Chapter 21: It’s just a Cat

How long has it been? The feeling of my heart pounding as if the air of the battlefield was seeping in.

That’s right. I admit it. Whether I once thought war was terrible is no longer important. Now I like to fight. So, enduring wasn’t the answer.

Starting as an Executor, a position suitable for an archer. In the forest, a map separated from other team members, I aim for early growth.

I rested for a long time, but my senses are not rusty at all. Rather, they are more sensitive and sharper. My body is light, and the arrows do not deviate from my intentions.

Soon, two enemies fall.

As easy as it is, there is no agitation in my heart. I move only with the thought of loosening up my body.

The real deal is from the moment the battlefields merge. When everyone’s eyes intersect. When the shouts and the clash of metal are heard. When magic and arrows pour down, short but intense moments.

That first moment came sooner than expected.

Enemies gathered in front of the mid-sized object, the ‘Ether Core.’ Since the team decided to give it up, I was the only one approaching them.

From afar, I raise my bow high and aim…

Then I slowly lower it. I bring it closer to my chest, and firmly grip an arrow in my other hand. I tilt my upper body and pull my legs back. A posture just before rushing into the enemies.

If I don’t fight the same way as in the past, I won’t be able to prove myself to those who are testing me outside.

Of course, there was that reason too.

But more than anything, I also wanted to test myself.

Not just chasing thrills, not just giving in to instinct, not just being eager to quench my thirst.

In the whirlwind of battle, can I control myself? No matter how much my heart and body race, can I move only when it is the result of my choice?

This was the place to prove that. Explaining the hack was just a secondary issue.

Whoosh.

With a special technique allowed by the game, I drastically increase my body speed. With the bow in hand, I rush into the enemy lines. The enemies react and turn around.

I take it in with my eyes. No, I take it in with my whole body.

The direction of their gazes. The hands holding weapons, and the angles at which their toes are pointing. The subtle trembling movements. The sand and rocks on the plain. Even how they stand among them.

Before my eyelids close once, I draw it out. The trajectories that will come towards me. The path to survival that is faintly revealed between them.

That path overlapped with the deaths of the enemies.

Swish, Thud!

I lightly alternate my steps, as if lightly jumping. Lightning and arrows hit the innocent ground. The ground was overturned.

Whoosh.

The tip of the spear and my chest drew a parallel line. Because I twisted my body slightly. And the opponent couldn’t avoid my arrow fired from very close range. It staggers after being hit twice in the chest.

Clang!

I roll between the intersecting twin swords to avoid them. I immediately stand up, but an arrow was stuck in the opponent’s back.

However, there was no time to rest. The enemies, who wouldn’t die easily, started pouring out attacks again.

Many times, I turn my body in the air. Arrows are fired in all directions.

Suppressing the intense urge to run wild, I consciously controlled every movement. As such, I feel the strain all over my body.

My blood flow accelerates, making my heart pound. My head feels hot and painful as if it’s on fire.

But –

Even in pain, I was performing at my best.

Thud, thud, thud.

One by one the enemies fall, and the remaining three simultaneously fall back.

***

The screen displaying neural response data and movement records. The technical team from headquarters couldn’t take their eyes off the monitor for even a moment.

Fearing excessive attention, they provided an anonymous Master account instead of ‘Elf Cho Eun’ and were demonstrating actual ranked gameplay.

Various sensors and EEG devices collected neural response data in real-time and recorded movements.

Based on the time the subject detected a reaction, the time to the first movement was compared. In other words, how quickly one flinches at a stimulus was the main verification goal.

“First situation detection complete. Reaction speed 0.07 seconds.”

An engineer whispered while looking at the screen. The graph rapidly surged, displaying a new record.

“0.07 seconds? W-wait a minute. Isn’t the average 0.25 seconds in a normal test?”

The engineer next to him asked.

“That’s right. Even cases where it dropped below 0.15 seconds have never been recorded before. But that…”

Their gaze briefly lingered on the subject, who was moving gracefully and sharply like an avatar, without any of the flailing movements commonly seen in VR.

“Um, let’s move on to the next avoidance situation for now.”

The subject dodges an attack flying in a virtual environment by flipping their body. New data appeared on the screen.

“0.065 seconds…! Amazing. This is completely superhuman level.”

Another engineer magnified the data log and made a serious expression.

