Paying to Win in a VRMMO: Volume 5

by Blitz Kiva

  The Shinobi Army swarmed the grinning Duplichiro, but this was not the only combat force Matsunaga had prepared. Another snap of his fingers caused men to appear on the rooftops around them, as well. These too were the elite forces of the Dual Serpents: the Bowgun Corps.

  “He’s not very good at dodging,” Matsunaga called. “And he can’t block this many ranged attacks with Weapon Guard, either!”

  “Matsunaga, that’s a flag,” Amesho whispered, but her warning was drowned out by the hail of fire from the Bowgun Corps.

  The hail of fire consisted a wide variety of ranged Arts, and kicked up dust clouds in the parched earth that masked Duplichiro’s form.

  “I think they did it!” Stroganoff shouted.

  “Don’t say that!” Matsunaga shouted back.

  The billowing clouds of sand began to clear, revealing the unharmed avatar of Ichiro Tsuwabuki behind them.

  That was actually predictable enough. The group was shocked for another reason:

  Over the unharmed avatar hovered the label: “Immortal.”

  3 - Noble Son, Make a Phone Call

  “We’re coming in!” Asuha’s cheerful voice echoed through the Tsuwabuki residence.

  “We’re here,” Sera added shyly.

  Sakurako Ogi ran down the hall to greet the two of them. “Oh, come in, come in! Thank you for coming!”

  That was a close call, Sakurako thought.

  She had known that today was the day Asuha and Sera would be coming in, but with all the business about Ichiro’s account being hacked, it had completely slipped her mind. She had only remembered when she’d seen King’s face in the game. He had muttered “See you later,” in cold tones, then logged out. Judging by the time frame, that might have been just as they’d arrived in Tokyo.

  “Asuha, you’ve gotten so big!” Sakurako said, perfectly hiding her panic to pat Asuha on the head.

  Asuha laughed shyly.

  Sakurako turned her eyes to Sera Kiryu.

  Sera, having deposited a travel bag on the floor, stared at Sakurako for a moment, then said:

  “I knew you were a woman.”

  It seemed that in an instant, the gamer had matched her up with Kirschwasser.

  “And you are...” Sakurako looked Sera up and down carefully. Shorter than Asuha, with short hair and slightly long bangs, and glaring eyes. On the scrawny side, pale, without a trace of outdoorsiness.

  “There was that movie, Summer Wars, not long ago,” Sakurako murmured. “There was a gamer character in that who had me guessing about their gender right until their name was said.”

  “I know that one,” said Sera. “I hear the director likes that kind of thing.”

  “That’s true, and I support that. Anyway, you girls make yourselves at home.” Sakurako couldn’t tell Sera’s gender at a glance, so she just decided to go for it.

  Sera was probably a girl, she thought. After all, Asuha’s parents had allowed them both to stay overnight, and she doubted they would allow a girl and a boy of middle school age to travel together alone... or would they? Would they make an exception, knowing that it was Ichiro they were staying with?

  Sakurako also remembered how King Kirihito had avoided looking directly at her after “Yozakura” had done her cast-off during the fashion show. That seemed like a boy’s reaction... or was it? Could it have just been the standard prudishness often displayed by girls around that age?

  Ah, but enough of that; she would think of Sera as a girl, regardless.

  “I’ll take that luggage,” Sakurako said. “Your rooms are this way.”

  With Asuha’s suitcase and Sera’s travel bag in either hand, Sakurako showed them to the guest rooms. There were a number of open bedrooms, all prepared to receive company. It was rather like a miniature luxury hotel. When they reached the rooms in question, even the otherwise stoic Sera had to gasp.

  “It’s so big...”

  “I know, right?!” Asuha acted proud, for some reason.

  Once they’d set their luggage in their respective rooms, Sakurako began walking them towards the living room.

  “Have you two had lunch yet?” she asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “I have just the thing, then. Delicious curry.”

  “Curry again?” A strained smile appeared on Asuha’s face.

