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At Game City, the market warehouse in Crimson Port, the usual overflowing crowds had thinned slightly, but the atmosphere remained busy. Jaren sat at the counter, meticulously calculating the day's earnings and recording the figures for the night shift handover.
"Chronicle of the Fierce Tortoise Warriors: 1,562 copies sold. Tank Battle: 365 copies. Super Mario: 734 copies. Salamander: 159 copies. Stock for these four is officially cleared," Jaren muttered, rubbing his eyes as he set down his pen. "Elemental Contra and Crimson Fortress? Zero sold today—the stock was wiped out yesterday. Squirrel War sold 444 copies, leaving us with 316."
A female employee leaned over, her voice hushed. "Brother Jaren, several more merchants came by earlier asking for bulk runestones. I told them the Boss went to the Dragonspire Empire, but they insisted on leaving deposits. I didn't dare take the money without his word."
Jaren nodded firmly. "You did the right thing. We wait for the Boss to return before making any big moves."
In the past two days, the merchant frenzy had reached a fever pitch. The stock Caelan had prepared was nearly gone in less than forty-eight hours. Most of these runestones were meant for individual retail, but the merchants were so desperate they didn't even wait for the 10% bulk discount; they were snapping them up at full price. Some had even tried to buy the arcade machines straight off the floor.
"If it weren't for the Security Team next door," Jaren sighed, "I'd almost be worried they'd try to snatch the stones by force."
While Jaren prepared for the shift change, something impossible was happening thousands of kilometers away.
Under the desk in the Boss's office, several specific runestone tablets felt as though they were being held in the palm of Caelan's hand. He could perceive their shapes, feel their textures, and even detect the microscopic imperfections on their surfaces. It was a sensory link clearer than direct physical contact.
And then, he realized—he could engrave them.
Remote engraving? Across thousands of kilometers?
The idea was absurd, yet the connection was undeniable. Hesitantly, Caelan pulled the data for Elemental Contra from his mind palace and channeled his mana toward a tablet sitting in a warehouse far across the continent.
His mana drained steadily. A few minutes later, the link signaled completion.
It worked.
Though it was hundreds of times slower than engraving in person, the distance was no longer a barrier. Caelan began to piece together the "why" behind this breakthrough. He reviewed his notes on the extraterrestrial meteorites:
Green (Phantom Sound Stone): Mind palace enhancement; breaking the Weave's visual shackles.
Blue (Black Mithril): Enchanting efficiency.
Yellow (Fortitude Stone): Capacity increase.
Red (Gold-veined Stone): Metal toughness and durability.
Purple (Runestone): Mana storage/batteries.
That left the White Light Meteorite. He had ground it into powder and injected it into a few test tablets before he left. If those specific tablets were the ones he could now sense, then the white stone was the key.
It's a spatial anchor, Caelan realized, his heart racing. If I can get that massive white meteorite from the Stonefist Auction House, I can build a network. This is the foundation for online gaming.
The next morning, Victor and Caelan were seated at a food stall outside their inn. Victor let out a cavernous yawn.
"Huh? Where's Cassius?"
Caelan looked at him, deadpan. "You're just noticing? He went to the teleportation array at dawn to wait for Nicole."
"Oh," Victor grunted. "Shouldn't we be there too?"
"You weren't listening yesterday. The spatial mage lives quite close to here. We're just waiting for them to get back."
"So boring," Victor groaned. "Caelan, make a game for me. Give me Crimson Fortress... and carry me."
Victor's initial five lives lasted about three minutes. To stop the pestering, Caelan decisively edited the character data. He gave Victor fifty lives.
Victor was ecstatic. He rode his Thunder Dragon like a madman, face-tanking Abyssal monsters and ruining Caelan's tactical rhythm. In a fit of petty revenge, Caelan gave himself fifty lives too. Soon, both of them were playing with the frantic, mindless joy of two people with nothing to lose.
When Cassius and Nicole finally arrived, they were met with a bizarre sight. Victor and Caelan were hunched over a wooden board, screaming as they unleashed a barrage of ultimate moves in a suicidal "blood-pitting" duel against the Stage 7 boss, Tokka.
"Ah... what are you two doing?" Cassius was dumbfounded.
"What in the world are those '9,999 lives' on the screen?" Nicole asked, her eyes wide.
"You're here? Hang on, we're almost at the credits!" Victor shouted, his thumbs a blur.
"We need to move," Caelan advised, though his eyes stayed on the screen.
"No way! This is the first time I can actually beat this thing!" Victor yelled. "Either let me finish, or sell me an infinite-life version later. Name your price!"
Caelan sighed. "Fine. I'll help you finish it."
Cassius and Nicole could only sit and watch as the pair "cheated" their way through the final encounter. With the heroic music swelling and the boss finally defeated, they packed up.
As they walked toward their destination, Victor remained persistent. "Seriously, Caelan. Sell me the infinite version. I want a unique edition."
"The arcade version already has unlimited continues," Caelan replied, rolling his eyes. "That's basically the same thing."
"It's not the same! I want a 'Unique Victor Version'."
Caelan ignored him and looked at the other two. "So, did you have breakfast?"
"Yes," Nicole replied with a shy smile. "Cassius bought some and waited for me at the array."
"Oh~~~~?" Victor and Caelan sang in perfect, sarcastic unison. "He bought breakfast for you, did he?"
Cassius stared fixedly at the clouds, his ears turning a faint shade of red, pretending he hadn't heard a word.
The group walked on, their laughter echoing through the earth-yellow streets of the city. After half an hour, Nicole slowed down and pointed to a tall, imposing building ahead.
"The shop with the black circle and the white stars on the sign," she said. "That's Grandmaster Aldwin's workshop."