Chapter 39: The Mysterious Game
In the latest issue of FamiTongshin released this month, something really interesting happened.
Users who played Dragon Emblem gathered to tackle its strategy guide. I think the event was called something like "Conquer the King," right?
To prepare for the strategy guide for Dragon Emblem, which had a total of 25 stages, users voluntarily expressed their willingness to participate in the event. To investigate the reactions of these users, both the CEO of MinTech and Shige attended the event with me.
"I've been in game development for five years now, but I've never seen such a rare event."
Shige muttered, munching on a pastry and sipping milk, having skipped breakfast. I stood beside him, surveying the event venue with a satisfied smile.
Users sat in front of their respective monitors with determined expressions. For this event, FamiTongshin had prepared 100 Dragon Emblem cartridges, which they had obtained by sweeping through second-hand stores nationwide. That's why, including Shige and me, 100 users had gathered to clear Dragon Emblem.
Most of the players were male, but there were a few female users scattered among them. It was probably a 9:1 male-to-female ratio. Still, female gamers were like rare treasures at this time, and they easily captured the attention of the male players.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Junpei Ishimoto, a FamiTongshin reporter who will be participating in the Dragon Emblem Conquest Team and serving as your host."
Conquest Team? That name sounds fierce.
"If you're here, I consider you to be the most heroic of heroes who have knelt before Dragon Emblem's wicked difficulty countless times. Just to be safe, we'll share some information we've gathered from FamiTongshin and then jump right into the game. First, take a look over here!"
Junpei pointed at the wall of the event venue, and a simple game introduction was displayed using a projector.
"The company and creators behind Dragon Emblem are still shrouded in mystery. If you clear the game, you'll typically see the staff roll. So, if someone here clears the game today, we may finally uncover where this game was made!"
"Wow!"
The morale of the soldiers who had gathered to conquer the demon lord in Dragon Emblem was remarkable. Even the occasional female users shouted as passionately as if they were making a pact with the devil.
Well, after buying it for a thousand yen initially and later spending around 20,000 yen, it's only natural to be so passionate if you can't clear the game. I chuckled and sympathized with their cries.
Junpei looked around the crowd, wearing a satisfied smile, before continuing his explanation.
"Let's think about it. I purchased this game five times. The highest stage I've reached is 18, where I had to kneel at the Dark Dragon's Castle. I started playing one of the five with a friend's help, but after that, the cost of the four cartridges I bought alone amounted to 70,000 yen. I believe many of you here have spent a similar amount."
"I spent 200,000 yen!"
One user shouted in frustration, and Junpei responded with a teasing smile.
"It seems like you don't have the aptitude for this game."
Although the player's face turned red, he clamped his mouth shut. The atmosphere around him turned into a sea of laughter.
Watching Japanese variety shows and seeing guests being teased or making offensive remarks in public, I thought this kind of sarcasm might be unique to Japanese culture.
"Now, let's get serious. Just like the user who spoke earlier, some of you might not be familiar with the game's system, so I'll give a brief explanation. I'm sure you all know that if a character dies in the game, their data gets deleted, so let's move past that. Let me explain the compatibility between the classes briefly."
"Spear soldiers are effective against cavalry, while cavalry are effective against swordsmen. Swordsmen use a rock-paper-scissors system, and archers attack from two spaces away, being effective against dragon knights. However, be cautious because they have low defense. Dragon knights deal effective damage to all classes, but arrows are their bane. That's all you need to know. Play with that in mind, and we will surely reach the end of this game today!"
"Wow!"
And finally, if any of you manages to clear this game, we've prepared a reward of 100,000 yen for those who generously donate their cartridges to FamiTongshin. Please, let the first clear user be born here. Now, let's start the game.
"Ooh!"
With a battle cry reminiscent of the Spartans from the movie 300, the prologue of the game started in various places in the event hall, heralding the beginning of the game.
"Alright, let's bring it to an end this time."
Watching Shige, who had been inexplicably fired up, I smiled and pressed the start button. So, shall we attempt the clear this time?
About an hour passed since the event began, and around 20 users were eliminated around stage 5.
In stage 5, where the point was to pass through with no character losses, I also carefully placed my protagonist character in the forefront to attract the enemy's attention as an archer, continuously dealing damage. As a result, I was able to clear the first hurdle without any character losses.
However, users who lost even a single character gradually began to waver under the enemy's onslaught starting from stage 8. By the time stage 10 came around, about 30 users were once again eliminated in a large wave.
"Ah, everyone, please put in more effort. This game is similar to chess. If you're not careful with each character's movement, the balance can collapse quickly, and clearing becomes impossible the moment you lose even one character. If there's anyone who hasn't lost a character up to stage 10, please raise your hand."
At that, around 20 users, including Shige and me, raised their hands quietly.
"Great! There's still a chance. You can do it! Everyone, please give a round of applause to these players!"
"Go for it! Wow!"
Among the cheering players, there were even some students I had seen at bookstores in the past. Those guys tried the game too.
Starting from stage 10, Dragon Emblem increased its difficulty significantly as part of the story. If you hadn't evenly raised your characters until now, it became increasingly challenging to withstand the enemy's onslaught.
Seated next to me, Shige focused on the game without saying a word. To confront the enemy's relentless attacks, he gathered the troops as much as possible and then unleashed area attacks with the mage's magic.
And stage 15. In order to defeat the Demon Lord, Shige made a significant mistake. He forgot to stock up on recovery staffs in the shop and started the stage. Since Dragon Emblem employed an autosave system that wiped the existing save data as soon as the stage began, there was no way to go back.
"Ugh! I messed up!"
