Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 106

The Ramirez Scramble (7)

Boing–.

I tried moving forward, but stopped at the strange foreign sensation against my chest.

“Hm?”

Naturally looking down to investigate, I was left slightly stunned.

… A, ah!

A… quite interesting scenery unfolded before my eyes.

Hmm.

Immersed in the plan for the future, I’d disregarded the possibility of ‘discomfort’ arising from ‘experiencing an unfamiliar body’.

So,

“Khm, uhm…”

I inadvertently flushed.

This girl was quite, so to say…

Of course, I was familiar with the shape itself.

Female characters in Adventure King were drawn in a way that showed off the author’s unique tastes.

Starting with Madame Rosemarietta, the first female character to appear all the way back in Virgin City, all the female characters had physical specifications that basically reflected the author’s questionable sense of aesthetics.

A chest full to bursting, under a small face, followed by a waist narrow as a reed, and finally, ridiculously long legs.

Quite an unrealistic body shape that nevertheless fit the ambience of a shounen manga.

So, that was now my… present form.

Of course, I hadn’t thought of it as a big deal before. Or rather, it was true that I had not seen much of it before. Or perhaps, it’d be more accurate to say that I’d never considered it at all.

But once I settled into that body shape, it felt… a little different.

It felt…

At that moment,

Slap!

My two palms slammed into my cheeks and brought me back to reason.

‘For god’s sake… wake up, wake up!’

I shook my head.

This was a shounen manga.

It was just a manga character.

And it wasn’t really me anyway!

Was this the time to get distracted by trivial stuff? I needed to calm down.

I had to prepare!

Soon,

“… Alright.”

I calmed my inner turmoil and checked the target in front of me once again.

The Ramirez.

Of course, actually grabbing it wasn’t the problem.

In the first place, I had the drone’s remote.

I could just turn off the power remotely. Then I could just pick up the treasure once the drone fell to the ground.

Or maybe I could jump high up and catch it. Some direction was needed to set up an eye-catching scene, after all.

The problem was after that.

I didn’t have a solid plan.

In the original story, after Tanya stole the Ramirez, she’d been chased down, and finally had to take refuge under Leo’s banner. But that way lay problems.

First of all, I’d be discovered after a while.

Even if I tried to play the character called Tanya, I definitely wouldn’t be able to mimic a woman’s natural habits or behaviour, so getting caught was an inevitability. Leo the idiot or Yan the simpleton were one thing, but I wouldn’t be able to trick an excellent decipherer like Siana.

And above all else, it was very risky for me to do what Tanya was supposed to do.

Because it might take away her ‘significance’.

Moreover, ‘snatching the Ramirez’ was a core part of the story development, at least within the original.

It’d lead to Tanya and Leo forming a strong bond, and in the end, Tanya becoming a member of the Leo Adventurers.

But me doing that?

‘… It’s dangerous.’

In fact, although I was committed to this path in order to grab the spotlight, my heart was heavy.

It was such a risky move!

So I didn’t intend to lay the secret bare anytime soon. Even to the readers.

Of course, me appearing as Tanya would definitely stir up discussion. Maybe I’d even get the lion’s share of the spotlight.

But protecting Tanya’s position was more important. I couldn’t let the plot development go further off the rails.

So, my job was to steal the Ramirez and quickly hand it over to Tanya.

Although this seemed a strange way of doing things, it wouldn’t impact Tanya’s character. Maybe she already had an idea about ​​what to do with the Ramirez.

So if I gave it to her, she’d definitely accept it.

The only problem being, I still didn’t know where she was.

Cocoa hadn’t given me any news yet, for some reason.

Although the city was quite large, I didn’t see how she could be struggling with something at this level.

‘What the hell is she up to…?’

But I couldn’t dither any longer.

So I focused.

‘Forget about it. Let’s grab it first, then I can think about it.’

My approach was simple.

Snatch the Ramirez and cover myself with a goblin silver screen.

Then, masquerading as somebody else, leave this place.

Then I’d sit down and ponder over what to do next.

Beep–.

My first step was to halt the drone’s image magnification function. Then, I turned on the function to sound a warning if anything approached within a certain distance.

The crux of all this was to ‘get people’s attention’ as much as possible without being discovered. I needed to divert not only the audience, but also readers, from the thrilling battle of Gronyan and Gelop.

Then,

“Haaahhh!”

I activated the gadgets on my arms.

Adjusting the output of the energy outlet on my left arm to make myself hover in the air, I began to manipulate the energy outlet on the right –

Pop!

Pop!

Popopop–!

– And made it go off like a firecracker, several times.

Of course, this wasn’t for no reason. It was all to catch others’ attention.

After a while, I soared into the air, and came to a halt only about 10m away in front of the drone.

Beep-!

Beep-!

The drone sounded a warning.

I looked around.

The below was covered with factories and abandoned buildings, so it was hard to be sure, but I’d apparently attracted some notice. I could hear the shouting.

Look over there, what’re you doing, thief, kill, etc…

“Alright.”

Aggro pulled successfully.

Now I had to do just advance, and…

That was then.

“Stop! You bastard!”

Suddenly, a voice intruded.

At an incredibly close range, at that.

‘What, already? Somebody was waiting here?’

I quickly turned to where the sound had come from.

And,

“Get out of there!”

I was astonished to see ‘it’ approaching me at the speed of light.

… Danger!

I quickly fired an energy cannon to gain momentum, widening the distance.

And I focused all my attention on the assailant.

This was crazy. This was somebody I knew.

“Hmm? You don’t look like a run-of-the-mill goblin. What the hell are you doing, imitating Tanya…”

“… Coocoo?”

Surprisingly, it was Coocoo.

“If I hadn’t been on patrol, I would’ve missed… huh?”

“What are you doing here?”

The stupid pigeon looked very surprised that I knew his name.

“What, what… Ta-, Tanya?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, that’s right! Tanya couldn’t be here… No, but then who…”

I kindly dropped a few hints, since this idiot suffered from brainless syndrome.

“I know your name, and I naturally must Tanya to imitate her. Still don’t know who I am? I’m the one who freed you from that cage.”

Then,

“Wh-, what! M-, maybe… Squatjaw, is that you?”

Coocoo shouted in surprise.

“Yeah, that’s right. Where’ve you been?”

“That’s… no, that’s not the problem here, what’re you doing? Why are you pretending to be Tanya? You… really look just like her.”

“Ah, this? I was just… trying to get some attention.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Forget that. Why are you here? Standing guard?”

Then,

“Uh… well, it’s Tanya’s, so…”

“So you’re keeping watch? To see if anybody steals it?”

“Ah… I guess.”

This idiot had apparently been by Tanya’s side all this time. At her request, he was looking for an opportunity to steal it.

I could reaffirm, Tanya was definitely aiming for the Ramirez. Maybe even without my interference, she would’ve come to collect it, sooner or later.

But I didn’t regret my actions. There was no point crying over spilled milk.

It was already an urgent situation.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to give it to her, anyway.”

Then,

“Really? Youuuu! Yes, I believed in you! You were a good guy all along!”

Coocoo jumped with joy.

Phew, he believed me.

Finally,

“Okay, let’s go. Do you know where she is?”

“Over there, if you turn the corner of the building on the left…”

I quickly descended to the ground with the Ramirez in hand. Some of the pursuers were already about to close in.

“Alright, now get on my shoulder.”

As Coocoo plopped down on my shoulder, I covered myself with a goblin silver screen.

“Now let’s go.”

---

Coocoo guided me to an abandoned factory, and there under the shabby eaves, it was again time to greet a familiar face.

Or rather, two of them.

“Big Brother!”

“Squatjaw! What’s going on?!”

“… What do you mean, what’s going on? Why are you still here?”

Only one of them read the rebuke in my words, from their replies.

“Still? Where should we have gone instead?”

“It seems like someone was messing with the path.”

“… Really?”

Disturbing the path was a way to constrain guides, a technique the author had introduced as a ‘specialized field’ in the original.

But this concept had officially debuted long after the middle of the story, so it was inconceivable to meet somebody this early who could be capable of it. Maybe it was Tanya herself?

“Oh, that was probably the cat. He was working hard to cover her trail.”

“Cat? Ah…”

Coocoo probably meant Nero.

“Is that guy with Tanya too?”

“Uh-huh. Actually, he came first. Ah, we’re here.”

Coocoo announced our arrival of the destination.

We nudged open the doors to the factory and let ourselves in.

Creak–.

Our sudden appearance took Tanya completely by surprise.

“Coocoo! What…”

It was Cocoa who answered her question.

“Hey there, Tanya. Long time no see. I’m Cocoavi. And this is Chinuavi.”

“Nice to meet you, Tanya. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re a guide, right? I’m Chinuavi, from the Squatjaw Adventurers.”

“… Wh-, what?”

“This isn’t the time for long introductions^[1]!”

Stopping them both, I walked up to Tanya.

“I have something to tell you.”

Then,

“Y-, you… Damned squat-jawed bastard!”

Tanya groaned.

“I’m sorry I took the Ramirez.”

“Then compensate me! No, give it back to me!”

The conversation was flowing very smoothly.

“Alright, here you go.”

I held out the Ramirez.

“… Huh?”

“I’m sorry I took it from you.”

“H-huh…?”

Tanya just stared blankly at the Ramirez in front of her for a moment.

As if she was completely stunned.

In the end, I had to shove it into her hands.

“Happy now?”

“…”

“But, you know?”

“… Huh?”

“You’re going to be in a lot of danger if you have this.”

Then,

“… Ah, right. Right.”

Tanya nodded her head with a serious expression on her face, as if her brain was working again.

“Are you still going to keep it?”

I asked politely. Of course, I had no intention of getting it back even if she didn’t like the idea. I was thinking of running away if she tried to return it.

That was then.

“Of course. But you haven’t told me yet why you’re giving this to me. It’s not because you’re really sorry or anything, right?”

Tanya took the lead to ask a question.

“Oh, that?”

Naturally, I couldn’t say ‘to divert attention from Gronyan’ or ‘because you’d stolen it in the original’.

So,

“I have a request for you. It didn’t seem like you’d listen if I just asked you, so I had to bring a present.”

I responded with the excuse I’d made up beforehand.

“A request?”

“I have a small box… I can’t quite figure out what’s inside. I was wondering if your unique ability could manage it.”

“…”

The reaction was lukewarm.

Her expression spelled out ‘why me’.

So I had to stoke the flames a bit.

“I got it from the goblin chief. It’s a small box, but he said a relic of last Adventure King is inside.”

“R-, relic of the last Adventure King!?”

“How about it, did that pique your interest? Do you feel like showing off your skills?”

In fact, this ‘relic of the last Adventure King’ had an intimate connection with Tanya.

In the original, she’d played a decisive role in inferring the identity of the contents and bringing it out through her unique ability [Master Thief’s Eye].

Just then,

“Where the hell did she go!?”

“Search thoroughly!”

“There’re traces here too!”

I could hear shouting from outside.

Apparently, the guides of the adventurer teams were tracking the Ramirez’s location.

I immediately turned to Tanya.

“Well, we can talk about that later… now we have to hide first, right?”

“I can escape by myself.”

“That’s dangerous. You should know that already.”

“Then what should I do… Do you want me to stick with you?”

I shook my head.

“No way. The two of us don’t really mesh well, do we?”

“… Then?”

“Don’t you have a close friend nearby? If you ask him to protect you for a little while… he probably won’t refuse.”

As if she immediately understood what I meant,

“… Leo?”

Tanya came up with a name.

“That’s right. Ask him to shelter you for a while. I’ll come visit you soon.”

“But… I left him without a word…”

Looking at her face, she’d apparently been a bit excessive.

“He’s not the kind of guy to care about that. You should know that already.”

“… True.”

That was then.

Beep–.

The transceiver rang.

It was Haka calling.

“How is it? Is the fight over?”

– Fight? Oh, you mean the cyborg vs the Black Shadow guildmaster? That’s been cancelled.

“Is that so?”

The reason was easy to guess.

“So what’s the situation now?”

– Uh… they’re starting to move. I think it might be a bit of a big deal?

“Starting to move? Where?”

– Against you. Gronyan has marked you as the main enemy. He said you broke your promise.

“Really? That’s funny, everyone should’ve seen it. I wasn’t the one to steal it.”

I winked at Tanya.

But,

“… Huh?”

Tanya looked at me with eyes full of doubt.

– Because the Ramirez didn’t respond. To be precise, the thief must’ve been wearing the same equipment that’d made it ignore you. In their minds, the two of you are on the same side. Quite a few of them have seen you alongside that redhead before, too.

“Hmm… is that so?”

– You are the main enemy, but everyone else will probably be a target, too. Eliminate everybody except those who cooperate. The orders are pretty harsh.

“… Got it. Keep in touch.”

After hanging up, I thought for a while.

Those guys had moved faster than expected. Apparently, they’d been long prepared to ‘invade’ the other areas.

Then I had no choice but to change my plans.

“Did you hear that? A guy named Gronyan from the western zone is leading an attack with all the personnel there. You know, right? Who he is?”

Tanya’s face stiffened.

She did seem to know.

“So, shall we hurry?”

Actually, there was no need for me to say that.

Tanya seemed already prepared.

“So I’ll go to Leo? And you’ll come later?”

“… No. I was planning that originally, but the route has changed.”

I turned around.

“Let’s go together. I have something to tell them, too.”

---

Thirty minutes later.

Outside the Gibrante factory area, a cave in the mountains.

“But right now, don’t we have to protect him, instead of him protecting us?”

Tanya looked at Leo, who was still unconscious, and muttered softly.

She looked quite shocked.

“Hmm…”

In fact, this was also an unexpected scene for me.

Leo wasn’t the type to stay unconscious for long.

No matter how much damage he took or how hard he fainted, he’d usually be back on his feet after a while.

There had to be a reason for this…

And secondly –

I turned my gaze to Yan, who was breathing exhaustedly, leaning against the cave wall.

As it turned out, Yan hadn’t summoned ‘King’ yet.

This was also a very rare situation.

The two were connected. If he’d awakened, he should’ve summoned King right away.

Leo’s late recovery, Yan’s late awakening.

Putting them together, I came to a conclusion.

These guys were waiting for a more ‘appropriate time’.

A better time to awaken.

Of course, that couldn’t be their free will. Perhaps it was part of the ‘intended development’.

At this point, it was even a bit cliché. I could guess the future plot developments intended by the author.

The main characters waiting for the time to awaken.

A powerful enemy named ‘Gronyan’ appearing just in time.

Not alone either, but with an army.

‘I rather like it.’

I thought that maybe… the author’s wishes and my wishes could coincide at some point.

Then,

“Can we talk for a second?”

I called all of Leo’s party together.

Although that meant only Yan and Siana right now.

Then, I explained the current situation.

A powerful enemy named Gronyan was trying to get rid of everyone here.

Many powerhouses had already taken refuge under him.

“So what do you want to say?”

I simply answered Siana’s question.

“Why don’t we make a united front?”

“… United front?”

In fact, I’d been dreaming of a situation like this for a long time.

Who knew it’d arrive so soon?

“Personally, I think we have a lot of common enemies. In fact, the individual stage is already over, this is now a team match.”

“Team, you mean…”

What was the rival role for, if not to start a constant cycle of fighting and reconciliation?

I smiled and held out my hand to the both of them.

“It’s simple. Stand with me.”

The Leo Adventurers, and the Squatjaw Adventures.

It was time for their first team-up!

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 통성명, lit. exchanging names and surnames at the first meeting.

Leave a like and comment, it only takes a minute! Also rate and review at NovelUpdates if you haven’t.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 105

The Ramirez Scramble (6)

The afternoon of the second day of the ‘winner-takes-all declaration’.

I looked at the holographic window, confused. Because words that seemed completely incomprehensible were repeating, over and over again.

– The main character of the chapter has been changed.

– The main character of the current chapter is now ‘Gronyan’.

“Again?”

This was already the third time.

Gronyan had again taken the lead point of view.

“…”

It was indeed a confusing situation.

Kiriko three times, Gronyan three times.

In just one day, the main viewpoint had changed six times – all in one chapter.

Switching the lead so many times was already strange, but what was even more absurd was the fact it was Kiriko, of all people, whose spotlight was getting snatched away.

Kiriko! That Kiriko!

Leo’s oldest colleague, and alongside him, the character who boasted the most number of appearances in Adventure King. A veritable pillar supporting the Leo Adventurers’ existence, a super-popular character who grabbed the readers’ attention every time he did something.

Simply put, he was the deuteragonist.

And right now, he was in urgent need of awakening, in order to reestablish the Leo Adventurers’ presence, which had recently been overshadowed both inside and outside the story.

That was the current Kiriko.

Nothing like situation had occurred in the original.

Alternating the lead viewpoint with somebody else? Forget it.

Two full chapters had been solely devoted to Kiriko, burning bright.

So I couldn’t but help call this crazy.

Who the hell was that Gronyan or whoever, to share Kiriko’s spotlight?

Besides, Kiriko wasn’t just playing around.

If he’d been idling or involved in some drudgery that wouldn’t catch the readers’ attention, I could’ve accepted it.

But Kiriko was fighting right now. Fighting non-stop.

Since yesterday afternoon, for more than twenty-four hours, he’d been fighting.

Since the saboteur goblins were waving their light sticks wherever Kiriko went to announce the location, he couldn’t even stop anywhere to rest.

Even so, the lead viewpoint kept switching…

I stared at the message again.

– The main character of the current chapter is now ‘Gronyan’.

It had to mean that the other party was fighting just as much. That to watch him was just as fun.

Or something else along those lines was happening.

“So what do I do now?”

I wasn’t just standing here watching the messages because I had nothing to do.

There were countless things on my plate. Every minute and every second were a precious resource.

The problem was that I didn’t know what to do right now, or what was most urgent.

The reason I was feeling so aimless was simple. Because the plot development had deviated from the original at multiple angles.

Kiriko wasn’t the only problem.

Although half his runtime had been stripped away, he was still active. He was still inching closer towards awakening.

Rather, my thoughts were centred around Tanya.

She definitely should’ve made her move on by now, but there was no news of her at all.

There should’ve been something by last night at the latest. Because according to the original story, Tanya should’ve moved immediately after Karl Zayed and Gelop clashed.

And she would’ve also taken the lead viewpoint.

So it was already late.

Going by the original,

[Kiriko → Karl Zayed → Tanya]

The leading point of view should’ve switched in this way.

But now,

[Karl Zayed → Kiriko & Gronyan → ?]

It was going like this.

The order had gotten jumbled up, and the content was also different.

It was tough to unentangle the issue from the basics. So I was reduced to observing the changes of the lead point of view.

That was then.

Beep beep–.

It was a signal from the transceiver, that I’d been waiting for.

I picked up the call, lightning-quick.

Who was it? Cocoa? Or maybe Haka?

“Who!?”

– Ah, Mr. Squatjaw. Can you hear me?

Haka.

“Wait, why’re you calling now!? What happened over there?”

– The radio wouldn’t work. Looks like somebody raised some kind of barrier. I had some trouble finding a place with signal.

“A barrier? Who did? Gronyan?”

– Well, I’m not sure about that either.

Of course, it couldn’t be to specifically stop my spying. How could they know about it?

Still, apparently, they had some kind of plan.

“Okay, but is there something exciting going on over there?”

– Eh? Oh, are you nearby?

“Huh? No, no, it was just a rumour.”

– There’re rumours already? Amazing. I thought this place was too strictly controlled for information to flow out… And isn’t that side also busy fighting?

“What’re you getting distracted for? C’mon, let’s start with the situation report.”

– Uh, yeah. First of all, it looks like there’ll be a fight soon.

“A fight?”

I knew it.

Just as I’d thought. Something ‘fun’ was going on. Enough to calm the readers’ curiosity about Kiriko.

“Between whom?”

– Who else? That terrifying guy.

“What? Gronyan?”

– Yeah, and the other guy’s no slouch either. Almost as strong.

Really? Another apex powerhouse?

It sounded silly. Few could fight Gronyan on even ground.

In an instant, lightning struck in my mind.

… No way?

– Do you want to come watch, sir? I think you should see it for yourself. It’s Magic Weapon Jimus. The guy who once had an argument with you. Remember?

Yeah.

I jumped up right away. There was no time to waste.

A battle between Jimus and Gronyan? So suddenly?

“I’m coming.”

I had to see it with my own two eyes. What exactly was happening?

---

As soon as Haka told me the names of those Gronyan had already dealt with, I was left speechless.

First opponent – Isaac of Wales.

Second – Dorian.

Third – Big Turtle Adventurer Team’s Captain Turtle.

Fourth – Geronimo.

⦙

They were all people I’d devoured back in Clone City.

“Eeh…”

Gronyan wasn’t just fighting here.

What he was doing, was to create as much of a story as possible using the guys who were tied to me.

Maybe it was purely to absorb my stake in the readers’ awareness.

Besides, weren’t they basically the people significant enough to have a name? Among the chaff, they were the top-notch strongmen.

So it wasn’t surprising that the lead point of view kept going to him.

Or rather, the fact that Kiriko was able to compete with him was surprising.

If his dire situation hadn’t been exacerbated by the saboteur goblins, he might not even have been able to do that.

And now… no matter what I did, it wouldn’t be my turn.

I turned my eyes to the front once again.

An extremely splendid fight was unfolding.

“Acid Storm!”

Booboobooboom!

Jimus was holding a wand with a different shape than when he’d fought Leo; a further upgraded, higher power one. He was continuously blasting out magic with tremendous destructive power.

However, Gronyan –

“Is this all…?”

– Weathered them all with ease. Every single attack was batted away by a light swing of his sword.

Gronyan was holding was a huge grey greatsword, five times the size of a normal bastard sword; making me wonder whether his setting really was that of a renowned ‘assassin’. That size really didn’t match with the concept of stealth.

Then,

“Tch, you should be careful… I’ll do my best from now on.”

Jimus started casting his ‘ultimate magic’ in earnest.

Soon,

Rustle–.

As the surrounding air trembled, rocks and soil began to scatter. Letters emitting blue light were floating around Jimus. They were ‘runes’, the alphabet of the witches, people were said to be true sorcerers.

“It looks like he’s preparing a powerful attack.”

Haka also muttered softly, feeling the strange current in the air.

“It’s all for show, for show.”

“Huh?”

“He isn’t actually incanting spells, he’s just charging up his energy nucleus. All those images are just holograms.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“You should pay attention to the other side instead.”

Despite the unusual energy swelling around Jimus, Gronyan was merely staring at him.

A unique demeanour that only true powerhouses could show.

Just looking at the scene made the difference in power clear.

“More than that…”

But I couldn’t focus purely on their confrontation.

And I couldn’t let things go on like this either.

It was the time to come up with countermeasures to divert everyone’s attention that’d focused on this match.

“By the way, where’re his followers?”

“Their number keeps growing. If that Magic Weapon Jimus is beaten… all his subordinates will also follow the guildmaster of Black Shadow.”

“…”

What was truly shocking was the way Gronyan had forced the big fish to face him.

Those of us who are confident in our own strength, let us put ourselves to the test!

He’d announced –

If anybody defeated him one-on-one, he and his subordinates would submit to their control.

Those hundreds of assassins, who called themselves the Assassin Society, were the bait.

These powerhouses were all confident in their own skills, so they’d become enthusiastic to participate.

It wasn’t just that.

Gronyan had said that those who cooperated with him would be treated with respect and rewarded, but those who didn’t would be destroyed.

In other words, he had no intention of conducting the ‘four-man final’ that I’d proposed in the first place. He rather wanted to gather everyone here together as a single force under his control, and then claim the treasure.

“He also drove away the goblins. Probably because he knows they won’t ever follow him.”

I could only see Haka. The goblins were nowhere to be found.

One of them might’ve dared to hide nearby, but the possibility was low. It was too risky, for not much entertainment. They would’ve just moved to another area.

“Then what about you? Did your infiltration go well?”

“Yeah, yeah. It wasn’t difficult. I’m now under one of the executives of the Assassin Society. But there are too many eyes around, so my people weren’t able to infiltrate.”

“That’s enough.”

My first order to Haka had been to stick as close to Gronyan as possible. To pass me his information without being caught.

Therefore, Haka had entered Gronyan’s group as soon as he’d arrived, one of the first to do so.

“But don’t some of them know that you’re my teammate?”

“I never look like this when I’m around them, I wear a mask. Plus I always carry a face-transforming potion with me, in case something unexpected come up.”

“Ah.”

Haka was meticulous as always.

“Anyway… it’s coming to an end.”

I turned my head back to the battlefield.

Like Haka said, the battle was sprinting towards the final finish line.

Even though Jimus kept firing a barrage of his so-called ‘ultimate magic’, he couldn’t deal a single serious blow to Gronyan.

“Damn it, this is the end! Hellfire!”

Even the ultimate skill that’d beaten Leo down,

“Now that’s something! But…”

Dragon Flash (龍閃)!

Rustle–.

Before Groniyan’s outstretched sword, the fire scattered into embers.

…

This was the end.

Jimus’s face already looked like he’d lost his will to fight.

He might still have some energy left, but he’d already decided that this was to be his last attack.

He lowered his wand slowly.

“It’s over.”

“No… it’s only beginning.”

I pointed to the back.

Where Cyborg Gelop stood waiting.

He was probably the last opponent Gronyan would face here.

Then, once the fight with Gelop finished, as long as it ended in his own victory, he’d probably lead everyone here and go subdue the people in the other areas.

The Leo Adventurers, Karl Zayed, and finally… me.

“… This is ridiculous.”

“Huh?”

“No, nothing.”

It was simply absurd. The original development had gone up in smoke.

I couldn’t help but be curious about the author’s mind.

What the hell was he doing all this for?

Why make such a huge narrative for that guy called Gronyan?

Just how much affection did he have for this character… It was frankly at a level that made no sense. Weren’t Leo and the rest more important right now?

“By the way, what’re you going to do now?”

“… Well…”

I didn’t know. Not yet.

But one thing was clear. I couldn’t stay still like this.

Most importantly, I couldn’t let the readers stew in anticipation of Gronyan’s next move.

The more that happened, the more his narrative would gain power.

If things went on like this, even my fight with Kiriko might get buried. No, maybe… it might not even happen in the first place.

First, I had to snatch the lead point of view. I had to do something significant enough for that.

Also, I had to try and force the plot development to the ‘original’ direction I was familiar with.

At that moment,

“… Kaha.”

A burst of laughter reflexively escaped my throat.

How absurd. It was me, of all people, who was trying to fix the plotline? Who did I think I was, the author himself? My job so far had always been to mess up the plot, not to fix it.

“Mr. Squatjaw?”

“Uh, just… I suddenly remembered something outrageous.”

However, the ‘absurdity’ I felt wasn’t limited to just that.

There was still the biggest one left.

“Huff…”

I took a couple of deep breaths.

After the battle with Jimus, go straight to another battle with Gelop. In order to take away the leading point of view from Gronyan who was exhibiting such an eye-catching performance, or at least to divert attention from it…

At this point, there was only one event that could make this possible.

What Tanya had done in the original.

“Let’s go, shall we?”

“Have you decided what to do?”

“Yeah, and I have to ask you for a favour.”

“What do I need to do?”

After telling Haka a few words, I immediately started moving.

While muttering words that I didn’t know whether stemmed from lamentation or anticipation.

“Just to survive, I now have to do something like this…”

---

‘What the hell is he going to do?’

What Mr. Squatjaw had asked for was very simple.

To give a shout out If he saw something weird happening.

Then,

“Ohh, it’s a robot!”

“I heard he’s the strongest in Northland.”

“Is he human? Or a machine?”

As the audience broke into murmurs, Cyborg Gelop stepped out in front of Gronyan.

Everyone looked at him with anticipation, but Haka’s eyes were fixed on the other party.

Gronyan.

He truly was an incredible monster.

After fighting Jimus, he was right away entering another one-on-one match with that cyborg.

Of course, neither of them would be risking their lives. Otherwise Jimus just now wouldn’t have been able to retreat at a nonchalant pace.

But it’d definitely been an intense battle. That much was not in doubt. The abundance of huge pits dug into the earth proved it.

It’d been a tense fight with the combatants pouring in at least eighty percent of their power – at least, for Jimus.

But that man had dealt with that much power very casually.

It couldn’t be possible without there being a significant gap between the two sides.

Monster.

That word really fit the guildmaster well.

‘Diverting people’s attention from the duel of somebody like that… Is that even possible?’

Haka tilted his head.

Mr. Squatjaw had said so before he’d left. That he’d make it happen. Something with enough impact for people to focus on it, and Haka just had to shout to draw their attention.

“Hmm…”

It wouldn’t be easy.

No matter how surprising it was, even if it was Mr. Squatjaw doing it, the chances seemed low.

To be honest, he even thought it might be outright impossible…

That was then.

… Huh?

Haka’s breath escaped him unconsciously.

His mouth was agape in surprise, but he didn’t even realize it.

In the distance, a red-haired woman was flying near the sky where the treasure, Ramirez, was floating.

Of course, it wasn’t a rare sight.

Similar scenes had repeated several times before.

The only difference was that –

“… It didn’t work?”

The Ramirez didn’t reveal the woman’s weakness.

This was certainly surprising.

Maybe… more than the confrontation between the two over here.

‘It’s not Mr. Squatjaw, but if I had to guess, this must be the situation he was talking about, right?’

At that moment,

“Look over there, at the Ramirez!”

Haka exclaimed loudly.

“Look at the Ramirez!”

And when some people, startled by the sudden shouting, turned to look,

“Th-, th-. that…”

“A thief!”

“Look over there!”

Just then, the Ramirez was caught in the hands of the red-haired woman.

“Some thief stole the Ramirez!”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 104

The Ramirez Scramble (5)

Those repair drones… had there been one left?

Karl Zayed brushed away the dust that’d piled up on his clothes, and slowly reviewed his memories.

When he’d first encountered that Cyborg Gelop, that piece of scrap metal, there were a total of three simple repair drones attached to him.

Called ‘Alpha’, ‘Bravo’ and ‘Charlie’.

Although they were repair drones, their use was close to being ‘replacement parts’.

When Gelop’s arm was broken, one filled in, and when half his body was blown away, another hurriedly took its place.

And only ten minutes ago the last one had replaced Gelop’s two legs.

That was all of them, wasn’t it?

In fact, at the end, Gelop couldn’t respond when his left side of his body got blown off.

There was no way Karl Zayed’s memory could be wrong.

Was this some other hidden trump card, or…

‘Is it really somebody else?’

Karl Zayed raised his head again and stared at the ‘unidentified cyborg’, on whom no trace of the last battle could be found, no matter how hard he looked.

“Hmm. You’re quicker, too.”

The bastard looked at himself and tilted his head.

“What actually happened?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You… have changed.”

“Ah, I did some repairs.”

“…”

It wasn’t just the appearance being restored in an instant that made Karl Zayed doubt his identity.

Once he started talking –

His voice remained the same, but the tone had completely changed. The way he used to speak was extremely harsh, but now…

‘I’m feeling irritated just remembering that guy.’

He was getting annoyed.

Also, the most important part, the power –

The power of the energy cannon was different.

To the point where he’d avoided it without daring to take it head-on.

“You don’t show any sign of repairs. And that energy cannon was… is it your original one?”

“Hey, you’re sharp, huh? You even noticed I’ve changed weapons.”

“Even a three-year-old kid would notice the power difference. No, you bastard, more things have changed than that.”

“It’s no a big deal, I just changed the CPU.”

“Seepee… what?”

“Don’t worry about it, dude. Just think of it as changing some parts.”

“…”

However, Karl Zayed wasn’t feeling convinced that this wasn’t a ‘different being’, because he hadn’t seen the replacement process with his own two eyes.

Not to mention that there hadn’t been nearly enough time.

Soon,

“Hmm…”

Karl Zayed shook his head to shake off his thoughts.

There was no point pondering it over. If he had an unanswered question, couldn’t he just grab the guy and ask directly?

So decided, he pulled out a sword from his waist.

It was a weapon he’d started carrying around one day, because it was occasionally useful.

It was hard and sharp.

He couldn’t remember where it originally came from. Probably from some fool who’d rushed at him without knowing his own place.

Same as the pile of scrap metal now in front of him.

“Oho, you use weapons too? Since when? I don’t remember this.”

“I sometimes take it out when I get tired of just breaking things by hand. Like when I have something to cut.”

Although Karl Zayed said that, actually, pulling out his weapon was more of a sign of showing respect for his opponent.

Because the cyborg now looked like he’d brought some pretty expensive parts.

And finally,

“Huh. Then let me respond in kind.”

The pile of scrap metal seems to have a similar idea.

About respect, or boundaries.

As the cyborg raised his arms, a blue light began to hum through the energy outlets at the centre of his palms.

“… Everything’s overhauled except your brain, hm? You still don’t know your place.”

“You say that even after taking out your sword? Besides, what do you even know about my brain? How outrageous. A mere human dares to look down upon an AI… I bet you can’t even multiply three-digit numbers in your head.”

“Hmph, cheeky machine….”

“See, now you’ve got nothing to say. The greatness of AI… I’ll carve it straight into your head.”

Soon,

Whiiiing–.

Fwosh–!

A huge flood of energy roared out of one palm along with a shockwave.

‘It’s different.’

The magnitude of the force was now so strong that the original was no comparison.

The energy cannons had taken several hits from Karl Zayed’s fists already, but to do the same now would be unreasonable.

Bumping into something that volatile would leave his fists shredded, and his sword broken.

But, of course,

‘If that’s not feasible, let’s just not do that.’

That’d happen only if he clashed head-on.

Karl Zayed quickly evaded the rushing energy, and then rushed towards Gelop.

Fwosh–!

‘Left… then right.’

Fwosh–!

Fwosh–!

Zig-zagging, Karl Zayed avoided the energy shells flying in. Albeit slowly, he was making progress.

Although the attack was immensely powerful, it didn’t make him panic. The attack pattern was foolishly consistent.

Fire a series of energy cannons, then back off when you’re approached. Then attack again after recharging.

But Karl Zayed wouldn’t give him the time.

It was kind of disappointing. Those arms, legs, and so forth had been blown off once, but nothing essential had changed.

‘How boring.’

Karl Zayed waited one more time, even though Gelop was already within his range.

A total of seven energy cannons had been fired so far. Four on the left arm, three on the right arm.

Previously, six shots were the maximum, so no matter how much the accessories had changed, Gelop was probably at his limit.

‘Are you going to shoot once more? Or are you done?’

Then,

Whiiiing–.

Fwosh–!

The eighth shell flew.

It’s over.

Karl Zayed didn’t even care about the shell that brushed past an ear, and rushed at Gelop.

Then,

“Have you got more arms ready? This is the third one gone.”

He swung his sword at the cyborg’s left shoulder.

There was no doubt in his mind that the opponent would be sliced apart.

But,

“What’re you doing?”

“Huh…?”

The bastard’s reaction was strange.

He didn’t dodge at all.

For a moment, Karl Zayed met his blank eyes and felt a terrifying feeling.

That was then.

“Hm!?”

Both the cyborg’s palms flashed a sinister red, for the first time.

And then,

Fwooooosh!

A new kind of energy shell hurtled towards him.

“Uh…”

Karl Zayed immediately fell back at his fastest speed, but a large part of the shockwave had already passed through his arm to his torso.

“Oh, you’re super fast, huh? And sturdy too.”

“…”

Karl Zayed forced his shut eyes to open and checked his own status.

His arms had gone limp. They wouldn’t rise. He didn’t have the strength.

There wasn’t even any pain. As if everything had been burnt out.

‘I got baited.’

Both his arms were completely broken, and the rest of him wasn’t doing too well either.

His body parts that’d been exposed to the attack were glowing red hot.

Despite not having been directly wounded, his body that would normally quickly recover from any wounds wasn’t functioning properly.

“What is this, it’s over with just one hit? Boring.”

“…”

Karl Zayed bit his lip. He’d looked down on his opponent too much.

Things weren’t going well. This was dangerous.

Well, that didn’t mean he was helpless. All he had to do was use ‘that’.

Soon after,

Sizzle–.

His body quickly recovered.

“Huh? Wh-, what?”

Gelop was startled at the sight.

‘Growth mortgage’.

Extracting power from his future ‘growth’ and using it for immediate physical recovery.

In return, his growth would stop until he managed to recharge the power thus consumed.

This was the latest skill he’d acquired.

“… I have to admit it. I underestimated you.”

This mortgage system actually operated at quite a loss. At first blush it might look like an equivalent exchange, until one considered the fact that it also paused the, otherwise constant, growth of his unique ability.

In other words, the duration he’d stay stagnant was much longer than it’d otherwise be.

And this –

“You’ll have to pay for that.”

– Also meant that he couldn’t let this guy go.

That was then.

“Uh… you’re already using that? Here?”

The bastard asked, sounding very bewildered.

“What?”

“Isn’t that… your ultimate technique?”

Karl Zayed froze.

“… You know my ability?”

He hastily searched through his memories. Had the two of them met before?

It couldn’t be. This was obviously their first encounter.

No, more than anything else, this ability had emerged very recently.

Then how come the other party knew about it…

“Umm… that’s not it. More like, it just feels like that?”

“…”

This was a very unconvincing response.

But Karl Zayed didn’t express any further doubts.

It wouldn’t change what he was planning, anyway. He just needed to catch this guy properly and interrogate him.

“I have something else to ask.”

As Karl Zayed was about to advance –

Suddenly,

“Uh, wait a minute. Let’s stop here for now.”

The cyborg raised his hand and stopped him.

“What?”

“This is all for today. I’ve gotten bored, so I’ll just be off.”

It sounded absurd.

“Have you gone crazy? I just underwent a full recovery, the same as you. And do you think there’ll be more opportunities like this? Even if it’s just a coincidence, you’re the first person that made me do my best…”

“Funny. Weren’t you beaten bloody before? And what’s so difficult about it? You aren’t as great as you imagine.”

“… What?”

Karl Zayed felt his heart pound for a moment.

What was this guy saying? What did he know? Him being beaten bloody?

Impossible…

Karl Zayed clutched his sword tight.

No matter what, he couldn’t let this guy leave.

Only those words were echoing through his mind.

“You bastard, looks like you really want to die. No, more than that…”

Carl Zayed surged forward, mid-speech.

“Do you think you can leave?”

But at that very moment,

“Shouldn’t you dodge? Else…”

He was frozen in place, as if ice had covered him.

Because place his enemy was aiming at with a grin,

“You might be in danger.”

– Was his Achilles’ heel.

It was inconceivable.

“… You, you are…”

“Got what I’m saying? Let’s just leave things here today. In return, I won’t aim for the token. Now then… later.”

Karl Zayed couldn’t stop Gelop as he disappeared.

No, he couldn’t do anything.

Unanswerable questions continued to swirl in his mind.

Who the hell was that guy… really?

After a while, a single word forced itself out of Karl Zayed’s clenched teeth.

“… Squatjaw.”

---

“Whoo…”

Things had almost gotten dangerous.

I never thought that Karl Zayed might use ‘growth mortgage’.

If I hadn’t managed to scare his off, things might’ve gotten really dangerous for me.

Because my equipment had already run out of energy.

I removed the high-power energy cannon attached to my arm and threw it to the floor.

Clatter-clang–.

In order to properly deal with him, I needed to mobilize the ‘smart armored cavalry’, but I couldn’t use that yet.

Karl Zayed still had a lot of work to do.

Anyway, this was a success.

“It’s tough…”

I stopped running and momentarily basked in the sense of pride welling from my achievements.

A lot of information about me had been exposed, but it didn’t seem to matter much.

Wouldn’t it all come out one day anyway…

That was then.

‘Ah, wait. Wasn’t that guy about to mutter my name out loud?’

I scratched my head. Was I already completely exposed?

“Well…”

But soon,

“Well, maybe that’s for the better.”

I grinned again.

It might’ve even been a blessing in disguise. In the first place, I’d faced Karl Zayed in order to snatch his spotlight. In this way, his loud doubts about me could completely cover up his own brilliance in the readers’ eyes.

Actually, the time had been a little bit different from what I’d done with Leo.

Leo’s case was just to confuse the readers and reveal my goblin-like traits, but this time I also had a more important purpose.

Right, making Karl Zayed look weak.

In the original story, this Ramirez Scramble could practically have been called, ‘blocking Karl Zayed’.

He’d been the only character almost unaffected by the power balance adjustment, and had shown unrivaled strength at this time. Even the reader community had been up in arms about nerfing him.

And as it turned out, he actually had had a huge nerf scheduled in this arc.

His weakness, revealed by the Ramirez.

It wasn’t a direct decline in ability, but it’d calmed down the demands to nerf him. Because of how absolutely fatal the weakness was.

And what I was trying to do here, was to prevent this ‘scheduled development’.

I didn’t think it’d be that difficult. Because things were quite different now, compared to then.

Now, Karl Zayed was indeed considered a powerhouse, but not some OP munchkin.

The reason was simple. Because of me.

And therefore, there was no loud clamour about nerfing him. There was some talk, sure, but my actions today would douse that even further.

This meant there was no reason to unconditionally reveal Karl Zayed’s weakness. At least in public.

And why I wanted to prevent the information from being public was simple.

To use it. If only I knew his weakness, only I could use it.

If everybody knew, it couldn’t be my exclusive weapon anymore.

And another reason –

It was funny. Why nerf a guy who wasn’t even the strongest? If somebody had to be nerfed, it had to be me.

In other words, ‘revealing the weakness of the strongest man’ was an event that had to focus on me. That way, it’d attract the readers’ attention; and put the murmurs of ‘Squatjaw OP, plz nerf’ to bed.

“He got damaged, so it’s okay for now, but…”

The problem was the future. If he stopped running wild, it’d be fine, but if he went and invaded another area…

That was then.

“Hm?”

I looked around at the sudden sense of strange incongruity.

“It’s odd…”

It was too quiet.

It’d been about twenty minutes since I’d headed north after leaving Karl Zayed behind.

The city should’ve been alive with gunfire and ringing of swords.

But I couldn’t see any signs of ongoing battles, not even any noise.

Didn’t I even tell the goblins? To make some messes…

How pitiful.

‘Why’re they being so quiet right now…?’

Then, suddenly,

“… Ah!”

I could see why.

It was simple. Along with the realization came a sense of disappointment.

Because the powerhouses were taking the lead in snatching the tokens.

In the original, they’d spent time observing, but this time, they were all rushing in headfirst.

Jimus, Leo, Karl Zayed, Gelop – everybody.

In other words, the two-bit idiots were too scared to make trouble.

They didn’t even have a token, so there was no point fighting among themselves.

This was tough. Unless there were fights and grudges aplenty, the goblins would be left with nothing to stir up.

In the east side, the place where Leo and party were should be quite active by now, but clearly the rest of the area was still quiet.

The south, where Karl Zayed was, and the west, where Gronyan had gone, would be the same.

And finally…

“… I see.”

I, was the biggest problem.

I grabbed the sphere in my pocket and hurriedly started running.

---

As if rejecting the bright sunlight outside, the factory area was dark, dull roofs covering the entire sky.

A street where only a dim neon light lit up the darkness –

A man stood, quietly suppressing his anger.

Kiriko, the redhead.

‘Where the hell are you…’

He couldn’t understand this at all.

After calling him here, the inviter was gone. Telling him nothing.

What was he doing?

He really wanted to smash the place up and make a fuss. He wondered if then the man would show up.

But,

‘I’ve changed.’

He endured the furtive peeks the street vendors occasionally took at him.

Because they were innocent.

Kiriko could admit this to himself. As he’d kept adventuring with Leo, he’d become much gentler.

Yet, somehow, that didn’t bring a sense of weakness of with it.

“Whoo…”

Maybe he was relieved in his heart.

That Squatjaw was missing.

“No, that’s not it.”

A little while ago, Kiriko had asked himself, ‘Can I beat Squatjaw?’. He was honestly not sure. Perhaps the odds of his defeat were higher than the reverse.

Until that time in Clone City, he couldn’t understand what Leo had seen in that guy.

But now was different. Seeing Squatjaw himself, he could finally see why.

Squatjaw was strong. So strong so that he couldn’t help but pay attention.

Besides, it wasn’t just Squatjaw either.

Karl Zayed. That monster looked stronger than ever. To an extent where instead of considering the odds of success, he instinctively wanted to withdraw.

And a third –

Gronyan. Yan’s father.

It was the first time in his life that he’d felt relieved, that this was the father of a colleague, not an enemy.

That sense of presence had directly overwhelmed him.

It was shameful.

“… God damn it.”

Since when did this start happening? There’d been a time when he thought himself without equal.

Kiriko clenched his fists.

And he was walking aimlessly like this, riddled with such useless thoughts; all because of that squat-jawed bastard.

The anger that’d subsided was about to rise again, but –

“Howdy.”

A voice intruded upon his thought.

“Huh?”

When Kiriko looked back,

“What… what the hell, you bastard! Where the hell did you go!? Even though you were the one who called me!”

There stood Squatjaw.

“Hey, calm down.”

Squatjaw took something out of his pocket and threw it towards him.

“Take this.”

It was a round object.

A bomb?

“What is this?”

Kiriko didn’t dodge, he just caught it. Because he didn’t want to give the impression that he was scared.

“You know.”

“I don’t. What is it?”

“Take a good look.”

Kiriko looked down at the object and was immediately startled.

It was a sphere. A sphere that proved the ‘qualification’ to own the Ramirez.

“Keep it. I’ll come find you in two days.”

“Wh-… what?”

It was a senseless series of words.

And then,

“Oh, and…”

Squatjaw suddenly pulled out two revolvers from his waist.

“Wh-, what!”

And,

“This could be a disease or a cure. To be honest it’s probably both, but you won’t get sick if you get it right, yeah? So focus.”

Squatjaw muttered something else that he couldn’t understand.

“As you know, [Six Burning Bullets] can be combined. Six types of bullets, thirty-six combinations. But that’s not all.”

“… Huh?”

“You know how to use ‘rapid fire’, right? If you that and change bullets every time… No, it’s better to show you once than to explain it. So, do it like this…”

Then Squatjaw was aiming his guns at him.

“Come on, wait a minute…”

“There’re thousands of possible combinations. Be careful.”

And at that moment,

Ratatatat–!

Ratatatat–!

Kiriko witnessed a ‘scene of great despair’ flying in the shape of a bullet.

There was nothing he could do to stop it.

That ‘despair’ hit Kiriko’s body.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

His consciousness switched off for a moment, then turned on again.

‘What happened?’

His body didn’t move.

An indescribable pain was enveloping him.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Kiriko did his best to check his condition.

When he focused all his strength, his right arm twitched. But the left was still as stone.

It was a serious injury.

That Squatjaw had done this to him, without him being able to even respond.

‘I, I need a healing bullet right now…’

That was then.

“Whooooo! Here’s a token, everybody! That red-headed gunslinger has one! Wait, what!? This guy is dying!? What a chance to make a clean score! Hahaha!”

The piercing shriek out of Squatjaw’s throat rattled his eardrums.

“Wait, wait a minute…”

This was dangerous.

He could die like this.

Kiriko thought he had to stop this guy somehow.

So he somehow barely moved his head to look, and –

“Good luck for the next two days.”

Squatjaw was giving him a smirking wink.

“Hey, you fucking bastard…”

Kiriko’s face turned black.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 103

The Ramirez Scramble (4)

“What’s going on?”

Jimus couldn’t understand the current situation.

In front of him stood the messy-haired little kid.

“Huh? What?”

“…”

As if nothing whatsoever was wrong.

“How could you… be standing there?”

It’d only been a scant minute since he’d taken a direct hit from one of Jimus’ ultimate spells, ‘Hell Fire’, straight on his chest; and had been blown away dozens of meters.

This was patently absurd!

But at his completely reasonable question, the little kid merely shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what you’re confused about? Umm… it’s just a matter of strengthening your legs and keeping good balance. You aren’t doing too bad at it either.”

“…”

Jimus looked at the amount of energy left in his staff.

13%.

He’d just consumed more than half of his total energy with Hell Fire. The magic had activated flawlessly.

Moreover, it hadn’t been some glancing blow. It’d been a direct hit on the centre of the chest.

“… This is crazy.”

Of course, Jimus knew that the kid was a tough customer.

He was completely immune to lightning damage, and had an absurd resistance to heat.

Jimus had aimed at completely melting the kid down with Hell Fire, but hadn’t even managed to drill a hole in his chest. The kid hadn’t even caught fire.

Clearly the ultimate spell had fallen far short of the mark.

So yes, the kid wasn’t a good match for the fire attribute. Jimus could accept that.

But even so, he couldn’t be completely unharmed.

Jimus didn’t know how the kid was still conscious, but he was probably spending all his effort to keep standing up.

Calming himself down, Jimus slowly spoke.

“You’re trying too hard. Your legs must be shaking.”

“No? They’re fine?”

The kid immediately raised his legs, hopping on one foot and then the other.

What a childish idiot. What was this but an attempt to hype himself up?

“Either way, you bastard, you’re out of luck. I would’ve stopped if you’d just passed out. Now you’ll lose your life because you stayed standing. Look, if you’re on your last legs, just let it go and pass out. Last warning.”

“Well, I’m fine though. Aren’t you the one having a hard time right now?”

“Since your mouth’s still running, you must have some strength left. But it’s all over now.”

Jimus started casting ‘Acid Storm’.

Unlike Hell Fire, it was a magic that evoked an acidic storm.

The amount of energy required for activation was a whopping 10%.

It’d leave him with a paltry 3%.

It was an unwritten rule of magic engineers to reserve at least 5% of energy as a backup of last resort, but Jimus made a bold decision to ignore that.

This was an enemy worthwhile enough for him to do so.

“Let’s finish it here. You made me do my best. Congratulations.”

Then,

“Acid Storm!”

Whooooooshhhhh-!

A terrifying storm, a mix of acid rain and sharp winds, swept over the cheeky messy-headed kid.

…

After Jimus confirmed that he’d been engulfed by a storm, he immediately shouted at his subordinates.

“What’re you lot doing! Can’t you see my energy is spent!?”

The moment the wand’s energy ran out, a magician was no different from average people. Now was the most dangerous time.

Soon, his subordinates, who’d been surrounding the kid’s colleagues, rushed in.

“It doesn’t matter if you leave the rest alone. They don’t matter.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

“You suffered.”

“Enough. One of you, pick up the token, and the other two stick out your wands.”

Then Jimus was about to absorb the energy of his subordinates, but –

Suddenly,

“What, was that it? I tried to wait, thinking there’d be more…”

A loud voice came from somewhere.

And surprisingly, the source of the voice was the place where the storm had just passed through.

“… Wh-, what?”

It was that messy-haired bastard.

Jimus doubted his eyes. Because the kid still looked in pristine condition.

“N-, no, what is this… How could you withstand my spell…”

“What spell? That didn’t even have the slightest trace of magic power. A real witch would scoff if they heard you. You guys are just using machines to project energy extracted from manastones. Using those wand-shaped energy nuclei in your hands. Honestly, no wonder they say Northland is full of scammers.”

“… Wh-, what? H-how do you know that…?”

Jimus’ mind was blank.

‘How the hell do you know so much about us?’

No, more than that, how the hell are you still alive?

Jimus gulped.

Something was wrong here, catastrophically wrong.

“By the way, if you’re done, isn’t it my turn now?”

“…”

“My turn to exchange energy, right? If I leave you guys alone, you might bother me again.”

At that moment,

Zzzzzapppppp–.

Blue sparks erupted fiercely around the kid’s body.

And the energy level measured by Jimus’ wand was,

‘It hasn’t fallen at all… No, has it risen instead?’

It was more than when Jimus had first encountered him.

There was now only one thought in Jimus’ head.

Monster.

This fellow was a monster. Continuing the fight would be the end of him.

In an instant, a roar erupted from Jimus’s throat like a thunderbolt.

“Run damn it! Everyone run!”

---

I held out the sphere left by Jimus’ men to Yan.

“Uh, why are you giving this to us…?”

“I’ve got one already.”

“But still…”

Yan didn’t look relieved at my answer.

“Hey, this is just a participation certificate. Having more than one makes no difference.”

“Yeah, but won’t it reduce your competitors?”

“Huh, so you mean…”

With a smirk at the corner of my mouth, I glanced at him gently.

“You could be my competitor?”

Then,

“I-, I won’t lose!”

Yan clenched his fists and shouted proudly.

Whoo.

To think those words came out of Yan’s mouth, not Siana’s or Leo’s.

I didn’t show it on the outside, but I was feeling a surge of emotion.

Everyone in the protagonists’ party was thinking of me as a mountain they had to climb. Even that timid Yan. From a rival’s point of view, could there be a prouder moment than this?

Of course,

“Hmph, only with that level of skill?”

I didn’t outwardly react at all.

“Well, I’ll practice! Till I don’t lose to Mr. Squatjaw… No, till I don’t lose to anyone!”

“Alright. Then try building up your skills until you’re worthy of this token first. Lose, and it’ll be quickly snatched away.”

“…”

“Try hard. Talented kids.”

Then, I left in a hurry.

I heard Yan calling me from behind, but I ignored it.

Before long, once Leo and his party were out of sight, I stopped.

“Whoo…”

Anyway, I was glad I hadn’t been too late.

I’d almost missed the timing. A little later, and Yan would’ve awakened from the sense of crisis and introduced the ‘king’.

At that time, even if I came to the stage masquerading as Leo, the impact would inevitably diminish. The audience would’ve already focused on Yan.

I didn’t really care that Yan hadn’t awakened this time.

Anyway, he…

‘He’ll awaken soon.’

Since Jimus retreated and Leo was defeated, the hyenas circling around them would inevitably keep targeting Leo and the others. It was a little late, but this scramble was shaping up similar to the original.

In order to protect the token, Yan would inevitably have to introduce the ‘king’.

I summarized the situation so far.

Despite the intervention of variables, the plot development was similar to the original.

Jimus’ defeat, and Leo’s group acquiring the qualifications.

One ‘penalty veto’ was a cheap enough price to create this situation.

If I’d attempted to subdue Jimus or even taken the initiative to attack, the number wouldn’t have ended at one.

Anyway, the important point was that the operation – ‘rebrand as a goblin’ was on pause.

The readers should still be quite confused. From Jimus’s point of view, it would’ve been tough to figure out what’d really happened.

Perhaps there was a debate going on in the community right now.

Did Leo really not take any damage, or did one of the goblins take the stage?

A very keen reader might be able to recall my existence in this situation. But most readers probably wouldn’t connect it to me at all.

But, of course, that didn’t matter. It’d all be revealed soon anyway.

And, rather than knowing everything as it went on, wouldn’t it be more impactful to have several surprises pile up and then explode all at once?

“By the way…”

I looked at the transceiver in my possession.

There hadn’t been any contact – neither from Cocoa, nor from Haka.

“Well…”

The reason was probably one of the three.

They’d found their targets, but nothing special had happened.

Or that they were still searching.

Or… that there was an urgent situation that’d made contact impossible.

Of course, the notion that something had happened so soon after they’d been dispatched was a bit paranoid. They reached their targets, and were immediately subjugated? Please.

But nevertheless, I couldn’t take this thought lightly.

The reason was simple. Because the current situation wasn’t normal.

To be more precise, it was too fast. The plot was unfolding too quickly.

It didn’t feel like the content had changed significantly, but somehow… the sense of speed had changed. As if the flow of the story was accelerating.

There was some reason why I was feeling this way. Except for the battles of the main characters, all of the other guys’ events were omitted.

Originally, the confrontation between Leo and Jimus was supposed to take place only after quite some time had passed.

After Capone’s proposal of a winner-takes-all scramble (though, of course, it wasn’t exactly the same as now), many small fish had engaged in crude battles to whittle the total headcount down, and only then the big fish had started to fight.

This might’ve been normal, even. Since there were more big fish in attendance compared to the original, the author might’ve decided to trim the fat from the middle portion.

But nevertheless, I had my doubts.

I’d taken over Capone’s role and blocked Cormier from leaving, so why the hurry?

Moreover, the ‘Ramirez Scramble’ arc had already been trimmed a lot. From my memory, the original arc had consisted of about ten chapters in total, but here we were already on the fourth.

Of course, I’d gobbled up a lot of the middle, but…

This battle in the north had taken three chapters in the original story, but things were different here. Two… no, it might even end in one.

I couldn’t figure it out. The reason why the author wanted to reduce the number of events and increase the sense of speed.

If I had to guess one reason… to limit the rewards I’d get, maybe?

But soon I shook my head.

‘No, he wouldn’t go that far.’

That was then.

Tiling–.

– The main character of the chapter has been changed.

– The main character of the current chapter is ‘Kal Zayed’.

The moment I saw it,

“Hngh…”

I reflexively groaned.

Did this make any sense?

This was insanely fast.

In the original work, Karl Zayed had been given the leading point of view long after the battle between Leo and Jimus had ended.

Again, the development had accelerated.

Just as my thoughts were beginning to turn in circles,

“Ah, wait…”

All of a sudden, I found myself running towards the south.

There was no time to hesitate.

Karl Zayed, that guy, was as fast as this new speed of plot development.

“At least give me some time to rest, damn it!”

---

“Tch.”

Karl Zayed clicked his tongue as he watched the piece of scrap metal that had half its body blown away.

What did it call itself again? Cyborg Gelop?

What the hell did that even mean?

“Karl Zayed… str… beep… strong.”

“It’s amazing. You’re still talking? Do I have to completely disassemble you to get rid of you?”

Already, the left half of the guy was almost gone. From the head to the torso had been blown away, and only the thigh bones still remained on that side.

It was strange that he could still move and talk.

“Combat power… measurement… was wrong. Incredible for somebody your level to be in Westland… beep… Impossible…”

“You’re one funny piece of junk. So it’s possible in Northland?”

“Beep… Average ability level… in Northland… beep… much higher…”

“Too bad, but there’s no one in the world who can beat me; here, or there.”

“Discussion… beep… off-topic…”

“You stupid scrap metal. It’s you who didn’t understand me. Anyway, let’s finish things off.”

Karl Zayed squeezed the piece of scrap metal that’d been ‘the man’s left arm’ until a while ago.

Creak–.

Under the immense pressure of his fingers, the piece metal quickly formed a sharp edge.

“Your core is divided into two parts, the head and the chest, right? I wonder if a cyborg really can survive even if its core is destroyed..”

Now the cyborg seemed to be talking in a hurry.

“Insufficient combat preparation… beep… I’ll be back. First, initiate emergency evac… beep…”

“Do you think you can run away?”

And the moment Karl Zayed was about to rush in,

Fwoosh–.

Suddenly, white smoke bloomed like an explosion around him.

It was a smoke bomb.

And immediately,

Pyong–.

He heard the sound of something firing.

“Heeh…”

The guy was a quick one.

He ran away faster than Karl Zayed could attack. Was it because he was desperate?

“… Should I let him go?”

In fact, if he really wanted to pursue, Karl Zayed still could. Because the other party was no longer in perfect condition.

But,

“Consider yourself lucky.”

He didn’t feel the need to do that. That cyborg wasn’t that big a problem for him.

Of course, it wasn’t completely without risk. In fact, the firepower that cyborg had unleashed wasn’t normal; and there’d been occasional spots of danger during the fight.

Besides, didn’t he keep saying that he wasn’t ‘ready’, over and over again?

Karl Zayed could make a guess as to what that meant.

Fighting with weapons of stronger firepower, better equipment, and spare parts on standby.

If that cyborg had been able to continue fighting by replacing his damaged parts with new ones in real time, things would’ve been harder.

But,

“Hmph, so what?”

There were moats in the world so wide that they simply couldn’t be bridged.

It was time for Karl Zayed to turn around and take the sphere, but –

“Huh?”

Something was strange.

A silhouette could be seen, albeit faintly, through the hazy smoke.

Which, to be honest –

“What… didn’t you say you were going to escape?”

– Was very familiar.

It was the cyborg.

The guy came right back. But,

“I? Did I? Nope?”

“…?”

Something had changed.

Karl Zayed stared straight ahead with his eyes wide open.

Soon after, the smoke cleared, revealing ‘him’.

“What is your identity…?”

A monster in human form with blank eyes bereft of any emotion. A machine man exuding the smell of iron from beneath his skin. A cold body with a round energy sphere embedded in the center of his chest as the only source of heat.

Cyborg Gelop, looked at him and grinned.

In the same condition as the first time, with no sign of damage.

And it was a very insidious and bizarre grin that he’d never seen from this guy before.

It was very similar to someone in his memory.

“What the hell are you…”

However, Karl Zayed couldn’t continue to question the enemy in front of him.

Because the cyborg’s left arm began to emit a blue light.

Soon,

“Are you alright? The battle begins now.”

The mouth of a high-powered energy cannon bloomed, engulfing Karl Zayed’s field of vision.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 102

The Ramirez Scramble (3)

The Disruptor God was silent for a while.

Was there a problem?

To be honest, I was feeling quite awkward now. What about this request was so unexpected?

Or maybe this request was hard to fulfil?

The sudden silence was making me a little nervous.

How long did I wait like that?

Something apparently suddenly occurred to my interlocutor.

– You’re asking me to let you use masquerade?

The Disruptor God opened his mouth.

‘Uh… yeah. Can’t you?’

– Heh. You sure you don’t want to become a goblin instead?

What? Was this a roundabout way of refusal?

‘That’s… is that even possible?’

– Who knows.

His phrasing was odd. Could he do it or not?

‘Well, a goblin is fine too. Of course, it has to be a goblin who knows how to use masquerade.’

– Heh, you want a human to turn into a goblin? Absurd.

‘…’

Rather, this conversation itself was absurd. It was getting on my nerves.

Maybe because he didn’t like the fact that I, a human, was coveting the powers of a goblin?

How completely unexpected. Was the Disruptor God a goblin supremacist?

No way.

‘Are you unhappy with my request for a goblin’s power?’

But,

– Would you like it? If you were in my position?

A really negative reaction popped up.

‘Why?’

– I just don’t like it. You’re coveting something you shouldn’t have. Human greed is still so ugly…

Huh, that was really the issue?

I was stunned.

Even though I knew that I shouldn’t believe anything the God of Sabotage said, I couldn’t help but feel a tad dizzy.

‘You were fine with letting me mimic the goblins’ unique abilities, why is masquerade such a sticking point?’

– Eh.

‘What?’

– It’s just how I feel.

‘…’

It wasn’t funny.

I was regretting it now. If I’d known in advance something this would happen, I would’ve tried something else.

In fact, I’d thought a lot about ‘what to ask for’.

Should I ask for another copy of the Ramirez?

Or should I reverse the Ramirez’s function?

Should I ask for absolute command over the goblins?

Or to let me mimic one more unique ability?

But in the end, it came down to masquerade.

Anything else would only make this arc easier, but masquerade would let me prepare for my future.

It was simple. There were still countless chapters to go through after this ‘Ramirez Scramble’, and I couldn’t cross those chapters without solving the ‘questions’ of the readers.

In other words, to make the readers define me as a goblin.

To put an end to the many doubts about me.

It was an urgent matter for me.

The ‘essence’ of the goblin race didn’t lie in their brilliance in deciphering, or how pettily malicious they were, or their five tendencies.

Masquerade. The ability to transform. That was the key.

The scenes where the goblins had the biggest impact in the original were all about them undoing their masquerade at a pivotal moment.

So, I also wanted the art of masquerade in order to be recognized as a goblin.

But that wasn’t going to happen, apparently.

I shook my head, trying to calm down.

Then what else was left?

‘… Fine. If you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll ask for something else.’

That was then.

– I hate it.

…

‘What now? Are you kidding?’

– Hey, you bastard.

Whoops.

‘Uhm, no, sorry. So you’re not going to give me anything? Even though you obviously…’

– What are you talking about? You want to use masquerade, right?

‘… Yes?’

–  Let’s go with that, then.

‘…’

Was this guy the problem, or the author who’d made the setting?

Anyway,

‘… Thank you.’

It was a success. I was feeling a bit tired though.

– But there’s a deadline. Understand?

‘Of course.’

– The deadline is while the damned rules you set up are in effect.

The rules were nothing else. That the victor of this scramble will own the Ramirez.

Meaning, until the owner of the treasure was decided.

– And there’s a limit to where it can be used. It should be used for acts that break the rules and sabotage everyone’s wishes. Otherwise…

‘Got it.’

– Good.

At that moment,

– Here you go.

Light arose all around me.

Puff–.

I felt a strange power fluttering in my chest.

It was similar to using a unique ability.

It didn’t seem to require any practice. It felt like it could be used right away.

–  I’m leaving.

‘Oh, yeah. Thank you.’

After that, the god’s voice could no longer be heard.

Of course, I didn’t know if he really was gone. Maybe he was still watching from somewhere.

Hmmm.

Anyway,

‘Should I start?’

This was the beginning.

---

When I went out of the warehouse, it was noisy, as expected.

The goblins looked excited about the equipment I’d given them.

“Hey, this is pretty good!”

“Looks exactly the same? I can’t tell the difference!”

“It’s the clone technique that only monsters can use!”

What I’d given the pranksters and liars was a kind of ‘image duplication device’, which could scan an object and project an identical image into the air.

Of course, there were limitations. The image didn’t last long because the device was just a toy, and the projection was limited to a certain radius; but nonetheless, it gave off the feeling of ‘cloning’ like the goblins said.

The next thing that I’d given to the bluffers and whimsical ones was,

“B-, big!”

“Can it be bigger?”

“No, this might already be the best?”

“You son of a bitch! Don’t point that here!”

“D-, don’t look!”

It was similar to the drone attached to the Ramirez, a kind of ‘image magnifying device’. Of course, this was also at the level of a toy, so the scale couldn’t be adjusted and the output looked blurry.

Still, this… was something bluffers couldn’t help but love, huh? Who knew what the whimsical ones were thinking, though.

“But why divide them according to temperament? I like those ones too.”

“There’s a good way to exchange. Want to make a bet? I’ll bet mine, you, bet yours.”

“Heh, okay. Don’t cry after you lose.”

In any case, most of the initial complaints had subsided.

Except for a single bunch,

“Hey! You squat-jawed bastard!”

“Change ours to something good too!”

“Damn it! Give that one to me!”

“I’ll mess you up!”

Only the disruptors were still clamouring.

Well, it was only natural. What I’d given them was just a light stick, that lit up when a button was pressed.

The reason was nothing complex. I knew what’d happen if I gave the something good. And I just plain didn’t like the idea of giving something good to the saboteurs, my own kind –

At that moment,

‘Huh? Wait, my own kind…?’

It was a sudden surprise.

Apparently, I’d started identifying myself with the saboteur goblins at some point. Was it right after I met the Disruptor God?

Looked like I had to keep my guard up a little. The thought of my mindset getting affected by the God of Sabotage was no joke.

Then,

“Come on, folks, that’s it! Everyone gather together.”

I summoned the goblins.

About seventy of them gathered in front of me.

“We’ll split into four groups. Of course, we won’t group people with the same tendency together; instead, it’ll be an even mix. But leaving out the disruptors.”

Then,

“Wait, you bastard!”

“Why are we getting left alone?”

“Do you really want to die?”

Muffled voices saying such words could be heard.

Of course, I let them flow through one ear and out the other.

“I’m not forcing you guys to do anything. Even if I force you, you won’t listen, right? Anyway, each of the four groups will scatter to one direction – east, west, south and north.”

And then,

“What’re we going to do, then?”

The question came right away.

I shrugged my shoulders once, then answered briefly.

“I’ve got no idea. But as long as you go there, you should see a lot of interesting things happening. Then you can just do as you like.”

“… That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s all.”

It was true. That really was all.

I had no idea what to do with the goblins.

All I wanted was for the other characters to be on the alert, saying, ‘Those damned goblins have come back!’.

There was no complex reason. The consciousness of the characters was directly connected to the consciousness of the readers. In other words, the more conscious the other characters became of the goblins, the stronger would the readers’ awareness of their existence be.

At that time, what if they saw my masquerade? There’d be a natural segue into my connection with the goblins.

And another reason –

In my opinion, their existence alone could serve as the best seasoning to bring out the taste of this scramble.

With their particular set of skills in subtly scaring, teasing, tricking, luring and goading… there wouldn’t be any shortage of fights breaking out among the adventurers.

The only issue was that if I just left them to their own devices without any structure, they’d only create more and more chaos.

I had to at least give them a skeleton of a plan.

Then, with excited faces,

“How many guys have gone east?”

“I saw a guy who’d been acting cheeky with me go south.”

“I wonder, if I float my clone over the edge of a cliff, can I lure people into jumping after it?”

“Those going to the west, c’mere! I’m leaving right away!”

They were going to make a hot mess. Just as planned.

Honestly, even the gear I’d distributed was not for some grand plan, it was so that they’d get interested in the coming action.

“The deadline is two days. After that, the humans won’t fight anymore. So let’s have some fun before that.”

Before long, most of the goblins who’d formed groups in an instant, left.

Then,

“Hey, Squatjaw. Can we talk for a bit?”

Eight goblins, faces filled with dissatisfaction, approached me.

They were the ones blessed by the God of Sabotage.

“Don’t you have anything to say to us, you son of a bitch?”

One of them growled.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Then,

“Why?”

Their eyes widened into glares the same time.

“Hey, hey. This bastard…”

“What did we do to deserve this treatment!”

“Saboteurs are goblins too!”

Hilarious.

“Huh? Just do what you want to do. Why did you come to me for directions? You guys don’t really want to split neatly into groups and follow orders, do you?”

“This bastard!”

“Don’t try to spin nonsense!”

At the radical reaction, I laughed out loud.

In fact, this was one of the biggest drawbacks of the goblins with disruptive temperament.

Not being able to take the lead in doing something.

They were the ones who always interfered with what someone else was doing, so there was no way they could do any independent planning.

I looked them over one by one with a smile.

In fact, there were jobs that only these guys could do. But if I just told them so, they’d never listen, so I had to needle them a bit first.

“Actually… there’re some other interesting things. Would you like to know?”

At that moment,

“Bastard! Say that sooner!”

“What is it?”

“Talk quickly!”

They pricked up their ears and urged me to continue.

“There’s a guy using two pistols among the ones who followed me here. You know? The redhead. He’s going to get into some tough fights soon. Follow him and mess with him bit by bit. Then some pretty funny stuff will happen. Oh, of course I’m not forcing you to. Do it if you’re bored with nothing else to do.”

Then,

“Redhead?”

“I know him! A cheeky bastard!”

“I know too! That stinky bastard!”

“Let’s fuck him up!”

The saboteurs started running away.

They were moving surprisingly quickly.

“I was thinking of giving you guys something extra.”

Did all the cunning goblins who received the blessing of the God of Sabotage, become that stupid?

Again, I confirmed to myself that caution was needed.

After sending all those goblins out, I called the two who’d remained in the hall.

“Chinuavi, Cocoa!”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you might’ve forgotten. Squatjaw, do you remember my name?”

“Cocoa?”

“Wrong. Cocoavi. Cocoa-vi.”

“Can you find Tanya?”

“Huh?”

“Can you find Tanya?”

“What if… what if I could?”

“If you can, then go follow her. Take Chinuavi along. But don’t catch up with her. Understand? And if you feel like she’s trying something, tell me. Take this.”

I handed over an old-fashioned transceiver I’d found rolling around in Jean’s warehouse.

The Northland background setting was very convenient at times. It made even remote communication possible.

“But why that woman?”

“Follow her and you’ll come to know.”

I sent the two of them away with a grin.

Now, all the preparatory work had been completed. I’d also sent Haka to Gronyan, so I’d get informed right away if anything unusual happened.

All that was left was for me to move directly.

I opened the Inventory tab in the hologram window.

Then I clicked [Check the main character of the chapter].

Then,

– The main character of the chapter is now ‘Jimus’.

A slightly mystifying answer arrived.

‘Wait, already?’

It wasn’t the name I’d expected. Leo should still be the main point of view according to the original.

If it’d passed on to Jimus, it meant that the scramble might’ve already begun.

I’d thought I still had some time left.

I got ready in a hurry.

“It shouldn’t be too late…”

Then I started running, wrapping the goblin silver screen over myself.

---

‘These guys… are strong.’

Yan looked at the opponents in front of him with wary eyes.

They held wands.

At first he’d thought they weren’t any trouble.

Because he didn’t feel any power or any sense of threat from them, except for that guy called Jimus fighting against Leo.

Besides, hadn’t their weakness already been exposed to the whole world?

So, he was going to treat them a bit lightly, but…

This was embarrassing.

“Flame Explosion!”

“Thunder Storm!”

“Ice Blast!”

Pop!

Zap!

Puff-!

“Damn it!”

A blade of ice brushed past his ear, a mass of lightning tried to turn him to charcoal, and a large, deep pit of fire was carved into the earth where he’d just been standing.

The ‘magic’ they used was surprisingly threatening.

And also,

“Y-, Yan!”

“Dodge!”

He was exhausted trying to fight while protecting Siana.

Yan forced a ghost to move in front of Siana.

Pop!

Fortunately, he was able to protect Siana, but the ghost took all the damage.

In the end, he dispersed, leaving only a faint smile behind.

“D-, damn it….”

Things were not going well.

To think he’d have to fight these guys while Mister Kiriko wasn’t there…

Yan deeply regretted neglecting his own training recently. Leo and Mister Kiriko had taken the lead to defeat most of the enemies their adventurer team had faced so far, so his combat skills had gotten comparatively rusty.

‘In this battlefield, where even Father joined…’

Yan bit his lip.

He had to get through this somehow. So he could give Leo some strength…

At that moment,

“Ugh!”

A scream came from behind.

Looking back,

“Wh-, what?”

Something was closing in from a distance with great speed.

Yan opened his eyes wide and confirmed its identity.

Messy hair, and blue electric sparks covering his form –

“Oh my god.”

It was Leo.

Yan hurriedly moved to catch him.

“Leo…?”

His body was incredibly hot.

Also, as if he was in shock, Leo’s eyes had rolled back up to his head.

Judging from his charred chest, he’d been hit with fire attribute magic. A spell with tremendous destructive power.

‘He l-, lost? Leo?’

Nonsense.

Yan couldn’t believe that Leo was defeated so helplessly.

Just then,

“Whew… dealing with this kid’s pretty tiring.”

From afar, ‘that man’ was slowly approaching, flying in the air.

Magic Weapon Jimus.

Yan felt his hair could turn white ay moment, in this unbelievable crisis.

‘Uh, what should I do…’

That was then.

– Oho, this is a bit of a crisis, huh?

A voice suddenly rang in his ear.

“Wh-, what?”

– Don’t look back, they’ll notice. I’m using a whisper potion.

It was a strange, whispery voice; but it was apparently being transmitted directly into his head.

And what was even more strange was that the voice sounded familiar.

“No, what….”

– Shh! Quiet. It’ll be fine soon, just wait.

Yan couldn’t quite make head or tail of the situation.

But he finally remembered who the owner of this voice was.

Squatjaw. It was his voice.

But the surprise didn’t stop there.

The moment Yan was about to ask where he was,

– Oh, and…

Yan was frightened.

“Keep quiet.”

“U-, uhm…”

The air was peeled away by his side.

And there, another Leo stood, looking at him with a grin.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 101

The Ramirez Scramble (2)

“It’s… finally completed.”

Cormier observed the dark blue ‘robot’ standing in front of him and let out a soft sigh.

He’d been working on this request from Squatjaw over the past ten days.

Finally, the commissioned prototype of the ‘Multifunctional Armoured Cavalry’ was finished.

Of course, it was far from ‘perfect’.

Countless defects had cropped up during production, and since this was Cormier’s first time handling the new metal that’d been used to make the bones and body, he had no idea what side effects might appear.

Moreover, to build the energy reactor, which acted as the core of the machine, Cormier had searched high and low for a material that wouldn’t cause rejection while interfacing with the new metal… but all in vain. Even during the last test, whenever the reactor had been fed energy, some of the metals that made up the body had transformed.

To be honest, it wouldn’t be strange if it underwent rapid unscheduled disassembly anytime during operation.

In the first place, he’d never made something so unique and complex in such a short period of time.

But even so –

‘Eh, it’s not like I’ll be the one riding it.’

Cormier smiled with pride.

Even just being able to meet the absurd demands Squatjaw had issued made him feel a surge of pride.

Cormier even felt that his skills had undergone an amount of growth over the past ten days that could compete with what he’d achieved over the past few years. That was how much this experience had been worth.

If he had to describe the robot in front of him in one word, it was a ‘monster’.

There were only two infused functions: the passive trait of ‘solidity’, and the active ability of ‘amplification’; but this was a dangerous artefact that nothing he’d built in the past could hold a candle to. It could raise the combat power of its passenger by at least a factor of ten, although that was just an estimate.

To be honest, Cormier was wondering even now, how something like this could’ve been built.

‘How the hell did he come up with this…?’

Cormier was the one who actually built it, but the idea had been his.

Yeah, that was the issue here. That guy was crazy.

Or… a genius.

Then,

“Crazy, huh…”

A smirk spread over Cormier’s face at the word.

There’d been a time when he’d had to listen to that same word, day in and day out.

Suddenly, a new thought popped into his head.

Along with that guy… Cormier wondered if he could make something even bigger in the future. He thought… it might be pretty fun.

But soon,

‘Khm, khm, I almost bit the bait.’

Cormier shook his head quickly.

It was a crap idea, a bullshit idea.

His work over the past ten days completely deviated from the industry cutting-edge ‘universal design’ pattern.

The normal way was to refine the original materials to extract their fundamental characteristics, assemble the skeletal framework, then add in the flesh and accumulate the various characteristics into useable functions. Conversely, Squatjaw’s requirement revolved around creating one single ‘core ability’ at all costs. He’d even had the audacity to throw a bunch of new metals and nonsensical drawings at Cormier that the designer had never seen before.

Every day had been a constant cycle of irritation, doubt, anger, and amazement.

Working more with the man would definitely bring shame to his own moniker. It even reminded Cormier of his hellish past with a certain senile old coot.

“… Haah.”

To be honest, aside from all that, he still couldn’t trust the guy. Cormier didn’t know how Squatjaw knew about him or his relationship with the ‘enemy’, or what Squatjaw was trying to do here in this city…

Every time he thought about the man, a throbbing headache was his only reward. It was impossible to guess the true identity hiding behind that squat jaw and jovial smile.

So, Cormier always tried to keep in mind that Squatjaw was only one of his clients, and that his current work was simply a process in order to get the Ramirez.

“The Ramirez…”

In fact, it was as if it’d already fallen to his hands.

Squatjaw had said he had to take it away for a few days, but he’d bring it right back afterwards.

Cormier didn’t really think the man was lying. While he’d been working, that guy had left the Ramirez to him and didn’t even look at it.

And even if it were a lie, it didn’t matter. He had insurance in place.

In fact, the reason Cormier didn’t leave this place right away was not just because of the Ramirez. Rather, he was more curious about what’d happen once the ‘monster’ in front of him was boarded.

The sight felt quite exhilarating even just to imagine.

“When are you going to start?”

That was then.

Fwoooosh-!

A great sound could be heard coming from outside.

When Cormier hurriedly left the warehouse, he saw a single beam of red laser shooting towards the sky.

It was a signal. Marking the beginning of the upcoming battle.

The Ramirez Scramble had begun.

“Alright.”

He also needed to slowly start preparing himself.

Returning to the warehouse in a hurry, Cormier started checking the ‘monster’ for the last time.

---

It was when I took a step towards Kiriko.

Tiling–.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 29 – The Ramirez Scramble’s Treasure (2)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

Two things suddenly appeared in front of me.

One was a message announcing the start of a new chapter, and the other was…

“Don’t move.”

I looked at the guy who’d appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of me.

As soon as the Ramirez’s location was revealed, the man with an expressionless face showed up.

He was earlier than expected.

Magic Weapon Jimus.

He didn’t feel like Gronyan.

His power level wasn’t enough to shock me to silence.

But that didn’t mean I could take him lightly.

Basically, this guy wasn’t a fighter, and the source of his power wasn’t his body.

Besides, I knew very well how dangerous he was. He wasn’t called ‘weapon’ for nothing.

Behind him, three subordinates with ‘canes’ floated leisurely in the air.

‘They’re fast.’

They weren’t the only one who’d suddenly appeared.

Whooooosh–.

Someone was flying in at close to the speed of sound.

Like Magic Weapon Jimus, he too was a familiar figure.

Cyborg Gelop.

As if waiting only for this moment, the two powerhouses who’d become the mainstays of the scramble appeared at the same time.

I scratched my head.

‘Hmm.’

In fact, I’d hoped these two would appear a little later. I wondered if it would be possible to keep Kiriko down now.

In the original story, the fight between Kiriko and Capone didn’t actually happen at the start of the scramble. Quite a bit of time has passed by then, and the fight had entered the second phase, with all the riffraff already filtered out.

This was a typical growth cliché of shounen manga, because before he met the final obstacle called Capone, Kiriko needed to climb through several large and small hurdles. The probability of him awakening immediately was close enough to zero to be called a rounding error.

So, I was going to let things cook a bit before introducing myself…

‘Damn, this sucks.’

With these guys appearing on the scene right away, my scheme wouldn’t work.

I stopped walking towards Kiriko, and stepped back a bit.

Then I asked Jimus, who was blocking my way.

“Who are you?”

Of course, I didn’t ask because I didn’t know.

But character introduction was a necessary process, and I also had to think of the readers.

“I am Jimus. From Northland. Looks like you’re the one in the rumours, who got the mirror. Like I heard, you’ve got a weird jaw.”

What an outrageous guy.

“So your first impression depends only on looks? What a dull fellow. And, is that all?”

“What?”

“Is that all you have to say about yourself?”

What I wanted was more detailed information about the guy. Like his nickname, ‘Magic Weapon’; why he came here from Northland, or how strong he was.

The readers needed stuff like that to become interested, right?

Then Jimus grinned,

“You want me to announce my own information in public? Funny. Are you going to tell me everything about you too? Is there even a brain in that skull of yours?”

Thankfully, he asked the question I’d been waiting for.

“Whoa, I guess I did forget to introduce myself.”

I coughed, cleared my throat, and shouted out loud.

“Hello! My name is Hiro. I’m the leader of the adventurer team that dazzled the world this year by securing the top spot in the Adventurer Qualification Test, and a general of the Skull Empire of Eastland… and I’m also the Ruler of Gibrante, called the King of Smugglers by some. Only that Ramirez isn’t mine. Everything else in this city is mine.”

I finished with a grin.

“What is that guy…?”

“K-, King of Smugglers?”

“Isn’t that… Capone’s nickname?”

“Come to think of it, that fedora hat… that’s Capone’s symbol!”

“Maybe that guy! Did he kill Capone and devour his organization!?”

Very appropriate reactions erupted from all sides.

Sounds of surprise, astonishment and disbelief.

In addition, basic descriptions and the reasons behind Capone’s notoriety, started pouring in.

That he was the boss of the mafia in charge of smuggling contraband from Northland, that he had thousands of subordinates, and that he even had connections inside the government.

Of course, it was actually a custom-made reaction.

There was no way I could’ve naturally gotten a response like that. Not with just a single bluff.

In fact, I’d already told Haka, whom I’d met in the shadows a while ago.

To ask his subordinates to give me an on-the-spot reaction like this at the right moment.

I’d thought they’d only say a few words, but their acting was better than expected.

And so –

“Oho… so you had a reputation after all? The rumour that some random fool got the mirror was a lie, I see.”

“…”

“But don’t even think that such a bluff will work on me. I am one of the five executives of the Magic Engineering Academia that controls half of Northland, Magic Weapon Jimus!”

The results were quite satisfactory.

The five executives of the Magic Engineering Academia.

Of course, the specifics of what this background meant would be known at a later date, but the readers would remember this.

Somehow, I thought this guy might be a useful character.

“If you understand, I’ll take the Ramirez.”

“What are you talking about? You think this is Northland? Who’ll listen to you If you just say that? Magic Engineering Academia? What even is that?”

“… Ignorance, too, is a sin. Just accept this as the fruits of your karma.”

“What an outrageous bastard. And I said it pretty clearly just now. Only the one who defeats everyone here can take that mirror away.”

“I’ll take it first, and then kill them all. The result’s the same in the end, no?”

“Eeh…”

He was a lively fellow with a lot of energy.

“Um… well, indeed. Then try it.”

I quietly avoided him.

Along with a waving gesture that indicated I wasn’t going to disturb him.

“Hah… so you won’t get in my way?”

Jimus gave me a final glance, then looked around.

Everyone was paying attention to him.

He also seemed to notice that he’d been chosen as the pioneer for this demonstration.

Soon,

“Bring it to me.”

“Got it.”

Hearing Jimus’ command, one of his men flew into the air.

Eventually, just as his subordinate’s hand was about to touch the drone holding the Ramirez –

At that moment,

Poof–.

A pure white light came out of the drone like an explosion.

“Ugh!”

The guy hurriedly backed away, but it didn’t look like he had been hit. He just looked himself over in bewilderment.

That was then.

“Look over there!”

“In the air!”

The people pointed to the opposite side from where Jimus’ man had jumped from.

There, like a hologram, another afterimage from the light emitted by the drone was flickering. And surprisingly, there was a clear image could be identified.

It was the ‘cane’ that Jimus’ subordinate, who’d jumped up just a moment ago, was holding.

Most people didn’t seem to notice immediately what it meant. They were just murmuring between themselves, saying things like like ‘What is that?’ and ‘A wand?’

However, the members of Jimus’ team had apparently understood very clearly what that scene meant. The faces, which were originally bleak, had turned remarkably pale.

“Now do you understand?”

“… A petty trick.”

Instead of answering, I laughed and shouted.

“Hello again, everyone, can you see it? That wand is the weak point of the guy who just jumped at it. Remember, everyone! Maybe you’ll have a fight with that guy later? Just take that wand away or break it. Then that guy is done for.”

Then I turned my gaze back to Jimus.

“Didn’t I say? Defeat everyone here first, and then you can take it. There’s a high possibility of suffering a loss otherwise, don’t you think? Or… have they already seen it? You’re all from that Magic Engineering Academia, aren’t you? Maybe those staffs are universal weak points for your type?”

“…”

In fact, I’d had Cormier whip up the image projection device fairly early in the game. To project the reflection of Ramirez’s surface into the air.

Capone had also utilized it in the original.

Of course, not for preventing access to it, but rather he’d made a projection beam to find out other people’s weaknesses.

By now, a deeper sense of tension had begun to pervade the audience.

It was natural that they weren’t being hasty anymore. Some might’ve had an impulse of taking a quick peek at the treasure before, but now they knew that the risk was bigger than they’d thought.

Perhaps it was only now that most of the audience here were recognizing the Ramirez for the first time, as something to be won in battle, instead of stolen.

In any case, it elicited silence and tension from everyone.

Now it was time for the second step.

I caught everyone’s attention again with a cough.

“Come on, come on, don’t be too nervous. Are you all on tenterhooks, thinking that everybody here is an enemy you need to eliminate? You don’t have to.”

Then, everyone looked at me with questioning eyes.

“I thought, what if everyone keeps looking at each other, and the fight doesn’t start? So I thought up some rules, nothing fancy. It’d be better than all of you tiring yourselves out, watching everybody else.”

Then I pulled out three small spheres from my arms.

They weren’t anything special. They were just small projectiles with an independent power source.

“See these? I’ll now throw them into different areas. Each one is a token. It symbolizes the right to claim ownership of the treasure. The deadline is two days later at noon. As long as you’re holding one of these at that time, you can fight for the Ramirez.”

My intentions were simple. Divide the place into areas and drive the people here.

Also, to create a situation where the strong could pair up to fight each other.

Because I thought the readers would appreciate it. A tournament was inherently cleaner and more fun than a confusing grand melee.

Of course, I had still another hidden reason.

That was then.

“How can I believe those rules?”

Jimus asked a question.

“Aren’t you in control of the Ramirez right now anyway? What if you escape while we’re away?”

“That sounds boring. Didn’t you hear my introduction? I’m the ruler of this place, where am I going to escape to? And don’t worry, the Ramirez will stay right there, up in the air.”

“…”

“I set the rules because I wanted to finish this fast. Let’s quickly get rid of the riffraff, and only those who are true contenders will remain to fight it out.”

After that, no further questions came my way.

Then,

“Here they go –!”

I threw the spheres to the east, west and south respectively.

But no one moved right away.

They were still watching the situation.

“I spelled it out very clearly. The deadline is at noon, two days later. Come to the factory area with your token. Two days later, one of the four people there will get to have the Ramirez.”

Then someone asked –

“Four people?”

“Ah, I already have one. Well, if you want to entertain me, you can aim for mine.”

I took a sphere out of my pocket and waved it for all to see.

And then –

“Oi, Kiriko! Come meet me. I’ve got something to tell you. Come alone, you hear? Don’t even think about bringing your stupid zap-happy friend.”

Shouting my final words, I turned back and started walking.

Of course, the nerves on my back were thrumming with tension.

What would happen now?

Then,

Rustle–.

Jimus and his men began to move toward the east.

Next, Karl Zayed stepped south.

‘Great!’

After that, many adventurer teams began to slowly leave. Of course, not everyone moved to a specific direction. Now that I’d confirmed that they had a little time to spare, they were probably thinking that there was no need to rush.

Soon after, Cyborg Gelop, who’d been silently watching the situation, also left.

“Leo, let’s go snatch one at random.”

“Kiriko, you too, beat up Squatjaw and bring one!”

“Don’t be in a rush, Mister Kirikidiot. We’ll be fine getting a token on our own. And no matter what Squatjaw says, let the words go into one ear and out the other. Got it?”

“M-, Mister Kiriko… Do you want to go together…?”

The Leo Adventurers also began to move.

Except Kiriko, who alone followed me.

All done.

So far it’d been a success.

Still, one variable remained.

Gronyan.

Among the powerhouses, only he still hadn’t moved.

In fact, the author’s actions were the biggest variable.

According to the original story, Leo and Jimus would pair up to fight, and same for Karl Zayed and Gelop. Cormier wouldn’t show himself right now, and Gronyan would go to the last side. Then he’d be able to comfortably seize a token by himself.

In fact, it was because of him that I divided the tokens into four. Three might’ve worked too, but I’d been afraid that the guy would chase after me first if that happened.

To be honest, I didn’t want to deal with that guy and Kiriko at the same time.

‘Go, just go somewhere else.’

Of course, I didn’t outwardly show any sign of my inner turmoil.

I pretended to be the picture of calm.

Go… Go!

And then,

“… Phew.”

That guy also started moving.

East. It was a direction no powerhouses had gone to.

The split was just right.

So far it’d all gone as per plan.

“The problem is from now on…”

---

The factory zone.

In front of Jean’s warehouse.

“Squatjaw! You’re late!”

“I’ve been waiting for a long time!”

“What’re you planning!”

The goblins had already arrived first and were waiting for me.

The ones who’d followed me all the way here were seventy-three in number.

It was a huge number.

More than being grateful, I was even surprised.

I immediately started to separate them into teams.

“Now, now, listen to me. Blessed of the God of Mischief, or the God of Lies, come this way.”

I pointed to my left.

Then,

“Bluffs and whimsy, stand there at the middle. And those blessed by the God of Sabotage, stand to my right.”

They quickly sorted themselves into tidy groups.

Of course, there was no point taking them at their word.

“Real pranksters and liars, don’t be silly and stand in your proper place. Chinuavi, please sort them out. Those who don’t stand properly don’t get any toys.”

Then, most of the guys on the right-hand line quickly moved away.

Honestly…

Next, I distributed the ‘equipment’ I’d prepared to the goblins.

“Wait, what’s this?”

“You bastard, what am I supposed to do with this!”

“Give me a gun, you son of a bitch!”

In your dreams!

“Alright, alright, now just wait a minute.”

Leaving the goblins to Chinuavi, I went into the warehouse alone.

Now was the key moment.

Alone, I focused and called ‘Him’.

‘Are you there?’

…

‘Hey?’

…

‘Are you listening?’

After doing this for a while,

– What?

After a while, an answer came from the Disruptor God.

‘More than a thousand people, all of them moving under a common rule. All the conditions you requested have been met. Right?’

– How shameless. You made those rules yourself, right? You call that meeting the conditions?

‘Are there any problems?’

These were the two specific conditions that the Disruptor God demanded. ‘You must periodically interrupt a specific situation’.

With numbers and rules.

– Hmm, so?

‘Please give me one thing.’

And since the purpose of my actions was clear in a situation that met the conditions,

– If you’re making a request… it has to be for the purpose of sabotage. You understand?

‘Of course.’

– Then tell me.

I could claim one thing from the Disruptor God… it be a power, a weapon, or anything else.

“Could you please let me use the masquerade ability?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

We’re finally past chapter 100! Huff huff. Somebody’s on fire. (That somebody is me.)

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 100

The Ramirez Scramble (1)

“Hmm.”

I carefully checked the message in the hologram once again.

[You have received a mission proposal from the author]

• Catch Capone!
  • Defeat the man in front of you and absorb his organization.

It seemed to have several implications, but the essence of it was basically one thing.

The author was making an appeal to solidarity… or rather, he was requesting for ‘help’.

At first, I thought this was very surprising.

Because it was also an excellent condition for me.

Without having to deal with ‘that powerhouse Capone’, I’d been able to easily devour the organization he had built (although it was considerably reduced in size) and this city that was his base. Without any risk.

Although ‘Capone 2’ and his subordinates were facing me right now, it’d be a tad harsh to call them a risk.

“Where did somebody like you spring from? I’m asking who you really are, you Squatjaw. You better speak up quickly if you don’t wanna taste a smacking!”

“…”

Taste a smacking, huh.

I honestly found it a little disappointing.

In the original, Capone had been a character with a sense of style. He’d never spew such lines that made you sound like a low-level, third-rate villain.

I glanced at the guy.

It didn’t seem like he had any unique ability, and even if he did, it was definitely not the same as Capone’s.

“Wait, wait. Let me think about it.”

“Wh-, what?”

“I said, wait a minute.”

I then looked at the text at the bottom of the message.

• Are you sure you want to accept it?

Defeating Capone and taking his place.

This was just the type of plot development I was hoping for. There was no problem with the plausibility.

Moreover, there were also extra rewards that I hadn’t expected.

But,

‘… If I think about it a little…’

That was just how it looked on the surface.

The suggestion had indeed come unexpectedly, but looking back, it wasn’t surprising at all.

In a way, this was nothing but the best possible choice from the author’s point of view.

Pretending to be generous, while forcing me to follow his plans.

For some reason, at that moment, I thought I could even faintly hear the author’s voice.

I’ll let you take all that Capone’s got, so why not just do a job for me or two? I’ll naturally compensate you. Isn’t this a win-win scenario?

“Win-win, huh….”

But that wasn’t the full truth. We weren’t negotiating from an equal position here.

It was truly to my benefit to accept. But not accepting it wouldn’t really do me any harm.

But the author’s case was a little different. If I didn’t listen to him here, the future plot would surely be irrevocably twisted.

‘No, isn’t it twisted already?’

The guy in front of me right now was the proof. Judging that it’d be difficult to introduce the original Capone in this situation, he’d brought forth the much weaker and lesser version, Capone Mk. 2.

The moment I rejected his proposal, the author would face some real hard choices. There was no way this guy could take on Capone’s original role.

In other words, the author was the one being desperate.

‘How about I let him sweat a bit?’

As soon as the thought occurred to me, I slowly started to step back.

And then,

“H-hey! You bastard! Are you trying to run away!?”

Capone 2 roared in anger.

“Ah, yeah. The real Capone, Ruler of Gibrante, showed up in person… and with so many hangers-on in tow, to boot. It’s natural for the copycat to run away.”

“What!?”

“Bye bye.”

I immediately turned around and ran.

I heard Capone 2’s voice swearing at me from afar, like an echo, but I cheerfully ignored it.

How far did I run like that?

When I thought I’d completely left them in the dust, I wrapped the goblin silver screen around me and climbed up to a high place. To take a look at what those bastards did next.

‘So? What’ll you do now?’

Actually, I didn’t plan to have a fight with the author.

I didn’t want to be taken advantage of, sure, but my curiosity played the greater role.

I wondered how these idiots would react.

In fact, there were few characters who reflected the author’s intentions as purely as this bunch. Weren’t they merely ‘characters created to be subdued’ being handed to me on a platter?

So I was curious. If they didn’t achieve that purpose, what would happen to them?

But,

‘What is it… Why are you all standing still like that?’

Even after waiting for a long time, they didn’t even consider moving.

As if a screw was missing from their heads, they just stood there, stunned.

Three or four people tried to follow after me, and one went back to the factory area, but that was all.

“How odd.”

This was quite stunning for me too.

From my experiences so far, once a character was created, the author couldn’t directly control the character. If he wanted to move the character towards a new direction, he had to attach a new character to give a push, or deliver some news.

In other words, what I was seeing now was the behaviour that reflected the core purpose and essential guideline they’d been given at the time of character creation.

But… no matter how roughly the author’d made them, to have the characters repeat the same actions over and over again?

‘Does this even make sense?’

This meant that these guys literally had no purpose other than ‘being overpowered by me, here and now’.

This was crazy.

What, did the author really make such one-dimensional and completely thoughtless characters? Like a wind-up toy?

They couldn’t even be called characters at this rate. They were just ‘backgrounds’ with no core impetus.

That was then.

Tiling–.

Suddenly, a message arrived.

And it said –

[An amendment to the rewards has arrived from the author]

It was so surprising that it made me forget the absurdity of the past.

[Rewards]

• If accepted, the current scene will be appended to the chapter.
• Author’s favourability will increase by 100 à 120.
• Character points will be paid 100,000p à 120,000p.
• Additional 100,000p à 120,000p will be paid for each successful linked action.
• Once all actions are completed successfully, the character’s strength will rise by 100 → 110

“Ha… haha.”

It was disappointing indeed.

To send a message like this?

The author really was in a hurry. He didn’t waste a minute in sending a revised rewards plan.

‘I didn’t mean to haggle…’

In fact, I hadn’t looked down on the first set of rewards. They’d been generous enough. There hadn’t even been a penalty for failure.

But to receive something like this…

“Hmm.”

I considered the mission proposal again. Strictly from the author’s point of view. Why would he do this?

There was certainly no better situation for the author than me playing the role of Capone.

Firstly, there was a huge advantage in that the burden of character distribution would be reduced, and the preceding plot wouldn’t need any modifications.

And secondly, he’d be able to tie me up and block me from doing anything outrageous.

No matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able cause too much of a ruckus if I kept to playing a predefined role. It was that simple.

In other words, three birds with one stone.

‘There’s a reason he’s acting so desperate.’

Knowing this, my heart sank again.

What’d happen if I rejected this offer outright?

One thing was for sure, it could make the author very angry.

‘Interesting.’

As an author, he’d fine it quite difficult to deal with the twisted development. His brain might explode trying to untangle it all.

But I had to keep in mind that twisting the future course of the story that I already knew, wasn’t in my favour, either. I could never forget this.

And what I had to focus on more than anything else was how much profit could be obtained by refusing other than ‘offending the author’.

Right now, I had several configurations in my head for the upcoming chapters.

Then, assuming that all the circumstances I’d planned came true, could I profit as much as the promised rewards?

The answer was no.

Because the level of compensation the author had offered was enormous. It was more than the highest level of reward that could be obtained from the chapter.

In other words, no matter well I did, I wouldn’t be able to match the profit. The author had to have known this while making the proposal.

However,

“The question is, if there’re any traps…”

So I had to be cautious. Even if he was feeling urgent and desperate, sending this kind of a proposal wasn’t the author’s style.

There were a few more points to consider.

Whether it was possible to obtain all the rewards offered by the author, and how much risk I had to take in the process.

Capone’s role that the author had suggested I perform, was as follows:

1. Betting on Ramirez’s Treasure and declaring a winner-takes-all battle
2. Attracting adventurers to the factory area
3. Confronting Kiriko from the Leo Adventurers

1 and 2 were no problems at all.

A winner-takes-all declaration? I was already planning to do that. I’d even been thinking of a much more sensational way than what Capone had done in the original.

To lure the adventure teams to the factory area?

That was what I was hoping for. I was familiar with the topography and there were a lot of resources to use, so there was no reason not to.

The problem was the third item.

To have a fight with Kiriko.

There might be some pitfalls hidden here.

Of course, I wasn’t afraid of losing. Kiriko simply wasn’t that strong yet.

And the members of the Leo Adventurers were all subject to power balance adjustments, so their strengths were also greatly reduced, like mine had been.

In terms of my current strength, there was no reason for me to lose.

But it was still a burden, considering the original development.

In the original story, after awakening once, he finally defeats ‘Capone the powerhouse’. The original Capone that I thought was stronger than me.

Of course, I now had Cormier’s equipment, so I wouldn’t lose to that Capone either…

But wasn’t the development of the original story point to a victory for Kiriko?

This meant that, whenever I got the upper hand, the sanctions of the preceding plot could come bind me.

‘… I can already hear the sound of points going down the drain.’

Moreover, this wasn’t the only problematic point.

Would I only face Kiriko during this scramble?

I didn’t think so.

Gronyan.

From the beginning, he’d been the one coming after me, not the Ramirez. The guy who I thought was the strongest right now, along with Karl Zayed.

After Kiriko, would I have to fight Gronyan as well?

“Hmm… it’s not going to be easy.”

This was definitely risky.

I had no choice but to worry. Was it right for me to accept this?

I was slated to get some equipment from Cormier, but there was a bit of a hitch here too. Because the performance of ‘it’ wasn’t guaranteed.

What I’d ordered from Cormier was an ‘armoured cavalry’, a piece of equipment I was forcing him to produce, because of the rule of cool. Originally, armored cavalry had appeared in the Northland arc, not this early.

I would’ve felt a lot more relaxed if I were using equipment Cormier could whip up easily…

‘What to do…’

Just then,

Tiling–.

[An amendment to the rewards has arrived from the author]

A new message arrived to make me forget my worries.

[Rewards]

• If accepted, the current scene will be appended to the chapter.
• Author’s favourability will increase by 120 à 140.
• Character points will be paid 120,000p à 140,000p.
• Additional 120,000p à 140,000p will be paid for each successful linked action.
• Once all actions are completed successfully, the character’s strength will rise by 110 → 130

“… Ha, haha.”

My lips curved up into a grin by reflex.

The problem was already resolved.

Okay, fine.

I can’t help but take this bait.

But just then,

‘Hm? Wait, wait a minute…’

Surprisingly, a new problem arose.

‘Should I try to haggle one more time? Can I?’

⦙

A day later.

After receiving another amendment,

‘It’ll be a mess if I keep stringing him along, won’t it?’

I accepted the author’s offer.

That was how my strange team-up with the author began.

---

“Hey, there! See!”

Finally, they’d arrived.

At Gibrante.

Kiriko looked at the factory chimneys in the distance with fresh eyes.

Ten days.

It’d been a long time.

Also an embarrassing and uncomfortable time.

Kiriko turned around and took a long breath as he watched the crowd of people following them.

“Huff…”

Thinking back, it was incomprehensible.

Those who sought the same treasure, not just adventurer teams, but a huge group of thieves and assassins, had walked together for ten days without a single clash.

The reason this bizarre camaraderie that’d started in Clone City was able to persist until now was because of a certain group.

Goblins.

Aside from the fact that they no longer took Squatjaw’s form, there was nothing to like about them.

“Hey, sure, let’s have a fight, why not?”

“They don’t have any treasures, so what’re they fighting for?”

“Let’s get along, get along.”

“Do people who don’t have money have trouble keeping their temper? I’m just asking.”

“Sure, you can go the other way. But this route’s probably the fastest, right?”

Of course, it wasn’t like these words had some kind of magical deterrent effect.

The goblins revealed themselves one by one every time and took action to prevent battles between people and groups.

For example, if two groups were about to clash, they’d immediately turn into members of each group and intervene in the battlefield, which resulted in a situation where neither side could easily attack first. They couldn’t even identify friend from foe, so who would they attack?

So, every time, every fight was doused by the goblins before it could even start.

Kiriko didn’t know why they were mediating the fights.

They must’ve gotten some kind of instruction, but he had no way of knowing why.

In fact, before Kiriko arrived in Gibrante, he’d been thinking of reducing the number of these greedy idiots.

However, these goblins’ interference was so strong that he’d had no choice but to give up in the end.

They even seemed to enjoy this whole process, to the point where they’d shift into others’ forms and viciously hurt people’s feeling, then once there were enough people riled up and spoiling for a fight, they’d show up and interfere.

‘What are they even doing…?’

Kiriko didn’t understand, and didn’t want to attempt to understand either.

As for Leo, well, he seemed to fit in with them to some degree.

Anyway,

‘Finally, this is goodbye.’

This uncomfortable companionship was now over.

After all, they’d arrived in Gibrante.

Now what would these guys do?

With a sense of anticipation, he was about to look for the goblins.

Just then,

“Hmmmm…”

One of them suddenly opened his mouth.

“Come on, everyone, you’ve worked so hard to get here. It was a beautiful comradeship. We goblins also had a lot of fun over the last ten days. Did everyone have fun?”

…

“Yes, I understand how you feel. Then I wish you good luck. From now on, it’s up to you to fight or not, you cocky, violent bunch. Then, excuse me!”

And then,

Rustle–.

Rustle –.

In an instant, the goblins disappeared all at once.

And,

“Wh-, what?”

“Where did they all go!?”

“Isn’t this that ability those guys have? To turn invisible?”

A commotion broke out in an instant.

It might’ve been because of the sudden disappearance of the goblins, but it also might’ve been because of the sudden feeling that everyone around them had become an enemy.

And it was the same for Kiriko.

“Leo, let’s step back for now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why… Can’t you see the situation right now…”

That was then.

“Hey, there! Look over there!”

Someone’s cry echoed through the air.

Kiriko naturally turned to look as well.

There, someone was standing near the entrance to the factory area.

A man in a black suit, wearing a retro-style fedora hat. There was something odd about him though. An unusually large jaw compared to normal people.

Squatjaw!

“S-, Squatjaw!”

“That’s him over there!”

“You bastard! Where’s the treasure!”

At that moment, Squatjaw raised his right arm up to the sky.

However, the shape of that arm was a little strange.

‘What is that… a machine?’

It was a machine. A strange machine was attached to his arm.

However, there was no time to answer the question.

At that moment, Squatjaw’s lips were already moving.

“Good job, all of you. You worked hard to come here. Then, from now on, it’s a fight!”

And at that moment,

Fwoooosh-!

A crimson laser beam shot upwards from Squatjaw’s arm pointing up at the sky.

And then,

“Look, there!”

“Up! Up in the sky!”

“It’s a treasure!”

‘Something’ appeared in the sky, splitting the red beam of energy in two.

It was a strange machine with steel wings, with a mirror attached to its front.

‘Ramirez’.

Of course, it might’ve been a fake or a trick, but at first glance it did seem that this was the treasure.

At that moment,

“You all see it? It’s easy to take it away. All you have to do is defeat everyone here. Then you’ll naturally get the treasure. Then let each of us, decide on an opponent here on this battlefield, and start fighting!”

Squatjaw shouted loudly.

Then he immediately started moving.

“And my opponent right now is… oh, there you are. Hey Kiriko.”

But the place his footsteps were headed to, was none other than –

“… Me?”

– Where he himself stood.

Kiriko blinked.

With slow, steady steps, Squatjaw was coming towards him.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

Leave a like and comment, it only takes a minute! Also rate and review at NovelUpdates if you haven’t. Reader engagement keeps this project alive!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 99

An Appeal to Solidarity

This was how it began.

I was coming out of the third smuggling chief’s quarters, late at night.

There’d been no clue to Capone’s whereabouts, so my patience was a little thin.

And,

“Bring it all out.”

I was mobilizing the gangsters inside to bring out all the materials and equipment.

Just then,

“… Mr. Capone?”

An unfamiliar voice called out.

I glanced back reflexively in surprise.

There stood a middle-aged man with a pot belly. He seemed to be a smuggler who’d been woken up by all the noise the gangsters were making.

“Mr. Capone?”

“… Huh?”

Weirdly enough, he was calling me Capone.

“You’re Mr. Capone, right, sir?”

“What?”

Then,

“No… my mistake. Sorry!”

The pot-bellied man said hurriedly at my confused reply. Then he immediately whirled around and tried to disappear in the crowd.

It was then that an idea suddenly crossed my mind.

I immediately called him back.

“Wait, wait!”

“… Eh, ah, yes?”

“Stop for a moment.”

“…”

I asked him why he’d called me Capone.

His answer, however, was very simple.

“That was because… you were in charge.”

“In charge…? Ah.”

It was because the gangsters had been obediently following my order to haul things around.

“Hmm… So you’ve never seen Capone before?”

“Where’d somebody like me get the chance? Have you? The only gangsters I get to talk to are low level.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

It was an easy mistake for an outsider to make.

But I wondered if this was a type of ‘path’ to find Capone.

‘I almost missed this clue. I should’ve been more patient.’

Capone was even more secretive than I’d imagined. Even a well-connected local like this guy was unfamiliar with him.

Honestly, even the chief smuggler had said that he hardly ever saw the boss.

‘It’s odd.’

I’d had no idea that Capone’s identity was so mysterious. The original had made no mention of it.

And it was a surprise that the misunderstanding continued to proliferate.

Dawn was just about to break.

“Where should we put the money, Mr. Capone?”

In front of Jean’s warehouse, one of the gang members was the first to say that.

“What?”

“Eh? Ah, I was asking where should I put these…”

“No, before that. What did you call me?”

“Yes? Oh, should I… call you Lord Capone instead?”

“…”

Of course, this guy had the shackles engraved on him, so he had no choice but to be obedient. But that didn’t mean I’d asked him to call me Capone…

It wasn’t just him, either.

“Mr. Capone, should we keep the new metals somewhere else?”

“The warehouse is full. Should we move these to another one, Mr. Capone?”

All the gangsters following me were soon calling me that.

So when I asked why,

“It’s just that… what else should we call you?”

“I’ll change to something else if you don’t like it…”

These kinds of answers came back. While looking for a word to call me, they decided to just use ‘Mr. Capone’.

“Hmm.”

But this was very odd. Because ‘Capone’ didn’t mean some kind of position or rank. It was just one person’s name. The name of the boss of this place.

I decided to leave things alone for now. Because it might lead to something interesting – although I couldn’t tell exactly what.

Besides, being mistaken for Capone wasn’t necessarily. Rather, it could be beneficial.

As a result, all of a sudden, I was being called Mr. Capone by everyone.

---

• Keep calling me Capone.

• Let everyone know that Capone is here.

• Act as usual.

After I gave the gangsters these three instructions, I sent them all back.

If there were any special issues, they could just contact me.

Now was the time to tidy things up.

I first listed the current situation in my head.

• Capone couldn’t be seen.
• Capone’s organization here was much shabbier compared to the original.
• Most of the organization members had never seen Capone before.
• People were calling me Capone without feeling any sense of incongruity.

I could think of two possibilities.

1. Capone and his headquarters did exist. They just hadn’t appeared yet.
2. The character called Capone was not yet created.

In the first scenario, there was really nothing to worry about.

I didn’t really care where Capone was what he was doing.

He wasn’t here right now, but he should appear soon.

So I’d just wait for him to arrive and then deal with him like I’d planned.

The important issue was with the second scenario.

What if the character called Capone was not created yet?

And what if it wasn’t just because the author was being lazy?

What if the author was currently debating whether or not to create the character called Capone?

It might seem absurd at first blush, but the idea wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

The author would have a good reason to hesitate.

It was the same reason why I was trying to get rid of Capone.

Simple. The number of chapters in this arc was limited compared to rise in lead characters.

In a way, it was natural. The author was more liable to have a headache about the composition of this arc instead of me.

The author knew it as well as I did.

Two lead characters had been added. One of them was an uncontrollable and rampant bastard, at that. What’d happen if all the existing characters were also kept?

The characters might not get enough screentime, and there was a very high risk that the arc itself would become chaotic. The situation had changed a lot last time when he’d happily introduced Gronyan.

Moreover, in this chapter, apart from new strong characters who had be highlighted, there were also other concerns.

In order to follow the original plan, Tanya and Kiriko must had to get some of the spotlight.

Only then would Tanya be able to become Leo’s new ally, and Kiriko would be able to awaken; thus inducing a surge in the Leo Adventurers’ stock price, which had recently fallen low.

In total, there were ten people to consider.

• Three in the Leo Adventurers (Leo, Kiriko, Tanya),
• Gronyan,
• Karl Zayed,
• Four new powerhouses,
• And, of course, me.

I considered the author’s point of view.

If any of these had to be eliminated, or their significance reduced… who should it be?

It was difficult to choose. Definitely. Deleting a character meant deleting all the stories associated with them.

But if one had to be picked, there was only one sensible choice.

Somebody among the four powerhouses who didn’t need the spotlight as much.

And that, was Capone.

For a single reason. Leaving out his importance in this current arc, he had the least weight in the story to come.

If you left out Capone, the other two powerhouses, Cyborg Gelop and Magic Weapon Jimus, were slated to play a fairly important role not only in this arc but also in the Northland side in the future. In the first place, the background setting was that they’d been sent from Northland to secure the Ramirez.

‘… Are you really going to delete Capone?’

It was a definite possibility.

But nevertheless, I couldn’t be sure.

In fact, the role that Capone had played in the original wasn’t insignificant.

Wasn’t he the ‘Ruler of Gibrante’? Capone was the one whose existence had crystallized the background and atmosphere of this city. Moreover, the ‘black market’ he managed was a foreshadowing of the atmosphere of Northland.

And also –

He was the opponent the author had prepared for Kiriko.

Through his fight with this guy, Kiriko would awaken, and the readers would cheer at the sight.

It was a touch choice. Especially for the author who’d planned it all.

“Hmm… he sure has it rough.”

My position was different from the author. I was just thinking of eating him up and increasing my own significance, but the author had to calculate how Capone’s existence or the lack of it would affect the other characters.

Was he perhaps feeling lost?

Then,

“Hm? Wait a minute, maybe…”

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

Might the author ‘officially’ transfer Capone’s background to me?

Hadn’t I received a similar offer once before?

Was I going to become Capone?

I explored the possibilities for this.

But soon,

‘No, that can’t be.’

I shook my head.

I was already too well-established a character to suddenly become someone else.

What would I say, that I’d always been Capone, the Smuggler, the Ruler of Gibrante?

The readers would riot, saying what the hell was this sudden nonsense.

I was already depending on my ‘goblin’ background to digest all these backgrounds I’d accumulated…

Rather, it would be far more plausible to say that, according to my original plan, I’d defeated Capone and devoured his organization.

‘Of course, I don’t think the author would allow such a development.’

The character called Capone was too precious to be consumed in that way.

Capone, as seen in the original, was a character that the author made with great care, both in terms of his unique abilities and his background.

Would he throw away a character like that without even using it?

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

It was a long chain of thought, but the conclusion was simple.

I didn’t know.

…

In the end, I got up from my seat, still undecided.

For now, I’d just be called Capone, and wait for the real Capone to arrive.

---

Two days later.

Only three days or so left before I expected everybody to arrive here in Gibrante.

Capone still hadn’t showed his face.

Of course,

“How are you, Mr. Capone?”

“Good job, Mr. Capone.”

“Are you going to stay here now, Mr. Capone?”

The gangsters were probably thinking the opposite.

“Where’s Cormier?”

“In the warehouse.”

I leisurely raised my hand in response to the gang members who greeted me, then opened the door of the warehouse and went in.

Whiiiirrrrr–.

Cormier didn’t seem to even notice that I’d come.

I watched from up close as he toiled.

A long piece of scrap metal in the shape of a guitar case, with a bulging upper part, and the shape narrowing as it went down.

It was the leg part of the robot.

Of course, it didn’t resemble what one would think a ‘leg’. Rather, it resembled the shape of a gun more.

However, the reason I was able to convince myself that it was a leg, was simple.

Because I’d advised this form.

I peered a little closer.

Soon,

“Wait, wait! Do you think my legs would fit in there?”

I had to stop Cormier.

Now he seemed to realize that I was here.

“… Huh?”

“Look, the space is too small.”

“The rider’s body has to be in full contact for smooth piloting. Just endure even if there’s a little pain.”

“What are you talking about? I clearly told you. You could use a liquid metal that can connect with nerves. If you use that, even if you don’t make it so narrow…”

“Where?”

“Huh?”

“Where is it? That metal. What’s it called?”

“Eh? Uh… well.”

Of course I didn’t know. I wouldn’t be able to recognize it even if somebody put it in front of me. I just knew that there was such a thing.

But I couldn’t exactly say that, could I?

“Tch, shouldn’t the designer himself look for it… There’re still a few more metals in the warehouse, so take a look.”

Then I carefully stepped away.

After all, I couldn’t contribute anything to the work itself.

Cormier stared after me silently for a while, but soon went back to focusing on the job.

Whiiiirrrrr–.

Only the day before Cormier had started prototyping the ‘Smart Armoured Cavalry’, a rideable robot.

It hadn’t been a lie that this guy didn’t know about it. He hadn’t even thought up the ‘concept’.

And to top it all off,

“A pilotable robot? How’s that more useful compared to current equipment? It can be a bit bigger and tougher, sure, but you’d lose more in agility.”

He didn’t even recognize its usefulness.

Cormier was adamant that ‘clothing-type equipment’ that mimicked ‘armour creation ability’ were the apex of personal armaments.

But this was the part that confused me.

Why did he think so? ‘Clothes’ like my gloves could never stand up to ‘robots’, right?

How absurd.

‘Rather, shouldn’t he know this better than me?’

White Rain, designed by Cormier himself, had a gotten such a cheat characteristic as ‘unbreakable’ basically due to two factors.

1. The enormous amount of materials used in its construction
2. The concept of ‘ship’

In particular, in ‘designing’, the ‘concept’ that defined the object was more important than anything else. Because the characteristics of the product could be designated based on the concept.

In other words, looking at these two factors alone, ‘robots’ were obviously stronger than ‘clothes’.

The construction needed a lot more materials, and it was easier to add ‘combat-related characteristics’ to the concept of a robot.

How could somebody like Cormier overlook that?

Of course, I knew that designers had a tendency to ‘streamline’ and ‘simplify’. But surely there were limits?

So I stubbornly told him. Just once, to make what I told him. I’d tell him about the form it’d take.

“Huff…”

Since I wasn’t there to hold his hand, he was running wild.

I watched Cormier work for a while from a distance, then turned around.

‘Well, he’ll make something, anyway.’

I wasn’t demanding the same product he was supposed to make in the future, anyway. I didn’t know if making that was even possible at this time, and it could also cause other problems.

Just as I left Cormier’s workshop –

Suddenly,

“M-, Mr. Capone!”

Someone called out to me in a panicked tone.

A member of the organization, who’d come running from a distance.

“What’s the matter?”

“There, out there…”

‘Out there’ seemed to refer to the outside of the factory area.

“Out there what?”

“M-, Mr. Capone… No, a man who says he’s Mr. Capone…”

“Huh?”

At that moment,

“Where?”

I figured out what’d happened.

He’d finally come. The real Capone.

‘Did the author decide?’

I ran straight in the direction the gangster had pointed to.

I forgot to even take the equipment Cormier had made.

But even though I remembered along the way, I didn’t turn back. Laying eyes on Capone was more urgent.

Finally,

…

I was able to meet a middle-aged man with a tall fedora hat. Behind him stood a dozen or so men who looked like subordinates.

“Who are you?”

“… That’s my line. Who are you?”

“This is crazy. What the hell happened while I was away? I’m Capone! Capone the Smuggler! Ruler of Gibrante! I told him to call the guy impersonating me… Oh, is that you?”

It was astounding. Extraordinarily so.

“You’re Capone? Seriously?”

“What? Haha, this cheeky Squatjaw…”

I stared at the man.

He wasn’t the Capone I knew. There was no resemblance. In appearance, and in power level.

‘What happened? Is he just some impostor?’

But he sounded too arrogant for that.

Was he really Capone?

But that’d be crazy. Somebody like him could never take on the role of that Capone.

It was a bizarre situation.

That was then.

Tiling–.

Suddenly, a message arrived in the hologram window.

Leaving me astonished once I read it.

[You have received a mission proposal from the author]

• Catch Capone!
  • Defeat the man in front of you and absorb his organization.

[A linked action that must be performed afterwards.]

[Please press to check the details.]

[Rewards]

• If accepted, the current scene will be appended to the chapter.
• Author’s favourability will increase by 100.
• Character points will be paid 100,000p.
• Additional 100,000p will be paid for each successful linked action.

※ As this is a proposal separate from the preceding plot, refusing it will not incur any penalty.

“Heeh…”

I checked the details of the linked actions.

A lot of words were written there, but to summarize –

1. To declare a winner-takes-all battle with Ramirez’s Treasure at stake.
2. To lure adventurer teams to the factory area.
3. To have a fight against Kiriko from the Leo Adventurers.

“Hey…”

So this was what the author decided to do in the end?

How amazing.

He was making an appeal to solidarity.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 98

Mr. Capone, I Presume?

“And the next one is… haah.”

The man let out a long sigh as he looked at the variegated heaps of ore piled high on the long table.

Each stack of ore, arranged by color, was emitting a brilliant light.

White, black, blue, red, green, purple, yellow.

Each time he looked at the stacks standing high like mountains, his temper frayed a little more.

How long would it take to finish going through them all?

At first glance, it looked like everything was already sorted, but the reality was the opposite. They were all lumped together haphazardly.

The reason why there seemed to be stacks of the same hue was because the metals were in a state of ‘shape mimicry’. They weren’t actively disguised, the chunks of ore merely changed colour depending on what was next to them.

Luckily, this was still not the worst situation.

Because the worst would be if the ores transformed into whatever metal was next to them by ‘spontaneous transmutation’.

But perhaps that had happened already. The metals had apparently been sent over without spending even a smidgen of effort into identifying them first.

The man yelled at the personnel around him.

“People! Divide them into single pieces!”

“Is there enough space for that?”

“Make space then! Do I have to explain every single thing!?”

The man shouted, struggling to contain his irritation.

Unlike weapons and other gear, these naturally occurring metals, which could be considered raw materials, were difficult to properly identify unless one was an expert.

Moreover, all the goods coming from Northland these days were made of new metals, with mutated attributes… Without proper experts, classifying them was a nightmare.

Was there even anybody who could be called an expert on this topic?

The man asked one of the personnel who’d approached him.

“Where are these from?”

“They’re a mix of goods from ten different districts… We’ll have to check one by one and compare them.”

“Hm. What about the goods manifest?”

“Yes, here…”

The man took the paper and immediately began massaging his forehead.

“Haah…”

Labrium x 97

Sordium x 82

Plutonium x 77

Martium x 69

⦙

As expected, it was all these damned metals.

The reason why the self-professed non-expert immediately became annoyed by just looking at the list of names was simple. Because he’d never even heard of any of them.

In other words, they were all ‘new metals’.

“What insanity is this? Who’d want to buy these? Is there even a single person in Westland who can make proper use of these?”

‘Special ability design’, the art of infusing specific ‘functions’ or ‘abilities’ into metals, manastones, and artifacts that could accept such ‘power’, was the domain of the rare breed of people called ‘designers’. There weren’t many of them in the world.

Even among the designers, about seventy percent could only handle the basic materials, meaning the metal ‘cetium’ and the ‘ash stone’ type of manastone.

Of course, only being able to handle a lot of different materials didn’t make one a good designer. There were many other metrics, such as how diverse infusions they could achieve, how long the infusion would last, and how strong the resulting ability would be.

But either way, it was a fact that you couldn’t deal with new metals unless you were a good designer, and it was also a fact that most of those great designers were in Northland.

This was just basic common knowledge.

Then why exactly was this list full of nothing but new metals?

This was pure lunacy. Just buying whatever was new.

‘Where’s the sense in this?’

If somebody tried their hand at multi-ability design using poorly understood raw materials, there was a chance that the material properties might transfer to the designer’s own body. Literally a part of their body would transmute into metal. Losing their designing ability was also a common result.

Facing such high risk, which designer would willingly buy unknown new materials to experiment?

Those who’d smuggled these in had to be completely brain-dead.

And more importantly,

“Damn it, why me…”

The man wondered why he had to be the one to perform the inspection process.

Shouldn’t he just be in charge of managing and protecting the contractors?

At some point, people began to pay protection expenses with contraband instead of cash, and business partners started asking the organization to arbitrate disputes. So the organization had expanded into item identification and verification as well; and now if more than a certain percentage of incoming products were defective, the organization would handle registering a complaint to the supplier.

Even though it was all by Capone’s orders, the chief smuggler couldn’t head or tail of it.

Wouldn’t it be better to completely take over the smuggling route, end to end?

Wouldn’t it be much more profitable to take a flat commission on sales instead of these protection and brokerage fees?

“Haah…”

The man shook his head. Because he remembered Capone’s command.

– Never steal somebody else’s food.

Mr. Capone’s down-to-earth food metaphor didn’t leave any wiggle room for clever rules lawyering.

The chief smuggler struggled to shake off his frustration and took out a pair of white gloves from his sleeves. It was an item with ‘nullification’ ability that blocked ‘property interference’ of metals.

Without it, who knew what kind of side effect would occur if he carelessly touched these new metals.

“Hey, you guys! What’re you doing! Put on your gloves first!”

“Aah! Yeah! Sorry, sir.”

“Huff…”

The man was about to start sorting through the stacks after his throbbing head had cooled down a little.

“T-, trouble!”

But suddenly a shout came from above.

When he glanced back, he saw a guy running down the stairs in a hurry.

“I-, intruder…!”

“What?”

At that moment,

“U-, ugh!”

Bang-thud-crash–.

The guy rolled down the stairs.

And,

“You there?”

A large figure slowly walked down the stairs.

…

This was his first time seeing the newcomer.

That size… and that jutting chiseled jaw would’ve surely left an impression on him, but the chief smuggler couldn’t remember ever seeing it.

In addition,

‘Is that a detachable machine gun?’

There was a mechanism on the newcomer’s arm. There was no way he’d forget somebody who used such an old-fashioned piece of equipment. In this day and age, using a relic like that…

“Huh?”

Wait.

He tilted his head.

‘Isn’t it a bit different?’

He’d thought the metal covering the newcomer’s arm was plain steel, but from the traces of light running through it, it seemed a little different. It felt a lot rougher, to be entirely honest…

‘Ah, maybe?’

The man shook his head.

Oddly enough, the material resembled one of the new metals he’d just been trying to identify.

But… that didn’t make any sense.

That was then.

“I heard one of the three smuggling chiefs is here? Who is it?”

The man burst out laughing at that sudden remark.

The fearless intruder was apparently looking for him.

“Here I am.”

Then,

“Huh? Really?”

The squat-jawed guy asked in a questioning tone.

How outrageous.

Was this bravado?

“Your eyes must not work right.”

“If you’re the chief, why’re you doing manual labour? Isn’t the chief supposed to control he subordinates without getting his own hands dirty? Rather, a lot of these kids are taking it easy, aren’t they?”

“…”

The man again felt the headache that he had temporarily forgotten.

Reminding him of that niggling pain… This bastard…

Why should the subordinates relax while the chief executive had to work? At the very least, shouldn’t it be more efficient to educate the subordinates first and then supervise them?

Capone had answered his question with a single sentence.

– Just do it.

The man woke up from brief recollection and focused back on the suspicious squat-jawed newcomer.

“By the way, who exactly are you? Since you’re looking for the smuggling chief, you should already know this is Mr. Capone’s territory… Are you from Northland?”

Sometimes there were people like this.

They’d come directly to the management organization to make a deal rather than the actual vendors.

Clever types who thought it’d secure them a better position in future transactions.

Mr. Capone’s gentle touch sometimes caused problems like this, making these scavengers flock here thinking them easy prey.

“You don’t have to worry about that… Do you know where I can find Smuggler Capone?”

“Huh? Hmph…”

The newcomer was rasher than he’d thought. Extraordinarily so.

He’d come to meet Capone directly.

“I don’t know what your purpose is, but you know how crazy it sounds, right? As long as you come down here right now, hand over that mechanical arm and surrender, I can spare your life.”

“Hey, you’ve got eyes, huh? What do you think, is this gun good or what?”

“I didn’t say it’s good. I just think I need to take a closer look at it. Anyway, don’t even think about running away. There are dozens of cameras at the entrance. They’ve already taken your picture.”

“Oh, you mean up there? But that place isn’t there anymore, you know?”

“What?”

“Anyway, how should I say this? Hmmm…”

Squatjaw seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then –

“You guys are mafiosi too, so you’ve all already got a tattoo or three, right?”

He asked some fool question.

“What?”

“I’m going to engrave something on your bodies, but if this is your first time… it’ll hurt a bit.”

He was an absurd character.

“What the hell are you trying to say?”

Just then, the guy pulled out a brush from his waist.

Its material was clearly caught in the chief smuggler’s eyes. It was a plain steel brush.

“I try not to use this much, you know? Because it’s a villain’s ability. The more you use it, the more detestable it looks.”

“… You’re plain crazy, I see.”

Wasn’t that a natural conclusion?

Why would a guy with a laser cannon for an arm wield a steel brush?

The man didn’t feel the need to continue the conversation with Squatjaw any longer.

He usually didn’t make a habit of beating down the visitors from Northland, but he thought he should make an exception this time.

So,

“What’re you all standing around for? Catch him! And be careful you don’t mess up the table, got it?!”

While he was giving orders to his subordinates –

Swoosh–.

Suddenly, Squatjaw jumped off the stairs and appeared in front of him.

The man’s blood ran cold.

It was fast. So fast that he didn’t even see the guy move.

How unexpected.

“You first. So, what tattoo would you like? Chief?”

“… Wh-, what?”

Looking down at him, Squatjaw grinned.

---

The reason for attacking the chief smuggler was, of course, to bring out Capone.

The smuggler called Jean had told me that Capone was known to stay in Gibrante, but he never showed his face in public. So hardly anyone knew him by sight.

So, in order to meet him, I had to break through his entourage first.

There were three reasons why I thought I had to deal with this guy first before the full-scale ‘war’ began.

First, creating weapons and equipment needed materials.

I’d been mistaken to think getting Cormier’s help would solve everything.

The weapon he’d offered me on the second night was no different from a regular mechanical pistol. When I’d asked why that was –

“Didn’t you ask me to make combat gear?”

“You call this combat gear?”

“Isn’t it?”

What a shameless thing to say, right?

Cormier had said that in order to produce a weapon of the ‘required level’, he needed suitable materials, and he entrusted me with the procurement of them all.

All he had on hand was useless scrap metal stored in the warehouse, nothing else.

Also, the production deadline was already tight, how could he waste his time scrounging for materials?

Well… that was true enough.

So, I had to rob someplace… but obviously not the small business owners nearby.

So, I’d immediately targeted these guys.

I was going to rob this whole operation.

Second, balancing the number of participants in this war.

It was a simple calculation.

Firstly, there were two more leads compared to the original.

Me and Gronyan.

Common sense dictated that two should be subtracted from the original list to preserve the balance.

By making Cormier my colleague, I hoped to limit his appearances as much as possible. The author might take it the wrong way, but there wasn’t much I could change.

Even considering Cormier, one more needed to go.

So I’d decided. To subtract Capone.

Third, the title of ‘King of Smugglers’.

Also the nickname, ‘Ruler of Gibrante’.

Weren’t they fancy?

I thought that it’d be more impactful to greet the visitors arriving six days later with the name of ‘Smuggler King’ or ‘Gibrante’s Ruler’ instead of plain old ‘Squatjaw’. The readers would lap it right up.

And the basis of all these thoughts was the confidence that I could overwhelm Capone.

Why? Simple. Because Cormier was in my corner.

2vs1.

It was simple arithmetic.

---

“Hmm.”

I was lost in thought as I looked at the thirty or so gang members lined up in front of me.

Capone’s whereabouts were unknown. The smuggling chief also received his orders in writing, and it’d been a while since the two had met in person.

That wasn’t a lie either.

Those suffering from [Scribe’s Shackles] were obedient from the depths of their minds, and wouldn’t dare lie to the caster.

There was only one conclusion that I could reach.

The statement that smuggling chiefs were Capone’s closest confidants, was in error.

It honestly didn’t make sense from the start. ‘That Capone’ shouldn’t have such clumsy subordinates.

It’d taken less than ten minutes to subdue them.

Of course, they couldn’t run wild because of how enclosed and full of pricey stuff this place was, and once I’d made a puppet of their leader, the rest had fallen like a house of cards.

But nonetheless, it was too easy.

This probably meant that Capone’s real troops weren’t here.

A ‘real contender’ would have associates of the appropriate level.

But the sad thing was,

‘Everything here seems real…’

The various weapons, equipment, and materials gathered here were clearly not fake. Moreover, the amount was enormous.

Could I make use of these clumsy folks? I had things that I wanted them to do.

‘… No idea.’

I thought about it for a while, but came to one conclusion.

I had no way to tell.

So I gave up trying to analyze the current situation. After all, thinking by myself couldn’t give me an answer.

I had to consider what to do next.

Now what?

Of course, I could continue with my plan.

The first smuggling den didn’t yield much? Then I should just head straight for the second.

However, the reason I hesitated was the thought, ‘Will the second one be any different?’

“… No Idea.”

I shook my head.

I had no other choice. I could only run around until I found something.

Jean had said that there were three chief smugglers in total.

As long as I robbed them all, I might get a good result.

After tidying up my thoughts, I immediately got up from my seat.

Pointing to the table littered with all kinds of metal ores, I ordered the chief who was standing by.

“For now, sort everything on the table. You can’t do it by colour, you have to do it by type. I’ll come and check it out later. You… you’re the one responsible for completing it.”

“…”

The chief’s face looked unsightly for some reason, but I ignored him and headed for the second smuggling chief.

---

The next day.

“Mr. Capone, I’ve brought them.”

“I’ll leave the metal here.”

“I’ll put the attachable gear here. Mr. Capone.”

The front of Jean’s warehouse was crowded.

“Ah, okay, leave those and go.”

“We’ve set aside a few pieces of metal. These show transmutative phenomena.”

“Yeah, well done. Good job. From now on, you’ll be the one taking care of it all.”

“…”

“What’s with that face?”

“I… I’m the chief, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why you have to supervise everything. You’re the chief.”

“No, that’s not… Shouldn’t this kind of manual labour be left to the kids…”

“Just do it.”

“…”

That was then.

“What’s all this?”

Cormier approached me, mouth open.

Then he looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“You… I see now. Mr. Capone, I presume? Capone the Smuggler?”

Well.

I scratched my head at Cormier’s words.

After robbing the three smuggling chiefs in one night, once the morning dawned –

I received three things in total.

1. A huge number of Northland specialties (weapons, various equipment, metals).
2. A total of hundred members of Capone’s organization.
3. And a new name.

It’d been five days since I came to Gibrante.

For some reason, I was now being called Mr. Capone.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 97

The Deal

This is it!

I cried out inside my head.

My nervousness had been blown away as soon as I’d met Cormier face to face.

It was a stroke of luck on my part that he ‘was already here’.

I’d been struggling with the possibility that he ‘might not exist yet’.

As per the setting, this guy had been staying here for the past three months, but that was hardly credible. Any place not designated as the realm of an ongoing chapter was just a ‘collection of background elements outside the actual work’ that could be changed whichever way the author liked.

Of course, this was the city confirmed as the future stage by the preceding plot, but that could also change at any time. Just like during the previous chapter.

So I’d been ready to be disappointed. Just in case.

I grinned at the blond young man with a face full of black smudges.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Who are you?”

However, Cormier apparently interpreted my smile of honest joy as full of some sinister insidiousness.

Calling me outside, Cormier asked about my identity with quite a wary look.

“I’m not an enemy, so you can relax.”

“I’d feel more reassured if you actually told me who you really are.”

“Ah, right. Call me Hiro.”

“I wasn’t asking for your name…”

“Ah, yeah. I’m Squatjaw.”

“…”

Hmmm.

His face didn’t show any recognition.

“You mean you haven’t heard of me? Squatjaw. Or ‘The Monster’. I’m famous these days.”

“Never.”

He really didn’t seem to know me.

He wouldn’t have been staring at me like I was a crazy person otherwise.

Cormier must’ve thought I was missing his point, so he quickly added another question.

“All I want to know is… how did you know about me?”

“Oh, that?”

I would’ve tried to come up with a plausible answer in the past. But things were different now. There couldn’t be an easier question to answer – because I could just ‘bluff’.

“Why are you asking me that? Don’t you already know? You should know better than me.”

And very quickly,

“…”

Cormier’s expression froze once again.

Success.

This was a tactic I’d already used to great effect in Eastland. Just let the one asking think and figure out some convincing nonsense on their own.

Cormier was probably in the same situation right now as the princess had been in Eastland.

“… I didn’t expect you guys to be so quick… but there’s no way you could’ve tracked me here!”

“Are you curious how I did it?”

Cormier gently shook his head.

“No, I’m more curious about why. Why, instead of kidnapping me, are you asking for my cooperation? Why would you people do that?”

Whoo.

Cormier came to the main issue faster than expected.

‘There’s the ‘Cool Guy’ Cormier I know.’

After Cormier had joined Leo’s party in the original, some fans in the community had called out how his character had an overlap with Kiriko’s.

Because of his cool and sharp demeanour, which had some similarity to how cold and aloof Kiriko acted.

But I didn’t agree. Kiriko was eccentric and radical, whereas Cormier was much colder and more rational.

“I should clear up your misunderstanding first. I’m not from that group. Like I said, I’m not your enemy, so you can relax. I just received a commission to track you down.”

“… Commission?”

Cormier reacted to the word.

Maybe he thought his ‘enemies’ weren’t the type to entrust an assassination quest to another group.

There was no way I could convince him since I lacked information.

So I could only change the topic.

“Let’s not try digging deep into each other’s affairs, alright? Anyway, I thought you could benefit me more than them. That’s why I came to you with a proposal. To be honest, their dossier on you was somewhat amazing.”

“…”

Cormier’s expression was becoming complicated.

He seemed to be contemplating whether it was worth listening to me or not.

And within that contemplation I glimpsed a ‘possibility’.

The possibility that I could really team up with this guy.

‘This… isn’t a bad reaction, right?’

Somehow, he had much less resistance to his ‘enemy’ than I thought. Even though he’d appeared in the original Northland arc as almost an avatar of vengeance.

I could guess the reason. Because his background hadn’t been set in such detail yet.

Right now his background setting was probably pretty superficial, something like ‘I’m running away from my pursuers and hiding my tracks’.

Cormier’s past was slated to be revealed quite far in the future, so it seemed reasonable. Adding in extra details early into a character would add a lot restrictions on their words and actions.

Then,

“Can I ask about the details of your commission?”

Cormier slowly spoke.

“Ah, that’s a bit difficult for me to answer. You know how it is.”

“Then let me ask something else. How many people are involved?”

“People involved?”

“I mean, is it just you? Does anybody else know about me?”

At that moment,

‘Jackpot!’

I almost screamed out loud by reflex.

Now came the long-awaited question!

A question that could lead to the best possible situation.

A magical question that could make Cormier relax.

“Yeah, just me. I swear it.”

“… Right.”

Cormier again began thinking.

The current situation was indeed fortuitous. He didn’t have strong hostility against his enemies, and he was asking me questions to convince himself.

In fact, this had been the sticking point. To bring up Cormier’s past, I had to pretend to be in league with his ‘enemies’, which could’ve made me lose him if he was strongly antipathic to them.

But now, I had a shot.

A burst of optimism was welling up inside my heart.

Anyway, Cormier might become a member of the Leo Adventurers in the future, but that won’t happen in this arc.

Now the author was simply drumming up interest in his character, creating an initial relationship with the heroes, to leave a possibility for the future.

In other words, it was at the level of calling ‘dibs’ at best. There wouldn’t be any kind of promise like ‘let’s share the future together’ or ‘when we meet again, we’ll be colleagues’.

Leo’s party itself was not a problem.

But I did have concerns about how the author would take it.

That was then.

“What’re you offering?”

Cormier took the bait.

Oh?

I answered quietly, hiding my excitement.

“I told you, I want you to make me a special weapon…”

“That’s not a proposal. That’s just a requirement.”

“Aha, you mean what can I give you in return?”

Instead of answering, Cormier stared at me. He seemed to be trying to get something out of me.

Of course, right now I didn’t have anything to offer.

Even if I offered a mountain of gold, I didn’t know if he’d accept, but I didn’t have that on hand either.

But there was something I wanted to give.

The future, my trust, and my body (?).

To sum it up, ‘I promise to be your ally and fight against your enemies.’

In fact, this was also my ultimate goal. Not just a one-time collaboration, to really become companions, to the very end – to the top of the Tower of Adventure.

The problem was that Cormier couldn’t accept this.

Of course not. How could he trust me so suddenly?

Also, whether he trusted me or not, this wasn’t a great incentive as far as Cormier was concerned.

The reason? Simple. Because I wasn’t strong enough to make this guy flinch.

Of course, this guy who was currently ‘not wearing any equipment’ wasn’t strong.

But if he donned his full set of ‘combat gear’, he’d become a monster against whom even Karl Zayed couldn’t easily guarantee his victory.

So in the end –

“This.”

There was only one thing I could offer.

I pulled an object wrapped in a small piece of cloth from my pocket.

The very thing that many people nearby Gibrante were chasing after.

“This should be enough.”

Cormier kept staring into my eyes without looking down at it.

“What is it?”

“A mirror.”

“Mirror?”

“An ancient artifact called the Ramirez, the Mirror of Souls. You can probably guess its value just by looking. It’s also infused with a certain special ability.”

“A special ability…”

Cormier lowered his gaze to the Ramirez as if interested.

“What ability?”

“It’ll reflect what you want to hide the most.”

“What do you mean, want to hide the most?”

“For most people, it’s their weakness, right? Something like that.”

I looked closely at Cormier’s expression.

Clearly, he was interested, right?

Although that was just my guess.

I thought he had no choice but to be interested.

Same as in the original.

This guy who’d been hiding in a shabby warehouse hammering away at smuggled products, had put on all kinds of combat gear and jumped into battle… what was that if not interest?

“Can I take a look?”

“As you like.”

I handed the Ramirez to him right away.

And then,

“…”

When Cormier looked in the mirror, his hand began to tremble.

I didn’t ask what he saw.

I just waited for him to calm down.

And then,

“What do you need?”

He asked me.

Done!

I smiled and snatched the Ramirez from his hand.

He must’ve been clutching it tight, but the mirror easily came free and his hand twitched.

“It’s nothing big. First, bring me all the weapons you’ve made. Also, I’m going to install a few booby traps, so I need some explosives. And, yeah, what about robots? Have you already made any?”

“… Huh? No, wait…”

“And most importantly, combat gear. There’re a lot of guys I have to deal with right now, and they’re a little too strong. Didn’t I mention it already? A Multifunctional Armoured Cavalry.”

“Uh…”

Cormier looked at me like I was touched in the head.

“Well? What is it? You do want this, don’t you?”

I waved the Ramirez in front of him.

“…”

I knew he wouldn’t be able to give it up.

The reason why many strong people, including this guy, coveted the Ramirez was very simple. Because they believed that they could use it to identify others’ weaknesses. It could be the key to destroying their enemies.

In other words, those who had enemies couldn’t help but chase after it. The stronger their enemy, the more determined they’d be.

“Try your best. Then I’ll give it to you.”

After a while,

“I understand.”

Saying so, Cormier began to turn back, but paused again to ask another question.

“What’s the deadline?”

“Deadline?”

“The deadline for giving you the gear you mentioned.”

After thinking for a while, I answered.

“One week.”

“… That’s a bit tight.”

“I believe in you. I’ve heard how great you are.”

“…”

Cormier turned away without answering.

He probably already had a running list of tasks inside his head.

Because he was a fast worker.

That was then.

“But there’s one thing that I want to ask you.”

As if he suddenly remembered, Cormier stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“What is it?”

“That, that Multi… Cavalry? What’s that?”

“Huh?”

“That Multifunctional Armoured Cavalry? What exactly is that?”

“… Huh?”

---

Four days later.

A late night.

Near the left corner of the Gibrante factory area.

Amidst the rows of shabby warehouses, a small abandoned building stood alone.

Although it was tall and narrow in shape, it was only about three stories high.

I was standing in front of the building that looked like a psychiatric hospital that’d popped out of a ghost story from the sixties or seventies.

“Is this the one?”

Of course, I wasn’t here to test my courage.

I’d heard from the smuggler named Jean at Cormier’s place, that the basement of this place was the residence of one of Gibrante’s three ‘chief smugglers’.

Although they were in charge of the smuggling, in fact, none these people were directly involved in the trade.

They were only responsible for managing and protecting the vendors, and that protection extended to threats from their Northland counterparts, internal disputes between vendors, claims from customers, and even tracking from the Westland government.

They controlled this huge black market that even the continental government couldn’t mess with easily.

And that deterrence stemmed mostly from one person.

Capone the Smuggler.

One of the five major players in the battle for the Ramirez.

The de facto ruler of Gibrante.

In other words, the smuggling chiefs were Capone’s closest aides.

And now, I was about to raid the entourage of one of them.

“This is making me nostalgic.”

I looked around the old building a last time.

I’d had quite a few records of attacking black organizations like this.

Starting with the first time I’d attacked the mafia in Virgin City, then infiltrating a cafeteria to track down Cocoa, then that time I’d marched straight into the mafia boss’ home in Destomb, and finally infiltrating Firmino’s underground city to rid Cocoa of her slave mark.

And the results had always been the same for those organizations.

Utter annihilation.

It probably wouldn’t differ much this time either.

I put my breathing in order and entered the abandoned building.

It was quiet inside.

I’d heard that the actual residence was underground, but still, it was eerily quiet. Not the faintest whisper, not even the buzzing of insects.

“Where’s the way down…?”

I opened my pathfinding eyes and looked around.

Thinking I should be able to find a path pointing down.

But five minutes came and went as I searched, yet nothing stood out.

This couldn’t be simply because my eyes were poor.

Presumably, this place was ‘designed’ with a specific ability to prevent unauthorized intruders.

“Hmm.”

After looking around for another three minutes or so,

“I give up.”

I gave up on finding a path.

Rather than trying to break the limits of my own abilities, it felt more like a giant waste of time.

All it did was tire out my eyes.

Instead, I decided to take a different approach.

“Let’s see now…”

I gently raised my right arm, just as Cormier had instructed.

The trigger word was supposed to be ‘laser cannon’, right?

“Laser cannon.”

And then,

Whirrrrr–.

Click-click.

The glove on my right hand shone once, then stretched out to cover up to my shoulder. The leather glove transformed into steel, and energy outlets appeared on my palm.

It was an amazing sight.

“Heh heh heh…”

It was a visual that made you puff yourself up just by looking at it.

In fact, the combat gear I’d originally ordered from Cormier was the ‘Multifunctional Armoured Cavalry’.

This referred to a boardable mecha equipped with multiple special abilities, and it could be seen as the culmination of Cormier’s design philosophy.

The problem was,

“I really don’t know though? This is my first time hearing about it.”

This guy didn’t know about it.

Was it my mistake?

‘It can’t be…’

Of course, that weapon never appeared in this arc. But I clearly remembered Cormier mentioning it –

‘Next time I’ll bring a ‘real’ mecha, then we’ll see how the fight goes.’

What he’d been referring to was a ‘Multifunctional Armoured Soldier’. A rideable mecha.

Of course, it actually appeared a long time later, in the Northland arc.

But I thought it should’ve already existed. Cormier knew in advance that he could make it.

‘Hmm… well, now how about this?’

Instead, he’d given me this ‘arm’, a prototype he’d made in Jean’s shop.

Why this alone?

Because just this arm already had two special abilities, ‘Shockwave’ and ‘High Heat’.

‘How much damage can it do?’

I aimed the energy outlets on my palm at the building and muttered softly –

“Launch.”

A powerful vibration travelled through my right arm at my command.

And then,

Fwooosh–.

“… Wow.”

The building disappeared.

Literally, there was no trace of it left.

I alternately looked at my palm and the scene before me.

“My goodness…”

The destructive power of the laser cannon was beyond imagination.

Of course, it was a consumable. Still, Cormier had said I might be able to use it up to three times…

At that moment, a grin unconsciously appeared on my lips.

Afterwards,

“Is it here?”

I turned my attention to the open space where a building very recently used to be.

A staircase heading underground lay revealed.

“Alright, let’s go.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 96

So Listen, Why Don’t We Cooperate?

I quickly skimmed through the results of the last chapter.

[Chapter 28 – The Battle for Ramirez’s Treasure (1) has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Liar’ has been added to the characteristics]

[An enormous amount of support from numerous readers followed]

[Awareness has increased by 100,000]

[Excess awareness is replaced with ‘level’]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has decreased by 90]

[Received fan art from 20 readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 20]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 100%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership, Spirit of sacrifice, Chivalry, Romantic, Frantic, Liar
• Awareness: 453,759
• Author’s favourability: 52
• Reappearance probability: 100%

[Became the main propagator for a new race]

[Registered as a major record in the official character data of ‘Hiro’]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

⁞

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of the next chapter]

[Character points paid 300,000p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points deducted 7,000p for the fall in the author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 1,000p for the rise in reappearance probability]

[Character level has increased by 180]

[Character Level]

• Current rating: Supporting cast
• Current value: 896
• Experience: 77%
• Value to reach the next level: ?
• Preceding plot can be ignored: 2 times

Hmmm.

The result itself wasn’t half bad.

Or rather, reaching the highest level of awareness and causing an overflow meant the chapter was a definite success.

Despite the leading point of view switching continuously, I’d managed to enter the stage almost every time, reminding the audience what was the main focus of this chapter and who therefore was the most important, and then I’d managed to cut the plot off before any new content could arise.

It hadn’t been easy, but the rewards were commensurate to my achievements.

But there were three things I found disappointing.

First, the huge drop in the author’s favourability.

A fall of ninety points! If I hadn’t vetoed the penalties, the situation would’ve been even worse.

This wasn’t something to laugh about. The author’s favourability was the most obvious ‘warning sign’ about my place in this world that I could track.

Of course, I’d been predicting something like this ever since I’d committed to bringing in the goblins to blow the plotline up.

But that hadn’t been my whole plan. I’d had the idea that helping solve the issue of their appearance would soothe the author and also deepen the significance of my character.

Weren’t we still aligned with the big picture as far as the original plot was concerned?

I’d never imagined the author would come out swinging in the response like he did. Who could’ve expected a monster like Gronyan to appear and try to bury me six feet under?

Honestly, I didn’t actually want to be enemies with the author. Right now it was merely Gronyan, but who was to say it wouldn’t be the Seven Kings themselves after my head one day?

Anyway, it’d left me feeling shaky. The author had definitely acted a bit sulky this time. Hopefully the trend wouldn’t continue.

Second, my link to the goblins still remained tenuous.

I thought so because all I got was a ‘liar’ characteristic.

This kind of a characteristic was more of a reader reaction than something defined by the author.

I’d shown off so many facets of my character, but I only got ‘liar’?

Presumably, the readers hadn’t thought anything of my relationship with the goblins apart from the fact that they ‘followed my orders’.

If the readers had recognized me as a goblin, the new characteristic wouldn’t have merely been ‘liar’, but something more along the lines of ‘turned out he was a goblin?’

And naturally this didn’t satisfy me.

I wanted to be recognized as a goblin. That way I could easily wave off all the suspicions about my character. My backgrounds, abilities, knowing the future, transforming, etc…

I’d even come out and said it, ‘I’m a goblin!’ Several times, at that. But it hadn’t worked out.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand the readers’ reaction. Although the goblins had taken my form while wandering about, I myself had never shown ‘a separate ability that reminds you of a goblin’, such as masquerade.

Maybe I should’ve tried transforming to my pretty boy form at least once? But that milk had already spilled.

Anyway, from the readers’ point of view, none of their questions had been resolved, and only more rice cakes had been strewn around.

So this too got added to my homework pile to solve eventually.

And third. The biggest issue.

I’d really overspent my points.

I could earn about 300,000 points at most in one chapter.

But in comparison, including all the items I’d used up this time, my expenditure was close to 900,000 points. There were still two ‘penalty vetoes’ left, sure, but I wouldn’t be able to return them for points.

Besides, my original plan had been to use two vetoes at most. Not to use all vetoes except the last two.

“…”

Anyway, my current remaining points were 343,773p.

Most of it was from this time’s chapter rewards. And it would only let me buy three veto tickets.

The implications were simple.

I couldn’t rely on the character shop so solve my problems anymore.

“Then… what should I do now?”

As I perched on a high mound at the foot of a mountain, I looked down at Gibrante’s smoky, damp industrial area.

Gibrante.

One of the big cities in the northern part of Westland, located on the Northland border.

The biggest battlefield in the Battle for Ramirez’s Treasure, where three chapters packed only with battle scenes were supposed to take place one after another.

It was quite a distance from Clone City.

It might take about ten days for all the main characters to converge here.

Of course, the fast runners might arrive somewhat earlier, but as long I kept an eye out for new arrivals, I thought I could proceed with that assumption.

Ten days.

This was the maximum preparation period given to me.

“… Just ten days, huh.”

I slowly began to scan the whole city.

White smoke obscured much of my vision, but that wasn’t much of a problem.

Because my purpose was not to closely examine the ‘outside’ of this city. I just needed to figure out the approximate locations of the buildings.

In fact, the ‘appearance’ of this city was just a façade.

None of the factories below were actually operating. The smoke rising from the chimneys wasn’t soot, but water vapour produced by some device, and the huge trash heap was just a model installed to attract the visitors’ attention.

The factory area was actually a silver screen to cover the ‘smuggling market’.

Gibrante had one aspect that set it apart from the other cities on the continent. Because it was geographically a ‘border area’, smuggling was rampant.

And the main products being smuggled were Northland’s ‘specialty’ items, i.e. various mechanical weapons, technical weapons, robots, etc.. From here Northland products would spread widely to the whole continent of Westland.

In particular, the black market had a very ‘Northland style’ atmosphere, to an extent even beyond the actual cities in Northland.

For example, even within Northland, different regions specialized in different fields, like ‘magic engineering’, ‘cyberpunk’, or ‘steampunk’; but here they all mixed together.

This was probably because the author wanted to show off the setting of the Northland side in advance in order to arouse reader interest for the future. There are very few areas in Northland itself the were like this city. Possibly only the most central city was like this.

In other words, this place existed to give an ‘authentic Northlander taste’ in Westland.

And a situation like this –

‘… How about getting some laser cannons?’

– Was definitely helpful for me. I could compensate for my relative lack of strength by using Northlander weapons.

As a reward for this chapter, my level had risen to 180.

It could be called large or small depending on your point of view. Although my strength hadn’t caught back up with my original level, it was almost at the halfway point.

However, I didn’t have a detailed grasp on my actual current strength. After all, I didn’t know how the level was calculated and how that correlated to strength.

What was clear, though, was that this level was no match for Gronyan.

I could feel that intuitively. I was still a long way off from reaching that man.

And Gronyan wasn’t the only problem either.

In the Gibrante chapter, four additional ‘Karl Zayed-class’ strong people were slated to appear.

Capone the ‘Smuggler’.

Gelop the ‘Cyborg’.

Jimus the ‘Magic Weapon’.

Cormier the ‘Designer’.

In other words, I had ten days to find enough power to stand against them.

If I wanted to participate in the chapter where everybody was going to come after me, I needed to be strong enough for that.

I took a long breath.

“It’s not that big a deal.”

I already had a few ideas, for example –

1. Equip a weapon.

2. Ready an army.

3. Set up traps.

But there was only one choice that I thought would definitely get me the result I wanted.

4. Get a ‘colleague’ who could facilitate all of the above.

The problem was that my chances were slim.

The guy I wanted as my teammate was superior enough in ability that I had a ‘strong competitor’ in this arena.

Despite knowing all the nitty-gritty details of the setting and the future events, I could never be sure of victory against my competitor.

Because the man I wanted to be my ally now, was supposed to become Leo’s colleague in the future.

In other words, my competitor was the author himself.

“Still… I have to give it a shot.”

Because I couldn’t just give up.

I immediately got up from my seat and hurried my steps.

I already knew my destination.

“Now, how should I go about this?”

---

At a corner of Gibrante’s factory area, there stood a shabby warehouse with no signage outside.

Bang–.

Bang–.

Jean finally lost his temper at the hammering sound that’d been going on since morning and roared.

“Ugh! You son of a bitch! You think this is a smithy or something? Why’s there so much noise?”

Since about 30% of smuggled goods were defective in one way or another, most smugglers had their own tools and facilities to repair them.

But none of them would hit the goods with a hammer like this guy. Because they were esentially traders, not blacksmiths.

Bang–.

Bang–.

“Damn it, you bastard! Stop it!”

But even as he screamed, Jean was feeling content inside. All his shouting, was basically to advertise and drive up business.

As Jean approached, the young man who was beating the hammer pretended to finally notice him.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“You’ve been hammering like that since the morning, how am I going to sleep? Huh?”

“Ah, yeah, sorry. I suddenly got an idea last night…”

Jean glanced at what the young man was making.

“What is it this time? A weapon?”

“No, it’s just… a combat aid.”

At first glance, it looked like a mechanized device that could be attached to your arm.

“Tsk. Who uses mechanical attachments these days? They just slow you down.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“You can’t survive just with crafting skills, you know? You need to have vision, and you need a brain, to understand if a product will sell. Who’d buy such a machine these days? The old farts around here might get nostalgic and buy it for a pittance. Special ability engineering is the trend right now; nobody would even look twice at any weapon or gadget that doesn’t have an ability installed.”

Despite the blunt advice, the young man just signed and chuckled.

“Either way, we’re talking about a machine. Be it special ability engineering or something else, you still need to understand the metals, materials, and power circuitry to make anything useful. The principles don’t change, do they?”

“What principles? Tch, you sound like an idiot. What matters these days is the ability, the ability, you hear me? Not how well-made your gadget is. As long as it can infuse the ability you need, those principles don’t matter.”

Jean, who was intimately familiar with the current market trends, clicked his tongue as he looked at the immature kid who only knew how to fondle gadgets.

When he’d thrown a few rice balls to a street beggar three months ago, he’d never imagined that the two of them would form a relationship like this. It’d just been a moment of fickle sympathy on his part.

It was embarrassing to admit, but if Jean was being honest with himself, the kid was interesting. Not only was he a dab hand at repairing defective products, the gadgets he made were quite astonishing, and he was definitely an expert in mechanical engineering – although Jean didn’t know where he’d learned it all.

That was why Jean scolded the kid like this more and more often. Saying that he was an idiot.

The kid had talent. He shouldn’t let his skills rot here in this dirty little smuggling shop, fixing broken products and fiddling with old-fashioned gadgets.

‘He should go to the heart of Northland and unleash his talent to the fullest…’

That was then.

Clangadangdang–.

A strange noise tickled his hearing.

Soon after,

“Here, huh?”

Some gigantic-looking fellow poked his head into the store.

With a really large jaw.

Jean instinctively sensed a feeling of danger.

“Who are you?”

As he spoke, he noticed several members of the gang in charge of this area lying behind the giant.

Jean gulped.

His little smuggling shop was no match against this guy.

Jean did have some pride in his own guts, but in front of this Squatjaw, he was feeling strangely numb. The sense of intimidation this guy exuded was at an unbelievable level.

“Ah, I came to meet someone. That’s why I’m here.”

“Meet? Meet who?”

“Well, it’s not you… Oh, there you are.”

Then he pointed to the young man behind him.

‘This…’

I knew it. Jean had guessed that the kid had gotten caught up in some kind of trouble. There was no way somebody this talented would’ve been in such a situation otherwise.

But he wasn’t willing to just surrender. No matter what, didn’t the kid have a connection to him now? He couldn’t throw away his own responsibility, he had to see it through. To the end.

“Wait, wait… I’m in charge of this place. That kid works for me now. If you want to take him, you have to first go through…”

But the squat-jawed giant had already passed by him.

“Hey, you, look…!”

That was then.

‘Huh?’

The expression on the kid’s face was strange.

He didn’t look terrified at all.

Rather, he was sporting a soft, interested smile.

And in addition,

“So listen, why don’t we cooperate?”

The first words from that squat-jawed giant were also quite strange.

He didn’t come to catch the kid or interrogate him?

He came with a proposal for cooperation instead?

The young man shrugged his shoulders as if it was absurd.

“Hey, do you know who I am?”

Squatjaw answered.

And it was very absurd answer.

“Why wouldn’t I know? You’re ‘Designer’ Cormier. If we’re talking about your major achievements… you were the chief architect of Cormier City, one of Northland’s most innovative cities; a pioneer in ability engineering, and the maintenance officer of the King’s Road… right? Hey, you also designed the White Rain, didn’t you? I rode that ship coming here. It was a great trip.”

…

Jean gaped blankly.

And there was Cormier, whose mouth was gaping just as wide as his own.

“No, how….”

While he was busy being surprised, Squatjaw kept talking.

And it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

“What was it called again… that rideable robot weapon with multiple special abilities… that’s it! Yeah, that Multifunctional Armoured Cavalry! Could you please make one for me?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 95

To Gibrante!

Had I made a tiny miscalculation?

Despite how out of breath I was feeling, I reined in my exhaustion and kept my feet moving.

Because if I stopped even for a moment, Karl Zayed’s attack might hit my back and smash me flat.

Just then,

Pshng–.

“Yikes!”

Something flew by from behind and almost grazed my earlobe.

Apparently, the rest of the pursuers had also caught up with me.

I was worried. Should I use my abilities or not?

Leo’s ability, which I was mimicking at the moment, consumed stamina at a formidable rate. I could pour in a burst of speed, but it wouldn’t be sustainable.

Not to mention that I had to keep some fuel in the tank in case I got dragged into an unexpected fight.

‘Let’s be patient for now.’

I’d had it much easier when Leo alone was after me.

I still had enough energy then, and Leo had to carry Tanya, since he himself didn’t have a guide’s eyes.

But Karl Zayd was a different beast.

Covering myself with the goblin silver screen didn’t block his vision, and he was absolutely tireless.

Even though goblins popped up here and there pretending to be me to grab everybody’s attention –

“Where are you hiding… you ant!”

He could never be lured away from my trail.

Messing with a bastard who had all the characteristics of a guide and a decipherer at the same time, might’ve been a miscalculation.

But the silver lining in all this was that –

“There you are!”

Crackackack–!

“Some… kind of flying bug?”

“Squatjaw’s mine! Shove off unless you want to taste some lightning!”

“Go away.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I. Came. First!”

“I could get rid of you first, if you insist.”

– Leo promptly intervened whenever there was an emergency.

After I caught Karl Zayed’s attention, Leo dropped Tanya somewhere and began following our trail, which was fortunate for me. He was really quite helpful in how he was getting in his competitor’s way and dragging things out.

But, of course,

“Good! Squatjaw, just wait a bit! The winner here will face you!”

“You can run first if you want. I’ll follow after I clean up this messy-haired bug.”

“What? Bug?! You bastard! You’re the bug!”

“Alright, then the loser is the bug.”

This wasn’t the scene that I wanted.

“Huff…”

This was already the third time these two were having a stand-off.

I sighed softly and looked at Karl Zayed, who’d decided to confront Leo instead of chasing after me.

And then,

“Fine; Leo, Karl, you two have fun. I’ll leave first.”

I began to slowly walk away, trying my best to pretend that I didn’t care in the least.

But of course, deep down, I just wanted them to stop and chase after me.

Why couldn’t I leave the two here, you ask?

Simple. Things would inevitably get dragged out, everybody would focus on the two of them, and my plan would naturally collapse.

The readers might be very much in favour of them having a fight here. No, they definitely were. Although this wasn’t the place for some kind of ultimate showdown, a quick bout? The readers, fans of shounen battle manga as they were, would lap it right up.

Not just the readers either. All the inhabitants of this world were fighting enthusiasts. By deliberate design.

Hell, even I wanted to see them throw hands.

But that was why it was such a threat.

In a situation like mine, I really had to guard against something like that happening.

Fights were exciting. A fight breaking out somewhere could snatch away the spotlight in an eyeblink.

Even more so when it was a fight between famous named characters.

For example, what if Gronyan, the current holder of the leading point of view by the author’s grace, got involved in a fight with Karl Zayed? The spotlight would naturally shift there, and the readers would also enjoy the show without complaint. Even if the plot development smelled fishy because I’d already left with the Ramirez.

‘Well, it’ll still be fun to watch.’

And therefore, dangerous.

Of course, this was unlikely to happen right away. I didn’t know how Gronyan’s character was set, but I’d probably be gone by then.

Anyway, to sum it up, the current interest in me and the Ramirez was transient, and could be snuffed out any moment.

So I had to hurry up and finish this chapter before my worries could become reality.

The problem was,

“Don’t shorten my name. My name is Karl Zayed, not Karl. And it’s obvious where you’re going, anyway. Since I know where you’ll end up, why should I care if you get a little head start?”

These two bastards weren’t listening to me.

“Eh? Really? Where’s he going?”

“I don’t know what his plan is, but that guy’s trying to get the attention of all the strong people right now. This place is filled with blowhards, but there’re still three useful ones if you count.”

“Three?”

“Me, that guy, and that giant who came in with a bunch of flunkeys recently – the one that looks like a bandit. You aren’t included, crackle-bug.”

“What!? Are you looking down on me right now?!”

“You cheeky bastard. Do you think you’re strong? It’s not that you don’t have talent, but your vessel isn’t big enough to fit on this stage. Go and drink some more milk.”

‘Haah…’

I felt like sighing at the sight.

The one being lectured… the ‘crackle-bug’, was the world’s strongest talent as officially recognized by the author himself.

This would one day become a piece of black history. The villain would acknowledge the protagonist and become a fan favourite.

Not only that,

“Yeah? That’s all you have to say!?”

Provocation like that made a real fight a certainty.

So I rushed in before the pissed off Leo could attack Karl Zayed.

“Hey, hey! Stop that! From my point of view, you two aren’t much different, you know? What I mean is, don’t fight over such little things.”

“What?”

“What?”

“And you, you were on the money. That’s right, I’m thinking of meeting up with that big bloke in black. You guys can play around here if you want, but me? I’m going to go fight him and decide who owns this treasure. So, goodbye!”

I immediately turned back and started running.

Were they going to take the bait or not?

This was the best lure I could throw right now. To tell them that I was going to fight.

‘Please take the bait, take the bait…’

And then,

“… You’re in luck, crackle-bug. I don’t have the time to play with you right now.”

“Tch, that’s my line! Shove off, don’t block my way!”

Fortunately, the two idiots, lured in by the thought of me fighting somebody strong, again started chasing me.

“Whoo…”

I let out a sigh, but the future was looking grim.

Like Karl Zayed had said, I was now in a situation where I had to find Gronyan right away. Only then could I get out of this Clone City and bring this chapter to a close.

The problem was that he was living on the top of the mountain just opposite the northern entrance. After arriving here, surprisingly, he’d ignored all the lavish lodgings and gone straight into the mountains.

Of course, I didn’t fear getting lost along the way since I was very familiar with the mountain itself – the goblins had also stayed there – but the distance and the direction were troubling.

He was called the Assassin King, so how fast did that make him, exactly?

‘Ah… it’ll work out somehow.’

And, well, I wasn’t completely out of options either.

While I was forcing my feet to move, lost in thought –

Suddenly,

Tiling–.

– The leading point of view of the chapter has changed.

– The main character of the chapter is now ‘Gronyan’.

A message arrived notifying the change of main character.

“Huh?”

It was now Gronyan who held the leading point of now.

At that moment,

… Huh? Wait a minute.

I froze in my tracks.

Several thoughts ran through my head at the same time.

“Wait, wait a minute…”

I quickly shook my head.

The author finally gave the leading point of view to Gronyan? Now of all times?

The reason was somewhat conceivable.

Ever since the fight between Leo and Karl Zayed had gotten cancelled, he’d probably been trying to get the storyline ‘back on track’ – how he visualized it.

And he was probably aiming to make me fight.

My purpose and direction had been revealed by Karl Zayed, and me bumping into Gronyan also adequately foreshadowed. Moreover, the readers must’ve already been feeling a little excited after seeing Leo and Karl Zayed quarrel, so it’d make for good transition.

What would Gronyan do once he received the leading point of view was obvious. ‘It’s time…’ He’d babble something like that if I had to guess, and then move out of his mountain dwelling to come meet me.

“Good!”

And this was a really lucky turn for me.

The author had just made a huge mistake.

If the leading point view had been given to me instead of Gronyan, I would’ve had no choice but to head towards his place. To the top of the mountain, the exact opposite of my ultimate destination.

But now there was no need for that.

Because he was coming for me anyway.

Of course, I could understand why the author had done this. It might’ve been the obvious thing to do, making the readers empathize with Gronyan.

‘But he should’ve thought it through a little more.’

As soon as I came to a decision, I turned straight around.

And then,

“Huh? Squatjaw?”

“What, have you changed your mind? Alright, let’s finish this right away… Hmm?”

I ran past the two people who were now standing idly by, back towards the opposite direction.

Towards my original destination, the exit of Clone City.

---

“Raise your head.”

At that soft yet resounding command, Yan slowly looked up at the majestic man in front of him.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, he was feeling troubled instead of joyful.

“How are you?”

“What does it look like? Do I look like I’m doing well?”

“… Yes.”

The man clicked his tongue.

“You’re still the same. The way you give a snap answer without much thought. I want to hear your actual opinions, not some parroted answers.”

“It really looks like that to me though, that’s why I said it…”

“And your habit of talking back hasn’t changed either.”

“…”

“Has adventuring been worth it?”

“… Yes.”

“Hmm. Are the guys with you useful?”

Yan could answer this with confidence.

“Yeah, all of them are great. Everyone is stronger than me, and their abilities are amazing…”

“Tsk, can somebody be called ‘amazing’ just because they’re stronger than you? Is that all?”

“…”

It was difficult to hold a conversation, just like always.

Every time he opened his mouth, he’d be rebuked or cut off midway.

But,

“Still, it looks like you’re having fun. Your face is so lively.”

“… Eh?”

“Although you’re probably just fooling around every day.”

Surprisingly, his father appeared to be somewhat satisfied.

“By the way, why did you come back to the field?”

“Are you asking me for an explanation?”

“Ah, no, I was just curious why… Aren’t you retired?”

Then,

“Do you know why I retired?”

This time, there was a strange gleam of interest in Yan’s father’s eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s nothing special. At some point, I stopped having fun. One day I was going to go fishing, then a request came in. It was about killing some king somewhere, I think. But you know what’s funny? I said no, because I didn’t want to put away the fishing rod that day. It was terribly annoying.”

“…”

“So I retired. Because I suddenly realized that I no longer had any interest in my work.”

It really wasn’t a big deal.

“But now… are you saying you’ve again gotten interested?”

“Well, I wasn’t really, not at first – but there were rumours that the target this time is related to the goblins. I’ve been interested in that race for a long time. And fishing was getting boring, anyway.”

But even though Yan’s father said that he was simply interested, the colour of his clothes was unusual. The black uniform he now wore stood for ‘sure kill’ (必殺). And the assassins who’d followed him here weren’t riffraff, either.

While Yan was about to inquire further –

“… Guildmaster, may I interrupt?”

Someone’s voice came from outside the tent.

“Out with it.”

“It looks like Squatjaw and Karl Zayed are going to clash. Along with them is a boy who uses electricity, he’s also uncommonly strong.”

It was Leo.

Yan felt his ears perk up unconsciously.

“Hmmm… is that so?”

The man murmured –

“Looks like it’s time for me to move.”

– And got up from his seat.

As his tall frame stood straight, the large tent suddenly felt full.

Yan had always been curious. Why was there such a difference in their sizes?

“Aren’t you coming?”

“… Eh? Oh, um, coming, I’m coming!”

Then, suddenly, a question popped into Yan’s head.

Did his father come out of retirement just to hunt down Mr. Squatjaw?

“Do you have any other goals after catching Squatjaw…?”

Then,

“Now’s too early to talk about that.”

His father simply smiled and replied indifferently.

And this really surprised Yan.

Was he actually considering the possibility of failure?

---

“Whoo…”

The city exit was already crowded by the time I arrived.

Probably due to the rumors that a lot of Squatjaws were trying to escape the city.

And there were actually quite a few of my lookalikes in one corner.

“Oh, there’s a lot of them, huh?”

Chinuavi and Cocoavi – or rather, Cocoa, had apparently conveyed my orders very well.

Alternatively, a lot of goblins had been feeling a little disappointed due to not being able to play around to their hearts’ content.

Anyway, this was a very positive sign for me.

Soon after,

“What, are you finally done running? You want to team up with these goblins or something?”

Karl Zayed also arrived.

“Huh? What happened to Leo?”

“That crackle-bug? Sleeping in the woods somewhere…”

At that exact moment,

“Found you! You can’t escape that easily!”

Leo’s shout could be heard from afar.

They’d apparently had a go at each other without me knowing.

Of course, the leading point of view had already changed, so it wasn’t something to be worried about, but it did underscore how pressing the situation was. A sense of urgency was slowly building up in my heart.

‘When are you coming? Hurry it up…’

I’d tried to give the guest enough time to arrive, but I’d apparently overestimated him.

‘Hmm.’

This was a bit of a problem.

Since my destination was already in reach, I couldn’t leave, and I couldn’t drag the time anymore either.

There was no point in declaring that I’d be leaving the city right away. Without the leading point of view present, the readers would be left in the dark, so I couldn’t execute my ‘chapter ending operation’.

Besides, there were two monsters right here who were quite incensed due to the long chase.

“Are you thinking of leaving this city? Do you really think it’s up to you to decide that?”

“Squatjaw! Let’s stop here and have a fair match! Give me the treasure!”

Of course, I didn’t respond to them.

Instead, I looked around eagerly. Although I did say there was nothing I could think of to waste any more time –

But, well, there was one thing.

The goblins.

‘How about… I try hiding among them?’

The problem was that this might leave behind a pitiful victim or two.

I’d originally decided to keep the goblins out of harm’s way.

‘No, that’s not it. Some other way, some other way…’

At that moment, while I was floundering without any ideas –

… Thoom.

The very air around me began to shake.

From a deep, heavy sound.

In an instant, everyone’s heads turned to the epicenter of that ripple of noise.

There stood a man of great stature, dressed completely in black.

Gronyan.

Finally, the long-awaited guest of honour had arrived.

He began to trudge forward, meeting the gazes centred on him one by one.

His aura was so intimidating that even Karl Zayed and Leo were watching him with their mouths shut.

Gronyan walked up to me and slowly spoke.

“I heard you want to fight me to decide the owner of the treasure.”

“Oh, you heard?”

“… You should learn some manners, you insolent bastard.”

“Oh? Are you the type who thinks the social order depends on looks and manners?”

“… What?”

Anyway, good job coming here.

I glanced around.

The scene was exactly what I’d hoped for.

A huge crowd, a buzz of excitement, and the eyes already full of anticipation.

“Wait, excuse me. I have something to say.”

I walked right up to the front of the exit and turned back to face the onlookers.

Then, I shouted loudly to the audience.

“I’m Squatjaw Hiro, and I have the treasure, Ramirez! Perhaps everybody here has already heard two pieces of news. That I’m leaving this city, and that I’m fighting to decide the ownership of the treasure.”

Fortunately, no one stopped me.

I’d wondered what would happen if that Gronyan had attacked me mid-announcement.

So I peacefully continued my speech.

“I’m sorry, but one of the two is a lie. You all know by now that goblins are habitual liars, don’t you?”

Suddenly, murmurs began to fill the surroundings.

Maybe it was a reaction like, ‘Hey, what’s he talking about?’

I continued without hesitation.

“What could be the lie? Do you think maybe I’ll pass this on to someone else?”

I took the Ramirez out of my sleeve and shook it once.

The murmurs began to turn louder and louder.

But still, nobody rushed over or attacked me.

To be honest, I’d thought someone might lose patience at this juncture, but luckily they were all pretty calm. Maybe they thought I wouldn’t be able to escape no matter what tricks I pulled.

“I’ll be going, so follow me. I’m going north.”

I took a step back, behind the dividing line that separated the city from the outside, and slowly covered myself top to bottom with the goblin silver screen I’d prepared in advance.

Rustle–.

This… was the end.

All according to plan.

Of course, Karl Zayed or Gronyan wouldn’t find it funny, since they could still sense me just fine. I wondered what their reactions would be.

But I was here, directing the last scene of the chapter, to inflame the readers’ curiosity. To simplify the author’s choices.

Of course, I didn’t know if he’d agree or not.

‘But if you don’t finish the chapter even after all this, you should be disqualified as an author.’

I counted the seconds while shivering a little.

One, two, three, four…

‘Please! Please!’

And finally,

Tiling–.

[Chapter 28 – The Battle for Ramirez’s Treasure (1) has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Liar’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

⦙

The chapter ended.

“Huff! Yeah! Yeah, as it should!”

I could finally relax my breathing.

Finished. It was a success.

That was then.

“Are you done joking?”

Gronyan was slowly approaching. And Karl Zayed and Leo were followed behind.

“If you say you’re running away… why are you standing still?”

Of course, just because the chapter was over didn’t mean everything was over.

The chapter was over, but the gathered characters didn’t simply vanish.

But,

“Well, did you know? The store opens only after the chapter ends.”

They weren’t a threat to me anymore.

“… What?”

I opened the character shop window.

‘It’s been a while since I used this.’

And then,

– Do you want to purchase [Go straight to the chapter progress area] x 1?

I bought one of my favourite starter products.

I’d already told Chinuavi, Cocoa, and Haka to come and find me later.

‘Well, they should be fine.’

– Please tell us where you are going. Currently, there are a total of five chapters that are open for movement.

Perhaps the author’s newly minted preceding plot had gotten twisted, but that didn’t mean all the later chapters had been affected.

In other words, even if I wasn’t sure what would happen in ‘Buckingham’, I could still go to ‘Gibrante’.

I took a look at the ‘monsters’ standing in front of me.

Gronyan, Karl Zayed, Leo – and countless others behind them.

I was a little curious as to how these guys would end this situation and follow up.

But of course,

‘I can hear all about it later.’

I didn’t have any idea about watching it firsthand.

I gently took off the silver screen and greeted them with a smile.

“Then I’ll leave first. To Gibrante!”

A pure white light came out of the hologram and embraced me.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 94

Catch Me If You Can

“Are you… the real Squatjaw?”

Leo frowned and asked the new arrival.

Naturally he wasn’t asking because of the newcomer’s appearance. He looked identical to the ones he’d seen two days before.

Instead, what caught Leo’s eyes was the attitude of the horned boy toward him.

Seeing how respectfully the boy, who was clearly a member of the Squatjaw Adventurers, treats him… Of course, this might all just be another prank, but the possibility remained.

That was then.

“You still can’t tell?”

The new Squatjaw turned to face him with a bright smile.

A familiar smile.

A very confident smile that had been missing from the rest of the Squatjaws.

So… he actually was the real one?

“It’s me, Hiro.”

“You, you…!”

“It’s been a while, Leo.”

At that moment, Leo felt something bubble up inside his chest.

He didn’t know what the lump of emotions consisted of.

It just felt hot, and intense.

“You bastard… I’ve been looking for you!”

“Were you?”

“Squatjaw! Give me the treasure!”

“Which one is it? Did you come here to find me? Or to find the treasure?”

“Both!”

Leo strode forward.

This was his first time feeling so excited.

Lightning started flashing naturally from his body.

Zzappp–!

But Squatjaw was still smiling brightly, and he didn’t take any special action.

“Whoa, hey, calm down.”

“Let’s fight! Whoever wins gets the treasure, how about it?”

“Well, that doesn’t sound bad… Wait a minute. Wait. I’ll send them away first.”

Then he gently lowered his head.

And then,

“Huh?”

Something was peeled off from the air above Squatjaw’s head.

Surprisingly, that little girl from the Squatjaw Adventurers had been hiding there.

“Ah, you’re that little kid!”

“You’re the kid! My name is Cocoa. Or Cocoavi.”

“Now, now, quiet. Leo, wait a bit.”

Squatjaw, the little kid and the horned boy took some distance and put their heads together.

Squatjaw started whispering, and the other two listened intently, but Leo couldn’t catch the conversation.

He could only make out a couple of phrases.

‘Spread out’. And ‘follow me’.

And then,

“Ah, thanks for waiting.”

After sending the two away, Squatjaw came back.

Then he asked a bizarre question.

“By the way, looks like you two have gotten friendly?”

“Huh?”

It was an odd question.

The intent behind the question was of course difficult to understand, but more than that, the subject itself was strange. Why did it sound like Squatjaw knew Tanya too?

“Do you know each other?”

When Leo looked back at Tanya, she answered without turning her gaze away from Squatjaw.

She was showing off a really suspicious attitude.

And after that,

“What, didn’t you tell him?”

Squatjaw asked.

“Tanya? Did you already know Squatjaw?”

Then,

“Like hell I know him! Th-, this… this cunning thief!”

She suddenly started screaming out of nowhere.

“Oh, are you introducing yourself?”

Squatjaw’s words that followed were truly astonishing.

That Tanya was none other than the one who’d first stolen the treasure from Eastland. He even said that they’d arrived to the continent on the same ship.

When Leo asked her if this was true,

“Yeah. But that squat-jawed bastard stole it! My treasure!”

Tanya roared.

“Well, isn’t it a bit too much to say that it’s yours? You stole it from somebody else, too. Oh, and Leo, you don’t even know, do you? That this woman is a member of a very famous bandit gang?”

