Chapter 246: Someone's Invitation
"Will you accept the invitation?"
An unexpected invitation? Who on earth? To where?
Wait, was this model always capable of message transmission?
Puzzled by the sudden invitation, I glanced around with my Game & Watch in hand.
It appeared almost identical to when I first acquired it from the future. But pulling it out after so long felt peculiar.
The CEO game hadn't seen any updates. Was there still something left?
"But responding to an invitation out of the blue... Shouldn't they explain what's going on?"
Pressing the YES button here won't teleport me back to 2015, will it? There's still a good ten years until the promised deadline...
I walked to the kitchen, Game & Watch in hand, and poured myself a glass of cold water from the fridge, trying to think rationally.
"Let's think this through. Perhaps the one who sent this invitation is probably the old man from the game store. Maybe he has something to tell me?"
But if that were the case, why send such a disconcerting message instead of simply appearing, like at Yuki's wedding?
"Oh... I don't know."
Gulping down the cold water, I shook my head vigorously and grabbed the Game & Watch once again.
Let's hear what they have to say. There have been things I've wanted to ask for a while.
But as I glanced at the screen of the Game & Watch, I was taken aback, almost spitting out the water I had just swallowed.
"Connection to Complete Laon 3 has been lost. Please move closer."
"It can recognize nearby devices, without Bluetooth?"
Seems like I could only respond to the invitation message from within the Complete Laon room. Helpless, I headed back there with the Game & Watch in hand.
"Will you accept the invitation?"
I stared at the invitation message on the screen, alternating my gaze between Complete Laon and the Game & Watch.
Then, after a moment, I chuckled at a silly thought that crossed my mind.
"Oh, come on. No way."
Time slips are common in movies or novels, but this is way too fantastical...
Suddenly, Haru, the cat, leaped up behind me, tapping me on the waist.
"Ah! I pressed it!!"
"You've accepted the invitation. Attempting to connect."
Connect? Where to? But it was too late.
A weight seemed to press down on my entire body, as if gravity had intensified. As I turned my head towards the TV, Dragon Emblem Online was automatically launching and attempting to connect to the server.
"This... can't be."
My vision blurred slightly, reminiscent of when I regressed to 1983. Moments later, everything in the room started polygonating into scattered pieces, swirling like dust.
"Nyaaah~~~~~"
Haru, the cat who was with me, startled by the sudden change, tried to bolt out of the room but ended up circling around me like a handful of soil.
Caught in the whirl of polygons in an instant, I hurriedly searched for an exit, but my feet sank deeply, plunging me into darkness.
"Aaahh~!"
&
"My lord..."
"Hmm...?"
"My lord..."
"What is it...?"
"The sun is already at its zenith. It's time for you to rise."
No. This voice...? Opening one eye hesitantly, I felt a chill run down my spine.
"No way. Anubis... is it you?"
"What are you saying?"
With a sense of unease, I slightly opened one eye and saw a handsome man with somewhat decent textures.
"Ah~!! He's really here!!"
"My lord, why are you suddenly acting this way?"
"Damn it... This is just too much of a fantasy!!"
"Nyaaang..."
Huh? When I turned my head towards a familiar meowing sound, I met the pitiful gaze of Haru, who used to be impeccably groomed thanks to Yuki's loving care and meticulous grooming. But now, his fur had turned into angular polygons.
"Did you get dragged here too...?"
"Your pitiful glare towards me, a mere servant, what is the meaning of this!!"
Clang!!
"Whoa!! No, stop it!! Even if it's a game, this guy is practically family!!"
"Family...?"
As I struggled against Anubis, who was holding a sword, I sighed heavily and sat down on the ground.
Looking around, I realized I was in front of an event dungeon where I had saved last night.
The campfire that had burned all night was now a pile of white ash, and my faithful Anubis was adjusting his gear in preparation for dungeon exploration.
"What on earth is happening..."
Rubbing my sore neck, I watched Haru, who yawned and stretched like a bread loaf.
"Hey, you. Do you have any issues with this situation?"
"Meow..."
At 11 years old, this guy was in his middle age in human terms. He used to be a mischievous little kitten, but now he was a fantastic cat who ate and slept all day.
"Everything is prepared. Will you proceed into the dungeon?"
"Uh... yeah. Let's go."
My loyal guide, Anubis, stood up, sheathing his sword at his waist and grabbing a torch.
As a mage character, my confidence lay more in black magic than swordsmanship, so I held Haru close and followed Anubis cautiously.
Sssss...
Somewhere, an unpleasant sound lingered in the air. But I knew what this sound was about.
Having heard it several times while playing games until now...
It was the sound of a horde of spiders skittering across the ground.
"It seems we'll soon face them. Master, if you step back, I shall handle them."
