The Worst Possible SOS
Is this what they call a distress signal? I’ve been dropped into an apocalypse where not a single human soul remains. ...It’s the kind of situation you’d see in the title of a Japanese light novel, but there was one saving grace in all this. "I'm not hungry." Maybe it’s because I ate a hearty breakfast before I possessed this body. If I had to describe my current state in terms of the system, it would be 'Very Fine.' In Star's Doll, if you didn't consume food for a certain amount of time, you’d get hit with 'Thirst' or 'Hunger' penalties. 'Well, now that the game has become reality, the status window probably won't bother telling me every little thing...?' Wait a minute.
I was in the middle of escaping from a coffin-like capsule in the nude and looking for a building of a decent size to hide in. Possession stories... honestly, they aren't really my cup of tea. But when you watch enough SF, you occasionally come across a few works with that tag. So, just like how malatang is a treat when you have it once in a while, I had read a few possession-themed works from start to finish. And there’s a rule of thumb that every protagonist in a possession story can use. It’s called opening the status window. 'Come to think of it, even in Star's Doll, a super hardcore Soul-like game, the status window existed as a bare minimum of conscience.'
Of course, inside the status window, there was a 'Weight System.' It was a capability that was more of a hindrance than a help, where if you exceeded the weight limit—not just with the equipment you were wearing, but with the items you were carrying—a 'Heavy Penalty' would immediately kick in. Isn't that why Soul-likes are fun? Besides, look at my current state. I am the incarnation of nature, not even wearing a pair of 0.1-weight underwear. I am stark naked. Well, if my above-average-sized junk (virgin) adds a bit of weight, I suppose that can't be helped. "Hmph." But my expectations, half-hopeful and half-worried, soon turned to nothing.
"Status window."
......
"Status window?"
......
"Uh... Status open!"
......
Now that I think about it, I’ve possessed a 'Hard-Hard Mode' where even the bare minimum of conscience, the status window, has become a luxury. You crazy developer bastard. No, if I can't even open the status window, how am I supposed to end the game? ...Even if I wanted to argue that, the only way to end the game in this mode that comes to mind is one thing. My own death. "This is way too Soul-like..."
Having realized that, I stopped shouting for the status window at the empty air. I had possessed the body of an ordinary man with absolutely zero advantages in an apocalypse setting where humanity had been extinct for thousands of years. Plus, a possession perk? Do you think something like that exists? Who was the guy who said it would be too hard, so he’d decline the offer to have things prepared in advance? It was me. It was literally me. I even asked to start in 'Nude Mode,' stripping off everything including my underwear, which was the default starting gear. If I could meet the 'me' from five minutes ago, I’d want to start by kicking him right in the balls. Hey, this isn't that third-person game you could clear with your feet. This is VR now. And if you fail even once, you actually die.
"Is this a dream, perhaps?"
Is this that cliché where you return to the original world if you receive a certain amount of shock? I pinched myself. "Ouch." ...Yeah, right. I realized all over again that if you receive a certain amount of shock, you just kick the bucket.
"...Oh! A bonfire!"
Meanwhile, before evening fell, I was looking for a safe place to hide—the golden rule of all survival games. But what a stroke of luck. In the middle of the ruined city, a space that was unnaturally perfect for resting began to appear. A place with a well-equipped camping tent, a grill for roasting meat, a vending machine, and a parasol all set up. Above all, in the middle of that equipment was a marker that told me this place was a sanctuary, a rule of thumb for all Soul-like genres. There were traces of a campfire, reminiscent of a 'Bonfire,' scattered about.
"It's cold... seeing as only ash remains, it must have been a long time since this place was used."
At first, I ran toward it with a sense of relief. But the equipment was heavily dilapidated, as if it had been neglected for quite a long time. Looking closely, the tent was riddled with holes, the grill was rusted, and the vending machine, which had its power cut, looked like I shouldn't eat anything that came out of it. In other words, this place was a 'dud.'
