Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Council Rejection
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"Oh no, big trouble. Big trouble."
Hina came running in a fluster.
Her eyes were spinning wildly—she seemed extremely rattled.
Is there a bug in Maple Leaf Tale or something?
"Oh no, big trouble, Rye! Big trooouble—"
"What's wrong?"
"Th-the council... they want you to attend...!"
Hina handed over a paper with trembling hands.
It was a summons for the Illusion Tower Master to attend the council regarding the agenda they had proposed.
"Ah, so this is how it comes."
"H-how did this happen?!"
Maple Leaf Tale, the upcoming Championship of Legends—requests for mass production of both artifacts. And recognition of the Illusion Tower's contributions (to allow tower expansion).
I had submitted these three items to the council a little while ago.
They had all required council approval.
Guess the tower master who submitted the requests has to attend the council.
"What's the big deal? I told you before, something like this might come up soon."
"B-but the council..."
"Pardon?"
Hina flapped about as she explained the council.
Apparently, all the tower masters gathered once a month to vote on agendas.
"But I've never seen you attend even once, Tower Master."
"W-well, the council is scary..."
She should have been attending regularly all this time, but it seemed she hadn't bothered.
Should I be grateful or saddened that no one had said anything about her absence for so long?
"Normally, you can bring up to two attendant mages. How about Rye joins you this time? You'll probably have to demo the artifacts too."
"Sounds good. Let's go this time, Tower Master. If we don't, we won't make any money."
"Hoooe...!"
And so, at Rain's suggestion, Hina and I ended up attending the Trinity Council regular meeting.
Demoing the artifacts, huh.
It's possible, but from account creation to tutorial and all that, it wouldn't be quick.
And the real fun starts after the tutorial anyway.
After some deliberation, I decided to demo Championship of Legends at the council.
A single match has a set time limit, after all.
Plus, mages have strong urges for achievement and competition.
I figured they'd prefer Championship of Legends, where you feel victory in every match.
And so, the day of the council arrived.
"In favor: 9. Against: 21. Rejected."
It was shot down without mercy.
Of course, our contributions weren't recognized, so tower expansion was impossible too.
"No way..."
"This can't be! Are the tower masters insane?!"
"They're even more closed-off than I thought, the tower masters."
The tower folks who heard the news were devastated too.
I was pretty disheartened myself.
I'd thought Maple Leaf Tale's popularity would make it possible.
But tower masters were more different from ordinary humans than I'd imagined.
"We should've shown them Maple Leaf Tale! They all would've voted yes then."
"You think so...?"
Was it my bad judgment?
There were time constraints, and tower masters were transcendent powerhouses to begin with. I figured they'd be more interested in Championship of Legends than starting from level 1 in Maple Leaf Tale.
I ended up blaming myself.
To resubmit a rejected agenda, you needed agreement from 10 tower masters.
And then over half of them had to approve for it to pass...
After one rejection, it was no easy path.
"We just have to work hard like before! If we get even more famous, maybe an opportunity will come?"
Medea tried to lighten the mood.
Medea had an attribute constitution that couldn't make artifacts anyway.
The production staff looked grim.
And it wasn't just mages struggling.
We couldn't keep up the same pace forever.
Maple Leaf Tale was an MMORPG, so even fewer users could play it.
But Championship of Legends, the AOS genre—aka COL—was different.
A real-time 5v5 battle game.
Without enough users, queue times would drag on forever.
Users come when they want, sure.
But this game couldn't afford to lack users due to insufficient artifacts.
Even in my past life, if COL had launched before computers were widespread, it never would've succeeded.
"Even so... getting permission to increase users right away... To secure enough artifacts for COL's base user count, we'd need 3 or 4 years of nonstop handmade work."
Hearing that, the production team's faces sank deeper into despair.
Handcrafting artifacts like this had its limits.
If the council approved mass production, we'd get another artifact that could mass-produce specific ones.
With that, machines would handle it—no more manual labor.
And it'd be way faster, no worries about shortages.
In short, mass production approval was essential for COL's launch.
Of course, Maple Leaf Tale still had too few users, and long-term, we'd need constant mass production. Council approval was a must.
"Sigh... Let's think on it some more for now."
Everyone returned to their rooms.
I headed alone to the top floor, where the Maple Leaf Tale server was.
Gazing at that massive maple leaf-shaped artifact's glow somehow eased my mind a bit.
"Huh?"
Someone was already there.
I was surprised because it wasn't one of our tower folks.
