Game Developer in the World of Anime

Before returning home for the Spring Festival, Ichin faced one last task—the National Center Test. As scheduled, it arrived without delay.

On Saturday morning, Ichin and Utaha got up on time with the help of their alarm. After breakfast, accompanied by Utaha's parents, they headed to the exam venue together.

Utaha initially didn't want her parents to come along, but she couldn't say no—after all, this was her final major exam of her high school life. No matter what, her parents wanted to be there for her.

Ichin drove, and the four of them arrived near the testing site. After parking the car, Ichin and Utaha took their exam materials and entered the building with the two parents seeing them off.

The testing site was massive. Unlike the college entrance exams in China, which were held in numerous classrooms across various high schools, here the exams were conducted in large hall-like venues. Rows of desks and chairs were neatly arranged throughout the vast space, with sufficient distance between each student.

Ichin wasn't too concerned about the layout of the exam hall. What mattered more to him was the indoor heating—if it was too cold, that'd be a real problem.

Thankfully, once inside, the heating was more than sufficient.

Ichin and Utaha weren't seated next to each other, so after encouraging her a bit, the two went off to find their respective seats.

It took a bit of time, but Ichin located his desk and began waiting for the exam to start.

Soon enough, the test began.

As soon as he got the paper, Ichin dove in. Science exams posed no challenge for him. Even while studying abroad, he had practiced countless questions—his workload hadn't decreased just because of the environment. Not to mention, he was already naturally strong in the sciences.

The math section didn't include any questions beyond the syllabus or particularly complex problems. Even the last few big questions were familiar territory for him. While others were still scribbling away, Ichin breezed through the paper without a single pause and finished it completely.

After finishing, he carefully reviewed everything. Once sure there were no mistakes, he sat quietly, waiting for the exam to end instead of submitting early.

He wasn't the type to draw attention. It was just a test—why stand out unnecessarily? It was better to stay seated, enjoy the warmth, and wait for the time to run out.

About forty minutes later, the dismissal bell rang. After handing in the paper to the invigilator, Ichin exited the hall. He reunited with Utaha, and together they found her parents who had been waiting outside.

Even though both kids were known for their excellent grades, Utaha's mother still asked nervously the moment they appeared, "How was the exam?"

Ichin and Utaha exchanged a glance.

"Should I go first, or you?"

"I'll go."

Utaha had been smiling ever since she walked out of the exam hall. Holding her mother's arm cheerfully, she said, "Relax, I finished really early. I should get a perfect score. Ichin, you too, right?"

Ichin nodded, "Yeah, I double-checked. No issues. Should be full marks. We can compare answers over lunch and confirm."

Hearing their confident responses, Utaha's mom finally let out a relieved smile and pulled out her phone. "Alright, let's find somewhere to rest and get lunch. I also need to message your mom, Ichin."

After a relaxing lunch, Ichin and Utaha returned to the exam hall for the afternoon session. For the two of them, who had prepared thoroughly, the next part of the test was no problem at all.

After comparing answers again, everything matched perfectly—unless they both happened to be wrong, it was safe to say they both scored full marks.

As for the second day of testing, it went just as smoothly. Neither of them slacked off, and they once again completed the paper faster than anyone else, without encountering a single question they couldn't solve.

Once the exams were finally over and they returned home, Ichin collapsed directly onto the couch.

Seeing Ichin lying down, Peppa, who had been perched on the cat tower, leapt down and trotted over to the sofa. With one big jump, the fat orange cat landed squarely on Ichin's stomach.

"Pffft!!!"

Now weighing over eight pounds—almost nine—Peppa's impact made even the ab-equipped Ichin reflexively curl up from the shock.

Staring at the dazed fluffball peering innocently at him, Ichin sat up and grabbed the cat into his arms, aggressively rubbing its head. "You little rascal, you've got some nerve. Right now it's not too bad, but in two or three years, you'll probably be able to knock someone out cold with a landing like that!"

Peppa simply responded with a clueless little "meow."

Utaha, just coming out of the bedroom, saw the scene and asked curiously, "Ichin, what happened?"

After Ichin recounted Peppa's "crime," Utaha considered her own petite figure and decided it was probably best not to lie on the living room couch from now on—she didn't think she could survive such a landing.

Taking Peppa from Ichin and placing the cat on her lap, Utaha said, "Ichin, we're heading back tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, we are. It's almost New Year's."

Rubbing his belly, Ichin asked, "Uncle and Auntie have everything ready, right?"

"They've been ready for a while. But unlike us, Dad's been really busy lately, so he could only take four days off. Mom will be coming back with him."

"Four days is enough. We won't stay long either. We're just going back to relax over the New Year, no need to stop by the studio this time. Oh, right—we should tell everyone in the group chat that we're heading back tomorrow."

Taking out his phone, Ichin quickly posted a formal reminder in the company group chat about their return home for the holiday—something he'd already mentioned before. He also gave instructions to Hazuki and a few department heads to keep an eye on ongoing projects.

Right after posting, several confirmations rolled in—then Eriri chimed in.

Eriri: I finally beat Arceus!

Well then. No word from her all weekend, and she didn't respond to Yagami Kou's invite either. Turns out she was grinding away at the game at home.

Very quickly, the topic in the group chat shifted from Ichin and Utaha's return to the game Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Clearly, during the weekend break, everyone had been playing it. As expected, many were facing various issues while exploring the game, and now they were turning to the first one to finish it—Eriri—for advice.

Not long after, Sakura Nene also posted that she had finished the game and even included a screenshot as proof.

Looking at the chat, Ichin rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Looks like he had something to keep him occupied during the downtime back home—time to finish the game himself.

*

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