SideQuest!

Video Log #463

As the group walked along the road cutting through the grassy meadows, Julia - lagging behind her party - pulled up her video call interface as the two swordsmen were busy chatting with each other, taking advantage of the moment.

"So, what happens now? Am I taking the 'right path' on the quest so far?" Julia asked as Grace as she fiddled with the rest of the menu. "And where the hell are the rest of my items, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure about that myself. There's nothing written on the email to confirm that." Grace replied. "But what I do know is that you don't need to worry about your items. It says here that they're stashed somewhere within the towns."

"Wow...great..." Julia commented as she shook her head. "Just what I needed. So I'm essentially item-naked with not a single gold coin on my person. I will definitely not have any problems at all restocking supplies in this game. First, I almost got my ass handed to me early on in this quest, and now this. Why does Mr. Rubio have to make things so needlessly hard?"

"Well, to be fair, he did warn you that this quest is really difficult. It's probably why the quest, as Mr. Rubio said, plays out at around 80 hours on average." Julia countered.

"I suppose. I mean, he-...wait, wait, wait. Hold on. On average? Was that what he told us?" Julia inquired.

"Yes, you heard me correctly Julia. Is there a problem?" Grace hurled back.

"You bet your ass there's a problem. How the hell did I not notice this before?" Julia replied. "It just occurred to me that if Mr. Rubio was able to determine the average playtime for this quest, then we are definitely not the first one to try it out, because...well, you need more than one player's data to get an average. I noticed that he's been withholding a few tidbits of information from us, and we're only a few minutes into the game. I don't know why he does this, but...it just doesn't sit right with me. First, the supposed meeting in Argos did not happen. Second, the AI that is supposed to be 'reset' is already fully functional. I mean, you've seen him talk, right? And third, this bullshit about us being the first one to test out this part of the game...not to mention there's just a number of eerily odd events happening in the game since he got in contact with me. I'm starting to get a little suspicious of this beta testing. There's some things he ain't telling me. Something's going on, for sure."

"Well...I guess." Grace shrugged. "But is this really a cause for concern?"

"Maybe not at first glance, but...tch, you know what, you're right." Julia reconsidered as she retreated into a short silence. "Maybe I'm just overreacting a bit too much on something so trivial. I'm...I'm sorry. I'm rambling again. I'll just shut up."

"Look. It's okay Julia. Just relax. I understand that you don't like being lied to ever since the house break-in, but I guarantee you Mr. Rubio's not out for your blood." Grace assured her. "I mean, yeah, he kinda omitted some things relevant to this quest, but ultimately the information that he has withheld from you so far hasn't caused you any real harm, right? Who knows, maybe this is part of the experience. Maybe he deliberately withheld some info to help with your immersion with the game."

A few seconds later, a soft beep sounded from Julia's interface. "Oh, hold up. I got another call." she declared as she summoned the video screen with the wave of a hand and dragged it alongside Grace's window.

"Oh, hi...Mr. Rubio..." Julia exclaimed with a tone of mild shock. "Is there...anything in particular that I, uhh...can help you with?"

"No, this is more of a heads up, Miss Cheong." Rubio replied. "I believe that by now you have a feel for the new interface?"

"A bit." Julia thriftily replied as she raised her hand. "Uhh...sir, I have a few questions..."

"This is about your items, I presume?" Rubio confirmed.

"...Yes, and...among other things, actually." Julia answered, giving the man a confused look. "But, anyway sir, how did you know what I was gonna ask?"

"We are monitoring your progress from our headquarters, that's how. We see and hear the goings-on in the game through your lenses. Outstanding improvisation, I must say. I really admire how you come up with your own...script while on the go. You really know how to immerse yourself. Oh, and congratulations on your first fight, by the way. You really played it impressively." Mr. Rubio commended. "And just a side note. Rest assured that the difficulty of this quest is optimized to your skill level and that nothing underhanded is going on in this beta testing. If you need to know, we were able to estimate the average playtime based on trends of your past performance in the game."

"Ohh...so...you've heard..." Julia replied with a somewhat dumfounded expression.

"A matter of no consequence, Miss Cheong. Feedback from our players is always welcome." he replied.

"I see." she acknowledged. "Umm..about the items, sir..."

"Ahh, yes. Of course. I've secured them in a box somewhere in the map. Don't worry, you'll encounter it soon enough. For now, hold on to this. Godspeed, Miss Cheong,"

"Hold on to what?" Julia inquired.

