Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Little Chris
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To put it simply, Chris did indeed have two bodies.
"My goodness."
[Yin-Yang Master 'Christwo' (Online)]
- Rain, you're at Palman's place, right? Just wait! I'll be there in a sec!
"What kind of nickname is that..."
I was appalled by Chris's terrible naming sense.
Is it 'Christwo' because it's Chris's alternate character?
Even her alt is a Yin-Yang Master?
"Waaah!"
"Oh, sorry."
I started to soothe Igraine, who had begun to fuss in my arms.
Bouncing her gently.
"Goo-goo!"
The baby, smiling endlessly in my arms, was just too cute.
"What do I do..."
I gazed at Igraine's face, feeling dazed.
I love babies so much.
"Hehe, it seems our child has taken a liking to you, Rain."
"R-Really? Ah... she's so cute."
"You're cute too, Rain... hehe, right?"
"?"
The elven woman, who had been muttering to herself, made a face as if something was funny.
The elven woman who half-rose from the bed where I was sitting was Palman's wife. Her name was Rachel.
"Since she's your child, Rachel and Palman, she'll definitely grow up to be a stunning beauty."
Palman, the captain of the elven guard, seemed busy these days. He had left his wife, who had just given birth, at home to deal with users in the meeting room.
Lately, users had been taking quests from Palman to deal with the remaining demon remnants in the area or to perform duties protecting the Elven Forest.
"Reputation farming, huh."
This was to build up reputation with the Elven Kingdom, one of the requirements to enter the Tree of the Abyss. The vanguard users had already passed this stage, but now, regular users were beginning to enter the Elven Forest in earnest.
After the Tree of the Abyss was cleared, the Elven Forest was fully opened to users. Of course, there were a few troublemakers, but they quickly disappeared.
Becoming hostile to the elves would prevent you from receiving the Tree of the Abyss quest. However, maintaining a good relationship with them allowed you to receive consumables helpful for conquering the Tree of the Abyss, or new equipment pieces like belts.
The initial clear of Astria Online's first raid dungeon, the 'Tree of the Abyss', was over. The names of three attack squads were engraved in the glorious records of the two-week-long initial clear.
The No-Name Attack Squad, the Red and White Attack Squad, and the Skada Attack Squad.
The strategies were established by the members of the world-first clear squads, and video guides were uploaded to streaming sites.
However.
I smiled faintly.
"It's not that easy."
No other attack squads had managed to clear it yet.
In a way, aside from me, who had used a cheat key, and Red and White, who had my information and an outstanding raid leader like Chris, the 'Skada Attack Squad'—who achieved the third clear without any information or strange users—could be considered a truly incredible squad.
"Oh, Hero, you've arrived."
"Hello."
I bowed my head to the white-haired elven man who pushed aside the leaves covering the doorway and entered the house.
Palman smiled at me.
"I'm glad to see that you and our little princess are getting along so well, Hero."
I scratched my cheek.
In this world, Palman was the only one who still called me Hero. It felt strange every time I heard him say it.
I handed the peacefully sleeping Igraine back to Rachel and stood up.
"It's about time for my friend to arrive."
"You'll visit often, won't you?"
"Yes. I'll probably stop by once a week."
Even when the next expansion pack is released and I begin my adventures in other regions, I'll have to come here once a week to clear the weekly raid dungeon, the 'Tree of the Abyss'.
I gently touched the chubby cheek of Igraine, who was sleeping in Rachel's arms.
"Little Rain, you have to listen to your mommy and daddy, okay? Big Sis Rain is going to work now."
As soon as I left Palman's house, I heard footsteps.
*Pitter-patter.*
"Huh?"
The sound of dainty footsteps.
They quickly approached my side.
Who could it be?
I was supposed to meet Chris.
I turned my head in the direction the footsteps had stopped.
Chris is tall, in the late 170cm range, which is quite tall for a woman.
And me? I'm more than 30cm shorter than Chris. I have to look up at her.
Usually, when I turn my head and look up, I see Chris's face.
"Eh."
But when I looked up, there was no one there.
Instead, a single strand of red hair swayed gently in that spot.
I lowered my gaze.
"Gasp."
"Rain!"
A familiar voice.
A confident smile.
Vibrant red hair.
It was definitely Chris.
And...
A slender figure...?
Slightly shorter than me?
A cute face?
"Gasp..."
I took a small step back.
Who... are you?
"It's, it's me! It's Chris!"
A familiar, yet slightly younger-sounding voice came from the flustered girl's lips.
"...Chris?"
"Sob, Rain didn't recognize me!"
The red-haired girl looked like she was about to cry. It was the same pout Chris always made.
But, seeing that expression on that face...
*Thump.*
"Hah!?"
I clutched my chest.
So cute!
Of course, I like cool big-sister Chris too.
But what is this?
*Swoop.*
My hand started moving on its own.
And it grabbed the single strand of red hair swaying above little Chris's head.
