Judging by the light shining from the Obelisk, Michael's project received 5th-level medium Aprentinceship recognition from the Heavenly Laws.
All three judges felt that it was way under their expectations and thought that the novelty somewhat upset whoever controlled the world's laws.
In Rolan's case, remembering the Raze skill he used to inflict damage on the wild lady, droplets of nervous sweat popped up on his forehead. He wondered if he would be punished for using demonic energy.
Unlike the three judges, Michael was more than satisfied. After all, according to his expectations, he should've received the most Basic-level recognition since the demo wasn't even halfway completed.
Probably catching the young man's surprised reaction, Elder Melinda immediately connected the lines with the rich backstory of the virtual world she just visited. Looking at the examinee, she questioned him about it.
[You don't seem to feel wronged by the assessment grade you got.](Melinda)
"I am not, Elder. On the contrary, actually."
[How come?](Melinda)
"Well... Truth be told, the demo is only about 45 to 50% completed, while the Secret Realm project you've seen is not even at 15% yet."
Hearing the absurd numbers and remembering the 1,000 spirit stones worth of resources allotted to these brats, all three judges began nervously sweating.
If it's only about 15% complete after wasting 1,000 spirit stones, would the final product accrue 10,000?
'Professor' Morano was already cursing at the wasteful brat. Even he wasn't using such high amounts for the Tier 2 Secret Realm projects, unless it was a medium-size one.
While Elder Melinda was somewhat excited about finding out the backdrop for every one of the 124 heroes, as well as how he came up with all of this, Elder Rolan was getting increasingly nervous.
In his mind, even if he was caught off-guard, the limited performance the A.I. could exhibit was sufficient to trounce him viciously.
[*Sigh* Focus on completing the demo first. I will come back to you with an answer tomorrow, but after you finish it, if you can maintain this level of quality, I am willing to sponsor you with the required materials.](Rolan)
[Same here. Stay behind after the assessment ends. I want to hear more about your plans for the expansion of this 'Full Version.'](Melinda)
[Since these two seniors already said this much, I'll take care of the flaws pointed out by the Obelisk, compile them, and send the file with a detailed explanation later today. Good job, Michael.](Morano)
Hearing the praise from the Elders, Michael's knees almost buckled. After enduring the stress and pressure for these short yet incredibly long ten minutes, he felt his legs wobbling.
Now, he at least managed to secure a lifeline.
"Thank you very much, seniors! I'll do my best not to fail your expectations."
Returning to his seat under the envious gazes of the other examinees, he sat back down next to Nolan and Selina.
They were obviously happy for him, Nolan barely managing to restrain himself from bombarding him with questions. It was the same case for Selina, who had a curious look in her eyes.
Signaling for them to talk later while grabbing dinner, they patiently waited for everyone to finish their assessment. Sixteen people failed due to them receiving Basic-level recognition, and the judges agreed with how lacking their projects were.
Nine retreated from the 'race' while the remaining seven were given a second chance. After paying another 20 spirit stones, they could go through another three-month training course, where they had to improve on their current failed products.
The silver lining was that their end product had to reach a minimum of low-level Elementary recognition upon the second testing, or else they would fail.
Everyone got their reports and left, leaving Michael behind with the three judges.
[I have to say, I was impressed even after knowing I should expect something new.](Morano)
[Same here. I didn't have enough time to go through a proper examination of the Project and the Concept you instilled in this virtual world, but it feels like a breath of fresh air. Especially after more than 20 projects way too similar in nature.](Melinda)
[Mhm. The combat felt stiff, but it's understandable since you have yet to finish fine-tuning it. What I find intriguing is the combat mechanics. Wouldn't only four skills per hero bore the users? It might limit them too much.](Rolan)
What followed was a two-hour session of rapid-fire questions, where Michael had to explain his view of the Secret Realm.
The game mechanics, the leveling mechanics, how attributes would be limited per each level of Qi Gathering, and how they would increase depending on the hero level and their primary attribute, items, skills, neutral creeps, Roshan, and finally, multiplayer.
[Allowing more than one user to join an instance and having them compete?](Melinda)
Turning to Elder Rolan, the only one who tried the demo, they saw his furrowed brows.
Slowly, the man with a sharp nose and mean glare nodded.
[It's possible. The premise of the Secret Realm is two factions fighting in this 'ritual' to appease the sealed divinities. The problem is the cost of actually making that happen.](Rolan)
"Seniors, can you elaborate on that? I haven't had time to actually check the cost yet."
[It depends on the size of the Secret Realm and how you plan to connect the users. I personally recommend using an existing platform capable of transmitting information while also maintaining the instance running without lag between the information transfer while the cultivators go at it. But the minimum would still cost around 5,000 spirit stones, and that's for only two concurrent users active in the same instance.](Melinda)
Hearing her words, Michael immediately explained how he planned to release the complete demo version to the public cheaply.
In doing so, he could attract buyers while expanding his player base. He even talked about the possibility of organizing tournaments for the most competent users and the creation of a ranked system as soon as the demo hits the market.
[It's feasible. Let me see if I have this right. First, you plan to use this one versus one demo version to attract users. Then, you trap them by adding a ranked system. Everyone knows how competitive cultivators are, so it's a given that it would be successful. With the spirit stones earned from the sales made by the demo, you further invest into the five versus five version, and then release it to the public and charge them a higher price for the update?](Melinda)
"No, no, no! I won't charge anything extra, Senior Melinda. Doing so would upset the users who already purchased the demo version. I plan to release the Full Version for free as an update, as you mentioned."
