Chapter 35: Getting Technical
Dave's POV
The dawn of a new day shone for me and Ringo. We went about our day at school with Risukuma, Feli, and Lemres. Hoping that I would get a mental break for once… it actually happened. The workload was significantly less today. Hell, in one of the classes before lunch, an intriguing documentary ran its course. After getting over to Primp Magic, potions and Accord's class were nothing too much either. I was being trained by Ex again, much like the first time. "It's exhilarating that we are both so strong, Ex." "Yeah, it's fun! … But, it looks like time is almost up, Dave." "Shit, already? Time flies by too fast…" "It sure does, my friend." The school day had ended at that point. Me and Ringo began going home, and that when she got a text. "Hm? What's this?" She wondered and read. "Ringo?" I looked over. "... It's from Ris, Dave. He says that he wants us at his place with Feli and Lemres… I'll go get those two." She ran off for me to be alone, then came back a couple of minutes later with them. "Why does he want us to come with you, Ringo?" Feli questioned. "I dunno..." Ringo shrugged. "Well, I'm not totally friends with him yet, considering the whole ant nonsense from a while back. Whenever me and him are together, many bad possibilities stir up." Feli recalled. They all came to me in slight discomfort. "I'm… sure that things here won't be as bad as that one time, Feli." Lemres told her. "Whatever…" Feli rolled her eyes. "Let's go already... before Ris gets antsy in waiting for us." I said. We went through a portal that Lemres created and we popped in Suzuran. Walking to Risukuma's house, we knocked on the door. "Oh! You guys are here? I'll open the door!" He threw out his voice. "Jesus! He didn't have to holler it out…" I lowered my head. The door opened, but the bear was not on the other side of it. "Okay… where are you, Ris?" Ringo called. "Ringo, up above you!" He continued. "Alright! We hear you, don't yell like that anymore, bear." Feli demanded. "Oh, sorry." He stopped. Scaling the staircase was challenging, considering its steepness. "How does this bear go up these dang stairs every day?" Lemres sighed. "I'm not sure, Lemres. I've never seen a flight of stairs like this before." I commented. We made it to the top and saw the technicals. "Ris, what's all this?" Ringo asked him. "Well Ringo... this would make more sense if I tell Dave. ... Do you remember when I wished to expand my scientific horizon?" I thought about it for a little bit, then remembered. "Oh yeah, you did say something along those lines… Well, what about it, Ris?" "I thought about the interests that Maguro had when he was around, concerning games. I could tell that he loved them for how much they meant to him. Then, it hit me. What if I design my first video game? And, how interesting would it be if I do so? So, I learned as much as I could with the basics of coding. Then, I built an engine for my game to be structured from. Finally, I performed calculations for the game's code, making sure that it worked as it should." "Hm… this should be something, Risukuma… what is this game, then?" "Well Dave, I haven't given it a title, not even a test name. But, it's one of those kinds that Maguro would call… an RPG." "Oh, that's cool. I'm usually a sucker for those. So, how do you play it?" "You have to send your mind there first." I stood there in confusion after he said that bit. The others were just as clueless as I was. We didn't know what he meant by that. "Uh Ris, what do you mean by that?" Ringo looked at him. "See, you don't use typical controls for this game. This machine goes in tandem with the game's functionality. It's set for four players to lay down in these pods. Fully committing to these will insert your consciousness into the game. You'll be able to eject yourselves out of it if you can find a save point. Just save by selecting the "save and return to the title screen" option. There is one catch, though… Since I never had thought up of a name for this game, I don't have a title screen." I was shocked that he hadn't done it yet. Back in my world, when people make games… the title screen is like the first thing you do. "Well… could ya give like a… synopsis of the game's plot? You know, without givin' us major spoilers? It could present an idea for the title." Lemres requested. "Huh… that's a good idea, Lemres! Bear, please do so." Feli perked up. "Alright. *throat clear* Four teenagers journey into a different world, outside of their own will. They must find out what sent them there... and obtain a way to return home. In the midst of an ambush created by monsters, the four receive unique and potent magical powers. With this in mind, they decided it would be best to utilize them to seek the path they are searching for." He spoke of.
