Surviving a Shounen Manga

Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Lets Go to the Goblins Den!

"Hmmm"

I wasnt 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 whod 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 Warriors Path in the Skull Empire]

[Hiros 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 authors attention]

[The authors favourability has increased by 10]

[Received fan art from 30 readers]

[The authors 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
• Authors 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]

[Characters rank has increased significantly]

[Characters rank has increased significantly]

[Characters rank has increased significantly]

[Characters 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 popularity]

[Character points paid 4,000p for the rise in authors 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 wouldnt say that was particularly disappointing. To be honest, I hadnt bought any useful products from the character shop lately, not that I could remember.

Of course, this wasnt 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 thats 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 Im lucky to have a pile of points ready to be spent?

Of course, Id 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 didnt 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 characters class had risen to the level where it was possible to resist the authors will.

In fact, that had been my guess for a while. Id already had an experience where Id taken a penalty in exchange for violating the preceding plot.

Although Id 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 youre 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 authors intentions and try to create a story about you.

"Hmmm"

It was indeed good news. Perhaps the news Id been waiting for the most.

But I didnt 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 Id been wondering about for a long time. At first glance, there shouldve 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 authors 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 authors 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 authors planned development.

Which author would grant such a right to his characters? Not unless hes 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 systems existence?

If the author wasnt 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 wouldnt go off track?

After a while,

" Okay, lets 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 wouldnt 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 authors world upside down.

How to become a honest-to-goodness troll yeah, thats 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, theres quite a bit."

To be honest, I didnt feel particularly excited, but it was a stupidly high number, so it wasnt too bad.

And now, if the new products were usable, my hoarding would be vindicated.

"Lets see"

Character Setting (New)

Chapter

Special Product (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 thats far in the future.

I immediately exited the category.

I didnt have any expectations anyway, so this is fine.

Anyway, next was the real thing.

Special products.

I clicked the tab to enter.

"Yeah."

There were four products that were quite surprising.

[Special Product]

Press to check the details of each product

1. Deletion Grace Right 50,000p

2. Check the Preceding Plot 70,000p

3. Right to Deny Penalty 100,000p

4. Right to Refuse to Appear 150,000p

5. Main 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 characters 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 dont, adjust appropriately.

It certainly felt like I could lead the storyline along the route I desired.

But the problem was,

" Its 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 wont go up again so soon after release.

And now,

"Hey, whats 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 Warriors Path in the Skull Empire Reader Comments]

Ghost Demon Blade Squatjaw here making a hard decision, if you know what I mean ( )[2]

June Cant you just be loyal to yourself?

Hanubaram Its 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 Ill wait for Leos arc, this isnt much fun lol

Kyaokyao Fair trade, you get Coocoo, I get you lolol

Jang Moonchungnaga Leos story isnt, well, as fun to be honest (the authors crying blood in the corner)

redwing Ahh, so Squatjaws 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 Id faced.

Glitch Here, if the princess doesnt stay in the Skull Empire and joins the adventure team, she could fill in the missing position.

Actually, Id considered leaving with the princess. If she wasnt going to become the emperor right away anyway, what could be the harm if she took some time to wander around? Moreover, since shed awakened, she would surely be of some help instead of being a burden.

But,

No. Its 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 wasnt 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 whats Squatjaws ability? It doesnt seem to have any limitations.

akdtm1 I honestly think its 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 authors actions. It wasnt just my relationship with the author that was the problem, it was because even I myself couldnt 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.

Itd been fifty days since Id 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 its 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 Id 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 Zayeds 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, wouldnt it be better to go straight back to Westland and figure out a more efficient way to fuck him over?

And the weakening that Id been concerned about so far hadnt happened yet. No, in fact, Id become stronger. That was why I could finish the quest directly without having to visit the goblins in the middle of the mission. If Id actually gotten weakened midway, things wouldnt have turned out so smooth.

In other words, it seems possible to prepare for the chapters step by step like before, without coveting Karl Zayeds 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 wasnt a very significant advantage.

Second. It was a step already taken.

I had to go. It was a promise Id already made to myself.

Well although, this wasnt very significant either.

Third. If I got lucky, there were three things I could get from there.

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.

Id have a story to tell Haka.

Just as Id promised.

I scratched my head.

" Yeah, lets 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.

"Its already past sunrise, and youre still sleeping? Pack your bags! Were leaving in ten minutes."

Chinuavis eyes lit up.

"Where to?"

"Where do you think?"

I added with a grin.

"To your home."

Then,

"Hey"

The corners of Chinuavis lips curved up sharply.

Although, the smile was slightly different from that of a runaway kid who missed home.

"The Goblins Den! Good! Im revved up!"

It seemed that hed 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."

"Shouldnt you say farewell? To her to the princess."

"Princess? Aah, her."

I said carelessly.

"Ive done that already. Lets just leave."

Last night, Id gone to have a chat in person. Before the emperor could come bother me, Id taken care of it at my end.

"If you ever send somebody to find me, have them tell me theyre from you. Yeah?"

" Where are you going, leaving behind the one you swore allegiance to?"

"Ah, cut me slack. Weve got a lot more to do. See you next time."

" When?"

"Alright, well, how about I come find you? When next youre in danger."

" Forget it, do whatever you want."

At my words, Chinuavi scratched the back of his head.

"Aha but I didnt, though? Say farewell?"

"Does it matter? Were you two that friendly?"

"Ah, no. Its just not polite at all. Were acquaintances, after all."

"Me too!"

"Uh-huh, well, its not like were parting forever. And you too, need to get used to parting. Thats how you become an adult. Hurry up and pack!"

Lets go quickly, to the Goblins Den!

A week later. At the main entrance to the Goblins Den, the Saboteurs Lot.

"N-, no way?"

Yellowweed[4], the gatekeeper of the Saboteurs 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 shouldnt have been able to see him.

Yellowweeds 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 kids true identity? What was her purpose?

Were all little humans so terrifying in the first place?

Yellowweed couldnt 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 Troupes[5] here for you lot.

Whoa, mysterious?!

Just hearing the word made his heart flutter.

"So what?"

He tried to pretend being indifferent, but Yellowweeds ears had already perked up.

"Ah, we were just passing by, and we heard that some goblins live in this area. And that youre pretty good at fighting and wrestling, and have a lot of other talents, too."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, its nothing much, just"

After a small pause, the little kid added in a subtle tone.

"Would you like to have a match?"

Editors Notes:

[1] (lit. what kind of riches and honour am I going to enjoy) is a sarcastic way of admitting youre doing meaningless things that wont result in any benefit.

[2] (jolla) is a slang word expressing emphasis (like fucking) and the expanded expression means like youre getting hard.

[3] (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 were 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] (lit. folk troupe). See Wikipedia.