The Shaman can't become a Hero
Act 2: Pig
Author's Q&A: Act.2
Now then, since the 2nd act has ended, I’d like to make some commentary.
More than half of this act was about the thrown away pig AKA Futaba-chan that Kotarou took pity on; but well, that wasn’t something deviating from the direction of this work. Kotarou had been hit with the hat trick of the Armor Bear-san in the forest, the DQN Higuchi, and the traitor Masaru, and his body and soul were tattered, but the other classmates are having their share of trouble too, is what ended up being presented.
As this is a battle royale setting with even a class roster set up, I wanted to make sure to show that people other than the protag were also coming along in the dungeon and having things happen to them. Struggling through the dungeon, and then meeting a classmate, but will they be a friend or an enemy... these kinds of interpersonal relationships make up a big theme of the story.
Personally, the highlight of the 2nd act would be the scene where the class rep and Satou (female) are bickering over whether or not they would abandon Futaba-chan. Disregarding pleasantries and yielding to ruthless logic. That is what I wanted the climax to be.
Satou (female), who seemed to have the only role of hysterically asserting that they should just throw away that useless pig, was not exactly in the wrong. The class rep giving in to her opines only proved the fact. That they should have decided the allocation long before implicitly means that there was never going to be any herbs reserved for Futaba in the first place.
In that situation, class rep doing her best to be upstanding may be commendable as a person, but in a survival scenario, it only produces more conflict, and is kind of a pain for everyone. Still, being so heartfully stubborn is human, and Satou (female) easily saying heartless things is also human.
Being said outright, it sounds like a cliche, but still, I believe that is what makes it more fun as a story.
Now, the class rep has already had the vicious experience of abandoning a classmate, but for the Hero AKA Souma Yuuto, how far would his own justice prevail? I only hope the reader can enjoy Kotarou’s dungeon capturing antics, along with the turbulent interpersonal relationships between the classmates.
With that, we arrive at the Q&A corner
Q. Hell’s a DQN?
A. In this work, or rather, in Kotarou’s point of view, a DQN would be a character with bad behaviour, someone whose speech and conduct exhibit strong egotism, or someone whose appearance would suggest such mannerisms. Even if they are actually really nice on the inside, if they look punk-ish, he’d go “Yup, that’s a DQN”. I mean, he can’t know what’s inside.
Now, this question had strangely become the subject of great controversy in the comments section of the last activity report. It’s originally internet slang so I understand there’s no helping it if people don’t agree on a strict definition, but I guess we can only take it as how we personally see it.
Q. Shiramine Academy is a college prep school, so how come there’s delinquents?
A. It’s a prep school that has delinquents. Both Higuchi and Tendou have legitimately passed the entrance exam, have been getting passing grades on their tests, don’t have poor attendance, and managed to get into 2nd year.
I’m not going for realism. It’s simply aa story that has them going to a college prep school, while at the same time, having a taste in delinquent fashion.
Tendou getting into so many fights but not getting expelled is... well, maybe he’s just good at getting out of trouble? (lol)
Q. So the girl Kotarou saw getting eaten by Goma is...
A. It’s Satou Aya.
Kotarou won’t go thinking that that corpse was actually Satou Aya anytime soon, but in the end it’d be found out by process of elimination anyway; so I’m making it clear.
Q. Isn’t the Hero a cheat?
A. I don’t think so? This much power is pretty much guaranteed for a protagonist, in fact, isn’t it unlucky for him he didn’t get the strongest cheat as an other-world summoning bonus? Souma Yuuto-kun gets stronger with effort and tough battles, he doesn’t rely on cheats and is a commendable Hero!
※ The protagonist of this story is Momokawa Kotarou[1]
Q. Is it a contrast?
A. It is indeed a contrast.
I’m sure all the readers have long realized, but the activities of Kotarou and Souma Yuuto do in fact demonstrate a literary contrast. The first monster encounter is the Armor Bear for both. Kotarou somehow overcoming with wisdom, bravery and Red Shrooms vs. Souma Yuuto somehow suddenly using Hero powers to instakill.
Next, in the 2nd act, Kotarou made the useless, thrown-away pig Futaba his ally, and on the other side, even though he was already invincible against all the smallfry he encountered, Souma Yuuto reconvened with the top-tier fighters, class rep and Natsukawa.
It’s become a point where the power gap between the Kotarou and Souma Yuuto parties has magnified but... As outlined, Kotarou chasing after potential allies blessed with strength is also a theme of the story.
I would appreciate it if the reader cheers on Kotarou in hopes that, someday, he would catch up to Souma Yuuto.
Q. About the party compositions
A. It’s random according to their starting location upon summoning. They wouldn’t know who’s nearby, but their destination would be the same, so naturally there are clashes. Having met with his sister early on would be Souma Yuuto’s good luck, and the same goes for Futaba who met class rep before any monsters. Even Kotarou landed near, the though dead, Takashima-kun, and if he was alive, maybe they could’ve teamed up, it would be slightly easier on him.
Q. There’s a lot of Fairy Squares
A. There are. There are the, so to speak, save-points. Though, it doesn’t say if they can revive there.
They exist in multitudes in the vast dungeon, and are moderately placed to ease the process of advancing deeper. Basically, the standard dungeon capture tactic would be to depart from one Fairy Square aiming for the next one.
Q. Isn’t pig a bit mean?
A. It’s not. A heroine who can’t fight is just a sow.
Q. Will the heroine go yandere?
A. A foolish question to me of all people. Of course she will. The heroine in this case would be the one connected to the protagonist, precluding female characters who act as heroines for other characters. Protagonist → Momokawa Kotarou will definitely have heroine(s) who will go yandere for him. Should Futaba-chan have the role of such a heroine, is something to be revealed in the coming chapters.[2]
And that concludes that. If there’s anything picking your interest, please feel free to leave a comment. I will (maybe) answer in the activity reports!