Chapter 156 | Omni Tales

Hardworking Pay Knight Chapter 156:

There was an arena open.

#Hashtag: It is just boring, so why all the fuss? I don’t care about their squabbles, but it has reached the level of disparaging the entire competition.

#Wiki: It’s unfortunate that such a great work isn’t receiving much attention.

#Hashtag: Great indeed! I tried to read it and gave up. Isn’t this genre fiction trying too hard to mimic mainstream or literary fiction? Why bring these issues into a genre novel contest? Why not participate in one of the numerous literary competitions out there instead?

#Struggling: Genre literature and literary fiction aren’t separate categories. While literary fiction encompasses a broader range and covers more themes, it doesn’t mean genre fiction should be overlooked.

-Both genre literature and literary fiction are subcategories within the realm of literature itself.

Actually, the distinction between them is incredibly vague.

Hashtag: Isn’t it just not fun anymore?

Struggling: All novels constantly strive for enjoyment. ‘Dawn’ is no exception. If this work were truly devoid of fun and only had literary value, would it have gained such attention from an unknown author?

The purpose of entertainment is pleasure. This indicates that novels aim to provide enjoyment through pleasure. The scene where Nutwood, a fallen noble, faces danger from a whispering suitor leaves readers breathless with frustration. Yet, her momentary wit in escaping, despite the calm narration, still makes one’s palms sweat. Ultimately, reuniting with the knight who protected her lineage and overcoming hardships together evokes a sense of catharsis.

Terra: Ah, it is too long of an explanation. Is it interesting or not? >

Struggle: The content is excellent but above all else, the sentences are truly beautiful. It penetrates down to the sound… This isn’t a short story but a novel carried with such breath, it is really amazing. There is no lack of artistic aesthetics.

Terra: Ah, I see.

Terra: Just hearing the explanation makes me lose interest. Bye ^^

Struggle: …

Struggle: Ah, you can’t handle it. Your level is really low.

Terra: What? Level?

As I watched, more replies continued to be added. Those praising ‘Dawn’ and those criticizing it were pouring out comments like fire.

”…Is this good?”

It was good that there was immense interest in a rookie writer who originally didn’t attract any attention, but numerous anti-fans were also being created. It was a typical process where fans generated haters. Moreover, this one work wasn’t the only topic of discussion:

->FriedPotato: Isn’t Emperor’s Knight interesting? It is slightly fairy tale-like but too funny 😂😂😂😂😂😂

->Kyuey2020: You bastards, receive the emperor’s sword 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

->Cleric: The psychic energy structure doesn’t make sense 😂😂😂😂😂 It seems like something written by a child, really hilarious 😂😂

Emperor’s Knight Never was sailing without controversy or problems. It had already risen to No. 32 in the rankings. At this rate, it wouldn’t be far from reaching the top 20. Furthermore…The slender legs of ‘Through Hearing’ were recommended to fans of mystery and suspense genres, causing its sales to steadily increase.

In addition, ‘The Survival of a Tyrant’ by Chocolate and ‘My Survival’ by Fast were also rapidly increasing their purchase numbers. The remaining works might be trash, but they still had more than 10 purchases each. Normally, authors would give up on paid serialization for such low figures, but even if it was several hundred won per work, the total revenue couldn’t be ignored.

“How delightful.”

A smile emerged naturally, like that of a farmer watching his crops grow.

[Killian: Thank you for the news. Flower-ssi! It is an honor to have your personal interest!]

I sent a polite reply. She wasn’t an ordinary person but a Transcendent, so I needed to be careful with my attitude towards her.

‘Not just any ordinary Transcendent either.’

Behind the mask of a young Noblesse who had just reached adulthood, Flower’s true identity was the chromatic dragon—the strongest Dragon Species in the macrocosm.

She possessed at least mid-level divine power, making her virtually indistinguishable from a deity.

[GreenDrgnYongyong: Hehe. How about treating me to dinner as thanks? You must be earning substantial royalties.]