“Huh?”

That was then.

“Hey, stop it…”

Suddenly, Tanya’s voice became very quiet.

“A bandit gang?”

“Yeah. The Huntington Bandits. Have you ever heard of them?”

It was a very familiar name.

Huntington? Huntington…

“That Huntington?”

“…”

From how Tanya bowed her head, it was true.

“But then why have I never seen her before?”

“Are you an idiot? Because this woman was in Eastland all along.”

“Ah.”

Leo nodded.

Then,

“But so what?”

“Huh?”

Squatjaw seemed puzzled.

“So what if Tanya’s a Huntington?”

“What do you mean… haven’t you guys been fighting them off and on? I’ve heard the rumours.”

“What does that matter? Like you said, Tanya was in Eastland at the time. And at least for now, she’s my friend, not a Huntington.”

The left Squatjaw speechless for a while.

Finally,

“… I see. Already in the party… I guess not yet? That’d be a bit more obvious.”

“What?”

“No, nothing. That’s a good attitude to have. I was just wondering how close the two of you were, so I asked. Well, it doesn’t look that bad. You’re doing well.”

Why did he have to constantly spew out nonsense that Leo couldn’t understand?

Leo thought that he needed to take charge and sort out the situation. Somehow, he had a feeling that the Squatjaw was constantly trying to change the topic.

So, he again circled back to the duel.

“So? Can we do it now? Then hurry up, and…”

“Oh, sorry, sorry. One more thing.”

Squatjaw raised up a finger as he dithered once again.

To be honest, Leo couldn’t help but be frustrated.

Did this guy really have to talk like this?

“Do you want to fight or not?”

“Sure, sure. I just have one last question for you.”

“What is it?”

Then, with a small smile,

“The goblins. How were they?”

“What?”

“How were my goblins? Did you meet them?”

Again, he was asking something strange.

“Your goblins? So you’re saying that all those Squatjaws are really your subordinates?”

“Well… you can think that way. Did you have fun with them?”

Fun? Those bastards had been the worst! They literally couldn’t open their mouths without telling one lie or another. Leo was exhausted dealing with their nonstop schemes and trickery.

“Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of those bastards?! Forget about being let off easy, Squatjaw!”

And in response,

“Have you? But that’s just how goblins always are. Mischief, lies, whimsy, bluffs, sabotage… that’s what they live for.”

Squatjaw chuckled and gave a satisfied smile.

“And… did you know?”

“Huh?”

“I’m a goblin too.”

“… Eh?”

“And those two little kids… should’ve escaped and erased their traces by now. So you can only deal with me.”

“No, what’re you even talking about….”

Squatjaw pulled out a shabby piece of cloth from his arms, ignoring Leo’s confused protests.

“Sorry. The bet on the treasure was a lie.”

“… You…”

“I’ve got a goblin silver screen on me, remember? Now, if you pull it inside out like this…”

At that moment,

Rustle–.

Squatjaw disappeared.

“What… wait, what!?”

Leo, who’d become completely confused, heard Squatjaw’s parting words carried by the wind.

“Catch me if you can.”

---

“Huff…”

I stopped to catch my breath.

How much longer? Maybe five more minutes?

Haka had promised to harry them from the shadows, so he might be able to earn that much additional leeway for me.

I quickly checked the time.

Two in the afternoon.

About an hour or so had passed since I ran away from Leo.

By now, Chinuavi and Cocoa should’ve met up with the goblins to deliver my orders.

Although, I didn’t ask for anything special.

The goblins who had nothing to do, the goblins who were bored, and the goblins who felt a little disappointed for some reason or other… they could follow me to ‘Gibrante’, a city in the north.

Naturally, I didn’t expect many to follow my advice.

And, even if they did, I didn’t have any grandiose plans for them.

I was just aiming at messing up the plotline as much as possible. The more goblins appeared, the more tangled the plot would inevitably become.

Since all my original plans had been destroyed, why should I hold the Ramirez and be chased to my death?

I, too, wanted to live.

---

Until just yesterday afternoon, I had no idea that my strategy for this scramble arc was so off the mark. Sure, I’d weakened much more than expected, and to win by showcasing my brute force was now almost impossible, but still, the overall picture hadn’t changed that much – or so I’d thought.

But that evening,

“Looks like I’m totally done for.”

A single look at the ‘Assassin Society’ that’d finally entered the city had made me realize how easy I’d been taking it.

Haka’s explanation had been insufficient.

The people in the Assassin Society – or more specifically the guildmaster, Gronyan, was a monster far beyond my expectations.

A middle-aged man trudging at the front, wearing a black uniform.

Unlike Yan, his majestic body and thick beard made me think of a bandit at first glance, but the cool light shining from his eyes had the sharpness of a well-forged sword.

Each of his measured step made the whole mountain quake.

“Who even is that? Some kind of Demon King?”

It was no exaggeration. Even that Karl Zayed, whose weakness had not yet been revealed, didn’t seem likely to win.

That momentum, that sense of intimidation –

Maybe the Seven Kings, if they existed right now, wouldn’t feel any stronger?

Of course, he couldn’t actually be at that level. No matter for how long a character had been planned in advance, even the author would find it difficult to drop somebody that strong suddenly in the middle of the plot without any foreshadowing. Also, since I was weaker than before, it was reasonable that my opponents would feel stronger.

But at least, it was clear that he was stronger than I was right now.

It wasn’t common in shounen manga for a guy who ‘looked strong’ to be actually weak.

I felt like somebody had whacked me on the head with a bat. This guy’s very existence invalidated the foundations of my plan.

It’d been a big mistake to think that the author, knowing that I’d brought the goblins out of the Goblins’ Den, would just watch silently.

‘This is a plan to totally bury me…’

In both senses of the word.

1. To bury all my past achievements under his shadow.

2. To actually bury me six feet under.

If you think about it, it was a very simple matter.

Even if the author didn’t have any ill feelings towards me, the new character he introduced out of the blue, Gronyan, needed some kind of an ‘epic performance’ to shine properly on this stage.

How would an author showcase a new monster?

Simple. By having him defeat a worthy opponent.

Karl Zayed? Leo?

I shook my head. No way.

There was only one enemy suitable for that guy.

Exactly. Me.

In fact, it was a natural progression of the storyline. So far, I’d been the one to stand out the most in this arc, and in the first place, the setting itself was that I was the primary target.

I now had a vague understanding of why Karl Zayed had come here.

Wasn’t it because of that Gronyan too? Because in this situation another monster would be needed to balance the plot, and stop it from going haywire.

Of course, it was just a guess.

I couldn’t help but feel troubled.

Now what should I do?

To confront him right away would be, well, crazy.

Even if the goblins and all of Haka’s men cooperated. Such a strong guy didn’t come here alone, exactly to deal with such circumstances.

The dilemma seemed impossible to solve.

‘… My only option is to run away.’

Sorry, but I had no choice but to run now and plan for the future.

But even that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Because there was at least one goal that I had to achieve before I could run.

To properly end the ongoing chapter.

It wasn’t hard to simply run away. I could just quietly vanish.

But if that happened, all that I’d earned in this chapter till now might vanish too.

For example, what if the chapter went off-track in my absence? What if Gronyan, without an opponent to fight against, eventually turned to Karl Zayed; and the two of them had a fight?

All I’d done so far would be quickly overshadowed and lose its impact.

And if that happened, the post-chapter rewards would also naturally decrease significantly. Because the readers wouldn’t remember any of it.

And once the chapter rewards were reduced, I’d really become helpless.

Unlike the others, I had a system that let me level up my character.

And the currency for that was earned through the post-chapter reward settlements.

In a situation where people stronger than me were coming up on stage one after another, if I missed the rewards? If all my earnings vanished in a puff of smoke?

My future would only become more and more bleak.

Therefore, even if I decided to run away, I had to finish this chapter first.

In a way that didn’t harm my image.

It was honestly a pain in the ass.

“… This is killing me.”

In fact, wasn’t there a way to quickly end this chapter?

Based on as a very simple, yet very clear observation.

Just grab the Ramirez and get out of this Clone City.

If my guess was correct, this chapter’s ‘realm’ was probably limited to Clone City.

My logic was simple. There was no reason for Karl Zayed to appear here otherwise.

I’d been thinking about this since the moment he’d arrived here.

Besides, even Gronyan came here.

Obviously, there was something to be concluded in this city.

That said, although I didn’t know exactly what the author’s plan was by bringing Gronyan here, as long as he didn’t succeed, the ‘preceding plot’ would inevitably become twisted.

In such a situation the author would eventually be forced to end the chapter. To stop the plotline from twisting out of his control.

Of course, this was only a guess, and leaving the city didn’t guarantee that the chapter would end immediately. In fact, even in the original, this chapter had ended in Buckingham, not here.

But what if one more condition was added?

The most important part of finishing a chapter was convincing the reader that the story told in the chapter had come to a natural end.

In other words, before the new narrative centred around Gronyan began to build up, I had to clearly remind them that the most important material of this chapter was ‘I’ and the ‘Ramirez’; and the goal of everybody here was to chase me and my treasure. What if I just left the city after?

Wouldn’t that… end the chapter?

---

So, I was repeating my shoddy escape plan.

My scheme was simple.

1. Keep running away while Leo, the current leading point of view, was following behind.

2. Wander all over Clone City along the way and catch people’s attention.

3. Find a place where everyone was paying attention to me, and declare. That there was nothing more to do in this city, and I’d be moving on to the next stage. If they wanted to catch up, or if they wanted Ramirez, then just follow.

The problem was at the second step.

Running all over the city, catching everybody’s attention.

‘Everybody’ here naturally also included Karl Zayed and Gronyan.

In other words, while running away from Leo, I had to go find them and draw their attention.

This might even be the very thing the author wanted. To go up to those monsters on my own two feet.

But there was no other way. All I could do was risk my life and just run.

At that moment,

“Squatjaw!!!”

Leo, who’d been following after me, suddenly shouted from a distance.

He had to carry Tanya while chasing after me, but his stamina still seemed full.

“Stand there! Don’t run away!”

“… Haah.”

Why would I listen?

I was getting ready to run again, but –

Beep–.

Suddenly, the hologram turned red, and a warning message popped up.

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by the preceding plot]

[Movement is restricted for 2 minutes as a cumulative penalty]

[The author’s favourability decreases by 10.]

[Character level decreased slightly]

[Are you sure you want to bypass the sanction?]

– Remaining chances: 2

Again?

‘I’m really dying here.’

I quickly used a veto.

Apparently, just using the veto for an action once didn’t mean the sanction of the precedent plot would go away permanently.

Currently, running away from Leo was a sanctioned act, but the warnings didn’t stop after the first time. They’d been popping up at a regular schedule.

Now I only had two vetoes left.

Of course, in addition to the vetoes, I also had two ‘rights to ignore sanctions’, but they felt too precious to waste here. Was this the sunk cost fallacy?

Anyway,

“Slow down, you bastard!”

I started running again.

Now that I’d had enough rest, it was time to draw the attention of the ‘monsters’.

---

“Haha… phew, this is tough.”

When Karl Zayed saw Squatjaw appear in front of him, he felt embarrassment, anger, and then wonder.

The embarrassment was from how he literally ‘appeared’ out of thin air. And how heavy the man was breathing, as if exhausted, didn’t help either.

Anger came next, because –

“You bastard… it really is you.”

“Hey, long time no see, huh?”

“… I was planning to go find you.”

“It doesn’t matter who stays and who goes, right?”

“Are you ready? Ready to die, I mean.”

“Oh? That might not work.”

– He thought a prank was being played on him.

On him! On Karl Zayed!

Even though he’d lost once, it’d been a mere coincidence. He was confident that he’d never lose against the man ever again.

But immediately after that, came puzzlement.

“What are you doing?”

Because the man really didn’t seem to want to fight him.

Instead, Squatjaw was just looking at him and smiling.

It was a smile the didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason behind it.

“Are you going to fight me then?”

“Naturally.”

“What about the treasure?”

“That’ll be mine, too.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Then, after a quick spell of silence, Squatjaw let out a few words.

“In that case, you…”

And made all Karl Zayed’s doubts and puzzlement turn into a pure intent to kill.

“Catch me if you can.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 93

What Each One Is Aiming For

The second day of the goblin introduction phase.

Even though only a day had passed, the mood of the city had completely changed.

It was quiet.

As if yesterday’s commotion had been a complete lie, the city was engulfed in silence.

This was pretty much as expected.

Simple. The current situation was a replay of the hide-and-seek game I’d played back in the Goblins’ Den.

After walking around for a day or so, the goblins would’ve had no choice but to understand that.

Why did all these humans flock to this city, and what were they looking for so desperately?

Why did I order them to walk around the city disguised as myself?

Why did the humans often attack them on sight?

After understanding the ‘rules of the game’, and grasping the desires of the humans, the goblins’ thoughts would naturally turn to coming up with the best way to tease these idiots.

And depending on their inclinations, their methods of ‘playing’ would be different.

And now the results were in plain view.

Yesterday, there was a commotion due to the guys who wanted to go out and play in the open.

They’d intentionally show up and enjoy playing tag, or pretend they have the Ramirez and lure people into saying, ‘Ugh, I got fooled!’

But just like when I’d played hide-and-seek, these guys didn’t last very long. The humans flocking here weren’t weak, and they didn’t lack numbers, so how could all of them be fooled?

Of course, that didn’t mean the goblins got steamrolled. Unlike the game with me, this wasn’t a ‘regulated game’. They could use their unique abilities to their hearts’ content.

But despite that, it’d inevitably be difficult to cope with people who were so inflamed by greed they’d fight to the death. The goblins did enjoy malicious and cunning pranks, but that didn’t mean they placed lives on the line.

Hence today’s situation was the natural conclusion.

Now was the time of the second type of goblins I’d encountered during the hide-and-seek.

Those who just hide.

The goblins had completely disappeared from the streets.

Not that they’d already left the city or anything. Presumably, each of them were hiding in their chosen boltholes, observing the situation with a grin. Each one was pretending that he had the treasure, a dazzling bait that was bound to hook the greedy.

Anyway, this was an important juncture for me.

Slowly, depending on what their aims were, people’s movements would be different.

The purpose of the present gathering could be broadly divided into the following three categories.

1. Treasure hunters.

2. Those who were pursuing me.

3. Those with other purposes.

First, the treasure hunters.

These were the people who wanted to faithfully realize the original plot development.

They were the ones most actively playing with the goblins, and at the same time, they were my main prey.

I didn’t expect any special movements from them since they were completely focused on the treasure hunt.

Next, those who were pursuing me.

Most of them were assassins, and they’d been staying quiet like the goblins after the first day.

Since I had almost no information about them, it was hard to tell what they were trying to do by hiding in the dark. Was it a strategy to bait me into showing up, or were they awaiting reinforcements from those geniuses and monsters I kept hearing about?

If the latter, then I had to keep some energy in reserve. Compared to the former choice, those newcomer assassins would be able to pose a much more direct and greater threat to me.

Finally, those who had ‘other purposes’.

“Whoo…”

I cleared my mind for a while before trying to analyze this group. Honestly speaking, they were the ones I was the most vigilant about.

Even if I said ‘other purposes’, it was more of an umbrella term meaning ‘those who were here for some unknown reason’.

Karl Zayed was a typical example.

I’d been surprised to see him pop up in the city last evening out of nowhere. For good reason. He hadn’t shown his face in Clone City at all in the original work.

‘… What’s he even doing here?’

Karl Zayed was one of the characters whose appearance, timing, and actions in this arc were very clearly defined. For him especially, the schedule should’ve been pretty strict; because his appearance was slated to end a chapter and immediately begin the next one.

In other words, his appearance itself was the criterion for dividing the chapters.

But Clone City was long before his first scheduled appearance.

“Heeh…”

I looked back at my memory, wondering if I’d misunderstood something.

According to the original plot, Leo would get the Ramirez on the third day after entering Clone City.

Then, after going through several chases and running battles, Leo and party would manage to escape Clone City and arrive at ‘Buckingham’, a city at the border between the central and northern regions.

And as soon as they arrived there, the Ramirez would be snatched away in an instant by Karl Zayed, who’d appear out of the blue. This was the final scene of [Chapter 28 – The Battle for Ramirez’s Treasure (1)].

There was no doubt. My memory wasn’t failing.

So,

“Ugh, this idiot…”

It meant he shouldn’t be over here, beating up goblins and other adventurers alike.

…

It wasn’t just Karl Zayed either. Although not in the same league, there were a few others who’d appeared with a much faster timing compared to the original.

Naturally, the timings alone weren’t what concerned me the most.

What I was worried about was the reason behind it. What had caused this change in the situation?

Because that would explain exactly what the ‘author’s aim’ was.

Simple. Because these changes indicated that ‘something different from the original’ would unfold here in Clone City.

“… Hmmm.”

I jumped up from my seat.

This wasn’t the time to be engrossed in idle thought.

The ‘something’ that was about to happen, had been arranged by the author.

In other words, it meant that my plans were very likely to go off track.

With such strong characters appearing ahead of schedule, there was no way the two-bit mobs would get their time to shine as the leading point of view.

My plan to hunt 8-9 chapter leads within three days had to be reduced to a maximum of five. If this number got further reduced by some new variable, the chapter would become a complete blank slate to me.

I immediately started moving towards where the current lead character was.

Turtlemon.

The captain of the Big Turtle Adventurers, nicknamed Captain Turtle.

The name came from his unique ability, to form an iron armor like a turtle shell, the same type of ‘instant armour outfit’ as Princess Thermis.

In a word, he was like a giant human-shaped turtle.

About two hours had passed since this guy had become the lead character.

There were two reasons why I didn’t go deal with him right away.

Firstly, I thought I should take a little break.

At the same time as this guy became the lead character, Chinuavi, who’d been nearby, got tired of running away and burrowed into the ground to hide. Right now, what this idiot Captain Turtle and his men were doing was a sight to behold. They’d grabbed a bunch of shovels from somewhere and were digging up the earth, thinking they could catch Chinuavi that way.

“Haha…”

I thought waiting was the right choice. This guy was a lead character of this chapter, and I’d already spent a lot of energy dealing with three of his predecessors in a row. He looked like he’d be busy for at least the next three or four hours.

So, I took it as an opportunity to take a break and organize my thoughts.

Secondly, because I couldn’t think of a proper way to deal with this guy.

He might’ve been stupid, but he was also stupidly tough.

He didn’t look flashy, and his brain didn’t work too well, but even so, he was able to receive the leading point of view, for that simple reason.

His armour, the [Ironclad Carapace].

It was a fairly high tier defensive ability. To the extent that I couldn’t even think of an ability that could easily pierce through it.

Of course, there were ways to deal with it.

Whether using Leo’s, Kiriko’s, or Yan’s ability… But I was still a little hesitant, because the fight wouldn’t end neatly and drag on. There weren’t many people who could beat this guy easily.

‘What to do…’

Again, the simplest solution was to Kiriko’s ability. The ‘awl’ had superlative piercing power and would definitely pierce his shell. The problem was that his shell also regenerated very quickly…

‘How about using tranquilization or explosion-type bullets?’

Anyway, I decided to give it a try.

It’d be a good idea to try things out instead of worrying.

But while I was approaching them while mulling over the problem inside my head –

“… Sir Squatjaw.”

Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere.

“Hm?”

“Here.”

The sound was coming from below.

My shadow was talking to me.

“… What a surprise. Why are you in there?”

“Because I was in a hurry.”

“Huh?”

That was a bit of a curious remark. Was it faster to come into my shadow? Compared to moving on flat ground?

“What, is this some kind of ‘shadowport’? Are you teleporting from shadow to shadow?”

I was asking as a joke.

But,

“Yes.”

The answer came.

“… Huh? Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“…”

I never knew he could do that.

“Anyway, that’s not important.”

Haka sounded serious.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Guesses were running through my head as I asked.

Recently, Haka had been focusing on reconnaissance; keeping an eye on the assassins. The fact that he’d run here in such a hurry meant he’d noticed something.

“It’s him. He’s arrived.”

I knew it.

“You mean that guy?”

“Yes, Gronyan. The guildmaster of Black Shadow. And now the president of the Westland Assassin Society.”

“Aha…”

Yan’s father had arrived, it seemed.

Haka’s opinion on him was simple and clear.

“He’s strong.”

“Is that so?”

“I couldn’t even get close. I was afraid I’d get caught and killed.”

“…”

This was a little unexpected.

Haka had also been subject to power balance adjustment, but he hadn’t suffered that much of a loss. To be honest, it was to the point where I wanted to ask him if he’d actually lost any power. I’d seen him go to battle a few times, and he was still incredibly strong. Probably the adjustment hadn’t affected him too much due to how rare his appearances were.

Anyway, that same Haka was now saying, ‘I couldn’t even go near him because I was afraid I’d be killed’.

Hence it was certain that this Gronyan was also one of the ‘real contenders’.

“Hmm.”

I paused again, and pondered.

This was a bad omen.

I really wanted to make sense of this timing.

After Karl Zayed, a second ‘real contender’ already appeared in Clone City, at the very start of the middle phase of this scramble?

In the original work, the fight between the ‘real contenders’ didn’t happen here, but at a northern city closer to Northland. So, with the exception of Karl Zayed, the carrier of the treasure, the rest should’ve normally appeared at that place.

But two of them had already appeared here, way ahead of schedule. Including one who didn’t even exist in the original.

Shit was getting crazy.

“… I really don’t understand.”

I didn’t know what the author was aiming for, but he was definitely trying to do something here in Clone City.

Whatever it was, I felt like I myself had to hurry.

“Haka, are you busy right now?”

Originally, I’d planned to beat the leads one-on-one, but that plan now had to be shelved. Since the circumstances had changed, I had to change with them.

“Oh? Do you have a job for me?”

“Can you peel off that turtle’s shell?”

---

It’d been three days since he’d started walking around disguised as Squatjaw.

Chinuavi was feeling a little bored.

To be honest, he was wondering what exactly was the point of all this.

Every other goblin was having fun in their own way, except for him.

He wasn’t playing hide-and-seek, and he wasn’t very good at hiding treasure or playing tag, anyway.

All this trouble stemmed from this strange mirror that’d been forced on him.

Chinuavi touched the mirror hidden in his sleeve for a moment.

“Haah…”

It would’ve been alright if not for his big brother’s command to ‘just hide, but don’t stay long in one place’.

What was the fun in that? Even if he tried to play with anybody who found him, Big Brother would show up at the last second, beat them up himself, and then run away again.

Was he being sacrificed for the sake of Big Brother Squatjaw’s weird fetish? He was on the verge of believing that.

But anyway…

“Today is the last!”

Chinuavi clenched his fists proudly.

His big brother had only asked for three days.

If he could do it for three days, he’d be done. He wouldn’t have to hold on to this mirror anymore.

And the target to whom it should be handed over was also clearly defined.

Leo. That messy-haired boy.

As long as he encountered the boy, there’d be no need to hide anymore.

He could just give the mirror away. It was okay if he wanted to play or tease the kid a bit, but at the end of the day, he had to make sure that he delivered the mirror.

That was his big brother’s instruction.

“When’s he going to show up…”

In fact, that was why he was strolling along the main street without even covering himself up with the silver screen. So that the guy could find himself easily.

That was then.

“Is it this guy?”

It seemed that the God of Mischief was playing a prank. The target appeared in front of him out of nowhere.

A smile appeared on Chinuavi’s lips.

“Haha! Long time no see.”

“Huh? Long time no see? Do you know me?”

“Ah… well, I forgot that I was in disguise now.”

Chinuavi gently released his disguise.

And then,

“Uh… huh?”

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Nice to meet you. Messy-haired kid. This is our first meeting since the qualification exam, isn’t it?”

“Ah? That’s right! You’re one of the Squatjaw Adventurers! Are you also that, whatchacallit, ‘goblin’ or something?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ooh! And, and also! I heard you guys did something special?”

“Haha, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Then, what about Squatjaw?”

“Him? You’ll have to hear from him yourself.”

“Hmm, that’s right…”

Then the boy who was nodding his head followed up with,

“By the way, do you have any treasures?”

He asked in a meaningful tone.

Chinuavi was feeling conflicted.

Should he just hand it over now, or play for a little bit?

Of course, they seemed convinced that he already had the treasure. Maybe the red-haired woman next to that boy named Leo was a guide.

Her gaze had been focused on his arms since she’d appeared.

However, just because you can see something doesn’t mean you can take it.

Chinuavi decided to have some fun first.

“I have it, but I can’t give it to you.”

“Yeah, right? I didn’t expect that either.”

“So I’ll give you a chance to take it. As long as you win a bet with me, I’ll give it to you right away.”

“Bet? Like what?”

“Anything is fine. How about something you’re confident at?”

Then,

“Okay, then it’s a fight!”

Then the boy quickly took a pose.

“…”

Chinuavi was not amused.

“How’s that different from taking it by force? That’s not how a bet works, right?”

“Then what!?”

“It’s fine if it’s just… something simple. For example…”

That was then.

“Wait a second!”

A voice suddenly broke in.

And the who spoke had a very familiar appearance.

“Big Brother?”

“What, another Squatjaw?”

The newcomer approached slowly.

Then,

“Do you still have it?”

He whispered in Chinuavi’s ear.

“Yeah, still got it. Should I hand it over now?”

“No.”

Then he smiled as if he was happy.

And then,

“Change of plans.”

He kept whispering.

“We’ll take this to the end.”

“Ah? What do you mean, so suddenly…”

Then,

“I saw him in person, that Assassin King guy. He’s incredible. To deal with Karl Zayed, that guy, and the rest of the real contenders, I have to level up a bit first. But looking at the way things are going right now… even if you hand over the treasure to this guy, it doesn’t look like things are going end smoothly.”

He was muttering something Chinuavi couldn’t understand.

“If I stay still, I’m afraid I’ll be buried in this city before I can level up…”

“Wait, what the hell do you…”

“Alright, it’s decided. I’ll carry it from now on.”

And go straight north.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 92

Does This Even Make Sense?

Tiling–.

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by the preceding plot]

[Movement is restricted for 2 minutes as a cumulative penalty]

[Author’s favourability decreases by 10]

[Character’s level decreases slightly]

[Are you sure you want to bypass the sanction?]

– Remaining chances: 2

Two chances left?

Just then,

‘Ah!’

I blinked, remembering.

A feature called ‘preceding plot can be ignored’ that I’d received from the system as my level rose.

In addition to the eight veto rights I had purchased, two more lives (?) were left.

‘No, ait. The function seems a bit different from the veto ticket?’

Wasn’t this close to a ‘fundamental right’ guaranteed by the system? It felt a little different from a product I could buy with points.

I decided to save it for now. There might not be that much difference in the effects, but the veto might not work against high severity penalties.

Instead, I consumed one [penalty veto] in the inventory tab.

And then,

– When used, the following penalties are removed

1. Limited movement for 2 minutes

2. Slight decrease in character level

※ Author’s favourability reduction cannot be vetoed.

– Are you sure you want to decline the penalty? This veto is one-time use only.

A confirmation message appeared.

Looking at the emphasis on one-time use, even the system knew that it was expensive.

But I couldn’t help it. If I didn’t use the veto, my life itself might get snuffed out, and then what use would my points be?

‘Confirm.’

Then, the pressure that had been pressing upon my body disappeared in an instant.

It really works.

I looked straight ahead.

There stood a man, looking at me with wary eyes.

Wales.

A man with a skull-like face, wrinkled body, and neat long locks of straight hair for some reason.

A character who wielded a great spear the length of his own body as a weapon, and mainly used a ‘one-shot kill’ attack to end battles in a single blow.

Judging only by overall significance in the plot, he wasn’t some bigshot. He was more of the type that would appear with a cocky smirk but would get smashed flat in the end.

Nevertheless, the reason he was able to appear at least occasionally before Leo and party before they passed the King’s Road in the original work, was because both his appearance and attack style was full of personality.

A rake-thin man with neat, straight hair, with a gigantic spear, aiming it horizontally, and delivering a deadly blow.

He was obviously quirky enough to create a maniac fan base.

Anyway, he was a very suitable guy to be used as the first sacrifice in my ‘lead character hunting’.

Wales seemed to feel an aura of danger from me as I grinned at him.

“… Are you the real Squatjaw?”

“That’s right.”

“But… I don’t think you have any treasures.”

“That’s right, too.”

“I don’t understand. You put your treasures into someone else’s hands? And blocked the people chasing him? What are you thinking?”

“All of this has a deep meaning. Do you think you can understand everything in the world?”

Then,

“…”

Wales nodded quickly, and grabbed his spear.

“That’s right. There are many things in the world that I don’t understand. But it’s also true that there’s an easy way to solve this. Once I poke a few holes in you, you’ll sing on you own without even waiting for me to ask. There’s no need to waste time talking.”

Saying so, he lowered his posture, pulling his spear all the way back.

Whoo.

This guy had a pretty brutal side.

Well, some readers must’ve liked that too.

I grinned at him again, then picked up a long wooden stick lying nearby. Then I took the exact same pose.

And then,

“What are you doing?”

His eyes were full of wonder.

I must’ve looked crazy. Maybe he thought I was joking.

But I had no intention of making him understand. I wanted him to look at me with his eyes full of ‘How is this possible?!’ The more he did that, the more the readers would feel the same way.

Actually, before I started this ‘lead character hunting’, I’d decided upon a set of guidelines.

Just mimic their skills and beat them at their own game.

This was an arc where numerous characters were scheduled to appear and show off their unique abilities. What could be more eye-catching at this juncture than beating each one with the same ability?

I was going to reveal my ‘goblin background’ in this arc anyway, so there was no worry about the readers questioning it either. Rather, I hoped that their questions would be amplified.

So, I was going to apply [Mimic Acrobat] straightaway.

But,

“… Huh?”

Suddenly, an unexpected problem occurred.

The ability didn’t activate.

‘What?’

I tried again, but ran into the same problem. It was a failure.

How unexpected.

“Wait, wait!”

I quickly changed my position and raised my hand to stop my opponent.

“What are you doing?”

“Wait, wait just one minute!”

I just carefully reproduced the situation in my head.

Why didn’t it work?

All conditions had already been met. I knew his face and name, had seen his ability before, and knew how it worked. And next, my physical ability was also superior…

At that moment,

‘… No way.’

It felt like my heart was about to burst.

There was no question. Unless this guy’s unique ability had suddenly been changed, there was only one condition that I possibly couldn’t satisfy.

Physical ability.

What the current situation meant was clear. My physical ability was insufficient to mimic this guy’s unique ability.

… Did this even make sense?

Of course, it was true that this guy’s unique ability required a particularly strong body. Since the ability belonged to the type that drew in the body’s inherent power to the fullest to achive an explosive release, inevitably the underlying body had to be strong. In fact, a meme had even made the rounds in the fan community for a while about how that skinny body was actually full of compressed, wiry muscles.

But nevertheless, this made no sense.

How could I possibly be weaker in power than this guy?

The small list I’d made of guys possibly stronger than me had already been as conservative as possible. To be honest, I’d actually been considering whether it might be worthwhile to have a tussle with Karl Zayed…

“Eeh…”

I was feeling terribly frustrated.

Of course, there was no objective data to show strength as a numerical value. My standard for measuring a character’s strength was also ambiguous. At most, I was just making a judgment based on ‘character significance’ or ‘history with other opponents’.

But that didn’t make it a lie. Since this guy’s one-hit special attack could be blocked and even completely destroyed by just a bullet from Kiriko, I could only rank him as someone who ‘can’t stand even a single shot from Kiriko’.

“Hey, are you trying to buy time or something? If you’re afraid…”

“Ugh, wait! I said wait!”

“…”

I hurriedly looked up my status window.

Had I read it wrong? Had it been cut down even more?

The status window was still the updated version even after my drop in level.

[Character Level]

• Current rating: Supporting cast
• Current value: 716
• Experience: 2%
• Value to reach the next level: ?
• Preceding plot can be ignored: 2 times

As I thought.

Originally it’d been in the early 1000s, now it was cut to the early 700s.

‘Why…’

It’d be most reasonable to say I was now at around 70% of my original level.

And to be honest, it wasn’t a bad number. Nothing too dissatisfying. This much could be quickly restored, and I’d honestly thought I wouldn’t have any trouble dealing with these ‘two-bit mob characters’.

Also, this wasn’t the only metric I was using to mentally calculate my overall strength.

There were two more.

1. Physical body strength and intensity,

2. Identifying unique abilities that could be mimicked.

These two.

And the results weren’t bad.

In terms of physical might, during my measurements, I hadn’t felt ‘weakened’ too much, and I hadn’t had any trouble mimicking the unique abilities of Leo’s party, which were my baseline. And even then, I was mimicking them from a few chapters further on.

Of course, their unique abilities weren’t 1:1 with their physiques like Karl Zayed, so it was true that they were easier to mimic in that sense. But even so, they were the main characters of this story. They were the ones who’d restore their power the fastest.

So, based on all of this, I’d thought that I had reasonably measured my strength in my own way.

“Haah…”

It really felt like my mentality was breaking down.

Not to mention that all my plans had gone awry, I didn’t even know if I could quickly deal with the guy in front of me.

I looked back at Wales again.

He also seemed to have decided to just attack.

“I don’t know if you thought delaying the time would help, but it’s led to your death. If you’d run as soon as you met us, you might’ve saved your life.”

The spear in his hands began to glow brightly.

It looked like he’d been cleverly gathering strength while I was busy thinking. The destructive power of his one shot strike would intensify the longer it gathered power.

“… Alright, I suppose this is it.”

Slap!

I slapped my cheeks with both hands.

Then I quickly cleared my mind.

I could ponder over the possible reasons later.

Maybe I’d been overestimating my own strength, or maybe this guy was stronger than I’d thought.

Besides, that was the point of ‘power balance adjustment’, wasn’t it? In order to balance the new characters, the power of the current strongest had to be cut to size.

Looking at it that way, it was a problem that I’d considered the power levels of the original to compare. Since I’d become one of the strongest people in the world, yet the original never had somebody like me.

And on top of that, the author might’ve applied a separate adjustment only on certain characters. It might’ve been naive to think that all existing characters would’ve been weakened by ‘equal proportions’.

Anyway, it was my fault.

I had to admit what I had to admit and adapt to this new reality. If I only kept idly muttering to myself, I’d definitely be blown away by the coming attack.

But…

“Even so, I can still deal with you.”

I quickly activated a unique ability.

It wasn’t a goblin ability. Mental abilities might indeed tide me over the current situation, but they didn’t have much reader appeal. They weren’t flashy, after all.

It was embarassing, but since I’d paid such a high price and came to hunt the leading characters, shouldn’t I show a decent performance?

So, this was the one I chose.

[Six Burning Bullets].

I pulled out two revolvers from my waist that’d suddenly appeared.

Quickly rotated the chambers.

Both chambers received the same type of bullet.

Penetration X penetration.

‘I’m sorry, Kiriko, but I have no choice but to use it in advance.’

Starting with this arc, Kiriko’s significance and battle scenes would increase rapidly.

Probably because the main character and the party had weakened so visibly in the aftermath of the power balance adjustment. So the author had to immediately start work on character enhancement in the original.

And among Kiriko’s opponents, there was also this guy called Wales, and to his shock, his spear had been mercilessly dismantled by Kiriko’s bullets. The ‘one-hit deathblow’ from a guy who had a stronger body than me now.

Of course, it wasn’t just a straightforward test of power.

In terms of power alone, Wales might’ve been stronger. No, he almost definitely was.

The reason why Kiriko was still able to win was because he’d aimed directly at that ‘blindspot in that fatal blow’.

“Are you… that confident because you have a couple of guns?”

Wales’ spear suddenly shone with a dazzling light. Looked like he’d fully gathered his strength.

And then,

“This is a spear that can pierce though even a missile that contains the essence of Northland science. If you can stop it, stop it.”

His great spear shot at me.

And the moment the tip of the spear reached in front of me,

Bang! Bang!

I shot ‘overlapped’ bullets at the center of the spear, the nucleus of that energy.

And then,

Pshng–.

Pop–.

My bullet pierced his spear very easily.

For a moment, Wales’ face turned red with astonishment.

“Wh-, what…?”

Of course, my magic bullet also lost its power and disappeared.

But nevertheless,

“You want to try again?”

Victory and defeat was clear at a glance.

What Wales used was a one-hit fatal attack, and I just shot just two bullets.

Again, I only had to rotate the chambers the same way, and –

Whirrrr – click!

The bullets were loaded once again.

“Uh, how….”

Wales looked like he’s gone completely insane.

Well, no wonder. The attack that had condensed all his strength had been scattered with just two bullets.

“The essence of your one hit special doesn’t lie in how much power you can gather. It’s about condensing that power and focusing it through a single point.”

As long as you broke through its centre, all that power would quickly disperse in all directions.

Kiriko’s magic bullets could not only combine different properties, but also overlap the same property to dramtically strengthen it.

And I’d struck that nexus of energy with two penetrative bullets overlapped.

AKA, the ‘awl.’

This was Kiriko’s weapon that had defeated Wales in the original.

“The reason you were able to pierce the Northland missiles is simple. Because your spear was the smaller of the two. And I beat you the same way. Compared to my bullets, your spear’s just way too wide.”

“That, how can that…”

To be honest, I did feel a little guilty, bluffing like that. This was a Wales-specific solution that Kiriko had had to squeeze his brain dry to come up with.

Due to this battle between us, perhaps the next battle between those two would take a different route.

‘Eh, I don’t care…’

Those two would have to be the ones to figure it out. Or the author would.

I turned back.

I’d never really considered finishing him off here.

He’d already been beaten down, and my strength had been proven too.

The leading point of view would probably change hands soon.

And indeed,

– The leading point of view of the chapter has changed.

– The main character of the chapter is now ‘Dorian’.

The results were as expected.

“Whoo…”

The next opponent was a bit of a headache.

He wasn’t going to be easy to beat. No, if I thought he wasn’t going to be easy, maybe in reality he’d turn out to be really troublesome.

To be honest, it didn’t seem like I could just go deal with him as I pleased. It might be better to take a more cautious approach, to carefully choose an ability that would be optimized to beat him in the safest and most satisfing way.

‘Come to think of it, if these guys are already giving me trouble, I might have to make some proper preparations for the ‘real contenders’.’

I felt the tension slowly ratchet up through my body.

A heart-pounding sensation that I hadn’t felt for a while.

“… Haah.”

Now was only one down. There was a long way to go.

I shook my head once to shake off my thoughts, then immediately shouted.

“Cocoa, let’s move!”

---

“Ah, I guess it’ll take some time…”

Kiriko nodded at Yan’s words.

He’d expected that.

“It should. Because this is a puzzle, to find the real one among the Squatjaws. That’s more of a decipherer’s job than a guide’s, right?”

At that,

“I thought you were going to forever stay an idiot… Hoh, have you gotten a little smarter?”

Siana nodded her head.

“Can you find him or not?”

“You’re back to asking a stupid question again. It only lasted a second. Have you forgotten?”

Then,

“I’m the kind of person who never gets anything wrong.”

She smiled and added.

Well, at least she was confident.

Irrespective of whether she was right or not.

That was then.

“But… what are you looking for?”

Siana asked a slightly random question.

“What do you mean?”

When Kiriko looked at her with puzzled eyes, she continued with a strange smile.

“The treasure? Or… Squatjaw?”

It was an absurd statement. What did that…

Wait, maybe?

“… Are you saying that Squatjaw and the treasure are not at the same place? Isn’t Squatjaw holding the treasure?”

Siana nodded.

“I can’t be sure… but I think, maybe?”

“…”

There was a moment of silence.

Before long, Kiriko spoke slowly.

“The treasure will probably be found by Leo’s side.”

“Why? Leo seems to want a battle with Squatjaw.”

“I know. That guy is obsessed with Squatjaw. The only problem is that redheaded girl with Leo. After all, that girl is the one looking for the path. I don’t think she’d be bothered about the difference. She’s probably aiming purely for the treasure.”

Siana also nodded in agreement.

“Hmmm… that’s a reasonable analysis. How unlike you.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“Yes, yes, amazing. Anyway, what about you? Are you going for the treasure? Or Squatjaw?”

“… Well.”

Kiriko was also interested in Squatjaw. But not to the same extent as Leo. Or Siana, for that matter.

To be honest, he couldn’t understand why they paid so much attention to Squatjaw. They’d bumped into him a few times and been beaten, but at best, those matches had been nothing more than ‘games’.

What if they preperly fought as adventurers, as ‘adversaries’? He’d never thought that he might lose.

And, in fact, more than Squatjaw, there was another guy who’d truly shocked him.

Karl Zayed.

A human being against whom he could never be sure of victory, even in a proper clash.

Rather, it was because of that man that his interest in Squatjaw had deepened. Because he really didn’t understand how Squatjaw’s team had been able to beat that guy during the qualification exam.

“Looks like you’re more interested in the latter.”

Siana seemed to have guessed his mind, and smiled lightly.

“I was just wondering if there was anything more interesting going on.”

But just as Kiriko was going to add more –

Siana suddenly said something strange.

“For example… something like that?”

“Huh?”

A strange sight came to Kiriko’s eyes as he turned his head following Siana’s finger.

People and objects were bouncing up like firecrackers bursting into the sky. A giant sword of immense size, one of the squat-jawed goblins, everything was soaring into the air without discrimination.

“… He really is here.”

He didn’t know how the fight had broken out, but they’d chosen the wrong opponent.

Because that monster was strong enough to treat almost all humans like toys without needing any special abilities.

Kiriko’s eyes lit up for a moment.

It was Karl Zayed.

He’d arrived.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 91

Squatjaw’s Loosed Goblins in the City!

“Goblins!”

The scream of a bystander brought the dazed party members back to reality.

When they came to their senses, the word ‘goblin’ was resounding everywhere.

“Goblins! Squatjaw’s loosed goblins in the city!”

“Squat-jawed goblins!”

Goblins?

It was a word she’d heard before. And that too, not very long ago.

Tanya rummaged through her memories.

And soon,

“Ah… Eastland.”

She was able to recall a related memory.

It was a word she’d heard from those pursuing her after she’d stolen the Ramirez.

That this newcomer was like a goblin.

At her words, Leo asked with a bewildered expression.

“What, do you know? What’s a goblin?”

“No, I don’t know exactly. But some people in Eastland called me that. That I was like a goblin.”

“Is… that so? Then, can you grow your jaw to jut out like that too…?”

“… Hell no.”

Looking back, it’d definitely been strange.

Why did they think of a goblin when they saw her?

She’s used an escape technique at that time, mainly to erase her traces and hide her appearance. She definitely didn’t ‘grow’ some body part so strangely that it’d make people avert their eyes.

Was ‘goblin’ a trait that encompassed both things?

That was then.

“Let’s just ask.”

The redheaded man said so, and then stepped towards the place where the sound was coming from.

Then he brought a man back with him.

Although instead of ‘bringing’, the act could be called ‘abducting’. The redhead had simply dragged the man in by the collar.

But the strange thing was that the man who’d been suddenly taken captive didn’t look upset. Even after suffering something so outrageous, he even seemed to be holding back laughter.

“Wh-, what is it?”

“I want to ask you something. What’s a goblin?”

“Eh?”

“You were screaming ‘goblin, goblin’ just now. What do you mean that goblins are loose in the city?”

“Oh, that’s… but, um! That’s a secret…”

“Hey, that’s funny. Were you yelling something so secret for everybody to hear just now?”

“It’s just… it was so strange and surprising that I…”

“Eeh…”

It wasn’t funny.

He’d yelled so promptly as if he’d been waiting for the chance to.

Not just him. Even now, screams of ‘goblin!’ could be heard everywhere.

This meant that an organization was moving systematically.

Although Leo and party didn’t know what their scheme was.

“So? What’s a goblin?”

When they asked the question one more time, the man shook his head as if he’d given up resisting.

Then,

“‘Goblin’ is the name of a race. An enigmatic race that inhabits a place called the Goblins’ Den in Eastland. They’re cunning, mischievous and capricious; monsters who take pleasure in causing others trouble.”

As if he’d been waiting for this moment, he started explaining enthusiastically.

It was a race of beings who were particularly outstanding as decipherers, had incredibly strong personalities, and possessed many mysterious abilities. What they were seeing now was a group of goblins mimicking the appearance of Squatjaw using their ‘masquerade’ ability.

“Then you’re saying that the goblins are now following Squatjaw’s orders to carry out a sabotage operation?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably something like that.”

“Hmm, but why are the goblins listening to his orders?”

“Well, shouldn’t you ask them that?”

“Is it possible that Squatjaw himself is also a goblin?”

Then,

“Hehe, no way. But… it’s a reasonable question.”

It was as if he’d been waiting for the issue to be brought up. There was a bright smile on his face.

It was a really dubious response.

It seemed that the redheaded man felt the same way.

“Then can I ask you one more thing?”

“As you like.”

“How did you get to know about that mysterious race?”

“… Eh?”

“How did you know?”

“Ah, that was just… a rumour…”

“Isn’t it a mysterious race, veiled by riddles? How come there’re so many detailed rumours?”

The red-haired man took a step forward, and –

“Who are you?”

“… Ah?”

“What’s your identity?”

“Uh… I was just over there…”

“Are you…?”

That was then.

“Okay, let him go. He was kind enough was to answer our questions. Don’t bother him anymore, Kiriko.”

Leo stepped forward and stopped the redhead.

Kiriko scratched his head once at this, then took a step back.

Soon after,

“I… can I go then?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The guy ran away. Very promptly.

Leo, who saw it, said with a smirk.

“Hey, isn’t it obvious? That guy must be a goblin.”

“Why did he come himself to tell us all that, do you think?”

“He said it himself. It’s a race that likes to attract others’ attention. Maybe that’s why?”

“Hmm.”

Surprisingly, Leo and the redhead seemed to take everything in stride, including that goblin’s explanation. The situation of Squatjaws pouring down the mountain, and the fact that Squatjaw might not even be human.

When Tanya inquired about it,

“Ah, we’ve seen it a few times already. That transformation ability, I mean. There’s this small, horned guy in the Squatjaw Adventurers. There was a time when that guy turned into Squatjaw. How many times have we been through that nonsense? Hey, maybe that guy was a goblin too.”

They replied indifferently.

“What, so you already knew?”

“About the ability itself? Sure. But I just thought it was an unique ability. This is my first time hearing about a new race. It does sound odd, though.”

That was then.

“Is Mr. Squatjaw really a goblin, then? Was that how he could mimic our abilities every time?”

The dwarfish boy who’d been silently observing the situation from the sidelines finally spoke up.

“Hm? I don’t know about that. That guy talked a lot about the goblins, but he never mentioned that they have such an ability. Anyway, we’ll find out sooner or later.”

“So what now?”

“What else? We have to find him.”

Leo grinned and looked towards the mountain.

“The real one should be among them. The real Squatjaw, with the treasure.”

“Ah, so the one to find him first would get it?”

“Naturally. See how excitedly he’s running down the mountain. He looks like he’s already having fun, doesn’t he?”

“Hmm, then should we hurry? By the looks of it, we aren’t the only ones gunning for him.”

It was just as the red-haired man had said.

Even before Leo and his party’s arrival, groups had already been flocking in one after another. Some of the impatient ones had gone up first and been promptly smashed flat, but clearly there were still a lot of people left who were looking for a chance.

Then,

“I have a good idea. There are two guides here, right?”

Leo smiled and looked back at her.

And only then did Tanya understand why they’d found her.

“Shall we split the party? In threes and twos.”

---

Tiling–.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 28 – The Battle for Ramirez’s Treasure (1)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

“Huff… that was dangerous.”

If I’d been just a little late in releasing the goblins, I might’ve gotten hit with a penalty bomb directly due to the sanctions of the preceding plot.

I let out a long sigh as I watched the ‘other mes’ spread out across the city.

And then,

“Ah ha ha ha ha!”

I let out a hearty laugh and left the mountain.

What would happen in the future? By now, I didn’t know either.

There was only one thing I’d asked of the goblins.

For the next three days, I wanted them to walk around the city in my own form, and if possible, holding a small mirror.

That was it.

And from then on, they could go do their own thing.

They could go back to the Goblins’ Den, go on a tour of Westland, or become friends with other adventurers. Well, as long as they didn’t follow me, it didn’t matter what they did.

This was my truth.

To be honest, I had no intention of touching them from this moment on. I didn’t even have the confidence. Even if some of them didn’t wait three days and instead left this city right away, I wasn’t going to make an issue of it.

Although I’d dropped the lot of them here to stage a play, this place was essentially a battlefield. The situation could turn for the worse at any moment, placing them in true danger for the first time in their lives.

Of course, goblins were serious about pranks, so some might not want to give up the ‘Squatjaw play’ even after three days, but I couldn’t control that either.

‘Well, they won’t listen to what I say, anyway.’

Anyway, the arrow had already been loosed.

Now it was the author’s responsibility to manage and solve the riddle of the goblins in the story.

Maybe he had a migraine already.

As I imagined such a scene, a hum unconsciously came out of my throat.

“I don’t know~ And I don’t care~ Send me to Eastland again if you dare~”

Hmmm.

Well, I was still feeling proud to some extent.

I’d set up some plot devices in advance so that the future development wouldn’t go completely off the rails.

First, the publicity.

In order to reduce the readers’ questions as much as possible (although not like it didn’t benefit me even more), didn’t I publicize the information about the goblins in advance?

Since Leo and his party had an encounter with one of the goblins right at the city entrance, the information should’ve been conveyed safely.

Well, the amount of information would vary slightly depending on which one they caught.

The next was the change to the game format.

The author should find the current situation much more familiar, compared to what it could’ve been. Instead of a boring setup of one man guarding the treasure and being attacked on all sides, now he had to weave a plot around a horde of goblins with their own tricks. From some facsimile of tower defence, the game format had again changed to something closer to a scramble.

The reason I thought this was simple. Because right now, I truly didn’t have the Ramirez.

Actually I didn’t even know where it was or who had it.

I just knew that some goblin or other had it. I’d purposely thrown it among the goblins, and only told them that the one most skilled at hide and seek should take care of it.

Of course, I’d also added a postscript.

If they survived three days without the treasure being snatched away, they’d not only keep the treasure, but also get a separate reward.

In addition to the roleplay aspect, I thought it added a little bit of flavour of hide-and-seek.

Without lures like then, how could I be confident in reining in those free-spirited goblins?

The reason why I didn’t keep the Ramirez myself and instead threw it to the goblins was for two reasons.

Firstly. As mentioned earlier, I wanted to stick close to the original plotline to an extent.

Not just to appease the author, but also because it helped me too. It went without saying that knowing the future was my greatest strength. I couldn’t mess that up.

For one thing, the core contents of this arc were ‘introduction of new characters’ and ‘adjustment of power balance’. To do that, powerful new characters had to take turns with the leading point of view, but they might not get any chance to shine if the treasure was left in my hands. Many of them were slated to be active in the future, so blocking their growth wasn’t a good thing for me either.

And the other issue being –

What if all of them united against me, the public enemy no. 1?

I might actually get beaten in an upset.

The current me was far from the strongest in the world, and there were even some who were stronger than me. The risk wasn’t small.

In other words, the defence game would’ve been hard for me as well.

Now let’s come to the second reason. In order to not give the Ramirez to Leo with my own hands.

Actually, this was the bigger one. I had to hand it over somehow, but it’d be weird if I just gave it to him, and I couldn’t stand the thought of having it be snatched after being beaten.

So, I just handed it over to another guy in advance. Leo could handle the rest.

So now, the most important thing was –

I’d indeed ‘entrusted’ the treasure to the goblins. But I still had no intention of giving up on the goal I’d initially set for myself, that ‘I won’t hand over the Ramirez to anyone except Leo and Karl Zayed’.

For this purpose alone, I’d spent close to a million CP.

I breathed in deep and shouted with force.

“Cocoa! Come out! We have to go, quickly!”

And then,

“Coming…”

Cocoa shuffled out of the bushes.

Her face was full of sorrow.

The face that she couldn’t disguise herself like the other goblins had left her heartbroken.

After hanging out with the goblins for the past few days, it seemed she’d fooled herself into thinking that she was a real goblin.

“Now now, stop crying. Let’s move. We have a lot to do.”

“… What can this incompetent Cocoavi even do?”

“Hush, you. Listen to me.”

I felt like I had to remind this kid who’d been bitten by the roleplay bug so hard she’d forgotten her original identity.

She wasn’t Cocoavi, she was Cocoa! The guide of the Squatjaw Adventurers!

“Are all the goblins gone?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Chinuavi?”

“Don’t know.”

“Look down there. Can you see the guy who has the treasure?”

“No. Can’t see him.”

“Then can you find him?”

Cocoa frowned for a while.

“I think I can see the path… it might take some time? Goblins are always a little tough to find at first. Plus, if he’s determined to hide, it’ll be even harder.”

She shook her head as if it wasn’t easy.

“Is that so?”

Of course, I’d expected that.

If any Tom, Dick or Harry could find them, I wouldn’t have thrown the treasure at the goblins in the first place.

I turned on the holographic window and opened the ‘product locker’ from the sidebar.

There were two items in it.

[Check the main character of the chapter]

[Penalty veto] x 8

The character shop could only be used when no chapter was running, but some items could still be available if you purchased them in advance.

These two, for example.

I immediately clicked on [check the main character of the chapter].

And then,

– The main character of the chapter is now ‘Isaac of Wales’.

A single line of information appeared on the message window.

‘Really.’

I’d judged correctly.

This time, a newly created character had taken up the leading point of view. Although the situation had changed a bit, this meant the author was still trying to unfold the story in the same old way.

To have this character take over the Ramirez.

“Cocoa, we need to find a guy called Isaac of Wales.”

“Wales?”

“Skinny guy, very long hair. Uses a long spear.”

“Well, I’m sure I can find him. But why him?”

“He’s the one closest to the Ramirez right now.”

What I was aiming for was simple.

1. As in the original, let the main point of view be evenly distributed to the various characters.

2. Hunt the guys who got it.

3. Sanction from the preceding plot? That’s what the [penalty veto] was for!

“Have you got the silver screen from Chinuavi? Use that.”

“Why? It’s uncomfortable.”

“Because they might guess I’m the real one if they see you with me.”

“Hmm, okay.”

Then I pulled up Cocoa, covered by the silver screen, so she could hold to my neck.

“Oh, be careful. Don’t cover my head.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. This is how you goblin!”

“… Is that so?”

Anyway, the preparations were over.

Now it was time to go hunting.

---

Wales was wary of making a mistake from being overexcited.

He asked his vice-captain, standing next to him, once again.

“It’s him, right?”

“It must be…”

They’d found it earlier than expected.

The treasure, Ramirez.

Of course, he hadn’t gotten his hands on it yet.

Wales looked at the Squatjaw in front of him, who was looking around with a bewildered expression.

“Goblin…”

He hadn’t given much credence to the information at first. He’d thought it was just a funny rumour.

How the hell could creatures like that exist in this world?

Although the ability to create clones was rare, it was still a known quantity. Of course, considering the sheer number… it was a bit impressive.

Anyway, that was what he’d thought it to be at first.

A ghostly and insubstantial mirage, merely imitating the creator’s appearance and wandering around.

But the guy in front of him was different.

He was ‘real’. He had physical power and could be cut by a sword. He even shed real blood.

He was even carrying the actual treasure.

This was a ‘real goblin’ (or something).

However, one question still remained.

‘Is this guy really the Squatjaw?’

Weak.

His technique was weird for sure, but nothing particularly powerful.

Too weak to match up to the rumours surrounding him.

‘Is this then another goblin?’

But Wales quickly shook his head. There was no way a guy who wasn’t even the real Squatjaw could have the real treasure on him.

“… The rumours were really overblown.”

Wales was preparing to ‘hit’, but –

At that moment,

“Hey! Wait, wait!”

A voice came from right behind him.

“Eek!”

Startled, Wales jumped to the side.

When he turned around, another Squatjaw was peering at him.

“Whoo… I almost missed the timing.”

There were now two Squatjaws?

“…”

Then, the latecomer Squatjaw approached the first one.

They started having a conversation that Wales honestly couldn’t make head or tail out of.

“Oh…  Big Brother?”

“Wait, how come you got it?”

“Well… things just turned out that way, I guess?”

“It was dangerous just now, you know? You almost got taken down. Don’t slack off.”

“Actually, I was just really confused for a moment. The bastard who had it suddenly said it was annoying and threw it at me… And just then, these guys popped out of a nearby bush…”

“Heh… well, things turned out okay this time. Try hiding next. Ah, wait, make sure you leave some traces behind.”

“Uh… yeah, got it. See you later.”

Wales watched the scene silently.

Even as the first Squatjaw ended the conversation, turned around and disappeared.

And then,

“Don’t you want to go after him?”

His vice-captain next to him asked in a confused tone.

But Wales shook his head.

“How far can a flea like that jump? And in any case, we can’t ignore what’s already in front of us to go off on some wild goose chase.”

Because the bastard in front of him was definitely no flea.

Wales asked the second Squatjaw, still standing in front of him.

“What are you? Another goblin?”

“What do you think?”

I’m the hunter.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 90

Now Do as You Please

I stood atop a mountain and looked down.

Gazing upon a panoramic view that captured the delicate and charming features of the city below.

Clone City.

The reason I’d chosen this tiny city as the place for the goblins to come on stage was very simple.

Because this was where Leo and his party would first intervene in the Ramirez Scramble.

The first battlefield that the readers would see from Leo’s point of view.

Merely that. Else I would’ve chosen a bigger and more spacious place. It was no small task to contain a hundred goblins who were anxious to jump out and wreck havoc.

Of course, I’d also considered moving the arena to somewhere else. I was holding the Ramirez right now, after all. As long as I went somewhere else, I thought everyone else would also follow.

But I scrapped this thought in the end. Because so many people were fated to gather and clash here, I had no way to know what kind of butterfly effect might happen if I arbitraily moved the location. If the characters that should’ve appeared didn’t manage to catch up in time, the plot progression would be completely twisted.

But,

“A Black Shadow member?”

Now my thoughts were beginning to run a little differently.

“This guy?”

I grasped the masked man’s collar by one hand and gently lifted him up.

Then,

“Yes, there’s a mark on the base of his neck. I’m sure. Looks like an officer.”

Haka gave a quiet smile and nodded.

I was feeling quite nonplussed.

“Black Shadow… Why is that name popping up here all of a sudden… no, more than anything else, why’s he this strong?”

“… Strong? Didn’t he fall down at the first blow? The others held out longer, right? Like that guy there… or that other guy over there…”

Haka pointed to the scattered human bodies lying nearby.

He wasn’t wrong. Those other, bigger guys had resisted three to four hits.

In comparison, this bastard in my hand was the weakest. He’d passed out in an instant with just one shot to the temple.

The problem was, I’d felt a smidgen of threat from his thrown weapon. And a scout like him could only be a low to middle level assassin among his peers.

The Black Shadow I knew, was not a force with that kind of power.

It was merely an underworld organization that’d appeared as the final enemy in an early arc, not the first main boss of the story. It made no sense that a low-tier member, not the boss or even an executive, would be capable of threatening me as I was now.

I couldn’t treat it as just another run-of-the-mill organization…

At that moment,

‘Ah…! Another organization…’

I realized.

Literally, it had to be another, completely new organization.

In the original plot, the Black Shadow had never appeared again. After Yan’s joining, their story was over.

But now, an organization that should’ve only existed as a setting within the story reappeared?

An organization that should’ve naturally been forgotten?

I could make a few guesses as to why this had happened.

Author’s intervention.

Clearly, the author had brought it back to life to add to the number of asassins after my head. Since the organization already existed as part of the setting, he’d recycled it.

But of course, it should’ve been impossible to resurrect the characters who’d appeared last time. They must’ve all been ‘deleted’.

Meaning the current Black Shadow couldn’t be judged by the same scale as its former incarnation. I had to think of it as a new organization, filled with ‘new characters’ who’d been born with the advantage of the new power balance, merely using the Black Shadow moniker.

Moreover, it was a common shounen manga trope that when a character or organization reappeared after a long time in a ‘new setting’, it’d come with a huge power upgrade.

Maybe these bastards were the same.

For example, they were the ‘hidden secret force’ within Black Shadow, or the ‘core bodyguards’ secretly raised by the boss.

“He was fast and stealthy. There was some heavy power behind his knife throw. Doesn’t match those bastards that I know.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

“You mean you didn’t feel anything fishy?”

“Well… honestly, Sir Squatjaw, I only saw you blow him away. I can’t judge anything from that, can I?”

“…”

That was no help at all.

“That reminds me. Are you still in contact with those bastards?”

“No. Oddly enough, they just suddenly cut off contact one day. I wasn’t involved too deeply with them, so there was no point worrying too much about it. In fact, I thought they’d withdrawn from Westland altogether. There wasn’t any news of them since then.”

“But now they’ve appeared again?”

“Yeah. With a lot of fanfare, to boot.”

What Haka had told me a while ago was somewhat shocking.

That the Black Shadow had suddenly come back to the limelight.

A large number of their assassins had gathered here in Westland.

Possibly on the orders of their boss, whom I was hearing of for the first time.

The guildmaster of Black Shadow, Gronyan.

Once called the Assassin King, and now one of the Underworld Kings who ruled the East Continent.

“He created the Westland Assassin Society just a few days ago and came straight to this place. His goal, of course, is you, Sir Squatjaw.”

“Did you… know, by any chance?”

“Yes? About what?”

“About his history.”

“Ummm… no? This is my first time hearing about him. I’ve never met the guildmaster directly. That being said, it does seem a bit odd that there’re suddenly so many rumours circulating about him.”

“Is that so?”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not really.”

All of this, the guildmaster, the Assassin Society and so on… the author must’ve created the settings for them early on. Maybe he’d spent a lot of effort designing the details. And so he was now able to bring them to the stage in such a hurry. To the extent of ignoring the damage to narrative plausibility.

In any case, the summary was as follows:

Hundreds of new assassins, led by the guildmaster of Black Shadow, had flocked to this narrow city, following the numerous adventurer teams that’d come coveting treasure.

To hunt me down.

…

I carelessly threw away the guy in my hand and slumped down on the rock next to me. Then I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket.

It was a list of characters I was trying to deal with in this arc.

1. Welsh Adventurer Team – Two adversaries

2. Geronimo Adventurer Team – Geronimo (Soldier)

3. Big Turtle Adventurer Team – Captain Turtle, Vice-Captain Turtle

4. Twin Adventures – Two blond twins

⦙

The requirements for being on the list were simple.

First, they had to have the leading point of view at some point during this arc.

Second, they had to be people I could beat.

In a word, they were food to grow my level.

No matter how strong somebody is, unless he wins in front of the readers, it doesn’t mean anything. And fighting somebody you can’t beat has to be avoided at all costs.

However, this list now seemed meaningless. Because the viewpoints would almost certainly not be distributed like in the original work, since the author had brought in a lot of new manpower.

Also, it was already closer to a defense game rather than a scramble. If the fight turned into an army of characters attacking me, instead of them scrambling and fighting each other to get the treasure…

Without further thought, I immediately tore apart the list.

Instead, I started thinking about what I had to do to meet my goals.

But nothing came to mind other than:

1. Giving up the Ramirez.

2. And coming back later.

There were only two people who’d unconditionally own the Ramirez in the near future.

Leo, and Karl Zayed.

To be honest, did I really have to pass it on to those two? It was true that I’d planned on it. But now I was having second thoughts, wondering if I could just hold on to it by myself.

But still, I thought this would definitely cross a line. Since the author’s preceding plot would completely turn to shit.

I could only possess it if it didn’t interfere with Tanya being fully accepted into Leo’s team, and Karl Zayed’s weakness being revealed.

In other words, I had to respect the overall plotline.

Leo would anyway hand the treasure over to Karl Zayed at that time, so the rest of the process didn’t really matter.

The problem was when to give it to Leo.

When? And how?

It was impossible to reproduce the same situation as the original.

In the original story, Leo came to the city, and shortly thereafter with Tanya’s guidance, he encountered the guy running away with the treasure. After defeating him, it naturally fell into his hands.

But I didn’t want to give it up so easily.

I didn’t like the thought of being chased by an army of enemies, but getting beaten by Leo and my treasure being snatched away? That wasn’t going to happen even if it killed me.

Hmmm.

‘Isn’t there any other way?’

There was one plan I’d made ahead of time in case things went south.

Plan B. AKA, ‘do as you please.’

If you can’t think of a clean countermeasure, why keep squeezing your brain to come up with something half-baked? It’ll just make things worse.

And I didn’t have to deal with everything myself. I just had to let others carry the story on their own.

The only question was how much damage ‘they’ would do.

And whether I could bear the aftereffects.

‘… I might end up paying a penalty.’

I shook my head vigorously.

Don’t know, don’t care!

It was all water under the bridge anyway. Ever since I’d brought the goblins here; no, strictly speaking, ever since the author had kicked me away to Eastland, this was all set in stone.

‘Let’s go then, Sir Author. It’s all up to you now to handle.’

Roughly gathering my thoughts, I got up.

Now that the idea was there, I felt like I had to start preparing right away.

“What happened to Cocoa and Chinuavi?”

“They’re together. Sir Cocoavi is probably in the central tent, and Sir Chinuavi… somewhere in the crowd, probably.”

“Then who’s the temporary boss right now? Do you know?”

“Nest…avi? I think he’s called something like that.”

“Nestavi… Oh, that guy I saw once in Oldboy’s living room? Good. Best I have a chat with him, then.”

It was only after arriving here that I found out, but surprisingly, the goblins had been waiting for almost a full fortnight without causing any trouble.

The reason being that they’d found a fun game to waste the time.

It was called ‘change the boss.’

Those crazy bastards were playing the ‘game of kings’ and betting on it.

Come to think of it, unlike me, who’d been recognized as the boss through a bet with Oldboy, Chinuavi had only been appointed to his position by my order. The fact that all the other goblins had followed it so meekly should’ve tipped me off that there was something afoot.

Funnily enough, Chinuavi had very quickly lost his position. Didn’t he boast about having the highest win rate or something at some point? Either way, I was just glad that he hadn’t lost it while on the ship.

‘Do your best, and don’t bother me.’

To be honest, giving orders to the goblins was no easy task. Due to their very nature, they always interpreted their orders whichever way they wanted and acted as they pleased. I couldn’t control them either, without being constantly by their side.

Still, luckily,

“Relay an order to them.”

“I can do that, but I don’t know if it’ll reach everybody…”

Today, they were getting an order they’d be prefectly happy to obey.

“It’s fine as long as it reaches even a single one of them. From there it’ll spread on its own.”

Because my order this time was pretty simple. ‘Do as you please.’

---

Near the entrance to Clone City.

“I’m not going.”

Halting abruptly in place, Tanya declared.

“I’m sorry. I can’t leave.”

She couldn’t just run away, even if it killed her.

But,

“Then what’re you going to do, if you aren’t leaving?”

“You have to come, Tanya.”

“Sigh. Are you thinking of tangling with that monster? You of all people?”

“Tanya, don’t get me wrong. You are a thief. Not a fighter.”

The other guys seemed to have a different opinion.

“Who said anything about fighting? The goal is to steal the treasure.”

Of course, not by herself.

There was no way she could think of that’d work.

But Tanya was sure. As long as she tried hard to search, she’d surely find a way somehow. That was how things always went.

But the others were timid.

“You fool, is there such a thing as treasure in the world? How many times have I told you? There’s only one precious thing in this world.”

“Your own life.”

“That’s it.”

“Got it? Now stop talking nonsense and let’s go.”

But Tanya didn’t move.

“I told you already. I’m not going.”

And then, as if they didn’t even care, the others hurried their steps to leave.

“Okay, then.”

“Contact us if you do manage to steal it.”

“Don’t get followed.”

“…”

Tanya stared at their backs, then turned around.

Cowards!

No matter how they prettied up the words as the Huntingtons’ principle, in the end it only meant one thing.

They were just scared.

If you’re planning to steal from others, don’t you have to be ready to get into a fight?

If you have real greed, danger shouldn’t stop you, now should it? Even in this age of adventure, they were a bunch of scaredy-cats huddling together in the name of a ‘band’.

“Hmph.”

This was why Tanya had always dreamed of independence despite spending countless days with the Huntingtons.

It wasn’t enough for her. Her aspiration was to one day steal even the world itself.

Shouldn’t greed also be part of the measure of a person’s worth?

The Huntingtons lacked that quality. They weren’t quialified to be true rogues.

“I’m different from them. Different!”

After muttering for a while, Tanya took one long breath.

Then she started to focus.

How could she get the Ramirez back from Squatjaw?

Of course, she wasn’t merely engrossed in ‘deliberation’.

Tanya’s eyes were shining brightly.

She was looking for a path.

That was then.

Psssh–.

“Huh?”

Something flashed in the distance near an alleyway.

‘What, is it this easy?’

There was no doubt that the light was clearly distinct from the surrounding objects. It was a signal from her pathfinding eye.

Tanya hurriedly ran towards the light.

And there,

“Huh?”

“What, is it this girl?”

“I don’t think so? Besides… I think she’s ‘seen’ us too…”

She met a group of four people.

A messy-haired boy with a scarf around his neck, a boy with a small, somewhat shrunken build, a redheaded spubku-looking guy and finally a woman with a strange smile.

All of them were shining in her eyes.

“Hey… are you an adventurer team?”

Tanya asked cautiously.

The word ‘seen’ clearly meant that there was a guide in the group, meaning they were likely adventurers. Hopefully they weren’t plain bandits.

“Yeah, we’re the Leo Adventurers. I am Leo.”

“Leo?”

It was a name she’d heard somewhere.

Where did she hear it, again…?

At that moment,

“Oh!”

Tanya let out a sound of surprise.

“Huh? What is it?”

“N-, no, nothing…”

She remembered. These people were the same adventurer team who’d had a running battle with the rest of the Huntingtons over the lost treasure of Hetro Temple. She’d gotten a letter from Eastland full of colourful curses about these four, so the information was fresh in her mind.

‘Wow, so that’s who they are?’

It was a strange relationship.

Tanya’s eyes quickly filled with curiosity.

“I’m Tanya. A guide.”

“Seems like it. Did you ‘see’ us too?”

It wsa as she’d surmised. Their guide had also been looking for a path and stumbled upon her. Although she couldn’t quite guess why.

“So, why did you come here? Are you after the treasure?”

“Yeah, and… the guy who’s got it now is due for some payback.”

Saying so, Leo grinned and clenched his fists.

Tanya’s eyes changed slightly as she looked at him.

This guy was burning with enthusiasm at the very thought of competing against ‘that monster’. Without the slightest trace of fear, he was purely looking forward to their meeting.

‘Is he that confident?’

Hmm.

The minute tremors that wracked his body were clearly not from fear. They were from excitement.

He looked oddly striking.

There had to be a reason why her pathfinding eyes had settled upon then.

“Alright. I’ll guide you.”

Tanya made a snap decision. She was going to stick with them for now.

“Do you know where Squatjaw is?”

“Of course.”

Of course that was a lie.

But Tanya didn’t think it’d be that difficult to find the man. It was no secret that a squat-jawed guy had been knocking the lights out of anybody going up the nearby mountain. It was the talk of every single tavern in the city.

“So just follow me and…”

That was then.

“But… I don’t think it’s necessary, you know?”

“What?”

The redheaded man, who’d been silent till now, suddenly spoke.

“I don’t think we need this woman to find Squatjaw.”

“…”

It wasn’t funny.

“Hey, so you’re a guide too, is that it? You’re that confident in your eyes?”

But,

“Ah… no, cancel that. We do need her, probably.”

Suddenly, the redhead changed his mind again.

What was he up to?

As Tanya impatiently took one step closer to the redhead –

She noticed the strange expression on his face. As if he was… startled, or speechless?

‘What?’

So, Tanya also naturally turned her head to follow his gaze.

Then,

“… What the hell?”

She was similarly astounded.

The redhead had indeed been correct to say that she wasn’t needed to find Squatjaw.

Because Squatjaw’s form was openly visible, over the mountain’s side in the distance.

Squatjaw was coming down the mountain.

Or more precisely,

“… N-, not just one?”

“… How many are there?!”

‘They’re all Squatjaws.’

Dozens of… no, close to a hundred people, were running down the mountain.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 89

Variable

Except for Tanya, who was the trigger for the Ramirez Scramble, there were a total of three groups who had to obtain the Ramirez at least once, ‘unconditionally’.

In order,

1. The Huntington Bandits
2. The Leo Adventurers
3. The Grey Lion Adventurers (i.e., Karl Zayed)

These three.

Of course, there’d been countless others who’d gotten their hands on it at one point or another in the original work. There was one chapter where I remembered it changing hands five times. True to its title as a ‘scramble’, the process was full of robbing and being robbed in turn.

But apart from these three, nobody had done anything particularly special while they had it.

Meaning it didn’t really matter if somebody else had it. The treasure had to be delivered to the three ‘teams’ when the time came, but the other guys were just ‘temporary storage’.

So it shouldn’t matter if somebody else took over as the storage, no?

This was the first route I’d thought of when deciding how to approach this arc.

I wasn’t going to hand over the Ramirez to anyone other than those three.

Of course, having the Ramirez didn’t mean I’d be in every scene of the arc. Even right now, the leading point of view was with someone else, not the one who held the treasure.

But that didn’t matter either. As long as I kept hold of the treasure, whoever the leading point of view might be, they’d have no choice but to come to me.

And perhaps the main point of view might be offered to me as well.

Anyway, the main approach was therefore easily decided.

Now the problem was to decide exactly when to snatch it and when to give it away.

After deliberating for days, I’d decided on when to commit my first ‘extortion’.

“Now, bring it to me. Hm? Can’t you hear me?”

It was now.

Once the Huntington Bandits fulfilled their ‘duty’ in this arc.

Simple. The Huntingtons’ most important role in this arc was to receive the Ramirez from Tanya. It confirmed that Tanya had successfully transported the Ramirez, fired up the readers by showing the reappearance of these named bandits, and finally provided the structure for the arc’s segmentation.

Oh, and one more.

The news that the treasure was robbed from even these famous named bandits would spread everywhere. And mark the beginning of the Ramirez Scramble in earnest.

In other words, their role was to sound the ‘starting whistle’.

And I was going to be the ‘first’ to start the relay race by taking it from them.

The smiles on the faces of the Huntington Bandits, including Tanya, had faded away by now. They’d realized that my words were no joke.

But,

“We might be a bandit gang, but that doesn’t mean we repay grace with enmity. I think all of us here will be better off keeping that in mind.”

But that didn’t mean they looked scared.

Their hands hovered at their waists and backs, as if preparing to unsheathe their weapons in anticipation of battle.

“Weren’t you telling me to split just now because you had nothing for me? That wasn’t repaying grace with enmity?”

Tanya snorted, ‘humph!’ at my reply.

Then,

“At least I didn’t tell you to hand over your wallet. You want to get robbed blind, you bastard? Is that what this is?”

With a smile on her face, she started openly swearing at me.

Hmmm.

I’d felt this while reading the original manga too. Tanya, this girl, seemed to be the most radical among the bandits.

And also… the bravest.

I took a step forward, towards them.

“You asked me if I knew anything about you guys, right? If I’ve ever heard of the Huntingtons?”

“… What?”

“As it happens, I do know. That too, a lot.”

I was familiar enough to know all their attributes.

Firstly, them putting their hands on the waist or back… was all a trick.

They’d pretend to draw their weapons, but in reality, only dozens of smoke bombs would be pulled out.

The Huntington Bandits weren’t frontline fighters. More specifically, they’d never fight against opponents with a proven level of strength.

The reason was simple. They weren’t interested in fighting.

The Huntingtons had no adversaries in their ranks. Their members were mostly guides and decipherers.

1. Start running once the theft’s done.
2. Avoid fighting.
3. As soon as you see the path, escape.
4. Bow down to the strong.
5. Treasure your own lives more than anything else.

These were the Five Great Principles of the Huntingtons, which made these bandits so unique, and simultaneously justified their longevity.

They were specialized thieves and escape artists, not fighters.

In other words, they wouldn’t fight because they couldn’t fight.

The reason I thought Tanya brave was because she was trying to hold my attention by her declaration, giving everyone else the chance would run away. Even though she’d been by my side, and had seen my power close-up.

I took another step closer.

Then,

“Hmm, does he really know all about us?”

“But still, isn’t he being too reckless?”

“Should we just try having a quick brawl?”

“Definitely not. He’s a monster. I’ve been travelling with him, so I know.”

The bastards suddenly put their heads together and started whispering.

Once they became convinced that I knew enough about them, they really became shameless.

Didn’t even bother to whisper quietly.

“By the way, that guy… isn’t he that Squatjaw? The one in the rumours?”

“What? That guy?”

“Right? Right!? Yeah! I was wondering if I should say it out loud or not!”

“Yeah, right? His adventurer team beat Karl Zayed and ranked first in the qualification test. Besides, he’s a hot topic right now at the Leeches’ Cradle.”

“R-, really? I had no idea. That’s kinda scary… But why wait till now? Why not rob you when you were alone with him?”

“Tanya, isn’t it because you made him angry? Maybe we can settle things by apologizing and handing over whatever we have on us…”

“Hm. I don’t think so. He’s obviously aiming for the Ramirez. He must know its value. I don’t know why he didn’t take it while he was with Tanya, though… Anyway, the situation is now clear.”

“It’s time to do what we always do.”

They raised their heads at the same time, a determined look on every face.

They certainly seemed like bastards with firm principles. Even if the principle was ‘run away’.

Then, Tanya took a step forward.

What did I tell you? She wasn’t lacking for courage.

“Hey, I’ll just tell you one thing.”

“What? That you’re going to cut and run?”

“… Huh?”

Tanya froze for a moment as if nonplussed, but then grinned.

“So you know!”

Then she screamed with all her might.

“Everyone go!”

But,

…

No one moved.

Naturally, including Tanya herself.

“… What?”

“You guys outnumber me, don’t you? Eight of you to my one? So I phoned a friend.”

The reason these guys couldn’t move was simple. Because their shadows were bound.

‘That’s quite some improvement. That time just trying to tie Leo down took him so much effort, but…’

To tie up these Huntingtons who were famous for their agility without missing a single one. No matter how long he’d been preparing, I couldn’t help but admire the flawless execution. I’d thought he might miss one or two, or even three, to be honest.

I glanced towards the fountain at a corner of the plaza.

There, a slit-eyed man in a suit was looking at me with a smile.

Giving him a nod, I strode closer to Tanya, who was still in shock.

Then,

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any other purpose.”

“P-, pervert! Take that hand away!?”

I quickly pulled out a small mirror wrapped in a cloth from under her clothes.

The Ramirez. The Mirror of Souls.

A mirror that showed the secret the subject ‘most wanted to hide’.

I didn’t open the wrapper.

Although I did wonder what it’d show me… this wasn’t the place to check that out.

And the time for me to look at this had already been decided.

I carefully hid the mirror inside my clothes.

It’d been easier to snatch than expected.

Of course, this was only the beginning.

Just then,

“Hey, the fun’s started already?”

A thick voice came from somewhere.

I looked back, and saw a certain giant-sized guy approaching with a smirk on his face. Behind him stood a row of figures twice as tall.

And at the same time,

“You, why did you show up so late!”

“Bastard, you missed the time again because you were busy stuffing yourself, weren’t you!?”

“I thought you’d run away!”

“Smash that Squatjaw!”

The Huntingtons all screamed at him in unison.

Ah, so it was those idiots.

The Huntingtons had no adversaries in their ranks, so they’d hire people to fight and make time for them to escape.

These newcomers probably played that role.

And the moment I realized this,

“… Pft.”

I almost let out a laugh.

I didn’t really know these people. But I’d seen them before.

In the original, there’d been a scene where other adventurer had snatched the Ramirez away from these giants, near the border of this city.

In other words, these thugs had originally been the first to rob the Huntingtons.

“Tsk…”

And here these idiot bandits were screaming for their help without knowing anything. But no matter. These bandits had no claim on something that was already mine.

Then,

“The rumours flying around about you these days are no joke. You’ve got some power on you, huh?”

The leader of the giants was already in front of me.

“Oh, a little bit.”

“Hey, is your mouth still running? What’s with this confidence? More than a hundred people have cashed in their chips at my hands, you know. Don’t think I’m the same as you posers. Push comes to shove, all of you turn out to be all talk.”

“Is that so? But I’m not the one bragging here. Aren’t you the one running your mouth, here?”

“W-, what?!”

“Alright, just promise me one thing.”

“Huh?”

“If you get beaten up by me, spread the word that I’m really strong. Then I’ll let you live.”

“… What? What are you babbling about?”

“I have to fan the rumours a bit more so the boss mobs hurry up and come to eat me. I’m thinking of gobbling them all up so I can level up a bit in this arc.”

Was it still too complex?

The giant looked like he didn’t understand at all.

“… No, what the hell are you talking about now…”

“Forget it, forget it. Don’t try to understand. Just lie down quietly.”

Then,

“Th-, this bastard! You think you’re giving the orders here?!”

That big face flushed in an instant.

A very mob-like reaction.

“Come at me together, you and those big guys behind you. I don’t have the time to play around. Oh, make sure to spread the word later, you hear?”

Let’s end this quickly.

---

Three hours later.

“Th-, that villain!”

“… I knew it. That guy’s always been greedy.”

“Haah, I thought he was a good guy though…”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve never seen a decent human among the Southland zookeepers.”

It was crazy.

“What the…”

I tried to listen with one ear and let it out through the other, but there was a limit to how much I could endure the black cat’s accusations.

And honestly, if he was that dissatisfied, he should’ve just left. Why was he still sticking next to me?

Even though I didn’t say anything, Coocoo and Nero continued to chew me out. I thought as long as I didn’t respond, they’d get tired and quit, but nope. It must’ve come as quite a shock to them to see me tie Tanya up and snatch the mirror.

Yeah. Tanya must’ve been a friend to them too.

But I didn’t try to appease them. No matter what I said, they wouldn’t listen to me honestly.

And I didn’t really know what to say, either.

Then,

“Haah…”

Coocoo flew into the sky. It seemed his frustration hadn’t subsided.

When his quarrelling partner disappeared, Nero also quietly left.

Maybe he was leaving us and going to Tanya.

Rather, I was hoping for that. Because that way I’d still have some kind of connection with her.

The Huntingtons’ role in this arc was virtually over, but Tanya was the exception. Her role was unique, because this was her true starting point.

Anyway, now that the causes of noise pollution were gone, I decided to focus back on what I was doing.

[Chapter 26 ‘Tanya’ has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Frantic’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 8,500]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[Author’s favourability has increased by 40]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 60%]

The reason I was rechecking the messages from the last chapter was simple. Because there were quite a few specifics that needed closer investigation.

First of all, the rewards from this chapter weren’t very satisfactory.

Just look at the awareness.

During the Skull Empire arc, in the last chapter alone, it’d risen by a whopping 100,000 and even had an excess runoff, but this time it was less than 10,000. Even though it’d spanned a longer period.

I thought I’d directed some pretty good scenes, but apparently that wasn’t enough to satisfy the picky readers.

But, well. The opponents were all weak, and half the fights were made-up and contrived. This kind of a result might be natural.

‘And, ‘frantic’…’

To be honest, this was a bit awkward.

I’d been hurrying purely to save some time, but it immediately got packaged into a characteristic?

Of course, these characteristics were more like a playful witty introduction instead of explanations of my actual disposition. They didn’t have any real impact on me.

But I couldn’t help but laugh. Because the readers’ perceptions could be affected by even the smallest detail, and you never knew when you’d be saddled with some new and weird concept.

There’d been many cases during the original run where the memes circulating among the readers ended up actually being reflected in the characters. Maybe that was proof that the author diligently kept tabs on the fan community.

What’s more, I had no choice but to notice because weird labels had been sticking to me lately. Perhaps I needed to pay attention to my image.

And finally… the main point.

[Author’s favourability has increased by 40]

This was why I was re-checking it several times.

How unlucky.

Just what had made the author so excited?

It wouldn’t have been strange even if it decreased. Rather, it really should’ve decreased. Because I invaded the chapter titled ‘Tanya’ and took away some of her spotlight and significance.

I didn’t receive a penalty because I hadn’t crossed the line, but the author should’ve still been irritated.

The fact that the favourability rose instead was suspicious, and it was a considerable increase at that. My second-highest ever, if I remembered correctly.

Why?

“Hmmm…”

I could guess one thing.

Since the assassins intervened, there was a possibility that this battle would become even bigger in scale.

Other than that, there was no significant change in the situation that I could see. I’d taken the Ramirez only after the chapter was over.

To interpret this in a good way from the author’s point of view… Did he get an opportunity to finally cast a lot of characters who’d been present in the settings background but never introduced?

“Really? That’s why?”

I couldn’t be sure, but it made sense. This kind of favouritism obviously meant I solved a problem he’d been sad about.

And next,

‘It’s a variable.’

It meant there was a high chance that I’d encounter unknown characters for the first time. And they’d be strong as hell. The author wouldn’t have felt so sorry if these guys had been weak or incompetent.

A variable…

Meaning it was impossible to know about it in advance or prepare for it.

All that was possible was… a counterattack after the fact?

Suddenly new variables were cropping up, huh…

I felt like I had to leave quickly.

These ‘variables’ might not be so easy to control.

I immediately got up from my seat.

I glanced at the place where Coocoo and Nero had been.

‘Well, I’m sure they’ll follow.’

After a while, I started heading to ‘Clone City’, the city where the goblins were waiting.

---

“Leo? What’re we going to do?”

Kiriko’s words ended in a question mark, but what Leo heard in those words was closer to a prompting.

And naturally,

“Do you even have to ask?”

Leo chuckled.

He didn’t know where the rumours came from, but these days, he heard them everywhere he went.

Two great things had arrived from Eastland.

A treasure, and a monster.

“They say all kinds of famous guys are gathering. The Welsh Adventurer Team, the Turtle Adventurer Team, the Geronimo Adventurer Team… Besides, rumours say that Karl Zayed is also coming.”

“Of course he would. The only one to ever shame him has come back.”

“It’s the same with us. Since he came, we can’t help but go.”

“It’s close, too. Right around here.”

“… Has it been three months?”

Leo had a habit of mentioning that guy, even after he’d traipsed off to Eastland. He was sure he’d beat the guy someday. Especially when he felt he had grown, or when he was dealing with a formidable enemy, it was that squat-jawed guy who always appeared in his mind as the object of comparison.

But now, he’d returned. With a title of ‘Monster’.

“But we’ve become strong too. Right?”

“You’re so simpleminded.”

“Stop nagging me, woman!”

“I’m sure we’ll win this time.”

The others were enthusiastic, but Yan couldn’t easily join in. It wasn’t because he was afraid of Squatjaw, either.

It was because of an ominous premonition that’d creeped up on him out of nowhere.

‘Why? Suddenly…’

This was his first time feeling such a sudden sense of discomfort.

As if the path he’d been traveling on suddenly vanished one day.

A strange twist of fate seemed to be enveloping him.

That was then.

Caaaaw-!

A certain crow flew towards the group.

Yan’s face turned pale at the sight.

“A, a crow…”

The crow had a piece of paper in its mouth. It flew in swiftly, dropped it in front of Yan, and flew away again.

“Yan? What’s wrong?”

“Hey, do you know that crow?”

“Kiriko, you idiot. Why would he know the crow? He must know the owner who sent it.”

It was just as Siana said.

Yan knew very well who the owner of the crow was.

“But isn’t that a letter?”

“Let’s check it.”

“Can I read it?”

“N-, no, I’ll read it.”

After taking a long breath, Yan quickly read the letter the crow had left behind.

After a while,

“Leo… it’d be better to not get involved with that side right now.”

He said hesitatingly.

“What? What’re you talking about?”

“Don’t get involved with Squatjaw? Why?”

“The letter’s from my father. He says he’ll participate in this scramble… and he’ll consider everybody present as his enemies. So if I want to come… I should sharpen my dagger.”

This was another surprise for Yan.

His father had already announced his retirement. Why did the man who’d said he’d never go into the field again, suddenly…

It was strange. All of a sudden, it felt like everything had changed.

“Father? Your father? Why? What’s he doing?”

“My father…”

The master of Black Shadow, Gronyan^[1].

An assassin who was once called the Assassin King, and currently one of the Underworld Kings who ruled Eastland.

And…

“Two days ago, he was elected president of the Westland Assassin Society… I don’t even know what that is… He says the treasure and the monster are all theirs, so try them if we dare.”

However, Yan’s words had the opposite effect.

Hearing this, a grin appeared on Leo’s lips.

And Leo’s words that followed made Yan’s mood sink even lower.

“Everyone, pack your bags. We’re leaving, right now!”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 그로니얀, yes, Yan’s father is literally called Grown Yan. #Dealwithit.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 88

Now, Bring It to Me

Maybe… a tiny bit stronger?

After sending a few people flying as a test, I got a rough estimate of the capabilities.

They weren’t particularly strong. Perhaps a little better than those pursuers from Eastland?

Although, these people had all been members of various groups that had that ‘weak’^[1] Haka as an executive. They were extras. It would’ve been weirder if they’d had the strength to surprise me.

Of course, some of them were a little better. There’d been a guy who used throwing knives, he was pretty nimble and had a rather sharp bite.

Although, he hadn’t been able to stop Coocoo in his normal pigeon shape from suppressing him.

“Coocoo, don’t just keep hitting that guy, go fly up and do some reconnaissance! Get a sense of how many of these guys there are.”

I shouted at Coocoo, who was still banging the head of that guy, by now clearly unconscious, against a small boulder.

“Hmph! This bastard cut off my feathers!”

Saying that, Coocoo hit him one more time, then quickly soared to the sky.

Overall, these newcomers were at around the same power level as the Eastland guys, but they were more troublesome. Because their movements were much more organized.

Even on a narrow mountain road, they moved in groups of at least three to five, and when one group attacked, all the other groups nearby would block the escape routes and co-ordinate between themselves so we’d never get a chance to breathe.

And to top it all off, they even started blowing a whistle every time they found us.

Ppiiiiiii-!

“They’re here!”

“Moving towards that ridge!”

“Keep reporting their location!”

Their actions did give me a certain satisfaction, true. Because evidently these newcomers were at a higher level compared to the ones before.

I was sure that the readers had also noticed it right away.

Like, ah! Some stronger guys have appeared!

But,

‘If only they were a little fewer in number.’

The problem was, again, their number. They had enough people to crowd a mountain, for heaven’s sake!

My head was aching. Should I get rid of them all, or run away and leave them behind?

Tanya would meet her fellow Huntington Bandits and hand over Ramirez at the central city of Serman.

My geographical knowledge was quite rudimentary, but at a guess, we’d need around ten more days to reach there.

Spending ten days rife with tension facing ‘guys at this level’… well, it wasn’t easy.

Because I was much too strong.

Although my level had fallen, and my physical abilities had apparently declined, that didn’t mean these guys could cause me any trouble.

Sure, I was acting like this was a bit of a crisis that’d left me bewildered, but if I really wanted to, I could clean them up anytime. It would’ve taken me maybe half a day.

And the worst part of it was, there was no way the readers couldn’t tell that. Readers really paid attention these days. A little bit of sandbagging might make me look cute, but any more than that and they’d point it out immediately.

Also, above all else, I had no intention of showing the readers a scene where I got actually hurt. I’d rather not appear at all, than that.

Therefore, roughly speaking, I had to clean those guys up to salvage the situation.

But then the next question was what to do about the next wave.

Either there should be more attackers, or they should be stronger…

“Huff…”

Were there really such people?

Because honestly, from the looks of it, didn’t the whole organization seem to be out here?

So,

“Come this way.”

“Isn’t this the way we came?”

“I know. Still, the road’s narrow, so we don’t have to worry about being surrounded. It’s than being out in the open anyway, what if they have archers who fill us with arrows from range?”

I had no choice but to drag things on while we advanced.

“Ah…”

Of course, it didn’t actually matter. Whether they shot a bow, or a gun, or a cannon.

Even if Kiriko shot me with his magic bullets, I was confident I could block them without any damage.

There was only one criterion for me while choosing the path. We had to move in a direction where we wouldn’t get to see the full number of the enemies. That was why I’d taken a turn towards the mountains instead of the river, and moving from forest to forest, staying in cover as much as we could.

We had to see as few of them as possible, at least for a few days.

“First, let’s find somewhere that’s safe from the rear. We can’t keep running forever, right? We have to counterattack.”

“Safe from the rear, huh…”

Then,

“… Why can’t I see it?”

A new problem arose.

Tanya began to stare at me with strange eyes.

“What is it?”

“… How come I can’t see a path?”

“What?”

“The safe place… must be here? I’m a guide, so I tend to see the possible paths a little better.”

“…”

I blinked. Right, come to think of it… this woman was a guide of extraordinary ability.

Naturally, nowhere on this mountain was safer than by my side.

I was caught flatfooted.

“Uh… is that so? That’s bad.”

“Is there something hidden here? No there’s not. Huh?”

“Umm… maybe you’re too tired to see the path right now? Please take a brief rest and then another look.”

“… Is that so?”

There was no time to chat.

Before this woman caught on, I had to find a cave or something.

While I was quickly scanning all directions to find a cave –

Suddenly,

– It’s been a long time, Chief.

A shrill voice rang in my ear.

“Huh?”

I turned my head in surprise, but nothing caught my eye.

What was that?

That was then.

– Shhh, this is Haka. I’m hiding under the shade of the tree right next to you. If you understand, just nod your head.

Oh, oh!

I nodded reflexively.

Rather than responding to Haka’s words, it was just a natural reaction.

Finally, my party member caught up.

The same bastard who’d given me such ‘help’ that’d turned out to be an even bigger trouble^[2].

I glanced at the tree Haka was referring to.

The shadow of the tree seemed to shiver.

– I’m using a special potion to whisper like this. A lot of them dropped in my lap while I was reorganizing the underground gangs. Sir Cocoavi said you don’t want me to be seen for some reason? So I thought of using this.

A whisper potion, huh?

I’d used it too, back at the Goldam Casino.

I remembered Leo and I sitting at the poker table, when I whispered to him that he could win. Perhaps that’d been the moment my existence was first engraved upon Leo and the readers. That was my first time twisting the original’s plotline, too.

Haka’s voice came again, breaking my nostalgia.

– I was surprised, though. You told me to come and attack you with my entire army.

“…”

I bit my lips.

What nonsense. I never said that! Although I hadn’t specified the exact number, but I’d clearly told them to divide the troops in waves.

Cocoa, that idiot, was really…

That was then.

– Still, just to be on the safe side, I only brought a tenth…

… What?

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.

What did he mean?

– And I brought the bottom-rung personnel for the first move, too…

‘… Really?’

This was crazy. It made no sense. He had ten times this number?

Didn’t they fill up an entire mountain just now?

And only the weakest ones had been sent?

– Looking at your face, I think I made a mistake? Alright, I’ll bring in enough people right now to cover this entire mountain range…

At that moment,

“No!”

I screamed reflexively.

“Wh-, what’s this so suddenly? You fell into a daze and then suddenly started screaming…”

“Uh… no. It’s nothing.”

After appeasing Tanya somehow, I pretended to have a headache and shook my head.

This was already enough. If the numbers went up any more, there’d be no coming back.

Soon,

– So there were too many? Then I’ll take stock and disperse most of the troops apart from a moderate number. Oh, I’ll also leave a mark, so you can come find me once night comes. We’ll be waiting nearby.

The words I’d really wanted to hear from Haka finally came.

How amazing. It felt like pure honey dripping into my ears.

Ah, that’s good.

Honestly, this guy really wasn’t some ordinary character.

He really wasn’t somebody who should’ve suddenly vanished like in the original.

‘I’ll take you with me to see the end!’

While I was feeling determined,

“But… are we really going to stay here? I know I’m a guide, but we can also make mistakes. Look, there…”

Tanya hesitated and spoke up.

Her fingers were pointing at the masked men surrounding us.

“Hm? Oh, that. it’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“It’s fine.”

I grinned.

Now it was time to relax a little bit.

---

That night.

After making sure Tanya was asleep, I came out of the cave.

She’d been running around frantically all day to handle the assailants, but she’d fallen asleep really quickly.

Outside, Nero and Coocoo were dozing off.

They had to be tired, too. Because I’d had them scouting this and that mountain, over and over again.

I haven’t shared my plans with them yet. If it were Coocoo alone, I would’ve talked to him in my spare time, but Nero has been glued to me all day, so I hadn’t had the chance yet.

In fact, I still didn’t know why the cat was here.

“Hey, get inside and go to sleep. Both of you.”

“… Eh? Squatjaw? Where’re you headed so late?”

“I’ll just take a walk and do some reconnaissance.”

That was then.

“You… sure you aren’t running away from Tanya?”

Nero said something strange.

What nonsense.

“Why would I run away? No, wait – come to think of it, why are you here exactly? What’re you planning?”

I decided to ask Nero about his intentions.

“Coocoo said that you’ve been following him since the Skull Empire. What’s the reason?”

After a little spell of silence –

“None of your business.”

Oh, now he was pretending to be aloof and turning his head away?

“Haah…”

It was so ridiculous that I was left speechless.

I didn’t have the time right now, but I felt like I should have a proper conversation with this weirdo of a cat sometime soon.

‘What is he, a little kid? It’s kinda cute though.’

After watching the two crawl inside the cave, I started searching for the sign.

Haka’s hiding place wasn’t very far away.

Not even 100m away, in fact.

“Oh, you came.”

Haka greeted me with the same old face and the same old attitude.

“Yo, long time no see.”

“How have you been?”

“Forget about me; Haka, you look like you’re doing well, aren’t you?”

Haka smiled softly.

Seeing his eyes crinkle into slits, he really seemed to be enjoying himself.

“By the way, what happened Sir Chinuavi? Did he stay behind at the Goblins’ Den?”

“Nah, nah. I knew you were going to ask!”

I immediately started regaling Haka with the story of us meeting the goblins.

Currently, Chinuavi was waiting at a city in the central region with the hundred goblins I’d brought with me.

“Imagine it. A hundred goblins! Feeling excited?”

But,

“Hmm, I guess. I’m feeling curious.”

The reaction was kind of odd. It was much too bland for a goblin-head like Haka.

“What, that can’t be all you feel?”

Then,

“I decided to put a stop to my goblin obsession. And honestly speaking, for a human to be so obsessed with goblins… is a bit weird.”

Haka replied with a smile as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Eeeh…”

How perplexing.

This was completely out of the blue.

Was Haka breaking free from his goblin obsession? Was that even possible for a character?

He’d been designed that way, full of longing for the goblins…

For a moment, I wondered if the author had a hand in it.

‘But… I thought it’s impossible to directly interfere with already created characters?’

If the author had been able to tweak the setting at will, my character wouldn’t have been here by now.

As far as I could remember, there’d never been such a case – except that time when he’d healed Karl Zayed’s wounds at will (although this was just my feeling, and I didn’t have any physical evidence).

“Hmmm…”

No. Even if it was possible, the author wouldn’t have touched Haka directly. Because he wasn’t very significant as far as the future plotline went.

That said, perhaps Haka’s core identity had never been about ‘goblins’ at all. Or perhaps something new had taken its place.

‘What’s he focused on now? … Maybe, finally being on a team, or something like that?’

It didn’t sound very appropriate for a character like Haka, but that was just from the outside. Maybe, even though he always pretended otherwise, he’d been craving people’s affection all this time.

But, of course, I didn’t have the time to dig deep into this right now.

I decided to have a separate conversation with the man later.

“No, wait.”

I suddenly felt goosebumps cover my flesh.

“I hope, you…”

“Yes?”

“Haven’t you?”

“What…?”

“Spread rumours about the goblins? Have you told Leo and the guys about the goblins like I asked?”

He must’ve. Right? Surely.

I’d even asked him to do it, so please –

“… I was trying to avoid talking about it, but you caught me. I tried to change the subject, but it was quickly discovered. Your eyes have gotten keener, Mr. Squatjaw. Heh.”

… Was this guy smiling right now?

“But look, didn’t I manage to gather so many people instead?”

“Eeh…”

It wasn’t funny. He’d missed doing the most important task.

The fact that he hadn’t told Leo’s party about the goblins meant that the readers didn’t know much about them either.

This was an unexpected problem.

If nobody knew anything about the goblins, no matter how well I directed the scenes, I had no way to make a big splash with their introduction. There were no expectations to be met – hell, nobody would even recognize them. They didn’t look particularly flashy, after all.

Besides, I couldn’t reveal my ‘identity’ in a ‘plausible’ way unless the context had been explained first.

That was the biggest mess. Even the goblins themselves weren’t much of a worry in comparison.

I lifted my head and looked at Haka.

A real itch to smash that ‘smiling face as if asking what was wrong’ was creeping up on me.

“Haah…”

Calm, calm.

I tried to calm my mind.

Goblins… they were for later, anyway. I could think about them again later.

‘Let’s skip that decision for now. After all, I got to do some flashy work today.’

I had more urgent decisions to make.

I’d realized something while defeating the raiders today. It was so natural and simple that it was a wonder it’d taken me so long to remember it.

They were all, in the end, Haka’s assets.

In other words, they were part of my strength too.

Of course, they weren’t very powerful as allies. But even so, a lightbulb had gone off in my head.

A large number of people could be a source of strength in any situation. Especially when it came to information. For underworld organizations that acted as information brokers, the number of intelligence-gathering personnel in the field far outstripped in importance the number of armed combatants.

I’d blown away a lot of those good friends today…

I’d overlooked it because the situation had been urgent, but this was also quite a dilemma. I needed a sandbag to publicly beat up, yet it felt like I was peeling off my own flesh.

That was then.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry too much about attrition.”

Haka spoke with a very calm face.

“Huh?”

“I called up a new bunch of guys to replace these guys. They’ll probably gather in about three days. We can keep using our own personnel till then.”

“Who… whom did you call?”

“Did you know that you’re famous right now?”

“Me? Here in Westland?”

“Ummm… yeah, all over the continent.”

What Haka said next was somewhat shocking.

“I’m being targeted for assassination? Geniuses and monsters from all over are coming for my head?”

“The real greats haven’t joined yet, of course. But what do you think will happen if you survived this constant threat?”

This crazy bastard.

Was this the type of news somebody should deliver with a smile like that?

“Like I said, the big fish aren’t going to come right away. They don’t move their asses easily. But if the treasure the red-haired woman is holding is really as valuable as you say… then people might think of killing two birds with one stone, and join up to both get the treasure and take you down, sir. That’s what I think will probably happen.”

“…”

I pondered for a moment.

Should I pat myself on the back?

This naturally didn’t sabotage the author’s plans. Rather, the scenes would come out better. No matter the reason, a rise in the number of talents coming here meant that the battle itself would be more spectacular. Much more than the original.

And, perhaps, it also meant that I had more room to move.

There was only one question, could I afford to?

‘Even if my level hadn’t dropped…’

As far as I knew, there were at least five people I expected to be stronger than me in this scramble. Dealing with them would already be a headache, and there might also be Assassin Kings targeting me in the meantime?

“Huff…”

“What, aren’t you confident?”

Haka looked at me and grinned.

What a bizarre story. How could I, a goblin more malicious than anyone else, give up like this?

“… That’s funny.”

I shook my head vigorously.

“This is my excited face, my excited face! I’m thinking of eating them all up and becoming stronger.”

“… As expected of you, sir.”

“Okay, let’s plan some [contents] before we get to Serman^[3].”

“[C-o-n]… what’re you talking about?”

“Let’s make some backup plans. For example, what if those assassins you mentioned don’t come? We’d have no choice but to mobilize your personnel.”

“They’ll come. There’s no doubt.”

“Alright, first, let’s take stock of our own people. What’s the total headcount, how strong they are…”

So the meeting went on all night.

---

Ten days later.

The city of Serman, in the central region of Westland.

“Finally!”

I silently watched Tanya run around screaming in joy.

“Thank you, Squatjaw! Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it.”

The past ten days could be called intense, but could also be called boring.

Let’s just say that I’d managed to show my face to the readers.

The assassins did arrive three days later, just as Haka had predicted. But their numbers had been much smaller than expected. And they’d been weak, too.

Haka said it couldn’t be helped.

“That redhead’s treasure is more impressive than I thought. Apparently most of the assassins got cold feet when they got wind of who were planning to come next.”

It wasn’t funny.

Apparently they didn’t want to come just to die.

In any case, since we faced far fewer attacks than expected, there’d been no choice but to sacrifice more members of our gang than initially planned.

Haka had laughed it off calling them ‘useless deadwood’, but it was still embarrassing. That guy might be cruel by nature, so he might’ve been okay with it, but not me.

Or rather, it really felt like a waste.

At that moment,

“I will definitely repay you!”

Tanya was saying goodbye.

However,

“Yeah, yeah. But where’s your party?”

“I told them to wait in the plaza.”

“I’ll escort you there, then.”

I didn’t plan to just go our separate ways, after all.

“Ah? Um… actually, it’s fine. You don’t need…”

“Just in case. Did you forget how many bastards came at us these last ten days? You can’t relax now, right?”

“I suppose.”

“Let’s go, then.”

I followed Tanya, who was walking hesitantly, to the plaza with slow steps.

After a while –

At the plaza, ‘they’ had been waiting for Tanya in advance.

The Huntington Bandits.

I couldn’t remember how many members they had in total, but there were seven people in the plaza.

“Here, girl!”

“Come here, Tanya!”

“You survived!”

I didn’t stop Tanya from running towards them.

“Squatjaw, these are my friends. They’re called the Huntington Bandits… have you heard of them?”

Unlike how hesitant she’d been initially, Tanya’s face now looked very bright.

“Yeah, I think I have.”

“Then, do you know?”

“What?”

“We aren’t the type to always keep our promises.”

“… Oh?”

“You’ve been following me to get paid. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“But I’m sorry, you know? I’ve got nothing to give you.”

Tanya grinned, a smile that looked really innocent.

One could even call it infectious.

So,

“Oh, that’s fine. I’ll just take it.”

“Eh?”

I was laughing along with her.

Then I slowly started counting.

“One, two, three…”

“… What’re you doing? Are you trying to attack us? Look, no matter how strong you are, there’re eight of us, and we’ve also hired…”

“Seven, eight, nine, ten.”

At that moment,

Tiling–.

The news I’d been waiting for, arrived.

[Chapter 26 – ‘Tanya’ has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Always in a rush’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

⁝

“That’s the end of this chapter. And your leading point of view is over too.”

“What? What do you…”

“No one’s watching you anymore.”

I grinned once more as Tanya watched me, befuddled. “Now, bring it to me. The ‘Ramirez’.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] The hierarchy of strength has been explained before, weak < normal < strong < monster. Since the era of upheaval has started, presumably Haka has now become weak whereas he would’ve been a normal/strong character before this (as would be expected from the rival’s teammate in a shounen manga).

[2] 약 먼저 주고, 이어서 병 준 (lit. give the medicine first and then the disease). This flips the usual phrase ‘give the disease first and then the medicine’, which means somebody gives you trouble first and then helps you out.

[3] After the port city, British, we now have a city after the Germans. The author is proudly carrying on the tradition that started with Big and Virgin City.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 87

Hahaha! … What a Mess

“Back off! I’m warning you!”

Although she was saying that, Tanya herself was backpedaling in a hurry.

Her extreme wariness left me staring.

Honestly, I was a little perplexed.

‘Is this what you’re really like?’

She was definitely supposed to be a character with a strong and brazen feeling…

Although, yes, she’d already been attacked several times by now.

No, maybe the total number counting the times I hadn’t been there to help, was much higher.

Still, that didn’t mean she was in some kind of a life-and-death crisis.

As per the setting, the guys currently following Tanya were from Eastland, and their fighting power wasn’t worth talking about, no better than those riffraff mafiosi from Destomb.

After a while, as rumours about the treasure spread further and further, and characters from Westland appeared one after another, they’d naturally disappear. You could say they were extras, here to set the stage for the upcoming show.

She shouldn’t have become this vigilant just from being chased by those two-bit thugs.

Hmmm.

But soon,

‘No, no.’

I shook my head.

I was trying to judge her character with my useless preconceived notions.

My perception of certain characters didn’t match the current era. I was thinking of them as they’d been at the end of the original story, accumulating power and experience along the way.

This was especially true for characters with high significance who’d survived till the endgame. They had to be the ones who’d change the most along the way.

In other words, I needed to take a more delicate approach here.

“Whoa, hey, calm down. You must’ve misunderstood me.”

First of all, it was important to reassure Tanya.

“What… do you mean?”

“Apparently a lot of people are on your trail. So I wanted to help lighten the load.”

Moreover, right now, she was equipped with the leading point of view.

Readers were bound to empathize with her, since they were seeing things from her perspective. Provoking her right now wasn’t a good choice. Moreover, my current appearance was villainous enough that I ran the risk of being labelled as the ‘rookie who threatens women’.

“That’s not funny. I don’t need that kind of help.”

“Well now, this feels awkward.”

In the first place, I had no intention of snatching the Ramirez at this point.

If I’d had such a plan, I would’ve snatched it right away, instead of circling around her all this time.

Right now Tanya’s role was to carry the ‘Ramirez’, and it was her responsibility.

She’d been given the leading point of view at her very first appearance for a reason. Because the author wanted to imprint her character on the readers, and to slowly develop her into the hero’s future colleague.

If I tried to snatch that away, it wouldn’t be surprising if the author hit me with a penalty bomb and stripped a lot of character levels.

But since she herself didn’t know any of this,

“Go away, go away! I don’t want any help from you!”

Tanya’s wariness showed no sign of diminishing. Even though the hunters were sneaking up behind us, it felt like she had eyes only for me, and no attention left to spare them.

“… How troublesome.”

“Alright, I don’t want to associate with you anymore… No, I don’t want to trouble you anymore. So could you please tell me where you’re going? So that I can avoid going there.”

“So you’re serious….”

I’d expected some vigilance. But this was a little too much.

However, there were several reasons why I’d asked if I could take over from her.

First, to elicit ‘doubts’ about me.

To instil in Tanya, or more importantly, the readers, an idea that ‘he must know something’.

I’d been hovering around Tanya for the past few days and her eyes had been locked on me all the way, but I hadn’t really taken any action. I’d merely been cultivating a useless aura of mystery.

In point of fact, this wasn’t a situation where I had any room to do something. If I cack-handedly tried to help Tanya out or snatch the treasure, the preceding plot won’t leave me alone.

But I couldn’t continue this indefinitely, either. Who knew when the readers’ questions might turn into frustration and anger?

So, I had to appeal a little to them to ‘wait’.

Second, to create a different source of tension.

Perhaps, without me, Tanya would’ve clashed repeatedly with those two-bit Eastlander hunters and cranked up the tension.

But because I was here, that tension had slackened significantly. Since Tanya’s nerves were all focused on me.

If she herself didn’t pay the raiders any mind, how could there be any tension in the chase?

Even now, it was me she was staring at, not reacting to their movements at all.

Therefore, I created a separate source of tension by revealing my ‘hidden true colour’. After all, I had to make sure the readers couldn’t just sit back and relax.

Although that didn’t mean I could forget what needed to be done or neglect to do it on time.

“Coocoo, Nero. Take care of the guys behind us. While I have a chat with this redhead.”

“Why me!”

“You do remember that I’m not your subordinate?”

“…”

Didn’t they ever get tired?

“Whoo. You keep repeating the same lines every time, but end up doing it anyway. So? Are you going to let them run rampant? Are you going to let them attack us?”

“… God damn it.”

“He’s big like a bear, but clever like a fox….”

“Hey, is that something a cat should say?”

Seeing the two of them slither into the bushes, I turned back to Tanya.

Of course, this was all pre-planned.

Shifting the source of tension to me, instead of the pursuers.

In order to keep the flow of the story stable and yet get constant reappearances, this kind of trick were essential.

However, it was also a double-edged sword.

If I took away the attention and tension that should’ve been focused on Tanya, in the end, I also had to spit out something equivalent to replace it.

Especially now, I was getting the feeling that I was toeing a line. If I kept sowing suspicion and creating tension without showing any substance, I’d be ripped to pieces by the readers themselves before the preceding plot could have its way with me.

Therefore,

“Alright, I take it back. I wasn’t being that serious about it, anyway. Do you really have to glare at me like that? You keep holding on to whatever it is that you’ve got.”

“… Really?”

“But I’m serious about helping you. We’ve been travelling together for a while, haven’t we? Not to mention… it feels some nasty weirdos are about to catch up with us.”

“… What?”

Actually, this was me trying to sprinkle some foreshadowing.

Those ‘nasty weirdos’ –

Were the third reason why I’d asked Tanya if I could take over.

Simple. Just to lay a new side track for the plotline. So that the readers could stew in anticipation of these ‘new raiders’.

My first aim in this arc had been to become Tanya’s colleague, at least temporarily.

However, there were two problems with this.

1. Tanya’s vigilance,

2. Plausibility.

First. There was no easy way to befriend her. Not only was she hyper-vigilant due to having a treasure in her possession, her personality didn’t lend itself to trusting others.

Tanya wasn’t Leo. Only somebody like the latter, a pure boy who could readily reveal his weaknesses without asking anything in return, could become her companion.

Even the Huntingtons, her long-time companions, had eventually lost her to Leo in the original work.

In order to mitigate this, or to create a situation in which she had no choice but to ask me for help no matter how wary she was, I needed some suitable assailants.

Before the Westland guys could intervene in this fight, I needed some new people, not those Eastland idiots already chasing her, to join the hunt.

Next, plausibility.

Even if I got lucky and Tanya opened her heart, for me to stick with her for long, there needed to be new obstacles in her path.

The hurdles set by the author were at a level that she could overcome on her own. Then why would I get involved with her for no reason? Why?

It’d only lower the tension of the story, and the author would be chomping at the bit to beat me up.

Therefore, I needed to prepare enough assailants in advance if I wanted to become her travelling companion.

The question was where to procure such people.

My first thought had been of the ‘Troops’ section of the character shop. It might’ve been expensive, but I’d at least be able to hire better people than the current raiders.

But I threw the idea away after a while. Not because it was expensive, but because it needed character points.

The shop couldn’t be used once a chapter started. Therefore, I’d have to hire the troops as soon I set foot on Brindisi, and keep paying for their upkeep for at least a few weeks… A ‘penalty veto’ would be a better purchase if I really wanted to splurge my points like that.

In the end, there was only one person I could lean on right now.

Haka.

It depended on how hard he’d worked on his ‘homework’, but it might be of some help.

So, I’d sent Cocoa over to him as soon as they arrived in Brindisi.

“You sure you’ll be fine by yourself?”

“Idiot Squatjaw. There’s nothing Lord Cocoavi can’t do!”

“Eh? Why are you still Cocoavi?”

“Haka likes goblins. So I decided to keep it going.”

“… Good thinking. Alright, go, but don’t get involved in something weird along the way. Don’t do anything else. This is urgent, so go straight to him and come straight back.”

“Okay. Don’t cry just because I’m not here.”

Cocoa must’ve met Haka by now.

She’d felt that he wasn’t very far, so maybe she was on her way back already.

‘That Haka… he hasn’t been playing hooky, right?’

Nah. He was a thorough guy, so he must’ve done his job to some extent.

And, well, even if not everything was sorted out, I could just play the attacker’s role myself.

I turned to Tanya, who was staring at me with anxious eyes.

Speaking in a much softer voice than before.

“I know you’re wary of me right now, but soon you’ll be asking me for help…”

---

“Boss, you have a guest.”

“… Guest?”

Haka glanced at his subordinate.

A guest?

An odd choice of words. An awkward choice.

It was a word that shouldn’t have popped up in this study, at least.

Haka wasn’t fond of such vague terms.

If the identity of the subject hadn’t been identified, it wasn’t yet time to report it, and if identification seemed difficult, the situation should’ve been reported to him before this.

Moreover, to say that he had a guest meant that the person had already arrived.

An unidentified person came right to his door, and only the word ‘guest’ was used to describe them? Not their name, status, position, affiliation, or purpose?

“Hmm…”

Haka’s lips twisted into a faint grin.

So as to not stain the coming reprimand and interrogation with negative emotions.

Then, while he was about to point out the faults of his subordinate –

“This is the guest you’ve been waiting for. Although, there’s only one woman, so I was worried about how to tell you…”

At that moment,

“… Aha.”

Haka scratched his head.

“Good job. Let them in.”

He’d forgotten that there were indeed some people who suited the appellation.

Soon after,

Creak–.

A familiar face opened the door and came in.

“Hey there, Haka. How are you?”

As his subordinate said, it was the face of one of the guests he’d been waiting for.

“… It’s been a while, Cocoa.”

“It’s not Cocoa. It’s Cocoavi.”

“Huh?”

“It’s been three months, eh? Aren’t you bored?”

“Ah…”

Somehow, he’d thought that he’d have a lot to say, but nothing came out.

But, well…

“Yeah, I suppose. How about you, Cocoa?”

“Cocoavi. Cocoa-vi. Yeah, we had fun.”

“Cocoavi… don’t tell me, you’re in high spirits because you saw some goblins?”

He could only respond normally.

Of course, it still felt good. Maybe shouting would’ve felt even better, though.

That was then.

“Come on, let’s go now.”

Cocoa said all of a sudden.

“Huh?”

“Squatjaw’s calling. Chop chop.”

“Ah…”

For a moment, Haka stiffened.

It wasn’t because of hesitation or displeasure. Rather, it was because he’d been on the edge of giving an unconscious yell in joy.

Haka kept a firm grip on his facial muscles to hold back his laughter. It was quite the opposite from before.

“I see. Where are they now?”

Pulling out his coat from the hanger next to him, Haka immediately stood up.

“Oh, but he told me to ask you, did you do well? On your homework.”

“… Homework?”

“So whatever you’ve managed, take it to him.”

“What?”

“Those guys I saw in the back, right?”

Cocoa nodded at the gang members who could be seen through the window.

Only then did Haka realize.

“Does he need people right now?”

“I guess.”

“Hmm, is that so? How many does he need?”

Haka considered whether or not to include a brief explanation of the ‘organizational integration’ that he had achieved over the past three months.

Because naturally not only Cocoa, but even Squatjaw, couldn’t have guessed how big the organization had gotten. Probably, dozens of times larger than they would’ve expected.

And indeed, Cocoa’s subsequent words made Haka’s head throb a little.

“All of them.”

---

Three days later.

The Roman River.

The border between the southern and central parts of Westland.

I tried my best not to laugh at the sight of the people in black suits I could see trudging along the riverbank in the distance.

Finally, it was here.

The homework sent by Haka.

The impatience in my heart was about to boil over. Tanya…

Today was the limit. If they hadn’t arrived by today, I might’ve left Tanya’s side first. I might’ve pretended that something else had happened somewhere, so the tension wouldn’t go to waste.

‘Anyway, I’ve been saved from the abyss…’

But I now just had some room for breath, nothing more.

Depending on the quality and quantity of these new raiders, the weight of my words would change.

If after all that fearmongering, the guys who popped up turned out to be no different from the Eastland idiots, or if they were very few in number…

‘No, let’s trust Haka.’

I violently shook my head.

As I watched the riverbank –

“… Eh?”

I was a little perplexed.

Why did the line of black suits keep growing?

I’d thought of counting them one by one as they came, but before I knew it, the number had crossed a hundred…

“… There’s too many of them.”

I’d relayed an order via Cocoa to immediately launch an attack on arrival.

I was in a rush, so let them conduct the first raid on their own, and then we’d talk.

But I’d also added that they should moderately adjust the number of attackers. Instead of attacking all at once, they should come in several waves.

Hopefully, Cocoa had delivered my orders without leaving out those words.

‘Surely… that guy isn’t trying to show off how well he did his homework, right?’

I looked at the riverbank again.

There were hundreds of black suits by now.

How puzzling.

I couldn’t properly understand the situation.

This arc, quite rarely for Adventure King, had a clear structure. Specifically, the level and number of participants in this scramble were supposed to gradually increase higher and higher, step by step.

But if there were so many attackers during these early days, what’d happen to the follow-up. Just how many raiders would I have to arrange in the future to raise the bar… This was a bit tough.

That was then.

“Squatjaw? You were right.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

I turned around and saw Tanya walking out from the ridge behind me.

“Oh?”

“Save me.”

“What?”

Then, once I turned my head towards where Tanya’s hand was pointing –

“… Huff.”

The mountain was full of people in masks, their dresses the same colour as those on the riverbank.

Hahaha! … What a mess.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 86

How about I Take Care of It for You?

The Huntington Bandits.

They were a named band of thieves who’d appear almost every time an arc had to do with some kind of ‘treasure’, until the story finally moved to ‘Midland’ beyond the King’s Road.

The reason the Huntingtons could have such prolific appearances was, of course, because they were the author’s pets, but they also had enough ability to make it plausible.

The biggest characteristic of this bandit group was that they had a number of excellent guides.

I couldn’t remember the exact number, but it had to be more than ten.

The most definitive demonstration of their abilities was the case of [Adventurer Qualification Examination Centre Treasure Theft], which had made them famous.

An incident in which some of the bandits had entered as actual participants, and had stolen all the treasures hidden by the association before running away.

That was why all subsequent exams had fake treasures instead of real ones, like ice cream (and basic flavours like mint chocolate, at that).

And the woman with deep red hair had been one of the participants.

Tanya.

The eighth guide of the Huntington Bandits, and the woman with the keenest pathfinding eyes.

After she entered Leo’s party in the original, there was a scene in one of the chapters where she recalled what’d happened during that event. Because her eyes were so sharp, she’d been able to see all the hidden treasures. From the lowest level to the highest.

However, she hadn’t aimed at the highest ranked treasure at the time. She’d gone for a small jewel that’d been in around the fourth position, in terms of value alone.

The reason was also quite simple. Not because her teammates had been too weak, or because the decipherer hadn’t been good enough to face the obstacles guarding the highest level treasure.

She’d simply liked the jewel. A ‘small, shiny and pretty jewel’, in her own words.

What made it possible was her unique ability, [Master Thief’s Eye].

This ability let her ‘see the detailed information about a target object’, under certain conditions.

The detailed information here covered the object’s appearance, peculiarities, abilities, and even its ‘history’.

Thanks to that, she could even identify a treasure without seeing it in person.

And that ability was exactly why Tanya had stolen ‘Ramirez’s Treasure’ and run away.

The specific background was never made public, but the setting was such that she’d quickly stolen the mirror and escaped once she’d understood the enormity of its potential.

Of course, it might’ve simply been because the mirror itself was small, shiny, and pretty.

I looked back at Tanya, who was silently wiping herself off.

To be honest, this was a ridiculous situation.

‘This is making me dizzy… Why did that woman have to suddenly pop up in front of me?’

I supposed it was a good thing that I hadn’t made any plans yet. Because then I’d have had to go back and fix it all.

And the woman in question simply kept wiping herself off, as if she wasn’t remotely conscious of my gaze.

So,

“Coocoo, how did this happen?”

Putting aside my sudden stroke of fortune, I decided to listen to the pigeon… ahem, hawk, that I hadn’t seen in a while.

“Hm? What?”

“…”

I could only sigh.

“I mean, how come you’re here?”

“Ugh, this squat-jawed bastard… Don’t make it awkward! I wanted to catch up, why, is that a crime now?”

“…”

That stylish appearance had almost made me forget. About that cheap mouth of his.

“No, not that! How come you found me here, and why with the cat? Not to mention the redhead. Of course I’d be curious as to how all this came about!”

Then,

“Oh, that? It’s no big deal.”

Coocoo nodded his head as if he knew what I meant.

Then, just as he was about to speak,

“What’re you all chatting about? I need to wash up.”

Tanya suddenly interrupted.

“Are you tired from the long flight?”

“…”

Did she think that I might drive her away after listening to the story?

Or, was she wary of me?

I looked at Tanya in silence.

Even if she was pretending otherwise, she did seem wary for some reason.

Well, it was only natural since she had Ramirez in her hand.

However, I wasn’t any different.

Why did Tanya appear here of all places?

Well, naturally there’d be Watsonian reasons within the scope of this world. Like she struck up a friendship with Coocoo, and then various things happened, etc.

But there was only one thought in my head.

Perhaps the author was conscious of me, and had deliberately induced this situation.

Originally, Tanya’s first appearance had been in Brindisi, the southern port city of Westland. There’d been no explanation as to how she’d gotten there.

In other words, the circumstances and process leading up to her appearing there were ancillary settings known only to the author.

Adjusting such ancillary settings that were invisible to the readers, had to be child’s play for the author.

Why did the author send Tanya to this place, if indeed I was the reason?

Simple. Because of the goblin gang I’d brought with me.

I, the thorn in his eye, one who only ever caused absurd complications, was trying to stir up even the goblins this time, so maybe he was trying to counter me somehow.

And the method that the author could take to directly control me was predetermined.

Sanctions through the preceding plot, awarding a penalty.

However, this was only possible when I belonged to an ongoing chapter, so I was wondering maybe that was why Tanya had been pointed at me like a missile.

Tanya, surprisingly, would take over the lead point of view of this chapter as soon as she arrived at Brindisi. Because she was the root cause of this incident, and a future teammate of Leo, she’d be hogging all the spotlight.

‘If I have the lead point of view by my side…’

Of course, it wouldn’t really matter if I headed for some place other than the south as I’d originally planned. Tanya would definitely take the White Rain to Brindisi.

But, as the author and I both knew, this was a clear-cut opportunity.

With Tanya by my side, I wouldn’t have to brainstorm how to intervene in this arc. I’d just have to accompany her.

It’s also arouse the readers’ interest if I accompanied the new main character.

Hence the author must’ve thrown a bait like this at me.

Asking me, what do you think about this?

I thought for a moment, then answered.

“For now, follow me.”

Well, I’d have to think it over a little more.

---

Two hours later.

I came back to the bench from earlier, sat down, and thought.

Some decisions were finalized, but still a lot of disorganized thoughts were running around in my head.

This was nothing but procrastination stemming from uncertainty.

“Hmmm…”

First of all, Coocoo had explained what’d happened, and one could indeed say it was no big deal.

Coocoo said that the princess had sent him away.

Along with a quest completion certificate that I’d forgotten to request, a small copper plate, and a letter.

– This might not be of much use in Westland, but showing this bronze plaque should at least be of some help within this continent.

That was what the letter was all about.

‘… Do you have to pretend to be so meticulous?’

I looked at the plaque.

There was an unfamiliar pattern engraved on it.

Presumably, it was a symbol of the Kingdom of Mainin.

I decided to keep it for myself.

Although, I didn’t think it’d be of any great help.

I’d just keep it as the token of a comrade.

“… Nice.”

How cool.

Now this was a shounen manga-like scene! The readers should’ve been here to see it.

Well, whatever.

Now, about Nero. Coocoo said he’d first caught sight of him while passing the empire’s borders.

He’d flown down to a jungle lake to get some water when the creepy black cat had caught his eye.

Nero seemed to have been following him for some reason, but the cat had professed to having no intention to attack. Coocoo didn’t know why, but the cat was just following him around.

Coocoo wasn’t in any great rush either, since he felt like he was about to catch up with me, so he’d decided to follow the cat back in retaliation. He was confident he could handle it even if he got caught and things devolved to a fight.

Then, a few days later, they’d met Tanya, who was being pursued.

Coocoo said that he’d joined forces with Nero to save her. He’d added that the pursuers had been so vicious that they’d had no choice but to help.

It was a ridiculous story.

“Hm, so you helped a person you didn’t even know? And Nero joined you? Does that make sense?”

“Of course, we quickly found out that that she deserved to be chased. That bitch… no, Tanya, tried to steal that cat’s necklace on the same day that we saved her.”

“…”

“But, well, what else could we do? Besides, Tanya directly asked us for help. By name, even. In my case, I was flying high in the sky when she first started screaming at me.”

“Did she call you by name? How did she know it?”

“I have no idea. She just… knew everything. Our names, our abilities, even our pasts.”

“… Is that so?”

This was probably because of her unique ability. She could even read a subject’s ‘history’.

“She asked for a little help. Saying she’ll give us something nice. And then she kept dragging it on… Well, you know the rest.”

Coocoo calmly admitted it.

“Something nice, huh…”

“I was planning to stay with you for a while, but then you suddenly vanished! I had no choice but to stay with them.”

“What? Why would I suddenly vanish… ah…”

That was probably when we’d entered the Goblins’ Den.

One had to know the path if they wanted to reach there. Just having a guide wasn’t enough, you also needed a decipherer.

Apparently we’d popped back up on the map once we’d left the place, and then Coocoo’s group had started following us again in a hurry.

Well, it seemed plausible.

Strange, sure, but plausible nonetheless.

However, I couldn’t just nod my head and accept it.

No matter what, it seemed that the author had clearly intended for Tanya to meet Coocoo and Nero.

The plan had to be rearranged.

I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to appear in the main arc by Tanya’s side.

But to unleash the goblins at Brindisi would be dancing to the author’s tune.

It wouldn’t have much impact, and I’d get hit by the preceding plot as soon as the chapter started.

“… Is there no other way?”

Eventually, I made up my mind and got up from my seat.

Then I marched straight to the ticket counter.

“Next, next!”

“I want to buy some tickets.”

“All the ships are leaving soon, so there aren’t many left… Where do you need to go?”

“… Brindisi.”

“The White Rain. 1^st class… is completely full, we only have 3^rd class tickets left. Is that okay?”

I shook my head.

“Three special seats.”

“… Eh?”

The salesman narrowed his eyes as he gave me a once-over.

“Special class seats… well, they’re costly, but you can’t just buy them with money… Do you have some proof of your identity?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Also, do you have any tickets left for the central region – that is, Sonoka?”

“… How many do you need?”

“A hundred and one. The class doesn’t matter.”

My idea was simple.

I couldn’t leave Tanya alone.

I couldn’t take the goblins to Brindisi.

So, there was only was possibility.

Divide the crowd.

Me and Cocoa would head south with Tanya, and the goblins would wait in the central area under Chinuavi’s leadership.

‘Hmm… will he be okay?’

But this was the only option. A way to avoid the author’s sanctions while scoring both my goals.

I just had to trust Chinuavi.

Then,

“What? One hundred?”

The salesperson gave a heavy frown. As if he thought this was a silly joke.

Therefore,

Plop.

I took out the plaque the princess had given me.

Of course, I didn’t expect a great response. I just wanted to know how much effect it would have.

Soon after,

“W-, wait. Could this be from the Mainin royal family…?”

“Right. You get points for your eyesight.”

“Uh… Um, may I ask about your identity? W-wait, no! Umm, first I’ll need need to verify the authenticity…”

He began to look visibly perplexed. Looked like the plaque carried some level of authority.

But,

“Hey, don’t you know me? Is this still the Skull Empire or not?”

Right now, I didn’t have the time to wait on some verification process.

“… Eh?”

“It was a princess from the Mainin Kingdom who gave this to me, and now she’s a general of this country, y’know? It’s been about a month. She should be famous.”

And,

“I was the guy who fought next to her. Look at this jaw that’s jutting a bit. I must be pretty famous too by now, right?”

The salesperson’s complexion turned white.

“Th-, then you must be…”

“Yeah, the one who passed the Warrior’s Path –”

“G-, General Squatjaw?!”

“…”

How absurd. I clearly remembered registering under the name Hiro.

In any case, seemed the Khan hadn’t taken away my rank, because he didn’t want to completely lose me.

Instead of answering, I stretched out my hand.

“If you understand, give me the tickets.”

There was no time. I had to quickly come up with a strategy.

“Ah, right; send the bill to the imperial administration.”

---

Ten days later.

Brindisi.

“Thank you for your time.”

Tanya greeted everyone in the party, and even gave Squatjaw a wink.

He really was a good companion.

Thanks to him, she was able to travel in the comfort of a special class seat.

In addition, he’d also easily defeated the pursuers who’d followed her to the ship.

And, best of all, he didn’t have much in the way of curiosity.

Squatjaw didn’t bother to ask her anything except for the basics.

Of course, she’d dropped a few hints that he shouldn’t ask… but she wouldn’t have been able to dodge all suspicion if he had decided to ask.

But still,

“Why, isn’t there still some distance before you can meet your group? Can’t we help? You think so too, right, Squatjaw?”

“No, I’ll be fine by myself. I’ll definitely come back to repay you after I meet my party. Wherever you are.”

“Well, off you go then. But remember, if you don’t deliver on your promise, I’ll kill you!”

“Yeah, okay, okay. Goodbye to you too, Nero. And to you, Mister Squatjaw.”

Even so, she didn’t want to accompany them any longer.

The reason was simple. Because she was feeling anxious.

The man with the jutting chin was completely ‘unreadable’.

This wasn’t her first time seeing a human whose ‘history’ was unreadable, but this was the first time she’d seen so many fragmented pasts. The more she tried to read them, the more it felt like her brain was about to leak through her ears.

There were two possibilities.

Either he was defending himself with some ability she didn’t know of, or she was simply unable to read him because of the difference in their capacity.

Of course, either way, the conclusion was the same.

She couldn’t handle this guy on her own.

If there was one thing she’d learned while working with those Huntington idiots, it was the spirit of ‘if you don’t like the look of something, run’.

Now was the time.

And fortunately,

“See you again when there’s a chance.”

Squatjaw turned around without saying anything else.

See you again?

Tanya tried to shrug off the useless sense of déjà vu she was feeling from those words.

She didn’t know why he said the same phrase she always used, but she never wanted to see his face again in the first place.

This was goodbye, forever.

“Huff…”

Tanya sighed softly as she looked at Squatjaw and his group moving away.

Anyway, now she had to save herself until she could reunite with the Huntington idiots. Who knew when an attack might come?

Tanya hid her presence and started moving.

---

The southern city of Maserno.

On the fifth day after landing in Brindisi.

Weird. This was weird whichever way she sliced it.

Why were they here again this time?

Tanya couldn’t hide her anxiety at the sight of familiar faces at the destination she had barely arrived at, avoiding the attacks of her pursuers.

This was the seventh time so far. Seven times in five days.

“Huh? You again?”

Tanya stiffened as Coocoo caught sight of her and said in surprise.

For some reason, wherever she went, Squatjaw’s group was also present.

The problem was,

“No, you say you were going alone, so why do you keep following us?”

When they said they were being followed, it meant that they’d arrived first.

It was as if they’d foreseen the path she was going to take.

“Can’t you just ask us to go with you at this point? Or are you afraid it’ll cost you?”

“…”

She’d been obviously going to places with few people, so why…

Tanya felt nauseous.

There wasn’t really anything she could complain about, but this felt strange.

No wonder… Were they aiming for the ‘Ramirez’?

That was then.

“They’re here again. Three of them already went into that forest nearby.”

Squatjaw who’d been sitting down quietly so far slowly started talking.

“You keep bringing in strange bastards, and we’re the ones getting bothered. This won’t work, don’t you think?”

He got up and slowly walked towards her.

“Uh… huh?”

The momentum emanating from him was very strong.

A sense of intimidation that her pursuers couldn’t hold a candle to.

Wait, wait a minute…

And at the words that followed, Tanya’s face turned white.

“That thing you’re carrying, how about I take care of it for you?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 85

Monsters (?) in the Sky

It was six o’clock in the morning.

The time to begin the day’s work.

While getting ready to go out, Haka suddenly counted the days.

“Today is the eightieth day…”

Three months was supposed to be the limit, so there wasn’t much time left by now.

Soon, they’d return.

Hm?

Haka felt a little embarrassed seeing his own reflection in the mirror.

He was laughing. Him. The indifferent character who always wore the same smile in public, but never smiled when he was alone.

“…”

He couldn’t deny his own anticipation. Clearly his heart was moving a bit differently than usual.

Then,

‘… That gent would definitely check up on my homework.’

The requests he’d made before he left slowly came to mind.

First, the role of the cuckoo.

• To skilfully mix lies with truth, and constantly announce the news of the adventure team.

Second, organizational restructuring.

• To integrate all the organizations he’d been involved in, including the ‘Windrider Gang’, and lay a foundation for the future strength of the Squatjaw Adventurers.

Third, spreading rumours about the goblins.

• To tell the Leo Adventurers a little bit about the concept and other information about the goblins.

“Hmm.”

To be honest, he couldn’t say that he’d fully completed everything.

One had been done perfectly, one only on occasion, and a third had been left to gather dust for a long time.

The reason why things had happened this way was also simple. One needed to be dealt with meticulously, the other had to be done step by step, and he hadn’t found a good opportunity to implement the third yet.

But Haka was confident. He’d accomplished a good portion of his duties.

At that moment,

Ding Dong–.

A ringing sound could be heard.

The sound that signalled the start of the day.

Haka stopped ruminating and went out the door.

Creak–.

As soon as he opened the door,

“Hey, Boss. Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

Thirnut, one of his subordinates, dressed in a suit, greeted him with a bowed head.

And the hundreds of personnel lined up behind him also bowed in unison.

“Hope you’ve had a restful night!”

The second task which Haka had performed perfectly was ‘organizational restructuring’.

Two bandit groups including the Windrider Gang, a mafia group, three assassin organizations, two secret intelligence organizations, and so on. In less than three months, he’d integrated sixteen organizations into one.

The reason he’d gone with the mafia style during the process of unification was just because Haka thought they looked the cleanest. Also, he wondered if ‘that gent’ would find this the most familiar.

“Is there any news?”

“Yes, Boss. There’s one.”

“Tell me.”

“The Poison Mists has declared that it’ll participate in this war.”

“… The Poison Mists?”

The Poison Mists was an assassination organization that’d been making a name recently. It was famous for its brutal methods, mainly using poison, that didn’t even leave corpses behind.

“Hmm, these friends really aren’t lacking in courage.”

“But there’re rumours that their quest success rate is around ninety-eight percent…”

Haka looked at his subordinate who’d just said that.

The man couldn’t stand that silent stare and quickly bowed his head.

“The really scary ones don’t bother to make up those kinds of numbers. Who have they hunted? Were there any famous people among their targets?”

“There were a few government officials of Westland, the mayor of Brindisi, and also some bandits…”

“And how does that compare against, say, the Kingslayer?”

“… There’s no comparison.”

The Kingslayer.

An assassin who’d survived even after assassinating a king from Eastland, he was evaluated as the highest level among those who’d declared that they’d catch the ‘monster’.

“Of course, for a hundred billion gold… it’s worth it to at least make an attempt. Also, if the quest succeeds, their reputation will skyrocket.”

So far, the number of assassins who’d declared their intention to join the ‘monster hunt’ was about a hundred. Even leaving aside the Kingslayer, at least twenty of them were famously talented.

Besides, about half of these people were leaders of their own organizations. Hence nobody could calculate exactly how many assassins would rush towards ‘him’ in the end.

Then,

“Then, should we stop spreading rumours about the Poison Mists for now?”

The subordinate again asked a stupid question.

Haka gave him another look.

Just how did this idiot end up being his adjutant?

Although, of course, he didn’t frown or anything. Instead he just gave a brief smile.

“No, just keep at what you’re doing. If the rumours no longer match their level, tack something else on to make it more sensational. How about this? Spread the word that the Poison Mists and the Soramites have united to pursue the ‘monster’.”

“The Soramites? But they don’t get along with the Poison Mists much…”

“So this is an opportunity for them to improve their relationship. The Poison Mists should welcome this too.”

Not long after the ‘organizational restructuring’ had finished, Haka had started a proper attempt at his task as the ‘cuckoo’.

To reproduce the news of the Squatjaw Adventurers.

But no matter how many lies he mixed in, a certain number of actual facts had to be there as the base. Yet the Information Guild didn’t have any suitable news for him no matter how many times he nagged them.

At best, they’d gone to Eastland, had met and gotten entangled with with the princess of a small kingdom, and had stayed in a country called the Skull Empire for a while. That was it.

Haka himself was very busy, and there hadn’t been any appropriate news to spin into a tale about goblins, so he’d forgotten about it.

“Isn’t this… is this related to the person you were talking about, Boss?”

The news of ‘him’ had become famous all over the Leeches’ Cradle.

[Assassination Request – Express]

• Target: The Squatjaw Adventurers
• Reward: 100 Billion Gold
• Deadline: Unlimited

An express-grade request with a hefty reward.

But what was even more surprising was the deadline, ‘unlimited’.

There were only two cases where such a time limit could be attached to such a remuneration.

Either it was an enemy who couldn’t be allowed to live under the same sky, or it was a message that another ‘monster’ that no one could hunt had appeared.

After paying a fairly expensive information fee, Haka had found out the identity of the client. It was a famous assassination organization from Eastland.

The fact that an assassination organization had put up a quest in their own line of work, naturally meant that this was the latter case.

From then on, Haka had been able to perform the ‘cuckoo role’ once in a while. Because the organizational integration had been ongoing, he’d assigned the task to a few subordinates, and above all, fresh news had started pouring in.

However, the third and last task, ‘goblin rumours’, was different.

Haka hadn’t touched it even once in these last three months.

The reason wasn’t anything complex either. He’d simply been too busy, and it just didn’t seem so important.

In fact, this was the bit that made him a little puzzled. He’d been so serious about goblins in the past!

Every time he met someone new, he’d come up with a riddle and try to find a point of contact with the goblins. How many hoops had he jumped through just to catch a glimpse of a goblin?

At that time, there’d been no rational reason to be obsessed with such an act. He’d simply thought that this was his ‘identity’.

Even though he’d been a part of dozens of organizations, he’d never had a sense of belonging to any of them. Those had been simply relationships of convenience that could be scattered into dust at any time. Because he’d only thought of the ‘goblins’ as his home.

Looking back now… well, his behaviour had been ridiculous.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been much different with the goblins either. After all, to them, he’d be a human being – and nothing more than a stranger at that.

All this was because… he still remembered the little kindness he’d received as a child.

‘Well, there’s no denying that they were good guys.’

Of course, it was still a precious memory, but his identity no longer revolved around it.

That was why he could now smile so comfortably. Because he’d finally found a place to rest his heart.

Even if it wasn’t his identity… there were people whom he wanted to share the future with.

And they were coming.

“The Poison Mists and the Soramite Band… Then we’ll spread it like that.”

“Oh, and one more thing. I almost forgot something important. Make sure you stick to this exact wording…”

That ten days later, a monster would arrive here at Westland.

---

Nanma Port.

As I sat on a bench by the harbour, I glanced over the rows upon rows of seafaring vessels.

White Rain – Destination: Brindisi

Iron Mary – Destination: Sonoka

Black Wales – Destination: Gibrante

⁝

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t help but worry.

Depending on the ride I chose, the time and location of the battle for ‘Ramirez’s Treasure’ would change.

Brindisi (Southern) – The starting point of the Ramirez Scramble.

Sonoka (Central) – The point where the treasure changes hands for the first time.

Gibrante (Northern) – The site of the biggest battle.

My thoughts were running in circles.

Where should I go to get the most attention?

Where would my hand of cards have the maximum impact?

It would be nice to be able to follow the arc from start to finish, starting in the south, but honestly, that wasn’t possible. How would I control a hundred goblins for so long?

These bastards were good for the initial impact, but that was where my involvement ended. The author could figure out the rest on his own.

‘What should I do…’

I revisited the arc of ‘Scramble for Ramirez’s Treasure’ again in my memory.

Ramirez’s Treasure.

It was an artefact called the ‘Mirror of the Soul’.

An ancient artifact that showed the ‘secret one most wanted to hide’, of the object reflected in the mirror’s surface.

Numerous characters would appear in this arc, some of whom would even turn into named characters who’d last beyond the King’s Road. It was an incredibly long arc in which rice cakes would be sprinkled everywhere and Chekov’s guns would be left at every roadside, but its core plotline was very simple.

1. A thief brings this ‘Ramirez’s Treasure’ to Brindisi, the southern city of Westland, while being pursued.
2. Rumour spreads that a precious treasure without an owner has drifted to Westland.
3. Bastards of every stripe come running.
4. The chase between the escapees and the pursuers begins.
5. From south, to the centre, to the north.
6. The treasure changes hands several times.
7. Fights, fights, and more fights.
8. The process keeps repeating, the mirror gets broken during the battle, and the incident comes to a vague conclusion.

Simply put, if I took the high-speed ship bound for Brindisi, I could start right from the first stage.

For the fourth stage, I could head for Sonoka at the centre, and for the sixth, I could go to Gibrante in the north.

Since the duration of the voyage was the same at ten days for all three routes, I didn’t have to worry much about the precise timings.

Therefore, as long as I had a good plan and a detailed strategy, I could start.

There were three options, but I started with rejecting one for now.

Starting in Brindisi in the south was going to be problematic. If this were a game about simply snatching the treasure, it would’ve been one thing, but this ‘scramble battle’ wasn’t like that.

If I acted like everyone else, if I stole the treasure and tried to hide it, I’d definitely be sanctioned by the preceding plot and suffer an explosive penalty.

Even if the other guys were doing a treasure hunt, I had to play a different game by my lonesome.

In other words, I had to somehow follow the overarching plot development, yet find room for my own activities, while avoiding the sanctions of the preceding plot.

After excluding the south, only the central and the northern regions were left, but the choice between them wasn’t easy.

The central area would let me concentrate on the big picture, and I’d have space to prepare a trick or two, but the scale of the incident would be unsatisfactory. Releasing the goblins there probably wouldn’t have as big an impact.

The northern area was the place where the named would appear in large numbers, and large-scale battles would take place. We’d even get to see the science-based weapons of Northland for the first time.

But the con was that my appearance would have to be delayed a bit.

Also, it niggled at me a little that I couldn’t predict what’d happen once the goblins popped up at the site of a large-scale battle. Impact was one thing, but these guys weren’t adversaries, and they weren’t going to join in the fight head-on.

I’d definitely piss the author off because it’d disturb the future plot, but other than that I had no idea what’d happen.

“Huff…”

I was back to square one.

‘If I’d only had a little time to prepare, I would’ve preferred the south…’

While my worries were getting deeper and deeper –

Suddenly,

“What the?!”

“Look over there!”

“Look at the sky!”

Murmurs started up all around.

The sky?

When I heard that and looked up, I saw a strange creature flying in the sky. No, two.

‘What is that… a griffin?’

An animal with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.

It was impossible to be sure because the figure had the sun at its back, but the silhouette was definitely similar.

But, of course,

“That doesn’t make any sense… so what is it? Some mutant bird?”

It couldn’t be. There was still a long stretch to cross in the story before a griffin could appear.

In fact, mythical animals like griffins didn’t exist in nature here in the world of Adventure King. The same went for harpies, manticores, sirens, etc.

Of course, only ‘in nature’.

Those beasts would appear in front of Leo and party in one of the three arcs covering Northland.

A mechanized manticore, a griffin with a chemical weapon, and a harpy with steel wings.

In one word, ‘chimeras’.

There was no way a chimera would appear at this point, so of course there was no way that was a griffin.

Just then,

“I-, it’s diving!”

“Dodge!”

“It’s a monster!”

One of the monsters began to descend downwards.

And its destination was none other than –

“… Huff.”

Yes, me.

First, I took a quick look around. Just in case one of the goblins was playing some strange prank.

But nobody stood out as suspicious.

‘Is this really an attack?’

Well, then I’d just have to grab them and do the interrogation myself.

While I was preparing to meet the monster diving down from the sky –

“Squatjaw!”

Huh?

Somebody called me.

“Look over here! That’s right! Squatjaw!”

The owner of the voice was a monster.

A monster was calling me. It was a very familiar voice, too.

“Huh…?”

So, once I looked more closely,

“Coocoo?”

It was Coocoo in his hawk form. Not only that, he also had something hanging from his claws.

And hanging there was –

Without any mistake –

“… Nero?”

It was a black panther.

Crash-!

…

I scratched my head.

I couldn’t make head or tails of this situation.

Several questions came to mind at the same time.

Why were these guys here?

Could it be that Coocoo had followed me?

Then why now?

And why was that cat tagging along?

Although I was very curious –

I couldn’t clarify any of my questions.

“Ugh! Why did you leave me behind!”

Because the other monster flying in the sky had followed these guys and flown towards me.

Crash–.

And then,

“What’s going on, Coocoo! Is that that Squatjaw guy you told me about? He doesn’t look very strong, does he?”

When I saw ‘it’, I was astonished.

The identity of the newly arrived monster – was a human. More specifically, a woman.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she threw off her cloak, drenched in sweat and some kind of unidentifiable green liquid, like an animal shedding its wings.

The smell wasn’t easy on the nose either.

“Ugh…”

But my surprise didn’t stem from merely that.

The reason I was so shocked at the sight was because her face was very familiar to me.

The eighth guide of the Huntington Bandits.

Whose arrival was the signal to start the Ramirez Scramble.

And the character who’d later become the fifth member of the Leo Adventurers.

Tanya.

Currently, she was the thief hiding the ‘Treasure of Ramirez’ in her arms.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 84

Returning to Westland

Crooooooaaak–.

I watched the frog that was on the table.

It was limping and trying to slowly crawl forward.

There didn’t seem to have any bodily problems.

Its leg weren’t hurt, nor had it become weak.

Still, it couldn’t do a single proper jump.

It wanted to run, wanted to quickly get out of this table, but it couldn’t jump, so it was crawling along.

The reason it couldn’t jump was simple.

Because I’d messed with its brain circuit a little bit.

– If you want to jump, you have to stretch your left front leg and right hind leg at the same time.

This was the result. It completely forgot that it had to fold both hind legs at the same time in order to jump, and kept recklessly straightening the legs I’d designated.

With this confirmation that the ability had been properly implemented, I freed the frog.

Then,

Jump–.

It hurriedly left the table.

“Hmm.”

[Prankster Playing with the Rules].

Chinuavi’s unique ability could be summed up in one word.

‘Terrifying.’

Quite frankly, it was shocking. How can somebody or something be completely turned into a toy just by injecting a simple command?

Even though the frog had almost zero mental resistance, a human being didn’t seem much different. Despite being a complete novice, didn’t I succeed on the first try? Even if there were more hurdles in the future, things wouldn’t be too bad as long as I learned the tricks. This was yet another demonstration of what a scam the whole goblin race was.

Anyway, having tested out my power on first a carp and then a frog, apparently the Disruptor God had succeeded in his task without any major issues.

In other words, I could now mimic the unique abilities of the goblins.

“Okay, good.”

I let go of the breath I’d been holding and rejoiced.

Of course, just because this became possible didn’t mean I was now an excellent decipherer.

Unique abilities greatly affected the ability of a decipherer, no doubt, but ‘race’ was also fundamentally a very important factor.

It could be simply explained in this way. The divine beasts didn’t lack good guides and fighters, but very few among them could be counted on to solve complex problems.

In other words, goblins had a much higher baseline ‘comprehension’ and ‘thinking ability’ compared to other races, and these were the characteristics most critical to be a decipherer.

And this meant, even though I could use their unique abilities, and had acquired a goblin-related background, I’d get cut down to size pretty quick if I tried to brag about being some bigshot decipherer.

Still, after the goblins started to appear in the upcoming chapters, the background and characteristics related to them would definitely start appearing in the character shop. As long as I bought a few, maybe one day I’d be no worse as a decipherer compared to a real goblin.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

However, my pleasant daydreaming had to come to a stop.

“Huff…”

My expression stiffened again.

In fact, the current situation was not that good.

Yes, I’d managed to acquire a goblin background and mimic their abilities, but the problem was that my relationship with the Disruptor God had also deepened.

Being involved with him was actually the worst. All the bastards who’d had a close relationship with him in the original work, although none of them had been particularly significant, had fallen to hell in the end. Without exception.

The Disruptor God basically tended to approach and bestow his power to those who could bring his joy. He’d giggle as he watched them become frustrated, despairing, and eventually crumble just short of their goal.

This was the consistent pattern among the goblins who worshiped the Disruptor God.

And maybe, that was his plan for me as well once I failed to live up to his expectations.

Of course, I’d already made up my mind to some extent. I’d gone into this with my eyes wide open.

In other words, we were mutually using each other for our own gains.

And to be honest, I saw this as something I could handle.

Why? Because I wasn’t weak anymore.

It was actually very simple to avoid being attacked by the Disruptor God. Let him play with you to his heart’s content. As long as he was ready to take responsibility for it.

There was only one thing that I needed.

Strength.

So that no matter what I did, nobody would dare find fault in front of my overwhelming might.

Wasn’t that the privilege of the strong?

“Nice…”

For some reason, a refreshing feeling was welling up inside my heart.

After savouring it for a while,

“Hmm, let’s see…”

Soon it was time to return to reality.

This much arrogance was the limit. This only at the beginning of the game, and there weren’t many Named at this point, so it was laughable to brag about my strength.

I began to summarize my harvest at the Goblins’ Den.

1. I got the goblin background I’d been aiming for,

2. I could now mimic the unique abilities of the goblins, and

3. I was about to carry a hundred goblin-shaped bombs to mess up the battle for ‘Ramirez’s Treasure’.

However, there was only one disappointment.

I still couldn’t learn how to mimic Karl Zayed’s ability.

In fact, there was no reason to think that it’d be easy.

As long as the Disruptor God favoured me, I’d wondered if he could make it possible one way or another. Since all the other conditions could be satisfied, how about we disrupted only the fourth condition, ‘you must have a physique that meets the level of your ability’.

But,

“You want me to help you steal the power of someone stronger than you?”

“No, rather than saying he’s stronger… and it’s not stealing, but mimicking…”

“Can that even be called breaking the rules?”

“No, that… but…”

“Suddenly I’m starting to regret my choice. Are you this big of an idiot? Does breaking the rules sound like you can turn everything impossible into possible? And even if it is, it’s you who has to bear the aftereffects.”

The Disruptor God’s reply shattered my shallow expectations.

“Do you really think you can handle the wrath of this world that has one of its rules broken?”

“No, what do you… isn’t it…?”

This was an idea that’d stemmed from my ignorance of the power of the Disruptor God.

At first, I’d thought that he could just roughly twist the rule, ‘only one unique ability can be acquired’, easily by ‘increasing the count to two’ or ‘ignoring the condition only for a specific target’.

But from what I was hearing, it didn’t seem that simple.

Surprisingly, there were rules governing the work of the Disruptor God. It was necessary to go through several stages, and the difficulty level differed according to the law being disrupted.

He could ignore all the rules that were in effect in this world, but there was another rule, that only applied to the Disruptor God, if he wanted to perform such an action.

Had it not been for that, he would’ve been called the true god of this world, not merely one of the goblin gods.

Currently, I was able to obtain the ‘permission’ of the other goblin gods, but that wasn’t because of some kind of enormous characteristic being applied to me, such as ‘I alone disregard all rules!’

According to the Disruptor God, he was just peeling off a layer of ‘blockage’. Even that was a huge deal, and it presupposed a huge risk.

Of course, I didn’t understand what this ‘blockage’ meant at this time.

Anyway, for that reason, my greed of Karl Zayed’s unique ability had to be put on hold for a while.

I wasn’t despairing, though. After all, he hasn’t said it ‘couldn’t be done’.

Even if he was waving his hands as if he’d lost all strength, right now, the rules surrounding the beings called gods were being twisted at his behest.

‘Let’s put it off for a bit.’

Then,

“Squatjaw!”

I heard a voice calling me from outside.

It was Cocoa.

“It’s time. That old goblin is here.”

“Eh?”

The old-timer who’d traipsed off to the mountain had apparently returned. Considering how long it’d taken, it seemed that he’d prepared quite well.

“I’m coming.”

I immediately left the space.

---

A playground for bluffers and gossips.

It was a kind of plaza where idle goblins gathered and played games, situated on a flat terrain that was rare here in the Goblins’ Den which was nestled inside a steep mountain valley.

The old goblin and a hundred others had gathered right there.

It was already noisy from afar.

Just then,

“Over there!”

“He’s here!”

“Squatjaw!”

When the goblins saw me, they immediately started making a ruckus.

“Yes, yes. Hello.”

I waved my hands.

Yes, yes, I’m the messiah who’ll open a new world to you backcountry villagers living in this valley.

It was time to smile and press flesh.

“Squatjaw! Come here.”

The old-timer sitting on a small stump at the centre of the plaza beckoned to me.

“Everybody, gather round. Ahem. There’s one last thing I’d like to ask you all. Listen carefully to what this guy has to say. Like I said last night, this Squatjaw is actually somebody I’ve been secretly raising in our den since he was a kid; so even if he looks human on the outside, he’s no different from a goblin. As you’ve all seen, he knows how to use the unique abilities of goblins, and surprisingly, he’s been chosen by all five goblin gods. So don’t think of him as a human, rather as a goblin who only looks human, if you know what I mean…”

Then,

“Nope, as if that could happen!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Look at that jaw of his! Does that looks like a goblin’s to you?”

“Don’t be such a racist, Oldboy!”

The goblins around us all shouted at the old man, telling him to stop.

Apparently he’d been trying to convince them over and over again until I arrived.

Therefore,

“Hmph, hah… you bastards! Let’s see if you can shout so loud once you leave the Goblins’ Den! Hmph, snot-nosed kids getting stirred up by every little thing…”

In the end, Oldboy also got very angry and jumped off the stump.

Hmmm.

I had nothing to contribute either, so I just scratched my head.

Then,

“What’re you standing around for, like an idiot? Follow me.”

The old goblin dragged me somewhere.

To a hut not far from the plaza.

After confirming that no one else was around, Oldboy took something out of his pocket.

“Take this.”

“Huh? Wait, is this…?”

I blurted out in my moment of surprise, but stopped myself somehow from finishing.

“What, you know it?”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that…”

The old goblin gave me a small box.

And, as I remembered, this was the token that the previous Adventure King had left behind at the Goblins’ Den.

Oldboy looked at me as if he suspected something, but quickly shook it off. It was already no secret that there were many questions around me that wouldn’t be answered.

Instead of questioning me further, Oldboy offered it to me again.

“Take it.”

“So what is it?”

“Take it first.”

“Uh… you don’t like it? Why are you giving it to me? What is it?”

The old goblin coughed briefly.

“It was left behind by the previous Adventure King.”

He said in a very serious voice.

I was again perplexed. I’d never thought it’d be revealed so soon. I thought it needed a bit more cooking.

So,

“Uh… Oh, is that so?”

It was an unprepared and sloppy reaction.

“You already knew. No wonder…”

“No, no… I don’t know what you mean.”

“Then do you know what’s inside?”

“I don’t, I don’t.”

This was half true.

Because the contents of the box would change depending on who opened it.

“I’ll give it to you. Take it.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you two are connected.”

“The last Adventure King, connected to me? How?”

Then the old goblin let out a snort as if it was absurd question.

“Hey, didn’t you yourself say it first! That you have things in common!”

“Eh? Ah… but that was a joke…”

“Alright, alright, just take it. It’s been left here for decades anyway. It doesn’t belong to us, so we always thought the owner would show up someday. I decided that was you.”

“Eeh…”

I was frankly dismayed.

If they gave me this, I’d have no idea what to do.

Of course, I did want it. Because it was a belonging of the previous Adventure King. It’d definitely guarantee my appearance for a full arc.

But the problem was that there was somebody ‘supposed to receive this’.

And naturally, it was Leo.

Was I going to take away something (an arc) that was supposed to belong to Leo alone? Such an important relic who significance extended beyond the King’s Road to the Midlands?

I could feel the author’s glare about to stab the top of my head.

Moreover, taking this with me now was not just a matter of taking away Leo’s role.

The reason this was a real problem, was that this was supposed to lead Leo to the Goblins’ Den.

Before Leo and his party head to the King’s Road, they hear from someone that ‘the relic of the previous Adventure King is in the Goblins’ Den’, and even that it was a lead to the Tower of Adventure.

That is the starting point of ‘Goblins’ Den Arc’.

But what if it was no longer in the Goblins’ Den in the first place?

There’d be no reason for Leo and his party to pay here a visit.

Of course, there was still the possibility that they’d visit, but not find what they were looking for because somebody else had already taken it first… but that was still a complete departure from the planned plotline.

That’d be a serious problem with the plot development.

So I truly shouldn’t take this.

Besides, other than a guaranteed appearance, this thing didn’t have much other value. Even without it, I knew how to reach the tower.

So,

“Uh… no, it’s fine. I’m… I’m not very good at acceping gifts.”

“Heh heh, you’re good at talking nonsense! Your face doesn’t lie. Your greed is etched into those jawbones! Don’t talk, just take it!”

The old goblin didn’t even pretend to listen to my refusal.

“No, wait…”

That was then.

“If you don’t want it yourself, just hand it over to somebody else.”

“Ah…? I can just hand it over?”

Then, suddenly,

‘Oh, isn’t that a better choice?’

A strange thought popped into my mind.

The hundred goblins with me would be able to represent the entire Goblins’ Den to the outside world.

From there, it was no exaggeration to call myself the most mysterious goblin. Then, why couldn’t I call myself the goblin chief? Instead of Oldboy.

‘Is that the way?’

The arc around this Goblins’ Den in the original had aimed at showing off the goblin species. They’d been carefully woven into the story before then, but that’d been the first chance for the author to show them off properly.

But now, if I barged in with my goblin followers, they’d become entangled with the story from much earlier. In other words, the arc around the Goblins’ Den, designed to introduce the race, might become irrelevant.

‘I think this’d be a more efficient way to introduce the goblins. And more exciting, too.’

Of course, I didn’t know if the author would come to the same judgment as me.

Anyway, as long as I had this, I’d have some justification to represent the goblins. This was a token of the previous Adventure King, so it was as if Oldboy himself was entrusting me with his role.

‘And he’s the chief of the goblins…’

Well, it might not be a bad idea.

So,

“Eh, guess it can’t be helped. Give it to me.”

I took the box from Oldboy.

He smiled broadly as if satisfied.

“Thanks to you, I’ve been finally relieved of this burden.”

“Ah, no, no. I gained a lot too. So, is the business over now?”

“Yeah… you can go now.”

The voice held a touch of something like regret.

Of course, that wasn’t because of this box.

Last night, I’d decided to ask him one last time.

“Are you really not going with me?”

“…”

After a spell of silence, the old goblin had slowly opened his mouth.

“How many times do I have to tell you? As the chief of this Goblins’ Den, I have a duty to protect it. And I also need to take charge of the annual Spirit Festival…”

As if he’d already made up his mind.

“Alright, got it. I was just asking.”

“… There’re times when I have to welcome any guests that might visit, and if any enemies appear…”

“I told you, I got it.”

“…”

I turned my back. It was time to slowly depart.

That was then.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I have something to tell you.”

“Hm? What is it this time?”

When I turned around again, the old guy was looking at me with strange eyes.

And his expression was as strange as ever. Like a mix of joy, sadness, and confusion.

“There’s an ancient legend that’s been lost to time.”

“What?”

“Someday, the one chosen by all five goblin gods will appear. And he will lead all the goblins.”

“… Eh?”

“It’s a legend about the fate of the goblins.”

“Huh.”

This was my first time hearing this.

It seemed to be a setting that the author had just made and never used.

“There’re a lot of reasons why the legend’s been lost. Actually, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s not that simple to be chosen by all five gods. Basically, the goblin race is not that type of a race. It’s terrifying just thinking about it, isn’t it? The fact that one goblin has all the temperaments that the five gods covet? That can no longer be considered a goblin. It’s more like a monster, created out of someone’s playful malice.”

“Ummm…”

I couldn’t disagree.

“This legend isn’t a few decades old, like that box. It’s thousands of years old.”

“Huh, really?”

“There hasn’t been a single time it’s come true, so far. But it happened this time. Although, well, it’s not an orthodox goblin.”

“That… you mean me?”

“That’s right.”

For a moment, my heart pounded slightly.

Was there a new setting here, tied to something more?

“I see, so? Now what?”

“That’s it.”

“Eh?”

“That’s it.”

“What do you mean, that’s it? What else does the legend say? What more would that fated guy do? Like he’d go to some kind of place, or go find some kind of treasure…”

“There’s nothing. He’ll just show up.”

“…”

It was crazy. There was no after?

Settings weren’t usually like this…

Of course, there might be things he couldn’t say right now.

“Yeah, well, got it. I’ll lead them properly. Those hundred.”

“Please do.”

Then, as I turned around, I heard a faint muttering lingering in the air.

See you again, Goblin King.

---

It’d been three days since we’d started moving with a hundred goblins in tow.

On the way, in an instant, ‘that event’ happened.

Thoooom–.

The world shook.

“… What?”

It was as if a breeze had blown over us.

I hurriedly looked around, but no one made any mention of it.

Cocoa, Chinuavi, and the other goblins were just talking to each other normally.

As if I was the only one who’d noticed this phenomenon.

‘… It’s strange.’

That was then.

Tiling–.

A message arrived as a hologram.

And the content of the message gave me a new sense of tension that I’d never felt before.

[A certain number of new characters have been created.]

[For the balance of the world, the power balance of existing characters is being adjusted.]

[Character’s level has been greatly reduced.]

[Character’s level has been greatly reduced.]

[Character’s level has been greatly reduced.]

[Character’s level has been greatly reduced.]

⁝

‘Tch… be a bit less gung-ho about it, will you?’

The power balance was being forcibly adjusted.

Out of nowhere, the first ‘period of upheaval’ had arrived.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 83

The Five Goblin Gods

“It was a joke, a joke.”

Had the readers been watching, it would’ve been a very funny scene.

I was so surprised that I fell backwards on my ass.

‘… This is absurd.’

To be honest, that wasn’t enough to describe it. Those jaws gaping monstrously wide were definitely not funny, and they weren’t cute from any angle one cared to look. It was a scene that literally left me speechless because I couldn’t find a way to put it into words.

I could feel how the goblin aesthetics clashed with the shounen manga concept, once again.

From my position on the floor, I looked up at the child who was still grinning.

It was quite a different one from last time.

An innocent and mischievous grin.

The God of Mischief had a face that really fit his title.

I slowly got up and waved in greeting.

“… Long time no see. God of Mischief… right?”

The child smiled brightly in response.

“That’s right.”

“Honestly, I was a little confused. That face sure was something… but actually, when I first saw you, I thought you were the God of Sabotage. To think the God of Mischief himself came first to meet me…”

“That kid’s got a bit of a playful side, sure, but he doesn’t like these kinds of pranks. He think they’re childish.”

“Huh.”

That sounded believable. The Disruptor God definitely preferred to work on a large scale.

“But why did you think I was him? You don’t even know our faces, do you?”

“Ah…”

I’d just blurted it out without thinking.

I pondered briefly, and –

“Rather than thinking that way because of your appearance… isn’t the God of Sabotage the youngest? Judging by the fact that you appeared as soon as I arrived here, you look like my guide… well, I’m not much of a bigshot, so I wondered if the job would fall to the one with the lowest rank…”

I decided to fall back on the universal idea of ‘age equals authority’^[1] (although it didn’t seem that important in the Goblins’ Den).

I couldn’t say that I’d seen their faces in the original work, after all.

Then the God of Mischief giggled and burst into full-blown laughter.

“Does that make any sense? You thought he’ll come out first since he’s got a lower rank?”

He looked at me and shook his head.

“Expecting a goblin to be polite… talk about mean.”

I didn’t believe him, though.

But although I was a little embarrassed, it didn’t seem like he was going to be digging any further, so I just accepted the situation.

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. You really thought that horrible mess of a face was that guy, huh?”

The God of Mischief giggled for a while longer, leaving me wondering if he liked my answer.

After a while, as if he’d calmed down to some extent, he spoke up again.

“Oh, and it’s true that I’m the eldest, but there’s no hierarchy between us. I came out first just because I heard something. Somebody was asking really hard to take good care of you…”

“Ah…”

It looked like he was talking about Chinuavi.

Don’t you worry, kid.

“And everyone else will be here soon anyway. Human smells aren’t that common in this neighbourhood. And you’re even an acquaintance, no?”

It was literally at that moment.

Just then,

Sway–.

The wave of light that was circling around me rippled once.

‘… Another visitor. Who is it this time?’

I looked around carefully and waited for a while. But nothing caught my eye other than the scattered light.

Hmmm.

Since he didn’t take a material form, the god who came this time wasn’t as playful as the God of Mischief.

That was then.

– Ah! Is that you?

A voice came from the air.

‘Huh?’

A shrill voice.

One that shook me the tiniest bit.

Last time when I’d heard it, it must’ve been like thunder. My eardrums had felt like they’d been about to burst.

“… Haah.”

I relaxed a little.

In fact, even up to this point, I’d been wondering if my body would be able to withstand the power of the gods.

Although I’d come face-to-face with the God of Mischief already, my previous experience was still etched deep into my memory.

The I could withstand two was enough. No, it was more than that.

There were only two of them now, but I was sure. I’d be okay even if all five came.

I’d grown so much. Enough to stand proudly in front of the gods of a race.

Of course, those ceremonial weapons with me were also a great help.

Anyway, I thought I could be a little more comfortable now.

“Hello, who are you?”

– Me? Hmmm… I don’t want to tell you.

“Ah… yes, I see.”

The newcomer seemed quite capricious. As expected of the God of Whimsy.

That was then.

“Does it seem like everyone has arrived?”

The God of Mischief pointed in one direction and said.

The light there was flickering violently.

Then, the ripples gradually began to spread to the surroundings, and finally it reached my position.

Then,

Thoooooom–.

As if the world was turned upside down, in an instant, light exploded in all directions.

…

When I got my senses back, the gods had already arrived.

‘Only four?’

But soon I shook my head.

There were indeed five.

A little further away, another wave of light was swaying strangely. Of course, I still didn’t know which god was avoiding me that much.

I looked back down at my own body.

I was feeling a little jittery, although there were no big problems.

This was not due to external pressure, but because of the palpitations inside my chest.

I looked straight ahead.

Unlike the Capricious God, this time there were two more people who participated in the God of Mischief’s prank.

Two new kids were looking at me with interest, although they didn’t hold a candle to the scene the God of Mischief had greeted me with.

“Ohoho! A human’s come to this place in the Dream Realm! Twice at that! This has never happened before!”

“There’s no sign of fear at all. Hey, aren’t you super strong? Are you really human? If we tussle, I think might lose!”

Looking at the way they spoke, they were the God of Lies and the God of Bluffs.

The one acting shy from far away was the Disruptor God.

Good. Now, everybody I needed were gathered.

“Hello, nice to meet you all.”

I greeted them casually.

There was no pressure at all, and I’d already drawn their interest. There wasn’t really anything more I could do.

And then,

“First of all, let me tell you a little bit about how I came to visit the Dream Realm twice, and about my business here. I’ll take questions after.”

I immediately started the briefing.

“I have the unique ability to mimic the unique abilities of others. Honestly, I can mimic just about anything. As a result, I became more and more interested in various abilities, which eventually led me to the abilities of the goblins.”

Of course, it was just filler. Just something you say to fill in the blanks.

“But, as you all know, humans and goblins are quite different in the way they use their unique abilities, right? If I want to mimic their abilities, I must first get your permission. So that’s why I came here on my own. Well, I admit I was a little unprepared on my first visit.”

That was then.

“By the way, how did you get here?”

One of the gods asked me.

“I was able to visit this place purely because of my abilities. I tried to mimic the ritual, and I ended up here. Of course, I couldn’t use your powers. Probably because I didn’t get permission from you.”

I also didn’t forget to make eye contact with the listeners while speaking.

The God of Mischief, the God of Lies, the God of Bluffs… and even the air over there, I earnestly looked at them all.

They were still looking at me with curious eyes, and they listened very obediently.

“Now, here’s my business. I would like to ask for permission to use your powers. Of course, you don’t have to give me any particular ability. You just need to allow it. So that I can use the powers of the other devotees that you have chosen.”

And as soon as I finished speaking,

“Hey, hey! Wait a minute.”

“Is that even possible?”

“The power of all of us? I just have to give you permission!?”

The three children uttered one word each.

In addition,

– Is this a scam? Our selection of worshippers itself is the concept that grants unique abilities…

Even the Capricious God who watched invisibly, spoke up.

“Well…”

I was feeling a little absurd.

It was because they were asking a very one-dimensional question.

Didn’t the have the imagination to extrapolate even a bit?

Naturally, it was impossible to perfectly duplicate unique abilities. Because that was the principle of this world.

But that wasn’t without exceptions. No, they were the ones who should’ve been the most familiar with that, right?

After a moment’s pause, I tacked on a bit more.

“Oh, of course. With one exception. The one standing a little far, over there. He has to give me one particular ability. In other words, allowing me to use the power of you all.”

Then,

“Aah…”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I’m telling you! He sounds just like a goblin!”

– Huh.

All my words so far have actually been aimed at just one person. These four gods in front of me were just tools to make the fifth, feel moved.

The Disruptor God.

In the first place, ever since my arrival, I hadn’t been concerned how the other four might react. Because they were just people with ‘ordinary goblin tendencies’. If something seemed interesting and fun, they’d jump on the bandwagon without hesitation. There was no need to do anything special to convince them.

The Disruptor God, however, was a problem.

He was the most important god in this plan, and he was also the most difficult opponent.

He was no different from other gods in terms of pursuing fun, but he took pleasure in different things.

He was literally an ‘evil psycho’ who took pleasure in breaking, smashing, sabotaging, and disrupting what others had built.

Moreover, his actions had so large a scale that the setting even said that the goblin race itself was on the verge of extinction because of his antics.

The plan I’d come up with to move the Disruptor God was simple.

1. First, elicit favour and interest from the other four gods.

2. Then, the Disruptor God would naturally appear.

3. Now persuade him to let me mimic the powers of the other gods.

Of course, the problem was the third step.

Because of his disruptive nature, he’d try to move in the opposite direction of what the others wanted.

This point was a contradiction, but in fact, I wasn’t too concerned about it either.

It was because of the two characteristics of the Disruptor God; one that he was never an idiot, and the other that he didn’t sweat the small stuff.

He knew.

That to disturb the wishes of me and the other four gods now would only being momentary pleasure.

He needed chess pieces to play with for a long time. That was why he was always trying to pick up capable goblins, and when I first came here, he wanted to give me strength.

In other words, he definitely had enough patience.

Just then,

“You should’ve just come straight to me and got down on your knees to beg. That would’ve been one thing. But here you’re talking about me behind my back.”

With a flash of light, the Disruptor God appeared.

Oddly enough, he also had the form of a child.

I asked him straight up.

“Do you remember what I said before?”

“I don’t.”

“I told you that I would be favoured by all the five gods.”

Then he snorted, ‘hmph’.

“Do you even know what ‘favouring’ means? It’s not just about liking somebody. Literally, it’s about bestowing power…”

“I know. That’s what I’m asking for. So? Can you help?”

Of course, I didn’t know how it was even possible.

All I knew was that only the Disruptor God could make me mimic the abilities of the other goblins.

[In this world, there’s only one rule that applies to the Disruptor God.]

[That he doesn’t follow any rules.]

Perhaps it was because of that?

Maybe.

To be honest, I couldn’t be sure of his answer.

There was one thing for sure, though, that the more eagerness I showed, the less likely he would be to accept.

I pretended to be as indifferent as I could.

After a while,

“Alright.”

The answer came much sooner than I’d expected.

But, of course, this didn’t mean actual consent. It couldn’t be that easy.

“In return, I have conditions.”

I knew it.

“Tell me.”

“Do you know what I like?”

“… Roughly, yeah? Harassing, disturbing, and obstructing others, right?”

The god in the form of a child giggled and then burst into laughter.

“Right. So that’s what you have to do. Every little while.”

“Well, that’s not a difficult request.”

This was true.

The role I was currently playing in this story, although perhaps not intentionally (?), had certain resemblances to the God of Sabotage’s hobby.

However, I thought this wouldn’t be all.

And as you might guess,

“And you have to pass the test, right now.”

There was one more thing.

“Test? Right now?”

I honestly didn’t expect this.

“What is it?”

But instead of answering me, the Disruptor God suddenly disappeared.

Then, to my dismay, the other goblin gods also began to disappear one after another.

– Huh? Hey, let me in too, will you? How annoying…

From the looks of it, it felt like everyone was participating in something the Disruptor God had cooked up.

Then, suddenly, the surrounding lights began to fluctuate violently.

Puff–.

I looked straight ahead with slightly dazed eyes.

All of a sudden, five children, who looked exactly the same, were standing in front of me.

“Uh… Five twins? Is that what you really look like?”

Then,

“Idiot! How could that be?”

The one in the middle rebutted.

Then, starting from the left, the kids started to talk one after the other.

“The test is simple.”

“You just need to properly distinguish us.”

“If you can guess a god’s identity correctly, it’ll be possible to communicate with that god.”

“As many as you can guess.”

“Try hard.”

“… Whoo.”

It was an amazing story.

In fact, even just one more god along with the Disruptor God would’ve been a good haul in my view. Who knew that more than that was actually possible?

Even in the original work, the goblin who’d properly learned this great setting of ‘doesn’t follow any rules’, never did that. Using two unique abilities alternately was the best scenario.

So honestly, I’d thought that was the limit…

“Then, if I properly distinguish you all, you’ll allow me to work with all five of you. That’s the crux of it, correct?”

The five children nodded at the same time.

“Sure.”

“But even if that happens, it doesn’t mean that you can use five unique abilities at the same time.”

“… I know that already.”

This alone was enough.

Any ability beyond that was bound to be poison. The readers would cry foul at the rampant power inflation and I’d be promptly discarded.

“Then can I ask you one thing before we start?”

“What is it?”

“If I get it right, all five of you will be working with me from now on, right? So at this time, I’d like to tell you a little bit of what exactly I want to do with your favour, and you can tell me what each of you want and what your aspirations are.”

Naturally, this was a trick. I was hoping to distinguish them from the tone of their responses.

To be honest, right now I wasn’t confident to properly distinguish a single one.

Then,

“Ah, I guess I should first tell you about my future goal and direction. I’m going to cross the King’s Road to the Midlands, and then climb to the top of the Tower of Adventure.”

Since they were still hesitating, I tacked on one more sentence.

“I want to become the new Adventure King.”

Fortunately, my last words seemed to have stirred something.

Because soon, the five children spoke up one after another.

1) “What? You, the Adventure King? That’s the king of this world, you know! This kid has a great dream, eh?”

2) “Hey, good, good. This is a guy with a pretty useful goal.”

3) “The Adventure King…. I somehow miss that name, for some reason. Brings up some sad memories, too.”

4) “The Tower of Adventure? Feh, what’s the point? There’s nothing to see there. There are so many more interesting things in the world, you know?”

5) “Hmm, well… but is that up to you? Or maybe, do you want to disturb me somehow?”

… Well, this was easy.

I immediately started to distinguish between them.

---

“O-, Oldboy! I-, it’s shining!”

“… I’m not blind, you bastard.”

After chastising the manager of the Lark’s Nest, Oldboy went back to observing.

It was an unbelievable sight.

A sphere was forming above the head of the lying down Squatjaw, and it was starting to emit a pure white light.

It was a sign that a god was now dwelling in his body.

“Heeh…”

To be honest, he couldn’t believe it.

A human, even one with an unique ability, receiving favour of the gods of goblins?

At first, it’d just been a funny proposition. He’d been wondering what kind of a prank was in progress.

He wasn’t even able to activate the mirror.

Oldboy had been uncertain at first, but that fact cemented it for him.

Of course, when Squatjaw suddenly ‘fainted’, he’d admired it a little.

This bastard was ‘serious about acting’ in a way he hadn’t seen in a long time.

With the determination to give the target a scare, he left no stone unturned in his path.

That was why he was just watching without waking the bastard up…

The old goblin gulped.

‘What kind of god is…’

He was very curious.

What the hell had happened? Which god had chosen him? What ability did he get?

So, he was anxiously waiting for Squatjaw to open his eyes.

“O-, Oldboy! O-, over there!”

“…”

Suddenly, another sphere appeared above his head.

Then, the same light began to leak out from it as well.

“Th-, this can’t be…”

Two spheres, two lights.

It was his first time seeing such a sight.

This wasn’t the same as a goblin, favoured by the Disruptor God, given two unique abilities.

That light, indicated a goblin god.

Literally, two gods had chosen him.

“H-, how can this…”

That was then.

“O-, Oldboy…”

The events that followed, left Oldboy dumbstruck.

Next to the two spheres, another three were coming to life at the same time.

“…”

After a while, what came out of the old man’s mouth was a fragment of a very old legend that even he had only ever faintly heard about.

“… The Goblin King.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 장유유서 (長幼有序), it’s always the younger’s turn.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 82

Goblin Genealogy

The goblin genealogy.

A document that serves as the family register of all goblins, except for children who haven’t yet received a god’s blessing.

For goblins who are full of lies, bluffs and whimsy, it is the one irrefutable proof of existence; an ancient document that can only be accessed by Oldboy who serves as its scribe.

That was all I knew about the goblin genealogy. Nothing else.

No, I did know one more thing.

There was only one being recorded in this genealogy who wasn’t an actual goblin.

Other than that, I really didn’t know anything else.

The reason I didn’t know was simple. Because that was all the information that’d been released. This was one of those ‘unrecovered rice cakes’ that the author had mentioned only once in the original story. A plot hook that was never again explored.

‘I want to become a goblin’ was basically me asking to be included in this goblin genealogy.

But Oldboy started rapidly blinking as if his thoughts had gone down a completely different track.

And then,

“Well… well, that’s… um… Changing a human into a goblin is beyond my ability… Well, no, I don’t even know if it’s even possible in the first place… Well, it sure is something I’d like to try, though…”

Was he seriously taking my request literally?

After amusedly watching him flop around for a while, I brought up the genealogy.

There was no need to go crazy and try to find a way to change my race. I just wanted him to put me on the family register.

