Episode 3. Create an Incident (4)

Things weren't going as I had planned. To the guards, before whom I humbly bowed and said, "Just command me," they clicked their tongues in response.

"What do you mean command? Do you think we brought you here to hire you?"

"You're off to prison, pal."

...Prison, right.

Most criminals end up in prison.

And in this world, I'm one of those criminals. So, naturally, I belong in prison... Wait, what?

[A few stars are disappointed with the progression of the story.]

As expected, the stars are quicker than me in such situations.

[100 Dust deducted.]

Damn it. Of all times, I'm going to prison now?

When the protagonist is supposed to spread his wings and fly freely in the world at this very moment? I remember Ji EunYu once said something like that.

—Avoid schools, tournament venues, and prisons as settings if possible.

—Why? Aren't those common settings?

—Exactly because they are common. Usually, when these settings appear, the views halve. If it's a common setting, you need to create an even more interesting story, which is hard for a newbie. It's best to avoid battles of writing skills. Oh, it's not that you can't write well…

She really is an excellent editor. She knows my level all too well.

The only novel that comes to mind about prison is Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich."

I like that novel, but if I developed "A Day of Lance Pilgrim" in prison, the views would halve instantly…

[A few stars express concern about the development of the story.]

[50 Dust deducted.]

I wanted to tear my hair out.

I have to get out of here somehow.

"I'm not really a thief."

"What?"

"This thief badge, I actually stole it. So, I'm not a thief."

"You stole a thief badge? That makes you a thief."

"No, that's not what I mean."

Damn, am I an idiot?

"Captain, have you finished checking? This guy's talking nonsense, let's just send him away quickly."

I'm not sure if it's just my feeling, but the guard captain, resembling Solzhenitsyn, was sitting at a desk, puffing on a cigarette incessantly.

He barely looked at me, flipping through wanted posters, looking like a great writer but acting like a total thug.

"...Hard to find. Why not just lock him up?"

Solzhenitsyn... or was it the guard captain?

When I return to reality, I'm definitely erasing you from the settings.

The guard captain's eyes sparkled as he rummaged through the posters.

He muttered, "Undoubtedly," and pushed a poster forward.

My heart sank.

What the heck is that?

"No... That's not me!"

"Looks exactly like you."

But the guards just shook their heads in agreement.

It was a montage that looked nothing like me.

Wow, what kind of situation is this?

Actually, it was a wanted poster of 'Vince Ratt', the first thief I met in the novel, who had his head cut off seventeen times along with me by the protagonist.

So, these guards were dishonoring a dead man.

"Lock him up."

"Yes, sir!"

Maybe these guys have a <Facial Recognition Disorder> or something?

The subconscious is indeed great. Why on earth did I create such characters?

Is it me or Yu ChanYoung?

Anyway, I can't just get locked up like this.

I can almost hear the views dropping.

...Just knock them all out and escape.

It seems like a good time for a refreshing scene. If I break out now, the stars will surely love it.

But how strong are these guys?

At that moment, a simplified window popped up above the heads of the nearby guards.

How convenient.

[Guard Bain]

[Total Combat Power: 80]

[Guard Zek]

[Total Combat Power: 56]

...Much weaker than I thought?

My confidence surged.

Even if I'm weak, I can't lose to someone with just 80 combat power.

Next is the guard captain, but…

Why doesn't his pop up?

[Character Information]

Character: Solzhenitsyn

Age: 42

Role: Extra (Guard Captain)

Total Combat Power: 14000~????? (Estimate, your imagination cannot accurately measure yet)

Potential: High

Description: A guard captain who once dyed the continent in blood with his abnormally high combat power (Your imagination cannot fully access this character's past).

…

My mouth dropped open.

Putting aside that his name was actually that of a great Russian writer... Crazy. Is this okay? The guard captain's combat power is higher than the previous protagonist!

And why would a guard captain dye a continent in blood? Is this some kind of extreme hard mode game?

Ah... right.

This is the Nightmare difficulty.

Suddenly everything makes sense.

But I can't back down here.

"Wait a minute. According to that wanted poster, it seems I'm innocent?"

At the moment when I was about to be dragged out like a sick cow, I barely managed to come up with a plan. The wanted poster I saw roughly looked like this:

+

Name: Vince Ratt

Crime: None yet (Member of the Valhalla Thief Group)

Bounty: 10 Kaf

+

I should be thankful to a dead thief.

Thank you, Vince.

You lived a relatively good life.

"What nonsense? You're a thief."

Unfortunately, our dear Solzhenitsyn didn't seem to accept the contradiction of a 'crimeless criminal.'

"That's true, but as the wanted poster says, there's no crime yet. I'm an innocent thief."

Innocent indeed.

A nice thief who answers every question asked.

"But a thief will eventually commit a crime, right?"

"Maybe not."

"The king will eventually be assassinated, the hero will eventually defeat the demon king, and a thief will eventually commit a petty crime."

I was dumbfounded at that bizarre analogy. The deceased Alexander Solzhenitsyn might rise from his grave.

"Our captain is the best!"

"Ha ha ha ha! What a marvelous analogy!"

It seems they've all gone mad. What should I do now?

From the atmosphere, I get the feeling. These guys don't really care who I am. They just want to avoid the hassle and lock me up.

[A very few stars are looking forward to your wisdom.]

[A very few stars pay 20 Dust.]

Seems like the stars are thrilled by such an incident.

Incident... incident.

...Wait, incident?

A spark seemed to ignite in my head.

Maybe I've been thinking too hard?

An incident doesn't always have to be something exploding or beheading.

"Stop the chit-chat and lock him up, kids."

"Yes."

Writer Lee HakHyun. If I backed down here, I wouldn't be worthy of my literature degree.

I never lost a verbal fight during novel critique sessions.

That's who I am.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Captain."

"What?"

"Then are you going to be imprisoned with me?"

"...What are you talking about, you fool?"

"If I'm imprisoned, shouldn't the captain be locked up with me? Of course, the guards beside you as well."

The guards frowned menacingly.

"What nonsense is this guy spouting!"

I grinned.

"Oh, not just you."

"What?"

"From now on, all the citizens of this desert city should be locked up in this jail."

I looked at the narrow prison cells inside the checkpoint.

A man in beggar's clothes stood at the entrance of the cell, looking at me with intrigued eyes.

I continued, responding to his gaze.

"Because all of us have the 'potential' to become criminals."

At that moment, a tingling message rang inside me.

[The level of your author skill 'Imagination' has increased!]

[Imagination level has reached 3! From now on, all skills created will be permanently preserved!]

[A new skill has been derived from 'Imagination'.]

[General skill 'Sophistry' has been created.]

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