While Rachel and Annang were having their talk, Lucas was fully focused on how Mirror was doing.
In fact, quite a few people were already paying attention to the game.
Even though it launched on an overseas platform—and it was a pretty unique kind of game—
The sales were right there, speaking for themselves. The platform doesn't show exact numbers, but for designers and industry media, it's easy enough to estimate based on available data.
The numbers might not be 100% accurate, but they're not too far off either.
Even though Mirror hadn't topped any "best-selling" charts, it was holding the number one spot on the positive review rankings with an almost unbelievable lead.
An 18+ game suddenly reaching the top of the most-liked list?
That alone shocked a lot of game developers.
Everyone was curious—just what kind of magic did this game have?
Especially in the comment section.
Many people noticed that the reviews were completely different from what you usually see in adult games—some of them didn't even make sense.
"Awesome match-3 game!"
"Get out of here, women! Don't interrupt my puzzle time!"
"I honestly can't tell if this is a match-3 game or a dating sim, but one thing's for sure—my little bro is very happy."
"I thought this was just another typical adult game, but I was shocked. This isn't some lazy throwaway project—it's a legit indie gem!"
"As a professional troll, I can only complain about one thing: why the hell is an adult game this emotional and this well-made?"
"Ten minutes passed, I already hit post-nut clarity, this game should've ended there… and yet, I'm still playing it! These match-3 puzzles are kinda fun, not gonna lie."
"This game shows the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly sides of human nature. It's like nothing else."
"When an adult game can actually move me emotionally, does it even matter anymore whether I… you know, or not?"
"I launched this game feeling excited, but when I quit… it wasn't relief—it was this weird emptiness."
These reviews left a lot of people stunned.
Did they open the wrong game or something?
Of course, aside from the many players leaving good reviews, there were also a few who liked to act all serious the moment they were "done."
Back when he first had only 2000 dollar, Lucas had to rely on posting soft ads on forums popular with foreign adult game fans.
Now, it was all word of mouth among those same fans.
So for Lucas, all that was left to do was sit back and wait for the money to roll in.
"Alright, now that I've got the first round of funding, the next steps are finding a new workspace and registering a company."
"And I should also plan out the future more carefully—and rack up more points while I'm at it."
In his rented apartment, Lucas lay on the bed, going over the next steps in his head.
As for the point system, Lucas had noticed something.
His points were going up, but still not by much—just enough for two single pulls.
While he was thinking about that, his phone rang. He glanced over—Rachel was calling.
"Hey, Senpai. What's up?" Lucas picked up.
"Nothing big, I just wanted to say congrats. Honestly, I didn't expect this…" Rachel sounded a bit embarrassed on the other end.
But Lucas pretty much knew what she was trying to say, so he laughed. "It's fine, Senpai. Totally normal. To be honest, even I was a little surprised by Mirror's sales."
That was only half true. The part that wasn't true? Mirror's success had been fully planned.
From the game quality, to the marketing strategy, even the choice to make Mirror the first release—it was all based on Lucas's research and planning. None of it was random.
But the part that was true was how far the game's popularity had gone—that had caught even Lucas off guard.
Even though the game was released on a so-called overseas platform, the players were mostly still local.
Still, the sales numbers shocked him.
It reminded Lucas again just how much bigger and more active the gaming market was in this world compared to his last life.
"Oh right, Lucas—are you free tonight? I was thinking we could do a little celebration. Also, I've got a friend who wants to meet you," Rachel said.
"No problem. I was actually thinking of treating you to dinner too. If you hadn't helped me out earlier, Mirror would've been way harder to finish," Lucas replied sincerely.
They chatted for a bit more before ending the call.
Lucas set his phone down and checked the backend data for Mirror again.
Total sales in 6 days: 58,121 copies.
The growth chart looked explosive—clearly, the fans' enthusiasm was on a whole different level.
And judging by Mirror's potential, this was just the beginning.
Some third-party platforms had only just started listing the game.
While Lucas was happily checking the stats…
The indie game scene, on the other hand, wasn't so calm.
Media outlets who had taken notice started tracking the game's data.
After all, it was hard to believe that a game with an 18+ theme had made it onto the top-rated charts.
At the same time, the buzz around Mirror started spreading fast.
For everyday players, it was hard to get solid sales numbers.
Some media and developers following the game early on figured it might sell ten or twenty thousand copies.
But once third-party data trackers published their report, people watching the game were stunned.
Because the number they gave was fifty thousand.
That was actually 8,000 less than the real number—but even so, it shocked a lot of game designers.
Especially those making similar adult games—they were completely floored.
An adult game selling this many copies? Are you kidding?
Was that number high?
Not really. Big AAA titles can sell millions on day one. Some globally known games even hit ten million at launch.
Of course, it wouldn't be fair to compare Mirror to those kinds of games.
For an 18+ game with no promotion, made by an indie dev—or more accurately, by someone who isn't even a game designer—
these numbers are insane!
It might've even broken the record for gentleman games.
Maybe someone will beat it someday, but up until now, there has never been a game in this genre that hit numbers like *Magic Mirror*.
And this is just the beginning.
Many developers in the gentleman game circle had a feeling—
they were witnessing history.
Whether or not it's a big moment in history, whether Mirror is a gentleman's game or not, it still counts as history.
(end of chapter)