After staying up all night to craft the five magic tablets, Lorne slept like a log for a full day and night. He even had a beautiful dream: he had achieved financial freedom and was living the blissful life of earning money while lying flat.
Upon waking, the first thing Lorne felt was hunger. It seemed that even as a Demon King, one still had to eat. Although he had escaped the status of an "office drone" in this life—well, working for himself didn't count as "drudgery"—his soul as a "foodie" remained eternal.
Lorne rang the bell for Serina and had her bring some "human food" (he politely declined the "delicacies" enjoyed by the monsters in the dungeon) and requested the five free testers to come and report on their work.
"So, how are the Magic Game Tablets I made?" Lorne asked while chewing on bread that was harder than a leather boot.
The state of the five testers couldn't exactly be described as "energetic"; "exhausted to the brink of death" was more accurate. Putting aside the skeleton who was already just bone and the slime who had no face, the remaining three were haggard yet hyper—the typical look of someone who had pulled an all-nighter gaming.
"Lord Demon King, this is truly a great, epoch-making invention!" Silas couldn't hide his excitement. "I've never seen anything so interesting! I can already imagine how humans will go crazy for this!"
If a mere Match-3 game can make them forget to eat and sleep, if I make more complex games in the future, won't these guys just ascend to a higher plane of existence through sleep deprivation? Lorne thought with mixed emotions.
"More than the act of collecting the five-colored stones itself, Respected Demon King, I am more interested in the story behind it." The skeleton rubbed its bony hands together, making an ear-piercing creak. "Gonggong, Zhurong, Nüwa, and 'spirit beasts' like the Nine-Tailed Fox—do they all come from your world? Why did Gonggong and Zhurong fight? What kind of deity is Nüwa, and why does she have the power to mend the sky? What is the structure of that world? Why does the sky need 'Pillars of Heaven' for support?"
The skeleton fired off so many questions that Lorne didn't know how to start answering.
"Why are you so interested?" Lorne couldn't help but ask.
"To tell you the truth, I was a bard in my past life. I loved collecting folk legends from all over the world." The skeleton bowed elegantly; it actually did have a bit of a bardic flair.
Lorne hadn't thought much when making the game; he just wanted to give the Match-3 game some narrative background. He was glad someone in this other world was interested in the culture of Earth, but it would be quite difficult to succinctly explain the myths of China on the spot.
He thought for a moment and said, "I will tell you all in due time when the moment is right."
The implication: I'll supplement the lore when I "smuggle" more of my own interests into future games...
"Oh, I understand, I completely understand!" the skeleton said in a lyrical tone. "Mortals are forbidden from peering into the secrets of the gods, yes? I've heard that some audacious humans went blind and lost their sanity just by looking at a true god. I won't be a chatterbox anymore, Lord Demon King, please rest assured. Curiosity not only kills the cat, but it can also kill a skeleton for a second time."
...No, you didn't understand anything at all.
Lorne scanned the five testers: "During your play session, did you find any BUGs... I mean, errors or unreasonable points? You can also suggest improvements."
Of course, whether I accept those suggestions is my business.
The five monsters looked at each other. Was the Demon King actually asking for their opinions? If they spoke the truth, would it annoy him and cost them their lives?
Silas hesitated for a long time before saying, "If I must say something... the process of collecting artifacts is a bit too troublesome. You can only dig up fragments one by one. If there were a way to get a complete artifact immediately, that would be great..."
After saying this, he immediately touched his own neck. Fortunately, his head was still there. It seemed the new Demon King wouldn't make people "lose their heads" just for speaking the truth.
With him starting, the other monsters grew bold.
"Every time I fail to collect, I have to start from the beginning. Can't I continue from where I failed?"
"It would be great if I could see how many stones others have collected or what level they've reached."
Lorne noted down the monsters' jumbled suggestions one by one.
Hmm, these can all be turned into monetization points later!
Want a complete artifact? Want to continue after failing? Then go top up your account! If you don't want to pay, then just grind away!
As for player rankings, Lorne had already intended to add them to future games. He knew that social systems were one of the most effective means to increase player retention and stimulate spending. It is human nature to be competitive; to fight for a high position on a leaderboard, players would often go all out.
Once he perfected the "Five-Colored Stone Match-3," Lorne planned to test the Magic Tablets in the market. Conveniently, the Capital of Academics, Norelia, was located near the Gloom Catacombs. Lorne intended to open a Magic Game Experience Shop there—functioning as both an internet café and a store. Players could experience magic games on-site, and if they enjoyed them, they could buy a unit to take home.
Five tablets were obviously not enough to satisfy market demand. Before opening, Lorne had much preparation to do, including expanding the production of the tablets.
"I understand your points. Next, I will produce more tablets. Serina." Lorne called the succubus's name. "Go fetch more obsidian."
Serina was usually completely obedient to Lorne, but this time she hesitated.
"Lord Demon King, that was all the obsidian we had," she said.
Lorne raised an eyebrow. "I thought there was plenty in the treasury."
"Uh, because obsidian is the lowest grade among all mana-bearing ores and usually doesn't have much use, we didn't stock much..."
"Then where can we find obsidian? Mine it? Or can it be bought somewhere?"
Serina bowed her head in fear. "There are some dwarven shops in Norelia. Buying from them would be the fastest way."
