The game exploded in popularity on the forums at an astonishing speed. Players who had initially hesitated were quickly persuaded by the enthusiastic comments and jumped in one after another. Whenever they drew operators related to Tomorrow's Development, they would habitually click into the profiles to carefully read through the characters' backgrounds.
Setting aside the combat strength of these six-star operators, their character designs alone were clearly crafted with great care. For instance, the profiles pointed out the close, almost father-daughter relationship between Saria and Ifrit. Exusiai's fondness for apple pie was also recorded in detail. All of this required the development team to thoroughly investigate the characters' histories.
Before long, an employee from Hypergryph Hypergryph Network Technology revealed on the forum that, whether it was the main storyline or the background settings of the NPC operators, the team had conducted one-on-one interviews, consulted historical records in libraries, or relied on their own initiative to trace the past of Tomorrow's Development.
The main plot itself was not particularly complicated. Some of Tomorrow's Development's senior members had followed Felix since his departure from Laterano. It was no exaggeration to say they had been with him since the era of the King of Dawn. At the same time, many people chose to join Tomorrow's Development after hearing about it, and coincidentally, several of them were people Felix had once saved.
After hearing this background, the developers naturally incorporated it into the tutorial storyline for new players.
Designing the operator profiles, however, proved to be more challenging. In most games, characters' preferences, dislikes, and secrets are plainly listed in the information panel. But the NPCs in Arknights were living, breathing individuals. Discovering what they liked or disliked was not difficult, but uncovering their secrets left the Hypergryph Network Technology team at a loss. In the end, they found a solution. The "secrets" section was redesigned as one-on-one interview dialogues, gently exploring past experiences and future aspirations without crossing any boundaries.
The NPCs readily accepted this reasonable approach. After all, it was simply an interview and did not involve anything overly private.
As a tower defense game, Arknights felt refreshingly novel. What truly satisfied players was not only the gameplay, but also the depth of the story and the operators who appeared within it. Before long, Arknights became a common topic of discussion among players.
The game itself did not emphasize PVP. Instead, it was something players could log into casually, collect resources, and enjoy in short sessions of ten minutes or so between busy quests.
Felix also noticed the game through the forums. There had been no such game called Arknights in his previous life, but he was familiar with Hai Mao. They had done business together and even shared a dorm room at one point. Felix knew him to be a passionate game developer, so seeing Arknights released in this life filled him with an unexpected sense of joy.
He clicked into the Arknights website through the forum and chose to play online. He did not bother reading the so-called plot analysis. The story might exaggerate certain elements or dramatize events, but it was by no means fabricated out of thin air.
When the game reached the scene where he was holding a girl in his arms from a first-person perspective, Felix could not help but smile. He looked up at Degenbrecher, who was assisting him with official matters in the office.
"Degenbrecher, do you remember those Adventurers who came to us shortly after we established ourselves in Lungmen?"
Degenbrecher raised her head, set her pen aside, and shifted her attention from the report on the Knight Club to Felix.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded lightly. "Yes. It caused quite a stir back then. Those homeless people didn't have any documentation. I was really worried when you went to negotiate with Governor Wei on their behalf."
"There were more than two hundred of them in total," Felix said. "Most of them are still living in Lungmen now."
Quick on the uptake, Degenbrecher began reviewing the list of personnel who had joined Tomorrow's Development during that period. As both an instructor and part of the HR staff at the time, she retained some impressions of the names.
"There were thirty-two people assigned to the Venus," she said.
"Really?" Felix asked. "Did I save any Feline girl back then?"
"A Feline girl?"
Felix coughed lightly. He could hardly explain that he was thinking of the cat-eared girl rescued by the protagonist in Arknights.
Degenbrecher looked puzzled, but she continued searching the records.
"There was indeed a Feline woman who joined Tomorrow's Development. She was twelve years old at the time. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing."
Felix did not know whether Hai Mao had learned about that Feline girl, who had been only twelve back then. Still, thinking that she had a good ending both in Arknights and in Tomorrow's Development, he smiled quietly and continued playing.
