Lee Sohee

It was all good until I arrived at school on the day of the field trip, backpack full of pre-packed luggage and all.

But, something was seriously wrong here.

“Hey, Sohee-ya.”

“Yeah.”

“Is it okay for just the two of us to go like this?”

I asked Sohee, looking out the window with an uneasy gaze.

Immediately after arriving at school, Sohee took my hand and headed towards the school gate.

Without saying a word, really.

Where Sohee led me, a sparkling white limousine was parked, and that’s the limo we’re riding in now.

While I was still dazed, the limousine started speeding away.

This all happened before I even saw the teacher’s face after arriving at school.

“I told the teacher in advance.”

“Oh, okay…”

Told them in advance. What on earth did she say?

It didn’t seem like a light conversation.

At that moment, Sohee took out a chewy-soft cow candy from her pocket and placed it in my hand.

“This is…?”

“Isn’t this what you like?”

Smiling~

Seeing Sohee smile like that, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.

I nodded and shoved the chewy-soft thing into my mouth.

It was sweet and tasty.

“But, why are just the two of us going separately?”

Sohee tilted her head as if asking if I really didn’t know.

Then, she smiled lightly and opened her mouth.

“Why? The bus is too cramped and uncomfortable.”

It’s true that it’s cramped and uncomfortable, but even that discomfort would remain as a memory of the field trip…

I mumbled and hugged my bag.

“You rode with me last year too. Did you want to take the bus this time?”

A sharp question flies in like a blade at an unexpected moment.

I covered my mouth with my bag and just nodded slightly.

“Then let’s take the bus next year.”

There wasn’t much conversation. Only answering a little when Sohee occasionally spoke to me, the conversation naturally died down.

I’ve gotten used to this body and wearing the school uniform skirt, but since my interests are different from the other middle school girls, the conversation doesn’t last long, which is a drawback.

I tried to match their conversation code by watching some videos on YouTube, but I couldn’t find it fun.

“Hayeon-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“Deron, is it fun?”

“Yeah.”

The answer popped out immediately to Sohee’s question.

Then Sohee smiled slightly and continued.

“I thought it wasn’t fun since you quit being a mage.”

A short silence followed Sohee’s words.

In that short time, my head started to be consumed by the pain of burning white.

“Ah, no… It’s just that the job didn’t suit me, so I’m raising a new one.”

“That’s what I thought. You were as cool as a prince when you were raising a paladin.”

“What was I like when I was a mage?”

Sohee seemed to be lost in thought for a moment at my question, then burst into laughter and answered.

“Cute!”

After that, the conversation stopped. That subtle and uncomfortable silence continued until we arrived at the destination of the field trip.

Future Digital Comprehensive Center.

It was the destination of the field trip. I thought it was a bit strange as a field trip destination, but judging from the reactions of the other kids, the standards in this world seemed a bit different.

The Future Digital Comprehensive Center, hereinafter referred to as the Future Center, was a slightly bizarre place.

I never thought I would come to such a large building in my life.

The total area of this building is 205km². It was so large that you had to ride a dedicated vehicle used here to move around.

Unlike taking the limousine separately, after arriving here, I followed the teacher’s guidance.

To be honest, the teacher’s words didn’t register in my ears.

Like a country bumpkin who came to Seoul for the first time, I looked around here and there, blankly opening my mouth.

I thought I had gotten used to this world, but it seemed I wasn’t at all.

Everything was new and amazing.

“Hayeon.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Did you hear what the teacher said?”

I quickly shook my head at Sohee’s question.

I hadn’t heard anything at all. That meant I was that distracted.

Sohee smiled slightly at my words and held out her hand.

“She said to drop off our luggage at the dorm and then we’re free to do whatever.”

“Ah, the dorm. Right. There has to be something like that…”

I nodded blankly at Sohee’s words.

Dorms are not assigned as mixed-gender rooms. Female with female, male with male. That’s the general rule.

