The Weight of Luck
The GM's undeniable charm lies in how well it captures each nation's cultural nuances through unique playstyles and intricate details. Today, we're breaking down Japan. When playing as a Japanese character, there are two key concepts you must keep in mind: 'contracts' and 'hollows'...
......
......Japanese hunters hate causing trouble for others and are blindly loyal to organizational culture. In simple GM terms, this makes long-term contracts and contract renewals incredibly easy. However, third-party contracts are extremely common, which I'll explain in the 'hollows' section...
......
......Another cultural trait is the faint sense of guilt expressed as 'if it isn't exposed, it isn't a sin.' Because of this, there are countless cases of stat manipulation through black magic, reverse spirit techniques, and similar methods. That's why Japanese representatives pride themselves on their ability to detect 'hollows.' To prevent this, it's become increasingly common to appoint guarantors in contracts.
......
If none of this makes sense, here's a pro tip. There's a character named Miyakawa Tatsugoro from the Shinsengumi Guild. Only contact hunters that he shows interest in. At the very least, you're guaranteed safety from the 'hollow' aspect. Why? Because among all existing characters in GM, his 'Luck' stat is estimated to be the highest...
— Excerpt from Professor Lee's GM Beginner's Essential Guide: Nationalities (Japan) Edition —
* * *
“......What? You're saying Representative Tatsugoro only reached his position through pure luck?”
“No no, it's not just luck.”
Lee Shin spread both hands dramatically.
“It's insanely good luck that put him there.”
In GM, non-hunter characters don't have status windows. Naturally, there was no way to check their stats. On top of that, 'Luck' was a hidden stat. Unless the nerds who made GM revealed the numbers, there was no way for regular players to know them.
—Or so it was for ordinary users. Lee Shin, however, was the ultimate veteran of this GM server.
In his head, he had every character who directly or indirectly influenced gameplay ranked by grade, from front office staff to everyone else.
For example, Chae Dong-ha, currently clutching his head in shock and muttering “This can't be real,” was an SS-grade genius manager. Across the ocean, Selena of the Mets Guild was also an SS-grade capable manager.
And Tatsugoro's grade was the same SS as theirs.
“His work processing ability is below average, his decisiveness is low, his networking skills are mediocre, and he doesn't even have particularly good affinity. Does he possess heavenly charm like this body's beauty? Nope. Can he offer any strategic help? Pfft, not even close. The guy probably doesn't even know how to watch a match properly.”
“B-but......”
“No matter how generously you look at it, he's average at best. If the Shinsengumi Guild is supposed to be Japan's number one, he's still way below standard. I guarantee you'd get better results just putting our SS-grade genius manager Dong-ha hyung in that seat.”
Despite having such subpar stats, there was only one reason Tatsugoro was ranked in the same SS tier as Chae Dong-ha.
An estimated Luck stat of 100.
It was all because of that one astonishingly good fortune.
“Wait, hold on. I'm really confused right now. I have immense respect for Representative Tatsugoro. He rose from a front office employee to representative at lightning speed. Among us front office types, he's practically a legend.”
“Heh heh, go on.”
“What I'm saying is, the man has accomplished so much. Reducing all of it to just two letters—'luck'—doesn't make any sense.”
“It does.”
“......”
“For him, it really does.”
Lee Shin smiled brightly as he spoke.
Go ahead and list those so-called achievements. Perhaps because his idol was being disparaged, Chae Dong-ha snapped and began speaking.
“There are three famous achievements of Representative Tatsugoro. Over a decade ago, the Shinsengumi Guild was on the verge of demotion after their parent company pulled out due to poor performance.”
At that time, Tatsugoro stormed into the headquarters of Japan's top automobile group, Totsan, and miraculously secured them as the Shinsengumi Guild's new parent company.
“As a result, the Shinsengumi Guild miraculously avoided demotion. This was an achievement accomplished by Tatsugoro while he was still just a regular employee. It led directly to his promotion to representative. Can you really dismiss that as mere luck?”
“Yeah, for him it works.”
The true story behind that incident began with Totsan's corporate misconduct. The so-called top automobile company in Japan had been cutting corners on safety inspections and selling defective vehicles anyway.
By 'coincidence,' the mayor of Tokyo discovered this, and in exchange for covering it up, he made a deal with the Totsan chairman......
“Invest in a guild based in Tokyo.”
“......?!”
“There are five guilds based in Tokyo. Two of them are major. Shinsengumi and Edo. But Edo already has a major corporation of similar size backing them.”
