1.) Surviving a Shounen Manga (소년만화에서 살아남기)

> This one was a fun read and I recommend it to you guys. The MC on this novel got transported to his favorite manga and must be recognized by the readers to avoid not being drawn and written because *POOF*, he will cease to exist if he does not. Smile.

LINK: https://ashenclouds.wordpress.com/2021/10/11/surviving-a-shounen-manga-소년만화에서-살아남기/

I will put 3 chapter for you guys here to check if you guys like it, if so then click the link above or search it in your browser.

Tags: Action ,Comedy, Fantasy, Transported to manga.

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Synopsis:

[Mission: Occupy the space, secure your part, and survive until the end.]

After a disagreement with the author, Lee Hee-ro transmigrated to the world of his favourite shounen manga, Adventure King!

But what's this, characters have to work hard for their survival?

If you're a two-bit villain, you get defeated by the protagonist from the get-go?

If you're the strongest on the current map, you get hammered down by a newcomer to show off their strength?

If you aren't popular with the fanbase, your character gets deleted?!

In a world of endless fights, a crazy sprint to survive just the next chapter begins!

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Chapter 1

To the readers. Another 'survival' story? Well, yes, and we will have some more in the future. But this one has its unique features, too. Instead of surviving in a known and understood world map, here the survival is against the malicious author and the ever-changing fanbase. If that sounds interesting, give it a try! Also please like, comment, rate, etc.

Prologue

[M Comics Column] – In an interview with the author of 'Adventure King'.

Q. First of all, congratulations on the completion. How do you feel?

A. Happy as well as sad. No other words seem necessary.

Q. This work was famous for having a lot of characters. Who is the character you love the most?

A. Probably the main character. He's the character I've been watching and cheering for the longest. Other than that, the weight of each character in the work can be seen as a measure of my affection for them.

Q. Are there any missing characters that you feel particularly regretful about? Or anything that received many complaints from readers.

A. There is absolutely nothing. In the case of some characters, there were times when I thought that the abilities they had were disappointing. But even so, what had already been shown were enough to build the story. There is no other reason for a character to disappear, it's because they didn't have enough strength to survive. I send my deepest condolences to the few readers who loved them.

Q. So, what are the requirements for a character to survive?

A. A character should draw the reader's interest and attention as soon as it appears. Otherwise, it loses its utility value immediately. Even if you drag it, the moment they're forgotten, it's over. Except for the main characters who were born with important roles from the beginning, attributes of other characters are basically predetermined. Their appearance is controlled by the author, but from then on, it is solely the responsibility of the character to live on. Unless the characters try to live on their own, they can't see the light of the end.

Q. Did the character popularity vote affect the development of the work?

A. I can't say no. If you do not understand the needs of your readers, you are disqualified as a commercial writer. But …

⁝

I read up to there and closed the page. Because I couldn't stand it.

It was all pathetic.

A character that doesn't attract the reader's attention from the first episode can't see the light of the end.

If the character doesn't try to live and breathe on his own, he will eventually disappear.

It was funny that the author himself said that. Well, no, it wasn't really funny.

The character disappeared because the artist didn't draw it. It's just been forgotten because we didn't love it enough.

What did the simple character do?

Actually, I even thought about dropping the series when the character I was cheering for died. Because of that, there were times when I didn't read it for several months.

[Corrupted Knight Lucas].

My favourite character in Adventure King.

The Corrupted Knight certainly attracted the attention of many. A character who appeared as a villain and ranked in the Top 10 of the popularity polls after just 15 episodes.

However, the Corrupted Knight died before the story reached its climax.

Because of narrative plausibility?

Well, there was a lot of discussion about this at the time. There were many opinions that even if he hadn't died at that time, the flow of the story would not have been greatly affected.

In the community, the popularity of the Corrupted Knight was about to surpass the main character, so there was a rumour floating around that the author was wary of it and killed it. It'd just been reduced to consumables for the main character to dope out on.[1]

Even if it's your own work, so you own it all, but isn't it still funny to say something like this? After all, if everything moves, attacks, and kills according to your intention, how do you think the character should work hard?

