Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Vol. 1

  Chapter 1:

  Bear Gear, I Choose You!

  THE WORLD’S FIRST VRMMO (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online) fantasy RPG—a game with a diverse array of races, numerous classes, and a variety of skills for broad gameplay—was called World Fantasy Online. Today, a year after it went on sale, the game was finally receiving a long-awaited update.

  I was fifteen years old, and it had been three years since I became a hermit. I’d come across WFO about a year ago and immediately forgone going to school in favor of dedicating everything I had to the game. What about sleep, you might ask? I slept eight whole hours a night! I did still get tired, y’know. My first priority was sleep, the second was tasty grub, and the third was the game.

  And school? Only idiots went to school.

  There’s a neat little thing called the stock market in this world. You invested money, sat back, and watched it grow. It was easy—just like a game. All you had to do was acquire the right information, and then collect the money that flowed right in.

  But when I told my parents about my activities, they were like, “School is where you make friends.” Friends? Do friends taste good? Their nagging got so bad that I finally just handed them a hundred million yen I’d made by playing the stock market, and they shut right up. They even—get this—stopped coming home. They’re probably off spending that money right now, having the time of their lives. I assumed they’d come asking for more once it was gone, so I switched residences to a luxury condo without telling them. Goodbye, parents; it was nice knowing you.

  Sure, I was fifteen, but I had money, I was an adequate cook, and I was perfectly fine living on my own. S’all good as long as I can send my laundry out to the cleaners.

  I was playing solo when I started up WFO on the day of the hotly anticipated update, like always. I didn’t want to waste a single second, so I logged in the second maintenance ended and the update was done patching.

  “Welcome back, Lady Yuna. Would you like to hear about the updates?”

  On login, a girl in a maid outfit guided me through the menu. She was a guide NPC I’d selected on my first playthrough. Given the choice between a butler and a maid, I hadn’t hesitated to pick the cuter option.

  “No need. Just hurry up and start the game.”

  “Understood,” she said. “Then we will commence the update campaign.”

  “There was one of those?”

  “You have received a gift item based on your total hours of gameplay from the past year.”

  “Really!” I was second to none in this game when it came to total hours logged. I wasn’t a recluse for nothing, after all.

  “Please choose whichever box you’d like.”

  A trove of giftboxes appeared before me, stretching as far as the eye could see. There were too many to even count.

  “You want me to choose from these?”

  “Yes, please choose the one you like.”

  I didn’t even know where to start, but there was no point in overthinking it. I chose the box right at the maid’s feet. The rest of the boxes vanished the moment I touched it, so there was clearly no changing my mind.

  I opened the box…

  “The heck is this?!”

  Item Name: Bear Set

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)

  I’d wanted to start playing right away, but the ridiculous freebies made me balk. Even a friendless hermit like me drew the line at parading around in something this embarrassing. And they were nontransferable, so they were doomed to molder in my inventory. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at the item descriptions…

  Black Bear Glove

  Attack glove, increases power based on the user’s level.

  White Bear Glove

  Defense glove, increases defense based on the user’s level.

  Black Bear Shoe and White Bear Shoe

  Increase speed based on the user’s level.

  Prevent fatigue when walking long distances based on the user’s level.

  Black Bear Clothes

  Appears to be a onesie. Reversible.

  Front: Black Bear Clothes

  Increases physical and magic resistance based on the user’s level.

  Gives heat and cold resistance.

  Reverse: White Bear Clothes

  Automatically restores health and mana. Amount and speed based on the user’s level.

  Gives heat and cold resistance.

  What was with these broken items? Someone who was already at the level cap, like me, would be unstoppable in these. I still didn’t know if I was brave enough to don this onesie thing—but it would be a waste of great items not to.

  Could I put up with the embarrassment just because of how strong it would make me?

  “Lady Yuna, is something the matter?”

  “It’s fine.” Well, it wasn’t like I needed to equip it right this instant. I could take some time to think it over. “Okay. Start the game.”

  “I apologize. There is a questionnaire to finish things off.”

  “That’s new.”

  “I apologize. It is a questionnaire limited to customers who have logged a high number of hours in-game.”

  “Well, if I have to.”

  “Thank you very much. Do you enjoy World Fantasy Online more than reality?”

  “Of course. Reality shmeality.”

  “Do you have anyone important to you in the real world?”

  “I don’t have anyone like that.” My parents were gold diggers, and I didn’t have friends because I wasn’t going to school.

  “Do you have a best friend in the real world?”

  “I don’t. These questions are kind of off-putting…”

  “Do you have anything important to you in the real world?” The maid ignored my objections and wouldn’t respond to any of my questions. Instead, she kept repeating her current prompt until she got an answer.