“......So the only major option left is Shinsengumi.”
“Right! So even if Tatsugoro hadn't gone, there wouldn't have been any problem at all!”
Wasn't the timing positively supernatural?
It was even more ridiculous when viewed through the game's story. Originally, he hadn't even gone there for business. He was simply pushed into making a courtesy visit. The board happened to be discussing the matter at that exact moment, and the only thing Tatsugoro said during the entire meeting was “Yes.”
After successfully bringing in the new parent company, he became representative the following year.
That promotion had originally been scheduled for three years later, but the current representative suddenly fell ill and Tatsugoro was appointed as interim representative. That was the cherry on top.
Anyway, after taking the position of interim representative, a miracle occurred that same year that shocked the entire archipelago.
It was one of the three achievements Chae Dong-ha had been about to mention.
“The miracle championship that took a bottom-tier guild straight to the top. Hyung, this was the one you were going to talk about, right?”
“......This was also just luck?”
“Yep. This one is two hundred percent pure luck. Why? Because that year, a massive third-party gate exploded. Heh heh heh.”
“What are you talking about? From my research, there was no such——”
“There was, hyung. I'm Lee Shin. If I say there was, then there was.”
To summarize, Japan's largest third-party organization had been involved in various unfair contracts.
The problem was that this organization had also gotten tangled up with underground gambling rings.
“It was a situation where the entire league could have been implicated in match-fixing. So the cabinet quickly covered it up before the Bureau could catch wind of it. Then they quietly disposed of all the involved hunters.”
“How does the representative know things even the Bureau doesn't—— Wait, never mind that. How could something like that be hidden?”
“It's possible in Japan. Their culture is 'if it smells bad, put a lid on it.' Anyway, the Shinsengumi Guild was the only one completely untouched by that gate incident.”
“......?!”
The miraculous luck that caused all the problematic hunters to be eliminated on their own.
Thanks to that, Tatsugoro achieved what could only be described as the greatest case of reaping what others had sown in league history.
At this point, even Chae Dong-ha was at a loss for words.
Could someone's life really go this smoothly? Did people like this actually exist in the world?
“Hah, then the current golden squad of the Shinsengumi must also be——”
“The rank one Sword Saint saved a child who was about to get hit by a car. Turns out it was the Sword Saint's own son, and that child was the third-generation only heir of the Sword Saint family.”
“......Wow.”
Every single member had been recruited for similarly absurd reasons.
Chae Dong-ha was starting to feel genuinely afraid of the country called Japan. Could their top rankers really be brought in so easily?
“Then what about the supernova that Tatsugoro personally discovered and raised from recruitment to development? He's Japan's youngest ranker and the Sword Saint's successor. Is he also just luck?”
“Ah...... So that name finally comes up.”
Supernova.
Japan's rank 7.
Japan's youngest ranker.
The man discovered by Representative Tatsugoro, who had walked a path of nothing but victories since his debut. He was even evaluated more highly than the Sword Saint as Japan's next-generation swordsman.
But why was Lee Shin's smile widening at the mention of that name?
“Hyung, want me to teach you something fun? Luck is called luck precisely because you never know which way it'll jump.”
Everything he'd mentioned so far was clearly 'good fortune.'
But here's the thing. 'Bad luck' is still luck.
And Tatsugoro was a 'lucky' character.
“That guy walks the tightrope between insanely lucky and catastrophically unlucky twelve times a day.”
“!!”
“He can't control it. No, he can't even handle it. His luck is simply too big for him to manage. Heh heh heh.”
Luck that could go anywhere.
Even if he made a mistake, it would be covered up. Even the smallest success would be massively spotlighted.
But did Tatsugoro's own abilities improve through this process? Not at all. In fact, it hindered his growth.
“That's why luck beyond one's ability is both poison and a curse.”
And then.
“This supernova, Musashi, is the very embodiment of that curse. He's also the key card for this match.”
With a theatrical flourish, Lee Shin tossed the documents like a villain.
Among the scattering papers, a blonde, tanned young man was smiling.
* * *
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was match day.
People were steadily gathering at the Tokyo Dome.
In the midst of that, the Shinsengumi Guild's waiting room was bustling with frantic activity as they prepared for the match.
“Ugh, why does this water taste like this? Don't you know I don't drink this brand? Are you even paying attention? Go buy a new one.”
The all-purpose carry from the beastman race, rank 18, Violet.
“Hey! Who sharpened my shuriken again? I told you to check the equipment properly!”
