Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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Representative Kwon sat lost in thought in his car.
Just before leaving the office.
He recalled what Park Seung-cheol had said toward the end of the meeting.
‘If they can draw at this level and do it so quickly, it might actually be better to have that person handle the webtoon themselves. There aren’t many authors who can produce this kind of quality at that speed. No, I can confidently say none of the authors I know can.’
‘He’s not one to talk nonsense...’
Kwon had known Park Seung-cheol for a long time.
He was a cartoonist before he became a businessman.
And he had a long career.
So, when Park Seung-cheol said it, it carried a lot of weight.
‘Just what kind of person is he?’
All sorts of wild speculations ran through his mind.
But one thing was certain.
‘A novelist who can also draw comics...’
Drawing skills that even surprised Park Seung-cheol.
And speed on top of that.
But there was one thing that nagged at him.
‘Return of the SSS-Class Hunter hasn’t even finished yet, and now a webtoon on top of it. Is that even possible?’
Common sense said no.
That was why he hadn’t dared to bring it up lightly.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was Team Leader Yang.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
-Rep... Representative-nim.
“What’s got you sounding like you’re about to pass out?”
-The manuscript for Return of the SSS-Class Hunter just came in.
“What? Already? Didn’t we just get up to volume 12?”
He was one impressive guy.
A rookie, yet his writing speed was like a machine.
When they’d switched to paid serialization, Jeong Tae-seong already had a stockpile of 7 volumes.
They were currently serializing only up to volume 6, and then volumes up to 12 had come in recently.
And now another manuscript?
Kwon had dealt with all sorts of authors over the years.
But he’d never seen one who wrote this fast.
“So, how much did he send?”
-Up to volume 22.
“Volume 22? Ha! Truly amazing. Doing his main job while maintaining this quality and speed. He’s going to rake in the cash, just rake it in.”
But there was no response.
Sensing the odd vibe, Kwon asked again.
“What? Is there a problem?”
-Well... volume 22 is the finale.
“What?”
-So... the completion manuscript has arrived.
Kwon’s eyes widened.
* * *
The day after submitting the completion manuscript.
Representative Kwon came to visit.
Meeting at their usual café, Tae-seong watched him with curiosity.
‘I wonder what he’ll say.’
He’d lived many lives.
As a writer, cartoonist, painter, and more.
He’d worked in all sorts of creative fields.
Naturally, he’d met all kinds of industry people.
Most of them cared more about money than the work itself.
He understood.
He’d been like that himself once.
But after so many long lives, money had become secondary to Tae-seong.
He’d also been disappointed many times by people in the industry trying to sweet-talk him.
So he was curious how Kwon would react.
‘Whether this connection will continue.’
Just as his curiosity peaked.
Kwon spoke first.
“I read the work. It was great.”
“You did?”
“Yes, a perfect ending. Readers will definitely be satisfied if it wraps up like this.”
It was one of the two responses he’d expected.
‘At least he’s not obsessed with money.’
Or he could just be extremely sharp.
‘Not an idiot. That’s what matters.’
Tae-seong knew his own worth well.
In the current domestic novel scene, his value was sky-high.
A golden goose.
The phrase fit perfectly.
Kwon wasn’t the dimwitted farmer from the fable.
“Then we’ll wrap this one up as is.”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard. Shall we handle the serialization pace?”
“Yes, do whatever’s convenient.”
“Got it. Whew— I’ve been in this industry a long time, but you’re the first author like you I’ve met.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The writing quality goes without saying. The catharsis and vicarious thrills of the genre, the vivid characters, tight plotting. And the speed on top... You seem to have everything a writer needs.”
“You’re too kind.”
“You’ll take a break now, I suppose?”
“Yes, rest a bit and prepare the next work.”
“Pardon?”
Kwon’s eyes widened at the mention of a next work.
The completion manuscript had come in just yesterday.
And already a next one?
“I’ve got a story in mind, so I’ve been writing it little by little.”
“You’ve already started writing?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s not too rude, how far along are you...?”
