Chapter 2: I want to make a game even in the middle ages

The ceiling was unfamiliar.

Typically, characters who transmigrate or regress in web novels find themselves returned to a world they already know…

I had barely eaten, playing a new game for three days and nights without pause, when a wave of dizziness struck me, sending me collapsing to the floor.

It was an absurd death, too pathetic to warrant genuine sorrow, yet just shy of the sheer idiocy required to earn a Darwin Award.

Subsequently, I was reborn into a noble household in a medieval setting, a place whose true purpose remained entirely unknown to me.

The sensation of first regaining consciousness, unable to speak or move properly, forced to relieve myself in a diaper because I couldn’t even reach a latrine…

Naturally, I couldn’t comprehend the language or writing at first, but thankfully, the rigorous education imposed by the noble family from my infancy allowed me to grasp them quickly.

However, as I matured, I came to realize that this world possessed a profoundly serious, yet seemingly insurmountable, flaw…

“I’m bored!!!”

During a brief respite from my studies, I finally succumbed to the overwhelming boredom and cried out.

There was simply nothing to do in this world.

If only this place were a setting from some erotic game or novel, I could have embraced various women under the pretense that ‘in the Middle Ages, there’s nothing to do but s*x.’

Alas, this was an exceedingly conventional and normal medieval alternate world; had I dared to engage in such behavior, I would have been dragged to the imperial palace and castrated, regardless of my noble standing. Castrated, indeed.

Neither were there any other forms of entertainment.

At best, the board games available were inferior even to Monopoly, more akin to childish scribbles in an elementary school notebook.

Failing that, one could merely venture outdoors to hunt and capture animals.

Here, there were no cell phones, no YouTube, no Netflix, no movies or dramas, and most crucially, no games.

Games!

The very reason I had spent three days and nights immersed in them before ending up in this world!

The ultimate supplement, an endless source of dopamine!

A modern individual, steeped in dopamine, was being forcibly subjected to a dopamine detox, and what’s more, it wasn’t even by choice. After sixteen years of this, I had reached my absolute limit.

Wouldn’t one’s interest naturally wane after such a prolonged absence?

One might not dwell on it if there were other pursuits, but when every single day of the year is spent writhing in mind-numbing boredom, it’s only natural for the thought to return, day after day, for sixteen years straight.

“I just want to play games…”

Mornings were dedicated to sword training, afternoons to magic.

The initial wonder of discovering I could actually wield magic had been fleeting; now, having grown accustomed to it, the practice no longer offered any novelty.

It wasn’t as if I possessed the aptitude of an archmage, either.

As I lay idly rolling on the floor, consumed by boredom, the door abruptly burst open, and a slender beauty, clad in a maid’s uniform, swept into the room.

“Young Master Zeke. Might you be harboring thoughts of neglecting your studies and slacking off?”

“You startled me! Catherine, I’ve told you to knock before entering!”

Her name was Catherine.

She served as a retainer within our household, and also as my personal maid.

The name Zeke, incidentally, was my own, bestowed upon me as the sole heir to the House of Count Heindel.

Zeke Heindel.

Such was my current identity.

Despite my protestations and my abrupt rise from the floor, where I had been rolling, Catherine coolly ignored my words. She stepped further into the room, then forcibly guided me back to my desk and made me sit.

“It is time for you to study magic theory, Young Master Zeke. There are still more than two hours remaining until your next scheduled activity, so please, begin your studies at once.”

“I can’t live like this! This is our family’s house, owned by my parents!”

“And I have served your Master and Mistress since before your birth, and was instructed to diligently assist you even before you came of age.”

“Even though there’s only a three-year age difference between us…”

“Is that truly what matters? What matters is that your Master and Mistress explicitly instructed me not to take my eyes off you, even if it means staying by your side and monitoring you, should you once again grow weary of your studies. Now, please, study.”

“Ugh… h-h…”

“Now, this afternoon is dedicated to the study of illusion magic. Your studies will continue until six o’clock, so do not even consider slacking off. I will be monitoring you.”

Thus, I found myself utterly trapped by Catherine’s hand, condemned to endure yet another session of that tedious study.

If only… if only I could play games, even just for a brief mental refresh… Right now, even Tetris would be incredibly entertaining… Would no one create a game for me?

As I inwardly mumbled such futile wishes, I unfolded the grimoire of illusion magic. It was then, in that very moment, that an idea, one that had eluded my mind for sixteen long years, flashed through me like a bolt of lightning.

I had always assumed that, given the medieval setting, no one could possibly create games here… But did games truly necessitate PCs, consoles, or mobile phones?

In my original world, games had evolved into myriad forms, adapting to technological advancements.

Even if they often fell short in terms of polish or sheer enjoyment, they still emerged, much like AR and VR games.

While this world lacked electronics and the semiconductor industry, it possessed a technology I could only dream of in my original world: magic, didn’t it?

Magic wasn’t merely about conjuring fireballs from one’s hands or unleashing bolts of lightning.

