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After confirming that the mana feedback from the revised game was far superior to the unrevised version, Caelan ceased the mindless copying of titles. Instead, he diligently focused on using the games to rapidly improve his own strength.
Sifting through memories in his mind palace, he realized he hadn't played many NES games during his childhood. In fact, he had played fewer than ten for any extended period, simply because he had been too poor.
A multi-game cartridge—usually a 3-in-1 or 4-in-1—cost over ten yuan, a sum that used to take him two months to save. He had once bought an "80-in-1" cartridge, but most of the games were duplicates; the only truly fun one on it had been Super Mario.
Other games like Kung Fu, Bee, Red Fortress, and Circus didn't seem suitable for production right now. Red Fortress was fun, certainly, but Caelan didn't know how to modify it yet.
He decided that until he possessed the strength to create arcade-level games, he would release these NES titles one by one. This would maintain a consistent update frequency, establishing him as a creator who never stopped delivering.
In the training grounds of the Everflame estate, two youths clashed with a ferocity and speed that Caelan would have been completely unable to track.
Both were unarmed, relying solely on their bodies and mana. One was engulfed in crimson fire, the other in white. The stone floor beneath them shattered under the impact of their blows, sending debris flying.
Outside the ring, the butler Caelan had met previously stood with an unremarkable middle-aged man. Both watched the intense spar with expressionless faces, occasionally commenting on the combatants.
"Young Master Cassius is far too cautious. If his offense were just a fraction sharper, it would be perfect," the butler sighed with emotion.
"Indeed, indeed," the middle-aged man responded monotonously.
"Take that upward punch earlier—if he had committed his full strength at that moment, the Young Master would have certainly suffered for it."
"Indeed, indeed."
"And the Young Master's offense is simply too overwhelming. He rarely takes the initiative to defend. While this exerts immense pressure, if an opponent can withstand it, the Young Master risks defeat."
"Indeed, indeed."
While the two spectators chatted casually, the duel inside intensified. The flames around the youths surged higher.
The one wreathed in crimson was Cassius; the one in white was Victor.
Victor's expression was a stark contrast to his usual demeanor in class or while gaming. His eyes were sharp and predatory, his fists and feet wrapped in scorching white flames as he furiously hammered away at Cassius. To an uninformed observer, it would look as though the two bore a deep, blood-feud hatred for one another.
Cassius, however, was clearly familiar with his cousin's rhythm. He calmly and steadily deflected each of Victor's blows, finding small windows to launch counterattacks. He appeared to be on the defensive, yet he showed no signs of losing ground.
Suddenly, the two broke away from their clash.
Victor turned sideways, drawing his right hand back. His fingers curled into a claw, and a dazzling white flame rapidly condensed in his palm. With a violent forward swipe, the flame transformed into a ferocious White Lion that roared toward Cassius.
Cassius stepped forward with his right foot, crossing his palms. Instantly, he unleashed a fiery crimson Phoenix that soared to meet the attack.
The White Lion and the Red Phoenix collided, canceling each other out in a violent burst of energy.
Just as the projections vanished, Victor darted out of the billowing heat and smoke. He landed a solid punch on Cassius's left shoulder—Cassius had been a split-second too slow to dodge.
Cassius spun with a retaliatory kick, but it met only air. Victor had already retreated to a safe distance.
Victor's fierce aura dissipated, replaced by a grin. "This time, I win."
Cassius dropped his stance and nodded, looking resigned. "Alright, let's stop here for today. I feel like even if we keep fighting, we won't break through to the Fifth Circle."
Victor looked equally helpless. "Yeah. I absorb and refine mana every day, but I feel like my magic hasn't grown at all. I measured it yesterday, and I'm still judged as Fourth Circle. Where exactly are we stuck?"
Cassius shook his head. "We have to figure this sort of thing out ourselves. Besides, there's something else—in another month, we're heading to the Lion Kingdom. Your ultimate move is looking more and more like their Sacred Beast. When you reveal that on their territory, I can't even imagine the mood."
Victor chuckled. "Their mood has nothing to do with me. I can't control how this magic manifests. But you—isn't your ultimate move just like the symbol of the Phoenix Empire? Well, never mind. Those crazy women will definitely adore you."
As the conversation wound down, the butler and the middle-aged man approached. Cassius nodded to the middle-aged man before walking back toward the mansion with Victor and the butler.
Once the three were gone, the middle-aged man walked to the center of the ruined training ground. He placed his palms on the floor.
The rocky, shattered ground suddenly rippled like water. After a few moments of undulation, the surface calmed, leaving the training ground smooth and brand new.
Cassius and Victor returned to their respective rooms to shower before regrouping in the main hall.
Cassius took out the runestone for Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors, placed it on a table, and resumed his challenge.
Victor grinned, leaning in close, but Cassius immediately cut him off. "Go away. Didn't you go to Caelan's new shop this afternoon? Play your own game. Don't interfere with my performance."
Victor's face stiffened. Grudgingly, he pulled over a long table, sat down, and set up the runestone tablet Caelan had given him.
Cassius didn't even look at him, focused entirely on his own screen. However, after a short while, he noticed something was wrong.
Player character deaths were marked by a specific scream. Based on the short intervals between those screams, Cassius couldn't help but wonder—he knew it was Victor's first time, and he knew Victor was bad at games, but this bad?
The screams were coming far too frequently.
He glanced back and saw that Victor was currently fighting the boss of the first stage.
Oh, well that explains why he died so quickly, Cassius thought.
After yet another scream from the tortoise warrior beside him, Cassius prepared to make a sarcastic remark. But when he glanced at Victor's screen again, he paused.
How did Victor's character still have five lives left?
Distracted by this discovery, Cassius lost focus on his own game, resulting in a total wipeout of his five lives by the third stage.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was what Cassius saw next: when Victor restarted and selected his character, the life counter showed "14." Including the one in play, that was a total of fifteen lives.
Victor's character had fifteen lives?
Victor, who had clearly been watching Cassius out of the corner of his eye, saw the realization dawn on his cousin's face. He chuckled. "See? Your brother here has twice as many lives as you."
Cassius frowned. "Caelan told me the shop version allows for ten extra lives, but the home version is capped at five. Did he think the game was too hard and increase the count for later sales?"
"Of course not. This is a version Caelan made specifically for me," Victor said proudly. "It starts with fifteen lives. A unique home edition."
Cassius looked Victor up and down, then nodded solemnly. "You're so bad at this, it's only right he gave you special care."
With that, he turned back to his own game, deciding to ignore him.
Victor was clearly dissatisfied with this reaction. "Hey, aren't you envious? Don't you want to play this version? With more lives, you can research enemy moves and patterns faster. That means you can enter the ranking list sooner."
"Ranking list? What ranking list?" Cassius paused his game and turned around.
Victor immediately explained the system Caelan had established in the new shop that day.
"See? Everyone who saw the list today is obsessed with being the first to break onto the Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors leaderboard."
Cassius frowned again. "Are you saying there are already two people ahead of me on the Elemental Contra list? And they both completed Normal difficulty?"
Victor nodded. "It seems the ranking prioritizes difficulty first, then the number of lives lost. However, the ranking criteria for other games isn't entirely consistent yet."
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