Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 0
Chapter 0: Astral Online
In modern times, VR games had become commonplace.
Console games and handheld games had almost disappeared from the market, and every game company primarily focused on developing VR games.
VR games, which allowed you to experience different worlds, were like a kind of drug.
Once you were captivated, you ended up spending more time in that world than in this one.
This phenomenon was referred to as VR addiction syndrome, and it had become a societal concern.
I, too, was suffering from VR addiction syndrome, and regardless of whether a game was considered a masterpiece or a flop, I had completed countless VR games, making me an omnivorous hardcore gamer.
For example, the game “Kengo,” which I recently played until I completed it, was extremely challenging. [1]
It had no storyline whatsoever.
The game system fundamentally lacked the concept of evasion, so despite being a VR game, you only had three options when facing enemy attacks: block with your sword, parry, or deflect.
Moreover, failing usually resulted in instant death, and if you died, you had to start over from the beginning or the nearest checkpoint.
Even the attacks from minor enemies along the way could result in instant death in the worst-case scenario, leading to repeated trial and error.
After surviving such hell and finally defeating the final boss, I barely had time to feel relieved.
The moment the princess, who had been imprisoned at the top of the castle, attacked me with a sword was truly shocking and an unforgettable trauma.
Why were you even captured in the first place?!
The princess was so strong that I wanted to yell this out. I struggled more against her than the final boss, and after somehow defeating her, the ending roll showed me jumping off the top of the burning castle, concluding the game with an indescribable ending.
As for my impression after clearing it,
I screamed, “I will never play this crappy game again!”
and posted a completion report with a proof video on the forum.
Everyone’s reactions were things like, “As expected of the Omnivorous King!” and “You do things no one would ever want to imitate, that’s so thrilling and admirable!”—compliments that were hard to understand.
Sora Kamijo, who became a first-year student at Kamisato High School this year, was unusually nervous as he sat on his simple bedroom bed, holding a game software in his hand.
The title on the packaged game was…
“Astral Online.”
The tagline is: ?This is a story where imagination changes reality.?
These words are truly stirring. Moreover, it’s a newly released VRMMORPG that just came out yesterday, and it has already sold 100 million copies on the first day, making it a best-selling title.
The main storyline of the game involves players becoming adventurers on the Astral Continent, traveling and ultimately aiming to defeat the Demon Lord Shaitan, who is trying to conquer the world.
However, there are other ways to play besides defeating the Demon Lord. Players can accumulate military achievements to become nobles, create guilds for commerce, or form clans to adventure with companions. The game seems to have a high degree of freedom, and according to the information I found, players can even create shops and marry other players.
I’ve played various games in the past, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve delved into an online game like this. About three years ago, I quit the still-popular VRMMORPG game “Sky Fantasy” for a certain reason, and I’ve been away from online games since then.
Why did I suddenly decide to play this game?
About a month ago, my best friends, Shinji Takamiya and Shiro Kozuki, begged me to join them, saying it was boring to play with just the two of them. They even went as far as to kneel and plead in front of everyone during lunchtime in the classroom.
Moreover, they had already made a reservation and offered to buy a copy for me with their own money, making it quite an attractive proposal.
After all that, even I couldn’t refuse and say no.
Sora chuckled wryly at his truly troublesome friends.
Despite being half-forced into playing, he now felt his heart pounding with anticipation. Holding the headgear that allows for a full dive, Sora lay down on his bed.
“…Phew, I’m starting to get nervous,” he murmured, shifting his gaze to the clock on the wall.
The time was 8:30 AM.
The agreed start time was precisely 8:00 AM, so it was already 30 minutes past the scheduled time. Normally, one would panic for being late.
Yet here I am, still holding the VR headset, not logging in.
Of course, there was a good reason for this.
This was Shinji’s suggestion: once the agreed time came, we would each send a “ready” stamp in the smartphone chat app, and only after seeing three stamps in a row would we log in simultaneously.
But since Sora and Shiro sent their stamps, there hadn’t been a stamp, or even a read receipt, from the third person, Shinji.
What on earth was going on?
For the one who proposed the idea to be late took some nerve. He would definitely get a stern lecture later.
While Sora was fuming alone, a message from Shiro popped up, asking, “Is Shinji asleep?”
As always, Sora smiled wryly at his best friend’s unchanged polite tone, whether in real life or in smartphone exchanges.
Without a doubt, he’s sleeping, Sora messaged Shiro.
He figured Shinji probably finished his early morning jogging routine, then lay down on his bed to rest and ended up falling asleep.
Even though he warned him yesterday not to lie down after exercising, that fool didn’t listen.
What should they do if there’s no response until noon?
As Sora and Shiro were thinking of various punishments for Shinji, the clock hands pointed to 8:50.
Finally, Shinji seemed to have woken up and sent multiple stamps of bowing in apology and readiness to the group chat.
Naturally, Sora and Shiro sent angry stamps in return.
Shinji messaged, “I’m really sorry for falling asleep,” to which Sora and Shiro replied in unison, “You’re buying us ice cream tomorrow,” and got a stamp of agreement in response.
“Seriously, that guy,” Sora sighed with a wry smile, then put on his headgear and started the game.
The headgear read an enormous amount of data from the software, directly connecting to the user’s brain and providing virtual sensory information to generate a virtual space.
The first thing displayed were the basic safety precautions for VR games that he’d seen countless times before:
?No playing outdoors as it’s dangerous.?
?Make sure to use the restroom and hydrate before playing.?
?Play on a bed or something that can absorb impact to avoid injury if you move during gameplay.?
He had already taken care of the restroom and hydration.
With a sports drink placed next to his pillow, he could fully concentrate on the game.
“Alright, game start!”
Recognizing my voice, the pitch-black darkness turned into a pure white world.
First, a voice that sounded like a young girl began explaining the game’s content, as described on the package.
After the explanation, which I had read several times while waiting for Shinji, ended, the screen changed.
Character creation for Astral Online began.
In front of me appeared a copy of my real-world self, scanned from head to toe by the included equipment (the reason for its high price of 50,000 yen).
Since this game uses scanned data, you apparently can’t change your gender.
So, all that can be adjusted are the fine details of the body.
However, wanting to start the game immediately, Sora skipped the detailed customization and pressed the OK button, leaving the appearance as it was.
Next, the player name input screen appeared.
Hmm… a name, huh?
Choosing a weird name might get me teased by the others. So, I used the virtual keyboard to input the safe name “Sora” and confirmed it.
“That’s all for the input. If you have any troubles, please consult the support system. We wish you good luck.”
After hearing the pleasant voice message from the girl, Sora’s view changed.
Now, it’s finally starting.
His cheeks relaxed in anticipation and excitement.
At this moment, Sora Kamijo was supposed to descend into the starting town of Astral Online as the adventurer Sora.
??Or so it should have been.
TL Note:
Kengo is a series of video games developed by Genki. Kengo is considered a spiritual successor to the Bushido Blade game series for the PlayStation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kengo