But as she was about to finish her question, she felt something bulge near her left thigh. She immediately turned her attention towards her lower body, and began fiddling through her left pocket

"What? How is that...I just felt something on my left thigh, sir. That can't be right. The RealityVR suit can't simulate textu-"

But as she returned her attention to the video call window, Mr. Rubio's video feed was gone. Perplexed, she shrugged it off and dug into her pocket and felt a slender and tiny piece of metal in it.

"What is it?" Grace inquired.

"It's a key. Wait, I...I can feel its metallic surface. Weird. This shouldn't be happening. Something might just be out of place in my suit." she thought to herself. She then turned her attention once more to Grace, who was typing something on the holographic keyboard. "Grace, can you run diagnostics on the RealityVR suit real quick?"

"Will be there in just a sec." Grace announced as she enters the last few characters on the keyboard. "Is something wrong, Julia?"

"Nothing major, but can you do a quick check for issues? It just felt...weird. I can sense...textures. Like, I can feel the hardness or softness of the objects that I touch in-game."

"Is that not supposed to happen? Hold up. Let me connect to the platform." Grace replied as she flips open the tip of her right index finger, revealing a hollow tube with a thin black cord slithering out of it. She then rises from her seat to approach the electromagnetic platform Julia is floating on, walking on midair like a ghost. She then connects to a vacant port on the side of the platform and initiates the diagnostics. Her eyes rolled back as a series of mild fits ensued for a few seconds as she executes a quick scan of the device.

Upon completing the operation, the seizures stopped and her pupils reverted to their original positions. Satisfied with the data she has acquired from the platform, she returned to her seat on the Holo-TV and contacted Julia.

"I ran the diagnostics, Julia." she declared. "Nothing out of the ordinary. All systems operational."

"Is that so? Strange..." Julia responded hafheartedly, as if unconvinced by Grace's answer.

"Are you feeling some sort of discomfort with the suit? Or perhaps an issue with the interface?" Grace probed.

"...No. Never mind." Julia replied. "Maybe I'm just imagining things..."

"Lady Julia. We're here." called out Sev as the two swordsmen ahead of her stopped in front of what seemed like a frame of a large wooden gate of red and black standing in front of them. Torii gates, as the Japanese call them. These pillar-like structures stood just outside what seemed to be columns of long, red standards planted on either side of a stone walkway leading towards a small, gated shrine surrounded by a canopy of trees and shrubs.

"All right. Talk to you later. I need to link up with these guys." she told Grace as she sets aside the video call window. She then turned her attention towards the men. "Coming!" she announced as she jogged towards them.

"So what's up? Where are we, exactly?" she asked.

"Welcome to Junjo." Shinjiro greeted upon seeing her approach, presenting the stone path with a wave of a hand.

Julia's head retreated as she stared at Shinjiro with tightly-knit brows. "This shrine...is Junjo? Are you f*****g kidding me?"

At this, Shinjiro smirked at the young woman. "There is more to Tosen-Kyushu that what meets the eye, my lady. Step forth, so that you may see what lies beyond the veil."

"...Okay. It's not like I have a choice, do I?" Julia sighed as she hesitantly proceeded, walking sternly but cautiously along the stone walkway. "So, what are we supposed to look for, anyway?"

"You see that bell over that shrine?" Sev pointed out.

"That one on that altar between two pots of burning incense? Yeah. What about it?" Julia asked.

"You ring it." Sev curtly answered. "Two times."

"Okay. Simple enough." Julia commented as she jogged towards the altar. Upon reaching it, Julia immediately picked up the bell and did as she was advised to do. "Ring, ring!" sounded the small, golden bell as Julia gave it a few tugs. She then paused for a few moments, waiting for something to happen as the ringing sound echoed in her surroundings.

"...Did it do anything?" Julia asked the two swordsmen as she looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Upon seeing that nothing has changed, she primed the bell to ring it again.

"Hey! Once is enough! You'll anger the shrine guardian." warned Shinjiro, who abruptly held out his hand, gesturing Julia to stop. Luckily, Julia immediately picked up on Shinjiro's warning and cautiously returned the bell on top of the altar – between the pots of incense where it was originally placed. Not long after that, a faint wind swept through where Julia is standing and cherry blossom petals began to converge in front of the altar. As the seconds pass, more and more petals began to congregate in front of the altar, circling around like a small dust devil. The rest of the backdrop followed soon after. The trees, which were once green, morphed into trees with leaves of bright pink fluttering in the air. Understandably, Julia just stood there, frozen in awe in front of the altar, marveling at this wondrous sight.

