The Truth Revealed (2)
The man known as Arho, who wielded the demonic sword, was actually a tester user just like all of you.
“Um… so when exactly is Mr. Arho coming over? After killing him like that in the game, I feel kind of bad. I wanted to apologize… I was just trying to have fun, but it ended up being really insulting…”
“Ah, right. I suppose some of you still believe Cliché World is just a game.”
Major General Michael glanced sideways at Aoyama, Park Jinwoo, Bortas, and Lucas.
“What? What do you mean it’s not a game?”
Bortas voiced his confusion, and Lucas nodded along, clearly just as curious.
“What you’ve all been playing—Cliché World—may look like a game, but it isn’t. It’s a new world. A new dimension.”
Even after hearing the words “new dimension,” they still didn’t quite grasp what that meant. Elon Busker stepped forward to explain in Major General Michael’s place.
He described how, during an experiment aimed at reaching Mars, they had accidentally discovered this new world. They had transferred over thinking it was just a game and lived there as a result.
“Th-this… wasn’t a game?”
I pretended to be just as shocked as the three who truly hadn’t known. Looking around, though, the soldiers and Patrick showed no change in expression. They had clearly already known. The four of us who had been clueless had been the only ones left in the dark, playing the fool.
“The Cliché World you’ve been playing in is not a game. That means if you die there, you die in real life as well.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
“As I explained, it’s a new world where your soul is transferred. Dying in that world means your soul dies. And when your soul perishes and vanishes, your body here on Earth dies too.”
“Then… does that mean everything I’ve done—killing people—was real? I actually killed that tester named Arho? And all those rapes I committed there… they were all real?”
“We’ve heard about your playstyle, Mr. Aoyama. Enjoying that kind of deviance inside what you believed was a game wasn’t a major issue. But from now on, please keep in mind that this is not a game. It is a real, existing world.”
“It’s real… All the people I killed were actual living people… And Arho was an Earth user too… So I… I committed murder…”
Aoyama, who had thought he was simply killing other users in a game, seemed deeply shaken. He kept muttering to himself in a low, broken voice.
“The quest to kill user Arho was issued because he refused to join us. Changing operates with a single objective in mind. Any user who refuses to work toward that objective is unnecessary.”
The mood in the room grew heavy at Elon Busker’s words. A quiet suspicion arose—exactly what kind of goal required absolute obedience to orders? This was no simple matter.
“You’re probably curious what goal Changing is pursuing.”
Everyone nodded at Elon Busker’s statement.
“That’s precisely why we brought all of you to the United States. It’s also why soldiers have been participating as users.”
Elon Busker picked up the small American flag that had been standing in the pencil holder on the desk.
“It’s all for the sake of our United States. Ah, and of course, the four of you who aren’t American citizens will be granted U.S. nationality effective today.”
“We’re getting American citizenship?”
Lucas, who was Brazilian, broke into a wide grin at the mention of gaining U.S. citizenship.
“Furthermore, you will hold the status of quasi-military personnel.”
It wasn’t full military status, but quasi-military meant they would be required to follow orders.
“As quasi-military personnel, there may be times in the new world when you must kill someone. When that happens, please remember that you are doing it for your country, for humanity, and for Earth.”
It was wrapped in beautiful rhetoric, but ultimately it meant they were to become convenient tools for the nation as transmigrators in the new world.
The situation had turned urgent, and learning the truth left my head spinning.
“Ahem. Learning that what you thought was just a game for fun was actually criminal behavior in the real world can cause significant psychological shock. If any of you need counseling, please come see me anytime.”
The military doctor, Major Schultz, comforted Aoyama while handing out his phone number and email address to the users.
“I will also help you cultivate the proper mindset of a soldier serving your country.”
“W-wait a moment. I have a question.”
“Yes, go ahead, Mr. Jinwoo.”
“I understand from the explanation that our souls are transferred through divine power. But when I started the game, I received things like plant seeds and a slingshot through my inventory. What is that about? Can things other than souls be sent back and forth?”
Jinwoo asked about the inventory—the thing that had puzzled him the most all this time.
“Yes. That is also divine power. The god Busker, who granted us these powers, has lost much of his strength, so he can only transfer twelve users.”
“Twelve?”
Come to think of it, he also needed to ask why there were only nine people here now. If a new soldier replaced the dead Arho, they’d be back to ten, but the remaining two were still unknown.
“Correct. God Busker is using nearly all his power just to maintain twelve users. Sending and receiving objects is also done under God Busker’s divine authority.”
Elon Busker showed them a capsule similar to the ones they entered, except this one stood upright instead of lying flat.
“Objects can be sent and received through this capsule. You place the item inside, designate whose inventory it should go to, and it transfers. However, bringing objects from the other side requires several times more energy because there is no corresponding device there.”
