"Achoo!"
Youyu sneezed loudly and couldn't help rubbing his nose.
He's been sneezing several times since he woke up this morning, and he wasn't feeling great overall. It felt like he caught a slight cold from getting a chill while sleeping last night.
This further proves that even if this is a game, it is a real world with a bona fide existence, and he is now a living person truly dwelling in it.
[Favorability +1]
Youyu speechlessly turned his gaze to Ito Chinai beside him, who quickly withdrew her gaze, expressionlessly eating the grilled salmon that served as breakfast.
Though he wanted to complain about increasing favorability just by sneezing, he was starting to get used to it.
Perhaps, this is the dilemma of excellence.
In life, sometimes one just has to increase favorability.
"Chinai's cooking skills are getting better and better." Youyu started to find a topic.
"Mm." Chinai responded casually, "Because I learned a new recipe."
Before transmigrating, Youyu was a game otaku who knew nothing about cooking, so for these days staying here, the food issue had been taken care of by Chinai.
According to Chinai, she seems to always live here during vacations and will move out when school starts. But by then, the manager should be back.
"Speaking of which, the manager hasn't come back yet."
Youyu felt somewhat puzzled. He didn't know where this mysterious manager ran off to, and it's been over a week since he came here still without seeing anyone.
"Oh, he said after finishing business, it was rare to be out and wanted to have fun for a while before returning." Chinai finished the salmon and picked up the miso soup to drink.
After a pause, she suddenly glanced at Youyu.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Because you've been glancing outside occasionally since last night." She said, "Like you are waiting for someone."
"..."
Actually, her observation wasn't entirely off. Youyu was indeed waiting for something, although not for any specific person.
According to his memory, the internal test of the game "Linked World" seems to be about now.
The internal test of "Linked World" is actually very simple, only lasts for two days, enough for players to familiarize themselves with basic operations and systems.
It is a non-deleting beta test, and the official server opening seems to be shortly after that. If Youyu remembers correctly, the official server opens half a month after the beta test ends—coinciding perfectly with the opening of the Battle City Tournament.
So around these two days, he should have the chance to interact with the quirky players for the first time.
To facilitate players searching for strategies, copying deck lists, and exchanging information within the game, Linked World has an official forum login interface in the game.
In other words, players can also log in to the game forum within the game. Though they can only read and not post within the game, to post responses, they must exit the game and log in through a browser.
Thanks to this function, Youyu, as an NPC with a built-in game panel, can log in to the forum to check the quirky players' comments.
However, since the game hasn't started its beta test, the official forum is also in a locked state. Even if he logs in, it's all gray and inactive inside, with nothing there.
But it shouldn't be long now.
Once the beta test opens in these two days, the forum should open as well, and it will presumably become lively soon.
After finishing breakfast and tidying up the dishes, she suddenly asked, "Are you catching a cold?"
"A little bit." Youyu rubbed his nose, "But it's not serious, so it's okay."
Chinai seemed thoughtful, said nothing, and turned around back to the kitchen.
Unexpectedly, after a short while, she came out from the kitchen again holding a bowl of ginger sugar water.
Youyu was stunned for a moment, feeling touched while also smiling bitterly.
I said it's just a mild cold, no big deal, and she even went out of her way...
...Then he saw Chinai sitting next to him, sipping that bowl of ginger sugar water herself...
Youyu: "..."
Seemingly noticing Youyu's weird gaze, she "Oh-ed" and explained: "Because I was worried about getting infected, so I drank it as a precaution.
Do you want some?"
"...No, I'm good."
...
Youyu indeed didn't remember it wrong.
Tonight, the world of Yugi—or more accurately, the game world of Linked World—welcomes perhaps the moment which might cause a divergence in the entire history of this world.
That is the arrival of duelists from another world—those physical card players!
They brought some Duel Monster Cards that do not originally exist in this world, alongside a series of concepts like "earning cards" and "card advantage" that baffled the native duelists.
Some even came with bizarre decks and combos that no one had imagined before.
But it doesn't stop there.
These duelists possess drastically different dueling styles and tactical thinking from the existing system, and they...
...don't seem to be mentally normal!
For instance, many of them keep rambling on and saying things that nobody can understand.
They like to seek attention and wear outfits that even normal folk would find outrageous at Halloween.
Their names are either too long or too silly, some lacking manners, others being unhealthy.
And they spend huge amounts of money on things that most wouldn't even bother with, yet are "eager to help" doing free labor only charging negligible fees.
Overall, they are just a bunch of card-playing weirdos!
...
When the player tagged "Xue Lang" opened his eyes, he was already standing in an open area of the wilderness.
Xue Lang felt a bit dazed.
Is this already in the game? Why does it seem like reality?
He glanced at the Duel Disc, which was automatically equipped when he created the account, reassuring himself he had indeed logged into the game "Linked World".
Wow, is this game too real?
Such control over a virtual character's body, the tactile feeling of touching objects, even the gentle breeze at night.
Even the sensations are restored so vividly and realistically that Xue Lang suspects spending too long in this game might actually blur the lines between game and reality.
But the point is...
...Shouldn't this be a card game?
Previously, the game's advertisement was ubiquitous, some corporation boasting enormous technological breakthroughs and a fantastic realistic experience, while most players thought it was all hype.
No matter what, the essence should be a collectible card game, with MRPG elements being secondary, and the game's development was assumed not to be too strong.
But now it seems the development of this card game really is quite something!
Xue Lang glanced around, discovering seemingly no other players nearby—which wasn't surprising. The beta test reportedly had only a few hundred slots, randomly placing them, making it normal to not find each other.
According to official game instructions, beta test players should log into the main animation stage—the vicinity of Domino City.
Judging from this, the brightly lit modern city not far away from him should be Domino City.
Once confirming the direction, Xue Lang didn't hesitate anymore, skipping, and rolling his way towards the city.