Chapter 6

“Haak, hak …”

Raeyeon leapt up from the sofa, panting. She felt like she had a terrible dream. Maybe that’s why she thought. Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t feel like she was in a bad mood before she went to sleep.

“Where am I?”

She looked around as soon as she woke up, as she did for the last few days. Every single time she did it, it wasn’t the familiar studio ceiling, but the old-fashioned mansion like a scene from a movie. She sighed and closed her eyes with her hands as she was seeing the same thing again.

I am still in this game.

It has been a few days since she entered the body of “Erel Elorence” but every single time she opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but hope that it was all just a dream.

The nightmares that she dreamed of every night made her uneasy. After she woke up, she could barely remember the details of her dream, but there was a man that repeatedly appears in it.

A man as beautiful as the end of the world. Who on earth is he with his red hair as if he’s going to burn everything? Raeyeon thought that the man had something to do with Erel Elorence, but for now, there was no way to know the inside story.

The game Salvation contained a vast worldview. She was so engrossed in it that she couldn’t eat or sleep, but she couldn’t even clear half of it.

I don’t even know who that man is.

Right. That’s the only thing I don’t know. It was all questionable how she went into the game “Salvation” and why she became the unfamiliar supporting role of “Erel Elorence.”

“Rel, are you okay?”

Someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind. The sudden grip reminded her of a dream she just had, and her heart momentarily stopped. Her scream did not come out but her head quickly turned around, her opponent was surprised as well.

“What the hell? What kind of dream did you have to cause you to be this scared?”

It was a blonde young man that shined through her vision, with his elegant facial features and delicate nose. He would have been handsome for a neutral look however with how hard he works out, his muscular body shattered all the finest beauty.

He was obviously an angel, but he seemed to be a battle angel. The identity of this man was Erel’s only brother, Michael Elorence.

“It’s a big deal that you fell asleep in the living room. You didn’t sleep well last night?”

It was a hard but worrying question. She responded appropriately and rubbed her pale cheek.

“I just had a little nightmare. Thank you for worrying.”

She doesn’t remember it well, but it seemed that she had a terrible dream, that’s why she lost all her energy as if she had done some intense exercise during her sleep.

“Sleep in the bedroom next time. What if your weak body catches a cold?”

Do some exercise. Michael coldly nagged her with his tongue in his mouth. He was very strict about taking care of himself, but he cared about his sister in his own way.

[Michael Elorence: Current Likability 87]

As a habit, Erel smiled awkwardly as she checked the information above his head. I was grateful for his favor, but Michael was too quick-witted, so sometimes it was hard to deal with him.

“I’ll go up to sleep as you told me to. I’ll go now.”

“No before that, look at me for a minute.”

With his arms folded, he called her up. He then narrowed his blue eyes, looked up and down at her and blurted out.

“Erel Elorence. You know you’re really weird these days, right?”

It was a matter of time; it was obvious as she wasn’t Erel in the first place.

I’m glad I still have some memories of this body. 

Erel’s body accepted Raeyeon amazingly as she has a little bit of memory of this world, which keeps her from making a big mistake.

But she couldn’t tell the truth, especially to Michael.

How can I say that this is a game?

Erel glanced at her mission quest window, which is shining beside the window of favorability. There was just one line written in simple bold letters.

[Mission Quest: Stop Destruction]: We must stop the catastrophe that will soon come to Elorence. If it fails, the game will be forcibly terminated.

…… No, what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, stop the catastrophe?

I’ll do whatever I need to if you could at least tell me the way.

And what happens if you get “Game Over”? Are we going back to the reality of “Lee Raeyeon”?

But my real body might be dead. 

Thinking of it sends shivers down her spine, how can she explain to Michael when she is very anxious and if she doesn’t know English, herself???

“Why are you silent?”

Michael was very frustrated by his clam-mouthed sister.

“Tell me, Rel! What the hell is wrong with you.”

There are many problems, but she could not tell any. In the first place, there was no reason why Raeyeon was also brought into Salvation, and why she became “Erel Elorence”.

“Okay, you’re not going to say anything until the end, right?”

