studiobondurri Season 2: Chapter 229: Memory Arcade (2)
Season 2: Chapter 229: Memory Arcade (2)
Season 2: Chapter 229: Memory Arcade (2)
Sa-Rang thought to herself, "Not bad."
She casually came here because of Popcorn's recommendation. Although she initially felt reluctant, she began to feel quite good after recklessly defeating the fifth opponent.
"Wow!"
"Whoa!"
"Insane!"
"Wow... so stingy. Stingy."
Listening to the cheers of fighting game fans wasn't as bad as she thought. Ironically, she enjoyed hearing the high praise from the losers. No, enjoying it was an understatement. It felt like something was coming back to life inside her, like a dormant memory was stirring.
Scientists said that memories were stored in certain parts of the brain. Well, she wasn't sure about that.
Sa-Rang loosened her neck and shook her head.
[A new challenger has appeared!]
[Accept]
Click.
Her fingertips felt a tingling sensation as she pressed the button. At that moment, she didn't believe memories were stored in the brain.
The tingling sensation climbed up her fingers and made her legs, hidden under the blanket, twitch involuntarily. It triggered a flurry of past scenes as if searching for old memories. Her hands moved of their own accord beyond her control.
Perhaps memories were the individual recollections each cell held, hidden in every nook and cranny of the body. Maybe... if she diligently searched every corner, her legs would remember again.
"It's possible."
Boom!
"Wow!"
"Combo after combo! She’s not unable to use combos after all!"
Tap-tap-tap.
Her fingers weren’t moving the joystick and pressing the buttons through conscious thought. They seemed alive with their own choices.
Of course, this was all fantasy. It would end soon. It wouldn't be long. By the time the fantasy ended, the result was clear.
"K.O.!"
"Victory! That was so quick!"
“Sigh.”
A light smile lingered on her lips as she exhaled the breath she had been holding.
"Amazing! Another perfect game! That’s six wins in a row! Can anyone even land a punch on her?"
"Next opponent!? No one else?"
The challenger who lost to her awkwardly scratched his head and fled. No new challengers came forward.
"Hmm?"
Then, someone caught her eye.
***
Sang-Hyeon looked up at the worn-out sign.
"This classic arcade... could be fun."
Although it was a classic arcade, Sang-Hyeon didn't have much nostalgia for it. He had gone a few times with friends, but never out of his own interest.
He felt that it was a luxury even though it was an inexpensive hobby compared to mobile games with in-app purchases. It wasn’t because he was too poor to afford a few rounds in the arcade.
The issue wasn't with his wallet, but his heart. Back then, Sang-Hyeon had no leisure in his heart. To him, the arcade was just a pathetic place where carefree fools wasted their time.
He still agreed with that to some extent...
— wow
— Such a vibe lol
— Pure romance
— The era when there wasn't a 5 player game... I miss it...
— So nostalgic!
The audience felt differently. They had built memories at the arcades rather than wasted time.
"It feels different."
At such times, Sang-Hyeon felt a significant distance from the lives of ordinary people.
A ringing like tinnitus echoed in his head and everything seemed to zoom out, leaving him alone. What life had he led and how should he live in the future?
Sang-Hyeon shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"I've done this before."
He strained again to somehow crawl back to the distant world.
"I'll give it a try."
— Go go go go
— Good
— I wonder what this man is like outside the capsule?
— If there's no vns rating, he’s not clumsy, right? lol
— This is going to be interesting lol
Indeed, she was a pro gamer.
— Oh wow shit
— Max level provocation lol
— Whoa lol
— "Noona, I'm dying here! (For real)"
— What's with her aura? Intense
— Is she an Almond fan?
Sang-Hyeon bit his lip, but what could he do? He was a streamer. When such an opportunity arose, participating was his destiny. Still, he tried to resist once.
"I'm not very good at this game, you know."
Sa-Rang knowingly smirked, still tapping on the arcade machine across from her.
"Ah, I know. It's not fun just to win ten consecutive times. Please make it seven consecutive wins for me."
"What?"
Seven consecutive wins for her?
Sang-Hyeon's expression momentarily stiffened.
"Ooooh~"
Noticing Sang-Hyeon's reaction, the audience cheered and the viewers did the same.
— Lololol
— Seeing the always cocky Almond getting a proper lesson is already satisfying lol
— I was the top predator in another world, but I'm just an arcade nerd in reality!?
— This is the romance of the arcades, kiddo~
The viewers were mistaken. Even if it was a capsule game, he had no way out because she was JeonJaPa.
"Please do it~"
"If not Mr. Almond, then who?"
"Challenge! Challenge!"
Not just the viewers, but people all around started clamoring for him to take up the challenge. Apparently, Choi Sa-Rang would achieve ten consecutive wins and this challenge would end if no one stepped up.
The decision didn't take long.
"I'll play."
With those words, Sang-Hyeon sat in front of the arcade machine.
***
"Just place your card on top and the money will be deducted automatically!"
There was no need to exchange cash for coins. Simply placing his card on the arcade machine would suffice.
"Do you have any prior experience with this game?"
Sang-Hyeon stared at the famous arcade machine. It was Fist of Power 14, the fourteenth game in a well-known fighting game series.
"Ah... The last one I saw was Fist of Power 8."
"Yes, that was a long time ago, wasn't it? Actually, not much has changed. It just has better graphics, improved hit feedback, new maps, and new characters."
— Everything changed then?
— What stayed the same? lol
— Lol
— The romance disappears with new characters~
Having new characters could make it difficult to adapt.
The announcer added as if reading Sang-Hyeon's mind, "But today, this machine is set to classic mode. You won't have to suffer from not knowing the new character combos!"
"Ah..."
Many nostalgic games utilized this feature lately. While upgrading the game's graphics and basic performance, they captured elements that could evoke nostalgia among old players.
'Thankfully, I won't die to some weird combo.'
Thinking this, Sang-Hyeon pressed the button and a famous phrase appeared.
"New~ Challenger~~!"
[A new challenger has appeared!]
Click.
Choi Sa-Rang's character posed in a fighting stance and the character selection screen appeared.
'Choi Sa-Rang will choose Heihachi, then...'
Heihachi, a representative character of the game, was known for his extreme bald hairstyle. He was so famous that even those who didn't know the game recognized him.
'Who should I choose?'
The Fist of Power series didn't really have character specific counters. Even if it did, countering characters varied by skill level so it didn’t matter.
Sang-Hyeon didn’t know about these counters anyway. He just chose a character he used to play back in the day.
[Parang]
This character with a Korean background was known for using taekwondo.