Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 124

Prologue

――The World of Rage was said to be the last world.

The monsters were wearing enraged expression. They attacked the players with violent roar and movement.

The difference from everything until now was that even normal monsters were abnormally strengthened.

The monster’s strength was increased because their normal status was turned into the abnormal status [Rage].

Their status was strengthened from the start.

And as expected from the world that was called last, its size was simply vast.

There were various areas with trait from each world as though to  declare that this world was the finish line of the whole journey.

Ponsuke stepped into that World of Rage and now he was desperately  blocking an attack from a Killer Rabbit that was larger than usual using  his great shield.

The rabbit’s attack was heavy and sometimes it would use skill to launch consecutive attacks.

Its size also reached the waist of the huge Ponsuke. The party felt like it was a different creature than rabbit.

「Nunh!」

Ponsuke skillfully moved his great shield and knocked away the Killer  Rabbit. A girl in dress――Alfie shot the Killer Rabbit with a rifle that  was shining gold.

The monster vanished as red particles, but there wasn’t even any time to watch that as Alfie shot her rifle to another monster.

She fixed her aim and pulled the trigger, but the Killer Rabbit dodged it cleanly.

Alfie clicked her tongue while replacing the magazine.

「They’re really quick.」

「Leave it to me!」

The orc Ponsuke hit his great shield with his great sword and activated the skill to draw the monsters toward him.

The monsters reacted to that skill because of their rage status. They all turned toward Ponsuke simultaneously.

Ponsuke raised his great shield and endured the monsters’ attacks, then a red haired elf――Mariela used his back to jump.

She held short swords in both hands with reverse grip and twirled in  the air. Her skill activated and her short sword shined strongly.

She whirled just before she fell while activating her skill, blowing away the monsters.

Countless wounds were carved into their bodies. Many of the monsters turned into light and vanished.

「Yosshaaa!」

Mariela rejoiced from her success in blowing away the enemies. Alfie shot death the surviving enemies.

The monsters were giving a hard fight against the players whose level was above 200.

The survivors attacked Ponsuke, but Ponsuke calmly blocked the  attacks with his shield before defeating them cleanly with counter, a  skill that he was greatly accustomed to.

After all the monsters were defeated, no more reinforcement came and a  screen floated in front of the three. Letters were floating inside that  screen.

It announced their victory and displayed the items that they obtained.

Ponsuke put away his weapons and touched the screen in front of him to sort the result.

「It’s troublesome that the enemies are strong.」

The World of Rage was vast and it was still full of mystery.

Even the clearing group was having a hard time.

The monsters from the World of Hope appeared here with bigger size and violent behavior.

As expected from the last world. It was difficult to clear.

Mariela leaped at Ponsuke and put her arms around his neck. She looked like a small kid playfully jumping on an adult’s back.

「Ponsuke, my attack just now did great right? Praise me.」

Mariela asked him to praise her movement. Ponsuke smiled wryly but he nodded.

「It was amazing, Mariela.」

But, Alfie puffed out her cheeks seeing that.

She hugged Ponsuke’s thick and burly arm.

「Praise me too please.」

「Aa~, yeah. Alfie was also amazing there.」

「Hehehe」

Alfie’s expression was delighted……the scene of two beautiful girls hugging an orc happily was bizarre.

It was a possible sight inside VR game, but it wasn’t real.

(The two of them are quite clingy for some reason.)

Ponsuke married eight people after the commotion in the sightseeing area. Of course it was a marriage based on the game system.

The requirements to marry multiple people like that were also  difficult. But all the guild members mobilized in order to secure the  required fund and rare items.

Thanks to that at present he held the record of the greatest number of marriage partner inside the game.

When his name got written in the ranking, some people started calling him as [Ponsuke-san] and the like.

Ponsuke looked at the two whose whole bodies were clinging on him.

(The warning screen also doesn’t come out. The regulation is getting loosened up.)

Revisions were always carried out after the large scale update.

Pandora’s world was starting to change slowly and steadily. But, the  number of players who was bothered by that was just too few.

◇

In the real world.

Ponsuke――Naruse Akito opened his eyes. He was inside his room wearing a headset. He moved his gaze and looked at the calendar.

The date was approaching the latter half of August.

The temperature inside the room was kept in certain degree. The heat  of summer wasn’t felt in there. But, the light that was entering from  the window was strong.

Akito took off the VR’s headset from his head and stood up while yawning.

「I played a lot too today.」

He turned on the monitor and the screen displayed the net news.

The weather forecast told that it would continue to be sunny for a  while. The weather would also be sunny at the day of the summer  festival.

『Everyone, how are you spending your summer holiday?』

An internet news that was aimed toward student was talking about the  topic that was related to summer vacation homework now that the time was  approaching the latter half of August.

『In the past school homework gave a lot of tasks like math and kanji wasn’t it?』

The female newscaster was talking with a specialist.

『The homework’s content at the present day is different from the era  where there was no VR after all. It was important at that time to do  revision of lesson, so I heard that the school gave a lot of homework.』

At the present day most of the times the students would set up the homework on their own.