"Wow." she gasped, mesmerized by the cherry blossoms that circled around her. Julia has never seen such a divine scenery before – not in first person, anyway. "I never knew sakura blossoms are this...beautiful."

But before she even gets to savor the sights, she felt a warm hand slide through her palms, tugging her away gently from the wake of the slow-swirling vortex of cherry blossoms in front of the altar.

"Hey, watch out." a voice said as Julia felt the hand slightly tighten. She then checked to see whose hand it was.

It was Sev's. Strange, she thought to herself. This has never happened before. Earlier, it was with a key. And now...this. The RealityVR suit, though capable of immersing the player into the game by effectively simulating its physics, is not really good for simulating pretty much anything else, such as texture or temperature. Julia clasped the hand that held her just to make sure she isn't imagining things. And sure enough, the hand still felt warm. It was as if she was actually holding living flesh – a thought that bothered Julia by a great deal. She felt herself dragged a few more ways away from the cherry blossom vortex as the swirling intensified – perhaps to make room for what seemed to be a figure of a slender woman made of cherry petals slowly materializing within the spiral.

A few moments later, the dust devil of sakura petals begin to subside – and the figure which was earlier made of that divine pinkish confetti began to stretch its arms, slowly materializing a living, breathing body of a woman with long, jet-black hair tied to a neat bun beneath its surface. The woman had a fair face, her brown eyes were as gentle as a kitten's, adorned with pinkish spots on the side. The bridge of her nose is neat and perfect – her pinkish lips even more so.

Gradually, her body began to emerge, revealing a slim figure clothed with clean, white undergarments topped with bright red kimono and partnered with a long, black skirt below it. Her lower torso is fastened by a wide strip of cream-colored silk tied to a ribbon on her back, on which an aikuchi katana – or a hiltless sword – is securely tucked.

"Who calls the guardian of this shrine?" she asked in a very soothing voice as she slowly descended, her bare feet touching the ground.

"Lady Yui." the two swordsmen announced as they kneeled before the deity. Seeing the example set by her companions - and with a bit of nudge from Sev - Julia hesitantly followed, clumsily prostrating herself before the lady of the shrine.

"Arise." the deity commanded, and the three arose. The divine woman, upon inspecting the party before her, took note of Julia's presence, whom she stared at with squinted eyes. "Warriors of Junjo..." she precluded as she turned to the men "...who is this foreigner you have brought before me?"

"She says she is an agent from Valencia, Lady Yui." Shinjiro answered, his head bowed. "She says she intends to help us with our struggle against the forces of the capital city. We come here to ask for safe passage into the town of Junjo."

"Yes, he's right." Julia introduced herself. "My name is Julia Cheong, and I-"

"Silence!" growled the divine woman with her thunderous voice. "I don't remember talking to you. Speaking out of turn...I will not be disrespected like this!"

At this, nobody dared say a word for a few seconds, fearing the retaliation of the goddess. Even Julia, who is a seasoned veteran in the game, did not dare speak out of turn, as she remembered the close call she had with Shinjiro a while ago and doesn't want to risk any further engagements.

Meanwhile, Lady Yui took the time to regain her composure, as she was breathing in huge amounts of air, and exhaling the same amount at small intervals. When she was able to recover her bearings, she began walking around the place and started to quietly observe Julia as she circled around her.

"Where did you find this woman?" the deity asked Shinjiro.

"I met her in the Forest of Lost Spirits, my lady. She was with Lord Josen when they emerged from the path leading outside " he politely reported.

"I see." she acknowledged as she turned to Julia. "And what about you, foreigner? What are you called?" the deity asked sharply.

"Julia...my lady. Julia Cheong." the young woman softly replied.

"Where are you from?" the deity asked anew.

"V...Valencia." Julia hesitantly replied.

"I sense caution in your tone. Something...bothers you." Lady Yuo added as she closes in on Julia, presenting her palm to the young woman. "Give me your hand."

Julia, though reluctant, obeyed the order and slowly surrendered her hand to the shrine guardian. She felt soft skin brush against her fingers. And the warm flesh...it was just like that moment when Sev held her by the hand.

