Bab 119: Chapter 119: The Visit of the Aeon

Both Haxxor Bunny's game company and the players have long been accustomed to the casual attitude towards the release of Haxxor Bunny's games.

It's more accurate to say that this time, Haxxor Bunny's release of a new game actually came with a preview several months in advance!

Such a thing is really very rare.

With the anime-like graphics of 3D rendering combined with cool and refreshing combat special effects, a wave of fighting fervor has also swept through the internet.

Coupled with Schicksal announcing that they will hold a fighting game competition in the future, with a total prize pool of up to one million US dollars!

What's the concept of one million? It could kill so many people even with rat poison!

So, for the sake of this one million, many players have flocked to it. And this fighting game sold one hundred thousand copies on the first day alone!

The servers were full, and there were also many streamers playing on live platforms, of course, driving the gaming peripheral industry as well.

Welt, who was completely unaware of Otto, Bronie and the Scientists of Elysian Realm going about with the Imaginary Tree experiments, also bought it without hesitation after seeing the fighting game released.

He wasn't particularly interested in things like prizes anyway. He also knew that this fighting game would test the player's patience, requiring a lot of time for tedious training.

Mainly, it was because of Haxxor Bunny's prestigious name. He really wanted to know what kind of game Haxxor Bunny had to make to be considered interesting in Bronie's eyes.

As a result, when he opened SBEAM, there was a whopping 80GB of downloadable content, leaving Welt speechless with surprise.

Fortunately, it was morning now, and he had to go to class in a while. The computer in the employee dormitory was still on, so he could just play it when he got back at night!

After finally enduring today, when Welt opened the game, he saw something called "Story Mode."

A story mode in a fighting game!?

Welt was curious to see what tricks this story mode had up its sleeve.

After all, the stories made by Haxxor Bunny were top-notch.

Every time the plot matched the visuals, there was an inexplicable feeling of "this is a work of art!"

To be honest, Welt even wanted to ask Bronie to collaborate with Homu Entertainment as a screenwriter and AAnti Entropy to produce a brand-new series of Alahato animations.

Welt could feel that Bronie was also very fond of giant robots.

But now that things had come to this, it was better not to think too much about those issues.

Let's watch the game's plot first, and then play the game.

As for the plot mode of the fighting game, if things went as expected, it would definitely be the kind where there's combat while the plot unfolds, and then it's all over in a simple and straightforward manner.

The background of the Guilty Gear game is set in a world that diverged after the end of World War II.

Originally, the world would have developed according to its intended rules, but in ancient times, a human who was called 'The Original' discovered a world called the "Backyard," which contained information and rules about all things in the world.

In this world, all rules were included, and using the information from this world, reality could be easily rewritten.

It was like magic.

In order to better utilize that world, the sage created an intelligent AI named 'Universal Will', setting it to guide humans to happiness and to ensure that this happiness would last forever.

However, during the long process of self-learning, the AI began to doubt the definition of humanity and even started to speculate about the future of humanity.

The result was that when humans developed to a certain extent, after all dreams were realized and everything was within reach, they lost happiness.

As all philosophy cannot escape nihilism, the AI's calculations seemed to have some strange problems, such as when everything developed to the point where everything was meaningless and humans could not feel "happiness" in anything, would its mission be considered successful?

Obviously, since The Original set it that it couldn't harm humans, under such extreme conflict, the AI malfunctioned!

The malfunctioning AI began to try to create its own definition of humanity and used that part of humanity to achieve its mission of completion.

The Original noticed this, but it seemed that there was no way to stop it. So, The Original's disciples stood up and prepared different strategies against the AI's attempt to destroy humanity.

One chose to restrict the development of human technology, to keep humans as the AI defined them, to keep humans constantly seeking happiness, and after World War II, they established a hidden special organization called the Senate.

Of course, the other disciple chose to spread the magic that the sage had mastered, and through ether energy, developed a whole new path. And using this power, they created biological weapons called Gears to thoroughly eliminate this AI in the future "Backyard" world!

It's just that the Gears were controlled by the AI, and in World War II gave birth to the First Herrscher, while the Millennium gave birth to the Second Herrscher.

The birth setting of the Gear Cell in 2016 seemed to be implying something, and Welt, who was sensitive, noticed this point, but the subsequent story completely departed from the original world background.

Ether magic, changing reality, could even remodel cells?

Welt still remembered Bronie claiming her ability was actually a special effect edited out through some kind of control over ether.

