Seventy Seventh Seven

Ding!

<You have received a notification, dickhead!>

An automated voice announced and a notification popped up on a dimly lit computer screen.

A pair of lifeless eyes stared upon it.

「 System Notification: "777: Crowned Sovereign" has released its final chapter. 」

Seojin immediately checked it out. As a total shut-in reader who locked himself in his room since seven years old, he had else nothing to do.

'Seven years...'

Staring at the monitor, he moved the cursor directly towards the notification.

Click.

Seven years. Seven long years just to see this exact moment. He has been reading this novel ever since the first chapter.

'I... could finally see how it ends.'

The page loaded.

「 Chapter 7,777: The Final Chapter 」

「 You've read enough. It's now your turn to live it. 」

「 Truly, Eaic#777 」

He stared at the monitor. Seven years. Seven freaking years just to get trolled at the very end.

"What the fudge?!"

He smashed his hands against the keyboard and flung the mouse across the room.

"You fudging playing with me?!"

Anger. 

Rage. 

Disappointment. 

It was an emotion he couldn't describe, but he felt it. It was there, within him.

Sigh.

But he forced himself to calm down and sat into his battered gaming chair. It let out a loud creak as he leaned back.

"Haha…"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, then another. Until it turned into a total badass laugh. 

It was absurd. A trash novel with over seven thousand chapters ended in a pretty awesome way.

A masterpiece, or a joke? Both.

"Haha!"

He laughed. Again. And again, until his laughter turned into a twisting pain inside his stomach.

"I wonder what his decision was..."

Slowly, he reached the soda bottle and the already half-empty junk food wrapper.

Gulp. 

"Fudge the author."

Munch.

"Fudge the novel."

Gulp.

"And fudge me for reading it."

For the seventh time, he laughed again. Even he couldn't tell if he was losing his sanitary right now, sanity rather.

Seven. Seven. Seven. Everything in it revolved around that cursed number. A world made by the seven Gods within seven days. 

There are a total of seven continents. 

Seven kingdoms. Seven divine artifacts. Seven swords of the Sovereign. Seven prophecies. Seven trials.

Again, everything is all about Seven.

The protagonist was the reincarnation of the Crowned Sovereign, the supreme ruler of all the seven continents roughly about seven centuries ago. 

After reincarnation, he needed to collect all the seven artifacts, overcome the seven deadly trials, and make his name well-known all throughout the seven continents. 

Only then he would get a chance to call the seven Gods down and get his crown back. 

And when he finally obtained the crown, he was bound to make a decision whether to use it for the mages, or for the swordsmen. 

Or destroy it by taking his own life.

But instead of revealing the decision that the protagonist made in the final chapter, the author decided to troll it.

"My seven years' worth of money…"

He threw the soda bottle he gripped across the room and crumpled the junk food wrapper, only to reach for another again.

He gazed at the monitor.

The novel had more than seven million words. It shouldn't have taken that long, but the author took the plot into an endless tour.

Lick.

He licked the cheese on his fingertips. 

The final chapter was still open on the computer screen. Slowly, he scrolled down the chapter to see if there was any kind of attachment.

A hint. 

A riddle.

But none. He cursed the author and prayed for his downfall.

"Seven this, seven that…"

He joked about the author's obsession with number seven multiple times, like…

'MC collected all sevens but still ain't got a bitch'.

Then, as if he had an awesome idea, his eyes sparkled.

"That's it!"

Immediately picked up the cursor and keyboard on the floor. Moving the cursor again, he opened a novel community forum. 

<Yo, guys! Seojin's here…>

Couldn't find the right words to say, Seojin just let his fingers dance on the keyboard and type on their own. 

He hit the 'post' option without hesitation. As his name was well known in the forum, the engagements rose up quickly.

<Article: Shitty ending of a Trashy novel.>

<Yo, guys! Seojin's here. What was that dumpster fire of an ending in 777: The Crowned Sovereign? Absolute garbage, right?>

<Reactions: 777> 

<Comments: 777>

<NotUrUsualDawg11: Seojin, you're still reading that? Thought you dropped it by now.>

<FunkyGunky: Honestly, props to Seojin for sticking with it. I just couldn't get into It felt pretty average.>

<FanmadeTax: Kukukuku!! S-Sigma.>

<Perroline: I want to lick your feet and armpits. Lick!>

<Jason: Admins, why isn't this lick freak banned yet?>

<NineEleven: Crash! B-B-Buildings…>

<Sunwoo: Here's another crazy MF.>

<Oliver: Seojin, are you sure that novel isn't yours?>

...(Click to see more.)

Ding!

A new notification popped up. An email.

「 Chapter 7,777: The Final Chapter 」

「 You've read enough. It's now your turn to live it. 」

「 Truly, Eaic#777 」

He grit his teeth. As if publishing a new chapter wasn't enough, the author even emailed it to him. 

"Spam. Spam. Spam."

He reported the email and added it to the 'spam' category. With a sigh, he clicked the 'x' button and exited the website.

Yawn.

"Fudge that novel. I'm gonna sleep."

He turned the lights off and jumped into his bed. For a moment, he thought that it was just a misclick by the author. 

"No."

He shook his head. There's no way an emails send themselves by a misclick or an accident. Instead, he closed his eyes and just let the night pull him in. 

「 Welcome, Seventh Reader! Your loyalty has been awarded. 」

An automated voice echoed.

Not from the speaker.

Not from the monitor.

But inside his mind.

「 You are now a part of Seven. 」