The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

In this damn martial arts visual novel, there were various female characters.

It would have been better if there had been only two heroines for a more focused romance portrayal instead of an unnecessary abundance.

Of course, these female characters were not unattractive. I didn’t deny that the princess and Moyong Sang-ah were top beauties. But everyone had their own taste.

Characters who would have been the main heroines in other games or comics were just side characters in this game. That was why playing this game often led to frustration.

Filtering out these female characters, the heroines I had to choose for the ending were the nuisance heroine and the villainess heroine. I couldn’t help but think it was the developer’s malice.

The malice didn’t stop there. In the world of this martial arts visual novel, I had to find the true heroine.

It was maddening. If there had been only two heroines, I could at least have tried to choose. But among various female characters, to find the true heroine… If the true heroine was either one of the two original heroines or another character I encountered during the game, what should I do?

Usually, in such cases, it’s best to use the process of elimination.

Characters who clearly didn’t seem like heroines in the game. Characters like the blonde sister of the pink heroine, who had illustrations but no romantic interaction with the protagonist in the story. Which of these female characters could it be?

Cheon Sohee, the Heavenly Death Star (天殺星).

It couldn’t be her.

[Crazy, me? Kyahahaha! You got that right!]

A definitive villain in the story. A walking slaughterhouse. Just a woman obsessed with murder. She committed murders relentlessly until subdued by the protagonist.

But this character.

Uniquely, she was a Joseon character.

Her hair was black and bobbed, her eyes sharp. The redness in them might have been due to her identity as the Heavenly Death Star. She would have been quite the beauty if she kept her mouth shut. Or perhaps, for someone who fancied crazy women, she was attractive even when she was speaking.

[Heheh. I’ve come to my senses just before dying.]

[You killed me, but do you remember my name? I am not just Number 5 or the Heavenly Death Star; I am Cheon Sohee.]

As she lay dying, the character’s name shifted from Heavenly Death Star to Cheon Sohee. Only the protagonist, who had killed the Heavenly Death Star, learned her real name, Cheon Sohee.

[Mom… I guess I can’t go to where Mom is, can I?]

By the end, it became clear that Cheon Sohee’s madness stemmed from her murderous intent. So, this woman was actually good… But what did it matter now?

Had she killed people merely because they were evil?

Such a woman couldn’t be the true heroine. She wasn’t a character capable of having an emotional exchange with the protagonist.

Yet now, she stood right before me.

“You. Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Although her appearance was slightly different, she was unmistakably the only person with black hair and red eyes in this world.

Idiot. This idiot! I had kept quiet when the insiders claimed that the ninja protagonist used a Gum-Gum Punch as a special move or when a rubber man transformed into a nine-tailed fox! And now, this blunder!

The drunken haze cleared from my body instantly.

“I asked who you are. How do you know my name?”

Cheon Sohee’s knife tip pierced my skin, and blood began to trickle down the blade.

I was going to die like this.

What should I say? I needed to find a way to survive. I had to use all the knowledge I possessed. I was familiar with the character’s settings: the Heavenly Death Star, named Cheon Sohee, of Joseon origin, orphaned by her parents’ deaths. What was the key to survival? Even a quick-witted response might suffice!

Alright, that was the way.

“Could it be… Are you really Sohee?”

I feigned a look of shock on purpose.

“I asked who you are.”

Cheon Sohee pressed harder with the knife tip. It was still a threat. If I said the wrong thing, my throat would be slit.

“Do you really not remember me?”

I slowly raised my hands above my head, not threatening Cheon Sohee. Then, I took off the hat I was wearing and let my hair down.

“Black hair? A Joseon person?”

Yes, I was from Joseon, just like you. It was rare to see another Joseon person here, wasn’t it?

“Sohee, why are you here…?”

I continued to display a look of astonishment, as if seeing someone I never expected to meet.

A person who seemed to know me and even mentioned a name that only Cheon Sohee herself should know.

This must be confusing for her.

She wouldn’t kill me now, would she?

“Who are you……”

“There she is! Catch her!!”

Voices of martial artists chasing Cheon Sohee were heard nearby.

“See you next time.”

Cheon Sohee sprayed some strange liquid on me and disappeared into the darkness.

Why ‘see you next time’?

Just don’t see me at all!

Numerous martial artists chasing the assassin passed by me.

“Storyteller! What just happened?”

One of the martial artists who came to pursue her asked me.

“A suspicious person made some noise, and when I responded, they approached me!”

“It looked like you were facing off against them…”

The martial artist cast a suspicious glance at me.

“No. Look at my neck. If you hadn’t shouted just now, my throat would have been slit!”

I raised my head to show the wound on my neck, deliberately smearing blood on my hand and showing it to the warrior.

“Wow, that was a close call. The trading company head just passed away, killed by that assassin.”

Fortunately, the martial artist seemed to drop his suspicion.

“What! The trading company head who was celebrating his sixtieth birthday today?”

“He drank a lot and went to his bedroom with two beautiful entertainers, but then…”

That old man, quite vigorous for his age.

To take two into his room at once.

It was pretty much a happy death, wasn’t it? A blissful end.

“How dare someone attack such a revered and unresentful person in Chilgok County!”

I didn’t know if he had enemies, but I feigned anger on his behalf.

“Indeed. Anyway, since you seem hurt, you should get treated over there and then return to your lodging.”

The warrior directed me toward a place for treatment.

“Yes, thank you. You’ve really saved me a decade of life.”

I clutched my throat and bowed at a 90-degree angle, exaggerating my thanks.

“Not at all. Who would have thought an assassin was hiding among the acrobats? I never imagined. I need to interrogate them, so you had better go inside.”