  On their way to the living room, Sera peeked into a half-open door, then stopped. Before Sakurako could ask what it was, she realized it must be the game room. It was full of all kinds of video games, beginning with the Miraive Gear Cocoons.

  “Would you like to see?” Sakurako asked.

  “Yeah,” Sera said after a moment’s hesitation. It was certainly an impolite reaction, but the closer Sakurako looked, the more she recognized it as a child discovering a mountain of treasure.

  She must truly love games, Sakurako thought, smiled brightly, and opened the door.

  Sera let out a noise of astonishment. It was even bigger than the last set of rooms.

  “Wah...” Asuha seemed shocked by it, too. “What is this, Sakurako? Was this here last year?”

  “It was not. We added all the game machines this year.”

  Ichiro hardly ever played anything except for the commercial-grade Miraive Gear Cocoon, which he used for VRMMOs, but Sakurako still kept it all carefully maintained every day. Most of them were fighting games, in accordance with her own tastes, and there were also rhythm games, shooting games, and crane games here and there. He had bought them cabinets and everything.

  “Wow,” Sera said with unreserved enthusiasm.

  “Would you like to play them later?” Sakurako asked.

  “Can I?”

  “Yes, they don’t require money to play.”

  Despite an expressionless appearance, Sera was clearly overjoyed. Children their age likely didn’t have money to go to arcades. It was a surprise to see a child interested in arcade games, in this era when consumer games ruled. Perhaps the future of Japan’s gaming world was still bright.

  As Sakurako reveled in it, Sera muttered, “We only have an SFII cabinet at home. A secondhand one.”

  “Ooh.”

  “My mom plays it.”

  Ah, Sakurako thought, so it was an inherited genius. She found that perfectly understandable; she too had become the otaku she was today as the result of her older brothers’ influence.

  “Kiryu’s mother is really amazing,” Asuha said with a grin. “I’ve only heard stories, but they say she used to be the terror of the local arcades! There was no one in the Osu Shopping District who ever beat Kiryu’s mom!”

  Sakurako grinned. “Oho. That takes me back... We made quite a name for ourselves in our old neighborhood, as well. We were called the PPC Siblings...”

  Sera and Asuha both froze at Sakurako’s words.

  “Umehiko, Momotaro, and Sakurako. In other words, Plum, Peach, Cherry... PPC. We trawled arcades all over Japan, afraid of nothing... What’s wrong?”

  For some reason, as Sakurako spoke, the two had leaned in close to each other and started whispering. But when she asked them, they both responded with full force denials.

  “It’s nothing!”

  “Yeah, nothing.”

  “Oh, really?” Sakurako asked.

  Well, if they claimed it was nothing, she wouldn’t try to interrogate them further. Sakurako led the two on to the living room.

  “That reminds me, it sounds like there was a pretty big commotion today,” Asuha said, consciously changing the subject.

  Needless to say, she was referring to the account hack. Ichiro had left the house around noon because of that, and still hadn’t returned. Asuha and Sera both must have wanted to meet him soon. Some people really did have the worst sense of timing.

  “I wonder what was up with that.” Sera nodded in agreement with Asuha’s words. “I’m sure the old man had proper password security.”

  “Old man?” Sakurako’s eyebrow twitched upon hearing that appellation, and she turned around.


  “Oh... ah, I mean...” Sera seemed vaguely panicked.

  Sakurako leaned in close and continued. “Listen, Sera. Ichiro-sama is currently 23 years old.”

  “R-Right.”

  “I am 26 years old. If Ichiro-sama is an old man, what does that make me?” As an unmarried woman, there were some lines she would not allow to be crossed. She wouldn’t expect a middle school student to understand, but she still could not allow it.

  Sera looked around nervously, then to Asuha for help, and then finally, as if begging for mercy, whispered: “A young lady.”

  “Correct. Well done.” Sakurako “Young Lady” Ogi grinned and urged them both to join her at the table.

  When it was just Sakurako and Ichiro, they usually used a small table, but for today she had joined it up with another one to create a larger space.

