Chapter 152: The Beginning
"The last player to claim victory in the grand war... will become the hero of Dragon Emblem 2."
"Wow... wowowowow!!!"
That statement, though officially announced later through a magazine, is true.
I'm planning the ending based on the very first player who completed all scenarios in Dragon Emblem 2.
Hmm... Something felt a bit odd just now, didn't it? Planning an ending for a pre-existing game doesn't make sense.
But explaining it like this would make it instantly understandable to anyone.
"The second story of Dragon Emblem is composed of a trilogy."
Now, can you roughly grasp it? To precisely convey the world of Dragon Emblem to users, it was necessary to impart a feeling of exploring the world rather than merely a story-focused game.
Thus, realizing that fitting everything into a single tale would exhaust the cartridge's capacity, I developed the second story of Dragon Emblem as a trilogy.
Initially, the basic interface of Dragon Emblem 2 resembled, as one user put it, a 'training simulation.'
Upon starting the game, the player-created character resides in a log cabin on the outskirts of a small village, having lost their past memories, and lives by assisting the village for several years.
Based on the occupation chosen by users at the start, the character performs tasks in the village and grows. Additionally, through leveling up and acquiring ability points, players can personally distribute points to develop their own characters, enabling advancement into various job branches based on these points.
"And of course, hidden classes prepared by me are concealed within."
Dragon Emblem 2 begins with the goal of reclaiming human territory dominated by the Demon King's forces. As players prosper the small village and undertake quests from its residents, the primary objective of the first part of Dragon Emblem 2's story is to regain control of the first and second regions ruled by the Demon King's top aides after gaining strength.
A notable aspect here is the regional takeover missions, where specific items obtained during a single story could allow entry into the Demon King's stronghold tower. Players then assemble a party of four, using characters they've nurtured, to carry out the collapsing mission of the Demon Tower's horrors, boasting a daunting 50-floor height for each of the two towers.
---
As the trial version of Dragon Emblem 2 began distribution and approximately a fortnight passed, Raon once again became a significant social issue. Game stores nationwide contracted with Pentagon witnessed a surge in users crowding in, reminiscent of a multitude flocking to Akihabara's Tamago Shop to download the game from the first day of the New Year.
Some regions suffered due to having only one store contracted with Pentagon, resulting in excessive crowds. Why did this happen? Alongside the trial version's release, Raon's purchases skyrocketed, to the extent that Raon's main body and software were nowhere to be found throughout the country.
As if to testify to this, in front of a game shop located in Akihabara, there were uniform signs displayed.
"RAON sold out."
Indeed, even at the Tamago Shop, which could be considered Pentagon Soft's headquarters, nothing was in stock...
"I'm sorry, customers. Raon is expected to arrive next week."
"How many will come? Can I buy when they arrive?"
"The quantity is still undetermined. We have reservations from customers since the beginning of the year, so it's challenging to give a definite answer. I apologize."
"Why can't I buy when I have the money?!"
In response to a user's heart-rending cry, Manager Miyazaki bowed repeatedly. After some time passed with customers leaving, I returned to the store with bags filled with donuts from a nearby donut shop.
"I was craving something sweet, and this helps. Thanks, Chief."
Miyazaki smiled broadly, munching on a mouthful of a donut.
"It's tough, isn't it? I'm sorry. Due to delays in display production, the factory is almost at a standstill since one is taken..."
"Even after last year's high sales, demand seems to have skyrocketed after Dragon Emblem 2."
"Even if you reserve, we have customers coming in daily, making it hard to provide a confirmation."
"Hopefully, things will get better next week..."
"I hope so too. Sometimes, customers get really angry..."
"I'll contact Raon to hurry things up a bit."
"Thank you, Chief."
"I'll head back to headquarters for now. I've been hanging around Tamago Shop too much lately, and Hiyashi gets noisy..."
After bidding farewell to the staff, I headed to the underground parking lot.
---
Here's the revised chapter:
< EP. 26 : Birth (2) >
Laon's explosive popularity surged thanks to the pivotal role played by the Dragon Emblem 2's trial version. During this period, the trial version was considered more valuable than the actual game.
For instance, the "Psych Battle trial version" was a prime example. It was distributed as a reward to users who cleared the pre-release stages, but it was so limited in quantity that it became an elusive item even for those who sought it.
Despite Chandra fine-tuning the gameplay in the main release, there was a hint of unfinished feeling that stimulated the desire for ownership.
