Survive in Azure Files

"A button... [Secret Sword: Swallow Return: Attack the enemy twice]" Alice read out the skill description, and then launched the announcement, "I'm going to use the Secret Sword on the slime... Swallow——"

"Hey, wait, let's control the distance first...ah."

Yuzu's reminder came too late again.

I saw the green pixel block on the screen take out a black pixel block from behind it, and then red and yellow pixel blocks flashed.

With a gunshot, Alice's character, who was unable to dodge the attack, fell to the ground and died.

This time, there is a new line of text below GAME OVER.

[Slime: No matter how much you hone your swordsmanship, it's useless in front of my gun... Hehe.]

I took a deep breath and felt my blood pressure rise again.

"Hmm... As expected, it's still a little unnatural for a slime to say 'huh'..." Taoi carefully chose her words.

"…If I want to complain, that's probably not the place."

Green's complaints are quite accurate.

"Momoi." I took a deep breath and a kind smile appeared on my face. "In the next work, remember to delete the part about posthumous taunting."

"Eh? Why?"

"No reason."

In this situation, Alice seems to be about to crash:

“Thinking stops and processing speed can’t keep up.”

"Ah, Alice-chan, are you okay?" Midori asked with concern.

Yuzu encouraged him: "It's okay, because this is just the beginning... Once you get through the early stages and become familiar with the operation, there won't be any such problems!"

After my battle with Yuzu, I began to wonder if her definition of difficulty was quite different from that of ordinary people.

Alice calmed down a little, or as the robot says, she restarted the process a little.

"...Restart and try again." Alice looked full of fighting spirit. "This time I will try to master the range of the gun and try to keep a distance and defeat the slime."

"Yes, that's it!" Tao Jing said happily, "Never give up and challenge again and again. You will definitely find the answer to the level at the end of your mistakes. This is the charm of nostalgic games. Woohoo - what the hell are you doing!"

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore, I grabbed Tao Jing's soft and smooth face and asked sinisterly:

"Is this why you designed so many malicious traps?"

Damn Taoi, no matter how much or how nicely you say it, it can't change the fact that she willfully displays her own bad taste in the game.

Old thieves like these must be nipped in the bud.

"Uh... sorry..."

Amid Taoi's wailing and Xiaoluo Yuzu's snickering, Alice's gaming adventure continues.

Chapter 25 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Three hours later.

As the light coming through the gaps in the curtains dimmed, the TV screen turned black again.

But the difference this time is that there is no blood-red text popping up to symbolize the failure of the game. Instead, white text emerges from the bottom of the screen and scrolls from bottom to top.

The producer list after completing the game means that Alice's journey of suffering has finally come to an end.

However, Alice put down the handle with a sense of relief, but her expression was still painful and distorted. Obviously, she had not yet recovered from the shock brought by "Myths, Legends, and Chronicles".

"Kill. Me..."

She leaned back in my arms, uttering such a sad moan.

I took Alice in my arms and stroked her hair, feeling the same touch as that of an ordinary person. I felt both tenderhearted and gloating in her misfortune.

"That's amazing, Alice!"

Tao Jing praised with great excitement: "Even though I played with three developers and a teacher who can be called a hardcore gamer, it only took me three hours to complete the game!"

After hearing Tao Jing's comments about me, I suddenly felt not so happy anymore.

"I think Alice could have gotten through the game faster." I looked at Tao Jing and smiled calmly, "If it hadn't been for those times in the middle when the computer almost crashed when it read the wrong text you wrote?"

"Oh... I'm not willing..."

Now, Tao Jing couldn't laugh anymore, and fell into doubt about her own literary literacy and thinking about the meaning of life.

I nodded with satisfaction, and felt mentally balanced.

“Speaking of which,” Midori focused on the other side, “Could it be that as long as I keep playing games… Alice-chan’s way of speaking will become more and more diverse…!?”

Hearing this question, Alice immediately said seriously: "Brave man, if you are asking for my consent, I will give you the affirmative!"

"Well, is that really the case...?"

Taoi, who quickly recovered from the blow with her strong willpower, asked hesitantly.

"Maybe it's because I learned it from a game, so it still feels a little unnatural..." Midori thought for a moment and expressed her opinion, "But I think it's much better than when I could only arrange and combine words! What do you think, teacher?"

"Indeed it is."

At least I have improved to the point where I can have a normal level of communication with people, and I guess I will just be considered a serious chuunibyou gaming geek...

Still need to work hard.

After getting my approval, Midori breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Alice with trepidation and expectation:

"Well, Alice-chan, I'm a little nervous to ask you this kind of question face to face, but..."

Midori, Momoi, and Yuzu exchanged glances, then stuttered a little before asking the question that everyone was most concerned about:

"How was our game? Was it fun!?"

