New Life Online 206 The Other Side

I woke up and it's already hot outside, even with my AC. This is the first time I've slept without playing the game and it's quite refres.h.i.+ng. I guess that our guests were also gone now. That Scythus guy mysteriously appeared out of nowhere last night and disappeared without a trace. Well, everyone has their own reasons for being weird, right?

I heard footsteps not far from the door.

"Miss Chara, it's time for your brunch with Miss Petula." One of our maids said.

"I'll be right there, I'll just have to change clothes," I have good senses but still, I can't find my room by myself if I leave it. Just how big is this house?

After that, the maid guided me to our dining hall. I can't smell anything from last night which I think they've already cleaned the house real good. All I can smell is the food they prepared for us.

"Hey, why do you always wake up late? You lazy b.u.m. Haha." Petula... I thought you're dead drunk last night...

"Where on earth do you get all this energy, sis? You're supposed to have a hangover, you know. What is wrong with your body?" I started joining her eating.

"I don't know. I woke up like my normal day. Anyway, how did you join the Other Side guild again?" She asked curiously, I haven't told her my story I guess.

*Chara's POV before she played the game.*

After a couple of months, I was able to regain my strength after several tests and rehabilitation with my new family. Well, I still call the Doctor who adopted me by her last name because I'm still shy but I guess I'm going to get used to it. We did our best but she told me that the only problem is my eyesight. They still don't know what's the cause or reason why this is happening but she told me, there are a lot of same cases like mine, unknown illnesses that can't be cured. But they said that there's a way for me to see again, not in real life, though, in New Life. And that's how I began my adventure with Petula. But before that, something happened. A tragedy to their family...

Just a couple of weeks after I got out of the hospital, I thought I'm going to be ok, that I can have a normal life again. In just one accident, my new mother never came back. I thought that she will be there for me and I will be there for her. I believed that I can be happy again but it was just temporary happiness. Everything will end but I didn't expect that it would be so soon. It devastated their family... our family...

After the burial of her mother, Petula never came out of her room. I can tell how much she misses her mother. Like I miss my mother and father every single day. It hurts so much. But now, Petula needs me. I promised to smile, I promised to show happiness because that's what my mother told me, that my smile can affect others.

I tried going to Petula's room every single day but she shunned me. I tried to talk to her but I failed. I did that for a couple of weeks but nothing happened. She still won't even talk to me.

One night, I snuck into her room. I don't know how I even managed to do that but yeah, for some reason, I did. It happened so fast. I heard her, crying. As I get near her, I just hugged her... That's the only thing I remember that night.

Several days have pa.s.sed. She started talking to me. I showed her my cheerful smile even we're both dead inside. We both miss our family but I guess that's the reason why we are getting close to each other. We talked a lot after that and it seems like she also really wants to have a sister. That's when I felt happy again. I hope that this happiness would last until the end. Please, let me stay by her side.

"Hey, Chara. I heard that you can see again inside a game? Is that true?!" She excitedly asked me.

"I'm not sure yet. I haven't tried it so I'm not sure but I guess I won't do it for now. I don't want to expect anything." I reply with doubt in my heart.

"It's worth the try, though. We already have things we need. Also, I heard you can use some magic inside the game. What if I can recreate our mother? Sounds crazy right? But I want to try." I know she still misses her mother but that idea is kind of not good.

"Well... we can try if you want. Just so you know, I'm always here for you Petula. We may not be blood-related, but I want to be your sister for life." I smiled at her.

"Will you stop with those cheesy words. It's a pain in the b.u.t.t... Your smile already tells me everything you know. Thank you. I really appreciate you being with us. And because of that, I will be your sister for life too!" She may look like a bit bratty, but she's really a kind girl. Though I can tell how lazy she is.

"So how about we try the game out?"

That's when my life has changed. I was able to see in-game again and words can't express how happy I am. I may not see the real world but the in-game world is much more beautiful. I cried and I cried but it was tears of joy, of course. I still can feel my first time seeing again.

I created my character with the name "Banana Girl." Why? It's because banana's curve resembles a happy face and Banana is also good for your health. I never thought that names would be such a big deal so...

And that's when we started playing the game. We've been playing for a couple of weeks now and unlike her, who focused on alchemy and crafting, I decided to be a defender. Why? It's because a fragile maiden like herself needs someone to protect her. I saved our b.u.t.ts many many times but sometimes it's not always our birthdays. We were slaughtered of course but for every mistake, we learned something.

After that, I was able to train myself and Petula started using support spells. I'm tanky enough but I decided to avoid attacks instead of getting hit. I dodge every single attack however I can so in no time, my agility rose up like crazy. I'm a defender that doesn't use a s.h.i.+eld and uses a dagger instead to defend herself. Yes, but how can I protect my allies? Well, there are different kinds of defenders and one of them is the one who charges at the enemy controlling the aggro and gives my party enough time to prepare a devastating attack. Doesn't sound like a real defender, right? But believe me, it works.

I still remember when we are still starting to play the game, there's this one guy who stopped us and tried to rob us. We thought of defending ourselves but he brought company. Fortunately, we were close to the nearby village that we ran like h.e.l.l. It was exciting and scary at the same time. I wonder what happened to that guy and his crew after Handy butchered them. He really talks funny too.

We started together, traveled together and somehow, after a couple of months, she decided to travel alone. I'm guessing this is about her research in-game but who am I to argue with her. I just want her to be happy and safe. We got separated for months and that's when I met Jay. He was part of the Order of Light that time and one of the strongest too. His rank is comparable to Zeth and the leader of his own peacemaker group, the "Protection Squad".

I was grinding alone that time and I messed things up. I aggroed too many mobs that I can't handle them alone. I thought I'm going to lose levels which I have to grind for a week again but I didn't. Jay and his group were pa.s.sing by and they helped me.

"Yow! You're lucky, the Cool Captain Jay is here!" That's the first time I heard him calling himself cool... and yeah, I thought at first that he's really cool. He's still cool but bragging about how cool you are won't really make you any cooler at all. Unfortunately, His username is Cool Jay... so...

After that... we became friends. I can't remember what I have eaten but he's a good guy. He even invited me to join the Order of Light but I'm not really into joining guilds. Seeing things again is enough for me to enjoy everything.

I thought that my life would be with Jay and his friends for maybe more months before I can travel myself and explore the World of New Life Online more but suddenly, one night, Jay and some of the members of his group decided to leave the Order of Light guild.

He said that his work there is done. Order of Light has the best defense and offense guild that he thinks that he's not needed anymore. They stopped him from leaving because he's one of their best warriors but still, he left. I guess he has his own reasons and I'm not someone to judge him.

"Hey, Banana Girl. Would you like to join me and my group and make a new guild?" He asked.

"Please stop calling me that... Also, I told you I'm not joining any guild. Also, I just want to make people happy that's all..." I replied.

"Well, if you save people from monsters and raiders, I'm pretty sure they'd be really happy, you know. There's a lot of ways to make people happy, not just being happy would also make them happy. Sometimes, you need to help them and show them that they can trust someone, like you. Isn't that your goal, to make people happy?" Ugh... He's cooler than I thought... Also, he's kind of right.

"Will I really be able to save them? Can I really make them trust me?"

"What? Are you doubting yourself now? If you think that you can't do it by yourself. Then that's where I come in. I'm Cool Jay after all." He smiled at me.

And that's the time I joined their newly found guild, "The Other Side".