Prologue - Welcome to Azlia

"If our waifu isn't powerful yet,

we just need to throw more money at the game."

- Mr.Shan -

 Azlia was a magical land, a world of fantasy and adventure. The people who lived in this world were called Azlians. They belonged to multiple races, some beyond imagination.

 The vast and expansive world of AZLIA was divided into two territories: Deadland, the realm of devils and demons, and Dayland, the realm of humans. To protect the human kingdom from demons, the people of Dayland established an association in their capital city to build a powerful army against the evil demons. 

 Azlians with superpowers and magical abilities were called 'Wishers.' They possessed exceptional fighting strength surpassing that of ordinary people. Each Wisher possessed unique talents, weapon skills, and various techniques. The duty of a Wisher was to protect humans from demons, serving as Dayland's heroes, admired by all.

 The power level of Wishers was categorized by rarity and increasing power levels: Normal (N), Rare (R), Super Rare (SR), and Ultimate Rare (UR), the highest tier. So, there were very few UR Wishers among the Azlian population.

 Regardless of any power level, Wishers must work hard to practice and make the best results possible to raise their ranking to SS-Tier, the highest rank. Being a Wisher was both an honor and a way of life for them.

 For players like us, owning a UR Wisher often involves significant spending.

 That's right. The Azlian world we mentioned comes from the popular adventure RPG game 'Miracle Azlia'.

 Miracle Azlia has been out for years, boasting record-breaking downloads. The game offers stunning, realistic graphics, smooth combat controls, and a variety of gameplay styles and techniques. It features a flexible team system, allowing players to manage up to 10 characters at once, and throws them into a vast world filled with an abundance of missions and monsters. No wonder this game can keep players addicted for months!

 Above all, Miracle Azlia featured a lot of attractive male and female characters, with a wide variety to appeal to every demographic in the player market. However, the chance of acquiring each character corresponds to the rarity of their power level.

 This gacha game heavily relies on luck. Players must collect gacha tickets or top-up money to summon characters in gacha banners. It's like buying a lottery ticket: you risk your luck on what you'll get. And landing a UR Wisher is almost like winning the first prize!

 This gacha system makes it extremely rare for F2P (free to play) or small spenders to get UR characters. The only exceptions are those who are incredibly lucky or have been playing for a very long time.

 For 'whales,' on the other hand, this is no problem at all.

 The term 'whale' is used broadly in gacha games, just as it is among gambling players. In fact, gacha games are very similar to gambling. Instead of using money to gamble for winnings in casinos, players top up money in the game to roll for characters, weapons, or items. What they receive ultimately depends on luck.

 The term 'whale' uses a metaphor, comparing players to fish in the ocean and the game company to a fishing boat. These companies try their best to design the game to attract players to spend money, essentially 'catching' them like fish.

 Like the various sizes of fish in the oceans, each player has a different budget. The biggest fish, of course, are the whales.

 Whales are the game's biggest spenders. Even though their numbers make up less than 1% of the entire player base, whales contribute the majority of revenues for the game companies.

 In fact, Miracle Azlia is completely beatable. Players can complete all content in the game with just SR or R Wishers. Therefore, spending to get a UR Wisher is not entirely necessary, similar to buying luxury products to show off or collect rare and expensive items.

 Miracle Azlia only offered a small number of UR Wishers. However, each one was exquisitely designed with stunning visuals and unmatched combat prowess, far superior to SR Wishers. No wonder all the UR Wishers gained overwhelming popularity among players.

 However, there was one UR Wisher who fell short compared to most UR characters. He was even outclassed by some SR characters.

 This Wisher's name was Vinzent.

 Even big channel streamers joined the chorus of criticism against Vinzent's design and gameplay. He was criticized for both a lackluster appearance design and underwhelming gameplay mechanics.

 Vinzent isn't female. This lack of appeal extended to male players who preferred collecting attractive female characters, or 'waifu' characters, as they're called in otaku slang. The term 'waifu' is used by fans to show affection for female characters, almost like considering them wives in a fictional sense.

 Vinzent is male, but he wasn't tall and muscular, so he also failed to attract female players seeking 'husbando' characters. 'Husbando' is another term used by fans, particularly female fans (otaku girls), to show affection for male characters, similar to how 'waifu' is used for female characters. 

 Vinzent was a young man, likely around 160-170 centimeters tall. However, his personality didn't appeal to those who prefer cute young male characters.

