Episode 2 - The Mysterious Game (2)
"Confirm? You want me to drink this?"
Still dazed, I looked back and forth between the glass vial in my hand and the phone. The rabbit-masked man, Agares, was still watching me.
My hand shook so hard the vial rattled. It wasn't because of my injured wrist. It was because I honestly couldn't believe what was happening.
Sure, a mysterious glass bottle had burst out of my phone and hit me on the head, but that didn't mean I could just go, oh, right, and brush it off like nothing.
"This is insane."
A chill ran down my spine, and I moved to shut the game down.
"You'll regret it."
But the moment my finger touched the exit button, Agares let out a sigh and slowly shook his head, as if he already knew what I was about to do.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Are you truly going to throw it away? Once again, you would return to a reality with no miracles, no change. Do you honestly wish for that?"
His calm, pleasant voice rang out without even a single break, and every word of it sent a violent tremor through my chest.
"No, we know. You, who made up your mind to join this game, can never leave it. Ah... poor you. You want something far greater than what you're holding now. You absolutely do not want to go back."
The way he spoke made it sound as if he could see straight through me. My jaw tightened, and my hand trembled. One more press, and I could end this game. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I could hardly believe it myself: that I was so cornered mentally I couldn't even brush off something this bizarre with certainty.
"Just once. Check it for yourself. Then your confusion will find its footing."
Agares kept forcing the choice on me. A devil—literally a devil's fatal temptation.
"Hah...!"
With a dry laugh, I twisted off the vial's cap. What was I even doing? Opening some medicine bottle I didn't even know the contents of, then trying to drink it.
But maybe it was a gamble worth taking. I had nothing to lose anyway.
"What do you think? Do you believe in this game now?"
When I tipped the vial's contents into my mouth and swallowed with my eyes squeezed shut, Agares in the phone nodded as if he'd known all along.
"What exactly is supposed to change?"
Seeing that I was still fine, it didn't seem to be poison, at least. It tasted and smelled like plain water. I frowned and casually tossed the empty vial into the trash.
"...!"
"It seems you've noticed it. The miracle."
And then, at that very moment, I jerked with my eyes wide open. Something hot was spreading through my body, centered around my stomach. It felt as though I'd swallowed a shot of high-proof liquor. Had it really been poison after all?
That heat quickly reached my wrist. I couldn't believe it, so I grabbed my wrist. The joint that always ached, sometimes tingled, and at its worst shook like crazy was now absorbing that warmth and changing back to normal.
"A miracle..."
Speechless, I slowly rotated my wrist. It was real. My wrist no longer hurt. And it wasn't just the pain that had disappeared; the trembling that had left me helpless was gone too.
"Greater desires, greater rewards, greater miracles. If you're truly going to achieve them, then focus on the game now."
And Agares's voice snapped my stunned mind back into place.
***
"It's a live video. Answer me. Who the hell are you?"
"We will now begin the game. A friendly tutorial and guide are included, so please don't worry."
I settled myself, drew up a different kind of tension than before, and stared at the phone. But Agares, who was clearly listening, cleanly ignored my question and went right on with his business.
"Pandemonium, a game that prioritizes fairness, is fundamentally built on development. Physical ability? Brainpower? Luck? Those aren't important. Only the resolve and choices that walk the thread of fate matter. So... choose carefully."
Agares flicked his rabbit ears and turned his body. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the screen changed. Agares disappeared, and a single dim beam of light illuminated the center like a spotlight against the darkened display.
"The first thing you need to do is create an avatar that will serve as your alter ego in Pandemonium."
Only Agares's voice flowed out from the phone now. It wasn't a simple game, so I didn't look for any skip button and focused every ounce of my attention on his words.
"Let's make your avatar now."
Then something else appeared on the screen: a transparent bottle, shaped like a gourd.
"Isn't ordinary appearance customization common enough? Let's start from the foundation. Your avatar may be an ordinary human—or it may be a special race, one and only in the world."
