Chapter 72

“Ah, it is unfortunate. There won’t be any more night shifts with Jae-yeon.”

“Are you really quitting? Ah, I liked Han-ssi for her strength and sincerity!”

I quit both the convenience store and Woonie Steel. The convenience store didn’t matter much, but I received some severance pay from Woonie Steel. Then I used the secured time to write.

[Wow! Sponsor Galaxy has sponsored 400,000 dragon stones!]

<[Despite the agony, things aren’t too bad.]>

[Wow! Sponsor Omega has sponsored 540,000 dragon stones!]

<[Not enough ups. Too bad.]>

”…Exactly… what kind of people are they?”

The sponsorships weren’t as massive as those for ‘Shine Light Hero Biography’, but they couldn’t be ignored either.

I wasn’t the only one receiving sponsorships:

[Two Pen Writer: Received a sponsorship worth 53 million won!]

No, what is this? I’m not even a celebrity, so why am I getting such sponsorships… Even though it’s my fifth year writing this work, it isn’t incredibly popular… The sponsorship message simply read ‘Quite Good’. I never thought three words could make me tear up… I was wondering if I could continue as a writer… Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!

[Phoenix: Dragon Shooter received 120,000 dragon stones (equivalent to 12 million won)… Noblesse Oblige received 80,000 dragon stones, and Steel Fleet received 150,000 dragon stones.]

I was surprised when I came to Olymon. I thought I was doing well as a web novel writer but this level of sponsorship… It is for my most successful previous works, and even my debut work received support. The unique thing is that quite a few readers sponsored me, with no duplication on any single work. When contacting other writers, it seems several people have been sponsored…

Wow. Thank you very much but what exactly is happening? Has a team of mercenary elders returned from space to start sponsoring web novels?

There were screams mixed with joy coming from the novel community. It was due to an unidentified group of sponsors. Their level of sponsorship exceeded imagination, and the amount had nothing to do with the existing popularity of the works.

My works were a typical example of this phenomenon.

[Noah: Wow. First place in sponsorship rankings instantly! Isn’t it unreasonable? In particular, the total amount sponsored for Shine Hero Biography is 300 million and 88,000 won but one person donated 300 million won.] >

[ManaZapWin: I tried to read it… Completely… Boring… A rigid novel… Who sponsored 300 million won here? Is it for tax evasion?] >

[JustSleep: Congratulations Killians-nim! It was regrettable that it wasn’t popular but you really wrote well! Someone seems to appreciate the value of your writing!] >

The perfect minor novel ‘Shine Hero Biography’ entered the ranking board at number one while my other works also ranked high.

The shock of this unidentified sponsor was felt across various communities.

“Let’s see…” I gathered information while moving through the communities. The number of sponsors for novelists was roughly 17 and the total sponsorship amount was around 10 billion won.

“Wah, 10 billion won.”

It was astonishing. This amount could even buy Mythical class items.

“No, that isn’t it.” Shaking my head to clear any distractions, I examined the patterns of the sponsors.

So far, there were 17 confirmed sponsors. Their IDs included M-4, Galaxy, Omega, Alexander, with no discernible commonalities. The sponsored works were generally serious and well-written, with amounts ranging from a minimum of 1 million won to a maximum of 300 million won.

Most sponsored works were obscure, but some highly popular ones also received support. Additionally, once a work was sponsored, it never received additional funding from the same sponsor.

These people are odd. Spending so much money on mere novels… Are they really Elders?

Elders referred to those who had lived through the Apocalypse Project era. They were survivors of the calamity that wiped out most humans living in Earth-34. Instead of killing them, the Apocalypse Project transformed these survivors into monstrous beings. After its conclusion, the average level of individuals in Earth-34 skyrocketed, resulting in scenarios where a neighborhood restaurant owner could be a swordmaster and a kindergarten teacher, a high-level mage.

