Tale of Discovery

Yggdrasil… Alright.

Now, AI, give me a rundown of what the games are exactly and anything that I need to know about them.

{Affirmative. The games listed are recreations of certain Platforms or cognition in the form of an interactive world that serves a set of purposes.}

{VRMMO Yggdrasil 2126's purposes are: Leadership Experience, Conqueror Experience, Research Experience, and Scheming Experience.}

That's a rather interesting set of experiences… They remind me of the time I spent in Sorcerers' Lair. Admittedly, my experience in everything listed is average at most, so there is a high chance I will benefit from the 'game' quite a bit if I were to try it.

{All the games that Father can play have a questing system to aid Father in accomplishing the main objective.}

{For each game, there is a tutorial session at the start that Father must go through in order to understand the game's questing system as well as certain things that Father needs to be aware of.}

Okay, all this sounds reasonably like the video games I used to play, back in Project Future.

{Regarding things that Father needs to know, one would be that Father's body will become completely defenseless when Father is accessing a game.}

Well, shit, that doesn't good. For now, a plausible solution to this would be to have someone protect my body wherever I am while 'playing',

{Once Father accesses a game, exiting is impossible until a main quest point has been completed.}

Huh? How long would that take?

{The duration depends on the quest point's difficulty and Father's efforts.}

Great. Basically, I could be stuck in there for who knows how long if I were to get to a troublesome quest point…

Still, if I were to access a game, I would need to be in a safe environment. Right now, the only location I could think of as 'safe' is Project Charlotte.

As for the rest, there are too many variable factors that easily make them unsafe. Take Sorcerers' Lair as an example. 'My' past there is a rather extraordinary one, and I have already met a Code and an Unknown there. Who knows whether there are more of them in the other kingdoms or not.

After that, there is the current Platform, Agnetem. Currently, on the other side, there are still spirits on the loose and who knows what sort of chaos one of them might wreak.

Finally, there is the Rift, which out of the three is the most troublesome. Simply put, the amount of trouble there is extraordinary, to the point that I won't consider it as 'safe' no matter what.

And so, I am left with no choice other than Project Charlotte. However, there is a small problem with that, which is the fact that I would have to stay for almost a month if I were to go there.

Other than that, there is the issue of Nao's brother. I had promised her to heal him when I could, and I have a feeling that she would be more than a little pissed if she found out I went there and did so without bringing her over.

Truly, a troublesome matter.

Still, how am I going to do this? I doubt that Dominion would be fine with me leaving this place for over a month, and then there is the issue with Nao currently being in the Rift.

Oh, right. Dominion. Perhaps she has a solution for this matter?

Releasing a sigh, I walk over toward Dominion, who, judging from my senses, is standing with a smile plastered to her lips as she gazes at me.

Hah~ I hope that she has a solution for my troubles…

---

"Alright, I'm ready," I state in an assured tone with a serene expression.

Hearing my words, Dominion, also known as White Queen, nods her head once before raising her right arm.

Following this, a giant clock with wings protruding on its sides appears behind her as a small gun forms in her right hand and a thin sword in her left one.

Due to the current state of my eyes, I am unable to make out anything about the clock, the sword, and the gun other than their shapes; not even their colors.

Not wasting any time, she pulls the trigger, following which a bullet escapes from the gun's muzzle, creating a series of noises along the trail it leaves as it scratches the sword before continuing upon which space seems to tear apart in front of Queen.

Sensing this, I order AI to release the time in the Rift.

{Affirmative.}

Earlier, I had a small discussion with Queen regarding her powers in hopes of finding a solution to my recent dilemma. As the conversation went on, she spoke of an ability of hers that immediately caught my attention – Linking.

Basically, this ability allows her to form a link between Platforms, and even to the Rift to a certain extent, while disregarding the Mete.

Expectedly, such an ability has its limitations. The most prominent one is that she can't travel through any link she creates herself. After that, there is the problem that she can only keep a link active for six hours at most, in the case of a Platform. For the Rift, it's much less than that. Either way, as a result of her current self being incomplete, else, the current duration for each is less than what she would be capable of normally – according to her, that is.

Anyway, the usage of the ability consumes a great amount of a particular type of energy, rendering the ability unusable for one to two months once used.

The only exception to this would be quick usage; meaning, keeping a link active for no longer than a minute, in which case, a much smaller sum of energy will be consumed. Apparently, this is what Queen did back then to 'invite' me over.

As such, we're about to do just that. First, Queen will create a link leading to the mansion, which was possible through AI providing her with the necessary 'data', then I will head in speedily and bring Nao over.

It's not like I trust Queen enough to know that she wouldn't hurt me, but I trust in her hopes of acquiring the freedom she desires that she wouldn't do so.

The only thing that's bothering me about this whole operation is that I will get to see – well, sense my body in the Rift lying motionlessly while I am in my current body.

According to AI, the current body I am inhabiting would break down after a short while if I were to remain in the Rift, but that's not a problem, since I was not planning to do so anyway.

And so, I focus back on reality and proceed to dash into the fissure that has formed after having gotten Queen's signal to do so - "Now."

Immediately after doing so, I feel an extremely uncomfortable sensation all over my body, as if tiny creatures are moving around underneath my skin and poking it with thin needles.

While this is happening, I notice that 'something' is guiding my body through the link, which I assume is Queen using another ability to do so.

Fortunately, the irritating trip doesn't last any longer than five seconds, as, the next moment, I find myself standing in the living room with a crack in space behind me.

Knowing that I've got no time to waste, I quickly utilize Blink to appear inside Nao's room.

Following this, I move over to the bed and move the blanket to the side.

"Hm?" a tired voice reaches my ears as Nao opens her eyes.

"I will explain everything later," I say in a hurried tone as I reach my arms underneath her body and carry her from the bed.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Nao says as her body stiffens and her eyes shoot wide open.

"Taking you to see your brother," I respond casually as I utilize Blink once again to get back to the living room before heading back into the link.

The uncomfortable sensation assails my body once more, as well as Nao's body, as she lets out a shriek before wrapping her arms around my nape.

A few seconds later, we're both at where I was before rushing into the fissure the first time.

To my left, Queen is standing proudly with her gaze fixated on Nao.

"Victor," Nao suddenly says in a not-so-sweet tone, "Let me down, and tell me what's going on."

Hearing her words, I chuckle lightly before saying, "You're going to have to let go of my neck if you want me to let you down."

Unbothered by my statement, Nao simply does as I told her to before I let her down.

Currently, she is most likely dressed in her pajamas which she wears to sleep and judging from my senses, her hair is somewhat messy.

Nevertheless, I don't make any remarks as I begin to recount whatever necessary for her to understand the situation.