Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 326

Ding dong-!

“I’m here!!!”

Current time: 3:20 PM.

Since Sohee was at school, I was home alone when I heard the sound I’d been waiting for, and I dashed towards the entrance.

Holding my racing heart, my eyes sparkled.

I hadn’t ordered anything online, so the doorbell ringing outside definitely meant the item I was waiting for had arrived.

Clunk-!

Unlocking the front door, I opened it to find two small boxes just sitting there.

I squinted and scanned the corridor.

The elevator was moving down, indicating the security guards must have brought up the delivery and gone back down.

I carefully embraced the boxes and stepped inside my home.

“Hehe…”

Is this what it feels like for a child receiving their wish on Christmas Day?

No, I was even happier than that right now.

Look at my trembling hands, my body was naturally reacting to the excitement of the moment.

I sat down in reverence.

“Ha…”

I took a breath and opened my eyes halfway.

Right after, I timed it perfectly and moved my hands like lightning.

“Ta-yat!”

Pabababam!

Swish swish swish, my hands tore into the delivery boxes at a speed so fast they were nearly invisible.

And what popped out was none other than the new access device for Deron, known as D.R.

“Hehe…”

I couldn’t help but be amazed at the sleek black bracelet, shimmering in all its glory.

Simple yet sharp in its design.

The top of the bracelet had the letters D.R engraved on it.

Along with it, there was a manual containing information about the bracelet.

But who reads manuals anyway?

Real men don’t do that.

I folded the manual thinly and placed it on the table, just in case.

Next up, I immediately put on the access device.

“Oh…”

It felt strangely light.

It must have improved in performance compared to the one I wore at the offline location, and they even managed to make it lightweight.

As expected of Deron, the greatest game in the world.

Nodding, I pressed the power button on the bracelet.

With a click, it lit up and began to sparkle.

Right after that, a translucent holographic window appeared in front of me.

The familiar screen—it was Deron’s login screen.

But there was no spot to input my ID and password anywhere.

With a flicker of hope, I pulled out my piggy wallet and retrieved the Deron card that had been sleeping inside.

I needed an account to log into the game, but there was no field asking for an account.

That means this card is needed, right?

I could have guessed that much without reading the manual.

So, when I held the bracelet up to the card, a faint light scanned the card.

At the same time, I moved on to the next screen.

As expected, my assumption was right.

I didn’t need the help of a manual that cowards read.

I shrugged and began fiddling with the access device’s settings.

The first thing I set up was my character.

Naturally, I pulled up the data for my main character, Yeo.

The moment I did, the light emitting from the bracelet intensified, enveloping my body with a translucent hologram.

“Oh…”

It might not be exactly like the game, but it was close enough.

I admired the armor covering my entire body as I checked its condition.

Still, it was just a hologram.

If I had pulled the character’s data, it was time to use a weapon.

I drew the demon sword strapped to my back.

The lack of physical collision felt weird because it was a hologram, but who cares?

Right now, I wasn’t the weak Hayun; I was Deron’s Blood Demon King, Yeo.

“Kuhuhuh…”

Look at the long demon sword.

Who would’ve thought I’d recreate this in reality and not just in Deron?

“Ha-yat!”

With all my strength, I stabbed forward.

Swish- my sword cleaved through the empty air.

Immediately after, I set about my next move.

Swish- slap- swish!

“Hek… hek…”

I swung the sword about ten times in total.

Gasping for breath, I sank to the floor.

My lips naturally protruded in a pout.

The Blood Demon King of Deron doesn’t just sit down fatigued after swinging a sword ten times.

What’s the point of calling up the Blood Demon King’s data? It’s my weak, soft body actually moving.

They say the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

This was exactly that.

At that moment, an exclamation mark appeared above the bracelet.

A familiar icon—it was the notification that someone had sent a message.

I cocked my head and lightly tapped D.R.

[Oh…! Blood Demon King!]

“Whoa…!”

I jumped up from my seat.

Tapping D.R again brought up none other than Ellie, or rather, Jupiter.

She was in her game knight form, looking around the small screen.

[Hmm… Looks like I can’t see anyone else but you.]

“What, how did this happen?”

[Did you not know that test users can do video calls like this?]

“Video call…?”

[If you read the manual, you’d find out more about it.]

“Oh…”

I never imagined D.R had such a feature hidden away.

I crossed my arms and nodded.

The opponent was Jupiter, the one who claims to be my rival.

I can’t lose.

“Of course I knew.”

[Hmm… Is that so?]

“Yep.”

[Then, could you invite me to your space?]

“Invite…?”

[Yes indeed. Blood Demon King. Invite me to your space.]

Invite? What does that even mean?

Could it be that there’s another feature I don’t know about?

I rolled my eyes and fell into thought.

I didn’t want to lose to Jupiter, but I didn’t want to read the manual either.

Reading the manual felt like it would make me a coward.

“Hmm. Hmm… Jupiter.”

[What is it?]

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to invite me?”

[Hmmm… Very well. I’ll invite you first.]

