Chapter 2
The next day.
After huddling with Historia and discussing it.
The hallucination that appeared every time I shouted, "Status window..."
I still couldn't be completely sure whether it was a dream caused by scurvy, or a special perk for having actually transmigrated into another world.
I had nothing to lose.
I concluded I needed to test this hallucination.
.
.
.
“That's... quite a bold idea.”
“Really? Haha...”
So I visited a small publishing house.
The editor's reaction after taking my unrivaled masterpiece and tearing through it in one go was:
“It's definitely challenging, original, and fun, but... could you change the word 'god'? Maybe to 'hero,' or something like that.”
I felt a little put out.
It wasn't hard to understand why.
This other world was a place where the Goddess Church had succeeded in unifying its faith.
That bothered me a little too, so during the revision process I tried to get rid of the word 'god.'
But.
The moment I finished revising it, whether for the sake of interest or by showing some flexibility,
[Historical accuracy: not met]
[Due to the novel's adaptation, changes will be applied.]
[D-rank skill 'Cyclops's Dexterity' has been deactivated.]
"...I can't allow that."
The hallucination, no, the status window, appeared again.
Even the special perk skill I had finally obtained was on the verge of evaporating.
When I shot the editor my most pleading, sparkling eyes, he sighed and flipped through my manuscript again with a rustle.
“Anyway, it's definitely worth publishing. If the blurb is handled well, it can be read as an allegory rather than a story directly targeting the church... However, we'll set the royalty split at 2:8.”
I thought that was a little stingy, but.
At this point, I was still just a novice writer who had only completed his debut work.
I would have to prove myself through later sales.
I signed the contract the editor handed me.
It was the moment the first die was cast.
* * *
Three days passed.
“The job is done. I'll head out first.”
“Already? Did you learn some magic or something? How did you finish so much work so quickly...?”
“Haha... Then, see you next week!”
In the meantime.
I got to experience firsthand the performance of 'Cyclops's Dexterity,' the special perk I had been begging for.
A part-time job I'd picked up on and off at a carpentry shop, because even if I failed to land a job I still had to make a living.
Unlike in the past, when I was always smashing my fingers with a hammer.
I could now finish things almost twice as fast as I normally did, and neatly too.
I was even confident I could make enough to avoid starving.
And the wrist pain I got from typing on a keyboard had disappeared too.
In short, I had become a brawny, energetic man who was good at just about anything done by hand!
“Heh heh heh.”
Not only was my livelihood secured just by telling stories about history.
Could my innate abilities even become stronger?
As expected, the history department was the strongest, most invincible major of all time—able to beat up pre-med and make engineering kneel!
Of course, scholars were divided over whether mythology could be considered history, but in any case the system had even appended the note '(mythology)' and declared it valuable as material.
Mythology is the best, mythology.
History is the best, history.
Normally, I should have eaten a cheap, no-frills meal at the inn and then headed into the study to write diligently.
But today was the landmark day my first novel was being published.
I couldn't not go to the bookstore.
.
.
.
Up to now I'd spent my life just trailing after adventures, so I hadn't paid much attention to popular culture.
Still, this other world had a pretty strong popular taste for the arts.
Museums, theaters, and even bards belting out songs on every street.
After weaving through a crowded place reminiscent of Hongdae Street, the moment I entered the bookstore.
“Oh...”
The instant I saw my books on the new release shelf, a surge of pride washed over me.
[In a world beyond the Goddess's gaze, there were other gods!]
[A provocative and fantastical tale from a rising new author!]
Above them, a banner bearing the promotional lines we had hammered out together with the editor fluttered in the breeze.
It was the result of trying to avoid undermining the Goddess's authority as much as possible.
If this thing sold like crazy, I'd be loaded, famous, market share would grow, and users would flood in...
“If you're not buying, get out of the way, peasant.”
“Ah, yes, sir.”
With a brusque tone,
a noble pushed me aside and picked up my book.
Books in this other world were on the pricey side.
Even if magical engineering made mass printing possible and economies of scale achievable, they were still hardcover books by default, so commoners like me couldn't easily afford them.
So the demand was bound to come from wealthy folks like that.
If this were a modern web novel, I'd have been skewered by feedback—or by the sharp tongue of a snake masquerading as feedback.
All I could do now was watch the sales figures like this.
After watching the eleventh copy sell over the course of about three hours.
I left the bookstore.
* * *
Two months had passed since my first publication.
And I...
“I-I believed in your writing, Writer Yul! Please renew your contract with us!”
“4:6! We'll give you 4:6, so contract with our publishing house!”
“We'll even sign you for your next work in advance!”
It ended up becoming even more popular than I'd expected.
The original publisher was watching its step.
Other publishers were courting me.
Competing authors were fretting.
In those two months.
I wrote one more work in addition to my first.
Since I couldn't fit all of Greek and Roman mythology into one volume, it was naturally a sequel to Olympus Story.
The first work, naturally retitled 'Olympus Story: War of the Gods,' didn't become very popular, though.
After spending several days going in and out of the bookstore and studying the trends in other novels.