We had thought about the name for a while. "How about… "Isekai Prison"?" Ringo proposed. I heard her, and I figured that I was going crazy. Did she just say "isekai"? That's impossible. The word's part of the Japanese language, from my world. How does she know it? And more importantly, why? "Eeee-seh... what now?" Feli tilted her head to the left. "Ringo… do you know Japanese?" I asked her. " What?! You know Japanese too, Dave? What the hell?" "So wait, in your world… there's still Japan… Tell me, have you ever heard of two continents known as the Americas?" "N-no… Are they in your world?" "Yeah. They're separated as North and South America. The former is where I had lived before I was sent against my will to Suzuran. I guess America and this city are like mirror images in a way. That's probably how I first ended up here." "Dave, did you ever try to go back to your world through a portal?" "I thought about it way back when… but I figured that something would've just thrown me back here anyhow. Besides, I didn't like life there, Ringo. But… I do miss my parents dearly. So- Tell me why you know Japanese words." "I'm half-Japanese, man." "What?! But you don't look Japanese, nor did either of your parents!" "My dad was Japanese, Dave. My mother met him years ago in Japan, before me and my sister were born. They got married and… out came us. We lived there for the first few years of our lives. This was also how I met Maguro for the first time… he was pure Japanese compared to me. My parents took us to this city after Mom told Dad of its wonderful things. Then, it just so happened to be that me and Maguro both met up again during junior high in Suzuran. It was fate that tied us together then." She went on. So it's like that… There's a Japan, like the one in my world, and Ringo's half-Japanese. This means she should know at least some of its customs… I figured. "I am unfamiliar to this thing you call "Japanese", Ringo. What is it?" Feli wondered. "It's a language, Feli. The word that I used for the game's title, isekai, rougly means "different world" in English." "*sigh* This is so confusing…" "Don't worry, girl. I might explain it to you in better detail some other time." "Might? Ringo, that's not helping things." Lemres butted in to stop the bickering. "Yeeeeeah, more on that later… For now though, let's jus' decide if the name "Isekai Prison" is a good one for the game. All listeners in favor, raise yer hand." He insisted. I rose up my hand, as did he. Feli raised hers as well, so it was a majority already. "Then it's been decided. I'll get to work on the title screen… You guys can come back tomorrow, when I have the entire game mostly finished." Risukuma announced. "That was… anticlimactic..." I trailed. We left the bear's house and went on our separate paths. "Dave, you know why my name is Ringo?" "Umm… well, your hair has that kind of red apple coloration to it… does that have to do with it?" "Close. Ringo is Japanese for apple, surely you must know that…" "Oh yeah, I forgot that it was. So, hold on… you have the last name of your mother's family… why is that?" "Oh, she wanted her last name to be carried on. It's all for the sake of the Ando family." "What was your dad's last name?" "I dunno, Mom never told me. Speaking of last names… I don't think I've ever heard or seen yours." "That's because… I don't have one…" "What? Are you joking? You HAVE to have one, you had parents after all." "It's… something that you wouldn't get why, Ringo… forget about it." "So, how much Japanese do you know?" "To tell you the truth… not much. I can say a few words… and that's about it. I can't read Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji at all." "Alright… I can understand you not being able to read Kanji, Dave. Even those who understand the language only know the basic ones. As for me, it's been a while since I've seen the characters, so I might have forgotten some. Don't misunderstand though, I can still sure as hell speak it. … Deibu, kore ni kanshin shite imasu ka?" "Is… that how you say my name in Japanese? Deibu...?" "Yeah. Since I have a last name, I would be referred to by regular people as Ando Ringo. The vowel sounds always remain the same in Japanese, unlike English. A is "ah", e is "eh", i is "ee", o is "oh", and u is "oo". Your name screws with that a little from the combination of e and i, since it's English." "I know THAT. I'm not new to the characteristics, you know." "You're right, I should've guessed it as much. But man, Mom will be surprised that you know of Japanese." "Yeah… I wonder how this will unfold." We came back home in a flash. Ms. Ando felt a little better, compared to the past two days.
