Technology to read thoughts was a fundamental part of Full-Dive VR systems, and eventually Mira came to take it for granted, indulging in such wonderful technology without second thought.
But technology history books mentioned how it all started in the medicine field.
The first VR systems entered the market at the beginning of the 21st century, but those machines were completely different to anything Mira knew.
Those were like bulky glasses with screens, and controllers one would hold in their hands. They came in all shapes and sizes, but they were all the same in essence, small monitors strapped in front of one’s eyes and the need to move physically to interact with them.
The change into the modern systems happened around half a century before Mira’s birth.
Full-Dive systems would directly imbue one’s thoughts with a virtual world, giving the sensation that one had become a different person somewhere else. That technology revolutionized the VR landscape.
Reading thoughts also became the input method for Full-Dive systems, and the technology necessary for that had been invented half a century before the Full-Dive systems came out, essentially a century before Mira’s time. That technology had only matured to the point of discerning simple words by the time the Full-Dive systems came out though.
Some time after that there was a major breakthrough in VR technology, which fully embraced reading thoughts, and quickly ironed out all of the remaining kinks.
In other words, it was thanks to VR technology that the thought reading side was also completed.
(If I remember correctly it only took five years for that technology to go from distinguishing loose words to fully comprehending all of human thought. Hmm…it really was impressive technology.)
It was rare for technology to advance at such a rapid pace. But it also facilitated countless possibilities to bloom. Thinking back to all that, Mira began to feel something was odd about it.
In a way, the pace had been too rapid.
Were five years really all that was needed to go from capturing loose words to fully mapping out all the brain’s functions, no matter how small the movements, or what one was thinking?
(I think I saw some books mentioning there was a prodigy of VR technology that revolutionized everything. Now…what was their name again?)
Mira tried to recall what that savant was called, but as history was not her forte, she could not remember the name. All she could recall was that they were considered a genius with countless accomplishments, but also many secrets.
(Without that person we’d still be using those primitive VR systems…and Arc Earth Online would’ve never come to exist. Or maybe it would’ve come out, but I don’t know if I would’ve played it as much…)
Compared to Full-Dive systems that allowed free unrestricted movement, those old machines were riddled with restrictions. What attracted Mira the most to Arc Earth Online was how real it felt, even though it was simply a game. It was hard to imagine the old technology would have been able to portray so much realism.
The more she thought about it, the less plausible it seemed, or at least it would have been such an inferior game that she would not have been as addicted to the point of becoming one of the Nine Wisemen. And she would have never met her friends Solomon, Luminaria, Kagura, Soul Howl, and so many more.
It was a bit overwhelming to think of all that sequence of events that led to her friend circle forming, but she also smiled, being happy that it worked out.
At the same time another thought popped in her head. If that revolution in the VR space had not happened, she would not be in this world now.
And in the off-chance that it did happen, she would not be able to fight and move comfortably like in the game.
(It’s no exaggeration to say I’m used to everything I do in this world because it was a Full-Dive game.)
Putting aside the fact that she was in the body of a young girl now, Mira used Sense Sync on Garuda once again.
The connection was quickly established and her view switched. The fact she could do that so effortlessly was also thanks to her experience with mental practice in the game, something she had done for a long time.
(What is this world, in the first place…)
That was a thought Mira had been avoiding all this time, favoring living in the moment instead. After all, whatever had happened, it did not change that this was a beautiful and fun world.
But this world had also been a game once, playable through Full-Dive VR systems. Thinking of that, a different thought suddenly entered Mira’s mind. Back then, had this world really been purely virtual?
But she soon dismissed that with a mocking laugh. Something like that only happened in fantasy novels.
Then again, her situation at that very moment was something out of fantasy. Dismissing something for sounding like fantasy was not exactly an option anymore, considering everything that already happened.
「Anyway, we’re almost there!」
No matter how hard she thought about such complicated matters she would not be able to figure anything out, and thinking like that had never been her forte anyway. Mira would let the experts work on figuring out what this world was, and she would focus on what mattered to her. She was on a mission after all.
So she once again looked through Garuda’s eyes. The sky was already dark, with the moon shining brightly amongst a sea of stars. And the city of Haxthausen was almost directly below them.
The city was illuminated mainly by street lamps, and there were houses dotted around with some light visible through their windows. But the main street was lined with stores, open and brightly illuminated as if rebelling against the darkness of night. Seen from above that looked like a long line of light streaking across the entire city.
Seeing the distribution of light and darkness around the city was like seeing a heatmap of areas with the most activity.
(Now then…I can’t see any good places to land.)
Mira told Garuda to circle above the city while she searched for a place where the wagon could land. Somehow every spot that was wide enough was filled with people though, so Mira could not land there.
Unlike Gran Rings, there were no dedicated landing spots for adventurers with means to fly.
(Well, there aren’t many dungeons around this area, so it’s probably not fair to compare this to the entrance to the Ancient Underground City…)
The Ancient Underground City had floors catering to adventurers of all skill levels, while also being so wide that adventurers would not end up eating into the hunting areas of others. Meanwhile there were four dungeons near Haxthausen, and all of them of middling ranks. They were inhabited by large beastly monsters, so they were decently popular spots as well, though with how often they were hunted, it was easy for adventurers to get in accidents there.
(I guess I’ll just have to land outside and enter through the gates properly.)
Looking around she saw there was no one else flying in the air like her. But since it was night it was hard to see the ground, and there was a chance that she would land on top of someone by accident if she tried to do it within the city and did not see them.
So Mira told Garuda to go around to the main gates, and to land outside them.
Garuda flew around in a wide circle, obeying Mira’s orders and going above the main street until they reached the main gates. Then a distance away, on an empty area covered in grass, Garuda brought the wagon down to the ground.
After landing, Mira undid Sense Sync and she climbed out into the driver’s seat. 「Thank you again for today,」 she thanked Garuda.
In response Garuda spread its wings proudly, and piped loudly, as if claiming that had been nothing for it. At the same time, a gentle breeze passed by.
「I’ll be counting on you again soon enough.」 Mira appreciated Garuda’s readiness to help, and then sent the bird away. In its place, she thought of summoning Guardian Ash, but then stopped. 「Hmm…maybe I’ve done enough for today.」
It was already past 7 in the night, a bit too late to go into the city and try gaining information and finding an inn. So Mira decided she would spend the night outside.
Though spending a night outside was different for Mira than anyone else. It was nothing like setting up a tent, lighting a campfire, and placing a nightwatch. She could simply summon a mansion and spend the night in luxury and at ease.
Stepping out of the wagon, Mira summoned the spirit mansion, and just like always, took some time to admire it from outside. She really was proud of her home.1
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