P.O. Personal Orb.
It was, by any measure, a light orb.
Originally, Riv had been the one in possession of it.
The Hiaan Trading Company had taken that and turned it into a massive hit product.
That momentum, they said, hadn't stopped at the kingdom — it had spread across the entire continent.
The light orb floated elegantly atop a pedestal bearing a plate inscribed with "Personal Orb."
Bidd looked puzzled.
"A light orb?"
"Um, but the color is a little different."
"Hm?"
"Hmm. Might be the pedestal's color. It looks bluish-white. There's writing on the plate."
"It says 'Personal Orb.'"
"Per… the official name for a light orb?"
"Seems like it, but for that, it feels…"
Something was off.
What caught my attention was the interior and atmosphere of this floor. It looked exactly like a PC shop floor.
I looked around with the others.
"I really don't get what this is about."
"Let's try a different floor."
"Ah, would it be okay if I looked around here a little longer?"
"Waf?"
"Na?"
"I'm interested in the orbs with different colors."
There was actually something I wanted to try here.
Hiyarn nodded thoughtfully.
"There were quite a few different ones, true."
"Fair enough then, I'm gonna go check out other floors!"
"Um, I also have an interest in the other floors."
"I've seen enough of the orbs myself."
"Na?"
And so, I parted ways with everyone.
Right then. First, the reception counter.
I'd noticed earlier there was a white pedestal set up beside it, cut at a diagonal angle like a wedge.
I approached the pedestal and touched the display panel.
The moment I did, a small holographic image appeared on the panel.
The figure in the image—something like a blank template—was gripping an orb and handling it like a mouse.
So that's how you use them.
On a whim, I took out the orb Riv had given me from my pouch and tried the same thing.
Nothing happened.
I checked with the Relic[Fortune's Ring], but nothing lit up.
Was this one different?
"…Guess I'll try one of those, then."
On the pale-blue pedestal displayed closer to the front, there was a yellow light.
If I was going to try, I wanted to try with a blue one.
At the back of the floor.
On a fancy-looking silver pedestal with smooth curves — a weird-looking thing, really — a black orb of light was floating.
It was glowing black, which caught me and everyone else off guard at first, but this was apparently the blue light.
This area alone had a clearly different atmosphere from the rest — the kind of expensive air you could practically smell.
Must be a dedicated corner.
"It feels like a latest-model or a special-edition piece."
The black orb floating above the display pedestal. I reached out and touched it, a little tense.
Nothing special happened. The surface felt like a smooth plastic sphere — easy to grip, pleasant to touch.
So, like clicking a mouse — maybe like this? I moved my finger.
The moment I did, a distorted window appeared in my field of vision.
"Whoa!?"
I was startled without meaning to be. Was this the same kind of floating window as in the lab? But the distance was… too close.
As soon as I thought that, the window moved away. Oh — I could control this with my thoughts.
I tried moving it farther away, closer, zooming in and out a few times.
"Thought control after all. And this is… directly into the optic nerve?"
Incredible technology, but let me check the surround— Whoa, I can see the area around me now.
Can it do even that?
"And this too, activate— Oh, it activated."
Just by thinking, the black screen turned blue.
A white line was drawn across the center of the blue screen, and text floated up.
"...Eden Life Vision System ver 27...?"
I had braced myself for the Afterlife Vision System, but was this a different OS?
Ah, the interface wasn't all that different.
I could connect to the network, right? That pink sphere had done it too.
"Oh, the internet... it's all here."
I couldn't help but be in awe.
I never expected to see a similar screen in this sword-and-sorcery fantasy — even if it was slightly different!
Right then, let me start looking things up. The state of things back then, the culture, all of it.
"Hm? What's... this? Huh?"
A movie, right? Or a drama or something, otherwise— Whaaaa.
No no no, wait, this place, this is— Right. Jests. That pattern.
Ah, the monsters in this dungeon were like that, weren't they. So this is why it ends up like that?
Even so — if that's the case... does that mean they're actually here?
No, but... are they not here?
"If... if they actually are here..."
What to do.
Greatroar — the Imperial Class Universe Migration Vessel.
Central Habitation Zone: Starlight City.
Main Brain Tower.
Top Floor.
In the center of that bizarre chamber, surrounded by 360-degree ultra-hardened glass, sat a white throne.
Upon that throne sat a figure.
That figure addressed the man standing diagonally to its right-front.
"Intruders?"
"Yes. There is no mistake."
"How did they get here?"
"I do not know."
"Intruders — I don't believe the other habitation zones are functional yet."
"That is... the intruders appear to be organic lifeforms."
"Organic lifeforms!? From where!? What about the barriers?"
"I do not know."
"If possible, I'd like to capture them without harm. But..."
"They are beyond our control."
"Dungeon monsters."
"Yes. Fortunately, the organic lifeforms seem to possess the power to defeat dungeon monsters."
"Then it's highly likely they'll come here."
"YES."
"It's agonizing to just sit and wait."
"There's nothing we can do about that. However, if I may raise a concern — we've identified an organic lifeform with a noteworthy individual appearance."
"Noteworthy?"
"Here."
A window materialized in midair.
The one seated on the throne gasped upon seeing the person displayed within.
"Yomido..."
Their voice was trembling.