The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 123: Publication - 5

Copyright.

One of my friends, back when he was studying for the civil service exam, once tried to earn some pocket money by uploading a movie to a webhard. He got dragged off to the police station.

“It wasn’t me! It was my little brother—he’s still in elementary school! I swear, I didn’t do it! I’m sorry! Really!”

He even brought his brother with him to write an apology letter and somehow got off with just a warning. But whenever he thought about that incident, he’d shudder, saying it cost him his dignity in front of his younger sibling.

We’d laugh and tease him endlessly about it, but from that day on, he never touched webhards again.

Thanks to modern copyright laws protecting creators, countless artists can now make a living from their work. But those laws haven’t been around for long.

And of course, in this world, copyright laws for creators don’t exist at all.

If someone likes a piece of writing, they pass it around, break it apart, and analyze it like, “Ah, they branched the tech tree wrong here.”

“Hwa-rin! Close up the shop, let’s head out!”

“Okay!”

If my book becomes popular, piracy is inevitable. That’s not a surprise.

To protect my rights, I’d need an intel network to track down where it’s being pirated, and I’d need either administrative power or brute force to punish them. But where would a barbarian like me get anything like that?

Still, that’s a problem for outside the city of Yichang. I never thought it would happen inside.

“They’re really selling it.”

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Sure enough, another bookstore was selling Storm of the Tang Clan.

“Welcome! Looking for the recent hit, Storm of the Tang Clan? We’re much cheaper than Daseogak— Wait! Aren’t you that barbarian bastard from Daseogak?!”

The bookstore owner recognized my black hair and immediately scowled.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean, what? I’m selling the popular Storm of the Tang Clan at a good price.”

When I glared at him, the owner avoided my gaze, pretending not to notice. So he did feel a little guilty, huh?

“This goes against the Merchant’s Way, doesn’t it?”

I raised my voice loud enough for passersby to hear.

“Merchant’s Way, my ass.”

“Storm of the Tang Clan is a work sponsored and published by Daseogak! And you’re blatantly ignoring the Merchant’s Way by pulling this kind of stunt?!”

Just because there are no copyright laws for creators doesn’t mean the Merchant’s Code is nonexistent.

Even in this world, it’s common for publishers to support writers and make money by printing their work. Didn’t Hwa-rin’s grandfather do exactly that?

So while creators don’t have legal copyright, publishers operate under a proto-form of it: the Merchant’s Way.

“There’s no Merchant’s Way to follow for a barbarian bastard like you!”

Wow. Raw, unfiltered racism. Now that’s the Central Plains I know.

“Hey. What did you just say to Yun-ho?”

Without warning, Hwa-rin pulled out a throwing knife from her empty hands and stepped toward the shop owner. What the—where did she even pull that from?

“A-a-a martial artist is threatening me!”

“Hwa-rin, let me handle it.”

I stepped in, calming her before she acted. The shopkeeper paled, darting his eyes between the two of us, and finally spoke up again.

“Y-you barbarian! You’re the one ignoring the Merchant’s Way! How dare you invoke it?!”

“What Merchant’s Way have I violated?”

“You brought a foreign bookstore into Yichang and muddied the waters! Do you even realize how all the bookstores here are suffering because of you?”

“What are you talking about...”

“Looks like you got yourself a good author and thought you could rake in some cash, huh? Well, we’re not having it! Every bookstore in Yichang has agreed to print your book to recoup losses. You better get used to it!”

Despite his angry tone, the shopkeeper kept glancing nervously at Hwa-rin as he backed away.

So that’s how it is.

Daseogak is the biggest bookstore in Yichang. It’s a massive three-story building right on the main road, packed with books and easy to find.

Even with sloppy management over the past fifty years, it still had good sales—and for good reason. Now that we’d introduced modern sales methods, customers were swarming in droves.

Naturally, that dried up business for nearby stores.

“Yun-ho. Can I step in?”

“Stabbing someone won’t fix the problem!”

“If stabbing’s not an option, I’ve got poisons too.”

“Hiieeek!”

“Don’t.”

I stopped Hwa-rin again. If every store had decided to print Storm of the Tang Clan, threatening one or two of them wouldn’t change a thing.