At the dinner table, Ringo mentioned to her about my awareness of Japanese. "Really? *chuckle* That's quite something, Japan also existing in your world… I wonder how much of it is the same. Speaking of your world, Dave… don't you miss your own parents?" "Why, of course I miss them, Ms. Ando. Back there however… I had lived a life of solitude, shutting myself up in my room. My life stood around as an unhappy one… It was one that didn't feel like it served a clear purpose. For a while... I had depression because of this, much like yours from your husband turning up dead. The only saving grace I kept during that time... was the ability to chat with others online through via text messages. I didn't speak often, only doing so when my voice was needed. My sanity was on the brink of shattering… and that's when a portal changed everything. It whooshed me to a patch of grass outside of this city. And there… was when I met Ringo for the first time. Kinda weird how it took this long for you to be told this. *awkward laugh*" "So that's the backstory of my precious Dave…" "Please, don't say it like that… you're not my mother, Ms. Ando." I blushed in embarrassment. "Mom, Dave can't read Japanese at all." "Is that so, Ringo? What words does he know by meaning?" "As far as I know, it's just one word, isekai." "Ah, I see… Dave, are there any others?" I thought about some Japanese words that I knew, but couldn't read. "Kon'nichiwa... nani... daijōbu... hai... and… arigatō, I guess the very basic ones…" I covered. "Don't forget ringo, Dave. Japanese for apple." Ringo reminded me. "Oh, right… forgot about that one already." I facepalmed. "*chuckle* Your forgetfulness is comically comparable to that of an amnesiac." Ms. Ando admitted. "Why are you saying it as though it was made to poke fun at me?" I rested my forehead on the table's surface. "Aw relax, Dave. She didn't mean to make it sound insulting… Mom likes to point out silly things such as that. It's harmless, coming from her of all people." Ringo said to me. "That's right, my girl. Dave, I only want you to feel right at home. You know… having a guardian that cares about your mental health is good. I need you to feel positive. Sure, I'm one to talk here, considering that I still haven't fully recovered... My mental scar runs deep, but that doesn't mean I can't try to find ways to feel better. The point is: Be satisfied with who you're living with, child. You love my daughter, do you not?" "Well yeah, I do… but it's because of everything happening around us that caused this relationship to be… rocky. Too much goes on in these days, it's almost impossible to keep track of all that occurs. We dealt with a vampire lord from a world where some of our friends were from… midterms came up, and… then, the whole incident with Tee. Lastly, there's this thing that you probably don't know, Ms. Ando. As it would seem, that vampire was just a pawn. A bigger threat is coming to destroy the world. None of us know what this is, but we'll all be killed if they unleash untold powers." "Destroy the world…?" "Yes… I need to train my body all I can for the day these beings come. Ringo will fight alongside me when that day comes. She's not helpless anymore, but still needs support from the rest of us." "What does she do?" Ringo interrupted our exchange of words. "Mom, this is what I do." She fired off small sparks of electricity to show her. "I manifest lightning and control it as my own. I've had this for a little over a month… Sorry for keeping it a secret, Mom." She said. "It's okay, my girl. After all, I already knew Dave had those demonic features when he revealed them to me. So, I figured that it was only a matter of time before you had something too. Dave, as you were saying with training your body… are you sure it can handle that level of force?" I thought about my next set of words before speaking. "Well… I'm not as scrawny as I was… like two months ago. Since my muscles started of so small though… this is as big as I could make them in the timeframe. But, I can say this with certainty… it'll not be something to concern yourself with, Ms. Ando." "If you say so, kid… suit yourself." "W-what is that supposed to mean, "suit yourself"?" "Oh, nothing."
