Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 21: The Count of Monte Cristo

< Chapter 21: The Count of Monte Cristo – 1 >

There are myriad reasons a work becomes ‘great’.

The delicate sensitivity that resonates with the soul, beautiful prose, sharp social critique, or a highly refined world view. Literature can become great for various reasons.

And ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ was a work that lined up alongside many ‘great’ classics in literary history, purely for its entertainment value.

“Ha, this is what novels are all about!”

“When is the next story coming out?!”

Even when considering past lives, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ was rife with provocative content.

The breakup with his fiancée due to a false accusation, the fiancée stolen by a friend, escape facilitated by help, fortune, fiery revenge, and conventional development. It was truly a novel written solely for ‘fun.’

Objectively, it was a novel with many plot holes, but pure fun made it impossible to even glance at those ‘external’ aspects.

“Compared to ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ other novels feel a bit… dull, don’t they?”

“Exactly. Well, the writing seems decent enough… Right?”

It was the quintessential revenge drama.

It was impossible to surpass ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ with mere fun.

The cheap magazine ‘Half and Half’ was purchased by those who read novels purely for entertainment.

“Reader’s vote? This has to be ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’!”

Naturally, the results of the reader’s vote were a resounding victory for ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’

Over 90% of readers named ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ as the best novel.

The results were immediately relayed to the authors serializing their stories in the magazine.

“Aaagh! No way!”

“A chance to co-author with author Homer…!”

“We must turn things around in the next issue…!”

It was truly a cauldron of shock and horror.

* * *

American psychiatrist ‘Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ outlined the stages of accepting death as ‘denial-anger-bargaining-depression-acceptance.’

The reaction of the aspiring authors to the ‘Half and Half’ reader vote results was no different.

“All together they don’t even make up 10%…?”

The first stage. Denial.

“It can’t be! Could there have been some error in tallying the vote results?!”

“It’s rigged! It’s clear that author Herodotus manipulated the vote results!”

“It’s just a bit slow in the beginning…. Once we start collecting the foreshadowed elements, it’ll soar….”

The second stage. Anger.

“Grrr! Why is that author publishing at the same time as us!”

“It’s not that my work is lacking! It’s the readers who fail to recognize the true value of my work!”

“That novel has so many plot holes… the character depth is a mess too… it’s just too much…”

Third Stage. Negotiation.

“Now, dear author? As you said, if we win first place in the reader poll, you’ll collaborate with us, but you meant among our students, right? You’re excluding that ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ work from your consideration, right?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you choose the first place yourself among us? After all, public popularity is just a temporary trend.”

“Can’t you just write with us…?”

Fourth Stage. Depression.

“My novel is trash… It was greedy of me to even think I could write alongside someone as great as Homer…”

“It’s all over! There’s no way I can overcome this difference! Grrr…”

“Heh, hehe, my writing isn’t fun at all… I just don’t have the talent for writing…”

The expected fifth stage of acceptance never arrived—

Defeat wasn’t death.

These were authors brimming with artistic pride.

“There’s still, still a chance. If I can just capture the readers’ attention in the next installment…!”

“Ha-ha, maybe if I kill off all the main characters…”

“In my opinion, my writing is the most entertaining. Maybe they’ll see the fun in my work in the next release…?”

Instead of accepting defeat, the authors began to burn with a frenzied desire to create.

And so the authors awakened.

[“Fernand! Among my many names, there is only one that will defeat you.”]

On the day the awakened authors’ works were published,

The first revenge of the Count of Monte Cristo was completed.

The results of the reader poll were…

“Kraaaah!!!”

“I curse you, Herodotus!!!”

Well, there’s really no need to explain further.

* * *

The Count of Monte Cristo was a narrative of revenge.

Of course, the story the readers yearned for was one of fiery and absolute vengeance. Although the tale had previously continued with satisfying narratives such as escaping from prison, salvation, and the downfall of the bystander, Caderousse.