The masterpiece of Japan's prestigious ninja clan, rank 11, Demon.
“Hmm, the divination doesn't look good. It's going to be a difficult day.”
Japan's greatest shrine maiden, rank 3, Yin-Yang.
“......”
Japan's strongest swordsman, rank 1, Sword Saint.
And the person completing the Shinsengumi's golden squad alongside them.
Rank 7, the supernova Musashi was currently smoking a cigarette with Tatsugoro in the hallway.
For reference, he was extremely irritated right now.
“Mumu.”
“Damn it, Uncle Goro! What the hell is Mumu? How old do you think I am?!”
“Mumu. Just listen to what Uncle has to say first.”
“Ugh, fine. Hurry up and say it. You're annoying me.”
It was a well-known fact that Tatsugoro had raised Musashi since he was a promising rookie.
In reality, even the rebellious Musashi respected Tatsugoro deep down. That was why he allowed the nickname Mumu.
So what was grating on Musashi's nerves?
It was exactly what Tatsugoro was saying right now.
“You must be absolutely cautious. You can't go on a rampage by yourself like you do in the league. Especially be careful with that kid named Baek Yeon-woo. There's something strange about him. Don't engage recklessly.”
“Damn it!! Baek Yeon-woo! Baek Yeon-woo! It's that rookie brat again!”
Baek Yeon-woo.
Yes, the main culprit scratching at Musashi's nerves was Baek Yeon-woo. The rookie who would be facing him in the top lane today.
For the past several days, Tatsugoro had been calling Musashi in and repeatedly instructing him to be wary of Baek Yeon-woo.
Tatsugoro's tactical knowledge was practically nonexistent, but his miraculous luck sometimes struck right at the core like this. Fortunately, it had activated this time.
The problem was that from Musashi's perspective, this was incredibly unpleasant.
“Uncle Goro, are you seriously saying I'd lose to that rookie brat? Me? The supernova Musashi?!”
“That's not what I'm saying. I just——”
“Shut up, Uncle! I'm holding back a lot right now.”
What kind of evaluation did Baek Yeon-woo receive?
A sword that pierced through anything. A destructive 1:1 laner who constantly pushed his opponents with overwhelming force. A super crack who shattered the flow of battle.
But here's the thing.
“Uncle, doesn't this sound familiar?”
A destructive tank who wielded a greatsword too heavy for most hunters like it was a feather, destroying towers. The reliable vanguard of the Shinsengumi Guild who broke through the flow of matches and cleared away all obstacles.
“That's right. Those were the exact words attached to me just a few years ago.”
“Mumu.”
“Every path that rookie has walked, I've already walked before him! No matter how much he rampages, he's still in the palm of my hand! And yet what? Be cautious? Pay attention? Uncle, are you doubting me? Are you worried I'll lose to a guy who just debuted this year? To someone who isn't even a ranker and doesn't even have a proper alias??”
“It's not like that.”
“Shut up. No matter how much I respect you, this crosses the line.”
Who was he?
Japan's youngest debut, youngest ranker.
The one evaluated as the closest to being the first, the best, and thus the strongest. That was the supernova. That was him.
“Just watch. I'll show you exactly how I crush that Joseon bastard.”
I have no regrets. Rookie brat. If you have any sin, it's that you touched my pride.
I'll show you what a wall truly is.
Musashi stepped into the arena.
·
·
【 'Baek Yeon-woo' has slain 'Musashi'. 】
???
Huh?
Musashi stared in disbelief as his body began to scatter.
“Just like hyung said. This guy really is an idiot, huh?”
Baek Yeon-woo looked down at him as he scattered, resting his weapon on his shoulder.
Weight Disdain (SS)
: Draws out the latent potential sleeping within the resonance of heavy steel. When using a weapon heavier than the opponent's, it crushes them completely.
However, be warned. This effect can also apply to yourself.
A massive lump of iron large enough to cover Baek Yeon-woo's entire body, who stood over 180 centimeters tall.
The ultimate weapon in weight, something neither swords nor spears could possibly match.
That's right.
The weapon resting on Baek Yeon-woo's shoulder was an enormous double-bladed axe.
* * *
『 ......However, avoid characters that Tatsugoro personally raised. Due to his excessively high Luck stat, characters who have passed through his hands have a high probability of being overhyped bubbles or possessing fatal flaws. 』
— From Professor Lee's GM Beginner's Essential Guide: Nationalities (Japan) Edition —