Then,

“… What? Genealogy?”

The old man asked in surprise.

“Hey, how did you hear about that? It must’ve been Chinuavi, right?”

“Nope.”

“No? But, but the genealogy, how could you…”

Seeing him so surprised, I felt like teasing him a bit more for some reason.

“What, you still don’t understand? Look here, I’m human, the second one to step foot here in the Goblins’ Den. I even know about the genealogy. Can’t you think of anything? For example, having some relation with the first human in the genealogy…”

“Wh-… what?”

Suddenly, Oldboy’s expression changed.

His upper and lower lips, which had been wide open all this time, were now pressed tightly together, and the wrinkles between his brows, which had been covered with quiet surprise, narrowed and firmed. His entire face was now full of startled vigilance.

Then, in a surprisingly low voice,

“… You bastard. What’s your connection with the last Adventure King?”

He quietly asked me.

The first human to visit the Goblins’ Den and the only non-goblin who’d left his name in the goblin genealogy –

– Was none other than the Adventure King of the previous generation.

And of course, I had no relationship with him, nor did I know how he’d gotten his name on the genealogy, or even how he was related to the goblins.

Was it because of that?

‘Hmmmm…’

Oldboy’s reaction was somewhat surprising, to be honest. I knew he’d be surprised or startled, but I hadn’t expected this level of vigilance.

‘What happened to taking it as a joke?’

To be honest, this was mentioned only once in the original, and as a Chekov’s Gun that went forever unfired, I hadn’t expected it to amount to anything important. But this setting seemed to be hiding more secrets than I thought.

‘No, wait.’

Maybe it was the mention of the previous Adventure King that had made Oldboy so vigilant.

In the second half of the original he was mentioned often as a predecessor, but at this point in time, he was close to a ‘mythical being’ shrouded in a veil of mystery. It felt as if the whole world was shivering from his existence.

If the current situation had happened within an actual chapter, and our conversation revealed to the readers, the author probably would’ve been running a sweat just from the mention of that man.

But what did it matter?

“You have to win the bet to know that, right?”

“… You bastard!”

I wasn’t about to show how rattled I myself was.

Instead I responded with a smile.

Soon after,

“… Cough, cough, hm.”

Oldboy seemed to be trying to calm himself by coughing a couple of times, probably because he thought he was overreacting.

However, he couldn’t hold on to his curiosity, and he immediately asked the question again.

“Then how did you know that… No, no. Forget it. Then please tell me why. Why do you want to become a goblin… no, want to be included in the genealogy?”

“…”

But instead of answering, I kept silent.

In fact, I couldn’t actually answer, because the whole thing was quite complicated.

---

Registering myself in the goblin genealogy.

This meant giving myself a goblin background, which would automatically add goblin-like characteristics such as ‘lies’, ‘bluffs’, ‘disruption’ and ‘confusion’ to my character. Not only that, I’d also get other modifiers like ‘newcomer to the stage’, ‘supernaturally strong’, and ‘nightmarishly bizarre’.

The reason why this was important was simple. Just by adding these, I could solve the many questions that were currently accumulating around my character in one stroke. Without breaking ‘plausibility’, too.

Right now, I had two major problems that needed solving (which readers were very curious about).

First, my character background.

Second, my unique ability.

Let’s consider the character background first.

Readers had no choice but to wonder. What the hell was my character doing?

Ever since the amusement park arc, I’d firmly established the purpose of my character, in order to put to rest the doubts that had risen about me.

I’d declared that I would become the next Adventure King.

This action had elicited many cheers from the readers, and had the effect of clearing away any questions about my identity and actions that they couldn’t understand up to that point. Actually, at that time, I’d been able to quietly bury my background as the ‘Former No.2 of the Red Scorpion’.

The problem was that this was just a temporary measure.

Whenever more about my ‘new’ past would be revealed, the suspicion would raise its head again.

For example:

While fighting the black cat, Nero, readers had learned that I’d previously worked as a zookeeper at the Southland National Park.

Then, they were tilting their heads again.

What, you worked as a zookeeper in Southland?

But weren’t you a mafia executive before?

Didn’t you tell Kiriko that you were an agent of the International Council?

What’s all this about?

Moreover, my ‘past’ was bound to keep growing in the future. In order to get the benefits of various hidden traits and associations, I’d keep purchasing backgrounds, and they would become part of my new past.

Of course, I could stay careful to not get caught, but that also had its limits.

In other words, it was essential to explain away the ‘purpose’ of these countless pasts.

And there was nothing like being a ‘goblin’ to fix this.

Why did I do things like that?

Look at me as a ‘goblin’, and the explanation becomes self-evident. For ‘fun’.

One of the strengths of this goblin background was that no special reason was necessary to do something. Given the racial setting, any behaviour could be explained away with just one word, ‘fun’.

And the other goblin trait, whimsy.

This fickle nature lent my inconsistent behaviour a very solid veneer of ‘plausibility’. To wit, that I was just moving as my mood took me.

This along with ‘fun’ was an ultra-strong combo to quiet down any suspicions about my actions.

Also, although that was a separate issue, I’d even be able to explain to Chinuavi where all my knowledge about goblins came from.

Hey, you might not have known, but actually, I have a direct connection to the goblins.

Even if he hadn’t mentioned it much lately, he must’ve still been curious. That must’ve been part of the reason why he’d so meekly guided me here.

In any case, registering in the genealogy was entirely under Oldboy’s control as the scribe, so it was possible to backdate it to several decades ago. As long as Oldboy kept his lips sealed, no one would ever find out.

And next, the second question the readers had about me.

My unique ability.

This also could be explained to some extent by putting on the background of a goblin.

First of all, my [Mimic Acrobat] didn’t need an explanation. This was straight from the original. As long as the conditions for mimicry were explained, things would settle down.

The problematic part was that I’d mimicked other characters’ abilities, and that too from the future.

And this meant that I only needed to explain that I could see the ‘future’.

In fact, this was not something that could be done simply through the background of a goblin. Even goblins couldn’t see the future.

But,

‘What’s his name again… Naturevi?’

It was meaningful in that it brought me closer to ‘a particular goblin’.

No character in Adventure King perfectly knew the future.

However, there were a select few who could see some fragments, and the goblin Naturevi was one of them.

This goblin was a worshipper of the God of Bluffs, and his unique ability was called [Charlatan Who Dreams of the Future]. He had a tendency to brag about his night-time dreams next day as if they’d really happened. And it was set that one of them would actually come true.

This guy was my trump card.

What if there was a goblin who knew glimpses of the future through his unique ability? What if I’d mimicked it? Wouldn’t that establish how I could mimic someone’s future ability?

Of course, for this to happen, I had to first receive their gods’ blessings so I could actually mimic the goblins’ abilities.

Anyway, this was the line of thought that’d made me decide to register my name on the goblin genealogy.

And once that happened, I’d planned to take the hundred goblin-shaped bombs, go visit the crime scene in Westland where the new chapter would open, and light a fuse. That terrorist attack would be my proclamation to the whole world. To reveal to them my identity, and my purpose.

---

Oldboy apparently viewed my silence as a ‘prank’ or ‘bluff’ that the goblins specialized in.

“Look here, you idiot. This isn’t something I can do on my own. Being recorded in the genealogy literally means you have to prove yourself as a goblin. And that proof is being chosen by one of our gods. That’s why the young kids who haven’t received a god’s blessing can’t make it to the genealogy. The previous Adventure King was able to become an honorary goblin despite being a human because of his deeds. He rescued us when we were in danger, so… No, no. Why am I even explaining this?”

Then he looked at me and clicked his tongue.

“Don’t talk nonsense, you idiot! You don’t even know what…”

Therefore,

“Hey, who’s the idiot here?”

I shook my head.

“Have you already forgotten the first reward you have to give me?”

“What?”

“Did you forget what I asked for?”

Soon after,

“Ummm… huh? Wait! Is that why you asked for the Spirit Festival?”

The old goblin screamed in surprise.

“Why else did you think I asked for that?”

“I just… thought you wanted to experience the rituals of us goblins…”

“Heh…”

Could there be a more nonsensical reason?

Oldboy apparently noticed this as well.

“Are you really trying to get the blessing of a goblin god? Do you think that makes sense? Somebody who isn’t even a goblin… No, more than that, don’t you already have a unique ability? I heard that you summoned a small winged monster? Although it’s a ritual to invite the gods, it’s no different from humans receiving unique abilities.”

“That doesn’t matter, I’ll figure something out.”

“Heeh…”

Oldboy, after a small pause, realized that I looked dead serious, and suddenly lowered his voice.

“… You bastard, I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you’ve come well-prepared. Looks like there’s nothing you don’t know. How the hell…”

Then,

“Alright, if we keep chatting like this, nothing will get done apart from stoking my curiosity. Boy, would you like to make a quick bet with me?”

It was a sneaky suggestion.

“Three worldly qualities. Have you ever heard of it?”

“… Why?”

“Hey, looks like you already know. There are three ways to answer any question. Actually, I was going to do it from the beginning. Goblins do this all the time whenever they meet someone new.”

‘Three worldly qualities’ was one of the things about the goblins that I also appreciated.

It wasn’t particularly abstruse, and yet it revealed their sharp wits.

If we’d been in the middle of a chapter, I might’ve even considered it. There were a few interesting scenes that could be drawn out.

But,

“Hm? But I have no intention of taking part. You play by yourself.”

Not now.

“What!? Are you ignoring the goblin culture? Weren’t you asking to be included in the genealogy just now? Is this how you treat your would-be chief?”

“Oh yeah. How clueless do you think I am? Three worldly qualities? It just means you’re going to keep asking questions. It’s a game that’ll never end unless you want it to.”

“… Well.”

“Let’s make a bet and do things properly. If you can win the bet, you get to ask everything you want to ask. Stop trying to take a shortcut and cheat me.”

“Huh… fine, alright. Then go on, suggest a sport. Just don’t make it boring.”

Actually, I had already planned something.

Fast, efficient, and simple.

“Easy enough. Let’s make a bet on whether or not I can get a goblin god’s blessing at the Spirit Festival. You don’t think it makes sense anyway, right?”

But,

“… Haah.”

Upon hearing this, the old goblin gaped as if he was somehow shocked.

Why? I didn’t think this was such a surprising offer.

“What, is it too easy?”

Then,

“Heh, what an idiot…”

He stroked his beard and slowly started speaking.

“Do you know it means to have a blessing from a goblin god? It means you’re already a goblin, aren’t you? You get added to the genealogy straight away.”

“Ah… ah? Really?”

“Moreover, if you receive it right in front of my eyes, there’s no need for a separate reporting and verification process.”

“Ah… Then I’ll keep the bet as it is, and just change the reward…”

“Nope. You can’t change what you’ve already chosen.”

“…”

It was unfortunate, but didn’t matter in the end. I was going to get what I needed in any case.

“Then it’s decided. If you receive a goblin god’s blessing at the Spirit Festival, I’ll grant you everything you’ve ever asked for. But if you don’t…”

“Simple, yeah? I’ll tell you all my secrets.”

“Good. Follow me. Let’s get started right away.”

I followed Oldboy to the altar, to commence the Spirit Festival.

---

I slowly climbed up the altar decorated with various ceremonial witch-weapons (巫具).

“Whoo…”

I was a little nervous, now that things had come to a head.

In fact, although I’d requested the Spirit Festival myself, I wouldn’t be able to receive a blessing through this. Just as Oldboy had said, I wasn’t even a goblin, and I already had a unique ability.

Nevertheless, there were two reasons for such a request.

First, in order to make sure I got the promise that I’d be included in the genealogy.

Second, because some of the implements used in the ritual were necessary.

Spirit Festival is a ceremony for young goblins around the age of ten.

The reason why children who aren’t physically mature can face the gods and stay safe, is not simply because they’re goblins.

It’s because there are devices that assist them to handle the presence of the gods.

I turned to the mirror the size of my body that stood on the altar.

Dream Soul Mirror (夢魂鏡), the most important instrument of the Spirit Festival.

Its role was to illuminate the pathway to the Realm of Dreams.

But this wasn’t the tool that I needed help from today.

Three weapons were placed on the round table next to it.

A pair of bells, one large and one small, and a small drum.

Unparalleled weapons that instilled strength into young souls so they wouldn’t get engulfed by the mighty powers of the gods.

Those were my targets.

My body was at an incomparably higher level than before. What if I had these on hand on top of that?

Even if the five goblin gods came, wouldn’t I be able to endure them without difficulty?

I took up the instruments in my hands and held them to my chest.

Next, I recalled my main aims.

1. To be chosen by all the five goblin gods.

2. If that doesn’t work, the God of Bluffs and the God of Sabotage at least.

3. Obtaining a specific ability from the God of Sabotage.

“Whoo…”

Several thoughts popped into my head at the same time.

Could I really do it? Could I actually convince those goblin gods?

Well. I honestly couldn’t be sure.

I’d never seen or heard of something like this even in the original.

My heart was pounding.

Was it because of fear, or excitement?

Then,

“Look in the mirror.”

The old man under the altar whispered to me.

It seemed to mean he was starting.

Giving a rough nod, I turned my head toward the mirror.

But instead of looking at it, I closed my eyes.

Then, quietly, I began to mimic the ritual to meet the gods.

---

Blink–.

When I opened my eyes, it was a to a pure white world.

Waves of light meandering in all directions. A realm made of dreams where the unconscious flowed like a river.

It was a ‘dream come true’ – except literally.

“I’m here again…”

It was a bit surprising, but I was also curious.

And while I was just around –

Suddenly,

“Here!”

A voice came.

I quickly turned my head to the side where the voice had come from.

There was a small child standing there.

A kid?

‘No way.’

He was a god, no question. Because this was their space.

To be honest, I couldn’t help but be confused.

1. They came almost as soon as I entered,

2. Unlike before, they had a clear shape.

‘A child’s appearance… because I have the spiritual armour worn by thet young goblins?’

I couldn’t decide if it was a positive or a negative for me, so I had no choice but to be cautious.

Then the kid walked over to me.

“… Who are you?”

The child did not answer my question.

Instead, he smiled.

“Uh… huh?”

The wide-open mouth and the gleaming eyes were deeply disturbing.

It was a look that brought with it a flash of remembrance.

The Disruptor God. The God of Sabotage.

“You’ve been waiting for a while.”

The child took a step forward.

Somehow, he seemed to overflow with a threatening yet sinister intention.

I took a step back without realizing it.

It was true that my goal was to get a favour from the Disruptor God. But it wasn’t just him. And the order is wrong. This is the first issue that came to mind was…

‘… There’s a big problem.’

It was completely unplanned, or something that had to be avoided.

So, the moment I decided I had to step back,

“Uh, uh…? Wait, wait. Don’t come. Stand there for a moment…”

As if he was planning to eat me –

The child immediately pounced upon me.

“Come on, wait a minute!!”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 81

Crazy Squatjaw’s Absurd Request

What makes you gasp in admiration at first settles into the new normal over time.

And from there it degenerates to routine, even boring. And after that? It might start being an irritant.

Sometimes, enough to make you want to tear your own skin off.

Cocoavi? Bullshit.

Calling her a money-grubbing bandit would’ve been more fitting.

A huge amount of gold and gems was lost every time she took a key needed to break the restrictions from her pocket.

Besides, hadn’t she been pilfering money all this time, if you think about it?

First she scammed Khan out of money without letting anybody know, then, intentionally or not, she threw it all away.

Of course, it wasn’t that I was particularly money-mad or greedy for gold. I could earn more anywhere, anytime I wanted.

Although they were gifts from the emperor of a giant empire, stuff like ancient relics or artifacts with special abilities… but that wasn’t the big deal here, okay?

It was a matter of trust, trust.

Of course, I couldn’t vent this dissatisfaction out loud.

All I could do was smile and nod at the kid who was showing me a triumphant expression.

But after a while,

“Is… is that it? You spent it all already?”

“…”

My emotions, that’d run the gamut of surprise to dissatisfaction, were now changing to embarrassment and impatience.

All the gold and jewels had run out.

But the last goblin was still left.

“What do we do now?”

“…”

That time just a few minutes ago, when I’d been grumbling as I watched… now they felt like paradise in comparison.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

“Look quickly. Is it really all gone? Don’t you have anything else in your pocket?”

“It’s just junk. There’s nothing else, you know?”

What to do?

I turned and looked at the iron gate covered in colourful patterns in front of me.

Compared to how only the locks had been engraved so far, this time the entire door was covered.

Moreover, it was different from the original.

Leo and his party had also played hide-and-seek with the goblins when they’d visited here. Of course, that hadn’t been a hundred-man game, but the event itself had been very similar.

Yet the last lock they’d encountered didn’t have such a complicated pattern.

If the difficulty of the restriction was proportional to the complexity and area of ​​the pattern, then this was nearly endgame stuff. Even if we did have some gold left, it wouldn’t have sufficed to create a key.

“… Haah.”

Honestly speaking, I was shocked. I didn’t know who’d made this or why, but this wasn’t something the goblins should’ve trotted out in a game against the humans they looked down on. I’d have believed if it were a bomb shelter to hide from their enemies.

‘Even if you’re hiding, do you have to hide in a place like this? What a great match this is turning out to be.’

After staring at the door for a while, I shook my head.

This was a waste of time. Even if I started hard enough to give myself a headache, the situation wouldn’t change.

I needed to quickly come up with an alternative.

There were a few ways that came to mind.

First, asking Cocoa to just try to take out the key anyway.

Of course, there was a high chance that it wouldn’t work, but just in case.

The only problem would be if the key really came out. I didn’t think that was likely, but what if it did? That’d mean the pocket would take ‘something’ in exchange instead of gold.

And, having read through the original Adventure King several times, I was relatively well aware of what such abilities ‘required in return’.

Health, lifespan, or hidden traits.

If it worked on the concept of ‘credit’, nothing would happen immediately, but that wasn’t an attractive option either. Because we’d have to pay some kind of ‘interest’ in future.

Although the match against the goblins was an urgent issue, I couldn’t make Cocoa do something that might cause her that kind of trouble.

Hence, rejected.

Second. To tempt the goblin to come out on his own.

Actually, this was something I’d been considering for a while. If Cocoa hadn’t been able to get the decipher keys out of her pocket, I would’ve already tried it.

But the problem was,

“Hey, goblin! Look at me!”

…

“Come out! Shall we have a bet?”

Even if I screamed myself hoarse, the goblin beyond the door pretended not to hear it.

Of course, this didn’t necessarily mean he had an immovable spirit that wouldn’t be shaken by any temptation.

If I had to guess,

“He can’t hear me, isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

Was the space beyond the door completely isolated from the outside?

That wasn’t how it normally worked, though.

So,

“Hey, I’m sorry to keep calling you…”

“What is it this time?”

“Well… can I ask you for something?”

“You’re going to, anyway.”

I decided to refer to the original. Siana had also used her probability adjuster to bring out the goblin hidden in this hideout.

“There’s a goblin in there, yeah? We’re trying to get him out. Can you adjust, like, the odds that there’s no toilet when he suddenly gets a stomachache, or the odds that he misreads the time and comes out thinking the game is already over…”

Then,

“No.”

“… So he comes out right now… huh?”

“No.”

The little squat-jawed fairy refused. It was a very resolute tone.

“Uh… Is it because that’d be a bit too absurd? Maybe…”

“It’s not that.”

“Then?”

“It’s out of my control.”

“… Totally?”

“Yeah, I can’t extend my influence in there.”

“Is it because I’m weak? Or you are…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe interference would be possible if our bond was stronger? Or it might not have anything to do with that. Anyway, one thing is for sure, it’s impossible right now.”

She shook her head again.

So I fell silent for a while. Not just due to the current situation, either.

‘… Bond, huh.’

Because this concept suddenly hit my head.

There are many unique abilities in the world of Adventure King, and the way to develop and evolve them differs based on their nature.

Combat-only abilities are, of course, nothing special in this regard. You get more proficient via repeated practice or accumulating combat experience.

But for abilities that fall in the opposite spectrum, mainly used by guides and decipherers, the methods are much more diverse and unique.

‘Forging bonds with something created by activating the ability’ is also one of them.

This is especially common for unique abilities of the summoning system, where the ability is strengthened proportional to how many times you’ve interacted with your summon and how close you two are.

To be honest, I’d had no idea that this [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] from Siana needed this kind of nurturing. It was never mentioned in the original, so I had never thought that Siana’s ability was stronger than normal because she and her fairy were friends.

Or perhaps, she’d become so proficient by undergoing a long and gradual process of encountering numerous problems and deciphering them.

‘Should I have summoned her a few more times?’

Possibly. Although, this squat-jawed fairy with her hair-trigger temper was anything but normal, so that might not have helped.

But I was able to realize one thing: the [Mimic Acrobat] that I had learned was by no means omnipotent.

It wasn’t much trouble to mimic simple unique abilities which were based on the user’s physique (in fact, they scaled with my own strength, so I could actually make them stronger), but for those with special properties, I had to prepare in advance if I wanted to use them properly.

For example, Siana’s ability. It was her bond with her fairy, not her physical ability, that was the basis of her strength.

‘It means I have to pick out all the useful abilities and polish them from time to time.’

Anyway, that wasn’t the problem right now.

I pushed myself back to reality.

The resounding ‘no’ from the squat-jawed fairy.

It meant that the method I’d set as my ‘ultimate option’ was blocked.

‘… What do I do?’

Meanwhile,

‘If this doesn’t work…’

There was only one more method that came to mind.

When it’d been decided that wouldn’t participate, I’d thought of it as a joke.

Third, catching another goblin. And making them decipher it.

“How much time do we have left?”

“I don’t know, it’s been a while. The sun’s just about to go down.”

“Oh my god.”

There were indeed goblins out there, but it wasn’t that easy to catch one without making a sound.

Besides, I was playing hide-and-seek right now, so they weren’t trying to attack my mind. What if I attempted to attack somebody outside the hide-and-seek area? He wouldn’t stand still.

Even if I suppressed him somehow, that wouldn’t end the problem.

Because whoever I captured might not even be able to decipher this, and other problems might crop up in the future.

‘No, this isn’t the way.’

Rejected. I had to find another way.

But nothing was coming to mind.

‘What can I do, what can I do…’

The only thing that came to mind was Chinuavi’s face.

If only that guy had been here!

Then,

With a creak of my neck –

Unconsciously, I turned my head to look at Cocoa.

I didn’t want to blame that little kid for this, but the human heart doesn’t always work the way you want it to.

I tried to erase the resentment from my eyes, as much as possible.

‘If I blame her for this, I’m not an adult. I’m not an adult…’

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

My impatience was building up like a boiling kettle inside my skull, about to blow off the top of my head. It was a crisis.

Just then,

With a swish –

Suddenly, Cocoa also turned her head to look me.

But,

“Huh?”

Her eyes were a little odd.

“What is it?”

“What do you think I just saw?”

“Ah? What?”

“A path.”

“…!”

Startled, I ran over to her.

“Really? How? What should we do?”

“Wait a minute… uh… do you have something with you right now?”

“What do I have? Nothing. Everything’s inside your pocket…”

At that moment,

“Ah!”

I looked at my hand in surprise.

There, I was holding the bat I’d been given.

“Wait, is this…?”

Then,

“Ummm… I think that’s it, yeah.”

Cocoa gently nodded her head.

It wasn’t a particularly confident face, but I was sure nonetheless. The path this kid saw was correct. By this time, I, too, could understand what she meant.

Then,

“You… you really are a goblin!”

I was thrilled.

I’d have to put the bat I’d gotten from the old goblin into her pocket, and in exchange, we’d get the key.

It was a really goblin-like idea.

Obviously, this bat was some kind of a precious treasure, so it’d definitely be worth a lot of gold. In other words, it’d be sufficient as an exchange for the key.

Besides, since this guy was the last of the players, there was no need to hit him with the bat and turn him into a statue. As long as I caught him, the game would naturally end.

Of course, I’d be getting rid of a goblin treasure at will, but… well, whatever. Wasn’t that what all evil goblins did? Playing pranks, breaking things, disturbing people, and then blatantly pretending to not know anything.

I looked at Cocoa and nodded.

Excellent answer, Cocoavi.

Then,

“Come on, here.”

I smiled and handed Cocoa the bat.

But,

“… What are you doing?”

“Huh? Put it in.”

“Where?”

“Where? In your pocket, your pocket.”

“Why?”

Cocoa’s reaction was strange.

“… Eh? Isn’t that what you meant?”

“What exactly is going on inside your head?”

Then she took my bat and walked straight to the door.

And then,

“Huh? Eh…?”

She just put it on the lock.

Then,

Shh–.

“Uh… uh… huh!?”

To my surprise, the soft bat melted and slipped into it.

Soon after,

Clackkk-clangggg–.

It unlocked.

…

“Wow, so that’s it. I didn’t know it was going to be like this.”

“…”

“What’s with that face? What happened to praising me?”

“Uh… no, good job.”

It was a bit disconcerting.

Of course, this wasn’t because my reasoning turned out to be wrong.

The reason I was perplexed was the subtlety of the situation. The path to unlocking it had been with me all along.

The thought came to me around that time, that maybe Chinuavi couldn’t have deciphered this problem. I wondered if he’d have kept trying to unlock it and we would’ve faced a loss via timeout.

The reason I thought this was because this obstacle looked like it fell into the realm of the decipherers, but it actually required a guide.

In order to brute-force your way through an obstacle for which a separate key already exists, you need ability far exceeding the power of the obstacle. No matter how talented Chinuavi was, his own abilities would never have sufficed against a lock created by the power of his whole tribe.

Indeed, goblins were masters of riddles and deciphering. This was a trick that cleverly exploited the overlap between guides and decipherers.

I looked at Cocoa again.

“You… did you foresee things this far?”

“Huh?”

“It’s fine, you can admit it.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t you going to catch that guy?”

“Huh? Ah!”

I quickly opened the door and went in.

Instead of hiding underground or camouflaging as some kind of furniture like I’d expected, the last goblin was calmly sitting at a table and sipping tea.

And when I approached him, he didn’t show any resistance at all, he just smiled and greeted me.

“Congratulations.”

And so the game of hide-and-seek ended.

---

By the time we reached Oldboy’s place, the sun had already set and it was dark all around.

Although I’d heard the last goblin say ‘congratulations’, to be honest, I was still a little uneasy. Because these guys were masters of doggedly clinging to their own opinions^[1], no matter what it took.

But fortunately,

“You punk! You got lucky.”

Oldboy meekly acknowledged our victory.

And even,

“What do you want?”

He took the initiative to inquire.

I was feeling a little perplexed. The goblin, who’d lost the bet, was behaving much quieter than expected.

Unfortunate. Although, it could be called lucky for me, too.

So, instead of dithering around, I said it outright.

“I want to borrow some goblins, I have something for them to do. About a hundred or so? The ones who played hide-and-seek this time would be perfect.”

Then,

“Wh-, what!? What do you mean? You want goblins to follow you outside? A hundred of them?”

The old man asked, seemingly stunned.

Then, soon,

“Are you crazy?!”

He roared.

Now this was more like it. This was the type of reaction that fit my image of them.

‘By the way, his strength is no joke, huh?’

I was being sincere. The momentum he exuded was considerable.

To be honest, all the elderly people in this manga seemed to be pretty spry.

That was then.

“Hey! Squatjaw! Is that true?”

“You’re going to borrow us!”

“What’re you aiming at? What can I do!?”

“Let’s go!”

“You don’t need to listen to that old man!”

The goblins around us were beginning to riot.

Whoo.

It wasn’t really my intention, but it wasn’t a bad reaction.

At this, the old man screamed again.

“Everyone shut the hell up!”

Then he turned his gaze to me.

“You punk! Do you know what it means for all these goblins to go out into the world? You, are you… are you a maniac or something!”

I knew very well why Oldboy hesitated when he said that last sentence.

Because he didn’t want to shower me with such ‘praise’. For the goblins, the word ‘maniac’ was like a great compliment.

“But I haven’t finished yet.”

“What else!”

“It’s a bit far, where I have to take them.”

“… What?”

“It’s Westland.”

…

After that, it took quite a long time for the goblins to calm down.

In the meantime, Oldboy was screaming himself hoarse. He was so loud it’d be no wonder if his voice gave out.

“You fucking squat-jawed bastard. I don’t know what you’re up to… but do you think everything will go your way?”

“Hey, you already lost the bet, are you planning to renege on your promise now?”

“Humph… didn’t I tell you clearly? It has to be something acceptable.”

“Why, what’s unacceptable about this, exactly? Did I ask you to destroy the Goblins’ Den? Or to have every one of you to pack up and move? It’s nothing that big, right?”

Oldboy seemed a bit hesitant as he responded to my strong rejoinder.

“Ummm, even if you say that…”

“Then how are you going to meet my request? I’m telling you in advance, I’m not going to change to something else.”

“Ugh, even though I already said no, this bastard still…”

“Would you like to bet one more time, then?”

I asked slyly.

Of course, this was all part of the plan.

To push as hard as I can, then give them a chance at the last moment.

And again, this old man,

“… Oh. Are you okay with that?”

Took the bait.

“Sure. But you have to promise. If you lose once again, you have to listen to me unconditionally.”

“Heh heh, you arrogant human… good! Then the next match will be…”

“Wait a sec!”

“Huh?”

“This time I get to decide. You want to see what happens then, too, right? Not to mention that we’re at this juncture because you’re being stubborn. Right?”

Oldboy’s expression froze at my words.

But so what?

“… Great, that sounds just fine. So? What’s the event going to be?”

There was no way he could reject.

Now it was almost over.

“Before that, can I designate my opponent first?”

“Opponent? Oho… it looks like you have a plan. Good. But we have to consent to it first. There may be cases where somebody is disqualified.”

“Great. That probably won’t be an issue. He’s a goblin who holds a pretty important position.”

“An important position?”

Then, I recited the final words I’d prepared.

“I, the leader of the Squatjaw Adventurers. And Oldboy, the leader of the Goblins’ Den. Let’s have a one-on-one match between us, with the fates of our two groups on the line.”

Once again, there was an uproar among the goblins.

---

The circular great hall with statues of the five goblin gods standing at the edge.

Oldboy silently watched Squatjaw leisurely stroll through his living room as if he owned it.

What the hell was he up to?

Contrary to his blunt appearance, he was a guy shrouded in mystery.

He’d earned Chinuavi’s respect despite being a mere human, and his matches against the goblins had gone so smoothly it was as if he’d prepared for them in advance.

His requests, too, were weird. And completely unexpected.

But the most surprising thing about him was the oddness around his identity.

‘Are you really human?’

Oldboy honestly wasn’t sure.

So that made it even more interesting.

Oldboy slowly approached Squatjaw.

“You are the first human to enter the living quarters of the goblin chief.”

“Huh, okay?”

“Don’t be surprised. Including you, humans have entered the Goblins’ Den only twice.”

This guy didn’t actually look surprised. As if he was hearing about something he already knew.

“When you’ve finished looking around, please tell me. What bet are you going to make with me?”

“Ummm… there’s no one here, right?”

“You have working eyes, why not check for yourself?”

“I was wondering if somebody was hiding behind a silver screen.”

“There’s nobody crazy enough that they’d dare do that in the boss’ living room… At least right now, there’s nobody.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Oldboy had no intention of dragging this on any further.

Judging by the number of larks flocking to the window, a lot of goblins had to be trying to sneak in.

“What kind of bet would you like to make?”

“Before that… can I say what I want first? It’s going to be difficult if you say you won’t listen again. Let’s discuss it and then decide on the bet.”

“You dare think you can defeat me?”

“Ah, well, of course.”

“Heh heh heh… you’ve got some cheek on you. Hope is better hidden, or it bursts like a bubble if you say it out loud. Not that an idiot like you would know that. Okay then, tell me.”

At that very moment,

‘Well?’

Squatjaw’s eyes shone with a strange light.

Like a hawk diving to pounce on an opportunity.

And the words that followed, were the oddest and the most shocking that Oldboy had ever heard, in his entire life.

“I want to become a goblin… how do I make that happen?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 우기기, stubbornly asserting your own opinion, even by force.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 80

Cocoavi, I Choose You!!

Three minutes ago.

“Hide, hide, don’t let me find^[1]!”

“Hide, hide, don’t let me find!”

⁝

“That’s it. Count of a hundred.”

“Good job.”

“So, should we start?”

I nodded, looking up at the sky.

The time limit for this game of hide-and-seek was ‘until the sun went down’, just the type of vague rules that the goblins specialized in.

The sun was exactly overhead right now.

It’d take about five or six hours for it to set.

No, it’d be correct to plan for only five hours. Because they’d always interpret it in their favour.

Before that, we had to find the hundred hidden goblins.

The match was limited to this area, called the ‘Saboteur’s Lot’.

The reason why this area was designated was simple. Not only was it close, it also had the fewest saboteurs in the whole of the Goblin’s Den.

Basically, goblins really disliked hanging out with others of similar temperament. Because they got in each other’s way.

The mischief-makers quickly got bored of each other’s pranks, the liars painted each other as untrustworthy, and the whimsical scolded each other for their impatience. The bluffers habitually ignored each other, saying they were spouting bullshit, and the saboteurs couldn’t stand each other’s sight in the first place.

In the end, once the young goblins who awakened their unique abilities were assigned to the sites dedicated to their respective gods, the first thing they did was relocate. As a result, each site dedicated to a specific god always had the lowest headcount of its own worshippers. (And naturally as a result, the goblins could never escape their own kind, no matter where they went.)

Then,

“Let’s go! There’s no time to waste being lazy!”

Suddenly, Cocoa, who was leading the way, called me.

Now that she was wearing a horn instead of her usual mask, her shoulders looked quite broad and strong for some reason.

Maybe she was being so meticulous because she was feeling she didn’t contribute during the last event?

But it wasn’t easy for me to feel like I could lean on that little kid’s back.

Not because of her lack of ability. Because no matter how good a guide she might be, it was impossible to win this game of hide-and-seek without Chinuavi.

For example,

“Hey, follow me!”

“What’re you doing, just standing there?”

“It’s this way, you know?”

“Squatjaw you slowpoke!”

Situations like this where you absolutely needed a decipherer.

I sighed deeply as I watched four Cocoas call me from four directions.

‘Huh… but aren’t they showing their hands too soon? These impatient goblins.’

Around that time, the four Cocoas also noticed each other’s presence, and screamed in amazement.

“Wh-, who are these people?”

“G-, a goblin!”

“What? I’m the real one!”

“What’s going on?”

…

The roles of guides and decipherers are sometimes at odds.

For example, when the destination itself is locked behind an obstacle or a puzzle, a maze being the most typical example.

Going through the maze can not only be a guide’s job, but also a decipherer’s.

In the original work, in one chapter, Yan’s ghosts had found the way through the maze, but in another, Siana’s fairy had decided the path by manipulating probability.

But strictly speaking, it falls under the domain of the decipherers.

There’d been several discussions on this topic within the reader community, but each time the final conclusion had leaned towards the decipherer. Because this is closer to problem solving than pathfinding.

Still, the scope of the guide’s role is very wide. Since the concept of ‘path’ includes all the general matters including the ‘goal’ and the ‘solution’, sometimes conflicts like this can occur.

Perhaps because of this, there was one setting the author had made to protect the significance of the decipherers.

When a ‘special obstacle’ occurs due to someone’s ‘intention’, the path may become unreadable for a certain distance, and it requires a solution other than ‘merely seeing’.

In a nutshell, this meant that the guide’s eyes were automatically blurred when an obstacle appeared to obstruct the path. So that the responsibility could pass naturally to the decipherer of the party.

Of course, the truly OP pathfinders could brute force their way through this.

Anyway,

“Can’t you tell me apart?”

“Squatjaw, you can’t really be confusing me with somebody else, right?”

“Answer me! Hey, it’s me!”

It meant that I couldn’t tell Cocoa apart with my current eyes.

“… Huff.”

I scratched my head.

Of course, this wasn’t a serious problem – at this moment.

“Hmph, this Cocoavi has been with the Squatjaw Folk Troupe for how many years? As if a few little goblins could take my place.”

If the ‘real’ Cocoa said such ‘real words’, I could immediately recognize her.

But the problem was,

“Huh…? I think we swung and missed. This little kid talks in a pretty unique way.”

“She’s a strange one… Is she actually enjoying this situation?”

“Well, this was just the first try, what can you do? Let’s start from scratch.”

These goblins were also learning in real time.

Soon after,

Pop–.

Without waiting for me to take action, a smoke screen covered the area.

Then, as the fog that obscured my vision subsided,

“Ahem, Cocoavi is here.”

“What happened… These little goblins switched my position!”

“… I didn’t even think of this.”

“W-, wait, Cocoavi… D-, don’t panic…”

It was really hard to tell the difference.

‘… I really can’t tell.’

Of course, it’d be a little more annoying, but I’d still be able to tell them apart in the end. If I roughly ask about past events or compared our memories, I’d eventually be able to sort them all out.

But I didn’t want to waste time. Now there were three, but what if ten or twenty goblins took Cocoa’s form and came to bother me?

‘Ugh, that’d be a bit over the top.’

I’d initially planned to mimic Yan’s unique ability and mobilize the ghosts to search for the goblins. Although Cocoa was here as a guide, but we were facing a time limit, and there were as many as a hundred people to find. The setting was that all of my hidden characteristics would apply to the ghosts too, so they were all equipped with pathfinding eyes.

But I couldn’t choose that right now…

With tears in my eyes, I summoned somebody else instead of the ghosts.

[Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness].

Soon after,

Pyororong–.

A form with an amazing jaw that shocked me every time I saw it, appeared in front of me.

As soon as she saw me, she put her nose up in the air.

“Why is it you again?”

“…”

This was crazy.

“C’mon, isn’t it obvious? You’re a fairy I created. Who else is going to call you but me… wait, wait. Have you ever been summoned by somebody else?”

“Enough, now tell me, what’s this all about?”

“…”

Quite frankly, it was absurd how she was cutting off such an important conversation, but there was no time to dig deep into it. I wasn’t in a very relaxed situation right now, after all.

“Please tell me which one of them is a real human.”

Then I picked up a branch that had fallen nearby.

With this girl who could control odds of something happening up to 99%, choosing one among four was child’s play.

Although, that didn’t mean she could pierce a goblin’s cloaking technique. I’d have to use pure probability to distinguish Cocoa through her, a bothersome process.

“Adjust the chance that a fallen tree branch will point to a human, to 99%. I’ll throw a couple of them, so, you know what to…”

“Has your brain gone blank?”

“… Eh?”

“You’re just trying to receive something without giving anything in return.”

“…”

How embarrassing.

“What… what should I… give you?”

“Forget it.”

“…”

I didn’t quite understand the mechanics of it. Whenever Siana used her unique ability, her fairy always kindly listened to the summoner. It didn’t seem like she was getting anything tangible in return.

Still, fortunately, although this girl was naggy, she did her job properly.

Soon after, the branches fell and pointed in one direction.

“Great.”

With the squat-jawed fairy’s help I was able to pick out the real one, and the faces of the other three Cocoas immediately wrinkled as if they’d eaten shit.

“Did he solve it so quickly? That Squatjaw is using a strange ability.”

“How about we try again?”

“If that’s how it is… why don’t we just hide?”

While they were chattering like that, I quickly approached Cocoa and decided to stick to her like glue.

“Too bad, so sad. Your bastard Squatjaw! I believed in you, but you couldn’t recognize me at a glance…”

“Yeah, yeah, now tell me, are these guys all hide-and-seek players?”

The reason I asked this was because they might not actually be participants.

I didn’t know how many goblins were currently inside the Saboteur’s Lot, but the number was definitely more than a hundred. Not all of them would be players, but I’d be naive to think that they wouldn’t be involved in the game.

Non-participants could also intervene. It’d been the same in the original.

In other words, a hundred people were playing hide-and-seek, meant only a hundred people could actually hide, and there were hundreds of others who’d try to disturb us, confuse us, and entice us with their lies.

“Hmm… I think they are.”

“Alright.”

I immediately took out the ‘bat’ given to me by Oldboy and ran towards the three.

And then,

“U-, uh?”

“R-, run away!”

The ones who’d slowly been getting ready to step out saw me coming and tried to run away post-haste, but it was already too late.

“Where’re you going!”

I quickly slapped them in the back with the bat.

Phut! Phut! Phut!

“Ouch!”

“Ouch! It hurts!”

“Ugh!”

Stop faking, will you?

I didn’t know what the material the bat was made from, but it was much softer than even rubber. It would hurt more if I slapped them with my palm instead.

The role of this bat was simple.

To tag players ‘out’.

“Hmm… is it okay to leave them here like this?”

I scratched my head as I looked at the three statues of stone scattered on the ground.

The goblins tagged (hit) with this bat would become rock statues until the game ended. It meant they’d have to stay still for half a day, lying on the ground, conscious but unable to move.

This was to enforce fairness, and to prevent the ones already eliminated from intervening again.

When it came to betting and sports, goblins had a strong professional spirit, so they were very strict in this area – apart from, of course, those who worshipped the God of Sabotage. All mental attack-type unique abilities were banned because they’d make the game unfair. That was how seriously they took it.

However, same as I’d felt in the original work, there was definitely a vicious and cruel side to their methods. Let’s take how they were transformed into living statues. There must’ve been other ways of eliminating them, but because they’d lost, they were left unattended like trash on the roadside.

Hmmm.

‘It definitely doesn’t match how a shounen manga should be…’

Then,

“We got three in three minutes? Won’t we catch them all soon?”

Cocoa came over to me.

“These three are just idiots, that’s all. If they’d gone and mixed inside the bunch of non-participants, we wouldn’t have found them so easily.”

“Is that so?”

“So don’t relax.”

I grabbed Cocoa and put her on my shoulder.

“Don’t go anywhere, just stay here and guide me. Where to next?”

“This feels great! You should’ve done this from the beginning.”

“Quickly! Directions only!”

“Go straight ahead! I see two of them.”

“Okay. Hold on tight, don’t fall.”

Then I ran like the wind.

---

There were countless ways in which the goblins playing hide-and-seek could hide themselves, but if you had to categorize them, there were broadly two types.

The first type. Those who took the initiative.

The guys who pretended to be Cocoa and tried to confuse me were also this type.

Other than that, guys pretending to be non-participants and trying to pass by, guys asking us to choose from a mix of participants and non-participants, guys chasing after us wearing silver screens, blocking the road and making separate bets with us. There was even a guy who was spouting bullshit that he’d surrender if he won. (I smashed him in the head with the bat before he could finish speaking.)

They were so stupid that I thought maybe they didn’t understand the rules of hide-and-seek. Or, well, they were looking down on us too much.

And the second type.

Simple. The ones who literally hid themselves.

Catching them was the beginning of the real hide-and-seek.

Fortunately, almost half the players were idiots from the first category, so I was able to save quite a bit of time, but that didn’t give me peace of mind.

Like it’d been with Leo’s party in the original, it was clear that victory or defeat would depend on whether we could find the last one or two of the second type.

Bang!

I kicked the locked door and entered the hut.

A hut that was built next to the fire pits near the entrance to the Saboteur’s Lot. Cocoa said that there were as many as three hidden inside.

As soon as I entered, I saw an old, sick goblin lying on a bed.

“C-, cough! Wh-, who is it?”

This old goblin?

Of course he was a participant.

“What about the rest?”

“No, what… I’m the only one here… No, who are you?”

Naturally, I wasn’t asking the old goblin.

“Uh… it’s weird. There’re definitely two others in this room. But… I can only see one.”

It was clear that the second hidden goblin was using some kind of trick, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

And in this case, there was nothing else to do.

Eliminate the ones you see first.

“Hey, no, wait. Come to think of it, I heard that there were some human guests outside… so it’s you…”

“You talk a lot.”

Then I slapped the head of the sick goblin with my bat.

“There you go!”

Maybe, the others would appear on their own?

Soon after,

“Hey, ugh, this bastard doesn’t even know how to respect the elderly… even a baby born yesterday would know better…”

The old goblin hardened, leaving only some meaningless rubbish words behind.

I turned to Cocoa.

“Can’t you see them yet?”

“Yeah, that’s…”

“It’s strange, there’s nothing here. A table, a bed, and a wardrobe, and nothing else.”

That was then.

“Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, ‘something’ flashed through my mind.

Can a goblin only transform into a living creature? Or, can they even turn into inanimate objects?

I couldn’t be sure because I’d never seen it in the original. But there was no setting forbidding it that I knew of.

“Come to think of it, the bed was swaying a bit too much, wasn’t it? Even though I just softly tapped this guy?”

I tried to taunt, but –

…

There was no reaction to speak of.

Was that not it?

Then Cocoa said something.

“Just hit it all.”

“Hm? Should we just test out everything in this room?”

“Yeah.”

I see. It’s not too much work, either.

Then while I was about to hit the bed with my bat –

Suddenly,

“Wait a minute!”

The bed started talking.

“You lunatic, why would you suspect a bed?! Huh? Who’d suddenly suspect the bed! Do you think that makes sense?”

“Oh, yeah?”

Surprisingly, goblins seemed capable of turning into inanimate objects.

“Give me one more chance.”

“Eh?”

“I’ve been here staying still this for two and a half hours. Please… it’ll be too embarrassing if it ends this way.”

The kid’s tone of voice was brimming with earnestness.

But, well, shouldn’t you take responsibility for your own choices?

“Uh, sorry. Nighty night.”

I slapped him without hearing any more.

“D-, damn it!”

His last cry was hoarse and full of unwillingness.

I turned to Cocoa.

“But there’s one more guy here, right? Furniture again?”

Cocoa silently shook her head and pointed her finger down.

“Underground? Is there a basement somewhere?”

“I don’t know. Just, he’s down there.”

I gave the floor a once-over, but there was no trace of something like a basement. It was just on land.

“Should I start digging?”

“I think so.”

“Uh huh… so much busywork.”

I remembered the earth dragon technique being Chinuavi’s favourite, and this should be a similar method.

“Deep?”

“Deep. Very deep.”

“Haah…”

What else could I do?

I started digging.

With the determination of hitting this guy with my fist instead of the bat when I met him.

---

After digging that guy up, grabbing another stuck in a cave under a cliff, and smashing a third who’d been lying at the top of a mountain until he hardened into stone, the sun was already nearing the edge of the horizon dotted by the mountains.

About an hour, to an hour and a half at the most, still remained.

Slowly, impatience was beginning to creep in.

“How many left?”

“Now… just ten more!”

Fortunately, only so few remained that I could count them with my fingers.

But now came the problem.

I hadn’t even gotten started on the ‘real experts’ until now.

“Over there!”

I hurriedly ran in the direction Cocoa was pointing.

Then,

“Here?”

“Yup.”

We arrived at a private house.

It looked ordinary. Except for a huge chain tied to the front door, and a padlock engraved with a strange pattern.

‘Real expert’ here meant one thing. Those who hid in places which could never be entered without a decipherer.

Those guys who’d turned into Cocoa at the start, or the guys who’d tried to confuse us by mixing with the non-players, weren’t much of a problem.

Chinuavi was needed to catch these ‘real experts’.

What to do now?

I gently pulled the chain. didn’t even budge.

However thick a chain might be, it couldn’t withstand my strength. In other words, a special obstacle had been set up.

“Cocoa, is there any other way to get in except through this door?”

“No. Can’t see any.”

“… Really?”

I had to think quickly.

But after a few minutes, nothing came to mind.

Finally, I let out a long sigh.

‘Is there no other way?’

There was only one option left. It was an awful brute-force method, though.

Making a separate bet with the guy hiding inside. That if I won, he’d surrender.

This was actually the method Siana had successfully executed the original.

Of course, for her, there’d been only one such case.

‘There’re still ten people left…’

Even though it looked tough, I didn’t have a choice. No smart tactic was coming to mind.

So, when I was about to call out to the guy inside –

“Watch, I’ll do it.”

Cocoa spoke up.

“Hm?”

“I’ll open it.”

“… What?”

I was stunned.

“What do you…?”

Then, suddenly,

“Don’t you know?”

“… What?”

She started on a weird tangent.

“Didn’t I ever tell you? That the guy called Khan gave me a lot of money while I was in the Skull Empire?”

“Huh? Money?”

“Yeah, gold, and lots of jewels.”

“No, what’s this all of a sudden?”

“Yeah. I have it all in my pocket.”

Then she walked in front of the door.

And she opened the leather pouch she wore on her waist.

“Key, come out.”

She muttered something absurd.

But surprisingly,

Rustle–.

A key actually came out.

Cocoa put it into the padlock and turned it.

Then,

Click–.

The lock opened.

And so did my mouth. It opened wide.

“No, wait, what?”

“I told you, didn’t you know?”

At that moment, a ‘distant memory’ came to mind like a thunderbolt.

This kid had once taken out a bazooka out of nowhere, back at Neo Archive.

Only then did I realize. That was how. She… got what she needed.

By merely spending the gold in her pocket in return.

To be honest, I couldn’t even imagine how something like this could be possible. Whether the key was newly created, copied, or moved… there was no way to know exactly what the limits of her ability were.

All I could do, was just –

“Cocoa, Cocoa! This kid!”

All I could do was shout the name of the kid who’d been hiding such an amazing ability.

“You idiot, that’s wrong. Who am I?”

“Uh… huh?”

“Say my name. Who am I?”

“… Ah!”

I was surprised once more.

This kid didn’t say anything without thinking. This was not just some simple concept she’d idly came up with. She really had the confidence to do a decent job at it.

So I shouted out the name of the new decipherer who’d suddenly appeared in our adventurer team.

“Cocoavi, I choose you!!”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 꼭꼭 숨어라, 머리카락 보일라 (lit. hide tightly, don’t let me see your hair) is what Korean children say when counting down for hide-and-seek. Unlike in English, where you’d just count down and say “ready or not, here I come” at the end.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 79

Goblin Wrestling

“It’s simple, yeah? Stay firm on your feet and don’t budge, yeah? I mean, like this, like this!”

I silently looked at the whining little Pierrot mask as she grabbed my waist.

“Your feet? Keep them like this! Or you can sweep their leg like this! Kick them if they don’t budge. Then they’ll get off balance!”

“…”

I scratched the back of my head.

It wasn’t funny.

She suddenly came up with another strange concept.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not how you do it.”

“Huh?”

“How did you even come up with that? C’mon, tell me.”

“Heh heh, Squatjaw, look at you. What, you think I’m a rookie who’s never wrestled before?”

“Exactly.”

“Heh heh…”

“Look at me when you’re talking, please.”

I lifted Cocoa by her collar and set her to my side. A goblin was slowly emerging from the other side.

He had a very short stature. He was so small that he barely edged over Coaoa.

But as soon as I saw him, I could feel it.

Yeah… he was an expert.

Of course, my judgment wasn’t based on the common shounen manga cliché of ‘the frailer a character looks, the more skilled they are’.

His demeanour just screamed ‘expert’ to me. With his shallow and sinister-looking smile, and constant furtive glances.

In fact, ‘expert’ in this context wasn’t the same as ‘strong’.

In goblin wrestling, pure strength wasn’t very important. It could even be called a demerit.

The most important aspect to win in this event was nothing other than ‘goblin-ness’.

Mischief, lies, whims, bluffs, and sabotage.

In other words, skills in this game were related to ‘deception’, ‘confusion’, and ‘disturbance’.

The rules of goblin wrestling can change any moment.

This was what Kiriko had directly stated during the goblin wrestling event in the original work, as that was the easiest and clearest way to define the characteristics of this game.

To win in goblin wrestling, one has to be aware of the occasional change in the rules.

But the funny part is – that this isn’t true.

To be precise, the rules of goblin wrestling are set from the start. And it’s the same as Korean folk wrestling. You win as long as your opponent touches the floor first.

But once you enter the match, you may end up ‘forgetting that’, because of the enemy goblin’s ‘disturbance’.

There’s no rule saying you can’t disturb the opponent.

Chinuavi’s unique ability, [Prankster Playing with the Rules], is an excellent example, which confuses a certain rule or an object bound by a rule, making the original rule forgotten.

So to summarize, goblin wrestling is more of a battle of mental attacks than pure physical strength.

Although the method to disturb the opponent depends on the goblin’s personality, they can be broadly classified into two categories.

1. Conceptual,

2. Perceptional.

It’s simple.

The former causes confusion about the rules themselves, making you feel that they’re changing from time to time.

The latter mixes in lies into your senses – like vision, hearing and touch.

And, of course, an opponent who uses a combination of the two is the worst.

So based on all that, where did this guy fall on the spectrum?

I stood still on the sandpit that’d been prepared as the battleground, and looked at the guy slowly approaching me.

Contrary to his grinning expression, his words were quite aggressive.

“Whatcha looking at?”

Whoo.

He was easy to understand.

Firstly, he was cheeky.

“You cheeky human. You dare to wrestle with a goblin?”

Secondly, he didn’t know his place.

“You’ll be finished in a blink.”

And thirdly, he was a brazen liar.

No goblin would easily give up a match as long as they have somebody to play with, even if it kills them. They’d try and savour the contest as long as possible.

In other words, there was no way this guy who was already grinning with excitement would try to finish things quickly.

That was then.

“Alright, now focus.”

The referee, who’d also climbed to the sandpit in the meanwhile, asked for our attention.

“This is sudden, so no loincloths were to hand. Just fight as you are. The two of you, hold each other’s waist. You might already know the rules, but I’ll explain them one more time. Make your opponent touch the floor first. That’s the victory condition.”

I nodded my head to the referee, but the goblin on the other side was just sarcastic.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s get started already. Or the referee will freeze to death in this cold. Hell, why do we even need one? Even a newborn child can tell who the winner will be.”

Then he looked at me and grinned, fully demonstrating his stupidity.

Tsk tsk, look at this idiot. Who doesn’t know that you have to suck up to the referee, no matter what game it is?

Then,

“Hey, hey, you little kid! That Squatjaw looks like he’s gonna thrash ya!”

“C’mon, lose, lose! This is boring me already!”

“Hey, why does that idiot get to be the one to play?”

“You little bastard! I’ll show you! Nominate me!”

“Huh? Who’s that referee? Saboteurs don’t usually care about these games, right?”

Cheering erupted from the goblin audience, interspersed with shouts of unknown origin.

I already knew from reading the original manga, but seeing it in person, they definitely had a radical cheering culture.

In fact, the point of having a referee was not so much as to adjudicate, but to prevent the onlookers from butting in.

Because among the goblins, there were quite a few who took joy in ruining games, especially among the devotees of the God of Mischief and the God of Sabotage.

Therefore, the referee was in charge of stopping any goblins from affecting the contestants with their abilities – except for those already standing on the sandpit.

Then,

“Hey, Squatjaw! Don’t you dare lose! Alright? Don’t drag the name of our Mysterious Squatjaw’s Folk Troupe into the mud!”

A loud cheering sound came from behind me.

‘… Seriously, what folk troupe?’

For a moment, I struggled to hold back the laughter that was about to escape.

Every single word was absurd, but the funny part was that I felt strangely cheered up.

‘Honestly, she’s a strange one.’

Soon after,

“Now, both sides hold each other firmly. You’ll start at the sound of the whistle. Now then…”

Beep-!

The match started.

And,

…

Nothing happened.

The goblin and I just quietly held each other by the waist.

Probably feeling a little embarrassed, he began trying to provoke me.

“Hey, Squatjaw. What’re you doing? Feel free to start. I’ll let you take the lead.”

“Meh. Why don’t you start?”

It was easy to guess why this guy was so still. He wanted to play around a little.

It was simple. From a goblin’s point of view, the harder the opponent tried to win, the better it felt. That way it was easier to ‘mess with the overall picture’. For example, while you’re trying to try flip him to the ground, and his legs are kicking in the air, etc.

Goblins poked and teased their opponents like this not only for the fun of it, but also because there were others watching. Goblins weren’t just mean, they were also grade-A poseurs who craved attention, so they jumped for joy the more the onlookers cheered, cursed, or reacted in any way.

‘I’m still fine. That’s good, I suppose?’

I hadn’t felt anything special yet. Everything felt just the same as before. But I was sure that this guy had already done something to me. I hadn’t missed the way his eyes had flashed with a strange light the moment he’d entered the sandpit.

‘What’s he done? I don’t think the concept has changed…’

I was still able to acknowledge the rule that if I made this guy hit the floor, I’d win. In that case, it might be my vision or the sense of my hands touching this guy’s waist that had been disturbed.

“Ugh, this just isn’t fun. What is this? This giant Squatjaw’s a wimp. That kid with the clown mask might’ve been more interesting instead.”

“…”

Well, that was true enough.

Actually, I had no way to beat this guy head-on.

In order to face the disturbances of the goblins, you must have a unique mental ability that’s roughly the same level. If not, you at least need a defensive ability to block it.

Unfortunately, there were currently no characters with such shielding abilities in this world.

Of course, they’d come later. In the middle part, where these goblins would’ve started to appear. When Firmino, whom I’d taken the [Scribe’s Shackles] from, would’ve become active in earnest.

It’d be hilarious if defensive mental abilities were already scattered around before mental attack abilities got any screentime.

But that didn’t mean the situation was completely hopeless.

In fact, in the original work, facing a situation similar to my own, Kiriko had won.

The method he’d used was simple.

Just keeping to the status quo.

Since he couldn’t come up with a way to move, he’d just held on tightly to the opponent and didn’t move another muscle.

The match had lasted for half a day, ending with a declaration of defeat by the goblin who couldn’t stand the boredom.

But I couldn’t use this method either. Because, unlike Kiriko, who’d exerted his strength right at the start, I’d started with a loose stance. Instead of tightly constricting my opponent, I was only lightly holding on so that I wouldn’t fall.

In other words, even if I tried to exert my strength now, there was no guarantee where it’d go. With my perceptions affected, I might very well end up pushing at my sphincter muscles instead.

Therefore –

“What’s the use of all those muscles? Ugh, just do something! Alright? How long are you going to just hold me like this? What, you like me that much?”

I had no choice but to silently endure my opponent’s ridicule.

“Damn it, try your best! You squat-jawed idiot!”

Also, at that time,

“Boo!”

“Hit him, hit him!”

“Hey! What are you doing, man!?”

Even the audience had descended to heckling, but they had no choice but to wait and watch.

“Yeesh, this is my first time playing with a human, so I was really looking forward to it… Just let this be over. I’m so bored I could die.”

Until the signal arrived.

Eventually,

“Warning to both sides! What are you two doing? Why do neither of you attack? Squatjaw! Attack! I’m telling you, attack.”

The referee’s warning came.

And at the same time,

…

My opponent suddenly shut up.

Then, I murmured softly in his ear.

“What’s the score looking like now, do you think? The referee’s already given a warning. Two warnings mean disqualification, right?”

“…”

“Hey, if you don’t want to be disqualified… try your best.”

“…”

“You were chattering away for so long, why did your words dry up?”

I grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up.

He was light.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

And then,

Thud!

I just threw him to the floor.

…

Suddenly, the whole place went quiet.

And as the silence turned into murmurs,

“Winner, Squatjaw!”

A single, powerful cry rang out.

Then,

“It finished sooner than I thought. How come he didn’t notice you at all?”

I approached the referee with a slight grin.

“Hey, who do you think I am? I’m in a different league from these frogs in the well. How long have I been following you, Big Bro?”

“What exactly did you do to him?”

“Oh, this guy? He’s trapped inside his head, playing hide-and-seek. He thinks he’ll get caught if he moves or makes a sound.”

“Well, good job. He was a chatterbox.”

“Then should we go down now? Heh, man, just look at all those dumbfounded faces.”

Chinuavi grinned.

---

Going up to the sandpit in the guise of a referee and confuse my opponent.

It was Chinuavi himself who’d suggested this method.

Cheering during a match is one thing, but very few goblins like being the referee. So, as long as he went up first, there wouldn’t be any problems – that was his idea.

“Besides, referees can use their unique abilities. Since they’re up there on the sandpit.”

It was a good trick. I certainly couldn’t come up anything better.

But the problem was the aftermath. Wasn’t this guy a goblin? This was where he’d grown up, at that.

“Even if you disguise yourself as another goblin, you’ll be caught at the end. Is that alright?”

When I asked him if the goblins would let it go –

“It doesn’t matter. Rather, I’ve been waiting for this day. Whoo, I’m excited!”

He was veritably burning with enthusiasm.

Anyway, getting back to the issue of the goblins.

I was able to pass the goblin wrestling event, which I’d anticipated to be a formidable obstacle, quite easily.

Of course, this was only the first hurdle.

Then,

“… So, what do you want?”

The old goblin slowly opened his mouth.

He looked as if he had chewed some poop, spat it out and then picked it back up to chew again.

“Whatever I want, isn’t it?”

“… Yes, anything within the allowable range.”

“Wait, what’s this now? What do you mean, allowable range?”

“Hey, isn’t that obvious? If you tell us all to plug our noses shut and jump into the sea, should we all happily drown and die?”

“C’mon, who’d ask for something like that!”

“That’s why, let’s talk it out first.”

Hmmm.

What was allowed, then?

After silently watching Oldboy for a while, I slowly spoke.

“I want you to hold a Spirit Festival for me. Like you’d do for a goblin.”

Spirit Festival.

It was a ritual (祭儀) to welcome the gods, and a ceremony to help young goblins awaken their unique abilities.

Held once every year, it was the biggest festival of the goblins.

Everyone seemed shocked by my request. I not only knew about their ritual, but even wanted to take part!

After a moment of silence, an uncontrollable clamour erupted from all sides.

Including words like, ‘Is that guy crazy?’, ‘Does he even know what he’s talking about?’, ‘What’s he planning?’, ‘Wow, this is amazing’, and ‘I want to try too’.

Soon after,

“You bastard, you’re crazy.”

The old goblin spoke with a hardened expression on his face.

Then,

“Fine! Let’s say we do that.”

He willingly accepted my proposal.

“Huh?”

Frankly, I was a bit perplexed. I didn’t expect it to be accepted so readily. Because this was unprecedented.

That was then.

“But there’s a condition.”

Ah, now this made more sense.

“What is it?”

“One more game, you bastard! A different sport!”

Whoo.

“If we win, let’s pretend nothing happened. If you win, I’ll allow you to do anything, be it the Festival of Spirits or anything else.”

“Hmm, really?”

It was, of course, what I’d been waiting for.

“But then if we win, we should get one more wish. That’s the only way to balance the scales. Right?”

“… You asshole. Fine! Then we’ll decide the sport this time as well. Yeah?”

“Sure, alright. It doesn’t matter, anyway.”

Because I already knew what he was going to choose.

And truly, Oldboy’s suggestion fell within the expected range.

Hide-and-seek with a hundred players.

The rules were simple. A hundred goblins would hide within the designated area, and we’d have to find them within the time limit.

Since I’d anticipated this event in advance, I’d already prepared a solution.

But a problem cropped up.

“This match will be race versus race. Goblins vs humans! Meaning this time, that cheeky little goblin who’s in league with humans doesn’t get to participate!”

“No, wait! Oldboy, suddenly bringing up race at a time like this… When did you become so petty? I’m a goblin, sure, but as a member of the Squatjaw Adventurers…”

“Shut up, you bastard! You, you… who were you again? You… yes, you, Chinuavi! You’re doing all you can to bring disgrace upon goblinkind, aren’t you! Get out!”

“No, that…”

“Squatjaw! If you don’t accept this condition, the talk’s over! Choose!”

“…”

In order to win this challenge, Chinuavi was absolutely necessary.

The way goblins could hide was truly extraordinary. Most wouldn’t be a problem regardless, but there were some who’d be impossible to catch without Chinuavi’s help.

‘… This is a bad one.’

But still, things weren’t hopeless.

I felt like I could convince the old goblin if I just spent some more time sweet-talking him.

And just when I was about to speak –

“We don’t need him, goblin! The Squatjaw Folk Troupe accepts your challenge!”

A sudden remark came from behind me.

When I turned around in amazement, a little kid in a Pierrot mask was standing with her chest puffed up and her hands at her back.

It wasn’t funny.

“Oh, no, wait…”

I hurriedly tried to cancel it.

But,

“Good! Then the second match will be humans vs. goblins, 100-player hide-and-seek!”

As if Oldboy had been waiting for this, he declared the event with a wide grin.

…

I glanced at the little Pierrot mask who was walking towards me.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Fufu, don’t worry, Squatjaw. Because I can fill in for a goblin, too.”

“What? You…”

It was a shocking and nonsensical remark.

Of course, this little kid did also have a role to play – which was as important as, or even more important than, Chinuavi in this showdown. I was depending on her eyes to find the hidey-holes of those goblins.

But even so, she couldn’t replace Chinuavi in the plan.

“No, how can you fill in for Chinuavi… It’s not like you’re a goblin, you know?”

Then,

“Fufu, you got it right. In fact, I’ve been hiding my true identity.”

“…”

Seeing her jump with excitement, another strange concept had apparently taken root in her brain.

Cocoa slowly took off her mask.

Oddly enough, there was a small wooden carved horn on her forehead.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Cocoavi, a wandering goblin who left the Goblins’ Den when she was young to join a folk troupe. I’m sorry for hiding my identity for so long.”

… Haah.

Had she been itching to try out this concept…?

“Fufu, don’t look so surprised. Let’s go, Squatjaw!”

“…”

Grabbing my throbbing head, I followed the little kid who’d been hiding an unexpected identity (as per her own words), and went to the hide-and-seek arena.

---

A good guide naturally plays a key role in a mission that’s about ‘finding something’, like hide-and-seek.

But just knowing the path doesn’t mean you can walk it to the end.

If the path is blocked by a locked iron gate, you can’t pass through without a decipherer.

If the treasure at the end of the path is protected by a guardian who comes out to face you midway, you can’t fight without an adversary.

In other words, the guide alone is not enough, because you’ll inevitably face various obstacles along the way.

Three minutes after the start of the game of hide-and-seek –

“Hey, follow me!”

“What’re you doing, just standing there?”

“It’s this way, you know?”

“Squatjaw you slowpoke!”

Lacking a decipherer to penetrate the goblins’ disguises, I could only let out a long sigh.

Four Cocoas were telling me to follow her.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 78

Now Then, Should I Use Some Strength?

– That bastard, so he just up and left?

“… I thought we’d have time for a proper farewell.”

– What’s the big deal? I’m in no hurry to see that idiot’s mug again, I can tell you that.

“… Hmm.”

Thermis wondered if he’d be back any time soon. Last night he suddenly came in to say goodbye, so he was probably off to do something idiotic.

Bayar Khan’s voice was a bit sullen as he spoke.

– Look at your face. You look like you’re about to die.

“…”

What nonsense.

“Who says?”

– Look at you. Slouching like you’ve got no strength. No, no, wait. It can’t be, are you…

Thermis flinched for a moment.

She was afraid that this old man might ask something absurd.

– Are you like this because you think you lost to him? So because he went away, you feel like you didn’t get to play enough?

“…”

How fortunate.

“Well… I sure as hell didn’t win. That’s the truth. I lost completely.”

What had she said back then, again?

She’d said that she would deliver a final blow, but that’d been close to a bluff. She really didn’t have even a single drop of power left by then. If that giant squat-jawed ghost had snapped a single finger, she wouldn’t have been able to stop it.

– You know, it’s true that you’re a touch strong, but that’s still only at the level of being a big fish in a little pond. Although, if you keep working hard, you can grow a little more.

After giving her a dose of reality, Bayar Khan asked again in a soft voice.

– By the way, why did he leave so quickly?

“… I don’t know. He just, he just said he had to go.”

Squathaw had left as suddenly as he’d first appeared to her on the ship. That was all.

– Still, you two talked for a little bit yesterday, didn’t you? While I was away?

“You’re full of questions today, old man.”

– That’s what happens when you get old. Come on, tell me.

“There was really nothing special about it.”

In fact, Thermis had also been curious, and asked. Why was it so urgent that he had to leave as soon as they returned to the capital?

Squatjaw had given an excuse that he didn’t want to bother the emperor, but that was a clear fib. Had he indeed had any concerns about propriety, he wouldn’t have considered leaving so suddenly in the first place.

And in the end, the answer she got was… really nothing special.

He had stuff to do. He was busy.

Then,

– Didn’t you try to stop him?

Bayar Khan finally spoke out the words he’d been holding back.

– Your popularity is rising here in the empire right now, but the situation’s still dangerous. Those who want to take advantage of you, those who’re jealous of you, and those who fear you are everywhere. If you asked him to stay a little longer and help…

“I tried…”

– Ah?

“I said, I tried to stop him.”

– … What did you say?

Thermis hadn’t simply asked for help when she’d tried to stop him.

“I said, he might even be able to become the emperor? If he stayed here, he might be able to get the throne.”

Thermis hadn’t been joking. If he really put his mind to it, he might really be able to rise to be the Khan. Even now she thought so.

In fact, Bumio Khan had already given them both a general’s position. Moreover, he’d even repeated the phrase, ‘my son doesn’t seem to be interested in the Khan’s position’, several times.

– So?

“It’s not even funny.”

– What?

“He said he’s going to become the Adventure King.”

– … Wh-, what? The Adventure King?

That was Squatjaw’s true answer.

He was busy walking his own path. He was hurrying to climb the Tower of Adventure.

Khan? That was a job for somebody with more time on their hands, he’d said while staring at her.

Thermis shook her head at the memory.

“The funny thing is, he was really just an adventurer. There was no special reason why he helped me. It was just a routine quest. And here I thought he was carrying out some great, top-secret mission.”

To be honest, that adventure quest completion certificate with his name on it had come as a little shock. This guy always pretended to be so mysterious, but he really was just a rookie adventurer. With an absurdly big dream.

– He wants to be the Adventure King, huh…

Bayar Khan chuckled for a while, making Thermis wonder what was so funny.

And then,

– That’s right. A guy who dares dream of something like that wouldn’t be satisfied with being the emperor of this two-bit country. The Adventure King, the Adventure King…

He muttered with a small smile.

Because that was a dream to become the best in the world.

Bayar Khan seemed to have brushed off all his regrets. Because that was how great and majestic that title was.

[Adventure King]. The king of the world.

Perhaps he wouldn’t even dare think of stopping somebody like that. Somebody whose dream made him about to embark on that arduous journey.

– Still, it’d be better to maintain a connection. He’s going to rise even higher, that Squatjaw. There’ll be a day when he’ll be of great help to you and the Skull Empire.

“… Well, I sent my token along with the quest completion certificate with Coocoo. If he doesn’t throw it away… then we’ll see each other again someday.”

– Wait, Coocoo? That white hawk? You sent him away?

“Yeah. That white… pigeon.”

– Really, you… could’ve just used a different messenger. Why send away a divine beast that symbolizes Umir Khan?

Bayar Khan clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“He was originally Squatjaw’s friend. Coocoo felt the same.”

Thermis remembered Coocoo’s feet trembling when Squatjaw said that he would leave him behind.

How could she make somebody like that, who held back his sadness and regret for his friend’s sake, stay behind?

– Yeah, well. It doesn’t much matter, I suppose. They’re often referred to as the two symbols, but words are wind. The white hawk… it’s just an ornament, an ornament.

At Bayar Khan’s words, Thermis smiled.

“I think so too.”

Then, after the silence had gone on for a while,

“Why are you so disgruntled, anyhow? Or maybe, you’re actually relieved?”

Thermis asked with a playful smile.

– What do you mean?

“Didn’t you want to have another bout with Squatjaw once the Warrior’s Path finished?”

– Ah, I did have such an idea. Your body’s grown enough to accept me. It might’ve been a pretty good match.

“Hmm… really? I think you would’ve lost again anyway… Isn’t it better that he just up and left, old man? You didn’t have to take another loss for no reason…”

Then,

– Wh-, what!? Shut your trap, you little bitch!

Bayar Khan screamed.

– You have no idea, you witch! What my true strength is like!

“Not this again. You keep repeating that every day.”

– Because you aren’t strong enough, you bitch! Your body can’t handle my true strength… yeah, he’s the only one that can.

It was an absurd statement.

“What the hell. If you think you’re going to lose, just admit that you’re going to lose. You say you have to borrow Squatjaw’s body to use your true strength? Then how exactly are you going to fight?”

Then,

– Not him!

Bayar Khan shook his head.

“… Huh? Then who?”

His next words left Thermis completely stunned.

– Remember that big guy Squatjaw summoned? That ‘King’?

“… What?”

What was this old man talking about now?

“But he’s a ghost.”

– So what?

“A ghost possessing another ghost? Do you think that makes sense?”

– Why not? That gigantic guy… he sure looked like a ghost, but didn’t he also have an impressive physique?

“But… no, but can this really…”

Her brain felt like it was being twisted into knots.

– And it wasn’t me that came up with this idea, you know?

“… Then?”

– That fellow quietly told me this before he left. That let’s make this work sometime.

“Eeh…”

It was crazy. Any rational person would call it a bunch of nonsense.

But the strange part was that, hearing that the idea came from Squatjaw, she somehow felt it might actually work.

“… I see. That makes sense.”

He was a man who pulled off miracles every time.

Thermis nodded and smiled.

That was then.

‘Wait a minute. Come to think of it…’

Suddenly, a thought ran through her head.

“Weren’t you shouting earlier that you didn’t want to see his face? What’s this, did you two meet and even have a chat?”

– …

Thermis shook her head.

This old man just had to pretend, every time.

---

The fatty looked at his thin partner without saying a word.

The man was staring intently at Squatjaw’s back as it was disappearing in the distance.

He must’ve been in a complicated mood. This was the first time that he’d had to stare at a prey like this.

But that didn’t mean they could just waste time here.

The fatty chose his words carefully.

“What are we going to do? I don’t think we can keep chasing him, can we?”

Fortunately, the slender man immediately shook his head.

“No way. A monster with multiple unique abilities? He isn’t somebody we’ll ever be able to handle. Now’s a little late to admit it, though.”

“Then let’s pack up. Is there any point in staying here? Looks like Squatjaw’s now trying to escape the empire.”

“…”

But the slender man didn’t answer for a while.

And when he did break the spell of silence, he said something the fat man couldn’t even have imagined.

“I posted a quest to assassinate Squatjaw in the Leeches’ Cradle.”

“… Wh-, what?”

The Leeches’ Cradle.

The world’s largest behind-the-scenes source of information that was shared by all the top killers, assassins, stateless secret societies, anarchists, underground kings and secret organizations around the world.

The minimum bounty for a contract was five billion gold, and quests worth tens of billions of gold were common.

The fatty asked in amazement.

“H-, how much’s the bounty?”

“A hundred billion.”

“… Haah.”

It felt like all the strength in his body was escaping.

“This is crazy.”

“This much should gather some interest.”

“Why the hell are you doing this?”

The fatty couldn’t understand the thin man’s decision.

Principle, pride? Resentment at meeting someone he couldn’t kill on his own?

What made a rational human being behave like this?

As the fatty looked at him with a complicated mood –

“It’s very simple.”

He replied as if it was no big deal at all.

Oddly enough, his expression was infinitely calm.

“It’s so that we can survive.”

“… What?”

“All the assassins in the empire have already noticed our failure. Or rather, all the assassins in Eastland.”

“So? Who cares? Most of them failed too.”

“That’s why we’re bound to attract even more ridicule. We couldn’t even realize the strength of our opponent even after that, and we just wasted money and time by insisting on following up to the end.”

“…”

Indeed, this was all correct. It was just a bit absurd that the reason behind all that was mentioning it himself.

“What’s next, do we try to admit our failure and move on? Then it won’t just end with ridicule. Our standing will inevitably become lower and lower.”

“So?”

“This is the only way to raise our status back up from the abyss to which it has fallen. We reveal our failure to the world. And bring it to everyone’s attention.”

The fat man, honestly speaking, didn’t quite understand what his partner was getting at.

“But how is that going to…”

“What if all those bigshots try and fail to hunt Squatjaw too? Sooner or later, our image will change – to an organization that’s survived tangling with that monster.”

“Heeh…”

The idea made a tiny amount of sense.

But, nevertheless, there were still many doubts.

“No, even then, did you really have to do that… Money is money, and if you turn out to be wrong…”

“We won’t pay the money. We don’t even have that much money in the first place.”

“Huh?”

“Squatjaw’s a monster. I’m not saying that just for kicks. The guy can’t be beaten. To hunt him, you’d need the Assassin King of the last generation and the Underworld Kings to attack together. Even then, I don’t know if they’d be enough.”

“Th-, that…”

To be honest, the fatty hadn’t expected such a high evaluation.

“What if Squatjaw makes a name as an ‘untouchable monster’ at the Leeches’ Cradle? Our status, as the ones who posted the first bounty on him, will naturally rise. That’s how it always goes.”

It wasn’t completely unreasonable.

But still one problem remained.

What if Squatjaw got angry when he found out about this?

If assassins repeatedly attacked him, he too would try to find out the cause. Then it’d only be a matter of time before the situation was revealed.

When asked about this point,

“Well, what else can we do? We’ll just have to run away.”

The slender man grinned.

It was a smile he hadn’t worn in a long time.

Which, basically –

“… Fuck me.”

– Meant he wasn’t feeling very reasonable.

---

The Goblins’ Den.

At the home of their chief, Oldboy (老兄).

It was a great circular hall, whose walls and floors were covered with mysterious patterns, and five bizarre goblin statues were arranged at the corners forming a pentagram.

The great doors suddenly burst open.

“Oldboy!”

“Huh?”

The old goblin, whose snow-white eyebrows had gotten long enough to reach his chin, looked up as someone barged in, panting.

“Some guests have come to visit the Saboteur’s Lot!”

The intruder was the rookie goblin who’d recently been chosen as the new manager of the Lark’s Nest. What was his name again… Nestavi^[1]?

“Guests?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“They’re saying… humans?”

“…”

His ears were getting duller with age, how sad.

“Come again?”

“Humans, humans.”

“…”

After a while, the old goblin clicked his tongue.

“Tch! I keep telling them, don’t hire liars and pranksters^[2] for reporting and management positions…”

Humans, what nonsense!

But,

“I’m sorry, but it’s true. They said that the old gatekeeper of the Saboteur’s Lot, Yellowweed, let them through. And one more thing, I’m neither a liar nor a prankster. I think I’ve told you that over a hundred times already.”

The young goblin with a flushed face was shaking his head while taking deep breaths.

“Heeh…”

Oldboy then tried in a severe tone –

“Is that really true? Are you sure?”

But he soon stopped. Because the other party’s face was quite serious.

“Yes. Look over there, can’t you see how the larks are flocking together?”

Oldboy noticed that a number of messenger larks had indeed gathered around the window.

“… Huh.”

How could this have happened so suddenly? Without any prior signs?

In the long history of the goblins, humans had only ever visited their lair once.

He couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.

“But why? How?”

“Just passing by, apparently?”

“No, does that make sense? How did they even find us?”

“Umm, that… I’m not sure yet.”

“…”

It sounded really irresponsible, but Oldboy struggled to regain his calm. It wasn’t this kid’s fault.

“Then what’s their purpose?”

“They’re here to ask for something.”

“So a request? For what?”

“There was talk about making a bet.”

“Huh… a bet?”

It wasn’t funny.

It had to be nonsense that they’d just been passing by. Clearly they’d come here knowing how crazy goblins got about bets. Oldboy didn’t know what all this was about, but they obviously had some kind of deep scheme.

So,

“So what are you going to do?”

Naturally he had to quickly go take a look… uhm, no, he had no choice but to go investigate.

---

“So, you’re sure you want us to decide the sport?”

I nodded to the goblin who’d asked the question.

“Yeah. How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t care, so let’s just do whatever you guys are good at.”

Some of the onlooking goblins broke into giggles.

As if just the thought of it made them excited, or maybe they thought it’d be fun.

That was then.

“The same goes for us. The sport doesn’t matter. Having humans here is itself a novelty, after all. That’s not the problem.”

“Then?”

“Unless we know what you want, we can’t accept the bet. Because you might ask for something we can’t fulfil.”

“Why, aren’t you confident? Can’t you win?”

“That’s a different matter. We have to insist, even if the probability of our defeat approaches zero. The requirements for a wager have to be met. So tell me what you want, first.”

I scratched my head.

Hmmm.

Again, talking to these guys was a chore.

“Alright, then call your boss here. I’ll talk to him. Or if you’re the boss, do you have the authority to grant whatever I ask for…?”

That was then.

“Oh? By the ’boss’, do you mean me?”

In the distance, I could see an old goblin walking towards us with a cane.

Somehow, the appearance was familiar.

Oldboy. The chief of the goblins.

And finally,

“Look, it’s Oldboy!”

“He must’ve come running in a hurry!”

“Won’t his knees give out?”

“Look at that! That old man is about to fall down!?”

All the goblins surrounding us broke into shouts as if to prove his identity.

“Hey! Listen, you bastards! When a customer^[3] comes from afar, it’s only natural for me to greet him first! You guys are just getting together and whispering!”

Oldboy reached where I stood and took a deep breath.

Although he’d been walking once within sight, it seemed he’d really been running all the way before that.

And then,

“Who the hell are you? Where did you roll in from, you son of a bitch?”

He shouted at me.

“…”

Crazy.

Was this how he treated customers, or was I a fucking beggar?

But, of course, I wasn’t upset about it.

Rather, I laughed, because I knew the old goblin’s personality very well and how I had to act to get what I wanted from him.

“Neener neener, I’ll never tell!”

“…”

Soon,

“Y-, you fucking squat-jawed asshole^[4]!”

The old man roared in anger.

“You want to make a bet? Fine!”

“Oh, you already knew?”

“Whatever happens, if you win, I’ll give you one thing that you want! But if you lose…”

“You can ask a question. About anything. I’ll answer.”

“…”

Then Oldboy looked at me with a slightly surprised expression,

“… Fuck! Fine.”

But he still nodded.

“I’ll decide the sport to bet on. The reward we’ll receive would a little less valuable, to compensate. Do you agree?”

“Good!”

“Alright! Then let’s discuss the match. Hm…”

I waited, holding my breath.

Maybe ‘that’? Leo and the others did that when they first visited here in the original.

“Squatjaw, looking at your size, you’ve got a bit of strength. Alright, feel free to go wild with it! The sport will be ‘goblin wrestling’!”

I smiled.

It was as expected.

Goblin wrestling.

It had the same rules as the original Korean folk wrestling, ssireum^[5]. Opponents started grappling from a standing position and the one who made any part of the other’s body above the knees touch the floor, won.

The only difference being –

“Do you know the rules?”

“Um, no?”

“It’s simple. You just have to be the first to throw your opponent down.”

“Just throw them down?”

“Yeah, but you could still lose, though.”

“Eh?”

“If you drop your guard, it’ll be over in an eyeblink, so don’t forget to be careful.”

– The rules here could ‘change any time’.

“Well then! Those of you who’re confident that they can crush this squat-jawed asshole! Come forward!”

Then, seeing all kinds of goblins jump out at Oldboy’s call, I also took a step forward.

“Huff… now then, should I use some strength?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 샛동아비 (lit. baby boy).

[2] Remember, the goblins gods include the God of Mischief and the God of Lies, so their followers would consider such things a holy act.

[3] 객(客) in the raws. 客 can mean guest or customer, but here the emphasis is on the latter.

[4] 호랑말코 (horangmaiko), a worthless, arrogant, headstrong guy. ‘Wanker’ might be a better translation but we’re using whatever sounds best in context.

[5] See Wikipedia for an explanation of the martial art.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 77

Let’s Go to the Goblins’ Den!

“Hmmm…”

I wasn’t sure how the author and the readers would interpret my declaration of allegiance to the princess.

I said those words to forge a connection to the woman who’d become the monarch of the empire, and free myself of her at the same time… 

But, well,

Tiling–.

[Chapter 24# – The Final Gateway of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Chivalry’ has been added to the characteristics]

[‘Romantic’ has been added to the characteristics]

[An enormous amount of support from numerous readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 100,000]

[Excess awareness is replaced with ‘level’]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 10]

[Received fan art from 30 readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 30]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 20%]

What do you mean, ‘chivalry’? What do you mean, ‘romantic’?!

Did you guys forget that this was a shounen manga? When did the genre shift to romance?!

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership, Spirit of sacrifice, Chivalry, Romantic
• Awareness: 345,259
• Author’s favourability: 82
• Reappearance probability: 20%

Tiling–.

[You have successfully played the lead role in the chapter]

[Successfully played the lead role in the first extended chapter]

[Registered as a major record in the official character data of ‘Hiro’]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

⁞

[Character’s rank has reached ‘main cast’]

[Some information about ‘character level’ is unlocked]

[New product sales will start according to the updated character level]

[Leading point of view application is finished]

• The leading point of view is revoked.

Tiling–.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 300,000p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 4,000p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 200p for the rise in reappearance probability]

[Character level has increased by 250]

“… Whoo.”

Basically, it was a character evaluation with a lot of minutiae, and overflowing with new information.

And at the centre of it was the ‘character level’.

I read it over and over again and checked all the things related to this ‘level’.

First of all, the ‘excess awareness’ being replaced by ‘level’.

The first point I noted was that awareness was limited to 100,000.

Meaning, the maximum CP I could earn through awareness was 300,000, but I wouldn’t say that was particularly disappointing. To be honest, I hadn’t bought any useful products from the character shop lately, not that I could remember.

Of course, this wasn’t a problem with the products themselves, but rather with the limitations of the setting.

One can only ever acquire one unique ability.

To be honest, ‘backgrounds’ are the most important for a character in the growth stage, because they carry other benefits, like characteristics, personal connections, etc. But everything that’s worth buying brings a corresponding unique ability.

Which, naturally, made them impossible to buy. I even wanted to get the rest of the benefits apart from the unique ability, but no luck – all those products were blocked.

As a result, even if I wanted to splurge, all I could do was read the readers’ comments and buy a few minor backgrounds.

So I still had a lot of points left. Adding up the haul this time, the total might be close to a million.

The only comfort was that some new products were now being launched.

‘Or maybe… I’m lucky to have a pile of points ready to be spent?’

Of course, I’d have to look at the products before I could judge.

Next, the ‘character level’, about which some information had been apparently ‘unlocked’.

Even a cursory glance was enough to arouse my interest.

‘Where is it… oh, this one?’

When I looked it up, a new tab called ‘level’ was now present in a corner of the holographic window.

I immediately gave it a press.

[Character Level]

• Current rating: Main cast
• Current value: 1023
• Experience: 72%
• Value to reach the next level: ?
• Preceding plot can be ignored: 2 times

“… Oh ho.”

The information was very easy to understand.

Because there was only one thing to note.

Rating and value didn’t mean much. There was no data to compare them to, and no information on how they were reflected in the actual stats.

So only one piece of information was important.

• Preceding plot can be ignored.

This was a very significant item.

To interpret this a little differently, it meant that my character’s class had risen to the level where it was possible to resist the author’s will.

In fact, that had been my guess for a while. I’d already had an experience where I’d taken a penalty in exchange for violating the preceding plot.

Although I’d been forced to silence at that time, the actual penalty was a reduction in ‘class’.

Which in turn meant that ‘you can bear the penalty if you’re strong enough’, in my view.

And the new information confirmed this.

And not just that –

Something more could now be reasonably inferred.

The higher your level, the more directly you can resist the author’s intentions and try to create a story ‘about you’.

“Hmmm…”

It was indeed good news. Perhaps the news I’d been waiting for the most.

But I didn’t start cheering immediately, because there were still a few things bothering me.

It was about the ‘degree of separation’ between this ‘character system’ and the ‘author’ when it came to my treatment.

The author and the system – just how closely related were they?

This was a topic I’d been wondering about for a long time. At first glance, there should’ve been no difference between the two, but strangely, there were some points where the intentions of the two sides clashed slightly.

The biggest mark of that was the product called ‘deletion grace right’.

Even when the author wanted to delete my character, the system could prevent it.

Of course, this could be interpreted as a kind of a self-made restriction on the author’s part to prevent himself from taking any impulsive actions, since he himself knew just how irascible was his personality. This way we could reconcile the author’s intention with the system.

But the ‘gap’ between them went beyond that. Now I was looking at a device that allowed a character to break free from the author’s planned development.

Which author would grant such a right to his characters? Not unless he’s completely cracked.

So, my thoughts kept returning to the same question.

Could the two sides be completely separate?

If the system was different from the author, then who made this system and for what purpose?

Did the author even know about the system’s existence?

If the author wasn’t the one to raise the prices of the products, then what did it all mean?

Or was the system just an auxiliary device that the author himself had made so that he wouldn’t go off track?

After a while,

“… Okay, let’s forget it for now. What good does it do me, anyway^[1]?”

I shook my head to shake off my thoughts.

It was all a waste of time. Had I been that clever, I wouldn’t be floundering here in this manga world.

There was only one thing that I had to think about when it came to ‘level’.

How to plan my rebellion a bit more comprehensively, to have a better chance of success in turning the author’s world upside down.

‘How to become a honest-to-goodness troll… yeah, that’s the aim.’

Next, I decided to check out the new products.

The number of points was the first thing that caught my eye as soon as I opened the store.

[Currently held points: 913,773]

“Um, there’s quite a bit.”

To be honest, I didn’t feel particularly excited, but it was a stupidly high number, so it wasn’t too bad.

And now, if the new products were usable, my hoarding would be vindicated.

“Let’s see…”

◆ Character Setting (New)

◆ Chapter

◆ Special Products (New)

I first skimmed through the character settings.

Roughly speaking, unique abilities and backgrounds had received the largest updates. In particular, there were a lot of new Eastland-related backgrounds, which I thought was a bit absurd. Was the system trying for a garage sale or something?

Of course, I could very well buy them now and use them when the Eastland arc arrived, but –

‘But that’s far in the future.’

I immediately exited the category.

‘I didn’t have any expectations anyway, so this is fine.’

Anyway, next was the real thing.

Special products.

I clicked the tab to open.

“Yeah.”

There were four products that were quite surprising.

[Special Products]

※ Press to check the details of each product

1. Deletion grace right – 50,000p

2. Check the preceding plot – 70,000p

3. Right to veto penalty – 100,000p

4. Right to refuse to appear – 150,000p

5. Leading point of view reservation ticket – 250,000p

Obviously, same as the ‘prices’, the ‘class’ of the products had also risen sharply. It also felt like my character’s importance was finally being recognized.

And just by looking at the product name, I could devise a rough plan for the future.

Take what you need, leave out what you don’t, adjust appropriately.

It certainly felt like I could lead the storyline along the route I desired.

But the problem was,

“… It’s a bit pricey.”

Oddly enough, I seemed to be lacking points.

Hmmm.

I considered snap buying them all anyway, but then shook my head and exited the tab.

There was no urgency right now. Hopefully the prices won’t go up again so soon after release.

And now,

“Hey, what’s the point of being so nervous?”

The long-awaited moment had come.

I went to the chapter category and bought the readers’ comments for the latest.

[Chapter 24# The Final Gate of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire – Reader Comments]

Ghost Demon Blade – Squatjaw here making a ‘hard’ decision, if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)^[2]

June – Can’t you just be loyal to yourself?

Hanubaram – It’s a draw!

Monotype – Yeah~ Never let her go hahahaha

Kim Tae-hoon – Squatjaw, I believed in you!

ThinkPad – That vow sounds more like an oath of engagement, kek

Outer God – Now this is what you call a shounen manga…

Blue Wetland – Boring…!

Angry Guy – I’ll wait for Leo’s arc, this isn’t much fun lol

Kyaokyao – Fair trade, you get Coocoo, I get you lolol

Jang Moonchungnaga – Leo’s story isn’t, well, as fun to be honest (the author’s crying blood in the corner…)

redwing – Ahh, so Squatjaw’s the deuteragonist^[3] huh

Qenari – Nice!

Oh, great!

This was one of the few aspects of this harsh manga world that soothed my soul.

It felt like I was being compensated for all my hard work.

Although, I was a little concerned that there were quite a few phrases that might provoke the author.

What if the author again became wary of my existence?

‘I feel tired just thinking about the possibility.’

Still, it was an unavoidable outcome. Me being in the spotlight meant somebody else would have to suffer the shade.

As I kept poring over the comments, I found some that stood out.

For example, pointing out the troubles I’d faced.

Glitch – Here, if the princess doesn’t stay in the Skull Empire and joins the adventure team, she could fill in the missing position.

Actually, I’d considered leaving with the princess. If she wasn’t going to become the emperor right away anyway, what could be the harm if she took some time to wander around? Moreover, since she’d awakened, she would surely be of some help instead of being a burden.

But,

‘No. It’s the right choice to end this plotline at the appropriate juncture.’

The princess was a character whose role was clearly defined. She had no substitutes, and her role in the overall plot wasn’t dispensable.

In other words, she was a character who had her own place in the world.

In such a case, it was best to just finish things neatly and quickly. Unless I wanted to take the risk of becoming involved in some kind of weird plot development.

It was a pity, but… I had no choice but to shake off my regrets.

And I had bigger headaches than the princess right now. Some of the comments were a little alarming.

jh7free – No, but what’s Squatjaw’s ability? It doesn’t seem to have any limitations.

akdtm1 – I honestly think it’s too much of a scam. And King, too, of course.

It was time for an explanation. If I delayed it any longer, the readers’ curiosity might explode and turn negative.

In fact, in such cases, the author would sometimes dump some information by borrowing some space on a page.

For example, when ‘Mimic Acrobat’ became a hot topic in the original work.

It was after the character had already been deleted, and there was no way to reveal it in the work, so the author had just openly revealed the details.

That was why I could know the conditions for mimicking an ability.

But now I was in a situation where it was difficult to anticipate the author’s actions. It wasn’t just my relationship with the author that was the problem, it was because even I myself couldn’t provide a good explanation on the spot.

In other words, I had to somehow solve this with my own strength, within the bounds of plausibility, and within the shortest possible time.

So now was the time to bring them into the story –

The goblins.

It’d been fifty days since I’d left Adventium after passing the qualification test.

The originally planned period was up to three months, so I had more of a buffer left than expected.

Going by Chinuavi, if I hurried, I could reach the ‘Goblins’ Den’ in about a week.

“If it’s a week…”

To go and to return. Another week to Nanma Port. Another ten days to reach Westland.

Calculating travel time alone, the total would come to about 80-85 days.

The schedule did feel a little tight, but even so – I had enough time to make a visit.

“I can really go…”

At this point, to be honest, I was dithering a little.

There was no particular reason. Mostly because it was hard to completely convince myself.

There were three reasons I’d originally wanted to visit there.

First, I was mad at the author. So I wanted to lure the goblins in and throw them into Westland.

Second, for the sake of a plan to imitate Karl Zayed’s unique ability, in preparation for my future ‘weakening’.

Third, in order to obtain enough ‘background’ and ‘plausibility’ to explain my character.

But now from what I could see, the first and second reasons had lost a lot of their persuasive power.

Of course, there were still times when I thought that the author was an asshat. But all the effort to bombard him with the goblins seemed unnecessary. Since I had plenty of time, wouldn’t it be better to go straight back to Westland and figure out a more efficient way to fuck him over?

And the ‘weakening’ that I’d been concerned about so far hadn’t happened yet. No, in fact, I’d become stronger. That was why I could finish the quest directly without having to visit the goblins in the middle of the mission. If I’d actually gotten weakened midway, things wouldn’t have turned out so smooth.

In other words, it seems possible to prepare for the chapters step by step like before, without coveting Karl Zayed’s ability.

The problem was now the third reason, which was a bit vague.

There was no way that came to mind right now, other than the goblins.

“Hmmm…”

So, I decided to think about the advantages this choice would confer on me, rather than the necessity of visiting the Goblins’ Den.

First. It was a waste to come all the way to Eastland and not go there.

It was a very convincing reason. It was definitely not an easy place to reach in the normal course of events.

But still, it wasn’t a very significant advantage.

Second. It was a step already taken.

I had to go. It was a promise I’d already made to myself.

Well… although, this wasn’t very significant either.

Third. If I got lucky, there were three things I could get from there.

1. A background to explain myself.
2. A way to mimic the unique abilities of the goblins, including Chinuavi.
3. A way to mimic Karl Zayed’s unique ability.

This was definitely an advantage that made me greedy.

An explanation that guaranteed the plausibility of my character, and even a path to developing my abilities to a higher level.

But the problem was that I might end up empty-handed this time, too. So the risk was great. It was a hit-or-miss situation.

And, in my opinion, the chance of a miss was on the higher side.

“Hmm…”

And finally, the fourth and last advantage.

I’d have a story to tell Haka.

Just as I’d promised.

I scratched my head.

“… Yeah, let’s just go.”

My mind made up, I immediately shouted.

“Adventurers, assemble!”

Soon after,

“… What is it?”

“Is something wrong?”

Cocoa and Chinuavi appeared, rubbing their eyes as if they were still sleepy.

“It’s already past sunrise, and you’re still sleeping? Pack your bags! We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

Chinuavi’s eyes lit up.

“Where to?”

“Where do you think?”

I added with a grin.

“To your home.”

Then,

“Hey…”

The corners of Chinuavi’s lips curved up sharply.

Although, the smile was slightly different from that of a runaway kid who missed home.

“The Goblins’ Den! Good! I’m revved up!”

It seemed that he’d been bored for a while, and Cocoa was also expressing her excitement out loud.

That was then.

“By the way…”

Chinuavi faltered and mumbled.

“Why, what is it?”

“That, well…”

“Just say it.”

“Shouldn’t you say farewell? To her… to the princess.”

“Princess? Aah, her.”

I said carelessly.

“I’ve done that already. Let’s just leave.”

Last night, I’d gone to have a chat in person. Before the emperor could come bother me, I’d taken care of it at my end.

“If you ever send somebody to find me, have them tell me they’re from you. Yeah?”

“… Where are you going, leaving behind the one you swore allegiance to?”

“Ah, cut me slack. We’ve got a lot more to do. See you next time.”

“… When?”

“Alright, well, how about I come find you? When next you’re in danger.”

“… Forget it, do whatever you want.”

At my words, Chinuavi scratched the back of his head.

“Aha… but I didn’t, though? Say farewell?”

“Does it matter? Were you two that friendly?”

“Ah, no. It’s just not polite at all. We’re acquaintances, after all.”

“Me too!”

“Uh-huh, well, it’s not like we’re parting forever. And you too, need to get used to parting. That’s how you become an adult. Hurry up and pack!”

Let’s go quickly, to the Goblins’ Den!

---

A week later. At the main entrance to the Goblins’ Den, the ‘Saboteur’s Lot’.

“N-, no way?”

Yellowweed^[4], the gatekeeper of the Saboteur’s Lot, was feeling quite bewildered because of the ‘something’ in front of him.

A little kid wearing a clown mask was slowly approaching from afar.

And, undoubtedly –

Surprisingly, the kid was human.

Just at that moment, the little kid stopped exactly in front of the doorway that was covered with a goblin silver screen.

Then,

“Hello?”

Came a greeting.

Yellowweed was so startled that he almost screamed.

‘What, you talking to me?’

Fortunately, he was able to suppress the sound thanks to hastily shutting his mouth, but the surprise was still there.

The kid… shouldn’t have been able to see him.

Yellowweed’s eyes opened wide instead of his mouth.

The little kid seemed to tilt her head a little as the silence continued, and then she spoke again.

“Open the door, please.”

“…”

He wondered. What was this kid’s true identity? What was her purpose?

Were all little humans so terrifying in the first place?

Yellowweed couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.

To be honest, for a goblin, ten seconds was already a lot.

“Who are you!”

Then,

“Aha, there you were.”

The little kid replied with a smile.

“The Mysterious Squatjaw Folk Troupe’s^[5] here for you lot.”

Whoa, ‘mysterious’?!

Just hearing the word made his heart flutter.

“So what?”

He tried to pretend being indifferent, but Yellowweed’s ears had already perked up.

“Ah, we were just passing by, and we heard that some goblins live in this area. And that you’re pretty good at fighting and wrestling, and have a lot of other talents, too.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, it’s nothing much, just…”

After a small pause, the little kid added in a subtle tone.

“Would you like to have a match?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 뭔 부귀영화를 누리겠다고 (lit. what kind of riches and honour am I going to enjoy) is a sarcastic way of admitting you’re doing meaningless things that won’t result in any benefit.

[2] 졸라 (jolla) is a slang word expressing emphasis (like ‘fucking’) and the expanded expression 좆나오게 means ‘like you’re getting hard’.

[3] 진주인공 (lit. artificial pearl) is what you call a secondary character who becomes the main protagonist in the latter parts of a work, and the initial protagonist is revealed to be a decoy. No easy translation comes to mind so we’re just slapping in deuteragonist.

[4] Hwanggaechobi, mentioned first in chapter 21. Goblins (dokkaebi) in this story often have names ending with -bi/-vi, like Chinuavi.

[5] 풍물패 (lit. folk troupe). See Wikipedia.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 76

The Explosive Conclusion

This was a rather fortuitous turn of events.

That was my honest opinion.

The princess had already grabbed all the limelight throughout this chapter. Summoning a black horse from the sky, changing her costume, and even blowing away a giant in one shot.

And me? Although I was the leading point of view of this chapter, and a fan favourite character to boot, there was no way my trick with the ghosts would stay etched in the readers’ memory.

That was a pretty terrible situation for me, all told.

This was an extended chapter, which started without giving me the rewards from the previous one. At this rate, what’d happen if I lost all the attention from the readers, and the chapter ended?

Yeah.

Just imagining it gave me the shivers.

‘Indeed, it might be better to just have one big match to finish things off.’

Of course, it was a dangerous gamble. The princess was strong, sure, but the bigger risk was the plot forcefully trampling on me.

What if I lost in a contest of pure ability?

Whether the princess successfully became the emperor was not my problem, my problem was that all the things I’d done here in Eastland would essentially lose their meaning. And a character has no future once he disappoints the readers.

To be honest, there was a biting chill running down my spine right now.

But even so,

‘Sorry, but you aren’t at that level.’

I wasn’t without confidence. Just how long and how far had I been building myself up?

The story would’ve definitely been different if she’d awakened during the first power balance adjustment period, that is, the ‘period of upheaval’, instead of now.

Then I would’ve lost. Unconditionally. Without any suspense.

For a simple reason. At that time, not only the new characters coming on stage would be powerful, but the strength of the existing characters would also be downgraded to a certain extent.

This was the usual way to adjust the power balance in shounen manga. Since it’s not easy to keep creating stronger and stronger characters, you keep making slight adjustments to the existing characters and make them a bit weaker.

Of course, you never explicitly spell this out on paper or in story. Because the readers would notice and complain about plausibility.

Instead, you reveal it indirectly by appropriately directing the scenes. For example, during the Ramirez Scramble in the original, Kiriko couldn’t even lift a rock the size of an elephant properly.

Well, anyway, this fight here and now was definitely worth the effort.

The princess was a munchkin, sure, but honestly, I wasn’t any different in that aspect.

“Whoo…”

While I was just calmly watching the princess stalk towards me –

– Hey!

– Hey! Squatjaw!

“Huh?”

A voice suddenly tickled my ears.

It was Bayar Khan.

– What should I do?

‘Huh? What do you mean?’

– No, what should I do here? Should I go to that kid? Or stay here with you?

‘… Eh?’

– How does it look like to you?

He seemed to be genuinely asking.

‘No, what do you…’

– I was originally going to stick to the side I wanted to prop up a little bit, you know? But to be honest, I have no idea who’s the stronger one right now. This is the first time this has happened to me. Usually, for me, it just takes one look…

‘Oh, so what are you going to do once you stick to somebody?’

– You even have to ask? I’ll add some strength!

‘… Haah.’

This crazy asshole…

‘Fine, just go over there. Why are you even suddenly sticking to me?’

– You sure?

‘What, are you afraid I’m going to lose? This time, the two of you should get together and properly taste my strength.’

Bayar Khan chuckled. He apparently thought that I was boasting.

– Remember you chose this, kid. Don’t come crying to me later.

‘Oh, and! When you go to the princess, take physical shape one more time, just like the tug-of-war. Got it?’

– Why that again?

‘Now we have such a big audience watching. It’d be a grand sight, wouldn’t it?’

– Hey, you bastard… is that really what you should be worried about?

I shrugged.

Even if a fight was imminent, what had to be taken care of, had to be taken care of.

Of course, now, even if I didn’t arrange this, it didn’t look like the princess would be treated any worse.

– Alright, then. I’m going. Good luck.

Bayar Khan quickly left my side.

And then,

‘… Looks like they’ve met up.’

The princess looked at me and gave me a curious grin. Bayar Khan was probably tattling about me. That cheeky bastard told me to fight 2vs1, let’s give it a shot and show him! Something like that.

It was kind of a strange feeling.

Coocoo was on the other side, and so was Bayar Khan.

No, even fighting the princess was quite strange.

Weren’t we colleagues just a few minutes ago?

‘Ah, no. She did say we weren’t teammates anymore.’

I’d thought the princess might feel the same way as me. I was probably a little squeamish.

‘But, well, it’s not like I’m going to break down from just this.’

I hurriedly brushed away my useless emotions.

For now, I had to focus on the battle.

Then,

“Are you ready?”

The princess spoke in a voice that was calmer than ever, as if she also had sorted out all her emotions.

“Be careful. If you don’t want to die in one blow.”

I couldn’t help but snort.

“Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous.”

This, was a phenomenon common to characters who experienced power-ups like awakening or evolution.

Their original personality disappears, and they suddenly become the cool and arrogant type.

It’s just an awakening, so why would a character change so fundamentally? But with such a sudden infusion of self-confidence into their veins, they can come up with such a pretentious statement quite naturally.

Time to impart some much-needed education.

“King.”

I quickly recalled the ‘king’ I had summoned last time.

Then, when the gigantic squat-jawed ghost appeared –

“I-, it’s a ghost! A squat-jawed ghost!”

“It’s the ghost that fought with the general earlier!”

“Hey, this guy is a monster, too!”

The soldiers, who’d been silent till now, dissolved into shouts and cries in an instant.

Alright. This was a good atmosphere.

“Ummm… that ugly giant… from earlier?”

As soon as King came out, he looked around, searching for Mong.

“That guy’s gone, we’re switching to a new opponent.”

“… Who?”

“That one ahead.”

I pointed to the princess in front of me.

King glanced at her and tilted his head.

“… Tiny.”

“She doesn’t have much going for her size, true. But she might be as strong as you.”

Then,

“No one… stronger… than King!”

King growled, stomping his feet.

“…”

He was good at everything, but only his poor intelligence was a little disappointing.

“Alright, don’t even think about playing around this time. You have to do your best.”

“King… King never holds back… King! King!”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

I purposefully didn’t summon any ghosts other than King. Because it was clear that they’d all get blown to bits without accomplishing anything.

Yan’s ghosts had egos and memories. Because they could accumulate ‘experience’, it was possible for them to ‘grow’, too.

But that also meant that destruction carried an inherent risk for them. It took a lot of time and effort to grow a new ghost if one got annihilated.

So, when confronted with such a strong enemy, I couldn’t summon them recklessly.

And to be frank, Yan’s unique ability wasn’t very appropriate to deal with a ‘body-enhancing costume type’ like the princess. It wasn’t an ability specialized for adversaries in the first place, and its effectiveness was very low for one-on-one battles.

In fact, if I hadn’t used this ability before and couldn’t switch tracks without looking like a coward, I would’ve chosen another ability instead. But I had no other option.

But nevertheless,

“King, feel free to show off a little bit. Just how strong you are. How about going twice as hard as you did against the giant last time?”

“Go…od!”

I was confident.

Not because of some specific reason or because I had some kind of plan. There was nothing like that. Because King was strong enough to ignore such petty things as reason and rationality.

At that moment,

Booooom–.

King’s fist fell on the princess like lightning from on high.

Bang-!

As if a meteorite had fallen from the heavens, a huge pit was carved into the earth where the princess had just been standing.

“Ugh… missed! Running… away?!”

The king roared in anger.

Although the princess managed to dodge King’s fist, she didn’t counterattack immediately.

Instead, she was now looking at King with her eyes wide open, as if quite surprised by that destructive power.

‘… Unfortunate.’

It would’ve been better if she’d taken a blow while still careless.

In fact, the princess had tried to stand her ground facing King’s attack. She hadn’t even raised her guard, only trying to block that giant fist with a hand. Same as most ‘newborn characters’, she was overconfident in her own strength.

But her horse had felt threatened and escaped without instruction. He’d probably instinctively understood that King’s attack wasn’t that easy to withstand.

‘I never did like that bastard.’

By now I was convinced, that that cheeky horse had also been arranged by the author. A normal horse couldn’t have withstood the princess activating her unique ability so easily. Really, he was much too strong for a horse randomly bought from a street market…

Then,

“… That’s no ordinary ghost, is it?”

The princess spoke with a slight hint of nervousness.

“Ah, yeah. Can’t you tell just from his size? To be frank, he’s in a completely different league from that old ghost standing next to you.”

The princess smiled, hearing that.

“Haha, are you kidding me?”

“It’s true. Tell him not to laugh.”

Actually, I was being sincere. Even if Bayar Khan came back alive, he wouldn’t be able to handle even one arm of King, in my opinion.

In fact, there was a reason why King’s intelligence was so low.

Simple. Because of ‘balance’.

To share space with that inevitable, inexorable, transcendent might, intelligence had to take a back seat.

The stats of the ghosts created by [Dance with Ghost Killer] were basically based on the physical ability of the owner. If the power of an ordinary ghost was comparable to that of the master, a ‘captain’ was about five times stronger. And when two captains merged to create a ‘king’, the power –

“Even if twenty of me rushed at King at the same time, they won’t be able to win. In fact, I don’t even know the true power of this guy.”

– The power, rose multiplicatively, meaning five squared.

The princess’ complexion stiffened even further at my words. She apparently realized that I wasn’t lying in the least.

“… I have to admit it. I was underestimating you.”

Soon, the princess pulled out her great blade from behind her back, and fixed the reins in place.

“Be careful, because from now on, I’ll get serious.”

It was the same posture she’d had when hitting Mong.

‘Another shockwave?’

By now, I was done analyzing the princess’s unique ability.

Her outfit had three main effects –

1. Raising her overall physical ability.

2. Extra defence from the armour.

3. Shockwave.

If the first and second effects were common for ‘costume’ types, the third was unique to the princess.

And I was more or less familiar with this ‘shockwave’, for a simple reason. Because this was the most common ability in the mid-to-late half part of Adventure King.

Shockwave was a kind of ‘representative of a unique ability with no individuality’, and although it didn’t have much importance, it was an ability that ‘characters who definitely can’t be called weak’ usually had.

It was easy to guess why the princess had such a ‘common ability’. Because she was originally a character whose unique ability didn’t need to be set in detail. Compared to her background, her unique ability wasn’t that important.

In a way, it was natural. Because I hadn’t been there in the original, and Eastland hadn’t even appeared before the readers at this point. Naturally, the princess’ unique abilities also didn’t appear.

Of course, if he’d known in advance that the situation would turn out like this, the author would’ve put in a lot more effort into setting it, but…

Anyway, the fact that the princess used ‘shockwave’ was quite fortuitous for me.

Because unlike other esoteric abilities, powers ‘set as strong’ like shockwave didn’t need specific countermeasures. Even a simple punch could offset it.

But, of course,

“King, don’t let your guard down.”

“Weak… can’t you… see?”

“Listen. Half your power… no, you might have to use about seventy percent.”

That is, if the opponent could stand it.

Then,

“Now try and stop me!”

The princess began to charge.

The wide distance between us quickly narrowed.

When I saw the ball of energy that had started to condense at the tip of the princess’ blade, I couldn’t help but feel stunned.

‘… Huh? She might be stronger than I thought?’

Moreover, as the distance shortened, the pressure prickling on my skin became stronger and stronger.

Was this how it felt to look a rushing subway train in the eye?

“K-, King! Not seventy, use ninety percent!”

Soon,

Bang-!

A huge explosion bloomed at the point of contact.

Even though I’d taken refuge behind King, I could feel a strong shock.

But,

“Weak… weak… too weak! I… am King!”

King was great.

He was so exuberant that I was the one feeling embarrassed.

“Seventy percent… fine… hmph!”

I couldn’t help but agree as I watched King raise his arms in a victor’s pose.

“Huh… isn’t he great?”

I’d been underestimating him all this time, apparently.

In fact, King hadn’t been very eye-catching in the original. Apart from drawing some attention when he’d first appeared.

The reason was simple, because Yan himself was neither an adversary nor a ‘strong man’. Moreover, from a certain point onwards, he’d focused on his role as a guide, so he hadn’t even used King in many situations.

As a result, he’d never fully realized the power King held.

As I was coming to understand, King was truly a cheat entity.

His ability was fixed in ‘proportion’ based on the owner’s body.

It was natural that the stronger the summoner, the stronger the summoned being or object would be, but beyond a certain point, that got adjusted for the sake of balance.

However, it was different for guys with fixed formulae like this. Although I, who was the base reference value, might get adjusted for the sake of power balance at any time, the formula itself wouldn’t change.

And I was different from Yan.

I was an existence whose power and ability was directly tied to my ‘character rank’ (or ‘class’), and as long as my ‘rank’ rose, my physical ability would also increase endlessly.

This meant my ‘king’ could also become infinitely stronger. And his strength would be twenty-five times my own.

Along with that realization came a feeling that the huge ghost somehow looked adorable.

That was then.

“Not yet.”

The princess who’d taken up her great sword attacked again.

The condensed sphere of energy at the tip of her blade was larger than before.

Then,

Bang-!

Bang-!

Bang bang!!!

Explosions began ringing out one after another.

It was truly a terrifying attack. Trenches were furrowed all over the battlefield in the aftermath, making even a single spot of flat land difficult to find.

But nevertheless,

“You… too weak!”

King wasn’t harmed.

Or rather, instead of being completely untouched, he didn’t show any sign of a wound.

Then,

“Haaaaagh!”

As if the princess couldn’t stand it any longer, she roared with anger.

The ghostly figure of Bayar Khan came into existence behind her.

“Didn’t you say you wanted us fight together? So this isn’t cowardly.”

He’d finally decided to mobilize his power, it seemed.

And Bayar Khan seemed to have fulfilled my request and conveyed my earlier words to her.

Therefore,

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been waiting. I told you, come at me together from the beginning.”

I also took action.

Of course, I didn’t do anything great. I just came out to the front instead of staying behind King. To set the scene properly, giving the two sides a matching feel.

Then, the conflict resumed again.

Bang-!

---

How long had it been?

“Why don’t you try some more?”

I looked at the princess, who was breathing heavily.

However, she didn’t answer, only gasping for breath.

In the end, they didn’t manage to completely break through King’s defence.

In fact, if the princess had tried something else other than recklessly trying to attack him head on, the result might’ve been different. The king was strong, but he didn’t have any tactical or strategic acumen to speak of.

The princess’ attacks were fierce, but just as honest as her opposite party. It was a common mistake for ‘newborn characters’ who were drunk on their own power.

“Hahhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Are you knackered out already? Can’t even attack?”

“…”

In fact, from some point on in the fight, King had stopped attacking the princess first. He’d only counterattacked.

I’d deliberately ordered him to do so, to show the readers his ‘superiority’. That he was holding back quite a bit.

Of course, this didn’t mean that King was completely unharmed.

He had some holes here and there, his speech was a little slower than before, and his overall size had shrunk a jot.

But he was still much better off than the princess. She really looked like it was hard for her to even stand.

And precisely this situation,

‘Isn’t this fine?’

It was the best scenario I could think of.

Now that I’d proven my strength and the princess hadn’t yet been defeated, I could give up on the match.

Now was the right time.

“At this point, I can say you passed.”

I brought out the words I’d prepared earlier.

“… What?”

“I think you’ll be fine from here on out. You’ve grown up well.”

“…?”

“My test ends with this. My purpose from the beginning was not to pass the Warrior’s Path, but to unleash your ability. Bayar Khan asked me, huhu.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“You’ve grown stronger, Princess Thermis. Strong to stand against me. I’ll stop here. I’ll be cheering you on in the future, so let me resign from this battle…”

That was then.

“What are you talking about? Bayar Khan never said anything like that.”

“… Eh?”

“Are you scared? Please don’t run away.”

“…”

What a variable!

“No, that’s not it…”

“Let’s just do it one more time. I’ve rested enough, I think? If this doesn’t work, I’ll give up.”

Then she slowly got up and raised her sword.

“No, wait… wait a minute.”

“Yeah, you really are strong. I admit it. Still, I’ll just have to try.”

…

Everything’s ruined.

For those newly awakened, one cliché always applied unconditionally. When they lost all their strength, they’d pass out.

If the princess fainted, there’d be no way out.

I’d win right away.

It was a disaster!

‘No, wait, wait, wait. Is this really alright?’

As I watched the princess prepare for a final blow, I fell into utter confusion.

If this was her last ultimate blow, the plot might really develop towards a mutual KO.

But when I thought about it, that didn’t mean I was going to lose. ‘King’ might be defeated by her final blow, but I’d still be standing. It was unlikely that the author would suddenly bestow the princess with power beyond plausibility.

Then I would win.

Until recently, I’d honestly thought that the author might reverse the original development. Binding me, not the princess, to the Skull Empire.

But watching her awaken, I’d changed my mind. I thought the storyline would get back on track.

The reason was simple. Because the princess had taken all the spotlight so far through her beautiful awakening and flashy show of strength.

Wouldn’t it be strange to create such a character and then throw it away?

If I defeated the princess here, her character would become meaningless. A character designed as the final winner, defeated at its first appearance?

And if that happened, all the future developments planned in advance would also become useless.

It was confusing.

Was this really alright?

Would she really lose here like this?

Really?

“Let’s go…!”

“Ugh! Who cares! King, a hundred percent! Let’s just throw some hands and see what happens!”

That was then.

– Wait a moment! Wait a moment!!

A shout sounded from somewhere like a miracle.

A voice echoed in the air as if coming through a megaphone.

– Can I stop you two for a second?

Surprisingly, the one speaking – was Khan.

And Khan was the only person on this battlefield who could stop the princess from acting.

“…”

After I confirmed that the princess’ ball of energy had stopped growing, I also took a step back.

“I think it’s Khan? Let’s see what he wants first.”

“…”

The princess, who’d been lost in thought for a moment, also lowered her sword, although she looked unwilling, like she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Soon after,

– Did you stop? Oh, did you both stop? I’m glad. I was wondering what to do if I was late.

Khan’s playful voice rang out again.

– Sorry for interrupting. It’s no big deal, it’s just… I had a meeting with the ministers a while ago, you know? This is the first time in the history of the Warrior’s Path that we’ve seen two so powerful contestants… so how about having both camps win? From the empire’s point of view, to be honest, it’s not very pleasant to win one and lose the other. How about you, my people? I think the rules were broken from the point the general was included, anyway. Since this is how things are… shall we pass the both of them?

Then,

“Oooooh!”

“Great idea!”

“Right!”

The cheers of the people could be heard from far away.

– So how about it, you two?

“…”

That’s right.

I’d been thinking this whole time, that something was odd. Two incompatible developments seemed to be progressing at the same time.

‘… He’s got a good head on his shoulders.’

The main plot thread with the princess becoming the emperor would continue, while also tying me down as a bonus.

A well-thought-out scheme, all in all.

I didn’t know if this was the emperor’s own idea or the author’s intention shining through.

And since I’d already mentioned surrendering, I couldn’t possibly refuse.

After the princess and I both agreed, the rest was easy.

At Khan’s command, the test was immediately announced to be over, and for the first time in history, two camps were registered as victors.

In addition, Khan proceeded with the pledging ceremony on the spot. A ritual in which those who passed through the Warrior’s Path decided who they would be loyal to.

For some reason, he didn’t want to delay even a single second.

The first was the princess.

As if she had already thought it through, she spoke immediately.

“I will serve the empire itself, not anybody specific within the empire!”

It might’ve sounded confusing, but no one objected. Rather, everyone nodded, probably because this was exactly the same declaration that Bayar Khan had made in the past.

As everyone had seen with their own eyes, she was the one blessed with Bayar Khan’s protection.

Next was my turn.

In fact, this ‘oath of allegiance’ was what I had to avoid the most. This was the basis of the fetters that would lock me here.

‘Well, it’s already too late for that, but…’

However, fortunately, I’d already devised a plan for this, just in case.

Of course, it wasn’t my best option.

But depending on you looked at it, it might not be all that bad.

“The one I will be loyal to is the woman next to me. A warrior like me, an indomitable woman who has risen to this position through many hardships and life and death. And… who will lead the bright future of the Skull Empire.”

Then, I winked at the princess who was looking at me in shock.

“I’ve done all I could, so now it’s time for me to go.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 75

The Princess Awakens

A huge black horse whose gait split the heavens in two, descending to earth.

And the one who rode it dyeing the entire earth with his own colour, like the sun itself.

Such was the scene in the painting called the [Birth of the Conqueror], that hung alongside another portrait named [Umir Khan] in the hallway of the imperial mansion.

And it was also the scene dreamt by a neighbouring country’s queen, two months after she found out she was pregnant.

---

Thermis saw the light of the world for the first time exactly eight months after her mother had ‘a bit of an ominous dream about an enemy nation’.

Thermis showed off her ‘unusual strength’ right from her birth, but it was only when she was two years old that it became known to the others in the court.

The reason was simple, because everyone around her did their best to hide her power.

The queen thought that Thermis’ power was somewhat ominous, just like that nightmare she’s had, and she didn’t think a princess of a country needed something like that.

However, after the two-year-old Thermis ‘accidentally’ broke her nanny’s wrist, her strength was revealed to the world, as the nanny confessed in tears that she couldn’t deal with that girl anymore.

---

Thermis was completely aware that to break or destroy somebody other than herself was an immoral act, however she was still barred from any contact with other children her age until she was able to control her own strength to some extent.

Because her existence itself would be too dangerous for them.

Thermis had initially chafed under the restriction, but when she first met her peers at the age of six, she soon realized it wasn’t a bad thing. Rather, it wasn’t much fun for her to be with her peers.

Because those cowardly and feeble bastards only saw her as a dangerous monster.

And it was actually true.

To them, she was always going to be a dangerous being. It was inevitable.

So, exactly one year after that, Thermis went to the palace stables on her own two feet.

---

For Thermis, spending time with the horses was very enjoyable.

That place always made her feel at ease, even when she had to spend the whole day in those messy and stinky stalls. It felt like she was finally making friends.

She wondered why she felt more comfortable talking to horses rather than humans, and one day she suddenly heard the answer from an old ghost called ‘Bayar Khan’ who resided in her.

– It’s simple. Because the horses aren’t afraid of you.

That was indeed why.

Most humans feared such strength that was beyond rationality and reason, and few could stand against it, therefore they resorted to pushing it away and denying its existence.

And each time she saw such a flinch or a grimace, Thermis felt a deep-seated rage threatening to burst out. If you keep treating somebody like a monster without cause, even a perfectly nice person may end up becoming twisted.

It was around that time that she became interested in the ‘Warrior’s Path’ of the Skull Empire, and the position of a general.

They sounded glamourous, sure, but her anger against the world also played a part.

How could she not be tempted by the lure that her power might become a beacon for others to follow, instead of being shunned?

At least, she didn’t want to be treated like a monster anymore.

Also, since childhood, she’d heard many times that she should’ve been born in the imperial family of the Skull Empire, and even that ghost named Bayar Khan used to be a fairly famous emperor from there. Naturally, she was interested.

---

During the qualifying round of the Warrior’s Path, watching the spectators cheer as she lifted a boulder over her head, Thermis had felt a strange sense of ‘security’.

Kind of like… like when she’d been seven years old, when she’d trotted out to the palace stable as if she’d been possessed. Like she’d finally found her place in the world. Like pieces of a puzzle clicking into place.

But the odd part was that, she hadn’t struggled very hard to arrive here.

What would it be like to become a general of the Skull Empire? She’d indeed had such an idea, but it hadn’t been compelling enough to make her apply right away.

Besides, wasn’t it all just a coincidence, that she’d come to this place? If the first prince of the Skull Empire hadn’t proposed to her, and if she hadn’t run away, she wouldn’t have found this place so quickly.

The ‘Warrior’s Path’ hadn’t even featured in her thoughts, at first. That was why she’d ran away to Westland. And if she hadn’t met Squatjaw afterwards, even if she remembered it, she wouldn’t have dared to come.

Was it from that moment? She was vaguely starting to feel it.

That maybe… maybe all of this had been decided from the beginning.

Maybe everything since her birth, everything she’d been through growing up, everything about her life – had actually been predestined in the wheel of ‘fate’.

“H-, a horse!”

“The sky split!”

“That black horse is coming down!”

And that vague guess,

“Aah…”

Now, as he saw a huge black horse cutting open the sky and running towards her, she became convinced.

She – had been born, to meet him, today, at this moment.

And she was here to call him by his name.

Thermis spread her arms towards the black horse that was descending as if to swallow the earth.

Then, dredged up from some corner of her soul, as if she knew it from a half-forgotten dream, she quietly muttered a name.

… Umir!

---

“… Wow.”

I watched the princess ‘transform’.

In the total sixty volumes of Adventure King, the scene where a character awakened their unique ability for the first time was actually quire uncommon. Mostly they appeared with their abilities fully unlocked.

In other words, the phenomenon unfolding right before my eyes was a rare sight that I’d never even seen before.

The black horse fell from the sky and swallowed the princess.

No, to be more precise, the princess’ body absorbed the black horse.

Then the light from her body covered the entire battlefield, and it was so bright that no matter how much I tried to open my eyes, I couldn’t see anything.

And then,

“Oh. Ooooh.”

“… Haaah.”

“Oh, it’s beautiful…”

The princess was revealed with a completely new appearance.

She wore dazzlingly shining armour – very similar to that of the Imperial Army, but with a touch of a more modern style. At her back she carried a great black blade, as tall as herself.

One peculiar part was that even her horse was covered in armour.

Presumably, the range of her ability also included her mount.

At first glance, the unique ability of the princess was some kind of ‘instant outfit change’.

This wasn’t an official name or anything, only a term used within the fan community. Literally, it meant a new costume was created when an ability was activated. Like many popular henshin superheroes, for example the ‘Power Rangers’.

“Outfit change…”

In fact, I thought it was a bit strange, because her unique ability was a completely different type from what I’d imagined.

Until that light had faded, I’d believed that the princess had awakened to an ability related to the great black horse that’d come down from the sky – like summoning it as a helper, or even transforming into it (ah, no, that might be a little out of bounds), or something.

But somehow, it turned to be as a completely different type of ability.

An ‘instant outfit change’ type ability can have various characteristics, but the base is raising the user’s attack power and defence. Then you sprinkle in some unique effects, and so on.

Frankly, I couldn’t understand the link between the descent of the black horse and the princess’ changing into armour. What was the point of such a ‘transformation sequence’?

‘So the black horse… was transformed into armour?’

Although the effect itself was gorgeous –

“It’s odd…”

That was then.

– What’s odd?

A voice came out of nowhere.

“Huh?”

– Didn’t you just say it’s odd?

“No, who… Bayar Khan?”

Not sure when the hell he did it, but he’d sneaked in and attached himself to me.

– See, everybody’s stunned.

“Oh, it looks impressive, that’s for sure. Real flashy.”

I was being sincere, here. The princess wearing the shining armour looked pretty cool.

– Flashy, is it… You really don’t understand anything.

“Eh? What do you mean?”

– Unlike you who takes everything lightly, the warriors of the Skull Empire never lose focus on the battlefield.

“… Eh?”

From that perspective, nobody on the battlefield was still fighting. They all looked lost, staring at the princess.

“It doesn’t look like that though?”

– That’s how shocking the sight is.

Shocking? It sounded different from simply eliciting surprise.

– Do you know?

“Huh?”

– Umir Khan’s statue in Barantor, the imperial capital, was made by himself. Hammer in his hand, he made it completely from head to toe.

“Why bring that up here?”

– Have you ever seen it?

It was a rather absurd question.

“I’m not blind, am I? How could I miss something that big?”

– Idiot. I mean, have you ever seen it up close?

Never.

As I shook my head, Bayar Khan added with a chuckle in a knowing tone.

– I have. I’ve even checked the insides of its pants. But nothing was hanging from there.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

– Nothing dangling. You get me?

“…?”

–  Idiot. It means Umir Khan might’ve been a woman.

Crazy. What nonsense was this old man spouting now?

“Really?”

– The records about Umir Khan are all from after the founding of the Skull Empire. Before that, at best, there were only stories that’d been passed down orally. And one of them is about the horse that came down from the sky.

“A horse that came down from the sky?”

– You still don’t understand?

In that instant,

“Ah…!”

I exclaimed unconsciously.

Ah, was that it?

“So… are you saying that everyone is stunned because they think the princess is the reincarnation of Umir Khan?”

– Exactly. I thought that’s why you were like that too, at first.

It was an amazing story.

‘I was wondering why a black horse suddenly came down from the sky.’

It was only now that I was able to clearly understand the cause and effect of it all.

The reason why the princess awakened here, why the black horse appeared during her awakening, and no, why the princess wanted to walk the Warrior’s Path in the first place.

There were no coincidences in this world. The reason everything fit so snugly, was because the author had set it that way.

To be honest, I’d never quite understood how the princess of a neighbouring country could even become the ruler of the empire, but from the looks of it the setting for this had been arranged well in advance.

From Bayar Khan, to Umir Khan.

The emergence of a new hero, carrying the legacy of the two previous emperors who had been symbols of the empire.

“Great… it’s a great scene.”

– Of course, she’s not exactly the same as Umir Khan. The shape of the armour is slightly different, and her weapon, too. Perhaps those people would come to their senses once they notice that.

It was prophetic.

All over the place, voices were beginning to ring out.

“I guess the [costume]’s a bit lacking^[1].”

– Huh? [Cos]… what?

“Umir Khan also had a mascot, don’t they say?”

To be honest, I’d prepared for this performance, but I never knew such an optimal timing would be arranged for me.

I cleared my throat and called out.

“Coocoo!”

Soon,

A beautiful white hawk flew from afar at the speed of lightning.

“Hey, look over there! That! That’s a white hawk!”

“Wait, a black horse and a white eagle!”

“The symbols of Umir Khan!”

“Well, then, that woman!”

Maybe Coocoo had been originally set to accompany the princess, too. Even if I hadn’t been there, the princess would’ve gotten off at Nanma Port, and she would’ve had to ride a horse to get to the capital, so she would’ve stopped by the horse market… even if she didn’t recognize him as a divine beast, Coocoo was white and cute, so she might’ve taken him with her.

I scratched my head.

‘Is it okay to hand Coocoo over…?’

Hmmm.

I immediately shook my head.

‘Well, that’s not something I need to worry about right now.’

Soon after,

Whiiiiish–.

Coocoo was perched atop the princess’ arm in a very elegant posture.

It was a beautiful sight, as if I was looking at a painting.

“Coocoo… is that your original form?”

The princess greeted him with a smile.

And that bastard –

“Hey there, pretty woman. Did anybody tell you, you’ve gotten even hotter?”

I groaned and shook my head.

Ugh, I could’ve done without seeing that.

“Somehow, it feels like he’s found his true self.”

Then, princess’ eyes that were shining like the sunlight, looked around.

Majestic and magnificent.

Then,

“Wh-, what are you all doing!”

“Calm down!”

“It’s just an enemy! It’s just an opponent you have to defeat!”

Mong’s subordinates came to their senses and began to get back into formation.

Although the princess had awakened her unique ability, the overall situation hadn’t changed much.

The low-ranked fighters under the princess, only less than half of whom were left, were confronting Mong’s elites who were ten times their number.

Furthermore,

“I-, it’s Sir Mong!”

“Sir Mong has arrived!”

A giant had arrived at the battlefield.

As soon as he came, he searched for me, but the sight of the transformed princess caught his gaze in the next moment.

I quietly took a step back, and my eyes lit up.

How much power would the newly awakened princess have?

That was then.

Neigh–.

The horse the princess was riding, began to slowly walk forward.

It looked so dignified that the warriors in front unconsciously retreated and gave way.

Soon, the princess stopped in front of the enemy soldiers.

Mong’s soldiers flinched, but didn’t back down. Instead, they held their swords high. Having Mong behind them seemed to have instilled some confidence.

“The enemy peak master is right in front of you!”

“You just need to take that woman down!”

“Do not panic!”

Then, the princess who was indifferently looking down at it all, murmured.

“Go away.”

And at that moment,

Thoom–.

The air shook, rippling into a wide wave.

The wave that erupted from the princess swept through the entire battlefield.

…

The enemy soldiers who were blocking the princess’ front, disappeared.

One blow, and hundreds of soldiers literally flew away.

I couldn’t help but be amazed.

‘… What, what is that?’

It was a shocking sight. The air wave that pressed down on my skin was strong beyond imagination.

Unconsciously, I gaped in amazement. The princess’ power was far beyond my expectations.

She was this strong? Just how?

I was dumbfounded.

This… was a level where even I couldn’t guarantee my victory.

Then,

‘Wait, maybe…’

There was one thought flashing through my mind.

Could she be… a new character?

“Ah ha!”

I tapped my forehead.

I’d been completely mistaken, considering the princess an existing character created early on.

Wrong. In Adventure King, the essence of a character is its unique ability.

In other words, now was the moment when the princess’ character was born anew, after awakening her unique ability. The character who would later be called Arte Khan.

In other words, this woman was the newest character in the world right now.

At that moment, I understood how her power made sense. Most new characters appearing in Adventure King start off at the top of the food chain, then the power balance is adjusted after a certain period of time.

My mouth was hanging wide open.

“… This is crazy.”

Meanwhile, the princess continued to move forward with an indifferent expression.

In front of her was the giant, Mong.

Mong was no longer searching for me.

He also seemed to have figured it out. That he might be facing a tough opponent this time.

Unlike when he’d been dealing with me, Mong didn’t wait around.

He started to roar.

“Aaaaahhhhhhh!”

Then, as his body glowed, blood began to flow from his eyes.

It seemed that he was about to transform into the ‘Bloody Giant’.

And then,

“Grrrrrrr…”

The giant, white eyes flashing, began glaring at the princess.

The sense of oppression that emanated from him was truly terrifying. If I had to pick out people could stand up to him right now, I’d have trouble coming up with a list.

But,

“O old Sword of the Empire who hath not been freed from the shackles of blood… I shall give thee rest.”

The princess who calmly raised her sword, felt even more brutal.

The giant and the princess, who had stared at each other for a while, clashed for an imstant.

Bang!

As a strong shockwave spread, everything around them was caught up in that explosion.

Rocks shattered, warriors flew away, and the earth was overturned.

And then,

“Look over there!”

As the dust that covered the battlefield slowly subsided, the result of the clash was slowly revealed.

The fight was already over.

The Bloody Giant couldn’t withstand the princess’ blow.

“… Amazing.”

Of course, it was as expected.

Mong was a character who’d never even appeared in the original. No matter how strong he might’ve been set as, there was no way he could trade blows with the princess whose character had just been born. A character set with such significance that she’d even appeared in the original, at that.

Soon after,

“Is there only one left?”

The princess slowly turned her head towards me.

‘… Something’s wrong.’

The aura emanating from her body made me want to tremble.

“I’m going to have to deal with you too, right?”

“…”

Originally, I’d had no intention of defeating the princess, but that didn’t mean I wanted to lose in this situation.

Avoid confrontation with the princess who’d just showed such a flashy performance? I could imagine the number of ‘I’m out’ comments by the readers. Not to mention the image I’d painstakingly built up so far would go up in smoke.

I had no other option.

I had to fight this OP munchkin character^[2] who’d just awakened and was in her strongest state. The character who was destined to stand as the final victor of this battlefield.

And I had to pull off a win, somehow.

“Hmm.”

I was definitely feeling tense.

To put it in perspective… it reminded me of the time when I’d had to face off against Karl Zayed.

But,

“You’re making a big deal out of knocking down a mindless brute who only had his size going for him. Did you miss how I was toying around with him earlier?”

I’d never lost to any munchkin, not yet.

In the riddle game with Chinuavi, in the unique ability contest with Leo and the rest, and in the battle against Karl Zayed… I’d prevailed against them all.

The destined victor of this battlefield?

Sorry, but quashing such things could be called my specialty in this world.

“… Come on then, little princess. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 코스튬 (koseutyum), a transliteration of ‘costume’ in Korean. When used in monologues there’s no problem, but when Squatjaw uses it verbally Bayar Khan’s naturally confused by the word.

[2] 먼치킨 (lit. munchkin), a Korean term for overpowered characters. Please note English RPGs use this term with a different connotation (minmaxing), unlike Koreans who simply mean somebody OP (plz nerf, etc).

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 74

The Final Round (2)

‘The rumours definitely said that he has a lightning-based ability…’

Mong’s eyes focused on the translucent giant squat-jawed ghost in front of him.

It was strange indeed.

It was quite a sight to see two ghosts, each of whom only came up to his chest, merge into a single one who matched him in size.

Of course –

“You bastard! The head is mine!”

“I am the owner of this body! Screw off, right now!”

“Who’s this idiot pretending to be all high and mighty!”

It didn’t seem very coherent.

He had dealt with many abilities in the past, but this was his first time witnessing an ability like this. Creating a legion of ghosts that looked just like the master.

‘No, wait.’

Come to think of it, Mong remembered seeing something similar recently.

On the day he’d played a game of tug-of-war against the princess, the vague image that had risen up behind her.

Of course, the colour and opacity of the figure had been different, and it’d taken the form of Bayar Khan instead of Squatjaw, but the fact remained that both were ghosts.

His thoughts seemed to click into place.

Mong spoke, looking at the ‘real Squatjaw’.

“It was… probably you, who gave the princess strength during the tug-of-war.”

Then,

“What? Uh… wh-, what are you talking about?”

As expected, the bastard looked visibly upset.

“I did think it was kind of weird. The princess showed tremendous power from the start, sure, but it wasn’t at a level that we wouldn’t be able to beat her. And on top of that, once I entered the fray, her eyes looked almost resigned. Then something whitish suddenly jumped into her body, and her strength skyrocketed… It’s only natural to guess that some external power had been implanted into her.”

Squatjaw didn’t speak up to affirm or deny, but Mong was already certain of his reasoning. Not to mention the fact that the bastard was whistling while avoiding his eyes, like a cheating examinee who’d gotten caught by the invigilator, didn’t help his case.

“You bastard, why did you have to bring Bayar Khan into it? If there’s no connection to him, it’s a great crime to steal his likeness. It’s the same as insulting the empire itself.”

“… Eh? Bayar Khan?”

“Yeah, when you gave the princess power, didn’t you form his image?”

Then,

“What do you… no, I… ah! That… that wasn’t me.”

Suddenly, the bastard’s attitude took a complete U-turn.

“What?”

“That wasn’t a ghost, that… well, it was a ghost, but, um… well, it looked different from these guys, didn’t it? Haah, how do I explain this?”

Squatjaw shook his head and protested as if he was being unfairly targeted.

“Okay, so, here goes! The ghost that appeared during the tug-of-war had nothing to do with me. That was just how the princess’ power took shape. And Bayardin or whatever, I don’t even know who that is. Don’t you know, I’m from Westland? That old-timer might be famous here, but not in the other continents.”

“… You aren’t any good at lying, are you.”

Mong had never said that Bayar Khan’s ghost had been in the form of an old man, or that he was famous.

It was as if Squatjaw was confessing to him. That he had indeed created that ghost back then.

But Mong had no intention of continuing this line of questioning any further. After all, it wasn’t that important.

Mong was just content, and his heart had relaxed a bit.

In fact, he’d been struggling a bit with impatience till now. If the princess exerted the same level of super strength as she’d done in the tug of war, even with a sevenfold numerical advantage compared to back then, he couldn’t feel relieved.

So, he had deliberately brought only the Royal Guard with him, to hunt down Squatjaw in the shortest time. He had to finish the guy quickly, and then join the main force to take care of the princess.

But now that he realized that even the princess’ power had been provided by Squatjaw, things were much simpler.

The princess was nothing to worry about. He just needed to beat this guy up.

Then,

‘And in order to reach the real Squatjaw, I’ll have to deal with this guy first.’

Mong turned his gaze back to the gigantic squat-jawed ghost in front of him.

As if he’d finished sorting himself (?) out, the ghost had stopped talking to himself. However, compared to the two separate entities, the intelligence seemed to have dropped a bit.

“Ugly… giant. I won’t… go easy on you. “

“You talking about yourself? Squat-jawed ghost.”

“I’m… not ugly… giant, kill you!”

The small ghosts had also stuck to the Royal Guard members. One ghost per head. It seemed that Squatjaw had created a matching number of ghosts on purpose.

‘How cute… going one-on-one against the Royal Guard, naive.’

Although the emperor hadn’t announced it in his speech, many of the warriors under his direct command had taken part in this Warrior’s Path disguised as natives of the mountain. And in particular, the Royal Guard was the crème of the crop among them.

Mong ordered briefly.

“Don’t think too much about strategy or tactics. Just stay comfortable and deal with things as they come.”

“Yeah!”

“Got it!”

Then, the battle between the ghosts and the Royal Guard began.

“Now then, let’s finish up quickly, shall we?”

Mong focused on the giant ghost in front of him.

People may fear ghosts, but that’s only fear of the unknown.

In broad daylight, face-to-face like this, there was no risk.

It looked like it had some physical power, as rocks and branches were crushed as it moved, but that didn’t mean it was an obstacle.

These balloons made of mists, the only thing they had going for them was the intimidation factor.

So,

“Don’t fall apart at the first blow, yeah?”

Mong, feeling relaxed, approached the ghost without any particular precaution.

And then,

Puff–.

Darkness quickly swallowed him.

…

Mong opened his eyes.

‘What? What happened?’

When he jerked his head up in surprise, he saw the squat-jawed ghost still standing in a funny pose, his arms raised to the sides, looking at him with a smirk.

“You… stupid… giant… weakling!”

Distressingly, he seemed to have fainted for a very short moment. With one punch of this bastard.

It was hard to stop his face from flushing at the momentary rush of shame. He’d underestimated his enemy.

Mong immediately raised his focus to the limit.

This ghost wasn’t weak. No, rather, it might be stronger than him in terms of pure physical abilities.

Mong had become a giant, and his strength as well as his stamina had increased tremendously. His bones and muscles had become so dense that he could effortlessly crush steel.

And even with all that, to knock him out in one shot? Forget about a balloon, even a pure steel golem wouldn’t be able to do it.

‘Who exactly are you…?’

Mong quickly adjusted his posture.

“Giant… you waiting…? Attack…”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

As soon as the words had gotten out, Mong broke into a sprint.

As he continued to observe, Mong was finally able to see his opponent’s movements properly.

Unlike that slow speech, the ghost moved terribly fast. Not only did it dodge Mong’s own attack, but it even had enough room to counterattack.

Whoosh–.

Mong felt a chill run down his spine as the ghost’s fist brushed against the tip of his head.

It was incredibly fast. Quick as a hawk swooping down to snatch its prey. That kind of speed should’ve been impossible for something that size.

Mong had just barely escaped. Only by dint of pure reflex.

If he’d taken it straight on the chin, it wouldn’t have ended with a quick stun like last time. His face might’ve gotten completely crushed.

Mong traded a few more blows just in case.

And the conclusion he reached was –

‘He’s stronger than me. Much stronger.’

This ghost was an absolute monster.

The reason Mong was still alive, was because the ghost was holding back for some godforsaken reason.

This… was absurd.

‘What the hell did you create…’

Mong hurriedly looked around. If the little ones were at this big guy’s level, the Royal Guards were in for a bad time.

And, as expected.

“Eek!”

“Hey, why won’t my attacks work?”

“D-, dodge!”

“Let’s team up!”

None of the guys were fighting properly.

There wasn’t even a single guy who could hit the ghosts properly. The swords of the Royal Guards could only pass through the bodies of the ghosts without doing any damage.

‘No way…’

Mong could come up with only one hypothesis. Unique ability.

Those who had one could damage these ghosts, but those who didn’t, couldn’t even touch them.

“Heh, huh, haha…”

It was a situation that made him laugh out loud.

It almost felt like the ghosts were playing around.

He’d been wrong. That Squatjaw wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill monster.

He wasn’t just strong enough to conquer this Warrior’s Path, he was an absolute oddity that even Mong and the princess together, along with their respective camps, might not be able to beat.

“…”

Mong raised his hand to the gigantic squat-jawed ghost who was walking towards him.

“Stop.”

“… Eh?”

“I mean, wait. Can you do that?”

“Uh… yes. Sure…”

I knew it. The ghost never had any intention of knocking him down. He was just here to stall.

And that was probably by the order of the ‘real’ Squatjaw.

Mong turned towards the man who was playing with one of the bodyguards in the distance. He looked as relaxed as a child playing with a toy.

Mong was feeling worried.

He understood clearly. The depths of his own negligence and mistakes.

He could never win if things went on like this.

“… There’s no helping it.”

If he hadn’t been standing here, on this ‘Warriors’ Land’, he probably wouldn’t have made this choice so resolutely. Even if he was staring defeat in the face.

But he could never fall down here. Here, he had no choice but to stand on his own two legs. Whatever the cost.

Because that was the promise he had made in front of his comrades’ corpses, back in the day. That was the oath he had sworn before gorging on their blood and flesh.

“Huff… how big a mess is this going to make?”

Mong exhaled slowly, then looked around and ordered.

“All Royal Guard members, immediately withdraw from the battlefield. The Bloody Giant will soon arrive.”

Then,

“Eh?”

“Oh no!”

“General, that’s not…!”

His mean left behind the ghosts they’d been tussling with and came running.

But Mong had no intention of backing down.

“It can’t go on like this. You don’t have the ability to deal with these ghosts, and the same goes for me. So we have to change our tactic.”

Then, he spoke to the real Squatjaw, who was watching him with a blank gaze.

“I might not be able to keep my promise to spare your life.”

“… What?”

And then,

“Hey, it’s good that you’re confident… but you might be taking it too far, you know?”

Squatjaw was frowning slightly as he responded.

Mong wasn’t offended. Rather, such a reaction made him feel that the man might even be pretty humble.

“Well, you might not have taken my promise seriously. But being a giant isn’t all I’ve got, you know? There’s one more transformation. That’s my ultimate strength.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“However, there are side effects. Like losing my mind. Becoming a crazy monster that only thirsts for blood. Just like… just like how I’d been back then.”

It was a bitter memory.

Mong was silent for a moment, then he buried the memories of the past that had risen to the surface and continued.

Finally –

“Probably, even against you, it won’t fall short.”

Mong started to focus.

While in the state of ‘frenzy’, he’d consider all living things around him as his enemies. If he couldn’t recognize Squatjaw as the primary enemy, he might end up inflicting serious damage on his allies instead.

“Everyone, back off.”

Then, after confirming that the Royal Guard had stepped far enough back, it was time to reveal his true ‘power’.

“Uh… wait, wait!”

Squatjaw suddenly shouted.

“Then, can’t we do that a little later?”

“… What are you talking about?”

“Save it for now, and use it for the main event.”

“… What?”

But before he could properly clarify,

“Oh no! Look over there! The princess is in danger!?”

The guy shouted out of nowhere. Then he pointed to the side where the princess’ camp was and started running.

“…”

Of course, it was true that the main unit of his army had started clashing with the princess’ side by this time.

It was also true that the princess was being pushed back, because of the numerical disadvantage as well as the strength of the warriors who’d sneaked into the test disguised as native mountain people.

But that didn’t mean her life was at stake. The battle had only just started!

But,

“Seven hundred people against a hundred? I must go!”

And he even had the audacity to run backwards while shouting?

Mong was frozen in place, stunned.

Then, while he could only stare blankly, the bastard got on his horse and started moving. Destination, the princess’ camp.

“If you’re feeling upset, come chase me!”

…?

---

The timing was just right.

By the time the ‘war of giants’ was shown in moderation, there was a battle on the princess’ side as well.

Of course, this ‘war of giants’ wasn’t very satisfactory by my standards. There should’ve been a more explosive fight, something to really make the blood boil, but the ‘king’ was more expensive than I’d thought.

‘King’ was currently the highest level of ghost that I could being out, and for Yan to summon a guy like that, he’d need at least ten more chapters. This ability, that would one day be used by a key supporting actor, was far too much for the current Mong, who’d never even appeared in the original work, to handle.

So, should I have faced Mong after his transformation? I had some ideas about that. I thought I might be able to create a slightly better scene.

However,

‘Yeah, that’s not going to happen. The princess has to get the lion’s share of the credit.’

So I just decided to fold. Because the situation could take a strange turn if I got too greedy.

What if Mong, after going crazy, only chased after a specific someone without looking at anybody else? And what if that someone was me?

Hmm. Just imagining it was terrifying.

Then,

“Hit it!”

“Take care of the horse!”

“Get rid of it!”

A battlefield in full swing came into view.

The princess’ camp looked to be in quite a precarious position.

In the first place, there was a huge difference in numbers, and if one looked closely, there was a great disparity in individual strength between the two sides as well.

As a result, even though no special tactics were used, the princess’ warriors were being pushed back one after another.

By the way,

“Hey… is it that guy?”

The bald guy who’d been the first to become her subordinate was doing a good job. If not for him, the princess’ front line might have collapsed right away.

At that time,

‘By the way, where is she?’

I was a little perplexed.

I thought she would be at the forefront, bravely fighting off the enemies and overshadowing everybody else, but the princess was nowhere to be seen, even after I looked around carefully.

“Wait, where the hell is she?”

At that moment, the figure of the princess appeared in my eyes.

She sat at the back, watching her camp crumble.

Puzzling.

It didn’t fit her temper at all.

‘Is she afraid…?’

Nah, that couldn’t be.

Although the overall level of the enemy was high, it wasn’t to the extent that the princess would feel intimidated. With the help of Bayar Khan by her side, she had the capital to fight.

Of course, if someone had little combat experience and had never seen blood, they might indeed freeze a little…

“Hmm.”

It seemed like we had to meet face to face once.

In fact, even if she was scared, it didn’t matter. No, it might be better that way.

I don’t know how powerful Mong would become once he turned crazy, but it’d probably be difficult for the princess to handle as she was now.

In order for the princess to overcome him alone, she had to awaken her unique ability somehow. Or maybe I’d have to work hard behind the scenes again.

‘Fear’ and ‘crisis’, could be two great ingredients for her awakening process.

‘She isn’t shaking even a little…’

Then,

“Uh… what are you doing here?”

As I crossed the battlefield and arrived in front of the princess, I was a little perplexed.

“… Squatjaw? What is it?”

“No, nothing, just. It looked like there’s an emergency, so I came running.”

“… Ah?”

Surprisingly, the princess didn’t look terrified at all.

Rather, both her eyes were shining calmly but firmly.

She was just watching the battlefield. Like she was waiting for a specific ‘time’.

“Do I look weird?”

“… What?”

“It just feels that way. I feel like I’m somehow different from before. There’s no fear.”

“I don’t think you were that scared in the first place, right?”

“Well, anyway, it feels like I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. It’s an emergency, and it’s definitely something to be scared of, but I’m not feeling that at all. It feels like something is wriggling deep within my heart.”

“… Is that so?”

I scratched my head.

‘What did that old man say… again?’

It was then that I remembered what I’d talked about with Bayar Khan and felt a little embarrassed.

Crisis or fear… those inner emotions weren’t what the princess needed to awaken. No. She just needed time.

Why had the princess never awakened? Simple. Because the time hadn’t come yet.

From the beginning, from the point of character creation, the princess had been designed to awaken here, and now.

Yeah, as a character that had even appeared in the original story, this kind of a setting made sense.

In other words, all our running around until now had been for nothing. Even if she’d stayed still, she still would’ve awakened.

Finally,

“It’s coming.”

A pure white light began to slowly radiate from the princess’ body.

And along with that,

Clang, clang!

Kill her!

The peak owner is over there!

Attack!

The closer the enemy came, the more brightly her body shone.

‘Should I just wait and watch?’

I decided to take it easy and watch the scene. With only a slightly surprised expression on my face, for the benefit of the audience.

Then, at the moment one of the enemies finally came within striking distance and brandished a sword at her –

“… Come.”

Her body radiated light like an explosion.

And as the light spread out, first engulfing the nearby enemies, then her allies still fighting in the distance, and finally covering the heavens and the earth –

“Look, look up!”

“The sky! Look at the sky!”

“A, a horse?!”

A giant jet-black horse pierced through the sky and rushed towards her side.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 73

The Final Round (1)

The Tangur Basin^[1].

A basin located at the base of the Golan Mountain, not far from the imperial capital Barantor, the so-called ‘Warriors’ Land’.

About two hundred years ago, it’d been decided that the people should be able to directly spectate the birth of the warrior, and this place had been officially designated as the final battlefield of the Warrior’s Path.

As the entrance was about to come into view, I quietly asked the princess next to me –

“So… now we’re going to have to fight once we enter that basin, yeah? And the spectators who followed us here, who climbed to the feet of the surrounding mountains, are all here to watch the battle. Right? Also, now the peak occupants and their subordinates are divided into three camps. I’m the only one who’s alone, but you’ve got 125 followers, and that guy called Mong has 753 men with him, hmm? If we’re talking pure numbers, I’m in the worst position. Right, Princess?”

Then,

“… What are you doing?”

The princess looked at me like I was crazy for some reason.

The bewildered expression on her face was a bonus.

“Umm, no, I just… wanted to confirm the situation.”

Of course, the princess’ reaction was completely understandable. I was well aware that my behaviour wasn’t much different from mental patients with severe OCD.

So I could only scratch my head and slowly avoid the princess’ eyes.

“Do you know how many times this is…? No, why do you keep trying to get me to confirm everything you already know?”

Of course it wasn’t because I had obsessive-compulsive disorder.

And as the princess said, I already knew and understood all this.

But I couldn’t help it.

“Yeah…”

Some people indeed needed these detailed explanations.

Because we had to tell the countless readers watching intently from outside the world, what we were going to do from now on. We needed to be careful about it so that they could properly understand the rules of this round and immerse themselves in the situation.

Strangely, no such explanation had at all been forthcoming during the whole starting ceremony. Exactly what the final obstacle in the ‘war of conquest’ meant, how it would proceed, what were the historical records, nothing.

There was just a lot of babbling about giving out a useless rank of imperial general, or something.

To be honest, it was uncomfortable for me too. Suddenly I had to play Mr. Exposition? Who did they take me for, Speedwagon^[2]?!

This author didn’t have the habit of providing expository information in separate pages, so it was inevitable.

Why did it feel like along with the leading point of view of the chapter, I also got saddled with the job of taking care of every little detail?

That was then.

“Hey, you seem weirdly anxious… to be honest, that expression doesn’t suit you at all. Fine, I’ll confirm one last time.”

“Oh… really?”

The princess took a deep breath and thankfully took on the role of the infodumper.

“We really are going to be fighting in that basin over there, yeah. In the name of conquering the whole basin, we’ll fight until only one faction remains. Of course, it’s also possible to admit defeat and withdraw midway. But that happens very rarely, most would rather die. This isn’t just a matter of honour; somebody who surrenders while still having fighting strength will never be able to retake the Warrior’s Path ever again. So, I don’t know about the subordinates, but the peak occupants getting defeated without a scratch… well, it’s rare.”

Then the princess stopped talking and stared at me for a while. Somehow it felt like she was psyching herself up for a fight with me.

“What’s with that look? You’re scaring me.”

“… Hmph. Anyway, other than that, there’re no other rules. Just go in, go to the designated camp, take your position, and fight.”

“How long does the whole thing take, on average?”

“It’s different every time. As far as I know, there were times when it only took one day, and there were times when it lasted close to two months. That’s why the audience over there also brought their luggage and food.”

“What? Two months? How does that make sense?”

It sounded absurd. This was also my first time hearing this.

If this had been a normal group war, I wouldn’t have been so surprised. Whether you’re digging a tunnel or making a fort to withstand a siege… as long as you have a place to sleep and enough supplies, you can keep fighting for a year or two.

The problem was that we had no food with us at all.

“Then what would you eat in the meantime?”

At my question, the princess stiffened.

“… What do you think?”

She then told me something so atrocious that I could never have expected it, least of all from a shounen manga!

You eat everything you can eat.

Horses, corpses of your comrades, and more.

“… Huff.”

I glanced at the majestic basin that stretched out in front of me. A bloody smell somehow seemed to waft up.

“Two months… it must’ve been terrible.”

“Probably. I don’t know either. Not like I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Anyway, the audience must’ve been quite critical. They must’ve been bored to death.”

But the answer I got back was the exact opposite.

“Not at all. Rather, everyone respected the victor all the more – because they could all see how firm was his will, how high his pride, and how strong his fighting spirit as a warrior. He’s the warrior I’m the biggest fan of, too.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“It’s someone you already know. And soon, you’ll get to know him better.”

“… Eh?”

Following the princess’ gaze, I turned my eyes to a place.

There, stood a bear-like man who somehow gave off a good-natured impression.

Mong.

“They say he used to be very short and skinny. But he later purposefully gained weight, in order to not forget all the colleagues who’d once stood with him. Not only that, it’s said that his unique ability also expresses itself in a similar way, perhaps because of that same experience.”

“Hey…”

So now, the most famous and beloved participant the Warrior’s Path had ever produced, was standing in my way as an enemy.

“Wait a minute, are we the baddies here? Aren’t our numbers too small for that?”

“Don’t you already look like one? And I’m sorry, but…”

The princess gently turned around.

“From here on out, we’re not on the same side.”

“Hey, um…”

That was then.

– From now on, let’s start the ‘war of conquest’, the ultimate round of the Warrior’s Path! All peak occupants and their subordinates, please spread out to your designated camps. After that, once everybody’s in position, you can start the battle without waiting for another signal. Finally, good luck!

The organizers, who’d mixed into the crowd of spectators, came out with an announcement, and –

“Oooh!”

“Good luck!”

“General, sweep them all away!”

Thus, the final round, the ‘war of conquest’, began.

---

Although they called it a camp, all they gave me was a small tent that’d been set up in an empty lot.

It looked like a hovel from outside, so shabby that I felt breathless at the sight.

Dirty, dilapidated, and even tattered.

“Hmph.”

Still, I wondered if the inside would be any different, so I stuck my head in.

… As expected.

The smell of musty earth filled my nostrils, as if the tent had been freshly dug out from some warehouse where it’d been buried under the ground. Also, there were a lot of splotches stuck to the tent cloth here and there, and I couldn’t tell if they were dirt, animal dung, or rotten pieces of leftover food.

It wasn’t that I’d never seen such a filthy tent during my army days, but just because I had prior experience with something didn’t mean I’d want to experience it again. On the contrary, such experiences often remained with you as a traumatic memory.

It was the same with me.

“Hey, I’m really going to die, here.”

Quickly getting out of the tent, I slumped down on the ground. I was much more comfortable here.

Then, I started to mentally organize what I had to show in this chapter, and what goals I had to aim for.

Well, it wasn’t complicated at all.

Because ultimately there were only two things that I had to achieve in this ‘war of conquest’.

First, to show off.

Second, to hype the princess up.

Now all I have to do was get both of these things done at the same time.

And in fact, that wasn’t too complicated to manage. Although there might be some difficulties in the process of implementation.

Simple. Me and the princess’ camp would work together to defeat Mong’s camp.

However, the important part here was how we shared the credit.

I wasn’t here to take the lead and defeat Mong. Rather, I had to handle his over seven hundred subordinates.

Mong belonged to the princess.

There was no complex reason for this.

All I needed was a punching bag that I could go wild on, whereas the princess needed a ‘person with symbolic significance’ who could help her solidify her position in the empire in the future.

By the time I was done sorting it out,

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

In the distance, the sound of horseshoes began to ring.

I turned to the source of the sound.

And then –

‘Ah, this is tough.’

I sighed as I watched the group of people running towards me.

The very person with that symbolic significance, Mong, was coming straight at me, with a small army at his back.

After a while,

“Hey!”

Mong and his men stopped in front of my camp.

Looking at the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like he had come for reconnaissance or the like.

Sheesh. It’d only been twenty minutes since the war of conquest began.

“Squatjaw. I’m here to crush you.”

He took the initiative and launched the first attack on me.

…

Now what should I do?

After thinking for a while, I decided to try holding a conversation first.

“Uh… why didn’t you go there?”

“Why should I answer you?”

“I’m just curious… There are still over a hundred people there, so why come to me first?”

I said, pointing towards the princess’ camp.

“The main group is finishing up their formation, then they’ll start storming that place. The attack will begin soon.”

“So, what I mean is, why did you, the captain, came here for me… Rather, I’m all by myself, so why are you in such a hurry to deal with me? Can’t you take it slow?”

The bastard smiled and replied indifferently.

“Is there any point in keeping one annoying mosquito alive for so long? It’s better to just hunt it down quickly and then move on to the swarm of flies.”

Then he tacked on another sentence.

“Why, afraid?”

“Hah! Haha… hoo boy.”

For an instant, I’d reacted without meaning to. Contrary to his appearance, he was quite good at taunting people.

But –

“Hmmm… But, you have to think about the people who’ve come to this place to watch us all. What’s the fun of trying to end a war on the first day?”

Still, I had to stall him somehow.

The reason was simple. Because I was in a position where I could neither win nor lose to this guy.

In fact, it wasn’t for the princess’ sake that I had to leave this guy alone.

Instead, it was purely for my own sake.

The princess rising to the emperor’s position was a development that’d been present in the original that I knew, but that didn’t mean that it would unconditionally come to pass. Didn’t a lot of the middle already change due to my intervention? Who could guarantee that the ending would still be exactly the same?

In other words, what if I defeated this guy, who was the symbol of that empire? It meant that a very strange development could unfold – something that would leave me stuck forever in the Skull Empire.

So should I just lose?

Yeah, that was even more impossible. How disappointed would the readers be? It’d be better to just win and then run away instead.

Then,

“Then I’ll wait until you are ready.”

Whether he knew how I felt or not, the bear-like guy continued talking.

‘Haah…’

There was only one idea that came to mind right now.

1. Fight him, but keep stalling without overpowering him or being overpowered.

2. For how long? Until the princess falls into a crisis.

3. In the name of saving the princess, evacuate in a natural manner and immediately switch opponents.

The method was simple. But the question was, could I believably pull this off?

I glanced at Mong and his men.

‘Twenty people in total…’

It was a little unfortunate. It would’ve been easier to sell this if he’d brought more along.

“Are you all coming together?”

“Speaking for myself, I’d like to win a one-on-one bout, but I’m expecting the main unit to suffer some damage, so I’ll finish it as soon as possible.”

“You could’ve just kept it short and said yes.”

“Don’t be overconfident in your own strength. Do your best. I, will also do my best.”

And then –

“Whoo…”

His body suddenly began to glow brightly.

It was the same change that I’d briefly witnessed during the tug of war.

‘I’m sure he’s a transformation-type…’

The princess had mentioned that it was an ability similar to gaining weight, but it was impossible to guess the details from that alone.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

I was enjoying this. Anyway, it was good for me if he took his sweet time.

But suddenly –

Oooooh!

Advance!

In beat with with certain voices raised in the distance, the ground vibrated slightly. The sound came from hundreds of horseshoes hitting the ground at once.

I glanced to the side where Mong’s camp was at.

“… Yeah.”

Should I be happy?

Apparently, this guy Mong was traumatized by the lengthy battles he’d faced here last time.

As if they were dead set on finishing everything by today, the main force of his subordinates was about to advance towards the princess’ camp.

That was then.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the sky began to darken. The surroundings, which had been bright until a few seconds ago, turned dim.

It was an unexpected phenomenon.

“What?”

Then, while I was perplexed,

“Can you afford to look around like that? You don’t even seem worried about your own safety.”

Mong’s voice came.

But strangely, as if we were inside a cave, his voice was much louder and echoing than before.

I turned my head with a slightly puzzled feeling, and –

“Wow, is this your unique ability?”

I couldn’t help but gape a little.

There stood Mong, in the same place, except he’d now grown stunningly huge.

I wasn’t joking about his size. He was almost ten meters tall – enough that it became a little distracting.

[Giantization].

It seemed that this was Mong’s unique ability.

And at that moment,

‘… Jackpot!’

My lips unconsciously curved up at the corners.

I hadn’t expected this situation, sure. But this scene wasn’t bad.

It felt a little bit like I was a PD for a TV programme who found a scenic broadcasting spot. A sense of reassurance welled up in my heart that I could come up with good material to arouse the readers’ interest.

Soon after,

“Surround Squatjaw.”

The nineteen hangers-on, under Mong’s orders, began to loosely encircle me. It looked like they were blocking my escape route, but, well… it was a bit absurd. In the minds of these guys, was I really the type who did the running away, instead of the type that people did the running away from?

Mong nodded as he looked at me standing still in the middle.

“I heard that you have confidence in your strength.”

“Well, I’ve never lost.”

“Have you ever dealt with with Princess Thermis?”

“Yeah, we’ve messed around a bit.”

“…”

After a brief spell of silence, Mong continued.

“If you wish, you can try a contest of strength before we start fighting. I’ll give you a chance to exert all your power, so that you don’t regret it after it’s all over. As somebody who entered this exam without having the qualifications, this small apology and consideration is all that I can offer.”

Then he stabbed his right index finger into the air.

“If you can push back this finger even a little, I won’t take your life today.”

“… Haah.”

I scratched my head.

“What nonsense is this guy spouting…?”

Of course, it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand where his confidence came from. Abilities like [Giantization] usually came with a huge boost in strength. It varied, but the boost could range from tenfold to a thousandfold.

Besides, the area of ​​his index finger was half the size of my body.

But even so,

“Hey, do you know who I am?”

This crossed the line a bit.

I rested my right hand on his huge index finger.

Then,

“You must’ve thought I was going to push back with just one finger too, right? But I’m using my whole palm on purpose. It’s not because I don’t have enough strength, it’s because the contact area is so small that it’d stab clean through your finger otherwise.”

I started pushing slowly.

And then,

Creak–.

“Wh-, what…?”

The bastard’s index finger was pushed back in an instant.

Startled, he tried to stand his ground by exerting more strength, but it was all in vain. By that time, I’d already broken his finger at the joint.

“Eh, couldn’t you stand it for a few seconds before saying that? Isn’t this a bit too shabby?”

“… You… you’re a monster.”

He looked at me blankly for a moment.

“Alright. I won’t take your life today. By the way, I was genuinely curious about how much power you have. Would you like to let me test it once in earnest?”

Now he came with a proposal of full-contact wrestling.

It was crazy. With that size of his, won’t I be the one getting bogged down instead?

“Okay, if you want to show off your strength like that, I’ll call the right opponent for you. You brought your friends, so it should be fine if I call in some friends too, right?”

“… What? Friends?”

In the first place, I had no intention of having a direct confrontation with this guy. Although it might result in some flashy scenes, the moment we both went all in it’d become tough to cleanly withdraw.

Also, I had someone in mind, completely suitable to replace me.

I immediately activated a unique ability.

[Dance with Ghost Killer].

Soon after,

“Oh, where are we this time?”

“I got to appear after a long time!”

“The hell? Where did this giant come from!”

“You are the master! I am the ghost!”

⁝

Ghosts started pouring out.

Six, seven, eight, nine…

And finally, the ‘captain’ came out.

“Ummm… where is this?”

He still looked reliable, but for some reason he looked a little dwarfed compared to before.

Maybe it was because of the giant standing in front of him.

I immediately compared Captain and Mong.

‘One’s a little smaller?’

Obviously, it was the captain who was on the smaller side.

But, of course, it was to be expected.

I immediately summoned ten more.

“Eh? Where am I?”

“Nice to see you. Twelfth.”

“I’m out! I’m finally out!”

“Damn, what’s with that face? Why’s your jaw like that!”

⁝

What a mess.

A parade of twenty ghosts who looked exactly like me.

Also, two of them were quite large.

Now that even I was feeling like this, what about the other side?

Mong and his men were all wide agape, watching the spectacle.

“Gh-, ghost…”

“What are those…”

“S-, Squatjaw multiplied?”

It was Mong who came to his senses first.

“You, what… this ability wasn’t in the rumours.”

He was giving me a wary look.

“It’s natural that you don’t know, but these guys are the friends I was talking about. How does it feel? Is your heart pounding a little? Mine sure is.”

This was sincere. My heart was pounding quite a bit.

It was like sitting in a movie theatre, watching a kaiju movie, waiting for the giant monster to show up on screen.

This ‘war of giants’ would definitely be worth watching.

However, Mong seemed to have a slightly different opinion.

“… With just these little ghosts? That’s not even funny.”

“Huh, so the ghosts are too small to make you excited… then how about we add a little more spice?”

I looked back at the two ghost captains and grinned.

“Our two captains can combine, you know?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] Warriors’ Land used 대지 (daeji) which can mean plateau i.e., a high ground. But Tangur Basin uses 분지 (bunji) which means basin i.e., a low depression. The former can also simply mean site/land so that’s how it’s been translated here and we’re assuming the place is a basin.

[2] Speedwagon is the go-to exposition guy in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – in the arcs he’s in, anyway. Or so the meme goes in the fandom.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 72

Extended Chapter

When he’d first heard the results of the second obstacle, Nergui had doubted his ears.

“They got beaten? Those horse thieves? That must be a lie, right?”

“Yes, that’s….”

The news was that the territories they had occupied had been taken away by another group who’d come suddenly at dawn. Right before the timer ran out.

A late night attack wasn’t particularly unexpected. It was also the time for the great migration, when those who hadn’t decided on their affiliation until the end, began to choose.

It didn’t matter if the attack came an hour before the end of the test or a minute. The important point was that they couldn’t stop it. That their flag had been pulled out.

Nergui bit his lip.

“Was it… that guy with the squat jaw?”

It wasn’t some riffraff whom he had put forward as the occupant of the peak. It was one who had cleared up all the horse bandits in the central region and had ascended to the position of the great chief all by himself.

It had been about two years since when Nergui had recognized his skills and started getting close to him. The amount of gold he had spent so far to make that guy his own subordinate was incalculable.

That man definitely wasn’t some chaff to be easily swept aside.

“Oh, no. It was the Great… the Great General who occupied the peak.”

“What?”

“G-, General Mong.”

“…”

Nergui was speechless for a moment when that name suddenly came up.

General Mong?

Of course, Nergui already knew that the man was there. Because he always moved as Khan’s shadow.

But he couldn’t figure out why he did it, or how.

So,

“The fourth prince seeks an audience! Your Majesty, may I please come in for a moment?”

Creak–.

He had no choice but to visit the owner of this gorgeous palace, who smirked as soon as Nergui entered his sight.

“Your Majesty, are you well?”

“Is that you, Son? It’s been a long time.”

“… It seems that the ministers have all left already. Your tone is too casual.”

“Haha, can’t you ever stop nagging? My son came to visit after such a long time! Do I still have to keep up the formalities?”

“So, did you enjoy your trip?”

“Ah, thanks to you, I was able to enjoy it until the end.”

“…”

Nergui took one long breath and then continued.

“By the way, you seemed to know I was coming? The guard at the door didn’t even block me.”

“I’m not an idiot after all. And neither are you. Isn’t that so?”

“…”

Troubling. This was turning out to be a mess.

Nergui silently rebuked himself for having come here so prematurely, driven by his own emotions and doubts.

“Since you seem like you know everything, there’s no point in playing games. Can I ask you something directly?”

“As you like.”

“What are you after?”

Even though he asked a question in a somewhat curt tone that would immediately offend those who valued good manners, Khan only gave an inexplicable smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Why make the Great General occupy the third peak?”

Then Khan cast him a somewhat puzzled look.

“You’re asking something obvious.”

And the answer that followed was, indeed, quite fitting.

“Yeah, because I thought it’d be fun.”

“…”

Nergui again silently sorted out his thoughts. To have a conversation with this man, he had to get rid of all unnecessary emotions. If he let himself loose, it was him who’d end up being the idiot.

“Then what did you do?”

“What?”

“I heard that the general entered as your subordinate, Your Majesty… Did you change the rules? How did you not drop out together…”

“…”

“But, tampering with the rules of the Warrior’s Path, even if it’s you, Your Majesty…”

Nergui paused.

Somehow, he felt a strangeness in the other party’s gaze.

When he looked up, he saw Khan staring at him with a frown on his forehead.

He was quite familiar with the expression, and on his own face it would’ve signified only one emotion.

Frustration.

“Hmm. Of course not, but…”

After a small pause, Khan clicked his tongue and continued.

“Tch, did you become an idiot in this little while that I haven’t seen you?”

Khan had returned to his original tone at some point. A tone of speech that was no different from that of a gossiper on the streets. It was how he behaved at his core.

“…”

“No. Should I say that you’ve become bold? To change the rules of the Warrior’s Path… Man, I never even thought about it.”

Nergui felt his face flush for an instant.

To the hells with this guy!

“And is that really what you’re curious about? It’s a little disappointing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you able to guess at least half of it? You must’ve prepared a few cheating ringers in advance to bear their flags for you. Or, if I had to guess, you must’ve given them a rough disguise with your abilities. Even though to the outside it seems like you don’t have any subordinates there at all. It’s a pretty simple tactic. You knew who’d participate, and the tests of the Warrior’s Path were prepared painstakingly over several months within my lands, so they couldn’t be hidden from you. Knowing everything in advance, didn’t you prepare?”

“…”

“Tell me. Was it difficult for you?”

“…”

Why did he always feel stuffy, like he was at the losing end, whenever he talked to this man?

Don’t be angry, be calm.

Nergui tried to calm himself down again.

And he had something to say in response.

“Even so, I wouldn’t have thought of mobilizing the general. Isn’t that a bit of a foul? If it weren’t for him, the people I’d planted must be…”

“Ah, you mean that gang of horse thieves at the third peak? Those guys who ran away at the first sight of Mong’s face?”

Khan grinned and then burst into laughter, clutching his stomach with both hands.

“Are you saying they… ran away?”

“Why, what’s the difference if they ran away instead of losing a fight? Does all that gold you fed them now feel like a waste?”

“…”

“Wow, you’re still a long way off from maturing. Did you think you could control them like puppets from afar, without ever standing next to them? With that dull brain of yours?”

“…”

He was indignant.

But Nergui couldn’t come up with any objections.

Because it was all true.

“Of course, I have to admit it. It’s true that I didn’t intend to make Mong the occupant from the beginning. It was unplanned. But don’t think that I was forced to use Mong to dispose of your toys. You’ve got it all wrong. He has nothing to do with you. What can a gang of horse bandits do? That Squatjaw… No, the princess would’ve smashed them all with just two of her fingers.”

“… Princess Thermis, is it.”

Yes, he’d heard the rumours about her too. That she’d won a tug of war contest against hundreds of Khan’s subordinates. Including even the general himself.

To be honest, he’d thought it was a bunch of exaggeration, but it seemed now that that wasn’t the case. If the person concerned, who was habitually ‘without a single touch of embellishment’, said something like that… it might be right to think that the rumours didn’t even scratch the surface.

“I had no choice but to put Mong forward in order to fight against that Squatjaw and Princess Thermis. If there’s no proper adversary, what fun would there be left in this Warrior’s Path? Even now, only the final obstacle remains. And do you know what Mong did after I pushed him in? He swept away all those who’d been watching and waiting until then, and made them join his banner. Intimidation, conciliation… he’s a man of many talents, General Mong.”

Khan shook his head as if at the absurdity of it, but there was a gentle smile on his face. And that, obviously, meant that he’d had quite a bit of fun in the process.

“Are you feeling a little better now? What should you have asked instead? What the rules were, how the general was able to become an occupant… you should’ve asked something more proper than this.”

“… What should that be?”

“For example, in the end, what kind of scenery did I want to paint, and what did I do to meet my goal?”

Nergui meekly acquiesced.

“I see. So what kind of a scenery did you want to paint?”

Then,

“Not sure.”

“… Eh?”

The answer that came back was absurd.

“Really. I thought I knew, but when I looked back, I didn’t really know. To be more precise, I would say it was constantly changing.”

“… Haah.”

It was like this every time. Yes, there was no such thing as a grand aim for someone who was constantly driven by his own feelings and impulses.

That was then.

“By the way, Son, can I ask you something?”

Khan looked at Nergui, his eyes suddenly flashing.

Those eyes that somehow made people defensive.

“… What is it?”

“Do you want to bully her?”

Nergui froze for an instant.

“What do you mean?”

“That kid. Princess Thermis.”

“…”

While he was silent, Khan continued with a smirk.

“You look so much like me. In appearance, and in personality. I’m a little older now, but I was really like you when I was younger, you know? Every time I see you, I feel a jolt of shock. As if my own past self’s come knocking at my door.”

“…”

“Of course, I was a little smarter than you back then, and you’re a little worse than me back then.”

“… What the hell.”

No matter how Khan said it, this was a remark that was hard to listen to.

“Now I’ve heard everything. I know all about your past, Your Majesty. Aren’t there enough anecdotes to fill a book or two? To be honest, Your Majesty, it makes me think that I have a long way to go if I want to catch up with you, no matter how many bad things I do.”

“No, no matter how bad I was, compared to you… maybe. Fine, let’s admit it. But I did get a little better after I met Mong, you know.”

Khan said –

“Son, can I give you a piece of advice? Go out and make some friends. Or you’ll be in big trouble one day.”

“…”

Khan had an exceptional talent at pissing people off.

“Anyway, let’s get back to the story.”

After a brief spell of silence, Khan began to stare at Nergui again.

Serious eyes that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Whenever he got eyes like that, Khan –

“I like First the best.”

Babbled something weird, every time.

“… Haah, is that something you should tell your youngest son so frankly?”

“Parents share their children’s pain, so the saying goes. If the child’s hurting, the parent feels like he needs to take care of his child. And, well, I’m the same with you, too. But still, I like that guy the most. Since he was a kid.”

“…”

“That’s how it is with you, too. Because we’re the same kind of people. Seeing how handsome and cool he is, don’t you keep chasing after him while pretending you don’t care? I used to be the same way with my brother.”

“Haah… what are you even…”

Of course, there had been times when he’d admired his eldest brother. That was true. But even so, he never remembered liking the other as a human being – or perhaps, at most, only once.

“I can’t agree at all….”

“Alright, so now I’ll say what I really wanted to say. This is the crux of it.”

At that moment, Khan’s eyes seemed to shine with a pale light.

“Don’t try to turn your back on First.”

…

“You’ve got a twisted personality; I know that better than anyone. Princess Thermis? Honestly, she doesn’t really matter to you, does she? Only your older brother is important to you.”

“…”

“Even if you mess with her, your brother won’t be angry. Even if he does get angry, it won’t give you what you want. That older brother who scolded the bad guys when you were young doesn’t exist anymore. You need to accept that he’s weak.”

At that moment, for some reason, Nergui felt a corner of his heart simmer and begin to boil.

He didn’t know what made him so angry. But the sense of irritation was clear in his heart.

“You seem to have misunderstood something. And… who doesn’t know about the first prince’s condition? If somebody’s bedridden for so many years, they’re bound to…”

However, Khan didn’t seem to want to listen to him.

“I wasn’t done. One more thing. Don’t think that if your big brother can’t do something, you should step up. I know it because I’ve tried it – the title of emperor doesn’t fit people like the two of us.”

“…”

This was a bit of an unexpected topic.

To be honest, Nergui hadn’t expected Khan to utter such words.

“I’ve never coveted the throne.”

“I was like that at first, too. Saying I won’t do it. But they kept saying that there was no one else to do it but me. Doesn’t that sound just like you?”

“Your Majesty and I are different. I don’t know if Your Majesty became greedy one day, but I…”

“You’d end up in my position eventually. I know it because I’ve tried it, but it’s definitely not something good.”

“…”

Nergui couldn’t figure out what Khan was aiming for.

“Then the first prince… no, my older brother, you mean he can ascend to the Khan’s seat? Forget me being greedy, is it even possible? If it is, of course…”

“Are you an idiot?”

“…”

“What kind of emperor is that sick kid going to be? Even if he just took the good parts and ignored the bad, the job would chew him up and spit him out. There’s no way he’ll survive.”

“Then are you saying there’s an alternative?”

The second and third princes had long since become foreigners. They, at the very least, were satisfied with their positions as sons-in-law in other countries. They wouldn’t come back even if it were to become the emperor.

“Well. I don’t know.”

As expected.

What was the point of this useless, completely unproductive conversation…

“Not yet.”

“…?”

Nergui looked at Khan’s face again.

His eyes were still shining.

“I told you, didn’t I? I don’t know what kind of picture I want. That it keeps changing. But I have a feeling. You know what I mean?”

“How do you feel, then?”

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, but this place is too stuffy. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been on the back of a horse and breathing in the dust trails for so long. It needs something like a spark. Something new.”

At Khan’s next words, Nergui had no choice but to remain silent for a long time.

“An alternative… well, one might come up. Right around the end of the final obstacle of the Warrior’s Path.”

---

A place that would become a battleground for the final ‘war of conquest’.

The Warriors’ Land.

It happened while I was waiting in the room provided by the empire for the last ceremony, the ‘Departure Ceremony’, before going there.

Suddenly,

Tiling–.

A message arrived via the hologram.

And at that moment,

“Phew…”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the second obstacle had already finished, the chapter end message hadn’t appeared until then.

So I gladly dove into it, and –

“… Hmm?”

It was a little different from what I was expecting.

[Chapter 24 – The Second Gate of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire has ended]

[Starting the extended chapter]

An extended chapter?

It was the first I’d ever seen the like.

Puzzling.

“Huh… is this some sort of trick?”

A chapter type that’d never even appeared in the original. If I wanted to find something similar… a gaiden?

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 24# – The Final Gate of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

[You have been given the leading point of view]

‘What is this… are you just going to tack on a # to the chapter number and call it a day?’

