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2024-10-29 19:42:56Murphy fell prey to his dreams that night.
He foresaw greatness, a rise so meteoric it awed his closest friends and family. He imagined strangers relishing the dream he wove for them, and how expectant they would be for new releases.
Then, he woke up — no readers.
It had been a few hours since his novel was posted, but despite the metric showing thousands of surface views, there was not one person who deigned to give it a click.
He refreshed, but nothing changed.
After breakfast, he refreshed again. Still not one eyeball.
‘Strange…’
He had posted thousands of words, polished after many months of ardor. Surely, among the tens of millions, there would be someone.
Anyone…
There wasn’t, so he refreshed again.
He expected that repetition to somehow dispel the curse, but everyone passed by all the same, sparing his work nary a glance.
‘Why does no one care?’
Even as he asked himself this question, he failed to obtain any insights. Try as he might, he thought it was fine. A work that was at the very least above the average…
“I need a second opinion.”
Morpheus#1909: I posted a novel last night. It accrued a few thousand views, but no reads. Any ideas?”
Waiting hopefully for a helping hand, he watched the chat fly by without a second glance attributed to his question. Just when he was about to give up, someone mentioned him.
Naide#6943: It probably has a boring cover or bad synopsis.
Morpheus#1909: Do you think you could have a look? I can—Naide#6943: I don’t do free reviews. Figure it out on your own.Blinking, Murphy wasn’t sure what to make of the response. He didn’t find it offensive in the least, as he’d received much worse. He was more surprised that it was taking place in the supposed newbie help section.
Morpheus#1909: I wouldn’t be asking for help if I knew what was wrong in the first place.
Naide#6943: We got here on our own, so you can do it too.Morpheus#1909: Very encouraging… thanks.Naide#6943: Don’t sound so entitled. We don’t owe you anything.Spending more time here didn’t seem worthwhile, so he ventured out into the no man’s land — the E-Novel forum. He went there expecting to find friendly exchanges in feedback, yet all he saw plastered on the front page was sex ads from bots.
‘For a billion dollar company, they sure invested little in anti spam software.’
Wincing at the list of adverts for sex lubricants and hardening pills, he unsurprisingly felt zero temptation to click on them. And no, it wasn’t because they looked sketchy and would wreck his OS the moment he stepped on them, but because he’d have no way to put them to good use, anyway.
He wasn’t out there on the dating market, and he strongly doubted any of the people visiting this forum were. Writing sucked every last bit of enthusiasm from him, and he felt it wasteful to spend a few hours going out when he could be pumping another chapter. He was only occasionally dragged out of the house by Nella, the closest a woman came to igniting his love. Never quite close enough, though.
At least, he was self aware about it. This obsession had all but ruined his social life by now, his laser focus derailing him from having any interest in a ‘normal’ life.
He had sunk in too deep into the fantasy, and it would take a substantial quake in his social environment to reel him back from it. He wanted to see it through to completion, regardless of the damage it caused.
[Review swaps of July. Upvote for upvote! | 23 replies]
“Well… that looks promising.”
Having found a place that might offer some feedback, he readily clicked on it and linked his book.
An hour later, he refreshed. Still nothing.
“Quid pro quo, then…” he mused, watching over a few other threads advertising critical comments.
Seeing as no one offered to review his first, he could only step up to the plate. He clicked the first link, and immediately died inside a little.
“Demon King Reincarnating in the Apocalypse with a Vampire Harem System…” he groaned in palpable misery, “How do you even fit that many clickbait tags in one name?”
Despite being unwilling, and very much so preferring to eat a piece of paper with that title than ever read it out loud again, he had to commit to the review.
Muting his subjective hatred for the clicheic genre, he skimmed through the prologues and once more found himself amazed.
Not at the quality of the novel, since there was nothing to write home about. Neither at the immediate description of bouncing breasts and pale oval faces, precisely in that order.
No, he was surprised at the readers’ reaction. Thousands of views and dozens of comments, lapping up the butchery of words as if it was a gourmet’s debut. A five Michelin star restaurant, except the only food on the menu was soggy noodles microwaved three times over.
“I should just quit,” he jokingly convinced himself at that point, “I’m not built for this shit.”
Holding his urges back, he eventually did the bare minimum and read five chapters. Then, he had to decide whether slamming the keyboard against his screen or vomiting had a higher priority.
‘Be nice,’ Murphy cajoled himself with lies, “and they’ll be nice to you in kind.’
With an analytical but polite eye, he pointed out whatever stood out to him as flawed. He didn’t nitpick out of bitterness, but genuinely sought to help another author transcend their limitations. It took at least half an hour to get it done, but he was content.
