Game’s End Part 1

by Mamare Touno

  The alvs were extinct, after all. Something along those lines had to have happened.

  Shiroe himself had some alv blood, but the tragedy didn’t stir up any feelings of kinship with them. His only thought was, So that was the backstory.

  “But what about me? …I mean, there aren’t many half alvs, but there are a few around.”

  “In other words, that reveals the fate of the alv race. What people sought to plunder from the alvs. First, they went after their knowledge of magic and their high-performance magic items, but next… They took the alv race itself. The alvs became the world’s slaves. Alvs were bought and sold everywhere: in human kingdoms, elf kingdoms, dwarf kingdoms. Then they were violated, their blood diluted, and their descendants are the present half alvs. At this point, of course, they’re no more than genetic throwbacks, born unexpectedly from human parents. …Ah, and I’ve gone off-topic. We mustn’t have that. In any case, the alv kingdoms were destroyed, but there was more trouble to come. This is where the alv Ruquinjé make their appearance.”

  “Ruquinjé…?”

  It was a word he’d never heard before. Li Gan sketched the characters it was written with on the table with his fingertip. Six, meaning six people? Leaning, and princesses. Toppling princesses.

  “There are various theories regarding the identities of the Ruquinjé. In this case, when I say ‘identities,’ I mean their names and origins. However, what we know for certain is that they were all princesses from the alv kingdoms scattered across the continent. Parenthetically, the name Ruquinjé was bestowed on them later, by historians, and we believe they weren’t even acquaintances, let alone conspirators. Like the majority of the alv people, they became slaves of the human world. Since they had been royalty, they were probably lucky simply to escape execution. According to the historical texts, ‘They were admired as jewels for their overwhelming beauty.’ They were taken as love slaves by various royals, rulers, and powerful families of the day, and kept as pets in six different countries. However, they didn’t end as slaves. One used magic, another led fellow alvs who had been enslaved, a third beguiled a royal and controlled society from the shadows, and they launched a counterattack against all mankind.”

  Shiroe had been drawn into the story, but as before, emotionally, he was very close to neutral. If he’d had to say one way or the other, his sympathies leaned slightly toward the alvs, but that was all. Viewed from the standpoint of someone from modern Japan, the humans of this other world had been jealous of the alv race’s magic technology and had invaded. He didn’t think the alv survivors could be blamed for considering revenge, even if it had been close to terrorism.

  “The humans, dwarves, and elves that had destroyed the alv kingdoms had acquired many magic technologies, but at the time, they weren’t able to use them well. At this point, a terrible, confused, drawn-out war began. It became as messy as it did because the countries all began fighting each other—humans against dwarves, humans against elves, elves against dwarves. The Ruquinjé were avengers, not heroes. They thoroughly outwitted everyone, threw society into confusion, and by leading others’ hearts astray, they sowed the seeds that led the human societies into killing their own. Many people died in this war. If the chronicles are correct, the number of dead was equal to the current population of the world. However, in the meantime, the Ruquinjé were driven into a corner as well. They were alvs, after all. Their weakness was their low numbers, which stemmed from poor fertility. They could hide in the shadows of this friendly fire, but once discovered, they were fragile. Just as the Ruquinjé were about to be killed…the First World Fraction activated.”

  “The First…”

  At the appearance of the main topic, Shiroe held his breath.

  When he looked, Akatsuki, seated next to him, was also completely fascinated.

  “Yes. There is a very high probability that this First World Fraction was an advanced ritual spell cast by the alvs. Many mysteries remain, of course. The technological aspects in particular are full of mysteries: Not only can it not be replicated, but even the basic principles are unclear. At any rate, a World Fraction occurred. The result was the genesis of demihumans. …Up until roughly three hundred years ago, there were no demihumans in this world.”

  —The demihumans hadn’t existed.

  These were words he hadn’t even imagined. However, if that was the case, it made sense that the human societies had been dozens of times more prosperous than they were now. The world had been theirs.

  “I call it the genesis of demihumans, and I don’t think it was the result of crossbreeding or a biochemical issue. This is the area my master was researching, and my current hypothesis is that souls may be involved in World Fractions. At least at the time, the world was flooded with an extraordinary amount of soul material. The repeated wars had driven the population down to nearly half of what it had been, you see. This soul material was used as raw material for the demihumans’ genesis. Mankind had been weakened by the wars, and when the demihumans swarmed up from every quarter, they were driven to a cliff’s edge at a single stroke. Many cities fell, and armies that had prided themselves on their invincibility were annihilated. Nearly all nations disintegrated. At present, on the Yamato Archipelago, the only remaining vestige of the countries of three centuries ago is found in the Ancient Dynasty of Westlande. The towns and cities of Eastal were no more than small country villages. The demihuman genesis worked a great change on the structure of the world, transforming it into what it is today: Mankind desperately defending tiny areas of civilization while fighting the demihumans’ invasion. The world was shrouded in darkness. Humans defeated the cornered Ruquinjé, but we can probably say that their revenge succeeded.”

  The defeated Ruquinjé.

  The activated World Fraction.

