Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #28
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 28: The theory that the ones who will be my card
doesn't have a normal character (1)
『The time has come
again tonight! A battle limited to
humanoid girl monsters, Catfight! The lovely
and beautiful Mon-girls will be fighting to eliminate each other in a
spectacular and merciless manner! Who
will be the most beautiful and powerful card?!
I'm Yuya Sato, the
commentator. I will be accompanied by the first Catfight Champion, Toro Maguro,
a four-star professional.
First of all, let me
introduce the fighters for the first match! The
first fighter to appear from the red gate is Shusuke Saito! He is an active college student adventurer who aspires to
be a professional! So far, he has three wins in three fights! He is a promising
newcomer who is riding the wave!』
Along with the cheers
of the audience, a young man in his twenties appeared. His face was reasonably
good-looking, and had he trendy fashion and hairstyle. He waved his hand back
at the audience, his expression full of confidence.
『What do you think of
player Saito, Toro Maguro-san?』
『I think he's a good
player.
His party consisted
of a C-ranked Siren and D-ranked Amazoness and Nekomata. The Amazoness, with
its superior durability, acts as a tank, the Nekomata is a tricky attacker, and
the Siren supports from the rear.
It is a basic but
solid configuration. Newcomers tend to be timid and focus more on attackers,
but Saito seems to have a calm demeanor and good teamwork.
I think there is a
good chance that Saito will win again and go to the final round of the
championship.』
『I see! He is promising! Next
to appear, coming out of the white gate, is Utamaro Kitagawa! The way he ranked up the his card in the Students
Tournament and the brilliant reversal of his victory are still fresh in the
public's memory, aren't they? Even
though he has only been an adventurer for about half a year, he has grown at an
astonishing rate to three stars! As
if to prove that it wasn't a fluke or a coincidence, he won a spectacular
victory in his opening match the other day!』
As the audience's
excitement rose at the introduction of the live commentator, a boy with an
ordinary face appeared with the smoke from the white gate.
Those in the audience
who don't know Utamaro Kitagawa's face, can't help but look dismayed at his
ordinary appearance.
Could this really be
the young adventurer who has been a hot topic in the news? They whispered to each other.
『Toro maguro-san, what
do you think of player Kitagawa?』
『Right. To be honest,
he is not at the level of students. All the attention has been focused on
Zashiki-warashi, who has the unprecedented skill [Spiritual recurrence], but
his other cards are also quite impressive. He is also highly technical and
nurturing in his own right. I think he's at the level where it wouldn't be
strange if a professional team come to scout him.』
『Ooh! That much?! Toro
Maguro-san, who do you think will win this match? 』
『Hahaha, let's see, it's
hard to say. But I will say that both have a good chance.』
『We wll have to see
the result with our own eyes! Then
let the match begin!』
The match gong sounds
and both players summoned their cards in turn.
Saito summoned a
beautiful woman with a winged female upper body and a mermaid-like lower body,
a wild female warrior whose well-trained body was merely covered with
barbarian-like fur, and a beautiful beast girl with cat ears and a tail that
split in two.
『Ooooh~~』
The appearance of the
beautiful girl monsters, with their skin exposed, sent the audience into a
frenzy of excitement. The monsters also showed off their charms in their own
ways, circling the venue in circles and striking sexy poses for the camera.
In MonColo....
particularly in Catfight, which are
limited to female monsters, it was customary to do such fan service to
entertain the audience and viewers.
The audience's
attention then turned to the other player.
While expectations were
high as to what kind of girl monster he would summon, the first to be summoned
was a beautiful vampire. She wears a provocative jet-black dress that made her
morbidly white skin stood out. Her bright, long blond hair was mixed with
several strands of black hair if you looked closely, creating an attractive
contrast.
Among the audience,
who had been gawking at her dangerous and even bewitching appearance, those who
realized that she was once a ghoul called Eliza let out voices of admiration at
how much she had changed.
Eliza was originally
of excellent quality, but her beauty had been obscured by the deteriorated body
of a ghoul.
Now that she had
evolved into a vampire, also known as a demon aristocrat, she had become a
bewitching beauty while retaining a shadow of her former self.
Eliza looked at the
audience with cold eyes, but then she suddenly took out a flute and began to
play.
Her delicate white
fingers danced lightly on the flute as fluid as a fish, and fantastical
melodies began to flow.
As the audience fell
silent and listened to the music, the next monster appeared.
