Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: My Real Self
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The large park in front of my house.
Chris and I were taking a late-night walk here.
"Chris... The expansion is out. How will you keep up if you're this busy? Shouldn't you be logging in to level up right now?"
I appreciated her looking out for me, but Chris's leveling was important too.
Walking beside my wheelchair with her hands clasped behind her back, Chris grinned and asked me a question in return.
"And you, Rain, how much experience did you gain today?"
"Ah."
Whirr.
I avoided Chris's gaze and quickened my pace—or rather, my wheelchair's pace.
Chris must be psychic.
How did she know I was playing around instead of leveling up today?
Even if she could see my level through the messenger or guild tab, my current experience points weren't visible. And yet, Chris seemed to know I'd been slacking off today. She must have deduced it purely from my expression, gestures, and tone of voice.
What a scary person.
"Hehe~ Since you can't answer, I guess you were playing around too, Rain. It's okay to take it a little slow, right? In any case, it'll probably take some time before the elite dungeons in this expansion are discovered and opened."
"You have a point."
I agreed with Chris, who had caught up to me.
Just as she said, there was no need to rush to level up just because the expansion was out. To be honest, I just hadn't been in the mood to hunt today because of the 'Safety Guard' bug.
I savored the late spring breeze as I passed between the artificially landscaped trees of the city park.
"It's starting to get warmer."
The long winter I had spent on the frigid lands of the Astria Continent.
The short spring had passed, and the Korean peninsula was now awaiting summer.
I gazed intently at Chris's face beside me.
Her red hair, which I loved. A confident smile on her beautiful face. Her eyes were narrowed slightly. Within them, her pupils sparkled as they looked at me.
It had been almost a year since I started spending time with her. Of course, it was a short period compared to the time I'd spent with my past comrades, but she had come to occupy a massive part of my life.
Perhaps time isn't that important when it comes to forming relationships.
I suddenly clapped my hands.
"Oh, right."
There was something I wanted to ask Chris.
"Chris, there's something I want to ask you about the synchronization rate in virtual reality."
"Hmm...? What are you curious about? Of course, that is my area of expertise."
Chris tilted her head at my question but answered with confidence.
"It's a little funny for me to be asking this, but... what's the maximum synchronization rate in virtual reality that current technology can achieve?"
"Huh? Hehe. It really is a little funny hearing you say that. Then again, you're not exactly a normal case, are you, Rain? What, are you planning to come to my lab and become a guinea pig?"
Chris chuckled and threw a joke my way. I knew she wasn't serious, but I had to fight the urge to puff up my cheeks.
Lately, it felt like I was starting to act a bit childish even in Iseulbi's body. Was my personality from being 'Rain' on the Astria Continent influencing the 'Iseulbi' here?
"For lifestyle metaverses, I'd say it's around 60 to 70%. We're aiming to push it to the 80% range with the new capsule model currently in testing. And for combat-focused RPGs like 'Astria Online,' the limit is 20 to 30%. There are ways to go higher, of course, but they're almost all illegal."
I knew that already. I'd heard of cases where people hacked the game to remove the synchronization rate limit.
"Of course, with current VR technology, it's not possible to isolate the sense of pain, so the risk is high. If you get cut by a monster's sword with a high sync rate, the shock alone would make you log out. And if the sync rate goes above a certain percentage, the game servers automatically detect it and issue a ban. I think it was around 50%, wasn't it?"
"Hmm..."
I was lost in thought for a moment.
The swordsman girl 'Nagi' I met today on the Astria Continent looked to be about twelve years old at most.
She was shorter than me and cute. Judging by her tone and actions, it wasn't a case of an adult using a smaller character customization.
The game had been released with a 12+ age rating to begin with, so she was probably a girl whose age matched her appearance.
Could a twelve-year-old like Nagi have raised her sync rate by hacking?
That seemed absolutely impossible.
Chris glanced at me and added with some difficulty.
"There are other rare cases where the synchronization rate increases. It's likely a psychological issue. There are few cases, so it's still being researched."
"A psychological issue?"
"...When someone doesn't accept their real self."
"Ah."
I understood why Chris had brought it up so carefully.
