Otherworld TRPG Game Master chapter 1

1 – Debut as Virtuber (Illusionary Magic)

Reborn as a commoner in a fantasy world.

I called out the status window, but nothing popped up.

Neither physically strong nor of high status, I thought I might see out the rest of my life tending to potato farming with my parents. But astonishingly, I was gifted with the talent of a Grand Magician.

No wonder I was good at mental arithmetic.

I was drawn to a place called the Magic Tower and received countless love calls from the tower masters.

Here are few excerpts from the proposals:

“If you become a disciple of the Red Magic Tower, we will bestow upon you wisdom to burn half the world!”

“If you enter the Blue Magic Tower, we will guarantee you a successor position. With your talent… not even defeating the Blue Dragon of the deep sea and reclaiming the lost ancient underwater city of Atlantis would be a dream!”

“At the Gold Magic Tower, we will give you a large amount of money as soon as you move in!”

“Uh, the Purple Magic Tower doesn’t have much, but if you’re interested in illusion magic…”

Amid the fervent proposals, there was one that didn’t quite fit in.

The Purple Magic Tower was a sect that studied illusion magic and was unpopular due to its lack of practicality and budget.

In the cruel fantasy world, killing power was a magician’s primary goal.

Disrupt the opponent’s mind with illusions? Casting fireball in that time has higher damage per second.

Distract them by showing illusory objects? The luminous of a giant modified fireball reaches about a million candelas. It can attack and distract simultaneously.

So while other tower masters were confidently rolling out enticing offers, the Purple Tower Master was desperately promoting his magic.

For wealth and honor, you wouldn’t even have to give a glance towards the Purple Tower.

I just had to pick any of the other three. That alone would have made my second life a cakewalk.

But, at that crucial moment, the devil of my previous life distracted me.

With sweet words, it shook my sanity.

‘Illusion magic? With this, you could create a virtual reality and play TRPG. That’ll be really fun.’

‘You’re giving up real TRPG in a medieval fantasy world that lacks any kind of cultural industry, where the only hobbies are indulging in food and watching battles? Are you going to abandon your life’s passion? Will you play boring Othello for a hundred thousand years?’

‘You can literally show an Ogre striking you with a thick club using illusion magic instead of descriptors. You’re really gonna pass on that? Are you even a TRPG enthusiast?’

‘Isn’t it feasible to make a debut as a Virtuber with illusion magic?’

“Gasp.”

I was seduced by the devil’s whisper.

————-

From then on, my days were filled with conducting magic research in a modest lab due to a lack of budget.

Refining the model with fantasy magic, working on the rigging… It was a grueling, but rewarding task.

Occasionally, an interrupter would come in.

“Um, excuse me… If we push for this grant, will you really make something useful?”

“Yes.”

“My, my apprentices are angry… Asking how long we’re going to consecrate the grant to a stone that rolled in, that guy has hoarded the money and will flee to the red magic tower…”

“Wait and see.”

“Uh, uh huh…”

“It’s done. I finished everything.”

“Really…? Has the magic, funding for two years, been completed? What kind of magic is it? Can we use it for a struggle? Can our magic tower climb high…?”

“Virtual Idol Heart. It’s finished.”

“?”

A dress with black and red as the two-color points. An avatar shaped like a trump card heart.

The 3D constituted from fantasy magic was different from the 2D screen. It was a high-quality hologram that could hardly be distinguished from a real person.

I made her dance the cancan.

Her skirt and hair properly fluttered. The morphing that delighted the viewer was perfect.

I meticulously checked below the skirt to see if there were any parts lacking in implementation.

I was satisfied.

There was a minor bug where the knee protruded slightly, but it was not significant.

I fixed it on the spot.

“That, um… what is this…”

The purple magic tower’s owner seemed too moved by my work to speak.

Then all of a sudden, he came to his senses and asked about the details of the magic.

“What are the effects of this magic…?”

“She can move, dance, and sing.”

“Like, mass destruction capabilities…?”

“None. However, I’ve prepared as many as ten panty models.”

“Chuckle.”

The purple magic tower’s owner, waving his pigtails, fell back.

He seemed to have lost his composure, too excited with the apprentice’s achievement.

A moment later, the purple magic tower owner, pulling himself together, started a fuss crying out, ‘All funds for next quarter are lost.’ To add to the chaos, his tears turned into butterflies and ostriches, flying around, making him look like a master of fantasy magic.

Even as I was voraciously draining the resources of the magic tower, it wasn’t that I completely disregarded the financial state of the Purple Magic Tower.

