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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Web Novel Written by God
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"How about The Strongest in a World of Nothing but Personal Greed? It's right in line with current trends."
"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, I'm not one to work for free. Pass the contest, hit number one in official serialization, and I'll grant you one wish. If you like it here, feel free to settle down. Whatever you desire... I'll leave that to your imagination."
The God said his piece and vanished unilaterally.
It happened without giving me a chance to even ask a question.
It was over before I could thank him for injecting this thrilling, mystical opportunity into my hamster-wheel daily grind.
Supernatural beings really did exist!
My heart was pounding with thoughts of him when—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author has started (Serializing).
「 Contest
(Work Information)
Title: The Strongest in a World of Nothing but Personal Greed
Author: It's God Genre: Modern Fantasy
Work Description: Lee Hwan, the strongest in a regressed world. But he's no longer the man he once was. Now, all he desires is personal greed. 」
My eyes went wide in shock.
I totally got the urge to show his work to readers as soon as possible.
But starting serialization with just a single prologue? And only two lines at that?
Any aspiring writer knows you stockpile at least ten chapters in reserve and drop a minimum of five on launch day as a proper greeting.
Especially if you're starting out in free serialization like a contest platform.
This way, it'll just get buried under all the other ongoing series! The competition is brutal!
My thoughts apparently didn't reach him, as a new message popped up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author has started (Monitoring). "I wonder when they'll leave comments."
I could picture him just refreshing on his phone or computer.
Ever since the God showed up, I'd been gripped by this weird sense of dissonance, but the surroundings were dead silent.
Sure enough, the world outside the window had transformed into something wondrous.
Fallen leaves hung frozen midair as they fell from trees.
Pedestrians were paused mid-stride. Time in this world had come to a complete stop.
Perfect timing.
I had a lot I wanted to say.
"Stockpile at least ten chapters before starting. The title and premise look solid—they'll draw plenty of eyes. Don't rush it."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is delighted. "Yes! Views are going up! Someone's reading my story!"
...Am I being completely ignored?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is getting anxious. "Someone else uploaded already. Damn it. I was at the top." ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author has started (Writing). "Gotta write more and upload fast."
A powerful pull dragged me in.
Whoosh!—
No, I said stockpile first...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Back in that same spot. I was under the covers on my bed.
As the last message indicated, the God was in the midst of writing.
Talented writers often feel their characters come alive as the story progresses.
I'd had that experience occasionally myself.
Just lay out the setting, and the characters move on their own based on accumulated personality and behavior patterns, crafting the tale themselves.
But the God didn't even wait for that—he plopped a living person right into his story world.
He observes me while building the stage.
That's how a supernatural being writes web novels.
An astonishing method no one else could match.
A new paragraph had just formed.
[ 1.
Lost in thought, Lee Hwan pondered something.
His hand sticking out from under the blanket looked far too frail to be the fist of an absolute being that had once condemned the entire world.
The hand from before he learned martial arts.
It was the hand from those old days when he had nothing to his name. ]
Hold on a second!
Starting the crucial first chapter like this?
He crafted a slick, punchy prologue, and now it's veering into cliché territory again.
The God was writing in the old style.
The kind that worked back when it was called fantasy novels in print books, not web novels.
It might've flown then, but not now.
Not with so many prodigies out there!
I can't stress enough: a story's success rides on the first three chapters.
And this lacks the fresh spark you see in rookies. Even from one paragraph, it's clear.
He doesn't seem the type for witty, humorous flair.
That's just raw talent.
Even a supernatural creator of worlds can't force it.
...Feels like I'm on the verge of tears because it hits too close to home.
I get it.
Who wouldn't want to chase trends? Light, bubbly prose that reads effortlessly.
But the line between light and juvenile is razor-thin—botch it, and it kills the vibe.
Maybe this stiff style is better.
Leaves room to bolster with plot.
That's where I can help, I'm confident.
For now, we need to steer it onto the righteous path.
I'm the protagonist, regressed to before learning martial arts. That's all I know.
It's dauntingly vague, but no reader hates a protagonist powering up.
With zero clue on the world or plot, powering up fast feels right.
Instead of dragging out recovering past power, hit the ground running to hook readers.
Rush the early recovery arc.
So, the line or thought to drop right now...
[ 'First things first, I need to reclaim my true power.'
Lee Hwan thought.
But then came a knock at the door.
Not a simple visitor—the harsh pounding suggested as much. ]
Bang! Bang!
The door-rattling thuds echoed for real.
[ Lee Hwan frowned and turned toward the door.
"I know you're in there. Open up quick! Before I smash it down!" ]
"I know you're in there. Open up quick! Before I smash it down!"
The young man's voice that followed brimmed with fury.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Kwon Sang-hu (Character) Scheduled for conflict with regressed Lee Hwan. 💨
Ah. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is pondering. "I started an incident, but now what...?"
One glance at the message window, and it was obvious the God had nothing planned.
No other way he'd proceed like this.
No backstory on Lee Hwan's regression, no unique hook to stand out from other works.
Doesn't matter.
Writers have different styles.
Some plot meticulously; others improvise from a strong title and premise, discovering the story as they go.
The latter's often more fun for the writer.
