Blackout[1]

Spotlight

Gigantic round vermilion pillars, stripped of their former gloss, materialize out of the light. Backed against the arc of the pillar is a small figure. It's not a real person. The whole body is covered by heavy silver armour; the head is covered by a helmet of the same colour. The surroundings are weakly illuminated. It's night. Countless torches flicker soundlessly. The first pillar is not the only one – it is but the first in a seemingly-endless line of pillars extending off into the distance. The ground is covered with pure white pebbles. At the edge of vision one could just glimpse the outline of a colossal citadel. The silver helmet turns to regard the citadel opposite it.

.... Not really ?Absolutely Inaccessible? now is it?

Despite understanding how he had brought this whole mess upon himself, he can't help but complain.

Except he can only complain in his head. He doesn’t dare to make a sound, he can hardly take a step for the fear of the sound of his own footsteps. The slightest of sounds might attract the fearsome Warrior-Formed Enemies that wander inside the citadel causing them to attack him.

A Warrior Enemy can reach three meters high. The Beast Enemies that roam the outside can be as much as five times as tall. But the Warrior Enemies that patrol the long corridors and citadel walls in groups of three or four, can emit a pressure that surpasses Beast and even Legend Enemies. No, the pressure might be just as suffocating as the pressure emitted by the ?Four Sacred Beasts? that guard the citadel gates. Of course, the only time the citadel – the ?Imperial City? that stands within the ?Unlimited Neutral Field? – could be breached would be if or when the Four Beasts were overcome. But not a single Beast has yet been defeated. He slipped in when he saw a chance – no, an accidental entry seems more likely.

Can't they at least prepare a Portal for escaping?

He grumbles and complains in his head once again, while trying to control the fear and anxiety he is feeling.

The metal-coloured Avatar – his armour reflecting the light from the torches – feels cold all over, his heart beating vigorously inside the slightly-char-black silver armour. This really is a pinch, the biggest he’s been in since becoming a ?BB Player?.

But at the same time, he begins to feel excited from within the depths of his heart.

It has been eleven short months since the birth of the Accelerated World – when an unknown entity gave about a hundred first year elementary students living in central Tokyo copies of the Full Dive Fighting Combat Game ?Brain Burst?. For these eleven months, most players decided to challenge the colossal citadel sitting in the centre of this world upon gaining the right to access the "Unlimited Neutral Field" when they reached level 4. Whether it's because it has the same position in the real world as the imperial residence, or because of the absolute-gravity chasms around the structure --- no matter how you look at it, it’s the place where the game will end – or as the children would call it, the ?Last-Boss-Dungeon?.

However, every Burst Linker that has ever challenged it easily crumbled in the face of super Enemies with terrifying powers – the ?Four Sacred Beasts?.

Genbu of the North, Seiryuu of the East, Byakko of the West and Suzaku of the South. They are individual Enemy units, each with five bars of HP, and each of them possesses abilities to support and heal each other. The Beasts not engaged in combat can utilise these formidable abilities – for example, the ability to cast protective shields or recover HP for the ones engaging in combat at their respective gates. In other words, it's impossible to focus on just one of the Four Beasts. The players must divide into four teams and assault the Four Beasts simultaneously. Except right now the total number of Burst Linkers is less than five hundred. They have even formed smaller groups contending with each other. If the players cannot stand united, then an operation of such a scale is impossible. Among the Burst Linkers, there have been some small parties that forced their way through to one of the gates, only to die at the end of the bridge and fall into the ?Infinite Enemy Death? state – a term not conceived of until this event occurred – until all points are lost.

Under such circumstances, even though the Four Sacred Beasts weren't defeated, to successfully infiltrate the Imperial City is nevertheless a source of excitement.

It has to be that by continuing into the depth of the citadel, he would be able to obtain the final game-clear item – thus becoming the first person to clear Brain Burst, engraving his name in the history of the Accelerated World forever.

He possesses an ordinary ability, a plain metallic colour and a name that doesn't stand out much ---

?Chrome Falcon?

