12 Chapter 1.1: Yearly Journal

This journal is made in case I somehow perish. I may have the knowledge in what will happen, but I'm not God. I don't know EVERYTHING that had or will happen. Hence, I'm writing this journal and encrypted it in my computer in the PQ on the ARKS Ship and in my home on Earth. Only Xiao or Sarah can decrypt it, so yeah.

First things first, summary intro. My name is Josua. I'm a Human born on Earth, yet I'm not from Earth. I'm not of this reality, in fact. My reality of origin had the Earth I'm currently in as part of PSO2, a hub-based MMORPG launched in 2010/2011 (can't remember which year).

In that reality, I was born on October 30th, 1996, in Jakarta, Indonesia. In this reality, however, it seems that the me of this reality was born at the same date, but different year. He was born on 2000, literally the beginning of the 21st Century.

So to say, my soul is from the previous reality, while the body is of this reality. If you know your stuff, this is what you'd consider as something like transferred to another world or something like that (generally referred to as an "Isekai"). Though, I doubt that people born on 2010s and onwards wouldn't really be familiar, since it would be like a normal thing to them and not a novelty.

Before I was transported, so to speak, I was living in the year 2020, at August 11th. It was literally 2 hours before the launch of Episode 4 of PSO2 for the NA/Global version. I consider myself to be a failure, since I didn't even graduate from university, and even ghosted my friend whom I was supposed to partner with for the final thesis. I never really forgave myself, and instead blocked the man. I'm really a dick, huh.

Ahem, putting my sad thoughts aside...

The transfer was without warning. Or rather, it might've been, with the game launcher suddenly finished updating and the start button was toggleable (is this a word?), even though it was 2 hours before the server maintenance was done. When before I could reach the launch screen of PSO2, as in the [press anywhere to continue], my vision went black, and after that, there was a bright light. When I opened my eyes again, or rather, when I could see again, there I was. In this new body. In this reality.

Okay, with that done, the following are the entries of the journal.

Entry Date: XX December 2020.

I decided to do this since everything up to 2019 was like it was in the previous reality. 2020 is at least different, with no COVID-19 occurring in this reality. That's one thing that's actually good. I'm talking about in major events that weren't impacted much with the introduction of Aether.

Hmm... What else...

Oh yeah.

After making that inventory-esque bag, I'm planning to enter VR as well. In this reality, products from Oculus, HTC, Valve and Starbreeze exist as well. VR is still pretty much like in the previous reality, the HMD kind. I plan to work with Xiao to work out the kinks in hardware, eventual mass-production, source code and the software.

And yes, I plan to make it like the NerveGear, minus the deadly part.

While something like a Soul Translator would be much more interesting, however, considering everything that happened in the SAO Underworld LN, it would be far too deadly imo, since it could even be worse than the NerveGear (recall what happened to Vassago by the end of the Underworld).

Also, I joined Mother Corps a few months ago. They approached me a couple of months after CES. So far, everything's going according to plan. I'll feed them false or non-critical info, while they give me perks and benefits. After I accessed their network... Let's just say that those that rose to prominence after ESC-A swept the globe in popularity and the such, are pretty much either accomplices of, or a part of, Mother Corps.

Right now, I'm still like a normal member. But maybe in a year or two, I'll show them a little of what I can do, and then they'll promote me to be a Disciple. This is a risky proposition though, since I would be meeting Mother at least once after I'm promoted, and it'll be bad if she somehow found out about everything.

Priority would be keeping enough lid on critical info while keeping them satisfied enough to not ask questions.

What else...

Ah yeah, Earth Guide also tried to recruit me. Frankly speaking, it's already unnecessary. Enga would be joining (or already a part of? Dunno, really) them later on, so it would be redundant.

Also, I played FFXIV in this reality also. Since I already know what will happen up to patch 5.2, it's easy really. And not to mention, I pay the subs by the yearly (and got the physical Collector's Edition for Heavensward, Stormblood and Shadowbringers as well, which is NICE), so it helps in me keeping check of the bills.