The guy calling himself God seems that type.
Problem is, this is chapter one intro...
Need to hook readers from the short prologue and build anticipation.
Every sentence, every line of dialogue counts—and he's wasting pages!
That's what the so-called God, aspiring author, is doing!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is pondering. "What fun thing can I do with this extra?"
No, that's not it. Why'd you send that guy anyway?
It's not about what to do with him—it's about getting protagonist Lee Hwan powered up fast.
But I need some knowledge to deal with him. When's my backstory coming? Don't tell me it's never?
I held out without opening the door.
The pounding and his shouts only grew louder.
"Hey!"
Suddenly, the keypad beeped repeatedly, followed by the door unlocking.
"If you're gonna change it, do it right. Fucking idiot. Everything you do is half-assed."
The guy who appeared was undeniably real.
Big build, ugly mug. Eyes blazing as he strode forward—he looked ready to deck me any second.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Seeing a living, breathing person right there, on the verge of a fight, made my heart race too hard to suppress.
Anyway, to flip this pointless event, the next line is key.
Get it together.
The fist that condemned the world...
He'd have tons of experience pre-regression.
Even in this frail body, past know-how should handle one normie, right?
Stories thrive when the protagonist drives them!
Can't start passively tangled with some extra.
Showing Lee Hwan swept up by this thug at chapter one's start? The prologue hype would fizzle—I'd drop it there myself.
No sign the author's implanting backstory, so...
I have to push it forward.
I finally mustered the words.
"Perfect timing."
Regressed Lee Hwan.
His new vow: personal greed.
Born from unfinished revenge.
Pre-regression, he lived by righteous ideals—only to miss chances, face betrayal, die without revenge.
Had he ditched lofty dreams, guarded his own interests!
At least revenge would've been his.
...Obvious emotions there.
Regret over a foolish past life.
Fueled by rage.
But an absolute being—mind intact post-regression.
Self-controlled, situationally savvy. Like all at the pinnacle.
Hiding my nerves, I spat the final line calmly.
I am Lee Hwan. Lee Hwan.
"You showed up right when I needed a test dummy."
Affirming my role as this stage's star settled my pounding heart a bit.
Surprisingly effective.
Maybe the author's aiding my immersion as Lee Hwan.
"You eat something bad? You're acting extra crazy today."
Anyway, time for justification to lay him out.
Set the backstory.
Build the character.
This era's Lee Hwan: violence victim from school days into adulthood.
Perp: this extra, Kwon Sang-hu.
One good hit? No issue.
I muttered inwardly.
[ Old memories flashed through Lee Hwan's mind.
'Thinking of this time makes me want to die of shame. All because of this bastard. Repaying a debt to a loser like him.' ]
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is intrigued. "Our Lee Hwan was repaying Kwon Sang-hu's debt for him?" ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author has reinforced (Character*Kwon Sang-hu). Reinforcement Reason: "Repaying a debt to a loser like him." Reinforcement Content: In this era, a peer Lee Hwan feared. Comes to squeeze more money from regressed Lee Hwan, ends up as a punching bag for status check.
Oh! The author was responding right away.
Riding the momentum, I blurted it out.
"I was itching to test this body anyway."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is pondering (Martial Art Name).
Yes, just like that!
① Heavenly Demon Divine Art ② Blood Demon Divine Art ③ Asura Blood Demon Extreme Art ④ Gale Mad Demon Art
No. No!
So many cool, badass names out there...
Not the clichéd Heavenly Demon or Blood Demon stuff, but ones that scream overwhelming power just from hearing them...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author has set Lee Hwan's martial art as Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Ah! Author! Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
Today's Heavenly Demon ain't the old-school one. It's become a joke character—from chefs to idols, you name it.
Please, anything but Heavenly Demon!
But no way to stop it, and things were moving too fast.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Heavenly Demon Divine Art (Martial Art) The heart method, sword arts, fist techniques, palm strikes, and footwork created by the Heavenly Demon Lord—an ultimate supreme martial art. Peerless on its own, but mastery of all leads to a singular pinnacle uniting them. Lee Hwan mainly trained the Heavenly Demon Fist Technique. Heavenly Demon Fist Technique: Composed of 7 forms. Form names TBD. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is thinking. "Is it too much?"
Yes. It is.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The author is thinking. "Nah. Load it up now, use it later."
And the novel paragraph completed.
[ "I was itching to test this body anyway."
Lee Hwan said in a flat tone.
The profound, mighty secrets of the Heavenly Demon Fist Technique from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art flashed through his mind. ]
Huh?
In that instant, I was sucked into a sensation I'd never felt before.
The opposite of the world-flipping vertigo from first arriving here—pure stillness.
Pitch-black darkness crashed down all at once.
My body, vessel of my mind, vanished, replaced by a fullness where all of me melted into this dark, silent world.
Soon, a shimmering bright light emerged within.
I thought it was human-shaped.
A glowing figure with face, arms, legs began to move.
Tilt body, thrust fist—flash!
Widen rotation, retract fist—flash!
Compressed power exploding from the punch—flash again!
Suddenly dozens of fists—flash without fail!
Flash! Flash! Flash!
With each flash of light.
Informations of all kinds began imprinting on me.