He truly could not spend money on gacha pulls. Without any way to obtain real-world currency, he could only rely on the Originium earned from clearing stages to draw characters. Unfortunately, his luck was terrible. After three ten-pulls, he did not obtain a single six-star operator. He did manage to pull his good sister Gravel among the five-stars, but Gravel was still wearing the same youthful jacket she had worn when she first joined Tomorrow's Development, making her look particularly young.
Felix immediately understood what was going on. Hypergryph was clearly planning to release different versions of the same character in the future. He did not believe Gravel was truly limited to the strength of a five-star operator. It was likely that she would only appear in a stronger form after several updates.
The other five-star operators Felix pulled included a youthful Mandragora, Goldenglow during her student days, and Rafaela dressed in rather revealing attire.
He saw many familiar faces in the game, yet he failed to pull even one of the high-ranking six-star operators. Watching the lucky players on the forum proudly showing off their results, Felix could not help but feel envious. Only then did he realize that his frustration had reached the point where he felt an urge to strangle those lucky players out of sheer jealousy. It seemed that even after growing so much as the King of Dawn, there were still remnants of his past life that he could not simply discard.
"What do you think of those new Knight Clubs, Degenbrecher?"
"That's a gift from the Chamber of Commerce," Degenbrecher replied calmly. "You know the standards they use to select those girls, don't you?" In private, they always addressed each other casually as per Felix's request. He disliked excessive formality, especially behind closed doors, and found it exhausting.
Felix nodded slightly. "They're all people who've had unfortunate lives."
"Look at it this way," Degenbrecher continued. "These unfortunate girls have received the one and only stroke of luck in their lives."
She spoke evenly. "Being chosen from their original Knight Club to enter Tomorrow's Development is a blessing. You know how many female knights long for this kind of freedom but can never obtain it."
"What do they think of Tomorrow's Development?" Felix asked, nodding again. What she said was undeniably true.
Knights under the control of the Chamber of Commerce were little more than toys. They could be made to laugh or cry at will, and the outcome of competitions rarely depended on their true strength.
Instead, everything depended on the arrangements of the Chamber of Commerce.
Degenbrecher's words were reasonable. These girls were, indeed, lucky.
"Getting them to accept Tomorrow's Development was easier than I expected," Degenbrecher said as she continued reading through the knights' reports. "We briefly explained our past actions to them and gave each of them a Clever, so they could learn about Tomorrow's Development' history. They all understand us now."
There was a sense of familiarity about it. It was probably only a matter of time before they truly felt at ease.
"By the way," Degenbrecher added, "aside from the Knights of Radiance, who showed exceptional talent on their first day, several other knights gifted by the Chamber of Commerce have also demonstrated impressive combat ability. Here's the list. I've already had Clever review their past records. They're all clean and of decent character. They can be trained as legion officers in the future."
Felix glanced through it quickly and nodded. "These knights with clean backgrounds seem promising. We've never had many operators in Kazimierz, but this time an astonishing number of knight groups have joined us. That's undoubtedly beneficial for cultural expansion."
Degenbrecher remained noncommittal. She knew exactly why these young female knights were here, and she knew that Felix understood it as well. Still, she offered no opinion. Many of the young female operators harbored fantasies about Felix, and there was no need for her to comment on that. Besides, these girls were acting against their own will. She could simply treat them as ordinary operators.
"By the way," Felix asked, "has the match between the Candle Knight and the Radiant Knight started today?"
"Not yet. Are you interested in watching?"
Degenbrecher blinked, turned on the television, and switched to the most popular esports channel. On the screen, the Candle Knight and the Radiant Knight were already locked in a fierce exchange. The sight of two beautiful women clashing in battle was captivating, so much so that even the commentator fell silent for a moment, clearly mesmerized.
Leaning back on the sofa, Felix watched attentively. Both knights performed exceptionally well, and their skill was evident. However, he could clearly sense that the Radiant Knight was holding back slightly. Was it because she had encountered a kindred spirit, or was she simply admiring her opponent?
The Candle Knight intended to follow to the Venus, but the Blood Knight was harder to judge. He seemed more interested in building a future for the Kazimierz Infected Knights, a responsibility that could not be easily set aside.
