The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 2

Vol 1 Chapter 2

[ THE MIST ~ The Continent of Mist ~ ]

After waiting for a moment, letters suddenly appeared on the screen as if bubbling up from water. It was an amazingly detailed display. Soon, grand music began to play as the entire homepage slowly emerged.

As expected, the webpage that appeared as if seeping through water had only two boards: a notice board and a free board. The free board was still being flooded with posts. He first entered the notice board and read the only notice posted there.

[ Notice ] About THE MIST.

Hello. Welcome to THE MIST.

THE MIST is a game that we can proudly call the best VT game

that Saturn has finally unveiled after 20 years of investment.

The game's setting will be a familiar fantasy to everyone,

but the world of Mist desires a world for the hardworking majority,

not a world for the lucky few.

In THE MIST, anyone can start with a healthy body equally.

Whatever you desire, you can achieve it if you work hard.

A completely different VT, more real than reality.

To you who desire freedom.

Until we meet you in the world of THE MIST.

THE MIST will open on April 10th, and dedicated capsules will be available for sale from March.

There it was! The sentence 'anyone can start with a healthy body equally'...!

When he briefly entered the free board, dozens of speculative posts and excited comments were being uploaded every second. Judging that there was little chance of finding the information he wanted there, he called the VT port number of Saturn Co., Ltd. written in small print at the bottom of the webpage.

"Port number 23514. Connect to VT port."

[ Port number 23514. Connecting. ]

Now he didn't care about food anymore. He got up, dragging his uncomfortable leg, and put on the goggles connected to the wire needed to enter the VT port.

A moment later, with the notification of connection, his vision flashed white, and soon he found himself standing in front of Saturn Co., Ltd. in virtual reality. At a glance, it looked real, but inside the port, one couldn't move directly but had to give commands only by voice. As he entered Saturn, the upper body of a connected guide appeared before his eyes.

"Welcome. This is Saturn Co., Ltd.'s virtual port line. What brings you here today?"

"I came because I have some questions about THE MIST."

At his immediate response, the guide tapped the air with her finger for a moment, then turned to him with a smile. That tapping in the air was an employee-only connection system visible only to the staff. It was used to connect visitors with someone who could handle their business through that hologram.

"THE MIST... Which company are you from?"

"I'm an individual."

The guide's expression became a bit flustered.

"An individual? We don't have the capacity to meet individuals at the moment..."

He realized his mistake. If hundreds of thousands of people were flooding the webpage, it was obvious that many people would be crowding the VT port as well. He had forgotten this in his uncharacteristic excitement.

'What should I do...'

But he couldn't just turn back after coming this far. After a moment's thought, he tried to make a pitiful expression to evoke sympathy and opened his mouth.

"Really? Oh no... I didn't think about how crowded it would be. But this is a really important matter for me... Isn't there any way it could be done today?"

His facial muscles trembled from making an expression he wasn't used to, but somehow it seemed to have some effect on the guide. She thought seriously for a moment, then after tapping what looked like thin air to him for a while, she waved her hand.

"Since you say it's such an important matter, I've tried contacting someone. If you don't mind waiting for a while, I can connect you."

Had he succeeded?

"Really? Thank you. I don't mind waiting at all."

If this wasn't inside the VT port and he had to actually stand and wait, it would have been much more difficult.

"Alright. Then I'll connect you. 3, 2, 1."

Huh?...

Just as he was about to say, 'Wait, at least tell me where you're connecting me to...', he was already inside a room in the port.

"Ugh..."

The reason for counting to three when moving within the port was because it was quite dizzying right after moving. He too couldn't escape this and staggered, when someone appeared behind him and spoke.

"Who are you, suddenly coming in?"

When he turned around, he saw an unfamiliar man. There seemed to be another person in the room besides this man.

The port space, being used frequently for business, was well-secured. The owner of a room in the port was visible to any visitor, but visitors couldn't see each other unless the owner connected them. It was the same principle as the connection hologram used by the guide at Saturn's entrance.

'They told me to wait and then just shoved me into a room. That guide must have been a newbie.'

Grumbling inwardly, he quietly bowed his head.

"I'm sorry. They said they would connect me to the waiting area, but I ended up here."

"Just a moment... Ah, I see."

The man poked at the air a few times and then nodded. He seemed to have found and confirmed what the guide had said she would contact about.

"You're here on personal business regarding THE MIST at Saturn Co., Ltd.?"

"Yes."

"What kind of business... Ah. Excuse me for a moment. I need to talk to someone else."

The man, who had been smiling kindly, excused himself for a moment and seemed to be talking to someone. His expression hardened, then he said something again, and only after a while did he come back to him.

"It's difficult for me to talk to both of you separately, so I'd like to connect both of you together. Would that be alright with you?"

He became puzzled. In this situation, it was usual to finish talking with the person who came first before receiving the next person. That's why the guide had said 'if you can wait for a long time'.

He didn't know who the person already in the room was, but they seemed to be quite eccentric.

"Yes."

"Come to think of it, I'm late in introducing myself. I'm Ahn Ho, the manager of THE MIST's Management Team 3."