Chapter 159

He paused, feeling utterly incredulous.

”…What’s going on?”

It was quite sudden. His ranking had been stagnant around 100th place, and now it inexplicably jumped to 38th? Surprised, he checked the forum and found that the average number of views exceeded 3,000. It had more than tripled instantly.

‘Wow, how much is this worth? Even roughly estimating…it’s close to 50 million won.’

Considering the contest royalties would be double, this single chapter could generate over 100 million won in income. Of course, there would be some fees deducted, but Dawn wasn’t yet completed, right?

He hurriedly checked the comments.

– InvincibleKimChoco: How amazing is this work? Wow. It is well written. I didn’t expect such a story here.

– ChaYoungchun: A lotus flower blooming in mud.

– LeeSukkyung: Despite being fixed to one perspective, the descriptions of each character are surprising. There is relentless observation of the characters.

Overall, it was positive reviews. The newly arrived readers were amazed by Dawn. Of course, not everyone felt that way:

– FoodForThought: Pfft! What is this crap? So boring?

– SeriouslyWTF: I was happy when something new entered the top 50 but what is this? Is it a hack?

– BarkIfItsFun: I will report it to God of Justice-nim ᄉ-gaeyo

#hashtag: Boring… >

EnhaRailway19: Why write this type of post here?

It was natural for two types of readers to collide and turn the comments section into an arena.

ChaYoungchun: Why are there so many negative comments on such a great work?

Anierzzda: Yes, go back to your base part-timer.

ChaYoungchun: What? Part-timer?

“Is there any promotional post somewhere?”

However, it wasn’t a situation where I could check immediately.

“N-Now let’s help you with your costume!”

“Eh. Okay.”

I got up and spread my arms as two women approached me to put armor on my body. The design focused more on aesthetics than practicality. Naturally, I knew what it was.

“The Starlight Armor.”

“Ah. Do you recognize it?”

“I know…” It was myth armor. The only one who could wear all five parts of this armor was Nuclear, the ranker that close combat classes aspired to be like.

“Well, obviously, this isn’t the real Starlight Armor. However, four enchantments have been placed on it to show an aura comparable to the original.”

Once I put on the armor, Sarang approached me.

“Ah, Ms. Jae-yeon, can I modify the contract a bit?”

“Modification?”

“Yes…there is a problem with the advertising contract…”

I moved to her office while wearing the magnificent armor. Behind Sarang, Secretary Carlton calmly explained,

“A warning from the God of Justice has been issued regarding Jae-yeon’s advertising fees.”

“Huh, the God of Justice? Why?”

There were no issues when I inflated stocks using diamonds, so why was there a problem with advertising fees, which were determined by advertisers?

Sarang explained my confusion, “Our game Revenge is Pay-to-Win. After Jae-yeon raised her specs excessively through excessive advertising fees and participated in sieges or large-scale battles, some people argued it created an unfair advantage. It seems a few even reported this to the prosecution service. Unlike stocks, where anyone could have tried if they had enough shares, not everyone can secure such lucrative advertisements.”

“The opinion that people don’t want to compete against characters grown with game company money has gained sympathy. I apologize as negotiations were already underway.”

Carlton bowed his head. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Then will the advertising budget be reduced?”

Carlton nodded at my words.

“That is one way. Instead of reducing it to 100 billion won, you can refrain from using any microtransactions. Or alternatively, not participate in sieges or world raids for a certain period…”

“No, there’s no need for that.” I shrugged again. I thought something serious was happening, but it wasn’t an issue at all.

“I will delete all the diamonds and items obtained through microtransactions. Is this okay?”

”…”

”…”

The representative of the game company and his secretary looked at me with dumbfounded expressions. I asked, “Is there a problem?”

“No…not at all.”

There was a brief confusion but it was eventually resolved easily. Since I had encountered Sarang, I decided to bring up something that had been on my mind for some time.

“I want to talk about copyright issues.”

“Copyrights?”

“Yes. There is something I am writing. It borrows somewhat from the world of Revenge.”

“In other words…a fanfic of Revenge?”

“It’s slightly different but you can see it like that.”

