In the early morning, in a slightly old three-story townhouse in Tokyo, Yumikoshi Kazuma slowly climbed out of the futon. His hair was naturally curly, and as he just got up, it looked a bit messy, like a chicken coop, giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance.
At this moment, Yumikoshi Kazuma seemed not fully awake, glancing around drowsily, and soon his gaze settled on something.
It was the messy arrangement of a red and white game console with connected controllers on the tatami mat.
Next to the console, there were several scattered game cartridges, and not far from the console was a roughly thirteen or fourteen-inch black and white TV, the screen frozen on the last level of Dragon Warrior.
The unique 8-bit electronic music had been playing all night, but Yumikoshi Kazuma didn't find it noisy; instead, he felt that this kind of music helped him sleep more peacefully.
In the game, the hero was about to engage in the final battle with the Dragon King.
Yumikoshi Kazuma casually picked up the controller, his eyes filled with a faint regret.
"Sorry, old friend, I have to defeat you again."
Yumikoshi Kazuma closed his eyes, as if in prayer, then opened them again and picked up the controller to click on the dialogue button.
The battle began, and the Dragon King and the hero officially started their confrontation.
However, in just a few minutes, he skillfully manipulated the hero to unleash various magic and attack skills, easily defeating the Dragon King. The Dragon King then fell at the hero's feet in defeat, emitting an angry roar, and the game ended.
Yumikoshi Kazuma was so skilled that he knew exactly when to use which magic and move to inflict maximum damage on the Dragon King, and what kind of weapon was most suitable for finishing off the Dragon King.
It was as if the Dragon King was the victim, and the hero was the true villain, effortlessly defeating the Dragon King as if it were a piece of cake.
All of this was something he had explored on his own over the past three months.
Without a strategy guide, ordinary people couldn't play this game so easily; they would need to put in some effort.
However, there was an exception, and that was Yumikoshi Kazuma.
He was the only one who could explore the entire world's secrets without relying on a strategy guide through his continuous efforts.
Even before the strategy guide in the Spring Day Manga Magazine was released, he had already explored most of the hidden elements in the Dragon Quest world, and he had continuously tried to search every inch of the world.
It seemed that exploring the entire world was more exciting than rushing to defeat the Dragon King.
This reminded Yumikoshi Kazuma of his childhood.
At that time, he loved to explore the secrets in the mountains and rivers, like a tireless adventurer, always finding endless secrets waiting for him to explore.
As he grew older, he gradually stopped doing such things, but the dream remained in his heart.
After graduating from college, he happened to encounter the burst of the Japanese economic bubble, and he didn't even have the qualifications to turn over, so he resolutely chose to lie flat and live on the occasional odd job's meager income.
Everything was simplified, whether it was eating or anything else, but his feelings for games were different.
When he first experienced the NES, it was as if his world had been completely opened up; there were still such interesting things in the world.
So he played repeatedly, dedicating all his free time to electronic games.
"Ah, it's over again. I wonder when the next game will be released."
Yumikoshi Kazuma lay flat on the tatami mat in the shape of a big character, gazing blankly at the ceiling.
"If I could create a world like this myself, how interesting it would be."
Yumikoshi Kazuma couldn't help but recall his childhood memories.
Exploring the forests and finding treasures that he considered treasures.
Now it seemed that they could all be created through electronic games.
He just didn't know where to start creating such a world.
His stomach began to growl, so he sat up again from the floor, ready to go out and find something to eat, and check the website of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment for the latest game releases.
He still had a little money on hand, so he didn't need to rush to find a job for the time being.
After making the decision, he put on his clothes and prepared to leave the room.
But when he reached the doorway, a few words on the door made him pause for a moment.
"I want to stand out!"
A few somewhat scribbled characters were posted on the door.
It was something he had written on his first day in Tokyo, when he was still full of ambition.
But he directly encountered the painful blow of the bursting bubble, lost his job, and didn't save much money.
In fact, he was lucky; there were many unfortunate people who were heavily in debt and jumped off buildings or onto railway tracks.
Looking at the slightly yellowed paper, he was tempted to tear it down several times.
He... couldn't stand out anymore.
His parents back home must be very disappointed...
In the end, he didn't tear down the paper; perhaps there was still a little ambition in his heart, but he lacked motivation.
Then he slapped himself in the face, trying to cheer himself up, and then walked out of the room.
At least, he thought, he should fill his stomach first, and deal with other things later.
He thought so.
After finding a small shop that sold oden and taking a bite, he went straight to a nearby internet cafe.
The cafe staff and Yumikoshi Kazuma seemed quite familiar; the staff even greeted Yumikoshi Kazuma.
"Good morning, Yumikoshi-san, same as usual today?"
Yumikoshi raised his hand in greeting and replied, "Morning, same as usual, half an hour."
The staff nodded and began to operate the counter machine, saying, "Speaking of which, Yumikoshi-san, I have to thank you. The information you gave me about the hidden elements in Dragon Warrior was really useful. I showed off in front of my friends."
Yumikoshi also smiled, "Really? I'm glad I could help you."
The staff looked up, "How did you even know about such hidden places? Even the Spring Day Manga Magazine hasn't updated to that point yet. Do you have some insider information?"
Yumikoshi Kazuma said somewhat shyly, "It's just luck, I guess. I stumbled upon it."
In fact, the so-called hidden location was found by Yumikoshi Kazuma through a carpet-like exploration process, and there were many similar places. He just told this staff member one of the locations, and now the staff member admired him very much.
He enjoyed this admiration and planned to tell the staff member another secret location later.
The staff member handed him a number card, saying, "The machine is ready for you, half an hour, no need to pay."
"Thanks, I'll tell you another secret location later to repay you."
"Okay!" The staff member's eyes lit up.
Yumikoshi Kazuma entered the internet cafe and then sat in front of a computer, skillfully logging in and opening the website of Gamestar Electronic Entertainment, wanting to find out the latest news about electronic games.
However, after only a few minutes, he exclaimed loudly, a sound that could be heard throughout the internet cafe.
This exclamation startled the staff member, who didn't know what was happening and hurriedly ran out from behind the counter.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?" The staff member ran to Yumikoshi Kazuma, asking with suspicion.
Some customers also looked over curiously.
"No, nothing, I just... seems like I found a new dream!"
Yumikoshi Kazuma was first stunned, then his eyes sparkled again.
It was an emotion he hadn't felt for several years.