My past self.
She must have been reminded of how I used to be before I met her—how I'd neglected 'Iseulbi' here and lived completely immersed in the life of 'Rain'.
"It happens to people with severe PTSD, or those with physical disabilities. They turn away from reality and come to see their virtual self as their true self."
That was a perfect description of my old self.
Of course, from what I'd gathered so far, my 100% synchronization rate wasn't solely due to that.
"I see."
I decided it was best not to continue this topic. It would only make Chris think about how I used to be.
Though even now, having improved so much.
"......."
Nagi.
The cute little girl I met on the Astria Continent.
In reality, could she be physically disabled?
The end of the park's walking path was coming into view. After one lap around the park, we had decided to grab some chicken from a nearby shop and go home for a late dinner.
"......?"
At some point, Chris had stopped talking.
"Gasp!"
When I glanced to my side, Chris met my eyes, took a sharp breath, and started whistling.
I couldn't help but laugh at her cute reaction.
"Heh, I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for, Rain!? Whew, wheeew~! I was just whistling!"
This awkward silence was my fault.
Whenever I got lost in thought and fell silent, Chris would always act cautiously around me.
Thump, thump, thump!
Just then, a couple came jogging toward us from the opposite direction on the path.
The woman in the couple saw me, and her expression turned to one of surprise as she gradually slowed to a stop.
"Huh? ...That girl, I'm sure."
"Do you know her?"
"It's Rain from Astria Online! You must have seen her in the commercials, right?"
"...Huh?"
Fwip!
Reacting to the two people murmuring as they stared at me, Chris entered guard mode. She stepped in front of my wheelchair and growled.
"*Grrrrr!*"
"Chris..."
"...Oops. A-ahem. Do you have some business with her?"
At my chiding, she stopped growling. But she didn't let down her guard.
"Ah... you're Rain, right? I-I play Astria Online too!"
The woman spoke to me, glancing warily at Chris.
Chris looked at me with worried eyes.
My range of activity was narrow, limited mostly to the walking path in front of my house. And even within this range, there were other Astria Online players.
I gave Chris a look to stop her and smiled brightly at the woman.
"Yes. I'm Rain."
"Oh... oh my gosh! Really!? You live in the same neighborhood! ...Wow, so the rumors that you didn't customize your character at all were true...! You're pretty in real life too! You look exactly the same as in the game!"
"You play Astria Online too?"
"Yes! I'm a Spirit Master, and this is my boyfriend who's raising a Fighter. We're still low-level, though. Hehe."
"Low-level, she says."
"Well, aren't you?"
I watched the bickering couple with amusement.
The woman's gaze briefly fell on my wheelchair. For a moment, surprise and pity flashed through her eyes. But she managed to hide it, trying to show only her delight.
Well, this much is fine.
After we parted ways with the Astria Online player couple, Chris, who had been in guard mode, relaxed her tense body and let out a sigh.
"Hah, is it because Astria Online is so popular? I can't believe we'd run into other players this close to home."
Chris looked at me with concern.
I knew what her look meant. She was worried that I'd had to show my disabled real-life self to other players.
"Maybe we should stop taking walks."
"It's okay."
"...Really?"
"It's not a big deal, is it? Being disabled doesn't mean I can't play the game."
"R-Rain!"
My old self wouldn't have reacted this way.
Chris's face brightened.
I smiled back.
Soon, Chris walked ahead, and with her hands clasped behind her back, she muttered something in a casual tone.
"By the way, I wonder what our little Rain~ was doing today~ instead of leveling up."
"Gasp."
I broke out in a cold sweat.
Why am I like this? It's not like I did anything wrong.
Chris turned back to check my reaction, and her eyes narrowed.
"Rain... you weren't, by any chance, playing with another older sister, were you?"
"Wh-what are you talking about! Of course not!"
I turned my head away, feigning anger.
This wasn't a lie.
I did play with another girl, but she wasn't an 'older sister'.
"Anyway, let's hurry up and go home to eat."
Whirr.
I urged my wheelchair forward, feeling Chris's suspicious gaze poking me in the side.
Chris is definitely psychic.