The night was snuffed out like a flame and I had woken up for the next morning. School was standard at this point, not much to summarize. After Accord's class, me and Ringo met back up with Feli and Lemres. "Yo, Dave." "Yo, Lemres. You ready for this?" "Oh, you know I am." Feli was looking uneasy when we were talking. "Feli? What's up?" I wondered. "Dave… I'm… not sure if I should play that game with you guys… I'd rather watch." She told us. We paused in silence for a bit before Lemres speaks. "But, Feli… we need all four o' us to do-" Just when he was about to finish his sentence, another voice came by. "To do what?" We heard it and looked about for the source. "Who's there?" Ringo called out. "Wait… are you…? Sig?" I guessed. "That would be me…" He came out for us to see. "Sig? What are you doin' here?" Lemres asked. "I came by to see how Amitie was doing, but then I caught you guys talking about something. What is it about?" He said. "Dude, it's about a game of sorts. We'll be playin' it at Risukuma's house in Suzuran. But… Feli here is not so willin' to play with us… she'd rather watch instead." "What kind of game is it, Lemres?" "The bear said it was… what was it? … … Ah! An RPG, that's what it was, Sig." "I play RPG's occasionally… I'm interested to see what this game has to offer. Do you have room for me?" "With Feli not wantin' to play… Yeah, there is, Sig." "Cool. I'll come along." The five of us then came to Suzuran, so that we could see Risukuma. Lemres and Sig kept talking to each other as we traveled. "Jeez, the last time I've seen ya was when Dave got infected with that Puyo Fever junk." "Yeah, you guys asked me where to find two things needed for a cure. So, how is he?" "Oh, him? He's been healthy since then… By the way, he's gotten hella strong. He transformed into a dragon for the first time when we fought a vampire lord. Although… he wasn't in control for that, so he rampaged about until we finally stopped him." "Um... A dragon…?" "It's a long story, Sig, my dude. You sure ya want to go through it all? You may not hear the end o' it." "Can you please give me the short version, so that we're not wasting our time?" "Short stuff, comin' up… Dave, you tell 'em." He turned his head to face me. "Uh… sure." I told Sig about what Ecolo's energy did to me, which caused the mindless destruction to ensue. "How about now? Can you control it, Dave?" "Well, Sig… I can, but it drains my energy like a badly designed, old-school portable game system. Some of those were a thing in my world, so I'm making a comparison between them… and that." "How bad are we talking?" "Like three to four hours of game time with six AA batteries for one I know of, but even less than that." "Damn… whatever that system is, it eats the shit out of batteries. Wouldn't want one if it has that stipulation…"
We came to the bear's house, where he waited for us. "Uh, why is Sig with you guys?" He asked us. "Ris, Feli wasn't in the mood to play. She would rather watch us… and so, Sig is our replacement fourth player." I explained. "Okay... Sig, here's the lowdown." Risukuma told Sig about the whole "Inserting your mind into the game" thing. "Now, are you absolutely sure that this is safe, Ris?" Ringo came up to him. "I'm… almost certain, Ringo. I've done extensive calculating on my end, so there shouldn't be any fundamental issues." He told her. "So, you ready now?" Lemres asked. "Yes. Dave, Ringo, Lemres, and Sig… enter into these four pods that you see here, close the lid, and lay down. A helmet will be placed on each of your heads, thus creating the connection for here and the game. Some small suction cups are inside the helmets. These will emit a tiny, but effective anesthetic-like pulse into your brains. After you fall asleep, I will send your minds into the game. This will prompt the title screen to transition over to a new game if it picks up a fresh group of people. You'll eventually wake up in the game, to where the plot will pick up from there. Remember, to get out of the game, you'll need to find a save point, then select "save and return to the title screen". Now, any questions concerning this?" The bear finished. "I do have one concern, just as a uh… hypothetical "what-if" scenario, Ris. What would happen if the power goes out while we are inside the game?" I wondered. "Well… your minds might be lost to the data of the game… and the bodies you leave behind will end up as a bunch of rotting flesh. But don't worry, that scenario is extremely unlikely to happen. My place runs on its own power source. I regulate it by checking on it once a week." He claimed. "If you say so… it should be safe then, I guess." I shrugged. "Then it's time to get it on with this, we don't wanna be here forever, right?" Lemres gestured. "Guess so." Sig agreed. "Don't have things screwed up for us, Ris… please." Ringo pleaded. "Ringo, as your best friend… I won't let you down. I'll be completely sure to keep things under control." He promised. We came into our own pods, where we readied for the transition into the RPG we were presented. "With that… it's time to fire up the system." Risukuma stated. He pressed buttons to bring in the helmets. "Charging up the pulses for a discharge… Counting up three, I will flip this switch, and the pulses will flow. … One. … Two. … Three!" After he got to three, Risukuma flipped the switch and my mind went blank.
Author's Notes: Dave and his friends saw that Risukuma had created an RPG game from scratch. However, the name of it had yet to be made. Ringo suggested Isekai Prison as the name. This floored Dave, for he knew that isekai was a Japanese word. The two go through talking about it, with Feli and Lemres becoming lost in thought. As Dave and Ringo go and return home, our guy tells about what he does know about the language. On the next day, Sig appeared and learned of the game Risukuma had made. Feli, meanwhile… was not entirely comfortable playing with Dave, Ringo, and Lemres. With room to spare, Sig wanted to be in the game as well. Our group of four entered into their pods, waiting for the bear to release the pulses. He does and their bodies became still. Next chapter, Chapter 36: Play or be Played.
