Chapter 161

“Wow.”

Sponsorships came in.

[Wow! Sponsor ‘M-4’ has sponsored you with 10,000 dragon stones!]

[Wow! Sponsor ‘Galaxy’ has sponsored you with 40,000 dragon stones!]

[Wow! Sponsor ‘SF-Werewolf’ has sponsored you with 180,000 dragon stones!]

[Wow! Sponsor ‘Omega’ has…]

It goes without saying that I wasn’t the only one receiving sponsorships from unknown backers. Numerous authors were being sponsored, and naturally, they discussed this topic. There were three main criteria considered by these authors:

‘The effort put into writing, the influence of the work, and the subject matter covered in the novel.’

Works written with dedication received more sponsorship than those hastily penned. The trap here was that ‘effort’ mattered more than ‘quality’. Even if the end result was subpar after multiple revisions and drafts, it still garnered sponsorships.

Then there was influence. This was somewhat proportional to the popularity of the work, but not always. For instance, even if a novel had average sales exceeding 30,000 copies, if readers casually skimmed through it without remembering the protagonist’s name, it would either receive minimal sponsorship or none at all.

Lastly, the subject matter played a role. Stories based on real-life incidents often attracted significant sponsorship. As a result, novels addressing social issues could garner substantial support, and even journalists were known to receive sponsorships for their articles.

In this context…

[Wow! Sponsor ‘M-4’ has donated 2,970,000 dragon stones!]

The sponsorship received during Sprouting a Fresh Start was truly at its highest level.

“297 million won.”

Recently, Jinwoo had been earning billions of won, so his hands didn’t tremble, and he didn’t burst out cheering like before. However, it wasn’t as if this amount was insignificant either.

‘I never expected to receive sponsorships on par with Shine Sight: Heroic Legend.’

It was astonishing. While anonymous sponsors, colloquially known as “Furries,” were known for generously throwing money around, receiving hundreds of millions of won was incredibly rare. Usually, sponsorships ranged from tens to a hundred thousand won, making nearly three hundred million won a massive sum.

By the way…

Furry was the name given online to these mysterious sponsors. It had nothing to do with fur or water people; they were called furry due to their suspiciously large amounts of money. The term also carried a derogatory connotation since their sponsorships deviated significantly from ordinary sentiments.

“Well…well, this marks the end of the Empire competition.”

I entered Novel Arena and saw ‘The Competition has Ended’ written at the top of the forum. I checked the total number of purchases for each work. Ultimately, Emperor Knight Never secured third place in Novel Arena. With average sales numbers, it would’ve barely made the top 10, but its stormy serialization compensated for that.

Some authors grumbled, “What about quality over quantity?!” However, what could they do when such was the rule set by Novel Arena?

And then there was the controversial work—Sprouting a Fresh Start ultimately settled at 15th position.

The protagonist didn’t possess any extraordinary powers, and there was minimal romance despite having a female lead character. Moreover, the second part depicted the protagonist as middle-aged, while the third part portrayed them as elderly. It was unprecedented for such a novel to make it into the top 20 in genre-specific contests throughout history.

‘All the other works ended up mediocre.’

Out of my submissions, two made it into the top 50, eight into the top 100, and the rest failed to rank at all. Despite everyone giving their best efforts, gaining popularity in this alternate world with its advanced civilization proved challenging. Emperor Knight Never and Sprouting a Fresh Start were exceptional cases.

However, it didn’t matter.

I had published over 600 works after all!

‘The sheer volume pushed me forward.’

This high number resulted from promptly discontinuing poorly received stories and immediately replacing them with new ones.

Originally, serialization was one of the most hated actions by readers but there wasn’t any criticism for serialized works. The number of hits ranged from single to double digits so readers understood.

“Well, these things will find their direction. It will gradually improve if we show award-winning works and examples… I should buy stocks with this royalty payment and start patching the forum.”

To revive literature in Ardenia, creating a ‘serialized forum’ seemed like the most certain method. Of course, only players could access it due to its nature…but the number of Players in the Human Empire was growing at a frightening rate every day.

