Isekai Online Game Developer

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“Slash!”

Kuh-gung…

The golems were crashing down under Galleard’s attack.

Galleard was currently hunting to level up after his first job advancement as a swordsman.

An adventure in a completely new world was thrilling him every moment.

When he first used a proper skill instead of tossing snail shells after becoming a swordsman, he was so moved that he shed tears.

And now, he had reached level 29 while progressing through the story.

The warrior instructor had clearly said that he could advance to a second job at level 30.

Just then, his skill points were perfectly aligned.

“Just one more level…!”

It was an exhilarating moment.

Defeating golems, completing quests, and gaining experience points.

Paaah—

That moment when he finally reached level 30.

Ding!

A light bulb-shaped illusion emerged above Galleard’s head.

As he touched it, the illusion of his warrior instructor, ‘Sit Tight and Punch’, appeared and began to speak.

“It’s been a while. You’ve really grown strong in such a short time… (omitted)… How about it? Would you like to walk the path of a stronger warrior?”

Though he had seen it many times, it was still an unreal sight.

He knew everything was an illusion spell, but how on earth did they come up with such imagination?

The mode of movement using this map and portal. A world almost two-dimensional. Characters that looked like they were about two heads tall.

He quickly became accustomed to it, but the illusion mage who created this world was simply remarkable.

Galleard thought he was a real oddball.

“Accepted.”

But that wasn’t what mattered.

He was grateful to the one who created this fun world.

Adventuring and growing in this mysterious world since level 1 had become a new reason for his life.

[Job Change] Three Paths of the Warrior

It was the name of the quest Galleard had accepted.

Finally, the long-awaited second job change quest.

To progress with the quest, Galleard made his way through the six-way road to the city of warriors.

A desolate city of warriors with not a single blade of grass growing. Parion.

Galleard liked this dusty place quite a bit.

“Glad you made it. You’ve become quite the strapping lad since I last saw you?”

When he approached Sit Tight and Punch, he started speaking as if he had been waiting.

They looked alive, but apparently, they were just background NPCs in the game.

They always spoke the same lines when approached, and would give quests based on conditions. NPCs.

Sometimes it felt lonely, but he heard that once development was complete, he’d be able to party with others.

It was fun even now, but Galleard was looking forward to that even more.

He thought it might be a nostalgia for when he first started his adventures.

“Hmmm… I have to choose one of the three.”

Anyway, what was important right now was the second job advancement.

Sit Tight and Punch told him about the three choices for warriors.

This choice would determine which type of warrior he would grow into in the future.

“Now, make your choice. What kind of warrior do you want to be?”

“Hmmm…”

Three quest options floated before him.

[Job Change] Path of the Fighter

[Job Change] Path of the Page

[Job Change] Path of the Spearman

It was a seriously difficult choice.

Because it would determine his future.

“Seems you’re in deep thought. In that case, let me show you what kind of warrior you can become with each path, and then choose again.”

“Alright.”

Accepting Sit Tight and Punch’s suggestion, the background changed, and illusions began to unfold.

It showed what each profession looked like at their fourth job advancement.

“Have you made your decision?”

Three jobs with their distinct charms.

Now it was time to really decide.

*

“Rai, Rai! Raiii…!”

“Ugh… I’m dying here.”

It was Hina’s tiny hand that woke me up as I was sprawled across the desk.

“What’s wrong, Tower Master…?”

“It’s been an hour.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Right now, I was deep into developing the Maple Leaf Story.

About ten months had passed since we received investment. Development was nearing completion.

Hina had been helping out since the middle, which sped things up.

Even though I was skeptical, she was a decent Tower Master, and her illusion magic was impressive.

“Um, that old man has come, um…”

“Really? Where is he?”

“Ou-outside…”

“Ah? Open the door, will you?”

“I-I’m too scared…”

When I stepped out of the lab, I found Galleard standing there, shivering.

“What’s the matter this time? You haven’t hit max level already, have you?”

As Galleard said, finishing it in six months was impossible.

But since this old man was too eager for a quick finish, he recently allowed a playthrough up to the latest update.