Although a Duel Avatar named after the falcon sounds pretty cool, it can also be said that both Chrome Falcon's ability and his appearance pale in comparison to his name. This is the opinion held not only by his opponents, but by himself.

The only similarity the Avatar has to the fierce bird of prey is the slightly sharp beak-like protrusion at the bottom of the mask. His eyeless face is completely silver – as such, the Avatar can't help but give off an impression of a lackey. Slight of body, with no weapons, and with nothing resembling wings on his back.

The only offensive abilities of this Avatar are punches and kicks – other than that, the only advantages are the speed allowed by the small build and the hardness of the body. The only person to call him 'cool' is his partner, ?Saffron Blossom?. Although he does not doubt her words, he would still like to be powerful enough to be worthy of her.

Blossom, as her name indicates, possesses the power to ?Allow Flowers to Bloom?. The small wand in her right hand can fire off many different types of seeds into the opponents' or allies' Avatars. The flowers that bloom from the seeds after a set amount time can leech the HP Gauge, the Special Attacks Gauge, or interfere with the opponents' movements. By the same token, the seeds have the power to cast buffs, erase de-buffs and produce other beneficial effects. Some sarcastic players gave the power the uncomfortable name of ?Parasitic Type Attack?; yet even amongst the Indirect Yellows, not many Avatars have that wide a range of abilities.

Of course, to possess such a powerful ability, other attributes must be sacrificed. For Blossom, her defensive power is low beyond imagining. That's why, to compensate for this weakness, she partnered with the defensive type Falcon. That said, although they have fought together for half a year, he still feels uneasy – if someone with a higher defence were to invite Blossom to join their party, how would she react?

In the ?Metal Colour Chart? – distinct to the ?Base Colour Circle? – Precious Metals such as platinum and gold are on the left side, and Base Metals such as steel and iron are on the right. Although divided into Precious and Base, if the Avatars are at the same level, the potential is the same for both sides. Precious Metals have strong resistance to toxic, acidic, corrosive and other types of Special Attacks; Base Metals have strong resistance to punches, slashes and various other Physical Attacks.

?Chrome? is a colour close to the very centre; it lacks the resistances of either Precious or Base Metals. Although few in number, there are metal colours with stronger armour than his. It wouldn't even be surprising if there are players more suited to be meat-shields amongst the highly defensive greens from the Base colours.

That means, based on hardness of the Avatar alone, there's no knowing when Blossom might leave him for another player.

He can't say for sure exactly why he feels the way he does right now. In the Accelerated World he was able to survive by making the harbour districts his base. As time passed, he was given the title of ?The Falcon of Black Silver?. Yet as soon as he returns to the real world, he’s just an eight-year-old kid – still in second grade. --- Except he’s just using that as an excuse. Less than a year may have passed for his body, but since he gained access to the Unlimited Neutral Field – the world that processes infinite time– five years have passed for his mind.

That's why.. I think I can understand a bit now.

He had reached level five and learned a certain ability, so he decided to come to the ?Imperial City? to put his ideas into practice. After being lucky – or unlucky – enough to succeed in getting inside, he could now be surrounded by intimidating Enemy mobs at any moment. This was all because of the love and possessiveness he felt for Saffron Blossom.

--- I have to move fast, otherwise, a Warrior Enemy will find me as it patrols the area, following its movement patterns.

Poking his head out from the shadows of the vermilion pillar, he quickly assesses the situation.

He is currently located in the Southern area of the ?Imperial City? Inner Garden - which is one thousand five hundred meters in diameter - in the corner of the road that connects the ?Suzaku Gate? to the Front Gate of the citadel proper. Both sides of the entrance are guarded by a Warrior Enemy – each one aggressive and strong enough to be like a Demon Enemy. It would seem impossible to defeat them. That's why, in contrast, his target is a window upon the white walls. Because it's an improper route, there's a high chance the window might not open from the outside – but as long as it's a real window, using it to enter should be possible.

