"This... is..." Shuichi took a look at his surroundings with wide eyes. Kaito, Tsumugi, Himiko, and Kiibo were also with Shuichi.

"So this... is the Virtual World?" Kaito asked with an awe-struck expression.

"It seems like... it's completely different from what we were told..." Tsumugi sighed.

"These graphics are really disappointing!" Himiko barked. "How's this supposed to be better than the real world!? These avatars are really disappointing, too! I wanted to have the face of a supermodel!"

"I thought you liked your face..." Shuichi said nervously.

"I still have a robot body I must admit, I was secretly expecting more..." Kiibo sighed.

"But... it feels weird. I can move this avatar like I could my own body, right? And with this body, I don't have to worry about all that stuff..." Kaito trailed off.

"What stuff?" Shuichi questioned.

"Uh... no, it's nothing."

Two bright blue lights appeared in the room and Maki and Ichika stepped into the room. Maki took one look around the room and said-

"...I want to go back."

"Th-That was quick..." Shuichi said.

Ichika gasped. "Woah!"

"Ichika?" Himiko stared at Ichika confused. "Why did you gasp? What's wrong?"

"Oh my muffins!" Ichika grinned. "We're all the same height! I'm not short anymore! You too, Yucchan! We're not the shortest anymore!"

Himiko's eyes widened in realization. "Nyeh! You're right... But it doesn't change the fact that this has disappointing graphics!" She grumbled.

Two more blue lights appeared and Kokichi and Gonta took their first step in the Virtual World.

"Oooh, so this is the Virtual World. I see I see." Kokichi hummed happily. "And this is my avatar. Mm-hm, mm-hm. I get it now." Kokichi turned to Kiibo and slapped his arm.

"Ouch!" Kiibo glared at Kokichi. "What did you do that for?"

"Ooh, so that hurt."

"Oh, well, now that you mention it... I felt genuine pain just now..."

"That's pretty impressive. If you felt pain, then that means our senses are connected."

"Our senses are connected...?" Maki repeated. Another blue light appeared behind Maki and Miu stepped out of the light.

"This place is so great, I come here all the time. It's way better than the real world!" Miu exclaimed.

Himiko stomped up to Miu, an angry red tint on her face. "What the heck are you talking about, you fraud!?"

"Heeeeeeeeeeee!"

"This is totally different from what you said," Tsumugi added. "Plus this avatar has disappointing graphics."

"Y-Your looks are nothing to write home about. Trust me, you look a billion times better now."

"What!?" Himiko screeched.

Ichika rubbed her ears. "Yucchan, please. Inside voices."

"Anyway... what do you mean our senses are connected? I need an explanation." Maki demanded.

"H-Huh?" Miu started to sweat. "Didn't I tell you?" Kokichi looked at Kiibo and smacked his arm again.

"Ouch!" Kiibo yelped.

"It means that this goes way beyond the realm of virtual reality! We are *actually* connected." Kokichi chirped, raising his arm to hit Kiibo again.

Ichika swiftly rushed up to him and grabbed his hand before he could bring it down to hit Kiibo. "Oh my muffins, Ouma-san, stop hitting Kiibo-san if it hurts!" She scolded.

"How are our senses set up...?" Maki asked Miu.

"When your avatar receives any sensory input, electrical signals are sent to your brain. Your brain then interprets those signals as if it experienced that sensory input for real." Miu responded.

"So even if we're not really being punched, the brain senses pain cuz of those signals..." Kaito confirmed.

"And since it won't leave any bruises, you can hit all you want!" Kokichi grinned mischievously at Kiibo.

"Absolutely not!" Ichika pouted at him. She then froze. "Wait, can robots get bruises?"

"I dunno, but let's find out!"

"NO!!!"

"Hey! Why are our bodies like this!?" Gonta cried out. "Is this some of Yumeno-san's magic!?"

"Well... there's a lot of things going on right now, but you don't have to worry, Gokuhara-kun." Tsumugi explained.

"So... how exactly are we supposed to find the secret of the outside world?" Shuichi inquired.

"First, we need to learn more about this world." Kiibo turned to Miu. "Is there a map available?"

"Yeah, I've got a map, but I gotta give you a quick warning about this world."

"Huh? A warning!?" Tsumugi looked nervous. "You need to be quicker on the draw with stuff like that."

"I-I'm plenty quick on the draw! But not too quick, cuz then you can't pull out in time!"