  “Ichiro-sama is very strict with his security, both online and in real life. Even the walls of this apartment were created to withstand a direct hit from a stinger missile.”

  “Was he expecting to fight something?” Sera asked.

  “Are you curious? But the story could take a while. About five years ago...”

  “Anyway, that means that Itchy getting his account stolen is pretty shady, huh?” Asuha smoothly interrupted Sakurako before she could begin her long story. She had grown stronger in the time since Sakurako had last seen her.

  “That’s right,” said Sakurako. “So we’re not sure exactly how the account was hacked.”

  “But it’s been suspended, right? So there’s no need to worry, is there?”

  “Yeah,” Sera said gravely. “In most cases, there wouldn’t be.”

  There was a hidden meaning behind Sera’s reply to Asuha. Sakurako caught the implication and nodded gravely.

  In most cases, there wouldn’t be... But this incident might not fall into the realm of “most cases.” They didn’t know why the user had stolen Ichiro’s account, or how they had done it.

  Ichiro had unique passwords for all of his cards and SNS accounts, and he didn’t even write them down. His security was flawless. She couldn’t think of any way for the account to be hacked other than for the information to have been leaked from Thistle’s own servers.

  If that was true, the situation was even more serious. There was a chance the person could hack into his account again the same way, and the lack of knowledge about what he wanted added to the creepiness of it all.

  The three were just sinking deep into reflection when an e-mail arrived.

  “Oh, my. I’m sorry.” Sakurako thrust a hand into her apron pocket and pulled out her smartphone. The message had been sent using the Mirai Network’s messaging service, the one used to send e-mails from the game in emergency situations. It seemed to be an urgent message from Iris to Kirschwasser.

  As she read through the contents, Sakurako’s expression grew more and more severe.

  Asuha leaned forward to inquire. “Sakurako? What? What is it?”

  “Duplichiro-sama is back.”

  “Huh? What the heck?”

  “She means the old man’s account was stolen again,” Sera said clearly, stood, then left the living room and headed for the hallway.

  The young gamer’s plans were comprised of one phrase:

  “I’ve gotta stop him.”

  “Wait, Sera,” Sakurako said. “This is unconfirmed, but it appears that Duplichiro-sama now has the ‘Immortal’ status.”

  Sera’s eyes narrowed at the words.

  Asuha was left confused, looking between the two of them. “Huh? What? What do you mean?”

  “Immortal status,” said Sakurako. “Invincibility. It’s a Skill that prevents you from taking damage from the attacks of others.”

  “That’s cheating!” Asuha burst out angrily.

  Indeed, it was cheating.

  It was a special Skill usually only given to GMs or special avatars created by the devs. In other words, the player behind Duplichiro had some control over the game system itself.

  The situation had gone far beyond the level of a prank, now. It was really serious.

  “Don’t worry,” Sera said clearly. “He’s not the old man, but he’s consciously trying to imitate him. He enjoys wielding the power of the invincible Ichiro Tsuwabuki. It’s a pathetic mimicry. That’s why he’s using Immortal status, but there is a way to stop him.”

  “H-How do you know that?” Sakurako asked.

  “Because I was the same way, once.” Sera Kiryu spoke clearly. “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”

  Sera turned and spoke with a confident smile, one more time.

  “Someone like that will never beat me. King Kirihito will never lose again.”

  Edogawa and Ichiro ended up having to return to Thistle immediately.

  The call Edogawa received had come straight from President Azami; apparently things had exploded in the office. She had a tendency to omit crucial information when she spoke, so it took him some doing to find out exactly what had happened. He eventually managed to figure out that Ichiro’s account had been hijacked again.

  Edogawa didn’t even have to wonder whether he should tell Ichiro about it; it seemed the man had inferred the entire situation on his own.

  “It’s a shame, but I suppose we should be going,” Ichiro said, quickly paying the bill with his credit card.

