Isekai Online Game Developer

It was once a game I worked hard on. “Hidden Attack.”

I think it was a game that even people who don’t play FPS heard of back then.

It’s hard to call it the original, but it was definitely the first widely known FPS.

I had just decided to create “Hidden Attack” as my next game.

“Ra, Rai… I found a bug…”

At that moment, Hina peeked in through the door, looking shy and hesitant.

It seemed she was once again feeling bashful since I’ve been holed up in the lab for the past few days.

It’s surprising how she gets shy again even after spending years together, just from a few days apart.

Anyway, it was a perfectly timed moment.

“We’ll fix that together in tomorrow’s patch. For now, come here for a second, Tower Master.”

“Uh, uh? Okay.”

“Hidden Attack” was a game essentially devoid of fantasy elements.

Conversely, in this world, “Hidden Attack” might actually seem fantastical.

Guns that explode with gunpowder instead of magic.

Armor like bulletproof vests, not magical shields.

It might seem primitive in this world, but it’s actually advanced technology.

It would definitely be a new game, but I wondered how well people would accept it.

“Do you know what a gun is?”

“A, gun? Uh? Gun gun gun gun? Are you talking?”

When I asked about guns, Hina started mimicking the recently popular rabbit reactions awkwardly.

It seemed the concept of guns itself was unfamiliar in this world.

“Um, roughly speaking, it looks something like this…”

I struck a pose holding a gun made from illusions.

It was the K2 rifle I used during my military service.

Even though these were memories from my past life, I clearly remembered the structure, and as soon as I picked it up, my stance came out naturally.

The memories of military service were undoubtedly engraved in my soul.

“What, what is this?”

“This is a gun. It’s a kind of weapon that fires bullets, which are small objects, through this little hole.”

“Ooh…? Is it the thing from COL?”

“It’s a bit different from that. Let me show you.”

Bang-!

I instantly enacted both the sound of a gunshot and a bullet flying through an illusion.

“Eek-!!”

Knowing it was an illusion, Hina still screamed loudly and fell over.

“A-Are you okay?”

Quickly dispersing the illusion, I helped Hina up.

She seemed pretty shocked as tears welled up in her eyes.

“W-What was that just now?”

“It’s called a gun. It fires small stones at incredible speeds with a little explosion, piercing the enemy’s body.”

“Feeling like… it’s super dangerous.”

“I’m sorry.”

Even without knowing the existence of guns, she instinctively felt danger.

“I plan to make a game where you fight using this gun for the next one. It’s somewhat similar to what appears in COL, but let’s say it’s more realistic?”

“Is this… reality…?”

“It’s more in line with the laws of physics. Anyway, do you think it would be okay?”

“I don’t know what it is, but… it sounds fun.”

Hina clearly has the talent of a gamer.

Just this alone seemed to help her grasp how the game might turn out.

Introducing the real concept of “guns” into this world might be a tough pill to swallow.

In COL, it was accepted like a form of magic, but…

In “Hidden Attack,” the guns were literally real guns.

I decided to let people shoot guns with illusions a little longer before diving into production.

In a state where they had gotten used to various concepts through illusions.

I thought this would help the new game be enjoyable pretty quickly.

So, I spent several months on making “Hidden Attack.”

*

“Hmmm… It’s like a time of peace.”

The Emperor, half-lying on the throne, was sipping a drink.

He had just been taking a break after playing COL for five hours.

Talking about COL while engaging in the real world, then branching into Maple Leaf Story had recently become his routine.

Occasionally, he would also compete with the Royal Ministers in Auto Chess.

“Things feel a bit boring, though…”

The games were still enjoyable.

The thrill of action in COL, the rush of victory, and the fun of Auto Chess.

Everything was just how it had always been, yet the Emperor felt like those stimuli had weakened somehow.

Even playing the same game, not every moment felt exciting.

Now, he mostly knew how games would unfold, and that zappy feeling only lasted when he got to those peak moments.

Of course, he couldn’t quit, but he wasn’t feeling that pleasure much when not gaming these days.

He was always seeking greater thrills.

“Hmmm… I should stretch my body a bit.”

He had been playing games too much lately.

The Emperor had never neglected wielding a sword even as he aged.

Before being an emperor, he was a conqueror, and before that, he was a warrior.

Having experienced conquest wars, he didn’t hate combat.

“It’s been a while since you’ve taken the sword, Your Majesty.”

“I shouldn’t let my skills rust. I feel like I’ve been playing too many games lately, so I plan to swing my sword more often from now on.”

“That’s a good thought. No matter how peaceful the times are, the knight’s sword must not dull.”

The Emperor clashed swords with the Knight Commander after a while.

It felt nice, almost like stepping back in time.

“Speaking of which, the Illusion Tower has been quiet recently.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s been a while since I thought it was about time for a new game to come out.”

“Oh, that’s right. Ah, oh… is that so?”

While conversing with the Knight Commander, the Emperor suddenly had a lightbulb moment.

The cause of the boredom he had felt recently.

Originally, a new game should have come out around this time to entertain him.

However, due to continuous events and the busy schedule of the Illusion Tower.

Not having a new game meant no new excitement.

And at that moment, a Royal Minister rushed in, shouting.

“Y-your Majesty! The Illusion Tower is launching a new game!”

“What did you say?”

They say a dragon appears when you mention it.

Hearing that news, the Emperor immediately tossed his sword aside and rushed off.

“I was wondering what was going on.”

The Knight Commander sighed, seeing the Emperor’s back, as if he had anticipated this.

It seemed that the promise of wielding swords more often would not be kept.

The Emperor reached out to the Illusion Tower to inquire when the next game would be released.

The new game “Hidden Attack” would be out in a week.

The Emperor spent every night like a child waiting for his birthday.

And finally, on the day “Hidden Attack” was released.

“…What on earth is this,”

The Emperor could only be bewildered when he launched the game.

The backdrop composed of unidentifiable stone slabs filled a gray space.

The characters wore bizarre outfits he had never seen before, and they fought without any magic or swordsmanship.

“A gun… huh.”

The weapons were indeed guns.

Pulling the trigger released a small something called a bullet with strong recoil.

And when it hit the opponent, blood spattered, draining their life force.

It was a strange world, but the gameplay itself was simple.

Shoot at the opponent and kill them.

“This is even harder than I thought…”

While playing for the first time, the Emperor struggled for quite a while.

Unlike bows or spears, where trajectories were easily visible, predicting the movement of bullets was difficult for the human eye.

He had to aim with something called a reticle.

The reticle was so small that even focusing on it was a challenge.

However, after a few tries, he quickly got the hang of it.

“Ooh! I hit!”

Enemies collapsing when accurately aimed raised his excitement even further.

The recoil of the firearm amplified the impact, making it feel even better.

“Brings back old memories.”

“Hidden Attack” was fundamentally different from the previous “Maple Leaf Story” or the combat from COL.

The previous games felt more like knocking enemies over rather than actually killing them.

It felt like a kind of play where you just used magic to deal more damage than a certain health threshold.

But “Hidden Attack” was different.

This was a game that was undeniably about killing actual people.

Hitting non-lethal spots wouldn’t instantly kill them.

But if he hit critical spots like the head, the enemy would die in an instant.

The blood that spilled when struck felt as real as it could get.

Adrenaline surged through him.

It felt just like the times he roamed the battlefield in the past.

The sensation of killing was still visceral and sticky.

But narrowly escaping death and the feeling of killing an opponent.

The sensation of coming out alive after severing the neck of an enemy amidst potentially fatal situations filled him with exhilaration.

This was a real battlefield.

One filled with bloodshed, where if you didn’t kill, you would die.

A setting where he had to solely focus on killing the opponent, or the fear of dying loomed large.

A real battlefield. Real death.

The sensations he thought he would never feel again after the era of peace.

Were being bestowed upon the Emperor once more within “Hidden Attack.”

Naturally, the Emperor fell into “Hidden Attack” as one would expect.

*

After many people began enjoying “Hidden Attack.”

Most of them had gotten used to the new virtual weapon called “guns.”

A much more convenient weapon with a satisfying feel compared to swords.

Rai’s initial concerns turned out to be unfounded, as people were enjoying themselves.

“This…”

However, not everyone was just enjoying themselves.

“I think I could actually make one.”

Somewhere on the continent.

A serious alchemist was exploring the essence of guns.