"Let's go in." Sir Edwill led the group into the hall, and the moment they stepped inside, everyone was taken aback by the sheer size and surreal nature of the space. The hall stretched out in all directions, with walls so distant that they seemed to melt into the white, glowing atmosphere, giving the impression of infinite expanse.
The pristine white color wasn't just on the walls; it covered the entire floor and ceiling as well, with no visible seams or textures, creating an illusion of being inside an endless, ethereal realm.
But what truly drew their attention wasn't the vastness of the hall—it was the rows upon rows of strange pods that filled the space. These oval-shaped pods were sleek and futuristic, gleaming with a metallic sheen, about the size of a single-person bed, just large enough to fit one adult comfortably.
Each pod was slightly raised on a small platform, with faintly glowing lines tracing along their sides, giving them an aura of advanced technology.
The pods were arranged in neat rows, stretching far into the distance, making it impossible to see where they ended. The sight was almost overwhelming, as hundreds—perhaps thousands—of these mysterious capsules filled the entire hall.
"Everyone, this is called the Vision Hall. Don't ask me why it's called that—I don't know why the higher-ups gave this wonderful place such a trashy name." Sir Edwill's tone sounded more like a complaint.
He then briefed them about the place. "This Vision Hall is one of the most high-tech VR facilities in the entire Human Federation Realm. And for those of you wondering if it's the same as the VR pods in your homes, you're wrong."
Victor, Erza, and the others were thinking along those lines. Since they had been to Dreamshore to play games, they thought this might just be a slightly upgraded version of what they had at home.
He looked at the kids and explained. "What you have at home is just an inferior version of the pods we launched to the world. You might have noticed how they only allow a maximum of 4 hours of full-dive before shutting down, and you can't use your full strength in those pods. Well, that's because they were designed with public safety and security in mind."
He then pointed to the pods in the Vision Hall and grinned. "But these babies are the real treasure. They are the most advanced VR pods you'll ever find. They're designed to handle the full strength of any human up to Conqueror's Rank, and they can be fully functional for as long as you want."
He added with a smirk, "In short, they don't have the time or strength limits of the pods you have at home. It's basically a gateway to a whole new world."
Sir Edwill explained everything proudly, but it was clear to everyone that he seemed more fascinated by the VR pods than they were, as shown by the grin on his face.
"So, how do we use them?" Orion asked, feeling bored by what Sir Edwill was talking about.
Sir Edwill nodded with excitement. "Everyone, look for the pod with your name etched on top. Once you find it, it will automatically open. After that, you just have to lie down as if you're going to sleep."
"That's it?" Orion was surprised that all they had to do was lie down.
"That's it," Sir Edwill said with a smirk.
"Now, do as you've been told." He ordered everyone to proceed.
Orion wondered as he looked around. Everything felt too real. The smell, the air, the wind touching his skin, the normal temperature—everything seemed too real to be just a VR world.
"Damn, this is realistic. In fact, the graphics are so realistic that I can't even tell if these things aren't real," Orion exclaimed in shock. Everything appeared real to him, but he knew it was just a bunch of data. Still, the ultra-realistic graphics made him doubt a little.
"This is the best way to hold a competition," Orion muttered in excitement. In this world, no one would actually die, no matter how strong the attacks of could be.
This meant one wouldn't need to hold back their strength like they had to do if they fought in real world but in this world there was no need to hold back. This made the final assessment even better than he had imagined.
As he looked around, he suddenly noticed something floating in the air. Focusing on it, he saw a square-shaped button, about twice the size of his nails, glowing with a blue outline.
Orion touched the button, and a menu appeared in front of him.
---
--- [Exit]
--- [Inventory]
---
'Only two options...'
Orion noticed the exit and inventory options. 'It seems we can't take anything out from the space bracelets in the VR world,' he thought, glancing at the space bracelet on his hand.
[Choose a weapon.]
At that moment, another notification popped up, asking him to choose a weapon, and a variety of weapon names appeared in his vision.
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Also, I was hoping you could leave some comments or reviews to let me know your thoughts!
Some gifts would be appreciated as well, but up to you....