Season 2: Chapter 229: Memory Arcade (2)
Sa-Rang thought to herself, "Not bad."
She casually came here because of Popcorn's recommendation. Although she initially felt reluctant, she began to feel quite good after recklessly defeating the fifth opponent.
"Wow!"
"Whoa!"
"Insane!"
"Wow… so stingy. Stingy."
Listening to the cheers of fighting game fans wasn't as bad as she thought. Ironically, she enjoyed hearing the high praise from the losers. No, enjoying it was an understatement. It felt like something was coming back to life inside her, like a dormant memory was stirring.
Scientists said that memories were stored in certain parts of the brain. Well, she wasn't sure about that.
Sa-Rang loosened her neck and shook her head.
[A new challenger has appeared!]
[Accept]
Click.
Her fingertips felt a tingling sensation as she pressed the button. At that moment, she didn't believe memories were stored in the brain.
The tingling sensation climbed up her fingers and made her legs, hidden under the blanket, twitch involuntarily. It triggered a flurry of past scenes as if searching for old memories. Her hands moved of their own accord beyond her control.
Perhaps memories were the individual recollections each cell held, hidden in every nook and cranny of the body. Maybe… if she diligently searched every corner, her legs would remember again.
"It's possible."
Boom!
"Wow!"
"Combo after combo! She’s not unable to use combos after all!"
Tap-tap-tap.
Her fingers weren’t moving the joystick and pressing the buttons through conscious thought. They seemed alive with their own choices.
Of course, this was all fantasy. It would end soon. It wouldn't be long. By the time the fantasy ended, the result was clear.
"K.O.!"
"Victory! That was so quick!"
“Sigh.”
A light smile lingered on her lips as she exhaled the breath she had been holding.
"Amazing! Another perfect game! That’s six wins in a row! Can anyone even land a punch on her?"
"Next opponent!? No one else?"
The challenger who lost to her awkwardly scratched his head and fled. No new challengers came forward.
"Hmm?"
Then, someone caught her eye.
***
Sang-Hyeon looked up at the worn-out sign.
"This classic arcade… could be fun."
Although it was a classic arcade, Sang-Hyeon didn't have much nostalgia for it. He had gone a few times with friends, but never out of his own interest.
He felt that it was a luxury even though it was an inexpensive hobby compared to mobile games with in-app purchases. It wasn’t because he was too poor to afford a few rounds in the arcade.
The issue wasn't with his wallet, but his heart. Back then, Sang-Hyeon had no leisure in his heart. To him, the arcade was just a pathetic place where carefree fools wasted their time.
He still agreed with that to some extent…
— wow
— Such a vibe lol
— Pure romance
— The era when there wasn't a 5 player game… I miss it…
— So nostalgic!
The audience felt differently. They had built memories at the arcades rather than wasted time.
"It feels different."
At such times, Sang-Hyeon felt a significant distance from the lives of ordinary people.
A ringing like tinnitus echoed in his head and everything seemed to zoom out, leaving him alone. What life had he led and how should he live in the future?
Sang-Hyeon shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"I've done this before."
He strained again to somehow crawl back to the distant world.
"I'll give it a try."
— Go go go go
— Good
— I wonder what this man is like outside the capsule?
— If there's no vns rating, he’s not clumsy, right? lol
— This is going to be interesting lol
***
The audience worried if Sang-Hyeon was just an ordinary archer outside the capsule.
His focus remained astonishing and his composure unchanged, but his right hand for pressing buttons was flawed. His agility wouldn't receive any boost from his VNS rating either.
He wanted to try this challenge for one reason, which Popcorn already hinted at.
"Virtual reality games tire you out quickly, right? There's an interesting challenge over there. Why not give it a try?"
It wasn't a capsule game. Indeed, the mentioned drawbacks became advantages for the fatigued Sang-Hyeon.
"Since it wasn’t a custom capsule, maybe I need some rest."
He entered the arcade with the thought of taking a break.
"Wow!"
"Amazing! Another perfect game! That’s six wins in a row! Can anyone even touch her?"
The place was hotter than he thought. The focus of attention was naturally on the arcade's jewel, a fighting game.
"Wow!"
"Incredible..."
"How can someone be so good?"
Someone was on a winning streak and drew a crowd.
— What's this?
— lol, thought it was UFC
— Wow, the set is amazing lol
The arcade's interior caught his eye with the fighting game area enclosed by hexagonal iron bars, making it resemble a real fighting arena. The rest of the games were also placed in spaces matching their themes.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The sight of people banging on the bars in excitement felt like watching a real fight, especially with a large screen above for easy viewing instead of standing behind the player.
— This is the ancestor of live game streaming, kids.
— True romance was looking over someone's shoulder... compromises of modern times, tsk tsk
— LOL the origin of streaming lol
As mentioned in the chat, the culture of watching games at the arcades was quite possibly the precursor to the game streaming culture where people gathered to watch, challenge, and support skilled players. It had now simply transferred online.
"A new challenger! Any takers? The challenge costs only five hundred won!"
