Prologue 1: The Orange Book
Full-dive VRMMOs were once considered a mere fantasy. Of course, there had been countless VR adaptations of existing games marketed as VRMMOs, but none came close to what people had dreamed of.
You couldn’t touch objects.
Combat was just waving your hands up and down.
Controllers were actually easier to use than VR controls.
And so on. With both technical and financial hurdles stacked against them, everyone thought it was impossible for a game to solve these problems.
“This is incredible – I can grab sand and the tactile feedback is perfect… Are they really calculating each individual grain?!”
I toss aside the handful of dirt and draw my starting equipment handgun. In most games, you can’t actually draw weapons – you just equip them. Enter a command and the control scheme switches to gun mode. But in “HAO (Hereafter Apollyon Online),” you can physically draw your weapon. It’s similar to those VR Westerns I used to play, but those were specialized gun games so that was expected. This game isn’t just about guns, yet it achieves an even higher level of quality.
True to its tagline “Find the key to save the future from a collapsed world!”, this game is set in the near future. The setting is 2050, ten years from now, after the world has ended. Looking around the tutorial space, I can tell this isn’t a pleasant world from the scattered remains of apartment buildings and machinery.
And in this game, anything goes. Released with an R-18G rating, this title features unrestricted sexual content and gore – you can tell the level of mature content from the fact that the first official playstyles they announced were prostitute and serial killer. You can also work as a courier delivering packages to survivors, become a thief and steal those deliveries, or join the Security Force to police such criminals.
The freedom isn’t just in playstyles – it extends to combat methods and ways to make money. You can use guns, don powered suits and swing knives around, craft and sell items, or even engage in human trafficking.
And in this sci-fi world, you can apparently pilot giant robots. A character piloting a giant robot appeared briefly in the PV. With this much freedom, surely I can make my dreams come true!
Anyone who’s watched mecha anime has probably wanted to build and pilot their own giant robot. I, Mishima Kanji, have always felt this desire strongly. I’m 18, starting university this April, and I’m obsessed with plastic models and tinkering with machines. This game appeared before me like an answer to my dreams. While I’m not sure how accurately they’ve recreated everything, with this level of attention to detail, I have high hopes!
So I completed the pre-download and logged in right as services began. For my player name, I combined the “Mi” from Mishima and “Kan” from Kanji to make “Mikan” so I went with Orange, kept my face mostly the same as real life, and hit OK.
『Character creation beginning. Please select your race.』
The text appears floating in the air as a hologram. The available races are Human, Esper, Cyborg, and Beastkin. Their abilities break down as follows:
Human… No special abilities. Bonus to skill point distribution.
Esper… Unlocks the Psychic Powers skill tree. Lower base stats.
Cyborg… Mechanically enhanced human who can equip special gear on their right arm.
Beastkin… Genetically modified human. High base stats.
This game has no concept of leveling up. According to the official explanation, stats only increase through skills, items, and event effects. But I don’t care about that. I need to acquire the Piloting and Production skill trees.
Without hesitation, I select Human and dump all my free points into DEX. A popup appears with a list of skills floating in the air. Text fills the tutorial space, and among them I find what I’m looking for.
“Apollyon Control and Apollyon Production – this is it!”
The official website had revealed that the giant robots are called Apollyons, so this must be right. While the actual giant robot production skills are further down the mechanical skill tree and will take time to acquire, what catches my eye is the Apollyon Control skill.
Apollyon Control — Apollyon Control Manual
“Wait, that’s it?!”
Shockingly, there isn’t even an actual control skill. Other piloting skills have things like mobility enhancement and balance improvement to assist player piloting techniques. Yet this just gives you a manual. And looking closer, the production skill tree has an “Apollyon Design Specifications” too. Why are there basically textbooks as skills? And with the Human race bonus giving me 200 starting points, these two skills alone eat up 100 points!
『Acquired Apollyon Control Manual and Apollyon Design Specifications』
Well, I’m getting them anyway. For my final choice, I select “Starting Equipment: Apollyon Mass Production Type” – now I’m all set.
『Welcome to HAO! The key to the future lies in your hands!』
With this message, the space becomes unstable and figures suddenly appear in the crowded area ahead. The tutorial seems to be over – looks like we’re on our own from here. While it’s an unfriendly game, before checking my surroundings or anything else, I have something I need to do.
I turn around. There stands my dream giant robot from the starting equipment… and it’s completely beat up. The info window shows: “The operation in 2055 failed. Among the wreckage, there are still usable parts. Like this mass-produced AP (Apollyon).” …Hey, just because it’s a post-apocalyptic world doesn’t mean you have to go that far, you know? Really. Also, apparently Apollyon gets abbreviated as AP.
The AP is a humanoid robot with long limbs. This AP is only about 5 meters tall, much smaller than the several dozen meter tall robot shown in the PV, but mass-produced units this size make sense for easier maintenance. The armor is falling off with some areas down to just the frame. Green rust stands out against the red body, which holds a blade in one hand.
Whatever else, this is the giant robot I’ve dreamed of. Excited, I climb up to the cockpit and slip into the pilot’s seat. The interior has numerous switches and control sticks, and there’s some kind of stain on the seat. While poking around the gaps, I find an unusually old newspaper being used to catch oil leaks under a box. It’s dated March 1st, 2040 – tomorrow’s paper, since today is February 29th.
