I Became a Mesugaki (1)
Most people, once they've squeezed every drop of content out of a game, put it down and move on to the next one.
In a world like this one, how many good games are out there? Playing this one, then that one, savoring the thrill each has to offer — that's a far more enjoyable way to spend your time.
But a veteran grinder is a different breed. The kind of person who sinks hundreds, thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of hours into a single game lives entirely in inefficiency.
"God, this game is so dead. There's literally nothing to do." — they shout that, then boot the game right back up and go digging for something, anything to do.
Because by that point, the game has already become their life.
How do I know this in such detail, you ask?
Because I'm that person.
There was this game called Soul Academy — a title that dominated the year it released and walked away with Game of the Year.
Like most GOTY winners, Soul Academy had it all: gorgeous graphics, a phenomenal soundtrack, a story that actually held up, and genuine fun as a game. Calling it a god-tier game wasn't even an exaggeration.
I still haven't forgotten the awe I felt the first time I laid hands on it. That very feeling was the culprit that kept me playing Soul Academy all these years later.
Having logged over ten thousand hours in Soul Academy alone, I had long since experienced everything the game had to offer.
And I don't just mean I'd seen every ending.
Achievement hunting? Finished that years ago. Concept runs, no-equipment runs, speedruns, clears using only a single skill — I'd done everything there was to do inside that game.
I'd even messed around with nearly every user-made mod out there. Good or bad, if it existed, I tried it.
Which meant that unless a DLC dropped or a sequel came out, there was simply no content left in Soul Academy for me.
Out of pure habit, I launched the game, stared blankly at the title screen for a while, then shut it off again.
Then I headed to the community forums to check whether there was any fresh news about a Soul Academy sequel.
As always, the developers maintained their iron silence.
At this point, they clearly had no plans, right? I knew that perfectly well. And yet I couldn't quite bring myself to give up hope.
Ten years had passed since Soul Academy came out.
At first, everyone expected a sequel.
This wasn't some run-of-the-mill title — it was a GOTY winner that raked in astronomical revenue. Naturally, everyone assumed a follow-up was inevitable.
Everyone did.
Every game studio does.
But the studio behind Soul Academy kept its silence, year after year.
They never so much as dangled a crumb of a teaser.
One year passed. Then two. Then several more.
Even the trolls who used to spam every news thread with "Soul Academy 2??" eventually burned out and vanished.
What was once hailed as a god-tier game aged into a dead one.
Like every dying game's community, Soul Academy's forums had been a graveyard for years.
The same handful of regulars, a few posts a day at most.
The only time the place came alive was when a clueless newbie wandered in.
The moment some innocent soul showed up asking questions, the veterans would howl "Fresh newbie smell! Attack!" and drive them out of the game for good — that was this community's one and remaining function.
But today was different. For some reason, the Soul Academy forums were buzzing.
What now? Another fresh newbie wandered in? I wondered. Nope. This time, a user had shown up to promote a mod they'd made.
A Mesugaki mod? What on earth is that?
Unable to resist my curiosity, I clicked the thread, and as I read through the post the user had lovingly put together, a whistle of appreciation escaped me.
The quality was genuinely good.
Most user-made mods are landmines. Out of a thousand mods, maybe ten are worth salvaging.
But this user's mod was different.
For starters, the character modeling clearly had real care put into it.
Red twintails, mischievous eyes, an insufferable smirk. And snaggle teeth.
One look at that face and your fist itched to deliver a head rap — the design captured the mesugaki archetype flawlessly.
On top of that, the skills built around the mesugaki concept were solid too.
[Mesugaki]
[This damned little brat constantly looks down on everyone and spews provocative remarks.
This brat, who derives euphoria from enraging her opponents, seems entirely unaware that she could get thoroughly put in her place at any moment.]
[Physical abilities are set lower than baseline.]
[The angrier the opponent becomes, the higher the character's stats rise.]
[Gaining favor with other characters becomes more difficult.]
[Becomes easier for enemies to hit.]
[Stats plummet sharply when cornered.]
Clear strengths, sure — but with far more weaknesses. A proper self-imposed challenge skill.
You could tell the creator agonized over making everything fit the concept.
Average players would filter this out calling it trash, but veterans like me? This is exactly the kind of thing that gets our blood pumping.
Easier for enemies to hit. Stats rise when you enrage the enemy.
The concept just clicked. This trait was practically begging to be built into a tank!
Scrolling down, I watched the creator's own gameplay footage, and the feel of it held up too.
Taunting monsters with lines like "Weaaak~ You're sooo pathetic~" was admittedly pretty cringe, but for a starved old dog dying of content drought like me, that was no penalty at all.
Further down, I checked reviews from people who'd actually played it.
The consensus was positive — everyone agreed the quality itself was solid. A few users complained the concept was too much of an otaku-panderer for their taste, but that wasn't my problem.
I am an otaku!
I downloaded the mod on the spot and applied it to my game.
Yeeeah. The game won't crash? Who is this modder? First time seeing their name. Absolute legend.
If they ever open donations, I'm educating them with cold hard cash immediately.
Stepping into character creation, I applied the Mesugaki trait right away. Instantly, the character beside the stat window transformed into the spitting image of a mesugaki.
No custom character editing? That's a bit of a shame.
Thanks to the [Mesugaki] skill's penalties, the character's stats were waaaay below average.
At this level, wouldn't I need to pull off a life-or-death struggle against a bare-handed goblin?
That did sound like its own kind of fun, but for a first playthrough, better to take it easy. Hardcore challenges are for run two and beyond, after all.
Since I planned to build toward tank, I picked [Iron Wall] for its damage reduction while wielding a shield, [Unbreakable Will] as my anti-instant-death insurance, and [Fear Overcome] to soften the Mesugaki skill's penalties.
My base specs were pathetically low, so I also grabbed [Genius], a skill that multiplied stat growth by 1.5 times to make up for it.
And judging by the skill descriptions, starting as a commoner would probably get me beheaded by some noble — so, aristocrat start it is.
All things considered, factoring in the Mesugaki skill's penalties, this build felt about right.
Alright. Let's do this.
Just as I smiled at the thought of finally sinking my teeth into something fresh after all this time and pressed the button to create my character, light spilled out of my monitor.
Huh. Wait a second.
Hold on.
I'm so screwe—