[For free!? Aren't you afraid of going bankrupt?](Rolan)
Laughing inwardly, Michael shook his head at the naivety of these three. Once he graced his loyal fanbase with the holy Battle Pass, wouldn't he be raking in spirit stones by the truckload?
Distracting the trio from this topic, he explained that he plans to have two game versions in addition to the Casual and Ranked modes.
"The first is the 'Skin Mod, ' which allows players to have fun while battling in the bodies of various heroes. Elder Rolan should attest to the fact that experiencing how being in the body of Shadow Fiend should've at least felt novel. Of course, I still have a long way to go before completing that, but I think everyone can agree that jumping off a cliff and turning into a dragon should be an exciting prospect."
[Wait! Are the characters from that short movie heroes in your Secret Realm?](Melinda)
"Yes. All of them except the Merchant. Though, the Merchant also plays a different role."
A look of interest flashed through everyone's eyes, Michael barely managing to draw them out of their rapidly working brains with a light cough.
As Programmers themselves, they were already picturing how to make that happen and what it would imply.
"Obviously, this Skin Mod will be preferred by casual users who want to enjoy a novel experience. For those more interested in the ranked version, a different approach must be taken. I think Elder Rolan should be aware of what I'm talking about after experiencing the demo."
[*Cough* It's embarrassing, but I was badly trounced by the A.I.-controlled enemy hero immediately after I entered the game. Even with my fighting experience as a Golden Core cultivator, once reduced to the 1st level of Qi Refining, I couldn't exhibit most of my prowess. Furthermore, having a body where I could feel only the upper half also threw me off.](Rolan)
"Exactly. Therefore, I plan to use a 'Tournament Mod' for the ranked version. After scanning the biometrics of each user, they can enter the Secret Realm with their actual fighting ability. It would be even better if there were a short 30-minute exercise that would force users to showcase their capabilities before entering the instance. That way, the discrepancy between real life and the Secret Realm would be minimal. This scan would also allow them to enter the fight with a carbon copy of their actual bodies, which shouldn't hinder them when fighting prowess."
Initially, the conversation should've lasted only about an hour, but Michael dropped a bombshell towards the end.
"Also, I think regular people can also use the Full Version of the Secret Realm."
[[[!!!]]]
The eyes of the three judges bulged considerably, realizing he was right.
[Phew... That's correct. Your Secret Realm doesn't focus on actual cultivation, nor does it ask the users to charge at the incoming demons using their cultivation base. Instead, every hero starts at the same level with similar attributes.](Morano)
[Furthermore, the Skin Mod should encourage the regular people to even fight against cultivators in this game without sensing the disparity between their combat capabilities.](Melinda)
[Mhm... I even see the possibility of them competing in the ranked version against strong cultivators on equal grounds, as long as their combat sense is strong enough. *Sigh* This is really ambitious, Michael. If executed correctly, just this one Secret Realm could set you for life.](Rolan)
Regular folk, or 'mortals' - a somewhat derogatory term that was frowned upon even by cultivators - wouldn't usually purchase any of the existing Secret Realms since there was no point in doing so.
For those wishing to experience the visual impact and mental pressure brought by thousands of demons rushing at you, using the deep-dive headset to generate a movie including that was more than enough.
Therefore, Secret Realms were mostly used by cultivators to train their combat skills and stabilize their cultivation base.
Furthermore, this was an untapped market that would initially belong to him and him alone until someone else came along to grab ahold of the large pie.
Watching the ambitious youth walk away after bowing to them in thanks, the three judges looked at each other.
Some things were left unsaid.
[It might be evil of me to say this, but if he hadn't received the recognition of the Heavenly Laws today, seen the project, and heard his plans for the future, I would've most likely tried to buy or snatch it from him.](Rolan)
[*Sigh* I think we are all of the same opinion. The potential his Secret Realm has is absolutely frightening. Furthermore, the fact that he wants to sell it cheaply is not detrimental at all. Instead of a couple of million users buying his product, he could have billions, given his idea of opening his work to both regular folk and cultivators. Billions of spirit stones... there's no such saint in this world that wouldn't be tempted by this prospect.](Melinda)
[It's my fault, seniors. I heard about his plans, but they weren't at this level. The vision wasn't this broad when I talked with him about it. Had I known, our sect would've gained a golden goose.](Morano)
[You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, the fact that you didn't might've assured our sect's funds for the following decades.](Melinda)
[Senior?](Morano)
[Think about it. First off, what does the possibility of a Secret Realm sold to billions of people mean? Besides the actual currency gained, there's also influence and prestige. He wouldn't be just Michael Lewis, a genius Programmer, but instead Michael Lewis of the Bright Moon sect, a genius Programmer. The difference is small, but the impact isn't.](Melinda)
[That's right. Furthermore, there's no reason to kill the chicken for its eggs. If he is capable of creating this incredible fantasy world, what makes you think he couldn't do it again? Then, a third time. Then a fourth time.](Morano)
[I... I see. I was too narrow-minded. Thank you, seniors, for making me realize my mistakes. However, what should we do now? This situation... is a bit too complicated for us to handle.](Morano)
Agreeing that it was indeed so, Melinda took it upon herself to explain the situation to the sect master and seek his input before making a decision.
Also, the trio downloaded the demo and the project on their personal devices for further research.
Even Rolan, who wasn't a Secret Realm Crafter, found many interesting things he could adopt from this project into his own work.
For Melinda and Morano, it was even more so.