"So, what did you have to tell us, Iruma-san?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, it's not that big of a deal, but there is a special rule to this world...Objects here are unbreakable. In the Virtual World, there are no rules that govern whether objects can break. So any object, no matter what it is, can never be broken. For example, if you stretch a rubber band far enough, it'll tear eventually, y'know? But here, the rubber band would stop stretching at a certain point, and just not tear at all. For the same reason, your avatars can't get injured. You'll still feel pain though. See? I told ya it's not a big deal!"

Ichika sighed and chuckled lightly. "Seriously, Micchan? That's kinda a huge deal."

"You gotta tell us stuff like that before!" Himiko snapped.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! S-Sorry!" Miu covered her face as if she was defending herself. "B-But... that's the only special thing! In every sense, the physics here are the same-" Miu froze for a moment as if she just remembered something. "...Oh, wait. That's right... There's a special thing about the avatars, too..."

"There's still more!? Spit it out already!" Himiko screeched.

"Heeeeeeeeeee! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"And what's so special about the avatars?" Tsumugi questioned.

"To make things fair... everyone's avatar in this world has the same averaged physical strength..."

Kiibo placed a finger to his chin and hummed. "Does that mean there is no discernible difference in our physical abilities?"

"So in this Virtual World, I'm just as strong as Gokuhara?" Himiko asked.

"What!? I'm weaker here!? Is this also because of Yumeno-san's magic!?" Gonta vigorously shook his head. "N-No! If I'm not strong, how can protect everyone!?"

"I-It's not my fault. That's... just how the world is."

Shuichi turned to face Miu. "...Are those the only things different about this world, Iruma-san?"

"Y-Yeah... that's everything."

"By the way..." Kokichi spoke up. "How do we log out from this world?"

"O-Oh yeah, that's right... I need to tell you that. If you ever wanna log out, you just need to use that phone over there. Just pick it up and say your name. That simple enough for you shitheads? Also, that phone is fixed and can't be removed from that room. Which means you have to use this room to log in and log out. Whenever you log in, you'll always appear in this room."

Ichika tilted her head. "Is that the only way to log in and log out?"

"Y-Yeah... You have to use the phone in order to log out."

"Hmm... okay, got it. You guys better not cheat by logging out alone!" Kokichi pouted. "We have to find the secret of the outside world!"

"The map is posted on the wall outside of this room. Follow me." Miu walked out of the room and one by one, the other students all walked out the door.

"Look, there's the map I prepared for you guys. Study it, and you'll know the Virtual World like Shirogane knows the back of her neck!"

"Huh? What about the back of my neck? How do you know that spot's... sensitive?"

"This is the map to the mansion, which is the building we're in right now." Miu said, pointing at a cream coloured map. "This area is the entrance hall, and that room with the phone is the salon. The dining hall, kitchen, and bathroom are also on the first floor."

"There's no second floor..." Shuichi mumbled. "But I do see a rooftop area."

"The rooftop, huh?" Kaito hummed. "I guess that'd give us a good view. Let's go check it out later."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Shuichi then turned his attention to the larger map that was much more colourful and appeared to be a map of the whole world.

"Listen up shithead!" Miu barked. "Make sure you remember everything about this world!"

"It looks... pretty expansive," Shuichi commented. "It even continues past the river. Is this an ellipsis here? Showing that it continues?" Shuichi pointed at a long squiggly line that runs down the map in a vertical line.

"Yeah, I'll tell you what that sign means later. You'll understand once you actually go there."

"Hey, Micchan. What's that building supposed to be?" Ichika pointed to a structure on the map that was on the other side of the river.

"Oh, that? That's just a dinky chapel. It was a cluttered mess in there."

"A lot of stuff, huh? Maybe the secret of the outside world is hidden in there..." Kaito suggested.

"Oh, I just noticed..." Kokichi placed a finger on his chin. "There are black lines drawn around the world map...but does that mean something?"

"Heh, how nice of ya to notice! Of course it means somethin'! The black line represents a wall!"

"A wall?" Shuichi repeated.

"So, yeah... The Virtual World is actually surrounded by a huge ass wall."

"So then we're still trapped like back in the academy? This world rules." Ichika deadpanned.

"Don't be like that, you're not trapped here! Beyond that wall is the end of the world. Literally. Past that wall, nothing exists. Everything ends there." Miu explained.

"I see, so that wall is the end of the world." Kokichi looked at Miu. "By the way, Iruma-chan, you prepared these maps yourself... not Monokuma, right?"

"Th-That's right... I prepared the maps. What about it?"

"No, it's nothing. I just wanted to know." Kokichi grinned.