  A huge outbreak of demihumans, fueled by souls.

  “Next came the Steel Age. As I said before, all around the world the goblin, kobold, orc, troll, gnoll, sahuagin, and lizardman races sent up war cries. These brutal, monstrous beings eroded the remaining areas of human civilization. Gradually, human life fell into deep shadow. Our research has advanced now, and defensive magic and barriers—both relics of the alvs—have evolved. However, at the time, they didn’t even have these aids. At that point, mankind planned a desperate resistance operation. Their first attempt was the creation of new warriors, using the secret arts of the alvs. As a result of this large-scale experiment—the Northtrilia Project—the felinoid, wolf-fang and foxtail beast races and the ritian race were artificially created. They began as man-made races that were sent to the front line.”

  Since only the human, dwarf and elf races had been mentioned, he’d been a bit worried for a while now, but apparently this was where the remaining races came in. Felinoids, wolf-fangs, foxtails, and ritians had been hybrids, created to fight.

  “In addition, several countries on Eured decided that the war could not be won and gave up. They put together a huge fleet and crossed to the new continent. As it turned out, there were demihumans on the new continent as well, but they began working to build a pioneer country that would open up a new world for them. On top of that, mankind used the power of its faith to produce the Ancients.”

  —The new continent. That was probably the Land of Wen. In the old world, it would have been the Americas. …Which meant that, in this other world, the discovery of America had occurred during these three hundred years.

  Of course, this was historic folklore from the Eurasian and Asian worlds; if they went to the place itself, the details might change. Shiroe let his imagination run very briefly to the area under the jurisdiction of the American server, but he shook his head, drawing his thoughts back.

  “There are various theories regarding the birth of the Ancients, but there is no doubt that quite a few Ancient lines of descent began during this period. The Ancients… Well, we’ll speak of them another time. Let me just say that it was an issue related to the Spirit Theory. However, even after investing all
these technologies, mankind was unable to stop its slide toward destruction. The demihuman forces were simply too powerful. On top of that, the world seemed to retain an effect that was like the curse of the First World Fraction. It was, as I said at the beginning, a problem of souls. No matter how often they defeated the demihuman forces, their numbers did not shrink. Even when defeated, their souls reincarnated as demihumans… This is a hypothesis, but they have such an odd breeding curve that it can’t be explained without thinking this way. Of course, there are immature individuals even among demihumans, so if their numbers could be decreased at a stroke, it was possible to greatly decrease their power. In other words, if a demihuman is killed, that individual is reborn, returning as a juvenile. For a period of several years, these individuals are unable to go back to war. However, in three years, they return to the battlefield. It was impossible to wipe out the demihumans. That meant there could be no victory.”

  —Well.

  Shiroe began wanting to interrupt: Wasn’t that issue related to the Elder Tales game specs? Elder Tales was a game, or at least it had been. If a specific player had been able to hunt the prey in a zone to extinction, and no other players could make an attempt, it would have made for a very frustrating experience.

  As a result, in accordance with the game’s specs, defeated monsters were replaced after a certain amount of time. The players were being provided with new prey. If it hadn’t been for that, the players—who had superior combat abilities—would have hunted the monsters to extinction, and it wouldn’t have taken very long.

  “Humans were afraid. They despaired, and they longed for a miracle. During this period, the world seems to have been truly dark. It had already been sixty years since the defeat of the Ruquinjé and the First World Fraction. During those sixty years, mankind had sunk to the depths of despair and poverty, starvation, and terror. Most people had shut themselves up inside fortified villages or fortresses, living in fear of attacks by demihumans or magical beasts. In fact, the extinction of mankind was thought to be just a matter of time. The revenge of the Ruquinjé seemed to have succeeded. —At that point, the Second World Fraction occurred. Unlike the First World Fraction, not enough materials remain to allow a thorough examination. Mankind was in a Dark Age, and they had probably lost the energy reserves to leave such materials behind. According to the few records we have, humans, dwarves, elves, and many ritians were mobilized, and a sacred summoning was performed. A few of the scriptures clearly state ‘the gods’ salvation,’ but… In any case, another World Fraction occurred. This was precisely two hundred and forty years ago. It marked the appearance of the Adventurers.”

  Two hundred and forty years ago.

  The arrival of the Adventurers.

  “There isn’t much to tell about history from that point on. The Adventurers’ powerful combat abilities became great good news for mankind. Yamato was assailed by various crises—the Hades’ Breath incident, the King of the Underworld incident, the Dragon’s Throne incident—but the Adventurers overcame them all. Of course, peace had not returned to the world, but it had finally gained some small stability, and gradually, it was making its way toward recovery.”

  Which brings us to the present…

  “The Adventurers, hm? …Come to think of it, Li Gan, you knew my name, didn’t you? Why is that?” Shiroe asked, abruptly curious.

  “Because you are a great magician, Master Shiroe. Even among the Adventurers, I thought you would be particularly well informed about the situation.”

  “A great magician…?”

  Shiroe was perplexed. He didn’t remember completing any quests advanced enough to earn him a reputation like that.

