NOVEL WEB Chapter 4
“The skill ‘Our Alliance’ has been deactivated.”
“How does the author come up with this stuff?”
Rian Nias, the Second Prince, muttered to himself while reading [The Strongest Supporter Was Disbanded from the Party].
“Even at the beginning, I already feel this overwhelming rage.”
If the protagonist Marcus was truly useless, Rian might have had a positive view of his party members.
However, there were already way too many flaws visible in their statements.
The reason Marcus was disbanded was that he was deemed useless.
But their statements already proved Marcus’s worth.
His ability to find and set traps.
Sure, even rangers or thieves could do that easily, but the crucial point was that they were dealing with an S-Rank Dungeon.
Traps in an S-Rank Dungeon are not easily located and are tough to handle, even for seasoned rangers or thieves.
And creating traps that work on the monsters in an S-Rank Dungeon is nearly impossible.
But the fact that he was finding and setting traps even before entering the S-Rank Dungeon showed that his value was worth far more than dozens or hundreds of rangers and thieves combined.
Next up was cooking.
This too could easily prove his worth.
Adventurers usually survive on tough jerky, rock-hard bread, or rotten meat from monsters while in dungeons.
Just being able to whip up ‘ordinary’ level meals makes one invaluable in dungeons.
While there weren’t many clues regarding the cleanup of monsters, what mattered here was that there were ‘a few more’ to consider.
Rian had already completed his analysis of Marcus’s character.
He had the role of being ‘unnoticeable but inconvenient if absent.’
And just now, what he had last seen.
‘The skill “Our Alliance” has been deactivated.’
He didn’t quite understand what a skill was, but judging by the name ‘Our Alliance,’ it seemed like it wouldn’t function properly now that the alliance was broken.
It was obvious that something would change when Marcus deactivated that skill.
With expectations for the coming developments, Rian turned the page.
***
“Hey, you’ve got some serious dark circles under your eyes. What’s up?”
“Ah, I was up all night reading ‘Support Disbandment.’
“I knew it! I almost stayed up all night too!”
“Guess we shouldn’t plan dungeon trips on the days when Check Writer’s books come out. I went through all the dungeons and got home only to find it was way too late.”
“Ha ha! That’s why our party decided to take a break from dungeons yesterday! Everyone agreed!”
[The Strongest Supporter Was Disbanded from the Party], already being abbreviated to ‘Strongest Support’ among people, was indeed a hot topic.
“I knew that ‘Our Alliance’ was super important! There’s no way the ‘skill’ Check Writer described could be anything trivial!”
“Ugh, if I had a skill, life as an adventurer would be a breeze.”
“Your intelligence, Ricardo.”
“What did you just call me?!”
“You heard me, Ricardo.”
“You little brat! Calling me out like that? I’m already in a bad mood!”
“Oh my!”
Check Writer’s book always tends to cause quite a ruckus.
-Bam!
“Yikes, what’s with you?!”
“Hey, that dude looks like ‘Marcus,’ doesn’t he?”
“Seems like it?”
“Alright, you’re our party member from now on.”
“Huh? But all I can do is find traps, set traps, cook, decipher ancient languages, swim, climb trees, brew simple potions, use daggers, and cast basic spells…?”
“Damn, we need this guy! Kidnap him!”
“Grr, I can’t hold back!”
Due to Support Disbandment, those who were usually brushed off as useless started getting kidnapped into parties, but it wasn’t a bad thing, so the Adventurer Guild just let it slide.
Amidst the noisy crowd, a robed woman was also reading Support Disbandment.
-Thud.
Once she finished reading, she closed the book and got up with a feeble smile.
“Indeed, books always grant me new knowledge.”
She gently caressed the book and muttered.
“I wonder what it takes to become a hero…”
The golden eyes within her robe sparkled.
***
[Everyone awaits Check Writer’s new work! ‘The Strongest Supporter Was Disbanded from the Party’]
[Capturing the struggles of the ‘Adventurer’ job that people didn’t know about….]
[The Holy Kingdom side believed the protagonist Marcus was inspired by the Twelve Heroes by the end of Volume 1….]
