Chapter 13 - Episode 3: Create an Incident (3)
◈ How to Become a Star Writer ◈
Episode 3: Create an Incident (3)
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[You have purchased “99 Tips for Beginner Protagonists.”]
[This item does not deduct Dust.]
It was the kind of title that screamed, “I’m an introductory guide.”
The title wasn't really my style, but it was free. What did I have to lose?
There were ninety-nine tips, so at least one or two of them might be useful.
Maybe the noisy woman was tired, because she had finally gone quiet.
Then again, if I were her, I probably wouldn't have the energy to bother with a non-paying customer either.
Soon, dust gathered in midair and formed a book.
“If you're reading this, you must have found my book. Not bad. Did you avoid falling for that woman's sales tactics?”
What a pleasant start.
I knew I'd made the right choice!
“Ahem. Anyone who did that is qualified to read my secret manual. Using the items in the Dust Shop may make it easy to progress through an episode, but can that really make you a true ‘writer’? A real writer must be able to break through head-on with nothing but their writing ability!”
I didn't really understand what he meant, but I could tell the old man who wrote this book was a passionate writer.
Had there been other writers who went through the same thing as me?
“You must be confused. What is Dust? What are Stars? What is this situation you're experiencing? Ridiculous as it may be, all I can tell you is this: Believe.
Believe in your imagination.
Believe in your talent.
Because this world was created by your ‘talent.’ You are merely seeing the substance of that talent now.”
It sounded like advice from a writing manual.
There had been plenty of books like that that I read when I was younger.
Believe in your talent!
Write down to the bones!
For the record, if you believe that advice and work hard at writing, most people end up heading for Seoul Station.
“But there are things you shouldn't trust. For example, that woman who just spoke to you.”
I agreed with that. Paying up was the express lane to hell.
“...I've gone on too long. There isn't much time, so I'll give you the advice you need first. My first piece of advice is to gather Dust well. Listen to the emotions, reactions, and voices of the Stars. That is your only path to survival.”
That was easy enough to understand.
Dust was the currency the Stars gave me whenever I did something in the novel. It was easiest to think of myself as a livestreamer and the Stars as my viewers.
I put on a show, and they paid Dust.
Then I used that Dust to buy recognition for my work.
This damn capitalism had followed me even here... No, maybe I should call it Dustism here.
“My second piece of advice is to avoid dying whenever possible. The penalty for death differs depending on the story level... but dying is never good. Especially when you have zero Dust, you must never die. You will learn that there are things more terrible than death.”
Something more terrible than death...
He was probably talking about the Abyss. I could still vividly see that tentacled monster.
Still, the more I listened, the more it felt like I was risking my life to write.
And there were plenty of terms I didn't understand. Especially “story level.”
“Hm? What's a story level? Ah, you're a beginner. Put simply, it's like a game's difficulty setting.”
A game's difficulty setting?
“I can only hope that you entered after adjusting your story level appropriately. Well, if you're a decent writer, you would have adjusted your novel's difficulty appropriately on your own.”
The book happened to explain how to check the story level, so I opened the system window and checked the difficulty.
+
“99 Ways to Kill a Regressor”
Story Level: Nightmare
Story Progress: 1%
+
I had a bad feeling about this.
“‘Easy’ is best, and ‘Normal’ isn't bad either. Even on ‘Hard,’ you'll probably be able to reach the ending if you work at it. If it's ‘Impossible,’ all I can do is mourn for you.”
Wait. Then what about “Nightmare”?
“It's unlikely, but if it happens to be ‘Nightmare’... I recommend that you quit writing... No, that you kill yourself.”
...No, wait. If the story level was like a game difficulty setting, couldn't I adjust it?
“For reference, you can raise your story level, but you cannot lower it. Keep that firmly in mind when raising the difficulty...”
...Fuck?!
Then what was I supposed to do?
“There is much more I wish to advise you on. Who am I, the one writing this? What are ‘Stars’? How does Dust turn into recognition for your work? And so on.
Oh, how profound. How profound.
Of course, I can tell you these secrets.”
Right, tell me already.
There had to be some way.
Maybe even a solution for when the story level was “Nightmare”...
“But I will not tell you.”
...Should I burn this thing?
“Everything I refuse to tell you is for your sake. If I were to drag on for a whole book explaining the truth, you would have to pay a ‘price’ to the Stars.
Remember this.
The Stars hate boring things more than anything in the world.”
That sounded like an excuse.
“So this is the most important advice I can give you. Close the book right now! Move! Create an incident right now!”
The next moment, the book closed itself as if it had a will of its own.
No matter how hard I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Then, the message that had been quiet for so long returned.
