Surviving a Shounen Manga

Let’s Go to the Goblins’ Den!

"Hmmm…"

I wasn’t sure how the author and the readers would interpret my declaration of allegiance to the princess.

I said those words to forge a connection to the woman who’d become the monarch of the empire, and free myself of her at the same time…

But, well,

Tiling–.

[Chapter 24# – The Final Gateway of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Chivalry’ has been added to the characteristics]

[‘Romantic’ has been added to the characteristics]

[An enormous amount of support from numerous readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 100,000]

[Excess awareness is replaced with ‘level’]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 10]

[Received fan art from 30 readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 30]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 20%]

What do you mean, ‘chivalry’? What do you mean, ‘romantic’?!

Did you guys forget that this was a shounen manga? When did the genre shift to romance?!

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership, Spirit of sacrifice, Chivalry, Romantic
• Awareness: 345,259
• Author’s favourability: 82
• Reappearance probability: 20%

Tiling–.

[You have successfully played the lead role in the chapter]

[Successfully played the lead role in the first extended chapter]

[Registered as a major record in the official character data of ‘Hiro’]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

⁞

[Character’s rank has reached ‘main cast’]

[Some information about ‘character level’ is unlocked]

[New product sales will start according to the updated character level]

[Leading point of view application is finished]

• The leading point of view is revoked.

Tiling–.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 300,000p for the rise in popularity]

[Character points paid 4,000p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 200p for the rise in reappearance probability]

[Character level has increased by 250]

"… Whoo."

Basically, it was a character evaluation with a lot of minutiae, and overflowing with new information.

And at the centre of it was the ‘character level’.

I read it over and over again and checked all the things related to this ‘level’.

First of all, the ‘excess awareness’ being replaced by ‘level’.

The first point I noted was that awareness was limited to 100,000.

Meaning, the maximum CP I could earn through awareness was 300,000, but I wouldn’t say that was particularly disappointing. To be honest, I hadn’t bought any useful products from the character shop lately, not that I could remember.

Of course, this wasn’t a problem with the products themselves, but rather with the limitations of the setting.

One can only ever acquire one unique ability.

To be honest, ‘backgrounds’ are the most important for a character in the growth stage, because they carry other benefits, like characteristics, personal connections, etc. But everything that’s worth buying brings a corresponding unique ability.

Which, naturally, made them impossible to buy. I even wanted to get the rest of the benefits apart from the unique ability, but no luck – all those products were blocked.

As a result, even if I wanted to splurge, all I could do was read the readers’ comments and buy a few minor backgrounds.

So I still had a lot of points left. Adding up the haul this time, the total might be close to a million.

The only comfort was that some new products were now being launched.

‘Or maybe… I’m lucky to have a pile of points ready to be spent?’

Of course, I’d have to look at the products before I could judge.

Next, the ‘character level’, about which some information had been apparently ‘unlocked’.

Even a cursory glance was enough to arouse my interest.

‘Where is it… oh, this one?’

When I looked it up, a new tab called ‘level’ was now present in a corner of the holographic window.

I immediately gave it a press.

[Character Level]

• Current rating: Main cast
• Current value: 1023
• Experience: 72%
• Value to reach the next level: ?
• Preceding plot can be ignored: 2 times

"… Oh ho."

The information was very easy to understand.

Because there was only one thing to note.

Rating and value didn’t mean much. There was no data to compare them to, and no information on how they were reflected in the actual stats.

So only one piece of information was important.

• Preceding plot can be ignored.

This was a very significant item.

To interpret this a little differently, it meant that my character’s class had risen to the level where it was possible to resist the author’s will.

In fact, that had been my guess for a while. I’d already had an experience where I’d taken a penalty in exchange for violating the preceding plot.

Although I’d been forced to silence at that time, the actual penalty was a reduction in ‘class’.

Which in turn meant that ‘you can bear the penalty if you’re strong enough’, in my view.

And the new information confirmed this.

And not just that –

Something more could now be reasonably inferred.

The higher your level, the more directly you can resist the author’s intentions and try to create a story ‘about you’.

"Hmmm…"

It was indeed good news. Perhaps the news I’d been waiting for the most.

But I didn’t start cheering immediately, because there were still a few things bothering me.

It was about the ‘degree of separation’ between this ‘character system’ and the ‘author’ when it came to my treatment.

The author and the system – just how closely related were they?

This was a topic I’d been wondering about for a long time. At first glance, there should’ve been no difference between the two, but strangely, there were some points where the intentions of the two sides clashed slightly.