Thinking about it, my head felt hot again.

I immediately logged into social media. Then I sent a message to the author's official account.

– I thoroughly enjoyed reading your interview in the column. But I have one question. What do you mean that the character has to work hard for himself? Wasn't it the writer who killed the Corrupted Knight who was doing well, just because he overshadowed the main character?

No reply would come anyway. The message would not be passed on to the author himself.

If the author had been the person who checked this, he would have replied to the dozens of messages I had sent at least once. Even if only to curse with abusive language telling me to stop sending DMs.

Anyway, after sending the message, I felt a little relieved.

"Hoo…"

I slowly looked back at the 'Adventure King' books neatly arranged on the desk.

A total of 60 books, over 10 years.

A treasure I'd been collecting since middle school.

…

I felt sad. I did. It was sad.

It was still the one I liked best. My favourite manga.

I bought the last book a week ago but hadn't read it yet. Because I didn't want to admit that it was really over now.

"…"

However, it was useless to deny it as the final reviews and author's interviews were pouring in all around me.

Okay, let's read it while thinking about it.

It was time to pick up the last book.

Wiiiing –

The cell phone made a sound.

There was a message on SNS.

– I didn't lie.

After checking the sender ID, I opened my mouth in amazement.

It was the account of the author of 'Adventure King'.

He sent me a reply for the first time. After ten years.

– Characters can struggle to survive. The Corrupted Knight simply neglected this.

After a brief moment of surprise, anger rose again.

Struggle to survive? Since he didn't do that, the Corrupted Knight died?

'It sounds just like an excuse…'

But I couldn't go on thinking any further.

The moment I checked his last message, I suddenly lost consciousness.

– Would you like to try it?

Editor's Notes:

[1] 뽕맛 (lit. mulberry flavour) is a gaming slang in Korea talking about characters becoming overpowered. 뽕 is actually standing for methamphetamine i.e. as if the character is doping.

*********************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2

Lee Hee-ro (이희로 / 李熙路).

熙 for shining prosperity, 路 for the path.

A name given by my grandfather, hoping for me to pave a shining path for my country and my family.

My grandfather always wanted me to walk the path of an engineer, but contrary to his expectations, from an early age, I fell in love with the world of mangas.

It started when I was in elementary school and accidentally entered a small manga rental shop in the neighbourhood.

After reading all the manga in the rental store for two months, I ran an expedition to the neighbourhood next door, and devoted a small amount of pocket money to reading manga.

I couldn't stop even though I was annoyed just by looking at the manga strips. Because the world of heroes and mysteries I dreamed of existed right there.

A child who spent the day sitting in a corner of a dusty room full of manga instead of a playground or a PC room.

That was me.

And for me, 'Adventure King' was like a new world.

The turbulent biography of a boy who adventures with his colleagues in search of the end of the world. A panorama of growth, hope, courage, and joy emanated from it. The ever-expanding worldview, the charming characters, the rushing development, and the catharsis that fills every episode.

Every time I turned the page, that uncontrollable tumult in my heart…

I even had the same dream every night –

When I woke up dazzled by the bright sunlight, a boy was sitting by the window of the room.

A boy with unusually twinkling eyes, with brown tufted hair and a red scarf around his neck.

This is what he said to me when I just woke up.

"You sleepy bastard! Are you awake now? Are you ready to leave?"

Every time I said I was ready, I woke up from the dream, so it was unimaginably sad. Even though I was young, I really thought I could leave right away.

As an adult, I hadn't changed much. I didn't dream any more, but I still occasionally found his traces in my room's window.

Throughout the past 10 years, there has always been an adventure with him on one side of my mind.

Yes, that's how it was.

·········.

But that wasn't this.

It really wasn't like this…

'Does this make sense?'

Neither a dream nor a hallucination.

I looked again at the hologram floating above my head.

It was clearly pointing to my present.

[Villain 3]

I knew intuitively.

Something that I had longed for when I was a kid, happened.

I suddenly entered the world of 'Adventure King'.

