As expected, the second child cleared the stage at the thirteen-minute mark.
With the first child having already explored the route, it was no longer difficult for the children who followed to clear the level.
After all, this was only the very first stage of the first generation of Super Mario. Any slightly clever child would quickly grasp the rules and succeed.
"Congratulations! You've also won a toy. Please choose whichever one you like," Yukihira Soma said enthusiastically.
The second child excitedly ran toward the prize area, his eyes wide as he carefully examined his options.
Faced with the many Koshien Superman figures and other doll toys, he felt overwhelmed for a moment.
He had never had the chance to choose a toy for free. His parents, in order to encourage independence, always required him to pay an appropriate price to obtain one.
But this time, he had earned it simply by playing that thing on the television, which gave him a strong sense of novelty.
At this point, Hayasawa Airi was left only with the task of handing out prizes in the reward area.
Meanwhile, Yukihira Soma shouted excitedly once again,"All right! Third challenger—!"
"Me, me, me!"
A slightly older child broke free from the crowd and rushed toward the television.
This child was clearly more skilled than the previous two.
With the first two children having already explored the path, even though he wasn't completely familiar with the controls, he already knew how to clear the level.
He finished it in just about seven minutes and happily went to claim his reward.
After that, the children's clear times generally stayed within the seven-to-eight-minute range. They still needed time to get used to the controller, so naturally they couldn't go much faster.
At the same time, the prizes were starting to run low.
Then Hayasawa Airi walked over to Yukihira Soma and gently nudged him.
"Soma-san, it looks like all these kids can clear the levels. Won't you lose a lot of money this way? You're giving a toy to every single child. In such a short time, you've already spent twenty thousand yen, haven't you? Don't you have something harder?"
Yukihira Soma smiled faintly at her words, though no one could see it beneath the mascot mask.
"Of course I do. But I was planning to give away all the toys anyway. This little bit of money is nothing."
"Tsk, tsk… You really are from a rich family. I honestly don't understand why you're doing this. Is it just charity?"
Yukihira Soma shook his head, then pointed at the child deeply focused on the game in front of the television.
"Do you see their expressions?"
"Their expressions? What about them?"
"That's what I need. Right now, that's more important than money."
Hayasawa Airi looked puzzled. She still couldn't understand what made video games so appealing.
Watching these children, it seemed to her that they were only playing for the prizes.
"I won! Prizes, prizes!"
At that moment, another child jumped up excitedly and ran toward the prize area. Seeing this, Hayasawa Airi had no choice but to return and continue handing out rewards.
"All right, next!"
Yukihira Soma shouted loudly once more.
The activity continued until noon, and the number of children showed no sign of decreasing.
It seemed that some children who had already won prizes ran home to gather their usual playmates and brought them back, causing the crowd to grow even larger.
At home, parents had already prepared lunch, only to find that their children hadn't returned. They waited at the door with displeased expressions, planning to scold them thoroughly when they came back.
But the children were completely immersed in the joy of playing and winning prizes, having long forgotten about food.
Grrr~
Yukihira Soma was still in high spirits, but Hayasawa Airi's stomach had already begun to growl.
Yet seeing that the crowd of children showed no sign of thinning, she felt that lunch would once again be missed today.
It had been the same while they were making the game console—Yukihira Soma would become so absorbed that he often forgot to eat.
"Big brother, can I play a second time?"
At that moment, the child who had cleared the game first returned after lining up again.
Standing nearby, Hayasawa Airi thought, Of course not. He already got a prize once. How could he get another? That wouldn't make sense for promotion at all.
But Yukihira Soma nodded cheerfully.
"Of course you can! I accept repeat challenges. However, for your second challenge, you can't just clear the first stage. You must clear the second stage, and you'll only have ten minutes. Are you confident?"
"The second stage?"
For children, this was a somewhat unfamiliar term, but they quickly understood it.
The boy nodded vigorously.
On one hand, he wanted to win another toy prize. On the other, during his first playthrough, while waiting in line and watching others play, he had suddenly realized that the pixelated character on the television was actually quite interesting.
Unlike cartoons or special-effects shows, this pixel character could be controlled by him. It was free—he could make it do whatever he wanted.
So he wanted to experience that sense of freedom once more.
The child took the controller again. He was clearly more skilled now, but at the same time, his palms were slightly sweaty.
Though it was early spring and still cold, the children seemed to have completely forgotten about the temperature.
Yukihira Soma adjusted the settings from the backend and sent the game directly to the second stage, allowing the challenger to start there immediately. Of course, by skipping stages, he couldn't obtain the power-up mushrooms or flowers from the first stage and could only play as small Mario.
Compared to the first stage, the second was clearly more difficult. An inexperienced player would need to explore carefully, but with cautious play, it was still manageable.
However, for a child, it was still too challenging. Due to his lack of understanding, the boy failed to clear the second stage within the ten-minute time limit—he was actually just a little short.
If Yukihira Soma had given him fifteen minutes, the child would likely have already received the reward.
The boy looked slightly frustrated but helpless. He could only gaze longingly toward the prize area while also staring at the pixel character on the television, a spark of desire flickering in his eyes.
It seemed that the toy was no longer his most urgent desire.
Instead, the pixelated character on the screen had become even more captivating.