am-books Chapter 10
Chapter 10
1.
I played a game, yet my qi increased.
It was not inferior compared to the bizarre and formidable knights of the martial world.
It felt like something out of an urban legend.
With the way things were, it wouldn’t be surprising if urban legends existed alongside the phenomenon of becoming possessed by a game.
At the very least, Hae Eung-eung held the belief that there are no results without a cause.@@@@
‘The martial world is, after all, a place where people live.’
Every bizarre occurrence has a reason befitting it.
If we trace the origins, there are noteworthy aspects to the qi enhancement phenomenon as well.
‘Surely, the qi cultivation technique worked.’
The real world and the virtual world.
These are clearly separate concepts.
Activities in the virtual world are conducted through brainwave recognition.
There, neither the physical body nor the lower dantian exists.
No qi exists either.
And yet, if the qi cultivation technique had an effect, it suggests a significant fact.
The game Banyogok, developed by the company Simiral,
“Recognizes qi.”
The martial world records she had been trapped in for 20 years, like a martial arts annal.
The existence of an otherworldly force known as qi does indeed exist.
The next problem is the accumulation of qi.
The fact that energy has gathered means that the virtual reality game is not merely a world composed of simple data,
but a reality where natural energies exist.
Martial arts annals.
The game she experienced wasn’t the only existing game world;
Banyogok and many other games might also exist like the real world.
However, that fact filled Hae Eung-eung with discomfort.
‘Why was the game I experienced different from the others?’
According to prior investigations, there hadn’t been a single gamer who had become possessed by or dimensionally shifted into Banyogok.
[Search: Martial Arts Annals]
[Search Results: None]
[Search: Banyogok]
[Search Results: About 12,500,000]
Compared to that game, which had not a single piece of information,
the game with a 100% probability of dragging players in was fundamentally different from one where only qi is applied.
‘It’s not bad news for me.’
The amount of qi gained from just one playthrough is roughly equivalent to a month’s worth.
If I maintain a pace where I can increase my qi by one month in just a day,
in a month, I would gather 2.5 years’ worth of qi.
1.
In one year, I could gather 30 years’ worth of qi (the first 30 years).
In six years, I could collect 180 years’ worth of qi (the third 60 years).
A path has opened where I can gather the qi needed for transformation within just six years.
‘Still, I can manage to do a little bit of research.’
It felt uncomfortable to immerse myself in the game mindlessly.
To put it bluntly, who knows when I might trigger a possession and get dragged into the world of Banyogok?
I needed to verify whether this phenomenon was unique to me.
Had anyone else ever felt discomfort in Banyogok?
It seemed necessary to check.
Hae Eung-eung: Is it a good time?
Joo Ah-young: Yes?
It was time to use the information network.
2.
The people who used to feed me had all vanished into the virtual world.
I had returned to the harsh ecosystem of the wild.
The vanished paradise of the pigeons.
On a park bench, Joo Ah-young sat excitedly, swinging her legs.
She was wearing skinny jeans, an oversized knit sweater, and sneakers—a simple date look that lifted her spirits.
Unable to hide her excitement, her thrilled appearance caught the attention of a few passersby.
“Excuse me, but I have to say, you really are my type.”
“Sorry, I have a prior engagement.”
“Oh. I see....”
In just 10 minutes, it was already the third time.
The number of times men had been turned down.
‘My sister, seriously. I never thought she would fall into a game so quickly.’
Hae Eung-eung, who had been asking various questions about the game for quite some time,
had suddenly posed an unexpected question after not hearing from her for days.
Hae Eung-eung: Has anyone gotten stronger while playing a game?
Joo Ah-young: Huh? If you level up, wouldn’t you get stronger? It’s a game, after all.
Hae Eung-eung: In reality.
This sister, who had supposedly never played a game and had only lived a life of secluded training,
must have truly caught the gaming bug.
with one person’s sincerity standing out.
It was a leisurely weekend date.
After finishing their meal, they arrived at a café.
Across from Joo Ah-young, who was enjoying coffee and donuts as dessert,
Hae Eung-eung read through finished documents while pondering.
‘Is this girl really on the right career path?’
She wanted to become an Awakened trainee, right?
No matter how you looked at it, an office job seemed like her true calling.
The quality of her documents was impressive.
‘The common traits in cases of skill improvement are becoming apparent.’
Whether they were physically gifted gamers,
had high assimilation rates,
or were seasoned veterans who had conquered the hardest levels.
The gamers who achieved great success in games were not ordinary players.
The more substantial achievements they gained in the game,
the more likely they were to see improvements in their health in reality,
such as increased strength or enhanced concentration.
‘There are even papers focused on this phenomenon.’
Of course, ordinary people or those writing papers did not acknowledge the existence of inner strength.
They simply believed that their brain interpreted the physical activities, stimuli, and pain they experienced as real events, leading to a perceived improvement.
When the assimilation rate was high,
the intensity of the illusion increased.
And when conquering higher difficulties,
the amount of exertion grew, enhancing the absolute quantity of stimuli.
If they were already physically gifted,
they could imagine virtual muscles more vividly, allowing for more accurate transmission of stimuli.
The interplay between the real world and the virtual world producing complementary effects was quite striking.
‘Above all, the responses of Awakened individuals rather than ordinary people are intriguing.’
Although not inner strength, the concept of mana dealt with by Awakened individuals.
They expressed this phenomenon.
They said that after playing the game, their mana increased.
Not all Awakened individuals experienced this.
Only a select few who excelled at the game,
those with a talent for high assimilation rates, experienced such effects.
‘At this point, I can be sure.’
This is not just a misunderstanding or coincidence.
Inner strength improvement occurs when one plays games with focus.
It’s not limited to just Banyogok.
It can be seen as a phenomenon that happens in most physical games.
Among those, particularly in Simiral’s games, there have been the most cases of mana enhancement.
‘There have also been no reports of those who received skill and mana improvements suddenly going missing.’
Safety had been confirmed.
Beyond that level,
there were unexpected analytical results.
It was not the gamers who posed a danger; rather, it was the Awakened individuals who didn’t play games that were the threat.
This was something she could not comprehend at all.
[Can I see an Awakened individual in person?]
“An Awakened who plays games?”
Joo Ah-young couldn’t hide her confusion.
“As you know, it’s not common for Awakened individuals to play games. Moreover, I’m still a trainee...”
[Don’t worry too much. I just asked lightly.]
“If you really want to, there’s a chance to meet other Awakened individuals... but I don’t know if they’ll be playing games.”
[Where do I go?]
“To the academy I attend. If you come as a guest lecturer, you can meet other instructors. What do you think?”
Awakened individuals who serve as instructors at the Awakened Academy.
Using them as a sample to examine the correlation between gaming and character traits.
It was a rather interesting proposal.
[That sounds fine.]
Though tempting,
she was not a real Awakened individual.
Her status did not allow her to be invited as a guest lecturer at an academy requiring an official Awakened license.
Even if the status issue were resolved,
what she wanted to know was whether the improvement of inner strength was a safe phenomenon.
She wasn’t interested in understanding the causal relationship between gaming and the character of Awakened individuals.
‘I’ve achieved my goal.’
Then there was no reason to hesitate.
Hae Eung-eung steeled her resolve.
“Did the information help you?”
[It was sufficient.]
She was ready to continue playing Banyogok.