Chapter 14: It’s a legend that it disappears for…

A legend.

It was the result of a crazy challenge, sometimes it meant overturning the impossible, and it was a story that people talked about even after time passed.

No sleep. No food. No rest. Just continuing to play the game.

Elf Cho Eun’s 100-hour continuous broadcast was enough to become a legend in the internet broadcasting world.

Even after the broadcast ended, stories about the broadcast continued for a while in various communities.

And so, people wanted to see the next page of the legend.

What on earth was he thinking when he did that broadcast? I want to hear his thoughts on the last broadcast. He’s a

hacker, is he really? If not, wouldn’t there be content where he slowly replays and analyzes it? I’m also curious about

his physical condition. Is it possible for a person to play a game for 100 hours and be fine?

The next day. Elf Cho Eun’s broadcast, which had never been off-air before, didn’t turn on. But everyone thought it was natural. He had stayed up for several nights, so he had to sleep.

The second day was the same. Since it wouldn’t be strange to sleep for two whole nights.

But on the third, fourth, and even fifth day, all they could see when they entered Elf Cho Eun’s channel was a dark screen.

At that point, the fact that the broadcast wasn’t on became another hot topic. The fact that his whereabouts were unknown stimulated the imagination even more.

Amidst the growing curiosity, many people waited for news of Elf Cho Eun.

But it was the game company Cradle’s announcement that delivered the news before Elf Cho Eun’s broadcast.

[Origin Rift Gallery]

Title: Cradle’s announcement regarding the hack is out!

Content:

[Announcement] Additional Verification Regarding Game Play

Hello, heroes.

This is the Cradle Korea Operations Team.

Recently, there have been many controversies in the community and in-game regarding allegations of unauthorized

third-party program usage related to a specific player. In response, Cradle has carefully reviewed the player’s server

data and game records, and confirmed the following results.

)Investigation Results

After a multifaceted review of server records, game logs, and replay data, no use of unauthorized third-party programs or illegal tools was found.

The security solution that detects the intervention of external programs in the system also did not record any anomalies.

Guidance on Further Verification

However, as some play patterns and reaction speeds were found to exceed general standards, we would like to conduct additional verification directly with the player to maintain a fair gaming environment.

Verification Method: We will conduct additional confirmation and reliability verification of the play situation through individual contact with the player.

As soon as the additional verification is completed, we will inform you of the results again.

We thank you for your interest and feedback, and we will continue to do our best to create a more fair and pleasant gaming environment.

Thank you.

From the Cradle Korea Operations Team

Comments:

-The announcement is too long, can someone summarize it in one line

ㄴSummary: If you’re not illiterate, just read it

-So is he a hacker or not?

ㄴFor now, he’s not.. It says no external programs were found

– Does Cradle handle things like a small company? If additional verification is needed, they should have announced a definite conclusion after it was all done

ㄴThis is actually the right way to do it. After the 100-hour stream and disappearance, all related forums are talking about it. They have to put out the fire first

– So Cradle will meet Elf Cho Eun in person? Then we can find out what the situation is depending on the next announcement

-There were rumors that he died after the 100-hour mark

ㄴThat guy really went out in style…

[Pajijik Gallery]

Title: I’m an Elf Cho Eun subscriber, let me say one thing

Content: (Subscription Verification)

I admit I went to the first stream to stir things up because I also use Pajijik Gallery…

But as I watched, the stream was kind of fun, and he seemed like a decent person, so I stayed.

Elf Cho Eun is a bit eccentric and stubborn. But did he really commit such a great wrong?

He streamed for 18 hours straight every day. He never lost his temper even when viewers provoked him.

Should you have stepped on him so hard for an unconfirmed hacking allegation?

Honestly, it’s f*cked up that you guys swarmed in and made him quit, but I’d rather he just quit

I’m worried that something bad might have happened as rumored, so it would be better if he just quit

[Upvotes: 105 / Downvotes: 68]

Comments:

-I’m sorry…

ㄴBut honestly, we didn’t take him down, the firepower difference with the Ori gallery is huge

ㄴWhat do you mean you didn’t, you took the bait from here to the Ori gallery and made it big

-Look at this idiot, so obsessed with a catfish

– Why are you complaining to us? Isn’t he the one who got worked up and escalated things on his own? Did anyone force him to play Ori for 100 hours with a knife to his throat?

