Surviving a Shounen Manga - Chapter 66

A red haze fluttered from beyond the far end of the earth, spilling its crimson hue into the indigo blue horizon.

The red sun was beginning to rise above the skies of the Skull Empire.

“… I can see them.”

The princess’ face was flush with excitement.

“Yeah? You sure they aren’t participants?”

“No, they’ve got the same outfit as in the preliminaries. They’re judges alright. Three of them.”

Hearing her affirm it, I frowned and scrunched my eyes, and indeed, I could see three men in traditional imperial attire in the distance.

“Whoo…”

The emotion swirling inside my heart was neither relief for arriving on time nor relaxation that the long journey had finally e to an end.

It was just annoyance.

Whinny–!

It wasn’t funny.

“No, what are you so happy about? How long have you been running, again?”

I looked down at my mount, puzzled.

It’d only been an hour and a half since this guy had started trotting and then running properly. He’d been lazing about on my shoulder until then.

I thought he might at least run for a while, but we’d already arrived at our destination? Just thinking of how long I’d had to run carrying this bastard was making my fists clench unconsciously.

But,

Whinny–!

“…”

Seeing how excited he was about his achievement, there wasn’t a point in saying anything.

“Eh… yeah, about an hour and a half, huh? Good work.”

Then, I turned my gaze to the front again.

Towards the huge and majestic mountain, its top obscured by clouds.

Maroon Mountain.

Its roots stretched across and beneath all around the continent, making it a natural staging ground for campaigns aiming to conquer the continent since ancient times.

Anyway, we’d finally arrived.

After a full two days riding on horseback (?) –

It was finally the moment to pass the first gate of the finals.

That was then –

Tiling–.

The familiar sound heralded the arrival of a holographic message.

[Chapter 23 – The Huntington Bandits (3) has ended]

[Hiro’s character evaluation has been updated]

[‘Spirit of sacrifice’ has been added to the characteristics]

[The support of many readers followed]

[Awareness increased by 80,000]

[Attracts the author’s attention]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 10]

[Received fan art from fifteen readers]

[The author’s favourability has increased by 15]

[Reappearance probability has increased to 30%]

[State]

Tiling–.

[Additional rewards for appearing mid-chapter]

[Leading point of view application is finished]

[Character’s rank has increased]

[Character’s rank has increased]

[Character’s rank has increased]

Tiling–.

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

[Hiro is the subject of a preliminary appearance in the next chapter]

[Character points paid 240,000p for the rise in awareness]

[Character points paid 2,500p for the rise in author’s favourability]

[Character points paid 300p for the rise in reappearance probability]

Hmmm.

The chapter ended as soon as we arrived at Maroon Mountain.

Well, it was regrettable, but it couldn’t be helped.

To be honest, just being allotted this much screentime was a relief. Compared to my first estimate, the time it took to pass each gate of the Warrior’s Path was much longer.

It wouldn’t have been strange even if my point of view had gotten revoked before passing the hurdle. Apart from that one time a bunch of idiots made a nuisance of themselves, there wasn’t even a single enemy raid. Even though we moved slowly enough to let a few people overtake us.

Honestly speaking, I was seriously entertaining thoughts such as, ‘should I start juggling two horses instead of one?’ I’d almost felt pelled to do it. But in the end, I managed to endure the monotony till the end of the first hurdle.

‘Let’s see now…’

I slowed the pace down a bit, and quickly skimmed through the character evaluation results. Characteristics, awareness, author’s favourability, fan art, reappearance probability…

‘Hey, why are you suddenly showing more interest?’

The first thing to note was that the author’s favourability had risen.

Except for the extra 15 from fan arts, there was a rise purely in favourability by 10.

Of course, the 80,000 rise in awareness was also surprising, but the rise in author’s favourability was even more eye-catching. Because it clearly meant that there was now room for improvement in our relationship.

Of course, I had no idea exactly why.

Maybe because Leo’s development hadn’t gotten twisted because of me?

Or after sending me away and cooling down a bit, he noticed how good I was when he looked at me again?

Or because I was using the characters he’d worked so hard on and yet had to throw away?

Maybe he just thought I was an interesting guy?

Whatever the reason, it was a pretty good situation for me.

Maybe I could show off a little more here in Eastland. As the leading point of view, that is.

‘Am I overthinking it?’

Well.

I thought there was a possibility.

This chapter didn’t end at a bad place. Not only did we pass the first obstacle, we also got to see Maroon Mountain, the location of the second obstacle. It’d definitely arouse the readers’ interest.

Moreover, the reappearance probability was as high as 30%. This was a very significant number.