“About 3 volumes’ worth.”
Kwon was too exhausted to be surprised anymore.
‘Just who is this guy?’
He was an author who shattered every bit of common sense Kwon had accumulated.
“If the opportunity arises later, could you show it to me?”
Tae-seong set down his coffee cup and looked at him.
Kwon, realizing his slip, quickly added.
“Ah, of course, you can sign with whoever you want. We’d be grateful if you chose us... but it’s your freedom. I’m just saying this as a fan who wants to read your next work.”
He went on at length with explanations.
‘For some reason, I get nervous around this author.’
It felt like he could see right through Kwon’s thoughts.
That naturally put him on edge.
“Understood. I’ll send it over soon.”
“Thank you!”
“Oh, right. Any progress on the webtoon? It’s only been a few days since it came up.”
“Ah, yes. I actually met with the webtoon agency rep yesterday to discuss it.”
“You don’t waste time.”
“Haha, thank you. He said an artist at this drawing level would be S-grade.”
“Hard to find?”
“No, we can find one. The issue is the cost. With grants, incentives, and other expenses, the profit share would drop a lot.”
“That’s fine.”
“And another concern... time.”
“Time?”
“Yes. The agency rep said that to complete a season without delays at this quality, they’d need a stockpile in advance.”
This was a bit unexpected.
The character he’d drawn was done loosely.
Some were rushed, just samples.
‘Hm, didn’t expect it to take so long.’
Still, it wasn’t a big issue.
Time was something he could provide.
“Doesn’t seem like a major problem.”
“Yes, of course we can give time. But the rep also said this.”
Kwon took a breath and got to the point.
“With drawing skills like this, why not have you draw the webtoon yourself?”
“Hm.”
Drawing the webtoon himself.
He’d never considered it.
Never done it before.
He had reincarnated into a similar modern civilization once.
Webtoons existed there too.
But he hadn’t become a webtoon artist.
He’d just done other things.
‘A webtoon artist, huh...’
The reason he’d become an internet novelist was simple.
Curiosity.
After countless reincarnations, his instinctive desires had faded.
Money, power, strength, lust.
He could live without them.
But curiosity was different.
Even after endless lives, it never vanished.
It even fueled his instincts.
Same as always this time.
“Sounds fun.”
That was enough.
The birth of webtoon artist Jeong Tae-seong.
* * *
“Was it my seventeenth reincarnation?”
He’d first picked up a brush in the medieval era.
The worlds didn’t overlap.
Even if medieval, that place had dragons and monsters.
A typical fantasy world.
That’s what it was.
Back then, Tae-seong was born the third son of a baron.
In his previous life, he’d reached the pinnacle as a knight, mage, scholar, and more.
He didn’t want to repeat that.
Then, by chance, he got hooked on drawing.
He had no talent.
His hands didn’t cooperate.
But he put in the effort.
His environment helped.
The medieval era was rife with power struggles.
Even bloodlines weren’t spared.
If anything, it was worse.
Even a self-made noble with a territory.
His two older brothers were bloodthirsty over splitting that small power.
But Tae-seong had no interest.
He’d tasted every aspect of power in past lives.
He was sick of the lust for it.
So he declared.
He had no desire for power and would only draw.
Thanks to that, he stayed out of his brothers’ fights.
And support for his drawing increased.
His brothers lavished resources on him, just in case he got ideas.
Anyway, Tae-seong could draw.
Others might not focus on one thing.
With only one life, they’d want varied experiences.
But not Tae-seong.
There was the next life.
And he remembered the previous ones.
That uniqueness let him concentrate on one pursuit.
He had the mindset that slow and steady was fine.
Thus began his path in art.
10 years, 20 years, a lifetime.
He gradually mastered drawing, infusing it with life’s joys and sorrows.
In his later years, his paintings were bought for fortunes by royalty and merchants across the continent.
Some became historically renowned masterpieces.
He drew more in later lives too.
Landscapes, watercolors, still lifes, abstracts, portraits, comics.
He learned it all.
But webtoons were a first.