Chapter 50: The approaching Elden Ring

This journey to Elysian Realm has evoked many emotions in Bronie.

This time, she was informed of her special identity, likely making Elysia feel as if she's seeing her past self, right?

Knowing that she's somewhat special but not knowing exactly where creates a slight unease in her heart. Bronie's afraid that once her identity is exposed, others will easily turn their backs on her.

Human emotions can be so fragile; a small lie, a seemingly harmless deception, can be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

At the most crucial moments, the time spent together can collapse in an instant, like a house of cards. It's indeed a very frightening thing.

Elysia is particularly interested in Bronie because she has experienced these things.

After all, she can see that Bronie has been hiding something from Kiana and Cioara, but fundamentally, she still likes them very much. If this lie isn't handled well, wouldn't it be heartbreaking?

Elysia's method of dealing with it is through her flirting skills: being more caring, more intrusive, and dressing up more.

These "threes" are the key secrets to Elysia's popularity, and she handed them over to Bronie.

How should she put it? For Bronie, the benefits are immense!

With such benefits in mind, Bronie traveled a long way back to the icy land. "I'm back. Has anything happened near the town recently?"

Like returning home, Bronie entered the bar, shaking off the accumulated snow on her body.

Cioara was alone at the computer behind the bar, doing who knows what, and the bar was empty, making one wonder if everyone in the town had died.

"Nothing much happened. The temperature dropped suddenly, school's out, and everyone's staying home. Even the journey to the bar was too much for them. In the end, I had to deliver the alcohol to their homes, but most of the delivered alcohol ended up frozen."

The outside environment was extremely harsh, and Bronie was well aware of that.

To be honest, Bronie had never seen such cold weather before, but for this land, it was normal.

"Was there any honkai outbreak afterward?"

That's what Bronie was concerned about. "There was a little, but not much. At most, there was a Seraph-type Honkai beast born, but it was quickly killed by Siegfried. The Judgement of Shamash is really useful; the huge heat generated fog directly covered the creature's whereabouts, making me afraid to approach and observe."

"You don't trust his combat power like that?"

"I'm just cautious, you know!"

Cioara's words weren't wrong; when it came to Honkai, there was no harm in being cautious.

Even if it's the Judgement of Shamash, so what? If you encounter something you can't beat, you'll end up dying together.

Then there'll definitely be a major Honkai outbreak near you because the Second Herrscher doesn't like it.

That's not what Cioara wants to see.

Although Bronie repeatedly assured that everything was fine and that love could influence the Herrscher.

But adults have their own ways of dealing with things; even if they're protecting a child's dream, adults need to approach things from a realistic perspective to prevent such incidents.

So Cioara tracking Siegfried ended up exhausting her.

"Thank you, tonight I'll make you something delicious. But come to think of it."

"Hmm?"

"The Spring Festival in Shenzhou is coming soon, or Christmas. Which holiday do you prefer?"

"Christmas has passed, it's a pity you weren't home that day, and we didn't have a video call."

Huh? Christmas has already passed?

Bronie didn't pay attention to the time; she just felt it was probably around December, almost Christmas time.

As for the Spring Festival, it's probably still a month away. Bronie would have plenty of time to prepare for New Year goods, or even clothes for everyone to wear during the New Year.

But come to think of it, what was she doing on Christmas Day?

"I apologize, but I might have been working on Christmas Day. I was probably in the middle of writing the logic program for the boss in the game... It was probably Blade of Miquella, right?"

"I knew it. You were really immersed in your work. Have you been eating properly lately? Are you sleeping regularly? Don't let your work ruin your health."

"Shouldn't that be something I should be saying?"

Bronie was quite touched by this. Although it was a bit strange to hear such motherly concern coming from Cioara, there was no doubt she cared about her.

"Really, if you want to care for others, you better take care of yourself first. You little rascal, I've grown up this much, and it's not your turn to care for me."

