The Count of Monte Cristo - 1
Why a work becomes "great" can be for all sorts of reasons. A delicate sensitivity that stirs the soul, elegant prose, sharp social critique, or a meticulously crafted world. Literature can achieve greatness through any number of paths. And The Count of Monte Cristo earned its place alongside the many "great" classics of literary history through the sheer purity of its entertainment value alone.
"Kuh, this is what a novel is!"
"Wh-when's the next installment coming out?!"
Even judged by the standards of my past life on Earth, The Count of Monte Cristo brimmed with tantalizing hooks. A false accusation leading to separation from one's fiancée, the fiancée stolen by a friend, a daring escape aided by fortune, and a blistering revenge plot with all the classic tropes. It was a novel written purely for fun.
Objectively speaking, it was full of plot holes, but that raw entertainment made readers blind to such "flaws."
"Compared to The Count of Monte Cristo, don't other novels feel a bit... dull?"
"Yeah, tell me about it. Though, yeah, the writing is definitely top-notch... right?"
The Count of Monte Cristo was the pinnacle of revenge drama plotting. Nothing could surpass its pure fun factor.
The cheap magazine Half and Half was bought by readers who craved nothing but entertainment from their novels.
"Reader poll? Obviously The Count of Monte Cristo!"
Unsurprisingly, the reader poll results were an overwhelming victory for The Count of Monte Cristo. Over 90% of readers voted it the best novel.
The results were relayed straight to the authors serializing in the magazine.
"Arrrgh! N-no way!"
"A chance to co-author with Master Homerus...!"
"I-I've gotta turn this around in the next installment...!"
It was a cauldron of shock and horror.
The American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross divided the stages of accepting death into five: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. The aspiring writers who heard the Half and Half reader poll results went through much the same.
"Even all together, we barely hit 10%...?"
First stage: Denial.
"No way! Th-there must've been some error in tallying the votes!"
"It's rigged! Herodotus must've manipulated the results!"
"It's just slow to start and a bit boring right now... Once the foreshadowing pays off, it'll soar... yeah."
Second stage: Anger.
"Grrrh! Why is that author serializing at the same time as us?!"
"It's not my work that's lacking! It's the readers who can't appreciate its true value!"
"That novel's full of plot holes... The realism's a mess too... It's not fair..."
Third stage: Bargaining.
"Um, sir? Y-you said the top vote-getter among us students could co-author with you... but that means top among our works, excluding The Count of Monte Cristo, right...?"
"Why don't you just pick the winner yourself from among us? Popularity with the masses is just a fleeting trend, after all."
"Can't you just write with all of us...?"
Fourth stage: Depression.
"My novel's trash... I was arrogant even thinking I could write alongside a giant like Master Homerus..."
"It's over! No way to close that gap! Sniff..."
"Heh, heh heh... My writing's no fun... I've got no talent for this..."
And they should have reached the fifth stage, acceptance—but defeat wasn't death.
These were artists overflowing with creative pride.
"There's still a chance. If we can steal the readers' eyes in the next installment...!"
"Haha, maybe I should just kill off all the protagonists..."
"My story's the most fun, if you ask me... Maybe next time, everyone will see it...?"
Instead of accepting defeat, the writers ignited a mad creative frenzy.
And so the writers awakened.
The day the awakened writers' installments dropped, The Count of Monte Cristo's first revenge was complete.
The reader poll results...?
"Arrrgh!!!"
"I curse you, Herodotus!!!"
No need to explain.
The Count of Monte Cristo was a tale of revenge. Naturally, readers craved scorching, absolute vengeance against his enemies.
The escape from prison, salvation, and the downfall of the bystander Caderousse had already delivered satisfying payoffs. But ultimately, a revenge story is a blind charge toward one thing: revenge.
And the first act of vengeance was complete.
Readers following the tale couldn't help but react fiercely.
"Y-yes! This is it! This is why I've been buying Half and Half all this time!!!"
"Gah, it's so damn refreshing I can't stand it! Beers on me tonight!!!"
"Then snacks are on me!"
Every tavern in the Empire buzzed with talk of The Count of Monte Cristo.
"This is karma! Crime always gets its punishment! Kuh, the Count's revenge is the will of the heavens!"
"Exactly. He's getting exactly what he deserves for his sins."
Most folks raised their voices in satisfaction at the fate of the Count's enemy—Fernand.
Some, overly immersed, even prayed that it was all divine will.
"The other enemies better meet gruesome ends too!"
"With the Lord on the Count's side, what worry is there? They'll all pay for their sins!"
Many speculated on the fates awaiting the other foes.
But the tavern's noisiest topic was something else.
"Now that revenge on Fernand's done, the Count will get back with Mercedes, right?"
"Haydée's love for the Count was so moving. Obviously, he'll end up with Haydée."
"What?"
"What?"
The heroine.
Nothing fueled tavern brawls over drinks like women.
"Mercedes is the Count's first love! He still carries a torch for her! They have to reunite!"
"Ha! You want him with a married woman who's got kids from another man? Are you sane?! Haydée loves him with all her heart! She and the Count are perfect!"
"Haydée's like a daughter! Marrying a girl twenty years younger? Your tastes are suspect!"
"No more than your thing for old married ladies!"
"You bastard?! Duel!"
"Who's running?!"
With such clear divides, debates quickly turned to fights.
Cheers from onlookers and bets turned taverns into chaos.
"Give up your first love? You call yourself a man?!"
"Cling to a married woman? You call yourself a man?!"
Over-immersion. Utter, overwhelming immersion gripped everyone.
The serialized format only amplified it—there was no ending yet!
"Anyone who read properly knows Mercedes is the only one in the Count's heart! Did you even read it right?"
"Anyone who read properly knows how passionately Haydée loves the Count! You're the one who skimmed it, huh?"
People speculated wildly, analyzed, predicted, piling imagination on imagination.
Some lunatics even believed their theories were gospel truth.
A fun novel drives people mad.
And The Count of Monte Cristo was the most entertaining novel in literary history.
Thus, the Empire's taverns burned for days over "Who should end up with the Count?"
And the plagiarist behind it all?
"Ooh, everyone's writing some really fun stuff. Kuh, this is what life's about."
Reading the overshadowed works amid the frenzy, he was delighted.
The reason I'd unleashed my past life's literature into this world? Ultimately, I just wanted to read more great works.
And right now, I was deeply satisfied.
The magazine serials influenced by Conan Saga and The Count of Monte Cristo delivered crisp, exhilarating fun. Romance novels, trending since The Sorrows of Young Werther, brimmed with heart-tingling emotion. Aspiring writers, trained on various short stories, produced works bursting with personality.
"This is how the world should be! Kuh..."
I'd promised students a chance to co-author if they topped the reader poll... but truthfully, I planned to involve them anyway if needed.
There were too many classics from my past life for me to plagiarize alone.
This magazine run was also a way to gauge their styles.
"Maybe push the students a bit harder. Hmm."
As I jotted down remembered shorts onto manuscript paper, I hummed a tune.
Literature, don't ever stop.
How beautiful you are.