[Order] [Chaos]
"Choose one of the two."
Two words appeared on the screen. My finger hovered uselessly in the air. Pick one, just like that? I didn't even know what this was.
"Your avatar's appearance and abilities are determined by its inclination. Go on, make a choice. In this dreadful age of upheaval, where law and common sense are crumbling, what kind of being do you wish to become?"
Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Agares added an explanation.
"An age of upheaval?"
"The world that serves as the game's setting is one of upheaval. The old order is collapsing, and new orders are trying to rise in its place. How do you intend to survive in such a world? Will you mend and revise the existing order to tighten discipline? Or will you stir up the chaos even more and grow your strength within the cracks? The pros and cons are, of course, different."
Agares's explanation was surprisingly detailed. Thanks to that, I began to get a feel for it and thought carefully. It was easier to think of it as choosing a faction in an ordinary game. In games like that, your faction usually changed your playstyle and development path completely.
[Chaos]
Then I would choose chaos. A freer style of play whenever possible, and high risk, high return. That had always been my strength and my flaw when I was active as a pro gamer.
"You have chosen Chaos. Now for the next step."
The glass bottle on the screen filled partway with red liquid. But the choices kept coming after that.
[Hypocrisy] [Greed] [Envy] [Tyranny]
"In what way will you shape that chaos?"
"Why am I even... Hah, this needs explaining again too."
"Hypocrisy means hiding among your enemies with a false face and complete disguise, deceiving them from within. Greed devours everything without compromise or concession. Envy profits by setting enemy against enemy. Tyranny subdues the group with an iron fist and forces them to obey."
Suppressing my disbelief as best I could, I muttered blankly, and Agares explained again. Of course, it was the same vague, slippery nonsense as before, but I realized these questions were affecting the creation of the avatar and fell into thought for a moment.
"You said Hypocrisy means blending in among enemies. So at least on the outside, I'd become identical to them? Greed devours everything... and Envy gives me some kind of hypnosis ability or something?"
"Feel free to infer as much as you like. You can confirm the kind of avatar your choice creates with your own eyes. I can assure you of this: you will obtain an avatar that is 'very much like' your inner self."
Whether he could hear me or not, Agares's attitude changed every time he spoke. But I was already certain my flimsy guesses weren't wrong.
"Same as before. The one with the clearest concept is... Greed."
"As you wish."
When I chose Greed, the vial again filled with some unidentified fluorescent liquid.
"Next step. You will inevitably form a force of some kind, and now you must choose how you will rule it. From here on, we'll also provide the more detailed attributes you acquire."
[Fear] [Violence] [Deception] [Charm]
[Fear: +100 command through overwhelming terror, but if you cannot instill fear, command -100]
[Violence: +90 command through overwhelming violence, but if you are defeated, command -70]
[Deception: +60 command through clever intellect and dazzling speech, but if you are outwitted, command -30]
[Charm: +50 command through deadly allure, but if you lose your charm, command -10]
"Now this is starting to feel like a game."
I looked at the information that had appeared with interest. This too could be summed up in one phrase: high risk, high return. If I wanted more command, I had to be ready to lose that much as well.
[Fear]
So I chose Fear. Just like always, just like my usual self, let’s push forward stubbornly and head-on. I had nothing to lose anyway. That was what I thought.
"Now the final step. It's time to adjust your avatar's detailed attributes."
A blue potion was added to the bottle as well. Only a little bit at the top remained.
Where the words had vanished, new ones appeared.
[Might] [Insight] [Dominion] [Senses] [Strain]
[Points granted: 1000]
"It's your freedom. Five attributes your avatar has obtained. Distribute the points as you please and assign them. Once the allocation is complete, the game will create an avatar matching the attributes you've assigned, by any means necessary."
The final phase. The authority had now passed entirely to me, the one who had only been making choices until now.