Judging from my experience so far, a reappearance probability of about 10-15% could be interpreted as ‘planned to appear again someday’. However, it wouldn’t make you a candidate for appearing in the next chapter.

However, from a reappearance probability of over 30%, although it was just an empirical judgment, the author should be seriously considering whether the character should appear in the next chapter or two.

In other words, the author might be considering my reappearance in the uping chapters, right now.

Although, I still didn’t have a particularly optimistic outlook.

The chapters that were about to begin didn’t have much gap in the content where another story thread could be shuffled in.

Looking for the lost treasures within the temple, repeated fights between Leo’s party and the Huntington Bandits, until the adventure quest was finally pleted.

It wasn’t idyllic enough to weave in another storyline, or to mix in scenes from a faraway place that wasn’t directly related to the arc.

From that perspective, it might be a bit difficult for me to reappear.

However, there was something else I thought was possible.

Notification of the results.

Wouldn’t it be possible to directly tell the readers about my progress, even if it was with just a throwaway scene or two between the chapters? Readers would also be curious about it.

It wouldn’t need too much detail. After passing the final obstacle with the highest score along with the princess, I’d face the Khan. That one scene would be enough. That alone would be able to largely offset the ‘weakening’ and ‘falling between the cracks’ that I’d been prepared for when I moved to Eastland.

Of course, this was just the most widely optimistic result. If the readers didn’t remember me, or if the author didn’t want them, scenes like that would never appear. Also, even if the author intended to use them, if the time wasn’t right, even that wouldn’t be enough.

Ultimately, it came down to luck.

“Okay, I’ll just stop thinking about it for now.”

It was simple. Either my luck would be good, or not.

There was absolutely no point in being anxious about it.

And anyway, what was more important to me was –

‘For now, I’ll have to get my grade.’

It was about being faithful to the present.

Soon after,

“Stop.”

“This is Maroon Mountain.”

“Congratulations on passing the first gate of the finals.”

We arrived before the three judges.

The three of them immediately felt ‘strange’ as soon as I saw them.

Each of them took turns speaking only one sentence at a time, and yet the content flowed naturally as if only one person were speaking.

“There is no time to rest.”

“From now on, the second obstacle begins.”

“I hope you will listen carefully to the details of the obstacle and plete it.”

Their explanation was as follows –

First of all, the essence of the second gate was, as Bayar Khan said, a ‘war of occupation’.

The target was the three highest peaks in the mountain, called the first, second, and third peaks, respectively.

Since there are only three peaks, the maximum number of peak occupants at the end of this obstacle round was also limited to three.

Of course, that didn’t mean only three people could get through the second obstacle.

Basically, candidates had two options.

1. Occupy and defend one of the three peaks during the week spanned by the second obstacle.

2. Enter the subordinate divisions of the current peak occupants.

Once inside a division, candidates had to help the occupants who were their superiors to keep the peak safe. If the occupant failed to keep it and got kicked out, the subordinates would also be eliminated together.

When all the contestants were fully divided into three camps, they would clash in the final obstacle, the ‘war of conquest’.

After the explanation, the judges held out some wooden boards and colourful flags.

“Each one should bring their own nameplate and one flag.”

“The nameplate is a sanction for one’s identity, and it’s necessary to bee a subordinate.”

“If you want to follow a peak occupant, you can cut the nameplate in half and hand a part over to them.”

After the handover was plete, I asked them.

“What about the flag? Do I have to hand that over too?”

“The flag must be in your possession until the obstacle round is over.”

“If the flag is stolen or broken before that, you will be eliminated immediately.”

“The moment the nameplate is delivered, the flag’s colour will change to match that of the peak occupant.”

Whoo.

I thought it was just a set of sloppy rules, but it seemed more advanced and systematic than expected.

Just then –

“What if I plant the flag on the occupied territory? It’s not with me anymore by that point, is that alright?”

The princess asked as if she’s suddenly found a problem.

“As long as it doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands.”

“Just be careful.”

“The moment the flag is taken away by somebody else, you’ll be eliminated immediately.”

“Ah, the instant others get their hands on it, huh?”

It was a bit of worrisome to hear. It meant I couldn’t even leave my seat.

In order to plant a flag in the occupied territory, you’d need to prepare supplies, make a defence line, prepare a guard system…

After that, the examiners sent us off with some final words.

“The three peaks.”

“Only one of you can emerge as the victor.”

“The first choice is important, so please be careful.”

The princess and I gave our thanks.

“Thank you.”

Then we passed the examiner and headed towards Mount Maroon.

After a while,

“It’s pretty straightforward.”

We arrived at the entrance to the mountain.

There were exactly three paths to enter the mountain. Each seemed to be connected to one of the three peaks. Of course, they might connect to other places in the middle, but at least the choice seemed really simple and clear at first glance –

– Choose a good place to go.