She radiated immense mana waves at a glance.
"...Impressive. I don't know illusion magic, but coming up with this concept... It's a waste for an illusion mage."
"...Who are you?"
She wore a Lightning mage's robe.
As she turned, her hair swayed gracefully. Seeing her face, I remembered.
"Lightning Tower Master?"
"Yes."
I didn't ask how she got in.
It was pointless questioning a tower master like that.
"What brings you here..."
"...Championship of Legends."
"Pardon?"
"That artifact. How do I get one?"
"...Pardon?"
The Lightning Tower Master was famous for her blunt beauty.
Rumors said she was ruthless too.
Without treaties, she'd wield her monstrous power mercilessly.
But right now, she seemed somehow embarrassed.
Her cheeks looked a little flushed.
"It's... not released yet. The game needs a lot of users by nature. We planned to launch 100,000 worldwide from the start, but the mass production got rejected, so we're in a tough spot."
"...100,000. So not even one is possible."
"We have a few, but you can't play solo. It's 5v5. And to enjoy it properly, we need way more users."
"...Understood. I was too hasty."
True to a tower master, she grasped it quickly.
But her feet didn't move to leave.
"...Is there more you wanted to say?"
"Ahem."
The ever-stoic Lightning Tower Master, Electra.
Looking closely, her lips were twitching a bit.
"I... voted in favor."
"Pardon?"
"For Championship of Legends. I supported mass production."
"Ah... Thank you. But unfortunately, it got rejected."
So Electra was one of the 9 yes votes.
I knew that, but she still didn't budge.
She just stared at the brightly glowing Maple Leaf Tale main server.
Ah, need to update it soon.
A bit annoyed, I started to speak, then remembered her presence and shut my mouth.
Honestly, she scared me a little.
Unlike Hina, Electra had the dignified, transcendent image fitting a tower master.
In the end, I gave up chasing her off and started muttering like a grumble.
"Guess it was my greed. I thought showing COL would entertain everyone."
"COL?"
"Short for Championship of Legends. Anyway, not everyone found it fun. I thought with your competitive spirits and achievement drives, you'd all love the strategy battles."
"...Hm. True. But it was impossible for everyone to like COL after one match."
"Pardon?"
Electra turned to face me.
Our eyes met, and I couldn't look away from her lightning-flecked golden eyes.
"Most mages crave intellectual pursuits, true. Competitive and achievement drives are historically inevitable for us. COL's strategic elements would definitely appeal to mages. Especially to us tower masters, with our elevated peaks of achievement."
"...Then why was it rejected?"
"First, the deep-seated disdain for the Illusion Tower. Without shattering that long-ingrained prejudice, the tower masters' fingers stay frozen."
It was what I'd expected, but hearing it stung.
The Illusion Tower was still looked down on. Especially among mages.
"And second?"
"One match wasn't enough for everyone to grasp COL's fun."
"No... way?"
"The core structure ensures one side wins, the other loses. Inevitably, half feel no victory."
"Ah..."
It felt like a hammer to the head.
Of course one match left half defeated.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
"Plus, COL's rules are unfamiliar. Even if it's truly enjoyable, grasping all elements and value in one go is hard. It was easy for me, but not all tower masters focused on COL. And the losers would've lost all interest."
Just as Electra said.
In my past life, COL had a high entry barrier too.
You learn how it works, taste a few wins, and only then realize it's addictive.
No matter how smart tower masters are, one match can't convey it all.
I was the idiot.
COL's essence is that. Thinking one match could win over haughty tower masters?
Maple Leaf Tale's success made me arrogant.
I should've been more cautious.
As a developer, not noticing something so basic?
I felt pathetic for forgetting the obvious and charging into the council.
"Ha... You're right."
I smacked my lips and slumped to the floor.
My heavy head drooped toward the ground.
"Thinking one match would hook them... I was the fool."
"A few more, and they'd all be hooked. By my senses."
"But the chance is gone. Can't go begging tower masters for 'just one more try!'"
"...Not impossible."
"...Pardon?"
I lifted my bowed head.
Electra's lightning-filled golden eyes still watched me.
"Before Trinity properly formed. Before the towers rose. Back then, the schools..."
Electra began her tale, blunt as ever.
The more I heard, the wider my eyes grew.
"You mean pit the towers against each other in competition."
"Yes."
"Really... doable?"
"If my prediction holds. And it's never wrong."
Electra's words outlined a massive plan to hook the tower masters—no, all mages—on COL.