NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
When the rhythmic tick-tock of two metronomes faded, only two irreversible phenomena remained.
One was two broken spoons.
The other was Choi Da-eun’s head significantly swollen.
She was weeping, clearly in a lot of pain, rubbing her head.
Of course.
“Sniff… Sniff… It hurts… It’s dirty.”
“The only dirty thing here is my heart, you fcker.*”
I felt no sympathy whatsoever.
If anything, I deserved gratitude from Choi Da-eun for sparing her life.
As I helped her up, I calmly got to the point.
“Anyway, stop the publication of this insane novel.”
“That’s impossible! It’s already sold out!”
“…..What?”
I immediately grabbed Choi Da-eun by the collar. What the hell was she doing?
I expressed my intense anger, but it still couldn’t hide the trembling of my hands from agitation.
I tried to steady my mind and growled, “What… do you mean… you sht?*”
“We just did our first non-face-to-face sale and it was a hit! Wanna see the reviews?”
Choi Da-eun smiled brightly as if my mood didn’t matter, fiddling with her phone and presenting it to me.
What popped into view was a sales website.
And right before my eyes were the comments on the book Choi Da-eun had just sold.
Of course, they were all written anonymously.
– What’s with the compatibility between the longevity race and the short-lived race! T___T
– The shifting of perspectives is so beautiful! T____T
– The longevity race will only think of the short-lived race until the end. So beautiful! T____T
– Author! Hurry up with volume two!
– Bring more! No, bring it all!! T____T
Three bits of objective information entered my sight.
One. The word “sold out” was displayed in big letters due to insufficient stock.
Two. A rating that pierced through 4.9 out of 5.
Three. A comment count exceeding three digits, which could not simply be reduced to a number.
I felt like my mind was going to snap.
“W-What? How many people bought this?”
“Who the fck decided to mix this up?!!!*”
“Master, please calm down.”
[A male heroine is going to be added, huh?]
‘If you say that nonsense, I’ll really kill you, you sh*t.’
Jeong Ahyeon tried to calm us down.
But it was no use.
“Do you really think I can calm down right now?”
“Accept it! This is already an unstoppable trend!”
“You btch!*”
I grabbed Choi Da-eun by the collar again and lifted her off the ground.
But seeing her squirm didn’t relieve my anger at all.
“The trend is sht. You dying is the trend of this chapter.*”
“Shinwoo, where are all these bastards? I can track their IQ, right? I’ll burn them all!”
I tossed Choi Da-eun aside and hugged Hyeji to prevent her from running off before I lost my mind.
If Hyeji moved, it would really not end well.
Perhaps it had a definite effect. Hyeji began to remain still in my embrace.
[So it’s a BL BL Party!]
‘These f*ckers should exit to J-platform. I’d love to see them die.’
I forced Choi Da-eun to stand up as she panted.
“You fcker. You’re a writer, right?*”
“Cough, cough. Yes, that’s right. I’m writing a male-oriented fantasy novel.”
If she recognized herself as a writer, then she certainly wasn’t lacking somewhere.
A question suddenly sprang to mind.
“But why did you use this kind of firestarter instead of what you usually do?”
“Well, since the novel is male-oriented, it’s hard to progress the story.”
She scratched her head sheepishly.
Then, as if she had a scary thought, she began to tremble.
“If I make a mistake, there will be many comments saying, ‘I’m dropping out. Author, you should just work at Coupang.’”
“So it’s tough to serialize male-oriented novels?”
A good plan came to mind.
At the same time, a filthy smile appeared on my face.
I whispered just enough for Hyeji to hear, “Hyeji, go and cover Jeong Ahyeon’s mouth.”
“Got it.”
“Soje? What are you doing?”
Hyeji didn’t bother answering Jeong Ahyeon’s question with words.
She merely swiftly covered Jeong Ahyeon’s mouth from behind.
With that, I removed any potential variables.
With preparations complete, I decided to share my secret weapon with Choi Da-eun.
“Choi Da-eun, I’ve read a fair amount of novels too. So while I can’t write, I know how to captivate readers.”
“Really? Please teach me!!”
The pain she had been in was nowhere to be seen as Choi Da-eun clung to me.
It was a ridiculously shameless and odious sight.
I wanted to smack her hard.
But I held back. I craved a fancier revenge.
So suppressing the intense flames of anger inside, I spoke to Choi Da-eun.
First, I wanted to check if she had read any other web novels.
“But first, let me ask you: have you read many other web novels?”
“No. Honestly, it’s tight just serializing my own. I don’t have time to read others.”
Thank goodness.
It was truly a relief that she hadn’t read other web novels.
