24 Hearts

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The Tenth Fragment, Altemia

It wasn’t that difficult to get through Aslan’s checkpoint. Whether someone was a noble or an adventurer, they could pass if the guards could identify their identity. They entered through the passage of the gate that was as long as a massive wall. Jeanne and Judah admired the calm, open streets, unlike what they had seen from outside.

They thought that the buildings towering far above the gate would be intimidating but looking at the city before them, everything was spacious and comfortable. As a country’s capital, Serenia was an incomparable crowd. Still, even common trash was hard to see on the road, and houseplants neatly arranged by the entrance made the threshold feel far more warm and welcoming. It was like a textbook rich country.

“The road is one-way, unlike Dempa.”

“Isn’t it amazing? It feels neat.” Jeanne muttered, earning a nod of agreement from Judah.

The road was divided into two sides, allowing people to walk to their right according to whichever way they were heading to not bump into each other. The two of them blended into the crowd on their right. They didn’t need to avoid the incoming people who followed the same rules on their side, and no shoulders were bumping into each other. At this point, other countries felt like a lawless zone.

When he was making the game, he couldn’t remember making such detailed rules. If this world appeared in the game, it would be an incomplete world with missing details, but magically, this place was complete. In the game, if you compared Serenia and Philoria, there would be no difference even if you went into a different country.

‘Ah. That…’

While walking along the street with Jeanne, Judah stopped. His vision caught a glimpse of a colossal structure inside the second wall. It was a circular tower, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

‘Hall of Fame.’

It was a common name, but it was the name of that tower. Hall of Fame — there was no other name that suited it. That circular tower honored the Black Flagstaff winners and stored the items they used in their battles.

‘That’s awesome. Really…’

Judah gazed at the streets before him, a euphoric smile curling on his lips. Suddenly, the memories of making a game in the distant past come to his mind. For the 2nd continent, some people helped him design and build it, so he didn’t spend so much time creating buildings or terrain. But in the first continent, he made everything on his own. After planning the area and setting the terrain, the buildings were laid out using various tools in his editor. After modeling the key locations of each country, the building was given a particular name and function. Serenia’s -The Temple- and Aslan’s -Hall of Fame- were prominent examples.

To put it into perspective, everything on this street was made by Judah, with his own hands. But to be honest, it wasn’t as detailed as it was now. There were empty spaces everywhere, and it lacked so many details. To keep the player from straying off the map if it was too intricate, the player could only see the private houses outside and could not enter them.

But now, he was free to roam like somebody had filled the holes he left. It felt like whatever he made was remade from the ground up into something much better and higher in quality. Looking at the capital city before him, he had almost forgotten that he made it. However, the moment he remembered that he made the very base and idea of everything around him, he couldn’t contain the pride swelling in his heart.

“Judah?”

“Yes?” He didn’t know how long he had been gaping, but Jeanne snapped him out of it. Jeanne was staring at him, and Judah was late to realize that his companion had been giggling at him.

“What are you looking so happy for?” Jeanne continued.

“Ah-” Judah paused, unaware that his glee had been showing up on his face.

Looking back on old memories filled him with so much joy he couldn’t hide it. But just in time, a child passed by, holding her mother’s hand. The little girl licked away at her lollipop happily, and the adorable sight made him smile.

“It’s nothing. Just… lots of good things to look at.”

“Is that so? You weren’t looking at the child?”

Jeanne figured she could be wrong, but instead of answering her question, Judah only smiled as he continued walking. Jeanne watched the mother and child pass by before following after Judah again.

“Didn’t you say we have to stop by somewhere here in Aslan? Do you know where it is?”

“Um, roughly? Maybe, we’ll find it until the sun sets.”

“Roughly?”

After seeing Jeanne mutter in disappointment, Judah pulled up his -Map-. Usually, the general field would be obscured unless the player can explore the field, but in a safe zone like a castle or village, he could check all the information about the area without going around.

If he remembered correctly, the store that sold the fragment was located on the second wall. The game made it impossible to walk towards private properties. It did not have any special features and was made to keep the player from going astray. However, there was a store located in a corner that people failed to find.