"Rain?"
A look of confusion appeared on Chris's face.
*Fiddle, fiddle.*
Is this what they call a cowlick?
After fiddling with the demurely standing Chris's hair for a moment, I pulled her head into my embrace.
*Poof.*
"Ah!?"
Chris, who had been flustered and struggling in my arms, soon calmed down.
With a dazed expression, I quietly stroked little Chris's head.
"You're so cute, Chris."
Chris, her face beet red, muttered.
"...They said I could benefit from this customization, and they were right."
As I headed to the Tree of the Abyss with little Chris, Chris's alt character with the nickname 'Christwo', I asked something I'd been curious about.
Why had Chris become little Chris?
"What about your synchronization rate?"
If your body shape changes that much, the sync rate should drop significantly.
Little Chris puffed out her chest.
"You remember that new capsule we tried at the last offline meeting? This is part of its real-world sync rate test."
"Oh."
A capsule that could dramatically enhance various senses. If it were released to the public, users would be able to enjoy a much more realistic game.
Currently, 'Astria Online' has its sync rate capped at 20%. Since that capsule can raise the actual sync rate, even if it decreases due to the change in body shape, it'll still be around 20%.
Her voice sounded a little younger, but it was still Chris's voice. No matter how much you customize, you can't change the voice of the base body. Maybe her throat is smaller because of the child-like customization, making her voice sound younger?
"It goes without saying, but this customization is also based on my own body. My body from 10 years ago, of course. It's Beimerung's handiwork. Isn't it amazing?"
"Oh, really."
*Pat, pat.*
"...More importantly, why do you keep petting my head?"
"Ah, sorry."
I unconsciously lowered the hand that had been stroking little Chris's head. Instead, I took her tiny hand.
So Chris was incredibly cute when she was young.
I think I finally understood how Chris felt when she always patted my head. Is this what they call putting yourself in someone else's shoes?
*Pitter-patter.*
*Pitter-patter.*
When Chris and I arrived in front of the Tree of the Abyss, I saw some familiar faces.
"Oh, Chris, Rain. ...Gasp!"
"Hehe, what do you think? I told you to look forward to it, didn't I?"
"You're really something, Chris. You always said you liked cute things, but I never thought you'd become cute yourself."
"Hmph. I'm only going to log in on this character when I'm running the weekly raid with Rain anyway."
A Spirit Master with the face of Seopseobi, the Ranger from the Red and White guild, gasped. A pink-haired Yin-Yang Master and a Swordsman who looked like Cherni openly snickered.
"So Seopseobi's alt is a Spirit Master. Cherni is a Swordsman, and Beimerung... a Yin-Yang Master?"
"Yep. What do you think? Not bad, right?"
Beimerung spun around on the spot, the Yin-Yang Orbs floating around her.
Even though it was an alt, her face wasn't much different. The same went for Chris, of course. Though she had become cute and shorter.
"An alt character."
I fell into thought for a moment.
Having multiple alts meant you could farm weekly raid dungeons and daily quests repeatedly.
It wasn't that I hadn't thought about it.
"But it just feels less real, somehow."
At this point, I fully understood that this world was a game, but the idea of there being two of me still felt wrong. I also had no idea how my main character's bugged synchronization rate would work on an alt.
Chris strode confidently over to Seopseobi, glaring at him and chattering.
"What are you looking at? It's just your usual prickly raid leader, isn't it?"
"Ah, well. It's just... ahem, you're very cute."
"Do you want to get kicked from the party!?"
"Gasp, I'm sorry!"
Seopseobi, who had been staring at little Chris in fascination, got an earful.
"Me, Rain, Beimerung, Go Seung-woo, Seopseobi, and Cherni. Alright, we're all here. The other six will be people from another squad."
A total of six members from the Red and White Attack Squad had gathered in front of the Tree of the Abyss. It seemed not all the squad members had raised alt characters.
"What about Death of Death?"
"He's busy. He's raising an alt, but its level is still low."
"What's his nickname?"
"Darkness of Dark."
After some idle chatter, we soon saw another party approaching.
At the center of the group was a tall, beautiful woman with light brown hair.
I let out a gasp of admiration as I looked at her.
"Oh, a pretty lady."
"Hmph."
The cowlick on little Chris's head stood on end. Alert mode?
The tall beauty approached us and introduced herself with a refreshing smile.
"Raid Division 2, it's a pleasure to work with you. Hehe, I'm Skada, the raid leader of the 'Skada Attack Squad'."
"Oh."
So that's Skada, the raid leader of the Skada Attack Squad that got the third clear on the 'Tree of the Abyss'.
Skada's eyes twinkled as she looked back and forth between me and Chris.
"And you must be Rain? You're just as cute as I've heard... And, Chris's alt? Oh my, hehe. You're really something, Chris."
*Swoosh.*
Little Chris stepped in front of me.
And she growled.
"Grrrrr!"