Sitting on the luxurious beds in the guest room, everyone stared intently at their weapons while reading through the explanation.
Glancing toward the window, I noticed the sun had long since set without anyone noticing.
That's how absorbed we all were in reading the guide.
So, legendary weapons are maintenance-free all-purpose weapons.
They fuse with materials based on the owner's Level and the monsters they've defeated, filling up the Weapon Book.
The Weapon Book, it said, was a catalog listing all the weapon types you could transform into.
I opened the Weapon Book from the weapon icon.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
The icon stretched way beyond the bounds of the wall.
Every single entry was marked as "Transformation Unavailable."
Incredible...
Hmm, it looks like you can also grow weapons to unlock specific transformation paths.
Wait, it's like a skill tree from an online game.
To learn a skill, you need to release the power sealed within a transformable weapon...
This really is game-like.
"Hey, isn't this just like a game?"
The others were probably reading their help menus too. They gave distracted answers to my question.
"More like, isn't it literally a game? I know games like this."
Motoyasu declared smugly.
"Huh?"
"I mean, isn't this a famous online game? You don't know it?"
"No, I'm a pretty big otaku myself, but I've never heard of it."
"You haven't? It's called Emerald Online."
"What kind of game is that? Never heard of it."
"Have you even played online games? It's a major title!"
"The ones I know are Odin Online and Fantasy Moon Online — those are famous!"
"Never heard of those either."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"What are you all talking about? This world isn't an online game — it's the world of a console game."
"No way. Isn't this a VRMMO?"
"Seriously? Even if we did end up in an online game world, wouldn't it be a click-and-play or controller-based one?"
Ren tilted his head at Motoyasu's question and chimed in.
"Click? Controller? What are you guys, playing some ancient relic of a game? These days, online games mean VRMMO!"
"VRMMO? Virtual Reality MMO? A game that only exists in sci-fi — science hasn't caught up to that yet. Are you dreaming?"
"Hah!?"
Ren raised his voice in protest.
Come to think of it, this guy was the first one to notice the Status Magic. He gave off the impression of being pretty experienced with this sort of thing.
"Um... what game does everyone think this world is from?"
Itsuki raised his hand slightly and asked.
"Brave Star Online."
"Emerald Online."
"No idea. And wait — the world of a game?"
I mean, it does feel game-like, but did I really end up in a game world I've never even heard of?
"Oh, for reference, I believe I'm in the world of a console game called Dimension Wave."
Each of them announced the name of a game none of the rest had ever heard of.
"Wait, wait. Let's organize the information."
Motoyasu pressed his hand to his forehead and tried to calm us down.
"Ren, your VRMMO — that's literally what it sounds like, right?"
"Yeah."
"Itsuki, Naofumi. You guys understand what it means too?"
"I've seen it in sci-fi games."
"I've read about it in light novels and such."
"Right. Same here. Okay then, Ren — that Brave Star Online of yours. Is it a VRMMO?"
"Yeah. The VRMMO I was deep into was called Brave Star Online. This world is remarkably similar to its system."
According to Ren, VRMMOs were taken for granted in his world — technology that recognized brain waves and allowed people to dive into computer-generated worlds.
"If that's true, then Ren — does your world have the kind of old online games we were talking about?"
Ren shook his head.
"I'd like to think I'm fairly well-versed in gaming history, but I've never heard of the kind of games you're describing. They're supposed to be famous titles in your worlds, right?"
Both Motoyasu and I nodded.
If they really were experts in online games, it would be strange for them to have never heard of them.
Sure, our horizons might be narrow, but we could at least name the big titles.
"Then it's a general knowledge problem. You can name the current Prime Minister, right?"
"Yeah."
Everyone nodded.
"On three."
Gulp...
"Masato Yuda."
"Gotaro Tanizawahara."
"Enichi Odaka."
"Shigeno Ichifuji."
"......"
Prime Ministers we'd never heard of. None of us had ever learned about any of them in history class.
After that, we asked each other about famous internet terms, websites, and well-known games from our respective worlds.
Every single one drew a blank.
"It seems we've each come from a different Japan."
"Seems that way. There's no chance we came from the same one."
"So that means there are multiple Japans across different worlds."
"I thought maybe we were just from different time periods, but if nothing lines up this badly, then that's what it must be."
What a strange group of four.
Still, the one thing we all had in common was that we were all otaku. So maybe it didn't matter.
"So it feels like we all ended up here for different reasons..."
"I don't particularly enjoy idle chitchat, but sharing information is necessary."
Ren spoke with an affected coolness that got on my nerves.
"As for me, I was on my way home from school when I happened to run into a murder case that was all over the news."
"Mm-hm."
"I managed to protect my childhood friend and apprehend the culprit — that much I remember clearly..."
Ren explained while rubbing his side.
Protecting a childhood friend, huh? Some hero you are. I wanted to make a snide remark, but let it go.
He'd probably caught the guy, but got stabbed in the side during the struggle. That seemed likely.
He was awfully composed about lying through his teeth — I'd like to put him in the "untrustworthy" category, but he was a fellow Hero. I'd let it slide.
"And then, when I came to, I was in this world."
"I see. Saving your childhood friend — that's a pretty cool backstory, huh?"
I tried to flatter him, and he gave a smug smile. Let's move on from that.
"Okay, my turn then!"
Motoyasu casually pointed at himself and started talking.