"We should be focusing on the more important issue right now," Maki said.

"Yeah." Kaito agreed, "Where in the world the secret of the outside world is hidden... But it's gonna be pretty hard to find something when we have no clue what we're looking for."

Kokichi looked at all of the students with a blank stare before turning on his heel and towards the door.

"... Where do you think you're going?" Maki demanded coldly.

"Hm? I was gonna go investigate alone. There's a lot of interesting stuff I wanna check out."

"Hey... Like hell I'm gonna let you do whatever you want." Kaito growled.

"Whatever I want...? And why do I need your permission Momota-chan? I'm free to do whatever I want. I'm going, no matter what you guys say. Well, it'd be a hassle if someone kept watch over me-"

An exclamation mark appeared above Gonta's head, and he rushed towards Kokichi. "I don't understand what's going on... and I'm not sure how helpful I can be... But I can watch Ouma-kun so he does not do anything weird!"

"Gokuhara-chan, you're so sweet... but I knew you'd say that. Even without your ridiculous physical strength, as long as you're selfless and courageous... You'd make a terrific bodyguard! With you by my side I know I'll be safe from any trap! Okie then lets goooooo!" Kokichi sprinted out the door before anyone could say anything else.

"Ah, wait, Ouma-kun!" Shuichi called out to Kokichi, but he was long gone. Gonta turned to Shuichi and smiled.

"It's okay! Leave it to me! I'll keep my eyes on Ouma-kun!" Gonta then proceeded to follow after Kokichi, closing the door behind him.

"...Off they go." Ichika said flatly.

"Geez... He really knows how to manipulate people. Well, whatever. Let's check out the rooftop." Kaito sighed.

"Alright, follow me!" Miu chirped, "If you wanna peek up my skirt while you're at it, go for it!" Miu headed to the stairs and ran up them, two steps at a time. Everyone followed pursuit and they soon found themselves up on the roof.

"...Snow?" Shuichi looked around, shock evident on his face. "There's snow here..."

"Whoa! It's snow! Look, Harumaki! It's snow! Look! Snow!" Kaito stared at the snow in amazement.

Maki sighed. "Are you a dog?"

"C'mon, don't be so cold, Harukawa-san," Ichika smirked.

".." Maki glared at Ichika.

"Is it... cold here? Our avatars can feel cold?" Tsumugi inquired.

"Yep! Isn't it great!? Not only can you feel cold, but you can even feel pain and pleasure too! In fact, you don't even need to use birth control here!" Miu grinned.

"Hey... try to be quiet, please. I feel like, the more you talk, the more I'll dislike you." Tsumugi grumbled.

"How about we start by exploring the rooftop?" Kiibo suggested.

"Mm-hm, that sounds good." Ichika nodded.

The students all checked out the rooftop separately. There was a pair of binoculars on the roof that for some reason couldn't show them what was beyond the river and a shed. Shuichi entered the shed for a bit then came back out.

"Well? Did you manage to examine all the places that caught your eye?" Kiibo asked Shuichi.

"Yes, but there weren't too many points of interest."

"Aaah, it's really cold." Tsumugi complained. "I didn't think I'd be snowing."

"Nice, Yumeno! That means if you trip and hit your head, it won't hurt!" Miu laughed.

Himiko glared at Miu. "Don't be rude! I'm not the try to trip that often-" Himiko then fell forward and face-planted into the ground.

"Ah, Yucchan! Are you okay?" Ichika exclaimed.

"...That's way too cliched of a gag." Tsumugi muttered.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Ichika chirped.

"..."

"Snow and a mansion... How ominous." Maki sighed. "Great job, Killing game simulator."

"But... we're not leaving any footprints in it. What's up with that?" Kaito looked at the snow underneath his feet.

"It was probably programmed like that. It'd be easy to find the culprit from the footprints."

"Yeah... Looks that way." Miu said. "But you don't need to worry about it. This is just a simulation and there are no dangerous items here whatsoever. Let's go outside! We can cross the river and head to the chapel!"

"But how do we cross the river? I don't remember seeing any bridges..." Kaito scratched the back of his head.

"Geez, you're so fucking stupid, you're approaching savant-'tard territory..." Miu growled. "Let's just go over there so I can explain it to you idiots all at once!"

Miu stomped her way to the door, swung it open and rushed downstairs. The other Ultimates all followed her and made their way outside. She was already at the river and glared at them.

"Quit takin' your sweet-ass time! Hurry up and come on to me! Er, I mean... come with me! Hurry up!" They all walked over to where Miu stood.