If she had noticed anything, it would have been dangerous.
So now, I needed to confirm where she was serializing.
I had to check if the environment was suitable for a strike.
“Where are you serializing?”
“That place that boasts of a cute mascot. The servers crash whenever they get a chance.”
“I know which one.”
“Yes, especially when you abbreviate that mascot—.”
“They told us not to abbreviate it at the customer service center.”
I hastily covered Choi Da-eun’s mouth.
[That was close.]
‘Just this once. Thank you, Nobel-chan.’
I almost put the novel’s existence in danger.
Anyway, I removed my hand from Choi Da-eun’s mouth and continued speaking.
It was time to start my revenge.
“Can you briefly tell me what your novel is about?”
“It’s a fantasy growth story. It’s a harem.”
“How’s the reception?”
“Recently, the views have dropped significantly.”
Choi Da-eun instantly looked gloomy.
She didn’t seem pleased about the reduction in views lately.
I pretended to stroke my chin while casting my gaze toward Hyeji.
What met my eyes was Hyeji properly marking Jeong Ahyeon while covering her mouth.
Perfect.
I turned my gaze back to Choi Da-eun and spoke again.
I needed to remain as calm as possible to avoid messing things up.
“First, think about it. What do you think the problem with your novel is?”
“Well, since it’s a harem, I think the number of heroines increased and the views decreased.”
“I think I got the gist of it. That’s probably because you didn’t manage the heroines properly as their numbers increased.”
Choi Da-eun seemed deep in thought, wondering if she hadn’t done just that.
I quickly moved on to the next topic so she wouldn’t overthink.
“Just because it’s a harem, does that mean you can simply conquer the heroines and turn them into trophies?”
“That’s not the case. But I don’t know what to do.”
Choi Da-eun’s eyes began to sparkle.
I met her gaze and continued,
“You can’t just leave the heroines alone. You need to create tension for the readers to follow the story.”
“How?”
“You have a virgin heroine who hasn’t formed relationships yet, right? Have her get kidnapped by the villain and leave only a note behind.”
“Isn’t that too extreme?”
Choi Da-eun looked a bit scared.
I patted her shoulder as gently as I could and said,
“Just think about it. Wouldn’t readers get anxious wondering, ‘What if the heroine got dirty?’”
“You’re right! That would definitely bring the tension up!”
“That’s not it!!! Hmph!!! Hmph!!!! Hmph!!!!!”
Hyeji quickly covered Jeong Ahyeon’s mouth again.
Still managing to do her job well.
“You have to keep the plot from getting loose like that.”
“Yes! I understand! I’ll keep that in mind!!”
Choi Da-eun had taken out a notepad and was diligently writing down notes.
When her hand paused, I brought up the next point.
“And is the protagonist just going to grow endlessly? The tension felt in the early struggles will disappear.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Have him lose power due to an ancient curse and have to grow back.”
“Oh! So we’re going back to the initial feeling!?”
“Exactly. You got it.”
“Stop!!! Hmph!!! Let go!!! Huh!!! Hmph!!!”
Despite Hyeji’s grip, I noticed Jeong Ahyeon’s resistance getting stronger.
I needed to hasten things before it was too late.
“And finally, you said the protagonist is male?”
“Yes!”
“Then create a male companion who approaches the male protagonist.”
“Isn’t that making the picture strange?”
Choi Da-eun had a genuinely puzzled expression this time.
But if I ended here, it would be a complete loss.
I maintained a casual demeanor and continued.
“Originally, there are male companions in the regular version too. There are novels where all party members are male in the place you’re serializing.”
“Ah, I guess I was narrow-minded.”
Thank goodness she seemed to take it easily.
It was time to return to the main point.
“Anyway, the male companion should obsess over the protagonist’s every action and stick to him.”
“How do I do that?”
“For instance, have the male companion say lines like, ‘Bro, do you really wanna see me go crazy??’”
“Yes! I understand!!! I’ll put it in soon!!!”
“Great. That concludes my advice.”
“Stop!!!! Hmph!!!! That can’t happen!!! Hmph!!!”
No more advice was given.
Choi Da-eun quickly packed up her things, exchanged brief goodbyes, and left.
Only then did Hyeji release Jeong Ahyeon.
Jeong Ahyeon gave me a blank stare, her expression filled with disbelief.
“…Master, you’re the real fcking sht.”
“It’s a justified revenge, having written such a weird novel with me.”
“Shinwoo, but what was that just now?”
“Three factors for dropping web novels.”
It seemed Hyeji was unfamiliar with web novels since she had no clue.
On the other hand, I predicted Jeong Ahyeon might have taken up reading as a hobby following her sister.
