One week later....
Frostin family household....
"Ahh!… finally, it's finished."
A sixteen-year-old girl, her hair styled into a ponytail bun and blessed with natural beauty, walked toward the hall holding an electronic chip in her hand.
"Mom, look—I've finished it."
"Oh? Let me see…"
Rosze Frostin took the black-colored chip from Lisa's hand, inserted it into a device, and the device displayed —COMPLETED —in green light.
Seeing the result, Rosze looked at Lisa with a satisfied expression.
"Hmm… Good."
"...."
Lisa began looking at her mom with impatient eyes. She was expecting to hear the words she wanted—the words she had been controlling herself for an entire week to earn—but instead…
"What is it?"
"Have you forgotten?"
"You said that after I completely finish my vacation homework, I'll be allowed to use the Diver Helmet."
Lisa reminded her in a slightly frustrated voice.
She had been waiting for this moment for the past six years. Ever since she learned about VR technology, she had wanted to experience that unknown, mysterious virtual reality.
But the VR authorities and governments had introduced a strict rule that had to be followed—anyone under the age of 16 was banned from entering virtual reality, because their brains couldn't handle the pressure of VR tech.
One week earlier, Lisa's parents had celebrated her 16th birthday. She was happy about the celebration, but even more than that, she was excited that she was finally old enough to wear the Diver Helmet.
However, just a few hours after the celebration, her excitement turned into frustration and anger—her mother made it clear that she would only get the helmet after completely finishing her vacation homework.
"No rush… first tell me—have you properly read all the VR guidelines?"
Rosze asked calmly, watching her impatient daughter.
"Yes, Mother… I've read all the guidelines properly. Now please give it to me—quickly."
Lisa could barely hold onto her patience.
Rosze thought about teasing her mischievous daughter a little more, but decided it would be too much and stood up from her place.
"Good…"
Rosze went into her bedroom and returned a few seconds later with a white-and-silver–colored helmet, with the capital letters DT engraved in gold on its right side.
The moment Lisa saw the helmet in Rosze's hands, she immediately reached out and took it, afraid her mother might change her mind and place another condition before handing over the Diver Helmet.
"You little rat…"
Before Rosze could say anything more, Lisa dashed off toward her bedroom.
....
In the bedroom, Lisa sat on the bed, holding that white-silver coloured helmet in her hands. The screen on the helmet was glowing a faint green.
"So, I need to select the Guest option."
"Zzzzt—"
As soon as Lisa selected the Guest option, the screen shifted from green to a deep blue hue.
"Next… Invite option."
She touched the screen. A soft DING sound echoed as soon as she did.Hearing the sound, a faint smile appeared on Lisa's face.
"Finally," she murmured,
and selected the [DIVE] option.
Seeing the color change, she hurriedly put the helmet on. She couldn't wait any longer.
"Alright… Let's DIVE "
Saying that, she lay back on the bed.
The moment Lisa lay back, the helmet activated. A transparent glass layer spread over her entire face, down to her neck. The glass shifted into a blue glow, completely obscuring her face from view.
"Ugh!…" A soft, strangely comforting sound escaped Lisa's lips.
The Diver Helmet does not allow Divers to enter the Virtual Reality world directly. When a Diver wears the helmet, it releases advanced nano-frequencies into the body. These frequencies perform a complete physical scan.
Only when the results come back positive does the helmet place the Diver's mind into a fully relaxed mode.
That was when Lisa had let out that faint, soothing sound. The entire procedure happened so fast that Divers were unaware of the nano-frequency release.
[ Synchronization in progress… 1%… 2%…3%..... 5%… 50%… 90%… 95%… 99%… 100% ]
[ Neural synchronization complete ]
Lisa found herself inside a vast white room. She looked around the lobby in every direction. The white room appeared completely empty.
"White Room!… my mom's personal lobby. But why is it so empty? .She must have hidden all her precious virtual items so I won't see them and start demanding them… hmph!!… such a stingy mother."
"Just wait—when I get my own personal Diver Helmet, I'll hide my collections too… hehe."
"Zztt—"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a counter and a figure appeared at the exact center of the white room.
[Welcome once again, Mrs. Rosze Frostin.]
A robotic, emotionless female voice echoed through the white room. The figure wore a jet-black uniform, and the counter in front of her was the same color.
"My name is Lisa Frostin," Lisa introduced herself. It felt a little strange to be welcomed using her mother's name.
[ Oh… so you have entered as a Temporary Guest Diver through Mrs. Rosze Frostin's VR ID.]
The AI assistant asked in the same flat tone.
Lisa didn't have a personal Diver Helmet or her own VR ID—this was her first time.
The authorities had strict rules: anyone under the age of 16 could not own or activate a personal Diver Helmet or VR ID.
Now that Lisa had turned 16, her parents would likely buy her a new Diver Helmet. Once she had her own personal helmet, she would be able to create her own VR ID. For now, entering as a guest was her only option.
"Yes… here is my Temporary Guest VR ID."
