(80 minutes before dawn)
Hayate’s eyes were red and swollen from his constant crying. He felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. The night had been a long and torturous one, spent in a cold alley road, crying his heart out. Now, after what felt like an eternity, he had finally managed to stop crying. He lifted his head, his face a mess and his eyes puffy and red.
He was sitting now, his back leaning against the rough wall behind him. His breathing was ragged, his body trembled slightly, but he felt a sense of numbness now that the tears had stopped. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, letting the air wash over his face. He sat there and started muttering to himself. “What’s the point...what’s the point of any of this...” he knew he had no money, no possessions, nothing.
He didn’t know how anything worked in this future, he didn’t even have a human body anymore. He was homeless and had nowhere to go. His parents and friends...they were most likely...no, he didn’t want to think about it.
Hayate let out a shaky sigh as his mind went towards his friends. He began listing them in his head. “Ryu...Sato...Mitsui..Ayano...Kizuki...Toshio...Taro...Naoko...Tomoka..Masami...Haru...Yuki..”
Each name filled his head with memories of laughter, fun, and camaraderie. Those were times of innocence and carefree play. He thought about his parents
“Father...mother....”
The thought of them, their faces, their voices, brought the tears back to his eyes. He bit his lip to try and stay composed. “Tetsuya sato...Ayako sato...” those were their names.
Hayate let out another shaky sigh as he thought about what lay ahead. He knew that later, he would most likely search for them just to satisfy his curiosity. Even if they were gone, he had to know what had become of them. Hayate then began mulling things over. What could he do in the meantime?
A thought crossed his mind – going back to his home. It was a good idea, as it was the one place where he might find some familiar grounding. Of course, there was no guarantee that his home was still there and in good condition, but the thought of trying was better than just roaming the streets.
Hayate considered it for a moment and decided to proceed with it.
As Hayate stood up, he looked down at his robe’s. It was dirty and dusty, covered in the grime from the filthy ground he’d been on all night.
He absentmindedly brushed off some dirt, but to his surprise, the mud instantly vanished, leaving behind a spotlessly clean robe. This puzzled him for a moment, until he remembered the passive ability his robe had – it could not be cut, torn or even stained by any substance.
He chuckled lightly as he remembered it.
“Right, I forgot about this...” he murmured to himself.
He recalled that his robe possessed the ability to never lose its purity and cleanliness. No matter what, the robe would always be clean and in prime condition. Hayate returned his focus to the matter at hand, thinking about how he could get back to his home, he had one idea.
The [Teleportation] spell – a legendary ranked (6th tier) spell that could be used for instantaneous transportation through any distance, regardless of how far it was. The spell consumed 20 mana per each use, but it was reliable and fast, being able to transport the caster to any chosen location in just four seconds.
The spell was a god-send for late-game players in the game, given its convenience and efficiency. First of all, it was nearly instantaneous, which was a huge advantage in itself. Additionally, unlike other games, the game had no built-in “fast travel” feature, so players had limited options for transport.
The other options like [Fly], walking or running, and horseback riding paled in comparison to the convenience and speed offered by the [Teleportation] spell.
It’s why it was highly sought after among high-level players. The devs had been asked why they hadn’t implemented fast travel in the game, and they responded that they wanted players to fully immerse themselves in and explore the game world.
They believed that fast travel would take away from the experience of discovering new places and facing various challenges along the way. By forcing players to physically travel from one place to another, they hoped to encourage exploration and interaction with the game world, rather than making it just a series of menus.
Anyways, in hollow, the [Teleportation] spell had a specific requirement – the player could only transport to locations they had previously seen or visited beforehand. However, now that Hayate pondered on the real implications of the spell, a similar limitation likely applied in this new world as well. So, if he wanted to use the spell to go home, Hayate pondered whether he had to concentrate and think of his home in order to properly cast it.
The thought troubled him a little, since he wasn’t entirely sure of how to visualize his home. But then, perhaps his subconscious memory would act as a guide, helping him mentally pinpoint the location of his home and thereby, successfully teleport there.
With a sigh, Hayate closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his home. He focused his thoughts on the specific location of his house, picturing it in as much detail as he could. He then spoke the spell quietly.
“[Teleportation]”
As the word left his lips, Hayate felt a sudden shift in the air around him. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in his old room. It looked exactly as he remembered, with all the familiar furniture and personal mementos still in place. He was back home.
The room looked desolate and unkempt. Dust and cobwebs covered every corner, clearly indicating that no one had lived in this space for quite some time. It seemed like years, or perhaps decades, had passed since anyone had set foot in this room.
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Hayate slowly walked over to his old chair and sat down, ignoring the layer of dust on it. He leaned his head back against the headrest and shut his eyes, reminiscing about the night before. He recalled that he was sitting in this very chair just a few hours ago, before everything changed and he found himself in this new body..before he lost everything.
Hayate’s gaze slowly opened again, and for a moment, he held on to a faint hope. Perhaps if he closed his eyes tight and reopened them, he would wake up in his own time in the year 2024. But as his vision refocused, reality hit him like a truck, reminding him that he was stuck in this new world, several decades into the future. He let out a sigh, his shoulders slumped in resignation.
Hayate sat there in silence for a moment, disappointment and desolation written all over his face. He muttered to himself, his voice quiet and resigned.
“I’m really stuck here...”
Hayate then gazed at his old PC, which had once been a beloved fixture in his room. He attempted to turn it on, but as expected, there was no electricity to power it and it was far too antiquated to function after years of neglect. The PC was broken down and inoperable.