And when I observed her reaction a moment ago, it seemed I was right.
“A lengthy note of 5700 characters will be flying your way.”
“If it’s 5700 characters, I’m fine with that. I’m predicting 57000.”
Jeong Ahyeon narrowed her eyes, beginning to protest against me.
“Shinwoo, does the Master understand people’s hearts?”
“The king does not know the hearts of men.”
“As expected, Shinwoo is the king of unicorns.”
“Sht, I just got hit with a counterattack.*”
At that moment, a voice in my head spoke to me.
[Isn’t that a bit too much?]
‘But it’s not like I brought back a disbanded male idol group in the plot.’
Good luck, Choi Da-eun.
You little f*cker.
*
For the first time after the midterm exams, practical training began.
Unlike before, there would no longer be sparring matches with students.
Instead, this time, the opponent to fight was none other than a monster.
But it wasn’t a real monster.
Just a fake created by a simulator.
Naturally, compared to the real deal, the overall specs were slightly lacking.
While thinking it might be manageable, I noticed a different side of Hyeji and approached her.
“Hyeji, why are you carrying a hammer and a shield this time?”
Unlike her usual self, she was armed with crude weapons rather than firearms.
It was quite an odd sight.
“Am I a Poppy support?”
“I used up too much firepower during the midterms, so I got complaints from the Monster Rights Association.”
Hyeji grumbled with a displeased expression.
She looked quite upset.
“What the hell are those guys?”
“I dunno, just fckers.*”
Since class hadn’t started yet, I quickly took out my phone and searched.
Of course, the search was on the repository of knowledge, the Kingmuwiki.
Immediately, a plethora of incidents, accidents, and quotes appeared in a row.
My evaluation of what I saw along with the voice in my head.
[…There are idiots throwing food at monsters saying they’re feeding them.]
‘Even when someone dies, there are sh*ts saying, “Our monster could bite.”’
These were some truly insane people.
Curious about what kinda group they were, I rapidly read various explanations.
Surprisingly, they had a short history. They first appeared at a time when hunters had brought a degree of peace.
It was a group that seemed to embody the saying: if they can eat, they’ll do anything.
Initially derived from existing animal protection associations, the “Monster Rights Association” gradually expanded and eventually absorbed the animal protection association.
It turned out the decisive factor was massively recruiting the crazy cat ladies.
Thanks to their dynamic actions, the Monster Rights Association became mainstream, and the crazy cat ladies naturally climbed the ranks of the administration.
Regardless, their activities primarily consisted of issuing condemnation statements against the actions taken by hunters toward monsters, or conducting protests against hunters to hinder them from capturing monsters.
These were highly intelligent and malicious acts done by individuals who knew they were civilians.
Another odd characteristic was the exceedingly short average lifespan of its members due to their excessive love for monsters.
Most of them ended their lives being eaten by monsters.
And yet, their numbers kept expanding in a bizarre manner.
[…There’s no sanity there.]
‘That’s just how crazy cat ladies are.’
“Anyway, until things quiet down, we’ll have to stick to melee weapons for a while.”
“What a ridiculous pain. Hyeji, you’re working hard.”
“It’s seriously too much intervention. If someone overheard, they’d think I explode at any moment.”
However, contrary to Hyeji’s words, her hands were trembling slightly.
It resembled the behavior of a drug addict who had just been denied their fix.
“Hyeji Soje, it seems you’ve entered withdrawal symptoms.”
“…Seeing you, I might just agree with those people.”
It was about time for class to start.
As the designated individuals entered the sparring ground, monsters began spawning randomly on the opposite end.
My opponents were two slightly larger wolves.
Unlike with the unicorn, this time, there were no numbers displayed above the wolf’s head.
It seemed they couldn’t use regression since they were implemented by a simulator.
[Shouldn’t be too challenging?]
‘They’re just worthless mutts, not even unicorns.’
Confidently, I lunged at the monsters.
And one minute later.
I found myself being dragged around the sparring ground with both of my feet in their mouths.
Like a parade.
And in the end, they tossed me aside and struck a pose while hoisting their legs.
“Shinwoo, why are you being toyed with?”
“I’ve been sullied, fck.*”
“Why are you not hitting back when you’re merciless with people? Is this species discrimination?”
“Are you a member of the Monster Rights Association too, Master?”
Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon had hit at my heart.
It hurt so much that my face unknowingly fell glum.
But the more I sank, the wider their smiles became.
“Shinwoo, that’s not how you capture them.”
“Master, that’s not how it works there.”
[That’s not how it’s done, you know.]
“Fck.*”
Those were some crazy bastards.
It wasn’t even a dark soul game.