Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 1 Episode 72
26. The Record (1)
“There are no abnormalities.”
It was a word I could only hear after an hour of examination. Only then did I manage to sit up.
Until now, I had been bound like a prisoner, so every inch of my body tingled with numbness.
“Thank goodness.”
Sigh.
Juhyeok exhaled in relief from beside me.
Department Manager Oh and the Director were the same. It seemed they had argued fiercely earlier, but now they appeared to have made up.
“Why are you all gathered here like this? There really wasn’t anything wrong.”
Juhyeok immediately cut me off as I tried to act fine.
“Don’t say ridiculous things.”
“…Anyway, there’s nothing wrong, right?”
I was just taking off my gown to leave the hospital room.
“Oh…! Excuse me, patient?”
The doctor grabbed my shoulder.
“?”
“I’d like to speak with you privately for a moment.”
It wasn’t particularly rare for a doctor to want to see a patient alone.
Everyone was simply relieved that no accident had occurred, so they thought nothing unusual of it.
Only Juhyeok Kim and Department Manager Oh had their expressions stiffen. They had some sense of what this might be about.
“Of course.”
I quickly left the room with the doctor.

* * *
The Private Consultation Room held only the Doctor and me.
“Please, sit.”
We faced each other across the room and sat down.
Silence stretched between us for a moment.
The Doctor broke the quiet by gathering her disheveled hair into a tie.
“I believe you have some idea of what I’m about to tell you.”
“Yes.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
With all these tests conducted, modern medical technology would have certainly uncovered the truth.
“Your right hand is giving you trouble, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
As expected, the issue centered on my right hand.
“Did you know that hand isn’t actually the problem—it’s something else?”
“Yes.”
I answered in succession, each response brief.
Sympathy flickered across the Doctor’s expression.
She delivered her words slowly, as though each one was difficult to speak.
“Your right hand issue is actually a problem originating in your brain. The Capsule is a machine that interferes with brainwaves, and… to put it simply, this is why you become completely exhausted after full-dive gameplay.”
“…So it was that after all.”
The excessive sweating after gaming, the fatigue, the shortened playtime…
I had suspected on some level that these symptoms stemmed from my condition.
But I had been in denial. I simply didn’t want to acknowledge that reality.
I wanted to believe it was only my right hand that had been damaged.
“What you’re experiencing now is a form of neurological disorder—something like acquired cerebral palsy.”
“I understand.”
“It’s extraordinary luck that it only affected your right hand. Many patients develop hemiplegia.”
“…Yes.”
The Doctor had called it fortune back then too.
‘Fortune…’
It didn’t sound that way to me at all.
Even if I’d lost an eye, or both ears, or my nose…
My right hand had to remain intact.
The limb that drew and fired the bow—that alone had to be whole.
But it was broken.
Permanently.
There was no way to call that fortune.
And now this disability seemed determined to block my path forward.
What was the problem? Why had she called me in?
“What’s the issue?”
The doctor shook his head.
“Not yet. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. But there’s a risk that problems could develop.”
“How much risk?”
“Your right hand moves well in the Virtual World, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever wondered why? If it were a brain issue, it shouldn’t move there either.”
“Isn’t it because it’s not a brain signal problem, but a physical damage problem? Since that’s Virtual Reality, there’s no physical damage there…”
“No. If there’s brain damage, there’s a signal problem too. It definitely affects the Virtual Reality as well. The Capsule can create a hand for you, but it can’t create a brain for you.”
“…”
I had nothing to say.
It was something I had found strange too.
I knew my brain was damaged, yet my right hand moved well in Virtual Reality.
Since it moved well enough, I naturally hadn’t questioned it much.
All that mattered was that I could shoot my bow right away.
“Why is that?”
“Other regions of your brain are controlling that right hand.”
“…?”
“Think of it like a company—because one employee took sick leave, employees from other unrelated departments are working overtime.”
“Ah…”
“It’s only possible because the Virtual World operates purely on mental capacity. In reality, it’s impossible due to physical nervous system issues.”
Now I understood clearly.
The brain region controlling my right hand was damaged, but in the Virtual World, other regions could compensate for it.
“When colleagues work overtime in place of someone else, they get tired, right? It creates overload. That’s why you sweat heavily and get fatigued more than other gamers.”
“I see.”
“So far, there haven’t been major problems. However… if it continues long-term, or if your gaming time increases, we have no idea what could happen.”
I swallowed hard.
‘I decided to reach Diamond rank.’
Wasn’t I planning to increase my gaming time from now on?
“Then what should I do? I want to increase my playtime.”
“It’s a cliché, but consistent exercise and healthy eating habits are essential. Beyond that, you need regular check-ups to monitor your data.”
So I’d have to keep visiting the hospital.
“I understand.”
I was worried about hospital bills, but I should at least look into it. With that thought, I was about to leave when—
Click.
The doctor handed me something.
A business card.
‘Hana Song.’
A surprisingly casual name for a doctor of her caliber.
“You should see me. This isn’t bragging, but there really aren’t many specialists like this in our country.”
Juhyeok had mentioned it before too.
In our country, there are only a handful of medical professionals who can handle both brainwave testing and Capsule gameplay simultaneously.
And it’s probably going to be expensive.
Why can’t we just do this at a regular hospital with standard testing?
“I’ll do it for free.”
“…What?”
I couldn’t believe it.
How much was this doctor’s fee?
“There’s also a research… purpose involved.”
