Chapter 4: Overdrive

The rhythmic hum of arcade cabinets, the soft glow of neon lights, and the faint scent of freshly cleaned plastic and metal filled the air. Level Up Arcade was no longer a graveyard of broken machines—it was starting to feel alive again.

Ethan stood in the center of the arcade, arms crossed, surveying his work.

It had been one week since he had thrown himself into full restoration mode. What had started as a simple goal—fixing five more machines and setting pricing—had turned into something much more intense.

He had entered a zone.

For days, he had moved from machine to machine, fully immersed in repairs and deep cleaning, barely stopping for meals. He had lost track of time more times than he could count, only realizing how late it was when his back ached from crouching in front of cabinets for hours.

But looking around now?

It had all been worth it.

At the beginning of the week, he had ten working machines.

Now?

He had twenty-five.

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The first few days had been simple enough—a steady rhythm of repair and maintenance.

A Mortal Kombat II cabinet had a power issue—he rewired the power supply and cleaned out a corroded fuse.The Simpsons arcade game had washed-out graphics—he adjusted the monitor calibration, refreshed the color settings, and replaced an aging CRT cable.A classic Asteroids machine had unresponsive buttons—he swapped out the input board, tightening the wiring connections.

But somewhere along the way, his focus had sharpened.

He stopped thinking about individual fixes and started instinctively moving between machines, picking up patterns in how they failed, recognizing the smallest irregularities before they became real issues.

It was like leveling up in a game, except instead of a progress bar, it was his own skills and instincts improving.

Every fix felt smoother.

Every repair came naturally.

He barely checked the system notifications anymore—the knowledge was becoming his own.

By the end of the week, the arcade wasn't just functional—it was thriving.

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As Ethan powered on the last restored cabinet, the screen flaring to life in pixel-perfect clarity, he took a step back, arms aching from hours of manual labor.

He exhaled, watching the machines flicker in the dim lighting, their attract-mode sequences playing in hypnotic loops.

He had done it. The arcade was ready. The system chimed softly, a notification appearing in the corner of his vision.

[Quest Progress: 50% - Set Pricing]

Ethan frowned. Wait… what? His eyes scanned the screen again. The quest wasn't complete.

He had fixed every broken machine, deep-cleaned the arcade, reorganized the prize counter… And completely forgotten to set the pricing. A groan escaped him as he ran a hand through his hair. How had he missed that? It made sense, though. He had gotten so wrapped up in the technical side of things—repairing, cleaning, restoring—that he had ignored the actual business side. Without pricing, no one could even play the games.

Shaking his head, Ethan pulled up the Business Basics menu, scrolling to the Pricing Strategy section.

A few preset options appeared before him:

Classic Pricing: 25 cents per playModern Pricing: 50 cents per playCustom Pricing: Adjustable based on demand

Ethan paused. He wanted to stay true to the arcade's retro roots, but he also needed to make sure the business was sustainable.

After some thought, he manually adjusted the pricing:

Standard games (older classics): 50 cents per playPremium games (four-player & rare machines): 75 cents per playAll-day play pass: $10

This way, people could still enjoy the nostalgia without feeling like they were being nickel-and-dimed, but the arcade would still make money.

Satisfied, he grabbed a large poster board, a black marker, and carefully wrote out the pricing details in bold, clear letters.

Once it was done, he mounted the sign right by the entrance.

The moment he stepped back, admiring his work, a familiar chime rang in his head.

[Quest Complete: Prep for Opening – Restore 5 More Machines & Set Pricing]

But then—

[Bonus Objectives Achieved! Machines Restored: +10 Over Requirement]

Ethan's eyebrows shot up. Bonus rewards?

The Rewards

[Repair Skill +2 Levels! (Now Level 5)]

[Cleaning Skill +1 Level! (Now Level 3)]

[New Perk Unlocked: Maintenance Intuition]

His Repair and Cleaning skills had leveled up, which made sense—he had gone way beyond what was required.

But the perk caught his attention.

[Maintenance Intuition: Your experience has given you an innate sense for machine issues. You will now detect problems before they become critical, allowing for preventative maintenance instead of last-minute repairs.]

Ethan's lips slowly curled into a grin.

This was huge.

No more waiting until something broke. No more frantically fixing things only after they failed.

Now, he could spot small issues before they turned into expensive problems.

It was like being a mechanic who could hear a car's engine and know something was slightly off—before it even showed signs of failure.

It wasn't just a skill boost—it was a game-changer.

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Ethan took another long look around the arcade.

The machines were running. The floors were clean. The prize counter was stocked. The pricing was set.

For the first time, the arcade felt ready.

There was still more to do—advertising, getting supplies, maybe updating the decor—but for now?

This was the best the arcade had looked in years.

A soft notification blinked into existence.

[New Quest: Open the Arcade to the Public]

Objective: Open the doors and welcome your first customers.Reward: ???

Ethan exhaled, a thrill of anticipation running through him.

This was it.

The real challenge was about to begin.

Tomorrow, he would open the doors for the first time.

And for the first time in years, Level Up Arcade would finally have players again.