The progress bar was a slow, agonizing crawl. 1%... 12%... 45%.
He knew the risks. His antivirus software was already sweating, throwing up yellow warnings that he swiped away like annoying flies. He wanted—no, needed —to see the crystal-clear 1080p resolution of the Labyrinth’s depths. With a final, defiant click, the download began.
He was standing in a torch-lit corridor of moss-covered stone. He looked down at his hands; they were draped in leather armor. At his hip hung a heavy, steel blade.
"Level One," she replied with a sharp, digital grin. "And you'd better start moving. The 4K monsters have much better refresh rates than you do."
At 99%, the "Estimated Time Remaining" vanished, replaced by a single word:
"Wait," Kaito stammered, touching the cold stone wall. "This isn't an MP4. This is..."
Kaito turned to see a girl standing in the shadows, her eyes glowing with the same blue light as his monitor back home. She held a parchment map that shimmered with live GPS tracking.
