This novel was seriously written with determination.
If I just mess around writing and put it on hold again and again, when will I ever become an author?
Let’s write everything out this time, no matter if it’s good or bad, and just get it finished.
Did my desperation reach the heavens?
I met a good management team and successfully went paid, and at least enough income started coming in that I didn’t have to worry about making a living.
However, right as my novel was heading towards completion while maintaining pretty decent views, misfortune piled up upon misfortune, and a slump finally hit me.
I couldn’t write.
No matter how hard I squeezed out words, I couldn’t exceed 1000 characters and it just became a weird combination of letters.
I didn’t used to be like this.
Just sitting in front of the desk made my hands move on their own.
It was as if something had broken, and I just couldn’t write.
Still, unable to resist the manager’s prodding, I barely managed to add about 10 more episodes even if it messed up my release schedule.
– “Author-nim, it’s been 3 days since you returned, but the quality of your writing has declined further. I realize that there’s a basement beneath the floor.”
– “Isn’t there too little story progression lately? Where’s the protagonist and why do we keep getting that weird character called Yurian or someone?”
– “Now I’m just going with the flow.”
Of course, the readers’ responses were lukewarm.
Views had dramatically halved from the last few episodes.
And thus, I lost the ability and desire to write.
Now I wasn’t even left with the energy to squeeze out a few words.
– “Author-nim. No matter what, you have to deliver an ending.”
The comment that hurt my feelings the most was this one.
I already know. The ending is right in front of me.
It’s just a matter of conducting the final decisive battle between the human forces the protagonist has gathered and the opposing Majin forces, and then it’s over.
I, as the author, know best that I can finish it within 30 episodes.
But how can I write when I just can’t?
No matter how grand a performance I put on, or how crazy I act, I just can’t get any writing done.
“Fuck······. I want to write too······.”
Pulling my hair, I finally placed my hands on the keyboard.
I committed one of the things an author shouldn’t do.
– “Author-nim. You must provide an ending.”
What the hell do you want me to do when I can’t write?
Engaging in a keyboard war with readers.
I couldn’t suppress my anger and ended up arguing with a reader.
By the time I came to my senses, it was already too late.
Even if I delete the comment now, the notification record will still be there.
– “Then you should have done well with selection and concentration.”
“This fucking jerk—”
Curse words slipped out involuntarily.
Did I not want to do selection and concentration?
Is this person completely out of their mind?
– “Can I help you, Author-nim?”
A reply followed right away.
Help? What with?
Are you going to write the ending for me?
“Ha. Who do you think you are?”
Are you going to write it for me or what?
That would be one funny reader.
But if I could just get the ending of this crummy novel out, then even help from a bastard like that would be welcomed.
– “Yes. Please help.”
Hitting enter, I leaned back in my chair as if to collapse.
What on earth am I doing?
I really should be writing instead of this.
…Even though if I wrote, I wouldn’t be able to write many characters and would just end up pulling my hair out.
– “I wish you luck. I hope you get the ending you desire.”
“Hey, you jerk.”
The reply was sharp.
You say you want to help and that’s all you can do, wish me luck?
Even my parents in heaven are doing that.
Ugh. I was a fool to think you would actually do something.
“Haa······.”
I took off my glasses and squeezed my eyes shut.
Staring at the monitor all day made my eyes too dry.
Though I still didn’t write a single character today.
Still, I should at least try to write a little.
Even if it’s content that would earn me scolding from readers for not making progress, I should write at least 500 characters.
Just as I thought that, I opened my eyes.
“Ugh······. What’s happening?”
I was hit with a sudden dizziness, as if someone was shaking my head.
I could feel my feet touching the ground, but my vision was spinning and hazy.
*
Finally, when the dizziness faded and the headache subsided, I opened my eyes again.
Immediately, a sea of white filled my vision.
Did I accidentally press Alt-Tab and open the notepad?
“······?”
No.
This isn’t a computer screen. It’s just white paper.
When I regained my senses, I realized I was holding a pen in my right hand.
What’s happening? What am I writing right now?
– #### #### #####
The paper was full of some strangely shaped characters.
Judging by the uniformity of font and size, it wasn’t handwritten—it looked printed.
But what on earth is this?
“# ##? ## #####.”
“Yes?”
I looked up at the unfamiliar voice.
An unfamiliar man in unfamiliar clothing and unfamiliar language… was reaching out to me as if demanding something, what is going on?
Just a moment ago, I was in my room after all?
[Data transmission complete.]
[Stats setup complete.]
[Difficulty too high, readjusting······]
[Abilities have awakened.]
[Ability: Translation]
[Ability: Insight]
[Ability: Selection and Concentration]
[Ability: Memory of True Self]
Suddenly, a subtitle-like thing appeared before my eyes.
It was so fast that I couldn’t read what it was saying.
Something about data, setup, difficulty…
“Submit it now. Time’s up. Hand it over.”
“······?”
The man, who had just been babbling in an unknown language, suddenly released a stream of Korean.