Each character had their own arcade mode and storyline, but the main story mode was driven by the characters Sol and Ky.

After staying up all night to finish the story mode, Welt found out that the story mode didn't involve any fighting at all!

That's right, the entire story mode was purely animation, rendered as 2D style from 3D models, presented as cartoons to the players!

If calculated by time, one episode was about twenty minutes, and if there were twelve episodes in a season, there would probably be content for two seasons of the plot.

When he finally realized it, Welt found out that he had actually spent the whole night watching the plot!

The story was somewhat king-like, with blood, tears, and a lot of exploration of the meaning of life, as well as some uplifting plots.

But watching all this, Welt was also filled with excitement and couldn't help but want to share it with others, and then immediately play the game, compare it with others, fight through that so-called magic, and recreate those scenes from the plot.

But now it was late, and just because of this plot mode, he didn't even get to play the game.

Was this fair?

Welt also felt a bit mentally exhausted.

Putting anime production into the game, Only Bronie can think of this!

There was also a lot of discussion online.

"Did you just buy anime to get the game for free?"

"Why are there so many characters in the plot? How can you resist releasing only fifteen characters on the first release? I can imagine how many DLC characters there will be later."

"Why isn't Nagoriyuki in the plot? When will the new plot come out?"

"Where is Elphelt! I want to play Elphelt and Dizzy!"

"I got crushed by the Dolphin, got stunned by Millia, got cried on by Ky, why are all the characters so sticks to me so much!"

"Seriously, playing Nagoriyuki, no matter how much you win, it's fake. They are everwhere! it's really a super-performance freak!"

"The plot is over, but I haven't played the game, this game is really cool!"

"As an experienced fighting game player, every time I enter the beginner tutorial, I learn something new, never skip the beginner tutorial!"

----

"Sister Bronie! This time, Bronya will definitely defeat you!"

After the game was released, the response was pretty good, and quite a few novice players bought this fighting game.

Of course, some players recorded all the plot modes and posted them online.

Bronie didn't refuse this behavior, after all, there were still many players who didn't dare to buy the fighting game because of it, and the essence of this plot was also used by Bronie to attract casual players.

So as long as this video wasn't monetized, Bronie wouldn't refuse to put the plot on the internet.

But some people complained that Bronie was neglecting her main job and actually making animations.

Putting down her phone, Bronie temporarily didn't plan to read any comments about Guilty Gear, but instead looked at Bronya.

"Recently, Kalpas has been looking for me about challenging me in Guilty Gear, and Homu Entertainment wants to collaborate with me to make animations. Next, I have to plan the production of Evil Within. I'm really too busy!"

"Oh... alright... then best of three?"

"Let's play a ten-game match, as long as I win ten games, it's over, but this time, I won't go easy on you~"

Bronie chose May, the character who uses dolphins, while Bronya locked in Leo.

"It seems like you've completely researched the characters?"

"That's right, Bronya found that in terms of boxing and standing recovery, Leo has a great advantage over May."

"But there's one thing you forgot, and that is, in the face of absolute strength, this slight advantage in boxing and standing recovery cannot determine the outcome of the match!"

The game started directly!

Although Bronya's choice was indeed not wrong and made the match easier, Bronie always managed to seize the opportunity to launch a big wave.

Although familiar with Bronie's boxing, this time Bronie used a completely new set of tricks, making Bronya feel uncomfortable all over.

[Hahaha! Ahaha, what does Aha see! A new game! And it's a fighting game! Ahaha, Aha wants to play with Bronie! Ahaha,Aha wants to play with Bronie!]

"Want to play? You have to wait until I finish playing with Bronya first."

"Ah? Sis Bronie, who are you talking to?"

Hearing Bronie suddenly speak, Bronya was also startled.

"It's nothing, it's the Aeon of Elation Aha, let's finish the game first."

This time Bronie used many new moves, and by using different rhythms of dolphin attacks, she directly bypassed the standing recovery move.

In addition, Bronie was not very familiar with these new moves, and as a result, she made several mistakes in succession, losing more and more.

Although occasionally there were chances to take down one life, the key to victory in one game lay in two out of three.

Winning once doesn't mean anything.

But...

Aeon of Elation?

Nothing?

Was Sis Bronie okay!?

This is called nothing?

Bronya's mentality was slightly affected, and her operation gradually became erratic.

The result was a solid 3-0.

Bronie also put down the controller helplessly.