Since it was a chapter that didn’t exist in the original, the style seemed feasible. Or rather, the author could afford to be completely arbitrary.

Hmmm.

But, well, I thought I could understand why.

I could only conclude that the readers weren’t satisfied seeing only the second obstacle, but caving in and giving me another big chapter was too much, so this was the compromise. For some reason, a scene of the author himself sighing deeply sprang to mind.

Of course, it was a little disappointing that the compensation was going to be delayed.

There’d been a few quite unique and eye-catching elements, in my humble opinion. Didn’t I even become a ghost once?

So, to be honest, I had some reasonable expectations – something of some real substance.

However, what if the final obstacle had gotten its own, separate chapter? That would’ve been great. The rewards would be rolling in twice.

‘Oh, am I being a bit greedy?’

But on the other hand, I thought that the current situation wasn’t so bad either.

Once the amount increases, the number of rewards doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Consider ‘awareness’, which is a cumulative number. And rather than splitting the chapters and dispersing the impact, you get it all in one shot! Boom! It might honestly be better this way.

‘Or am I just self-hypnotizing?’

Well, anyway, the fact that the leading point of view remained with me wasn’t a bad sign.

In other words, I just needed to finish it properly.

Just then,

– Those who’ve been waiting, please leave your rooms.

A call came to signal the start of the final obstacle.

I followed the instruction and walked out.

Then,

“Ooh!”

“It’s a peak lord!”

“It’s that Squatjaw!”

“That’s Mong! The general!”

A great cheer rose all around me.

There was a plaza where the ceremony was to be held, and the whole place was full of people except for the podium in the centre where the speakers stood.

Now that the bulk of the campaign was over, the candidates would go to the ‘Warriors’ Land’, and this great crowd was to be the audience. They’d all rushed here to watch, carrying their food and luggage with them.

I could see how this was the setting of a ‘national event’.

“All peak occupiers to the centre!”

Proceeding towards the centre following the guide’s voice, I could see the princess and that guy named Mong standing side by side from a distance.

The man named Mong had a different appearance from when I’d seen him last. Compared to that time, the body itself was much bigger and thicker, but the overall aesthetic impression still seemed unexpectedly very good.

And there was another.

A man standing on a high podium, looking at the two with a smile, caught my eye.

Bumio Khan.

The current emperor of the Skull Empire, a human who’d entered the Warrior’s Path while hiding his identity, causing all kinds of disturbances before running away. Somebody who had no compunction winking at me casually like that, despite how he’d fucked me over last time.

I frowned.

‘Oh.’

I quickly turned my head.

Either way, I couldn’t compete with that guy in shamelessness.

“Everyone forward! The Khan will give a speech!”

Khan nodded as he saw me, the princess, and Mong all gathered together, then started talking in a loud voice.

“Listen, people! Before the ceremony starts, I have one thing to say! I know that there are many discussions about the general’s participation this time. Is it right for him, who has already passed the Warrior’s Path, to walk the Path as a current participant, and even as an occupant?”

As soon as Khan finished speaking, murmurs began here and there.

It seemed to be quite a contentious issue.

“As you all know, it’s not really his fault that General Mong is standing there now. It was all me. I admit it.”

Then,

“Kkh… kahaha.”

“Cough, cough, kaha.”

Everyone stopped murmuring and began to chuckle.

To be honest, I was a little surprised to see this scene. The emperor humbled himself, and the people laughed. Their culture was more frivolous than expected.

“So, should we kick him out now? But this also goes against the rules of the Warrior’s Path. Applying external pressure on a participant. Of course, he can voluntarily give up and come out, but I told him not to. Why? Because that’s an insult to this ritual, a betrayal of those who’ve waited all night to see it, and furthermore, a great loss to the nation in that future that the warriors lose the opportunity to see and learn his strategies and tactics!”

Soon after,

“Oooh!”

“Yes!”

“Right!”

The crowd started cheering.

Mong was apparently highly popular.

“On top of that, the fourth prince said something recently. Wouldn’t it be fine to tweak the rules once in a while? As long as it doesn’t violate the long tradition of the Warrior’s Path, it’s okay to allow a little flexibility. I agree with that opinion, so I decided to include the general in this final checkpoint. Does anyone have any complaints? If so, come out now and tell me what you think! Come out and say it, why don’t you!”

“Oooh!”

“Right!”

“No complaints!”

…

It was crazy. A bunch of nonsense. Who was going to step up in this atmosphere? No, why was the emperor even doing something like this in public?

That was then.

“However, this may be a bit unfair for those who have to face the general. We should also consider their situation. It’s true that they can’t help but be at a disadvantage compared to him.”

Khan sneaked a glance at me and the princess in turn.

“Of course, I can’t intervene in the competition itself. So, I decided to make an exceptionally outstanding compensation plan for them. That is all I can do.”

Then he announced with an eloquent tone that couldn’t even be compared to before.

“If one of them overcomes Mong and returns as the final winner of the Warrior’s Path! Regardless of who they swear their allegiance to, they will immediately gain the title of Great General of the Skull Empire!”

And before the crowd could even start shouting, the following words continued:

“And if you truly wish, I will let you dream of even more than that.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 71

A Strange Result

Fortunately, his confusion quickly subsided.

It wasn’t the voice of somebody he’d overlooked. It wasn’t an unexpected variable.

It was the dove.

The pigeon Squatjaw carried around with him.

A new divine beast that Squatjaw had purchased at a horse market.

For some reason, he hadn’t seen around since the clash with the Trainers, but he’d apparently been hovering around nearby.

The fatty shook his head quickly for a moment.

What should he do now?

The pigeon himself wasn’t the problem.

This guy was a divine beast that could speak, but his abilities were all sealed. Wasn’t this guy the one used as a ‘bait’ by the Trainers?

Of course, his seal might’ve been released on the day Squatjaw and the Trainers had collided. Investigation into the site of the battle had revealed that the result that day had been an easy victory for Squatjaw’s side.

However, the divine beast didn’t look like his seal had been lifted. Had that been the case, it wouldn’t have looked like a pigeon.

And even if the seal had been released, he never thought he’d lose to that pigeon as long as he was careful.

The only concern was that the beast might be connected to Squatjaw via his consciousness. He’d heard that high-level divine beasts could communicate with their masters even from a long distance.

Should he start with the bird instead? Or just ignore it and start with Squatjaw?

He didn’t worry for long.

‘… Let’s catch this pigeon first and then consider the rest.’

Some preparations were needed to finish Squatjaw off in one shot. First, he had to find a way to reliably bind the bastard, then make some poison and apply it to his dagger. Also, if he wanted to lower the enemy’s defence, he had to spray curse potion all over Squatjaw’s body. There was a lot of stuff to do.

And obviously the pigeon won’t quietly watch him work.

“Ooh, aren’t you a cutie?”

The fatty approached the pigeon with a friendly expression on his face. His hand holding the dagger was hidden behind his back.

Then,

“Disgusting.”

The pigeon suddenly flew away.

Then,

“Huh?”

It went straight past him and rushed towards Squatjaw.

Bu-ump!

“Uh… huh?”

The fatty was surprised twice in a row.

Once for the fact that the pigeon was much faster than expected, and once again for the act of smashing his head against Squatjaw without hesitation.

‘D-, damn, did he wake up?’

But fortunately,

…

Squatjaw still showed no sign of movement.

“Shit, it surprised me! This little pigeon!”

The pigeon also looked a little embarrassed.

“What is this… aren’t you just sleeping?”

“Heeh…”

It took him a moment to get over his frozen state, but then the fatty grinned.

Looking back, it seemed that the two were not linked via their consciousness. One worry down.

“Heh, are you surprised, kid?”

Although he’d been a little flustered, but now he rather felt more at ease. Now that he know he didn’t have to worry about the enemy waking up, he just needed to catch this stupid bird.

The fatty didn’t hide his dagger any longer. Rather, he took an offensive stance straight away.

Clearly, divine beasts couldn’t be underestimated. Although the power was sealed, that surprisingly fast speed was definitely extraordinary. If he didn’t get sincere, new troubles might arise.

But, of course,

“Be prepared, pigeon.”

In any case, it was nothing more than a divine beast whose power was sealed. At the very least, the pigeons couldn’t stand up to him in combat – now against one of the leaders of the infamous ‘Ash-Swallowing Serpent’.

But,

“Hey, I don’t want to deal with an ugly fat guy like that… Squatjaw, you really aren’t waking up? Should I hit him one more time?”

Far from being frightened, the pigeon bastard was cheekily chirping on. While rubbing Squatjaw with his small foot. As if he didn’t even care.

“Haah…”

It wasn’t funny.

At that moment, the fatty felt some kind of unbearable anger swell up inside him.

He’d been very cautious and fearful all this time while chasing Squatjaw, true, but he was still a proud member of the ‘Ash-Swallowing Serpent’. He was a leader of the infamous assassination squad that made the entire Skull Empire tremble in fear. But, forget Squatjaw, even the pet bird he carried around was now ignoring him.

What nonsense. An Ash-Swallowing Serpent being ignored by a bird…

That was then.

“… Uhm?”

A voice suddenly came from the floor beneath his feet.

“Ugh… my head’s pounding. This wasn’t a good time to break it off. It’s like a hangover.”

It wasn’t from the pigeon. Although it came from a similar location, the source of the voice was at a slightly higher elevation than that, the keen senses of an assassin informed him.

Furthermore,

“Wake up sooner, Squatjaw! You lazy idiot!”

The pigeon bastard was kind enough to confirm it. That this hadn’t been his voice.

“Huh? Coocoo? Why are you here… eeh, stop, stop. What are you pecking at… is that some kind of powder?”

“Hey, you idiot! That’s what that fatty was trying to put into your mouth!”

“Ah? Fatty?”

…

The cold sweat that had started running on his back had become a waterfall.

“Who are you? Wait, where have I seen you, again?”

Of course, he had pulled back a little by then.

He was still slowly retreating.

But he also knew very well that this was not enough.

The fatty thought fast, as if his life depended on it.

“The powder… is a stimulant. To wake you up…”

“What?”

“Wake you up… and let you know that there’s an emergency…”

“What are you talking about? What do you… huh? Wait, my body feels a bit…”

For a moment, a cold light flashed in the fat man’s eyes.

Yes, the anaesthetic!

He’d been so startled that he’d forgotten. But Squatjaw had already inhaled that poisonious anaesthetic.

It’d worked. If he could handle this properly…

“Why does it feel a little heavy?”

Squatjaw raised himself up, and started rubbing all over his body as if he was just a little stiff.

“…”

Was it only this much?

That was then.

“What are you doing! Run!”

A hoarse voice came from somewhere. And at the same time,

Susu–.

Dark shadows began to spread through the air.

A curtain of grey fog.

It was a smoke grenade used by the thin man.

At that moment,

“… Ah, aaaaah!’

The fatty started running backwards before he was even consciously aware of it.

Fortunately, his legs didn’t stumble. He wondered what might’ve happened if they’d frozen, but they did move.

He had to run.

He didn’t think of anything else. All he could think of was that he had to run away.

Then,

“Who is this guy?”

The murmuring of Squatjaw behind his back sounded like the whispers of the devil.

---

I looked at the fat guy running away quickly, and then I turned my head to Coocoo.

“Who is this guy?”

“I don’t know. I came here and found that guy standing over you. It looked like he was trying to do something to you.”

“Do something? Hm.”

By that time, my hazy mind had cleared up, and I was able to remember the guy right away.

He was one of those assassins. There was a fat guy and a skinny one, in a set.

“Should I catch him?”

In fact, I could still catch him if I put my mind to it. He didn’t even seem that fast.

But he wasn’t that threatening, and I had other things on my plate right now, so I decided to just move on.

Well, I might get another crack at him later if he came to bother me again.

‘By the way, I should use this ability with caution.’

In the spirit state, I was still connected to my body, but the senses weren’t easily shared. In other words, unless a specific shock was applied, outside threats to the body couldn’t be known.

If it had been a strong guy instead of the fatty, something really dangerous could’ve happened.

‘From now on, I’ll only use it in when I’m in a safe zone.’

After organizing my thoughts, I turned my gaze to Coocoo.

“By the way, you sounded like you had to travel a long way?”

“Aah…”

Coocoo replied indifferently.

“Just a bit. It wasn’t fun. Flying alone.”

“What the heck.”

He said that he should taste freedom someday, that the whole sky was his, and that he should take a look around the world.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s better when more people have fun together. It’s different when you’re traveling alone. You travel a long way and then end up taking a photo with just yourself. Boring.”

“… Photo?”

“Ah.”

Without realizing it, I’d started talking about my previous life.

“Um… ah, there’s something like that in Northland. What’s it called, a camera? A machine that draws out the sight that catches the eye as it is? That too, in an instant. Let’s take a photo together next time.”

“… A photo, huh.”

“Oh, I have to quickly rush up there. Because that guy called Khan might do something strange again.”

I quickly changed the subject. Because if I made a mistake, I could even face suspicion from the readers.

Then,

“Let’s move, Squatjaw.”

Coocoo perched quietly upon my shoulder.

This guy had gotten a lot politer in the few days I hadn’t seen him.

It felt like a kid who came back home to eat because he was starving outside.

Surely he’d return to his original state soon, but… well, this too was cute.

“But are you going to go like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can’t you show your unsealed form? The princess hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Oh, is that so? I suppose I can.”

“Uh… no, no, wait.”

I quickly stopped Coocoo from transforming.

‘One of the mascots of the first emperor was a white hawk. I think it could be used for a dash of spectacle at the final obstacle…’

Of course, no clear solution came to mind right away. Still, it might be a good idea to save it just in case.

“Save it for now, and… transform when I give you the signal next time. Let’s get the timing right.”

“What signal…? Alright.”

“Then shall we go?”

That was then.

“Oh!”

Coocoo spoke as if he had suddenly remembered.

“That cat… was around here.”

“Cat? Which cat?”

“The one who fought with you, Nero.”

“Huh? Aah…”

I didn’t know he was going to come back so fast. And just by listening to Coocoo’s words, it felt like he was hovering around me somehow.

“Did you see him nearby? Is there a problem?”

“Well, I don’t really have a grudge against that guy. It’s just, I saw him when I was flying around, so…”

“Were you scared?”

“… What?”

Then,

“Scared! Of that little kitten? I didn’t get beaten back then because my will was weak…”

Coocoo started running his mouth

“They say a strong negative signifies a strong positive.”

“Hey, you idiot Squatjaw!”

“Okay, okay.”

By the way, that Nero came back? It was a bit weird.

‘Does he need something?’

Hmmm.

I immediately shook my head.

Well, if he had any business with me, he’d show up sometime or other.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I ran like the wind towards the peak.

---

Three days later.

The second obstacle, the sixth night.

“Are you really going?”

“Just in case.”

“He did say he won’t do anything. Although you might have a hard time buying it…”

The princess tilted her head.

“Are you sure you can afford to believe him? A guy who’s done such a shameless thing so openly?”

“Hey, what the hell? Is this guy crazy? That’s Khan, Khan! To insult him inside the Skull Empire…”

“Well, I’m not even a citizen. From what I can see, that guy is clearly up to something. It doesn’t make sense for him to be so silent.”

“But… I’m sure he won’t touch us anymore…”

“Hey, you really are naive. Even after all that, you still don’t know whom to believe. Anyway, it’s just a short trip. If nothing happens, I’ll just come back.”

“… Okay, got it.”

“Take care of your body. It’s the last day, so who knows what’s going to happen.”

Then, leaving the princess behind, I started going down the peak.

Soon after,

“Huh… acting is hard.”

I stopped at the bottom of the mountain and sighed softly.

In fact, spying on Khan’s suspicious behaviour was just an excuse.

Actually, I was moving in order to do something.

That’s right, to capture the second peak.

The last three days had been too quiet, and the chapter would soon be over. I wanted to finish things off with an eye-catching event.

Also, rather than being a subordinate to the princess, I thought I’d better advance to the final hurdle as the occupant of the second peak.

Of course, I wouldn’t take any subordinates with me.

Maybe even the princess noticed this to some extent. Because I didn’t hand over my nameplate to her.

‘… Did she know, when she told me to go?’

Hmmm.

I couldn’t figure out what the princess was thinking, but I decided not to care. Because my actions won’t harm her anyway. Even if there were misunderstandings, they would be resolved soon.

Before long, I arrived near the border between the first and second peaks.

The surroundings were full of people who had not yet decided on their affiliations.

They really were hard-working. To be honest, by now, they must’ve been feeling pretty much stuck.

In fact, this was also a problem caused by our own lukewarm attitudes.

If we had threatened to destroy them all if they weren’t on our side, or even carried out an attack and pushed them hard, most of them would probably have been cleared up.

In particular, if I had taken the lead, maybe 90% of them would’ve taken our side.

But I didn’t do it, on purpose. I did feel a little sorry for the princess, but the final hurdle would be far too easy if I did this.

Of course, there was no guarantee that I’d have the leading point of view in the next chapter. After this chapter, the point of view might pass to Leo again.

But again, what if it didn’t? What if support came from the readers this time as well?

And if that did happen, the show wouldn’t be as eye-catching if the enemy were weak. There had to be a certain sense of crisis in order for viewers to be immersed in it.

So, frankly, I was hoping for more enemies.

‘So, I’m going to tell them to get out of my sight and go somewhere else.’

I glanced at the audience, then secretly hurried my steps.

After a while,

“… What?”

As the second peak began to become visible, I suddenly noticed something strange.

‘Where’s everybody?’

The number of people had decreased significantly.

Even when I got near the peak, I didn’t see anyone at all. It was so empty that even traces of people were hard to find.

It was unfortunate.

‘Have they all gone down already?’

I supposed that all the guys occupying the second peak area had no choice but to go down the mountain, failing the second obstacle. If Khan wasn’t going to continue the challenge anyway, all of his subordinates would’ve been eliminated as well.

But it was still late at night. There was still a little bit of time until dawn.

There was still plenty of room to have some ‘fun’.

‘Or has he already started attacking?’

I immediately focused on my sense of hearing and listened. I wondered if I could hear the sound of a fight somewhere.

But it was quiet. For some reason, it felt like the entire Mount Maroon was asleep.

“Heeh…”

Disappointing. It was a real letdown.

‘I was going to take him out myself, but…’

I sat down on a rock near the peak.

Should I just go back?

Frankly, I was worried. It was very unlikely that anything would happen here tonight.

The beginning might’ve been a different story, but this was already the last night. Even if I did occupy this place, if I couldn’t find any subordinates, I’d have to form a camp without any troops at the final challenge. Those hundreds of people who were just ‘watching’ were hardly going to come up here either.

Meaning no one would come here except me.

“Whoo…”

What to do…

After thinking about it for a long time,

“Ugh, I don’t know.”

I put my flag in the empty pole at the centre of the peak.

To be honest, there was no guarantee that I’d find something happening even if I went back, and I thought the scene would look good anyway, to face the final gateway as a peak occupant.

‘I’m sorry, readers.’

I can only ask you to be patient and endure your boredom right now.

It was a lonely night.

---

The next day.

– The second gate of the Warrior’s Path has closed. Please, all of you, descend.

As I descended the mountain following the voice of the guide, I saw a large number of people gathered together and murmuring.

‘What is it now?’

As I approached –

“It’s Squatjaw!”

“Is this little guy called Hiro?”

“You did something stupid!”

Some of those gathered were laughing at me.

It wasn’t funny.

“What are you guys doing? Do you want a beating or something?”

…

It quickly became quiet.

Then,

“I wondered if…”

The princess came to me.

“What?”

After answering with a slight smirk, the princess remained silent and pointed to one place. It was a place where people had gathered.

“What, over there?”

“Go and see.”

“… Wait.”

When I went there, there was a plate of some sort.

It was said that it was a plate with the result of the second obstacle on the Warrior’s Path.

I immediately confirmed this.

Following,

“What’s this?”

I was speechless.

[First Peak]

– Occupant: Thermis

–  Number of subordinates: 125

[Second Peak]

– Occupant: Hiro

–  Number of subordinates: 0

[Third Peak]

– Occupant: Mong

–  Number of subordinates: 753

The results… were strange.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 70

The Conquest of the Peak (4)

The first time he’d seen the child called Thermis was six months ago.

It’d been a coincidence.

His son, who couldn’t even walk properly, suddenly had a brainless idea and for some reason declared that he was going on a trip.

At the same time, a public service that’d been scheduled was suddenly cancelled, so he had some time on hands.

So he ended up secretly following his son to the Mainin Kingdom.

It was a coincidence from start to finish.

The second princess of the Mainin Kingdom.

He’d never seen her before, but he’d heard her name somewhere.

She was a woman with strange rumours about her, that didn’t fit her country and gender.

– Bayar Khan’s soul sleeps within the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom!

Of course, he didn’t believe those rumours outright.

Bayar Khan had been a man who’d won a contest of strength against as many as a thousand people. In a sense, along with the first emperor Umir Khan, he was a symbol of the empire’s spirit and might.

In other words, if the topic of discussion is ‘strength’, Bayar Khan’s name is bound to pop up.

Still, it didn’t sound completely made-up, and it was about a woman no less, so he did have a faint interest in it.

Then they arrived at the Mainin Kingdom.

It was at the banquet hall in the kingdom that his excitement skyrocketed.

He saw it. For the first time in his life.

That smart and boring son of his went crazy.

“A-, are you… Princess Thermis?”

“Uh… yes? Uh, why?”

“Uhm… if you have some time, I was wondering…”

“Ah, I’m sorry, but I’m a little busy right now… but, are you from the Skull Empire?”

“Eh? Ah, yes, yes…”

“Then may I ask where General Mong is? I heard that he’s come, too, but it’s difficult to find him in this crowd…”

“Ah, General Mong? That man… but, if you want to meet him, I could guide you…”

“No, no, I want to find him myself.”

“Ah… but, if you don’t have a personal acquaintance, I can help you…”

“Oh, that’s okay, it’s fine.”

“…”

His son was a strong man.

A straight-laced and upright kid who shared not even a shared of resemblance with him, enough to make him doubt whether the kid truly was his own son.

If he hadn’t been so sickly, he would’ve taken over the place of his playful father a long time ago.

Perhaps that’s why, he longed for ‘physical strength’ more than anyone.

That was the only thing this strong son of his didn’t have.

“… Are you alright?”

Even Mong was concerned enough to forget he was ‘acting’ and ask. At the time, he was disguised as one of Mong’s henchmen.

From the moment he witnessed the sight of his son falling in love at first sight, Princess Thermis became a subject of deep interest for him. Because that child might become his daughter-in-law one day.

But, of course, he had no intention of directly intervening in the relationship between the two of them. It was only interest and curiosity.

At the message that Princess Thermis had finally rejected the prince’s proposal, and even ran away, he’d only cheerfully laughed applauded.

But he was sure he’d meet her on this Warrior’s Path.

Of course, Squatjaw was also a subject of interest, but he was at strictly the second place. It was the woman in front of him who had his interest from the beginning.

“Hmmm…”

And now, that interest had risen to a level incomparable from before.

Squatjaw? He didn’t even remember somebody called that.

The princess in front of him was truly someone he couldn’t take his eyes off of.

Khan spoke softly with a light smile on his lips.

“Are you alright? You look a bit tired.”

“… It was nothing.”

Then, she also tried to mimic his smile, but it didn’t seem to work. It ended up as more of a frown.

In fact, she’d been looking ragged for a while. Sweat was dripping all over his body, and her legs, which had already dug deep into the ground, were buried beyond her calves and up to her thighs. Her hands were torn and bloody.

But surprisingly, the rope still held taut, without the slightest sign of slacking.

“Looks like you’re slowly reaching your limit… What, didn’t you accept the match because you were confident?”

“… I haven’t lost yet.”

Surprisingly, that was true. That she was having difficulties was obvious, but the strength in her arms holding the rope was not waning.

At first, he’d just made this suggestion out of curiosity about what it’d look like.

Now that they’d confirmed that Squatjaw has indeed gone down, what if they went and pulled out the flag and took over the peak? She could of course choose to resist. At something other than combat, as well.

The princess had answered bravely.

“… The public rumours weren’t at all exaggerated, was it? But I will resist. I have no intention of just standing here and letting you take it.”

“How do you want to do it?”

“It doesn’t matter. Even individual battles are fine.”

“Anything? But it can be a little unfair… is that alright?”

“It’s fine. And why are you asking me that? Aren’t you going to do it anyway?”

To be honest, he’d had no intention of hurting anyone, and then there were those rumours.

Therefore, Bayar Khan’s legendary game, the ‘Tug of War against a Thousand’ was chosen as the event.

Of course, there were only about a hundred people here on the peak right now, but that wasn’t any worse, necessarily. In fact, each one of them had the power of more than ten men.

And,

“Hey… are you saying you still aren’t all tapped out?”

This really had been an excellent choice.

He’d never dreamed that he’d be able to see such a dynamic image without a single splash of blood.

Sway–.

Hundreds of his subordinates were shaken by the power that the princess radiated in an instant.

Of course, the rope quickly went taut again, but it was a scene that made me think ‘I couldn’t do this’.

“Whoo… it’s okay if it gets harder than it is now, right?”

“…”

“Looks like it’s fine. All right, Mong, you go.”

Khan nodded at Mong, who was standing next to him.

Then, Mong slowly approached a vacant position along the rope and gently grabbed it.

What would happen now?

“I don’t know if you know him? That’s Mong, the chief general of the Skull Empire. He looks thin on the outside, but the reality’s different. He’s a big, rough fellow.”

“… Great General Mong.”

She seems to be aware. From how her complexion hardened so visibly.

In fact, it was difficult to find anyone within the Skull Empire who didn’t know Mong’s name, or even within the East Continent. Even if they might be confused about his own name, it was difficult to find people within the empire who didn’t know the name of the general.

Soon after,

“Ugh, uh…”

The princess’ face contorted visibly.

He thought things would start off a bit more relaxed, but apparently that guy was being earnest from the start. Anyway, he was a kind sort. Was he trying to finish this up soon?

After a while,

Sssh–.

“Ugh…”

The princess’ body, which had stood firm till now, began to shake gently.

Her legs, which had been embedded in the ground, trembled like reeds, and her hands holding the ropes trembled like she was having a seizure.

‘… This is the end.’

It’d been a lot of fun, but all things inevitably come to an end.

As always, this was the most disappointing moment. He used to hate this feeling when he was young, so he’d always tried to hold on to the end, even by force.

But he was old enough to accept that if joy has a beginning, it had to also have an end.

And then,

“I will finish it.”

Khan nodded at Mong’s signal that he was ready to close the curtains.

Wasn’t there one more fun toy left anyway? It was the turn of that little squat-jawed kid next.

‘I hope he gets here all fired up.’

Then as he was about to come up with a new idea –

“Huh?”

Swish–.

‘Something whitish’ appeared from somewhere in the air.

Then, it was sucked into the princess’ body.

“… What?”

Khan closed his eyes and opened them.

He couldn’t see it anymore. The princess looked the same as before.

Was it an illusion?

That was then.

“Uh, huh!?”

“What!”

“What, what?”

“Everyone, give it more strength!”

A change had taken place.

Surprisingly, the princess suddenly began to pull the rope towards her. As if all the struggle until now had been a joke, she was now pulling the rope with a relentless force.

“No, Mong! What’re you doing…”

It was embarrassing.

There was a tendon sprouting on Mong’s forearm. His face was scrunched with effort. He wasn’t taking it east. Mong was also doing his best.

But,

‘Oh, is she really dragging them all in?’

The rope was being pulled towards the princess.

How strange. The whitish ‘thing’ he’d noticed a while ago hadn’t been a trick of the light after all. Intangible power had somehow infused the princess.

He didn’t think any further.

“Move!”

After grabbing a guy who was being dragged powerlessly and pulling him out, Khan took his place.

Then he quickly grabbed the rope.

“…”

It was heavy.

It was enough to feel the presence of the person holding the rope from the other side. A huge presence that would never being a single, slender woman to mind.

He’d never dared to imagine that there would be a person with such power in the world.

The only one he could think of was…

At that time,

“Look over there!”

“What is that?”

“Uh, a ghost?”

Behind the princess’ back, something like white steam began to rise.

It was different from the ‘whitish substance’ he’d noticed before.

The vapours were thicker, clearer, and massive by comparison. And it continued to change, ending as a single, ghastly human figure the size of an elephant.

When Khan saw the human made of steam, he gulped unconsciously.

“… Bayar Khan.”

---

‘Wow! Squatjaw, you! Were you always this strong?’

– Quiet.

Of course not.

The princess didn’t know the concept behind this ability itself, she only knew that my power had been transferred to her. But this was completely different from the truth. It was me who raised the power of the princess, but there was no transfer of power. What was being shared was instead my ‘character rank’.

Of course, it couldn’t have resulted in any dramatic growth. I was still clumsy at it, and the princess’ ‘character potential’ was still a bit on the low side.

But even so, she’d been transplanted with the ‘rank’ of a person who could be called the ceiling of power in the known scope of the present world. Of course she’d end up strong.

‘Wow! That old man can’t even compare, can he? Have you just been humouring him all this time? And to think he was bragging about being the most powerful person in the world!’

No.

The increase in force was not significantly related to the actual strength of the body.

Rather, seeing that the balance had been adjusted in relation to the ‘character rank’, the actual power of Bayar Khan might be stronger than I thought.

I thought he’d get angry and start a fuss, but –

– Be quiet! You little shits! You think sharing my strength is easy? Ugh, I’m seriously dying here!

Apparently, he couldn’t even listen to the princess properly.

In fact, a little while ago, I’d ordered him to reveal his form for a while.

– You have to look as dignified as possible, like a beast that subdues its prey just by staring at it. You know? I am Bayar Khan, you bastards! Just aim for that feeling.

– No… it’s not that simple. No, now that I think about it, I think I might be able to swing that… But why are you asking me to show my face?

– Because you’re the one and only Bayar Khan! Someone is bound to recognize you. So, from today onwards, their attitude towards the princess will be slightly different. They’ll also spend time trying to trace the relationship between the two of you.

Currently, it was the princess who had to attract the people of the Skull Empire, not me. There was no better chance than this for her to endear herself to the people of the Empire, and later to the position of emperor.

And I was already getting enough aggro from people really I cared about. A normal person, turning into a ghost and wandering around? Talk about eye-catching.

Of course, I wasn’t providing much visual stimulation right at this moment. Unless I revealed my form as vapor, I was just a ball of transparent gas.

But I didn’t even think about doing that. What if I got noticed by the guys of the Skull Empire? It’d be a right headache. This was supposed to be recognized as the power of the princess, not my power.

Anyway,

– For now, focus. Because this ain’t over yet.

‘Don’t you think it’ll be over if I just keep pulling? I’ve become incredibly strong!’

– Hey, don’t put your guard down!

I urged her to be more attentive.

Of course, the rope had already been pulled back entirely completely. It was indeed almost finished.

Still, the reason I couldn’t relax was –

“Ugh–.”

Because the condition of the guy over there called Mong wasn’t very good.

Like everyone else, he was pulling the rope with a scrunched-up face like he’d die before he let go, but strangely, his body had been swelling up for a while. Even to the extent that the guy behind him was being crushed and had to swerve to one side in a hurry.

In the process of using his power, it seemed that ‘some kind of ability’ was about to be activated without knowing it.

‘What? Are you a transformation-type?’

That was then.

“Mong!”

Khan called out to him from behind.

Even while Mong was frantically pulling the rope –

“… Uhm?”

Hearing this, I glanced behind me.

Then, after exchanging gazes with Khan,

“… It’s my mistake.”

He let go of the rope stepped aside.

And soon,

“Uh, huh?”

“Ugh!”

“Ugh, I’m being dragged!”

“Leave the rope!”

It meant the end of the tug of war.

…

100:1, or rather 100:3.

Anyway, the unfair tug of war was over.

Leaving behind only the first legendary anecdote of the (probable) future emperor of the great Skull Empire, ‘Arte Khan’.

Khan had a strange expression on his face.

He might’ve been angry, or he might’ve been holding back your laughter.

Then,

“Princess Thermis, right?”

His voice was very calm.

“… Yes.”

“You are very strong. I chose the wrong toy to play with.”

“You overpraise me.”

“Oh? Are you kidding me right now? Did you beat a hundred people alone just now or not?”

“Uh… Oh, no.”

The impression of calm seemed to have been an illusion.

“Okay, maybe you… and Bayar Khan, something… No, no.”

Khan then turned back immediately.

His face looked like he had a lot to say, but he seemed to back away more than I expected. Well, right now, it would be more important to calm the startlement in his heart than to solve the question.

Of course, he might still be cheating.

“Yeah, then. I won’t touch you anymore. Let’s finish the second obstacle properly and see you at the finals.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Oh, and…”

Khan then turned around and added a word.

“I feel sorry for my son.”

Soon, a smile appeared on the princess’ lips.

---

“Calm down, your chance is here. It could be a trap… but more likely an opportunity. Let’s be calm, be calm.”

The fatty looked at the thin man who continued to mutter to himself.

This was already the fifth time.

It was his first time in years seeing this guy so nervous.

“Hey, I’m fine. If only you could calm down…”

“Calm down! Shit!”

“…”

Fatty shook his head.

This was guy was done for. Finished.

There was no hope to fix the thin man as he was now.

‘Now what do I…’

He had to make his own decisions and move.

It was, after all, an opportunity. Although, well, it could be a trap, too.

But frankly, it didn’t seem like one. Why would they suddenly set a trap at this time? Why? Aiming at whom, except maybe themselves?

‘It makes no sense.’

If that were the case, there were other options.

At least in such an urgent situation, there was no way to suddenly start setting traps.

The fatty turned his gaze to the cave in front of him.

Deep inside that place, hidden by the bushes, there was a man they had been chasing for a long time.

Squatjaw.

There, the man lay on the ground out cold, looking dead to the world.

Obviously, something must’ve gone wrong.

When Squatjaw had realized that Khan had tricked them and sprinted back towards the peak, they, too, had thought that their plans had gone up in smoke. But oddly enough, Khan’s attention had turned to something other than Squatjaw.

But look how the wheel turned. They’d thought it’d been a waste of effort, but a good opportunity knocked on their door right afterwards.

Yes, this was an opportunity.

“… Then I’ll be the one to go.”

“Oh no! Come on, wait… c-, calm down!”

However, the fatty ignored the thin man’s words, and took one step at a time.

Soon,

“… There he is.”

The fatty looked down at the giant lying at his feet.

It was as if he had fallen asleep without caring about the world.

What should he do now?

“Whoo…”

Calm down, Calm down.

What the thin man had said was correct. He had to be a little calmer.

His brain wasn’t working right.

Should he stab the heart with a dagger? Use poison? But what if this bastard woke up?

If it seemed impossible to finish it all at once, any shocking actions had to be avoided as much as possible. Or he might end up being counterattacked.

Then how about spraying him with some anaesthetic powder, first?

‘Yeah, that’s right. This is the way.’

The fatty then pulled out a vial of white powder from his waist.

A handful of it was said to put an elephant to sleep at once.

Then, after opening the lid, he carefully brushed it under Squatjaw’s nostrils, and also dabbed it around his mouth.

Fortunately, Squatjaw never stirred, even when the bottle went empty.

‘It’s done. Success.’

The fatty carefully wiped the drops of sweat from his forehead. A cold sweat was drenching his back.

Now, what next?

Capture, or assassination? It depended on the purpose.

‘… Capture is right out.’

Even if he had ten lives, it would be an irrational idea.

So, there was only one answer.

To kill him.

The fatty pulled out the dagger from his waist.

“Huh… let’s do it like the usual.”

Then just when the fatty was about to start –

“What are you doing?”

“…” Thud!

His heart was about to burst out of his chest.

It was a very sudden voice.

It was also very close.

‘M-, maybe…’

He jerked back in surprise, but that wasn’t the case. Squatjaw still had his eyes closed.

Then, from where…?

Then, while he was looking around in haste,

“Where’re you looking, you idiot?”

Again, the voice could be heard.

The sound was right next to his position.

The fatty slowly turned his head towards it.

What immediately caught his eye was,

“… A bird?”

A pigeon. Or maybe a dove?

A small white dove was sitting on a branch and staring at him.

It had a very dirty mouth, apparently.

“What do you think you’re doing, you fat fuck?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 69

The Conquest of the Peak (3)

1. An absurd self-introduction, to the extent that even a liar wouldn’t choose to tell so tall a tale.

2. A face that resembled that Mero-whatever-guy.

3. The surprised reactions from the surroundings, and the ensuing silence.

4. Such a huge number of subordinates, which I severely doubted could be gathered within a short period of time.

5. Finally, the princess’ mouth gaping wide open.

Putting all of this together,

“Eh…”

Left me completely stunned.

Rather, I myself was having a hard time keeping my mouth closed instead of gaping.

This was Khan. The current emperor of the Skull Empire.

In short, I met the person who should’ve been the most difficult to meet in this country. And on top of that, he was the one who came a-knocking.

Of course, I didn’t know anything about this emperor. And if I didn’t know anything, neither did the readers.

The appearance of a new character intrinsically stimulates the interest of readers, but it can also cause fatigue at the same time. Because although the author knows the role, background, and significance of the new character, to the reader he’s just one more member of the cast whom he must now learn about and understand. A character that appears without the slightest trace of a foreshadowing, even more so.

However, there are exceptions to this rule.

If at least one of the three factors – ‘appearance’, ‘ability’, and ‘identity’, can catch the interest of the readers from the very first appearance.

Then it’s a completely different story. No matter how tired or exhausted, interested readers will still wait wide-eyed longing to know more.

Yes, just like right now.

“The emperor of the Skull Empire… you mean you want to be treated like that? On the battlefield, no less?”

Even so, I tried as hard as I could to not show my surprise on the outside.

No matter how I felt on the inside, I had to stay in character.

“Come to the point.”

Khan looked at me and grinned.

“Hey, you’re a pretty tough fellow, aren’t you? Well, I did guess so.”

Then,

“Anyway, that’s good. If you’d gotten scared, it wouldn’t have been any fun. Right?”

He chuckled as he gave the tall and reedy^[1] man next to him a glance.

The man simply bowed his head without answering.

‘A bodyguard?’

He was quite an eye-catching sort. Not just because of his height, but rather because of his intensely blazing eyes. They seemed to shine with a feeling like, ‘let’s have a scrap!’

Of course, I’d have to experience it for myself if I wanted to find out the actual details.

“Oh, right! We still have to talk about that.”

Khan snapped his fingers as if he’d suddenly remembered something.

“Do you have a favourite sport?”

He asked me in a soft voice.

Somehow, just by looking at his face, I could tell he was going to follow whatever I said without complaint.

“Anything is fine.”

“Hey, don’t regret it later.”

“I never regret any of my actions. No matter what I do, I do it because I want to.”

At that moment,

“Haah…”

“Ooh…”

Some of the audience let out brief exclamations.

Was it a little too much?

Still,

“How fun. Anything goes, yeah? All right, then let me decide what I want.”

The effect wasn’t bad. The curve at the corners of Khan’s lips grew even deeper.

Then, the competition he suggested was –

A 5vs5 fight.

Picking five players from both camps, one by one coming out to engage in a hand-to-hand brawl.

The winner would continue to fight.

When all five players of one faction lose, the match would end immediately.

The losing side would go down the mountain without any fuss.

It wasn’t a bad offer overall.

It was tidy and reasonable. It was an event that allowed us to compete with each other in moderation, preventing loss of combat power as much as possible.

Also, it was a very attractive proposition for me.

It wasn’t particularly difficult, and it was well-structured so I could take the spotlight by myself.

It was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t show the readers a large-scale battle, but…

“The match will start tomorrow morning at sunrise. There’s a vacant area down there that’d be a decent spot.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

“The number of people seemed insufficient, so I set it to five, but… will that be fine? Maybe you could find some people to join by the end of the day if you start now? Well, it won’t be easy.”

“Ah, yeah, I guess.”

“…”

When I answered lightly, Khan seemed to get a little irritated.

“Like I said, you better not try to run away. Don’t make me do things the hard way.”

“Oh yeah? How do you usually do it, this hard way?”

I was legitimately curious, so I asked. If it was interesting enough, I was willing to actually go ahead with it.

But,

“If you’re curious, feel free to try it yourself. Anyway, see you tomorrow. At sunrise tomorrow morning, at the empty lot down there. Don’t be late.”

Unfortunately, Khan didn’t tell me.

Soon after,

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Khan and the reedy man next to him turned away.

What was strange was that, compared to Khan who turned back right away, the guy next to him hesitated for a moment, his gaze fixed on me. His eyes contained some kind of a meaningful emotion.

Like that of a warrior before he entered the battlefield.

So,

‘If your body is itching like that, see you tomorrow.’

I also smiled at him.

With the promise of tomorrow’s decisive battle, the two visitors left the peak.

---

The next day, dawn. The sun was just rising over the clouds.

“You should go.”

“Yeah.”

“Win.”

“Easy enough.”

“And… be careful.”

The princess’ face was strangely stiff.

Honestly, did she really think I could lose?

“Be careful while I’m gone. Since I’m not around, this’ll be the best time for those who’re aiming at you. They might take advantage.”

“… Ah.”

What the hell. She’d never even considered it. That was written plainly on her face.

I took a deep breath.

“Oh, and just in case, don’t trust that bald guy. Because he’s one strong bastard.”

“… Okay.”

“Come back as soon as possible.”

Then it was time for me to leave.

“… W-, wait a second!”

The princess hastily stopped me for some reason.

“What, what is it?”

“Maybe that person yesterday… well, um, no.”

“What?”

“No, forget it, just go. Even if I tell you, you won’t understand anyway.”

“Hey. Whatever you’re thinking, just spill it.”

Soon, she slowly spoke.

“There should be one very strong man in their camp. I think that tall guy yesterday might’ve been the one, but I’m not sure. He must be in disguise.”

“How far away were you yesterday? Strong? Who is he?”

“He’s called Mong. The general of the Skull Empire, also called the Sword of the Empire. He’s… strong. He has a history of fighting hundreds of enemies alone, and even… well, you know.”

The princess was looking at me with such serious eyes that it wasn’t even funny anymore.

If I didn’t list myself among the strongest in the world, nobody else would dare to either.

Well, that didn’t mean I should turn my nose at her concern.

Nodding my head –

“Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind.”

I ran straight to the place of the decisive battle.

The vacant area was already crowded with many people.

Even though it was supposed to be an empty space, there wasn’t a lot of vacancy left. Where did this crowd come from? People from all over had come to sight-see.

Presumably, even the guys from the third peak had gathered.

Then,

“L-look, it’s Squatjaw!”

“Squatjaw is here!”

“He is alone!”

“Is he that confident!?”

There was a commotion everywhere.

It was like a celebrity fighter entering the arena during a tournament.

It wasn’t a bad atmosphere.

‘Yeah, yeah. That’s right.’

While I was heading towards the centre of the area –

A guy sprinted out of the group on Khan’s side, holding a red flag.

“Is it just you here?”

“Huh?”

“Did you really come alone?”

“Hmph. Who’re you?”

But he didn’t answer my question, abruptly taking a deep breath instead.

“Huh… this is absurd.”

Then,

“Mr. Squatjaw came here alone, everyone! Does this make sense? How overconfident can this guy be!?”

He gave a loud cry.

And then,

“Boo!”

“This upstart!”

“He’s done for!”

Boos resounded from all sides.

It was frustrating.

“What is this all of a sudden? No. Who even are you?”

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I…”

Then he started to introduce himself, starting with his name, nicknames, specialties, and going on to recount the epic saga of his own life, which I had no need to know about.

“…”

This guy had some kind of an angle.

“Then are you the first player?”

After a little hesitation, he answered.

“Uh… not really.”

“What? You aren’t?”

“Yes. Those who will play today are preparing now.”

“… Really? Why did you jump out and start babbling?”

He smirked at my question.

“Haha, just like what I heard, you’re quite an aggressive one. For now, please stand in the centre over there.”

He tried to guide me, but I didn’t even pretend to listen, looking around instead.

it was a sad state of affairs. No matter how far I looked, there wasn’t the slightest trace of Khan and his bodyguard.

‘Something strange.’

By now, the day had fully dawned.

The appointment time had already passed.

“Once you stand in the centre, I’ll introduce you to the people.”

And what was this guy doing? Why did it feel like I was running out of time?

“Okay, who else is here but you?”

“Yes? Oh, they’re waiting over there right now, so I’ll call them after the introduction…”

That was then.

Suddenly, an uneasy feeling surged inside my heart.

Khan had urged me to come out here on time as promised, saying that he had another, hard way.

That guy who’d looked at me with meaningful eyes.

Khan’s numerous subordinates who didn’t go back to their place of residence and stayed for a day in someone else’s territory.

“… No way.”

In an instant, I started running back the way I’d come, full throttle, without looking back.

Of course I’d been feeling strange.

I’d heard that he was an out-and-out eccentric, unpredictable and capricious.

No, I could’ve come to that conclusion even without ever listening to that. Somebody who stod at the top of the nation, in an emperor’s position, playing around here while hiding his identity? Just for ‘fun’.

Did such a person propose such a fair competition?

Did he say our game would end with just that?

Why? Was that fun?

“Haah… tsk. Was the peak this far?”

I sped up even more.

Of course, this was not a logical reasoning. There was no particular reason other than the feeling of ‘strangeness’. It was just a feeling.

But,

“Ha… haha.”

Sometimes feelings can be more accurate than cold rationality.

I bared my teeth in dismay at the sight that caught my eye.

Really, the ‘real’ match was happening at the peak.

Khan, that reedy bastard, and a portion of his numerous subordinates were all there. Along with the princess.

‘Did I fall for such a simple trick…’

I’d been careless. I couldn’t imagine that the emperor could tell such a brazen lie.

I bit my lip and hurriedly jumped up.

By the time I reached a position where the peak was in full view –

“What… are these people doing?”

I saw a very strange sight.

The people on the peak were not fighting. They weren’t trying to pull out the princess’ flag, nor were they attacking her. They were doing something close to a child’s play.

What they were doing was nothing more than a ‘tug of war’.

Why tug-of-war all of a sudden?

“Haah… really. How bothersome.”

The reason I couldn’t contain my anger when I saw this was not, of course, because everyone aside from me was having a fun game of tug-of-war.

It was clear at a glance, just how unfair a match was being played.

On one side, counting at first glance, nearly a hundred people were holding the long rope in a line that stretched down to the hillside below, and on the other side there was a woman all by herself.

Moreover, given how desperate the expression on the woman’s face was, it seemed like a game that she couldn’t afford to lose. Perhaps something very important hinged on it. For example, the right to occupy the peak.

“…”

Still, the reason I didn’t break in right away was simple. Because the princess still looked like she could bear it.

I felt it again, but really, this woman was a monster. How could she withstand the power of hundreds of people on her lonesome?

Of course, it wasn’t that Khan or the reedy bastard next to him were lending their strength to the team. They were just leisurely watching this situation from the side.

But her amazing strength clearly shone through nonetheless.

‘Come to think of it… what should I do now?’

I started to worry.

Going up like this? What a joke. I didn’t know how things would play out if I did that, but at least it won’t work out neatly.

I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed that the rule of the match was that only the princess could participate. If not for that, that baldie wouldn’t have been cheering her on from behind.

Even if I went up, it was clear that they would try to stop me using the same rule.

Of course, I could flip the table. After all, they cheated me first. The deal was invalid.

But it wasn’t the best idea to confront the emperor of the Skull Empire head-on. For the princess, or for me.

It was a crisis.

Even as I struggled, I continued to check the situation with my own eyes.

Although she was trembling, the princess was still holding on.

‘Bayar Khan… hasn’t come forward, it looks like.’

From the expression on her face and the way she was quietly using her strength, she was still the princess.

The reason why he didn’t replace the princess – I could guess to some extent.

Perhaps he was not following my advice, ‘one can only awaken when they’re alone in a crisis situation’.

And it was the right decision. Indeed, the princess could awaken in this situation, here and now.

Of course, it was true that the situation was a bit too tense for me to merrily wish her good luck, when there was no guarantee she would succeed.

“Whoo…”

It was clearly a crisis. But it was also an opportunity.

Overcoming a crisis in an unexpected way is a sure way to fire up the readers.

It was impossible for me to go and help out. That was a bad idea all around.

Still, somehow, the princess had to win. If the princess lost there and the flag got uprooted, all my hard work so far would be in vain.

“There’s nothing else to try but that.”

I remembered the conversation I’d had with Bayar Khan the other day.

---

“You really couldn’t lend her even half of your strength? You sure about that?”

“Ah, that’s how it is! If you just read my records written in historical materials…”

“Hey, who believes stuff like that?”

“Huh, you’re being so unfair I feel like I could die… wait, I’m already dead! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Okay then, let’s be honest. What about the strength of the princess herself? Aren’t you adding her strength on top of yours?”

“Uh, umm?”

“No, you even possessed the princess, it doesn’t make sense to say that you can’t use her strength. Right?”

Bayar Khan hesitated, and then reluctantly admitted it.

“Well, you’re right, but anyway, the strength of this body isn’t even that much, so why do you keep trying to argue about it!”

“Because it was a 2vs1, a 2vs1. You lost to me 2vs1. So please don’t keep saying you lost unfairly.”

“Huh… that’s ridiculous. If I were really going to do a 2vs1, I wouldn’t have possessed her, I would’ve just given this kid my powers instead. Because it’s more efficient. Of course, I have no intention of doing that!”

“Oh, is that so? You can just give her strength?”

“Well, it’s more that I add to her soul, but it can be said that I just hand over a certain amount of power. However, it’s clumsy in practice and there are clear limitations…”

Surprisingly, the old man said that it was possible to empower people without having to change their personalities.

“If there’s a limit… is it something like, you can only give as much power as the princess’ body can tolerate?”

“No, it’s kind of the other way around.”

“Is it you who has the problem?”

“Right, it’s my problem. There’s not much power I can give her. No, I gave it all, but should I say that I only have that much strength?”

“What do you mean?”

“When I possess this kid’s body like I’m doing now, it’s literally a concept that my soul overtakes her body. It’s a way of reproducing my body when I was alive, even if it’s not complete. But that other way… it’s just a concept that strengthens this kid herself by adding the power of my soul. It’s not just handing over the strength I’d had in life. It’s hard to express everything this kid has. I don’t really know. It’s something I’ve never done before.”

“Hey…”

I was quite surprised. As I understood it, this was a concept similar to raising the character’s ‘class’ itself.

Presumably, the act of adding to the soul seemed to strengthen not only the physical ability, but also the unique ability and various hidden characteristics. Just like Karl Zayed, the scope of growth covered the whole spectrum of abilities.

It was truly a great ability. Even though the parties themselves seemed to be unaware.

Besides, it was easy to guess why he said it was clumsy.

Simple. Contrary to the fact that Bayar Khan had an extremely powerful body during his lifetime, in fact, the ‘class’ of his soul state was not so high. Because that was also the way the manga’s power balance was adjusted.

---

Predictably, Bayar Khan was currently powering the princess through this ‘soul-adding method’.

The problem was that I didn’t know how long it would last. Even though Khan and his bodyguard had not participated yet, the only thing the princess could do was not let go of the rope.

“I don’t have time.”

I immediately stopped thinking. Now was not the time to hatch some cunning scheme. It was the time to actively put into practice whatever came to mind.

Then,

“Well, guess I’ll just have to try.”

I hastily moved.

However, my direction was not towards the peak.

Rather, I went the opposite way.

To a gloomy shaded area where no one would notice me.

---

“By the way, can I ask one more question?”

“You, you have too many questions!”

“It’s just… because I’m kind of interested in this kind of thing.”

“Huh, what is it?”

“Did you ever use that unique ability… even while you were alive?”

This was a question I was really curious about.

It was a skill that could only be used after death? Wasn’t that strange?

Bayar Khan’s answer was indeed simple.

“Isn’t that natural? Why would I save such a good thing? I had a lot of fun with this. Haha.”

I knew it.

“Oh, I thought it was only activated after you died?”

“Nah, I just never dreamed that it could be activated even after my death. At that time, I almost died from shock. Although I was already dead! Ha ha ha ha!”

Immortality.

I thought Bayar Khan’s ability was actually close to this.

But it wasn’t that surprising. There were quite a few beings with similar abilities in this world.

“Oh, one last thing.”

“What else is it this time!”

“How do you use that unique ability? Like, is there a special way to activate it?”

“How I use it? Seriously, why are you asking?”

“I’m just curious…”

“Hmph, if I teach you that, what, can you use it? My unique ability?”

I smiled at his question.

“Well… well, wouldn’t it be possible to copy it if I’m lucky?”

---

“… God damn it.”

Her hands holding the rope were already numb.

There was no tingling sensation or pain where the skin had gotten peeled off.

It wasn’t just her hands either. Her mind had gone blank, too, and she felt like she could pass out at any moment.

She wanted to rest.

– Stop, let me come out and deal with this for you.

‘What would change if I did that?’

Thermis shook her head.

She was already exhausted. Even if Bayar Khan took over now, he wouldn’t last long anyway.

“… Haah.”

She’d come a long way, so there’d been moments when she’d fantasized about success, but this was how it’d all come to an end.

Now, whether she was forced to marry, was executed, or had to go back to the exhausting life of a fugitive… her freedom would be gone.

Thermis sensed the end.

This was it.

That was then.

– Hey.

‘Huh?’

– Can you hear me?

A muffled voice could be heard from somewhere.

– What is it, you bastard! Hey, what is this?

– You did a great job. And, uh… Princess.

And then,

– You held up well.

A powerful force, one she’d never before felt the like, began to well up from within her body.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 멀대 (muldae) means tall, but in more of a derogatory sense.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 68

The Conquest of the Peak (2)

“What?”

Upon reaching the peak, I flinched slightly.

Because on the peak stood still a certain big-boned, barrel-chested fellow.

Had it been thirty minutes? Forty?

Definitely less than an hour.

While I left and camp and made a detour for the second peak, this guy had quickly climbed up and planted a flag.

Contrary to his appearance, he was surprisingly quick.

But the funny bit was –

“… Huh, eh?”

He also seemed to be quite perplexed.

…

After such a moment of mutual silence,

“Um… is that your flag?”

I was the one who spoke up first.

I pointed to the small rod at the centre of the peak. There was a dull grey flag hanging on it.

“… Y-, yes.”

“Then you’re the first occupant of this peak?”

I was somewhat regretting it already.

I’d wanted to show the scene of a single flag remaining unchanging from beginning to end.

“W-, well, there wasn’t any flag planted here before mine. B-but… why do you ask?”

“Oh? Why?”

He was a funny guy.

“Why would anyone on this peak be interested in the flag, you think?”

“Y-, you! You want to pull it out?”

“Or how about you pull it out yourself?”

“…”

The man asked a last question very carefully.

“R… right now?”

“Yeah.”

Then,

“Y-, you bastard! You wanna go?!”

The idiot, whose face had stiffened, finally shouted with rage, pulling out the big brutish-looking axe he was carrying behind his back.

How outrageous.

Ignoring him, I strode towards the centre where the flag was planted.

“W-, wait! St-, stop!”

“Nope.”

Then,

“D-, damn it!”

The bastard swung at me.

He moved quite fast, for his size.

‘Still, it’s not like he’s a threat or anything.’

I dodged his axe and tripped him.

“Ugh!”

Leaving behind the guy rolling on the ground, I immediately pulled the flag out.

Then,

Crack–.

The flagpole broke with a bang! on the spot.

“Whoo…”

It was amazing. At first glance, I thought it was just a wooden stick…

Of course, it didn’t feel like a technological device. Someone had apparently applied some kind of ‘conditional control’ ability on it.

For example, ‘if someone who is not the owner of the nameplate touches it, it will break’.

Then,

“Oh, no!”

A screaming cry could be heard.

When I turned around, the big guy was looking at me with a confused expression.

I scratched my head.

“Wait, didn’t you know it was going to be like this? Why the hell did you take the peak over so quickly? You could’ve just been patient.”

“I just… heard that you went to another peak…”

“Who, me? No I didn’t.”

“… Is that so.”

Then he murmured,

“Then, am I already eliminated?”

He asked me as if he’d remembered it just now.

“Looks like it? I’ve pulled the flag out, haven’t I?”

I had no idea about this guy’s future itinerary (?).

Since he got eliminated, he’d naturally have to go down… maybe he’d have to trek the whole way back on foot.

That was then.

“I… will take revenge.”

The kid muttered blankly.

“I will take revenge.”

Then he slowly turned his eyes towards me. It must’ve been a real shock, from how bloodshot his eyes were.

“Uh… you mean against me?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna kill you.”

He picked up the axe he’d dropped and slowly approached me.

It was weird.

Was this really alright? Was it permissible to attack a test-taker regardless of whether or not you’d already been eliminated?

Soon after,

“I’ve got nothing to lose now. You shouldn’t have made me drop out.”

The idiot started recklessly wielding his axe.

His intelligence seemed to have dropped a bit further, but he was still strong and moved quickly. Besides, just like he said, he was far more aggressive than before.

Bang–!

His blows were heavy enough to change the terrain with each strike. Every time the axe struck, rocks would splinter and shards would fly, and the ground would dent.

But, of course, that didn’t mean it was a threat to me or anything.

I watched the situation for a while, dodging his attacks as they came.

But,

“Hmmm…”

No matter how long I waited, nobody else appeared, nor did any warning sound to stop his actions.

That meant that those who were eliminated could continue to function as a separate axis in this occupation, despite not being in the running for winning. They were like free mercenaries not even bound by the flags, moving according to their personal feelings and interests.

Meaning you shouldn’t recklessly make enemies, but if you clearly define somebody as an enemy, you should ‘deal with them’ with a sword in hand.

It was then that I realized something important about this war of occupation.

It wasn’t just a game of staring at each other, taking sides, and taking down the other teams. It was a game of extreme survival, with no clear enemies and allies, where you yourself had to be responsible for your own actions until the bitter end.

There was a reason why Bayar Khan had emphasized the ‘last’ position, telling me to wait all this while. Smartness and political acumen were needed to navigate this game. He’d probably thought I’d clumsily make enemies if I just barged in. The game structure itself facilitated that.

Bang–!

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Meanwhile, the guy’s attacks continued.

Hmmm.

I stared blankly at the axe that bit down on the earth right next to me. Then I turned my eyes to the guy.

He was a sad case, no doubt.

He got lucky, then unlucky, then lucky, and finally unlucky again.

“Wherever you try to run away to…”

“Hey.”

“… Huh?”

I picked up the guy’s axe myself and threw it.

Swish–.

He caught the axe, staggering back at the force.

“Why are you so unlucky?”

“… Huh?”

Although it was just bad luck on his part… but as Bayar Khan had emphasized so many times, it was only who smiled last that mattered. If you got unlucky at the end, then all your good fortune thus far became meaningless.

“Yeah, if you’d just gone down lamenting ‘too bad, I got eliminated this time’, nothing else would’ve happened. But now that you’ve been so rude, I have to actually decide how to deal with you. What happens if people refuse to go down even after losing their flags? Then fights will no longer end with breaking others’ flags, don’t you think?”

“… Ah.”

“And what do you mean, you’ve got nothing to lose? You had one thing.”

“I, I did?”

“Yes, your future. You did still have a future. Until you came at me, anyway. Right? You could’ve just taken the exam again next year.”

“… Ah.”

“Why did you have to throw it all into the gutter? How sad.”

“…”

“Come on, this is the last time, so come at me with no regrets. That’s why I threw you the axe.”

But,

“…”

Despite my kind suggestion, he just backed away instead of moving forward.

“Hey, where do you you’re going?”

“The, the future… my future, you’re right. It’s still left…”

“No, it went poof a while ago, you know?”

“Hey, I can’t lose the one thing I still have left!”

Then, leaving even the axe behind, he ran down the mountain.

…

I was a little conflicted, but I decided to just let him go. Don’t they say that it ain’t over till the fat lady sings^[1]?

Just consider yourself lucky, you piece of shit.

Soon after,

“Hey…”

Looking around, I was a little surprised.

I’d stopped paying attention while dealing with that strange idiot, but now I realized that a lot of people had gathered near the peak.

Everyone was encamped among the bushes that grew near the peak, and the closest one was positioned less than ten meters from the peak.

From the looks of it, these guys seemed to have a higher understanding of the occupation war than that stupid idiot.

They were vigilant, stalking, prowling, constantly observing me, quietly calculating whether I was going to plant a flag or not, or when I would do it.

“Let’s see.”

I also started staring at them openly. To be honest, I wanted to understand what they were thinking.

Were they looking for opportunities in the chaos that’d follow me planting my flag? Were they just trying to confirm my power, which had only been the stuff of rumours so far? Or were they just here to observe the situation without making any specific decisions?

Simply put,

1. Aim for the occupation.

2. Stick to me.

3. Attach to somebody else.

There were a number of options, but none of them had probably committed to one or the other, right now. They were just waiting and watching.

And, in fact, the guys camping nearby weren’t a big deal. Anyway, they’d been in position to see the fight that’d just happened on this peak.

The main issue was the bunch who might skip over to another peak any time and just dipping their feet here. The ones encamped further in the distance.

I looked at the crowd roaming about fifty meters from the peak.

They were the ones harder to deal with.

They were positioned such that it wasn’t easy to subdue them, yet it wasn’t easy to throw them away either. Those who had no intention of occupying the peak themselves, instead wanted to attach to the faction that would become the greatest force.

They were truly the ‘survival-specialized’ talents.

Any faction that absorbed a lot of those guys would probably be able to rise to the most advantageous position, but honestly, I couldn’t come up with a way to lure them in. Not even if I showed off my strength by throwing every single rock on the peak.

Moreover, if I couldn’t lure them in, I’d have to put the guys first on the list of people I’d have to get rid of.

‘Wow, this is tough.’

For some reason, Bayar Khan’s words to wait a little more crossed my mind again.

That was then.

“Squatjaw!”

A familiar voice came from somewhere.

“Ah, here you are.”

Below, the princess was coming up bravely with her two horses.

“What the hell! You suddenly ran to the peak!”

“Oh, I got bored.”

“Haah…”

I didn’t give any excuses, such as ‘the other peaks are already being occupied’ or ‘we are the only ones who haven’t even started…’ Because there was no particular reason to.

After all, the readers knew why I’d made this decision. In other words, they wouldn’t conclude that I was arbitrarily ignoring my teammates.

At a time like this, saying it out loud would only harm my character.

So,

“Even a slug would be faster than you.”

I attacked again.

“Haah…”

But the princess didn’t shoot back. She’d indeed held me back as per Bayar Khan’s words, but it wasn’t like she herself was particularly patient in the first place.

“What about the flag? Did you stick it in?”

“My flag? No.”

“Still waiting? When’re you going to put it in?”

“I’m not going to.”

“… Huh?”

Seeing the princess’ puzzled face, I smiled.

“See that rod over there? You can plant your flag there.”

“… Me?”

“Who else?”

Then the princess looked at me with an expression asking what the hell was I up to.

In fact, from the beginning, I’d had no intention of planting a flag here. Because that was the queen’s share. It was because she was the one who had to lead the army as the leader of a camp in the final ‘war of conquest’.

And secondly –

If I planted a flag here, I’d inevitably have to stay here.

It wasn’t a very good option for me, who had to offer readers a lot of sights and spectacles.

“The doubts cast on you, Princess, have not yet been cleared. At least at the final stage, you have to be the leader of a camp.

“… But what about you?”

“My purpose is to stop your marriage. I’m not here to show my allegiance to the Skull Empire.”

“…”

Soon after, as if she’d made up her mind to do something, the princess walked towards the centre of the peak.

Then, without hesitation, she planted her flag onto the pole.

I watched, grinning.

“Now, we can’t hold back anymore. We have to defend this position unconditionally for four days.”

“I know.”

The princess’ face was filled with resolution.

It was a good look on her.

That was then.

“Oh, oh, oh…”

“It’s huge!”

“A monster has appeared!”

A murmur began to be heard from below.

Somebody was slowly walking up towards us.

An elephant-sized body with a bald head so large that it was shining like the sun. It was an unfamiliar face.

‘Where I see that face before, I wonder?’

At that time,

“He’s the guy who lifted the elephant rock before you in the preliminaries.”

The princess whispered.

“Aah.”

The guy stopped in front of us.

After glancing at the princess once, he looked at me and said bluntly.

“Squatjaw. I’m here to have a match against you, with our nameplates on the line.”

“Oh? You want to fight?”

“The loser becomes a subordinate under the winner. There is no need to lose combat power for no reason, so instead of using weapons, let’s just go for a battle of strength.”

“Oh.”

It was a very attractive proposal, just the way I wanted it.

“You…you’re smarter than you look, huh?”

“…”

That was then.

“Hey, I’m the one who took over the peak, so why are you trying to fight with Squatjaw?”

The princess suddenly stepped out.

In fact, that was indeed an issue. Only a peak occupant can exchange the nameplate.

But for some reason –

“Ah, hey, um you’re a woman… and, and… uh, aren’t you two a team anyway? If that’s the case, I’d rather fight Squatjaw who’s the stronger one… Ah, if I lose, I’ll give you my nameplate…”

The guy was visibly shy.

It was a stark contrast to his vicious impression, so I had a sudden impulse to tease him a little.

So I just said –

“This guy sure looks like he’s got a crush on you, doesn’t he?”

“C-, cr-crush…! N-no!”

His face flushed even redder.

At this point, I was the one feeling embarrassed.

What the hell, I was right?

The princess, too, was startled and stepped back.

“S-, Squatjaw! You handle him!”

The match he proposed was simple.

Face each other, standing solidly on the ground, and clasp hands. Then try to pull the opponent in your direction.

Let’s call it, arm wrestling?

“I’ve wanted to fight with you since the first time I saw you. From the moment you threw that rock.”

As soon as he held my hand, he said in a trembling voice.

“Oh yeah?”

“After everyone disappeared from the arena, I went there alone. I wondered if I could do what you did.”

“So? Did you try?”

“To be honest, I couldn’t pass the fence. But I was able to pretend.”

“Oh, is that so? You do seem to have some strength.”

“There is one thing I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Was that pure power? Or an unique ability? According to the rumours, it doesn’t look like it’s an ability.”

“Why, what does it matter?”

“I hope it was pure power. Like me.”

He smiled, but to be honest that only transformed his dull face into that of a humanoid troll who could only be happier if he could wrestle using all four of his limbs.

“Hey, then I’ll ask you one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Are you tough?”

“… Eh?”

“Looking at you, you look sturdy, but I’m checking just in case.”

“I’ve never gotten hurt before. When I fought the great brown bear on Greatskull Mountain, or when I got swarmed by crocodiles while crossing the Jaron River…”

“Ah, okay. Yes, that’s fine then.”

“…?”

Following,

“Be careful you don’t dislocate your arm, and… I don’t know. Make sure to survive.”

I pulled the guy’s arm as hard as I could.

Who-woooooosh–.

“Aahhhh!!”

So the bald giant flew through the sky.

I shouted at the flying speck in the distance.

“Once you come to your senses, run right back! If you’re late, you’ll be left behind!”

Eventually, the princess approached and asked as if she was worried.

“Did you have to do that? To throw him down the mountain like that…”

“Ah, it’s okay. He said he was tough.”

Guys who looked like that by nature didn’t get hurt often. Of course, if this place were real, his whole body would’ve been shattered by the fall… But, well, this was a manga.

Then, I pointed to the guys around me with their mouths wide open in amazement.

“And I had to show something like this. Those scoundrels over there wouldn’t be able to ignore this.”

And also, because many readers were also in the audience, watching this scene together.

“Aah…”

The princess nodded as if she understood.

At that time,

“W-, wait! Everyone, look over there!”

“It’s the King of the Mountains! The King of the Mountains is coming up!”

“King of the Mountains? Why is he here!?”

“Didn’t he climb the second peak?”

Before the excitement around my battle with the bald giant had subsided, the surroundings began to murmur once again.

Another new guy had appeared.

However, the atmosphere was quite different this time.

When the baldy had come up, it’d been noisy and full of interest, but now a strange sense of crisis seemed to pervade the audience.

“Hey…”

The reason soon became apparent.

Behind the two guys in front, a group of people who seemed to be in military formation were marching along. Even the colours of their flags were unified.

Surprisingly, the leader seemed to be the occupant of the next peak over.

‘Did you leave the peak empty? Even if you left some men behind… how are so confident? Are those two in the front just subordinates, not the leader? Or are they fake?’

As I was thinking about this and that, the two guys in the front came up to the top of the peak.

Of the two, the man with a small and delicate body spoke first.

“Are you the one called Squatjaw?”

“And if I am?”

“I am the King of the Mountains. I am the lord of all these mountains.”

Hmmm.

Judging from his expression and tone of voice, he seemed to have said something great.

But I had no context for any of it.

“Ummm… and?”

“Looks like you don’t know who I am?”

“I don’t, no.”

“Actually, my current reputation isn’t that much bigger than you.”

“…”

He seemed to be a little bit shy.

“Are you currently occupying this peak?”

“Uh… it’s similar.”

The man nodded his head as if he understood, and then looked at the princess standing behind me with meaningful eyes.

Then,

“I came here for one purpose.”

He bit out a few short words.

“Let’s fight. With the peaks on the line.”

“… You want to bet on the peaks?”

“I have the second peak, you have this one.”

“Hey…”

“The winner gets the right to cleanly occupy both peaks. The loser will leave without saying a word.”

“But can’t one flag only occupy one peak?”

“What a stupid question. Can’t you and the princess divide between yourselves?”

“Oh… but that would be a loss for us at this stage, right? We haven’t secured a lot of subordinates yet.”

“That doesn’t matter. After all, it’s just a matter of organizing the rabble.”

Still, I was curious about one thing.

“But do you really need to fight for the peak this way? Can’t you just conquer this place with your own strength right now?”

“What a stupid notion. If you weren’t as good as the rumours say, that might not have been a bad idea. But if there’s even a little truth to those rumours, wouldn’t there be a huge loss of combat power in a head-on fight? That’s best avoided before the final stage. If I attack, will you be easily captured?”

“Ah, no… that’s true.”

“You’re dumber than I thought.”

It was ridiculous to hear.

“But then, why did you bring all these people with you?”

I pointed to the fellow’s entourage.

“…”

He didn’t answer.

“It’s crazy. Weren’t you calling me stupid just now? Or what, did you bring them with you because you’re afraid?”

“…”

“Oh, bingo, huh?”

“… Don’t get too cocky.”

“Or what? You gonna stab me?”

This guy was more irritable than I thought.

“No, Young Master, why did you, who was worried about loss of combat power, bring them all the way over here? Are you that lonely? Or that scared?”

“I told you to stop.”

“Why do I have to stop? It’s not like I’m afraid to talk, you get what I’m saying?”

While I was shooting rapid-fire –

And he just stood still and watched –

“… Kah, kaha.”

All of a sudden, he started chuckling.

It was an incredible about-face compared to his angry face and brows furrowed in anger just a moment ago.

He looked at the guy standing next to him and said some strange words.

“This isn’t the way to talk to this guy. Probably the exact opposite, I think.”

And at the same time,

“… Er, huh?”

His face suddenly began to change.

Black hair changed to red, a glare was added to the hazy eyes, the face got slightly wrinkled, and the overall desolate impression began to add some points of gracefulness.

It was a face that really suited the word, ‘middle-aged’.

And, oddly enough, it was a little bit familiar.

So I thought about it for a while, and a certain guy came to my mind.

‘Ah, that Meroguy or whatever? He looks a little like him.’

Then,

…

There was a sudden silence all around.

“Kaha, look at this. You don’t even know this face of mine?”

“… Oh? Who exactly are you?”

“Yeah, I see you really don’t know. Haah… what a pain in the neck^[2]. Hey, I already told you I’m the King of the Mountains, but I do have another title, you see?”

“What is it?”

“I am the Khan.”

“Huh?”

“Khan. Bumio Khan. The current emperor of the Skull Empire. And… the one who organized this Warrior’s Path.”

“…”

What was this guy blathering about?

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 찐막 (jimmak), is a gaming slang meaning the (real!) last match. For example, let’s have a last match before bed! … Eh? I lost? Let’s have a real last match! Something like that. Not aware of any equivalent EN memes.

[2] 골 때리네 (lit. hitting the goal), what a bother/headache.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and/or rate and review at NovelUpdates! Reader engagement keeps the project afloat!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 67

The Conquest of the Peak (1)

Maybe… the author is trying to train me?

That was the first thought that came to mind.

Leaving out the unbelievability of it all, the situation begged for suspicion.

Because what was happening was literally, completely unexpected.

This was at a completely different level from simply giving me free time within a chapter.

Creating a new chapter out of whole cloth, that didn’t even exist before, letting me have free rein on the development, and giving away his authority…

… Was this really alright?

Of course, I’d been front and centre in another chapter before. While competing with Leo and the others as a condition of getting [Mimic Acrobat].

But even then, the plot had been carefully devised by the author. The main point of view had been Leo, too.

That’d been completely different from this.

In other words, it was natural for me to start asking questions.

First you kick me out to Eastland, and then suddenly you’re giving me the lead role in a chapter?

All to, what, appease me?

“Hmmm…”

But soon I shook my head.

This was an irrational idea. Basically, I wasn’t a character to which the concept of ‘appeasing’ could be applied.

Had I been a character he’d created from the beginning; it might’ve been reasonable to think this way.

For example, there were actions and developments my character should’ve taken, but I kept trying to break free and forge my own path, so the author broke out the carrot and the stick to control me.

But I wasn’t that kind of a character in the first place. The original role given to me was, at best, to get beaten up by Leo in the first scene of the first chapter and disappear.

There was no future development that depended on me, so why try to appease me? Was I that much of a pain in the neck? Then the best would be to just purge me.

I really couldn’t guess the author’s intentions.

So,

‘Hmm, let’s not waste time thinking about it right now.’

I decided to simply draw a conclusion based on the situation.

This wasn’t a measure to appease my mood. It must’ve the result of a thorough calculation.

Simple. The author finally chose to acknowledge it. My value.

Perhaps it is because of several factors overlapping.

1. That the readers desperately wanted to see more of me.

2. The fact that I had touched the settings the author had made but couldn’t use.

3. My character drew a lot of attention.

4. It reminded him of a place where he could use me, etc.

I didn’t know which one was the main reason. And there could’ve been something else that I missed, too.

Anyway, one thing was certain.

That he included me in his overall story concept, and the future development would have a place for me.

In fact, it might well be that he now indeed needed to appease me, from his point of view. He’d devised a development that would utilize me, so he desperately needed me to follow along.

It was truly a step forward.

From a deleted extra, to a character the author needed for the development of the plot.

Of course, I’d always been acting like such a character. That was the only way I could grab the readers’ attention. But for the author to directly acknowledge it was at a different level compared to my one-sided actions to far. It felt like the author finally recognized my past efforts and the things I’d done to survive until now.

It was worthy of celebration.

But,

‘Although it’s definitely good for me…’

I couldn’t take this for granted. Because there were two new problems facing me right now.

First, I had no idea what plot development the author was now going to write.

Even if I took a few days to think of the possible future directions, there was no guarantee I’d be correct. My character didn’t march to the same beat as the rest in the first place.

Of course, the author might’ve had a plan in mind.

For example, indirectly inducing my actions through a separate reward, or using a control device such as a ‘preceding plot’ to control it, or just write it down and send it as a message.

But although the author would definitely try to take care of it, it was still a problem right now.

And secondly. Actually, this was a really serious problem.

The development devised by the author might go in a direction contrary to the big picture I’d established.

I’d already decided on the position that’d let me survive until the end.

Right, the ‘rival’.

Besides, I’d also devised a plan of my own to maintain my place in the overall scheme of things.

But what if the direction the author suggested was different? Inconsistent? Or even completely the opposite?

The problem would only get bigger.

“Hmmm…”

I couldn’t help but be concerned. Because this was a tough issue.

Would I have to start introducing myself in every scene, like trying to stamp my existence on the world? The Squatjaw Adventurers, the rivals of the Leo Adventurers?

“It’s problematic.”

I couldn’t just play defensive either. It must’ve taken great courage for the author to take sucha bold decision.

Creating a new chapter, and providing an arc for it to be in.

This meant overturning or omitting some of the planned development.

Judging from the current situation, it was not the former. The storylines were running completely in parallel, so the developments had no chance to clash with each other.

Meaning some of the chapters of the ‘Huntington Bandits’ arc were going to be omitted. The ‘Huntingtons’!

They were a group who stayed relevant until the heroes crossed the King’s Road and left for Midland, and they were quite important supporting characters. At least the ‘treasure’ arc couldn’t do without them.

Of course, right now wasn’t the time when they were most active, that would come later. Right now wasn’t the time for a head-on fight, this stage was just for the heroes to get to know (?) them properly.

But that didn’t mean that the current process was unimportant. What was happening now would serve as a build-up factor for some great events in the future.

So, honestly, I’d like to ask the author… ‘Are you really alright?’ So many developments he’d already planned must’ve been disintegrated.

Well, it was up to the author to take care of that, but the issue could still be traced back to me, right? What would stem from that? Expectations, or resentments?

Besides,

‘… I’m still going to bring in the goblins. I won’t soften the blow or anything.’

Even if he was now suddenly reconciling with me, I wasn’t going to change my plans for the future.

Of course, that didn’t change what I had to do right now. I’d just say, ‘Thank you, I’ll do my best!’ and just accept it.

I didn’t know when I’d clash with the author again later… but I had to make full use of the opportunity given to me, first.

So,

“By the way, which way is the peak?”

I decided to stop worrying about meaningless things and just keep acting cool.

I hit the centre of the huge boulder in front of me.

Crack–.

I quickly grabbed it before it could split and crumble.

Originally, I was going to take a closer look at the situation, but… the spotlight I was under didn’t allow that.

First, shoot the cannon, then rush straight in!

I threw the rock as hard as I could at the peak.

“Normaaaaaal Throoooooowww!”

---

“… Whoo.”

The fatty looked at the tired form of the thin man.

He hadn’t rested either, but the other party had it worse. From the time he’d mixed into the first wave of latecomers, until entering Marron Mountain about two and a half days. He’d moved without a single break for a whopping three days.

Tired legs, and parched mouth.

“Will this… really be enough?”

“Nothing is certain. But analysing the information we’ve gotten so far, there’s a good chance.”

What they’d done so far was nothing special. Spreading rumours about that Squatjaw. Including all the information most people didn’t know.

There was only one purpose.

Correct – the Khan.

Their aim was to get the rumours to reach the Khan’s ears, and thus to get him interested in Squatjaw.

Bumyo Khan.

The current emperor of the Skull Empire, who often hid his identity and sneaked into public places and even participated in national events. The reason he gave for this was ridiculously simple.

“Because I’m bored.”

A man with brilliant wit and incredible power. But he had ‘coalitionist’ leanings that was unworthy of his abilities, and according to one theory, his reason for not pursuing war was also very simple. Because you don’t have the time to have fun during a war.

The Khan was an unknown character.

The fatty had only heard a few rumours about him, and he was a little sceptical of the thought that the Khan would take the time to go meet Squatjaw.

“Isn’t it likely that he’s already got his own plans?”

“Of course. Khan seems impulsive, but he actually plans everything out. He puts a lot of effort into properly savouring his pleasures. He’d probably set aside a cover identity for this Warrior’s Path long back.”

“That’s why, I mean…”

“But that is why there’s a possibility. He’s serious about pursuing his own pleasure. That’s exactly why, no matter how many plans he’d made beforehand, he can discard it all at any moment if there’s an element of interest that can move him.”

Then, there were two ‘decisive grounds for believing that Khan would move’, which the thin man mentioned one by one.

First, that the fun factor that Khan pursued was nothing less than ‘power and battle’.

Second, the lack of time.

“Now Khan only has five days left. After that, he’ll have to go back.”

“So he has to enjoy everything he can before that?”

“Mere power wouldn’t have attracted him too much. But the bait here is more than that.”

In fact, the rumours they’d spread one after another over the past three days contained information about Squatjaw’s unique ability, and even the fact that he possessed a divine beast.

And, to top it all off –

Even the fact that the person beside him was none other than Princess Thermis.

“His eldest son is involved in this matter, and this is a situation that’d shaken up the whole empire for a while, so there’s no way he wouldn’t be interested.”

The fatty nodded at his words.

It was definitely a convincing argument.

But that wasn’t the crux of the problem. Their purpose wasn’t just to send Khan to Squatjaw.

“Let’s say Khan does go meet Squatjaw. Then what about after that?”

“Depends the situation.”

“What if they don’t come to conflict?”

“Impossible.”

“Well…”

Really. The fatty thought that this question was slightly absurd even though he himself had asked it. There’d never been a time before that ‘Khan hiding in secret’ didn’t cause any problems.

“But we don’t know who the current Khan even is.”

The real problem was this. His disguise.

He was such a master of disguise that rumours even circulated that it might be his unique ability. Even his wife and mother had once stood in front of him in disguise and asked him how he had such good skin. At that time, he’d been disguised as a woman of a certain royal family.

However, the slender man didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“Right now, sure. But we’ll find out soon.”

“How?”

“Because someone by his side will let us know. If it’s Squatjaw, he should be able to draw out Khan’s unique ability.”

“Beside him… aah.”

Khan’s eccentricity was always a popular topic of discussion, but no one in the empire took it seriously. The reason was that not only Khan had his own ability, but everybody also always believed in the power of the one who was always by his side and protecting him.

A man called the Sword of the Empire. General Mong.

“Then, if we’re lucky, we might end up with Squatjaw and the general… that’s really… um.”

The fatty fell silent.

Because his heart was pounding at that thought, a sure disqualification for an assassin.

But the slender man didn’t point that out.

Perhaps because he felt the same.

“For now, let’s keep an eye on things. Either way, we’ll be moving soon.”

Then, the fatty turned his head toward the first peak where Squatjaw had gone.

The wind was blowing towards it.

---

It’d been three days since the second obstacle started.

I thought as I watched the fire burning in front of me.

This was the limit. If I dragged things on any further at this juncture, my narrative significance and the readers’ expectations from me would be burned to ashes like this burning firewood.

It was time to boldly take the first step.

I looked at the princess and said firmly.

“I’m going to plant the flag. Don’t stop me.”

Then,

“Haah…”

The princess gently pressed her forehead with her right hand.

Of course, she might also be tired of my repeated demands. Having to repeat the same thing over and over again wouldn’t have been any fun.

However,

“Even if you think that, this isn’t the time.”

Did it make sense to stay on the mountainside and enjoy a campfire on the third day, rather than going up to the peak?

Seeing my frustrated eyes, the princess only sighed deeply.

“Hey, old man. This guy’s starting again.”

“Yeah, call him, call the old man out. Let’s have a showdown.”

“Hah… it’s fine, he’ll just say the same thing anyway, so I’ll tell you instead. I think I said the same thing just two hours ago, but I’ll just say it one more time. Listen properly. Don’t suddenly forget it again.”

The first thing to keep in mind is that the owner of the peak is decided on the last day.

It doesn’t matter who climbs the peak first. It’s about whose flag is planted last.

Also, the success or failure of this war of occupation isn’t decided by simply planting a flag on the peak. The real test is how many participants can you get under your control. Furthermore, you have to attract as many of the people on the other peaks as possible. Only then will you be able to gain an advantageous position in the final obstacle, the ‘war of conquest’.

Therefore, simply trying to subdue the other test takers by force or trying to subjugate them through battle is only one way.

In this war of occupation, being eye-catching is more important than being powerful in battle, and being good at politics is even more important than that.

“Do you understand? You idiot Squatjaw.”

“What?!”

“I, I was told to call you that.”

“…”

Between the fourth and fifth day. Slowly start moving from that point on.

So now, just be patient and wait.

After the princess finished speaking, she shook her head.

The words and gestures were exactly the same as two hours ago.

“Whoo…”

Of course, this was to be expected.

I nodded slowly, then carefully spoke.

“Okay, then forget about the peak for the time being. I’ll just go do some reconnaissance.”

“Reconnaissance? You’ve been there before.”

“You call that reconnaissance? I was just picking up some firewood or something. And not only do I need to scout out this area, I should go see the other peaks as well. How are things going outside?”

In fact, it’d been a lie that I was going to climb the peak. I was just trying to start with a strong opinion, and then sneak in my actual goal into the discussion afterward.

So?

But,

“Well. It’s one thing to scout out the rest of the peaks, but that’ll break the balance here. You know, right? That everyone is paying close attention to your movements right now? One step from you could shake the whole mountain. Think well before you move.”

The princess nodded her head surprisingly quickly.

It seemed that she’d already thought about this.

‘Really, tell me first if that’s the case.’

I ran out of the camp, rushing straight towards the second peak area.

It wasn’t a lie that I needed to do some reconnaissance. Because it was a sight that I needed to capture with my own two eyes.

How far did I run like that?

It was a time when I was feeling a sense that the area was slowly changing.

Somewhere nearby,

“S-, Squatjaw!”

“Wasn’t that guy on the first peak?”

“Emergency! Emergency!”

I could hear cries – no, they were closer to screams.

‘… Huh? Not just one or two?’

I quickly looked around.

Several faces rose from all over the densely packed bushes at the same time.

And surprisingly,

‘Haah…!’

They were all holding flags of the same colour.

As soon as I saw that, I realized two things.

First, that there was already an occupant on this peak.

Second, that the occupant was increasing the size of his subordinate faction with a frightening speed.

At the very least, what did the fact that all the people here staying in the middle reaches of the mountain belonged to the same faction, mean? It meant that the upper part had already been completely occupied.

‘I knew it’d be like this. Four or five days? Bullshit.’

Then,

“S-, Squatjaw! What’re you doing! If you’re aiming for the peak here…”

One of them, as a representative, came out and shouted.

But I ignored him and started running again, straight towards the peak.

Startled, the guys tried to stop me, but to no avail.

Beep–. Beep–.

Warning tones echoed all over the mountain, but I ignored them too.

I only had eyes for the peak.

There was no other reason. My intuition wanted me to share what I’d just discovered with the readers.

In other words, the fires of war were already burning the other peaks aflame.

Soon after,

“Hey, look at this.”

The smoke rising from the second peak caught my eyes.

One look, and anybody could tell that it’d already been occupied.

Anyway, my job was done.

I’d achieved my goal.

I chuckled with some satisfaction.

In fact, the reason why I hadn’t climbed to the peak my own way was because of the readers. Because they were watching the situation, I couldn’t act too roughly.

A character who ushered in boredom was of course a sinner from the readers’ point of view, but a character who acted arbitrarily while openly ignoring a colleague’s advice was also unpleasant.

If I’d jumped to the peak before listening to Bayar Khan’s advice and strategy, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But anyway, things were different now. Hadn’t I already shown that the other peaks were moving?

Finally, I had justification. Justification to climb the peak.

The time for chopping firewood and quietly watching the campfire was over.

Beep–. Beep–.

“Squatjaw’s been sighted!”

“That little Squatjaw has moved to another peak!”

“Alone! He’s alone!”

‘So noisy. Please be quiet. I won’t be here much longer.’

I muttered to myself and turned around.

Of course, I had no intention of returning to the camp.

No point letting them hold me back, was there?

It was time to start climbing.

---

“It’s that guy, right?”

“Looks like it.”

“How is he?”

A person next to the man asked as if he didn’t already know.

“What are you talking about?”

Then,

“Hmm… the Heavenly General’s became alert with just a glance at that man, is it…”

The man grinned.

“That’s not…”

“Enough. I know how you think, Mong. Anyway, that’s good. It saved me the trouble of finding him.”

“Do you plan to go right away? But we’re not ready yet…”

“That’s enough, what else is there to prepare?”

Then, the man quietly added a word.

“Let’s go catch up.”

And at the same time,

Swish–.

Swish–.

Swish–.

⁝

Hundreds of red flags, that’d been hidden in the bushes near the peak, began to flutter in the wind and move in unison.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 66

A New Chapter

A red haze fluttered from beyond the far end of the earth, spilling its crimson hue into the indigo blue horizon.

The red sun was beginning to rise above the skies of the Skull Empire.

“… I can see them.”

The princess’ face was flush with excitement.

“Yeah? You sure they aren’t participants?”

“No, they’ve got the same outfit as in the preliminaries. They’re judges alright. Three of them.”

Hearing her affirm it, I frowned and scrunched my eyes, and indeed, I could see three men in traditional imperial attire in the distance.

“Whoo…”

The emotion swirling inside my heart was neither relief for arriving on time nor relaxation that the long journey had finally come to an end.

It was just annoyance.

Whinny–!

It wasn’t funny.

“No, what are you so happy about? How long have you been running, again?”

I looked down at my mount, puzzled.

It’d only been an hour and a half since this guy had started trotting and then running properly. He’d been lazing about on my shoulder until then.

I thought he might at least run for a while, but we’d already arrived at our destination? Just thinking of how long I’d had to run carrying this bastard was making my fists clench unconsciously.

But,

Whinny–!

“…”

Seeing how excited he was about his achievement, there wasn’t a point in saying anything.

“Eh… yeah, about an hour and a half, huh? Good work.”

Then, I turned my gaze to the front again.

Towards the huge and majestic mountain, its top obscured by clouds.

Maroon Mountain.

Its roots stretched across and beneath all around the continent, making it a natural staging ground for campaigns aiming to conquer the continent since ancient times.

Anyway, we’d finally arrived.

After a full two days riding on horseback (?) –

It was finally the moment to pass the first gate of the finals.

That was then –

Tiling–.

The familiar sound heralded the arrival of a holographic message.

[Chapter 23 – The Huntington Bandits (3) has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Spirit of sacrifice’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 80,000]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 10]

[Received fan art from fifteen readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 15]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 30%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership, Spirit of sacrifice
• Awareness: 245,259
• Author’s favourability: 42
• Reappearance probability: 30%

Tiling–.

[Additional rewards for appearing mid-chapter]

• Character points paid 5,000p.

[Leading point of view application is finished]

• The leading point of view is revoked.

[Character’s rank has increased]

[Character’s rank has increased]

[Character’s rank has increased]

Tiling–.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 240,000p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 2,500p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 300p for the rise in reappearance probability]

Hmmm.

The chapter ended as soon as we arrived at Maroon Mountain.

Well, it was regrettable, but it couldn’t be helped.

To be honest, just being allotted this much screentime was a relief. Compared to my first estimate, the time it took to pass each gate of the Warrior’s Path was much longer.

It wouldn’t have been strange even if my point of view had gotten revoked before passing the hurdle. Apart from that one time a bunch of idiots made a nuisance of themselves, there wasn’t even a single enemy raid. Even though we moved slowly enough to let a few people overtake us.

Honestly speaking, I was seriously entertaining thoughts such as, ‘should I start juggling two horses instead of one?’ I’d almost felt compelled to do it. But in the end, I managed to endure the monotony till the end of the first hurdle.

‘Let’s see now…’

I slowed the pace down a bit, and quickly skimmed through the character evaluation results. Characteristics, awareness, author’s favourability, fan art, reappearance probability…

‘Hey, why are you suddenly showing more interest?’

The first thing to note was that the author’s favourability had risen.

Except for the extra 15 from fan arts, there was a rise purely in favourability by 10.

Of course, the 80,000 rise in awareness was also surprising, but the rise in author’s favourability was even more eye-catching. Because it clearly meant that there was now room for improvement in our relationship.

Of course, I had no idea exactly why.

Maybe because Leo’s development hadn’t gotten twisted because of me?

Or after sending me away and cooling down a bit, he noticed how good I was when he looked at me again?

Or because I was using the characters he’d worked so hard on and yet had to throw away?

Maybe he just thought I was an interesting guy?

Whatever the reason, it was a pretty good situation for me.

Maybe I could show off a little more here in Eastland. As the leading point of view, that is.

‘Am I overthinking it?’

Well.

I thought there was a possibility.

This chapter didn’t end at a bad place. Not only did we pass the first obstacle, we also got to see Maroon Mountain, the location of the second obstacle. It’d definitely arouse the readers’ interest.

Moreover, the reappearance probability was as high as 30%. This was a very significant number.

Judging from my experience so far, a reappearance probability of about 10-15% could be interpreted as ‘planned to appear again someday’. However, it wouldn’t make you a candidate for appearing in the next chapter.

However, from a reappearance probability of over 30%, although it was just an empirical judgment, the author should be seriously considering whether the character should appear in the next chapter or two.

In other words, the author might be considering my reappearance in the upcoming chapters, right now.

Although, I still didn’t have a particularly optimistic outlook.

The chapters that were about to begin didn’t have much gap in the content where another story thread could be shuffled in.

Looking for the lost treasures within the temple, repeated fights between Leo’s party and the Huntington Bandits, until the adventure quest was finally completed.

It wasn’t idyllic enough to weave in another storyline, or to mix in scenes from a faraway place that wasn’t directly related to the arc.

From that perspective, it might be a bit difficult for me to reappear.

However, there was something else I thought was possible.

Notification of the results.

Wouldn’t it be possible to directly tell the readers about my progress, even if it was with just a throwaway scene or two between the chapters? Readers would also be curious about it.

It wouldn’t need too much detail. After passing the final obstacle with the highest score along with the princess, I’d face the Khan. That one scene would be enough. That alone would be able to largely offset the ‘weakening’ and ‘falling between the cracks’ that I’d been prepared for when I moved to Eastland.

Of course, this was just the most widely optimistic result. If the readers didn’t remember me, or if the author didn’t want them, scenes like that would never appear. Also, even if the author intended to use them, if the time wasn’t right, even that wouldn’t be enough.

Ultimately, it came down to luck.

“Okay, I’ll just stop thinking about it for now.”

It was simple. Either my luck would be good, or not.

There was absolutely no point in being anxious about it.

And anyway, what was more important to me was –

‘For now, I’ll have to get my grade.’

It was about being faithful to the present.

Soon after,

“Stop.”

“This is Maroon Mountain.”

“Congratulations on passing the first gate of the finals.”

We arrived before the three judges.

The three of them immediately felt ‘strange’ as soon as I saw them.

Each of them took turns speaking only one sentence at a time, and yet the content flowed naturally as if only one person were speaking.

“There is no time to rest.”

“From now on, the second obstacle begins.”

“I hope you will listen carefully to the details of the obstacle and complete it.”

Their explanation was as follows –

First of all, the essence of the second gate was, as Bayar Khan said, a ‘war of occupation’.

The target was the three highest peaks in the mountain, called the first, second, and third peaks, respectively.

Since there are only three peaks, the maximum number of peak occupants at the end of this obstacle round was also limited to three.

Of course, that didn’t mean only three people could get through the second obstacle.

Basically, candidates had two options.

1. Occupy and defend one of the three peaks during the week spanned by the second obstacle.

2. Enter the subordinate divisions of the current peak occupants.

Once inside a division, candidates had to help the occupants who were their superiors to keep the peak safe. If the occupant failed to keep it and got kicked out, the subordinates would also be eliminated together.

When all the contestants were fully divided into three camps, they would clash in the final obstacle, the ‘war of conquest’.

After the explanation, the judges held out some wooden boards and colourful flags.

“Each one should bring their own nameplate and one flag.”

“The nameplate is a sanction for one’s identity, and it’s necessary to become a subordinate.”

“If you want to follow a peak occupant, you can cut the nameplate in half and hand a part over to them.”

After the handover was complete, I asked them.

“What about the flag? Do I have to hand that over too?”

“The flag must be in your possession until the obstacle round is over.”

“If the flag is stolen or broken before that, you will be eliminated immediately.”

“The moment the nameplate is delivered, the flag’s colour will change to match that of the peak occupant.”

Whoo.

I thought it was just a set of sloppy rules, but it seemed more advanced and systematic than expected.

Just then –

“What if I plant the flag on the occupied territory? It’s not with me anymore by that point, is that alright?”

The princess asked as if she’s suddenly found a problem.

“As long as it doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands.”

“Just be careful.”

“The moment the flag is taken away by somebody else, you’ll be eliminated immediately.”

“Ah, the instant others get their hands on it, huh?”

It was a bit of worrisome to hear. It meant I couldn’t even leave my seat.

In order to plant a flag in the occupied territory, you’d need to prepare supplies, make a defence line, prepare a guard system…

After that, the examiners sent us off with some final words.

“The three peaks.”

“Only one of you can emerge as the victor.”

“The first choice is important, so please be careful.”

The princess and I gave our thanks.

“Thank you.”

Then we passed the examiner and headed towards Mount Maroon.

After a while,

“It’s pretty straightforward.”

We arrived at the entrance to the mountain.

There were exactly three paths to enter the mountain. Each seemed to be connected to one of the three peaks. Of course, they might connect to other places in the middle, but at least the choice seemed really simple and clear at first glance –

– Choose a good place to go.

Something like this.

That was then.

“He’s come, that Squatjaw.”

“So Squatjaw’s here.”

“Finally, he’s here!”

“Hey, why so late?”

“These guys are just strong, is it?”

Some people rushed out from the forest beyond the entrance.

I looked around and saw the other candidates.

They kept murmuring between themselves, and, to my surprise, the object of their grumblings turned out to be none other than us.

“Damn that Squatjaw.”

“There was no point in rushing so quickly.”

“I could’ve run a little slower if I knew he was slower than a slug.”

It was annoying, to say the least.

“Eh? What’s all this?”

“Looks like they’ve been waiting for us…?”

The princess also looked at them as if wondering.

As soon as we got closer, the guys backed away and made a path. But they didn’t stop staring at us.

They didn’t even talk to us. They were just glaring.

“No, what is this….”

Looking at the situation for a while, I began to understand.

These guys were waiting to see which way we were going, which peak we were aiming for.

To avoid us, or to follow us.

“Hey…”

It seemed that my appearance during in the preliminaries had left quite a strong impression.

I stopped paying attention to the onlookers, even though they were definitely paying attention to me. These small fries didn’t seem like a huge threat or help to my goal.

“Which way are we going?”

“Isn’t anywhere fine?”

“Is each peak different? Maybe one is more difficult to climb than the rest, or perhaps there are difference in the natural environment?”

“Well…but we were told to make our first choice carefully. Is it because the mountain is so big? Once you set a goal, it doesn’t seem easy to change it later.”

“I suppose.”

To be honest, it didn’t seem to matter.

“It’ll all be the same. Let’s just pick somewhere nearby.”

I chose the first entrance. There was no deep reasoning behind it. It was literally because it was the closest.

The trail was quite steep from the start, and the path itself was a mess.

The road seemed to be well laid out near the entrance, but as soon as we entered the mountain, the tidy path disappeared. It became so unrecognizable even beast trails would’ve been more conspicuous.

Through the dense trees, through the bushes, stepping over the thorns, we kept walking uphill… my skin kept getting scratched with every step, making my annoyance rise higher and higher.

Fortunately, at least my horse hadn’t decided to lie down yet. Small mercies.

“You’re really going to have to walk this time. Just try lying down! I’ll throw you down from the peak and see how you like it!”

I tried to give the guy a scare to sort him out.

Then,

Whinny–!

The response seemed quite understandable.

“…”

Something like, screw off!

While we were walking along the road like that for a while –

Suddenly,

Crrrrrrrrashhhh–.

What was that sound? There wasn’t a landslide happening nearby, right?

At that time,

“Uh, um! Look over there!”

The princess pointed above and front.

There, an enormous boulder was rolling down towards us at a frightening speed, crushing the surrounding trees.

“Hey…”

The boulder wasn’t alone either. There were as many as three, each the size of the elephant rock during the preliminary rounds.

The guys who’d come up here before us seemed to have prepared a surprise. Or maybe this was also a part of the test’s challenge.

Then,

“What are we going to do? Avoid it?”

“Avoid it…”

The emotion I was feeling was none other than regret.

So sad. That the reader wouldn’t get to see this scene.

Instead of avoiding, I took a step forward.

“Originally, I wanted to juggle a few more rocks in the preliminary round, but there was only the one.”

Then, the moment the first rock was about to slam into my nose,

Crack!

I slammed my hand into it, stopping it in its tracks.

After a moment,

Bang–!

Bang–!

The next rocks in line slammed into the first one with booming roars.

“Huuugh.”

I lifted the rock in front of me first.

Then,

“Where did it come from?”

“There. From over there!”

I threw it full force in the direction the princess was pointing to.

Whoooooosh–.

“You trying to mess with me?”

Soon after,

Boooooom–!

There was a great roar.

However, the sounds I expected never followed.

“What is this? There isn’t a single scream?”

I was trying to catch the bastards who had set this up and see their faces turn blue, but there was no result.

As I was about to let it go despite my obvious regret –

“Then, how about throwing one to over there? There’s an open road there.”

The princess pointed to the other side.

“Understood. I’ll try for a double throw this time.”

Just when I put my hands on the two rocks –

Suddenly,

Tiling–.

A holographic message arrived.

‘Huh? Already? Has the next chapter has already started?’

I checked it right away.

But the content left me stunned.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 24 – The Second Gate of the Warrior’s Path in the Skull Empire]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

[You have been given the leading point of view]

“… Is this even real?”

The author brought out a new chapter out of thin air, one that had never been in the original.

Just for me.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 65

He Wasn’t Any Worse

I did think it was odd.

To be honest, Coocoo, too, was a really cute guy.

Aside from the fact that cats were more human-friendly, I honestly didn’t think that Nero had any special advantage in terms of beauty.

Even if a victor and a loser had to be decided between the two, it’d at most be due to a difference in ‘aesthetics’.

So I didn’t really understand it. Why was this kid so scared of the cat? The two of them should’ve been equally matched in power, by all rights.

‘That bridle…’

Something wasn’t right.

The Bridle of Submission.

I didn’t know how it actually worked. It could be the unique ability of the mental dominator from animal farm side, or it could be the effect of some artifact. Or it could be part of some curse.

However, there was only one piece of information that came to mind when I heard about how to break that yoke.

‘Evolutionary disease.’

Of course, this wasn’t directly related to this ‘Bridle of Submission’.

The reason ‘evolutionary disease’ came to mind was because the way to treat it was quite similar to how one would escape that yoke. Moreover, it was the Southland Animal Farm where the arc of the original manga related to this ‘evolutionary disease’ had taken place.

Evolutionary disease.

Divine beasts basically have a setting called ‘evolution’, which is at its core a power-up element. When a divine beast evolves, its appearance transforms, and its power is magnified, from several times to several tens or hundreds of times.

Evolution is the factor that makes the divine beasts so strong, but on the other hand, it’s also the main factor behind their deaths.

If a divine beast can’t evolve in time, it suffers from a disease called the ‘evolutionary disease’, which means that the body cannot transform to keep up with the expanding internal force, and eventually collapses.

It was this disease that Leo’s teammate had been suffering from in the original.

While carrying out a quest in Westland, they accidentally met a new divine beast, and the party soon found out that he was suffering from the ‘evolutionary disease’. Then, following Yan’s guidance, they travelled across the sea to the southern continent to heal him. This was the opening scene of the Southland arc.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the solution proposed by that animal farm to cure the evolutionary diseases at the time was very similar to how to escape this ‘Bridle of Submission’.

You have to change yourself, by yourself.

You have to face the fears that have held back your evolution.

And the method I was going to try now, was exactly what Kiriko had used against their friend, the divine beast, at the time.

I took Coocoo out of my coat, on my hands, and looked straight into his eyes.

“Coocoo.”

“…”

“Hey, kid, don’t take your eyes off me.”

“…”

“Can you see him sharpening those claws? If you don’t stop him, they’re gonna stab right through me.”

Nero was indeed grinding one claw on the other.

Snikt–.

Clang–. Clang–.

The moonlight reflected on the metallic claws, creating a strange sight. Somehow it felt like a reaper in the form of a black leopard sharpening his sickle.

Coocoo took one glance at him and shuddered.

“Don’t do anything crazy… you idiot. If you don’t dodge, he’ll stab you, and even if I block him, he’ll still be able to stab you.”

It was a very reasonable inference.

But,

“Coocoo, why do you think you can’t stop him?”

There was one thing this kid didn’t know.

“No, naturally I can’t… hell, I’m in a sealed state right now, even my true body is sealed. If I try to block him now, both your body and mine will be chopped to pieces…”

“What’s natural about it? And don’t sweat the little details. You just need to think of the core issue.”

“… And that is?”

“Heh, that you look just as cute as him. Have confidence.”

“No, what does that even…”

“Alright, I told you clearly. Don’t let me die.”

In this type of ordeal, it doesn’t really matter whether or not you can actually block the attack.

What is required is the will to resist, and the courage to face the fear that is holding you back.

It’s simple. You just have to face it. You just need to express your will. That’s enough to make that anklet, harder than steel, to scatter like dust.

I shouted at Nero.

“Okay, ready!”

Then,

“Ugh! What the hell, you crazy, Squatjaw!”

I immediately threw Coocoo over the bushes into the distance with all my might.

Whooosh–.

There wasn’t any great reason to. It was just so he didn’t have the time to think. Pushing him into a situation where he’d have to make an instantaneous judgment.

Obviously, all of this must’ve come very suddenly for him. He’d get confused, and wonder what was eve happening.

But it couldn’t be helped. If you have to show your courage, you can’t do it slowly and take your time.

He just needed to get back to me.

Without thinking, just fly back over to me. And just block it.

The rest, I’d figure it out.

Then,

“I will do my best.”

Nero stood before me.

His shiny steel claws caught my eye first. Looking at them, it felt like he’d amassed more and more power during our discussion.

“Yeah, seeing your character does make me feel a little hesitant… But it wouldn’t be good if you escaped. I can’t leave behind any regrets for no reason, and I can take care of that pigeon as I originally planned afterwards.”

“What’s there to regret? We’re simply walking the paths we’ve chosen.”

“Yeah, got it.”

The reason I told him to do his best was because I thought he might not be able to meet the conditions for ‘breaking the bridle’.

Usually, the difficulty of such tasks isn’t simply up to the will of the challenger. The hurdle of the obstacle itself is also included in the requirement.

In other words,

1. Facing the intangible fear,

2. A real life-threatening attack.

Only when these two essential prerequisites are met, can we meet the unlocking conditions.

So, I had no choice but to specifically ask Nero. Because this guy had always been showing signs of dissatisfaction with something.

“Whoo…”

I was also a little nervous.

Now it was already spilled milk. The situation was no longer in my hands.

‘Lil’ Coocoo, please don’t be afraid and come. There’re many eyes on this scene.’

What if Coocoo blocked the attack in front of me? I could continue my act without any fuss.

But what if Coocoo didn’t come forward?

I’d have to face Nero’s attack without moving. If I avoided or prevented him, this lying life of mine would end from the curses of the Nero fans.

And then –

“Hey, you fucking squat-jawed bastard!”

There was a pigeon, flying over here.

It was hard to describe, but he had a very desperate look on his face.

‘Great.’

At the same time, I pushed out my chest.

“Come!”

At that instant –

Poof–.

Nero disappeared from sight.

And,

“Hey, damn it! You really will die! Y-, you fucking bastard!!!”

Coocoo flew towards me like lightning.

And then,

…

The act was over.

“Whew…”

I gently stroked the little ball of feathers in front of me.

“Well done.”

He’d successfully resisted. The bridle was released.

Coocoo’s anklet was cut off.

“… You fucking bastard. You didn’t even mean to die anyway…”

Coocoo fainted at the end of those words.

It seemed that the psychological trauma and the shock from a while ago had become too much for his body to bear.

“What are you talking about? If you hadn’t flown right in front of me, I really wouldn’t have stopped him. Right?”

“…”

I let go of Nero’s paw, which I’d been holding until then.

Nero took a few steps back without a word.

That’s what happened a little while ago.

I really left my chest defenceless. But I kept my guard up. Because Nero’s attack mustn’t reach Coocoo, who would be blocking his way.

And just as Nero’s claw was about to dig into Coocoo’s body, I’d grabbed his paw like lightning.

It was really a fleeting moment.

If either Coocoo or I had been late, neither of us would’ve been able to survive.

Well done. You did good.

I put the fainted Coocoo aside for a moment. I also covered him with some leaves because it was cold.

And then,

“… Did you believe in him?”

Nero spoke as he watched me.

“Uh, pretty much, yeah.”

“I know it’s been a short while that you’ve been together. You must’ve bought him at the Nanma Market.”

“Why does that matter? It’s not like you have to spend a long time with someone to become friends. We’re colleagues already.”

“…”

After a while, Nero turned back.

“I will go.”

“Okay. That was the promise.”

“Don’t give me a reason to chase you in the future.”

“Yeah, yeah. Have a safe trip.”

“…”

He hesitated for a moment, as if he still had something to say, but then quietly disappeared into the darkness. He also seemed to have been quite impressed with today’s meeting.

Well, so was I.

‘I have no regrets. I’ll see you again anyway.’

As I watched the guy’s thin back, I suddenly came to my senses.

“Ehh! Wait, isn’t this too late?”

At some point, I had completely forgotten about the princess.

I had to hurry back. If something really happened by random chance, it’d be no end of trouble.

Also, I’d told her to go first if I was late, but honestly, I didn’t want to the extra work of finding her trail with my pathfinding eyes.

So, while I was about turn back in a hurry –

I saw a soft light shining very nearby.

Its origin was –

“… Coocoo?”

A white dove buried under the fallen leaves.

I just stared at the scene.

Thoughts of the princess did pop into my head, but I had no choice but to watch. Because the soft brilliance emanating from his body was that beautiful.

Our author… was really good with special effects.

Soon after,

“Hey…”

Poof–.

As the light dissolved, a white silhouette slowly emerged.

It had the shape of a bird. It was half the size of a human, and its wings and tail feathers had a splendid long span.

“Yo. You’ve gotten a little taller, huh? The colour’s improved, too. Did something good happen?”

A hawk white as snow with eyes as black as obsidian was staring at me.

Didn’t I already say? He wasn’t any worse.

---

Fortunately, the princess was unharmed.

She was waiting for me at the same place.

“I was just about to leave, but then saw a light in the distance. So I waited a little longer.”

“Great job.”

“Is everything all right? But what about Coocoo? I hope… he didn’t get stolen, right?”

“No, no. He said he was going to fly for a while because he was feeling good.”

“… Feeling good?”

“You’ll see soon. It’s all been taken care of, so don’t worry.”

The princess nodded her head at my words.

“Anyway, so nothing happened?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Nobody approached you?”

“None at all.”

This was a bit surprising.

It wasn’t that I wanted something big to happen, I’d just expected things to be a bit more troublesome.

‘Is this because we’re still in the early stages?’

Of course, I didn’t think this was a good thing. This could be interpreted to mean that there was a place along the path that was even better than here as an ambush point.

Either way, I couldn’t drop my guard.

Then, while I was about to stretch out and sit down –

“Huh? what are you doing?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Do you really have the time to sit?”

I was a little perplexed.

“Uh… I just came?”

“So?”

“Uh… I should eat something and take a break…?”

“Do you really have the time to rest?”

The princess said fiercely.

Then,

“Can’t you see, over there?”

She pointed to one side of the dark space in the distance. It was in the direction of the forest that I’d visited a while ago.

“What? That forest?”

“No, behind it.”

“Behind?”

“Please. Look closely.”

The princess pointed to the middle of the meadow we had crossed at lunch time, a long way away.

To my surprise, there was something moving there, dark, large, and monstrously wide. Although it was moving quite slowly.

“It’s dust. A dust trail.”

“Dust?”

“Don’t you know? The latecomer group who’ve been chasing us are over there. If it’s that big… it should be well over a thousand people, I’d think?”

“Ah…”

I’d forgotten.

The fact that all of the latecomers, whom I’d been underestimating, were several ranks above me in terms of horsemanship.

“But… how could so many competitors get along like that?”

“Maybe they’ve taken some kind of oath of alliance. While the advance squad is still ahead, let’s not spill blood among ourselves first. Or maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe a leader has already emerged among them.”

“…”

After all, it’s not possible to judge an individual’s ability only by simple power. Even if it’s not within the advance squad, ‘monsters’ can exist anywhere.

But either way –

‘I don’t know if they can catch up…?’

That thought started running through my mind.

Besides –

“That old man said so. That he doesn’t know what the second hurdle of the finals is, but if the destination is a mountain? Then, it’s most likely a ‘war of conquest’. If that’s the case, the key is to grab a seat first and establish a position.”

The princess seemed to have thought the same.

“Wait, why say this only now?”

“Hey, it’s been awhile since I heard it. Anyway, you know there’s no time to rest, right?”

The princess smiled and pointed to one side.

There –

“Shouldn’t you pick him up? He won’t want to run in the desert.”

A horse was lying loosely spread out.

“… Haah.”

It felt like I was back in reality.

I kicked him with my foot.

“Wake up, you lazy bastard.”

Then I immediately lifted him on my back.

Whinny–!

Startled, he struggled a bit, but I calmed him down by tightening my grip.

“I just went to take care of a few wildcats, you know? If you don’t want to be gnawed in the butt, let’s go quietly.”

Whinny–!

We started crossing the desert.

---

The fatty said a word to the thin man, who was scanning the ground with a serious face.

“Isn’t it better to aim for the princess?”

“…”

“Of course, it’s a bit odd to say this now, but…”

“I remember that we decided together to follow the Tamers.”

“That’s right, but… I said it when Squatjaw appeared alone, didn’t I? Won’t the princess be by herself…?”

The thin man didn’t respond to the fatty’s words.

There was nothing to say. He’d insisted on constantly observing Squatjaw.

At that time, the fatty was immersed in one concern.

Maybe because the thin man had set his goals differently than him.

Instead of the princess, maybe he was aiming for that Squatjaw.

He’d been showing a tendency to focus on that man for a while. That monster they absolutely shouldn’t touch.

Even though he knew his advice wouldn’t be listened to, the fatty buoyed himself up and tried to mention it again. Even if just for form’s sake.

That was then.

“I didn’t aim at the wrong target. I was just trying to get information on what would be the biggest obstacle. Our goal is still to assassinate the princess.”

The thin man said softly as if he had guessed his compatriot’s mind.

Then,

“I’ve come to understand him to some extent.”

He sounded crazy.

“We can’t handle him. He’s a monster. No matter how hard we try, we can’t handle this guy. His strength is also a problem, but more than that, there’s no way that we can stand up to his unique ability. As long as he’s protecting her, we can’t touch a single hair of the princess.”

It wasn’t funny. Was he acknowledging that only now?

However, what shone within the thin man’s eyes was not the light of resignation.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“All our plans so far are to be discarded. Instead, we have no choice but to use the last resort.”

“… The last resort?”

“I confirmed it through the informants in the royal palace as well as by the side of the first and fourth princes. Looks like he’s gone crazy again. He’s on this road now.”

“’He’? By that you mean… no, you can’t mean… wait.”

The thin man’s words left the fatty frozen like a statue.

“We’ll use him. The Khan.”

To make the current emperor of the Skull Empire, who was secretly participating in the Warrior’s Path, clash with Squatjaw. That sloppy, messy plan was the only one they had left.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 64

Nero

The black cat was called Nero.

I’d seen this guy in the original, when the story had just passed the early parts, and the middle part was about to begin.

As I recalled, it was probably after Leo and his party had finished their S-class adventure quest in Westland and went south across the sea.

Surprisingly, out here in Eastland, I stumbled upon a character from the Southland arc.

[Southland National Park].

It’s like a symbol of Southland, and although it’s called a park, it covers an area large enough to encompass the entire Northland continent.

Nero was a member of an animal farm in the park that Leo and his party had visited to treat a divine beast suffering from ‘evolutionary disease’.

He was one of the three beasts that were the major characters in that farm, but didn’t really play any role other than that. Together with the other two, he was only in charge of the farm’s accessory functions.

In a way, he was just a passing extra. However, the reason why I still remembered him was simple. His appearance.

The green eye on the left shining like an emerald, and the blue eye on the right deep as a sapphire. And a red ruby ​​hanging from the neck.

Since it looked like he was wearing three jewels, he was even called the Jewel Cat.

That he was here was already quite a shock, and him being a member of such a vicious organization was even worse.

Of course, the animal farm had seemed to be hiding many secrets, but it was still a place where Leo and the others had gotten a lot of help. Leo’s teammate, the divine beast, had been cured there.

And since they’d never appeared since then, like an ‘unrecovered rice cake’, I’d had no idea that they could be such great continental-scale villains.

My look at Nero was as bewildered as his look at me.

And then,

“How do you know my name?”

The guy asked, in a voice filled with doubt.

“Uh, that’s…”

I considered my options. Arbitrarily teasing this idiot might amplify the readers’ doubts, so perhaps I could pretend to be confused?

“So it’s really you, Nero?”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s no big deal, actually. I used to work at a zoo in the Southland National Park. It was there that I first heard the rumours about you. That there’s a pretty cat with emeralds and sapphires in his eyes.”

“… There’re rumours about me?”

Nero looked suspicious, but didn’t ask any more questions.

I was here too, but somehow it felt like he was more conscious of the guys behind him.

Presumably, this was due to my mention of the ‘Southland National Park’. If these people were just part of a sleeper cell here in Eastland without any material connection to the main body of the organization, it was natural to be wary of information leaking out.

Anyway, it was fortunate for me that he moved on without investigating further.

That was then –

“W-, we can handle it!”

“You don’t have to go out on your own, sir. Leave it to us!”

“We’ll deal with him in no time!”

The three men behind him rushed over.

Nero glanced at them, then slowly backed away.

Rather than trusting them, it seemed like he needed more time to think.

But,

“Come on together. I’ll finish you off in an instant.”

I had no intention of giving him so much leeway.

Soon after –

Growl!

Purr!

Meoow…

Receiving their orders, the three yellow cats jumped forward.

Or rather, two of them jumped forward, and one slowly backed away and watched.

‘A divine beast is a divine beast, after all. They can learn from experience.’

The experience of flying around in a circle a few times certainly seemed to have raised this guy’s level of caution by a few orders of magnitude.

I turned my gaze to the two beasts who’d jumped out in front of me.

Weird bastards.

There was no reason to think of them that way. Because all their actions, including the activations of their unique abilities, were currently under others’ control.

Of course, unless you’re talking about wild divine beasts, it’s not unusual for a divine beast to follow the instructions of another person. But even considering that, how they looked wasn’t natural at all. Like the first one, they felt a bit… mechanical.

‘Is it possible… that they’re artificially created divine beast?’

Hmmm. No way.

I immediately shook my head.

Of course, there was a setting about the ‘Mad Scientist of Northland’ who’d been active for a long time, but the results were completely different from the animal farm side of Southland.

Because the ‘science’, not the beasts themselves, was the main focus of the research, and the ‘artificial divine beast’ was only a testbed for creating an ‘artificial human’. Not something mass produced.

The biggest problem was that if all the continents, including Northland and Southland, were entangled in this plotline, it was implausible that such a rice cake would be quietly buried without ever making an appearance in the original. To be honest, it cast doubt on the author’s storytelling ability.

Rather, it was more plausible that the animal farm side had independently developed a drug for controlling divine beasts.

Then,

“Attack!”

“Throw a fireball!”

“Roast him whole!”

The sound of the controllers came from behind.

As a result, changes took place in the bodies of the two cats.

One began spewing smoke from his mouth, and the other’s body was covered in electric sparks.

‘One is fire, and the other’s a lightning-type?’

The last of the three didn’t activate any ability yet, but I expected it’d be similar to the other two. Spitting fire or water, or emitting electricity, etc.

I wasn’t guessing just based on their similar looks.

Divine beasts rarely ever have as odd or diverse abilities as humans. Most of them are restricted to fireballs, water cannons and the like. At most, they can shapeshift to the extent of adjusting the size of their bodies and changing the material of their claws. No matter how high their rank, this formula holds.

This seemed to be due to the authorial intent of keeping the divine beasts in line, but the readers never complained about this.

Since the divine beasts were overloaded with so many settings already (using unique abilities, speaking, possessing human-like intelligence, and even being cute), they probably thought it was enough.

And additionally, divine beasts also have a separate power-up option, called ‘evolution’.

If they didn’t have any restrictions on unique abilities on top of that, Leo might’ve had a legion of divine beast rivals for the seat of the Adventure King.

Anyway, for the same reason, it wasn’t really that difficult to deal with divine beasts.

It was pretty basic. Since they didn’t have any special unique abilities, meant there was no point in thinking about matchmaking and strategy, and all you had to do was beat them down with greater force.

As I watched a ball of fire the size of a basketball fly towards me, I activated a unique ability.

[Lightning that Destroys Calamity].

As soon as the flames came in contact with the sparks jumping out of my body, they melted and disappeared.

The balls of lightning that followed, met the same fate. The in-built setting of ‘contempt for the weak’ worked like a charm against divine beasts, too.

“W-, w-, what…”

“Nonsense…”

Actually, this was overkill for these guys, but I still did it to provide a little fan service.

Now the readers would be excited once again. They’d quickly realize the sweet OP flavour of ‘contempt for the weak’, and it was Leo’s unique ability, too.

I didn’t pause, and went straight for the yellow cats. Pushing a lot of lightning into my index finger, I jabbed their foreheads one by one.

The two beasts fell down without even the slightest resistance, and the last one raised his head as if beseeching my baptism.

“Yeah, rest in peace.”

Crackle–.

I turned my head, and the faces of people who’d been watching the scene, frozen, came into view.

“Hmmm…”

The three stooges stepped back and screamed.

“Monster, he’s a monster…”

“Uh, what do we do?”

“Even if we try to run away…”

I didn’t know what the terrified bastards were reading from my indifferent expression, but I was actually busy thinking of something else.

Yes, the readers’ reactions.

Perhaps by this time the reader community would be filled with questions about my abilities.

Like – hey, come to think of it, Squatjaw’s been using other people’s abilities, right? What’s up with that?

The questions might’ve died down since I’d moved to Eastland, but they would now be reignited once again.

‘What’ll happen now, I wonder…’

Of course, I had to be very cautious about how I handled this. Getting attention is a good thing, but it doesn’t always result in profit.

Unlike the characters in the original, my current abilities were not widely understood. People could only roughly guess that I was mimicking others’ abilities, but they didn’t know the prerequisite conditions.

This meant that if I made one mistake, the readers’ swords might soon point at me too, much like how the ‘power balance adjustment suggestion’ had been raised against Karl Zayed in the original.

Before such an unfortunate incident could occur, I had to disclose the conditions I had to fulfil for mimicking unique abilities. That this wasn’t particularly versatile, and that it was a skill with quite a few prerequisite conditions, etc.

In addition, it was necessary to enclose ‘another plausible reason’ that would establish the reasoning behind my past actions, which couldn’t be explained merely by the conditions behind my power.

And my plan for that involved the ‘goblins’.

In any case, the author, in order to appease the readers, would have no choice but to devote more screentime to me.

It was a bit like a double-edged sword.

But I was confident that I could wield it.

‘By the way…’

I looked around, slowly.

The battlefield had become silent.

The three idiots had gone who knew where, leaving only Nero behind.

He was watching me silently, but I couldn’t read what he was thinking from his face. Because he was a cat.

‘Should I start with suppressing him first?’

Sure, he had to be pretty strong. I’d never seen him fight, but he did look ‘strong’ (?).

But I didn’t expect it to be much of a problem. If there were two or three more of him, maybe…

So, it was time for me to move.

Purr–.

Purr–.

Purr–.

⁝

Growling noises came from all around me. The surroundings were suddenly filled with yellow gleaming orbs of light.

The eyes of beasts.

“… Whoo.”

I let out a sigh as I watched them slowly appear.

Brown hair and yellow eyes. shape reminiscent of a lynx, and size about twice that. They looked like real wildcats. And they smelled the same as what I’d smelled so many times during this journey.

I could guess why these guys had suddenly appeared.

Domination.

This was one of the specialties of high-ranking divine beasts, the ability to freely control beasts of lower rank than themselves. More of a ‘hidden characteristic’ than a unique ability, but still, I never know that it could be extended to such a large group.

What’s more, the wildcats looked well-drilled as they surrounded me, each once keeping the proper distance. Such coordination made it hard to consider them as wild beasts. It felt like the attackers, the reserve force, and the exit blockers were moving as separate groups.

That was how detailed the ‘domination’ was.

I looked at Nero with fresh eyes.

This bastard, he was no regular cat. He was a real king of cats or something.

But,

“Still, what do you think you can do with just them?”

They were merely wild animals.

Forget these wildcats, even a flock of this size of those yellow cats earlier, wouldn’t pose a threat to me…

Slash–!

“…”

Suddenly, something brushed past my cheek.

It was Nero.

He immediately hid himself among the wildcats, hard to find because he was so small and black.

I lightly patted my cheek, which had a small scratch on it.

“That speed was a little surprising… but is this the tactic you’re going with?”

Hit and run, hit and fade, huh…

I turned up the power, and spat the lightning out in all directions.

Soon after,

Crrrrrrackle–.

Crrrrrrackle–.

The electrocuted wildcats collapsed all at once.

Psssh–.

Psssh–.

Psssh–.

⁝

They never screamed.

It would’ve taken a lot of effort to kill all these wildcats one by one. I could’ve shown some gaps in the process. Maybe that was what Nero was aiming for.

But as long as it was enough to simply stun them, it wasn’t too difficult.

“I’m sorry, but this lightning isn’t in the same league as those yellow cats.”

“…”

Nero was on top of a fallen tree far away.

Startled by the power of the lightning, he’d managed to quickly avoid it.

“Are you going to stay there? Or do you have anything more to show?”

Then,

Step–.

Nero jumped down, and started trotting up to me again.

He still didn’t show any sign of fear.

“Squatjaw… you, are strong.”

“Why does that always come as a surprise to people so late in the game? It’s weird… Do I really look so weak?”

“Don’t hit me with your electricity.”

Soon after,

“Oh… already?”

Nero’s body suddenly began to glow brightly.

I was a little excited. Was he really going to show it to the readers?

Nero was now trying to transform into his real body. At this point of the plot, there were no divine beasts who’d evolved to stage 3, so he was probably stage 2.

Then,

Psss–.

The light that had shined so bright for an instant gradually dispersed, and Nero’s new form was revealed.

“Wow…”

I let out an unconscious exclamation.

It was great.

A puma? Or a jaguar? I didn’t know the exact species, but an incredibly handsome big black cat appeared.

“You look really cool.”

I said it sincerely, but there was no reply.

Instead,

Grrrrrrrrrr–.

There was only a threatening growl.

At this point, I was also a little nervous.

To be honest, it was because that last attack in the small cat form had already been quite fast. The attack after he transformed into his true body was bound to be several times faster and stronger.

But, of course,

“Come on, kitty-cat. I’ll play with you. Choo, choo.”

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t provoke him.

“I’m going to tear you apart.”

In an instant, his toenails turned black like they were made of metal. It seemed that Nero’s unique ability was ‘steel transformation’.

And then,

Aaaaaaang!

The bastard came at me.

---

How long did it take?

Playing (?) with Nero was fun.

It was more thrilling than I’d expected… although, yeah, even I would get a little angry if somebody scratched my toenails, even as just a joke.

And around the time I broke his eighth claw, I slowly prepared for the end of the battle.

In fact, I could’ve finished it before then, but I kept the spectacular scene going for a while for the sake of the readers. Although it was a bit worrying that the princess had been left alone, so I decided to finish up.

I slowly raised the power of the lightning. Nero was more resistant that I’d initially expected, so I had to gather some more power than usual. Even if this wasn’t a OHKO, he’d be feeling the effects.

“Whoo…”

Now was the time to finish.

The lightning condensed in my hands flew wildly.

Crrrrrackle–.

Nero was also preparing for the final blow.

Although it must’ve been very exhausting and difficult, he resolutely sharpened his toenails. He was definitely a pretty tough one.

“Let’s finish it, kitty-cat. This was fun.”

And just as I just got into position –

“Stop. That’s enough!”

Suddenly, I heard an unexpected sound.

I looked at Nero, puzzled.

It was crazy. The content, and the situation.

Obviously, it came from Nero. But it wasn’t his voice that I heard.

“Here, look here.”

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t Nero who was talking.

The new voice was coming from the red ruby ​​he wore on his neck.

“… What?”

“Okay, stop the fighting. Any more, and my cat will die. What do you want?”

“…”

It wasn’t funny.

“No, what do you think you….”

“Yeah, Nero! Where are you now?”

Then,

“… Eastland.”

Nero answered quietly.

“Ah, are you there? Wait, Eastland, so it’s about that white bird from earlier? Hmmm… ah, the white hawk. That guy.”

The voice from ruby was busy with a solo Q&A session.

“Is it because of that white hawk? I won’t touch him anymore, so leave my cat alone. No need to do anything silly.”

The absurdity kept going until it broke through the roof.

Silly? So what about what’d happened so far?

While I was standing speechless at that brazen attitude –

“This guy knows my name.”

Nero spoke softly.

He seemed to have a slightly different opinion from the voice in the ruby.

“It’s possible that he also knows where we are…”

“So what? You idiot cat. Do you think you can handle this guy?”

“…”

“Hey, you there. Are you listening? How about it? We move on, ignoring each other. And forget everything that’s happened.”

Hmmm.

I had no intention of killing Nero anyway. How could I kill such a cute and handsome cat? Some readers might be frustrated, but the aftereffects of killing him would be much worse. He might’ve already gotten some fans.

I didn’t worry any further.

“It’s not that difficult, but in order to do that, you have to cut off the cause first.”

I carefully pulled the pigeon out of my pocket. He was still shaking.

“Hey, hey! Me, why am I…”

“Stay still.”

I pointed to Coocoo’s anklet.

“If you just get rid of this, everything can quietly disappear. Like nothing’s ever happened.”

Then,

“What is it, look a bit closer.”

“Anklet.”

“Ankle? Hmmm, if it’s an ankle…”

“The Bridle of Submission.”

“Oh, yeah, that.”

Ruby and Nero started whispering between themselves.

Soon after,

“Well, it’s not difficult.”

The voice in the ruby ​​said.

“Yeah? Then right now…”

“Come to Southland.”

“… What?”

“If you come here, I can cut it off. Otherwise, I can’t.”

It was an absurd statement.

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t help it. Because that restriction isn’t something that can be solved so easily.”

“Eeeh…”

He couldn’t fix it?

“Then I can’t just let this cat go.”

“Is that what you think? It won’t be up to you, Squatjaw.”

Nero bared his claws once more.

Then, while the atmosphere was getting serious once again –

“Wait, wait. Actually, there is one way…”

A whisper came out of the ruby.

“If you’ve got a point, talk quickly.”

“But I think it’ll be a bit difficult.”

“What?”

“Making him directly cut it off by himself.”

“What do you mean, ‘directly’?”

“That’s one way to get out of submission. The guy who bowed his head, now has to wake himself up again. And break that Bridle of Submission.”

“So, what does he have to do?”

“The method itself is simple.”

And the words that followed were, to say the least, very shounen-ish.

“You have to fight, by yourself. Against that bridle that makes you bow and cringe. And you have to overcome it.”

“What does that even mean…”

“Don’t you know? That guy has to face Nero now. But, on his own.”

It was embarrassing.

How could a pigeon the size of a little puppy take on a big cat that even used an unique ability?

And above all,

“I, I! It’s okay, it’s okay… you don’t have to.”

“Hey, you…”

“It’s okay to just… stay like this.”

It seemed that Coocoo had no intention of doing it.

“I did say, it’d be difficult. He can’t do it. Because he’s completely bound by the bridle. It’s already great that he hasn’t fainted yet.”

“…”

It was just as the guy said. Coocoo’s body was still shaking. He couldn’t even look at Nero properly. Or to be precise, at the ruby ​​that hung on his neck.

However,

“… That’s nothing.”

I didn’t intend to simply move on, saying, “So that’s just how it is.”

It was like a kind of ‘character awakening’.

And just as I’d been confident while talking with Bayar Khan, I was better than anyone else in the world when it came to awakening characters.

Actually, this guy could do it. With just a little help from his friends.

He had to fight the battle on his own, but so what?

Therefore,

Step, step.

I took a couple of steps forward, then thrust out my chest. Then I pointed at my heart with my right hand.

“Hey, cat! Aim here. I won’t resist. Don’t you have that final attack you didn’t get to use? Hit me with it.”

When I glanced at Coocoo, he was gaping in surprise, his beak open wide.

“You get it, right? I’m not going to avoid it, so if you don’t stop him… I’ll just die.”

It was simple. A shounen manga-type problem should have a shounen manga-type answer.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 63

Yellow Cat, Black Cat

He was a weird one.

The yellow-coloured beast, which I still wasn’t sure was actually a mountain cat or not, was just standing in place, staring at me.

Without a single sound or the slightest movement.

Those bright red eyes simply stared at me, unmoving.

He was clearly no wild animal.

As per the setting, most wild divine beasts were hostile to humans – and the more isolationist ones wouldn’t even hesitate to pre-emptively attack humans intruding on their territory.

But, let alone attack, he didn’t seem to even hold any particular hostility towards me. What shone in those red irises was something closer to indifference.

This left me with a strange impression, as if I was looking at a machine, rather than a living being. It might’ve been a bit hyperbolic to say, but all interest and curiosity seemed to have been erased under repeated mental domination.

Leaving only a lifeless serenity that didn’t fit a wild divine beast at all.

And above all else, Coocoo’s horrified reaction was the evidence.

Coocoo’s wings had been trembling ever since the beast had appeared. With his head bowed down, he looked quite anxious.

But it wasn’t fear that gripped him, I felt. Rather, he seemed to be in pain, recalling some old trauma. The thought that those ‘bastards’ had come to catch him again had triggered a panic attack.

I gently held Coocoo’s wings.

“… Squatjaw?”

“It’s alright, what are you shaking so much for?”

“Ah, but these guys….”

“It’s alright.”

After a while,

“… Haah, damn it.”

Fortunately, Coocoo seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“That yellow beast. You know him?”

Coocoo shook his beak at my question.

“I don’t. It’s just, the smell…”

“Smell? Does he smell like them? The organization that captured you?”

Instead of answering, Coocoo turned to yellow cat. It looked like he was trying to remember something.

And then –

“… It’s not just him.”

Said something odd.

“What’re you talking about?”

“He didn’t come alone, damn it.”

Coocoo was falling into a panic again. His trauma ran deeper than I thought.

Hmmm.

Basically, there might be several people nearby who also controlled their own divine beasts, and there might be a few more divine beasts besides this yellow cat.

“Tch…”

Ignoring the cowardly and mentally unstable pigeon, I turned to the yellow cat, who was still blankly staring at me.

It was difficult to imagine. That this guy was also a divine beast.

I decided to start up a conversation.

“Hm, hey, yellow cat. Can you even speak?”

I waited for a while, but no answer came.

But I didn’t give up. Even if he couldn’t speak, I thought he might be able to understand my words.

“Did you come here for us? Where’s your master?”

All the divine beasts I’d seen in the original had been like that. Although few of them could speak, all of them, without exception, could communicate with their masters. Between humans and beasts, the intelligence of divine beasts was closer to the former.

And soon,

Purr–.

The guy made a small noise.

Sounded like agreement.

“So, you did come to visit us… What’s your purpose?”

The guy slowly turned back. Then he shook his head a couple of times, like signaling us to follow.

What should I do?

The approach was very different from what I’d expected, but it was clear that ‘enemies with divine beasts of their own’ had come a-knocking. Not one, but several.

‘Isn’t… the gap a bit too big?’

The first wave had been small fries, but the ones who’d followed right after were honestly a bit concerning.

After thinking for a while, I called out to the princess.

“If I don’t come back within a couple of hours, start moving. I’ll follow later.”

“Why, what… is it because of that beast?”

“Yeah. The bad guys who’d imprisoned Coocoo have come to chat. It’s no big deal, so don’t worry.”

“But…”

“Don’t get caught up in this mess for no reason just because we’ve been together for a while. You have enough enemies already.”

“…”

I’d had no intention of leaving the princess by herself, but this was different. These guys were the only enemies with a different purpose. They’d come to get Coocoo back, and didn’t care about the princess at all. It’d be cleaner and quicker to solve the problem without worrying about her getting caught up in it.

Of course, she’d have to protect herself properly during the period.

“If you’re in danger, remember to call the old man.”

“… I’m not weak either, you know.”

“Yeah, alright. Then, take care of yourself.”

A character can’t grow if there’s no crisis, anyway.

So, I wasn’t against exposing the princess to a little danger, although it wouldn’t do to go overboard.

“Remember. Two hours.”

Grabbing Coocoo, I followed after the yellow cat.

---

The yellow cat guided us to a nearby forest.

Crossing the thick woods, we reached the depths, an empty patch of land covered with fallen leaves.

And, there –

“Ah, there you are.”

A man in a flashy outfit was standing there.

He was wearing a white coat embroidered with different colours, like some kind of a stage magician costume. If it was a deliberate choice of fashion, I could only applaud his taste as being quite unique. Both his cheeks were painted with rouge, completing the foppish look.

Well, if this was the organization’s uniform, that’d explain a few things.

He spoke.

“You know me, right?”

It was an absurd way to start the conversation.

“How could I? It’s my first time seeing you.”

This guy had never even appeared in the original.

“Oh, I mean, you know what I’m here for? Right? You must’ve heard it all by now.”

He pointed to the left pocket of my cloak. Where Coocoo was nestled.

“Yeah. You’re villains. You catch divine beasts and put curses on them. Bad guys who lure adventurers and attack them.”

At my words, he giggled, and then broke into full-blown laughter.

“So you do know.”

“And now you’re targeting me.”

“Right.”

He stopped chuckling and stared at me.

Then –

“Originally, I didn’t intend to meet you here, but I guess I ran out of patience.”

He pulled out a bell from his pocket.

As he shook it, the yellow cat slowly approached and stood next to him.

“I saw it.”

“What?”

“That throw.”

“… You mean that rock?”

Then –

“Rock? Ah… yeah, that guy was dumb as a rock, you mean? It’s true. Boasting like that, when he couldn’t even notice the difference in strength between you two?”

He giggled again.

Hmmm.

From the looks of it, this guy hadn’t even seen me in the preliminaries.

And come to think of it,

“But… are you the only one here?”

Oddly enough, I couldn’t feel anybody else nearby. Not even any beasts.

I looked around.

It was puzzling. Why was this guy here all alone?

This wasn’t just because of Coocoo’s words, ‘not alone’.

Because I thought there had to be more than just this guy and that yellow divine beast to such a vicious group.

“Are you really the only one?”

“Oh, why?”

“I’m wondering if you’re dumb as a rock, too, since you can’t even notice the difference in strength between us.”

“…”

Appearance is one of the most important criteria for determining an opponent’s strength in this world.

If you’re handsome, you’re strong, if you’re stylish, you’re strong, and if you look larger than life, of course you’re strong.

Naturally, there’re a lot of exceptions, and the accuracy drops a lot towards the end of the storyline. Because all the characters that appear are strong, the emphasis on personality becomes more important than appearance.

But, only for ‘humans’.

For divine beasts, appearance is a strict criterion for judging their strength.

To make it simple – the smaller and cuter it is, the more powerful it is.

Does it look cute enough to just eat up? Then it’s strong enough to easily crush an S-class adventurer.

Of course, the true body, once revealed, can be large and imposing. But in general, it needs to look pretty and cute. That’s the condition of being a powerful divine beast in this shounen manga.

And it’s a formula that doesn’t change all the way to the end.

The yellow cat in front of me did feel quite strong, but he lost just from the appearance. Too bad, but he wasn’t small, and he wasn’t cute either.

In other words, it’d be difficult to get rid of even the most inexperienced adventurers with just this one divine beast. As long as they’re adventurers, they must possess some ability.

And, to say the least –

“You don’t think… you don’t think I’m in the same league as those idiots you beat earlier?”

“If you have friends nearby, call them in quickly. Don’t end up regretting it later.”

This rock-head who couldn’t even notice the difference in strength between us, wasn’t enough for this job.

---

If I were to divide the current characters in terms of strength, with a very simple grade system –

1. Weak

2. Normal

3. Strong

4. Monster

I was naturally at the fourth level, a ‘monster’.

To be more specific, among the characters that currently existed, there was no one who I thought could threaten me, except for Karl Zayed.

The reason was simple. Because it was still early, the worldview hadn’t been expanded enough yet, and strong enough characters hadn’t had the chance to come up on stage.

The power balance of this world was forever set based on Leo, and Leo’s current power was at level 4, a fellow ‘monster’. No matter how strong a villain appeared right now, they wouldn’t be at a level that Leo couldn’t beat. The balance would break otherwise. The Huntington Bandits that Leo and his party faced in this chapter, were the same.

In a nutshell, there was no one who could be considered stronger than Leo right now, except for the two (me and Karl Zayed) who’d ranked higher than him in the qualification test.

Of course, this wouldn’t last very long.

The power scale in a shounen manga isn’t static. There inevitably comes a time when the characters rapidly grow stronger, a ‘period of upheaval’ that also heralds an ‘expansion of the worldview’.

A time when the main character is given a new environment and goal, the stage expands dramatically, and a gaggle of new characters show up. Characters who’ve only existed as ‘settings’ till then, are realized in the world and reveal their presence.

When that time came, Leo’s rating would also be naturally adjusted, from the fourth level, ‘monster’, to ‘normal’, the second level from the bottom; and in severe enough cases, even to the lowermost level, ‘weak’. On the other hand, all the new characters would be at either level 3 ‘strong’ or level 4 ‘monster’.

In other words, even though I was at level 4 right now, a ‘monster’, when the time came, I too would have to drop in level.

The most turbulent time next in the schedule was the chapter where the ‘Scramble for Ramirez’s Treasure’ would take place. From that point on, my strength would rapidly drop, enough that even staying at level 3, ‘strong’, might get difficult.

And even if I somehow raised my rating to level 4 ‘monster’ again, once I crossed the King’s Road and entered ‘Midland’, I’d again fall back to level 1, ‘weak’. Same as Leo.

In sum, once powerful guys started appearing one after another in the not-too-distant future, my strength would become nothing special.

But not yet. Right now, it was hard to find someone stronger than me, anywhere.

And therefore –

“Hahaha! Where’s all this arrogance coming from? Just from beating those horse thieves earlier? Do you even know what’s next to me right now? It’s called a divine beast, a divine beast! It’s not like the pigeon you’ve got with you, it’s not restricted, it’s a real divine beast!”

His speech and behaviour gave credence to the hypothesis that his dumbness indeed approached that of a rock.

Waving the bell in his hands, he whispered something into the yellow cat’s ear.

Then, the yellow cat slowly walked forward.

I looked at him and didn’t take any action. There was no reason to, because I didn’t think he was a threat.

However, the guy in the flashy outfit seemed to think that I was frozen with fear.

“Hey, if you stand still, you’ll get eaten. Do you know what I just said to this cutie?”

He giggled, giving me no time to answer, and answered himself first.

“I told him to eat one of your feet first. So be careful. He’s got pretty sharp teeth.”

He wasn’t that funny, either.

“Let’s hope you’ve paid more attention to this kid’s feet than mine.”

I pointed to Coocoo.

“If I catch you, can you remove that thing from his ankle?”

The guy replied with a grin.

“I’ll let you know if you can beat my cutie.”

And then,

Growl!

The yellow cat rushed towards me.

At this point, I was indeed a little flustered, because he was slower than I thought.

He didn’t even use his unique ability.

Just bared his claws and ran at me with open jaws.

‘Like a cheeky little kitten.’

I lightly dodged the front paws that came flying and grabbed him by the neck.

Growl–?

Then I spun him around a few times.

Gr-, growl…?

And then –

“Here, take him back! I’m strong, but I can’t control my strength very well, you see?”

I threw the yellow cat back at the guy who was still staring blankly as if he hadn’t figured out the situation yet.

Gr-, growl!!!

Whooosh–.

“Wai-, wait a minute…”

Of course, I didn’t stand still either.

While the yellow cat was sailing through the air, I was already rushing  at him.

“Huh!?”

The man’s face, up close, was full of surprise and bewilderment.

“What’re you so surprised about? This is just the beginning.”

I grabbed him by the neck.

“Stop!”

I felt a flash of heat behind me and hurriedly backed away.

Then,

Bang–!

A fireball struck where I’d just been standing.

“That was dangerous. This is why I told you to wait.”

“Yeah, you idiot! I told you to unseal the divine beast’s unique ability as soon as you meet an enemy who looks strong.”

Turning around, I saw two men who looked like they were in the same party, walking out of the bushes.

‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’

And next to them were two big cats that looked like they could be brothers of the yellow one. The fireball seemed to be the work of one of them. Smoke was still rising from his mouth.

One of the two newcomers shouted at me.

“Who are you!”

“Huh?”

It was a rather odd question.

I scratched my head.

“Isn’t that what I should be asking? It was you guys who followed me.”

“Shut up!”

…?

While I was feeling dizzy from this deluge of absurdity –

“… Bastard! I was careless just now, but it’ll be different from now on!”

The owner of the first yellow cat cried out with anger. A very typical line for an extra.

“Now, has everybody gathered? This is all of you?”

I asked, tilting my head.

“Heh, your luck’s now run out.”

I was feeling puzzled. Were these guys really all of them?

To be honest, the two new additions didn’t make them much more of a threat. I might need a little more time, but the ending wouldn’t change.

But I was feeling a strange sense of incongruity. As if there was still something more left.

Although very faint, there was a sense of crisis.

Why?

It took a little while, but I managed to pinpoint where the source of that discomfort came from.

It wasn’t far. Right from my left pocket.

Coocoo’s trembling hadn’t stopped. Not yet.

I glanced at his shivering, silent form.

What was making him tremble?

Not the humans in front of me, or those beasts. I was sure of that. There had to be somebody else out there somewhere.

I looked around eagerly.

The idiots in front of me were still talking, but I ignored them. Because they didn’t matter.

‘Obviously there’s another guy, somewhere here…’

That was then –

… Huh?

As I was scanning my surroundings, something caught my eye.

It only flashed in my vision for a moment, but my head naturally stopped in its arc.

And unconsciously, I gaped.

That was how strong the presence was.

It was a black cat perching on a tree branch in the distance.

Even though the darkness had descended, I could clearly notice him even through the thick cover of trees. How absurdly beautiful he was.

This cat… was crazy.

And in that moment, I was sure.

That guy was the culprit. The reason why Coocoo was still shivering.

At the same time, the black cat also seemed to notice my gaze.

He jumped off his perch and padded closer.

“N-, no!”

“W-, we can take care of this!”

“You really don’t have to come out…”

The black cat didn’t respond to their cries.

Instead,

“Who are you?”

He spoke to me.

I was so surprised I even forgot to reply. I just stared blankly with my mouth agape.

However, this was not because of what he said, nor because of the revelation that the leader of the pursuers was a divine beast instead of a human.

It was because I found the appearance of the black cat quite familiar.

Heterochromatic eyes, that gleamed in the dark as if an emerald and a sapphire had been embedded into his shiny black coat.

A large red ruby ​​hanging from his neck.

A cat I knew from the original.

[A speciality of the Southland National Park, commonly known as the ‘Jewel Cat’].

I carefully called out his name.

“Nero?”

In an instant, the black cat’s paws froze.

… His eyes widened in surprise.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 62

Attack, Start!

Regarding the qualifications one would need to be called a warrior, different people have different opinions.

Some say that you have to be strong, and others say that you need to be skilled with weaponry. Yet others may say that only those who can survive in battle after killing the enemy are worthy of being called warriors.

But the requirements for warriors of the Skull Empire are a little clearer than that.

First, of course, power.

In order to be called a warrior of the Skull Empire, one must have power several times stronger than others. If you don’t have the strength, how can you go further beyond all other countries while carrying the honour of the empire on your back?

And second, adaptability.

A warrior of the Skull Empire should be at home no matter which strange faraway land he finds himself in. He must be able to acquire food and supplies by analysing the local flora and fauna, and he must be able to adapt to the local climate, no matter how harsh and unfamiliar.

A conqueror needs not just strength, but adaptability and perseverance to withstand new environments.

Bayar Khan had said that the first checkpoint in the final round was to test that.

Adaptability, and survivability.

I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult.

Look at me, wasn’t I still surviving even after falling into this alien land?

The problem was, I wasn’t the only one who had to meet this requirement, this time.

I looked at my horse, panting next to me.

Even though he hadn’t had to touch the ground with his legs that much, he seemed quite tired.

The road to Maroon Mountain was a harsher trial for horses than for humans, to be fair.

For some reason, everywhere we passed, was filled with this guy’s natural enemies.

Swamp leeches, forest snakes, sand scorpions, poisonous river frogs…

And not just that, a strange, tangy smell pervaded the air everywhere.

Bayar Khan called it the smell of a ‘mountain cat’. A very ferocious feline species that inhabits only certain regions within the Skull Empire, and horses and sheep are a staple of their diet.

From the looks of it, either these guys had been caught elsewhere and released back here on purpose, or our path had been deliberately chosen to cut through their habitat.

“Are there no other paths? Don’t we just have to reach the mountains, whatever route we take?”

“There must be. But the road the horses flinch from is the fastest. That’s how it’s always been, the old man said.”

“Hmm…”

Of course, it wasn’t that I’d been carrying this horse of mine all the way. If a place wasn’t a swamp or a forest, had no enemies nearby, and the stench was faint, it’d run a little bit. After the princess coddled him a bit, even his stamina had increased a little.

But,

Whinny–.

It was still too much for him, apparently.

Not only did his panting not stop, this guy was now even crawling down on the ground.

“…”

To be honest, by this time I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Maybe this guy was just pretending right now, and cackling inside.

Maybe seeing the vast expanse of the desert before him, he just wanted to lie down?

I’d been flustered at the repeated ups and downs of his mood at first, but honestly, there’d been times when he’d looked perfectly fine. Especially when somebody gave him food.

I watched the princess hand out hay.

The guy who’d just been looking like he was about to bonelessly collapse, was now licking his tongue and eating very enthusiastically.

“This guy… isn’t he healthy?”

So, I asked a quick question.

“Look at how tired he is, does that look healthy to you?”

“No, well, he’s got energy enough when it comes to eating, don’t you think?”

“That’s just because he has to eat if he has to live.”

“… Is that so?”

It didn’t answer my doubts.

The princess seemed to notice my displeasure.

“You shouldn’t feel like he’s a burden. That’s the difficult part of this obstacle.”

“No, rather than a burden…”

To be honest, he was worse than a simple burden. Burdens can at least be thrown away if they weigh you down.

But him, on the other hand…

“The empire was able to conquer such a vast territory because all its warriors loved their horses more than their own lives. The harsher the environment, the harder it is on them. People can say when it’s tough, when it hurts, when it’s cold or painful, but they can’t do even that. I’m not really parroting the old man here, it’s my own opinion. No, it’s a fact.”

She said, a little sharply, sharp enough to sting a bit.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“You might call him a coward, but the issue here is that you aren’t somebody he thinks he can rely on. Don’t expect this guy to recognize your power. You have to show him something different. You have to make him trust you, that you’ll always be by his side, and that you’ll never leave him.”

“Trust…”

In fact, I’d also been somewhat aware of my own complacency.

To be honest, I’d been far too confident in my backgrounds, [Southland National Park Zookeeper] and [Apprentice Racetrack Jockey]. Confident enough that I’d never really tried to form a bond with this guy.

If something is cheap, there’s a reason for that.

It seemed that the princess also recognized my thoughts from my expression. Because she smiled and tried to lift my spirits.

“If you study carefully, the distance he can run will increase little by little. Like us, horses need a period of adaptation.”

“… Alright.”

However, there was still one last thing that I wanted to ask.

‘Then why’s yours in such good condition?’

That cheeky black horse ran well from the start. Just having high mutual trust couldn’t explain that, surely?

When the stench of those ‘mountain cats’ came out, he just lost his appetite. Whereas my horse was constantly whining with fright.

Was there a realm beyond trust, or something?

How complicated.

‘I should’ve gotten it when I first saw it…’

Then,

“You can rest a little longer. We’ve got time.”

The princess said in a relaxed voice.

She’d seemed to have interpreted my dark complexion differently.

“Really? Weren’t we on a pretty tight schedule? We haven’t been making very good time, either.”

The day was slowly turning towards night.

The sun was setting over the sand dunes at the horizon. As if waves of indigo were meandering over the red desert.

I didn’t know exactly where Marron Mountain was, but I thought it was probably still a long way off. Because we hadn’t travelled that far.

But the princess didn’t seem to care overmuch.

“If we keep going like this, yes, but it’ll be fine for now. The three days limit doesn’t apply to just us, but the ones that start late, too. They have to have a chance to reach the destination too, right?”

“Aha, that’s true.”

It was a plausible enough theory.

So I, too, spread out my cushion on the sand.

“Emergency! Emergency!”

Suddenly, a squawking was heard from somewhere.

“Those damn bastards! It’s them, the dark ones!”

It was Coocoo.

Ah, he’d been quiet, hadn’t he?

I jumped up from my seat.

Soon I could see a white pigeon circling the sky above, then flying towards me.

“There’re about twenty people in front.”

“Twenty? Hmm, that’s not a small number, isn’t it? Great job.”

As I tried to pet him, the pigeon jerked his head back.

“Keep your filthy hands away from me. And just some empty praise won’t work. You guys need to be more grateful for my hard work.”

“Now you’re just tooting your own horn^[1]. But yeah, just wait a while. I’ll have something for you soon.”

Then I turned my head to the direction Coocoo was pointing.

After a while, just like he’d said, suspicious-looking people, clad in black, started popping up one after another over the dunes.

I’d been anticipating a fight for some time.

The reason was simple. Whether it was about attacking me or encouraging me to abandon the princess, now was the right time to launch such a disruptive operation.

Same as the preliminary round, people could watch the final obstacle as well. Moreover, even the ‘Khan’ himself would be attending, so anything that had to be done, had to be done before that.

To be more specific, although the first obstacle of the final round was about ‘hunting’ and ‘travelling’, it was rife with cases of ‘defeating your competitors’ as well, even though that had nothing to do with the obstacle itself. Since the monitoring from the invigilators was the loosest during this section of the test, there really was no better time to attack.

So, I’d been guessing.

Perhaps enemies would be hiding somewhere along the path and waiting for us, or would catch up with us while disguised as participants.

‘Now where are these guys from…’

Assassins who’d followed us from the ship? Or the new enemies we’d picked up afterwards? Or perhaps a third force?

It was difficult to tell just by looking at them.

Just then –

Clip-clop.

One among the crowd slowly trotted closer on horseback.

It was a bit puzzling.

‘Alone? Does this guy have no fear, or what?’

I inspected him carefully to see if he had any trump cards, but I couldn’t read anything special off him.

Closing upon us, he looked around and spoke.

“You couldn’t have made the journey, anyway.”

He was commenting the state of my horse, which had collapsed in a sorry state, it looked like.

I just stared at him, silent.

Hmf! Giving a snort, he continued –

“Princess Thermis, you should just give up the test at this point. That’d at least save your life. I won’t tell you twice.”

He was smirking as he looked at the princess.

What a chatterbox. He wouldn’t mind revealing his identity, right?

I took a step forward.

“Hey, shouldn’t you say who are, first…”

“Are your horses like this when you aren’t even halfway through? Hah! Ridiculous. It’s better to just turn back right now, that’s the only way to save your life. Forget about Maroon Mountain, you won’t even make it past this desert.”

“…”

What a crazy guy. Couldn’t he see me talking to him?

The princess tried to stand up, but I stopped her.

Then,

“Hey, don’t you know me?”

I took one more step, closer to him.

Then –

“… You’re that one, with the squat jaw.”

The guy finally turned his head to look at me.

“Ah… that’s it?”

I guess he really doesn’t know.

“I heard that there was a guy who bragged about his piddly power and ran wild during the preliminaries.”

“Piddly power? So you never heard how much?”

“You cheeky punk. You think battles are won only by strength? Not just that, this here is a desert! Hellish heat and cold alternate, the land is full of miasma and poisonous insects, and you can’t find even a drop of water. A place where the unprepared can’t even make it through the night. Just because you’re a bit strong, do you think you can beat us in this place?”

He let out a brief chuckle.

“So if we don’t give up the race, you’ll keep annoying us all the way?”

“Oh, are you annoyed?”

“No, wouldn’t it be strange if we didn’t have any complaints? Why are you even asking that?”

“If you have a complaint… well, your fate’s now sealed. Originally, I was only going to talk to the princess, but that cheeky face of yours is so disgusting, it’s hard to stand the sight of it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if a servant lives or dies, I suppose.”

“What… servant?”

No matter how I saw it, these guys were way too sloppy.

I checked the group behind him. The distance between us was about 20m. They were all on horseback, holding their mounts still by the reins.

‘Do they have some kind of plan of action?’

But soon I shook the thought off. How can you have a plan of action if you can’t even size up the situation?

“Alright, you all come and give it a try.”

“… Are you trying to fight us all by yourself?”

“You guys would be in real trouble otherwise.”

I glanced at the man, and he flinched for a moment.

Slowly, he must’ve started feeling that something was wrong.

“Oh, and since you guys were ready to follow us across the desert… you must have enough supplies? Food for ten to twenty people, clothes to survive the cold night, stuff like that?”

“What?”

I’d actually been waiting all along. For people to attack us.

The reason why I hadn’t brought any meat jerky, other dry rations or blankets along? The princess seemed to have chalked it up to having the self-sufficient spirit of a warrior. But this had been the actual reason. Because I’d thought we could just grab some along the way.

I strode closer.

Then,

“A… ugh?”

Dragging the guy off his horse, I lifted him up.

“Are you maybe ninety kilos? A hundred? Do you know, I’d thrown something five hundred times heavier than you by a few dozen meters?”

And then –

“Take care!”

I threw him at the group of people in the distance.

“Ugh, aaaahhh!”

Of course, I didn’t stand still.

I ran straight at the group. I had to catch them, after all. Before they could come to their senses and scarper.

Since they’d been the ones to attack, they had to pay the price.

“Give me everything you’ve got, you bandits!”

---

They turned out to be horse thieves from the nearby region, who’d been hired by the warhawk faction.

Judging by how they lacked information about me, they hadn’t prepared very meticulously.

Although they’d probably come cheap, to be fair.

Anyway, they were the first wave of the attack, so we ended up catching only the clumsiest of the lot.

Still, it was quite fortunate for us. Since they left quite a lot behind.

Dry food such as jerky, as well as water, oil, clothes, maps and other daily necessities.

And to cap it all off – horses.

“… Will it work?”

I glanced at the princess and the horse lying next to her.

To be honest, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to change to another horse. I couldn’t carry him around forever, right?

But I had a strong feeling that I shouldn’t. Because this was a shounen manga.

It felt unfair, but from the moment I’d first lifted him up, I had to think of this horse as my colleague.

There’d already been a lot of weird scenes with us two, and he’d even made some progress.

The readers, of course, would be looking forward to his future growth.

Moreover, one of the three basic elements of a shounen manga is ‘friendship’.

To abandon him in this state?

Just imagining the readers’ comments gave me the shivers.

So –

“Alright, let’s go.”

I firmed up my mind. I was just going to have to suffer for a few more days.

And… well, if that guy started running properly later, I’d be fine with such a scene, too.

After I finished sorting out the loot, I quickly took in our surroundings.

It’d suddenly become dark all around.

In the middle of the barren desert, after darkness had descended. There could be no better environment for a raid than this.

“Were there any other guys that caught your eye? Do you want to take another look around?”

I secretly whispered to Coocoo, who was pecking at the jerky.

But the guy scornfully laughed, hehehe, and spat out the jerky he was eating.

“Do you think I’m your servant? Damned Squatjaw. You want to work me to death in exchange for a a few pieces of dried meat? If you really want me to do it, you’d better…”

That was then.

Suddenly, he clammed up.

And, began to tremble.

“I… I-I-I t-told you… d-damn it… to leave me a-alone and go…”

“What?”

He wasn’t the only one to show an abnormality.

Whinny–!

It wasn’t my horse that cried out.

When I turned around, the princess’ cheeky horse was the one showing signs of caution. This was his first time reacting like this.

And at the same time,

“Kgh… what is this?”

A great stench came from somewhere.

A smell strange yet familiar.

‘… A mountain cat?’

I thought I’d gotten used to their stench, but I was wrong.

The smell was similar, but several dozen times stronger than that, strong enough to make the tip of my nose tingle despite coming from afar.

And finally,

Purr–.

A strange sound came from behind.

I naturally turned my head.

Something was there, staring at me.

“Really… a mountain cat?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. It was my first time seeing its like.

A feline animal with a bright yellow body and red eyes.

Although it was the size of a leopard, the threat it exuded was in a whole other league.

I didn’t know its exact species, from where it’d appeared, or what its purpose was.

There was only one thing that I knew.

“Coocoo… do you know this guy?”

It was a divine beast.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 생색은 (lit. fresh colour), exaggerating one’s own achievements to fish for praise.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 61

The Battle with Bayar Khan

Hit and be hit.

That was how my fight against Bayar Khan could be summed up.

I hit him, he hit me back, and this just went on and on in circles.

If it were just a simple contest of power, that’d be one thing, but there was one problem I hadn’t considered.

That my opponent was a woman.

Yes, Bayar Khan was controlling the body from the inside, but he was still in the form of the princess.

Why was this a problem? Simple. Because it wasn’t a very beautiful scene to see me, a ‘big, tough guy’, slap around ‘a slender, frail woman’ – although that was merely her outward appearance.

And I had a very large audience.

The ‘shounen manga’ genre has a rather conservative side, befitting its name as a genre meant for boys. It pursues a certain form, uses certain archetypes for its characters, leaves out some unsuitable characters and scenes, and has some specific expectations about reader feedback.

In other words, what if a character who isn’t a villain, who follows the path of the just, is shown performing villainous deeds?

I didn’t have the guts to try and find out.

Moreover, right now, the readers didn’t even have sufficient explanation to easily understand the current situation. They had no idea why the princess had suddenly changed her tone and voice, or why she was staring at me like a starving wolf while shouting some nonsense about Bayar Khan.

In such a vague and incomprehensible situation, I’d start to fight against a woman who’d been my colleague a few scenes ago? Say goodbye to your suspension of disbelief. These kind of battles that came out of the blue, without any foreshadowing, were a sure recipe for breeding alienation and displeasure among the fanbase.

And really, this wasn’t a situation where I could stare at the air and shout out an explanation for the invisible audience, right?

Therefore,

“Ka ha ha! Little fellow! Stop running away like a mouse!”

“D-don’t… don’t push out your chest when you shout!”

“Again with your stupid nonsense!”

Bang!

It wasn’t easy for me to go all out as he demanded.

I sighed softly as I saw him smash the huge rock in his way with one simple punch.

This was a really unexpected variable.

Do it wrong, and I’d be subject to that unreasonable power without even resisting.

Just then,

“Eeeih, this isn’t funny. Are you trying to stall and make me run out of power?”

Bayar Khan clicked his tongue as if the circumstances weren’t pleasant for him either.

“Haah… by the way, do you have any ability that reveals your true self?”

“What? Reveal?”

Then,

“Tch, no way, you mean you… you can’t fight properly because I’m now in the princess’ body? What, you can’t hit a girl?”

Bayar Khan crossed his arms and looked at me, dissatisfied.

And this was a very fortunate turn of events for me. Since the person in question themselves said it out loud, my burden eased. Now the readers would be like, ‘Ah, there must’ve been a reason he was running away all this time!’ Although, they might still disagree with how I went about it.

“No, more than that… first of all, you look too small! Isn’t this a foul? Right? Whoever sees it will curse at me! Call me a big villain who does bad things!”

I vehemently spewed out my objections as the opportunity arose.

Of course, it would’ve been nice to tack on some additional explanations, but I refrained. It was tricky to balance it all.

“No, nobody’s even here right now… ugh, and you call yourself a warrior! A warrior should be able to kill his enemies regardless of their appearance!”

Even as Bayar Khan said that, he seemed to be contemplating something.

Soon after,

“I can’t fully embody myself. But… it’s possible to cover this body with a ghostly form. What, would that work?”

What a quick turnaround.

Although he was scolding me being affected by appearances, somehow, he seemed to have had a similar experience in the past. Since he responded so agreeably.

“Really, if you could do that, you should’ve done it from the start! Do it right now!”

“Ehh, what a bother. It’s just a waste of energy.”

A steam-like substance began rising from the princess’ whole body.

And it immediately condensed into the form of a human being, more realistic and well-defined than I’d expected. It was almost as if the princess had been swallowed by a ghost.

And the ghost was so huge and ferocious-looking that there was no way it could’ve been modelled after an actual human being. Anybody would think of it as an evil spirit at a single glance.

“Hey, aren’t you embellishing a little too much? Does it really need to look so big and vicious?”

“What’re you talking about?! Didn’t you want me to look like how I did when I was alive?”

“Eh, really?”

This was surprising, if true. The ghost was the size of nothing short of an elephant. The anecdotes passed down with his legend might really all be true instead of exaggerations, I thought.

Anyway, the scene was set much better this time.

I should be able to cut loose a bit.

“Let’s do it properly, then.”

“Ka ha ha! Less talk!”

I and the princess, covered in ghostly armour, collided.

Bang–!

---

“You, little fellow…”

Surprise and bewilderment, were followed by nothing but admiration.

Bayar Khan looked at the man in front of him with new eyes.

Squatjaw.

Truly, this man was worthy of being called the first close rival he’d met since losing his body.

From the start of the fight –

Bayar Khan had rushed at him with abandon, and Squatjaw had also promptly returned the favour.

‘Whoo…’

He could tell from the impact on his body.

This bastard’s blows were heavy.

Even when he’d started using his fists and feet with more than half his strength, he’d been blocked easily.

If he aimed a knifehand strike at the opponent’s neck, the shoulders and arms were raised to defend, and if he tried a knee strike to the belly, crossed hands blocked it before he could connect.

Rather than avoiding his attacks, his opponent was looking for opportunities to counterattack, ignoring all attacks to non-vital areas.

It was truly a tactic suitable for a fight.

Furthermore,

“Bastard! Martial arts?”

Although they were clumsy, Squatjaw often used fighting moves that had to have originated from martial arts.

When Bayar Khan tried to attack the legs to break his posture, Squatjaw parried quite skillfully, his weight properly centred on the back foot.

In addition, he had some understanding of how to distinguish true moves from feints, and how to match the enemy’s striking power. This wasn’t possible without deeper understanding of the martial forms, and he had to have devoted more than a little while to martial arts training.

The only strange part was that Squatjaw sometimes made very basic mistakes.

While blocking properly, he’d suddenly make a sloppy movement, or while taking distance, his feet would get tangled up and stagger.

And he couldn’t seem to be able to defend against sleeve or collar grabs at all.

Overall, he gave an extraordinarily weird impression in a fight.

Despite being familiar with martial arts, he lacked the basics, and sometimes tried clever movements that came out sloppy. Rather than knowing a technique and intentionally using it, he often moved as if the techniques had been ingrained in his body. It was like dealing with a martial arts master who’d lost his memory.

Even for Bayar Khan who’d faced off against countless people in his lifetime, this was a fresh experience. Did this guy really have amnesia, or should he simply interpret it as having a natural combat sense?

Still, the fight was more of a disappointment than a surprise. It didn’t feel like the tempo was intensifying. It was more like they were playing a wrestling game in the mud, bogging each other down.

It wasn’t about ability. The problem was attitude.

Contrary to his appearance, this bastard used his head too much. Defence was fine, but every attack came with a sense of constant hesitation.

Whereas Bayar Khan’s fighting style was all about sacrificing his flesh to cut the enemy’s bone, Squatjaw’s overcautious style was the worst match-up for that. Every time he really pushed in, he could feel his opponent retreat right away.

‘How tiring.’

But it wasn’t like he couldn’t understand Squatjaw at all. They had some common points. There was a reason why Bayar Khan had never duelled with a woman in his entire life.

So,

“Bastard! Shit! Let’s rather have a power showdown!”

He changed the rules.

To a contest of pure strength.

And the moment their hands clasped each other and began to struggle, Bayar Khan finally found the satisfaction he’d been seeking.

“Hey, this kid!”

This was it. This was what he wanted.

A force strong enough to tear through a rock like a piece of paper, pressing against his fingertips.

Enough power to make him feel a hint of threat, after a long, long time.

Bayar Khan laughed.

He’d thought all his rivals dust in the wind, but was one not here?

“Ka ha ha! Is this your true strength? Absurd! You’re making this little girl cry!”

“Think about your own size before you say that! Hell, that’s not even your body! You ghost!”

“I guess you do have the strength to match your cheek!”

A huge force erupted between the two hands clasping each other.

Craaack!

The stone floor dented, and a shockwave boomed out with them at its centre.

Yet Bayar Khan did not stop, and only pushed harder and harder. To suppress the momentum of this cheeky bastard.

But –

‘Heh… I’m only ahead by a thin margin.’

Squatjaw’s body did got pushed back a few inches, but he was still standing strong.

It was hard to believe even after seeing it with his own two eyes and feeling it against his own body. The power of this guy was just that great.

“Are you enduring it? It doesn’t make any sense! All my life, nobody ever managed to match more than half my strength!”

Letting out a roar, Bayar Khan put forth even more of his latent power.

Ever since meeting Thermis, he’d never used this much power. Because this body couldn’t withstand such a level of strength.

And yet –

“Alright, I admit it. You’re a little strong, old gentleman. But…”

The bastard didn’t move. Surprisingly, he couldn’t make him move.

No, rather, this guy –

“I wasn’t giving it my all, y’know?”

“W-, what!?”

That was then.

“What?!”

– Started to push him back. He was now the one being pushed back. Because Squatjaw’s strength had suddenly skyrocketed.

Bayar Khan’s pupils trembled.

‘Y-, you were holding back?’

Both his legs had already sunk into the ground. The stony surface, unable to withstand the pressure, was being crushed like mud.

And that wasn’t the end. His body was getting pushed down, further and further.

No, he’d gotten stuck.

“Eeeh…?”

“Whoo! Now, time for you to admit it…”

“W-, what do you mean!”

“What do I mean?”

Squatjaw flashed a grin.

“Your defeat.”

And then –

“W-, wait… Wait a minute!”

The sight of that squat jaw seemed to cover the sky.

…

The outcome was clear.

He was nailed down to the ground.

Unable to break free, he was pressed down even further.

‘Huh, how could this…’

Pressed down by brute force.

Of course, it wasn’t just a matter of power. Even he had had to exert such power several times in his lifetime. But it was impossible while he was in this body.

But what did that matter?

He was defeated. The Khan of the great Skull Empire was defeated. Bayar Khan, was defeated!

“Ka, ka ha ha… ka ha ha ha ha!”

Somehow, he could only laugh. It was absurd and disappointing.

Still, the spell of surprise and self-pity didn’t last long.

Because,

With a bang–.

A clod of dirt was thrown at his head, the only part of him that was sticking out of the ground.

“Noisy.”

“…”

Bayar Khan couldn’t help but roar.

“Hey, stop trying to bury me, you son of a bitch!”

---

Actually, I’d done a little trick to help myself.

[Power Growth].

It was the unique ability of a guy called ‘Jimmy’, an extra who was scheduled to appear in the future, and it literally increased the user’s power at the moment of activation.

The name alone was reminiscent of Karl Zayed’s [Unstoppable Growth], but in reality, it wasn’t evevn remotely in the same league. It simply increased ‘strength’, and only by a moderate amount.

In the ‘unique ability category’ in the shop, it ranked among the cheapest.

Still, it had one advantage – that there were no outward signs when it was activated.

To be honest, I’d been forced to do it.

I’d already reached my limit, but the grandpa still seemed to have a lot of energy left.

So, I could only mimic it in secret. Because I couldn’t afford to lose.

I didn’t think I was being a coward. Frankly, from my point of view, there was ground for suspicion that this ghost grandpa was using not only his own power but also the princess’.

Since it was 2vs1, what could be wrong with using an ability or two?

Therefore, I was able to be proudly meet that dissatisfied gaze.

“What’re you looking at?”

“…”

“What, hmm? Embarrassed?”

“You bastard… you’re strong.”

“And that’s news?”

“You’re stronger than I thought.”

“Well, I’m glad you know now. Don’t babble about attacking me in the future…”

That was then.

“I’m going to go to you.”

“… Go ‘to’?”

“The strength in this fragile body of this little girl isn’t enough. Not even half my power came out! So this match is invalid.”

I was nonplussed.

“Uh… aren’t you the princess’ unique ability? Like a ghost summoned by the princess…”

The old ghost snorted and laughed.

“What’re you talking about? This is [Ghostform], my unique ability.”

“… [Ghostform]? Aren’t you dead?”

“That’s right. I had this ability before I became a ghost. Of course, I thought it was useless when I was alive.”

“…”

He was truly an absurd character.

What kind of an unique ability let you possess people like a ghost after you were dead?

“Wake up from your foolish dream. Because I have no intention of giving up my body to you.”

“Heh, do you think that’ll work out for you?”

But even as he said that, he didn’t really look very energetic.

And in fact, I knew. That he won’t leave the princess.

“You, just stay in there. It’s not a bad body. And… aren’t you two pretty close?”

He didn’t answer right away.

But after a moment of silence –

“… I’d been thinking of leaving.”

He slowly spoke.

“Why?”

“I thought it might be because of me, that this kid hasn’t unlocked her own unique ability.”

Bayar Khan said that the princess possessed qualities superior to anyone else, but for some reason her unique ability was not yet unlocked. Even though it wouldn’t have been strange if that power had manifested from her birth.

He then said something extraordinary.

“Squatjaw, please help me.”

“Eh? What?”

“Help me bring out her unique ability.”

It sounded crazy.

“Me? What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Yeah, I have a good feeling. I feel like you can do something about it.”

“… Haah.”

A good feeling, huh?

Of course, I thought maybe I really could help. I didn’t know about this ghost grandpa, but as far as supporting characters went, I had in-depth knowledge of when and in what situation they could awaken.

Still, I didn’t feel very motivated.

“Why do I have to…”

“I’ll pay you back. By helping when you need me.”

“Yes?”

“I mean I’ll lend you my power when you need it.”

“Your power? But it’s not something to write home about, is it…”

Then –

“You cheeky bastard! Do you think I was lying, when I said this girl’s body is so weak that I can’t use my power properly?! Even if I’m a ghost, you’ve got no idea how strong I really am!”

Bayar Khan roared in a frenzy.

Whoops, this ghost grandpa had a real quick temper.

“And? What else have you got?”

“I’m not bragging, but there’s no place in all of Eastland out of my reach. There’s no place I haven’t touched. If you ever need it… you’ll be able to get help from anywhere on this continent.”

“… Oh, really.”

This was a bit tempting.

Of course, this old gentleman wasn’t a bastion of reliability, so I had to take that into account.

“Then let’s hear it. I need to make some plans, anyhow.”

“Huh? What?”

“Talk about the Warrior’s Path. This might be a good opportunity, now that I think about it.”

“Hey… so you’ve already started thinking about it. Kid, unlike how you look, you’re unexpectedly diligent.”

“As if you’re the one to talk about looks! Let’s talk about the last obstacle. Since you were the Khan once, you must know the inside story, at least a bit?”

Then,

“’At least a bit’? I made this! You won’t find another expert who knows as much as me.”

This isn’t you blowing hot air again, right?

“Oh, sounds great.”

“But I don’t know the exact details. It changes every time.”

“…”

What the hell, old man?

“But, of course, I can do some pattern analysis.”

“Hmm… fine, let’s hear it.”

“It’s simple. At its core, the Warrior’s Path is basically a test of your perseverance, courage, and will. And on top of that…”

It was frustrating.

‘Do you have to start from the very basics of the concept…?’

That was how I was educated about the purpose, direction, and overall goal of the Warrior’s Path.

For five straight hours.

“…”

Bayar Khan talked enough for us both.

---

The next morning.

The Warrior’s Path, the day of the finals.

– The first obstacle of the final round is simple. Set out on horseback and arrive at your destination, the ‘Maroon Mountain’, within three days. As long as you arrive on time, you pass. Please note, however, that you must arrive with a horse.

As the guide said, the obstacle itself was no big deal.

All you have to do is ride a horse and get to the destination.

The tricky bit was to take care of your horse, I supposed?

Still, I felt a tad puzzled.

“Then, let’s go.”

“Uh, yes… but this…”

The benefit of passing the qualifiers with high marks was pretty bare-bones.

The right to start ahead of others.

But the problem was –

“Hey… come on, huh?”

My horse wouldn’t budge.

It wasn’t a problem with my horsemanship skill.

I’d practiced hard on the way to the capital, and I’d even bought a background, [Apprentice Racetrack Jockey], just in case.

There was only one possible cause.

The swamp that loomed in the distance. Other than that, there wasn’t really anything that could’ve made the horse stop in its tracks.

To be honest, it did look ominous.

‘Are you only thinking of going back…?’

Even if I tried to move to the side instead of marching forward, he still wouldn’t move. Apparently only a backward retreat was acceptable.

That was then –

“You aren’t starting? Then I’ll go first.”

“Uh, er… wait!”

The princess slapped her horse on the rump. She’d also lifted the ‘elephant’, so she was in the lead group, same as me.

Then, to my surprise, that ‘cheeky black horse’ of hers began to march forward. He also flinched once or twice, but progressed vigorously nonetheless.

In stark contrast to how my mount was behaving.

“Haah… tsk.”

Anyway, I stopped thinking.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t send the princess off by her lonesome.

I knew. That there was something lurking in our path, waiting.

There was only one way I could think of on such short notice.

“… What a bother.”

Whinny–!

With the horse on my shoulder, I started running after the princess.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 60

Kill Her

The royal palace, which hadn’t had many quiet days lately, was lively once again.

“Do you think that’s a sensible thing to do?”

“We have to act!”

As if a surreal prophetic dream come true, the same scenes as at the last meeting were repeating once again.

Some people got angry, and others restrained them.

The same words came and went, like:

What cheek! How do we teach them a lesson?

However, there was one difference. The target. A cheeky human had to be taught a lesson this time too, but the subject was different.

“To throw something like that at us!”

“Thankfully there were no casualties! If it didn’t pass over us…”

“That squat-jawed bastard! We absolutely can’t let him off.”

Some of the more quick-tempered people came forward to demand his punishment.

All of them were from the ‘warhawk faction’.

And,

“Still, it’s a bit difficult to forcefully bring in and punish somebody who’s already entered the Warrior’s Path, and even passed the preliminary round.”

“Besides, nothing big happened at the proving grounds. If we’re supposed to ignore all past sins of the participants, how can we take issue with something so trivial? Sounds like overkill to me.”

Those who dissuaded them, coincidentally, were all from the ‘coalitionist faction’.

In general, the more radical ‘warhawk faction’ people were used to making a bit more noise, but the the ‘coalitionist faction’ were being particularly strident in their opposition today. This was probably because, unlike the previous case of ‘Princess Thermis’, public opinion about Squatjaw wasn’t that bad. He was now a famous name on the streets, in fact.

And the fact that Minister Tamar, the nominal head of the ‘warhawk faction’, wasn’t speaking up much, also contributed to this situation. Seeing such an unusual appearance from their leader, even members of his own faction had doubts in their hearts.

“Why so anxious? He just picked up and threw a rock, did he cause any trouble? Or are you so afraid that you now want to go arrest the man who’s the hottest topic in the capital? Really, you… tsk tsk.”

“Trouble?! If he’d caused a bit more trouble, the entire arena would’ve been destroyed! And who’s afraid! I’m taking about arresting a blasphemer, not because I’m afraid of him or anything!”

All of them were now retired from active duty, but they’d all walked the Warrior’s Path in the past. The boiling atmosphere didn’t show any signs of calming down easily.

Just then,

“It’s true that the Warrior’s Path is a sacred ritual of our Skull Empire, but that doesn’t make it a sanctuary for sinners. If you’ve done something wrong, shouldn’t you be punished for it?”

Someone quietly spoke up.

Surprisingly, it was Royal Teacher Bataar, a member of the ‘coalitionist faction’.

At his remarks that didn’t seem to fit his political leanings, everyone else shut up and started paying attention.

“Of course, this old man doesn’t think he’s done anything particularly wrong… but if there are people who still think his intentions are impure, it’s not out of the question to summon him here for an interrogation.”

“Huh…”

“But…”

While the murmurs were about to intensify little by little –

Bataar spoke again.

“Hear me out just a little longer, please. You all must be well aware that this old man had gone to pursue Princess Thermis at the first prince’s request. Not only to the Mainin Kingdom, but even to Westland. Although I had to come back empty-handed in the end… Anyway, on the ship returning to Eastland, I’d seen him. That Squatjaw. Prince Nergui and Minister Tamar were also on the ship.”

At that, everyone quietly nodded their heads.

It was a well-known fact.

“Of course, you know the overall shape of things, but not the exact details of what’d actually happened on the ship. I’ll tell you an anecdote. That Squatjaw, he once had a fight with an S-class adventurer while on board the ship.”

Then,

“Whoo, an S-class adventurer?”

“What’s their name?”

“Are they active in Eastland?”

Some people expressed their curiosity.

High-ranking adventurers were subjects of curiosity wherever they went, so this was no surprise.

“This old man doesn’t know. I think there are probably other people here who know more about him, but…”

The eyes of everyone present turned towards him. Because Bataar, who’d stopped speaking, glanced at him.

Yet Nergui only smiled back indifferently and stayed quiet.

Then someone ran out of patience and asked.

“What was the result?”

“It was one-sided. No, even calling it one-sided is inappropriate. It was… overwhelming. That Squatjaw was able to subdue an S-class adventurer with just one finger.”

The reaction to this news was the same for both factions.

They all gulped, silently.

