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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?"

"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.

"By the way, Doctor Jang, I was invited as a consultant for DMs. Want to come along?"

It was always Tang Seorin, the one thread that kept me, the Doctor Jang, connected to the world.

"A consultant?"

"Yeah. The DMs are working on some kind of collaboration project? They’re creating an enormous fantasy world."

"Oh?"

"In that world, magicians apparently wield significant power. And you know, I’m an essential figure regarding power and magic, right? So they invited me as a consultant for accuracy."

"So, they\'ll seek specific advice on execution and anomaly dissections..."

"Huh? What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, I’ll go too. As a Three Kingdoms expert, I might provide some realistic strategies and tactics advice."

Tang Seorin cringed and grimaced, saying, "Please don’t bring Three Kingdoms into fantasy."

We picked a day and headed to Haeundae.

For those from Busan, you might know this place—there’s a spot called Dalmaji Hill and Dalmaji Road.

The writers\' retreat was in a villa overlooking the sea from there.

The awakened beings hired as guards recognized us and froze in fear.

I gave them a few kind words before passing by, whistling.

"They’re rich."

"Of course. These are the top-tier DMs in Busan. They’re probably among the wealthiest non-awakened people."

"They have to collaborate with the fairies for tutorials, so they can\'t even evade taxes. Noh Doha, the head of management, also likes DMs."

"Aha. But I heard Noh Doha has never actually hired a DM. Is that true?"

"It’s true. He almost never asks the fairies for sleep either. He says, \'Why should I dream of anomalies?\'"

"Hmm..."

It was then.

-You son of a b***!

A roar loud enough to shake the glass windows came from inside the villa.

Tang Seorin and I paused just as we were about to ring the doorbell (not an electronic one, but a bell attached to the doorknob).

-How can a law passed by the Royal Council be retroactively applied? That means every interspecies marriage would be annulled over the past hundreds of years. Does that make any sense?

-It makes sense! That’s why the marriage law has been a massive political scandal, both in the world and in the main event!

-No, damn it! What about taxes? Married and single people were taxed differently, and all sorts of laws were applied differently. Are you going to apply those too retroactively? Does that make the Chancellor an idiot? His workload just tripled!

-He is an idiot, which is why the kingdom is on the brink of collapse!

Tang Seorin and I exchanged glances.

Tang Seorin and I glanced at each other.

"Are we sure we had an appointment today?"

"Yeah, it\'s supposed to be around this time today."

"So, the mighty guild master of the Three Thousand Worlds is gracing them with their presence, and instead of having the door wide open and ready, they\'re inside screaming at each other like animals? Are they even human?"

"I don\'t know. Maybe they\'re some kind of anomaly."

Thankfully, both Seorin and I were naturally averse to any sense of entitlement. We were the type to alter our appearances with magic and go on foodie tours whenever we had time.

Knock knock.

I tapped the doorbell.

"—You idiot, can\'t you understand—. Huh? Hey, wait a second. It seems like someone\'s here?"

"Hold on. Uh, who is it?"

Seorin cleared her throat.

"Hello, this is the guild master of the Three Thousand Worlds."

"Th-Three Thousand... Oh, oh, oh!"

Crash bang!

The noise inside the door became chaotic.

"You crazy idiot!" "Why didn\'t you say anything?" "I thought it was tomorrow—" "Damn it! Die! You worthless fool, just die already!" "Put on some clothes! How many times do I have to tell you not to walk around shirtless!" And so on.

It was a complete madhouse.

It wasn\'t until much later, in the next turn, that we learned that the one who actually got the date wrong wasn\'t the writers but Seorin.

But even in the 205th turn, Seorin herself was unaware of this fact.

"Um..."

Though she lacked any sense of entitlement, the absolute authority of the Three Thousand Worlds was slightly flustered.

"Oh. Sorry, Doctor Jang. I had no idea this meeting would be like this. I just came here because someone who used to be my personal DM three years ago introduced me. I thought since you liked Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you might be interested in novels and writers too, so I suggested we come together..."

"Now that I think about it, it\'s been a while since we walked together instead of going on a foodie tour, hasn\'t it?"

"Huh?"

"I enjoyed taking a walk with you after so long. That\'s enough for me. You don\'t have to apologize to me for every little thing."

"…"

"Isn\'t this kind of fun?"

I grinned.

"A startup somehow managed to invite Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to their office, but they forgot the date and left them standing outside the door. It\'s completely insane. When else are you going to have such a rare experience?"

"...Yeah, you\'re right. It\'s fun."

The brief awkwardness between us quickly faded, and Seorin\'s usual light smile returned.

Seorin and I could always revert to playful children no matter where we were.

Even as we waited in front of the villa\'s door, we giggled while discussing what to have for dinner.

The 30 cm distance between us was short but fully occupied, leaving no room for concerns about pride, dignity, or resentment.

"――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."