NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
Lilith and I wandered around until we found a small cave in a remote area. Luckily, there were no signs of other people inside.
“The sun’s already set. It’s dangerous to keep moving, so let’s rest here,” I said.
Lilith, overjoyed at finally being able to rest, immediately went inside. The status window showed the time. The sun had already set, and there were about 20 minutes left until the midnight settlement.
We took out some bread from another supply box we had found before nightfall and split it in half. We also shared the water. Watching Lilith’s red lips move as she ate, I spoke up.
“When the second day starts tomorrow, you should stay hidden in this cave. I’ll go out alone and come back. I promise.”
I made a promise to Lilith and even hooked our pinkies together to assure her. Despite this, she looked at me with worried eyes.
“What if you die?” she asked.
“I won’t die. I’ll survive no matter what,” I replied, choosing words that sounded impressive on purpose. With the first day’s tally approaching, I aimed to create the most memorable scene possible, conscious of the viewer popularity votes.
As time passed, the exhausted Lilith started dozing off, leaning against the cave wall. Meanwhile, I watched the timer count down to the settlement time: 3, 2, 1.
[Stop!]
[Everyone, cease fighting. You now have five minutes to check the settlement results and move to a safe location to rest.]
If anyone was still fighting or wandering in the forest, they needed to find a place to settle in. Lilith and I were already prepared.
[Day 1 has ended.]
[The individual ranking results for Day 1 will now be revealed. Survivors, please review the results and rewards, and rest in preparation for Day 2. Note that any participants who start fighting before Day 2 begins will be immediately disqualified.]
Lilith woke up with a start and rubbed her eyes. She focused on the text scrolling down her status window. (Of course, everyone could only see their own window, so it looked like Lilith and I were staring into space.)
[Day 1 Settlement]
[Out of 600 participants, 381 have survived.]
A staggering number had died. Lilith shivered as she mentally counted the dead. Since I hadn’t yet fully grasped the reality of treating characters as living beings, I vaguely wondered how many kill points each person had accumulated.
[Individual ranking results have been sent to all participants.]
[Press “View” to check.]
[Name] Rudel
Congratulations! You have survived Day 1!
[Daily Settlement]
Kill Points: +0
Collection Points: +1140
Play Points: +162,678
I was reading through the results indifferently when the number of ‘Play Points’ caught my eye. No way, I found three boxes and got 1,140 points, but what’s with this six-figure number? You’d need to find at least 100 boxes to get that many points!
“Rudel, can I ask you something?”
As I was reeling in shock, Lilith poked my shoulder with her delicate finger.
“Do you know what these Play Points are?”
It suddenly struck me that looking at Lilith’s results might give me a clue.
“Lilith, can I see your results?”
“Sure! Here.”
Lilith immediately shared her results screen with me. She’s too kind, never suspecting anyone. It wasn’t that she particularly trusted me; she’d probably show her information to anyone who asked. Sweet and naive Lilith. I must protect her.
I compared our results side by side.
[Name] Lilith
[Daily Settlement]
Kill Points: +0
Collection Points: +359
Play Points: +192,422
Lilith had done nothing all day except get dragged around by Ispan, stand up to him once, and then get rescued by me. It was impressive but not the kind of achievement that would earn her a ton of Play Points. Yet she had 30,000 more points than I did.
Now I understood. These Play Points must be a numerical representation of the ‘viewer popularity votes.’ The game developers couldn’t explain the concept of ‘viewers’ to us, so they used the term Play Points as a cover. It’s a plausible disguise. Any impressive or noteworthy actions would increase the popularity vote scores. Calling them ‘Play Points’ would make sense to the characters in the game.
My choice was right. Saving Lilith turned out to be beneficial.
[Settlement results will affect your level and ranking…]
**Ding.**
A sound effect played, indicating my level was increasing in the game.
**Ding, ding…** Wait, it seems like my level is going up quite a bit.
[Your level has increased by 11!]
[Average level up for participants: 7.6]
Once again, I was filled with gratitude for the miracle Lilith’s popularity vote had brought. Despite being a character with poor stats, unable to kill anyone, I had reached level 12. I had easily surpassed the average level up of participants.
“Lilith, how many levels did you go up?”
“I’m at 12.”
Even Lilith had increased her level to 12. This is the power of the popularity vote.
I opened the status window to check the stat increases according to the level-ups. How much do the stats increase for a 10-level jump?
