The Real Physical Test
I set down the spoon I’d been eating with and clicked the link Karayang had sent me. It took me straight to a YouTube channel called Mad Movie. From a quick look around, it seemed to be a channel that uploaded game-related mad movies. Since I hadn’t watched much gaming content before starting my own streams, this was my first time hearing of it.
Browsing the channel, I spotted a video in the recommendations titled Wilds Hunter: Dante vs Haerang. ‘This has to be the one she meant.’ My name was literally in the title, after all. I clicked it immediately.
The video opened with an intense background track that hit right from the start. The beat felt like it could stir a person’s soul. When I checked the title of the music, it was called “Execution of Justice.” ‘Good choice of track.’ That earned a plus one point from me.
I let the beat carry me and watched the video all the way through. It couldn’t have been more than a day or two since it was uploaded, yet the quality was impressive. The editing was surprisingly well done. The music fit perfectly, and the cuts were sharp. Fast sections were sped up, while slower, heavier moments used slow-motion to add weight. The entire video had a strong sense of rhythm. It made sense why the channel had three hundred thousand subscribers. ‘They really nailed it.’
Even though it was footage of my own fight, it felt like I was watching someone else’s battle. ‘I wonder how many views it has?’ After the video ended, I scrolled down to check the view count.
‘Two hundred and forty thousand…?’ The video had only been up a short while, yet the views were exploding. ‘This many already?’ I was genuinely shocked. I hadn’t expected this level of attention at all.
As I stared at the view count, one clear conclusion formed in my mind. ‘At this rate, I should probably start my own YouTube channel.’ I didn’t have an editor yet, so I couldn’t produce videos of this quality myself, but this clip had shown me exactly how well my gameplay resonated with people. In a way, I’d just received free market validation. If the chance came up, I’d find an editor and start uploading right away.
Then another thought crossed my mind. The video was also trending in the gaming category. In a sense, public interest was already focused on me. After a moment of consideration, I messaged Karayang.
Her reply was, of course, an enthusiastic okay. She knew this was the perfect timing too. When the tide comes in, you row. That’s the rule.
Karayang and I each posted announcements about the collab on our channels. The reactions were explosive.
Host, you’re collabing already?
Karayang’s pretty big, this is gonna be lit lololol
Honestly their skill levels are similar, it’s just the experience gap
Super newbie stepping up!!
Karayang made it, collabing with Haerang and everything
The comments on her channel had a slightly different flavor.
She’s been watching Haerang’s streams every day after her own broadcast, guess her wish came true lol
Is this what they call buying the dip?
LMAOOOOOOOO
Karayang: Snatching them before they blow up
They already blew up lololol
Was Haerang a bamboo shoot? Growing crazy fast
Bamboo shoot my ass, she became a saint after watching Karayang
The “saint” reactions were especially strong. When I asked why, she laughed awkwardly.
“Ahahaha… I’ve been talking about you a lot on my streams…”
She hadn’t been streaming that long, yet she’d apparently mentioned me enough times to earn that title. It was honestly a little scary, so I decided not to press the issue. Some boxes are better left unopened.
After discussing it with Karayang, we set the collab for tomorrow evening at 8 PM. Judging by how fast the mad movie’s views were climbing, that seemed like it would be the peak. If we went live right on time, even people who didn’t normally watch either of us might tune in.
Once we’d roughly decided on the content, we simply waited for the next day to arrive.
And then the big day came. The mad movie had surpassed five hundred thousand views, and news of the Karayang and Haerang collab had spread far and wide. As soon as she started her stream, the viewer count shot up like crazy. After five minutes with the waiting screen up, the number had already hit an insane figure.
- Kaha!!!
- You said Haerang was coming today, where is he!!!
- Aaaaaah a collab!!
Karayang swallowed hard as she watched the chat fly by at blinding speed. Since I was already in her private room, I could clearly see how nervous she looked. For the record, I hadn’t turned on my own stream. We could have both gone live, but today’s broadcast was planned to run through her channel.
There were two big reasons for that. First, I was there as the helper who’d promised to assist her with Wilds Hunter Reality Mode. And second—
“Kaha!!”
The waiting screen vanished, and Karayang’s face filled the entire display. At the same time, the chat sped up even faster than before.
- Where’s Haerang!!!!
- Kara you look pretty today too
- Sensei please turn on your stream!!
- Kaha
“Hello everyone.”
“You all know what we’re doing today, right?”
- Yep!
