-1706- A rare character?

Since The Seed emerged and gave rise to a multitude of VR games blooming like mushrooms after rain, certain rules have remained unshaken despite the unique features of each game.

For example, a nearly universal rule in recent VR games is the prohibition of gender changes between the player and their character. Regardless of whether it's the real world or the virtual one, the character's gender must align with the player's.

This rule stems from the fact that fully immersive games are not just played by pressing keys in front of a screen but require players to enter the game world physically. Prolonged use of a character with a gender different from one's real-life gender could lead to significant psychological and physical impacts.

Imagine becoming so adept at performing feminine gestures in the virtual world that such habits unconsciously carry over into real life—how unsettling would that be?

There have even been cases where players developed peculiar inclinations, such as playing as female characters who flirt and act coquettishly with male characters in the virtual world, only to lose all interest in women and become overly attentive to charming men in real life. This is truly a troubling outcome.

As a result, major companies have mandated that players cannot change their gender. The character's gender is determined by analyzing the player's brainwave patterns, resulting in an appearance that may differ but always matches the player's real-world gender.

That being said, there are rare cases where discrepancies occur, leading to characters of a different gender from the player.

After all, brainwave patterns are constantly fluctuating, and unexpected situations might result in such anomalies.

Rozen currently suspected that he was experiencing one of these anomalies.

Otherwise...

"Why is this happening!?"

Looking at the reflection in the mirror, Rozen almost doubted his own eyes.

A youthful, doll-like face exuding cuteness.

A petite and slender figure that made one wonder if the height even reached 150 cm.

Flawless, milky-white skin like pearls, making it irresistibly tempting to touch.

A pair of sapphire-like eyes shimmering softly, paired with shoulder-length jet-black hair, giving off a slightly cool vibe.

The reflection in the mirror was a figure so androgynous that it was hard to tell if it was a boy or girl, a shota or a loli.

"No wonder everything seems so low… and the floor feels closer…"

It was because his height had drastically decreased.

So, was he male or female now?

Rozen barely resisted the urge to pat himself down, opting to open the main interface instead. He carefully checked his character's displayed gender several times before finally sighing in relief.

"Good, it's still male…"

Even in a game, Rozen had no interest in gender-swapping. Additionally, since character data in one game transfers to others, returning to this game would lock his current appearance permanently. Rozen was grateful his gender had not changed.

At the same time, Rozen roughly understood what was going on.

"According to Yui's gathered data, an account that has been cultivated for a long time and transferred to a new game has a high chance of generating a rare character."

In any VR game, players care deeply about their character's appearance. Except for a few exceptions, character appearances are randomly generated during creation, making it challenging to get the desired look.

Thus, rare and uniquely designed characters become highly coveted and hard to obtain. The longer an account is cultivated and transferred to new games, the higher the chance of obtaining a rare character.

Rozen's account had been active since the SAO beta test, accumulating over three years of cultivation. Considering SAO was the first fully immersive VRMMORPG, no player could have an account cultivated longer than Rozen's—not even Kirito.

With such a background, it was no surprise that Rozen obtained an extraordinarily rare and unique character.

After all...

"Could there even be a rarer, more unique character than this one?"

Rozen couldn't help but sigh internally.

For a brief moment, Rozen even entertained the idea of dragging Kirito into GGO.

"With the time Kirito has spent on his account, his character here would undoubtedly also be rare and special…"

Rather than enjoying it alone, why not pull Kirito in to join the fun?

Rozen was almost tempted to act on the thought.

Unfortunately, this prank was destined to fail.

Because…

"Hey... is that him…?"

"No way… right?"

"I don't think it's possible…"

"Yeah…"

Whispers began drifting toward Rozen, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned his head and scanned his surroundings.

He was immediately met with the sight of a dense crowd of people.

Some wore military uniforms, others camouflage outfits, bulletproof vests, or even protective gear. Each had a rugged and intimidating appearance, like special forces operatives or assassins, exuding an aura of hostility.

That wasn't all.

The truly striking part was that all of them carried firearms.

These were none other than GGO players.

At this moment, a large group of players had gathered at the starting area for new characters, pointing and whispering while casting glances toward Rozen.

"Someone that cute… it can't be him, right?"

"Besides, I heard that person is a guy. This one... is it a guy or a girl?"

"I've heard there are some extremely rare character types with this look…"

"Then could it be…"

The players murmured among themselves. Rozen could feel their gazes, filled with curiosity and hostility, directed at him.

For so many people to gather at the beginner's spawn area, with such reactions...

Rozen might have figured out the reason.

At that moment...

"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt."

A voice called out. From the crowd emerged a man dressed in a deep blue combat suit, with a grenade hanging at his waist. His sharp face had a red streak in his hair resembling a rooster's crest, paired with goggles and a half-cloak.

With Rozen's current stature, he had to look up at the man.

But Rozen's expression remained calm.

"Can I help you?" Rozen responded composedly.

The man, whose eyes behind the goggles seemed to narrow slightly, introduced himself.

"I'm Yamikaze. May I ask your name?"

Yamikaze was at least polite in his approach.

However...

"You want to know if I'm 'Rozen' from ALO, right? No need to beat around the bush."

Rozen spoke with a light smile.

Hearing this, Yamikaze's gaze sharpened.

"So, that means…"

"That's right." Rozen nodded calmly and added, "I am."

His words instantly altered the atmosphere.

It grew cold and tense.