Surviving Every Worldview

Chapter 37: Surviving the Transition Period? (2)

Once upon a time, I saw a video like this.

While miniature airplanes can only fly in authorized places, there are no laws against people who can fly on their own.

So if a boy’s cartoon hero could fly in real life, he wouldn’t be punished unless he destroyed something.

It’s a no-brainer.

You don’t make laws for things that are impossible.

But if it is possible, then laws should be made.

Superpowers in a fantasy movie with unclear limits should be clearly categorized and restricted by law.

But is it possible?

And even if it were, how long would it take?

[At a school, a teenage student turns to a classmate……]

Will people be convinced?

What about means of restraint for any kind of ability?

How to deal with the vigilantes that appear when an episode starts?

Off the top of my head, all of these are things that I’m not sure will be in place for at least a few months.

What happens during those months and until things stabilize.

[The firearms used were brought in to avoid suspicion due to their toy-like appearance, but were found to be working firearms.]

This was literally a transitional period.

The most familiar, but also the most dangerous, time when crime rates are up and people are falling through the cracks.

It’s a situation that will continue for a while, and nothing will stop it.

As a player of Dreams, I could only hope that time would fix it, just as I had been doing, doing what I could.

[As public unrest reaches a fever pitch, there are growing calls for something to be done as soon as possible…….]

“Let’s just watch something else.”

I turned off the news video on my laptop.

I was the one who asked to watch it first, but the constant stream of pessimistic news was getting me down.

“What’s wrong?”

“No matter what video you play, the atmosphere is bad. Isn’t it hard to watch?”

“Mmm…….”

After closing her eyes and taking a sip of her hot coffee, she nodded.

“I guess so…….”

It’s New Year’s Day, and about two weeks have passed since Seol Do-yeon returned home.

The world was still seeing less and less good news and more and more bad news.

There are more and more incidents, both big and small, and more and more protests and extreme opinions.

Since the conditions for awakening were also publicly spread, there was constant wariness and controversy about celebrities.

To take a simple example, when a celebrity goes missing, there are conspiracy theories that they have awakened their abilities and have gone into hiding to commit a crime.

Or, some people felt a sense of entitlement because they were famous and awakened their powers.

It was hard to feel energized by such breathless talk.

In fact, the cafe where we were sitting was empty, as security had gotten worse.

“Seon-woo, are you okay?”

“No.”

Seorin was worried when she saw my expression.

I shouldn’t be that groggy.

“What’s wrong with you? Don’t you always act like you know everything and have a lot of energy?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s just that this time there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Well, I don’t like to see you slumped over like that.”

While I was getting frustrated, Seorin’s attitude was different.

It was as if my position had been completely reversed from usual, and I, whose mind was complicated, was being comforted.

“So, Seon-woo, do you have any idea how long this situation will continue?”

“What day was it today?”

“January 16th.”

“Ah. Then it’s less than a week. This atmosphere will be over soon.”

“Huh?”

Seorin was surprised at how little time was left.

“Why? What’s in a few days?”

“The next episode starts.”

“Oh! I forgot.”

It was December 22nd when I was informed that the next episode was 30 days after Episode 1.

In just five more days, Episode 2 would begin.

With a global disaster like that, people won’t have time to think about transitions or anything else.

They’ll be too busy trying to survive to fight.

“But doesn’t that solve the underlying problem? We’ll just end up fighting again.”

“That’s right. But there will be something to be gained in the next episode.”

I pulled out the item from the last episode from my inventory.

The lantern the Necromancer used to control the undead.

I never had to use it, but it’s as powerful as the weapon its creator wielded.

“Why this?”

“Every invasion, no matter the worldview, leaves something useful behind. This lamp just happened to be the only thing the undead left behind.

“What do you mean?”

“For example, let’s say the episode starts with aliens invading from space. What would they ride?”

Seorin gave a quick answer.

“A spaceship? A space battleship?”

“Then at the end of the episode, there would be a spaceship left in the real world that we could research, right?”

“Oh, you mean we can get technology from other worlds?”

“Yes.”

If the sci-fi world comes, you’ll have futuristic technology, and if the martial arts world comes, you’ll have martial arts.

Of course, most of it will only be available to the Awakened, but what if there’s technology left that can be disseminated to the civilian population?

Maybe one day the average person will be able to protect themselves with magic scrolls, or police equipment will be turned into holy relics.

“So, by the end of the next episode, some of the problems will be solved by the scars left in the world, I guess.”

“What if we get invaded by a world with nothing to obtain, like last time?”

“Then we’re screwed.”

Still, I wouldn’t worry about it.

I wonder if the apocalypse worldview will win again but the unwritten rules are that similar episodes don’t come out in a row, so I don’t think it will come out again…Maybe.

“It’s okay. It’s been rough since last month, but we got through it, didn’t we? You even got through it on your own.”

“Yeah.”

“So don’t worry about it. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“……Thanks.”