“Anyway, the gist of what I’m trying to say is this. If one makes a mistake, they have to pay for it. However, those of you who wish to summon and interrogate him and issue a reasonable punishment, will have to prepare properly. It won’t be child’s play.”

…

As the silence that settled in the hall grew longer,

“Excuse me, I’ll be going first.”

Nergui stood up.

He’d come out to see if there was any possibility to move the army, but it was clearly a waste of time.

Besides, Squatjaw’s target was none other than himself. Just before he’d thrown the rock, their eyes had met. Those eyes, reminiscent of a wild beast.

To be honest, to say he wasn’t nervous would be a lie. What kind of a man could directly throw that elephant-sized rock at somebody else in front of such a large audience? It was at a level where you’d have to wonder if he was even human.

Still, it’d been a bit funny. To see both the factions struck dumb.

‘… They’re making such a fuss over nothing.’

As he left the conference room and walking towards his bedroom –

He saw a servant come scurrying in haste.

“What is it?”

“Some people have come to see you.”

The man looked somehow frightened.

The report, too, was vague. It was basic to report the visitor’s identity and purpose of coming.

“What’s it about?”

“I don’t know, sir. I’m very sorry!”

“Are you apologizing? It’s just the limit of your ability. Where are they?”

“I asked them to wait in the garden. That’s the only place I could keep them where there’d be few people…”

“Let’s go.”

Nergui headed straight for the garden.

Very quickly,

“There, there they are.”

He was able to meet the visitors.

There were two. A very fat man, and a very thin one.

When they saw Nergui, they bowed their heads, and slowly approached.

“Who are you?”

“Would you like to clear away the surroundings first?”

Despite being wary, Nergui complied.

If they’d had any intention of harming him, they would’ve attacked already.

“… Fine.”

As soon as the servant left at Nergui’s command, the thin man spoke up.

“Ash-Devouring Serpent.”

A momentary gleam flashed in Nergui’s eyes.

Ash-Devouring Serpent.

Among the assassin groups he’d entrusted with the quest, it belonged to the highest level.

And it was the only one that’d returned the quest completion reward.

A strange smile appeared on Nergui’s lips.

“Ash-Devouring Serpent… what’s that? Are you two old-timers then snakes, not people?”

“We’re an assassination squad. I don’t like wasting time, so I won’t go into details. Both you and I know that you’re our client, Fourth Prince. We investigate the client quite carefully before accepting a mission.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“It’s a little against the rules, but I came here because I have something to ask.”

Well, it didn’t seem like bluffing would work.

“Yeah, well. Actually, I also wanted to meet you guys at least once. The only ones conscientious enough to return the money… is that what passes for integrity for your type?”

“It doesn’t matter what you think.”

“Hmm, but why are you here?”

“There is something I wanted to ask. Because it might be quite disruptive to our work.”

“What?”

“Have you hired any other assassins?”

“… Other assassins?”

Nergui was a little perplexed by the question.

He had no idea about the details, but from the context, he could guess that another assassin group had gotten involved, one that could pose a problem even for these high-level assassins.

“If there are people aiming at the same target, we need to know. It might cause confusion otherwise.”

“… The only assassins that I’ve currently hired are you. Assuming, of course, that the quest will continue. Although, my personal retinues are moving too, though they’re not assassins. Are you sure you don’t need their information?”

Naturally, he wasn’t lying. But the thin man didn’t change his expression. He just shook his head lightly as if that was inconsequential.

“… Is that so?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve seen some familiar faces.”

“Who?”

“Have you ever heard of a group called the ‘Tamers’?”

It was an unfamiliar name.

“Never.”

“Looks like you really don’t know.”

The slender man then added a brief description of the ‘Tamers’.

They were a new force who’d appeared in Eastland only about two or three years ago. All information about them, including the actual name of the organization, the number of members, and the location of their headquarters, was hidden behind a layer of fog. They were called the ‘Tamers’ because all the members of the organization practiced taming ‘divine beasts’.

“Divine beasts? You mean… the legendary…?”

“Yes. They don’t seem to be as powerful as the legends say, but they certainly do have a special feel to them. In the end, we can’t know for sure.”

“… Divine beasts, huh.”

The thin man also added that although it was not an organization that specialized in assassinations, they did similar things from time to time, so the two organizations had encountered each other occasionally on the field.

“Are they here, now?”

“Yes. I still haven’t figured out their purpose. So, I came to ask if you’d hired them, sir prince.”

“No, not at all.”

The slender man nodded at Nergui’s answer.

“Alright. Then we will proceed.”

“Are there any other distractions? For example, what about my personal servants?”

The thin man shook his head indifferently.

“It’s fine.”

“… Is that so?”

Nergui grinned and muttered.

To think that this cheeky rake-thin man didn’t show the slightest hesitation…

‘He failed, but he’s still so cocky, completely disregarding the guy he’s chasing after.’

Then, as Nergui was about to turn around, the thin man spoke up again as if he’d suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, can we proceed with the quest as it is?”

“…?”

Nergui thought about the intent behind the question for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah.”

The reason for reconfirming this was naturally clear.

Everybody knew. Killing the princess would no longer benefit the ‘war’. It’d only get in the way. To wage war, the princess had to give up on the test first.

But,

“Sure. The order stays the same.”

Nergui didn’t care.

War had never been his true purpose from the beginning.

“Kill her.”

---

A vacant lot near the hotel.

“Whoo…”

I took a deep, long breath.

I was getting a little nervous as I waited.

Because what was coming next was so high on the difficulty scale that the ‘rock-lifting’ earlier might as well be playing with dolls in comparison.

I quickly started stretching.

Of course, my current body wasn’t weak enough to be riddled with pain if I suddenly put it under a workout. Still, according to the modern real-life perspective, which was still buried deep inside my head, stretching before strenuous exercise was essential.

“Whoof, whoof…”

While I was stretching my arms and legs like that –

“… So you’re here.”

A hoarse voice came from afar.

The voice I’d been waiting for.

When I turned around, the red-eyed princess was glaring at me with a vicious expression.

“So you came, ghost gramps.”

“You son of a bitch! What a big mess you’ve made! Throwing a rock at the nobles! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Oh, that… it was nothing much.”

“So you want to throw one at me next, huh? Do you still remember, that I am the Bayar Khan?!”

“Yeah, yeah, so you’ve said.”

“Ka ha ha ha! This cheeky bastard!”

I glanced at him as he walked closer.

Hmmm.

There were three main reasons why I’d dared summon this talkative and ferocious ghost.

First, because I couldn’t waste even a single moment of this precious leading point of view.

The Warrior’s Path was taking two days off after the preliminary round, then another day off after the first and second rounds, and then would come the finals.

In other words, there was a day off now that the preliminaries were over. So instead of wasting my time, I needed to do something interesting.

So the confrontation with this ghost grandpa could be quite a worthwhile content. With his unique looks, distinctive personality, and above all, strong power.

I might even be able to raise the author’s favourability a little bit by introducing him. He must’ve been a carefully set character, but he couldn’t even appear in the original.

If the author had any conscience, he should at least say thank you.

Second, because I’d made a promise a while ago. To have a bout.

And I was frankly curious. The aura I could feel right now was also amazing, but from what I’d heard here and there, the achievements of that ghost called Bayar Khan had been quite impressive in life.

Like expanding the empire’s territory five times compared to before, destroying over a hundred kingdoms, and almost building the first unified empire in Eastland… that made you think of Genghis Khan.

And what caught my attention above all was the anecdotes about his incredible ‘power’.

Like winning a tug of war against a thousand people, or carrying back two giant elephants on his shoulders after going out hunting, to even ‘throwing’ the materials for a raft from the mainland to an uninhabited isolated island, to help people who’d been stranded there… his record was chock full of such absurd things.

It made me feel like I should try him out once.

Third and last, because I had some things to work on.

Actually, before this Warrior’s Path, I’d gotten some background shopping done.

This was partially to prepare for possible attacks and to pass the hurdles easily, but above all, it was to look ‘cool’ while fighting.

Of course, they weren’t that great. I couldn’t learn any new unique abilities in the first place.

To give some examples, [Three Weapons Expert], [Martial Artist Who Barely Learned This and That], [Street Fighter with More Wins than Losses], and [Woodcutter Who’s Learned to Sharpen His Axe].

I knew that these backgrounds contained hidden traits such as ‘weapon skills’ and ‘combat sense’, but I didn’t know how they actually worked.

So, I needed to test them out before the finals.

Of course, using that ferocious ghost as a test piece… would’ve been impossible for anybody else.

Therefore,

“Ka ha ha ha! Now it’s too late to cry and pray. Don’t get upset, you cocky Squatjaw.”

“Yeah, yeah, so we doing this or not?”

I faced the princess who radiated a vicious force.

‘Haah…’

I’d felt it once before, but it was still some tremendous momentum.

That aura was reminiscent of a huge mountain.

Within it a fighting spirit burnt like fire, and those red eyes blazed with ferocious bloodlust.

The strength that naturally and effortlessly radiated from the princess’ form, made even me tremble.

But, of course –

“Come if you’re ready, old geezer.”

There was no thought of defeat in my head.

When a character other than the protagonist takes the lead role of a chapter, he has only one absolute duty.

To support the story on his back.

Because carrying the chapter is his significance.

Even if it was just a practice match, I could never lose. There’d be no second chance once I disappointed the readers.

‘Haah… shall we do it?’

While I was so firmly determined,

“Ka ha ha ha! You’re still one arrogant bastard. Alright then… let’s go, little Squatjaw!”

Bayar Khan, in the form of the princess, flew towards me.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 59

How about This?

Creak–.

As soon as he opened the door, the light shining through the windows stung his eyes.

The bedroom was far too sunny.

“So it’s you.”

Nergui, fourth prince of the Skull Empire, looked at the man who was sitting at a corner of the bedroom, reading a book.

He could be said to be the one furthest away from the sun shining just outside the palace.

Because the man had become so weak that he could no longer even walk properly.

“Did you hear?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you already know? You’re always the first to hear whenever anything happens.”

“The first to hear, huh… but I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

There was no change in the man’s expression, but Nergui thought he must’ve been laughing. Laughing without a single trace of a smile on his face was the man’s specialty, after all.

“If you’re going to pretend you don’t know, I’ll just tell you. Princess Thermis. The second princess of the Mainin Kingdom. Remember, Big Brother? The one you proposed to.”

“Ah, her. I heard. She registered to participate in the Warrior’s Path this time, didn’t she?”

“Is that how you should react? How gentle of you.”

“Then how should I have reacted?”

“Shouldn’t you at least show some annoyance? It’s like she’s saying she’d rather ride a horse and hold a sword than marry you, Big Brother. Even if she’s a princess of another country, that’s too much.”

Nergui thought that the man’s expression might change this time.

But he still just laughed. Of course, in his unique way – without the slightest trace of a smile.

“Well, that’s just the reality. Armour suits her better than a dress, anyway. Of course, that’s not to say she won’t look beautiful in either. And since the coalition government came into power, hasn’t judging people by their countries become meaningless?”

“It’s not meaningless. Wars would no longer be possible if it were. The coalition government is just a fig leaf. I don’t know about the other continents, but at least this one is different. Eastland is a place where the law of the jungle still reigns supreme. The weak are only the meat the strong eat.”

Nergui espoused a political theory that any citizen of the empire would agree with all their heart. Words that even a three-year-old child passing by would applaud at, nodding their head.

However, the man still only stared at him.

“The boundaries are breaking down, though.”

“Ever since the time of the first emperor, Umir Khan, the Skull Empire never set any boundaries around itself.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but… that doesn’t mean you should cross the boundaries all other countries have set up.”

“I’ve always wanted to destroy them.”

The man’s eyes sank even deeper.

“… Do you want war?”

“… I only seek the ancient glory that has faded.”

Even as Nergui said that, he ridiculed himself within his own thoughts.

Because this wasn’t true at all. Because he did nothing but lie.

Because he wasn’t that kind of person.

And the man in front of him knew that very well.

“Don’t just use your head If you have ambition. Do it proudly, with your own two legs. That’s the right thing to do.”

“…”

The man just said that. As always.

Why had he come here again? Nergui had already forgotten.

To wind him up^[1]? To see if he was angry? Or just to laugh at him?

He always come here with words prepared in his mind, but he always ended up changing them on impulse when he actually faced the man. This time too, was he just going to go back after spewing out some nonsense that he didn’t know whether was his opinion or his grudge?

So this time, he just spat out what he had to say, without thinking about it.

“By the way, why did you do it? Did you really like her?”

“What?”

“That marriage proposal.”

There was no other intention.

It was just – a question.

But then,

“Cough… cough.”

The man started to laugh. It wasn’t an expressionless face like he had before. Surprisingly, his lips were twitching.

“I now feel bad about doing it. To be honest, I never thought it’d turn out like this.”

He scratched his head as if he was genuinely embarrassed.

It was an amazing sight. It was the first time Nergui had ever seen the man like this.

“Do you know? That no one has ever asked me that? People always say that I must have a plan, and they try to dig it up.”

“… Is that so?”

“But I knew that you’d ask me this one day. You’ve always been curious about me, about what I think or feel.”

“…”

“Isn’t it human nature to covet what they don’t have?”

And the words that followed, somehow pierced straight through Nergui’s heart.

That he’d had never seen such a strong woman before.

Or even such a strong human being.

…

At that moment, Nergui realized a fact he’d forgotten.

This was why.

Those eyes were the reason why. What made such cruelty be born in his heart.

Nergui almost wanted to laugh. To thank his older brother, for reminding him of the purpose he’d forgotten.

His brother shouldn’t have had such eyes.

Eyes that seemed to have been truly impressed by something, eyes that seemed to have fallen in love.

At least not in front of him.

Because for Nergui, the strongest human being… was the man right in front of him.

“… She’s pretty ugly for a woman.”

“It’s unfortunate. That your eyes aren’t working properly, that is.”

“Of course, how you see the world through different eyes than anybody else is what’s the most surprising about you, Big Brother.”

Nergui smiled and turned back.

Just then –

“You used to smile like that every time you hatched a bad plan. I heard from the king some people tried to assassinate the princess on the ship.”

The man slowly spoke.

“… Is that so?”

“I’m not the Khan, so I can’t stop you. But she’s reached all the way here, so you should understand. She’s a strong woman, so don’t go underestimating her.”

“It was more of a matter of luck. A monster came out of nowhere and started sticking to her.”

That monster was truly an unexpected variable.

Nergui hadn’t been able to come up with an answer for him yet.

“And you also know, that the Warrior’s Path isn’t just a test to screen soldiers. Rather, it’s more of a sacred ritual. If you try playing a prank in the middle of it…”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a five-year-old kid anymore. I’ll remember your advice, though. I’ll be going now. Please rest, First Prince.”

With those parting words, Nergui left the man’s bedroom. But there was one last sentence that he kept hidden inside his heart.

‘Of course, I still like to play a prank once in a while.’

---

The Adventurers’ Association’s Barantor branch was not far from the hotel.

This time, I visited the branch office with the princess in tow, not only so I could be ready for any possible attacks, but also to check the reaction of the staff. I was wondering, what’d happen if the mission target was with me?

To be honest, I’d been a little shocked at the Nanma branch office, the last time. Even though the staff had been a member of the association, he hadn’t been very interested in the subject of the mission itself. Since this was the world of a manga, I’d wondered if the process was always that haphazard.

So I took her with me this time, and –

“Thank you. The second quest is also successful.”

Again, the association staff just stamped the request confirmation certificate without any verification.

Bang–!

He didn’t even seem interested in whether the woman standing next to me was the princess or not. Even while he was stamping the mission request form to bring in the currently most famous woman in the Skull Empire.

It was an astonishing level of indifference.

‘Huh…’

For a moment, my thoughts flashed back to the choice still sleeping on my background list.

[Expelled Corrupt Adventurers’ Association Member].

That was then –

“Oh, and there’s a linked quest.”

“What?”

“Yes, here it is… hmm. Wait.”

The staff who was scanning the request, frowned.

Soon after –

“The request is to, uh… to wait in this city until the next request comes in.”

He said something very absurd.

“Yes?”

“I think you should just wait. Although, we won’t be the ones to contact your team – the Squatjaw Adventurers, right? – so please just drop by here at least once every few days, even if it’s a bit annoying.”

“…”

“Goodbye.”

Once I got home, I was able to briefly summarize the current situation.

The author was now quite confused. So he was just going to observe for now.

The reason was also easy to guess. Perhaps it was because I’d registered to participate in the Warrior’s Path.

‘But did he really never consider it at all? That I could apply?’

Hmmm.

Of course, from the author’s point of view, it might’ve been quite reasonable to think that way. Originally, I hadn’t planned to participate at all.

The reason was simple. Because breaking through the Warrior’s Path gave me no benefit. If I could avoid it, I should.

The Warrior’s Path is basically about choosing a warrior who will be loyal for the Skull Empire.

If you pass it, your authority and freedom within the Skull Empire will rise, but at the same time, you’ll inevitably become entangled. You have to swear an oath of allegiance to someone in the Skull Empire.

What if I passed it and then just left? The Skull Empire itself might turn into an enemy. They might think that I’d deceived the Empire.

In a word, this wasn’t something an adventurer like me should do.

So maybe the author hadn’t considered it at all. And now, roughly, his thoughts would be, ‘how are you going to handle it?’ I felt like he was observing.

But despite these conditions, there were two reasons why I had to choose this Warrior’s Path.

Firstly, to protect the princess.

Presumably, there would be people aiming for the princess even in the midst of this Warrior’s Path. There was no way the guys who wanted war could miss an opportunity like this.

Of course, this time they won’t try to kill the princess.

The princess dying while taking the test? No war would break out in that case. Rather, a tragic story would be born, and accusations would come pouring in that the princess died due to unnecessary pressure.

Their purpose would probably be to make the princess give up the test, all by herself. Because then the public opinion would swing towards her being a coward who’d only applied to the Warrior’s Path to escape her impending marriage.

A rude foreign princess who’d insulted not only the first prince of the empire, but also the Warrior’s Path itself.

She’d be buried under a mountain of criticism, and the empire’s anger towards the Mainin Kingdom would surge even higher.

From the point of view of the warhawk faction, it must seem like a very plausible scenario.

But of course, in the original story, the princess had successfully passed the Warrior’s Path despite such dangers. Although I didn’t know how.

Maybe she’d really broken through all obstacles with that amazing power of hers?

However, the situation was slightly different now. The plot had already been twisted quite a bit due to my intervention, and the guys trying to harm the princess were now a little angrier than they would’ve been originally.

So, honestly speaking, I had no choice but to feel responsible. Just the number of gloomy bastards secretly surrounding our hotel right now was quite intimidating.

To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat anxious…

And secondly –

Of course, to show off.

Rather, this was the more important reason. Forget taking responsibility or whatever, I still wouldn’t have accepted this if not for the leading point of view.

“Hmmmm.”

Currently, I was the main character of this chapter. If you take on the role of the main character leading a scene, shouldn’t you show something fun for the viewers?

Moreover, this chapter wasn’t a long one. Three to four days at most, by my estimate.

Meaning, I had to show off something outrageously impressive in a short time.

And, who knew?

If it went well, maybe my stage would last a little longer?

So I was thinking about how to best direct the scenes, to make it the most outrageous.

---

The Warrior’s Path, the day of the qualification test.

We were in what looked like a great stadium, surrounded by numerous spectator seats.

This building, that reminded me of the Colosseum, didn’t seem to fit the natives’ nomadic lifestyle, but surprisingly, it was a piece of history eight centuries old.

One side of the field was packed with rocks of all things, ranging in size from as small as a child to as large as a wild boar. And the largest of them was almost the size of an adult elephant.

The princess had said that the test assignments changed every time, but the ‘preliminaries’ and ‘final gates’ that the audience could watch were always fixed. The tests at these two gates were the most basic and intuitive of the qualities required of a warrior.

Among them, the preliminary round was ‘strength’.

The preliminaries were very simple.

Lifting one of the rocks piled up over there, according to your own strength.

Because it was a comparative assessment, the bottom 70% of applicants were dropped here. If there were currently 3,000 participants, just from this simple test of lifting the stones, more than 2,000 would drop out.

Soon,

– Here, on the Warrior’s Path, the first round! Let’s start the preliminary test of ‘lifting the stones’!

“Ooh!”

“Good luck!”

“Show your strength!”

The qualifiers had begun.

The twenty people in the front row headed towards the pile of rocks. Looked like the contestants would rotate in batches of twenty.

The stones had to be lifted above the knees and held there for five seconds. If you dropped it before then, you’d be disqualified immediately.

It wasn’t a big deal, rather it was a very simple test, but it turned out to be better than I’d expected.

The cheers of the audience never stopped as the participants grunted and lifted the stones.

“Lift!”

“You idiot, do you think you’re strong enough for that one?”

“Don’t give up! Lift, yes! Lift!”

After a while, I could start to determine which rocks would give you a passing grade.

A rock roughly the size of an adult human was the standard.

However, those with enough strength tried to lift the heavier ones, because the results of the preliminary round would decide your benefits in the finals.

“What are the benefits?”

“No idea. It’s different every time.”

Anyway, the heavier the stone you lifted, the more advantageous it’d be for you.

“Hmm.”

Of course, it wasn’t very meaningful to me. After all, my course was already decided.

How long did it take?

While I was suffering from a little boredom, cheers suddenly erupted from the audience.

It seemed that someone famous had appeared.

I quickly found out who.

Among the twenty people who now stood facing the stones, there was one who was particularly large. In terms of pure size, this bald guy was bigger than me.

Suddenly,

“Huh?”

The princess exclaimed in surprise.

“That one?”

But the audience instead became silent. Maybe it was because their mouths were frozen in surprise.

The bald giant stood in front of the largest rock, the ‘elephant’.

Then he grabbed it, and –

“… Ggh!”

– Began to exert force.

“Uu… kkkh!”

While I was imagining that the rock would start shaking slowly,

“I-, it’s rising!”

“It’s up!”

“It’s a monster!”

It rose up into the air in a flash.

In an instant, shouts shook the stadium.

Well, it was natural. This was first monster they were seeing, after all.

And once the audience, who’d been boiling like lava after the bald giant had gotten his turn, had quietened a bit –

“I’m next.”

It was the princess’ turn.

“Take it easy.”

“I’m thinking of picking ‘that’ up, too.”

What the princess pointed to was, naturally, the ‘elephant’.

“Are you sure? If it gives you a hard time, remember to call for the ghost grandpa.”

“Don’t underestimate me. You think I’ll need help? I’m undefeated in contests of force… w-, well, almost undefeated, anyway!”

With the appearance of the princess, the audience, which had been quiet for a while, began to boil again.

Of course, I couldn’t be certain whether it was because she was a woman, or because she was the second challenger of the ‘elephant’.

“Hey, girl!”

“You aren’t planning to lift that one, right?”

“Crazy! Does this make sense!”

The audience began to watch the scene with half expectation and half doubt. Or perhaps more precisely, one expectation and ninety-nine doubt.

But then,

“Huuuuuk!”

The princess grabbed the rock and began to use her strength.

And surprisingly –

“L-, lifted!”

“A monster!”

“A monster woman!”

She lifted the rock much faster than the bald guy had done before her, and even looked a lot more relaxed doing it.

“Heeeh…”

Really, that woman was a monster.

After the princess returned, she briefly announced her impressions.

“It was quite heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t lift it. If it were you, maybe you could pick up two of them.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

After a few more batches, it was finally my turn.

– Participants in front!

Giving a sigh, I slowly walked towards the pile of rocks.

“… What to do?”

In fact, I wasn’t the only one who was worried.

Of course, I wasn’t worried about not being able to lift that ‘elephant’.

My worries were about how to direct the scene.

If no one had lifted that rock before me, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’d just go and pick it up. Because that’d have been enough.

But now, there were already two pioneers before me. Besides, one of them was even a woman. Being the third one to do something, didn’t sound particularly outrageous.

“My head hurts…”

As I trudged my way through to the front of the elephant rock, the audience cheered.

“Hey!”

“I think that squat-jaw is also trying to challenge the elephant!”

“Chin up, man!”

‘No, lifting it is not the problem…’

If there were a few more copies of it, it wouldn’t have been such a problem. I could just take two or three.

‘Should I do some stunts with this one… Maybe juggling? Something else?’

While I was pondering for a while…

– You there, you with the squat jaw! This isn’t the place to worry. If you don’t feel like lifting that, go and grab another rock. Don’t waste time!

One of the moderators saw me hesitating and shouted.

And then,

“Boo!”

“If you can’t do it, screw off!”

“As if any Tom, Dick or Harry could lift that!”

The audience immediately changed their attitude and started cursing at me.

It wasn’t funny. It hadn’t even been that long.

‘Hah, how noisy.’

There were even people telling me to fuck off, and throwing the food they’d been eating.

That was then.

‘… Throw?’

In that instant, an idea flashed inside my head.

Throw it… throw it.

I quickly looked around. A place to throw at, a place to throw at…

And finally –

‘Oh, there it is.’

A suitable target caught my eye.

I caught the face of a prince who was sitting idly on one side, in a section with luxuriously decorated seats, as if they were reserved for the nobility.

Nergui or Merogui or whatever.

Of course, it was impossible to predict what the future consequences of such behaviour would be.

Maybe a lot of annoying things would result from such a provocative action.

But I didn’t have to ponder too deeply. Was showmanship more important, or some behind the scenes events more important? Besides, I was a villainous role from the start. I was already used to it.

And I thought it might be a good idea to give that guy a proper warning once in a while.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the ‘elephant rock’ with both hands. Then I immediately lifted it up.

– W-, wait, Squatjaw! Before you get disqualified, just go find another rock… huh? Huh…?

‘It’s pretty heavy, though. Can I make the throw from here to there?’

The distance to the audience seats was about 40-50m.

To be honest, it was a long shot.

Still,

‘Ah, screw it. Even for the leading point of view, this should be enough.’

Somehow, I felt like I was getting stronger.

“He really did it!”

“Hell, don’t you think he picked it up too easily?”

“That Squatjaw is another monster!”

But I was not satisfied by the murmuring of the audience.

“Can you call somebody strong just because they lifted one of these?”

And then,

“This is how you do it…!”

I threw the rock towards the side where the fourth prince sat, with all my might.

Boom–.

Of course, I wasn’t aiming for him or anything.

Rather, I threw it with the intention of narrowly passing over the audience. Because I didn’t mean to cause any casualties. This was just a ‘warning’.

And, fortunately –

Boo-ooom–.

The rock sailed over the auditorium by a narrow margin.

…

The place was quiet for a moment.

And then,

Booooom–!

There was a roar as if something had exploded (the rock, if I had to guess), but there was still no sound from the audience.

Only silence.

With the silent stadium as my background, I returned to my seat.

Of course, I didn’t forget to smile once towards the air.

“How about this?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 약을 올리려 (lit. take medicine), to make somebody angry.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 58

You Sure You Won’t Regret It?

The imperial capital, Barantor.

We’d been riding helter-skelter across the vast meadows, forgetting day and night.

When I suddenly looked up, a huge statue of a mounted warrior filled my eyes.

“… Umir Khan!”

A warrior gripping his horse by the mane in one hand, and holding a long spear in the other.

A mythical being atop a ferocious black horse that crushed and trampled on anything in sight, was advancing towards somewhere beyond the horizon, a white hawk that symbolized his lofty pride perched on his left shoulder.

Umir Khan, the first emperor of the Skull Empire.

The princess had said that the imperial capital had no specific dividing line between the inner city and its outskirts. Instead, if more than half of the great statue was visible from where you were, it meant you’d stepped on the edge of the capital, Barantor.

Because drawing a line only limits yourself.

The only place the Skull Empire’s hooves cannot reach, lies beyond the final curtain of death.

Such had been the belief of the conqueror who’d built the empire, his proud declaration.

“Tell me in simple words so I can understand. Do you mean that we’re already in the city?”

“You can even see the statue’s feet. We’d entered the city a while ago. This is actually pretty deep inside.”

It wasn’t funny.

“There’s nothing and no one around, you call this the capital?”

Cocoa also chimed in agreement.

“Why is it still a meadow? Why do I still have to keep riding!”

“Why are you asking me? I didn’t set the rules! And, I don’t know either. This is my first time in the capital too.”

At that moment,

“Ah, I can see something over there. There, near the feet of the statue…”

Chinuavi pointed to a certain place.

Following his direction, I could indeed see what looked like a bunch of differently-shaped buildings. It at least looked like a ‘real city’.

“Hey, it’s still a long way off.”

“Let’s keep going…”

It actually took thirty more minutes before we could actually enter the ‘real city’.

It’d been five days since we’d started our nonstop ride from Nanma Port.

“It took a long time.”

My first impression of the city could be summarized in the words, ‘busy’, and ‘a jumble of unexpected stuff’.

To start with, the streets were packed to the brim. With people. Horses. Carriages. And trees that popped up here and there.

And on top of that, the place was filled with noise, and the air that blew between the buildings of various sizes and colours was chock full of dust. The whole tableau was reminiscent of the old great Arabian cities.

At first, I’d thought that the Skull Empire was actually inspired by Genghis Khan’s old Mongol Empire. A country founded by a nomadic people, who were always in constant motion instead of settling to a single place.

So, I’d expected even the capital to look like a slightly underdeveloped city.

But that didn’t really match what I was seeing. Only the national spirit and the temperament of the people had been inspired by the Mongols, it seemed; the scenery was more similar to the old Islamic culture that had been a melting pot of various influences.

As an example, I could even pick out a few places with European-style interiors.

In a word, it was a city that the author had created wilfully, according to his own imagination.

‘Yeah… as expected of a manga.’

Suddenly,

Flap flap flap–.

A small white pigeon came flying from the distance.

The one I’d named Coocoo^[1].

“Oh, is that you, Coocoo?”

“Don’t call me that! Ask big sis and she’ll tell you, I’m actually a falcon.”

“Alright, what did you see?”

“Looks like the dark ones are still after us.”

“The dark ones? You sure? How many of them are there?”

“Of course I’m not sure. How would I know how many? Quite a number, that’s all I could tell.”

“Hmm… alright, got it.”

The pigeon, Coocoo had been patrolling the skies since yesterday noon.

By that time, any pursuer with the minimum amount of sense should’ve easily gotten to know where we were headed, and Chinuavi had also managed to figure out how to decipher all the curses and locks on the cage, so we didn’t waste any more time and let Coocoo out right away.

It was his first time in three years and eight months, apparently, and he’d since been roaming the long-desired skies to his heart’s content.

However, the anklet tied to his ankle, which apparently constrained the kid’s true body, hadn’t been removed yet.

According to Chinuavi, the anklet was more difficult to remove because it was directly connected to Coocoo, and it was at a different level even compared to all those strong restrictions on the cage, combined.

“It looks like it’ll take some more time. And I don’t think it’ll be easy to decipher it with simple external methods.”

“That’s fine. So what if it’s difficult to decipher? It’s simple, just catch the guys who tied the restriction and make them talk. That’s a much easier and quicker method than carelessly messing with it and causing side effects.”

And they were coming soon, anyway.

I decided not to worry too much about the pursuers chasing Coocoo, or the ‘dark ones’ who’d been sticking to us since when we’d entered the city.

It was enough to just deal with them as they came. Because I had the strength necessary to do that.

“First let’s find a place to stay. We’ve been on the road for a long while.”

---

I stared intently at the holographic window.

[You have received a proposal to become the chapter’s leading point of view from the author]

• If you agree, please press here.

About three hours had passed since I’d first seen this message.

The reason I didn’t accept it right away and was still considering, wasn’t just to see how long this message might stay if I didn’t accept it.

Of course, I was curious about that, too, but there were two other reasons.

First, I had to understand why this proposal came to me at this time;

Second, because I couldn’t see any great advantage in accepting the leading point of view right away.

I’d already arrived at the empire, was there something I could show now?

I began to ponder.

What was the reason behind this proposal coming to me at this point in time?

First of all, the current chapter was mainly about the mission of Leo’s party. The quest they’d received was to find the lost treasure inside a temple, but they would be facing difficulties due to the sudden appearance of a bunch of brigands, the Huntington Bandits.

I didn’t remember the exact time, but as far as I knew, Leo and the rest had already faced off against them several times in the past. It’d been about two weeks since the Huntington Bandits arc had started, so maybe they’d already clashed three or four times?

If I was right, then this chapter would be over soon, and the treasure hunt would begin in earnest in the next chapter. Then the next five or six chapters would go in a rush.

In other words, right now the story was in a lull.

“Hmmm…”

But even considering the fact that there was space to change the leading point of view, why would such a chance come to me?

What made me wonder about this was the fact that it’d been none other than Karl Zayed who’d occupied the leading point of view at this juncture in the original.

It was already difficult for the author to develop the presence of his favourite character unless he used these small intermissions. In the future, the chapters would speed up more and more, and he’d get fewer and fewer chances.

In such a situation, was it my turn to get such an opportunity? To be honest, I couldn’t quite make head or tail of it.

“…”

Again, there was a limit to how much I could find out by inference alone.

It was time to check out some references.

I went straight into the character shop window.

Although a chapter was currently in progress, I wasn’t appearing in it, so I was able to use the shop.

“Where to check…”

I wondered if I could buy the readers’ comments for the ongoing chapter, but unfortunately it wasn’t on the menu. Again, it seemed that purchase was only possible after the chapter was over.

Even though it was a little disappointing, I decided to purchase the ones from the previous chapters.

[Chapter 19 One Man’s Might – Reader Comments]

Monotype – Isn’t Karl Zayed just a monster?

Cuban – What can Leo even do against that guy?

kirper03 – Is this character alright? What about balance?

KyaoKyao – But he lost to Squatjaw, didn’t he? Squatjaw strongest! haha

Jang Moonchungnaga – No, what the hell happened during the qualification exam!!!

LWJ – When do we get to see Squatjaw again?

Qenari – Nice!

‘… Karl Zayed?’

It was strange. Chapter 19 should’ve been about Leo and his party heading towards where their adventure quest ordered them to go, but the readers’ comments were all about Karl Zayed.

Out of curiosity, I checked the comments on the previous chapter, and they were all the same, too.

[Chapter 18 One Man Adventurer Team – Reader Comments]

Glitch – What, so Karl Zayed gets to be the main character whenever he’s on screen?

Sinkonaj – So that’s how you get to be a one-man adventurer team…

Root – What the hell is his ability?

Cry of Joy – He looks pretty cool, so it’s okay, haha

Kim Tae-hoon – He’s a one-man adventurer team, but he still got second place in the qualification exam.

LWJ – When do we get to see Squatjaw again?

Qenari – Nice!

How puzzling. Apparently, a full two chapters after the award ceremony had been from Karl Zayed’s point of view.

“Hmmm…”

Thinking about it, I could roughly picture the situation.

Since he hadn’t taken the first place in the qualification exam, it seemed that the author first put some effort into hyping up Karl Zayed. It’d probably been necessary to build some hype in advance so that when he showcased his skill in the latter chapters, it’d stay within the bounds of plausibility. Chapters 18 and 19 were short intermission-type ones anyway, so there shouldn’t have been any issue.

However, an unexpected problem arose as a result.

The more Karl Zayed’s strength was revealed, the more my existence was mentioned.

In a way, this was quite natural. Because my team had taken the first place while he’d merely come second.

So this was why my strength hadn’t dropped all this while. Karl Zayed had been hard at work, raising me up.

And, another issue was –

Suddenly a public opinion had formed. ‘Karl Zayed’s in the spotlight, so where’s Squatjaw?’ Or, ‘Now it’s Karl Zayed, so we’ll see Leo and Hiro next?’ Etc.

As it turned out, even the author couldn’t ignore this in the end.

So he’d resorted to giving me a brief chance to show what I was up to. After all, with the princess taking the test of the Warrior’s Path, there was nothing for me to show off.

Actually, this was much earlier than I’d expected. My prediction had been that I might get such an offer only after the clash between Leo and the Huntington Bandits came to a close.

But, of course, an opportunity was still an opportunity.

There was no time to prepare anything, and the time allotted would definitely be short, too.

“… Not bad.”

Yet I laughed.

Why would I let such a chance go? When I’d been dreading the thought of spending three months without making a single appearance?

Right now, I was rather in the mood to ask a single question.

Sir author… you sure you won’t regret it?

---

“Haah, this really is…”

“Let me know if you think you’ve found a new hobby.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

“Uwah… what is this? Is this me?”

The princess gaped a little as she looked at the other princess standing in front of her.

The other princess, who was scratching her cheeks as if she was a bit shy, was Chinuavi who’d cast a cloaking technique.

“You get it? Don’t just sneak around. But don’t go out of your way to show off on purpose, either. Because that’d be even more suspicious. Just show yourself a little.”

“What if I get attacked?”

“What else? Run away. You just have to waste some time. It won’t take long. We’ll just go ahead and apply. Oh, and you’re going with Cocoa.”

“Me too? What about you, Squatjaw?”

“If any of us walk around alone, somebody might directly bump into us. It’s better to be in groups of two. Me and the princess in one group, and Chinuavi and you, Cocoa, in the other.”

The operation was simple.

While Chinuavi, disguised as the princess, drew attention, the real princess would go to the reception desk to register for the test of the Warrior’s Path. It was a plan that took any possible interference into account.

“Then let’s start right away. We’ll leave in about ten minutes.”

That was then.

“Uh… wait!”

“Eh?”

The princess pointed at me and scratched her head.

“If I go with you, won’t we stand out anyway? Even if you dress up, you’ll still be, erm, pretty bulky…”

“Aha, you don’t have to worry on that score.”

I grinned.

“Come to think of it, you still don’t know my name, right?”

“Eh?”

“Call me Hiro. That’s my name.”

Then, I transformed. After a long time.

Pyororong–.

---

The reception desk for the Warrior’s Path.

One of the two people sitting at the counter had a particularly red face.

In fact, he hadn’t been able to calm down ever since he handled the registration for a bald giant a while ago.

“Can you imagine?”

“Hm? What?”

“That guy from a while ago? He’s called the Monster of Greatskull Mountain.”

“What, that guy? Aw, that’s ridiculous.”

“No, I’m serious, you know!? Didn’t you see that huge body, and that iron rod he dragged behind him? How can somebody carry something like that so carelessly, if they aren’t a monster?”

“Oh, come to think of it, that’s… But is that guy that great?”

At this, the man raised his voice as if frustrated.

“Didn’t you hear the rumours? They say that all the animals on the mountain have been killed off. In just two weeks after he went inside! And do you know how big those monsters were? There was a wild boar the size of a house, and a bear that was even bigger!”

“But just having a strong body isn’t eveyrthing. This is a horse race. Just because you can crush a mountain, doesn’t mean you know how to run across the meadows.”

“Idiot! Will his strength only apply in the mountains? Of course, the question is whether there’s a horse that can bear his weight, but… it’s going to be like a monster unleashed on the battlefield!”

“Hmm… is that so?”

The man trembled.

Just imagining it was terrifying. If that giant rode on a horse and wielded that massive iron rod, he’d be no different than a charging elephant.

“By the way, the level of applicants this time is amazing. The leader of the demon gang who they say had conquered the central region, that guy who’s the king of the people over there, and the monster from Greatskull Mountain you were talking about…”

It was definitely bizarre.

This was the first time that such a large number of famous people, who’d all made a name for themselves throughout the empire, or even beyond it, had applied to take the test.

“Yeah. Are you looking forward to it?”

“I wish it could start sooner.”

“What sooner? Reception’s only until today, and the preliminaries start tomorrow.”

“Should we just close it off? I don’t think anyone else will come anyway. Seems there isn’t much time left until the sun goes down.”

“Do you think?”

That was then.

“I’d like to make an application…”

“Huh?”

When they suddenly heard a voice, they turned around and saw a little boy and a woman in a hood standing in front of the reception desk.

“What? What’re you here for?”

“This is the reception, so I’m here to register.”

“What? Register? You? Or that kid next to you?”

“Keke.”

Even though the receptionists laughed, the woman didn’t seem to care.

“It’s for me.”

“Huh… really? You aren’t kidding?”

“Hey, a woman on the Warrior’s Path… check the rules. Is that even allowed?”

“There’s no rule against admitting a woman. Don’t you know? Noblewomen participate once in a while. None of them ever pass, though.”

At this, the receptionist who’d spoken second asked the first with a puzzled frown.

“Really? But why haven’t I seen any before?”

“Idiot. Is this the only reception desk in the area?”

“Aha, that’s true. By the way, you, then… are you from an aristocratic family?”

Then,

“I am a little higher than a normal aristocrat. I’m not from here.”

The woman gave a strange answer.

“… Huh?”

“Eh? Higher… higher?”

She took off her hood.

“I am Thermis, the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom. I’m here to register for the Warrior’s Path. It’s not closed yet, right?”

…

The man gaped involuntarily.

“P-, Princess Thermis…”

It wasn’t an unfamiliar name. Rather, it was the hottest topic of discussion in the empire right now. A little while ago, it was even said publicly that the Warrior’s Path might have to be delayed this time. Because of a woman with that name.

“How about the registration?”

“Yeah, um, I’ll register you. But how could this…”

The man thought that he should first make a report.

Since this was the most sacred ceremony in the empire, the original rule was to accept all applicants regardless of their identity, unless there was a reason for disqualification; but this time there was no choice but to make an exception.

After all, this was the same princess to whom the first prince had proposed.

So,

“Then please, write down your information here. I’ll just… go outside for a while…”

While he was about to leave in a hurry –

“Wait, there’s one more applicant here.”

Suddenly, another voice came from behind him.

And there –

“Yes? N-, no, where the hell…”

A gigantic, squat jaw looked at him and grinned.

The man couldn’t help but be confused. Obviously no one had been there just now.

But instead of answering his question, the suspicious squat-jawed man started to introduce himself out of nowhere.

“Applicant Hiro. From Westland. Leader of the Squatjaw Adventurers, who won the first place in the Adventurer Qualification Test this time, and the one that everybody has no choice but to admit is the super rookie of the next generation.”

“Oh, no, wait, please wait. If you want to register as a participant, you have to do it step by step…”

However, regardless of the receptionist’s persuasions, the squat-jawed man simply kept spitting out words that wouldn’t have been out of place if they’d been spoken by the old and famously mad emperor, Bayar Khan, staring into the air all the while for some reason.

“Out here at the edge of the east, I heard that warriors and scoundrels gather… now I’m here, to lay them all to waste.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 구구 (gugu) is the cry of a dove or pigeon. So we’ve anglicized the name to Coocoo. Let’s hope nobody confuses him with Cocoa…

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 57

Pigeon

I approached ‘it’ as if possessed.

It was sitting alone inside a small cage on a large pedestal, and even among the numerous other birdcages on the pedestal, it was an incomparable existence, gloriously shining like a Triton among the minnows^[1].

Wait, it was on the pedestal?

I tilted my head.

‘Is it for sale…?’

This was pretty odd.

It wasn’t a matter of being able to recognize it as a divine beast or not. If my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, I would have to say that the bird was beautiful enough to catch my eye at first glance, even though I didn’t have a great sense of beauty or aesthetics.

Wasn’t it a cute little thing that should’ve easily gotten sold by now?

It was surprising that it was on the pedestal, no different from the rest of the birds, and still unsold.

I glanced around.

‘Where’s the owner…?’

I wanted to ask if this kid was up for sale, but there was no one guarding the stall. It looked like they’d stepped out a while.

This was fine too. It was an opportunity to observe it to my heart’s content without attracting the owner’s notice.

As I got closer, to my surprise, it also raised its head. As if it was conscious of me.

“From the lark family, maybe?”

Although I knew almost nothing about birds, it looked familiar somehow.

‘Ah, but still, probably not something common.’

I pushed my face a little further.

“Let’s see, you look like… hmm?”

For a moment, I was frozen in confusion.

Upon closer inspection, it was a pigeon.

It was a small, adorable, white pigeon.

“… A pigeon.”

Of course, it was very pretty.

It’s very pretty, but… it was still a pigeon.

Oddly enough, the surprise and mystery I’d felt at the beginning seemed to have died down a bit.

I shook my head.

No, that was just prejudice. So what if it was a pigeon? Was there a law that said that a pigeon couldn’t be pretty?

That was then.

“Hang on, you motherfucking son of a bitch. Who’re you calling a pigeon?”

“…?”

“Where’re you looking at, you idiot?”

I was astonished.

“… Hoo.”

It was the bird in front of me that spoke. This little white pigeon spoke human words, and with a very crisp accent at that!

“The pigeon talks…”

“I’m a falcon, you bastard. A white falcon (白鷹)^[2]. A white falcon, got it?”

“At least stick to the pigeon theme…”

“Hey, just fuck off, will ya? Get that squat jaw of yours away from me.”

“…”

I took a step back.

It was time to sort things out.

First of all, this guy’s identity.

Again, this bird had to be a divine beast. Not only did it look far too pretty, but it could even speak like a human.

Not all divine beasts could talk in human speech, but almost all animals that could speak were divine beasts. Except for a few extremely rare cases.

However, along with that certainty came even more confusion.

I wasn’t surprised just because this guy spoke human words. On the contrary, what I couldn’t understand was the fact that, even now, this guy was casually lined up on a narrow market street like this, mixed in with all the rest of the birds being sold.

One could be ignorant of divine beasts, sure. They weren’t that common in the first place, and the setting was that they were only known from legends passed down through the ages. Unless you were an outstanding adventurer, you probably couldn’t really recognize one on sight.

But this situation was different. Because this guy talked.

There was a talking bird here, and yet nobody cared?

Or maybe I could only hear him because of my ‘friendly with animals’ trait? While I was thinking that, somebody spoke.

“Haha, this guy often argues with the passers-by. Try throwing in a worm or two, he’ll snap them right up.”

So that wasn’t the case.

Someone who looked like the stall owner had appeared without me noticing, smiling as he addressed me.

“…”

Not just that.

Another old woman who looked like one of the horse merchants had also sneaked up to me.

“Hey, little white, how are you today?”

She was throwing birdfeed in as if it was a familiar routine.

Then,

“Shouldn’t you say thank you?”

The owner urged.

“Thanks. Delicious. Delicious.”

“Ehe, okay, okay. Bon appétit.”

“…”

I silently watched this scene.

Turned out, it wasn’t that people weren’t curious, and it wasn’t that they weren’t paying attention.

He must’ve been the mascot of this stall.

But that was all.

‘He’s being treated like a talking parrot…’

His treatment was more fitting for an old circus monkey than a divine beast.

But after a lot of thought, I thought that in a way it made sense.

In this world, something non-human to speak wasn’t particularly strange. There were fairies, divine beasts, and many other things.

I mean, people weren’t particularly surprised when humans flew and breathed fire either, right?

In other words, it might’ve been surprising at first, but in time people were bound to get used to it as another ‘normal’ oddity.

Of course, I didn’t know if this guy had ever shown off his own unique ability, but it certainly didn’t seem like he did or could. Being locked in a cage like this itself was far from the normal image you’d have of a divine beast, in the first place.

‘No, wait. Is it really a divine beast?’

Somehow, even I myself was starting to get confused.

What was its real identity? Could it be something else?

Or was there some kind of great restriction on the cage itself?

How could it become a talking bird?

Maybe some kind of curse?

But I couldn’t come up with any answers just thinking by myself.

So, I decided to keep an eye on him.

But suddenly,

“Damn human. Throwing this trash at me.”

The guy stopped pecking at the rice littered on the ground, slightly raised his head and spat out some abusive language.

“…”

It was truly an incongruous sight. Such cursing coming out of that pretty bird’s beak. Also, his voice sounded like an owl.

Besides,

“Hey, who wants to eat something like this?”

His actions and personality reminded me of a street thug.

Outrageous.

The birdfeed had already disappeared by about 80%.

Wasn’t that almost the same as eating it all?

That was then.

“What is it, Squatjaw? Haven’t you fucked off yet?”

My eyes met his as he was looking around, feathers ruffling.

“Uh… not yet.”

“What, you here to sightsee? Screw off right this second.”

I just wanted to have a conversation, so this was as good an opening as any.

I spoke in a slightly cautious tone.

“Are you… really a bird?”

“If I’m not a bird, you aren’t a human either.”

“No, I don’t think you’re an ordinary bird. You can talk like a human, after all.”

“I’m not anything special.”

I didn’t openly ask if he had divinity. This guy might not even know the concept of divine beasts and unique abilities, and the owner was watching me from a distance, too. Well, he might just be thinking that I was a spectator interested in this strange bird.

“Where are you from?”

“None of your business.”

“I’m just curious. Are you not from here? Did you get caught?”

“No, I’m here because I just like this place! You really think that birds crawl into cages because they like the atmosphere?”

“Is that so?”

Obviously there was some secret. Maybe it was some kind of restriction, like I’d guessed.

“Where were you and what did you do before you got caught?”

“Why do you keep asking things? Stop bothering me.”

“Just curious. You’re so pretty, so I’d naturally be interested, right?”

Then, surprisingly –

“Well, I did this and that. Fighting monsters, going on adventures…”

The little bird answered in a slightly relaxed tone.

He seemed to be a bit weak to praise.

“Adventures and monsters? Hey, how could somebody like that be locked up in a cage for no reason?”

I asked what I’d been thinking.

But –

“That… you don’t need to know. If you’re so curious, why don’t you buy me yourself and find out?”

“Oh, I have to buy you before you can tell me?”

“Hey, did you think it’d be easy to make me talk? If you’re not going to buy, please screw off.”

The guy cursed at me again.

The problem seemed to have some relationship with the owner over there. He was pretty much saying that he could talk only when he got away from the owner.

I lowered my voice a bit.

“Well, I’m not short of money. Should I buy you?”

Then,

“What? Hmm, how much money are we talking about?”

It felt kind of tempting.

“It should be enough to buy you. I’m pretty rich.”

“Oh? Ummm… we do get along a bit, I guess. I’m getting some kind of a good vibe from you.”

If he wasn’t lying his beak off, it was probably my ‘friendly to animals’ characteristic.

“Alright, then wait a minute…”

That was then.

“He’s good at listening to the stories of the adventurers passing by and telling them as if they were his own.”

The owner approached me with a smile.

It was a warm-hearted grin, giving him an impression of a good person.

“Are you interested in him?”

“Yeah, I guess. You selling? How much is this guy?”

In an instant, his eyes started shining with strange light.

“Yes, he is for sale, but the price is quite high. As you can see, he’s pretty, he can talk, and he’s the mascot of our store…”

“I see. How much?”

I was quite surprised at the owner’s response.

“One billion gold.”

“…”

Hmmm.

It was then that I sensed something.

The owner was well aware of the value of this guy. But even so, this bird had been put on sale openly on a street stall.

Besides, the amount wasn’t unreasonable. Any adventurer who knew the value of the divine beast would agree to pay this much.

So, it was even more problematic. Did someone who knew the value of the divine beast really put it on sale so openly? For such a hefty yet reasonable amount, at that?

I immediately felt that something was up.

I glanced back slightly.

By then, the pedestal, the cage, and everything else was starting to look suspicious. It all looked crudely made, but maybe there were various curses on them.

What to do…

“Hey, Squatjaw! I’ll owe you! Buy me! Raise me! Do it!”

…

After a while, I looked back at the owner and the bird, and spoke softly.

“Please… wait a bit. I’m going to get some money.”

Then I moved towards the racetrack, leaving behind the angry curses of the pigeon. It was time for the horse race to end.

“Look at him! That penniless wretch! That bastard made fun of me! Damn it!”

---

The horse race I participated in was a single-winner, and only one horse was selected as the first winner.

Out of a total of thirteen racehorses, the one I’d bet on was the eighth. His payout was 2560-to-1, the highest of all.

That’s right, it was horse that was substituted in to make up the number only ten minutes before the match, to replace another horse that was down with stomachache.

But somehow, that horse ended up winning.

Truly, how strange and baffling^[3]! Like something straight out of the twilight zone.

And as a result, I got my hands on two billion in actual cash after deducting commissions from my investment of one million gold that I had.

“That’s just how things go sometimes. It’s really nothing. I was just lucky.”

“…”

“Don’t be too sad. Isn’t our difference just about five million at most? You did well too.”

Chinuavi clenched his fists and lowered his head without saying a word.

“… It’s five hundred million, not five.”

“Don’t be too sad. Maybe you too will win one day.”

“…”

“Let’s get moving. It’s time for us to hurry.”

Next, I headed back to that stall with a depressed Chinuavi in tow.

I was in a hurry in case anything else happened in the meantime, but fortunately, the ‘kid’ was still there.

At second glance too, it was a sight to behold. Even though he was just a white pigeon.

And then,

“This, this fucking Squatjaw! You again!”

The guy went so crazy seeing me that he even started to glow.

“Calm down. I brought the money.”

“… What? Money?”

“Yeah, where’s the owner?”

“R-… really? The owner’s inside the shop… No, you really brought the money?”

“Is that so? The shop… the one over there?”

That was then.

“Wait, this bird… talks?”

Chinuavi was looking at the pigeon with shining eyes.

“Yeah, that’s why I said I’ll buy it. A bit expensive, though. Go take a closer look. Not just the bird, at the cage, too. You might have some work to do.”

Putting him to work, I went into the store where the owner was.

Creak–.

I almost ran into the owner, who was coming out, as soon I opened the door to the shop and went in.

He recognized me right away.

“Oh, did you really bring the money?”

“Yes. We don’t have time, so let’s make a deal right now.”

The owner looked me up and down and gave me a strange smile.

“Aha… But there’s a problem, you know?”

“What?”

“The price has gone up.”

I laughed bitterly.

Somehow it seemed like something that’d happen.

“How much?”

The owner slowly peered into my eyes.

“Now, uh… about 1.5 billion? Oh, of course, I can shave it down a little, but…”

It was raised 500 million in one shot.

Well, it was still within the expected range.

I immediately pulled a small piece of paper out of my pocket and held it out.

It was a bookmaker’s ticket, worth 2 billion gold.

The owner gaped for a moment at the sight.

“Thanks for the change. I’m busy, so I’ll just go.”

“Uh, uh… yeah. Thank you.”

“Can I just take him?”

“Ah… Yes, you can take him along with the cage.”

The owner’s smile deepened a little, but I decided to not waste time and simply move on.

I marched out of the store, shouting.

“Chinuavi! Come, and bring the cage with you!”

---

“Wait! That bird! What is it?! Pretty!”

Cocoa’s reaction was as expected.

“Hey, don’t touch. You could get cursed.”

“It’s fine!”

“It’s not fine!”

I had to scold her for trying to put her hand into the cage, at first.

“Damn it! Squatjaw! Get rid of this little kid! She wants to pluck my feathers!”

“What! You think I’ll hurt you? Crazy!”

“…”

In the end, I had no choice but to drive Cocoa away.

The princess’ reaction was also unexpected.

“No, Squatjaw! You, you were pretending you didn’t know about the Warrior’s Path? Did you prepare all these things?”

“Eh? What’re you talking about?”

I heard that aspirants were usually given horses and white birds as gifts. Since they were the symbol of ‘Umir Khan’, who’d founded the empire, or something.

“It’s not like that. Don’t even dream about it. This bird’s mine.”

“Hmmm…”

However, even after being rebuffed several times, her greedy eyes never winked as she stared at it.

They were both trouble.

After yelling at the two of them to not even come close, I approached Chinuavi again.

Chinuavi was so engrossed in his thoughts he hadn’t even noticed my arrival.

“Hey there.”

“Oh, are you here? I’m almost done figuring it out. There are twelve curses on this cage. Three or four tracking functions, too. We would’ve been in quite the pickle if we’d tried to get the bird out as it is.”

Looked like my guess was correct.

“Can you decipher them?”

“What do you think I am… I’m a goblin, Big Brother. A goblin.”

Chinuavi showed a reliable smile.

“And other than the cage?”

“Can you see that? The anklet? In fact, that seems to be the biggest problem.”

An oddly coloured anklet was fitted around the pigeon’s ankle.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know yet, but it seems like a restriction that locks away the true form of this bird.”

“So it’s really true…”

Maybe it wasn’t a lie that he’d gotten captured.

“Alrighty then. Let me talk to him for a moment.”

I moved my seat to face the cage.

Now was the time for a conversation, just between the two of us.

“Why didn’t you say anything? About your state, I mean. You could’ve mentioned it earlier.”

It wasn’t meant to be an interrogation. I was just curious about his past.

“I couldn’t say anything until I was sold. That bearded guy… he’s got a hell of a temper.”

He was talking about the store owner.

“I didn’t think you’d really buy me…”

“Why the sudden change in tone?”

“Because there aren’t many who like a pigeon who swears… and you paid a high price for me, too.”

“What, a pigeon? Are you accepting yourself as a pigeon now?”

“…”

It didn’t feel like a joke.

This guy was apologizing to me.

“How many times have you been sold? To other adventurers.”

The kid answered meekly.

“About… four times, maybe?”

“Did you get caught again every time? Pursued and captured?”

“Yeah, that’s what happened.”

The kid was hanging his head.

“Is that guy going to come? The owner?”

“No, that bearded guy is just the tip of the iceberg. The pursuer’s another one.”

To put it simply, it was a plain scam.

This guy was a bait to lure wealthy and inexperienced adventurers. Who had enough vision to recognize that he was a divine beast, but not enough to see the traps underneath.

While they thought they’d struck gold and got a divine beast at a low price, somebody would track their steps and come visit, eliminate them, and take the divine beast back.

In a word, they were out-and-out villains.

‘… It’s strange.’

It was a bit frustrating, too. I should’ve been aware of the villains who would do such a thing, but no one came to mind.

Eastland had really occupied a very small part of the story in the original. There were so many distinctive characters and groups here, but most of them had never even showed their faces in the original work.

“When would they start chasing you?”

“It was different every time.”

“How far can they track you?”

“No idea. There’ve been times when I’ve even crossed the sea…”

“Hmm, do you think they might start tracking you right away?”

“That changes from time to time.”

“What information do you know about them?”

“Zilch. Except that it’s a very large organization. But I think there were a few other guys like me, too. I don’t remember too well.”

“Hmm.”

It was as expected. There was no way these guys, who caught divine beasts, used them to bait the hook, and robbed adventurers, were a small organization.

“I got it.”

That was then. As I was about to get up, the kid stopped me.

“… Squatjaw.”

“Yeah?”

He sighed a couple of times and then continued.

“I’m not going to apologize.”

“What?”

“If you take me with you, you’ll probably die. Better to just leave me be. Then they won’t chase you anymore.”

“What are you even trying to say?”

“You just got cheated out of your money because of your own stupidity. Just think of it as having thrown it away. If you leave me right now, your life at least will be…”

I stopped him from talking. Because I could pretty much predict the rest.

If I had to turn it around and repeat it back to him? Sorry for cheating you. Just leave me behind.

“It’s fine, I already know even if you don’t tell me. You’re a bastard.”

“…”

“But it doesn’t matter, because I’m different from those others. I’ll soon make you fly.”

“…”

Around that time, Chinuavi came back with a strange smile on his face.

It seemed like he’d seen some success.

“I think I’ve found a way to decipher a couple of the restrictions on the cage… Shall we start right away?”

“Hey, it’s fast.”

“Haha, it wasn’t much.”

“But, don’t do it. Leave it alone for now.”

“Uh… yes?”

“Let’s take it slow. What kind of guys will be coming after us, I wonder?”

When I’d decided to come here to Eastland, I’d set myself only two rules of conduct.

First, see every case to the end.

Second, see anybody who got entangled with me to the end.

The reason was simple. That way there’d be something to see and something to talk about.

And now –

“What’re you all lazing about for! Everyone, get on horseback! Let’s go!”

It was time to move again.

---

After five days.

Finally, we were just about to set foot in ‘Barantor’, the capital of the Skull Empire.

Tiling–.

Suddenly, a message arrived on the hologram.

‘What? Now’s not the time for anything, right?’

And when I actually saw the content, I was astonished.

[You have received a proposal to become the chapter’s leading point of view from the author]

• If you agree, please press here.

One day before the Warrior’s Path would start, an offer came from the author.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 군계일학 (lit. best of the bunch). The Chinese equivalent would be the crane among the chickens.

[2] 白鷹 (bai ying), white-feathered eagle. Considered auspicious in the ancient times.

[3] 귀신이 곡할 노릇 (lit. ghosts singing), idiom meaning something strange and baffling.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 56

Horse Market

The market at the port city of Nanma.

The narrow street was packed to the full, half with horses and half with people.

Whinny–!

Whinny–!

“Hey, not bad.”

As soon as I entered the horse market, I thought that coming here had been a good idea, regardless of whether a divine beast could be found here or not.

Somehow, just looking at the lively scene made me feel refreshed.

The street was so filthy that I had to give up avoiding stepping on poop as I walked, and I got my face repeatedly slobbered on by the horses’ lolled out tongues as I passed by, but it felt good nonetheless.

To be honest, the life on the ship had been a bit tiring. Of course, there hadn’t been any lack of comfort once we got the VIP room, but it was just a tad boring.

The never-ending whinnies, the shouts from the traders, as well as the panicked screams of the startled onlookers. All these noises merged into a vivid sense of liveliness.

Although –

“Ugh, it smells… Big Brother, I’m sorry, but I think this is too much for me…”

“Eew… I must’ve taken the wrong path. I’ll go, too.”

Some of us found it a bit excessive.

Chinuavi cried before even going through the market entrance, and Cocoa also shook her head so urgently she looked like she might cry if I asked her to come.

This was honestly unexpected.

They were basically young children, so I’d thought they’d love it. Like kids in a zoo.

‘I used to love going to the zoo when I was young… although there were other animals there, too, not just horses.’

There was only the wild princess who was loving it as much as me, or even more than me.

She had a real spring in her step.

“Can I walk around by myself!? There’s so much to see!”

She looked like she’d completely forgotten everything about the first prince and the Warrior’s Path.

“Are you joking? Who knows what might happen.”

I’d actually been staying vigilant these last two days.

Everyone at the banquet must’ve thought that the princess had finally decided to get married.

Besides, she’d said it herself that she’d go to the imperial capital immediately, so there was a definite time limit for those aiming to assassinate her in order to wage war.

In other words, who knew when more enemies would come rushing in?

The fourth prince was a headache too, but even that bastard Tamar, the minister of the ‘warhawk faction’, might come forward this time, or a new assassination squad might be deployed by some other force that wanted to hinder friendly relations between the empire and the kingdom.

And lastly –

That fat and skinny pair of assassins.

When we’d been disembarking from the ship, they’d deliberately revealed themselves to stare at us. Indicating that their pursuit of us wasn’t over.

Of course, I didn’t know if they were being honest. It could’ve just been a pressuring tactic.

But still, I was truly somewhat concerned. The fact that the guys who’d once run away, had now reappeared, had to mean that they’d been busy preparing to face us.

“Alright, you stand here for now. And you too, Cocoa.”

After restraining the princess from running wild, I glanced at her and Cocoa alternately.

In fact, it wasn’t easy to decide which one of them to prioritize.

What if the treasure mentioned by Cocoa was really a divine beast? Or what if I could really find some other treasure here and strike it rich? It was right to ask her to guide my path in that case. But if not, the princess who was an expert on horses would be more beneficial.

The answer came quickly.

“Let’s go over there for now. I think there are some other stuff there too.”

“Anywhere is fine! Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

“…”

I turned to the direction Cocoa was pointing.

It was just as she’d said.

That place was also full of traders selling horses, but they were also selling small animals. Puppies, piglets, monkeys, parrots, hawks…

“Are you here to play around? We’re here to pick horses.”

“True enough. But you can ask the princess to pick those.”

It made some sense.

“… What else is there?”

“Who knows. Let’s just go look at small and cute things instead of big, hairy ones.”

“…”

Or she might’ve just been saying whatever came to mind.

Anyway, we started walking with Cocoa in the lead.

That was then.

“Ah, ugh! Hey, you fucking bastard!”

A swear word came from somewhere.

When I looked, I could see a commotion a little distance away.

“S-, someone help!”

“Danger!”

We headed there right away.

By this man screaming in surprise, stood a huge black horse that didn’t look like it was throwing much of a tantrum.

It was weird.

Obviously, the horse wasn’t going so wild as to make the merchant scream in surprise. It was just standing still and shaking its head, with rumbling snorts.

And yet, the reactions of the owner and the surroundings were strange. As if trying to get close and calm it down would be futile.

This probably pointed to the horse’s past history, and that it’d soon show the appearance of an uncontrollable tyrant.

And this –

‘… Is it that kind of a cliché?’

This had a different significance for me.

There could be no doubt. This was a great horse that even its owner couldn’t control. The setting had to be that it had tremendous power compared to other horses, but it also had a temper ferocious enough to match, one that nobody could tame.

I could feel it. This guy, wasn’t simple.

“Huhu… Then shall I try once?”

I took a step forward.

“Uh, will you be alright?”

The princess tried to follow with words of caution, but I stopped her with a raised hand.

Rather, the princess was more of a danger than anybody else. If not me, the princess would’ve run into this guy first. She was my most dangerous competitor in this match.

I slowly approached the horse.

The owner, the onlookers, and even the horses all around were looking at me.

“Y-, you…? It’s dangerous, so please back away…”

“It’s fine. Let me try him once.”

Then, I looked straight into its eyes. It didn’t really look like a divine beast or anything. But it didn’t look like an ordinary horse either.

No ordinary horse could have such a hostile gaze.

Hmmm.

Now what?

In point of fact, I didn’t know much about horses. Forget about calming it down, I couldn’t even guarantee that I wouldn’t make it worse.

However, there was one point that I was confident in.

The hidden characteristic that came with my background as a [Southland National Park Zookeeper], ‘friendly with animals’.

It was probably this characteristic that made me able to understand how this guy was feeling.

I cautiously reached out towards it.

Maybe I should start with gently stroking the forehead, and then work my way down towards the mane?

That was then.

“D-, danger!”

“Huh?”

Whinny–!

Bang–.

“…”

After a moment of silence, I turned and looked at the horse trader standing next to me.

“A-, are you still alive?”

“…”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t pay your medical fees. Didn’t I tell you to step back!”

It was only then that I was able to accurately recognize the situation.

That damned horse hit the crown of my head with a hoof.

“…”

A drop of blood started trickling down my forehead.

“Sq-, Squatjaw! Blood! Blood!”

“Bi-, Big Brother, you’re bleeding…!”

“…”

There was absolutely no pain. It was just a very slight gash on the skin.

My body wasn’t weak enough to break just because I got hit once by a horse’s hoof. Hell, even this small wound wouldn’t have been possible if not for the immense power this horse boasted.

But nevertheless,

“This bastard son of a gun…”

I couldn’t let it go scot-free now, could I? I had to kick its ass at least a little.

But oddly enough, there was no more hostility in its eyes?

But what I saw in them instead was –

Whinny, whinny–!

Braying laughter.

It was openly laughing. After hitting me on the head, it still dared to laugh.

My anger was really boiling over.

“Yeah, let’s see how long you can laugh.”

That was then.

“Good, aren’t you a good boy?”

“…?”

All of a sudden, the princess was holding it by the side and stroking its mane.

And the bastard just started purring with contentment.

And not just that,

“Wait, that woman is…”

“She’s taming that black demon!”

“Damn, she’s great!”

The reactions around them were unusual, too.

All of a sudden, the princess was taking up all the attention rather than me, who’d been beaten and thrown aside.

The reception she was getting was the very one I’d originally been aiming for.

…

Then,

“Come on, Squatjaw. Don’t cry, cheer up.”

“Big Brother, I don’t think this is a good place for us. Let’s just finish up and get out of here, okay?”

Cocoa and Chinuavi came over to comfort and support me.

“… Alright, you guys pick one horse each. It looks like the princess has already chosen hers.”

Well, I couldn’t do it in the end.

Actually, it wasn’t that unexpected.

There were some hidden traits that could never be strengthened unless certain conditions were met. Perhaps ‘friendly with animals’ was also the same. Anyway, just because my character’s ‘class’ had been raised, didn’t really ensure that my friendliness with animals would also go up, did it? Not when I hadn’t even interacted with any animals so far.

“Hoo…”

For some reason, I was craving Karl Zayed’s unique ability again. That could’ve strengthened all my various talents, including this one.

‘… There’ll come a time…’

After a while,

“Come see, I brought you some good guys.”

The princess had picked out mounts for all of us, including her own (that guy).

They looked majestic even to us non-experts.

Of course, that cheeky bastard clinging to the princess looked the most arrogant.

And after that,

“Hehe… then how much do you think it all comes to?”

The horse trader who’d been following the princess rubbed his hands and asked.

At this, the princess glanced at me silently.

“What, money?”

“I’ll give it to you later when I go to the kingdom. Right now…”

Well, I knew that already. In the first place, it’d be stranger for a princess herself to carry hard cash.

So I talked to the merchant.

“You know that black horse hit my head, right? Shave it a little.”

Then,

“Oh, you don’t need to pay for that guy. In fact, he was a troublemaker for us as well. I’m more than happy for you to just take him.”

The merchant smiled and accepted gracefully.

“…”

Seriously, how cliché could this get?

“So how much will it all cost?”

“Eight million gold in total. It’s cheap.”

Yes?

I didn’t know what the price a horse was originally, but it did indeed sound cheap.

Besides, looking at the princess’ wide eyes, it seemed that this really was a cheap price.

“Thank you. Come on, Cocoa, fork it over.”

That was then.

“I don’t have the money.”

“What?”

“No money. Not enough.”

How could we lack money?

“How about you start making sense?”

“We have no money. My bag’s empty. That’s it.”

“What’re you talking about? How much was in there… are you trying to rip me off again?!”

“No.”

“Then how come? Where did you spend it all?”

“No, I’m sorry. Actually…”

Cocoa’s following explanation was really strange.

It happened at Firmino’s Neo Archive. When she took out the bazooka and fired it, her pouch took the price of the bazooka in return. No matter how much she searched afterwards, there was nothing left.

“But the Viking’s still in there. It was left behind.”

“…”

What the hell was this nonsensical setting?

Her unique ability, her pocket, calculated the value of what was ‘to be given’ versus what it ‘already had inside’, and pocketed everything other than the difference?

“…”

It was an ability I’d had never seen in the original, so I couldn’t easily understand it. In fact, it was already strange that it could bring out ‘things that didn’t exist’.

Anyway, that didn’t matter right now.

“Er… um, so don’t you have any money?”

The merchant had stopped smiling.

“Oh, it’s not that. I just don’t have cash on hand right now. Wait a bit. I’ll go get your money right away.”

Telling Cocoa and the princess to wait there for a while, I called for Chinuavi.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes? Where…”

“Where would we go if wanted to make some money?”

“… Money? Where?”

“Where do you think?”

There were so many horses here, so wouldn’t they have a racetrack?

---

“It’s been a while since you last made a bet, hasn’t it?”

Chinuavi started burning with excitement before I could even finish my sentence.

“Nice!”

“Got it? Let’s see which of us wins more money.”

“What’s the deadline?”

“Since we don’t have much time… let’s say, thirty minutes. Earn as much as you can in that time. Let’s not bet on the same races, though.”

“Great. I won’t lose this time!”

“Oh? Let’s play for keeps, then. The winner gets one wish.”

“Sure!”

Chinuavi ran, and I mimicked an unique ability.

[Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness].

“Hey there. It’s been a while.”

The little squat-jawed fairy whom I hadn’t seen in a while, still had a gloomy expression on her face.

“You again? I’m sorry, but that ugly face of yours does nothing for me.”

“Can’t you take a look inside me? As you know, I’m actually a handsome boy.”

“Heh, that’s not even funny.”

She still sedately flew towards me while spewing vitriol. Maybe because we’d already met before, there was a sense of familiarity.

Then, with a relaxed mind, I checked the race schedule.

There was a race starting in five minutes. The next one was fifteen minutes from now, and the next, ten minutes after that.

“Alright.”

Of course, I didn’t intend to participate in all three. Just one would be enough. To sweep away all the money from the racetrack.

“Will you do me just one favour?”

“You aren’t too greedy, huh, ugly fellow? What is it?”

I smiled at her.

“It’s not something big…”

I could mimic the abilities from everybody in the current hero party, but I didn’t have the same level of proficiency as them. Even if my skill was ranked higher.

However, Siana’s ability was different. I was confident that I could use this ability better than her, at least in some ways.

The reason was simple. I already knew about the ‘essence’ of this ability, unlike the current Siana.

The ability called the [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] isn’t just about adjusting the odds to win in a game.

The most cheaty part of this ability lies in how it can control the overall situation – the gameboard itself.

I pointed towards the billboard in the distance.

“Can you see that last race on there?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the probability that one of the horses suddenly gets replaced twenty minutes before the race starts?”

“Huh? Are you saying you want to change it?”

Then, I pointed to a horse that was passing the finish line on the track around that time.

“And what’re the odds that the horse coming in as a replacement is such an old, sick, and weak horse?”

“Well, the odds won’t be that high. Right now.”

“Then what’s the chance that such a horse will compete and win in the end?”

It was then that the fairy seemed to understand everything I was saying.

“You’re asking too much, you ugly fellow! You’re being greedy!”

“Can you do it?”

“Of course!”

Fortunately, she didn’t say that she didn’t like it or that she couldn’t.

The most important part in ‘situation adjustment’ was whether or not it was actually feasible to adjust the situation in a certain way.

Of course, I didn’t know exactly how this feasibility was calculated.

However, what I understood from reading the original was that as long as the adjustment wasn’t beyond my ability, I could make it happen.

Now all that remained was to wait.

“There’re twenty minutes left, what to do?”

I considered just sitting down and leisurely watching the races, but then decided to look around a bit more. As long as I covered my nose to block out the smell, it was a spectacular place to visit.

And maybe… I could even discover the ‘treasure’ that Cocoa had spoken of.

After about five minutes of looking around…

Suddenly, a bright light shone to the right, at the corner of my field of vision.

‘What is it?’

I naturally turned my head, and found ‘it’ there.

A pure white bird.

Imprisoned in a small cage, head drooped down, but the sense of pathos that emanated from it only seemed to accentuate that dazzling and splendid form.

I could feel it the moment I saw it.

Divinity.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 55

The End of the Voyage

The most standard way for an adventurer to raise their rank is to receive and successfully complete an adventure quest from the association, and accumulate rating points that way.

There are three main routes for getting and completing such quests:

1. Be officially affiliated with an adventuring group and perform the quest as a ‘team’ unit.
2. Be invited as a guest member by a large ‘adventurer clan’, to perform some kind of specialist role in a quest.
3. Through the mediation of the Adventurers’ Association, meet other adventurers with matching interests and complete a one-off mission.

That’s roughly it.

It’s not so easy for rookies to build up their rank as part of a group. At first blush, one might think that it’d be great to keep growing along with like-minded colleagues, but in fact, this is a very rare case, only possible for parties like Leo’s.

Simple. In most cases, such beginner groups don’t even have the most basic team composition, that is, members in all three positions.

First of all, to have a viable composition, a team must have at least one member in each of the three positions, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. Unless you start with an excellent guide from the beginning, and unless exceptional guys who can become your companions show up ‘accidentally’ along the way, you won’t be able to form a proper adventuring group however much you may want to.

Therefore, most ‘regulars’ camp for a long time in Adventium, where the qualification test is held each year, and form groups just to participate in the test.

And if they manage to pass, nine times out of ten, the group scatters to the wind. Since the group formed just to pass the exam, after achieving their goal, the members simply leave without any regrets, in search of greener pastures.

And thus adventurers who have an adventurer’s license but don’t belong to any group, are born.

For these ‘individual adventurers’, the second and the third ways of getting quests are the only options to raise their rank.

Whether it’s some adventurer clan or the Adventurers’ Association, they go to whoever wants them, keep selling their services until they have a certain reputation, and gradually accumulate rating points.

Of course, it takes a long time, and it’s all up to your luck if you find missions that suit you.

To summarize, adventuring was an industry where it was hard to raise your rank, and it was a fact that the readhead had gotten to S-rank from B+ in two years.

Indeed, that could only be interpreted in one way, if one used their common sense…

“What, what… how?”

The readhead’s lips trembled, as if in great bewilderment.

It was a natural reaction. The attack he’d thought had enough strength behind it, had disappeared without a trace once it’d reached my grasp.

The two crimson spheres he’d thrown at me were a type of magic, orb-shaped spells with an inherent ‘explosive’ attribute. A bigger and red-coloured form of Kiriko’s ‘explosion’-type bullets.

He must’ve expected the spheres to explode the moment they touched me. Not to puff out and disappear like a blown-out candle.

The redhead had a lot of doubts in his gaze, but I ignored that. It wasn’t my job to solve his problems.

But, of course, I didn’t forget to encourage him to figure it out by himself.

“Would you like to try a few more? I’m game if you are.”

“… You cheeky bastard!”

Three spheres, each slightly larger than the previous ones, flew in.

I reached out and touched them with my hands, one by one, just like last time.

And then,

Puff–.

The spheres lost their power and winked out.

The redhead was now beyond bewildered, his eyes full of astonishment.

“No, what, what the hell… how?”

“Can you figure it out just by muttering to yourself? Why not try a few more times?”

“Urgh…!”

A huge sphere began to form in his hand.

From the looks of it, he was trying to concentrate all his power into one blow.

Of course, he had to have other ways of fighting instead of just single-mindedly throwing explosives. From his nature and his ability, he seemed to be the type that shined more in melee combat.

However, he didn’t seem to be thinking clearly because of the shock.

‘He’s so mentally fragile. Did they really put him at S-rank?’

I clicked my tongue.

Of course, I’d been a little nervous at first. He was S-class after all. And he was an adversary on top of that, the adventurer position that boasted the highest combat strength.

But even so, I never thought of this guy as Leo’s – and therefore (as of right now) mine – opponent.

Two years to reach S-class? Please.

The Leo Adventurers had taken only six months to achieve that in the original. Including a lot of wasted time, stopping by here and there.

Karl Zayed had taken less than two.

‘And what about you, could you do something like that?’

Before long, a huge sphere, one that could fit three people inside it, was hovering above his palms.

I just watched.

“Heh… it’s your loss now that you’ve given me time to create this.”

“Yeah, good job. Now throw it over.”

“Even I can’t predict this impact this will create. If this ship sinks and causes numerous casualties… remember that it’s all your fault.”

He wasn’t getting any less crazy with time.

“It won’t work, though, you know?”

“You… you keep pissing me off!”

He threw the sphere, hard.

I gently raised my right hand as I watched the sphere slowly float towards me. Then, I folded four of my fingers, leaving only the index finger pointing forward.

Because that was all I needed to get rid of this.

Soon after,

Pop–!

The sphere that had been condensed with such tremendous energy, burst like a balloon.

…

I glanced away from the nonplussed redhead for a moment. Oddly enough, at that moment, I was feeling a strange sense of discomfort.

At the thought that such an ‘irrationality’ could be imposed on me as well, at any time.

Hmmm.

Obviously, if that sphere had exploded properly, not only me, but the whole of the banquet hall here, or indeed the entire ship, might have been blown away. Because the strength this guy had put into it wasn’t weak in any sense.

However, the reason that the redhead’s ability was extinguished so easily was due to the cheat ability I’d mimicked, that of ‘Leo from a few chapters in the future’.

[Lightning that Destroys Calamity].

The word ‘calamity’ here was not symbolic, and neither was the word ‘destroy’ a metaphor.

Calamity referred to the opponent Leo opposes as well as his ‘ability’, and Leo’s lightning can conditionally ‘destroy’ such existences. In particular, if the ‘class’ of the ability designated as a calamity is inferior, even ‘contact’ is not allowed regardless of the total amount of energy contained in it.

The ability to look down on the weak.

That is the essence of Leo’s [Lightning that Destroys Calamity].

It’s true that lightning by itself is a very useful ability, especially for ‘adversaries’ – but Leo’s ability surpasses even that, and is almost a scam when you’re dealing with multiple enemies at once. Since the ability makes a clear distinction between the superior and the inferior, unless there’s somebody among the opponents who’s at your level, there’s no way for you to lose.

Of course, this ‘same level’ setting was a big part of how the author had managed his breakneck plot development in the original.

If the opponent played some kind of important role, he’d be a valid opponent no matter how weak his abilities were, and if the enemy character was of no importance, no matter how good his abilities seemed, he’d just be brushed off and fall by the wayside.

In the end, this setting actually appeared less and less in the second half as the story went on. It was impossible for any of the characters that appeared by then to be called ‘inferior’.

But at the very least, this redhead’s ability, which had never even appeared in the original, definitely couldn’t stand up to Leo’s lightning.

Soon after,

Step–.

I slowly approached the redhead.

His fighting spirit had already been broken, but I still needed to finish things properly.

He looked at me, but didn’t move. Maybe he couldn’t.

I pushed a little electric current into my index finger, the same one that’d popped the sphere.

And I poked the guy who stood there, frozen, in the forehead.

Crackle–.

His body trembled a couple of times, and then collapsed.

That was the end of it.

…

The hall was quiet.

I couldn’t hear any cheers.

This most likely wasn’t because they’d been overwhelmingly supporting the redhead. They just needed some time to accept the current situation.

And very soon,

“Oooh…!”

“Wow!”

“Awesome! Awesome!”

A raucous roar erupted from the deck below like a tidal wave.

I smiled once, and then walked down from the arena. There was no need to wait for the referee to call the match.

Cocoa and Chinuavi were there to welcome me as I walked towards where the VIPs had gathered.

“Great job.”

“As expected of you, Big Bro.”

However, everyone else, including the princess, just looked at me silently, with a puzzled expression.

Maybe because the long-awaited main event fizzed out so quickly and abruptly?

Especially –

“B-, but, don’t you summon ghosts?”

Nergui’s expression was the most eye-catching.

It was a mix of surprise, anger and bewilderment. He didn’t even seem to be trying to hide. No, maybe he wasn’t even aware that his mask of affability had cracked.

“Oh? How did you know I can summon ghosts?”

“… Well, that, there’s a rumour…”

“Are you still trying to make stuff up?”

“…”

I stared at the guy.

That face, glowing red, really didn’t suit a hidden boss. I’d believe if he was the little prince instead.

“I don’t know why you did all this, but stop horsing around. Next time, you won’t be able to just laugh it off.”

“…”

I didn’t dare to engrave [Scribe’s Shackles] on this guy.

It wasn’t because the method wasn’t good, but because it was too much of a cheat. If the author saw and immediately pushed out a balancing patch, I wouldn’t have anybody to cry to.

If this guy really was the secret mastermind, the princess would no longer face the threat of assassination as long as I made him my subordinate. And she’d be able to pass the Warrior’s Path without any crisis.

And this meant that ‘there wouldn’t be any other incidents’ in the future.

Such a method might be convenient and good for the short term, but in the long term, it’d only be detrimental – since it would undermine my role and significance.

And the most important point was –

Making secret bosses like him into my subordinates and manipulating all events to my advantage was an act that’d seriously harm the plot development and power balance envisioned by the author, even if it didn’t violate plausibility.

In other words, it meant that the author’s favourability would sink to the absolute bottom.

Even now, the author could actually get rid of me at any time.

It wasn’t just about his right of ‘absolute deletion’. That had to be the very last resort from the author’s point of view. He probably would never use it unless I somehow brought the manga to the verge of discontinuation.

Even without taking such drastic action, the author could easily handle me within the bounds of plausibility.

Wasn’t it simple? All he needed to do was to make one of the Seven Kings appear early, and somehow come face to face with me. Then things would just end for me. Because the current me couldn’t defeat any of them even if I died and was reborn.

Of course, the readers would definitely protest, but for how long? Were the Seven Kings normal characters? They were the symbols of power that could rule this world. Their presence could easily devour everything I’d built up so far. In the grand scheme of things, I was still just a rookie.

Therefore, I had no choice but to restrain the scope of my actions so that it wouldn’t smash the plot framework the author had woven.

I couldn’t do everything by myself, and I couldn’t stall my growth. And I also needed to continuously prove that my presence was helpful to the story.

I had to bow to the author’s whims for now. Until the day I grew to the point where the author wouldn’t dare ignore all my history and bring forward somebody else to replace me.

So,

“We’ve let you mess with us so far without doing anything in return. Me, and the princess too. I’m being straight with you here. This wasn’t because I was afraid of you, or of the empire. I just didn’t want to go to all that trouble.”

“…”

I was giving a naked warning to the fourth prince right now.

Of course, I didn’t know if he could truly accept it.

---

Two days later, Nanma Port.

The fat guy was talking to the thin one, who’d been silently watching people disembark from the ship.

“What next?”

“…”

Only silence answered him.

“I got the rest of the money. The guy who commissioned us was here just now. He said he understood our plight. If we tried to continue even after seeing that scene the other day, we’d have to be utter lunatics, he said. An S-class adventurer finished off with just one finger? They didn’t even buy a map, just disappeared without a trace… they have to be incredibly strong… I think, unless the former ‘King of Assassins’ comes personally…”

That was then.

“Give it back.”

The thin man suddenly spoke. And said something crazy.

“Huh?”

“Spit out everything you got. Except for the down payment.”

“… Hey…”

“The payoff comes after success. That’s one of our principles.”

“But…”

“And there’s no giving up till the mission is finished. That, too, is one of our principles.”

The fat man’s face stiffened instantly.

---

Upon arriving at the port, we found the Adventurers’ Association’s Nanma branch office right at the heart of the city.

“Everyone’s here? Good, I’ll go.”

Telling the princess, Cocoa, and Chinuavi to wait a while, I entered the branch office by myself.

It was to prepare for unexpected situations, such as if I were asked to surrender the princess to them.

But,

“Is that so? All right.”

The association’s reaction was absurdly rough.

Even when I said the princess was being kept somewhere else because there was a threat of assassination, the receptionist just stamped the mission confirmation certificate without any other verification procedures.

Bang–!

“Your first quest was successful, congratulations. And there’s a linked quest following it. Will you accept it?”

“What if I don’t accept it?”

Of course I was going to accept it, but I deliberately asked. Because I’d never seen Leo reject it in the original.

I was just curious about her reaction, and the penalty.

“The previous quest would also be considered a failure.”

… Well, there was nothing special about it.

“I’ll accept.”

“The linked request is simple. All you have to do is take the princess to the capital of the Skull Empire.”

The conversation ended with that.

As I left the branch office, I felt convinced once again.

Again, this was a story that the author had devised. If the development had required the princess to get married, there would’ve been a request to protect her until the wedding.

I returned to the party, my steps slightly lighter.

“Are we leaving right now?”

“We should, yeah.”

“There’s only about a week left before the Warrior’s Path begins. If we hurry, we’ll probably arrive just in time.”

Again, there was plenty of time left. Seriously, the author must’ve put it all together.

“The problem is finding the way… I don’t know anything about the local geography.”

“Don’t worry, there’s someone you know who can help.”

I patted Cocoa’s back as she shrugged.

“Then, shall we go?”

It was time to ask Chinuavi to summon an earth dragon.

“Wait, what about our rides?”

“Ride? There is one. Just wait.”

“Wait? Where are the horses?”

“Don’t be surprised when you see it.”

Boooooom–.

Chinuavi’s earth dragon soon rose up from the ground.

But,

“I’m sorry, I don’t need this. I’ll ride a horse.”

The princess’ reaction wasn’t very stellar.

“No, the ride isn’t that bad, you know? It’s fast, too! Really fast.”

“It’s got nothing to do with that. I have to ride a horse.”

She had an oddly stubborn look.

The princess insisted that she’d ride a horse even if she had to separate from us.

“And for the Warrior’s Path, horsemanship is very important. I need to practice.”

“Eh…”

That was then.

“Let’s go buy a few. There’s a horse market over there.”

Cocoa’s eyes shone unusually, as she supported the princess.

“No, why do we have to visit the market? We can just buy those ones put up for sale by the street…”

“Let’s go. It wouldn’t be bad to visit once, right? It’s just a feeling, but… maybe you’ll stumble upon a treasure?”

“Treasure? What treasure could you find at a horse market?”

At that moment,

… Ah!

Something suddenly came to mind.

There were many rare treasures in this world of Adventure King, but among them, divine beasts were among the best.

These were no simple animals, but beings blessed by God (with innate talents), and had abilities and intelligence comparable to humans, and some could even talk.

Besides, they looked cute.

Of course, they were often introduced as ‘friends’ or ‘colleagues’ rather than treasures, but they did belong to that category.

They always received enthusiastic support from the readers no matter which adventuring group they belonged to, and there were even arcs completely centered around them. The new beast companion of the Leo Adventurers had even been given the ‘leading point of view’.

Of course, I’d always been aware of how important they were. Because the existence of beautiful and strong animals is an essential element of most shounen manga. In fact, one of the backgrounds I’d bought early on had been for this.

However, there was still a long time before the Leo Adventurers would accept a divine beast as their comrade, so I’d simply put that matter aside for a while.

‘Is this already the time to use it?’

I stared intently at the background that was occupying a position in my list.

[Southland National Park Zookeeper].

Of course, it was still just conjecture.

I’d never heard of any divine beasts being sold at a horse market or a peddlers’ street.

There was only one reason why I was looking forward to it.

Because this was the path our guide was leading us along.

“Alright, let’s… first go check it out.”

We headed towards the horse market, and I was feeling a little abuzz with excitement.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 54

So It Was You?

That night.

White Rain’s VIP banquet hall.

Contrary to my expectation that they were holding some kind of secret meeting with the doors locked, the hall was already crowded with quite a few people.

Looking at the faces of those who’d gathered, there were not just VIPs, but also their attendants, employees carrying drinks and food, and people preparing for the banquet itself, such as entertainers preparing for their performances.

Also, I could see some people milling around, clad in overly flashy evening dresses. Apparently, the event was open to the first-class passengers, as well.

There didn’t seem to be any strict restrictions on entry.

Not just that –

“Wow, is the front completely open?”

“Actually, looks like the walls have all been replaced with glass.”

All four walls around the entire hall had been completely replaced by transparent glass panes.

I didn’t know if they wanted to watch the night sea under the moonlight or something, but anyway, the banquet on the top floor was apparently open to all.

Of course, it didn’t seem to be attracting that much attention, since there was a party going on at the lower decks too.

While I walking at a slow pace and taking it all in –

“You’re here! Squatjaw Adventurers!”

A familiar voice came from somewhere.

Looking back, I found the black-haired young man from earlier.

The guy who’d introduced himself as the fourth prince of the Skull Empire.

“In case you’ve forgotten, my name is Nergui. “

“Aah, right.”

“Come, come. Everyone is waiting.”

I narrowed my eyes at the back of the guy who was now walking in the front.

‘What’s he planning, this guy?’

At first, I didn’t think much of it, but if I thought about it again, he was highly suspicious.

Wasn’t he the fourth prince of the empire? The fourth son of the current emperor?

But somehow, from the beginning, he was the one in charge of guiding us. Some young chicks who’d just become official adventurers. And he was a complete natural at it, without a single sign of discomfort.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure of his actual position in the VIP hierarchy, since I didn’t know his current position in the empire, the overall power structure, or the method of imperial succession. Maybe he was being treated more harshly than I expected.

But nevertheless, the mere fact that ‘the emperor’s son wasn’t a cocky rascal’ made him a character type that deviated quite a bit from the typical extras.

At the very least, I couldn’t predict this character’s next actions.

And one more thing, the guy’s appearance.

Black hair, narrow eyes, and a slight smile permanently hanging at his lips. He was neither handsome nor ugly, he just had an ordinary face that could be seen anywhere.

In fact, for all the time he’d been guiding us, until the last moment when he’d revealed himself, I hadn’t given him a second thought. Although we were both VIPs, I’d never even considered that his status had to be at least somewhat noble.

The reason was simple. Because he looked that transcendentally average.

It’s true that an ordinary face is a typical characteristic of a character that isn’t inherently important. After all, there’s no reason to give much thought about the looks of an extra who hardly appears once or twice in the story.

There is one exception to that, however, and that is when it’s someone of high status.

It goes without saying that the higher a character’s status, the higher the reappearance probability. In that case, such a mediocre appearance can be intentional on the author’s part. To hide a secret that should not be easily revealed.

In other words, it means that the same possibility existed for that guy as well. This guy could be the ‘secret boss’.

Actually, ‘secret bosses’ can be divided into two types:

1. The ones who look like total villains at first glance.
2. The ones who look completely harmless, as if they couldn’t hurt a fly, but are in the end revealed to be the one pulling the strings all along.

A character with ‘gentle face yet high status’ belongs to this second type.

However, in Adventure King, there were far too many examples of the former type, so I’d overlooked the latter as an option almost unconsciously.

Now that I looked at him with fresh eyes, that smiling face seemed to have a bit of slyness mixed in it.

Of course, just because this guy was acting somewhat inconsistent with his status, I couldn’t immediately start treating him as a suspect. Because he might really not have any malice.

But –

‘I have to set some boundaries.’

I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Just then,

“Ah, you guys are here.”

His steps stopped at the entrance to the garden next to the fountain.

Familiar faces were gathered together inside.

A middle-aged man named Tamar, a redheaded S-class adventurer, and the other VIPs.

That was then.

“Bataar?”

The princess looked at one side and suddenly spoke.

There he was. The old man who’d came all the way from the Skull Empire to convince the princess.

“I came here because of Tamar’s invitation. So that I could meet you, princess.”

“Aah…”

“The maid who was accompanying you is well taken care of. Shortly after you disappeared, after wanderings a while, she finally found us.”

“… Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Because this is why I’ve been chasing after you, princess. Now, you only need to come to us.”

However, the princess flatly refused.

“Thank you for taking care of her, but I’m fine. I plan to make the journey on my own.”

“You’re saying the same thing again. I don’t want to make a scene at a place like this, so I’ll go meet you privately in a little while.”

“I’m good, you don’t have to come.”

“Your maid really wanted to see you, princess. I’ll bring her with me.”

“…”

At that moment,

“Looks like everybody’s here.”

Tamar, who’d been enjoying wine all by his lonesome in one side of the garden, came towards the front.

Then, as if giving a speech, he spoke loudly.

“There’s only one reason why I’ve brought you all here. Because, before the full-fledged banquet begins, there are things that need to be addressed first. As you may have guessed, it’s the matter of the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom.”

Pointing towards the princess, he continued.

“Everyone knows the atmosphere between the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom these days. Things are looking very ugly. Now, let me ask you one thing. Is this a problem just between the first prince of the empire and the second princess over there? Do you all really think so?”

There was no one to answer him.

“The rumours that the nobles of the Mainin Kingdom are already siphoning away their wealth have long since turned out to be true. Their money is flowing to the other countries, or even to Westland! You who are here should already know.”

Again, there were no specific answers, but there were some reactions among the crowd.

Like giving a soft cough, or avoiding others’ gazes by turning their head away.

“The merchants who used to travel to and fro between the empire and the kingdom have become hesitant, and the farmers who had been devoted to their work have stopped taking care of their fields. Maybe it’s because they aren’t sure if they’ll be still there to harvest the crops next year. Is it just the kingdom? Of course not. The empire is the same. And is that all? Living conditions and market flows in these two nations have been completely disrupted, so how could the other countries around them remain unaffected?”

After that long speech, Tamar’s eyes turned to the deck below.

“What if something out of the ordinary happens between the empire and the kingdom? The people here will be fine. But what about those down there on the deck? They, too, are not completely irrelevant to the current situation. Right now, they are laughing and making merry so innocently –”

Following him, everyone’s eyes focused on the deck below.

Tamar was silent for a while, while others watched him and held their breath.

Eventually, his gaze turned to the princess.

“I thought the princess herself had already realized this, but she hasn’t said anything yet. Shouldn’t you come clean before it’s too late? To prepare others for the future. Whether that’s a peaceful life like before, or a hellscape red with blood.”

“…”

I’d thought he might come prepared, but his skill in directing the scene was better than I’d expected.

The princess hesitated, and then took a step forward.

“I, I…”

However, facing the flood of questions from the VIPs that immediately followed, the princess’ words halted there.

“So what are you going to do? Princess, please tell us.”

“Are you planning on getting married after all?”

“Or are you going to reject the proposal of the first prince? Face to face?”

Royal Teacher Bataar was among them, too. He seemed to think of this as an opportunity.

“Princess, I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn. The prince is a warm-hearted person. There is a clear solution everyone wants, so why do you keep procrastinating? Are you planning to run away again this time?”

The princess shook her head.

“I won’t run away….”

“Then?”

After a while, the princess continued speaking as if she had made up her mind.

“I’m going to the capital of the Skull Empire!”

Then everyone responded, ‘ah, so it is’.

From their point of view, in fact, it was a very natural result.

Tamar smirked and spoke up again.

“Now you see? How much trouble did you stir up for no reason even though you were going to do this anyway? From now on, I’ll escort you personally…”

“It’s fine, I’ll just get off at Nanma Port. I don’t need any help from you.”

Then,

“Right. The princess should go with us, not you, Tamar.”

Royal Teacher Bataar jumped into the conversation as well.

“From the princess’ point of view, it’s not that easy to trust you and go on a journey together, isn’t it? So…”

“No, I’m not going with you either.”

“…”

“Anyway, is it fine now? As soon as we get off, I’ll go straight to the capital. There won’t be any delays, so rest assured.”

That was then. –

“How can we believe you? What if you run away?”

It was him. The fourth prince, Nergui.

“If you change your mind midway, wouldn’t all this talk become meaningless?”

“I won’t run away. I bet upon my honour.”

Then, strangely, everyone nodded their heads.

“Yeah…”

“If you’re betting on your honour, then…”

I didn’t know how great the honour of the royal family was, but it seemed to function like some kind of a token of trust.

It was a bit hard to understand, though.

However, the fourth prince seemed to still have more to say.

“Even though you say that… even if you have no intention of escaping, there’s a risk that you’d get kidnapped. Why do you refuse to be escorted by the imperials?”

The princess answered this briefly.

“Because there is someone who’s already promised to accompany me.”

When she looked back at me, her eyes were filled with a strange sense of trust.

Hmmmm.

I scratched my head.

“Uh… yes. We’ll be going together. To the imperial capital, I mean. Well, we’re just a new adventurer team made up of young chicks, but you don’t need to worry…”

That was then.

“Haah… more of your cheeky blather.”

The redhead stepped forward, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

Well, as expected.

“Just you? You’ll be the one protecting the princess? There were rumours just a while ago that you even got attacked by assassins…”

“Oh, huh? How did you know? I didn’t make a fuss because it was no big deal.”

“Those who keep talking shit, have to accept getting hit^[1]. How strong do you think you are, Squatjaw?”

“Stronger than you, I guess? You were third in the qualification exam, you said? We were number one.”

“Heh, what clumsy provocation.”

Although he said that, the guy looked so angry that his skin tone now matched his hair. His clenched fists were trembling. That third place in the qualification test seemed to be his sore spot.

And then,

“Fine then, Squatjaw Adventurers. I, Xavier, challenge you to a duel.”

The angry man suddenly let out some strange words.

“What?”

“I can’t leave the princess to someone like you. It makes me anxious.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“The role of the princess’ escort is one that I, too, covet quite a bit. Because tales of it will spread.”

“That sounds pretty silly.”

“Well, whatever the reason, isn’t it common for several adventurer groups to compete for a single treasure? You must’ve done that once during the qualification exam, too. This time, the princess is the prize.”

“…”

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand what he meant. I was just wondering about this guy’s choice.

He wasn’t at all interested in the princess. This bastard only wanted to make me kneel.

In other words, there was absolutely no reason to take this approach. He could’ve just asked for a fight.

‘No wonder things had been quiet all this time…’

I could roughly understand the situation.

Somebody had to have planned all this.

“Of course, you’ll represent your team, right? Although it doesn’t matter if all of you come together.”

“Why would all of us need to go together? But, hey, you want to fight here? Inside this banquet hall?”

Then, as if he’d been waiting for me to ask –

“The stage has already been set up.”

Nergui smiled, and pointed to a corner of the banquet hall that had been shrouded in darkness.

And then,

Popopop–.

The lights turned on, revealing a stage.

Looking closer, I could see that it was a fighting arena surrounded by wire mesh.

“Haa…”

It seemed that they’d prepared everything in advance.

By then, I’d understood everything. It would’ve been strange if I hadn’t.

It was you, huh? The one behind all of this?

I turned my head and looked at the fourth prince.

The guy just laughed.

Then,

“Ooh!”

“Ooooh!”

Cheers could be heard from below.

“Heeh…”

As I watched, all the transparent glass panes surrounding us turned into electronic displays. I didn’t know how they manged it, but the image of the fighting arena was being broadcast on the glass.

Today was my sudden debut as a UFC fighter, apparently.

“Fufu… this is the true beginning of tonight’s banquet.”

The fourth prince gently lifted a glass of wine, as if giving me a toast.

---

“There’s only one rule. The one who can walk out wins.”

The guy who’d came up as the referee, promptly left the arena after spouting a single line of bullshit.

“Keke….”

The redhead was smiling, as if in a good mood.

Perhaps because his long-awaited moment had finally arrived?

“If you start begging now, I’ll spare you.”

“Does talking so much crap not tire you out?”

“You cocky bastard. How long can you keep that attitude up, I wonder? Looks like that beautiful title of first place in the qualification test has made you unable to judge your own level.”

“No, if you look down on the test so much, what does that say about you?”

“Huh, me? It doesn’t have anything to do with me though?”

“…”

He was crazy.

“Can I tell you something? Of those who’d ranked among the top in the qualification test in the past, only a handful actually managed to raise their rank again within the next three years. Because they all got overconfident in their own skills.”

“Okay, I see? So what?”

“I got a B+ grade at the time, but now I’m an S-ranker. That’s what’s important, my actual rank as an adventurer. You must’ve been cocky, just looking at the fact that I finished third, but that’s gonna cost you.”

He was all kinds of ridiculous, and not very funny.

“I’m sorry, but you’re the only one here interested in your exam ranking. It doesn’t matter if you were third or fourth –”

“Third.”

“Like I said, whatever. And if it’s not first place, isn’t it all the same anyway?”

The redhead turned red.

“You…! Bastard! You’re pretending you don’t care, but…!”

“Alright, can I tell you something? You were lucky enough to be in third place. If you’d taken the exam this year? You wouldn’t have made it into the top three even if you died.”

At this, the guy roared with anger.

“What bullshit… Do you even know who I am? People call me one of the best talents of this age! You dare…”

“I’ll know once we tussle a bit, right? So come and show me. How great is the best third place of this age, I wonder?”

Quickly, I mimicked a unique ability.

Instantly, electric currents wrapped around my body.

‘It’s a bit sad to say, but… the third place being the best is actually true.’

[Lightning that Destroys Calamity].

Leo’s power of lightning, the ability regarded as the strongest in man-to-man combat, began to flow through my body.

“Now let’s see, which one is the strongest.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] A more faithful translation would be “cheekiness naturally invites others’ anger”, but we couldn’t resist…

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 53

The One They Call ‘Squatjaw’

I snatched up one of the shards of broken windows.

It was just glass.

Even without exerting any strong force, it snapped and broke.

“Hmm…”

According to the manager, this room had the most advanced security sensors installed in every corner, ensconced in tempered glass that wouldn’t budge with mere shock.

However, the scene unfolding right before my eyes was very different from such ‘stringent security’.

Although a full thirty seconds had passed since the intrusion, the alarm didn’t sound. No one came running, and even the lights in the room had gone out.

Either the intruders’ preparations were very thorough, or someone had disabled the room’s security systems. One of the two was the reason.

‘There’s no point trying to find out which one.’

Of course, this was something I’d expected from the moment I was invited to the VIP gathering.

I gently raised my head and turned my gaze towards the intruders in front of me.

‘They’re a little different, huh?’

Obviously, the atmosphere was quite different from the assassins ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’ whom I’d met before. The bloodthirst that permeated the air was a little denser.

But the strangest part was their actions.

They didn’t start attacking me right away, didn’t ask for the princess’ location, and didn’t even take out their weapons.

The ten assassins were basically not being very professional, and it didn’t seem like they were simply ignoring me.

As I stood still, they were rather being wary of the ones next to them.

What’s this –

‘Really… are you guys trying to decide the order right now?’

Some of them were creeping forward and some taking a step back while exchanging glances.

It was both funny and absurd.

Of course, it wasn’t a bad thing for me, but strangely, I was feeling sick of all this.

After all, even if all of them jumped me together, they wouldn’t have a hope in hell^[1].

So, I had to let them know.

“All of you come at once, or you’ll end up regretting it later. You guys aren’t at my level.”

Then,

“Heh…”

“This guy’s bold as brass^[2].”

“You suicidal or something?”

Some impatient people responded.

All of them were the ones who’d been the first to come forward.

It really seemed like it was all about skill level.

Those who came forward were the weak ones. And those guys who decided to watch from the back… were the weaker ones, I guess?

The funny thing was, I had no intention of going along with their tomfoolery. Regardless of whatever order they decided to attack in, I had no intention of dealing with them one by one in the first place.

I mimicked the unique ability I needed to deal with the current situation.

And immediately –

[Dance with Ghost Killer].

It was Yan’s ability.

Ghosts with big squat jaws, who looked exactly like me, began to pop up one after another.

Pop–.

Pop–.

Pop–.

⁝

There were nine in total.

“Oh, where is this?”

“Hey, long time no see. Do you remember me?”

“He’s the master! You’re a ghost! And I’m one too, I guess!”

“Am I fourth? Am I the fourth? Call me big bro, you little kids!”

⁝

The ghosts were being a rowdy bunch, as always.

“Quiet down, everyone. Can’t you see that you have work to do? Take care of these guys.”

At my command, the ghosts rushed towards the assassins.

“Go down already!”

“This guy’s mine!”

“I’ll take this ugly bastard!”

“You’re mine, then, kid!”

And,

“Wh-, what are all these things?”

“My attacks aren’t working!”

The assassins began to panic.

In the meantime, I stared at the last assassin who wasn’t chosen by any of the ghosts.

A guy holding a weapon that looked like a chain scythe.

He also noticed my gaze and glanced at me, but his eyes had no fight in them. Perhaps because he was bewildered by the strange ghosts appearing, but his eyes were emphatically emphasizing that he didn’t have any intention to fight at all.

And I was the same.

I had no intention of fighting the one remaining assassin. Forget fighting, I didn’t even want to lift a finger.

This guy wasn’t mine.

Because the one to deal with the assassin with the chain scythe –

Bang–.

Would be the ‘captain’.

I looked at the gigantic squat-jawed ghost who’d appeared in front of me with excited eyes.

He was three times larger than the regular ghosts, who were my size. Even though the room was as large as it was luxurious, it was now looking a little cramped.

“… It’s small.”

Hey, even this guy’s voice was profoundly deep. As expected of a ‘boss’.

This was my first time actually summoning a captain ghost.

[Dance with Ghost Killer] has a structure where a captain ghost appears every tenth time, and the setting is that the captain possesses five times the power of a regular ghost.

The current regular ghosts had the same power as the current me, meaning the captain was a truly formidable monster.

The first time Yan had summoned this tenth ghost, the captain, in the original work, was at the height of the ‘Scramble for Ramirez’s Treasure’. The giant ghost suddenly appearing and wiping out all the enemies had been a very impressive sight.

And now my captain was stronger than Yan’s captain had been at that point.

I smiled and pointed towards the assassin with the chain scythe.

“Captain, see that guy over there? Take care of him. Don’t kill or pop him, though.”

“Uhm… I don’t have a hobby of tormenting ants…”

Hearing our conversation, the chain-scythe’s face scrunched and distorted.

And then,

“H-, huuuughk!”

His waist was trapped between by the captain’s fingers as he screamed like a pig being butchered.

Well, maybe he was just that terrified. After all, if the captain twisted his fingers just a little, his spine would snap like a twig.

‘Still, if you start wailing like that… what about the rest of the assassins?’

It seemed that the rest also recognized the situation, and they were slowly trying to step backwards.

Seeing this, I shouted with vigour.

“Don’t miss a single one!”

Starting with the chain scythe guy, the assassins got quickly sorted out. They were already busy facing the regular ghosts, but when a great general appeared among the ghosts and killed (?) one of their compatriots with a flick of his fingers, their morale naturally went down the drain.

Of course, if they’d been more vigilant and prepared, they wouldn’t have collapsed so easily. Weren’t they premier assassins, hired to chase after the princess?

But there’s no do-over in life.

The guys who’d kept their cool made a few moves to try and target me directly, but that didn’t last long either.

Soon it was all over.

An easy ending.

But even after checking the status of the ten assassins lying on the floor, I didn’t immediately send the ghosts back.

Because there was still some stuff to sort out, hidden in one corner.

I spoke, looking at the curtains by the window.

“You going to come out anytime soon?”

…

After a while,

“… You’ve got good eyes.”

“Did you find our traces?”

The two assassins slowly emerged.

One was very fat and the other was very thin.

The contrast even more pronounced when they stood together.

‘Hmmm… aren’t these guys pretty good?’

Even after the ten assassins fell, they didn’t jump out or run away. At least, seeing that they were trying to observe the situation until the end, it seemed right to consider them better than this rabble.

Finally,

“I’m telling you beforehand, we aren’t on the same level as these guys lying down here.”

The fat one said confidently as if he’d read my thoughts.

“Well, that’s something we’ll find out right now.”

I turned my gaze to the captain.

“Captain, can I ask for two more?”

“Catching ants… is a little tiring…”

“Ah, but one of them is a bit chubbier, right? Next time, I’ll find an even bigger one for you.”

“… Well then.”

Then, it was time for the captain ghost to sortie –

“… Wait a moment.”

The thin one, who’d been silent so far, slowly spoke.

“The terror of assassins lies in their stealth and their tenacity. It’s not our style to attack openly.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“We play the long game. There’s still one week left in the voyage. Don’t even think about having a single restful meal or sleep from now on. You’ll understand what it feels like to wither.”

“…”

I scratched my head.

“But what if you get caught right now? Wouldn’t that spoil your plan?”

Then as I slowly tried to approach the window,

“Hehe… let’s just step back for today.”

“Wait for it. I’ll make you cry, scream, and beg for help.”

Both of them quickly jumped out.

“Heeh…”

They were indeed idiots.

If you’re going to run away in the end, why the need for all that back-and-forth?

---

“… I don’t feel good.”

Thermis sighed softly as she looked at Chinuavi and Cocoa, who were sleeping peacefully as if they didn’t have any care in the world.

Although she’d heard that they wouldn’t be get noticed because of a silver screen or something, she couldn’t help but feel concerned.

The one to find her had been none other than Tamar, the representative of the ‘war-hawk faction’ in the Skull Empire.

Apart from the talk about marriage, he didn’t even like the people of the Mainin family, including herself. No, it’d be more accurate to say that he regarded them as enemies. He was a bastard who only knew how to quarrel and fight with them at every meeting of the coalition government.

He was basically a man who thought of ‘conquest’ as the spirit of the Skull Empire.

It was unknown whether Tamar had been the culprit who’d sent the assassins, but he didn’t seem the sort to just sit still even after seeing her face. No matter what, he’d try to do something about her right away.

So, she’d been slowly heading to the next room. She’d wondered if that squat-jawed guy had any new information.

But then,

“Hey, what the hell…”

The sight Thermis had seen was astonishing.

Ghosts that looked like Squatjaw were fighting black-masked assassins. To be precise, it was more of a one-sided beatdown.

In particular, there had been a giant Squatjaw, thrice the size of the rest. The assassin caught in the giant ghost’s hand had a pitiful look on his face that’d even made her sympathize with his situation for a moment. It was like watching an ant being crushed.

After making sure that the last assassin had been sorted out, Thermis had returned to her room.

She was thinking about the existence they called ‘Squatjaw’.

‘Who the hell is that guy?’

She’d known from the beginning that he was unusual. To be precise, from the moment she’d gotten kidnapped.

First of all, that amazing strength was hard to see as that of a human being.

For Thermis, who’d never even seen somebody with strength comparable to hers in the first place, his existence had come as nothing but a shock.

And on top of that, his perseverance.

No matter even if the Adventurers’ Association might stand behind them, adventurers also have no choice but to lower their heads facing the authorities of each continent, country, and city. In the end, it depends on the number of troops those people can mobilize.

Among them, Minister Tamar had the biggest stick among the powers of the huge nation called the Skull Empire. No matter how famous and well-known adventurers were, they tended to bow their heads before him.

However, Squatjaw had pushed back. Even if he didn’t know Tamar’s true identity, verbally pressing him like that in front of more than twenty VIPs couldn’t have been easy. Not when everybody else had been bowing and scraping so deferentially.

But it was Tamar who’d looked like he was being pressured, instead.

And finally, that ability.

Frankly, she’d thought before that his power itself might be his innate ability. Because it was at a level that could only be barely accepted by thinking like that.

But the appearance of those ghosts… Considering how enormous destructive power each one had, it had to have been a unique ability. In particular, that gigantic ghost alone had been equivalent to three of the cavalry corps, that were called the pride of the empire.

The more she thought of it, the more surprising it was.

Was this a ‘real’ adventurer?

Thanks to this, her perception of adventurers had completely changed. She’d seen a lot of braggarts who called themselves adventurers, but this was her first time seeing a ‘real’ one like Squatjaw. He didn’t get first place in the qualification test for nothing.

And, if there was one last question –

‘But really, what’s his goal?’

A different question, not related to his abilities, had arisen.

Why the hell is he doing all this for me?

Clearly, he was a person who’d received orders, and was moving for a certain purpose. He’d said so himself.

But Thermis thought that somehow his purpose might not be very rational. It just felt that way. It seemed that his purpose kept changing according to his feelings. And she didn’t know why… but it even felt as if his purpose was Thermis herself.

‘Why…’

That was then –

– Don’t worry about it anymore. That guy is mine.

“Ah!”

For a moment, Thermis gave a shriek of surprise.

It’d been a long time since he reappeared so quickly after disappearing.

It was Bayar Khan.

Thermis strongly objected.

“Ahh, not now! Get out, old man!”

– Is that how you talk to me? You cheeky bitch.

Then he said something very surprising.

– Your body, I have no intention of taking it.

“… What? Really?”

– Because I can’t even use it for long. It’s been four years, but you’re still so weak. It wasn’t for long, but I had to leave so quickly. You still can’t properly endure my presence. Understand?

“Yeah, well… I haven’t eaten well for a few days.”

– Whatever the reason, it’s not good. You can’t stay like this.

“What?”

– Didn’t you say that you’d walk the Warrior’s Path as soon as you get off this ship? To do that, you have to become much stronger. Even more than how you originally were.

It seemed that he already knew.

“… Did you hear me talking? You’ve got sharp ears. Even though you were pretending to be uninterested in my business.”

– The Path was created by me. Even if I don’t want to hear, my ears would naturally perk up when somebody mentions it. Anyway, it won’t be easy to get through that with your body as it is now. Also, a woman walking the Path? People will be lining up everywhere to sabotage you. The empire’s gotten filled with small-minded pricks these days. Ugly bastards.

“… So, what’re you saying?”

– Unique ability. You have to unlock it. You might really die this time otherwise.

Thermis felt irritated by same talk that she’s heard time after time.

This old man always kept talking about it. Unique ability. How she had to make it happen.

But she’d failed every time so far. What could she do, when she couldn’t even be sure if she actually had one?

In fact, because of that, the old man’s visits were starting to become less frequent. Because he was disappointed with her.

“It’s not that I don’t want to… But how easy do you think it is?”

– When a unique ability manifests is different for each, but there are generally several categories. First, those guys who’re just born with it. The blessed ones. And second, where there’s an emotional trigger. Intense emotional changes such as anger, despair, euphoria, etc. But this isn’t applicable in your case. In all my life, I’ve never seen a girl as angry as you. The fact that it didn’t show up despite you running around like that all day… means you can’t take that route.

“I know…”

– And the last type. It’s to get help from someone who can bring it out.

Bayar Khan’s voice, for some reason, had a faint tremble in it.

This was the first time something like that had happened.

“Can anyone bring it out?”

– A strong force attracts another. I think that Squatjaw might be the key. Try sticking right next to him.

“… Squatjaw?”

– You have talent. Your hard and strong body is just a receptacle for accepting your ability. Of course, you may never be able to access it. But if you can make it manifest… your dream might no longer be a faraway fantasy.

“… My dream.”

Thermis reflexively recalled her lifelong dream at Bayar Khan’s words.

To become a general of the empire.

Thermis, engulfed in that dreamlike illusion, didn’t hear Bayar Khan’s last murmur.

– Or maybe you can fly even higher than that. Just like I had.

---

The morning of the eighth day of the voyage.

“Hmm.”

I stared intently at the words displayed on the hologram.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 20 – The Huntington Bandits (1)]

It was probably going to start slowly. The advent of my weakening.

If the previous ’18’ and ’19’ were interlude chapters, this was one was where a new arc would begin in earnest.

‘It’s fun’, ‘it’s not fun’, those reviews would come in, the longing for past characters would disappear for a while, and the readers’ attention would begin to focus on Leo’s actions. The time had come for me to be slowly forgotten.

Of course, there was still no sign of weakness. But maybe it’d start soon?

‘… I can’t be impatient.’

I turned and gazed at the scenery of Eastland through the window.

Even though the continental mainland had gotten close enough to see, the ship was quiet. The fat and thin duo hadn’t been seen since that day, and the VIP side was also calm.

After the assault of the assassins, every day had been quiet without any major incidents.

But, of course, there was no way that the voyage would just end like this. Because the ‘secret boss’ in that VIP arena won’t stand still.

The news would probably come soon. And this brief silent interlude would soon be over.

A storm was coming.

While I was sorting out my thoughts –

Suddenly,

Thump–.

Someone knocked on the door.

It was the manager.

“To commemorate our arrival at Eastland, a special banquet for the VIPs will be held this evening. Would you like to attend? The organizers are requesting your presence.”

As for who the organizer was, I could roughly guess. It had to be that black-haired guy.

I replied with a smile.

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this. Tell them I’ll be there.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 모자를 판에 (lit. sell hats), be very unlikely to achieve something.

[2] 간이 배 밖으로 나온 (lit. guts coming out his stomach), be brave to the point of fearlessness.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 52

A New Path

“Ooh…”

An exclamation slipped out of my mouth at the splendid view.

Even looking at it with my own two eyes, it was hard to tell whether I’d come to the top floor of the ship or had suddenly been moved to a resort.

The interior was divided into surprisingly diverse spaces, with a garden and pool on one side, a bar on another, and a performing arena at the third.

I’d expected it to be roughly the size of a football field, but seeing it for myself, it felt as large as a full-fledged sports complex.

It was just too wide for mere words, and there were so many different things scattered here and there, too.

“It’s big.”

“Yeah. It looks a lot bigger on the inside, doesn’t it?”

“Seems there’s some spatial transformation involved. There are quite a few goblin elders that I know of who use this type of magic. It’s not very rare. It’s just a mix of a little mischief and some lies.”

“Is that so? I’m not a goblin, so it’s a little surprising.”

Of course, I did know that such abilities existed. But there’s a big difference between reading something in a manga and experiencing it in real life.

“By the way…”

I took a look around us.

There was nobody to guide us, so we had to decide by ourselves where to go.

The space was very large, but there were few people using it.

However, I noticed some people sitting on the benches near the central fountain, fewer than twenty all in all.

They were also looking at us, but they didn’t make any gestures to beckon or invite us.

“What heavy asses they have^[1]… Shall we drop by there first?”

I walked straight towards them.

As I got closer, the cast became clearer little by little.

It wasn’t like they had a lot in common. They wore different clothes, and there was a wide variety of races and ages.

The only commonality was that they all looked rich.

“Hmmm…”

At first glance, nobody particularly stood out among them.

Aside from a redhead who’d been giving me a weird stare since I started coming their way, nobody else looked like they cared about us one way or the other.

Of course, the redhead wasn’t that eye-catching either. If I had to say, he commanded relatively more attention than the rest? He was just at that level.

Actually, he just looked like a weird guy, nothing more, nothing less.

The secret masterminds in most shounen manga aren’t really that complicated or profound as characters. They aren’t very politically-minded, nor are they driven by any great beliefs.

In a nutshell, just as there’s no particular reason for a thief to rob a bank, there’s no particular reason why a mastermind does bad things. They’re bad guys, and that’s all the reason they need.

Therefore, if you look closely, the faces of these secret bosses often have ‘I’m the villain!’ written on them. (Yes, just like me.)

Of course, it’s often the case that in their first appearance in the work, they have half their face covered by the shadow of a curtain, or the readers only see a silhouette hidden in the dark. But even so, if you look closely, even the little bits you see often scream that they’re the worst type of scum.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t see such a guy here right now.

If I had to say it, they all just looked plain stupid.

Of course, that wasn’t enough to conclude that the secret boss wasn’t hidden among their ranks, but it did make me relax slightly.

That was then.

“Oh, you’re here!”

A certain black-haired young man approached us with a smile.

He was the most unassuming of the lot.

“You’re the new VIPs who’ve just arrived, right? The adventurers?”

“Oh, yes.”

From the looks of it, it seemed that the most pitiful of them had to take on the guide’s role for us.

“Are you… the captain?”

The guy looked at me and asked.

“Yes.”

“It was clear at first glance. You look really strong!”

“… Oh, is that so.”

Outrageous. Wouldn’t it be weirder if he couldn’t guess at first glance?

The only people next to me were a little kid, a bigger kid, and a little princess who was shuffling on her feet and constantly looking around.

Of course, the princess and the other two weren’t actually weak, but I was still the only candidate for being the chief here, wasn’t I?

This guy was quite a smooth-talker.

“Could you please come over here first? Thank you. May I ask you to please introduce yourself? Because that’s the tradition here. You can just keep it simple.”

Saying that, he led me to the centre of the fountain.

It was a bit iffy, but it looked like I couldn’t avoid it.

“Ah, yeah. We’re the ones lucky enough to become VIPs this time. I’m Hiro, the leader, and next to me are the members of my team.”

Even after finishing, there was no response.

Everyone just looked at me with curious eyes.

‘What else do I have to do?’

It was a tad worrying, but I wanted to push the ball in their court, so I just stayed still.

That was then –

“I heard you won the first place in this Adventurer Qualification Test.”

I turned to where the voice had come from.

Yeah, he’d been holding himself back for a while, hadn’t he?

It was the polite red-haired man who’d been staring at me for a while.

“Yes?”

“This isn’t the whole of your group, right?”

“Ah, that’s…”

I stopped talking for a bit.

Not because I wanted to properly explain the ins and outs of the situation.

It was simply because that red-hair looked and sounded so rude.

We’d never met, though, right?

“There’s another member, but we’d taken the test with four people. These two little kids here, me, and another one who isn’t here.”

The red-haired man’s expression strangely distorted at my response, but then he just gave a mocking laugh.

“… The exam is no longer how it used to be in the old days.”

“…”

Hmmm.

I scratched my head.

Did this guy read my thoughts or what?

“This is Sir Xavier, an S-class adventurer. He scored very high in the Adventurer Qualification Test, too. And he’s been promoted to S-class in only two years.”

Because our guide, the black-haired young man, promptly told me what I was curious about.

“Ah…”

How outrageous. He was talking about the old days, but he passed only a couple years ago?

“Then were you the number one in your year?”

The man flinched for a moment before he slowly spoke.

“… I got third place. I missed the first place because our stupid guide took the wrong path. But as an adversary, I didn’t lose to anyone. Even though there were as many as six adventurer groups who’d flocked to the same treasure as we did.”

“Oh, really? Good job.”

I was praising him sincerely. Didn’t the Leo Adventurers also get third place?

But,

“… Cheeky.”

The red-haired guy was staring at me and grinding his teeth for some reason.

“…”

It seemed that his sense of entitlement had taken a hit.

I quickly turned to the black-haired young man. Before I got entangled with this tiring guy for nothing, I wanted to change the topic a bit.

That was then –

“I came here because I heard there was a new VIP… but somehow I see a familiar face.”

A voice came from some distance away.

I turned to see who it was, and boy, was it a shock.

“Huh?”

The speaker was in a whole other league compared to the guys I’d seen so far.

A real hardcore type.

So slim that a stiff breeze could tip him over, a mane of hair that had turned all white, sunken eyes shining brightly, a heavily wrinkled face with a long beard, and… a scar that ran diagonally from the top of the left eyebrow to the bottom of the right cheek.

Maybe… this was the hidden boss?

While I was carefully observing the middle-aged man as he approached –

He abruptly turned to the side.

And the direction he faced was none other than –

“I hope you don’t plan to call yourself an adventurer, Princess Thermis.”

The side where the princess stood.

“… Minister Tamar.”

The princess muttered softly.

From the stiff expression on her face, this was what she’d been worried about.

“I thought you were living in comfort after running away somewhere, but… it seems that you’ve decided to come back to Eastland again? I suppose you were worried about the lives of your people after all?”

“Well, that’s….”

“The first prince was very worried. He said he didn’t mean to hurt so many people. Does that even make sense? What does it mean to be the first prince of the empire? At the very least, he shouldn’t be weak enough to flinch after proposing to the princess of a small country once.”

“…”

I didn’t know the true identity of this guy who looked so much like a secret boss, but he seemed to have great power. Those remarks that looked down on the first prince of the empire, and maligning somebody from a royal family to their face, although she was the princess of a foreign country, was proof enough.

Although, he didn’t seem that smart. If he kept talking like that, who knew when his spine would get folded in half by the princess?

“Even Lord Baatar, the royal teacher himself, is on board this ship. Even at his age, he came all the way here just to persuade you, princess… Isn’t that absurd? For our empire, the royal teacher should be valued a little more than you. Although, he’s still just an old man who’ll die any day now.”

“I definitely told him to go back, but he…”

“You must’ve lacked conviction in your words. Now, let’s stop this shilly-shallying, shall we? How about finishing this song and dance right here? Either get married, or run away. If you’re sure what you’re going to do, either way, I’m all ears.”

…

It was bizarre. I was feeling more irritated at his words than the princess.

Who the hell was this guy and why was he so rude?

“This ship was originally supposed to be anchored in Nanma Port for two weeks, but if you ask, princess, I will tell the captain to set off again immediately after anchoring for a day. If you get off at the port of Aimag, you can reach the imperial capital in two days from there.”

The princess bit her lips that’d been pressed tight.

“No matter what I choose… there’s no way for me to survive.”

Then the man called Minister Tamar let out a strange smile.

“… You’re misunderstanding. If you were to be with the first Prince, you’d be able to look down on the whole world. Of course, only if the wedding proceeds smoothly.”

“…”

“If I had to give you one piece of advice, it’d be to think of the people. Running away for your own sake would mean you lack the qualities of royalty. There is no other or better way to prove the nobility of your blood. When you have an opportunity like this…”

At that moment,

“Opportunity, is it? How boring.”

I couldn’t control myself.

…

All their attention was soon focused on me.

I wasn’t sure if he was the hidden boss or not. But how very irritating he was, wasn’t up for debate.

“The whole country buzzing at her just because she said she didn’t like a guy, who wasn’t even her type, after he suddenly started bothering her? And what? A chance to prove the nobility of her blood?”

I took a step forward, towards him.

Then,

“The people are terrified, so go walk into the jaws of death on your own two feet? Hey, uncle. Why don’t you come a bit closer so I can show you what that feels like.”

I didn’t leave any leeway in my verbal attacks.

“…”

The man flinched a couple of times, but didn’t step back. Rather, tidying himself up, he faced me again.

But, of course, he didn’t actually step forward.

“… Friend, you should be the one who became an adventurer by taking the first place in the qualification test this time. I don’t know how you got to know the princess, but don’t you think you’re overstepping your limits? Besides, your words… are deeply worrying.”

“Don’t worry, I know my own limits. And I don’t think you’re in any position to lecture somebody else about how they talk, either.”

“I didn’t say anything wrong. No matter even if she’s royalty, that cannot weigh more than the lives of the people. Running away to save one’s own skin… isn’t that abandoning the duty of the royal family?”

“You’ve got fantastic talent at threatening people. Shouldn’t it be your job to make sure you guys don’t start a war? Your prince got dumped, that’s all. You should just take it on the chin and calm down.”

“…”

He seemed a little perplexed.

“And it looks like you are a nobleman of the Skull Empire… is it okay to talk like that? If the marriage really happens, the princess over there will become the crown princess-consort. Then she might even become the empress. And when she takes a look around, huh? Isn’t this the guy who’d been insulting me the other day? Huh? Why do I feel so pissed?”

“…”

“You don’t think that could ever happen, do you? To the point where you’re openly telling her to run to the imperial capital. If you’re planning on doing something behind the scenes…”

Of course, I also knew very well that my words were very exaggerated. However, the reason I dared to poke at him like this was because I wanted to make sure that this guy was the hidden mastermind.

That was then.

“Oh my, oh my… why are you doing this the first time you meet, at the place where we should all greet each other with courtesy? You’re making me blush with shame.”

The black-haired young man who’d been guiding us interrupted suddenly.

“Come on, stop it, and let’s just take our seats for now. We’ll try and organize a more fitting celebration party soon.”

Then he gently pushed me aside.

“… Hmm.”

I pretended I couldn’t overcome it and accepted being pushed.

It was a pity that I couldn’t confirm the intentions of that son-of-a-bitch Tamar, but right now wasn’t the time to stir things up further.

First of all, there were still many days left of our voyage. Also, people who looked like stewards were standing around looking worried that there’d be a fight, and the red-haired man was also making me a little concerned. He was tapping his fists against each other and muttering something under his breath.

Thankfully, that son-of-a-bitch also backed away without making a fuss. I hadn’t planned to clash with him here and now, anyway.

The black-haired young man took us all the way back to the front of the elevator and kindly told the manager to escort us to our new room.

And then,

“Oh, by the way, Princess Thermis. It’s been a while since then, but we’d met once when you were very young. I don’t know if you still remember me?”

He left a meaningful sentence behind before departing.

“I am Nergui, the fourth prince of the Skull Empire.”

---

The newly assigned room was gorgeous enough to make one gape.

I’d thought our old first-class room had been luxurious, but this was in a whole other league.

However, I didn’t have time for that right now.

I was reflecting on the recent events.

I hadn’t noticed because I suddenly got angry and interrupted, but thinking about it, it was odd.

Why did I get so angry?

It was simple. Because of my sympathy due to the princess’ situation. Because how irritating the whole thing was.

But that itself was the strangest part.

This wasn’t the kind of development that would appear in a shounen manga.

Let’s say my mission was to keep the princess alive.

If I focused only on that, there was nothing inexplicable about it. The main goal was to save her.

But the how was the problem. Marriage.

I kept feeling that something was out of place. As I myself had said, in the end, the princess was being forced to marry even if she didn’t want to do so. To survive.

Was I supposed to encourage that? Really? Weren’t adventurers supposed to represent the freedom all children dreamed of?

Of course, this wasn’t a mission given to Leo. Even in shounen manga, there can be no happy ending for everybody involved, unless it’s the main character who solves the problem.

But nevertheless, the situation kept rubbing me the wrong way.

‘In such a situation, even if she becomes the crown princess, how could she rise to the throne? She’s not familiar with the place, and she’s not even from the imperial bloodline.’

…

Eventually, I gave up thinking any further.

Searching for an answer by myself wouldn’t give me any results.

So I started doing what I should’ve done right away.

“Princess!”

After a while,

“… Are you calling me?”

The princess, who’d been in the other room, poked her head out the door.

“Come, sit. I have something to discuss.”

The princess came and sat down in front of me without a word.

“Actually, I also had something to say… But, um…”

“Okay, I’ll go first. Is there no way?”

“… Huh? What do you mean?”

The princess asked, nonplussed.

“A way to not get married.”

The princess’ eyes filled with surprise.

“… Well, I could run away…”

“Not that. A way to make even the empire shut up. A way to avoid becoming an excuse for war. Isn’t there anything like that?”

There could be. No. There had to be.

There had to be one.

Soon after,

“… There is one.”

After some hesitation, the princess finally spoke.

I knew it.

I perked up.

“It makes no sense to tell you. Because you… you’re the one who wants me to marry.”

“It’s fine, just tell me.”

The princess hesitated again, but then slowly spoke.

“… It’s simple. I just have to become a warrior of the Skull Empire.”

“Warrior? You mean, join their military?”

“It’s a little different. Not an ordinary soldier.”

The explanation that followed was perfectly in line with the ‘shounen manga-like development’ I had envisioned.

In the Skull Empire, there is a very special warrior selection test called the ‘Warrior’s Path’.

Those who pass it are given the title, ‘Heart of the Empire’, and the right to choose who they will serve. At the same time, anybody else cannot force any choice or obligation upon them. Even the current ‘Khan’, cannot.

It really did exist. An effective and reasonable solution that an adventurer could pursue.

‘The Warrior’s Path… Come to think of it, there was a setting that this woman went through something like that.’

Of course, I didn’t know how she actually rose to the imperial throne after that… Well, just because it seemed difficult right now didn’t mean there’d be no way in the future, right?

After revealing all this, the princess sighed softly.

“Becoming a warrior was also my original goal, so I also wanted to overcome the situation this way. If I become a warrior of the empire, the cause behind this war will disappear anyway. But I thought it wouldn’t be easy. Without anyone’s protection, I have to break through to the imperial capital all by myself. What’s more, I’ve already been captured like this…”

“Alright, I’ve decided. I’ll take you.”

“… What?”

“The Warrior’s Path, right? I’m going to help you enter that. Of course, it’ll be up to you to actually pass it.”

The princess gaped, blankly.

“… Why?”

“You don’t need to know. We’re done for now. Now go, go.”

I didn’t say anything else and shooed the princess away.

It didn’t matter how hard or easy it would be.

I only hoped that this irritation would disappear and a new path would open up.

It was only then that I could start surveying the room properly.

---

That night.

As the princess had said, it suddenly occurred to me that my plan wouldn’t be particularly easy.

Clang! Tinkle!

A group of people swarmed in through the shattered window.

One, two, four, six, eight… ten in total.

For guests who’d come to a VIP’s room, they had terrible manners.

Not only did they barge in without an invitation, they also weren’t dressed properly, and even committed vandalism.

‘Hey, didn’t they say not to worry about security in a VIP room…’

The assassins’ assault had begun.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 엉덩이 무거운 (lit. heavy ass), in this context, lazy people who don’t want to stand up once they sit down.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 51

The Shrew Who’s Not Just a Shrew

“I am Bayar Khan.”

The aura that erupted in an instant was high like a great mountain.

In her red-tinted eyes, fighting spirit boiled like lava, and a ferocious bloodthirst permeated the air.

The strength that emanated from her naturally, with every breath, convinced me that she was an unprecedented existence.

A warrior who’d never known defeat. The true ruler of the vast meadows.

The pinnacle of strength that was being exuded from the princess’ whole body was something not even that Karl Zayed could surpass.

And like that, the first minute passed us by.

I stared at the princess who was still standing with a triumphant pose.

So… what are you trying to say?

With a hoarse voice, she was repeating her self-introduction for the fourth time.

Bayar Khan.

It was my first time hearing that name.

Of course, it was easy to guess that it was the name of a former emperor of the Skull Empire. And, looking at the circumstances, his soul must’ve possessed the princess.

It was impossible to determine whether this was the princess’ unique ability, or a curse inflicted by someone else.

I knew one person with a similar ability, but their character wouldn’t have been created yet, and the ability itself was of a different type compared to this one. He called up ghosts, instead of making them possess others.

To be honest, this was my first time seeing a ghost with an ego possess a human body with its own will.

But right now, I didn’t feel any novelty, anxiety, or alertness.

I was just annoyed.

Because that princess with the old-sounding voice didn’t seem the least bit interested in holding a conversation.

“Oh, so now I know your name, right? But what’s going to happen now? Is the princess okay? Do you want anything from me?”

Whatever I asked –

“I am Bayar Khan.”

The same response came back.

Haah, sir…

This was the fifth time.

Gradually, I was starting to become concerned.

‘How should I try to suppress this guy?’

Judging from the princess’ soliloquy before her transformation (?), it certainly didn’t seem like this was the first time.

It was a phenomenon she’d experienced several times before, and it’d been quiet for a while, but today, for some reason, the old man’s soul got excited (?) and popped out.

Presumably, she’d revert after some time passed. Because that’s usually how abilities like these work in a shounen manga.

However, the reason why I thought of suppressing her right away was because of those strangely gleaming crimson eyes. In any shounen manga, people whose eyes suddenly turn red like that are usually screwed up in the head.

“I am Bayar Khan.”

The sixth time.

I didn’t need to look at her red eyes to judge. She was screwed in the head alright.

I quietly raised my hand.

If you can’t communicate verbally, you have to try conversing with your body.

To be honest, I was a tad nervous. Aside from the lack of intelligence, the aura from that body wasn’t anything to scoff at.

Then, while I was looking for an opportunity to sneak up on her –

Suddenly,

“You really are a bold guy. I said my name six times, but you didn’t show me any respect.”

The princess looked at me and spoke out of nowhere.

“… Erm?”

“What do you mean, ‘erm’? You rude punk!”

It was embarrassing.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t say anything else. His brain seemed to be working fine.

But his words had a twist. Apparently, I’d been the one ignoring him.

“…”

After a moment of deliberation, I was able to figure out the ins and outs of the present situation.

There seemed to be some communication gap due to cultural misunderstandings between us.

“I’m sorry, but I’m from Westland, so I don’t know much about the culture here. How should I have acted?”

“You have to get down on your knees and politely bow down. How dare you raise your head upright in front of the emperor?”

“Eh? But I’m from another country?”

“There’s no one on this earth who does not stand beneath the sky of the Skull Empire. That includes you, too. If you didn’t know, I can let it go just this once. Get down on your knees right now. I, am Bayar Khan!”

“…”

Well, his speech wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

This did make some sense. Because he’d been an emperor. It might’ve been natural to have such an attitude.

The only problem was that I was from a culture that let me sneer and ignore such a class divide.

Besides, this ancient gentleman wasn’t even the incumbent. At his age, he should’ve already learned to shrug off his worldly glory alongside his lingering regrets.

So, in order to make this unknown old ghost understand the situation, I decided to show the opposite attitude from what he was hoping for.

It wasn’t because I hated looking bad, really it wasn’t.

“Ah, forget about it, old man. Where’s the princess? Is she with you?”

Then,

“Again! My words go into one ear and out the other, like dogshit! I’ve been waiting for a guy as cheeky and bold as you to show up. It’s been a long time since my blood last boiled like this… although, I don’t have any blood! Kahaha!”

I thought he’d get angry, but on the contrary, he only laughed uproariously.

How absurd.

“… No, really, what happened to the princess?”

“She’s just fine, she’s here too. This is that kid’s body, after all.”

The princess clenched her fist and rapped against her own solar plexus, but I couldn’t shake the thought that some insidious intentions were mixed inside the gesture.

“But, still. I’m not sure what’s going on, exactly, but it sounds like she doesn’t like it, so why did you forcefully take over a young woman’s body? Haven’t you lived a long enough life, noble sir?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I also didn’t have any other options. This kid was the only vessel that could hold me, what could I do? Of course, there seems to be another one now.”

He licked his lips, pinning me with his sinister eyes.

“Haah…”

In any case, as it was the body of the princess doing the gesture… I could only stay silent. No wonder this never even appeared in the original.

It felt strange to watch. Somehow, it was like looking at a character that reflected the author’s dark desires.

Of course, like Cocoa, this might’ve also been a character that’d originally been scheduled to appear, but was put on hold due to problems with the plot development. In the first place, Eastland itself didn’t take up a lot of weight in the original story.

For a simple reason. Not because there was no story to tell, but because the arc came just before the crossing to ‘Midland’.

At that time, the readers all recognized that the main storyline would start after the heroes crossed over to Midland, so there wasn’t much interest in spending time in Eastland for no reason.

Moreover, since a lot of the content was devoted to the appearance of the goblins, there wouldn’t have been much space for other characters to shine.

‘By the way, this isn’t the princess’ own ability, right?’

I couldn’t be completely certain, but it seemed that the soul called Bayar Khan was not created by the princess’ unique ability. From his words, it sounded like the target of possession could be changed.

Perhaps the old man in the princess costume was conscious of my gaze, so he approached me with his chest high and said:

“Anyway, the reason I came out now is…”

“You want to fight me?”

“That’s right. You understand.”

That’s because you’ve told me that already.

Without further ado, I forged ahead.

“Then let’s hurry up and get it done. I have business with the original owner of the body, not you, old man.”

As I stretched my arm out –

“That’s some mouth you’ve got on you! You damned ugly bastard!”

This mad old man started screaming again.

“Haah… what is it this time?”

“Don’t try to arm wrestle like a sissy! If you’re a warrior, you have to fight with your whole body! Although, I don’t have a body anymore! Kahaha!”

“…”

It wasn’t funny.

Didn’t I have to struggle hard just now?

Of course, I thought it’d be ridiculous to keep arguing about it, so I went straight to the point.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I have that much time to waste with you right now, old man. Please return the princess.”

“Keke, as if! I’ll never go back until I have the struggle I’ve longed for. I’ve been feeling the itch to fight for so long! Although, I don’t feel anything anymore! Kahaha!”

I was starting to get a headache.

“You don’t seem to understand the situation the princess is in right now, but there are a lot of assassins around here. You know what’ll happen if you make a fuss.”

But this, too, failed to convince him.

“Assassins? It’s enough to just blow all their heads off.”

“Haah… still, a fight? For something like that, we at least need a place ready, right? Even if it’s just a small ring or something. But there’s nothing like that on this ship. I’m sorry, but since there’s no suitable place, could you please give up and disappear, in various ways…”

That was then.

“There is one.”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind me.

“Huh?”

“There is one.”

When I turned around, Cocoa was looking at me with an indifferent expression. Who knew when she’d come back in.

“A place where the two of you can run wild.”

“… I don’t particularly want to run wild, though.”

At a glance, it seemed as if she’d heard everything.

“And by the way, by a place you don’t mean jumping into the sea, right?”

“Stupid Squatjaw. Of course not.”

“Then where? Where is such a place on this ship?”

In response, Cocoa stretched out her finger and pointed to the ceiling.

“…”

I scratched my head.

“What does that mean? The ceiling?”

“It’s up above. At the top.”

“The top?”

“The top floor of this ship. The VIP arena. That’s the place.”

Confused, I again peered at Cocoa’s indifferent face.

Weird. It sounded like she wanted me to go up there.

“So now you want to go up? But you didn’t want to go there, earlier.”

“Because there wasn’t a path there earlier.”

“… There’s a path? But you never said anything…”

“I just found it. And you have to go now.”

Her expression looked oddly determined.

“…”

A path, huh.

A trip upside now seemed unavoidable. Although, to be honest, this felt a bit silly.

“Top floor, right? Where the VIPs are?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… Let’s talk to the room manager.”

“Let’s fight!”

“Ah, okay, I want you to return the princess first. I’ll find out the place. Can you wait for me to get things ready?”

“Stop chattering, just arrange things right away. Once I make up my mind to do something, I never stop midway. I’ll be waiting here!”

“… Haah.”

He sounded so solemn while spewing utter dogshit, that I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise.

“Fine, I’m going to go check it out, so stay here and be quiet. Don’t make a fuss.”

Saying that, I rushed out of the room.

---

“I heard we got a new VIP application.”

“New?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Everyone’s attention was focused on the man’s words for an instant.

It was the third day of the voyage.

It was too late to apply for VIP status.

Most people had already finished the process a few months before boarding.

“Who is it?”

“Someone we didn’t know was riding?”

“Where does he hail from?”

It sounded interesting.

As the questions poured in, the man shrugged his shoulders once and gave a simple answer.

“He’s just an adventurer. He’s just completed the qualification exam.”

Then,

“Huh, heh…”

“It’s not even funny.”

“What adventurer, that’s just a young chick…”

Some smirked, and some laughed out loud.

Because the people here were basically high-ranking officials of a various nations, royalty, or magnets who ruled the business world of a continent.

It was a common perception in this world that adventurers were the chosen ones whom ordinary people could only watch from afar, but the people here already had many skilled adventurers in their retinue. Now, hearing the request of a newcomer who’d just become an adventurer, they had no choice but to laugh.

However, some of them changed their words while looking at one man.

“Of course, I don’t mean to ignore all adventurers, but…”

“It’s never about ignoring adventurers. It’s true that not everyone can be an adventurer. But even adventurers have different ranks. Don’t they?”

A young red-haired young man who heard their excuses bit out a response with an indifferent face.

“Yes. Not all adventurers are the same. And this friend knows that. Surely there must be more grounds for the application? Just an adventurer, is that the end of it?”

The man who’d spoken first showed a strange smile.

“Yes, there was one more thing. He’s class A.”

And then,

“Class A?”

“Oh, that’s a pretty high rating.”

“Isn’t that still a bit lacking? Really, if he’s only reached A-class…”

Again, the surroundings began to murmur.

That was then.

“Wait, didn’t you say that he’s just finished the qualification exam and become an adventurer? Is such a young chick an A-class? Then…”

Someone pinpointed a fact. And it was certainly quite meaningful information.

Soon after, everyone’s eyes turned to the red-haired young man.

There was a slight change in his expression.

“Did he get first place in the qualification exam?”

Then,

“Correct.”

The man who’d brought the news grinned.

And the murmurs grew like an explosion.

Soon after,

“Call him here. Let’s take a look at this younger brother’s face.”

The red-haired young man, Xavier, who happened to be an S-class adventurer, spat out indifferently.

---

“Right now?”

“Yes, they’ve asked you to come right away.”

I was given permission, but in return I had to show my face right away.

While the manager’s face was dyed with urgency, I turned my head to look at my guide.

Cocoa just nodded without saying a word.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I glanced at the princess who was sitting next to me.

“M-, me?”

“I have to go, so would I leave the person I kidnapped behind?”

The princess looked at me with a confused face, and then nodded her head.

Maybe she thought she might see an acquaintance If we went to meet the VIPs.

And that was a variable for me as well.

“Is that wacky old man gone now?”

“… I don’t know. Once he goes back inside, it’s tough for him to get back out again, but he didn’t get what he wanted before going in this time.”

“Be careful so that he doesn’t come out again.”

“It’s not really up to me though…”

Fortunately, he couldn’t manage to bear it and had disappeared while I was away. Although, apparently, he’d left a curse or something before disappearing; something like ‘We’ll meet again, Squatjaw!’

After a while –

Ding Dong–.

“Here it is.”

The elevator carrying us arrived at the top floor of the ship.

There was a door at the entrance, just like a penthouse.

“We’re here. I’ve given them a report, so you’ll probably be able to get in and out soon. Good luck.”

After getting off the elevator together, it was time to wait for the door to open.

As if she’d suddenly remembered, Cocoa spoke from the side.

“The path ended.”

It sounded absurd.

“What? Isn’t it here?”

“No, I told you. It ended.”

“… Ended?”

At that moment, I felt a sense of incongruity with the word Cocoa had chosen.

The path had ended.

Unlike expressions she’d used in the path, where the path had been ‘cut off’.

Cocoa seemed to have noticed the question mark hovering over my face, and kindly added a word of explanation.

“Maybe this is the final destination?”

“…”

The terminus of the path didn’t mean anything else. It just meant that this was a point where I could achieve the final goal of my mission in Eastland.

And that goal didn’t just mean taking the princess to the Adventurers’ Association. It included all the quests that would be linked after that.

In a word, it meant that the end to ‘the path leading the princess to the empire’ existed here.

At that moment, a clear premonition arose in my mind.

Beyond this was the secret mastermind who’d arranged the assassination of the princess. The door opened soon after.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 50

The Taming of the Shrew (3)

Inside a warehouse where an indescribable stench wafted about –

Two men were looking around, frowns on their faces.

One of the two, the fat one, muttered as he wiped the sweat ceaselessly flowing from his brow.

“She left.”

“Naturally.”

“I was just wondering why.”

“Idiot. Assassins came visiting, why would she still stay here after that?”

While he was talking, the other man who looked thin like a rake was constantly observing the nooks and crannies.

To obtain information by examining all remaining traces. This was an old habit of his. Even if it wasn’t really necessary.

“By the way, weren’t those assassins pathetic enough to shame their profession?”

“Even so, the princess made the right decision. Rather, even after dealing with a pathetically weak enemy, she did not succumb to pride and moved by assuming there’d be other enemies coming next. That shows how formidable the princess is.”

It sounded logical.

“Hmm, by the way, how strong is the princess?”

“Well, it’s hard to judge just by looking at her.”

The slender man paused for a moment, then continued muttering softly.

“But, at least, I think I understand why the request came to us.”

He kicked aside the pile of straw piled up on one side of the floor.

A clear dent in the shape of a footprint lay revealed.

“Whoo, what a brute.”

The fat man groaned at the sight.

Simply leaving a mark on the steel plate in and of itself shouldn’t have been that surprising. Because it wasn’t much. Even if it was achieved not by a blow, but simply by the force of a footstep, that didn’t change. Because it was easy for those famous for their strength.

The important point was that this floor was not normal steel plate.

One of the main characteristics of this ship, ‘inviolability’.

This was a characteristic that ‘Cormier the Designer’ had emplaced upon this ship after several days and weeks of effort, and it greatly strengthened the durability of all the structures and frames that made up the hull.

In other words, this floor was so hard that an ordinary person couldn’t scratch it even if they died and resurrected.

“Is it a unique ability?”

“Well… I think it might just be pure force.”

The fat man blurted out in surprise at the thin one’s words.

“No, this is just pure power!?”

“I can’t say for sure. But there’s possibility.”

“Heeh…”

“That rumour might not be a complete exaggeration. That the soul of Bayar Khan is in the body of the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom.”

Bayar Khan.

He was one of the most famous emperors in the long history of the Skull Empire, said to have the strength of a thousand warriors.

“Anyway, we’ll have to find her soon.”

“Are we really going to hunt her down?”

The reason the fat man asked this question was simple. Because it wasn’t their turn yet.

“Couldn’t we leave it till the end of the voyage?”

“Idiot. Are you going to lose your prey? We’re here to work, not to enjoy the ride.”

“But there’s no difference in pay anyway. Even if the prey is finished before our turn, they’ve promised to pay the reward in full.”

The slender man shook his head.

“Pathetic. How many assassins do you think are involved here?”

“Huh? You mean, in total?”

“At a guess, at least ten assassins are aboard this ship.”

“So?”

“A dozen assassins, but only one target. And she’s even royalty. Reward? That’s not the problem here. This is a matter of pride. You’ll become a laughingstock if you just stand still.”

The fat man had a look of sudden realization on his face.

“… Right.”

“We can grab her for now and finish her off when it’s our turn. I don’t know what kind of plan is behind it all, but it’s not just a matter of hunting the princess down. Maybe we’ll end up with a battle royale between all of us assassins.”

“Got it. Which way is the path?”

“I’ve already seen it. Right next door.”

The duo immediately left the stinky warehouse and headed for an empty cabin not far from there.

“Here?”

The fat man asked as if puzzled.

Of course, he was well aware that just because a path was seen didn’t mean it’d lead directly to the destination. But this place was still a bit questionable. First of all, it was too close by, and compared to the warehouse just now, it had almost no traces.

“We have to find those who stayed here. That is the path leading to the princess.”

“Didn’t the princess take her only maid on board? Was there another party?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s another assassin, who knows. Anyway, blindly guessing won’t help. The important thing is to follow along. Until another clue emerges.”

To his surprise, the slender man found another clue right away.

“… Three people.”

“How do you know?”

“Fallen hair. We’ve got three different colours, here. These guys weren’t that thorough. Not like assassins.”

“Aah.”

“How long have they been staying here? I can still feel traces of warmth. And… a little kid or a dwarf was mixed in among them.”

The fat man didn’t question the thin one’s words this time. Because he, too, could clearly see the tiny shoe prints left in a corner of the cabin floor.

“Can you find them soon?”

The slender man didn’t respond.

However, the fat man accepted this as assurance. Because there was no denial.

And, in most cases, that meant affirmation.

He touched the dagger hidden in his arms.

It wasn’t like he was going to use it anytime soon, but nevertheless, whenever his work showed signs of progress, the fat man always repeated this behaviour. For him, this was a ritual wishing for success.

As long as nothing else happened, the battle would take place within the next two days.

---

“Can I help you with anything? Can I make a meal reservation for you?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine.”

It seemed that the way I was standing around in the middle of the hallway looked suspicious.

When I handed a few bills as a tip along with a ticket proving my status as a first-class passenger, the manager quickly nodded and disappeared with a smile. Leaving a message that I could call them anytime I needed.

“Hmmmm.”

As I again stood in front of the door to my room, I made a decision about my ‘kidnapper concept’ that I’d been pondering over.

I did need to make some changes.

To be honest, I hadn’t really thought much of it at first. Couldn’t I just act according to my looks, like ‘Villain 3’ would? I’d thought it might be a good idea to raise the princess’ vigilance.

But now that I’d thought it through, I had a strong feeling that this approach was wrong somehow.

A neighbourhood gangster fixing a princess’ temperament? First of all, this was close to a serious configuration error. Even I wouldn’t have listened to me if I were in her place. No matter how much force I threatened her with, I’d only be ignored like streetside garbage.

Besides, I had to admit to myself that my reactions had been a little bit off when I’d brought her in. I’d been too nonplussed by her decision to follow me so docilely.

At this rate, there was a possibility that the current theme would be insufficient.

Therefore, it was time for a complete overhaul of the concept.

‘How should I convince her?’

There was no need to be vicious and ruthless.

I’d simply ask the princess,

1. Don’t move and stay here.
2. Do you want to get married?

Just these two. Overdoing things would only have the opposite effect.

Besides, even the talk about marriage might be premature right now. Knowing the future developments, I was only guessing whether the next linked quests would come out like that, but in reality, my current task was simply to take the princess to the Adventurers’ Association.

So, my concern was simple.

What concept could convince the princess by adjusting to the situation?

‘First of all, it has to have some gravitas, and I think it should be a little secretive…’

After thinking for a while, I was able to arrive at a rough outline.

1. Cool to the max!
2. Full of riddles.
3. Combined with a fairly luxurious, wealthy image.
4. A high-scale, big boss-type villain feel.

“Alright.”

The newly acquired first-class cabin was also quite appropriate for this new concept.

Of course, this room was a result of my ‘adventurer flex’, but it nevertheless suited the concept quite well. At least it conveyed the luxurious image that I wanted to project.

There was, however, one hurdle.

My looks.

To be honest, I had no choice but to admit it. My face was a bit too far from luxurious. Also, for a big boss-type villain, perhaps it looked a little too shabby…?

‘… Who knows.’

I couldn’t help but hope that the princess was a person who didn’t have many preconceived notions about appearances.

I took a couple of deep breaths.

And then –

“… Let’s go.”

I opened the door.

Creak–.

As soon as I entered, the princess sitting still on the bed was the first to catch my eyes.

It seemed that she was already awake, but she was surprisingly calm. She wasn’t tied down or anything.

Then,

“You’re here, sir.”

Chinuavi greeted me very politely.

Great.

It was a very appropriate scene for the newly established concept.

I responded with a silent nod.

And,

“Yo.”

“…”

If only she weren’t in the room…

So I asked Chinuavi to take Cocoa to the next room.

But –

“No. I’ll stay here.”

Cocoa clung to me.

“…”

I really wanted to grab her by the collar and throw her out, but I managed to restrain myself. I couldn’t allow my new concept to self-destruct in the first three seconds.

When I gave Chinuavi a meaningful glance –

“Miss Cocoa, come inside for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go inside first…”

Fortunately, Chinuavi somehow understood my intention and forced Cocoa to leave.

‘Phew…’

I immediately approached the princess. I didn’t want to give her time to think.

At that moment, her pupils, as they recognized me, began to tremble.

Great.

I asked slowly, keeping my voice as soft as possible.

“Are you awake now?”

“Who are you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I carefully peered into the princess’s eyes.

What kind of reaction was she going to have?

She didn’t speak up. I was wondering what to do if she asked about the sudden one-eighty in my behaviour, but I was lucky. It seemed that she didn’t notice my rapidly changing concept, probably because her memories of the kidnapping itself were vague.

I started talking in a light manner.

“I have only one request. That you quietly go to the Skull Empire.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Things aren’t that simple. You’ll have no choice but to die here in that case.”

“…”

After a while,

“Then… are you on a different side from those who attacked me and tried to kill me?”

The princess asked in a slightly muffled voice.

“I don’t know who attacked you, but they have nothing to do with us.”

“But your request is questionable… If you’re not on the side of the first prince, why would you want to hand me over to the empire…”

“It’s not just the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom that are interested in this wedding. How about broadening your vision a little?”

The princess was silent at my words.

She seemed to have begun exercising her brain to find out who I was.

And it was a very fortunate response. In fact, there was no better outcome than this. I just wanted her to think for herself and come to a conclusion on her own.

Soon after,

“Is it… the Hazard Federation? Do you plan to prevent the Skull Empire from using me as an excuse to devour our kingdom?”

The princess gave the answer herself.

Hazard? It was my first time hearing the name.

But it seemed like a good enough reason.

“It doesn’t matter what you think.”

At my meaningful smile, the princess’ expression became more and more confused. Bowing her head again, she began to immerse herself in her own thoughts.

How long had it been?

The princess, who’d been busy thinking for a while, suddenly began to laugh.

“Hey, one way or another, it all ends with my death, so what does your identity matter?”

Well?

It was a bit of an unexpected statement.

“Why? If you get married, won’t that save your life?”

“They’ve sent assassins all the way out here, so why won’t they target me in their own backyard? Even if I accept the marriage, won’t the assassination attempts continue until the actual ceremony begins?”

This was reasonable.

I agreed with the princess, too. If they killed the princess and spread rumours that she’d ran away, the result would be the same. War.

That was then.

‘Huh? Wait a moment.’

A certain premonition arose into my mind.

This woman later became the emperor of the Skull Empire. That was a planned development.

‘Is this… is my request connected to that? How about getting this woman married safely? And laying the groundwork for her to become the emperor?’

All of a sudden I was feeling a rush of embarrassment.

‘No, even for an A-class request, it still started as a missing person search. Isn’t this going too far?’

As the number of events increased, the period of stay here would also naturally increase.

And that, I had to avoid. Because I had a set deadline for returning.

“Hmm…”

However, this course of events would be extremely fortunate for the princess in front of me.

I looked at her and muttered softly.

“Well… maybe you won’t die after all. Maybe new opportunities will open up.”

But my words didn’t seem to reach her.

“Of course, I have no intention of dying without resisting. Not at their hands…”

In an instant, the princess jumped off the bed.

And –

“And not at your hands either.”

And she… suddenly lifted the king-sized bed up in the air. With one arm.

An abrupt and outrageous action.

“What… are you doing?”

“If I make a scene, people will come running, right? Then wouldn’t things become difficult for you?”

I was planning to subdue her in a hurry, but her strong gaze changed my mind.

“Put that down. Don’t make a fuss for nothing.”

“I can do that, sure. But in return, I have some conditions.”

I knew it.

It was a sudden move, but it didn’t feel like she was just going crazy.

“What?”

“There is one more thing I want to check properly. Once I confirm that, I’ll follow you without causing any trouble.”

“What do you want to check?”

“Your power. I only listen to people who are stronger than me. Well, I’ve hardly ever met any, though.”

Then she gently stretched out an arm.

“How about a bout of arm wrestling?”

“…”

It was a bit disconcerting, but it was a good suggestion. Simple, and effective.

‘Hopefully she isn’t gearing up for a sneak attack…’

I nodded.

“Okay, let’s put down what you’re holding, first.”

The princess gently lowered the bed, which she’d been holding up with one arm, to the floor.

She was just showing off at this point, but I didn’t dare scoff at her.

After a while,

“Do it properly. Don’t hold back.”

The princess and I set a table and sat facing each other.

“That would be unreasonable. My power is beyond you. I’ll wrestle you with three fingers. You may use both hands.”

I provoked her to give a little stimulation.

“Alright, let’s try it that way.”

“…”

It was a mistake. I’d thought she’d tell me to do it fairly and not be rude.

Soon, we were struggling against each other.

“Hup–!”

Her strength surged like a boar.

As soon as we started, I almost got my fingers broken.

It was frustrating. She seemed to be getting stronger. Or maybe she hadn’t revealed her strength before.

“What’s the matter? Are you slowing down? Is this the end?”

“… I was just keeping pace because I thought this isn’t your all. You haven’t even used both your hands yet.”

I wasn’t going to abandon my concept even if it killed me.

“Okay, I’ll use both my hands then!”

The princess immediately added her other hand, and started pushing my three fingers down.

Ba-dump!

Surprised by her surge of power, I really did my best. Because things would really go wrong if I didn’t.

The more I thought about it, the more amazing she appeared. A woman who hadn’t even appeared in any chapters yet, had this much power already.

“Hoo…”

I could resist her into a stalemate. But that wasn’t enough. Because I had to win.

I clenched my teeth. Then I pulled out all the power I’d been saving.

“Uracha!”

Now it was follow the concept or die.

“Heyyap!”

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Ugghhhhh!”

“Eeeeigh!”

And finally,

“Kughhhhhhhhh!”

I pressed down the princess’ two hands, or rather her entire body.

Clangggg!

“…”

“…”

Moments passed in silence.

I hurriedly came up with a way to restore the concept.

The princess had fallen and still couldn’t get up.

The thought of being contrary had to be running through her head. Now was the time to reinforce my concept.

“Hmm, don’t be so contrary. This is the natural result…”

That was then.

Burr–.

The princess’ body suddenly began to shake.

“Huh?”

First her arms, then her legs, then her whole body.

From trembling to full-on convulsions.

Burr–.

Burr–.

“… Huh?”

It was weird. It just wasn’t normal.

Did she go into a seizure or something?

Then suddenly,

“Ah! What are you doing, old man! Lay off!?”

She started talking to herself.

…?

The surprise didn’t stop there.

“Heh, let me use it for a little bit.”

An old man’s voice came out of the princess’ mouth.

‘What, what?’

“You don’t even care if I die or not!”

“I’m not interested in killing you, you little bint. But this squat-jawed guy here looks pretty fun.”

The princess turned her head sharply towards me.

“Hey there, little baby. Why not have a bout with me too?”

Both her eyes were gleaming red.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 49

The Taming of the Shrew (2)

Cocoa and Chinuavi were already waiting for me inside our cabin.

As soon as I entered, Cocoa uttered a single phrase.

“No luck.”

“Eh?”

“With that woman. No luck.”

When I looked at Chinuavi, he also shrugged his shoulders with a smirk.

“We had to come back without even getting the chance to strike up a conversation. She’s really vigilant.”

“Why, what did she say?”

“Just to screw off.”

Chinuavi corrected Cocoa’s words.

“She didn’t actually say much. Just gave us a quick look-over and then up and left.”

“What’s with these little kids? And then she just snorted and left. She really is something else.”

Hmmm.

I’d thought it might be easier for some young kids to get close to her, but apparently, I’d been wrong about that.

Well, the thought of that woman hanging out with some little kids also painted a bit of an awkward picture.

“Alright, fine. This is better, anyway. You don’t have to try and get friendly anymore.”

“Huh? Why?”

I told them about my fantastic plan that I’d come up with a while ago.

Then,

“Awesome! Damn cool!”

“B-… Big Brother Squatjaw. What do you mean, you…”

The reactions were on the opposite sides of the spectrum.

“I’m gonna kidnap her. And beat her up a tiny weeny bit in the process.”

“Brother… She’s still the princess of a country. What’s more, isn’t she related to the Skull Empire? The Skull Empire is known even in the goblins’ lair.”

“Then we have to hurry. The assassins of the Skull Empire are after her, you know. When I say I’m kidnapping her, isn’t that in the end for her own protection?”

“That’s right, you stupid goblin.”

“Then wouldn’t she just hate you for no reason? Why not just stay by my side and protect her…”

“Because that won’t do anything to fix that temper of hers.”

“… Eh?”

“Alright, now, Cocoa. Can you find out where the princess is now?”

“No problem. There will still be traces left everywhere.”

“Fine. Then let’s move.”

Before long, we followed Cocoa’s lead out onto the deck.

And we found the princess sooner than expected.

She wasn’t really hidden, and didn’t seem like she was even trying to hide, except for wearing a hood.

And even,

“What?”

“… She’s with a party?”

There were some other people with her.

When a bit of embarrassment was creeping in –

“… Ah!”

I realized that it wasn’t such a strange sight.

It was easy to infer the identities of those standing together with her.

Those sent from the Skull Empire to persuade the princess.

In other words, those who’d been following the princess until now and being a bother.

It was clearly them. Who else could be there for the princess to talk to?

Presumably, she’d looked for them because of the assassins’ raid last night.

“I’ll go and check things out.”

“Huh? Then take me along too.”

“Your job is done. Go with Chinuavi and find a good place for the kidnapping. Besides, I’m going to use a goblin cloth to cover myself up.”

“Can’t you just attack her when she gets back to her place?”

“I’m never going back there, ever again. All that crap you can’t see, squirming and splashing… ugh. I’ll just try and catch her on her way back.”

Then, I cautiously approached the princess.

A total of five people were with her.

One old man, three young men, and one woman standing a little farther away and peering around.

I took a close look at them all.

‘Nobody with any significant combat power… except maybe the old man?’

Of course, I couldn’t be certain. It was just an estimate based on their equipment, bearing, gait, and poise. I didn’t even know if any of them had any unique abilities.

‘None of them seem like a threat…’

But I couldn’t just relax.

As long as there was a chance that they might be people with unique abilities, no matter what those abilities might be, I couldn’t let my guard down.

There is no such thing as an absolute advantage in a battle between people with abilities. That is the basic common sense of this world.

The reason I wanted to analyze their strength was simple. Because sooner or later they would become my enemies.

From the princess’ point of view, they were not enemies. They might be annoying and unpleasant, but they weren’t here to threaten her life. Rather they were obviously trying to protect her from the assassins.

And this meant that from the moment I tried to kidnap the princess, they were bound to become my enemies – enemies whom the princess might directly ask for help.

Naturally, I had no choice but to pay attention.

Anyway, after making a rough estimate, I decided that they wouldn’t be a big obstacle.

Rather, it was safe to say that the princess herself was the biggest obstacle. The power that I’d witnessed last night had been incredible.

Of course, she still wasn’t at my level.

“Hmm.”

There seemed to be nothing left to observe.

I quickly retreated to find out where Cocoa and Chinuavi were.

It was time to start getting ready.

---

Thermis clenched her teeth as she played back the conversation she’d just had in her head.

“That damned old man.”

Asking for help? As if!

She’d just been trying to get some information on the attackers. It was much better to go and take care of them herself than to be bothered while she was sleeping. And even if they hadn’t known anything, she wouldn’t have cared.

However.

“… Scolding me, those shits.”

What was up with their reactions?

The scene resurfaced in Thermis’ mind.

⁝

“Were they yours?”

They looked a bit bewildered at her sudden appearence.

“… Who?”

“What’s going on?”

Thermis spoke of how she’d been attacked at dawn. Judging from the attackers’ style of speech, they seemed to have hailed from the Skull Empire.

“Of course, they couldn’t even handle a single fist of mine, but… I’m now in a bad mood.”

“H-, how could that be?”

“How can we…”

“I’m not saying that you yourselves arranged it, but you might be able to guess who did. If you have any information, please pass it on to me…”

That was then.

“Princess Thermis, what are you talking about?”

The old man at the back of the group had stepped forward.

Even though he’d only been idly listening so far.

“Were you attacked? That’s not something that can be ignored so easily. Are you saying the assassins have started moving? They’ve been following you for a long time, most likely. They’ve decided to use this ship as the stage to act.”

“Yeah, I know that too. So, if you have any information, I’m telling you to pass it on. So I can prepare.”

“Information? Preparation? That doesn’t matter at all. There is no reason for Princess Thermis to know any information about the assassins. You just need to stay with us and be protected.”

“… Haah.”

“At least until the end of the voyage, you’ll be staying with us. I’m not going to bring up the marriage issue.”

That old man had a habit of always asserting his own ideas and drawing conclusions as if it were natural.

The first prince’s teacher.

The royal teacher, Bataar.

An old man whom Thermis couldn’t help but hate.

“Forget it. I don’t need or want any protection from you.”

“Princess, please reconsider. That kind of behaviour…”

“In the first place, I don’t think you’re very different from them either. What do you mean I should believe in you? You’re all from the same empire. And one more thing. I’m begging you, could you please stop chasing me? You don’t want to kill me the same as them, right?”

Then, after venting a bit, when she was about to turn around –

“And why do you think do they want to kill you!”

Bewildered by the chill tone, she’d turned around to see that the old man Bataar’s face had turned red. Why was he so excited?

“Isn’t it simple? Because your death can be the beginning of a war.”

“…”

“What if the assassins kill you and then hide your body? The empire will blame the kingdom for your disappearance and declare war. And the kingdom? They will also respond by saying that they will avenge you, princess. That the filthy imperial bastards have finally revealed their ambitions.”

“W-, well, that…”

“Are you going to keep acting like a child?”

“… Tch.”

In the end, she could only leave the place as if she was running away, without even being able to respond properly.

⁝

“Hoo…”

How did it all end up like this?

Thermis sighed softly.

The current situation could be easily defined in a single phrase.

‘Tangled into a knot’.

Originally, the Skull Empire was not a target of Thermis’ hatred. Rather, it was a target of her envy.

From a young age, listening to the achievements of the past emperors of the Skull Empire, along with the saying describing her as ‘a child who should’ve been born as a son of the imperial family’, a seed of admiration had inevitably taken root in her heart.

Moreover, her gender meant the boys her age could never approach her.

Was it because of that?

Surprisingly, from the age of seven, Thermis had begun to imitate the environment of the children of the Skull Empire, even though no one had asked her to.

Play with the horse, eat with the horse, sleep with the horse.

She slept more in the stable than in her bedroom, and spent several dozen times more time running through the meadow with her horse than attending courtly banquets.

Even the royal family did not restrain Thermis’ actions too much.

Because she was born too ‘different’ to be expected to play a stereotypical role of a princess, and it was a period when the relation between the two countries was improving day by day under the umbrella of the coalition government.

There was no reason to regard Thermis’ dream, to be a ‘General of the Skull Empire’, as a mere joke.

Rather, if the princess of the Mainin royal family became a general in the Skull Empire, which revered the military, it might even turn into an opportunity to end the long-standing truce and prepare a new armistice agreement.

So, knowingly and unknowingly, she even received support.

Then one day, something unexpected happened.

It was the day the first prince of the Skull Empire visited Mainin Kingdom for the purpose of cultural exchange.

Originally, she’d had no plans to attend the banquet. It was not her job to entertain the distinguished guests, and she’d never been forced to attend as a ‘princess’ since around the age of nine.

However, she’d heard that the legendary general of the empire, ‘Mong’, had come to visit along with the first prince.

And at the banquet she’d attended with the intention of taking a look at him –

“Who is that woman?”

Apparently, the ill prince had pointed to her.

“Damn it, damn it…”

As she recalled that moment, her anger boiled over again.

Since then, nothing had gone properly.

She had to leave the palace as if running away from the first prince who was constantly chasing her, and she had to push away the royal family ministers and imperial negotiators who came to persuade her from time to time, and eventually she had to leave of the city on a horse.

Then, when she thought she was finally going to get some quiet, suddenly they catch up and say that she was going to cause a war?

“Haah…”

It was her first time experiencing a sense of helplessness.

Not too long ago, she’d thought herself above such mundanity.

Thermis clenched her fists.

Tight enough that they quickly turned pale from bloodlessness.

“… Last night was good.”

Thermis remembered the raiders who’d come at dawn.

The moment when the vitality she’d thought lost had come surging back.

It was a pity that there’d been only three of them. If they’d lasted a little longer, she could’ve unwound the knots in her heart a bit more.

“An assassination squad, is it…”

Thermis thought it was fine. Dangerous? What bullshit. It was a golden opportunity to release the anger that was boiling inside her.

Anyone, feel free to come. Anyone. I will crush you to dust.

While she was muttering as she walked –

Suddenly, she felt someone’s gaze in front of her.

Thermis raised her head and looked ahead.

There, a large figure stood still, looking at her silently.

He looked like a typical third-rate villain.

A very mean face, and a chin jutting so long it was almost touching his chest.

And even –

“Hey there, pretty girl. Got some time? Shall we go somewhere nice for a chat?”

Even his stereotyped actions and lines. It was simply amazing.

“Heh, if you follow me quietly, you won’t get hurt…”

“Yes, let’s go. I have time.”

“Huh?”

“There’s plenty of time.”

He looked a little perplexed.

“Uh… is that so?”

Thermis was thankful for this unexpected fortune. The target of her wrath had come to her on his own two feet.

This idiot didn’t look like an assassin, but that didn’t really matter. Right now, she just needed a scapegoat to vent on.

The place she followed him to was a surprisingly comfortable-looking warehouse. She’d thought he was going to lead her to a dark place, but he seemed to have an unexpectedly neat side.

“Heh, if you listen carefully to me from now on, there won’t be any problems…”

“Alright, are you the only one?”

“Huh?”

“Are you alone?”

The squat-jaw scratched his head, a stupid expression on his face.

“Uh… for now, yeah.”

“Hey, how bland.”

Thermis then rolled up her sleeves.

“But it’s fine, I’m in a good mood. Let’s start with you. You did this, right? You kidnapped me, right?”

His expression turned even more idiotic.

“…”

There was nothing more to listen to.

Thermis immediately rushed towards him.

‘I can’t have him faint at the first blow, so I’ll have to adjust my strength a bit…’

Then, with moderate force, she threw a fist towards the man’s jaw.

However –

Bump!

“… Huh?”

Her fist, was caught.

In the squat-jaw’s grip, her fist was rooted in place. In the grip of a third-rate villain.

Confused, Thermis unknowingly froze.

“What’s with the sudden attack?”

“…”

Let’s calm down.

It seemed that he had a hidden trump card.

Thermis rebuked herself for being careless and tightened her muscles. Then she pulled, hard.

But –

“What, what?”

Her arm, refused to move.

As if stuck in solid rock, it didn’t even budge.

No, it couldn’t be like this. This, this… it just didn’t make sense.

For a moment, Thermis’ face turned pale.

This Squatjaw was a monster. One whose like she’d never seen before.

“No, I haven’t finished talking yet. Listen well. If you listen carefully, you won’t get hurt. Yeah? I’m not that bad a guy.”

It seemed like he was still talking about something, but she couldn’t understand anything at all. She couldn’t make head or tail of this situation.

Nonplussed, Thermis could only utter a single sentence.

“You, you, you… Wh-, who the hell are you!”

The squat-jawed bastard grinned.

It was then that she looked at his face properly, and saw that it wasn’t that of some third-rate villain. No, his face was indeed like that, but the light in his eyes was definitely not that of a run-of-the-mill rogue.

A predator.

“Huh? What, didn’t you know?”

A huge palm inched closer and closer to her face, covering the entirety of her world. That was the last thing she saw before Thermis lost consciousness.

“I am a kidnapper.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 48

The Taming of the Shrew^[1] (1)

Actually, I’d been thinking that there was something more hidden behind this.

Because there was no way that an ‘A’ rank mission could simply be to find the ‘tomboy princess who left home’.

In addition, all kinds of adventure quests in this world of Adventure King basically always included a ‘battle’ element.

Even if it’s just a simple request to carry a heavy load, this is a world where a robber would appear out of nowhere, or a hostile force would rush in to seize it, or you might even meet a bear along the way.

In the first place, being an adventurer here meant ‘seizing treasures based on your strength’.

There may be adventures that don’t need a guide to find the path, or a decipherer to solve a riddle, but there can be no adventure without battle. One treasure, and many competing with their power to win it. That’s why the ‘adversary’ is such a popular and essential position among the adventurers.

I put my ear to the door and listened for the signs beyond.

There were three assassins in the aisle.

They didn’t seem to be very good at their jobs.

They wouldn’t have chattered like that otherwise.

“Is this the right place?”

“Definitely. I saw the maid running in earlier.”

What should I do with these guys?

I thought about it for a while, but the answer came quickly.

I had to intervene, and catch them.

It wasn’t a very pleasant situation to have run into these guys from the underworld without any information, but it wasn’t like I could just stand by and watch.

Besides, they also had information I didn’t know, so it was better to catch them first and figure out their identities.

After sorting my thoughts out, when I was just about ready to move –

“But what about that place?”

“No idea. Seems there’re people inside, though. I heard some noise from behind the door.”

‘… Huh?’

It was frustrating. All of a sudden, the guys were approaching our cabin.

While I was busy feeling embarrassed, we were already face to face with just the door standing between us.

“Isn’t this the princess’ residence? That other one’s a bit…”

“But the maid definitely ran into that warehouse over there. And the princess sleeps well wherever she is. She’s like a wild horse, a beast really. Of course, she doesn’t look it.”

“Well, let’s at least check it out.”

‘Oh, are you all coming in?’

I couldn’t help but be amazed at their boldness.

It wasn’t enough for them to just chatter on about information they needed to keep secret.

Were they that confident in their skills, or was this their first time attacking somebody in the middle of the night?

I sneaked away from behind the door to the side just in case.

And then,

Creak–.

They opened the door to our cabin and came in.

At least they had some conscience, since they were trying to be as stealthy as possible.

It was after seeing the sleeping forms of Cocoa and Chinuavi that they began to talk again.

“Just these two little kids?”

“Looks like they lucked into finding a place to sleep.”

“Well, they had to have wandered around a while to have come this far.”

“What should we do?”

“If there’s a commotion, they’ll wake up anyway.”

“Then they might run away.”

“That’s going to be tough.”

“So there’s only one answer.”

There didn’t seem to be any point in watching further.

“Nope, that’s the wrong answer.”

I came out of my hiding spot behind the open door and strode towards them.

And slugged the one closest to me on the jaw.

Puff–.

The fellow didn’t even have the time to scream.

“Hey there.”

…

The other two didn’t seem to even understand what was happening right now.

Well, it was fortunate for me.

Anyway, I also didn’t want these two kids to wake up.

I immediately activated my unique ability.

[Scribe’s Shackles].

Then, I quickly stabbed the iron pen that’d materialized in my right hand into one’s arm.

“Ugh!? K-, kgh…”

“Quiet. Or the kids might wake up. We don’t want that, do we? Let’s take this outside.”

Then, my other hand covering the mouth of the man I’d stabbed with my pen, I quietly dragged him out.

Of course, my gaze was always fixed on the third guy who remained.

Then, the last one, after hesitating a little, also sneaked out after me.

Things were simple after that.

I engraved a ‘1’ on the guy who’d already been stabbed with the stylus, and ‘2’ on the guy who’d been standing next to him, because he was the stupider of the two.

It was purely my compassion that stopped me from writing ‘dumb idiot’ or ‘bumbling assassin’ on him.

“Now, go back quietly and bring back the last one. Got it?”

The two men nodded their heads without saying a word.

After a while, ‘1’, ‘2’, and then ‘3’ with a swollen cheek were all lined up in a row in my front.

I led the three guys out onto the open deck.

“Come on, now tell me. Who are you guys?”

The stories they told me were quite surprising.

All three were assassins from the Skull Empire, hired by an unknown party, and they said they first met on this ship.

Their target was Princess Thermis of the Mainin Kingdom, and the assassination deadline was within three days after departure. If they couldn’t assassinate the princess by then, they’d have to pay the recompense with their lives instead of giving back the money.

“Within three days? The voyage lasts for at least ten days, though?”

“If you look closely, it seems that there are quite a few other guys hired besides us. Assassins also have their own methods, so the times must be divided so that we don’t step on each other’s toes.”

“Is that so?”

From the looks of it, it seemed that they got their turns roughly in order of skill. Yeah, there probably weren’t anybody else as worse off as these guys.

Then I asked something I’d been curious about.

“Do you have anything to do with the people of the Skull Empire who came to persuade the princess?”

‘1’ and ‘2’ shook their heads at the same time.

“No. I know the group you’re talking about, though. Because we were also following the maid when she saw them. But we don’t know them.”

I knew it.

I’d had my doubts. When she’d heard that the troop of the Skull Empire had followed her on board, the princess had seemed very annoyed, but she didn’t seem to hate them or have any real desire to kill them. This meant that they weren’t the ones here to attack her.

In summary, there were currently two groups from the Skull Empire on this ship.

1. Those purely under the orders of the first prince.

A group of people who’d came to persuade her to marry.

2. Those who wanted to stop the marriage at any cost.

A group of assassins trying to get rid of the princess.

I squeezed the fellows harder and got some more specific information.

“What is the situation now? I mean in the Skull Empire. How are people taking the news of the engagement?”

“The engagement isn’t the problem, but the princess’ refusal is. There’re a lot of people who really feel strongly about it.”

“So, are you guys going to start a war?”

“There is a bit of that in the air. Because we thought it was a land we could capture anytime we wanted. We were just preserving our old relationship.”

“Then, if the princess accepted the engagement, there won’t be a war?”

“Umm… I think so?”

“What if she died instead?”

“Well… Wouldn’t that be the same? The cause of the fight would be gone.”

It sounded boring.

“Then what if you hide the truth after killing the princess? Wouldn’t it be possible to rouse public opinion by pretending that the princess ran away, or was still hiding somewhere in the kingdom?”

Then,

“Ah…”

“… Uhm.”

They finally seemed to understand.

“There could be war.”

I nodded.

It made some sense.

I’d been looking for this ever since I’d heard about other, related linked quests. Really, this wasn’t a quest to end with a simple search for a missing person.

The task given to me was not only to tame the princess and send her to the empire. I even had to protect her from the imperial assassins who wanted to use her existence for political reasons.

‘Well, if they’re all at the level of these guys, there shouldn’t be any problems.’