I nodded at Jupiter’s words, watching her carefully.

It had been ages since I saw her, but she hadn’t changed a bit.

After returning to my hometown, I felt relieved that she seemed to be doing well, but there was a desire to touch her soft cheeks.

Beep beep-!

At that moment, a cheerful sound rang out.

A new exclamation mark appeared above D.R.

I tapped D.R again as I had before.

[Jupiter-12032’s Invitation]

※ The radius of the invited space is 20M.

※ Using this function increases battery consumption by 300%.

Radius of the space?

I cocked my head and accepted the invitation.

The moment I did, the light pouring out of the bracelet became even more intense, and the surroundings began to shift based on where I was standing.

Shimmering—

It was as if the space itself was being redefined.

Small particles gathered and created something new.

Knowing this was all a hologram, it was still too beautiful to dismiss it as a virtual phenomenon.

Another world overlaying reality.

Deron’s claim to break down the barrier between virtual and reality wasn’t just empty words.

[Hmm…]

Once the space was complete, a pure white knight appeared in front of me, just like I had seen in the game.

With a holy sword stuck at the hip and angel wings unfolded behind her.

The girl in armor, revealing her smooth armpits, was Jupiter.

“Jupiter…”

[Looks just like her game form.]

“You’re the same.”

[Hmm… Can you not see what’s under the hologram?]

I narrowed my eyes and looked her over at her question.

The translucent hologram displayed Jupiter’s game form perfectly, but it didn’t show what she was wearing underneath the armor.

That implies her smooth, soft armpits were completely exposed.

I thought to ask Jupiter just to be sure.

“Can you not see me?”

Right now, I was dressed in nothing but a thin short-sleeve shirt and comfortable shorts.

It didn’t look like it stood out much, but it could hide my armpit exposure.

But Jupiter nodded, indicating that she saw me just like my game form.

It seemed that when someone’s space is invited, only that person’s game data was transmitted.

I nodded and looked around.

The area where Jupiter and I stood didn’t have anything on the floor, but as I turned my gaze, I noticed various toys scattered across the walls and floor.

Of course, it was just a hologram.

This wasn’t a space drawn from the game.

Most likely it was a holographic representation of Jupiter’s surrounding space.

“So, where are we?”

[My playroom!]

“Playroom?”

[It’s the place I used when I was little. This is the only space available for us right now!]

“Hmm…”

Based on the brief conversation with Jupiter and the space in front of my eyes, I gleaned several pieces of information.

“So, what’s the reason you called me?”

Jupiter smiled slightly and drew her holy sword.

Wait, are we really going to clash swords in this state?

I licked my lips and drew the demon sword.

[It’s been a while.]

“Just so you know, this isn’t a game.”

[I know. Blood Demon King.]

I was relieved she understood that.

Both of our healths were ridiculously inadequate.

This meant we couldn’t exchange dozens or hundreds of attacks like in the game.

I took a breath and opened my mouth.

“How about seven times…?”

[Isn’t that a bit too much?]

Is it? Seven times does seem a little high.

Nodding, I spoke again.

“Then five times!”

[That should be okay!]

The rules of the duel were set.

The maximum exchanges we could have would be five times.

Going beyond that would surely leave both of us drained and slumped over.

Five times sounded manageable!

After exchanging determined glances, we both squared off.

We both had similar talents and used comparable swordsmanship.

Of course, I was stronger.

As the subtle silence passed between us,

Jupiter and I leapt at each other simultaneously.

“Ha-yat!”

[Hyah!]

The black demon sword and the brilliant white holy sword clashed in midair.

At the same time, a jolly effect erupted.

Flash-!

When the swords made contact, an effect burst forth, but there was no sensation of recoil, like in the game.

Naturally. They were just layers of light colliding.

Neither of us were flustered, having experienced similar duels years ago at offline events.

“Hyah!”

[Hryah!]

So we continued to swing our swords.

The outcome of this duel would be defined by D.R.

Flash-!

Flash-!

Flash-!

After already exchanging blows four times,

I could feel my waning stamina and took a deep breath.

Of course, Jupiter was likely in a similar position.

Though pretending otherwise, I could see her little chest heaving up and down.

Now’s my chance.

The moment of opportunity.

I took a big step and let out a battle cry.

“Hryahhh!”

This would be my final strike.

I’d pour all my energy into defeating Jupiter.

[Hryahh!]

Jupiter was likely thinking the same.

She took a large stance, preparing for her last strike as well.

Starting from similar trajectories, we both thrust our swords forward.

Shwaaa-!

With the slow motion of Jupiter’s sword attack,

I quickly twisted my body and jumped into the air.

It was an instinctive move, not intentional. But my body didn’t respond as I thought it would.

Bump-!

“Ugh…”

My airborne self lost its balance and thumped to the ground.

[Hek…!]

But I wasn’t the only one who fell.

Jupiter also seemed to have attempted an impossible move in reality and was sprawled on the ground, groaning.

As I got back up from the floor, I thought to myself.

I really needed to start exercising.