Thinking of it as a beta test made it easier.

He hadn’t visited since then. Was there a problem with the game?

“It’ll be finished soon, and the official release will be possible. Just wait a bit…”

“That’s not it. It’s already plenty fun. Of course, the official start will be even more enjoyable.”

“Then why…”

“I hit level 30 yesterday.”

“Oh, you can do your second job change now.”

“That’s exactly it! I have no idea what job to choose!!! They all look so fun that I’m torn up!!”

“Ah…”

Just some trivial matter.

He could just pick whatever caught his fancy. Really, was this guy the hero who saved the world?

Well, I could understand why he was indecisive.

Right now, he could only level one character.

In the future, when new jobs and regions were released, I planned to allow multiple character creations.

But if I did that now, I would need even more mana stones.

It was already a tight squeeze with Galleard’s investment.

“Sigh… this is such a dilemma. A once-in-a-lifetime concern…!”

Ignoring him, I buried myself back into development.

The game parts were all finished. I just needed to complete this artifact, which was a sort of supercomputer for building the main server.

And after that, mass production of artifacts for sale would wrap it up.

It was an artifact that allowed each person to access the main server through illusion sharing magic.

The design was decided to be in the shape of a maple leaf, just like the initial one.

“Anyway, what I provided you is just a kind of demo. When it’s officially released, you’ll have to start from scratch. Feel free to try it first and decide formally later. I have to go; I’m busy. Playing for too long isn’t good for your health.”

I left him, shaking his legs in the lobby, and headed to Hina’s room.

The final development stage was complex, and I needed her help.

About a month later, we wrapped everything up. The official release date was approaching.

*

“Ugh… No matter how much Galleard asked, we can’t do that. We’re not digging up land to sell; who would we even sell artifacts from a fantasy tower to?”

“But seeing Galleard come forward to speak, it certainly seems like it’s a viable product.”

“I feel that way too, but didn’t we refuse other merchant groups so far? No way, no way. This deal is going to be tough.”

Lepert, the head of the well-known Blue-haired Merchant Group, waved his hand.

This was due to a newly arrived trading opportunity.

A product recommended by none other than the previous hero, Galleard, but it came from the Illusion Tower.

There was no way they could import a product no one would buy.

The merchant’s job was to bring popular products in cheap and sell them high.

“Anyway, just send a response saying we’ll politely decline. If another group hears of it, make sure we don’t sound too firm.”

“Understood.”

Lepert had started off as a tiny goods merchant.

At that time, he feared nothing and traveled through various cities selling items.

He built his reputation and established the current Blue-haired Merchant Group.

But after achieving many accomplishments, he was now more focused on preserving what he had.

Reducing new attempts to a minimum and focusing only on stable trade.

He no longer enjoyed adventure.

Thinking of his past still made his heart race, but…

His backside had become too heavy.

“Ambush!”

Lepert and the merchant group were traveling through the forest laden with goods for trading.

It was common for bandits to ambush merchant carts filled with products.

That’s why the merchant group always traveled with a guard. But,

“…What? This is an Elf’s Forest!”

This time, Lepert hired fewer guards than usual.

Well, that made sense since they only had to pass this forest.

And this forest was Elyum, the territory of the elves.

Because the elves always guarded the woods, bandits and robbers couldn’t step foot in here.

Thanks to the pact between humans and elves, they had access to a single path and were free from ambush threats, thus frequently used by merchants. But,

“Quick, we need to hide, Merchant Lord!”

“Damn… it’s a big one…”

First, the merchant lord, Lepert, abandoned his group and ran away.

Considering the enemy’s scale, the guards he had hired would likely be defeated.

If he was captured as a hostage, the losses would be even greater, so it was a choice he had to make.

Lepert ran into the woods, tears brimming as the loss of all those goods loomed before him.

It was something that had never happened since he formed the merchant group, which made it even more painful.

“What the… where are the elves…! Damn it… my money…!”

“Exactly. Now that I think about it, I hadn’t sensed the elves ever since their presence entered the woods. Normally, they would be hopping around the trees to protect the forest.”