They also seemed to have run out of knowledge.

“Do you know anything else? Regarding her, I mean.”

“No. That’s all.”

“Me too…”

“… I have nothing. Sorry.”

“Why, you don’t have to be sorry.”

Then, I coolly pushed the guys on the back.

“Now go, continue what you were doing.”

“Yes?”

“… What?”

It seemed like they didn’t understand what I was saying.

“What are you waiting around for? Aren’t you here to assassinate the princess? Go for it. I won’t disturb you.”

“…?”

“…?”

The reason was nothing complex.

Because I wanted to awaken the princess to her circumstances, while also confirming her strength. After all, these guys won’t pose much of a threat to her.

In the original work, she had been a named character, although she never got any individual battle scenes. But wasn’t there a scene where she just blew away a dozen soldiers at once while commanding a great army on the battlefield?

So, this time, I was trying to figure out a little bit about her level of personal power. Depending on what I found, the range of countermeasures I could take would vary.

And if there was another reason –

Knowing that her location had been exposed, I wondered if she’d consider getting out of that cage.

It was understandable that she was looking for a place others would avoid so as to not get noticed. But did she really need to be in there? I had no idea what thoughts went inside her head.

“Come on, go.”

“Uh… yes.”

“Hey, what do you… we’re supposed to do it properly, right?”

“Yeah. You have to do it properly.”

“Aren’t you on the princess’ side…”

“No, no. Don’t be so nervous.”

“No, what if I just go back today and promise to come back tomorrow…”

“Ah, why would you go? You already came all the way here. Don’t dawdle, you don’t want to miss the deadline, do you?”

“…”

In the end, according to my orders, they somehow reached the princess’ residence. To encourage them further, I even opened the door myself.

“Good luck. She’s a strong woman, so be careful.”

Soon after, when the guys had sneaked in, I intervened just a little bit more, just in case something unexpected happened.

“It’s an attack!”

---

The next morning.

The second day of the voyage.

I looked at the princess from afar, who was wearing a hood and lingering on the deck.

“Well?”

Then,

“Not yet.”

“It seems premature.”

I got two opposing votes.

“What, why?”

“She isn’t standing still. She hasn’t found a place she likes yet.”

“It won’t be too late to approach once she takes a seat.”

“No, you can go and lead her. To some good place with a nice view.”

“Not really.”

“Isn’t it wiser to approach her when she’s more relaxed? Considering she’s currently on the run.”

Seriously, these fellows were smart.

“Yeah, got it. See you.”

“Good luck.”

“Take care.”

Then I went straight down the deck, leaving Cocoa and Chinuavi behind. Because there was something else I had to check.

Currently, we had decided to move into two groups.

One with Cocoa and Chinuavi, and one with just me.

While those two were going to try and get along with the princess, I had a plan to chase after the gang trying to assassinate her. I wondered if those two young kids would be able to make the princess drop her guard and get closer.

I could also transform into a pretty boy, but only once in a fortnight at most, so that was useless here.

Before long, I arrived in front of a cabin.

Opening the door, I saw three men scattered about on the bed and talking among themselves.

It was ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’ who’d gotten beaten up by the princess yesterday.

If I hadn’t caught them while they were sailing over the deck to the open sea, ‘2’ and ‘3’ might not have been here today.

“Hey, have you guys gotten better already?”

As soon as I spoke, the guys started pretending.

“Uh, you were here?”

“I’m not in good shape right now…”

“Right now, assassinating somebody, please…”

They were funny bastards. Of course, I had no intention of encouraging them, but weren’t they here originally to assassinate the princess?

“Fine, I just want to ask you guys something.”

The three all breathed a sigh of relief in unison, and turned to face me.

“Ask us anything.”

“The one who requested the assassination. I don’t need his identity, just the body shape and appearance will do.”

I didn’t expect them to know his identity from the beginning. Since he had to have hidden it anyway.

But I thought he must’ve stayed in touch. For the one who’d secretly commissioned the assassination, not only the life and death of the princess, but even the life and death of the assassins themselves had to matter.

But,

“Umm, I don’t know anything though?”

“Same with me.”

“Me too…”

The answers didn’t come back right.

“Why don’t you know? Didn’t you ever meet him here?”

Then everyone shook their heads.

It wasn’t a lie. Those marked with the [Scribe’s Shackles] couldn’t lie to me unless I allowed it.

I asked some more questions, but all the answers were disappointing.

They didn’t know him, had never seen him, and were always the ones contacted by the other party instead of contacting him themselves.

It was embarrassing. I’d really hoped to get a clue or two from them.

It seemed wiser to give up on that.

“Now what?”

After leaving the cabin, I immediately started searching for the path using my pathfinding eyes.

However, there was hardly any ‘difference’ to be found.

Not only was it difficult to set a goal because the identity of the ‘object to be found’ was vague, but I also had little experience finding ‘differences’, so everything that caught my eye seemed suspicious.

I searched every nook and cranny of the ship, hoping to find something, but didn’t get any meaningful results.

“Haah… Let’s go back.”

After wandering around for an hour or two, I made up my mind.

This was not the way. It had been a foolish idea to hunt down and eliminate the assassins one by one.

I had to find a new path. If I couldn’t track down the assassins, I could only wait in ambush for them to come waltzing in.

The problem was that I couldn’t think of a way to keep the princess company.

‘Should I just try and stick to her along with the kids?’

No.

I immediately shook my head. That plan was sure to immediately backfire.

Yesterday, seeing ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ being beaten, I could immediately recognize it. That woman had gone crazy with the stress of getting married.

What kind of man would just stroll up to her at this kind of time for no reason? Wouldn’t it just seem to be somebody butting their nose in? She might proceed straight to beating him up and throwing him overboard.

To be honest, it felt far more daunting to have to convince that woman to marry than to deter the assassins. Powerlessness and temper tantrums, it was hard to judge which one was worse.

I was in trouble again.

What should I do? How could I try and persuade her while protecting her from danger?

What stance did I need to take to be able to do that?

While I was scratching my head like that for a while –

“Ah!”

At that instant, a very clever idea flashed through my mind.

A way to stay by that woman’s side and protect her from the assassins, and at the same time subdue that brash temper of hers.

There was indeed a way.

To disguise myself as one of the attackers and kidnap her.

I could stay by her side, fix that temper a bit, and get her out of that stinky cage.

A real trifecta.

‘I can even make some excuses later saying I had no choice but to do that, to protect her.’

Our relationship would be a bit rocky, but we wouldn’t be seeing each other for very long anyway.

And by the time she officially appeared in the future chapters, I would’ve already changed permanently into a pretty boy, so there was no need to worry.

“Okay, time to go into full villain mode.”

Unconsciously, my lips had already stretched into a grin.

Oddly enough, some kind of excitement was welling up inside my heart.

Maybe because that was how I got my start in this world… but I really did have a little bit of a villainous side within me.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 말괄량 (lit. shrew, tomboy), as you can guess we couldn’t resist using the former because of the famous Shakespearian play of the same name. But in the text itself, we’ll still refer to her as a tomboy (shrew sounds a bit offensive for somebody as awesome as Thermis). Just remember that they’re the same word.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and/or rate and review at NovelUpdates! One chapter missing for last week, will be made up for.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 47

Adventure Request Form

Two days later.

At a port city south of Westland, called ‘British’.

“Hey…”

I was amazed at the appearance of the huge luxury passenger ship in front of me.

The, pure white, ‘White Rain’.

Even though I was completely ignorant about ships, I could easily recognize what this passenger ship was made in image of.

The movie ‘Titanic’. The ship’s design clearly took its cues from there.

To be honest, it felt a little weird.

As if a real-life movie scene had been transplanted into a manga.

“Is this your first time seeing a ship, Big Brother?”

Chinuavi asked with a grin as if he’d sensed the gleam in my eyes.

“Rather… you can tell it’s a great ship just by looking at it.”

Not just its appearance was good, even the settings applied to this ship matched that.

Fast enough to reach Eastland from Westland in just ten days, which meant very high speed when measured in knots.

An inviolable, unsinkable steel body that no sea monster could bite through.

A luxurious interior that hearkened back to the glory days of the ancient Golden Empire.

Finally, the phrase, ‘the ship of dreams that everyone longs for.’

Then,

“What are you doing, Squatjaw?”

Cocoa’s voice snapped me out of my daze.

“There’s no time.”

“Why? There’re still twenty minutes left before departure.”

“Ticket.”

“Ah, right.”

I’d forgotten the most important thing.

We hurried to the ticket counter.

But when I asked for tickets, the salesman wagged his fingers left and right with a very arrogant expression on his face.

“Nope. You’re too late.”

“You don’t have any tickets at all?”

“Well, departure is just around the corner. Don’t you know? That ship over there is the White Rain. The ship everyone longs for. There’re even people flying in on airships saying they want to ride it… tsk, and you’re trying to get a ticket now?”

But even as he said that, he wasn’t firmly cutting us off.

His sly stare explained it all.

He was asking for money.

So, I patted down my pockets as I’d been waiting for this.

Of course, I wasn’t trying to take money out.

A slightly cool plastic card brushed across my fingertips.

My adventurer’s license.

‘Heh heh…’

Although it was bit childish, I’d actually always been waiting for such a situation to unfold.

Wasn’t it something like revealing a bit of your hidden power?

Although it wasn’t as good as an S-rank or higher license, this A-rank adventurer’s license was also a symbol of enormous benefits and authority in this world.

The basic setting of this world is that the adventurers are the chosen ones, and the A-rankers belong to the top 5% among them.

Of course, in the second half of the work, it’d just be a cold and useless plastic card. Because everyone would be S or SS-ranked, and in Midland where the Tower of Adventure is hidden, there are no ‘ordinary people’ to appreciate it in the first place.

But right now was different.

Now, at the beginning of the story, was the only opportunity to do the ‘adventurer flex’ to my heart’s content.

At that moment, when I could feel the salesman’s gaze slowly turn toward me –

I took out my license and slid it forward.

“Excuse me, but… this is who I am.”

“Huh?”

Soon, the salesman, who confirmed the card’s authenticity, turned white.

Yup.

“Wait, are you an A, A-class adventurer?”

For a moment, I almost couldn’t help but laugh. Although expected, how appropriate a response!

“Um… it’s not really that great, I’ve actually just became an adventurer… I’m A-ranked, but just because I came first in the qualification test, so I’m still a young rookie…”

“Heo-, heok! F-, first in the qualification test!”

The salesman’s mouth was wide agape, as if his jaw was ready to drop down to the floor at any moment.

“Actually, this is a bit of an urgent situation because I’m carrying out an important mission from the Adventurers’ Association…”

“U-, urgent situation!?”

“It’s the ship everyone longs for, so I understand there aren’t enough seats, but since this is a very important mission… 

“Ah, aah! Seats! Yes, there are. Our White Passenger Line provides such basic benefits for adventurers. Especially if you’re A-class or higher… Which seats do you want?”

Done.

Suppressing my laughter, I continued.

“Hmmm, it’s a little embarrassing to ask directly. In fact, our mission presupposes frequent encounters with the ship’s distinguished guests…”

“Third class.”

“Yeah, third class… huh?”

Despite my puzzled glance, Cocoa again spoke with an indifferent expression.

“Third class.”

“… Look here, you little brat.”

But instead of responding, Cocoa silently pointed to a corner of the ship.

People in shabby clothes were coming and going through a small side door.

It seemed to be the entrance to the third-class area.

“Hoo…”

I could guess why Cocoa was pointing there.

That had to be the path.

But wasn’t this all the same ship anyway? Would it really matter?

Even when I pleaded, Cocoa just shook her head.

But I also had no intention of stepping back.

The door to the first-class area over there was clearly shining much brighter in my eyes.

“That’s not because of your pathfinding eyes. It’s because of those jewels at the entrance.”

“But that’s not all, isn’t the same light over there on the floor and the stairs too…”

“Nope.”

“… Yeah, I just had to try.”

It looked like I couldn’t avoid third class.

When I asked for three seats in the third class, the salesman’s eyes were full of surprise.

“I can even get you first-class seats…”

“… This isn’t about comfort, I’m riding the ship because of my mission. Well, then.”

Holding back my tears and grabbing the tickets, I ended up bound for the third-class area in the back.

---

There were no fixed seats in the third-class area.

It was a place where if you just laid down on an empty bed, it’d soon become your seat.

Moreover, just because you occupied a seat once, didn’t mean that would last till the end of the journey. Leave your seat, and it’s again up for grabs.

The reason was simple. Because there were far more passengers than seats.

In fact, there were some six-bed cabins that had more than ten people huddled together inside.

However, the reason why there wasn’t a free-for-all fight for seats going on was because of the rule ‘do not covet a seat already taken’, which, strangely, was being obeyed.

The shabbier and more uncontrollable a place is, the more violent the fights that happen there.

Moreover, third-class compartments of so large a passenger ship or airship have a common setting that criminals like to hide there.

In other words, it’s not a place that can stay undisturbed.

Here too, there were a few people right in front of my eyes who looked like they wouldn’t blink at violating the tacit rules.

And yet, there was no disturbance, and the cabins were relatively quiet. 

Predictably, there seemed to be someone overseeing this area.

“Come this way.”

While I was immersed in various thoughts, Cocoa’s guidance continued.

Five minutes were left before departure.

The cabins and passageways were already crowded to the limit.

One could see at a glance that there wouldn’t be any seats left empty, but Cocoa never stopped walking. 

She didn’t slow down at all, even after passing through a cabin full of drunkards, a warehouse full of unknown drugs, and a mysterious engine room full of dust.

Even though I knew her abilities, I had no choice but to voice my doubts.

“You’re not going to just keep going like this, right?”

“Shouldn’t we find our cabin?”

Cocoa seemed annoyed, and only beckoned a finger to follow.

How long did we walk like that?

When it felt like we were almost at the end of the ship, Cocoa finally stopped walking.

And there, surprisingly,

“… Alright, you win.”

“Also, Miss Cocoa. I believed in you from the beginning. It was Big Brother who was complaining nonstop.”

There was an empty cabin, which was even relatively clean.

“Okay, can I unpack?”

“Yeah.”

Cocoa nodded and then tacked on a few strange words.

“It might get a little tiring in the future.”

Then she flopped down on the floor, and it took only a few seconds for her to start snoring.

“She must’ve been pretty tired.”

“Looks like it. I’ll have a talk with her later.”

She’d probably been struggling a bit to see the path.

I picked Cocoa up and moved her to the extra bed, then flopped down on the floor.

Then, I took out the mission request form I’d received from the Adventurers’ Association and carefully began to examine it.

【Adventure Mission Request Form】

• Request target: Squatjaw Adventurers (Class A)
• Difficulty: Rank A
• Content: Find the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom and escort her to the Adventurers’ Association branch in Eastland.
• Details
  • Strange currents are flowing between the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom, which have been in a state of truce for nearly twenty years. This is because the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom rejected the marriage proposal of the first prince of the Skull Empire. The empire that has never known rejection has been insulted. This is a situation where the twenty-year old armistice might be broken any day, but even the princess then suddenly disappeared.
  • If she cannot be found within a month, there is a high possibility of war.

※ Additional information

• Find the Adventurers’ Association branch at Nanma Port, Eastland for the rest of the information.
• High possibility of linked missions being assigned.

Hmmm.

Simply put, it was a missing person search.

Missing person search wasn’t the most difficult among the numerous adventure mission types. Compared to exploring ruins and clearing out bandits, it was barely an inconvenience.

However, as I read the mission request, I started feeling a little nervous.

All my actions so far had been based on my ‘metaknowledge’. Since I was well aware of the current situation, the characters’ personalities, and the future plot, naturally I’d gotten good results so far.

But not from now on –

Basically, I didn’t know jack.

First of all, I came to know about the ‘Mainin Kingdom’ itself from the mission request form. I didn’t even know the name of the kingdom itself, how could I know the background behind it?

Unlike Westland, which consists of about fifty free cities, Eastland is made up of ‘monarchies with kings’. The countries come together to form a coalition government, but it’s not a very cohesive alliance.

That was all I knew about Eastland at the moment.

Fortunately, though, I knew a little more about the Skull Empire.

Because it had been the country most frequently mentioned during the original’s Eastland arc. Also, the leader of this country was a very popular character.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure how much the Skull Empire of the current day resembled the one I knew, but the characters who’d play an active role in the future wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Anyway, going by to the mission request, the reason Cocoa had led us to this ship seemed obvious.

It had to mean that the ‘second princess of the Mainin Kingdom’, or somebody who might know her current location, or some artifact to point us towards her, was here.

Right around here, somewhere.

Slowly, my heart began to pound.

‘Should I try to find it?’

I was already used to my ‘pathfinding eyes’.

Telling Chinuavi to rest, I walked out of the cabin.

First step, set a goal.

‘… This is tough.’

I’d left the room all excited, but I had to pause for a while. Since I didn’t know the specific target, it wasn’t easy to set the goal properly.

It felt like my brain had suddenly frozen.

Hmmm.

Even after giving it some thought, I couldn’t come up with a proper way.

So, I just decided to keep it simple. Let’s take a rough approach first.

I stared intently at the mission request in my hand.

And simply aimed at ‘solving the mission’ itself.

That was then –

Zzzzz-pffff.

Zzzzz-pffff.

“Huh?”

There was a sudden burst of noise. Coming from the warehouse next door, at that.

How puzzling.

“Is this a clue?”

Cocoa had said that clues to the path could come in any form. It didn’t have to be something visual based on light. Just like now, a snore coming out of nowhere might also mark the path’s beginning.

It was so loud, and the clue came so swiftly and clearly, that I could only tilt my head.

‘This timing is too sudden… Whatever, let’s check it out.’

I immediately walked to where the sound had been coming from. It was the door to a warehouse that was only five meters away from our cabin. And the door was even slightly ajar.

‘Oof…’

As soon as I stuck my head inside, a terrible stench wafted out.

At first glance, the interior scenery was even more disappointing.

Some sort of dung was oozing all over the floor, and there were puddles of filth, manure, bales of straw, and even a water basin scattered here and there.

It looked like a place that’d been used for temporarily keeping livestock to be slaughtered, but now it was abandoned.

To be honest, I could never have imagined somebody staying in this place.

But,

Zzzzz-pffff.

Zzzzz-pffff.

The sound kept coming.

Holding my nose, I crept inside.

And witnessed an astonishing sight.

A person was lying on a pile of straw, snoring.

“… Crazy.”

I let out an unconscious exclamation of surprise.

I wasn’t surprised by a person sleeping so peacefully in this filthy environment, without showing any symptoms of respiratory problems.

Rather, there were three reasons behind my surprise.

First, that the sleeping person was none other than a woman;

Second, that she was a very beautiful woman, glowing with health;

Third, that her face was surprisingly familiar.

As I recalled, this woman’s name was Arte Khan.

As the empress of the Great Skull Empire, she had two nicknames: ‘The Black Star of the Meadows’ and ‘The Wild Horse that Cleaves the Winds’.

Not only that, despite being a woman, she was said to be born with the strength of twenty men, and was the first woman to pass the ‘Warrior’s Path’ test of the Skull Empire.

And, more simply, she was one of the named characters that’d appeared in the Eastland arc.

I was having a hard time holding back the laughter that was trying to escape my throat.

The meeting place was indeed a bit iffy, but I seemed to have found the ‘key’ very easily.

I didn’t know if this woman was already the empress now or not, but anyway, a few years later, she’d meet Leo as the leader of the Skull Empire.

Naturally, she must’ve had a high status in the Skull Empire even now.

I didn’t know how it all connected, but I clearly had to use this woman to solve this mission.

‘Okay.’

Finding out the key’s identity was enough for now.

Let’s have a conversation later in a more comfortable place, with the sea breeze blowing.

Then, while I was ready to quickly get out of this cage –

“P-, Princess! Princess!”

Someone hurriedly opened the door and came in. It was another woman.

At that moment –

‘Yikes!’

Without thinking, I threw myself into the pile of straw next to me.

And the next second, I regretted it.

‘… Haah.’

The smell of filth suddenly deepened, and the moist and sticky ‘stuff’ hidden under the straw began to make my body itch all over.

In order to ignore the discomfort jabbing into my bones, I had to focus on the situation in front of me.

“Princess! Come on, get up!”

“…”

“Princess Thermis!”

Erm?

I was a little perplexed. Because the name was different from the one I remembered.

The new woman kept calling the empress ‘Princess Thermis’, and kept trying to wake her up.

After a while,

“Ugh… yaaaaawn!”

The woman got up with a loud yawn.

“What? What is it?”

“Sk-, Skull Empire’s people…”

“Did they come all the way here?”

“Yes, they’re now on the deck… They haven’t come to this place yet…”

“Really, they’re like roaches. I think I’ll just kill them all.”

“Y-, you can’t … The king is already worried about a war breaking out…”

“Uh-huh… damn it. Why does that sick weakling keep needlessly bothering me?”

By now, my initial puzzlement had grown out of control.

Princess Thermis? People of the Skull Empire? A frightened king and a sick weakling being a bother?

With my doubts multiplying over and over, I again went over the contents of the mission request.

• Find the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom, who fled after rejecting the marriage proposal of the first prince of the Skull Empire.

It was confusing.

Did I make a big mistake?

I immediately shook my head.

It couldn’t be. There hadn’t been that many important named characters in Eastland in the first place.

That girl. She had to be the empress of the Skull Empire I’d seen in the manga.

Ten minutes later.

About five more minutes after the two women had left the cage, I was finally able to sort things out.

The woman a while ago was Arte Khan, who’d later become famous as the empress of the Skull Empire.

However, she was currently the second princess of the Mainin Kingdom. She’d run away because she didn’t want to get married.

To put it simply, it was a scenario of someone being forcibly taken as the daughter-in-law, and eventually the daughter-in-law swallowing the whole dynasty.

And my present task, whatever the future might be, was to gently tame that wild horse-like woman and make her marry into the Skull Empire.

“… So that’s how it is?”

It was messy. It was completely different from all the adventure quests I’d seen so far.

I put off making a decision right now.

For now, I just had to watch.

---

The next morning, just before dawn.

Suddenly waking up, I could see why Cocoa had said that I’d be tired in the future.

Although, it wasn’t because of the princess’ loud snores.

I could feel some suspicious presences in the passage outside the cabin.

Some people who’d foregone sleep, were approaching the animal cage where the princess was.

They hadn’t simply lost their way.

Thoroughly silenced footsteps, breathing slow enough to go beyond common sense.

The faint noises they did make couldn’t escape my sharpened hearing, and reminded me of someone familiar.

Haka.

These guys felt similar to Haka as he’d been in the beginning.

The Haka of that time, brimming with secrecy and murderous intent.

My calm eyes shined in the darkness.

They were assassins.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

Thermis! Can’t wait to see how they draw her in the manga. … For research purposes.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 46

Squatjaw’s Guide

“Didn’t you mention only about a thousand people…”

Chinuavi sighed softly as he watched the swarm of enemy soldiers.

He’d tried to limit the possible angles of attack by narrowing the terrain using earth dragons, but it wasn’t easy to compensate for such numerical inferiority.

A mere one hundred dream soldiers simply weren’t equipped to handle these many enemies.

‘Would things be different if I’d actually studied tactics?’

Chinuavi’s lips pressed into a thin line.

Contrary to what he’d told Senior, he’d never studied any books about war. His results in the Brawler Goblin Test might’ve been different if he had. Because tactics was one of the main subjects of the test.

He’d never once considered tactics or strategy as important in the first place. He’d always thought that a strong enough goblin could just take on a hundred, a thousand, even all the monsters in the world.

So he… had stepped forward simply on impulse. Angry, and wanting to be of some help.

‘I should’ve studied a bit back then.’

But now it was too late to regret.

The situation was only getting worse and worse.

Out of the hundred dream soldiers he’d started with, now less than thirty were left, and all of them were showing signs of exhaustion. It wouldn’t be strange if they returned back to the dreaming any moment.

He, too, was tired.

He tried to clench his fists, but couldn’t exert much force.

“Whoo…”

Was it because he’d summoned three earth dragons at once?

Or because he’d forced himself to use multiple techniques at the same time?

Well. 

Actually, those weren’t the real problem.

Neither his ignorance of tactics nor his lack of energy was the true crux.

The biggest problem – was the existence of a single man.

Chinuavi raised his head and looked to the front.

There, a man in an Eastland-style black coat was lying on a luxurious palanquin, supported by dozens of people, and surveying the battlefield with an infinitely bored expression on his face.

In fact, the flow of battle, which had initially been in the goblin’s favour, had started twisting and turning ever since that bastard had appeared.

Five minutes.

In just five minutes, the first and second rows of the dream soldiers had been overpowered by that man, who’d broken into their ranks wielding a weapon that looked like a pen.

It’d been completely one-sided.

‘Too strong.’

If that bastard hadn’t quickly lost interest and retreated, not only the dream soldiers, but even Chinuavi himself might’ve already become a cooling corpse.

Chinuavi glanced backwards.

‘… This is a dilemma.’

Acknowledging the inevitability, he’d tried to run away as planned, but even that had failed. While he’d been concentrating on the battle, suddenly the path of retreat had somehow been cut off.

Chinuavi recognized his current circumstances as the ‘uninteresting situation’ that he’d often heard about.

‘I underestimated my opponent. Like an inexperienced pup.’

In a situation where so many people’s eyes were focused on him, he couldn’t activate the goblin stealth ability either. In particular, the indifferent eyes of the man in the black coat… Even if there weren’t many onlookers, he might not have been able to avoid that man’s eyes.

And in the midst of this, the number of dream soldiers continued to dwindle, and from thirty they had now been reduced to to less than ten.

Soon, it was finally his turn.

That was then –

“Should I say congratulations?”

Suddenly, the man in black coat spoke with a languid voice.

“You managed to persevere. Although, it’s true that I just watched.”

His words came suddenly, at an unexpected timing.

“… What?”

“That guy in the back. He’s in your team, right?”

Chinuavi unconsciously turned his head, to the direction the man was pointing.

There, a strange sight was unfolding.

Pop–.

Pop–.

Enemy soldiers were jumping into the air like flying fish.

“Hmm, I guess this bastard’s pretty decent…”

At that moment, Chinuavi felt his heart pounding violently.

No way…

“Wait, that guy’s got the same squat jaw as you! Brothers? Is that guy your older brother?”

“He… isn’t, but… “

‘He’ was rushing towards their side like a wild boar charging through a field of reeds.

Pop–.

Pop–.

The slender reeds did not dare stand in his way. They were bent, blown away, bounced up, and crushed without mercy.

“Hey, it seems like your older brother is a little stronger than you, right?”

The man in the black coat, who’d been lying down, had already risen into a sitting posture. His eyes, which had only been drowsy and indifferent till now, were shining brightly.

“… Not just a little.”

All of a sudden, he’d come close.

Chinuavi stared at that powerful figure with shaking eyes.

That gigantic size, that superlative strength, and that majestic jaw…

Perhaps the legendary monster hunter, the battle goblin Baugarvi, had looked something like this?

Then,

“Hey, hey. I’m not late, right?”

When he finally reached them, grinning, he didn’t stop and went further forward, leaving the goblin at his back.

The sight of those broad shoulders made Chinuavi’s heart swell with excitement.

The true Captain Squatjaw had arrived.

In that instant, a fierce shout erupted from Chinuavi’s throat.

“Big Brother Squatjaw!”

---

‘… Big Brother?’

I was a little embarrassed.

It was a designation rarely used among the goblins.

For addressing somebody with reverence, ‘senior’ was much more popular among them.

For a simple reason. Because ‘big brother’ referred to none other than one of their gods.

The eldest of the gods, the God of Mischief.

The situation must’ve been really urgent. If he’d shouted something like that unconsciously.

‘Or does he really think of me like an older brother…?’

Hmmm.

Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter right now.

I slowly looked around.

All but a couple of the intermediate combat agents had already collapsed.

Things would’ve been pretty dicey if I’d come even just a little bit later.

‘Hey, didn’t you ask me to believe in you?’

I looked back at Chinuavi who was standing behind me with a reproachful gaze, but for some reason, there was no sign of remorse in the kid’s shining eyes. He had been the self-proclaimed commander, yet he seemed to have quickly transitioned into a cheerleading role.

I turned my gaze back to the man on the palanquin.

It had been my mistake.

Why did I think this guy was going to wait at the back?

Come to think of it, nobody else could compare to how many battlefields this guy had been active in. Because his instinct as a ‘scout’ didn’t discriminate against his enemies.

Firmino also looked at me, as if sensing my gaze, and slowly started speaking.

“You must be the true owner of these toys. It seems you also went and dealt with some of my men inside the city, right?”

“Actually, I went to catch you, but you weren’t there. So I had to hurry back after venting a little bit.”

“You threw these toys into the sacred battlefield. What bad taste.”

From the looks of it, it seemed that he’d planned to recruit the intermediate agents as subordinates. But trying to dominate them must’ve left him a little embarrassed since they were just NPCs bought from the shop.

“Oh, did they taste bad?”

“That squat-jaw in the back didn’t interest me, but this is good. You, are different.”

He jumped off the palanquin.

As if intending to rush at me right away.

Of course, that was what I wanted, too.

After a brief probe, we crashed into each other.

Bang–.

As his foot struck mine, there was a booming roar.

“Hey…”

It was only one exchange, but that alone proved it.

He was fast and had great strength. He was really very strong, despite that slender physique.

It was frankly cumbersome.

And he seemed to feel the same.

“You’re great. Squatjaw.”

“You’re overpraising me. You aren’t too bad either.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Oh?”

“To having a slave like you, I mean.”

Pulling out the thin implement he was wearing at the waist, he held it in his hand.

An iron pen.

His signature weapon.

The one he used to scribble on people’s bodies.

My anger boiled over in a flash, but I reined it in. So as not to mess things up in my excitement.

Before long, the guy swung the stylus and rushed forward.

His attack was several times faster than before.

Shhh–.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, the stylus flew towards my left eye. I quickly jerked my head to avoid it, but a thin line still appeared on my cheek.

It was a formidable display of speed and power.

“You managed to avoid it.”

“…”

“But how long will that last?”

He didn’t let up and continued attacking, and wounds gradually accumulated on my body.

Then, eventually,

“Fufu, bastard! It’s over.”

He managed to reach my back.

Next, Firmino’s stylus was nailed to my shoulder.

Push–.

“Ouch.”

It stung.

Firmino gave a sly laugh.

“Fufu, the pain won’t last long. Now, become my slave…”

But at that moment, his voice suddenly stopped.

“Huh?”

When I looked back, his expression had also stiffened slightly.

“Why isn’t it writing properly?”

“…”

He struggled to move it, but the iron pen stuck into my shoulder didn’t budge. 

Not because it wasn’t sharp enough or he wasn’t strong enough.

Because the conditions for activating of the ability hadn’t been met.

I smiled.

This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

For just the sake of this moment, I hadn’t mimicked any unique abilities till now.

“Then, shall I try?”

I immediately mimicked his ability, [Scribe’s Shackles].

An iron pen, identical to Firmino’s, appeared in my hand.

I quickly grabbed the guy who’d been holding on to my back, and stabbed the pen into his forearm.

Splootch–.

“Aagh!”

Then I scribbled on it in my lousy handwriting.

– Wimp.

“Agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Blood gushed like a fountain from the open wound.

I watched the guy writhing at my feet with indifferent eyes.

There was a reason this guy was so aggressive, preferred hand-to-hand combat, and wandered the battlefields with his subordinates.

Because his unique ability, [Scribe’s Shackles], didn’t fit its name, and required the user to be quite aggressive.

– Governing conditions:

1. Your physique must be at a higher level than the target.
2. You must inflict more than a certain level of damage on the target.
3. You must create a sense of fear in the target.

“So this is what happens if you just attack like an idiot without knowing your place.”

I engraved one more phrase on his other arm.

– Fool who rushed in^[1].

Why did I attack this Neo Archive without much in the way of preparation?

Because even the boss here was weaker than me.

---

When I’d first found out that this guy was behind the organization, I’d immediately tried to mimic his [Scribe’s Shackles]. But it didn’t work. The Firmino who’d appear in the future of the work, had superior physical ability compared to the current me.

So, while I was scratching my head trying to figure out a way, a scene had accidentally flashed through my mind. It was a scene where Firmino himself was explaining to Leo how he was able to create such a large ‘army’.

And surprisingly, the scene cut to a flashback in his own ‘memory’.

It was about the times when Firmino, who’d left this Neo Archive, had started his adventures in earnest. In other words, he of that time was stronger than the guy in front of me right now, but weaker than the Firmino of the future.

When I tried, I was able to mimic the guy in the flashback.

This meant that the guy in front of me right now was unquestionably weaker than myself.

Of course, I didn’t know the difference would be this much.

---

Anyway, what was going to happen now?

I’d already inscribed the words on his forearm, but I was curious as to what’d happen after this.

Would my ability act the same way as his?

Of course, if it were a simple physical ability, I wouldn’t have wondered at all. There wouldn’t have been any other option. However, since this ability was about mind control, I wondered if there was some sort of inherent defence mechanism.

And then,

“Ugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

I could see his eyelids slowly fluttering open.

At that moment, I knew.

Done. It was a success.

There were two reasons why I’d dared to subdue this guy with my own abilities.

First, because this ability had a ‘semi-permanent’ effect.

Once engraved, the shackles cannot be removed. Until either the target dies, or the master.

In other words, to break the shackles that bound Cocoa, I had to kill him.

To be honest, I was determined, but it wasn’t easy to murder somebody in cold blood. Even when I tried to think of him as merely a manga character, what my eyes saw was a real human.

Besides, wasn’t this a shounen manga? If the author became vindictive and created some strange whistle-blower character to spread word of my actions, it’d only be a matter of time before the readers’ appreciation of me took a nosedive.

So, it was necessary to do this instead. After all, if I could control this guy, I could free Cocoa irrespective of whether she still had the shackles not.

And, secondly.

This guy was a character scheduled to appear in a future arc. A pretty powerful named villain. Of course, he might now get rejected by the author after being subdued by me, but either way, he was a handy subordinate to have around.

In other words, I was preparing for the future.

I looked at him and smiled happily.

“Come with me.”

“Yes.”

Although his arm must’ve been hurting him quite a bit, he followed me without protest.

As if he’d lost some of his senses.

“Once you get over there… you understand what to do? First, handle the soldiers, then deal with what you need to.”

“Yes.”

“And Cocoa. She’s a kid with a pocket ability, you should be able to remember her if you try. Stop paying attention to her, and release all her restraints.”

“Yes.”

“And that bald subordinate of yours. You know the one. Bring him over here. You can’t move on your own, so send a few people to bring him over.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, and, you…”

That was then.

“No!”

A shout came from somewhere.

“Huh?”

The voice seemed familiar, so I turned around, and surprisingly, it was Cocoa.

She was watching us from afar.

“What, why are you here? I told you to wait until the end.”

Thankfully it was all over now, otherwise it might’ve gotten dangerous.

As I was waving to her, I suddenly felt something strange.

“Squatjaw! You, let go of Squatjaw!”

“Huh?”

… Wait. I scratched my head.

‘Did she misunderstand the situation?

Come to think of it, Firmino’s stylus was still embedded to my shoulder. And he and I were now facing each other.

It was both funny and absurd.

‘Still, if you just think about it for a second, you’d notice that something is strange…’

If nothing had changed, Cocoa wouldn’t have even been able to shout at this guy.

Judging from that, she seemed to be really anxious.

While I started to shout and say it was okay –

“Stop – it!”

Cocoa took out ‘something’ from her pouch.

For a moment, I doubted my own eyes.

“… What the hell is that?”

I couldn’t believe it even when I was looking right at it.

How did she even get that…?

But there was no time to ponder.

After Cocoa straightened up, she pulled ‘its’ trigger.

Puff – whoooosh!

“… Ohmygod! Dodge!”

There was no time to organize my thoughts.

I jumped straight towards Chinuavi, avoiding the rocket that was fired out of the ‘bazooka’ with a roar.

---

After an hour.

I glanced at Cocoa, who was busy with her word correction.   

She had a very calm expression for somebody who’d almost blown up the whole battlefield just awhile ago.

For an instant, I flashed back to her previous expression as if it’d been superimposed on her face.

She suddenly brought out a bazooka out of nowhere and bombed people without mercy.

Cocoa, awakened version.

Surprisingly, she’d undergone a level of ‘growth’.

Just like somebody who’d definitely been set as a supporting actor in a shounen manga, she was faithfully following the growth cliché of the genre.

In a moment of crisis or rage, upgrade your unique ability to the next level.

To be honest, her evolved ability surprised even me.

It wasn’t just a matter of taking out a bazooka and using it.

Of course, it was a weapon used only in some highly developed civilized cities in this world, but since she was from the ‘Northland Continent’ with many machine cities, her familiarity with it wasn’t very surprising.

What really surprised me was that she’d taken something out that hadn’t even been in her pocket.

I didn’t know how she did it, either.

“Oh, it hurts!”

Cocoa frowned and flinched back.

I slapped Firmino, who was holding his pen, upside the head.

Slap!

“Ouch!”

“She said it hurts.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. But since the pen is made of metal, some pain is natural.”

Slap!

“Ouch!”

“Is that so.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do better this time.”

That was then.

“Hey, Squatjaw.”

“Hmm?”

Cocoa suddenly spoke up.

Except for intermittently spitting out words of pain, this was her first time speaking in the last hour.

First she ran up to me and hugged me, but after hearing my explanation, she’d been silent all this time.

Thinking she was going to thank me, I was feeling a tad embarrassed –

But the words that came out of her mouth were completely absurd.

“I think we should hurry.”

“Eh? What?”

“You have to get on a ship.”

“Ship? What ship?”

“It’s going to Eastland. Or you’ll be late.”

It was pretty silly.

“Ship? Uh… But why do I have to take a ship? Isn’t a ship too slow? There’s an airship, too. And the ships also run on a regular schedule…”

“There’s no next time. You have to go catch this ride right now. To British, right now.”

“…”

She seemed to have seen something with her pathfinding eyes.

“She’ll be on the ship.”

“Who?”

“The key. The core of the mission.”

“… Hmmm.”

It was hard to understand right now.

Still, I just had to go with what information I had.

“Chinuavi, prepare an earth dragon.”

“Ah, yes, Big Brother!”

Then I snapped at Firmino, whose editing process was still in full swing.

“Not finished yet?”

“Yes, it’s almost done.”

I could notice that the letters were fixed, although they looked bit sloppy. It was impossible to erase them, so they were modified in a hurry, but fortunately the original ‘pocket slave’ could be changed to another acceptable phrase.

“Okay, come with me.”

The letters were crooked and a mishmash of different font sizes, so it looked slapdash overall, but I thought this should be enough. Since it was a phrase she liked.

p

o

c

k

e

t

s

l

a

v

e

s

q

u

a

t

j

a

w

‘

s

g

u

i

d

e

– ‘Squatjaw’s Guide^[2]‘.

“Keep gathering your troops as usual and wait. I’ll come back soon to check up on you.”

“Understood.”

Finally, we boarded Chinuavi’s summoned earth dragon and headed towards the port city of ‘British’.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 하룻강아지 (lit. one-day puppy), part of the idiom ‘a one-day old puppy is not afraid of tigers’. The English equivalent would be ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’.

[2] In Korean it changes from 주머니 노예 to 주걱턱 길잡이, but we had to spend some effort to consider how the two phrases should be translated to line up in English. Some readers would think it’s a waste of time, but it just helps to visualize it. Imagine if we went with jutting chin instead of squatjaw, poor Cocoa (this isn’t a dig at the manhwa, though).

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 45

How to Use Pathfinding Eyes

He’ll be fine, right?

I silently watched Firmino’s men rushing up towards the surface. 

Counting only the ones who’d jumped up so far, there were about a thousand. But that wasn’t the end of it. There seemed to be quite a number who were running late.

Even in the best case, at least one and a half thousand people.

This was a variable. They were much more numerous than I’d previously anticipated.

‘I hope he doesn’t try to clash with them head-on.’

The mission I’d entrusted to Chinuavi was only to lure them out. Just to drag the mooks out of town somehow.

Even that was more than what I’d originally intended. Because he wasn’t one of those goblins who were accustomed to fighting.

But,

“Yes, I did fail the Brawler Goblin Test. But strictly speaking, that’s just about your combat skills. It doesn’t measure your strategical acumen, you know?”

“Oh, is there some other goblin test for strategy and tactics?”

“No.”

“…?”

“But I’ve have read more about it than anybody else. I’m confident.”

“Aha, did you learn the theory from a book? What about practice?”

“This’ll be my first time, so just leave it all to me.”

It was a demonstration of unbelievable self-confidence. A sky-high arrogance that demanded me to just trust it and use it.

“But it looks like you’re misunderstanding something. This isn’t about the fight, it’s about luring them out.”

“Uh-huh, I roughly understand it all, so leave it to me, yeah? Senior, why are you even here? Don’t be like an old man long put out to pasture who keeps dreaming about the old days, you’re just wasting time.”

“…”

It finally opened my eyes to how this guy was still a ‘goblin’ in his bones. All his ‘gentleness’ had to have just been a concept, like middle school syndrome back on earth.

Just when I was about snap back that I didn’t want to –

“I, too, have to do something to help Miss Cocoa.”

“What?”

“I just want to.”

“… Being by her side would also help. That kid shouldn’t be left alone…”

“I know. I know but… when I saw those letters, I suddenly couldn’t stand it.”

Chinuavi also seemed to have seen the back of Cocoa’s neck.

At this point, I had nothing more to say.

“Well… don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got a Squatjaw here too.”

“…”

It was all good, except the bit at the end.

Come to think of it, why was he imitating me?’

I still hadn’t been able to figure that out.

Of course, I did look a little strong from the outside. I was big, could look gloomy and even rough. But even going just by appearance, this world was littered with people who looked much more terrifying.

‘More like… how an elementary school kid might mimic his middle schooler elder brother?”

To be honest, my appearance fit more of an ‘uncle’ than an older brother, though.

Hmmm.

Come to think of it, it’d been a while since this guy had last asked me about my secret. In the past, whenever I asked him to use an ability, he’d ask one thing he was curious about in return. How did I know that he was a goblin, who did I hear about the five gods from, and so on. Of course, I never gave a proper answer.

Anyway, such had been the terms of our deal.

Well, the fact that he’d stopped doing it probably meant he was now a proper teammate. I must’ve become a colleague instead of an interesting customer at some point.

I gave a little chuckle.

You have to have ‘colleagues’, or ‘friends’, in a shounen manga.

Although it was just like kiddy roleplay, it did feel good.

Meanwhile,

‘… But what am I doing?’

Suddenly, reality ensued.

I shook my head and let my jumbled thoughts go. 

This wasn’t the time to get lost in my own mind.

I glanced around, and there was no one in sight, as if everybody had run away.

I got out of my hiding spot at the walls, and started moving slowly.

---

Ten minutes of walking around, holding my breath.

Navigating this empty underground city was more complicated than I’d expected.

Colourful buildings were scattered all around the streets, and the roads slithered like a maze between them. It was similar to that cafeteria back in Big City, only enlarged by about five hundred times, and even more complex.

I decided to boldly ignore Cocoa’s advice that ‘there should be a large building nearby’. There were no big buildings no matter how hard I looked, and even the ones that were relatively large were only bigger by about half as much compared to their neighbours.

She’d only been about six or seven years old at the time, so everything must’ve looked gigantic in her eyes. I decided to sort things out myself.

By using my ‘pathfinding eyes’.

This was the basis of my confidence in coming here alone.

I’d always thought, surely my eyes couldn’t be that bad?

It was still an open question.

‘Pathfinding eyes’ was also a hidden characteristic, so why wouldn’t it improve with my stat increases?

Of course, the type and importance of such hidden abilities are different from basic ones like ‘strength’ or ‘agility’. They are the most important factors in determining a guide’s level, and for all other adventurer positions as well.

But even so, it was impossible to have made no progress. Not with how much my ‘standing’ had risen.

My initially insignificant ‘stamina’ and ‘agility’ were now at a monstrous level. Not to mention my ‘strength’ that I’d originally started with.

After a lot of thought, I’d come to a conclusion –

I simply didn’t know how to use the ability properly.

Since it couldn’t be used naturally like ‘strength’ or ‘agility’, there had to be a special way to use it.

So, I’d asked Cocoa directly.

“Can’t you just feel it?”

“Huh?”

“To see the path. If I go this way, I’ll come out over there… you feel anything like that?”

“Feel? I don’t?”

“No?”

“No.”

“I guess, here… I’m not going with you?”

“That’s right.”

“But you can’t even feel the path…?”

Cocoa shook her head as if in frustration.

“Idiot Squatjaw. I guess… right, of course there’s a reason behind the feeling. You have to look to see the path, and you have to search to find it.”

“Oh… reason? So there’s some kind of basis?”

“It’s just like when you usually find your way. If you have a map, you look at it, and if there’s a scent you’re following, you sniff…”

It sounded absurd.

“Which map did you ever look at to find a path? And smell? Do you take me for a bloodhound?” 

“It’s like that. You just have to first understand the environment around you. Then you can look for the path.”

“Aren’t you just trying to catch a trail with your senses?”

“Um, I don’t know. Maybe?”

“…”

After a few rounds of, ‘It’s like this I guess?’, and interrogating that talented weirdo for a while, I was able to establish three main processes for finding a path.

1. Setting a goal.

– This is the most basic step, since you can’t even start if you don’t specifically set the goal you’re aiming for.

I’d taken this for granted, but piecing Cocoa’s words together, I’d actually been terribly neglecting this area. 

It wasn’t just about what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, or who I wanted to meet. She said that I had to constantly rehearse and visualize my goal, without being distracted for even a single moment. Most people get onto a wrong path because they forget to focus, even if only for an eyeblink.

I immediately thought of my goal for the day.

Naturally, that was the position of that bastard, Firmino.

‘No, wait. Should I find that baldie instead? I’d like to deal with him first.’

After thinking for a while, I changed my aim to the baldie. It seemed better to find him first, because there were some things I had to check before my final battle with Firmino.

2. Search for clues.

– This step is where you find the starting point of the path. The key is to discover something ‘unique and strange’ mixed in the surrounding environment. Cocoa described this as ‘the step to open the way’.

“A clue for the path…? What do you mean?”

“Something that catches your eye. It’ll just stand out.”

“So what exactly is it?”

“It’s different each time. Different in shape, colour, and form. Obviously, it has to be strange. And most importantly, you have to understand what makes it different. That’s where it starts.”

I quickly looked around.

An alley between the buildings. A place where the front and back were blocked by the building walls, and a large boulevard just a few blocks away.

‘Now, when I look around, do I see something different… something strange and unique…’

There was nothing.

None of it was ‘different’. It was just the same land, the same buildings, and the same walls.

After looking around for a while, I couldn’t find anything particularly ‘unique’.

‘So it’s not here?’

I considered taking another look for one last time, but then gave up.

I’d already spent enough time. If I obsessed about it any further, I might end up seeing even ordinary things as unique. That’s how human vision usually works.

3. Keep moving.

– If you don’t see a clue, immediately keep moving.

It was for this reason that I moved to the next block without hesitation.

Again, there was no path there.

Cocoa had said that no matter how good a guide is, setting a goal doesn’t mean that you can simply find the path on the spot. If you don’t see anything, you should just keep moving.

“Then where should I go?”

“Stupid Squatjaw. Where do you think? You go where you feel like going.”

“Mmm, that’s right. You really have to search based on your feelings.”

“Actually, you can try to designate a new path as the target in order to find it, but…”

“… What are you talking about?”

“No, just keep looking around. That’d be faster.”

The same was true for the next block.

I tried not to get nervous.

Not here, not there, not there either… But as long as I kept moving, I’d find it eventually.

After a while,

“There really is something different.”

After passing three blocks, I really found something ‘different’.

A set of footprints on the ground.

It wasn’t alone, of course, but it was completely different from the others around it. The footprints were leaking a faint yellow light.

My worries were laid to rest. My eyes could clearly tell the difference. It looked so strangely clear that I couldn’t help but notice it.

My ‘pathfinding eyes’ was growing little by little.

I immediately started trailing after the footprints.

The prints were spaced three to four meters apart, and the light shone brighter and brighter with each passing step.

At some point, I could recognize my destination even from a distance.

Blindingly shining footprints leading to the front door of a certain building.

‘I see.’

Creak–.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a familiar face.

“Huh?”

“What?”

It was the baldie I’d been looking for.

He was with somebody else, seemingly an executive.

“Who sent you?”

“Have all those guys making a fuss been dealt with?”

He didn’t seem to remember me at all. Well, him remembering me might’ve been even more surprising.

Instead of responding, I took a close look.

The one who’d scared me stiff the first time we’d met.

The guy who’d demonstrated the difference in our ‘class’ to me, keeping me rooted in place with just his presence.

And most of all, the guy who’d made me feel ‘death’.

That man… was no longer here.

“What a wimp^[1].”

“… What?”

“I’m saying you’re a wimp now.”

The baldie frowned as if he didn’t understand.

“You’ve been harassing our Cocoa for so long.”

“Cocoa…? Cocoa?”

And then,

“Ah, that little kid! What, you know her or something?”

The bald man burst into laughter once I mentioned Cocoa, as if he hadn’t noticed my earlier words.

The guy standing next to him frowned and stepped forward.

“Is that the problem now? Isn’t this guy is an enemy? He’s cheeky, too.”

“Ahaha, listen. Do you know how much that stupid little bitch pays me every week? A whopping ten million gold, ten million gold! She even believes she can be free one day. Oh dear. When I asked her where all the money was coming from…”

I didn’t hear any more.

I rushed in.

“That stinky mouth of yours…”

The executive standing next to him tried to stop me, startled, but he was too slow.

Th-ud.

My left fist hit his jaw and blew him away, and I then was facing the baldie.

Then,

“What do you think I should do with it?”

I gripped him by the jaws with my right hand, and lifted him up.

“K, kh, kggh!”

The baldie, startled, also tried to resist, but soon fell silent as he felt the power in my grip.

He must’ve guessed what his fate would be if he moved even the slightest, seeing what’d happened to his subordinate.

“I should’ve looked for you earlier, instead of so late. How hard that kid must’ve had it.”

The baldie’s eyes were slowly filling with fear.

Perhaps because he felt the threat of his life being snuffed out, bubbling in the clenched fist of my other hand.

“Ah, don’t worry. Your mouth will be fine. You have to be able to say you’re sorry, right? Of course, I can’t promise about the rest of you.”

Soon after,

“Agh, agggggh!”

The building was filled with the screams of a bald-headed man.

---

Again, I’d been right.

I left the building with a slightly refreshed mind.

The verification process was over.

These guys weren’t strong.

It was one of the reasons why I’d swaggered in with so much confidence. Because I’d expected myself to be much stronger than them.

The basis behind my reasoning was simple.

These guys were ‘characters created from the beginning’.

According to my guess, these guys were set up as quite strong, so they couldn’t appear early on and got pushed back to a long time later. When they did, they were an opponent that Leo or Kiriko couldn’t easily deal with by themselves.

But rather because of that, I thought these guys would be easier.

At best, their strength was comparable to the Leo of the beginning of the work.

And it wasn’t like Leo had already achieved some tremendous growth compared to that time. The cliché ‘crisis growth buffs’ or ‘rage growth buffs’ hadn’t been applied to him yet.

But nevertheless, Leo enjoys the benefit of getting slowly yet incrementally stronger as the story progresses, or when a new strong character appears. This is a kind of correction effect for the protagonist, and a kind of ‘plausibility reinforcement’ ensuring that he’s poised to win at every moment of crisis.

For example, Leo must’ve had already become even stronger just by the appearance of a character named Karl Zayed.

But these guys were different. They weren’t Leo, who could get stronger without any basis. Because they were not the protagonist.

And I, right now, was much stronger than Leo.

Perhaps in the future, when these guys would be slated to formally appear in the work, they could be the opponent of the current me, but that’d be a long time in coming.

I considered my next opponent.

The baldie had already been given a beating, so now only Firmino remained.

Now that two officers had been knocked down inside the city, he had to have noticed the presence of another raider inside the defences.

I had to quickly find Firmino before the guys who’d left the house came back and made themselves a nuisance.

I immediately targeted him and started searching for a path.

And surprisingly,

“Huh?”

The ‘difference’ was quickly discovered. It’d have been weirder to miss it, honestly. Because it was right there. And because there were so many.

‘… What is this?’

There were countless shining footprints on the ground.

And they were all headed towards the path up to the surface.

What this meant, was clear.

Firmino was now on the surface.

In that moment, it was as if lightning had struck inside my head.

“… Chinuavi.”

My feet had already started moving, faster than my thoughts.

I raced up towards the surface, my path a blaze of thousands of shining footprints.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 좁밥 (lit. narrow rice) is an expression usually used to describe kids who are lacking in some way or easily fall apart.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 44

Neo Archive

“Then… it’s time for our farewell.”

Haka flashed his usual smile.

Full of secrets and hidden meaning.

There was no emotion in his crescent half-moon eyes.

“What about your body? Are you really fine?”

“Seems the association paid some attention. The recovery pills were excellent. It’s all good now, other than throbbing a little.”

He was fine. Or rather, pretending to be.

But that’s why I was even more concerned. It was as if he was deliberately playing up his normal behaviour.

I was going to Eastland. I planned to visit the Goblins’ Den while I was there.

For Haka, it had to be the journey of his dreams.

Moreover, unlike the times when I’d been tied up with the author’s useless developments, we had been moving far more freely recently. Freed from the various settings that’d been subtly constraining my actions, we’d been living a more satisfying and enjoyable life.

So my words to him yesterday had to have come as a shock.

“Haka, I have a favour to ask you.”

“… What?”

“I want you to move separately for a little while.”

There were two reasons why I wanted to keep this guy apart.

First, as my mouthpiece.

Simple. I needed someone to stay in Westland and constantly remind Leo and the rest about my existence, so I wouldn’t be easily forgotten.

Somebody capable of keeping up the expectations about me by properly mixing loud lies with meaningful truths. Again, there was no one more fitting than this guy.

In fact, Leo and his friends already knew him as my colleague, so such actions wouldn’t even be suspicious.

Of course, I didn’t just ask Haka to do this outright.

Nominally, his job was to unite the various criminal organizations he was vaguely connected to, such as the ‘Windrider Gang’. I didn’t really think that those organizations would be any help, but they worked as an excuse.

Because I honestly thought it’d be pretty shitty to tell him to stay here just to sing my praises.

And second. I needed him to throw around ‘rice cakes’ about the goblins left and right.

In fact, this guy had never properly taken up his ‘original role’ since our very first meeting.

That is to say, to spread the word about the goblins.

According to the original storyline, this guy would’ve already gone to bother Leo and his party several times, asking them to solve a riddle or to make a bet. And in the process, he would’ve constantly mentioned the goblins and their five gods.

But here, he hadn’t.

In other words, at present neither Leo’s party nor the readers had any inkling about the existence of goblins. Even though they’d seen Chinuavi a few times already.

I needed Haka to start up this activity. If only to add foreshadowing and additional significance when I did finally manage to bring the goblins here in the future.

Also, this guy who’d been the epitome of ‘secrecy’ and ‘strength’ in the early parts of the original, had gradually withered and disappeared in the later parts. Because despite talking up the goblins, he hadn’t managed to stay relevant till that Chekov’s gun had fired. But what if the timing was better this time?

His significance would skyrocket, in proportion to his early foreshadowing. Enough that he wouldn’t disappear facing the future plotline, and would be able to fulfil his true potential.

“Three months. Three months at the most. I’ll be back by then.”

“Well… even if you say that…”

“I’m telling you again. Even if we’re away for a while, we’re still the same adventurer team. Got it?”

Haka snorted at my words.

“How come you believe in me so much… Of course, I truly respect Sir Chinuavi… But I’ve just been passing the time with you guys…

“Okay, you don’t have anything else to do, so don’t spout nonsense and just wait. Don’t forget my request, either. I’ll check your scorecard once I’m back.”

“…”

It was necessary to instil a sense of belonging in this guy. If you cannot establish a background where loyalty takes root, he would just disappear without a trace.

And… I already thought of this guy as a friend.

“I’ll tell you all about the Goblins’ Den afterwards. Maybe I’ll have something even more interesting to show you, too.”

I intentionally skipped the part about bringing the goblins. There had to be some surprise.

“But I never even got to hear about the goblin gods. Are you just throwing out empty promises again?”

“Ah, right. You want the Cliff Notes version? I can do it now if you want?”

Then Haka smiled and shook his head.

“Leave it. Just show me the goblin gods the next time we meet. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“Hah…”

This guy wanted more than my little surprise.

Of course, it was meant as a joke, but it stung a little bit.

Actually, I had that in mind too.

“And, you know? Don’t forget to talk about me later in front of Leo and the rest. That we’d already departed for Eastland a long time ago. Be sure to add in that the one who’s late to solve their mission loses.”

“Hey, somebody’s confident.”

“Believe it. Say we’re doing well. And it’s okay to exaggerate the rumours about us. Like we defeated an S-class adventurer team, or built a kingdom of some sort… stuff like that.”

“Hey, who’d believe that? I’ll take care of my end, so just do your job and come back. Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t come back. Anyway.”

I smiled as I watched Haka turn around in a hurry.

As usual, he was shy like a baby chick inside.

“Ah! Not going to say hi to Cocoa and Chinuavi? Want me to wait at the door?”

Haka didn’t turn back despite my shout.

However, after a while, a faint whisper was carried over by the wind.

“I’ll see you all soon anyway.”

---

Three days later.

A city in the southwestern parts of Westland, Neo Archive.

Contrary to its sophisticated-sounding name, the city looked poor and dismal. The streets were empty, the ground littered with trash and fallen leaves, and the incessantly blowing wind was the sole lonely wanderer in the quiet silence.

I looked back at Cocoa and asked –

“Is it right here?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing her face so taut with tension, we had to be in the right place.

“The real city is built under the ground. Living facilities, shops, everything. All the residents live underground.”

In a word, our enemy had built his very own subterranean kingdom of slaves.

He really couldn’t have made me any sicker.

“Really, this organization likes the underground. The cafeteria you led me to back then was the same.”

“But I’m not familiar with the detailed design of the settlement. I’d started following that baldy as soon as the marks were engraved on my neck. Of course, I could try and find a path in if you want, but…”

“It’s fine, why would you have to go? It’s enough just to have brought me this far. Even now, that guy might be feeling your presence.”

“He might, but I don’t think he’d really care, right? After all, everyone here is his subordinate. And I’ve never even seen the boss except during the engraving. Maybe he doesn’t even remember me?”

That was true enough. Had Cocoa been the subject of Firmino’s attention, it wouldn’t have been so easy to come this far. Right now, as long as he decided to, he could even make Cocoa stab me.

He was her boss.

‘… How annoying.’

I had to get Cocoa out of that devil’s thumb.

After apologizing to Cocoa for a while, I headed to a nearby vacant lot.

Then I quickly opened the shop window.

[Currently held points: 501,773p].

“Nice…”

Really, it was an astonishing number.

Yesterday afternoon, as Chapter 17 ended, more than 300,000 points had come in.

Even though there were no additional rewards, I’d earned this much just via awareness.

The actual number of people described as ‘a lot of readers’ who gave me enthusiastic support, was as high as 105,000.

It was so dazzling I’d had to rub my dazed eyes when I’d first seen the numbers.  

Wouldn’t this be better called popularity, rather than awareness?

It was possible to guess why it’d risen so much.

Probably not just because I got 1st place in the qualification exam. Readers didn’t even get to see how I got my place, after all.

Simple. The readers were up in arms.

Even though I came first in the popularity poll, not a single moment of the process of my taking first place in the exam was shown. Moreover, the author was now even trying to send me away to Eastland.

To be honest, I was curious about the reactions, so I couldn’t help but check the readers’ comments.

[Chapter 17 Appearance at the Awards Ceremony – Reader Comments]

Fighting Somansal – Bring back Squatjaw!

Matiz – Author’s going a bit too far.

adfd – Isn’t it because he’s taken a bite out of the protagonist’s narrative weight?

Ari-ari – You can see the author’s level from how he’s putting the most popular character out to pasture.

Jang Moonchungnaga – Author fiat hahaha

LWJ – Author, apologize. What happened to narrative plausibility?

These were comments that warmed my heart.

Somehow, it felt like second-hand satisfaction.

‘Ah, this is great! More, more!’

But,

jh7free – Isn’t this going to be dual viewpoint from now on? Divide the main point of view, and show Leo and Hiro alternately.

No answer. – Agreed. This is how a rival should be treated.

akdtm1 – If you get to see one moving in the east and one in the west, it’d be awesome.

Some readers completely misunderstood the author’s intentions.

Sharing the leading point of view with me? No way.

Our author, who’d leave no stones unturned trying to cut somebody off if they cross the line just once?

But, of course, I couldn’t expect the public opinion to completely turn against him. Perhaps an opportunity would come in the future.

‘… Oh no. I’m deluding myself again.’

I shook my head to shake off my futile hopes.

It was time to focus on what I had to do right now, rather than fall into such wishful thoughts.

I opened the ‘Troops’ page in the store.

Category / [Character Setting] – [Troops]

※ Press here to check the details.

1. Normal – 200p
2. Sturdy Meathead – 500p
3. Normal with a Weapon – 800p
4. Experienced Martial Artist – 1,200p
5. Lesser Combat Agent – 1,500p

⁝

‘Let’s see…’

▶ [Intermediate Combat Agent] detail page.

• Characteristics
  • 10x the strength of ordinary people. Varied combat techniques. Proficiency in handling 17 weapon types. Able to conduct group operations.
• Rental period
  • 6 hours – 1800p
  • 12 hours – 3,000p
  • 24 hours – 5,000p
• Special
  • Discount for group purchase.
  • 10 or more – 10%
  • 100 or more – 20%
  • 1,000 or more – 30%

‘Anyway, it’s exorbitantly expensive.’

The higher the price, the more difficult it was to judge. Would it be better to buy them individually, in bulk lots to get a discount, or should I directly buy groups with a combination synergy?

15. Nameless D-Class Adventurer Team – 100,000p

16. New Mobile Combat Team of the Adventurers’ Association – 120,000p

17. International Council Battle Group C-1 – 150,000p

⁝

The reason I wanted to increase the number of troops by spending so much money was simple. Because the number of enemies I’d have to face from here on would be enormous.

The [Scribe’s Shackles] of Corps Commander Firmino could increase his number of subordinates indefinitely. Of course, he wouldn’t have as much power and time as when he’d appeared in the original story, but nonetheless, there had to be at least a thousand enemies. Even in the Mount Knock arc, he’d said that he had five thousand troops.

“A thousand people…”

Of course, that didn’t mean I had to take them all out. After all, this mind control ability meant the battle was one to capture the boss, so it was enough to just make a beeline for him and save time.

As far as I knew, this guy wasn’t even strengthening his subordinate’s abilities. Roughly speaking, I thought it appropriate to assume that we’d face about a thousand enemies ranging from ‘low-level combatants’ to ‘experienced in martial arts’.

Once we attracted them towards us, how many troops would our side need to hold out, even for a short time?

‘For intermediate agents, we should need at least two or three hundred people, right?’

With two hundred people, 6 hours was 360,000p.

How much did my heart hurt, thinking of that?

I repeated to myself as if incanting a magic spell.

“It’s not that bad. It’s not that bad…”

Then, after taking a deep breath, I called forth a hundred intermediate agents at once.

After a while,

– Shhh. Shhh. Shhh.

One by one, people were created in the middle of the vacant lot.

“Oooh…”

This time too, it was an amazing sight. Like Terminators swarming through a warp gate.

Of course, they were all wearing clothes.

Oddly enough, as soon as the agents appeared, they looked around and started shaking hands. As if the new extras were congratulating each other.

That was then –

“You seem to be calling the soldiers from your dreams, like you did at the amusement park, right?”

“Huh?”

Someone’s voice came floating from afar.

It was Chinuavi.

The guy watched the summoning scene with interest, but didn’t ask about the underlying method or ability. In fact, he didn’t seem that excited.

It wasn’t just because he was a goblin, probably.

In fact, most people in this world would’ve felt the same. That it wasn’t that surprising.

In the first place, the basic worldview included the words ‘everything imaginable’, so there were many cases where people didn’t react much seeing various abilities.

Every time I managed to do something new, I myself was usually the most surprised.

“It looks like you’re calling quite a few this time. And… fairly strong soldiers at that?”

“This time, there’re quite a few enemies. So I need more.”

“How many enemies are you facing? You’ve already got a hundred here, looks like. Isn’t that enough?”

“A thousand.”

“I see. Then this should be enough.”

“… Hoo.”

I just looked at him, a bit puzzled. Weren’t such remarks too arrogant for somebody who’d failed the Brawler Goblin Test multiple times?

“If the commander is good enough, the number of soldiers doesn’t matter much.”

“… True enough, but I’m not going to join the battle. Like I said before, I have to infiltrate the place by myself. So I have to ask for your help. I need a couple more commanders…”

“Who said you won’t join?”

At that moment,

Pyorong–.

Another Squatjaw appeared in front of me.

Wearing a bright red cloak that who knew came from where. He looked like a real general, with an air of command.

“Isn’t Captain Squatjaw right here?”

---

Thump-thump-thump–.

Thump-thump-thump–.

“… What?”

Awakened by the noise, the man habitually glanced at the periscope pointing up at the ground. Because that was the duty of the man in charge of the city’s borders.

But the man soon grew speechless at the sight reflected through lens of the periscope.

“What, what is that…”

Something like a giant earthworm was crashing into the city entrance. Not one, but three.

Fortunately, unlike his frozen mouth, his hands did not forget their mission.

Ding-ding–.

Ding-ding–.

The sound of the invasion alarm resounded through the underground city.

“Emergency, emergency!”

“It’s an attack!”

“What is it?”

“What is it!? What are you guys doing!?”

The man was well aware that he had a duty to convey what he had seen, but he was finding it strangely difficult to articulate.

“H-, huge earthworms… and a big, big…”

“Earthworms? What else other than earthworms!?”

There were countless modifiers to describe ‘that man’, but strangely, what the guard finally came up with was a phrase he wouldn’t usually use.

But after a moment, he felt convinced that it was a fairly accurate designation.

“A guy with a big jutting chin! A real squat-jaw!”

Wearing a red cloak, riding atop a giant earthworm, leading an army of about a hundred men, he’d come to raid the city of Neo Archive.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 43

My Precious, First, Colleague

Let’s leave for Eastland.

As soon as possible. Even tomorrow, if that were feasible.

Having made such a decision, I had to come up with a detailed plan right away.

The plan itself wasn’t much of an issue. 

What was important was to set the longest possible time period before my return.

I decided not to consider the difficulty or content of the assigned task. Whatever it was, I had to unconditionally finish it and return within the set deadline.

There were two main criteria for setting the deadline.

Firstly, any chapters where I had to appear.

Among the many chapters yet to come, there were ones that I could never allow myself to miss. Chapters containing events that would trigger some new storyline, or chapters where new characters who would be central to the future plot would appear.

If I didn’t come back in time to appear in those chapters, I’d be left behind at some point. Because starting from a specific chapter, the story would start progressing quickly, and the main plot would develop with the speed of a torrent, with multiple significant events occurring simultaneously.

If you can’t ride the torrent, you’ll inevitably drown and be eliminated from the story.

Secondly, the speed at which my character would ‘weaken’.

Basically, my power level has a different source than all the other characters around me.

I am the only being whose ‘character level’ is completely relative to my actual ability, and the strength of all my powers and abilities increase in direct proportion to my actual ‘appearance rate’, ‘popularity’, and ‘significance’.

Of course, like everyone else, I can also become stronger by practicing or taking an elixir. 

But it’s simply much more efficient and faster to just buy a background, get a trait, and raise my rank to become stronger. In fact, we were now at twentyish chapters, and I now had enough pure physical strength to defeat almost anybody.

Perhaps at this point in time, there might be no one with greater physical ability than me, except for Karl Zayed. That included Leo.

The reward for the first place in the popularity poll was that great.

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

⁝

Of course, that was also why I was in this situation.

When I tested, I could mimic Leo’s current skills without any trouble. Even some future chapters were fine.

Anyway, looking at it from the other way around, it meant that if I couldn’t sustain this ‘character level’, it could weaken that much faster.

My character wouldn’t get deleted if I didn’t appear for a few months. Because I was the undisputed rival character.

Even so, it would gradually start weakening.

Actually, I’d already experienced this ‘weakening’ a few times.

For example, I usually just needed a flick of a finger to arm wrestle with Cocoa, but one day I suddenly had to use two fingers. Also, my physical condition usually didn’t deteriorate if I went without sleep, but there were days when I suddenly felt exhausted, etc.

Of course, I didn’t know the exact amount by which it would reduce. Sometimes, even though time passed without me appearing in the chapter, I suddenly felt strengthened, rather than weakened.

Probably because Leo and his party were gossiping about me and making things up around that time.

Nevertheless, the ‘weakening’ would definitely progress more and more rapidly as time went by. In particular, if Leo and his party entered a chapter where they were frantically carrying out their missions with no thought for anything else, it’d be even worse.

‘Weakening…’

It wasn’t like there was absolutely no way to prevent it.

Mimicking Karl Zayed’s unique ability, for example.

If I could mimic that ability, it’d offset my weakening quite a bit. And I’d be reborn in my next appearance, like a tiger growing wings.

However, this was still not possible in my current state. If Karl Zayed’s character had completely fallen to the abyss, it might’ve been possible, but not now that the author had brought him back to life.

In conclusion, I had to go to Eastland.

Anyway, with these two conditions put together, I decided on a deadline of three months.

Or, about 14 to 15 chapters.

I might be missing out on a few significant chapters, but there was no helping it.

But I absolutely had to return before the ‘Scramble for Ramirez’s Treasure’ could take place.

More than fifty adventurer groups would be involved in that battle, and a tenth of those would pass through the ‘King’s Road’ to reach the hidden continent, ‘Midland’.

Basically, they would be the centrepieces of the future storyline.

To worm my way into that mess –

No, to be at the very heart of it –

Was not something to be missed.

Next, I prioritized the tasks I had complete within these three months.

1. Go to Eastland.

2. Perform the (A-ranked) mission given by the Adventurers’ Association.

3. Stop by the Goblins’ Den and do some business.

4. Return to Westland.

5. Start preparing for the Ramirez Scramble.

It was definitely a tight schedule.

Aside from the difficulty of the tasks, the timing itself was problematic. Because the travel times weren’t trivial.

Using ‘chapter movement’ to return would save me a lot of time, but I wasn’t too sure about this.

It wasn’t specifically stated anywhere, but there might be limits to the distance you could move. Because originally, ‘space movement’ abilities in this world had many restrictions.

Not just that, I also couldn’t be sure if the author would continue to provide such a ‘convenience’ in the future even though he’d done so till now. Instantaneous transportation from continent to continent? Even disregarding whatever emotion he held towards me, it didn’t feel like he was going to allow something like that. Because that would destroy plausibility.

To sum it up, I had to hurry.

I thought about the fastest way to get to Eastland.

“Hmm.”

I had no idea.

I only knew of the one way.

The road that Leo and his friends had taken in the original work. 

But this wasn’t a good route.

It was a route that passed through numerous cities and covered all kinds of events, over a number of years.

I had to find a new way, different from the original.

Of course, I could easily acquire one from the Information Guild on the way to Eastland. But that’d just be a general route, so if I wanted to find the fastest one…

‘No, wait.’

Why was I thinking so hard about this?

I knocked myself on the forehead.

Didn’t I have a guide who’d shined the brightest in the Adventurer Qualification Test by my side?

I relaxed immediately.

Looked like I had to find Cocoa first, decide on a route, and then continue with the rest of the plan.

I immediately left my seat and got up.

---

I found Cocoa not long after. 

Strangely, the front garden seemed to stand out, and she was indeed there.

My ‘pathfinding eyes’ had apparently become quite usable.

Cocoa was sitting alone on a bench, under the pale moonlight, somehow looking miserable and wretched.

This was a very rare sight, because she always hung around me whenever she had nothing else to do.

It was actually my first time seeing her like that.

“What are you doing?”

“… Huh? Squatjaw?”

When I called, Cocoa turned around with a surprised expression.

“You look really surprised.”

“No, it’s just… You jumped out of nowhere and called me all of a sudden.”

“You mean you didn’t see me coming? Does that sound believable?”

“… Really. I didn’t see you.”

“…”

Cocoa looked strange.

Powerless, drooping, somehow… as if she wanted to cry. 

It was simply odd. Weird.

As I scratched my head, Cocoa smiled and changed her expression.

“What about the banquet? Why aren’t you there?”

Stranger and stranger. This kid’s expression, tone, and words.

“… I was afraid that you’d already pocketed all the food. There was no point in going. But why are you here of all places?”

Cocoa didn’t reply.

The kid just looked blank, and didn’t speak.

I waited patiently for her to start talking.

And then,

“When are you going to Eastland?”

Cocoa spoke again.

Her voice was calm, and since I’d been waiting for the topic, my words quickly tumbled out.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Good question. I’m thinking we might leave tomorrow? So…”

It was then.

“Goodbye.”

“What?”

“It’s been fun.”

“… What’re you talking about?”

Instead of answering me, Cocoa abruptly opened her leather bag, taking out a Pierrot mask and putting it on.

“I’m saying this is goodbye. Idiot Squatjaw. I’m not going with you.”

“… What? Why?”

“It’s just – I’m tired. It’s no fun anymore. It’s too far…”

…

She looked far too sad to be saying something like that.

I watched Cocoa as she trembled and tried to hold back her tears.

It felt like she’d burst at the slightest touch.

I didn’t know the reason, but I thought it’d be better to just quietly stay by her side.

‘Or… should I give her a pat on the shoulder?’

While I was taking a step closer –

… Hm?

I could feel a strange flash of heat from Cocoa’s body.

‘What?’

Unconsciously, my face inched closer. 

And I discovered something weird.

‘Writing? Tattoo? Letters?’

Near the nape of Cocoa’s neck, a place normally covered by her clothes, what looked like words were scribbled.

And they emitted a red light.

“When did you…”

“Huh? G-, go away!”

But Cocoa was already in my arms. Startled, she tried to shake me off, but I had no plans to let her go.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

I grabbed her collar and pulled it down, revealing the entire red text.

“Pocket Slave”.

“… Let go. Squatjaw…”

I had no words.

Even though Cocoa hurriedly shook me off, I didn’t stop her. I couldn’t stop her.

All sorts of thoughts were rushing through my head, and I couldn’t do anything.

Tattooed letters, shining red.

Those insulting and malicious words.

I knew very well what they meant.

As well as who’d engraved them on Cocoa, and what kind of situation she was in right now.

It was the result of a unique ability.

[Scribe’s Shackles]

• Control a target by engraving marks on their body.

Simply put, it was a mind control ability similar to the [Seven Rings to Bind Them].

The major differences being that it was ‘semi-permanent’ and ‘not limited by the number of targets’, and that its effect would differ slightly depending on the distance from the target.

And the level of the ability somewhat depended on the user’s presence.

Corps Commander Firmino.

One of the named villains of Adventure King, who called his adventurers a ‘corps’ and had led thousands of troops to the Tower of Adventure.

So my memory had been correct, after all.

That guy who’d been holding Cocoa prisoner the other day, I did recognize that bald head of his from the ‘Mount Knock Arc’.

That guy was a subordinate of Corps Commander Firmino. Firmino was one of the captains of the ten adventurer groups who’d climbed Mount Knock.

Only then did I realize why Cocoa hadn’t been able to appear in the work despite her outstanding ability.

From the author’s point of view, according to the original cliché, Leo and his party had to go through Big City to find Cocoa.

But somehow, this organization turned out be set as too high a hurdle. I didn’t know if it was a mistake or not.

So when it came to developing a confrontation, the organization didn’t seem easy to deal with, and it was also a bit of a waste to use such a strong villain in the early parts of the story. So the author just chose to skip it.

Cocoa was left behind in the background, in the process.

Actually, I’d often thought that Yan was a bit awkward as far as his guiding ability went. He was better suited to be an adversary, in comparison. If nothing else, didn’t his unique ability look like that of an adversary?

Of course, once the number of ghosts had grown to dozens in the later parts of the story, they’d pulled their weight by scouting ahead in great numbers, but it still didn’t feel like a perfect fit.

Maybe… Cocoa had originally been supposed to be in Yan’s place.

“…”

Slowly, I looked back at Cocoa.

She was stroking the nape of her neck with her hand. As if she couldn’t help but want to rub off the letters shining bright red.

I took her hand and squeezed.

“I know… what those letters are.”

Then,

“… What, what?”

Cocoa shrieked in surprise.

“And who carved them.”

“H-, how could you know…”

Cocoa’s eyes were confused and wet with tears.

But I didn’t say any more.

Perhaps this kid won’t be even be able to speak the name ‘Firmino’. Maybe even thinking about it was painful. She might be forbidden to even react.

Instead of speaking further, I gently took off my jacket. Because those tiny clothes of hers didn’t seem sufficient to cover those marks on her neck.

“To think, you went to the bank every time…”

“…”

Nothing crazy had happened so far.

Even though there was no shortage of money, she just kept collecting money, kept trying to steal money everywhere, and whenever there was a city nearby, the first thing she did was to run to the bank.

And, that baldie.

That terrifying guy had never showed up either. Even though he’d told Cocoa that he’d never let her go.

Maybe he was having trouble tracking us because my ‘chapter movement’ didn’t leave any traces? That’s what I’d thought, but that wasn’t the case. He knew where Cocoa was and where she was going, and he had no intention of catching her in the first place. Because money was pouring in so fast, he must’ve thought that he’d caught a goodhearted pushover.

In other words, Cocoa had been ‘renting’ her freedom, with money.

‘… What an idiot, huh.’

I’d thought there was no problem, but I was the only one who’d thought so.

Meaning… I myself had been the biggest problem.

Then,

“If you can wait a while… before going to Eastland …”

Cocoa quietly brought out the words she must’ve kept bottled in till now.

“No. I don’t have the time.”

“Why… the mission has such a long deadline…”

“No.”

For some reason, it was difficult to look straight at this kid.

I would’ve known sooner. If I’d looked a little more closely.

So, I turned to the dim garden under the quiet moonlight. Maybe those faint shadows could hide some of my shame.

“Then… goodbye.”

“What?”

“Because I can’t go to Eastland.”

“You will.”

“Huh?”

“You will go.”

Cocoa fell silent as if she couldn’t understand what I said.

“Because I’m going to make you go.”

“B-, but…”

I’d once seen a similar situation in another shounen manga.

A scene in which the protagonist forced a colleague in an unfortunate situation, to say ‘help me’ out loud. As evidence of her faith.

I never did understand that.

Why was there a need for all that? Just looking at her should tell you enough.

I could tell without looking into her eyes or looking at her expression.

I could tell just by looking at that Pierrot mask.

How desperately she needed me right now.

“Alright, stop talking.”

This was fine. In any case, one of the adventurer groups who’d climb the mountain had to be erased. So that the Squatjaw Adventurers could take its place.

“Just tell me where they are. Do you know who I need to tidy up? If not, just where that bald guy is would be fine too.”  

“Oh, no! It’s dangerous… and, and you’ve got a tight schedule… don’t you have to hurry…”

“It’s just a bit of a detour. And since I have such a long way to go and so much to do, I need you all the more.”

And, no matter how tight my schedule was, there was no way I could leave her behind.

My first precious colleague in this world.

I’d become a true-blue shounen manga character, it seemed.

“You’re coming with me. Not just to Eastland. To the Tower of Adventure… to the very top.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 42

Author, This Madman

“16th, Joseph, the leader of the Joseph’s Adventurers! Please come up.”

At the host’s call, a shorty jumped up on the podium.

“You and the Joseph’s Adventurers have obtained the treasure hidden by the Adventurers’ Association, ‘the ripped jeans of Jim, a clothing store owner’, and passed the Adventurer Qualification Test with an excellent score, getting the 16th place.”

“Thank you.”

Clap, clap.

Clap, clap.

“I’ll give you your adventurer’s licenses, and the jeans you brought back.”

The man on the podium cheered, as if he couldn’t contain his joy.

Hmmm.

To be honest, it was all a bit questionable.

From that man’s point of view, this ranking couldn’t have felt very fair. Because how low the ‘adversaries’ were being scored.

Joseph’s Adventurers, who’d placed 16th, was the final winner of the battle against four other adventurer teams (17th to 20th places). Who knew how exactly the fight had gone, but most likely they’d dealt with at least two other teams.

This meant that the adversary of that Joseph’s Adventurer Team was of a higher level than their guide.

On the other hand, the 15th-ranked adventurer group, far from acquiring the treasure, most likely had never even laid their eyes on it. It was the weakest among the adventurer groups (10th to 15th places) who’d battled for the same treasure.

The only reason they’d ranked higher than Joseph’s Adventurers was because they’d done a good job finding the way.

In summary, the most important position to impact the rankings in this Adventurer Qualification Test is the ‘guide’. The next is the ‘decipherer’.

Of course, this scoring method also has some validity from the association’s point of view.

This is because the pathfinder and decipherer abilities can be systematically ranked by the tests of the association, but not the adversary abilities. Since the contestants just fight it out between themselves, it’s not possible for the association to properly verify those skills.

But it’s very ironic.

In fact, the adversary position is the most attractive for an adventurer.

This Adventure King manga itself basically just revolves around battles.

Then,

“Come on!”

“Hey! Those jeans!”

“Great!”

Cheers were heard from behind.

They seemed to be members of Joseph’s Adventurers, and they looked quite energetic.

“I’ve got an idea. How about making this our team’s symbol? Let’s turn it into our flag!”

“Ooh, can we?”

“Why not write some words on it, too?”

Haah…

This was some absurd conversation.

What were they going to do with that mop? Make it the team’s symbol?

Hilarious. They didn’t come sixteenth for no reason.

Simple. Because the treasure they had was basically trash, which was why their adversary exam had probably been given even less weight.

Coveting a treasure you see might spur you to win it, but what does coveting such a rag say about your strength?

Of course, there was a background to this too. In the past, the tests were to find real treasures, but that’d changed after a certain incident.

[Treasure theft at the Adventurer Qualification Test Centre].

It was an incident where an adventurer group who were taking the qualification test had grabbed all the treasures from the assignment and escaped.

This case was set to be so famous that there was nobody who didn’t know about it, and that was probably why those bandits who’d pretended to be adventurers were deeply infamous even to the present day.

The Huntington Bandits.

‘Come to think of it, we might bump into each other sooner or later.’

Bandits are beings who frequently clash with adventurers. About 5-10% of the total adventuring quests are about bandit extermination.

As I recalled, Leo’s party and the Huntington Bandits would come into conflict within the next few arcs.

Looked like I had to come up with a way to slowly infiltrate the arc using the bandits.

The awards ceremony had already reached the top ten.

The moment the 7th rank was called,

Tiling–.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 17 – Appearance at the Awards Ceremony]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

A new chapter had begun.

The author took good care of his readers. He left out all the boring scenes and opened the chapter when the ones worth watching came out.

While I was about to close the window after checking chapter name –

“… Wait a moment.”

Something was odd.

“Appearance at the awards ceremony?”

I scratched my head.

The title was a tad confusing.

‘Isn’t this odd?’

Of course, I didn’t remember all the chapter titles. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel the strangeness hidden in this one.

The title hinted at someone new appearing during the awards ceremony. And that someone, was the protagonist of this chapter. 

But this was nonsense. Because I was the protagonist of this chapter. I was the one at the top.

Not only that, there hadn’t been a scene in the original where a guy had barged in during the awards ceremony.

‘What the hell are you doing?’

It seemed like the author was trying to somehow snatch my spotlight away, but it was nothing more than sad childish tantrums. The development he was aiming for didn’t seem achievable.

At that moment,

“6th place, Doji, the leader of the Doji Adventurers! Please come up to the stage.”

On the podium, the name of the 6th-placed adventurer group was called.

Then,

“Huh?”

“What… 6th?”

Leo’s expression changed drastically. The party seemed to have noticed their ranking now.

The fact that the adventurer team that had faced them was 6th, meant that they were ranked 3rd.

In that instant, Leo’s head snapped towards me.

“Squatjaw! No way…?”

Yeah, great response.

I just smiled without saying a word.

After a while,

“Then the third place. Leo, the leader of the Leo Adventurers!”

Leo went up to the stage.

Staring at me all the while, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

‘Yeah, that’s a good look. Stare more, yeah, that’s right.’

However, I pretended not to notice and ignored him. As if he could never be my match.

Well, to be honest, this wasn’t an act appropriate for my current appearance.

Then, after he finished awarding the certificates, as the host was about to send Leo down –

Leo pointed at me.

“Squatjaw! Next time… Next time I’ll never lose!”

He sent out some fantastic comments.

‘Oh…’

I almost burst into cheers.

Really, even this kind of deluxe service?

Didn’t this pretty much cement my rival position?

It was difficult to keep my mouth from openly gaping.

And then,

“Well, the 3rd place captain was a bit noisy. So, on to the next…”

It was my turn.

I quietly waited for the host’s call.

Originally, Karl Zayed should’ve been called, but he was not present. The 2nd place adventurer team didn’t attend the awards ceremony due to injury. Same as had happened in the original.

That was then –

“2nd place! Grey Lion Adventurer Team! Captain, Karl Zayed! Please come up on the podium.”

“Eh?”

I made an inadvertent exclamation.

Were they calling him now? But he couldn’t have come…

At that instant,

Creak–.

I gaped in surprise.

“He… came.”

How puzzling. It was Karl Zayed.

The guy opened the door to the venue and trudged in like the main character.

Although he was limping, he walked.

Everyone’s attention was focused on him.

‘What is this?’

Truly an absurd appearance. A well-directed scene.

I was dumbfounded.

‘How the hell can you stand?’

The guy must’ve suffered a fatal blow and collapsed. I didn’t carefully check his cuts and wounds, true, but there’d been a lot of blood.

Rather, I might have understood if this hadn’t been a manga world. In reality, one torn Achilles’ tendon doesn’t mean your life’s in jeopardy.

But he was a manga character, whose only weakness was his Achilles’ tendon. A wound there? It had to be life-threatening. Because that fit the plausibility.

Achilles wasn’t killed by an arrow to that spot for nothing. Not because of the wound, but because of his background setting.

Even so, Karl Zayed appeared here.

As if to seize the mantle of the protagonist of this chapter.

There was only one thing I could think of, looking at him.

Deus Ex Machina.

The author directly intervening in the story.

He’d drawn his sword.

“Yes, the Grey Lion Adventurer Team, which took second place, is the only one-man adventurer group among the candidates this time. Although there’re still some aftereffects of the injury, we decided to give him a seat here.”

My first thought?

The author had screwed up.

The painstakingly created character was shattered before he even appeared, the development designed for him was in danger of disappearing in an instant, and the results of the popularity poll were shit, so in the end, he screwed the pooch.

But soon I shook my head.

That kind of lazy assumption won’t work.

I was starting to feel a serious level of doubt and threat from the current situation.

The author was trying to advance the story while completely ‘excluding’ the existence of ‘I’, to some extent. Forcing me to keep silent because readers didn’t see me anyway. He himself was twisting the ‘plausibility’ of this world.

Suddenly, a product in the character shop came to mind.

In the ‘Other’ category of the store.

[Deletion grace right – 5,000p]

※Caution) You cannot disobey the author’s ‘absolute deletion’ order.

The implication of this product was simple.

This world was a place where the author had the right to enforce ‘absolute deletion’.

Very easily.

I’d always thought that the author and I might be able to get along.

Some aspects of my actions might harm the developments he’d envisioned, but if the author’s main goal was to make this story more interesting, I thought he’d be able to understand all my actions in the end.

If the manga received improved critical reception because of me, the author would eventually recognize me and think about using me further.

So, I didn’t take him too seriously. Because the immediate response from the readers was enough to justify my actions.

And my popularity, too. I thought it’d become a trusty shield.

But I seemed to have missed something.

The feelings of the author himself.

‘… This is tough.’

This was a variable I hadn’t accounted for. Who knew he could be so sensitive?

I knew. Because I’d seen first-hand how the Corrupted Knight had disappeared.

I knew it, but didn’t feel it in my heart. That I’d crossed the line a long time ago.

I had to admit it. I’d been arrogant. I’d been so chuffed, saying that everything was going according to plan.

Of course, I didn’t think that the author had decided to completely reject me right now.

Had that been the case, the ‘intervention’ wouldn’t have ended at simply mitigating that guy’s injury. Rather, it would’ve harmed me more directly, or manipulated the rankings themselves.

However, he hadn’t done that.

Meaning even though he was angry, the author still had to think about using my character. My current popularity had to be a burden for him as well.

So maybe Karl Zayed’s appearance here was simply because he thought, ‘I want to continue with my planned development’.

Fighting to stay on my feet.

That was how I was feeling right now. The author had really tugged hard this time.

‘… It’s true, I’ve been the one tugging too hard before this.’

This time, it was inevitable to be dragged a little in our private tug-of-war.

I stared silently at Karl Zayed as he passed me by.

He also glanced at me while passing by, but didn’t say anything.

After Karl Zayed’s certificate was awarded –

The host called me up to the stage.

“And now, the long-awaited first place! The Squatjaw Adventurers! Captain Hiro, please come up to the podium!”

I walked out without hesitation.

I’d prepared some steps originally, and had several scenes in mind, such as transforming into a handsome boy, but everything was omitted. For now, it seemed right to just take a bow.

Even on the podium, I was just standing still. The host continued to say something, but I couldn’t hear it. I wasn’t even conscious of the fire in Leo’s eyes.

“Okay, now that the introduction is complete, the 2nd and 3rd place captains, please come back up to the stage. We’ll announce the adventurer grades and the mission assignments for all the successful students.”

Adventurer grades.

They go from D to SS, and your treatment and authority vary depending on your level.

This applies all over the world, under any government or organization.

The Leo Adventurers received a B+ grade, and us as well as Karl Zayed received an A.

In the original, only the first place had been ranked A, but the author didn’t seem ready to concede. There must’ve been developments that could only materialize when the second place was an A grade.

“Next, we will fulfil the duties designated by the association. First of all, the mission given to the third-placed Leo Adventurers is…”

The mission Leo received was the same as in the original.

The Hunt for Lost Treasures in Hetro Temple. He’d encounter the Huntington Bandits for the first time in the process. The mission grade was B+.

Karl Zayed’s mission was simply to eliminate a single criminal group. It was a group I’d never heard of. The mission was graded A-.

And then it was my turn.

“Now, the long-awaited task given to the long-awaited 1st place adventure team is to explore the ruins of the ancient civilization in the Angku Empire. Traces of it have recently been discovered on the southern side of Westland. The mission grade is A.”

Well?

It was a little odd. It was a normal mission, and it didn’t seem too difficult.

Once I heard it, I just thought… it was a good mission. Alright, nothing special about it.

‘Is something terrifying hidden inside?’

Of course, I’d have to go find out for myself.

Just when the ceremony was ending –

“Come on, wait a minute!”

The door slammed open and somebody rushed in.

“It’s changed!”

“What?”

“The mission! For the… Squatjaw Adventurers!”

… What?

What a cheap trick. It wasn’t a good feeling.

Soon after, the host, who heard the news in whispers, coughed a couple of times before talking about the changed mission.

“Sorry. We’ve got a request for support for which we urgently need a skilled adventurer team. The new mission of the Squatjaw Adventurers is… about the truce between the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom in Eastland…”

For a moment I thought I heard it wrong.

“Eastland?”

I was speechless.

This was beyond absurd.

This crazy author was trying to chase me out of the continent.

---

The banquet after the awards ceremony.

The chapter was still in progress, but I didn’t care and had left the venue by myself.

That readers would like it, and it might be better in terms of rewards, but neither my mood nor my circumstances were conducive to staying.

I needed time to think right now.

I had two options.

1. Go.

2. Don’t go.

First option, go to Eastland.

Meaning I’d be out of the chapters for a while… no, for quite a long time. Since this was the beginning of the arc where countless characters start to appear, there was a high possibility that I’d be forgotten. As time went on, my survival itself would be threatened.

However, I wouldn’t need to confront the author for the time being.

The key was how quickly I could come back.

Second, don’t go.

Just thinking about it made me feel tired.

The Adventurers’ Association would turn into an enemy. Of course, it wouldn’t be to the point where they’d put a bounty on my head, but I’d permanently lose my ‘adventurer’ qualifications, and bad rumours would start circulating as per the setting. There would be significant restrictions on behaviour. It would take a considerable amount of time to restore it.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

As I thought, the author seemed to have expected that I might well make this choice. This kind of development couldn’t proceed unless the author was also very determined. He’d have to rewrite a lot of content, and he’d have to suffer through a lot of scolding. Trying to kick me out to Eastland would definitely get him a few earfuls.

So if I put off my choice to the very last minute, would his clenched fist finally relax?

Because he’d have the confidence to control me, or to destroy me, at his leisure.

“I think I should go.”

I already knew it in my head. To go was the right decision.

But I didn’t want to. Because this was no different than bowing my head to the author.

After thinking for a while,

“Hoo…”

Eventually I made a decision.

Just this once, I’ll follow. But I’ll make you regret it one day.

I repeated to myself, like a mantra.

Let’s go. Let’s fucking go and bring back a bomb that’ll completely destroy all ‘plausibility’ if I choose to stand aside. And let’s just throw it at the heart of the story.

A nuclear bomb, called ‘the goblins’.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 41

Readers’ Comments

“I have one last question for you.”

“Yes, please say.”

“I heard that the first adventure quest from the association cannot be refused.”

“You can refuse. If you want to become the association’s enemy.”

The woman smiled, a smile that was somehow reminiscent of Haka.

“Then do I have a choice? Are there a list of quests to choose from?”

“Well… there aren’t really any strict rules around that. But…”

After a moment of silence, the woman continued speaking.

“But it’d be better for you to just accept it. It’s a gift from the Adventurers’ Association to all those who’ve passed. In particular, the missions assigned to the top-ranked adventure groups have been meticulously prepared by the association, to achieve the maximum results according to the teams’ abilities. Naturally, the quality of the missions differs with ranking.”

“… Is that so.”

But I couldn’t help but feel a little queasy. Because it was a mandatory mission.

‘Well… it doesn’t matter.’

Since I couldn’t remember the mission that Karl Zayed got assigned in the original work, it probably hadn’t been very special. Probably similar to the one Leo’s party had received.

“Any more questions?”

“None.”

“Then let me ask you one last question.”

She fell silent for a while.

Seeing her calmly fermenting the mood with grave eyes, this question seemed to be very important, unlike the rest.

Finally, she slowly spoke.

“Mr. Hiro. What kind of adventurer do you want to be?”

“…”

For a moment, I almost ended up laughing.

Not because the question itself was funny, but because it was so different from what I’d been expecting.

I’d thought it might be a question about whether I’d like to work for the association, or whether I’d like to meet some powerful member of the association.

But really, this was the kind of question that better suited a shounen manga.

Even so, actually hearing it felt a bit cringey.

“… It’s simple.”

I answered comfortably with a smile.

It was a question with a set answer, anyhow.

“One who survives to the very end.”

---

The interview with the veteran adventurer ended well without any major issues.

Although I’d entered the final stage of the qualification test, it was not a place to show off the abilities of the team. The ‘personality’ test, instead of testing the strength of your ability, was actually the time to verify your personality.

In the first place, the fact that only I, the captain, and not the whole team, had been called, meant that it wasn’t a very important stage.

As I was returning, the long-awaited message arrived via hologram.

Tiling–.

[Chapter 16 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (2) has ended]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has decreased by 30]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 100%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership.
• Awareness: 59,259
• Author’s favourability: 27
• Reappearance probability: 100%

Tiling–.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points deducted 3000p for the fall in the author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 1000p for the rise in the reappearance probability]

[Additional 1000p character points paid for achieving 100% reappearance probability]

“Hmm.”

There was no reward at all, and the author’s favourability also greatly diminished.

Well, I’d expected that to happen. In fact, I never even showed my face in this chapter, so it was impossible for the readers to support me, and since I completely destroyed the character the author had so ambitiously prepared before even his first appearance, it was inevitable for favourability to fall.

But it didn’t matter. After all, the next chapter would be flooded with huge rewards.

‘It’s just 30…’

To be honest, I’d expected it to get cut a lot more than that. The situation had to have been supremely annoying for the author.

The character called Karl Zayed was already half-destroyed.

After appearing brilliantly as a surprise first place, he would’ve built himself up by achieving even more great feats in the future, but he stumbled at the starting line.

What’s the use of those OP abilities? The more he proved his strength, the higher my reputation would get.

In a way, it was the opposite case of Cocoa. Cocoa never even got to appear in the original, but I’d taken her hand and brought her to the limelight; and yet when Karl Zayed was just about to come out on stage, I’d slammed the door shut in his face.

Now the author had no choice but to reduce his potential compared to what his abilities deserved. No, maybe he was already in a lessened state. Might the author have subtly downgraded his level?

“Should I apologize…”

Thinking about it, the sequence of events was pretty bizarre.

At first, I had been the one who took Haka and Cocoa along to somehow make the author like me, but now I myself was ruining the characters the author had painstakingly prepared.

Hmmm.

It felt like I had to say something.

Going to the window, I gazed up at the sky.

“Life’s got its turns, doesn’t it? Let’s just move on. You never know, maybe the manga would turn out better because of me?”

Well, I probably wasn’t in any position to be listened to^[1], right now.

That was then –

Tiling–.

“Huh?”

A holographic message arrived.

I was nonplussed for a moment.

‘Ah, no way…’

Was this a response to what I’d said just now?

Upon closer inspection, luckily, it wasn’t.

But,

※ Notice

[The results of the first character popularity poll will be announced before the next chapter begins]

[Different rewards will be paid according to the popularity poll ranking]

It was an equally astonishing news.

‘Popularity poll? Ah, I see.’

I vaguely remembered. It seemed that the 1st Popularity Poll Questionnaire had been published around this time.

The timing was just right, because this Adventurer Qualification Test arc marked the end of the initial introduction. From now on, the plot was going to start full steam.

However,

‘Hah, but, isn’t notifying it now a bit excessive?’

It was absurd.

If you’re going to do a popularity poll, you have to tell people that beforehand. What, were you worried I might go overboard trying to show off?

“… How unlucky.”

Soon after,

‘How is the ranking?’

Suddenly, my heart started pounding.

To be honest, I had no idea at all. I was a character that originally didn’t even exist in the first place. Besides, my identity was vague, same as my goals, and I was a character full of riddles.

However, it was also true that there were quite a few things for the readers to gush about.

Not too many characters had been introduced yet, and I might not get a chance to rise higher in the future.

I considered what rank might be best for me.

The higher, the better, but to be honest, getting into third place would be a little burdensome. An eyesore upstaging my own kids? I wouldn’t have been happy either, had I been in the author’s position.

‘No, am I just counting my chickens before they hatch?’

The first, second and third places were probably Leo, Kiriko, and Siana, in that order. The fourth place was uncertain, but it was probably Yan. The readers weren’t fed up with him yet. Besides, he must’ve awakened once during the adversary stage. Maybe I was just overthinking it.

‘Now, I think the next place might be good…’

I thought about whether there were other people who could come up in the rankings, but no face came to mind.

The problem was the readers’ reaction. There had to be people who liked me, but certainly there were others who thought some strange-looking guy kept disturbing the plot.

Just then,

‘Ah! Reader comments!’

I remembered something I’d forgotten.

I could just see with my own eyes. What was their reaction to me?

I quickly opened the shop window.

[Currently held points: 202,773p]

Letting out a smile,

“Huh.”

I immediately opened the [Chapter] category.

※ Press here to check the details. 

1. Explore the next chapter information – 1,500p

2. Go straight to the chapter progress area once – 2,000p

3. Browse the main characters revealed up to the current chapter – 5,000p 

4. Read last chapter’s reader comments – 8,000p

5. Check the chapter’s main character – 12,000p

“Oof…”

The prices could make you hurl.

With tears in my eyes, I clicked [Read last chapter’s reader comments].

Then,

[Touch the chapter to view comments]

• Newest / Registered
• Chapter 16 Official Adventurer Qualification Test (2) – 8,000p
• Chapter 15 Official Adventurer Qualification Test (1) – 8,000p

⁝

An absurd screen appeared.

“What is this… Pay per chapter?”

A curse word escaped my lips.

“No, how could you need 8,000p to read a few comments?”

This was troubling. The backgrounds had already risen so much in price that I needed to save points for the future.

Although I considered giving up, it was true that checking reader feedback was also advantageous for my survival, so I decided to purchase a couple in the end. 

Actually, I was curious too.

I bought two chapters.

1. [Chapter 15 – Adventurer Qualification Test (1)], where I’d been active from the middle as the main point of view, and –

2. [Chapter 13 – Mimic Acrobat], where I’d played the main villain.

I opened chapter 15 first.

[Chapter 15 – Adventurer Qualification Test (1) – Reader Comments]

arbans – Squatjaw pov!

Mane – It’s a solo pov, so he’s like a deuteragonist!

qudcks53 – Adventurers, go~~~!

Kyaokyao – That Viking hahaha

van1298 – I can’t stand Vikings lol

Barrel – Oh, it’s a manga, so anything goes, hahahaha

kirper03 – I was dumbfounded when I saw those exam questions…

⁝

Hmmm.

The reactions weren’t too bad.

They were generally favourable, even, and didn’t seem to much care about my identity.

‘My image is fine, huh?’

Despite opposing the protagonist, there were many supportive comments. Reading them, I gradually started getting excited. It felt like I was being cheered on, ‘good job, good job!’, from the sidelines.

My initial purpose had been just to figure out my next steps, but now I really was having fun with it.

Next up was the Mimic Acrobat chapter.

Personally, the reaction to this chapter was what I’d been the most curious about.

Although as a villain, it was still the first chapter where I’d appeared as the central character. A lot of effort had gone into it, and at the end I’d even declared myself the protagonist’s rival.

I wondered if readers had recognized the true meaning behind my declaration.

[Chapter 13 – Mimic Acrobat – Reader Comments]

Scars – That sunset sure is far away, kek. It’s far away, but it’s funny lol

kirper03 – There’re two amusement parks!

To roll is the way – That squatjaw fairy tho

skfro560 – The squatjaw fairy, erm, yeah ;;;;

Wallet Warrior – Put your jaw back on, Squatjaw

Chakatapa – Yeah, that squat jaw is part of his charm.

⁝

I was perplexed when I read it.

‘No, what the hell are you guys talking about?’

How confusing. Was this really alright?

Because the chapter was long, there were a lot of comments and a lot of content.

But, to my surprise, this time, too, the reactions were mostly in my favour. I felt a sense of friendly approval. Even though my character kept viciously beating up the protagonist and his companions.

Of course, there were also quite a few questions and negative reactions to my actions. But very rarely did that lead to direct animosity towards me.

Most of the cursing was headed straight for the author.

xxxx – The author’s an idiot.

xxxx – There goes my suspension of disbelief. Dropped.

xxxx – If either the author is a dumbf*ck or the character is, then the money’s on the author.

Even if Leo behaves like an idiot, it’s the author who gets cursed at.

Even if I take a lot of incomprehensible actions that violate plausibility, it’s the author who gets cursed at.

I felt a little apologetic. Was he right to hate me after all? 

But soon,

‘No, I just did what I normally do.’

I shook my head.

You reap what you sow, you bastard.

Anyway, things weren’t bad overall.

No, they were even a bit too good. That’s why I was even more concerned.

In particular, some of the comments…

Deeo – Mom, I’m gonna have a big squat jaw when I grow up!!!

Gauul – Squatjaw Punch! Adventure King Punch! He(i)ro Punch!

q2qer – O Great Squatjaw! Defeat the protagonists!

It made me tilt my head and question their tastes.

At this point, I was again getting worried about the popularity poll.

What if I rose higher than the main characters? The author might see that as crossing the line.

If the popularity poll had happened after the awards ceremony, I might’ve really been in danger. Because that chapter would be my stage.

‘… There shouldn’t be a problem.’

What I felt after roughly looking at the comments, was simple.

I was doing well.

I felt I should just keep on going like this.

Then, it was time to finish exploring the comments and move on to the next category.

A phrase at the bottom suddenly caught my eye.

[Attached fan arts]

‘Oh, was this here?’

Apparently, you had to purchase the readers’ comments to see the fan art.

I opened the fan art list with a pounding heart.

“… Oh.”

That sure was a prominent jaw.

It might or might not have been my face. I thought I looked a little better than this, though?

Seeing myself painted in a picture was a pretty strange feeling.

I could feel myself being supported from the back.

But the fan arts of the Mimic Acrobat chapter did puzzle me a little.

I made such an impact by transforming into a pretty boy, but all the drawings were about my jaw. Of the five fan arts, four had the jaw feature prominently, and the fifth was half pretty boy and half squat jaw.

‘How unfortunate. I was trying to change it around, but maybe I should wait a while?’

In fact, I’d been planning to find the ‘witch’ who’d caused this background as soon as possible. I could guess her location to some extent, and I couldn’t live with this appearance forever.

But I had to go with the trend for now. The reactions didn’t seem that bad.

That was then –

“Squatjaw!”

I heard a voice calling me from somewhere.

It was Cocoa.

“Yeah?”

“There’s gonna be an award ceremony for those who passed!”

“… Okay?”

I’d thought there was some time left before the next chapter started… but it was earlier than expected.

Was it going to start with a slow pace?

I moved forward with a pounding heart.

---

Those thousands of test-takers had already disappeared somewhere, and there were only a few gathered at the venue.

There was silence in the hall, but not a tense one. Everyone looked relaxed, probably because they thought it was all over.

Just then,

“Ah! The Squatjaw Adventurers!”

The veteran adventurer who’d conducted the interview recognized us and approached.

“The top prize winners can sit in the front.”

“Oh, yes.”

Leo and the others were already sitting at the very front. As if they hadn’t yet gotten the news that they weren’t number one.

‘Hey, don’t get surprised later.’

I was just about to sit down with a smile.

Tiling–.

[The final result of the popularity poll is out]

• Press to check the result.

It came.

Nervously, I checked it.

And then,

“… This is gonna blow up.”

I was enveloped in a very, very strange feeling. Extremely discomforting, but somehow not very distasteful.

1st place – Hiro (The Enigmatic Squatjaw)

2nd place – Leo

3rd place – Kiriko

4th place – Siana

5th place – Unidentified horned boy

6th place – Yan

7th place – Little Pierrot

⁝

33rd place – The enigmatic man who became the shadow of a pencil

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 씨알도 먹히지 (lit. seeds are not eaten), idiom meaning even a small request might be rejected.

The manhwa has started getting a translation from Reaper Scans, so go check out ‘Surviving in an Action Manhwa’!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 40

Karl Zayed

The sixth stage of the Adventurer Qualification Test, the test of the ‘adversary’.

Basically, the main task required of an adventurer in the adversary position is to defeat the guardian who protects the treasure, but it also includes fighting other adventurers to claim the treasure.

That ability as an adversary was being tested in this qualification exam.   

A battle between multiple adventurer groups aiming for the same treasure.

In the original story, Leo and his party competed with three other groups for one treasure. In other words, four adventurer teams had a match to decide the third place.

They probably were in the middle of a fight right now.

And now, it was our turn to fight another adventurer team with the same level of ‘guiding ability’ and ‘deciphering ability’ as ours, over whatever was in the refrigerator – mint chocolate or green tea.

And that – was this guy.

Karl Zayed.

I’d seen this character for the first time when the winners of the Adventurer Qualification Test were announced at the awards ceremony in the original work.

At that time, I’d thought that the Leo Adventurers were number one. After finding their way with difficulty, breaking the seal on the treasure with difficulty, they had to fight three other teams they met there, and finally achieved victory, also with difficulty.

But somehow, when I looked, there was another team ranked one step higher.

That’s right, the grey-haired guy over there.

Naturally, it was extremely eye-catching.

Not only did he pop up suddenly, but he was also alone on top of that.

Compared to all the other adventurer groups in the rankings, all of whom apart from the Leo Adventurers were filled with seven people, he stood alone.

The only one-man adventurer team.

Even so, it was he who finally came out on top.

The adventurer team that faced him and got second place didn’t even attend the awards ceremony. Because they were busy healing from their wounds.

There was only one problem.

How could this make sense?

Characters can be strong. Most new characters appear equipped with powerful abilities. Regardless of balance, depending on the author’s intentions, absurdly strong monsters may appear from time to time. It’s not that unusual.

Nevertheless, the reason why many readers had been skeptical of this character was that he found his way alone, untied the seal alone, and even won the battle all alone.

A character with the ability of all three positions, taken to the extreme.

It was his unique ability that made this possible.

[Unstoppable Growth]

• All abilities are continuously strengthened without limit.

From basic strength to various physical abilities, hidden characteristics, and even the unique ability itself.

It was such a cheat that you could only use the word ‘absurd’ to describe it.

Moreover, this guy had been born with the guide and decipherer traits, ‘pathfinding eyes’ and ‘comprehension’, and had a lot of different adversary-specific traits on top of that.

In other words, he was absurdly OP.

Actually, I didn’t even dare to try mimicking his unique ability.

The reason was simple. Because the ‘class’ of his unique ability was constantly increasing, directly proportion to his physical ability.

The fourth mimicking condition.

• You must have a physique that matches the level of the ability.

In other words, in order to mimic him, my body had to be at least be at his level. His body that had been continuously strengthened in-setting until now.

That’s too much. That’s unreasonable.

But, of course, that didn’t mean I’d completely given up on it. I couldn’t give up on such an ability even if I wanted to. An ability that can make you stronger just by breathing.

It was fair to say that I couldn’t even dream of getting it right now, but that didn’t mean there was no possibility in the future. The dream realm had given me a hint.

‘It’s like asking if the chicken or the egg came first, but…’

In any case, the appearance of this absurd overpowered munchkin had provoked dissatisfaction from many readers.

At that time, the author’s choice of dividing the adventurer teams into three positions was highly praised. Thanks to that, the ratio of the characters could be adjusted in a balanced manner.

But this guy appeared in the middle of that.

There was a setting for this guy, that being ‘I really want to show a one-man adventurer team with a high ego’, but that was not enough to smooth things over. The balance couldn’t be adjusted, and the very existence of such a versatile character unconditionally cheapened the significance of the rest.

So, at first, I didn’t even think about defeating this guy. Because these monsters outside the norm were not originally designed to be defeated.

He was a monster that couldn’t even be defeated by Leo and Kiriko attacking together. Not the two of them as they were now, but a long time later.

In other words, even with the joint effort of the two who were stronger than now, Karl Zayed could not be defeated.

How could I beat a guy like that?

Besides, I thought that losing to this guy was actually in line with my current role.

To come second, not first.

Although he was sadly defeated by an invincible OP munchkin, his skill level was still higher than the protagonist. Didn’t that fit me better?

Rivals must also match the protagonist’s growth rate to a certain extent. Shooting ahead too much would only cause a sense of incongruity, and only when your level is similar would you be more likely to have a chance of working together.

Above all, who knew when the author might decide to cut me down to size if I shot up too fast, too high.

Something at the level of those malicious restrictions could be overcome somehow, but anything bigger might get a little risky. I hadn’t yet firmly established my rival position, and if the author tried to get rid of me right now, my destiny would be the same as the Corrupted Knight.

But,

“I got tired waiting. I need to vent my anger a bit, so I’m going to kill you.”

“… Wouldn’t that get you disqualified?”

“Hmm, then I guess I’ll have to hold back a little bit.”

There was something I hadn’t forgotten.

His cruelty.

Karl Zayed is not the type to accept surrender. He has no mercy in him, and does his best to destroy his opponent every time.

In the original, the second-place adventurer team had even missed the awards ceremony.

What if the same happened to me? All my work in this arc would be utterly ruined.

What’s the point of ranking second if you can’t even show your face for the awards announcement?

What’s the use of summoning giant earthworms, rushing through the tunnels, and rescuing people using ships?

All that spotlight would be lost to the newcomer, and I would be forgotten. 

That had to be stopped. At any cost.

“Anyway, it’s unfortunate. I thought some others might come.”

He was probably referring to the guys who’d placed second in the original. Maybe because we’d been looking for a way to this place, they might have been hanging out with Leo’s party right now.

After all, well, they weren’t important characters. Just extras, whose names or faces had never even appeared in the original.

“But it doesn’t matter whoever it is. Are there just four of you?”

“It does matter. There is no adventurer team better than us. Even if it’s just the four of us.”

At my words, he just laughed.

“Isn’t there one right in front of you? Although there’s just one of me.”

“Yes, I admit it. So, by any chance… would you like to join our adventurer team? We could take first place together.”

This was a trick I’d had in mind just in case. Because it was actually possible. Maybe I could create a new and interesting possibility.

However,

“No way. I’m not the type to share what’s mine.”

Again, that didn’t happen.

Probably due to that serious setting, ‘I’ll make a one-man adventurer team even if it kills me’.

In the end, it meant that we had to break through this hurdle head-on. It was life or death.

“Haka, Chinuavi. Forward.”

We’d already planned things to some extent in advance.

“Actually, I didn’t believe you when you told me, Senior, not until I saw it with my own eyes. To think that there’s a human who can decipher the goblin problem… I’m really very curious how that’s even possible.”

“Can’t you just ask? He looks pretty taciturn, but there’re ways to quickly pry that mouth open. It’s a skill I learned by chance, while wandering about learning from goblins. Huhu…”

Fortunately, Haka had already regained his characteristic secretive smile. He was pretty lethal and reliable in this state.

Not enough to deal with that grey-haired monster, but maybe enough to hold him off for a while.

What I’d asked of them was simple.

Stall the guy. Even if for just five minutes.

Of course, this was no walk in the park.

First of all, Chinuavi was not one of those goblins who were good at fighting. Not only was his unique ability unsuited for combat, he was a bumbler with quite a few losses in the Brawler Goblin Test under his belt.

So my plan was to grab that guy’s attention first using just Haka, and keep Chinuavi in reserve to change the terrain and the shadows Haka could use to hide in case of an emergency.

I couldn’t go together with them from the start, because there was still something I had to check, observing his movements. 

If I had to choose a single ability against him, I had to know, first.

Soon after,

Bump–.

The battle began with Haka attacking first.

Haka didn’t immediately use his unique ability. Instead, he tried to approach the enemy with the assassination skill he’d learned, as if trying to take the opponent’s measure.

‘Tch, just do your best from the beginning… this might be dangerous.’

And my fears soon turned into reality.

Puff.

“…”

I swallowed without meaning to.

It was just the blink of an eye.

It was just a single blow.

“Kk, kh… ugh.”

It was only after hearing Haka’s moans, that I could pinpoint his exact location.

Haka had been buried very deep, under the ground.

If Chinuavi hadn’t had a flash of wit to soften the ground in that instant, the manga might’ve had to switch the genre. To gore/horror, naturally.

‘… I’m totally screwed.’

Check his movements? Forget about it.

He was better than I’d expected. To be honest, he felt dozens of times stronger.

At that moment, I knew for sure.

This guy shouldn’t be touched.

It’d been a mistake. In order to get a high ranking, I’d prepared to meet this guy.

I should’ve just chosen the same treasure as Leo’s party. I should’ve just fought and beat them for third place.

I would’ve appeared in chapters, would’ve had a much easier time, and even if I were defeated was much easier to deal with, and there would’ve been plausible ways to develop even if I ended up defeated.

‘I was being crazy. Coveting wealth and glory…’

I boldly deleted one of the two abilities I’d been considering from my head.

How could I dare try to take that guy on with [Sturdy Boulder] that I’d never even used before? It was a straightforward plan – to lock him up using Chinuavi’s earth ability, tie him down using Haka’s shadows, and then finish him off myself.

It’d been my mistake. My wild recklessness.

Without hesitation, I mimicked the other ability I’d had in mind. The ability I’d practiced the longest, and the hardest.

In an instant, two revolvers began to materialize at my waist.

Seeing this, Karl Zayed smiled.

“Is it your turn now, squat-jaw?”

“Right, but could you please wait a minute?”

“What?”

“I have something to tell my colleague who’s stuck over there.”

“Are you going to leave a will?”

“It’s similar. Can I have some time?”

I thought this guy wouldn’t refuse.

He was cruel and cold-blooded, with no mercy, but he had pride.

“I’ll give you one minute.”

I quickly walked over to the pile of dirt Haka had been buried under. Chinuavi was already waiting there, with a serious expression.

“Se-, Senior… this situation…”

“Chinuavi, go stay with Cocoa.”

“Yes?”

“Hurry. Make sure to build a wall with earth, in case something like a pile of stones splash in. Don’t get hurt and take good care of yourselves.”

After being silent for a bit, Chinuavi nodded and went to Cocoa’s side.

Then I looked at the pile of dirt and spoke.

“Haka.”

“…”

“I’m sorry, but could you draw his attention one more time?”

“…”

“I know you’re listening. I’m really sorry, but please.”

Soon after,

“… Cough. I might die, you know.”

A weak voice came from beneath the pile of dirt.

“I know it’s hard… Hide in the shadows or use stealth… Anyway, distract him just once.”

Then I pointed my gun at the pile of dirt.

“It’s a healing bullet. You’ll feel better.”

Bang–.

Soon after,

“Oh… I’ll take back the cursewords.”

A clearer voice came out of the pile of dirt.

“I didn’t hear you… Anyway, I’m going with Plan B. Do you remember what to do? You have to do it.”

“I know… but I don’t think I can.”

“Then we’ll all die. Oh, I’m not scaring you. I’m saying this sincerely.”

“…”

Even so, Haka didn’t seem motivated. To get hit by something like that and come back out? Just thinking about it made me shiver.

It seemed impossible.

“I saw the goblin gods.”

“… Eh?”

“There were five of them. I’ll tell you all about it. If you can do it without dying.”

“Haah…”

After a while,

“Hoo… I’ll try my best. So… please, live and tell me the story later.”

Haka, pulling his head out of the pile of dirt, looked at me and smiled.

It was a pretty nice smile.

Haah… This guy didn’t lose his trademark murderous smile again, right?

‘But hey, who cares.’

I smirked back.

“Let’s try it.”

---

Karl Zayed was called the person closest to the Seven Kings, but he never actually ascended to that position.

It wasn’t because he lacked power. In fact, this guy had gone toe to toe with the Seven Kings’ troops by himself in the second half of the original.

The reason was simple. He had one weakness. A glaring one.

The community joked about this weakness and called it ‘mother-in-law’s discipline’^[1].

Meaning that it was a weakness that the readers had forcefully created, much like how a nit-picking mother-in-law might do to a timid wife.

The background was simple.

Since the advent of Karl Zayed, the readers had constantly insisted on nerfing the character. Because the power balance was all over the place.

The author did not respond much at first, but as the readers’ protests kept piling up, he’d eventually published a notice. That the character actually had a weakness, so there was no problem with the balance.

The author even exposed it in the very next chapter.

Achilles’ tendon.

That was Karl Zayed’s weakness.

A man whose body and all abilities were constantly being strengthened, with one exception.

The author even added that he was a character created with the concept of Achilles.

To be honest, that was an absurd explanation. Where do you see Achilles in that guy with grey hair like a lion’s mane?

The author made an excuse that the setting had been originally there from the start, but many readers, including me, didn’t believe it. It was clear that he’d added the setting in a hurry.

At that time, the debate ended without any resolution, but now I had no choice but to rekindle it.

This time, I stood on the author’s side.

Plan B was indeed a simple strategy.

Attack Karl Zayed’s Achilles’ tendon.

As fast as you can. Without giving him any room to react.

Using the ‘rapid fire’ skill, with only ‘penetration’ of the [Six Burning Bullets].

The problem was that I wasn’t proficient in ranged attacks.

There was a chance he’d dodge, but even without that, the chance of me being on target was low by itself.

I could mimic unique abilities, but not the traits of other characters.

Even if I managed to shoot quickly, I couldn’t land every shot on target, not like Kiriko could.

I never even bought a background with ‘accuracy’. I wasn’t trained enough to be able to hit targets rapid-fire.

‘I should’ve practiced a little more during the first qualification test…’

So, I had to stick close to the opponent. As long as I could get close, I could hit him.

The essence of Plan B was simply ‘luck’.

Might work, might not.

I might be able to approach him, might be able to shoot him, so he might fall.

If as the author said, the weakness had been set from the beginning, he would collapse, otherwise it would just be for nothing. At most, it was like rushing at the enemy prepared to die, just to deal a final blow.

In fact, I tried first to observe the guy’s movements to confirm this. Was there any sign of him protecting his heels?

‘Well, it’s far too late for that.’

I could only laugh bitterly. I’d considered this the last resort, but now I was betting everything on this ‘luck’.

“Fuh… who cares. Let’s go.”

With firm resolve, I gave Haka the signal.

Soon after,

“What, isn’t that squat-jaw coming… is it you again?”

Haka ran at him again.

There was no hesitation in his movements. Even though he got hit so hard just now.

Just as I was feeling moved –

Th-ud.

Once again.

Haka was again buried in the ground. The pit seemed a little deeper than last time.

But nonetheless,

“Good job, Haka.”

I was ready.

“… Huh?”

Karl Zayed remained still as I quickly approached his back.

He must have been confused too.

It was just for a moment, but he couldn’t move.

Haka used the last of his power to bind Karl Zayed’s shadow, not to dodge his fist. Because I’d made him do that. And he got his face smashed to jelly in return.

‘I’m sorry.’

It would be nice if this could be the answer.

And then,

Ratata tatata tatata – bang!

Ratata tatata tatata – bang!

I put dozens of magic bullets into the guy’s Achilles’ heel.

“What!?”

At that moment, startled, he reflexively waved his arm.

Th-ud.

“Ku-gh, ugh.”

Despite trying to parry, I got blown away dozens of meters, and was buried in a pile of stones.

It felt impossible to breathe. As if my breastbones had caved in.

It was only then that I realized how Haka had felt.

That guy, even after being hit with an attack like this, had rushed back without fear.

“… Grunt.”

I suppressed my dizziness and struggled to get up.

I still had to check.

To be honest, I had no idea if I’d hit him or not.

There was dust all over the place. It seemed to be the trace left by the bullets that’d missed.

‘… It didn’t work?’

After a while, the dust that had risen slowly subsided.

…

“… Author, you beautiful bastard.”

I flopped back down on the ground.

All the strength in my body had faded away.

He hadn’t lied after all.

Surrounding the fallen Karl Zayed, thick red splotches of blood were staining the ground.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 시어머니의 맴매; 시어머니 = mother-in-law, 맴매 = how a kid may be disciplined by an adult.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 39

The Gods of the Goblins

“Where am I?”

When I opened my eyes again, it was to a pure white world.

Waves of light were constantly flowing up, down, left and right in all directions.

Even where I stood was on a stream of light. It was flowing like all the others, but I oddly felt rooted in place.

The Realm of Dreams (夢中界).

A world within the subconscious, where goblins meet their gods and go on a journey together.

I knew it as soon as I saw it. This was the place I knew.

To be precise, it was a world I had seen before.

‘It… it worked.’

I was stunned.

I really managed to reach here.

The reason why I’d had a very slim chance of success was not simply because I and Chinuavi were of different races.

Rather, it was because the fundamental structure of the ability itself was different.

The ability came from the gods.

The goblins can never demonstrate their unique abilities except through their five gods.

This meant that, in order to mimic the goblins’ abilities, I also had to go through their gods, and to be honest, I doubted it would ever work.

A human meeting the gods of the goblins? Is that possible?

So, I just tried it once with the idea of ​​testing the limits of the [Mimic Acrobat]. But all my worries turned out to be a lie.

It wasn’t even that difficult.

What I did was to imitate the ritual of the goblins that called their gods. It was an act similar to a kind of prayer, and all I had to do was to remember the details of their existence and then repeat ‘I want to meet you’.

‘Okay, leave it there for now.’

The funny thing was that I actually achieved this.

But now it was time to focus on the present again.

As I saw the waves of light flowing all around me, tension slowly began to accumulate.

What would happen now?

Who, exactly, would come?

‘Is he coming?’

If the imitation was successful, the god who’d blessed Chinuavi would probably come visit me. Then, after exchanging various greetings, he would allow me acts of ‘mischief’ on his behalf.

But I couldn’t be sure.

I knew that Chinuavi had already been blessed, but this was my first time entering the dream realm. Any of the gods can appear to a goblin who has not yet been ‘chosen’. That was the rule of this realm.

What was going to happen?

I considered the five gods of the goblins.

Eldest, God of Mischief.

Second, God of Lies.

Third, God of Whimsy.

Fourth, God of Pretence.

Youngest, God of Sabotage.

Among them, the god Chinuavi was blessed by was the first, the God of Mischief, and in a way, he was the mellowest (?) of them. 

Or rather, should I say he had the least ‘malice’ that was typical of the goblins?

When I’d first encountered the goblin species at the middle parts of the original storyline, I’d honestly been a tad confused.

Simply because I didn’t think that this was a race that fit the manga Adventure King.

Basically, the villains in shounen manga aren’t usually all that bad. Although they may be numerous, it’s hard to find someone truly irredeemable in their ranks. Many of them even turn into the protagonist’s helpers.

Because such developments fit the shounen manga theme.

These goblins were not all villains, of course, but unfortunately, there was something wrong with their brains from the start.

They didn’t much care if they ended up harming others, was the problem. To the extent that you could only exclaim, what the hell?

In particular, those blessed by the God of Sabotage were very prone to causing accidents.

Of course, such a setting made it easy to create interesting events, and perhaps even to build eye-catching characters, but there were definitely occasions when you couldn’t help but frown at their antics.

And these five goblin gods were the ones who bore the responsibility for all those vicious actions.

So I’d wondered, if Leo would fight these gods too one day? I’d even considered the possibility. That’s why I’d often considered them ‘villains’.

‘What if they do something weird right after we meet?’

It was something you could never be sure of. They were bigshots who couldn’t be controlled.

That was then –

“Huh?”

The waves of light surrounding me swayed for a moment.

In that instant, I could feel it.

Something, something was coming.

And not just that,

‘… C-, crazy.’

Not just one of something.

Soon after,

Krrrrng–.

In an instant, the whole world turned upside down.

…

Fortunately, I didn’t faint. But it felt like all my bones were shaking and creaking.

While I was trying to come back to my senses, barely holding on to a single strand of reason –

Suddenly, a voice like thunder came from the air.

– Here’s something interesting!

‘… I want to go back.’

It was this tough from the start.

This unknown god was even calling his friends. It was too tough for me by my lonesome.

Soon after,

– Who is this guy?

– Maybe a human?

Two other voices rang in my ears. Like the first, they too were thunderous roars.

And at the same time, my body began to tremble.

‘This, this…’

This was something I’d experienced once before.

As a test, I’d tried to mimic some abilities that my body couldn’t yet handle. It felt similar to what I’d experienced back then. Only, the pressure this time was several times more than that.

Three gods had gathered before me.

As I recalled, the goblins were also set to have a hard time withstanding the pressure when three or more gods flocked to them in the process of ‘recruitment’.

But,

– Who came?

– A hornless goblin?

Three wasn’t the limit.

‘Heh heh, it’s all gone to shit.’

Suddenly, all five gods had rushed in.

In my mind, the alarm bells were ringing non-stop. That this was dangerous. That my body couldn’t stand it.

– Hey! Who are you?

– How did a guy who isn’t even a goblin get in here?

– Reveal your identity. 

– You bastard! You must be a spy from the monsters!

– I think there’re some traces of a goblin, though?

Even hearing the words one at a time, I was on the verge of losing my mind.

I couldn’t distinguish one from the other.

“All but the God of Mischief, please leave!”

I cried out with all my might.

I had no idea if they’d listen or not, but I had to try.

But the problem was,

– What’s with this squat-jaw?

– Does he want to be chosen? This guy?

– Yeah, I’ll just go. Hehe. He’s crazy!

– Want me to go just because you say so? Would you go if I ask you to go?

– I can be here all day!

They pretended not to hear me.

It was a mistake. I’d rather not have said anything.

I should’ve remembered that ‘pranks’ and ‘caprices’ were basically the standard when it came to the settings of these gods.

Well, even if I was regretting speaking up now, it was already too late.

‘Hey, might this turn out to be a big deal?’

My mind had already gone numb.

But no new clever plans came to mind, and I couldn’t even afford to faint. Because I wasn’t sure if I’d be safe after that.

At this time when I’d reached my limits –

– Huh? Is this guy about to explode?

One god noticed that I was in a serious condition.

Of course, he might’ve known far earlier and only chose to mention it now, but it still felt like a ray of light had descended from the heavens.

Then, as if the other goblin gods also recognized this, they followed along, one word at a time.

– Hmmm, he’s so weak. Is it because he’s not a goblin?

– Really. It’s no fun.

– He’ll die at this rate. I’ll leave first.

– Me first! Going!

Then they started to back off one by one. They seemed to understand that their existence was a threat to me.

Fortunately. They were beings of reason.

– I’m sorry. Come back next time when you’re stronger. Let’s have some fun then.

‘… God of Mischief.’

After a while,

“… Haah.”

I barely came back to my senses, but I didn’t feel very good. How come I managed to meet the gods, but couldn’t gain anything from it?

Once they lose interest, goblins never come back.

Opportunities are useless to the unprepared.

As they said, I felt like I should’ve come after raising my physical ability to a level where I could withstand their presence.

“By the way, why haven’t I returned to reality?”

This was a bit of an odd situation.

The goblins in the original work returned to reality as soon as their god left.

‘What’s happening here?’

While I was looking around.

Suddenly,

– I haven’t left yet.

I heard the voice of one of the gods.

“…!?”

For a moment, I was so shocked that my heart felt like it might burst.

I carefully inquired about the identity of the voice.

“… Who are you?”

– The God of Sabotage.

“Ah…”

It was embarrassing.

Only this god was left.

– I was interested in you, so I secretly stayed. You got the attention of the others, so stealing you might be fun.

The Disruptor God’s voice spoke something very blatantly in a dry tone, as if he was mentioning something quite natural.

I was able to guess what this current situation of a ‘single’ god staying, meant. But I still hoped, if possible…

“What you mean is….”

– You said you wanted it.

“Is that… is it possible?”

– You know nothing. I can do it.

“…”

By this point, the situation seemed clear.

The Disruptor God had decided to ‘choose’ me.

Meaning, I would be able to have him ‘descend’, and use his abilities.

And, naturally, this –

‘This… won’t be an imitation, is it?’

It was absurd.

I mimicked Chinuavi, but instead of his unique ability, I’d end up getting a different ability?

In fact, it was nothing more than a joke. There was no need to mention the probability, and it was inherently impossible.

But nevertheless, I couldn’t ignore this situation.

Not just because it was a god of a race who mentioned it.

Because I thought it really might become possible.

The Disruptor God.

A god sometimes called the goblin, among goblins.

When first introducing this being, the author had defined him with just two lines of text.

[In this world, there is only one rule that applies to the God of Sabotage.]

[That he doesn’t follow any rules.]

If so, he might be able to really imbue me with the power of a goblin. Not simply permitting imitation, but providing me a new unique ability.

And this,

“I’m sorry, but can I decline?”

This had to be stopped at any cost.

– What?

The worst of the worst. A devil wearing the mask of a goblin.

These were not my words. It was the community’s official opinion about the Disruptor God.

The other goblin gods were okay. However, associating with this god in particular was a tough sell.

Because he would lead me to hell.

The goblins chosen by the God of Sabotage clearly showed exceptional abilities in the work. Perhaps it was because of the power of a god who disregarded all rules, there were cases where they showed more than one unique ability, and at other times displayed some ridiculous powers that completely ignored the plausibility of the situation.

But they all followed the same course.

To disturb everything, to incur everyone’s wrath, and then get kicked out.

Because divine influence was so strong in them, they’d often start messing around at the drop of a hat.

What if I fell under his influence?

Leave alone being the rival, the image I’d carefully built up so far would be destroyed in an instant. 

It was best to quickly block him before we became involved in any way.

But the problem was,

– Did I hear you wrong?

It wasn’t easy to refuse this divine favour.

A god who was the most passionate about disturbing others.

A selfish and reckless guy.

If I blindly refused, the results won’t be any good. The more I emphasized my dislike, the more passionate he would become.

There was only one way. Giving him a surprise.

As a god who feels pleasure by burning down the status quo, he tends to be quite generous with those who show unexpected surprises.

“You heard me right. I will decline your request.”

– Why? I can give you the powers of a goblin. It’s very valuable. There is no need to worry that it will conflict with your original abilities, either. With my abilities…

“Again, there is no need for selling me on it. You don’t need to give me power.”

– Hoo… why?

I felt his attention becoming slightly sharper.

Of course, the reason he showed generosity was not simply because he admired the unexpected.

It was simple. Because he hoped that the unexpected would make the situation more complicated and the game bigger. That way, he’d have more fun when I mess up.

If I allowed him to imagine a bigger arena, the Disruptor God would readily withdraw. He was pretty imaginative when it came to it.

“If I receive powers from you, I won’t be able to use the powers of the other goblin gods.”

– … What?

“I intend to use all the goblin abilities.”

– …

Did he swallow the bait?

There was no immediate response, but I was sure my plan had worked. It wasn’t common for the God of Sabotage to shut up.

Then, I added a few more words to hammer the nail deeper in.

“I will set up another ritual in future. At that time, I will get the favours of all five goblin gods.”

Then,

– Heh heh heh heh.

The Disruptor God burst into laughter.

He seemed genuinely happy, and the laughter went on for a while.

– Are you serious?

“Yes.”

Actually, this was not an empty boast. After confirming that it was possible to meet the gods, there was no reason not to do it.

Surprisingly, the Disruptor God disappeared without a word.

– Alright, then see you soon. Hornless goblin, Squatjaw.

Then, a mass of pure white lights rushed towards me.

---

When I woke up, I was back in the same hut.

“Squatjaw!”

“Senior, are you okay?”

I knew that time flowed much slower in the dream realm than in reality, but it seemed that quite a bit of time had passed. Because they were staring at me with such concern.

However, what lurked in this one guy’s gaze was a slightly different emotion.

“D-, did you meet? The goblin god?”

For some reason, Haka was trembling.

Come to think of it, he had a background setting of having studied amongst the goblins for a long time. He must’ve longed for a meeting with those gods all along.

“All right, so what happened with your unique ability… No, what do the gods look like? What did you say? Maybe the god…”

“Stop right there. What god? I’m not even a goblin, you know.”

“… Ah.”

So, for now, I decided to just pretend nothing had happened.

Because it didn’t seem like a good idea to provoke a reaction. An inherently insidious character like Haka would have a hard time resisting envy and jealousy.

“By the way, what about the deciphering process?”

“It’s all finished while you were busy fainting.”

Chinuavi smirked as if he’d been waiting for me to ask.

“Great job. Alright, so now…”

“Yes. We just have to go down.”

I nodded.

Now it was time to go grab the treasure.

---

Underneath the basement was a large cave-like opening.

And at its centre, oddly enough, was a refrigerator. So the old man didn’t lie when he told us to eat to our heart’s content?

“There must be a treasure over there!”

I stopped Cocoa from rushing in.

“Danger.”

“Huh?”

“There’s still one test left.”

Even if you find your way in and decipher the security device, you won’t be able to claim the treasure.

There was one more obstacle that adventurers had to face.

That’s right, the test of the ‘adversary’.

I raised my head and stared into the darkness beyond the refrigerator.

At that moment, the darkness moved, and ‘something’ appeared.

A man with grey hair that fluttered like a lion’s mane.

He walked out and uttered a single sentence.

“It’s late, so let’s start.”

The Grey Lion.

Karl Zayed.

A very, very famous guy.

Even if Leo and Kiriko worked together right now, they wouldn’t be able to resist him. The strongest character at this point, in name and in reality. The one who took first place in this Adventurer Qualification Test in the original story.

However,

“Don’t be so proud. Because I wasn’t there back then.”

“… What?”

I had no intention of going back.

I would take this guy down, and climb to the top.

I slowly met his sunken eyes.

Just this once, let’s take a shot.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 38

Treasure, Mint Chocolate Flavour?

Guide selection.

It was simply that. Literally, the guides were selling themselves to the adventurer teams that still had capacity.

The fact that the number of people in an adventure group could be increased during the test was also related to this.

“The fourth Qualification Test! Feel free to interview!”

“The fifth Qualification Test! I know all the routes, and even some secret information!”

“The seventh Qualification Test! Let’s talk face to face first!”

There was nothing like this for decipherers or adversaries. This situation was specific for the guides, and there was a reason for this.

The three adventurer positions – guides, decipherers and adversaries, positions have different main factors that affect their abilities.

Except for unique abilities,

The factor that has the greatest influence on the guiding ability is the ‘hidden trait’,

For decipherers, it’s the ‘race’,

And for adversaries, it’s the ‘harmony’ of all the elements.

In a nutshell, the ability of a guide is very strongly influenced by the hidden characteristic of ‘pathfinding eyes’.

The problem is that this hidden characteristic is not easily revealed.

No matter how good the guides are, it’s not easy to tell them apart. Even if the route to the destination is correct, it’s difficult to know whether it was grasped by the pathfinding eyes or whether the information had been previously acquired.

Funnily enough, to find the right guide, you need the right guide.

Moreover, there was one more problem with the guide selection that was currently ongoing here.

That being, there were fakes among them, arranged by the Adventurers’ Association.

“Cocoa, that guy over there. Is he really a guide? Or maybe he has a bad sense of direction?”

“Who?”

“That bald guy over there. The grumpy one.”

I pointed to the bald man who was screaming death in a corner, who looked more suitable to be an adversary.

He was claiming that he’d failed the qualifying exam three times, but had never failed to find the treasure, but I knew at once that it was a lie.

“Forget about guiding, that guy would probably get lost on a road he already knows. Right?”

Even I, although it was weak, had the ‘pathfinding eyes’ characteristic. So I probably wouldn’t, maybe. Of course, as my rank levels up, it would too…

“No. He isn’t very good, but he’s still about five times better than Squatjaw.”

“… Really?”

“Yeah.”

“… It’s strange. He doesn’t look it.”

This was actually my honest impression. Maybe because my abilities were still low, so I couldn’t feel anything.

Compared to this guy –

I glanced at Cocoa again.

Right now, in my vision, I wasn’t sure if this was due to my ‘pathfinding eyes’ or not, but Cocoa’s eyes seemed to twinkle like stars.

Did the brightness of that light indicate the level of the ability?

‘It’s great.’

It was fortunate that there were no mirrors nearby. My eyes right now probably looked like that of a dead fish.

Hmmmm.

Anyway, it didn’t matter for adventure groups that already had a competent guide from the start, but there were only a few of such groups here.

In other words, for most of the adventure groups, this ‘guide selection’ was both a crisis and an opportunity.

A quick glance revealed that many of the adventure teams were in trouble.

Once you enrol a member, that’s final and cannot be cancelled. So do you get a helpful comrade, or will you be stuck carrying a burden – or even a bomb?

It was a real spectacle for those of us who didn’t have to worry about it.

That was then.

“This is my first time at the Qualification Exam! But I see the path ahead better than anybody else!”

…

“Don’t you want to hold a precious treasure in your hands?! Then come find Cocoa…”

“What exactly is this?”

Cocoa stopped talking and glanced at me.

“As you see.”

“… Haah.”

“Thinking about it, Squatjaw’s been a bit too harsh on me recently.”

“What?”

“I went through all that trouble of playing the referee at the amusement park, but didn’t get paid a penny for it. Not even a single word of praise, either.”

It was truly an absurd statement.

Rather, it was this girl who’d insisted saying that the host’s role was fun, and that we should play a hundred more games instead of just ending it like this. Besides, although she said she’d help me get out of trouble, she secretly pocketed the entrance fees to the amusement park.

“And when have you ever praised me? We live in a society.”

“That’s natural. You gotta be cute.”

“…?”

“I’m telling you just in case, don’t forget how precious I am. Among those shouting themselves hoarse over there, no one has better eyes than me. And there’s my explosive cuteness on top of that. So what do you think?”

“… Oh, really?”

Her words were mostly absurd, but there were some meaningful remarks among them. 

She was the best.

Therefore,

“Then how about compared to that guy? Do you have better eyes than him?”

I pointed straight to a boy far away. 

Yan.

At that time, Yan was explaining something to the party in a bewildered manner. Apparently, quite a few paths were being reflected in his eyes.

In fact, from the moment we’d arrived at the central plaza, I’d been paying attention to Leo and the others.

To see where they were going to go.

Although I’d read so many chapters of the original manga, I didn’t know exactly where Leo’s party was going. Because a lot of the scenes had been cut, and at some point the background had turned into some nonsense underground waterway. 

And I couldn’t follow them anyway.

Here, it was strictly forbidden to follow other adventure groups, and if caught, severe sanctions would be imposed by the association itself. It was the association’s policy that you had to find the treasure only with the power of the guide belonging to your team.

There was also no possibility of our paths overlapping by chance.

Even if you seek the same treasure, the path for each guide changes moment by moment. There was no explanation as to how such a thing was possible, but that was the setting applied in the Adventurer Qualification Test.

Cocoa didn’t answer me immediately.

“Ummm… he’s a bit vague, but…”

That was then.

‘What?’

Leo’s party, including Yan, began to move.

“Okay, did you look for a path too? Which way should we go?”

“I found one, so if you want to hear about it, praise me first.”

“Speak quickly, sweet little kid.”

Then Cocoa seemed to ponder for a moment, and –

“The way those guys are going.”

Pointed to the direction of Leo and his group.

Judging from the fact that it was the same direction, it seemed that they’d both seen the same treasure. Of course, the path would change as you go.

‘Are you telling me that this kid is really at Yan’s level?’

I looked at Cocoa with somewhat new eyes.

She’d been with me for quite a while, but this girl had appeared in front of the readers only recently. Cocoa’s and Leo’s paths hadn’t intersected in Goldam City or in Destomb. So the amusement park could be said to be her first appearance.

Despite that, she had the same level of ability as that ‘Yan’. This, of course, was quite surprising in and of itself.

However,

“Speaking of, is there another way? A path where even more treasures await compared to the one now.”

I was not satisfied with just this.

There was one thing I became certain of while watching Haka.

As my rank rises, the ranks and abilities of those with me are also upgraded.

Of course, this would be true for Cocoa as well.

Actually, I’d even confirmed this before. Not her pathfinding eyes, but I’d tested this girl’s real power once. 

Surprisingly, Cocoa had even managed to lift that ‘Viking’ halfway from the water.

Originally, this girl already had oddly strong physical power that didn’t match her size, but now she had become several times stronger.

Maybe it was the same for her pathfinding eyes.

Listening to my words, Cocoa frowned.

After a while,

“It looks like there’s something, but…”

The girl slowly started speaking.

“Really?”

“But it’s too vague. I might be wrong.”

“No, take a closer look. Are you certain? Can you see it?”

“I can see it, but…”

“Alright then. Guide me.”

In fact, this could be called a very ‘adventurous’ attempt.

Why? Simple. What if the path was actually wrong? Not only would I look silly, but I’d even miss the chance of meeting Leo’s party who’d already embarked on the right path. It was the same as saying that I couldn’t show my face in this important chapter.

Still, it was a worthwhile investment.

In the original work, the treasure that Yan finds is equivalent to second or third place in value.

Meaning, there is at least one that is better.

What if that was the treasure found by Cocoa’s eyes?

Even if I never appeared in this chapter, incurring that kind of a small penalty was fine. If you can get a higher rank than those guys, the results might be better than just wandering around in Leo’s sight. It can stimulate the readers’ curiosity to the fullest.

So,

“I’m telling you. Even if you end up in some strange place, don’t regret it.”

“It’s fine, cutie. No regrets. Let’s go.”

I believed in Cocoa, and embarked on the road.

---

It’d been two hours since I’d set out in search of treasure.

I was regretting.

Because… no matter how one looked at it.

“My eyes… too bright.”

The light of the sun shone strongly through the cracks between my fingers.

Embarrassingly, we were now back up on the ground.

I secretly let out a deep sigh.

Where did it all go wrong?

When had it been the right time to turn back?

When we stood in place for about ten minutes, completely still?

When we circled back to the same path we’d already been on twice before?

When we heard Cocoa mutter to herself, ‘Huh? I think I’m lost…’ for the third time?

In the original work, no place other than ‘Old Adventium’ had ever appeared during the course of this arc.

In other words, it meant that this Adventurer Qualification Test should be held underground. Coming up to the ground shouldn’t have been in the cards.

At that moment,

“Cocoa, is there any other path? It’s too crowded.”

“Hot, too.”

Chinuavi and Haka, who were exhausted from the heat and the crowd, talked over each other.

“Don’t whine.”

“Cocoa.”

“Don’t even talk to me. I’m concentrating.”

“…”

Then, after we walked a little longer,

“Huh?”

“Uh?”

Finally, Cocoa stopped walking.

For a moment, I raised my drooping head in joy, but the moment I saw the ‘something’ in front of me, I was at a loss for words.

[Adventium Ice Cream Shop – Delicious enough to die for!]

“Should we get some snacks on the way?”

“… Haa.”

It wasn’t funny.

But in the meantime,

“Really, Cocoa. There are things you can only see when you take a breather. Well-reasoned. If you rest, you will surely find your way better afterwards.”

“Good choice.”

The two idiots joined in as well.

“…”

Yeah, it really was hot.

In the end, I too was taken in.

My plan of taking a break and rechecking the directions was shattered within a minute of entering the store.

“That’s rude.”

Chinuavi was seriously angry.

“Cocoa, don’t you think that’s a bit over the top?”

Haka also reacted harshly.

But Cocoa didn’t back down either.

“I will eat this. You have to eat this too.”

“…”

It was indeed a series of absurd situations.

Cocoa was trying to fill three out of four flavours with ‘mint chocolate’. And the last was ‘green tea’. She didn’t want to concede on even a single taste.

It was an incomprehensible act. Although Cocoa was young and a bit greedy for money, she’d never been a glutton. Naturally, she wasn’t that stubborn either…

Uh?

In an instant, a ‘notion’ flashed through my mind like a thunderbolt.

Ah, this was the ‘path’.

In the world of Adventure King, the path that the guide navigates is not limited to simple ‘geography’. Beyond that, it extends to ‘all kinds of methods and procedures’ that must be carried out to achieve a single goal.

In other words, it meant that Cocoa’s stubbornness here might be a necessary act to acquire the treasure. It really looked absurd, though.

Then I had no choice but to believe in her.

I didn’t hesitate.

“Three mint chocolates, please. And one green tea.”

I didn’t care about Chinuavi and Haka’s surprised faces.

“Are you going to eat?”

As I turned to Cocoa, the girl nodded quietly.

“Yes.”

Receiving the ice cream, she came to her seat and started eating, while comforting the two idiots who were sitting with grumbling faces.

“Eat it. It might be surprisingly delicious.”

Cocoa didn’t even look at the ice cream.

“I did everything I could. I don’t know what’s coming next. I can’t see. Even if it’s wrong, I wouldn’t know. I told you, Squatjaw. You’re responsible.”

“I got it…”

I was also nervous, but I had no choice but to wait. May a new path be opened.

However, nothing happened even as Haka and Chinuavi were finishing their ice creams.

‘… She must’ve been wrong.’

It was sad, but it couldn’t be helped. No adventure is guaranteed to be successful.

It was when the last bite was about to disappear into Chinuavi’s mouth.

“Excuse me…”

Suddenly, someone spoke to me.

“Have you run out of ice cream?”

When I turned around, it was a very suspicious-looking old man dressed in rags.

I looked at Cocoa in amazement.

Cocoa nodded vigorously with wide, round eyes.

“Yes, there wasn’t enough.”

“You seem to like mint chocolate a lot.”

“It’s not like that, it’s just because it’s there. And it’s so hot here. In fact, there’s this other flavour…”

I smacked Chinuavi on the top of the head.

“Ouch!”

“Yes. I do like it. It’s the best. The next best is green tea.”

“Is that so? Alright, if you want more, follow me. Of course, it’s free.”

At that moment, Cocoa, who met my eyes, gave a thumbs up.

---

The old man who offered ice cream took us to a hut and then went away. He left with the words that the basement refrigerator was full, so we could just take it out and eat.

“So?”

“… It’s amazing. I heard that there’s a goblin working for the Adventurers’ Association, he must’ve been the one to make something like this.”

On the door leading down to the basement were characters in the goblin language.

I’d also seen them in the manga so I knew what they were, but I couldn’t interpret them.

The author seemed to have been hiding traces of the goblins all over the place. He just didn’t manage to introduce them in time.

“Can you decipher it?”

“Who do you think I am? I’m a goblin. There probably wouldn’t be anyone here who could solve this other than me. Including that woman I met at the gambling table. This is a problem that cannot be solved without a goblin, regardless of how easy or difficult it is. It has to do with our gods.”

Of course, it wasn’t true. That only this guy could solve this.

But I didn’t say that out loud. Because it’d only hurt his pride.

“But really, this Adventurer Qualification Test… is quite difficult. Much more than I’d heard. Adventurers weren’t proud for no reason…”

Hearing Chinuavi murmur, I was convinced.

That my adventure was successful.

I’d been puzzled at the time when I’d read the original, but now I understood why Leo and the others couldn’t come this far. Because even if they did come, they wouldn’t have been able to decipher this.

Leo’s party took the most valuable treasure they could with their abilities.

“The most precious thing….”

Of course, so would I.

“Then shall we start the deciphering? It will take some time. Because the gods’ mischief, riddles, and tricks are intertwined…”

“No, wait.”

But not right now.

“Let me have a look.”

“… Yes?”

“Let me try.”

“…”

Chinuavi had an uncomprehending expression.

“What… but only a goblin can decipher this, though?”

“Alright, so let me have a look. If I can’t do it, then you take care of it.”

“…”

I didn’t really think that it would be possible. I just wanted to know the limits of my unique ability. And I’d once thought that these were the guys I’d want to meet at least once if I got the chance.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, I sat on the floor facing the basement door.

And used my ability, with Chinuavi as the target.

The unique abilities of goblins were different from those of humans, because they were bestowed by others.

Therefore, in order to mimic the abilities of the goblins, one had to meet their gods first.

After a while, I slowly closed my eyes and started the goblin ritual.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 37

Qualification Exam Finals Begin!

“… Wow.”

Leo couldn’t hide a burst of exclamation.

“That guy is awesome.”

Everybody knew whom Leo was referring to.

A squat-jawed guy named Hiro.

A guy who was now riding a big boat and navigating that vast tank.

And, along with his own adventurer team, he was rescuing ‘everyone’ who was trapped inside the spheres.

It was a truly spectacular sight.

It was surprising to see something (and followed by another) so large as a ship suddenly appearing out of nowhere, floating on top of the water tank, and that was topped by the even more surprising appearance of an unknown creature that looked like a ‘dragon’ pushing it from beneath.

It was probably thanks to that mysterious creature that such a sail-less, clumsy-looking ship was able to float and freely roam the waters, since there wasn’t the faintest trace of wind this deep under the ground.

“That sea monster down there… was it already in the tank?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so? It wouldn’t have helped Squatjaw, were that the case. Rather, it might’ve even attacked the ship. Maybe Squatjaw is the one who raised it?”

“Is that so? First time seeing it, though.”

“Maybe it was being kept with the ship?”

“Eh, no way. Where would you keep something like that?”

“Yeah… I don’t know either.”

There was no way any of them could answer that.

The world really was full of extraordinary unique abilities, but they’d never heard of an ability to ‘carry the sea on your back’.

“… Hmm.”

Even though such a huge scene was unfolding in front of them, the place was strangely quiet. It must’ve been because everyone was feeling overwhelmed.

Even the speaker had been silent for a while.

He’d been needling the test-takers before, but now he seemed to be at a loss for words.

While everybody was so immersed in watching –

Suddenly, Leo said something.

“By the way… are we just going to watch like this?”

“Huh?”

“Ah…”

“That’s true. Won’t they be be able to save them all by themselves?”

“Then what’ll happen to our score?”

“Z-, zero… I guess?”

“Yeah, Leo. Did you have to talk so loud? Now everybody else heard us, too.”

At that moment,

“Hurry! Before that Squatjaw saves them all!”

“Dive in right now!”

“Just grab someone and put them on the boat!”

Everyone around them rioted all at once.

Some took off their clothes and jumped into the tank, some soared into the sky on a certain carpet, some unfurled their wings from their shoulders, etc. All their special abilities came out.

Leo’s party also clearly realized that this was not the time to be dazzled.

“Hey, what should we do?”

“Uh, what? What should we do?”

“Over there! Shall I snatch that carpet?”

Just when Kiriko aimed his gun at the carpet floating in the sky –

“Mister Kirikidiot. If you did that in front of all these people, everybody would target you instead.”

Siana stopped Kiriko with a firm voice.

“And what’s the point of starting now? I think it’s already too late.”

Like she said, the rescue operation was almost over. All that was left was to watch the ship leisurely returning.

“Huhu, it seems like I’m quite a bit behind bit this time too, isn’t it?”

Siana then smiled quietly.

She’d been laughing like this from time to time ever since she lost at poker at that amusement park, but her eyes that curved into crescents didn’t contain some pleasant feeling.

Sometimes, there was even a flash of madness.

“Are you going to just lose like this, Leo?”

“No. I’ll definitely win next time!”

“Okay, let’s not rush into a game we’ve already lost. We have to pay them back next time. Don’t forget.”

Then, Siana muttered like a whisper.

Next time, for sure.

---

Building B-14, a special written test centre inside the Adventium underground waterway.

As I stood in front of the square stone block presented by the association as a ‘desk used by the ancients’, I was feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

Exam.

To think that something like this would be the reminder of my past life…

I couldn’t stand studying when I’d been a student. It wasn’t because I was obsessed with reading manga or anything. Maybe… I just didn’t have a good brain.

But the funny part was that even so, I always felt a lot of exam stress. I got nervous, felt pressured, anxious that I’d answer wrong by mistake. Even though I didn’t know most of the answers anyway. It’s not like my parents nagged me either.

“… Pft.”

It didn’t remind me of the past just because of the fact that I was taking an exam.

Surprisingly, the surroundings and atmosphere here were so similar that I remembered the scenes of the past.

Amidst the silence, a person dispatched from the Adventurers’ Association was quietly counting the test papers according to the number of people.

It was a little different since the adventurer teams would be sitting together, but nevertheless, waiting for the supervisor’s instructions with half fear and half excitement made me feel like I was back to being a young student again.

Perhaps, if it’d been the me of the past, in real life, I would’ve felt so tense that my heart might burst.

But now it was a little different. My heart was pounding, yes, but for the opposite reason.

It wasn’t even funny. That my heart was pounding at the thought of getting a perfect score.

– The third test, ‘knowledge.’

It’s called a knowledge test, but knowledge isn’t really important. Just because you know a lot in the first place doesn’t mean you’d be asked questions that you can answer.

The official way to pass this test is ‘cheating’.

There are two Adventurers’ Association personnel in each test site. One is a supervisor and the other is an ‘answer provider’ disguised as a test-taker.

Copying the answers from this ‘answer provider’ without being detected by the supervisor.

That is the gist of this test.

However, despite the existence of such a setting, this time I was going to try to solve the problems myself.

The reason was simple. The more I showed off something special, the higher my value would be. Moreover, right now, the readers’ eyes were all focused on me, weren’t they?

The rivals of stupid protagonists are usually brilliant brainiacs. It’s a typical cliché, but still, it’s not useless. If you follow it in moderation, it can have a huge effect.

Of course, readers might have some doubts about the source of my knowledge, but…

However, this plan was not without flaws.

That being, could I actually solve the questions?

I couldn’t be sure. Because the basic setting in the manga was that ‘the test-takers can’t solve the test of knowledge’.

But I was different.

First of all, I had a lot of knowledge about this world. I didn’t just read the paperbacks, but also the various data books and even the author’s comments.

Moreover, the only questions that could be asked at present were limited to the worldview of the beginning parts.

To be honest, I thought I might have more knowledge than the test author.

And one more. Siana’s unique ability.

If you mimic it, you can just answer MCQs without thinking, and even for subjective questions it has considerable utility. Because if you have enough knowledge to narrow down the options for the correct answer, you can still answer it like a multiple choice.

Of course, when mimicking this, I’d have to grant the absurd request of that squat-jawed fairy… but that’s all.

So, I accepted the test paper while brimming with confidence.

[The 384th Adventurer Basic Qualification Test – Knowledge Test Question Paper]

※ The time limit is one hour.

– Read and answer the questions below.

1. Hans, the owner of a clothing store at the centre of Adventium, has two dogs at home. What’s the male one’s name?

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

I’d never considered it. Why was the test like this? Even in the original, the contents of the problems themselves had never been shown.

It wasn’t funny.

I laughed and checked the next problem.

2. According to the ancient literature about Adventium, the people of Old Adventium kept dogs in every house. What was the most common name for the dogs?

“… It’s all about dogs.”

What I was feeling went beyond simple embarrassment or disappointment.

No, if the problems were like this, the test-takers shouldn’t have been reacting this way in the first place. Why weren’t they tearing up the papers and overturning the desks instead of tying up their hair and chewing their pencils?

“Okay, I give up.”

I immediately stopped thinking about solving it.

The problem was this:

Now what to do?

In fact, I had a plan I’d made beforehand.

After all the other guys around you are stunned, you just openly go to the answer provider and copy it all. Of course, the stun targets include the examiner too.

This was going to be an extension of the original act of ‘raising rumours’, but it was difficult to do it right now. As long as the readers’ eyes were on me, attacking the supervisor was a bit excessive.

Rejected.

So, things became quite difficult. Actually, I’d never really thought about how to try cheating in a normal way.

I quickly thought of something to mimic.

‘Is this doable right now?’

[Clairvoyant Looking at the End of the World]

• From a seated position, you can see everything within a certain distance.

If I could mimic this ability, there wouldn’t be a problem.

But,

‘As expected, looks like it hasn’t been created yet.’

It didn’t work. It seemed that only the setting existed and the character had not been created yet.

Then the next,

[Perspective through the Walls]

• Can see beyond obstacles.

“Hoo…”

Also the same.

Slowly, I began to feel impatient.

There were a few others that came to mind, but they were all abilities that’d appeared in the mid-to-late half. Besides the fact that I might not even be able to mimic the abilities of those great tycoons, the characters themselves probably didn’t exist at this point.

‘Isn’t this… a big problem?’

Then,

“Senior, you don’t have a good look on your face for some reason.”

“Do you have any problems? You told us to just watch.”

“You idiot jerk. In the end, looks like you weren’t able to solve even a single problem. Just that look on your face shows how smart you are.”

My companions all came closer, whispering and groaning. Their eyes had turned serious.

I graciously admitted it.

“These problems are all shit. I can’t solve any.”

They all clicked their tongues and started talking over each other.

“Hmm, Senior…”

“It’s disappointing.”

“You irresponsible Squatjaw.”

Frankly, it was embarrassing.

“No, who even is Hans? How would I know his dog’s name?”

“Ugh, then you shouldn’t have been so confident in the first place. Tsk tsk.”

“Bluffing Squatjaw. Lying Squatjaw.”

“…”

That was then –

“Then, are we just going with the plan you made in the first place? Just get rid of them all?”

Haka spoke up with a malicious smile.

It was as if he’d regained his first form at some point. Those hair-raising words were spat out with such an abstruse smile. In fact, I’d never said anything like getting rid of them.

“That’s not allowed. For now, we’ll just… answer like that guy, by spying on him.”

I pointed to the guy sitting alone in the corner.

By that time, everyone had already noticed who the ‘answer provider’ was. Probably because he was the only one holding a pencil and was constantly writing something down.

But it was a tad funny. What are you pretending to be so passionate about, aren’t you just writing down dog names?

“Just the answers… Then shall I do it?”

“What, you? How?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t think it’d be difficult. Won’t it be possible to roughly check the answers if I just enter the shadows?”

“Yeah? But he’s sitting with his back to the light… will that be okay? The hand’s shadow is closer to the test paper, but it’s too small…”

“You misunderstood. I’m not talking about entering his shadow.”

“Then?”

“Isn’t there something he’s holding in his hand?”

“… Huh?”

What he’s holding in his hand?

Maybe… a pencil?

“Will, will that work?”

“Well. It’s worth a try, anyway. These days, I seem to have gotten stronger in many ways. It makes me want to try it out.”

“Oooh…”

Of course, there was probably a cause behind that. Right, me.

As my rank rose sharply, the rank of this guy I was traveling with had also risen. And ability development is closely related to the character’s rank.

“Yeah, give it a try.”

“See you in a bit.”

Then, Haka seeped into the ground, like water being splashed.

As always, it was an amazing sight.

To be honest, I still didn’t really know about Haka’s abilities. You can’t just ask about someone’s unique ability even if you’re in the same party. It’s a very private thing.

What’s more, Haka was a guy whose character itself seemed to be wrapped in an enigma in the first place.

After a while, a strange shadow appeared under our feet.

The shadow whispered.

– Hans. Surprisingly, the dog’s name was also Hans. If you’re gonna give your dog a name… the test author is a real piece of work. Why would you ask a messed up question like this?

“… Yeah?”

– I think I can copy them all. See you later.

“Oh, alright.”

Haka seemed very surprised that Hans’ dog was also named Hans, but I was surprised at something else.

‘Hey, that’s one great ability.’

If you can even go into the shadow of a pencil, where can’t you go? In terms of hiding, it could be called the highest peak.

I gulped involuntarily.

That thing… would you teach me if I asked?

---

[Chapter 15 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (1) has ended] 

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Leadership’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness has increased by 37,000]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[Received fan art from ten readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 10]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 100%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?, Leadership
• Awareness: 59,259
• Author’s favourability: 57
• Reappearance probability: 100%

‘Is this the power of the leading point of view?’

It was amazing. How did I get so much awareness in so short a time?

Of course, it could be because I was quite active during this time, but even so, it was a huge number.

‘Wait, then how much does Leo have?’

Tiling–.

[Leading point of view application is finished]

[The leading point of view is changed from ‘Hiro’ to ‘Leo’]

Seeing it made me laugh out loud.

‘It’s like you can’t wait to take it away.’

As the author, it was clear why he wanted to. Although he only had himself to blame.

Well, unfortunately for him, I decided to be satisfied. Because the results were not bad for such a short period of time.

That was then.

Tiling–.

Another message arrived.

Well, it wasn’t what I was thinking.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 16 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (2)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

A message to resume the serialization followed immediately.

The final result was omitted and never came out.

‘It’s faster than I thought.’

Of course, I wasn’t that upset. Because I knew it was going to be like this.

The whole ‘Adventurer Qualification Test arc’ is a marathon without a single break. There won’t be any time for resupply.

‘Ah, this time I wanted to read some reader comments.’

But I couldn’t. The store was already closed.

Just then,

– All test-takers, gather in the central square!

The speaker rang.

We immediately ran towards the place where the voice had come from.

---

The central square of ancient Adventium.

The centre of ancient civilization, located about 30 meters above the underground waterway.

All the adventurer teams that had passed the basic tests were gathered there.

– Congratulations to the aspiring adventurers who somehow managed to survive. The exam was pretty easy, right? That’s because it’s just a basic test that only verifies whether you have the qualities of an adventurer. But now you won’t have the time to be bored any more. Why? Because from now on it’s for keeps.

The speaker again started speaking his mind in a sarcastic tone, but I couldn’t figure out what his intentions were.

– The main content of the Adventurer Qualification Test is simple. Find and bring back the hidden treasures of this city. The most precious thing you can find.

The explanation ended there.

The speaker didn’t let out any further sound.

Soon after, the murmurs of the test-takers, bewildered by the insufficient explanation, were beginning to intensify.

Suddenly, ‘it’ started.

“Second time taking the qualification exam! Geography mastery! My pathfinding eyes^[1] shine bright!”

“Third qualification test! I’ve got all the groundwater routes covered! Let’s go together!”

“Eighth qualification test! It’s all those damn teammates’ fault for failing so far! Trust me, my skills are real!”

The specialty of the Adventurer Qualification Test, commonly known as the ‘Guide Selection.’

I glanced back at Cocoa standing next to me and asked,

“Can you defeat them all?”

Cocoa just smiled without saying a word.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 길눈 (gilnun, lit. sense of direction). Will be mainly translated as pathfind-er/-ing eyes from now on, unless sense of direction is more appropriate.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 36

What’s the Personality Required to Be an Adventurer?

It took some time after I received the message for my pounding heart to calm down.

“Hmm.”

It was quite surprising. Obviously, this was not a benefit that just any character could get. Especially at a time like this, when the author shouldn’t have much of a favourable feeling towards me.

Of course, there were times when I’d imagined this happening. I’d wondered if it might be possible if I succeeded at all those countless plans in my head, after innumerable performances that appealed to the readers.

But now was not that time. It was too early. In fact, even the expression ‘too early’ didn’t seem appropriate to describe it.

It didn’t make any damn sense.

“…”

It was a good opportunity. With great benefits to boot.

However, it was not something I could accept immediately. Because I didn’t know what the author was thinking.

‘… What the hell is your plan?’

I pondered carefully.

Of course, there were some small doubts here and there. Maybe the author not liking the look of me was just my bias talking? The increase in the shop prices… Maybe it was just a temporary adjustment to balance the characters?

So, I tried to think more and more positively.

Could it be that this was all my misunderstanding?

Did you appreciate me and give me a chance?

Did the readers keep wondering about me?

Or, did you come up with an idea to use my character appropriately?

Are you really trying to get me to play the lead role?

However,

‘No, it can’t be.’

How cringey. It felt like something was stuck in my throat.

I decided to trust my senses. This was not that kind of situation. This hid a different kind of intention.

There was only one reason I could guess.

To keep watch on me.

Based on my experience so far, even if a chapter was in progress, there were no restrictions on my actions while I was outside of Leo’s point of view.

There was that time in the past when my access to the building in Virgin City got blocked, but it was also a place where Leo would arrive after a while and enter the leading point of view.

This meant that outside the central point of view, you could act quite freely, without caring about the sanctions of the ‘preceding plot’.

Of course, this wasn’t completely certain or definitive. But empirically speaking, it was close to the truth.

Therefore, the author, even if he didn’t like my actions, was in a situation right now where he couldn’t easily control me.

In particular, since my current behaviour wasn’t so docile, the author must’ve felt that he needed to be more vigilant, so maybe he decided to just pass the point of view to me.

“It hurts… My head hurts.”

If the readers were watching, even the author wouldn’t be able to mess with me with impunity, but I couldn’t do anything out of the ordinary either.

Basically, the rival of the main character in a shounen manga must be a just person, same as the main character. He may have a rough personality; he should still essentially be a good guy. That’s the basic rule.

This meant that no matter what concept I was wrapped in, I had to walk the same path of ‘righteousness’ in the end in order to establish my position as a rival. The moment I dared step out of it, I’d forever lose my chance to be one.

What to do?

Frankly speaking, I was worried.

‘Just refuse it for now?’

But then I shook my head.

The opportunity was too precious for that. Who knew when I might get another?

No matter what you do, in the end it’s only the readers who matter. If the readers like it, the character will survive. If the readers look for it, the character will appear.

In other words, it can be much more efficient to acquire the status of a rival by simply showing the readers a cool image one time, rather than making the main character become conscious of you by relying on a bag of tricks.

‘Yeah, let’s just do it.’

Even if the author had some sort of plan, he wouldn’t be able to impose any improbable malicious sanctions in front of the readers.

I immediately pressed on the holographic message.

‘What will happen now… Is it going to be change to a new chapter?’

Following,

[You have accepted the author’s proposal]

[The leading viewpoint is changed from ‘Leo’ to ‘Hiro’]

The message on the hologram changed.

Then,

“Well…”

Nothing happened.

“Well?”

That was it.

I waited for a while, but nothing changed.

The hologram as well as the surrounding environments were the same.

‘What, did it apply preperly?’

It was awkward. I’d thought there would be some explanations and guidance. Or, maybe some change in the hologram?

Then,

“Senior?”

“Squatjaw?”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t we leaving? Why are you standing here blankly all of a sudden?”

“Did you forget how to walk?”

Chinuavi and Cocoa, who’d come closer without me noticing, were looking at me with concern.

Oh, right. I myself said let’s go, but then just stopped in place lost in thought.

“Uh… no. Let’s go.”

Then, I was about to start again, but I ended up doing a weird sort of powerwalk as I thought that the readers were watching. My body felt stiff like a wooden doll.

‘Haah, this is worrying… No, wait a minute.’

Come to think of it, the current situation itself was just a negative for me.

The fight was already over, and all I had to do is walk, so where would the fun be in watching it?

“… Good grief.”

It was a big deal. I could almost hear the readers yawning already.

‘I should’ve accepted it after passing the first stage…’

But it was already too late for regret.

A way. I had to find a way out of this.

What could I do? How could I make things just a little more exciting?

“Senior?”

“Look at you. Did you really forget how to walk?”

“What’s the problem?”

I glanced at them as they approached me.

Chinuavi, Cocoa and Haka.

‘What’s missing?’

I looked them over again.

It was still Chinuavi, Cocoa and Haka.

That was then –

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a ‘notion’ struck like a thunderbolt.

“Chinuavi.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Can you make an earth dragon (土龍)?”

Hearing that,

“Uh, how did you…?”

Chinuavi made a very surprised expression for the first time in a while.

“What are you so surprised about? Can you or can’t you?”

“Uh… Yes, Senior. It won’t look pretty or anything, but if it’s just making one…”

“Just make one, then. Let’s ride it.”

“Uh… are you saying, now? But why? Looks like walking should be enough…”

“Uh-huh. Quickly. There’s no time.”

Transforming natural objects to living things was one of the cheat specialties of the goblins. In particular, you could see earth dragons, water dragons, and fire dragons being carried around as pets at the end of the original story.

Of course, this is a bit too early to start showcasing the goblins’ abilities… but, I thought it would be fine. Just like in the poker match with Siana, wouldn’t it be considered as just some unknown ability of a colleague of mine?

Anyway, the first priority was to provide something interesting to see. I had no idea when another opportunity like this would come again, but I couldn’t afford to waste a single minute or even a single second. I had to show anything that could drum up more interest.

And so,

“Wheeew. I don’t know if it’ll work well. It’s been a long time. Please step back for a bit.”

The ground began to shake.

Earth dragon. A dragon made of clay.

It was really closer to a giant earthworm, but it was still enough.

Krrrrr–.

After the ground shook for a while, a giant earthworm rose from the earth, revealing its magnificent majesty.

“Come on then, let’s get on.”

“Wow! Earthworm! Big!”

“As expected of Sir Chinuavi.”

“No, no, you’re exaggerating.”

“Alright, since we’re all on board, let’s get going. We don’t have long.”

And then,

Krrrrr–.

The earth dragon started running down the waterway with a resounding roar.

---

Twenty minutes later, at the centre of the underground waterway.

“Wow! So much! Water!”

Cocoa exclaimed as soon as she saw our destination.

Well, the sight definitely deserved such a response.

At a place where dozens of huge waterways joined together –

It was a dam built to handle such an enormous volume of water.

A magnificent reminder of why the ancient city of Advenitum had been called the ‘bowl of the sea’.

The sight of that amazingly huge ‘water tank’ filled with water was enough to make you question whether this place was underground, or the beach.

However, the response that came out of my mouth was quite different from Cocoa.

“… What the.”

It was embarrassing. Because this was not the situation that I knew.

First, the tank. There shouldn’t have been any water in there.

The tank had to be filled with water after the test of ‘knowledge’, the second of the basic qualification tests. And the volume wouldn’t be that much.

Next, the existence of those countless spectators surrounding the tank.

They shouldn’t have been here right now. Even if I could only clearly see a few, everyone shouldn’t have been here looking at the tank like that. Originally, the test takers had to prepare for the test of ‘knowledge’ by going to a separate test centre.

“…”

It seemed that I had no choice but to admit it.

The plot development had changed.

As soon as I understood that, I started to get nervous.

The reason behind my tension was simple. Because it was the author’s first time, changing the plot all by himself.

There’d been many times when the development has been changed by me, but this was the first time the author was doing it.

‘Do you have some scheme?’

It wasn’t too difficult to guess what it was, from what I could see.

Changes in the test sequence. The author had decided to test ‘character’ before ‘knowledge’.

This was a conspiracy.

‘Knowledge’ is the least weighted subject among the adventurer’s basic qualification tests. The reason is very simple. Because in this manga, the character’s intelligence does not play a large part in the evaluation factor.

For example, Leo isn’t particularly smart, and he often behaves like an idiot. And yet, isn’t he still the main character? This can even be considered a staple characteristic unique to the shounen manga genre, so a lack of ‘knowledge’ is not some major character flaw.

But ‘personality’ is a bit different.

First of all, there’s no right answer.

Just following the basics of morality won’t cut it. Since it’s a shounen manga about adventurers, there are times when you have to unhesitatingly steal a relic or two, trespass into private property, damage people’s cultural heritage, and even blow a few guys away. Even if the target isn’t a clear-cut villain.

In other words, ‘appropriate behaviour for an adventurer’ means you have to behave according to the time and the situation.

It’s the same for this test.

Simply put, there is no specific correct answer, so you have to somehow come up with an answer that is ‘interesting without being embarrassing’ for the viewers.

Naturally, there was a high possibility of making a mistake, and there was a bound to be a large ripple effect.

Gradually, the author’s intentions began to come into focus.

It seemed that he has no intention of forcefully controlling me. Instead, he was trying to push me into making some difficult decisions, so I’d mess up my score all on my own.

‘Tsk, whatever you try…’

That was then –

– Yes, it seems that all the test-takers have gathered. So let’s go straight to the second stage. Those who’ve taken the test before a few times may be a bit confused, but this time the order has changed a bit. The second stage of the basic qualification test will be the personality test.

As soon as the voice on the speaker finished, the people around us began to murmur.

– Now, how will the personality test be conducted? Simple. I’m going to ask you a question, so you just have to answer it. Of course, you are all aspiring adventurers, so you have to demonstrate with your actions rather than words, right?

Soon after,

“What!”

“Hey, there!”

“It’s a human!”

Two transparent, round spheres suddenly appeared in the middle of the air.

Each of the spheres contained two people: a young woman and a young child in one sphere, and a middle-aged man and a grandmother in the other.

– Drop the spheres, please.

At the speaker’s command, the spheres slowly began to sink into the tank.

– Now, what do you guys do? Here are two families in crisis. Who are you going to save? How would you like to start?

The two spheres were far apart.

But the distance between us and the tank was many times greater than even that.

In order to save them, we had to dive into the ocean-sized tank and swim to the spheres, witout caring about our own lives.

While the people around us hesitated, the spheres drifted closer and closer to the tank.

– Who are you going to save? Yes? Would you like to answer? You, blue-haired guy over there? Or you, lass with the long red hair? Think of them like your own family. Who should you save? Well, you don’t have much time.

At this point, I was feeling quite surprised.

But, of course, not at the question that had been posed at us.

‘What is this?’

The plot development had changed, but the problem remained the same as it was presented in the original.

I couldn’t help but be confused.

Didn’t you plan to give me trouble? Why is it this easy?

That was then –

– Naturally! This much isn’t too difficult for you test-takers who dream of becoming adventurers. At most, there are only four people. Did you all know that the real problem was still to come, and just kept watching? Yes?

At that moment, the spheres came in contact with the water, suddenly enlarged and burst.

Surprisingly, the people inside had disappeared. As if they’d been just afterimages.

– Now, here’s the real problem.

At the same time as he uttered those words –

“Uh… um…”

“Hey, what is that…”

“Are these illusions too?”

Four very large spheres appeared in the air.

At first glance, each sphere contained groups of over a dozen children, senior citizens, middle-aged men and young women.

– What are you going to do now? Yes? O’ aspiring adventurers?

Then, the four large spheres began to descend in unison.

And at the same time, the surrounding murmurs rapidly intensified.

Let’s all gather together, divide into teams, and take charge of each sphere…

Chinuavi and Haka also came up to me and asked, having been swept away by the atmosphere.

“Senior, what are we doing?”

“Are we going to move?”

I looked at the two kids with puzzled eyes.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Well, then I’ll make a water dragon first…”

“Wait.”

Then,

– No, I mean, how long are you going to just watch? Yeah? People are dying! That’s not an illusion! What are you going to do, redhead! Yeah? Are you going to just keep watching, you blonde over there! Yeah? Now what? What about you there, you… squat-jaw?

It came.

Of course, there was no set order for ‘presenting the answer’. Whoever was willing to go first, could.

However, this was only nominally so, and in reality, the person named last had no choice but to move first. Because that was the most natural way for the scene to be directed.

Right, it was me.

This seemed to be what the author had been aiming for.

“It’s not difficult.”

A snort came out of nowhere.

To be honest, this was very lucky for me.

You lay out the plates on the table for me, and I just have to pick up and eat.

“Senior, what should we do? Which one should we choose…”

“Seems like time is running out a bit. The children first?”

I stared at the two impatiently.

“You’re being idiots.”

Adventurers in this world are not bound by moral laws, rules, or some set ‘personality template’. These are guys who just do what they want to do and what they can do. Based on whatever ‘amazing power’ they have.

“What the Adventurers’ Association wants to test is not this kind of kiddish MCQ game. Rather, what great power do we have that they don’t know about? They’re not asking whom to save in this situation. What matters is who can get them all out of there the fastest.”

I then turned to Cocoa.

“You know what to take out.”

“… Is this why you told me to bring that?”

“I didn’t specifically predict this timing… but I thought it’d be useful somewhere. I did think it’d be better than carrying a gyrodrop, anyway.”

“Ugh… okay. Give me a sec. I’ll take it out.”

Then, Cocoa took ‘it’ out from her leather bag.

Thud–.

No longer tied down to an open-air amusement park under the blue sky, it now settled itself instead on the waters of the blue sea.

The amusement ride ‘Viking’, appeared at the centre of the underground waterway of this ancient city.

“Now, rescue team – move out!”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 35

Sortie! Squatjaw Adventurers

We followed the skinny examiner to a clothing store on a quiet, out-of-the-way street.

I’d never imagined that a street might exist in this city that would fit the adjective ‘quiet’, but it did. By the time we entered the clothing store, there was not even a trace of all those people who’d been all around us earlier.

It was amazing. I didn’t even realize it until I arrived.

“Come in.”

However, the interior of the clothing store was as expected.

It was a very ordinary shop, so small that it filled up with just five people entering, and there was nothing special about it at all.

Very similar to the antique shop where Leo and his party were guided to in the original.

The examiner led us to the counter.

“Stand there for a moment.”

Then he went over the counter, took out a chair and sat down alone.

“… Well.”

It was uncomfortable.

Just looking at him, I was feeling strangely uncomfortable.

Suddenly, my legs felt stiff. So much that I wanted to sit.

I whispered to Cocoa.

“Do you have a chair in your pocket?”

“Chair?

Cocoa shook her head.

“But I have a merry-go-round. I kept a few rides from the amusement park. Want one of those?”

“… Leave it.”

Just then,

“Then I will start.”

The examiner took out a piece of paper and began to write.

“Are there currently four of you?”

“Yes.”

“Additional people are limited to three. No more.”

“Understood.”

“Additional people?”

Hearing Haka mutter to himself, the examiner raised his head and asked.

“Do you need an explanation?”

I nodded on behalf of the group.

I could’ve explained, but refrained in case I missed some key detail.

“It means that you can grow your group while the qualification test is in progress. Up to seven people.”

“…”

This guy didn’t go into the details at all.

With a sigh, I asked the examiner for permission, and then briefly explained the rules of the Adventurer Qualification Test to the party.

1. The Adventurer Qualification Test is conducted in ‘stages’, not on an individual basis.
2. The number of people in an adventurer group is one to seven people.
3. If even one of the registered group gives up during a stage, the whole group is eliminated.

“Got it? It’s not an individual game. We are all one team. If one of us jokes around? We will all die together.”

I said it deliberately, but –

“Huhu, this might be a bit difficult, isn’t it?”

“All of us have to work in unison, huh… I really want to mess things up whenever I’m in a situation like this.”

It didn’t seem like it worked out very well.

Now that I thought about it, that’s just how goblins were.

So while I was about to threaten the goblin and the assistant goblin again –

“If the explanation is over, can we proceed?”

The silent examiner spoke up again.

“Oh, yes.”

“What’s the name of your adventurer group?”

Ah, the name of the adventurer group.

Actually, it wasn’t that important. We could just go with something rough right now, and think about it later when we formally form the adventurer team.

However, remembering the case of Leo and the others made me get a bit more serious.

The name, ‘Leo Adventurer Team’, was coined at this time.

“Hmm… let’s see.”

I pondered for a while.

But nothing came to mind.

All I could see was the examiner’s eyes.

Hey, let’s just put in something rough.

“Let’s just go with Hiro Adventurer Team…”

That was then –

“Squatjaw! The Squatjaw Adventurer Team!”

“… Hey.”

“Let’s call it an adventurer team. That’s good.”

Why are you so fixated on my jaw?

I couldn’t understand Cocoa’s crazy aesthetics.

“So you’re doing it as an adventurer team?”

“Oh, no, wait. Hey, what kind of adventurer team is called Squatjaw…”

“Why not? Because you’re a squat-jaw.”

“No, even if that’s true…”

Then,

“Alright, so it’s the Squatjaw Adventurer Team. Are you the captain?”