However, 'Villain 3' is an extra, not the main character's colleague.

In order to grasp the current situation more clearly, I decided to look back from the moment I first opened my eyes.

When I woke up, I was standing alone in an old wooden building that looked like a hut. Judging by the toilet and mirror, it seemed to be an outhouse.

The last memory that came to mind was the message of the 'Adventure King' author.

– Would you like to try it?

'I hope that's the reason….'

It was absurd, but that was the only reason I could guess.

The author put me into his own manga.

"…"

I decided to skip this question for now. It was a matter that could not be judged or confirmed at the moment anyway.

I then looked at my body.

A gigantic size that fills a not-so-small space.

I didn't think of this place as a manga world simply because of the memory of the last message.

"What the hell is this…"

It wasn't my original body. The reflection in the mirror was the most gigantic person I had ever seen.

It was surprising that I didn't scream immediately, to be honest. Maybe it was the lack of realism?

This new body was absurdly deformed.

An upper body as thick as an elephant and a lower body as thin as an ant. Even if that's a little bit of an exaggeration, the ratio of the upper body to the lower body was almost 7:3.

My body was so bizarre and 'manga-like' that I couldn't believe it was real.

Besides,

'Why the hell is my face like this?'

Eyes bulging like a catfish, jaws protruding as if they were touching your chest, and even a skull angled like a rectangle.

Do you call this the uncanny valley? Seeing this, it was like seeing a demonstration why the animated movie, which was close to live-action, had failed rather disastrously at the box office.

'Villain 3'

I quickly looked away from the mirror. Just looking at that face made me dizzy. It seemed like it would take quite some time to get used to it.

The next thing that came to mind was the hologram.

I stared at 'Villain 3' floating above my head.

Soon after, the hologram window lengthened and details came to mind.

I checked the sentence at the top first.

[Mission: Occupy the space, secure your part, and survive until the end.]

That was probably the goal given to me here.

'Securing your part and surviving until the end.'

It was a bit of an odd turn of phrase.

I then looked down.

[State]

Name: Villain 3

Characteristics: A little strong

Awareness: 0

Writer's favourability: 0

Reappearance probability: 0%

This seemed to be my current state.

No proper name, zero recognition, an extra with little to no distinguishing features.

However, the thing that bothered me the most was the one at the bottom.

Reappearance probability: 0%

Didn't the writer say that the characters' attributes are basically predetermined? I was able to intuitively realize that this point was related to the existence value of the character, in other words, 'my life'.

What if he doesn't reappear in future chapters? A character's life ends there.

Named characters are also easy to forget if they don't appear often.

In other words, this character currently called 'Villain 3'… No, it meant that my life was at stake.

"Hmm…"

Fortunately, I was in the bathroom right now.

If I had been with someone else, I wouldn't have been able to diagnose the situation so leisurely.

I didn't know how much time was given to me, but I had to figure it out fast.

"But if that's the case, what should I do...."

That was then –

Boom –

Suddenly, I felt as if the world went quiet.

It felt like the flow of time had stopped, except for me.

In an instant, a voice leaked out of the hologram above my head.

[Adventure King serialization has begun]

[Chapter 1 – The Beginning of the Adventure]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Villain 3 is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

'Starting serialization?'

But I didn't even have time to panic, let alone find out what was going on. Suddenly, loud voices began to be heard through the bathroom door.

"No, how long is he going to spend there!"

"Come out quickly!"

"You must hurry!"

Unfortunately, It was a language I didn't know, but I could somehow understand it.

"Hurry!"

"We might miss that kid!"

However, there was no time to be surprised by this. Because their urging was directed towards me.

The personnel beyond the door didn't stop at screaming, they even knocked on the door.

Bang!

If I didn't come out right away, it looked like it was going to come crashing down.

I couldn't even think of taking my time.

"I'm getting out!"

No matter how much you grumble here, you won't get an answer. Whatever it is, you just have to face it.

And as soon as I went out,

"Hooo!"

For a moment, I panicked and inhaled a breath.