‘I hope it helps.’
With a stifled yawn, he went to bed, far more exhausted by the dozen reviews he did that day than by editing his own mistakes. Though, that in of itself is perhaps only something writers can attest to.
There were no dreams that night.
He woke up groggy and moody, and that temper only worsened a few moments later.
He refreshed. Still nothing.
No one deigned to reciprocate in the so-called review trade. Even in the coming days, they didn’t even read his prologue.
Refreshing his null analytics for the umpteenth time, he cursed, and gave up.
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An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Author's Note
Welcome everyone. I felt compelled to add some info on where I intend to take this novel. Half a dozen tags and a 70 word synopsis may not accurately capture what this book strives to represent. Let me preface this by saying this book is somewhat loosely inspired from real life events =) If you already intend to read the book in its entirety -- feel free to skip this. > Novel Structure:I intend the novel to be short, so it will likely end around 80,000 words ~ 75 chapters. (Free) Arc I (1-8) will cover Murphy's start as a webnovelist, culminating in him signing a contract with a certain very popular website ;) (Free) Arc II (9-20b) depicts a society crumbling into a cyberpunk-ish dystopia. AI plays a pivotal role in undermining civilization, and Murphy is caught at the forefront of it all. (Paid) Arc III (Ch 21 onwards) is where the MC reincarnates. He unveils his inherent magical abilities and goes back in time along with his system. There are 7 arcs planned in total as of th
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Final Words
Thank you to whoever made it this far :) I'll revise this at a later date, after I proof read and edit the book once or twice.At that point, it will be marked as complete and I will bid farewell to the site. Though I am glad to have accrued some readers, and met many peers among authors, it has been a tad underwhelming. Unable and unwilling to say anything more, I'll simply address some gratitude to Helen Bold.She's an excellent editor and author on the site, and has been the reason I delivered this book to you.Consider checking out her books. As for myself, I do have other book(s) published.I can't share links, but you can search for my name and they should appear. Alternatively, just add me on Discord, and I'll help you find your way. Thank you again to everyone who's given this a chance,As always, your attention has been a blessing.~Raven
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 73 - Epilogue
- — ✎ — - The five year anniversary of Murphy’s vow was finally upon him, but he had long since completed his promise. No later than a year after the final battle, he successfully unsealed his seventh gate. That came largely as a result of his success in that battle, and the fruits he claimed in its aftermath. Specifically, he salvaged Erebus’ consciousness. Once it was in his dream realm, he had all the time he needed to crack it. Other than being the de facto leader of Physis Nomos, the old man had dipped his toes in all kinds of criminal enterprises over the years. His psychic powers made him the perfect assassin. Lethal, traceless, silent. By reliving through his memories, Murphy salvaged hundreds of interesting connections, and tasked the Chainbreakers to follow up and unearth those leads. The cases they unveiled had all but quaked the world. From businessmen in Asia, to politicians in the deep state of the US, people from all over the world were incriminated. Proof w
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Ch 72 - Final Battle
Murphy had no time to curse as the earth dragged him back to its hard embrace. He was strangely familiar with this sensation, and knew exactly what the outcome of such a fall was. Alas, now was not the time to reminisce about his jump from the bridge…Erebus and his goons expected him to splatter across the ground, and even took steps to avoid the impact area. Yet, they were in for a surprise of their own, because despite appearing panicked and flailing his arms like a desperate duck, Murphy was anything but.When he was merely a second from impact, Murphy suddenly spread his psyche and willed himself to slow down.A sudden force shrouded the area, allowing Murphy to veer directly towards the bodyguards accompanying Erebus. Before those two could react, and too busy managing the hostages, Murphy made landfall next to them.His fists coated in fire struck the first one in the chest, eviscerating organs and bone alike. The other panicked, hand reaching for his gun, yet a mere glance ha
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Ch 71 - Erebus
Murphy paid no heed to the retinal text, and was far more preoccupied with Eleanor falling. His stretched out hand clasped, guiding his intent and will from afar.His psyche took form, his psychokinesis pushed to its next step, and she was suspended mid-air! He had achieved similar things with immaterial objects like a pen, but never a human.Luckily, her psyche was sapped by the curse and couldn’t resist. This allowed him to control her easily, or he would have been doomed to fail.She flew in the air, eyes squinted in horror once she realized what might befall her. The sensation of flying around eventually stopped, and she tentatively opened her eyes once she felt Murphy’s arms wind tightly around her.Murphy hugged her, bottling up a dozen curses and reproaches that could only wait for later. He was angry, but he was terrified even more.“Y-you’re crazy—” he bit his lips, leaving the rest of the accusation unsaid. “I’m sorry,” she offered plainly, before bursting into tears of her
