Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Sudden Rise
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"Pay-to-Win Knight" Chapter 158
"Ah, wait a second. No. This flow... "
My entire body trembled in fear.
A masterpiece on the verge of completion...
marred by a gate...?
"Ah, this..."
I pondered for a moment. Should I leave it as is? Or should I threaten the Nettree author into revising the content?
The part I was writing now was Volume 7.
It had met the Empire Literature Contest requirement of "at least 5 volumes," with Volume 5 Chapter 2 concluding and Chapter 3's old age arc following.
"Ah, if I'd known, I should've wrapped it up at Volume 5..."
When New Sprouts Emerge was structured so each chapter formed a complete story. Sure, some loose ends remained, but ending it there wouldn't tarnish its status as a masterpiece.
In other words, concluding the novel at Volume 5 would've been fine.
"But I've already started serializing Volume 6..."
I'd begun the old age arc and progressed quite far. Ending it now was out of the question.
In the end, I set down the manuscript and said,
"...Flower."
Flower entered as the office door opened.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I'd meant to summon Nettree but changed my mind. Better to meet the authors face-to-face now.
"Bring the authors in one by one."
"In what order?"
"By score. No rush—have them ready in three hours. No, four."
"I'll relay the message immediately."
Flower left, and I resumed transcription.
"Log out."
I tapped the keyboard.
"Log in."
I read the book and manifested a chakra spell.
"Log out."
I tapped the keyboard. The number of works I was serializing simultaneously was 402.
"It's starting to... reach the limit."
The Empire Literature Contest required at least 5 volumes, so I was transcribing over 2,000 volumes in total.
The Chakra spell Storm Penmanship's proficiency rose steadily, letting me transcribe over 30 volumes a day, yet I was still falling behind.
I tossed aside the manuscript up to Volume 4 and called,
"Flower."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"When this week's contest updates, announce that the bottom 100 works are eliminated. Next week, another 100. Then 50 after that. And that eliminations could be in 10-unit batches."
"I'll pass it on."
There were too many with average views of 10.
"Serializing one nets 1,000 won."
Even if transcribing was easier than original writing, it was a waste of time.
"Especially when a single ad rakes in 30 billion."
My position had changed vastly from the days of convenience store part-time gigs to squeeze out every penny.
"Log out."
Back on Earth, I transcribed what I'd read.
45 days had passed since the Five Dragons Contest began. With a 60-day event period, three-quarters were done.
My serializations ranged from 4 to 6 volumes depending on length.
"Let's check the top performers..."
[Emperor Knight Never] had reached 9th place. Considering 1st to 30th were all established authors, that was astonishing.
"A true veteran shining in the old guard arena."
The next highest, [By Ear], was 48th—a huge gap. [Tyrant Survival Chronicle] at 68th, [My Survival] at 71st.
And When New Sprouts Emerge at 92nd.
"Low ranking for the buzz."
But that made sense. Who'd want literary fiction in a genre novel contest?
Making the top 100 with this theme was the real surprise.
"Let's see..."
I checked the latest chapter of When New Sprouts Emerge.
When New Sprouts Emerge Volume 6 Chapter 7.
Purchases: 927 | Recommendations: 404 | Comments: 464
"This isn't normal, not normal at all..."
Purchases under 1,000, yet recommendations over 400.
Normally, barely scraping 40 was standard—making this wildly abnormal. And comments?
"Why are there half as many comments as views...?"
It wasn't just this chapter; every one was like this. Comment count alone surpassed Novel Arena's #1.
⤷Hashtag: No, seriously. The protagonist still hasn't learned a single spell? Just pick up a basic one!
⤷WindIsComing: What are you saying at Chapter 3? Adding that now would ruin the characters and plot.
⤷StarSea: Go drink the sound of an old man swinging sword aura to sever a dragon's neck. If it's not your taste, hit back.
⤷Kyukyu2020: What's a hoochi, you otaku?
⤷Hashtag: The carpenter's eyeing Vanilla! Picking her for errands! Can't we just kill that guy? Ugh, so frustrating!
⤷StarSea: It's the medieval era. That stuff happens all the time.
⤷Kyukyu2020: Man, it's infuriating. You like justifications? A former knight is a killing machine compared to civilians—that's obvious. His granddaughter's in danger; him sitting idle makes less sense?