The skinny examiner wrote it down by himself, ignoring the byplay. It looked like he was pretty annoyed.

“Haah…”

“Is the captain called Squatjaw?”

“No, not that. Please not that –”

This skinny guy only seemed interested in finishing things quickly somehow.

At that moment, Cocoa spoke up like she was doing me a favour.

“Just tell him your name.”

“Thank you, thank you so much. It’s Hiro. Captain Hiro.”

“Alright, so it’s the Squatjaw Adventurer Team, Captain Hiro.”

Then, the rest of the party named themselves one after another.

“Yes, it’s all been recorded. Squatjaw Adventurer Team, Captain Hiro and three others. Please note that the registration period for additional adventurers will close just before the end of the qualification test, and the group size limit is seven people.”

As soon as the reception was over, the skinny dwarf pointed his finger at the cramped fitting room in one corner of the store.

“You can enter one by one.”

“Ah… is it there?”

As soon as I saw it, I immediately recognized it.

It looks like a normal fitting room, but that was the passageway to the first exam room. Perhaps as soon as you enter and close the door, the bottom will fall open and it’ll start moving.

“If you close the door and count ten seconds, you’ll reach the test centre. Please understand that you may feel a little dizzy while moving. If you have a weak stomach, tell me so I can give you a plastic bag.”

This skinny bloke… He felt a little kinder now.

Next, we went into the fitting room, while he uttered a phrase that was like the signature of the Adventurers’ Association.

“I hope that the most precious treasures may one day be held in the hands of the Squatjaw Adventurers.”

---

The Adventurer Qualification Test is divided into seven stages, and only those who pass each stage can proceed to the next.

Stages one to three test whether an adventurer has the basic qualities necessary, as in ‘physical fitness’, ‘knowledge’, and ‘personality’.

The full-scale test starts from the fourth stage, which tests the adventurer’s ability as a ‘guide’.

In stage five, you have to prove your ability as a ‘decipherer’, and in stage six, as an ‘adversary’.

Finally, if you pass the seventh stage, a ‘face-to-face interview with a veteran adventurer’, you will be able to acquire an official adventurer’s license.

“Did you understand?”

Cocoa nodded at my question.

“I hear you. Then here, it is…”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a place to test your basic qualities?”

“Exactly, just your fitness and stamina.”

“But what the hell are we doing here?”

Even though I roughly explained everything, her doubtful expressions still hadn’t faded.

It was natural, because this space that didn’t seem to have much to do with ‘fitness’.

A very large, wide and gloomy tunnel.

Where we were now was one of the great waterways buried deep under the city.

Dozens of these canals were intertwined underground beneath the city, and now a large number of candidates had been randomly placed in one of the aqueducts.

“Wait. Somebody will come explain soon anyway. Instead, take a look at your competitors.”

I glanced around too.

There were no particularly striking faces.

‘Well, they might all be concentrated on Leo’s side.’

Even so, there were quite a few people scattered all over the place. About two, three hundred? At least that many,

There were some who still kept arriving one after another in the midst of it all, but the rate had reduced significantly compared to before. It seemed that the deadline was slowly approaching.

That was then.

– Ah, hmm, how are you, candidates?

A lively voice echoed from somewhere in the tunnel.

The source of the voice was near the ceiling of the tunnel, but upon closer inspection, a small speaker was installed there.

The noise around us ceased as the voice spoke up.

Suddenly, the place was overflowing with tension.

– Greetings to all who took the Adventurer Qualification Test. It may be a little boring for the repeaters, but there’s a brief explanation for the first-timers. It’s about where you are now. To do that, I think I first need tell you the history of this city, ‘Adventium’. Adventium was…

The explanation was not brief at all, and just kept going on and on for a long time.

When I’d seen it in the manga, it was just a matter of flipping through the pages, but in real life it was to the point that I was really getting fed up.

“Squatjaw, this…”

“Try and hold on.”

“This kind of dry briefing without a single joke… is like hell for goblins.”

“Sir Chinuavi, you better cover your ears.”

“Alright, don’t overdo it, kids.”

Of course, I was also enduring, trying not to yawn.

Anyway, to summarize the explanation:

Adventium here was named after the now-fallen ‘ancient city of ADVENTIUM’, and some adventurers had founded a village here in the past to preserve that splendid ancient civilization.

The canal where the candidates had been placed was a vestige of an ancient adventure, and the reason why this place was used as a testing ground for the Adventurer Qualification Test was to remind the candidates of the spiritual tenets of true adventurers, to honour history and ancient wisdom.

– Well, you all know what I mean, right? Then, the explanation about this place is done, so let’s go straight to the main topic.

At that moment, the dead atmosphere began to come alive again.

The candidates’ eyes gleamed with fervour.

– The most basic quality an adventurer needs is fitness! You first task is simple. Reach the heart of this waterway within the time limit! There’s no need to explain the direction, right? We can’t tell you the exact distance, but here’s one piece of advice… You might want to walk a bit fast.

It was true that there was no need to explain the direction.

The waterway was one-way. We just had to go straight ahead.

We’d just have to walk a little bit faster than usual.

– The time limit is one hour. Then, please start!

However, despite the departure signal, no one moved immediately.

Perhaps it was because everybody was wary of those around them. I wondered if we might even get attacked from behind on the way. It was still only the first stage, but even so, everyone was a competitor.

‘Everyone is being very vigilant.’

And that was the best choice.

It was called a fitness test, but it wasn’t just a running event.

The phrase “fitness test” or “first stage” was actually close to a scam. In fact, most of the candidates fell here.

Why?

“Heh, let’s clean up who we can and widen the road a bit.”

“There are a lot of faces I haven’t seen before… The first-timers just take the test for experience, right? I hope you had a good experience, so see you again next time.”

Because people like me would appear as if they’d been waiting for this.

Big, vicious-looking guys clenched their fists and stepped forward. There were several groups of seven.

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t it annoying?”

“Right?”

Of course, these guys who looked like me couldn’t do much in the original. They were cleared up by Kiriko before they could even say a few words.

But what about this place, without Leo and his friends?

“If you obey without resisting, we’ll just put you to sleep. But if you don’t…”

“Heh, we’ll leave that to your imagination.”

Looking at them, I remembered the goal I had set before entering the waterway here.

Here was my goal for the first stage.

Simple. Start some rumours.

There was still a long way to go before all the test-takers would be gathered together, since all the personnel spread over dozens of waterways would have to go through several stages of testing. However, rumours would still circulate in between.

‘Who said there won’t be anything serious? Some really horrible guys have appeared. They said that only a few people passed through some of the waterways.’

What if my story got into Leo’s ears and even discussed between his party members?

For instance,

“Did you hear? By Hiro, do they mean that squat-jawed guy we know… It looks like he’s taking this qualification test too, right?”

“Dude, what the hell do you have to do to cause an ugly rumour like this…?”

“Yeah. After all, that guy just can’t stay quiet.”

Like this.

This was of course a cliché, but it would be enough to stimulate the readers’ expectations.

Besides, the main character becoming conscious of me first? There’s no better way to climb to a rival’s position than that.

In other words,

“It’s you guys who are annoying. Your roles overlap too much.”

It was time to get back to villainy.

I went straight towards the thugs.

Clenching my fist, I made a brutish expression.

“Heh heh, yes, let’s make the road a little wider.”

“Who are you, you bastard?”

“You wanna die?”

Instead of answering them, I turned around and said.

“Chinuavi.”

“Yeah, Senior?”

“Raise the dirt and block the road here.”

“Yep.”

“Haka.”

“Tell me.”

“All the people here right now. You understand? Just do what you’re good at.”

“Huhu, it’s been a while.”

At that moment, a lively smile appeared on his lips after a long time. That flash of malice was like a passive ability that slit-eyed characters were inherently equipped with.

“Cocoa.”

“Yeah.”

“Look around.”

“Huh.”

I looked back at the thugs.

Now, what was I going to do with them?

Of course, my physical abilities were strong enough to easily handle these extras aspiring to be adventurers.

So, without further ado.

I raised my fist and slammed it against the nearest head.

Boom!

Then,

Thud!

The guy collapsed.

Hmmm, that was easy.

But I didn’t mean to just deal with all of them like that. Because there were so many of them, there were many other skills that I was itching to try out right now.

“I’m sorry, except for these idiots, everyone here today is eliminated. Come back next time.”

---

“K, kkh…”

“It’s unfair…”

“Sorry.”

About thirty minutes had passed, and all the guys blocking the way had been dealt with.

Even though I mimicked Kiriko’s [Six Burning Bullets] as best as I could, I couldn’t practice as many techniques as I’d hoped.

Because Haka was on a rampage.

‘Hey, that regretful expression…’

For some reason, Haka seemed to have recovered quite a bit of his original form that I’d thought had been lost. The word ‘devil’ was often heard from the mouths of those collapsing.

For now, it seemed enough to play the role of an ‘adversary’.

“Anyway, shall we start slowly?”

Thirty minutes remained.

It was enough.

That was then.

Tiling–.

A message arrived at the hologram.

‘What? What is it this time?’

As soon as I saw the message, I was floored.

[You have received a proposal to become the chapter’s leading point of view from the author]

• If you agree, please press this.

The leading point of view.

This meant that the readers would see the situation through my eyes.

From what I could recall, even Kiriko hadn’t gotten this treatment much as of yet.

The most powerful device that allows the protagonist to function as the centre of the story and elicits empathy from the readers.

It was something only Leo could possess.

“… Hoo.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 34

Adventium

[Chapter 13 – Mimic Acrobat has ended]

“Hmm.”

There were no special reactions from Leo’s party.

At first, yes, they were indeed a little surprised by my transformation,

“S-, Squatjaw! Your squat jaw! It shrank!”

“Hey, so that’s what you originally looked like?”

“Mr. Squatjaw, you… ooh… look so pretty… oh my!”

But hey, why can’t you react a little about my name?

“Hero?”

“What kind of weak name is that?”

“But what about it? Is that all you wanted to say?”

Well, they probably thought it was normal. There was no one in this world who did not dream of becoming the Adventure King. Of course, there were hardly any guys who would actually say that out loud, apart from Leo.

In other words, I only showed off my looks (?) and gave them a name. Getting angry and asking what I was babbling about was a very natural reaction.

The readers and the author, though… Let’s see, there would’ve definitely been some impact.

[The character evaluation of the Enigmatic Squatjaw has been updated]

[Name has been changed to ‘Hiro’]

[‘Turned out he was a pretty boy?’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness has increased by 28,500]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[Received fan art from 5 readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 5]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 50%]

[State]

• Name: Hiro (Enigmatic Squatjaw)
• Characteristics: Very strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive, Turned out he was a pretty boy?
• Awareness: 40,259
• Author’s favourability: 46
• Reappearance probability: 50%

Tiling –.

[You have successfully played the role of the main villain of the chapter]

[Registered as a major record in the official character data of ‘Hiro’]

[Character’s rank has increased significantly]

[‘Mimic Acrobat’ has been fully attached to the character by completing the conditions for using the background]

[Character points paid 3000p for the author’s privilege payback]

‘Oh, a significant rise!’

It was impossible to confirm the exact number, but it felt good anyway.

Tiling –.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 85,500p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 500p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 5,000p for eliciting enthusiastic support (fan art) from readers]

[Character points paid 500p for the rise in reappearance probability]

“Nice…”

Awareness rose by almost 30,000. And I got over 80,000 points as reward. There was a sense of fullness rising from the depths of my heart.

All that hard work had been worth it.

‘But was it really that impressive?’

I pondered over what happened earlier.

Summoning five ghosts, blowing Yan away, and declaring that I will become the next Adventure King.

In fact, the guy they’d thought was only an extra became a helper, then appeared like a villain, and then transformed to a completely different figure and claimed to be Leo’s rival. Even if I myself had been among the readers, I thought my eyes would have popped out a bit.

‘Did they think I was kinda cool?’

But, of course, I didn’t know how much of that was actual favourability. Awareness didn’t necessarily indicate positive reactions alone.

‘No, since the word ‘support’ came up, did it only measure the positive ones?’

Hmmm.

Soon I shook my head.

Why keep thinking about it? Anyway, I’d have to check it out for myself sometime later.

Because the character shop here sold some very convenient products that directly told you how well you were doing.

[Read last chapter’s reader comments]

It wasn’t just this.

Several small backgrounds and chapter-related goods that I’d been drooling after but had to eventually pass over, and even my just-in-case last resort, the [deletion grace right].

I was finally able to buy products that I couldn’t purchase because of a lack of points in the past.

“Let’s comb through the store. I’ll give it a full once-over today. It’ll have to wait a bit first, though.”

I went back to considering my character evaluation again.

Readers’ reaction? It was okay. Good, rather.

However, the most interesting part in this evaluation was the author’s attitude.

No reaction.

It was unfortunate.

I’d certainly caught the author’s attention.

Didn’t he also meekly admit it?

[Attracts the author’s attention].

However, there was no change in ‘author’s favourability’. It did not rise or fall. We’re talking about the honourable sir who was prone to expressing his opinion about every single trivia.

The rise of 5 was because of fan art, not purely the author’s will.

‘He’s being silent…’

Of course, I couldn’t actually read his thoughts. But nevertheless, I could affirm this situation. Because the author didn’t give a negative reaction right away.

Actually, what I’d said in the ring had been like a proclamation towards him as well. Because only the author could understand the true meaning of my words in the first place, and he was the only one who would be directly affected by this.

So, I’d been prepared to face great hardships and trials. Considering the symbolic meaning of the ‘rival’ element in shounen manga and the importance of its role, the author had the right to honestly say, ‘Is this kid messing around?’

Moreover, the rival element was weak in this manga from the very beginning. There were several adventurer groups and many important characters appeared throughout the story, but there was no one who could be called a rival.

This meant that the whole story had to be completely reshuffled due to a single character. To wit, me.

‘Ah, I guess he might’ve been struck dumb at the absurdity?’

This was certainly a plausible inference.

But I also had a defense. In the first place, this element of rivalry had also been something many readers had longed for throughout the series. I thought things would be a lot more fun if there were rival characters or adventurer groups.

In other words, when considering the fun aspect of the story, I was an existence that benefitted the author as well. Well, although, creating the new developments might give him a headache.

If the author were conscious of this, might he not also keep a more open mind about me?

‘No, wait.’

Perhaps the author had already started thinking about a new development that would utilize my character. Maybe this silence was just proof of that.

‘Ummm… no. That’s reaching a bit too far.’

It might just be that the author had not yet fully grasped the meaning behind my declaration. I had merely revealed my name and aspirations, and he might not have guessed that I would even dare to become the rival.

“Well, you’ll find out soon.”

In any case, since his favourability didn’t drop immediately, I decided to take that positively.

“Then, slowly…”

I turned my attention to the phrase ‘Character Shop’ at the bottom of the hologram window.

It was shopping time. What I’d waited so long for.

As soon as I opened the store, an exclamation naturally escaped my mouth.

[Currently held points: 97,573p].

“Nice…”

It was just the start, so it was bit shameful to be this admiring only at this level, I thought as I hummed along.

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

I opened the ‘Chapter’ section first. It wasn’t a specific purchase priority; it was just a habit. In the past, I had the habit of always buying a ‘chapter pass’ first.

Then, the moment I wanted to purchase the product,

“… Eh?”

Suddenly, I was rubbing my eyes without realizing it.

“What is this?”

[Go straight to the chapter progress area once – 2000p]

The price was weird.

Obviously, it’d been 150 points when I’d checked it last.

I rubbed my eyes once more and checked it again.

It was still 2000p.

“Are you kidding me?”

You can stop the sale-offs, fine. The chapters have entered double digits, and it’s time to gradually accumulate points.

But you shouldn’t do this. Raise the price like this? Ten times at that?

I didn’t know if there’d been any signs beforehand, but I hadn’t noticed any.

When I looked around, the other products were the same.

The prices jumped from a minimum of three times to a maximum of ten times.

“…”

I then admitted that I’d been mistaken.

Seeing my actions in a positive light? How ridiculous.

The author, this guy, he hated me, right? He must’ve not liked the look of me, or something.

“I’ll just have to do what I can.”

How small-minded could you be?^[1]

My good feelings had already subsided.

The shop screen had also been turned off. Because right now, just looking at it made me feel like I was burning up.

That was then –

“So you were here.”

Someone sneaked up to me.

It was Cocoa.

“Huh.”

“Is your chin back again?”

“Uh, it comes back in an hour.”

“One hour?”

“It’s like that.”

Despite my rough answer, Cocoa didn’t ask any further questions. She didn’t seem to be interested in asking.

Instead,

“I like the way it looks now. I don’t like that absurd look from earlier… you looked like a sissy.”

She expounded on her preferences.

“… Your eyes are pretty special.”

I fell silent for a while, and then added a sentence at the end.

“This image is fake. Oh, that one was real.”

This time I thought she’d ask why.

But,

“Who cares about real or fake? Squatjaw is a squat-jaw.”

Cocoa snorted. Again, there was no sign of curiosity.

It was strange. But when I saw the little kid sitting next to me just stare blankly into the air, somehow, I felt my anger slowly subside.

“It’s Hiro. Not Squatjaw.”

Cocoa didn’t even listen.

“Squatjaw. Squatjaw.”

“What.”

“I’ll pretend you aren’t squat-jawed.”

“… Yeah, do whatever you want.”

Same as me.

Well, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

Then,

“But what are we going to do now?”

Cocoa asked as if she’d suddenly remembered.

“What we’re going to do? What do you… ah!”

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be so tepid.

“Good question. We’re going to be busy.”

“Are we going somewhere?”

“I have a place to go, but I’m a little pressed for time.”

“Why?”

“I was going to take the bus, but the fare somehow went up by a lot. To the point where it’s unreasonable. So anyway, I just want to walk.”

“I like it.”

“That’s good. Don’t take it back later, and take proper care of those things in your pocket.”

Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something again, Cocoa asked.

“But what about the amusement park?”

“What about it?”

“Are we going to take it?”

“… What?”

It was embarrassing. I hadn’t even thought of it at all.

“… Take ‘that’. Just leave the rest. It’ll have some use.”

“Where?”

“You don’t need to know. There will be.”

Then Cocoa lowered her head and muttered a bit.

“It was fun.”

“…”

I scratched my head.

The way this kid looked so down was strangely heartbreaking.

What should I do in this case?

After a while, I barely managed to find the right answer.

“Let’s play again next time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Then I jumped up from where I’d been sitting.

What I said to Cocoa was not just empty words.

If we’re talking about fun things, they’d be piled up in our way like a mountain. Even the very next destination would be full of things this kid would find exciting.

“Let’s go, where is everybody?”

---

Two weeks later.

The megalopolis, Adventium.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 15 – Official Adventurer Qualification Test (1)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

We’d arrived just in time.

“Wow, so many!”

Cocoa exclaimed.

“Senior, I think I might get it wrong…”

“Take a good look.”

I looked around, but there was no place that wasn’t full of people. It was truly a huge crowd.

Adventium. The so-called City of Adventurers.

There were two reasons why this place was called that.

First, because it was where the central branch of the Adventurers’ Association was located.

Second, because it was where the official Adventurer Qualification Test was held.

This was the city where the second great arc, ‘Adventurer Qualification Test’, would take place after Black Shadow.

“So many of these people are dreaming of adventure, how exciting…”

“But there’re only a handful of people who’ll actually get it.”

“Meaning… us?”

The three were already quite excited.

I was a little surprised by this too. Cocoa was one thing; I hadn’t thought that the other two would be so gung-ho about this adventurer’s test as well. Maybe it was because both of them had the goblins craziness about solving problems.

“Huhu, I’d always wondered, how much had the writers stretched things talking about adventurers… now I can confirm. Are they really great people, or do they just have a high opinion of themselves?”

“Even though the pass rate is very low… If it’s Chinuavi, I’m sure you won’t have any problems.”

“Fufu, thank you. Same goes for Master Haka.”

It was a strange thing.

Everything else was fine, but whenever I saw the two of them talking I just got annoyed.

“I’ve gotten tired of playing around. Now, everyone, pay attention.”

I clapped my hands to get their attention.

There was nothing wrong with the group having a clear sense of purpose, but just passing the test was actually not enough. The goal we had to achieve in this episode wasn’t that small.

There is one prerequisite for a character playing a rival role in a shounen manga.

You have to be a ‘powerhouse’.

Funny thing was, these protagonists wouldn’t even consider those lagging behind their peers as rivals. You could barely get that qualification only if you were far ahead of them and well-known to boot.

In order to establish my status as a rival, the performance in this episode was very important. There was a ranking in this adventurer test, because it was a system where you could see who was the best and who was the worst.

Therefore,

“Pass? It’s not just that. In this Adventurer Qualification Test, we must take the best grade.”

This was my goal.

And it was difficult to do well with just me.

“Now, who knows a lot about the adventurer exam, raise your hands.”

But no one came forward with confidence. I’d expected that from the moment they’d started chattering about it without knowing what was in store.

“Then how are you going to pass? The test has already started. It starts with finding an examiner.”

The adventurer test is not conducted in separate fields. Whether you aim to be a guide, a decipherer, or an adversary, all face the same test.

And it starts with finding a way. As with any adventure.

“Examiner. Want to try finding one?”

I glanced at Cocoa.

Of course, I knew who the examiner was and where he was.

However, the reason why I passed the baton to Cocoa was not simply to test this kid’s ability, but also to show Chinuavi and Haka. Because in the adventurer test, knowing the abilities of your comrades was also very important.

“Examiner?”

“Yeah. I won’t give you any hints.”

I’d even come to a place quite far away on purpose. It won’t be that easy to find him in the midst of such a large crowd…

“He’s behind you.”

“What?”

“That thin guy in the back.”

“…”

When I turned around, a skinny short guy was standing around in front of a shopping mall. He didn’t even remotely resemble an examiner. Because the examiners I’d seen in the manga had pretty good physiques.

And it was a face that I’d never even seen before.

“Nope?”

“Yep.”

Then she walked straight up to him.

“You the examiner, right?”

It was crazy.

“No, hey, what do you think you are doing?”

But right then,

“Are you a party of four?”

The guy who’d been looking around as if he was not even aware of us, said something strange out of the blue.

“Yeah.”

“Follow me.”

“…”

I scratched my head. So we ended up trailing after him.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 좀생이 (lit. moth) narrow-minded, picky.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 33

The Great Declaration

Firstly.

Can you mimic the abilities of characters that you haven’t actually met yet in the current work?

This was a question I had since the first time I planned to purchase [Mimic Acrobat].

It sounded like nonsense, but in reality I thought it might actually be possible.

Even if something doesn’t appear in a chapter, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Doesn’t the world outside the ‘chapters’ really exist right here in front of my eyes?

Of course, it might be impossible if only the background setting existed and the character had not yet been created, but other than that, it was quite feasible.

However, there was one problem –

The mimicking conditions:

1. You must know the face and real name of the person using the ability.
2. You must directly see the manifestation of the ability.
3. You must be aware of the mechanism by which the ability operates.
4. You must have a physique that matches the level of the ability.

The second clause.

2. You must directly see the manifestation of the ability.

Simple. You had to directly ‘view’ the target and the ability.

It was a clause that simply shattered my secret desire, but nevertheless, there was a reason why I thought it might work ‘just in case’.

Because there had been a case in the original where a similar type of condition was satisfied by using a ‘shortcut’.

The contents were as follows:

[An adventurer discovered a sealed ancient artifact while exploring a lost civilization. An old seal protected the artifact, and the conditions for releasing this seal were written over it. One of them was to ‘visit a specific place yourself’.

The problem was that the place was inaccessible, being within the deep sea.

The adventurer found a way after racking his brains for days, and surprisingly, he succeeded in unlocking the seal on the artifact without actually visiting that place.

The method he used was to ‘transplant the memory’ of another person who’d actually visited that place.]

It was obvious why this incident came to mind.

I thought maybe I could do something similar.

What I guessed was:

You have to check the manifestation of the ability, but the act of actually watching the scene is not necessary. The important thing is to ‘know’ the ability, ‘recognize’ it, and then ‘remember’ it.

In other words, the key is whether you can specifically envision the ability in your head.

And I was able to do that. This was true for almost all the abilities that had appeared in the original work.

It was only natural. Although I had never actually seen them directly but only in the form of a manga, I had already encountered the manifestation process of all those abilities several times.

So, as a result of testing,

“… Wow.”

To my surprise, my theory turned out to be correct.

I was able to imitate most of the unique abilities as far as my body allowed, for the currently created characters.

Secondly. 

So, can we imitate the future abilities (evolved abilities) of existing characters?

Of course, it was a question that sounded nonsense. It was like saying that I would mimic an ability that had not yet appeared and that even the original owner of the ability couldn’t use.

But this time too, I said ‘just in case’.

Because? As before, there had been quite a few similar cases.

Defaulter Ludenkov.

I couldn’t forget this guy even if I wanted to.

One of the ‘Seven Kings’, the most powerful people in this setting who can destroy the world with their own strength.

Under the assumption that his unique ability [One who Repays with Death] satisfies various detailed conditions, he can borrow power from everyone who ‘existed’, ‘exists’, or ‘will exist’ in this world with his lifespan as collateral.

As per the setting, there is no limit on whom he can borrow power from, including the ‘previous Adventure King’ and even his own future self.

Therefore, as soon as I remembered this guy’s abilities, I started wondering if it would be possible for me as well.

Can you borrow power from someone from the future who doesn’t even exist right now?

If the framework is the same, ‘Isn’t it possible to mimic future abilities as well?’ I thought.

Well, I was able to remember those evolved abilities without any difficulty.

Of course, there was bound to be an invisible restriction here.

At this point, the evolved abilities I could mimic were limited to characters that had already been specifically set to have them.

In fact, there were very few of these characters.

The fact that the evolution path of their abilities had been decided meant that they were ‘characters with guaranteed continuous growth in the future’, and there were few people with such treatment in the current work.

To simplify. The main characters, including Leo.

So, just in case, I tried it once.

But what the hell,

“Okay, done!”

It really worked.

Even I myself had been stunned at my own success. Because I really hadn’t known for certain what was going to happen.

Of course, Yan was the only one in the main character’s party for whom I was able to do it. Even then, it was only the level he would awaken to during the Adventurer Qualification Test, which was slated to be only a few chapters later.

---

But anyway, that’s why,

“Uh, how….”

I was able to smile seeing his pale complexion.

“Shut your trap.”

Things progressed normally after that.

I roughly tied down two of Yan’s ghosts with the two squat-jawed ghosts, then teamed up with the other three to attack him.

Yan did a good job running away from one place to another, but unfortunately for him, the narrow square ring offered him no exit.

Under the flood of punches pouring in, Yan, who’d lost his strength,

“Oh, no…”

“Yeah.”

Thud –.

In the end, he couldn’t avoid my good-bye uppercut.

As Yan’s small form flew out of the ring, the bell rang to signal the end of the match.

Dang dang –.

– Yes! The match is over! The game was still a bit boring, wasn’t it? The winner is the man everyone expected! The champion, Tyson Squatjaw! A refreshing KO victory! That’s what you get for coming at him, little kid!

“Wow!”

“Squatjaw! Squatjaw!”

“I believed in you!”

Finished.

Finally, all the conditions the author had put forward had been fulfilled.

I survived.

“Hoo…”

I raised my hand in response to the cheering audience.

Among all that enthusiasm, Leo and his party could be seen, supporting the fallen Yan.

They looked a little gloomy, but they were still looking at me with their eyes shining.

‘Good eyes.’

It would have been rather disappointing if the guys had been sighing or breathing deeply as if everything was over. The scene would remain alive only if they keep their eyes open as if asking for something more from me, as if it’s not over yet.

Since all the matches were over, it wouldn’t be unusual for the chapter to end like this. But I didn’t intend to let that happen.

End?

No, this was the true beginning.

“What are you looking at? Feeling crabby?”

“You… this bastard…”

“What the hell was that!”

“If you really wanted to know that, you should have won. If you lose and start clamouring… Isn’t that a bit too much?”

They shut their mouths at my words.

But their eyes were still wide open.

“Still, you made me happy, even if just a little bit. So shall I tell you something very simple?”

Then,

“What, what?”

“You really mean that?”

Leo and Kiriko shouted like they were having a fit.

It seemed they were really curious. And perhaps the same went for the readers.

I was silent for a moment as I looked at them.

The place became quiet in an instant.

The gaze of the audience, who had suddenly become quiet, felt like that of the author himself.

“Hmm.”

In fact, ever since I won the first match against Kiriko, I’d been imagining this moment.

Fulfilling the conditions set by the author?

Knocking out Yan at the end and giving everyone a surprise?

I never even thought that it’d be a problem. As long as the author didn’t meddle with my strategic victory (?), I thought things wouldn’t get too difficult.

In fact, at some point this whole act itself started feeling not that important. It only helped me avoid the immediate crisis, but didn’t eliminate the underlying danger. Even if I survived this, I thought that the same thing might happen again at any time.

The author has the ability to create and remove characters, but that doesn’t mean he can delete just any character at will.

The reason why I could be the subject of deletion at any time was because I’d never clearly presented the role and necessity of my current character.

So,

“Of course, it’s nothing much. There’s no way I’d give some great information to people who don’t deserve it, right?”

I had to grab hold to the end of this chapter.

What I was going to do now was simple.

To tell these guys and the readers the ‘most important information’ about me.

Thus, I would clearly present the role and the necessity of this character.

But, of course, there were a lot of problems that had to be solved before that.

All those questions.

The countless questions I had accumulated from my first appearance until now, were covering me like a shackle.

First encounter with Leo in Initialis, Kiriko thanking me at the end of the chapter in Virgin City, appearing as one of the VIPs in Goldam City to help Leo, appearing as the mafia’s secret boss …

The problem was that I couldn’t answer these many questions.

Well, because it wasn’t something that could even be explained. What should I say? That I’m a modern man who fell into a manga, and if I don’t get involved with the main characters, I might get deleted?

So, I had to think up an alternative.

Let’s not leave the current Squatjaw as a riddle inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma that will never be understood. Let’s instead turn the character into something they can understand even if only a little bit.

The readers won’t get too annoyed following the trail of questions about me, let’s become that kind of character.

Now was the right time to tell them. There had never been a time like now, when everyone’s attention was completely focused on me.

“Cocoa, the mic.”

– Oh, the champ looks like he wants to say something? I’m excited!

“Hurry. I don’t have time.”

Receiving the mic from Cocoa, I once again stared at Leo and the rest.

All my plans thus far had culminated in this very moment.

The lines I would utter from now on would determine my future. Would I be able to keep surviving, or would I collapse eventually?

“Please listen carefully.”

---

How should I act to survive to the end?

What direction should I take, what stance?

Ever since I got into this Adventure King story, I never stopped thinking about it even for a moment.

Can you survive if you become Leo’s companion?

After experiencing the restraint of the preceding plot, I thought that it would never be easy.

Being Leo’s colleague means to literally be one of the central characters that lead the story. The author must’ve had envisioned the cast format early on, so it was almost absurd for me to suddenly intervene in it.

Of course, you can aim for the positions of the guys who appear in the mid-to-late half, but those days were too far away to make it work. Also, even if I managed it, it was difficult to expect a significance comparable to the guys who appeared from the beginning.

I had no choice but to conclude. It’d be hard to become a colleague.

So what about being the villain?

That was also a hopeless path.

It’s not easy to become a strong, attractive, and long-awaited villain. In order to become such a character, the minimum necessary requirement would be to have power like the ‘Seven Kings’.

Also, I wasn’t sure because I didn’t read the last volume, but I didn’t think that even if I became a good enough villain, I’d be able to survive. Because in the first place, the villain is destined to disappear after being defeated by the protagonist.

What about becoming a small recurring character that comes and goes?

This also wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t unusual for such a role to be scrubbed out by the author at any time.

Then what is left?

A role that might appear alongside the main character from the very beginning without being awkward.

Not the main character, but occupying an equal weight.

Neither an ally nor a foe, but one that can share the important chapters with the protagonist every time.

A role that can never be easily deleted, even if the author hates it.

And finally, a role that that can naturally keep pace with the main character till the very end.

There was only one.

The rival.

⁝

– Ah, mic test. One two, one two.

After looking around once, I fixed my gaze on Leo.

But, of course, what I was going to say now wasn’t just for him.

– How long are you going to call me a squat-jaw, you bastards?

I then applied the effect that came with the background, [The Boy Cursed by the Witch].

※ Once a fortnight, you can change into a handsome boy for an hour. 

At the moment,

Pyororong –.

My body began to shrink. Strangely, the jaw shrank first, who knows why.

It only took an instant. By the time the jet-black bangs that had suddenly become longer pricked my eyes, the transformation was over.

‘Is this fine?’

Why did I change? There wasn’t really any great reason. Well, just some extra set dressings that I sprinkled in. I wondered if it would make a difference. My current appearance was not that of just some extra, anyone could tell just by looking.

And the fact that this form looked exactly the same age as Leo made me look more like a rival, right?

And then,

To Leo.

To the readers.

And to the author.

I so declared.

– My name is Hiro. The man who will overtake you and become the Adventure King of this era.

⁝

And… the one who will be another protagonist of this story.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter. But man, we finally reached this chapter! This was one we’d been really pumped up about. We’ve weathered the early bits, the story will start moving towards the middle, and soon it’ll be time for the Adventurer Qualification Test. See you in the next chapter!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 32

Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery (5)

A special boxing arena inside the amusement park.

“Whoo…”

With the stage of the decisive battle in front of me, it felt like my heart was racing for some reason.

To warm up a bit, I did some shadow boxing on the spot.

One, two. One, two.

Then –

“Hey there, champ. You nervous?”

I didn’t notice her arrive, but Cocoa was smiling and patting my back with her palm.

“Who’re you calling nervous…”

“The opponent is a rookie nobody’s ever even heard of. Put him to sleep in the first round. Yeah?”

“Well…”

I silently stared at Cocoa as she walked towards the ring.

That kid… It looked like she was having a lot of fun playing the referee. She’d completely assimilated into the concept.

As soon as Cocoa climbed into the ring, thunderous cheers resounded from all directions.

“Woohoo!”

“I’ve been waiting!”

“Let’s get started!”

– Yes! You guys have been waiting a long time! Finally, it’s the highlight of our amusement park! Let the Unlimited Boxing Championship begin! Originally, I should introduce the challenger, but that cowardly little boy is late because he said he had to pee! So, shall we call you!? Red corner! The one and only champion! No one’s ever managed to stand up to this man’s fists! Introducing, Tyson Squatjaw!

I raised my hand in response to the shouts pouring in and climbed into the ring.

“Whoo…”

It was my first time standing in a place like this. I’d only ever seen boxing on TV, and I never even liked it that much. To be honest, I hadn’t expected it to be this exciting…

Even standing still, leaning against a corner, I was feeling strangely electrified.

The square ring that seemed to clamp down on me just by looking at it, the audience screaming in excitement down below, and even the dazzling ceiling lights. Somehow, it felt like the environment was squeezing me tight, same as the gloves gripped tightly in my hands?

Bang –.

I clapped my gloved hands.

Maybe Cocoa had been right. I really was nervous.

Now, it was the final match, and my opponent was Yan.

In fact, it was arguably the most dangerous match. To say this was my last obstacle also meant that this was the author’s last chance to be rid of me without a hitch. He might never get a chance like this ever again. So I couldn’t rule out the possibility of the author infusing Yan with some unexpected powers, like a ‘protagonist buff’.

Besides, this wasn’t the only danger.

There were no tricks inside this ring. There was no mechanism to restrain or subdue Yan, no weapons or drugs hidden, no teammates waiting to be tagged (actually, Chinuavi did offer to hide under the ring pretending to be me, but I’d refused).

In other words, I didn’t prepare any cowardly tactic.

Because this time, I was going to compete with pure skill.

– Yes! Just in time, here comes the peeing chicken! He should’ve just run away. Why did he walk into the lion’s den on his own two feet!?

Yan’s face was the exact opposite of Cocoa’s description.

The boy’s eyes were cold and deep. His face was indeed a little flushed, but it was hard to see him as nervous or excited.

A tranquil atmosphere. The same fighting spirit I’d felt before inside my gloves.

Yan looked like he was already in combat stance.

– Introducing! Blue corner! The weakest of that cheeky little gang of kids! Yan the Wimp!

“Boo!”

“Git you gone!”

“You’re in for a real drubbing, baby boy!”

I slowly glanced at Yan, who had climbed onto the ring.

“Hey there scaredy-cat. Did your pee dry up?”

“You were impersonating a member of the Black Shadow. Of course, it’s true that it allowed me to go on an adventure… but I’d like to hear the reason why. Along with your identity.”

The provocation didn’t seem to work.

Every time, before a battle, this guy would become a calm monster.

“Whoo…”

Well, that was what I’d expected.

I simply clenched my fists, then slowly moved into position.

Soon after,

Ding –.

The bell rang, announcing the start of the match.

---

There were three reasons why I dared to compete with Yan in the last match by skill.

First, to compete with your skills and win. That was the ‘end’ that I really needed.

Of course, it would’ve been much easier to subdue him with a trick. Judging from the progress so far, I didn’t think the author would really stop me. It would also be a familiar development for readers.

However, that ‘familiarity’ was the problem.

If things just ended like this, my impact was bound to deteriorate significantly. Rather than ‘how will I defeat Yan’, the readers were probably already more curious about ‘what will I do after the game is over’. It was a game, so they’d guess that I’d have some trick ready to win.

But after the game is over, nothing would really come to light, right? So this time too, do I just leave behind a question and disappear?

I’d end up being a weirdo who blocked their way for no reason at all. While sacrificing the image I’d built up so far.

Of course, the reason I had a confrontation with these guys was because of the conditions the author put forward, but the readers had no way of knowing that.

In short, I needed some kind of a ‘reversal factor’.

A way to break the familiar flow and make it possible to imagine something new. How to make them focus more on my ‘character itself’ rather than my ‘motives’.

And that was this show of talents.

It was for this reason that I chose an actual fighting game as the match event. Any way you slice it, competing with skills is the ultimate orthodox way to ‘battle’ in a shounen manga.

And the second reason. In the first place, this guy was the only one suited for me to fight.

Siana, who did not yet have combat ability, was naturally excluded, and I didn’t even dare fight Kiriko or Leo head-on. Those two, who played the role of adversaries, in fact had even more hidden power that had still not been revealed.

Of course, the strength of the characters in this manga is not clearly divided into numerical values. Rather, there are many times when the power balance is completely flipped according to the author’s convenience.

But that was even more of a reason why I absolutely had to avoid fighting them. Because the author’s convenience would always tilt towards the victory of the main characters.

I’d scheduled the matches with Kiriko and Leo at the front taking that into account.

Whatever happens, you can never beat the protagonist coming out last. Because no reader will ever tolerate it.

So what would happen if Leo and I compete with skill in the last turn? In a situation where the main character is in a 3-0 pinch?

All my effort dragging things to all the way here might have gotten overturned by Leo’s fists.

On the other hand, Yan was quite different in that sense.

First of all, this guy didn’t have enough time since he joined the party, to receive enthusiastic support from the readers. His appearance proportion was still low, and his character wasn’t yet very suitable to play an active role as the protagonist. Even for the author, it wouldn’t be easy to apply a ‘protagonist buff’ to this guy.

Also, although this guy showed skills comparable to Leo in the last chapter, he was actually a guide. In other words, a character whose defeat in a ‘duel’ could be tolerated.

So, there was only this guy. That I could set myself against.

Even as the match started, Yan just stood there with his eyes gleaming.

Those tranquil eyes seemed to be examining my ability.

‘Taking a peek, huh?’

I looked at Yan and smiled. Since he was showing such calmness, I thought I should also at least show a degree of relaxation.

“Do you think you can see through my identity if you just keep staring?”

“… There’re no signs of training, but your body is unusually strong and hard.”

“I know you have good eyes, but it’s embarrassing, so please stop peeking. You just have to beat me. Then I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Can you do that, though?”

“… Well.”

At that moment,

“The long and short of it… if we’re just face to face!”

Shh –.

Suddenly, his form disappeared.

‘Huh…?’

Following,

Bump –.

“Won’t I know then?”

“… Ah-oh.”

A foot flew in from somewhere and hit me in the ass.

It was tingling rather than painful, and I was feeling more embarrassed than angry.

This guy was faster than I’d thought. Much, much faster, at that.

“Hey, you know we’re boxing right? Fists only.”

“Oops, my mistake.”

His face had no trace of shame and no change in expression.

“And anyway, I was just saying hello. If I had struck somewhere else with more force, it might not have been safe.”

“…”

I nodded.

“Okay, I was looking down on you. You got a lucky hit in.”

Actually, these were not just some empty words.

I immediately mimicked his unique ability.

[Dance with Ghost Killer].

Soon after, a transparent ghost that looked just like me popped out of thin air.

“Oh, what’s this place?”

“Hey. I am your master. Attack target is that gloomy kid in front of you. Understood?”

“Hey, you want me to beat up a kid?”

“No good?”

“It’s just fine!”

Then he rushed towards Yan.

Even as the ghost’s uppercut brushed past his chin, Yan kept observing.

“… I’m really curious. Suddenly, even my ability…”

“Well, you must’ve guessed, didn’t you?”

Yan’s face darkened slightly.

“Still, I will win.”

Then, Yan too showed his unique ability.

There were two of them in the arena.

“I’ll start strong. Things might get annoying otherwise.”

Before long, two ghosts that looked just like Yan started beating my ghost.

Real people couldn’t touch these ghost killers unless they had a ‘special method’, but the ghosts seemed to be able to beat each other up just fine.

“Hey, what are you doing? Counterattack!”

“Hey, these little ones… are strong! Add one more!”

Seriously, this oversized layabout.

“See… looks like one is your limit, right? Seems like you can’t draw out 100% of the abilities of others.”

“Who says that?”

I immediately summoned another ghost.

“Go over there and help out your friend.”

“What do you mean, I’m on a team with that stupid squat-jawed lump?”

“Yeah, with the guy who looks just like you. Get a move on!”

Seeing this scene, Yan gulped a bit nervously.

“Seems it’s possible.”

“Are you surprised?”

“A little bit… But, seems the ability isn’t mastered as much as me?”

That was true.

It was 2-2, but just looking at it, the Squatjaws were in a bit of a pushback trend.

Of course, it’s the master’s ability that determines the strength of a ghost. But what is equally important is the harmony between them. Because these guys have an ‘ego’ as well as a continuous ‘memory’, making them individuals capable of ‘growth’ through repeated actual battles.

Besides, the problem wasn’t just the ghosts.

“You don’t have the time to keep looking at the ghosts.”

Yan continued his attacks on me.

Shh –.

Yikes.

I hurriedly backed away to avoid Yan’s straight cross homing in on my jaw.

But that was immediately followed by a jab, jab, jab, and finally a hook.

Th-ud.

“… Grunt.”

“Looks like the damage is slowly piling up. You’ve slowed down.”

That last one was a little heavy. It felt like the insides of my head were shaking.

‘Ah, was it bad to choose boxing?’

My chin was about three times as large as others, so it was a little bit harded to dodge. Besides, the opponent’s hits were strong enough to hit the goal even with just a glancing blow, and that guy’s footwork was also too fast to follow.

But even so,

‘Nope.’

I shook my head.

Fortunately, the gloves, the boxing shoes, and the rules of boxing themselves limited his routes of attack, so that was enough.

There are several hidden characteristics that Yan has learned from the assassins as per his setting, and one of them is ‘ghost walk’. It’s a kind of body lightening method^[1], a cheat ability that lets the user move secretly and quickly without making a single noise.

In the original work, Yan always took his shoes off when using that ability, meaning he was not currently using it.

‘But it’s still like this?’

Strong.

I nodded. Really, not just anybody could become the main character’s companion. The guy I’d thought of as my most suitable opponent was still this strong.

So,

“I can’t do it.”

“… Are you giving up?”

“Uh, right.”

I graciously admitted it.

For a moment, a look of embarrassment appeared in Yan’s eyes. It seems to have been a completely unexpected statement.

And, perhaps, so was it for the readers. Of course, for the author too.

Did I get some attention?

“You’re amazing. So I’m going to stop playing around and finish it now.”

“…?”

The third and final reason why I dared to compete with Yan by skill.

“Come, ghosts.”

“… Huh?”

Soon after,

“Um, where is this?”

“What, am I the fourth?”

“You are the master! I am the ghost!”

Three ghosts spawned next to me.

I slowly gave Yan a glance and gave instructions to the three.

“Smash both the little kid and the two little ghosts over there. Is five enough?”

Then,

“… What, what?”

Yan’s face, full of shock with his mouth opened wide, caught my eye.

What was the reason, you ask?

Simple. Because I was completely confident that I would actually win.

Because I wasn’t mimicking Yan, or rather the ‘Current Yan’.

The one I was mimicking was Yan a few chapters from now.

It was ‘Future Yan’, who was stronger than he was now.

I smiled at Yan.

“I’m confused too… who knows how this happened?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 경공 (lit. light work), Chinese martial art term for method to lighten the body and facilitate movement.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 31

Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery (4)

An outdoor stage within the amusement park.

Five people were seated around a specially designed round poker table at its centre.

Haka, I, and three ‘troops’ with basic abilities that I’d hired.

Amongst the five, all the ‘troops’ personnel recruited as players were also under my control, and Haka had taken the role of the dealer.

The reason why I had to use Haka as a dealer was simple.

Because I thought that his narrowed eyes and meaningful smile suited him quite well for the role. Besides, he has pretty dexterous motor skills, so I thought if it might be fine.

And if there was another reason –

It was to make him grow.

Growth, to say it simply, meant elevating his rank as a character.

And the best way to achieve this was, of course, for him to appear frequently.

Of course, it’s not like Haka hadn’t been given any role so far. In fact, it was this guy who did more than anyone else for the sake of my victory.

Through his unique ability [Thief Who Stole the Seven Shadows], he attracted Kiriko’s attention as a shadow target, and he also played a decisive role by holding Leo’s ankles during the race.

The problem was that all of those activities took place outside the view of the readers.

As a result, none of it benefited this guy at all. He just worked quietly in the dark, and I hogged all the spotlight.

Of course, the author knew what Haka has done, but I thought that wouldn’t mean much in the current situation. The roles assigned to this guy had immediately disappeared, and it was also clear that the author wouldn’t have much of a liking for him right now.

The first and most important objective, therefore, was to win the readers’ attention, even if only a little bit. Starting from there, if we recovered the original character and unravelled the entwined settings as much as possible, wouldn’t it be feasible for him to be reborn as an important character in the near future?

I gave Haka a glance.

So when you get the chance, do your best.

“Any problems?”

“Huh? Are you asking me?”

“There’s no one else here but you.”

Haka looked around the ‘troops’ around us, then burst into laughter.

“No, nothing difficult. I used to love playing card games in the past. This is my first time as a dealer, but didn’t you say that I don’t need to do anything special this time?”

“Right, there’s nothing.”

It was true.

Actually, the only important people in this match were me and Chinuavi. Having any of the other personnel trying to help out would only make the result worse.

“Still, do whatever you want. For example, when shuffling the deck, why not try and make it a bit flashy?”

“Hmmmm… If necessary, it’s possible to stop the movement of the opponent for a while. There are shadows here too, after all. Or make them move differently than they intended.”

“Oh, is that so?”

To be honest, I didn’t know much about this guy’s unique ability either.

Because the character himself disappeared in the original before all his abilities were revealed.

I only knew was that he could control the seven shadows, and restrict the movement of another through them.

Perhaps there were more effects besides that. When this guy mentioned his abilities, there was an obvious nuance that this was the basic level.

“Ummm… no. Let it be. Still, I’ll send you a signal if I need it.”

“Alright.”

Just in time,

“Oh, here comes our sharper.”

Smiling, Chinuavi approached us from a distance.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah, I’ve received good tidings about this.”

What he did in his spare time was to conduct a ritual, occasionally performed by goblins ahead of an important match. It was a kind of prayer requesting advice from a ‘higher being’.

There was one difference between this ritual and the usual prayer, that being you could hear an answer from ‘god’ as soon as you asked a question.

“Good tidings? Stop kidding.”

“Maybe, Senior… do you know about our gods?”

“I don’t.”

“Hehe, you’re good at lying.”

But the problem was, that ceremony was actually just a waste of time, almost useless.

The reason was simple. Because the ‘gods’ the goblins worshipped weren’t the serious types. They’d just shout out the answer that’d best heat up the people asking the questions.

“Now, are we just waiting for the other party?”

Chinuavi asked as he sat down next to me.

And at that moment,

“Fufu.”

Unconsciously, a chuckle leaked out. Was I feeling relieved?

Actually, I was quite nervous until this guy sat next to me.

“…?”

“Sit down.”

“Uh… yes. What was that? Suddenly laughing…”

Because I couldn’t help but laugh in relief. Even though this guy sat at the table, nothing happened.

This was an indication that the author had accepted the appearance of a goblin.

When I first ‘fought’ Leo, and again when I lured Leo earlier, Chinuavi had indeed transformed into me. But Leo and his party, as well as the readers, would not have known exactly who this guy was. Was he a new character, or was it part of my bizarre abilities?

Moreover, since all the questions about his actions were focused on me, the author wouldn’t have been able to take issue with him until now. If I just kept my mouth shut, he would’ve been able to keep developing the storyline without ever tackling the existence of goblins.

But it was different now.

In this game, Chinuavi was expected to play an active role without disguising himself as anyone else, demonstrating his unique abilities.

And this meant that this guy, and by extension the goblin race, would make their full-fledged debut in this manga.

This would naturally be burdensome for the author. Because the appearance of goblins could very well twist the planned future developments.

So I’d been worried that the author might block Chinuavi from joining the game.

‘He doesn’t mind… is it?’

Clearly, the author was a bit more flexible than I expected. Keeping the new developments in mind, he might be thinking that the new direction could be even more interesting. Maybe that’s why he didn’t stop Chinuavi from appearing here.

But to be honest, I thought that was very unlikely.

Presumably, he thought, ‘It doesn’t matter anyway’. Once my character was deleted, he could proceed with the next development without any problems.

‘Well, let’s wait and find out.’

After a while,

“Apologies for my lateness. There was a group of very worried people, so I had to try and comfort them.”

Siana arrived at the table for our decisive battle.

“It’s fine. I’m just glad that you didn’t run away.”

“Huh, how amusing.”

“By the way, Queen, is this our first time playing against each other? It’s an honour.”

“Mr. Squatjaw, you’ve met the worst opponent this time. How long can you keep up that confident face? You know who I am.”

“You’ll know the long and short of it soon. Now, shall we start?”

---

30 minutes later.

Of those sitting at the table, the only ones with chips left were me, Chinuavi, and Siana.

What was surprising was that no one had used their unique abilities yet.   

Siana and Chinuavi were strong even without them.

As for me… I was on my third bottle of [Something good might happen, Luck Potion] and pretending to be unruffled.

Right then,

“Then, are we the last players left?”

Siana smiled and spoke up.

“Yeah, I’m getting crazy bored.”

Chinuavi also responded as if he had been waiting for her to speak. For some reason, the two seemed to have been waiting for this to happen.

“Actually, I thought you were a decoration too, at first. But… it’s a bit odd how well you’re doing. I don’t know if it’s my misconception, but somehow you seem like a better player than Mr. Squatjaw?”

“I heard you were the Queen of Goldam City. An undefeated victor who’d never lost a single match. I’m relieved that it wasn’t some unfounded rumour.”

As for me… I just stayed quiet.

“Then let’s get started, shall we? Dealer, please pass us the cards.”

And at that moment,

Pop –.

Out of nowhere, ‘it’ appeared in the middle of the air.

Siana’s unique ability, the ‘Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness’.

The little fairy-like being circled around the table and sat on Siana’s shoulder. Then he started whispering into her ear, but the sound was too faint for me to hear any details.

“He’s a friend who brings me good luck. You aren’t going to say I’m cheating, right? Aren’t there two of you too?”

“Yeah, alright.”

Rather, I’d just been hoping that she’d use her powers.

Now, the readers would all be waiting with gleaming eyes. Wonder if I’d be able to mimic Siana’s ability as well.

Now was my time to fulfil those expectations.

Pop –.

 [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] was an ability with a different working principle from the rest. Unlike most abilities that need to stimulate a ‘power source’ inside the user’s body, this ability could be triggered just by a thought. After designating Siana as the target of mimicry, if you just want to ‘win’, a pretty fairy-like guy will appear in front of you…

“Huh?”

I doubted my eyes for a moment.

“Oh… it’s indeed Senior’s fairy.”

“… Cute.”

In front of me, floating in the air, was a tiny… crooked, jutting chin.

As if! What kind of chin had wings?!

“…”

I quickly shook my head and cleared my mind.

Who cared what it looked like? What mattered was its ability.

The being flew towards me.

Then,

– Are you the who called me? I’m sorry, but I don’t like ugly guys.

“What? Wait…”

– Do it yourself. Because I don’t plan on helping you.

He said something absurd.

“No, wait…”

I was genuinely nonplussed. Because I’d never even considered the notion that this guy might not listen to me. Of course, I also didn’t know how to make him listen. Siana’s probability adjuster never reacted to her like this.

This was a variable.

Then,

“Shall we start betting soon?”

Chinuavi spoke softly. He didn’t do anything else, but for the time being, he seemed to be just watching.

After that, the game was completely one-sided.

Siana held an overwhelming advantage. It was as if straight flushes were on sale today. In a nutshell, we were completely helpless.

My little-chin fairy was of no use, and even Chinuavi couldn’t keep up.

Chinuavi at least seemed to be trying to stage a comeback in the middle, but he couldn’t produce any meaningful results. Well, there was one time when he managed to make Siana tilt her head and put on a serious expression, but that was all. After the appearance of the probability adjuster, she monopolized the next fifteen rounds by herself.

It was a crisis.

Now, Chinuavi and I combined had about one-fifth of Siana’s chips left. It wasn’t long before the game would be over.

And that meant –

“Uh-huh, it’s gotten dangerous! Are we just going to let it end like this?”

In the end, it meant that it was the most favourable situation for a goblin. 

At that moment, a horn rose from among Chinuavi’s fluffy hair.

A goblin horn, that signalled the activation of a unique ability.

Now was the time for the goblins, a mainstay of ‘Adventure King’, to show off.

“You mean you haven’t given up yet? At this point, you should be able to recognize the difference between us… huh? Horn?”

“Even though I thought I got cheated so many times, in the end I didn’t bow my head, and kept betting. Don’t you think that you’ve selected the wrong target to try and disturb?”

As he spoke, Chinuavi’s horns began to glow red, and in the next instant, a single beam of light erupted from it like an explosion.

The light was directed towards a single place.

Towards Siana’s probability adjuster.

The guy hit by the light looked fine at first glance. Siana, who was perplexed for a moment, also quickly regained her composure after hearing him whisper. Maybe he assured her saying ‘nothing is wrong’.

But she should have been a little more careful. Because the intrinsic abilities of goblins usually do not cause any changes in outward appearance.

And then,

“… Uh?”

Siana’s forehead showed a tight wrinkle.

The card that came to her after Spades A, K, and Q was not Spade J, but strangely, Clubs 7. This should’ve been impossible, as long as there was a probability adjuster.

“What did you do?”

“Hmm, what is it?”

After receiving the final hidden face-down card, Siana’s pupils trembled violently. Looked like she didn’t get the one she’d been waiting for.

“… Fold.”

It was her first defeat since the advent of the probability adjuster.

Siana tried her best to keep calm, but her poker face wasn’t perfect.

In fact, her strength was why she’d never even needed to manage her facial expressions until now.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, I hadn’t been very nervous.

The boy had spoken the truth. The ‘mischief’ of the goblins was indiscriminate against its opponents. Meaning, it could even apply to probability adjuster, who could be viewed not as an opponent but ‘the ability itself’.

[Prankster Playing with the Rules].

Chinuavi’s unique ability, despite its name, could not by itself change the rules of a game. It could only confuse a certain rule, or an object bound by a rule, and make the original rule be forgotten.

Judging by the look on the probability adjuster’s face, it seemed that he was unaware of his own problem. He was just looking at Siana, hungrily fishing for compliments.

If I had to guess, maybe he got confused about the rules of dealing with Siana after getting hit by the goblin beam. Maybe he thought he’d have to adjust the probability of giving her the hand she wanted to 15%, in order to gain her friendship, and so on.

“… You’ve been hiding a trick, I see.”

After just three more rounds, Siana took her friend back. He must have admitted that he couldn’t help any further.

But now we were again back to square one. With or without the probability adjuster, she was strong.

I made up my mind. Now it was my turn.

I had no intention of asking Chinuavi anymore. The guy had already done his job. Because the only thing I’d asked him to do was to deal with Siana’s probability adjuster.

I, myself, had to win against Siana. This was my show now.

The problem was that the current me could not win against Siana even without her probability adjuster helping out.

I had to convince him somehow. This absurd little-chinned fairy who didn’t listen to the owner.

‘Hey.’

At my call, the guy who was making a tantrum in the distance slowly turned towards me.

– Did you call me?

‘I was originally handsome.’

– So you don’t just look like a clown, you’re an actual comedian?

‘Look at me properly. I might look squat-jawed right now, but inside I’m not, right?’

– I hate looking at you.

‘No, but, wait. How could you call me ugly when you have the same jaw shape as me?’

– You two-bit brute. You don’t even know how to respect a lady.

Huh… was this even a woman?

It was very awkward, but I tried to gloss it over somehow.

‘Ah, sorry. It was just a joke. Just take a closer look. Can’t you see the real me?’

What I believed in was the appearance in the background of [The Boy Cursed by the Witch].

Of course, I didn’t know if this guy (?) could see it or not. However, there was a setting that Siana’s probability adjuster could read her thoughts from time to time, so I thought it would be the same.

The mysterious fairy came closer to me. I moved my shoulder for it to sit on, but it instead chose to hover in the air, a bit too far away.

– What the, what kind of figure is hidden… Oh my!

‘Did you see it? Did you? How is it?’

After being silent for a while, it slowly opened its mouth.

– Hmmm. I’m sorry, but you don’t look that good.

Still, there seemed to be some interest.

‘Anyway, we’ve gotten to know each other. Please listen to me.’

– Hmmmm, I’ll need a price instead.

‘Price? What? Just tell me.’

I thought it would ask me to make a promise of friendship. Because that had been the case with Siana.

– When you change into that face, tell me I’m pretty. A hundred times a day.

…

I was taken aback for a moment, but I quickly regained my composure.

I’d never see her again anyway.^[1]

‘Agreed. So can I tell you my requirements now?’

– Do you think I’m stupid? I was watching everything, so don’t be scared and bet. I’m sure you’ll win.

I nodded, with a smile on my lips.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

---

Ten minutes later.

– Yes! The long game of poker is finally over. As expected, the God of Gamblers is the final winner! How dare you think you have the skills to challenge the champion, when you’ve only ever played a game or two in a little casino!

I won.

Siana left the table without saying anything, and I watched it for a while before leaving.

Early defeats would only make the overall atmosphere of the game stronger.

Anyway, now, only the final decisive battle remained.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] He’s wrong about this, as you might assume.

---

To the readers. Since somebody mentioned they’re unhappy with the Ko-fi tiers in the comments, we thought to take some input from you all. Right now every project is worth the same on average, but due to Ko-fi design, donors have to tip double for this project (comes with early Sword Pilgrim chapters, but you might not be a fan). We do feel a tad needled being told we’re holding chapters hostage, because the chapters always release to the public next week.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 30

Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery (3)

‘Goblin silver screen’.

This referred to a cloth made by weaving strands of silk thread extracted from the goblin silkworm, and it was one of the items that goblins always carried.

The fabric had the amazing ability to camouflage everything it covered, not only turning it all invisible, but even to the point of cancelling all noise from leaking out. 

In other words, it could be said to have similar functionality as [Mafia’s Secret Room].

Moreover, its size was so huge that there was even a setting that the giant skein carried by the boss of the goblins could cover a whole island.

‘Covering the whole place with that was so much work, I thought I might drop dead…’

When I saw the second amusement park being revealed as the silver screen covering it lifted, I felt a little proud. I could naturally imagine how surprised the readers would be seeing this spectacle.

Another, hidden amusement park.

The idea itself was very simple.

Speed alone was not enough to beat Leo if you were running on the same road side by side. It was impossible even if you died and got back up again. The reality was that mimicking lightning wasn’t easy right now.

So here’s what I thought.

Why do we have to run on the same road? What if you could make another road, and make him wander there by mistake?

Of course, I didn’t think this was the only and best way. Instead of creating a different road, you could also add obstacles, or simply construct the track like a maze.

And really, I did think that my idea of ​​hiding an entire amusement park simply to deceive him was more than a bit exaggerated.

Even so, there was a reason for taking this approach.

To elicit the readers’ surprise.

Of course, the most important objective right now was to fulfil the author’s conditions. To win the battle with Leo’s party.

But apart from that, I’d also never forgotten that I was a ‘character’. That there were readers who noticed me, and that only by catching their eyes could I survive.

Even if you play the lead role in a chapter or two, a character who cannot mark his presence in the story is quickly forgotten. Conversely, even an extra can soar if you make the audience go nuts. It’s not what you do that matters, it matters how you’re seen.

So, after endless considerations, I finally decided on the ‘method that showed off the most’. Efficiency alone, after all, cannot elicit emotion.

‘I’ll see you in a while.’

After watching for a bit, I slowly started moving.

It won’t be very long before Leo realized he’d taken the wrong road, and come back. Because Chinuavi could only mimic my form, not any unique ability.

But that didn’t mean winning the race was a problem. Naturally, I could also use lightning. I could just start whenever I wanted if arriving first was the issue.

What was important, however, was the prerequisites established earlier.

1. I start the game from an overwhelmingly advantageous position.
2. Taunt.
3. The angry opponent makes a comeback and drives me to the very brink of defeat.
4. At the last moment, I somehow barely eke out a slapdash victory.
5. End the act by brushing away cold sweat and saying it’d been dangerous just now.

In other words, it didn’t matter that I could cross the finish line right away. Rather I had to direct the scene where I’d be overtaken by Leo, first.

Right now, Chinuavi was trying to irritate Leo to death. Asking him to go first, or if he knew the right way. And the readers would be curious to see when Leo would notice this trick.

What I needed to do now was to move to the pre-designated overtaking point and wait for Leo to catch up. And start acting panicked, while Leo boils with excitement.

‘Acting…’

Suddenly, a laugh leaked out.

Befitting the name of the unique ability I had acquired, somehow I felt like I have become a real clown.

But it was unavoidable.

It wasn’t that easy for a guy born as an extra to secure his role and heighten his significance. There was nothing I couldn’t do to survive.

I hurried my steps with a firm determination.

---

“Shit! I’ll be late!”

Leo put more and more strength into his feet.

He had already raised his power to the extreme.

The air lit up with sparks every time a lightning-clad footstep hit the ground.

Crackkkkkle –.

“You bastard… you cheated!”

He’d felt a slight incongruity from the beginning.

He’d relaxed for some reason or other, and now even if he ran his fastest, it might not be enough. He hadn’t taken the lead at first because of a stupid trick.

If he hadn’t gotten nervous suddenly, he would have started sooner. He got delayed because he’d fallen for the guy’s provocation.

‘By the way, who was that guy?’

He’d quickly discovered that the fake Squatjaw couldn’t use lightning. First of all, there was no electric residue emanating from him, and on top of that, he even seemed to know nothing about the working principles of lightning.

But, strangely enough, he could use something else.

Earth and fire, wood and water.

The reason he’d been delayed so much by the obstacles the fake had made was not because they were difficult to overcome, but because they were just that strange.

And at the same time, he had a question.

‘Is he the guy who blocked my fist by any chance…?’

He suddenly remembered the time when the mafia boss had suddenly come out. Obviously, the feeling he got from that guy at the time was pretty similar to the feeling that this fake Squatjaw gave off.

Wait, who was this guy really?

“…”

Whatever it was, as long as he won this battle, he’d be able to uncover the identities of these guys (?).

Leo once again emanated his power.

Squatjaw had looked like he’d mimicked his lightning for a moment, but it was definitely not proper. The output had been weak, and the duration short. If he did his best, he could definitely catch up.

And after running for a while with full power,

“I found you, you bastard!”

He was able to find another Squatjaw running in front of him.

“Hey! Already?”

“This bastard! I almost ran myself to death!”

However, even though he had almost caught up, Leo remained vigilant. Because unlike the previous Squatjaw, this one he felt could use lightning.

And therefore,

“But maybe you’ve lost some of your strength?”

The boy smirked and emitted lightning.

At that instant,

“… Hmf!”

Even though he’d already known, he couldn’t help but be surprised again.

What Squatjaw spewed out was obviously another lightning bolt, identical to his own.

“How did you do that!”

“If you want to know… then beat me!”

Squatjaw started running. It was surprisingly fast.

Leo also lost his patience and chased after him.

‘That guy… is fast. However…’

He was a still little faster.

Leo freely released all his strength.

So finally,

“Hey, eek!”

“I got you!”

Leo could pass him by.

“I’m going first, Squatjaw!”

“This bastard!”

“Prepare to introduce yourself! You slug bastard!”

Just then, the finish line could be seen in the distance.

Leo felt intoxicated with a overwhelming sense of victory.

Now it was just a few more steps. Just a little bit more, and it’d be over…

That was then.

“… Huh?”

Despite the goal being in front of him, his feet suddenly stopped.

He was obviously pouring in his strength, but for some reason they wouldn’t move.

It felt as if something on the ground was pulling at his heels.

Leo’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘… A, a shadow?’

A shadow on the ground was holding his ankles with two black hands.

“What, what!? What have you done!”

Soon after,

“Heh heh, did you get tired? Heh heh… that’s a pity. Victory… heh, it was right in front of you.”

Squatjaw, who came at a speed that could almost be called crawling, slowly passed him by.

He didn’t even run. Maybe he couldn’t run anymore.

In front of Leo, who stood transfixed like that, Squatjaw slowly passed through the finish line.

– Yes! The match is now over! There was some suspense, but it still worked out in the end! The winner is Lamborghini Squatjaw!

Then he looked back.

There was a smirk on his lips.

“It really was dangerous this time. But it’s still my victory, you tuft-haired kid. Is it 2-0 now?”

“This guy…”

He was angry, but he couldn’t help it.

Leo clenched his fists and shouted.

“Damn it! I lost again!”

---

“H-how dastardly! S-, shouldn’t we say anything…”

To Yan’s words, Kiriko responded indifferently.

“Well, we knew he was going to do something like this.”

“Yeah, it’s my fault for being careless. Actually, I’d almost thought that I already won.”

Leo also agreed with Kiriko.

If he hadn’t dropped his guard, he wouldn’t have gotten caught by the ‘shadow’ on the ground.

“So who’s next?”

“Well, um… I heard it was a game… Um, actually, I’m not very confident…”

“It’s my turn. There’s nothing to worry about, Yan.”

Siana confidently stepped forward.

“Is it gambling this time?”

“Well, it’s similar. We’re playing poker. The same game you lost against me.”

“Tch… well, I admit it. At that time, I knew for sure, that I couldn’t win against Siana no matter what.”

“That’s nothing to be disappointed about. Because it’s the same for everyone. Of course, that includes the Squatjaw kid too.”

“Come on, wait a minute…”

Yan wondered why Siana was able to step forward with such confidence. Even after hearing those absurd rules.

“There’ll be five of them, you know!”

“Huh?”

“Five?”

“He said that one-on-one card games are no fun. We’ll be one, but they will be five.”

But,

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll still win anyway. Even if it’s 1vs5 poker.”

Despite Yan’s worries, Siana’s confident expression did not change.

Surprisingly, Kiriko and Leo’s expressions were no different from hers.

“Hah, but…”

Yan hesitated and spoke again.

“In the beginning, Mr. Kiriko, who was confident in shooting, lost in a gunfight… A-and Leo, who was confident in his speed, also lost in a race…”

“Oh, it’ll be fine! Don’t you believe in me, Yan? I’m the woman from Goldam Casino, and I wasn’t called the Queen there for nothing.”

“It’ll be fine. Because Siana is that strong. Oh, you still have to be careful. Squatjaw cheated to help me out that time. That’s how I barely managed to win.”

“I remember. In the 1vs5 poker match, right? I was also watching the situation from the sidelines at the time. But no problem. Those frivolous tricks only work against people like the stupid Mr. Kiriko here, they won’t do any good against me.”

“Girl, you want a match with me first!?”

“If you wish. I don’t know if you alone would cut it. Oh, why don’t Mr. Kiriko and Mr. Leo team up against me? It might be enough for my warm-up.”

Seeing the group’s confident appearance, Yan, oddly enough, couldn’t hide his anxiety.

He didn’t know if he could describe it as seeing the path ahead, but somehow it felt like they were gradually stepping into a boggy swamp.

‘Not good…’

---

“I want to challenge you.”

Seeing Siana’s confident appearance, I smiled with satisfaction.

In fact, there being five players was just a bluff.

You couldn’t beat Siana with numbers. You needed ability.

I had no intention of honestly playing 1vs5 poker. If you play a game like that, even if you win, the results won’t be any good. Not only would it be difficult to direct an effervescent scene, but it’d also make me a total villain.

The number of players was just a camouflage to hide what was truly important.

“Hey, I’m looking forward to it. A gambler who’s never lost. Frogs in a well really think that it’s the whole world.”

“You sure you can do it, Chinuavi?”

“Senior doesn’t know. Goblins are a race that boasts the highest win rate in any competition. And I’m the best player among them.”

“Boasting about that kind of title is really setting up a flag for losing later, but… alright, yeah. I look forward to it.”

This was what I’d intended from the beginning. To have only one person sitting next to me, and to hide his importance, adding four more players in the mix.

I looked into Siana’s eyes.

They were good eyes. Eyes that had never known defeat.

But soon it’d be broken. The promised victory residing in those pupils.

It was time to teach the frog in the well the bitter taste of defeat.

…

Hmmmm. Well, by fighting 2vs1.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 29

Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery (2)

I was filled with tension as I watched Leo and the rest leave the shooting range from a distance.

So far things had gone to plan. The operation was a success.

There were no objections from the boys. Perhaps because they were more interested in how I used Kiriko’s unique ability, rather than in winning or losing.

It was for this purpose that I’d dared show off mixing ‘penetration’ and ‘explosion’. By deliberately focusing on mimicking abilities, I’d managed to distract them from the outcome of the confrontation. In fact, hitting the target itself had nothing to do with what kind of magic bullets were used.

To be precise, it didn’t matter even if I hadn’t gotten it right.

Now all that was left was the author’s reaction.

What was he going to do?

First of all, it was clear that he already had bad feelings about me, and he intended to delete me from this chapter. In his attempt to maintain the original development.

To change his mind, I had to make two ‘main variables’ move by my side.

The main variables were nothing but:

1. Leo and his party,
2. The readers.

Once the main character and party became curious about me, the more curious they become, the more essential my existence would become in terms of ‘plausibility’. Whether he liked it or not, this would remind the author of the importance of my character.

Fortunately, looked like the operation to amplify their doubts had worked. Seeing how Kiriko’s eyes were fixed in my direction.

Next, the readers.

This was simpler. If the readers’ reacted to me positively, wouldn’t it be possible to change the author’s mind as well? To the point where he would even want to use me a little more.

Presumably, the readers’ reaction to this confrontation wouldn’t be very bad. Because I’d be showing them offbeat scenes with some good gags mixed in.

In fact, creating and directing this gameboard had taken a truly enormous amount of work.

From mimicking Cocoa’s ability to move half of the amusement park directly, to small interior settings, to educating everyone in the party one by one.

In order to not make Leo’s party feel something was off, and to lower their vigilance, I even hired ‘troops’ from the character shop and mobilized them as the audience.

Of course, hiring ‘troops’ wasn’t cheap.

I paid a whopping 2000 points for a one-day rental. Even though they were merely characters with basic stats, without much in the way of taking commands.

‘Well, still, I got around 100 people.’

The problem was that despite all this effort, and even if the readers’ reaction was not too bad, there was no guarantee of survival.

As long as the author remained the final decision maker of the story, no matter the plausibility or fan popularity, the risk of character deletion couldn’t be avoided.

So even after leaving the shooting range, I kept watching the situation like a scared rat.

It’d been about 10 minutes since my fight with Kiriko ended.

If there’s no message from the author, it’s a success. At least, it can be interpreted as ‘I’ll watch the situation for now’.

However, if even the slightest restrictions came in, the plan had to be completely revised right away. Because the upcoming confrontations would be tougher than the gunfight. 

But fortunately,

“Phew…”

No message arrived.

Lifting a heavy weight from my heart.

In fact, if it wasn’t for this kind of light mixing of manipulation and subterfuge, it was almost impossible to defeat these guys and survive.

This wasn’t just because these guys had great abilities and were exceptional.

There was another reason why I had no choice but to plan such a strategy. Because competing purely on the basis of abilities was by itself detrimental to me, regardless of whether I won or lost.

Simply put, in the first place, I shouldn’t have been able to corner the main character’s party only with my skills. This is because readers basically always stand on the protagonist’s side while watching the story, and never want to see them be defeated in skills.

In other words, if it wasn’t some playful confrontation where you could laugh it off and ignore the result, it was meaningless to win. If that happened, the author’s sword would still chop my head off in the end based on the readers’ anger.

‘It’s really vicious.’

Every single aspect of the conditions oozed with malice. It was difficult to find a path to escape.

But the greater the crisis, the greater the opportunity.

If I could overcome the current situation with my wisdom, I might be able to create an opportunity for a reversal that would’ve been impossible in the past.

‘No, I must make that happen.’

First of all, I had to force the future competitions into a certain flow.

1. I start the game from an overwhelmingly advantageous position.
2. Taunt.
3. The angry opponent makes a comeback and drives me to the very brink of defeat.
4. At the last moment, I somehow barely eke out a slapdash victory.
5. End the act by brushing away cold sweat and saying it’d been dangerous just now.

Giving your opponent a chance to make a comeback was of course a huge risk, but this too was unavoidable. Because I had to be wary of the main character’s party as well.

The equation was simple. If they didn’t show their cool sides, it wouldn’t meet the readers’ expectations, and the accumulated resentment would again come back as another threat.

Anyway, the key was to elicit ‘joy’ and ‘surprise’ from the readers, and at the same time give them a ‘not unacceptable defeat’.

“Whoo…”

Of course, I was ready.

All that was left was to implement the plan without any problems.

Then,

“Squatjaw! Shouldn’t you have said something?!”

“Huh?”

Haka, who’d returned from his mission, sneaked up and grumbled at me.

“Why would you shoot something like that without any warning in advance?”

“Something like that?”

“That last shot of yours!”

“Shot… Ah. My shot?”

“I thought it was a firecracker, and I almost died like an idiot!”

After all, what I’d fired wasn’t just the ‘form’ of a bullet.

The bullet that fused ‘explosion’ and ‘penetration’ was the most powerful ammunition that Kiriko could currently use. Hidden in the bushes and moving in the shadows, this guy must have been terrified when something like that had suddenly flown in.

“But you’re not going to die with just that much, are you?”

“Anyway, it really sounded dangerous.”

I quietly looked into Haka’s grumbling eyes.

This guy was already starting to change his character. While his weirdness and secretiveness subsided, his chatter and fussiness instead rose up.

How his slitted eyes had subtly widened was the best proof. His narrowed eyes used to symbolize his ‘secrecy’ and ‘seriousness’. Whereas right now, I didn’t even think that his eyes were particularly narrow.

Originally, such changes would come only after he met with Leo and rest a few more times. A change signifying the character shifting to a ‘gag’ character rather than a ‘secret’ one.

Presumably, his unexpected encounter with a goblin had now brought this change about.

In fact, if we assumed that the initial goal of the character, Haka, had been to introduce the goblins, then it could be said that the reason behind his existence itself had disappeared.

It was unclear what the future consequences of this might be.

The first reason why I’d tried to collect this guy was because I thought that it might buy the author’s favour, by helping him weave the ‘unrecovered rice cakes’ into the storyline.

Even now, that thought had not changed, but the problem was that this guy was facing the danger of deletion without even becoming a ‘rice cake’.

Actually, this guy had only ever directly faced Leo and his party once, and even then, he didn’t really have a great presence.

‘Rather… I wonder if he could become a treasure trove?’

In my opinion, the reason this guy was able to exist without any problems even after going through character settlement was because he was already connected with me.

In other words, he was being protected by my ‘rank’.

It was questionable how long the current situation would last.

As the author said, the character has to do something to survive on his own. If you don’t, you will eventually lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel and collapse.

Of course, the initial settings given to this guy didn’t disappear, so he was still usable. He was still strong, and he was a character with potential.

So, I didn’t mean to just leave this guy alone. I was thinking of laying a solid groundwork that would at least act as support, so that he could stand on his own two feet.

To do that, it was necessary to create an environment in which the most ‘significant setting’ applied to this guy could be made relevant, and there was only one way to do that.

It was to bring forward the appearance of the goblins, at a large scale.

‘Yeah, the level of risk is no joke.’

For a moment, I naturally imagined the angry face of the author. It would be like bypassing about 20 volumes of content.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have anything to say even if I ended up being deleted.

“Hmm.”

I shook my head, clearing away my thoughts.

Well, it was just an idea right now.

That was that, and for now, I had to focus on the current situation.

“By the way, what about the others?”

“Chinuavi is doing the final inspection, and the little girl is dragging the time.”

“How much time left?”

“Would it be about 40 minutes?”

The time had come for me to slowly start preparing for the next match.

“You understand your role in the next match?”

“Sure.”

“Great. You mustn’t be caught. In a way, your role might be the most important this time too. Don’t let that tuft-haired kid…”

“Hey, don’t worry.”

Then, leaving Haka behind, I hurriedly accelerated my steps.

---

40 minutes later.

– Now, were you all bored with the gunfight last time? That’s why we have a new big event for you! The match everyone has been waiting for! It’s called ‘Run, One Lap around the Park!’

“Wow!”

“Whoo!”

“I’ve been waiting!”

Actually, it wasn’t much of a game.

It was literally just starting from the front door and running through a fixed route.

The rules couldn’t have been simpler than this.

Reach the target before your opponent.

– This challenger is even more cheeky than that cheeky redhead! Introducing, Leo the Troublemaker!

There was only one reason why I planned this running race.

Because this was the only way to deal with Leo.

In a situation where you had to compete ability versus ability, it was best to find a way to compete against a part of the ability, not against the ability as a whole. There was no way for me to compete against electricity, so the only choice for a match was speed.

Following Cocoa’s introduction, the onlookers started booing again.

“Boo!”

“Go away!”

“Who do you think you are, little baby!”

Of course, Leo didn’t care about any of it. He just sported his innocent smile as if he was just having fun.

“Let’s get started!”

– And our running champ against that tuft-haired kid! The name everyone has been waiting for! Introducing, Lamborghini Squatjaw!

I slowly approached Leo, who’d been waiting at the starting line.

Leo looked at me and smiled.

“You said that if I win, you’ll tell me about your identity?”

“Yeah, right.”

“Are you sure? I’m not kidding, I’m fast.”

“I know.”

“No, you can’t say you know until you experience it yourself. As for how fast I am…”

“No? You must be as fast as lightning.”

“… That means you don’t know!”

I couldn’t even smile when I saw Leo’s bewildered expression. Because I was so tense inside.

It took me a week of grinding just to prepare for this one simple game. Because my opponent was none other than the ‘protagonist’.

In fact, this race was a battle that would be the starting point for my path of survival.

“But I’m fast too. Enough to make you nervous.”

“Heh, we’ll see about that.”

“Well, I’ll tell you the long and short of it. You see, I…”

In an instant, blue sparks flew out of my body.

Crrrrrackkkkkle –.

“Am as fast as lightning.”

“… What?”

As soon as Leo made that blank expression, I signalled Cocoa to start.

To take the opportunity while this guy was confused.

–  Then ready, steady! Start!

I quickly shot forward. Swerving left to get out of his sight, I quickly took out a bottle of invisibility potion from my sleeves and swallowed the contents.

“Ugh. This taste…”

I’d already confirmed that the invisibility potion wouldn’t clash with my [Mimic Acrobat].

I went invisible without hesitation.

And yet,

“Where did you go?”

As if using a booster, Leo rushed past me with a flash of lightning.

So far, it was a success.

I stood still and watched him quietly.

As far as running rules were concerned, there was no need to worry about your opponent. Just run at your own pace.

But Leo didn’t. Right now, he seemed more interested in me than the race.

Of course, this was intended. That guy who used lightning never even considered that he might lose, and if I was already in sight, it didn’t matter. He’d run by my side and ask me questions.

Soon after,

“I found you, you bastard! How the hell are you using my lightning? Tell me right now!”

The boy ran forward again.

Of course, I wasn’t the one who he’d found.

And soon,

“What! Are you already following me?”

It was Chinuavi disguised as me.

The place where the two of them were running was a path that had nothing to do with the previously specified running route.

The reason Leo followed Chinuavi without any doubt was simple.

Because the existence that he thought was me, was right in front of him.

And therefore,

“… That’s spectacular.”

He couldn’t have imagined that the path would be wrong.

Beyond the road where the two of them ran, an extremely huge castle slowly began to appear.

What I prepared for this one simple game, to defeat that main character, was not so simple.

It was another amusement park, hidden inside a ‘goblin cloth’.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 28

Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery (1)

“By the way, that guy… I haven’t seen him around these days?”

Leo’s question came out of the blue, but it was enough to energize the party, who had been getting tired of the tedious journey.

They had been trekking for two days across a barren field, with nothing to see but sand and wind.

“You mean that Squatjaw?”

“Now that you say it. It always felt strange, like he was circling around us.”

Leo looked back at Yan, who had been silent so far, and asked a question.

“You know something, don’t you? About him?”

“Well, um… me, me too…”

“He was with you back then. Before you fought me.”

“Well, that was because that guy impersonated one of our members…”

“Impersonated? Really? Because he has a different identity every time he appears.”

Then Kiriko brought out the same words that he’d repeated every time the topic of Squatjaw had come up for discussion before.

“Isn’t he a secret agent of the International Council? I can smell it.”

“Isn’t that just a problem with your nose? And you don’t even know what secret agents do, do you?”

“I don’t need to know something like that. You know that makes him a secret agent? The important point is that his identity changes every time. Other than the secret agents of the International Council, who else would change their identity every time like that? Those guys are the ones who can deceive even veteran adventurers.”

“It’s not even funny. Anyone who listens would think that you’re one of those veteran adventurers, Mr. Kiriko. You dolt.”

Despite saying something like that, Siana couldn’t hide her smile as she looked at Kiriko.

Oddly enough, she seemed to enjoy making fun of him.

“Anyway, that’s not the point. Whether he is an enemy or not, is the question.”

“So what if he’s an enemy, he’s a funny guy. Where did he go anyway?”

“Who knows. He might pop out of nowhere again sometime.”

Then,

“I…”

Yan, who’d been hesitating, spoke up.

“Somehow, I think we’ll see each other soon?”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you know?”

“It’s, just… at the end of this field, somehow I feel like he’s waiting for us…”

Yan’s remarks were quite interesting. Because this kind of talk was the favourite of some veteran adventurers.

“Oh oh… are you saying this as a guide?”

“I, I’ve been told before that I have a good sense of direction…”

At that moment,

“Oh, over there! See down there!”

Kiriko, who’d been walking a little ahead, exclaimed suddenly.

His eyes, which were pointed to the front following his finger, were dyed with astonishment.

And beyond that finger, a strange sight stretched out beyond the suddenly sunken terrain.

“Hey, what is that?”

“Castle? But how could there suddenly be a castle in a place like this…”

“No, wait… It looks like a castle, but those definitely look like rides in the back… Is it an amusement park?”

There was a huge amusement park, right in the middle of the road.

There was nothing else around. Just it.

“What?”

“What, what?”

Only Leo had a different reaction.

“Wow! I was getting so bored, this is great! You all want to go take a look?”

“But that… doesn’t that look really suspicious any way you see it?”

Siana questioned carefully, but she couldn’t slow down Leo’s already excited footsteps.

“That’s the taste of adventure! Let’s go, let’s go!”

That was then –

– Welcome to Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery.

A young voice came from somewhere.

“Squatjaw?”

“Squatjaw? That Squatjaw!?”

Something caught Leo’s eyes as he whirled around searching for the source of the voice.

“Oh, over there!”

Leo was pointing to the front entrance of the amusement park.

A little kid in a Pierrot mask stood there, holding a megaphone in one hand.

As if in response to Leo pointing, the little Pierrot spoke on the megaphone.

– Go play. There are so many fun gadgets.

Leo went up to the little Pierrot and asked,

“Does Squatjaw own this amusement park?”

“Yes.”

“How can I meet him?”

“Squatjaw is inside the amusement park. You can meet whenever you come in.”

“Really? Then can I take a look?”

But as Leo was about to enter, the little Pierrot stopped him.

“Wait, there’s an entrance fee. It’s a million gold.”

“What?”

It was an embarrassing amount to even hear.

“What’s so expensive!”

“Then, 500,000 gold.”

“…?”

“You won’t be wasting money. You can make dozens of times that much in here. Just 500,000 gold isn’t enough for you to get cold feet, right?”

“… ‘Course not!”

Leo readily took the money out of his pocket and handed it to the little Pierrot mask.

Of course, it was Siana’s money.

“What about the rest of you?”

“Well, let’s just go in once.”

“Hmm, it’s suspicious, but it can’t be helped.”

Kiriko and Siana also handed over their entry fees following Leo’s example.

“Hey, I don’t have any money…”

“Here’s for this guy.”

“Yes, thank you. Then I will let you enter.”

The little Pierrot mask, receiving Yan’s entry fee from Siana, quickly put all the money into his sleeves and opened the front gate.

– Four guests entering!

The amusement park stretching out beyond the gate was like a new world. Gardens that were a riot of colours filled with exotic flowers, all kinds of rides and shops scattered around, and even people running around laughing raucously.

It was a landscape in stark contrast to the desolate wilderness outside.

“Look over there! A roller coaster! There’s even a gyrodrop!”

“Are you a kid…”

“Didn’t you come here to meet Mr. Squatjaw?”

Besides Leo, who was openly excited, even Kiriko and Siana’s faces were dyed with excitement despite their protests.

“Oh, there’s even an ice cream shop… Hey…”

And Yan, too.

While everyone was engrossed in the new environment –

“By the way, you’re lucky, sir guests.”

The little Pierrot, who came in after them, spoke quietly.

“There’s a game event running in our amusement park right now. Would you like to participate?”

“A game event?”

“Yes, we took the most popular games in the park and changed them into a separate event format, but it doesn’t happen every day. There are a lot of different games, and even prizes.”

“Oh, really?”

“How about it? You can both enjoy the game and earn money. Two birds, one stone.”

Leo answered without hesitation.

“Let’s do it!”

And,

“What’re the events?”

“Can we all participate?”

Kiriko and Siana also intervened enthusiastically.

Seeing this, the little Pierrot raised his hand asking them to calm down.

“There are several events, so why not participate one by one? First off, what about this red-haired gunslinger here?”

Approaching Kiriko, he quietly gave him an offer.

“Isn’t there one game that a lot of people especially like? ‘Shoot at the Sunset!’ It’s a kind of gunfight, you just have to hit a moving target. Why not try participating once? I think you’ll do well.”

“A gunfight?”

“Yes. Even the prize money is huge. If you beat the current champion, you’ll get 100 million gold on the spot.”

“100 million? 100 million in prize money?”

Looking at the surprised Kiriko, the little Pierrot continued whispering.

“Yes, but the participation fee is only one hundredth of that. One million gold.”

“Huh? A million-gold participation fee?”

The little boy looked surprised at the question.

“Oh my, why are you surprised? Can’t you make 100 million gold with just 1 million? Aren’t you confident? Why are you even carrying those guns then? Are those just fakes? What about that handsome red hair, is that fake too?”

“Hey, who said I’m not? It’s no big deal to hit a few targets.”

Then, once Kiriko handed over the money,

“Good for you!”

Without anyone saying anything, the little Pierrot shouted on the megaphone.

– Champion! A cheeky opponent has appeared to challenge you!

And simultaneously,

“What? Challenge the champion?”

“Who is that cheeky bastard!?”

“Hey, over there!”

People from all over the amusement park gathered in an instant, as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

Putting our heroes in a really awkward situation.

“What, who are these guys?”

“Are they all one gang?”

“I told you this place was suspicious!”

While the three of them were hesitating because of the sudden crowd of onlookers,

“Uh, uh, uh, uh, over there!”

Yan pointed to a spot in the distance.

Right there, a man with a jutting chin wearing a cowboy hat was barely visible, riding a merry-go-round.

The onlookers, also becoming aware, started clamouring.

“Wow!

“It’s the champion!”

“It’s the gunfighting champion, Squatjaw the Cowboy!”

It was a very strange and bizarre situation.

“It looks like Mr. Squatjaw is the reigning champion.”

“What’s he cooking up this time?”

Leo felt he needed to have a bout with the guy.

They hadn’t seen him for a few days, and here he was already planning something crazy.

“Should I call him right now? Hey! Squatjaw!”

Oddly enough, despite Leo calling him a few times, the other party pretended not to hear and kept picking his ears.

Little Pierrot sneaked in a few words from the side.

“If you want to call the champion, you have to shout out that you are going to challenge him first. That’s the rule here.”

“Challenge?”

“If you want to compete with him, you have to ask him first.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s all so annoying.”

Still, Kiriko meekly followed the Pierrot’s words.

“Hey, Squatjaw! You call yourself a gunfighter champ? Let’s have a match, you bastard!”

Then,

“Which kid dared challenge me to a match?”

The Cowboy got off the merry-go-round as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

A deep smile filled his lips as he slowly trotted over.

“Alright, I accept the match.”

---

– From now on, we’ll start the popular game of Squatjaw’s Amusement Park of Mystery, ‘Shoot at the Sunset!’

– The rules are simple.

– All you have to do is hit the moving target.

– However, guns and bullets are not provided.

– The cheeky challenger will go first. It’s this red-haired kid!

Along with the introduction from little Pierrot mask, the onlookers began to boo.

“Boo!”

“You cheeky little bastard!”

“You’ll definitely lose!”

Leo also started cheering for his teammate.

“Kiriko! Set an example!”

“Mr. Kirikidiot! Can’t you even do this?”

“Come on, good luck!”

Siana and Yan also joined the cheering squad.

Kiriko calmly entered the shooting range with an unconcerned gait.

“Just watch.”

Whatever the planners planned, or the onlookers booed, or that there were no bullets, it didin’t matter.

It made him want to laugh. Because he didn’t need bullets in the first place.

The red sun was blazing beyond the shooting range.

“Good.”

The scene reminded him of his youth, when he’d devoted himself to shooting practice like an ascetic.

It was as if all his nerves were on the edge and ready to fire. In this state, he couldn’t miss the target even if he wanted to.

Soon, something dark sprung up in the distance. It looked like a human shadow, and that must’ve been the target.

Kiriko pulled out his revolver, giving the chamber a quick spin.

The magic bullets defaulted to the ‘explosion’ type. However, since that risked raising a large dust cloud, he immediately changed it to ‘penetration’.

Then, he fired a magic bullet straight at the target in the distance.

He could hit a target that size with his eyes closed. What’s more, if it was that slow…

That was then –

“Huh?”

The number of targets he needed to hit and knock down quickly increased to dozens. Their sizes also reduced significantly, and they even started moving quickly from side to side.

“Oh, hey, hey, this is fun.”

Kiriko continuously fired magic bullets as the targets popped up. Although the targets were moving faster, it was not enough for him to use ‘rapid fire’.

And then,

“Is it over?”

The targets stopped appearing.

Every bullet had hit the bull’s eye. There was no need for even an extra shot.

Kiriko tucked the revolver back at his waist and returned to his seat.

– Here we are, the red-haired kid with the gun is back at his seat! Has his score been counted? Are you done? Yes! It’s been counted! Now, that kid’s score is…!

Kiriko checked the scorecard with a confident expression on his face.

Then,

“Eh?”

He opened his mouth in embarrassment.

– 12 points! That’s 12 points! Did you all see that red-haired kid shoot aimlessly into the air? He really should’ve checked what the target was before he started shooting! All he managed was to hit it by some ricochets!

“What, what!? I got them all right! Isn’t the score wrong?”

But the little Pierrot didn’t even listen.

– Next is the champion! It’s the turn of Squatjaw the Cowboy!

“Wow!”

“Champion! Champion!”

“Show us your skills!”

Shortly thereafter, Squatjaw the Cowboy stepped into the shooting range.

“Hey, I’ll see how well you can shoot.”

While Kiriko was watching the scene with eyes mixed with dissatisfaction and absurdity –

Out of nowhere, Squatjaw jerked his head towards him.

And,

“Do you know which of the six magic bullets has the most destructive power?”

“… What?”

“It’s not ‘explosion’ or ‘penetration’. It’s a combo of the two.”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

“Wait, how do you know about my unique ability…”

“How is that your unique ability?”

Squatjaw’s following words and actions almost made Kiriko pass out from surprise.

“It’s my unique ability.”

He pulled out two revolvers from his waist. They looked just like Kiriko’s.

“What, what…”

Then, the two guns in Squatjaw’s hands began to emit blue light.

It was obviously the light that’d come out when two bullet types were combined. That was a new skill that even Kiriko himself had just discovered.

“One piece of advice. Before starting a game, it’s good to have a close look at the name of the game. Especially if it’s a one-opportunity game.”

Squatjaw raised both revolvers up.

However, the two guns were not aimed at the dark targets that were suddenly rising up in the distance.

Rather, they were aimed at nothing other than the huge sun at the horizon scattering the red light of dusk.

“No, that, that…”

Soon after,

Bang! Bang!

Two magic bullets were fired from the revolvers, blazing trails of blue.

Then, the magic bullets flying into the distance suddenly collided with something invisible.

Claaaaannngggggg –.

It seemed that the ‘real target’ was hidden somewhere in the air.

“…”

Kiriko stared at Squatjaw, who returned to his seat with a refreshed expression.

– Alright, here’s the score! The champion, Squatjaw the Cowboy scored a whopping 100 points! This time too, there was no changing of the guard! Look at that speechless redheaded kid over there! That’s great!

It was a trick. It was an unfair game.

But at that moment, winning or losing was not important to Kiriko.

There was only one thought running through his mind right now.

Somebody stole his unique ability.

“What are you…?”

It was a question that had been asked many times already. But the weight of the question this time was different from before.

For the first time, Kiriko was caught up in an urge to sincerely dig into Squatjaw’s identity.

However, Squatjaw just turned around leisurely, leaving only a sentence behind.

“If any of you beat me, then I’ll let you all know.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 27

Mimic Acrobat

7. Mimic acrobat – 30,000p

▶ [Mimic Acrobat] detail page

• Description: When certain conditions are met, you can imitate the abilities of others.
• Basic Features
  • There is no limit to the total number of abilities that can be imitated.
  • Cannot exceed the ability of the imitation target.
  • Impossible to mimic two abilities at once.
  • After the mimicry ends, it is impossible to imitate the same ability within 24 hours.
  • After the mimicry ends, the ability cannot be activated again within 1 hour.
• Mimic Conditions
  • Private
• Currently applicable abilities

※ This ability comes with author’s privileges.

“Hmmm…”

I couldn’t just press the buy button without thinking.

The reason why I was hesitating to acquire the unique ability I’d been waiting for so long? It was because a new phrase had suddenly popped up.

Precisely, this:

※ This ability comes with author’s privileges.

The author’s privilege here meant that the author would provide some separate benefit when purchasing this ability.

Sounded good, right? It was a good thing.

However,

‘Why?’

That’s why it was even more suspicious. Because there was no reason for it.

The privileges were briefly introduced like this:

※ Author’s privileges

1. Payback
   • 10% of points will be refunded immediately upon purchase.
2. Confirmed appearance
   • Definitely appear in the upcoming chapter.
   • Play the main role.

‘This is just about buying…’

The first benefit was, payback.

Needless to say, it was a good one. 3000 points would be refunded immediately. To be honest, my fingers itched to press the buy button as soon as I saw it.

And the second, the fact that I would definitely appear in the next chapter was also something that I had no reason to refuse. Including being in the main role.

Of course, being forced to act in a certain role was also a kind of risk. It meant that I had to assimilate myself into the character and the settings that the author intended.

Even so, this risk was one well worth taking. Because the return on investment was huge.

In fact, the benefits I would get from this were not much different from purchasing another ‘background with built-in unique ability’. Considering the weight of the main role, it might even be called better. And the minimum cost for such background products was around 60,000p.

All in all, it was a huge benefit.

Yes, on the surface.

The problem was the lack of stability.

I was well aware of what’d happened to the ‘original’ acrobat who was supposed to be the main character of this chapter. In fact, there was nothing significant to speak of. He’d only appeared for a moment, and then disappeared.

It’d been a chapter without much content in the first place. He appeared out of the blue and blocked the protagonist’s way, and immediately got into an argument with Leo and the rest. Then, before he could even imitate their abilities, he was hit by Leo and flew away. That was all.

But, of course, I wasn’t in the same position as the acrobat. Unlike that guy who’d just appeared for the first time, I’d already built up a reputation with many readers. Even if a similar situation did occur, it would be in the future.

Besides, it was impossible for me to leave the role alone and undisturbed. Unless the author was an idiot, he wouldn’t try and force such an improbable development.

“Okay.”

After organizing my thoughts, I immediately pressed the buy button.

Then,

• There are conditions that must be fulfilled after purchasing this product. Significant penalties would be imposed in case of non-compliance. If you consent, please proceed with the purchase.

A warning message came out of nowhere.

“What is this now?”

To be honest, I had to pause again. Significant penalties?

I double-checked the text.

I didn’t feel good about this.

‘Must be fulfilled…’

There was an aspect of it that was strangely a bit ambiguous.

Simply not following the conditions was not the whole problem. What if it included even the case of ‘trying to satisfy the conditions but failing’?

The risk here could be greater than expected.

“Hmm, nah.”

I quickly shook my head.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one possible conclusion.

I needed this ability. It was enough if I just achieved the specified conditions.

After making up my mind, I proceeded to buy it.

And yet,

Tiling –.

• Are you sure you want to apply the ability?

“Apply.”

As a swarm of dazzling lights enveloped me, I finally learned [Mimic Acrobat].

After a moment,

“Ah…”

I groaned involuntarily.

It was definitely different from the time when I’d applied the backgrounds. It felt as if some mysterious power was filling my whole body… A power that only chosen humans with extraordinary qualities could possess. The moment I acquired it, I felt as if I had truly become a part of this world.

Following that,

[You have acquired a unique ability]

[Character’s rank has greatly increased]

[Registered as a major record in the official character data of ‘Squatjaw’]

The hologram also commemorated the acquisition of my unique ability. Who knew if it had any particular meaning. 

But,

“I’m here.”

Even though it was a moment I’d been so looking forward to, I couldn’t enjoy my euphoria for long. Because a mysterious message soon arrived at the hologram window.

• Details of the conditions to be fulfilled have arrived. Do you want to open the message?

“Open it.”

Checking the message, I was astonished.

“Hey, this… what the hell is this, damn it!”

[Required transition conditions for using the Mimic Acrobat ability]

1. You must appear as the main villain of [Chapter 13 – Mimic Acrobat].
2. You must imitate all of the unique abilities of the main characters (Leo, Kiriko, Siana, and Yan).
3. You must face each of them individually, using their own mimicked abilities.
4. The event for each competition will be selected by the main character’s party, and you must win the battle against them.

※ If the above conditions are not fulfilled or failed, the character will be deleted.

---

How much time had passed?

After silently reading the message over and over for a while, only one thought remained in my head.

Got hit. By the author himself.

There was no other way to explain it.

‘…’

It was even worse than I’d thought. To put forth such a malicious condition that was close to impossible to be realized. And the penalty for failure was nothing less than character deletion.

To be honest, I was just plain shocked. Where did these conditions come from? How come the original acrobat didn’t have them at all?

Of course, that acrobat had left before he could’ve shown anything, so there was no way for me to ascertain whether he, too, had been given these conditions.

But I was sure that he and I were different. If he had been in the same situation as me, there was no way he would have started an argument with Leo first. Rather, he would have tried to slowly coax them to play a game or two.

There was no doubt. It was clear that these were newly created conditions aimed solely at me. In particular, the rule of having to face off against their abilities… DId my previous behaviour of earning points using Chinuavi piss the author off too much?

“Hoo…”

But being embarrassed and resentful wouldn’t change the situation. Rather, I had to find a way to bypass the difficulties.

After calming my mind, I repeated the conditions to myself one more time, step by step.

First. Imitating them.

First off, this was the problem.

The conditions for imitating a certain ability were as follows.

1. You must know the face and real name of the person using the ability.
2. You must directly see the manifestation of the ability.
3. You must be aware of the mechanism by which the ability operates.
4. You must have a physique that matches the level of the ability.

The problematic item was the fourth, that you must have a physique that matched your abilities.

It didn’t take much to imitate the ability of Siana, the decipherer, but the other three were different. In particular, both Leo and Kiriko were adversaries, and both their unique abilities required enormous physical ability.

In other words, I didn’t even know if my body would be able to handle Leo’s [Lightning that Destroys Calamities] or Kiriko’s [Six Burning Bullets] right now.

And the second issue.

Even if the ability were embodied, you have to fight a battle with the native user of that ability. And you even have to win. This was one really absurd condition.

In the first place, the ability being imitated cannot exceed the ability of the original target. And yet, you have to compete with your imitation and win. That too, for all four.

Not just that, just because you have the same ability doesn’t mean you can express the same power as the original. Because not only your skill levels differ, but the hidden characteristics inherent in each character also differ.

For example, Kiriko had a hidden characteristic called ‘accuracy’ that was no less than another unique ability. It pretty much doubled the effectiveness of his [Six Burning Bullets].

In other words, no matter how talented you are, unless you too have such a hidden characteristic, there is no way you can win a gunfight against him.

“Does this make sense?”

The rage that had barely subsided felt like it was rising up again.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t have the time to waste on emotional exhaustion.

“Hoo…”

Fortunately, I had some time to prepare, even if only a little.

The free time given to me was about 2 chapters.

Of course, they were both short of content, so I couldn’t actually relax. I had about a week, maybe?

Still, I might be able to prepare something.

First of all, there were three issues I had to iron out in order to fulfil these conditions.

1. To somehow come up with an event that I can win against them.
2. To entice them into joining it.
3. To actually win our confrontation.

‘Let’s think about it, think, think.’

I started thinking as if it was my dying struggle.

About two hours after that –

I left my seat and got up.

I used my head so hard, groaning and moaning, but couldn’t find an answer.

There was only one conclusion I could draw right now.

I could never do this alone.

Even if I had to play the game by myself in the end, I had no chance if I tried to prepare for it all on my own. I needed a team.

Fortunately, I had quite a few talented guys by my side.

“Let’s get to know each other a bit, the three of you.”

---

“Thanks to you, Senior, I was able to forge a valuable relationship.”

“Me too. I’m sincerely thankful.”

Haka and Chinuavi had gotten closer than I’d expected.

Surprisingly, they were fellow alumni who’d studied under the same goblin master.

Of course, their student days did not overlap, and in the case of Haka, he was not even an official pupil. Nevertheless, the two of them seemed to have forged a strong bond.

In fact, I had indeed wondered if there was some kind of connection between the two. Chinuavi being in this city indicated the author’s intention to have them meet.

Well, I hadn’t expected the connection to be so direct.

And there was one more link between the two.

The leader of the Black Shadow.

It was he who’d led them both here, to Destomb.

Of course, unlike Haka, Chinuavi had no direct connection with that man. It was just a setting that he came from Eastland out of curiosity, as there were rumours about the many secrets that man had.

I nodded my head as I listened to both of them.

In fact, it was this ‘Black Shadow Leader’ who was portrayed as a rather absurd character in the original work.

He is Yan’s father, who reveals his silhouette only once in Yan’s flashback scene, which unfolds near the end of his confrontation with Leo.

So, actually, when I first read the original, I thought he would be the final boss of this arc. There was no reason to show him otherwise.

However, he ended up not appearing in the work at all. Right till the end.

In other words, he was the second ‘unrecovered rice cake’ after Haka.

Judging from the conversation around me, it seemed that he might have originally been planned to appear together with these two. Except all of that got messed up for some unknown reason.

If I could take care of that somehow, I might be able to draw a pretty good picture, but I couldn’t afford to do that right now.

“So you’ve finished talking?”

“Hey, there’s still a long way to go.”  

“Yeah, goblins can chatter for three to four days.”

“You’re not a goblin, though, Haka.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“Yeah, anyway. The two of us will chat a bit more.”

I turned my head to the one who was sitting bored and alone, excluded from the conversation.

“These guys are weird.”

“I know. You’ve had it hard by yourself.”

“Squatjaw, are you done with your work?”

Cocoa looked at me with bright eyes.

“Not yet. It’s just the beginning.”

“… Really?”

I gave the gloomy kid a quick smile.

“Cocoa, can you go somewhere with me?”

“Yeah, me? Just me?”

“Yeah.”

“A date?”

“That’s not something a little kid should ask.”

“Heh, men are all the same. Where, though?”

“Amusement park.”

“It’s a date after all. Let’s go. Hurry!”

She ran up to me and clung to my side.

“I’m not going there to play around. I have work to do.”

“Whatever, who cares.”

And thus I left the place with Cocoa, leaving Chinuavi and Haka behind.

---

About an hour after that.

Not too far from Destomb.

Evercity Amusement Park.

I asked Cocoa, who was smiling faintly.

“How much can you fit in that bag?”

“What, you mean its capacity?”

“Yeah.”

“A lot.”

“So how much is that, exactly?”

“Just, a lot.”

It didn’t seem like she had ever measured it properly.

“Then you… can you put that in too?”

What I was referring to was the merry-go-round.

“Of course.”

“Not just a single horse.”

“I know. You mean the whole thing, right?”

Cocoa nodded as if it was natural.

I tried to rein in my own bewilderment for a moment. Her bag was small enough that even a horseshoe might not fit in, let alone a whole merry-go-round.

“Yeah… I can put that in.”

I immediately pointed to the next target.

The roller-coaster.

“Then what about that one?”

“Ummm… yes?”

Surprisingly, Cocoa nodded again.

“… Okay.”

Now this was it.

Even though this was a manga world, it was difficult for me to imagine what I was talking about. Even so, the reason I was able to ask her this was because there had been a guy in the original who actually managed something similar. At that time, he had ‘transplanted’ an entire island onto land.  

I spoke slowly, staring at Cocoa.

“Could it be that you might be able to, just possibly, stuff the whole amusement park in there?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 26

Time to Get What You Want

“Hoo…”

I took a couple of deep breaths.

I’d dragged him into the secret room so confidently, but I still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Strictly speaking, it was hard to call this guy weaker than me.

An executive of the Black Shadow assassin organization.

In fact, they were also extras, who didn’t distinguish themselves too much from the rest of the herd. Although they were able to pose a certain level of challenge to Leo and the rest, that was their limit. To consume Leo’s stamina was the only role they had been assigned.

But even so, it was hard to say that their power was low. Although they weren’t strong enough to cause any trouble for Leo once he released his unique ability, if you asked me if I was stronger, my answer would probably be closer to ‘no’.

“You did something to me.”

The executive seemed to have noticed that the environment around him had changed, but he didn’t seem to understand the exact operation of the secret room.

“No big deal. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“It’s funny. That ring must be… you bastard, are you sure you want to try and force me into wearing it?”

He pointed his sword at me as he spat out those words.

“I don’t know what your plan is, but you’ve really, definitely cocked things up.”

“I’m not really planning on anything huge.”

My words were sincere.

To be honest, brainwashing these guys really didn’t do me any good. I had no use for them, nor was I going to take them with me on my journey.

Nevertheless, there were two reasons why I had no choice but to make such a plan.

First, to preserve the original ending.

We succeeded in inserting Yan into the plotline at the right timing. In all probability, the one-on-one confrontation between Leo and Yan wouldn’t differ much from the original.

The problem was that there were other variables. The executives who remained untouched by Leo and Kiriko. Who knew if these guys would quietly step back after Yan’s defeat? It seemed hopeless to wish for that.

So, they needed to be tidied up.

Second, a more essential reason.

There was nothing wrong with just grabbing some limelight.

After the battle between Leo and Yan gets finished, the following scene would naturally show the audience around them.

At that moment, I’d grin and say –

“Thanks for taking your time… I managed to tidy it all up.”

What if I could announce my presence with a meaningful line like this? With the Black Shadow executives kneeling at my back.

Wouldn’t it be possible to capture the readers’ attention, amplifying their curiosity about me? Of course, since I’d be taking away some of the spotlight that should have been focused on the protagonist, I’d draw the author’s ire a little bit.

And not to mention one more reason. I wanted to check my current abilities.

There was a total of six backgrounds currently applied onto me.

Among them, there were two that provided ‘hidden characteristics’ which directly affected the body.

1. [Unknown Itinerant]

2. [A Man Who Once Visited the Bezyt Gorge]

The characteristic acquired from the first background was ‘doesn’t get tired very easily for some reason’. In other words, stamina.

The traits obtained from the second background were ‘the body is a little more agile’ and ‘becomes more powerful in moments of crisis’. That is, agility and self-control.

What happens if my currently elevated ‘rank’ upgraded these hidden characteristics on top of the original ‘a little strong’ characteristic?

No matter exactly how strong that made me, I thought it should be enough to deal with these extras.

Therefore,

“It’s not that big of a deal for you to obey me… isn’t it?”

I provoked the executive with some confidence.

Then,

Swish –.

I almost died.

‘… This is more than I expected.’

I stared blankly at my clothes that had been slashed and torn.

If that guy’s point of attack had moved just a little, it wouldn’t have been just a piece of cloth lying on the floor.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Don’t you think it should be the other way around? You, being obedient like a dog. And I don’t think I’ll even need that ring for it.”

The guy let out a sly smile. I guess he thought I was nonplussed.

But of course,

“Uh, not at all. You are the one who’ll obey. And your friends too.”

It didn’t mean that I was scared, or that I had a premonition of defeat.

His attack had indeed been faster than expected. But I did still see it. That’s why I didn’t avoid it.

I felt like I had to clash with him a few more times.

I grabbed a stick of wood lying on the ground nearby, and rushed at him like a thunderbolt.

To gauge the depths of his ability, and mine.

Swish –.

But I didn’t reach him.

My movements were faster than I’d expected. Almost as fast as when that guy had just rushed at me.

The reason I still didn’t reach him was simple. Because he was even faster.

His expression was still relaxed.

“You were hiding some skill after all. Aren’t you pretty fast?”

“Are you going to keep talking after every hit?”

“I was going to give you some time to breathe, but if you don’t like it, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Then his attack began.

The trajectory was monotonous. Just stabs and slashes here and there with the sword he was holding.

But,

Swish –.

‘It’s tough to handle.’

It was as powerful as it was simple.

This guy didn’t even have a special ability, let alone a unique ability.

The problem was that, for these ‘assassin’ or ‘ninja’ types, there were great hidden characteristics basically built-in.

Especially, agility.

I also had it, so I thought it would be a good match, but I was wrong. Instead of catching up with his speed, I had to focus on avoiding his rapid onslaught. Even that was hard enough, and small wounds were constantly accumulating on my body.

‘Shit… I should’ve bought something more expensive.’

Again, looked like it’d been a mistake to try and work things out somehow with the characteristics bundled with cheap backgrounds. Of course, I was regretting it now, but it was already too late.

“Are you alright? Do you think you can see the end now?”

Maybe he also noticed my difficulties, so he smiled and relaxed.

‘I think it’ll be fine if I can catch him just once.’

There was one way.

Ignoring small attacks and blindly closing the distance. There would be quite a few wounds, but I’d at least be able to try and get one chance to fix things.

But,

“Ah, I can’t do this anymore. I give up.”

I didn’t do that. I just gave up cleanly.

As I stopped moving and stood still, he looked at me with puzzled eyes.

“What’s your plan?”

“It’s no big deal.”

Why didn’t I even try it? What was the problem with giving it a try?

First, the limited scope of the closed room.

What if the guy didn’t respond and moved all the way back? The moment our distance exceeded the range of the ability, the secret room would be immediately dismantled. Since it was just part of the surroundings, not an actual separated space, there were no restrictions on getting out. Should I call this the limit of special abilities?

The reason I didn’t move around and tried to take all of his attacks head-on actually stemmed from this.

And second, because I just didn’t have to try it.

“I’ll just stop here, since it’s hard.”

“… What? So can I just kill you like this? Or do you mean that you will obey me?”

“Not that. Wait. Didn’t I send a signal just now?”

“Signal?”

“A signal that I’m going to stop. Wait just a second.”

“…?”

That was then.

Thud –.

With a dull sound, the guy suddenly collapsed.

I glanced at the owner of the bat that had stunned my opponent.

“Why make him faint? Now you’ll have to wake him up again.”

“But it’s too much work to subdue this guy without putting him to sleep…”

“Really? Alright. Great job.”

I didn’t come into the secret room alone with this executive in the first place.

In fact, I was hiding one more guy.

“Is that a goblin bat? Do you have any dreams stored in it?”

At my words, Chinuavi looked at me with amazement.

“Senior, you really know everything.”

I see.

Chinuavi’s answer surprised me a bit, to be honest.

It wasn’t even a hard hit, but seeing the guy pass out so easily, I asked just in case it was true.

A goblin bat with dreams stored in it.

This was truly one of the cheat items of the goblins, capable of transferring the ‘dream stored in the bat’ to the target being hit. In other words, you can make them sleep for as long as you want. To a maximum duration of ‘eternity’.

“Can you wake him up right away?”

“He was only going to sleep for about a minute anyway. Delivering dreams beyond that is burdensome for me.”

“Alright.”

I quickly approached the man and put one of the seven rings on him.

It was set to obey me when a new host came along, so when the guy woke up he should carry out my orders.

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing. Just don’t forget our deal.”

“Yes, yes.”

I was looking at Chinuavi with fresh eyes. 

Really, goblins were cheat existences.

At this point, I could understand a bit why the author had put off the appearance of these guys to so much later.

Because with guys with this kind of ability around, I didn’t think the story would progress properly.

You need to at least pour out a truckful of guys with great unique abilities to keep them in check.

And this meant that the author would definitely despise my current behaviour.

I felt like I had to be prepared to some extent.

“By the way, Senior, aren’t you being a bit too cowardly?”

“What about it? I don’t have to be so righteous right now. Because they’re not looking at me anyway.”

“Yes? What do you mean…”

“Alright. Hmm? This guy is slowly waking up. Hide again. If I need you, I’ll send another signal. It’ll probably be fine, though.”

“Yes.”

Then, the executive came to his senses.

“E-, eh?”

“Have you come back to your senses?”

“Uh… sure…” 

“Okay, let’s start with bowing your head and pretending to be a dog.”

It wasn’t that I’d gotten my nose tweaked by this guy’s remarks earlier. It was just to confirm his obedience. Really, that’s the truth.

Soon after,

“Woof!”

The guy barked.

Yeah. That’s alright then.

I immediately dismantled the secret room and gave him a special order.

“Just grab a friend of yours and bring him here. An idiot who wouldn’t be suspicious.”

“Yes.”

After a while,

“What, why are we here now? Right now, Master Yan is in perfect form…”

He brought in another executive with a slender impression.

“… You?”

Instead of answering, I immediately activated the secret room.

Then,

“Catch him.”

“Yes.”

I ordered my new subordinate 1 to grab him.

“What? What are you doing now?”

“Hold on tight.”

Then, before the newcomer came to his senses, I approached him quickly.

“I never got to use my strength when I was fighting with this guy earlier. He was too fast. So I’ll just test it out with you right now.”

“What, what?”

Then, with both palms, I smacked his chin.

Thwack –.

Ah. It only took one shot.

“Did he just faint?”

“Really.”

My agility was below expectations, but my strength seemed to be several times relative to expectations. Maybe because it was a characteristic inherent in ‘Villain 3’, and it seemed to have been more directly influenced by my ‘rank’.

After putting the ring on him, I slapped his cheeks to wake him up.

“Hey, who are you?”

“Okay, now pretend to be a dog.”

“Yes?”

“Imitate a dog.”

“Uh… yes. Woof!”

“Alright.”

I hurriedly unlocked the secret room again.

Now only two activations were left. Five executives still remained.

I could roughly fit the puzzle.

The problem was time. 

Looking at the situation, the battle between Leo and Yan was almost approaching the climax. In order to naturally hog the spotlight, I had to finish all my work on time.

I hurriedly gave orders to subordinate 1 and subordinate 2.

“Bring them all here one by one. Whichever of you is tardier, better prepare himself.”

---

[Dance with Ghost Killer].

Yan’s unique ability was to materialize transparent ghosts, that looked just like him, floating in the air. Although they were called ghosts, the concept was similar to clones, and they were set to have egos of their own as well.

Simply put, creating fakes who were not much different from the main body, except for the fact that ‘physical attacks have no effect’.

Currently, two such ghosts had been created on the battlefield. This was the largest number Yan could produce at this point, meaning the showdown was slowly approaching its final stage.

And just in time,

“This is the last one. I don’t have any more power left.”

“Me, too.”

“Really? I’ve still got some left in the tank though?”

“Me too. Our physical body is really fragile, isn’t it?”

“Damn it, you be quiet.”

Two (or four) forms clashed for the last time.

Bang –.

A cloud of dust spread out like an explosion.

Before long, the silhouette of a man appeared in the haze as the dust was settling all around.

The winner, as always, was Leo.

Yan was lying on the ground, and the two ghosts had already disappeared.

“You… you’re amazing. I can’t win.”

“You weren’t bad either.”

“If I go with you…, can I become stronger?”

“What… why not find that out yourself?”

After confirming that Yan had passed out, Leo immediately slumped to the ground. He really looked exhausted.

An action that was a signal to announce the end of the chapter. 

I took a step forward without wasting time.

“Huh?”

“Great job.”

Leo was wary as soon as he saw me.

“You…”

“No need to be so vigilant. Because I’ve tidied all your enemies up already.”

Leo’s eyes widened as he saw the Black Shadow executives kneeling behind me.

“What… it can’t be?”

Suddenly, the vigilance in the boy’s eyes was replaced by surprise.

“Thanks to you keeping their attention, I was able to easily tidy them up.”

“What the hell are you…?”

Kiriko and Siana, who’d rushed to Leo’s side, also asked in bewilderment.

“Who are you?”

“Are you our enemy? Or do you have another purpose?”

I enjoyed their questioning gazes to the fullest. Because this was the moment when my presence would soar.

In a while,

“We were enemies before, but today, we are allies.”

I turned around slowly. The Black Shadow executives had already fallen back.

Repeatedly sowing doubts would just anger the readers. But it wasn’t time yet.

With a smile as meaningful as possible, I retreated.

Leaving only the last word.

“You’ll soon find out.”

A while after I left the battlefield, a message arrived in the hologram window.

Tiling –.

I opened the message with a pounding heart.

[Chapter 10 – Black Shadow Assassins (1) has ended]

[The character evaluation of the Enigmatic Squatjaw has been updated]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness has increased by 3,500]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has decreased by 40]

[Received fan art from a reader]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 1]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 50%]

‘Oh, fan art? That’s great, right?’

[State]

• Name: Enigmatic Squatjaw
• Characteristics: Pretty strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive.
• Awareness: 11,759
• Author’s favourability: 42
• Reappearance probability: 50%

Tiling –.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[The Enigmatic Squatjaw is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 10,500p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points deducted 3,900p for the fall in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 1,000p for eliciting enthusiastic support (fan art) from a certain reader]

[Character points paid 500p for the rise in reappearance probability]

⁞

Now it was all over.

It was finally time. To get what I want.

[Currently held points: 32,373P].

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 25

Yan

Actually, what I was trying to do right now was not a very positive action for the manga itself. It was almost the opposite.

So far, I’d changed the plot crafted by the author several times, but all of them were for the sake of ‘complementing’. I didn’t just act to preserve my presence, I had proper justification to modify the plot development to make it flow in a better direction.

Moreover, the rationale had also been clear. I was already aware of the readers’ negative reactions about the original plot development, and I had in fact been among those readers who gave that feedback.

In other words, all my actions had been in the aim of improving the quality of the work itself.

But now was a little different.

Why?

Because there was no particular problem with how the plot was currently developing.

It was true that the chapters on the mafia side had been a bit sluggish in the original. After all, identical waves of those insignificant bastards had continued to appear and hog valuable screentime. 

But the Black Shadow side was different.

The enemies were clearly ranked in stages of difficulty, and the routes and methods of attack were different for each stage, so there were quite a few interesting scenes. Simultaneously, as Leo’s sense of crisis gradually heightened, the narrative tension also steadily rose.

In fact, unlike the mafia portion, the Black Shadow part never really offended the readers. On the contrary, it had calmed them down.

In other words, looking at the story, there was no need to touch it. Because it was already going quite well.

However.

“Yeah, not my problem.”

I was in a hurry.

Currently I held points worth 24,273p.

Although I got a lot of points from the rise in awareness, about 2,000p was probably deducted due to the decreased favourability.

In order to purchase [Mimic Acrobat], I needed about 6,000p more.

Currently, my character had already gained some significance, so it wasn’t that points were difficult to earn.

The problem was time.

The [Mimic Acrobat] chapter was slated to begin shortly after this Black Shadow chapter finished. The one or two chapters in between them had no place for me to earn points.

In other words, it meant that I had to earn the difference within this chapter.

Besides,

‘I need at least 10,000 points.’

I needed an additional 6,000 points, but I had to have more than that. Because it was clear that the author’s favourability would decrease once more with my intervention. Possibly by a huge amount.

Considering that, I had to earn at least 15,000 to have any room for leisure.

So, I, too, had no choice but to act like my future depended on it.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Once you’ve made up your mind, there’s no point in hesitating.

I went straight to the boy who was standing around in front of the ice-cream parlour.

“Hey.”

“…?”

“You aren’t going to go in?”

A look of embarrassment appeared in the boy’s eyes.

Seeing that, I dared to add another word.

“Yan.”

Then,

“Uh… a Black Shadow… member?”

The boy’s lips, which had been glued together, moved slightly.

“Yeah, so let’s talk while we eat. Come in.”

I went into the ice-cream shop first, and he followed me in soon after.

“What would you like?”

“Well…”

“What, can’t decide? Want to have the same as me?”

“Ah, no… Then just one… Papa-and-Daughter flavour^[1] …”

We went to our seats after ordering, and Yan started speaking again.

“Really, are you…? I don’t remember ever seeing your face…”

“Then how could I know your name? Your father has quite a few minions that you don’t know about. Well, once you rise to be the First Seat, you will know everything.”

“… Is that so.”

I looked at the boy, who was now silent.

Yan.

A boy with zero social capability, who had never left the assassination corps, except for only two nights out so far. A fifteen-year-old with a fiercely introverted personality, and yet a heart filled with the stormy gales of adolescence.

His nickname among the readers was nothing short of ‘pure cancer’^[2], because of how angry and suffocated they’d feel from annoyance and frustration every time this guy appeared.

He had a cute appearance, a 180-degree change in actual battle, and even a cheat unique ability. A character that had no shortcomings at first glance, and yet the readers’ reaction towards this guy was always cold.

The reason was simple. Because the character itself was that frustrating.

First of all, this guy couldn’t talk to people he didn’t know. Currently, the only people who could talk to him were the Black Shadow members, and the setting dictated that even with them it didn’t go smoothly. Even after joining Leo’s party, for a long time, he couldn’t communicate properly with anyone other than Leo.

Add to that his severe indecisiveness, shilly-shallying, lack of self-confidence, etc…

It was so incredibly bad that he couldn’t even enter an ice cream shop by himself. The very ice cream that he ate for the first time during his last night out, that he couldn’t forget the taste of, and had suffered from withdrawal for weeks.

If I hadn’t just spoken to him, he probably would’ve given up and turned back. Because that was how he usually behaved.

Of course, Yan’s timid personality was one of the essential clichés for a shounen manga. It was a kind of growth flag, to show that he could gradually change for the sake of his colleagues.

The author seemed to expect the readers to be enthusiastic about Yan’s change, but this was a mistake. Readers did not welcome Yan’s change. Because all the frustration he’d caused so far had already clogged up their throats.

In any case, he was a character who was difficult to work with.

However, there was a reason why I’d approached this guy so confidently.

Because I knew ‘how to use’ this guy, which Leo and his party would have found out after going through a very long and difficult process.

First steps first. Poking his pride.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yeah… but did Father really send you here?”

“Right.”

“… He didn’t have to.”

“Debatable. You couldn’t even buy an ice cream by yourself, after all.”

“I was going to buy it, I just hadn’t decided the flavour yet…”

“So you needed an hour to decide that?”

“It wasn’t a full hour…”

“If it takes an hour to choose an ice cream flavour, would it take you a year to plan an adventure? Are you going to skip the adventure assignments if you want to finish the successor’s education on time?”

“Well, that’s…”

The setting was that this guy was currently in the midst of taking succession classes. And ‘adventure’ was included in the syllabus.

I didn’t know why he had to carry out such a task to take over an assassin organization, but that’s how it was. It might just have been a convenient setting by the author to incorporate this guy into Leo’s party.

The second step was to encourage.

It was an important step. Because this guy could be pushed around extremely easily. It was this step that mostly separated the successful attempts from the failures.

“Anyway, do you know the current situation?”

“What do you mean, the situation?”

“Did you forget why you came here?”

“… Ah.”

“Don’t forget. You came here with an order for support.”

“But there was no specific emergency signal…”

“But that doesn’t mean you can play around here by yourself without even thinking about your mission.”

“…”

“How about making a visit yourself?”

“Me, moving first?”

“Did you not declare that you were going to prove your worth? At the last succession ceremony?”

“But… I haven’t gotten any specific request yet, so moving first in this situation…”

“Tsk, have some self-confidence. Why do you think the First Seat sent you alone to this place? It means you shouldn’t just listen to the people around you, but take care of things by yourself.”

“Ah…”

I saw it.

His ears just twitched.

“Besides, you didn’t even scope out the enemy even after coming all the way here, just because you didn’t get a signal to do anything? What if all the executives get defeated?”

“Come on, how could the executives…”

“Even if that doesn’t happen, wouldn’t they be more energetic if you are with them? If even the successor himself goes to support and encourage them?”

“Is that so…?”

Next, the third step, sprinkle a spoonful of curiosity.

“Besides, they seem to be adventurers.”

“Really, adventurers?”

“The leader is your age, even.”

“…”

“Aren’t you curious? What kind of guys are they? You seem to think that you are the strongest in your age bracket, but the world is wide.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think like that at all…”

“And don’t you know? They are enemies now, but who knows if you will meet again in the future. Perhaps today’s enemy might even become tomorrow’s comrades, going on an adventure together?”

“Oh, I hope that really happens…”

Now the fourth and last step, just tell him to do it.

“Alright, now move quickly. Before it’s too late.”

“But the ice cream is still…”

Even while saying that, Yan slowly got up from his seat. Suddenly, the boy’s eyes were emitting a strange light.

‘Done!’

The process sounded easy, but it wasn’t. If these steps were not followed properly, this guy would end up rejecting it with some weird excuse, like ‘Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen’ or ‘Well, I still need to get a signal…’. And once rejected, he’ll never overturn his decision. So all the readers were so frustrated that they wanted to die.

Only when these four steps were organically combined –

“Then do you know where they are now?”

Only then would this guy move.

---

The battle was continuing fiercely.

The mid-level assassins were all down, and even one or two of the executives were wounded and strewn around. There were still about five or six executives left.

Kiriko and Leo weren’t unharmed either. Both of them were bleeding all over, breathing heavily as if they were quite exhausted.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late. Now was the right time.

At a time when no one was conscious of us yet, I shouted with all my might.

“Everyone, stop! From now on, the successor…”

That was then –

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by preceding plot]

[Silence is enforced for 2 minutes as a cumulative penalty]

[The author’s favourability has decreased by 20]

[Character’s rank has decreased slightly]

And at the same time, my body began to be crushed under an intangible pressure.

‘He must be a little angry.’

But it was still fine. Because I’d been expecting even more severe penalties.

Even so, the reason I stopped at this level was probably because I was barely this side of the ‘line’.

The point I’d been most worried about while planning this operation was the restraint of the preceding plot. It was totally unavoidable.

So I’d looked for ways to reduce the penalty as much as possible, and the result was, ‘let’s not cross the line’.

The line was self-evident. Preservation of the story ending.

In other words, even if the development process changed, the ending did not change.

The original development was that a few days after the fight with the executives, Leo clashes with Yan without having completely recovered from his injuries.

However, my intended development was to omit the scene of the final fight with the executives, and instead put Yan directly in its place.

In order to achieve the same ending as the original with such a development, the timing of inserting Yan had to be calculated carefully. If Leo had not lost his strength to a certain extent, or if he had completely lost his strength, the result would not be the same as the original.

Anyway –

‘It’s already spilled milk…’

Things began to change rapidly.

I remained silent and looked around the battlefield.

Everyone was looking at me.

Leo’s party, as well the executives.

‘Now this can’t be stopped anymore.’

Besides, Yan, who was next to me, was also slowly stepping forward.

“Hey, it’s Yan!”

“How could the successor be here!”

“From now on, I will take over.”

Yan didn’t stutter. It could be seen that he was determined to fight.

Fortunately, the only times this character, Yan, received favourable reviews were the moments he entered battle. As if a switch had been flipped, cold reason took the place of fragile indecision.

Then,

“Tell me what’s happening here.”

The senior executive who I’d parted with at the Skeleton House, approached me.

His brows were furrowed, giving an impression of burning anger.

Seeing him like that naturally made me nervous. If that guy attacked me, I would have no choice but to stand and get hit.

‘Two minutes is a long time…’

Silence.

At first, I’d thought it was a minor penalty, but that wasn’t the case at all. Depending on the circumstances, this was a restriction that could put even my life at risk.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking me straightaway.

“Hey, tell me! Where did you get Yan from? Who the hell are you!?”

I tried to speak as much as I could, but it wasn’t easy.

So, I counted the seconds instead.

30, 29, 28…

“Hey, if you’re going to keep your mouth shut like that… I can’t help it either.”

18, 17, 16…

The guy pulled out the sword from his waist.

Sreung –.

“Actually, I wanted to shave that chin off a little from the first time I saw you. It’s too pointy.”

10, 9, 8…

“This is the last time, answer me. If you don’t, you’ll end up with that chubby chin in two pieces.”

4, 3, 2…

“Timeout.”

And just as his sword arced towards me,

Bump –.

“Whoa, let’s talk first.”

I managed to block his sword.

“So you weren’t mute after all.” 

“I was thinking about something else for a while.”

“Okay, explain.”

“If it’s an explanation… Hmm, that’s it. Shall we go somewhere quiet and talk, just the two of us?”

“A quiet place with just the two of us?”

I activated a power.

‘Activate. Mafia’s Secret Room.’

Then,

“Now… what? Something happened just now…”

A private space was created for me and him.

Looking at him, I smiled.

Thank you for coming to me yourself, saving me the trouble of finding you and getting you alone. From the beginning, my purpose was to get these executives out of the fight.

Of course, just bringing Yan and suddenly starting a new phase of battle wouldn’t raise my presence. It could only stimulate curiosity for a moment, but it wouldn’t elicit admiration from the readers.

To stand out, I had to do something worthy of it.

“Do you know what this is?” Saying that, I took out one of the rings that I had taken from ‘Seven Rings’.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 아빠는 딸바봉 (lit. daddy’s daughter) is a Baskin Robbins ice cream flavour in South Korea. A rather tame name compared to some of their other picks (My Mother is an Alien, for example).

[2] 암 유발자 (lit. cancer trigger), however 암 is also used, for example in 발암 (causing cancer/cancerous), to mean making you feel short of breath due to annoyance and frustration.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 24

What Does the Surviving Mid-Boss Do after Retreating?

What does a surviving mid-boss do after retreating?

Due to the nature of shounen manga, no matter how villainous they may be, there are very few cases where they’re totally killed off and disappear from the world. Usually, they get hit by the main character and fly away, or float away and drift off, to someplace far away.

So I remembered always being curious, after the battle was over, what’d happen to them?

Of course, I wasn’t in exactly the same situation right now, but there were similarities nonetheless.

1. Return to the main camp, and boast of your achievements to cover up the shortcomings.

“Just to protect the mafia, who knows how many assassins were sacrificed. Yet in the end, you only managed to give that little kid a cut on the cheek?”

“I’d clearly told you this beforehand. Those guys are just that strong. You were the ones who brought in people without much ability.”

“Hey, weren’t you the one being so confident? How come you’re now saying something like this?”

“Did I promise you I was going to fight to the death? You’d have liked that, I bet. And even if you’re telling me this now, looks like you already sent Haka to ask for replacements. Are you thinking the job’s a bit difficult after all?”

“That…”

2. If you want the conversation to flow smoothly, present an analysis of the opponent.

“Anyway, those guys are surprisingly strong. Even I almost died.”

“You looked quite relaxed fighting them to say that.”

“I was just pretending. I was afraid they’d chase me down.”

“Hmmm…”

“There are a few things I found out by going myself.”

“Oh, for example?”

“The girl doesn’t seem to have much of a fighting ability, so we can ignore her for now, and focus on the redhead and the tuft-haired boy.”

I outlined Leo and Kiriko’s abilities at a very basic level.

For example, Kiriko’s revolver emits magic bullets of several types, and Leo’s lightning is intense enough to paralyze instantly if you don’t wear insulated clothing.

“You should take note.”

“Yeah…”

Actually, those were things that didn’t really need to be spoken out loud, but the executive still nodded his head with a calm face.

“Oh, and it’d be best to separate the two if possible. The two of them coordinated quite well.”

“I was thinking along the same lines. Anyway, you don’t have to care about how we deal with them, sine we’ve now decided to handle it all ourselves. Originally, I was going to leave it up to the mafia, but like you said, that might be unreasonable.”

“You admitted it pretty quickly.”

“Now what are your plans? If you’re thinking of bringing in your gang anyway, you better forget about it. I might as well get you guys out of the way in that case.”

He looked at me warily.

“Nah. I’ve already gotten what I came for, after all.”

“What you came for?”

I’d already grabbed the aggro and gotten the chapter rewards.

Of course, I couldn’t actually say that out loud.

“Didn’t I protect the mafia? To some extent, at least.”

In fact, it was no exaggeration to say that the damage to the mafia was almost halved compared to the original. Since Leo and Kiriko brought out their unique abilities far too quickly, the second and third waves of mafiosi never even entered the stage. Even the executives, except for a tiny number, suffered no damage.

Of course, one never knew if they’d survive the character settlements after this long arc got over.

“Heh, I don’t know if your organization has any chance to profit. After we get rid of these bastards, we might come for you next.”

“Then please do your best. If you lose more power… we might be able to get our toys back very easily.”

Having said that, I turned my back.

Now all my work here was finished.

“Then work hard, Black Shadow. If I find any more helpful information, I’ll let you know.”

“No need. I don’t know if I’ll ever see your face again. Unless it’s as an enemy.”

“Fine. Tell Haka hello from me when he returns.”

“Adios^[1].”

3. Leave the main camp.

I slowly headed towards the front door, planning to leave the Skeleton House behind me.

Yes, this was probably the complete process that most ‘mid-bosses who survive after retreating’ went through. After this, there was no more reason for their existence, so they’d silently fade into the background.

However –

“… Let’s slowly start moving.”

I was different from them.

Didn’t I see it in the holographic transcript? There were many readers who were still looking forward to my future appearances and performance.

My next destination should not be the silent background, but rather the very beginning of another plot thread.

And my next step,

4. Turn double agent.

“Oh, I should bring a present.”

Instead of leaving after walking out of the front door, I turned around and headed for the warehouse next to the main building.

I’d wondered if someone else had found it, but luckily it was still left there.

“Good.”

I hurried out of the Skeleton House, carrying a large sack, that had been secretly hidden in a corner, on my shoulder.

---

A new chapter started after two days passed.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 10 – Black Shadow Assassins (1)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Enigmatic Squatjaw is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

‘It’s later than I thought.’

It was quite different from the original. In the original work, Black Shadow members appeared as soon as Leo defeated ‘Seven Rings’.

This was probably because the author was having a tough time correcting the plot development. Also, there must have been a reason why it took some time for the ‘new character’, whose appearance time was changed abruptly, to arrive here.

The name of the chapter was also changed. Originally, [The Destomb Mafia (2)] should have been the next in sequence, but that chapter was instead transferred to [Black Shadow Assassins (1)].

I felt a bit of remorse at this, not simply because the ‘(1)’ behind the ‘The Destomb Mafia’ made me uncomfortable. It was because of the thought that even the ‘(1)’ after ‘Black Shadow Assassins’ might end up the same way.

‘Well, he’ll figure it out somehow.’

Eventually, I found myself in front of a shabby building, with the sack I had brought from the Skeleton House still on my back.

[Sleep Like the Dead].

The reason I stopped in front of this impressively named inn was simple. Because this was the place where Leo and his party were staying currently.

Obviously, they didn’t lack for money. Wasn’t the Queen of Goldam City herself in the team? But oddly enough, Leo’s party always stayed in these kinds of places. Shabby, and you wouldn’t be surprised if something appeared in the middle of the night.

I didn’t know if it was intentional on the author’s part, to push the main cast into an environment conducive to getting involved in various situations, but either way, it wasn’t bad from the perspective of a guest who was sneaking in.

‘Should I go in soon?’

After looking around for a moment, I sneaked into the building.

In fact, if I’d just wanted to meet them, I could have done that long ago. I had asked Cocoa to find their place of residence as soon as the previous chapter had finished.

The reason I’d deliberately waited for the next chapter to start was to secure an appearance.

Naturally, the readers would have no choice but to panic. The guy who left them with so many suspicions last chapter, appeared immediately in the next one.

Yes, just like,

“You, you!?”

“Squatjaw!”

“… What is it?”

Just like these guys.

“Hey, it’s been a while.”

I smiled and waved my hand.

In fact, this was a greeting aimed at the readers rather than these guys. A gag of an introduction. If the author had any sense, he would definitely use this scene.

“How did you know about this place?”

“What is your identity?”

“Stand back!”

Hmmm.

I meekly followed their instructions. Chinuavi wasn’t here in this yard, so a fight would be really troublesome. I had to listen if I didn’t want to get blown away by a fist.

“How did you know we were here!?”

“Wait, are you really from the mafia? Or a secret agent like you said back then?”

“What’s in the sack? Put it down first.”

“I’m sorry, but could you please take turns?”

Soon afterwards,

“How did you find this place?”

Leo went first.

“I asked around. Once I described your appearances, it was easy.”

I answered vaguely. It wasn’t a particularly important question.

Then,

“Hmm, I see?”

Leo nodded like an idiot.

It was a reaction truly befitting the protagonist of a shounen manga. The thoughtless archetype.

“That doesn’t matter right now!”

Next came Kiriko.

“Who are you, really? What’re you planning?”

“I used to be in the mafia. And now I am your helper. Details are confidential.”

“Why would the mafia help us?”

“Because I’m not really in the mafia. It’s just one of my hidden identities.”

“Then, is that part still true? The secret agent?”

I deliberately did not answer. Because letting them wonder for themselves was the way to amplify the ‘secretive’ characteristic.

“But why are you helping us?”

“Someone is interested in you. His identity is a secret. Don’t try to figure it out. Even I don’t know much, so I’m working as requested.”

Of course, this was just me babbling. Still, I thought I should be able to get away with it.

And finally,

“Then how are you going to help us?”

It was as expected. No doubts, no worries at all.

In fact, it’d be hard to find people as insensitive as these even if you combed through the entire manga. Actually, that’s what being a main character is all about. Can you call it being so blessed that you can achieve everything in the end even after being so careless? Of course, other people don’t get the benefit of such plot armour.

“I’ll tell you who are trying to attack you and how they plan to do that. These are things that I learned by taking some risks.”

“Those who’re going to attack us? That’s… that’s the mafia.”

“It’s not just them. More dangerous guys are looking for you.”

That was then –

“Wait. Before that, please explain about the sack you are holding.”

The right person asked just at the right time. I was having a bit of a hard time holding on to it.

“Ah, this? It’s a gift. For the Queen.”

I immediately opened the sack and showed the contents inside.

Soon afterwards,

“Ugh!”

“What, what? A man!”

There were some good responses.

In addition,

“El Viego!”

Siana finished the trifecta.

“This is the guy, right? That you wanted to meet.”

“How did you know that…”

“I’ve known about you and this guy since you were at the Goldam Casino. Don’t ask how I found out, because it’s a secret. Anyway, you can tell from how I arrested a mafia executive, right? I’m not on their side. Rather, I’m somebody who can help you. You may be sceptical, but try believing in me first. You’ve got nothing to lose anyway, right?”

Next, I told them about the existence of the Black Shadow and its members.

The assassins who were divided into low, intermediate, and advanced ranks, with the highest being the leader and the core of the organization.

“There were low-ranked assassins mixed among the mafia. Did you notice?”

“You saying they were just low-ranked?”

“Yeah, so you’re right to be nervous. From the intermediate level, it’s even more scary.”

I also told them how the Black Shadow might attack.

They might pretend to be ordinary people and ambush them, use poison, or even attack while hidden beneath the ground.

“It might be a long fight. Prepare well.”

“Hey, just with those guys?”

“Let them come. They won’t be leaving.”

Again, like main characters, there was no sign of fear.

Good and spirited.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“Something more?”

“It’s the most important part, so listen. There’s a monster among them. Leo, he’s about the same age as you, but he’s a very scary guy. You have to watch out for him.”

“… A monster?”

“Who is it?”

“Don’t ask any more. Because I don’t know either.”

I could only talk to far. I didn’t know what kind of penalty the author would impose if I gave even more spoilers than this.

“That’s all for today. Don’t forget what I told you.”

Then, after watching Siana kick El Viego around for a bit, I hurried out of there.

Because I still had work to do.

---

Two days later.

[Ice-Cream Shop Where Two Ate While the Third Died].

I stared at the ice-cream shop in front of me.

To be more precise, I was staring at a short kid who had been standing in front of it for the last 30 minutes.

Yan.

The official successor of the Black Shadow, and number one in the ranks of its armed forces.

The boy who would become Leo’s fourth companion.

Of course, he wasn’t going to go duel with Leo right now.

Yan was the final boss of this long arc, due to appear only after all the executives of Black Shadow were defeated by Leo and Kiriko.

It’d only been two days since the new chapter had started. 

Considering that the battle with the intermediate assassins had just begun, his appearance was still a long way off.

Yes, as per the original development.

But I had no intention of leaving it as it stood.

The reason was simple. Because the current development left no place for me to intervene at all.

The fight against the Black Shadow was intricately divided into stages.

After the low, intermediate, and advanced assassins, meet the final boss. It was a very orderly development, comfortable and familiar to both readers and authors.

However, it left absolutely no room for my three-people team to intervene.

I had to derail it at any cost, if I had to have any chance of earning points from this chapter. 

My plan was simple.

Have this guy join the fight right now.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] The phrase being used is 멀리 나가지 않겠다 (lit. not going far) which seems to be a modern Korean way of saying goodbye, in a negative/harsh way. Adios can have similar connotations for some, like saying it to a stranger you don’t expect to meet again.

Don’t forget to like, comment, and rate on NovelUpdates!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 23

This Shit Ain’t Over Yet

A strategy to link the mafia with the Black Shadow, turning them into more of a challenge for Leo and the rest.

The recipe for that was quite simple.

1. Prepare eight mafiosi.

2. Add two Black Shadow members, clad in mafia outfit.

3. Mix and stir well.

4. Attack!

In fact, there was no elaborate strategy to speak of.

There was no need to matchmake the participants, and there was no need for them to be trained together.

The mafiosi were just cover to hide the daggers of the skilled assassins.

This was the reason why I gave the mafiosi knives instead of guns. Because the cover wouldn’t be anywhere as good if they kept their distance and shot from afar.

The skill gap was far too large for the mafiosi to successfully attack Leo’s party anyway. That wouldn’t change whether they used knives or guns.

In other words –

“Make some noise! Never stop moving, and keep pushing them!”

This chapter was about the mafia, but the mafiosi were just a smoke screen, and the core of the attack was the group of assassins.

The Black Shadow executive said I was pampering the mafia too much, but it was the opposite. Because I just thought of them as meat shields.

And this strategy was wildly successful.

Just looking at the scene unfolding right in front of my eyes –

“Waaaaagh!”

“Kill them!”

“These little bastards!”

Leo and Kiriko could not blow away the mafiosi at once despite being dogpiled from all directions. Because every time they tried some big move, a hidden dagger would fly in.

In fact, Kiriko who was being wary of the assassins had already allowed a mafioso’s blow to land several times, and Leo had even gotten his cheek scratched trying to block a dagger meant for Siana.

‘We’re seeing blood already… that’s pretty good for Black Shadow.’

It wasn’t as if Siana couldn’t carry her own weight, but she still didn’t know how to protect herself. Until she developed her unique abilities and became a full-fledged fighter, she was just a burden.

And so –

“Ouch!”

“Are, are you okay? Blood, Mister Kiriko, there’s blood…”

“I’m alright, so just stay behind me or Leo.”

Such climactic ‘scenes of crisis’ were bound to appear several times.

To be honest, I wondered why the author hadn’t used this method in the original.

Because this was a way to make the attack of the Black Shadow members even more intimidating, and at the same time created a much more colourful scene.

And sometimes –

“They’re annoying. Those guys hiding in the back.”

“They must be the core of the mafia.”

There were even lines that made me grin.

The author and I knew that there were assassins mixed in among the mafia, but Leo and the readers did not.

In other words, the Black Shadow assassins would also be treated as mafia until the scheme was revealed.

Making my status, the dark secret hiding behind the mafia, higher and more impactful.

‘Hmm, it’d have been better if I could get some intermediate-ranked assassins.’

I knew I was being greedy, but it was still a bit disappointing. Otherwise the mafia chapter could have become significant enough to rival even the Black Shadow chapter.

That was then –

“You guys be careful. Because I’m really mad now.”

Click –.

Kiriko suddenly pulled out a revolver from his waist.

And on top of that –

Crackle –.

Sparks of electricity began to emanate from Leo’s body as well.

‘Oh, already? Isn’t this too fast?’

This was an unexpected development.

The emergence of a unique ability meant that a new phase of battle was about to begin. Even though the first chapter of the mafia arc hadn’t even finished yet.

Originally, they would use their unique abilities around the beginning of the last chapter of the mafia arc, [The Destomb Mafia (3)]. A chapter about Leo and his party catching the ‘Seven Rings’, the final dark secret behind the mafia.

Looked like this happened because of me taking on the role that ‘Seven Rings’ was meant to play, but to be honest, I was feeling a bit embarrassed right now.

This meant that as many as three chapters were being consolidated and completed in one go.

Developing faster would be a good flow for the readers, sure, but it would be quite burdensome for the author. Wouldn’t the plot progression become unstable?

‘… No, that’s not my problem.’

I decided to focus on the immediate situation.

Anyway, since this was happening, the current flow was meaningless. No matter how much cover the mafia had laid out, those low-level assassins didn’t have the ability to compete with Leo and Kiriko, who had activated their unique abilities, on even ground.

If I didn’t get to work right away –

“Ahhh!”

“Oh, I can’t see anything!”

“R-, run away!”

Yeah, everyone was going to be annihilated.

I quickly diagnosed the current situation.

The outcome of the rapid development was no different. The ending was also being rushed.

Presumably, the chapter would end as soon as this fight was over.

Then, the mafia’s turn would be over, and the leading role would be completely handed over to the Black Shadow.

So, there was only one conclusion that could be drawn.

The character evaluation settlement that I had expected across three chapters, had to be completed in one shot.

In other words, the number of points I could sweep in had decreased drastically.

Of course, as long as I didn’t get run over by these guys right here, I could still appear in the future.

However, there would be no more chapters with me as the main role.

Slowly, a sense of urgency creeped in.

I had to show something special to get more points. Because I still hadn’t given anything to the readers other than ‘doubts and questions’.

At this rate, I might end up following the trail blazed by Haka in the original. The questions would remain, but I would become a character that nobody really wanted to see more of.

I had to properly decorate the end of this chapter, at least. Something gorgeous and impressive. In a way that the ‘doubts’ about my character could be transformed into ‘curiosity’ and ‘interest’, even ‘charm’.

“… It’s earlier than expected, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Of course, I had already prepared something for this.

I just didn’t know if it would go well.

As soon as I made up my mind, I immediately called out to the mafioso waiting behind me. A very ugly-looking guy.

“Come here.”

And then,

“Yes, Senior.”

The boy approached quietly with his head bowed.

It was Chinuavi, who had transformed into a mafioso.

“Remember what I said?”

“I do remember, but this seems a bit different from what you said.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that these guys would even show their unique abilities here. Can you stop them?”

“Well. To be honest, I failed the Brawler Goblin Test 20 times in the past.”

“No, no. Just stop them once.”

“I can’t guarantee about the gunslinger. But the lightning user might work, if it’s just once…”

“Once is enough. The important part is that you have to block it lightly. Looking relaxed. As cool as possible, like you’re showing off, as if someone outside is watching. Got it?”

“I’ll try my best, but please understand that I’m not used to such behaviour. I avoid rash actions and am always polite…”

I knocked him on the forehead.

Tap!

“Ouch!”

“You’re chattering a lot. Trying to pretend you aren’t already excited? Goblin, who loves roleplay.”

“… Senior. How did you… you’re like a spirit.”

“Okay, you can transform as soon as I drink the potion. Have you erased your presence?”

“Yeah, probably no one here is conscious of me. Unless there’s someone with eyes as good as the little lady.”

“Even if there were, no need to worry about it. It’s so crowded here.”

“By the way, do you still remember the details of our transaction? If I can make it happen, you have to tell me a secret…”

“Yeah, so focus. Start right away. The mafiosi will all be annihilated soon.”

Then I immediately drank the invisibility potion I had prepared.

And as my image gradually faded, Chinuavi transformed into me.

I immediately screamed out loud.

“Get out of the way, everyone! I’ll deal with these guys!”

And then,

“Do it.”

I whispered in Chinuavi’s ear, and quickly scarpered.

---

“What?”

Leo lowered the mafioso he was holding by the neck and looked ahead.

Squatjaw, who he hadn’t seen for a while, was coming forward.

The mafiosi were retreating fast like the low tide, but there was no time to worry about that. Because the enemy’s captain had jumped out in front of him.

A carefree face that had no trace of tension.

Squatjaw looked relaxed, as if he was out for a walk.

Leo also took a step forward, towards him.

He had a lot of questions.

So,

“You…”

Just when he was about to ask a question –

“Huhu, nice to meet you.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm… wait a minute. What was it again?”

Squatjaw started saying some strange words.

“Oh, right. I want you to stop fighting.”

“… What?”

“How about stopping here?”

“…”

It wasn’t funny.

Leo groaned.

“It was your side who attacked first! The moment we entered the city!”

“Oh, did we? Anyway, that’s good. We were the ones to start, so you be the ones to stop. What do you think?”

Leo snorted.

“Once we stop, won’t you fix yourselves up and come back again? Do I look stupid?”

“No, you’re wrong. We the mafia will no longer attack you. We would be the ones to suffer more if we do. Because you guys are strong.”

“Hmmmm, thank you… No, no, wait.”

Leo shook his head and voiced his doubts.

“By the way, who are you really? I thought you were a good guy, but suddenly you came with the mafia. Kiriko says you are some kind of agent? And your tone suddenly became strange.”

Then,

“Tone? Ah… Ahhh! That’s right. My mistake. Ummm… well, let’s just skip all that.”

Squatjaw was once again showing a strange reaction.

Either way, he was a suspicious guy.

“Anyway, I can’t let it go. I haven’t beaten even half of you guys yet. If I don’t subdue you all here, won’t you attack us again?”

“Oh, no, no. I’m telling you, the mafia won’t attack you from now on.”

“I can’t believe you. I should grab you too, actually.”

Immediately, Leo emitted lightning.

“Be careful. This could burn you into a crisp.”

“Really, this guy. Can’t you understand people when they talk?”

Leo rushed forward. Without a shred of doubt that his fist would hit his opponent’s face and blow him away in an instant.

But at that moment –

Bump –.

His fist was stopped with one hand, in his opponent’s grasp.

“… Huh?”

The lightning sparks on his fist were gone like they’d never been.

Oddly enough, his hand felt like rubber.

“What… how?”

“How rash. Why would you come this close to your opponent without even knowing his abilities?”

And then –

Thu-ud.

“Khk…”

He got hit by a fist and flew away.

But,

‘No power…?’

There wasn’t any damage. Almost as if he’d been pushed, instead of struck.

When he looked up in amazement, he saw the guy winking slightly.

Leo fell into confusion for a moment.

‘What is that guy…?’

At that moment,

“Okay, so let’s all stop here for today. Again, the mafia will no longer attack you. So please go get some rest.”

The guy took a step back and said so.

‘… Really?’

It didn’t seem like he was lying. It was a simple feeling, but his eyes had been strangely clear from up close.

But then –

“Yeah, but don’t relax too much. Because this shit ain’t over yet. You’ve got something even bigger waiting ahead of you. Look forward to it! Hahaha!”

Surprisingly, the guy looked into the air and shouted. As if something invisible was gazing at him. It was terribly creepy.

Who was he… really?

---

“It’s completely ruined.”

It’d been a mistake to trust that stupid goblin.

Well, there was no other way.

If I had my unique ability, I would have taken care of the situation myself, but it would be unreasonable right now. Even if I used all of the special potions I had right now, there was nothing that could properly stand up to [Lightning that Destroys Calamities], and even if there had been, it would not have had the desired impact to make the readers enthusiastic.

So, I had thought of Chinuavi.

As a race that appeared in the mid-to-late parts of the original, the goblins were pretty cheatlike when it came to basic stats.

They not only had unique abilities, but also many other abilities as their hidden characteristics, one of which was transformation. Of course, it couldn’t imitate abilities like [Mimic Acrobat], but at least it could imitate the appearance.

In addition, the goblins also possessed a number of skills that, in the right occasion, could pack quite a surprise. For example, the ‘five elements wine’, that could make a tree rise abruptly from the ground with just a splash.

Such a talented guy would pretend to be me and show a wonderful and amazing performance. That had been my original plan.

I hadn’t really thought about the aftermath. Even so, although the author would know anyway, the readers wouldn’t. Same way they wouldn’t notice the Black Shadow hidden inside the mafia.

And most of all, because the situation had been urgent.

‘…’

It’d been hard to stay quiet watching the whole process.

Instead of being cool, it was close to ‘retarded’ – in the bad meaning.

Even when his way of speaking was pointed out, he didn’t try to use any skill to make up for it, and then finished it all off by looking at the air like a theatre actor monologuing to the audience…

If there were any parts that could be praised, it was that he could block Leo’s fist with plenty of leisure.

But honestly, I couldn’t help but regret it. The original scene I’d drawn in my mind wasn’t anything like this.

And just in time,

Tiling –.

The report card arrived.

[Chapter 9 – ‘The Destomb Mafia (1)’ has ended]

[The character evaluation of the Enigmatic Squatjaw has been updated]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 6,759]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has decreased by 20]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 60%]

[State]

• Name: Enigmatic Squatjaw
• Characteristics: Strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive.
• Awareness: 8,259
• Author’s favourability: 81
• Reappearance probability: 60%

‘Ho-oh…’

It was a pretty interesting result.

First of all, the popularity rose significantly more than I’d imagined. It seemed that the readers considered Chinuavi’s behaviour cuter than I’d have expected. Or was it just that their curiosity about my existence shot through the roof?

The more interesting part was at the author’s end.

I caught the author’s attention. However, the favourability decreased instead.

He was expressing his resentment towards me for accelerating the plot and drastically shortening the arc length.

‘Even the bigshot author can be this cute.’

It sounded like a warning not to be too reckless, but there was nothing concrete that he could do. Because this was the best result for me.

“Anyway, that’s a big deal…”

I scratched my head.

It wasn’t all over yet.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 22

We’re Enemies for Today

“What’s the game we’re betting on?”

“Do you have any preferences?”

“Doesn’t matter. Go with whatever you feel comfortable with.”

Chinuavi spoke like he was doing me a favour, but I didn’t trust that.

Choosing the stock is also a part of betting. And for a goblin obsessed with winning, there’s no such thing as fair play. It was clear that he would try to come up with some excuse to change the game if the odds turned against him.

“What game are you most confident about?”

“Anything’s fine. Physical, mental, puzzles… Are you worried?”

“Then, shall we have a simple quiz?”

“A quiz… You mean riddles?”

“It’s similar. It’s much simpler than that, though. It’s just like a battle of knowledge. We take turns asking each other a question, and the one who can’t answer first loses.”

“Sounds great. Of course, it has to be a question that can actually be answered, right? For example, asking about the personal details of a stranger no one knows…”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then that’s fine.”

Chinuavi smiled and clapped his hands.

“Who’ll answer first?”

“Why don’t you go first?”

“Um, no, no. We should start with you, because you proposed the game.”

“Well, alright, if that’s what you feel is best.”

The tension in the room gradually rose.

I could of course go first. No one knew more about this world than me right now. In terms of knowledge alone, I was confident I knew more than this young goblin.

However, if this guy made up his mind to raise a stink, it would be a different story. Some questions just cannot be answered because there’s no known answer. So I had to do it fast.

“Then, the first question. What am I?”

“… Huh?”

“Are you sure you don’t know? I made it easy on purpose.”

Hmmm.

I quickly understood the thought process of this clever bastard.

This guy didn’t even entertain the notion that he might lose the bet. So, wasn’t this a plot to ask questions about me during the game and letting me solve them, and then get something extra as a bonus reward for winning?

“Goblin.”

Well, I sure was lucky.

“… Really. You knew. I don’t know how a Westlander, who’s not even from the Eastland, could know this.”

“You can just ask me in the next round and find out. Of course, you have to solve my problem first.”

“Hehe, let’s hear it then.”

Even though he knew that I knew his plan, his smile didn’t change.

‘Hey, aren’t you a bit too confident?’

In fact, there are two reasons why it’s difficult to win against goblins when it comes to riddles or problem solving.

First. Because all goblins are basically born with the innate racial ability of a ‘decipherer’.

And the setting is that their deciphering ability is incomparable to ordinary adventurers, so much so that even the ‘Seven Kings’ party at the end of the story had one goblin.

In addition, there are traps and problems in the ‘Tower of Adventure’ that can never be solved by anybody other than a goblin, and Leo and his had to party borrow the power of a goblin outsider several times to pass through them.

This Chinuavi was the one who helped Leo’s party at that time.

Secondly. Even if they can’t solve a problem, doesn’t mean they can’t have it be solved.

Basically, the riddles that goblins enjoy cannot be solved simply with knowledge. Rather, similar to the game of ‘three worldly qualities’, they can come up with a nonsense answer by way of their wit, resourcefulness, shallow trickery and even wordplay. Just because you have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience doesn’t mean they’ll let you win.

By doing this repeatedly, the goblins have developed quite an absurd habit. Even if their answer is not correct, they will cling to the notion that it is.

For example, if you ask a goblin why the moon changes its shape from new moon, to half and then full moon –

“Because the dreams of those who see it change its brilliance and size over time.”

He will give you this answer.

Even if you rebut with the actual scientific explanation, it’s no use. Because he’ll insist that his answer is also right.

Because of this, internal competitions between goblins can last for over a month.

But of course, that depends on the class of the problem.

‘Hoo boy, don’t let me down.’

I only had one winning card.

“I was going to play with you a bit, but since you’re doing this, I won’t. Trying to uncover my secrets? Prepare yourself.”

“Hey, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Don’t worry too much about not being able to solve it. You’re not alone in that.”

In fact, there was only one person in this world who could one day answer this question, if you left out those who’d already disappeared into the pages of history.

The future Leo.

“A Tower of Adventure hidden in the Midland. What is the king’s mark that lies at the top?”

I gave a satisfying gut punch to the guy who’d never dropped that relaxed smile from his face.

Soon after –

“…”

The smile on the young goblin’s face disappeared.

Actually, I was not the one who came up with this problem. This was a problem that Siana would later find out with the help of the [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] while competing with the goblins.

At first glance, this question was related to an ‘adventurer’s dream’ and could be answered by trickery or using the shared knowledge pool of the goblins, but in reality, that was not allowed.

Because of the manga setting that ‘no one except the Adventure King’ knows the answer to this problem.

In other words, this was something that only the already gone ‘Adventure King of the previous generation’ could answer, and not even the goblins could answer this problem. The previous Adventure King hadn’t been a goblin, after all.

I smiled to the young goblin who had lost his own smile.

“Now then, is it my turn to state my request?”

However, there was no response from Chinuavi. The boy just sat there, dazed and in silence.

I didn’t even bother to cheer him up. Because I knew how heartbroken a goblin who lost a bet could be.

After a while –

“… Senior. Tell me what you need.”

Chinuavi bowed his head.

The use of the word ‘senior’ meant that he accepted me as one to be revered. That he’d sincerely admitted defeat.

… Done!

I even felt like dancing a little jig of joy.

However –

“Hmmmm.”

An adult shouldn’t rejoice openly in front of the defeated. I conveyed my request as calmly as I could.

“It’s nothing special, just accompany me for a while.”

“What do you mean by accompany…?”

“Literally. Let’s work together.”

“How long… for how long?”

“Why do you keep poking around? You’ll understand everything when the time comes. Although, that’ll take a while.”

“… All right.”

Of course, it could take a very long time.

---

I was about to leave the room, telling the two of them to have a good time. 

But Cocoa, who’d slowly followed me out, grabbed the hem of my clothes.

Then –

“Huh? What?”

“Squatjaw.”

“What? Why?”

“Suddenly, your face started telling many more stories.”

She said suddenly.

“… What? My face?”

“Yeah. You look full of worries. Did a lot of new circumstances suddenly crop up?”

“Uh… maybe it looks worse just because I’m tired?”

“Of course, you do look a bit uglier than usual. But that’s not the only thing, right?”

“Is that so?”

To be honest, I was terribly perplexed for a moment.

It was clear what Cocoa felt. That the new backgrounds had been overlaid on me.

And this was completely unexpected. Could they eye of a guide see through even that?

But I immediately denied it.

‘… Usually, you wouldn’t be able to see.’

I glanced at Cocoa.

It should’ve been impossible for any other guide. It was something I’d felt since she actually found Chinuavi, but really, this kid’s character setting seemed to have a much greater ability than one would expect.

Cocoa continued speaking with an indifferent expression.

“Anything else you want me to do?”

“Ah?”

“Isn’t there anything else you need me to do?”

It was really unusual. This kid, who grumbled and grouched whenever I asked her anything.

“What are you talking about? It doesn’t suit you.”

“Because I was worried about Squatjaw. Tell me if you need something.”

“What is this… Are you going to solve my problems now?”

“Since Squatjaw saved me, I have to help Squatjaw.”

Then, suddenly, she pulled out the Pierrot mask from her leather bag.

“Let me know if you need help. The one wearing this mask has never known failure.”

“…”

I stared blankly at Cocoa as she went back to the room.

Somehow, I flinched inside for a moment. My thoughts were a little jumbled.

To be honest, I’d never paid much attention to the people of this world. Except for the ones I’d loved since the days of reading the original, I didn’t even pay attention to most of the rest. Because they were not real. Because they were just characters. After all, they were fictional, made-up beings.

The same was true for Cocoa.

She was just a manga character. Wasn’t she just a background character who never even appeared in the original? I’d just thought that we had a temporary relationship, that we would only be together for a while, and there would be nothing after that.

But… that wasn’t the case. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“That kid… she says all sorts of weird things.”

For a moment, it felt as if something had changed inside of me.

---

Skeleton House, Boss Room.

The original owner was nowhere to be found, and there were a total of three people occupying this place.

Me, Haka, and another.

“I came to provide support at Haka’s request, but I didn’t know that an unknown guy had gotten involved.”

This guy was one of the Black Shadow executives, name unknown.

In other words, a nameless bastard was glaring at me right now.

“You can’t know everything in the world.”

“An uncertain ally is more dangerous than a sure enemy. I want you to reveal your identity.”

Not only that, for some time now, he’d been pecking at me, asking for my identity.

I didn’t know what kind of information he’d gotten from Haka, but he had some ability – at least, in irritating people. So much so that my hands were throbbing a bit from being clenched all the time.

“The mafia turns a huge profit, so why would you think that your organization is the only one interested in these guys? Didn’t you approach them about a year or so ago? I’m sorry, but it was originally our toy. You guys just came nibbling while we were distracted with some other problems for a while.”

“… Then you are our enemy.”

“Maybe later, but not right now. Why did I have to run to the enemy camp like this? Because the goose that lays the golden eggs is at death’s door due to your negligence. Why else do you think I’m here?”

“How could the mafia be annihilated by those little bastards?”

“You should’ve already heard from Haka. Those guys are strong. Well, I don’t think you’ve still understood properly.”

Despite Haka’s request for assistance, at best less than half their troops were dispatched from the Black Shadow headquarters. And he was the sole executive accompanying them.

This was not because Haka had a small influence in the organization, but rather because of the sanctions of the preceding plot.

In fact, no matter how much Haka requested, it was not ‘plausible’ that the entirety of the Black Shadow would move in without even having fought a single, proper battle first. Moreover, the mafia were still all here.

In fact, even in the original story, the key Black Shadow executives only came out after all the low-ranking assassins had fallen. Even ‘that guy’, who was ranked number one in their armed forces, appeared only after all the executives themselves had fallen.

In other words, it meant that I had to face Leo and the rest with only the combined troops of the mafia and the low-ranking assassins that had arrived.

“You’re pampering the mafia like they’re your own kids. Fine. Let’s just sort it out together. I was just going to watch, but I’ll get my hands dirty.”

That’s worse. If you do, it would immediately lead to an all-out power battle between Leo’s team and the Black Shadow, and mine and the mafia’s role would be completely overshadowed.

“Okay. Haven’t you heard my proposed strategy from Haka? Just do that. If you use the mafia, it’ll be a good stage for you to show off your skills.”

“I heard. But how do I know I can trust you? What if you’re secretly in league with that Leo kid? Won’t our side be in trouble then?”

I grinned in response.

“If you’re that worried, watch from behind. I’ll be in the front.”

Actually, this was something I’d been thinking about from the beginning.

Leading the mafia group and standing in front of Leo.

The reason was quite obvious. Because I need to let the readers know that I was the behind-the-scenes boss that controlled the mafia. That way it would surely attract the readers’ attention.

Of course, I’d already secured a few points. The process of subduing ‘Seven Rings’ was bound to have had attracted the author’s attention already. Presumably, my reappearance probability would now be close to 100%.

But that didn’t stop me from grabbing even more awareness. The points I’d get from that would be pretty nice, too. It would be risky, but it was well worth taking the gamble.

Just in time –

“Ohh, there they are! Entering the city!”

There was a report announcing the arrival of Leo’s party.

I turned to the others.

“Then let’s go.”

---

The three of them recognized me at first sight.

“What? You? Squatjaw?”

“Interesting. How could you know we’d be here? Are you really that… like you told me back then… a secret agent?”

“It’s nice to see you again…but you’ve got a lot more friends with you now compared to the casino? Were you… a member of the mafia?”

Moreover, their reactions were very appropriate.

Remembering me, and expressing surprise at the same time.

I greeted with a smile at my end.

“Hi there.”

“Could you explain this situation?”

Then, to Siana who had asked, I gave a cryptic answer.

“Well… we’re enemies for today.”

Alright –

“Today?”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“You mean you’re going to attack us?”

The expected reactions properly came out once again.

All right, this was it.

I didn’t know what kind of restrictions the author would shoot at me if I left this strange scene as is. His plot development was already messed up.

So, from now on, I had to direct the situation like the author wanted.

I winked at Leo and his party, and at the same time, signalled to the mafiosi standing at my back.

“These three. Get rid of them.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

To the readers. Being a side project, this has suffered from some lack of attention in the past. This is unavoidable for a hobby project, but from this year, we’ll try to release at least one, or if possible two, chapters a week from now on, if real life allows. If you like this project, please don’t forget to like and comment! Also, please rate on NovelUpdates.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 21

Chinuavi

As I was enjoying a quiet moment inside the boss room of the Skeleton House –

It was as if time had suddenly slowed down, and the world became quiet.

And afterwards,

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 9 – The Destomb Mafia (1)]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Enigmatic Squatjaw is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

Finally, a new chapter had started. 

I took a sip of coffee and stared at the message on the hologram window.

Although the chapter had started, Leo and his party were not yet in the city. The chapter begins with a scene on the road leading to the city.

It’s the start of a long arc, but there’s nothing special about the scene. Leo’s party face off some mafiosi who are members of ‘Death~’^[1], one of Destomb’s many mafia organizations. Naturally, from that point onwards Leo and his party come under the notice of the mafia. And so, the story unfolds.

From there, it’s a very simple series of events.

One organization attacks Leo’s group. As soon as it’s dismantled, news spreads to the next organization, who now take over and continue attacking. Once they are destroyed, the news reaches the Mafia Coalition. Then the coalition’s frontline combatants attack. Once they’re demolished…

Until the Black Shadow picks up the baton, it’s just repetitive, piecemeal dismantling of the entire Mafia Coalition.

Moreover, the chapters aren’t clearly divided either, so it’s difficult to even know where Chapter 9 ends and Chapter 10 starts. It’s like a single level to go through both chapters.

This is why I’m treating this storyline as one single arc.

“… If you ask why I say it’s not any fun –”

The reason why the storyline that could have been plenty exciting actually passed by without the slightest bit of tension, is very simple.

Because the mafia is weak.

They have nothing to show off other than some ‘one-off extras’.

If they had been enemies with enough capability to instil tension in Leo and the rest, I would have remembered a different impression of them. Because the mafia had enough potential to be great plot material beyond just being a stepping stone to reach the Black Shadow.

And so, that was my goal for this chapter.

Elevating the mafia to become more interesting and valuable enemies for the protagonist and his party. In turn, that would lead to a rise in my value as the Black Curtain, the dark secret hiding behind the mafia.

My top priority for achieving this was, naturally, the conservation of our strength. However low the ability of an extra, even they can be strong in numbers. In addition, to realize my strategy, I needed as many mafioso as possible.

To summarize, we had to avoid meaninglessly spending our strength by randomly attacking Leo and his party.

The problem was –

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by preceding plot]

[Silence is enforced for 30 seconds as a cumulative penalty]

I couldn’t just move around the mafia at will.

In fact, the first thing I tried was to call in the mafia organization slated to first encounter Leo and the team.

Because it would be much more effective and intimidating to surround them in force after they entered the city, instead of a meaningless skirmish even before they came in.

But a warning message flew in immediately.

There was nothing I could do unless I at least tried to satisfy the plotline already laid down in advance and the author’s intended plans.

“Hmmm…”

Well, that didn’t mean I was all out of moves.

I looked back at the ‘Seven Rings’ standing next to me.

“Are you ready?”

“Sir, everything you ordered …”

“Let me confirm one last time. We aren’t going out to fight, instead we have to avoid conflict as much as possible. Because our purpose is just to throw a lure.”

“Yes, yes.”

This ‘Seven Rings’ guy was quite a diligent student, to say the least. Even though I hadn’t had much time to educate (?) him, he’d already become an obedient kid. Given a month or two, he might be ready to die with just one word from me?

It was just last night that I brought him back to the Skeleton House, and put the ring back on the fat boss.

“And you’ve told the fat guy to gather all the organizations in the coalition here today?” 

“Yes.”

It was hard to say if the purpose of this chapter was to show the fighting prowess of Leo and his party. Were that the case, the mafia would’ve been set with higher stats from the start, or at least the plot wouldn’t have called for them to make those separate, small attacks.

In my opinion, all of this was just to heat up the atmosphere before the coming grand battle. It’s just that a rather high number of extras was spent to do that.

In other words, the ‘tension’ mattered more than the ‘battle’.

As long as the sense of tension remained high, it didn’t matter if the contents differed a bit here and there.

So, the order I gave to the mafia was to ‘observe’.

Show up, but don’t take action.

Observe, but don’t collide.

Of course, I had no idea if my order would be obeyed in full. If the author was dead set on pushing his own plot, my orders notwithstanding, there would be a fight.

However, as long as he realized that my intended development wasn’t that different from the one he’d originally envisioned, and the effect wasn’t bad either, the writer shouldn’t impose any special restrictions on my strategy.

‘The author isn’t some stupid kid…’

And it was much better for the author if I could make the mafia put on a strong front. Because of the terrible evaluation the readers originally had of this chapter.

From what I remembered, the author got horribly insulted by the readers, saying he’d just added some meaningless filler, until the focus of the narrative finally changed to the Black Shadow.

To be honest, I wanted to holler to the sky until he heard me. I’m going to pump the story full of excitement, so just listen to me.

Then,

“Did the atmosphere change suddenly?”

Haka, who had been watching me from a corner, spoke quietly.

“Did you notice?”

“All of a sudden, you looked into the air and started muttering to yourself, and then you immediately reconfirmed the orders. You can’t miss all that as long as your eyes still work.”

This guy… he’d been pretending to be indifferent, all the while peeping and staring at me in secret.

Hmmmm.

I had to stop habitually staring at the hologram.

“I think they’ll arrive soon. Those guys.”

“How do you know? Was there a report?”

“Maybe just a feeling?”

“…”

“Something like that. Rather, are they coming?”

After forming our temporary alliance, I’d only made a single request of Haka.

To call in the Black Shadow Squad^[2]. Before the mafia side was completely crushed.

“I’ve already made a request for support… But I can’t just take you completely at your word…”

“Looks like you didn’t do it properly. Please request once again right away. Because I’m in a hurry.”

“… Don’t order me around.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m asking you to fulfil your promise, not giving you an order. Weren’t we supposed to be allies? If I ask you something, you have to listen to it properly. And those guys are really strong. Far from what the mafia here can handle. Maybe… even against the Black Shadow headquarters the result won’t be certain.”

Hearing that, Haka let out a short laugh.

“I made you a promise, so I’ll keep it, but you’re underestimating the Black Shadow too much.”

“I’m not. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself. And not just a quick peek, go check it out properly.”

Haka seemed to think it over for a while.

“I’ll go.”

He quickly left the room.

“Hoo…”

Done. Now that even this guy had been sent out, I was mostly finished dealing with the author’s plotline. In the original, it was this chapter where Haka first saw Leo. Of course, it was just a sneak peek.

Anyway, all that was left now was to wait for that guy, who’d get surprised seeing Leo in action, to call in the Black Shadow Squad.

“How long will it take…”

Assuming that Haka sent out a ‘red telegram’ announcing an emergency, the ETA of the Black Shadow Squad should be one to two days.

Until then, there was nothing for me to do. Other than to periodically issue orders to retreat.

It was only after the chapter finally started, that I finally got some free time, for a day or so. 

But this time was something I desperately needed.

I hurriedly prepared to leave.

Then,

“Oh, I almost forgot. Isn’t there a member called El Viego in the coalition? Call that guy in. I have something to tell him.”

“El Viego?”

“Yeah, he’s a former mafioso from Goldam City.”

“All right.”

“I’m going out for a while. If you even think about trying anything, you’re dead. Understand?”

“I understand.”

I left the boss room straightaway. 

Now it was time to go meet a precious figure.

---

A hotel suite in downtown Destomb.

I was listening to the conversation from outside the door.

“Back in the day, old man Yellowweed^[3] told me something. If you want to know someone new, try the three worldly qualities^[4] before you talk to them. Three worldly qualities. Have you ever heard of it?”

“Three worldly qualities?”

“That’s right.”

“So? What is it?”

“It’s a way of interpreting the world. It’s also a kind of game.”

A black question mark seemed to appear on Cocoa’s face.

What bullshit is this? Seemed to be her thoughts.

Because of her own past experience, no doubt.

The goblins spoke very ostentatiously, and there had even been rumours that the author used complex words without knowing what they meant. So, it was better to just keep nodding vaguely than to try to understand them.

“For example, something like this. Let me describe you in three qualities. Ummm… furtive, nosy, tawdry. How’s that?”

“Nonsense. Those three words have nothing to do with me. I am a cute, sweet, pretty girl.”

“That is of course true. Those three are your interpretation. And the three kinds I mentioned are my own interpretation.”

“Your interpretation is wrong.”

“Rightness or wrongness is hard to impose on three worldly qualities. It’s usually wrapped up in ambiguity.”

“…”

This seemed like a good time to intervene.

I opened the door and went in.

“Got nothing to say, I see.”

“Squatjaw! This guy’s weird!”

“You’re just too young to understand. Heh.”

I looked at the cunning little goblin, who simply looked back at me with a calm smile.

This guy’s name was Chinuavi. Famous in the Goblins’ Den for being a gentle sort.

And among the goblins, the expression ‘gentle’ indicated a great ‘anomaly’, a ‘different species’.

“You are the one who has a purpose for me.”

“Huh? Me? Wasn’t she the one to trick you into coming all the way here?”

“It is true that the little lady over there offered me some tea with her, but I did not follow because of her charm.”

“That’s a lie. I saw you drool over my legs.”

“As you might be able to guess, that’s not true.”

“Okay, then why did you follow me?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to be asked that. I had no choice but to follow. Because the little lady was looking for me and even calling out to me again and again. Besides, looking at the situation, the person who actually had some business with me was somebody else. It was something I’d never even considered possible… so I couldn’t contain my curiosity.”

As Chinuavi finished speaking, his bright green eyes met mine. As if he was trying to pierce through my innermost heart.

In fact, his words and actions were quite natural.

Once Cocoa found him, she called him out. He must have found this outrageous. Because this would’ve been impossible for any ordinary human being. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought that Cocoa could bring him back so quickly.

And when he actually had a conversation with her, he found out that someone had ordered her to contact him. This would have been even more bizarre. As if someone had noticed his own ‘difference’. Also, that someone was behind this unusual little kid.

Maybe he thought I even knew who he really was. So, no matter the reason, he had to follow.

“Can you satisfy my curiosity?”

“Yeah, sure. It’s nothing difficult.”

The goblin looked quite startled at my words.

“Oh? Really? Then I won’t humbly decline…”

“Wait, wait. Ah, but it’s not free.”

I hurriedly stopped him. The greedy goblin.

“… Then?”

“Well, you see. I also want something from you.”

“… What do you want?”

“You’ll understand if you listen. So, shall we make a bet with what we want as the stake?”

And the moment I uttered those words,

“Bet… What kind of a bet are you talking about?”

Chinuavi’s eyes gleamed with interest.

His pupils looked red with excitement. The eyes of a gambler, really excited about a bet.

‘Now that I’ve come this far… can I win?’

When the goblins appeared in the work, the author used this expression.

A race of crazy, problem gamblers. Whatever the game, they’d fight for a week straight in order to win. Innocent bad boys who become crueller than anybody else in front of a bet.

They were monsters against whom no human, even the invincible Siana who’d never lost a game, could guarantee victory.

I calmed my heart and steadied my trembling breath.

I had no choice but to try.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 데스 (des, lit. death) is also a homonym of the Japanese ‘desu’, and can be used either way. So, the translation here is a compromise between the two. Just to note, these characters are also present in the name Destomb, meaning you’re supposed to interpret as death-tomb. See Namu Wiki.

[2] 본대 (lit. main unit) can mean the main army unit or one for a special task. Translating 검은 그림자 본대 as Black Shadow Squad.

[3] 황개초비 (Hwanggaechobi) is being translated as Yellowweed. In contrast, Chinuavi’s name (치누아비) remains untranslated. Mostly goblin names will stay as they’re pronounced unless very unwieldy, like this particular example.

[4] 세상의 세 가지 (lit. worldly + three + kinds). 가지 means kind/sort/type, where each kind is distinguished based on some quality or characteristic.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 20

Hello, Mister Secret Boss^[1]

[Mafia’s Secret Room]

• Transforms the current space into a closed room.
  • Restriction 1) The number of people who can enter the secret room is limited to 5 or less.
  • Restriction 2) The range that can be designated as a closed room is within 5m square.
  • Restriction 3) If the ability user is defeated or falls unconscious, the secret room is dismantled.

This special ability contained in the background of ‘The Fallen No. 2 of Red Scorpion’ was not as useless as I’d initially thought.

It was a simple and straightforward ability.

From the moment [Mafia’s Secret Room] is activated, the space you are in becomes ‘isolated’ from the consciousness of those outside.

Of course, it’s not a concept of the space itself being separated.

The room itself remains where it is. However, people outside can’t sense it at all.

Similar to the ability used by the goblins when they play hide and seek, rather than actively cancelling noise or distorting vision, it’s a method of erasing your presence itself.

This type of stealth can never be pierced, unless you have a good guide at your side.

And this meant that even if I made a big fuss inside, those outside would not sense it all.

I slowly savoured the surprise on the face of the Skeleton boss.

“… What, what’s happening?”

“Why do you keep asking that? If you don’t want to get beat up, just make the call. So I can gobble up the Red Scorpion.”

“No, you, right now……”

“And Skeleton too, of course.”

“…?”

He still looked nonplussed.

He was really quite slow in judging the situation.

Therefore, I decided to explain in a more straightforward manner.

“Actually, I didn’t like it much.”

“What?”

“Why do I have to be the little brother?”