That means I’ll also be going into a room full of middle school girls.

My heart is pounding. Middle school girls… I’m also a middle school girl.

It’s not strange at all for middle school girls to hug and play together.

So…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

I shook my head urgently at Sohee’s question.

When I hurriedly touched around my mouth, there was a subtle smile.

I almost let out a strange, promiscuous smile.

As I started walking following Sohee, countless students passed by.

A deep smile was on their faces. Seeing their energetic faces as if anticipating what’s to come, I started to realize that I really came on a field trip.

While walking aimlessly following Sohee, I was able to discover something strange.

The direction the students were running towards the dorms was different from the direction we were going.

“Hey, Sohee-ya.”

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t we going to the dorm?”

“We’re going. To our room.”

“O-Our room?”

“I told my dad. That we’re using the room they use when guests come.”

Sohee’s words were closer to an enigmatic quiz.

I wanted to ask what I was curious about, but I couldn’t. Judging from Sohee’s reaction, it seemed that she and I were closer than I thought.

Asking something I already know would seem strange.

“Really? He said it’s okay to use it?”

“Yeah, he said there are no guests this week. So he said we can use it as we please.”

Sohee and I took the elevator and arrived at the top floor.

As the doors opened with a ding, a large man in a black suit was waiting in front of us.

He bowed his head as soon as he saw us, then stepped aside.

The room Sohee and I arrived at was incredibly large.

It was so big that I felt sorry for the other friends that we would be using this place with just the two of us.

In the center of the modern, pure white room.

Sohee walked over there and threw her bag on the sofa.

I was a little embarrassed because she acted so familiarly, as if this was her room.

After unpacking, Sohee and I started walking around together.

What should we do first? There were so many amazing things to see that I couldn’t hide my excited heart.

As I was looking around here and there on tiptoes, Sohee came up to me and said.

“Shall we try that?”

Many students were already gathered in the direction Sohee’s hand was pointing.

I wondered what it was and looked closely, and when a student entered a large capsule, the student’s appearance could be seen on a large screen in the center.

The student who entered the VR world was standing in a white space with a lightsaber in hand, and as time passed, circular objects began to fly in from all directions.

The speed gradually increased, and eventually, they flew in at a speed that the student couldn’t even react to and hit their body.

“What is that?”

“Reaction speed test.”

“Do they give out prizes too?”

“Yeah. If you score above a certain score.”

The student who came out of the capsule came out with a large doll in their arms.

The sight of them laughing with their friends next to them looked really happy.

I also waited in line with Sohee.

It looked fun, so I wanted to try it.

How long has it been? After the previous students finished their experience, my turn was approaching.

Sohee put her hands behind her back and said with a bright smile.

“Fighting!”

Listening to Sohee’s support, I enter the capsule following the staff’s guidance.

And soon after, the moment my vision turns white, I am standing in a pure white space.

[Welcome to GR Company’s VR reaction speed test. The user’s records may be used for the company’s profit, and for more details…]

I ignore the system’s guidance voice. Anyway, it’s probably about collecting the records for research purposes and using them as they please.

I immediately move my arms and legs. The constraints of reality have disappeared. There are no stat bonuses to be gained in the game, but this body can perform movements that are impossible in reality.

The moment I check the length of my arms and legs, the speed of my body’s movements, etc., a small handle appears in front of me.

It was definitely the lightsaber I had seen earlier.

When I reach out and grab the lightsaber, a blue pillar extends out long.

I don’t feel any weight. The sensation of holding something in my hand was faint.

Bungbung-!

Swinging it lightly, the sensation of the lightsaber moving without even a slight resistance was very foreign.

While I was moving lightly to get used to the sensation, the test began.

The start was very light. I swing the sword to cut down the circles that start flying in slowly.

It was easy enough to handle by simply moving my wrist lightly without any special movements.

The moment I cut down about 20 spheres, the speed started to accelerate.

It’s the standard of 10 seconds. The same speed as the test I saw earlier.