There were seven or eight other humans who looked like me. All of them were bizarre-looking idiots.

One of them, with a huge iron rod, tapped me and said:

"What, are you constipated?"

Everyone giggled and laughed at his words. It was like looking at typical stupid characters.

Something didn't feel right.

"Let's go! Or we will be late."

But that's something that can't be undone.

I carefully followed them as they moved forward excitedly.

The one who seemed to be the leader of the group stopped at the entrance of the village.

There were two signposts, one pointing to our village and the other to the trail leading to the mountain.

I looked closely at the signposts.

As with words, it was strangely readable even if written in unknown characters.

What was written on the signpost on the mountain side was [Pinecone Village].

And the name of this town we were in was…

"Initialis!"

I cried out in amazement.

"What, why all of a sudden?"

"Are you sure you know the name of our village now? He's my little brother, but he's really stupid, isn't he?"

I focused on the thoughts that came to my mind, ignoring those who giggled at me.

Initialis, a name I knew all too well.

Starter town. The starting point of the story, where the protagonist of 'Adventure King' was born and raised.

In an instant, a scene was naturally drawn in my mind.

'Is it… Leo?'

Looking back, the scene unfolding right in front of me was also somehow familiar.

A small and quiet town where the twilight has fallen. Smoke rises from every chimney, and the setting sun slowly sets among the colourful buildings.

It was then that everything fell into place. The identity of this group, including myself, and what will happen in the future.

Just then, someone opened his mouth.

"Is he going to come soon?"

"What's the matter? Are you nervous?"

"I am nervous… But it's true that that little guy isn't that formidable."

Then the boss with the iron rod tapped my shoulder and said:

"Hey, why are you worrying? With this guy here, there's nothing to worry about."

"Huh, that's right."

"He is a man known for being vicious!"

"It's my little brother, but sometimes he scares even me, haha."

Taking in the loud laughter from the idiots around me, my impressions grew more and more crumpled. Through their conversation, my 'identity' and 'role' became clearer.

'Villain 3', the boss's younger brother.

In the first episode of Adventure King, I was the idiot who believed only in his size and was the first to fall under the hero's excited punches.

The beginning of Adventure King is no different from that of other shounen manga. The story begins with the protagonist boy leaving the village. This group, including me, are the rogues of this town who have suffered a lot from him.

The current situation was that the rogues were trying to block the main character's way from leaving and trying to get rid of him.

"That cheeky little boy! This time, let's settle things!"

"Where are you leaving? Let's break your legs first!"

These are the familiar phrases.

As their confident dialogue continued, I became more and more anxious. This was just a retracement to the exciting action that will follow.

But nevertheless, I didn't want these fools to shut up. It was because I knew very well when their words would be cut off.

But just in time,

"Heh, by the way, it's time for him to come ..."

"Huh?"

"Who do you think is coming up there?"

Their conversation was interrupted.

Just then, a cool breeze from somewhere brushed my skin.

As if foretelling the end, the falling sunset shone.

And where the shadow of that light was cast. The guy who had been my best friend for the past 10 years was standing there.

A boy with brown tufted hair that had never been groomed and a dark red scarf around his neck.

The protagonist of this manga, who will blow me over the valley with a single punch a little later, and thereby announce the start of an exciting adventure.

It was the appearance of 'Leo'.

*********************************************************************************************************

Chapter 3

Apart from being in a hostile position right now, I couldn't help but be quite moved by the current situation.

A distinctive, cheerful and innocent face. His mouth twitched as if he was about to burst into laughter.

It was a little different from what I saw in the manga, but Leo was Leo nonetheless. To see the guy you only met in your dreams in real life.

I felt a strong impulse to run to him and say hello. I've been a fan of yours for a very long time.

But,

"Heh, little boy. I've been waiting!"

"Are you leaving today?"

"You have to ask us first! If you want to go, you will have to give up one leg!"

I couldn't help but close my heart at the sudden burst of voices.

I turned around and saw these sloppy villains clamouring to die. They didn't even take a single step forward, just stood there yelling and screaming, to the point of making me want to laugh.