“Exactly. Could something have happened to the World Tree?”

The World Tree was just a big tree.

It was a famous saying for humans but something totally different for elves.

The only reasonable excuse for the elves to be neglecting the forest would be related to the World Tree.

“Hoo… they don’t seem to be chasing us.”

“For now, let’s hide for a bit, and once it’s calm, we’ll head back to the road and return to the merchant group. Sigh, what a hassle this is.”

For a moment, Lepert hid his body among the trees.

He planned to slip out once the commotion settled down.

“…Hmm?”

Lepert, leaning against a nearby tree, discovered something lying on the ground.

It was a red maple leaf that didn’t quite fit in the always-green Elyum.

Lepert picked it up.

Upon picking it up, he realized it wasn’t a maple leaf, but rather something solid shaped like a maple leaf.

It seemed to be an artifact.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. It looks like an artifact, but it’s lying on the ground.”

“Isn’t it a trap or something? You shouldn’t use it, just in case…”

“Hah, don’t you know who I am?”

Lepert used his magic.

His attribute trait was Observation (B).

He had the magic to glean information from objects.

Though it was a lower-grade attribute, he couldn’t use any other magic, but for a merchant like him, it was perfect.

“There’s illusion magic all over it… but I can’t grasp the entire structure with my magic. What kind of object would be lying abandoned on the road like this…?”

“Then isn’t it something even more dangerous? If it’s something that my B-grade observation can’t identify.”

“But it’s certain that all the magic involved is illusion magic. Meaning it isn’t dangerous.”

After pondering for a moment, Lepert decided to try using the artifact.

Originally, he would never have done such a thing.

But oddly enough, the shape of that maple leaf sparked his adventurous spirit.

“Keep an eye out. If anything happens, pull out the artifact right away.”

“Understood.”

With that, Lepert infused mana into the artifact.

What he faced was a massive, and mysterious new world.

There, he was kicking off the ground and flying through the sky, using powerful attack magic like a hero, and summoning wondrous and beautiful familiars.

‘What in the world…’

Since it was an illusion magic artifact, everything was clearly an illusion.

Yet, it felt so vivid and marvelous. He felt a strong urge to never wake up from this illusion.

At that moment,

Paff—

“Ah-!”

Suddenly, the artifact switched off, and he returned to the real world.

He was rolling on the ground, and before him stood an elf woman.

“Ugh… what’s this…?”

“What are you doing? Using someone else’s property so carelessly.”

“Th-That’s your fault! Uh, um…! Riana?”

“So, you know me, human.”

“Of course! It’s been a long time, but we traveled together briefly, didn’t we! With Galleard and the hero party members.”

When he first started as a merchant, he had traveled with the hero party for a short time.

At that time, the war against the demon world was coming to an end.

That was where Galleard’s connection with him had started.

Now, much time had passed, and most of the hero party members had died.

The youngest hero, Galleard, had aged into a senior, while Lepert too had grown old.

However, as an elf, Riana still looked exactly the same as back then.

“…Hmm. I vaguely remember. I think you were a young goods merchant back then.”

“Haha, it’s been a long time, after all. You still look the same as before. But what is that? I found it on the ground and used it.”

“This is the ‘Maple Leaf Story’ artifact that I received from Galleard as a gift. It’s so fun that the elves of Elyum are each buying one.”

“The Maple Leaf Story…”

That was indeed the name of the artifact created by the Illusion Tower that Galleard had recommended to Lepert.

“Well, I have to level up quickly, so I’ll take my leave.”

Riana left Lepert behind and disappeared into the woods.

It was a leap that wasn’t very elvish; it felt too hurried and frivolous.

“…Did she neglect the forest’s guards because of that?!”

“Pardon? Are you okay, Merchant Lord?”

“…Let’s go back quickly.”

“Y-yes? Where to?”

“To the Illusion Tower! We need to monopolize this before another merchant group snatches it from us!”

“Yeees?!”

The born merchant Lepert could smell an unimaginable amount of money from that tiny maple leaf.