Only I Am A Reader

{Oh, hello! I have an offer for you. Would you like to hear it?}

It was a talking silhouette. Aside from a mouth opening, the figure in front of Leo was just a solidified dark shadow.

In illustrated novels and comic books, it was a cool way to hide a future character or test the reader’s ability to differentiate the special features of popular characters, but...

’Even for me, it feels way off.’

Despite being someone who handled actual shadows as well as Shadow Nightmares, a sense of creepiness enveloped Leo as he looked at the real-life version of a silhouette.

He had seen way too many fantastical beings up to this point, but none of them were as incongruous to Leo as this one.

"What offer?"

Nonetheless, that didn’t stop Leo from interacting with it.

Whatever this thing was, it was clearly the one behind his delayed advancement into the next ordeal.

Only by dealing with it could he move forward. Besides...

’It can only be one of two things.’

Leo already had an idea about its mysterious identity.

If it wasn’t one of the higher beings that employed the services of the Multiversal Arena of Ascension, then it could only be...

{Ah, I should introduce myself first, right? I’m Arena Manager J. You can use the full name or just call me Mr.J.}

"Cassian."

{You are not much of a talker, are you? Well then, Mr.Cassian. The Multiversal Arena’s Upper Management, including me, would like to employ you. Would you be interested in something like that?}

"What employment?"

Once again, Leo could already guess what they wanted to say, but he still asked the question like any oblivious person would.

{Becoming the new master of the 100th Level, of course. It’s a shame that an all-time prospect like the old master had been put out of service, but it’s all the more reason why we should employ you.}

’Wowh.’

Leo wasn’t surprised by receiving just what he expected based on the words of the Abyssal Dragon.

It was the Personal Book that gave him a very big surprise.

[ Plot Change confirmed! Unique event occurrence has been detected. ]

[ You have had an unscheduled business meeting with a Plot Outsider. ]

[ You have obtained 900 Reading Points. ]

Although it didn’t seem like much compared to the points that he already had, 900 Reading Points was a big sum to earn from just an encounter like this.

This was yet another unplanned gift! The Multiversal Arena was truly a great tree that kept on giving!

That being said, just because he had received a couple of gifts, Leo had no intention of readily accepting whatever proposal they threw at him.

While he had been the one behind it, the fall of the Abyssal Dragon was something that Leo learned a lesson or two from.

No matter how strong or confident one was, there was always a chance that there was someone stronger, especially when the scope of the field was expanded to cover an entire multiverse.

"Hmmm, I guess it depends on the kind of salary you are offering."

Originally supposed to be just an interlude to his main mission, Leo knew far too little about the Multiversal Arena to make any hasty decisions.

Owing to the fact that Multiversal Arena was only mentioned in passing in the novel, the possibility opening up in front of him was still a fairly alien concept.

’There is a severe lack of certainty.’

Just like when monsters suddenly invaded Murim out of nowhere, the privilege of a Reader almost became non-existent in this instance.

{It depends. We can generally grant most of the things that a challenger is likely to wish for, so feel free to decide your own salary. If it happens that we can’t grant it, we will make you a counteroffer.}

’A wish, huh...’

{In case you want an example, the old master had asked for a special Ability Booster usable only by the Dragon and Draconic species. For each challenger he defeated, he received one high-grade Pure Dragon Heart.}

"In that case... Can I wish for you to somehow stop the Encroachment Attempt that is currently targeting my home world?"

Frankly, Leo wasn’t even sure if the manager would understand his request, but that in itself was a test. Depending on the answer he would receive, Leo could further understand the nature of the thing he was dealing with.

{Hmm, that would be difficult. Stopping it in itself is easy, but it would conflict with the agreement we have with the ones who employed our services for your Trial.}

’They are aware.’

The way the manager spoke wasn’t a bluff; he truly understood the wish that Leo had proposed.

{We can provide you with an even better proposition, though. A relocation to a verse of your choosing, for you and a total of 5 beings you pick. As soon as you agree, we can proceed with the relocation immediately, but that will be considered your salary for the first five challenges. Starting from the sixth challenge, you can pick more people to relocate or change to a different compensation altogether.}

’...Would that work?’

At the thought of something that he had never considered within the multiple plans that he engineered, Leo was perplexed.

Forget escaping underground; even escaping to a different verse was possible?

’How would that work though?’

It was an exciting prospect, but Leo remained level-headed as he explored the various possibilities.

Just how wide was this multiverse that the Multiversal Arena was based on?

Considering the limited scope of the novel, Leo couldn’t deduce the limits of the Arena.

Since the novel said nothing about them, would the other verses be flat in nature, like 2D worlds that lacked substance due to a lack of relevance?

Or were they full and interesting worlds at least as complete as the City of Villain itself?

Would taking Aurora away from this world count as fulfilling the Main Quest? Or would Aurora go crazy if she didn’t get to fulfill her own main mission?

Most importantly...

’Can I travel straight back to my Earth?’

Just what were the odds that the Earth he came from was an accessible part of this multiverse? Leo could barely hold himself back from asking.