Return to the Arcade
As I said before heading to the arcade, the people lining up for my talismans could form their own country. That's no exaggeration. Just look at how that damn talisman awakened itself to protect its owner. It's not even funny anymore.
"…I'm ending the stream."
The moment I announced the broadcast was over, question marks flooded the chat.
"Ah, I don't care! I'm ending it!"
Doing an interview here would be insane. Without any prior discussion, an interview could easily spiral into an irreversible disaster. Before logging off, I quickly told the lunch kid to end his stream too.
"Shut it down now. And if you post one more weird thing on the community board, you're dead."
Once I confirmed his reply, I immediately ended the stream. The moment the broadcast cut off, exhaustion crashed over me and I pressed a hand to my forehead.
How am I supposed to fix this…?
At least I'd stopped the suicide attempt, but there was no avoiding the gossip. My head hurts like hell…!
Dealing with this gave me a worse headache than wiping out the Demon King's army. Back then, I could just kill everything in sight and call it solved.
A day later, I was summoned to the Awakener Association again. Only the team leader and I were in the meeting room. He cut straight to the point.
"What exactly happened?"
"Haha, sorry about that."
I scratched my cheek. This was… awkward.
"Does that talisman have some kind of awakening effect?"
"Nah, no way. It does have a luck amplification effect, but not to that extent…"
"……"
The team leader stared at me with a smile that barely contained his fury. He let out a long sigh and slid a thick stack of documents across the table.
"Take a look at this. It's everything we've gathered on the lunch kid."
"Documents?"
Why was there so much? It was practically an encyclopedia. A quick flip through showed photos from when he was a baby all the way to now—eighteen years of his life crammed into these pages.
"We investigated everything possible. From the formula brand he used as an infant to his internet activity logs."
"Thorough."
He might be shameless when he messes up, but I had to respect his work ethic.
"We didn't find anything suspicious. The only odd detail is that his parents live overseas and he stays home alone."
"Hmm…"
I studied the profile photo. Why were there two pictures?
"Why are there two photos?"
The team leader gave me an incredulous look.
"You're not seriously asking because you don't know, right?"
Ah. Because of me. Still, wasn't this a bit much? I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking they were completely different people.
"There's a limit to how much we can suppress the media. Please avoid any more conspicuous actions from now on."
"Haha, got it. By the way, what happened to the lunch kid?"
"Well, since he awakened, he's here at the Association to register. Would you like to meet him?"
"No thanks. I'm good."
No need. I'd run into him on stream eventually, and meeting in person would just be a hassle.
"So the lecture's over?"
"Yes. Please refrain from drawing attention to yourself next time. Negotiating with the press every single time is exhausting."
"Understood. I'll be going then."
When I stepped out of the Association, bright sunlight greeted me. It was still late March, yet the weather was surprisingly warm.
"Feels nice to be outside for once. Might as well pick up a few things while I'm here."
I rarely got the chance to go out, so I should enjoy it while I could.
…But what should I do first?
The moment I tried to think of something fun, my mind went blank. I turned my head this way and that, scanning the surroundings, and spotted a building that caught my eye.
"Is that an arcade?"
I hadn't expected arcades to still exist in the twenty-first century. The last time I'd been to one was eight years ago. Might as well check it out.
A perfectly ordinary arcade was raking in record profits today. The owner hadn't done a thing. It was all thanks to one customer.
"Nice! Perfect!"
A beautiful girl had walked in, played games for hours, and soon a steady stream of male customers drawn by her looks had followed. The owner's wife leaned over and whispered,
"Who is she, honey?"
"No idea. Either way, we're making bank, right?"
Everyone pretended to focus on their games, but their eyes kept drifting toward the black-haired woman. The owner couple silently prayed she would stay and play for a long time.
12,000 points! Highest score!
Hmm, calling it the highest score felt a bit much, but it turned out better than expected. What should I try next?
Can't play any two-player games though…
"E-excuse me…!"
"……?"
Someone called out from behind. I turned to see a man holding out his phone.
"You're exactly my type, so… could you give me your Instagram ID?!"
"……"
This was the third time today. My honest thought was:
What the hell is Instagram?
The previous guy had asked for my Instagram ID too, and I still had no clue what it was.
"……"
I didn't know what it was, but given the current era, admitting ignorance probably wasn't a good idea.
