"Rosalina...please take me down the mountain, I have to do something," I voice out, as I try to move away from the bed and take the blanket off me. She looks at me with confusion, a vein popping on her head.
She grabs the blanket and places it back on me, her demeanor cold and unforgiving. "The moon is about to rise. Fighting any type of creature would only worsen your condition," She insists, a degree of intensity visible in her eyes. "Pushing oneself when one is not capable of moving is a move only fools would make. Do not delude yourself."
I look awkwardly at her and sigh, taking off the blanket again. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that...I have somewhere to be right now. Not with slimes...but with someone important." I speak with a similar sense of intensity to my voice.
I hope my voice can reach her somehow...and eventually persuade her that I'm really not doing this because I want to continue naively fighting slimes, but rather, for more important reasons.
She only glares at me with an indifferent look in her eyes, her mouth slightly agape. She tries to say something, but only ends up saying nothing.
Then, after moments of awkward silence...she speaks.
"...if you continue to act foolish, then do as you wish," She says after those moments of contemplation, her eyes gleaming with a manic intensity as she stares me down to intimidate me.
But I only smile with relief...happy to know that she won't argue with me any further on this.
I'm sure she can sense my desperation, and she probably must have understood my intentions...even if she doesn't look like she does.
Clicking her tongue, she turns her head away. "Hurting yourself is not an option. Even if you continue to act as recklessly as you stand...remember the responsibility of being entangled with me...husband." She comments, distancing herself silently to give me the room.
I only smiled at her from afar, as it was evident that this...this was her way of telling me that she cared about me. In her contractual way.
"Thank you, wife," I mutter to the air, not expecting her to hear my words...but a slight flinch from the way she walks tells me she heard my soft murmurs.
...and yet again, it's not like she cares about it in any particular way.
She's only reacting because she's unused to being called that way.
As she's gone from hindsight, I stand up from the bed and start walking quickly to get down this mountain.
Which...would take more effort than necessary, given how weak I feel right at this very moment.
With a soft sigh, I walk down the slope, being greeted by a fleeting and beautiful sunset that descends further and further with every step I take...
It's as if I'm seeing a live painting being done right in front of my eyes.
The skies that were once predominant with colors of blue start to fade into colors of yellow, while the splotchy clouds of white darken into hues of red and orange, gracefully moving in the sky...
It's mesmerizing...and it's secretly helping me walk down the mountain with much ease, albeit the frustration felt in my current situation.
...and soon after, 1 hour and 30 minutes pass. The 30-minute delay was a result of my fatigue.
The once bloodied ethereal sky now turned into a void of pitch-black darkness...of course, with beautiful twinkling stars glistening in the atmosphere. Each of them was gleaming from a distance, portraying their glimmer and shine to pour down on the world.
It was fascinating...but priorities are priorities...and my mother is my mother.
I walk as fast as I can to reach the beam of light, hoping that my fatigue and headaches will allow even this much movement to be comfortable.
Thankfully, I was able to reach the beam of light with less pain than expected, making my journey feel a bit lighter than usual.
I log out of the game with my head aching incredulously, the pain reeling with such intensity that I couldn't have imagined.
When I've removed the headgear, I found my body already lying on the floor...the wires were still attached to me, but it's tangled and messy.
But nothing was worse than the sight I saw in front of me: my mother, squatting on the floor with a bowl, a spoon, and a glass of water.
Her eyes widen perceptively as she comes up to carry me to my bed, an unknown expression looming on her face.
"You should take care of yourself more and not get hurt," My mother says as she carries the bowl, spoon, and the glass of water to my desk. "Eat." She commands, forcibly and angrily shoving a spoon filled with soup into my mouth.
I look at her with shock, as the liquid brings a slippery feel on my tongue...marring me with its pungent taste.
"Ma..." I weakly interfere, but she quickly shuts me off with a click of her tongue. "Don't make excuses, Rodrick Leinart." Continuing, she fixes the strands of my hair that were falling on my face. "I didn't go to work today when I saw that you were on the floor early in the morning."
She then fixes my hair with caring and gentle hands...and an even gentler touch. "I know you boys are always so competitive with your games, but remember to take a break whenever you can," She says warmly, a look of concern flashing in her eyes.
She quickly feeds me another spoon filled with soup and clicks her tongue again. "If you end up like this again, I will restrict you from playing with...whatever that is," She says, looking in the direction of whatever VR equipment I had in my room.
It's good to know that she doesn't actually know what type of game I'm playing...
I smile at her thankfully, knowing that other mothers would have just cast their sons away and treated them as failures...but my mother, despite being naggy and often annoying, would only do this because she cares for me in the end.
"Thanks, ma," I weakly say, as a warm smile appears on her face. She continues to feed me some soup, quickly shifting her expression into annoyance. "Don't let me do this again. You're a grown man," She teases, as she always does.
"I won't," I respond...but in reality, I don't know what is to come in the future. One thing's for sure though: I won't let her feel like she has to take care of me again.
...after my mother leaves, I immediately look up at the ceiling with a dazed expression on my face.
I don't understand what's happening, or why...why Charming Beauties works like this. It's as if the status conditions I've felt in that game are carried on into the real world.
It's true that the game allows your nerves to be connected to it, but if so...then it didn't have to feel this intense.
Nonetheless, perhaps that's why many people don't necessarily delve into the depths of the RPG features the game has...because people are scared of pain and feeling like sh*t.
But I can't deny...it feels nice, albeit a little ominous.
For a second, I almost felt like I was transported to another world...
How scary it would be if that were the case...
But no— let's focus for now. I should be building up my stamina and building better and healthier habits. I must become stronger...but I should also remember to not make my mother worry.
Seems like I'll have to re-evaluate the "strength" that I'm capable of...
...what a pity, it's the end of my chunibyo era.