Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Real-Life Gender Change
When the game ended, the connection between the headgear and the user was safely and sequentially disconnected.
Once all connections were terminated, the power to the main unit automatically turned off, and the view went completely dark.
At that point, Sora finally removed the headgear from his head and took a deep breath.
…It was incredibly fun.
With indescribable feelings in his heart, the first thing he did was to stretch his arms and legs to check his body. Both hands were fine, and both feet were fine. His sense of smell was good, but his throat was dry.
Realizing that his vision seemed unusually clear, he reached for the 500 ml sports drink bottle he had prepared nearby.
He opened the cap and drank the slightly sweet liquid, which moistened his mouth and throat.
“Ahh…”
Sora let out a sigh.
His heart was pounding so loudly he could hear it clearly. Although encountering the Demon Lord from the start due to a bug and undergoing a gender change due to a curse was unexpected, his current player level was 17.
The battles against the slimes were intense and using skills in combat was enjoyable.
If he could wish for anything, it would be to face stronger monsters, as he could defeat all slimes except for Metal Slimes with a single hit.
While thinking about this, he suddenly remembered one thing he had forgotten to do before logging out.
…Oh, I forgot to check the effect of ?Lucifer?.
Putting it off and forgetting about it was one of his most persistent bad habits, despite being aware of it.
Sora scratched his cheek, muttering “I messed up,” and placed the bottle back where it was.
Well, I’ll save that for later.
For now, it’s time to rest, and his sister’s home-cooked meal is waiting.
With that thought, Sora switched his focus.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and his sister, Shiori Kamijo, called out to him.
“Hey, big brother, are you logged out properly? The Napolitan is ready.”
“Thanks, I’ll be right there.”
“…Huh? Big brother, is there a female guest here?”
“Huh?”
Sora realized, prompted by his sister’s comment from behind the door.
There was something different about his voice this time.
His bell-like voice seemed eerily similar to the voice of the avatar he used in ?Astral Online?.
Also, compared to before logging in, had his clothes become noticeably larger?
It felt like there was enough space that a 7 kg plump cat could fit into.
He didn’t recall wearing such oversized clothes before starting the game.
A slight shift in his waist caused his loose shorts to slip down along with his boxers.
Standing up, he felt like everything might just fall off to his feet.
“……!”
Even though Sora hadn’t seen his reflection in the mirror yet, he could clearly feel his face turning pale.
The excitement he had felt earlier had faded, replaced now by anxiety.
No way.
Muttering his desire to deny it, he tentatively touched his head, feeling his long, distinctive hair.
The color wasn’t the black typical of a Japanese person.
The hair color there was “beautiful silver.”
…
‘It’s a lie. There is no way!’
Sora murmured with trembling lips.
After all, that was something that happened in the game.
True, he had turned from a boy into a girl due to the Demon Lord’s curse, but that was merely an illusion created by the virtual space.
Could it be that he was still in the virtual space?
As Sora tried to stand up, he tripped over his own feet and fell from the bed to the floor with a thud.
With a loud noise, his worried sister, Shiori, was startled and tried to open the door, asking, “What’s wrong, big brother!?”
However, he had developed the habit of locking the door when playing VR games, so the door wouldn’t open.
As Sora, who had fallen on his shoulder on the floor in an unguarded state, twisted his face in pain from the intense jolt, he realized it was a pain that was undeniably real.
In other words, it wasn’t a dream or an illusion.
Struggling to stand up, his shorts fell to the floor along with his boxers.
Without even having the luxury to worry about that, Sora grabbed the folding hand mirror he had kept for minimal grooming.
In the mirror, his current appearance was reflected—exactly as he had feared and predicted.
“…Seriously?”
Sora sat down, stunned.
Could everyone believe this?
What was reflected in the hand mirror bore no resemblance to the usual unimpressive black-haired boy.
What was there was unmistakably the girl transformed by the Demon Lord in ?Astral Online?.
A silver-haired, blue-eyed girl—Sora.
………………………………
Sitting at the dining table with a plate of Napolitan that my sister Shiori made in front of me, I was feeling like it was a wake.
With a fork in hand, I kept twirling the pasta and putting it in my mouth, repeating the process over and over.
The taste was excellent, with the characteristic sticky texture of Napolitan and the sweet, rich flavor of tomatoes combining beautifully.
The thick-cut bacon and the slightly bitter taste of the finely sliced bell peppers were a perfect accent.
As expected from her sister’s cooking skills, this dish was so good that she could marry off any day.
However, no matter how delicious the food was, the anxiety gripping my chest did not fade at all.
To be honest, the future looked bleak.
Seeing my gloomy face, my younger sister Shiori, dressed in a blue one-piece and her natural brown hair styled in two side buns, wore a very worried expression.
“Are you okay, big brother?”
“Yeah… Sorry, I’m not okay.”
“I thought so…”
Seeing her brother transformed from a boy into a girl, Shiori sighed.
She came in with a spare key and nearly passed out when she saw the silver-haired girl, wearing only a T-shirt.
Once I had calmed down, I first checked that Shiori was alright and carried her to the sofa on the first floor.
