Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Despite it being early summer, I found myself deep within a long coniferous forest where snow still lay thick on the ground.
Beyond the barely discernible cobblestones of a decaying old road stood a single, dilapidated building.

Inside what appeared to be a temple—now completely in ruins—there was none of the cold damage that had plagued me throughout my journey, despite its dilapidated exterior. I made my way through the building, free of enemies, without incident.

In the final room I reached, there was a warp gate—the kind I’d seen countless times in the game. Passing through the gate, just as I had expected, I found myself in a mysterious space that was pure white as far as the eye could see… a vast, unbroken expanse of white where it was impossible to distinguish between floor and wall.

And right in front of me, on a pedestal, lay a luxurious book opened to a blank page. When I touched it, blood-red letters appeared on the page.

.

Do you wish to cast aside your current body and unleash a new power?

I do not

Cardinal
Saint/Saintess (Unique Job)
Lightwing (Unique Race)

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“What is this… Unique… race?”

Did they ever tell me about this?
For now, I opened the party chat and contacted the two who were preparing for our hunting trip—scheduled for later—in a village about a thirty-minute walk away.

*“What’s up? Is there a problem?”*
“So… I got a question. Did you guys get three options when you two changed your Jobs? Uh, I mean, excluding canceling the Job change, of course.”
*“……”*

A brief silence. Then, eventually,

*“Nope. I know for sure I only had two choices. The normal one, and the Unique Job.”*
*“Me too. What’s the third one, anyway?”*
“Hang on, it says Unique Race, Lightwing Race.”

Actually, I’ve heard of this race before.

*“…Isn’t that the one whose name keeps popping up in events every once in a while? Any other info?”*

Prompted by Sol’s voice urging me to continue, I moved the cursor over the bottom-most item, and additional information popped up.

“……If you select this race, your race and class will change to exclusive ones, your racial traits will be replaced with exclusive ones, and you’ll additionally acquire the following ability……『The Wings of World Restoration』. It heals the wounds of the world and restores it to its rightful form…… Wait, aren’t those—?”
*“The Wounds of the World—that’s the respawn points for certain raid bosses, right?”*
*“And the entrances to some dungeons, too… I wonder what “erasing” them means?”*
*“Well, I doubt he’d actually destroy dungeons… I mean, there’s no way they’d include something that malicious in an ability a single player can obtain, right? Probably not.”*

If that were true, that would be far too much power to grant to a single player.

*“True… Still, even if it turns out to be a huge landmine, we’ll definitely stick by you, Onii-chan. So don’t worry—go ahead and choose it.”*
*“Yep. Besides, there might be all sorts of other hidden elements tucked away, too.”*

I do feel a little uneasy.
But no matter what happened, they would be there with me. Those words alone were more than enough to let my curiosity about the unknown take precedence and push me into taking that first step.

“You’re right… Okay, if it turns out to be something far too outlandish, let’s just make fun of it together.”

An option that hadn’t been listed in any report until now. With anticipation for what lay ahead, I tapped the bottom option: the Lightwing Race.

.

.

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—That was how it all began.

.

.

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“What the hell is this…?”

I, Hikami Kyouya, was stunned by what was happening right before my eyes.

At first, I thought it was just a minor bug.
A small glitch in the field. Something I could fix in a flash and be done with, nothing serious enough to require maintenance.

However, the crack that began at a certain point…the location of the Reincarnation Event, commonly known as the 『White World』—quickly spread throughout the entire virtual world, and now all the company’s equipment was blaring loud alarms.
Despite the staff’s combined efforts to contain it, we were no match for it, and even our attempts at a forced shutdown were inexplicably rejected by every means available.

“F̲u̲c̲k̲! Server room, do you read?! Pull the plug, now!!”
*“We pulled the damn thing ages ago!!”*
*“How?! I even tripped the circuit breaker…!!”*

I clicked my tongue and slammed down the receiver, leaving the server room to its chaos.

『Inititating Code: Worldgate. Beginning collection of vitality and mana from all unauthorized users; forced logouts will be executed sequentially upon completion… Complete. Next, beginning modification of target character 【Iris】…』

A voice announcing information I knew nothing about echoed through the room.

“What the hell is this…?”

Looking at one of the monitors, I saw a world dyed crimson, where the HP and MP of the players present were rapidly depleting due to massive SLIP damage, causing them to collapse one after another. As soon as they fell, they were enveloped in a logout glow and vanished from the game.

