Chapter 124: Testing Start

The fervent reaction that heated up Static Gallery was, literally, a spark. The wind was already blowing from all directions.

First, Yoon Chaedam posted on Linsta again.

---

I was lying down to sleep, and the notifications went crazy!
I clicked because I heard Leah covered ‘AS IF YOU.’
I remembered her from her stream where she sang ‘That Day,’ and now she’s singing my song like that.
I’m grateful, and honestly, a little choked up.
But then the next song…
I couldn’t come to my senses while listening…
Leah, really… who are you?

---

#EsumiLeah #ASIFYOU #ThatDay #QueenOfTheNightAria #Vtuber #MindBlown

There were reactions in vocal music and classical music cafes as well.

Title: Have you seen this video? It’s <Queen of the Night Aria> sung by a Vtuber

• I thought it was one of those common cover videos on YouTube and was about to turn it off after 10 seconds, but I noticed the quality of the sound was different from the beginning, and I was captivated until the end…

• Is it okay to just introduce her as a Vtuber? I feel like that expression is almost an insult to her. Isn’t it at a level that even professionals would admire?

• I’ve seen a lot of these characters in videos lately… I learned about ‘Vtuber’ for the first time this time. Honestly, I had a prejudice, thinking the music would be frivolous, but I was surprised by her phrasing and how steady her breathing was.

• To handle high notes like that without straining her vocal cords, she’s probably familiar with the bel canto style of singing, or has internalized abdominal breathing to a reflexive level. Above all, the sound doesn’t waver even when she focuses on emotional expression. That’s even more impressive.

• The coloratura section in the latter half is honestly difficult to even mimic without professional training, but she was completely in control while singing. Especially in the development section leading up to the high notes in the latter half, there were no instances where the legato broke down.

The trajectory of the ignited reactions eventually reached the mass media.

Two days after the broadcast, an article title in the arts and culture section caught my eye.

< “The ‘Queen of the Night’ sung by a virtual idol… more stage-like than the actual stage”
— Rookie Vtuber ‘Esumi Leah’ shakes the classical music world with her cover performance >

The once unfamiliar combination of ‘Vtuber and classical music’
Is no longer just a fantasy.
Recently, a video of virtual character ‘Esumi Leah’ singing the complete “Queen of the Night Aria” from The Magic Flute during an online stream is rapidly spreading through online communities.

…Among some vocal music majors and music critics, expressions like “the first opera performance held in a virtual space” are being used to describe this performance.

…The possibility is being raised that ‘Vtuber music,’ once dismissed as simple subculture content, could officially enter the table of artistic discussion.

And yet, amidst this enthusiasm…

There were still places that hadn’t reacted yet.

No one could predict how far the reverberations of a single song would spread.

---

I received a lot of messages.

When I entered the Blooming Core server, everyone called me opera singer Leah.

Honestly, I didn’t expect it to become this big of a deal.

The operatic vocalization, the high notes… I just practiced while listening, and it just worked… that was the extent of my awareness.

Now, I realized how exceptional it was. So, I wondered if there was another reason besides the Elven language having a similar structure to music.

Perhaps my experience resonating with spiritual beings had an effect.

Especially high-ranking spirits, direct contact with the Spirit King was something ordinary spirit summoners never experienced.

The times I synchronized with them, the moments I let my emotions flow in tune with their waves…

Could they have left some kind of mark on my current voice?

There’s no way these high notes could come out this easily otherwise.

This resonance existing within me, even though it wasn’t learned through training.

The memory of the spirits was fleeting.

Soon, I lifted my head, remembering what I had to do.

Today was the day the equipment Gideon promised to send would arrive. My first home experiment was also scheduled.

The delivery box was smaller than expected.

About the size of a thin laptop. There was no logo.

There were two items inside.

One was a long, flexible black band.

Long enough to reach from my waist to the nape of my neck, yet soft and pliable in my hand.

The other was a thin device that looked like a headband.

Designed to be worn on the forehead, it had thin pads on the front and sides.

[ Confirm placement before use.]

The instructions were short and concise.

I wrapped the black band around my lower back and secured the end at the nape of my neck. I thought it would be stiff, but it naturally followed the curves of my body.

I pressed the headband onto my forehead.

