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Feigning detachment, Caelan hunched behind the counter. In the privacy of his mind palace, however, he was busy adjusting character data based on the results from his simulated stick-figure testers.
around three in the afternoon, Caelan suddenly stood up. He produced two small runestones, engraved them in the blink of an eye, and walked over to the ranking board to swap out the crystals.
A hush fell over the room as the crowd realized what was happening.
The raucous noise of the shop died down instantly. Dorian of House Serpentcoil followed the crowd's gaze, his eyes locking onto the updated displays.
Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors
First Place: Cassius of House Everflame (Crimson Academy, Year 1, Class 0)
Deaths: 4 | Difficulty: Normal | Score: 1,158,300
First Clear Hero Leaderboard
Elemental Contra: Quinn of House Stormcall
Super Mario: Quinn of House Stormcall
Tank Battle: Karrum Ironhammer
Salamander: None
Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors: Cassius of House Everflame
After a stunned moment of silence, the shop erupted into a clamor even louder than before.
"Someone cleared Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors!"
Quinn of House Stormcall's hand slipped. On her screen, the Raphael she was controlling took a boot to the face from a foot soldier.
The pixelated tortoise looked almost aggrieved, but his operator's gaze was no longer on him.
Quinn stared silently at the name on the ranking board. An indescribable feeling welled up in her chest—like something she had been chasing with all her might had been snatched away just as her fingertips brushed it.
Her thoughts raced for a moment before she shook her head with a self-deprecating smile. She found the feeling ridiculous; she still had no clue how to beat the ultimate form of Shredder, so how could the victory have been "within her grasp"?
Regaining her composure, Quinn signaled Oliver to restart the game. She settled back in, determined to clear it regardless.
Caelan withdrew the mental energy he had used to monitor Quinn and returned to modifying Street Fighter in his mind palace.
Cassius getting the First Clear was completely within Caelan's expectations. After the shop closed at six, Cassius had the entire evening to grind on the fifteen-life home version.
Although Cassius's raw gaming talent couldn't compare to Quinn's, the sheer difference in practice time—and the extra lives—was enough to bridge the gap.
Reflecting on this, Caelan realized that the players here—much like the early gamers on Earth, including his past self—possessed incredible perseverance.
He remembered his own past. He had been terrible at games, but he was stubborn. He recalled his first time playing Dynasty Warriors 3 during an all-night internet café session. He had fought Lu Bu for almost the entire night, simply because he didn't know Lu Bu was an optional boss in that stage.
He had foolishly tried to whittle down the red-aura-wreathed Lu Bu, only to be wiped out in a single combo every time he made a mistake.
If it were the current Caelan? If he couldn't beat a boss in two or three tries, he would immediately summon the "Sect Master of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow" (Cheat Engine) for help.
Lu Bu, Lu Zhi—it didn't matter. They would all be on the ground.
Maybe I shouldn't make games like 'Fierce Tortoise' impossible to continue in the future, Caelan mused. The 'no continues' setting is actually quite inhumane. If this were 2024, the players would have flamed me into oblivion.
After closing the shop at six, Caelan found an upscale restaurant in the Lion Kingdom district for dinner.
The result? A pot of mushy, overcooked, unrecognizable gruel.
He tasted it. Terrible.
He silently finished it to avoid waste, gave the restaurant a scathing review in his heart, and blacklisted it forever.
For his staff's lunch, Caelan had already contacted a few reliable, affordable restaurants that everyone liked. There were five in total, rotating every two days. They would deliver meals at the appointed time and settle the bill with Caelan at the end of the month.
Walking down Autumn Way, Caelan sighed.
According to ancient records, before the magical decline, a First Circle Illusionist could conjure figures identical to real people. By the Fourth Circle, those figures were indistinguishable from reality—observers could even smell their scent, and the tactile feedback was flawless.
Of course, they were still illusions. But even so, it was a level of mastery completely beyond Caelan's current reach.
"Hey! Little Boss Caelan from Game City! What are you thinking about? You're about to walk face-first into my sign."
Caelan's thoughts snapped back to reality. He looked toward the voice and saw Musta Ironhammer, the owner of the Ironhammer Blacksmith Shop.
Musta was a dwarf, standing about 1.3 meters tall but packed with dense, powerful muscle. He was also the father of Karrum Ironhammer, the First Clear champion of Tank Battle.
"Uh?"
Caelan stopped just in time, realizing there was indeed a heavy iron sign hanging right in front of his forehead. He gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, Uncle Musta. I was lost in thought about some game mechanics."
"Oh? Is it that Tank Battle?" Musta perked up immediately.
"No, a different one," Caelan replied.
It was quite interesting—this dwarf blacksmith had bought four games for his two sons. One liked Super Mario, while the other was obsessed with Tank Battle.
Karrum was the younger son. In human years, he would be around thirteen or fourteen. Unlike his older brother, Karrum was withdrawn and barely communicated with anyone, even his own family. In Caelan's opinion, the boy showed clear signs of autism.
"Another game? Oh, I heard you recently released one with five tortoise warriors as the protagonists?" Musta laughed heartily. "Do you have a runestone tablet for that one on you? I'll buy it right now."
"I don't have a pre-engraved one on me," Caelan said. "But do you have any blank Size 6 runestones in your shop?"
"I do! Come in, come in. My clansmen just sent over some dried fruits from our homeland. You can't buy these at the market. Come try some."
Caelan readily agreed and followed Musta inside.
The layout was similar to Caelan's own place, though the living quarters were much larger, taking up most of the back. The storefront was small, filled with weapons of ancient and grand design.
These weapons were all forged by Musta's wife. In fact, her smithing skills were far superior to Musta's.
Crimson Port had a dedicated artisan district equipped with a special Fire Array capable of smelting high-grade metals. Usually, his wife worked there, while Musta minded the shop and looked after the children.
As they entered the inner room, Caelan saw the two dwarf children playing Elemental Contra together.
Hearing a stranger enter, the thinner dwarf remained motionless, eyes glued to the screen. The more robust child, however, turned his head and grinned. "Hello, Boss Caelan!"
This sturdy lad was Hogan Ironhammer, the elder son. He was the one Musta had brought to the shop initially, captivated by the promotional animation.
"Hello, Hogan. And Karrum," Caelan greeted them with a smile.
Karrum gave no reaction.
"Sorry, Caelan. My youngest is... well, he's very introverted," Musta said with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Caelan waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
Musta's shop had been a fixture on Autumn Way for forty years; most locals were aware of his son's condition.
Musta invited Caelan to sit and placed a large platter of exotic dried fruits on the table, urging him not to be shy. Then, the stout dwarf began climbing onto a shelf piled high with miscellaneous items, rummaging through the clutter with a loud clatter.
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