To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

“Although I don’t know the plot of ‘Remember Me,’ just from the name and the cover, it seems to be a game with some healing elements. I haven’t played many such games, but I heard they’re not very challenging, so it should be fine. Oh, someone initiated a paid challenge, ‘Don’t cry at the ending’… It seems someone is eager to spoil it. Well, if you say it like that, then I definitely can’t cry.”

Paid challenges are a common form of donation on Eric’s streaming platform, where viewers can initiate challenges for a fee, and others can pile on.

This mode allows for great interaction and gives the audience a stronger sense of participation.

Typical challenges include single-life completions of “Heavenly Demon,” kill streaks in “Bpex,” or unlocking five doors with four keys in “Hollow Knight.”

If the challenge is completed, the streamer gets a monetary reward; if not, it’s okay, just fulfilling some extra small requests from viewers will do.

Having confirmed the challenge, Eric dived straight into the game, the screen pulsating slightly to the rhythm right from the start menu.

“The music’s good; I really like it. Fang Cheng Studio does great sound effects. When I played ‘Heavenly Demon,’ I could even predict what skill the boss was using based on the sound effects. But they’ve never had much background music before; this is a great breakthrough this time.”

“The visuals are amazing too, as always impressive. Just from the graphics alone, this game’s atmosphere has already peaked in my imagination, and it’s probably going to be hard to surpass for a while.”

“I see my corresponding Far Traveler, an ironclad fellow who doesn’t seem to like talking. Reminds me a bit of my dad; he’s not much of a talker either.”

“I’ve been playing for an hour now and haven’t encountered any tearjerkers. Although I haven’t reached any explosive content, I really like the style so far. It’s like having tea with friends—a tranquil atmosphere that I enjoy.”

“…This doesn’t feel good, the Slime-like Far Traveler I just met seems to have stopped moving. I want to see what’s wrong, but the ironclad dude dragged me away. If anyone knows what’s up with the Slime, can you tell me? If not, no worries, I can probably guess.”

“Another Far Traveler has disappeared; is the death rate for travelers in this game so high? I’m not crying, my eyes are just a bit sore.”

“Is this grand hall the end? It feels like I haven’t played for very long. Alright, we’ve seen the grand hall, let’s head back.”

“Is there anyone who can tell me which button is the one to go back? I feel like there should be a button that lets us go back.”

“None… That’s not right. I get it, this must be an easter egg from Fang Cheng Studio. We could try alt-tabbing out of the game and then back in, or pressing some special buttons. There would be a console that appears, and it will let us return.”

After pressing every key on the keyboard, Eric came up empty-handed.

He even tried again, as if he were operating a flight simulator, but found nothing.

Standing outside the grand hall, he simply let go of the keyboard, not operating anything, ready to freeze the journey at this moment.

However, the iron-skinned man just stared at the grand hall for a long time before turning around and gently patting Eric’s head.

Then he strode toward the grand hall, disappearing into its glow, leaving behind only his name, “Far Traveler Ayrong.”

Still searching for the return button, Eric watched blankly as the other left, with a slight feeling of congestion in his chest.

Though he felt a little sourness at the corners of his eyes, he still managed to control his emotions and shrugged at the camera with a laugh, “That’s a pretty good story. It’s moving, but it’s just a little bit shy of making you cry your eyes out. Alright, it’s late, we should rest.”

The successful challenger Eric ended the live stream and yawned as he got ready for sleep.

Before shutting down, he made a point to restart the game and found that the game screen had frozen at the moment of his encounter with Ayrong in the abandoned factory, but the familiar iron-skinned man was nowhere to be seen.

He went to bed, turned off the light, and unlike usual when he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, today he simply couldn’t sleep at all.

His father had gone off as a volunteer, leaving him alone in the room.

Through the window of his bedroom, he could see the brilliant sky outside.

The moonlight was beautiful; it fell on the rooftop like a layer of snow. As time passed, the moon slowly crept from one side of the window to the middle.

Awoken by the moonlight, Eric decided not to sleep after all.

He got up and propped his pillow behind him, watching the moon slowly climb to its zenith and then gradually make its way out of the window.

When the moon had set and the sun had risen, the distant sky was painted with a vivid red glow, which moved Eric greatly as he hadn’t seen a sunrise in a long time due to his late nights and late mornings.

“Ayrong, look!”

He called out subconsciously, then abruptly fell silent.

It wasn’t until this moment that he realized he had been a part of a game character’s life journey.

He had followed the character over mountains and rivers, seen a multitude of magnificent sceneries, reached the end, witnessed the character’s sacrifice, and learned his name.

Although they had spent just ten hours together, the story had left an indelible impact, ensuring he would never forget the character’s name, Ayrong.

Only now, this broadcaster, not yet twenty years old, realized what he had gained and what he had lost.

An old friend had disappeared forever, their story could no longer be experienced, and their shared journey would become a unique treasure and his most unique gaming experience in recent times.

Facing the splendid sunrise, Eric wiped his eyes and finally voiced the farewell he hadn’t been able to say before.

“Goodbye, Ayrong.”