Ch.231Web Novel Showdown (2)

“M-Master… I can become super strong, right?”

Pinocchio looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

“Well… don’t get your hopes up too high.”

That’s what I said. The… the bigger your expectations, the bigger your disappointment.

Pinocchio hurriedly headed toward the enhancement device.

Clunk-!

I inserted the holy sword fragment without hesitation. I had no regrets about doing this.

Whoooooom-!

The holy sword fragment was immediately sucked in.

Fwaaaash-!!

Pinocchio’s body was enveloped in light.

“Kyaaaah!!”

Pinocchio immediately let out a battle cry.

Ding-!

‘Pinocchio’s strength has increased by 30.’

‘Pinocchio’s durability has increased by 30.’

‘Pinocchio’s agility has increased by 30.’

I was surprised by the unexpected harvest. No way… is this for real? Stats increasing by 30 at once… the grand title of “holy sword” certainly lived up to its name.

Ding-!

But what excited me was a different reward.

‘Pinocchio Sword Enhancement’

This was what I had been hoping for.

‘The memories embedded in the sword enhance Pinocchio. He can transform into sword form more quickly.’

‘When summoning Pinocchio Sword, Pinocchio’s stats are calculated as a weight added to your stats.’

After skimming through the explanation, I grabbed the sword.

Currently, Pinocchio’s strength stat was 35. When using Pinocchio Sword, my strength stat would get a plus 35.

Now it felt like I could use Pinocchio more practically in actual combat.

“Pinocchio. Come down from the device. Let’s test it out.”

I said to Pinocchio.

“Okey!”

Pinocchio stood in front of me.

“Pinocchio Sword!! Transform!!”

I immediately shouted loudly while waving my hand.

“Woah!!”

As Pinocchio’s nose grew longer, his body shrank like a sword hilt.

Swoooosh-!

At the same time, the slime coating took the form of a blade and positioned itself on his nose.

Ping-!

In just a few seconds, Pinocchio had become a sword.

‘The damage itself is… weaker than Tomato.’

But along with the stat weight, it showed that the durability was infinite. Having a weapon with infinite durability was definitely an advantage. At least I could use techniques like Blazing Slash infinitely.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-! Shik-!

I swung the Pinocchio Sword through the air.

Hmm. It had an appropriate weight and length. There was no problem using it.

“Pinocchio!! You’ve finally become useful!!”

I laughed and returned Pinocchio to his original form.

“Hehehe!!”

Pinocchio immediately burst into a groveling laugh. He really had become combat-effective now.

“You really ground up such a precious item as enhancement material.”

Bluebeard looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“Well, I got a new sword out of it.”

I said with a smile.

“If I get materials from other swords and put them into Pinocchio… he’ll get even stronger, right?”

That had to be the case.

I now had another reason to explore the weapon dungeon more. I was already at maximum excitement.

“Well… it’s your will, so I won’t say anything.”

Bluebeard sighed.

“A hero… is someone who can come to their own conclusions. If that’s what you think, then so be it.”

Bluebeard spoke in a meaningful tone.

Anyway, quite some time had passed. Sasith and Frill had already gone home. I should probably head back too.

But before that.

“Ah!! Violet!! I took down another strong enemy!! Convert it to stats for me!!”

I immediately clung to Violet.

“You’re always defeating powerful enemies… battle maniac.”

Violet looked at me with a displeased expression. She really dislikes me.

“Anyway. Stretch out your hand. I’ll convert it right away.”

Despite her grumbling, Violet immediately extended her hand.

Fwaaaash-!

As soon as I took Violet’s hand, light shone.

‘Memory of the Eight-Foot Ghost: You, with your brain pickled in rice cake consciousness, were disappointed, weren’t you? When expectations shatter, the mind becomes stronger. Durability stat increases by 5.’

The reward wasn’t as much as I thought. Just a measly 5-point increase in durability stat. But I was still grateful for it. I immediately did the conversion.

“Come again next time. But don’t get yourself killed. As much as I hate to admit it, you and your cheerful companions are the multiverse’s last hope.”

Violet said.

“Violet… are you worried about me?”

I looked at Violet.

“This is why I can’t talk to you when you always think like that!!”

Violet shouted loudly, her face turning red.

Anyway, that’s how I finished my training for the day.

———

The next day.

I went to school as usual.

Somehow… despite skipping school, there was no questioning. It just passed like water flowing.

Is that how high schools are these days? I almost got that impression. It felt like taking a self-declared holiday in college.

“Of course. You have me backing you up. I took care of it.”

Kana said with a shrug. Kana… she was quite the power player.

“Shota. I can do anything for you.”

Kana looked at me with eyes gleaming with desire and held my hand tightly.

“Uh… yeah. Thanks.”

But it’s burdensome. Even with Kana’s backing, I was determined to handle my own responsibilities.

After school, I trained intensely at the kendo dojo.

It was my usual routine, but there was one difference.

‘Million Killer Contest’

‘Crush your enemies and advance toward the dream of one million views.’

‘Only ten will survive’

Some extremely chuunibyou-esque banners filled the site. Sasith would love this.

Chuunibyou trait) Loves death games.

Now works would be officially registered.

I had already built up a backlog. All that remained was ‘proof.’

