Chapter 3: The Realm of Sensation(3)

The day was coming to an end.

This meant I had spent the entire day playing games.

Mom calling for me meant it was time for dinner.

As I stepped out of the capsule, my hair, soaked with sweat, clung to me.

It was an unpleasant sensation, like something foreign and unwelcome sticking to my body.

As I left the room, I ran into Harang. He was someone I felt uncomfortable around. Looking at him was like looking in a mirror, seeing my past self reflected in him.

“What… what’s up with you?”

“Harang.”

“Harang? Hey, you—”

Suddenly, I realized how unattractive my younger face looked. Harang reacted strongly to the words that slipped out with a sigh.

Did I misspeak? I tilted my head in confusion as I looked up at him.

Even though this body was undoubtedly mine, the fact that I had to look up at him struck me as amusing.

This small girl’s body was short.

“Call me ‘oppa,’ you crazy girl.”

My face contorted at Harang’s words.

Seeing my expression, Harang, with a smug look as if he had one-upped me, headed toward the living room.

“Oppa”? That was something I could never bring myself to say out loud, not unless I was out of my mind.

I hurried after him, only to find a lavish dinner spread on the table.

I stared at the japchae laid out on the table. It was a dish that only appeared on special occasions like anniversaries.

Mom’s gaze turned toward me.

It seemed that the events of the morning still weighed on her mind; she must have prepared this for me.

Strictly speaking, it was meant for this body, for Hayeon, but for now, I wanted to think it was for me.

That was just how cluttered my thoughts were.

Despite those feelings, my body was screaming with hunger.

I sat at the table and picked up my chopsticks.

This small, delicate hand felt unfamiliar.

Just as I reached out with my chopsticks, Harang’s chopsticks darted in, snatching the japchae away as if to block me.

My face twisted in annoyance. His thievery of my favorite dish was infuriating.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Harang called me a crazy girl.”

Silence descended over the dinner table.

Harang’s face, in the middle of stealing my japchae, instantly hardened.

In that brief moment, I seized the opportunity with my chopsticks.

“Is that true?” Mom’s cold voice reprimanded him.

“No, that’s not… I mean…”

Mom’s icy tone made Harang shrink.

He shot me a resentful look.

And what of it?

Still, was this what it meant to be an older brother? As if to show that he had lived longer than this little girl, he finally clammed up.

He admitted his guilt without further protest.

Even though I reclaimed the japchae, I still felt like I had somehow lost.

It was a satisfying meal.

I took my time savouring every bite of Mom’s food.

Faint memories resurfaced one by one, and my heart grew calmer.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Aren’t you eating more?”

“I… have plans.”

“Another game?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced over at Harang as he answered.

Plans in a game? Knowing the Harang I knew, the game he was playing must be Deron Online.

I became curious. What kind of character was the Harang of this world raising?

After finishing dinner, I logged into Deron.

The method of playing by lying in a capsule still hadn’t become familiar to me.

Since I died at the red orc front in my last session, I reappeared at the nearby resurrection point upon logging in.

It was evening time, meaning more people were logging in after work and school.

This was the time of day when the most people were online on a weekday, so the red orc front was more crowded than before.

Being the type of person who dislikes crowds, I felt uncomfortable here.

I quickly walked toward the front line, where I could already see many parties had claimed spots and were hunting.

They had established their territories, pointing their weapons at anyone who dared to invade their zones.

It was amusing to see this in real life, considering these were actions I used to perform with just a mouse and keyboard.

I continued walking down the path, heading away from hunting grounds where few monsters respawned, and toward areas with mass respawns.

A group of orc scouts was patrolling in a pack.

The sudden increase in difficulty at the hunting grounds showed no mercy to average players.

The merciless blades of the orcs and their massive muscular attacks forced many players to retreat.

It was a quiet hunting ground.

Suddenly, the feel of the sword in my hand felt too realistic.

The strong smell of blood and explosives in the air stung my nose.

It must have been because I had turned the sensory synchronization up to the maximum.

Seo Hayeon—how much talent did this girl possess?

With a small question in mind, I raised my sword.

The glint of the blade was aimed at a group of patrolling orcs.

There were three.

It wasn’t an ideal number for a single hunt.

But I charged at them anyway.

The moment I pushed off the ground and dashed toward the orcs, my senses expanded.

It was the same strange sensation that wrapped around my entire body the first time I fought goblins, making it clear it wasn’t just an illusion.

Since I had turned off all the system adjustments, my view wasn’t cluttered with unnecessary information.

That allowed my body to move on its own, following its instincts.

My small body’s dive made my target area equally small.

Because I had lowered myself so much, the attack aimed at my head followed after with a slight delay.

This character hadn’t undergone a class change. Lacking basic strength, it was only natural that I couldn’t block an orc’s sword head-on.

