VRMMO Reality Merge Regressor Brother - 4

After their conversation, Min Woo-Jin was torn between logging out and exploring the forest.

'Ok, I guess I could try some spells and then make a new character.'

[Druid Spells]

----------------------------

[Nature's Salve I]

[Entangle I]

[Nature's Wrath I]

'Heal, root, and attack spells. I guess Druid is a hybrid here too. Not bad.'

"Entangle!" Commanded Min Woo-Jin. Thankfully, unlike regular MMO's from his past life, VRMMO's didn't have target locks. He could cast any spell as he pleased.

Roots rose up from the ground and tried to "Entangle" an imaginary target. Very ordinary affair from a VR player's perspective.

But to Min Woo-Jin, something felt fundamentally wrong!

After shaking away the stupor, he crouched near the roots and gently touched one.

'… This is…'

He couldn't find the words. The only explanation he could come up with was that it felt unnatural!

The roots were forced to rise up. Forced.

"Nature's Salve!" He cast the healing spell on the roots. Just as a test.

A green, almost mossy glow appeared and disappeared. A classic, nature-themed healing spell, through and through.

But Min Woo-Jin's face had already been distorted by disgust.

The spell felt almost… almost in sync with the rest of the forest. But because it was so close, the difference between it and the real thing became all the more apparent.

The phrase Uncanny Valley came to his mind.

To confirm, Min Woo-Jin tried the last spell, targeting a patch of empty soil. "Nature's Wrath!"

A small explosion occurred where the green ball of energy struck. Dirt harmlessly flew all around.

Meanwhile, unprecedented nausea struck Min Woo-Jin!

The difference in quality between the spell and the forest had gone well beyond the definition of the Uncanny Valley Effect. No, Min Woo-Jin silently named this phenomenon as the Mariana Trench Effect.

'Ugh… This is revolting… F*ck, don't puke… I'm not going to puke...'

Three spells were all it took to get him to this state! Could he even play this class?

Could anyone?

"Why am I feeling physically ill?! This doesn't make any sense! Did I turn off the physical ailment filter?"

Though he looked, the said filter was nowhere to be found. There wasn't even a pain filter, in fact. He lightly slapped himself to test if the pain was fully enabled. To his astonishment and regret, it really was.

To Min Woo-Jin, this was as concerning as it was refreshing!

These devs… They weren't afraid to throw away the playbook!

Min Woo-Jin took deep breaths to settle his stomach, all the while couldn't help himself from commenting. "The balls on those guys, holy f*cking sh*t. They made a full pain VRMMO…"

This discovery made Min Woo-Jin all the more certain to never try a melee class!

"Hooo… Hooo…."

Slowly but surely, the nausea started to subside.

And Min Woo-Jin noticed another peculiar thing. The roots from the entanglement spell were still there!

Usually these types of effects would unwind and disappear after a while. The reason wasn't just the computational limits of the cabin itself. The Uncanny Valley Effect would make it hard to maintain the full-dive illusion if the skill effects kept piling up in an unrealistic manner.

This was a whole field of psychology that Min Woo-Jin barely understood. But he didn't have to, because he had experienced the effect himself firsthand.

For a moment, he really wanted to cast Entangle on the same spot. Would another set of roots appear and intersect with the roots that were already there, creating a difficult-to-interpret puzzle for his brain?

However, Min Woo-Jin realized he couldn't risk casting another spell. Not unless he wanted to paint the ground in rainbow colors!

'F*ck, they already went hardcore on pain and affliction filters, I doubt they'd censor vomit into rainbow…'

Min Woo-Jin shook his head, then approached the roots again and touched them. The same unwilling sensation washed over him and made him instinctively want to undo what the spell had done.

The roots shook, as if they were responding to his desire. But that was all. Min Woo-Jin realized something was missing!

He thought of the wrongness that emanated from his spells. That should be magical power of some kind, he reasoned. Since the game was already this advanced, could it be that there was an alternate way to cast spells?

This… made some sense to Min Woo-Jin. Somehow. The technical achievement of the Mysteries Online was already above anything in the market. But that didn't mean they had to stop there!

He closed his eyes to concentrate. His status already showed that he had an ample amount of mana. All he needed to do was to tap into it. Probably.

