Isekai Online Game Developer

“Ta-da!”

“Wow, wow…?”

Inside the Illusion Tower I stepped into was a scene entirely different from what I had imagined.

“Huh?”

Giant magical stones were floating, and wizards were flying around, reading magic books.

The ceiling was so high it seemed unending, and there were spiral stairs climbing along the walls.

There were no towering bookshelves filled with magic books or numerous personal research rooms.

Instead, there were tattered magic books and ordinary stairs.

And precarious wooden bookshelves and doors that looked like they could collapse at any moment.

The wooden floor creaked ominously under my feet, as if it might crumble any second.

In contrast to the exterior, I found myself stepping in and out multiple times.

“Are you feeling shocked? We prepared this event for you, Rai! I’m glad you like it!”

“Eh?”

“To be honest, this is our true tower, and that was all an ‘illusion!’”

As I heard that, the stunning exterior of the tower began to fade away.

“We used Illusion Magic to create it just like other towers. Hehe.”

“…Ah.”

Ha. Hahaha. Hah!

Realizing the situation belatedly, I collapsed onto the floor with a hollow laugh.

Of course, how could a mere Illusion Tower be this magnificent?

Once the illusion cleared away, a 7- or 8-story tower emerged that looked like it could fall apart at any moment.

It was absurdly low compared to the other towers that reached the sky.

“Unfortunately, our tower hasn’t received much support so we couldn’t make it larger. But don’t worry, Rai! It’s still a fun place!”

“…Can’t you just use illusion magic to make the interior look nice?”

“It’s dangerous to use Illusion Magic in actual spaces. Because it’s an illusion, it can’t be used, and if the size or shape looks different from reality, it could lead to accidents.”

“Yeah… that’s true.”

I blankly listened to the tower’s introduction and was guided to a room.

“But what about the others?”

A strange point was that there were hardly any people in the tower.

Could it be that everyone had fled in disgust from this ridiculous tower?

As I wondered, I heard, “Oh, they’ll be here soon. Most people are out working at this hour.”

“…Working?”

Isn’t researching magic the job of wizards?

Isn’t a wizard someone who researches magic, sells scrolls, takes on large commissions, and earns money through investments? Or perhaps they work as professors…

“Oh, here they come. Let’s head down!”

On the first floor, just as Rain said, Illusion Mages were coming in.

“Wow… what a tiring day. There weren’t many customers.”

“Today was really exhausting…”

“Hey, I had a good number of spectators, so I made a pretty penny.”

“Alright, everyone! Let’s welcome our new member, Rai!”

With Rain’s introduction, applause echoed.

Even if my unfortunate life had been cursed with an Illusion Attribute, it seemed the hearts of these people were warm.

“Oh, is this the Illusion S-rank?”

“Welcome! Take care, Riot.”

“So cute~ I had times like this too.”

“Ah, hello… but where have you all been?”

“We just came from our part-time jobs! Gotta hustle to survive.”

The mention of part-time work made me tilt my head in confusion.

A female wizard started explaining first.

“I just got back from being a ghost at a nearby amusement park. My specialty is a ghost illusion (C). In fact, because it’s somewhat blurry, it’s pretty well-received as being like a real ghost.”

“A ghost?”

“And this one is a clone (A)! I can create multiple realistic clones. I’m working at a nearby troupe with that.”

“I can dance like six people, so the pay is good!”

“Ah…?”

I wasn’t the only one thinking like my mom.

It seems that being an A-rank permits the ability to control multiple realistic clones.

Wow… that’s amazing…

“And this one…”

Thus, one by one, the wizards began introducing themselves.

Everyone was managing to make a living using their seemingly worthless illusion magic for various part-time jobs.

It made sense why the Illusion Tower was maintained with the meager earnings.

“I guess this is how we get by. Welcome, newbie! Hahaha!”

Hahahahahaha!

What’s so funny? The Illusion Mages were laughing giddily.

Somehow, seeing them laugh made my anger boil.

“But… doesn’t that make you more like a wizard than a proper magician? You’re just like common laborers…!”

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and blurted it out.

Perhaps it was my dissatisfaction with the reality laid out before me.

After all the struggles, I arrived at this rickety tower, and all I had to show for it were part-time jobs.

“Um…”

“Hmm.”

But soon, I realized I had made a mistake.

The atmosphere plummeted as if I had splashed cold water on it with my comment.

Everyone’s expressions, which had just been cheerful, turned gloomy.

Only after seeing their faces did I realize they shared the same thoughts as me.

Yet they forced smiles to welcome me, a newcomer.

Feeling remorseful, I tried to retract my words quickly.

“Uh, what I meant was…”

“No, it’s true. We’re just part-timers… all of us.”

“But the Tower Master is impressive! And you too can become a great Illusion Mage.”