Shige's cry echoed loudly in the event hall. He did his best to minimize the damage to his allies, but...
"Katrina... Katrina! Ugh!"
Once again, he lost the main character. Katrina was a high priest with low health but played a crucial role in healing the allies, making a significant contribution to their overall strength. Losing her in stage 15 meant the game's completion was no longer achievable.
In a panic, Shige lost his composure and played passively, ultimately suffering defeat in stage 18, the battle against the Dark Dragon.
"Damn it... Is this where it ends?"
The event, which had started at 9 in the morning, was now approaching 6 in the evening. Out of the 100 users, including me, 11 had entered stage 20. Among them, four users had yet to lose a single character. Surprisingly, one of them was a female player.
"Ah, it's intense. Eleven players are struggling in their journey to conquer the brutally challenging Dragon Emblem. Oh! Just as I mentioned it... Two players have just game-overed. Now we have nine players left! Your support is needed now!"
Junpei, who had been watching the game, focused on society. As I entered stage 21, the game became incredibly difficult to the point where I felt like cursing.
"Even though I designed the levels, this is a bit too much."
In the forefront, the protagonist wielding the Sword of Light and the infantry knight, acting as a tank in heavy armor, had already evolved to their final classes as they confronted the boss. Behind them, Katrina had also reached the last class as a divine messenger.
The archer had learned the Eagle Eye skill, allowing them to provide long-range sniper support from ten squares away, and characters of a certain level were covering the rookies among the enemies so they wouldn't interfere.
"Where does this game end, anyway? We surveyed 100 users, and most expected the final stage to be 20, but the game is progressing toward stage 23."
The time was already 9 p.m. But no one in this place had left, and they were all silently watching the game's outcome. Finally, in stage 23, the Demon Lord appeared! And there were five users left! Surprisingly, two of them had yet to lose a single character.
The Korean player, Kang Junhyuk, and the lovely female player, Yuki, who were both employees of MinTech, were among them. To me, it seemed like one of these two might be the one to finish this game.
Stage 23... The fall of the Demon Lord. Ironically, the penultimate stage, stage 25, was much more challenging. The reason was...
"Ah! Finally! The Demon Lord has fallen! The Demon Lord that tormented the protagonist's party so much has been defeated for the first time in Sato's hands!"
"Wow!"
As news of the Demon Lord's defeat spread, people who had been silently watching the survivors' game began to gather around Sato.
And while everyone was relieved by the Demon Lord's demise, something astonishing happened within the game. A message box appeared on the screen, heralding the arrival of the Dark God.
"Oh... The Dark God!? Could it be now? Oh no!"
Everyone held their breath as the Dark God awakened within the Demon Lord's body, simultaneously dealing critical damage to the surrounding characters.
"No!''
In a single strike, player Satoshi lost nearly half of his characters without knowing anything. Then, with the emergence of the Dark God's magic, the game over message appeared on his screen in red letters.
"Darn it all!"
Kwahng! Enraged by taking a blow to the back of his head, Satoshi threw his gamepad to the ground. Thanks to his noble sacrifice, the remaining players began to adopt the strategy of keeping their allies as far away as possible from the Demon Lord, even before defeating it.
I, too, managed to reach the 23rd stage without losing a single character, thanks to the long-range sniping skills of two of my archers. Thus, I arrived at the descent of the Dark God unscathed.
The Dark God, who struck the protagonist's party in stage 23, disappeared, foreshadowing the final battle, and the Dragon Emblem's story was reaching its climax.
"Phew... I'm exhausted."
The players who successfully passed stage 23 were only Yuki and me. However, Yuki, who had already lost one archer, one priest, and one tank in stage 23, was preparing herself thoroughly before entering stage 24.
The event hall's staff began to project the game screen onto a giant screen at the front so that the eliminated players could have a better view. Although the image quality was poor, it was better than nothing, so the players cheered.
"All right, we're almost there. Yuki and Kang Junhyuk. A salute to the two players who survived until the end out of 100."
"Stay strong! Show us the end of this game!"
Amid the cheers from all around, Yuki and I exchanged glances and entered stage 24. The final battle with the Dark God took place over two stages, 24 and 25. However, Yuki, who had lost crucial forces in stage 23, was struggling from the beginning against the enemy's relentless assault.
In contrast, I was using my two archers who had reached the Divine Archer class to easily push back the oncoming enemies, preparing for the final battle in stage 25. Unfortunately, Yuki, with only one Divine Archer character, had a gap in her forces and eventually succumbed to the enemy's attack.
"Ah... Yuki has been defeated in stage 24. She is shedding tears with a bitter heart. Who on earth is the damn creator of this game that can make such a beautiful woman cry?"
Is that guy telling me to listen to that? I chuckled while trying to focus on the game amidst Junpei's absurd commentary. Then, after the game ended, Yuki, who was leaving the event hall, approached me.
"Please, hang in there until the end."
"Oh, sure."
I waited for the enemy's attack to subside as I covered them one by one, eventually defeating all the enemy soldiers and leaving only the Dark God. The protagonist and his companions, who had already reached the final class, began a fierce assault on the Dark God, while the people inside the hall held their breath, watching my gameplay.
And finally, in the last stage of 24...
Just as the protagonist was about to deliver the final blow, the Dark God attempted a second transformation.
At that moment, Shige, who had never grown tired of the main heroine Katrina and another female protagonist, Mirea, stepped in to block the Dark God. The game came to a halt. And when the system message appeared, I couldn't help but grin inwardly.
"Katrina and Mirea... Who would you sacrifice to protect the protagonist?"
"What the heck!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Darn it! No way!!!"
"Ugh! You damn developer!!!"
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