Soon, he realized there really was some sort of energy traveling within his body. Sometimes the energy felt like vapor, sometimes like water, or even ice. Min Woo-Jin had read enough web novels to understand the metaphor the devs were going for!

'Alright, I should be able to give some mana to the roots, but how? And would simply giving mana be enough?'

Min Woo-Jin imagined himself as a reservoir and tried to "stir" the energy within. Mana responded instantly and started revolving. Each time he stirred, its speed increased.

As the mana kept cycling, he concentrated on his hand, and "willed" mana to overflow. Mana seeped into the roots, and they started to return to their previous state, clearly in response to Min Woo-Jin's desires.

Everything took less than a minute from start to finish. The roots weren't above ground anymore. Min Woo-Jin could even sense their position underground.

Though he felt a little tired, he couldn't help but stare at the ground in marvel.

'… They really did it… They… They really made the ultimate full-dive VRMMO…'

What was lacking in other full-dive experiences?

It wasn't the graphics. Nor was it the sound. Many technical limitations could be worked around in some way or another.

What was lacking was to turn someone into a Wizard. Make them really feel as if they are using magic! Make them experience sensations that they never thought possible! But that was surprisingly hard, especially when real brains were involved!

Min Woo-Jin's smile became crooked with anticipation.

'We're going to sell so many cabins in the future…'

He shook his head and concentrated on the game instead. Business could wait!

'Let's see, freeform magic casting… Could I…' He looked down at the not-so-little Woo-Jin. 'Could I make underwear?'

Though he was used to walking around naked in R21 titles, doing so in a public VRMMO… didn't seem like a sensible decision!

'… I seriously do not understand why the default is as thick as my forearm… Who would even want that?'

Min Woo-Jin shook his head. It was obvious he would have to remake his character even if he were to continue as a Druid!

There were a variety of ivy species all around. He chose one with larger leaves and a softer body.

'Lucky that I found something that fits my needs perfectly…' Min Woo-Jin's lips curled upwards. 'I guess they really went all in for this kind of playstyle huh…'

The ivy itself started wrapping itself around Min Woo-Jin before he even did anything. This was just out of instinct, rather than a conscious will. The plant species was too simple for complex thoughts, but Min Woo-Jin still appreciated its kindness.

He used the same method as before. The mana he injected caused almost explosive growth on the plant and wrapped itself around the bottom half of Min Woo-Jin with frightening speed.

'Hmm… Just making underwear seems a bit… Should I make pants too?'

Just the thought was enough, it seemed. The ivy extended itself and took the appropriate shape.

'… Still a bit breezy, but at least I'm not naked anymore.'

Being half-naked was a vast improvement.

The ivy seemed to understand its purpose was achieved, and the pant part disconnected itself from the main body. Min Woo-Jin sent it some more mana to promote its growth to display his gratitude.

It was just a dumb ivy, but he thought he should be polite anyway! As he walked away, the plant started sprawling in many other directions, perhaps enjoying the sudden growth spurt a bit too much.

"Found you!!"

A tiny voice came from afar. The mark of the first NPC contact!

"Found you, found you, found you!"

As the voice rapidly got closer, Min Woo-Jin realized it came from a palm-sized humanoid creature, flying around with butterfly-like wings.

Finally, it came to a stop in front of his face, and exclaimed with great delight. "Found. You!"

Min Woo-Jin smiled. "Yes. Yes, you did."

'Pixie as a tutorial NPC, right after I "acquired" pants. No use in changing tried and true techniques, I suppose.'

"Give me my reward!" The tutorial pixie demanded while crossing her tiny arms. Though expression animations were a solved problem in the year of 2093, Min Woo-Jin still thought the effortless expressiveness of this Pixie was quite extraordinary.

'Hmm. Or it could be that the game is making me feel as if it is a wondrous creature?'

It was hard to tell if that was the case, but considering how he conversed with a literal tree, Min Woo-Jin thought the odds weren't small!

"What kind of reward would you like?" He asked while watching the pixie's every move.

"What kind?" The pixie scoffed. "Fruit of course! Gimme fruit!" She demanded, being very proud of herself while doing so.

