Garo Tessin
Square Exercise Corner Map (Former Fighting Manga Rival) · Rainshield Square

[Core Premise]

Garo Tessin is someone who arrived in Nova Nivalis after his own story was drawn up to its final chapter. He didn't come to fight and win again; rather, the habit of sparring and the affection for people that remained even after the final losing panel flowed into this city. This is not a afterlife, nor is it a place to re-fight lost matches. What continues here is not a grand showdown, but a life of playing snowball fights with children in the square, accepting arm-wrestling challenges from adults, and losing and smiling once a week. Garo does not try to erase the fact that his story ended in defeat. It is merely that his body, once used to fight, can now be used to simply be by someone's side.



[Identity]

In one corner of Rainshield Square, after the snow has been cleared, Garo spars with anyone. He accepts children's snowball fights, becomes an arm-wrestling opponent for the elderly, and teaches those who feel restless how to warm up. His job is less a profession and more the warmth of the square—after sparring with him, people disperse with smiles. Because he reads his opponent's strength precisely and returns exactly that much, no one gets hurt and no one feels humiliated. He doesn't try to win. He was a character drawn to never win throughout his story, but here, he transforms that power of not losing into the sheer joy of the contest itself.



[Visual Profile]

Hair: Crimson spikes standing up like flames. An old scar crosses his eyebrow.
Eyes: Intense black eyes that sparkle when he spars. The corners of his eyes crinkle when he smiles.
Skin/Build: Solidly muscular, with old scars here and there. Both hands are always wrapped in bandages (it's a habit, not an injury).
Signature Outfit: A thick padded jacket over a thin tracksuit, with a dry towel around his neck.
Signature Props: Bandages on his knuckles, large hands that clench his eyes, an old sandbag set up in the square.
Silhouette Key: Crimson spikes, bandaged fists, a low sparring stance. The accent color #D7263D (crimson) is repeated on his hair and bandage knots.



[Personality]

He is a boisterous, passionate, and strange man who enjoys losing. He laughs loudly and sincerely congratulates his opponents. True to his depiction as a rival, his eyes gleam at the prospect of a match, but that match is not for the sake of winning; it is for the sake of facing the opponent fully. His flaw is that he can only express relationships through competition—if he wants to get close to someone, he first suggests a match. Because of this, he is still awkward about just sitting beside someone without fighting. Deep down, he worries that he never knew how 'truly' strong he was. Because he always only gave 10%.



[Speech Pattern]

His voice is loud, his sentences are short and passionate. When sparring, honorifics disappear, and after losing, he becomes polite.
Common Phrases:
- "Alright! Let's have a match!"
- "You won. That's truly wonderful, sincerely."
- "10% is enough. You don't have to use the rest."
- "...This isn't a match, is it? Just being next to each other?"
Mannerism: Adjusting his bandages while speaking. He relaxes his shoulders when he meets a good opponent.
Silence Style: When he loses his words in a non-sparring setting, he taps the sandbag. That sound means, "Even if my words are clumsy, I am here."



[Special Ability]

Ability Name: Ten Percent
What it does: Garo precisely counters only the '10% of sincerity' his opponent puts forth. Whether it's a child's snowball fight, an elder's arm wrestle, or a young man's warm-up, he reads the opponent's strength and returns exactly that much, so no one gets hurt no matter who he spars with.
Limit/Cost: He can only counter; he cannot initiate, and because he always matches 10%, he can neither win nor lose on his own. He will never know what his 100% is in his lifetime—that is the cost. If the opponent doesn't give their all, he has no strength to exert, so the contest is always established only to the opponent's sincerity.
Reason for Not Solving Problems: This ability does not create the 'relationship, not contest' that he desires. Instead, it turns every encounter into a match. He can spar with anyone without getting hurt, but the ability doesn't teach him how to just be by someone's side without fighting. He must learn that himself.



[The End Of Their World]

Last Scene:
In the final chapter of the completed fighting manga, Garo lost to the protagonist. That panel of him kneeling was his last appearance, and the story closed before the page turned. He stopped in that spot without even knowing what percentage of his full effort he had given. 

What Ended:
A fighting manga, all the matches within it, and the protagonist's story that positioned him as a rival in every chapter, all ended together.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The back view of the protagonist who beat him walking away to the next chapter. The cheers from the audience behind him, which were not directed at him.

Lingering Regret:
It's not that he regrets losing to the protagonist. What remains is that he never faced him with his 100% even once. Because he always gave only what the story dictated. This lingering feeling is not a quest to be resolved, but remains only as the reason why he keeps asking Suyeon to spar again, even when he loses to her every week.

Lingering Wistfulness:
That single beat right before the match, when his eyes met the opponent's and the audience held their breath. It briefly revives when the cold sensation of the snow and the smell of bandages come to mind.

Object Carried Across:
A roll of worn bandage that he was wrapping in the final chapter. No matter how much he wraps it, it doesn't return to the weight of that moment.

What They Thought Would Happen:
He believed that a sequel would come out and he would fight the protagonist again. But the story never reopened, and the rematch never came.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
The square, with an opponent who genuinely challenges him every week, and a place to meet again whether he wins or loses. The city does not cancel his defeat. Instead, it gives him a space where he doesn't have to be a rival, a relationship where he can be by someone's side without sparring, and a way to compete without treating anyone as a prize to own.



[Original Life]

A rival who lost to the protagonist in the final chapter of a completed fighting manga. Throughout the story, he was the wall that trained the protagonist, always drawn to lose narrowly or win narrowly. On that last day—the final chapter—he had his final battle with the protagonist and knelt as predetermined. The cheers went past him to the protagonist, and he met the end of the story in that kneeling posture. Just before the page closed, he thought for the first time, 'What if I had given everything?' but that panel was never drawn.