No, to be exact, it was translated into Korean.
Could it be because of that passing ‘translation’ thing a moment ago?
And the paper that was in my hand was already clutched in the man’s grasp.
– Freya Imperial University Admission Application······
As the man moved away, I glanced at the paper’s edge.
Freya Imperial University.
I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere before.
…Huh?
“Freya Imperial University?!”
“Surprise.”
“Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?”
When I finally glanced around at the murmurs, I saw people lined up against one wall of the corridor.
I was right in the middle of them.
Freya Imperial University.
The very backdrop of the story I wrote.
But this feels like… an entrance exam hall of the Imperial University?
“Next. Number 3 examinee. To interview room number 1.”
“Next. Number 4 examinee. To interview room number 2.”
What the hell is going on?
First, let me calm down and assess the situation.
The medieval-style pillars and the corridor laid with fantasy-themed red mats.
And red, gold, green… all sorts of colored hair.
On top of that, decisively unfamiliar language (now it sounds like Korean) and the phrase Freya Imperial University.
No matter how I look at it, it seems I’ve embodied into my own novel.
‘Why the hell?’
I quickly found the answer to that question.
– “Can I help you, Author-nim?”
That comment from a moron.
It must be him.
He said to wish me luck and deliver the ending, but could it mean…
That I should enter the novel myself and finish the ending?
“Damn it.”
Is this some kind of hidden camera? Right?
Or is this some sort of hypnotic therapy or something?
This can’t be real, right? Huh?
“Number 10 examinee.”
“······Huh?”
“We do not speak during standby.”
“Ugh······ Yes······.”
Suddenly, a staff member, who had been hovering around, grabbed my shoulder.
From the way he was moving his muscles, it didn’t look like he was exerting much force.
Yet, I felt a sharp pain as if my shoulder blade might shatter.
Given how painful it was, it didn’t seem like a dream…
Was a mere staff member of the Imperial University this strong?
No. It’s me who is weak.
‘Whose body did I embody into······?’
Ignoring the throbbing pain in my shoulder, I raised my hands to examine them.
Big hands with calluses.
Looking at that, he doesn’t seem like a noble magician.
Maybe he’s an aspiring noble knight?
[Displaying stats.]
[Vitality: 15]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 5]
[Power: 5]
[Mana: 1]
[Mana Sensitivity: 1]
[Computational Power: 8]
A subtitle-like text suddenly appeared before my retinas.
Stats?
There shouldn’t be any concept of stats in my novel.
‘Ah······.’
Thinking back, there was.
Though never mentioned in the story, I had recorded the stats in a setting file I created to balance the power dynamics among characters.
But how is that reflected when I never mentioned it as the author?
Anyway, if that’s really the stats of my current body, then I’m in trouble.
The average stat of characters I set is 10. By the latter part of the novel, many main characters have specific stats exceeding 100.
But outside of Vitality and Strength, all the others are below 10…?
I’m screwed.
“······Examinee.”
“······.”
“Number 10 examinee.”
“······Huh? Yes?”
“To the special exam room.”
When I realized what was happening, I stood at the end of the line, with everyone around me vanished.
The staff pointed to the large door at the end of the corridor.
I don’t recall any of the examinees entering over there until now.
Why me?
“Why am I the only special-”
“Time is of the essence.”
“Yes······!”
As the staff tried to grab my shoulder again, I quickly rushed out of the spot.
– Special Exam Site
The temporary sign above the door.
The moment I looked up, I felt tension suddenly engulf me and swallowed hard.
······My body reacted instinctively.
Without even knowing what awaits me inside, my body seemed to know, and it tensed up on its own.
I couldn’t quite recall what the entrance exam was like since it was too early on in the story. What was the special exam room for again?
But that wasn’t my concern.
I was going to go in, say it was a misunderstanding, and that I wasn’t taking any entrance exams, and leave.
Then I would just head out of the Imperial University and take my time to figure out the situation.
“······Excuse me.”
As I opened the door, what greeted me was a massive room with no windows.
Can you even call it a room? The ceiling must have been about three stories high. Calling it a room feels more like a hall or storage space.
“Number 10 examinee! Come in! Close the door!”
“Huh.”
And through the distance came a bright high-pitched voice.
As soon as I heard that voice and saw the hazy silhouette in the distance, I could guess who it was instantly.
I had never seen or heard of her before, yet she looked exactly as I had imagined.
Alexia von dem Kloistere.
Chairwoman of Freya Imperial University.
…And the mightiest Majin.
The character who had only been depicted in letters stood right in front of my eyes.
“If you are number 10 examinee······ it must be Schlus Hainkel, right?”
“Chairwoman. It’s a blind interview. We shouldn’t mention names—”
“That’s enough! The special exam is all up to my discretion anyway, isn’t it?”
“That may be so, but······.”
The characters I created were alive, breathing, moving, and speaking before me.
The moment every author dreams of was unfolding right in front of me.
