Leo frowned as he read the latest chapter of 'Reincarnated in a Murim World! I Became the Heavenly Demon's Disciple'. His legs, positioned on the table, twitched slightly as he read the latest update.
"What the fuck is this novel even about?" He frowned. "This is like the fourth time the author introduced a new bandit faction in a single arc!"
The world in the story was the standard Murim Fantasy type. The protagonist, an orphan, was chosen to become a disciple by an influential figure. Leo had no idea why he would be chosen out of all people, but the author glossed over the whole thing with Heavenly Demon body or whatever.
Usually, such a setting wasn't a problem. Rather, Leo was looking forward to the next chapter to see the protagonist struggle and overcome the powerful forces of Murim.
Unfortunately, he was gravely mistaken. The novel was a mess. It was a mish-mash of dozens of tropes from every single web novel Leo had ever read, and every time the story advanced, the author introduced a new group of enemies.
Orthodox and Unorthodox sects existed just like usual. But the authors thought they were not enough as the protagonist's enemy, so he introduced yet another faction. The latest update introduced an evil cult that opposed the main faction the protagonist joined.
As a result, many small factions were already introduced and forgotten, with the story lagging behind. What was more, the antagonist changed constantly. First, it was a band of bandits, then a certain sect, lastly an evil cult.
"It's a good story if it's only that much, but... The author has to nerf the protagonist many times because of injuries. Why?!" Leo asked exasperated.
Not only that, but he also included a time skip of six years. Then, he resurrected a character that the protagonist thought dead.
The story itself had quite the potential. Many interesting characters existed.
It was just... too frustrating to read.
"What I don't understand is, even in such a chaotic world, why is there no mercenary band? He could just introduce it and make everything make sense."
War constantly happened between factions in the novel. Mercenaries' existence wouldn't be that strange.
And due to the protagonist's nature where he always got into a problem and involved in a war, it would be more appropriate for him to hire a mercenary band who could help his Demon Sect faction to win as they had a number disadvantage compared to the orthodox sect.
Of course, all of that was Leo's personal opinion.
He closed the hologram screen he used to read the novel and heaved a sigh. Looking around, he saw five people sitting around a long table. They were in a state of boredom, either fiddling with their hair or just resting their head on their hand.
Three of these people were beautiful women while the other two were guys.
If one looked closely, they only moved with a certain pattern. No one moved outside the motion program they were given.
The reason was simple. They weren't human but a VR game's NPCs, created solely to assist him in this game. They were all wearing a combat bodysuit underneath their suit, making them look like they were models from an advanced sci-fi movie.
"Mercenary... Yes. If my mercenary band is there, the story would be different. Heavenly Demon Palace where the protagonist was raised wouldn't fall. And the protagonist wouldn't struggle for years."
Maybe he could give a suggestion to the author?
That thought flashed into his mind and he smiled. He lowered his legs from the table and opened the hologram screen again using. His eyes, embedded with smart contact lenses, stared at the brightened hologram screen in front of him.
He pressed the review section, which was devoid of people for some reason, and a form where he could make a review appeared. He tapped the blank text box, then began to type his review.
Leo frowned. He didn't want to criticize the novel by telling him to change the story's plot. But seeing how low the view on this novel was, he probably had to point it out clearly so the author would understand him.
So, after a bit of hesitation, he typed the suggestion and the critique of the novel that he thought was lacking.
[Review: You should include a mercenary band in your novel. That way, the story could proceed smoothly and maybe the protagonist could be more awesome! There are many factions in the story and your plot is all over the place. You need to focus on one and develop it instead of adding more. Also, maybe you should... (More)]
Having finished typing, he added one star in the rating and closed the hologram screen. He felt good after that. Like he just solved a huge problem plaguing a society.
"Maybe I should wind up by taking a mission?" He muttered. "First of all, let's check what's inside my base first."
Smart lenses was a term used for high-tech lenses that can be controlled remotely, which he equipped as one of the items he bought from the capsule shop. It allowed him to use his eye as a switch to open a hologram screen without having to take out the Main Cube all the time.
It operated by using Nanites in his body. And one of its functions was to see his condition or monitor the inventory in the base.
"Show my status."
[Status Window]
Individual name: Leo
Status: Healthy.
Nanites: 100%
[Base Condition: 100%]
"Manage base. Show the condition of each room."
He commanded, and the list appeared.
[Base Management]
Warping Room: Functioning Normally (Click for details)
Weaponry: Level 5 (Click for details)
Infirmary: Level 5 (Click for details)
Cafeteria: Level 5 (Click for details)
Armory: In a Locked condition (Need a Master Key to unlock.)
"Display the condition of my personal belongings."
The system scanned his body and listed his equipped items and accessories in his profile. It even displayed his equipped clothes and enhanced his Nanites infused into his body.
