Chapter 3: The First Mistake (2)
It was just a thought at first.
It wasn't my fault. If one was to compare, webnovels were generally worse off than published books. I didn't mean the content was bad, just the presentation was less professional.
Of course, it was, these authors were nothing but amateurs. Even though, I couldn't help but think a lot of them lacked effort from simple grammar errors to straight-up bad language.
Was it because a lot of them were translated? Maybe it was just my hubris speaking.
I tried to make away with the thought as the days passed by. But whether it was when I sat with my friends in class or when I tried to pass time faster while forcing myself to sleep, my mind had already been infected by the what-if virus.
What if I did it? Just what if?
The what-if virus plagues my neurons. If I had to count the number of brain cells I must have lost just thinking of this one thing then it would probably put the black death to shame.
A few weeks had passed with that thought in the back of my head. And eventually came the last exams of my life in middle school.
Studying had taken me away from it. Just as always, I finished both middle school and my entrance tests with slightly above-average grades.
I never really put effort into studying, so I was ok with those grades. I knew I could do well if I just tried.
The transition period of going from powerless student to slightly older powerless student was one of breaks and vacations.
Insects hung out more frequently than friends, which I didn't have many of anyway, and sweat stuck to my skin, alongside the immense boredom that I already faced.
The previously deadly what-if virus had found its ideal condition to grow into a healthy adult. They did say music helped organisms grow, the cicadas were a personal band that played 24/7.
Simply put.
It was unbearable.
And so, I did what every sane person would do.
I opened my laptop and searched the words I remembered from the ad I had seen long back. Webnovel competition. Terrific Awards? It was something about a cash prize.
It hadn't been all that long since Webnovels had become popular in the West, webnovels written in English were even rarer. I was sure there wouldn't be too many places for people to be able to upload webnovels, but when I searched a bit, things were much different.
My eyes scanned through Google as I looked for information on those things. At the back of my head, the image of a rich author's lifestyle solidly set in.
{Q- Can you really become rich by writing webnovels?}
{NietzscheReincarnate: Webnovels are for losers and horny teenagers. Go read Ubermensch instead}
{Hornee: @NietzscheReincarnate Shut the fuck up loser. Go touch grass. OP don't listen to him, webnovels are the future}
{Summerchild: OP Webnovels are a new thing. I have heard many people speak of making a lot of money. It all depends on where you write. Remember that this is more of an Eastern thing.}
{ProfessionalWriter001: It's like any writing. I don't know about webnovels but writing is hard. Don't do it. I have been writing for 12 years without any success. Abandon all hope}
{Hornee: @ProfessionalWriter001 bet you write shit anyway. @Summerchild you are right. I have heard some platforms scam people. Be careful where you sign.}
{Gingerale: Have you not heard of My System System? It's about a guy who gets a system that can make systems, the plot twist is that the hero is a system too. It's popular. The author is rich, he bought a mansion. I heard he's from Ternet. It's a Western Novel.}
My eyes narrowed. As was typical of the internet, everyone was ready to throw hands. System system sounded very strange, was someone able to buy a mansion with that? Were people stupid or was the author just great? It was easier to believe the first one.
I looked around a bit more on other sites for answers.
{It's a proven model that has worked in the East. It's only natural that it's coming here now}
{Webnovels are big in Japan. Many anime are based on them. I heard the same is the case in China. My favorite Donghua has a great webnovel}
{It is being established here. A pipeline has already formed, many people in the West are publishing as Webnovels first before switching over to Ebooks on Amazon. They even make audiobooks for a lot of money}
{An author here. Can confirm, this is a dream job. It has changed my life. But writing is hard, not just everyone can make it through}
All the questions I had in my head were around.
How long does it take to get successful?
How much success can you get?
Was it even possible to be successful through Webnovels?
What was success anyway?
Why was there something instead of nothing?
What is my name?
You could ask anything on the net and someone would answer it. Then someone would also come around and try to disprove that answer, but that was a tale for another day. I kept scrolling a bit longer, and soon after, something made my eyes stop.
{##!@#!: Take this quiz to find out if you can do it}
"A quiz…?"
As part of the modern generation, quizzes telling me what type of bread I was were an integral part of the internet experience. I held in a chuckle as I clicked on the link.
It opened up to a slightly shady site.
A Dark UI with a very simple design. It felt like something made either by an amateur or by someone still in the early 2000s.
The link was very strange too. While I was a little scared about getting hacked, what was the worst that could happen? It didn't look all that bad.
I clicked on the start button, and the first question came up.
{Question 1: Do you wish to become a web novelist?}
Silly questions. It wasn't much different from what I expected. I wondered if one of them would be asking me who would win if Goku and Saitama fought.
{Yes}
{Question 2: How many webnovels have you read?}
{Yes}
That was the answer. Legit.
{Question 3: Do you understand the fundamentals of what makes a story?}
A few more strange questions came up. It didn't seem to be a self-aware quiz, but since I had started…
A few more questions down the line though, it became slightly strange.
{Question 11: Are you willing to sacrifice everything for your dreams?}
{Question 12: Will you give up your life to become what you desire?}
{Question 13: Do you like Cheesecakes?}
I answered them all, a bit more invested than before.
And at last.
{Final Question: If you could choose between being a Rich and successful Webnovel Author and the Greatest Webnovel Author in History, what would you choose?}
{Greatest Webnovel Author}
{Rich and Successful Webnovel Author}
A question to choose between a slow life or a fast-paced one.
One where you could be happy. Or one where you could strive.
I knew in my heart that the answer would always be the one that brought happiness. Being Rich and Successful was good enough.
But at the end of the day.
Wasn't all this just a result of a simple 'What-if'?
Perhaps this thought was the second biggest mistake of my life.
And perhaps it was also the best thought I had ever had.
Because I chose the only answer that appealed to the what if.
{Greatest Webnovel Author}
.
.
.
{Ding! The Quiz has been completed! Please enter your Email ID and pay 800$ to get your results—}
"—FUCK YOU!"
I slammed the laptop shut and jumped on my bed. These stupid scammers! All that time wasted over nothing. If I knew it was a paid quiz I would have never done this.
I sighed in frustration and jumped on my bed.
It was so annoying that I could sleep just like this.
"But I should brush first."
Who could sleep with their room in a mess? It wasn't a good thing to do. Even if I didn't mind it much…
I cleaned up the place and finally plopped on the bed to go to sleep.
***
The night zapped past between me scrolling on my phone and barely getting any deep sleep.
When I groaned and opened my tired eyes again, a small, translucent blue window lingered in front of my eyes. Almost as if it was hovering above me.
[The Webnovel Author System greets its host!]
[You can either become a Webnovel Author, or you will lose your life]
"Huh?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ilikecheesecakes
Ilikecheesecakes Don't you hate those kind of quizzes?
To confirm, the system window uses [] these brackets and the screen of the computer or phone would be using {} these brackets!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone