In the test program, Ichin didn't provide any hints about the katana boss, so by the time the afternoon gathering ended, only Aoba had managed to clear it once by sheer luck. Whether the others were good at action games or not, none of them had been able to defeat the katana guy.

At 4 p.m., Ichin shut down the program and smiled at everyone. "Alright, that's enough testing for now. Time to head back and prep for dinner."

The moment she heard "dinner," Kō Yagami's eyes lit up. "Ichin-kun, about that—"

"Sorry, Kō, not today," Ichin said while shutting down the computer. "I'm having dinner with Utaha's parents tonight."

On the side, Rin Toyama smacked Kō lightly, clearly annoyed. "Stop trying to freeload all the time. What, my cooking isn't good enough for you?"

"Of course not!!!" Kō quickly turned to soothe her best friend.

Ichin and Utaha then left the dorm and returned home to prepare for the dinner.

That night, the group chat blew up. The girls who had tested the program earlier couldn't stop discussing strategies to beat the katana guy—it was obvious they were hooked.

Ichin saw the chat too, and even noticed Aoba among the participants. But as the developer, he chose not to join the discussion or respond. Instead, his mind shifted toward another subject—what kind of game he should develop using the engine Sakura Nene had created.

"Battle Block Theater" came to mind as a solid inspiration—rich in levels, diverse in gameplay, and fun with two-player co-op.

But... level design, huh?

Seems like when they're hiring for the company in the future, they'll really need to prioritize candidates with experience and creativity in level design. Right now, they just didn't have enough people like that.

The next day, Monday.

After finishing their classes, Ichin and Utaha arrived at the office.

As soon as they walked in, Aoba and Nene came rushing over, both holding out their hands toward Ichin.

"What now?"

"The program, hand it over!" Nene declared confidently. "I thought it over all night yesterday. I've got a plan now. I can definitely beat him this time!"

Aoba chimed in right after, "Me too, me too! I've got a different strategy from Nene's, but I think mine'll work too. We even made a bet—whoever clears it first has to buy dinner tonight!"

Looking at the two of them so fired up, Ichin sighed and flicked them each on the forehead.

"It's work hours. Stop thinking about games all the time."

Rubbing her sore forehead, Nene complained, "But I finished all my work for today! I even told Umiko, and she said it's fine if you give me the program!"

Aoba nodded, "Same here. I'm done too."

"You're done, huh?"

Hearing that eased Ichin's worry a bit. He'd been afraid they were neglecting work for the game.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll have to check your work first. If it all looks good, I'll send you the program."

For the next half hour, Ichin thoroughly reviewed the work Aoba and Nene had completed that day. After confirming everything, he finally handed over the build to them, much to their excitement.

"It's just a test program, and you're this obsessed... Fine. But listen—today only, and only in the office. When you clock out, make sure you delete everything. Got it?"

"No problem!"

"Got it!"

With permission granted, Aoba and Nene excitedly dashed out of Ichin's office.

"Nene, no cheating! We start at the same time!"

"Hmph, like I'm afraid of you. Kō-nee, mind if I use this spare PC?"

The other members of the art team saw their antics and smiled among themselves.

Most of them had already wrapped up their own tasks, so they casually walked over with drinks in hand, curious to see the program Aoba and Nene had been hyping up all day.

Among the crowd was Shinoda Hajime, who was a big fan of action games.

She sipped her bubble tea while peering at Aoba's screen. "Man, such a shame I missed out yesterday. This looks super fun. Aoba, let me try it later?"

"Sure, but only after I clear it," Aoba replied, then turned to Nene. "Nene, you ready?"

Holding her controller with confidence, Nene answered, "I'm already in. Start the countdown?"

"I got it!" Hajime raised her hand enthusiastically. "3, 2, 1, go!"

On cue, Aoba and Nene started running their characters in perfect sync.

The early stage went smoothly—like slicing through butter. They cleared waves of enemies, including three dogs and the Lothric knight.

But when it came to the final boss—the katana guy—both of them rushed in, trying to outpace each other, and ended up making tiny mistakes. Within five seconds of each other, both got killed by three strikes from the boss.

"Damn it!"

"Let's go again!"

Over in the office, Ichin poked his head out the door, saw the situation, and walked out with a helpless smile. He headed toward HR to arrange the recruitment process.

After that was sorted, Ichin went to Hazuki's office to discuss Nene's game engine. Though he'd mentioned it briefly the day before, this was the real talk.

He had already asked Nene to send the engine to Hazuki for review. When Ichin arrived, Hazuki said:

"I went through Nene's engine—it's solid. Easy to get into and perfect for small-scale game development. Do you already have a game plan for it?"

"I do, though even if it's a small project, we still need it to stand out."

Ichin smiled and continued, "I want to make a 2D cartoon-style platformer that includes puzzles. Something that works both solo and in co-op."

He gave Hazuki a quick rundown of the concept, drawing from "Battle Block Theater," and also talked about starting recruitment.

"Yeah, for this kind of game, good level designers are worth their weight in gold," Hazuki agreed. "Small-scale games need strong style and identity if they're going to sell. And your idea sounds pretty promising. So… are you planning to hand this project over to me?"

"That's right. I want you to take the lead on this one."

Ichin nodded. "You've got a solid background in map and level design. Plus, it's been over a year since you last served as a lead producer. Think of this as a lighter project to get you back in the groove. No rush—we'll flesh out the plan bit by bit, and you can throw in your own ideas too."

With that said, Ichin looked at Hazuki, who had fallen into thoughtful silence.

*