Nanites were incredibly useful nanomachines created by combining science and magic from another world, and Leo could freely command them to enhance or heal his body.
With Nanites, even magic was possible. However, Leo would run out of Nanites if he did too many unreasonable things.
"Photon Sword, it's there. Main Cube? I have it with me. Everything is fine," he muttered, reading the status of his equipment one by one.
"Prepare the warp gate."
[Affirmative.]
With that done, he stood up and commanded his NPC.
"Follow me."
Everyone stood up at once. They looked at him with excited smiles. It was something he programmed to make the game feel more exciting.
As he walked, the NPCs followed him in formation.
A woman with ponytailed black hair walked beside him as if it was natural. The suit she wore was unable to hide her captivating figure and her seductive gait. Combined with an intelligent look and pink-tinted glasses, she was a perfect secretary character. She was Jessica, Leo's second-in-command.
Trailing just right behind them were a blonde-haired girl wearing a clawed gauntlet on her right arm and a short black-haired girl with a strange metallic toy on her shoulder. The toy looked like an alien, with an open mouth that showed its row of sharp teeth.
The blonde girl was Anya. She didn't bother wearing a suit, only a cropped white jacket on top of her black bodysuit, because it disrupted her movement. The short-haired one was Chiaki, and she was wearing the same outfit as Jessica.
Behind them were two people.
A man wearing an oriental robe was Shui and another who looked flirtatious and was wearing a sleeveless jacket on top of his bodysuit was Jack.
Shui was holding a Katana in his hand while Jack was caressing a Photon Sniper as if it was his lover.
These five people, or NPCs, were members of his Mercenary Band called Hallowed Insects. A cringe name, but something that he liked.
Leo took them to the Warp Gate located right before their meeting room. The base was small and only had seven rooms including the meeting room. It wasn't befitting of a Mercenary Band's base, but he only cared about its function rather than design. In fact, from the outside, it just looked like a normal house.
Entering the Warp room, he saw the gate was humming with power and ready for use. He also saw his reflection on the dark obsidian gate's surface.
Without hesitation, he stepped into it and passed through with his NPCs trailing behind him. Leo expected to see a grand city where all players could gather after the tutorial, but reality was different.
When he passed through the gate, he appeared in a barren land. The area around him was flat and barren of trees, only a few rocks and boulders here and there. Forests were in the distance, and a large mountain that pierced through the clouds could be seen not too far away.
"Where... is this?"
It wasn't the center of Hub. Rather, it looked like an isolated wilderness with no people in sight. The sky was cloudy and the sun was weak, creating a dark ambiance that gave off an image of desolation.
"Leader, what's wrong?" Jessica asked him with a smile on her face. "Aren't we going to take a mission?"
Leo thought for a moment and realized something. His eyes widened as he turned around. He saw Jessica looked back with a slight frown on her face and some worry reflected in her eyes.
He looked behind him and saw that his band was waiting for his order with an eager expression.
"Yo, Leader. Where are the people I should shoot?"
"Stupid gun lover. Look at the situation. This isn't normal."
"Hah?! What do you mean by that you sword maniac?! Don't you dare call my PhoSni as a mere gun!"
"Exactly what I meant."
Shui and Jack bickered loudly, and Anya laughed loudly while pointing at them with her sharp claw.
"Hyahahaha, both of you have never stopped bickering since we started! It's not like you're any different in battle!"
"This is why men other than Leader are..."
Chiaki muttered in a low voice, looking at everyone with a scowl. But she didn't say anything more, probably because she wasn't interested in this conversation.
"All of you, stop it at once. If our leader is troubled by something, it must be very important," Jessica said sharply as she glanced at Leo who was still in confusion. She smiled and looked at Leo. "Is there a problem, Leader?"
Leo was still confused.
'They are talking?' He thought, 'NPCs shouldn't be able to talk freely.'
NPCs were nothing but background characters designed by players and made by the game itself. Even if Leo could program them with AI and use them in combat, it would only follow a set pattern and never exceed it.
Even the backstory and personality written for them was just that, a mere story.
At that moment, Leo heard a message from the Nanites inside him, sending it from his smart lenses.
[You have a message.]
A hologram appeared in front of him with the message. Surprisingly, it was a reply for his review.
[From: Reincarnated in a Murim World Author]
[I think your suggestion is quite interesting. It would be amazing if you can explain it in detail? As for your criticism, I'm trying my best. Please understand. Thanks for your review! Here's an invitation to my new story. I implemented your mercenary band at the start of the story as you requested. Best of luck in joining the story.]
"Oh."
That was his only reaction as he rubbed his temple with his finger. He understood what happened now.
'I got transmigrated into the novel?'
And at the start of the story.
'Which means...'
Boom!
It was the start of the Murim's turbulence age.