1 Otta's Resolve

Twenty-two year old Otta Olley sighed. In 2050, there was no need to get a job after completing mandatory education. The world was self-sufficient and humans could laze around if they wanted to. However, the quality of life differed from person to person. Even though working was optional, those who do not work do not get to eat good food.

Otta was a closet otaku. She loved the 3D character Neru-Neru who was an AI idol. For the sake of her beloved idol's upcoming concert, Otta had taken on several part-time jobs including grinding for some lazy dungeon players.

Yes, it was possible to earn money by playing games. No, it wasn't the common games that you could access from the computer. It was a real dungeon created by a dungeon creator. As scientists have taken interest in how humans react, gamers are encouraged to participate in dungeons. Of course, the players need to sign some forms of indemnity against mental trauma. It's become a popular trend and many of these players are dubbed 'adventurers'.

Sadly, with so many adventurers and so little dungeon owners, the public is beginning to become frustrated with the predictable dungeon storylines and activities. Otta was also getting bored of having to constantly battle against monsters in the dungeons. There weren't any skill upgrades and it was basically a matter of reaction time and dungeon credits in battles to decide the victor. Despite the monotonous activities, many adventurers continue conquering dungeons as the scientists paid well for excellent performances.

"But the number of adventurers are simply too many! To climb the ranks now will take me a good twenty years to have the privilege of eating first-class fried chicken. I'm not going to wait twenty years for that!"

If there was anything Otta loved more than Neru-Neru, it was fried chicken. It was a delicacy that Otta had only tasted once. That happened when her very rich friend Michelle bought her some after winning the lottery. Ever since that day, Otta had been craving for it. Unfortunately, fried chicken was very expensive. Ordinary adventurers couldn't afford it. Chickens were small creatures that are hard to rear because they were valued for the eggs they produced.

Eggs were used as the main ingredient to manufacture the nutrition pills that the government gives out freely. As such, the killing of chickens was strictly monitored. Chickens were like the living gods in 2050 and fried chicken became a mere dream for many.

Ever since she began living on her own, Otta didn't have many dreams or expectations. She was happy living day by day doing nothing useful or productive in particular. She had some friends while in school but many of them have decided to pursue something in life. Adam has chosen the path of a scientist, Michelle was a socialite, Grace was a famous adventurer and who knows what Richard was doing. That boy has always been a bit of an oddball to Otta even though they were good friends.

However, as useless as she was, Otta had a dream. It was the dream of being able to eat fried chicken freely. She wasn't concerned about becoming rich. She was satisfied with her current lifestyle. But the food... it wasn't as if she was unhappy with nutrition pills or the occasional steak. It was just that nothing could compare to fried chicken.

Back in school during history lessons, Otta learned that people of the past could eat fried chicken on a daily basis. The founder of the fried chicken trend - Colonel Sanders, made it possible. However, with the popularity of nutrition pills and the tight control under the government, these fried chicken outlets ran out of business until they were shut down for good. It was a sad moment and Otta wished that she could be born earlier. To be denied such a luxury, it was truly painful.

"If money and social contributions are all I need to eat fried chicken again, I'll do it!" Otta announced to nobody in particular. Her Neru-Neru plushie stared blankly at her, giving her all the moral support she needed.

"I've decided Neru-Neru, you can't stop me now. I'm sorry that I won't be attending your concert this year. Instead, I promise to put the money to good use! I will become the best dungeon designer there is and achieve the dream of being able to eat fried chicken once more!"

Neru-Neru didn't respond but Otta didn't seem to mind. She was more concerned about researching.

"Let's see... what do I need to do before I can own a dungeon business?"

***

Many hours later, a disheveled and mentally drained Otta decided to take a shower. That was way too much information and she wished she'd never made that decision. There was simply to much to take in and she didn't know where to start. In twenty-two years of her life, she'd never been one to take initiative for anything. However, she had to decide on so many things now that she was determined to see her dungeon and fried chicken dream come true.

"Why are there so many types of dungeons? How do I know which association is the best to apply with? Do I need to employ anyone? Wait, how will I pay them? I don't have the money to employ anyone! Does this mean I'm going to have to do everything on my own? How do I do that? I don't know anything about dungeon making!"

Overwhelmed and utterly spent, Otta flopped onto bed. She popped a nutrition pill and swallowed. So unsatisfying. The pill had no taste or texture but yet she was no longer hungry. What was the purpose of living when there was no joy?

"Ah, fried chicken... how I wish it was easy to obtain."

After tossing and turning on her bed with thoughts boggling her mind, Otta fell into a restless sleep.