From the back, the footsteps of the patrolling Warrior Enemy mob slowly approaches. Taking a deep breath, he takes a step with his right foot while softly whispering out the ability name ---

?Flash Blink?

Even though it was uttered with a voice barely audible, the Warrior Enemies' pace changes immediately.

But by this time, the black-silver Avatar has completely vanished from the shade of the pillar. He disappears after leaving behind a blue afterimage, then soundlessly materialises thirty meters away beside the citadel wall.

This is Chrome Falcon's level five Special Ability, ?Pseudo-Teleport?. Pseudo because it's just an expansion of ?High Speed Straight Line Movement? type abilities. Movement is only possible in areas where ?the eyes can see the path? and ?space is connected? – but the moving Avatar turns into a particle with zero mass, nullifying physical and gravitational type attacks.

He appears again backed to the white wall and observes the movement of the Warrior Enemies who have arrived at his former hiding place. The invader who had set off their attack mode has been lost; the Warrior Enemies angrily look left and right and finally return to the original patrol path before resuming their former slow pace as if forgetting anything had happened .?Huuuuu, a deep breath. Despite the combat abilities of the Warrior Enemies, the AI settings appear to be much lower than that of the ?Four Sacred Beasts?.

He turns, raises his head to look at the giant window on the wall behind him.

The field attribute is the long awaited Japanese style ?Peace? Stage, as expected, the windows are made out of criss-crossing thin red strips of wood without inlaid glass panels and the like. From what he could see, each little grid is just three centimetre square in size – no Duel Avatar would be able to pass through it directly, but ---

Raising his eyes to take a look at the Special Attacks Gauge, he sees that he only has 5 percent left. The HP Gauge has just 20 percent left, but even at full health, to take a strike from the Warrior Enemy's Tachi?[2]?means instant death.

He sets up his trajectory carefully, then kicks off the ground with his right foot and spends the last of his Special Attacks Gauge to use the final ?Flash Blink?.

The granulated body of Chrome Falcon passes through the wooden window frame and finally enters the Imperial City proper.

This Ability is the very method that tricked the eyes of the ?Four Sacred Beasts? and made possible the entrance into the impenetrable outer regions of the Imperial City. The method is extremely simple. He charges his Special Attacks Gauge beforehand, circles around to the infinitely dark outer regions of the Imperial City, rather than crossing the bridge guarded by the Four Sacred Beasts and uses ?Blink? to cover the greatest possible distance. Even so, even by using up all of the Special Attacks Gauge, a hundred meters of movement is the maximum –not enough to pass through the abyss five hundred meters wide.

That's why the initial trajectory is set to be slightly higher. The moment he appears above the abyss, the Avatar, unable to resist the super gravity is pulled to the bottom of the abyss while the HP Gauge is drained. But as a result, the Special Attacks Gauge is recharged – after a certain amount is replenished, ?Blink? is used again diagonally upwards. The process is continuously repeated until he crosses the abyss.

--- Even if that all worked, he only planned to scout - or, to use another term, experiment - today. If the cycle of Blink, recharge and Blink again was proven to be possible, he planned to just fall to the bottom of the abyss and die. He would use the obtained data as a basis to tweak the plan after he revives in front of the abyss. Once he had ensured a greater possibility of success, he would start the real challenge.

Or that was how he intended. Instead he charges in recklessly without a plan on the very first try, all due to the extreme fear he felt as he dropped down the abyss. Completely ecstatic after the first drop, blindly using Blink in front of him, he didn’t realise what was happening until after he had reached the outer walls of the Imperial City.

Of course, the desired result is achieved – but to accept what had been learned and give up now is not possible.

