Sakaki quickly arrived home, eager to unbox his new ZEPS. The box was sleek and well-designed.
"Wow, even the box looks cool," he muttered, admiring the detailed artwork and guidance printed on the back.
Excited, he opened it up and found everything inside—one ZEPS console, two controllers, cables, and a manual. To his surprise, there was also a thank-you card from ZAGE, personally signed by Zaboru himself.
He looked at the card and grinned. "I can't believe Zaboru actually made his own company. He's younger than me… Aw, hell, no need to compare myself to others! I am who I am! Hahaha!"
With that, Sakaki had unlocked the key to happiness: a positive mindset.
After setting up the console, he turned his attention to the six neatly arranged game boxes—Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Punch-Out!!, and Excitebike. The vibrant box art and sleek design made his eyes sparkle.
"Ohhh, look at this! The boxes are so cool! I should keep them like treasure!"
Determined to keep the unopened ones pristine, he decided to start with Punch-Out!!, followed by Excitebike, since he had already played the other four games in the arcade version at ZAS.
"Heheh, let's see what Punch-Out!! is all about!"
He examined the box. The cover showed a boxer with gloves up, ready to fight.
"Boxing, huh? Interesting."
He carefully opened the package and found the game cartridge, a guidebook, a ZEPS Volume 1 game list, and a mysterious black card with a stylized "Z" on it.
First, he picked up the guidebook.
"Oooh, a guidebook? That's helpful!"
He took a deep sniff of the fresh pages.
"Oh my god, it smells so good! Smells like fun times and one-bread-a-day meals!" he joked, grinning to himself.
Next, he unfolded the ZEPS Volume 1 game list.
"Huh? What's this?"
The list displayed the six launch titles developed by ZAGE.
"Very neat!" he nodded in approval.
Lastly, he examined the Z card—a simple black card with a gray "Z" in a cool font.
"Huh? What's this? Z? Like ZAGE or something?"
Flipping it over, he found a cryptic message:
"Focus on the words Doc says, and you will see me."
Sakaki raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell is this? This thing is kinda creepy… Is it a clue in the game? Whatever, screw it—let's play!"
Playing Punch-Out!!
Sakaki booted up Punch-Out!! and immediately became engrossed in its gameplay. He spent hours battling his way through the Minor Circuit, defeating Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, and Piston Honda. Moving on to the Major Circuit, he managed to take down Don Flamenco, King Hippo, and Great Tiger.
However, he struggled against Bald Bull, who kept spamming his Bull Charge attack.
BAM!
Little Mac was knocked down again. The referee, who suspiciously resembled Mario, shouted, "GET UP!"
Sakaki clenched his fists.
"THE HELL?! This baldie is so damn unfair!" he yelled in frustration.
Determined to win, he prepared for another attempt. But before he could start, something strange happened—the game's menu screen changed, and Doc appeared, displaying a cryptic message.
"Huh? What's that?"
The text read:
"L1G—"
But before he could make sense of it, the text disappeared.
"What was that? Shit, whatever, let's keep playing!"
Determined to improve, he kept grinding through fights, learning patterns, and getting better. Eventually, he reached the final opponent—Super Macho Man!
Just as he was about to start the fight, Doc appeared again. This time, the message was fully revealed:
"L1GM4"
Sakaki frowned.
"Huh? L1GM4? Like… Ligma? What the hell is Ligma?" (Ohh if only he knew)
Shrugging, he decided to write it down in his notebook.
"Better note this just in case."
Returning to the game, he finally defeated Super Macho Man!
"WHOA! I FINALLY BEAT IT! I don't even know how long I've been playing!"
Glancing at the clock, his eyes widened in shock—it was 8:00 PM.
"I started at 11:00 AM… That means I've been playing for nine hours straight?!"
His stomach growled.
"No wonder I'm so damn hungry! Oh shit, I need to stop playing or I might overheat the console."
While ZAGE had improved the ZEPS durability, it was still important to let it rest to prevent damage.
Just as he was about to turn it off, he noticed something new on the menu screen—an 'Additional' option had appeared at the bottom.
"Huh? What's that?"
Curious, he considered clicking on it but ultimately decided against it.
"Better check it later. I'm starving."
He saved his progress, turned off the consoles, then scarfed down some bread with jam before crashing onto his bed.
"Tomorrow's still the weekend, but I have work on Bakudan… at least it's only from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. I can play again after work, and then on Sunday, I can pull an all-nighter!"
Grinning at the thought, Sakaki closed his eyes, Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.
To be Continue