Chapter 113: Another Piece of Content for the Communication Card

Fire-type? Then is that leaf-like thing on top of its head actually a flame?

Since they were spirits, accepting the idea of elemental attributes came naturally enough.

In any case, now that he had obtained a spirit, he properly began the game.

The goal of the game itself was to capture and raise spirits while defeating the Spirit Masters of the Spirit Associations scattered across various regions, so there was no specific destination telling him where to go. He only needed to search for any place nearby where spirits lived.

This feels incredibly free.

Paul Roxy felt a sense of uncertainty, yet at the same time, he also felt liberated, as though this world had opened itself wide before him.

For now, he headed toward a nearby field.

According to the villagers, it was a place where many wild spirits lived.

<Encountered a wild spirit!>

He had prepared himself to wander around for quite a while, but this warning appeared the moment he entered.

Then choices appeared asking whether he wanted to fight or run away.

Honestly, if this had been reality, he would have run immediately. Who knew what kind of creature might appear?

But since this was a game, he thought for a moment before selecting battle. He had his own reasoning as well. He had only just started the game, and spirits living near the starting village were unlikely to be particularly strong.

Just as I thought.

A green caterpillar-like spirit with horns popped out.

It was cute yet somehow pitiful-looking, making it obvious at a glance that it was intended for beginners even before the battle started.

And in reality, it was easily defeated by his spirit, Ollang. Though he did not realize it yet, it had been a favorable elemental matchup from the beginning. He was using a fire-type spirit against a grass-type spirit.

Ah. I forgot to capture it.

He had cleanly defeated it and felt satisfied, but then belatedly remembered that this was not that kind of game. So the next time he encountered one, he followed the elderly Spirit Master’s instructions, reducing the spirit’s health to the brink before throwing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Spirit Stone he possessed.

<Captured Chiku!>

Oh. It worked.

He had heard there was a success probability involved, but it succeeded immediately without failing once.

Then again, if players kept failing right at the beginning of the game, they would probably lose interest easily, so it had likely been designed this way from the start.

As expected of a game distribution company president, thoughts like that immediately came to mind. Still, successfully applying what he had just learned gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

He checked Chiku’s stats afterward, and as expected, it was not a strong spirit.

Still, since it possessed a completely different attribute from the spirit he already owned, he thought there might be situations where it could be useful.

Afterward, he wandered around the nearby area fighting whatever he encountered.

Then, beside a large tree, he challenged a white monkey-like spirit wearing a crown. At that moment, he realized he had been mistaken in thinking this area was a beginner zone filled only with weak creatures.

“Huh? Why is this thing so strong?”

<Mongking swung the Ruyi Staff. Ollang took [30] damage!>

Its health dropped rapidly in an instant.

No, considering that Ollang only had 40 health, it was more accurate to say it had nearly died in one hit.

At his very next command, he immediately fled.

After that, unlike before, he explored the area far more cautiously.

Once he realized he actually needed to be careful, the tension made the game even more fun.

Of course, having to run away while on the verge of death had not been especially pleasant.

It’s definitely fun. It feels a little simple, but maybe that simplicity makes it even more enjoyable.

After spending a long time supposedly “testing” Spirit Stone while actually enjoying it, Paul Roxy concluded that Meta Soft had brought another good game this time.

The reactions from the other employees were not bad either.

“It feels fresh. Is this a companion? No, it’s not exactly the same as a companion. Still, raising something other than myself… it feels new.”

Amans repeatedly expressed admiration while looking through the list of spirits he had captured.

At first, it had seemed like a somewhat bland game, but as he continued playing, the enjoyment of collecting and raising spirits became truly incredible.

There were many things to enjoy, such as going on adventures to obtain rare spirits rumored about throughout the game world or gathering materials to evolve spirits that had fought alongside him for a long time.

It was easy to become immersed.

The somewhat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plain battles eventually stopped bothering him entirely.

“How did you even get that thing called Pikachu?”

Startled by the sudden voice behind him, Amans turned around to see Kadanio staring intently at his monitor with his usual dark-circled eyes.

This guy, who had always loved role-playing games, had completely fallen into Spirit Stone and was collecting monsters obsessively.

However, there were several spirits he absolutely could not obtain because he lacked the knack for finding them, and it was driving him mad.

“What? You still haven’t gotten it?”

“…Yeah. Just tell me how to get it already. I seriously can’t find it.”

“Hm. Should I just give you one?”

“Huh? Really?!”

For a moment, Kadanio looked genuinely delighted.

But then he frowned and shook his head.

“No. It only means something if I find it myself. Just tell me the method!”

“Hmm. What, for free?”

“Ah. Don’t be so cheap. Fine. I’ll buy you a bottle of Zail.”

Amans chuckled before nodding.

Still, this game possessed the incredible feature of a network system.

Amans had truly never imagined something like this.

The idea that players could connect with one another to exchange spirits and even battle each other was astonishing.

At first, when Meta Soft had sent the Communication Card together with the game, he thought they were just trying to push some strange product alongside the game.

But after connecting it according to the manual and launching battle mode, it genuinely felt like a whole new world.

Actually, Amans did not find the spirit exchange feature particularly meaningful.

He did feel somewhat proud whenever he gave rare spirits to coworkers who had failed to obtain them, but that was about it.

Still, judging from how some coworkers were enthusiastically trading in order to complete their lists of missing spirits, there were definitely people who appreciated the exchange system.

In any case, Amans preferred battle mode over the exchange system.

Exploring the world created inside the game was already plenty enjoyable.

However, once players became strong enough that adventuring no longer felt difficult, all the effort they had spent raising their spirits could start feeling empty.

Of course, the game had an ending, and there was fulfillment in reaching it.

But this game strongly emphasized raising spirits, so players could easily become unwilling to part with them even after completing the story.

And when those carefully raised spirits could battle against other players, it created ongoing motivation to continue collecting and raising them.

Setting all that aside, it’s just fascinating and fun.

Amans thought that while looking at the message saying it was connecting to the Spirit Realm.

He truly had never imagined that users could connect to one another like this.

Soon after connecting, he enjoyed battling with his coworkers.

The only disappointing part was that since the game had not yet been commercially released, the only people connected to the Spirit Realm were the employees inside this office.

“Ah. This is lonely. There’s nobody here worthy of battling me.”

He spoke with an arrogant attitude, and though the gazes from his coworkers turned sharp, nobody refuted him.

That was because it was true that the spirits he had collected were the strongest.

“Damn it. Fight me.”

Still, there were always people willing to challenge him despite knowing they would lose.

Apparently finding Amans incredibly irritating, Chuoban immediately connected to the Spirit Realm.

Battle mode had random matchmaking, but if players knew each other’s IDs, they could also arrange direct battles.

“Oh? So you’re challenging me?”

Excited, Amans checked his spirits.

The battles were simple, but that did not mean they lacked strategy.

His spirits were powerful, but type matchups existed, so if he encountered only unfavorable matchups, he could still lose despite having higher levels.

If Chuoban won, he would brag endlessly afterward, and Amans absolutely could not tolerate that.

Quietly strengthening his resolve, he prepared for battle.

Before long, the employees of Barbal Soft gathered around the two computers and watched the duel with excitement.

Given reactions like this, there was no need to even mention that Barbal Soft’s evaluation of Spirit Stone turned out extremely positive.

“Once this game starts selling, the Communication Cards should move too, right?”

Ras received word from Barbal Soft that they had begun packaging production.

Along ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with that came praise about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠how fun the game was and how revolutionary the network system felt.

Naturally, Ras repeatedly thanked them while listening.

But once the call ended, his expression became troubled.

That was because sales of the Communication Card were absolutely disastrous.

He had advertised through Gamers magazine, placed huge promotional posters inside Arcade Game Land branches, and used all the connections he had built to spread information about what the Communication Card was, yet the results were the same.

“No, but it even supports chatting and data transfer. You’d think at least some people would want to try it.”

It had been almost half a month since launch, yet nationwide sales still had not reached one thousand units.

Considering that they already had over two hundred thousand units in inventory and factories were still producing more, it could only be described as a catastrophic failure.

“Come on, don’t be so anxious. It’s only the beginning. And it’s such an unfamiliar product. It’ll take time. You said that yourself too, didn’t you?”

As Ras sat in the chairman’s office clutching his hair, Ella gave a bitter smile and brought him a cup of tea.

The meaning was obvious: drink it and calm down.

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Truthfully, Ras had been deeply worried when releasing the Communication Card.

This was still a world where telephone ownership had not even reached sixty percent.

The idea of something like the internet was unimaginable, so he could not confidently predict whether the Communication Card would truly sell.

Of course, on Earth, it had eventually become something completely commonplace, but that did not guarantee success here.

The circumstances were completely different.

So he had already lowered his expectations considerably.

Still, even the messenger and data transfer systems, which he thought had at least some competitive appeal, were proving completely ineffective, causing anxiety to rise again.

I still need some kind of content.

Ras realized he had been too complacent.

He had been relying on Spirit Stone, but now that he reconsidered it, a single game did not seem sufficient.

People needed something they could connect to and actually use.

An internet-like system would have been ideal, but there was no way Ras could create something like that alone.

That included his companies as well.

Still, the old PC communication systems from Korea seemed feasible.

Services like Hitel and Nownuri had definitely been made by companies.

(Translator’s Note: Hitel (하이텔) — One of South Korea’s major PC communication services during the 1990s, operating before widespread internet adoption and providing forums, messaging, and downloadable content through dial-up connections.)

(Translator’s Note: Nownuri (나우누리) — Korean PC communication network service popular during the 1990s, similar to Hitel, known for online communities, message boards, and early digital culture.)

Ras himself had never actually used PC communication systems before. Even so, he had heard how they worked.

He understood them as something similar to community sites like DC Inside.

(Translator’s Note: DC Inside (디시) — Major South Korean internet community/forum site originally focused on digital cameras but later expanded into numerous topic-based discussion galleries.)

The idea was simply to create many message boards and let users generate content themselves.

Of course, they would also need to provide some in-house content, such as news articles.

“Ella. Put out some recruitment ads.”

Since the idea had occurred to him, Ras immediately decided to create a PC communication department.

There were no experts in this field anyway, so he planned to hire people majoring in computer science, journalism, and similar fields and build everything from the ground up.

And while Ras hurriedly prepared to create a PC communication service, Spirit Stone was released smoothly without any issues.

A small fishing village in the southern Republic of Smite.

Johai was an eleven-year-old young Gnome boy.

His family operated a canned fish company that resembled Korean tuna canning businesses to some extent.

It was a product that sold fairly steadily, so Johai’s family was wealthy.

But wealth did not necessarily bring happiness.

And for a young boy who did not yet fully understand the value and fear of money, that was even more true.