- Cleaning up after Kara’s mess?
- lololololololol
- Why’d you try copying Reality Mode lol
- Fr lmao
“No, seriously!!”
Watching her get all worked up only made the viewers tease her more.
- It’s not true?
- lolololololol
- You can’t even deny it?
- Sorry everyone, our girl is like this
“Ugh…”
- She’s gonna cry lololol
- Kara crying again?
- Crybaby alert
She couldn’t say anything back and looked like she was about to explode from embarrassment, but her eyes kept darting across the chat at lightning speed. That alone proved why she was a pro streamer.
Then a donation popped up.
RamyunBokkeum has donated 1,000 won.
So are we only doing Wilds Hunter today?
Karayang’s eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly.
“Thank you for the 1,000 won donation, RamyunBokkeum-nim. Before I tell you what we’re doing today, let me first bring out Haerang-nim. You can come in now.”
At her words, I slowly made my appearance on stream.
“Paha. Hello everyone, I’m Haerang.”
- Hello!!!
- Haeha!!
- Didn’t expect to meet the host here
- Lmao fr
- Wait, the host isn’t streaming?
“That’s right, I won’t be turning on my stream today.”
- So you’re just splitting the POV?
- Yeah that makes sense
- That’s the standard way to do collabs anyway lol
In virtual reality collabs, both people could stream simultaneously, but it was also common for only one person to broadcast while splitting the viewpoint. Viewers could simply choose whichever perspective they wanted.
“The reason I’m collabing with Haerang-nim today is something most of you already know, but I’ll explain it again for those who don’t. As you all know, Haerang-nim is here today to help me with my Reality Mode run.”
- Sensei, thank you for your hard work
- Fr lmao
“However!” Karayang raised her index finger dramatically. “Before that, you all know that Haerang-nim got a perfect score on the training simulation, right?”
- Yes we do!!
- That was legendary lol
- Fr
- That’s why I started watching his streams
Some viewers clearly knew. Others didn’t.
- What’s that?
- He got a perfect score? I had no idea
- You can even get a perfect score…?
Just as I expected, a huge number of new viewers had come in through the mad movie. Karayang continued after reading the chat.
“Doesn’t that make you curious? Just how good is Haerang-nim’s physical ability?”
- Isn’t the perfect score enough proof?
- Fr
- Didn’t he already show his physical ability in Wilds Hunter?
“That’s true, but I think it’s best to confirm these things with actual numbers.”
KingOfTheStick has donated 1,000 won.
No way?
- That guy showed up again lololol
- Welcome, commoner!!
“Yes, some of you might have guessed it already. We’re going to do—”
This was the second reason I wasn’t streaming myself. By slowly building up the viewers’ expectations like this, she could draw in even more people. It was a technique only someone with more streaming experience than me could pull off. If it had been me, I would’ve just dropped the main dish right away.
Karayang adjusted the interface, and the cozy private room instantly transformed. Cool gray lighting filled the space, and professional equipment and interface panels appeared everywhere. We were now in a dedicated testing area.
“It’s the Dynamic Synchronization Test!! Or D.S.T. for short!! In terms everyone here understands, what do we call it?”
- The Real Physical Test!!
- Holy shit we’re actually doing this? lololololol
- lolololololololol
- Everyone watching today is a winner.
- Fr lmao
The viewers went wild at her words.
Dynamic Synchronization Test. Shortened to D.S.T. If the training simulation was a tutorial that checked someone’s physical ability, then D.S.T. was the real professional program that measured a person’s VR physical stats. Reaction speed, focus, synchronization rate, sensory feedback processing speed—everything that could be quantified inside virtual reality was displayed as hard numbers. If you wanted to prove your true physical ability, this was the test to take. That’s why people called it the “Real Physical Test.”
“Actions speak louder than words, right?” Karayang looked at me. “Are you ready, Haerang-nim?”
I slowly loosened up my body and gave her a nod.
“Then please move to the center.”
As soon as I stepped into the center, Karayang adjusted the interface again. Transparent walls rose up around me, creating an isolated testing zone with me at its center.
“Shall we begin right away?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“Then…”
When I nodded, she pressed the button in front of her. The isolation zone went pitch black in an instant. I stood still in complete darkness where I couldn’t even see my own hand.
Then—
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind whistled past my ear from far away. I instantly tilted my head back, and an arrow shot right past where my ear had been.
The test had already begun.
- lolololol is he gonna show us?
- Let’s goooo!!!