01. Think Carefully Before Deciding on Character Customization
01. Think Carefully Before Deciding on Character Customization
A character in a game is close to being one's own avatar.
And for that reason,
Gamers want their avatar character to be strong, perfect, and above all, an overpowered character who achieves superhuman feats.
I am the same.
I set the stats of 'me'—in other words, the new player character appearing in the TS Three Kingdoms game released as a dating simulation—to all MAX.
Leadership: 100
Martial Prowess: 100
Intelligence: 100
Politics: 100
Charm: 100
I know, it's a shameless set of stats.
But what can I do? I'm a loser in reality, so I can't be a loser in a virtual game, can I?
Just like how countless readers feel vicarious satisfaction from harem novels, I just want to feel vicarious satisfaction through a player character who is close to a superhuman.
"I have to add the Famous Teacher skill, and of course, the Famous General skill... Then add the internal affairs specialization skill and the military training skill..."
The next important thing is skills.
They are important stats that determine the player's internal affairs, military, strategy, and diplomatic abilities.
I filled those up to MAX as well.
Thinking I should make the most overpowered character possible, I chose everything without being picky.
"Huh, Compatibility?"
After maxing out all 5 major stats,
I saw the adjustment setting called 'Compatibility' located below them.
It determined the intimacy, or relationship map, with the characters appearing in the Three Kingdoms.
For example,
If I set the compatibility with the Martial King of Wei, Cao Cao Mengde, to 100, I could very easily gain favorability even if I met Cao Cao for the first time in the game.
"Cao Cao was a heroine considered the greatest beauty even in the dating sim Three Kingdoms. She was known as a flower on a cliff, so there were many reviews saying it was damn hard to raise her favorability..."
Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Yuan Shao, etc.
I set the favorability between all characters set as ruler-types to 100.
Setting it wasn't difficult.
Because right next to it, there was a very kind checkbox that asked, 'Would you like to set the compatibility between all ruler-type characters to 100?'
However, I would come to regret this for a long time.
Because it meant that not only the beauties and pretty girls generally known as ruler-type figures, but also hairy old men like Dong Zhuo and Li Jue, who looked repulsive just to look at, had their compatibility maxed out with me.
"Should I register Lu Bu as my most important cherished general first? Every player of the dating sim Three Kingdoms knows that the Lu Bu army is a hopeless group consisting of Lu Bu's brain and Chen Gong's martial prowess, but it's hard to give up on the Unrivaled Under Heaven heroine. It's also hard to give up on the sub-heroine next to her, Zhang Liao-nunim. If it looks like it's going to be a game over, I can just start over anyway."
If it looks like my faction is going to fall,
I can just start over. Why? Because this is a game. It's a strategy dating sim where saving is very free.
『Year 187 AD. 4th Year of Zhongping.』
The era 4 years after the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
I chose the era when the era of heroes truly begins and set the time period.
Two years before the Dong Zhuo army entered Luoyang.
And it was the era before the Young Emperor Liu Bian was deposed by the traitor Dong Zhuo.
'Oh, it looks real?'
Having entered the game world, I could see the scenery of Luoyang.
Luoyang.
The capital of the Han Dynasty and the city where everything began.
Although it would lose the title of capital to Xuchang, until then, Luoyang was the place that could be called the starting point where all events began.
When I created the player character, I set the affiliated city to Luoyang.
And after setting my affiliation to the Han Dynasty imperial court, I chose the status of Colonel of Luoyang, a military position that is neither too high nor too low, yet plays an important role.
"Should I go to the Filial Daughter of Xuzhou, Cao Cao, who is cold on the outside but warm only to her man, or should I go to Yuan Shao-mama, who loved her three daughters so much she couldn't make a decision until the end... Or should I go to the high school girl Liu Bei, who has a two-faced personality like a sock?"
The compatibility between ruler-type characters is at the maximum.
No matter which character I go to, raising favorability is simple.
So-called lowest difficulty.
I will be loved by all heroines, and the steps to be loved are simple.
Which pretty girl ruler should I conquer first?
Lost in such happy delusions, I tried to save the game first while having the player character created in Luoyang.
"Huh?"
Why is there no save button?
There's no save point either.
Standing on the city street where countless Luoyang citizens were passing by in lines to the left and right,
I stared intently at the game window.
But there was no save or save point anywhere, and I couldn't even see the logout option to disconnect from the virtual game.
"Force Quit!"
I shouted loudly at the sky.
It's a manual set up so that if a server error or game glitch occurs, one can immediately exit the virtual game.
But for some reason,
Even though I screamed "Force Quit!" at the top of my lungs, the virtual space surrounding me had no intention of changing.
"Why is that gentleman acting like that?"
"What is he trying to quit? The chaotic times have arrived, is he trying to end his life?"
The citizens walking nearby looked at me and started whispering.
As if they were seeing a crazy person.
Someone shook their head and turned away, and someone else offered me consideration, asking if I was okay.
'Fuck?'
A sentient being trapped in a game.
Experiencing an event that would only happen in the game novels I enjoyed reading, I let out a silent scream in the center of Luoyang.