[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 195
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Investors IV
8
The plan was for the writers in Busan to join forces.
- My creativity is 150. Your creativity is 150. Together, we have a total of 300 creativity points to create a perfect work!
- That's a really smart idea.
This was a proposal for what they called a collaboration.
The suggestion was for two or more writers to come together to create something collectively.
It was basically the equivalent of putting Hitler and Stalin on the same team and saying, "Wow! If we combine his propaganda skills with his purging skills, it'll be amazing!" It was a fantasy, and we all knew the end of that scenario would be a nuclear explosion.
A successful collaboration between writers was as likely as a college group project being perfectly executed and receiving a standing ovation from both the students and the professor—a likelihood that increased by 500%.
"Of course, if we simply combine our efforts, it won't add up to +300 but rather become -22,500."
Writer A was not foolish enough to be unaware of this.
Writer A specifically presented a PowerPoint in a Korean BBQ restaurant where the exalted eight gathered.
"Therefore, we strictly rank the participating writers within the project. As the project leader, I will respect your opinions, but I will hold the ultimate and absolute decision-making power."
"Huh?"
The fellow writers murmured.
Their eyelids and eyebrow thickness varied, but the look in their eyes was nationally unified.
Who do you think you are?
Despite the disrespectful glances, Writer A was undaunted. Instead, he smiled broadly.
"Actually, I pioneered this DM market, and you guys jumped on board. In other words, objectively speaking, you all owe me one, whether you like it or not."
"......!"
"No matter who leads, things will never go smoothly. But if we all participate equally in the collaboration? It’ll be a disaster, guaranteed."
"Hmm."
"Yeah, so it's wiser to choose as a leader the one person who everyone would agree they 'owe.' That's me."
"That... might be true..."
The writers exchanged silent glances.
It sounded plausible...!
Moreover, writers are inherently vulnerable to plausible nonsense.
If they had cold, rational minds, they wouldn't have chosen the irrational profession of being a writer in the first place.
"Okay, let's say you're the leader. But how exactly will you coordinate our opinions as the leader?"
"First, we divide the responsibilities among the writers."
Flutter.
Writer A turned over the PPT slides. Of course, it wasn't displayed on a computer screen; it was just paper materials made to resemble PPT templates.
"I haven’t told you this, but over the past few years, I’ve secretly partnered with fairies to observe your DMs."
"What?"
"It was your fate since you started the DM business without even giving me a share. Deal with it. Anyway, because of that, I generally know what makes your DMs fun and what you're particularly good at."
Is this guy insane?
As the fellow writers contemplated how much money it would take to bury him and cover up the murder, Writer A calmly categorized the roles.
"These are your strengths and roles as I see them."
1. NPC Specialist: Known for writing "snappy" and "flavorful" dialogue since web novel days and praised by clients for making characters lively and dynamic in DMs.
2. Map Specialist: Renowned for crafting "stages" and "gimmicks" in each episode during web novel days. This writer has secretly contributed to indie game projects, handling level design.
3. Adventure, Items, Training Specialist: Famous for writing scenes where protagonists obtain hidden treasures and for training scenes that captivated readers in web novels. Now, this writer specializes in delivering the experience of becoming the strongest to DM clients.
4. Main Event Specialist: Skilled at crafting "grand narratives" like power struggles between nations or political factions in web novels. In the DM world, this writer is praised by guild leaders for creating brutal political dramas.
5. World-Building Specialist: Talented at creating beautiful fantasy worlds in web novels and popular among DM clients for delivering immersive adventures.
Additionally, there was even a Research Specialist.
The PPT materials detailed each writer's strengths and specialties in great detail, all handwritten by Writer A.
"......"
The fellow writers’ eyes grew serious. Writers are inherently susceptible to sincerity and effort.
Those were the values they pursued all their lives—genuine dedication, the craftsman’s resolve.
With a snap, Writer A put down the documents.
"I've made enough money from DMing to buy a villa near Haeundae."
"A villa?" U//ppTodated fr/o/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m
"Yeah. You guys are all single anyway. Move in. We’ll live and work there until the project is complete."
"......"
"You know, we could die at any time."
In this era of anomalies.
"Let’s create one great work before we go, guys."
If there’s someone who could shed tears just by hearing the word "human," in any era, they’re destined to become a writer.
As stories move from the lips of bards, to the fingers of nobles, to the palms of workers, to the shelves of university libraries, to the empty spaces in rental shops, to the screens of smartphones, and into the dreams of fairies—this fact remains unchanged.
