Episode 2. Become the Main Character (1)
Episode 2. Become the Main Character
Am I dreaming?
Am I pressed down by a nightmare? I couldn't open my eyes.
[System error has occurred.]
...
[Error! Another person is currently linked as the 'main character' of this work.]
[Error! Another person is currently inheriting the copyright of this work.]
[Failed to acquire copyright.]
[Your current position is 'extra'.]
Voices swirled like noise in the pitch-black darkness.
Main character? Extra?
What the heck is all this about?
[The stars have noticed your existence.]
[Some stars are intrigued by your existence.]
[Some stars pay 3000 dust for your bold choice.]
[A new story begins.]
That was the end of the voice.
I was left alone in the darkness.
Suddenly, fear struck me.
I tried desperately to move.
Move, dammit. Move.
After struggling for a while,
“Lance, what are you doing?”
When I opened my eyes, I saw a landscape I had never seen before.
An endless desert lay before me.
The sensation of the scorching sun, too real for a dream.
I looked around dumbfounded.
A few men, wrapped in suspicious burkas, were moving somewhere, and I was one of them.
What, am I dreaming of becoming a terrorist?
My view was lowered, and my body felt uncomfortable, as if the clothes didn't fit right.
Ugh, what's wrong? Why isn't my body listening to me?
That's when a man beside me grabbed my shoulder.
"Hey, Lance. Hurry up. The boss is waiting."
Lance?
Is he talking to me?
He spoke nonsense out of the blue, but surprisingly, I knew who he was.
[Author's authority has been granted to you. You can now access character information.]
The moment I looked at him, the man’s 'setting values' flowed into my mind.
[Character Information]
Character: Vince Rat
Age: 23
Role: Extra (Thug 1)
Overall combat power: 20
Potential: Low
Description: Has a severe compulsion to answer all questions.
What is this? Character information? Description?
Have I gone mad from reading too many web novels?
But... Vince Rat, I've heard this name before... huh?
“Lance, you have the upper soul, right? It's a big deal if you lose it. That's why I entrusted it to someone who looks as weak as you, so manage it well.”
Certainly, a line I’ve heard somewhere before.
Even in the extreme heat, a chill crept up from my toes. My whole body trembled.
“Hey, why aren't you answering?”
As unlikely as it seemed, it looked like my suspicion was correct. But to confirm this hypothesis, I needed to take a few steps.
"Vince. Where are we?"
It was unbelievable that the first line I uttered was so lame.
But right now, it was a necessary line. Did the main characters of the web novels I read feel the same? I feel sorry for them.
“What are you talking about? This is the Tamakan Desert.”
One thing confirmed.
"Right. But what are we doing right now?"
“We’re transporting the 'upper soul' for the boss.”
Two things confirmed.
"The boss? Who is the boss?"
“Our boss of the Valhalla gang, Bartz... Damn, you know that. Why are you asking? Got heat stroke or something? Hey, someone bring some water...”
"I'm fine. One last question. What is the 'upper soul'?"
"The upper soul is an elixir that boosts spiritual power. It's very rare and expensive... Shit, what's this? Why do I feel like I have to answer your damn questions..."
Well, that’s because your ‘setting value’ is <Answer Compulsion>. I began to synthesize the information I was given.
One, the Tamakan Desert.
Two, the Valhalla gang.
Three, the upper soul.
Unbelievable, but I had to be certain.
“...Good Lord, am I inside a novel?”
The novel written by Yu ChanYoung and revised by me.
『99 Ways to Live as a Returner』.
[A few stars admire your quick judgement.]
[A few stars pay you 50 dust.]
...What? They're paying me?
Then I remembered the earlier messages. Stars watching over me and such...
Ah, is this one of those settings?
I recall seeing it a few times in recently trending novels.
God-like transcendent beings watching over the main character, secretly assisting or sponsoring them.
...But did 『99 Ways to Live as a Returner』 have such beings?
[A few stars are satisfied with your quick judgement.]
[A few stars pay you an additional 50 dust.]
Thanks for giving me stuff, but somehow this situation seems absurd.
They say if you study hard, you dream about studying. If you write web novels diligently, do you dream about web novels?
The things I experience here could make for a realistic story in a novel.
Indeed, fortune favors the hardworking.
Long live the unconscious.
Hail to Freud.
"But I'll probably kick my blankets when I wake up."
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing."
It's a common thing for writers.
In dreams, you think, 'This would make a great story', but when you actually start writing, you realize how implausible the story is.
Surely, this dream will be the same.
I grumbled and shook the sand out of my boots.
Damn, such a disgustingly realistic dream.
My feet felt like they were burning, and sweat dripped down my back.
Did I fall asleep with the electric blanket on?
That's bad, my electricity bill is going to be high.
It was then that I heard a sound from afar.
Something was approaching amidst a cloud of sand.
"What is that?"
Vince squinted and shaded his eyes with his hand.
Swoosh!
I couldn't tell whether something had flown at us first or Vince's head had exploded first.
Fragments flew over my face.
What just happened?
Vince’s body, spilling brain matter, leaned towards me.
"Who's there!"
The gang members drew their weapons simultaneously.
But before their swords were even halfway drawn, all their heads were flying in the air.
Unrealistically extended blood sprayed across the desert.
I felt heavy. My body was heavy.
Facing death for the first time in my life. I spat out the brain matter trying to enter my mouth from Vince and screamed incomprehensibly.
Don't think about anything.
This is just a dream.
I'll wake up soon.
Barely pushing Vince's corpse away, I shakily placed my hands on the desert sand and crawled.
But before I could crawl a few steps, someone grabbed me by the nape of the neck.
"Where is the upper soul?"
Strong eyes, muscular build.
I recognized at a glance that he was the one who annihilated the gang. His information appeared before my eyes.
[Character Information]
Character: Fehilt Rune
Age: 17
Role: Main character (Returner)
Overall combat power: 2281
Potential: High
Description: The protagonist of the story.
A shiver ran through me, and memories surfaced.
That's right.
This guy is the main character of the novel.
The damned returner.
Familiar sentences from deep in my memory suddenly revived.
...The prologue?
If my memory serves me right, this scene was the prologue of 『99 Ways to Live as a Returner』.
And the prologue of this novel begins with the main character, who returned to the past, killing nearby thieves to acquire an artifact.
Wait, but what role am I playing?
What was my setting value?
[Character Information]
Character: Lance Pilgrim
Age: 17
Role: Extra (Thug 2)
Overall combat power: 5
Potential: Very Low
Description: You are one of the weakest beings in this world.
All the stars look at you with pity.
Shit, what is this— In that moment,
"Unknown, eh? Then die."
The blade flashed, and a terrible pain spread through my neck.
Blood pooled under my neck, and my vision spun. I couldn't breathe.
My entire head felt like it was melting.
My thoughts were shattering.
This.
Isn't a.
Dream. Is it?
Am I really.
Dying.
[A few stars are disappointed in you.]
[500 dust has been deducted.]
Even amidst the excruciating pain, hearing that voice, I thought:
Thank goodness this is just a dream.
Surely, when I wake up, I will return to the world I live in.
Grateful to Freud for suggesting this could be a dream.
This is definitely a dream.
Naively, I believed that.
[You have died.]
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