Game Market 1983

Short Story: Dragon Emblem - (2)

Title: Dragon Emblem in Uchimura (Part Two)

After graduating high school in Osaka and moving to Tokyo, I found myself on a hiatus from university but firmly established in a respectable job.

Even amidst tough job market conditions due to the economic downturn, landing a position at Pentagon, ranked as the number one company coveted by students my age, felt like a dream.

What’s more, I wasn't tied to the office like an average salaryman; I had the luxury of working from home.

Pentagon employees could receive games released by the company for free using their welfare points. However, these perks arrived only after the initial batches sold out, usually in the third or fourth wave, which, for an impatient soul like me, wasn't acceptable. I’d often buy games among the user community instead.

True gamers should ideally have separate cartridges for ‘collecting’ and ‘playing.’

Before leaving home, I glanced at the glass display dominating one side of the living room wall, housing figures I'd crafted and games released by Pentagon.

"I'll be off."

I bid the empty living room farewell and, upon swinging open the thick iron door, was greeted by the dazzling morning sunlight streaming through the corridor windows.

"Argh, cursed sunshine…"

From Shinjuku, where Pentagon headquarters were located, it was easy to reach Akihabara by taking the Yamanote Line.

Moments later, upon arriving at Akihabara and stepping out through the west exit, familiar faces waved at me.

"Hey there, working stiff!"

Abe and Maeda, friends since high school. These guys had also moved to Tokyo after graduation, just like me.

Abe, who'd harbored a passion for baking since high school, had graduated from a specialized school and was now an apprentice at a local bakery. Maeda, on the other hand, had landed a job at a travel agency right after high school and was already five years into his career.

"Hey! I was really worried about you and Maeda last year during the alumni gathering. Never thought you'd land a job at Pentagon."

Abe warmly shook my hand, flashing a smile.

"Sorry, been pretty caught up with work. I'll keep in touch more often from now on."

"Well, it's been ages since I've heard anyone say they're too busy with work in Uchimura. Time sure flies…"

"Absolutely. Remember when we were high schoolers hunting for Dragon Emblem in Den Den Town? Feels like just yesterday, but now there’s a sequel released."

"Right. You were so proud when you came back alone with Dragon Emblem. Didn’t even tell us where you got it…"

"Nah. I got it from that shop I took you guys to back then."

"Hey, it's been six years already. Are you finally spilling the beans?"

Six years ago, when I returned with the Dragon Emblem cartridge to our meeting spot, Abe and Maeda were taken aback and bombarded me with questions.

"Hey, where did you get this?"

"Some old guy was selling it at a rundown game shop on the outskirts of Den Den Town."

"Really? Where's that?"

"But he said it was the last remaining Dragon Emblem…"

"Oh, really? Then let's reserve it. Show us the way."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

However, upon returning with my friends, the place had transformed into an abandoned shop. It hadn't been a tidy shop when I bought Dragon Emblem moments ago, but now, cobwebs clung to every corner of the shut-down store.

"Huh?! This is weird. Did I misremember the alley?"

We searched nearby alleys, but the game shop with the old man was nowhere to be found.

"Uchimura, you're not deliberately hiding the game shop from us, are you?"

"No, it was really here!!"

Despite my insistence, Abe and Maeda looked at me with suspicious eyes as we wandered the alleyways several times.

"Hey, if you don’t want to tell us, just say so. Why drag us around in circles?"

"That's really disappointing."

After that day, they seemed disappointed in me and didn’t talk to me for a while.

Well, it didn’t take long for us to reconcile as if nothing happened, but that incident remained a mysterious memory for me.

Before moving to Tokyo, I'd occasionally visit that place, but a few days before coming to Tokyo, a new video store opened in that spot, and I gave up on finding the old man's shop.

Now, six years later, the three of us had all become professionals, but our love for gaming remained unchanged. Games like Laon were especially popular among working professionals due to their portability.

"Hey, let’s save the chit-chat for later and get in line. Looks like a massive crowd's gathered there."

"That's ridiculous. It's not even the line for Disneyland…"

At TamaGo shop located about 500 meters from the station and designated as the Dragon Emblem exclusive store, an official opening was scheduled to coincide with the game’s launch.

"What, are these people here to resurrect some game they couldn’t buy…?"

"Every time a popular game comes out, this happens."

As Abe and Maeda eyed the long queue, they let out long sighs, seemingly drained of energy.