“… Eh?”

“I just don’t like it.”

He didn’t look young whichever way you sliced it.

There was no denying it. I was the younger brother. By position, as well as by appearance.

I didn’t know what the original set-up had been, but at least that’s how it looked right now.

What need is there for some justifiable reason when you fight or argue? Anything goes.

“This… So, you thought you could afford to do something like this?”

Perhaps the boss finally managed to take stock of his predicament, so he lowered his voice.

“Well, yeah.”

“Did you take leave of your senses after getting kicked out of the organization and running away? Where do you think this is? You should already know.”

The boss took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it calmly. He looked pretty gutsy.

Well, the guy was finally looking fit to be the head of a giant mafia organization. At least he wasn’t as much of a pig as his appearance suggested.

But I still didn’t think that there would be any problem in subduing this guy.

This was not just arrogance speaking.

Last time in Big City I went out for wool and almost came home shorn, but that had been because of an unexpected monster. The situation here and now was different.

The mafia here were ones who appeared in the work, and promptly showed off their weakness by being beaten by Leo. How much different could their boss be?

Besides, the current me was already someone given a ‘class’ by being listed as an ‘official character’. The original characteristic, ‘a little strong’, had also strengthened noticeably. Maybe it would change to ‘strong’ very soon?

Anyway,

“Aha, so you wanna try me?”

It was enough to sort out these extra types in one second.

I rushed towards him in that instant.

“Who!”

Then I slapped him in the face.

“Told you to sit, you pig!”  

“Uh, hey!”

He tumbled onto the floor in a mess.

Of course, I had no intention of stopping with just that.

Sitting on top of his fallen form,

“Who!”

Thwack.

“A, aaaah!”

“Told you to smoke!”

Thwack.

“Aaaaahhhhhh…”

“In a shounen manga!”

Thwack.

“St-, stop…”

“Are you ordering me around!”

Thwack.

“Aaaaa…”

“You extra!”

Thwack.

I kept beating him.

After a while,

“Sp-, spare me…⁃.”

The boss begged with a feeble voice like he was on death’s door.

Of course, I had no intention of continuing. Because if this guy fainted, that would just waste time and possibly invite trouble.

But this wasn’t the end of it. Because the most important part still remained.

I grabbed his right hand and brought it up close.

There on his finger, a bright crimson ring was shining with an ominous light.

I immediately tugged on the ring.

Then,

“Hey, you can’t! You can’t do this!”

The guy started desperately screaming again.

“Oho? I can’t? I must’ve been too gentle with you, your mouth is still loose.”

The reason this guy rebelled like he wanted to die, was simple. Because this ring was one of the ‘Seven Rings’.

Right now, there must have been a command engraved in his head to keep the ring even if he died. Because that was the first goal of the behind-the-scenes puppeteer.

But,

“Ugh, look at how fat your fingers are, I just can’t pull it out.”

“Oh, no! My, damn it… Damn it!”

“Don’t act up, just stay still.”

My goal was something different.

I tugged on the ring as hard as I could, holding the guy pinned between my legs.

And then,

Pop –.

It came off. 

After that,

“Oh, no, no… no! You can’t… huh?”

The boss’ behaviour changed.

He abruptly stopped talking, and began to rub his eyes. Drool was dripping from his mouth.

Cognitive dissonance.

What happens when one of the ‘Seven Rings’ is forcibly stolen from its host.

And after a while,

“Huh? Where…”

“Hey, you’re finally awake.”

He regained his sanity, and became engulfed in an intense hatred.

“I’m going to kill that damn bastard…”

I was not the one his hatred was directed at. Rather, it was the owner of the ring that had been controlling him for so long.

This was the limit of the unique ability called [Seven Rings to Bind Them], that a host who escaped from the ring’s mental control became filled with irrational hate against the Lord of the Seven Rings. Hatred without any regard for their current circumstances.

Even if someone was sitting on top of them and was crushing their right hand.

“Hey, hey. Pay attention, please.”

“… Huh?”

It was then that he became aware of me.

The funny thing was, that irrational anger didn’t mean this guy suddenly forgot what’d happened just now.

As anger towards the Lord of the Rings gradually subsided, anger towards me would begin to bloom, and his mind was probably a red haze at the moment.

“Brother! I’ve come to my senses, let me up!”

“Huh?”

“Put my arm down!”

“… Ah.”

He seemed to be thinking that all my antics so far were to take the ring off.

I tapped the guy’s forehead.

“Aak!”

“Okay, so do you hate him?”

“What, what?”

“The guy who put that ring on you. Don’t you hate him?”

Question marks seemed to appear in the two round eyes of his.

“Yeah, that’s right, but…”

“Well, I’ll take care of him. Where is he now?”

“… You?”

“Right. Did you ever go see him? Just tell me where.”

This was the reason why I had to sneak in here. To find out the whereabouts of the ‘Seven Rings’.

In the first place, the Skeleton wasn’t much to speak of. What difference could a single mafia organization make? No matter how big, it would still pale in comparison with the entire Mafia Coalition. If you’re going to, you should bag the big boss.

Also, just a few hits were nowhere near enough to turn a mafia boss like this guy into a subordinate. In this manga, guys like these who live in the dark are all evil and insidious, so you can’t get their obedience that easily. Maybe they’ll pretend to obey in front of you, all the while planning to stab you in the back.

So, I made a really simple plan to swallow the coalition whole.

Let’s catch the ‘Seven Rings’ first. Then the coalition will naturally follow.

Apologies to the author who suggested the ‘Seven Rings’ backstory to me, but thinking about it, I don’t really need to play that role. I just need to make him my subordinate.

“Do you know where he is now?”

“Ah, I know, but do you really want to go alone… that guy has something to do with the Black Shadow…”

“Yeah, just tell me where. Leave him to me.”

“There’s a small underground shopping mall at the end of the 2^nd Avenue. Ah, but I can’t say for sure if he’ll still be there. It’s been a while since I’d last seen him.”  

“…”

I knew it.

There was one more reason why I had to take a risk and meet alone with this guy. In fact, there was one fatal problem with my plan.

That is, ‘Seven Rings’ might not exist in this world right now.

To be honest, I still couldn’t be sure. It’d only been about an hour since I chose this ‘Fallen No. 2 of the Red Scorpion’ as my background. Meaning that until then, it only existed as a setting.

So, I decided to directly grab one of the seven rings he’d scattered. So as to trigger his character to be incarnated. Once I confirmed the ability with my own eyes, its owner’s existence should be enforced by ‘plausibility’.

Finally, I put down the boss’s right hand which I had been clutching tightly. It looked blue because of how tight my grip had unconsciously gotten.

“Ugh…”

“I’ll come back soon. Don’t even think about making a fuss, just stay here quietly for now. Otherwise, you’ll get another massage.”

The boss nodded slowly, a frightened expression on his face.

“That, but how long…?”

“Think it over. As long as you aren’t afraid of what happens afterwards, you can leave any time.”

“…”

Cancelling the special ability, I rushed out like the wind.

---

I carefully scrutinized the man who was staring out the window.

Neatly combed hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a buttoned-up shirt. A weak impression overall.

“That’s right.”

He was the ‘Seven Rings’ I’d seen in the manga.

I remembered being quite surprised seeing that face for the first time. He didn’t look like the final boss of the Mafia Coalition at all. The me at the time didn’t understand that such a neat appearance was also a cliché.

Looking back now, he really did look like a villain. An incredibly sinister and vicious one.

I smashed the window glass and went in through.

“Hello, Mister Secret Boss.”

“…?”

He looked at me blankly, as if asking who I was.

The expression just looked cute on that gloomy face.

“What are you staring at, you bastard?”

I slapped him on the cheek.

Crash–.

The guy just flew away.

He didn’t even get the chance to scream, fainting instantly.

As expected, in reality, his physique was set to be extremely weak.

I walked towards the guy lying unconscious on the floor.

“Let’s see…”

Controlling this guy was simple.

You just had to reverse the process.

This had been showed by Kiriko in the manga, to great effect. In just one scene, this guy became a cute little follower hanging on to Kiriko’s every word.

This absurdly fragile and cowardly character setting was probably to show off the gap^[2], and from that point on, Kiriko’s popularity skyrocketed. Because his spirited yet indifferent demeanour made a very lasting impression on the readers.

Besides, I’d prepared something extra.

[Give me the money! Intimidation Potion]

• When threatening others, amplifies the opponent’s fear towards you by multiple times.
• It has no effect if the opponent is not scared at all.

I’d never actually seen this ability used anywhere, but I was drawn to it while looking around the special potion shop to see if I could find anything good.

I had no idea how well it’d work normally, but for a cowardly guy like this, I thought the effect should be quite good.

‘I wonder if I’ll have to wake him up three or four times as he’ll keep passing out?’

After swallowing the potion, it was time to wake him up.

“I did think It was strange that I couldn’t contact him…”

A voice came from behind me.

I felt all the hairs on the nape of my neck rise up in alarm.   

It was a familiar voice, and a familiar situation.

I turned around slowly, and he was right there.

Haka.

“You are the one who surprised me so many times.”

“…”

“You, who are you? You don’t seem to be some simple thief. I won’t let you go today unless I get an answer.”

I looked at him quietly, trying to calm my pounding heart.

I was surprised. I was really surprised, but not as much as back then. In fact, I’d been expecting to meet this guy sometime soon. Because Haka had first appeared to Leo and the others in Chapter 9 of the original manga.

Of course, I never expected this kind of timing.

“Hoo…”

I took a couple of deep breaths.

No, this was good. That we had some alone time with just the two of us so early. Since I’d been thinking of contacting him anyway.

“I can’t just tell you who I am. That’s not a fair transaction.”

“Hey, you want me to tell you who I am? Funny, is that something a weak chicken like you can ask for…”

“What are you saying? I said it wasn’t fair because I already know who you are. Mr. Haka, a member of the Black Shadow Secret Service, and an ardent admirer of the goblins.”

“…”

As I kept speaking, his eyes just got bigger and bigger.

Those dynamic changes in expression almost made me unconsciously chuckle.

“But if you join hands with me and help me with my goal, maybe I can give you some hints about who I am?”

“Ah, I can just torture you and find out!”

Haka shouted as if frenzied. A rather violent reaction that didn’t fit him at all.

Are you that surprised? But there’s more to come.

“If you like. Just remember, if you do, the organization behind me will immediately attack the ‘Windrider Gang’^[3].”

“…”

The Windrider Gang was another secret organization that Haka was a member of. Actually, I didn’t know much about it either. There was never any clear explanation. It was just one of the organizations that he’d talked about in the manga while passing by.

In other words, I was just bluffing.

But,

“I, uh, how do you know… Wh-, what do you want!?”

Nevertheless, the effect was significant.

Wait a moment. Could it be that ‘intimidation’ was working on this guy as well?

An unexpected stroke of luck. Things might go easier than I’d thought.

“It’s just that… we want something from each other, so let’s take our relationship seriously. How about forming a temporary alliance?”

“Uh, temporary alliance?”

I smiled at his bewilderment.

---

“Hey, you there.”

It was already the second time he’d heard the voice.

But Chinuavi still pretended ignorance.

It couldn’t be him who was being called.

Right now, he had no intention of revealing himself to anyone. And because of that, the humans here couldn’t possibly discover his existence.

But,

“Hey! Are you deaf?”

What?

“…”

Chinuavi finally couldn’t contain his curiosity and looked back.

And then,

“Whew, look at all this expensive stuff. It’s hard to even see your face.”

He could see a little girl staring straight at him.

“You’re really my type. Oppa^[4], want to get some coffee?”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 흑막 (lit. black curtain) can also be translated as dark secret or inside story. In this context, a secret/hidden boss (in video game-speak).

[2] Raw talks about it as a 반전효과를 (reversal/twist), but the concept is probably better expressed via the term ‘gap moe’ (fictional characters doing something completely contradictory to what their usual habits/personality/appearance dictates – making the reader exclaim, ‘how cute’). Although, the ‘moe’ part is probably not appropriate since we’re talking about a crime boss.

[3] 바람 마적단 (lit. wind/hope + horse thieves/demon gang) is being translated as Windrider Gang.

[4] Because big bro really doesn’t sound as flirtatious as oppa, so it isn’t translated in this scene. I don’t even know what to say about Cocoa except she’s got moxie.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 19

A Time for Some Pleasant Conversation

I quickly cleared my mind.

This wasn’t the time to be surprised. Understanding the situation was the higher priority.

Why was this goblin here of all places, now of all times?

“No way…”

There was only one reason I could conceive of.

The author had originally intended to have this goblin appear in this chapter, or at least before the end of the Black Shadow arc.

There was no other possible explanation.

Of course, he ended up not appearing in the arc originally. But now that I’d seen him, I was almost certain.

As for the reason why he didn’t appear, I could guess a little bit.

When the writer actually tried to make him appear, he might’ve lost confidence in how to develop the plot, or he thought he should first focus on the battle between Leo and the Black Shadow. If he just introduced this guy out of nowhere, the readers might get distracted from the narrative of the main plot. Or maybe it was just a simple change of heart.

Anyway, looking at him, I could somewhat understand why Haka had been so enthusiastic about the goblins.

Because this guy’s appearance here and now had been planned well in advance. In fact, Haka must’ve been part of the author’s preparations to introduce this guy, and by association the goblin race, into the story.

Unfortunately, however, his appearance was pushed back by some chance, and consequently Haka also lost his significance and became unfocused.

Then,

‘Goblin… a goblin.’

Bit by bit, my heart began to pound.

My intuition reared its head as if a well-honed blade.

That goblin, I couldn’t just let him go. I had to catch him and take him with me.

Not just because of his talents, either.

Basically, the deeper a relationship I could forge with the ones ‘who will get more and more important as the story progresses’, the more beneficial it would be for my future. Especially in the second half of the manga, because nothing can raise the value of a character as much as another high-‘rank’ character being conscious of him.

In other words, invest in stocks that are certain to grow their future value.

First, I had to decide my course of action.

Connect with him right now?

“… Nope.”

I shook my head. Then my excitement began to subside.

Just knowing that he was here and now, was a great harvest. A goblin squatting somewhere isn’t easy to dislodge. These guys are serious about whatever they do. They aren’t the type to just pop up and then disappear all of a sudden.

‘… I just have to keep an eye on him.’

My best bet was to come up with a proper strategy on how to forge and deepen our relationship, and then go find him.

Right now, my top priority was to listen to the information I’d requested.

I went back to the Information Guild.

The receptionist was already waiting for me there.

He spoke with an indifferent tone.

“If you hadn’t showed up in 10 more seconds, I would have destroyed the information. You’ll have to pay an extra fine of 100,000 gold for making me wait.”

“Fine, whatever.”

“First, let’s start with the truth of the rumours. Is the No. 2 of the Red Scorpion here? The answer is ‘I don’t know’. I don’t know at the moment. They say he wanders around alone without even an attendant, but that too is just another rumour. However, it’s been confirmed that he’s left Red City, his hometown.”

This was probably because he was only a setting right now. A setting that shall be incarnated in this world the moment I apply the background [No. 2 of the ‘Red Scorpion’] to myself.

“Next, his personal details. Name unknown, age unknown. It is possible to describe his appearance, but it is difficult to verify how correct that information is. And…”

The receptionist kept talking, but it was hard for me to concentrate. Without realizing it, I had turned my gaze again to where that goblin was.

He knew it too.

“… Are you listening?”

Enough to double-check.

“Uh… wait a moment.”

“If you don’t need the information, just leave. But you’ll have to pay 400,000 gold. Including the fine.”

“Oh, I understand. I’ll focus this time, so please tell me again step by step.”

“No, I can’t. Money first.”

“Okay, please explain again from the beginning instead. I’ll give you all the money in advance. How much?”

“500,000 gold.”

“What?”

“You want me to explain it again from the beginning? There’s a labour charge.”

“…”

Absurd.

“Don’t be mad. Time is running out. Not sure if you guessed, but the charge rises over time. Give it a thought.”

Who is this guy? Why are you this rude?

“Really, how old are you?”

“Expensive. Can you afford it?”

“How much?”

“I want to check if you have any money or not.”

“Ha…”

And when we’d descended into a full-blown argument –

A voice came suddenly from behind.

“He’s gone.”

When I glanced back, it was Cocoa.

“Huh? What?”

“He’s gone. That riddler guy.”

“…!”

With great care, I observed the place where the goblin had been squatting.

He really was gone. Disappeared, all of a sudden.

“Where!?”

“How would I know? He just left.”

My mind was lost in a maelstrom of confusion. How could he be gone just in this short a time?

Then, while I was busy being perplexed,

“Hey, if you don’t have the money, just pay for what you’ve bought so far.”

The voice of the receptionist sounded in my ears.

“… Haa.”

Even in this bewildering situation, that rude voice was still chattering away.

Annoying.

But,

“You just wait there.”

I didn’t have the time to care about this guy right now.

I hurriedly racked my brains for an idea or two.

Normally, there’s no way to ferret out or track a goblin, since they are veritable masters of hide and seek. Unless you’re an adventurer with the abilities of a guide.  

No choice. I had to trust the kid this once.

“Cocoa!”

“Huh?”

“Can you find him?”

“Why? Maybe?”

“Track him. Follow him and… uh… get close to him.”

“What?”

“Be friendly. Or something… uh, try flirting.”

I knew. That I was talking to a nine-year-old kid. I was just wasting my words.

Still,

“Hmm, that’s not really my style.”

My interlocutor didn’t find my words particularly strange.

“He’ll be pretty fun to talk to. Because he’s one quirky guy.”

“Why though? Is he somebody you used to know?”

“I’ll tell you later. Just follow him.”

Cocoa then nodded without questioning further.

“Okay.”

“Try to keep him inside this city, and if possible… take him to your place.”

“You want me to take him to the hotel?”

Ugh. What was I even telling her to do?

“It sounds weird, but roughly, that’s right.”

“Okay.”

Cocoa then walked away. As if she already knew the direction, there was not the slightest hesitation in her gait.

Could I really trust that kid?

Of course, there was no choice other than to trust her.

“Anyway…”

I walked up to the receptionist again.

Then, as if he’d been waiting for me, he spoke again in that rude voice.

“You know? It’s timed out. If you want to get the information, give me 800,000 gold right now…”

“Shut up.”

I took a bundle of cash out of my pocket.

“This is your information fee. No change needed.”

“… Huh?”

“From the beginning, step by step. Okay?”

The receptionist sounded very confused. That’s right, it was about 2 million gold.

“Uh… there’s too much…”

I immediately took out another bundle of cash and threw it at him.

“How can you talk like that even after that kind of a tip? Fix it.”

“Uh… uh, how?”

“Now you ask? Be respectful.”

“Uh… yes.”

“Now tell me. With full sincerity.”

And then,

“Yes. Let’s begin. The No. 2 of the Red Scorpion is…”

I was satisfied with the new softened tone, and I pored over everything I had to remember.

---

I stared blankly at the oddly shaped building to my opposite.

As if inspired by Casa Batlló, the famous tourist destination in Barcelona^[1], ​​it was a building that resembled a skull’s face.

Skeleton House.

The headquarters of the largest mafia organization in Destomb.

‘Shall we start soon?’

Now it was time to apply the backgrounds.

I’d already decided the order. First, apply the others in the order of purchase, and then finally, apply the ‘No. 2 of the Red Scorpion’.

It was a bit annoying to keep the author’s gift for last, but I really couldn’t use it first. Because if I applied it first, and there was an unexpected restriction, it’d be a major flop.

I opened the list of backgrounds that I had purchased with a bit of excitement.

[Wandering Guide]

[The Boy Cursed by the Witch]

[Unknown Itinerant]

[A Man Who Once Visited the Bezyt Gorge]

[Southland National Park Zookeeper]

[Expelled Corrupt Adventurers’ Association Member]

I purchased a total of 6 backgrounds.

Only 11,500p points remained.

Of course, except for [The Boy Cursed by the Witch], none of them were really that great.

“Hoo…”

After taking a couple of deep breaths, I tapped [Wandering Guide] on the window.

– Do you want to apply this background?

“Yeah, let’s go.”

And then,

Pa–.

In an instant, a pure white light filled my vision.

“Eek.”

I closed my eyes without thinking, and by the time I opened them again, I had become a ‘wandering guide’.

‘Is this fine?’

There was no noticeable change. It just felt like my eyesight was a little bit broader?

I’d thought that the knowledge related to the background would naturally flow into my head, but no luck.

And,

[Character’s rank has increased slightly]

One holographic message.

‘Oh, I guess the stats are there under the hood.’

In fact, it had been a long shot. Although I’d been given a ‘rank’ or ‘class’, there was no window to check it.

Not sure why, but the system seemed to be hidden, or perhaps conditionally accessible.

Anyway,

“I was really nervous.”

I was relieved. I’d wondered if the concept built into the role might be forced on me.

Next, I applied the rest of the backgrounds one by one, followed by No. 2 of the Red Scorpion.

Pa–.

[Character’s rank has increased]

Pa –.

[Character’s rank has increased slightly]

Pa– pa– pa– pa–.

[Character’s rank has increased slightly]

[Character’s rank has increased slightly]

⁞

The last four I just applied at the same time.

“Well.”

My body felt cool. There didn’t seem to be any side effects.

However, there was only one difference compared to before. An unknown power welling up in my chest.

This, presumably, was the special ability built into the background of ‘No. 2 of the Red Scorpion’. In case special abilities collided with each other, only the hidden characteristics would be chosen.

“Okay, it’s all done.”

After turning over the information obtained from the Information Guild once more in my mind, I moved towards the skull-shaped building.

As I got closer, the two giants guarding the entrance stopped me.

However, their attitudes were quite different from the guys I had met in Virgin City.

“… Who are you?”

Quite polite.

They looked rough, the type who’d tell people to fuck off straightaway, but they were being really polite to me.

Of course, this wasn’t because they were stronger than I’d thought, for example, strong like the gangsters who’d guarded the entrance to the “Cafeteria before a Bizarre Adventure”.

It’s just that these guys had been subdued by my momentum. It was a simple difference in our ‘class’. 

And this was about what I’d expected.

Although not absolute, a character’s ‘class’ is usually directly proportional to their ‘strength’ in this type of world.

It’s simple if you think about it. The stronger a character is in a fight, the more space they’d take up in the story.

Of course, physical strength is not the sole measure of a character’s ‘strength’. Siana is also a character with high ‘class’ as a key supporting cast, but she is hardly the strong, physical type.

However, it’s still a general rule. And I was included in that general rule.

At my glance, the big-sized guys quickly lowered their eyes.

“Hey, go tell the boss. His brother’s come visiting from Red City.”

“B, brother, sir?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, would you mind waiting for a moment, please?”

“I hate waiting.”

“I’ll be right back! “

Looked like raising my voice worked.

Not long after, I saw a fat middle-aged man in the distance, coming with his men in tow.

‘… It’s him, right?’

It wasn’t a face I remembered. No matter how big a fan I had been of Adventure King, there was no way I could remember the face of an extra who I wasn’t even sure had appeared in any scenes or not.

‘For the boss of Skeleton, he’s sure got some girth, hasn’t he?’

Still, I thought it would be him, because there were a number of subordinates with him.

Soon after, he waved his hand towards me, as if he had seen me too.

By this time, I was a little nervous, because I didn’t know how he would react to my looks. Obviously, there must have been some basic appearance for this backstory. But even if it was simple and basic, there was a high possibility it was very different from my appearance here and now.

But,

“Oh, you’re here, my brother!”

There was no sign of him being conscious of that at all.

As if I’d been worried for nothing, he just greeted me with a wide smile.

I was a little relieved.

“How have you been?”

“Fine, fine. Same as always. Rather than me, you… But looking at your face, the situation doesn’t seem so bad. Let’s go in right away.”

“Alright.”

I followed behind as he waddled into the Skeleton House.

---

I kept my words blunt.

“I want to swallow the Red Scorpion whole.”

“I heard the news. I knew you were going to say that. But… would that be as easy as it sounds?”

“Yeah. There’s a way.”

“A way… like asking me to call the Scorpion boss here alone?”

There was a look of disdain on his fat face.

“No one knows that you are here, or that you are friends with me. Like I told you, I have no intention of calling him here personally. Won’t that just mean encouraging fights between coalition members for no reason? Although we used to be sworn brothers, the coalition members are also like my family. Anyways, I can’t do it. And even if I call him, he’ll never come here alone.”

Looked like he’d already considered what I could talk about and what I might ask for. Even the excuses had been rehearsed in advance. 

He made me come in here pretending to be friendly. Really, people from the underworld couldn’t be trusted.

But, of course,

“Aha, but so what?”

“Huh?”

“That’s how it is.”

I wasn’t someone who could be trusted either.

“… Eh?”

“You really should’ve called him.”

“What? What did you do…?”

“It’s time for some pleasant conversation.”

“…?” I smiled at him, who was looking at me with puzzled eyes.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] Casa Batlló is a skull-shaped building at the centre of Barcelona. See the Wikipedia entry.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 18

One Who Shouldn’t Be

Destomb.

A city like a facsimile of the New York slums in the 19^th century.

Fitting the insidiousness that oozes from its name, there are three mafia organizations in this city, including ‘Skeleton’, the most powerful organization in the Mafia Coalition. Small gangs who listen to their orders are scattered nearby.

In other words, it’s a city full of people who can target Leo and his party. 

Unless they’re stupid, there’s no way they wouldn’t know about this. Moreover, there is a setting that Siana came here several times as the boss of the Goldam City mafia.

But unfortunately, they will still come here. It’s possible to just avoid the place, but they will still come without care.

That’s just how a shounen manga rolls.

Of course, there were a bunch of reasons mentioned.

Leo says that the name of the city is cool, so let’s go.

Kiriko says that his cigarettes have run out, and he needs to buy more from somewhere nearby.

And the sensible Siana wants to tell El Viego, the former owner of Goldam Casino, that she’s leaving.

…

Anyway, this city is as important to me as it is to Leo and his friends. Many chapters will take place here, over a long period.

Besides, as I remember, after all the chapters in this city were over, Leo and his party went straight to the Central Branch of the Adventurers’ Association in the Westland, to get their official adventurer’s license.

And on the way there, they met a ‘Mimic Acrobat’. Within no more than 2-3 chapters.

To summarize, it means that I have to earn enough points here.

But things aren’t that easy.

The Destomb arc is long and contains many scenes. However, the narrative structure is quite basic.

First, Leo’s party and the Mafia Coalition will face off.

Then, after the mafia are destroyed, the Black Shadow bastards will start attacking.

That’s it.

Except for a brief introduction to the personal history of ‘that guy’, who will become Leo’s fourth colleague, it’s just non-stop battle.

It’s difficult to intervene in this kind of basic plot development. Because it has to be ‘plausible’ for a third party to get involved in an entanglement between the two.

No, it’s still fine to intervene in the middle and play an active role. I knows how the fights will develop, and I know when and where the fights will have the most impact. I can manage to sneak into thosee gaps somehow.

But the problem is that I can’t play an active role without taking away the spotlight from the lead actors.

This Destomb arc is the quintessential ‘killer content’ of a battle manga, where Leo and his party use their powerful abilities to fight the enemy. Finally comes an arc that can really take off with the readers, but a strange guy pops up in the middle to muddy the waters? Be it the author or the readers, it’s a surefire recipe to be hated.

One mistake, and I may end up walking the plank of deletion.^[1]

“… It’s difficult.”

There was only one way.

To lengthen the arc even more than the original, creating a place for myself to enter the spotlight.

I needed to jazz the plot development up a bit, adding some dashes of trickery and distraction, rather than preserve the original non-stop fighting pattern.

For example, wouldn’t it be fine if the mafia and the Black Shadow were not ‘separate waves’, but rather cooperated with each other to become a higher level of ordeal to Leo’s party?

But,

“My head’s about to break.”

I couldn’t think up a concrete plan to implement it.

I knew roughly what to achieve, but I wasn’t sure how to actually get it done.

To be honest, I could now vaguely understand why the author had said, ‘the character has to work hard for himself ‘.

It’s not enough to just be a character, you have to show some kind of ability as an author.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally raised both hands and feet in surrender.

Who knows? I don’t.

‘No big deal.’

In the end, I decided to take another peek at the ‘reference material’ sent by the author.

[List of backstories received as a gift]

• Choose only one.
  • Former member of the assassination organization ‘Black Shadow’.
  • Former No. 2 of the ‘Red Scorpion’, who fell from power.
  • Lord of the ‘Seven Rings’.

※ The validity period is until Chapter 9 begins.

The reason I called this a reference was simple. First of all, it meant that characters with this background would do something in the upcoming chapters.

If you think about how you can use that to improve the plot… Either way, you have to take on one of these roles yourself.

‘For now, let’s ignore the third one.’

There were actually two options left. Black Shadow, or the mafia?

At first glance, the one that seemed to have more room for manoeuvre was the [Black Shadow former member]. That was my main concern.

▶ [Former member of the assassination organization ‘Black Shadow’] detail page.

• Explanation
  • It’s been 5 years since I ran away from the organization’s pursuers. Now everyone who knew me is dead. The only thing that proves my origin is the Black Walk, which only members of the organization can learn. If I don’t use this technique, nobody can track me. I’m finally free.
• Purchase benefits
  • Acquire special ability ‘Assassin’s Eye (: 15% chance to identify enemy’s weakness)’.
  • 5% discount on all information guild fees.
  • Randomly acquire a hiding place in Westland.
• Uniqueness
  • When using Black Walk in a large city, you may be attacked by ‘Black Shadow’.

However, there was not much information contained within this background. A fugitive from the Black Shadow, rather than an enemy? There was nothing that really attracted me, except that there would be no problem with plausibility even if I joined Leo’s side.

There was also a slightly risky side.

Not right now, but after the chapter progresses a bit, the ‘boy’ who will be Leo’s fourth companion will arrive here in Destomb.

And as long as he’s nearby, it becomes quite risky to act against the Black Shadow. You never know when or where you’ll become a target and your head will fly away. At this point, his strength should be almost equal to Leo.

‘Is there only one possible option after all?’

I soon made up my mind.

Let’s go with the mafia.

Anyway, if you want to extend the length of this arc, you have to drill into the smaller side and fortify the narrative from there. That’s when the butterfly effect will have more impact.

I immediately began to scan my next background of choice.

▶ [Former No. 2 of the ‘Red Scorpion’, who fell from power] detail page.

• Explanation: How could I, who once was the first seat under the boss himself, fall to such humiliation? After being pushed out by the factions within the organization, I came to Destomb to get the support of the Mafia Coalition, but I wonder if they really will support me. First of all, I have no choice but to visit the boss of ‘Skeleton’, who once swore with me an oath of brotherhood…
• Background benefits:
  • Acquire special ability ‘Mafia’s Secret Room (convert the surrounding space into a closed room)’ (5 times)
  • Conditional) If you absorb the renegades of the ‘Red Scorpion’ organization, its slush fund can be obtained.
  • Conditional) If you absorb the renegades of the ‘Red Scorpion’ organization, you can use all the shops in Red City for free.
• Uniqueness: If you remove the current boss of Red Scorpion, the organization can be absorbed completely.

Hmmm. First of all, I have to get the ball rolling with this character…

What the background dictated was clear. After I meet the boss of Skeleton and my rights are recognized, I borrow his power to remove the boss of the Red Scorpion and bring the organization under my heel.

But what to do after that, was the key point.

Now let’s say I get an organization to obey me. What use is it? What use are those frail, feeble weaklings?

The main reason why I was reluctant to choose this background was that this mafia organization was actually nothing special. In fact, was there even a single mafia organization that had clearly stood out during this long, long story arc?

Not just the Red Scorpion, but all the mafia organizations in the coalition. They were all just a big messy hodgepodge made up of a multitude of one-off extras.

To be frank, among the mafia, the only one who’d caught my eye was the head of the coalition. The Lord of the ‘Seven Rings’.

However, that guy was actually just a puppeteer, mind-controlling the bosses of the Mafia Coalition, so it was hard to see him as a true mafioso. He didn’t have his own organization, and he didn’t have the mafia look either. He was originally set to be a secret plant from the Black Shadow side.

In other words, in this arc, the mafia were just ‘props to heat up the story’, nothing more, nothing less.

‘It’s tough.’

Even after looking at the reference material, I was still confused.

No, it seemed to have gotten worse. Even though I decided my role, I couldn’t grasp the future direction, and even the restrictions on me had increased.

I wouldn’t call it frustrating, but I did feel a bit annoyed.

‘By the way, this one doesn’t even include a special ability, and the benefits are piddling. I don’t even know where Red City is.’

Then it was time to grunt and scan the background description once more.

“… Huh? Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, one phrase stood out.

It was nothing much. Not a big deal. But oddly enough, it caught my eye.

– I have no choice but to visit the boss of ‘Skeleton’, who once swore with me an oath of brotherhood.

“Meaning, I have a pre-existing relationship with a mafia boss…”

That is to say, I could meet the most powerful mafia boss in this city without any restraints.

After a moment of thought –

“Is this… is this an opportunity?”

It was as if a bell had started ringing inside my head.

What if I beat him up, or wheedled him somehow?

Wouldn’t it be possible to devour not only the Red Scorpion, but even the Skeleton?

‘No, no. Rather…’

Soon, an idea flashed into my mind.

A way to revitalize these boring mafia chapters, and to build up my presence throughout the arc.

A way to squeeze out a little more value from those mass-produced one-off extras.

An intuition.

Let’s swallow the Mafia Coalition whole.

---

Destomb City.

“What are we looking for?”

“Question mark. Find a green question mark. It’s probably painted on a signboard or a door or something. Check out the pubs in the dark alleys. Remember that Dumb Idiots in Big City? Look for a similar atmosphere.”

“You ruthless Squatjaw. You heartless Squatjaw. To make a cute little girl like me wander around the back alleys…”

“Aren’t you good at finding things? If it’s you, I think you could find it in a flash, right?”

Then,

“Hn… let me scout a bit.”

Cocoa grunted, but immediately went to search.

Surprisingly, the compliment was super effective. 

Then, after maybe about 5 minutes had passed –

Cocoa was back.

“Found it. It was nearby.”

“Already?”

“Yeah.”

It was a bit disconcerting. To find it so quickly?

Maybe her familiarity with Big City was helpful, or maybe she had the ability of a ‘guide’.

Soon Cocoa guided me to a place where indeed a green question mark had been drawn at the bottom of a shabby bar sign.

It was the location of the Information Guild in Destomb.

I asked Cocoa to watch the place for a moment, then knocked on the side door with the green doorknob.

Tock. Tock. Tock –.

“… Who?”

“I came to buy some information.”

“… Guild member’s mark?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Then it’ll be expensive.”

Was there a customer service manual or something? The guild member at the reception here parroted the exact same lines as the one in Big City. Without even a single stutter.

“It’s fine. I’m rich.”

“What information do you want?”

First, I should know a little bit about ‘me’. Or rather, about ‘No. 2 of the Red Scorpion’.

“There are rumours that the second-in-command of the Red Scorpion is in this city. Whether it is authentic or not, as well as his personal information.”

“… Wait.”

I made the request, but it was a bit of a long shot. This No. 2’s base was not here, but in Red City, so I was wondering if I could get proper information about him from here.

Then,

“Squatjaw. Can I go over there and take a look?”

Cocoa came closer and asked.

“What? Where?”

“That place where people have gathered.”

When I looked at the direction Cocoa was pointing, there were indeed seven or eight people gathered together. At the centre of them was a boy sitting in a crouch, and he seemed to be sulking for some reason.

“You can’t win anyway. You’ve got no talent for gambling.”

“It’s not gambling. It’s a riddle game.”

“What? Riddle?”

“Yeah. If you get the answer right, he will grant you three wishes. But I heard him grumbling that nobody got it right.”

“… Three wishes?”

I felt a sting of discomfort hearing Cocoa’s words.

A ‘riddle’, and ‘three wishes.’

These were tied to the true identity of that ‘one race’.

But this made no sense. Because they were mysterious beings that appeared only in the mid-to-late parts of this manga, and no one in this world even knew about their existence just yet. Except for one ‘slit-eyed character’.

‘No, it doesn’t make sense.’

However, even as I kept denying it in my head, my feet unconsciously took me towards that direction.

Soon after,

“Hey, you! What was your name? Are you really saying that if I can answer the riddle, my wish will come true?”

“Haha, didn’t I tell you?”

I was startled and my body froze.

A familiar face was there.

Playful eyes, an innocent smile, and freckles all over his face.

It was a face I never thought I could see here. No, he was never supposed to appear in this place.

“My name is Chinuavi. If you get it right, I’ll grant you your wish. However, if not, you’ll have to pay the price. Would you like to bet?”

… A goblin.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] Yes, that pirate joke wasn’t in the raws. But who could resist?

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 17

Background Shopping

Category / [Character Setting] – [Background]

※ Press here to check the details.

1. Bounty 30,000 Gold Wandering Bandit – 25p
2. Narrow City Bounty Hunter – 40p
3. Conch Village Adventurer – 70p
4. Roger Town Police Officer – 130p

⁝

“Hmm.”

In fact, I’m not sure if this method will work. Maybe I’m just doing pointless shit. As in, wasting my points.

My aim here is to overlay the numerous backgrounds sold here on my character. It’s a possible way to escape the author’s control, but it’s burdensome, too.

Installing a backstory means establishing the character’s identity and goals. In other words, a role that you must perform in this world.

What if I buy and install all forty backgrounds here on sale?

It may even not be possible, but even if it is, you’ll be overworked to exhaustion trying to fulfil each role and grab the various ‘rice cakes’ for all the background stories.

But, of course, there are also benefits to purchasing each backstory.

Some come with distinct abilities, and for others, it reduces the cost of a certain facility or gives some usable benefits.

In addition, one clear benefit of any background is that it creates a point of contact with various future events and new characters.

And another one. The character’s rank.

I don’t know exactly what this means yet, but I guess it’s a concept similar to the ‘weight’ or ‘significance’ of the character in the narrative. And as it grows, ‘frequency of appearance’ and ‘influence on plot development’ also gradually increase.

In order to raise it, purchasing a background is essential.

The reason is simple, because the characters who play an important role in the story usually have one or more of the following characteristics:

1. They have the power to shake the world,
2. The protagonist’s irreplaceable friend or foe,
3. They hold many hidden secrets.

In other words, the more intertwined a character with the storyline, the higher its class.

Besides, there will be a lot of things to worry about in the future. For my character, which didn’t even appear properly in the original, to stand at the centre of this story and make it to the end, there will inevitably be a constant conflict with the author who will try to preserve the flow of the narrative.

And facing that inevitability, the right choice is to prepare myself to resist the author’s control from early on, armed with all kinds of secrets and rice cakes.

Resolving myself, I began to examine the possible choices one by one.

Even if talk about painting the background with some colour, you can’t just blindly buy them all. Obviously, there will be choices that are mutually exclusive.

In addition, I had to avoid backgrounds with latent unique abilities and clearly assigned role. Because they would lower the character’s degree of freedom, meaning voluntarily accepting the author’s control.

So,

“… Okay, let’s start with this one.”

I chose the background to purchase first.

▶ [Wandering Guide] – 1400p

• Explanation: It’s only been 3 months since I realized that I have the ability of a Guide, and embarked on an adventure. Finding a new path is still awkward.
• Purchase benefits: Pathfinding eyes shine slightly brighter.

The explanation was sparse, and the purchase benefits insignificant.

At first glance, this product had the lowest cost-effectiveness, worth 1,400 points.

But I didn’t think there was anything else to prioritize over this.

Once purchased –

Although not mentioned as a separate ability, ‘pathfinding eyes’ is also an honest-to-goodness ability. It’s something like a ‘hidden characteristic’, similar to my ‘a little strong’, or Leo’s ‘luck’.

Although not explained in detail, but in my opinion, these hidden characteristics are basically capable of ‘growth’. And the driving force behind that growth is nothing other than the character’s ‘rank’ or ‘class’.

Just think about it, low-ranking characters have little to no hidden traits, yet high-ranking characters always have plenty of hidden traits.

Leo was the proof. As the highest-level being in the world, his ‘luck’ alone surpassed the scope of others’ unique abilities.

In other words, these hidden characteristics, nurtured to the extreme, can compete with unique abilities. In addition, there is no limit to how many of these you can have, unlike unique or special abilities, so it’s always a good idea to collect as many as possible.

‘Really handy^[1].’

But, of course, I didn’t choose this background as my top priority simply because it included a hidden trait.

Rather, it was the word in its name that caught my attention.

Guide.

The most important keyword and concept in the world setting of Adventure King is, naturally, ‘adventure’.

In this manga, adventure doesn’t just mean exploring forgotten ruins alone or pursuing the traces of ancient history.

Adventurers in this world are basically aiming for a single ultimate goal.

To climb to the top of the ‘Tower of Adventure’, and acquire the ‘King’s Token’ from there.

The basic setting of this manga is that the adventurer who accomplishes this will become the next ‘Adventure King’.

The Tower of Adventure is hidden somewhere in Midland, a place called the ‘Land of the Adventure King’, and to get there, you have to go through three basic steps.

Step 1. Be registered as an official adventurer by passing the test of the Adventurers’ Association.

Step 2. Achieve ‘S’ level as an adventurer, or successfully complete at least three adventure quests of ‘A’ or higher level.

Step 3. Form a party of seven or more qualified adventurers and apply for a Midland Expedition.

If you pass the association’s screening, you will be permitted to enter the ‘King’s Road’ leading to Midland.

Out of all three conditions, the most difficult is the 3^rd, ‘party recruitment’, and not just because it’s difficult to gather seven outstanding adventurers. The difficulty comes from having to configure the party with all the required adventurer types.

There are three main types of adventurers:

1. Guide – one who finds the way,
2. Decipherer – one who solves riddles,
3. Adversary – one who fights the enemy.

In principle, an adventurer’s party consists of at least two guides, two or more decipherers, and three or more adversaries.

Of these, the rarest type is the decipherer, followed by the guide and the adversary. But the ratio is about 1:2:7, so guides are still quite rare.

This was the real reason why I chose [Wandering Guide] as my number one priority.

“1400p isn’t a bad deal, since it includes the ability of a guide.”

I immediately purchased the background and started to scan the background list again.

After a while,

“Hmm, are these the only ones worthwhile?”

What caught my attention were the following three backgrounds.

1. [Expelled Corrupt Adventurers’ Association Member] – 1,200p
2. [Westland Government Security Officer] – 1,700p
3. [Secret Agent of the International Council] – 4,000p

There are six major powers in this world.

First, the governments of each of the four continents, ‘Eastland’, ‘Westland’, ‘Northland’ and ‘Southland’.

Next, the Adventurers’ Association, and finally, the International Council.

These six powers cooperate closely with each other when it comes to ‘adventure’, basically like this –

The government of a continent may ask the Adventurers’ Association to solve any problem that has cropped up on their continent. The Adventurers’ Association dispatches adventurers in response. And the International Council formally raises the complaints on behalf of the government regarding the numerous ‘destructive’ and ‘illegal’ acts the dispatched adventurers might commit in the process of resolving the problem.

Overall, the Adventurers’ Association has the strongest power, and the International Council seems from outside a mechanism to keep it in check, but in reality, the setting is that the leaders meet in secret to preserve the balance of the world.

The reason why the above three backgrounds caught my eye was simple. Because I thought I could make a connection, however light, to each faction.

But the problem with that was,

‘It’s all a bit pathetic…’

There really wasn’t anything attractive.

[Expelled Corrupt Adventurers’ Association Member] seemed to have some ties with the association, but nothing great, and didn’t look like it would be of much help after being expelled for corruption.

[Westland Government Security Officer] was by itself not bad, expect for the fact that it was troublesome to work from an office. I would have to start going to work from tomorrow.

[Secret Agent of the International Council] was expensive for a reason. First of all, the purchasing benefits were enormous. Special abilities, personal connections, and even the right to access various confidential information. In addition, guaranteed to appear in the next chapter.

However, this meant that I was given a clear role to play, meaning it was a background that I had to avoid as much as possible.

Hmmm.

‘For now, let’s just wait and see.’

I continued exploring the backgrounds.

After 10 minutes or so,

“Wow, look at this?”

I was able to find a gem I never even thought possible.

▶ [The Boy Cursed by the Witch] – 5000p

• Explanation: One day, I drank some drink left on the table and my face turned weird. It was done by a witch who was jealous of my appearance. I can only return to my old form at most once in a fortnight. If I could find the witch who ran away, I might be able to regain my original appearance…
• Purchase benefits:
  • Once a fortnight, you can change into a handsome boy for 1 hour.
  • When certain conditions are satisfied, you can change into a handsome boy ignoring the time period.
    • Condition 1) Eat herbs that neutralize the witch’s abilities.
    • Condition 2) Contact the witch.
• Uniqueness: If you get rid of the witch or get a healing potion, you can live as a pretty boy forever.

Appearance was something I’d always had in mind.

Appearance is more than half the charm of a character in a manga. No matter how good your unique ability is, and no matter how significant your role is, if the appearance doesn’t keep up, you can’t attract readers.

Naturally, the vast majority of popular characters have great looks, and if not, at least they don’t look offensive, or they have a style full of personality.

Appearance is the most intuitive factor that marks a character’s ‘class’.

So, I was thinking about plastic surgery right from the start. Actually, I visited the [Appearance] tab in the character shop a lot.

The problem was that there were at best a few hairstyles and a handful of outfits that could be purchased right away. You couldn’t do anything dramatic with just those.

But that didn’t mean there were no products.

Face shapes, eyes, nose, teeth, skin, body shape, etc… There were many products. Many, many products, but for some reason they were all impossible to purchase.

As expected, the products in the [Appearance] tab seemed to be available for purchase only if there was a corresponding ‘reason for change’, first.

For example, if I acquired the ability to change appearance on my own, or if I applied a background with a strong pessimism about appearance, or maybe if I appeared in a new chapter after a long time?

In fact, I had no choice but to accept it. Because a change of appearance without any reason can cause confusion among the readers.

So, to be honest, I had almost given up on the matter of appearance for now…

‘It’s great.’

It was a bit pricey, but I didn’t think it was a loss at all.

I quickly purchased [The Boy Cursed by the Witch].

It was the first time the points didn’t feel wasted at all.

“Okay!”

I kept skimming through the background list non-stop.

Maybe there’ll be something else good?

That was then.

“How long are you going to sit there and grunt?”

When I turned around, Cocoa was looking at me with gloomy eyes.

“… Hmmmm.”

I’d forgotten about her.

“Go play. Bring another slot machine or two.”

“The casino is already closed. Even the owner is gone.”

“…”

“Not going? You’re being watched right now.”

When I looked around at those words, people looking like employees were indeed hovering around me. Looked like they couldn’t talk to me carelessly, since I’m a VIP.

“Yes. I’ll go.”

I closed the hologram window.

There was no need to complete the purchase right away, anyway. It should be fine to take a little time and consider it.

“Where are we going now?”

“Someplace. You’ll know when we get there.”

Then I laughed out loud.

A place where as many as 7 or 8 chapters will unfold one after another.

A historic site where the first great arc of Adventure King will begin.

“Get ready.”

“Huh? What?”

“Same as last time. Spatial movement. We’re doing that again.”

Cocoa asked, surprised by my words.

“Huh? Really? Isn’t that expensive? I thought it’d be really, crazy expensive.”

Seeing her surprised look, apparently, she’d thought it was one of my special abilities.

“It’s fine. Don’t you know? I’m a VIP at the Goldam Casino. Lots of money.”

Of course, it took points, not money.

Then Cocoa quickly nodded her head.

“Right. But it’s kinda… Then can you give me some pocket money?”

“Okay, hand.”

“Here.”

Next, I activated the movement right I’d purchased.

“Destomb!”

---

One of the central offices of ‘Black Shadow’.

A dozen or so men were seated around a table, but the room was so quiet that even their breathing could not be heard.

After a long silence, the man in the centre spoke.

“From Virgin City to Goldam City. One has been destroyed, and the other has lost its boss.”

“The Queen was not the actual boss. El Viego is the real boss of the Mafia Alliance in Goldam.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Then the man quietly opened his eyes.

“The point is, those boys touched the mafia.”

Haka knew who the ‘boys’ the man was talking about were.

The little kids named Leo and Kiriko.

The duo who destroyed the mafia of Virgin City, and took the Queen of Goldam City.

However, they weren’t the ones who truly occupied his mind.

Instead, it was a guy with a squat jaw.

Surprisingly, that guy knew about the existence of the ‘goblins’.

At the time, Haka got flustered enough to miss him, but surprisingly, traces of that man could be found again in Goldam City.

So now Haka was sure.

‘That guy is obviously following the one called Kiriko.’

There was no basis. There was no objective reason. But it definitely stank of something.

“An order has been issued from above to pursue them. Two people will suffice. The mafia will follow them anyway. Volunteers?”

“Let me go.”

At Haka’s words, the man showed a hint of surprise.

“Haka, you? For even you to go…”

“I just want to get some air.”

Then the man nodded his head.

“If you go, there will be no need for another. Just be mindful. Don’t touch them. It’s up to the mafia to deal with them.”

“All right.”

“They’re heading for Destomb.”

“Okay.”

And then,

Ssh –.

With a faint rustle of clothes, Haka vanished from view.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 개꿀 (lit. super honey) is a slang for something super easy (barely an inconvenience!).

More worldbuilding being sprinkled all over. As you can see, author isn’t shy about borrowing from HXH either.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 16

Transition

From then on, the chapter progressed without deviating much from the original.

Leo headed to the golden table while being cheered on by the onlookers who had suddenly turned into a cheering squad, for his final battle with the Queen.

And,

– Yes! Finally, the long, long-drawn-out fight is over. Actually, the word “long” was referring to the entire Race of Death, because as you can see, the final battle ended very briskly. A whopping 3-0. Not a single win. The victor, as always… is our Queen!

Lost.

Even in an event Leo was confident in, without any unfair rules, competing with pure skill, he didn’t even stand a chance.

Well, it was a natural result. No human in this world can defeat the Queen of Goldam City in gambling. Because her unique ability, [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness], will never allow her to lose.

[Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness]

• When the possessor of this ability enters a game, the mediator also participates in secret.
• The mediator, a mysterious being, randomly adjusts the odds in favour of their friend.
• The probability adjustment range is 1~99%, and the price required is the ability user’s friendship.

Truly an astonishing ability. Really attractive.

Her ability really broadened the horizons of unique abilities in the manga, beyond the vague preconceptions about ‘combat abilities’ thus far.

Moreover, the readers at the time were just as enthusiastic about this ability as the onlookers here and now, and it even took third place in the ‘Most Wanted Unique Ability Survey’.

– Quiet, quiet! Can you all just be quiet for a moment?

The host silenced the cheering crowd.

Now, only the final settlement of the ‘Race of Death’ was left.

– Then the Queen will announce her request in person!

Ahead of the final match, the two had discussed the final compensation for the ‘Death Race’, apart from the money earned in the game. It was the unconditional acceptance of ‘any demands except for death’ by the loser. It was proposed by the Queen to add to the fun of the game.

When I looked around, everyone seemed nervous, waiting for the Queen’s words.

They seemed to be imagining what the Queen would ask of the boy.

To become a slave for the rest of his life and serve her?

Go to the VIP he had argued with and beg for forgiveness like a dog?

Seeing them made me want to laugh for some reason.

Of course, the Queen’s demands would be far beyond all their imaginations. Because it’d truly upset the whole of Goldam City.

However, it might not go in a direction they’d prefer.

Soon, the Queen stepped onto the podium reserved for the victor.

Her body shining like gold, and her countenance fitting her high position.

After confirming that everyone’s attention was focused on her, the Queen announced her request, quietly and concisely.

“Leo, will you take me with you to your adventure?”

The casino instantly descended into pandemonium.

---

Queen Siana joining Leo’s party. This is not something to be summarized so simply. Rather, it is better to think of it as the start of the first giant story arc of Adventure King.

As will be revealed in the next chapter, Siana is a member of the Mafia Coalition. And not just some simple collaborator, she’s one of its leaders, and is the head of the mafia organization in this city.

Of course, she hadn’t volunteered for the position. Rather, most of the mafiosi who are her nominal subordinates are here to watch her.

To put it simply, the mafiosi are employees of the casino, and the Queen is the owner. But the mafiosi don’t listen to the Queen. Nevertheless, the Queen must still fulfil her duties as the boss.

Her strange relationship with the mafia began three years ago, when she ousted the casino’s ‘ex-owner’ and became the new Queen.

El Viego.

The former owner of Goldam Casino and one of the main executives of the Mafia Coalition, lost the casino to Siana. The one who first organized the ‘Death Race’, he was kicked out of the casino as a result.

In fact, Siana was the first challenger to advance to the final stage of the ‘Death Race’ before Leo. Not only that, she even achieved an unprecedented victory.

At the time, she bought the casino with the barrels of money she’d earned in the race. For a simple reason. Because it was cumbersome to handle all the cash.

The problem was the disposition of the then owner, El Viego, and the casino mafia under his command. Siana simply kicked out El Viego and left the mafiosi alone, which was a mistake. They were not truly loyal to her, and they became El Viego’s limbs, disrupting the casino operations and monitoring her every move.

Recognizing her mistake, Siana tried to clean up the mess and leave the casino, but even this was not easy. Because El Viego did not want to let go of her, who had become a symbol of the city even beyond the casino.

He threatened her using his subordinates. If she leaves the casino, all the members of the Mafia Coalition will chase her down.

To the Queen, the casino had become a dazzling prison of gold.

This Mafia Coalition also includes the Virgin City mafia, and the ‘Red Scorpion’ whose name I briefly borrowed before meeting Kiriko.

And their hidden counterpart is the ‘Black Shadow’.

To summarize, Leo and his party will become involved in earnest with the mafia and the Black Shadow, from the next chapter.

Marking the end of these halcyon days, and the beginning of suffering.

He was just walking around like that without care, not even knowing what’s coming. At the very least, ask the Queen why she decided to follow you…

I just looked at Leo from afar, who was standing next to the Queen.

That was then –

Leo, raising his head as if he’d suddenly remembered something, looked around for a moment.

“Oh! There you are!”

Why are you shouting like that and coming towards me?

Then –

“Thank you.”

He smiled at me.

“Huh? Uh…”

I was perplexed for a moment. I never thought he would do something like this. Not like the manga at all.

Leo didn’t leave right away, and even asked me a question.

“Why did you help me?”

“…”

Nothing came to mind.

You have to win because I have to live? To preserve the flow of the narrative?

I thought about it for a while, but couldn’t find a proper answer.

So,

“Secret. I can’t tell you right now.”

‘Secret’, the favourite technique of the slit-eyed character, ‘Haka’. Pretending there’s some big secret, cutting off your sentence midway, etc.

It will probably work. Because this guy isn’t the type of person to tenaciously dig into things. If he were, Haka couldn’t have stayed an ‘unrecovered rice cake’ for so long.

And so,

“Hmm, okay? Thanks anyway. I will never forget your help.”

Leo coolly left.

‘Is this fine too?’

I scratched my head.

I couldn’t deny that I was a little disappointed by the blunt response.

Did I just let him go like this? Should I have bragged a bit more colourfully?

“… Ah, who cares.”

In any case, it seemed that I should be satisfied with the fact that my character had clearly been engraved in Leo’s mind.

After a while,

“Thank you all for supporting me for so long. As of today, I will resign as the Queen of this casino, and return to being the ordinary Siana. Then, goodbye, everyone.”

Siana bowed in front of everyone, and said her final farewells.

It was the last scene of Chapter 7 that I remembered.

Soon after,

Tiling–

I got the message indicating the end of the chapter.

[Chapter 7 – ‘The Queen of Goldam City’ has ended]

[The character evaluation of Squatjaw has been updated]

[The name has been changed to ‘The Enigmatic Squatjaw’] 

[‘Secretive’ has been added to the characteristics]

[Received support from many readers]

[Awareness has increased by 1,459]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[Author’s favourability has increased by 100]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 40%]

[State]

• Name: The Enigmatic Squatjaw
• Characteristics: A little strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox, Secretive.
• Awareness: 1,500
• Author’s favourability: 101
• Reappearance probability: 40%

“… Wow.”

It was the best reward ever. It was definitely worthwhile to have played an active part in the main plotline. If things went like this, buying [Mimic Acrobat] within the target time period wouldn’t be a problem at all.

‘I was really quite lucky this time…’

At that moment, the hologram suddenly flashed blue.

It was my first time seeing that.

Following,

Tiling–

A message arrived.

Not a message about my final character evaluation, at that.

[‘The Enigmatic Squatjaw’ is now listed as an official character in Adventure King]

[Character has been given a rank]

[Character can now learn unique abilities matching its rank]

[Backstory gift pack from the author has arrived]

‘What?’

It was unfamiliar, but clearly something positive. It was also different from all previous rewards.

In addition to being listed as an official character, I was given a rank, plus a gift from the author.

“Yeah, thank you.”

What I was most curious about was the author’s gift. Maybe some kind of incentive?

‘Backstory? Where can I check this?’

It was time to rummage through the hologram window.

Tiling–.

The last message I had been waiting for had arrived.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[The Enigmatic Squatjaw is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 4,377p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 10,000p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 400p for the rise in reappearance probability]

…

Unable to suppress my excitement, I went straight to the character shop and checked my current points.

• Currently held points: 16,896p

“Heh heh…”

For some reason, it felt like my mouth was salivating.

It seemed like it was finally time to enjoy the shopping mall, that I had been putting off for a while.

---

“Hoo…”

Looking at the character shop screen, I involuntarily let out a deep sigh.

It wasn’t that I didn’t see any product I liked. The problem was something completely different.

The top of the product page was also just a place to stare at for a bit. In fact, I wasn’t in the mood for browsing the products.

Besides,

“What are you doing?”

“Wait a bit.”

“What are you doing?”

“Be quiet. Go over there and play by yourself.”

“Then give me some money. Money.”

“Haah…”

The little kid by my side was being a bother.

Eventually, after I threw her about a million gold from my stash, Cocoa giggled and ran towards the slot machine with excitement.

Originally, I would have refused her sternly, but right now I had no choice. Because my brain was far too jumbled to even care about that little kid.

I concentrated on the message in front of me again.

[List of backstories received as a gift]

• Choose only one.
  • Former member of the assassination organization ‘Black Shadow’.
  • Former No. 2 of the ‘Red Scorpion’, who fell from power.
  • Lord of the ‘Seven Rings’.

※ The validity period is until Chapter 9 begins.

“Hoo…”

The emotion I felt when I saw the three options was something close to awkwardness.

To use an analogy, it feels like a very burdensome professor suddenly offered to sponsor you for graduate school. Even if you have already made a career plan for employment after getting your undergraduate degree.

If you are already in the 4th year graduating class, you can refuse with some kind of rough excuse, ‘Professor, I’m sorry, but I already have a plan.’ It’s fine since you’re leaving the university soon anyway.

The problem is, I’m not a senior, I’m just a freshman.

It’s kind of hard to refuse, but I can’t readily accept it either.

Of course, the backgrounds the writer sent me to choose from could not be called bad. In light of my current self, they were definite upgrades.

First of all, the first option, former member of the Black Shadow.

This was the one I saw in the character shop last time, a whopping 1500-point background story. The purchase benefits were great, and there was plenty of room to play an active part in the next chapter.

The second option, the former No. 2 of the Red Scorpion.

This too was similar to the first option in many ways. It’s just that the activity scope leaned towards the mafia, not the ‘Black Shadow’ side.

And the third option, the Lord of the ‘Seven Rings’.

This was so good that it couldn’t even be compared to the first two. As soon as I saw it, I thought that this was the one the author wanted me to choose.

The Seven Rings are items that symbolize the seven executives of the Mafia Coalition. In other words, the Lord of the ‘Seven Rings’ refers to the final boss of the Mafia Coalition.

To be honest, I couldn’t help but be confused.

Here, the author was trying to entrust me with the role of the ‘middle boss’ in this huge arc, either from the ‘Mafia’ or from the ‘Black Shadow’ side.

“Obviously… it’s not bad.”

There was only one middle boss, and he was a core character for one or two whole chapters. He also played the role of a stepping stone towards a great story arc.

In a nutshell, a character whose significance was incomparable to mine thus far.

However, there were a few problems here.

First, as long as you are a villain, you are bound by fate to be defeated by the protagonist.

This means that you can’t be sure what’ll happen after the arc is over. If there’s no reappearance probability, you will simply be deleted.

Second, because the status is suddenly forced like this, there are bound to be many restrictions.

Naturally, there will be more characters that I will become involved with, and I will not be able to be act freely to my heart’s content. In addition, there will inevitably be restraints by the preceding plot as well.

This is an obstacle that can never be ignored.

And third. It’s a pretty good background, so it comes with its own unique ability.

[Seven Rings to Bind Them].

A mind-control ability, to make the wearer of the ring obey the ring’s true owner.

Once any other unique ability is awakened, the [Mimic Acrobat], my first target, will no longer be available. That has to be avoided.

“It’s frustrating.”

Also, looking at the backstories in the gift pack as a whole, you could feel the author’s intention.

The author was trying to merge my character into the plot he had devised. In particular, he was clearly trying to fit it into the upcoming chapter.

It was understandable. An unexpected character suddenly popped out and made a grand bluff, which, of course, was helpful for the chapter’s development, but from the author’s point of view, it wasn’t some good thing.

However, it was not possible for me to simply accept that.

Because falling under the author’s thumb is equivalent to admitting that it will be difficult to carve out a path for survival on your own.

‘It’s not easy.’

Now that I see it, attracting the author’s interest willy-nilly isn’t very good wither.

Hmmm.

In the end, I had no choice but to postpone the decision.

There’s still time, so let’s think about it a bit more.

Then,

“Squatjaw!”

From afar, I saw the little kid running back.

Surprisingly, she was smiling.

It couldn’t be?

“You… you made money…?”

“No.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. Why the smile?”

“Actually, I was sooo annoyed. I couldn’t keep going.”

“I bet.”

“So I stole it.”

“… What.”

“The slot machine. Want to see?”

Then she went rummaging through her leather bag.

“…”

It wasn’t funny. Stealing a game console because you couldn’t win? That too, something that big?

And if you have to steal, steal money or something.

She was truly one unpredictable kid. No wonder her character never got used in the end.

Then, as I was shaking my head, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Uh, wait.”

“Huh?”

“No, not you.”

There was a way. A way to be freed from the plot that the author had crafted, without rejecting the background that the author had presented.

Thinking about it, it was very simple.

It’s enough to become such an ‘unpredictable’ character that the author doesn’t know if you can even properly perform your assigned role. Rather, not performing it properly is more probable.

In other words, become a character wrapped in so many riddles that they cannot be fully solved just with the backstory presented by the author.

And it wasn’t that difficult.

At that moment, my eyes naturally turned to the character shop.

Time to splash some colour on the background.

---

Editor’s Notes:

I know I said it’ll be fun seeing the Queen’s ability. Hmmm. Maybe I lied? But still fun, right?

It kinda feels the author is taking a potshot at the most unpredictable ninja, doesn’t it. See you all in the next chapter!

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 15

1vs5 Poker

The next day, around noon.

I was just about to enter the casino lobby.

A cheerful voice suddenly rang out from the nearby public address speaker system.

– We would like to inform all our distinguished guests, domestic and foreign, who have visited the casino! Yesterday evening, an idiot made a commotion and attacked a VIP in the kitchen. After a long discussion, our casino has decided to give him one chance to make up for his mistakes. It was the Queen’s decision. Truly a blessing for that thug!

Upon entering, there was a guy near the second-floor railing, talking on a microphone. He seemed to be the one speaking.

‘By the way, there was also a moderator.’

I didn’t notice it when I read the manga, but seeing it now, it’s quite strange. It’s like you’re not playing cards but participating in a sports meet.

– Now, what is this opportunity given to him? What is it, that allows you to compensate the casino for the damage caused through a game! And is it just that? No! Through this opportunity, he can seize the chance to turn his life around. A guy doing chores in the kitchen can become a casino VIP in an instant!

For a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

A life-changing opportunity, or becoming a casino VIP in an instant.

How artful an explanation. Because this wasn’t some ‘opportunity’, to say the least.

– Then what is the opportunity given to him! Those of you who know, will know. Goldam Casino’s specialty! Its name, the Race of Death!

“Wow!”

“Oh, oh!”

“It’s the Death Race!”

As soon as the announcer finished speaking, cheers arose from all over the casino. In other words, the Death Race was a very famous spectacle here.

To describe it in a single phrase, it was a ‘public execution’.

In the name of compensating the casino directly with his own hands, it plunged the target into an inescapable abyss. By playing a game that can never be won, the participant is pushed further into hellish debt and is forced to work as a slave in the casino for the rest of his life.

According to the setting of the manga, a total of thirteen Death Races have been held so far, and only one challenger has ever passed the finish line.

– Now, let me briefly explain. The Death Race is divided into seven stages. At each stage, there are games and opponents for the participant to challenge. The passing condition for each stage is simple. Make the opponent go bust. If you pass stage 1, you go straight to stage 2. If you pass all 7 stages like that, you become the winner. Taking all your opponents’ money at the same time.

It wasn’t explained, but that was not the only passing condition. If the opponent declares their defeat midway through the game, the competitor may advance to the next stage.

The problem was that this, too, was never beneficial to the participant. When a participant gets used to a game and wants to ride the momentum, the opponent immediately declares defeat and makes him move on to a new game. Forget about raking in more capital, even the tempo of the game is outside your control, so the structure of the race forces the participant to continue accumulating fatigue.

It’s a really vicious rule.

– That was a long explanation. So, shall we start right away? Oh, and there he is, today’s challenger! Where did that cheeky and ferocious punk from yesterday go? How cute it is to see him so timid! Now, let me introduce you, the bad boy, Leo!

Boos erupted everywhere as soon as the announcer finished speaking.

“Boo!”

“You’re finished, kid!”

“How dare you fight against the casino!”

“Die!”

In fact, it was a very strange sight. In other words, there was absolutely no reason for the spectators to cheer for the casino’s side. On top of that, they were even cursing at the challenger.

On the contrary, shouldn’t cheering for the underdog be the more common reaction?

But, oddly enough, that was the setting in the manga. Here Leo – was the villain.

I looked at the boy with tufted hair walking in from a distance.

‘You look good.’

The main character of this story, whom I hadn’t seen for a while, as always, had an innocent face.

Immediately afterwards, the host introduced the first stage of the ‘Death Race’ and its opponents.

– The first game is 1vs1 Texas Hold’em. And that cheeky kid’s opponent is Kurino, our long-time VIP here at the Goldam Casino!

As expected, it was Kurino.

Where did the dazed expression of yesterday go? He was once again showing a crafty and confident smile.

However, the crowd’s reaction was rather flat.

“Kurino?”

“Um… well, it should be fine.”

“Yeah, let’s give it a try!”

I couldn’t help but laugh for a moment.

It wasn’t like this when I read the manga. There must have been a scene where everyone bellowed out a cheer.

The reason the reaction was not the same as before was simple. The decisive battle with me yesterday was probably the cause.

Kurino also seemed a little embarrassed by the muted reactions of the spectators.

‘I think he’s a little wary.’

If he stays vigilant and guards his heart, Leo will have a bit more of a difficult time. Originally, Kurino wasn’t somebody you could easily deal with.

Soon, the first game began.

I left the lobby quietly after watching the scene where Leo sat down at the table and asked the referee the rules of the game.

This was just the beginning, but it probably won’t take long. For that monster to reach level 6.

Even if the games were incredibly unfair, and even if his opponents were ‘sharpers’ who used special abilities…

Because he was the one who received the most intense and inequal affection from the creator of this world.

“See you later.”

---

1vs5 Poker.

The rules are simple.

The game is played by six people, and the basic rules are the same as those of 7 Card Stud.

However, five players in a team share their cards and the pot.

In other words, they can complete their hands by picking and choosing from up to 35 cards.

“Isn’t it fun?”

I glanced at the middle-aged bald man who spoke to me.

Curty Jones. One of the VIPs of Goldam City, who was currently playing 1vs5 poker along with me.

“I’m a new VIP who just joined a while ago, so I just entered the game as I was asked. What can you do, right?”

“Still, he seems to be holding up pretty well, huh?”

“Hey, can’t you see his face? Just wait, he will collapse sooner or later.”

As it turned out, Leo’s face sported quite a contorted expression.

A total of 18 rounds had passed so far.

Out of those, Leo won only once. And that too, a pot of only 3 million gold.

However, the money our team had sucked out of Leo till this round was a whopping –

“Raise. Twice as much.”

“Raise. Double again.”

“Raise, take it and double it.”

“It’s the challenger’s turn. Would you like to bet?”

“… Fold^[1].”

– 5 billion.

If this continued, Leo would soon go bust.

‘Hmm, is it too much?’

Leo defeated the first five stages with absurd ease, but this time he had no choice but to struggle.

First of all, the problem was the probability.

Make your hand out of 35 cards? Straight Flushes come a dime a dozen. In other words, you can’t even imagine losing.

Of course, if pitted against Leo’s strong luck, the game might somehow become interesting. This is a manga world, and he’s the protagonist, so maybe he can break through the odds of 1 in tens of thousands, and pull out a Straight Flush several times.

However, there are reasons why Leo can never win. If Leo seems to luck into a strong hand, it’s enough if we all fold together.

In poker, it’s not how many rounds you win that’s important. It’s important to win money, even if you win just the one round. So what if Leo gets a good hand? A hand strong enough to win even against 35 cards? Then we fold together. Unless we bet, there is no way for Leo to get money.

So, the writer has no choice but to prepare the same tricks as me.

Then –

“May we come in?”

With a knock, a group of people entered the room.

One man in a suit, two women in maid clothes, and Kiriko in a waiter’s uniform.

They had a food cart with them, and on top of it were cakes and other desserts, tea, coffee, and wine.

“We thought you’d need some snacks…”

When one of the maids said that, some of the VIPs accepted with delight.

“Oh! That’s good. I was so bored; I was even thinking about chewing some gum.”

“Heh heh… well, let’s sip some tea as we have fun.”

At that time, I saw Leo’s bewildered expression when he saw them coming in.

That look on a face I knew so well was just plain embarrassing to see.

‘No one here is noticing, despite them almost holding up signboards that they’re trying something suspicious.’

Obviously, this kind of unreasonable development inevitably destroys the flow of the narrative. The author hasn’t thought about this properly.

Anyway,

“Hoo…”

It was the moment I had been waiting for.

I had to prove it now. My value, in this chapter.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, I spat out a single sentence.

“Wait a moment.”

For an instant, all movements in the room ceased.

“Where did you get these…?”

When I asked, one of the maids answered in a fluster.

“From the kitchen…”

“The kitchen, is it… But didn’t that guy work in the kitchen for a while, too? He even got involved in an argument with a VIP there.”

“That, that has nothing to do with this food…”

“Who sent the food? Did anyone here ask for these?”

Then, the atmosphere around us began to change little by little.

“I see, that’s how it is.”

“What, you suspecting something?”

“Not gonna eat?”

At that moment, Kiriko’s eyes met mine, and widened. He must have recognized me.

Okay, this development wasn’t half bad.

In addition, there was no restraint from the preceding plot yet. This was evidence that the author was also observing the situation.

Then, I immediately made the final move.

“It would be nice to have food and tea after the game. I don’t think we’ll have to wait that long anyhow.”

My heart was pounding.

Would the preceding plot really not stop my actions?

To be honest, I thought the chance was about half and half.

My current action was completely against the development planned by the author. A guy who suddenly popped out was trying to block his solution to the problem. Originally, it should have been blocked long ago, but nothing like that happened.

Presumably, it was because the author had confirmed the dissatisfied feedback of the readers.

In the movie, there was a scene like that. Long before the 1vs5 Poker game started, the chef and the others in the kitchen were preparing food to overturn the match. Also, the scenes of selecting the people to carry the food, the maids being asked by Leo, Kiriko volunteering, etc.

Why was I not being restrained by the preceding plot? This meant that the author, who confirmed the dissatisfaction of the readers, also felt conflicted about the current development.

Of course, I wasn’t sure if the restraints would come afterwards. The author must’ve also been unaware of the consequences of my actions.

Even so,

“Okay, let’s stop eating. Wouldn’t it be sweeter to drink the wine later while enjoying our victory?”

Not yet.

I pushed the cart back.

‘Hoo…’

The die is cast.

Having destroyed the author’s solution, from now on, the situation must be solved by me. If not, I will probably be deleted by the end of this chapter.

The game started again.

I quietly imbibed the special potion I had prepared.

[I hear only you, Whisper Potion]

Compared to its ridiculously expensive price, the special ability conferred by this potion was simple. To secretly convey your words to a single subject.

I immediately cast my ability on Leo.

– Just listen. This is the squat-jawed guy sitting opposite you.

In an instant, Leo’s eyes turned round like saucers.

– You may not remember me, but I know you. And I know your colleague, Kiriko, too. I’m here to help.

OK,

“What? No, what is that…”

Why is he making such a fuss?

– Shut up! You stupid bastard! Or I’ll get caught because of you!

Leo, who had been looking bewildered, quickly nodded as if he understood.

Of course, it was also another stupid act that got everyone’s attention, but there was no time to fuss about the little things.

– I’m not telling you to trust me. You won’t believe me anyway. If you just get a good hand, don’t be afraid and start betting. Then I’ll make you win. If you understand, just nod your head. Not as flamboyantly as before.

After a moment, Leo, who seemed to be in agony, nodded his head very slightly. 

Then, I immediately drank the second special potion I had prepared.

[Hey, I got tricked! Duplicity Potion]

From now on, I had to wait. Until Leo got a good hand.

Before long, three rounds in a row ended with Leo’s defeat, and it was around the time that my turn came again.

“… Raise.”

It was Leo’s signal.

I immediately checked Leo’s hand.

Apart from the 2 face-down ‘hole’ cards, the 3 cards he had face-up on the board – the Third, Fourth and Fifth Street cards – were Spade K, Spade Q and Spade J.

The hand that Leo was aiming for seemed clear. Royal Flush. The highest hand you could hold in this game. By collecting Spades A, K, Q, J, and 10.

As soon as I realized this, I applied the special ability to ‘trick’ one of my cards, hoping this would be the decisive factor for this game.

Then,

“Raise?”

“No sweat.”

“We’ll probably finish soon?”

The VIPs also placed their bets along with Leo, who raised again and again. 

When all our bets finished, the dealer dealt our next card.

This time, the (Sixth Street) card that was dealt to Leo face-up was the 10 of Spades.

Now, slowly, everyone seemed to be raising their guard, as Leo’s hand had caught their eye.

“That guy, maybe…?”

“Let’s get a Straight Flush first.”

“That’s not enough. If he gets the Royal, we’ll lose.”

“Should we just fold?”

Right then,

“He can’t complete it.”

I showed them my hand.

“Because the Ace is here.”

It was a trick, making the card look like the Ace of Spades. 

Come on. If anyone has any doubts here, it’ll become a mess.

But fortunately –

“Oh, no problem then.”

“It’s fine as long as he doesn’t have a Royal. Anything else, we can win.”

“Let’s finish it soon. I’m looking forward to that strawberry cake from earlier.”

Seemed they bought it.

Then the raises continued like crazy.

‘Hoo…’

Of course, even after deceiving these guys, I didn’t know if Leo could actually throw a Royal Flush.

However, if you can’t win even after all this…

After a while, the dealer dealt us the River, the final and face-down card.

“Challenger, would you like to bet?”

And then, what appeared on Leo’s face was the clear smile of a winner.

“All-in.”

---

Even though we were in a separate room, we could hear the cheers of the onlookers below.

Advance to the final and 7th stage of the Race of Death.

It was something that would go down in the history of this casino.

“Eeh!”

“You, this bastard…!”

I shrugged at those who glared at me and rolled my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood. I thought it was a Spade…”

Then I shook the card in my hands.

“Is it a Club?”

The reactions were pretty staggering.

From the guy who cursed, to the guy who threw everything he could get his hands on.

Of course, I easily dodged them all.

“Damn it!”

“He tricked us!”

But hey, what can you do even if you’re angry? The game is already over, and Leo is already gone.

Then,

“Even if he reaches the next stage, anyway, the outcome is already decided. Because his opponent is the Queen.”

One guy, who had kept his composure, muttered.

“Yeah.”

“Because no one can win against the Queen.”

That was correct. She was the only invincible gambler here, with a 100% win rate.

Well, after all, it didn’t matter to me. Because I’d already done everything I could for this chapter.

I glanced at Leo, who had appeared on the electronic display.

He was walking towards the golden table on the top floor of the casino. A place where the final battle with the Queen was to be held.

“Now we can have some fun.”

I sat down on a nearby chair and stretched my legs out.

Now all that was left was to wait.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 죽을 (lit. dying) should mean folding.

Who knew a card game in a webnovel could be so intense? We added some poker terminology here and there, and some clarifications so the readers could follow along even if you don’t know Jack about poker. Was it successful? Suggestions welcome.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 14

The Queen of Goldam City

Four days later.

“Hoo…”

My heart was pounding a little as I approached the golden plate prominently displayed at the centre of the casino hall.

[Names that Blaze across Goldam].

This golden plate was the VIP list of this Goldam Casino.

• Curty Jones
• Biel Basca
• Kurino
• Uemo Cran
• Siona Dougal
• Josh

⁞

Why am I hanging around in front of it?

Of course, it’s not to find my name on this golden plate.

Because right now I’m more like a rich improvident who can’t take anybody else’s money, let alone a current VIP.

The nicknames that have been given to me over the past four days –

Squatjaw, the first of the one-shotters.

Squatjaw, the man of flow and impulse.

Squatjaw, who never backs down from victory.

At first glance, they sound okay, but in fact, the nicknames all carry a hint of ridicule. 

Even so, all I did over the past four days was to win and lose, win and lose. In the order of billions.

An idiot who goes all the way to the end, never folding even when he should.

This is my current image.

But, of course, it was all intentional.

If you keep winning from the beginning, you’ll end up hurting the bottom line of the casino. Forget about this golden plate, my name might end up on the blacklist instead.

To avoid that, I deliberately repeated the act of losing all my winnings.

Fortunately, although it’s uncertain whether my act has paid off or not, the casino has been very welcoming the past few days.

From the third day onwards, the hotel came free of charge, and even the manager followed me and recommended a seat whenever I came in.

In a way, it was natural. A guy who suddenly appears, attracts people’s interest, raises the momentum all around him, and gets cheered up…

In fact, I was also the most talked-about person in this casino right now.

‘Well, I’m seen more as a clown.’

Anyway, all the work I’ve done so far, is for today.

If I want to participate in the ‘death race’, it’s important to win games and become a VIP, but I have to drive out the existing VIPs first.

In other words, I have to get their money out of the way. 

It’s hard to get them to sit at the table the first time, but after that, it’s not difficult.

And last night, I got the news that every VIP on this list wants to play with me. From their point of view, I’m like a new toy. It seems that the last four days of clowning around have paid off.

So, I’m here to choose my opponent.

“Let’s see.”

You have to investigate their names and faces.

I’ve selected a few I remember from the manga. Especially, the ones who participated in the ‘1vs5 poker’.

Curty Jones, Kurino, Siona Dougal.

Following,

“Okay, let’s start with you.”

I picked up one name.

Kurino.

There were several reasons for choosing him.

First, the reward for defeating this guy seemed to be quite attractive.

Kurino is a character who competes against the main character in two events in the ‘death race’.

‘1vs1 Texas Hold’em’ in the 1st stage, and 1vs5 poker in the 6th stage.

Leo’s first opponent, and also one of his last, other than the Queen.

In other words, the appearance of his role is quite high in contrast to others. Since he is that kind of a character, he has a lot of money, and the attention he receives is also bound to be high.

Second… Actually, nothing big. Because I just wanted to meet him once.

He was the first character to show that special abilities can be used in this casino.

In a one-on-one battle with Leo, he uses a total of two skills (special abilities), namely, ‘Clairvoyance’ and ‘Duplicity’. Seeing through the opponent’s hand, and tricking others about one’s own hand.

To put it simply, this guy was the ‘Sharper’^[1] at the Goldam Casino.

Finally, third.

Actually, I was here thanks to this Kurino. Because of him, I knew to use my special abilities here, and I was able to roughly estimate when and what kind of abilities would be needed.

Wasn’t this guy the one who actually guided my path?

So, I just wanted to thank him in person. Of course, from his point of view, it would be an unfortunate event.

‘But so what? He’s one of the baddies, anyway.’

Eventually, I delivered a message to him through the manager.

– Let’s have a game.

---

Under the gaze of the dealer, Kurino and I sat facing each other.

“The game is 1v1 Texas Hold’em.”

Texas Hold’em.

A type of poker, its rules are as follows.

Use 2 private ‘hole’ cards, and 5 community cards on the ‘board’ to complete your hand.

The hand is built the same way as 7 Card Stud.

The guy started talking as soon as he sat down.

“You’re famous these days.”

“Ah, a lot of people made fun of me for being an idiot.”

“That’s just what the ignorant would say. You won sincerely, and lost playfully. Still, you never went red, even when playing poker just like a game. Aren’t you a monster?”

“… That’s too much. My eyes aren’t that good.”

To be honest, I was a bit perplexed.

I thought he just came to have fun, but it looked like he’d already done some research on me. He even seemed borderline vigilant.

“Well, to be honest, I got interested and made an offer, but I didn’t know that you would really come play with me. Don’t you know? Who Kurino is, in this Goldam Casino?”

“Should I know?”

“They say the eyes know, but the mouth doesn’t.”

His eyes curved like half-moons.

“…”

He was a tougher guy than I’d thought.

“I’m just here to play.”

“Hey, you’re not funny, my friend. I was looking forward to our chat.”

Even at his provocation, I firmly shut my mouth.

When you talk to a chatterbox like this guy, you can’t help but get tired. What’s more, it wasn’t just this guy I had to deal with today. Conserving stamina was essential.

Soon after,

“If you are ready, I will start.”

The dealer began shuffling the cards.

They say that hold’em is a game where skill is more important than luck. Since there are so many open community cards, strategy establishment and probability calculation must be done moment by moment.

But the game with this guy was different. This wasn’t a competition of poker skills, but more like a showdown of abilities.

This guy’s abilities were ‘Clairvoyance’ and ‘Duplicity’.

These two were abilities that I also possessed, but fighting fire with fire wasn’t the best choice. It’d just turn to a wrestle in the mud. I had to find a way to get the upper hand.

If I were to pick out the abilities that could be used in this match… among ‘Clairvoyance’, ‘Duplicity’, ‘Lie Detection’, and ‘Luck’?

There were so many different abilities to choose from, but I could only choose two. If you drink three or four potions simultaneously and the abilities clash with each other, you’ll be done for.

And honestly, I really wanted to rather use the potions that were cheaper and easier to obtain. You can never ignore cost-effectiveness.

‘Let’s go a few rounds first.’

It wouldn’t hurt to have a taste of his playstyle. Anyway, I needed time to check his skills and habits.

After a while,

“What’s the matter? Do you want to leave a bit early today?”

I broke into a cold sweat.

I almost went broke in just five rounds.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t prepared. I’d assumed that he was looking at my hand through clairvoyance, but even when I had winning hands, it didn’t work.

My hand was visible, and his hand was mixed with trickery.

‘This can’t go on.’

There was no time to relax. Since I couldn’t keep up with him for long, I had to win the game in a single stroke. That was the only cost-effective way, and I had to have a solid strategy.

‘No big deal.’

I asked Cocoa, who had been standing next to me, for ‘orange juice’ and ‘grapefruit juice’.

That is, ‘duplicity’ and ‘luck’ potions.

The strategy I came up with wasn’t that great.

1. My duplicity neutralizes the guy’s clairvoyance.

2. I’m looking for a good hand by luck.

Betting with just my hand without caring about the opponent’s hand. This was actually a copy of the strategy Leo used when he defeated this guy.

Of course, they weren’t exactly the same. Because I didn’t have the same abilities as Leo.

The only thing Leo did in the first place was to block this guy’s clairvoyance with an electric net once he realized how he was getting beaten.

But that was enough. Leo’s ‘luck’ was so strong that no matter what Kurino did, he couldn’t overcome it.

“Is your throat burning? Two bottles?”

“A bit.”

“Come to think of it, looks like you drink what you carry with you every time… every time you’re behind in a game.”

“It’s just a matter of mood.”

“Huh, really?”

“Have you been observing me that closely? You even know this.”

“No, you’re famous. Rumours are circulating everywhere. I wondered if there was something good in it.”

At this point, it was certain that this guy also knew that I was using special abilities. And even the fact that from now on the fight was real.

“Certainly… drinking this definitely makes me feel better. I feel like my win rate is going up. Maybe I will win the next round?”

“Kikkik… that would be fun.”

In fact, I never thought I would become as lucky as Leo if I just drank a luck potion. That was an overpowered^[2] setting reserved only for the main character.

I didn’t even think that I could completely overcome Kurino’s clairvoyance with my duplicity. At best, its only function was to ‘make one object look like another’. 1 minute was the maximum time limit.

But nevertheless, I was sure of my victory.

The reason was simple, because I knew very well exactly when and at which moment this guy would fall apart.

Soon after,

Swish –.

As the dealer dealt the cards once again, I spoke.

“Shall I make a prophecy?”

“Prophecy?”

“You will lose.”

“What?”

“Your opponent’s hands, which were looking sloppy so far, will no longer be readable, and no matter what you do, you will feel that your opponent’s hand is better. As if your future is barren.”

“What kind of bullshit…”

“You’re going to try to lure your opponent, but even if you bet on a piece of shit, he won’t get caught. As if he doesn’t have any interest in anything other than his own hand. As this situation repeats, you’ll start feeling frustrated and throw an irrational bet for a moment. You’ll go all-in without checking his hand. You’ll play the game solely for the purpose of eliciting a reaction from your opponent. Then what’ll happen in the end?”

Being hasty.

This was the biggest reason behind this guy’s loss in his match against Leo.

“Hey, if you want to taunt somebody, you have to do it properly. Seriously, aren’t you going to play?”

Right now, he was smiling as if relaxed, but that would soon disappear. That smile on his lips, and those chips on the table.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just… because it looks like you’re going to lose for some reason.”

“Heh, that’s funny. Do you know? I’ve never lost a single match, except once against the Queen.”

“Really? Then this will be the second.”

I smiled, and started betting.

---

The manager whispered to me quietly after dealing with three other VIPs after Kurino.

“Mister, the Queen wants to see you.”

“What… a queen?”

“The owner of this place.”

I was finally able to smile brightly at those words.

Done.

Actually, I’d been feeling like the one racing to the death even before Leo.

The VIPs were more skilled than I’d thought, and they didn’t go down as easily as in the manga. Maybe because I wasn’t Leo.

The time allotted wasn’t too much either, so I really had to do my best while drinking special potions like water. Even all my preparations were almost exhausted, so if I had more time, I might have had to revise the plan altogether.

“Then, would you please follow me?”

The place the manager took me to was a room on the top floor of the casino.

As I opened the door adorned with gold and all kinds of precious stones, a stunningly ornate room replete with jewels greeted me.

And in the middle of it all –

“Oh, you’re here.”

Stood a woman in a golden mask.

Even her dazzlingly splendid dress could not match up to her own elegance.

I looked straight at the woman with a surprisingly graceful figure.

The owner of this casino, and the Queen of Goldam City.

A main character of this arc.

And… the woman who will become Leo’s third companion.

Siana.

She was the first to speak.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”

“It is an honour, Queen.”

“You won about 20 billion gold today, right? You beat the VIPs too. Incredible.”

“It was nothing special.”

The Queen went straight to the main point.

“Are you thinking of becoming a VIP of our casino?”

Of course, it was something I had been waiting for, but for now, I pretended not to know.

“Are there any special qualifications required to become a VIP? Is it just spending a lot of money?”

“It’s similar, but a little different. Because it requires my permission.”

“Is there any benefit to being a VIP? It didn’t seem like there was anything special other than your name being engraved on the golden plate.”

“Once you enter the casino, you don’t have to spend any money other than in the games. We offer complimentary hotel access 365 days a year, free room service, and even a car and driver on request. In addition, you can use all the entertainment and amenities in the city that are affiliated with our Goldam Casino. Of course, direct access without waiting.”

“Okay, there’s no reason not to.”

Following,

“There is no annual fee. However, there is one duty that must be observed.”

The word I was waiting for came out.

“What is it?”

“If I ask you to, you have to play a game…”

That was then.

Beep –.

Suddenly, the Queen’s pager vibrated.

She asked for my pardon and received the call.

“Yes, what?”

“Queen, there is some urgent news. There’s a commotion in the kitchen right now and there’s a VIP…”

And at the same time,

Tiling –.

[Chapter 6 – ‘Becoming a Handyman at the Casino!’ has ended]

A message was sent to the hologram window.

‘… Here it comes.’

I opened the window with a nervous look.

In fact, my entrance to this chapter was like a gamble.

The reason was simple. Aside from how hard I gambled, in Chapter 6, I didn’t appear even for a second. In order to appear, you have to catch the gaze of the main character, but I had never even seen the kitchen.

The grace period for deletion originally given to me was up to Chapter 7, but even that was meaningless because I was already being evaluated for Chapter 6.

If this didn’t work, my character might be deleted right this moment.

I read the message with a heartfelt prayer.

[The character evaluation of Villain 3 has been updated]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 1]

[Reappearance probability has increased by 100%]

‘… Done!’

I could barely hold back my explosive joy.

[State]

• Name: Squatjaw
• Characteristics: A little strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox.
• Awareness: 41
• Author’s favourability: 1
• Reappearance probability: 100%

What I believed in, was the reappearance probability.

By becoming a VIP, I created a situation where the author had no choice but to use me unconditionally for the next chapter. I didn’t know it would go up to 100% like this.

Another message arrived shortly thereafter.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Villain 3 is the target of the next chapter]

[Character points paid 100p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 1000p for the rise in reappearance probability]

[Additional 1000p character points paid for achieving 100% reappearance probability]

… Wow.

Looks like, I have to pay attention to the writer, not the readers!

At that moment, while I was still struggling to rein in my joy, I heard a voice speaking to me.

“About the duties of a VIP that I mentioned just now… what do you think?”

I looked at the Queen and smiled.

“Of course, it’s fine.”

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] Tazza, as explained in the notes last chapter.

[2] 먼치킨 (lit. munchkin) is popular Korean slang for overpowered fantasy characters.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 13

Goldam Casino

A week later.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 6 – Becoming a Handyman at the Casino!]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Squatjaw is subject to character evaluation in this chapter]

After checking the message in the hologram window, I felt it was about time.

“Kid, take out everything we’ve collected so far.”

“All of it?”

“Yeah, everything we’ve gathered this week.”

“That’ll be quite a lot. Just a sec.”

As Cocoa wiggled down the open mouth of the leather bag,

Ttlll.

A huge number of vials jumbled out in a heap.

“Slowly! They might break.”

“Squatjaw should just stop making a fuss and distracting me.”

“… Well, let’s sort these out by type.”

After I sorted them out, the list looked like this:

[Yep, show me! Clairvoyance Potion] – 12

[Hey, I got tricked! Duplicity Potion] – 10

[Gotcha, you bastard! Lie-detection Potion] – 11

[I’m the God of MCQ Guessing^[1]! 50% Chance Potion] – 8

[Something good might happen^[2], Luck Potion] – 7

[I hear only you, Whisper Potion] – 1

“How much did it cost you to get all this?”

“130 million gold.”

“That’s too much.”

“The whisper potion was a bit expensive.”

“How much did you skim off the top?”

“Nothing. Who does Squatjaw think I am?”

“Give me a lie-detection potion.”

“I just set aside 3 million gold for running errands. Fees and such.”

“…”

This is why I didn’t want to let her go do the shopping.

Still, it couldn’t be helped. A kid buying a clairvoyance potion has a different look compared to somebody like me buying one. I wanted to lie low and not alert the cops as much as possible.

“Now, how much cash do we have left?”

“A lot.”

“I mean the precise amount.”

“About 300 million gold?”

“Don’t just take an arbitrary storage fee for your leather bag.”

“Then, 400 million.”

“Hmmm…”

Two more banks were robbed, but the loot was still only 400 million. To be honest, I felt a little sad.

“Your face screams that it’s still lacking. You money-grubber.”

“You’ll know when you become an adult, too. Money is always lacking.”

In fact, to be precise, this 400 million wasn’t all. There was still gold and precious metals left. If all of that could be turned into cash, the total amount would increase severalfold. However, to do that, I needed to either visit the auction house or find a fence, and I didn’t have the time for that right now.

Of course, even with just this much, you can buy and drink any special potion like water. There is no need to worry about money.

The problem is that, this amount of money isn’t enough to be active in this chapter.

‘… Is it possible?’

As I checked my plans, I once again thought about ‘what will happen from now on’.

Goldam City. The so-called ‘City of Nightlife’.

[Chapter 6 – Becoming a Handyman at the Casino!] and [Chapter 7 – The Queen of Goldam City] take place here, where the casino lights in the city centre drive away the darkness like a sun risen in the night.

The chapter progression is quite simple.

In the previous chapter, Leo and Kiriko set out on the road without much thought, so they get lost from the first day of their journey. You try to reach the village, but a mountain came out, and then you thought you found the village, but you ended up at the sea shore. Eventually, they run out of food and suffer from starvation.

After struggling for a few days, the two of them arrive in Goldam City and go to a restaurant first, but are kicked out because they have no money. Turns out that they lost all their money while wandering on the road.

At the time, someone tells them about a free buffet. When asked where it was, he replies, ‘Goldam Casino’ at the heart of the city.

Entering the casino, the two are surprised by the huge spread of food all around.

This was, of course, for the invited distinguished guests, but the two, who mistakenly assume this is the free buffet, inhale all the food without anyone able to stop them.

With this as the turning point, they gradually start to get entangled. This is the start of their relationship with the ‘Queen of Goldam City’, the true ruler of this city and the owner of the casino.

This Goldam City episode was one of my favourites.

There are several reasons for this.

First of all, the scene composition is excellent, the new characters are full of personality, and above all, the plot develops in fresh ways.

In most shounen manga, there is a strong tendency to devote the early parts towards showcasing the strength of the protagonist. There’s nothing quite like it to spark interest, draw attention, or make the protagonist stand out.

However, this Goldam City episode is something completely different.

In this chapter, Leo doesn’t use his abilities to knock people down. Same goes for Kiriko. Surrounded by casino security due to their gaffe, the two neither fight against them nor run away. Rather, they enter the casino kitchens to work off the cost of the food.

Leo grilling steak with lightning, and Kiriko with his long red hair serving the food.

This is the main gist of [Chapter 6 – Becoming a Handyman at the Casino!].

Of course, this situation doesn’t last forever. Because what usually happens in such places with an extreme gap between the rich and the poor, also happens here.

A casino VIP comes to the kitchen to evaluate the cuisine, and tries to molest a female kitchen employee. Leo, angry at this, blows him away, and the confrontation with the casino proceeds in earnest from there. Thus begins [Chapter 7 – The Queen of Goldam City].

In my opinion, there were at most two ways to make my presence known in this Goldam City arc.

First. Infiltrate the kitchen in advance and get involved with Leo naturally.

Second. When Leo fights with the Queen of Goldam City, play the role of an assistant by his side.

The former option was easier and less risky. There were no special qualifications required, and very few possibilities that a variable would arise.

In addition, you could spend a long time together with him in the kitchen, and it wasn’t a bad environment to bring out a character’s personality. Because everything that happens there is some kind of a gag.

However, in terms of impact, the latter option was naturally the one that could catch and attract the readers’ attention more. In the first place, Chapter 6 itself was only a stepping stone for Chapter 7.

You couldn’t do both together. You had to think of the plausibility, and above all, the timing was wrong.

After thinking about it for the past few days, I decided to go for the second option. Since there’s a hurry to reach a target, it’s better to choose the option with a large reward, even if it carries some risk.

The latter option, in contrast to the first, required quite stringent qualifications.

Nothing less than being a casino VIP. Because only then you become eligible to participate as a member of the Queen’s side in the confrontation between the Queen and Leo.

The confrontation is not some simple conflict of strength. If it were, this episode wouldn’t have felt so fresh to me.

The two sides compete via games within the casino. It’s called a ‘death race’, and a total of seven games are played one after another. If the challenger wins all of the first six games, they reach the final match against the queen.

My goal was to become a participant in the ‘1vs5’ poker game, the sixth stage of that race.

The reason I specifically chose that game was because it was the most difficult for Leo before the 1:1 confrontation with the queen, and at the same time, it was criticized by the readers because of the abruptness of the victory.

Only in this game, Leo didn’t win in a legitimate way, but with the cooperation of Kiriko and the kitchen staff. By serving food filled with laxatives to his opponents, Kiriko made them abstain one after another.

In fact, the author must have been very embarrassed at the cold reaction. Although, from my point of view, the development was pretty plausible. Leo and Kiriko working in the kitchen earlier had built up to this.

But the author had overlooked how his readers would feel. The readers didn’t like the protagonist winning in such a disrespectful and unsportsmanlike way.

That was the exact point I was aiming for.

What if I could be the helper instead? Then, there’d be no need to hand Leo such an unsightly victory.

‘The plan can work. The key is plausibility.’

Anyway, to do this, I had to become a VIP within the next few days. Only then would I be able to receive the Queen’s invitation.

This is exactly what I’d been preparing for, over the past week.

50 special potions, and 400 million in cash.

It was quite a diverse assortment, but felt a bit lacking in liquid assets^[3].

I didn’t know what the standards were for casino VIPs, but one thing was clear – over the next few days, I had to win more, and lose more, than anyone else.

“Little kid.”

“Huh?”

“Have you ever gambled?”

Cocoa understood the meaning behind my words right away.

“Are we going now? To the casino?”

“Answer the question first. Have you ever done it?”

“Of course. It’s my specialty.”

“Real funny.”

I didn’t completely believe the little kid’s words, but I was still a little excited. Because these ignorant and muddled characters were often oddly lucky. Like Leo.

“Heh, my hands were starting to itch. I’m bored of nicking readies from banks.”

“Where did you even learn to talk like that? Alright, get ready to move. Oh, but we can’t go straight to the casino.”

“Then?”

“Do you think they’ll let you in if you look like this?”

Cocoa was wearing the same things as when we first met. A thick cotton tee-shirt and torn overalls. Of course, who knew when they were last washed. I didn’t much feel that they were dirty because we were in a manga, but, well… the casino probably wouldn’t agree.

Of course, I wasn’t very different either.

“Let’s go shopping. We should get a few outfits.”

“Oh! Then I’ll wear sunglasses.”

“Buy them of you want. Let’s get a move on.”

Actually, I had also gotten tired of the repetitive life.

Now was the chance to have a good time.

Relax, Goldam Casino.

Here comes a pro hacker at EZ Games Online 7-Card Stud and Go-Stop Poker.^[4]

---

From luxury sunglasses to children’s party dresses, shoes, and black ribbons.

It’d been an hour since we entered the casino more splendidly than anyone else.

“Hey, just one million gold.”

“Be quiet.”

“Then 500,000… no, even 300,000 gold.”

“Shut up, you money-eating hippo.”

“This time for real! Really real! I can really feel the touch this time!?”

Cocoa lost a whopping 20 million gold.

I stared at the nine-year-old gambler, asking me for money with red eyes.

Contrary to expectations, this girl had no talent at all.

Not just a lack of talent, her gambling level could be described as miserable.

A level where you throw away all your 10 million gold starting funds in 10 minutes, then smile shamelessly and say it couldn’t be helped because the bet amount was small.

Then continue the sequence with 5 million gold, 3 million gold, and 1 million gold – with the exact same results.

Done in 10 minutes, then dusted in 5 minutes. Even a sharper^[5] playing to lose wouldn’t have lost so quickly.

Change seats, change games – nothing worked.

Even after giving her a few special potions, there was no improvement.

If you can’t pop a slot even after taking a luck potion… isn’t that the end the story? The girl was basically totally hopeless at this.

It was a godsend that I’d confiscated the money in advance.

“Damn it! Give me the money!”

“Haha…”

I pondered what would have happened if I had sent this girl separately to the kitchen. It would have been much more valuable if she had opened up an acquaintance with the main characters and learned to cook a bit in the process.

“Just quietly follow me sipping a drink or something. I’ll let you play roulette once in a while.”

“Roulette? Really?”

“Hmm. So, keep your mouth shut.”

“Great.”

Then, after roughly patching the problem, it was time to look for a suitable board to play a few games.

Suddenly, I heard a roar from somewhere.

“Huh?”

“What happened?”

It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who sensed the strange atmosphere. Questions were popping up from all over the place.

And then,

“There!”

“Third Hall…”

The guards started running towards somewhere in unison.

Aha!

Looked like the guys had arrived. Or maybe they were already happily eating the food laid out in the banquet hall down there.

When I thought so, somehow, I felt my tension rise a little.

‘Shall we take it slowly?’

It was then –

“If you’re scared, just go back.”

“…?”

Some snake-eyed guy was grinning in front of me.

I glanced at the guy’s hand.

Seriously, bluffing without any basis.

His face-up cards were 2, 5, 7, and 10 of Hearts.

It looked like he was trying to complete a 5-card Flush, but really. How many were missing already?

Besides, I wasn’t in a mood to make a scene. There was no point in arguing with a small fry.

I immediately took a sip from the glass of water in my hand, which had [Yep, show me! Clairvoyance Potion] mixed in it.

“Nice…”

“Is your throat burning?”

“You talk a lot.”

“Looks like you’re getting cold feet, so I had to say something. You don’t lose if you don’t play. Don’t waste a busy man’s time.”

“I agree with that. There is no time to waste.”

Then, as I put strength into my eyes, I could clearly see the cards he was holding.

2 of Clubs, 3 of Diamonds, Jack of Spades. 

This son of a bitch has got some balls.

“All-in.”

From now on, let’s go strong.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 찍기의 신 (lit. God of 찍기). 찍기 is the act of picking a random answer at multiple choice questions. See Namu Wiki.

[2] Reference to the old Korean manhwa, 어쩐지 좋은 일이 생길 것 같은 저녁. This was later turned into a game. In its day, its popularity broke records.

[3] 실탄 (lit. live ammunition) is a financial slang for money that can be used immediately, or leftover funds from invested capital. Translating as liquid assets to keep the context.

[4] 한게임 (Hangame) is an online game website operated by NHN Entertainment. Also called EZ Games in the US. 7-Card Stud should need no introduction. 로우바둑이 is online poker that seems related to Go-Stop, another Korean card game – see Namu Wiki.

[5] 타짜 (tazza, lit. sharper/card sharp) is what you’d call a gambler who would do anything to win, including cheating. It is also the title of a Korean manhwa. There were also several Korean movies adapted from it, the best-regarded being the first – Tazza: The High Rollers (2006).

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 12

Cocoa

I did think it was an odd name.

「Cafeteria before a Bizarre Adventure」

Of course, it’s nothing particularly strange considering the manga that is this world’s background. In fact, I remember many shops with similarly strange names, such as ‘Pub of Exhausted Chasers after a Smelly Bigfoot’ and ‘One Night with a Corpse’.

Still, it was a name that did not suit this city which had a fairly developed civilization. Because this wasn’t an area with a strong smell of adventure.

So, I carried with me some doubts when I entered. I wondered how the hell this place got its name, and how come a cafe rather than a bar became the base of this organization?

As I went down the stairs and glanced around, I was able to solve some of my doubts.

First of all, the place was larger and more complex than I’d thought.

Numerous brightly coloured rooms were spread out, and the passages stretched like a maze between them. If I had gone in from the front instead of coming down from above, I probably would have lost my way.

It was bizarre.

The word ‘cafeteria’ didn’t quite fit the identity of this space.

This place was instead reminiscent of a red-light district, except with all noise removed. Under the dim background lighting, the colourful lights emanating from the rooms gave the scenery a rather hazy feeling. Of course, there were no traces of women either.

‘I think I’ve seen similar places…’

I thought it was a familiar atmosphere, but I couldn’t remember anything clearly.

But, well, it would have been weirder if it weren’t familiar. This place must also be just a rough-hewn setting piece that had never been actually drawn by the artist.

By the way,

‘… There are too many rooms.’

I’d anticipated difficulties from the start.

By making a fuss at the entrance, I made many of the gang members rush out, but it was foolish to assume that had been all of them. There must have been people scattered all over the place, but with so many rooms, it was impossible to know where exactly they were staying.

And it wasn’t just that.

What about the kid’s position? It would be nice if she was with the other gang members, but what if not? It was too much of a risk to open these many doors one by one and look for her.

‘What’s that?’

It was then –

“… That’s!”

An angry shout somewhere.

‘Huh? Wait a moment…’

It was a voice filled with anguish.

Also, the voice sounded much too young.

“… I’m leaving!”

As I listened closely, the voice sounded quite familiar to me.

Suddenly, without realizing it, the corners of my lips curved up.

It’s that kid.

As if possessed, I walked towards the direction the voice came from.

After a while,

“Bullshit!”

I was able to pinpoint the location of the target.

A red room, luxuriously decorated, about 10m to my front. There were people inside.

I approached the room and peeked in carefully.

Except for the little kid inside and the person she was talking to, there was no other sign of life that I could feel.

It was a much better situation than imagined. If you just beat one guy, you can have a solo session with the kid you’ve been searching for, right away.

However, I was not in a hurry to move. Because there was one thing that bothered me.

The limit of this invisibility.

• Limitation: You cannot make anyone other than yourself invisible.

Even if I pick up the little kid and hide her in my arms, her body won’t become invisible. It’ll just appear to be floating in the air. Meaning, it wouldn’t be so easy to secretly kidnap the kid.

Hmmm.

I checked the time I had remaining. I’d spent about 8 minutes so far. There was still about 20 minutes left.

‘Let’s think about it.’

Then, as I was thinking hard, the conversation from inside the room naturally flowed into my ears.

The little kid was talking to a man with a soft voice.

“I paid off all my debt.”

“Hey, do you even know how much it was?”

“I should be free now.”

“I’m sorry. You cannot leave the organization until you pay off all your debt.”

‘Debt, freedom…’

Even though I didn’t particularly need to pay attention to the conversation, I still listened to the details without realizing it.

“I paid it all off.”

“You still have a long way to go.”

“Why? I’m sure the others’ debts… “

“Because you aren’t like them.”

“… Nobody said anything about this.”

“They did. I guess you didn’t read the contract carefully.”

“…”

As I listened to the conversation, I couldn’t hide my growing bewilderment.

‘What? What’s this ultra-cliché plotline?’

To simply sum up the conversation between the two –

The kid owed the organization a debt, and worked as their servant for several years to pay it off. She made a lot of money in the meantime and thought she had already paid it all off, but now the organization was insisting that she was still indebted, so as to not let her go.

‘Who is that little kid, really?’

Of course, the exact story was unknown. It was just a rough guess based on a part of the conversation without knowing the beginning or the end.

But nevertheless, I was convinced.

This is a cliché. And this is a character that should play a very important role.

People with stories like this usually emerge as key supporting actors. After meeting the main character and being saved, they become a friend of the protagonist and show off their ‘extraordinary ability’, which is the reason why the organization refused to let them go. A cliché taken to its perfect conclusion.

But the problem is,

‘When I think of the manga, I don’t remember seeing her at all…’

This kid is not part of the manga character cast.

She did not appear even though she had special abilities, unique looks, unusual behaviour, and even a tragic backstory.

Why?

There was only one reason I could think of.

That little kid was indeed planned as a character, but she was unfortunate enough that her appearance was cancelled.

My thoughts had become very complicated.

Is there any way I can use this kid?

As much as ‘unrecovered rice cakes’, ‘non-appearing characters’ must also be a subject of deep regret for the author.

What if I could solve this?

‘Can I make this work?’

Of course, there are too many problems right now. I can’t even take care of myself; how can I bring another character to the stage?

But clearly, there’s plenty of room for manoeuvring.

One more reason to take the little kid.

I checked the time again.

The elapsed time so far was 15 minutes.

It was confirmed that the little kid had animosity towards this organization, so it didn’t look like my job would be too difficult.

First, knock down the guy she’s talking to, then tell the kid that you’re going to help her, roughly convince her somehow, and then take a sack of money and bounce, with her in tow.

‘Okay, easy peasey.’

Then, just as I was about to open the door –

“Hey, wait outside for a minute.”

An unexpected voice was heard. The soft voice of the man had become dry and rough.

I was perplexed.

Of course, it wasn’t because of the changed texture of the voice. Rather, it was because of the contents.

Wait?

I hurriedly looked around. No one was nearby. Just me.

‘… No, no way.’

I held my breath and observed the situation.

Nonsense. I almost believed I’d been caught.

However, before the poundings of my heart had completely subsided, that voice flew out again.

“We’re still talking. Yeah, just wait a little bit longer like that. I’ll go out soon and get rid of you. Little mouse.”

“Out? Who’s there?”

… So.

At that moment, I knew it in my gut.

That guy is referring to me. Something is definitely wrong. Money isn’t the issue anymore. I must run away immediately. Otherwise…

‘It could be dangerous.’

So, it was time to turn right back, and fast.

However, suddenly, dozens of pieces of cutlery smashed through the door and flew out at me.

“Yikes!”

One of the forks barely passed me by, brushing my cheek.

If I hadn’t thrown myself away just in time, my forehead would have been sporting a hole right now.

“I didn’t tell you to run, though.”

“…”

Soon after, a man stepped out the door.

A red cloak, and a bald head.

Seeing his appearance, my mind went blank for a moment.

“What is this… Invisibility? Seriously, cut that damn shit out. Let me see your face while we have a nice chat. If you don’t want to be revealed to the world already in shreds, that is.”

It was a face I had seen before.

That too, in a picture, and not too long ago.

Around the 50th volume, there is an episode where ten adventurer groups clash with each other to win the position of the Adventure King. Title, ‘Scramble for the Throne at Mount Knock’. It must have been this guy I saw then.

I don’t know exactly which group he belonged to, but one thing is certain.

None of the guys belonging to those ten adventurer groups were weak.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that each of them had enough strength to raze this city to the ground given half a day.

Even if it’s somebody at the tail end of strength among them.

“Huh? Not going to show yourself? I’m not lying, you know?”

Saying that, he instantly radiated some kind of intangible power.

Psss –.

“Kaa, haa.”

I couldn’t even figure out what happened to me.

Before I could even stand up, he approached me with quick steps.

“Well, it must be an ugly face, but let’s at least check it out. Right? Wouldn’t it be better if you could leave us cleanly and neatly?”

I felt my body tremble.

My legs and arms were shaking non-stop, and I couldn’t even control my own body.

“Hoo…”

It wasn’t because of the impending sense of death. This was an effect naturally imposed on a character who has felt the difference in ‘class’.

For example, the moment the extra villains see the main character’s unique ability, it’s like they can only keep trembling and are unable to move.

‘Or maybe I’m just scared and making excuses.’

I stopped thinking about it any further, and immediately removed the invisibility.

Well, not like I had a choice.

Then the man chuckled and pointed at my face.

“Look at this, it’s ugly alright. You really were better off invisible.”

“… It’s unfair to die like this, so I’m just going to say a word.”

“One word?”

It was then –

“… Huh? Squatjaw?”

The little kid recognized me and spoke in amazement.

“Hey, you know her?”

The man snorted as if he got interested.

It was fortunate. It looked like this could last some time.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say. Why do you think I sneaked in here?”

The man was silent for a moment at my words, then shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I don’t know?”

And then –

“He’s a stupid bank robber. With an awful crooked chin.”

The little kid responded instead.

It was a cheap enough jab to make me forget the sad story I’d heard a while ago.

“Aha, I guess you came for this kid. But how did you know about this place?”

“Can I go and tell her directly? About how hard I had to work to reach here, and how unfair I feel now?”

“Why?”

“Because I wasted a lot of money because of her, and now I feel like I’m going to lose my life. I want to hit her once, face-to-face.”

The man grinned and then shook his head.

“Impossible. No matter how you look at it, she’s our organization’s treasure. How can I let her get hurt?”

At that time –

“It’s okay, tell him to come. That Squatjaw isn’t a big deal.”

The little kid said in an indifferent tone.

Then, to my surprise, the man nodded his head.

“Ummm… well. Yeah, go have a chat. I don’t think it’s going to solve anything, though.”

Soon after, as if the man had released his energy, the tremors throughout my body gradually subsided.

I passed the man who chuckled at me, trudging towards the little kid.

When I got closer, I saw a somewhat unexpected expression on the kid’s face.

A mixture of tension, nervousness and bewilderment. And amongst all that, a single teardrop.

She looked really sorry for me.

“Little kid.”

“… How did you come here? How are you going…”

“How did you steal the money?”

“What?”

“That leather pouch is one great ability. Is all the money still in there?”

“… Idiot Squatjaw. Does that matter right now?”

“It matters. More to you than to me. Yes, or no? Talk quickly.”

The little kid looked at me, puzzled, but then nodded her head.

“… It’s still there.”

Then,

“Hey, hey! You can’t take that money with you when you die anyway. Stop messing around and tell me how you found this place.”

The man shouted.

But I ignored it and asked the little kid again.

“Okay, if I save you, will you give me that? Don’t cheat this time.”

“… What?”

“No! What are you talking about now?”

The man began to approach.

There was no time.

I quickly reached out to the little kid.

“You promised. If you understand, take my hand.”

“What are you saying…”

The little kid was puzzled, but she reached out to me.

“Haha, what kind of prank are these guys playing now.”

Then, just as the man arrived, I touched the hologram window I had turned on a while ago.

Following,

• Please tell us where you are going. Currently, there are a total of five chapters that are open for movement.

I muttered very softly.

“… To Goldam City.”

---

The little kid’s name was Cocoa.

She was a girl, nine years old, from the far north of Northland.

And she was a lot more brazen than I’d thought.

“I was originally going to pay you back.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Looking at it, doesn’t look like it was properly split. You must’ve stolen some of it.”

“…”

“Pot, kettle^[1].”

“… That’s ridiculous.”

I could only sniff at her impetuosity.

“But… that curse potion. Was that a fake?”

“Yup.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Stupid of me to ask.”

Hmmm. Still, it’d seemed so real. The smoke that rose…

Then, I looked at the kid next to me and thought. 

It’s already water under the bridge, anyway.

Rescuing this girl created an unexpected danger. It was quite threatening.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to ascertain just from the existence of that bald head whether that organization was one of the ten adventurer groups involved in ‘Scramble for the Throne at Mount Knock’. That said, the gang members guarding the entrance were too weak if you looked at that scale.

However, it was true that the bald head alone was enough to be a threat. If he started to single-mindedly pursue us… we were going to end up quite tired.

And on top of that –

“What’s the organization called? Don’t know.”

“Then what’s the chief’s name?”

“Don’t know. That guy’s the only one I know.”

Cocoa also had no proper idea about the identity of the organization. This meant that even with the knowledge I had, I couldn’t prepare for them properly. I didn’t know where they were or what they were doing.

Hmmm.

Well, it wasn’t bad enough to sigh like the heavens were collapsing right away. Because, frankly, I didn’t have to worry too much about it while inside a chapter. The ‘preceding plot’ created by the artist will prevent the appearance of third parties as much as possible. Wouldn’t the risk of an attack be significantly reduced if you keep hovering around the main character?

At that time, maybe because she’d been conscious of my gaze, Cocoa asked.

“What are you thinking about?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Tell me anyway. Because Squatjaw is stupid, and I need someone to talk to.”

“…”

Anyway, it’s true that there is a risk factor, but there are naturally also positive factors in being with this kid.

First reason, you can turn her into a real character and buy the author’s favourability.

Of course, this is just a guess. Anyway, there must be a reason why this little kid couldn’t be made into a proper character. If you try to clumsily overcome that obstacle without understanding the behind-the-scenes reasoning, you may end up conflicting with the author’s ideas. That would only invite his wrath.

Rather, the second reason was even more valuable to me than this.

Second reason, this girl by herself is just incredibly versatile.

“Just how big is your leather bag?”

“I never measured it, so I don’t know.”

“Do you have more room?”

“Why? Do you want to put a building in it or something?”

“…”

What I thought was a special ability.

It was, surprisingly, the ‘unique ability’ of this girl.

[Leather Bag of Holding].

In fact, in a way, it was normal. Wasn’t she a proto-character that even had a clichéd backstory? Although she didn’t appear in the actual work, this little girl’s character settings weren’t going anywhere.

It wasn’t just this. Despite being a kid, she had tremendous strength, and she even did all the work by herself during the bank job.

‘Heh, kid. You’re going to be worked to death.’

Cocoa looked at me strangely as I giggled.

“But what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean, naturally we have to do what we are good at.”

“What are we good at?”

I pointed to a building in the distance.

[Standard Adventure Commercial Bank – Goldam City Branch]

“I used up all my money to save you.”

Now I’ll just have to do a job again.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 쌤쌤 (phonetically, same same) meaning being the same. Translating as pot, kettle from the context.

Yes, literally everybody saw the sidekick part coming. No shipping discussions though, please. First, she’s a kid. Second, you’re just as likely to find romance in this story as in the manga it’s parodying.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 11

Information Guild

The next morning.

As soon as the day dawned, I headed back to ‘Dumb Idiots’.

Of course, I didn’t mean to turn this closed tavern upside down and shout for the kid to come out. Actually, I didn’t even think I’d be able to find the kid here.

Presumably, this was a place that had nothing to do with the little kid. It wasn’t her base, and it didn’t seem like she had any close friends here either. And because she had no connections to this place, she would have chosen to meet here.

In my opinion, this tavern seemed to be a bit of a hub for the criminal types. Judging from the location and the other aspects, that was the most likely. A pub at the back of a dark alley, and men with rough eyes gathering here and there.

This meant that the meeting place was deliberately chosen in order to completely hide personal identities. All the criminals in Big City would have thought this way.

However, there was one thing the little kid didn’t know.

“Let’s see… Was it on the left side of the front door?”

I passed the locked entrance of the tavern and went to the building on the left.

Soon after,

“Yup.”

What I was looking for caught my eye.

A small side gate with a door knocker painted dark green.

I strode towards it.

Then –

Tock. Tock. Tock –.

I knocked on the door with the knocker three times.

After a while,

“… Who?”

An aged voice came from beyond the gate.

“I came to buy some information.”

“… Guild member’s mark?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Then it’ll be expensive.”

“It’s a rip-off either way.”

“I’ve never seen your face before, but that’s one big mouth you’ve got. So, what information do you want?”

“Yellow Devil.”

“… Wait.”

The word “wait” is the same as the word “accepted”.

Done. It took a bit of time, but it was a success.

Information Guild.

A secret group that is spread all over the world, and promises to give you any information if you give them money.

That’s the one thing this kid didn’t know. This place, which she believed could hide her identity, was actually the base of the Information Guild.

Actually, I was surprised when I saw the sign of the ‘Dumb Idiots’ pub last night. To be precise, the green question mark at the left corner of the sign.

This is a sign that symbolizes the Information Guild, meaning that there is a meeting point within a 10m radius. If the question mark is straight, it is on the left, and if it is upside down, it is on the right.

The way to meet them is simple, find the side door with a green door knocker and knock on it three times.

Then after a while,

“Khm, khm. Are you there?”

A muffled cough was heard from beyond the gate.

“Say it.”

However, the words of that old voice were quite surprising.

“The Yellow Devil is second level intelligence.”

“… What?”

“It’s second level. I want to check if you can pay, first.”

“Are you kidding me, second level? That little kid?”

“You seem to know something about the Yellow Devil. But that doesn’t mean the cost of information is going to go down. If you’re trying to cut the price, you’d better leave.”

“Hoh…”

To be honest, I was very disappointed.

Level 2 means quite advanced information. The classification level of the Information Guild spans from level 5 at the bottom to ‘special’ level at the top. The details of a city mayor-level figure, for example, would probably fall into the second level.

Besides, this isn’t even the beginning of the main manga plot. As far as I know, at least a double-digit number of chapters need to pass for level 2 or higher information to appear in the main story.

This went to the point of being absurd. The kid was a secret character set at that kind of level?

Just then, that decrepit voice rang out again.

“If you don’t have the money, go away.”

“I have the money.”

“Show me.”

“Do you think I’m scamming you?”

It wasn’t a lie that I had money.

Actually, last night, before going to see the little kid, I had set aside a gold nugget and a few bundles of money.

It wasn’t that it was a waste to separate the halves straight away, but rather that I wanted to check the precision of the special ability of that little kid. If you get caught, you just have to put it back in. If you don’t, it’s just a little bit of extra income. I’d wondered if the curse would be triggered even though the caster did not even notice it.

In fact, it was for this reason that I didn’t say much when she suddenly said she was going to change the bags. Because I thought I’d been caught.

At that moment, I was in a panic and my mind had felt like it was about to explode. If I’d known this would be all I’d end up with, I would have boldly grabbed a little bit more.

“… Hoo.”

Nope.

I immediately shook my head. I just have to catch her and make her spit out the money again, anyway.

I took out some of my leftover money to show the information broker.

“Is this enough?”

“One million gold… The amount of information is not much, so the price is probably right. Hand it over.”

“The information, first.”

“This young bastard is bargaining now.”

“Look at your own mug first. This voice right now is your real one, is it?”

The decrepit voice chuckled once in response, and then spoke again.

“No problem. Then let’s meet each other halfway first. Pay me half and I’ll give you half the information. After that, we’ll exchange the rest.”

“If it’s halfway…”

Seemed this was the limit. 

When I handed over the 500,000 gold, the old voice immediately continued.

“Yellow Devil. Estimated to be around 10 years old. First appeared here in Big City about a year ago. Judged as a member of some organization, given that there are frequent cases of acting together with other people. However, nothing is known about this organization.”

“It’s an organization… I see.”

It was then that something clicked.

Although this is a manga world, there were things that made no sense. For a little kid to find out the password to the vault, manipulate the CCTV, and set up as well as detonate explosives on her own…

Besides, the special abilities the kid had were not one or two. The curse, the leather pouch, and the power expressed while lifting the sack… that kind of line-up isn’t possible without a separate chain of supply.

“The main haunts of the Yellow Devil are the ‘Dumb Idiots’ here, the bank, the stores selling jewels and precious metals, and the special potions shop. They also often walk around wearing a mask.”

The aged voice shut up after saying that.

“What, is that all?”

“That’s all. Of course, there is still half left. Pay to listen.”

“Is this information worth 500,000 gold?”

“I did tell you. There isn’t much information.”

“Hoh…”

“I’m not going to say more.”

I couldn’t help but be worried. To be honest, it was difficult to see if whatever this guy had been babbling about so far had any particular value.

“Do you have any information about the Yellow Devil’s current location? Or even his lodgings.”

I asked a question out of curiosity, but the voice readily answered.

“None. We can find out if you want to, but it takes time and money to do that. I don’t know if you know, but direct quests are very expensive.”

“It’s annoying.”

That was then –

“However, the remaining information might allow you to infer something.”

“What is it?”

“Pay the money. Then I’ll tell you.”

“…”

It seemed fruitless. But I had no alternative.

When I handed over the rest of the money, that old voice said with a smirk.

“You are lucky. There is only one piece of information left, but it’s worth 990,000 gold. There are three main gathering places for those who appear to be members of the organization the Yellow Devil belongs to. Apparently, in one of them, the Yellow Devil was spotted this morning.”

“Oh! Really?”

It was indeed information worth 990,000 gold.

“Where is it?”

Impatiently, I asked. 

But the answer that followed was absurd.

“Information has been provided according to the payment. If you want to know the exact location, pay extra.”

“No, you didn’t tell me the place, did you?”

“The hint that the Yellow Devil could actually be located is also information. If you don’t have the money, you can quit.”

“…”

In the end, I couldn’t stand it and spat out a curse.

“Fucking shit! How much!”

---

「Cafeteria before a Bizarre Adventure」

I stared intently at the shabby, crumbling building in front of me.

That bizarrely-named basement cafe over there was the location obtained by paying an additional 500,000 gold.

Over there was the backing of the little kid.

“Really, I had to run around so much.”

I gulped down the [Yep, be strong! Power-up Potion] in one mouthful.

I couldn’t go back to the special potions shop. Weren’t they the ones who alerted the bank just because I purchased some goods? Hearing that the bank had been robbed by an invisible man, there was no way they hadn’t taken any further action. Maybe my wanted posters were already hanging everywhere.

So, I bought a power-up potion with a duration of 30 minutes at double the price from the black market.

To be honest, I felt like I was dying with regret, but there was nothing for it. If you have this, you might be able to lessen the burden.

Of course, I, a ‘character from the first chapter’, was not afraid of the guys who were just part of the background.

However, I was alone against many enemies, I wasn’t familiar with their skills, and I had to be strong enough to take back ‘what was mine’ that had been stolen.

Soon after, a foreign energy began to flow through my body.

“Oh… the muscles are bulging!”

To check out the increase in power, I went over to a large tree that was just beside the road.

When I hugged it, it was so thick that my fingertips could barely touch on the other side.

‘Should I?’

I grabbed the wood tightly and lifted it up.

Then,

Souk –.

Without much effort, the tree was uprooted.

“Great.”

This would be enough to clean up that rampant organization that didn’t know its place.

Take over the gang, take back my money, get whatever else they’ve robbed – a return-on-investment of hundreds of times compared to what I paid those thieves of the Information Guild.

After reflecting a final time on today’s goal, I started moving slowly.

As I was about to approach the entrance –

Two men stopped me.

“Stop.”

“The cafe is closed today.”

But the feeling was a little odd. They didn’t make a fuss, rather they were blocking me quite modestly. Even respectfully.

‘Uh… wait a minute.’

For a moment, I felt a bit of incongruity.

The reason was simple. This is because usually in this world, the fussier one is, the weaker he is. Isn’t this a shounen manga full of clichés?

Hmmm.

‘Ah, I’m probably still stronger.’

I decided to go strong.

“That’s your problem.”

Then, their reactions were indeed different from each other.

“… What is this? You wanna die?”

“Okay, leave now. You only get a warning once. Not twice.”

The one who is more restrained is the stronger one.

As soon as I made my decision, I ran towards the weaker one.

It was completely unexpected, and he couldn’t react to my flying fist at all.

Peo–ok.

He wasn’t that strong either. A regular blow to the temple, and he collapsed on the spot.

I turned to the other guy.

How will you react now?

“I’ll let you go, so would you go away? I just want to take a look inside.”

The strength of this guy can also be easily classified according to clichés. If you get excited by the provocation and rush in, you are weak, and if you keep calm, you are strong.

“I don’t know who you are, but you made a mistake. You will not survive.”

He only stared at me carefully.

Hmmm.

It didn’t seem like an easy match.

I stared at him while maintaining my tension.

As if he was also conscious of my power, he didn’t move hastily.

A stand-off.

It was the guy who showed a gap first.

As the confrontation went longer, he looked downward for a moment. Was he debating whether or not to call for reincorcements?

I didn’t miss that moment and put my fist on the guy’s chin.

Following,

“Ka, kaha…”

The guy collapsed with a shriek.

“Hoo…”

It ended blandly, but I knew I was lucky. If he hadn’t looked down for a moment, I might have been the one to fall.

I turned my gaze to my thigh, where I felt a stinging pain.

There was a small dagger embedded there.

“Kkngh…”

Blood gushed out as I pulled out the knife. Even though I knew this was a manga world, I felt dizzy.

‘It’s like this from the start…’

There’s a very simple formula in every shounen manga. It’s always the weakest guys who guard the gates.

That meant the guys below would be stronger.

I was intending to just smash everything and get my money back, but it seemed like I had no choice but to change my plans. I had to sneak in.

“I didn’t mean to use it here…”

I pulled out an invisibility potion from my pocket. I had exchanged it for a gold nugget and a bundle of notes just in case. It was a pity, but it was worth it.

Then, as I was about to drink the potion, a question suddenly ran through my head.

Wait, so what’s next after infiltrating?

“…”

I quickly took a step back.

The thought of taking care of the entire organization had long since disappeared. These guys looked dozens of times more dangerous than I’d assumed.

In the end, the goal was money… I didn’t know where the money sacks were right now, and even if I found them, I wondered if I would be able to bring them out without a sound.

Because.

The duration of the potion was 30 minutes.

I didn’t have time to spare, but I couldn’t help but think about it.

How many sacks can I bring out? What should I take first? What is the most valuable thing I can get right now?

And just then,

“… Ah!”

There was only one thing that came to mind.

The kid.

I tapped my forehead. Did I miss out on the most important thing?

She would know where my money is. Maybe she’s kept it.

And if you can get her leather pouch anyway, it’s not even a matter of carrying money anymore. I just need to carry one kid and run. Even if you don’t have the money, if you have that kid, you’ll always get an opportunity later.

“Okay.”

First of all, let’s kidnap the kid.

Having confirmed the target, I immediately drank the invisibility potion.

Then,

“It’s an attack! Get him!”

I shouted loudly towards the basement of the building.

Soon,

“What!”

“What’s the matter?”

A group of people rushed out from below.

“Uh? Over there!”

“Were you attacked?”

“Hey, are you alright?”

Then, while the guys rushed towards the two fallen gang members, I slowly took my way downstairs.

---

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 10

To the readers. Please like, comment, rate on NovelUpdates, etc. As this is a new project, we need the traction!

---

The Bank Job (2)

“Oof…”

The bank was not only noisy and crowded inside, but also quite chaotic.

There were so many people wandering around, it was a chore and a half just avoiding them all. It was to the point that I ended up thinking I would rather release the invisibility.

Fortunately, a while after passing through the entrance, I barely had enough leisure to look around.

People hurriedly rummaging through their bags and checking to see if they still had their money, people looking around to find out what was going on, people gathered in small groups to gossip, and the staff shouting out loud trying to calm them all down…

In a word, it was all a mess.

‘What the hell did the kid do?’

Even though I knew I had to rush to the target immediately, it was difficult to suppress my curiosity.

I eventually moved to the place where it was the most crowded.

And then,

‘Wow…’

I could barely understand the situation.

To my surprise, the spare vault in the back room behind the staff’s workspace had been blown up.

It didn’t look like there were any casualties, but nonetheless, it was one shocking scene.

Around a hole so large that one could climb through it, dust and stone debris were scattered in all directions, and even bills burned to ash from the fire fluttered around…  

I didn’t know exactly how she’d done it, but what the little kid did wasn’t just getting some attention.

It was literally terrorism.

‘She really went big on this.’

Anyway, that little act of seeking attention seemed to have made things easier for me.

I moved quickly.

The target was the secret vault in the basement.

The first obstacle would be the guards at the stairs leading to the basement.

As I had confirmed the other day, they were quite huge. My strength was ‘a bit strong’, but I won’t be able to subdue them all at once. It seemed like I had to figure out a way to sneak past them by taking advantage of the distraction.

But once I arrived in front of the stairs, I was a little perplexed.

‘… Nobody?’

No one was there.

I looked down the stairs, and I couldn’t see anyone. As if everyone had vacated their positions, there was only a barricade in front of the stairs that read ‘Staff Only’.

Did everyone really go after the little kid?

It was an absurd situation, but from my point of view, it couldn’t have been better.

‘Sweet.’

I jumped right over the barricade and went down the stairs.

As soon as I arrived in the basement, a sturdy-looking metal gate caught my eye.

I didn’t know how the security would be in a real-world bank, but there was nothing else here. 

Only the metal gate was in my way. Once you pass that, the money is as good as yours.

I walked in front of it.

To the right was a device for entering the password.

It was far from some high-tech biometric device that would recognize fingerprints or an iris scan. It was just a normal lock you would find in some normal real-world apartment.

‘Set up?’

Before entering the password, I thought for a moment.

What if the kid had lied? The situation would become quite difficult.

Hmmm.

But soon I shook my head.

There was no motive. There was no personal resentment between us, and she had no reason to want to put me into a corner. Besides, this was too late for that since she’d already taken her share of the risk by catching the guards’ attention.

‘Okay, let’s go.’

I immediately entered the password.

– 1234.

And then,

Beep.

Clang –

The gate opened.

‘Wow.’

The whole process was far too simple compared to what I’d imagined.

Of course, I would not suddenly become optimistic just because of that. Because things might be a little more difficult from now on.

Behind the gate, there were two bankers looking at me, or more precisely, the gate that had opened by itself.

“What, what?”

“Did the door just open by itself?”

I quickly closed the door and whispered softly.

“I am an intruder who sneaked in here. If you don’t want to die, don’t open your mouth and just nod your head. Do you understand?”

“Hah, hey, what…”

“Uh-huh, you wanna die?”

Quickly, the two understood the situation and nodded in terror.

I threw the sacks I had brought at them.

“Hey!”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, something flew at them out of thin air, so they seemed surprised.

“If you make a fuss, I will kill you right away. You don’t stand a chance. So don’t talk and put everything here in a sack. Start from the expensive stuff. I’m watching.”

The two looked at each other for a moment, then quickly nodded and began their work.

It was so quick as if they had been waiting for this day.

“Hmm…”

Then, seeing the sacks being filled one by one, I felt a sense of relief.

To be honest, I was a little baffled. No matter what, this is far too lax.

Of course, this must be due to the settings of the author.

In fact, banks in this world do not exist for money to be saved. Rather, it is the opposite. They exist so money can be taken out.

If you think about it, it’s simple. In this manga, there is no mention of how much profit the bank has made or how much money it keeps. It just comes down to how much money was robbed by a certain villain, or how much was offered as a bounty.

In other words, the money provides an excuse for the villain or adventurer to cause an incident, and by setting a bounty on them, their strength can be easily quantified to the readers by a number. That is the reason behind the existence of this bank.

So, I figured it would be a little easier.

Because I had never seen a scene where thieves were arrested in a bank in any chapter or episode. Usually, there are scenes where the thieves have fun with the money, or scenes where the angry bank executives apply for a bounty adjustment to the Adventurers’ Association and the International Council.

But honestly, I didn’t expect it to be this easy. Even though they weren’t getting a cut, the bank clerks were eagerly shovelling all the money in.

I turned my attention to the two who were cooperating with me as if they were my accomplices.

Now, they were debating which jewels were more valuable than the precious metals.

“Just stop with the precious metals, and start with gold. They’re hard to handle.”

Then they cast at me a questioning glance.

“Don’t worry, carrying it won’t be a problem.”

Then they nodded their heads as if relieved, and started to concentrate on their work again.

Of course, it wasn’t quite the time to relax yet.

In fact, because I had to cooperate with that little kid, it was a bit problematic to use the last resort, the ‘chapter movement ticket’.

I’d made a promise to meet at a tavern called ‘Dumb Idiots’ by midnight after the operation.

If I used the ticket and moved to the next chapter location, it would become difficult to achieve.

The area I was originally thinking of moving was to a place called ‘Goldam City’, where Chapter 6 was going to take place. I don’t know exactly how far from here it was, but one day probably wasn’t enough to get back. In fact, the main character’s party had to cross more than five distractions before they could reach it.

Fortunately, the area where Chapter 4 would take place was close enough to return by midnight even if I used the ticket, but going there was more dangerous.

Chapters 4 and 5 are very small in volume and focus on Leo and Kiriko fighting beside each other and recognizing each other as colleagues. Even if I got included in the chapter cast, there was a high possibility that I would be deleted without being able to do anything.

So, using the ticket was forbidden.

“…”

I just decided to take it easy.

Well, there was nothing to write home about.

Yet,

Tick-tock.

The two pounded on the ground to signal me.

Seemingly to indicate that it was all in there.

When I turned around, I saw five sacks full of bundles of money, jewels and gold, dazzlingly shining.

“Great job.”

After enjoying their proud reaction for a while, I pulled out another vial from my sleeves.

Weight loss potion.

Now was the last moment that made me nervous.

I checked the sentence at the bottom of the manual again.

※ If taken together with other special potions, the ability may not take effect.

Special abilities have many similarities to unique abilities in many ways, but it is difficult to compare them side by side. Basically, there is a huge gap between these two abilities that cannot be filled.

Type, variety, scalability, power, evolution, etc.

Just as a crow-tit can’t keep up with a stork no matter how hard it tries^[1], it’s widely believed in the fan community that even the most well-received special ability is not as good as the most garbage unique ability.

However, there is only one aspect where special abilities are better than unique abilities, and that is the fact that cross-acquisition is possible between compatible abilities.

A very small number of special abilities are even compatible with unique abilities, which later became the background for the appearance of ‘Great Monster Kiriko’.

Anyway, this ‘compatible special ability combination’ was a hidden setting that had never even been commented on by the author, so I also knew very little about it. By the way, didn’t I remember reading somewhere that for up to two, rejection doesn’t happen at all, and that from three onwards, you get a little bit of a combination? 

So,

‘Will this be okay?’

It was bound to be a bit tense.

Anyway, what if the invisibility potion and the weight loss potion were incompatible? Two sacks full of gold would have to be abandoned.

‘Please!’

I drank the weight loss potion with a silent prayer.

A familiar tart taste spread all over my tongue.

“Kgh…”

Immediately, apart from the invisibility, another, foreign power filled my whole body.

“Is this…?”

Considering that the invisibility had not ended yet, seemed that there was no problem.

I didn’t want to wait around for a negative reaction and miss my chance, so I quickly put a ‘weight reduction’ on the three heavy sacks.

This method was also simple. Just hold the sack and say, ‘Be light!’ As I thought about it and gave it strength, the weight suddenly decreased.

“This is great.”

One didn’t lose much weight, but the other two became quite a bit lighter. To about a third of the original weight, maybe?

It was amazing. All that dazzling gold, weighing like some pieces of wood.

‘Wait, the material hasn’t changed, right?’

I was alarmed at the possibility of a sudden side effect, but I quickly calmed down. If it did, the colour would probably change too.

Anyway, it was something to go back and observe later.

I carried the five sacks one by one and pulled them up as far as I could. Due to their bulk, seemed I’d have to be careful during the exit.

Then,

“Hey… well.”

I could see the two people in front of me raising their eyebrows. They seemed surprised at the sight of the sacks of money and gold becoming transparent in an instant.

Shouldn’t you have gotten used to this by now?

Anyway, it was time to leave.

I kindly informed my helpers that their work was finished.

“You both did a good job. Here.”

Then I threw a couple of gold nuggets.

“Your reward. Say I stole them.”

They were hesitant at first, so I even told them not to worry because they wouldn’t appear on the CCTV.

Then, the two of them took a peek at each other’s eyes, and put the gold nuggets into their sleeves.

Taking all the loot with me –

I opened the metal gates and walked out, calling back to them as I left.

“Oh, and you can start screaming now.”

Then, with the shouts coming from behind, I ran like the wind.

“Thief! Thief!!!”

---

Midnight, that night.

In the distance, under the signboard labelled ‘Dumb Idiots’, I could see the dark silhouette of a kid.

“Welcome.”

It was a strange greeting.

She as if meant she knew I was coming, and even welcomed me. That calm tone for some reason gave an impression of indifference.

An unexpected reaction.

To be honest, I thought the little Pierrot mask would at least be a little anxious if I went like this.

The reason was simple. Because I had nothing in my hands.

“Not going to ask why I’m empty-handed?”

“Not really. You couldn’t have brought all that heavy stuff all the way here.”

Of course, that’s normal. But, is it natural for this little kid to react so calmly?

“Take the lead.”

The kid walked out first, saying that.

Looking at the kid, I thought.

No. This little kid is weird.

I led the kid to the place where the money sacks were hidden.

Even though we had to go quite deep into the forest, the kid didn’t say anything. There was no sign of distress, nor any particular fear or wariness.

After a while,

“Here.”

We arrived at the place where the sacks were hidden.

I took out the loot I had buried in the ground and showed it to her.

I thought she’d exclaim in amazement or something, but –

“Is this all? Six sacks?”

The reaction was staggering.

“What, are you saying it’s not enough?”

In fact, originally there were just five. I added one more to distribute the contents evenly.

The little kid started examining the contents without saying another word.

It all looked very serious, and somehow, I felt like I was seeing a professional forensics agent.

“Three sacks is my half?”

“Yeah, take your pick.”

It was a bit of a pity, but I had to admit that this little kid did her part. Strictly speaking, I think it was easier for me than her.

“Then I’ll have three of these.”

“Don’t be an idiot, take a sack of gold and precious metals and two sacks of paper notes.”

I wasn’t surprised that she’s try and take both gold sacks for herself.

“Cheapskate.”

The little kid muttered some brazen words, and then nodded her head as if she was a doing me a favour.

What the.

Then I asked what I had been curious about.

“But can you carry it all?”

“Yeah.”

The little kid then took out a small leather pouch.

“What is that?”

“Watch.”

Then an amazing scene unfolded.

The little kid picked up a sack of money and began to stuff it into the pouch.

“Wow, is that a special ability?”

“You don’t need to know.”

It was hard to tell whether it was more surprising that she lifted the sack easily, or that the sack of money slipped into that tiny leather pouch.

Then after the little kid put all three sacks into the pouch –

“No. I’ll take the other three.”

Said in a muffled voice.

Then all the sacks that had been stuffed in were taken out again.

“What, why?”

“Because. They look bigger.”

“Huh… I split them equally.”

“Just how I feel.”

Then she started stuffing in the other sacks into the pocket.

I took a peek to see if she was doing anything, but there was nothing particularly strange.

“…”

She probably couldn’t do anything stupid because of the curse contract anyway.

It just seemed to be the whim of an annoying little kid.

Yet,

“I’m done.”

She put the leather pouch that had swallowed those three man-sized sacks back into her bosom.

It was an extraordinary sight that my brain, accustomed to ordinary physical phenomena, could not accept.

“Yeah, well… it was a good collaboration, kid.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Squatjaw.”

I looked at the back of the little kid who left without any regrets.

What a strange little kid.

In terms of actions and special abilities, she seemed to be a noteworthy character, but it was strange that there was no matching character in my memory.

Hmmm.

Well, anyway, it was time to leave.

“Should I move soon?”

Then, I grabbed the three remaining sacks and rushed out of the woods.

---

How long did I walk like that?

A strange… a very strange sense of incongruity came up from my fingertips.

It was an intuition that came to mind for a moment, but it quickly spread into a shock impacting my whole brain.

I hurriedly opened one of the sacks I’d been carrying, and found there, instead of gold and precious stones, stones of similar weight.

The same went for the sacks with bundles of banknotes. What was there was not the common currency of the continent with the markings of the Adventurers’ Association, but newspaper scraps worth nothing more than garbage.

“What is this?”

At this point, I instinctively noticed. This was not something like a material transformation side effect of some special ability. It was something completely different.

‘But there was definitely a curse…’

I immediately shook my head. This was not the time to be confused.

I didn’t know how. But what was clear –

The kid was the culprit.

That kid stole what was mine.

As soon as I understood that, I turned around and ran back at full speed.

But,

“Haaah…”

The kid had already disappeared.

Somehow, she did something strange.

Judging from the fact that she did not seem clumsy or awkward in her actions, this probably wasn’t her first or second time doing this. Maybe her purpose had been me from the beginning.

Soon after, the anger that had been pushed back by the sense of absurdity began to rise up again.

By now, you must be counting ‘my money’ happily. You completely deceived me and ran away, confident that you will never be caught.

“Run away, sure. How far can you go?”

But I’m different from the others you’ve worked with so far. Out of all the characters in this world, no one is as good at ‘how to find hidden things’ as I am. Even if you somehow get out of this Westland, you can’t avoid my eyes.

I murmured, brooding in my burning anger.

You messed with the wrong guy.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] Korean proverb, see this article on the Korean Crow Tit.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Support Us on Ko-fi

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 9

To the readers. Please like, comment, rate on NovelUpdates, etc. As this is a new project, we need the traction!

---

The Bank Job (1)

I sat still on the bench, staring at the building opposite.

[Standard Adventure Commercial Bank – Big City Branch]

That was today’s target.

A large commercial bank with branches all over the world, including Westland. Although this place was a just little dot on the outskirts of the continent, there should still be a huge amount of cash in the safe – or gold.

“Hmmm…”

Before carrying out the operation, I carefully scanned the instructions for the special potions once again. 

First, the invisibility potion.

【Hey, I can’t see it! Invisibility Potion 】

• Acquisition Ability: Invisibility.
• Efficacy: Makes one’s body and carried items invisible.
• Limitations: You cannot make anybody other than yourself invisible.
• Duration: 1 hour
• Side effect: Even after the duration is over, a specific area or two may remain invisible for a while.
• Caution: In case of extreme stamina consumption, the invisibility may suddenly be released.

※ If taken together with other special potions, the ability may not take effect.

Without realizing it, my attention was drawn to the side effects.

“… The invisibility of a specific area can be maintained.”

This just gave off a cheap feeling. Just looking at it, this was a playful, joke setting.

There are a lot of ‘joke settings’ like this in this ‘Adventure King’. That was the author’s attitude. Put in all the settings that you think are funny, and then make them come true whenever you get a chance.

From the reader’s point of view, it had been definitely something that intrigued me.

‘Let’s hope it’ll turn out alright.’

Then I opened the other manual.

【Yep, be light! Weight-loss Potion 】

• Acquisition Ability: Weight reduction.
• Effect: Reduces weight by designating a target.
• Limits: Unable to designate living things. The weight reduction range is randomly determined from 50 to 90%.
• Designable targets: 3
• Duration: 1 hour
• Side effect: While changing weight, there is a low probability that the material itself might change.
• Caution: The weight of the object may unexpectedly return to its original state.

※ If taken together with other special potions, the ability may not take effect.

This time, my attention was focused on the side effect.

A probability of the material itself to be changed.

This meant that something absurd could happen: ‘When I put it in the bag it was gold, and when I opened it again it was wood’.

Although the probability was low, it was difficult to feel reassured. In this manga, there was no setting as author-friendly as ‘probability’.

In fact, there was a saying in the ‘Adventure King’ fan community:

– Marking the probability is just the author’s tactic to deceive readers, and you will see that those events actually happen every time. There is no reason for the author to make a setting that he is never going to use.

Hmmm.

“Who the hell knows.”

Keep it simple.

First steal and then think about it. There’s no point in worrying about it right now anyway.

Then, packing the manuals back in my pocket, I again went over the plan.

Actually, there was no plan.

1. Go to the bank.
2. Take a potion to make yourself invisible.
3. Break into the safe you’ve scoped out in advance and take the money.
4. Profit!

The reason I was being so carefree even with this kind of disastrous level of planning was not just because this was a manga world.

Even though it’s a manga, the bank here has all the basic security systems.

First of all, all the guards in the bank are around my size. Among them, there will be guys stronger than me, and there will definitely be guys who are good at fighting. Those are usually the settings attached to guards and bodyguards.

Moreover, it has its own tracking system and a bounty system, so it is not a setting that thieves can easily break in. Criminals aren’t going to have it easy.

I wasn’t underestimating that bank’s security system. There was only one thing I believed.

Soon my gaze fell on the top of the holographic window.

[1 ticket to go directly to the chapter progress area]

• Touch to use.

Transfer tickets prepared in advance. Even if you are in an emergency, you can easily escape whenever you have this.

Looking at the transfer ticket, my heart settled down.

“Great.”

I did a last check on my supplies.

Two special potions, five sacks to hold money and precious metals, a mask, and a sword for intimidation.

“Okay.”

Preparation is over. Now we just need to implement it.

Yes, all you have to do is…

Hmmm.

“But why aren’t you leaving?”

There was one thing that stood out a bit.

An annoying little kid wearing a Pierrot mask, who had been walking around the bank entrance for a while.

The reason the little kid felt annoying was simple. Because for some reason it seemed like he was smirking at me.

“…”

Well, no. That’s not true.

It’s not like he seemed to be smirking, he was doing it openly.

“What, you have something you want to say?”

Otherwise, there was no need to approach me like that.

Soon after, the guy walked in front of me, looking me up and down.

Then,

“When are you starting?”

He said something absurd.

“What?”

“The robbery.”

“…”

It was embarrassing. What is this little kid even saying?

I stayed silent, and he opened his mouth again.

“I’ll help you. Let’s split it.”

“Hoo.“

At the successive absurd sentences, I let out a sound without realizing it.

“No, what…”

“Won’t it be hard on your own?”

“…”

It was just absurd.

From the way this guy spoke to me, to the way he uttered every word, to the offer to help.

However, what was most absurd shit was my heart, where some interest had budded. I was wondering why he said that it’d be tough alone, or how he came to know about me.

But of course,

“What are you talking about, little boy? I’m busy, so go play somewhere else.”

It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t tell the difference between public and private. I didn’t have time to play with this sweet little boy.

But,

“I saw it all.”

“Oh?”

After the next set of words, I couldn’t ignore this little boy any longer.

“I saw you buying the special potion.”

“… What?”

“There are only two types of people who buy the invisibility potion. Perverts – and thieves.”

“…”

“You even bought a weight loss potion alongside it, so you must be the latter. Aren’t you here to rob the bank?”

It was frustrating. How did this little boy know that?

Perhaps he noticed the question on my face, because he continued in an indifferent tone.

“Idiot. The special potion shop isn’t for just everyone. From the moment you walk in, there will be people who will keep an eye on you, and if you want to just buy something and leave, they will immediately follow you.”

“… Like you?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill audacity. For some reason, I felt like I wanted to pull away that Pierrot mask and reveal the face inside.

“Anyway, you said it’s going to be hard on my own. Why is that?”

“They’ve doubled the number of guards.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Idiot. Why do you think?”

“What? Because of me?”

“Yup.”

“That doesn’t sound like… but I haven’t even done anything yet?”

“Maybe the store contacted all the nearby banks and jewellers. That a very suspicious-looking big-chinned-guy bought an invisibility potion.”

“Hoo…”

It wasn’t funny. Treating your valued customers as potential criminals…

Of course, this time they happened to be on the money.

“Is that so.”

“That’s how it is. This happens now and then. They’ll keep this up for who knows how many days.”

“Hmm.”

At this point, I couldn’t help but ask.

“So how are you going to help?”

“I want half.”

“Fine, let’s talk.”

“I’ll catch their attention. I can also fix CCTV inside the safe. Oh, and I’ll reduce the number of guards a bit.”

“How?”

“Wait and see.”

“Hmm… but is that all?”

“I’ll give you some information. The vault password. It was hard to find out.”

For a moment, I was frozen, stunned by embarrassment.

“What… didn’t you even have a plan?”

“Huh.”

“…”

Once again, embarrassment struck.

Are all these coincidences? The day you decide to rob a bank, you are caught by another thief and get an offer to work together? And it’s even a kid?

‘What is this kid’s character?’

It was surprising that a character merely part of the background would act like this. A kid, trying to rob a bank?

I glanced over at him again.

A Pierrot mask I’ve never seen before. Appears to be about eight or nine years old. A young voice…

There was no character that really matched. It wasn’t a matter of the face being covered. In the first place, it was rare to find a chapter in which a kid this size was part of the cast.

Hmmm.

Yeah, maybe because it’s a manga world, these kinds of things can happen every day. A world full of little thieves. In fact, there were no cities with this kind of background.

Anyway, it wasn’t too bad for me.

“What is the password for the safe?”

“Wait.”

Saying that, the little boy took a vial out of his pocket and drank the contents.

Surprisingly, it was a special potion.

“【Yup, keep your promise! 】 It’s a curse potion. You will be cursed if you do not fulfil your contract with me. That big, proud chin might get ripped in two?”

“Uh… right.”

The little boy seemed to think that I was very proud of this chin.

“Reach out your hand.”

As soon as I reached out, the kid grabbed my hand. Then, a purple gas slowly rose from his hand, and immediately wrapped around our hands.

“Oh…”

It was a strange sight.

Soon after, the little boy slowly opened his mouth.

“Will you split things half-n’-half^[1] after the operation succeeds?”

“Kik…“

I couldn’t help but grin. I really liked the kid, half-n’-half.

“Why are you laughing? Say that you get it.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

As soon as the words were said, the purple smoke pulsed once.

“Is that it?”

“Not yet. After splitting the money, what if you snatch it back?”

“… I won’t snatch it back. What do you think people are?”

To be honest, he was a bit sharp. I was thinking of grabbing the loot and leaving him money to buy a few cookies.

I secretly glanced at the little boy.

By the way, this kid… I’m the one trying to rob the bank, and this guy secretly followed me to rob me. Why does this little boy need that kind of money?

“Put away that rude face of yours.”

“…”

I was probably being a bit obvious.

At that moment, all the purple smoke that had wrapped around my hand disappeared.

“Now it’s over.”

“Oh? Didn’t look like much.” 

“Try breaking it. If you get cursed, you’ll be singing a different tune.”

“I didn’t say I was going to break it.”

The little boy stared at me for a while, and then opened his mouth.

“The password is 1234.”

“…”

It was a little embarrassing.

“Is that… so?”

“Yeah. It was hard to find out.”

“… Right.”

It was so ridiculous that I had to laugh out loud. The writer was trying to be funny, as usual.

If he hadn’t set it up, there would have been no need for a password this easy. So, it must have been set this way on purpose. In other words, this is also one of the joke settings. Perhaps all the banks’ safe passwords are the same as this one. Or ‘0000’.

Just then –

‘Huh? Wait a moment. Isn’t this a good thing?’

I pictured myself taking a dip inside a stash of money piled up like a mountain.

Isn’t this good? Shall we rob them all?

And as I was imagining that rosy future,

“You can start in five minutes.”

The little boy turned around and spoke.

“Five minutes?”

“Yeah. And after the job’s done, come meet me around midnight at ‘Dumb Idiots’.”

“Who’s a dumb idiot?!”

“You idiot. It’s the name of the pub in the back alley of 3rd Street.”

“Okay.”

“Remember. Five minutes.”

I stared at the little boy who was walking back towards the bank. What can that guy do in five minutes?

But my doubts were soon put to rest.

Just as a young kid slammed the bank doors open and jumped out –

“Thief! Catch him! That damned yellow devil!”

With a shout, ten of the guards rushed out.

Apparently, the kid was quite notorious. Everyone was chasing him like mad.

And another surprise was,

“It was a girl.”

It looked like the little kid had been hiding her hair inside the Pierrot mask. Long, pale yellow hair that reached up to the waist.

I drank the potion of invisibility while watching the scene.

The moment I poured it in my mouth, the sheer sourness gave me a shock.

“Huuu…”

It was kind of embarrassing.

Do different potions taste different? It was surprising that the little kid didn’t say anything.

Soon after,

“Ohh.”

An unfamiliar power filled my body.

I’ve been wondering how to use these manga abilities, but it was nothing special. I just put some strength into my whole body, and it activated immediately.

I smiled as I looked at my hands that were blurring little by little.

“This is fun.”

After confirming that my whole body had become transparent, I slowly entered the bank which had already become messed up by an untimely intrusion of thieves.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 반반 (lit. half-and-half) can be used in a lot of different situations (ordering food, paying your bills etc.), one of them is expressing your opinion – i.e., you’re half agreeing and half disagreeing.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 8

To the readers. Please like, comment, rate on NovelUpdates, etc. As this is a new project, we need the traction!

---

Unrecovered Rice Cakes

When I got near the Virgin City Tower and yet there was no warning message, I felt my heart pound for the first time.

And when I realized that no one was guarding the front door, I felt my heart pound for the second time.

Third, when I didn’t feel the slightest sign of life inside the destroyed building.

Fourth, when I discovered that the boss’s room remained intact.

And fifth –

“Wow, jackpot.”

When I found a safe the size of a small refrigerator in there, I felt my heart pound for the fifth time.

My memory had been spot on. I’d recalled a glimpse of a scene where, hearing that the two attackers had been forcing their way in, the mafia boss had said something like, ‘Well, I need to pack everything back into the safe…’.

I hauled the safe to the top of the table, then gently caressed it.

The steel shell looked pretty solid, but somehow it felt like I could break it.

This ‘Villain 3’ character that I possessed (oh, he’s ‘Squatjaw’ now) is a character with the characteristic of being ‘a little strong’. And the characters called ‘strong’ in this manga can basically easily lift a rock the size of a house.

‘Should I just break it?’

I grabbed the top of the safe and applied a bit of pressure.

OK,

Ddddduuuuuuk –

The safe crumpled in an instant.

“Oh, huh.”

It looked like the door could be ripped off with a bit of effort.

After a few minutes of wrestling, I managed to unlock the safe’s door.

“… Oh my god.”

Inside the safe, bundles of cash were piled up one after another. There was even a sack next to them to put things in.

“How much is all this?”

At first glance, there were dozens of bundles of banknotes alone.

Of course, I couldn’t figure out that amount right away. I only knew that the unit of currency here was ‘gold’, but this was the first time I’d ever seen a real money bill.

“Well, there’ll be time to count it slowly later.”

I hummed as I swept the money into the sack.

Then, as I lifted the sack full of money on my shoulders, a feeling of contentment welled up from the very core of my heart. It felt as if there was finally a ray of light on the perilous path of survival.

But just then,

Tic-tac-tic-tic.

Something happened to make my heart tremble for the sixth time.

And the tremor this time was incomparably intense compared to the last five.

Really, my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

“Excuse me, are you a thief?”

For the first time, my body froze in surprise.

I turned my stiff head back, trying to calm my startled heart.

A man was standing before my gaze.

A ‘slit-eyed character’, wearing a sharp suit.

He was looking at me through those slitted eyes with a strange smile.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t decided what to do with you yet.”

“…”

Despite his calm tone, the trembling in my heart did not subside. On the contrary, it pulsed even more violently.

The reason was simple. Because it was a familiar face.

“Have you got anything other than the money in that sack of yours?”

“…”

Instead of answering, I slowly shook my head.

“Can I check?”

Nod, nod.

I put the sack down and took a couple of steps back.

I watched as he came over and opened the sack.

“It’s well-packed.”

“…”

“By the way, how did you get here? Do you have any ties to the mafia here? Tell the truth.”

After calming down my restless heart, I timidly answered in a soft voice.

“I’m just… a little thief…”

“Hmm.”

The slit-eyed character in front of me was called Haka. A very secretive guy.

His identity was so tightly veiled that even I, who’d read the manga right up to the end, knew little about his secret.

To put it simply, he was the first ‘unrecovered rice cake’^[1] that’d appeared in Adventure King. An unusual story element or character that popped up, aroused the readers’ interest, but never got explained or resolved even when the work ended.

An unlucky character who slipped into the story here and there from the beginning, acting as if there was some great secret involved, and then disappeared without even startling a mouse or a bird.

I considered this a clear mistake on the author’s part, but according to the author’s logic, he was one of those characters who disappeared because he couldn’t prove his worth.

As time went on, he lost his initial momentum and showed all sorts of oddities. It could be said that the cold, insidious, and playful murderer gradually degenerated into a less-than-ideal gag character.

Perhaps the writer couldn’t help it either. There must’ve been a storyline prepared for this guy, but for some reason or another, he just got overlooked for a while, and after that, he must’ve become a difficult character to use. By then, all he was good for was to be a gag character.

But –

“Actually, it was a lie. That I haven’t decided what to do with you.”

Even if he showed a strange appearance later, that was only – ‘later’.

At least now, this guy was a very secretive and intimidating character. Strong enough to threaten even the main characters right now.

“I’m sorry, but what do you think we should do?”

The man smiled as he slowly approached me.

What should we do…?

An alarm sounded in my head. I needed to be careful, or I could actually get killed here.

I calmed my thoughts.

‘It’s still okay, there’s a chance.’

This guy was dangerous. But he had a definite odd and geeky side to him. As I recalled, he never killed people immediately.

“Let me give you one chance, because it’s just embarrassing otherwise. I’ll ask you a riddle, and if you answer it correctly, I’ll let you leave. If you don’t get it right, well, you know?”

Yes, just like right now.

An absurd and unexpected suggestion of a riddle game. However, this was one of his habits and one of the main settings the author had wanted to put into this character.

When I nodded, he grinned and posed his riddle.

I have a total of five brothers including myself.

I’m good at disturbance, teasing, and trickery; and I like to play hide and seek.

I always look at the world with three questions in mind.

Who am I?

“Do you know the answer?”

I was silent at his question.

In fact, I knew the answer as soon as I heard the question. Because this problem was part of his standard repertoire.

The only reason I hesitated was because I didn’t know how many humans would be able to answer this right now.

The ‘beings’ who were the answer to this riddle, were a race that only appeared in earnest in the mid-to-late half of the work. Right now, their ‘den’ was somewhere in the opposite direction of Westland, where the main character and his party were currently wandering. Even there, they were rare enough to be called a legendary race.

To be honest, the very fact that this guy asked about them at this point was close to a configuration error. That he actually had a relationship with them, even more so.

Even so, if I dared to guess the reason why this setting was applied… Perhaps the author had conceived of this race and wanted to use it right away, so he was trying to reveal it through this guy. At this point in the work, the most secret character was this guy. He must’ve thought that he’d be able to figure it all out somehow later.

However, this became a poison pill for the character instead. If a character’s story arc goes on unresolved for years, it’s nothing but shackles limiting his actions.

Anyway, getting the answer right wasn’t a problem. It was a matter of whether I could survive this unpredictable bastard afterwards.

“Silence means you don’t know the answer, right? Well then, I’m sorry, but I’m going to end it here.”

But, well, I didn’t have any other options anyway.

I muttered as I looked at the guy approaching me.

“… Goblin.”

“Then, goodbye… Yes?”

“It’s called a goblin, a goblin. Right?”

“Uh… huh?”

“Can I go now?”

I took advantage of his embarrassment and quickly grabbed the sack from the table.

“Wait a bit, wait!”

Then he hurriedly grabbed me.

“Hey, one more! So, can you tell the goblins’ unique abilities, who are their five gods? If you get this right, I’ll admit it and let you go!”

Was he lying again, or not?

Of course, the answer wasn’t difficult.

“God of Mischief, God of Lies, God of Whimsy, God of Pretence, God of Sabotage.”^[2]

“…”

“Right? Then I’ll be going.”

It seemed that the shock was too great. He stayed still and could only gape like a fish as I took my sack full of cash and left the room. Or maybe there was a conflict of settings in the guy’s head.

Anyway, it was very lucky for me.

‘Should I run, first?’

As soon as I made up my mind, I started sprinting.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be chasing me.

After a while.

Returning to Rosemarietta’s shop, I reflected on my meeting with Haka.

I met an unexpected character and was in danger of dying, but survived surprisingly easily.

I found this quite positive.

‘Is this a good thing?’

There was also the fact that he was a character who showed his face quite often in the early parts of the manga that was still to come. Moreover, he had a strong significance in the arc involving the ‘Black Shadow’. One of his various identities was being a member of the ‘Black Shadow Secret Service’. Perhaps the reason why he appeared here was because of the background settings related to it.

What if he remembered my existence? Maybe, I might be able to come up with a new rice cake?

Or even better –

What if I picked up that ‘rice cake that’d disappear without being recovered’ and weaved it into the story?

‘I think the writer might even like it.’

Not just this guy. In the future, rice cakes would float around, unrecovered, in various places. What if those could be woven into the story through me? Wouldn’t it be possible to win the favourability of the author as well as the liking of the readers?

In the first place, a rice cake itself is a factor that arouses the interest of readers. The moment the rice cake gets hooked to a side plot and that side plot is woven back into the main story, all the spotlights are bound to focus on the person at its centre.

Namely – me.

“Hmmm.”

Of course, it was just an idea for now. I’d have to look into the situation carefully and make a decision.

At this point, I decided to stop thinking about him. Since no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t come to a conclusion right now.

And to be honest, it was hard to think of anything else because the loot I’d acquired kept glimmering at the edges of my vision.

With a bright smile, I opened the sack up.

Screw it all, let’s count the money first.

---

“Mr. Squatjaw, goodbye!”

“Yeah, bye.”

I said my farewells to Rosemarietta, who was seeing me off, and got on the horse that’d been waiting for me.

It was Squatjaw all the way to the end.

Several requests for revision were ultimately unsuccessful. Even after I taught her my actual name, she kept calling me ‘Squatjaw’ without any regard at all. That surprisingly shameless face was a bonus.

Of course, it’s not like her intelligence had any serious problems or anything. Maybe this was something set by the system. However, for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being teased…

Hmmm.

Anyway, it was time to leave.

I opened the map Rosemarietta had given me.

I was curious to see how the map would show the areas not introduced in the work, but again, there was nothing.

On the sparsely drawn terrain, only large and small dots could be seen here and there. The dot size seemed to indicate the size of the city.

“Well, where is this…”

Anyway, I managed to find the way to the big city nearby.

I put the map back in my sleeve and nudged the horse to move.

– 3 hours later.

I arrived at the ‘Big City’, the largest city in the vicinity. What an absurdly appropriate name.

Upon entering the city, I was greatly surprised in two respects.

First, there was a huge difference in the development and even the civilization level between cities.

This would only be possible in a manga world. Although it was similarly called a city, what could be called the triumph of civilization in the Virgin City was, at best, a gun. Horses and carriages were the only means of transportation.

However, this city was completely different. Cars and trams were running right before my eyes, and even the people wore much more modern clothes. How come there’s so much of a difference, when it’s not even that far?

And secondly, the exterior of this city was not unfamiliar.

This was quite bizarre. Because I’ve never actually seen this city in the manga. Because the main characters had never been here.

In particular, some buildings and places were so familiar that it felt dreary, and in fact, I could recall the scene in which they were used as the background.

As a result of careful thought, I was able to hypothesize one fact.

This place was created by weaving together different aspects of the cities I’ve seen in the manga.

“How interesting.”

In fact, in a way, this might be normal. This city will exist only as a ‘metropolis’ or a ‘modern civilized city’ in the artist’s consciousness. Unless there is a scene or two drawn separately for it, it can only be roughly composed based on the other cities in the work.

And as a result, I was able to find my destination very simply.

[Big City Special Potion Shop]

It was as expected. The special potion shops that appeared briefly in the manga usually had a unique and intuitive appearance. It could be said that anyone could see the purpose of the store, just by looking at it from the outside.

I went straight into the building in the bizarre shape of a large vial.

A special drug that transforms humans and artificially imparts supernatural powers. Even just hearing the explanation, the item seems illegal and something likely to be trafficked in the dark, but in reality, it was the other way around.

The very stylish interior, the employees who greet you with a smile, and the display stands arranged by item, from the best to the classic, the old discount products, and the new products. It felt like a fashion shop trying to ride the trends.

Even the atmosphere –

“Customer, is there a product you are looking for?”

“Uh… well, I’ll take a look first.”

“Yes, please tell me if you need anything.”

–  Until it was hard to follow.

I quickly ran away from the enthusiastic staff to a deserted nook, and then slowly started to scan the potions that were there.

Yet,

“… Hmm.”

I was a little perplexed, because the instruction manuals attached to the products were much more detailed than expected.

In fact, special abilities don’t play a huge role in manga. Since there is a better option called ‘unique ability’, at most, it was only used by the early villains.

Of course, there is an episode in the middle where the point-of-view character is someone who uses a special ability, but that also focused more on the character’s personal history rather than the ability itself.

In other words, the setting of special abilities has never been introduced in such detail in the manga.

However, the manual was full of information about the ability generated by the potion, the utility and limitations of the ability, the duration, whether it was one-time, and side effects. To be honest, I didn’t even know there were separate one-time potions and permanent potions until I saw this.

There were thousands of special potions that caught my eye, so if they were all different types and even the instructions were different, it could be said that the author really created an enormous setting for special abilities. Maybe over a few hundred A4 pages.

My surprise didn’t stop there.

“Huh… crazy.”

I doubted my two eyes.

“A, a million gold?”

A set of 10 disposable special potions was worth 1 million gold each. The money I stole from the mafia vault was 5 million gold, in comparison.

Hell, it wasn’t even a potion that granted some great ability. The abbreviation was [Ugh! It smell! Stinky-Stink Potion]. It allowed one to emit a stinky smell and lasted less than an hour.

Even this was the cheapest. Powerful, long-lasting potions were not even purchasable in bulk.

‘It’s all ruined.’

I’d been planning to prepare for the next chapter by stocking up on a lot of important special abilities…

I was in agony.

Now what?

Of course, the answer was simple.

Make more money. Because there’s still plenty of time.

The problem was how.

“Hooo…”

After a while, after a lot of thought and contemplation, I bought two special potions with tears in my eyes. Even though I purchased only one of each, it cost a whopping total of 3 million gold.

It was almost like investing 60% of my total fortune, but I had no choice but to do it. I thought this would be the fastest and easiest route.

I glanced at the two special potions in my hand.

[Hey, I can’t see it! Invisibility Potion]. And [Yep, be light! Weight-loss Potion].

“Screw it all. It’ll work out somehow.”

My plan was simple.

I was going to rob a bank.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 못한 떡밥 (lit. rice cake): We have added a simple explanation of ‘unrecovered rice cakes’ into the text itself to smooth out the story flow. See Namu Wiki for a detailed explanation. This isn’t the exact same as a MacGuffin, or a Chekov’s Gun, although there are similarities and overlaps. But ‘rice cake’ is a Korean term that we haven’t localized into any English equivalent. Haka here could be said to be set up by the author as a future Chekov’s Gunman, but since he never fulfilled his potential in the original, he was just an unrecovered rice cake at the end.

[2] 장난꾸러기 신 = God of Mischief, 거짓말쟁이 신 = God of Lies, 변덕쟁이 신 = God of Whimsy, 허풍선이 신 = God of Pretence, 훼방꾼 신 = God of Sabotage.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter

Surviving a Shounen Manga – Episode 7

To the readers. Please like, comment, rate on NovelUpdates, etc. As this is a new project, we need the traction!

---

Who Gets the Money of the Defeated Villains?

After five days.

“Ki-, Kiriko-san! Be careful!”

“No need to make a fuss. Have a beer ready.”

Following Rosemarietta’s cry, I shouted along too.

“Do you remember everything I told you? Be mindful!”

“Okay, you shut up too.”

Then, looking at Kiriko’s back as he and Leo were moving away, I thought –

It’s ruined.

“…”

All my attempts to get even a little bit entangled in their story had been in vain.

I’d thought that at least one of the plans would work, but I was completely wrong. It seems that the author was extremely reluctant to allow something unexpected to intervene in the situation he had devised.

The first attempt was to approach Leo separately. I asked if he remembered the me he met in Initialis, and I tried to weave myself into the plot naturally.

However, this was blocked from the beginning.

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by preceding plot]

[Silence is forced for 20 seconds as a cumulative penalty]

I was stopped right at the starting line.

Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be like this. Not only was I unable to talk to him, but even getting close was forbidden. In addition, no action that might attract Leo’s attention was allowed.

Eventually, I had to give up.

The next thing I tried was to touch the mafia side.

Just before the chapter started, there was this guy who pretended to be a Red Scorpion executive, so I thought that something could be done from that before the two sides collided together.

So I wanted to head straight to the main mafia camp, but –

[Caution!]

[Currently, this space is set as a prohibited area]

[If you ignore this and try to enter, additional sanctions may be imposed]

As soon as I approached the building, a warning message appeared.

It was the first area-type constraint I had ever seen.

Although no penalty was given, the risk was too great to ignore.

Eventually, this too –

‘What the hell.’

To be honest, I wondered if all this was too restrictive. This was at a level where there was no room for intervention at all.

Naturally, conversation with the thugs roaming around Rosemarietta’s shop were also restricted. As with Leo, even communication was impossible.

The only thing I could do, really, was to sit idly in Rosemarietta’s shop and talk Kiriko’s ears off.

“There are a total of three top executives, and one of them is particularly good at escaping, so you have to be careful.

“There are three secret passages in the building. Two of them are out of town, and one is out of town, so you have to be careful.

“There’s nobody you have to especially watch out for, but they do have guns. You get that, right? Be alert.”

By the time the morning of the fifth day dawned bright, I’d heard Kiriko tell me to shut up five times, stop talking three times, and that he’ll kill me twice.

“Hu….”

As I watched the two of them head to the main mafia camp, I thought –

Now all that is left is prayer.

‘I hope all that time wasn’t wasted…’

Of course, I didn’t think that I would become a ‘target for deletion’ right away. Because I still left a clear impression on Kiriko. ‘Awareness’ of my character should therefore rise to some extent.

However, it was difficult to expect a rise in ‘Author’s favourability’ or ‘Reappearance probability’ because I didn’t have any very memorable performance.

Still, if Kiriko said to himself, ‘he was right…’ or ‘I think his information is helpful…’ –

In the end, it was just prayer.

Kiriko! Remember me!

---

The next morning.

Virgin City Square.

All the citizens of Virgin City gathered there, where the aftermath of the conflict a week ago was still visible.

The reason they gathered was simple. To thank Leo and Kiriko who were about to leave the village soon.

Last night, the mafia organization was completely wiped out by the two of them.

It actually didn’t take long. 4 or 5 hours at most?

When I came back, I was frankly a little embarrassed to see Kiriko ordering beer casually like an office worker who had just finished a normal day’s work. There might’ve been no difference even if I’d left it alone.

Then,

“Thank you.”

Someone walked in front of the two people who were standing in front of the crowd. It was an old bald man, apparently a representative of the city.

“Thanks to you, the city has been revived.”

The old man said thank you again and again.

In fact, the citizens had been suffering from the tyranny of the mafia. Those who defeated them were naturally the heroes of this city.

Then everyone in the square cheered and applauded.

Well, it was a very typical episode ending.

Plus,

“Kiriko-san, are you really going to leave?”

Some faint, bitter emotions.

Of course, Kiriko wasn’t swept away by Rosemarietta’s cries.

“Ah, I’m thinking of going with this guy. I think it will be fun. An adventure.”

“Wherever you go, you must be safe!”

“Don’t worry.”

Now it was time to end the chapter.

I counted how much time was left.

‘Got a thank you, got asked if you’re leaving, and now it’s time to say the last goodbye…’

End. Now it’s over.

And the moment I realized this,

‘Wait, wait a minute… is this really the end?’

Anxiety was rampant.

Now there are no cuts left in the chapter. In other words, character evaluation will proceed immediately.

But Kiriko hasn’t said anything about me yet. Any words that would reveal my existence.

Yet,

“Then, goodbye.”

“Rosemarietta! The rice was delicious!”

Resolutely, Kiriko and Leo turned their backs.

‘… This is the end.’

I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

It was regrettable, but there was no choice but to accept it. Maybe it’s not something the author allowed them to do.

It was when I was waiting for the hologram message with my heart clenched –

“Oh.”

Suddenly, Kiriko turned back.

His eyes seemed to be looking for something.

Following that,

“I remembered, Squatjaw. You talked my head off, but it was still really helpful.”

Kiriko muttered.

His gaze was definitely on me.

… Success!

It was difficult for me to control my overwhelming joy at that moment.

It couldn’t have been better than this. My presence was the final cut of the chapter.

Of course, that didn’t mean I forgot to do what I needed to in my joy. Whatever it is, the ending is always the most important part.

I answered with a meaningful voice, raising the atmosphere as much as possible.

“Alright then… see you again.”

So, the two disappeared in the distance.

Soon after,

[Chapter 3 – ‘The Mad Gunslinger of Virgin City’ is over]

[The character evaluation of Villain 3 has been updated]

[The name has been changed to ‘Squatjaw’]

[‘Chatterbox’ has been added to the characteristics]

[Received support from a small number of readers]

[Awareness has increased by 38]

[Reappearance probability has increased by 0.2%]

‘Squatjaw…’

[State]

• Name: Squatjaw^[1]
• Characteristics: A little strong, Bluffing, Chatterbox.
• Awareness: 39
• Author’s favourability: 0
• Reappearance probability: 0.2%

The chapter had ended.

However, the results were strange. Something was not quite what I was expecting. That’s not to say that it’s very bad, but I wondered if it shouldn’t have been something a bit more than this.

Even if we ignore the author’s favourability or the possibility of a reappearance, the awareness only rose by 38.

It wasn’t just that the number 38 felt small. Didn’t it appear in the text, that the character ‘received support from a small number of readers’?

This meant that there were only a few readers who noticed the ‘reappearance’ of the character that is I.

Five days spent glued to Kiriko. Not only that, because of chattering all day, even my life was threatened.

But how come none of that was reflected in the results?

Then, while I was puzzled –

“Ah, the point of view!”

One thought flashed through my head.

I ripped at my hair. How could I have misunderstood something so simple?

Chapter 3, starting with the first cut, never deviated from ‘Leo’s point of view’. In other words, even if Kiriko was a deuteragonist, things that Leo did not see were not shown in the scenes. This meant that most of what happened to me and Kiriko was completely offscreen and not shown to the readers at all.

‘No, no matter how many scenes in the chapter –’

There were no more than three or so scenes that I could expect to appear in.

Watching the fight between Leo and Kiriko in the plaza, talking with Kiriko at Rosemarietta’s shop before he left to clear out the mafia, and the last scene of the chapter a little while ago.

There is no way that the author could not have been conscious of a character like me, which meant that the author intentionally did not show me. There was no other way to explain it.

‘If I could only check the reader’s comments, I would be able to know to some extent the number of appearances…’

But there were not enough points to purchase that. And if that wasn’t enough, I probably wouldn’t have used it anyhow. Because things are too bad right now.

‘Something is twisted…’

Then another message arrived.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Squatjaw is subject to ‘deletion deferral’]

[The grace period given is ‘4 chapters’]

[Character points paid 114p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 2p for the reappearance probability]

Deletion deferred, again.

Again, from the author’s point of view, it meant that there was not much activity.

“… Hmmm.”

How should I feel about this? Maybe I should be satisfied that this is at least better than the previous chapter.

Not to mention –

I looked around a little nervously.

Many things had happened since I came into this world, but this moment might be the most unpredictable of them all.

Character settlements.

Obviously, most of these people in front of me, no, except for Rosemarietta, had nothing memorable about them.

This meant that, soon, everyone here could be deleted.

‘What’s going to happen?’

And one more thing, Rosemarietta’s reaction. What if such a situation actually happened? How will she survive this?

Yet –

…

Nothing happened.

No characters were deleted.

The people all dispersed, and the city resumed its normal daily life.

I scratched my head.

‘… What?’

After thinking for a while, I came to a conclusion.

They citizens were not individual ‘characters’, but just part of the ‘background’. They weren’t given any special roles in the first place.

Perhaps that was the reason. And according to this logic, the characters deleted during this settlement would probably be the people on the mafia side. At least they had a role that stood against the main characters.

‘It’s nothing special.’

I wondered if Rosemarietta would realize herself as a character or not.

Hmmm.

In any case, it was the moment when I had to return to the mundane troubles of reality again.

Now, what to do…

---

As I drank Rosemarietta’s special honey beer, I thought.

There is no answer to be found if things go like this.

Now that Leo and Kiriko are united, the storyline’s development will accelerate.

It’s not just because two powerful people have teamed up. It’s because the ‘unique abilities’ appeared.

‘Unique Ability’ is something that clearly reveals the worldview of ‘Adventure King’, and is a key element that drives the interest and fun of the readers.

In other words, the introduction of the main character is now over, and the story begins in earnest.

This unique ability is also related to a character’s ‘class’.

As the main character’s rank rises, naturally, the ranks of his colleagues and adversaries also rise. This meant that most of the characters to come would be equipped with unique abilities or at least special abilities.

If you fall behind in your abilities, not only will you have a limit to attracting readers’ attention, but it will become more and more difficult to keep pace with the plot.

In other words, my survival is bound to become more and more uncertain.

‘Ha… I should have earned some more points in this chapter.’

Even if I settled for only a special ability right away, it was difficult. The points obtained this time were only slightly over 100p. To buy something meaningful, it had to be at least 1000p. The point cost was simply unreasonable.

I shook my head, hard.

It wasn’t that there was no way out.

Special abilities are not innate, and can be acquired by ingesting special drugs. In other words, you can get it in this world without having to go to the character shop.

This special drug can actually be purchased from the market. Except for a few dangerous ones, it’s not even sold very covertly or anything.

The problem was money.

Even the few coins already in my pocket had been exhausted in Rosemarietta’s shop. I didn’t have a penny right now.

‘The issue is money, so how do I get more?’

Fortunately for me, I had a little bit of time to spare.

Currently, the grace period given to me is 4 chapters. Chapters 4 and 5, as I recall, were resting tales. From then on, as the phase of welcoming new colleagues began, the velocity of the story gradually increased.

Chapter 6… No, I will have to intervene before Chapter 7 begins at the latest.

‘There is a bit of time…’

I couldn’t come up with a best way.

Hmmm.

And then, since I was only clutching my hair, at some point, all I could do was laugh out loud. Even in manga, you had worry about money.

‘Isn’t there any money left unattended somewhere?’

Then, it was time to take a look around.

Wait, money left unattended?

In that instant, a certain place flashed in my mind like a lightning bolt.

Virgin City Tower. Mafia headquarters.

Didn’t I see it a while ago? The characters disappeared, but the background remained.

The main base of the mafia, where the mafia themselves have disappeared. So what’s left?

“… Maybe?”

---

I’d always wondered one thing while reading manga.

Why do the main characters and their party leave behind the treasures of the villains?

Of course, there were times when they take it. When they need money really urgently, or need to get some necessary equipment.

But most of the time, they leave empty-handed. Yes, just like this time.

I used to think it was fine.

Wouldn’t it be shared by those who were just persecuted by the villains? Or maybe the big organizations like the government would collect it all.

Nope. I was wrong.

Who gets the money of the defeated villains?

I smiled at the huge bundles of cash in front of me.

That’s right. Me.

---

Editor’s Notes:

[1] 주걱턱 (lit. jutting chin) is being translated as Squatjaw.

---

Previous Chapter

Project Page

Next Chapter