I confirmed for myself that I had indeed become a girl, but to my shock, I found that I was missing a certain part, and two lumps had appeared on my flat chest.
This body was unmistakably that of a girl.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, I decided that not wearing anything on my lower half was too inappropriate and put on some sports shorts from my underwear drawer.
After completing the basic task of putting on clothes, the next basic need I faced was one of the three major desires: hunger.
Even in this state, I found that I could still get hungry.
Impressed, I decided to eat the Napolitan my sister had prepared.
Shiori had just woken up a short while ago, and it seemed she had calmed down after her fainting spell.
To her, I recounted everything that had happened to me in Astral Online without hiding anything.
After a long silence, Shiori gave a small nod.
“…I see. So, you’ve been transformed into a girl by the Demon Lord’s curse, and on top of that, you can’t revert unless you defeat that Demon Lord.”
“If the game and reality are linked, then that’s what I think is happening.”
It was a ridiculous notion that something from a game would be reflected in reality.
If this hadn’t happened to me, I’d definitely not believe it, thought Sora.
But Shiori, seeing her brother’s transformed appearance in the real world, seemed to accept it without hesitation.
“If we only consider the circumstantial evidence, then that’s the only path available. But I have no idea how long it will take to fight the Demon Lord…”
“Yeah, and we’ve only progressed to the next country, right?”
“Yes, we’re progressing quite quickly, but everyone seems to be stalled at the Fairy Kingdom. They’re stuck trying to advance beyond that point.”
“Stalled? Has something happened?”
When Sora asked, she looked quite troubled.
“It seems the princess of the Fairy Kingdom went into the Spirit Forest and hasn’t come back. If we don’t help find her, the king won’t open the gate to the next volcanic region.”
“I see, that’s serious.”
According to the gatekeeper, if you stray from the path in the Spirit Forest, you get sent back to the starting point.
So, to find the princess, we first need to figure out how to enter the Spirit Forest.
Sitting on the sofa, Shiori slumped over the table and looked exhausted.
“I’ve been taking on every quest in the Fairy Kingdom I can find, but so far, I haven’t found any leads. The reports from people exploring the area say they haven’t found anything except monsters.”
“I see, you’re working hard.”
Shiori is a member of one of the top player clans. Her level and skills are quite high, and she’s known as one of the top performers within her clan.
Seeing Sora’s impressed look, Shiori glanced at her and then stood up with determination. She walked right up to her and leaned in.
Her face was very close, making Sora’s hand freeze as she was about to take another bite of Napolitan.
Shiori fixed her eyes on Sora with a pleading look and said:
“Big brother, if you find any quests that seem related in Yggdrasil, let me know.”
“Are there no people over there?”
“Right now, everyone is focused on the Fairy Kingdom quests, so there are no personnel in Yggdrasil at all.”
“I see. But if there’s no sign pointing me in the right direction, I don’t think I’ll find it.”
“I understand. But there might still be some clues or useful information.”
“Hmm…”
Muttering to herself, Sora picked up her fork, twirled it, and took a bite of the Napolitan.
In RPG games, it’s common knowledge that you can’t progress unless you hear the story from the person who is ‘in trouble’.
So, even if I run around Yggdrasil, I probably won’t find any useful clues.
Shiori must understand this too, but she seemed to be quite desperate.
Reluctantly nodding, he saw her face light up with a smile.
“Thank you. This is my friend code. Please send a request when you log in.”
Shiori wrote down a code composed of alternating numbers and letters on a piece of memo paper from the kitchen and placed it in front of her.
She must have memorized it.
As expected of my sister, who has the top academic performance in her grade—she effortlessly accomplishes things she couldn’t.
As Sora looked on with slight surprise, Shiori sat down directly across from her at the table.
Then she brought the conversation back on track.
“So, when are you going to the hospital?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, Sora placed her fork on her plate, leaned her elbows on the table, and clasped her hands as she thought.
“I guess I have to go, huh?”
“Of course. Even though you don’t seem to be in bad shape, it’s not something you should just ignore.”
“For now, I want to get my thoughts in order, so I’d like to go around next Monday.”
“Got it. An older sister who plays Astral Online with us is a doctor at a nearby general hospital. I’ll consult with her.”
If I told her I needed to see a doctor because I turned into a girl due to a game, wouldn’t she worry, thinking, ‘Are you okay? Maybe you’re playing too much?’
But I’m hesitant to call the hospital myself, so it might be best to leave it to Shiori, even though it feels a bit pathetic.
“But the biggest problem is…”
“Yeah, how do we explain this to Mom and Dad…”
Both fell into silence.
Even Shiori, who has good comprehension, fainted on first sight. She feel like telling their parents would lead to a serious situation.
And right now, they are traveling. She don’t want to ruin their happy time or, worse, drop a bombshell.
As Sora thought this, she met Shiori’s gaze.
It seemed she had come to the same conclusion, and she proposed:
“Let’s talk about it when they call us on the day they come back.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. It’s not ideal to postpone the issue, but if we bring it up, I’m sure they’ll rush back immediately.”
Thus, Sora and her sister decided to keep the matter of the gender transformation a secret from their parents.