And, of course, this did not create a single ripple on Leo's carefree face.

'Yeah, that's better.'

As long as you overcome this obstacle, there will be plenty of opportunities to build friendships with Leo. And that would be the only way for me to survive here.

I made up my mind.

First, I had to focus on overcoming the current situation.

Just then, Leo's mouth opened for the first time.

"What is it, you guys again?"

Surprisingly, it was a familiar voice. Somehow, it was quite similar to the voice actor in the animation.

It was a weird coincidence.

Following that,

"Heh, kid. Today will be different. I even called my younger brother who was active in the big city. He's a very vicious guy."

The boss patted my shoulder and spoke.

I was very well aware of the actions 'Original Villain 3' would have taken at this time.

Taking one step forward, bending the joints of the fingers. 'Heh heh…' he would chuckle, with a stupid smile on his face.

It was very fortunate for me to be familiar with such a 'role'. There was no guideline more important for survival.

These villains, including me, are characters that never appear again after the first episode. It can be said that all the 'role' given to them is to get hit by the main character and fly away.

In other words, it meant that if I followed it, I would also be deleted at once.

I had to act differently.

Instead of going forward, I pretended not to hear anything and just stood there. First, I needed time to think.

Perhaps embarrassed by my sudden action, the boss secretly pushed me once more.

"Hey, the kid I was talking about is that guy. Go and show him."

"Yeah, show him!"

"Hurry!"

The push was harder than expected. Not only the boss, but everyone around me was pushing me.

Even Leo seemed to be conscious of this, and began to stare at me with his twinkling eyes.

'What is this…'

Contrary to his conceited appearance, Leo is a monster that can never be matched. There's no point in getting into a fight.

After all, there were only two options I had to choose from.

To appeal that you don't want to fight, or to run away as it is.

But running away is also meaningless. There will be no next time for extras who are not connected with the main character.

The former is correct. I don't know if I'll be able to join as a colleague if I do well.

So, it was time to go straight to Leo and suggest a conversation.

"Hey, I have something to tell you."

Ppiii –

Suddenly, the hologram was dyed red, and a warning message resounded in my mind.

[Warning!]

[Intention to violate plausibility has been detected]

[Acts are prohibited by preceding plot]

[Silence is enforced for 10 seconds as a penalty]

'Hey, what is this?'

I was very perplexed.

It was as written in the warning message. No words came out. I couldn't even open my mouth. It was as if my body was bound by a mysterious force.

But the real problem was not the unprecedented pressure on the body.

'Preceding Plot? Do you have to act according to the plot?'

I was speechless.

So, do you mean to act the same as the original, and just be deleted?

It was like a death sentence.

The force that had been pressing on my body was quickly gone.

But the uncomfortable situation continued unchangingly.

"Why all of a sudden?"

"What's going on?"

Everyone looked at me with puzzled eyes.

'Shall I just run away?'

Nope. I immediately shook my head.

If so, the same thing will probably happen. A series of warnings may result in a more severe penalty.

I needed time to think.

To escape the immediate situation, I called the guy next to me. Of all the extras here, he was the most extra-looking guy.

"You first."

"Ah?"

"Yeah, don't just stand there."

Then I had to make an impression as best I could. The number '3' after the villain would indicate the rank here. Maybe it will work.

Soon after, the perplexed guy stepped forward as if there was nothing he could do. He was holding a wooden stick in both hands.

I waited nervously for a while, but no warning message came. It was a little different from the original, but fortunately this seemed to be good enough.

Then the boss came and asked me.

"Why are you like this?"

"Wait a bit."

I then raised my hand and stopped him. It was a bonus to pretend to be serious for nothing.

I had to think quickly.

To what extent is this 'plausibility' allowed?

The act of having a conversation in order to stop fighting was prohibited. However, it was permitted to postpone the immediate turn.

The key is to not go against the author's intentions.

'His intentions…'

The author's intention in the first part of any story is clear. The characters have to make the reader curious.

And I was well aware of what devices were prepared in 'Adventure King' for this purpose.