Lisa replied shyly and placed her hand on the scanner built into the counter. The band on her wrist began glowing with a green light.
Not just anyone could enter as a guest. Only with the helmet owner's permission could someone access the VR world as a guest.
When Rosze had entered VR for the last time, she already knew her beloved daughter would surely come.
So she had created a Temporary Guest VR ID in advance. The moment Lisa entered the lobby, the temporary VR ID band automatically appeared on her wrist—and Lisa knew that the band she was wearing was indeed a Temporary Guest VR ID.
[ MYDEARBABY16LISA… Temporary VR ID confirmed.]
"Eh…?"
Lisa was slightly shocked. Who would choose such a simple ID name?
But a few seconds later, she laughed at her mom—how lazy could she be? Instead of creating a proper Guest ID, She simply used Lisa's name and age, adding a little affection.
But then something suddenly clicked in her mind, and a faint panic spread across her face.
"Shit....Cancel the Invite Door… quickly!."
CLACK~!!
Before the assistant could reply, the sound of a door opening came from behind Lisa.
"Oh my… are you regretting inviting me?… mydearbaby16lisa… that really hurts me."
A girl stepped inside. She was the same height as Lisa and just as beautiful—almost as if the two were competing with each other. She wore matching light-blue clothes and stopped right in front of the door, which disappeared a few milliseconds later.
"Tch… couldn't you wait even a few seconds?"
Lisa wanted to stop her from entering no matter what, But today, luck wasn't on her side. The other girl had already opened the Invitation Door and entered her lobby.
"It's nothing like that, Clara… I just had something to do."
"Oh really? Then why does it sound like you were trying your best to keep me out of your lobby, mydearbaby16lisa?"
"Ugh… She's going to keep calling me that name…"
Lisa felt irritation rising inside as she looked at Clara's expression.
"…"
"Mydearbaby16Lisa… aren't you going to say anything? Your big sister is truly hurt by your behavior."
"Big sister, my foot!. That expression doesn't look hurt at all." Lisa snapped back, as if she had just heard a joke.
"Oh… maybe I should create a new chat group with your name."
"Shit…I need to shut her up."
Lisa inwardly regretted inviting Clara on her very first dive.
"What do you want, Clara?"
If Lisa didn't stop her now, Clara would keep shouting that name in public again and again—it would be unbearably embarrassing.
Clara was the top student in their class, while Lisa ranked first from the bottom. The two shared a strange friendship that no one else knew about.
When Clara accidentally dozed off in class for the first time, Lisa seized the opportunity and secretly took her photo using the nano-lenses in her eyes. Using that photo, Lisa "friendship-blackmailed" Clara into doing her homework.
Through this playful blackmail, their friendship gradually deepened, and they eventually became best friends. But even after becoming besties, Lisa still made Clara do small favors using that photo—and teasing her like this slowly became a habit, especially since Clara was her only best friend.
That photo was the one thing that had always allowed her to control Clara—and Clara's obedient behavior had been strangely satisfying. But now, it looked like she was about to lose that advantage.
Clara looked at Lisa with a mischievous smile. Seeing Lisa so irritated made her secretly happy. It felt like her long-awaited moment of revenge had finally arrived after months of enduring things quietly.
"First, delete that ugly Photo you took of me while I was sleeping.
Second, you'll have to give me six entry passes. Consider it my fee for all the work you made me do for you."
"I knew it!…" Lisa screamed inside her head—the very thing she had feared was exactly what Clara asked for.
"O-okay,"
Reluctantly, forcing the words out as her only teasing weapon slipped from her hands.
---
"Now, now… don't make that face, mydearbaby16Lisa. So, which world do you want to dive into for your first try?"
Clara stepped a little closer to Lisa and asked with a teasing expression.
Lisa looked at Clara in frustration. She knew Clara wouldn't calm down until her two conditions were fulfilled. Unfortunately, they were inside the virtual lobby right now, where she couldn't control things outside.
But there was one condition she could fulfill immediately—the entry passes stored in her temporary guest VR ID account, the ones her parents had given her on her birthday.
"Sigh…"
She let out a small sigh and began sharing her thoughts with Clara.
"I thought a lot about which world to dive into first, but I couldn't decide."
"I knew it… your idiot brain can't decide anything," Clara said again in a teasing tone, poking Lisa's head with her finger, clearly enjoying herself.
Ignoring the teasing, Lisa asked, "You suggest one. You went last week, right?"
Hearing that, Clara's expression shifted slightly, as if she was hiding something.
"Actually… I didn't go."
Lisa was shocked. Clara had told her she was going to the virtual world, but now she was saying she hadn't gone at all.
Seeing Lisa's shocked and questioning expression, Clara explained herself.
"I thought going alone wouldn't be fun… so I waited for you."
Lisa felt touched. Honestly, when she first heard Clara was going without her, it had hurt a lot. She wanted to go together too, but because of her mother's condition, she had to wait a week.
An awkward silence formed between them.
To break the mood, Clara spoke first.
"Why don't we dive into [ KINGDOM ] first?"