Chapter 12: S1. The Prince, The Flower, And The Resistance - 1 (GM Perspective)

If asked what the most important thing in a TRPG was, it was motivation. My theory was that players needed a strong motivation. For instance, if someone pleaded for help, saying ‘Hyesoon from next door was kidnapped by a giant squid’, logically, why would anyone get involved directly instead of calling the police? It would only make sense if Hyesoon was the town’s most beautiful woman, had a sweet and romantic fling with the player, and the police were too incompetent to respond. Maybe then, someone would consider acting directly. Just maybe. In that sense, there was no motivation more compelling than the threat to one’s life. When a huge ass monster was rushing to rip off one’s limbs, desperation naturally followed. Well then. Now, I had to create an impromptu session for the Second Prince. What session should I create / What would the core conflict be / How would I motivate him? If I had known about the Second Prince’s visit a week ago, I could have prepared something. I would’ve done some background check on him and finely tune the session’s atmosphere to match his personality, but…….his visit was unexpected. The order was in, the customer had arrived, and I had to serve the dish immediately. First, let’s check what ingredients I had. The fantasy modeling was roughly complete. Martial arts were far from ready for actual use and the modern era had aspects that I would hesitate to present to the Second Prince. After all, what would a prince do in the modern world other than enjoy gourmandism? After that, it would be done. Fin. Moreover, there was a critical problem when basing the illusion on the modern era. Trained subculture readers knew clichés all too well. If a pocket watch suddenly stopped1Mayuri’s pocket watch from Stein’s Gate. RIP…., it meant death was imminent and if someone said ‘How could so-and-so lose? There’s no way that could happen! They’re the strongest, after all!’ or ‘Nah, I’d win.’2RIP Gojo Satoru…., it meant they would either become mediocre, lose, or maybe even lose their lower half. As such, everything would fall into place predictably and neatly. If I introduced a beautiful girl in the session, the players would understand, thinking ‘Ah she must be a key character~!’ and if I suddenly mentioned dark clouds and a gloomy atmosphere, they would think ‘Something will probably happen soon!’ and prepare themselves. However, the Second Prince was a layman who knew nothing of this, wasn’t he? As such, I decided a straightforward plot was necessary. “This is the perfect angle for time travel.” “T-Time traveeeeel……?” The Tower Master, lying on the massage chair, muttered with a trembling voice. This place was, so to speak……the control room. A virtual reality space for manipulating virtual reality. Here, one could move NPCs or narrate the story. I munched on popcorn and swiftly manipulated the virtual reality. First, I threw the Second Prince into a secluded forest. I needed to buy some time. Having decided on the theme of time travel, setting the scene to be in the future seemed like a good choice. Luckily, I had a sleekly designed steampunk futuristic city. Complete with skyscrapers, it was an awesome modeling that looked impressive even with just a glance. The city’s name was ‘Nightwatch’. I attached the steampunk city next to the secluded forest. With the towering skyscrapers, it should be easy for the Second Prince to find his way. As long as he reached a slightly open area, he would see the towers that seemed to pierce the sky, so it would be simple to guide him out of the forest. Then, I remembered something I couldn’t leave out if it was steampunk. “Tower Master?” “Oong?” “Could you input the modeling of an airship? 10………” “Huh?” “9⋯⋯ 8⋯⋯.” “???” “7⋯⋯.” Tower Master Yuna quickly sat up and started carving out the modeling for an airship. As expected of an Archwizard, her speed was terrifyingly fast. She even had the sense to completely ignore the interior and only focus on the exterior. After making her take care of menial work like this urgent task, I focused on the monitor. Seeing the Second Prince examining a modeling of a tree and looking intrigued, I felt like explaining to him in a monologue. -You seemed to realize something. Was there anything special around you? Second Prince : “This type of tree only grows near the Imperial Capital. It was obtained to commemorate the Fifth Emperor’s birthday by ordering the alchemists.” The fuck did you say? “This tree modeling was done by Tower Master, right?” “UAAAAAAH AIRSHIP DONE………! Huh, eh? Oh, um. Eung3A cute way of saying “Yes” or “Okay” in Korean…. I did it.” “It’s said to grow only near the Imperial Capital.” “Eung!” Then I couldn’t use the steampunk futuristic city ‘Nightwatch’, you know? I gave the Tower Master a cheek massage as punishment for not labeling and writing a description of the tree modeling. “Eubububububu.” Yeah, sure. I could still use the steampunk futuristic city ‘Nightwatch’. Even though the player made such a brilliant deduction, I could say, ‘Yeah, okay, sounds like a you problem not a me problem~’ and replace the Imperial Capital with another city. I could just pass it over like that. But such an action was a million billion zillion light years away from my style of TRPG writing. If