It was a section famous as a 'newbie-slayer' spot in Star's Doll, which is known for being the most hardcore among Soul-likes. It was a save point that required 'Renovation.' I had used up all my health potions, failed to fight the monsters that appeared earlier, and barely managed to escape to the campsite. But as if to mock the newbie's efforts, the campsite with its power cut off was actually a place that couldn't be used~. ...It was a place that taught you the absolute peak of cruelty. 'I once went to the next campsite (save point) without sparing my potions because I saw it ahead, only to see it wasn't working and immediately turned the game off.'
Of course, since it was a campsite that had undergone aging, it was possible to renovate it back into a proper save point using in-game items. However, the equipment to renovate an aged campsite was either extremely expensive or rare. And since it was an item you could only get in the mid-to-late game, this question would arise by then: "No, a treasure chest I could understand, but what’s the point of fixing a save point in the late game that you couldn't even use in the early game?"
I'll give you the conclusion. There is no benefit. Soul-like games are, in the end, character-building RPGs. No matter how difficult the game is, unless it's a '1 HP Nude Mode' patch level, what are you going to do by going to an early-game area as a mid-to-late-game user who has become somewhat strong? There's no way anything would change just because you opened one save point you couldn't use there. If there were a reward, it would be something like resolving 'the lingering feelings of the past'? Aside from that, there was really nothing.
Then, another question would arise: "Then why on earth does such a shitty system exist?" Here, as a Soul-like veteran, I could answer with a smile. Because it's fun. And you have to clear everything like this to complete the achievements. The basic condition for veterans who have become oil-stained: 100% achievement completion. In Star's Doll, there was an item among those achievements called 'Visit all save points in the world.' And I was going through all this trouble to clear the following item.
"Well, compared to a game where there was zero use for it even if you renovated it later, reality is at least a bit better."
Back to the present. In the game, the aged campsite was treated as just something for show before renovation, and something for show that became usable after renovation. But maybe it’s because the genre changed from third-person to VR, it felt more realistic. It just didn't work. It’s just that you couldn't grill food or replenish your hydration with drinks. The 'tent' and 'parasol' were items that could be used well enough without power. Since it was a discarded save point anyway, I planned to take these two items as substitutes for blankets to prepare for the evening, which would soon turn cold. 'If there’s a hole in the tent, I can tear the parasol and patch it up.'
Even if I found a ruined building that was good for resting, heating was a completely different issue. Besides, my current attire was naked. Even if I could avoid monsters and flocks of birds, it was practically guaranteed that I’d wake up with a stiff neck if I slept like this. So I was very worried about what to do to avoid getting hit with a 'Body Temperature Penalty,' but as they say, even if the sky falls, there is a hole to crawl out of. "Is it because it’s been fixed for a long time? It won't come out."
First, the parasol. Except for the part to patch the tent, I planned to weave the rest together to make clothes. If I had a needle and thread, I could have made a more decent outfit, but that would be a luxury now. And items for 'repairing' clothing were unexpectedly one of the easiest things to find in Star's Doll. Even if it’s hard right now, I’ll be able to find them easily later on. Like that.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
First, the parasol! ...I tried to take it quickly, but. "Why won't it come out?" Am I wrestling with some tree root? It’s just a parasol stuck in the ground, like the sweet potato digging experience I had in elementary school, but it wouldn't come out for some strange reason. So, I pulled with all my might, even making my lower body stand up straight.
DANGER! DANGER!
"Huh?"
Did electricity flow into it in the meantime? The campsite suddenly started to light up, ringing with a rattling engine sound.
Android Temporary Base - Campsite No. N9275JBS12 has detected an unknown impact.
"Im-impact?"
What did it say?
Confirmed risk of loss at the corresponding coordinates. Accordingly, we will send a distress signal using 'Emergency Power.'
A distress signal... no, but since it’s a distress signal. Should I be happy for now? Honestly, my current state is that of an ordinary man (big dick) A who is clearly in desperate need of rescue. To me, in a way, this situation could actually be an opportunity. At least.
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.
If it wasn't for the indiscriminate loudspeaker signal that was drawing aggro from every living creature in the vicinity, friend or foe, in the name of a distress signal. "Fuck..." The distress signal echoing toward the quiet city as if to say there is a person here to take (or kill). It was truly bad for my heart. And that’s not a metaphor; I really felt like my heart was going to disappear, not just be bad.