Ssss!
Crash! As Anubis finished speaking, massive spiders rushed in from all sides, sending shivers down my spine. There's no way I could retreat now!
"Burn them!"
As my hoarse voice echoed through the narrow passage, flames surged forth, a sensation of something rushing out from within me as the fire shot out.
Ahhhh!
"Sizzle! Sizzling..."
The sight of the spiders' legs wriggling in the intense flames made me feel queasy, but the relentless tide of spiders prevented me from turning away.
"Burn them! Burn!"
Whooaa!
"Sizzling!"
The spiders, charred black like charcoal, collapsed one after another, their eight legs squirming as they fell.
"Please don't exert too much power against the minions. Save your strength for Beelzebub."
As the first battle ended and I chewed on bitter herbs to replenish my Magic Points, I picked up Haru the cat who was trying to doze off and put it on my shoulder.
"Since I'm already inside the game, might as well enjoy it, right?"
I decided to give up searching for my grandfather for now and focus on clearing the dungeon.
Fortunately, despite being inside the game, the battles weren't overly challenging. Regaining composure, I supported Anubis and swiftly started clearing the dungeon.
Anubis wiped the sticky ooze off his sword. How far had we progressed? The save point appeared as we neared the boss battle.
"How long have we been in here?"
"Well... Due to Master waking up late, we entered around the afternoon. It should be early evening by now."
Early evening... So, in reality, it had been about two hours since I started playing.
I had to clear this quickly if I wanted to meet my grandfather and return to the original world...
Finishing the preparations, I stood up while holding Haru, and Anubis stood before me.
"Let's go."
"Let's finish this quickly."
"Leave it to me."
&
"Darn it! Anubis, hey, you!! I told you to leave it to me!!"
A spider of unimaginable size. Anubis, thrown off severely by Beelzebub's attack, remained motionless.
"Wow!"
With every swing, it felt like my body was being torn apart by the pressure. Quickly tossing Haru aside, I shouted at the spider.
"Burn them!"
Whoosh! Kwaaaah!
Substantial pillars of fire surged forth, dealing damage to Beelzebub, but its massive size seemed to shrug off the attack, only momentarily interrupting its momentum.
"Uwaaah!"
Bang!
Running as though caught in a war movie bombing scene, kicking up the ground deeply with every stride, I turned back, shouting with my teeth clenched up to my chin.
"Burn them all!"
Kwaaaaah!
As four pillars of fire emerged, blocking the space between Beelzebub and me, I hurriedly ran towards Anubis.
"Mas... Master."
Seemingly moved by my hastened approach towards him, Beelzebub formed a heartwarming smile towards me... as I sent a fierce kick his way.
Bang!
"Ugh!"
"Snap out of it! Wake up and fight! Don't goof off now..."
Shush! Kwaaaaah!
"Uwaaaaah~!"
It seemed he had resolved to perish alongside us, wildly swinging all eight legs, starting to bring down the ceiling.
"How do we deal with this guy?"
"If you could buy me some time, I'll show you my ultimate skill..."
Kwaaaah!
"Aaaah~!"
... Was this character always this pitiful? I might need to rename them.
But even in that thought... I sensed Beelzebub's sharp attack coming right after Anubis's.
"Darn it! Hopefully, it's not too painful!"
Shoooosh!
Hearing the sound of wind splitting, I gave up everything and tightly shut my eyes.
Despite my fear, anticipating Beelzebub's attack, the expected impact didn't come.
"Hehehe. Aren't you going to open your eyes now?"
"Huh...?"
Upon hearing the sudden voice of an old man, I gently opened my eyes to find myself sitting on a hill in a village under twinkling starlight, with Haru beside me.
"Huh? Where is this...?"
"Well, since you've entered the world you created, how does it feel?"
"Huh? Wait... what in the world..."
Sudden entry into the game was bizarre enough, but encountering an old man at this moment made it even more bewildering.
"An interesting experience, wasn't it?"
Finally grasping the situation, I wiped off the cold sweat and sat down on the ground, flabbergasted.
"Oh, I've been waiting for this moment for ten years. Haha..."
"You adapted quite well, though?"
"Sir, that was too extreme. I genuinely thought I was going to die."
"What would happen to your wife and daughter if you did? Do you think I'd go that far?"
"Haha... I feel drained. I'll just greet you like this. Sir."
"You still have manners... Just like the first time we met."
The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth as he smiled made him look no different from when I met him in 2015.
"But, why did you do something so absurd?"
"Well... I thought you'd like it. Seems I was mistaken."
"It's not that. It's just too sudden. It's not even 2015 yet..."
With a slightly serious look, the old man stared at me and then spoke up.
"Have you stopped making games now?"
>
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