Seeing that I didn't answer, he raised his face and looked in my direction.
His face had a somewhat androgynous look; I couldn't easily tell whether he was male or female. A few strands of fine, dark blue hair peeked out from under the brim of his hat, and a light blue ribbon was tied around his neck, which was hidden by his chin. His bright eyes were also a vibrant blue, with a faint amber glow. Even his wrists, peeking out from the cuffs of his hoodie, were slender and fair, appearing almost devoid of strength.
"Sir?" he called me softly again, waving his right hand in front of me. "Are you alright?"
"No, I'm fine."
I responded instinctively, then shifted my gaze from his face to the plain white board in my hand.
At this moment, a strange scene appeared on the board, which seemed to be a broken continent. The sky was divided in two by a half-black and half-white color. The protagonist, standing on the high place, looked down, only his back was visible.
At the very front, a row of embossed text, with its hard and sharp texture, is surrounded by a broken sword, half-withered and half-blooming flowers, and flames, forming a large title—
Tartarus.
The boy next to him leaned closer again, his gaze fixed on him, clearly showing his curiosity: "Sir, do you also play this game?"
Perhaps this is a pre-programmed element in the game world?
I nodded calmly, trying to appear as natural as possible: "Yes... but I'm still a complete novice when it comes to it."
"Oh! What a coincidence!" The boy's reaction reminded me of Hikari.
He first sat up straight and looked at me with bright eyes: "Are you curious about this game? Do you need my help? I happen to be very familiar with this game. I thought I would be playing it alone forever. I didn't expect to meet a newbie who has just embarked on the journey today!"
"What do you mean by 'single-player'?" I asked.
The boy's reaction seemed so real, and his simple yet logical responses were remarkably insightful: "Because there are just too many other types of games. Games like this, which focus on fantasy RPGs and add the concepts of the protagonist suffering and saving the world, are practically a dime a dozen on the market. It's normal for old games to become unplayable after more than a decade of operation."
"Then why are you still playing?"
The boy chuckled, "Because I really like a world where there's still a glimmer of hope even in the darkness."
"Ah—let's not talk about that! So let me give you a brief introduction to the basic plot and gameplay of this game."
"First, our protagonist wakes up in a normally functioning train carriage. After briefly surveying their surroundings, an emergency braking sound is followed by an announcement that officially marks the start of the game, which is also the change in world type..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp screech of brakes pierced our eardrums.
Ah... another day where the outline was completely destroyed by the game's plot...
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