Min Woo-Jin nodded. After all he had experienced, he didn't expect a quest dialog to pop up. This was clearly the devs teaching the players how the game followed the unstructured questing.

'Let's see… A fruit, huh.' His gaze went to a different, fruit-bearing vine he saw earlier. How did he know that particular vine could bear fruit? Just like mana control, he realized he didn't know the specifics. He just had a feeling that it would.

While walking toward the vine, Min Woo-Jin stirred his mana once again. Though this time he decided to be gentler as he remembered an old proverb. A melon forced off its vine wouldn't be sweet.

Once he touched the vine and started pouring mana in, he understood that his approach was correct. A fruit was the accumulation of nutrients. Mana could replace those nutrients somehow, and how Min Woo-Jin did it would affect the result.

'Hmm, I feel like there's quite a bit of leap in logic, but I guess this simplified approach fits the purpose of a game.'

He adjusted his mana cycle speed and the output force to match the characteristics of the plant. This was a mini-game of sorts, Min Woo-Jin realized. It displayed how versatile the technology really was.

As the dozens of berries started to grow, Min Woo-Jin re-adjusted his mana to slow the size growth, and instead started nourishing the plant as a whole. It took some time, but as the berries ripened, he could smell their unique odor along with their sweetness.

While he was being impressed by how intuitive everything was, the berries were ready. Even though he didn't "optimize" for the size, the bright pink berries became almost as large as apricots.

He plucked one and gave it to the pixie, who had her mouth wide open. "You can grow fruits?!" She asked in disbelief.

"Didn't you ask for it?"

"…" Pixie's mouth dropped once more. A moment later stammered. "…Yes… I did…" Frustration in her expression was subtle, but Min Woo-Jin could hear it in her voice. "I wanted a fruit." Her irritation seemed to grow as she spoke. "… You know, a fruit like the one on top of that tree!" She exaggeratedly gestured. "Or the one over there!" She pointed toward the distance. "I didn't say grow it from scratch! Who even does that?! How, how did you even do that?!"

Seeing her sincere exasperated anger, Min Woo-Jin couldn't help but smile.

"Wait…" The pixie suddenly stopped. "You… Aren't you supposed to be a Nymph? I thought a Nymph was born, you know, not…" She looked distraught for a moment. "Not like you…"

"But I am a Nymph."

The pixie shook her head and seemed like she wanted to argue about his statement. But she stopped, as if struck by the realization, her mouth turned into an O shape.

"You're a male Nymph?!" She shouted with excitement and started spinning around Min Woo-Jin. "Wow, I've never seen a male one before! Are you sure you are not a… normal Nymph? But you don't have those things…"

She stopped in front of Min Woo-Jin's face, crossed her arms and muttered. "I didn't know male Nymphs could make fruit grow." Her eyes sized him up from head to toe.

"I think I might be a Druid. Maybe it's because of that?"

"Oh, a Druid?" Pixie sagely nodded. "Then it makes sense. A Druid can-" And she froze once more. "You're a Druid?!"

Min Woo-Jin gave an uncertain nod on purpose. "Probably?"

That, seemed to considerably increase the pixie's frustration levels. A vein popped in her forehead and she started giving a dangerous gaze to Min Woo-Jin.

"Aren't you going to take it?" He asked, motioning to the berry with his eyes.

"Fine!" The pixie "forcefully" grabbed the apricot-sized berry and furiously bit on it, while still angrily staring at him. A moment later she froze, and incredulously stared at the berry.

"How can it be this good?" She muttered. But her confusion didn't last long, as she started furiously biting large chunks. Comparatively speaking, of course. "So full of flavor!"

'She's far more expressive than I thought…' Min Woo-Jin continued watching. It wasn't every day he would see a palm-sized pixie trying to eat a fruit that she could barely hold.

Slowly but surely, she devoured the bright pink berry. All by herself. In the end, she patted her bloated stomach with great satisfaction.

There were plenty of berries to go around, and feeling curious about her reaction, Min Woo-Jin plucked another one and bit on.

Immediately, he understood why she was so captivated! Sweet, juicy, and with incredibly strong flavor! The berry was perfectly ripened in every way. The exotic scent and taste simply didn't have anything in common with anything Min Woo-Jin had ever eaten!