  Of course, Edogawa pulled two 1,000 yen notes from his wallet and shoved them at Ichiro. He had also eaten all of his curry.

  “Ed, does the fact that they called you suggest that the system’s been compromised?” Ichiro asked.

  “I really hope not... but either way, it’s looking like an all-nighter for me.”

  “For your sake, I’m sorry to hear it, but it might be good for President Azami to have a third party with technical knowledge around.” Ichiro explained how companies faced with a scandal would usually form a third party committee, a team designed to decide who was responsible while maintaining transparency and objectivity. It would consist mainly of lawyers and investigators, but of course, specialists on the subject at hand would also be needed.

  “You’re saying I’m going to end up on that committee?” Edogawa asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ichiro said. “It’s up to President Azami, but I think there’s a high possibility that System Ajax, as an outsider firm of specialists, might be asked to join. Especially since you deal with internet security.”

  Edogawa really didn’t want to do any more work that required interpersonal relations. He wasn’t suited to being a systems engineer; he’d much rather be sitting in a room by himself, picking away at programming code.

  They arrived in Jinbocho and rushed for Thistle headquarters, only to find there was no one at the reception desk.

  “Given the situation, should we just go straight to the office?” Edogawa asked.

  “Nonsense. It’s important to obey rules of etiquette.”

  There was a microphone and speaker at reception with the words “If staff isn’t present, press this button” written on it. Ichiro politely followed these instructions. The door to the second floor office opened with a clank, and a voice called out, “Come in!” Things must really be hectic up there.

  “I’m back,” Edogawa murmured as he entered. “Thanks for covering while I was gone...”

  Once inside, he could see that indeed, the mood was intense. There were fewer people there than before, which suggested a few of them must be in the server room looking directly at the machines.

  “What happened? Was Mr. Tsuwabuki’s... account stolen again?” he forced himself to ask after casting a glance at Ichiro.

  Ichiro shrugged, as if to say, “It stands to reason.”

  “The account management server isn’t responding to our commands” was the response.

  The words sent a chill down Edogawa’s spine. If the system had been directly hacked, there was a chance that his security program had been breached. His first job, then, would be to check the system logs for signs of compromise.
>
  “President, I thought the account server couldn’t be controlled from outside the company building,” he said.

  “Ah, um... Right. Account suspension/reactivation and information viewing can only be done via the company’s internal network.”

  That all but confirmed that it was a hack from the outside. Depression was coming over him. So, it wasn’t that information, including the maintenance password, had been leaked from the inside. Although that would have been its own problem, at least it wouldn’t have been his fault...

  Ichiro Tsuwabuki’s account was in use again. The person behind it could change the password, recompense items, and unlock an account freeze at any time. They’d acquired information about the company somehow and cracked it from the outside. Could somebody like that even exist?

  “What do you mean, it isn’t responding to your commands?” Ichiro asked.

  “We can’t actually get into the system...”

  “Huh?” Edogawa’s fingers, tapping across the borrowed keyboard, stopped suddenly. He finally realized why the president was looking so pale.

  The male employee continued to speak in her place. “I think he just changed the passwords, but the result is that we can’t fully manage accounts from here.”

  “The accounts have everyone’s credit card and virtual currency information, too, right?” Edogawa asked, feeling ill. If the hacker had that in his control, they had to take action immediately. “Have you contacted the police?”

  “Well...”

  “Do it! Now!”

  The moment the illegal access first happened, the company should have known they’d have to contact the police sooner or later. But if things had come to this, they couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer. The longer they refused to act out of fear of societal backlash, the worse their position would become. Surely these people knew that.

  “Ed, please, calm down.” Ichiro tried to soothe Edogawa, who had accidentally lost his temper, then pulled out a business card and handed it to Azami.

  “You will want to call the police, but first you’ll want to talk to a lawyer and discuss your ideal course of action from here on out. If you don’t have one of your own, I recommend the one on the business card. He has an awful personality, but he’s sharp. If you tell him I sent you, I’m sure he’ll do his best for you.”