Quirrell is refining and organizing the knowledge he learned at school, and he's now nearing the end of the process.
Lorne led Sains through the door.
Sains stood there like a schoolchild being punished, Lorne politely waved his hand. "Please sit down."
Before Lorne could speak, Quirrell looked up and asked, "Are you planning to hire people, Lorne?"
Lorne gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Quirrell, I just figured out how to make that communication software. Not only that, but the other software in the future may need manpower, so I plan to hire someone to try it out first."
Quirrell wasn't angry at all; he was genuinely happy for Sains.
"That's great, Lorne. Sains comes to our store every day; he'll definitely be able to handle the job."
Sains sat on the armchair, ecstatic but not daring to relax for a moment.
"No, Quirrell, I plan to prepare a workspace for him on the second floor. If your work is outside the Magic Mobile Phone, then his work will probably be inside the Magic Mobile Phone."
"In the Magic Mobile Phone?" Quirrell and Sains asked in unison.
Lorne still intends to have Centaur or other reclusive Magical Creatures act as messengers, as having one or more wizards relay the message could very likely lead to a leak.
His conscience wouldn't allow it; he wasn't a voyeur, much less would he hire someone to be one.
"That's right, have you forgotten, Quirrell? We're going to do something big at the end of this month," Lorne said with an air of commanding confidence. "Not only is the release of the Magic Mobile Phone, but also updates to Wizard Legend and Street Wizard Fighter, and the release of the software we created."
With the increasing popularity of Magic Mobile Phone, arcade games, while not necessarily eliminated, will no longer be as mainstream as before. Lorne plans to shift the focus of Street Wizard Fighter from offline to online, creating fair, real-time, and exciting matchmaking battles, and establishing leaderboards and ranking systems.
As Lorne's debut title, The Wizard Legend naturally had to keep up with the pace. This update was unprecedented. He not only had Firenze draw new characters for him, but also had Firenze assist in refining the characters and maps. Lorne himself also put a lot of effort into some UI aspects.
"Therefore, I need Sains to help test the game's numerical values and hidden mechanics. His performance on Street Wizard Fighter was so excellent that he is definitely capable of the task."
Lorne held up one finger. "Not only that, the redemption code mechanism will also begin testing, so Sains might have a second task—"
"Take the lead."
During the early stages of the game's development, Lorne didn't dare to openly implement a microtransaction system; instead, he planned to use redemption codes as a buffer.
First, they release redemption codes that everyone can obtain. Then, they impose restrictions and increase Fawley. Once the market starts buying redemption codes and demand exceeds supply, the Magic Mobile Phone Official Flagship Store can respond to the call and release redemption codes for official sale. Finally, they convert the Fawley in the redemption codes into currency and put it directly into the game.
With this series of moves, no wizard would realize how their Galleon were being lost.
The Magic Mobile Phone Official Flagship Store has staff dormitories. Lorne only needs to prepare a workspace for Sains. When Sains appears in front of everyone happily wearing clothes with the Magic Mobile Phone logo, Draco is the happiest one.
"Did Director Lorne hire you?" Draco asked.
"Yes," Sains said without revealing his job duties, "He's incredibly kind, and his understanding of the game is deeper than anyone I've ever met. His training sessions were truly enlightening and refreshing."
Why bother with this training?
"My job isn't to watch over you, and Manager Quirrell's job isn't to watch over you either. You'll understand when you become one of Boss Lorne's men," Sains said arrogantly, acting as the riddle teller. "My job hasn't even started yet. I've been a bit free these past few days, so I came to lend a hand and look after an old friend."
Sains glanced around, then leaned close to Draco's ear and whispered, "I'll give you extra time; you can play for one hour and three minutes today."
"..."
To get Sains into actual combat as soon as possible, Lorne went to see Firenze overnight.
When Firenze emerged from the Forbidden Forest, he appeared noticeably larger. Lorne was about to remind Firenze to watch his physique when he realized it was just that he was carrying two leather bags on his back.
The bag was full of sketches.
Lorne looked at each one, and each one captivated him.
"You've painted so well, Firenze. Your talent surpasses mine. I bet that even ten years from now, no one will paint better than you!"
"Thanks to the book you gave me, the author is a true genius," Firenze said modestly. He had indeed learned various painting techniques from the book to be able to paint with such brilliance.
Lorne shook his head but did not refute.
He couldn't very well tell Firenze that the author of the book hadn't been born yet.
"Wow, look at this! The Witch of the Moon - Ozomuna, she's amazing! Even her hair is divine. I'm going to put her in this season's rate-up banner, players will go crazy!"
This is also Firenze's favorite work, and he couldn't help but promote it. "I used Moonlight Grass, so his hair can emit a faint glow at night."
Lorne was very satisfied with Firenze's drawing skills and the speed at which he completed the work. He took out the food he had prepared and said, "This is the final payment. You don't need to draw as much anymore."
Firenze frowned. In his mind, gain must be accompanied by labor, and he worried that the food he received might also decrease due to a reduction in the amount of work he did.
Lorne didn't mean it that way, but he also didn't see Firenze's worries.
He simply asked another question, " Firenze, if you can single-handedly provide food for an entire tribe, what do your people usually do?"
"Help me gather Moonlight Grass or something," Firenze answered honestly. "Some kids are always thinking about hunting, even though there's not much game left, they're still too idle."
Lorne was waiting for Firenze to say those words.
"Actually, letting the animals rest and recuperate for a while might be the best solution," Lorne suggested. "Hunting can be a hobby, but if all the Centaur rely on it for a living, the Forbidden Forest's resources will eventually dry up."
"So, have you ever thought about giving the Centaur a different profession?" Lorne looked into Firenze's eyes, his expression tempting. "A profession where you don't have to go out, don't have to come into contact with wizards, and don't have to worry about danger."
Firenze suddenly felt like he'd been tricked.
He has no reason to refuse.