”…What are you talking about?” Confused by her message, I involuntarily tilted my head. Surely, a chromatic dragon wouldn’t care about the cost of a meal. Even for a thousand-year-old adult dragon, it wouldn’t matter.

[KillianS: Huh?]

After sending this single-word reply, there was no immediate response.

“What’s going on?”

Amidst my confusion, a reply finally arrived.

[GreenDrgnYongyong: Just thought we could chat since your works have been receiving great feedback! No hidden meaning behind it! ᅮ_乌鲁]

“Usually, when authors meet platform staff, isn’t it customary for the latter to treat? Especially with transcendent beings who likely have ample wealth.”

I thought it was trivial but still replied. There was no need to unnecessarily upset someone.

[KillianS: Then I will see you when the contest royalties come out!]

[Yongyong: Yes, see you later!]

The conversation ended like this. I patted Cheeda’s belly, closed the chat window and turned on Revenge.

“It has been delayed for no reason.”

It was time to charge 100 billion won.

“Huff…huff…”

While calming my rapid breathing, I charged all 100 billion won from my account.

“With this amount of money…it is possible!”

Immediately, I entered the exchange and bought more level 9 lucky equipment again. Recently, the number of players had increased, making the exchange very active.

‘If I use Hyperion now, the Silver Overlapping buff will stack nine times!’

A 900% increase in legendary equipment drop rate! Furthermore, it increased to 1,800% due to the effect of Sword and Soul United.

“And this too.”

I looked at the watch on my left wrist. The transcendent weapon, Zerosum. It was finally time to use it.

“But before that…”

I sat down.

“Log in.”

I entered Ardenia.

“Flower.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I want to upgrade the castle.”

”…I will inform them immediately.”

Flower departed. Looking out the window of the study, I saw soldiers and knights rushing from buildings amidst loud bell sounds. There wasn’t a great commotion since Great Earth City hadn’t been fully developed as a city. Instead, there were only guards waiting for me along with auxiliary soldiers.

I waited until they, along with everyone underground, had reached safety before touching the Castle Master menu.

[Upgrading Perfect Fortress City (Hero) to Great Earth Temple (Legendary)!]

Grrrumble!

The entire castle shook. Immediately, I pressed the next button that activated.

[Great Earth Temple (Legendary) is being promoted to Mythical Domain!]

[Castle Master’s Choice is in progress.]

The type of subsidiary buildings available varied based on the theme chosen for mythological advancement. For example, with a botanical garden theme, one could construct massive gardens, or with a zoo theme, various monsters and mythical beasts could be housed. Naturally, given the current state of the Empire, Giga Land was most efficient; hence, all castles shared the same theme.

‘Let’s make this one different.’

Krrrk! Ku-gong!

The stone castle walls transformed as if someone had spilled paint on them, changing not only their structure but also the very materials that composed the walls, floors, and buildings. This complete overhaul of the city’s design left observers questioning whether they were witnessing reality or fantasy.

Knights, soldiers, and merchants watched with mouths agape as the medieval-style city rapidly evolved into a futuristic design.

Huh?

Jinwoo glanced down to see Flower filming the castle upgrade from the central plaza, tablet in hand.

“I didn’t realize she’d be capturing this moment.” Jinwoo smiled proudly at her initiative while monitoring the ongoing upgrades.

[Upgrading Guild Tower (Hero) to Guild Tower (Legend)!]

[Installing Comprehensive Control Room (Legend) in the Guild Tower!]

Boom!

The ground rapidly receded below me. To be precise, the castle was expanding like a bamboo stalk shooting up from the earth. Not only that, but the castle walls pushed back the surrounding land as well, increasing the size of the territory by displacing both the plain and nearby mountains! The castle walls instantly thickened to the height of an apartment building.

At first glance, it resembled Gigas Land’s castle, but…the material was different.

“Ha-ha. As expected.”

Unlike stone or metal, Festival Land’s castle walls were merely displays. With screens on both the interior and exterior, I could project any image I desired as the castle master.

“The durability is the same within the game, but…it might not hold true in reality.”