It was a terrifying situation where there were hundreds of millions of Completed Beings! For a while, they enjoyed ordinary lives but eventually couldn’t forget their experience walking amidst the bubbling power and blades of war. They became mercenaries, sweeping across the universe. Needless to say, they made vast amounts of money during this process. After all, mercenaries don’t work for free, right? Currently, it is said that more than half of the assets on Earth-34 are tied up with them, making it unsurprising that such details appear in the novel.

“Well, it doesn’t matter who they are. What’s important is whether I can continue receiving sponsorships.”

I pondered briefly before reaching a conclusion.

The result came out quickly.

‘If there is no second sponsorship for one work… I should increase the number of works.’

I was carrying dozens of books in my carriage. The soldiers might wonder what these books were doing on the battlefield, but they were worth more than thousands of soldiers so they could be considered military supplies. These works were purchased with money and manpower. Almost nobody brought novel books when fleeing, but it wasn’t completely non-existent.

‘Then… let’s start with Thorns King and Light Scripture.’

It was commonly known as a tragedy. It told the story of Loewe Companion, the illegitimate child of a Holy Empire duke family, who ascended to the throne while hiding his fatal secret birth.

It was too sad to be popular but…

‘The bosses might recognize its value.’

They had become my ‘bosses’ somehow. Originally, it was natural for those with money to become the boss.

“Let’s see…this amount should be roughly six volumes in reality. It is slightly short.”

In Ardenia, it would consist of two volumes, upper and lower parts. It could be considered a long novel, but not by web novel standards. In this industry, multi-volume epics were common. That’s why I prioritized single-volume epic novels for later translation.

‘However…since I am aiming for sponsorship, it is actually beneficial.’

I spent time at clubs where the pay per hour was high, while using the rest of the time at home to translate books.

Due to the desperate nature of logging in and out, time flowed simultaneously between Ardenia and Earth.

‘Ah, I want to somehow make this rewriting process more comfortable.’

However, there was no way. Books couldn’t be summoned since they weren’t items, and there were no chakra formulas that helped with writing novels. Why would closed-off chakra cultivators create such spells when they weren’t mages?

Of course, it would be fine if I created them but it wasn’t easy, let alone simultaneous opening. It might not even be possible.

‘Maybe it is for the best. After all, the ice queen will have castle walls protecting her.’

It was impossible to assassinate the special boss, Ice Queen, like before. If I failed while trying to act alone, I could end up surrounded and killed. Thus, I needed to set up a front and lure her out.

After defeating the Ice Queen, it would be best to push forward and enter before she respawned.

‘Let’s see.’

I checked my bank balance:

Savings Deposit (G-Bank 1173-5511)

70,650,009 won

[‘Black Knight and Rose Princess’] received 400,000 dragon stones. [‘Burning Flames’] received 540,000 dragon stones.

‘The sponsorship for Shine Hero Biography was indeed exceptional.’

It was overwhelming in various ways. Receiving 300 million won from novel sponsorships wasn’t normal by any measure. Despite many other writers receiving sponsorships, ‘Shine Hero Biography’ remained a daily topic of discussion due to its extraordinary success.

‘Sponsorship surpasses sales? This isn’t even written by a beautiful female broadcaster…’

In the meantime, I bought five weeks worth of Nemesis stocks. The Nemesis stock price fluctuated around 10 million won, so there was little possibility of it plummeting. Thus, I didn’t hesitate to purchase them and emptied my bank account for this endeavor.

“Today, let’s start with Volume 3…”

I completed updates for both ‘The King of Thorns’ and ‘Light’s Scripture’. It took me a total of 13 hours and 30 minutes to rewrite 75 chapters. Although physically not exhausted, mentally I was drained. Therefore, after resting for about three hours in Ardenia, I headed to work through Star Gate.

As usual, my day involved managing the club’s atmosphere, checking patrons’ attire, and chasing away troublemakers. As midnight approached, while guarding the entrance, a flushed woman approached me, seemingly emerging from inside the club.