That's Leo's unstoppable power.

The villains in the village, including me, are just a means to express this. The fact that my size is so large was actually a device to highlight his power.

You can't avoid fighting. In order to show Leo's strength, he needs a scapegoat. No matter how much you delay your turn, the end result will be the same.

'What should I do, how…'

Then,

"Ahh!"

The one who came out first flew away.

Scenes that used to be exciting in mangas no longer felt that cool. I broke out in a cold sweat.

"How did you like that? Who's next?"

Leo smiled and waved his arms round and round, and everyone froze and took a step back.

Then, his eyes turned to me again.

The boss also coughed in vain as if trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Hmm, so now have you seen that guy? Even though he's a kid, he's someone you can take care of yourself. So, hurry up…"

But I pretended not to hear and pointed at another guy.

The face of the guy who was pointed out by me turned blue, but I tried to ignore it.

"Yeah, yeah! I want you to educate that cheeky little boy first!"

Although the boss has empowered my actions, this won't last long. Now he also looked at me suspiciously.

There was no time.

First of all, the important thing is that my character needs to be clearly distinguishable from other extras.

'Should I try to be as funny as possible? Or screaming strange sounds.'

But,

"Hey, hey!"

When I saw the second guy who just got hit and flew away, one thought entered my mind. He was rolling like a windmill, and just looking at it, I knew I couldn't win.

And in fact, no matter how the extras stretched out the time, as a reader in the first place, I had no memory of being conscious of it. After all, the focus was on Leo's power. All evaluations of the hit-and-down reaction will be there.

A completely different approach was required.

At that time,

"Are you sure… you're fine?"

The boss came closer and asked.

He didn't seem to be able to say 'are you scared at all'?

Instead of answering him, I roughly pointed to another guy.

His face became contemplative, but there was no time to worry about it.

'It's an approach from the other direction.'

Is there any other way to show Leo's strength than to be beaten?

I know he's not just strong. Power is just one of Leo's many abilities. Leo's other abilities would be enough to prove his worth even if he didn't make me a scapegoat.

The only problem was that the act of trying to bring out Leo's other abilities now doesn't fit my role at all.

I am an extra in the first episode at best. It's not a good match for revealing the main character's hidden abilities. Perhaps this will also be restrained by 'plausibility'.

Slowly, impatience began to creep in.

What to do? A way to reveal the strength of the guy and at the same time highlight my own character.

'Are there any hints…'

That was then –

Wait, hints?

"…!"

In an instant, inspiration struck like lightning.

Then I got a hint.

Right from the author's perspective.

"Oh my gosh…."

When I thought about it, it was so simple.

I tried to talk, but I was rejected. However, delaying the turn was permitted. In other words, it did not go against the author's intentions.

The fact that I, who has a stronger appearance than anyone else, and who is receiving everyone's expectations, am secretly delaying my turn. This was also a way to reveal the strength of the main character.

In other words, I was already realizing the artist's intentions in my own way.

'What if this is a good way…?'

Of course, simply doing something that differentiates you from others does not mean that you can survive unconditionally. Something more fundamental is needed.

For example, something like the unique charm of a character.

In a timely manner,

"Ke-e-eek!"

Even the third guy went out and fell.

"Why don't you guys just attack all at once? I'll blow you all away together!"

Leo had a bright smile on his face, as if it was fun to hit people.

It's like a bad boy.

The boss also pushed me as if he couldn't stand it any longer.

"What are you doing! If we keep going like this, I'm going to get killed by that guy!"

Suddenly, a look of restlessness filled his face.

But I was very confident. There was one strategy that suddenly came to mind.

There is usually only one case in which one-time extras are later brought back into the spotlight and reappear. If the character caused the readers to laugh.

In other words, I had to become a 'gag character' that they want to see again.

'I'm a little weak at humour.'

Can I do it? There's no other choice.

Fortunately, as a manga fanatic, I was quite familiar with such 'gag clichés'.

I stared at the boss.

"What is this! How long are you going to stand there like that…"

"Tell them to attack together."

"What?"