I saw that romance novels—love stories and adventure tales, too—were hugely popular.
But the quality was below expectations.
They were at such a miserable level that even one K-style makjang drama could have swept them away with ease.
So.
To expand the setting in earnest.
The second installment, titled 'Zeus's Love Affairs.'
Honestly...
It was practically smut.
If I'd made the title a little more blatant, something like 'Zeus Bedded Them All' would have been perfectly fine.
Thanks to that, it became a cult hit, to the point that harassment-laced complaint letters flooded the publishing house.
Mythology's JOAT, the ultimate playboy, Lord Zeus.
And so...
“Um, Writer... about the contract for your next work...?”
“No, I told you, do it with us! 2:8? That's a slave contract!”
“Of course we'll revise the profit split too...! Sob, we didn't realize what kind of author you were...”
And here we were.
Well, they might be clinging to me now...
In truth, the newspapers—the ones that could really be called major publishers—hadn't come calling yet.
In other words, it felt like I'd become number one among the small fry.
If there was one slightly worrying point,
it was that the Heracles story was going to get absolutely roasted for its ending.
Sorry in advance, dear readers.
It's historically accurate.
Still, why are makjang dramas popular?
They're popular because they're makjang.
“I'll think a bit more about the contract issue... I'm still writing my next work, after all. I'll contact you first.”
After sending away the editors, who were stained with regret, despair, and obsession.
“Status window.”
I voiced the word that never failed to move me, no matter when I said it.
[Title: Olympus Story – War of the Gods]
[Historical accuracy: consistent with (mythology)] [Quality assessment: average]
[Public reception: mostly positive] [Sales: 774 copies]
[Acquired skill (first perk): [D-rank] Cyclops's Dexterity]
[(4 days remaining) 1,226 more sales needed to obtain the next skill]
[Expected skill: [C-rank] Hepha■st■s's ■■■]
[Title: Olympus Story – Zeus's Love Affairs]
[Historical accuracy: consistent with (mythology)] [Quality assessment: average]
[Public reception: mixed] [Sales: 1,834 copies]
[(34 days remaining) 166 more sales needed to obtain the next skill]
[Expected skill: [C-rank] Herm■s's ■■■]
Public opinion had actually dropped.
Sales don't lie.
In truth, it hadn't sold all that well.
They say a bestseller can easily sell several thousand copies in just two months.
But even this was more than enough for me.
Although my first work had performed a bit poorly, so I probably wouldn't be able to obtain a skill related to Hephaestus...
Judging by the current trend, the chance of gaining a new ability related to Hermes was very high.
I could see the sales increasing before my eyes every moment, so it'd be soon enough.
* * *
## ====== ##
The power of immortality, which had seemed like nothing but a blessing, became the reverse scale that stabbed the great hero Heracles.
To overcome the unbearable pain, he finally decided to set himself on fire, climbed atop the pyre, lay down, and declared solemnly:
“I have lived my whole life burning with blazing passion, so my end shall naturally be with fire. Come, light it. Light it and grant me peace!”
But no one actually stepped forward to light it.
Because no one could bear to send the great hero Heracles off in such a tragic way.
But there was one man who found the courage.
So that his master could return to the embrace of the glorious gods with his dignity intact, Philoctetes stepped forward.
Soon, the fire Philoctetes set caused the pyre to flare up, and despite the searing pain coursing through his body, Heracles looked at him with a serene smile on his lips.
“Thank you, my proud disciple.”
## ====== ##
“Phew...”
Is this... really right...
Even if it was historically accurate, a hero who accomplished legendary feats being betrayed by his wife to the point of suffering pain so unbearable he'd rather die, and then setting himself on fire...?
Fortunately, the final ending section.
The scene where Athena, under Zeus's command, turns Heracles into a god, and the scene I had intentionally omitted from the first installment where Heracles shines in the Gigantomachy.
If I put these parts in, I could at least add a spoonful of happy ending to the tragic conclusion...
I should probably be able to finish it by today.
Even though it was based on mythology, the process of adapting it into a novel that would sell in this other world rested entirely in my hands, and that gave me a bit of a headache.
Leaving public opinion aside.
There were also system-related things to worry about, like historical accuracy and quality assessment.
“Maybe I'll take a little break.”
『You worked hard, Yul. Why don't you take a short walk and clear your head?』
Following Historia's advice, it seemed like a good idea to go outside and breathe some fresh air.
The moment I gulped down the last sip of today's cola and stepped out the door.
“Writer Yul, is that you?”
I heard someone call out to me.
When I turned my gaze.
“Gasp...”
I saw a woman wearing a strange outfit with a cross-shaped slit open over her chest, as if indecently emphasizing her voluptuous figure.
This outfit.
It looked familiar from somewhere.
Definitely...
“I'm from the Goddess Church. We'd like you to cooperate for a moment.”
…….
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
This other world was a world that had succeeded in unifying its faith under the Goddess Church.
And I...
had spun a polytheistic yarn in a monotheistic world.
Hmm...
Wait, am I a heretic?