Isekai Online Game Developer

Before long, the third production schedule for ‘Maple Leaf Story’ was approaching.

This time, in addition to the headquarters of Trinity’s Merchant Group, sales were planned in several major cities as well.

It would likely gather a more diverse crowd of users.

Thanks to the hard work of the new Wizards, we managed to finish the schedule swiftly.

“I-I can’t do this anymore…”

“Help me…”

They looked like developers right before the opening day.

As soon as the production of the Artifact was completed, the Wizards collapsed and fainted on the floor.

“If only we had that… we don’t have it, do we, Tower Master?”

“W-well, we need permission from the Trinity Council for that…”

“Hmm.”

The ‘thing’ being discussed was a tool meant for Artifact mass production.

Artifacts deemed worthwhile could be mass-produced using that tool.

It seems it’s a concept where the council supports mass production only for those Artifacts they have approved.

For now, since we couldn’t do anything about that, we decided to set it aside.

“Then I’m off to play the delayed game…”

Hina entered her room to go gaming.

I stayed behind to complete the remaining updates.

There were many things to manage with the sudden influx of users.

Additionally, this time we were planning to hold an event for an entire week.

It was the double experience event.

Originally an annual type of event, it was meant to help new users catch up with existing ones quickly.

As it would still be a while before max level users emerged, we could afford to give out more experience points.

Soon, ten thousand ‘Maple Leaf Stories’ were released.

*

The popularity of the third production of ‘Maple Leaf Story’ was tremendous.

There was an even larger crowd than during the second production.

Even though we divided the sales areas, people lined up, filling the cities.

“When exactly did you arrive?”

“I’ve been waiting here since two days ago. I bought it immediately to play ‘Maple Leaf Story’… hehehe…”

Among them, there were people who arrived two days early to stand in line.

That’s how incredible the demand for ‘Maple Leaf Story’ was right now.

It might just be the beginning.

Compared to the global population, the number of released Artifacts was still quite low.

“Ugh… I came all the way from a distant city and it looks like I won’t even get to buy it?”

“I heard they produced a total of 10,000 ‘Maple Leaf Stories’ this time. It might be risky.”

“Yet I see some commoners among those in line.”

“I heard they lowered the price quite a bit this time.”

The queue included quite a number of commoners.

There were no restrictions based on status, and the price had dropped.

Most buyers were still nobles, but no one dared to pick fights with the commoners.

“Hah… I’m stuck all the way in the back while that farmer is standing right up front? This is…”

“P-please stop, Count. Earlier, Marquess Withude picked a fight with a commoner and got blacklisted.”

“What?”

“It seems the rule set by the Illusion Tower is to sell on a first-come, first-served basis. If you violate this, you might never get to play ‘Maple Leaf Story’ again.”

“W-well, there’s nothing I can do then… phew…”

Thus, the third sales event began smoothly.

Although the price had dropped, existing users did not complain.

Instead, to compensate, they were given the title [Maple Leaf Story Pioneer].

While the item’s performance itself might not be impressive, it was enough to provide a sense of superiority by owning something others did not.

Moreover, the event that started with this release helped quell any dissatisfaction.

“O-ow. Is something up, Magic Minister? You seem unusually enthusiastic.”

“I need to clock out early to play the game!”

“Are you talking about ‘Maple Leaf Story’?”

“Starting today, all experience points gained in the evenings will be doubled!”

“W-what?! Uooh, uooohhh! It’s an early clock-out today!!”

An event where all experience gained during evening hours doubled.

Consequently, there was a wave of early clock-outs worldwide.

“Your Majesty… really that…”

“-Oh! I told you not to refer to me that way here!”

“Yes, yes, my Count. But do you really intend to wait all night? The night breeze is quite cold.”

“Can’t you see the people lining up behind me? If I had been just an hour late, I would have missed out on buying ‘Maple Leaf Story’. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s… certainly possible. But still, it’s rather odd for you to be standing in line.”

“I told you not to call me that! So what if I don’t buy it? Is there no way for me to use the Artifact?”

And the area that was the most raucous during this sale was none other than the capital of the Empire.

Given the large population, many people flocked to the merchant point in the capital.

Over a thousand people were already lined up from the previous night.

Among them was the Emperor in disguise.

“Hah… why do they have such rules at the Illusion Tower? But I guess its popularity is off the charts.”

The Knight Commander, who accompanied the Emperor for protection, sighed and looked around.

As rumored, there were indeed a huge number of people gathered.

They were lining up in an orderly fashion regardless of their social class.

Naturally, it was not something the Emperor typically did.

However, ‘Maple Leaf Story’ was conceptualized by none other than the Wizards of Trinity.

While the Empire was powerful, Trinity was something else entirely.

