“Where am I?…”

Ran could hardly open his eyes, by the time he could he found himself face flat on the ground.

He was greeted by the sound of bystanders who stood circling him.

”what is doing sleeping on the ground like that? Is he homeless?” A guy asked.

“Excuse me, are you okay?…you've been asleep for quite a while.” a woman said. She was in her 30’s and wore high heels.

“Do you need help? She asked, reaching out her hand to help Ran up.

“No thanks, I can stand on my own .”

The woman stood back as Ran got on his own two feet.

“I’m still here at the same place from before, but how?”He thought. “I thought I died, there was the black hole & that device?… What happened? Was all that a dream?” Ran’s mind wandered about it, looking for an answer. He remembered the black hole devouring him. However, he had no recollection of what happened afterward; his mind had completely blacked out after the event.

Ran then took off running after getting up.

“How am I still alive?… maybe I was just imagining things. After all, I did overwork myself.”

“Oh, That's right!”

A feeling of alertness struck Ran. He remembered the bracelet from before. He then diverted his attention to his left arm where the bracelet was located.

“This bracelet…it’s what caused all of that to happen, but at the same time there’s no way I can be so sure.”

“For all I know none of that stuff happened, but it felt so real.”

----------------------------------------

After taking a bus to his Apartment complex building, he walked up the stairs. While at the door, he slid in his key to enter.

“Hello, I’m home…is anyone here? Yuri?” he asked.

Ran called out to his sister, hoping that she was still there.

“Ding!” a notification popped up on his phone.

Ran received a notification from an unknown number.

“Sorry, but your sister Sumeragi Chan is with me. You’re such a bad brother, how could you leave your sister home all night? She was worried ya know. You should apologize to her, blah!”

The messenger's name was Kiyoko.

“Kiyoko, ah that’s right she was one of Yur’s friends. They would occasionally hang out on the weekends. Kiyoko had taken Yuri shopping. She found it unforgivable that Ran had left Yuri there alone, but he had no idea the two had left.

“If I’m still here then everything from before couldn’t have happened? Right?”

Ran stared at the black bracelet that was still on his hand, he placed his other hand trying to remove it.

“Hmph!…damn, it’s still stuck shut. Then wouldn’t that mean that everything from before wasn't a dream? The Black hole from back then and the strange bracelet on Ran’s wrist.

“Just what is this thing and how am I supposed to get rid of it?”

Ran felt frustrated at the time and just decided not to do anything about it. It’s not like he even knew where the darn thing originated from.

Ran opened up the fridge expecting to find his favorite soda ramune, but there wasn't any left. He assumed that Yuri and Kiyoko took the last 2.

“That damn Kiyoko…now it's because of her that I have to go out and get more.”

Ran got cleaned up and prepared to head out of the building. He walked towards the door, preparing to twist the doorknob.

“Something feels different.”

Ran paused and he felt a strange feeling, as if things had somehow changed overnight. Thei apartment looked the same but, Ran looked over to the right.

“W-wait a minute is that? Just what happened to my bicycle…it’s completely changed!?”

The old red bicycle that had once sat next to the door of their apartment was instead a Black MotorBike. A Red Kawasaki Ninja.

“N-no way!…but how!?”

Ran’s expression went from being mysterious to being filled with joy. He inspected the Motorbike, and it was in pristine condition. It looked like it was recently bought. There was registration and everything.

“Well, how can I say no? This thing looks so cool. Maybe my incredibly bad luck reversed itself.” Ran carried the bike down to the stairs and placed it thoroughly in the parking lot. The bike wasn’t too heavy for him to carry, but he managed.

He kicked the stand down while grabbing on.

“This is so sweet, I’ve always wanted one like this before.”

Ran revved the bike pedals before taking off in the parking lot, thus crossing onto the public street.

Ran rode the bike until he arrived at the shopping district like before; it was quite a troublesome ride. Despite it being his first time riding a bike, he was fairly good at it.

As he was driving through the city, Ran noticed that things looked odd. The city’s buildings looked off. Before they looked more modern, however, these buildings looked futuristic, almost like they were from 30 years into the future.