Eleven months since the start of the battle of the Accelerated World, the children who became BB Players are creating a history of rivalry, as well as the history of the struggle against the unknown game creator, at the same time. The children poured tremendous enthusiasm into finding loopholes in the system – ?ways to easily obtain Points? – but as soon as the methods were found, the creator would install a patch to close the loophole. The ?Enemy Stacking??[3]?within the game, the ?Seal Cheating? which relies on outside programs from the real world and other methods.... as long as the techniques are found to have the slightest trace of trickery, amendments to disable such techniques will be installed at a speed astonishingly faster than other web games. The reaction speed has lead many players to believe that the creators and administrators of Brain Burst are not real people but AI.

In any case, the mysterious creator strictly forbids opportunistic approaches within the game. In the Accelerated World, to obtain something, the player must pay an equal price.

As such, flying over the obstacle instead of entering via the four directional gates to enter the absolutely inaccessible ?Imperial City? – Chrome Falcon's method – would definitely not be recognised as proper. A patch will be released very soon, the super gravity of the abyss then being able to capture the originally physical and gravitational nulling Flash Blink. No, maybe the patch has already been released ---

That's why.. this is my first and last chance.

To obtain something here, or to become stronger here and become a Burst Linker worthy of being Saffron Blossom's partner. To no longer fear to lose her, to allow her to feel content with choosing me.

And most importantly, to repay Blossom for reaching out and talking to me – since I am as introverted here as I am in the real world.

The area after passing through the window frame is a wooden corridor well-polished and looking brand-new. Gorgeously drawn sliding doors line the walls further along the corridor. Golden candle stands are equally spaced apart, their orange flames flickering silently. Signs of Enemies --- so far, nothing.

He makes sure that there is a little golden bolt hanging off the window behind him. The bolt is not a meaningless ornament. He turns the bolt and lightly pushes, the vermilion window opens outwards soundlessly. At least by returning here, it is possible to escape from the Inner Imperial City.

But even if he does leave, there is no Portal for escaping. It's impossible to leave the same way he came in. He makes up his mind, coming to the conclusion that – as long as his mentality and luck hold out – progressing forward deeper is the only way to go.

Holding his breath under the silver mask, the skinny Avatar advances forward as if melting into the gloom of the corridor.

A few hours --- or is it closer to a few dozen?

Because he dives into the Unlimited Neutral Field right after elementary school ends, in theory it is possible for him to spend days or even months in this world. In truth, he had once dived, no, ?lived? with Blossom in this world for a full three-month period.

That said, the difficulty of avoiding the Reaction Area of the Warrior and Shinto Priest Enemies --- which are much stronger than their counterparts in the Inner Garden --- is simply beyond imagining. If Falcon didn't have such a small and lightweight body, then this act would probably be impossible. At the same time, it would seem that the Citadel was built with the expectation that it would be assaulted by massive parties with hundreds of members. The road is surprisingly wide; the ceiling is also very high. He is able to avoid the patrolling Enemies and continue forward precisely because of this fact, but his concentration is approaching its limit.

He takes a deep breath. The icy air refreshes him once more as he hides behind a large round pillar, searching for his next route.

The Imperial City is one thousand and five hundred meters in diameter; the distance from the Suzaku Gate to the Front Gate guarded by the Demon Enemy is roughly four hundred meters. So the size of the Main Hall, the greatest distance from South to North, should only be about seven hundred meters across. He speculates that he has walked five hundred meters already since he broke in; therefore, he should be approaching the central area of the Main Hall.

Sure enough –--

A particularly broad space, its floor flickering with inconceivable radiance, appeared in front of the road stretching northwards.

Two objects, standing side by side. Transparent cyan in colour, rippling like the surface of water.

That colour is very familiar. It is the radiance of the ?Leave Points?, also known as ?Portals?, set up within iconic buildings throughout the Unlimited Neutral Field.

He can't help but feel relief as he sighs – only to swallow this feeling in mid-breath. If this is just a Leave Point connected to the real world, he can't even take back some sort of proof of his successful trespass – much less the honour of clearing the game. For what reason did he challenge the abyss for so long, being prepared to die while using ?Blink? for all that time, endure the nervousness for dozens of hours as he sneaked through ---....

