"Who will select team members based on the META?
Adorable and cute are the utmost priorities!"
- ShanTheWhale -
Shan found the sponsorship system's services to be convenient and fast, similar to topping up in-game and immediately rolling the gacha. As soon as Shan expressed the need to recruit Wishers, the staff promptly promoted and contacted interested Wishers at the N rank.
Shan regretted that he didn't have any reputation points yet, which prevented him from reaching Wisher R or higher. He had desperately wanted Vinzent. However, Shan wasn't worried because he was a whale; regardless of the level of Wishers, he could make them strong.
The duty of a sponsor is to be a financial investor and support Wishers so that they can live comfortably and focus on training and development, as well as provide them with good weapons and items. This wasn't a difficult task for a whale like Shan.
Shan named his guild 'Mr. Shan' like his in-game ID.
The Wisher Association gathered many N-level Wishers who wanted to join the guild. Now, the residence has been transformed into an audition venue, packed with many Wishers waiting eagerly.
"Wow, there are so many people here!" Shan exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.
Wishers include both young men and women of various race. They all come waiting with excitement, dressed in their best attire to attract the attention of sponsors.
"There he is, Mr. Shan!"
As one Wisher spotted him, the others turned their heads in unison.
"Greetings, Mr. Shan!"
The Wishers bowed respectfully, eager to please their potential sponsor.
Shan was taken aback, unsure how to react.
As a seasoned gacha gamer, Shan was well aware that acquiring each character required a combination of luck and money. However, he had never imagined the eagerness of the characters waiting inside the gacha banner. He wondered about their expressions, their joy at being chosen by a player. The scene unfolding today was a vivid simulation of the characters' anticipation, their desperate attempts to be selected.
"So, what am I supposed to do? There are so many people here!" Shan turned to the association staff member for advice.
Shan had initially expected only a handful of Wishers, enough to fill his team for the Wisher League competition. He had already made detailed plans.
"Although you don't have any reputation points yet, Mr. Shan, you became quite famous after the incident at the Wisher arena the other day," the staff member explained, carefully avoiding mentioning that it wasn't exactly the most positive kind of fame.
"Almost every Wisher in the association knows who you are, Mr. Shan. They are aware that you are a whale. As for the selection process, don't worry about it. We will handle it for your convenience."
The staff member then arranged the Wishers in a queue and set up a lavish table for Shan to sit comfortably, as if he were a judge presiding over an audition. The staff member called out the Wishers one by one and presented Shan with a transparent digital tablet containing the profiles and details of each Wisher.
The information was quite detailed, including their gender, age, hometown, preferred weapon, skill details, abilities or special moves, and ranking. However, most of the Wishers were ranked E or had no ranking at all.
Since all the Wishers present were N-level, their abilities and powers were not particularly outstanding. As Shan read through the profiles on the transparent tablet, his eyes began to strain, and his head started to ache.
With so many Wishers, how could he possibly read through all their information?
Shan decided to put aside the digital tablet. He decided to only consider Wishers with rankings since he needed to form a team for the Wisher League competition. He then began evaluating them based on their appearance.
"Oh, Shota," Shan saw this Wisher as a small, young boy with a cute, innocent face. Though he seemed older than a child, his body was still not fully grown, fitting clearly into his type. Shan made a choice without hesitation.
"Alright, I'll pick him."
As Shan accepted the first Wisher into his team, that Shota's eyes widened and tears welled up in his eyes, overwhelmed with unexpected joy.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Shan! I won't let you down!"
Shan looked at the young Wisher with fondness.
Having a cute and energetic boy on his team, Shan didn't care whether the boy was skilled or not; this already fulfilled his dream team.
"Next…"
Shan's selection method was quite simple:
"Wearing short? Okay, this one's in!"
"Wow, so cute! This one's in!"
"So small! This one's in!"
"So adorable! This one's in!"
"Another shota, Accepted!"
Shan had accepted many N-level Wishers ranked E, causing several Wishers to begin noticing his unconventional selection method. This was because Shan only chose young, small boys, and even frequently said 'Shota'. They speculated that it must be a local dialect word of Shan's that no one understands.