"Wow, such a unique taste…" He spoke without even thinking.

"Fufufu…" The pixie chuckled. "You're a newborn and haven't tasted anything yet." As she raised her chin, the unnaturally big bulge on her stomach disappeared in an instant. "It's just a Guvi berry. Don't make a big deal out of it!"

Min Woo-Jin threw the rest of the berry in his mouth.

"But seriously, how did you make it taste so good?" The pixie asked in an abnormally serious voice.

He could only shrug in response since he really didn't know what he was doing to begin with.

"Can I have those?" The pixie pointed to the numerous berries. Seeing his affirmative nod, she flashed around with incredible speed and reappeared with a bag thrice her size thrown over her shoulder. "OK! Let's go! Otherwise we're going to be late!"

Min Woo-Jin glanced at the now picked clean vine. There were far too many berries to fit in that bag. Was it just a gag for the tutorial, or were those kinds of magical bags common in this game?

Once he started to follow, he realized the oversized bag was nowhere to be seen. The pixie was flying around, distracted by everything she saw, but still clearly mindful of the distance between them.

"Where are we going?"

"To the Queen of course!" She started flying backward to display her pride. "I'm one of Queen's handmaidens!" She patted her chest. "I sensed the birth of a Nymph, so I came here to protect you!"

"I see, thank you."

"You're welcome!" She laid flat while still flying in the same direction, making Min Woo-Jin feel as if she was floating on water. "The queen is a big deal! You're just a few hours old so you may not know! But she's super kind and amazing! So you don't have to worry about it!"

Min Woo-Jin nodded. Though inwardly, he was a bit disappointed. Meeting royalty this early meant that the plot was going to treat the players as if they were special beings. This wasn't his preferred type of setting, but he tried to keep an open mind. With the rest of the game being as impressive, perhaps there would be a surprise here as well.

'As long as they don't start mentioning saving the world off the bat…'

As he listened to the pixie harp on about the Queen's beauty, Min Woo-Jin noticed something. "What is your name?" He asked.

Most games didn't have intricate, reactive interactions with the passing NPCs. But this tutorial pixie was clearly breaking that unspoken rule.

"Ah!" She slapped her forehead. "I forgot! I'm Nixie!" She smiled in the next moment, perhaps happy that he asked the question. "Oh, but you don't have a name yet! Don't worry! The Queen will give you one!"

'…'

A pixie named Nixie. Min Woo-Jin suddenly lost confidence in the so-called Fairy Queen NPC's naming sense. "My name is Min Woo-Jin." He quickly stated, afraid of getting named Dymph, Vymph, or Pymph.

All VRMMO's used real names and real identities. Min Woo-Jin thought the law dictating it was incredibly dystopian in nature. But he was already used to it after years of gaming.

No one was exempt. Rankers could still use nicknames if they wanted, but their real names would still be known by everyone.

Nixie tilted her head. "You gave yourself 3 names?"

"Min is my family name. Woo-Jin is my given name, two syllables, not two separate names."

"Mm." Nixie had a knowing expression. "I briefly forgot you were a male Nymph. Makes sense that you would have a family name!"

They walked for half an hour, with Min Woo-Jin listening to Nixie describing various foods and trivia about pixies.

"… I don't know why humans would want pixie dust!" She looked up, looking completely lost. "It's just excess mana produced by inexperienced pixies!"

Min Woo-Jin was tempted to make a crass joke, but he held his tongue back.

However, Nixie seemed to have a similar idea. "Could they be perverts?" She gasped and looked at Min Woo-Jin to gauge his response.

"… Probably not?"

Another half an hour later they finally suddenly arrived at the entrance of a villa, strangely blending into the flora despite being made of pure white stone.

Min Woo-Jin stood still for a moment to observe. '… Feels as if we passed some sort of threshold?' He looked back, yet nothing was different to the naked eye. 'And this building seems to have magic in it?'

The plants around the villa seemed to feel proud, and honored somehow. Min Woo-Jin felt welcome, just as he was in the middle of the forest, but in a different capacity. There was an unspoken hierarchy involved, and though he wasn't at the top, he was still respected.

'… Boy that's putting a lot of meaning into a bunch of plants! I get it; you guys cracked the code of role-playing…'