315. Seoyun's First Another World Experience
315. Seoyun's First Another World Experience
***
Whoosh!
A small cluster of light appeared in the square, and in an instant, a woman materialized.
"...Wow."
Having logged into Another World, Seoyun blinked as if fascinated and looked around.
"It really is just like reality."
She clenched and unclenched her hands for no particular reason, moving her body experimentally, then took in the sight before her.
A statue shaped like a red star—like some colossal symbol—stood in the middle of the city, and the streets lined with all sorts of medieval-style buildings gave off a uniquely mysterious atmosphere.
The buildings she had only ever seen in medieval fantasy films were rendered realistically, and the countless people strolling through the city brought the scene vividly to life. She spotted knights in brilliantly gleaming armor, and people who looked like wizards draped in robes.
'So this is Another World...'
Virtual reality.
Even knowing it wasn't real, the sensations she felt now were so uncannily close to reality that she couldn't help but be amazed.
Slide.
Even when she carefully stroked her cheek, the sensation felt just as real.
'...Incredible.'
The body she was moving now was supposedly her real appearance with only the hair color changed to silver like her sister's. But even so, the fact that it felt this natural was astonishing.
Ding!
—Friend request received from user 'Rin'
"It's my sister."
Seoyun broke into a grin and accepted immediately.
Right after that.
—[Rin: Seoyun, can you see the chat?]
A whisper appeared in her field of vision. Seoyun hesitated over how to reply, but then a thought occurred to her.
"Whisper."
She had heard that simple commands could be executed just by speaking them aloud, so she said it out loud. A blinking chat window appeared before her eyes.
—[Seoyun: Yeah. I can see it fine]
The experience of replying with a virtual keyboard was also wonderfully novel.
Why Another World was such a popular game, and why so many people still played it—she understood after just a few minutes of being logged in.
Because this was simply another reality.
'I can see why people get hooked.'
Adventure, exploration, in an atmosphere like this. Wouldn't just wandering around different places feel like traveling?
All sorts of thoughts came to her, and she even felt a flutter of excitement for no reason.
—[Rin: I'll invite you to my house first]
When the house invitation arrived, Seoyun accepted without hesitation.
***
Whoosh!
As I registered Seoyun materializing in a burst of light, I felt a little strange.
We were in the training grounds inside my personal house—a space for testing skills.
'Never thought I'd meet Seoyun in a game.'
I'd expected it ever since we talked on BaTalk a few days ago, but now that it was actually happening, it was surprising.
Seoyun looked around with a startled expression, then spoke.
"In the game, you look totally different, sis... When I watched your streams, you looked almost the same as in real life, but now the vibe is different. You know how you don't seem like yourself?"
She looked at me and laughed like she found it a little strange, and I let out a laugh too.
'She says I don't seem like myself.'
Seoyun's own appearance was just as shocking.
"You don't seem like yourself either, Seoyun."
The neat, tidy, meticulous Seoyun with her short black hair had transformed into a beauty with a subtly sharp impression, her hair dyed snowy silver just like mine.
Her features and height were clearly the real Seoyun, but with the silver hair matching mine and a touch of light makeup-like customization added, her whole impression had changed dramatically.
"Do I look like that? I tried changing my hair to match yours. It feels really weird for me too, you know?"
She fiddled with her own hair once while looking at mine. Even if her impression had changed a little, her mannerisms were the same, so she just looked adorable.
"Did you have to change your hair color? Black really suited you."
"Actually, you know what? I've always wanted to try silver hair like yours. But I thought it would stand out too much, so I never did. Now that I've done it in a game, I'm so satisfied, you know?"
She smiled bashfully, as if she loved her silver hair. Seeing how satisfied she was, I let out a small laugh.
"Well, if you're happy with it, it doesn't matter to me."
"Oh. Sis, it just arrived."
"What arrived?"
"The Legendary set. Chaerin just whispered me that she sent it."
Seoyun was typing in chat as if talking to someone. I thought, ah, I see—but at the same time, I was curious how Seoyun would look wearing the Legendary set.
Right now, probably because she'd just created her character, Seoyun was wearing gray cloth clothes with no particular character to them.
"So, should I put it on?"
"Yeah."
Then Seoyun's figure was bathed in pure white light.
Whooosh!
Within the sudden blaze of light, Seoyun's newly changed appearance emerged.
A beautiful light armor embroidered with red thread.
When a red butterfly-shaped hairpin was fastened at the end, putting the finishing touch on the look, I let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
"Wow. Seoyun, you look so pretty."
Seoyun, clad in white light armor like freshly fallen snow, looked absolutely beautiful.
"...I didn't know the clothes would be this pretty either."
Even Seoyun herself was surprised by her own appearance after equipping the items. It really drove home that clothes made the person.
Normally she wore plain, solid-colored blouses and other neat, clean clothes, so Seoyun's look was generally understated.
But now, dressed in such gorgeous and beautiful light armor, Seoyun's beauty seemed to have blossomed.
The red thread embroidered luxuriously here and there seemed to accentuate Seoyun's figure like accent points, drawing the eye.
However, when I saw the peculiar circular Crescent-Moon Weight with red cord attached in Seoyun's right hand, I let out an involuntary dry laugh.
"Still, I think you're prettier, sis."
Seoyun examined herself with wonder, then looked at me and smiled bashfully. I thought she was cute, and activated the settings.
—Training grounds activated. Generating training dummy.
A training dummy appeared at almost the maximum range of the Crescent-Moon Weight, and I spoke calmly.
