Chapter 91: Bomberman or Crazy Arcade

“Good. I brought a proposal for the game we need to make here, so could you gather the employees?”

“Yes! Of course.”

Even though Ras was basically telling him to get to work, Dnallin looked delighted. It was understandable. Hexa Soft had been saved right before going under, so he already felt indebted to Ras. On top of that, he was extremely excited to see a project proposal from Ras, the industry’s superstar.

From Ras’s perspective, it felt good to see the employees so motivated.

After taking a short break and drinking the tea brought by one of the Hexa Soft employees, he pulled out the proposal and stood at the front.

It felt a little awkward without the blackboard he always used.

Still, seeing the eyes of the Hexa Soft employees focused on him, he felt there would be no problem getting the information across with this level of concentration.

The game Ras prepared was Bomberman. Korean readers would probably be more familiar with Crazy Arcade.

(Translator’s Note: Bomberman — Earth action-maze game centered around placing bombs to destroy walls and defeat opponents; inspiration for Ras’s new project.)

(Translator’s Note: Crazy Arcade — Korean Bomberman-style multiplayer arcade/online game)

To explain only the basics simply, it was a game where players placed bombs in a narrow, maze-like map made of brick walls to open paths or defeat enemies.

Additionally, when players destroyed walls and picked up the items that appeared, they could gain effects such as increased speed or stronger bombs.

It was one of Earth’s masterpiece games and one Ras had always intended to recreate in this world someday.

“Simple, right?”

“Ah… yes!”

Outwardly, Dnallin only gave a short reply after hearing Ras’s proposal, but inwardly, he was deeply impressed. It truly was an innovative idea. Just as Ras said, it had a simple system, yet it was clearly the kind of game capable of delivering deep enjoyment.

At the same time, while admiring Ras, he also felt inferior about himself for never being able to think of such fresh ideas and instead continuing to make similar games over and over.

But that was being too hard on himself.

The fact that he could already picture the gameplay in his head just by listening to the proposal showed that Dnallin also possessed considerable talent as a developer.

Moreover, though Dnallin did not know it, Ras’s idea was not his own to begin with. He was merely copying something created by game companies on Earth. Ras was always conscious of that fact, so he tried not to act arrogant.

Thanks to that, people even evaluated him as humble compared to his abilities.

“Please make the characters and map designs feel as cute as possible. And make two graphic versions as well. I’ll give you plenty of time.”

As for the design, he decided not to directly copy Earth’s Bomberman. Bomberman itself was a fairly famous character. But in Ras’s eyes, the character only became famous because the game became famous, not because the character itself had overwhelming charm.

Besides, Bomberman also carried a bit of a ninja aesthetic. Since ninjas did not exist in this world, it could become a strange and meaningless character if handled poorly.

“And if you have other ideas, feel free to add them. Of course, they’ll still go through our review process.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And please pay a lot of attention to both Versus Mode and Co-op Mode.”

Bomberman was fun enough even in single-player, but remembering how Korean students had gone crazy over Crazy Arcade, Ras simply could not give up multiplayer.

If possible, he even wanted to make network play available.

But with the current performance of communication cards, that was impossible for now. Instead, when porting it to arcades, he planned to request support for up to four players.

Arcade Game Land possessed many arcade machines, so allocating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠four cabinets to a promising new game would not be impossible.

In any case, having met the new development team and explained the game they would create, Ras left the Hexa Soft office, or rather, the Brunyad Development Team office, in a satisfied mood.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

Despite Ras being far younger, Dnallin politely bowed and saw him off. Since Ras had already grown somewhat used to this kind of thing, instead of becoming flustered, he simply smiled back, returned the greeting, and got into the taxi.

Since it was already late, Ras and Ella ate at a nearby restaurant before finding a hotel and staying the night.

He had somehow imagined the Brunyard Federation as less developed than the Republic of Smite, but he did not particularly feel that way when it came to the restaurants or hotels.

At the same time, however, it also did not really feel like a foreign country.

It felt slightly different somehow, but if asked to point out exactly what was different, he could not quite say.

“I’m not really sure either. But if I had to describe it, it feels similar to how things were around ten years ago.”

That was Ella’s opinion, at least.

It seemed Ras still was not fully accustomed to this world yet. Otherwise, he probably would have been able to sense those subtle differences.

The next day, Ras boarded a train with Ella and headed to Nividal City, the capital of the Brunyard Federation, where Arcade Game Land’s Brunyard Branch No. 1 was located.

“How’s the seat?”

“Mmm. I think it’s nice?”

They had once again booked first-class seats, but these somehow felt more luxurious and extravagant than those in the Republic of Smite.

At the time, Ras merely accepted it casually, but later, he learned it was because the Brunyard Federation still retained heavy influence from the Pluta Constitutional State, which could be considered its parent nation. As a result, a strong culture of luxury had developed there.

Officially, the country no longer possessed noble titles.

However, many noble families still remained and continued maintaining their wealth and social status, meaning nobles effectively still existed in practice.

That was certainly one difference from the Republic of Smite.

After riding the train for nine hours, the two arrived in Nividal City.

“It’s pretty bustling.”

Ras looked around the streets near the station as he spoke.

Rather than admiration, however, the remark carried a slight sense of disappointment. He had expected a massive metropolis similar to Ranchelt, but the number of tall skyscrapers was far too small.

There was not even anything overwhelmingly huge like the Wawelly Building.

