Chapter 2 - School Field Trip (2)

A round white blob with two horns and small wings emerged from the warped space. I felt someone pinch my cheeks.

Yuriko frowned. "Weird, this isn't a dream."

"Hey you're supposed to pinch yourself, not me."

Behind me, I heard the furious flapping of feathers. "Squaaak! Squaaakkk!!"

"Shhh. Bucky, don't be jealous of other birds flying." The boy with a straw hat comforted his chicken.

Xen leaned over the back of my seat and poked his head out, "Woah, I didn't know they have an augmented reality feature on this bus."

A girl with twintails in one of the front seats jumped up and pointed at the alien. "Hey look, a fairy!"

She was Yoshikawa, a middle-schooler who posted videos on ToriTube. I remembered names of people who I actively avoided. I don't particularly mind if others accidentally take photos of me, but everyone was familiar with each other at school so my picture would be recognized right away.

Yuriko whispered to me, "Even though it looks like a fluffy cloud, I'm pretty sure that's a Dokkaebi. It's a mythical creature from Korean stories."

"Dokkaebi? I've never read about them."

"Well yeah, they're not popular in Japanese books. You should read Korean books for a change. Maybe then you would appreciate the world more."

"No way, if I did that then you would pester me to watch those Korean shows."

The floating Dokkaebi flapped it's small wings to get our attention.

[Testing, testing. Hello, can everyone understand me?]

Someone in the front was surprised. "It spoke!"

Xen cupped his hands and yelled, "Yeah we can hear you!"

[Good good. First things first. Contrary to your thoughts, this is not an augmented reality, nor is this a feature of the bus.]

"But you're talking through the speakers." A middle-schooler with messy dark brown hair argued.

[Yes, that's because I modified them. That's not important right now. Listen carefully. This planet has been chosen to become a stage for scenarios in the Star Stream. You will participate in scenarios and I will be your supervisor.]

These words flew over our heads as curious voices piped up.

Xen gasped, "So you're a hacker? So cool!"

"Is this an alien invasion?"

"Wait, so you're real?! I gotta record this for my vlog!"

"Squaaak! Squaaakk!"

The Dokkaebi closed its eyes like it was getting a headache from dealing with the unruly children. I could somewhat relate to how the Dokkaebi felt. The whole situation was strange, but I couldn't think clearly with all the noise.

[Seeing as you are all excited, let us begin.]

The horns on the Dokkaebi moved like antennas and its eyes glowed.

[#AU-2021 channel is open!]

[The constellations have entered.]

In front of me a blue screen popped up.

[The main scenario has arrived!]

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[Main Scenario #1 - A Difficult Choice]

Category: Main

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: Choose a lane for the bus to take.

Time Limit: 3 mins

Compensation: 200 coins

Failure: ??

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The digital clock of the bus glitched again and the numbers 03:00 were displayed. Then 02:59… 02:58… 02:57…

It was a countdown timer.

Vroom! Vroooom!

The engine of the bus sounded and the bus moved by itself. It veered away from the parking lot and headed towards the direction of the main street with convenience stores and various buildings lined on either side. Far in the distance were some figures standing outside a clothing store, taking pictures on the road.

Our bus was headed right towards them.

"What's happening?"

"The bus is moving on it's own?"

"A self-driving bus??"

Nakano dashed to the front of the bus and grabbed the steering wheel. "It's not budging."

[Ah, I've disabled the controls. Please make your choice through the panel next to the radio. Also keep in mind that the bus is invisible to those not in the scenario, as are all of you. No one can see or hear you and the bus.]

The steering wheel and control panel were all like useless decorations. The bus was now a hollow shell that held us captive.

[Well that's all. I look forward to your decision.]

With that, the Dokkaebi disappeared.

The bus started steadily increasing in speed.

Teacher walked out of the convenience store carrying a bundle of wooden plaques and some snacks. He was talking with someone on his phone.

He looked both ways before crossing. To him, there were no cars on the road.

Nakano opened the window and shouted. The middle-schoolers joined in the call.

"Teacher!"

"Lookout!!"

"Tadashi-sensei! Move away from the road!"

"Squaaak!"

No one outside seemed to hear.

Nakano slammed his foot on the brakes. It had no effect. "Damn it."

The bus was heading right towards the group of people taking photos on the right lane. Teacher was walking onto the road from the left lane.

If the bus stayed on the right lane then it would undoubtedly hit the group of people. If the bus switched to the left lane, Teacher would not be able to cross the lane in time and the bus would hit Teacher.

The clock read 00:46.

In less than a minute the bus would reach the convenience store. I looked around desperately. Ouga was standing up in shock, his right hand holding a half-eaten banana.

This will do. I snatched the banana from him and tossed it to Nakano.