There were number of S-tier base attribute Wizards who could single-handedly destroy a city.

It wouldn’t be wise to interfere with them, who were quietly conducting magical research under a pact.

To buy their Artifacts, we had no choice but to comply with their rules.

“Why don’t you get one for yourself as well? This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“…Yes. I will.”

Thus, the Emperor and Knight Commander stood in line through the night.

Both of them purchased a copy of ‘Maple Leaf Story’ amicably.

*

Time passed since the third release, and Galleard visited the Illusion Tower after a long time.

He had already surpassed level 120 and had undergone a fourth job change.

“Wait? You died? But Dark Knights don’t easily die due to reincarnation.”

“That wasn’t enough.”

He claimed he died while playing ‘Maple Leaf Story’.

Dying due to improper health management could definitely happen.

However, his class was a Dark Knight, one with a resurrection skill.

It was uncommon for a Dark Knight to die while hunting.

“That Zatume boss was just too powerful.”

“…W-ait, did you really try to take on Zatume solo?”

As it turned out, he was trying to take on Zatume alone.

To think he’d try to solo that… the old man is something else.

When Zatume first appeared in the previous world, there were only up to third job changes.

And even then, it was a ridiculously strong boss that went unsolved for a long time.

The first Zatume Expedition that successfully cleared it was practically legendary.

After the introduction of the fourth job change, the clearing time drastically reduced.

Eventually, over time, Zatume became more of a local joke.

In the ‘Maple Leaf Story’ I created, there were fourth job changes from the very start.

However, I increased Zatume’s difficulty far beyond the original to preserve the romance of the old Zatume Expedition.

Even forming an expedition made up entirely of individuals with a fourth job change would be difficult.

And right now, there were fewer than 30 people who had undergone a fourth job change.

“With the recent double experience event, high-level users will be on the rise. Get them together for an expedition.”

“I suppose that’s the way to go. But how do I gather them? Not everyone has mutual friends.”

“Use a loudspeaker. Everyone will surely be interested. Even if currently no one knows about Zatume, once its existence is known, everyone will want to participate.”

“How do you use a loudspeaker?”

“By purchasing cash…”

“Cash? As an old man, tech stuff like that just confuses me…”

In the end, I took Galleard to the central bank and helped him register an account.

Turns out that was why he came to me.

Soon after, he posted news about the Zatume Expedition, and high-level users from all over the world responded.

“L-l-l-l-l-Lai! W-what is this? Zatume?!”

And there was also a user in our tower who was of a similar level to Galleard.

“Oh, did you see, Tower Master? Galleard is forming an expedition!”

“Y-yes…! But the old man leveled up higher than me…! All because of Rai!”

Bam, bam, bam—

Hina swung her tiny fists like a foam bat.

She had been unable to play for a while due to the third production, so her ranking had dropped slightly.

Of course, she still remained among the top ranks.

It seemed like Hina was planning to participate in the expedition as well.

“I’m sorry. Let me share a little tip with you.”

“A tip…?”

“Yes. If you ever succeed in the Zatume expedition, a plethora of items will drop, right?”

“Y-yes…?”

“First, ignore everything else and grab the item that looks like Zatume’s head.”

“Head?”

“Yes. When the time comes, you’ll understand what I mean.”

As Zatume’s difficulty had increased, I had also raised the specs of Zatume’s helmet.

Eventually, it would just become a mediocre item, but originally, Zatume’s helmet was an enviable item.

Once its identity became known to the world, many people would probably go wild trying to obtain Zatume’s helmet.

“Then, while you’re at it, you should get some work done. We need to start preparing for the next game soon.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to work!”

Hina ran away.

Reluctantly, the work fell back into my lap.

Still, the new Wizards were managing quite well, and the workload had increased significantly.

The next game was the Championship of Legends.

I was in the midst of modeling a plethora of champions for it.

It would likely take a considerable time, but I didn’t think the excitement for ‘Maple Leaf Story’ would cool down by then.

While people were enjoying it like this, as a developer, I needed to think ahead and prepare for the next game.

However, the expedition also drew much larger public attention than I had expected.

Bang, bang, bang—

Soon after, someone knocked on the Tower door.

It wasn’t just one or two people.

“Who is it…”

“What does the Illusion Tower think about the upcoming Zatume expedition?!”

“There are rumors that the ranked number one user and leader of the expedition, [Corruption Power Warrior], is the Illusion Mage Riot who created ‘Maple Leaf Story’. Is that true?!”

“What does the Illusion Tower predict the success rate of this expedition to be?!”

“The Emperor has expressed a desire to participate in the Zatume expedition; what do you think about that?!”

“When’s the next production schedule?!”

“Is it true that the renowned user, [Empire's Light], is joining this expedition?!”