Title: It’s ridiculous that that kind of post is trending

Content: So is the hacking allegation completely cleared up now?

If Cradle can’t even make a conclusion on their own, isn’t it right to think that there’s something going on?

The gallery’s sniping post mainly pointed out the reaction speed, and the announcement says the same thing.

He quit streaming? So what. He got scared and ran away when things got big and Cradle asked to contact him. And he’s not even logging into Ori, which he used to play like a wreck.

Here, we just raised a legitimate suspicion, and he’s the one who disappeared without explaining after acting strangely.

Please stop being swayed by emotions like a girl and look at the situation objectively.

Comments:

– Don’t you think you sound more like a loser than that trending post guy?

ㄴWhy does it seem like there’s a mysterious Cho Eun cult forming, he’s just speaking facts

After that, there were various opinions about Elf Cho Eun in the gallery, but it wasn’t concluded in one direction.

This was because Cradle’s announcement left room for debate.

***

“Water….”

It was a burning thirst. My blood felt dry, and it was even difficult to breathe.

Thud.

I almost lost my balance for a moment, tripping over computer parts on the floor.

I dragged my trembling body to the bathroom. I didn’t even have the confidence to take a few more steps. To the place with water, as quickly as possible.

I leaned my head over the sink and brought my mouth to the flowing stream of water. There was no elegance befitting an elf, but I couldn’t help it now.

“Phew….”

I raise my head. I face my reflection in the mirror, with water droplets on my lips.

I didn’t look as haggard as I thought. Only a few strands of disheveled golden hair were sticking out. My skin was a little paler, but it wasn’t noticeable.

Still beautiful, my beautiful appearance.

That appearance rather brought sadness.

It felt like I had been too harsh on myself, like this. Not cherishing myself more, not accepting myself as I was, and pushing myself to the edge.

“…I’m not crying.”

It was just that too many memories came to mind all at once, making me a little disturbed. Pretending not to see the moisture that lingered in my purple eyes, I went out.

The room I returned to was a mess. I must have grabbed the monitor when I fell, because it was tilted forward, and various objects were scattered around the crumpled mat on the floor.

I took off the VR band that was still on my wrist and checked the time.

…I don’t know how much time has passed. I checked the time when the broadcast ended to estimate the time.

A whole day and half a day had passed.

Since losing consciousness in the scenery that I could never have thought of as a game at the time, that much time had passed.

There were warning signs. As I spent most of my days playing Ori… there were often moments when the line between game and reality blurred.

In the end, the game that started a few days ago, when old thoughts and emotions overflowed.

It made me lose my way, and eventually, it swallowed me up.

Even now that I’ve realized it, the jumbled fragments in my head won’t settle down. I’m even cautious about closing my eyes. What if I close my eyes and open them, and all this scenery has changed?

This wasn’t why I came back. There was absolutely no need to repeat the experiences of those times, when the most difficult and painful battles continued.

Even in this situation, I felt hungry.

If I’m feeling this hungry after not eating for days and just drinking some water, this is an amazing body.

Would beef bone soup… be enough? I tore open the seal of the retro container.

As I watched the cloudy soup boil, I slowly unraveled the tangled thoughts in my heart.

Ori, I’ll try to hold back for a while. I shouldn’t even log in.

But then another thought comes to mind.

If there’s one thing I’ve realized after reaching this point.

I was clearly addicted not to the game, but to battle. I didn’t know the reason, but that was the fact.

If so, can I solve it by quitting Ori? Maybe Ori was satisfying my desire for battle.

Whether I should play Ori or not. It was a difficult problem to conclude on my own. Until the soup was ready and set on the table, I continued to ponder deeply.

Vrrring.

My smartphone vibrated. The calls I received, without any saved contacts, were obvious.

Spam, advertisements, insurance solicitations, voice phishing.

Usually, I would just ignore them, but the calls kept coming while I was eating.

I don’t look at my phone while eating anyway. I turned it off completely and put it down on the chair.