[A few Stars find your actions boring. You have remained in one place for too long.]
...What was that supposed to mean?
[A very few Stars have lost patience.]
I learned what that meant from the next message.
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
Huh?
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
What? Wait!
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
My heart dropped.
Why? I wondered, but the book's advice gave me the answer.
The Stars hated boring things.
If the Stars really were viewers of my story, like in my analogy, they were watching everything I did.
That made it easy to understand.
Who would enjoy watching someone else read a book?
Create an incident.
That was why the book had given me that advice. But... how was I supposed to create an incident?
Damn it, what was I even talking about?
Was I really a writer?
[A few Stars find your actions boring.]
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
Damn it, my view count!
For now, my views were only dropping, but if it reached zero, my life would be in danger too.
As panic set in, my thoughts began to creak.
An incident.
It was a word I'd heard countless times while majoring in creative writing, but it was hard to remember what it meant when I actually needed to. Characters and setting... a conflict structure...
Then I remembered a conversation I'd once had with Ji Eun-yu.
“Don't overthink it. You shouldn't try to force an incident in the first place.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Just let the characters move as they please. If two people are simply together, an incident will naturally arise.”
Absurdly enough, I understood Ji Eun-yu's words in the middle of the desert.
The scenery rushed past me.
People. I needed people.
Meeting someone new.
That was the surest way to stop the Dust from being deducted.
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
Please. Please, let someone show up!
[10 Dust has been deducted.]
I didn't know how long I had been running when something like a city came into view in the distance.
A huge oasis surrounded it in a ring, with crowds draped head to toe in white burqas.
A shiver of relief swept through me. I'd made it. Now I'd be fine.
Guards stood in a loose group by the entrance, chatting among themselves.
Perfect.
If I went over and talked to them about anything, an incident would happen. I just had to speak to them.
“Excuse me!”
The guards turned toward my delighted shout.
But...
Their reaction was a little strange.
Shing!
The guards drew their swords at once and charged at me with menacing intent.
As I stood there in confusion, something flashed through my mind. I looked down at myself.
...Oh, right. I was a bandit.
I cursed and turned to run away, but then...
[A few Stars are curious about your story.]
...Damn it.
Crying, I ran toward the guards.
* * *
The message I'd been waiting for appeared just before the guards caught me.
[A few Stars are delighted by your hardship.]
[The Stars have paid you 500 Dust.]
At last, one weight was off my shoulders.
But now came the problem.
“Hey, walk straight!”
My wrists, bound behind my back, hurt.
Other than getting caught stealing a mechanical pencil from the neighborhood stationery store as a child, I had lived a clean life without committing a single crime. Yet somehow, I was a criminal inside this novel.
[A few Stars are curious about your plan.]
Sure, they were curious.
I was curious about how I was going to get out of this situation too. But then...
[You have reached the save branch for this episode because of the Stars' curiosity.]
...What?
The message that followed startled me.
[Episode 2-1 will be automatically saved. Would you like to end the story and return?]
So that was how it worked.
I was finally starting to understand the system.
To enter, I had to drink and write. To leave, I had to make the Stars curious?
The end of an episode really did need to create suspense, so the system made a strange sort of sense.
...Still, wasn't this a lot like that Wednesday-Thursday drama I had watched once?
Had that drama's writer gone through the same thing too?
[You selected “No.”]
[Proceeding with Episode 2-2.]
Normally, I would have chosen “Yes” without hesitation and left. But not yet.
[Dust Held: 1,380]
I didn't have enough Dust.
If I left with only this much, my views would rise, but it was nowhere near enough to maintain read-through rate.
In the end, my choice was clear.
[The Stars admire your creative spirit.]
[You have gained an additional 300 Dust.]
It seemed the Stars liked rapid-fire updates too. Good. I'd keep this going.
“...I've never seen a bandit so happy after getting caught.”
“Neither have I.”
The guards gave me suspicious looks as I grinned to myself. But I didn't mind.
[A very few stars donate 10 Dust.]
[A very few stars donate 10 Dust.]
Because my Dust was still gradually increasing.
I was already excited.
At this rate, wasn't Nightmare story level fairly manageable?
If I went through incidents one by one like this, Dust would naturally pile up.
It might only be 100 or 200 at the moment, but if I worked hard, reaching 10,000 or 20,000 would be possible too.
My first goal was 10,000 Dust.
Why 10,000?
The reason was simple.
I needed at least 10,000 views before I could start negotiating with the editorial department.
To do that, I had to create incidents here.
Incidents that would draw the Stars' attention.
Footnotes:
“Heading for Seoul Station” invokes its association with homelessness, joking that blindly following grand writing advice can lead to ruin.
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