracksuit that made a world-famous game director a legend in my past life.

Of all designs? In the Imperial Treasury? And it was trendy back then?

But the description chased those thoughts away. No laundry needed, no layering for weather, reduces mental and physical fatigue...

"This isn't casual wear—it's a scam item for everyday life."

Yaruru nodded, then seemed to remember something and asked,

"By the way, what about the Automatic Defense Powered Gauntlet, you know?"

"..."

"Huh?"

"Description made it sound super strong, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn't fit me."

I recalled the gauntlet from Zone 5—bigger than my whole torso.

...Does anyone even carry that around?

Yaruru nodded seriously.

"Fair. You're not the punch-it-out type, you know."

"Taste issue."

"Hehe, got it, you know."

The attendant cleared his throat softly.

In chatting with Yaruru, I'd forgotten we were still in the palace for a sec.

I gathered the rest of my items.

"I'll show you the others ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later."

"Why, you know?"

"Why? Time to head back."

I brushed it off thinking of the artifact in my pocket, and Yaruru shot me a suspicious look.

At least she won't pry more. Good.

We followed the attendant out of the palace. Problems solved, business done—the exit felt shorter than the entrance.

"Never thought we'd come to the palace just for rewards, you know."

"Yeah. Didn't see it coming."

"But we still didn't get that meal, you know."

"...You're still on about that?"

Her genuine regret made me want to scoff, but I ended up chuckling.

Out the palace gates.

Even in the carriage back to the academy, Yaruru kept side-eyeing the Archmage's casual wear... gray tracksuit.

"You're really gonna wear that, you know?"

"Functions-wise, no reason not to."

"Clothes aren't just about function, you know."

"...True, but—"

A nationwide game director rocked it in my past life—why can't I?

"Don't you think it grows on you?"

"...For real, you know?"

Then Yaruru leaned toward me.

"Chase."

"Yeah?"

"So, what'd you grab first in the vault, you know?"

I glanced away for a sec.

Should I tell her? Shouldn't?

I grabbed it on impulse because the status window reacted...

"Just... an artifact that caught my eye."

"What does it do, you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know?"

"Dunno?"

"..."

"..."

Yaruru said nothing, but her face said it all.

"We'll find out eventually, right?"

"Sigh... My worries were spot on, you know."

#

By the time we reached the academy, the sun was dipping behind the buildings.

"What a looong day..."

"You're uncomfortable 'cause you're wearing clothes you don't usually, you know..."

Yaruru, as wiped as me, staggered off the carriage.

...No wonder she was beat. Tense the whole time in the palace, and the vibe wasn't exactly chill.

We walked in silence toward the dorms, pausing at the stairs.

"Today was insane, you know."

"Didn't see the vault, but we toured the palace... and checked out weird artifacts, you know."

"You'd think that if you saw the vault. There were even weirder ones inside."

"...I'll believe you, you know."

Her face screamed not buying it as she waved.

I waved back, then remembered the small item in my pocket.

"Oh yeah."

"What, you know?"

I pulled out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a thin memo pad. Plain-looking, but an artifact from the Imperial Treasury all the same.

"This."

"Huh?"

"Thought it'd suit you. You use 'em a lot."

I handed it over casually, but Yaruru just stared at me.

"...My arm hurts."

"It's for you, you know?"

"Take it already."

"For real for real for real?"

"Yes."

Finally, she snatched it and inspected it eagerly.

Her eyes went saucer-wide the moment she read the description.

"Whoa... Amazing, you know!"

"Glad you like it."

"Super!"

She flipped it open and tore out a few pages. They ripped off, but new paper filled in instantly.

"Ooooh..."

Her jaw dropped.

"It's real, you know..."

"Wouldn't be in the Imperial Treasury if it was fake."

"This is the best, you know...!"

As expected, Yaruru was the ultimate reaction queen. Seeing her bounce around clutching it made gifting it worth it.

Makes me proud just watching her love it.

"Chase."

"Yeah."

"Really, really thanks, you know..."

"No biggie. Had merit points left anyway."

"It's a big deal, you know."

She hugged the memo pad to her chest. After hesitating a while, she whispered,

"I'll keep helping GameMakerCute with this memo pad from now on, you know."

Her voice was soft, but it carried a strange resolve. I looked away awkwardly.

"Yeah. Looking forward to it."

Yaruru grinned, glancing between me and the pad.

We stood there grinning like idiots for a bit, then she perked up.

"Chase."

"Yeah?"

"This... does it hold up if it gets wet, you know?"

"It's an artifact, so obviously...?"

No waterproofing mentioned, but an infinite-paper artifact without it? Nah.

"Psh, no way—"

"Hmm... Gotta test it, you know."

"...Don't go overboard."

"No worries, you know!"

Her chill vibe cracked me up. Stuff I wouldn't dream of, she does without batting an eye.

Yaruru pocketed the pad and bounded up the stairs. Halfway up, she turned and waved.

"Night, you know!"

"You too."

After seeing her off, I headed to my dorm.

Flopping onto bed feeling light, the mystery artifact... plugin finally hit me.

I sat up and stared blankly at it on the desk.

"Right, it said to keep contact."

I reached for it absentmindedly, and my vision tinted blue again.

But then.

"What, why's it going blue again?"

Trrrn— beep beep—

"...?"

The changes didn't stop there.

A cheerful melody rang in my ears—or was it my head?—like a hallucination or status chime.

"No way, that's an OS install sound."

I blanked out in panic for a while before croaking,

"D-Done?"

Trrrng— ding!

"Already?"

I knew about plugin installs, but the weird music and unfamiliar status window left me blinking in place.

"What changed?"

Said that, but I wasn't gonna just sit. The status window never screwed me over.

I was about to enter the game dev space when the artifact popped into my head.

"Wait. External plugin."

Is this okay...?

As if answering my mutter, the status window popped a new alert.

"What, we can talk now?"

"Status Window? Hello?"

"...Sigh, whatever."

I shook my head at the barely changed status window and entered the game dev space.

The usual spreading light, the familiar area.

But before I could do anything, something whooshed past my eyes.