Everyone nodded in understanding at Elon Busker’s explanation, but Jinwoo’s questions only grew. He couldn’t understand why he could so easily take things in and out of his inventory.
Does this mean God Busker likes me more and gave me extra abilities?
“I have another question. You said our souls are transferred. If that’s the case, why can’t we use the abilities or skills that were automatically imprinted on our souls here? They’re part of the same soul, so shouldn’t they work?”
“Oh, I hadn’t considered that.”
Even Major General Michael murmured something under his breath after hearing Jinwoo’s question, raising and lowering his hand. Nothing happened. At the major general’s action, everyone else began frantically trying to activate their own skills.
But not a single one of them could manifest anything.
“Unfortunately, even though the techniques are engraved on the soul, they don’t work. It seems like they should if they’re imprinted on the soul. We’ll need to look into this.”
“There’s no need to investigate that, General.”
Elon Busker stepped forward and stopped Major General Michael, saying it wasn’t necessary.
“The reason abilities and skills engraved on the soul cannot be manifested on Earth is because God Busker’s divine power does not extend to Earth.”
“Ah. So the abilities don’t activate because God Busker’s power doesn’t reach here.”
Everyone nodded, satisfied with the answer. But Jinwoo grew even more curious. He was able to use his abilities—and even his inventory—on Earth, so that explanation didn’t apply to him at all.
If these abilities only work because of divine power, does that mean I’ve received power from both the god on that side and a god on Earth? Which god? And before that—do gods even really exist on Earth?
Even after listening to Elon Busker’s explanation, he only felt more confused.
“By the way, how did you come up with the idea of sending tomato seeds? Thanks to that, we’ve been able to eat pizza and ketchup over there, and we learned there were other users. Still, it seems so random. Farming in a game?”
Patrick laughed, saying he had realized there were other users after seeing the tomatoes, then threw the question at Elon Busker.
“Oh, I have a question too. During the recent fight with the orcs, I learned by chance that the Orc Lord Orchan was also a user.”
“What? The Orc Lord is a transmigrator? Then he transferred as an orc? How did he manage that?”
“Whoa! I should be grateful I transferred as a human.”
“Hmm. The fact that the person who transferred as the Orc Lord isn’t here… does that mean he’s dead too?”
Everyone grew excited at the revelation that someone had transferred as an orc and become the Orc Lord, but the mood sank again when they asked if he was dead.
“I was in contact with the Orc Lord Orchan while fighting him. That’s how I know he didn’t die in a simple way.”
“What do you mean, he didn’t die simply?”
“Is there even such a thing as a complicated death?”
“Orc Lord Orchan died because his soul was erased by a magic circle.”
“A magic circle?”
The news that he hadn’t died a normal death but had his soul erased by a magic circle made everyone’s faces harden.
“He died when his soul vanished inside a purification magic circle installed by the Tablon Church. If those kinds of magic circles are scattered everywhere, we could lose our souls and die without even realizing it.”
Patrick’s words were no idle comment. Just like Arho, they could step into a magic circle without knowing and die.
“We need countermeasures for this.”
“An excellent point, Patrick. And countermeasures already exist. The Antarian priest who accompanied us when we went to deal with Arho is precisely that countermeasure.”
“An Antarian priest?”
“He is a priest capable of detecting and defending against those magic circles created by the Tablon Church in advance. That’s why we had him move with you all.”
“So there is at least a defensive plan. But we can’t keep a priest with us at all times, can we?”
“That is true. In the future, we may develop a method using certain items to block them, but for now, you will need to stay near priests of God Busker like the Antarian priest to be protected.”
It was a stopgap solution, but it would prevent them from dying helplessly to a magic circle.
“Well then, it seems everyone now understands the reality we face. Please keep in mind that as Americans, you represent humanity in the new world. You are Earth’s representatives.”
At Elon Busker’s declaration that they were Earth’s representatives, a surge of emotion rose in my chest.
Are we really Earth’s representatives…?
“Also, Lieutenant Scott here will become a user starting today. We don’t know where he’ll transfer to, but for now he’ll head to the capital of the Splain Empire, Hayden.”
“Earlier you mentioned you were all moving with a single objective. May we know what that objective is? Or is it classified?”
“Ah, I hadn’t mentioned the most important part. The goal of both Changing and the United States is to open a Gate connecting Earth and the new world.”
“A Gate!”
It wasn’t about sending a small number of people through capsules. Their objective was to create a door that would allow free travel back and forth at any time.
“Additionally, my personal goal—and Changing’s—is to find the Omnipotent Stone to heal my leg. We intend to pay ten billion dollars to whoever brings the Omnipotent Stone from the new world.”
Jinwoo felt his heart swell at the thought that he had an item worth 1.3 trillion dollars sitting in his inventory.