A silver-haired girl
with bat wings, a donkey's tail, and a brass leg - Mea. She wore a baby doll-style
dress that was transparent in places, and combined with her almost grown-up
limbs, she radiated an immoral allure that made it impossible to take one's
eyes off her even though one was not supposed to look at her.
The young dream
demoness danced lightly for the audience with a mischievous expression on her
face.
It was no
exaggeration to say that the fantastic music played by the female vampire and
the dance performed by the young but lewd dream demoness was a show of its own.
While the audience
was gaping in fascination, the last card appeared.
A young
Zashiki-warashi girl with a somewhat delinquent atmosphere, dressed in a red
kimono with her lustrous black hair tossed up in a punkish manner—Renge.
She was the first
card in the world to officially rank up without using up another card. A famous
monster card that even caused a bit of a social sensation.
When the audience was
waiting in anticipation to see what kind of performance she would give - she
raised her middle finger high in the air.
"F*ck you, perverts."
I don't give a shit about fan service.
It was the creed of
this masculine Zashiki-warashi to follow her own principles no matter what the
occasion.
"---Hey〜
what are you looking at?"
When I turned around
when someone called out to me from behind, I saw the same face on the screen
staring at me.
"I'm watching the game from the other day."
I showed her the
tablet in my hand.
--It had been half a year
since I became an adventurer. I had advanced to 2nd year in the spring and had
become a 3-star adventurer, which was my initial goal.
As a three-star
adventurer, I was considered a semi-professional by the public, and I was even
asked to appear on TV programs such as MonColo.
What I was watching
just now was the recording of the match of the MonColo TV program 'Catfight'
that aired last week.
Since winning the
Students Tournament, I had been getting offers from TV stations like this one.
...... Actually, I
had no intention of appearing on MonColo anymore.
When I first became
an adventurer, I had set my sights on participating in MonColo, but my desire
to compete in MonColo was crushed when I learned about the brutality of actual
competition at the Students Tournament.
To put it simply, I
was scared.
After all, about 40%
of the participants in that Student Tournament for high school students and
younger had been forced out of the business.
According to the
rules of the Adventurers' Guild, if an adventurer does not possess a D-rank or
higher card for more than one year, his or her license will be revoked.
Few students can
afford to buy even a single D-rank card again, and even if they asked their
parents to buy one for them, it was unlikely that they would be able to afford
to do so for their children, who had already experienced losing their card so
early.
As a result, most of
the students who lost at least their D-rank cards, their 'golden ticket', were
forced out of the business.
This became quite a
stirring story, and even made the news. Later, when it became clear that many
of the students who were no longer adventurers had lost their places at school
or had closed themselves due to shock, the situation became even more of a
firestorm.
As for me, although I
had the best ending in the end, it was very possible that I may have lost Renge
and the others if I had made a mistake.
I thought it was not
worth the gamble, and therefore, I had no intention of ever participating in MonColo
again.
However, the TV
stations had no intention of letting me - or more precisely, Renge and the
other girls - slip through their fingers, as they were in the midst of a period
that could generate high viewer ratings, so their efforts to persuade me to
appear were fierce.
Realizing that I
would have to appear in at least one of them to make any escape route, I chose
'Catfight', which offered the best conditions and seemed to be the least risky.
I picked 'Catfight'
out of all the MonColo-style TV shows for three reasons: the concept, the low
risk, and the rewards.
In 'Catfight',
players were limited to using only girl monster cards. This concept of limiting
the cards to girl monsters was suitable for me.
The fact that only
girl cards can be used out of the countless cards was a significant handicap
when building a deck, and since information on girl monster cards was widely
known, it was easy to formulate countermeasures.
Also, since the
market price of girl monster cards was many times higher than that of other
cards of the same rank, there was less chance of encountering a powerful rank
cheat card like the Water Tiger that I had faced in the past.
This was because it
was much more affordable to buy a card that was not a girl card of a higher
rank than to buy a girl card that was one of the strongest at that rank.
A deck with no
constraints. or a deck of romance with only girl monsters? If you ask me which
was easier to fight against, it would definitely be the latter.
On the other hand,
from the beginning, most of the cards I use frequently were all girl cards.
Yuki was the only one I couldn't use at 'Catfight', but the other regulars -
Renge, Eliza, and Mea - were very much available.
Two of them were
C-rank cards, and Renge can be called a B-rank card with limitations. Compared
to these two cards, Mea had a lower rank, but she had good synergy with Renge,
who was the main damager.
Clearly, they were a
formidable force to be reckoned with in the semi-professional class.
In fact, in the match
in this video, we won easily without even needing to use the [Spiritual
Recurrence].
