Chapter 1

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I think I’m pretty good at games.

FPS, MOBA, RPG—no matter the genre, once I started a game, I would reach the top at least once. Of course, if you asked if I was as good as a pro gamer, I’d say half yes, half no.

One of the reasons was probably immersion. Pro gamers focus intensely on one game, analyzing, studying, and digging deep. But I quickly got bored of the games I saw on the monitor.

In short, I was a “taste-the-top” kind of player.

The simple act of clicking keyboards, mice, and pads felt meaningless. The funny thing is, I enjoy new games more than anyone, but I get bored quickly.

No matter what content was updated, I couldn’t get interested.

It’s like there’s no sense of reality. I can’t explain it well. I just can’t enjoy games for long.

If I think about the games I played the longest, they were RPGs. The process leading up to raids, studying the mechanics of difficult raids, and the sense of achievement when clearing a raid definitely felt good.

But no matter the RPG, over time, the mechanics became repetitive, and the damage cycles repeated, so it was inevitable to get bored.

This time, I deleted the game I was playing and was wondering if there was anything else to play.

But what’s this?

I looked around.

A blue sky with beautifully floating clouds. A pleasant, cool breeze. Medieval buildings and countless people around me.

I was standing in the middle of a plaza-like area.

‘Is this an isekai reincarnation?’

No.

It’s not just an isekai reincarnation, as the reason is right in front of me.

A long red bar at the 11 o’clock position of my vision caught my eye.

This is definitely a health bar. A health bar showing my health. Then, of course, below that would be mana, and below that, stamina.

Above the heads of passing people, an octahedron floated, and below it was something written. Judging by the different writings, it seemed to be their nicknames. And next to the nicknames were English letters and numbers.

LV: 54

Anyone could tell that this was the person’s level.

‘A game?’

An RPG-like UI was floating in my vision.

Is this like the common trope in manga, anime, and novels where you’re transported to another world? But the sounds around me were just like the general chat in an RPG game.

From hunting grounds to dungeons, items, potions, etc., it was all typical RPG game talk, and occasionally, I heard the word “logout,” so it didn’t feel like just another world.

“Hey, see you tomorrow. I have to go to my academy.”

“What? You’re still going to that English academy?”

“Yeah. It’s annoying. I told my mom I was annoyed with the English teacher, but she won’t change it.”

“Really? That sucks. See you tomorrow, take care.”

“Okay, okay.”

Two boys who looked like students were talking, and one said he had to go to his academy. He pressed his index and middle fingers together and swiped down in the air, then disappeared.

Just like logging out.

‘A virtual reality game?’

I couldn’t believe what I was thinking. People are talking about whether to make games with Unreal Engine 5, and suddenly, a virtual reality game?

But all the sensations I felt were so vivid.

The sunlight was blinding, the cool breeze was refreshing, and all the information coming in from around me was no different from reality.

I raised my hand like the boy who disappeared earlier.

‘Huh?’

The hand that came into my view was very unfamiliar. This isn’t my hand. My hands were bigger and rougher. But the hand I saw now was clearly that of a young girl.

Then I realized something strange.

‘It’s high.’

Everything around me was tall. From people to buildings and various objects.

I was usually tall enough to see the tops of people’s heads, but now I had to look up at them.

‘I’ve become small…?’

Is this a dream?

Looking down, I saw a small body. Both hands were small and delicate, wearing a skirt, and the feet on the ground were tiny.

The reflection in the glass of the building next to me showed a young girl. That young girl was looking at me.

Long, straight black hair reaching down to her waist, and a small girl with no expression.

As the girl’s eyes moved and the corners of her mouth lifted, I realized that the small, cute girl reflected in the glass was me.

‘What is this? Is this really a dream? But it feels too vivid for a dream.’

I pinched my cheek, and I felt pain.

But the pain felt strange.

‘Vibration?’

At first, I thought it was pain, but it felt like holding a smartphone to my cheek and feeling the vibration.

My head hurts.

The sudden change in situation and my appearance left my mind in chaos. But I think I understand.

