Side Story – Seo Ha-yeon

“Eum…”

Seo Ha-yeon agonized for a long time at the character selection screen.

A melee character suited her temperament, but when she considered her real-world athletic abilities, she couldn’t quite bring herself to choose one.

What she chose in the end was a magician wearing a cute witch’s hat.

Her nickname became [Yeon’s Princess].

Before creating the character, a warning message popped up, stating that if the difference between the real body and the virtual body was too great, it would be difficult to move.

After confirming the warning, Seo Ha-yeon nodded and created a character that looked exactly like her real self.

Immediately after, she arrived in a world different from reality.

The senses awakened vividly.

The breeze that brushed over her skin carried a faint scent of grass.

Seo Ha-yeon diligently moved her arms and legs.

Because she had brought her real body as is, they were short, but that made it feel even more real.

The drab-colored magician’s robe she wore also felt cute.

“Ha-yeon-ah.”

Seo Ha-yeon turned her head at the voice that came from beside her.

A strange woman wearing a drab navy robe just like hers.

No, upon closer inspection, her overall impression was similar to a friend she knew.

“Could you be So-hui…?”

“Yeah.”

Seo Ha-yeon stared blankly with her mouth open at the woman in front of her.

The thing floating above her head must be her nickname.

[Helena]

So-hui, Helena’s character settings were different from her real body.

Slightly taller than in reality, and with a much more mature impression.

It felt like if the real So-hui grew up, she would grow up to look something like this.

“Cool…”

“Yeon-i also chose a magician.”

“Ah, yeah. We picked the same job?”

Seo Ha-yeon nodded and replied.

In RPG games, a duo of magicians wasn’t very efficient for party hunting, but So-hui and Seo Ha-yeon, lacking knowledge of the game, didn’t know that.

And so, the two began to move slowly, learning about the game.

Everything was new and fascinating to the two who were unfamiliar with VR games.

After wandering around here and there without even hunting, the two finally reached a hunting ground.

It was the rabbit hunting ground that beginners had to visit.

“Wow…!”

The moment Seo Ha-yeon discovered a fluffy white bundle, she ran towards it.

Because she wanted to pet the fluffy rabbit.

But there was something she overlooked.

The place where Seo Ha-yeon and So-hui had arrived was a region called [Rabbit Hunting Ground].

In other words, the fluffy white bundles in front of them were also monsters.

Not knowing this, Seo Ha-yeon reached out to the rabbit without any hesitation.

At that moment.

[Kkwiik!]

With an intense scream, the rabbit pounced.

Thud-!

“Hweak!”

Seo Ha-yeon felt a great shock shaking her body and tumbled to the ground.

It was just a small rabbit’s attack, but it was fatal to a level 1 magician.

Seo Ha-yeon’s health instantly dropped by 20%.

Seo Ha-yeon sat down on the ground, opening her mouth blankly.

She tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what had happened to her.

“What is it…”

[Kkwiiiiit!]

Whether Seo Ha-yeon did or not, the white rabbit bristled its fur and began to approach menacingly.

Just as it was about to attempt its second attack.

There was someone blocking its path.

Ppaak-!

The wildly swung wooden staff struck the rabbit’s head.

The white rabbit retreated with a heavy thud.

The one who blocked the way was So-hui.

“Be careful, Ha-yeon-ah. These guys are monsters.”

“Ah, aat… it was a monster…”

Seo Ha-yeon was finally able to understand the situation.

She had been deceived by its cute appearance, but that rabbit was the target they had to hunt.

Nodding her head, Seo Ha-yeon took out a heavy wooden staff, as if following So-hui’s example.

It was more like a wooden club than a staff for using magic.

The two began their battle with the rabbit.

A level 1 magician only had one skill available.

[Energy Bolt]

Attacks by firing a sphere containing pure mana

A magician’s basic attack skill

So-hui and Seo Ha-yeon used Energy Bolt at the same time.

“Hayat!”

“Yap!”

The gathered blue mana at the end of the staff is quickly fired.

The target of the Energy Bolt is the cute and fluffy rabbit.

Thud, thud-!

But the two’s Energy Bolts missed spectacularly.

Because the rabbit moved quickly.

“Ah!”

Seo Ha-yeon was greatly embarrassed.

Because the rabbit, which had started running dododot-, began to charge towards her.

Although it was a smaller rabbit than her, Seo Ha-yeon, knowing how strong it was, was horrified and began to run away.

And it was So-hui who saved Sa Ha-yeon, just like before.

So-hui swung her staff, which was close to a wooden club, at the charging rabbit and hit it on the head.

Ppaak-!

The rabbit’s head caved in from the powerful blow.

The rabbit, whose health had been completely exhausted by the blow, had no choice but to fall flat on the floor.

“Got it.”

“Whew…”

Seo Ha-yeon looked at the fallen rabbit and fell into thought.

It was realistic in some ways, but unreal to the point of being excessive in others.