--- No

No, the original motivation behind this Individual Mission wasn't anything material. He only wanted something akin to confidence. A certain pride that would allow him to continue to stand tall beside Saffron Blossom.

Then this is already enough. Sneaking into the most dangerous place in the Accelerated World, arriving at the innermost area and surviving. Even if I am the only one who knows what I have achieved, this fact will surely give me courage in the future. The fact that I did what even the strongest ?Pure Colours? couldn't.

Thinking about it carefully, the system never plainly indicated exactly when this immense and mysterious game, Brain Burst, would be finally ?cleared?. The ideal outcome would involve having the name of the clearer declared to the whole Accelerated World, awards of Burst Points as prize money and Enhanced Armaments as prize items, before the game continues .... but there is also the possibility of the Ending Theme playing while the credits roll, followed by the uninstalling of the game software from the Neuro-Linkers of the BB Players as the word END appears. Because he has never met Blossom in reality or exchanged contact methods, if that were to be the result.. they would never meet each other again.

That's why, if I come across any item that seems like a Clear Item, I will not think about touching it. That's All. Surviving past the Portal.. is the best reward I should expect from this quest....

Yet it's almost as if this noble thought of this ordinary Metal coloured Duel Avatar.. convinced the true god of the Accelerated World to show pity on him.

Because what awaits him to demand his attention at the expense of his concentration and alertness focused on watching his surroundings.. aren’t just ordinary Portals.

The ovals flickering with blue light sitting side by side are indistinguishable from countless other Portals existing outside of the Imperial City. But an incredible object is placed in front of each oval.

Two gleaming black pillars – no, pedestals, each standing at about one meter tall. Each one has an object placed on top of it. Treading lightly to minimize the sound of his own footsteps, he approaches the pedestal on the left.

In front of him, slightly above his line of sight, sits a sword or a katana bathed under the radiance of the Portal. The reason why it can't be properly distinguished is because although the hilt and the guard are both Japanese in style, the sheath forms a straight line without any curve to it. The mirror like surface, forged from a silvery metal, is almost without any decorations.

The terrible power hidden within this straight katana can be seen from a glance. If it is an Enhanced Armament, then it must be of the highest rank – no, probably even above that. Just looking at it knocks the breath out of him due to the pressure. It’s as if he is being stared down at close range by Legend Enemies .... no, more like by the ?Four Sacred Beasts? he once saw.

Taking his sight off from the straight katana with some effort, he looks to the black marble pedestal once again.

A rectangular metal nameplate is inlaid on its foreside; some images and characters are engraved on it.

First of all, at the very top is seven dots arranged like a letter 'P' leaning left and a line connecting the dots. He had once seen the same image during science class in elementary school, when they were learning about constellations. A quadrangle formed by four stars connecting to a tail of three stars. That is the ladle shaped ?Big Dipper?. Carefully looking at it, the centre of the ladle handle - that is, the fifth star from the left is larger than the rest of the stars.

Underneath the constellation, are two Kanji characters rarely seen in the Accelerated World where English words are normally used – 【玉衝】 – although he can read, he can't understand what they mean.

Below that is one more line of text, this time in English.

【THE INFINITY】

He does remember that that means ?Infinite?. Most likely, this is the name of the straight katana Enhanced Armament within the game. The silver masked Avatar rolled the words over his tongue repeatedly as he moves several steps to the right to look at the other pedestal. No matter how you look at it, the item placed on top is a Western style protection gear –--

Armour.

Its form is not heavy or bulky. In normal VRMMORPGs[4], it would be considered a light-armour type. The headpiece is round in shape; the chest, shoulder and wrist parts have been reduced to the absolute minimum size. The lower portion consists simply of boots that reach up to the knees. But it doesn't give at all the impression of a weak item. The armour – brilliant silver like the sword – seems to contain within astounding data density – enough to block some attacks completely. Even the space around it seems to be distorted due to its influence. Compared to it, the armour of the Metal-coloured Chrome Falcon seems like some sort of simple toy.

Holding his breath, he checked the nameplate.

