Chapter 187: Morning

At 6:30 AM, the alarm clock rang, waking Ichin up right on time.

After checking the online player count last night, he had gone to bed early—he needed to be up early for the event.

Beside him, Utaha groggily opened her eyes, still clearly half-asleep.

"Morning already…?"

Ichin, already sitting up, glanced at her curled up under the blanket and chuckled. "If you're too tired, why don't you just skip this one? You can sleep in a bit longer."

But Utaha shook her head and slowly sat up, leaning against his shoulder with her eyes still closed. "No way, I'm getting up. We promised to go together, and this is _your_ game's physical release—I have to see it for myself. Plus, I've never been to a launch event before. I want to experience it. But… this is _really_ early. Are you worried about long lines?"

Ichin gently smoothed out her messy hair. "I don't think it'll be _that_ bad. _Hollow Knight_ is an indie title—it's a high-quality game, but it's not a _major_ blockbuster. Even if there's a queue, it shouldn't be overwhelming. I think the main reason everyone wants to go early is just to be at the front of the line. Alright, time to get up and freshen up."

Utaha nodded, got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and headed to the bathroom.

After washing up and getting dressed, they made a quick breakfast—just some simple sandwiches.

With a cup of coffee, Utaha finally felt fully awake.

Checking the time, 7:15 AM, they still had 30 minutes before their planned meet-up. So, Ichin and Utaha headed out early.

Downstairs, the others who had stayed over had already woken up, eaten something quick, and finished getting ready.

Once everyone was set, they headed straight to their destination.

### On the Train

As they boarded the train, Yagami Kō glanced at her phone.

"Hazuki went to pick up the others; she'll meet us there. By the way, what about Eriri? Utaha, did you message her?"

Utaha held up her phone. "Yeah, I already texted her. She's up. Sayuri-san is driving her over, so no worries."

"Good, that's a relief."

Standing beside Utaha, Ichin glanced at Sakura Nene and Hajime, who were sitting together, their heads bobbing slightly as they struggled to stay awake. Lowering his voice, he asked Toyama Rin, "Rin, did those two stay up all night? This is a rare duo."

Rin stifled a laugh. "Right? It's definitely unusual. They pulled an all-nighter playing the game. They were betting on who could finish it first. Hajime already managed to reach Radiance, and Nene—surprisingly—caught up and started challenging the Hollow Knight. Oh, by the way, Ichin, did you check the sales numbers after launch?"

"I did."

Ichin smiled, pulled out his phone, and showed her a screenshot from last night.

"Here—this was at 12:30 AM. The concurrent player count on both platforms was over 60,000, and that's on a weekday midnight. Today, it's only going to keep climbing."

Rin's eyes widened with excitement. "Oh wow! That's _fantastic_ news!"

She grinned. "With digital game sales growing every year, having this kind of momentum _on launch night_ is a _really_ great sign!"

"Huh? What are you guys looking at?"

"I think I heard something about online player numbers—I wanna see too!"

Hearing their conversation, the others gathered around, all curious about last night's data.

Yun looked at the numbers and was surprised. 

"These stats are insane! When _Fairies Story 3_ launched at the end of last year, we checked the digital login count, and the peak was just a little over 7,000. The difference here is massive!"

Yagami Kō also sighed. 

"Yeah… and we did quite a bit of marketing too. We got coverage in magazines and everything, but the numbers still weren't great."

Ichin analyzed the situation. 

"_Fairies Story 3_ was a solid game, but it had clear limitations. You guys prioritized consistency with _Fairies Story 2_, so the gameplay didn't really evolve. It stuck to the same old formula. The story had some good moments, but not enough to stand out. Overall, it's the kind of game that would get an 8/10—good, but nothing groundbreaking. The visuals, combat, mechanics, and plot were all decent, but none of them were exceptional."

"So… it was just too average?"

Hajime crossed her arms and nodded. 

"Looking back, that seems about right. We tried to make everything good, but because we had to balance so many elements, the final product ended up being decent but lacked any defining strengths. That's probably why there aren't many streams or videos about it online anymore."

In a way, their studio, _Eagle Jump_, had a similar issue to Ubisoft.

Ubisoft's games always boasted top-tier visuals and stunning open-world landscapes, but their gameplay loop tended to get repetitive. The first 10–15 hours were often fantastic, but after that, players found themselves doing the same activities—clearing outposts, completing near-identical side quests… and eventually losing interest.

There was a popular joke online about Ubisoft's open-world games:

_"They're like canned food—filling, not bad in taste, but at the end of the day, still just canned food. No match for a handcrafted gourmet dish."_

Ichin had played plenty of Ubisoft titles, from _Might & Magic_ and _Prince of Persia_ to _Splinter Cell_, _Assassin's Creed_, and _Far Cry_. He had mixed feelings about the company.

If Ubisoft didn't release anything new, he'd find himself wondering what they were up to. 

But when they _did_ release a new game, just watching a few gameplay videos was often enough to understand 80% of it—even their "innovations" were usually minor tweaks rather than major reinventions.

Take _Immortals Fenyx Rising_, for example. 

It clearly took heavy inspiration from Nintendo's _Breath of the Wild_, incorporating more puzzle-solving elements. But as the game progressed, the core gameplay felt familiar and became repetitive.

Even though Ichin was now a game developer himself, he still _hoped_ Ubisoft would break the mold someday and release a game that truly shocked the world.

But… that might take a long time to happen.

###

As their discussion about Ubisoft continued, the train ride passed quickly, and soon, they arrived in Akihabara.

Stepping out of the station, they immediately spotted Hazuki, Narumi, Momiji, Umiko, and Eriri waiting for them nearby. Surprisingly, even Eriri's mother, Sayuri Sawamura, had come along.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Sayuri greeted them with a warm smile. 

"Mind if I join in? I'm actually quite interested in your game launch!"

Ichin nodded. "Of course, Sayuri-san. The more, the merrier!"

As he spoke, he glanced ahead—a queue had already formed near the store.

...

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