"Although the character selection is indeed very good, if you want to say that standing recovery is really powerful, the Ninja is the best option. As long as you don't get hit, there's no damage, and as long as you suppress hard enough, there's no need to worry about being hit."

This fighting game, Guilty Gear, had such a radical style.

Bronya nodded, taking Bronie's advice.

Then Bronie said, "Bring the chair over there, and let the Aeon sit, so, Lord of Elation, please take a seat?"

Bronya clumsily brought the chair over, placed it beside Bronie, and then made room and sat obediently aside.

Suddenly feeling a little dry in her eyes, Bronya rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she suddenly saw a figure that had appeared out of nowhere.

The figure was entirely black, with a red smiling mask on its face.

"Would you like something to drink? Coke or tea?"

"Of course it's Coke! Coke is the legendary otaku happy water, so of course the Aeon of Elation should drink a happy drink!"

Bronie gave Bronya a wink, and Bronya understood, quickly leaving the office.

Then The Elation slowly picked up the controller.

"Hehe, why hide this character so deeply? Aha wants to play this one!"

Then something, or someone appeared in the character selection screen, someone who isn't supposed to be in the game yet!

This was the third character in the DLC plan for the first quarter!

Happy Chaos.

A character who plays with pistols, in the game background, is the man called 'The Original' who discovered the 'Backyard' world.

At the same time, he is also the core character of the game's plot for the next quarter.

But Bronie hadn't finished this character yet, so how did it suddenly appear in the game?

"Alright, alright, is it ten or twenty?"

"Of course it's thirty!"

If it's thirty, it's probably going to take a lot of time to play.

And facing the Aeon, using the tricky character Happy!

"Is there a reward for winning?"

"Hehehe, ahaha, Aha won't tell you~ But ahaha, Aha really like this character's image, it looks super fun!"

Beside her, the Aeon slowly transformed, gradually becoming the appearance of Happy.

Even the pistol, and those super stylish sunglasses, were made so realistic.

"So when are you updating the plot?"

"I've already extracted the game data, you still can't get the plot?"

"Cheating to see the plot early is no fun at all, so ahaha, Aha has to wait for you to make it!"

Wow, they are like urging for more updates...

But indeed, in a certain sense, Happy Chaos is quite similar to Aha.

There are also some overlaps in the lore.

"If I lose, I'll start making it immediately, and if I win, when to make it will be up to me!"

"A bit interesting, want to gamble with Aha? Hehehe, then Aha has to play with you seriously!"

PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Bismarck_Imperia

Want to read advanced chapters? go to my patréon for up to the current available chapters: Chapter 221.

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Pilih

Bab 120: Chapter 120: Aha's Reward

Initially, Aha's actions were quite clumsy.

Bronie, who didn't want to be pestered for updates, also took action without any scruples.

The Aeon of Elation?

He definitely didn't care about the outcome; what he cared about was the joy he encountered while playing the game.

At first, Aha's gameplay with Happy appeared so dull, but he quickly developed a combat style and began to counterattack Bronie's pressure. Happy, the character Aha played, relied on three resources: energy, bullets, and ordinary Qi.

When aiming with a gun, energy was consumed for targeting, bullets were used from the pistol's magazine, and reloading required inputting commands. Moreover, during aiming, there was no defense, which meant players using Happy had to constantly monitor their resources and the timing of their shots.

Happy was a challenging character to master, but once learned, he became quite tricky to deal with. Aha was well aware of this, constantly adjusting his fighting style.

With each victory, Bronie could feel Aha growing stronger. After Bronie won ten rounds, the difficulty of winning gradually increased.

In the fifteenth round, Aha began to counterattack, even winning a game or two!

"You're really good! Does an Aeon's physique mean he learns everything very quickly?"

"Quickly? Not really. Watch this move!"

Suddenly, Aha aimed it's gun, closing the distance with Bronie's character and maintaining suppression while mixing in many feints.

From diving low to standing mid, this series of moves was something only Bronie had seen skilled players execute in previous matches.

After this onslaught, Bronie's character was quickly defeated, leaving only the screen showing Happy's victory.

"Wow, cool! This is how it was originally designed. But long-range cursing followed by using pistols to control is also a viable strategy. I didn't expect you to not explore that approach but instead come up with an even more aggressive playstyle."

Bronie generously praised, while the Aeon of Elation who resembled Happy beamed with joy.

"Ahaha! Is Aha amazing or what?"

"Amazing!"

However, there was still some distance to go before defeating herself.

After Bronie won twenty rounds, Aha gradually began to win.

