Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Hardworking Pay-to-Win Knight
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That's right. It had nothing to do with me.
Because...
I was one of those "many writers."
"Log out."
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
I immediately returned to Earth and hammered away at the keyboard. Rain poured down on the English-style keyboard enchanted with several spells.
'Good. It's typing smoothly. I spent 2.5 million won on this; it better work perfectly.'
I'd bought a new keyboard just for this project. It was a painful expense—enough to pull at least two Hero-grade classes even by probability standards—but I'd gritted my teeth and thought of it as an investment.
'Voice recognition is out of the question, and brainwave input is slower than I thought. Typing is still the best.'
Since voice recognition was no longer an option, I paused the audiobook content for now. I decided to focus on the contest for a while.
Pitter-patter-patter!
The more I got used to the sturdy new keyboard, the faster my typing became.
'First batch: 112 works received.'
And given the nature of the contest, every single one was at least five volumes long, so even conservatively, that was over 700 volumes.
Heck, even at this very moment, works were flooding in from Iron Castle and other cities, right?
To squeeze even one more entry into the contest, I had to give it my all.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
From that day on, I copied furiously day after day. Excluding the time spent organizing my Revenge character's inventory, I poured every single one of my 24 hours into transcription.
"Wow, it's fast. Should've done this from the start."
I fumbled at first, but once I fully adapted to the chakra spells, I could churn out 2.5 million characters a day.
2.5 million characters!
That was 20 volumes in book terms. Twenty books completed every day, right from my seat.
"Wow. This is factory-level production."
Had anyone in human history ever produced this many books? Probably not. 'Of course, I'm not writing them; I'm just copying.'
Thud-thud!
Thud-thud-thud!
I kept transcribing without stepping foot outside my one-room apartment. The news was flooding with my name, so one might think it was the perfect time for a celebrity like me to get out there more actively. But I saw it differently.
'Better to hole up and make money.'
With my fame skyrocketing and interest in me pouring in like a storm, was this situation really all that great?
[Han-Young High School 43rd Class Reunion Notice.]
[Remember me? Loving how you're killing it these days.]
[Your old friends are begging to see your face...]
[Iljin Hunter. I know your past.]
All sorts of messages flew in, from the familiar to the bizarre. When calls wouldn't connect, texts came instead. Of course, I ignored them. They were all ties I'd cut long ago anyway.
But there was one message that grated on me.
[Heir to the Blood of the Divine King. Answer the call of your homeworld and people.]
"Damn it."
I'd half-expected something like this someday, but the curse slipped out anyway. The problem was, unlike some middle or high school reunion nonsense, the Celestial Society—made up of immigrants from the 98th Earth—had one thing that hooked me.
'Mom... You're still in touch with those bastards, aren't you?'
When I was 14.
My father, who was beating my mother as usual, lost to me when I stepped in front of her. He was an Expert-level ability user, upper tier even, but after over ten years of drowning in booze and beating his wife and kid, he couldn't overcome my awakened [Inexplicable Combat Foresight].
And the next day, when he hanged himself.
My mother went half-mad and blamed me. It was all my fault, and I wasn't a brave son protecting her—I was just an unfilial wretch.
I left home.
I was sick of it all.
"...Ah, whatever."
If this were Ardenia, I'd have done whatever it took. I'd smash the Celestial Society and rescue and care for my mom, whether she wanted it or not.
But this was the 34th Earth, paradise itself. A perfect welfare state where even a middle school runaway like me faced no hardships.
If I ignored her, she wouldn't starve or struggle.
Sure, the Celestial Society bastards might try to blackmail me using her.
'That's a joke.'
I wasn't some clueless kid locked in the house anymore. A report would bring instant action from swordmasters packed with Justice God's priests.
And then what?
'A righteous party would go down.'
I deleted the message and resumed transcribing.
A week passed like that.
And the contest began.
[Ouryong Net's 'Ouryong Net Novel Contest' is holding its fifth edition this year, a prestigious event that only happens every two years. The fifth contest also doubles as a 10th anniversary celebration.]
I was checking contest articles during a break.
'No wonder the prize money increased.'
It was over three times larger than last year: a whopping 10 billion won scale.
[...With the prize pool expanded to 10 billion won, the number of winning entries has increased as well.
Ouryong Net's representative, Green Dragon Flower, explained, "It's not just for the 10th anniversary. We opened [Arena] to ensure the prize money spreads to many writers, encouraging more active creation."
The fifth Ouryong Net Novel Contest is open to established writers and aspiring ones alike. All genres are allowed, including 19+, with each entry requiring at least 5,000 characters per chapter, a minimum of 30 chapters, and 150,000 characters total.
The contest runs for 60 days from the start date, with over 4,000 entries already received on day one. The total now stands at 6,500 entries, over 1,000 more than last year, marking the highest participation ever.]
"Double royalties."
Looking over the event details, I understood what Flower meant.
"Yeah. It's not winner-takes-all... It's literally sharing with many writers."
Uniquely, Ouryong Net's contest bases royalties on Euro serialization.
Buy a novel for 1 Dragon Stone (100 won), and they add another 100 won, giving the writer 200 won in royalties. After the platform's 25% cut, it's 150 won... but royalties are indeed doubled.
And that "added" royalty comes from the 10 billion pool.
"Wait... If this drags on, won't the prizes run out and end early?"
Anxious, I quickly created accounts.
"Ugh... This is work too."
Over 100 accounts, each posting novels under different names. The rules allowed one person to enter multiple works, but hundreds from a single account would scream suspicious.
Especially since the writing styles were all completely different.
Tap-tap! Tap!
I serialized 10 chapters each for the 112 works.