Hana Song avoided my gaze, embarrassed that it looked like she was pitching her services for research.
“Research?”
“…Yes.”
“What aspect of it?”
“What I just mentioned—people from different departments doing the work instead. That’s not a common occurrence. To be precise, this is the first phenomenon I’ve ever witnessed. It shouldn’t happen in the real world.”
I see.
It was a rare case. I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or concerned about it.
“Isn’t that only possible because it’s a Virtual World?”
“Even in the Virtual World, this is my first case. I’ve only just witnessed that it’s even possible.”
“So you’re researching whether that’s possible?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about the research. You’ll follow the exact same course as any patient. It’s just that naturally, my research gets added on top of that.”
“I understand.”
“You’re… agreeing to it?”
“I’ll talk it over with my manager first. But there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
I recalled the phenomenon I’d experienced when the game ended earlier.
“Feel free to ask anything.”
“Just before, while I was in the game, my right hand felt numb. As if… it were the real world.”
Hana Song’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Why would that happen?”
“…Well. If I think about it simply, it could be that you were exhausted from repeated overtime and your body just gave out….”
She scribbled something frantically in the characteristic messy handwriting of a doctor and continued.
“But I don’t think it’s something to analyze so one-dimensionally. I’ll consult with the Engineer here and contact you later about it.”
“Understood.”
As I was about to stand up, I paused, remembering something else.
“Oh. Just one more thing.”
“?”
“No one’s told me yet, but did I break the Jeon-ja-pa record?”
“Ah… You tied, apparently.”
My expression twisted at the doctor’s answer.

* * *
As Hana Song and I emerged from the private consultation room, Juhyeok sprang to his feet.
He had been waiting.
Hana Song offered only a brief greeting before passing them and heading toward the Engineer.
“Hey. What did they say?”
Juhyeok immediately grabbed me and asked.
“….”
I didn’t answer.
“Hey. What’s wrong? Is it serious?”
“Yeah.”
“…Really!?”
“Ugh. Damn it….”
“?!”
Juhyeok was startled seeing me curse like that.
What on earth did the Doctor tell me!?
“No, what’s wrong!? Tell me!”
“Didn’t break the record.”
“…?”
“Why do you look so clueless? I heard it from the Doctor. A tie, he said.”
“…So, you’re upset about that right now?”
“Does that make sense? A tie? Down to the second?”
“Ah, no, so you’re angry because the record is tied right now?”
“Wouldn’t you be angry!?”
Boom.
I raised my voice.
It was rare for me to get this worked up.
That’s how badly I wanted to break this record.
“If I’d had just 0.000001 more seconds, I would’ve won—how can you not be angry!? How is it a complete tie? Is this rigged!?”
“No, you crazy bastard! Your life was literally hanging in the balance and you’re worried about a tie!? Tell me what the Doctor said!”
“My life? Don’t exaggerate! The record is what matters right now….”
Just as we were about to grab each other by the collar.
“Um… Almond!?”
The youngest writer among the staff called out to Almond with a confused expression.
“You, you need to come in now….”
“…What?”
I doubted whether I’d heard correctly.
The broadcast?
They’re still doing that?
I looked at Juhyeok and asked back.
“The broadcast hasn’t ended yet?”
“Yeah. Got it.”
The medical check had consumed an hour and a half, and I naturally assumed all the viewers would have dropped off by now.
Yet they were still there. Sanghyeon turned to the junior writer this time and asked.
“There are still viewers?”
“Ah, it’s not just that there are still viewers.”
The junior writer held out her phone to show him.
[Current Viewers: 71,000]
A full seventy thousand viewers were patiently waiting.
Sanghyeon felt less pleased than bewildered.
“No… why exactly?”
The question “why?” practically escaped on its own. Why were so many people waiting through all that time?
The record hadn’t even been broken—it was tied.
From Sanghyeon’s perspective, it made no sense whatsoever.
“Why? They’re waiting to see you. The first person to break Jeon-ja-pa’s record.”
Juhyeok blurted it out while straightening his wrinkled shirt.
“…?”
Sanghyeon’s face twisted oddly.
What is he talking about? Breaking the record?
“You said it was a tie down to the minute and second.”
“Not that one.”
Snap.
Juhyeok pointed to the scoreboard on the set.
It displayed this:
[Historic First! VNS Cursed 300-Floor Breakthrough!]
[Record Holder: Almond]
“…”
Sanghyeon fell silent for a moment.
Juhyeok let out a snort of laughter. He was shocked, apparently.
Who wouldn’t be surprised to learn they held the world record?
But hearing the response that came back, Juhyeok’s expression became the most bewildered on Earth.
“…What is that?”
A moment of silence.
‘Ah… right. I have no idea what it is.’
It was a concept most gamers knew, but of course Almond wasn’t a gamer. At least not until three weeks ago.
Juhyeok now precisely recognized who he was dealing with.
But what of it? This was Almond’s nature.
“Go sit over there next to her. Once you do, that pretty announcer will explain it to you.”
“She looks younger than me to be called ‘older sister.'”
“No, you little—”
Dodging Juhyeok’s sputtering protests, Sanghyeon quickly rushed toward the set.
The broadcast was already underway with everything prepared for Sanghyeon.
Noticing Sanghyeon’s arrival, Hayeon Yu’s voice rose with excitement as she began to build the tension.
“Everyone! Almond, Almond is entering now….”
As if some remarkable figure was arriving, as if the final champion had come.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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