Kobayashi Tetsu posted a recruitment notice in the newspaper.
The listing sought an electronic synthesizer music designer for game development.
He honestly hadn't expected a response—but less than a week later, several letters arrived.
Among the three people in the current Atlas Studio, Kitagawa Takeshi was the oldest and the only one with real company experience. So Kobayashi invited the candidates to Old Dixie Family Restaurant and let Kitagawa handle the interviews, while he and Nakayama Yuji sat at the back, quietly listening in.
Nakayama wasn't a professional musician, but he understood synthesizer music well enough. When it came to technical matters, he was reliable.
As for why Kobayashi didn't appear as the interviewer himself—
—He was afraid Nintendo might send someone to ambush him offline.
Old Dixie Family Restaurant. It was already the third round of drinks today.
Kobayashi yawned, increasingly bored.
Three applicants had come. All were enthusiastic. None were competent. And none had recognizable names.
Their "lack of ability" could be summarized simply—
They could hum solfège syllables like "do-re-mi," and yet wanted to become electronic music composers.
One young man even fell to his knees in tears before Kitagawa, proclaiming his love of synthesizer music—even though he had never once touched electronic gear nor could read a single bar of sheet music—and begged for a chance.
Kobayashi was deeply moved.
Then he subtly signaled to Kitagawa to reject him.
Atlas Studio wasn't a place for people to gather experience.
Maybe later, Kobayashi wouldn't mind training newcomers, but right now, he needed someone who could immediately contribute.
He checked his watch. The next appointment should be arriving soon.
When the bell above the door chimed, Kobayashi looked up and saw a young man of about twenty walk in—bright-eyed, carrying a shoulder bag.
He passed by Kobayashi and Nakayama, spotted Kitagawa, and immediately hurried over.
"Ah—hello! You must be Mr. Kitagawa, the interviewer!"
Nakayama quickly scribbled something and slid the notebook to Kobayashi:
"Kobayashi-kun, looks like another newbie."
Kobayashi nodded.
"Let's not rush. Watch a bit longer."
He pushed the note back and turned his attention to their conversation.
Kitagawa said, "Let's start with a brief self-introduction."
"Yes! My name is Masuko Tsukasa, I'm twenty. Due to certain circumstances, I didn't finish university. I've always liked electronic synth music…"
Kitagawa cut him off.
"Plenty of people like synth music. Be more direct."
"Yes." Masuko straightened. "I brought some of my works. I've already transferred them to tape. If there's a tape deck, you can listen to them."
Kobayashi listened closely, then scribbled quickly, stood up, went behind Masuko, and flashed the note to Kitagawa.
Kitagawa understood immediately.
"There's a tape deck here. I'll borrow it from the manager."
A long wire snaked from the register all the way to the booth. Masuko inserted his cassette and began explaining each track.
Kobayashi and Nakayama listened silently.
After a while, Nakayama lowered his drink.
"He's pretty good. I think… about my level."
Kobayashi nodded.
That meant—he was better than Nakayama.
Nakayama wasn't a professional composer, but his ear was excellent. In other words, he could judge refrigeration better than he could refrigerate—but his judgment was accurate.
If Nakayama said the applicant was good, then he was good.
Kobayashi wrote another note and showed it to Kitagawa.
Kitagawa then asked:
"Masuko-kun, how familiar are you with the game industry? Do you have any favorite works?"
"Atlas! Definitely Atlas! Even though the company only appeared half a year ago, it's already made several incredible titles! My favorite is the music in Tank Wars—that rhythm, that drive—no ordinary person could compose that! And the arcade tracks too! Those were amazing!"
Masuko kept talking passionately. Kobayashi silently nodded.
"Nakayama-kun… looks like Atlas will soon have two people named Tsukasa."
He picked up his pen again and gave Kitagawa another signal.
Kitagawa suddenly stood.
"Well then, congratulations—you've earned a chance to join Atlas Studio! I'm Kitagawa Takeshi, art director of Atlas."
Masuko froze.
Kobayashi and Nakayama stood up and walked over.
"I'm Nakayama Yuji. Programmer and composer at Atlas Studio. I'm embarrassed to say—the soundtrack for Yamaza Tank Wars was composed by me."
Masuko jolted upright with excitement, almost grabbing his hand.
"Woooah! Incredible! That's definitely a landmark work in the history of synth music! Then this must be—?"
"Kobayashi Tetsu," Kobayashi said, giving a brief nod.
Masuko blinked.
Kobayashi Tetsu.
Kobayashi…
Kobayashi Blocks!
Nakayama timely added, "Kobayashi-kun is the president of Atlas—and the producer of all our games this past half-year! I'm ashamed; I only handled minor tasks. In truth, I'm merely a humble vessel used to carry the fruits of our president's brilliance. All the concepts—games and music alike—are his. I simply execute."
Masuko was speechless.
"I—I didn't expect… I never imagined…"
Hands over his mouth like a shy girl trying to compose herself, he took several seconds before calming down.
"It's an honor! Truly! I never thought you'd be this… this young and talented! Ah—let me introduce myself properly! I'm Masuko Tsukasa, born in Taito Ward. I've always loved synthesizer music, followed many works, and even had a group of friends who planned to make a game together. But Nintendo and Sega's licensing fees were far too expensive."
"We planned to start with arcades instead, since arcades didn't have those fees—but we couldn't agree on revenue sharing, so the group split up. Then I saw your recruitment notice and applied, not expecting—this Atlas!"
As Masuko spoke, Kobayashi slowly felt something… off.
Then Masuko added, beaming:
"I love the name 'Atlas' so much! The giant who held up the world in mythology—if we ever made a studio, we were going to call it Atlas too!"
Kobayashi's expression stayed still—but in his mind, a list was forming.
Atlas—in his previous life's knowledge—was Sega's final surviving creative studio, known for masterpieces like Megami Tensei, Persona, and more.
And the composer for the Megami Tensei series…
His name was Masuko Tsukasa.
One of the seven founding members of the real Atlas Studio.
Not the strongest composer, but one of the most crucial early contributors—establishing the musical tone of the Megami Tensei universe.
Kobayashi nearly slapped his leg.
He had actually run into one of the real founders of the future Atlas!
The genuine article—standing right here!
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