Free Life Fantasy Online

On one of the spacious floors of a high-rise building…in a side room.

"Well, I think this one was quite popular."

"Right. I'd say there were enough participants and they seemed to be having fun."

The heads of each department meet regularly to share information and make sure they're on the same page.

This time also includes a review meeting for the second official event.

"Is the next event coming along well?"

"I think the next update is more of a problem than the event…"

"It's going to be a pretty hectic day. You'd best do everything you can to get ready beforehand."

Rather than the next official event, which is due in the second half of September, the problem is the large-scale maintenance and hardware update that is scheduled for September 1st.

It is the result of unexpected support from a large company.

"But…why from that company?"

"It's too different a genre."

"You know don't you, Yamamoto-san?"

"Well, I do, but…there's not much I'm allowed to say. Ah, but I can say it's partly because of Princess? We should be grateful to her. Though make sure not to play favourites."

"『Eh?』"

It is known that Princess is a high school student…but that's it.

Those who are not in the know cannot make the connection. That there is a connection between her and a large company that is famous overseas. Though their genre is quite different from games.

Such support wouldn't be expected from a company behind actors and actresses.

"Princess' parents are celebrities that you would probably recognise… Her mother is more famous. Her father doesn't get much exposure professionally…mainly in magazines?"

"Eh, who?"

"You know of the Farnival family, the designer and the famous actress?"

"…Eh? Seriously? Sakuraka-sama, seriously?"

"Seriously serious. Their eldest daughter is Princess."

"If that's her mother…her app makes sense."

"Don't say app."

App is the term used when showing appearance in a characters status. It's an abbreviation of ‘appearance'.

"Aaah! Sakuraka-sama works with that company!"

"That's right."

Yamamoto tells a brief story.

"When the presidents family saw Princess in the commercial, they had a ‘huh?' moment…then looked up the game. I can't really say any more than that, but that's how it started."

"The important part!"

"That's not allowed yet. But they came up with a good idea, so I'll support it. You guys should just keep going as you are."

"So the latest equipment is being brought in for development?"

"Pretty much. They're expecting us to do the programming and other system stuff, so they don't have any say in the game itself. And they don't make games, so we won't be in competition."

"Well, from our point of view, I guess we can just be happy that our development environment is filled with the latest models of hardware?"

"It's fine to think of it that way. So for now, get ready to switch over to it."

How best to motivated the FLFO development team, a den of tech enthusiasts? Salaries and holidays are a matter of course, so they are excluded.

The answer is to provide a development environment with the latest equipment and software, and let them build whatever they want. What happens then? They either rampage off on a tangent, or charge ahead to their original goal.

The strongest commitment is to something you love.

"So what about the event in September?"

"It's based on a school sports festival, so it's easy to make, but… the problem is balance."

"Unlike in real life, it's not just humans."

"Oh, maybe a race for quadrupeds and…a tug of war for golems?"

"Even if you try to make race specific events, there aren't enough inhumans to divide them that way…"

It's a fantasy sports day, so short distance events would be over before there is a chance for interference. So there is no short distance running. And speed is largely determined by the agility stat anyway.

"Is there no choice but to divide events into human, inhuman or mixed?"

"Having mixed as the default, with certain races not allowed to compete…might be easiest."

"How do we divide the teams in the end?"

"We'll have the system divide them into teams, but we'll let people choose the events they want to compete in. It's basically a festival rather than a competition."

"If there are events that certain races can't compete in, that might be the only choice."

"We'll reward base and skill experience according to ranking, along with points for exchanging for prizes. And at the end, the same rewards according to the team ranking…I guess."

The discussion always gets derailed, so nobody much cares about it unless it becomes a heated argument.

"So what about October?"

"Halloween, right? The building team is working on the castle."

"Enemies are being created too."

The next event is slowly being worked on below the surface.

"Hmm. So the biggest problem will be on the 1st."

"『Right.』"

After talking for a while longer, the meeting ends. Everyone present returns to their own area.

"Owaa!"

A man's thick voice echoes through the spacious floor.

Yamamoto is disturbed by the shout while relaxing. Because of his position, the option to ignore it doesn't exist.

"What's the matter?"

"Princess has come into contact with Sophie!"

Who was Sophie? Yamamoto tilts his head.

While Yamamoto might be in charge, he doesn't know each and every NPC.

"She's one of the Sorciere!"

"Let's see…Ah, this kid. Right, right."

However, Sophie is an important NPC, so after taking a look, he will recognise her to some extent. Especially because of how she looks.

She is completely a witch. Of course, she is intentionally designed this way.

It's not a bug, though, so Yamamoto goes back into relaxation mode.

The management watches over the exchange for a while, and Princess receives a quest.

"That's right… Sophie of all people…"

"Is there a problem with this girl?"

A person who overheard from nearby asks the one who muttered with an enlightened face.

"No, rather than a problem, she might be the best partner. The resurrection potion can come from this contact with Sophie."

"Hmm…yeah, looking at the occurrence condition for the quest."

"Sophie is probably the most difficult one to work with. She's a genius among the Sorciere. Specifically, her AI base is the same as for a king'"

"Seriously. That's the best level of AI for a person."