But things changed when game mechanics came into play.

The beginner skill Parry.

If you timed it right and countered the enemy’s attack with your sword, you could reduce the incoming damage.

It was a skill that could only be used against normal attacks and was usually forgotten later on.

An orc soldier’s sword filled my field of vision.

My mind read the sword’s trajectory and issued the next command.

I raised my sword slightly and set it up to meet the blow with its flat side.

With a grinding sound, a dazzling effect exploded in front of me.

I had successfully triggered the skill.

Now it was my turn.

But there were still three enemies.

There was no way I’d have an opening to attack.

My body, anticipating the next assault, immediately increased the distance between us.

This was fun.

Since I wasn’t wearing any armor, the orcs’ attacks were lethal, which made the thrill even more alive.

Repeating the cycle of approaching and retreating, I gradually familiarized myself with the orcs’ attack patterns.

When I used to play with a mouse and keyboard, I would just blankly watch my character hunt.

But now things were different.

The world, the times, had changed.

This was a game that said you were entering the “Realm of Sensations.”

I couldn’t fully grasp that phrase before, but now, I understood.

As time passed and my body moved, I became more accustomed to the body of this small girl.

It wasn’t reality, but the way this body moved felt no different from how I moved in real life.

In other words, it wasn’t that different.

Slash!

My sword quickly approached, cutting through an orc’s neck and sending its head flying.

What made up for my lack of damage was the weak spot system present in the game.

A creature whose head is severed cannot survive.

The orc soldier, too, collapsed to the ground.

One of the three was down.

It meant I had a moment to catch my breath.

I immediately prepared for my next move.

I dodged a sword swing and leaped into the air.

It seemed like a mistake at first glance.

You’re not free to move in midair.

Especially if you’re a beginner without any special skills.

But my extended leg kicked off the orc’s blade, shifting my direction.

Thus, I managed to avoid the sword slash that barely grazed my shoulder.

In reality, such a move would have been impossible.

But in the game, where my body received stat boosts, impossible movements became possible.

It felt like I’d grown new eyes and arms.

It was uncomfortable since I wasn’t used to it, but I could do a lot more than before.

That was the feeling.

With my body twisted midair, I prepared for the next attack.

It was a strike utilizing rotational force.

The flashy sword stroke beheaded the second orc soldier.

The orc’s head soared into the sky, signaling my body to roll across the ground.

I hadn’t considered the landing, so the pain that shot through my back was intense.

But I didn’t stop.

Although there was pain, it wasn’t enough to hinder my movement, so I leaped again to avoid an incoming strike aimed at the ground.

Once again, my torso spun halfway, sending another orc soldier’s head flying.

Shrrk!

Standing on the ground, I looked at my trembling hands.

I wasn’t as out of breath as I expected.

I still had plenty of stamina left.

It meant I could continue hunting.

I continued hunting alone—orc soldiers, scouts, mages, and more.

I handled various monsters.

Each time their heads flew off, my character grew steadily.

That’s how I reached level 10.

A vibrant effect accompanied the rapid recovery of my depleted stamina.

I had now met the conditions for a class change.

It was time to leave this place.

Returning to the outpost, I looked for the supply officer NPC.

I had earned many tokens from hunting orcs, so I could receive the item distributed by the quartermaster.

[Lunaris Standard Issue Iron Sword]
Attack Power +35
Level Requirement: 7

These are the basic supply items for Lunaris soldiers.

The performance can’t be expected to be great.

Below, there are similar items with similar descriptions.

As I equipped the gear, the heavy weight pressed down on my body.

Uncomfortable sensation. Heavy armor wasn’t the best choice.

The reward was generous. I immediately received additional tokens and exchanged them for a light leather armor set.

Though parts of it were reinforced with metal, most of it was made of leather.

Reaching level 10 unlocks several features.

The auction house is also one of the features unlocked at level 10.

To list the items I didn’t need, I searched for their prices on the auction house.

A novice…

“Hmm…”

It’s a low-level area, and the equipment is starter gear, so I can’t expect it to sell for much.

But…

It’s different from what I expected.

The price was vastly different from the one I vaguely remembered.

The price was more than 20 times higher.

The heavy armor I thought was useless turned out to be very expensive.

Could the value be determined by the defense stats of the armor?

I set aside my small doubts for now and listed the items on the auction house.

When I listed them for slightly lower than the average selling price, everything sold within less than a minute.

I was stunned.

That was a significant amount of money for a beginner to handle.

Even after the 15% auction fee was deducted, it was still a lot.

Could there be some kind of issue within the game?

It might have been gold inflation.

But when I checked the website that shows the real-world value of in-game currency, the old prices were still intact.

No, the value had even increased.

I now had 70 gold coins.

Since 10 gold coins are worth about 15,000 won, I had just earned over 100,000 won in one go.

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