From a pile of papers, a girl emerges like a flower blooming in spring.
She stretched her right hand and, with the back of her left hand, rubbed her eyes awake.
Her hair was messy, and the pale black circles beneath her eyes made you wonder how late she slept.
She searched for her glasses from underneath the piles of paper.
After roughly fixing herself in front of a mirror, tying her messy morning hair into a ponytail and brushing her teeth, she went to their kitchen.
…
Over a half wall separating the living room from the kitchen, she saw her mother cooking.
"Oh dear, you look rough; you stayed up late again?"
With her hair fixed in a bun, she wore an apron with red little hearts. Her mature body was well preserved even though she had crows feet at the outer edges of her eyes.
The mature woman was her mother, and the girl with glasses was Laya, a girl who doesn't talk much.
Laya only nodded, her rosy lips tight shut.
''Well, it's the end of the school year. You can relax now. I kept telling you that your health is more important than your grades"
Laya smiled with her eyes followed by a livelier nod at her mother's concern.
"Now help me prepare the tables."
Her mother took some plates from the shelf while Laya went to get the spoons and forks near the sink.
As Laya's mother was taking the ceramic plates one by one, as her mother was to close the shelf after finishing, she accidentally dropped one.
She dropped the utensils and lunged forward to catch the ceramic plate that had fallen from a 2.3 meter high shelf.
Her mother only noticed Laya lunging at her feet and didn't know why until.
Laya opened her lips slowly as beads of sweat ran down her forehead.
"...mom, you dropped a plate…"
Her voice was cute as a newborn kitten and silent as one.
…
After the small incident, they ate their meals. Her mother told her stories, but Laya only nodded in response.
Putting their dishes at the sink, Laya headed back to her room when.
"Hey dear, Do you have something you like? "
Her mother asked with a wide smile.
Laya softly swayed her head from left to right, a reply without a sound.
"... ,I knew you would respond like that so how about I give you a expensive gift for you're birthday? Lets see… oh how about the new VR capsule? You've always keep good grades since elementary So how about it?"
Her mother's eyes were full of love and affection.
Laya nodded as she continued her way towards her room.
…
She jumped onto her bed and opened her transparent phone, searching for 'VR capsule' on the shopping app and being shocked at the price.
'19,999 thousand dollars?'
Laya's eyes were wide open as she rechecked if what she saw was right, but it was real.
She quickly jumped from her bed and ran towards the kitchen.
But it was too late.
"Oh my, dear, what happened?"
Her mother asked.
Laya, with a concerned face, repeatedly pointed at her phone, which was only a few inches away from her mother's face.
She even opened her rosy lips and said.
"mom! the price! "
It might sound only a bit louder than her rarely heard voice, but her mother knew Laya was panicked.
Her mother smiled at her and calmed down the panicked Laya with words.
"Dear, calm down. you're dad earn more money than what you might think, I saved enough money for us to not worry about a few thousand. Relax, ok dear? And if you're concerned about that much wait till you're debut. "
Her mother hugged her, she turned a bit teary, but it disappeared between her mother's arms.
Laya went back to her room with her eyes slightly red and swollen.
…
The ring of her alarm woke her up, but unlike yesterday, she was still in her bed.
Just as yesterday, she fixed herself up roughly before going down for breakfast.
Halfway down the stairs, she noticed a few men in blue carrying crates.
She approached her mother, who was watching the men work, holding a spatula while wearing a red and black apron, making her feast in the eyes early in the morning.
She stared at her mother and looked at the men. Then she stared back.
"They're from the company who made the capsule. I can't believe they move this fast."
Laya nodded at her mother's explanation.
Then a man in blue asked her mother.
"Where should we install this, ma'am?"
"Oh, up the stairs in my daughter's room, go tell them where you want to put it, dear."
Her mother told her.
It only took an hour for the installation to be done, and the workers left their house.
Laya had already finished her self-care needs as she entered her room.
She looked at the capsule and read the basic manual before entering.
…
Like a fallen butterfly, she descends from above to a platform.
[ Welcome to Lithias new 'Player' ]
[Please choose a name]
Laya's eyes were focused on the keyboard that popped in front of her while thinking of a good name, before settling on.
"...leen… "
Though it was so silent, it barely counted as a voice, but the AI heard her and.
[Is 'Leen' correct?]
Laya nodded at the window in front of her.
[ Name 'Leen' Confirmed ]
[Please choose a beginner class]
…
There were several starter classes to choose from, but she chose one of the least interesting.
"...swordsman…"
[ Class 'Swordsman' is correct ]
Laya again nodded.
[ Class 'Swordsman' confirmed ]
[Please choose a starting point].
…
From a list of 12, a city description caught her eyes.
[ Plutetia City of Fron, … A place where safety and order is top priority... ]
"This is good for beginners'
is what she reasoned.
"...plutetia city…"
[ 'Plutetia city of Fron' is that correct ]
…
[Character selection is complete]
[ Good luck ]