Chapter 1

TL: Can’t believe I have to clarify this but no . . . this story is not BL (Boy’s Love) . There are jokes about it but no actual romance between two guys .

[There are three ways to survive in a ruined world . Now, I have forgotten a few, but one thing is certain . The fact that you who are reading this now will survive .

-Three ways to survive in a ruined world]

A web novel platform filled the screen of my old smartphone . I scrolled down and then up again . How many times have I been doing this?

“Really? This is the end?”

I looked again, and the ‘complete’ was unmistakable . The story was over .

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[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World]

Author: tls123

3,149 chapters .

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‘Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World’ was a feature-length fantasy novel with 3,149 chapters . Its shortened name was ‘Ways of Survival . ‘

I have been steadily reading this novel since the third year of middle school . I read it during the time when I was bullied by iljins [1], when I ruined my entrance examinations and had to enter a local university, when the damned random draw went wrong and I was placed in the military unit at the forefront, when I repeatedly switched jobs and am now working as a contractor for an affiliate of a large company… Damn, let’s stop talking about this . Anyway…

「Author’s words: Thank you so much for reading ‘Ways of Survival’ up to here . I will come back to you with an epilogue!]

“Ah… The epilogue still remains . Then the next chapter is really the last one . ”

From the end of childhood to adulthood, it had been written over a huge period of 10 years . There was a mixture of despondency that a world was coming to an end along with a sense of satisfaction . I opened the comment box of the last message and rewrote the sentence several times .

-Kim Dokja: Writer, thank you for everything in the meantime . I am looking forward to the epilogue .

They were sincere sentences . Ways of Survival was my life’s novel . It wasn’t the most popular, but it was the best novel for me . There were many words I wanted to say but I couldn’t write them . I was afraid that my careless words would hurt the writer .

-An average of 1 . 9 hits per chapter .

-An average of 1 . 08 comments .

This was the average popularity index of ‘Ways of Survival . ‘ The number of views for the first chapter was 1,2000, but it fell to 120 for the 10th chapter, and then 12 for the 50th chapter . By the time it was the 100th chapter, it was only 1 .

Hits= 1 .

I was overwhelmed by the feeling I got when I saw the numerous ‘1’ that appeared next to the list of chapters . In some cases, there was a ‘2’, but it was likely someone pressing the wrong button .

‘Thank you . ‘

The author published a novel with more than 3,000 chapters with just 1 hit per chapter over a period of 10 years . It was truly a story just for me . I pressed on the ‘Recommendation Board’ and immediately started tapping on the keyboard,

-I am recommending a honey jam novel .

The author wrote me a free completed novel, so I should give him a recommendation . I clicked on the completed button, and comments quickly appeared .

-It looks like a new anti . I searched for this person’s ID, and they recommended the same novel several times .

-Isn’t his recommendation banned? The author shouldn’t do this here .

It occurred to me that I had written a recommendation several months ago . In an instant, there were dozens of comments asking for investigation by ‘spectators’ . My face flushed with embarrassment . I was sure that the author would read this . I hurriedly tried to delete the message, but it was already reported that the message couldn’t be removed .

“This…”

It was upsetting to think that the recommendation written with all my sincerity turned out like this . If they even looked a little bit, why didn’t anyone try reading the interesting novel? I wanted to give a donation to the writer, but I couldn’t afford it because I was a salary worker barely able to make a living . Then I received a notification that a ‘message has arrived . ‘

-tls123: Thank you .

A message flew in from out of nowhere . It took me a while to grasp the situation .

-Kim Dokja: The author?

tls123—it was the author of ‘Ways of Survival . ‘

-tls123: I was able to complete it to the end thanks to you . I also won the competition .

I couldn’t believe it . Ways of Survival won a competition?

-Kim Dokja: Congratulations! What is the competition?

tls123: You won’t know it because it is an unknown competition .

I wondered if he lied because he was ashamed, but I wanted it to be true . Perhaps I really didn’t know . It might be a bit hit on other platforms . I was a little sad, but it was good to have an excellent story spreading .

-tls123: I would like to send a special gift to you as a thank you .

-Kim Dokja: Gift?

-tls123: It is thanks to my dear reader that this story has come into the world .

I gave the writer my email address as he asked .

-tls123: Ah, right . I got the monetization schedule .

-Kim Dokja: Wow, really? When will it start? This masterpiece should’ve been paid from the beginning…

It was a lie . The Ways of Survival was a daily series, so I would’ve had to spend 3,000 won a month . 3,000 won was one convenience-store lunch for me .

-tls123: The monetization starts tomorrow .

-Kim Dokja: Then the epilogue coming tomorrow will be paid?

-tls123: Yes, I’m afraid you need to pay for it .

-Kim Dokja: Of course, I have to pay! I will buy the last one!

There was no reply from the author afterward . I logged out of the site . Then I felt the pessimism sink in later . The author left without a reply after he succeeded…? My admiration turned into petty jealousy . What was I so excited for? In any case, it wasn’t my novel .

“Will he give a cultural gift certificate? It would be good if it’s for 50,000 won . ”

At that time, I was thinking naively . I didn’t know anything about what would happen to the world the next day .

[1] Iljins= It used to be used exclusively for gangsters mobsters and meant “first team” aka the gang’s best fighter . Now, it is used more frequently to refer to a school’s “bad” kids — the ones that are constantly disrupting class, getting in trouble, ditching school, smoking, drinking, etc . Source .