“Oppa! What is your original job? A soldier? Or maybe a pilot?” The sweet scent tickling my nose was evidence that she had drunk quite a lot. I answered smoothly:

“A novelist.”

“What? Ahahaha! That’s really funny!” She laughed heartily and patted me on the shoulder. Despite her slender frame suggesting trained physique, there was surprising strength behind her touch; however, thanks to my enhanced body from using Energon, it barely registered against my robustness. Sensing this, her eyes narrowed appreciatively.

“Woah, Oppa has such a great body…” Her hands reached out, gently exploring my physique. Instead of pushing her away and embarrassing her, I let her continue unabashedly, as these encounters were common occurrences at clubs.

As she continued feeling around my body, she suddenly clung tightly to my arm and burst out laughing.

“Great! Feeling good! When do you finish work today?”

I smiled wryly at the persistence of this girl whose name I didn’t know.

“Oh my, sorry about that. Jae-yeon has a promise with me.”

Suddenly, another woman intervened and pulled her away from me. Turning slightly, I saw Scarlet standing there. She was wearing shorts that revealed her attractive, slender legs along with a black tuxedo jacket adorned with crystals for added elegance. Her attire accentuated her toned physique so much that it seemed like she had just stepped off stage.

The young girl clinging to me earlier was quite pretty, but when compared side by side with Scarlet, the difference in presence was overwhelming.

“W-wh-what?! Ugly freak!”

The kid quickly ran away after being outshone by Scarlet. She confidently watched him leave before approaching me and bowing her head.

“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble?”

“Not at all. It’s my duty time anyway.”

Seeing my calm demeanor, Scarlet seemed to ponder something for a moment before cautiously asking:

“Um, do you go straight to bed after your shift ends?”

“No, not really.”

On Earth, sleep was unnecessary for me since I usually compressed my rest periods while in Ardenia. Although we needed to prepare for the Ice Queen’s potential emergence in Ardenia, it wasn’t urgent enough to sacrifice real-world income opportunities. Besides, sufficient ranger surveillance had already been established there.

“Um, can you spare some time then?” As always, she was overly polite. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to treat you to a meal or perhaps just a cup of tea.”

I looked around us. I could feel eyes watching from various directions, but Scarlet had already erected a sound barrier to prevent our conversation from being overheard.

“What is your purpose here?”

“Oh, well, let’s discuss this while having some tea…”

“Can you at least give me a brief overview?”

Scarlet appeared momentarily flustered by my insistence. Seeing that I wouldn’t budge, she cautiously continued as if giving up.

“I heard you’re working as a stunt double. So, would you be interested…in acting for a movie?”

“You want me to be an actor?”

“In a way, yes!”

“I refuse.”

“Ah!”

I wasn’t surprised by this offer; I had heard it before. It was true that celebrities, especially actors, could make a lot of money. However, this applied only to star-level actors, while those below them often worked for passion rather than pay. Many people wanted to become stars, but only a handful succeeded.

If being an actor were truly my dream and something I desperately desired, then maybe things would’ve been different. But with my sole purpose being to earn money, there was no reason to pursue acting. Besides, didn’t I already have the support of influential bosses?

‘I need to increase my portfolio as soon as possible, yet she suggests becoming an actor?’

Seeing me shake my head, Scarlet hastily added, “I will give you an additional 20 million won!”

”…What?”

Scarlet spoke to the hesitant me, “Apart from the fee as an actor, I will personally add 20 million won!”

“You mean…you are trying to buy me with money?”

“T-That…”

“Me!”

“Ahh…” Scarlet seemed frightened as she gripped my hand tightly.

“I am! You have seen me very accurately! Please take care of me!”

”…”

As I observed Scarlet’s stunned expression, I smiled broadly. This meant obtaining either 2,000 class cards, pet cards, or gatekeeper cards. Or alternatively, it provided enough funds to purchase two more shares of Nemesis stock.