ALL NOVEL Chapter 38
The release of the Legend Fighter was rapidly prepared.
We were testing and getting ready for the completion level, along with the yet-to-be-implemented story mode and sound.
Preparing suitable sounds for each character proved to be quite challenging for me alone, so I requested the J Bard Guild to produce the songs.
I started to feel that someone like Lauren, who handles sound, was needed.
And then, after two weeks, the day finally arrived.
“Yuren! We’ve finally completed everything!”
“Good job, Julia!”
The day when all characters, stages, and stories were completed had finally come.
Even Apollo was exhausted from using the Bongbong Drink spell, and we applauded joyfully with tired faces.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
After two nights of pulling all-nighters, Julia looked at me with a desperate expression.
“Can I finally take a break now?”
“Yeah, you can relax over there while playing the game.”
I pointed to the game area where the priests were testing the game.
Playing while resting and testing the balance—how great is that?
“What kind of rest is that! It’s just balance testing!”
“Tsk, guess you’re not buying it.”
Julia had gained a lot of experience during the game development this time around.
Sadly, I allowed Julia to take a break.
With the game getting ready, the production line was set up with the slime crystal ball prepared by Sylvia.
The support from the Minister’s Office was also in place, and with the addition of ‘Shock Absorption Chairs’, the highly anticipated release date was set.
During the two months I spent developing the fighting game, many other schools released various games.
Surprisingly, some of the new games started to resemble those from my previous life.
“Hey! Have you tried the new Snow Man?”
“Of course! Have you tried Bubble Bubble?”
“Bubble Bubble? What’s that?”
Snow Man, the game about an Eskimo going up to the sky, and Bubble Bubble, a game featuring cute bubble dinosaurs, had both come out.
It wasn’t an Eskimo but an Ice Dwarf, and instead of dinosaurs, it was baby dragons—but the important thing was that I could feel the advancements in gaming.
“With this, we might even beat Super Thomas, right?”
“Maybe not Super Thomas, but I think we can beat the Sky Dragon.”
With that, many schools began challenging our Irene School again.
Now that these guys had shown a chink in their armor, it seemed it was time for some mental training.
I’ll let them experience the newly upgraded 16-bit game world.
[Hello, everyone! This is JYJ from the J Bard Guild!]
Today was the day to announce the release of Legend Fighter.
We gathered around the broadcasting crystal ball and listened intently.
[Today, I bring you an amazing piece of news! The Irene School, who gave us joy through Tetric and Super Thomas, is surprisingly launching a new game!!!]
The familiar, upbeat voice of the bard, now accustomed to our ears, resonated through the crystal ball.
Though he was definitely unseen, it felt like he was performing magic with red sunglasses as he continued the broadcast.
[The title of this upcoming game is ‘Legend Fighter’, a fighting game that stimulates the soul of a man!! Just hearing about it makes me want to play it—it’s exactly my taste!]
I could hear the sound of fists flying through the broadcast.
Is that person really throwing punches?
[The release date for the game is astonishingly tomorrow!!! I’m heading out to buy it myself right after this!!]
I think I heard a gasp echoing through the entire village.
What was that? Just my imagination?
[Oh dear, time’s up! Well then, let’s wrap this up quickly. I’m too busy for this.]
After a brief broadcast, JYJ truly seemed in a rush to end the stream.
From the sounds, it seemed he was genuinely about to dash out to buy the game.
[So let me finish with the song ‘Empire Man’s Fist and Tears’. Have a good night! This has been JYJ of the J Bard Guild!]
With that, the broadcast ended.
Excuse me? Did he cut off the song ‘Empire Man’s Fist and Tears’ like that?
Excuse me?
*
News that the next game from the Irene School, famous for Super Thomas and Tetric, was dropping [Legend Fighter] became a hot topic among gamers.
“Hey! The Irene School released a new game!”
“Let’s go check it out!!”
Stores were overflowing with people, including those from the Edward Consortium and other businesses that received orders from them across the Empire.
“Wow…”
“Look at all these people!”
A large game screen that was prominently displayed in front of the shop drew in even more attention from the crowd waiting for the game.
“Wow…”
“This is insane…”
There was a special video playing that was edited to showcase only the epic gameplay.
From the dazzling graphics of the 16-bit world, to characters clashing in eye-popping action, nobody could tear their eyes away from the stunning visuals and charismatic characters, getting lost in the world of fighting games.
“I have to buy this!”
“Me too!!”
But there was a downside to the more luxurious graphics.
The price of the game shot up because they were using expensive crystal balls.
“The game costs 80,000 gold!?”
“Prices have gone up… how can we…?”
There had been a time when game prices soared to 1,000,000 gold, but that was a temporary bubble.
As supply increased and demand stabilized, game prices settled around 30,000 to 40,000 gold.
Now suddenly, 80,000 gold felt burdensome for the kids.
“Hey kids, if the game’s too expensive, just enjoy it at the game store for 100 gold!”
“Wow, really?”
But it wasn’t absolutely necessary to purchase the game to enjoy it.
Because there was a way to play it affordably for 100 gold in game stores.
In the Empire where gaming culture had become established, game stores were now commonly seen alongside taverns.
And ‘Legend Fighter’ capped off that culture perfectly.
『Oh wow!!! Wryugen! Radek! Hu! Huh!』
Sounds of characters’ special moves echoed continuously in the game store.
Like in the chair shot test, the thrill of a fighting game that stimulates strength resonated with everyone.
Plus, some things were possible because it was another world.
“You’re heading to the game store again, aren’t you?!”
“Mom! I’m not playing games; I’m going to learn martial arts.”
Along with the game release, the Minister’s Office distributed the game for free to various martial arts dojos within the Empire.
It allowed people training in martial arts to enjoy the game free of charge.
When kids found out they could play games for free by learning martial arts, they flocked to the dojos, getting stronger both mentally and physically while enjoying the games.
Of course, everything has its downsides.
Boom!
“This damn game sucks!”
It was expected that kids who had become strong both physically and mentally would start throwing down at the game store.
Fights broke out, and there were countless chair shots.
But that was alright.
Edward Consortium and the Minister’s Office implemented shock absorption chairs to prepare for this.
The enchanted chairs absorbed the force of impacts like you would from a rubber mallet.
While they weren’t completely painless, getting hit usually meant the guy who was struck had just achieved an incredible win.
Since I was the victor who was hit, it didn’t feel bad at all—instead, it gave an odd thrill to the winner.
So over time, the taunts and chair shots in the game store began to transform into a sign of respect.
“Please don’t play like that. (You’re really good at this game.)”
“Damn it, you bastard! (I’m genuinely impressed by your skills.)”
“You’re really playing stupidly! (I’m no match for your divine technique.)”
Surely, the pinnacle of respect in the game store was this.
Boom!
“You’re the damn best! (I acknowledge you as the greatest.)”
“Wow! It’s my first chair shot!!”
People were throwing chair shots out of both anger and respect, and soon enough, getting hit by a chair shot five times became a mark of mastery.
A new playful culture unique to the Empire was starting to emerge.
And as this news made its way to the Ra Kingdom, the diplomat Paris was experiencing a tough time reporting this fact to his superiors.
“So to summarize, there’s now a game made from real martial arts in the Empire, and kids are learning martial arts while playing the game—if they lose, they hit the winner with a chair as a sign of respect?”
“Yes! That is correct.”
“…And you want me to believe that right now?”
Paris could do nothing but speak about what he had seen and heard.