“Why does something feel weird, ever since I got here it’s almost like this city feels different somehow” Ran had suspicions but he couldn’t exactly pinpoint what exactly looked different. From a faraway glance, things looked the same, but all of that was about to change.

Ran arrived at a small Convenience store and parked his bike. He flipped on the security thus entering the store. There were a couple of people around at the time, even while inside. Ran entered as the two doors automatically opened; he was then greeted by a worker.

“Hello, please enjoy your shopping.”

The girl nodded while bowing at Ran.

He nodded her back in respect as he scanned the aisles down for a quick snack. Today he was in the mood for some Ramune. Ramune soda was his favorite Beverage; he would occasionally drink it every summer with his sister.

“What!? Where the hell did all of the Blue Ramuna go!?” Ran’s eyes were filled with tears of despair seeing the pink bottle of ramune. It was the last one in the cooler.

“Awww this is the last bottle of Ramune, I wish they would carry more.” A girl’s voice sounded. She had beaten Ran to it, grabbing the last bottle.

“W-what!!!?…No way, she beat me to it. Damn, my bad luck never ceases to ruin my day. Eh?…but wait a minute. Who is that girl?” Ran asked.

“Ah…Who cares?” Ran walked up beside her, giving a death glare, which intimidated her while grabbing a green tea instead.

“E-eek why is he looking at me like that…d-did I do something to upset him?” the girl shivered.

Ran noticed something odd about her, close up on her wrist she had a bracelet similar to his. Except hers was only White.

“What? She has a bracelet like me. Well, I think it’s the same. It’s just the color is different.”

Ran stared at the girl.

She was very shaky and wiggled around.

“Erm…i-is there something that you need?” she asked. Her cheeks were flustered by Ran staring at her. She must’ve thought he was having lewd thoughts.

“Yeah, that bracelet where exactly did you get it from?”

“What? A black XR bracelet?… I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those before. Is it some kind of rare one?” Louise thought.

“Huh!!!?… Shouldn’t you know? Aren’t you wearing one too? It’s an XR Bracelet. You know about zone players right?”

Zone didn’t ring a bell at all for Ran, he had no clue what the girl was talking about.

Ran suddenly remembered where he had heard of Zone before. It appeared on the Bracelet in what he thought was previously a dream, but it wasn’t too descriptive.

“!. What exactly can you tell

He had no clue what the girl was talking about. Ran suddenly remembered where he had heard of Zone before. It appeared on the Bracelet in what he thought was previously a dream, but it wasn’t too descriptive.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“!. What exactly can you tell me about it? I have no clue what it is—please. I’m sorry if I scared you,” Ran apologized.

The girl shook her head. “No, you’re fine. I was just startled, that’s all. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Ah, sorry to be informal. My name is Ran Sumeragi.”

“Ran Sumeragi, kek…that’s an interesting name, although I’ve never heard it around here before.”

“Anywho, my name is Louise Rhoades. It’s a pleasure to meet you, hehe.” She giggled.

Louise was very adorable. She wore a cute white dress with pink shoulder ribbons, with pink shoes. Her blue hair was very short, her bangs were long, and she had bright vibrant orange eyes with a white ribbon tied on the left side of her hair. She was much shorter than Ran, but her chest was pretty small. Her thighs, on the other hand, were extremely thick. Ran found it extremely hard not to look.

“Kek…well, it looks like it’s starting. Would you like to go join the others?” Louise asked.

“Join the others? What exactly do you mean?”

“What exactly does this girl know that I don’t?

----------------------------------------

Louise walked with Ran to a small park not too far away. It was a five-minute walk. Once they arrived, Ran saw a large crowd of people. They were standing around chatting.

Some stood by the vending machine sipping on drinks to hydrate, it looked like they were getting ready for an event.

“This is where the Players of Zone meet up. Parks are usually where participants gather.”

“I-is that so…no way!? Just what exactly is all of this?”

People were standing around broken off into different groups, some looked like they knew each other. Perhaps they had been friends while others stood alone, going through their equipment and inventory via UI.

Two of them started to gossip about Ran & Louise.

“Hey those guys, do you know who they are? A girl asked, referring to Ran and Louise.

