If I had to pick my favorite saying about games, I would mention this phrase.
– A game is a comprehensive work of art.
Art, music, literature, philosophy.
All these elements merge into one to create a game, and crafting a single game requires the effort of countless people.
Of course, games also follow “trends.”
When a particular genre of game becomes popular or hits it big, it’s industry practice for similar games with slightly different skins to be released one after another.
Why?
Because, in the end, games are products sold by developers to make a living.
There are countless stories of indie developers who spent eight years making a game, only for it to explode in popularity and turn them into billionaires.
That’s how significant the industry has become, and it’s undeniable that the gaming industry is lucrative.
But now, due to my existence, that very industry is facing a crisis.
Is it the gamer in me?
Or the Summoner in me?
“This is driving me crazy. It’s not like I can just tell the gaming industry to hold back. But at the same time, I can’t just summon my fifth summon from some random game that’s not even meant for combat.”
I already have someone in mind for the fifth summon.
Whether I can summon them properly is another question, though. The gacha is ridiculously tough, and while I’m tackling the Towers to obtain a summoning ticket, I still haven’t met the summoning condition—Full Limit Break. But if I could summon them… humanity would…
That’s why it’s such a headache.
– Wait, you’re saying you can summon that, too?
– More power! More destruction! Even stronger summons!
If the gaming industry starts creating games solely for summoning purposes…
If developers abandon actual gameplay, turning everything into gacha mechanics where players simply pull characters so that Summoners can summon them into reality…
That would spell disaster for the gaming industry.
Ever since smartphones became widespread and mobile gacha games gained popularity, one game featuring a character who drew a sword from their chest generated over 2 trillion won in revenue. Even with gacha games flooding the world, things could get much worse.
A world where everything is about gacha pulls and the summoned characters’ stats, while game design itself is neglected.
Imagine a game where the developers poured in hundreds of billions of won, yet the graphics look like something out of 2007.
– But our game’s characters have the stats of SSSSSS-rank Hunters!!
And if they secretly set the Full Limit Break and Full Refinement costs so high that even spending 12 million won wouldn’t guarantee pulling a single character?
“Looks like I’m about to become public enemy number one.”
“Oh my, the person envied by a million Awakened worldwide is actually more concerned about being hated by gamers?”
Drei chuckled as she waved the smartphone she had been given.
The screen was scrolling rapidly, though it was blurred. Most likely, it was filled with complaints and curses directed at me.
“These games haven’t even been developed yet, so aren’t you overthinking it?”
“But isn’t it possible that some developers will actually go that route? Especially in China?”
“Hmm, I can’t deny that. I mean, just look at the people complaining right now—most of them are developers.”
It takes years for any game to go from development to release.
It’s not like I’ve had my awakening for three years, and the idea that a Fully Limit Broken, Fully Refined mobile game character can be summoned hasn’t spread that far yet.
Elaine, Drei, and Illinois.
These three—and in some cases, even my cat—have led people to believe that it, too, might be a gacha game character. Eventually, they figured out that [Kiharu from Fermata 8X] was my summon.
Some are now trying to create characters that surpass them.
Others are designing a fifth character they assume I’ll need.
In short, it’s a mess.
“Commander, if a game with high-spec characters gets made for that purpose, would you still summon them?”
“I’d raise them, but I’d hold off on summoning them.”
“Really?”
“If millions of people are dying and that summon is the only thing that can save Earth, then there’s no reason not to. Even if the consequences… are a bit concerning.”
I showed Drei a newly installed mobile game.
“Ugh.”
“Drei, did you know? After mobile gacha games became popular, it turned out a gacha game doesn’t even need to be original.”
“…Don’t tell me you’re planning to summon them?”
On the screen, a young man with sharp eyes and golden hair was extending both hands toward the screen in prayer.
“A warrior who doesn’t just destroy planets whenever he feels like it but eventually even starts messing with entire worlds?”
“If necessary, I might summon them as a last resort. Sure, having to reverse summon them every full moon would be annoying, but at least they’d be unrivaled in solo combat.”
“The food costs would be insane. Would even the U.S. be able to cover that?”
“Even if they eat 10 million won per meal, if they can clear not just S-rank Towers but even the SS-rank Tower… Babel, then who cares? If their annual food bill is 100 billion won, people would still welcome them with open arms. Especially Japan.”
“Yeah, especially since their origin is obvious. But… that’s not the only problem, is it?”
Drei held out her hand horizontally.
“If humanity’s power level gets too high, who knows what’ll happen?”
“…….”
“You know this, Commander. If one person’s level is way too high, all the small fries won’t be able to keep up and will just get wiped out.”
“I know. Of course, I know.”
