Chapter 186: Official Release

To fight the final boss, _Radiance_, you first had to defeat the unbroken _Shell_, which meant taking down the _Hollow Knight_.

"Hmph, this is nothing for me!"

Brimming with confidence, Hajime initiated the battle against the _Hollow Knight_, with everyone gathered around to watch.

However, as soon as the fight began, Ichin just smiled, shook his head, and left the group, heading to the kitchen to start preparing the lamb stew.

Barely two minutes later, he heard Hajime's agonized scream from the other room.

"AHHH!!! How did I die?!"

This was quickly followed by the sound of hurried footsteps as Hajime stormed into the kitchen and delivered a light punch to Ichin's back.

"You _actually_ changed the _Hollow Knight's_ attack patterns?! Why didn't I know about this?! I was in charge of combat animations!"

Dropping the sliced lamb into the pot and turning on the heat, Ichin turned to face her with an amused expression. "I didn't change that much, did I? Just made the boss a little more agile, increased the speed of its dash attacks, and added a few extra moves."

"Huh? There are _more_ moves?!"

Seeing Hajime freeze in shock, Ichin couldn't help but laugh. "What, you didn't even make it to the second phase? Looks like you still have a long way to go. Keep at it—try to beat it before dinner. Oh, by the way, we're having white radish and lamb stew tonight."

"Oh!! Lamb?!"

The moment she heard the word _food_, Hajime's attention instantly shifted.

Gazing into the pot where the lamb was slowly simmering, she swallowed her saliva and asked, "Need any help?"

"No need. Just go call Rin and _Utaha_ in for me. And don't even think about sneaking a bite—it's not the kind of dish you can steal from midway. Just wait until dinner and eat with everyone."

"Fine~~"

Reluctantly accepting her fate, Hajime finally left the kitchen and fetched Rin Toyama and Utaha. The three of them then got to work preparing dinner for everyone.

Eriri wasn't around today—she had to attend a family banquet. However, they had already made plans to visit the game's in-store release event together the next morning. To make that happen, Eriri had even gone so far as to take an extremely rare day off from school, convincing her mother, Sayuri Sawamura, to help cover for her absence so that her real plans wouldn't be exposed.

Dinner preparation went smoothly. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Hajime's final boss battle.

For nearly two hours, she attempted the fight over and over again, suffering countless defeats. She managed to reach _Radiance_ a few times, but it was clear Ichin hadn't just reworked _Hollow Knight's_ combat patterns—he had also made significant adjustments to _Radiance_, turning the battle into a complete nightmare for the one responsible for designing the game's animations.

In just two hours, Hajime had died more times than she had in the past three days combined.

"I can't... I just _can't_ anymore. I need a break," she groaned, dropping her controller and slumping back in her chair, looking as if she had lost all hope in life.

Yagami Ko and Sakura Nene, who had been watching from the sidelines, were just as shocked. They hadn't expected the final boss fight to be _this_ difficult. Even Hajime, who had breezed through most of the game, was struggling immensely in this last battle.

Stroking her chin, Yagami Ko mused, "I had a feeling this would happen. A few days ago, I noticed the difficulty gradually increasing from the mid-game onward. But since I was progressing smoothly and tend to be cautious when fighting bosses, I didn't find it too overwhelming. Looking at it now, though, the late-game difficulty is _definitely_ higher—not just in terms of numbers, but actual mechanics."

As the lead artist of the studio, Yagami Ko didn't deal with monster attack patterns or combat balancing; those weren't her responsibilities. Her job was simply to bring the designs to life.

But from what she could see, Ichin had _zero_ intention of going easy on the players. He had cranked up the difficulty of this side-scrolling action game to its fullest, creating a well-balanced difficulty curve that culminated in an intense final boss fight.

Just then, Rin's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Dinner is ready, everyone! Time to eat~~~!"

At that, everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed to the dining table.

Hajime was no exception. She may have taken a beating in the game, but she _definitely_ hadn't forgotten about the _white radish and lamb stew_ Ichin had promised earlier.

Lamb wasn't a common dish around here, but she had full confidence in Ichin's cooking—after all, he had used a family recipe.

After washing their hands and sitting down, they watched as Ichin carried out a large soup pot from the kitchen. A faint, mouthwatering aroma seeped through the lid.

"It smells amazing..."

Placing the pot in the center of the table, Ichin confidently lifted the lid.

"Dinner is served! This is the main dish tonight—_white radish and lamb stew_. I already tested this recipe once before, so I _guarantee_ you're all going to love it."

Inside the large pot, tender lamb pieces and chunky white radish were nestled in a crystal-clear broth, emitting a rich, tantalizing fragrance. It was a sight that made everyone's appetite surge.

"Whoa!!!"

Looking at the dish, Umiko exclaimed, "A meal like this in a restaurant would cost a fortune!"

Ichin sat down beside Utaha, glancing around at the group. "Tonight, _Hollow Knight_ officially launches. Before that, let's take this moment to celebrate together."

Lifting his glass of cola, he grinned. "You've all worked hard these past months. Cheers!"

"Cheers!!!"

Since they had to wake up early for the launch event the next morning, no one drank alcohol. But the excitement in the air was palpable, and with such an incredible meal in front of them, it was impossible not to overeat.

As a result, several people decided not to go home and just crashed at the studio for the night. Only Hazuki, Narumi, Momiji, and Umiko ended up heading back.

### Midnight: The Launch Begins

At 11 PM, Ichin and Utaha sat in their bedroom, opened their laptop, and tuned into the Bilibili pre-launch livestream event.

The ten streamers hosting the event were all highly popular, and their coverage of _Hollow Knight_ immediately sent the game's hype skyrocketing to another level.

For the next hour, they watched the livestream. Then, at exactly midnight, _Hollow Knight_ officially unlocked.

Almost instantly, both Nintendo Switch's and Steam's backend servers recorded a massive surge in active players.

5,000. 

10,000. 

15,000.

Within 30 minutes, the combined concurrent player count on both platforms had surpassed 60,000—and it was still steadily climbing. At the same time, sales figures had seen a significant boost.

At this rate, _Hollow Knight_ would almost certainly break into Steam's Top Sellers list in China, and it might even climb the global rankings.

With numbers like these, Ichin no longer had any concerns about day-one sales.

This was a massive success!

...

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