And to my progress on FFXIV itself? 5.3 IS DAMN LIT. PLAY TO THE EDGE BABY. Unlike in the previous reality, my heart, so to speak, wasn't burdened much when compared. I could cry at certain scenes of the story, which is great. It really makes me feel great again.

Ah, also, thanks to me having beaten 5.3, I've confirmed what I hypothesized. White Auracite can indeed be used to store souls (or energy lifeforms), and with proper modifications, can also store the memories of the soul.

Sadly, I don't have G'raha Tia's blood, so I'll indeed substitute it with Fluctlight Cubes that will function to store the memories in its stead. And also, seems like the crystal used as the Crystal Tower's material can also be used in the same manner, since Elidibus was sealed in the Crystal Tower by the end of 5.3.

I'll probably have to ask Xiao about this, see if he knows any crystals that could function like that in this universe. The other question is... Would Xion listen to me? My selfish wish?

Also, 5.4 was launched near the end of the year. To be precise, on December 8th. If my guess is right, then in my previous reality, there should be no difference in the launch time. But seriously... Fucking Asahi Fandaniel? REALLY? Geh... This fucker never learns...

Forgot to mention this, but I have a credit card now (at least since like... I dunno, 2017?) so it's really useful in paying stuff and subscriptions online. And by some plot convenience, which I'm totally not aware of, I won the lottery last year, which I failed to in the previous reality. Now I'm swimming in cash, be it figuratively and literally.

Because of that, I had to hire a financial consultant to help me manage my private and corporate finances as well. This consultant... A weird one for sure. The gender? Female. What's weird? Well... I heard that she used to do stuff for some novelist in Japan, and some other famous authors. What bothers me a bit is that she's like that consultant in 'Imouto sae Ireba ii'.

Is it possible? Who knows.

The game never explored the other facets of the world, aside from simplifying it like ESC-A basically controls the majority of Earth's governments, or at least has enough power to influence the way things run.

Let's see... Ah, yeah, RTX 30 series was announced and launched this year. To be precise, they launched it on September. It was as impressive as the rumors suggested it. But the launch for the 3080 though... It was a disaster. I can only think of the previous reality, where in all likelihood, it would also be a disaster. Nabbed a 3090 to replace the 1660 Ti that I got last year. AWW YEAH.

And I replaced the Acer Predator X34 monitor(s) with the ROG Swift PG35VQ. Thank God for the buttload of money that I got in this reality. I could only (literally) look at it in the previous reality in envy, really.

Also, got to attend TGS this year. HAR HAR.

Ah, I also thought to go into the mobile phone industry (as in making smartphones). But... I'll have to discuss this with Xiao and Sarah first. Xiao mostly for technical and strategy stuff. Sarah since she has more grasp on the trends. She loves to keep watch on the latest things.

While on the subject of phones, I got the Note20 Ultra and ROG Phone 3. It's really nice. Like, REALLY nice. But I suppose I could do one up better with Xiao's help on making a better one. Yep, gonna ask the lad, and Sarah later.

Talking about Sarah, it's been a while since we rescued her from Luther. Brought her along with me back to here, Earth, from time to time. She's been adapting well, and at least, she's cheerful again. She loves to play with some people that came to my place from time to time (because I asked them to). At least she's not socially awkward anymore, which is really nice.

Her combat abilities are certainly better than what I've seen in the previous reality. Her height is still the only thing that lowers her overall combat performance though.

Ah, right, talking about ARKS...

Casra II has been appointed into office three years ago (recall that AD 2020 is AP 233 when converted to ARKS' calendar), around several months after I graduated from the Cadet Academy.

Quna... Dunno about her. Since the incident in the lab where she lived was covered up, I couldn't really find where she had went or when she will be (or already has been) appointed into office as Number 0 of the Six.

Klariskrays III will be appointed next year, while Huey would be appointed the year after her.

So far, Luther's machinations are already grinding. Despite our best efforts, it's really hard to put a bloody dent on the motherfucker. I suppose dealing him like how it goes in the previous reality would be the way, but still, I have to find a way to keep Xion from being killed by the fucker.

