1 Chapter 0: Explanation of the Lookism manhwa (and the PTJ verse) and its characteristics, not forgetting the AI (the skill of the protagonist of this fanfic).
Author: Hello, I hope you are doing well. Here, I will explain what the PTJ verse is and the works associated with it (including Lookism), as well as some information about my fanfic.
PTJ verse: It is a set of manhwas and animes taking place in the same universe.
Here are the ones: Lookism, Viral Hit, Manager Kim, My Life as a Loser, Questism, Juvenile Offender, Death Row Boy, Loser Coin, Tales Of Greed, Hnnamdong K-House, Our Class Idol, Show Me The Luck-Boss!, The Real Anti-Smoking Campaign (the last 8 don't have an official English version).
These universes feature many crossovers and references to each other.
Lookism: Set in the suburbs of Seoul, Lookism is about a boy named Daniel Park (or Park Hyungseok) who is bullied because of his physical appearance. He decides to change schools, only to wake up in a new body. Throughout the story, he witnesses multiple cases of "lookism," a form of discrimination based on a person's attractiveness. The plot focused on the four main crews and expanded to involve many other characters.
Viral Hit (or How to Fight): is a manhwa created by author Taejoon Park and illustrator Kim Junghyun. The manhwa is also part of the PTJ universe like the aforementioned Lookism.
Hobin Yoo, a skinny high school student, is probably the last guy you'd expect to star in a NewTube channel revolving around fighting. But after following the advice of a mysterious NewTube channel, Hobin is soon hitting harder than him and earning more money than he could ever have dreamed of. Will Hobin be able to keep this up, or will he eventually meet his match?
Manager Kim: It's a manhwa created by "Toy" and part of the PTJ universe.
To put it simply, this manhwa is about Mr. Kim or Manager Kim who is a former spy and soldier from North and South Korea (author's note: yes his life is a mess) and who tried to live a normal life but gave up on it. Now he wants his daughter to be able to live a normal life.
Questism: It's a manhwa created by author YuNuni and illustrator TAEWAN. The manhwa is also part of the PTJ universe.
Video game geek Suhyeon Kim hates school and the feeling is mutual. Every day he faces relentless bullying from his classmates, leading him to wish his life was more like the RPG quest games he plays.
Suhyeon's wish comes true when a quest prompt appears in real life with an easy quest and alluring reward. Having nothing to lose, he tries his luck and one quest soon leads to another. As the stakes and rewards increase, Suhyeon soon discovers he has gone from being an outcast to the top of the school. How far will Suhyeon go on his quests, and how far will he fall if he refuses to participate?
Author's Note: Those I gave a summary to will have an important place in the story. And I doubt the rest will have a role, but we'll see.
I will also try to make reading Korean names easier, as I know it can be difficult to remember them sometimes. So I will just use their first name and I will create an important characters page to help you keep track of their names.
Power levels in the PTJ verse:
The low levels in this universe range from street level to wall level, with subsonic to transonic+ speed. Many of them are ordinary high schoolers, gangsters, adult fighters and even crime syndicates.
The intermediate levels are at wall level with supersonic+ speed. At this stage, most fighters reach genius level. MMA champions, fighters trained by masters in China or bodyguards enlisted by a billionaire.
Most of these fighters have superhuman feats, great talent in their fighting style or unique abilities.
The high levels are at small building level and above, with supersonic+ speed and higher.
The lower levels generally belong to the second generation, while the strongest reach the first and pre-generation. Characters here trivialize the previous intermediate levels and can reach beyond superhuman levels. Some characters have reached Mastery, a level of skill accessible to very few individuals who push their bodies beyond their limits. Some unlock abilities like invisible attacks, an immensely durable body, or even using self-hatred to amplify themselves to higher levels.
Various abilities that appear in the PTJ verse:
Heat Mode: This is a method to increase one's stats and abilities. By letting self-hatred, rage and negative emotions take over, they become stronger and push their body to the extreme. A few individuals are able to use it.