This place I’m in now is like the virtual reality games I often saw in manga, anime, and novels.

I tried the hand gesture I had stopped earlier. A holographic window appeared with a ding sound. It was a menu window. Scrolling down, I saw a logout button.

Unlike the famous novel, there was a logout button.

I wanted to press the logout button right away, but I wanted to play this virtual reality game more.

The virtual reality game I thought would come out before I died—I’m in it now.

‘I have to play this right away.’

First, I decided to learn about the game. Sitting on the chair in front of me, I fiddled with the menu window.

As expected, I was level 1. Just by looking at the clothes I was wearing, it was clear I was a beginner.

In what looked like the inventory, there were 10 potions and a one-handed sword. I clicked on the one-handed sword.

I hurriedly grabbed the one-handed sword that appeared in front of me.

The weight in my hand. The cold hilt. This sword felt like a real sword.

The next menu had a quest window. There was only one quest, and its name was Tutorial.

The quest was simple: kill one goblin.

Clicking on the guide below the quest window, a path appeared on the ground in front of me. I immediately started running along the guide.

Following the quest guide, I arrived at a plain where goblins, like the ones I’d seen in various media, were roaming.

Small monsters with green skin and small daggers. The goblins all had small daggers.

People around were diligently hunting these goblins. Unlike computer RPGs where you just click to attack or use skills, here you had to move, attack, and dodge yourself.

LV: 1 Goblin.

I pointed my sword at the goblin in front of me.

My heart raced. Emotions I’d never felt before took over my body, and all my focus was on the goblin.

[Ah, Arang!?]

A beautiful woman’s voice echoed in my head, and a hologram appeared in front of me.

[Forced Logout]

Due to an external request, forced logout will be executed.

You can no longer play the game.

Connection to the server will be terminated.

Huh?

==

When I opened my eyes, I saw a pure white hospital room. Not just any hospital room, but an incredibly luxurious one.

There were various machines around, and a woman was gently shaking my body.

She’s really pretty.

As soon as I saw her, I thought she was beautiful. She had a cold impression but gave off a charismatic older sister vibe.

Dressed in a suit, she was shaking me while repeating the name “Arang.”

Come to think of it, the beautiful woman’s voice I heard before losing consciousness was probably this older sister. She had called out “Arang!”

I wondered why she was calling me.

“Ah!”

A splitting headache hit me.

“Arang! Doctor!”

The headache was so severe that I fainted, and when I regained consciousness, a vast amount of memories had entered my mind.

==

In short, I am now a young girl named Arang.

Is this possession? I’m not sure.

This world isn’t the one I lived in but a slightly more advanced one. I also realized that the place I was in earlier was a virtual reality game currently in vogue.

The problem is that this young girl is dead. Not physically, but mentally.

The reason is the situation this young girl, Arang, is in.

Arang has no arms or legs. Due to an acquired illness, her arms were amputated just above the elbows, and her legs just above the knees, and her muscles continued to weaken.

At just 10 years old, Arang’s mind couldn’t withstand such a terrible illness.

The older sister who was looking at me earlier is Arang’s sister, Ian-na.

Ian-na and Arang’s parents took care of her diligently, but in the end, Arang’s mind couldn’t overcome the illness.

No matter what they did, she didn’t respond, and doctors said there was no hope for Arang.

Arang was effectively dead. But now, I’ve entered her body.

All of Arang’s memories and the emotions of how much she suffered were transferred to me.

At first, I was confused by these memories and emotions, but now I’ve adapted.

Now, I have to live as Arang.

Even without arms and legs, I have to live. It will be inconvenient and difficult, but I have to overcome it.

But as I delved deeper into the memories.

Our house—that is, Arang’s house—is very, very wealthy. They own an apartment building, enough for three generations to live comfortably.

Moreover, in the virtual reality game Legacy of Raid, or Leore, I was clearly running with two legs and holding a sword with two hands.

Do I really need to work hard in reality?

Even without arms and legs, I can enjoy that famous virtual reality game… without worrying about money…?

==

In-game Arang