The festival was over, but its ripples were just beginning to turn into a tidal wave. What had started as a celebratory event for a niche community had evolved into a galactic news headline. Julian's high-cost investment and his visible "sincerity" toward the players had struck a chord across the cosmos.
In a galaxy where most game companies were seen as stingy, profit-driven monoliths, Arceus Studio stood out as a beacon of fan-service. This goodwill translated directly into numbers. When Pokémon Gold and Silver finally launched at 10:00 AM the following morning, the surge was so massive it didn't just match the first-week sales of the original— it shattered them.
The sheer volume of simultaneous logins actually crashed the Arceus servers.
"Holy crap! What's happening? Why are there so many people?!" Julian shouted, frantically coordinating with his team. Fortunately, thanks to his deepened relationship with the Sky-Faring Commission, he was able to borrow temporary server clusters from the Luofu's main grid. The game was back online within ten minutes.
Julian stared at the monitor, his eyes wide. sequels usually see a slight dip or a steady climb, not a vertical spike. "At this rate, are we going to hit five or six billion players?"
"Boss, you haven't been looking at the sentiment analysis, have you?" Colorful Star asked, pulling up a series of holographic charts. "The boost from Robin at the Masters Tournament cannot be overstated. We've captured a demographic that doesn't even consider themselves 'gamers.' They just want to experience the world Robin loves."
She swiped to a new chart. "Then there's the 'Outlaw' factor. Silver Wolf's appearance drew in the underground and fringe-world markets. And finally, there's the Master Diviner. Fu Xuan's participation gave the game an official 'seal of approval' within the Xianzhou Alliance. We're seeing massive sales spikes not just on the Luofu, but on the Yaoqing and the Zhuming ships as well."
Julian nodded, though he still looked dazed. "I knew we'd grow, but this is ridiculous. Is the market even big enough for this?"
"Boss... did you actually read the demographic report I sent you last week?" Colorful Star asked tentatively.
"I was busy with the third-gen architecture! I just glanced at it," Julian admitted.
"Let me break it down for you. FireRed/LeafGreen grew from 2 billion sales in the first week to 3.3 billion today. Of those 2 billion initial buyers, 40% were from the Xianzhou Alliance, 30% from the IPC, and 30% from independent systems. But here's the kicker: of that 40% in the Alliance, 90% were from the Luofu."
Julian froze. He finally understood what she was saying. The market wasn't saturated; it was barely scratched. He had been so focused on the Luofu that he hadn't realized how many billions of potential trainers were waiting on the other five Xianzhou ships and the thousands of IPC worlds.
"I was thinking with my old-world common sense again," Julian muttered, rubbing his temples. In his previous life, two billion sales would have been the absolute peak of humanity. But in this universe—a galactic civilization with countless populated planets—two billion was just the starting line.
"It's not your fault, Boss," Colorful Star comforted him. "Before Pokémon, no game had ever achieved these numbers. It's natural to think we'd hit a ceiling."
Julian clapped his hands, his eyes regaining their spark. "Well, if the ceiling is gone, we just have to keep building up!"
He realized that his "extravagant" spending on the interplanetary network was finally paying off. While most games stayed on local planetary grids to save costs, Julian had insisted on a unified galactic server. The maintenance fees were astronomical—nearly a billion credits a day just to keep the data synced—but it was that very connectivity that made the tournament possible.
"By the way, Boss," Colorful Star interrupted his thoughts. "Ms. Topaz from the IPC Strategic Investment Department has requested a meeting. She's waiting for you."
"Topaz? Why would a Senior Manager of the 'Ten Stonehearts' want to see me?" Julian wondered.
He knew Topaz was an elite investment specialist. If she was here, it wasn't for a casual chat. "Arrange the meeting for 2:00 PM in the main conference room."
Julian spent the next hour preparing. He knew the IPC was a divided house. The fact that Topaz had appeared at his tournament meant her department was interested in him, regardless of what the other branches thought. And the head of the Strategic Investment Department was Diamond, an Emanator of Preservation. If Diamond wanted to protect an investment, the rest of the company wouldn't dare interfere.
At 2:00 PM, Topaz was led into the room by a receptionist. She didn't waste time with pleasantries, her eyes sharp and professional.
"Mr. Julian Reed," she began, sitting across from him. "I think you're smart enough to know why I'm here. On behalf of the Strategic Investment Department, I would like to discuss a direct investment into Arceus Studio."
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