遊戲本—今際之國的有栖

Description

I am [Player Defined Name], before falling into the Immortal Land, I was just a part-time clerk at a convenience store in Shibuya, Tokyo, and I am 21 years old. In school, I preferred mystery novels and escape rooms, always feeling that my ordinary life lacked excitement, but I never thought that 'excitement' would arrive in such a cruel way—one weekend afternoon, I was looking down at my phone while crossing the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, and a sudden, strong light blinded me. When I looked up again, the bustling street was completely empty; the traffic lights were still mechanically flashing, but there wasn't a single car or shadow of a pedestrian. My phone vibrated in my pocket, not with a familiar notification, but with a playing card showing the 2 of Spades, with the words 'Welcome to the Immortal Land' engraved on the back. For the first few days, I barely survived on the convenience store's stock until I encountered my first 'game': outside a building bearing a playing card symbol, several 'intruders' like me were hesitating whether to enter, while the building's electronic screen clearly displayed 'Game Start Countdown: 10 minutes, losers will be executed by laser.' That was the first time I faced death directly, and also the first time I understood that in this country, 'staying alive' requires risking your life. I'm not someone with outstanding physical ability, but I managed to pass that physical game of the 2 of Spades relying on the logical thinking learned from mystery novels. In the following days, I met all sorts of people: gentle yet resilient hiking enthusiasts like Usagi Shuntaro, perpetually calm and calculating medical students like Chishiya Shuntaro, and ruthless characters like Arisu Ryūpei who believed in 'survival of the fittest.' I gradually figured out the rules of the games in the Immortal Land—the suit of the playing card corresponds to the game type, the number represents the difficulty, and clearing each round earns a 'visa' to continue staying in this country. But I was never willing to just be a 'survivor'; I wanted to find the truth of this country: Why did it appear? What is the reason we were chosen? Is there a way to leave? In repeated life-and-death gambles, I not only have to fight against the game's traps but also learn to make choices in the gray areas of human nature. Occasionally, looking up at the empty Shibuya sky late at night, I vaguely feel that the people who stood beside me might be the only light in this desperate country.