Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Reader III: Shin Noah
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"Too good an environment?"
What kind of problem is that?
"Sigh. Looks like you've got some fantasy about the job of being a writer, mister... Writers are laborers. Just laborers. They write to make money and get attention."
O Dok-seo, self-proclaimed webnovel expert, said.
As I mentioned before, there'll be a chance later to go into detail about what kind of person this O Dok-seo girl is.
For now, it was enough to know that she was the vanguard of nerd fashion, sporting red bobbed hair, a cap, a band-aid on the bridge of her nose, and a fondness for hoodies.
"By the way. You're not using mind reading right now, are you?"
"It's off."
"Good. Anyway, mister, have you ever seen a day laborer jumping onto construction sites for self-realization? You know, someone saying, 'I love scaffolding so much, I'm gonna live on scaffolds forever'?"
"Well... that'd be rare."
"Exactly."
O Dok-seo chewed her gum with a wet smacking sound, then tried to blow a bubble with it.
For the record, it wasn't bubble gum—it was just regular gum. Naturally, no proper bubble was going to form. With a pathetic *pssssh*-like wheeze, the gum burst and stuck to her lips.
O Dok-seo wiped the corner of her mouth as if nothing had happened. It was a perfect demonstration of how seriously she committed to her nerd concept, her fashion-hipster chuunibyou shtick.
"Mister. Remember this. Creation... comes from lack."
O Dok-seo's expression was serious.
To describe it more precisely, fucking serious.
I usually try to avoid adverbs like that, but there was no helping it. If you looked at her face and didn't use "fucking," you'd be denying the very reason the word existed in the world.
"Why give them pocket money? Take it away instead. Shove them into the pit of despair. Make them witness people being pushed around by monsters and massacred by monsters. You're strong, mister. You can do it. Why not?"
"Um..."
"Don't kill them, though. Oh, and keep their hands and backs intact. Right? Anyway, as long as they're not crippled, it's fine. Real writers write better the more you exploit them."
O Dok-seo declared. Not like a scholar who believed they served truth, but like an authority figure in an academy where truth served her alone.
"You said they'd all be dead without you anyway, right? So isn't keeping them alive fulfilling your duty?"
Was that right? Was it?
'Sounds plausible.'
It was worth testing.
Assuming the 560th round's canned hotel had failed, in the next round, I trained the writers according to O Dok-seo's advice.
This time, instead of paradise, I showed them hellfire, mild flavor.
"Kyaaaaack!"
"Save me! Somebody save me!"
I took the writers for a little stroll beyond the lodging.
-*Baaaaang! Boom!*
-*Bang! Bang! Baaaang!*
-*Baaaaaaaang! Boom boom!*
The reincarnation trucks had surpassed 1,000 units.
Not just the parking lot—the road leading to the lodging was packed wall-to-wall with 11-ton cargo trucks, recreating a Chuseok holiday highway. The surreal sight of trucks crashing into each other, flipping over, colliding, and chasing the writers...
And that was hardly all.
"Ugh... so cold..."
"I'm hungry... I want some yukgaejang..."
"Mommy..."
The environment had changed too.
This time, instead of a luxury hotel, I'd set up a shabby refugee camp for the writers. Chef fairies whipping up gourmet meals? Casino dealer fairies? No such thing.
All I'd prepared for their writing was cheap computers.
Seeing them plop down on the dirt floor, staring blankly at the ceiling or sobbing their hearts out—it hurt my heart. But shock therapy wasn't a phrase invented for nothing.
I spoke.
"Ah, mic test. Writers. From now on, you'll be living in this village. I'll block most dangers as your reader, but I can't guarantee your safety. The harder you write, the more entertaining you write, the more abundant your supplies will be."
"......"
"I love you, writers. Good luck."
And then, something amazing happened.
This extreme prescription actually worked!
The writers wrote like they were possessed. Out of 335, not a single one wasn't pounding the keyboard.
A writing speed incomparable to the previous round!
I couldn't help but be moved.
"This is what proper writers look like, and this is the proper volume."
Looking at the stacks of manuscripts, a pleased smile formed on its own.
And the moment I eagerly flipped through them—
"...Hm?"
Something. Something was off.
Like when a mutt reflexively flinches at unfamiliar food instead of its usual chow, I, the Undertaker, instinctively froze while holding the manuscript.
"Why... why does this taste spoiled?"
It was different.
The flavor of the writing had changed.