The overall style is exactly the same as the one on the pedestal of the sword. At the top is the schematic view of the Big Dipper. But the larger star is the sixth from the left instead. The Kanji characters are 【開陽】. Sure enough, he still can't understand the meaning.

And the English name at the very bottom ---

【THE DESTINY】. It should mean ?Fate?.

As he read to this point, he can't help but take a step back, this time breathing out heavily.

These two are perhaps Enhanced Armaments for the strongest rank within the Accelerated World. Sword and armour.

He can make them his own by simply reaching out and touching them. Throughout the Unlimited Neutral Field there are numerous ?Dungeons?, where – according to rumours – Enhanced Armaments on pedestals have also been found deep within.

However, the Portals wavering behind the pedestals need to be noted. They have to be related to each other. Most likely they will activate as soon as he touches and activates one of the items and forcibly send him to the real world.

Also, if an item is activated, the matching Portal would become a singular use ?One Time Portal? and seal off its corresponding pedestal. That is to say, a single person or group at one time can only choose between the sword and the armour. A standard two choice question in games.

Although just a few minutes ago, he had already fully considered the circumstance where he enters the Portal and logout, in the current situation he lacks the resolve to not touch either of the pedestals. Anyways, his real age is just eight – even if the accelerated portion is added on, he’s still no older than thirteen. Since everything has been set up like this, it is obvious that the Portals will only activate if he touches one of the pedestals.

So, which one?

It doesn’t really matter if he chooses the sword or armour – as long as he equips it, it will obviously make his ability parameters soar. But to enhance Chrome Falcon alone is meaningless. The first thing he should consider is how the choice will affect him as Saffron Blossom’s partner. The only reason for Falcon's existence is to protect her. Then should he choose the sword? He is already a defensive Metal Colour – to strengthen his armour again would just be redundant.

The foot heading to the pedestal of 【THE INFINITY】--- suddenly stops. To protect Blossom. If that is the only requirement, then there is a better option. An option that can protect her despite her frail armour; an option that allows her to be unharmed even under harsh and concentrated attacks.

Clenching his right fist, he hammers his own chest to expel his immaturity and selfish desires, and reaches out to the silver armour sitting to the right.

The instant his fingertip touches the item, a purple System Message pops out in front of him with a bright sound. ?YOU GOT AN ENHANCED ARMAMENT 【THE DESTINY】?.

The armour disappears into light particles; at the same time, the Portal's blue light radiates out and envelops Chrome Falcon.

Blackout

Spotlight

Although not spacious, a room that feels soothing materializes out of the light.

Both the wall and the floor have been heavily polished. A black cooking stove stands in the corner. Sizzling steam constantly pours out of a teapot sitting above it. Opposite it, next to the wall, is a large bed. Upon the pure white sheet sit two people, side by side.

They aren’t just humans. One of them is clad in deep-silver armour. The other's body is bright orange like the sun. The short hair and the well-conceived shoulder and waist design make her look just like a budding bloom.

Facing the silver Avatar who is bowing his head like a child being scolded, the orange Avatar gently raises her cute right fist.

'God --- are you an idiot!?'

Dong. He doesn't know how many times he had taken a hit to the helmet already. Cringing out of reflex, he repeats the same excuse he had used.

'Li-, like I said, I only planned to experiment a little at the start.'

'Then just use the same method to come back! Why did you just charge into the citadel without a care in the world!?'

'Be-, because my HP had already dropped a lot – if I died on the inner side of the abyss while using ?Blink?, I may not have respawned again on the outside.'

'But even if you did respawn on the inside, your HP would have been completely restored by then – you could have just used 'Blink' to come back out!'

'Uuu.... th-, that is true, but....'

There is no chance of him winning this kind of argument against his logical, cool-headed partner. Just as his shoulders droop in misery, he hears a loud sigh – and then, instead of a fist, a delicate palm pats him on the head.

'But.... the will to challenge the ?Imperial City?, and the mental strength to make it to the innermos-->>

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