VRMMO Reality Merge Regressor Brother - 1

Min Woo-Jin sighed. "Look. I get it. She's super-hot. I get it. I really do. But she's not into you. I'm telling you this as your little brother. Don't get caught up with her just because you're horny."

His big brother Min Chungho was the stereotypical silent college boy. Enamored by the campus belle, he was constantly dragged around like a dog. Whenever she needed something, Min Chungho was there, desperate to get her approval.

Min Woo-Jin has been trying to steer his big brother away from the notorious gold digger, but his words simply couldn't compare to how hot she was.

'Honestly, I can't really blame him. If she tried to seduce me, I'm not really sure if I can resist it. Even with two lives, and a bunch of full-dive VR porn, that's kind of a tall order… Especially with this 16-year-old body of mine…'

This was Min Woo-Jin's second life. In the first, he had lived and abruptly died as a paper salesman. Getting reincarnated into the future was shocking at first, but he got used to it pretty quickly, thanks to being an avid web novel reader.

Just as Min Woo-Jin was expecting yet another outburst from his big brother, Min Chungho looked him in the eye and grinned. "Woo-Jin… I… I understand." He smiled and took in a deep breath. "Yes, I realize I've been a disappointing son, and a terrible brother…"

Min Woo-Jin frowned. Where did this come from? Immediately he assumed something had happened. Could it be that his brother caught the class belle with some other guy?

'… Is he thinking about doing something drastic?...'

Min Chungho was about to speak, but Min Woo-Jin interrupted him. "Shut up with the self-deprecating talk. Come on, let's go to a VR café or something."

"No… I missed mom…"

Min Woo-Jin required a significant amount of effort to prevent his chin from dropping. Though he was concerned, Min Chungho's expression seemed sincere.

'… Well, he wasn't a violent guy to begin with. I suppose he won't just try to bash the other guy's head over a girl…'

Min Woo-Jin spoke after thinking about it for a moment. "Alright. She should be at the shop, you're heading there?" Seeing his brother's nod, he decided not to press him. "I'll see you later then. You're also going to play the new game coming out tomorrow, right?"

Though Min Woo-Jin didn't see it, Min Chungho's expression became solemn in an instant. "Yes, Mysteries Online. We should definitely play that…"

Min Woo-Jin waved his hand and entered the apartment, hoping that the change in Min Chungho would be positive, while being curious about what evoked it.

'You know what, if he doesn't get over her, maybe I should do something drastic myself…'

Min Woo-Jin didn't mind becoming the bad guy if need be.

Min Chungho's eyes lingered on the apartment door with complex feelings.

'This time, I will make everything right.' He swore to himself. 'I will not waste this second chance…'

For some inexplicable reason, Min Chungho had found himself 10 years in the past. Just a day before the release of Mysteries Online. The full-dive VRMMO that would change the world.

'I only have two years. In two years, the game will merge with reality…'

Two years had to be enough!

* * *

Min Woo-Jin stayed at home alone for the rest of the day. His parents were helping a neighbor's wedding preparations, and apparently his big brother stayed to assist them.

The next day, he woke up to Min Chungho's voice.

"Wakey wakey, or there won't be any buns left!"

Min Woo-Jin looked at the clock. "… It's 11 in the morning…"

Min Chungho entered the room with a wide smile. "I forgot you were a deep sleeper! But come on! This is the big day!" As he watched his brother storm off with unusual enthusiasm, Min Woo-Jin felt something was off. However, it was still 11 in the morning, so he didn't dwell on it.

Coffee was far more important!

After a brief stop at the bathroom, Min Woo-Jin finally entered the kitchen and operated the usual machinery while yawning nonstop.

"… Oh, right. You drank coffee every morning…" Min Chungho muttered, but Min Woo-Jin was too far away and too sleepy to hear it.

After the familiar, yet slightly foreign sounds of the coffee machine started, Min Chungho started asking questions one after the other, without pause.

"What class are you going to pick? And what race? Did you think about how to power level? What about-"

"Whoa whoa… Slow down." This barrage of words was just too early for Min Woo-Jin. "The answer to all is I dunno. I just preordered the game but don't know anything about it."

Min Chungho's eyes started shining and he took a deep breath. "Then we should play together!"

Min Woo-Jin grabbed a steaming pork bun. "Sure." Both sat down at the kitchen table. Min Chungho talked over the background noise of the holographic TV.

"Woo-Jin, I've been researching the game a lot lately. There's a lot of information, especially on the dark web."

Min Woo-Jin stopped chewing and gave an uncertain gaze at his brother.

