Chapter 141
After the dragon model issue was resolved, game development proceeded smoothly.
The basic game system of “Dragon Hunter,” along with various weapons, items, dragons, and monsters, started to take shape and the game’s form began to emerge.
As development continued, it was time to make an important decision.
That crucial decision for “Dragon Hunter” was…
“Then, let’s decide on the Title Dragon.”
This meant determining the “Title Dragon.”
Noirin looked at me with a questioning expression.
“Title Dragon? What is that, Yuren?”
Not a Title Protagonist, but a Title Dragon? I understood her confusion.
Usually, the face of a game is represented by its main character or characters.
But in the case of “Dragon Hunter,” it’s traditionally the dragons, the enemies, that take on this role.
There were several reasons for this.
The main character of “Dragon Hunter,” the Hunter, isn’t a fixed image, and the game’s core fun comes from dragons, so they can be considered the face of the game.
Above all, it was just cool for dragons to represent the title image.
Style was a big deal, whether in the past, present, or any past life.
“Just as the name suggests, it’s the dragon that decorates the title image of ‘Dragon Hunter.’ There isn’t a clearly defined protagonist, so the dragon takes on that role.”
“Oh, I get it now.”
Thus, an important meeting began to decide what the Title Dragon would be.
“What about Flame Dragon Leus as a safe choice?”
“That sounds pretty conventional.”
Jiren recommended Flame Dragon Leus.
Leus was the first dragon players would encounter in “Dragon Hunter,” teaching them what dragons are about and rewarding them with the thrill of defeating it along with various equipment.
Indeed, Flame Dragon Leus was the Title Dragon in “Dragon Hunter 1,” making it the most conventional choice.
Just as we were contemplating choosing Flame Dragon Leus, Lauren spoke up.
“I think Black Dragon Ragnix would be great.”
“Black Dragon?”
“Black Dragon Ragnix,” the Final Boss of Dragon Hunter, was said to resemble our Master.
“Yes, it’s cool, has a great story, and helped us a lot while making our game.”
“Hmm… That’s true, we received a lot of help from the Black Dragon back then.”
Thanks to that black dragon’s assistance, we were able to bring the dragons of “Dragon Hunter” to life.
Yeah, showcasing a powerful Black Dragon as the face from the start wouldn’t be bad, right?
I asked everyone,
“I’m okay with it, but what do you all think?”
“I think Black Dragon Ragnix would be perfect since it’s cool.”
“Our country’s Black Dragon becoming the protagonist? Of course, that’s a great idea!”
Even the newbie wizards of the Kingdom of Ra agreed, and thus the Title Dragon for Dragon Hunter was decided to be Black Dragon Ragnix.
“So we will establish Ragnix’s resemblance as the Title Dragon.”
I shared this decision at the regular meeting with Ras and Prince Lethers.
But then…
“Ras? What’s wrong? Are you not fond of the Black Dragon?”
Ras had a look of desperate restraint as he tried to hold back a laugh.
What’s going on? Is he somehow thrilled about the Black Dragon becoming the Title Dragon?
“Ah… No, Yuren, I absolutely love it. Who thought of making the Black Dragon the protagonist, if I may ask?”
“That would be Lauren, a member of our Irene School.”
“Oh! That green-haired kid, then? Clearly, they have a knack for seeing potential!”
Ras nodded in agreement with Lauren’s mention and wore a delighted expression.
‘I knew I had a good eye’—he seemed to be saying to himself, but something struck me.
“Ras, have you ever met Lauren?”
In my memory, I hadn’t introduced Ras to Lauren, though he might know the others—Master, Jiren, or Karen—but not Lauren.
So how did he know her?
In response to my question, Ras displayed a rather flustered look and quickly turned to Prince Lethers, starting to speak in a hurry.
“I… I saw someone from your school from a distance last time. Right, Lethers? Didn’t you see them, too?”
“Ah… Haha! You’re talking about that time. Elder, when you all first arrived, we caught a glimpse of each other from afar.”
“Oh… I see.”
Hmm… Can someone memorize all of our family’s names just from a brief glance?
Is this a special ability of royalty with dragon blood!?
What an ability to remember people’s names just from a quick look! I’d love to have that.
“By the way, didn’t you say that ‘Dragon Hunter’ would be playable today?”
“Oh, that would be 5…”
“Five months!? You mean we’ll need five more months here? Isn’t that too late!?”
Ras raised his voice in response to my remark.
I didn’t reply and simply checked the clock.
“4…3…2…1…”
The moment it hit zero, the door swung open, and Asti and Jiren burst in.
They brought news.
“Yuren!!!”
“The build is finally complete!!!”
Just as I had thought, it finished right on time!
I stood up and said to Ras and Prince Lethers,
“The build is finished. Let’s go.”
“………Sure.”
Thus, we moved to the lab featuring the playable build of Dragon Hunter.
Alright! Time for a fun hunting adventure.
*
In the lab, we showed Ras the built game.
And since Ras wanted to experience it, we decided to play together.
“First, please choose a weapon.”
“Do I pick from these?”
“Yes.”
Since starting from weapon creation would take time, we entered the pre-made trial version’s weapon selection screen.
There, Ras began examining the weapons of Dragon Hunter and suddenly paused at one weapon.
“Hmm… What is this?”
“This is a weapon called ‘Cannon Lance.’ It’s a specialized weapon that equips a cannon onto a spear.”
“I see. I’ll go with this.”
The “Cannon Lance,” a tragic weapon that sacrificed performance for style, was accurately implemented in this other world’s Dragon Hunter as well.
Since it was a challenging weapon for beginners, I felt worried and said,
“Are you sure? The Cannon Lance is a difficult weapon to handle.”
“Don’t worry; challenging things are just fine for us… the royalty of the Kingdom of Ra.”
Is that really the taste of superhumans?
Realizing it was similar to Lethers’ training obsession, I decided to let them experience it.
Ras took “Cannon Lance,”
Master took “Hammer,”
Jiren took “Heavy Bowgun,”
and I took “Great Sword.”
Having selected our weapons, we entered the world of Dragon Hunter to hunt dragons.
The expansive meadows and jungles of the Dragon Hunter world unfolded before us.
“Now we need to find the dragon.”
“Are we supposed to look for it?”
“Yes, one of these map locations hides a dragon.”
From the starting point, we studied the map and chose our search areas.
“I’m heading to area 4.”
“I’ll take area 2, disciple.”
“Then, I’ll check area 10. Ras, could you handle area 9?”
“Understood.”
We dispersed to our respective search points.
Ras quickly adapted to the control interface, starting to run and climb walls, fitting right into the world of Dragon Hunter.
…Strangely, the jungle felt oddly familiar—perhaps it’s just my imagination?
While I was also searching for dragons at my location, Ras spoke up.
“I think there’s a dragon around here.”
Indeed, the Flame Dragon Leus was napping in Ras’ designated area.
There you are! You little rascal!!
I instructed Ras for the next move.
“Then throw that paintball at the dragon.”
“This one?”
“Yes! Now the dragon’s location will be marked on the map.”
Obeying my instruction, Ras tossed the paintball at Leus.
Leus woke up as the paintball smacked onto him, and his location appeared on the map.
“So that’s where you were!”
“We’ll head over there!”
Seeing this, Jiren and the Master also began rushing to the nesting area.
I dashed straight to the nesting area since I was nearby.
“Alright, Ras. Let’s start hunting.”
“Sounds good. Let’s enjoy this game.”
Ras and I pulled out our Cannon Lance and Great Sword, respectively.
The weight of the Great Sword felt familiar in my hands,
and it was time to return to the Hunter life after such a long while.