D.R

Ting-dong-!

“It’s here!!!”

Current time: 3:20 PM.

Sohee was at school, so I was home alone. The sound I’d been waiting for came, and I dashed towards the front door.

I clutched my fluttering heart, eyes sparkling.

I hadn’t ordered anything online, so the doorbell meant the thing I was waiting for had definitely arrived.

Clunk-!

I unlocked the front door and opened it to find two small boxes sitting there.

I narrowed my eyes and scanned the hallway.

The elevator was going down, so the security *ajeossi* must have dropped off the packages and were heading back down.

I carefully scooped up the boxes and brought them inside.

“Ehehehe…”

Is this how a kid feels getting the Christmas present they wanted?

No, I was even happier than that.

Look at my trembling hands! My body was naturally reacting to this amazing situation.

I reverently plopped down on the floor.

“Hoo…”

I took a breath and half-opened my eyes.

Then, seizing the moment, I moved my hands like lightning.

“Tayat!”

Pabababat!

Shuk shuk shuk! My hands moved so fast you couldn’t see them, tearing open the delivery boxes.

The contents that spilled out were none other than Deron’s new D.R connector.

“Hehe…”

I gasped at the sight of the sleek, black bracelet.

Simple yet sharp.

The letters D.R were engraved on the top of the bracelet.

Also included was an instruction manual with information about the bracelet.

But who reads instruction manuals?

Real men don’t read that crap.

I cautiously folded the manual and placed it on the table, just in case.

Then, I immediately put on the connector.

“Oh…”

It’s surprisingly light.

It must be more advanced than the bracelet I wore at the offline event, and they even managed to make it lighter.

Deron is the best game in the world, after all.

I nodded and pressed the power button on the bracelet.

With a click, the connector lit up and began to sparkle.

Immediately, a semi-transparent hologram screen appeared before my eyes.

A familiar screen-Deron’s login screen.

But there was no place to enter an ID and password.

Just in case, I pulled out my piggy bank wallet and took out the Deron card that was sleeping inside.

You need an account to log in, but there’s no place to enter an account.

That must mean I need this card.

I could guess this much without reading the manual.

As soon as I held the bracelet up to the card, a faint light from the bracelet scanned the card.

At the same time, the screen moved to the next step.

My prediction was right.

I don’t need the help of instruction manuals that only cowards read.

I shrugged and started messing with the connector’s settings.

The first thing I set was the character I would use.

Of course, I loaded the data for my main character, Yeon.

Instantly, the light from the bracelet intensified, and a semi-transparent hologram covered my body.

“Oh…”

It’s not exactly the same as the game, but it’s still pretty close.

I admired the state of the armor covering my entire body.

It’s just a hologram, though.

If I’ve loaded the character’s information, it’s time to try out the weapon.

I drew the Demon Sword from my back.

It felt awkward because there was no physical impact due to the hologram, but who cares?

Right now, I’m not the weak Ha-yeon, but Yeon, the Blood Demon King of Deron.

“Kuhehe…”

Look at the long, extended Demon Sword.

Who would have known I’d recreate this in reality, not in Deron?

“Hayat!”

A full-power thrust with all my might.

Shuk-the black sword sliced through the empty air.

Immediately after, I began the next action.

Shuk- Swak- Shuk!

“Hek… Hek…”

I swung the sword about ten times in total.

After diligently swinging the hologram Demon Sword, I sat down, panting.

My lips naturally pouted.

The Blood Demon King of Deron wouldn’t get tired and sit down after swinging a sword only ten times.

What’s the point of loading the Blood Demon King’s data? It’s my weak, squishy body that’s actually moving.

There’s a saying that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

That’s exactly how it was right now.

At that moment, an exclamation mark appeared on the bracelet.

A familiar icon, indicating that a message had arrived.

I tilted my head and lightly touched the D.R.

[Oh…! Blood Demon King!]

“Heok…!”

I jumped up from my seat.

When I touched the D.R, the image that appeared was none other than Ellie, or rather, Jupiter.

She was in her Holy Knight form from the game, looking around in the small screen.

[Hmm… It seems I can’t see anything other than you.]

“H-how did you do this?”

[Didn’t you know that test users can video call each other like this?]

“Video call…?”

[It’s explained in detail in the manual.]

“Ah…”

I never imagined the D.R had such a feature hidden.

I crossed my arms and nodded.

The other person is Jupiter, the *nyeo-seok* who calls herself my rival.

I can’t lose.

“Of course, I knew.”

[Hmm… Is that so?]

“Yeah.”

[Then, could you invite me over there?]

“I-invite…?”

[That’s right, Blood Demon King. To your space, if you would.]

Invite? What’s invite?

Could it be that there’s another feature hidden that I don’t know about?

I rolled my eyes around, lost in thought.

I didn’t want to lose to Jupiter. But I also didn’t want to read the manual.

Reading the manual somehow made me feel like a coward.

“Hmm. Hmm… Jupiter.”

[What is it?]

“Wouldn’t it be better if you invited me?”

[Hmm… I see. I’ll invite you first, then.]

I nodded at Jupiter’s words and quietly watched what she did.

By the way, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her, but she hasn’t changed at all.

