Reincarnation of the Gun Swap Goddess [Volume 1]

Bren's Plan

Bren sighed as he looked around his room. As one might suspect of a student of the Royal Academy, the Tchan family naturally wasn't poor. In fact, they were richer than the vast majority of the population. Despite their wealth, though, Bren lived in quite a modest room. There was only one bed, one VR sleeper (with a Vbian helmet, of course), and one desk with a traditional laptop computer. Other facilities such as the wardrobe and washrooms were installed separately.

In a day and age where traditional computers were on the decline for more modern alternatives such as VR helmets, smartphones, and holographic projectors, Bren decided to keep a small one in his room because it gave him a rustic, homey feel.

However, right now he was feeling anything but comfort.

*I wonder when the tryouts are.*

It was always Bren's dream to become a professional virtual sports player. Though e-sports players were among the most popular "athletes" in the world, Bren had a strong feeling that v-sports would be even bigger in the future. Surprisingly, even the conservative Royal Academy was founding a VR team next year. Naturally, Bren wanted to make it to the top.

*I'm going to be a third year at the academy. I must make varsity if I want to prove my skills!*

The current most popular VR game was a fighting game known as Virtual Martial Arts. Bren's friend group, colloquially known as "the Brent Clan", were also avid players of VMA. However, Bren told his friends that they should focus on Synergy the moment it was released. Since the combat mechanics were similar, he knew they would have a head start over new players.

*There's no way this VR game won't become the most popular.*

From what Bren experienced in the alpha test, Synergy contained some of the most groundbreaking technology in VR simulations. It was almost uncanny how ahead of its time the game was, even in its alpha phase.

If he was going to become renowned for any activity, it was going to be v-sports. Bren had already set up a roadmap for his life, assuming his gamble on the v-sports market paid off. There was just one small problem...

*Will I be good enough for varsity?*

His confidence was lacking. He knew there were VMA players at the Royal Academy that were better than him by a significant margin.

*What am I missing?*

As he pondered, Bren nervously accessed the Etherless web from his laptop and searched for the next school year's tryout date.

*It's... in the eighth month. I've got some time, but I can't waste any of it.*

It was currently the beginning of the third month. This gave him roughly two more months at the Academy and three months of holiday to improve.

Bren shut off his laptop and took a deep breath to organize his thoughts.

*I've planned everything so meticulously, there's no way it'll go wrong!*

With that self-assurance, Bren resumed his daily activities as he awaited nightfall.

---

Ten minutes before midnight, Bren booted up his Vbian-01 helmet and prepared to log into Synergy. Anxiously, he checked to see if the game would be ready to launch the moment the clock struck midnight.

*Looks like all of the necessary files are preinstalled. I've got my character model and voice mod ready to go, too. All I need to do now is wait...*

His plan was to relax the few minutes before the game's launch, but he couldn't help himself from deviating from the plan and checking Concord. He anxiously sent some messages to confirm everyone's status.

*>Brent: I can't calm down. Is everyone ready?*

*>Allux: Yessir, I think we're all ready. Everyone's got their models and voice mods prepared, too.*

*>Brent: Perfect. Get through the starter screen as quickly as possible and meet me in the Uval Hamlet's common area. It should be pretty easy to find.*

*>Molotov: Yep, yep! Let's slaughter some noobs!*

One minute before midnight, Bren stopped chatting on Concord and opened Synergy. A countdown to the release of the game was displayed in front of him.

...

*>10 seconds before the world of Synergy opens to the public!*

...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

*>Welcome to Synergy!*

The countdown ended and the world turned white as these words appeared in front of him.

"Welcome to Synergy!"

As if on cue, Bren heard a cute feminine voice in front of him. Though a year had passed, the appearance of this miniature blonde fairy in a white dress was unchanged.

"I am Lemieux, and I will guide you as you begin your journey in this world. Think of me as a tutorial bot!"

*Fuck, this dialogue is exactly the same. Can't I skip this?*

Much less the dialogue, even the pose she struck and the tone she used was identical to last year. However, what came next was vastly different, and something that almost nobody would want to hear.

"Oh? You're an alpha tester. Be wary, some changes have been made before the release of the game! Don't rely on everything you've previously learned!"

Bren's heart sank.

*To think they would account for alpha and beta testers... This was such an obvious thing that could have happened, and yet I didn't account for it...*

"Beyonder, what is your name?"

Bren grit his teeth and rushed through the starter screen as fast as he could.

*Please let the changes be small, and please let my plan work!*

A/N: Discord link in synopsis. Check it out!