So far, there hadn’t been any problems. The number of views for the serialized novel I wrote wasn’t high, and nobody cared about the background story of Revenge.

Honestly, it was such a generic fantasy setting that no one bothered remembering it.

Plagiarism accusations only arise when there’s some popularity.

It was merely a clash of unremarkable worlds, so how could it be an issue? However, things might change going forward. For instance, Emperor Knight Never had risen to ninth place on Nobles Arena, and Dawn was generating massive buzz even before its release. Although the settings of Ardenian novels and Revenge slightly overlapped, everything would drastically shift once their narratives progressed past the opening gates.

Sarang, unaware of this, blinked in surprise. “Wait, you’re borrowing elements from the world of Revenge? Why?”

Why else? Because my writers live there.

However, I couldn’t say that and chose an appropriate answer, “Just like that.”

Yet there was no real reason behind it. It was obvious why. Why would anyone bother using such a generic fantasy world setting? In the end, there was only one reason I could give:

“Just…I really like the Ardenia universe.”

”…”

In this moment, Sarang’s expression changed strangely. The corners of her mouth rose up, and her cheeks trembled softly. She silently gazed at me for quite some time without saying anything.

”…?”

As I wondered what was causing her reaction, Carlton bowed from his position behind her.

“Chairwoman.”

Sarang seemed startled and straightened up immediately.

“Oh, um. There’s no problem at all! Feel free to use it!”

“Huh? Don’t you need permission from the original author?”

“It’s okay. I have permission!”

Apparently, the copyright belonged to the company.

“Then thank you.”

The meeting ended on a friendly note. As Sarang left first, Carlton followed behind her and looked at me.

“Um, Han Jae-yeon-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Did you know about it when you said that?”

”…What do you mean?”

As I expressed confusion over his words, a faint aura flickered around Carlton. Now able to detect spiritual energy, I knew what it was.

‘What, this guy? He is a disciple of the God of Truth. But why now?’

Regardless of my puzzlement, Carlton chuckled softly.

“Huh. How surprising. Ha ha. This really… Should I call it fate?”

“Carlton-ssi?”

My words seemed to bring him back to reality, and he bowed slightly.

“It’s nothing. Thank you.”

”…?”

“Ah ha. This is really… Ah…” He chuckled and walked away.

“What? Why was he like that?”

“We will start filming Han Jae-yeon!”

“Oh! Yes!” At this voice, I rushed to the filming location.

On one side of the set, hundreds of fully armed gigas were positioned. There wasn’t even a single kirank among them, with most being swamp masters or even human rank—the army was overwhelmingly powerful! It seemed less for the purpose of filming and more for managing this battle stage.

“Now! The guidance device will be activated. Take your weapons! Move according to the script but as realistically as possible!”

Following the director’s instructions, I prepared myself.

Wooom! Wooom! Wooom!

The air split far away, revealing monsters emerging.

“Stand by!”

My Inner Force circulated throughout my body, opening my chakras.

“Action!”

This marked the beginning of the commercial shoot.

“It is an honor to meet you! Yes!” The green-haired boy bowed deeply. It was Never, the author of Emperor Knight Never. He was currently leading the rankings at the first-ever Empire Literary Festival.

He certainly looks young.

I heard he was sixteen years old, but he appeared three years younger than that. It seemed like he hadn’t had enough food during his childhood.

“Yes. I have been watching your work closely. It is very entertaining.”

“T-Thank you!”

“Are there any inconveniences while living here?”

“I-I am doing too well! Just scribbling down my thoughts and receiving such treatment… I am immensely grateful!”

It seemed he was quite nervous. Indeed, it would be strange if this young lad wasn’t anxious while conversing with the emperor alone.

“Yes, it’s always great to see someone working hard. By any chance, is there something you’d like to ask me?”

“Oh, uh…” Yes stammered for a moment before continuing. “About my release schedule…”

Seeing him hesitate, Jinwoo had a thought.

Ah, maybe writing has become challenging for him?

The Literary Festival required five volumes initially, but participants were encouraged to keep submitting additional content as they wrote. Naturally, more was better, so that wasn’t surprising. However, there could be issues if the author took too long between releases, which was why Jinwoo set certain standards.

