1.
Death is a horrifying sensation.
Even after experiencing it twice, I still couldn’t get used to it.
It was as if someone had flipped a switch and all five senses vanished instantly, leaving me disoriented and isolated—like a brain in a vat, capable of nothing but thought.
And then, for a brief moment, it felt as though I were being exiled into a bottomless abyss.
The deeper I fell, the more that pitch-black darkness devoured me.
From there, my thoughts began to run in circles, my very existence grew faint, and my memories dissolved.
It was an experience I never wanted to endure again.
Regression dips you into death and pulls you back out.
To put it in perspective, if I had to choose between that sensation and reenlisting in the military, I’d choose reenlisting.
Though, in truth, they’re both equally awful...
If I really had to pick, I’d probably just choose death.
And I was right on the verge of going through it all over again.
“...I’m not going.”
“No! Get out already!”
I forcibly kicked Silver Wolf out after she repeatedly refused to leave, then sat in a chair inside the house and waited.
I waited to see if that crazy bitch with the scalpel would actually show up.
If she did, I’d have to face her alone.
I sat there, staring at the door, my leg bouncing incessantly.
When would it open?
And when it did, would I be forced to confront that terrifying presence once more?
Fear surged within me, but I was the holder of infinite regression. If she made me feel like shit one more time, I was prepared to grab her by the ankle and drag her to the deepest pits of hell.
“...Please.”
Please don’t come.
Honestly, I was fucking terrified.
I glared at the door for an hour, my leg never stopping its frantic rhythm.
My eyes grew bloodshot from the intensity of my stare, but I kept watching, oblivious to the passage of time.
Click.
I didn’t know how long had passed, but the moment I heard the door open, I was ready to swing my hatchet—
“...Why are you holding a hatchet?”
“Haa... haa... hrrr...”
“Why are you drenched in a cold sweat? Are you sick?”
It was Silver Wolf, returning with beer and a whole roasted chicken.
My body reflexively tensed, ready to throw the weapon, but my legs suddenly gave out and I collapsed.
“I’m alive...”
Right. That crazy bitch hadn’t come.
When I glanced at the clock, it was already 9 p.m.
“...Adrian, are you really okay?”
Silver Wolf set the chicken and beer on the floor and hurried over to me.
Just the sight of her made my strength vanish again, and I slumped further.
“Silver Wolf, hold on... let me rest for a bit...”
With one last look at her, I blacked out.
2.
“Haa... I should’ve just stayed home.”
The moment we returned, Adrian had collapsed, drenched in a cold sweat.
I’d had a feeling since yesterday that he wasn’t doing well. If I'd known it would be like this, I should have stayed glued to his side to take care of him.
I brought a wet towel and gently wiped his forehead.
What a strange man he was.
He was vulgar and frivolous, yet I couldn’t bring myself to hate him. Silver Wolf and Adrian—were we friends? No, honestly, not really. It was a one-sided relationship where I was always the one receiving.
In this house, in the pawnshop, and across Scrap Mountain.
I had always taken from Adrian.
That realization made me feel a twinge of guilt.
I wanted to do something for him.
The ring on my finger and the coin in my pocket—both were gifts from Adrian.
They were objects possessed of extraordinary powers.
When Adrian claimed they were revelations from God, I thought he might be losing his mind—but the power was real.
Was the man lying before me truly chosen by God?
If so... if I continued to follow him...
Would I just become a ridiculous burden hanging off his ankle?
“...Haa.”
This wasn’t like when I was little, when my only concern was playing games at the arcade.
Now, I had to prepare myself for adulthood.
Suddenly, my eyes caught a piece of clothing in the drawer beside the bed.
The outfit Adrian had asked me to wear.
It was shameless beyond belief.
A bikini so indecent it was practically worse than wearing nothing at all, complete with cat ears and paws, designed specifically to make me imitate an animal.
Ah.
Ugh.
Should I just wear it once?
Adrian’s face flashed through my mind, remembering how he looked at me like a drenched puppy. Something that blatantly screamed sex appeal—what was so great about that...?
Do men really like that sort of thing?
I looked back and forth between the sleeping Adrian and the clothes, deep in thought.
Yeah...
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
If it was for Adrian... maybe it was fine.
Finally, I stared at the outfit with determined eyes.
3.
Early bird wake-up!
Well, not exactly an "early bird" wake-up.
I’d passed out from sheer humiliation yesterday, after all.
But since the morning sun was up and I could hear birds singing, it was the perfect time to rise.
The unknown crazy bitch who acted as the death variable hadn’t shown up yesterday. That made it clear: the cartridge was the cause.
Meaning I should never use that cartridge again.
If that was the case, I had no idea why they gave it to me as a quest reward.
“Ughhh...”
I sat up, rubbing my eyes hard.
Stretching my stiff limbs, I looked to the side and saw Silver Wolf.
And then I saw the clothes.
Wait a second, why is this kid dressed like that?
Oh my. For an ordinary person, it would be enough to make them cover their eyes in shock.