『At approximately 3:21 AM on March 1st, 2040, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia. In Indonesia, this earthquake—』
The center of the newspaper is illegible due to oil stains, with only this part being readable. I wonder why there’s such a recent – or rather, tomorrow’s – newspaper in the future, but then again, newspaper culture is already dying out today. If they wanted newspaper content but also realism, they probably had to set it in the most recent era where papers were still being published. Still, the developers sure are detail-oriented to even set specific newspaper content.
I toss the newspaper aside. Obviously just sitting in the cockpit won’t let me pilot it, and randomly pressing switches doesn’t work either. With no other choice, I sigh and use my skills.
“Apollyon Control Manual! Apollyon Design Specifications!”
Upon declaring this, two extremely thick books appear in my hands. I mean, sure, they’re manual skills, but who actually materializes books? And they’re way too thick! Usually these kinds of skills just give bonuses to piloting success rates or something…
The old-looking books have the logo of RE Corp, famous for powered suits, on their covers. While wondering if they properly got permission for using a company logo given all the rights issues involved, I open these 1000+ page volumes and…
“…Wait, it’s in English. Isn’t this a Japanese game?”
Yes, they were in English. …Are the developers idiots? They must be idiots! And this game is trash! I shout internally. At this point:
– A supposedly pilotable machine that can’t be operated
– Skills that cost tons of points only gave me books nobody could possibly read
This is the situation. Despite advertising complete freedom as its selling point, it seems determined not to let you be free. I’m furious at the developers’ approach. After finally thinking I could pilot a giant robot, this is how they treat me? Don’t mess with me!
“I’m definitely going to pilot this thing!”
After logging out of HAO, I immediately compile my in-game screenshots and access the HAO strategy board.
[Unfriendly] HAO Strategy Thread Part 12 [Trash Game]
452 Anonymous Player
Current summary:
– No proper tutorial
– Login suspended after death
– Get shot for criminal acts
– Login suspended for starving to death
– Realism is godly. Graphics are amazing
– R-18G is serious. Gore scenes already uploaded to video sites, and some players have already succeeded in sexual acts
453 Anonymous Player
This is such trash. Got PKed and got hit with a login suspension. Looks like all my equipment was stripped too
454 Anonymous Player
I heard you could get combat training by joining the Security Force but I got hit with a serious aptitude test and failed. What’s with that?
455 Anonymous Player
>>454 That’s the same as the real thing. Buy SPI exam prep books and guides on how to pass personality tests
456 Anonymous Player
>>455 That sucks, I’m giving up on Security Force. Couldn’t get in anyway
Speaking of which, since it’s day one there’s barely any progress on strategies. Everyone’s confused
457 Anonymous Player
The overseas threads have info about Security Force and couriers. Nothing much known about the rest. Apparently there are machine beast monsters outside the city, but you’ll get instadeath with just a handgun
458 Anonymous Player
Apparently ten Beastkin with knives managed to hunt one down. They say if you kill even one you get introduced to the Adventurer’s Guild
459 Anonymous Player
http■■■■■■■■■■■■■
Here’s the data from the Apollyon Control Manual and Apollyon Design Specifications. Took screenshots of all 2000 pages. Posted it on overseas boards too, but I’m Japanese and bad at English so I’d appreciate help decoding it
460 Anonymous Player
>>459 LOL at the insane amount of data. BTW your player name is showing in the screenshots, Mr. Orange
461 Anonymous Player
>>459 What is this, it’s a real manual. I’m laughing at all these terms I’ve seen in university classes
462 Anonymous Player
>>459 This Orange Book is interesting, trying to translate it. For now, the red switch in the upper right is the activation button, there’s a spare generator if you open the box at your feet. And if you can get the control program running, there’s supposed to be some kind of assist
463 Anonymous Player
>>462 Nice work. I looked at the production side of the Orange Book. It’s got tons of world-building info and detailed maintenance procedures. Wonder if we’ll actually have to do this stuff, good luck with that
464 Anonymous Player
>>459 That’s some incredible info for day one. I’ll check out the Orange Book too
…This should do it. The Apollyon Control Manual and Apollyon Design Specifications data that I carefully screenshot and uploaded has been completely unified under the name “Orange Book.” It’s even being called “The Orange Books” on overseas message boards. The fact that player names show up in screenshots was something I didn’t know about – a complete accident.
I’ve done what I can for now. Looking outside, it’s starting to get light. Thankfully it’s spring break, or I’d definitely be late for class. I climb into bed, planning to wrestle with translation software when I wake up later today.
『At approximately 3:21 AM on March 1st, 2040, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia. In Indonesia, this earthquake—』
I ignore the phone notification lighting up my already brightening room and fall asleep. Of course I sleep soundly. But at this point, I had no idea that this upload would dramatically change my life.
『And now for today’s news. Files known as The Orange Books, posted early this morning, have been found to contain leaked confidential information from RE Corp, America’s largest powered suit manufacturer. The Orange Books are a collection of screenshots from HAO, which launched yesterday. RE Corp claims these screenshots contain numerous pieces of confidential information. From the message board posts, the uploader appears to be Japanese with the player name Orange.』
RE Corp
America’s largest powered suit manufacturer. They produce and sell industrial powered suits. Recently they’ve been buying up military manufacturers and apparently trying to build something big! …At least that’s what they were doing until they got hit with an unprecedented attack from across the ocean – we’re Orange’s Victims Association #1. They should have had a monopoly on the AP market if it weren’t for some weird Orange…
By the way, screenshots taken in HAO can be freely uploaded with the consent of any people shown in them,
so uploading the Orange Book violated no terms of service. The developers clearly don’t think anyone could clear such an unfriendly game without information sharing anyway.
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