It wasn’t just the computer that held significance for Hayate. He had spent a whopping 154,567 yen on it, a result of a bet he made with his dad. If he managed to score a 99% in his 12th grade final examinations, his father had promised to buy him a gaming PC. That day, when he achieved that nearly perfect score, and his father kept his word, it turned out to be one of the best days of Hayate’s life.
Hayate had worked incredibly hard to achieve the 99% mark in his 12th grade finals. He had spent countless hours poring over his books and notes, pushing himself harder than he ever had before. The bet with his father had given him extra motivation to perform well. Hayate had approached his father with the proposal of the bet. With some persuasion and his track record of good grades, he had managed to convince his father to agree to the terms. It had paid off in the end.
Although Hayate had always loved gaming, he was the last one in his friend group to own a gaming computer. For years, he made do with an old laptop which was so outdated that it couldn’t run most games. Despite this, Hayate’s passion for gaming remained undiminished, and the acquisition of a top-of-the-line gaming PC was a dream come true for him. He thought back to all the times he’d spent watching his friends play all the latest games on their high-end systems, the envy he’d felt as he tried to run the same games on his old laptop with poor performance. Now, he had a PC that could handle any game at the highest settings and he remembered how proud he had been to finally catch up with his friends.
Another tear rolled down Hayate’s cheek as he remembered all those happy memories associated with his beloved gaming PC. He quickly wiped it away, not wanting to dwell excessively on the past.
As Hayate stood up from the chair, he looked around his old room. His gaze lingered on the furniture – the neatly made double bed, the bedside table, and a small bookshelf loaded with an assortment of light novels and manga. Yes, Hayate was not just a collector in the game, but also in real life.
Hayate walked over to his bed and laid down on it, the old mattress creaking under his weight. As he rested his back on it, a cloud of dust billowed up around him. The bed was filthy and unkempt, having been neglected for decades.
He ran his hand over the old bedsheet, the texture was rough and stiff..it had been so long since he had slept in this bed...he could almost imagine his younger self lying here, buried under a pile of blankets and pillows, playing games on his old laptop.
Hayate decided to stay in his old bedroom for a bit longer. He wasn’t quite ready to venture out and explore the rest of the house yet. For now, he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts and memories.
Hayate actually ended up falling asleep, sleeping like a baby for the next twenty minutes, when suddenly he stirred from his sleep, he was immediately woken up by the sound of footsteps coming from downstairs. The sound was unmistakable, someone was actually in the house.
Hayate’s heart pounded in his chest as the sound of footsteps continued from downstairs. He slowly stood up from the bed, a frown on his face. Tokyo had been abandoned and nuked decades ago, so he had expected the entire area to be devoid of people. So, what was causing those footsteps downstairs? Could it be an animal?
Hayate’s anxiety levels spiked as he activated the [Detect] spell, his eyes lighting up. Immediately, his vision was filled with the body heat signatures of multiple humans moving towards him. There were ten of them, and they were working together, slowly but steadily climbing the stairs to his room.
His mind was filled with many questions like Who were these people? How did they get inside his house? And most importantly...were they dangerous? This could well become a dangerous situation. But Hayate wasn’t going to remain idle. Hayate acted fast, he swiftly cast five spells in quick succession to prepare himself for any potential danger. First, he casted [Emergency Translocation], creating a safe escape path for himself if needed. This was followed by [Magic Nullification Field], preventing any incoming magical attacks. Then, he cast [True Shield], to strengthen his defenses further, followed by [EMP] and [sensory deprivation]
[EMP] was a grandmaster rank (5th tier) spell with an Area Of Effect (AOE) of 30 meters. When activated, the spell would release a potent electromagnetic pulse, producing a substantial burst of electrical energy. This created strong electromagnetic fields that would disable any nearby electronic devices or gadgets within the AOE. The spell was capable of rendering any electronic gadget temporarily useless for about 5 minutes.
There were various electronics available for players in ‘Hollow.’ Firearms were one of them, and they ranged from traditional handguns to assault rifles, snipers, and even more specialized weapons like flamethrowers and rocket launchers. The game offered a wide range of customizability options for these weapons, allowing players to tweak their damage output, magazine size, and accuracy stats.
There were also Mechs, large military-style walking machines equipped with powerful weaponry and designed to act as a moving weapon platform. These could be heavily customized as well, with their stats adjustable by players to suit their in-game needs.
In the game, there were several counters to players who specialized in certain types of builds, including those who used electronic weapons. One of these counters was the [EMP] spell, the spell that he was using which prevented the use of any electronic weapons that were below the “very rare tier.”
In addition to the previous spells cast, he then called upon [Sensory Deprivation]. This spell isolated the area within a 20-feet radius around Hayate, effectively cutting it off from the outside world. Outside of the AOE one could not hear anything or see anything within the barrier.
Hayate sat down on the bed, his eyes fixed on the door. He could sense the figures of the humans outside, waiting just behind the door. One of them the door, the door being knocked off its hinges fell down and suddenly, 10 figures, all wearing black suits with their faces covered, rushed into the room. They formed a circle around Hayate, guns drawn and aimed directly at him.
Hayate stood up straight, aware of his 7-foot height. He splayed out his wings, expanding them to make himself appear even more menacing. He then cast [Fear], a 2nd tier spell that induced a [Scared] effect among enemies below level 15. The spell instantly took effect, causing them to involuntarily experience intense fear in his presence.
Despite the brave front he was putting up, Hayate was terrified. Never before had someone pointed a gun at him. His heart hammered in his chest, a mix of fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins. But he couldn’t show it, not when he was surrounded by 10 armed men.
“If you want to leave this place alive, I suggest you answer my questions,” he intoned, his voice heavy with authority.