In Mina’s kitchen, Erika found more than enough food. However, the house didn’t incorporate a SmartCook, and everything other than cup noodles required basic cooking skills.

She’s right. There’s really nothing but cup noodles in the kitchen.

Erika nodded to herself and prepared noodles for the hungry, little animal.

“I brought your noodles... huh.”

Erika stopped at the room’s entrance and watched Mina with thin eyes.

“Hehehe.”

Mina pulled out a spare Vocean headgear from the closet.

“May I ask what exactly you’re doing?”

“B-bah!?”

Erika grabbed the Vocean and raised it into the air, with Mina still attached to it.

“W-what the heck!? Let go, ya dumb Titan!”

Mina wrapped her legs around the helmet like a monkey. Other than her left arm, all of Mina’s limbs embraced the Vocean.

“I said this is forbidden. Ugh! ”

Erika couldn’t keep the helmet+animal package lifted.

“G-gah!”

Mina fell onto the floor, with the Vocean landing on top of her (flat) chest. Erika seized the moment and snatched the Vocean, replacing it with a bowl of instant noodles.

“No more playing until you properly eat.”

“Grrr...”

Mina jumped into cross-legged sitting and grabbed the offered fork. The bowl’s cover was still loosely attached, so Mina proceeded to remove it... with her teeth.

So this is a VR headgear...

Erika closely examined the white helmet in her hands. The game displayed on the Vocean was God Vessel Online. Just holding the headgear didn’t give Erika a taste of VR experience. However, this was the closest she ever got to it.

Erika lowered the Vocean and examined the wild animal.

“So? Would you please mind explaining why you skipped three days of school?”

“Ack.”

Mina shifted her eyes away.

“School, huh... there was such a dumb thing, wasn’t there?”

Mina resorted to silence, hoping that the topic would magically vanish into thin air if she ignored it.

“I’m still waiting.”

“G-geh.”

“Well, I already know you were playing GoVe.”

Erika sighed and continued to speak with the tone of a scolding parent.

“My question is: why did you prioritize the game over school?”

“... GoVe?”

Mina tilted her head in wonder.

“God Vessel Online.”

Erika pointed at the digital screen on the side of the Vocean.

“Oh, this game had that kinda name?”

“S-so I heard...”

This time, it was Erika’s turn to avert her eyes. Luckily, Mina’s skull was too thick to notice anything.

“Anyway, what’s your excuse?”

“Uuu...”

Mina twisted her lips and fell silent. Then, an idea sparked in her mind.

“Ya see, in order to leave these games, ya need to press that dumb ‘Logout’ button, right?”

“And?”

“The button... it just disappeared! Like WOOSH and gone! I was trapped inside the dumb game!”

“Oh, I see. And dying in the game also meant dying in real life, right?”

“Exactly! Man, that shit was intense!”

“I’m sure it was....”

Silence broke out. Mina tried to maintain her excited smile, whereas Erika stared at the little liar with clear distrust.

“And the real reason?”

“Ack...”

“Is it somehow related to your left hand?”

“Ack!”

Mina bit the plastic fork, crushing it in half.

“W-why would you ask such a dumb thing?”

“It’s been bothering me for a while now. You haven’t used your left arm ever since I entered your house. Not even once.”

“N-nothing’s wrong with my left hand! See? It moves just fine!”

Mina freely swung her left arm... by holding it with her right hand. With this, Erika Knew she was in the right direction.

“Did you injure your left hand?”

“N-no! It was... that dumb thing!”

Mina pointed at the Vocean in Erika’s hands.

“Did something happen to your hand... inside the game?”

“I know it sounds dumb, but... but it’s true! I met this reaper dude and he rekt my arm REAL good with a curse! I tried to kick his damn ass, but he was freakin’ impossible!”

Mina swung the broken plastic fork to demonstrate her axe swings.

“So, it’s Vireco...?”

Erika mumbled in surprise.

“Huuuh? Vireco? The heck?”

“Virtuality-Reality Confusion. It’s condition which makes the brain confuse reality and VR. Events which happen in VR may carry over into reality.”

“Hm, hm.”

Mina nodded like an obedient student on a lecture.

“Ya sure know a lot for a dumb Titan honor student”

“T-that’s just what they said on TV.”

That’s right, Erika definitely didn’t research it on her own when she googled information about VR games.

“A-anyway, let’s say I believe you were hit by Vireco. Is that why you skipped school?”