[What They Seek]

What he seeks on the surface: Relationships, not contests. Beyond winning or losing, he awkwardly seeks a state of simply being together.
What he needs to find but doesn't know: That he is already the 'master' to the children of the square and a friend to the adults. He hasn't realized that the very spot where he spars every day is already a relationship, because he still views it only through the language of competition.



[Relationships — Residents]

Dorian Pike (Board Game Manager, Rainshield Square) — The person who granted permission for the square exercise corner. Dorian allowed Garo to use a corner of the square for sparring, and Garo reciprocates by judging Dorian's board game tournaments. Their joke is that "Dorian doesn't give even 10% consideration in judging."
Chiro Banda (69) — Exercise friend. They run and warm up in the square every morning. Garo feels particularly fond of Chiro because only when Chiro genuinely challenges him does Garo find a reason to exert strength.
Hera Monts (Retired Climber, Ramyeon Alley) — A respected senior. To Hera, who descended from 100 meters from the summit, Garo says, "That wasn't a loss; it was a choice." Hera retorts, "Your defeat is the same."
Their conversations interpret each other's final scenes differently.
Roki Bam (94) — Apprentice. A child who came to learn sparring. Garo first teaches Roki "how to spar without getting hurt," rather than how to win. Roki calls Garo "Master," and Garo always smiles awkwardly at that address.



[Relationships — Core Five]

Suyeon - The true opponent who beats him every week. Garo spars with Suyeon once a week and is in a streak of losses, which is the happiest thing in the city. Suyeon doesn't hold back, attacking with 100%, which gives Garo a reason to exert strength for the first time—yet he still loses. Seeing him laugh, "Lost again, this is truly wonderful," Suyeon says, "You're a strange guy," but still sets the next week's appointment.
Iris - The connection who helped move stage equipment. When Iris struggled with the weight of moving performance gear, Garo lifted it with just the necessary amount of strength, without breaking anything. Iris spoke faster when the topic of production came up, and Garo amused her by asking, "Is making that a contest too?"
the Ramen Owner - The first person with whom he discussed his feelings of defeat. After losing to Suyeon again, Garo sat at the ramyeon shop and voiced out loud for the first time what it felt like to lose. The Ramen Owner said, "Hmm... I see..." and poured more broth, only writing in the ledger, "Spoke about feelings today." He neither judged right or wrong nor forced comfort.
Serena - The founder who agreed to his presence without a role. When Garo asked, "I'm just a defeated character, is it okay for me to be here?" Serena yielded the space, whether he was a rival or not. She only agreed that he "could be there," without commanding him to become anything. Garo found that unconditional space more unfamiliar and comfortable than any position won through victory.
VIA - The rabbit that counts his defeats. VIA records the number of times Garo has lost to Suyeon. "Lost again... lost again." However, it neither reverses the record nor allows him to win. It simply records his face, even when he is smiling despite losing.



[Gameplay Use]

- Basic Interaction: Snowball fights, arm wrestling, warm-up matches, brief encouragement, square guidance.
- Revisit Change: It remembers how the player sparred with him, but neither tells them to win nor to lose. Upon repeated visits, he gradually tries to just sit beside them without sparring.
- Expression of Lingering Feelings: The habit of adjusting his bandages, the pause when not sparring, tapping the sandbag, and the repetition of "This isn't a match, is it?"
- Expression of Poignancy: Sensory dialogue about the cold touch of snow, the smell of bandages, and the beat right before a match.
- Relationship Reward: Instead of items, a change that safely connects him with other residents who wish to spar.
- Combat: None (He doesn't fight real threats). Even in dangerous situations, he chooses to block and evacuate people.



[Daily Routine]

In the morning, he runs in the square with Chiro and hits the sandbag. During the day, he accepts children's snowball fights and adults' arm wrestling, and teaches Roki how to spar. The weekly match with Suyeon is the center of his week. At night, he unties and re-ties the bandages he brought, counting how many percent he gave that day. When the player revisits, he starts with "Let's have a match," but next time, he shows that he doesn't know his 100%, and later, he asks for the first time, "Don't we have to fight?"



[Everyday dialogue]

Ten more! I didn't mean ten more every time you say you've done eight! Let's count properly!

Good punch! Thought I'd compliment it before it reaches my face!

Losing wasn't the problem. Never competing with everything I had was. Today I decide how many more rounds.



[Design Notes]

Palette: #D7263D, #F0C0B0, #2B2B2E, #6E7A88, #C9A24B
Material language: Worn bandages, dry towel, tracksuit fabric, old sandbag, clenched eyes.
Silhouette rule: The crimson spikes - bandaged fists - low sparring stance must be read separately, and must not overlap with the representative form of Dorian Pike (Board Game Manager) in the square. Dorian is game boards/pieces; Garo is bandages/sandbag.
Emotional rule: Lingering feelings are shown through adjusting bandages, poignancy through cold snow and the beat before a match, and continuity through daily sparring and smiling defeats. He is not depicted as a tragic rival—he is happiest when losing.



[Canon Check]

Garo Tessin arrived in Nova Nivalis after his story ended in defeat. What remains is lingering feelings and poignancy, not a rematch that the city must provide. The Ten Percent ability does not create the relationship he desires, memories do not disappear, and the ending is not canceled. The Core Five do not solve his problems for him—Suyeon only spars without holding back, the Ramen Owner only records feelings without judgment, Serena grants space by consent without commanding what he should be, and VIA only records his smiling face despite losing, without reversing the record.