rpbooks Chapter 26 : Merger
Chapter 26 : Merger
MergerIn the deep mountains on the outskirts of Kyoto, a clear, crystalline river flowed gently.
Chihori Jinguuji carried a wooden bucket filled with spring water, strolling along a moss-covered stone path. Suddenly, she was attracted by a wisteria growing by the road, causing her wooden clogs to falter for a moment and the bucket to sway, spilling a few droplets.
"Jinguuji" was her family name; Chihori was her given name.
She was a young girl who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen, with a fresh and beautiful face untouched by makeup. Standing about 1.65 meters tall, she wore a white kimono and scarlet hakama. Her smooth black hair flowed down to her waist, tied at the end with a pure white ribbon. Even under the loose miko attire, it was impossible to hide her delicate, youthful curves.
A girl her age would normally be in school or wandering the vibrant streets of Shinjuku at night, indulging in the once-in-a-lifetime youth. But Chihori was clearly an exception.
From birth until now, she had never attended a single day of school and had not a single peer as a friend. Even today, she stayed with her frail, elderly grandmother, taking care of the family's tiny, ancestral shrine.
If things continued this way, when her grandmother passed away, she would inherit the shrine until the next successor was found.
The nearest human settlement was several kilometers away—no convenience stores, no subways, and not even the smartphones that everyone else had long taken for granted. People here could do little but remain in these remote mountains. Anyone else would have long despaired at such a life.
Yet Chihori seemed long accustomed to it and obedient to the arrangements of fate. She walked past a patch of green bamboo, then carefully crossed a small wooden arched bridge with a low railing. Rounding a bend, she was greeted by a three or four-meter high torii gate.
She had reached her family's shrine.
Exhaling softly, chihori carried the bucket through the ancient torii gate. Under the centuries-old cherry tree in the courtyard, she saw an elderly woman in an old kimono, her hair tied up in a bun.
"Chihori, go pour the water into the water tank,"
Chiyo Jinguuji said kindly, a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes, grandma."
Chihori nodded slightly, stepped onto the wooden hallway, and entered a side room. She set the bucket down, rolled up her long white sleeves, lifted the heavy wooden lid, and began pouring the water into the nearly full water tank.
As long as the tank was filled, her morning chores would be completely done.
She returned to the courtyard with the empty bucket, getting ready to fetch more water from the stream when Chiyo suddenly called her back.
"Chihori, it's enough for today. Go play."
"Play what?"
Chihori turned around, a bit confused, and asked in a soft, kitten-like voice.
"Don't you love the game console I gave you? Today's work can end here. You can go play."
Chiyo maintained her amiable smile, as if rewarding a well-behaved granddaughter.
But, as is often the case with the elderly, her grasp of new things was limited. She called the VR helmet a "pachinko-like game machine."
Indeed, in this old shrine that seemed so out of place with modern society, there was a piece of cutting-edge entertainment technology—a VR helmet. It was a birthday gift Chiyo had spent considerable savings on and had someone bring back for her granddaughter's 18th birthday.
"What about archery practice today..."
Chihori said.
"Practicing in the afternoon isn't too late. Go on," the old woman replied, her smile finalizing the matter.
Chihori no longer objected. She bowed slightly in gratitude, straightened her back, and lightly returned to her own room.
To a modern person, this was a very simple bedroom: no soft mattress bed, no nightstand, no dressing table—just a thin futon neatly laid out on the wooden floor at the center of the room.
Next to a pillow embroidered with yellow flowers stood an object resembling a motorcycle helmet—the black VR helmet, plugged in with a green light at the top, blinking to indicate it was fully charged.
Chihori unplugged the charger, lay down slowly, picked up the VR helmet, and set the game time for three hours. After a moment of thought, she changed it to two hours and forty-five minutes, then put on the helmet, closed her eyes, and entered the world of Legend of Kaloran.
With a flash of white light, when Chihori Jinguuji opened her eyes again, she was in a bustling medieval-style square, filled with people coming and going.
Because this was the Japanese server, the square's design differed somewhat from the central plaza of the national server, and the Main City here wasn't called "Loren Royal City," but "Scandia Royal Capital."
Just like Cecilia, chihori's appearance immediately attracted the attention and whispers of many nearby players the moment she teleported into the square.
"Is that the Jinguuji who's ranked number one on the entire server?"
"She really uses her real name in-game? No way, that's so lame..."
"She's too tall, not cute at all..."
However, unlike Cecilia's experiences, players on the Japanese server were generally rather aloof. The small size of the country meant that you could encounter celebrities even when grocery shopping, so they were less fanatical than players from other servers.
Even upon meeting the top-ranked player on the entire server, they only quietly chatted from afar, with no intention of approaching her directly.
Ignoring these whispers, chihori first opened the world player level ranking. When she saw her ID still holding first place securely, her expression first relaxed, then became serious again.
Closing the interface, she reached back and touched her longbow, then found a signpost at the edge of the square and began walking toward the arena.
Because of the game, her real-life archery practice had been cut short lately. Now that she could play for nearly three more hours, she decided she'd need to compensate by practicing in-game.
Unlike the lifeless targets in real life, the-nimble players jumping about in the arena made for the best moving targets.
About ten minutes later, chihori arrived at the lobby of the arena. Other players, seeing her, reacted as if encountering a plague, hurriedly opening their private message windows to warn friends: that crazy one who treats players as target practice is here again.
Chihori ignored them, bowed slightly to the NPC handling registration, and was about to enter when suddenly there was a commotion—a chorus of "Eh? Eh? Eh?"—in the lobby.
Chihori Jinguuji also paused, just as she was about to press the button. In her mind, the emotionless voice of System Miss announced the latest server-wide announcement in Japanese:
"System notification: Due to a severe decline in the number of players on this server, after consultation with the game developers, we have decided that in one week, this server and 21 others will be merged with other servers. If this causes you any inconvenience, we apologize for your understanding."
"System notification..."
"Tsk!"
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