Shattered Illusions in Virtual Reality
※Caution: Beware of mental shock.
Click. The door shut.
The moment it did.
"You beast!!"
Thwack thwack! A tiny body dove under the desk. Elma grabbed my collar in a death grip.
"A-Are you insane?! Husband?!"
Her small hands shook me back and forth. Her face was beet red, like it might explode.
"You become my husband and then shatter my social status to pieces?!"
She spat out her grievances through gritted teeth, pounding my chest. It didn't hurt, of course.
"Then why'd you do that in the lecture hall earlier?"
"Th-That wasn't on purpose...!"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she threw a tantrum. But for someone so angry, she looked... off. Her breaths came quick and ragged. Her legs twisted and rubbed together. Her eyes glistened wetly.
Looks like she didn't hate my little "prank" after all.
"I thought my heart was gonna stop... you pervert husband...!"
In the end, Elma collapsed into my arms. She butted her forehead against my solar plexus and whimpered. I chuckled and patted her small back.
A moment later.
"What's that?"
I pointed at the desk. Two shiny silver headsets. They looked just like VR gear from a sci-fi flick.
"Oh, that's the magitech virtual reality stuff you mentioned earlier."
I flipped through the stack of papers on the desk.
"You didn't take on something annoying, did you?"
"Ugh... I can just dump it on the grad students and have them handle it..."
Elma was still riding the afterglow of pleasure. She mumbled while dangling from my waist.
"Read the manual. What does it say?"
"Fine."
In the end, the grunt work fell to me. I read the summary on the first page aloud.
"Brainwave synchronization scanning... user neural network connection... full sensory replication..."
"Boring stuff. And?"
She replied indifferently. I scanned the next line.
"Oh, there's this feature too."
"What?"
"It says theoretical implementation of 'appearance manipulation and body modification' inside virtual reality."
"...!"
In that instant, her small arms tensed around me.
"Hm?"
I looked down. Silence. Elma had her head bowed, frozen stiff.
"Elma? What's wrong?"
Slowly, she lifted her head. Her round almond eyes were dilated wide. Her pupils trembled like there was an earthquake.
"What are you thinking?"
No answer. Her mouth hung open.
"D-Does that mean..."
Her small lips quivered as she muttered. She gulped dryly. Her chubby cheeks flushed crimson. Her breathing grew ragged again.
"E-Elma? You okay? Are you hurt? Why all of a sudden..."
"Husband!"
Whoosh! Elma leaped up and clung to my thigh. Her almond eyes gleamed with madness.
...This look spelled trouble.
"The great and revered Dr. Elma Bronzebeer!"
"Yes. Yes."
"How dare you talk about outsourcing research! As a scholar, I must verify this new tech myself!"
She jabbed a finger into the air. Snap!
"Hey, tin cans!"
Yes, Master.
"Cancel all schedules for today! Oh, and Husband's too!"
The schedules of Husband and Her Majesty the Queen have all been canceled.
"W-Wait, why me..."
"And announce all afternoon classes are canceled!!"
Understood.
"Exams just ended, and now classes are canceled already..."
"Shut it! Academic progress comes first!"
Elma grabbed my arm roughly and started dragging me toward the secret entrance to our home.
"Hurry, Husband! Come on!"
"W-Wait a sec. What about shoes?"
My shoes lay scattered on the floor, but she didn't care. Barefoot, she waddled along, pulling me.
"Shoes are the problem?! We gotta test it now! Today, I'll prove the limits of virtual reality tech with my own body!!"
I was helplessly dragged along, rubbing my forehead.
What massive disaster is she planning this time...
But she was so excited. As her husband, wasn't it my duty to play along?
"Yeah, yeah. Coming. I'll assist, so calm down a bit..."
In the end, I trudged after her.
A moment later, home.
"Hurry! Hurry up! Husband, lie down quick!!"
In one corner of the living room, two chairs had appeared. They looked like massage chairs, festooned with wires. One big, one small. The golems had just finished setting them up in a frenzy.
"Isn't this too rushed?"
Even watching made my soul leave my body. But Elma ignored my complaints.
"Heh heh hum-!"
She was in high spirits, humming as she crammed the headset onto my head.
"No chit-chat, lie down! A world-shaking discovery awaits!"
Her face bloomed with anticipation. She grinned wide and patted my chest.
"Get excited, Husband!"
Her voice rang with grandeur. She clenched her tiny fist and thrust it toward the ceiling.
"I'll make you feel what 'normal' proportions really are, down to your bones!"
"Y-Yes...?"
Ah. So that's it. She thought she could have a "normal" height in virtual reality.
"Brace yourself! I'll make you so addicted you'll never want to log out!"
A moment later.
"Alright, connecting!"
The visor came down. My vision flashed white.
Connecting to the system.
A strange floating sensation washed over me. Then.
"Huh."
I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw: a vast white space. Nothing there. Just endless white sky and floor.
This is virtual reality?