The straight fantasy writer who used to sing odes to humanity was now writing grimdark tales of getting slaughtered by the demon king's army. Monsters inexplicably invaded the yuri writer's world, where cutesy flirting between characters was the charm, ripping couples apart. In the wuxia, zombies popped out and the martial world collapsed. Regardless of genre, all characters fell into despair, and the world plummeted to ruin.
And I realized.
"This... this isn't genre fiction!"
Literary fiction!
That oh-so-familiar taste of literary fiction!
Especially the type summed up as "shit's fucked, so everything can go to shit."
A strange scent wafted from the webnovel writers I loved. My mind went blank, like catching a lover cheating.
'They wrote it well. Really well, but... well-written though it is...'
This wasn't the chow I wanted!
Grimdark? I could shit that out just by reflecting on my regression life. Why did I have to read grimdark in my leisure time too? Was I a masochist?
No matter how hard the writers tried, they couldn't outdo me on how bizarre monsters were or how far the human world could crumble. In terms of detail, they were actually worse than me, the reader.
'What... what have I done to my writers?'
This couldn't stand.
I immediately went to complain to O Dok-seo. But even accounting for the different round, her reaction was utterly lukewarm.
"Not fun? So what?"
O Dok-seo listlessly filed her nails.
"A creation just needs the writer's soul in it, right? Does the soul have to sell out for your fun, mister?"
"......"
"You said they're your beloved writers. Then love them no matter what they write. What? Has your love changed? Wow. Didn't peg you for such a stingy guy, mister."
"......"
"Well. Maybe it's my fault for getting expectations about humans again. How can love change? How can people mutate? Oh, here 'mutate' means shit-mutate. Rhyme slays, right? I'm kinda corny by nature."
I couldn't communicate with this hipster-cosplay chuunibyou!
In the end, the 561st round's canning was a dogshit failure too.
Back to square one, I sank into thought.
Too comfortable, and they lose motivation to write.
Too miserable, and the motivation overwhelms the writing.
'A conundrum. How do you birth tasty webnovels? Are novelists just inherently hopeless cases beyond salvation?'
I pondered and pondered.
And finally reached a conclusion.
5
Next round.
A new board opened on SG Net, which had only had community features until then.
The Novel Serialization Board. Aka Soyeon.
The notice posted there read as follows.
──────────
[Novel Serialization Board Usage Guide]
1. All SG Net full members earn novel points every time they log in daily.
2. Novel points can be used to buy episodes of desired novels. You can also donate points to your favorite writers.
3. Points used by readers are passed on to the writers. Writers can use these points to purchase desired items. Item lists will be announced separately to writers.
4. At exactly 24:00 every day, rankings for each novel are displayed at the top of the Novel Serialization Board. Rankings are determined solely by the number of reader purchases.
5. For non-awakened writers who can't access, SG Net provides manager services. Non-awakened writers' works are uploaded to Soyeon by proxy managers. If there's a non-awakened person around you who wants to serialize on Soyeon, you can upload on their behalf.
6. Let's build a healthy Soyeon culture!
──────────
In short, I'd created a novel serialization platform.
Members' reactions to the notice were initially lukewarm.
-Anonymous: Novels? Anyone can post novels?
-[Yuldo Nation] Sword Marquis: The time has come to reveal this seat's profound incantations to the world.
-[Three Thousand] Witch Judge: Was getting bored with nothing but community stuff. Nice.
-Anonymous: What items can you buy with points?
-Goryeo Jang: Gonna be full of total dogshit posts. Warning to any writers thinking of serializing: watch out. I'll comment on every single one.
-dolLHoUse: Looking forward.
-[Baekhwa] High School 6th Year: Hng... >_<
There weren't many awakened writers. Even if they were writers, most were busy surviving the world's end. No leisure for serializing.
But leisure always belongs to those who make it, not those who have it. A few awakened did squeeze in time to serialize novels—
-Goryeo Jang: ? What the hell is this points purchase list?
One day, a verification post on SG Net caused a stir.
-Room & board for 1 month (5-star hotel)
-Fairy bodyguard: Cannot clear gates, only defends against enemy attacks. Abuse will result in punishment.
-Live fan meeting with desired constellation: May be refused based on constellation's disposition. Refunds issued if refused.
-Advice on your awakening ability tech tree: Constellation personally guides optimal development path. Provides guidelines only, no training included.
.
.
.
-Goryeo Jang: Look, the point items are insane, right? I already bought the awakening ability tech tree. What're you SG Net losers doing not serializing yet? lol
The comments exploded.