"You were hurt." Lady Yui commented, staring at Julia with curious eyes as she soothed the young woman's forearm. "I saw your memories."

"Oh, so you saw that little sparring we had earlier? Don't worry, umm...my lady. 'Tis but a scratch." Julia declared proudly, trying to dismiss her.

The shrine guardian shook her head. "No. I do not speak of the battle that took place a few moments ago. I am talking about something else."

"What 'something else'?" Julia asked with a confused tone.

"In the memory, I saw three men, hooded with short black robes armed with steel clubs, trying to pry open the steel door in front of you." she explained. "One of the men kicks the door, and bursts it open. And then...I heard you scream at a woman in the corner of your eye. A lady with short, purple hair – her countenance more machine than human. She wears a white hooded robe and blue, tight-fitting trousers. You yelled something at her at the top of your lungs before I saw you get subdued to the floor."

"Oh, my God. No! Kyle, please don't! Grace! Hurry! Call the police!"

The memory began to resound in Julia's head. She gasped as she withdraws her hand abruptly from the woman, shocked by this revelation. "What the hell?!" she ejaculated.

Breathing nervously, Julia slowly backed away – taking small, cautious steps as she draws her sword.

"How did you know that? Answer me!" she threatened as she pointed her weapon at Lady Yui, who was calm throughout the whole ordeal. "I don't know if this is just some sick joke that you people from Rabid Games are trying to pull, but if there's anybody listening right now, stop this. This isn't funny at all."

"What nonsense are you speaking of? What is Rabid Games?" Lady Yui inquired with a genuine puzzled look on her face as she slowly closed in on Julia. Shinjiro immediately drew his sword in response to Julia's sudden hostility towards the shrine guardian, followed by Sev, who was somewhat reluctant to draw his weapon against the young woman.

"Calm down, lady. Put your sword down. You will not win this if you choose to fight." warned Shinjiro as he steadily pointed his sword towards Julia, poised in an offensive stance.

"I don't care! f**k this! You can take your money back and shove it into your asses! That s**t was personal and it was a very traumatizing experience for me and you treat it like some sort of joke! I was almost r***d during that break-in! I am going to sue the hell out of you for breach of privacy and harassment! Do you understand that?!" she threatened as she unsheathed her second sword and pointed it towards Sev and Shinjiro.

"Grace, log me out. Now!" she commanded, tears rolling down her eyes. No response. She then tried to pull up her interface to make sure that her video feed was still on. But when she flicks her hand, nothing appears.

"What the?! Why isn't it working?" she asked herself as she made a few more attempts, trying to hold back tears. Frustrated at the fruitlessness of her actions, she let out a huge sigh. "f**k this." she said as puts her hands onto her head in an attempt to remove the headset. But as her fingers drew close to her face, she did not feel the familiar cold, solid surface of the headset. Instead, she felt her own skin rubbing mildly against her fingertips, the warm flesh and the short, silky hair brushing between her fingers as she tries desperately to locate any seams, latches or any solid surfaces around her head that she can hold on to to remove the gadget and log out of the game. But despite her attempts, she found none.

"What the f**k?! I can't I remove the headset! What is this?! Grace, help me!" she cried out, panicking as she frantically tugs her hair down in the hope of removing the device.

"Who is she calling out to now?" asked Shinjiro, slightly weary of Julia's screeching as she tries to pull something invisible out of her head.

"Grace...I believe it's her spirit guardian." Sev calmly commented as he stood ready and on alert, his sword primed.

"Please! Let me out!" Julia begged, discarding her swords as she tries in vain to remove her RealityVR suit.

The shrine guardian shook her head. "She is possessed by a demon. Stand aside." she ordered the two swordsmen as she drew her sword. "She needs to be exorcised. I'll take care of this."

Lady Yui zoomed in towards Julia, leaving a trail of petals in her wake. With one swift thrust she stabbed her in the gut, the sword piercing the young woman's lower torso.

Julia felt a sharp pain as the blade pierced through her flesh, her blood trickling down the cold steel. She tried pulling out the sword, but the shrine guardian did not relent, pushing the blade further in until the handle touched Julia's skin. As her blood slowly gushed out, a soft thump sounded as Julia's knees fell to the ground. Her vision slowly darkened and her body began to numb as she felt her body surrender completely, her mind slowly drifting into darkness.