The master of the tower may have failed to perceive the formidable potential inherent in the virtual idol Heart-chan and spent days weeping bitterly, but I foresaw a promising future.

The Middle Ages.

A time devoid of entertainment.

An era when watching executions was the ultimate pastime for commoners, the advent of a Vtuber was bound to be a powerful draw.

Of course, I’m aware. The appeal of a virtual YouTuber relies more on the charm of the person embedded within than the model itself.

Moreover, in this world without the internet, I need to devise a way to monetize the Vtuber concept.

Let’s address these challenges methodically. I need a person to embed.

Firstly, the one to pilot Heart… will be me.

“Ah. Aah. Hem hem.”

The enigmatic beauty of illusion magic extends even to the voice. By synthesizing the voices of ten women I’d previously collected, I create a TTS system. And voilà. The virtual idol Heart articulates the lines exactly as I envisage.

“Kyahahahaha☆”

Perfect.

A GM in TRPGs holds the responsibility to craft a realistic world. Whether it’s improvising a passing merchant or a marauding goblin, the GM enhances immersion for the players—heroines included.

Whether it’s a fiery female knight, an innocent femme fatale, or a thirty-year-old unemployed high school graduate NEET woman, all those roles… are performed by me!

In my previous life, I certainly never used my actual voice. No one desires a gruff male voice to utter dainty phrases like, “I think I’ve always had a fondness for you…”

Such matters were conveyed through text.

But deep down, I harbored a dream.

If I really had enough money, I fancied hiring a professional voice actor… or perhaps using state-of-the-art TTS technology to infuse life into those voices.

Now, finally, that dream has come to fruition.

“Mwahahahaha… Ahahahahaha!”

As Heart emitted a villainess’s cackle, I smiled contentedly, my appetite for mischief sated.

I shall ascend to the pinnacle of the otherworld Vtuber scene as her…

————-

[Imperial Defense Bureau’s Report on Dangerous Individuals]

Name: Heart, the Phantom Woman

Rank: Second Class (Demoted by one level due to disappearance)

Active Period: 445 to 448 by the Lion’s Calendar (3 years)

—

Author: C

She appeared like a firefly, suddenly, and disappeared like a storm, leaving indelible wounds in the hearts of many men and some women.

She attracted attention with her unique marketing approach.

From Noble mtl dot com

She first made her appearance at the famous brothel ‘Rosaria’, offering her time for sale under the condition of ‘conversation only’. Many scoffed at her, wondering if she wanted to earn money without the courage to sell her body, but the scenario changed dramatically after a few brave gentlemen experienced a ‘conversation’ with her.

Many men, even nobles of title, lined up to seek her out.

While many analysts speculated that she might be an elite agent raised by anti-imperialists, I think there is a flaw in this view. She was just playing with love, not desiring anything more.

Compared to what she could have demanded, the money she received was just ‘a little tip’. According to those close to her, she always asked ‘how wealthy are you, what percentage of your total wealth is your gift’, and she turned down any amount over 1%.

There’s still a famous anecdote.

A young direct descendant of a poor baron offered her his entire fortune. ‘I know this isn’t enough to have you, but I wish to buy even a moment of your time.’ To which she returned his wealth and said, ‘I’ll invest this personally in you, Baron. Come back when you’re a more impressive man.’

This anecdote sparked a trend among some nobles to return gifts from men they were interested in.

She did not wield the power she gained through love arrogantly, always maintaining a dignified attitude but never prideful. She never looked down or scorned anyone.

When the man known as ‘Heart’s Man’ in society – the current Duke of the North, Julius – said, ‘I’m engaged and can no longer meet you,’ she responded with encouragement rather than jealousy. ‘Remember the times we shared like an orange, only when you’re not eating!’

It’s said she had no body odor, no scent of perfume or natural human skin. Men who met her remembered an ‘invisible fragrance’. The trend of perfumes that erase all scents was an imitation of her.

Even long after her disappearance, many men still long for her, chasing her non-existent footsteps. I believe in her free-spirited and humble nature shown during her active period. She was not a threat to the empire then.

But those who dance with burning passion must always be prepared for burns.

If her disappearance was really ‘to find true love’, the day she returns will be when true love breaks. Everyone knows how venomous a woman scorned by unrequited love can be.

If she returns, wielding the hearts she once held, I propose we take her down with unlimited manpower.

Of course, all deployed personnel must never have bought even a minute of her time.