Chapter 171: A Fresh Start - (3)
The faint red moonlight seeped through the cracked gate. Will the corrupt king, who sacrificed his people, awaken...?
"...?"
What's this? This feeling gripping my heart right from the opening...
Each branch extending from the giant tree swayed slowly in the chilly breeze, carrying bodies with no life. After a while, the elderly woman, who had been lighting a lantern inside the dim room, gazed straight at me from across the screen and spoke.
"So, that's Roderick. The homeland of the kings of firewood, carrying on the will of the flames..."
As the following lines continued, unknowingly, I felt a lump in my throat, my hand holding Yukki tightening involuntarily.
"And so, the pilgrims head north, seeking the meaning of the prophecy..."
"But as the flames fade, no longer can a king sit upon the throne..."
"When the succession fire extinguishes, tolling bells will spread through the darkness, and the kings who lost their thrones will rise from within the gate..."
"The saint of the depths... Modric."
"The undying of Perun. Guardians of darkness."
"And the lonely king who offered his people as sacrifices to the abyss..."
"Yet still, in the end, the kings won't be able to find their thrones..."
"Now only ashes remain."
"You, too, a cursed undying body without a name or even capable of being firewood..."
"But ashes like you always long for a small spark..."
"Waiting for the day to ignite again..."
Even just from the opening, the old woman's story conveyed a desperate feeling. Yuki and I stood there silently, watching the screen.
"This feels different. Quite unlike any game before."
Gradually, the title appeared in red letters against a black background, and the brief demo video ended.
"Bloody Soul."
Bloody Soul, huh? It's a title I've never heard before. Did such a game exist in this era?
With an opening of this quality, it should have made a lasting impression in my memory, yet it didn't...
"It's a new game."
Of course, I hadn't played every game that came out during my younger days with the Super Famicom, so I couldn't be sure, but...
Bloody Soul was an action game set in a dark fantasy world developed by Japan's Phantom Soft.
The bleak atmosphere of the demo video reminded me vaguely of the manga 'Berserk,' and it excited me throughout.
Perhaps since my regression to '83, this was the first game from a different company that had me thrilled?
From that day on, I eagerly awaited the release of 'Bloody Soul' from Pron Soft.
While I could've found an excuse to visit Phantom Soft for technical support coming from Pentagon, I didn't feel the need. I wanted to enjoy the game from a slight distance as a pure gamer, at least once.
Initially, Phantom Soft, the creators of Bloody Soul, didn't gain much attention in the gaming industry. However, as the release date approached, it quickly climbed the anticipated ranks through word of mouth among gamers.
And on a chilly winter evening in 1993, darkness prevailing, 'Bloody Soul's title was released at 7 PM.
As I stopped by a large shopping center in Shinjuku on my way home from work, I witnessed numerous gamers heading back with the same game cartridge.
"It's not bad to feel like a gamer once in a while, is it?"
Since Yuki was captivated by the gloomy atmosphere of Bloody Soul, she asked me to get one for her too, and as I reached the counter, luckily, there were just two cartridges left.
"The reception seems decent. It's fortunate that two are left."
While it's easy to download with the Raon Router, I still preferred owning cartridges, perhaps due to my old-school gamer tendencies.
Maybe because it was a new IP game, it didn't show explosive sales compared to the renowned series, but was it because of its unique atmosphere? The vibe on the release day wasn't that bad, was it?
As I was descending on the escalator, a voice calling out to me made me turn around to see Hayashiwa Kaori coming up from the opposite side.
"Oh? Boss, what brings you here?"
"I'm here to buy Bloody Soul."
"Wha-! Is there any left?"
"No. I'm getting the last one on my way back."
"Argh! I should've come after dinner!!"
"That's right!"
Glancing at the pained expressions of Hayashiwa and Kaori while they were suffering, I chuckled to myself, thinking, 'You said you didn't want to come like a little sister, but ended up having dinner together? That's teasing material for tomorrow at work.'
With a smirk, I turned my head left and right before leaving the mall, heading towards the parking lot where my car was parked.
&
Upon reaching home and ringing the bell, Yuki, who was preparing dinner, welcomed me with a smile.
If I were to list the good things about living with Yuki, this moment might just be one of the best. No longer did I have to turn on the fluorescent lights in the dark living room, and the smell of bubbling miso soup replaced the chilly air that used to linger.
"Niyang~"
From the day I started living with Yuki, I've been feeding our cat, Haru, and as I tried shaking the shopping bag I was carrying, it turned out to be lighter than expected, disappointing Haru as he turned away, expecting some snacks.
"Junhyuk! Did you get it?"
"Of course."
As Yuki, with an apron on and holding a ladle, extended her hand on the opposite side, I subtly showed her the shopping bag, and she joyfully bounced around the living room.
