If there’s one major difference between past games—say, those from 20 or 30 years ago—and modern games, it would be “convenience.”
In older games:
– Finding the objective yourself is part of the fun!
That was the philosophy, forcing players to discover their own paths.
But as the digital age advanced rapidly and the mobile gaming market expanded, games began to change.
Difficult games became thoroughly difficult.
But easy games became thoroughly easy.
In some games, players are merely controlling the character’s directional keys to move to the next area.
In extreme cases, even the process of moving to the next stage is automated.
Complete automation.
That includes progressing through missions as well.
“It’s clearly visible. The path to the next stage.”
At the front of Illinois.
A shimmering, circular teleportation array floated on the vast, waveless ocean.
Even to the naked eye, a perfectly still, circular patch on the sea would look unnatural. But if someone had to find that tiny spot on this vast ocean without any guidance? They might have lost their mind.
The entire surrounding area was at least 50 kilometers of open ocean, and yet, the teleportation array leading to the next battlefield was barely 40 meters wide?
There were only three possible ways to locate something like this.
One.
Sailing across the ocean while conducting aerial reconnaissance to survey the entire sea.
However, given the countless monstrous birds that greet Hunters as soon as they enter the Tower, that option would be more trouble than it’s worth.
Two.
Dragging a ship around and manually searching the ocean.
But not everyone can bring a battleship. If a Hunter enters the Tower and finds themselves at sea, the best they can manage would be a lifeboat or a small yacht.
Thus, Three.
Using the special function for advancing to the next floor of the Tower.
[Mission].
[Track Mission].
[Enable Auto-Tracking].
‘A must-have feature in any open-world mobile game.’
Not just an open-world game—a mobile game.
A world that avoids causing players fatigue.
Games that minimize effort tend to have higher revenue, better commercial viability, and receive praise for their convenience.
And thanks to that, I could easily find this teleportation array.
Even on my smartphone’s screen, the teleportation array was glowing, with a shimmering guiding light extending toward it, pointing the way.
‘If I think about the previous game, all of this is supposed to be the Goddess’ guidance, huh.’
Fermata 8X.
Not just a random “8”—this game was built on a long legacy, with entries stretching back to Fermata 1.
It originated on console, but at some point, a numbered sequel was released on mobile instead. Profits from the mobile version funneled back into console game development.
Of course, the company producing the “mainline” series—the one hardcore gamers refer to as the “true origin”—was still based in Japan.
This particular game, however, was developed by NPia in Korea, under a licensed IP agreement.
Thanks to that, [Fermata 8] was experiencing record-breaking sales in Japan.
‘When I eventually take on Japan’s S-Rank Tower, I should drop a little hint about this.’
I would have to go to Japan sooner or later.
The Towers spread across the world, as well as the massive Tower floating in the sky, were still unresolved. Even Japan hadn’t fully cleared its own S-Rank Tower.
Once I cleared the U.S. Towers, would my next goal be the SS-Rank Tower in the sky?
Or should I continue clearing all S-Rank Towers worldwide, going on a global conquest tour?
Either way, I had time.
Even now, as I stood before this teleportation array, preparing to conquer the Golden Gate S-Rank Tower, my mind was already thinking about the next Tower.
“Master, we’re almost at the teleportation array.”
Elaine’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
Illinois had already anchored near the teleportation array, leaving a mere 100 meters of distance between the bow and the shimmering gateway.
“Shall I go in first to scout?”
“Do you think Illinois can fit inside?”
“It could, but if the destination is too small, that would be a problem.”
Elaine clasped her hands lightly.
“We’re currently at sea. But if the next area turns out to be a tiny cave, that would be quite troublesome, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
If I recklessly sent Illinois charging in, only to find out the battlefield was smaller than Illinois itself, that would be a disaster.
“Can I ask you to scout?”
“There’s a chance it won’t end with just scouting.”
Elaine drew the sword strapped to her waist.
“I might just end up wiping everything out.”
“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.”
As I settled into Illinois’ bridge captain’s seat, I booted up a different game—not Fermata, but something else—to track our position.
“If things get dicey, just spread your wings and glide, or dive underwater. If the terrain is too weird, hang in there for a bit. If it looks safe… I’ll bring Illinois in immediately.”
For now, Illinois still had plenty of mana left.
* * *
[At that moment, outside. One of the government buildings in San Francisco. Temporary ‘Golden Gate Bridge Conquest Emergency Situation Room’.]
“…Based on our analysis, this ‘Jump Booster’ appears to be a special function activated through mana emissions.”
A Black woman, standing in front of a serious-looking war room, gestured at a video screen displaying the battleship.
A warship jump.
A seemingly impossible physical phenomenon.
But even if it defied logic, its purpose was somewhat understandable.
“This is just my personal opinion, but…”
The A-Rank Hunter—who was also a mother of two sons—glanced at the others, then suddenly hopped lightly in place.
“My kids never just walk in games. They always spam the jump button. Maybe it’s something like that?”
“…Big Angel?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“How do we spin this into something believable for the public?”
“……”
At President Luigi’s words, the war room fell silent.