That alone was 1,120 chapters a day.
Even in a contest swarming with writers and wannabes, that wasn't insignificant.
Readers noticed first, naturally.
⤷FriedPotato: What's up? Seems like a ton of cliched stuff popping up?
⤷Kyukyu2020: No fun...... Why is there so much of this crap...... Because of Killians or something......
⤷ClicheFan: Oh, this one's well-written. Doesn't fit trends, but solid narrative!
Human Empire works held the [Killians] position in the contest.
'Can't escape the classics label.'
Outdated plots unfit for current trends. Stale tropes. And unlike true classics, the prose and structure weren't exceptional.
Of course, I wasn't discouraged at all.
'Expected that.'
With my current output of 20 volumes a day, I didn't need massive popularity.
Just enough readers would suffice.
Suffice...
"Hm...?"
While transcribing 150 newly arrived works via carriage, I paused.
"Huh, what's this... It's fun?"
One work felt subtly different from the rest I'd copied.
Title: Emperor Knight Never.
Author: Never.
"What the heck is this......"
It was about an orphan boy from a dirt-poor family in Ardenia who finds a rusty sword on a hill, crosses to another dimension, and fights evil.
A dimension-travel story.
"Dimension travel from Ardenia?"
Stale on Earth, but fresh in Ardenia. The prose wasn't overly elegant but straightforward and easy to read.
And that wasn't all.
Unique characters.
A fairy-tale-like fantastical otherworld.
Straightforward yet twisty plot.
"Amazing... Ardenia has stuff like this too."
I finished copying Emperor Knight Never and set its manuscript aside.
I wasn't some expert judge, but I could feel it already.
"The Legendary Pet's going to this one......"
Muttering, I continued. But after four more, I paused again.
Title: Road Home.
Author: Slender Legs.
"This... Long Legs girl?"
Slender Legs as a nickname for her? Absurd.
But more absurd: her work was actually good.
"Kind of a mystery vibe......"
Road Home chronicled her and the Savage Fangs Regiment searching for beastkin groups to return them home.
A "based on a true story" novel.
It could have been dry, but it never dragged. Murdered beastkin families. Lost beastkin. Conflicts and deductions in the search.
Long Legs proved my werewolf prejudices wrong with tense pacing and emotional depth.
"This one too... Set it aside."
I kept going, then paused once more.
Title: When New Sprouts Bud.
Author: Zelkova Tree.
"......"
I reread a work I'd already finished, from start to finish. Something I hadn't done for Emperor Knight Never or Road Home.
"This... Exceeds expectations big time."
I had no interest in art or literature. Rarely read novels, no music unless useful—a barren mindset.
But now, after thousands of transcriptions, I had an eye for it.
Transcription is the deepest, slowest reading.
Even without prior interest, copying over a thousand works builds literary sense, right?
And by that measure, When New Sprouts Bud.
"Insane. Out of nowhere... A masterpiece."
It didn't fit a web novel contest.
Too nuanced for romance.
An old man's self-portrait and life reflection.
Youthful passion, conflicts with varied people, trials and losses. Pain and resignation in enduring.
"You never know... Mostly emperor-praising garbage, but gems like this slip in."
Chuckling, I set When New Sprouts Bud aside.
Then resumed, thinking.
"Was just gonna brute-force with quantity."
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
I accelerated my slowed pace.
"Now I can actually look forward to it."
The contest was just beginning.
* * *
"Extra! Extra! First Empire Literature Festival contest results at the central plaza!"
"Oh! Finally, the outcome?"
"Who's getting the Legendary Pet...!"
"But what's this 'tally' about instead of announcement?"
Tens of thousands flooded Iron Castle's plaza, the Human Empire's largest city.
At the center stood a massive board of stitched wild boar hides.
A civil servant trained in Fast Three Sect magic inscribed letters with simple spells.
Golden Mage Tower Myth (Seeker of Truth): 80 points.
The first entry caused a stir.
"80 points? High?"
"Gotta be, right? Out of 100."
"Look at the title. Obvious mage work—practitioners see it differently."
Among the whispers were Golden Mage Tower mages.
"80 points."
Saruman High Magic, tower lord overlooking from afar, chuckled heartily at the murmur.
"Haha. First time writing something like this, so I worried, but His Majesty seems pleased."
"Truly impressive, Lord Tower Master! It was so hard to write......"
"When the great tower lord sets his mind, a mere novel is nothing!"
"Haha. It's lacking. Plenty of tower works left. I delegated to juniors—maybe even 90 or 100 points......"
As they spoke, new letters appeared.
Great Emperor (Silver Knight): 101 points.
"......Huh?"
"What?"
Unexpected score left people baffled rather than surprised.
"100 is 100—101 what?"
"Title suggests emperor praise, right?"
"Heard there are tons like that."
"But still, over 100? Worry people'll just churn out flattery!"
"If that sells, why not tailor ours now?"
"Oh, calamity...!"
As mages lamented, more appeared.
My Survival (Fast): 317 points.
"......Huh?"
"......Hm?"
Chatter halted at the spike.
Golden Mage Tower mages paled.
"No way—max isn't 100, is it..."
"1,000?"
But the civil mage kept inscribing. Mostly 50-100, but not all.
Tyrant Survival Chronicle (Chocolate): 1,042 points.
"No, jumping again......"
"Max really 10,000?"
As confusion reigned,
A controversial hit emerged.
Emperor Knight Never (Never): 12,417 points.
"......"
"......"
"......"
Silence fell. A mage muttered.
"Wait, that 80 points......"
"Shh! You!"
"S-Sorry!"
Amid the brief uproar, the board kept updating.