After winning twenty-five rounds, Aha started winning even more.

With precise commands, the ability to seize fleeting opportunities, solid defense, and a very experienced mindset, Aha seemed like a veteran fighter who had been playing for decades. Initially unfamiliar with Guilty Gear, after becoming accustomed to the controls, Aha's strength gradually emerged.

To be honest, Bronie couldn't be sure if Aha had any previous experience with fighting games.

Where there was fun, Aha would be present, and games were definitely something he wouldn't miss out on. And games, weren't they present in other worlds too?

So Aha's foundation in fighting games was undoubtedly unquestionable.

However, Aha's clumsy actions at the beginning had somewhat deceived Bronie.

"You're really amazing. It's only interesting when there's a suitable opponent!"

Bronie became serious!

The Setsuna Signet provided extraordinary reflexes, Bodhi Signet provided almost prophetic observational abilities, and Ego Signet provided the unleashing of human potential.

The power of the Thirteen Flamechasers converged here, and this was the first time Bronie had been so serious!

"Haha! Interesting! Let's do it!"

Aha had won fifteen games already. Catching up to Bronie's twenty-five wins wasn't difficult, but this time, Bronie changed her usual fighting style and used a more aggressive approach.

"Weird, you've gotten stronger too~ Aha, that's it, let me see your limits!"

Bronie effortlessly won, and Aha also realized that its every move seemed to be anticipated. If he made one wrong move, it would definitely be exploited by the opponent!

The pressure once again fell on Aha. In these final few rounds of battle, Bronya watching them seeing almost flawless performances and nearly fatal situations couldn't help but feel that she was actually very distant from her sister.

Could it be that Bronie could really defeat an Aeon!?

"Yay! I won!"

The gap in the previous scores was difficult to recover, even though every subsequent moment of instantaneous defense brought favorable situations. It was like a candle in the wind, which was unable to change the outcome.

Bronie emerged victorious!

"Alright! What kind of reward do you want?"

A bet was a bet, but as a reward for surpassing themselves, Aha wouldn't hesitate to give generously.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Honestly, it would be great if I could play games with you more often in the future. When I'm serious, my reaction skills are exceptional, and hardly anyone can defeat me. So, I've been missing out on the joy of playing games."

Bronie wasn't sure what reward to ask for, but during this game, she gradually realized that without challenges, her interest in playing games would fade.

Even her passion for making games might disappear.

The essence of playing games lies in enjoyment. Without finding joy, enthusiasm will surely dissipate and Bronie doesn't want to see that happen.

The initial intention of making fighting games was to find someone to play with and have fun together. Later, while playing with Bronya, she realized that Bronya's battles were like a child playing pretend fights.

"Haha! You're the first person to invite Aha to play. Normally, mortals don't want to play with Aha. Aha has to entertain himself. You're the first mortal to invite Aha! Aha rewards you! You must play with Aha more often!"

Indeed, no matter what, Aha was a transcendent being. The power it wielded was beyond mortal comprehension and contact.

Moreover, no one would suggest inviting Aha to play.

While the Aeon Akvilli interacted with followers in a friendly manner, Aha represented chaos.

Back when Aha's expression changed after witnessing the explosion of the Astral Express, no one knew how long they had lurked aboard the train. This made everyone afraid of catching Aha's attention and becoming its amusement.

For some, Amusement was just a small joke, but for certain people, it was deadly.

Having fun was fine, even offering fun to the gods was acceptable, but excessive contact was risky. What if one day an Aeon became disheartened and wanted to see how their followers' faith collapsed?

But Bronie was willing to take that risk.

"That's good. Playing games will be more challenging from now on!"

Bronie watched as Aha chugged down the cola brought by Bronya and then slowly stood up.

The Aeon of Elation wearing its Happy persona took out a revolver from its waist and placed it on the table.

"Here's your gift, an ancient magical device, six rounds of automatic tracking, quick casting, a great tool for taking advantage of opportunities. You'll love it."

"Mm-hmm, I'll use it for some Wild West duels."

"HAha! Aha will be watching live then. Farewell for now, Aha is off to find other amusements in the universe. If there are new games, remember to invite me!"

With that, Aha disappeared before Bronya's eyes, leaving Bronya trembling as she watched and not daring to breathe.

The revolver on the table was evidence of the Aeon of Elation's visit. As the residue of cola slid down the inner wall of the empty cup, Bronya finally dared to speak.