Dwarves were one of the neutral races in this world. During the Heroic Age, these short, stout master craftsmen stayed out of the conflicts between humans and demons, moving between both sides. One day they'd sell a magic sword to a human Hero, the next they'd peddle armor to dungeon monsters, making money from both. By the time the wars subsided, the dwarves were already filthy rich.
Lorne sighed. "Then let's buy from them. I'll write a list for you..."
"But Lord Demon King, we have no money..." Serina's head dropped even lower.
"Didn't you say obsidian was very cheap, and one silver coin could buy a whole pile?"
"That's true, but we don't even have a single silver coin left..."
Lorne had long known the Gloom Catacombs was destitute, but he hadn't expected it to be this broke. Without even the starting capital, how was he to do business? Was he, the Demon King, supposed to pawn his pants?
"I remember there are banks in the Capital of Academics, right?" he asked, recalling his last trip into the city disguised as a Sage.
Silas gasped. "Are you going to rob a bank?! But humans have always guarded their wealth very closely. I heard they even hire human wizards to place barriers on the vaults!"
"Would the Lord Demon King be afraid of a few humans who know a few tricks?" Serina glared at her brother, then turned to Lorne. "As expected of the Lord Demon King, to be so unscrupulous! Following you is the honor of my life!"
Lorne: "...?"
He just wanted to apply for a loan. Where were these monsters' heads at?
Seeking financing for a startup was a perfectly standard operation on Planet Blue, but to the monsters of the Gloom Catacombs, it was a brand-new, unheard-of concept.
"Robbery is a job where the risks and rewards are extremely mismatched; it does not fit our positioning in the industry's ecological niche," Lorne said, putting on the air of a leader in a meeting from his previous life. "Now, we must break through the shackles of old thinking, seek input from the head enterprises of cross-border industries, perform product iterations, and ultimately give back to the industrial ecosystem."
After this punchy combination of internet buzzwords, all the monsters looked stunned, their eyes vacant. Clearly, their brain's memory was insufficient.
"Do you understand what I mean? Good. Silas, Serina, transform into your human forms and follow me into the city. The others, continue testing the 'Magic Game'."
The monsters replied with a "Understood" and left the bedchamber in a daze.
Silas tugged on his sister's wing and whispered, "Did you understand what the Lord Demon King was saying? Why is it that I understand every word separately, but I can't understand them when they're put together?"
Serina pondered for a long while and then looked seriously at her brother. "Incantations. They must be incantations from the Demon Realm."
Mr. Banks adjusted his tie in front of the dressing mirror at the turn of the stairs, smoothed out his proud little mustache, and walked toward the reception room, his wobbling belly leading the way.
As a credit manager for Gulf Bank, his job was to meet clients applying for loans every day, control risk, and analyze the market. If necessary, he occasionally had to personally help clients through business difficulties.
This was one of the core businesses of the bank. A bank, after all, was about convincing depositors to put their money in, then lending that money to business people, and collecting it back with interest once they made a profit. This way, the bank made a profit, the depositors got interest, and everyone had a bright future.
Mr. Banks had worked at Gulf Bank for ten years. His clients were mostly small companies or self-employed individuals. Today alone, he had met a farmwoman wanting to expand her farm, a baker wanting to open a shop, and a shoeshine boy who claimed to have revolutionized shoe-shining technology.
Like the vast majority of clients Mr. Banks had served, they were all hot-headed people who wanted to do business but lacked the starting capital and came to the bank hoping for a stroke of luck. They didn't even have a complete business plan or a unique product; you couldn't see any market competitiveness at all. The farmwoman brought a basket of eggs, claiming her eggs were better than all her neighbors'. The baker hoped Mr. Banks would taste his terrifying-looking dessert. The shoeshine boy was even more ridiculous; his "technological innovation" was playing music for customers while he shined their shoes. Lending money to them was about the same as giving money to children to fold into paper airplanes.
Mr. Banks quite envied the massive corporate clients handled by his colleagues. At least those companies convinced the bank to lend to them by presenting a decent business proposal, rather than forcing a credit manager to sit on a rickety lounger and listen to records.
The fourth client Mr. Banks was to receive today was a Mr. Lorne Dungeon. According to the form he submitted, he claimed to be a toy manufacturer who had designed a brand-new toy and hoped to promote it in the market.
Mr. Banks shook his head regretfully. Although he hadn't met this Mr. Lorne Dungeon yet, he already had a premonition: today's meeting would end in nothing.
Everyone knew that the world's largest toy manufacturer was the "ToyJoy" company. From luxurious and exquisite steam train models to simple and cheap bubble-blowing sticks, from dolls for girls to tin soldiers for boys—almost every toy you could buy was a ToyJoy product. If a new toy appeared on the market, ToyJoy would release a cheaper imitation within three months, and the company that originally produced the toy would either be acquired or go miserably bankrupt.
This Mr. Lorne Dungeon probably knew nothing about the ecosystem of the toy industry. What sane toy manufacturer would dare to go head-to-head with ToyJoy nowadays?
To prevent Mr. Lorne Dungeon from wasting his time and to prevent the bank's money from going down the drain, Mr. Banks secretly made up his mind: he had to convince his client to give up on this impractical idea.