Seasoned night owl

Masahi Ota never imagined that his entertainment hall would be so bustling.

Even during the bubble economy era, when people spent recklessly, the entertainment hall was not as crowded as it is now.

And today, he estimated the approximate income he could earn.

Starting from one million yen.

After buying twenty-five gaming machines from Takayuki, he gritted his teeth and bought another ten at full price.

A total of thirty-five machines, still packed to the brim, non-stop.

Each gaming machine could bring in at least twenty thousand yen in revenue, plus the income from his other entertainment equipment. This was the best business he had since opening.

Breaking one million yen.

Once, during the bubble economy era, he had come close to earning a million yen in daily revenue.

But it didn't succeed in the end.

When the bubble burst, he had given up hope.

But unexpectedly, the time he least expected actually fulfilled his dream.

This reminded him of Takayuki's mention of a one billion market.

Perhaps, it might really happen.

But for now, he was only thinking in terms of yen, not dollars.

Until late at night, it was still bustling, but now there was no need to wait in line for a long time.

After all, there were only a few people who would stay up all night just to experience the games.

He even thought that maintaining the status quo would be good, monopolizing these gaming machines, and then making crazy money.

However, he knew that was impossible.

That would be shortsighted behavior. If he really did that, Takayuki would probably abandon him immediately.

To provide the best possible service to customers, he also hired additional night shift staff.

In this era of bursting bubbles, there was no shortage of people looking for work.

Passersby at night would also curiously look at this place and then come over to join in the fun, making it the most special place on the entire street.

The whole street was dark, with only this place being the brightest. The steaming heat was a sign of its popularity, making the surrounding shops envy.

At three o'clock in the morning, Tsukino Aya finally found some free gaming machines.

She also gathered the courage to approach, but still tried to avoid contact with others as much as possible.

"Hello, I'd like to experience the gaming machine."

At this time, the staff handing out tickets were already half-asleep.

At three o'clock in the morning, most people would be sleeping, so it wasn't necessary to stay up all night.

The customers who were still in high spirits also looked a bit tired.

Suddenly hearing a voice, the staff was startled.

"Ah, sorry, I was a little sleepy just now. Here's your ticket."

The staff quickly handed her a number, then pointed to the gaming machines inside the store.

"The machines inside are available now; you can go and play directly. It's a hundred yen per play."

"I'd like to try Dragon Quest."

"Dragon Quest? Sure, no problem. But you can only play for ten minutes each time, it's a hundred yen per play. To experience the full version, you'll probably need at least six hundred yen."

The trial content provided by Takayuki was roughly one or two hours in duration, which was just right, neither too long nor too short.

Masahi Ota, in order to increase his income, simply set Dragon Quest to be charged by time, a hundred yen for ten minutes.

He felt a bit reluctant about this because, with Super Mario, he could earn at least two hundred yen in ten minutes on average.

But Takayuki didn't allow such a situation. His goal wasn't to earn income from this short game time; he wanted more people to be able to play.

If it were Takayuki, he would prefer people to be able to play the trial version of Dragon Quest for free.

Tsukino Aya didn't mind this small amount of money, after all, she owned a personal server and wasn't short of money.

She nodded and took the ticket, deliberately waiting for the staff to place the ticket on the table before she took it, then walked to one of the gaming machines loaded with Dragon Quest.

Then, she skillfully pressed the start button.

Throughout the whole day, although she hadn't played, she had at least roughly understood the operation.

As someone proficient with computers, controlling it wasn't difficult for her.

The rising melody sounded, and the hero appeared in a palace.

This Dragon Quest was already a modified version by Takayuki.

Except for the main storyline, the game system and gameplay had been strengthened and updated.

In the original version, there wasn't even a companion; the protagonist had to face the Dragon King alone.

But here, he could already bring companions to fight together against strong enemies.

"Oh, hero with the bloodline of Loto, the evil Dragon King seeks to rule the world, kidnapping my daughter and taking away the crucial Sphere of Light. The world is in imminent danger, and we need you to save us."

"I hope you can kill the evil Dragon King, retrieve the Sphere of Light, and save the world!"

This story segment was almost memorized by Tsukino Aya.

Because she had watched countless demonstrations throughout the day.

After Masahi Ota finished his demonstration, the staff demonstrated, then Masahi Ota continued to demonstrate.

However, no matter how many times she watched others play, when she got her hands on it for the first time, she still felt a slight excitement.

Now, I am the hero.

I can defeat the dragon.

Not someone else.

After receiving the initial novice reward from the king, Tsukino Aya controlled the hero to leave the royal city and head to the first novice destination: the village.

In the village, the hero encountered a small team sent by the king to search for the princess.

Watching others play was one thing, but when she played it herself, Tsukino Aya couldn't help but immerse herself in the role of the hero.

It seemed as though she was already a true hero.

When she saw the search team, which was down to just one person, her heart tightened slightly.

Then she controlled the hero to go to the cave next to the village, where she saw the stone tablet left by her ancestors.

The content on the tablet explained the hero's past and what he should do.

Find three treasures and then find three great sages to truly defeat the Dragon King.

And the Dragon King was actually just an incarnation of the evil Demon King, which also implied a broader worldview.

Tsukino Aya began to ponder the information about this Demon King and Dragon King.

Shortly after leaving the cave, the battle began.

The story was one aspect, but what truly attracted people was the gameplay.

And only after experiencing it firsthand would one understand the fun.

The sense of victory in defeating monsters, the feeling of obtaining reward equipment, and the sense of achievement after leveling up.

Especially after leveling up, returning to the vicinity of the novice village to fight weak monsters felt even more satisfying.

In the game, as long as you worked hard, you would improve and receive substantial rewards, proving the fruits of your labor.

This was much easier to satisfy than the complex society in reality.

Tsukino Aya finally understood the charm of this thing.

The person who created this electronic game was a genius!

If possible, she really wanted to meet the creator.

One thing she was certain of was that the bald store manager was definitely not the one who created it.

He didn't look very smart at all.

Perhaps, she should consider digging deeper into the person who created this electronic game.

When she made up her mind, her game also reached its conclusion.

Because she deliberately slowed down the pace of the game, she ended up playing for over four hours.

When she left the entertainment hall, there was already a hint of dawn in the sky.

But she didn't care.

After all, her dark circles were almost as dark as smoky makeup; she looked like a seasoned night owl.

However, she still felt a bit reluctant.

She hadn't played enough yet; she really wished she could know the next plot immediately.

The story ended on the way to the next village, followed by a series of teasers, enticing you to continue watching the next plot, wanting to play the next story.

Just seven thousand yen, plus the game, was only eleven thousand yen. When it was released, she definitely had to be the first to buy it!

If she had a gaming console, she wouldn't need to come out anymore, wouldn't need to interact with people.

Confidently, she walked home facing the morning sun.