We’d been totally screwed over.

They wanted to profit off the hot new book and hurt Daseogak’s business at the same time. Ethics? Merchant’s Way? Out the window.

“But Yun-ho...”

“I’ve got a plan. Come with me.”

“I’m coming!”

Without looking back, I left the rival bookstore.

--------

Since they were the ones who started this fight, I had no intention of sitting back and taking it.

No, if I backed down now, I’d be a target forever.

As the manager of Daseogak, and the author of Storm of the Tang Clan, Ho-pil, I had to win this fight. So then—what’s the best way to win?

When businesses go to war, the most common strategy is a price war. But in this case, the other side had the advantage.

“They’ve got way better printing presses than us.”

Daseogak's press is decades old. We don’t even have a proper type-casting machine to make the movable metal characters.

Meanwhile, they clearly have better equipment and cheaper production.

If it came to a price war, we’d lose.

“Want me to just poison them all real quick?”

Hwa-rin looked genuinely worried as she offered the idea.

“If you pull something like that, even if Storm of the Tang Clan doesn’t get you, the Sichuan Tang Clan definitely will.”

I appreciated her thinking, but that was way too extreme. This wasn’t a life-or-death duel between martial artists—it was a competition between merchants.

If we escalated this into a blood feud, we’d be blacklisted from doing business in Yichang at all.

“Damn it... Then what do we do?”

“There is a way.”

“What way?”

Hwa-rin looked at me, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

If Daseogak tried to fight a price war, we’d be crushed. The other side probably assumed this was an easy win.

But you know... there's no rule that says I have to fight them on their battlefield.

If they’ve got the advantage there—then I’ll flip the board entirely.

“There’s one method. It’ll take time, but I’m not planning to sit back and take hits in the meantime. I’ll start with a little counterpressure.”

Let’s hit them with a solid one-two punch they won’t forget.

If they’re attacking our store’s weakness, then I’ll strike back using my greatest strength.

“Counterpressure? How?”

“I’m going to try something called... coordinate tagging.”

Using my strength as a writer.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

******

Hwang Se-saeng once again visited Daseogak today.

Waiting for Volume 2 of Storm of the Tang Clan was sheer agony. The more times Hwang Se-saeng reread Storm of the Tang Clan, the more his thirst for Volume 2 deepened, like drinking seawater—it only made him thirstier.

“Thank the heavens for Daseo Society.”

The discussion group for Storm of the Tang Clan—Daseo Society.

At least the gatherings with fellow members of Daseo Society helped ease the unbearable wait for the next volume. As the novel’s popularity grew, so did the number of members.

As always, Hwang Se-saeng stepped into the bookstore and immediately turned to the display where Storm of the Tang Clan was stacked.

“This can’t be happening! This is absurd!”

“This has to be a dream! It must be a dream!”

Members of Daseo Society who had arrived before him were already howling in despair.

“What on earth is going on?”

Startled, Hwang Se-saeng asked the anguished members, but they could only point, faces sunken in despair, to a single placard.

Hwang Se-saeng turned to read the placard, trying to understand the situation.

[This is Ho-pil....]

Ho-pil—wasn’t that the author of Storm of the Tang Clan? Could it be an announcement about the long-awaited second volume? Hwang Se-saeng began to read.

[I had a drink.... I’ve been writing day and night, wrestling with ideas. With Daseogak’s support, I gave it my all. I was overjoyed to see my sincerity reach my readers. But that joy was short-lived. I discovered that my work was being sold not by Daseogak, who supported me, but by other bookstores. I am in such shock that I can no longer write.]

[I will be taking a break from writing for the time being.]

“What kind of thunderbolt from the blue is this?!”

Hwang Se-saeng clutched his head, unable to believe what he was reading.

“Storm of the Tang Clan might not have a Volume 2...”

The manager of Daseogak appeared among the wailing readers, organizing books as he spoke.

“Manager! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Why won’t Volume 2 be released?!”

The die-hard readers surrounded the manager, demanding an explanation for how things had come to this.

“Well... Storm of the Tang Clan was written by an author whom Daseogak supported in every way. He was overjoyed to finally give back after his work succeeded. But then... he witnessed something shocking.”

“Shocking?”