So perhaps that guy too within this novel…?
No.
That can’t be. The guy appeared when the story had stopped becoming a story.
That guy wouldn’t be in this world.
Anyway, the guy I embodied is named Schlus Hainkel.
…I don’t remember that name at all. Not at all.
Did he just flash on the screen for a moment as an extra?
But that seems unlikely. With that name, he must be a commoner…
“Schlus, huh?”
“Yes?”
“Then let’s start the exam!”
“Oh, um, that’s the thing. Actually, the exam—”
“It’s been a long time! Has it been about 3 years?”
Alexia interrupted my words with her loud voice.
Her personality, completely carefree and unconsiderate, is exactly like what I had mindlessly written in the setting.
“It’s been 3 years, right? Isn’t that true?”
“Yes. Those wishing for double majors last applied 3 years ago.”
“······?”
“Battle Magic! And Elemental Magic, I see! Anyone wanting to major in more than one department must take my special exam! Are you ready for the test?”
What? Double major?
What does that mean?
‘Oh no.’
I remembered the admission application from earlier.
There were multiple fields for selecting majors on that paper.
Could it be that in a daze after suddenly embodying, I unknowingly checked two boxes with a pen?
“Ah, no. There must be some misunderstanding—”
“It’s fine if you’re not ready! Then I’ll start!”
Listen to me, you crazy girl.
Why ask if I’m ready if you’re going to disregard my answer anyway?
“Okay! Let’s start!”
“No, sh—”
Just when I couldn’t hold back my curse any longer.
Suddenly, my vision turned pitch black.
I must have moved my lips to complete the curse, but all that was heard was just “sh-” and then the sound was cut off.
‘What is this?’
I could still feel sensations in my limbs; it was just my hearing and vision that were cut off.
I was moving my limbs, trying to figure out what happened, when at some point, I felt a wave.
It wasn’t the feeling of wind I could touch.
Nor was it sound.
It was a wave that couldn’t be felt by human senses.
The wave that had only been represented in letters in the novel, I was now perceiving with my instinct.
Though I had never felt it before, it felt familiar. This was definitely the ripple of mana emanating from the spell enveloping me in darkness.
It must be the spell that has confined me in this barrier.
[Quest: Escape from the Barrier of Fear.]
[Difficulty: ★★★★☆]
[Reward: 3 Shop Coins]
“······?”
That subtitle appeared again.
A quest? Such a setting doesn’t exist in my novel.
Is this given by the one who sent me here?
The Barrier of Fear.
I feel like I remember something about it, yet I don’t.
If it’s in the form of a barrier, then it seems impossible to escape through normal methods.
Could it mean to use that ‘ability’ they just gave me?
[Ability: Translation]
[Ability: Insight]
[Ability: Selection and Concentration]
[Ability: Memory of True Self]
Just thinking about the abilities made them appear one after the other in a flash.
Selection and Concentration, what kind of ability is that?
[Ability: Selection and Concentration]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Description: Temporarily amplifies a specific stat once a day for a duration of 3 seconds. Amplification Amount: 99]
[Reader’s Note: I added this to encourage you to navigate to the ending by doing well with your selection and concentration this life.]
Got it.
So, if I use this skill on Strength, then the Strength stat of 12+99 will become 111, granting me the strength of a world-class powerhouse.
Though it lasts only 3 seconds.
By the way, there’s absolutely no way I’d expect the readers’ notes would be a total sham.
······Anyway, to escape this barrier, which stat should I raise?
That answer is obvious.
I must boost my Computational Power.
In my novel, magic is a phenomenon manifested when spells utilizing mana as energy sources operate.
Thus, if I dismantle the spell, the magic will stop as well, and I referred to the process of dismantling the spells as ‘computation.’
Just like how a computer calculates complex formulas, if I reverse the formula for the spell, discover vulnerabilities, and poke at them, the spell would come undone.
‘Selection and Concentration. Use on Computational Power.’
Quietly whispering my thoughts inwardly, the effect took place almost immediately.
Suddenly I felt my mind splitting into two, three, no dozens of pieces, and each thought swarming in information flooded in.
Had I been able to see and hear multiple streams coming in, what would have happened then…?
Enough of that. Time is limited to just 3 seconds.
Closing my eyes, I analyzed the mana waves that tickled me gently.
Though I knew nothing about magic, my brain instinctively performed trillions of calculations per second as it tried to piece together the shape of the spells from the regular mana waves and learn their structure.
As I mathematically visualized the structure that resembled a code, beautiful geometric patterns bloomed in my mind.
No matter how much I tried to poke at those patterns, they strongly held their places, not reacting at all.
But amidst that, a tiny illuminated dot. As I instinctively pinpointed that dot, the shining patterns started to crack.
Even if it seemed that they were mending at the ends, they were still insufficient to stop the wave of destruction starting from the center.
Crack······! Crackle······!
Finally, the beautiful spell shattered, and the veil of darkness was lifted.
