How to Become a Star Writer - Chapter 10

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ How to Become a Star Writer ◈

Episode 2: Become the Protagonist (6)

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You bastard, die for once too.

The longsword, driven by gravity's acceleration, sank deep with a thud.

Riiip. The blade tore through flesh, its edge catching on the sickening texture of meat. I clenched my teeth and drove it all the way into the ground.

Skreeeeech!

A great burst of sand erupted around my ankles.

Perhaps they couldn't withstand the impact of the fall, but nothing below my shins would move.

I collapsed onto the sand.

But I had to get up.

I had to confirm it.

Drip. Drip.

The protagonist, half his body torn away, stared at me in shock.

I'd done it. I had really done it.

I'd changed this damned fate.

- This unfortunate skill is the product of feeble "Imagination." It lets you jump very high.

Ridiculously enough, the skill I created was nothing more than Super Jump.

A skill that let me jump very high.

But depending on how I used it, it could be useful to me now.

I couldn't risk a head-on fight with the protagonist. The only way I could beat him was with a surprise attack.

Without a plausible stealth skill, there was only one direction I could attack from.

The sky.

After calculating the timing, I filled myself with spiritual power and jumped.

High. Very high.

High enough to fall onto the protagonist's head at the exact moment he passed beneath me.

"How in the world...?"

This was the result.

The protagonist's eyes were full of disbelief as he slowly collapsed.

"Who, who are you? Where did you even...?"

Those were the questions I wanted to ask.

Who was I at this moment?

Author Lee Hak-hyeon?

Or Lance Pilgrim, the bandit lackey?

"Why? This can't be. This story... It wasn't supposed to be like this..."

The bleeding protagonist flailed about, muttering words I could barely understand. Then, with a thump, his body folded toward the ground.

[You have killed the story's "protagonist."]

[The story's title has been revised.]

[The stars marvel at your unbelievable achievement.]

His regret-filled pupils were clouding over.

Once I'd achieved my goal, strength drained from my whole body. Crushing exhaustion flooded my mind.

It was over.

I'd finished it all.

[Some stars have paid 4000 Dust for your remarkable story.]

[Dust held: 4000]

Dust be damned. I just wanted to rest.

As I slowly closed my eyes, the sky began to blur. The scenery around me was breaking apart.

I thought I could still hear voices, but I was in no condition to listen.

[Would you like to select...? If you do not select...]

Just before I completely lost consciousness, I heard the following.

[You have inherited the copyright to this work.]

[You have become the story's "protagonist."]

[A new episode has been unlocked.]

* * *

It was night when I opened my eyes.

The dim surroundings gradually came into focus.

When I raised a hand to my face, I felt stubble on my chin and wetness on my cheeks.

I touched my face. I touched the cool nape of my neck, my thick shoulders, and the soft fat of my stomach. I held onto them for a long time.

As if I would never let go again, I clutched my ugly body.

It had been a dream.

I had returned to reality.

I think I burst into tears. Or maybe I didn't.

The strange thing was that after that rush of emotions passed, I became calm in a way that was unlike me.

Somewhere, I could hear something like a vibration.

What time was it?

I hurriedly checked my smartphone.

Two in the morning.

More precisely, two in the morning on the day after I'd edited the manuscript.

I'd slept for a full twenty-four hours. There were seventeen missed calls.

Two from Mom.

Ten from Editor Ji Eun-yu.

Five from Team Leader Kim at Dragon Management.

Mom and Ji Eun-yu, I could understand, but...

Why was Team Leader Kim calling?

My phone vibrated again.

It was Ji Eun-yu.

"Author, why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Ji Eun-yu's voice was more agitated than usual.

"Ah, sorry. I fell asleep and..."

"No... How could you fall asleep after doing something like that?"

"What did I do?"

"You serialized your work, didn't you?"

"Serialized? Me?"

"You secretly started serializing on Textpia without even telling me... That's really too much. I'm your editor, after all."

I had serialized a work?

I had no memory of that.

Had I uploaded something while I was blacked out? No way.

"W-wait a second."

I fumbled my way to the laptop like a blind person and sat down in front of it. I logged in to Textpia with my ID and password.

And then...

"What is this?"

"Are you talking to me right now?"

"No, I mean..."

A work really had been uploaded under my ID.

Five installments in total, including the prologue.

But the title was... a little strange.

『99 Ways to Kill a Regressor』

Several memories flashed through my mind.

Come to think of it, I might have altered Yoo Chan-young's work right before I blacked out.

But it hadn't been enough for five installments. Besides, I hadn't been conscious enough to upload anything.

When I clicked the title, the text of the novel appeared.

"Author, if you wrote something like this, you should have shown me beforehand... Author?"

I could no longer hear Ji Eun-yu's voice.

More accurately, I was unable to hear it.

Oh my God.

What in the world was going on...?

『99 Ways to Kill a Regressor』.

The novel posted under my name was anti-regression fiction.

Anti-regression fiction, a genre no one had ever succeeded with before. Of course, that wasn't what truly shocked me.

The time I'd spent in my dream streamed through my mind like a panorama.

The protagonist of the novel was Lance Pilgrim, the person I'd been speaking and acting as until moments ago.

Lance Pilgrim, who suddenly realizes he is an "extra" in a story.

Lance Pilgrim, who repeatedly lives through the prologue.

Lance Pilgrim, who realizes his hidden ability and finds the protagonist's weakness through repeated regressions.

Lance Pilgrim, who kills the protagonist.

The story of Lance Pilgrim, who finally becomes the protagonist.

I clutched my head with trembling hands.

What was this? How had this happened?

As I reached the end of the scroll, a long stream of comments began to appear.

FreeOnlyz: A masterpiece! This is a masterpiece!

SporadicTroll: Insane... This blows clichés to bits. Is this a cliché bomber or what?

PlagiarismDetector: The beginning felt familiar, and it's a little similar to an old Yoo Chan-young novel... Are you perhaps Author Yoo Chan-young?

┗ DownWithiYooChan-young: Why compare it to washed-up trash like that? It's completely different from a Yoo Chan-young novel from the very beginning. That's regression fiction, and this is anti-regression fiction. Yoo Chan-young can't write something like this.

┗ PlagiarismDetector: Still, you admit the setups are similar?

┗ DownWithiYooChan-young: So what if the setups are similar? Weren't Yoo Chan-young's settings borrowed from open source anyway? There's no problem.

Bbungbangie: A-amazing... Author, please mass-release more chapters ㅠㅠ

singNsong: What's the update schedule for this?

The flood of comments went on and on.

No, but why were there so many comments?

Just because it was similar to Yoo Chan-young's work?

...Damn it. More importantly, a contract for the work was completely out of the question now.

I'd ruined the original work into this mess.

I could guess why Ji Eun-yu had called seventeen times.

"Author, we need to discuss the contract again, so could you come to the office tomorrow... No, you're at home right now, aren't you? I'll come over now, so wait for me!"

"It's the middle of the night. Coming all the way here... No, wait. You're saying we're moving forward with a contract for this novel?"

I thought I'd heard wrong.

...Really? They wanted a contract?

But this was completely different from Yoo Chan-young's work.

"Of course we need a contract. If we don't contract that work, what are we supposed to contract?"

"What? I mean, it's only been serialized for five installments."

"Author, didn't you see the view count?"

It only had five installments out. How high could the views possibly be?

Normally, a work needed at least ten chapters before you could properly judge its views and read-through rate.

In fact, it was premature to be talking about a contract already.

But then...

The moment I pressed the work's list button, I was so shocked I almost dropped my smartphone.