Surviving a Shounen Manga

Author, This Madman

"16th, Joseph, the leader of the Joseph's Adventurers! Please come up."

At the host's call, a shorty jumped up on the podium.

"You and the Joseph's Adventurers have obtained the treasure hidden by the Adventurers' Association, ‘the ripped jeans of Jim, a clothing store owner', and passed the Adventurer Qualification Test with an excellent score, getting the 16th place."

"Thank you."

Clap, clap.

Clap, clap.

"I’ll give you your adventurer’s licenses, and the jeans you brought back."

The man on the podium cheered, as if he couldn't contain his joy.

Hmmm.

To be honest, it was a bit of questionable.

From that man's point of view, this ranking couldn't have felt very fair. Because how low the ‘adversaries' were being scored.

Joseph's Adventurers, who placed 16th, was the final winner of the battle against four other adventurer teams (17th to 20th places). Who knew how exactly the fight had gone, but most likely they'd dealt with at least two other teams.

This meant that the adversary of that Joseph's Adventurer Team was of a higher level than their guide.

On the other hand, the 15th-ranked adventurer group, far from acquiring the treasure, most likely had never even laid their eyes on it. It was the weakest among the adventurer groups (10th to 15th places) who'd battled for the same treasure.

The only reason they'd ranked higher than Joseph's Adventurers was because they'd done a good job finding the way.

In summary, the most important position to impact the rankings in this Adventurer Qualification Test is the ‘guide'. The next is the ‘decipherer'.

Of course, this scoring method also has some validity from the association's point of view.

This is because the pathfinder and decipherer abilities can be systematically ranked by the tests of the association, but not the adversary abilities. Since the contestants just fight it out between themselves, it's not possible for the association to properly verify those skills.

But it's very ironic.

In fact, the adversary position is the most attractive for an adventurer.

This Adventure King manga itself basically just revolves around battles.

Then,

"Come on!"

"Hey! Those jeans!"

"Great!"

Cheers were heard from behind.

They seemed to be members of Joseph's Adventurers, and they looked quite energetic.

"I've got an idea. How about making this our team's symbol? Let's turn it into our flag!"

"Ooh, can we?"

"Why not write some words on it, too?"

Haah…

This was some absurd conversation.

What were they going to do with that rag? Make it the team's symbol?

Hilarious. They didn't come sixteenth for no reason.

Simple. Because the treasure they had was basically trash, which was why their adversary exam had probably been given even less weight.

Coveting a treasure you see might spur you to win it, but what does coveting such a rag say about your strength?

Of course, there was a background to this too. In the past, the tests were to find real treasures, but that'd changed after a certain incident.

[Treasure theft at the Adventurer Qualification Test Centre].

It was an incident where an adventurer group who were taking the qualification test had grabbed all the treasures from the assignment and escaped.

This case was set to be so famous that there was nobody who didn't know about it, and that was probably why those bandits who'd pretended to be adventurers were deeply infamous even to the present day.

The Huntington Bandits.

‘Come to think of it, we might bump into each other sooner or later.'

Bandits are beings who frequently clash with adventurers. About 5-10% of the total adventuring quests are about bandit extermination.

As I recalled, Leo's party and the Huntington Bandits would come into conflict within the next few arcs.

Looked like I had to come up with a way to slowly infiltrate the arc using the bandits.

The awards ceremony had already reached the top ten.

The moment the 7th rank was called,

Tiling–.

[Adventure King serialization resumed]

[Chapter 17 – Appearance at the Awards Ceremony]

[Belongs to the realm of the ongoing chapter]

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

A new chapter had begun.

The author took good care of his readers. He left out all the boring scenes and opened the chapter when the ones worth watching came out.

While I was about to close the window after checking chapter name –

"… Wait a moment."

Something was odd.

"Appearance at the awards ceremony?"

I scratched my head.

The title was a tad confusing.

‘Isn't this odd?'

Of course, I didn't remember all the chapter titles. But that didn't mean I couldn't feel the strangeness hidden in this one.

The title hinted at someone new appearing during the awards ceremony. And that someone, was the protagonist of this chapter.

But this was nonsense. Because I was the protagonist of this chapter. I was the one at the top.

Not only that, there hadn't been a scene in the original where a guy had barged in during the awards ceremony.

‘What the hell are you doing?'

It seemed like the author was trying to somehow snatch my spotlight away, but it was nothing more than sad childish tantrums. The development he was aiming for didn't seem achievable.

At that moment,

"6th place, Doji, the leader of the Doji Adventurers! Please come up to the stage."

On the podium, the name of the 6th-placed adventurer group was called.

Then,

"Huh?"

"What… 6th?"

Leo's expression changed drastically. The party seemed to have noticed their ranking now.

The fact that the adventurer team that had faced them was 6th, meant that they were ranked 3rd.