“Other bookstores began selling Storm of the Tang Clan without permission. As a result, Daseogak hasn’t sold a single copy in days. The author was so shocked he collapsed, refusing food and drink.”

The manager hung his head in sorrow.

“Those people... do they not understand the Merchant’s Way?! If a bookstore sponsors an author’s work, then obviously only that bookstore should have the right to publish it!”

“Oh, they understand. But Storm of the Tang Clan is selling too well, and that’s why they did it.”

“And the money? It goes straight to those bookstores?”

“Yes, unfortunately. Daseogak had been giving the full profits to poor Ho-pil, but for the past few days, we haven’t been able to give him a single coin.”

“Unbelievable! What kind of trash would do this?!”

“Because of people like that, great authors die young!”

“Manager! Then what are you going to do?”

“Sigh... What can a mere bookstore manager do against all the bookstores of Yichang? We may have no choice but to give up on Volume 2.”

Storm of the Tang Clan... discontinued? Seriously?

The members of Daseo Society all wore different faces, but upon hearing the shocking news, their expressions became one and the same.

“We can’t let Storm of the Tang Clan end with just Volume 1!”

Resolving himself, Hwang Se-saeng addressed the other members.

“R-right! That can’t happen! We’ll act together!”

“How do you mean?”

A flush of hope returned to the manager’s face as he watched their movements.

“Just wait and see.”

The members of Daseo Society formed a circle and began to discuss their next move.

“There are friends who’ve been hoping to join Daseo Society. At least a few dozen. If we can convince them...”

“Even in our academy, there are plenty waiting for the next volume...”

“I’ll try to persuade my teacher. He’s a devoted reader. I’m sure he’ll gladly help.”

“Gentlemen?”

“Leave it to us!”

The members of Daseo Society burned with more conviction than ever before.

--------

“What’s this?”

The next morning, all over the city of Yichang, walls and busy streets were plastered with countless posters.

[What a tragedy.]

[From the age of Yao and Shun onward, supporting talented but impoverished individuals has always been a noble virtue. Today, Daseogak has done the same by sponsoring a hidden literary genius.]

“What does this say?”

“Apparently Daseogak funded Storm of the Tang Clan, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and now other bookstores are printing it without permission.”

“You mean that novel everyone’s talking about?”

“Yeah. Total scumbags. The author was so shocked, he decided not to release Volume 2.”

“No! I need to see him get with Hubei’s Top Courtesan!”

[Tampering with another’s creation without consent—utterly disgraceful. These vile parasites suck the lifeblood of a poor author, robbing him of his one means of survival. What difference is there between them and corrupt officials?]

[We, the Yichang Scholars’ Circle, hereby declare that we will only purchase our books from Daseogak, and we will begin a boycott of all bookstores that have stolen the author’s work.]

[Daseo Society – for the love of tea and books.]

“What a righteous move by the scholars. Those without the Merchant’s Way deserve to be punished!”

“A boycott, huh? If book-loving scholars organize a boycott, the impact on those shops could be devastating.”

“How good is this book that they’re starting a boycott over the next volume?”

“You haven’t heard? There’s even a whole group called Daseo Society that gathers just to discuss the novel.”

“Well, I’ll have to give it a read if I get the chance.”

The posters hung across the city drew everyone’s attention.

Even those who normally didn’t care for books began to get curious. After all, what kind of novel inspires a full-on boycott?

Little by little, more people began buying Storm of the Tang Clan. The novel’s fanbase grew rapidly, and so did the influence of Daseo Society.

“There are no customers in the shop!”

“What happened to all the scholars?! Where did they all go?!”

As more angry readers pointed fingers at the culprits behind the missing second volume, the damage to rival bookstores escalated by the day.

*******

“I only meant to throw a light one-two punch... but the effect’s better than I expected.”

I thought even if I tagged the coordinates, it would land like a pair of soft jabs. But this feels more like a full-on counterpunch.

Originally, I just wanted to rattle the competition a bit before pulling out a real strategy. But hey—

“No reason to stop if it’s working.”

If an unexpected outcome can be used to my advantage, then use it I shall.

I picked up my brush again and began to write.

[This is Ho-pil....]

Ho-pil is getting dizzy. Please torment me more.