The biggest mark of that was the product called ‘deletion grace right’.

Even when the author wanted to delete my character, the system could prevent it.

Of course, this could be interpreted as a kind of a self-made restriction on the author’s part to prevent himself from taking any impulsive actions, since he himself knew just how irascible was his personality. This way we could reconcile the author’s intention with the system.

But the ‘gap’ between them went beyond that. Now I was looking at a device that allowed a character to break free from the author’s planned development.

Which author would grant such a right to his characters? Not unless he’s completely cracked.

So, my thoughts kept returning to the same question.

Could the two sides be completely separate?

If the system was different from the author, then who made this system and for what purpose?

Did the author even know about the system’s existence?

If the author wasn’t the one to raise the prices of the products, then what did it all mean?

Or was the system just an auxiliary device that the author himself had made so that he wouldn’t go off track?

After a while,

"… Okay, let’s forget it for now. What good does it do me, anyway[1]?"

I shook my head to shake off my thoughts.

It was all a waste of time. Had I been that clever, I wouldn’t be floundering here in this manga world.

There was only one thing that I had to think about when it came to ‘level’.

How to plan my rebellion a bit more comprehensively, to have a better chance of success in turning the author’s world upside down.

‘How to become a honest-to-goodness troll… yeah, that’s the aim.’

Next, I decided to check out the new products.

The number of points was the first thing that caught my eye as soon as I opened the store.

[Currently held points: 913,773]

"Um, there’s quite a bit."

To be honest, I didn’t feel particularly excited, but it was a stupidly high number, so it wasn’t too bad.

And now, if the new products were usable, my hoarding would be vindicated.

"Let’s see…"

◆ Character Setting (New)

◆ Chapter

◆ Special Product (New)

I first skimmed through the character settings.

Roughly speaking, unique abilities and backgrounds had received the largest updates. In particular, there were a lot of new Eastland-related backgrounds, which I thought was a bit absurd. Was the system trying for a garage sale or something?

Of course, I could very well buy them now and use them when the Eastland arc arrived, but –

‘But that’s far in the future.’

I immediately exited the category.

‘I didn’t have any expectations anyway, so this is fine.’

Anyway, next was the real thing.

Special products.

I clicked the tab to enter.

"Yeah."

There were four products that were quite surprising.

[Special Product]

※ Press to check the details of each product

1. Deletion Grace Right – 50,000p

2. Check the Preceding Plot –70,000p

3. Right to Deny Penalty – 100,000p

4. Right to Refuse to Appear – 150,000p

5. Main Point of View Reservation Ticket – 250,000p

Obviously, same as the ‘prices’, the ‘class’ of the products had also risen sharply. It also felt like my character’s importance was finally being recognized.

And just by looking at the product name, I could devise a rough plan for the future.

Take what you need, leave out what you don’t, adjust appropriately.

It certainly felt like I could lead the storyline along the route I desired.

But the problem was,

"… It’s a bit pricey."

Oddly enough, I seemed to be lacking points.

Hmmm.

I considered snap buying them all anyway, but then shook my head and exited the tab.

There was no urgency right now. Hopefully the prices won’t go up again so soon after release.

And now,

"Hey, what’s the point of being so nervous?"

The long-awaited moment had come.

I went to the chapter category and bought the readers’ comments for the latest.

[Chapter 24# The Final Gate of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire – Reader Comments]

Ghost Demon Blade – Squatjaw here making a ‘hard’ decision, if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)[2]

June – Can’t you just be loyal to yourself?

Hanubaram – It’s a draw!

Monotype – Yeah~ Never let her go hahahaha

Kim Tae-hoon – Squatjaw, I believed in you!

ThinkPad – That vow sounds more like an oath of engagement, kek

Outer God – Now this is what you call a shounen manga…

Blue Wetland – Boring…!

Angry Guy – I’ll wait for Leo’s arc, this isn’t much fun lol

Kyaokyao – Fair trade, you get Coocoo, I get you lolol

Jang Moonchungnaga – Leo’s story isn’t, well, as fun to be honest (the author’s crying blood in the corner…)

redwing – Ahh, so Squatjaw’s the deuteragonist[3] huh

Qenari – Nice!

Oh, great!

This was one of the few aspects of this harsh manga world that soothed my soul.

It felt like I was being compensated for all my hard work.

Although, I was a little concerned that there were quite a few phrases that might provoke the author.

What if the author again became wary of my existence?

‘I feel tired just thinking about the possibility.’