Something like this.

That was then.

“He’s e, that Squatjaw.”

“So Squatjaw’s here.”

“Finally, he’s here!”

“Hey, why so late?”

“These guys are just strong, is it?”

Some people rushed out from the forest beyond the entrance.

I looked around and saw the other candidates.

They kept murmuring between themselves, and, to my surprise, the object of their grumblings turned out to be none other than us.

“Damn that Squatjaw.”

“There was no point in rushing so quickly.”

“I could’ve run a little slower if I knew he was slower than a slug.”

It was annoying, to say the least.

“Eh? What’s all this?”

“Looks like they’ve been waiting for us…?”

The princess also looked at them as if wondering.

As soon as we got closer, the guys backed away and made a path. But they didn’t stop staring at us.

They didn’t even talk to us. They were just glaring.

“No, what is this….”

Looking at the situation for a while, I began to understand.

These guys were waiting to see which way we were going, which peak we were aiming for.

To avoid us, or to follow us.

“Hey…”

It seemed that my appearance during in the preliminaries had left quite a strong impression.

I stopped paying attention to the onlookers, even though they were definitely paying attention to me. These small fries didn’t seem like a huge threat or help to my goal.

“Which way are we going?”

“Isn’t anywhere fine?”

“Is each peak different? Maybe one is more difficult to climb than the rest, or perhaps there are difference in the natural environment?”

“Well…but we were told to make our first choice carefully. Is it because the mountain is so big? Once you set a goal, it doesn’t seem easy to change it later.”

“I suppose.”

To be honest, it didn’t seem to matter.

“It’ll all be the same. Let’s just pick somewhere nearby.”

I chose the first entrance. There was no deep reasoning behind it. It was literally because it was the closest.

The trail was quite steep from the start, and the path itself was a mess.

The road seemed to be well laid out near the entrance, but as soon as we entered the mountain, the tidy path disappeared. It became so unrecognizable even beast trails would’ve been more conspicuous.

Through the dense trees, through the bushes, stepping over the thorns, we kept walking uphill… my skin kept getting scratched with every step, making my annoyance rise higher and higher.

Fortunately, at least my horse hadn’t decided to lie down yet. Small mercies.

“You’re really going to have to walk this time. Just try lying down! I’ll throw you down from the peak and see how you like it!”

I tried to give the guy a scare to sort him out.

Then,

Whinny–!

The response seemed quite understandable.

“…”

Something like, screw off!

While we were walking along the road like that for a while –

Suddenly,

Crrrrrrrrashhhh–.

What was that sound? There wasn’t a landslide happening nearby, right?

At that time,

“Uh, um! Look over there!”

The princess pointed above and front.

There, an enormous boulder was rolling down towards us at a frightening speed, crushing the surrounding trees.

“Hey…”

The boulder wasn’t alone either. There were as many as three, each the size of the elephant rock during the preliminary rounds.

The guys who’d e up here before us seemed to have prepared a surprise. Or maybe this was also a part of the test’s challenge.

Then,

“What are we going to do? Avoid it?”

“Avoid it…”

The emotion I was feeling was none other than regret.

So sad. That the reader wouldn’t get to see this scene.

Instead of avoiding, I took a step forward.

“Originally, I wanted to juggle a few more rocks in the preliminary round, but there was only the one.”

Then, the moment the first rock was about to slam into my nose,

Crack!

I slammed my hand into it, stopping it in its tracks.

After a moment,

Bang–!

Bang–!

The next rocks in line slammed into the first one with booming roars.

“Huuugh.”

I lifted the rock in front of me first.

Then,

“Where did it e from?”

“There. From over there!”

I threw it full force in the direction the princess was pointing to.

Whoooooosh–.

“You trying to mess with me?”

Soon after,

Boooooom–!

There was a great roar.

However, the sounds I expected never followed.

“What is this? There isn’t a single scream?”

I was trying to catch the bastards who had set this up and see their faces turn blue, but there was no result.

As I was about to let it go despite my obvious regret –

“Then, how about throwing one to over there? There’s an open road there.”

The princess pointed to the other side.

“Understood. I’ll try for a double throw this time.”

Just when I put my hand on the two rocks –

Suddenly,

Tiling–.

A holographic message arrived.

‘Huh? Already? Has the next chapter has already started?’

I checked it right away.

But the content left me stunned.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 24 – The Second Gate of the Warrior’s Path to the Skull Empire]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

[Hiro is the subject of character evaluation in this chapter]

[You have been given the leading point of view]

“… Is this even real?”

The author brought out a new chapter out of thin air, on that had never been in the original.

Just for me.