“I dunno I’ve never seen her before, but that boy does look familiar. I think he goes to Kanagawa High-his name is Ran Sumeragi and the word on the street has it that he’s extremely poor.” the boy nodded.

“Oh is that so?, hehe well I guess he plans on killing monsters. Now this should be entertaining”

“Some of these people are from Kanagawa High. Just how many players are there?” He thought.

Ran immediately recognized some of the players, as they were leering over at him.

“No way, it can't be.” Ran’s pupils shrank like had seen a ghost. There was a group of 3 guys sitting at a table near the vending machine.

They had noticed him from afar.

“No way? Is that Ran Sumeragi? Haha, what is he doing here? That guy isn’t going to last a single minute against a monster as a level 0. Is he stupid?” Katoru chuckled.

“Who is that girl with him? She’s pretty cute.” A guy said. “No idea but she would probably ditch him once she knew how much of a loser he is.”

“Why don’t you steal her away from him, teach him a lesson after what happened last time right Kato?”

“You do have a point, but I have something even better in store for him than last time. This time I'll enjoy breaking you, Ran Sumeragi.”

Katoru smiled with a menacing look on his face, it seemed like things weren't quite settled from what occurred last time.

Katoru Nishima was a nefarious underling of Shinnosuke Enoshima, He was a guy who enjoyed playing & toying with others. His hair was crimson red and his eyes were brown. His aura was similar to a delinquent but he enjoyed picking with others and starting drama. His personality was very immature but he just enjoyed acting all high and mighty.

In fact Katoru was responsible for tormenting Ran throughout most of his Middle school and high school years. Most of all there was something unforgivable he did to Ran, something that he could never forgive them for.

----------------------------------------

A flashback occurred in Ran’s mind taking him back to last year in middle school, his years of torment. In middle school, Ran was subject to bullying as it all started on this one fateful day.

Ran stood outside in the schoolyard to confess to his crush. Her name was Suzumae. She attended the same art class as him she was Ran’s first-ever love.

“S-suzumae, will you please go out with me? I would like that,” he said while bowing.

“E-erm I don't know what to say.”

Suzumae, while blushing, was very nervous. She didn't like Ran, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

“Hahahaha! Ran’s so weird. He’s poor and smelly. What girl is ever gonna wanna go out with him.” Katoru laughed, pointing at Ran.

Ran felt like his heart had been stabbed with a knife, his muscles tended and he started to get upset.

“This doesn't concern you! Get lost!” Ran shouted.

“Eh? Let’s teach this idiot a lesson so he’ll learn not to mess with us, right Shinnosuke?”

Shinnosuke stood by folding his arms against the wall.

“I don’t care, do as you wish. Just make it quick.”

Shinnosuke was the richest boy at the school but he was much worse than all of the others. His heart was cold and enjoyed letting people do his dirty work, especially Katoru Nashima who ideologized Shinnosuke.

Behind the school, Katoru’s guys held Ran down, while Kato kicked and punched Ran until blood ran down his nose. His face was battered and bruised.

“Argh…ugh…” Ran panted, while 2 of the boys held him down from behind.

“Take this!” Katoru punched Ran in the face.

“Hahaha!”You’re so weak.”

Ran tried to break free from the hold of the two boys.

“Grr..I’ll teach you assholes a lesson. You’re all weak cowards!”

Next to Shinnosuke a girl appeared. Suzumae came out of the shadows, revealing her true colors.

“S-suzumae…what are you doing here?@ Ran asked, with an expression of curiosity.

“Hehe You’re so stupid Ran.”

“I don’t like you at all. I think you’re creepy and smelly, so please don’t talk to me anymore. Stay away from me.” Suzumae said while wrapping her hands behind Katoru.

“Bleh!” Suzumae stuck out her tongue pulling one of her eyelids down, taunting Ran.

“Y-you used her to get to me. But why? All of you…you will pay.” Ran stammered while grabbing ahold of the dirt with his hands.

“I’ll never forgive you!” He shouted.

Ever since that day, Ran had been avoiding them. He wasn't scared, but he did so to avoid altercations. But it looked like his past had once again caught up to him.

----------------------------------------

“Katoru Nishima, I have a score to settle with you. I still haven't forgotten,” he said to himself.