Still, it was an unavoidable outcome. Me being in the spotlight meant somebody else would have to suffer the shade.

As I kept poring over the comments, I found some that stood out.

For example, pointing out the troubles I’d faced.

Glitch – Here, if the princess doesn’t stay in the Skull Empire and joins the adventure team, she could fill in the missing position.

Actually, I’d considered leaving with the princess. If she wasn’t going to become the emperor right away anyway, what could be the harm if she took some time to wander around? Moreover, since she’d awakened, she would surely be of some help instead of being a burden.

But,

‘No. It’s the right choice to end this plotline at the appropriate juncture.’

The princess was a character whose role was clearly defined. She had no substitutes, and her role in the overall plot wasn’t dispensable.

In other words, she was a character who had her own place in the world.

In such a case, it was best to just finish things neatly and quickly. Unless I wanted to take the risk of becoming involved in some kind of weird plot development.

It was a pity, but… I had no choice but to shake off my regrets.

And I had bigger headaches than the princess right now. Some of the comments were a little alarming.

jh7free – No, but what’s Squatjaw’s ability? It doesn’t seem to have any limitations.

akdtm1 – I honestly think it’s too much of a scam. And King, too, of course.

It was time for an explanation. If I delayed it any longer, the readers’ curiosity might explode and turn negative.

In fact, in such cases, the author would sometimes dump some information by borrowing some space on a page.

For example, when ‘Mimic Acrobat’ became a hot topic in the original work.

It was after the character had already been deleted, and there was no way to reveal it in the work, so the author had just openly revealed the details.

That was why I could know the conditions for mimicking an ability.

But now I was in a situation where it was difficult to anticipate the author’s actions. It wasn’t just my relationship with the author that was the problem, it was because even I myself couldn’t provide a good explanation on the spot.

In other words, I had to somehow solve this with my own strength, within the bounds of plausibility, and within the shortest possible time.

So now was the time to bring them into the story –

The goblins.

It’d been fifty days since I’d left Adventium after passing the qualification test.

The originally planned period was up to three months, so I had more of a buffer left than expected.

Going by Chinuavi, if I hurried, I could reach the ‘Goblins’ Den’ in about a week.

"If it’s a week…"

To go and to return. Another week to Nanma Port. Another ten days to reach Westland.

Calculating travel time alone, the total would come to about 80-85 days.

The schedule did feel a little tight, but even so – I had enough time to make a visit.

"I can really go…"

At this point, to be honest, I was dithering a little.

There was no particular reason. Mostly because it was hard to completely convince myself.

There were three reasons I’d originally wanted to visit there.

First, I was mad at the author. So I wanted to lure the goblins in and throw them into Westland.

Second, for the sake of a plan to imitate Karl Zayed’s unique ability, in preparation for my future ‘weakening’.

Third, in order to obtain enough ‘background’ and ‘plausibility’ to explain my character.

But now from what I could see, the first and second reasons had lost a lot of their persuasive power.

Of course, there were still times when I thought that the author was an asshat. But all the effort to bombard him with the goblins seemed unnecessary. Since I had plenty of time, wouldn’t it be better to go straight back to Westland and figure out a more efficient way to fuck him over?

And the ‘weakening’ that I’d been concerned about so far hadn’t happened yet. No, in fact, I’d become stronger. That was why I could finish the quest directly without having to visit the goblins in the middle of the mission. If I’d actually gotten weakened midway, things wouldn’t have turned out so smooth.

In other words, it seems possible to prepare for the chapters step by step like before, without coveting Karl Zayed’s ability.

The problem was now the third reason, which was a bit vague.

There was no way that came to mind right now, other than the goblins.

"Hmmm…"

So, I decided to think about the advantages this choice would confer on me, rather than the necessity of visiting the Goblins’ Den.

First. It was a waste to come all the way to Eastland and not go there.

It was a very convincing reason. It was definitely not an easy place to reach in the normal course of events.

But still, it wasn’t a very significant advantage.

Second. It was a step already taken.

I had to go. It was a promise I’d already made to myself.

Well… although, this wasn’t very significant either.

Third. If I got lucky, there were three things I could get from there.

This was definitely an advantage that made me greedy.

An explanation that guaranteed the plausibility of my character, and even a path to developing my abilities to a higher level.

But the problem was that I might end up empty-handed this time, too. So the risk was great. It was a hit-or-miss situation.

And, in my opinion, the chance of a miss was on the higher side.

"Hmm…"

And finally, the fourth and last advantage.

I’d have a story to tell Haka.