“Yeah! I tried to heal this useless piece of meat!”

“Heal? You mean inside the game?”

“Yeah! That NPC old man told me: I can lift the curse in Trilz City, by talking to some old fart called Oswald.”

“I see...”

It didn’t feel like Mina lied this time around, but Erika couldn’t swallow this story.

“In other words: your arm has been paralyzed for three days now?”

“I guess? What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

“I think I started on Sunday, then... four days?”

Mina counted with her tiny fingers.

That’s... impossible. Vireco can’t possibly last that long. I’ve never heard of such a case.

Erika’s beliefs were shaken. She stared at the Vocean helmet in confusion.

“Say, how many hours you put into the game these past few days?”

“Hm? Played pretty much the whole time. Grinded my axe into these skeleton bastards!”

Mina puffed her (flat) chest with misplaced pride.

“And your character had this paralysis the whole time?”

“Yup! The dumb shit just won’t disappear.”

“I see...”

Erika had no firm proof, but she drew a conclusion based on available facts. The cause of this mystical Vireco, which lasted for 4 days, was actually rooted in Mina’s gaming habits.

“If you want to heal your arm, then you need to stop playing.”

“Bah! I knew people will say that!!!”

Mina roared and her eyes emitted a dangerous glint.

“It’s always like that! Like when I almost broke my fingers by bashing the dumb controller! Or when I forgot to sleep for a week while training in SoulClay! They always say that I need to stop playing! They don’t understand shit!”

I’m... inclined to agree with them here.

Erika retorted silently by making a face. However, a part of her perfectly understood how frustrating it was to be told such things.

“I didn’t mean that you need to stop playing forever.”

“Huuuh?”

“You only need to take a break from the game. Since you play nonstop, your arm re-experiences the sensation of paralysis. And so, your Vireco continues.”

“Ah... hmmmmm...”

Mina lowered her head and pondered deeply, if such a feat was even possible for the little barbarian.

“Then... ya won’t tell me to stop playing because of this shit?”

“The events you mentioned are really a bit... disturbing, to say the least.”

It’s a miracle you’re still breathing, honestly.

Erika made an awkward smile and continued.

“But, as long as you learn from your mistakes, then I don’t think they should stop you from doing what you love.”

Erika smiled wryly, thinking of her own situation.

“Hmm...”

Mina stared at the class president with a dumb face.

“You... you aren’t that bad.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s just... usually, the class prez is an arrogant scum. These shitheads always look down on gamers. Bitch in last school broke my game console because I played in class. I then broke her damn spine!”

“I-I see...”

S-she’s just exaggerating, right? Haha...

Nevertheless, Erika instinctively took a step back. Mina finished swallowing her noodles and directed all her attention to Erika.

“So? What’s next?”

“Next...?”

“Suppose I take a break and my dumb arm recovers. Wouldn’t this shit happen all over again the next time I play? That curse just won’t leave me alone!”

Mina eyed the class president with huge expectations. For one reason or another, she developed the impression that Erika could solve any problem.

“Hmm, let’s see...”

Erika pondered as she examined the title “God Vessel Online” on the Vocean. She never played any VR games, but at its core: GoVe was an MMORPG. It should have shared common traits with others games she played.

“Wouldn’t the curse heal if you die and respawn?”

“I died, like, a bazillion times already! That dumb curse is still there.”

“Hmm, interesting.”

Erika couldn’t tell how a paralyzed arm affected the player’s parameters and abilities. Nonetheless, it sounded like a very crippling condition.

To have such an ailment persist even after the player died... it was unbelievably hardcore. The more she thought about it, the more interested Erika became in the curse and in GoVe’s mechanics.

“You said it can be healed in some city, right? Can’t you just go there?”

“I was TRYING. I fought these shit heads, but the cheaters always ganged on me like wusses. I freakin’ ALMOST broke through, but that damn reaper scum...”

Mina hissed she she remembered that hax monster.

“Is there only one route to the city? Maybe there’s a safer path?”

“There’s only a dumb cliff there. Oh, and there’s also the stinky swamp too.”

“Can’t there be a cure in one of the previous towns?”

“I dunno. I only heard about this Oswald dude from Trilz city.”

“In that case: we should hit the net.”

Erika took out her phone.

“Let’s see what we can find.”

She sat down on the bed and googled phrases like “God Vessel Online Grim Reaper”. Curious about the process, Mina hopped onto the bed and sat beside Erika.