Judah led Jeanne, taking their time diligently. After getting used to the surrounding landscape, Judah went to the food stalls by the street. Jeanne promised not to complain about Judah leading their way, but Judah bought her something to eat to make things even sure. From sweet to soft bread, Jeanne munched down whatever they had bought. Thanks to this, Jeanne’s mouth watered even more than before.

“By the way, Judah, you find your way very well for coming here, like you’ve been here before.”

Of course, it was easy. Looking at the map helped. Now and then, Judah pretended to stop on his tracks to avoid suspicions and even asked around the food stalls for directions.

“I tend to find my way just fine. I’ve never been lost in the woods. And if I get lost, will it be a problem? Because my path is the right path, and whichever way I go, I arrive somewhere. Wandering around the marketplace is nice. Don’t you find it pleasant to just go about?”

“Well… I like what you just said, ‘whichever way you go, you arrive somewhere.’ But can you tell me where we are headed exactly?”

“Ah, that’s what you’re curious about? The place we’re going to right now is a blacksmith shop. Specifically, the weapon shop.”

“?” Jeanne’s eyes widened. There were weapons and blacksmith shops all around.

Daang! Clank!

The sound of hammers bashing on iron echoed faintly through the streets, but it was a sound most commonly found in Aslan.

“Is it something special?”

“Yes, it’s special.”

The blacksmiths and weapons shops around were bright and colorful. The materials in Serenia were not even comparable to theirs, just like the taste of their rice cakes. And in here, he was able to get a good weapon at a relatively cheap price compared to buying it elsewhere. Perhaps because of that, people visited Aslan to purchase weapons. But contrary to the rest, the store Judah was going to was a shabby one.

“…Is it really here?”

“Yeah.”

Jeanne looked back and forth at Judah and the store incredulously. Compared to the tremendous number of people coming and going to the capital Aslan, this street was less crowded than most. And contrary to the weapon shops that they’ve seen before, the one in front of them looked unkempt.

The signboard was also faded, and the building before them looked unwelcoming than the surrounding establishments. One of the weapons on display through the window certainly looked good to Jeanne, but there was no one inside, so she doubted that the shop was open. In short, Jeanne found the store to be unreliable.

“I know I shouldn’t say this, but this store looks weird and beaten down. No, wait a minute. Is it special because it’s meant to look as strange as it is?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Are you out of money? So you went here to buy a good weapon at the lowest possible price?”

“No, not really. Jeanne, if you walk in, you’ll see why I went for this nice little store.”

“…If you don’t have enough money anytime, please tell me. I have money too, so if you don’t have enough travel expenses, I can give you.”

“Thank you for the offer.” Judah laughed, knowing well why Jeanne would react in such a way about the store. It may not look impressive, but this was precisely the store Judah went for.

It was old, shabby, and famous only for those who knew of it. It was far more special than any other place where the other twenty-four fragments were, and the fragment here was much easier to obtain as well.

People like the word -hidden-. It was an Easter Egg Judah felt satisfied with, and the short story he added with it. Just finding something -hidden- gave the players a great sense of accomplishment.

And it was the same with Judah. He aimed just for that, and he built this store and let the fragment sit and be available for purchase. When making the game, he tried to keep the movement of players as little as possible so that they couldn’t go to private houses. However, this was the one place they could go to.

Most players gave up around the area after realizing there wasn’t much for them to explore. It can be seen as a kind of prejudice. They thought that if they couldn’t go to the other properties, why would they wish to visit this shabby store as well? Since it was a single-player game, not an online game, there were only three cases where players thought it was a bug in the game because nobody else had stumbled upon it.

When you hear about the comment from other people who enjoyed the game, read an article posted by other people on the game website, or accidentally enter an alleyway, those who came into the store like that are wondering but were surprised to see what the store owner sells. Of course, the item sold at this store was one of the twenty-four fragments.

It was -10th Fragment, Altemia-.

“We should stop standing and go inside.”

Judah smiled and opened the door of the store. It jiggled as the bell at the top of the door rang through the room. Unlike the old facade seen from the outside, the interior was relatively neat. Not a single dust could be seen on any surface.

“Welcome.”

The moment she heard the bell, an old lady appeared before them.