Season 2: Chapter 99. My Job (5)
The call was coming from Sang-Hyeon’s doctor.
[Doctor Song Ha-Na]
"...?"
What a coincidence!? Sang-Hyeon briefly wondered if Song Ha-Na somehow installed a camera in his capsule.
If he had to choose who he was most reluctant to talk to at the moment, it would undoubtedly be Song Ha-Na. She would naturally oppose his participation in the national competition.
Sang-Hyeon answered the phone with a slightly trembling voice, "... Hello."
However, the call was about something entirely different from what he anticipated.
“The experiment results we sent to the U.S. have returned.”
***
Sang-Hyeon initially listened like a student being scolded. Then, his expression gradually brightened.
“How is it? It seems hopeful, right?”
Hopeful was a word that had to be carefully used when referring to his right arm. However, it seemed legitimately appropriate to use this time.
'Something is odd though.'
According to Song Ha-Na, the experimental results from the U.S. arrived quite some time ago. She found the results too unbelievable to accept at face value and continued her research, which ended in failure. Now, she was finally relaying the results to him.
Sang-Hyeon found it unbelievable as well.
"So... you're saying that only when I play Zombie School does the... deterioration of the SKED (Neural Compatibility) score stop?"
He currently understood that the deterioration of his arm stopped when he played Zombie School. This meant that even the natural aging that came with growing older stopped.
“Yes. Currently, we only know that this effect occurs when you play Zombie School.”
Even in an era prevalent with capsules, brainwaves remained a realm of mystery. He could simply just accept it and move on.
However, Song Ha-Na obviously couldn't do that as a doctor.
“It’s strange, isn't it? The deterioration only stops when you play Zombie School... Why don't other games have this effect? Surely something in Zombie School stimulates the brainwaves in a way that leads to this result...”
The situation indeed seemed a bit unscientific. There was a beginning and end, but the process in between was unknown.
“I formally inquired with the game developers. They said they had no clue... I'd like to get my hands on the game's coding, but their company wouldn't allow that...”
No one could provide an answer or explanation. The cause remained a mystery to the developers as well.
“It seems that playing Zombie School halts the deterioration. That's all we know for now.”
"Still, it's good news." Sang-Hyeon hesitated for a moment before asking about someone else in a similar situation, "Does Ms. Sa-Rang know about this?"
Choi Sa-Rang suffered from the same issue, so it could potentially also be a cure for her. If not...
“Well...” Song Ha-Na's voice sank. “We also tried having her play, but there was strangely no significant response.”
‘Why only me...?’
Sang-Hyeon felt almost guilty. He knew well enough how she would have felt because of her professional career.
“Oh, and that's why we’re also trying to find the difference in your capsule, you see?”
His capsule?
'Come to think of it.'
Sang-Hyeon's gaze shifted to his capsule, a custom-made one tailored solely for him.
'Could that be related?'
He definitely had a different capsule than Choi Sa-Rang’s.
“We would like to set a date to move the capsule to the research facility for you to play there. That's the only place we can do a detailed examination.”
Sang-Hyeon hesitated to move the capsule to the research lab. It could mean halting his streaming activities for a while.
“There's no need to arrange this right away. Feel free to schedule it whenever. Even a few months later is fine.”
"Ah, okay. I’ll do that."
“And make sure to come for your appointment this month. We'll discuss more then... Oh, oh!?”
“Hm?”
Suddenly, a woman's scream came from the other end of the phone.
Thud.
The call suddenly ended.
Sang-Hyeon had never heard Choi Sa-Rang scream before, but it somehow sounded like her.
"Could it be?"
She always seemed very dignified. It seemed unlikely for her to be that disturbed.
“Ah. Ah. Almond, is the call over?”
It was Kimchi Warrior's voice.
Sang-Hyeon had forgotten that Kimchi Warrior was waiting on the end of another call.
"Ah. I'm sorry."
Sang-Hyeon decided to push aside his other thoughts for now.
"I just got a call from my doctor... It seems like things have turned out even better."
Playing Zombie School and Civil Empire would only make the situation better than before with more results. That was a clear fact and his hope.
"It looks like I can start preparing for the national team competition right away."
***
"Ahem. Understood. Thank you. You give me courage."
Click.
Kimchi Warrior turned around after hanging up, "Guys. How can you scream like that? You're making us look bad."
Behind him were the members of the national team competition’s think tank. They had gathered for a strategy meeting in the morning and couldn’t help but scream out loud when they heard that Almond accepted the proposal.
One of the team members scratched his head and replied, "Well, it wasn't supposed to work out. But it did... we were just surprised."
Kimchi Warrior and Cookie had been pessimistic about recruiting Almond. Then, they suddenly received confirmation that it actually happened. They couldn't help but scream.
Another team member joined in, "That's right! We got the top archer candidate, didn't we? How can we not scream and cheer!"
Everyone in the think tank knew the importance of the archer role in the national team competition. A civilization like Korea was especially known for its focus on archery and gunpowder. The choice of their top archer could determine the game’s outcome.