Ran looked at Katoru’s level seeing how strong he was. Katoru stood much higher than Louise

{Katoru Nishima}————

[Level: 8]

“Well since he’s much higher than me. I can't afford to put my guard down, especially after what happened last time. I'm sure he will try something again, especially now.”

Louise notices him looking tense.

“Hey, are you okay? There’s no need to get so worked up.”

“No, I’m fine. Anyways Louise I have something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Eh like what?”

Ran wanted to ask Louise whether she believed that he might have traveled to an alternate dimension, with the black hole. He had no idea how she’d react.

“To tell you the truth I have no idea what or where this world is. Ever since back home I was brought here by a black hole.”

“Huh…hehe no way you’re kidding. There’s no way that could happen.” She giggled.

“It’s true, in fact I think this bracelet teleported me here. What do you know about it?”

“Well I have no idea. Most players only use white bracelets, however in an article I read there were rumored to be bracelets of other Color. As for what they do I’m not so sure.”

“I see, well thanks a lot.”

Ran’s face expression portrayed concernment. He had no idea where he even was, but somehow he really did travel to another world.

Wherever Ran was in the universe, he was far away from home, and if his memory serves him correctly, his previous world was destroyed.

“Then that means…that world I lived in before is gone,” he thought.

Ran realized this and put two and two together. He concluded that there was no way to return to the previous world.

“This is what I wished for. When I wore the XR bracelet, it must’ve reacted to my desire somehow…”

“Then if that’s the case, then wouldn’t it mean that I rebooted the entire world?”

Ran stared at his black bracelet in curiosity.

“I see how it makes sense. That’s how I ended up here. That must mean this is some alternate world not too different from mine.”

Ran hit the nail on the head; he was sent to another world, one that looked very familiar to his own but was 50 years ahead in technological advancements.

“Louise, tell me, how exactly does this thing work?” Ran lifted his wrist asking about the bracelet.

“Well, it's complicated but I’ll shorten it for you. The Bracelet allows a person to connect to an XR world. A world that binds gaming with real life, that world is Xtreme Reality.”

“Extreme reality?” Ran asked.

“Yeah, the bracelets allow the user to connect through a system that allows them to play an action RPG in the real world. For money and fame.”

“Money and fame? So then that means you-“

“It's a form of entertainment. We make money by killing monsters, placing our lives on the line.”

“So then that means it’s not just a game but also reality itself, it’s very possible to die. Unfortunately, that’s just the price you must pay for playing.”” Ran thought.

“If you tap your bracelet it’ll activate the XR system, enabling you to see the XR world of Zone.

“I see, so like this?”

Ran tapped the top of the black bracelet; a light similar to the one before flashed.

[Activating: XR MODE]

[Loading…]

[Welcome Player: 99]

This time, in Ran’s vision, he could see his own HUD showing a health bar, his stamina, and energy levels.

[Level: 0]

{Ran Sumeragi}——

“This is so cool…, I can see your level too. You’re level 3.”

[Level: 3]

{Louise Rhoades}—-

“The XR bracelet is an advanced computer capable of rendering the world itself as an Xtreme Reality MMORPG. The shock you might’ve experienced before was when it linked to your DNA. That was all so it could establish a link to your body functions and brainwaves. Louise explained.

“Ah, I get it now. So that’s what happened back there,” Ran remembered the intense sharp pain that occurred once he put on the bracelet for the first time.

“Yep, hehe, I’m still new, so I haven’t played much, though. Zone recently came out yesterday, so a lot of players are low-leveled right now. By the way…I got an idea, would you like to play?” Louise held her hands, wrapping them around Ran’s in excitement, hoping that she would convince him. Her facial expression was insanely cute; Ran found himself accidentally blushing.

“Well, sure…I don’t mind if it makes you feel excited, but please teach me everything you can,” Ran nodded.

“I have an idea, I've actually been meaning to try out,” Louise winked.

“Huh…what is?”

Ran tilted his head in puzzlement.

Louise grabbed Ran’s hand running out of the store. Her facial expression filled with excitement, while Ran had no idea where she was taking him.

“H-hey Louise?…where are you taking me?”

“It's a surprise, hehe.”