"Yeah. And a king's principle of action is ‘country first'. If it's for the good of the country, they'll cut away anything. But Sophie's not a king. She's designed as a researcher. Her priority is to ‘search for the unknown'."

The bait for fishing up Sophie Lilywhite… is ‘something unknown'.

So what is this ‘something unknown'?

Outsiders, who came from somewhere else. Materials from the Nether, not available on the surface. The ruler of the Afterworld.

"In other words, Princess is Sophie's favourite food. She realises that a stable supply of Nether materials isn't possible, so there are never enough for her. In other words, when Immortals bring out materials from the Nether, she bites. And even more so, if it's a princess with the name of Nemeseia…"

"…And she can be more sure of it if she can make a deal with the highest authority in the Nether."

"Right. She also gave advice to ensure she gets the best materials for herself. To ask the Residents to collect it. Sophie is a legendary witch with a greater voice than the king of a small country. There's no loss in seeing each other as a connection."

"And Princess will also get the recipe for the resurrection potion, which is important in a game…"

"And since Sophie is a researcher at heart, she will ignore things that don't interest her. There are very few people she can interact with. The Residents largely treat her in terms of her status."

Because nobody else had received one, the contact between Sophie and Princess caused a quest for the resurrection potion.

And once again, Sophie is set to be a genius.

"Does the quest from Sophie differ from the one from others?"

"Yes. The more complicated the quest, the easier it is to generate, and the easier the quest, the harder it is to generate. Sophie's will be the latter, of course."

"How exactly does that change things?"

"Hmm…Showing the deaths of Outsiders several times. Gathering materials. Then after a failure, start over and repeat the previous steps. The number of times this happens changes."

"Oh, I see. What about Sophie?"

"Show deaths three times, collect materials. Done."

"And it's done with just that?"

"Because she's a genius. In some cases, they would fail and need to have the materials collected again. But that won't happen with Sophie."

In other words, the quest for the resurrection potion was acquired from the person whose quest was easiest.

Because the quest was easy, the conditions to trigger it were quite strict.

"Even the Great Witch who arrived before Sophie was easy, though."

It is possible to assume, to some extent, how AI will move due to their settings, but there's no way to tell how the players will move.

However, the timing is ideal, because the resurrection potion will be completed. Therefore, for the management…it's fine if it's going to end up being released as a result.

There are people who watch over the AI of the Residents in FLFO. They are in charge of maintenance, ensuring there are no problems, as well as fixing things if any are behaving strangely.

These people come from a different department of Future Software. The AI that is developed by the company is used in the game.

Regardless of where in Future Software they work, the employees are all people who love new things. ‘Defies expectations? If it's new, anything's good!', is the kind of thought process they have.

These crazy engineers follow their instincts and create all kinds of strange things, leaving those who have to think about how to use them struggling.

Well, be that is it may.

"Somehow, the Outer Ones seem to be guiding Princess?"

"Well, the conditions might be too strict without this…I suppose…"

"They're trying to drag her in because they're lonely…is it?"

"That might be true, as far as settings are concerned…"

"Though the premise…would be that they like someone for fulfilling the requirements."

"It seems like they're acting that way because it has been a long time with no newcomers. There shouldn't be any reason to stop it. Are we going to leave it be?"

"I think it's fine in terms of how the AI is acting, but I don't know about how it might affect the game. Maybe we should ask Yamamoto-san."

They call over Yamamoto, who is in charge of the game, and explain what is happening and why.

"Hmmm…so that's how it works."

"Do you want us to stop it?"

"No. As long as it's not a bug, it's not a problem."

In an MMO, every player is a protagonist. Everyone is special, regardless of what type of character or the direction they go in.

For example, those who diligently complete requests for the Adventurer's Union, like Cecil's party, will someday change class from adventurer to hero.

The crafters are expected to become artisans who make amazing things eventually.

It's a game, so that's how it is.

Princess is a little…No, she is running ahead in a very special direction, but there is no problem. No one in the development team thought it would come around so quickly, but the route itself has been created.

"Well, she won't be able to show its full performance even if she becomes an Outer One. The route Princess is on… would be to use a humanoid incarnation, instead of the main body, to act on the surface with limited abilities. There's no need to worry."

"Then we'll just go on watching."

"Okay. We're looking forward to the race change if she goes down the Outer One route. It's a complicated special evolution, so we'll have to wait and see what she chooses…though that isn't until 50. Maybe the level 40 evolution will be that one."

"You already know what it is?"

"40 is still an early stage. Apparently the appearance of her clothes will change. I didn't hear many details, but that is what stands out with that race…"

"Then let's look forward to it without asking any more than that."

There was a mistake in specifying the experience value when using an orb for «Necromantic Secrets», so the possible routes for Princess are being reconfirmed.

There are several people checking on Princess and several more looking into the other special races. The reason for several being on the Princess side is that the evolution into Outer One is quite crooked.

There are even races where traces of the original race have disappeared, so they are very busy. At the moment, they are checking the possible races available to zombies of the Stellura faith.