Just as I’d promised.

I scratched my head.

"… Yeah, let’s just go."

My mind made up, I immediately shouted.

"Adventurers, assemble!"

Soon after,

"… What is it?"

"Is something wrong?"

Cocoa and Chinuavi appeared, rubbing their eyes as if they were still sleepy.

"It’s already past sunrise, and you’re still sleeping? Pack your bags! We’re leaving in ten minutes."

Chinuavi’s eyes lit up.

"Where to?"

"Where do you think?"

I added with a grin.

"To your home."

Then,

"Hey…"

The corners of Chinuavi’s lips curved up sharply.

Although, the smile was slightly different from that of a runaway kid who missed home.

"The Goblins’ Den! Good! I’m revved up!"

It seemed that he’d been bored for a while, and Cocoa was also expressing her excitement out loud.

That was then.

"By the way…"

Chinuavi faltered and mumbled.

"Why, what is it?"

"That, well…"

"Just say it."

"Shouldn’t you say farewell? To her… to the princess."

"Princess? Aah, her."

I said carelessly.

"I’ve done that already. Let’s just leave."

Last night, I’d gone to have a chat in person. Before the emperor could come bother me, I’d taken care of it at my end.

"If you ever send somebody to find me, have them tell me they’re from you. Yeah?"

"… Where are you going, leaving behind the one you swore allegiance to?"

"Ah, cut me slack. We’ve got a lot more to do. See you next time."

"… When?"

"Alright, well, how about I come find you? When next you’re in danger."

"… Forget it, do whatever you want."

At my words, Chinuavi scratched the back of his head.

"Aha… but I didn’t, though? Say farewell?"

"Does it matter? Were you two that friendly?"

"Ah, no. It’s just not polite at all. We’re acquaintances, after all."

"Me too!"

"Uh-huh, well, it’s not like we’re parting forever. And you too, need to get used to parting. That’s how you become an adult. Hurry up and pack!"

Let’s go quickly, to the Goblins’ Den!

A week later. At the main entrance to the Goblins’ Den, the ‘Saboteur’s Lot’.

"N-, no way?"

Yellowweed[4], the gatekeeper of the Saboteur’s Lot, was feeling quite bewildered because of the ‘something’ in front of him.

A little kid wearing a clown mask was slowly approaching from afar.

And, undoubtedly –

Surprisingly, the kid was human.

Just at that moment, the little kid stopped exactly in front of the doorway that was covered with a goblin silver screen.

Then,

"Hello?"

Came a greeting.

Yellowweed was so startled that he almost screamed.

‘What, you talking to me?’

Fortunately, he was able to suppress the sound thanks to hastily shutting his mouth, but the surprise was still there.

The kid… shouldn’t have been able to see him.

Yellowweed’s eyes opened wide instead of his mouth.

The little kid seemed to tilt her head a little as the silence continued, and then she spoke again.

"Open the door, please."

"…"

He wondered. What was this kid’s true identity? What was her purpose?

Were all little humans so terrifying in the first place?

Yellowweed couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.

To be honest, for a goblin, ten seconds was already a lot.

"Who are you!"

Then,

"Aha, there you were."

The little kid replied with a smile.

"The Mysterious Squatjaw Folk Troupe’s[5] here for you lot.”

Whoa, ‘mysterious’?!

Just hearing the word made his heart flutter.

"So what?"

He tried to pretend being indifferent, but Yellowweed’s ears had already perked up.

"Ah, we were just passing by, and we heard that some goblins live in this area. And that you’re pretty good at fighting and wrestling, and have a lot of other talents, too."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, it’s nothing much, just…"

After a small pause, the little kid added in a subtle tone.

"Would you like to have a match?"

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 뭔 부귀영화를 누리겠다고 (lit. what kind of riches and honour am I going to enjoy) is a sarcastic way of admitting you’re doing meaningless things that won’t result in any benefit.

[2] 졸라 (jolla) is a slang word expressing emphasis (like ‘fucking’) and the expanded expression 좆나오게 means ‘like you’re getting hard’.

[3] 진주인공 (lit. artificial pearl) is what you call a secondary character who becomes the main protagonist in the latter parts of a work, and the initial protagonist is revealed to be a decoy. No easy translation comes to mind so we’re just slapping in deuteragonist.

[4] Hwanggaechobi, mentioned first in chapter 21. Goblins (dokkaebi) in this story often have names ending with -bi/-vi, like Chinuavi.

[5] 풍물패 (lit. folk troupe). See Wikipedia.