Chapter 15
Not long after, the third production schedule for Maple Leaf Story approached.
This time, the sale would not only take place at the Trinity Merchant Guild headquarters but also in several major cities.
This should attract a wider variety of users.
Thanks to the hard work of the new mages, the production schedule could be completed quickly.
“I-I can’t do it anymore…”
“Save me…”
They looked just like developers right before a game’s launch day.
As soon as the artifact production was completed, the mages collapsed on the floor and fainted.
“It would be nice if we had that. Don’t we get one too, Tower Master?”
“T-that requires the approval of the Trinity Council…”
“Hmm.”
The “thing” they were referring to was a tool for artifact mass production.
If the artifact was deemed valuable enough for mass production, they would be allowed to use that tool.
It seemed that only artifacts approved by the Council could be mass-produced.
For now, there was nothing they could do about it, so they decided to put the matter aside.
“T-then I’m going to catch up on my backlog of games!”
Hina retreated to her room to play games.
I stayed behind and continued with the remaining updates.
With the number of users increasing all at once, there was much to keep an eye on.
Moreover, this time, we were planning to hold an event for an entire week.
It was a double experience point event.
It was a regular event of sorts and a way for new users to catch up to existing players more quickly.
Since there was still a long way to go before the appearance of a max-level user, giving out extra experience points shouldn’t be an issue.
Not long after, ten thousand copies of Maple Leaf Story were released.
***
The third production run of Maple Leaf Story artifacts was a huge hit.
The crowd was even larger than during the second run.
Even though the sale locations were divided, lines of people filled the cities.
“When did you even get here?”
“I’ve been waiting here for two days. I wanted to buy Maple Leaf Story as soon as possible… Hehe…”
Among them was a person who had arrived and queued up two days early.
That’s how popular Maple Leaf Story had become.
Perhaps this was just the beginning.
Compared to the world’s population, the number of released artifacts was still quite small.
“Haa… I came all the way to this distant city, but I might not even get one at this rate.”
“They say a total of 10,000 copies of Maple Leaf Story were produced this time. It could be risky if you’re too far back in line.”
“But there are commoners in line, too.”
“I heard they lowered the price quite a bit this time.”
There were quite a few commoners among those standing in line.
There were no restrictions based on status for purchasing, and the price had been reduced.
Although the majority of buyers were still nobles, no one bothered the commoners.
“Hmph… Even though I’m so far back in line, that filthy farmer up there is at the front? This is…”
“P-please stop, Count. Earlier, the Marquis of Wytude was caught bothering a commoner and got put on the blacklist.”
“What?”
“It seems that selling strictly on a first-come, first-served basis is a rule set by the Illusion Magic Tower. If you break it, you might be banned from ever playing Maple Leaf Story again.”
“I-if that’s the case, then there’s nothing I can do… Sigh…”
And so, the third sale began smoothly.
Although the price was reduced, existing users did not complain.
In exchange for the price reduction, existing users were given the title of <Pioneer of Maple Leaf Story>.
Although the title didn’t have any special benefits, it was enough to give them a sense of superiority, as they had something that others didn’t.
Moreover, the event accompanying this release also helped quell any dissatisfaction.
“O-oh, what’s going on, Chief Mage? You seem unusually enthusiastic today.”
“I need to finish work early and get home to play.”
“Are you talking about Maple Leaf Story?”
“They’re doing a double experience event every evening starting today!”
“W-what?! Wooooaaaah! I’m leaving work on time today!!”
During the evening hours, when most people were off work, all experience points gained would be doubled.
This caused a craze for leaving work on time all over the world.
“Your Majesty… Are you really going to wait through the night?”
“Hmph! I told you not to call me that here!”
“Y-yes, Count. But are you really going to stay up all night? The night air is still cold.”
“Can’t you see the people lined up behind me? If I’d been an hour late, I wouldn’t have been able to buy Maple Leaf Story. Isn’t that right?”
“T-that might be true… But still, for Your Majesty to personally stand in line…”
“I told you not to call me that! What else am I supposed to do if I can’t use the artifact unless I buy it myself!”
And the most chaotic area during this sale was none other than the Imperial Capital. The Imperial City.
Due to the large population, the Merchant Guild branch in the capital was overwhelmed with people.
By the previous night, more than a thousand people were already in line.
Among them was the Emperor, disguised and standing in line.
‘Haa… Why did the Illusion Magic Tower set such rules? But it really must be insanely popular.’
The Knight Commander, who was accompanying the Emperor as both his guard and aide, sighed as he looked around.
Sure enough, as the rumours said, an enormous crowd had gathered.
Regardless of status, everyone was standing in line in the order they arrived.
Naturally, it was unthinkable for the Emperor to be doing this.
But since Maple Leaf Story was created by the mages of Trinity, the Illusion Magic Tower…
Although the Empire was powerful, Trinity was even more so.
There were several S-Rank fundamental attribute mages in Trinity who could single-handedly destroy entire cities.