Ultimately, a revenge story is a blind narrative focused solely on ‘vengeance’.

And that first act of revenge was completed. The response of the readers who had followed the story of the Count of Monte Cristo could only be extraordinary.

“Ah, this is it! This is why I’ve been reading Half and Half up until now!!!”

“Gasp, I’m so relieved I can’t stand it! Today’s beer is on me!!!”

“Then I’ll buy the snacks!”

All the taverns in the Empire buzzed with stories of the Count of Monte Cristo.

“This is karma at its finest! Eventually, all sins are punished! Haha, the Count of Monte Cristo’s revenge is surely the will of the Lord!”

“Exactly. He just got back what he deserved.”

Most people felt a cathartic sense of justice about the fate that Fernand, the Count of Monte Cristo’s enemy, had met.

Some people, overly immersed in the story, prayed, believing all this to be the Lord’s will.

“The other enemies should meet a terrible end too!”

“With the Lord on the Count’s side, what’s there to worry about? Everyone will pay for their sins!”

Many speculated about the fates of the other enemies.

However, the loudest topic in the taverns was something else.

“Now that Fernand’s revenge is complete, the Count must reunite with Mercedes, right?”

“The Count’s love for Haydée was really touching. He’ll obviously end up with Haydée, right?”

“What?”

“What?”

Indeed, the heroines were the focus.

As usual, nothing raised voices among men in a tavern like discussions about women.

“Mercedes is the Count’s first love! He still hasn’t let go of his feelings for her! Naturally, the Count and Mercedes should be together again!”

“Ha! Reconnect with a married woman who’s already had a child with another man? Are you out of your mind?! Haydée truly loves the Count! She’s the one who should be with him!”

“Haydée is just like a daughter! Marrying a girl over 20 years younger? I doubt your taste!”

“Preferring an old married woman—your taste isn’t any better!”

“You cad! It’s a duel!”

“Who do you think will run away!”

Their clear differences in opinion quickly led to fights.

With the crowd’s cheering and bets, the tavern soon turned into a battlefield.

“Give up on a first love, and you call yourself a man!”

“Chase after a married woman, and you call yourself a man!”

Over-immersion.

An overwhelming over-immersion dominated the people.

Due to its nature as a serialized novel, this immersion could only deepen as the final chapter had not yet been released.

“If you had read the novel properly, you’d know that the Count’s heart harbors nothing but Mercedes! Are you sure you’ve actually read the novel properly?”

“If you had read the novel properly, you would’ve realized how passionately Hyde feels towards the Count! Are you the one who skimmed through the novel, hmm?”

People speculated, analyzed, and predicted, adding imagination upon imagination.

Many were the madmen who believed their conjectures to be the truth.

A good novel drives people mad. And ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ was one of the most entertaining novels in literary history.

Thus, the empire’s taverns were ablaze for days with debates on ‘who should end up with the Count.’

And the plagiarist who caused all this chaos…

“Oh, everyone’s written so entertainingly well? Ha, this is the spice of life.”

He enjoyed reading works overshadowed by the heat of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’.

* * *

The reason I unleashed the literature of my previous life into this world was, ultimately, because I wanted to read more works.

And at this moment, I was very satisfied.

The magazine serial novels influenced by ‘Conan Saga’ and ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ were refreshingly fun, and the romance novels that had become popular after ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ were filled with heart-tickling emotions.

‘Aspiring authors’ who learned through various short stories also wrote many distinctive works.

“This is how the world should be! Ha…”

Although I told the students that the winner of the ‘reader’s vote’ would join in the writing process…

In truth, even if they didn’t win first place, I planned to involve the students in writing if needed.

There were too many classics from my previous life, and it was unreasonable to plagiarize all of them.

This magazine serial was also a means to gauge the students’ styles.

“Maybe I should push the students harder. Hmm.”

Writing down memorable short stories one by one on manuscript paper, I hummed a little tune.

Literature, do not stop.

Oh, how beautiful you are!