NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 - Becoming the Villainous Pig Count
Scene 001: Becoming the Villainous Pig Count
“Another World Online.”
This MMORPG exploded onto the scene, taking the gaming world by storm with its massive popularity.
With graphics indistinguishable from reality and NPCs that seemed alive, it became a legend in online gaming, boasting nearly a billion users across 20 countries.
I was obsessed.
More accurately, I was obsessed with the novel Another World, the story that the game was based on.
The characters and the plot hooked me from the beginning, but that wasn’t the only reason it meant so much to me. No, there was something more personal.
It was because the author of Another World was none other than my younger sister, Jung Sora.
Yeah, that’s right. Another World was the same story Sora had been scribbling in her notebooks since high school.
Back then, I was just a typical big brother, reading her drafts and giving her feedback whenever she asked. But somewhere along the line, I became one of her biggest fans.
It was way more fun than I’d ever expected.
After graduating, Sora submitted her novel to a writing contest, and boom—she won. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised.
But things didn’t end there. A major gaming company bought the rights to her story and decided to turn Another World into a game.
A massive world. Complete freedom. It was everything I had imagined—and then some.
“Holy shit… this is insane.”
The game was packed with NPCs, each one looking and acting so much like real people.
But the best part? I could interact with the characters from the novel, now brought to life in the game. As Sora’s brother and a fan, it was a dream come true.
At least, that’s how it should’ve been.
—Yo, check this out – you can actually kill the NPCs.
—For real?
—Yeah, you know that merchant in the plaza? I tried killing him just to see what would happen, and he actually died.
—Sweet. I’m going to kill that blacksmith who ruined my weapon.
What started as a few trolls testing the limits quickly turned into a bloodbath. The worst part? Once an NPC died, they didn’t respawn.
Eventually, players couldn’t even complete quests anymore.
“These morons…”
I had hoped that players would bond with the NPCs like I had. I thought once they got to know them, they’d grow attached. I believed it.
As a fan of the original story. As a gamer. I believed the players would help build an ideal world.
But no. My hopes were completely shattered.
Once the NPC hunt started, Neverland, the main continent of the game, plunged into chaos. Players massacred NPCs for ridiculous reasons:
Because they were annoyed. Because they didn’t like how the NPCs looked. Because the NPCs weren’t handing out quests fast enough. Or just because they felt like it.
Some of us, including me, tried to stop the madness, but it was no use. I had to watch helplessly as the world I cherished was torn apart by a wave of destruction.
And then finally…
[The last Empire has fallen to the hands of the players.]
[Game Over]
That was the result after just one year.
“I knew it. These morons…”
In a fit of fury, I immediately called Sora.
Ring, ring.
—Hey, what’s up?
—Sora, they finally trashed your game.
—Yeah… I heard. The servers are probably shutting down today.
—What?!
—Yep. It’s over. There’s no more story left to tell.
—That’s it?
I was livid. There were so many unfinished stories. What about all the amazing characters? And this is how it ends?
—Doesn’t that bother you at all? Your characters got killed off without even getting a chance to do anything.
Sora had personally taken charge of the entire story development of the game. I’d seen all the possible endings she’d written based on the novel, but none of them ended like this.
—Well… what can you do? The story doesn’t have to follow exactly how I wrote it. And from what I hear, the developers are counting this as one of the possible endings.
—This is not the ending I wanted! All the players were motherfuckers. Ugh, those poor NPCs…. If any of them had been the main character, we would have had a better ending than this one.
—Oh… is that what you think?
—Obviously!
Sora giggled, her voice full of mischief. So when she said what came next, I thought she was joking.
—Alright, then. Show me the ending you want, Oppa.
—Huh?
And in the next moment, a delicate figure turned around.
Where did she come from? Standing before me was an unbelievably beautiful woman.
I looked around and saw the room was filled with elegant, old-fashioned furniture.
This wasn’t my room.
“Are you even listening?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah.”
Our eyes met. She was stunning. No, beyond stunning. Her silver hair shimmered in the light, and her blue eyes sparkled like gems. But the look in her eyes held only hatred.
‘What the heck? Why is she looking at me like that?’
And why did she seem so familiar?
“Fine. Let me ask you something. How much do you think I’m worth?”
“How much… you’re worth?” My eyes drifted to the fan she was holding.
Or rather, to the message bubble that popped up next to it:
====================
Name: Cheap Fan.
Description: A mass-produced fan with a pretty but cheap design. The quality’s just what you’d expect for the price.
Appraised value: 500 kael.
=====================
“500 Kael?”
“Hah! Even if you offered me that much, you’d never be able to buy my heart. Hmph. Typical of someone like you to think… wait, what did you just say?”
“500 Kael.”
Her expression froze, and her face began to turn red.
“You… you… UGH! Never mind! This conversation is over!” She jumped up like her chair was on fire.
Storming toward the door, she spun around one last time.
“Even if you offered me 10 billion Kaels, you’d never win my heart!”
“But… I was talking about the fan…”
“What?! Are you seriously saying I’m worth less than that fan?!”
She wasn’t even listening to me…
Then it hit me.
Oh god. Now I remember.
“And to think… I never thought you’d insult me like that, right at the end!”
This scene… I recognized it.
At the end, she would say…
“As expected, I could never marry someone like you! I won’t forgive you until the name of Ruelberta disappears from this country!”
Slam.
She stormed out, saying the exact line from the novel.
Except she seemed way angrier than she was in the novel.
Which means…
“Wait… am I inside a novel? No, a game?”
What just happened was a scene straight out of Another World, one of my favorite novels.
That woman just now—she was Bella Isaachel, the Duke’s daughter. They called her the “Flower on the Cliff,” the most beautiful woman in the empire. Too bad her only flaw was having a complete jerk for a fiancé.
“Wait… hold on…”
That line Bella just said—it’s supposed to be used to break off an engagement. So why did she say it to me?
A horrible feeling crept up my spine.
“Please no…”
I stumbled to the nearest mirror. And there it was.
“No… no, no, no…”
I knew all the characters in the novel. I could’ve become any one of them and been happy.
But this guy… anyone but this guy.
“Why him? Why did it have to be HIM?”
The reflection staring back at me was a fat, twisted-looking noble.
“Tristan Ruelberta…”