The day had come to an end.
This meant she had spent the entire day playing.
Her mother's earlier call was for dinner.
As she stepped out of the capsule, her hair clung to her head, drenched in sweat.
It was an uncomfortable sensation—this unfamiliar body constantly reminded her of its foreign nature.
As she left her room, she ran into Harang. He is still unsettling presence.
"What... what are you doing?" Harang asked, his eyes wide.
"Harang."
"What? Harang? Hey, you—"
For a moment, she realized something—her male version face, the young version of it, looked a bit unattractive.
She sighed, and Harang reacted sharply to her slip of the tongue.
Had she misspoken? She tilted her head, looking up at him.
Despite this body being her own, she found it amusing that she now had to look up at people.
The small body of the girl, Hayeon, was indeed short.
"Call me oppa, you crazy girl," Harang snapped, annoyed.
Her face twisted at his words.
Seeing her reaction, Harang smirked, as if he had won, and headed toward the living room.
Oppa? Calling him that was ridiculous. There was no way she'd say it out loud.
She hurried after him, only to find an elaborate dinner already set on the table.
Her eyes landed on the japchae—a dish that only made an appearance on special occasions like family celebrations.
Her mother's gaze was on her.
It seemed her mother was still worried about what had happened earlier, and it was clear she had prepared this meal for Hayeon's sake.
But at that moment, she chose to believe it was for her—because her mind was far too cluttered to think otherwise.
Despite the chaos in her head, her body was loudly demanding food.
Sitting down at the table, she picked up her chopsticks.
The small, slender hand holding the chopsticks still felt strange.
As she reached for the japchae, Harang's chopsticks swiftly snatched the food away just before she could get it.
Her brow furrowed. He had stolen her favorite dish.
"Mom."
"Yes?" her mother responded.
"Harang just called me a crazy girl."
Silence fell over the table.
Harang froze, his expression hardening.
Taking advantage of his distraction, her chopsticks swiftly darted in to grab some of the dish.
"Is that true?" their mother asked, her voice icy.
"Uh, no... I mean..." Harang stammered, clearly flustered.
Their mother's stern tone reprimanded him, and Harang glared at her with resentment.
What did he expect?
Yet, despite everything, he still acted like her older brother, showing off that he had lived a little longer.
He stayed silent, eventually accepting the blame.
Though she successfully retrieved her japchae, it felt like a hollow victory.
Dinner was satisfying.
She took her time savoring her mother's cooking, chewing slowly.
Faded memories stirred in her mind, bringing a sense of calm to her heart.
"Thank you for the meal."
"You're not eating more?"
"I have plans."
"More games?"
She looked toward Harang when her mother asked that.
When Harang mentioned having plans, she couldn't help but wonder—was he playing Deren Online too?
Curiosity welled up. What kind of character was this world's male version of her using?
* * * *
After finishing dinner, she logged back into Deren.
The capsule felt as awkward as ever, even though she had already used it several times.
She had died in the Red Orc frontline when she last logged off, so she was respawned at a nearby resurrection point.
It was evening now, and more players were logging in after work or school.
During this peak time, the hunting grounds was bustling with activity.
She didn't enjoy crowded places, and the hustle and bustle of this area made her uncomfortable.
She quickly headed back to the frontline, where countless parties had already staked out their hunting grounds.
The players were fiercely protective of their spots, brandishing their weapons at anyone who intruded on their territory.
It was amusing to see it all unfold, especially since she was now physically acting out the same actions she once controlled with a mouse and keyboard.
She kept walking, moving past the more sparsely populated hunting grounds to areas where multiple monsters respawned in groups.
The Red Orc scouts were patrolling in packs.
The game's difficulty had spiked significantly, with no mercy for the average player.
The Red Orcs were relentless, their swords deadly and their muscular frames intimidating. Many players had fled the area because of this.
It was now a quiet hunting ground.
The stench of blood and the acrid smell of explosives filled the air, overwhelming her senses.
It must have been due to the sensory synchronization being set to maximum.
How much talent did Seo Hayeon, this small girl, possess?
Curiosity stirred within her as she raised her sword.
Her icy blade was aimed at the nearby orc patrol.
There were three of them.
It wasn't an ideal number to face alone.
But she charged in anyway.
As soon as her feet left the ground and she rushed toward the orcs, her senses expanded.
The strange feeling she had experienced when fighting goblins returned, wrapping around her entire body.
She had disabled all the system's automatic corrections, so her screen was clear of the usual clutter of game aids.
She allowed her instincts to take over, letting her body move as it wanted.