But I was not an ordinary person.
I hesitated. Was it weird that I was reacting this way? Had I perhaps gotten blackout drunk yesterday, lost a chunk of my memory, pounced on Silver Wolf, and dressed her in that outfit? Had I not fainted, but actually developed amnesia?
While I was staring at Silver Wolf and agonizing over these possibilities, she woke up, frowning at the sound of the singing birds.
“Ugh... so loud.”
She stretched her arms, exposing a generous amount of skin.
“Oh...”
As I let out a low sound of admiration, Silver Wolf yawned and looked at me.
I didn’t stop staring. Silver Wolf must have sensed something strange, because she asked,
“Why are you staring like that?”
“You.”
“Me? What do you mean—ah, kyah!”
A prim little scream rang out.
Silver Wolf wrapped her arms around herself, glancing at me with wide eyes.
She didn’t seem to realize that the gesture only made her look sexier.
“Don’t look!”
“Why not! Why shouldn’t I!”
“Ughhh...!”
She threw a pillow at me, then the blanket.
I dodged everything with a swift whoosh and prepared to pounce on her.
“W-wait! This is a little...!”
“You started it!!”
I’m gonna go rah-rah and wham-wham on you.
Just as I was thinking that, staring into Silver Wolf’s eyes, I noticed she looked a little scared.
“...”
Haa, right.
What sex?
I’d already held out for four months; I could hold out a little longer.
Adrian, you can do this.
I pulled Silver Wolf neatly between my legs and buried my nose in the top of her head.
As always, I had no intention of doing anything more.
“...What are you doing?”
“Ssssssip!!!”
“I said, what are you doing!!!”
Silver Wolf was warm, like freshly made mochi.
Perhaps because so much bare skin was touching, her ears were burning hot.
After I spent a while inhaling her scent and regaining my peace of mind, I noticed her prim reactions had ceased. I looked at her.
“...Adrian.”
“What? I’m recharging.”
“What happened yesterday?”
If I’d collapsed and then claimed nothing happened, it would be suspicious.
But I couldn’t tell her the truth.
The fact that I had died and given her the cartridge had already become something that "never happened."
As I opened my mouth, a single red window appeared before my eyes.
[WARNING - If you disclose anything regarding Game Life, a penalty will be applied.]
“Stuff happened.”
That was all I could say.
“Can’t you tell me in detail?”
“...No.”
“Is it because you don’t trust me?”
“It’s not that. It’s entirely because of me.”
The cartridge was received by me, and used by me.
I had to take responsibility for everything that happened because of it.
“We’re... comrades, right?”
“We are. More than anyone, I trust you and care about you.”
A person's first of anything is bound to leave a lasting impression.
Silver Wolf was the first friend and comrade I’d made in this world.
“Then, do you want to go somewhere with me for a bit?”
“...Go together?”
We turned our heads, and our eyes met at close range.
So close.
“Yeah. Staying here another day won’t change anything.”
*
A short while later.
We arrived in front of a fast-food joint.
Its design reminded me of McDonald’s or Lotteria.
I never would’ve expected to find a franchise burger joint on the outskirts of Neon City.
Silver Wolf looked up at the sign, then gazed inside with a nostalgic expression.
She looked like someone returning to a hometown she hadn’t seen in years.
“This brings back memories.”
When we stepped inside, the place was eerily empty, with no employees in sight.
The only person handling the counter was a single older woman.
And this place hadn’t been attacked?
“Um... hello.”
“Yes, would you like to order?”
The older woman smiled brightly as she spoke.
She glanced at Silver Wolf, her eyes softening for a moment before she looked away.
We ordered two simple hamburger sets.
Since we’d come in, it would have been awkward not to order anything, and it wasn’t even expensive.
After ordering, we headed down the stairs in the back.
Silver Wolf simply nodded wordlessly, signaling me to follow her.
As we descended, old game cabinets lit up, casting a glow over us.
They weren’t modern machines—just shabby, retro cabinets with classic games.
But on the ranking screens that appeared as the displays cycled, one name was densely packed into every single slot.
“What do you think?”
“...Not bad.”
What had Silver Wolf been doing before she met me?
The answer was right there.
The name written at the very top of every cabinet.
The nickname proudly claiming the number one spot.
[Silver Wolf]
“When I first came here, I didn’t even have a name.”
“...”
“I came here knowing nothing, just trying to beg. The owner gave me a hamburger and taught me how to play.”
That was when the girl first encountered gaming.
The sparkling screen.
The moving pixels.
The simple rules.
Pong was an easy game.
I knew that too.
Would I, a former pro gamer, not know the game called the mother of all video games?
“Want to play for a bit?”
“These kinds of things need a wager.”
“Ha, you think I’m going to lose? What are we betting?”
“A wish ticket?”
“...Fine.”
“If you lose, I’m using my wish ticket to make you wear that outfit again.”
“Pervert.”
The two of us sat in front of the cabinet and gripped the joysticks.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register