Hearing Bronie's reply, Cioara felt sweet in her heart, as if she had picked up a thoughtful little coat.

"But if I missed Christmas, I'll make up for it during the Spring Festival. Otherwise, I might get distracted even from work."

"I've never celebrated the Spring Festival before. Would you be the one handling all the arrangements for that holiday?"

"No, generally speaking, it's more meaningful for the whole family to prepare together. So don't think about slacking off. I'll teach you well when the time comes. We'll continue to celebrate together in the future."

"Is it troublesome?"

"It's troublesome to the extent that you'll never forget it in your life. So prepare yourself properly!"

But for now, Bronie still focused on the game.

The game "Getting Over It with Haxxor Bunny" was small but gained popularity quickly.

This game didn't have unbeatable situations as long as you spent time on it. And seeing streamers suffer in the game increased audience engagement.

It was all about the streaming effect, which gave a boost to the streaming industry.

2009, a timeline vastly different from Bronie's previous life.

If it were in her previous life, Bronie's most vivid memories would probably be the major online games from certain big companies.

Streaming and such, not to mention, the battle among streaming platforms only began to rise later past 2012.

But Bronie's game sparked it all early.

It gave her a sense of accomplishment.

Did she set off a trend in the era?

Who knew what the future held? Was the butterfly effect real?

Time passed.

Work progressed steadily.

With the assistance of weak AI programming and the persistent efforts of many, coupled with Eden's sole responsibility for composing the entire game's music.

By the time Spring Festival approached, the game was almost 90% complete.

Some games would start releasing actual gameplay demos once they reached this stage.

But was Bronie the type to use CG as an actual gameplay demo?

Of course not!

Bronie chose to use actual gameplay footage to create a promotional video that looked like CG.

This way, the graphics improvements brought by the game engine and the intricate designs of each monster could be showcased.

What was a masterpiece?

The exquisite style that could be seen at first glance, the elements on the monsters alone showed the scale of the entire game.

High cost, large scale, high quality.

That's what a AAA game was.

Of course, others might think it was costly, but for Bronie, the cost might not be as high as imagined.

Yes, after all, the art was projected directly by Bronie, programming used weak AI, the story was already in Bronie's mind, and the music was provided by Eden.

Low cost meant potentially huge profits.

"To be honest, the profits from making games are much higher than your mercenary business. Do you ever think of retiring and managing my game company? After all, the mercenary business often ends up with heads rolling, and even if you're lucky enough not to lose your head, you might end up in jail if caught."

"There's no such thing as a clean break in this world. Every step leaves a mark. Since I entered this line of work, my hands have been stained with blood that can never be washed away. As for you, you have a complicated relationship with the mercenary world. What attracts you to that place?"

"Do beautiful girls count?"

"Be careful not to get bitten by the venomous snakes. Female mercenaries in this business are often unclean, both physically and mentally twisted. It's best to avoid too much contact with them."

"I'll make my own judgment on that. But now that the game is almost done, aren't you interested?"

"Oh? Is it finally done? I see you working tirelessly every day, and now you're bringing home boxes of stuff. Are those days finally over?"

"The things brought home are not related to the game, but to the Spring Festival. But that's not important. What matters is the game! Aren't you interested in the game?"

"So, it's done?"

According to Cioara's understanding, if even the trailer for the game hasn't been released, then it's definitely not done.

Perhaps there's some progress that Bronie wants to show off?

"It's almost done. Just a few minor things left, like setting up servers, finding game-breaking bugs, and anti-cheat measures."

"But that's not done yet!"

"It's the promotional video! I spent a lot of time on both the story trailer and the actual gameplay trailer!"

Is it really just a promotional video?

"Undertale was without a trailer, Spiritfarer did, Civilization did. But I always felt there wasn't much description of the gameplay mechanics inside, so this time I finally decided to make an actual gameplay trailer, right?"