But since we’d come this far, there was no turning back. The three of us hurriedly joined the end of the line.

Soon after, with the store's opening announcement and a speech, the doors to the Dragon Emblem shop swung open, and the queue began to diminish rapidly.

The woman I saw among the crowd entering the store waved at me with a wide smile.

"Oh, Uchimura-san!"

"Hello, Miyazaki-san."

"Here to buy Dragon Emblem?"

"Oh, yes. I applied for it using welfare points, but I just couldn’t wait…"

"Me too."

She showed me the Dragon Emblem 2 cartridge, drawing a 'V' with her finger.

Although we couldn’t exchange many words due to the queue moving quickly, every time Miyazaki-san smiled, my heart raced for some reason.

"Hey, who’s that? Looks around our age."

"She's a Pentagon employee and the manager of this Dragon Emblem shop."

"Really? That’s amazing. Are you close with her?"

"Well…"

I looked away, avoiding Abe's question.

How much time had passed? Almost simultaneously, the three of us purchased Dragon Emblem and moved to a nearby fast-food joint for lunch.

And without any explicit agreement, naturally, Laon was pulled out from the bag.

"After inheriting characters from the demo version, shall we try a raid together?"

"Raids require a 4-member party. Aren't we short of one?"

"Well, for now, we have three, and surely one of them won't make it?"

At Abe's words, as we surveyed the surroundings, almost everyone inside the store was enjoying Laon. It seemed that those who purchased the game came here for a meal.

Well, there's no more comfortable place to order a burger and enjoy the game.

&

Since then, we gathered every weekend for raids.

Due to a shortage of one person, we formed a guild for recruitment through the Dragon Emblem community on PC communication. Soon, numerous players of similar levels flocked to us.

Everyone worked hard to demolish the Tower of Evil, but the raid system in Dragon Emblem was not as easy as it seemed.

As levels increased, the fear of losing the carefully raised character in a single moment made dungeon conquests more challenging.

Two months passed, and our characters' levels reached 48.

After losing a level 39 character due to a party wipe, we, mentally shattered, considered giving up Dragon Emblem for a while.

In the Dragon Emblem shop, the levels of characters in the Hall of Fame ranged around 70, and the top-ranking player recently reached level 80.

Then, one day.

The top-ranking guild in Dragon Emblem, called the 'Light Warriors' guild, was invited by Pentagon Soft for an event. It was the first attempt to challenge the top floor of the Tower of Evil.

To assist in the event, we, as requested by the shop manager Miyazaki, could enter the event hall as event helpers.

On the day of the event, arriving a little late due to Maeda's tardiness, we entered the event hall through the staff entrance that Miyazaki opened for us.

"Wow!!!"

As soon as we entered the venue, a roar erupted.

"Holy cow! Black Dragon...?"

In the center of the map, a giant dragon occupied half of it, while four characters struggled against it.

Despite the dragon's fierce attacks, the party armed with the final classes for each profession showed no signs of wavering.

The party leader, the Warrior, was level 83.

Since the lowest level in the party was 79, three members maintained levels in the 80s.

"It's incredible. Could this be the final showdown?"

"Wow... The Sage class is no joke; buffing allies is serious business."

The two dragons guarding the Tower of Evil, the White Dragon, the owner of the first tower, and the Black Dragon, the owner of the second tower, each possessed one of the shattered swords of the fallen king Croel. If this stage were cleared, the party would undoubtedly be the first to complete Croel's Sword.

"Kroooh!!!"

A resounding roar filled the screen, but the members of the Light Warriors guild showed no signs of faltering. Each carried out their roles efficiently, facing the dragon's formidable attacks.

"Just a little more!"

"We can do it!"

How did that Archer boost their agility so much?

The Archer, with piercing arrows, roamed the vast map, delivering consecutive damage to the giant dragon. The arrows, with piercing attributes, penetrated the massive dragon's body, dealing continuous damage.

"Wow, this is amazing..."

The Warrior stood at the forefront of the party, directing the dragon's attacks towards themselves.

"We're almost there!"

"Really?"

At that moment, the Black Dragon let out a long scream, collapsing to the ground.

"Is it over? For me?"

"Really?"

The exhausted members of the Light Warriors guild leaned back in their chairs, wiping away beads of sweat.

And shortly after.

A small message appeared on the game screen of the party members who cleared the final stage.

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