I clenched and opened my hands. The brush of skin against skin. The tug of my collar. It felt exactly like reality.
"Whoa, way more realistic than I thought."
As I marveled and looked around—
Whirr-! Blue particles swirled before my eyes. Sparks flew as they coalesced into form. It was Elma.
"Ta-da! How's this!!"
Whoosh! As the light faded, a booming shout erupted. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She struck a sultry pose like a fashion model, hips cocked, hands on waist, chest thrust out proudly.
"Behold! This is the graceful, beautiful form of Dr. Elma Bronzebeer at 180cm!"
"...."
Silence.
"...."
I just blinked. My gaze was fixed downward.
"Um... Elma."
I opened my mouth carefully.
"Yeah yeah! Speak! Amazed by these legs, right?"
Elma huffed excitedly, eyes still closed. Her face screamed for praise.
"...."
Unfortunately.
Her crown. The top of her head still hovered below my waist.
"You're... the same as always...?"
"...What?"
Her eyelids fluttered. Then her almond eyes snapped open. The first thing in her view: my waist. And my face, barely visible if she craned her neck. The height difference was identical to reality.
"Wh-What...? Why is this...?"
Panicking, Elma looked down at her hands. Small, callused, sturdy hands.
"Wh-What?!"
Snap! She flicked her fingers, and a mirror popped up in midair. Pitter-patter! She waddled her short legs to it.
Facing the mirror, Elma: 90cm tall. Short, chubby limbs. Breasts swollen beyond her frame. Freckles dotting her nose bridge. Unchanged.
The embodiment of her complex. A perfect copy of her real dwarf self.
"Wh-What is this! My avatar! Where's the tall avatar I made!!"
She pounded the mirror, screaming. At that moment.
Ding-.
User's mana density exceeds system limits.
To prevent sensory mapping mismatch, virtual body programming is rejected.
Overwriting with real body's physical specifications.
"Mana density?"
Elma Bronzebeer. Archmage with innate overwhelming mana. Her power was beyond what some puny computer could handle.
Too great, even transformation was blocked.
"...."
She grasped the situation. Her short arms dropped limply. Despair. Thud.
"Waaahhh-!!"
She plopped down before the mirror. She pounded the floor and wailed.
"It's virtual reality!!!"
Tears poured down.
"The manual said appearance manipulation was possible! Why! Why am I still stuck with this baby body even here!!"
Like a child, she stomped her feet and sobbed loudly. The normal body she'd craved so much. The sleek woman's form her husband could love. That modest dream shattered even in this fake world.
"Elma!"
I rushed over. I scooped up her tiny, huddled, sobbing form on the white floor.
"Sniff! Waaah! Why me... why always me...! Why meee... waaah!!"
She tore at her hair, cursing herself.
"Elma, please don't cry. Okay? Stop."
My wife, bawling with tears and snot. She cried so pitifully, my own nose started to sting.
But I had to hold it in. If I cried too, it'd only deepen her wounds.
I just patted her small back, smoothed her tangled hair, and gently pinned her hands before she could yank harder. Then, I whispered earnestly into her ear.
"I like you like this a hundred—no, a thousand times more."
"Don't lie! You were hoping for long legs and a killer figure deep down!"
"It's true."
I cupped her small face gently in my hands. I kissed her tear-streaked cheeks and nose everywhere.
"To me, Elma, you're the most perfect woman in the world."
"Sniff... h-hic...."
"Even if you got taller, it'd feel like cheating with another woman. I'd just get pissed."
"...R-Really?"
Snort. She sniffed hard. Her wet eyes peeked up at me cautiously.
"Same as reality, so I'm relieved. You fit perfectly in my arms like this. Feels right."
"Husbaaand...."
Maybe simplistic comfort. But it seemed to work. Her ragged sobs slowed.
"Ugh... Husband's such an idiot.... Long-legged girls are so popular..."
She grumbled but wrapped her short arms tight around my neck. Her breathing soon steadied in relief.
As I patted her for a while to calm her down.
"Huh...?"
Her gaze drifted blankly over my shoulder. Her little hand wiping tears froze.
What she stared at: the hologram window from earlier. Below it, the "User Safety Manual."
Physical damage in virtual reality has no effect on the real body.
※Caution: Beware of mental shock.
"...!"
In that instant, her shoulders jerked in my arms.
"Elma? What's up?"
No answer. Just hot, ragged breaths against my ear.
Slowly, her tight arms around my neck loosened. She lifted her head, eyes locking on mine.
Huh?
I swallowed unconsciously. The tears were gone from her face. Something else filled it now.
Blind devotion toward me. Obsession.
"Hey, Husband."
Elma's small lips parted. Physical damage in virtual reality doesn't affect the real body. The reason she'd craved it but never allowed it: the terror of "actually dying." Not exaggeration—the real limit from our size difference.
But here.
"I won't die."
She gulped and spat it out.
"No matter how much it hurts. No matter how broken I get."
Tears still clung to her eye corners.