Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 3: Invitation

"I did say the officials gave me these for our new plans. I just told you about you two, and they let me have these VeilCons for you guys. Though it wasn't easy to convince them."

Okay, now I knew that all of this just seemed impossible. I tried to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. To my surprise, I was not. Right in front of me were two of the VR consoles, the very said successors of the first ADVR consoles. But, I know they didn't give these to Dad for free. "O-Okay. I know this isn't a dream and those packages seem real. But what's the catch? I know they didn't just give it away like it was candy!"

I felt like as if I was panicking right now. There were two VeilCons right in front of me, and I still kept trying to make sure that they weren't fake or anything. Thankfully, my dad gave me time to breathe before he continued. This was a lot to handle, as we now had three VeilCons in our house.

"I know you would ask that, so I might as well tell you. As you know, we are working on a new AI for a special project from the third-party. That project is a game called <Isekai Online>."

Isekai... Online...?

Damon and Zac did invite me to play the game, but I rejected them for obvious reasons. But with these VeilCons in front of me, I figured that I was going to eat my words. Ugh... I feel like I'm going to hit myself because of this unexpected surprise. I just kept my mouth shut while my Dad continued his explanation. "They were about to release the game to the public, but the AI department still needs some players to check on the interactions between them and the NPCs programmed with the special advanced AI that we made. They were about to put up some job hiring ads on their website to look for new players, but I decided to tell them about you two, and they agreed to let you boys to fill that role. Besides, I think you two have good grades so far. Except for Kazuki's physical education class."

I just chuckled at this, while Kazuki frowned in annoyance. Yeah, our parents were aware of his 'PE problem'. "Regardless, I feel this job should also serve as your rewards for doing a good job with your studies. But as long you take the job, you can have these VeilCons all to yourselves."

Hang on a second, Dad said this would fulfill 'someone's wish'. And all this time, Kazuki remained calm with that smile before he mentioned his PE grades. So...

"And let me guess, this is your only chance to fulfill Kazuki's promise to play Isekai Online, huh?" I asked in the most deadpanned tone in the world, which Dad just nodded yes to this. "Of course..."

This was very obvious at the start. Kazuki loves fantasy novels like 'The Lord of the Rings', 'Harry Potter', and 'The Golden Compass' and he was raving about the game ever since the announcement. I don't want to disappoint him, but I opposed this idea because of obvious reasons which I still stand by to this day.

"Come on, Hayate! I've been begging Dad for months now and now that we have it, I can finally to play the game in a VR world whenever I like!"

Yeah, that is his dream. He is very smart for a kid his age, but he has a big imagination. He even pretends to be a knight or a wizard when he was 6 years old. I always had to play the role of a horse or a dragon in his pretend plays since I was bigger. "I-I don't know. First off, the game has some mature and violent content that you might not be able to endure. Plus, the age limit for it is for 13-years-old and up only. You won't able to play at your current age. Sorry, Kazuki."

I really didn't want to crush his dreams, but this was a reality. There are laws meant to protect young kids from games that they can't handle. I only wish that he wasn't too disappointed at this. I just don't want to hurt his feelings.

"That is true. The game will block anyone who tries to lie about their age, which is against the law." Dad was right. Every VR console is equipped with a special device that can scan their bodies and their personal information to determine their correct identity. If they try to put in false information about themselves, they risk being fined heavily and/or put in prison for 3-4 years. So I knew it would be a bad idea to enter the game with his current age. "Although, I doubt you're telling the whole truth about your intentions for the game."

The whole truth? What was he talking about? I turned to Kazuki once more, only to see that he was smiling again as he said, "You really think I'm playing this game all by myself?" Okay, I was even more confused than ever. What was he even planning with the game? "To tell you the truth, I want to invite you into the world of Isekai Online. So you and I can explore the lands together like the heroes from the book!"

Wait...

WHAT?!!

"Surprised? I did say that you and Kazuki are chosen to be the NPC beta testers. And you don't have to worry about those age problems. Along with the style choice features, there are also features to not only lower the PK and gore settings, but there is a special feature that allows minors into the game with the condition of <Guardian Players> keeping an eye on them during their gameplay session. So in other words, you get to come along with Kazuki into Isekai Online."

So... This was his special news. Not only did he gave us two VeilCons and the game itself, but both of us were invited to the game to be their beta testers.

At this rate, I felt like I was going to faint at any second because I couldn't take this any longer. Where was a nice bed or sofa when I needed it?!