Miss Otaku

Unfolded

I stared at the world that is so open before me. In this world, I can be myself. I can do everything. I can even fly and have some weapons to protect myself from wicked people. I can even punish those who are bad to me. I can achieve a lot of things that I can only dream of in the natural, not to mention the thrill I feel whenever I see my character level up and be the best in a field. 

I smiled. Seeing my character get powerful every time makes her heart race. I clicked my mouse and found a new weapon in the gallery. Clicking on it, I tried to find more things to make my character more powerful.

After that, I stared at the world where my character lives. It is so plain. Just like my boring life, the place is plain. I have to put some decorations on my character's safe haven and the environment where her training house is located. I clicked the store where I can buy some things. There are a lot of things to choose from.

I clicked as many things that I think my character needs. After that, I stacked everything in her so-called training area. Just then an idea came into my mind -  I should rename my character. That's right, her name should be Lil, a shortened one for my name. I stared at my character and felt that her hair should be just like mine. With that thought, I cut her some bangs that is up to her nose so that her eyes are well-covered. 

I looked at her clothes. Ah, she has to wear a costume, too. Looking for a color that matches my favorite pair of pants and leather jacket, I made my character just like my manga version. However, my character is wearing a skirt, a knee-length one that reaches her knee cap. There has to be a little difference. I edited its face, its eyes, ears and face shape. This is it, she's gonna live my dream life in this virtual world. No one can criticize her no matter what she does here anyway. She will live the life I never had in the natural. 

After clothing my character, I navigated to the game area. After all, I have to earn a lot of points today and level up more. I clicked the level and played. It's amazing! In a span of ten minutes, I defeated all my enemies. This is getting exciting. I have to play more. The feeling as I go up the ladder is getting more exciting. In a span of one hour, I already leveled up three times. That was an accomplishment!

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Surprised, I minimized my game screen just before the door knob opened. I turned around and saw a maid with a tray of food. That must be the porridge that Mr. Truman asked them to cook for me. The maid was surprised when she saw me in front of my computer. 

"Young Miss, please eat the porridge that Mr. Truman ordered us to make. You need to get your body nourished. You haven't eaten anything in two days."

I looked at her and stood up. Walking towards the bed, I made my way there slowly. 

The maid laid the tray of food on the table. Then she took some pills in the drawer of the bedside table. 

"Please eat your medicine after eating, Young Miss," she said kindly.

"Young Miss." There you go again. Those are the words that had me thinking before. I felt uncomfortable hearing it. 

"Miss," I said softly. 

"Huh?" the maid replied and turned her back to look at me.

"Please don't call me 'Young Miss' anymore," I said with my head bowed. "I'm just like you."

That surprised her but she did not say anything. 

"I'm just following what my superior said. The Buttler said that we should call you 'Young Miss.' If I won't do this, I would be punished. I apologize for being not able to follow your request."

The Buttler? I frowned as I remembered the old man who has been standing on the dinner table, carefully making sure that everything is going well on the table while Mr. Truman and his son were eating with me. I have been so observant. With two experiences of eating with them, I already noticed the old man doing this. He must be the Buttler. 

I didn't answer her. I can't afford to let this young maid get apprehended and lose her job. After all, I know how difficult it is to look for a job just like my mom in the past. She has been struggling to do that and I don't want this maid to go through that, too.

I took the porridge and started eating it. Using a spoon, I scooped everything until I finished it. All throughout this, the maid has been standing beside my bed, making sure that I have everything that I needed. She was particularly sensitive to my needs. I noticed that. When I was finished, she handed me a piece of table napkin to wipe my mouth. Then she gave me the medicine that I was scheduled to eat. 

"Please eat this," she said.

"Thank you."

I slowly obeyed. After that, I stood up and walked towards my computer. The maid took the tray and walked towards the door. After hearing the door close, I opened the game once again and played for another hour. I leveled up three more times.

I stared at my character and felt satisfied. This feeling is so different from what I felt in the past. Before, I just felt happy when I leveled up one level higher. Now, it is different. The more I level up, the more I wanted to play and reach the top level. Slowly, a desire to rise in order to surpass all players like myself rose in my heart. 

I have to learn more ways to become powerful in this world. I clicked the search button and started looking for tutorials. I spent two hours watching and learning from different brilliant minds. As I watched, I began conceptualizing my own character's abilities and weapons. In a span of two hours, I was able to form a very strong character that would represent who I would wanna become. 

I navigated back to the online store and started looking for the weapons I wanted to add to those I already bought earlier. However, upon checking the total amount, my jaw dropped. The price is way more than my available virtual coins. I have to play again. 

I went back to the game and started playing. As I did, I rose to higher levels. For three more hours, I have risen to be one of the ranking players. That made my day. I smiled happily and retired to bed. Starting today, my life would be different, at least in the virtual world where nobody could dictate who I should be or what I should do. This is a world I can call my own.