I was really glad that she seemed to be doing well even after returning to her hometown, and I also had the thought of wanting to touch her soft, squishy cheeks.

Bbiring-!

At that moment, a cheerful sound rang out.

A new exclamation mark had appeared on the D.R.

I lightly touched the D.R, just like before.

[Jupiter-12032’s Invitation]

*The radius of the invited space is 20M.

*Using this feature will increase battery consumption by 300%.

Radius of space?

I tilted my head and accepted the invitation.

Instantly, the light emitting from the bracelet intensified even further, and the surrounding environment began to change based on where I was standing.

Sarararak-

It was as if the space itself was being redefined.

Tiny particles gathered and created something new.

I knew all of this was a hologram, but the phenomenon appearing before my eyes was too beautiful to dismiss as virtual.

Another world was overlaid onto reality.

Deron’s promise to blur the lines between virtuality and reality was not an empty one.

[Hmm…]

Once the space was complete, the pure white Holy Knight I had always seen in the game appeared before my eyes.

The Holy Sword tucked into her waist and the angel wings spread behind her back.

The girl wearing armor that revealed her smooth armpits was Jupiter.

“Jupiter…”

[You look the same as in the game.]

“You too.”

[Hmm… Can’t you see the clothes I’m wearing under the hologram?]

I narrowed my eyes at Jupiter’s question and looked her up and down.

The semi-transparent hologram showed Jupiter’s appearance from the game, but I couldn’t see the clothes she was wearing under the armor.

In other words, the exposure of her smooth, soft armpits was the same.

Just in case, I asked Jupiter.

“Can’t you see me either?”

I was currently wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt and comfortable shorts.

It wasn’t a very revealing outfit, but it could cover the armpit exposure.

But Jupiter nodded, as if my appearance was also the same as in the game.

It seems that when someone is invited and the location is moved, only the game data is transmitted.

I nodded and looked around.

There was nothing on the floor where Jupiter and I were standing, but when I turned my gaze a little further, I could see all sorts of toys scattered on the walls and floor.

Of course, it’s just a hologram, though.

It’s not a place where the game space was brought in.

It’s probably a high probability that Jupiter’s surrounding space is represented by a hologram.

“Where is this?”

[It’s my playroom!]

“Playroom?”

[The place I used when I was little. This is the only space I can use right now.]

“Hmm…”

I was able to obtain various information based on the short conversation I had with Jupiter and the space unfolding before my eyes.

“So, why did you call me?”

Jupiter smiled slightly at my question and drew her Holy Sword.

Could it be that she wants to cross swords in this state?

I licked my lips and drew the Demon Sword.

[It’s been a while.]

“You know, right? This isn’t inside the game.”

[I know, Blood Demon King.]

It’s a relief if you know.

Jupiter and my stamina are very weak.

That means we can’t exchange dozens or hundreds of blows like in the game.

I took a breath and opened my mouth.

“Seven times… how about it?”

[I-isn’t that a bit too much?]

Is that so? Seven times did seem like a bit too much.

I nodded and opened my mouth again.

“Then five times!”

[That much… would be okay!]

The rules of the duel have been decided.

The maximum number of exchanges we can have is five times.

If we move more than that, there’s a high probability that we’ll both run out of stamina and collapse.

Five times… I can do that!

We exchanged glances and took our stances.

We both have similar talents, and the swordsmanship we use is also similar.

Of course, I’m stronger, though.

As a subtle silence flowed between us.

Jupiter and I charged at each other at the same time.

“Hayat!”

[Hiyat!]

The jet-black Demon Sword and the brilliant white Holy Sword clashed in the air.

At the same time, a cheerful effect burst out.

Beonjjeok-!

The effect burst out as the swords met, but I didn’t feel the repulsive force like in the game.

Of course. It was just holograms colliding.

Jupiter and I weren’t flustered. We had already experienced this kind of duel at an offline event a few years ago.

“Hihyap!”

[Heuryat!]

So we continued to swing our swords.

The D.R will judge the outcome of this duel.

Beonjjeok-

Beonjjeok-

Beonjjeok-

Already the fourth exchange.

I felt my stamina slowly draining and took a deep breath.

Of course, Jupiter must be in a similar situation to me.

She was pretending not to be, but I could see her small chest rising and falling rapidly.

Now’s the time.

The thread of weakness.

I took a big step forward and shouted.

“Heuryaaaat!”

This is my last strike.

I will pour all my stamina into defeating Jupiter.

[Hiryaaaat!]

Jupiter was thinking the same thing.

Jupiter took a large stance as if preparing for her last strike.

She began to thrust her sword towards a similar path as me.

Shuaak-!

Jupiter’s sword was thrust at a slow speed.

I twisted my body sharply and jumped into the air.

An unintentional, instinctive movement. But my body didn’t move as I thought it would.

Kong-!

“Heuek…”

My jumping body lost its center of gravity and fell to the floor with a thud.

[Hiek…]

But I wasn’t the only one who fell to the floor.

It seemed that Jupiter had also attempted a movement that was impossible in reality, and she was groaning while lying flat on the floor.

I picked myself up and thought.

I think I need to start exercising.