Hopefully, Xiao could help with finding the crystal.

Entry Date: XX December 2021

FFXIV's expansion, Endwalker, was launched around July or August this year. But seriously... WE'RE GOING TO THE MOON! THE MEME HAS BECOME A REALITY!!!

In case you don't know, FFXIV's players loved to joke that the Moon is haunted, since Ascians would often appear on the Moon for no reason (or maybe, because Zodiark was sealed in the Moon?).

Xiao informed me that he found some materials that may have the properties I'm searching for. Right now, it's a matter of finding which one has the closest properties to what I seek. I'll dedicated this year to experiment with these materials.

Also, I've consulted with Xiao on whether I should expand the market of my company and enter the mobile market (and VR). He concluded that for the mobile market, I should hold off since the market is saturated by old and emerging players as it is. But for VR, it would be better since the competition hasn't reached a point where the market is dominated by a single entity or any particular group (Facebook is still in the midst of trying to be a household name for VR).

Thanks to that, we've decided to enter the VR market, and introduce something like the NerveGear. With Sarah's input, I've also had the company prepared a designated marketing strategy, targeting those possible worrywarts and the consumers.

So, aside from dealing with the materials for substituting White Auracite, VR would be the 2nd on the list for the year.

Ah, he also managed to find time to come to Earth with me. He was pretty interested, since only few civilizations that ARKS have encountered have the same scale and intricacy as the one on Earth over on that side. The closest one would be the Draconians, but even then, they're not exactly classifiable as a typical civilization.

He messed over a lot of things here, so yeah, it's hard to curb his overenthusiasm. He'd ask a lot, from how the markets work to the political systems and sociocultural stuff. By that point, I'd just point him to YouTube and Wikipedia so he can find out for himself. I've also warned him of possible things that may baffle him, like flat earth stuff and some conspiracy theories (also porn as well).

Let's just say that... Xiao found out about some things the hard way.

Okay...

By the end of the year (the time of writing), Xiao and I have worked out the hardware needed and could possibly be produced for the VR product. I've sent the list to Maria at the company. I'm planning to launch it next year, at the same time as NerveGear was launched in SAO. So, probably around October 2022?

Also, as I've said before, Klariskrays III, Sarah's clone, got appointed this year into the Council of Six at the tender age of 12. Poor lass, she doesn't know jack shit.

Ah, before I forget, this year, Intel finally launched their 10nm lineup, while over on the red side, AMD, they had refined their 7nm lines.

And yes, the financial consultant that I hired was exactly like the one in that anime series. My God. I dunno if I should feel gratified or horrified.

Entry Date: XX December 2022

The launch of neuVR two months ago (on October 31st) was a SUCCESS!!

By the time of the writing of this, we got about... I dunno, like, 1 million orders! We sold out on launch day at 100k units! We pretty much became the fastest selling VR hardware ever! Of course, I own the final product before it was launched (as in, the 'handmade' production of the final model). This is not even including those who are on the backlog of the orders, the remaining like... 2 million orders!

Ah, the pricing? It's around... USD 699, or USD 700 if you wanna round that up. Not including shipping and import taxes, btw.

Our partner manufacturers are having a field day because of it. We order most stuff from our partners, while some tech, like the processor and physical safety measures, were made by our small production line, which we built early this year.

Of course, so to say, Xiao had implemented various security measures enough to baffle those on this side for the next 50 years. Even with ESC-A, they'd need at least 10 years to crack our tech, and even then, they need an additional 5 year to crack our software!

Talking about the software... We're using what's essentially an ESC-A OS remake, just to keep things smooth. Xiao remade it so it won't have any backdoors for ESC-A to intrude, and only us (my company and Xiao) can intrude, if necessary. Of course, we plan on playing by the rules (unless the competitor decides to do otherwise, in which we'll be more than happy to retaliate and utterly crush them).

HAHAHAHA!! SUCK IT, FACEBOOK! SERVES YOU RIGHT FOR KILLING THE OCULUS NAME AND DITCHING THE RIFT PLATFORM!!!