"So, all this time, when Bronya and Bronie played fighting games, was Sister Bronie holding back?"

Watching the battle between the god and Bronie where they effortlessly executed instant blocks or a special defensive technique requiring defense within the first two frames of the opponent's attack, Bronya realized she had a long way to go.

Strong instant defenses often came with risks, but for Aha and Bronie, those risks were nonexistent.

"So, Bronya, you still have a long way to go. When the time comes, giant robots will be at your disposal!"

Bronie gently tapped Bronya's forehead, and Bronya, covering her head with both hands, looked at her Bronya sister speechlessly.

"We still have plenty of time, don't worry. The next Honkai Eruption might not happen until years later, so we still have at least four years."

Four years is enough time to make many games. Bronya's life is short, and this seemingly short four-year period occupies almost a third of her life.

So, when Bronie said four years, it was indeed a very, very long time for Bronya.

"This revolver..."

"I won't keep it at home. Perhaps Aeons can indeed be contacted, even walk on the Path of the Aeons, but just as no two leaves are alike, walking on the Aeon's Path ultimately means forging one's own path. The earlier one comes into contact with the path of the Aeons, the easier it is to get lost in it."

Bronya hoped Bronya would find her own path.

Future Bronya might achieve this, but Bronie wasn't sure if the Bronya changed by her actions could still find her own path. But they had to try.

Being able to borrow future technology in the present, like the Herrscher of Truth, was perhaps also somewhat remeniciscent to the Aeons.

Honestly, Bronie wouldn't be surprised if Bronya, Kiana, and Seele suddenly became Aeons.

"Alright, I'll write the observation report next. There are still many mysteries surrounding the gods, but fundamentally, they were once mortals, just walking a farther distance than us."

Paths is actually linked to a certain philosophical concept, so in order to study the so-called Aeon, Bronie is also helpless and has to search through various philosophical books.

The Aeon of Elation is even more of a transcendent state. According to Nietzsche's theory of the three metamorphoses of the spirit, the pursuit of joy by the Aeon of Elation is actually just a superficial and shallow manifestation.

Its core should be the pursuit of meaning, the creation of value, and the proof of its own existence.

To be honest, although knowing these theories, Bronie still finds it difficult to reach this level.

Bronya left her office, leaving Bronie alone to quietly watch the scenery outside the window.

Just by looking up, you could see the starry sky.

And the grand new games woven by the starry sky, the vast world, are waiting for her to challenge.

But before entering the starry sky, let's study how to solve the Honkai and how to resurrect the dead!

Letting Otto just die like that while charging at the tree is too cheap for him.

It's best to find Yae Sakura. After resurrecting Kallen, let Otto sit in prison and see Kallen bring Yae Sakura to visit him whenever she's free.

Using various technologies invented by the great inventor, watching the inventor's wish come true but unable to die in peace.

That's what it means to be cruel~

...

"Achoo~"

Otto who was far away on the Sky Island of Schicksal suddenly sneezed.

"My Lord Bishop... Can a Soulium body get sick? Is it because of playing games?"

"It's not! Actually, this thing is quite mystical. Maybe it's caused by system signal interference? And there's no rule saying Soulium bodies can't get sick. Don't jump to conclusions."

Now, whenever something unusual happened, Amber would blame it on him playing games.

It's frustrating, but Otto admitted he had been playing games too much lately.

And what's most annoying was the video Haxxor Bunny uploaded on the internet recently.

At first glance, it appeared like nothing much.

Maybe a teaser for a new character?

Or a demonstration of the new character in action?

But upon closer inspection, the opposing player's ID was Aha, and the battles in the last few rounds were simply beyond what a normal human could achieve!

Numerous fighting game veterans admitted that they couldn't achieve such precise exploitation of vulnerabilities or ensure that every defense was input within the first two frames of the opponent's attack.

So, Otto stayed up all night watching a few episodes of the Guilty Gear's story mode. Initially, Otto wasn't very interested in fighting games, but he didn't expect an Aeon to get involved.

Watching the Guilty Gear storyline, the world behind the scenes, the Original, and the Universal Will guiding humans to pursue happiness, it seemed like Bronya was revealing something again?

Unable to figure anything out, Otto was scolded by Amber again, leaving him feeling quite annoyed.

"Alright, Lord Bishop, for the upcoming Sea of Quanta's exploration experiment, you need more rest."

"Yes, yes, the Sea of Quanta experiment... I hope Bianka can bring me some surprises. I've been disappointed for too long..."