The top archer led all the other archers. Almond had played a similar role as the special forces captain in the game that Kimchi Warrior commanded.
'The problem is... will the other archers accept him?'
The other archers who were also highly skilled and experienced hadn’t agreed on recruiting Almond. They wouldn't easily accept him.
Nevertheless, Kimchi Warrior believed that Almond would make the best top archer. Even though the think tank was already convinced, Almond still needed to persuade the players.
'He can probably do it. If not, then that's as far as it goes.'
The position of top archer wasn’t given. One had to earn it. First and foremost, Almond needed to raise his rank.
"Seok-Hyun, have you secured the B-rank commander?" Kimchi Warrior spun in his chair and asked his team members.
"Ah, yes. It's ready."
"Let's start today."
***
Shortly afterward, Sang-Hyeon uploaded a group photo with his fans onto RuneStagram.
[It was so much fun. #FanMeeting.]
An upload from him was rare.
— Wow, how many years has it been since the last upload?
— Could you at least upload a selfie? What, is Walnut not working anymore?
— Look at the guys avoiding standing right next to Almond haha
└ You'll immediately become a squid if you stand next to him
The post with a simple hashtag continued to receive comments until just before his stream.
— Boss, saw your bunny ears yesterday. Maybe again today...?
└ You... really...
└ Do an Almond baby cosplay!
└ LOL
└ Hey, baby is now a forbidden word.
— Almond's photos are all over the community now, even in idol communities!
└ Hahahaha
└ Seriously. (Link)
└ What to do...?
— If a man is going to do a fan meeting, he should do it as grandly as this. Respect.
The post celebrated the success of yesterday's fan meeting. Sang-Hyeon chuckled at a comment summarizing what happened.
— Jensen kept shouting in front of the long line outside, the unbeatable Kingdom fanboy was flexing his muscles on the 1st floor, and on the 2nd floor was Eggplant who stole a piggy bank from their sibling...
Despite being just a fan meeting, it seemed like a spectacular day when put together like this.
└ How could all this happen in one day? LOL
└ Was yesterday the opening ceremony of a mental hospital?
└ Unbelievable...
Sang-Hyeon felt quite good after interacting with his fans on his personal SNS for the first time in a while. Then, he checked YouTube because Ji-Ah said she would upload the fan meeting video.
Not only did Sang-Hyeon's channel upload official videos, but many fans also uploaded short videos that they directly filmed. It was quite popular.
— Yesterday's fan meeting with Almond, Kingdom fanboy is the best!
— Almond’s fan meeting was legendary + firsthand review
— Kingdom fanboy on the 1st floor, Almond on the 2nd floor?
Of course, one video gained the most attention among all of them.
— Is this how streamers shoot arrows?
It was when Almond was teaching fans how to shoot a bow and arrow. The video included RubySword.
— What should I do...?
Almond stood right next to her and helped with her posture. RubySword, true to her top viewer status, successfully hit near the target’s center.
— Was there such an event too? I should have sold everything to get a ticket!!
— Is touching hands for real?!
— Is that RubySword? :O
— Such a pure beauty is the top fan? What kind of balance patch is this!?
└ "The worst streamer on earth: Almond"
Sang-Hyeon couldn't physically shoot arrows due to his injury, but he could manage to shoot at least one if he focused enough. There was a scene of him shooting an arrow in front of the fans.
Despite his shaky arm, he hit the mark right away with the target so close.
— Ah~~ How can a gamer who just plays games shoot a real arrow like this~~~ ouch (hit in the head)
└ LOL Joking
└ Almond's archery skills are amazing~~
— Wow... I thought Almond couldn't shoot arrows. He’s shooting for the fans, how touching!
└ I was also surprised :((
└ Really??
All the effort they put into preparing the fan meeting felt worth it after seeing how the event became such a hot topic.
Sang-Hyeon spent some more time browsing through videos uploaded by fans. A few hours passed like that.
[Kimchi Warrior: Are you able to log into This World now? We're starting today. I'll inform you once you're in.]
[Almond: Yes, I am. Let's go. All of this can be streamed, right?]
[Kimchi Warrior: Yes, of course! The entire process can be streamed.]
He thought there would be cases where he couldn’t stream their practice due to potentially leaking their strategies, but they were surprisingly very cool about it.
[Kimchi Warrior: No one cares about the Korean team's strategy! Hahaha!]
Their leniency had a sad context to it, but this was good news for Sang-Hyeon.
[Almond: I'll be right there]
Sang-Hyeon sent the message and immediately changed into clothes that were good for absorbing sweat.
Today, his playtime would be longer than usual.
'It's going to be fun.'
Sang-Hyeon's heart excitedly thumped and a smile lingered on his face. His steps felt light as he walked to the capsule and entered.
***
He started a little earlier than usual at 1 P.M.
Ding!
[Almond has started streaming!]
The notification for Almond's stream rang out. The title for today's stream was quite modest and straightforward.
[Training that will shock the world]