Sang-Hyeon couldn't help but laugh hearing the announcer. It felt like hearing a public execution announcement for just five hundred won.
"I should play something else."
Sang-Hyeon decided he couldn't beat the mysterious champion dominating the fighting game. It wasn't his forte and he didn’t have such a game in mind when entering the arcade.
Maybe just enjoying a peaceful plane game would suffice? After all, these folks...
The viewers were eagerly awaiting a loss. If he were to lose here, the chat would undoubtedly be flooded with all sorts of mocking comments. Therefore, he was even more determined to avoid the fighting game.
"No more challengers?! If this continues, it’ll be considered ten consecutive wins and the challenge winner will be declared!"
The fighting game win streak challenge wouldn’t stop until a player achieved ten consecutive wins. Once someone reached that mark, the challenge would end.
"Maybe I should try."
"Someone go extend their life."
While gamers pushed each other and hoped the challenge would continue, not everyone could become an independent activist during the Japanese occupation era. Nobody stepped forward.
Then, a clear voice could be heard among the murmurs.
"Hey there."
"Excuse me, Mr. Almond."
Someone called his name again.
Sang-Hyeon looked inside the cage. At the same time, the eyes of many spectators were fixed on him.
"Almond? Did she say Almond?"
"Is Almond here?"
"Eh? Really?"
Because the woman inside the cage had called his name, everyone became aware of Almond's presence and even knew where he was since the woman pointed directly at him.
"What's this?"
Following that finger, Sang-Hyeon was shocked.
"Choi Sa-Rang..."
It was the familiar voice of Choi Sa-Rang.
‘Why is she here?’
No, it made sense since this was G-Star. Popcorn, who played on the same team, was here too.
"Mr. Almond, how about playing with me?"
Tap, tap.
She tapped the arcade machine opposite of her as she spoke.
Almond hesitated for a moment.
"Don't you want to? Afraid you'll lose?" she didn't hesitate to provoke him.
Indeed, she was a pro gamer.
— Oh wow shit
— Max level provocation lol
— Whoa lol
— "Noona, I'm dying here! (For real)"
— What's with her aura? Intense
— Is she an Almond fan?
Sang-Hyeon bit his lip, but what could he do? He was a streamer. When such an opportunity arose, participating was his destiny. Still, he tried to resist once.
"I'm not very good at this game, you know."
Sa-Rang knowingly smirked, still tapping on the arcade machine across from her.
"Ah, I know. It's not fun just to win ten consecutive times. Please make it seven consecutive wins for me."
"What?"
Seven consecutive wins for her?
Sang-Hyeon's expression momentarily stiffened.
"Ooooh~"
Noticing Sang-Hyeon's reaction, the audience cheered and the viewers did the same.
— Lololol
— Seeing the always cocky Almond getting a proper lesson is already satisfying lol
— I was the top predator in another world, but I'm just an arcade nerd in reality!?
— This is the romance of the arcades, kiddo~
The viewers were mistaken. Even if it was a capsule game, he had no way out because she was JeonJaPa.
"Please do it~"
"If not Mr. Almond, then who?"
"Challenge! Challenge!"
Not just the viewers, but people all around started clamoring for him to take up the challenge. Apparently, Choi Sa-Rang would achieve ten consecutive wins and this challenge would end if no one stepped up.
The decision didn't take long.
"I'll play."
With those words, Sang-Hyeon sat in front of the arcade machine.
***
"Just place your card on top and the money will be deducted automatically!"
There was no need to exchange cash for coins. Simply placing his card on the arcade machine would suffice.
"Do you have any prior experience with this game?"
Sang-Hyeon stared at the famous arcade machine. It was Fist of Power 14, the fourteenth game in a well-known fighting game series.
"Ah... The last one I saw was Fist of Power 8."
"Yes, that was a long time ago, wasn't it? Actually, not much has changed. It just has better graphics, improved hit feedback, new maps, and new characters."
— Everything changed then?
— What stayed the same? lol
— Lol
— The romance disappears with new characters~
Having new characters could make it difficult to adapt.
The announcer added as if reading Sang-Hyeon's mind, "But today, this machine is set to classic mode. You won't have to suffer from not knowing the new character combos!"
"Ah..."
Many nostalgic games utilized this feature lately. While upgrading the game's graphics and basic performance, they captured elements that could evoke nostalgia among old players.
'Thankfully, I won't die to some weird combo.'
Thinking this, Sang-Hyeon pressed the button and a famous phrase appeared.
"New~ Challenger~~!"
[A new challenger has appeared!]
Click.
Choi Sa-Rang's character posed in a fighting stance and the character selection screen appeared.
'Choi Sa-Rang will choose Heihachi, then...'
Heihachi, a representative character of the game, was known for his extreme bald hairstyle. He was so famous that even those who didn't know the game recognized him.
'Who should I choose?'
The Fist of Power series didn't really have character specific counters. Even if it did, countering characters varied by skill level so it didn’t matter.
Sang-Hyeon didn’t know about these counters anyway. He just chose a character he used to play back in the day.
[Parang]
This character with a Korean background was known for using taekwondo.