Game Developer in the World of Anime

After leaving her classroom, Eriri marched upstairs, clearly determined. Unfortunately, when she arrived, Utaha was nowhere to be seen, leaving Eriri standing outside, locked out of the room.

She waited for nearly five minutes, barely holding back the urge to call Utaha, before the girl in question finally showed up, leisurely walking down the hallway.

"You're so slow!" Eriri complained the moment she saw her.

"Hm?" Utaha paused, then quickly grasped the situation. With a smile, she scrutinized Eriri before saying, "I was moving at a normal pace. You, on the other hand—why are you here so quickly? Don't tell me you're already addicted to the game. That's not good, you know. As a student, you shouldn't get too hooked on games."

Eriri's face turned red in an instant. "N-No way! You're the one who asked me to test it!" she retorted.

"I guess that's true. Well then, let's get started." Utaha pulled the key from her bag. "Step aside. I'll unlock the door."

Once they entered, Utaha handed the laptop over to Eriri and then took out a light novel, sitting off to the side. "We don't have a lot of time this afternoon, only until 5 PM. That should be fine, right? Remember, the goal isn't just to play—you're supposed to be testing the game and finding bugs."

"I know, I know! I'm not getting addicted!" Eriri protested. But as soon as her hand touched the mouse, she immediately launched the game.

After entering the game, Eriri asked, "By the way, where's Ichin? Why is it just you here?"

"He went to find the school's gaming club," Utaha replied, still focused on her novel. "Since he's developing the game on his own without a studio, there aren't any dedicated testers. There's a gaming club at school, so of course, he wouldn't miss the chance."

"I didn't even know we had a club like that," Eriri muttered.

"Want to join?" Utaha chuckled. "It's full of hardcore gamers and otakus. I'm sure they'd be thrilled if you joined."

Eriri pursed her lips. "Tch, no way! You just want to see me blow my cover, don't you?"

Utaha smiled but didn't respond, continuing to read her novel. Soon, the only sounds left in the room were the rustling of Utaha's pages and the sound effects from Eriri's game.

Meanwhile, Ichin successfully located the school's gaming club. It had seven members and five laptops, which conveniently allowed five members to test the game simultaneously. After some brief discussions, the club members were eager to help out. Ichin then handed out five USB drives with the game files, and they started playing.

At first, they assumed it was just a typical card game. But as time passed, all five members became thoroughly engrossed in it.

One of the club members, a chubby boy with glasses, exclaimed, "Ichin, when is this game going to be released? I'll definitely buy a copy to support you!"

"Thanks! The game isn't fully developed yet—there are still two more characters and some other features that need to be finished. I'm thinking of releasing an early-access version first, and it should be up on Steam in a few days. When it's ready, I'll let you all know and send you each a free copy as a thank-you for helping me test it."

For Ichin, giving out a few game activation codes was no big deal. Hiring part-time testers would have cost much more.

Sigh, students are really so simple—they'll help out for free without hesitation.

While staying at the gaming club, Ichin watched the members play the game earnestly. They occasionally pointed out areas that needed optimization or bugs that required fixing. As expected of the gaming club members, by the time it was close to 5 PM, two of them had managed to clear the game. The other three didn't finish but all made it to the third stage.

After expressing his gratitude once more, Ichin collected the USB drives with the game files and left the club. Just as he stepped out, his phone buzzed with a message from Utaha. Realizing that she was still in their activity room, he changed direction and headed there.

When he returned to the room, both Utaha and Eriri were still there. Eriri was staring intently at the laptop screen, completely unaware of Ichin's arrival. He walked over to Utaha and whispered, "She's been playing all this time?"

Utaha closed her novel, nodded, and replied, "She played for about an hour at lunchtime. This afternoon, she's been at it since she arrived around 3:30."

"Did she clear it yet?"

"Nope," Utaha chuckled, unable to hide her amusement. "This is her third attempt. The first two times, she overlooked the monsters' abilities and got defeated by an elite monster. This time, she managed to reach the third stage but died after just two rooms. Right now, she's struggling with the first stage again."

Ichin stayed silent and walked up behind Eriri. Seeing her game screen, he couldn't help but comment, "Tch, so bad at this."

Eriri hadn't noticed Ichin's presence earlier, but she definitely heard that remark. She immediately let go of the mouse, spun around, and glared at him. "Don't randomly judge people while they're playing a game, okay? It's distracting!"

"The thing is, you're playing a game I developed, so why can't I judge?" Ichin countered.

"Ugh…" Realizing his point, Eriri blushed, turned back to the screen, and shut off the game in frustration. "Stupid game, I'm done playing!"

Tch, so childish.

However, it was about time to leave school anyway. Ichin helped Utaha shut down her laptop, then said, "Thanks for helping out today. Let me treat you both to dinner, how about that?"

"Sounds good to me." Utaha agreed readily, grabbing her bag. "I just need to let my family know. What about you, Eriri? Want to join?"

"Me? No, I can't. My dad's coming back from a business trip today, so I have to head home," Eriri said, shaking her head. Pausing for a moment, she glanced at Ichin and added, "Can I help you test the game again tomorrow? I found quite a few bugs today!"

"Of course. The more testers, the better for me."

Eriri brightened up instantly and waved at Ichin. "Great, then I forgive you for calling me bad at the game. See you tomorrow!"

After Eriri left, Ichin turned to Utaha and said, "Let's go find somewhere to eat. Anything in particular you want?"

"Sushi, maybe?" Utaha suggested.

"Of course, that works for me."

…

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