* Stat amplification - This ability raises an individual's capabilities to a level where enemies who previously crushed them can now be matched.
* Limited reactive evolution and adaptation - Some individuals can acquire new abilities to counter their opponent's fighting style.
- Daniel was able to use a belt as an improvised weapon. Although not mastery level, he is able to use it with enough skill to threaten Hudson Anh.
- Zack vs Mandeok - Zack learned to reflect damage back onto his enemy even though he never used or saw such an ability performed before.
- Zack vs Jacky - Zack managed to adapt and trap Jacky, countering his elusive acrobatic fighting style. This was an instinctive reaction rather than a choice made based on his knowledge.
* Limited weapon mastery - Heat Mode users typically find ways to make full use of a weapon. Samuel Seo managed to strangle Olly Wang with a wire and Daniel managed to get the upper hand on Hudson using a belt.
* Empowerment - This ability is based on letting negative emotions take over. Zack Lee was initially unable to deliberately trigger this.
* High pain tolerance - Individuals can ignore pain thanks to their fighting style. Samuel was completely unfazed despite his ear being bitten by Olly. Vasco had no reaction after being repeatedly struck by a tattoo gun.
Mastery: This exists as a level that only some individuals can reach. To achieve it, one requires several conditions:
* Pushing one's body to such a degree that they forget who they are, leading them to the brink of collapse.
* Meeting an opponent far stronger than oneself. This is described as an encounter with a wall. If one is able to push their limits and overcome this wall, they will be able to reach the Path of Mastery.
Path to Mastery - At this level, one has initiated the process of approaching Mastery. Individuals who reach this state benefit from a level of growth and can become much stronger much faster:
* Accelerated development - Individuals become stronger and faster in real time, often in short bursts. Some may still lose against powerful enough enemies. It can also have persistent, permanent long-term effects.
- Samuel and Eli in their fight against Seokdu
* Limited adaptation - One can learn new techniques to counter the opponent.
- Eli and Samuel learned to better defend themselves against Seokdu's tackles, whether by cushioning the blow with their legs or grabbing them beforehand.
* Supernatural willpower - Those who reach this goal must get up to avoid being KO'd.
- Jake in his fight with Sinu
- Eli and Samuel in their fight with Seokdu
- Warren in his fight with Minsu Kim
* Damage reduction - Individuals can reduce the damage they take more effectively.
- Eli
- Samuel
- Warren
- Zack
- Gongseob
* Martial arts - Those who reach this stage improve their existing martial arts. Alternatively, people have trained their body to focus solely on their fighting style or martial art in order to truly reach mastery level.
- Vasco
- Zack
- Warren
* Superhuman physical characteristics - Some focus on training one or a few parts of the body to levels surpassing most.
- Taesoo
- Seokdu
* Awakening: It is a similar state of mind where is an enlightenment that a person achieves about oneself or these goals, it provides a permanent increase in a person's physical abilities.
*Transcendence: a form of evolution of awakening: where awakening allows you to maximize the use of your potentiometer to increase your overall abilities permanently, transcendence allows you to exceed your limits due to your potential and to obtain an increase in its overall strength.
Explanation of who Hajun Gu (the protagonist) is:
Hajun was already one of the strongest characters from the start of the Questism manhwa, but his strength is not that high in the PTJ verse but he is far from an average character.
Our protagonist in this fanfic is reincarnated as Hajun Gu specifically after his defeat against Suhyeon Kim (the protagonist of the Questism manhwa).
The protagonist of this fanfiction will have an AI as a "skill".
Here are the AI's capabilities:
- Data storage: it can record and store everything the host experiences through their five senses, creating a vast database.
- Data analysis: it can analyze the stored data on command, run simulations, and make deductions based on the collected information.
- Linguistic translation: it can translate and understand different languages if provided with enough data and analysis time.
- Skill enhancement: it can help improve combat techniques or refine potions/chemicals, as well as other abilities, by providing feedback and suggestions as well as running simulations.
Note: the AI will be able to do more but that depends on the imagination and inventiveness of the protagonist.