But this is also easy. Just by looking at the trajectory of the newly created spheres, I can predict when they will arrive.

Then, at the next moment, it starts to accelerate again.

Stage 3 clear, Stage 4 also clear, Stage 5 clear.

The speed increased exponentially as the stages progressed.

But I easily handle this too. That’s the moment I passed Stage 6.

My head started to tingle slightly, and by Stage 7, I felt a familiar pain.

The sensation of sharpening a blade sharply.

That’s the moment Stage 8 starts. Spheres that couldn’t be compared to the previous ones were shot out quickly.

I moved my body urgently, but I can’t cut them all down.

I twisted my body to avoid the spheres.

The test wasn’t over. I then realized that I didn’t need to cut down all the spheres.

The spheres I avoided change direction and fly in again. Then I just need to cut them down then.

Anyway, I just need to react.

The moment Stage 9 started, my vision started to flash white.

The sensation I reach when I fall into a state of extreme concentration comes.

As if time was flowing slowly, the spheres flying towards me looked slow.

When the pain in my brain, burning white, reached its limit, a different sensation came with a feeling of ‘peong’.

This talent is like a blade. The more I use it, the more sharply it is sharpened, further maximizing that sensation.

I surpassed something. That’s how it felt.

Spheres fly in beyond my incandescent vision. A light hand movement accurately cuts down the spheres.

Next, next, and next. The movements of the body that have surpassed the limits of reality were not a problem.

I jump into the air and swing the sword as if rotating. I had to avoid the spheres because I couldn’t swing the sword in time.

What if it was a different weapon than a sword?

The small thought that came to my mind flies away in an instant.

It’s a failure if I don’t concentrate. The sensation sharpened to the limit starts to dominate my whole body.

I feel without thinking. The moment I read the trajectories of the spheres with my two eyes, my body reacts.

The path of the sword twists according to the rapidly rotating body.

One swing cuts down a total of three spheres.

I handled all the spheres in Stage 9.

Now it was time for the next spheres to come out.

I catch my breath and stare straight ahead with a low gaze.

But there’s nothing. Unlike how tense I was, the next sphere wasn’t created.

[Congratulations. You have cleared all the prepared tests.]

It’s over here?

Is that all?

I thought I could go a little further. That’s why I was disappointed.

A sigh escapes from my mouth.

My strength is released and my whole body loses strength.

The connection is terminated and I come out of the capsule. My arms and legs are trembling. Sweat was dripping down my back.

It felt like an enormous amount of stamina was consumed in that short time.

“Y-You there!”

At that moment, a staff member with an urgent expression ran out in front of me.

He was about to say something to me, but he had no choice but to step back because of Sohee, who suddenly cut in between me and the staff member.

“Was it fun?”

“Ah, Sohee-ya. I was a little disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”

“Yeah. I thought I could do one more stage.”

Sohee turned her body with a strange smile at my answer.

Sohee and the staff member seemed to know each other.

The words flowing from her mouth were very dry.

“Looks like you won’t be able to salvage today’s record?”

“Y-Yes?”

“The equipment is broken.”

“Ah, but…”

“Just say it’s broken no matter what. Got it?”

The staff member nodded with a pale face.

His gaze was directed towards the computer screen placed on the large desk.

The equipment was broken, so I couldn’t check the record, but I was able to receive a doll as a prize.

Holding a large dolphin doll in my arms, I came out of the booth with Sohee and asked.

“What do you mean by broken?”

“Well, while Hayeon was doing the test, the screen video went out.”

“Ah, really…?”

I felt a deep disappointment at Sohee’s words.

I thought I would be able to show her my cool side, but it seems she didn’t see it.

Come to think of it, there was no one admiring me when I came out of the capsule.

Everyone applauded when the students who showed it earlier showed a pretty high record.

“Are you disappointed?”

“A little.”

I answered Sohee’s question and hugged the fluffy dolphin doll.