the player deduced something and it made sense, then it must be true. It was frustrating to be wrong when you made a deduction, wasn’t it?! I quickly got rid of the skyscrapers before the Second Prince turned around. I scrapped the ambitious futuristic city ‘Nightwatch’ and hastily called up and slapped on the modeling of the Imperial Capital. Then, I added hints of a future timeline here and there. I made a few scratches on the castle walls and added pointless clockwork and steam engines to the buildings. “……If I do this, there won’t be any skyscrapers, so I won’t be able to guide him to the city, huh?” “Ubuuuuuu.” Tower Master, launch the airship! Let’s set sail from here all the way to the city!” I lured the Second Prince with a suspiciously slow airship. And this was the time to exhibit the effects of Illusion Magic. The actual time spent moving through the forest was five minutes, but I made it feel like an hour with ‘Time Perception Deceleration’. A.K.A Military Training Camp Force Field4to imply that there is a force field around Korean military training camp (boot camp) that makes it feel like time is running slower.. This way, we could skip through the progression while still maintaining realism. I finished processing the modeling of the Imperial Capital in those five minutes. I quickly cooked up a makeshift emblem to replace the flag of the Empire. To make it seem plausible, I roughly mixed up the royal crests of three other kingdoms. Just exploring the Empire of the future felt lacking in urgency or danger. Danger….Danger was important. Without suspense and actions, things could taste bland. I remembered pondering whether to include an incident when I took the Tower Master sightseeing in Korea. Danger. Danger. Danger……. “Tower Master, tell me a few things that come to mind when you think of the Empire.” “Jwhy dwon’t jyou twalk awfter lwetting gwo jof mwy chweeks?”5Why don’t you talk after letting go of my cheeks? “Ah.” I let go. “Slavery, military power, and the Imperial Family actively mixing their blood with the nobility?” “Okay, noice.” Then, let’s go with a world of reversed social status. Let’s demote blondes, a symbol of Imperial Blood, to slaves. I manipulated the NPCs to look at him with a gaze that seemed to say, ‘Wow…..a blonde? Is he a slave?’. The Second Prince’s face burned red under these glares that he had never received before. While the Second Prince was waiting in the inspection queue, I organized my plot neatly. The main theme: a world of reversed status. And……..a success story? That sounded good. He was already someone born with many things, wasn’t he? He had never experienced rising from the bottom. I wanted to give him a taste of the catharsis that came with climbing from rock bottom all the way to the top. But first, in order to do that, I needed to ram him deep down into the ground. – “Halt. State your identity. Where is your master?” – “If you’re not a slave, then what? Are you some plaything? To think that there’s still a fucker who would walk around with his head held up high when he has such disgusting golden hair.” – “This fucking slave dares…… Are you mistaking your master’s authority as yours? No matter how high of a status they might be, you are just a lucky little slave. Understand?” I verbally beated the shit out of him. Then, the finishing touch: Firmly pushing an index finger into his forehead. I almost threw a punch when this happened to me at my company. In this otherworld, the effect seemed exceptional, as the Second Princess came out boldly. Second Prince : “Show respect, guard! I am the Second Prince of the Empire, Irid Crown-!” I pondered. The balance between displeasure and pleasure had to be exquisite. It was wrong to start a game using the Sweet Potato -> Soda Strategy6this is common korean slang. Suffocatingly annoying developments are said to be “Sweet Potatoes” because when you eat sweet potatoes (a type of korean food), it’s possible to feel stuffy, as if you’re choking. To remedy that feeling, you would drink “Soda”. In novel terms, this would be clearing up the stuffy, annoying developments. For example, a Young Master confronts an MC, saying how brilliant he is and how much better he is than our MC. It gets to the point where we want our MC to put him in his place. And when he does so, that is our “Soda”. We feel relieved. Perhaps it’s best to describe it as the sense of satisfaction received after taking a nice shit., thus killing off the player character’s entire family, friends, and lover. By doing so, it was possible to get punched by an angry player. You needed to scratch the player just enough to not truly upset them, then immediately follow up with an airdrop of soda to complete the strategy. That was why I didn’t use any swears worse than ‘jerk’. Let’s scratch him a bit more. Just a bit more. – “The reason the Empire you were so proud of was ruined and imperial citizens live like groveling slaves is because of the Wither Emperor Irid!” Interesting setting, wasn’t it? His future self being the last Emperor of the Empire. And as a backstory, all this Wither Emperor stuff or whatever was slander by the ‘Kingdom Alliance’. After conquering the Empire, the Kingdom Alliance, in cahoots with a Black Wizard, spread these rumors. “⋯⋯⋯⋯.” “Uh, h-hey. The Second Prince’s face looks like a dead