Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Internal Energy Growth Phenomenon
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1.
I played the game, and my internal energy increased.
Even compared to the bizarre and outrageous tales of the murim world, it was no slouch.
A phenomenon straight out of an urban legend.
In a reality where game possessions happen, urban legends aren't all that surprising.
But at least Hae Eung-eung held the mindset that no result exists without a cause.
'The murim world is ultimately a place where people live.'
Every strange occurrence has a fitting reason behind it.
Tracing back to the source, there was something noteworthy about the internal energy growth phenomenon.
'The internal energy cultivation method definitely worked.'
Real world and virtual world.
These are distinctly separate concepts.
Activities in the virtual world occur through brainwave recognition.
In that space, nothing from the real world exists.
Not the physical body.
Not the dantian.
Not internal energy.
Yet the internal energy cultivation method had an effect.
This implied a crucial fact.
Half-Demon Gorge.
The developer behind the game, Simil Corp.
'They recognize internal energy.'
Just like the Murim Reminiscence Record, where she had been trapped for twenty years.
A supernatural force known as internal energy existed.
Qi accumulation was a secondary issue.
The accumulation of qi meant that the virtual reality game world wasn't merely composed of data.
It was a world where natural qi truly existed.
The Murim Reminiscence Record wasn't the only game world that truly existed—the one she had personally experienced.
Half-Demon Gorge included, numerous games might all be real worlds akin to reality itself.
But that realization brought Hae Eung-eung a sense of incongruity.
'Why was only the game I experienced different?'
Preliminary investigations showed no gamers possessed by or dimension-shifted into Half-Demon Gorge.
Compared to that game, which didn't yield even a single scrap of information.
A game where playing it guaranteed a 100% chance of being pulled in, versus Half-Demon Gorge, which merely applied internal energy—something was fundamentally different.
'Not bad news for me.'
The internal energy gained from one play session amounted to roughly a month's worth.
If she maintained the pace of one month per day.
One month would net 2.5 years of cultivation.
One year, 30 years (half-jiazi).
Six years, 180 years (three jiazi).
A path had opened to accumulate the three jiazi of internal energy required for bone marrow transcendence—in just six years, no less.
'Still, I can use it as a reference.'
The situation felt too suspicious to blindly immerse herself in the game.
For all she knew, she might step on a possession trigger at any moment and get dragged into the world of Half-Demon Gorge.
She needed to verify if this was happening only to her.
If anyone else had ever felt any incongruity with Half-Demon Gorge.
Time to make use of her information broker.
Hae Eung-eung: Is now a good time?
Jua Young: Yes?
2.
The pigeon feeders had all vanished into the virtual world.
The paradise lost, reverting to a harsh wild ecosystem.
Park bench.
Jua Young sat on the bench, her feet swinging excitedly with anticipation.
Not her convenience store uniform.
Not her awakener academy trainee outfit.
Not her personal training wear.
Skinny jeans, a baggy knit sweater, and sneakers—a simple date look, and she was fully immersed in the vibe.
Unable to hide her thrilled heart.
Her beaming excitement drew glances from the few passersby.
"Excuse me, sorry, but you're really my type..."
"Sorry. I have plans."
"Ah, I see..."
The third rejection from men in just ten minutes.
'Sis, seriously. Didn't expect her to dive headfirst into gaming like that.'
Hae Eung-eung had asked all sorts of questions about games for quite a while.
Then, no contact for days as she got hooked.
After three days, a sudden question out of the blue.
Hae Eung-eung: Have you heard of anyone getting stronger in reality from playing games?
Jua Young: Huh? Don't you get stronger through level-ups? It's a game, after all.
Hae Eung-eung: In reality.
They said this sis had lived her whole life in closed-door training without ever touching a game.
Looks like the late gaming bug bit hard.
Pity welled up, but she kept it hidden and asked kindly.
Jua Young: Why the sudden question?
Hae Eung-eung: I felt some kind of change in reality.
Jua Young: I'll look into it and get back to you!
Honestly, Jua Young didn't have deep knowledge about virtual reality games.
But if it was knowledge her sis wanted.
She was eager to take the lead and gather it.
Just like Namuwiki last time.
This time, the research spot was Google.
The Google results were plentiful.
'Surprising. Thought it was just sis over-immersing.'
A significant number of people were seriously grappling with the same issue.
And it wasn't just a placebo effect.
Overseas forums.
Academic papers.
Serious discussions at an expert level existed too.
'Learning English at the awakener academy seemed pointless, but it's useful now.'
After six hours of investigation.
Jua Young had amassed considerable knowledge.
Jua Young: Just like you said, sis—cases do exist where playing games makes people stronger in reality.
Hae Eung-eung: What kind of cases?
Jua Young: It's the weekend tomorrow. How about lunch together? I can gather more data!!
The info from Google could just be attached as a file.
But Jua Young wanted any excuse to meet her sis like this.
What if she said no?
Was this a mistake?