"I know, I know. But these guys - they provided proof. After about an hour they deleted everything. I'm not sure if anyone got any backups, but I doubt someone else would post anything!"

This was the excuse that Min Chungho thought of last night. He then took out an old notebook that he filled, also last night.

"I wrote everything I remembered here. All the good farming spots, the hidden dungeons, how to play, which classes are better, and so on."

Min Woo-Jin couldn't help but comment after he swallowed the last bite. "You wrote super-secret stuff, on my middle school geometry notebook?"

"…" Min Chungho drew on his learned shamelessness and ignored the burning sensation in his ears. "This way no one will even think of looking at it."

Min Woo-Jin didn't say anything, but inwardly, he was slightly relieved. 'Well, this is better than moping around for sure…'

He grabbed a mug and motioned at his brother, but the latter shook his head. "Anyway, since you're so excited, what are you planning to play as?"

Min Chungho's answer was immediate, without a shred of hesitation. "Spearman."

"… Uh-huh…"

"It starts off slow, I know, but I feel spear really fits me."

Min Woo-Jin sipped his coffee, sat down, and grabbed another steamed pork bun. 'The f*ck you mean it fits you?! Didn't you hate martial artists?! Did you really get cucked to the point that you feel the need to compensate that much?!?'

Min Woo-Jin made a mental note to give that campus belle a piece of his mind. But that was for another time. "What about race?"

"Human of course!" This time, Min Chungho's enthusiasm was higher than Min Woo-Jin would've expected. And his voice almost seemed… incensed… somehow.

"… Human? Seriously? You're going to play as a human in the fantasy game of the century?" The thought was just too unfathomably stupid to Min Woo-Jin! "Why not play an elf? Pretty sure an elf would have good stats to fit a spearman."

Min Chungho resolutely shook his head. "Nothing can beat a human's versatility and poten-"

Min Woo-Jin interrupted his brother. "Oh f*ck off! Don't go all Murim alliance on me! How could a human beat a f*cking elf?! Did you see those videos? Did you see?! Did you see how f*cking hot they were?!!"

"…" Min Chungho tried to speak, but he realized he couldn't offer a counterpoint! For his little brother Min Woo-Jin, this was yet another VRMMO. How could he believe that the game was going to merge with reality? Especially as a VR investor, the statement was just too unbelievable!

At least for now.

'I'll have to convince him later…' Min Chungho secretly thought.

Min Woo-Jin realized there was something off. 'This stuck-up big bro of mine didn't warn me about cussing?'

"What about demons?" He continued in the meantime, purposefully ignoring his big brother's peculiar lapse of judgment. "Once they enable R18 mode, wouldn't you want to get busy with a demoness? Honestly, I might roll a Warlock just for that. They should get a succubus as they level up, right?"

Min Chungho suddenly felt panic. "No, don't select an evil-aligned race!" Though his voice was raised to a pitch that he didn't think was possible, he soldiered on. "Good races have the best farming spots! And…" He tried to think of a better excuse on the fly. "… And evil races aren't that good for role-playing!"

Min Woo-Jin narrowed his eyes. "Role-playing?"

"Yes…" Min Chungho awkwardly laughed. "Hahaha… The NPCs in this game use very realistic AI tech. The people on the dark web said that they remember everything you do. Apparently, they were almost no different than real people!"

Min Woo-Jin sipped his coffee. The game had a billion pre-orders already. The money behind it was evidently huge. Having an advanced, never before seen level of AI wasn't that far-fetched.

He also noted the lack of response from his big brother about R18 features!

"What about other races?" Min Woo-Jin realized he was drawing blank on many details. "How many races are in the game anyway? I only remember hot elves and sexy demons…"

Min Chungho secretly breathed a sigh of relief and opened the geometry notebook.

"First of all, there are Humans. The best potenti-" Seeing his little brother's meaningful gaze, he skipped the humans with a wry smile. "…Dwarves…"

"I'm not going to play anything that involves excessive hair, a substantial size difference, or too anatomically different from a human."

"… Why not human?" Asked Min Chungho, as innocently as possible!

"I've been a human for 16 years. Been there, done that." In fact, it was over 43 years counting his previous life, but obviously Min Woo-Jin kept that part to himself.

"… Right… What about playstyle? What class you're thinking of? Maybe you shou-"

Min Woo-Jin interjected before his big brother could complete his recommendation. "I'm not going to play a melee class. No way!" After thinking for a moment, he finally shrugged. "Something magic, probably. But I'm tired of playing a Sorcerer in Legend of the Saint. So, probably some other flavor. Maybe… a Warlock?"