“Yes, I’ll go get treated now.”

I hastened off to the place for treatment.

“That’s it. The wound isn’t deep, fortunately. Apply this healing ointment, and it should scab over in a few days.”

The physician dismissed the severity of my wound.

But I bled! How could that be nothing?

“My throat, the cornerstone of my storytelling career, was nearly severed. Please take extra care with it.”

“You’re asking for medicine over a mere scratch?”

The physician looked at me with a frown.

I didn’t mean it like that. It would be nice to have something, like a hundred-year-old ginseng brew.

“Just apply the healing ointment regularly, please.”

Being a foreigner here, I seemed to get injured frequently.

“That ointment is sufficient for such a scratch. Tsk. Fine, since a guest is injured, I’ll make an exception.”

With slight reluctance, the physician placed some healing ointment in a small jar for me.

This was it! The legendary red potion of the martial world! It stopped bleeding instantly and accelerated healing—a multifunctional healing ointment!

“Thank you. I’m off now.”

“Oh! And one more thing…”

Just as I was about to leave after expressing my gratitude, he called out to me.

“Yes?”

“The trading company head has passed away, and his funeral must be held. It’s unfortunate that the banquet hall has turned into a mourning hall, but the son of the deceased has requested all guests who attended to participate in the mourning. You should stay a few more days.”

“A banquet turning into a funeral overnight,” I mused. “I received kindness from the deceased head. I will stay a few more days to pay my respects.”

“That’s good. Given the unfortunate incident and the martial artists on guard, there won’t be any incidents like today. Stay comfortably before you leave.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I thanked him and stepped outside.

Back at my lodging, I found myself deep in thought.

See you next time.

“Just think of it as bumping into someone you know and move on.”

I rubbed my temples with both palms, worrying about the impending disaster. I had survived through quick thinking, but she had said she would come back.

Would she come for me tonight?

No, she wouldn’t be able to find me.

A first-class assassin would kill their target without anyone noticing and then disappear. They shouldn’t get caught right after the kill, like she did today.

‘A pro as a murderer but an amateur as an assassin?’

Cheon Sohee was supposedly a new member of the acrobatics troupe, likely a disguise. She must have planned to assassinate the head of the trading company and secretly escape back to the troupe, but something went wrong, and she was exposed.

In martial arts novels, professional assassins didn’t go through such elaborate processes; they infiltrate, kill swiftly, and disappear. Perhaps she chose that approach because she was weak in stealth or infiltration.

Even in the original story, she was dressed like a ninja assassin, but strictly speaking, she wasn’t one. She killed not only her targets but also any witnesses.

The martial artists had said they were on guard. That meant I should be safe while I stayed here.

‘Escaping on horseback is out of the question.’

Cheon Sohee sprayed some strange liquid on me before she escaped.

It must have been something like a tracking scent used in martial arts novels.

An absurd tracking device from martial arts novels. Once sprayed, it never disappeared, no matter how much you washed. She would definitely find me by its scent.

‘It’s certain she will appear before me soon.’

In martial arts novels, the weakness of the tracking scent is time. Even if I washed, the pursuers could smell the scent, but as time passed and the scent faded, they could no longer track it. The likelihood of her finding me right after I left the trading company was high.

“I need to find another way to survive.”

What a disaster after just a year.

Cheon Sohee didn’t hesitate to kill. Like swatting a mosquito, she effortlessly killed anyone who bothered her.

She didn’t kill me because I mentioned a name that only she should know. What if she found out I was just a Joseon person who happened to know her name?

An assassin wouldn’t spare a civilian who knows their identity. And she wasn’t just any assassin; she was the Heavenly Death Star assassin. If she discovered the truth, it was obvious what would happen.

I needed to find a way to survive.

There was still some time. I had to find a way before I left the trading company.

‘I’ve seen the character setting sheet.’

After clearing the princess route, I could check the detailed settings of supporting characters in the extras section.

I had given feedback, and the character illustrations were so beautiful that I had checked them thoroughly. Of course, Cheon Sohee, the villain, was among them.

Let’s recall. Was there a setting I could use to survive?

“There is a way to survive…”

Yes, I could use that method to survive.

I hurriedly left my room and caught a passing servant.

“Excuse me.”

“What is it? You shouldn’t be wandering around at night with the situation being so tense.”

“I need some writing brush and ink. Could you get me some?”

“Writing brush and ink? What do you need them for?”

To save my life.

“I was invited by the head of the trading company, and it saddens me that I can’t contribute condolence money due to my difficult circumstances. I haven’t been able to sleep. Then it occurred to me that I should at least write a condolence letter (弔狀).”

A condolence letter (弔狀) expresses sorrow and condolences for a death.

“That’s a thoughtful gesture. I understand. I’ll fetch them for you.”

“I’m good at storytelling but not skilled in writing, so I might need a lot of paper. Please bring enough.”

“I understand.”

The servant nodded and left to get the writing brush and ink.

After a short while, the servant returned, handed me the writing brush and ink, and went about his business. I took the items and entered my room.

“It all comes down to writing, after all.”

In my previous life, I earned my living through writing, and here I am, writing to save my life.

It would be less frustrating if I could at least make a living off my writing. Instead, whatever I write seems to end in failure.

I had to devise a plan using writing against Cheon Sohee.

To think I have to use my own life as a stake in this plan. Normally, you’d risk someone else’s life and get criticized for it, but now, my own life is on the line.

“A writer lives by the pen, I suppose.”

After a brief moment of self-pity, I began to write.

Let’s survive!

It was hard the first time.

But who says I couldn’t make it a second time!