Michael looked disappointed. His blue eyes sank cold, staring at his unresponsive sister.

“I thought we were close, I guess I was mistaken.”

After he said that, he stood up coldly. A system notification window appeared only for Raeyeon or Erel.

[Ting! Michael’s favorability dropped by 5]

She really wanted to cry as she fell into this strange world that is in a game and she became upset that her brother’s favorability dropped.

“Wait a minute, brother.”

Erel called out to Michael who was trying to leave hurriedly.

“Why are you holding onto me if you are not going to answer me?”

Unlike his manly muscles, Michael held long grudges. He answered bluntly, but did not leave the room and waited for her to continue.

“I… was wrong. I’m so sorry.”

Erel hesitantly apologized first to Michael who didn’t answer her for a while, but she could see his eyebrows raised up and his muscles slumped down a bit.

“It’s just that I’ve been having a lot of worries lately. I’m worried about my future.”

Looking back at her troubled face, Michael hesitated and eventually turned back and sat down on the sofa in front of her.

“……I’m sorry for being so narrow-minded.”

Michael, who coughed in vain, offered a hand of reconciliation like an older brother. At the same time, she heard a sound of the favorability rising back.

[Ting! Michael’s likability increased by 5]

Erel was relieved that things went well, but just then, Michael suddenly said something significant.

“I understand the confusion you’re feeling right now.”

“Really?”

It can’t be. Having become Erel at the palm of her hands, she looked at Michael with a desperate heart because of his speaking tone; it seems to imply that he knew something was serious.

“Of course. It’s been a while since you experienced such a thing out of nowhere.”

“Uh … huh?”

“For you, that’s a lot of trouble. That’s how important it is.”

….What is the matter? And what did I go through?

When an unknown topic popped up, Erel was confused. She inadvertently pulled the end of a thread but felt like she had a golden key. In the end, she could not understand its purpose.

Judging from Michael’s serious expression, it didn’t seem like a story she should pass up, so Erel sneakily tried to get more out of him.

“Brother, that problem. By any chance…?”

“What happened last week. Why, when I visited the temple.”

Fortunately, Michael answered readily, with little doubt but it was still an incomprehensible story.

Last week! Of all things, it was before Raeyeon possessed this body.

Wait a minute, the situation when I was possessed is probably….

She slowly looked back at her memory. When she first opened her eyes in this world, she was in the carriage; a horse-driven carriage.

Raeyeon was puzzled by the sensation of her body swaying from side to side. She remembered falling down while playing games, but why is she in the wagon?

Looking around casually, she was all the more surprised to see platinum blonde hair flowing down her shoulders.

What is this..?

It wasn’t just that. Above the heads of her family sitting across her was a likability figure for each individual towards her. It was as if she entered somewhere that is a mix of reality and games.

Thanks to this, she was fortunate to be speechless. With her silent in front of them, her family continued to talk about this and that. As she listened to the various conversations, her mind was strangely gradually becoming clear.

Everything from the situation in which she became possessed in “Salvation” and the small memories that remained in the body was of “Erel Elorence”.

The reason she was in the carriage at that time was probably….

Their family had apparently been to the temple. So the ‘important problem’ that Michael spoke about was probably what happened then.

No wonder her family seemed to keep an eye on her. While enjoying talking about the scenery and delicious food on the way back from the temple, she was avoiding talking about some sensitive topics by shutting her mouth.

But there’s no way to know what it is.

Raeyeon sighed. In the first place, the story of the game she was hosting did not have a character called “Erel Elorence.” So even if she came into the game she liked, she was at a loss.

“You don’t have to worry too much about it, Erel. You have us.”

Michael, misunderstanding her expression and thought he was comforting her by reminiscing about the past.

“I will never let anything bad happen to you. I promise you as a brother.”

“…… Thank you, really.”

This was the only thing she could say when she knew nothing, but Michael’s poor sincerity was conveyed, so she was a little moved.

Erel has a very good family.

Raeyeon, who had been estranged from her family throughout her life, experienced a bond she had never felt. The moment she smiled bitterly because of that envy, someone appeared through the open door.

“You’re all here.”