They must have felt bad for me, despite their own feelings.

Perhaps they had gone through similar experiences as I did.

They were good people.

Regardless of what innate talent was at play.

Realizing I had made a huge mistake, I lowered my head to apologize.

“Alright! How about we eat now? Since we have a new recruit, let’s have a party!”

Just as I was about to bow, Rain picked me up and shouted that.

At those words, the wizards began laughing again.

“Yeah! I’m starving! Let’s eat!”

“I bought a whole bunch of meat now that we have a new recruit! Let’s grill it!”

“I brought some drinks.”

“Hey, the newbie is too young for alcohol; I’ll drink all that instead, so bring it here.”

The atmosphere grew lively.

I stared blankly at their antics as I clung to Rain.

“Here, enjoy your meal, Rai.”

“Uh, that, um…”

“You’re the youngest, so it’s fine to just eat quietly. I did that when I was the youngest too.”

It really is okay.

Rain emphasized again at the end.

It was easy to tell that this “okay” meant something else.

They were good people, and their silly laughter was warm.

So much so that I felt pathetic for my earlier dissatisfaction.

“Rai! Come sit here!”

“Hey, newbie! If you don’t come soon, we’ll eat it all!”

“…Yes!”

And thus, I, too, wore a foolish grin and joined in the meal with them.

Well, since it’s come to this, I should try to get along.

Even if life is lacking compared to other towers, that’s alright.

Thus began my life in the Illusion Tower.

*

“…Well, it’s alright.”

Seven years had passed since becoming an Illusion Mage.

I had long since realized that warm feelings alone wouldn’t buy happiness.

All happiness comes from money. And the Illusion Tower has none.

Today, I continued to practice useless Illusion Magic, draped in a ragged robe.

“…Tower Master, why are you researching these useless spells?”

“They’re not useless…!”

“But no one wants to invest in these spells. They don’t make money!”

“B-but I was just born this way…”

Hina whimpered and shrank back.

Being S-rank, I picked up Illusion Magic easily.

I felt talented enough myself, and using the magic was fun.

But the problem was it wasn’t profitable.

In a world flooded with magic, there’s hardly anyone seeking illusions.

I was gradually maturing into adulthood, and soon, I would be faced with the moment where I’d need to think about what part-time job I could do with this illusion magic, just like my seniors.

Of course, since most seniors could use Illusion Magic, they could alibi for whatever side jobs came their way.

But I didn’t want to do something like being a backup dancer using multiple clones.

“Sigh…”

Trying to clear my head, I stepped outside to buy today’s meal.

The Illusion Tower was sitting in a corner of Trinity, so I had to walk quite a distance to the market.

What a filthy large city.

But there was one good thing.

I could leisurely walk and take in the beautiful sights of the city.

That used to be a perk about six years ago, but now it’s just dull.

“This world is also… unfair.”

A world where status is determined from the moment of birth. No different from my past life.

At least back in my past life, I had a refuge.

Spending all day gaming. As long as you didn’t spend money on it, gaming didn’t cost much, unlike other hobbies.

But here, there’s none of that.

This world lacks dopamine. If only it had some other impressive attributes, I could recharge my dopamine by learning powerful magic every day…

…Truly, it feels like a torment in both this life and my past one.

“Hey, magician! What are we supposed to eat if you do this… Please, just help us out once.”

“I told you to get it prepared by today, right? Huh? Remember? Did you lose your mind with age?”

“But I did tell you it would be tough by this date…”

“Hah, am I supposed to take the blame? So what? You want me to ruin your business?”

“Oh, dear, dear…”

That guy is the Haster from the Fire Tower.

He’s famous among the common folk of Trinity for being a bully.

Not only among the commoners, but our seniors really dislike him too.

When the seniors are working part-time, he mocks them, saying even a magician is reduced to doing part-time work, and picks fights.

But if they confront him, he threatens with fire magic.

We, who have no combat magic, had no choice but to endure the rising anger.

He’s just lucky to have been born with a good attribute.

Looking down on those who aren’t as fortunate and ignoring and tormenting them.

And that shopkeeper has to be treated poorly just because he wasn’t born with a good attribute.

If only we could all start from the same baseline.

Even if it’s in a game-like world, if there’s a space that provides healing…

“…Huh?”

That’s when it hit me, like a flashbang going off in my mind.

“Why didn’t I think of that? I played so many games in my previous life…!”

If I could create a game using Illusion Magic.

A world where everyone starts at Level 1, like the online games I enjoyed.

If it were a world where competition occurs under the same conditions instead of one where attributes are determined at birth…!

“This is it!”

With that, I immediately turned around and began to run back to the tower.

After reincarnating into this world, the time of the gamer inside me that had come to a halt began to flow again.