Ahem, putting THAT aside...

If I recall correctly, Nvidia announced the RTX-40 series a couple of months ago (or maybe it was around August or September? Can't remember). So the next one should be on 2024, while they launched the RTX-40 series just last month (or was it October?).

Xiao have concluded his test on the materials to substitute White Auracite. After that, we both began to ponder on how do we get the thing to Xion when the time comes.

Considering the massive scale in which Xion's soul and memories could be, both Xiao and me have decided that it would be better if we could find someplace to house the thing. For the moment, I'll be housing it in my Personal Quarters aboard the ARKS Ship. Xiao also agreed that it should be good enough to serve as a temporary location.

Also, under the planned Soul Crystal (what I dub it) and the Fluctlight Cluster (I'll use my aether manifestation ability for this), I also had Xiao help me construct a teleportation device that could be triggered and transported to where I'm at with a specially-made remote device. With that, my plan to help preserve Xion as much as I could, while allowing everything to progress as is (which is unknown to Xiao), should go well. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself because I said this.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm still no different than how I was. Maybe I was just playing victim. Maybe I'm just doing this to satisfy my own vanity or something like that. Who knows?

Anyways, Huey got appointed this year into the Council of Six. Still dunno if Quna's appointed or not. Who knows, really? I really wish I have the info on hand right now...

Entry Date: XX December 2023

Construction of the Soul Crystal and the Fluctlight Cluster have been going well. So far, Luther hasn't discovered us. Seems like the camouflage that I had set was effective enough to ward the fucker off. Should be enough to keep it safe until the battle three years from now.

I call it cluster, but really, it's more like... I dunno, 25 Fluctlight Cubes or something like that, that will surround the "Soul Crystal" to house Xion's memories of the past 1000 years, and possibly her calculation abilities (if doable).

I've also thought of another alternative, if that first one won't work. Maybe building something like the Crystal Tower? To house Xion? It should work, in theory.

Also, with this in mind, I could free up some of my brain cells and think on how to counter Luther's abilities. I recall that he had something like a Time-stop ability/technique. So, my personal solution would be try and manifesting a Stand. Specifically, something like Dio's "The World" or Jotaro's "Star Platinum".

Yes, I'm not joking. A Stand. I can already hear Joseph Joestar's memeable sentence being spoken in my head: "Is this the work of an Enemy Stand?"

Of course, it would be hard, since technically speaking, Stands are in a sense similar to Avatar Arms. Difference is, one's a manifestation in the form of a being, while the other was in the form of an object.

Now that I think about it, didn't Hagito Anie's Avatar Arms, Emerald Tablet, remanifested as like... I dunno, the captain of the Phantasm Yamato in Episode 4? Would that count as a stand? Hmm...

If I can't manifest a Stand (probably the case), then I'll have to ask Xiao to help with making a device to deal with it. It'll probably take a while to reach satisfactory results though.

Also, next year's election year for my country. Since the current one has served for two terms already (1 term = 5 years), he won't be able to participate in the candidacy. Dunno about the candidates tho, so far I'm seeing only old players. Who knows, maybe even next month we'll see some new face.

Intel's getting crushed because they just got to the 7nm stage, while AMD had just announced they're shipping their 5nm processors next year. #RIPIntel

My company's doing great. We're beginning to do a 2nd gen for the spatial bags. It's time already for the 2nd gen, in my opinion. I'm gonna have to discuss with Xiao on what new things should be added, and Sarah for popular opinion.

Entry Date: XX December 2024

Nvidia announced (and launched) the RTX-40 series just a few months ago. AMD is still on its neck with their new Radeon lineup though.

The election had been conducted and concluded on July of this year. Some new face actually won the damn race. Dunno who the guy is, but I think the dude's probably a man of ESC-A, or at least his winning could be attributed to ESC-A (or Mother Corps to be more specific).

