Chapter 46: Sub-account (3)

After exchanging rings with Yu Ayeon, we chatted about various things.

“D-Do you… play games… too, Suhyeon…?”

“Sometimes? Yeah. What was it called… Hunter’s World? I play that sometimes.”

“Wow…! You know… Hunter’s World…! I’m… not very high tier… so… I’m not… very good… but… it’s fun… so I like it…!”

There was no way she, a shut-in otaku, wouldn’t know about the national game that even normies played.

“Oh. So you have a VR device at home?”

“Yes… J-Just a moment… I… put it away earlier… when I was cleaning…”

Yu Ayeon rummaged through a box piled with various items and pulled out a Neve Gear.

“You use the same model as me?”

“Huh…? Suhyeon… you use… this model too…?”

“I ordered one a few days ago, so it hasn’t arrived yet, but I bought the same model as that one.”

Yu Ayeon’s Neve Gear was the exact same model as the one I had purchased.

For reference, the Neve Gear I bought was being shipped from overseas, so it hadn’t arrived at my house yet.

It was quite an expensive model, I remember it cost around a million won… She’s quite a big spender in this area.

Because she’s so timid and delicate, I sometimes forget, but Yu Ayeon is also a woman from a gender-reversed world.

Women in the reversed world must be serious about games, just like men in the original world, right?

I thought it was similar to the context of buying a high-spec computer with great determination.

In that sense, I was a very ideal boyfriend by the standards of the reversed world.

My looks were needless to say, I could accept manga and otaku anime, and I actively encouraged high-performance, expensive gaming equipment.

Men like this are rare, you know.

“Can I try using that?”

“Of course… You know… how to use it… right…?”

“Yes. I used it once at a VR room last time, so this is my second time… but the functions wouldn’t be different, right?”

“Hmm… Probably…? Oh, no. Once…? V-Virtual reality…? Or Hunter’s World…?”

“Both virtual reality and Hunter’s World are my second time.”

“Wow…”

Last time, the VR room part-timer had the same reaction when I said it was my first time using virtual reality.

I guess virtual reality is that mainstream in this world.

“Ahem… T-Then first… lie down here…”

Yu Ayeon said, tapping the bed where only the mattress was placed, with the sheets and blankets removed.

I followed her words, lay down on the bed, and put the Neve Gear on my head.

It wasn’t a new product, and it was Yu Ayeon’s Neve Gear that she used, so it smelled like her.

The soft and pleasant scent I had smelled a little while ago.

“Ayeon. The Neve Gear smells like you.”

“………”

“It’s a strange scent that makes my body relax softly and… makes me feel good…”

“…… Haah…”

“I keep wanting to smell it. Sniff sniff.”

“…S-Stop… I-I’m embarrassed…”

I slightly lifted the Neve Gear and looked at Yu Ayeon, and she was covering her bright red face with both hands.

It’s always such a fun reaction to see.

On Yu Ayeon’s left finger, which was desperately covering her face, the ring I gave her was shining softly.

I smiled softly and put the Neve Gear back on.

“Then I’ll try logging in.”

I closed my eyes, focused my mind, and pressed the button on the helmet.

Then, a black space of about 8 pyeong unfolded.

In virtual reality, I was sitting on a bed.

In the center of the room was a TV with a faint light, and next to me was a console game console.

On the wall of the room was a bromide of a male cartoon character, and on the opposite shelf were figurines with racy designs.

It’s a picture-perfect otaku hikikomori’s room.

The design of the My Room in white space I saw at the VR room last time and the My Room I was looking at now were very different.

It was probably because Yu Ayeon had customized it separately.

[Ah, ah. S-Suhyeon…? Can you hear me…?]

Yu Ayeon’s pleasant voice echoed from the void.

So this is how the outside voice sounds inside virtual reality.

I spoke towards the void.

“I can hear you well. Is something wrong?”

[It’s nothing… I was just… checking… if you logged in… properly…]

“Yes. I logged in. I’m looking at the cartoon character bromide on the wall of My Room right now.”

[…… Yes…?]

“Ayeon… You really had this kind of hobby… Wow… There are figurines (small collectible models of characters) too?”

[J-Just a moment… Ah… Could it be that I left My Room as it was…? Suhyeon…? Suhyeon…? Can you hear me…?]

“Wow… The figurines are very elaborate. Even those kinds of parts are made very precisely. Ugh… Were you curious about this?”

[O-Oh, no… T-That’s… T-There’s a reason for that… Uh…]

“… If you were curious about this… you should have told me.”

[……… Huh…? W-W-W-W-What did you just say…!]

“Hehe. It’s nothing.”

[………]

How fun of a reaction would she be showing in reality right now?

It was so regrettable that I couldn’t see Yu Ayeon’s appearance because I was logged into virtual reality.

[…D-Do you… know how to… enter the game…?]

Of course.

As soon as Yu Ayeon finished speaking, pictures of numerous games unfolded.

I searched for Hunter’s World among the game list and selected it.

The login screen of Hunter’s World appeared with magnificent sound.

