Union (2)

Somehow, our engineering guild ended up being all girls, including me.

Of course, it’s not like girls are worse at LORE; everyone’s skilled, so there’s no problem.

From the MEAD engineering side, Reina, Emma, and two guys came.

To build camaraderie and teamwork, our guild decided to run the Abyss Raid that we did for WFK.

First, as we were all talking, time passed, and the two guys naturally retreated from the girls’ talk, so I secretly approached them.

,What are you all doing here?

,Huh? Oh. Hi.

,Just talking.

Being British, they were all naturally built and handsome.

One had a one-handed sword at his waist, and the other had a large shield and a one-handed sword.

,Please take good care of me this time.

,If you don’t mind me asking, can I ask you a question?

The guy with the Soma job, who was as awkward as when we first met at my greeting, knelt down and met my eye level as he spoke.

,Damn, he’s super handsome.

,Yes. What would you like to ask?

,Actually, I wanted to talk about the Soma job in many ways.

,Ah. If it’s about that, I welcome it!

In this Abyss Raid, I’m still ranked #1 in Soma DPS on the LORE log site.

And the next #2 is Echo, the guy with the nickname ECHO right in front of me.

Before Soma was normalized, the DPS difference between me and him was large, but after normalization, he chased right up to my neck, and now he’s Soma #1 with me out of the picture.

I changed my job to Soma for the first time in a while.

I’m holding the jet-black armor and my beloved sword, the Judgment Sword. A heavy yet cool sensation. As expected, just holding the Judgment Sword makes me feel secure.

,I’ve watched Arang-nim’s videos a lot. I understand everything else, but the pre-delay and post-delay cancel parts are just impossible to follow. Do you have any tips?

,Pre-delay, post-delay cancel, huh…

In LORE, there are necessary motions when casting skills.

Since it’s a virtual reality game, those motions aren’t strict but rather relaxed.

If you turn on combat assist, your body moves automatically from start to finish when you think about using a skill, but if you do that, it’s impossible to cancel using pre-delay and post-delay.

So, probably all the users in the top 5% turn off combat assist to play the game.

,I don’t really have any tips, but like this, like this, like this.

I showed Echo the stances of each skill that I often use in front of him. First, I slowly showed him my favorite 5-hit combo Pentagon, 4-hit combo Square Quadler, and finally Annihilation Strike combo so that Echo could see them well as I spoke.

,In this post-delay, feel like you’re leaning your body slightly forward.

,I see. Like this?

As expected, he didn’t just become Soma world #1 for nothing; even though I explained it like crap, he understood perfectly and imitated my movements in front of me as if looking in a mirror.

The physical difference is almost a 2x difference, but he imitated it just by seeing it in front of him.

,Now, to make this more detailed and perfect, try staying alone in the last 1v1 gimmick in this raid and fighting the boss.

,Wait, that 1v1 gimmick? That might be difficult.

,Huh? I think you can do it, Ajusshi.

,Ajusshi… No, at your age, it’s understandable. That’s beside the point. It’s special that you, Arang, cleared it with Soma.

,That’s right. There have been users who cleared it as DPS, but seeing as there are still no users who have cleared it as melee DPS, you’re really amazing, Arang.

Echo and Vision shook their heads.

Just looking at it as a boss gimmick, it’s a considerably difficult and challenging gimmick. After all, it’s a boss controlled by a super high-performance AI that can operate a virtual world.

But.

,All the boss’s actions, appearances, skill pre-delay, post-delay calculations, etc., are all the best actions, no, the best actions that a human can do, so you just have to follow them.

In other words, it’s a textbook.

,That following is impossible…

,Huh? You just imitated my movements.

,That’s possible because it’s relaxed like this and I’m fully focused. In a tense situation, not in place but in a constantly moving combat situation, it’s close to impossible.

,Eing.

I loosened up my body with the Soma job that I changed to after a long time, stabbing skills into the scarecrow.

,Hmm?

Echo and Vision are watching my actions.

,Are you smitten with me?

,Keulkeul! A, are you crazy!?

,Ah, no!

