The diplomatic envoy of the Kingdom of Ra, led by Prince Lethers, made its appearance at the palace.
They were dressed in red fantasy outfits with an Oriental flair that would fit right in a reincarnation story.
Amidst the imposing figures carrying the dragon-emblazoned flag, there stood a man.
He looked like a muscular heavy-weight Thai champion with black hair styled in a ponytail, reminiscent of a UFC fighter from my previous life.
That man was none other than ‘Lethers Ra Dragonheart’,
the second prince of the Kingdom of Ra and a passionate fan of the Legend Fighter, the one who challenged me to a match, forcing me into hellish training.
“Y-Youren, are you okay? Your eyes are red.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Sylvia, I just got a week of bullying.”
“B-Bullying?”
Having endured a week of hellish training from masters averaging 300 years old, I was dragged along to the state visit event, flanked by the most serious observers masquerading as guards instead of Minister Herness and Mineva, with Sylvia by my side.
On hearing about my predicament, Sylvia, who had also been invited to the state event, found me and came over to offer her support.
“Youren, they say you opened a fighting arena and became a champion.”
“Yeah, it just happened…”
“Seriously, if you were so interested in martial arts, you could have told me. I could have arranged for you to participate in the [Colosseum Arena].”
“Uh… Sylvia? I think there’s a big misunderstanding…”
Though there were indeed some misunderstandings, the state event proceeded smoothly.
“Prince Lethers Ra Dragonheart of the Kingdom of Ra meets Her Majesty Queen Olivia Aurelia of the Zers Empire.”
“On behalf of the Zers Empire, we welcome your visit for the purpose of peace.”
Prince Lethers bowed respectfully to the queen and the emperor, the queen offered words of good fortune, everyone posed for a commemorative photo, and handshakes were shared among the officials, and so on, and so on.
As I watched the proceedings of this state event, which I thought had nothing to do with me, my mind began to drift.
“Who am I… and why am I here…”
“Pull yourself together, Youren. Once the official event is over, it’ll be your turn.”
With my mind swirling, Sylvia poked me in the side with her finger.
Sylvia was dressed in a sapphire-blue dress that was as beautiful as the gem itself.
I, meanwhile, was wearing a tuxedo remarkably similar to one from my previous life, my hair slicked back in a noble style, feeling immensely uncomfortable.
I just wanted to go home and develop games.
That thought crossed my mind as I surveyed the bustling palace filled with people.
Just then, amidst the crowd, I noticed him approaching.
Dressed in the red attire of royalty, he strode towards me boldly, flanked by maidens and followers.
“The wizard Youren greets Prince Lethers!”
“The Edward Family’s Sylvia greets Prince Lethers!”
I greeted in accordance with palace etiquette.
Am I doing this right?
Receiving my greeting, Prince Lethers laughed heartily.
Seeing him up close, I thought he looked like a Muay Thai fighter I had seen in my previous life.
“Haha! So you’re the one who created the Legend Fighter, Youren! Nice to meet you!”
As I grasped the prince’s hand, he suddenly began to squeeze it.
What the!? Is this some new form of sexual harassment?
Contrary to my alarm, Prince Lethers spoke earnestly.
“Hmm, from the feel of your hand, it seems you have little experience in fighting. How many years have you trained in martial arts?”
“It’s been about four months.”
“What! Four months?”
“Yes.”
To be precise, it had been four months and a week, but I said it as roughly four months.
The prince looked shocked at my fist, which bore none of the hardened calluses typical of trained warriors.
“Remarkable! You’ve created a ‘Legend Fighter’ with just four months of training?”
“I might not understand the essence of martial arts, but I just created what I felt while learning, and it turned into a Legend Fighter.”
While my martial arts training had only lasted four months, I had been playing fighting games for ten years in my previous life, and that experience played a huge role.
…But I couldn’t exactly say that, so I framed it to sound nice.
There was nothing incorrect about my words.
After learning from [Street Fighter 2] and [King of Fighters], I had developed it, after all.
Prince Lethers, seeming to find a kindred spirit in me, gazed at me warmly.
Did I say something weird?
“Remarkable! To reach such heights in merely four months, you truly must be a genius of martial arts.”
The prince looked at me as if he understood everything.
For some reason, it seemed that my earlier words resonated with him, igniting his fighting spirit.
“Oh… no, really. Your Highness, I’m just an ordinary wizard who develops games.”
“Haha! How humble! Ah! Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something when we met.”
“Yes, anything.”
The prince suddenly wore a very serious expression.
His serious demeanor made me think he was about to ask something important.
I discreetly signaled to Sylvia, asking her to intervene if things went south, and she nodded.
In that moment, Prince Lethers asked:
“What character do you primarily play in Legend Fighter?”
“Huh?”
“Whoa… Your Highness?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I was momentarily stunned.
Looking at Sylvia, she also seemed to be stunned.
With all seriousness, Prince Lethers continued.
“When my henchmen and I tried it, Curie felt oddly weak while Blanc felt strong. I wanted to find out if you liked Blanc.”
Curie was weak in aerial combat while Blanc specialized in aerial attacks.
This concerned character matchup made me think that the prince believed I favored Blanc for those reasons.
As a game developer from my previous life, I knew the answer to such questions.
“I love all characters, Your Highness.”
They are all my characters, and I love them all.
There are no exceptions.
Upon hearing my words that carried a developer’s pride, the prince seemed to sense something deeper.
“Haha! So you love all martial arts! Truly impressive words for someone who created a Legend Fighter! Yes, that’s the way to be!”
Um… I’m not exactly in love with martial arts, but I suppose that’s one way to interpret it?
It was too much trouble to correct him, so I just nodded with an understanding expression.
“Speaking of which, Youren, I hear you are a wizard. Isn’t it a disadvantage to only rely on martial arts?”
As casual conversation transitioned into a duel discussion, the prince’s carefree nature was quite striking.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to duel you while utilizing all your magic. What do you think?”
Allowing me to use my magic freely?
I was very grateful for this.
In the context of this other world, the primary distinction between magic and martial arts was the incantation.
For martial spells, the essence was to use non-incantation spells quickly.
Using magic with slow chants resulted in powerful wide-area spells, while non-incantation usage categorized it as martial arts.
However, if I could use fully incanted spells, my chances of winning against the prince would leap from a measly 20% to over 70%.
I seriously considered the prince’s proposal.
But…
“Thank you for your consideration, but I’m good, Your Highness.”
“Why? Do you think you’re sparing me?”
At my refusal, the prince’s face darkened.
He seemed to think I was letting him win simply because of his royal status.
There’s nothing that pricks a warrior’s pride quite like being pitied.
“I’m not a warrior. But Your Highness, I am ‘the person who created the Legend Fighter.’ I believe that should suffice as my answer.”
Just as warriors hold their own pride, I had my own pride as a game developer of Legend Fighter.
And that pride was clearly stating, “I want to clear on hardcore mode!”
Upon hearing my words, the prince was momentarily taken aback and then burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha! I have no doubt that dueling you would be a blast! I can already tell it would be more entertaining than crossing borders, haha!”
Thud! Thud!
The prince genuinely struck my shoulder, and the impact was so strong that I thought my shoulder might dislocate.
Then, he earnestly encouraged me, saying, “I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow’s duel, Youren.”
With that, Prince Lethers, taking his maidens and followers, left.
Sylvia, looking concerned, asked me, “Youren… are you regretting this?”
“No way! It’s fine, Sylvia; I would never regret—why did I say something so crazy!”
Ah, I’ve really messed up my brain cells with this hardcore mode nonsense.
Thus, I, knowingly or unknowingly, had selected hardcore mode for myself.