fish……?!” “Eh….Ehhh.” “I-Is this really okay?!” No, it’s not okay. We’re completely fucked in the ass. I didn’t mean to hurt him this much! I thought he was the type to have a lot of pride, so I scratched at him hard, but maybe he had a lower self-esteem than he seemed on the outside……..? This was a fat miss. Maybe I was too hasty because it had been a while since I had played TRPG. “This is fiction, Prince. It’s all fiction…….” I needed to let him know this was all just an illusion, just a game. But speaking directly wasn’t the most elegant nor beautiful method to go about it. I had NPCs beat the Second Prince up while drastically lowering his pain threshold. It probably felt like light tapping. Look, isn’t it strange? Feeling a light tap even though you’re getting hit by a club? It doesn’t make sense, right? Just like that, I indirectly showed him this was all fiction. -You…….became dazed, like a person who had lost their soul. Even as the guards rushed over and beat you with clubs, your mind echoed not with pain, but with countless numbers of ‘Why?’. No, it’s not that you’re not feeling pain because of the shock. You actually don’t feel any pain. I’m telling you, you actually don’t feel any pain! How could one have such trivial thoughts while being beaten with an iron club? That didn’t make any sense! This won’t do. I needed to quickly implement a ‘Nadenade’7Japanese for patting. Basically means to comfort and soothe. stat. This jerk was just way too fucking good at dodging events. An event where a proud retired soldier takes notice of the Second Prince’s eyes and takes him in => Fail because the Second Prince runs away as soon as he sees the retired soldier. An event where I conjured a fat wallet in front of the Second Prince to at least pick up some money and enjoy a tasty meal => Fail because he passed it by, fearing Location Tracking Magic might be casted on it. A ‘Free Bakery Event’ where any passerby was just given bread => Fail because he ran away, thinking he would get beaten with a baguette. An event where wealthy noblewomen, who were generous in the heart and the chest, were set up at every little corner to support the Second Prince => Fail because he suddenly jumped over a wall and ran away. “Is it on purpose?” Did he perhaps just want to suffer? Was he dodging all these events I had prepared as a way to tease me, knowing full well they were all made by Illusion Magic? But seeing his dead expression, that didn’t seem to be the case…… “……Sigh.” I had no choice but to use my trump card. A beautiful girl. The ‘Boy Meets Girl’ scenario was a cliché of a long-standing tradition with impactful destructive power. She was a beautiful girl working as a server in an inn, filled with a lively sense of a commoner. Let’s spawn a water pail. And then, douse him in water….. – “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know someone was there…..” Here you go. See? A mistake by a beautiful girl. Now, I’ll create a sweet, mushy event where she apologizes to the soaking wet Second Prin……That fucker is running again! I quickly added to the settings. In fact, she wasn’t a beautiful girl working as a server in an inn. She was actually a beautiful girl who was part of the Resistance disguised as a server in an inn. I boosted her physical specs. I made her slide down a wall pipe and drop down. Did he notice the bizarreness of this move? Did he catch it? A delicate girl who looked like she couldn’t even lift a pink dumbbell83kg dumbbells was actually bold enough to drop from the third floor – a gap moe9a contrast between what one looks like and how one acted. Could be considered a “charming contrast”. And to add to this… Under her fluttering skirt, mature underwear, surprising for her innocent, youthful appearance, was revealed! This was perfect. Hurry. Look up! Look on my Works, Second Prince Irid, and despair10Ozymandias! Shiver with thrill at the sight of the underwear modeling I had crafted with my very soul……..! “ACK!” WHY DID YOU TURN YOUR HEAD AWAY…..! Frustrated and feeling wronged, I collapsed on the spot. And there, the Tower Master just looked down upon my despair, as if finding me pathetic…….. 1 Mayuri’s pocket watch from Stein’s Gate. RIP…. 2 RIP Gojo Satoru…. 3 A cute way of saying “Yes” or “Okay” in Korean 4 to imply that there is a force field around Korean military training camp (boot camp) that makes it feel like time is running slower. 5 Why don’t you talk after letting go of my cheeks? 6 this is common korean slang. Suffocatingly annoying developments are said to be “Sweet Potatoes” because when you eat sweet potatoes (a type of korean food), it’s possible to feel stuffy, as if you’re choking. To remedy that feeling, you would drink “Soda”. In novel terms, this would be clearing up the stuffy, annoying developments. For example, a Young Master confronts an MC, saying how brilliant he is and how much better he is than our MC. It gets to the point where we want our MC to put him in his place. And when he does so, that is our “Soda”. We feel relieved. Perhaps it’s best to describe it as the sense of satisfaction received after taking a nice shit. 7 Japanese for patting. Basically means to comfort and soothe. 8 3kg dumbbells 9 a contrast between what one looks like and how one acted. Could be considered a “charming contrast” 10 Ozymandias