  “Money, I guess?”

  ………………

  …

  The questions went on and on. I wondered: how many of these was I supposed to sit through?

  “Do you believe in God?”

  “Like, do I have faith? Of course I don’t. All I believe in is my own abilities.”

  “And finally, do you think the bear gear is cute?”

  “I do, but I don’t want to equip it.”

  “Understood. Thank you for answering our survey.” The room filled with a blinding white glow. “Now, please enjoy your new world.”

  Chapter 2:

  Bear Meets Girl

  I OPENED MY EYES.

  I wasn’t at my in-game home, where I was supposed to spawn on login, but in an unfamiliar forest. More importantly, I was wearing the bear gear—both gloves, both shoes, and the onesie. I hadn’t expected it to equip without warning, but now that I had it on, it was pretty comfy. The bear gloves looked like hand puppets—I flapped their mouths open and shut by flexing my fingers, and the effect was cuter than I’d anticipated.

  I looked around, seeing no one else. Well, I’d start by changing out of this embarrassing getup before anyone saw me. I couldn’t switch my gear unless I was home, so I tried to pull up a transporter item from my inventory.

  My inventory wouldn’t open. A bug? Though it’d be a pain in the butt, I supposed I could just log out and log back in again.

  Wait, what?

  The logout screen wouldn’t appear. Oh well. I tried contacting someone on my short friend list, but that screen wouldn�
�t show up, either, so I tried opening my map, hoping to at least scope out my whereabouts.

  Huh?

  My map screen wasn’t responding, either. What’s going on here?

  I activated my status screen. That opened up fine.

  Name: Yuna

  Age: 15 years old

  Level: 1

  Skills: Fantasy World Language, Fantasy World Literacy

  EQUIPMENT

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)

  Had something gone wrong with the update? The character I spent a whole year developing was reset to level one! I needed to log a complaint at once.

  As I was trying to somehow get through to the admins, I heard the tinkle of an incoming message notification. Assuming it was an apology message from them, I tried to bring up the screen, but it wouldn’t open. How am I supposed to read it, then?

  And just as I thought that, a message screen opened up right in front of my eyes.

  Sender: God

  Congratulations, Yuna! You were selected based on the results of the questionnaire.

  Clap clap clap clap (applause).

  The place you’re in right now is no longer the game world, but a fantasy world that I control. In other words, you’ve been transported to another world. Starting now, this is where you’ll be living.

  Of course, I couldn’t just leave you with nothing to your name, so I gave you a bear outfit as a present. There are other presents around, so do your best to find them!

  Was this some kind of new event? For the time being, I decided to try to find some other players. Fantasy games like this mostly rehashed the same tropes as light novels, anyway. There was no way something like being transported to another world could happen for real. What kind of harebrained idiot had come up with this?

  The issue at present was that I didn’t know where I was. I was just level one, so if a monster attacked me, I’d be toast.

  I wondered—if I died, would I just respawn at my in-game home?

  I needed to leave the woods. But before that, I needed a weapon, and all I had were bear gloves with flappy mouths. I kept an eye out as I walked through the woods, and I found a fallen stick that was just the right length. It was better than being empty-handed, so I decided to pick it up. I felt like a hero equipped with a cypress stick.

  Just as I was getting used to my suit and stick, a wolf emerged from the underbrush.

  I knew this type of wolf—it was one of the basic mobs from the starting area. I tried to check its level, but its status screen wouldn’t show up. It’d be fine if it was weak, but I wasn’t convinced I could beat it with a tree branch.

  At least it was alone.

  I readied the tree branch like a sword. The wolf broke into a run and leapt straight at me. I darted to the side, like I always did in the game, and the tree branch hit the wolf in the side. If I’d been holding my usual sword, I would have cut it right in two.

  The wolf whimpered and stopped moving. Who could have guessed—I’d beat it in one hit. Maybe this really was the hero’s cypress stick? I raised the branch high in the air.

  Well, I thought, I guess this isn’t the time for jokes. Huh?

  I watched the wolf’s beaten body for a while, but it didn’t turn into an item. Monsters were supposed to disappear and drop items when they died. A wolf would leave meat and a pelt or something, or, if you were lucky, a mana gem, but this one didn’t disappear. I tried poking it with the tree branch, but it didn’t move. It should definitely have been dead. The message from earlier started to feel more real. Was this really another world?

  Anyway, I’d get away from here for now. The smell of the wolf’s body might attract other monsters. Of course, I didn’t have the skill to butcher a wolf even in the real world. I couldn’t do stuff like in the games or the novels.