"Hurry!"

Perhaps the boss was confused, since he followed the order without thinking it through.

"Then… then, damn it, everybody attack all at once!"

Of course, I didn't move.

Then the boss looked at me with puzzled eyes, as if asking – why are you standing still?

I said quietly with my arms crossed.

"It's different from what you told me."

"What? Oh, that's…"

"He's strong, that guy."

The boss was visibly embarrassed by my words.

"Ah, no… If you say that now…"

"But he's still not my opponent. It's small, but I have an advantage."

Of course, it was bullshit.

However, perhaps because of my calm expression and serious tone, the complexion of the boss was brightened again.

"Yeah, that's it! This must have been a strategy of tiring him out to win!"

I nodded my head.

"More than that… I actually have one minor problem."

"Problem? What?"

"My stomach hurts."

Silence fell for a moment.

"After all, I must have had a stomachache earlier."

"… Well, then?"

"I can't do it?"

Then he slowly stepped back.

"…"

When I looked ahead again, there was already no one standing there.

At that moment, Leo smiled and spoke to us.

"Are you alone now?"

Then he approached me with his arms turned round and round, and the feeling of intimidation was immense. To be honest, I can't help but cringe.

Although it is in a manga, it is so vivid that there will be pain. If I get hit by that guy's fist, I'm sure it'll hurt terribly.

"Hey, hey!"

The terrified boss stepped back.

But I struggled to stay. If you retreat from here, you'll end up being just an extra. I had to keep the concept.

I squeezed my neck and shouted.

"You're lucky, you little bastard. Unfortunately, I couldn't take care of you because my stomach hurts."

"You have a stomach problem? Do you think I'll believe you?"

"Yeah, it hurts. In fact, I'm barely holding myself back from wanting to sit down. Can't you see my legs are shaking right now? If you have a stomach ache, the strength of your legs will be relieved first."

"Uh, is that so?"

Actually, it wasn't just talk. By this time, I was even more nervous.

Of course, it wasn't because Leo's fist was scary. After all, that guy doesn't use his fists on opponents who don't attack first.

What I was concerned about. It was about how the 'plausibility' would judge my behavior.

After a while,

"Then you're not fighting?"

Leo smiled and turned his back.

"Thank you. I'm just going to let you go."

"Yeah, then. Go."

Then Leo began to trudge away.

I just counted the numbers.

One, two, three…

Fortunately, there was no restraint of 'plausibility'.

'Done!'

I let out a shout of joy inside.

And then, I didn't forget to put an end to this 'gag cliché'.

"Little boy, we'll meet again! I won't let you go next time!"

How long has it been since Leo left?

A new message has been sent to the hologram window.

I read it nervously.

[Chapter 1 – 'The Beginning of the Adventure' has ended]

[The character evaluation of Villain 3 has been updated]

['Bluffing' has been added to the characteristics]

[Received support from a small number of readers]

[Awareness has increased by 1]

[State]

Name: Villain 3

Characteristics: A little strong, Bluffing.

Awareness: 1

Author's favourability: 0

Reappearance probability: 0%

'Uh? Wait a minute…'

It was a disaster. The results were disappointing.

Although popularity increased by 1, the most important part, the chance of a re-appearance, did not rise at all.

'Wait, will it end like this?'

That was then.

Tiling –

Another message arrived.

[The final evaluation of the character has been calculated by the author]

[Villain 3 is subject to 'deletion deferral']

[The given grace period is '2 chapters']

[Character points paid 3p for the rise in awareness]

The content ended there.

Character points? There were some things that were confusing, but at least I understood the basics.

'If deletion is deferred, did I survive this time?'

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Did it.

Of course, it wasn't all that reassuring. I had to prove the character's worth once more before the end of the second chapter. Obviously, repeating clumsy gags will not be enough to survive. Whether it's getting entangled in the story or learning new abilities…

Then I looked around and swallowed my saliva.

The characters lying on the ground were slowly fading.

The boss and the other villains were all being deleted.

"… This is cruel."

When Leo left –

The only surviving character was me.