“Here goes!!”

I immediately uploaded my work.

And then I refreshed once.

Drrrrrr-!!

Though no such sound was actually heard, it was like an auditory hallucination.

Works came pouring in. My work was quickly buried. There were only two ways to survive here: be exceptionally interesting, or keep pushing to the top with consecutive uploads to catch potential readers’ eyes.

‘It’s not… exceptionally interesting.’

I admitted that point.

Only someone like Mika could boast that caliber. I couldn’t capture the feeling I got when reading Mika’s novels.

‘But I won’t lose in productivity.’

I was a consecutive upload machine. The reason I could juggle school life, kendo practice, monster hunting, and being a writer was because of my overwhelming productivity.

“You’re… interesting.”

At that moment, Mika spoke to me.

“How so?”

I looked at Mika, who was sticking close to me while writing her novel.

“Just. Usually people feel discouraged when they’re next to someone with my level of talent.”

Mika said.

“Well… I do feel discouraged.”

I do get hit with reality checks.

“But… I have to shake it off and do something. Agonizing and worrying doesn’t suit my temperament.”

That’s right. I had a surprisingly simple and straightforward personality.

Despite being a writer, I disliked thinking. I would move my body first and that was it.

A man who moves first… Yes, I was a moving man.

“That’s what makes you cool. Really.”

Mika went behind me and immediately embraced me from behind.

“Anyway!! Today is a 5-consecutive upload celebration for the opening!!”

I immediately shouted loudly.

“Ufufu. Shota. Do your best.”

Eri kissed me.

“Novels? Is this what Earthlings like?”

Kirtan looked at the computer screen with interest.

“Don’t you have novels in space?”

I asked Kirtan.

“Uwahaha! We do have them!! But I’m illiterate!!”

Kirtan cleanly admitted her illiteracy.

“………..”

I’d never met an illiterate person in my life. I had this prejudice that all aliens were super smart… but it seemed that wasn’t the case for everyone.

“By the way, whose turn is it for the next date?”

While uploading my scheduled posts, I asked everyone.

“M-me, it’s me.”

Mika said.

“Ooh… Mika!!”

I was just in the mood for Mika, so that worked out well.

“What shall we play? What shall we play?”

I said to Mika.

“Why did you say it twice?”

Umi obviously didn’t get the joke. Right. It was an 18+ rice cake consciousness joke… only otaku who had reached the abyss would understand this humor.

“Hey, what are you saying in front of a girl!!”

But… Mika reacted to those words and blushed.

“Mika… you understood?”

I grinned.

“Ah…!”

At those words, Mika’s face turned extremely red.

“You’re quite the tissue string puller.”

I immediately went for the kill shot.

“Ugaaah!!”

Mika blushed and immediately hit me. Mika… the nature of her job as a web novel writer hadn’t gone anywhere. It’s basically a profession that requires a certain level of otaku power.

“Umm… let’s have our date tomorrow.”

Mika said firmly.

“Hmm. Sure.”

Tomorrow is fine too. I casually answered like that.

“You know… it’s my first date with a boy… so I want to make it the best date ever.”

Mika said, blushing.

“Mika… you precious thing!!”

I immediately hugged Mika.

At that time, I was quite looking forward to what kind of date we would have tomorrow. At that time, I didn’t know that Mika and I would get involved in an outrageous incident.

———-

On the first day of the contest, an incredible incident occurred.

‘I’m Being Obsessed Over by Three Well-Raised VTubers’

A seemingly ordinary work with this title became incredibly popular. A work that was being discussed all over internet novel communities had appeared.

Honestly, there was no precedent for this. On the first day of the contest, even with consecutive uploads, you’d only have about 5 chapters including the prologue… becoming a hot topic in such a short period was nearly impossible.

Moreover… this was the author’s first work. Despite having a composition perfect for being buried, it immediately seized the #1 ranking. An incredible rookie had emerged.

“Ugaaah!! What the heck! Who is this!!”

Mika threw a tantrum in disgust. Even that Mika… had to give up her real-time best position for about an hour. Mika was surprisingly competitive in that regard.

“What kind of novel could it be…”

I immediately opened the novel page. Already, dizzying view counts were flickering.

And the moment I saw the novel, I was immediately thrown back from the monitor.

“Kuheogh!!!”

I immediately rolled on the ground.

“Sh-Shota? Why are you acting up again?”

Umi, who was reading a fashion magazine, opened her eyes wide.

“This guy’s at it again.”

Taiga no longer had much of a reaction. That’s disappointing.

“Were you attacked by the Demon Lord?!”

Tina supported me.

“Ah, the overwhelming web novel power…!!!”

I had temporarily lost my mind due to the inhuman level of entertainment.

I had to admit it, even though I didn’t want to. This person would win this contest. I was certain of it.

“Mika! You read it too!!”

I thrust the screen toward Mika.

“No… I’ll pass.”

Mika tried to say that.

But as if she couldn’t overcome her curiosity, Mika immediately looked at the screen.

“Ugeeeek!!”

Mika also read the novel intently and was thrown back from the computer screen, rolling on the ground.

“Even Mika, who seemed the most normal… has gone weird.”

Kana was coldly analyzing the situation while watching the scene.

Anyway, that was the beginning of the major incident.