Normally, reactions like this were for shortcake or sweet desserts, but Yuki found it equally appealing in items related to games.
Seated on a single-person sofa, Haru scratched his head with his hind legs, sticking his tongue out, looking at Yuki.
After a short while, we finished our dinner a bit hastily than usual and leaned on individual sofas, facing each other.
Yuki, as usual, placed her legs on my lap and inserted a game cartridge into the console, saying, "Doesn't it feel a bit exciting when you plug in a new game cartridge?"
As a faint breeze accompanied by the Phantom Soft logo and a somber BGM filled the air, she nervously wiggled her toes, touching my abdomen.
"Junhyuk, you seem to have gained some weight lately."
"Really? Well, I've been mostly stuck in the office lately, so I guess my body is getting a bit out of shape."
"Nyang~"
"Oh, we've been through a lot today~"
Before I knew it, Haru, sitting on Yuki's thigh in a perfect bread-posing manner, seemed to find Yuki's embrace quite comfortable. Since Yuki often used Haru as a wrist rest(?) while playing the game, they seemed to have a perfect symbiotic relationship.
After a while, as we finished setting up our characters and delved into the game, a formidable-looking knight appeared on the screen, giving a sense of weight to the overall gameplay.
The gameplay of Bloody Soul involved a side-scrolling movement, but what set it apart was the incredibly detailed representation of the character's equipment.
Aligned with the heavy atmosphere throughout the game, the character's movements truly conveyed the feeling of wearing actual armor.
After swinging my sword a few times, anticipating the timing of the controls, I cautiously moved forward.
There were no verbose instructions like "Save the world" as in Dragon Warrior or Final Frontier.
Walking along the perilous cliff without a clear purpose, I encountered an enemy holding a shield and a torch.
"Hmm... A basic monster, I guess?"
I casually measured the distance and swung my sword with a light heart. Suddenly, the wooden shield of the seemingly insignificant monster deflected my sword and the torch came straight at me.
"What the!? Startled, I quickly rolled away using the dodge button, but the monster anticipated my roll and closed in, attacking straight away.
With no choice, I raised my shield to block the torch attack, and in the moment I tried to strike with my sword after blocking the attack, another monster, which was nonexistent just a moment ago, attacked from behind.
"Oops...!"
To defeat the two early-stage monsters, I frantically started moving the directional keys. Bloody Soul implemented a stamina gauge, reducing it with each sword swing, creating subtle stress for the players.
Using it recklessly would leave me defenseless against the enemy's attacks, and once the stamina gauge was depleted, I couldn't dodge or swing my sword until it recovered, making it quite challenging.
While distancing myself from the enemy, I sneakily glanced at Yuki, who seemed to struggle with the extreme difficulty of the game.
"Darn, why is this so hard..."
The eerie voice, meaning "YOU DIED," echoed from Laon's speaker, indicating the player's death, as Yuki experienced it 16 times until reaching the mid-point of Stage 1.
"Nyaang~"
Haru, lying on her lap, blinked her eyes and let out a long yawn, then moved to the other sofa as if expressing disdain for Haru's pitiful state.
That night, until clearing the first stage, Yuki tasted death 16 times, and I, too, experienced five deaths against the boss of the first stage.
The way experience points were gained in the game became a source of madness. Experience gained by killing monsters couldn't be used until reaching the level-up point.
If the character died before reaching the level-up point, all accumulated experience points were lost, and to recover them, the resurrected character had to safely reach the point of death.
However, the path to retrieve experience points was far from easy. If the character died again during the journey, all previously dropped experience points would be lost, creating immense pressure.
The next day, as I arrived at the office, discussions about Bloody Soul were spreading among the development team members who wanted to play the game.
Even Hayashi, known for being reserved in praising other companies' games, showered high praise on Bloody Soul. The game's reviews in magazines were outstanding, and this atmosphere played a significant role in boosting my dwindling enthusiasm for development.
"The release date for Dragon Emblem 2, the second episode of the series, is almost set. It's time to start preparing for the announcement event of the next project."
I gazed at the poster of "The Street Without Me" hanging on the office wall. This naturally reminded me of the story Yuki had shared with me in Akihabara.
"Do you have any plans for a sequel to 'The Street Without Me'?"
"Hmm, a sequel... Well..."
Certainly, I had no intention of creating a sequel with a cheesy name like "The Street Without Me 2." Borrowing the title of the previous work might bring some success, but it wouldn't convey the same emotional impact.
If the previous work had extracted tears from Japanese gamers like a flood, this time, I needed to make them shed tears of blood. But what would be the best way to achieve that?
As I pondered this for a moment, a subtle smile appeared on my lips.
>
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