"After all, it's a big project, so the promotional methods should also go with the flow. If we don't properly explain what kind of game we're making, many people will hesitate because of the high price. So do you want to see the story trailer first or the actual gameplay trailer?"

"Then let's start with the story. I trust your storytelling abilities."

"Well, this time you might be slightly disappointed because the narrative style we used is more fragmented."

With that, Bronie took out her laptop and placed it in front of Cioara.

At the same time, the pre-order page for Elden Ring appeared on the screen.

Two trailers, along with many in-game screenshots.

Swords and magic, knights and armor.

Monsters and warhorses under the setting sun.

Medieval, magical style, just like what's depicted in "Getting Over It with Haxxor Bunny," is an eternal world shrouded under the Erdtree and the Greater Will.

"The fragmented storytelling is for the sake of...?"

"Increasing immersion and discussion, and making the descriptions of in-game items more meaningful."

"Oh, right, that's what it was."

Saying that, Cioara controlled the mouse and clicked the play button.

...

Joint Production of Haxxor Bunny Studio and Schicksal Entertainment.

Powered by a Magical Game Engine.

"It happened an age ago."

A girl's voice slowly came.

On the pitch-black screen, a pair of clasped hands, two pairs of blue puppet hands gently resting on each other's thighs, as if praying for something.

"But when I recall, I see it true.."

The scene shifted, and in the dark forest, a group of people in black robes rode horses.

"On a night of wint'ry fog.

The rune of death was stolen."

Accompanied by the sound of blades piercing flesh.

A man with golden hair lay before the camera.

The dark wound on his back resembled a crawling centipede.

"And the demigods began to fall, starting with Godwyn the Golden.

Queen Marika was driven to the brink."

The body was gradually mutating, and black tears were left in the eyes of the corpse as they opened.

Then an old man slowly placed a golden crown on the throne.

With the old man holding a staff under the golden tree, the camera gradually zoomed out.

It was a royal city under the golden tree, now engulfed in flames of war.

"The Shattering ensued; a war that wrought only darkness.

The Elden Ring was broken, but by whom? And why?"

Countless knights gathered at the city gates, even giants joining the fray.

Giant weapons fell from the sky, wiping out only a small fraction of the sea of people.

The war looked so fierce.

"What could the Demigods ever hope to win by warring?"

On another battlefield stained with blood and sand.

A towering giant stood with folded arms facing a one-armed female warrior.

"'The conqueror of the stars, General Radahn.

And the Blade of Miquella, Malenia the Severed.

These two were the mightiest to remain, and locked horns in combat."

Marlenia abandoned her prosthetic arm for a chance to get closer to Latane.

Using the shoulder connected to that prosthetic arm, Malenia slowly inserted the blade into Radahn's body.

Then a bright red flower bloomed on Marlenia's body.

"But there would be no victor."

"And so, we inhabit a fractured world.

Awaiting the arrival of the Elden Lord."

"Unless of course, thou shouldst take the crown?"

The figure of the puppet's owner with four hands slowly emerged.

Under the ice-cold magical hat, the blue-haired puppet closed its right eye, exuding a mysterious aura as it gazed at the screen.

Who was this puppet? Why was it so beautiful?

Why was the story narrated by her?

What did that soul-like face represent?

From epic battlefields to the vast world of swords and magic, Cioara gradually realized the scale of the game Bronie had made this time.

[Elden Ring, scheduled for release on February 25th?]

"Bronie."

"Yeah?"

"I want to play Elden Ring now. Right now!"

The world of fantasy, filled with swords, monsters and magic!

Back when she was working as a mercenary, Cioara liked to watch things to satisfy her fantasies.

And now, games have reached this level.

Look at this style, these graphics, this music.

It's definitely meticulously crafted!

So Cioara couldn't wait to play this game!

No wonder Bronie worked so hard for so long. It's worth it!

"Let's not be in a hurry. I know you're eager, but the game won't be released until tonight. Why don't you watch the actual gameplay demo first and not get deceived?"

"Okay."