Under the girls' burning gazes, Alice did not answer immediately.

In the silent waiting, the thinking becomes more prolonged.

Finally, the robot girl said slowly: "...It means it's impossible."

Tao Jing, who was already impatient, was even more impatient at this moment because of her anticipation: "Eh, eh eh!? Why!?"

"…Searching for similar performances. Loading…"

Midori said worriedly, "Is he...looking for something bad to say...? That shouldn't be the case, right?"

As for Yuzu, she had already started shivering again.

Fortunately, I noticed it in time and rubbed her head with my backhand, which calmed her down a little.

"……interesting."

Alice spoke again, causing the girls in the game development department to swallow nervously at the same time.

"That does exist..."

The moment Alice uttered the second half of her sentence, Momoi couldn't help but cheer, and the other two reserved people also showed relieved expressions.

I am not surprised by this result.

In fact, the game development department's debut work was indeed a piece of shit, but it couldn't really be called boring.

The ubiquitous bad taste, the overly strong sense of frustration, the text that does not express the meaning, and the extremely low level of completion are enough to offset the fun of the game.

But if this is your first time playing the game and you have an indomitable willpower and can ignore these shortcomings, you may be able to discover the highlights of this game.

At least, a game that, with zero publicity, defeated a series of masterpieces such as "Three Schools", "The Defenders of the Forsaken", "Kōrin Taisai 2K2", "Divine Ring: Gudong", and topped the annual list of negative reviews, and it is also a retro 24-bit RPG, it cannot be completely useless.

And Alice's evaluation has not yet ended.

"As the game progresses..." Alice closed her eyes and whispered softly, "It's like traveling in another world... It's like a dream. That feeling... I want to do it again... again..."

There was warm liquid dripping on the back of my hand.

Before I could react, Momoi and Midori exclaimed.

"Hey!?"

"Ai, Alice-chan!? Why are you crying all of a sudden!?"

Only then did I realize that they were Alice's tears.

Can robots cry?

Can robots dream?

With such doubts, a new question emerged in my mind:

Does this mean that Alice has her own emotions?

Because of the huge differences in their appearance, I had almost never thought about the issues concerning the robot citizens of Kivotos before.

Or to be more precise, I don't care about the physiological structure or thoughts of robots.

I don't have the energy, I don't care, and I have no interest.

But Alice is different.

With an appearance similar to that of a student and a halo on her head, if this is Alice, she has normal human emotions.

Should I also treat her as my student?

……So.

How should I view...what about Alona, ​​who has been with me since I first arrived in Kivotos?

"Is there any need to ask?" Tao Jing smiled proudly, "This means that our game is so touching!"

Sometimes I can't help but wonder where her confidence comes from.

Midori was skeptical: "A-Anyway, this is... this game should be a comedy RPG..."

"Thank...thank you, Alice."

Yuzu handed me a tissue, and since Alice didn't seem to understand Yuzu's intention, I took it and helped her wipe it.

"Just like the teacher, he said our game was very interesting... He wanted to play it again..."

Perhaps infected by Momoi, Yuzu actually recounted a non-existent memory: "I actually cried while playing... Really, thank you very much."

Alice blinked, her face full of innocence.

Chapter 26: The Light Lost in Himari's Eyes

Seeing Alice's confused look, Yuzu said embarrassedly:

"I'm sorry, but Alice is the first person besides the teacher who can enjoy our game so much. So, even if it's not just to satisfy President Li's request, I sincerely hope that Alice can become a member of our club."

"Become... a member... understand. Alice has become a partner, bang bang ka bang——!" Alice imitated the sound effect of joining a team in the game, "...Is this right?"

Yuzu was stunned for a moment: "Ah, well, that's probably what it feels like, right."

It seems that Alice's way of speaking is far from mature.

"Ah, if you think RPGs are interesting..." Yuzu came closer, her eyes twinkling with a glint that she rarely saw before, "I have many more games to recommend to you."

"Wait a minute! I'm the one who should recommend the game to Alice first!"

Tao Jing interrupted, "As long as you play more high-quality games, you will speak more and more naturally, and you will be able to meet the requirements set by the president!"

Then, she began to list the classic games of Kivotos:

"Come on, first of all, "Heroic Mythology", "Final Fantasy", "Eternal Aisu" and..."

“What are you talking about!” Green retorted, “Alice is a novice player, right? Of course, we should start with The Legend of Selna: Dream Island!”

Even Yuzu showed her determination: "We can't give in on this point. We must play Romance Story next. Ah, but I personally think we don't have to play the third part..."

Alice still didn't quite understand their dispute.

But there is one thing Alice can be sure of.

The robot girl smiled and said, "...Looking forward to it. Let's start the game again."