“Oh, right.”

She turned on her laptop again and showed me a post.

It was a new announcement from the school.

“Seon-woo, we’ll be resuming the final exam we failed last time next week. Will you meet me at school on the 22nd?”

“I don’t have a test to make up.”

“You can just come over, or we can meet up with the rest of the club nearby.”

“Well…….”

That’s annoying.

Even though exams and episode start dates overlap, you don’t always have to meet on the same day.

More importantly, I wondered if I could go to a club meeting.

Wait, clubs?

“You’re trying to sell me on joining the club again.”

“……No?”

Seorin averted her eyes.

“If I tell you it’s not a sales pitch, will you come?”

“I don’t have time to make games anymore anyway, sis.”

“……I won’t, so just come.”

“Okay.”

……It’s true that I was thinking of doing business.

Anyway, we made the appointment, talked for a few more minutes, and then went our separate ways.

How we survive the transitional period between reality and fantasy.

Actually, nothing really changed.

All I could do was hope that nothing would happen to my loved ones and cherish the everyday life that came my way.

* * *

Another day passed, and finally, it was January 21st.

Before I left for school, I looked up a few fantasy works set in the modern day.

I wondered if there were any ‘clichés’ that dealt with this transitional period, and if the unwritten rules would create a similar situation.

But usually it’s ’10 years after the gate was opened’. ‘Decades of being a superpowered society’.

Transitional periods are often not handled in this way, so it’s not really a reference.

…… I can see why.

A lot of terrible things happen during transitions, and it’s not fun to read about them.

But today was the last of those transitional days.

I couldn’t fight to the death.

“Sis, how much time is left?”

“11:58.”

“It’s not long now.”

We had come to the school cafeteria early, finished eating, and were waiting for 12 o’clock.

It wasn’t just Seorin, but the whole club was there, including Lee Min-seo and Hyunseok.

Depending on the second episode, we might have to protect them right away.

“Didn’t you remember when you signed up for the class? A coffee shop would be perfect.”

“You do realize we have to do it soon, right?”

“Uh. That’s right. I hate it.”

Lee Min-seo twisted his hair in frustration.

He had awakened the story, but he hadn’t used it and was living a normal life.

It was a common enough decision.

“I’m fine, but are you two sure you’re okay? You almost died the other day.”

“We’re fine.”

“Sister says she’s fine.”

“Do you think it’ll look cool if you just give vague answers?”

Lee Min-seo glanced back and forth between me and Seorin.

“I’m just kidding, I’m really okay with it, and if we do well, we can finish in a week this time.”

“Please, I hope so. If it’s over in a week again, I can sleep with my feet up next time.”

The truth is, Lee Min-seo is normal and we’re the weird ones.

It’s fortunate that what happened last time didn’t become a trauma.

“It’s not long now. Get ready.”

Seorin’s words made everyone alert and check the time.

We stayed close to the doorway so that we could get out at any time, and we grabbed whatever was handy.

Soon, the clock struck 12:00.

[The second worldview to challenge humans is determined.]

[Be careful not to be robbed of reality.]

-Churrrrrrrr!

The slot machine, which hadn’t moved for a while, started working again.

Even though there was snow piled up and some people tried to destroy the machine, the machine spun its three reels as quickly as when they first saw it.

I quietly clasped my hands together and prayed to myself.

Please, this time, let it be a world where there’s something to be gained and people don’t have to evacuate.

Soon, the first reel stopped.

[Academy]

[A space where innumerable human relationships can blossom is materialized.]

“……what?”

I was taken aback by the unexpected worldview.

Before I could think of anything else, the enemies and difficulty level were determined.

[Academy, E]

[If you fail to clear this episode, the world will become an academy city with thousands of academies.]

Difficulty E.

The enemy is the Academy organization itself.

I could have gotten the lowest difficulty again, but alas, I was not so lucky.

Still, an academy.

Of course I know what kind of genre it is.

But…isn’t that a worldview that didn’t exist in Dreams’ game?

“Students? They’re so different from the undead we saw last time.”

“Just… suddenly, a bunch of students stormed in and protested, but?”

The club members looked around but unlike the first episode, the threat wasn’t immediate.

There were no students pouring out of the slot machines.

“Seon-woo, what are we supposed to do this time?”

“Wait, I was thinking……”

Then, suddenly, my vision blurred and twisted.

My body stopped moving. The scene in front of me changed, and I could only see Sister Seorin.

I couldn’t even hear their voices anymore.

They were getting farther and farther away, until they disappeared completely.

“Seon-woo……? What is this?”

“…Calm down. I think I know.”

[NEW GAME] After my memory was boosted, I took a breather and recalled a similar situation as much as possible.

It was the same as when I teleported in the Game of Dreams.

And I wasn’t ready for it.

[Episode 2 begins immediately.]

[Visit a nearby school to enter the ‘Academy’]

With the start notification, I was transported to another space.