“Ugh.” Moaning in pain, I opened my eyes only to close them again as a blinding white light intensified my headache. “Why’s it so bright?” I attempted to sit up, but the throbbing in my head forced me back down.
Where am I? Why does everything hurt? What happened? Questions raced through my mind as I lay there, eyes closed. My entire body ached, and the headache was relentless. I tried to recall what had happened before I lost consciousness, but all I could grasp were fleeting memories of a sports game I had played as a beta tester called Azumi.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Footsteps echoed in the distance, drawing nearer. I opened my eyes again and sat up just in time to see the door swing open. A cat girl walked in, her presence so surreal that I pinched my arm in disbelief. This has to be a dream, right? No. This is real.
“You’re awake!” she said, beaming at me, her tail swishing playfully beneath her red skirt. Dressed in a typical Korean nurse outfit, complete with black high heels, she exuded a quirky charm. I surveyed the room around me and realized I was in a hospital, dressed in a patient gown.
Grrrrrr.
My stomach grumbled loudly, reminding me just how hungry I was. Blushing from embarrassment, I looked down at my bare feet, then back up as she began to speak.
“Sounds like someone’s hungry. Let me get you some food.” She smiled and pressed a button on her watch. In an instant, a familiar hologram sprang to life. “Please contact Jiwoo. Tell her to bring food to Room 151.”
“That’s a YG Tech Model X, isn’t it?” I asked, staring at the watch.
“Who owns a YG Tech Model 0 anymore?” The nurse laughed, her curiosity evident.
Of course it is. It’s the same watch players used in Azumi to communicate, access guides, and navigate the game world. I had watched plenty of anime, but I never expected to find myself in such a ridiculous scenario. Sighing, I asked, “Where am I?”
“You are currently at Azumi City Hospital. Do you not remember anything?” She leaned in closer, concern etched on her face.
“Achoo! Can you back up?” I backed away as far as the bed would allow, glaring at her as my allergies flared up. Why did the nurse have to be a cat girl?
Sensing something was off but not wanting to be pushy, the nurse complied.
Knock. Knock.
“Coming in!”
The delicious smell of food wafted in, making my stomach growl again. The door opened, and another cat girl about my age entered, balancing a tray of food. She wore a black and purple dress, complemented by a spiky black choker.
“Achoo!” Oh god. Sniffling, I thought to myself: please tell me this world isn’t filled with only cat girls. Jiwoo handed me the tray, and I was relieved to see a feast: fish, mac and cheese, baked beans, steamed broccoli, and a banana. Grabbing the fork, I dove in. “Achoo!”
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“Not to sound rude, but are you allergic to nekos?” the nurse asked, her surprise evident.
“Yes,” I replied, my mouth full and my nose running.
“I see.” She smiled, though her expression was a mix of perplexity and concern. “May I ask why you came to Azumi City?”
I paused, thinking carefully before responding, “To be honest, I don’t remember why or how I ended up here.”
“What’s wrong with her, Mom?” Jiwoo asked, looking up at the nurse.
Pfft! I spat out some food, coughing to avoid choking. She’s her mom? They looked similar, yet totally different.
“Right now it seems she has amnesia. Memory loss,” the nurse explained, petting her daughter.
“But everyone knows Azumi City is mostly nekos because the Neko Princess is our ruler,” Jiwoo said, staring at me as if I were an alien.
“Neko Princess?” I asked, puzzled. This was the first I had heard of her. She was never mentioned in Azumi before. Were there things I didn’t know about this world?
The nurse smiled sadly. “Currently, Azumi City is governed by Blake, the 10th Neko Princess. The Neko Princesses have ruled this land for a long time now. May I see your YG Tech Model X?”
“Sure.” I held out my arm, allowing her to activate my watch.
A hologram appeared, and a voice resonated in my head: “Welcome back, Minji.” Everyone in the room could see my stats.
Name: Minji Yoon
Job: Student
Race: Human
Age: 16
Health: 100
Mana: Unavailable (Hidden)
Condition: Normal
Level: 0
Funds: $10,000,000,000
Skills: Unavailable (Hidden)
Abilities: Unavailable (Hidden)
Clang!
My tray hit the floor as a flood of memories rushed back. This can't be happening—this can't be!
“Oi. You dropped food on my shoes.” Jiwoo glared at me, her expression hard to read, typical of those goth or emo types.
“Want me to lick it clean?” I shot back, not in the best mood. I was the first person to beat the beta test. All my $ol was still intact. I wasn’t sure if my skills or abilities were, since I couldn’t access them. Why was I level 0 again? Did my character reset? Would I even be able to meet the other Runners and escape this game? What exactly was going on?
“What is wrong with you?” She stood there, tail bristling angrily behind her.
“Right now, or in general?” I retorted, grabbing the bed sheet to cover myself as I lay back down, wanting to be left alone. How was I even supposed to explain what was wrong with me? Something told me that if I said anything weirder, I might end up staying in this hospital for a lot longer than I wanted.
“Jiwoo! Let’s go.” The nurse called, motioning for her to leave the room.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Welcome back, Minji! Before we continue, I am your guide, Hana! There are a couple of things I should explain.”
Levels!
“In this world, everyone is graded on Levels. Most non-humans average over 250, while humans barely make it to level 80. Anyone can level up; however, humans are rarely born with Skills or Abilities, which are crucial for leveling up higher. Humans are considered the weakest race in this world, and that’s one of the reasons why. From highest to lowest rank, the order is: Dueces, Dragonkin, Elves, Mecha, Animans, Ogres, Dwarfs, Undead, and finally, Humans.”
Skills and Abilities!
“Skills and Abilities are activated using one’s Mana and techniques they’ve learned. Let’s use the Skill Dash as an example. Dash is a basic Skill to learn and only costs 5 Mana Points to cast. Skills and Abilities can be used back-to-back as long as there are no cooldowns or effects in place and you have the required Mana Points. Humans generally have little to no Mana compared to other races. However, there has recently been a surge of humans with large amounts of Mana—like you—popping up lately.”
More About the Characters We Met!
Sakura Tokki
Job: Nurse
Race: Animan - Neko
Age: 36
Level: 216
Jiwoo Tokki
Job: Student
Race: Animan - Neko
Age: 16
Level: 155
“You are currently in Azumi City Hospital, located—”
“Ugh, so annoying.” I tapped the hologram and turned Hana
off before flipping onto my side again under the sheets. “Achoo!”