Suddenly, I realized that I was lying prone at my bedroom desk.

I removed the face-mounted display, which had partly fallen from my face, and looked around the room.

It was the same as usual.

Sunlight was already shining through the windows. The time was half past six. I could also hear sparrows chirping. It was the morning. How strange. Had I fallen asleep again?

Then my memory became clear. I remembered what happened last night in The World.

No, I hadn’t fallen asleep.

We were blown away by the monster’s roar, and we lost consciousness.

What happened to my companions? Are BlackRose and Balmung safe?

I swiftly seized the controller and checked the mailer, but there was no contact from them.

I could only send an email confirming my safety.

I was uneasy the whole day.

Aside from the monsters that appeared later, we succeeded in defeating the Reaper who left Orca unconscious. Perhaps that would help Yashiko. Was his consciousness restored? I expected so.

But after school, that expectation was shattered.

At the hospital where Yasuhiko had been admitted, his condition had not changed.

No visitors allowed.

I left the hospital disappointed.

It was a complete deadlock.

The girl named Aura had been drained by the Grim Reaper, and we managed to defeat Grim Reaper, but soon another giant monster appeared. Yet Yasuhiko remained in a coma.

I no longer knew what to do.

In the first place, was there anything I could do anyway?

I was walking along a sidewalk thinking about this.

So I didn’t notice that I was being called.

“Hey, you there…”

When I stopped and turned around, a man was smiling at me. He spoke softly.

“You came from the hospital just now, right? Do you know of a kid who became unconscious after playing The World?”

I looked at him with a serious expression.

Even though it was already deep in the autumn season, he was wearing a fancy Hawaiian shirt. He had round sunglasses on his face. It was a strange look no matter how you looked at it.

As he turned his face, the heavy smell of a cigarette hit my nose.