Seo Ha-yeon was able to understand why her older brother had fallen into VR games.

***

Seo Ha-yeon quickly fell into the game called Deron, so much so that VR games were added to her daily routine.

Seo Ha-yeon thought.

She probably wouldn’t have been so immersed if she had done it alone.

The reason she was able to enjoy the game Deron was all thanks to her friend So-hui.

She looks forward to school ending, goes home, connects to Deron, and wanders around a world different from reality.

She levels up, learns new magic, and sets foot in places she hasn’t been before.

As her life in Deron grew longer, Seo Ha-yeon quickly began to adapt to the culture of online games.

Now, they no longer mentioned each other’s real names in the game.

Helena and Yeon-i, or Princess Yeon-i.

Seo Ha-yeon and So-hui called each other that.

Helena and Princess Yeon-i’s growth rate was slow.

But that was only because the two didn’t spend time hunting.

The two enjoyed exploring the world of Deron rather than growing their characters.

Princess Yeon-i and Helena, who had logged into Deron as usual.

The two formed a two-person party as usual and began their journey.

“Let’s go here today!”

Princess Yeon-i showed Helena a screenshot with a bright smile.

A forest so large that it reminded her of Gulliver’s Travels.

The ordinary grass that grew on the ground was as huge as trees, and an apple was as big as a house.

“Giant’s Forest?”

“Yeah!”

“This is where the bug monsters come out, are you sure it’s okay?”

“It’s okay!”

That’s how the two’s destination was decided.

The Giant’s Forest had a story that it was a region created through a crazy magician’s magic experiment, but that information was not important to the two.

They just went wherever their feet took them, wherever they wanted to go.

“Wowaah!”

Princess Yeon-i pressed down on her large conical hat and admired the scene unfolding before her eyes.

The dense thicket was like the entrance to a jungle, and the dragonflies flying in the sky reminded her of the huge dragons she could only steal glimpses of from afar.

Not only that. The trickling stream was like a huge river, and the carp swimming beneath it was bigger than a whale.

“Let’s go this way!”

Princess Yeon-i was the one who led the trip.

Sometimes, Princess Yeon-i’s choices led to battles with huge monsters.

Just like now.

“It’s a mantis!”

“Yeon-ah!”

The two, who had been wandering through the thicket for a while, encountered a giant mantis monster.

The mantis with its sharp blades looked very threatening.

It was actually threatening.

Because it was a monster that the two could not hunt with their levels.

“Run away!”

Princess Yeon-i and Helena ran hard.

They used Blink to quickly create distance, but the mantis monster spread its wings and chased after them to the end.

Parararak!

“Hieak!”

When the sound of an insect’s wings stimulated her ears, Princess Yeon-i screamed in horror.

Helena also looked at the giant mantis with a pale face.

The level difference was so great that even if they used skills, they couldn’t do much damage.

All the two could do was run away until the mantis’s aggro was released.

After running for a while, Helena was able to find a trickling stream a little further away.

More precisely, a leaf floating down the stream.

It looked like a boat made of leaves, floating along.

That’s it.

Helena grabbed Princess Yeon-i’s hand and shouted.

“Yeon-ah! There!”

“Eueung!”

The two ran towards the stream and used Blink.

Flash-!

Princess Yeon-i and Helena, who had disappeared with a blue light.

The mantis, which had been chasing the two, tilted its head, then turned around and returned to its original place.

Shwaaaaa-!

Flash-!

The place where Princess Yeon-i and Helena arrived using Blink was on a small leaf boat.

The sound of rushing water was heard from all directions, and water droplets occasionally splashed up.

The leaf boat shook dangerously due to the movement of the strong water currents.

“D, did it leave…?”

“Yeah. It left.”

Princess Yeon-i and Helena let out a sigh of relief as they watched the receding back of the mantis.

The two’s trip to the Giant’s Forest continued after that.

Until the moment when Princess Yeon-i ended the game as the night deepened.

[Ha-yeon-ah~]

Princess Yeon-i, no, Seo Ha-yeon, made a sullen expression at her mother’s voice coming from reality.

She only resented the reality that she had to end her mysterious journey with her friend.

“Ah… it’s Mom.”

“Do you have to go out?”

“Yeah…”

“Then see you tomorrow?”

Helena, So-hui, was also just as disappointed.

But what could she do? It was time for both of them to go to bed.

After finishing their goodbyes, Princess Yeon-i returned to the real Seo Ha-yeon and began to log out of Deron.

She presses the game exit button and comes to the character selection screen.

At that moment, Seo Ha-yeon felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

It felt like there was another character below the [Princess Yeon-i] character.

What appeared like a blurry afterimage was the image of a small swordswoman wearing white armor.

But there was no way there could be such a character. Seo Ha-yeon thought so and blinked her eyes.

The blurry afterimage that flickered before her eyes disappeared in an instant.