“H-hurry! Check the vital signs of the players who logged out right now… Make sure they’re okay! ASAP!!”
“Y-yes!”

Given this emergency, anything could happen. At the very least, I hoped the players were safe… Driven by that single thought, I issued the order with a sense of desperation, almost as if I were praying.

Just then, someone entered the room acting as if nothing were wrong—unusually laid-back even in the midst of this emergency.

The CEO, Aureo Uber. Why was he watching this situation with such satisfaction? His utterly carefree demeanor made my blood boil. F̲u̲c̲k̲ it. I didn’t care if he was my boss.

“You! What’s with that composure…!”
“……Ah, there’s no need to worry about those who’ve been forcibly logged out. They might feel a slight buzz from being kicked out, but it shouldn’t be harmful to the human body.”

He said it casually, as if it were no big deal—as if he knew something about this situation.

“……What do you know?”
“Everything. After all, I’m the one who conceived this entire situation.”

What Aureo told me next was a fantasy-ridden story far removed from my understanding of reality.

In his words, he was a resident of a world different from this one, and had been accidentally transported here from that world.

In his words, his purpose was to create the “person” necessary to resolve the crisis unfolding in that world and bring them back.

In his words, the “Third Reincarnation Job” was a literal reincarnation that reshaped one’s body to adapt to that world, which was harsher than this one.

In his words, as a preparatory stage for this reincarnation, there were already individuals in this world who were experiencing slight improvements in their abilities and other effects.

In his words……

“…In other words, this 『Worldgate Online』 itself is a gate I created to connect the other world to this one, and a device to fulfill my lifelong ambition—the creation of the one who corrects the world…a member of the long-extinct Lightwing race, as well as soldiers who will serve as their defenders—soldiers free from any ties to this world. Do you understand?”

A book appeared before Aureo. Isn’t that the white book from the reincarnation chamber? Its countless pages detached from the book and began to float around him. What on earth is this? When did this world become such a fantasy realm?

『Player 【Iris】 modification complete. Initiating teleportation. Eligible players within 『Worldgate Online』, teleportation complete. Next, beginning search and teleportation of eligible players outside the game…』

On the monitors displaying various locations, those still standing within the game were bewildered by the sudden emergency… Something resembling a magic circle appeared at the feet of those who had undergone the Third Reincarnation Job, and one after another, they were swallowed up and vanished.

“Lastly, let me properly introduce myself. I am 『Aureolius Nordglacier』. You’ve heard of this name. The former King of Nordglacier who suddenly went missing from within the Worldgate Online… That is me.”

I couldn’t help but scoff. So we had been creating the world where he lived under the command of an inhabitant of the very game we thought we had made ourselves?

“When did you decide to turn 『Iris』… Kuga-kun… into a tool for your purpose and take him over there?”
“…From the very first time I saw him at the contest. His parents aren’t alive in this world, and his only family is his younger sister. A shut-in with few ties, little attachment to this world, kind-hearted, and above all, that appearance that makes people want to protect him. He was already on my list as a prime candidate from that moment on.”
“……You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”

I instinctively reached out to grab him by the collar, but a band-like shadow extended from the pages floating around him and restrained my limbs. This was far too unfair to Kuga-kun. I wouldn’t rest until I told him that.

“He… He was grateful that we took him in… He told us ‘thank you’, from the bottom of his heart…!!”

And you’re telling me, all of that was nothing but a plot just to send him into danger…?!

“Hmm, that’s convenient. If so, then let’s have him pay that favor back.”
“…You… you b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”

Even as I raged, a magic circle appeared at my feet. My feet, which should have been beneath the circle as it gradually rose, were nowhere to be found. My body was fading away.

“Come to think of it, you are qualified too, aren’t you? I do recall that you are pretty smitten with him… no, her now. By all means, do protect her for me. Well then. I’ll be on my way.”

I could only reach out toward his back as he turned on his heel and walked away. Immediately after, my consciousness was swallowed by darkness and vanished.

.

“Hatakeyama… What on earth is happening?”
“I don’t know… How could I possibly know…!”

In the room where it had all ended, every terminal continued to mercilessly display error screens.

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On that day, the world’s first VRMMORPG, 『Worldgate Online』, was forced to suspend service for an extended period due to a massive system failure.

And on that very same day, a mass disappearance involving hundreds of people caused a huge uproar… but anyone who tried to connect the two events was dismissed as spreading gossip in the face of the common sense known as “reality.” Aside from the sea of the internet, where speculation ran rampant, the connection eventually faded and was forgotten.