The second reason was
the low rate of lost cards in 'Catfight'.
In a normal MonColo-type
program, it was one of the attractions to see which cards would be lost.
The tension can be
very intense because the fighters put everything on the line against each other.
The monsters' screams of agony when faced with 'the end'. The look of despair
on the master's face when losing high-value cards.......
It was in bad taste,
but it was also true that there was a certain percentage of the population that
enjoyed it as one of the best parts of MonColo.
It also had the
aspect of creating complexity in the outcome of the bets.
While MonColo-type
programs were entertainment, they were also a form of state-run gambling. The
betting methods and stakes vary from simply betting on the outcome of the
match, to how many cards will be lost in the match, how many cards the winning
adventurer has left, and so on.
Placing a simple bet
on who will win gives the gambler room to experiment as a gambler, as it is
easy to become bored with the game. Therefore, in order to further diversify
the results, the element of lost cards was essential.
On the other hand, in
'Catfight', cards rarely become lost, except in the case of accidents.
This was largely due
to the program producers' policy of 'preventing card losses as much as
possible', and they even had players pledge behind the scenes to 'make every
effort not to cause their opponent's cards to be lost as much as possible'.
Why does 'Catfight'
have a policy that prevents lost cards, unlike many MonColo-type programs? It
was because of the program's different focus.
Unlike other
MonColo-style programs, where the main focus was on monsters killing each other
and gambling on the outcome, 'Catfight' was about simply wanting to see cute
girl monsters fighting, and if the opportunity arises, it would be great if
there were some naughty happenings! Such was the focus of the program.
In other words, the
viewers of 'Catfight' did not care about the cards being lost, and in fact, the
idea of seeing their beloved monster girls' cards getting lost was simply
outrageous!
There was also the
rather difficult issue involving money.
The price of a girl
monster was several times higher than other cards of the same rank. If the
contestants had to fight with such expensive cards on the assumption that they
will be lost, there would be no contestants in no time.
My third reason was
plain and simple: the rewards were good.
There are two main sources of money for players in
MonColo: audience's ticket fees and prize money.
For the tickets,
players received a percentage of the tickets sold, regardless of whether they
were winners or losers.
The percentage of
money received from the tickets will depend on the program, the rank of the adventurers,
and their popularity. But for semi-professional level adventurers, the amount
of money received was usually around 1,000,000 yen.
Despite the higher
ticket price than other programs, 'Catfight', which was limited to girl
monsters, attracted such a high crowd that the seats were completely occupied
every time.
In other words, the
money from the tickets paid to the players was also higher.
The amount was a
whopping 2 million yen.
Since the money from
the tickets was paid to the players regardless of whether they win or lose,
they can earn 2 million yen for every match they attend.
This sum was quite
impressive given the low possibility of losing cards in 'Catfight'.
Next, let's move on
to the prize money.
The prize money was a
percentage of the bets placed on a player, which was then awarded to the
winning player.
The majority of the
revenue in MonColo came from this prize money, and gladiators (adventurers
whose main source of income is from MonColo) were said to struggle daily to collect
as much of it as possible for themselves.
It was said that the
higher the risk of losing a card, the larger the prize money, but alas,
'Catfight' as a gambling game was not that grand.
Therefore, the prize
money was also smaller than other programs, but even so, about 3 million yen
was awarded for each match.
In my last match, the
prize money was 4 million yen.
Together with the
money given from the tickets, that makes a total of 6 million yen.
That was my income
from that match.
Five to six million
yen for just one match. Frankly speaking, it was too delicious.
By the way, the
reward for conquering a D-rank dungeon was between 630,000 and 900,000 yen, and
if I sold all the items dropped along the way, my income would be a little over
a million yen. It takes several days of overnight stays to clear a single
dungeon...
On the one hand was
5-6 million yen in one day without risking your life, and on the other hand was
about 1 million yen after risking your life for several days. There was a
difference in merit that could not even be balanced.
That was why most
aspiring professionals would choose to become gladiators rather than professors
(adventurers who earn money mainly from the dungeons).
Of course, being a
gladiator wasn't easy either.
First of all, because
there were more semi-professionals than pros, they were not always able to
compete whenever they want. For every match slot, there were numerous
applicants, and for this reason, some gladiators hired a specialized manager at
their own expense, while others joined a talent agency for gladiators to get
work.
Since it was a
popular business, they often acted or dressed eccentrically to create their own
characters, sometimes even tried to change the composition of their decks, and
sometimes even went so far as to draw the public's attention by engaging in
viral things.
