Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy: Volume 1

1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-7183-0364-5
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 1, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy

Gamer Ren Takashiro loves nothing more than taking junk job classes and turning them into the new meta. So when he enrolls at a special school that incorporates online gaming into their curriculum at the invitation of his longtime gaming buddy, Akira, Ren of course decides to be a symbologist-supposedly the weakest class of all. He quickly gets to work making it a force to be reckoned with, but little does he know he's in for a surprise he never expected... It turns out that his pal Akira is actually a cute girl!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hayaken

Weitere Mitwirkende

Akita, Hika

Daughety, Benjamin

Leseproben

The cherry on top is that you can’t exactly say it’s even the best at supporting. Minstrels, on the one hand, are the top supporting class and can buff allies while debuffing enemies. They also have the advantage of wielding bows, increasing their fighting capabilities. Symbologists, meanwhile, can only debuff, and they run out of MP fast. Minstrel songs don’t even require MP to cast.

The worst combat ability, and not even the best supporting ability. Symbologists can’t solo any bosses, and it’s not exactly the best class to take into parties. So that’s symbologist in a nutshell. It’s honestly kind of impressive how poorly designed they are. The least popular job in the game and the biggest bummer of all Bummers.

During our orientation, second-year students came to talk to us. They taught us about the class tier list of UW. Naturally, I chose the worst of the worst. After all, what was the point of playing if you weren’t having fun? That’s just my playstyle! I was really pumped to party up with Akira and waste all my time on trial-and-error methods to make this class work out.

“Your methods are unconventional, but as long as I can expect results from you...”

“Just give me a little time.” Until Akira arrived, I was going to avoid leveling up. But thanks to that, I had plenty of time for trial-and-error, and the redefinition of the symbologist meta was already in its first stages. Plus, I was free to move to the training stage whenever need be.

“No worries! But that means you might not get a chance to help us clear the mission.”

“Oh, speaking of which... how’s the raid going?”

“Pretty well. We’re like, eighty percent of the way through.”

“We might just be able to get the first clear.”

Good. That meant I could keep waiting for Akira. On that note, the homeroom teacher finally came in.

“Helloooo! Good morning, my lowbie nooblords.”

Her demeanor was lighthearted and frank, and her appearance stereotypical of an academic mage. Her name was Ms. Nakada, apparently twenty-four years of age. Her beauty and cheerful nature were fitting for someone who was in this school’s inaugural class.

“Sorry, everyone! Another day of boring school. But first, an announcement!” Ooh, what’s this? Ms. Nakada continued on, grinning all the while. “We’ve got another player joining us today! I know you’re all getting to the climax of the competitive quest, but there are more where those came from, so take a moment, if you will! Now, c’mon in, Aoyagi! Everyone, give her a round of applause!”

. Welcomed by the sound of applause, a girl entered the room—a girl I could only describe as stunning. Long, flowing hair, with perfect features that would put even an idol to shame. She was as cute as a little critter, but wow, her chest was anything but little. I suppose is what perfection looked like.

“My name is Akira Aoyagi. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” She smiled, despite her obvious nervousness. To any other onlooker, this situation was entirely normal. Indeed, one might even be pressed to say that it was a warm, everyday scene, but—

“” I, alone, hollered in pure shock. Akira Aoyagi? Isn’t that my lifelong friend’s full name? Is Akira? Or is this some sort of crazy coincidence?

“Is something the matter, Takashiro?”

“Oh, uh... sorry. That’s just the exact same name as a friend of mine.”

“I get it! You’re trying to get on this poor, pretty lass’s good side, aren’t you? Quick on the draw, eh, little buddy! I won’t get in your way.” She smirked right at me. She seemed more like a nosy, mischievous lady than an instructor.

The classroom was filled with snickering at this point. Ugh, talk about embarrassing.

“Come now, everyone. Out of respect for Takashiro, let’s have Aoyagi sit next to him! Go on, the seat next to him is empty, anyway.”

Aoyagi accepted her demands and sat next to me. That was at least partially my fault, so I figured I should apologize... or would that come off as weird? Before I could say anything, she spoke.

“Are you... Ren?”

“Huh? Why do you know my name? Hey, wait... are you seriously Akira?!”