“The expression ‘superhuman’ is really fitting. At that level, it’s definitely not human. It’s just that the reaction speed is like that of a cat.”

Their conversation couldn’t continue any further. Because the data started to change once again.

The subject’s reaction speed was getting faster and faster. The engineers just widened their eyes, not even thinking about closing their mouths, and looked back and forth between the screen and the moving subject.

“0.05!”

From somewhere, a scream-like shout rang out.

0.05 seconds for a specific motion of drawing a bow. In other words, the reaction occurred almost simultaneously with the detection of movement.

“0.05 seconds recorded… Now it’s almost the same level as the server processing speed…”

The engineer who barely managed to speak trailed off. His face was filled with disbelief at the unbelievable reality he was witnessing.

Most of the people in the room had very similar expressions to the engineer.

However, one person, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from headquarters, was relatively calm. Of course, he couldn’t completely hide his surprise, but more than that, his eyes were sparkling with a different emotion. Expectation.

He leaned towards the head game designer sitting next to him.

“Now the problem will be how to handle this data. We’ll have to explain it to the people currently observing at the Korean branch soon.”

“We will inevitably have to request strict confidentiality. Such data should not be disclosed yet.”

At the designer’s answer, the CTO nodded.

“Of course. The possibility of activating that function… must remain in the research stage.”

The CTO turned his head back to the subject. With help, she was removing the attached equipment.

‘However, it’s strange that she seems so tired and sweaty. Considering the stamina to play 18 hours a day, three games shouldn’t be this much…’

It was puzzling, but it wasn’t important in the current situation.

‘Considering the possibility of collaboration in the future, it’s necessary to maintain a good relationship with the company. I should ask the Korean branch to take care of this.’

The CTO, who picked up bottled water to hand it to her directly, approached the subject with a smile. Since he had confirmed that she was good at English, there was no need to ask for an interpreter.

“Thank you very much for your hard work. Personally, I was very impressed…”

***

[Gideon Vance]

CRADLE

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

I received a business card from a high-ranking person from the US headquarters. There was also a request to visit the headquarters sometime. He said they would fully support the visit schedule and any necessary arrangements.

The Korean staff also expressed their gratitude for my cooperation in the verification and apologized for the inconvenience.

It wasn’t like I was mistreated from the beginning, but after the verification was over, everyone seemed to be several times more polite. Even though I was an hour late, they seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

They even offered to take me home comfortably in a luxurious black sedan.

I was just holding on because I couldn’t show any unsightly behavior in front of others. In fact, it was difficult to even control my body. The recoil from the first attempt was that intense.

So I didn’t refuse and entrusted my body to the back seat of the sedan.

My body was exhausted, but my heart was very proud.

Because I found a way to satisfy my desire for battle without losing myself.

‘If it’s always like today, I can only play one or two games of Ori. But if I keep doing it this way, won’t I get used to it someday?’

When I got home, I collapsed onto the bed. I was thinking of checking the Cradle homepage every day starting tomorrow. After all, the hacking allegations had to be officially cleared for the VTuber acceptance to be confirmed.

I actually thought it would take a few days, but Cradle’s work was faster than expected. The next day, when I woke up late after a good night’s sleep, the announcement was already up.

[Announcement] Additional Verification Results

Hello, heroes.

This is the Cradle Korea Operations Team.

We would like to inform you of the results of a thorough additional verification regarding the recent allegations of unauthorized third-party program use related to a specific player raised in the community and in-game.

● Verification Results

Through additional verification with the player conducted by our company, it was finally confirmed that the player did not use any unauthorized third-party programs or illegal tools.

It is determined that the player’s gameplay was carried out in a legitimate manner that complied with all regulations.

● Summary of Verification Process

Based on existing data, we conducted additional real-time verification to increase reliability.

Through this, we confirmed that the player’s outstanding technical ability is within the systemically permitted play range.

Cradle Korea’s Position

We express our sincere regret to the player who was unnecessarily embroiled in controversy due to this incident, and we hope to resolve the misunderstanding in the community.

Cradle Korea will continue to do its best to create a fair gaming environment, and we will strengthen our internal verification procedures to prevent similar situations from occurring.

We thank you for your continued feedback and interest, and we will strive to provide a more enjoyable gaming environment.

Thank you.

From the Cradle Korea Operations Team

And, I received two more emails.

[Partner Streamer Proposal] Special Collaboration Proposal with Cradle Korea

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