,It’s okay to be smitten. I’m worthy of it.

These days, my appearance is gradually shining as I gain weight and become healthier. My body is still a child’s body, but my appearance is becoming as pretty as Anna.

Of course, I won’t date or fall in love with anyone, but I have no intention of stopping others from falling for me.

,I’m not a pervert who likes children.

,Do you hate me…?

,That’s not what I meant!

,I’m kidding. Just kidding.

,Are you really 15 years old? Tell me honestly, are you 30?

,Have you ever seen a 30-year-old as young as me?

,Tsk… You’re much different than I thought.

Echo was more receptive than I thought. I need to get closer to him.

==

From today, I decided to start treatment with a new doctor for PTSD and various mental health issues.

To eliminate the situation where I don’t know when I’ll log out and to enjoy playing LORE, I decided to actively participate.

My 담당 (dambang – in charge) doctor, Hye-sun Unni, said she would meet the doctor who would give me mental treatment together.

No matter how much mental counseling I do, in the end, I and Arang are different.

Even if I’m fused with Arang’s mind, Arang’s emotions sometimes come out separately.

Arang’s memories that my body remembers in reality.

Arang’s emotions that burst out greatly during menstruation and seizures.

Even if Arang’s remnants come out, in the end, I make all the decisions. Of course, I can be swayed by crying or happy emotions, but in the end, it’s me.

The problem caused by seizures is due to Arang’s sealed memories, but is it okay for me to receive mental counseling?

Actually, if I think about it, from an external perspective, I probably don’t look like someone with a normal mind right now.

I wonder if I look like someone with multiple personalities. Even I think my appearance in LORE and my appearance in reality are so different, and I even have seizures sometimes, so I’m the very image of a frail, pretty girl.

As far as I know, in this kind of mental counseling, you have to speak honestly and accurately so that the doctors can examine that part and tell you well.

But if I say that I used to be a 30-year-old man and woke up in Arang’s dead body, I’ll probably go straight to the mental hospital.

How should I say this…

What I can say is that I’m definitely Arang now.

It’s just that there are traces of Arang left deep in my body and mind.

Right now, I feel like I’m united with Arang.

,Arang-a. I brought the doctor, but you might not get along with that doctor. So, tell me honestly. Okay?

,Okay…

With Hye-sun Unni’s help, I moved to the room where the new doctor was.

,Hello.

A gentle and comfortable voice.

I nodded and greeted the new psychiatrist.

A psychiatrist with a plump body and a neat style, who would bring peace of mind to anyone who saw her, like a mother.

A feeling that makes you trust her just by looking at her.

,Hello…

,Nice to meet you, Arang-nim.

==

The conversation with the psychiatrist was much more comfortable than I thought, and the conversation continued on ordinary topics to the point where I didn’t feel like I was getting mental counseling.

What did I eat this morning, what did I do after eating this morning, etc. I even thought, is this mental counseling?

While we were having an ordinary conversation, the psychiatrist asked me what I liked and what my hobbies were, so I confidently said LORE.

,Is LORE very fun?

I couldn’t resist at the psychiatrist’s words.

She doesn’t know LORE, which is running as the world’s top VR MMORPG game.

I explained everything about LORE to the psychiatrist, and that’s how today’s mental counseling ended with my bragging about LORE.

Is this okay…?

==

,How is Arang?

Hye-sun and Anna were there to hear the counseling results from the psychiatrist who had been counseling Arang for an hour.

,Hmm… I don’t know if I should say this is good or okay…

,Is there something wrong with Arang…?

,She seems too okay, so I’m worried.

,Worried because she’s okay.

,Seeing Arang’s situation, the seizure videos you showed me, and the fact that she doesn’t remember some of her past memories, to have that kind of reaction, to have that kind of mind…

“”…””

,It feels like another self has appeared to protect her from her despairing self.

As she said, Hye-sun and Anna had also guessed to some extent.

Because she suddenly came to her senses and was living as a wandering, clear, and energetic Arang, just like when she was 10 years old.

But hearing it directly from the psychiatrist was a world of difference.