  “You made your first appearance in history ninety-eight years ago. There are other long-lived Adventurers, of course, but in terms of frequency of activity as well, there is no doubt that you are a great magician. Isn’t that so?”

  Ninety-eight years?! …Wait…

  Shiroe’s brain circuits activated all at once, as if his mind had caught fire. Time in this world was… The history of this world was… …In that case, the Second World Fraction, the one that had occurred two hundred and forty years ago, was…

  …the start of the open beta.

  5

  When she woke on the morning of the fourth day, it was raining.

  The rain that had begun at midnight seemed to have continued throughout the night.

  The drops were small, and they fell without much force. It was just a drizzle, unusual for summer. But the drainage in this part of the forest seemed to be good, and it didn’t seem likely that there would be damage to the tents.

  Either way, once they were in the dungeon, the weather outside wouldn’t matter. With that in mind, Minori began the morning’s equipment inspection.

  She’d checked her equipment right after they had finished yesterday’s dungeon expedition, but inspecting it again before going out was a habit of sorts.

  I guess I’m getting nervous…

  That was why she recounted the potions, over and over. On noticing her own feelings, Minori felt a bit guilty. It was like she was a little kid.

  She had been as quiet as possible while she worked, but it was morning already. The other sleeping bags began to move, too.

  There were four tents in all. Two of them were large: One for the advanced party, and one for the lower party. One of the remaining tents was for the three leaders, and the last, kept aside as a dressing room for the girls, was used for changing and storage.

  This meant there were five people in the tent Minori and the rest of the lower party were using. Even if it was a tent, it was the sort of large pavilion tent you’d see at events in the old world, and it was roomy.

  “G’mning.”

  Isuzu, who’d been sleeping beside her, muttered, rubbing her eyes.

  Isuzu’s hair was very thick, and apparently it tended to curl in all the wrong ways. Overnight, the hair at the back of her head had developed cowlicks. This bothered Isuzu, and so she always wore it in a braid, but Minori thought Isuzu’s hair was adorable.

  “S’morning already, huh?”

  Isuzu glanced at the tent flap; her eyes were still only half open. The sailcloth around the tent’s opening was roughly woven, and the light outside showed through.

  “Mm-hm. It’s raining, so it’s gloomy, but it should be morning.”

  “Huh… I’m still kinda sleepy.”

  “Maybe it’s because it’s chilly.”

  “Nn.”

  Isuzu muttered something unintelligible to herself, then burrowed back into her sleeping bag again. Smiling wryly, Minori laid a blanket over the top of the sleeping bag.

  Everyone else seemed to be awake as well, but no one was getting up.

  It was drizzling outside, but conversely, because of the rain, the previous night had been a cool one, and it had been easy to sleep. Wrapped in the sound of the rain, the inside of the tent was as peaceful as a hideaway, and the atmosphere was drowsy.

  The monotonous sound of water dripping from the tent seemed to be protecting them. It was the first quiet, relaxed time they’d had since they’d begun camping in the mountains.

  She felt as if she’d seen a shadow move.

  When she glanced over, Nyanta had poked his head in through the tent flap. Minori cut across the middle of the tent, making for him. The area at the center was tall enough that Minori could stand up without any trouble.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, Nyanta.”

  “It’s technically time for breakfast, but…”

  Minori nodded, agreeing with Nyanta’s hushed voice.

  “We can’t eat outside as a group in this rain. Breakfast is sandwiches and cream of crab soup, and we’ve decided to eat in our tents.”

  “All right.”

  Nyanta seemed to have brought their breakfast over himself. He held it out to her: enough sandwiches for at least ten people, and a little pot full of cream soup.

  �
�Thank you very much.”

  “Mm, don’t worry about it. All right. See mew later.”

  Nyanta waggled a hand at Minori—who was awkwardly trying to bow her head while she held the tray and the pot—and went back out into the drizzle. He was probably on his way to deliver breakfast to the advanced party.

  Carefully, Minori carried the tray to the center of the tent. At first she wasn’t sure what to do about the pot, but then she remembered she had a legged heat lamp in her pack, so she set it on that.

  “Nurgh, food?”

  Touya sat up; his hair was all tousled. “Uh-huh. Touya, your hair’s something else,” Minori pointed out, but Touya just gave a vague, “Nn.”

  “You’re not going to eat?”

  “I’ll eat. Oog.”

  Touya got up, fumbling a little. Next to him, Rundelhaus woke as well. He didn’t seem quite awake yet; muttering something cryptic like, “Good morning, Miss Minori. …You’re as lovely as the sun again today,” he headed for the tent flap on unsteady feet.

  “It’s raining, Rundelhaus!” Minori called to him, but he went out, saying, “I’m just going to change my face and wash my clothes.”

  At that point, Serara returned.

  When did she… Minori thought, but Serara was in a good mood, and she began to set out fruit beside the unpacked sandwiches. Apparently she’d been with Nyanta. An early morning date?…

  With Serara helping, Minori began to pour cream soup into cups. The reheated soup filled the tent with a fragrance like clam chowder. It looked absolutely delicious.