"Let us congratulate the Radiant Knight for defeating the Candle Knight with her elegant yet fierce swordsmanship and advancing to the semifinals," the host finally announced. "We regret the Candle Knight's defeat, but for such a young knight, we wish her a smoother path ahead. Please give a warm round of applause to both knights for delivering such an outstanding match."
After finally finishing his lines, the Chamber of Commerce's host wiped away a sheen of cold sweat. Neither of these knights was someone he could afford to offend. Behind the Candle Knight stood the Fate Knight, and behind the Radiant Knight stood the Tomorrow's Development. As for Felix, a figure the Chamber of Commerce both sought to curry favor with and feared due to internal conflicts, a small fry like him certainly dared not provoke either side, he's just a host.
"The Radiant Knights have advanced to the semifinals, and the Chamber of Commerce's stock has dropped another three percent," Degenbrecher said as she glanced at the scrolling news. "Can the Chamber of Commerce even hold on?"
"Kazimierz won't stay peaceful," Felix replied calmly. "How did Anthony's negotiations go?"
"…Not bad," Degenbrecher said after a brief pause. "What follows will be a period of major reshuffling. Over the next few days, except for the families that have been here the longest, the ones we haven't spoken to yet, all the other families are willing to cooperate with Tomorrow's Development."
Felix nodded slightly. "After the great waves wash away the sand, what will Kazimierz look like in the end?"
___
On October 31st, under a curtain of drizzling rain, Maria Nearl's match was held in the morning. Before the competition, few people were optimistic about her chances, yet she had still reached the semifinals. If she could advance to the finals, she would stand on the most dazzling stage of Kawalerielki alongside her sister and the Radiant Knight.
This match was proof of her resolve, and also her way of telling the Nearl family that she was no longer a child.
However, her opponent left no room for carelessness. Standing against her was the Blood Knight, the defending champion and leader of the Fate Knight, who had just eliminated the highly favored Nightmare Knight.
Facing the Blood Knight, Maria could not say she was confident of victory. In truth, she did not even feel confident that she could win at all. Confronted with such an opponent, Maria sat alone in the lounge, lost in thought. She longed to defeat him, yet his strength made it painfully clear that this would be no easy battle.
Anyone who followed the Major knew how terrifying the Blood Knight was. What shocked Maria most was that he not only possessed Blood Originium Arts capable of both offense and defense, but also explosive power that bordered on overwhelming. From the footage she had studied beforehand, she had never realized just how formidable he truly was.
The Blood Knight was still improving. He had never stopped moving forward.
Maria took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her longsword.
"Still nervous?"
A woman's amused voice sounded as the door was pushed open. Maria's eyes immediately lit up.
"Auntie!"
"I already told you, call me 'sister,' just don't call me 'aunt,'" Zofia said helplessly, hands on her hips.
She looked Maria over from head to toe and frowned slightly. "You don't look as good as I expected."
"The match is about to start," Zofia continued. "There's not much time left to adjust."
"I'm fine, Aunt," Maria said firmly.
She lifted her head and smiled. "Even if my opponent is the Blood Knight, I won't admit defeat."
Seeing her expression, Zofia could only sigh.
"Oh, right. Margaret came to watch your match."
"My sister is here?"
Maria's eyes sparkled like twin stars.
Zofia chuckled. "Not just Margaret. His Highness is here too."
"His Highness… Brother Felix is here as well?"
Maria jumped to her feet, took a deep breath, and patted her cheeks. "No… I can't let them see me like this."
Zofia smiled faintly. Aside from the two of them, she had also noticed a middle-aged man in the audience, quietly reading a newspaper, someone who would never normally attend such an event. Given his status, it made sense for him to be seated near His Highness. What truly surprised her was that Młynar, who had always shown little interest in competitive knights and had even opposed Maria's participation, had come to watch this match.
It was worth remembering that when Maria first decided to become a competitive knight, her guardian, Młynar had strongly objected.
Seeing Maria in such high spirits, Zofia decided to push that thought aside. For now, she would let Maria fight with her sister and His Highness in her heart.