There is also work to be done on the rules for the event, decisions regarding the event map, mobs, point prizes and so on. There are preparations for the update in two weeks. There is a lot to be done.

"Then, we're done for the day. Go to bed early, because we're meeting before 6am."

"『Alright!』"

Then, the 1st of September arrives.

"Everyone looks sleepy? Well, you'll wake up soon… I need you to shut down the servers as soon as it turns 6am. The electrician will be here soon. Most of the power will be off once he is!"

So instructs Yamamoto, and the previously relaxed employees begin to bustle about. Their bodies must have woken up.

"Yggdrasil, we're starting maintenance. Begin shutdown."

『Voice authentication… match. Facial authentication… match. Fingerprint authentication… match. Iris authentication… match. Administrator confirmed. Beginning the termination process.』

A number of suppliers and contractors have been and gone over the past few days, and everything that can be done ahead of time has been done. The rest will be finished this morning.

In the meantime, the goal is to remove the old hardware and wait for the new to arrive.

"Make sure you all take a break for breakfast, alright?"

"I'll have some free time while copying, so I'll go then."

"Yamamoto-san, a big truck just arrived."

"Oh, did our delivery arrive?"

The items delivered by several large trucks are brought in, to be installed in a way that each individual finds easiest to work with.

"Whoa! The latest tablet! Where's the manual?"

"Isn't it in the box?"

"Oh, there it is."

"…Hey, what's this brain can looking thing?"

"Don't call it a brain can. Where's the manual?"

"Ohh!? They even went so far as to get this!"

"So you know what it is!"

"Isn't this a hologram device? Can it be used for modelling?"

"Seriously? Oh, there's the manual."

Hologram devices. Some of them can be used independently, but this one needs to be connected as a peripheral device.

After connecting to a PC, it can display 3D holograms. It can show how things will appear in the game.

It will be possible to make corrections while watching the video, without needing to check with the test server every time…such as when viewing equipment and the movements of enemies.

Work efficiency will see a considerable increase.

"I know we heard about it beforehand, but this is an amazing server…"

"How many times better than the previous one is this…"

"Hmm…is it about 12 times better in simple performance? And it's not like the original one is bad. Well, they're on completely different levels, so it's just a comparison."

The electrician finishes his work and remains for a while longer to make sure there are no problems.

The employees immediately start connecting devices to the outlets and proceed with the setup with smiling faces.

And Yamamoto starts a live broadcast as a test.

"Hi everyone! It’s the most important person! Hmm, the proportions are weird…hmm? Oh, maybe it’s because of this guy…. That’s right, okay. We're working hard over here. Progress is good at the moment. For more information on the update…let's start at noon."

The new server is ready and the copying begins.

"Let's pray it works first time."

"What's happening with the original?"

"We'll use it for backup and processes that don't need speed. We want to make sure there's room to spare for both."

Once the copying starts, rather than just a background process, it's forbidden to approach. Only the person in charge is to check regularly for errors

The development environment is also being migrated elsewhere. As a result, there are times when there is nothing to do.

In the meantime, people can eat, take breaks, clean up the cardboard boxes and the like.

"Ahh… I want some ice cream. Yamamoto-san, ice cream!"

"Take some of those other noisy guys and buy some."

"Let's go get some Dazs."

"That's no good."

"Ehh!"

"If you buy that, I can't pay for it by myself!"

"How many people are there now?"

"Er….42….? No, it's 43 with me. It's the latter half of 200 each, isn't it?"

"That's over 10,000…"

"Buy it yourself if you want that. Don't forget to get the rest."

"Heey. Come lend a hand if you want to choose ice cream yourself."

Ice cream expenses. It's cheap if one ice cream is enough to motivate them. Well, some ice creams are not so cheap though.

The electrician confirms there are no problems during the monitoring, then after eating some ice cream he leaves.

"And push this. How is it, Yggdrasil?"

『….No problems. Comfortable.』

"We changed the server. We're using the old one as a backup. If there's a problem, restore from there. Use the rest of the space for things that don't require speed. Now then, check for any issues. A full test, please."

『Understood. Beginning a full test.』

The FLFO control AI, Yggdrasil, has been moved to the new server and restarted.

From now on, it will be performing a full test to check for any problems with the systems, and if there are any found will copy the necessary data from the previous server again.

The rest is left up to Yggdrasil, until there is a need to take action.

"Yamamoto-san. Yggdrasil has been restarted, a full test is in progress."

"Right. Are we ahead of schedule?"

"The hardware is much better than we expected… Copying was super fast."

"That's a good thing. The rest depends on the test then."

"Right. After that, we'll apply the update patch."

"Sure, I'll leave it to you."

A live broadcast and progress updates from department heads. He's in a leisurely position where if no problems occur he just needs to ask about the progress.

The broadcast ends in the evening and a schedule is made.

It was a busy day, but night arrives and some people are left behind while others go for a nap. With instructions to wake them up if there's a problem. Of course, after leaving someone in charge.

A final check is performed in the morning, then the server is opened. Along with the introduction of the third batch.

It's necessary to remain ready for action until stability is confirmed, so holidays are shifted to a different day.

Yamamoto is the one who leisurely makes plans for this.