"Nakano, throw this outside! Throw it on the sidewalk as close to Teacher as possible!"

Nakano acted swiftly and hurled the banana.

Splat!

The banana hit the teacher on the back. The teacher turned around in surprise, picked up the banana peel, and moved back towards the sidewalk to throw it in a nearby bin.

I rushed to the front of the bus and slammed my hand down on the left lane option on the blue panel.

[Left lane selected. Your decision has been recorded.]

Fwoosh!

Our bus zoomed past the space where the teacher was just a moment ago.

Ding!

The clock sounded as it reached 00:00.

The Dokkaebi appeared.

[Hmm interesting... I see that no one died.]

It sounded amused.

[Well that was a thrilling moment right? Better get used to it. There will be more times like this in the future.]

[Main scenario #1 has been completed!]

[200 coins have been earned.]

[An additional 100 coins have been rewarded for the 'no death' achievement.]

The Dokkaebi was about to say something else, but stared at empty air in front of it. It sighed and did a half-eye roll before disappearing.

The bus was silent as it continued down the road. The self-driving bus swerved away from the city and onto a wide bridge suspended over a deep blue sea. Seagulls swooped over the water surface like white shadows and fishes somersaulted in the air. I took in the sight to distract myself from the recent incident.

It was the straw hat boy with the chicken who spoke first. "Would Tadashi-sensei really have been hit?"

None of us knew the answer nor did any of us want to know what would have happened.

What if Teacher didn't move away in time? Would I have chosen the other lane where strangers were standing? Would someone else have thought of a better solution? Would… ?

My head spun a bit and I stopped thinking. These were questions without answers, and answers without meaning.

Yuriko broke the silence, "Heh who knew that being a good citizen would save your life one day?"

"Ohh then I promise I'll be a good student! I'll finish my homework every day!" A grin brightened the straw hat boy's face.

"Ughh I should have recorded when the banana went splat! Tadashi-sensei made a funny face, the video can get so many views!" Yoshikawa deluded over her missed opportunity.

The atmosphere relaxed as the students shared their thoughts on what transpired.

[I see that everyone is chatty as usual.]

The Dokkaebi reappeared.

"Oh hey, it's the talking cotton candy." Xen looked up.

A rumble could be heard from Ouga's tummy. "Is it edible?"

The Dokkaebi ignored them.

[For completing the first scenario, all of you will be rewarded with sponsorships of the constellations.]

[In the first scenario you had to decide the life of others, but the choice you make now will likely decide your own life.]

[Based on which sponsor you choose you will be granted certain skills which will be useful in future scenarios. Choose wisely.]

A blue screen popped up in front of me.

[Sponsor Selection]

- Please select your sponsor.

- Your chosen sponsor will be your strong supporter.

1. Lone Watcher

Well there was only one option for me so it's not like I had any choice of my own.

This was fine since it meant I won't disappoint other constellations, whatever the 'constellations' were.

Xen was excited, "Cool! We avoided an accident and we get to pick superpowers."

The Dokkaebi frowned at the word 'superpowers'.

"Hey this is like selecting a starter pokemon!"

"Do we get to look at the pokemon's traits before we choose?"

The middle-schoolers were excited and began talking about their sponsors.

Yoshikawa laughed, "Cuddly Guardian? Haha, what kind of a name is that."

[The constellation 'Cuddly Guardian' is displeased by the insult.]

[The constellation 'Cuddly Guardian' has withdrawn their sponsorship.]

The girl was dismayed, "Wait! I'm sorry, that was a joke."

"I didn't mean it, please come back! If you do I'll definitely choose you! My other option has a scary name."

[A constellation is laughing at 'Cuddly Guardian'.]

[The constellation 'Cuddly Guardian' is telling them to shut up.]

I looked at my screen to confirm my selection and was puzzled by the message that appeared.

[An error occurred. Please try again.]

Before I could ask the Dokkaebi, a new message popped up.

[Sponsor Selection has ended.]

[You haven't selected a sponsor.]

[The constellation 'Lone Watcher' is saddened by your choice.]

I apologized, "Sorry, but there was an error with selecting the sponsor."

[The constellation 'Lone Watcher' says it is alright.]

The Dokkaebi must have seen the messages as well because it floated towards me.

[Hmm, that's odd. I'll check with my seniors.]

[But for now, the next scenario should be do-able with what you have.]

The bus came to a stop near a rocky coast.

A new message popped up.

[The main scenario has arrived!]

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[Main Scenario #2 - Beach Cleanup]

Category: Main

Difficulty: E

Clear Conditions: Get rid of the intruders on the island.

Time Limit: 1 hour

Compensation: 400 coins

Failure: Death

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* There are bonus compensations for this scenario upon completing hidden objectives.