They would do things like getting new qualification.

Then there was training their body, giving it their all to their part-time work, and various other things.

The school would evaluate the homework based on how high the  objectives the students had set up and how many percent of those  objectives were fulfilled.

The student wouldn’t get good evaluation if they only tried to achieve small objectives.

Akito was aiming to obtain a qualification that was a bit hard to get.

He was studying during summer holiday, took the test, and then he obtained the passing notification.

「I guess this is good enough for me.」

He was never late or absent to his part-time work.

His grade shouldn’t be bad.

He was also training his body, and he had obtained a difficult qualification.

It wasn’t a bad summer holiday for a high school student.

The news moved to the next topic.

『Then, it’s the greatly awaited Pandora News~』

The female newscaster had high tension.

News about Pandora got broadcasted everyday. Sometimes there would  even special program about it. Interview with player in the game world  was also getting popular.

Interview with top player would get an amazing number of view, so the  side that was creating the special program was also desperate to keep  doing it.

He heard that interview request kept coming to the top players almost every day.

There were even indecent stories getting out.

『It seems that there was an argument going on inside that famous  guild [Hundred]. A third of the guild left and formed a new guild, and  now they are recruiting applicants. We’re coming here to report it.』

Akito almost burst out hearing that.

「Hundred, he said……no way」

The clearing group Hundred was a guild that was also there during the  clearing of the World of Lust. Such guild was appearing in a news  program.

Akito could only smile bitterly.

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.

.

He had part-time work that day.

But, because it ended at 5 PM, he had plan to go see a movie together  after that with Mariela――Yakumo who had the same shift with him.

(The past me wouldn’t be able to believe my life right now.)

Tomorrow he had plan to go out with Alfie……Maya. He also had similar plans in other days with other girls.

His bonds in the virtual world were linked to the real world too……

Yakumo came out from the back office.

She was wearing casual wear. He had seen it at the morning too, but she had really put effort in dressing up.

「Sorry to make you wait. Let’s go.」

「Ah, yes.」

Akito was waiting for her in front of the supermarket where they  worked. His heart was beating fast seeing Yakumo’s appearance while the  two of them walked toward the residential area.

They headed toward the station and rode in a train toward the town…….

The two of them looked around inside a shop first before they went to  the movie theater, but they witnessed a surprising sight there.

「Hey, that kid over there」

「Eh?」

Akito followed Yakumo’s gaze and found a middle school boy who also worked in their workplace for part-time work experience.

The middle school boy was walking together with a middle-aged man on the street that was dyed orange by the evening sun.

Yakumo had suspicion in her gaze.

「Strange. It doesn’t feel like that they’re father and son.」

「Is that so?」

「Because the distance between the two is odd. Look!」

The middle-aged man held the middle school boy’s hand. And then they  vanished into a narrow alley. The boy didn’t protest and kept his gaze  fixed on the ground the whole time.

They were quite far from Akito and Yakumo’s position, but Yakumo didn’t miss the boy’s expression.

「……He was blushing and biting his lower lip.」

「Y-you’re joking right?」

Yakumo spoke with a matter-of-fact tone.

「There is……a hotel in that direction.」

「N-no, that’s just strange.」

It was a sight that was worthy for a police drone to come flying  immediately, but Akito decided that surely it was just their  misunderstanding.

After all, that middle school boy had bad attitude during his time in the part-time work and he also often ogled Yakumo.

「Senpai, the movie is going to start soon――」

Yakumo narrowed her eyes.

「Yakumo. Don’t call me with honorific.」

「Ah, sorry.」

He was still not used to call her with only her name. He was thinking that while walking with Yakumo toward the movie theater.

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On the way home.

Akito had sent off Yakumo home before heading back to his apartment.

On the way, he heard the voices of arguing man and woman.

「Why!」

「S-sorry.」

The man who was shouting angrily had a good look, along with a lean  and muscular body. He was also wearing stylish clothes and looked  well-matched with the woman.

The woman was also in the beautiful category. Akito had seen the two of them before and he was surprised.

There was another man wearing checkered shirt beside the woman……it  was bad to say this but, the man had long and oily hair and he was also  behaving badly.

His hand was holding the woman’s waist.

The woman wasn’t looking uncomfortable……rather she too was putting her hand around that man’s waist.

「It’s unsightly for a man to be filled with jealousy like that degozaru~」

The man’s peculiar way of talking seemed to rub the handsome man’s nerve the wrong way.

The woman pressed her face on the man’s chest and blushed.

「I can’t live without this person.」

It was an impossible situation no matter how Akito looked at it.

Akito wondered if it was a case of a woman being awakened to true  love, but under the man’s checkered shirt――was a T-shirt with anime  character printed on it.

The man in checkered shirt was making a smug look in front of the handsome man.

His personality couldn’t be said as great no matter what.

(It’s not also a case of prioritizing personality over appearance? Just what in the world is going on?)

Akito couldn’t comprehend it.

He thought that and shook his head before starting to walk again.