It felt like it was lightly gripping above my ears, securing itself.
I turned my head, but it didn’t budge.

[NSB connected]
[ENH connected]
[Neural pattern synchronization commencing…]

The monitor turned on.

Gideon Vance’s face quietly appeared.

“Choi-Wong-nim. Thank you for connecting.”

“Please just call me Leah.”

“The name you use during broadcasts. Understood.”

After that, a few more unfamiliar faces appeared.

People sitting in front of monitors inside a lab.

“Today’s experiment includes a blind environment. Your basic vision will be blocked, and the combat conditions will be based on senses, not prediction.”

I exhaled softly.

Gideon quietly added.

“You may recall, this time the technical team will be observing in real-time. Security is maintained, so please focus on the gameplay.”

I briefly nodded.

Gideon didn’t smile or give a long explanation.

That was the signal that it was about to begin.

---

Can I shoot an arrow with my eyes closed?

It definitely seems harder than using a sword.

The sword is in my hand. Its weight and balance are transmitted directly to my palm. I can read the enemy’s direction and distance through physical contact.

But the arrow leaves my hand. It’s too far to reach without sight.

Still, I could do it.

Shooting an arrow wasn’t about ‘seeing.’

It was closer to drawing out the flow of movement already engraved in my body.

The enemy’s breathing intervals.
The texture of the air brushing against my skin.
The vibrations of weight transmitted through the ground.

All of that.
To me, it was a trajectory.

I simply
Released the string in accordance with that trajectory.

Yes. It was within the realm of ‘I can do it.’ ‘I can shoot even better’ would be unreasonable.

Up to this point, it was the way I fought in reality.

…But now.

Even though my vision was completely gone, it became clearer than before.

My body understood.

This was the immersion I had to deliberately create when I was an archer.

Discarding distance, entering into danger, focusing all my senses on a single rhythm. That place I could barely reach.

That was why, when I first played Spirit Ranger, it felt familiar.

And now.

Just by removing my sight, the immersion was there.

A VR game that couldn’t 100% reflect reality or my movements.

That’s why I had to push myself into danger and extremes to become immersed.

But the single sense of danger from not being able to see…
Brought back that immersion.

And, at the same time as I sensed that something had ‘begun.’

The ground beneath my feet shook.

It wasn’t touched or collapsing.

The floor just tilted slightly and then returned.

In the still air, a sensation as if my fingertips brushed against wet cloth.

Beside my ear. Very close, someone was weeping as if whispering.

The sound wasn’t directed at me. But it was definitely speaking to something, somewhere.

This place wasn’t a battlefield.

My senses were clear, but the information they indicated was… too abnormal.

Movement, sound, even weight.

They didn’t operate in a way an ‘elf could understand.’

The clearer my senses became, the stranger things felt.

That was when it happened.

The still floor quietly curled inwards. Faster than before, the space itself was distorting.

Pressure surged. Even without wind, something pushed beneath my skin. Like air filling my bones, a heavy density that felt like my body would burst.

That was this space’s way of ‘repelling’ me. This place felt alive, and it didn’t welcome me.

However.
There was another distinct ‘presence,’ different from that.

Not a sound, but an intent.
It made no sound, and there was no vision in the darkness.
But I could definitely tell.

Something had ‘recognized’ me.
And it was a being that wanted to kill me.

The pressure came from the space. But this was an enemy with volition.

It hadn’t moved yet. But it was preparing for the moment to move.

On the shaking floor, I gripped my bow tightly.

---

“Are we really proceeding… under these conditions?”

A technician muttered, staring intently at the experimental environment data displayed on the monitor.

Leah’s interface in the screen was completely blocked.

The HUD, visual aids, command prompts, all turned off.

But the simulation map for external observation was functioning normally.

The judgment lines on the map were becoming increasingly distorted, and the environmental data was being artificially warped.

“We can track the visualized location, but in there… she has to navigate through that with no senses.”

Another technician added in a whisper.

“This isn’t a test… it’s sensory deprivation. It’s not even at a level that can be called gameplay.”

For a moment, the air in the room seemed to still.

On the simulation screen, Leah, in a blind state, was moving without any guidance.

And Gideon Vance broke the silence.

“…Then we’ll get even more interesting data.”