"So, the thing is, I've got a lot of girlfriends."
"Yeah, I can see that."
He had that big-brotherly, reliable vibe going on, and gave off the impression of being a ladies' man.
"So, just a little..."
"Did you get stabbed for two-timing or three-timing someone?"
Ren asked dismissively.
Motoyasu blinked and then nodded.
"Well, y'know... girls are scary."
"Goddamn it!"
I gave him the finger in righteous fury.
Die, you bastard. No wait — is that why you got summoned to this world?
Oh, Itsuki was pressing his hand to his chest and speaking up.
"My turn next. I was crossing a pedestrian crossing on my way home from cram school when... a dump truck came careening around the bend at full speed, and after that..."
"......"
Nine times out of ten, he got run over... What a tragic end.
Hm?
Am I the odd one out here?
"Um... do we absolutely have to share the story of how we ended up in this world?"
"Well, everyone else is doing it."
"Yeah, I guess so. Sorry, everyone. For me, I was reading a book in the library that I didn't recognize, and when I looked up, I was just... here."
"......"
Everyone's eyes went cold.
What? If you don't have a tragic backstory, you can't join the party?
The three of them started whispering so I couldn't hear.
"But... that guy is the Shield, so..."
"His starting location was probably like that too, huh?"
"Yeah..."
I was getting the distinct feeling they were making fun of me.
Let's change the subject.
"So, does everyone more or less understand the rules and system of this world?"
"Yeah."
"I've played plenty of games like it."
"To some extent, yeah."
I see... So that means I'm the only clueless one here!
That's terrifying.
"H-hey. Could you teach me a few things about fighting in this world? There wasn't anything like this game back in mine."
Ren looked at me coldly, while Motoyasu and Itsuki gazed at me with oddly kind expressions.
"Alright, big brother Motoyasu will teach you a thing or two — within the bounds of common sense, of course."
Motoyasu raised one hand with a fishy grin and spoke to me.
"First off, this is from what I know of Emerald Online, but the Shielder... the Shield is the main job class."
"Yeah."
"It's great early on because you've got high defense, but as you progress, the damage you take becomes no joke."
"Right..."
"At high levels, it's a completely nonexistent, bottom-tier job."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
I did not want to hear that!
What kind of death sentence was that? It was like he was saying I was a loser from the very start. Hey!
"Weren't there any... updates? Balance patches?"
Job balance, for instance!
"Well, between the system design and the player population, it was a hopeless job that just got left in the dust. I think they were even planning to discontinue it..."
"No job change?!"
"That class line was basically dead, y'know?"
"Second job? Branch class?"
"This wasn't the kind of online game that had that."
Bleh!? If that was true, then I was stuck playing the hardest job there was.
I stared down at my shield and thought.
Are you really that doomed?
"What about you guys?"
I turned to Ren and Itsuki.
Both of them averted their eyes in a hurry.
"Sorry..."
"Same here..."
Whaaat!? So I really did draw the short straw?
As I sat there blankly stunned, the three of them enthusiastically discussed the details of their respective games.
"How about terrain?"
"The names might differ, but it's mostly the same. If that's the case, there's a good chance efficient monster spawns are in the same spots."
"The hunting grounds differ somewhat depending on the weapon, so we should avoid going to the same locations."
"Yeah, efficiency matters."
Every single one of them was looking at me with eyes that said "I bet this guy's awakened some broken cheat ability."
...Right.
If I was weak, I could just rely on my companions.
There were plenty of ways to make this work.
Even if I was useless, fighting in a party would naturally make me stronger.
"Heh heh... It's fine. This is a whole new world, after all. Even if I'm weak, things will work out somehow."
I felt like the three of them were looking at me with pity, but if I let that get to me, I'd lose.
Besides — my equipment was armor, not a weapon. It was different from a game. I didn't have to throw away my specialized, growing shield. I could just use other weapons on top of it.
"Alright! Time to give it my all!"
I pumped myself up.
"Heroes, your meal is ready."
Oh? Sounds like dinner's served.
"Yeah."
Everyone got up, and the attendant led us to the knights' dining hall.
It looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie — a dining hall inside a castle.
The table was set up buffet-style with food laid out.
"Everyone, please help yourselves to whatever you like."
"Oh, so we eat the same food as the knights?"
Ren grumbled under his breath — what an ungrateful guy.
"No," the attendant replied with a shake of his head.
Hm?
"The food prepared here is served only to the Heroes. The knights will eat after you've finished."
Hearing that, I looked around.
I'd thought the place was bustling with people, but I realized they were all cooks.
I see — priority of seating. Once we were done eating, the knights would get their turn.
"Then we'll happily oblige."
"Very well."
"Right."
And so we enjoyed a feast of another world's cuisine.
The flavors were a bit bland, but there was nothing inedible.
Still, there were quite a few peculiar dishes — like an omelet that tasted like oranges.
After finishing our meal, we returned to our rooms and were hit by sudden drowsiness.
"I wonder if there's a bath or something?"
"This is a medieval-style world, so... it's probably a quick wash at best."
"They won't offer it unless we ask."
"Well, one day without one should be fine."
"Right. We're tired, and tomorrow's the start of our adventure, so let's just crash."
Everyone nodded at Motoyasu's words and turned in for the night.
Tomorrow, my grand adventure begins!
With that thought, all three of us — myself included — fell asleep, eagerly anticipating the next day.