Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Olympus Tales, And Then...
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Olympus Tales—what came next?
Most people worshiped the Goddess.
But in any place where humans lived, there were always a few contrarians. Some even clung to faiths worshiping monsters, acts that could be branded as not just heresy, but outright treason.
They dreamed of shattering the boundary between the Demon Realm and reality, of a world where humans coexisted with monsters.
Of course, they were relentlessly hunted by the Goddess Church, forced to skulk in the shadows.
"Everything ready?"
"No one will suspect a thing like this."
The city they'd set their sights on lately was Antaron, a border town.
As one of the settlements closest to the Demon Realm, toppling it would expand their influence and bring their dreams one step closer.
But attacks from outside were useless against the city's magical barrier.
They had no choice but to detonate a massive black magic spell from within.
"Hmm, indeed."
Casting black magic required extensive preparations and a heavy price.
The black mage meticulously inspected the materials his minions had gathered.
At a glance, they were just ordinary Goddess statues.
But stuffed inside were all the ingredients for black magic.
The plan was simple.
Smuggle them into the city.
Destroy the statues and release the materials.
"Who in their right mind would suspect anything hidden inside a Goddess statue? No one sane, that's for sure. The ritual will succeed within the next week."
The black mage nodded at his minion's bold assurance.
.
.
.
"Hmm, this one's seal looks suspicious. And I hear something rattling inside. Ten in total? Let's crack one open."
"...Pardon? But it's a Goddess statue—"
"Cooperate quietly. We'll compensate you. You never know—this could be the Trojan Horse."
Unfortunately,
the black mage had no love for literature. He despised it, in fact.
So he couldn't comprehend what the guard captain was saying.
Trojan Horse? What's that?
Wait, he's seriously checking?
The black mage's face drained of color.
Before he could protest, the guard captain hoisted one statue and smashed it against the ground.
Crash! Shatter!
A clear, crisp explosion of sound rang out.
"Gasp."
"It... it's real?"
"I thought the captain had finally lost it..."
The guards gaped at the beast hearts, monster hides, human nails, and other grotesque ingredients spilling from the statue.
His instincts vindicated, the guard captain boomed with confidence.
"Seize them! Black mages! Smash the rest of those 'horses'—er, statues—and check inside!"
In truth...
There were far more stories to draw from Greek and Roman mythology.
The Odyssey, the Argonauts' voyage, Prometheus, Oedipus, Antigone, Ajax, Electra, Medea, Persephone...
Even dedicating a single volume to each of the twelve Olympians would fill a book easily.
And in a way, that would've been the easier path.
New stages.
New challenges were always tough.
He'd agonized over it plenty.
You have reached the acquisition limit for perks under the theme "(Myth) Greek·Roman Mythology."
Writing new works using the theme "(Myth) Greek·Roman Mythology" will no longer grant skills.
Unlock higher acquisition limits by utilizing a wider variety of themes.
The status window drove the final nail into his indecision.
He regretted not snagging flashier skills like Zeus's virility, Hades's Death Note, or Dionysus's PPAP, but what was done was done.
And besides.
Myth-era tales alone... wouldn't satisfy him anymore.
There was so much more he wanted to write.
So much more history he yearned to weave into stories.
Stories locked in his mind, on his bookshelf of specialist tomes, and in Historie's database—he wanted to unleash them all.
The allure of Eastern history, brimming with orientalism to infuse into this fantasy world, overflowed with potential.
To put it bluntly, he'd finished the tutorial.
Plus, he'd shaken off that saintess who'd probably club him with a cross if he crossed the line.
"...?"
For a second, amid the crowd, he'd glimpsed silver hair like Roselin's.
Nah, just his imagination.
"...Room rates this high?"
"No money? Get out."
"No, here you go."
Damn it.
Should've just milked Groth's skill for royalties and lived off passive income.
Rent in the capital was brutal.
In the modern world or this one, no difference.
He'd picked the narrowest, shabbiest, cheapest room possible—relying on his lab for the rest—but it was still five times pricier than that dingy inn he'd crashed at before.
Well...
He had savings.
Enough to hold out for a while.
No more one-meal-a-day crusts of hard bread. Time for the feast-filled life of a great author.
.
.
.
"...This the right price for bread?"
"Don't like it? Scram! Black-haired freak."
"Tch."
The killer prices hit food costs too.
Does that star up there know my heart, know my dreams...?
When it hurts, I sing a sad song...
Mumbling a stained snippet of a hometown tune under his breath, he bought an armload of the cheapest hard bread and headed back to his lodgings.
『Welcome home, User.』
"Yeah."
With Historie's clear voice in his ears, he crammed the bread into the fridge.
Then spread out the stack of newspapers he'd bought and started reading.
International tensions rising, border skirmishes brewing, massive monster surge imminent from the Demon Realm...
Shelving the world's gloom for now.
Know thyself, win a hundred battles.
Seeing once beats hearing a thousand times.
To prep for his newspaper serialization, he needed to analyze the competition.
Industry term: input.
Truth be told...
His writing was more documentary than novel so far.
Lucky it was myths; tackling straight history with his current skills would fall flat.
Case in point, the harsh critiques:
Setting's intriguing but dull and pretentious.
Dumps too many characters at once—total chaos.
Forces readers to catch up on prior works? World-building links are nice, but overkill for a newbie author.
Weak buildup, pacing too fast. Narrative barrels ahead breathless, but lacks foundation.
Every one...
Punched him square in the gut.
He had to admit it.
No choice.
Even with the Iliad, he'd focused on key figures and cut ruthlessly, but it was still too crowded.
"Alright, time to check this world's literary level."
『Need analysis on anything? I'd be happy to help.』
"Hmm..."
Historie's offer sounded good.
AI opinions meant squat back on the cusp of the trip, but structural breakdowns? She could handle that.
He fed the newspapers into the scanner, digitized them into the database, and dove in.
Flip, rustle.
"..."
Serialized novels meant no full plots, but...
He read, reread, analyzed.
"Pretty... fun?"
Take the one he was reading now.
The Lady Villainess's Demise hooked readers like pros.
And like webnovel comments, reactions to last week's installment ran alongside the "Previous Episode Summary."
Lenny... I can't trust you anymore...
Is the protagonist even trying? At this point, the other male leads are pitiful.
...
...
Author, write 2 chapters a day! You mad?
Just go all out with a ■■ and make up already!
Heresy plot? Kinda risky~ But Lenny's such a hate sink ㅠㅠㅠ Will Lenny be happy? Happy ending, right? Right?!
No separate superstar to drive fans and haters insane.
The other novels claiming newspaper space? Solid prose, mostly.
But.
Their stages felt narrow.
Protagonists were nobles, almost always.
Only hero tales occasionally featured commoner heroes.
So.
"Okay, analysis complete."
Victory.
This was.
A battlefield he could win.
Not "history novels" like before, but history as novels.
With limited daily space, he'd need webnovel tactics.
『Exactly. Kim Yul, you can do this. Sharing my analysis. First, genre breakdown—』
Listening to Historie, he brainstormed material.
Of course...
While reading the others, one perfect idea had clicked.
Better than starting from a wholly original world.
It could link to his past works while suiting this world's tastes.
A fallen noble protagonist, distant from power.
Threatened with purge by statesmen, yet entering politics and rising high.
Crushing his fated rival in a grand clash, ascending to emperor-like status—only to be betrayed by the trusted and meet a tragic end.
Veni, Vidi, Vici.
Julius Caesar.
His life, his history.
That would captivate them.