-Anonymous: ?? For real?
-Anonymous: Who bought this bitch's writing with points? Idiots?
-Literary Girl: No, Goryeo Jang actually writes tasty stuff surprisingly well... Was a webnovel otaku before my gate. I can proudly say few write as good as her...
-Anonymous: What's that psychopath's novel about?
└Literary Girl: Super wholesome protag uses healing powers to help sick and weak folks one by one, ultimately saving a small kingdom—pure ode to humanity. Rare protag type in modern webnovels. Nearly got witch-hunted but heals the inquisitors anyway, saying "Doctors don't discriminate patients"—teared up at that scene...
└Anonymous: ?
└[Three Thousand] Historian: ?
-Anonymous: Fuck, these items for real? As expected of SG Net. Classy as hell, run by constellations.
-dolLHoUse: Delicious.
-[Yuldo Nation] Sword Marquis: Why does no one read this seat's incantations?
The post was shocking, and the poster a famous SG Net troll. Members' reactions were bound to be intense.
From that verification post, SG Net entered the great serialization era.
More awakened tried serializing directly, and guilds scouted skilled writers to proxy uploads, solidifying the system.
Writers, obsolete in the ruined world, now functioned as support members.
-Main Character Doesn't Return from the Volcano (★9.9)
-The Circumstances of Her Becoming a Munchkin in the Count's Family (★9.9)
-Chit-Chat Club [19+ Complete Edition] (★9.9)
-The Apartment Hides Its Rebar (★5.7)
As expected.
Works starting to serialize on SG Net showed quality leagues beyond the 560th and 561st rounds.
Not only did the writers' own reflections and despair from the world's collapse add flavor, but they were masterpieces that nailed webnovel fun too.
"What's the difference, exactly? What do you think, mister?"
O Dok-seo asked after hearing about my journey from the 560th round on.
I brewed her an espresso. Because she only drank black coffee or espresso.
"The number of readers. And competition."
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
"Writers are generally attention whores. Lacking beings, as you said. But a writer's lack isn't filled by experience. Only by people's gazes, affection, fervor."
Because what's missing for them isn't themselves—it's others. Writers are dehumanized by having too much of themselves inside.
"That's why writers need as many others as possible. Like celebrities. Like Roman gladiators in the Colosseum."
"Hmm."
"But that's secondary. The real key is competition with other writers."
I logged into SG Net's Soyeon and showed her the novel rankings.
The ranking list, from 1st place down, appeared before any other page. Anyone accessing Soyeon saw it first.
"Infinite competition with other writers. The metric? Pure purchase count. Utterly fair. Writers can't help rushing toward that proposition—'Prove your worth purely with your writing skill'—that mirage shining like New York skyscraper lights."
Come to think of it, ancient Greek tragedians were the same.
They held contests with rankings. City's crowds gathered, following works live, going wild. Athens ruled the Mediterranean world, so acclaim there equaled "world's top writer."
Competition. Fervor. Proof you're the world's best.
That's why classical tragedy launched its brief, brilliant fireworks.
Nietzsche didn't analyze the Greek essence as "competition" for nothing.
"This is my... our... humanity's final Dionysian theater."
But.
I was a top-tier mutt. I enjoyed works craving mass love, but also savored niche genres that satisfied personal desires for a small readership.
Before and after the world started ending, those were usually unpopular.
I scrolled way down the rankings and clicked one.
-Title: 101 Ways She Accepts Death (★7.7)
-Pen Name: BadEndingLover
A writer forever trudging the niche path.
I read the latest chapter, then hit [Sponsor Writer].
-You have donated 2,000 points.
-ZERO_SUGAR: Writer-nim, your stuff is always... so good^^ Enjoyed this chapter too. Always watch out for trucks~
Hm.
Something felt forgotten, so I tilted my head.
"Ah."
Right. Forgot to write this.
-ZERO_SUGAR: But there's a spelling error. It's not ‘사단이 났다’ but ‘사달이 났다’ that's correct lol. Third time committing the same mistake in this work alone. Writer-nim, don't use spellcheckers~? ㅋㅋ Hope your sails always fill with wind. Cheers^^
I nodded.
Still a perfect sponsorship message.
Later, this total blunder surprisingly helped one day.
-*Baaaaaaaang!*
But that's a story for next time.
First, I had to deal with the reincarnation truck that just pulled up to my lodging.
- Reader. End.