They wouldn’t be easily broken but still fell short compared to the solid steel castle walls of Giga Land.

However, who cares?

“I can just build more defense towers.”

The artists residing here would generate more wealth than consumed.

Buildings sprouted from empty land or merged with existing structures. Diamonds were consumed throughout this process, but I considered it as an investment.

“And we need defensive buildings too.”

[Construction of Concert Cannons (Hero) x 30 has started!]

I pushed it to the maximum limit. Instead of total firepower, I focused on defensive objects. I also bought one War Guitar (Rare) and one War Drum (Rare). My heart swelled with excitement from this storm of microtransactions after a long time.

“Ah, it is too good.”

Feeling satisfied, I looked out the window of my study at the vibrant city below.

“The scenery is much better indeed.”

Gigas Land had captivated the souls of imperial citizens with its brilliance, far surpassing any medieval cities they’d seen before. However, despite its allure, it still couldn’t escape the feel of a military fortress due to the metal castle walls and buildings. In contrast, Festival Land exuded a more lively atmosphere reminiscent of Earth’s tourist spots or amusement parks.

Ding!

As I descended to the first floor by elevator, knights and soldiers were surprised and saluted me. I responded with a slight wave before turning to Flower.

“Place the guards at the guild tower as previously agreed. Also, assign houses to the soldiers and merchants. The doors will open for those who can use them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. What about the authors?”

Her words made me glance towards the massive building in the distance—the royal condominium complex.

“The residential area starts from the third floor. Allocate rooms based on their author rank. Higher floors will have larger rooms.”

Sensing my intentions, Flower asked, “Are you planning to leave?”

“I intend to visit Wild Boar. I’ll be back by evening…”

Suddenly, I paused as I felt a strange sensation.

“This feeling…”

I raised my left arm. Zerosum, the only item from Earth that could be used in Ardenia, began to vibrate.

“Already? Is it Merlin calling or an event?”

An event was a ‘scenario’ occurring with a certain probability. If I had fed Zerosum items worth one million points, I might’ve been able to save this scenario and trigger it whenever I wanted.

“Oh damn.”

However, I hadn’t unlocked this feature yet. I was too busy lately and didn’t pay attention! As a result, I was helplessly dragged away.

Pop!

The background changed instantly but not drastically. It wasn’t extreme because I arrived at a modern cityscape.

“What…this modern era?”

As I wondered,

Hoooommng!

Someone wearing red robes moved away from me. For a moment, I thought they were running away from me but it wasn’t the case—the person was being pursued by a motorcycle. The rider on the motorcycle…

Was a police officer.

“Seriously, what is this situation?”

Regardless of my confusion, the police officer shouted while pointing at the figure in the red robe.

“Get him! He’s a Realist!”

His cry incited outrage among people passing by.

“A wicked Realist! Catch him!”

“I’ll help too!”

“Deck!”

Numerous individuals chased after the single person. As everyone scattered and distanced themselves…

Pop!

Suddenly, I found myself standing next to the man in the red robe. Naturally, I hadn’t physically moved myself.

‘It seems…I can’t go beyond a certain distance from this guy?’

As I followed him, the man flying through the air turned to check on me.

“What? Why are you here?” It was Merlin.

”…Are you being chased by those people?”

He looked back at the pursuing crowd. Now that my perception had settled down, I could read their level accurately. There wasn’t a single strong person among them. They all seemed like superhumans but were still at a level where Merlin could slaughter tens of thousands with one blow.

“Damn it. This situation can’t be resolved with force… Damn, caught!”

Pop!

A circular field unfolded on the ground, with Merlin and the police officer standing at opposite ends. The policeman took out a deck of cards.

“I will arrest you with this deck!”

“Ah… Ahh! I’m really stressed!! You! I am busy so come back later!” As soon as Merlin pushed me, space distorted, and we instantly moved away from the new world. Then beyond that, two men faced each other while taking out decks of cards. They shouted:

“Duel!”

Pop!

Suddenly, I returned to Ardenia.

”…”

For a moment, I stood there blankly. In such situations, my mind tended to go numb.