An eternity-like minute of anxiety.
Just as she was about to type [or something~], a reply arrived.
Hae Eung-eung: Sounds good.
Jua Young happily deleted her draft and settled on a time and place.
And so, time passed to today.
'What does sis wear when she goes out on weekends?'
Even a weird hat and cloak suited her like a historical drama star.
Her casual clothes had to be something special.
Jua Young fell into curious anticipation.
[Hae Eung-eung: At the park entrance.]
There were three park entrances.
No need to ask which one.
'Ah, that's sis.'
An outfit so distinctive it was recognizable at a distance.
The same as at the convenience store.
She'd come out in the full historical drama set: deathstroke hat, fluttering robes, and a long coat.
"Sis, you really love that outfit!"
Still, she'd come out for a date-like outing.
A brighter outfit would have been nice.
Hiding her disappointment, she packaged it brightly.
The response:
[Combat gear. Never know when or where trouble might strike.]
Jua Young's heart plummeted.
"Ah..."
Not fashion.
Purely practical attire.
She felt pathetic for her impure motives.
If her sis hadn't brought a sword to the store.
She'd have been the one in deep trouble.
Yet she'd felt sulky seeing her sis always on edge.
'Our mindsets are worlds apart.'
Her, an awakener trainee.
And her sis, an active awakener.
The gap wasn't just in skill— it started with their attitudes.
Once she shrank back, Hae Eung-eung's gaze felt even colder.
Was she about to get scolded for her rotten attitude?
Totally tense, Jua Young.
To her, Hae Eung-eung extended her notebook.
[Let's grab food quick. Sorry you had to wait out in the cold.]
"Sis...!"
Overwhelmed with emotion, Jua Young grabbed her hand.
Bewildered but obliging, Hae Eung-eung followed her steps.
A chilly autumn breeze.
A weekend date where only one person's sincerity stood out.
In the quiet park.
3.
After the meal, they visited a café.
Across from Jua Young enjoying coffee and donuts for dessert.
Hae Eung-eung closely reviewed the neatly compiled binder of documents, pondering inwardly.
'This kid—is she on the wrong career path?'
She'd said she wanted to become an awakener trainee.
But no matter how you looked at it, office work was her true calling.
The quality of the research was that high.
'The common threads in enhancement cases are clear.'
Gamers with good physiques.
High synchronization rates.
Veterans who'd cleared the highest difficulties.
Not your average players.
The greater the achievements in-game, the more reports of real-world improvements: better health, increased strength, enhanced concentration, and various other benefits.
'There are even papers centered on this phenomenon.'
Of course, civilians and paper authors knew nothing of internal energy.
They chalked it up to the brain mistaking the physical activities, stimuli, and pain executed via brainwaves as real events, producing exercise or improvement effects.
Higher sync rate meant stronger illusions.
Higher difficulty meant greater workload, amplifying the sheer volume of stimuli.
Naturally good physique allowed more precise visualization of virtual muscles, ensuring accurate transmission of stimuli.
The results—mutual reinforcement between real and virtual worlds—were quite impressive.
'Most intriguing are the responses from awakeners, not civilians.'
Awakeners, who dealt with mana, a concept akin to internal energy.
Some of them claimed their mana had increased after playing games.
Not every awakener, of course.
Only those who excelled at games.
Those with synchronization talents.
A tiny fraction.
'This confirms it.'
Not a personal delusion or coincidence.
Internal energy growth occurs when you play games with focus and skill.
Not exclusive to Half-Demon Gorge.
Safe to say it's common across most physical games.
Particularly, Simil Corp games showed the highest incidence of mana growth cases.
'No reports of sudden disappearances among those who gained strength or mana enhancements.'
Safety verified.
And beyond that level, there were unexpected analytical findings.
It wasn't that gaming awakeners were dangerous—rather, non-gaming awakeners were the risky ones.
A story she couldn't comprehend at all.
[Can I meet an awakener in person?]
"A gaming awakener?"
Jua Young couldn't hide her embarrassment.
"As you know, sis, it's rare for awakeners to play games. And I'm still just a trainee, so..."
[Don't worry about it. Just a casual question.]
"If you really want, there's a chance to meet other awakeners... but I don't know if they play games."
[Where would that be?]
"My academy. If you come as a one-day instructor, you can meet the other instructors. What do you think?"
Awakeners working as instructors at the awakener academy.
Using them as a sample to examine the correlation between games and personality.
A fairly intriguing proposal.
[That's fine up to there.]
Tempting as it was.
She wasn't a real awakener.
She couldn't be hired as a one-day instructor at an academy requiring official awakener licenses.
Even if the identity issue were resolved.
What she wanted to know was whether the internal energy growth was safe.
Not the causal link between games and awakeners' personalities.
'I've achieved my goal.'
Nothing to hesitate over.
Hae Eung-eung steeled her resolve.
"Was the info helpful?"
[More than enough.]
Resolve to dive deeper into Half-Demon Gorge.