Chapter 537 - I Started my Motorbike

Opening my eyes, I found myself standing in a city in the middle of the night.

Surrounded by skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the heavens and bright light that drowned out the starlight, I looked around the area in the middle of a wide road. The road was about six lanes wide, and I could tell from the surrounding scenery that this place looked high-class.

The first thing that came to mind was the Metropolitan Expressway... Yes, the scenery here was just like the Earth.

Of course, there were some differences. Most of the buildings that stand tall are circular in shape and are so large that they should be called towers rather than buildings. Moreover, the light that illuminates the road isn't like the streetlights littering the streets of Japan, as they're like a glowing tube that extends to the end of the road.

In other words, this scenery around me could be described as the Sci-Fi Future Metropolitan Expressway... A- Amazing. It's as if I've moved from the world of fantasy to the world of Science Fiction.

Yes, seriously, I couldn't believe that I'm in a virtual space. I could feel the slightly chilly breeze, the feeling of my feet standing on the road, and I could even move my body as I wanted to.

[What do you think, Kaito-san? Isn't it great!?]

[Y- Yes, this is really great. If I didn't know that the body I have now is a mental clone, I wouldn't have known the difference.]

Alice had appeared next to me before I knew it, but I couldn't hide the excitement that was welling up in my heart.

[Isn't it? I'm proud of this item after all. It's modeled after Kaito-san's world, but just integrating your world here isn't really interesting, so I've made some changes.]

[I'm seriously impressed. For me to play as I want in such a realistic virtual world...]

[H- Hmmm...]

[Unnn? What's the matter?]

For some reason, Alice's expression turned a bit awkward when I excitedly told her this. When I questioned her about it, she slightly scratched her cheek and spoke.

[...No, well, I'm going to give you the freedom to play around the place later but... to be honest, this isn't really finished yet.]

[Really?]

[Yes, the only thing that's been completed so far is the "racing game".]

[...Ahh, so that's why we appeared on the expressway.]

I see, I still think it's awesome though. I'm looking forward to playing it. It's going to be really interesting to play a racing game in such a realistic world like this.

[...No, well, I've actually been discussing the idea of playing in this virtual world with Kuro-san for a long time but... I guess it really isn't that easy.]

[Is that because it requires some amazing technology?]

[Of course, the technology needed to construct a virtual world is great and complex. But more than that... In order to maintain the virtual world, we would need a tremendous amount of high-purity magic crystals... no matter how rich Kuro-san is, magic crystals are indispensable for magic tools and are needed all over the world. We would need a huge amount of magic crystals, but we couldn't just monopolize them, so this had just stopped as a mere idea.]

[...Arehh? But now, even though it's not completed, you can already offer it as an attraction though?]

[...No, you see, the "sponsor for the Six Kings Festival is Shallow Vernal" after all... so we can use all the rare materials we wanted.]

[A- Aahhh... I see.]

[So, we've gathered enough magic crystals to build and maintain the virtual world, but since we've stopped at the planning stage... the VR hasn't been completed yet. Well, we've finished some things to some extent, so we implemented the racing game and made it an attraction.]

For Shiro-san to easily provide the materials needed by Kuro and Alice, materials that they had difficulty gathering... Shiro-san really is the most cheat-like of all.

[Well, it's already awesome as it is. I'm looking forward to playing the racing game.]

[Ahaha, then, let's get started... Let's get you starting with the menu screen.]

[Errr, how should I do that?]

[Draw three circles in the air counterclockwise with your hand. Doesn't matter whether you use your right or left hand.]

[Roger that... W- Whoaa!?]

When I moved my hand as Alice told me to, I saw a translucent display pop out of empty air... The menu screen appeared. W- What a futuristic feeling, this is... I'm feeling even more excited.

[Most of the entries haven't been implemented yet but... Try pressing the "game" button at the top of the screen with your finger. Then, select the racing game, and you'll see the vehicles you can pick.]

[...I don't know how many times I've said this, but this is seriously awesome. Uwaaahh, there's a lot of options to choose from...]

[Each vehicle has a few characteristics, but the performance between them isn't very different. For a beginner like Kaito-san, I'd recommend this one. It has a good overall balance and is easy to operate.]

Saying that, Alice pointed to a black motorbike with a cool sleek form. H- Hmmm, it certainly looks cool and fast but...

[...But Alice. I've never driven a motorbike before...]

[Ahh, it's alright. The Support-system is always activated, so you basically will not fall or stumble. In the case of a car, if you press the accelerator, it would run forward, while pressing the brake would make the car stop... We made it to be something simple like that. Furthermore, it's only a game, so even if you have an accident or something here, it won't hurt you nor would you break your vehicle. It's designed so that even children can play it.]

[I see, that's a relief then.]

[Yes, but if you have an accident... like hitting a wall perhaps, your speed will drastically decrease, so be careful.]

They've really thought about this. I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun playing this. For the time being, I decided to choose the bike that Alice recommended.

Selecting the bike on the screen and pressing the {READY} button, the motorbike appeared right next to me.

[Ohh, it really looks cool, looking at it like this...]

[That motorbike is called the "BC-96", designed by Kuro-san!]

[...Fumu.]

BC... Baby castella. 96... Kuro. Nah, there's no way she named it just like that...

(T/N: 9 = Ku/Kyuu 6 = Roku, so 96 is Kuro.)

[Well then, let's get started! It's boring if it's just the two of us playing, so I'll add 4 NPCs, okay~~]

As she said this, Alice operated the menu screen and four new vehicles appeared beside us. Whoa, you can even add NPCs... non-player characters in, this really is a game out of my dreams.

Their vehicles also look... cool... huh?

[...Hey, Alice.]

[What is it?]

[Ummm... Doesn't that vehicle kind of look like a mini-sized Megiddo-san?]

[Ahh, that's the "Red Gorilla Mark II". It's not a very fast vehicle.]

[...Ahh, I see... Try not to get into a fight with Megiddo-san, okay?]

Red Gorilla, she said... No, let's just forget about that...

I felt like I had found something that they would fight about again, but I decided to just ignore it and play the game. Before I knew it, a small buggy-like vehicle was set up next to Alice, and it seemed like everyone was ready to go.

Straddling my motorbike... It was indeed very stable, and I didn't have to balance myself to keep the motorbike from wobbling. I think I can drive this without any problems.

[Well then, I'll start the count, okay~~]

[Yeah!]

As Alice announced in a bright voice, a red signal light appeared in the air... and after a few seconds of counting, it turned blue, signaling the start of the race.

(T/N: Japan has red, yellow, blue traffic lights instead of the red, yellow, green of other countries.)

Dear Mom, Dad————- The VR that Kuro and Alice have created seems to be a work that is still in progress, but it's really great and I'm extremely impressed. We're going to play a racing game, and as I'm feeling excitement rise through the roof————- I started my motorbike.