Chapter 2 — Adjustment Period

There had been a point to going all the way to the training grounds, but the price had been brutal.

“Haa…… Even so.”

Murong Yeon lay sprawled across his bed, covering his eyes with one arm as he sighed.

How could simply going outside for a short while leave his entire body feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds?!

No matter how severe his condition was, this body was truly hopeless.

Still, considering that he had met the protagonist, the person who would have an enormous impact on his future, it was a price worth paying.

It’s lucky I transmigrated at exactly the point when I met Wi Hyeokrin. If I’d already committed any of my villainous acts, my favorability would have started in the negatives.

After lying there doing nothing but breathing for a while, he lowered his arm.

Thinking about Wi Hyeokrin, whom he’d encountered earlier, made him realize that this was no time to lie around groaning.

“System, come out.”

At Murong Yeon’s call, a translucent window with a gray background appeared before his eyes.

《Do you have an inquiry?》

“Is this really the world inside the novel I wrote?”

《Correct. This is the world created by the author.》

“You keep talking about favorability, plausibility, character development, and resolving foreshadowing. What happens if I fulfill all of those and create an ending?”

Murong Yeon paused to catch his increasingly labored breath after speaking only a few sentences before continuing.

“These complicated numbers can’t simply mean that I need to reach an ending where I don’t get killed by Wi Hyeokrin. Don’t tell me you’re testing whether I’m qualified to live in this world, and if I fail, you’re going to kick me out?”

《As you said, it doesn’t simply mean the author’s survival. Please think of it as a verification process to ensure that you can establish yourself stably within this world!》

“Verification?”

**《Your stabilization will be measured according to the following four indicators.

— Story Plausibility: This prevents characters from deviating from their established personalities and is necessary for stabilizing the world. Therefore, you must behave like Murong Yeon and raise favorability.

— Character Narrative Depth: We need to establish a clear reason for Murong Yeon to survive. You must move beyond being a one-dimensional villain and demonstrate three-dimensional appeal that will satisfy the readers.

— Foreshadowing Resolution: Use the clues you already know to change your fate!》**

As Murong Yeon slowly read through the explanation, his brow furrowed.

“Wait a minute. You want me to behave like the original Murong Yeon? Then how am I supposed to raise favorability?”

He was supposed to act like a villain while simultaneously making Wi Hyeokrin develop positive feelings toward him.

That was a contradiction!

《If the author behaves completely differently from the original, the world itself may be destroyed.》

The world may be destroyed? What’s that supposed to mean?

Don’t tell me this whole world could actually collapse?

《Correct! In the first stage, discrepancies will occur in the behavior of surrounding characters. In the second stage, disasters that did not exist in the original story will occur. Ultimately, if stabilization fails, the system will forcibly terminate.》

The moment he read the warning the system added at the end, a chill ran down his spine.

His original self in his former world was already dead.

Then if I’m forcibly terminated here…… will my soul cease to exist?

A cold chill swept through Murong Yeon.

He pulled his robe tighter around himself and let out a long breath.

As though trying to reassure him, the system immediately offered an unusually friendly response.

《Failure of the Final Quest represents the worst-case scenario. However, we believe the author will be able to carry it out excellently!》

How the hell did I end up in a situation where my life is at stake?!

He screamed inwardly, but there was only one conclusion.

If he wanted to stay alive, he had to clean up the karma he’d accumulated himself.

“All right. Fine. Let’s give it a shot.”

Murong Yeon somehow managed to haul his body up from the bed, which seemed determined to remain stuck to it like hardened taffy.

Enough worrying.

First, he needed to find out where Wi Hyeokrin was.

He had already put his outer robe back on, so he left Baekungak as he was.

A maid who happened to be hurrying toward him noticed him and immediately looked tense.

Murong Yeon sighed inwardly.

He remembered what his reputation had been like in the original story.

“Come closer. I have something to ask you.”

He deliberately called her over in a cold tone.

The maid approached with her shoulders hunched tightly.

“Where were the disciples who entered the sect today assigned?”

“Ah…… They’re staying in the Western Disciples’ Quarters.”

“Understood. You may go.”

Murong Yeon waved his hand dismissively, and the maid hurried away as though fleeing.

Seriously. They look at me like I’m some kind of ghost.

Well, he would fix that little by little.

For now, Murong Yeon headed in the direction the maid had indicated.

The Murong Family had two residential areas for its disciples: the Eastern Disciples’ Quarters (東塾舍) and the Western Disciples’ Quarters (西塾舍).

The Western Quarters housed newly inducted disciples.

In other words, it was the perfect place for a bunch of energetic boys to cause trouble while trying to establish a hierarchy.

“What the hell is this beggar doing here? Hey! This isn’t a place for trash like you! Get out!”

“Eww! Is that filth on his clothes? He’s absolutely disgusting!”

Murong Yeon had expected it, but seeing it with his own eyes was another matter.

A group of boys around the same age surrounded Wi Hyeokrin, throwing insults and ridicule at him from every direction.