There was no benefit in provoking them while they quietly conducted their magical research under the agreement.
If you wanted to buy their artifacts, you had no choice but to follow their rules.
“Why don’t you buy one too? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“…Yes. I will do so.”
And so, the Emperor and the Knight Commander stayed in line all night.
The two of them happily purchased one copy of Maple Leaf Story each.
***
Now, some time after the third release,
Galliard visited the Illusion Magic Tower after a long while.
He had already surpassed level 120 and had undergone his 4th job advancement.
“What? You died? But Dark Knights shouldn’t die so easily because of Reincarnation.”
“That wasn’t enough.”
He said he had died while playing Maple Leaf Story.
It was not unusual to die from poor health management.
But his job was a Dark Knight. A class that had a skill allowing them to revive.
It was rare for a Dark Knight to die while hunting.
“The boss called Zatum is just that powerful.”
“…What? Don’t tell me you tried to take down Zatum by yourself?”
It turned out that he wasn’t doing anything else—he was just trying to defeat Zatum on his own.
Trying to beat that thing alone… This old man really is something else.
In the previous world, when Zatum first appeared, there were only up to third job advancements.
And for a long time, it remained an incredibly powerful boss that couldn’t be conquered.
The first expedition team that successfully defeated Zatum became a legend.
After the introduction of the fourth job advancement, the clear time for Zatum dropped significantly.
And as more time passed, it eventually became nothing more than a punching bag.
The Maple Leaf Story I created had the fourth job advancement available from the start.
However, to preserve the romanticism of the original Zatum Expedition, I made Zatum’s difficulty much higher than before.
Even with a full expedition of fourth job advancement members, it might still be a challenge.
And currently, there are not even thirty players who have reached the fourth job advancement.
“With the recent double experience event, the number of high-level players will increase. Gather them and form an expedition team.”
“I suppose I’ll have to. But how am I supposed to gather them? It’s not like I have everyone on my friends list.”
“You can use a Megaphone. Don’t you think everyone will be interested? Even if they don’t know about Zatum right now, once they hear about its existence, everyone will want to join.”
“How do I use that Megaphone thing?”
“Well… you have to spend cash…”
“Cash? For an old man like me, all this complicated stuff is just too much…”
In the end, I took Galliard to the Central Bank and registered his account for him.
It seemed he came to me just because he couldn’t figure it out on his own.
Not long after, he posted a recruitment message for the Zatum Expedition.
High-level players around the world responded to his call.
“Ra, Ra, Ra, Ra, Rai! Wh-What’s this? Za-Tum?!”
And our tower had another player whose level was not far off from Galliard’s.
“Ah, did you see it too, Tower Master? Galliard is recruiting an expedition team.”
“Y-Yeah…! But that old man has a higher level than me now…! It’s all Rai’s fault!”
Thump thump thump-
Hina swung her tiny fists like a cotton ball.
Because of the third production run, she hadn’t been able to play much, so her ranking had dropped slightly.
Of course, she was still in the top tier.
It seemed like Hina was planning to join the expedition as well.
“I’m sorry. Let me give you a useful tip instead.”
“A useful tip…?”
“Yes. If you ever succeed in defeating Zatum someday, a lot of items will drop, right?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“When that happens, don’t look at anything else. Just pick up the item that looks like Zatum’s head first.”
“Head?”
“Yes. You’ll understand what I mean when the time comes.”
Just as Zatum’s difficulty had been increased, the stats of Zatum’s Helmet had also been greatly enhanced.
Although it would eventually become just another item, originally, Zatum’s Helmet was an item of great admiration.
As soon as its identity is revealed, countless people will go crazy trying to get their hands on it.
“Well, now that you’re here, how about getting back to work? It’s about time we start preparing for the next game.”
“Ugh, nooo… I don’t want to work~”
Hina ran away.
I ended up taking on the work again.
Still, thanks to the new mages who joined us, we had much more manpower.
The next game would be Championship of Legends.
To that end, we were currently working on modelling numerous champions.
It would probably take a long time, but until then, the excitement around Maple Leaf Story didn’t seem like it would die down.
While everyone was enjoying the game like this, a developer like me had to look a step further and start preparing the next one.
However, the expedition drew much more attention than I expected.
Bang bang bang bang-
Not long after, someone began banging on the tower’s door.
It wasn’t just one or two people.
“Who is…”
“What does the Illusion Magic Tower think about the upcoming Zatum Expedition?”
“There’s a rumour that the top-ranking user and expedition leader <Fallen Power Warrior> is actually the Illusion Mage Riot, the creator of Maple Leaf Story. Is this true?”
“What are the Illusion Tower’s predictions for the success rate of this expedition?”
“It’s said that the Emperor of the Empire has expressed his desire to join the Zatum Expedition. What are your thoughts on that?”
“When is the next production schedule?”
“It’s been reported that the named user <Light of the Empire> is participating in this expedition. Is that true?”
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