[Name] Rudel / [Level] 12
* * *
[Health] 189 / ▲104 / D
[Strength] 186 / ▲106 / D
[Agility] 272 / ▲166 / ▲C
In just one day, I now had a stat above D. Although it was still a drop in the bucket, it was a significant improvement! Hope was on the horizon. I clenched my fists and silently cheered. Lilith looked at me as if she found my reaction endearing.
“Lilith, did your stats increase a lot?” I asked.
“Hold on… My stats went up by 80, 80, and 70 each,” she replied.
Even though she had leveled up one more time than me, that was it? It seemed the stat increases varied by character. The rate of stat increases probably depended on the initial capabilities. What kind of boosts did someone like Ispan get, then? Damn silver spoon characters. I really wanted to get a look at his status window. I’ll have to sneak a peek tomorrow.
“But Rudel, I don’t understand what the things on the last page mean,” Lilith said.
Right, I had been so focused on the level-ups that I forgot about the last page of the settlement results. I flipped to that part along with Lilith.
Huh?
**Daily Settlement Comments**
Comments? Could it be…
‘No way, I bet a million on this person dying.’
For a moment, I was stunned by the familiar tone of the text I thought I’d never see again. The last page of the settlement results had a few comments that viewers had probably made about me.
‘Underdog wins, underdog wins, underdog wins.’
‘Who goes all-in from the first day? Unless they have a reversal character like this guy. I think Rudel survived by luck, super shrewd.’
‘Don’t bet on stats, bet on intelligence.’
Aha. So many people had gambled on me dying and lost big from day one. I remembered something from the game manual about selecting a few chat messages from the community to display in the game. This must be it. They made us see internet comments like letters.
‘Holding hands with Lilith is so cute (≧ω≦)’
‘You survived well; make sure to stay alive tomorrow too.’
‘I was nervous when you threw the stealth potion; so brave.’
‘Thanks for saving Lilith!’
Although it was a selection, the comments probably reflected the general consensus about me. Most were surprised I survived or angry they lost game money, but some liked my chemistry with Lilith and cheered for my survival. This was already a big achievement.
When the game started, a nobody like me was just a character they bet on to die because if I didn’t, they’d lose their money.
However, by wisely escaping from Nahean and risking my life to rescue Lilith from Ispan, my value had risen a bit. I had managed to gain a few viewers who hoped I wouldn’t die.
“Lilith, can I see your comments too?”
“Sure!”
‘Our Lilith is so kind…’
‘Why is she so pretty?’
‘I don’t know, but I love her already.’
As expected, most of the comments were about her looks and admiration.
“What’s this? Did someone write me a letter?” Lilith asked, confused. Not just Lilith, but all the characters would probably be puzzled by this.
I wasn’t sure how to explain ‘viewers’ or ‘real-life users’ to Lilith. If I straightforwardly explained the real world outside the game, the GMs might be alarmed and delete me.
“Maybe it’s because you’re pretty, kind, and brave that the heavens wrote these comments about you.”
“The heavens?”
For a moment, I considered referring to the viewers as ‘gods,’ but that felt unsettling, so I changed my mind and used the abstract term ‘heavens.’ After all, they were watching from above.
“Don’t worry too much about it. It’s just for fun.”
“Okay!”
Lilith nodded, trusting my words with innocent simplicity.
Another announcement was heard.
[Rewards according to your level are being distributed.]
At the same time, two boxes dropped in front of each of us from above. I opened my box and my eyes widened in surprise. Inside were various potions, a mini crossbow that could be hidden on my wrist, and a comfortable blouse and slacks labeled ‘bulletproof vest.’ There were even sealed containers of steak salad and fried rice, with no expiration date.
Yes… this is what rewards should be. It was a bit disappointing not to have another stealth potion or a gun, but this was still excellent. While I was smiling in satisfaction, another announcement echoed.
[Additionally, the ‘Inventory’ function and ‘Unique Abilities’ will be unlocked starting from Day 2.]
This was information I had already known from the website. As I nodded in understanding, Lilith yawned and crawled into a corner of the cave.
“Going to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, you must be tired. Sleep well.”
Lilith lay down, gave me a sweet smile, and then closed her eyes peacefully. Seeing her made me feel exhausted too. It was best to rest up for tomorrow. After quickly scanning through the remaining results, I quietly lay down on the opposite side of the cave.