Someone strong enough, but not too strong.
Not a being so powerful that they could turn the world upside down, but someone strong enough to help humanity overcome its crises.
With that in mind…
“Oh, right, Commander. There’s been an incident in Korea.”
“…What?”
“President Luigi and the U.S. government are doing their best to suppress the information—well, more like trying to keep it from reaching your ears—but it seems like we’ve reached the point where you need to know.”
“What happened?”
“‘They’ caused an incident.”
“…Who are ‘they’?”
“The Game Rating Committee.”
“…”
No way.
“You mean those guys who go berserk at the sight of an octopus…?”
“It’s not censorship.”
“If it’s not censorship, then what is it?”
“Actually… can I even say it’s not censorship?”
“…What is it?”
“…Forced patriotism?”
“…?”
* * *
[At that moment, NV Soft Co., Ltd. – Chairman’s Office]
“Are those Game Rating Committee bastards insane?!”
The chairman of NV Soft clutched his head, cursing at someone in the office.
“They’re ordering us to take down all our kimono skins because they’re ‘too Japanese’? This isn’t the 70s or 80s!”
“Could it be for political reasons…?”
“That’s correct. Officially, they’re saying it’s a content rejection, but in reality, it’s a form of pressure to make games that align with their preferences.”
The executives gathered in the chairman’s office cautiously shared their opinions.
“After doing some digging, it seems that politics are involved.”
“Politics? Those people who are always trying to suppress the industry with laws? What do they have to do with this?”
“Well… you’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? About Enpia, and about how the Master’s summons are all game characters.”
“Wait, but the Master plays mobile gacha games.”
The chairman of NV Soft thumped his chest indignantly.
“We make online games! And the game that’s under review right now isn’t even a mobile game—it’s a console game!”
“Uh… this is just a cautious guess.”
“What is it?”
“What if they’re trying to make us add gacha?”
“…What?”
“By implementing a character-pulling system, like Enpia’s business model, they could create more opportunities for the Master to summon game characters into reality… Doesn’t that seem like their aim?”
“This is driving me nuts. Hey, what’s the genre of our game?”
“Souls-like.”
“Does gacha pulling even fit in a Souls-like game?”
“…The higher-ups don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“Wow. This is completely insane.”
The chairman grabbed his head and collapsed into his chair.
“All outfits must be hanbok or traditional Joseon-era costumes, every game must have gacha, and the character stats have to be absolutely ridiculous. At this rate, in two years, the industry is going to be flooded with these kinds of games.”
“But… isn’t that essential for maintaining world peace now…?”
“If that’s the case, they should just make new games! These guys are acting like real estate developers who’ve spent years constructing a high-rise, only to be told at the last moment to remodel it into a hanok!”
“Even if you say that to us… Uh?”
“What?”
“C-Chairman… behind you!!”
The chairman’s seat.
With a crackling sound, blue lightning flashed, and a figure appeared.
“Chairman Kang Dae-han.”
“!!”
The chairman shuddered as a hand landed on his shoulder.
The hand appeared normal, but it was stained with blood—as if its owner had just brutally beaten someone.
“N-No way…”
“I heard your words loud and clear, Chairman.”
“Wait. Hold on, you’re not going to…?”
“Chairman.”
Squeeze.
“As an industry expert, I need your assistance.”
“A-Assist? How?”
“We will eliminate the Game Rating Committee.”
“……!!”
“I have investigated his movements. His preferences. The types of games he enjoys.”
“!!”
The chairman, still reeling from the pressure on his shoulder, instinctively perked up at those words.
“Do you want to know his favorite game genre?”
“…D-Do you know?”
“Yes. I have uncovered the answer.”
It was like a devil’s temptation.
“The genre of games he plays the most is…”
“Is…?”
“None other than—”
Gulp.
“‘God-tier games’.”
* * *
“…Anyone hearing this would think I’m some kind of god-tier game fanatic.”
“Well, you do only play anime god-tier games.”
“Hey now.”
A not-so-secret secret that must never be exposed to the world.
“I’m just a regular gamer who prefers story-driven, emotionally impactful characters. It’s just that, due to my work schedule, I ended up playing more mobile games for convenience.”
I was merely a teacher, a pioneer, a trainer, a professor, a master, a commander, a bishop—
And now, a captain, a traveler, a wanderer, a rope-maker, a manager, a herbalist, a leader, an heir—
A person who had saved countless worlds while witnessing their stories unfold.
“And don’t get it twisted. It’s not that I only play god-tier games—it’s that the games I play become god-tier.”
Thus.
“If they want me to summon characters, they should first make a good game—one that actually makes me want to pull. Why the hell would I summon something that’s being forced down my throat?”