In that instant, Leo's head snapped towards me.

"Squatjaw! No way…?"

Yeah, great response.

I just smiled without saying a word.

After a while,

"Then the third place. Leo, the leader of the Leo Adventurers!"

Leo went up to the stage.

Staring at me all the while, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

‘Yeah, that's a good look. Stare more, yeah, that's right.'

However, I pretended not to notice and ignored him. As if he could never be my match.

Well, to be honest, this wasn't an act appropriate for my current appearance.

Then, after he finished awarding the certificates, as the host was about to send Leo down –

Leo pointed at me.

"Squatjaw! Next time… Next time I'll never lose!"

He sent out some fantastic comments.

‘Oh…'

I almost burst into cheers.

Really, even this kind of deluxe service?

Didn't this pretty much cement my rival position?

It was difficult to keep my mouth from openly gaping.

And then,

"Well, the 3rd place captain was a bit noisy. So, on to the next…"

It was my turn.

I quietly waited for the host's call.

Originally, Karl Zayed should've been called, but he was not present. The 2nd place adventurer team didn't attend the awards ceremony due to injury. Same as had happened in the original.

That was then –

"2nd place! Grey Lion Adventurer Team! Captain, Karl Zayed! Please come up on the podium."

"Eh?"

I made an inadvertent exclamation.

Were they calling him now? But he couldn't have come…

At that instant,

Creak–.

I gaped in surprise.

"He… came."

How puzzling. It was Karl Zayed.

The guy opened the door to the venue and trudged in like the main character.

Although he was limping, he walked.

Everyone's attention was focused on him.

‘What is this?'

Truly an absurd appearance. A well-directed scene.

I was dumbfounded.

‘How the hell can you stand?'

The guy must've suffered a fatal blow and collapsed. I didn't carefully check his cuts and wounds, true, but there'd been a lot of blood.

Rather, I might have understood if this hadn't been a manga world. In reality, one torn Achilles' tendon doesn't mean your life's in jeopardy.

But he was a manga character, whose only weakness was his Achilles' tendon. A wound there? It had to be life-threatening. Because that fit the plausibility.

Achilles wasn't killed by an arrow to that spot for nothing. Not because of the wound, but because of his background setting.

Even so, Karl Zayed appeared here.

As if to seize the mantle of the protagonist of this chapter.

There was only one thing I could think of, looking at him.

Deus Ex Machina.

The author directly intervening in the story.

He'd drawn his sword.

"Yes, the Grey Lion Adventurer Team, which took second place, is the only one-man adventurer group among the candidates this time. Although there're still some aftereffects of the injury, we decided to give him a seat here."

My first thought?

The author had screwed up.

The painstakingly created character was shattered before he even appeared, the development designed for him was in danger of disappearing in an instant, and the results of the popularity poll were shit, so in the end, he screwed the pooch.

But soon I shook my head.

That kind of lazy assumption won't work.

I was starting to feel a serious level of doubt and threat from the current situation.

The author was trying to advance the story while completely ‘excluding' the existence of ‘I', to some extent. Forcing me to keep silent because readers didn't see me anyway. He himself was twisting the ‘plausibility' of this world.

Suddenly, a product in the character shop came to mind.

In the ‘Other' category of the store.

[Deletion Grace Right – 5,000p]

※Caution) You cannot disobey the author's ‘absolute deletion' order.

The implication of this product was simple.

This world is a place where the author has the right to enforce ‘absolute deletion'.

Very easily.

I'd always thought that the author and I might be able to get along.

Some aspects of my actions might harm the developments he'd envisioned, but if the author's main goal was to make this story more interesting, I thought he'd be able to understand all my actions in the end.

If the manga received improved critical reception because of me, the author would eventually recognize me and think about using me further.

So, I didn't take him too seriously. Because the immediate response from the readers was enough to justify my actions.

And my popularity, too. I thought it'd become a trusty shield.

But I seemed to have missed something.

The feelings of the author himself.

‘… This is tough.'

This was a variable I hadn't accounted for. Who knew he could be so sensitive?

I knew. Because I'd seen first-hand how the Corrupted Knight had disappeared.

I knew it, but didn't feel it in my heart. That I'd crossed the line a long time ago.

I had to admit it. I'd been arrogant. I'd been so chuffed, saying that everything was going according to plan.

Of course, I didn't think that the author had decided to completely reject me right now.

Had that been the case, the ‘intervention' wouldn't have ended at simply mitigating that guy's injury. Rather, it would've harmed me more directly, or manipulated the rankings themselves.

However, he hadn't done that.

Meaning even though he was angry, the author still had to think about using my character. My current popularity had to be a burden for him as well.

So maybe Karl Zayed's appearance here was simply because he thought, ‘I want to continue with my planned development'.