The writers were ready to sing of humanity again.
9
And three years passed.
"――We sincerely apologize!"
"We've committed an unforgivable offense! We're so sorry!"
So when the writers, having hurriedly donned their formal attire, prostrated themselves on the floor in a DOGEZA, we didn't think much of it.
Seorin chuckled softly.
"It's okay. Mr. Mol DM introduced me, so it seems there was some confusion."
"No, it's really our fault! There was a mistake on our end!"
The writers couldn't even lift their heads, like guilty criminals.
Meanwhile, I took in the scene inside the villa.
"Hoee?"
First of all, there were fairies floating around in the living room. Five of them, to be exact.
"Doctor Jang Secretary General? What brings you here?"
"And you?"
"We were dispatched here for collaborative work!"
The writers flinched at hearing the fairies and my conversation.
Their reactions were predictable: "D-Doctor Jang?" "The hero of the Ten Clans Annihilation War and the Meteor Shower Annihilation War?" "What is such a hero doing in a place like this?" It was so obvious that it hardly needed description. If I detailed every one of these reactions, half of each chapter would be filled with the same content.
After things settled down, Seorin began talking with the historical consultant DM.
Meanwhile, I spoke with Writer A, the project leader.
"Well... um... So, we're creating a fully autonomous dream world. It's called the Kingdom Project..."
"Autonomous?"
"Ah, y-yes. Um, for example, there's a count in the dream world kingdom. We've detailed his past, his wounds, his thoughts on those wounds, and the events he's currently involved in. We share these settings with the tutorial fairies..."
Writer A glanced at the fairies.
"These settings allow the fairies to run the dream in a somewhat realistic way, even if we're not personally guiding the guests..."
Writer A wasn't exactly a poor speaker, but he wasn't particularly eloquent either.
So, I found it necessary to summarize his words into a straightforward slogan.
"So, if you guys are the game developers, the fairies act as game masters?"
"Ah, yes. Th-that's right..."
Writer A hesitated.
"Of course, there might be details that the game masters can't handle. In that case, we can provide real-time feedback between the fairies and us..."
"Hoo."
"Since we'll be awake during the night when the fairies are working... W-We already conducted beta tests with guests. Six rounds..."
"The satisfaction rate was incredibly high!"
A fairy chimed in, poking its head out.
"Statistically speaking, compared to the dreams we provide alone, the dreams from the Kingdom Project delivered over 2,000% more satisfaction to the participants!"
"2,000%? More than twenty times?"
"Hoee! Exactly! The Fairy Rights Committee fully supports participating in the Kingdom Project's development!"
I looked around the villa's interior.
The walls were plastered with story settings. Maps. Personal details of hundreds of major NPCs.
Strings of red, blue, and yellow crisscrossed like webs, showing the connections between the settings.
Meanwhile, the fairy was chomping down on a sausage and chatting away.
"Especially after the Secretary-General banned the tutorial, the fairies who had been feeling down regained their enthusiasm thanks to the Kingdom Project! Now, in dreams, they can legally kill humans as much as they want, just like in the tutorial!"
"――Wait."
I suddenly turned and grabbed the fairy by the shoulder.
"What did you just say?"
"Hoee? That we're happy because we can legally kill humans as much as we want in dreams?"
"No, not that. You said you could run dungeons like the tutorial in dreams?"
"Hoee. Yes!"
"...Of course, people won't be harmed in real life if they die in the dream, right?"
"Hoee. They might suffer some psychological trauma, but they know it's not real, so it's fine!"
"..."
I felt like I had been struck on the back of the head.
How on earth had I not thought of such a simple idea until now?
In the 205th turn, I established Dream Casino to provide entertainment to people and distribute the original currency through the dream-based economy.
I had only approached it from the perspective of welfare and economics.
But Dream Casino, and the DM ecosystem it supported, held far more tremendous potential than just "welfare and economics."
"Mr. DM."
I looked at Writer A.
And I spoke.
"Would you be interested in the combat data from the Ten Clans and Meteor Shower?"
"...Excuse me?"
"I can provide you with hundreds, even thousands of detailed records on the anomalies. I'll invest whatever resources you need."
Indeed.
The large-scale virtual world that the DMs built.
This place could endlessly provide "practice" that was almost identical to "real combat" for both ordinary people and awakened ones――.
It was, in essence, a "tutorial dungeon."
[Translator - Jjescus]
[Proofreader - Gun]