The night felt strangely hot and stuffy.

He wiped his sweat while at the same time he wished to wipe away the discomfort coiling around him.

(Strange. What’s with this feeling of discomfort?)

Akito hurriedly returned to his apartment and took a shower. Even so he couldn’t wipe away the discomfort.

Then the interphone rang when he got out of bathroom.

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.

.

「Ehehe, I came.」

「Anri-san?」

「I told you just call me Anri. Here, souvenir.」

Anri entered inside the room bringing gift of ice cream that she  bought in a minimarket. Akito didn’t really object what she was doing.

Anri didn’t look around inside Akito’s room and put the ice cream inside the refrigerator naturally.

「Was the movie today good?」

She must be asking about his date with Yakumo.

Akito answered her honestly.

「It was great. It’s a part of a series so I had been looking forward to it. Its impact is greater than the previous one.」

Anri didn’t look angry or anything while listening to him.

Akito drank juice from an already opened plastic bottle inside the refrigerator.

「Should I also try watching it? But, if it’s a series then I’ll have to watch from the first one.」

Anri knew where everything was located inside the room.

Today was her second time coming here.

「It’s an old movie, so you can also find it in rental.」

「Let’s do a movie get-together in Pandora. We can save time like that.」

She sat down beside Akito and the two of them chatted about the happenings today.

It seemed that Anri too had started doing part-time work.

It was part-time work in convenience store.

She suddenly visited Akito’s room like this, but it was a long distance using train to come here from her home.

Last time she was spending the night here.

「Today, or rather tomorrow? Let’s try discussing it when logging in.  Rather than that, are you going to go home at the dead of night if you  are staying here today?」

In order to play Pandora, Anri returned home in the dead of night last time. But, today she took out a box from her bag.

「Too bad. I got my hand on the new type. That’s why, I can login from anywhere.」

It was a headset but it didn’t need cable. It was the type that had been miniaturized even more.

It made it possible for player to login from anywhere they liked.

「Let me login from your room okay?」

「That’s fine but, isn’t that type expensive?」

The new type device was suddenly announced.

Apparently it had been in development since some time ago, but Akito was still astonished by the advancement in technology.

「It’s cheaper than I thought. There won’t be a problem as long as you register in the shop and exchange the old one with it.」

The thing looked like a portable handset.

No, it was close to a mobile phone. Now it was possible to login into virtual world with just that single object.

「I want one too.」

「Then buy it. There’s still time if you want to go buy it now, and I can give you the money for it if you need it.」

Akito shook his head.

「No, that’s not good. Anri too shouldn’t give out your money so  easily like that. You aren’t like that too with other people aren’t  you?」

Akito became worried.

Anri took off the rubber bands from her two braids and let down her long hair.

Then she tied up her hair.

「I’m not. It’s only with you Akito.」

The interphone rang again while they were having such talk.

When Akito looked at the monitor, the face of the person at the door was displayed.

Anri waved her hand.

「Kanaho~!」

At the other side of the interphone was Inaho――Kanaho who was making a surprised face.

『Anri-san also came here?』

Kanaho entered inside the room. She was also bringing a new type device.

「Eh? Kanaho-chan also bought one of that?」

Akito was feeling anxious to learn that everyone had it, but Kanaho shook her head.

「Ah, it’s not what you think. The company sent it to me saying that  it’s after service or something. I’m a prototype taster I guess? Anyway,  I was doing testing for them, so this is a reward for that apparently.」

Akito commented carefreely.

「I’m jealous.」

Anri was grinning.

「Just tell me and I’ll buy it for you anytime. Rather than that, with  this we’ll be together until morning. Hey, isn’t there anything to play  here?」

Akito could only smile wryly at how carefree Anri was.

「There’s only the games for party in my computer I guess.」

「That’s fine. It’ll be fun if the three of us play it.」

「Yeah. That kind of thing can be unexpectedly exciting.」

The two looked like they were down for some games, so Akito started preparing various things like drink and snack.

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(……Eh?)

Akito opened his eyes and noticed that his alarm clock was ringing.  The electronic sound was ringing inside the room while Anri and Kanaho  were sleeping nearby.

The two of them had changed clothes. They were wrapped in blanket and slept on the floor.

Akito made a troubled expression.

「They should use the bed. But, why am I sleeping on the bed?」

He stretched his body without thinking deeply about it.

He tidied up the table quietly so the two wouldn’t wake up, and then he started preparing.

The two smelled good. Perhaps they had taken shower.

Akito didn’t get offended or anything about that and let the two of them slept until it was time.

The sun rose early during summer.

The outside was starting to brighten already.

「It was fun yesterday and yet I fell asleep in the middle……hm?」

The AC’s sound was louder than usual for some reason.

When he looked at the device, he hurriedly lowered the room’s temperature.

The air purifier was also set up at maximum level.

「Did the two fiddle with it? Is this the necessary setting for girl or something?」

He tried sniffing the room. It felt like the smell was different from usual.

Surely it was because there were two girls in addition here. Akito didn’t think deeply about that.

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