Dennis woke up again, his nose twitching at the sharp scent of a pharmacy. His back felt soft; he was lying on a real bed. Slowly, he opened his eyes. This time, the confusion had faded, replaced by a strange clarity. Realizing he was in the infirmary, he immediately started questioning things.
"Who brought me here?" he wondered.
"Zzz... zzz." A soft snoring sound came from right beside him—definitely the sound of a girl sleeping. Dennis turned his head cautiously. He froze. A girl was sitting next to him, her head resting on the edge of his bed. She looked smart, wore glasses, and was incredibly beautiful with straight black hair. Her white uniform was damp with sweat, and her jacket was draped over the back of her chair. Dennis raised a hand to his head, feeling the bandages.
"She's... Daisy, right? From the class next door. A student council member. Even though we're in the same grade, we've never spoken a word to each other. Did she save me?" Dennis thought.
Suddenly, "shriiick!" The curtain pulled back. A disheveled nurse with zero makeup on swung the fabric open like a horror movie jumpscare.
"Waaaaaa!" Dennis screamed at the sight of her, and the nurse screamed right back at the sight of a massive boy sitting upright on the bed.
Once he realized it was just the school nurse, Nicole, Dennis let out a huge sigh of relief and clutched his chest. Nicole, still patting her heart to calm down, stepped inside to examine the wound on his head. Then, she stepped back and smiled.
"Okay, you're fine for now. But if the pain persists, you need to go straight to the hospital," Nicole said.
"Yes, ma'am. Um... but why is Daisy here?" Dennis asked, pointing at the girl who was still dead to the world despite all the noise.
"Oh, she's the one who carried you here. All by herself. She also helped me dress your wound," Nicole said with a smile.
"Oh... I see," Dennis muttered, looking at Daisy.
"I'm still trying to get a hold of your parents. I'm going to step out for a bit to let them know what's going on, so just relax here, okay?" Nicole said as she grabbed her smartphone.
"Okay, thanks, ma'am," Dennis replied.
Nicole left and closed the curtain, leaving Dennis alone and stunned. He began to catch a sweet, floral scent and looked back at Daisy. He immediately recoiled and sniffed his own arm.
"Man... I probably smell. Maybe I should just leave? But she helped me; it feels wrong to just ditch her. Should I wake her up? No, that's mean," Dennis thought.
Paralyzed by overthinking, Dennis did nothing. He tried his best to look anywhere but at Daisy, who looked completely vulnerable sleeping so close to him. Then, his new memories started flashing through his mind again.
"So... this is the world of Eclipse Saga or maybe another Earth... the school is the same, but the city is moving dome city Emerald? Just like the game. This is wild... but wait, let me try to open my status the same way I did in VR," Dennis murmured.
He focused on the word in his head. "Vwoooong!" A holographic interface, identical to the one in the game, snapped open right in front of his face. He flinched, but once he calmed down, he started reading the text.
[Create Character Design? [Yes] [No]]
"Huh... create a character? Like in a game?" Dennis wondered, observing the screen.
Driven by a curiosity that bypassed his common sense, he didn't hesitate to press YES. Another interface popped up, showing a 3D model of his current fat, bulky body. To the left, there was a menu where he could adjust his face, body type, height, and hair based on percentages.
Dennis immediately started tinkering with the model, sliding bars left and right. After that, he saw options for Race, Class, Talents, and Preferred Weapons. He was deep in the zone, weighing the pros and cons of every choice, completely oblivious to his surroundings. And suddenly...
"Oh... you're awake? How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?"
Subconsciously and out of pure shock, Dennis accidentally tapped the [Random] button on his interface screen. Regret hit him instantly, but there was no going back; once the word [Understood.] flashed on the screen, the entire interface snapped shut.
When he tried to open it again, it wouldn't budge. Dennis's face went pale in a heartbeat, and panic gripped his chest. He had no idea what it actually meant for his choices to be completely random, and this clearly wasn't a game—he knew all too well that this was reality.
"Damn...shit... please no... status... status... gaaaah... dammit... hell!" Dennis screamed in his head, filled with pure regret.
He slowly turned to look at Daisy. She was sitting upright now, her glasses off as she wiped them clean. Without them, she looked even more stunning than before. She smiled, waiting for his answer.
"Um... I'm okay, thank you... anyway, did you see an interface in front of my face just now?" Dennis asked, hoping he could question Daisy about the random setting and how to change it back.
"Hmm... what interface? You're still dreaming. Come here, let me check you," Daisy said, standing up and putting her glasses back on.
Daisy leaned in close, standing on her tiptoes to inspect his head. Dennis's heart nearly stopped. Daisy's chest was right at his eye level, he was hit directly with the sweet scent of her perfume and the warmth of her breath against his hair.
"Crap... why is this happening? I'm the guy who smells bad... why aren't I running away? Ow... this is so awkward... I don't want her to hate me," Dennis thought, his confidence plummeting into a bottomless pit.
He tried to shimmy backward to create space, but Daisy just kept coming. She even put one knee up on the bed. She held his head as he grew paler and sweatier. After checking the bandage, she didn't get down; instead, she crawled further onto the bed right in front of him.
"Well? Still hurt?" Daisy asked, resting her hand on his sweaty forehead.
"He... hey, aren't you a little too close?" Dennis stammered.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Don't be like that to your wife," Daisy replied with a pout.
"Boom." This time, his head didn't feel physical pain, but his brain felt like it had been struck by a hundred volts of lightning. His mind literally shut down for thirty seconds before rebooting. Seeing Dennis looking like a total idiot, Daisy reached into his pocket and pulled out his student ID. She held it up alongside her own. Still in a daze, Dennis read the cards.
*********************************************************
Number : xxx-xxx-xxxx-xxxxx
Name: Dennis Larson
Birth: November 17, 2008
Place of Birth: Emerald City
Address: Dorm Military Academy of Emerald, Room 515
Status: Married
Partner: Daisy Larson
Birth : February 10, 2009.
Place of Birth: Emerald City.
**********************************************************
When he realized his ID looked just like a game profile—complete with a location and ID number—Dennis grabbed both cards. His eyes went wide, and his hands started shaking violently. He stared at Daisy.
"Why would you even want to be with me?" The question that had been screaming in his head finally tumbled out.
"Well... it's not like we had a choice. It's the city government's program. Besides, after living with you for a year, I've realized I love you, so it's fine," Daisy said, as casually as if she were commenting on the weather.
"S... so we've been together for a year?" Dennis asked, utterly lost.
"Oh my God... it looks like you've got amnesia. We definitely need to get you to a hospital," Daisy said, cupping his cheek.
Dennis fell silent. Between the head wound from the watermelons and the reality in front of him—which was a far cry from the life he knew before Plane-kun hit—he didn't dare say a word. To top it off, the fact that his character design was set to [Random] made him want to slam his head against the wall just to wake up from this bizarre, half-nightmare, half-dream. He kept staring at Daisy. She was beautiful, smart, a student council member, and most importantly, she said she loved him and was already his wife. It was something he could never have imagined; he wouldn't have even dared to think it.
"Thank you, Plane-kun, I guess," he muttered in his heart, even though he still looked like he couldn't believe what was right in front of him. He had no idea that his problems were actually just begun, because the girl sitting in front of him was no ordinary girl.