Is there a good way out of this?
After thinking it over, a brilliant idea struck me.
"Want to play a game with me?"
"Huh?"
"If you beat me, I'll tell you."
When I first heard those words, I was caught off guard, but it was also kind of funny. Science had already proven that men had faster reaction times and better dynamic vision than women.
Or so I thought…!
Five minutes into air hockey, I was on the verge of losing 12–0. The final puck slid in. 13–0. The man dropped to his knees in despair. It was a crushing defeat.
"Winning this overwhelmingly isn't even fun…"
"……!"
The comment trampled all over a young man's pride. His whole body trembled, yet he couldn't even protest.
"Well, I've had enough fun, so I'll be going—"
"Wait! Play with me too!"
"Let me join!"
"I'll definitely—!"
"……?"
The moment the game ended, a crowd of men swarmed toward me.
Did they all eat something weird?
Was a nonexistent Instagram ID really that fascinating? I was a little flustered, but on second thought, this wasn't so bad. I could use this chance to enjoy all the games I hadn't played in eight years.
We played basketball, Tekken, claw machines, singing battles, racing games—everything.
"How…"
"No way…!"
"Monster…!"
"You're way too strong…"
As expected, the final tally was 38–0. My victory across the board.
I've had enough fun. Time to head out.
Just as I was about to leave the arcade, a chubby man in a checkered shirt, anime posters and merch spilling from his bag, and glasses perched on his nose suddenly blocked my path. He pushed his glasses up with his middle finger.
What, was that supposed to be an insult?
"Let's have a match."
"……"
It was rude to suddenly block the way, but since I still wanted to play more games, I didn't care.
"Ah, sure. What are we playing?"
The man grinned like he'd been waiting for this.
"Rhythm game."
Hmm, a rhythm game, huh…
Not a bad choice for the grand finale. We sat down at the machine and powered it on.
"Which song? I can play pretty much anything."
"Then do you know 'After Night'?"
"…How do you know that song? It's a nine-year-old classic."
"Haha, just happened to. Let's go with that. Extreme difficulty should be fine, right?"
"……"
The man was worried. Not for himself—for his opponent. 'After Night' had come out eight years ago, but its difficulty was still unmatched even now. Every rhythm gamer struggled to full-combo it. The man could barely contain his laughter.
Finally, my dream of getting a cool, beautiful S-rank girlfriend from the same area is coming true!
Seven years of pissing off his parents and grinding rhythm games since high school, and now he was finally reaping the rewards.
I'm definitely making her my girlfriend!
Besides, this was his territory. He'd been playing on this exact machine for seven years. There was no way he could lose.
Game Start!
As the game began, both of them hammered the buttons and joystick. After a while, the man glanced at Seong-a's score.
"……!"
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Every note was a perfect combo. Same score as him. She'd full-comboed every Extreme-difficulty song from an eight-year-old game! Was she… a fellow rhythm gamer?
Good!
"……!"
Startled, he missed a perfect and broke his combo.
I-it's fine…! She'll mess up too…!
He kept watching, waiting for her to fail the full combo.
No…! She'll definitely fail…!
He waited. And waited. And waited some more.
45,900! 46,000!
He'd lost by a hundred points because of that one mistake. The man lowered his head to hide his shame. Everyone in the arcade felt like they were laughing at him.
"I'm heading out now."
"……"
The woman who had crushed him stood up. His fists trembled, but he couldn't do anything. Seven years of rhythm games, and this was the first time his pride had taken such a beating.
The moment I stepped out of the arcade, I stretched.
"Mmm! It's been fun playing at an arcade after so long."
This was the first time I'd played so carefree. When I streamed, I always had to worry about the viewers.
Guess those nine years weren't wasted after all…
Before I was transported to the other world, I'd spent most of my free time at arcades. All because of Mrs. Kim. The moment I played games, curses flew out of my mouth, and every single time she'd rant about how she'd raised a failure of a child. Back then, PC bangs gave me so many dirty looks that I ended up spending most of my free time at arcades instead.
Now that I was an adult, I should visit a PC bang sometime too.
Still, it's a little disappointing…
No matter how much I thought about it, the regret wouldn't go away. If I'd gone to the arcade next to my old elementary school, I would've done even better.