[Breathable nutrient liquid solution will fill the insides of the pod. Don’t panic.] Shelly explained.

Neville wasn’t scared of drowning in this liquid solution. He was a mermaid after all.

Shelly continued. [These liquids were commonly seen in hospitals. It will keep your body sustained no matter how long you’re in the virtual world. The pod can maintain your body condition for up to a week without intervention!]

"A week?" Neville’s eyes widened. "Do people stay in these things for a week?"

[Oh, host, you have no idea.] Shelly exclaimed with exaggerated movements. [In the original timeline, there were professional gamers who practically lived in these pods. Some of the hardcore raiders would only emerge for major tournaments or when their sponsors demanded public appearances.]

As the pod’s interior began to glow more brightly, Neville’s world darkened. In the darkness, Neville’s avatar was floating. A holographic display materialized in front of him, showing his vital signs and a menu of available programs.

[Quick, quick, host, choose a program!]

Sliding through the options, Neville was surprised to find the selection somewhat limited. Most of the programs were mecha-related: "Mecha Combat Simulator," "Advanced Piloting Techniques," "Tactical Squadron Training," and so on.

"Are there any, you know, normal games?" he asked hopefully. "RPGs? Adventure games? Dating sims?"

[Host, you’re in a mecha-obsessed society. What did you expect, farming simulators?]

Farming simulators weren’t bad either.

"Fine. Let’s try..." He selected ’Mecha Training Grounds - Beginner Mode.’

The world began to morph.

The transition was quick and wasn’t vomit-inducing. Right now, he was standing in the vast hangar filled with gleaming mechanical giants.

Neville looked down at himself and saw he was wearing a form-fitting pilot battle suit. It was complete with neural interface gloves and a helmet tucked under his arm.

"Woah." He said as he looked around.

The attention to detail was incredible. He felt like he was inside some hidden government facility that he wasn’t allowed to go to.

Neville could hear the clangs of different machinery as other people around worked on some mechas. The immersion was also incredible. He could actually smell the oil and metal in the air. There was even a slight vibration on the deck plating at his feet.

Was this really how virtual reality should be? This felt so real!

[Welcome to the future of gaming, host! Well, technically, the interstellar games in the current era. As much as I wanted to let you experience the ’future’ gaming world, I can only get you the ’future’ pod and connect it to the current StarNet. But you get the idea.]

A holographic instructor materialized in front of him—a stern-looking woman with silver hair tied back in a military bun.

"Cadet, welcome to basic mecha operation training. Please proceed to Mecha Bay 7 for your initial assessment."

Following the glowing path on the floor, Neville found himself standing before a training mecha. It wasn’t as impressive as the other custom models he had seen earlier, but it still stood three stories tall.

"How am I supposed to..." He trailed off as the mecha’s chest plate opened.

It revealed a cockpit that looked complex. Hundreds of buttons, switches, levers, and big wire veins covered every surface. It looked like someone had taken three airplane cockpits and crammed them into a space the size of a closet.

[Don’t panic! Those are just for manual operation. See that neural sync tube in the center? That’s where the magic happens.]

Neville climbed the cockpit with its own ant-grav lift and settled into the pilot’s seat. The moment he plugged his suit’s neural interface into the sync port, everything changed.

Information flooded his mind—not overwhelming, but perfectly integrated with his thoughts. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He could now use his whole body to control the mecha. His body could also feel the ’weight’ distribution of the mechas body. The holographic display reports the optimal power flow and condition of the mecha.

"This is..." He flexed his fingers, and the mecha’s massive hand mimicked the movement perfectly. "This is insane."

[Wait, there’s more!]

The training program walked him through basic operations: standing, walking, turning, and crouching.

Each movement required conscious thought at first, but within minutes, Neville found himself moving the mecha as naturally as his own body. The neural synchronization translated his intentions directly into mechanical motion.

"This is amazing," he said, executing a perfect sidestep that would have sent a lesser pilot tumbling.

[See? Now try the combat simulations!]

Time flew by in the virtual world. What felt like hours of training was just only minutes in real-time, according to the pod’s time dilation feature.

Neville progressed from basic movement to advanced maneuvers, from target practice to mock battles against AI opponents.

[Host, you’re a natural! Look at these reaction times!] Shelly pulled up a holographic display showing his statistics.

"Once you understand the mechanics, it’s all about pattern recognition and resource management," Neville said, wiping virtual sweat from his forehead after a particularly intense dogfight simulation. "It’s just like how I handle multiple files at the same time or merge similar reports into a more concise one-file report."

[(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)d]

Neville didn’t know what she meant from that emoji, but he continued on to the simulation.

He was about to start another round when a notification popped up in his peripheral vision: New Arena Mode Available - Mecha Combat.

"Arena?" His finger hovered over the selection. "As in, actual people?"

[Of course! What’s the point of getting good if you can’t show off a little?]

Neville hesitated. He had been enjoying the solo training, safely anonymous in his virtual world.

Interacting with other players was a little...

Then again, it was just a game. He was also curious to see how good his skills were against real opponents.

"Alright, one match."

When he pressed the Arena option, he was greeted with:

[Welcome to Arena Mode!

Please Enter Your Name: ____]

Neville pondered a little, but his thoughts went a little highwire. He thought of cooking steak a little differently by making a—"gravy..."

[Name Accepted.

Welcome Gravy! Please proceed to the waiting area.]

"..."