Chapter 302: System Update [2]
All I took was one sip.
However, that was all it took for me to feel extremely jittery.
’Oh, fuck.’
I had a sudden bad feeling about the situation. By then, it was already too late as I found myself walking back with Zoey to the Guild. And before I knew it, I was in my own office.
"....."
I blankly stared at the painting opposite me.
"Wasn’t I supposed to rest a bit more?"
Why was I back in my office?
"Oh god."
I thought about immediately heading back to the dorms to get some rest, but I knew that in my current state, that was impossible.
’This drink better not be made after the same Kyle that I know. Otherwise...’
I clenched my hand into a fist while standing up from my seat and walking towards the door that led to my other office.
Click!
I unlocked the door, slipped inside with my laptop, and made sure to lock it again behind me before stepping further in.
Finding a spot, I sat down on the floor and opened the laptop. Several figures popped up in the room at the same time.
A particular figure stood out among the rest. Its tall frame carried an undeniable presence, alongside it was a certain pressure that pulled at me until I found myself lifting my head almost instinctively.
It was the Conductor.
I blinked a couple of times before speaking.
"I’m thinking of setting up a music studio in one of the rooms of this place. Do you think you’ll be able to set it up?"
"...It is possible."
The Conductor answered in a low tone, its voice carrying a quiet heaviness as its eyes shifted to the windows overlooking the room beyond the corridor. For a moment, its gaze lingered on the door before slipping away and returning to the empty stretch of corridor ahead.
Its lips pulled up in amusement shortly after.
"What an intriguing gate. Best be careful, human. This is a very dangerous gate."
I froze for a moment as a chill traced its way down my spine. It lingered there, unsettling, until I forced myself to take a few steady breaths, slowly reining my nerves back under control.
"...I know."
This was something that I had been warned about earlier.
"So long as I stay within the rules, I should be fine."
The Conductor’s lips stretched further in amusement, but it no longer said anything. A heavy sense of foreboding stirred within me at that smile, but I forced myself to look away, refusing to dwell on it any longer.
’...I already know the risks of the gate. I just can’t think of a better place to do my work without getting interrupted. I might change it in the future, but until I can afford a proper studio, I plan on staying here.’
"If that’s what you wish."
The Conductor dropped the topic, moving towards the window and looking at the other classroom.
"In order to build a music studio, you’ll need instruments. I’d prefer them to be of high quality. The better the quality, the better the music. Can you handle that?"
"Will better quality music make a difference?"
"It will."
"...Okay."
I took note of it on my laptop. I had a budget of three million dollars. I had yet to touch it. If I spent some of it on the equipment, I’d still have a lot remaining.
’I plan on spending some money to hire some staff too.’
"Oh, right."
I suddenly recalled the message that I sent before. Going to my email, I looked through it before stopping at a certain email.
"Hmm."
My eyes squinted.
"They want to meet up with me directly?"
I scratched the side of my face.
"It’s doable."
I replied with an email and set up a meeting for next week, then moved on to the rest of the unopened messages. Most turned out to be nothing but junk, and by the time I finished going through them all, I’d gained nothing of value.
"That’s that. I guess I should start planning for my new game."
I opened the app and went to the [Game Developer Mode].
The interface immediately changed. A familiar one appeared.
I was just about to get started when—
[Update!]
A large notification appeared on my screen.
[The Game Developer Mode is now experiencing an update. Please wait a moment!]
"....."
I opened my mouth, but soon closed it.
This threw me off completely. I hadn’t expected an update to come.
However, this was more than welcome.
’Is it because I’ve reached the Third Order? Is that why? Or is it something else...?’ My gaze subconsciously turned towards the VR equipment by the side of the room, and my heart started to speed up.
Could it be...?
Ding!
A chime rang right after.
[Update complete!]
I didn’t waste a second dismissing the notification and looking directly at the interface.
"It looks crisper than before."
The overall layout looked a bit cleaner than before. Where it had once been just a plain list of features, each one was now framed in its own box, the text styled in a way that felt less tacky and far more modern.
But above all...
[Select Game Engine]
-------------------------
◉ U-Engine
◉ Game Developer Engine
◉ Virtual Game Engine
-------------------------
"It’s real... "
A virtual game engine!
I nearly shouted at the top of my lungs. I only just barely held back when I took notice of the Conductor as it stared at me with its head tilted. For some reason, with it here, I didn’t feel comfortable screaming at the top of my lungs.
"Ehm."
Clearing my throat, I opened up the description of the engine.
-------------------------
Virtual Game Engine:
An engine built with the main system to make designing virtual games easier for the developer. Not only does it save time, but it also delivers the full sensation of playing within a virtual world; so vivid it almost feels real!
-------------------------
It was a bit of a generic description. It didn’t really tell much.
Pondering for a moment, I scrolled down and decided to give the new engine a try.
’I want to experience it for myself and see exactly what it does.’
Click!
I clicked on the feature.
Immediately, the screen shifted. A vast, empty white space appeared right before my eyes as a section opened up on the side of the screen.
I opened it up.
—[— [Furniture] —]—
● Oak Bookshelf: 40 SP
● Mahogany Chair: 25 SP
● Walnut Cabinet: 60 SP
● Pine Stool: 15 SP
● Cherry Dresser: 55 SP
● Ebony Side Table: 35 SP
—[— [Furniture] —]—
"....."
My lip twitched.
Seriously?
"I can’t believe I have to pay to set up stuff."
The price wasn’t unusually high, but I knew it would add up. With all the programs I was likely to add on top of that, a new headache was already creeping in.
That was also not the only section.
Furniture, Background, Structure, Items, Miscellaneous, Smell, Temperature...
There were quite a lot of things. I didn’t even bother clicking on the structure part since I understood I knew I’d get a heart attack.
Still, this was certainly a welcome development.
"This will make the 3D modeling extremely easy. In that case, all that will be needed is the actual programming. This will save me so much time."
I fiddled more with the program. I wanted to see what other features were present.
That was how I spent the next couple of hours.
Just when I thought I had seen through everything, a certain button caught my eye.
[Simulation]
"That’s..."
My breath caught for a moment.
But then—
Click!
I pressed on it.
Immediately, my world changed.