Unexpected Situation

After saving all the data, he turned off the PC and went to the store on the ground floor. He hadn't cleaned his house or the store in five days, and during that time, he had depleted the stocked food at home, so he needed to replenish his supplies.

He lived in a two-story building situated in a residential area. It only took a few minutes to reach the city area from his neighborhood.

He bought some items from the nearest store. Afterwards, he used a cleaning machine to tidy up both the store and his living area.

Then, he prepared a simple meal and went to sleep. After working non-stop for four days with little sleep, he was exhausted.

...

While Leo was asleep, his game made a small splash in the gaming community. Over time, this splash would continue to grow larger and larger.

...

Rohan was an ordinary high school student who lived with his parents in a city apartment. After completing his school assignment, he opened his phone.

"Recently, only boring games have been available. They simply copy popular games without introducing any new or original ideas, making the games feel dull and repetitive," he complained upon seeing that the newly released game was just a replica of another game without any innovative elements.

"It's been two weeks since I played a good game. It was so enjoyable to grind occasionally in a game. I wonder if those fools have discovered anything worth playing," he chuckled, recalling his friends. He then opened the group chat and inquired, "Hey, Dummies, has anyone found a better game?" Instant replies flooded in.

"Hey, focus on studying, the exams are coming up soon. And no, I haven't found any good games to play either. Those developers haven't uploaded any decent ones; they just keep copying others."

"NO! I haven't found anything either."

"Me neither."

He sighed at the responses. He lived with his father and mother. Although they weren't wealthy, they had enough money for their needs. However, if he asked his parents for money to buy games, they would scold him.

He had a decent PC, but without any money to buy games, he couldn't play them. So his only option was to search for free games, be it on mobile or PC, but the chances of finding a free PC game were slim.

Just then, one of his friends replied to him.

"Hey, look, a new game is available, and it doesn't seem like a copy."

Feeling skeptical, but still intrigued, he replied.

"Okay, I'll check it out."

He then opened the game store on his phone and clicked on the new section. Sure enough, he saw a new game icon—a golden statue face. He clicked on it, and the game description appeared. He saw the install button and clicked on that. The game was about 500 MB.

Within a few seconds, the game downloaded, and he opened it. Initially, he didn't think much of it, but as he continued playing, he became enthralled.

Though the game wasn't extraordinary, it brought him great satisfaction. He was so engrossed in the game that an hour passed before he realized it.

He only stopped playing when his mother called him for dinner. But before leaving, he posted about the game on his social media.

Though he wasn't popular, he had hundreds of internet friends who shared his interests. Thus, his post was viewed by many, and they too tried the new game.

Similar situations were unfolding elsewhere; some stumbled upon the game by chance and shared it with their friends after playing.

Thanks to word-of-mouth and internet sharing, the game quickly gained popularity. As more people enjoyed the game, it spread even further, giving it a significant boost.

Furthermore, the leaderboard feature allowed players to compete with friends and relatives, adding another layer of engagement.

And just like that, the night passed. Many people were already asleep, so the game's popularity remained relatively low.

But as morning broke, people awoke to discover that many of their friends were engrossed in a new game that had just become available. Naturally, their curiosity was piqued, prompting them to give the game a try and subsequently recommend it to others.

This sudden surge in popularity gave the game a significant boost, despite its limited release only in Leo's country. Consequently, it remained unknown to many that such a game even existed.

Meanwhile, Leo, the mastermind behind the game's creation, slept peacefully, completely oblivious to the burgeoning excitement. Exhausted from his efforts, he had set his alarm for 10 am.

After the alarm had persistently sounded three times, he finally stirred awake. Feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep, he rose from his bed, took a shower, and enjoyed a hearty breakfast before opening his café. Despite the game's potential success, Leo remained practical, understanding the need to continue supporting himself financially.

Unbeknownst to Leo, his game had gained overnight popularity. Had he been aware, his perspective might have been different.

As Leo manned the counter, his first customer, William, entered the store. Recognizing him as a regular, Leo greeted him warmly.

"Leo, where have you been lately? The store hasn't been open," remarked William, a man in his early thirties who frequented Leo's shop with his daughter.

"I've been tied up with other matters. Why are you alone today? Where's your daughter?" Leo inquired, though not particularly close to William.

"Kids these days, she's hooked on a new game. Couldn't drag her out today," sighed William. "With the influx of new games, it's hard to keep up. Tried the latest one myself; it's quite entertaining. It's good you are fine, Leo. I'll only need the computer for half an hour today," he added, passing a card to Leo while describing about the new game.

Deducting the price for the half-hour slot, Leo returned the card to William, along with a chip for accessing the computer, which would deactivate once the time was up.

As the man headed towards the nearest computer, Leo thought, "Didn't I just upload the game yesterday? How could people already be playing it?" According to the man's description, the game he was referring to belonged to Leo, as there were no other endless running games in the market.

But how could a game become popular so quickly? It had only been about 15 hours since the game was uploaded.

Leo had forgotten that the gaming landscape in this world was different. While his assumptions might hold true on Earth, the situation here was distinct. He had underestimated the gaming craze in this world.

He proceeded to open the computer and logged into the publishing platform using his developer account.

Immediately, he noticed numerous notifications. Clicking on them, he began to read. Most of the notifications were regarding reviews and downloads of his game.

There were thousands of reviews, and the downloads had already reached almost half a million. Most of the reviews were positive, which wasn't surprising.

However, Leo hadn't anticipated the game's immense popularity. It had only been one night, and the downloads were still increasing. At this rate, the game would soon surpass a million downloads.

Observing this, he recalled the process of earning System points. He had previously disregarded it due to the seemingly outrageous method of acquisition.

For every million earned by his game, he would receive one SP point. Thus, if he wished to acquire high-level game knowledge, he needed to earn billions through his game—a feat he deemed unlikely in a short period.

However, considering the game's overnight success, Leo speculated that he might be able to purchase a Game Knowledge pack [C] soon enough. Acquiring a higher-level pack would prove more challenging. He hadn't even contemplated purchasing individual packs, as obtaining a complete pack could be more advantageous. Therefore, he resolved to accumulate enough System points to purchase a full pack.

Fortunately, Leo realized that he didn't need to exchange money for SP, meaning that once he earned a million, he could obtain one SP without spending a single cent.

[Game Knowledge Full pack] [F] - 200 System points, [E] - 350 System points, [D] - 550 System points, [C] - 700 System points, [B] - 3000 System points