Himiko glared at the bridge then Miu. "There's no bridge after all. How are we supposed to cross the river now? Just so you know, my magic doesn't work in this world!"

Maki stared at the water. "Don't tell me... Do we have to swim?"

"Swim...?" Ichika froze.

Miu scoffed. "Fine, I won't tell you... Besides, you can't go in the river in the Virtual World."

"Then... should we use something as a boat?" Kaito suggested.

"Geez, you're not even trying to hide your stupidity! The river's current is too fast! A boat will get swept away easily!"

"So we need a bridge then, right?" Tsumugi asked.

"I told you, we got a bridge already! There's a wider river downstream that connects to this one. Next to it, there's a long signboard that says 'Mirai Hills.' Apparently, it was meant for the mansion, but we can use it as a makeshift bridge."

Kiibo hummed. "So we just need to go and get the board then?"

Miu looked around until her eyes landed on Shuichi. "Yeah, but I'll ask the masochist to go get it! He just loooooves bein' bossed around!" Miu pointed a finger at Shuichi. "Saihara! Go get the signboard!"

"What? Me?"

"...Yeah, go get the signboard." Maki ordered.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. You're a total masochist." Himiko added.

"Huh!?"

"Just to make it special, I want you to get it while you crawl like a dog-"

Ichika flicked Miu's forehead before she could say anything else. "Heeeeeeeeee!? K-Kaeru!? Wh-What was that for...?"

"Saihara-san, please go get the signboard. And walk normally, please." Ichika chuckled.

"A-Ah... yeah... I think I will." Shuichi trudged off to get the signboard. He came back moments later with a big brown board in his hand. He placed it on the broken bridge and the ledge of the other side of the river.

"See? It fits perfectly! We have ourselves a bridge now!"

"We're gonna walk across this shabby looking signboard? It's definitely gonna break." Himiko said nervously.

"Your brain must be smaller than your tits! I told you! Objects don't break in this world!" Kokichi and Gonta walked out of the forest and up to the other students.

Kokichi looked at the bridge, a little surprised. "Huh? There's a bridge! Oh, thank god! I gave up when I realized I have no way to cross the river."

"Where were you and what were you doing?" Kaito demanded.

"Oh, I was in the forest over there looking for the secret of the outside world, but unfortunately, I couldn't find it... Welp, I wasn't expecting it to be that easy anyway... Right Gokuhara-chan?"

"...Yeah."

"You good, Gokuhara-san?" Ichika asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah! I'm... fine! Don't worry." Gonta chirped.

"Perfect!" Miu chirped. "It's more convenient when we're all together anyway."

"Hm?" A question mark appeared above Kokichi's head. "What do you mean, convenient?"

"N-Nothing! Urgh, whatever... Let's just cross the river!" Miu stomped over the board and parked herself by the riverbed on the other side. Slowly, one by one, everyone else followed and hopped on the other side. They all then made their way over to the chapel and headed inside. Miu skipped up to the front of the chapel. "This is the chapel! It's a mess, huh?"

"Nyeeeh... searching this place is gonna be pretty hard," Himiko whined.

Miu ignored her. "Now that we've checked out all the important places in the Virtual World... Let's split up and look for the secret of the outside world!"

"Oh, so we're splitting up, huh? That's probably better." Kokichi said.

Ichika shook her head. "No, we shouldn't split up. We should all work together and not let anyone out of our sight."

"H-Huh? B-But splitting up is much easier..." Miu said nervously.

"But if we all stay together, we can investigate areas much faster because we'll all be contributing!" Ichika smiled innocently.

"Yeah but... Then it would take longer." Kaito scratched the back of his head. "If we split up, then we can check out all the areas at once at the same time."

Ichika sighed. "Who cares about how long it will take? It'll be safer if we stay together."

"I mean... She has a point." Kiibo hummed. "If we split up, the traitor could get their hands on the flashback light."

"But whyyy would they do that, hm?" Kokichi rolled his eyes. "The traitor is on Monokuma's side, obviously, so what motive would they have to hide it from us?"

Shuichi hummed. "That does make an amount of sense."

Ichika crossed her arms. "And? Just because they're *supposedly* on Monokuma's side doesn't mean they-"

Kokichi groaned. "Geez, Aki-chan. Shut up, will you? We're all splitting up because it's easier, and no one even *wants* to be in this world for that long."

"..."

"I wonder what the secret of the outside world could be..." Himiko pondered.