Versatile: Alternate World



Beep...beep...beep

The sound of the heart monitor is the only sound that echoes inside the room, connected to an unconscious little girl lying still on a hospital bed. Across the bed is Janus, watching over this little girl.

The little girl is Janus's little sister. Although she lives in America, she and Janus's family went on a vacation in Japan to check out tourist spots and to also check on Janus as well.

But fun times were short-lived when his little sister, Jane suddenly suffers her long-time illness that has yet to worsen. Jane has epilepsy and she has been suffering this for a long time. But she hasn't had a seizure for a long time until now, that is. They were thankful that Jane didn't suffer a worse condition but she still fell into a coma shortly after her seizure.

This is the main reason Janus has barely been playing Alternate World nowadays and is barely at home due to how he has to watch over his sister. He even has to quit his job at the convenience store in the meantime to dedicate his time to watching over his sister whom he treasures. 

The seizure that happened to her system was almost fatal but a miracle that she managed to survive without suffering long-term injuries. The only bad thing that happened after her seizure is that she fell into a deep sleep, which according to her doctors might be the result of her sudden seizures acting up after being dormant for a long time.

Janus's parents decided that they will stay in Japan for now until Jane recovers from her illness and Janus is happy that his family is near and he can visit them anytime. But he doesn't like the circumstances that made them stay.

Although Janus lives a frugal life in Japan, his family is quite rich and they own their mansion here in Japan and some businesses as well. The reason Janus is not living like a king in Japan is that he decides to learn how to be independent and manage himself without the help of his parents' wealth which was approved by his parents. Still, even though he was trying to live an independent life, his parents still sends money to him monthly, just to help him even for a little bit.

However, right now, Janus has to stop working as he needed to watch over his sister. His parents are busy with work and can only come during the evening after they are done with their work while his big sister is currently away abroad and busy with her studies. Although there is a maid that helps out, having a real guardian helps a lot better for her sister and that's why Janus is doing this.

After the nurse finished checking her vitals and her current condition, Janus has no other stuff to do but relax now. Although he wanted to dive back to Alternate World, he doesn't want to leave his sister while he is enjoying the game. He cannot enjoy playing if he is in the middle of watching over his sister.

Sighing, he grab his phone and realized that his phone has run out of battery.

"Ugh... seriously? Looks like I forgot to check whether I have charged my phone. I think I am too stressed these days."

As Janus was busy charging his phone, he heard a few knocks on the door. Janus don't know who it was and if it was his parents, they wouldn't bother to knock at all and the same goes for the nurses as well. The only ones who would be knocking are guests whom he has told about his current situation and where the room of his sister was located, in fact, they should even know which hospital first before they can locate the room.

Janus thought it would be Manato and the others but he shook the idea as he didn't even have any contact with them. He tried contacting Manato the other day but he can't reach him at all since his phone just keeps on ringing and no one is picking it up. The others would be unlikely as well so who is this person knocking on the door?

He didn't think much and decided to open it up. Revealing an old man in formal attire. Beside him is a girl that looks like a secretary. Although these two people are someone that Janus doesn't know, Manato clearly knows who these two people are.

----------------------

"The final preparations are underway, and we can start anytime."

After Renatta, Alena, and Labo confirmed the plans, it is now safe to proceed to the next plan and go to the Alternate World to find the Tree of Life before Nobuhiko can get a grasp on its location first. Knowing his plans, it is clear that Nobuhiko is trying to use it to his own advantage. 

Who would have thought I would even forget my initial plan of returning in the past and decide to prevent something that has been planned for a lot of times? I don't even care about the revenge plan I have anymore, to be honest. And I think that is for the best. The guy I have to take my revenge on didn't even know me much and has been in the dumps ever since I did some parts of my revenge.

Perhaps I have matured and have realized that revenge usually doesn't bear fruits at all.

However, I think having this goal is much better than doing what I initially wanted to do. Once I finish my revenge, what next? I don't even have plans for later after I have done the job. Perhaps I have been acting too rashly and I think I also gave in so easily to Nobuhiko's attempt to use me.

Anyways, the plan can't proceed just yet. Janus has yet to know the plan. Almost all of us are ready to proceed and execute the plan to fruition but we still have yet to discuss this matter with Janus.

As much as I needed to discuss this matter with him, it was also time that he became elusive. I don't know what happened to him and even if I try to contact him, I can't even connect to his phone which is odd since he keeps his phone in full charge to ensure someone can contact him anytime. So why now?

However, I think I have to think about that later on. For now, we have to discuss this matter with everyone.

That evening, we gathered together, including my parents. As usual, we have the elves do the blocking of the surveillance.

"Alright, we should start that little meeting we have on the plan that we will be conducting regarding the matter of going to Alternate World and living there for quite some time in search of the Tree of Life. We will be going there for the sake of finding it first and protecting it from the Nobuhiko who plans to use it for his own agenda that is enough and warranted for him to erase and modify memories. We have already discussed this matter before but we are happy to inform everyone that the plan is now ready to launch and everyone is ready to go to Alternate World whenever we wanted without the constraints and bindings that Nexus put on their spells."

Everyone started clapping after hearing that. They have already agreed to join in this revolution that only us knows and now, the final preparations are in order. I then handed the explanations to Renatta.

"[As I told you all, we will be staying in Alternate World for a long time. We don't know how long but we will be staying there as much as we can and exploring the places that might be the place where the Tree of Life is currently located. And to avoid the detection of the Nexus, we will have to get rid of the Nexus systems that are embedded in your body.]"

"Get rid of the system?" everyone looked confused.

"[Yes. In short, we will be resetting everyone's level back to level 1.]"

Everyone's eyes went wide. I also frowned when I heard that as well. This is the first time I heard of it.

"[Everyone. Do not worry about this matter. Resetting back to level 1 is not the only thing we can do. In fact, we will have to start with a clean slate. In your terms, you guys will be starting a new game."

"Wait, so that means, all of our achievements, weapons, and gear will disappear?" Riko asked.

"Yes. All of them will disappear. However, that only applies to the items in your inventory that were currently bound to the system of the Nexus. As I said before, we have recreated the same system in a new form that only we can use."

Pandora raised her hands and showed her sketchbook.

"(What about our summoned creatures or tamed pets?)"

"Ah, don't worry about them. Tamed pets and summoned allies are part of you and are never considered bound on the Nexus system. If you have any of them, then you don't have to worry as they are connected to you, not the system. Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but items that are considered "BOUND" to their owner will remain bound to their owner. So even when the reset happens, those things that are bound to the user will remain with you even after the reset."

I sighed in relief when I heard that every contract I made and my pets will remain even after the reset. Although the system of the Nexus considered them as companions, they never get to hold the contract between the owner and the pets or companions.

"We will be giving you all a chance to save all of your items and put them in containers. I also suggest that you guys store the money that you guys earned in a bank or anywhere you can store it. That way, we all can start big even when starting again."

"I see, so this is like New Game Plus? That's great!"

So that means we can start strong early. Then, I think we have a new job to do before the reset. I looked at everyone and it seems they also have the same idea.

"Do our belongings like our ownership in houses and land reset as well?" I asked.

"No. Ownership of buildings is printed as you and they don't need the Nexus system to identify you as the owner. As long as you own it, even after the reset, you will still own it after."

I grinned and nodded.

"Looks like our next stop is already decided."

And so, we have started to plan for our rebellion and search for the Tree of Life.