⤷StarSea: Mistletoe is 60... He's old.
⤷Kyukyu2020: He's super young!
⤷FlopFlop: That's 34th Earth standards, dude...
The comments were lively as ever.
This was tame, actually—trolls often sparked fights.
Mocks, disdain, dismissals, and explanations fueled endless comment growth.
"Wow, still following to Volume 6 and complaining—that's impressive."
I ignored hate comments on other works, but When New Sprouts Emerge readers engaged every one.
"Still amazing, though... To hate-comment, they've read all 6 volumes, right?"
I muttered in wonder.
"What kind of people are they?"
* * *
At the ad shoot site featuring Game Master's Apostle Han Jaeyeon.
The location was the talk of the world—no, perhaps the universe. The Game Master had opened his space to counter the monster crisis.
"So, you're concentrating all the universe's monsters into this one spot."
"The universe is the ultimate goal, but it's first applying to the Leonhardt Empire. The Game Master's great authority."
The Game Master's induction device, used on popular survival show Survival Island, caused a massive incident.
A monstrous wave including transcendent-grade monsters!
It could've led to huge casualties, but Five Dragons' presence averted disaster.
If that were it, just a broadcast mishap. But crucially, the universe-wide monster crisis plummeted afterward.
"And this is the Battle Stage!"
"Correct."
Nemesis rep Bae Sarang was doing a pre-shoot interview. The site was Steel Realm, special to 34th Earth folk.
To combat the monster crisis, the Game Master opened his unique dimension Steel Realm—specifically, building a massive Battle Stage there to gather all monsters.
"But filming an ad here— isn't it dangerous?"
"Safety first, of course. Second Legion's providing support."
"Second Legion! Impressive. Can we see the Capital Mechanized Division too?"
The interview flowed smoothly. Introductions to the Game Master's Battle Stage, the Revenge ad filming there.
Stories about star Han Jaeyeon.
Talk of Revenge's massive update, now the sole full-dive VR.
"Thousand stats! Isn't that authority stats?"
"Not mere pay-to-win—requires epic quests."
"Emperor grade after transcendent! Who'll reach that pinnacle?"
"We estimate at least 3 years, even rushing."
The mood was upbeat. Revenge's poor public image redeemed by unmatched 1st-grade immersion monopoly.
As the interview wrapped,
the interviewer probed Bae Sarang's personal life.
"You're stunning. Dating anyone?"
"Huhu. I'd love to, but work's too hectic—no time soon."
"You're famous for being swamped. How do you unwind?"
Following the pre-submitted questions, she calmly recited prepared lines.
"I mostly read literature. Classics especially nourish my life and soul."
"Wow~ Such an elegant hobby."
She mentally rehearsed her memorized classic critiques—not from personal reading, but dictated by her elite-uni secretary.
'Next: favorite classic author and why. Dostoevsky's fierce obsession. Nietzsche's... what? Ah! Aphasic language chaos! So damn wordy.'
But the question diverged.
"Any recent works that impressed you?"
"...!?"
Superhuman composure hid her panic.
'Recent? Not on the question sheet!'
Unavoidable, though. Interviews weren't 100% scripted—interviewers had leeway.
"Hmm..."
She tilted her head, stalling, but nothing came. Truth: she never read literature.
Why waste precious time on headache-inducing text blocks? Boring writing was torture.
'What now? Ask to edit? Laugh it off as nothing comes to mind?'
Then, one work flashed in her head.
The one she'd been following daily to leave hate comments.
"Recently, When New Sprouts Emerge impressed me most."
The natural segue made the interviewer pause, then smile.
"Oh? What's it about?"
"Simply put, medieval literature. Great story, but the prose is so beautiful it's artistic aesthetic incarnate. A masterpiece slipping into a web novel contest—shocking."
"My god. Knowing obscure gems like that shows insane literary depth~"
Crisis averted.
The interview continued.
* * *
I drummed Cheddar's belly while getting makeup for the ad shoot.
Sent Killianspalpal to a stable hunting ground first, then logged into Five Dragons Net.
Time to check purchases for the status board update.
But Novel Arena rankings showed something odd.
[When New Sprouts Emerge (38th) NEW!]
I froze in shock.
"...What?"