“Login.”

I entered Ardenia and handed the score sheet to Flower.

“Announce it.”

“The owner of the legendary pet will finally be revealed.”

“The awards ceremony is in one month. Do it here.”

“Yes, Your Majesty… Oh my.”

Flower scanned the scorecard and exclaimed, “Surprising?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect this… By the way, what is this additional score?”

“Well. To put it simply.” She smiled and got up from her seat. “It’s sponsorship from the Transcendents.”

The New Year had arrived, marking the onset of freezing temperatures across most of the continent except for its southern regions. Five years ago, people would have stayed indoors with their doors locked tight during this period, but now things were different.

“Wow! Sis! It’s incredibly warm here! Even wearing short sleeves feels too hot!”

In response to the red-haired girl, who appeared to be in her early teens, Haze, driving the horse-drawn carriage, explained:

“They say it’s naturally warmer underground compared to above. Plus, look at how many people use these underground passages.”

Numerous individuals traversed the eight-lane-wide underground thoroughfare. Some walked carrying just a simple bag, while others rode various mounts like horses, cows, alpacas, and camels. Carriages pulled by one or two animals up to as many as five or six could also be seen amidst the crowd.

Despite the massive crowd, traffic flowed smoothly due to the wide thoroughfare and well-defined lanes. Pedestrians chose their paths based on the speed of their transportation. The roads were exceptionally sturdy, fortified with transcendent-level earth attribute energy, preventing any dust from kicking up.

Naturally, the tunnel was dark, but strategically placed lanterns and magic lights prevented accidents such as collisions.

“Come here, folks! This is the last rest stop before Great Earth City! Quench your thirst with refreshing groundwater and savor White Fortress’s specialty, grilled lizard skewers!”

“Accommodations for four at just 50 gold per day! Short-term rentals for 4 hours are only 15 gold! Take a quick break!”

Throughout the tunnel, state-operated rest stops provided travelers with much-needed respite.

Haze was filled with emotion as she observed these changes.

“It’s evolving so rapidly…”

The transformation of the continent over just five years defied imagination. It felt even more profound when considering the state before her Reversion.

The presence of the Great Emperor and Savior had truly been monumental.

“By the way, there sure are a lot of people on the move,” murmured Red, a red-haired girl sitting beside Haze in their horse-drawn carriage.

Once enslaved by a noble family, Haze, aware of Red’s destiny, had risked countless battles to rescue her.

“This competition must be a significant event.”

“But isn’t the prize going to someone else? Why bother rushing there?”

“I heard they’re holding a festival alongside the awards ceremony. Plus, everyone says the Great Earth City is incredibly beautiful.”

“More than Iron Castle?”

“Haven’t you seen the floating letters in the sky? It’s called ‘The City of Art and Festivals.’ Of course, it would be more magnificent than the City of Steel and Giants.”

With a grin, he urged on Sting, who was pulling his horse-drawn carriage. Nearby people whispered at the sight.

“Iron-armored rhino…”

“So envious…it used to belong to His Majesty, didn’t it?”

“Look at its shimmering skin… If I ever make lots of money, I’ll definitely buy one…”

Among the eight mythical-grade cities, Great Earth City had the smallest population. However, now it was teeming with visitors. Not just Haze and Red from distant lands but numerous citizens across the empire journeyed here for the festival and award ceremony! As a result, by the day of the awards, an enormous crowd had gathered.

Over half a million people had gathered at Great Earth City.

“Yaaaaay!”

“All hail His Majesty!”

The great Emperor of the Human Empire, Han Jae-yeon, heard countless cheers as he faced the winner of the first-ever Imperial Literary Festival.

“You have succeeded in creating a masterpiece that moved both heaven and humanity with your remarkable talent. As the emperor of the Human Empire, I hereby bestow upon you the Medal of Literature Luminary, a certificate recognizing you as a Level 5 Author, and the right to choose from among legendary pets. Congratulations.”

“Congratulations!”