However, with a flash memory cartridge, Laon allowed anyone to download the trial version and enjoy the game.
Furthermore, even though it was a warming-up level experience compared to the main version, its composition was rich enough to garner a tremendous response from users.
That night, as usual, I prepared a warm cup of tea on my desk and attempted to log into the PC network.
"Mr. K has entered the chat."
"Hello, Mr. K~"
"Nice to meet you."
Accessing the community chat room, I exchanged greetings with people and began to scan through today's conversations. This place, once ablaze with discussion about Valentine's Day a year ago, was now ablaze due to the recent release of the Dragon Emblem trial version.
After exchanging pleasantries, the conversation swiftly turned back to Dragon Emblem as the main topic.
"I've been playing for two weeks, but I'm only at level 5 now. Isn't the XP in this game a bit stingy?"
"Just battling monsters around the town doesn't seem to level you up easily."
"More importantly... having my 20th character already is the problem."
"That's fine. I'm on my 38th character."
"Darn. Even though it's just a trial version, why is it so challenging? And if your character dies, the game ends... It's nausea-inducing compared to the main game..."
Observing the reactions, I finally replied.
"Yet you'll be the first to rush and buy DE2 on its release day, won't you?"
"Of course!! But seeing Laon itself out of stock now, I might have to wage another war when DE2 comes out."
"Absolutely need to buy it in the first batch. With Laon selling so much lately, unlucky ones might have to wait until the 2nd or 3rd batch."
"Then premiums will be added again... I've never bought Laon games at regular prices."
"Those resellers. They jack up the price by 3,000 to 4,000 yen the moment an item goes out of stock. Just check the community market board; there's a bunch of them."
"We might need to weed out a few members."
"Alright, calm down, I have a question. Has anyone reached level 10 in the DE trial room here?"
"Level 10?? I'm struggling to go beyond level 5 without dying."
"Is it necessary to reach level 10?"
"Seems like the DE trial's max level is 10."
"Oh, really? Then have any of you reached 10?"
"Yes. About an hour ago. But even after hunting monsters for an hour, my experience percentage didn't increase."
"Really? Still, impressive. What kind of character are you building?"
"I'm a warrior. But a slightly peculiar one."
"Peculiar warrior?"
"After dying a few times, I decided to allocate all my stats to defense with each level up. When I hit level 10, I automatically transitioned to a 'shield knight' and the interface marked me as 'tank.'"
"Tank? What's that?"
"The position description says, 'A guardian protecting allies from the forefront.'"
"Protecting allies? Awesome."
"Just a moment. I'm about to level up again once I return to the village."
"Wow!! Congratulations. What job did you choose?"
"I'm also a warrior."
"Then are you becoming a tank since you're the same type of warrior?"
"I focused more on attack than defense, but oh! I just got the promotion notification."
"Oh, envy. I want to promote too..."
But the man who claimed he promoted didn't say anything else afterward. Thanks to that, the people in the chat room continued to bombard him with questions about the promotion.
And a while later...
"I've become a two-handed sword user!"
"Huh? Two-handed sword user? What position is that?"
"Well... I'm a dealer. The position description says, 'A gladiator seizing enemies' lives.'"
"Awesome, a dealer... How did you build your character?"
"I focused on attack power and dexterity."
"Dexterity? What's good about dexterity?"
"When attacking or defending, the timing for evading widened a bit. So, it's easier to follow up or defend. But if I fail the defense timing, it hurts a lot..."
"Oh!! So, after leveling up, does the job or position change according to stats?"
"It seems so. Those who focused on defense became 'tankers,' while those who maximized attack became 'dealers.'"
Then, a few users screamed in the chat room.
"Ah!! Every time I put in stats, I increased all the attributes one by one, even intelligence..."
"Wow... Does a warrior need intelligence?"
"Oh, then do I have to start over?"
At that moment, the user who transitioned into a shield knight asked the dealer who became a two-handed sword user.
"Um... if you just promoted, did the Hop Goblin Dungeon quest open for you?"
"Oh, yes. Just now. But could this be...?"
"Why!? What's wrong? Does a new quest window open after promotion?"
Then, a while later, the two-handed sword user who had just transitioned spoke up.
"I can't execute this quest alone. It says it requires four level 10 users. Reached by 4 level 10s."
Watching the chat room, I took a sip of my herbal tea and chuckled.
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