 It's important to note that while some characters in Miracle Azlia appear young, the game adheres to strict regulations. All Wishers must be of legal adult age. Some characters might possess youthful appearances or stunted growth, but this is purely for aesthetic reasons and does not depict underage characters in inappropriate situations.

 Vinzent, a quiet character shrouded in a tragic past, lacked extensive voice acting. However, his attack animations were undeniably impressive, showcasing a unique fighting style. Unfortunately, his damage output fell short of the typical UR power level, making him the weakest UR Wisher. This disparity led some players to deride him as the 'UR Loser.'

 Vinzent's complexity added another layer to his unpopularity. He presented a high skill ceiling, requiring a mastery of his unique mechanics to be truly effective. While his attack animations were visually impressive, his power level fell short of the META (Most Effective Tactical Advantage). This, combined with his playstyle, made him a less user-friendly character. Since acquiring a UR character was a significant feat, players naturally sought characters who could better contribute to their teams, leading to Vinzent's status as the least popular UR Wisher.

 Surprisingly, Vinzent did manage to attract a lot of attention from one of the game's biggest spenders. This high-rolling player, known by the in-game ID 'Mr. Shan,' the first top spender in Miracle Azlia.

 Everyone knew about Mr. Shan. Beyond playing game for fun, he also ran a popular streaming channel on YouTube, where he showcased his impressive collection of powerful characters. Mr. Shan's spending habits were legendary, with his characters and items far beyond the reach of most players.

 He was even considered a Poseidon among the whales, outspending even the biggest krakens or leviathans. His spending on the game was rumored to be more than the total amount from all players combined. Some players even joked that Mr. Shan wasn't just a whale, but the entire ocean.

 Mr. Shan collected every character and item in the game, but everyone knew he particularly favored Vinzent. Unfazed by the negativity directed towards Vinzent, Mr. Shan's love for Vinzent was undeniable.

 Mr. Shan also fondly referred to Vinzent as "My Little Waifu."

 Even though people argued that Vinzent is a guy having a d***, how could he be a Waifu? Yet Mr. Shan didn't mind it at all. He also argued, "So what? I have a d*** too," causing many fujoshi to scream with happiness.

 Money can fulfill everything in the game. Therefore, there was nothing Poseidon-like Mr. Shan couldn't do. He invested his money to make his greatest waifu become as powerful as a god.

 Some people used to look down on that UR loser as if Vinzent would still be a noob, no matter how much effort we put in. Who knew it would turn out this way? Not sure whether it was the game company's intention or not, but the ceiling of Vinzent's power seemed unlimited, depending on how much money players invested in.

 Mr. Shan had a personal motto: "If my waifu isn't powerful yet, I just need to pay more." He followed through on this, spending until Vinzent's power met his satisfaction. Now, Mr. Shan's Vinzent has reached God-Tier, surpassing even the game's most powerful UR character.

 Mr. Shan's story of investing an unlimited amount of money for his favorite Waifu has created a huge phenomenon for Miracle Azlia.

 Traditionally, character tier lists categorize the strongest units in SS-Tier or S-Tier, followed by A-Tier, B-Tier, and C-Tier, respectively. Vinzent, however, consistently resided in the lower tiers, never reaching above D-Tier. But now, a new tier list has emerged: the 'Whale Tier List,' reserved exclusively for characters empowered by heavy spending.

 And of course, in this whale tier list, Vinzent reigned supreme on the top of the pyramid. People might even need to create a new tier, 'Vinzent-Tier,' above SS-Tier, because no one could overcome a whale's Vinzent.

 The proof of Mr. Shan's love through his money brought Vinzent to become a more popular character. Inspired by Mr. Shan's success, other big spenders, 'whales', have begun investing in Vinzent as well. While they may not reach the same peak as Mr. Shan, their actions serve as further evidence that Mr. Shan has opened everyone's eyes to Vinzent's true potential.

 Vinzent thereby gained a new title, changing from 'UR Loser' to 'The Whale's Toy', because only whale players could utilize his ability.

 Driven by boundless love, Mr. Shan, the Poseidon whale, found his destiny intertwined with his beloved waifu, Vinzent.

 Anyway, Mr. Shan probably didn't know Vinzent well enough, because so far, he had never expected that the person who would be a waifu, perhaps, wasn't Vinzent. It would be Mr. Shan instead.

 Anyway, Mr.Shan probably didn't know Vinzent enough.

 Perhaps the true waifu wasn't Vinzent after all, but Mr. Shan himself.