Upon hearing my response, Aoyagi smiled broadly. “Whoo! It really is you, Ren! I hit the jackpot!” She pulled me into a tight embrace. I’d never been hugged by a girl that wasn’t in my family, so honestly, my in-game heart started beating fast and hard.

“Ooooh, that was fast! Kids these days are all about speedruns, huh?” The teacher cheered with glee. The class was as shocked as her, and erupted into an uproar.

When she realized it, Aoyagi backed off and stammered out an apology. “O-Oh, uh, sorry. He and I have played a lot of games together, and this is the first time we’ve ever really met...”

All this time, I never imagined that the Akira I gamed with could be anything other than a guy. What girl would play as a ripped beastman, anyway? Even after all those years, the thought had never crossed my mind... Was I that dense? I was so shocked I thought my heart might explode. Recalling all the times we played together, her mannerisms did actually make sense, and she’d always listen to my problems, no matter what.

Once the class calmed down, the instructor continued with homeroom.

Aoyagi turned and smiled at me. “So hey, yeah, I’m a girl. Surprised, Ren?”

“Yeah. A bit too surprised, maybe.”

“Hah! I figured you hadn’t noticed.”

“Hahaha. But man, what a shock, Aoyagi—” When I said her surname, she looked at me in a huff.

“Don’t treat me like a stranger! We’re friends. Just call me Akira.”

“Huh? O-Oh, really? All right, then... Akira.”

“That’s better!” She gave me that little critter smile. Akira was just the kind of person to wildly shift the tone of a conversation.

After homeroom concluded, the instructor spoke to Akira again.

“Hey, Aoyagi? After school, you’ll have to pick your starting class and settings, so you’d best think about it in advance. Sorry you won’t get the full orientation experience like everyone else.”

“All right, thank you.”

...And so went our shocking (re?)introduction. During the rest time between classes, Akira apologized for her month-long absence.

“Sorry! I’m the one who talked you into this, and then you had to start without me. I hope you’re not too mad.”

“C’mon, how could I be mad at you?” I cracked my knuckles with a grin. The crackles sounded incredibly realistic. The attention to detail in this game never failed to astound me.

“Oh jeez, you really are mad! But wow, this game really is bonkers.” Akira happened to notice the same thing I did.

“Right? VRMMO tech is wild.”

“It’s like we’ve been warped to another world. It’s so fleshed out I’m not sure it real.”

“Well, we can be sure that it’s a game at least, with the backlog window and all the gauges.”

In my peripheral vision, I see my HP/MP/AP gauges. If I lock the backlog window, I can move that to my periphery as well. I know it’s RPGs 101 to explain this, but HP and MP are short for Health Points and Magic Points. AP, Arts Points, is used for special attacks, such as sword and lance arts. Double Slash is one of these attacks. The stronger the art, the more AP it costs. Unlike MP, AP actually starts at 0—when you deal or take damage, the gauge rises. Think of it like a super gauge in fighting games.

After that brief aside, I started to explain my current situation to Akira. When I told her that I chose the worst class and was low-leveled to match, Akira couldn’t contain her smile.

“Aww, were you waiting for me? You didn’t have to do that!”

“It’s not like someone was holding a gun to my head. Plus, it always feels better to share my rise to glory with someone else, y’know?” Besides, Akira told me in advance that she’d be late. Waiting for her was entirely of my own volition. “I’ve had bigger fish to fry than level-grinding, anyway.”

“Oho, really? Does it look like you’ll be redefining yet another meta?”

“I haven’t put it into practice yet, but I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

“Then let’s hop right to it! We may have had some setbacks, but are the chosen Elite Gamers! We’ll catch up in a flash and carry the whole competitive event.”

“Elite Gamers? You might as well just call us hopeless addicts.”

“What?! I thought it sounded really cool!” When I heard that silly response, there was no more doubt in my mind: this really was Akira. That put me at ease, at least.

“So hmm, what kind of class should I go for? Any recommendations? I gotta decide soon!”

“Do you want my personal recommendation, or an actual good recommendation?”

“A good one, please.”

“Paladin, magic knight, wizard, minstrel, cleric...” I listed the top classes for each main role: tank, attacker, buffer, and healer. Frontline and backline attackers had completely different...