The true issue, as many Wishers realized, was that the sponsor was paying little to no attention to their abilities or experience. He was solely basing his selection on their physical appearance, favoring petite young men. This sparked dissatisfaction among the Wishers who didn't fit the 'Shota' archetype, such as women and tall men who didn't conform to Shan's beauty standards.
"Mr. Shan, why do you only choose small young boys?"
"Well, if they're a tall woman or man, you just dismiss them without even looking at their profile."
"It's not fair at all. How do you select Wishers based on your personal preference?"
"Exactly. I agree."
"Not fair. Unfair."
Faced with protests from several Wishers, Shan could only blink in confusion and turn to seek advice from the association staff member standing beside him.
"I don't understand. Can't I choose the Wishers I like?"
Normally, when it comes to gacha pulls, everyone follows the principle of 'favorite > META.' Personal favorites are the most important, while strength is secondary. Especially for a whale like Shan, the META wasn't nearly as important.
"Uh, well, the thing is…" The staff member hesitated.
"The rules of sponsorship state that sponsors are to take care of the Wishers in their guild, investing in them to become virtuous and effective Wishers. However, Mr. Shan, your current selection process shows that you are choosing Wishers for your personal entertainment rather than intending to cultivate their skills."
"Hmm..." Shan frowned. "I don't get it. Isn't the whole point of playing games to have fun? If a game isn't fun, why play it?"
The staff member looked perplexed, not comprehending what this sponsor was saying, but he continued to explain patiently.
"Wishers in the association also have regulations to follow. They must use their abilities to impress sponsors and are strictly forbidden from using their looks to attract sponsors. All of this is to maintain balance and ensure that the Wisher ranking system remains effective. Wishers can't defeat demons with good looks, only skills and abilities matter. Therefore, their talents and capabilities should be prioritized."
"Good looks can't defeat monsters, but they can certainly attract players," Shan continued to argue
"I don't get it. With enough money invested, anyone can become strong, right?"
The staff member was speechless. After all, this sponsor was a true whale.
Shan even extended to the protesting Wishers.
"You guys are just characters in a game, so don't do this to the players. I love shota characters; I like cute young boys. Seeing them lifts my spirits and gives me the motivation to play this game. Do you understand? I don't spend money on the game to get the strongest characters. I'm not a META player; I'm a fan player. There are plenty of players who like beautiful and handsome characters like you, so go find them. But I want shota. Shota is the best waifu. I'm going to create my dream shota team. Wow, just thinking about it makes me thrilled. So don't stop me, got it?"
'We don't get it,'
This was the unanimous thoughts that crossed the minds of all the Wishers present, including the staff member.
What was a game character? What was a shota? What was the META?
They couldn't understand a single word. This sponsor had a habit of using his own local dialect, which left these city folks completely bewildered.
However, they were familiar with the term "Waifu." The sponsor had once referred to Vinzent as his Waifu, and they had interpreted it to mean "darling."
Therefore, they pinpointed that this sponsor was stubbornly insisting on choosing only the Wishers he liked, regardless of their abilities. As a result, all the Wishers began to protest again.
"Mr. Shan, how can you select Wishers based on your personal preferences?"
"This will completely undermine the ranking system!"
"What's the point of having skilled Wishers then? Should we all get plastic surgery?"
"This is unfair!" "Yeah, it's not fair!"
Shan rubbed his temples; this was the hardship of being a whale.
Every player always chooses their favorite characters, but it seems like everyone in this world focuses only on the META. Shan thought to himself that after finishing this beta test, he would definitely complain about this in the feedback survey. How could the game restrict players to only choosing strong characters and ignore their favorites? This was such a terrible marketing strategy.
"Excuse me, how many Shotas - I mean, Wishers - have I recruited so far?" Shan turned to ask the staff member.
"There is a total of nine, sir," the staff member replied.
"Oh, then that's a full team," Shan clicked his tongue in satisfaction.
"Let them know that I've got a full team of Wishers now. Recruitment is closed for today. Come back another time."
The staff could only blink in confusion as the sponsor, who had caused the Wishers to protest, simply walked away, leaving them to deal with the mess.
Shan was only concerned about his new Wishers now. He was feeling very pleased; having 'shota' in his ID would make every day a joy.