Destiny Unchain Online ~I became a vampire girl and eventually became known as the “Demon King of Blood”~ - Chapter 0.2

――Ping

――Ping

――Ping, Ping, Ping

「…Umm, hmm?」

The intermittent ringing of incoming messages.

Each sound is trivial, but when they occur too many times in a row, it’s hard to fall asleep.

「What’s up with the… annoying… Fuah」

…Apparently, after last night’s guild rank-deciding competition, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep.

Creeping out from under the futon, he opens his mouth widely and yawns.

『Good morning, Mitsuki Kou-sama.』

The machine voice’s stereotyped greeting raised the level of consciousness from 80% in my dreams to about 50%.

I look around in a daze and… finally realize that I am in my own familiar room.

「…Oh, yeah, it’s my room… I came back to」

Finally reminiscing about the current situation, he muttered with a deep sense of emotion.

After Kou passed the entrance exam of his current high school with a recommendation… he was unable to return to the real world for three months during the spring season of this year due to certain circumstances.

The days passed in the blink of an eye, and a month had already passed since Kou returned to reality and worked hard on his rehabilitation and other activities.

However, even now, he was still in a so-called “full-dive stupor,” where he felt more… uncomfortable about the fact that if he falls asleep in the game, he would be back in real life.

『Kou-sama. You received 12 messages while you were sleeping.』

「Fuah… message?」

He drowsily rubbed his eyes and shifted his perspective to the view in front of him.

After a quick look, he saw an AR inbox display, which seemed to have been launched automatically, floating and displayed in front of his eyes.

There was a message from “Frey” and “Freya,” the twin siblings, Hijiri and Subaru, who fought alongside each other last night and are also like childhood friends in real life.

『Hey, are you asleep?』

『Wake up, you idiot, you’re going to be late!』

『We’re taking the train ahead of you!』

Immediately after tilting his head at those messages that seemed urgent and… he stiffened.

「Wha, What time is it…!?」

I hurriedly looked at my watch and saw that… it had already exceeded the time I usually leaves the house.

Even if I get ready now, it is almost enough time to catch the last train to school.

「Oh no, I overslept!」

Hurriedly, he opens the closet, grabs his still brand-new uniform, and rushes down the stairs, putting it on.

Only a week has passed since he finished his rehabilitation and went to school for the first time instead of taking online classes.

After missing the entrance ceremony and being a few months tardy on his first day of school, he was in a hurry to get to school, hoping that he would not be late because he overslept.

「Housekeeper, all electricity and gas in the room will be turned to ‘off’ mode!」

According to my voice, the house management system screen is displayed, and at the same time, it is reported via the network that the power supply to the gas main valve and non-essential appliances has been shut off.

Furthermore, the operator confirms with a sideways glance that the alarm function has been activated when there is an irregularity, which is displayed on the management system screen.

He puts his feet into loafers, which are still stiff and unfamiliar to him, and checks in the mirror at the entrance to see if his clothes are disheveled from his hasty change of clothes.

In the mirror is a pretty girl with white hair and red eyes, just like in the game.

The girls’ uniforms, with their cute designs, are still winter uniform blazers, even though it is now early summer.

Further down, poking out from the sleeves is a long-sleeved blouse that she wears to avoid the sun.

To put it bluntly, she must look like a hot mess to those around her. However, there was a reason why Kou had to do so.

「Give me the timetable, please!」

She mutters as she touches the ring-shaped quantum communication device-neural linkage device-worn around her neck.

Then, according to the command, the current time, the timetable of the station she always uses, and the departure time of the next train appeared in front of her eyes.

――Okay, just in time.

Finally, breathing out a sigh of relief, I open the front door.

「…But, well. The world is already in such a technological advanced age.」

After all, we live in a time when you can even dive fully into a VR space from anywhere with a single command word, without even having to start up a computer.

…Less than twenty years have already passed since the 『Serial Vanishing of WGO Players,』 a major incident that resulted in the disappearance of many missing people.

In the meantime, VR technology, which was the cutting-edge technology at the time, has advanced rapidly, and the devices have become popular in a way that is now integrated with the smartphones of the old era.

That is the choker-shaped multifunctional communication device-neural linkage that Kou is now wearing.

The widespread use of these devices, which are wirelessly connected to the brain at the quantum level and can even input and output sensory information, has made it possible for almost the entire population in Japan to have personal terminals that can benefit from both VR and AR anywhere. Even personal computers have become antiques.

Because of the times, her current existence seemed quite out of place, and she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

A glimpse of what looks like small fangs, a little too sharp to be… canine teeth, peeks out from her small mouth.

The early summer sun burns both her eyes and skin as soon as she steps outside.

Squinting against the sunlight, which is so bright that it even hurts, she opens the black parasol in her hand and walks with a resigned sigh.

「I wonder if… vampires are even a thing in this day and age.」

――His name is Mitsuki Kou.

He was a… former boy who became a vampire girl just before entering high school this spring.

【Afterword】

■Neural linkage device: NLD

A very common universal communication device in the era of the work.

The most widely distributed are collar-shaped machines with a width of 3 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm. Some are marketed for fashion and others for athletes with tough structures, but the basic design standards are almost uniform. Terminals for external connections exist at the back of the neck and on the left and right sides.

It is in constant quantum communication with the wearer’s brain, acquiring various information in the city and displaying AR in the owner’s field of vision as needed, and it is also possible to shift consciousness to a virtual space. It is also possible to remotely command devices registered with this device.

Its functions can be expanded as much as you like by installing applications, and it is a high-performance device that “can do almost anything that a conventional PC or smartphone can do.”

Originally a medical device, it can be used to virtually recreate lost senses or as a control unit for a corresponding prosthetic limb or reinforced exoskeleton.

In this day and age, it is a necessity of life, and if for some reason it is lost or cannot be purchased, the government can lend one to you as an emergency measure (in that case, however, the functionality will be minimal).

By its very nature, it is a mass of personal information, and if a third party removes or steals an NLD worn by another person without permission, it is considered a serious offense for which very severe penalties will be imposed.

TL Notes:

I’ve decided to use male pronouns before the reveal in the mirror.

After some thinking, I decided to get done with the prologue chapters as soon as possible, do chapter 15.1 of Bishoujo manga, then get into the real steak and potatoes that is chapter 1.

Now for my own personal thoughts: The NLD reminded me of this video lmao.

For people here coming from novel updates:

Chapters aren’t going to come out as fast as some of you might anticipate. I have college in the mornings, free time for like 2-3 hours, then work in the afternoon until at most 10:00 pm. So I usually translate in that 2-3 hours of free time. There are going to be rare days where I have no school or work, or I have school, no work and vice versa. On those days, I try to translate as much as I can.

There will be days where I don’t even want to translate and I won’t force myself to.

Other than that, enjoy prologue 2.