I entered my virtual reality account and pressed the confirm button.

[Hunter’s World Korea server has blocked Han Suhyeon’s virtual reality account.]

Oh right. I got my account blocked for trying to undress the barbarian male character.

I remembered shouting “F*cking Korean Meminist” and heading to a foreign server.

I moved to a foreign server again and tried to log in.

[Nickname: Dr Pepper]

[Hunter Class: Barbarian]

In the character window, a barbarian with a similar appearance to Yeom Haneul, which I had customized last time, appeared.

When I selected the character, my body gradually became more feminine and my chest began to swell.

Whoa… In reality, I’m an S-class pretty boy, but in virtual reality, I’m a tall, busty, muscular beauty…?

While I was having random thoughts, a notification appeared in front of me.

[999+]

[Friend request is currently full!]

…Sigh. The more I think about it, the more I think my personal information has been leaked.

Otherwise, there was no way suspicious people with nicknames mixed with Chinese characters and English would suddenly send me friend requests.

[World Record]

[1st. Dr Pepper – 00:05:11]

[2nd. Tianma – 00:06:44]

[3rd. Charlotte Grace – 00:06:45]

I did break the world record and took first place, but isn’t it just a tutorial clear time?

I didn’t think this alone was the reason for so many people to send friend requests.

Frustrated, I logged out of virtual reality.

“Oh… A-Already… Are you going to stop…?”

“Yes. I think my virtual reality account has been hacked.”

“…? Virtual reality accounts… are made with a structure… that is more complicated than you can imagine… so even a skilled hacker… can’t break through…?”

“Oh really? Then why are there so many friend requests?”

“F-Friend requests…? Ah… F-Friend request… Ah… Hunter’s World… had… that kind of… feature too…”

I comforted Yu Ayeon, who suddenly became gloomy at the words “friend request”.

Come to think of it, Yu Ayeon said that she had a lot of difficulty making friends, so she didn’t have anyone she could call a friend.

“Then do you want to be friends with me?”

“R-R-Really…?! I-Is that okay…?”

“Is there any reason why not?”

I said, holding Yu Ayeon’s left hand.

On our clasped left hands, rings with a subtle atmosphere were placed.

“We’re already… friends… in reality… though.”

“…… T-That’s right… We’re… f-friends…!”

Yu Ayeon’s hand, which was holding mine, tightened slightly.

And she smiled brightly as if she was really happy.

“T-Then… C-Can… I… s-send… you… a friend request… first…?”

“Of course. But why are you trembling so much?”

“… I-It’s my first time… s-sending… a f-friend request… to someone… so my heart is… trembling… T-Tell me… your nickname…”

Yu Ayeon asked me for my Hunter’s World nickname with a strangely flushed face, even though she was trembling.

“It’s Dr Pepper.”

“… Yes?”

“Dr Pepper. D. R. P. E. P. P. E. R. In English.”

“… Huh? R-Really…? Suhyeon… is… Dr Pepper…?”

Yu Ayeon looked like she couldn’t believe it when she heard my nickname.

Why is she reacting like that?

In the end, Yu Ayeon only believed me after I showed her that Dr Pepper was my account through the Neve Gear.

“S-Suhyeon… was… Dr Pepper… I can’t believe it…”

“Why can’t you believe it? It’s not something weird.”

“I-It’s not that… Uh…? S-Suhyeon… Could it be… you didn’t know… what you… did…?”

“…?”

Seeing my expression asking what she was talking about, Yu Ayeon quickly took out her phone and searched for something.

“F-Found it…!”

And she quickly turned the smartphone and held it in front of my eyes.

The first thing that caught my eye was the number of views of the video.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million… ten million… hundred million.

500 million.

The main character of the video, which recorded a huge number of views of 500 million, was none other than a child who looked about middle school age.

In front of the girl’s eyes, the virtual reality AI was throwing a punch.

Soon, their fists met, and the winner was the girl with black hair fluttering, raising her fist.

Soon, a notification appeared in front of the girl that she had broken the world record and became the new number one.

The girl jumped up and down and screamed as if she was really happy.

But it was only for a moment.

[Failed to defend the world record!]

[1st. Dr Pepper – 00:05:11]

[2nd. Tianma – 00:06:44]

[3rd. Charlotte Grace – 00:06:45]

The new record set by the girl, Tianma, was shattered in less than 10 seconds.

Then, denying reality, Tianma sent a 1v1 match request to Dr Pepper… that is, to me.

The rest was obvious.

Tianma was rejected for the match request, and I blocked Tianma.

The video ended with Tianma crying and rolling on the floor like a child throwing a tantrum at the supermarket.

Yu Ayeon played several videos of other people.

Although it wasn’t as dramatic a reaction as Tianma.

Videos containing the reactions of S-class hunters who occupied the ranking of Hunter’s World, or other famous people related to Hunter’s World, also exceeded tens of millions of views.

Only then did I understand the numerous friend requests in various languages.

“Suhyeon… No, Dr Pepper is now… among… Hunter’s World users… all over the world… incredibly… famous…!”

I had become a superstar without even knowing it.