"First, I'll explain the Crescent-Moon Weight. I'll demonstrate first, so Seoyun, do you want to watch and then try following along?"
Even as I said it, I felt awkward.
I'd never taught anyone how to use a Crescent-Moon Weight before.
And I never imagined my first student would be my own little sister, but somehow things had turned out this way.
"Okay. If you go as fast as you do on stream, I won't be able to keep up. You have to go slow, okay?"
Seoyun gripped her Crescent-Moon Weight and spoke cautiously. I nodded and slowly put distance between us.
I figured it would be hard for her to learn the stance if she watched from too close, so I planned to teach her slowly.
"First. The Crescent-Moon Weight starts with how you hold the cord."
As I spoke, I grabbed the cord of the Crescent-Moon Weight tied to my right hand with my left hand.
Squeak.
When I gripped it with a bit of force, it pulled taut and made an odd sound. I looked at Seoyun.
Seoyun naturally matched her stance to mine and gripped the cord of her Crescent-Moon Weight. The sight was a little funny.
'It'll be hard for her, of course.'
I felt anew just how bizarre the Crescent-Moon Weight's characteristics were as a weapon.
Even the basic stance seemed like it would feel difficult for a beginner like Seoyun.
"Seoyun, can you try putting some force into it from that position? Enough that the cord makes a pulling sound like mine."
"Okay."
Seoyun nodded calmly, put strength into her left hand, and gripped the cord again.
Squeak.
The cord pulled taut and the sound rang out.
"Good. Well done."
I praised her quietly. When I noticed Seoyun looking at me, I released the cord in my left hand and thrust my right hand out wide.
Whooosh!
The Crescent-Moon Weight shot out in a perfectly straight line, extending in an instant to a range so wide the cord stretched almost to its limit.
Thunk!
I turned my gaze to the Crescent-Moon Weight lodged in the dummy's head.
"Wow..."
Seoyun was staring with her mouth hanging open.
Seeing Seoyun with her silver hair was fascinating in itself, and her reaction was adorable.
"You don't have to do it exactly the same. Just try aiming at that dummy and swinging while releasing the cord at the same time."
Even as I said it, I didn't think Seoyun would succeed on her first try.
If the Crescent-Moon Weight were that easy a weapon to pick up, I wouldn't have been so discouraging about it before. Honestly, until you could wield it like an extension of your own body, it was a really awkward weapon.
Whirr!
I pulled hard with my right hand and naturally caught the Crescent-Moon Weight as it returned.
Then I looked at Seoyun, as if to say it was her turn.
"Okay. I'll try too."
Seoyun spoke with a determined expression, and even that was so cute I laughed.
'...Let's teach her just a little, then switch to a different weapon.'
Wouldn't a one-handed sword be suitable?
As I thought that and watched Seoyun, I saw her gripping the cord with surprising familiarity, as if she'd been watching my stance carefully.
Then she suddenly took a step forward and thrust her right hand out quickly toward the front.
I was caught off guard.
'Her form is better than I expected?'
For someone who'd only watched once, Seoyun's movements had real flair. I was watching with interest when—
The Crescent-Moon Weight shot out in a fast straight line.
Whooosh!
And then, so frustratingly close, it grazed right past the dummy's head and pierced empty air by a hair's breadth.
"Ah."
The sound of disappointment escaped me before I knew it.
'She's got more... talent than I thought.'
Honestly, before she moved, I'd thought she wouldn't even get near the dummy. But the way she launched the Crescent-Moon Weight in a perfectly straight line was impressive. She just hadn't hit it—at this level, it was practically a hit.
And just as I was thinking that.
Swish!
The Crescent-Moon Weight's trajectory suddenly curved.
Thunk!
It lodged itself in the dummy's neck with a chilling sound.
"...?"
I turned my gaze blankly.
In that instant, I saw Seoyun twisting her right hand as far as it would go.
"I tried copying what you usually do, sis... but this is harder than I thought. Is it okay if I do it like this?"
Seoyun asked with an awkward expression, seemingly unaware of what she'd just done.
'Instinct? No—intuition?'
Twisting her hand to change the angle of the extended Crescent-Moon Weight.
In a way, that was a movement she might have been able to imitate from watching my streams.
But actually hitting the target with it was a completely different matter.
It was like how pulling a trigger is something you could teach a five-year-old to do, but actually shooting and hitting a distant target is a whole other story.
"You can do it like that. But Seoyun, how did you just do that?"
"What do you mean how... I don't know either. I just thought it would work if I did this. Did I do something wrong?"
Seoyun asked as if she genuinely didn't understand. I shook my head.
"No... you did really well."
Right after that, Seoyun pulled hard with her right hand, as if imitating me.
Whirr.
She even made a movement as if to retrieve the Crescent-Moon Weight soaring high into the air. I was momentarily speechless.
'Is this even possible?'
Snatch.
Then, blankly, I raised my hand and caught the Crescent-Moon Weight as it fell toward me.
"Ah! Sis, that... I wasn't trying to attack you."
Seoyun laughed awkwardly and apologized. I let out a soft laugh and handed the Crescent-Moon Weight back.
"At this level... you might not need to use a different weapon."
I found myself looking at Seoyun again.
"Really? Do I have talent for the Crescent-Moon Weight?"
"I mean... can you even call this talent for the Crescent-Moon Weight?"
Saying she had talent for the Crescent-Moon Weight felt like it would actually be underselling her.
With this level of instinct and an absurd learning speed...
'No, should I just teach her the sword now?'