Because she was small, her body's target area was also small.
She stayed low to the ground, forcing the orc's overhead strike to come in late.
She hadn't undergone a class change yet, so it was obvious that she didn't have enough strength to parry the orc's sword.
But this was still a game, and the system offered some support.
She triggered the basic Parry skill.
If timed correctly, this beginner skill could reduce damage by deflecting an opponent's attack.
It only worked against regular attacks, not skills, so it would become obsolete later in the game.
The orc's sword filled her vision, its path clearly outlined.
Her mind read the trajectory and commanded her next move.
She slightly raised her sword, meeting the attack's flat side.
A grinding noise echoed as bright effects burst on the screen.
She had successfully parried.
Now it was her turn.
But there are three enemies. There was no time to attack.
Her body instinctively pulled back, increasing the distance between her and the orcs.
It was exhilarating.
With no armor, every hit from the orcs was a potential death sentence. The danger made it all the more thrilling.
She danced in and out of their attacks, slowly getting accustomed to their patterns.
Back when she played with a mouse and keyboard, she would have just passively watched her character battle.
But things were different now. The world had changed. The era had evolved.
The game had truly entered the realm of senses.
She hadn't fully grasped that concept before, but now she understood.
As time passed, as she moved more, she became more familiar with the this body.
It wasn't real, but the movements felt identical to her own. In the end, there wasn't much difference.
Slash!
Her sword connected, slicing cleanly through the orc's neck.
The game's weak point system helped compensate for her lack of damage.
No creature could survive a decapitation, and the Red Orc collapsed to its knees.
One down.
She had a moment to catch her breath.
Without missing a beat, she prepared her next move. She dodged the swinging sword and leapt into the air.
It seemed like a mistake.
In the air, she lacked the freedom to move. Without any special skills, a beginner like her was at a disadvantage.
But her long leg struck the orc's sword, twisting her trajectory midair.
She barely managed to avoid the blade that was about to graze her shoulder.
In the real world, this would've been an impossible maneuver, but in this game, where stats boosted her abilities, it was achievable.
It felt like she had grown new eyes and arms.
Though unfamiliar and awkward, her new body allowed her to do things she couldn't before.
Her body twisted in midair, readying for another attack.
She used the momentum from her spin to sever the second orc's head.
Two down.
The orc's head flew through the air as her body rolled across the ground.
She hadn't planned for a proper landing, so the impact left her back aching.
But she didn't stop. The pain was real, but not enough to hinder her movement.
She leapt back to her feet, dodging another downward slash, and spun her body once more, decapitating the final orc.
Slash!
Her sword trembled in her hand as she stood on solid ground.
She wasn't as out of breath as she thought she'd be—her stamina was still sufficient for more battles.
She pressed on, continuing her hunt. patrols, scouts, and mages—she took them all down.
With each decapitation, her character grew stronger.
Eventually, she reached level 10.
With a flash of effects, her depleted health quickly replenished.
She had reached the requirements for a class change. It was time to leave this area.
She returned to the outpost and sought out the quartermaster NPC.
She had gathered enough tokens from slaying orcs to receive some standard-issue gear.
[Lunaris Supply Steel Sword]
[Attack Power +35]
[Level Requirement: 7]
It was a basic military-issued item for Lunaris soldiers.
Nothing too special.
The rest of the rewards were similar in nature.
Equipping the gear, she immediately felt the weight pressing down on her body.
It was uncomfortable. Heavy armor wasn't the best choice.
She quickly exchanged the tokens for a lightweight leather armor set.
Though it had a few metal plates sewn into it, the armor was mostly leather.
Reaching level 10 unlocked several new game functions, including access to the auction house.
She decided to check the market to sell off any unwanted items.
These were starter items from the beginner area, so she didn't expect them to sell for much.
"Hmm..."
To her surprise, the prices were much higher than she remembered.
The value of some items had increased by as much as twenty times.
One of the heavy armor pieces she thought was useless turned out to be incredibly expensive.
Was it all based on defense stats?
She quickly listed the items at a slightly lower price than the average.
Within a minute, everything sold out.
She was stunned.
For a newbie, she had just earned an impressive amount of money.
Even after the 15% auction house fee, she still made a fortune.
Could there be an in-game economic issue?
Maybe there had been inflation in the game's currency.
However, when she checked the real-world value of in-game gold, the exchange rate remained the same—or was even higher than before.
In her account, she now had 70 gold coins.
At the current rate, 10 gold coins were worth 15,000 won.
She had just made over 100,000 won in a single sale.