T/N: Hello everyone! I'm excited to bring to you one of my favorite JP web novel and heroine (next to Reiksama lol). This story starts pretty slow-paced with action building up towards the end of each arc. I hope you'll all enjoy this story as much as I did and get to fall in love with the cast of characters, especially with our heroine, Chloe. Alright, that's all for the shameless plug.  Chapter 1 – Welcome to Second Story Online

… … …

To a person in search of a second story—

Be a simple villager who cultivates fields and lives every day to the utmost.

Or, a hero that brings hope and saves people.

You can be a terrible demon who spreads fear.

Perhaps even an absolute demon king with overwhelming power.

Characters that we usually imagine; characters that we usually aspire to be, yet we could never become.

Haven't you longed to be such an existence?

In this world, you can become anyone your heart desires.

This is a world that can fulfill your wishes.

What are you waiting for? Let's go and start your second story!

A story wherein you are the main character with no one else on the spotlight. This is solely your own second story.

The story you weave becomes part of the history of [Second Story Online]!

(Taken from the SSO catch copy.)

Are you aware of such a thing as VRMMO like [Second Story Online]?

Despite its popularity, I'm not aware of it. There's actually no reason to be knowledgeable about it either.

I only came to know it inadvertently from the recent commercials.

In this day and age, the technology called virtual reality, is different from long ago. It's now something common; hologram sign boards for augmented reality programs can be seen in most cities, humanoid-looking robots walk together with humans and orbital elevators, which were the impossible before, have been created.

This is the future.

With these breakthroughs in technology, online games like VRMMOs were only something of the ordinary.

All throughout the world, virtual reality games are of the norm, with intense competition between players left and right. And because of the massive influx of players, some games were unavoidably terminated, their maintenance halted.

It seems to have calmed down these days, I suppose? Oh, excuse me. I'm a bit ignorant to the recent gaming matters in the community.

In the meantime, a new service has recently started again called [Second Story Online].

Preferably more known under the popular acronym [SSO].

This game has just finished its beta test and has been launched for a month now. It looked like any straightforward fantasy game with swords and magic.

The game was created by a major overseas game company, NR. It's a company that has released several games in the past, considered to be masterpieces by critics and players alike, and has expanded their base throughout the world.

From their fame and current streak of successful games, there became a lot of expectation and hype for this new VRMMO. However, contrary to expectations, evaluation from the players who participated in the beta test were only mediocre.

And despite one month having passed since its release, the evaluation still hasn't changed.

Some people even recommended that it was better to play other VR games of a similar genre.

Yet, I am going to play this game from now on.

Why, you might ask?

Only because of one simple reason—I was attracted to the charm SSO gave, you could say.

One day, I was looking at a broadcast program in my free time; it was noon, and a variety show was being played. There was a feature on sea bathing in the summer, and in the next moment, the commercial of SSO rolled.

It was a commercial that looked like most VR game, nothing novel about it.

Thus, despite being something new, such a thing would have passed my mind and be forgotten after a while. But for some reason… that commercial became strongly imprinted in my head.

『A villager who cultivates the fields and lives every day to the utmost. A hero that brings hope and saves people. A terrible demon who spreads fear. An absolute demon king with overwhelming power.』

I remembered that the scenes changed in relation with the narration: First, a person with a sword could be seen walking out of a massive gate, the moving inhabitants of the city a backdrop behind his figure. As if about to engage a fight with a demon, the camera pans in on the other creature, the demon.

The next scene changes to show something like a demon king confronting a hero.

The swordsman raises his sword while the priest was busy casting restoration magic. Meanwhile, a thief stealthily emerged from the darkness to strike down their opponents in swift, precise attacks.

『Characters that we usually imagine. Characters that we usually aspire to be, yet we could never become. Haven't you longed to be such an existence?』

Next, a magician presents an extremely flashy magic capable of wide scale annihilation.

『Now let's go and start your second story! A story wherein you are the main character and with no one else on the spotlight—this is solely your own second story. A story you weave where it becomes part of the history of [Second Story Online]!』

Finally, the title, and a letter of recruitment, addressing that new players are still being accepted, was left in the end.

The 30-second commercial came to a close to be replaced with the next commercial.

After that, my reflex was quick, to the extent that I could be misunderstood to be possessed by something. Soon, I was opening the official site for SSO at lightning speed and registering myself as a new player.

From there on, I went through a meticulous screening like a lottery; the number of new players being accepted seemed to have a limit and as an effect of the popularity boost from the commercial before, the site was lagging with the number of new players trying to get in.

After I successfully passed through, I was now logging into SSO.

This wasn't my first instance of virtual reality; however, this was my first time delving inside a VR game.

No, rather, how many years ago was the last time I played a game?

Well regardless, I'm still going to play. Besides, it's not a difficult game, rated highly. I should be fine.

I'm old enough to know how a game works… was what I thought. It immediately sprang into my mind while seeing the commercial and I couldn't suppress the unexpected desire that welled up.

I had a dream since I was young that I carried with me even when I became an adult. Now that a game which allows you to become your ideal character has been created, maybe, just maybe… I can finally be the ideal witch I have aspired to be for years.

Yes, I wanted to become a witch.

Considered to be a villain by the old legends and often, the unexpected supporting character helping the protagonist.

Despite titles and backgrounds, a witch was a witch at any viewpoint. Because of this, I somehow grew an admiration for them for their steadfastness to remain true to themselves.

Therefore, the moment I heard such a catchphrase, I thought it was a fateful opportunity. At the same time, it was also a good way to kill time.

Even if the first group of players has already advanced and I have only yet to start after one month, this was alright, since I was not a serious player aiming to be the strongest, or the top.

My purpose is only one: to realize a dream almost forgotten—to become the ideal witch!