Min Chungho calmly spoke. "We can't play together if you choose a Warlock." This conversation seemed to have rekindled the long-lost memories of his brother. The little habits, and idiosyncrasies of Min Woo-Jin, were now coming back. "No Necromancers either. Definitely no Vampires, or Void themed classes or races."

Min Woo-Jin's mouth dropped. "Then what the hell am I supposed to play?..."

"Well…" Min Chungho touched his chin as if he was thinking deeply.

"First of all, I wouldn't recommend Wizards. They seem more versatile than Sorcerers, but at high levels their playstyle demands too much." That was a lie. Sorcerers were better than Wizards only because the game was going to be merged with reality in two years. Sorcerer players with matching races would be able to learn to cast spells quickly. But Wizards required a lifetime of commitment. Hence, they were a bad choice for players that wanted to power up quickly.

"Priests, I wouldn't recommend them either. They seem to be too reliant on others at a high level." This was only partially true. Partially, because the reality was far worse. Healers, especially Priests, would become highly valued resources. Some of them would get kidnapped and be forced to work for gangs, organizations, and guilds. Though Min Chungho would never let such a thing happen to his little brother after his regression, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Artisan classes, they seem to be a hit or miss…"

Min Woo-Jin shook his head. "I've been playing a full crafter build in Tower Climber, and I'm honestly sick of VRMMO crafting. Especially cooking. F*ck cooking skills especially!"

"… S-Sure…" Min Chungho started to remember. His little brother was actually a really enthusiastic VR player. Since he got permission from their parents due to being a successful VR investor, he didn't hesitate to spend money on VR entertainment.

The fact that his character at the time of reality merge was a skeleton… remained one of Min Chungho's greatest regrets.

"I guess I'll have to decide during the character selection screen." Min Woo-Jin realized he couldn't make a decision without visuals. He was a visual guy! "Just give me the name of the starting city and I'll choose something close to that." He started munching on another steamed bun.

Min Chungho smiled. "Alright." Then he shook his head, as if to chase away the old regrets. "As I've said before, NPCs are very realistic. Don't try to act as if they are NPCs. Treat them as real, living beings."

"… That's actually amazing if they managed to pull it off."

"You should also know, Fairies and Elves will start as amicable, but they will soon turn crazy."

Min Woo-Jin frowned. "What?"

"They only act normal on the surface. Underneath, they are all sick psychos. Most non-human races are like that, but Elves and especially the Fairies are the worst. They can give Demons a run for their money if you manage to piss them off."

Listening to his big brother's clearly frustrated voice, Min Woo-Jin's frown grew deeper. "Did they say that on the dark web too?"

Min Chungho froze. He didn't realize how his own emotions had slipped in! But he recovered quickly. "Yes… Ehm. Apparently, the lead dev has a fetish for that stuff… So don't trust non-human characters that easily!"

"I'm starting to think those dark web guys might be making some of that stuff up…"

Min Chungho choked on his saliva. After a few coughs, he hurriedly spoke. "No no. I saw their workplace photos. They were legit! Anyway, we can tell if this is made up or not after the launch. They also said a lot about initial encounters, and I got it all right here." He patted the notebook. "It should be easy to tell if some or all of it is a lie."

In times like these, it was better for the truth to speak for itself, Min Chungho had learned. So he decided not to push his own worldview on his little brother.

At the same time, Min Woo-Jin was worried about whether his big brother got swindled or not. Though he did say he saw this stuff on the dark web, how, he did not mention.

'No way, he wouldn't have paid any money for this, right?'

Min Woo-Jin watched Min Chungho enthusiastically flip the notebook's pages.

'… Oh sh*t…'

It was clear in Min Woo-Jin's mind. After the breakup, Min Chungho started researching the Mysteries VRMMO and encountered some scam artists. And the rest was history.

Min Woo-Jin didn't say anything and continued intently listening. In time, Min Chungho would realize his mistake. As his brother, Min Woo-Jin would never mock or pity him.

"Also, one race that you should never, ever, EVER choose, is Godkin. If you end up getting Godkin from the starting questions, just delete the character and restart."

"Huh? Why? What's a Godkin anyway? Sounds strong."

"It's on the name. Godkin is the kin of gods. But they are extremely rare, and their body parts are used as ingredients. You will constantly get hunted at late-game zones and lose 10 levels if you die."

There were many wrong things about what Min Chungho said, but one stuck out the most. "You lose 10 levels if you die as Godkin? What's this, Devils' Souls?"

