[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XGPds7R.png[/img]

[h1]Kotoki Tanaka[/h1]
[/center]

When the message arrived, Kotoki Tanata was quite naturally taken aback.

More than that ever. For the first in a long time, she felt afraid. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt like a rock just landed in her stomach.

Afraid for how this... [i]mysterious[/i] person could know her real identity. The identity that she always guarded closely. She would always do her hacking through many layers of data encryption and VPNs, so that her IP could never be tracked back to her.

And yet, here she was, receiving a message that clearly demonstrated how the sender knew her real name and her alias as the Duchess.

Luckily enough, she received it at night while she was in her bed, so she could panic freely without attracting attention to her.

But then the message declared itself to come from a member of Jormungundr. She very well knew who they were. One of the top hacking groups, before a power struggle brought them down.

And then, the message told them that they were interested in her and her abilities, and that she should go to a certain cyber cafe if she was interested in them as well.

[i]Hmph, so this was a recruiting message. How nice of them to not use my identity for blackmail.[/i]

[i]Obviously, I would have to go. I'm also curious about them as well. Not to mention they have the knowledge of my identity. Just ignoring it would be unwise.[/i]

[i]I thought they have disbanded already. How curious.[/i]

[i]And obviously I would have to up my security now. What a bother. Though I suppose I would have to thank them for exposing my security vulnerability.[/i]

She swallowed her pride. As much as she disliked it, she had to admit, they got her this time.

She fell asleep in a bad mood that night.
[hr]
The next day, she departed to the cafe as the message instructed.

As a computer geek, she was familiar with Akiba, though she didn't really frequent the area that often. She would only come to buy parts and components she needed for her workstation. She wasn't into those "maid cafe" nonsense. And she wasn't an anime enthusiast as well. She believed most of them were just a giant waste of time. She rarely turned on her TV these days even, as she got her news all online.

She made a beeline to the cafe, having gotten the address from a simple web search. Once there, she entered the front door, though not before giving a short lookaround on her surroundings.

[i]Hmm, no one else is coming? I guess I'm the only one. Or I might be the first. Or the last. The message didn't say the time so I suppose you could just come at midnight if you want. Not sure if this place would be open at that time though.[/i]

Once inside, she was greeted by a boy, whom she correctly assumed was the patron of the establishment. Was he a member of Jormungundr? Or was he a simple innocent bystander, not really knowing what the place he was working in was being used for.

And then, he told her that she had received a free session from a "mysterious patron". Now she knew that she was taking orders from them.

She didn't bother asking questions however. She knew he would just dismiss them. No, she had to talk with the big boss themselves to gain any clarity in the matter.

She entered one of the reserved booths. Taking a seat, putting on the VR device, shifting a little to make sure her body was in a comfortable pose on the chair, she then entered her login and password into the EDEN interface.

And with that, her consciousness was transcoded digitally to the virtual world.
[hr]
[i]Nothing out of the ordinary...[/i]

EDEN looked just like its usual self, with all sorts of people walking around, from businessmen to schoolgirls. She didn't waste any time in the lobby. She immediately entered the URL that had given to her.

And then, she manifested inside what seemed to be a cathedral of sorts.

[i]Empty?[/i]

She looked around. It seemed she was the first to arrive.

[i]No signs of anyone else here... Not even our dear host...[/i]

She took a seat on one of the benches. With a huff and a grump, she waited.