  I resumed exploring, but the woods were seemingly endless. I couldn’t open my inventory, so I couldn’t pull out food. I supposed that if I really wasn’t in the game, it was highly likely there wouldn’t be any food in it, anyway. I felt like if I didn’t find other people soon, I’d die from starvation even before a monster could get me.

  I’d been walking quite a while, but I didn’t feel all that tired. Maybe it was because of these bear shoes? They were embarrassing, but pretty nifty.

  “Someone, help…”

  I heard someone’s voice. I figured it could be dangerous to get involved, but it was my first time hearing another person here. Knowing the risks, I chased after the sound and came out into a narrow clearing. A small girl was collapsed there, surrounded by three wolves. She looked too afraid to stand. I snatched up three baseball-sized rocks that were lying on the ground as I ran, holding them firmly in the black bear’s mouth.

  In order to get the wolves’ attention, I threw a rock as hard as I could—then the next, and the one after that.

  “Huh?”

  Every rock connected, and all three wolves collapsed, spraying blood. I hadn’t thought I would make a direct hit. Maybe this bear gear even had aim assist? I flapped the bear mouth open and closed.

  It looked like the wolves were dead, so I approached the girl.

  “Are you okay?” I called out to her. Her hair was dark; she looked to be about ten years old. I didn’t remember being able to pick that kind of character—she must have been an NPC.

  “Th-thank you?” she said.

  “Why was that a question?”

  “Are you going to eat me?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Are you a bear?”

  I remembered what I looked like and pulled off my hood.

  “Feel better now?” I said.

  “Oh, yes.”

  I tried to pull up her status screen, but it wouldn’t come up. One of two things was going on: the UI that let me get at her stats was bugged, or she was real, and this was actually another world. When I looked at the wolves’ gory corpses, I knew which I’d risk money on.

  For now, I decided to talk to the girl.

  “Are you alone?”

  “Oh, yes. My mom is sick, so I was looking for medicinal herbs.”

  “A little girl like you?”

  “We have no money, so I was gathering them in the forest because we couldn’t buy them in town. Then wolves attacked me.”

  “A town, you say? Is it one that’s close by?”

  There we go, I thought, just got some great intel.

  “Did you come from another town, miss?” the girl asked me.

  “Yeah. I got a little lost; could you lead me to the town?”

  “Yes.”

  I moved to go, but she stayed in place.

  “Are you going to leave these wolves like this, miss?” she asked.

  “I figured. It’s not like I can take them home.”

  “But it’s such a waste. You could sell the meat and pelts. The mana gems don’t go for much, but they sell too. If we break them down here, they’ll be no great load to take home.”

  “I don’t know how to butcher an animal, so that’s not possible.”

  “I’d do it, miss. If you don’t mind.”

  “You know how to do that?”

  She nodded at my words.

  “Then have at it. How about we split the profit fifty-fifty? That’d help me too.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yup.”

  The girl pulled out a small knife and skillfully butchered the first wolf.

  “You’re good,” I told her.

  “Uh-huh. I do this for work sometimes.”

  She cleanly disassembled the wolves into pelts, meat, and mana gems. We divided the load between the two of us to carry. Life without an inventory screen sure is tough, I thought. In the game I could have just touched the drops, and that woul
d be it.

  “Is the town close by?”

  “Uh-huh, it is. That’s why I came here to pick herbs.”

  “Did you find any?”

  “Yeah, but then the wolves attacked on my way home.”

  “Well, how about we head out, then…”

  I meant to call her by her name, but I realized I hadn’t asked for it yet. She seemed to infer that, though.

  “I’m Fina,” she said.

  “I’m Yuna. So, how about we get going, Fina?”

  After we walked for a while, I caught sight of town walls in the distance. They looked tall, even from far off—way bigger than I expected. They’d definitely be safe from monster attacks in there.

  On the way down, I peppered Fina with all kinds of questions. This really wasn’t the game world that I knew. Nothing she had to tell me about the area matched the maps I knew from before the update. It could have just been a new continent introduced by the update, but the more I heard from her, the more likely it felt that this wasn’t the game. I could probably find out more once we got to town. If I didn’t run into another player there, then I would accept this was another world.

  Apparently, on top of the toll (only a silver piece, thankfully) and background check, you needed a resident card or a guild card to get into town. When I told her I didn’t have either, Fina told me I could get a card from the adventurers’ guild.

  I hadn’t been around long enough to pick up any kind of criminal history, so I would probably be okay. There was still a ways to go until we reached the town, so I checked my status. Huh, I leveled up?

  Name: Yuna

  Age: 15 Years

  Level: 3

  Skills: Fantasy World Language, Fantasy World Literacy, Bear Extradimensional Storage

  EQUIPMENT

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)