Weird!

"This is... too advanced for it to be that cheap?" I muttered to myself.

The game was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Perhaps its true brilliance lay in how it replicated not only pleasure but also the uniquely vivid sensations of pleasure of having erotic scenes like I was doing in real life. 

Even though I had already 'finished' twice, the desire to keep going burned brighter within me.

"Wait, what?" As I scrolled through the quest window, my hand suddenly froze. A familiar face had appeared, stopping me in my tracks. It was just a tiny preview image in the list, but there was no mistake.

"That's... Selena, the idol, isn't it?" I leaned closer to the screen, scrutinizing the picture. Though small, it was crystal clear. Selena's name was paired with an S-rank quest—the highest tier. My thoughts raced.

Even if it was just a game, could they have modeled this after real people? I mean, very many models are required for every scene in the game, even if it is just motion capture, unless you do everything by CGI.

◇〈S-Rank Quests are currently locked. Requirement: Complete 5 A-Rank Quests.〉◇

Unfortunately, the quest details were locked, and I couldn't access them. Still, the idea of doing those things in a scenario with a model or a celebrity like Selena sent a rush of excitement through me.

Setting aside the moral dilemma of whether involving real people in such explicit content was appropriate, I couldn't help but wonder.

Would Selena, the idol, engage in the same activities those other two NPCs had just done? In the previous two quests…

"Damn…" A spark of excitement burns through within me. I was suddenly more motivated to progress in the game than ever before. As a student with no job and plenty of free time, I might have more hours to burn than anyone else.

I scrolled down to the list of available A-Rank quests and clicked on one.

◇〈A-Rank Quests are currently locked. Requirement: Complete 10 B-Rank Quests.〉◇

"Ah, I see how it is." The game's progression system was relentless. Sighing, I clicked on the B-Rank quests instead. Thankfully, they were open and available to challenge without any additional requirements.

"If B is the highest rank I can access now, C must've been pretty tough," I recalled how I had recklessly accepted a C-Rank quest earlier without adequately checking the details. That choice still irked me a little, but there was no changing it now. What could I do?

If this was a game, there were rules. As I leveled up my stats, my character would grow stronger. And with that strength, I'd unlock access to higher-level quests. In other words, my priority right now was to develop or level up my character.

"If it's still possible…" There wasn't a proper filter function in the quest list, so I scrolled through each manually. As I read through them, an automatic thought crossed my mind:

Is it better to pick quests that involve people I like?

If any of these quests revolved around physical things, choosing based on my preferences only made sense.

"...Hmm?" I froze in shock as I scrolled down the quest list, only to find a face more familiar than any idol I had ever admired.

"Kelly… huh? Is that you?" I couldn't believe my eyes. The face staring back at me from the screen was so familiar it felt like I was looking at a mirror.

The woman with the familiar face had formed a V-shape beside her cheek, and her lips curled into a playful smirk. She looked just like Kelly, as seen in the profile picture I had seen before.

"No... no, this can't be." I was in disbelief, shaking my head as if to clear the image away.

With this thought in mind, I selected the quest. She resembled Kelly… a girl I know of, and her quest level was an E. It was viewable.

◇〈E-Rank〉◇

◇〈Objective: Achieve a one-night stand with Kelly.〉◇

◇〈Reward: 1000 Points / Bonus Stats 2〉◇

◇〈Description: Kelly, a college girl who is in sorrow, comes to the club to drown her loneliness and have some fun. Spend a night with her when she's drunk and feeling empty. 〉◇

My heart began to race with excitement. The picture on the quest screen was unmistakably the 'Kelly' I knew. She was a third-year philosophy major at University, in my department. There was no doubt about it.

"What... is this?" I whispered, my voice trembling with shock and confusion.

The words escaped my lips involuntarily. I exited and re-entered the quest screen, but nothing had changed. It was Kelly's picture.

Gulp!

I swallowed hard, trying to process what I was seeing. I pondered what to do next, considering removing my VR headset to check my phone. The thought of quitting the game never crossed my mind as I moved to take off the VR headset.

"Huh, what?" My hands reached for the headset, but something felt off. My face felt nothing. Now, think about it; it felt like I wasn't using VR when I connected to the VR world.

I hurriedly pressed the game exit button and removed the VR headset, but my heart was still pounding.

With my heart racing, I quickly rechecked my phone. It was the opposite of what I had just experienced in the game.

Scrolling through my phone, my fingers were quick and eager.

Scroll, scroll. "Yes, it's her." The image on my phone matched perfectly with what I had seen in the game.

As I scrolled through Kelly's profile, I saw the same picture I had seen in the game—from a few months ago.

"Ha, someone else's photo..." I felt excitement and anger, realizing someone might have used her photo without permission.

My excitement was palpable—thump, thump—yet I was somewhat sceptical about the idea of real people's photos being stolen for a game like this.

Or maybe they did get paid for it… that is the only logical idea that came to my mind.

——

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