Fighting to stay on my feet.

That was how I was feeling right now. The author had really tugged hard this time.

‘… It's true, I've been the one tugging too hard before this.'

This time, it was inevitable to be dragged a little in our private tug-of-war.

I stared silently at Karl Zayed as he passed me by.

He also glanced at me while passing by, but didn't say anything.

After Karl Zayed's certificate was awarded –

The host called me up to the stage.

"And now, the long-awaited first place! The Squatjaw Adventurers! Captain Hiro, please come up to the podium!"

I walked out without hesitation.

I'd prepared some steps originally, and had several scenes in mind, such as transforming into a handsome boy, but everything was omitted. For now, it seemed right to just take a bow.

Even on the podium, I was just standing still. The host continued to say something, but I couldn't hear it. I wasn't even conscious of the fire in Leo's eyes.

"Okay, now that the introduction is complete, the 2nd and 3rd place captains, please come back up to the stage. We'll announce the adventurer grades and the mission assignments for all the successful students."

Adventurer grades.

They go from D to SS, and your treatment and authority vary depending on your level.

This applies all over the world, under any government or organization.

The Leo Adventurers received a B+ grade, and us as well as Karl Zayed received an A.

In the original, only the first place had been ranked A, but the author didn't seem ready to concede. There must've been developments that could only materialize when the second place was an A grade.

"Next, we will fulfil the duties designated by the association. First of all, the mission given to the third-placed Leo Adventurers is…"

The mission Leo received was the same as in the original.

The Hunt for Lost Treasures in Hetro Temple. He'd encounter the Huntington Bandits for the first time in the process. The mission grade was B+.

Karl Zayed's mission was simply to eliminate a single criminal group. It was a group I'd never heard of. The mission was graded A-.

And thten it was my turn.

"Now, the long-awaited task given to the long-awaited 1st place adventure team is to explore the ruins of the ancient civilization in the Angku Empire. Traces of it have recently been discovered on the southern side of Westland. The mission grade is A."

Well?

It was a little odd. It was a normal mission, and it didn't seem too difficult.

Once I heard it, I just thought… it was a good mission. Alright, nothing special about it.

‘Is something terrifying hidden inside?'

Of course, I'd have to go find out for myself.

Just when the ceremony was ending –

"Come on, wait a minute!"

The door slammed open and somebody rushed in.

"It's changed!"

"What?"

"The mission! For the… Squatjaw Adventurers!"

… What?

What a cheap trick. It wasn't a good feeling.

Soon after, the host, who heard the news in whispers, coughed a couple of times before talking about the changed mission.

"Sorry. We've got a request for support for which we urgently need a skilled adventurer team. The new mission of the Squatjaw Adventurers is… about the truce between the Skull Empire and the Mainin Kingdom in Eastland…"

For a moment I thought I heard it wrong.

"Eastland?"

I was speechless.

This was beyond absurd.

This crazy author was trying to chase me out of the continent.

The banquet after the awards ceremony.

The chapter was still in progress, but I didn't care and had left the venue by myself.

That readers would like it, and it might be better in terms of rewards, but neither my mood nor my circumstances were conducive to staying.

I needed time to think right now.

I had two options.

1. Go.

2. Don't go.

First option, go to Eastland.

Meaning I'd be out of the chapters for a while… no, for quite a long time. Since this was the beginning of the arc where countless characters start to appear, there was a high possibility that I'd be forgotten. As time went on, my survival itself would be threatened.

However, I wouldn't need to confront the author for the time being.

The key was how quickly I could come back.

Second, don't go.

Just thinking about it made me feel tired.

The Adventurers' Association would turn into an enemy. Of course, it wouldn't be to the point where they'd put a bounty on my head, but I'd permanently lose my ‘adventurer' qualifications, and bad rumours would start circulating as per the setting. There would be significant restrictions on behaviour. It would take a considerable amount of time to restore it.

But that wasn't the real problem.

As I thought, the author seemed to have expected that I might well make this choice. This kind of development couldn't proceed unless the author was also very determined. He'd have to rewrite a lot of content, and he'd have to suffer through a lot of scolding. Trying to kick me out to Eastland would definitely get him a few earfuls.

So if I put off my choice to the very last minute, would his clenched fist finally relax?

Because he'd the confidence to control me, or to destroy me.

"I think I should go."

I already knew it in my head. To go was the right decision.

But I didn't want to. Because this was no different than bowing my head to the author.

After thinking for a while,

"Hoo…"

Eventually I made a decision.

Just this once, I'll follow. But I'll make you regret it one day.

I repeated to myself, like a mantra.

Let's go. Let's fucking go and bring back a bomb that'll completely destroy all ‘plausibility' if I choose to stand aside. And let's just throw it at the heart of the story.

A nuclear bomb, called ‘the goblins'.

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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