Just as Min Chungho thought, Min Woo-Jin didn't believe him. It was natural, because his little brother was an avid VR player, and level losing mechanics were a thing of the past. Mysteries Online had received tremendous criticism at launch because of the "outdated" mechanics.

"Not just Godkins." Corrected Min Chungho with a brotherly tone. "Everyone loses 10 levels once they die. And there's a two days login penalty after death. 7 days, if you die before level 11 and get your character deleted."

Min Woo-Jin could not find the words to convey his uncertainty, doubt, and his desire to call bullsh*t.

Min Chungho nodded. "You'll see after the game starts. People will get locked out for 7 days and make a huge deal out of it." The reason was obvious to everyone after the reality merge. But there was no use to argue about it now. "By the way, do you think we can convince mom and dad to join the game?"

Min Woo-Jin's eyes went wide, but the question made sense. Mysteries Online became a global phenomenon after the first trailer. Their parents shouldn't miss out on something so popular. "Maybe… They might try out briefly. But they need to be convinced, and probably won't play at all without extra cabins…"

Min Chungho's expression became serious, and he started muttering. "… I remember you needed to get an adult's signature to buy full-dive cabins…" At the time of the game's launch, Min Chungho was a 1st-year college student at the age of 20. That meant he had to wait at least a year to buy cabins for his parents. Because there was no way they would agree to such an expense on their own.

Min Woo-Jin watched the changing emotions on his big brother's face. Hope, sadness, regret, and determination. 'Why the f*ck does this guy act like an MC all of a sudden?' He thought jokingly. "If you can somehow convince them, I can get two more cabins. I was already going to replace Yoon-Ah's cabin in a few days anyway."

"Yoon-Ah…" Min Chungho muttered. Min Yoon-Ah was his sister, and his only surviving relative before his regression.

For Min Woo-Jin though, the exaggerated reaction of his brother was understandable after the huge fight they had a few days ago. "Just apologize, she'll forgive you."

Min Chungho's body shook, but he nodded after comprehending the words of his little brother. "Where's she?" He asked.

"She stayed at her friend's house; should be back tonight."

Min Chungho nodded, then froze. "Wait, you can get two more cabins?!"

Min Woo-Jin gave a mysterious smile on purpose. "Let's just say that I know a guy, who knows a guy… who knows another guy."

'How else do you think I got a fully unlocked R21 cabin two years ago?! Do you think they just give them away to 14-year-olds?!'

"I'll make a call and handle it. You just do your part, and think about how to apologize to Yoon-Ah." Min Woo-Jin refilled his coffee. "When's the release by the way?"

"Tonight at 9PM." Min Chungho lowered his head while his little brother wasn't looking. 'Tonight, will be the start. Everything will change…' He inwardly promised himself.

"OK, I need to do my homework first." Min Woo-Jin spoke with a sigh. The fact that he still had to do homework just never ceased to amaze and horrify him.

Min Chungho smiled while stretching his arms. "Better enjoy it while you can. You won't be able to do homework in the future. Even if you want to…"

Min Woo-Jin gave a tired look at his big brother, shook his head, and headed to his room, ignoring the chuckling behind. 'I've already had one lifetime of homework. The second one is even worse! No one sane would miss this sh*t…'

Though reincarnated, Min Woo-Jin did not have a cheat.

It was hard to accept that at first. Wouldn't reincarnated/transmigrated people get a cheat? Wasn't that an unspoken part of the deal?

After his 10th birthday, it became apparent he wouldn't get one. As such, he decided to invest the prize money he got from a math competition.

The need to invest came mostly out of boredom, and the depression induced by homework.

Though this was the future, many of the tech companies Min Woo-Jin knew from the past had either gone under or were divided into "smaller chunks" by the governments. The products he took for granted in the past were now collectively owned by a number of conglomerates, with a thick layer of regulations preventing anyone but the filthy rich from competing.

Thankfully, Min Woo-Jin was born during the time of the full-dive VR revolution. The new tech required new media. And the new media didn't have the old's copyright, patent, and trademark baggage. Thus, investing in VR streaming, and VR social media, and VR porn (secretly), made sense.

And purely out of luck, those turned out to be a huge success! The audience for full-dive apps and services was huge in the year 2093.

"Yes, it's me. I'm calling to put in a fast order for 4 cabins… Yep, same model. No no no, leave the adult locks this time. Don't modify anything… Alright… Can you bring them today?... Great, thanks…"

Once he ended the call, Min Woo-Jin smirked. 'If I wasn't the co-owner that would've been so expensive…'