I guess this is the year when ESC-A and Mother Corps really digs into a lot of nation's political landscape. As in, they finally have the influence. Not to say they didn't before, but rather they finally have enough power to wield on the highest level. I guess this is why organizations like the UN wasn't really making a fuss in 2028 despite the emergence of an unknown alien force, which is ARKS. Bruh...

Also, if I remember correctly, next year's should be the start of problems in several aspects on Earth, as in trains derailing or autonomous cars crashes into something, or even people going missing (though I think going missing's probably in 2026, 2025 should be the start though).

After a discussion with Xiao and Sarah, we've defined the 2nd Generation of the spatial bags (or the Dis-B), the bag should be made to be more sleek and less noticeable when worn. Also, the verification method should be expanded to not only logging in with the account and simple biometrics, but also something like a quantum key to bind the bag to the user's account.

The design will probably be like a small pouch for the 2nd gen, with the largest being like a hand bag. This is on the basis of allowing storage for large things while keeping the form factor of the bag itself small.

After that, we went into production and it will begin shipping early next year.

Also, I got my Mother Corps uniform. Ever since meeting Mother back in 2020 (forgot to mention it) after they recruited me, I was given the codename "Disciple of Earth". My smooth sailing in the industry from there on out, aside from just the product, could also be contributed to Mother Corps' influence.

Of course, at this time, Hagito Anie hadn't join Mother Corps yet (he was still in high school, or even junior high, since he said he was the president of the student council five years prior to Episode 4).

So, at this point, the Disciples could only be said to consist of Aratron Tolstoy and Phaleg Ives (and maybe Bethor Zelazny and Ophiel Herbert). Dunno about Och Miller and Phul Janice Lasswitz tho. The canon never mentioned when these two joined as Disciples, so I dunno when I'll see them, since, when I met Mother, I only saw Aratron and Phaleg for sure, hence I don't know about the others.

My Avatar Arms is called as the "Hands of God" by Mother, because of what I could do with it. You know, the gloves that forms when I summon my supposed Avatar Arms. The armor that I summoned is simply an extension of protection by the gloves. And these items could be permanent, or not, depending on what I intend to do with them.

Speaking of which, the Fluctlight Cluster has been finished. It's currently stored in my PQ aboard the ARKS Ship. The Soul Crystal... It's almost finished, but we're seeing some problems, since Luther's probably noticing our movements (not what we're actually doing).

We might have to lay low for the next few months.

Entry Date: 19 April 2025

Yep, as I predicted (or rather, remember from the PSO2: The Animation and the game), reports on incidents related to autonomous cars and trains are beginning to pop up across the globe. Missing people... There are barely anything on that, but I do hear some rumors about people going missing.

Ah, speaking of which, PSO2 has been running for 9 years in this reality. And it's going strong, compared to some other games like WoW. Because of the infrastructure rebuild back in the day, a lot of online games had to be taken offline, while PSO2 used that as their advantage in absorbing its competitor's player base. By this point, it's played all across the globe, with at least several million players in my country alone.

And ESC-A's influence, at this point, pretty much covers 60% of governments of major nations, to no one's surprise (well, to people like me).

2nd Gen of DiS-B has been launched this year. The reception has been positive, since it's more private in a sense. At this point, the 1st Gen has sold around 250 million units. But mind you, this is over the span over 5 years at this point, so per year, if you really wanna get a rough estimate, we sold around 50 million units per year in that timeframe.

Meanwhile, we're planning on doing the 2nd gen of our VR headset, the neuVR. 2nd Gen will feature the latest WiFi and AetherNet standard connections. It'll be smoother than the 1st Gen, with updates on the firmware's security and more powerful specs.

The 1st Gen of neuVR has sold 120 million units over the past three years, with an average of 40 million units sold per year. The 2nd Gen is planned to be launched next year with the same price.

In matters of ARKS...

I forgot to mention this before, but yeah, this year's the start of Episode 1. Or rather, it'll start in tomorrow (at the time of this writing). Wish me luck. May I be able to change Xion's ultimate fate, be it for myself or for her. I care not. I wish for her to be happy. That's all.

I'll end the log here for now.