Following the knight’s announcement, the awardee stood up. It was an elderly man with a calm demeanor - Rozelian Tree.

“Well done.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

In the end, she emerged victorious. Although Emperor Knight Never dominated in total sales, the sponsorship after completing her work turned the tide.

The Emperor Knight Never also received sponsorship but couldn’t defend his throne with only 8 million won worth of support.

“You have two choices: Come forth, Kasim.”

Whoom!

“Wow!”

People watching the awards ceremony gasped as the white drake materialized like a mirage.

“The Roaring Drake Kasim can unleash divine roars and fly faster than hawks through the sky. With him, you can reach any part of the continent within a day.”

In the past, unaware of charging power, Han Jae-yeon used to summon Kasim monthly to Ardenia. She had plans to create a drake army once she secured enough reliable subordinates.

It was just a dream.

Kasim had been gifted to her instead of being drawn from a summoning stone. Even if she transferred Kasim to someone else, they would still recognize Jae-yeon as their master. This meant that although her subordinates could summon them, they couldn’t give orders. Ultimately, she had no choice but to Synthesize all the Kasims together.

However, it wasn’t entirely a loss, as she gained legendary pets in return.

“Come forth, Jenta.”

Shhhf!

A five-meter-tall giant appeared next to Jae-yeon. It goes without saying, but he wasn’t human. With only one eye, this was a Cyclops samurai named Jenta.

“Cyclops Samurai Jenta. He is useless except for his mastery of the Heavenly Dawn Dragon Divine Style. However…he is incredibly powerful.”

While he couldn’t be ridden as a combat pet and didn’t provide any buffs, his own fighting prowess was immense. To give context, Players would summon him instead of their buff pets during automatic hunting sessions due to his strength alone.

“And finally.”

Jae-yeon dismissed Jenta and summoned her next pet.

“Come forth, Sweet Home.”

Pop!

A small house appeared on the podium with a light explosion. The citizens of the Empire looked at it in wonder.

“The House of Peace, also known as Sweet Home. It’s much larger inside than it appears from the outside, providing near-absolute safety for those within.”

It was a housing pet. It could create a safe zone anywhere, and being inside it provided recovery buffs. The Empire’s citizens gasped after hearing this explanation.

“Wow, despite them all being legendary pets…”

“Not just Kasim, but every single one is extraordinary. That giant being a swordmaster! Moreover, as they’re legendary, aren’t they beyond mere Sword Masters?”

“What about that house? Being able to summon a home anywhere? And providing almost absolute safety…”

Amidst everyone’s astonishment, Rozelian remained calm. She quietly closed her eyes before asking:

“Your Majesty, may I inquire about the difference between base points and additional points?”

Jae-yeon paused briefly at this unexpected question before smiling and answering.

“The base score is determined by popularity. Additional points come from special minority groups.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Have you made your decision?”

Rozelian nodded in response to Jae-yeon’s query.

“Yes, my choice is…”

With Rozelian making her selection, a grand festival ensued afterward. However, she returned early to her accommodation, citing fatigue.

“Popularity.” As soon as the door closed, the room fell silent like magic, and Rozelian opened the forum on her device. It contained not only the contest-winning entries but also several works directly posted by the emperor himself. She had already read them multiple times, though unbeknownst to her, these were adaptations of stories from Earth. Just as Ardenian tales could be transcribed onto Earth, it was equally possible for Earth’s literature to reach Ardenna.

Unbeknownst to her, these were novels from Earth. Just as Ardenian literature could be copied over to Earth, it was possible for works from Earth to make their way here.

“Popular appeal…”

With a sly smile, Rozelian picked up her pen. She had just completed a masterpiece encapsulating her entire life…yet, she felt inspired to create more. Who knew such passion would ignite within her at this age?

“That’s what makes life interesting.”

Scratch, scratch.

Rozelian calmly wrote the title of her new work:

[Gates Afterward]

She then added a subtitle:

[How to Live as an Author in a Fantasy World].

Of course, the competition had ended. However…

The seeds of genre fiction in Ardenia…were now beginning to sprout.