Well, publishing five times a week isn’t easy.

As he considered this…

“Five times a week is…not enough. I have drafts piling up…”

“…!”

The news was utterly surprising and unexpected. I couldn’t help but ask incredulously:

“Behind on your manuscript…?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I just finished volume twelve, Rainbow Continent, and…”

“Haha! Hahaha!”

I burst out laughing spontaneously.

“You’re truly blessed with luck! Don’t worry about writing too much! Send me chapters as soon as you complete them!”

“B-but, Your Majesty. Isn’t it unfair to submit more manuscripts? The contest points might be skewed towards—”

“Writing quickly is also a skill!”

This was genuinely exhilarating news. Considering his chapters garnered not hundreds or thousands but tens of thousands of views per chapter, hearing that he planned to increase his serialization speed was fantastic!

“Hahaha! It is truly admirable and commendable. As a reward, I will increase your pension amount and give you valuable items!”

Starting with Yes, I conducted one-on-one interviews with the authors.

“Jae-yeon-nim! No, Your Majesty! I wanted to see you!” A female werewolf with long legs greeted me.

“Loyalty! Silver Cross Knight Elrun Casadian greets His Majesty!”

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. My name is Jiezhayufen.” I met two nobles from the Holy Empire and Ming Empire.

However, the most important person was saved for last.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. My name is Rozelian.” The elderly woman with snow-white hair gracefully brushed her hair back and bowed.

“Yes, it’s Oak…I found your work really fascinating.”

“Hohoho. It is just an old man’s story.”

The reason why I called her here was to change the ending at Dawn. Calling other writers was merely a side matter. In fact, it could’ve been conveyed in one minute but…

“When did you start writing?”

“I wrote notes whenever something came to mind. The words people said, their actions, my emotions…”

The conversation became longer and longer.

“More and more, such thoughts come to me. How shallow my insights into humans were.”

“But isn’t it inevitable? There are too many barbarians moving with superficial insights.”

“Hohoho. Barbarians. An interesting perspective. Yes, sometimes nobles can seem more barbaric. When there is no reaction to their actions, humans become just like beasts or barbarians.”

The conversation continued for longer and longer. 30 minutes, one hour, two hours… We talked about many things.

“Once I thought this way. That there were devils. But ultimately, it was all people. Joy, sorrow, anger—all caused by humans…”

Rozelian, the old man, felt different from the previous authors. He was wise, with depth in every word he spoke.

‘Ah, I should tell her to revise the novel.’

However, this thought didn’t come out of my mouth. In no time at all, three hours passed.

“I have heard various praises about Your Majesty. There were stories of awe and fear. But… you are surprisingly human. Despite being a transcendent with iron will, you empathize with the words of this old man…” Rozelian smiled gently before straightening up in surprise. “Oh dear, it seems this old man has taken too much of your precious time. Thank you. It was truly a beautiful moment.”

”…Yes.”

Rozelian bowed deeply and left the study.

I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if it was right to interfere with her writing.

”…”

I sat in the study for a long time, thinking. Then I spoke:

“Log out.”

I moved to Earth and re-read the manuscript displayed on the screen.

In this chapter, the gate finally opened, sweeping away many things that caused pain to Oak. She couldn’t be happy or sad about the unexpected disaster. It literally flowed naturally based on real-life events.

‘It is obvious without even looking.’

The comment section would burn up. The calm description of Rozelian’s world might provoke people.

Some might suspect ulterior motives behind her abrupt change of direction. Nonetheless…

“I…I don’t know what to think.”

She pressed the confirmation button, and with that, the gate opened.

[BrokenClavicle]: ? > > [ChaYoungchun]: Huh? What? No way! > > [InvincibleKimChoco]: A gate here? > > [LeeSukgyung]: The president getting killed by a monster? > > [Hashtag]: I wished for the president’s death, but this is too much… > > [Struggling]: Author, what are you doing all of a sudden? >

The comments rapidly increased within moments, reflecting everyone’s confusion.

[QwQ2020]: Oh wow. Suddenly it’s gotten interesting, huh? > > [StarrySea]: Are you crazy, QwQ2020? > >