Ichin didn't need to share this whole string of ideas with the rest of the company just yet. After all, the Dark Souls project still wasn't finished. No matter how much they sped things up, the earliest release date would be around February or March next year.
After briefly discussing some details of Tales of Berseria with Ichin, Utaha pulled Yukino away, not wanting to disturb his work in the office.
Once outside, Utaha headed straight for the Fall Guys development team again. Tales of Berseria wasn't at the point where her script was needed yet, so she figured she might as well spend more time with the team brainstorming new skin designs.
Yukino, on the other hand, walked over to the art department and sat down beside Eriri.
At the moment, Eriri hadn't noticed Yukino's arrival. She was frowning intently as she worked on modifying the model of a pitch-black monster that looked as though it had been coated in oil.
Just one glance at the model made Yukino frown.
"Eriri, is that also a monster from Dark Souls?"
Only then did Eriri realize Yukino was sitting next to her. She glanced over and nodded.
"Yeah, it's one of the Dark Souls monsters. I'm reworking it right now. The first version didn't meet Ichin's standards, so he gave me some notes. I'm making the changes now."
As she spoke, Eriri added a glossy sheen to the monster's black surface, making it look even more repulsive.
"Ugly, isn't it?"
Yukino still frowned.
"Mhm, it really is unpleasant. I don't know much about Dark Souls. Are there a lot of monsters like this?"
"There are plenty. Hardly any of them are beautiful designs. This game leans heavily into dark aesthetics. A lot of monsters are downright nightmare fuel. The one I'm revising now is actually one of the tamer ones—it's mainly just twisted limbs and disgusting color tones."
"What's this monster called?"
"Pus of Man," Eriri explained. "According to Ichin, it's basically the result of being corrupted by abyssal power in the Dark Souls setting. The body turns into this thing, like it's wrapped in tar. In the game, it doesn't appear often, but it's strong. Its weakness is fire. Honestly, this one's not too bad. Hey, Yun, show Yukino the Basilisk, will you?"
"Hm?"
Hearing Eriri, Yun Iijima smiled and nodded.
"Sure, I'll send you the picture."
She forwarded an image, which Eriri opened on her computer.
Yukino found herself staring at a frog-like creature with grotesquely oversized eyes. Just a couple of glances made her feel deeply uncomfortable.
Eriri closed the image after a few seconds and returned to her work.
"To be honest, I don't like looking at these monsters either. But the game's type makes it addicting. Once development is done, I'm definitely going to play through it. Sigh, what a sin. Yukino, do you want to try it with me? It has co-op!"
Yukino shook her head immediately.
"No thanks. Just seeing these monsters kills any desire I might have had. I'd rather play The Binding of Isaac. Compared to this, Isaac's art style looks almost cute."
"That one's 2D pixel art, so of course it feels different."
Eriri shrugged, still tweaking the monster model.
"Not playing might be for the best. One of Dark Souls' maps was designed personally by Ichin—it's full of malice. That Basilisk you just saw shows up there, along with huge poison swamps. Just stepping in them builds up poison. Running and rolling are all affected. It'll definitely disgust a lot of players. Who knows what's going on in his head, always trying to torment players."
Although Eriri said that, the look on her face made Yukino feel like she enjoyed that kind of player-trolling design.
Recalling the company's previous playtests, Yukino couldn't help but think: once this game releases, just how many masochistic players are going to be trained?
After watching for a while, Yukino decided not to bother Eriri anymore. She found a quiet spot and began reading a book.
As the time drew close to six o'clock, Ichin finally finished his work, shut down his computer, and left his office.
After gathering Utaha and Yukino and bidding the others farewell, they left for the day.
In the elevator, Ichin turned to Yukino.
"Yukino, Haruno is coming over for dinner. You want to join?"
"I knew it…"
Yukino finally confirmed her sister's true motive for moving in next door—to freeload meals!
Thinking it over, she nodded.
"Alright. I'll impose then."
Since they still had plenty of ingredients left from yesterday, there was no need for a supermarket run. They drove home in two cars.
While Yukino and Utaha played with the cats in the living room, Ichin headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Cradling the increasingly plump Peppa in her arms, Yukino glanced toward the kitchen.
"Shouldn't we go help? He's been working all day."
"No need. If Ichin needs help, he'll say so."
Utaha, feeding George a small treat, smiled.
"He invited you to eat, not to cook. It'd be ridiculous to have you in the kitchen. I'll check on him later. If he's struggling, I'll lend a hand."
Yukino nodded. Her attention was soon stolen by Peppa, who was stretching its head longingly toward George's snack.
By six-thirty, Haruno had also returned from work.
After putting her things away and changing into casual clothes, she came next door.
"I'm home~!"
She greeted Utaha and Yukino in the living room, then slipped into the kitchen.
There she found Ichin focused on cooking. Looking into a bowl of blanched pork belly slices, her eyes sparkled.
"Braised pork for dinner?!"
Ichin nodded while heating the pan.
"Yeah. Braised pork, dry pot cauliflower, asparagus with shredded pork, and a winter melon rib soup. Three dishes and a soup should be enough, right?"
"More than enough!"
Hearing the menu, Haruno was delighted. She hugged Ichin's head and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"That's your reward from your big sister. Keep it up! I'll head back out."
Ichin rolled his eyes as she left. Less than a minute later, laughter and noise floated in from the living room.
With a helpless shake of his head, he went back to cooking.
---
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