Chapter 21: 21
I watched as Takumi scrambled to the top shelf, taking down a plastic cup and rushing back. "Do you know what we are celebrating boy?" Okada looked him straight in the eyes, pouring the wine into the cup. "We are celebrating this mad genius next to me called Kaito," Okada said, leaning back on the burgundy couch, a crooked grin on his face. "If not for his succubus game and his... creepy desire for horny games, we wouldn’t be having this kind of money sitting in our account."
I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration. But he was right wasn’t he? If I hadn’t mistakenly uploaded the game to the server, I wouldn’t have this much people playing my game. For the first time in history, this workshop was full with people, to the point people preferred to stay outside just to play the game.
Deep in thoughts, something flashed right at me and I stepped away from the couch, grabbed a pen from the cluttered table, and yanked a sheet of paper toward me. The paper crinkled as I pressed it flat against the surface, already scribbling rough lines and boxes.
"I think it’s time we have our own arcade. The best place to have it is in this city, and maybe... Not too far from us."
"You see why I called him a mad genius?" Okada tilted his head sideways to Takumi and to be, chuckling and drinking. He closed the bottle, kept it on the ground and continued. "I am right on track with you on this. We can rent a building until we are sure we want to expand bigger and better."
"There’s a shopping complex about a kilometer from us," I said, pointing with the pen on some boxes on the paper. "I guess it was abandoned by the owner... no one has stepped into it for ages. It’s huge, practically untouched. Perfect spot for an arcade."
"What you saying? We practically don’t know who owns it. We just steal it?" Okada added but I snapped my finger at him. "So no stealing, not fair..."
"The neighborhood should have an idea about the building. We will make more enquires when tomorrow comes. I and Takumi can go together whule you manage this. If we can get that place, we have an arcade running up. " Everyone nodded in agreement to me as I drew more sketches.
I turned around to see more people coming in, and more ideas came to my head like adding a drink section, party section and all just in that arcade. I had just one last thing: ensuring the game keeps getting challenging and interesting as the level goes up.
"Have you seen my laptop?" My eyes went to the place I usually had it kept when I was done with the day’s work and I didn’t see it, I raised an alarm. Okada shrugged in his seat, clearly drunk.
"Yh, nearly kept for you in the back room." He muttered, half asleep pointing to the door that led to the little convenience room.
"Make sure Okada gets these people out of here so we can close, Takumi. And you can walk around and get to know the place. Once again, welcome onboard Takumi." I parted him on the back, and as usual, referred to me as his sensei. I laughed, picking up the paper and pen, follow the usual route to the backroom.
The door went shut and just then, I released the air I knew I had in my lungs and pulled out the chair. My mind was just on how Roku had my games converted to his for his selfish benefits. I turned on the laptop, transferring the bits of game rights I had stored on my phone to the computer. As the download continued, I opened my notebook again, sketching absently. New enemy patterns. Adaptive difficulty curves. Levels that learned the player’s habits and punished predictability. If people were going to sink hours into this game, it needed to stay one step ahead of them.
*******
"Damn... already 11pm?" I yawned, pushing myself out of the chair. The room was quiet now, way too quiet, and I assumed everyone had finally gone. I stretched, feeling the familiar ache from sitting too long, and then remembered I had to pee.
Stepping out, I froze for a second. It was more of a catastrophic than ever before. I tried not to get dirty with the pile of junk on the ground and quickly spotted Okada sprawled across the floor like he’d passed out mid-laugh, one arm thrown over a pile of snack wrappers.
As for, Takumi was clinging desperately to the little space left on the couch, eyes half-shut, trying to get some rest without slipping off. I shook my head, a laugh bubbling out despite the exhaustion. "This... this is ridiculous," I muttered, sidestepping a pile of half-eaten chips. My foot nudged a soda can, which wobbled and clinked loudly against a stack of papers.
Takumi stirred and mumbled something incoherent, tugging the blanket tighter around himself. Okada groaned, shifting an arm, then settled back more into the pile of trash. Just about to step toward the bathroom, my eyes landed on a cobalt-blue laptop sitting crookedly on a pile of papers.
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. "One level won’t hurt, would it?" I muttered under my breath. Sliding a chair closer, I dropped onto it and reached for the keyboard. The game loaded instantly, the bright, familiar colors of the succubus world spilling across the screen.
"Baby, guess what? It’s just me and you like always in the night. Let’s have a nice game!" I grinned, dusting off the crumbs on the keyboard and plugging in a headset for better feeling. The outside world vanished the moment the padding settled over my ears.
The home screen faded in.
Neon-red symbols pulsed against a black background. A towering succubus on her chair of sculpted dicks dominated the center, with horns curved like a crown, wings folded behind her back. And the famous, famous flaming skull as a nipple pin. I exhaled slowly.
"Yeah... there you are."