“No, can you please stop writing about me in the newspaper?”
Does this happen every time I publish a book?
“Honestly, having just my book discussed isn’t exactly fair, is it?”
I asked Belua, who was in front of me after I dropped the newspaper.
“Huh? Isn’t that natural?”
“No, newspapers should be filled with how the world is turning!”
“Then isn’t that what you’ve got?”
Belua asked, seeming puzzled.
“Check Writer’s novel is everything.”
“No, ah… Belua, aren’t you a Count’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
Is it okay for a Count’s daughter to have that mindset?
—But wait, I remember the Emperor betrothed me to his daughter.
It seems like the high-ups in this world have some screws loose.
“Sigh…”
“…Do you dislike it when your novel gets attention?”
“Well, I’m only human; I do like it when my writing receives praise. But there has to be a limit, right?”
I was just trying to figure out how to make money calmly, and writing novels was the conclusion I came to.
Like those web novel protagonists who randomly wrote stories that became hits and made a fortune, I wanted to give it a shot too.
So I chose a high-level pervy plotline and did my best to compensate for my lousy writing, but…
Who would’ve thought I’d end up in detention?
I sprawled across my desk, feeling defeated.
“Ugh.. I just want to lie around at home and read books…”
This damn world doesn’t have the same dopamine as the web novels I read on Earth.
No cool munchkins.
No reincarnations, time skips, or being extra because of misunderstandings.
And there’s just a lack of interesting stuff like martial arts, supernatural beings, or picaresque tales.
How is it that a shoddy pervy plot I wrote is the empire’s best novel?
Suddenly hit with reality, I lay there feeling deflated until Belua stepped closer.
“Author.”
“Yesss…”
“No matter how bad you feel, you still have to write.”
“Ugh, damn it…”
Am I a slave now?
***
Check, the author of The Betrayed Hero Does Not Return.
In a world filled with knightly literature and hard-to-understand vocabulary claimed to be ‘books’ solely read by nobles, he brought forth provocative works that even commoners could grasp.
It all began with an adventurer.
Then came a friend who recommended the book to him, and then more adventurers drinking beer at the tavern.
The book spread rapidly among adventurers and then among the common people, and even nobles who initially dismissed it as lowly literature found themselves captivated by the tale of the Betrayer Hero.
Before long, the book ‘Betrayer Hero’ had become a routine escape for someone winding down after a long day, and for others, a source of dopamine fulfillment.
Humans, no matter the era, tend to love stimulation.
So it was only natural that chaos erupted when Check Writer announced his retirement after completing the Betrayer Hero.
Merchants, laborers, adventurers, and nobles alike rose up in protest, but Check paid no mind to any of it.
And now, he was practically imprisoned in the Imperial Palace by being engaged to the Second Princess, Eve.
“This is life.”
Everyone received Check Writer’s new work.
Rumors of Check Writer being trapped in the Imperial Palace stirred up some noise for a while.
“As long as he has his novels, he should be alright.”
“Isn’t he happy?”
“He must be living lavishly, being able to write freely, he’ll definitely enjoy it.”
“What was with that drawing of a carrot at the end?”
“Maybe they served him some fancy carrot dish at the palace?”
“Aha!”
“Seems like he’s indeed living happily.”
Before long, no one paid attention to it anymore.
“Ugh, I think Support Disbandment is even more fun than the Betrayer Hero?”
“Nah, that’s not it. Luka is a hero while Marcus is just a supporter. Of course, the hero’s perspective is more exciting!”
“What are you talking about? Fighting with swords is something everyone can imagine, but just look at the pure ‘support’ fighting style. How innovative!”
“Even so, it’s not as entertaining as fighting with swords.”
“What did you just say?”
“What? Am I wrong? Any guy dreams of being a hero at least once!”
“You’re such a sword-wielding idiot! Just like that prick Ricardo!”
“You bastard! Bring it on! I’ll definitely kill you for Luka’s honor!”
“Come at me, you punk! I’ll turn your backside into 36 slices for Marcus’s honor!”
The author wasn’t in any real danger…
It was more about the conflict over the upcoming work that mattered more.