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Chapter 248 – Magazine Journalist Haruhara Part 3
Tozaki’s unique skill, “Change Strategy”.
From what is currently known, it appears to be a skill that grants “Strategy” to those who recognize him as their leader.
When “Strategy” is granted, a powerful buff effect is applied, along with a secondary mental effect.
The buff is likely the primary purpose of the granting strategy, but Tozaki uses the secondary effect to exert mind control over the voters.
The specifics of each strategy are known through Detailed Appraisal, but the skill description for the main base’s unique skill, Change of Strategy, is not accessible.
The conditions for granting a strategy are speculative, and there may be unknown restrictions that have been overlooked.
Incidentally, I also had a small question about whether strategies would be granted to those who did not have status at the time of Tozaki’s speech. This was clarified based on information that circulated on social media immediately after the speech.
In conclusion, if a non-status holder is granted the strategy by Tozaki’s Change of Strategy, they immediately gain the status and are granted the strategy.
A significant number of posts stated that non-explorers who heard Tozaki’s speech—the one referred to as the “Great Speech”—had somehow gained the status without realizing it.
Just like when I did it, when someone without status enters a dungeon, they automatically gain status the moment they enter.
There is usually an announcement from the Voice of Heaven at that time, but it seems that no such announcement was made when the status was granted due to Tozaki’s Change of Strategy.
Since strategy is not listed as a regular status, the status increase associated with it is likely processed without notification.
Nevertheless, some people realized that they had powerful unique skills thanks to Tozaki’s speech.
Some of these people misunderstood that Tozaki’s speech awakened their unique skills, and they became his enthusiastic followers.
Oh, I got sidetracked.
I don’t know how to break the mystery of Tozaki’s status.
It might be due to the unique abilities of the explorers under Tozaki’s control, or it might be something set up by the explorers belonging to the government to protect the secrets of government officials.
However, in outline, it can be described as a skill that “forces a strategy with advantages and disadvantages on targets that meet certain conditions”.
Tozaki imposed four strategies simultaneously on the citizens (more precisely, on the voters who voted for his party in the proportional representation districts).
This is pure speculation, but he may be able to impose four strategies at once because his Change of Strategy skill is at level 4.
Like me, upgrading a powerful unique skill requires a large amount of SP, but Tozaki may have managed to collect a large number of SP-granting items by using the explorer guild Rakan.
How does this relate to Haruhara’s story? Well, to be honest, there’s no definite connection.
However, the performance of unique skills is closely related to the state of the user’s soul.
It’s very likely that Tozaki’s unique upbringing is reflected in his Change of Strategy ability.
There is a certain similarity between Tozaki’s ability to copy another person’s personality and become them, and the personality change caused by “Strategy”.
Tozaki’s motivation to become Prime Minister is probably related to his grandmother Yoruha’s obsession.
If Tozaki himself had his soul killed and no longer has a sense of self, then the driving force behind him may be the obsession he inherited from his grandmother.
Or perhaps, by copying the personalities of others and acting as if they were his own, he has incorporated the desires of others into himself and come to mistake them for his own.
If that’s the case, what a pitiful creature he is.
Possessed by delusions and desires that are not his own, he works himself to the bone to achieve his “ideal.”
Even if he achieves something, he will never be truly satisfied.
At the same time, the thought of such a person being entrusted with the leadership of the country sends shivers down my spine.
Tozaki may not be in a state where he can control himself.
After all, he has no sense of self.
At first glance, Tozaki’s speech may seem to be a cynical reflection on the country’s current state, saying what some people have been thinking but are unable to express.
However, if Tozaki has no sense of self, the story changes completely.
Tozaki is merely taking the words of others and making them his own, and then piecing them together in a plausible way.
The mechanism alone is not much different from what AI does when it generates text.
The difference between AI and Tozaki is that Tozaki can emulate the entire personality of others.
The way he delivered his passionate speech was probably just a copy of someone else’s method.
Thinking about it, I suddenly realized something.
The Rakan Group (strictly speaking, it’s not a group because there’s no capital relationship), of which Tozaki is the chairman, operated Genron.net.
Genron.net was a device that allowed Tozaki to efficiently copy the personalities of others… Is that too far-fetched?
Perhaps Tozaki selected the most effective political propaganda posted or broadcast on Genron.net, copied it, and used it to create his own speaking style.
For example, my neighbor, Yamato Sakurai, was adept at inciting certain depressed men to extreme actions.
Kiriko Kandori also had a small but intense group of sympathizers.
Tozaki’s grand speech resulted from greedily absorbing the styles of Yamato, Kandori, and other self-proclaimed “public intellectuals” on Genron.net.
“He’s dangerous after all.”
It’s not just his unique skill.
The special abilities he acquired through his grandmother’s “education” are dangerous enough.
Change of Strategy is just a side skill for him.
His true nature is to copy other people’s personalities and pretend that they are his own.
“Change of Strategy” was just something he happened to learn, and even without it, Tozaki might have achieved something similar.
Of course, it’s also true that Change of Strategy contributed greatly to Tozaki’s success.
While I was thinking about this, Haruhara asked me,
“So what is the Summoner going to do next? You don’t really think you’re going to keep hiding and running away, do you?”
I smile wryly at his directness.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t talk about it yet. You’ll understand when the time comes. If you write about what I’ve told you now, it’ll be a sure scoop.”
“I’m sure whatever you’re doing is something incredible. Is there anything I can do to help you, not as a reporter, but as an individual?”
“As an individual? There’s someone I need to get in touch with, but I have no natural way to contact him.”
“Who is it?”
“Seiran Natsume.”
“What does the Summoner want with the head of the conservative media who has connections in the political world?”
“Don’t you know? Seiran Natsume is the father of Sayuki Natsume, who was killed by Junko Tozaki.”
“Wait. Isn’t Sayuki Natsume our high school junior who committed suicide because she was bullied? …No, did you just say ‘killed’?”
“Oh, that’s where it comes from.”
The suicide note was leaked, explaining that Sayuki’s death, which had been ruled a suicide, was actually not a suicide.
“So you want to meet Seiran Natsume for personal reasons?”
“That’s part of it… But I also need his help with something.”
To eliminate Tozaki, it’s necessary to secure the cooperation of influential people.
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