Chapter 154: Testing new game [1]

Click. Click...

Blankly staring at the monitor and staring at the rendered product before me, I sat in silence without saying a single word.

I was mentally exhausted, and I felt completely drained.

In fact, I could hardly keep my eyes open, but... staring at the interface that stood before me, all the exhaustion and pain felt worth it.

"Done. I’m really done..."

After what felt like forever, I was finally done with my second game. I had spent practically my entire two weeks on it, forgoing sleep and food in order to ensure that it was perfect.

While I couldn’t guarantee that the game wouldn’t have any glitches and bugs, I was really happy with the final product. At the very least, I had been able to create what I had envisioned for the game.

Unlike the first game, I was confident this time.

This game...

It was certainly going to create a larger splash than the first game.

’It’s not like the first game was unsuccessful, but the overall sales are at around 30,000. I am almost certain that this can reach six digits in sales if everything goes well.’

Then again...

I could be severely overestimating myself.

Looking at the screen, I pressed my lips together.

"This won’t affect the sales, right?"

The main interface wasn’t anything amazing.

It was just a simple black screen with a few smoke graphics and three words.

[Continue]

[New Game]

[Options]

[Quit]

I invested all of my time in creating the game and didn’t bother with the aesthetics of it, from the game logo to the interface. Everything was rather plain.

The game logo depicted a tall, slender figure in a black suit, one hand tipping its top hat in a gesture that felt like a disturbingly polite greeting. Its face was mostly obscured by the brim of the top hat, but just enough was visible to reveal a pale complexion and a long, twisted mouth that curved unnaturally at the edges.

The logo was essentially a rip-off of the Twisted Man.

I didn’t really see the need to be creative with the logo. The Twisted Man was an anomaly that was registered within the Guild database and was somewhat known to the public.

I wasn’t really worried about the cult targeting me because of it.

Well, that and the fact that they were already targeting me.

Since that was the case, I didn’t hold back and just went along with it.

"The logo and interface might not be the best thing, but it’s not like I’m selling those two things. What I’m confident in is the game. I’m confident even Kyle might get affected by it."

Thinking about Kyle, how was he doing?

I... hadn’t really been paying much attention to him or whatever was happening in the Guild.

’I know something has been happening since there’s been quite a bit of chaos, but I’m not entirely sure.’

Rubbing my eyes, I closed down my laptop and leaned back against the chair.

Feeling the only source of light fade as the room plunged into darkness, I closed my eyes for a brief moment before finally standing up and heading for the door.

"Might as well check up on him."

I needed a guinea pig to test out my new game.

...I was just about to leave the room to find my guinea pig when all of a sudden, someone knocked on the door.

To Tok—

"Hm?"

I was a little surprised at first, but then a smile formed on my lips.

’Oh, no...’

I hastily covered my mouth, trying my best not to show my smile as Rowan eventually opened the door and looked around the room.

"Seth...?"

One look at his haggard face and the deep, glaring black circles under his eyes told me he was far from doing well.

The smile that was forming on my face grew even more as Rowan turned on the lights and looked in my direction. He looked at me with visible relief.

"You’re here. I’m here to have my session."

"....Right."

I turned my wrist and checked the time.

It was indeed time for the two of us to have our session. Apart from eating, working on the game, and sleeping, there had been one other thing that I had been doing.

And that was the private counseling session with Rowan.

If it had been up to me, I would’ve stopped our sessions and focused entirely on the game. It wasn’t like I didn’t try. However, the moment I even tried to propose the idea, Rowan’s face would turn completely pale. As though the entire world was crumbling before his very eyes.

Seeing him like that, I felt quite a bit of pity towards him.

In the end, I decided to continue the sessions.

’Thank god for that.’

I’d been searching for a guinea pig, then one just happened to appear right in front of me.

What great luck!

"Have a seat, Rowan."

I pointed towards the seat before me as I opened my laptop again and crossed my legs. Watching as he sheepishly sat in front of me, I booted up the game while making some small talk with him.

"You are not looking very great. Having nightmares?"

"...Nightmares? No, not really."

Rowan shook his head while massaging his tired eyes.

"I’m just overworked lately. With the new exchange members coming into the department, we’ve been forced to enter one gate after another. I’ve hardly got any time to rest."

"Is that so?"

Oh, right. There was indeed that. I had been so immersed in my game development that I had completely forgotten about the exchange members.

’I haven’t really paid much attention to the situation, but seeing how tired Rowan looks, I guess the situation isn’t very good.’

Right, Kyle had also not been bothering me much lately, which was kind of odd.

I grew a little interested.

"How are they doing? I’m sure it’s hard for them to get adjusted to this department. The gates aren’t so ea—"

"Monsters."

Rowan cut me off mid-sentence, leaving me stunned as he covered his face with both hands.

"They’re fucking monsters."

"Eh...?"

What did he just say? Did he say monsters?

"It’s... as if they aren’t bothered at all by the gates. Although we haven’t been entering any big gates, they’ve been clearing them at record times, bulldozing their way towards clearance. Do you remember the initiation trial?"

"Initial trial?"

I thought for a moment. Was he referring to the Nightwalker one?

"...I think so. It was somewhat di—"

"They all cleared it in record time. Beating everyone’s record by quite a large margin."

"....."

The words that were about to come out of my mouth stopped the moment I heard Rowan’s words. And just before I could even process them, Rowan continued.

"Of course, considering their strenght, it is only natural that they clear the trial extremely fast. If Kyle and the others were to clear the gate at their current strenght, they would pull similar times, but it’s not just them. Even their first years are pulling record times. It’s gotten to the point where everyone is starting to question the competency of the department."

Rowan’s voice grew a little more haggard as he spoke.

"The reason we’ve been working extra hard is because we’ve been trying to prove to them that being in this department isn’t easy, but..."

Rowan stopped there. However, he didn’t need to say anything for me to understand.

’I guess these exchange people are a lot more competent than I initially thought.’

It seemed like they were going to have tough times ahead of them.

Not that it mattered much to me as I stared at my laptop and turned it in Rowan’s direction.

"Here."

"Hm?"

Slowly raising his head, Rowan looked at me.

"What—"

"It’s a new game that I developed."

I quickly cut Rowan off, trying my best to hide my smile.

"This should help you get your mind off these matters. Have a go."

Staring intently at Rowan, I felt my heart start to quicken. A question emerged in my mind as I stared at him.

How loud was he going to scream?

I licked my lips.

’I really hope this works.’