Advisors, senators, state governors, and even A-Rank Hunter Big Angel exchanged uncertain glances.
“This is our job, ladies and gentlemen.”
Luigi’s voice was calm but firm.
“Even if this behavior resembles that of ‘young gamers,’ it is our responsibility to frame it in a way that is politically neutral, heroic, and strategically sound.”
“You’re talking about image-making?”
“Right. Just as you’ve built my image within my own camp, you must also craft an image for [Master]. Not just a simple ‘he jumped a battleship for no reason,’ but a convincing explanation.”
“…For starters, there’s the matter of ‘elevation difference’.”
One of the aides pointed at the screen displaying the battleship before it jumped.
“The entrance to the Golden Gate Tower is positioned above sea level, so we can simply say he jumped to reach it.”
“Because he didn’t have access to levitation or wings, that’s how we’ll justify it?”
“Yes. It’s not like the ship has side-mounted thrusters allowing it to transform into some kind of flying aircraft carrier.”
“Then…”
President Eisen Armstrong Luigi pressed his index finger against his lips in thought.
The people in the war room instinctively glanced around, as if someone might be eavesdropping.
“…Should we just have Illinois gain ‘flight capabilities’ in all future games?”
“It would be better to introduce a separate summonable airship instead. I’ve seen my son play Poke—mon, and when he needs a bird, he summons a bird. When he needs a fish, he summons a fish.”
“…Hah.”
President Luigi leaned back slightly, sighing.
“Trying to understand games at my age isn’t easy. If I’d known this would happen, maybe I should’ve played Nintendo with my friends instead of playing football.”
“But thanks to your football background, you managed to rescue that child from the collapsed dungeon and became president.”
“Well, yes… but still. Hah. Alright, listen up.”
Luigi straightened and raised one finger.
“Regardless of the past, now that we know that [Master]’s power is rooted in ‘games,’ we must support this industry at a national level.”
“…Gaming?”
“No need to overcomplicate it. During the nuclear arms race, physics and aerospace engineering became national priorities. In the era of the Towers, the best method for conquering them is, as it turns out, games.”
“But isn’t this limited to just one person?”
“Do you really think so? What if there are others we haven’t found yet? Or what if future Awakened manifest abilities like [Master]? Even if [Master] is the only one…”
President Luigi nodded firmly, his expression resolute.
“If that one person can save America—and the world—then it’s not just the U.S. that should support him. The whole world should.”
Then, quietly, he traced an S-shape on the table with his finger.
“Who knows? When he leaves for another country, he might leave behind a super-powerful summon to protect America.”
“Oh.”
Big Angel raised her hand.
“If we’re talking about a summon from a game, rather than a comic or a movie…”
“What about it?”
“Well, uh… that S-Man from that one game…”
Big Angel scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“Wasn’t that the game where he turned evil and ruled the world with his power…?”
* * *
The Fifth Summon.
Of course, as I continued working through Kiharu’s quests, I had been steadily accumulating more Full Limit Break, Full Refinement characters from past games.
“Alice?”
[You finally called me!]
…
“What’s with that reaction?”
[You only ever call me when you need something!]
“That’s… because I call you when I need you.”
[Hmph…]
The AI assistant of the Summon Management App, Alice, made a pouty expression.
A small pop-up window in the lower right corner of the screen displayed her sulking expression, so I rubbed my thumb over the screen.
“Hey, do you want to come outside?”
[Huh?]
“Like the others, do you want to materialize outside? If so, I can look into it.”
[T-That’s… not exactly impossible, but…]
“Wait.”
Just to be sure—
“You don’t want to become Illinois’ AI, do you?”
[What?]
“Like, integrating into Illinois as its control AI.”
[Ah, no, that’s not possible.]
I had expected her to want it, but surprisingly, Alice refused outright.
‘Not a rejection, but a denial?’
Not just no, but not possible.
[It’s not that it’s impossible, but… Illinois is Illinois.]
“…You make it sound like there’s already an AI in there.”
[Well, uh…]
Alice neither confirmed nor denied it, but I understood immediately.
‘So, something will unlock later.’
Illinois.
It wasn’t time yet—if something was meant to awaken, I just had to wait until it emerged on its own.
For now, the battleship handled combat and navigation flawlessly, so this was something beyond my control.
“Alice.”
[Yes!]
“Honestly, I just called you to chat.”
[…]
“I mean, look at the situation.”
Inside my smartphone screen—
“No one can stop Elaine from advancing to the next floor.”
Elaine unleashed overwhelming strength, cutting through the monstrous birds infesting the next floor.
Before their blood could even splatter, she moved like lightning, stepping on their bodies mid-air to leap toward the next level.
“Damn.”
Before I knew it, she had reached the Boss Room’s entrance.
When she stepped inside—
It was another vast ocean.
“…!!”
Just ocean.
And soaring above the sea, a colossal bird-like monster, easily over 30 meters in size.
“Drei. Retrieve all drones.”
“All of them?”
“Yeah. I need them for something… looks like I have to go in myself.”
I extended one hand toward the sky.
“I’m heading into the Boss Room.”