Assuming they made it
to that point and got into a match, the only money they would get if they lost
would be the money from the tickets. And if they lose even a single card, they
will lose a huge amount of money. If it is a C-rank card, it will take several
months to get it back.
In contrast to the
professors, who can go to the labyrinth and earn money whenever they feel like
it, the gladiator, for whom arranging a place to fight was a battle in itself,
was a far cry from being a free being.
I myself, am getting
a boost in popularity thanks to Renge, but sooner or later the world will
forget about me and I won't be invited to fights anymore.
That in itself is
fine.
I don't really want
to become a gladiator at this point.
Rather, I felt that I
was more suited to be a professor, who would go on adventures with my cards,
even at the risk of my life.
That said, it was
also true that MonColo's income was tasty.
I want to make money
from 'Catfight' matches until the people get bored.
For that, it was
still important to gain popularity among the viewers......
"Renka, you know, you can't give them the middle
finger. Haah..."
I had told her to do fanservice,
but this bad girl was ......
I looked at Renge,
who leaned her elbows on my shoulder and peered into the tablet.
"That's right! Eliza and I went to great lengths to
liven up the place, but it was ruined."
It was Mea who criticized
Renge as if riding on my words. Her face was beaming with joy at this situation
where she could openly blame Renge.
She and Eliza had
even gone so far as to practice the song and dance for that match, so I guess
she had the right to complain in this way.
However, Renge seemed
to think differently.
"Heh, whatever〜.
Why do I have to flatter the humans? I'm
not obligated to do so."
There it is, Renge's
hatred for humans.
There it is, Renge's
hatred for humans.
She was a far more
approachable person than when I first met her, but she still hates humans in
general.
Especially,
adventurers who use and discard cards as if they were tools and MonColo viewers
who enjoy watching cards kill each other, seemed to be the object of her
contempt.
Frankly, I don't
think she find our participation in MonColo matches all that enjoyable, but so
far she hasn't said anything to me about it.
This was probably
mainly due to the fact that 'Catfight' had little risk of causing cards to be
lost and that I had no intention of sticking solely to being gladiator in the
future, but at the root of it all was her Machiavellism1 side.
At first glance, she
may appear to be a direct and compassionate individual, but on the other hand,
she was also capable of calculating profit and loss in a cold-blooded manner.
She had the
decisiveness to discard one for the sake of ten, or even five for the sake of
six.
She did not oppose me
when I entered the Students Tournament because she saw the benefits of the
vampire card and my growth as a master, and in the finals, she even allowed her
own card to be lost for the chance of my growth.
The reason she is not
opposed to me participating in MonColo now is that the advantages of doing so
greatly outweigh the disadvantages.
However, it's not as
if everything is acceptable for her.......
"Isn't it fine as long as I participate in that
silly game? If there is an enemy, I'll fight them, but it's not my job to suck
up to the humans."
Apparently, this was
her compromise line on the matter.
......Haa. Well, it
can't be helped. I'm just thankful she doesn't do a boycott as she would the
past.
And above all.
"This is surprisingly well received."
"Why the hell...?"
When I informed her,
Renge found it ridiculous.
Although it was a
finger pose that should ruin the atmosphere, it was a hit with the audience for
some reason.
Many of the comments
on the social networking sites after the broadcast were positive, such as,
"I admire Renge-chan's attitude of not being flirtatious in any
situation".
Perhaps recollecting
the strange behavior of the people, Renge made a disgusted face. It was a rare
expression, to say the least.
......By the way, in
regards to the memorable fanservice debut, it was frankly a failure. Eliza and
Mea were just giving hand-waves and slightly hopping around. It was my fault
for underestimating the fan service. At that time, Renge even simply turned
away without any greeting.
So I had made a
detailed arrangement for the second match beforehand and asked Renge to give a
proper fan service, but ...... this end result was what happened.
Well, it was a good
thing that the show was well received in the end, but if things continue as
they are, I'm sure people will eventually get bored. My task as a gladiator was
to come up with some countermeasures before that happens.
"Uuー
isn't that strange? Why
is Renge more popular than us who did it properly?"
"How would I know? And I don't want to know."
"Why don't we try it next time, Eliza?"
"Please don't do that. It'll be a disaster."
At that moment, while
we were chatting like that...
"——What are you chatting about?"
A soft voice called
out to us from behind.
***
Notes:
1 Personality that centered on manipulativeness, deception, callousness, and indifference to morality, with high self interest.↩
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