NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Sudden Transfer
The chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves stirred by the gentle breeze reached her ears as the girl’s vision slowly returned to normal from the white blur.
“…?”
“This is…”
Weirdly, the surroundings looked a bit different from what she had imagined.
The copy this time should be a place called “Prison of the Fiery God,” filled with various fire demon creatures and perilous traps in a highly heated environment, where not wearing special magical equipment would lead to continuous burn effects.
But now…
She looked up and saw a clear blue sky, bright and warm light flowing down, bringing a gentle warmth that was comfortable but not overwhelming.
Surrounding her were lush ancient trees, the smallest of which seemed to tower above ten meters, and sunlight filtered through the thick emerald leaves, casting soft rays upon her. The air was fresh and pure, taking in a refreshing aroma that was uplifting.
What a wonderful environment! If it weren’t in “Mirage World,” a highly realistic virtual game, you could only experience such enjoyment in a specially created ecological park in reality.
“Wait…”
The girl frowned slightly.
Something felt off. She remembered clearly, even though “Mirage World” was the most advanced fully immersive VR game today, nearly creating another real world, a game is still a game, and there were indeed differences when compared to true reality.
One very important point was that “Mirage World” had no concept of “smell.”
Players could certainly smell simulated various scents in the game, but these were essentially data signals directly stimulating the brain, skipping the “smelling” process and producing the result directly.
After all, a virtual helmet couldn’t fully simulate human bodily functions, so providing various signals to the brain to create “virtual sensations” was the quickest and most convenient route; this was also the core design concept of virtual games.
There were many subtle differences, and if one paid attention, they could be found.
And this was where the problem lay.
The girl took a deep breath again and focused. She was quite certain that the feeling of the air brushing through her nostrils, entering her body, and slowly being exhaled was something that could absolutely not happen in “Mirage World”!
What exactly happened? Did the game company develop a new system and pull me in for testing?
As one of the few players who had managed to transcend limits and ranked among the top players globally, the girl had participated in some weird tests before…
Such thoughts instantly filled her mind. If it weren’t like this, there would be no explanation for why she had strayed from the copy she was supposed to enter and ended up in such a strange place while feeling an almost entirely realistic experience.
Yes, it was reality. As a loyal four-year player of “Mirage World,” she was too aware of those tiny differences between the game and true reality. But now all sense of separation had vanished, as if she had passed through a transparent glass barrier and arrived at another world.
Incredible… the technology currently being tested might soon spark a massive storm globally. How on earth did the developers of “Mirage World” pull this off?
Setting aside her chaotic thoughts, the girl looked down at her smooth, delicate arms and ten slender fingers, clothed in a simple white robe; without a doubt, it was just as she had looked before being transferred…
She instinctively wanted to open her character panel to check for abnormalities, but the moment her finger touched the air, it suddenly froze.
The girl’s face showed surprise.
“Why… can’t I open the system interface?!”
In “Mirage World,” players only needed to swipe their hands in specific spots, and a series of system menus would immediately unfold in front of them, but now…
For some reason, the system did not respond to her call.
A feeling of long-forgotten panic surged in her heart; this time she was genuinely a bit uneasy for one reason.
If she couldn’t open the system menu, she wouldn’t be able to log out!
Although removing the VR helmet in the outside world would force the gamer to exit, doing so placed a significant burden on the brain, and nobody dared take such a step unless it was an emergency. Plus, she was the only one home…
Damn it, what the hell is the game company doing? This kind of restriction on autonomous logout is a big taboo in virtual gaming; players could lodge complaints!
After all, no one wants their game to become the next “Death Game”…
Fortunately, even though she couldn’t open the system interface, the girl suddenly had an epiphany about how to summon her personal panel.
Ding.
A specific thought emerged, and a pale blue, translucent screen just like the one in the game appeared right before her eyes.
“…”
Leaving aside the unprecedented invocation method, at least the game panel was indeed still the same; attributes, skills, and equipment had no changes at all, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, “Miss Vilyric” was a powerful character that she had poured years of effort into crafting, her greatest support and foundation in the gaming world.
Just as her expression improved for a moment, Vilyric’s gaze darkened again, because she suddenly noticed that the special way of summoning the system content only included character status, inventory, and skill tree; options like map, friends, guild, auction house, settings, etc., had all vanished!?
In other words, she still couldn’t find a way to log out, and this intense déjà vu left her feeling a prickling unease.
Suppressing her anxiety, she tried for quite a while in the same spot, and finally, Vilyric gradually began to figure out part of the situation.
Leaving aside why she was transported to this unfamiliar area she had never visited before, and the unimaginable realism, at least Vilyric’s abilities were still functioning normally, and all items in her inventory could still be retrieved.
Though the original HP, MP bars, and some game data in her field of view had all disappeared, Vilyric could still sense their presence and changes in a way that was hard to describe; skills didn’t need to be selected; they could be used immediately with a thought, and the inventory now looked like items were being plucked from the void.
Interesting, though unclear about the cause of the changes, since she was here, she might as well make the best of it. As long as Vilyric’s power was usable, there was no need to fear too much; no rush to log out. She should explore nearby first and see what really happened.
“Contract Summon: Xiao Guang.”
Vilyric extended her hand and, following the natural guidance in her mind, unleashed her magical power. An arcane and magnificent circular magic circle appeared on the ground before her, and after a flash of light, a figure materialized at the center of the summoning circle.
It was a beautiful young girl, seemingly around twenty, with long, light golden hair, a tall and athletic figure, two white horns on her head, and a plump, long tail trailing behind her.
She knelt gracefully, keeping her head down, and the dark, tight-fitting outfit clinging to her skin, together with knee-high pants, looked more like an extension of some bodily organization. It didn’t hide her curvy figure at all, radiating a charming aura of elegance and vigor.
“Master, you called for me?”