One particularly large boy even shoved his shoulder and repeatedly kicked at his feet.

Wi Hyeokrin offered no resistance.

He simply stood there silently.

A little farther away, Jo Muryang stood with his arms crossed, watching like an uninvolved spectator.

Having confirmed the situation, Murong Yeon strode toward them and shouted,

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

The children all turned their heads at once.

Confusion appeared on their faces as they wondered who he was.

Murong Yeon’s smooth brows immediately furrowed.

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

Of course they don’t recognize me. I used my illness as an excuse and never once came here.

He himself had even needed to ask a maid where the disciples lived after leaving Baekungak.

That alone showed just how completely he’d ignored them in the past.

“Are you going to move or not?!”

The cold young master spoke down to them naturally.

Overwhelmed by his presence, the children reluctantly opened a path.

Murong Yeon snorted and leisurely walked through the middle of them.

Up close, Wi Hyeokrin looked even worse.

His shabby clothes were covered in dirt in various places, and the front of his garment had been pulled open as though he’d been grabbed and wrestled with, exposing what was underneath.

And yet, his eyes were so clear and vivid when he looked up that Murong Yeon couldn’t help being impressed.

“Do you think this is a marketplace? Where did you learn to make such a vulgar commotion?!”

“N-No, that’s not what happened. We were just teaching that boy a lesson because his appearance is completely inappropriate for the family……”

“Teaching him a lesson?”

Murong Yeon twisted up the corner of his mouth.

“You swarm around someone and yap like a pack of mutts, and you have the nerve to call that ‘teaching a lesson’? I don’t know when the standards of our family fell this low!”

His icy verbal attack made the children’s faces turn bright red.

Even Jo Muryang, who had orchestrated the incident and merely stood by watching, had already retreated far away, apparently deciding that there was nothing to gain from stepping forward.

He’s quick to assess a situation.

Then again, that was probably why he’d been able to manipulate others into doing what Murong Yeon wanted in the original story.

Having silenced the children with just a few words, Murong Yeon turned back toward Wi Hyeokrin and deliberately scowled.

“And you!”

He raised an arm to cover his nose, calling out with an irritated expression.

Anyone watching would have thought he was the very embodiment of an arrogant, cold young master.

“What on earth happened to you? Just looking at you makes me feel like my eyes are rotting.”

Wi Hyeokrin’s eyes, which had remained indifferent until then, trembled slightly.

Murong Yeon felt a pang of guilt for a moment.

But he immediately put on an unconcerned expression and jerked his chin.

“Follow me.”

“……Yes?”

“I can’t have someone as filthy as you wandering around the Murong Family. I’m telling you to follow me immediately. Don’t make me repeat myself!”

With that, Murong Yeon turned on his heel and strode away, stirring up a cold breeze behind him.

Wi Hyeokrin silently followed.

“W-What was that? Who was he?”

“Isn’t he the young master who lives in Baekungak?”

“What? The one who’s said to never set foot outside his residence? Why did he suddenly come here?”

Murong Yeon ignored the voices behind him.

Honestly, he couldn’t exactly turn around and tell them the truth:

Yes, I’m that young master. I came here specifically to see Wi Hyeokrin.

It was better to simply leave.

Wait.

But taking him away like this also violates plausibility, doesn’t it?

As soon as that thought occurred to him, Murong Yeon stopped dead.

Fortunately, he spotted a servant diligently sweeping the corridor nearby.

“You there. Come here!”

At Murong Yeon’s shout, the servant dropped his broom and hurried over.

He wasn’t trembling as badly as the maid earlier, but his nervousness was still obvious.

“Did you call for me, Young Master?”

“This boy. Bring him back looking like a proper human being.”

“Pardon?”

“Who would accept a filthy beggar like this as a disciple of the Murong Family? Take him away immediately, scrub him clean, put him in new clothes, and bring him back looking presentable!”

At the ensuing order, the servant flinched as though he’d been burned and hurriedly nodded.

“Yes, yes! Understood, Young Master! You, come here!”

Worried that he might somehow further offend Murong Yeon, the servant firmly grabbed Wi Hyeokrin by the wrist.

Murong Yeon folded his arms and watched the two disappear into the distance.

Then, all of a sudden, Wi Hyeokrin turned around.

Murong Yeon deliberately raised the end of his eyebrow as though displeased.

His already frosty face became even colder.

Perhaps intimidated by his icy demeanor, Wi Hyeokrin quickly turned his head forward again.

Murong Yeon smiled with satisfaction.

Good. Let’s leave it at that for today.

He had made sure Wi Hyeokrin knew who he was while also maintaining the plausibility of his character.

He considered his first mission a success.

Now, he thought, he could finally get some rest.

He turned around.

Then, suddenly, a system window appeared.

**《Favorability with Wi Hyeokrin has been updated.

— Current Favorability: 5/100

※ Warning: Please ensure that favorability does not drop too rapidly. A penalty will automatically be imposed.》**