Of course, skyscrapers were not an absolute standard for measuring a city’s prosperity. Still, visually speaking, they undeniably left the strongest impression.

“But there seem to be a lot of people.”

Ella was right.

The city seemed somewhat smaller in scale, yet the streets were just as crowded as Ranchelt.

The two pushed through the crowd and first caught a taxi.

The taxi driver was an older Orc who spoke Ruta Language with a thick accent. Ras felt he never would have understood him without Communication Magic.

“Ah. I know. I know.”

Still, perhaps because of his experience, the driver understood the address immediately and started the car.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at Arcade Game Land, and the sight felt very familiar.

Perhaps because it was the ambitious first branch targeting the capital from the start, they had rented the same kind of three-story glass building used in the Republic of Smite. The signboard looked similar too, and the interior was likewise packed with people.

“This seems fine enough. Let’s go.”

Just like before, Ras went inside, briefly inspected the staff’s service quality, interior arrangement, and machine maintenance, then immediately left.

Whether because the training had been done properly or not, it was operated almost identically, leaving little for him to criticize.

And with this many customers, it seemed safe to say the expansion had succeeded.

However, this was still the capital. Compared to other regions, it naturally had more people and was more sensitive to trends.

So just because it succeeded here did not guarantee success elsewhere. He felt they would need to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continue monitoring things carefully.

After staying one more night, the two headed for the airship airport.

Since it was the capital, there was naturally an airport there, so there was no need to return to Bricon City.

He did not particularly feel regretful.

Originally, the trip was only scheduled for three days anyway, but strangely enough, he did not feel much desire to explore further.

It was not that he disliked the Brunyard Federation. It simply felt like seeing the city had been enough.

And surprisingly, visiting the country had not been difficult at all.

So Ras thought famous attractions like Brunyard’s giant hot springs or Natnuruk Beach could always wait until he had more free time later.

“Was it good?”

“Yeah. Though it really wasn’t that different from our country.”

While riding the airship back, Ras and Ella chatted about the trip.

Ella seemed quite satisfied with her first overseas trip. Despite what she said, her expression did not look bad at all.

No… maybe she’s just happy to be going home?

Ras himself also felt the trip had not been bad.

Still, what satisfied him more than the Brunyard Federation itself was riding this airship.

Aside from being slower than an airplane, it truly felt like an amazing mode of transportation.

It was incredibly spacious and comfortable.

Normally, traveling was tiring even if you just sat still, but this airship simply felt like relaxing in a café.

At one point, Ras even found himself wondering whether he should buy one.

Not a bad idea.

Thinking about it further, it actually seemed worthwhile.

He could use it for work, like a boat for leisure, or even as a flying villa in the sky.

Ras decided he would first look into how much airships cost once he returned.

He could not freely spend huge amounts of money right now due to all the ongoing projects, but there was no harm in simply checking the price.

When they arrived back at Kames Airport, his car and Radmi were waiting.

“Boss!”

“Ah, have you been doing well?”

He had called him through international telephone before departing, but seeing him in person still felt genuinely nice.

Partly because he was happy to see Radmi himself, and partly because it meant he could finally ride comfortably in his own car again.

The airship had certainly been comfortable, but after spending several days continuously in places that were not his own, he had begun missing familiar surroundings.

After driving for quite some time, they entered downtown Kames City, then eventually reached the familiar neighborhood.

The moment they arrived in front of the apartment containing Ras’s room, both Ras and Ella unconsciously relaxed their expressions.

“We’re home!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Ah! Thank you for your hard work!”

The moment Ella got out of the car, she raised both hands in celebration. Ras also smiled brightly as he greeted Radmi.

Ella then belatedly turned around as if she had forgotten and offered her greeting as well.

Afterward, the two returned to their room, washed up, rested for a while, then went out around dinner time and enjoyed a meal at a familiar neighborhood restaurant, easing the fatigue from their business trip.

Not long after returning from the Brunyard Federation, a report ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived stating that the hard disk technology cooperation contract had been finalized.

It had practically already been confirmed beforehand, but it was still good news that the agreement concluded without unexpected complications.

“When do you think we’ll be able to see a prototype?”

“Well… they’re still in the middle of transferring the technology.”

Karkov did not answer immediately and instead spoke vaguely.

Currently, two engineers from Tundarka, a computing company from the Kanish Kingdom, were staying at Meta Hardware and transferring hard disk technology.

As expected of a Dwarf kingdom, both engineers were Dwarves.

Out of curiosity, Ras once quietly joined one of the technology transfer sessions to listen in.

But perhaps because it truly was cutting-edge technology, he could not understand a word of what they were saying.

He grasped the concepts quickly enough, but once they moved into actual applied technology, it became completely incomprehensible to a non-specialist like him.

And honestly, if Karkov had not spent all this time continuously teaching the Meta Hardware engineers and improving their basic capabilities, they probably would not have understood much either.

Fortunately, none of it was particularly difficult for Karkov.

While continuously exchanging knowledge with the Tundarka engineers, he was also writing what was essentially a manual.

The other engineers absorbed information more slowly, yet he could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not do all the work alone, so he had no choice but to create reference materials for them.

“Then we’ll be heading back now.”

In any case, once the technology transfer ended, the two Dwarf engineers returned home with strict punctuality, and Meta Hardware’s development team began fumbling through attempts to absorb the technology and somehow produce a prototype.