Chapter 45: The Day the Memories of Another World Take Form
“How were the server load test results?”
When Tsuyoshi asked, the leader of the tech team nodded with a confident expression. The elite IT engineers dispatched from the Tetsumura Group had been working on preparations for the game’s release for several days.
“No problems. We’ve completed scaling configurations to handle up to 500,000 concurrent downloads. The cloud server’s auto-scaling feature has also been implemented, so we can handle it even if that number is exceeded.”
Hearing that, Hayato and Riri looked at each other, surprised. To think they had anticipated and prepared for that much. Seeing their reaction, Tsuyoshi said,
“Of course. It’s garnered this much attention. We want to ensure there are as few problems as possible.”
Tsuyoshi’s voice held a mix of a manager’s composure and the warmth of wanting his companions’ work and activities to succeed without a hitch.
Since announcing the official release date on the stream, it had been featured prominently on various game news sites. On social media, several hashtags related to the game Riri developed had entered the trending rankings, with various speculations and excited comments flying around.
“‘VTuber Group’s Full-Fledged Action RPG, Finally Heading to Official Release.'”
Tsuyoshi read the article title aloud from his smartphone.
“‘Game That Caused a Stir with Its Astonishing Quality Even at the Demo Stage, Finally Releasing Its First Part. Attracting Attention from Industry Insiders Too.'”
“It’s getting more attention than I imagined,”
Hayato muttered. Riri, looking a little nervous, started checking her laptop screen. She had been repeating it over and over since then, engrossed in the final pre-release checks. Her fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard, checking the lines of code displayed on the screen one after another.
“It’s alright, Riri. You’ve checked it enough, haven’t you?”
When Hayato gently placed a hand on her shoulder and said that, Riri closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
“But, if there’s some kind of problem… People wouldn’t be able to experience Hayato’s, everyone’s, precious memories from the other world. I absolutely want to avoid that.”
There was an earnestness in her words. This game wasn’t just entertainment; for them, it was something that gave form to their memories and bonds from the other world. Especially for Riri, it was also a work imbued with her gratitude and reverence for Hayato.
“But Riri, it’s already 7 PM. Shouldn’t we head home soon?”
“Just a little longer. There’s a part that caught my attention during the final check.”
“Alright, just a little longer then.”
Riri meticulously checked every little detail over and over. Hayato contacted her parents to let them know she would be home late.
“I’m done. With this, all preparations for tomorrow’s release are complete.”
And so, after about an hour of repeated checks, she finally seemed satisfied and completed the preparations for releasing the finished version’s data.
“Good work. You really did your best.”
When Hayato said that frankly, Riri smiled as if relieved.
“Thank you very much. This was all thanks to everyone’s support.”
Then, she started getting ready to go home. Hayato and Josuke escorted her home.
After safely seeing Riri home, Hayato and Josuke also headed to their respective homes. On the way, Josuke told Hayato various things. The two walked through the night city, discussing the big event awaiting them tomorrow.
“Releasing it as a free game while recouping development costs through merchandise sales. Apparently, several game companies have made inquiries, wanting to use this method as a reference.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Hayato replied, looking a little surprised. He wasn’t very familiar with the game industry’s business models, but he wondered if it was really attracting that much attention.
“That wasn’t the aim from the start. It’s a project that began with Riri’s desire to ‘share her memories of the other world with everyone.'”
“Right, right. Her goal wasn’t about money, was it?”
Hayato recalled when Riri had proposed developing the game. The purpose she had stated. She had worked hard until today to achieve it. Hayato had watched over her efforts.
“But if it ends up being good business as a result, that’s wonderful in its own right. The Tetsumura Group also has high hopes for it as a new revenue model for IVE.”
Josuke calmly analyzed the current situation.
“Speaking of which, are the preparations for the multilingual versions alright?”
Not just for Japan, but for the world. Versions translated into various languages were also set to be released. Were those preparations okay? When Hayato asked, Josuke answered while operating his tablet.
“No worries. It supports five languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and French. The translation team has finished their final checks. It should be fine.”
“To think it would become such a large-scale project.”
Hayato looked up at the night sky, deeply moved.
“It’s because your exploits in the other world were so incredible. I can also understand Riri’s desire to spread that, and her wish to release it properly without any issues.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But I don’t want her to push herself too hard.”
Hayato was happy about Riri’s hard work, but he still didn’t want her to overdo it. He thought that in this world, unlike that time, she wouldn’t push herself to the point of losing her life.
“Anyway, I’m praying it can be released safely. We’ve made preparations for that too.”
“Yeah. Well, it’ll probably be fine. Let’s believe and wait for the results.”
The moment it was released, word came in that it had surpassed one million downloads in an instant. It was an incredible speed. The servers withstood the expected load, and the system was reportedly operating stably. Their meticulous preparations had borne fruit.
When he checked during his lunch break, the download count had already surpassed five million. So quickly, and with access from all over the world. It seemed game streamers worldwide were also posting gameplay videos all at once. On social media, game-related hashtags were trending globally.
An excited message from Riri arrived on Hayato’s phone.
‘Hayato! This is amazing! So many people are experiencing our adventure!’
Hayato looked at the message and smiled quietly. The memories of life-and-death battles in the other world were now being shared with so many people. It was a strange sensation, but at the same time, it warmed his heart.
‘That’s wonderful. Riri’s hard work has paid off.’
When Hayato replied, a response from Riri came back immediately.
‘I’m so happy that I can convey Hayato’s heroic tale to so many people. With this, the memories will be passed on within everyone.’