Magic in this world was deeply interwoven into daily life, ranging from simple magical tools to ignite cooking fires, to intricate devices that circulated air by combining ice and wind magic for cooling purposes. Truly, there was a tool for everything.

When you thought about it, these were just ovens and air conditioners, so why couldn’t I create games?

I opened the grimoire pertaining to illusion magic and thoroughly reviewed the overview, a section I had previously neglected.

Illusion Magic.

‘Well-implemented illusion magic provides a virtual world so indistinguishable from reality to its target that those who become overly immersed may find themselves forever unable to escape.

Depending on the user’s will, it can also be wielded for positive ends, such as treating others’ traumas or manifesting worlds everyone has only ever dreamed of.’

I had never considered it until now, but despite the differing terminology, wasn’t this precisely the element needed to develop a far more advanced form of VR game?

I had always disliked VR games because they felt universally incomplete, but what if I could implement games through illusion magic?

What if, instead of clunky VR games, I could port renowned masterpieces I knew, allowing them to be played with even greater realism?

Wouldn’t that be even more incredible?

If the culture of gaming were to spread throughout this world, more individuals would undoubtedly delve into illusion magic, leading some to pursue careers as game developers, and eventually, even I would have access to new games…

“Th-this is it!”

As Catherine was present in the room, I slapped my knee instead of my… well, let’s just say I slapped my knee, and sprang to my feet.

I lamented my own intellect, utterly dismayed that this thought had not occurred to me until I was sixteen years old.

“What do you mean by ‘this is it’? Young Master, it is time for your studies, so please do not seek excuses to play. Kindly sit down at once. This is an explicit order from your Master and Mistress.”

“Catherine! I have finally decided upon the discipline that demands my complete focus and dedication! It is illusion magic! This was precisely the path I was destined to follow!”

“…Are you speaking after proper consideration, Young Master?”

“Of course! Catherine! Inform my parents that I wish to employ every possible means to advance my skills in illusion magic! Tell them I will follow even the most arduous lessons without complaint, so they must invite the most accomplished practitioners!”

If I could transform all the masterpieces I knew into experiential VR, making them even more enjoyable than reality itself, what hardship could I not endure?

If games were to proliferate in this world, and its inhabitants could replenish their dopamine through their own original creations, I was prepared to do anything.

And, incidentally, enjoy myself a little in the process.

From that day forward, I retrieved every single tome related to illusion magic and practiced it without a moment’s respite.

Witnessing my earnestness, my parents, as per my request, invited a renowned master of illusion magic named Edgar, commissioning him to impart his knowledge to me.

He was a middle-aged man, his face just beginning to show the gentle etchings of wrinkles.

Upon our private meeting, Edgar, now employed by my parents, immediately posed a series of questions.

“Zeke Heindel. You sought instruction from a formidable practitioner to learn illusion magic, so I hear.”

“Indeed. Might you be able to impart your teachings to me?”

“Fortuitously, the individual before you, Young Master Zeke, possesses a considerable knack for illusion magic and is not one to hoard his knowledge. However, due to its unique nature, illusion magic can also be exceedingly perilous for those who seek to learn it.”

“Perilous, you say?”

“The reasons people seek to learn illusion magic are manifold. Some wish to forge the world of their dreams with their own hands; others, to recreate departed loved ones from their memories and engage in conversations left unfinished; or perhaps, to construct a labyrinth of sorts to repel intruders without shedding a single drop of blood…”

Having said that, Edgar raised a finger and lightly tapped his own temple.

“However, illusion magic is ultimately a phantasm, not reality. It can never truly be real. Yet, those who behold a scene they so desperately craved, even while knowing this truth, sometimes become so ensnared by their own illusions that they can never escape. This is not a rare occurrence. Thus, I have one question for you.”

Edgar’s gaze bore directly into my own.

“Young Master Zeke, why do you seek to learn illusion magic?”

I wish to create games and disseminate them throughout this world, so that those who grow up playing them might, in turn, create their own games to satiate my own dopamine cravings!

…However, stating that truth so plainly felt far too pathetic, so I responded without uttering a single falsehood.

“I wish to forge, with my own hands, a stage where all people in this world might find joyous respite, free from worry, if only for a fleeting moment.”

Judged purely by its words, it was a hundred percent truth, devoid of any falsehood.

At my response, Edgar blinked several times before bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha! Not for yourself, but for others? This is truly the first time I’ve encountered such a reason. Every person I’ve met in my life who spoke in such terms invariably turned out to be a charlatan…”

A jolt!

“At the very least, Young Master Zeke’s eyes do not lie. Very well, since I’ve heard a rather compelling reason, I shall impart the teachings of illusion magic as you desire. However, once the instruction commences, it will be far from lenient, so I expect you to keep pace and not fall behind. I am not one to linger for those who lag in their scholarly pursuits.”

“I shall follow, even if I must crawl to do so.”

With a satisfied smile, Edgar immediately commenced the first lesson right then and there.

Wait for it, world. If you refuse to embrace electrical civilization, then I shall adapt and introduce you to the concept of games.