In my time of knowing the Conductor, this was the very first time that I witnessed his rage and anger. Not even when I insulted his own work during the first scenario with him had I witnessed such rage and disgust from it.
’...Just what in the world is going on?’
My heart palpitated wildly in my chest.
The Conductor’s anger didn’t ease, and the surroundings trembled.
Rumble! Rumble!
"How dare..."
The room shook further, and I knew then that I had to act.
"Hold on."
I reached for the Conductor, trying to grab its attention. Something was stirring within the surroundings due to the Conductor’s anger. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that I had to stop it before it was too late.
"Calm down for a moment. Let me understnd what’s going on."
"Understand...?"
The Conductor’s voice turned even more sinister, the hair at the back of my arm rising as I struggled to breathe.
"What is there to understand?"
The Conductor’s voice hoarsely echoed, my breathing pausing as a result.
Nevertheless, seeing the surroundings tremble further, I knew that I had to act.
"J... just calm down for a moment." I managed to force out the words despite the pressure that was currently enveloping the room.
’For someone who is being so reliant on my strength, he sure is suffocating.’
I took a deep breath, calming my trembling voice.
"Let me properly understand the situation. There’s no use being angry at the moment. It won’t resolve the situation."
I more or less had an idea as to why the Conductor was angry. It didn’t take a genius to understand, but given its current outburst, I didn’t have the time to properly assess the situation.
If only the Conductor could just—
"...Alright."
All the pressure eased at once.
The trembling stopped, and the heavy sensation on my chest eased.
What...?
The sudden change took me aback, but swallowing quietly, I snapped out of it and looked at the Conductor directly before turning my attention towards the capsule.
Taking several deep breaths, I got out of the capsule and moved towards my laptop.
’Theft, theft...’
There was only one reason the Conductor would say something like this.
’Its music must’ve been stolen.’
That was the only possible explanation, and thinking about the rare feeling that I experienced while playing the game every time the music played, I had also vaguely felt the abnormality within the game.
Sitting back on my seat and turning my attention to my laptop, I booted up the game one more time. This time, I did it without the VR functionality. The game was possible to play without VR since it was extremely simple in design.
Of course, it was best with VR.
"Let’s see."
I started in the same security room as before.
The dools appeared in each camera angle, and the lights above flickered.
I waited in silence, switching between the cameras until—
Da~ Da~ Da!
The tune began to play.
At the exact moment it played, something within my chest stirred, and I found my mind growing hazy. My concentration slipped, and by the time I regained focus again, I found my breathing growing rougher than before.
"Oh my god..."
I covered my mouth with my hand, staring at the screen with wide eyes.
Rumble! Rumble!
The surroundings shook once more, the Conductor’s figure right next to me, but this time, I didn’t stop the Conductor as I kept my gaze fully focused on the game before me, at a complete loss.
If before I was skeptical, that was no longer the case.
This game...
’It’s copying the Conductor’s music.’
***
Nightmare Forge Studio.
Drrrrrr—! Trrr!
The usually quiet and gloomy studio was experiencing a resurgence, like it had never experienced in the past; the phones were constantly ringing, and people ran all over the office, trying to get documents from one place to another.
"Quick! Quick!"
"I just got a sponsorship offer! It’s Neuzi!"
"...What is the current status on the bug fixes? There’s several bugs that are being reported!"
"We’ve made it to the news!"
"We’re climbing up the rankings!"
Despite how busy everyone was, the atmosphere felt festive. The game was performing phenomenally, and since everyone would be receiving bonuses based on its success, spirits were high all around.
This was the first time in a very long time that their newest game performed so well. It was only right that they all felt happy.
CEO Office.
"The game is projected to reach the top of the rankings nationally. There’s a chance that we might even make it to the global rankings."
Reporting to the CEO was Daniel Mier, a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Dressed in a crisp suit, he stood with perfect posture, his demeanor calm and professional. As a graduate from the Euston Malovia University, he was a top elite who had just been recently hired by the company.
He was, in fact, partially responsible for the games’ success.
"Oh? We might even make it to the global rankings? That’s very good news."
The CEO, a man in his sixties, smiled with visible glee. His bushy eyebrows arched high as a result, hiding beneath his thinning hair was neatly parted on top of his forehead. His most noticeable trait was the well-groomed mustache resting just above his lips, something he touched whenever he was happy.
"...How confident are you that we might make it to the global rankings?"
"There’s a good chance we might."
Daniel replied, checking the tablet in his hands.
"Based on the current sales records and the fact that the game is starting to reach some audiences outside of the island, I would say that it should be possible for us to place within the top thousand."
"Top thousand?"
The CEO took a deep breath, his chest trembling out of excitement.
While ’Top 1000’ didn’t sound grand, it was in fact a phenomenal result. This would mean that their game was within the top 1000 in the entire world, not just within their island, but also the surrounding islands.
This was a monumental achievement.
Something that had never been accomplished by anyone within the island or the nearby regions. It would mean that they’d be the first to achieve such a result, bringing their studio to an unprecedented period of fame and growth.
The thought made the CEO’s mustache tremble.
"That’s good. That’s good. It would be really good if we could achieve this."
As he spoke, he turned his attention towards Daniel. His lips pulled into an appreciative smile.
"None of this would’ve been possible if not for you. You’re really a lifesaver."
"...Thank you."
Daniel lowered his head, smiling as well. Raising his head back up, he looked at the CEO, the smile fading slightly.
"However, if we’re being honest, none of this would’ve been possible if not for you."
"Me...?" The CEO paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Haha, well, I suppose you could put it that way."
Daniel’s lips similarly curled into a smile.
"Who would have thought that a soundtrack could have such an effect? I even tried to research it further, going so far as to send it to the bureau, but with little to no success. They deemed it to be a normal soundtrack, but I’m sure that’s not the case. There has to be some secret to it."
"Who cares? We’ve already assembled a full team of engineers to see if there’s anything more we can extract from the source code of his games. If there is, we can implement it into our own."
"That’s true."
Daniel’s smile pulled even higher.
A thought occurred to him then.
"Do you think he would mind?"
"Him?"
The CEO blinked, then chuckled again. As he did, he rifled through his drawer and pulled out a contract, slapping it onto the table with a sharp thud.
"To hell if he minds. In fact, arrange a meeting with him. I’d like to have a good chat with him. After all..."
The CEO looked at the contract.
"...Everything that he’s created belongs to me. It’s in the contract."