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Ch 70 - Sixth Gate
When Murphy snuck back on the ship, he was surprised to see Eleanor awake. Hands on her waist, she waited by the docking area and made sure he saw her pout.“Not even halfway through our honeymoon, and you’re already tired of me?” she joked and huffed, “I didn’t expect you to find someone else so quickly…”“Guilty as charged,” he grinned in response, “I figured since I scored the most beautiful woman on the planet, I might be lucky enough with the second…”“Compliments won’t get you out of this one, darling.” Ellie turned serious, “What were you up to?”“Kind of a long story… I didn’t want to sour our happiness, but it seems there’s no rest for the wicked.”“Sure, I’ll make some coffee. Tell me all about it.”“Tea for me,” he interjected as he reattached the boat to the yacht and trailed along to the lounge.A few minutes later, Eleanor sat in her rightful place, serving him tea while she drank coffee on his lap. They indulged the warm drinks in silence, but eventually Murphy gathere
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 69 - System Embryo
Murphy tried to focus on Erebus, but his visions didn’t become any clearer. He could not see past the darkness, try as he might to muster his power.Eventually, the revelations shattered as a whole, his psychic reserves almost exhausted. He could only cut his losses and sigh in regret.‘I was this close!’ Murphy struck the edge of his marble throne, shattering the armrest to pieces. It was only then that he was reminded it was a mere dream, and a terrified child was staring at him in fear.“Fear not, Asen,” he tried to comfort, but the fire in his eyes didn’t make him sound very convincing.It was only when the boy outright started crying that Murphy realized his folly and doused the inner flame, regaining a more calm demeanor. “I’m sorry,” he lifted the boy off the ground, and brought him someplace nicer in that same instant, “Don’t cry any longer… I won’t hurt you. I promise.”“I know,” the sniveling boy replied amidst tears, “That’s… not… why I’m crying…”“Then?”“I just… don’t wa
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 68 - Horrid Revelations
“What is this? Why can’t I see their faces?” the boy asked, clutching at the hem of Morpheus’ robe. “You don’t seem them because they don’t exist, not in this reality. Now watch, young Asen.”A scene played out before them like a three dimensional movie, and the two of them relived the hospital encounter. A teenager walked in, his face redacted and replaced by a simplified smug emoji. Their words were clear, however, as was the part where he mind controlled Eleanor to explode in a crowd. He shuffled backwards afterwards, depicting the woman strapped to a chair while a family of three watched.“Why are you showing me these evil people?” Asen questioned, his adorable young mind clearly perceiving things in black and white.“So you don’t become like them.”“I would never!” the boy denied vehemently, “My mother says bad people can’t go to heaven.”“What if there was no hell, young Asen?” Murphy questioned rhetorically, “If there was no heaven to yearn for, and no judgement in an afterli
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 67 - Asen
Murphy grabbed the phone and looked closely at the picture, his frown deepening. That boy was the same psychic who mind controlled Eleanor in the future, but right now he was merely a prepubescent pup. “How old is he now?” Murphy asked, his voice showing some conflict as he indicated the photo. “He’s only 13!” the nurse replied and fell to the ground as well, clinging to life with her whole being, “Please, our son is still young… We’ll stop doing this… Just—““Silence!” Murphy boomed, sending a telekinetic blast that flipped the woman over and sent her careening against the wall.The doctor winced, but didn’t dare move to help his wife. They just stared at the ground and hoped someone would come save them. As for the monster, he continued to stare at the picture, flames dancing in his eyes.‘Should I kill him now?’ he asked himself repeatedly, unsure how to proceed. On one hand, he burned with righteous indignation, having been blinded and robbed of his life. Ellie had it even wors
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 66 - Dilemma
A black SUV stopped at the side of a small family clinic in Burgas. The city CCTVs monitoring the streets tracked the vehicle all the way from the suburbs. A single driver got out, opened the trunk and retrieved a duffel bag, then walked to the rear doors of the clinic. The surveillance cut off at that point, a sudden glitch in the system causing the camera to malfunction and stop recording. By the time it was turned back on, the vehicle was long gone. Coincidentally, it had been reported as stolen that same night.Murphy blinked, dismissing the latest retinal message from the system, then waltzed in towards the emergency doors. His hand pushed against the lock, searing the metal and turning it into a worthless puddle that gave in to his push.The building plans appeared in his right eye like a 3D map, and he conveniently followed them down the stairs. The clinic was small, and only saw high-end clients, so its security was top of the art. Cameras lingered at just about every othe
