In the year 10754 of the Holy Calendar, in November, the Lion King was the capital.

Sunlight slanted through the windowsill, illuminating the mountains of manuscript paper.

The paper basket was full, and the small room, the floor was full of crumpled waste paper. It looks like a garbage heap.

The author of "The Knight's Guide to Becoming a Talent" was lying on his desk, asleep, still drooling, and holding a piece of manuscript paper in his hand. On the table next to it was an empty plate with a little breadcrumb left in it.

"Woo woo woo...... When will I become popular......" The author whispered in his dream, and by the way, he scratched his hand with his hand in a daze, and picked up the bag that had just been bitten by mosquitoes on his face.

A gust of wind blew in through the crack in the window, blowing the paper on top of the pile. The paper fluttered slightly, and the next moment, the unbalanced pile of paper collapsed with a bang, pressing towards the sleeping author.

"Who!who! Who's going to snatch my manuscript!" the frightened author struggled to get up from the ground, his eyes wide open, and the manuscript paper still in his hand.

Finally relieved, he looked down at the manuscript paper in his hand, put it down again, and then picked it up again sharply.

"Damn!I'm done!I'm done!Hahahahaha!"

He changed all his clothes, sorted out the scattered manuscripts, picked up the empty plates, ate all the crumbs inside, drank his saliva, wiped his mouth, and then happily went out with a thick stack of manuscripts.

The streets are in a mess, worse than they were a few months ago. It's November, the weather has turned cold, and there are more homeless people on the streets, unclothed and hungry, than a few months ago. There are barricades nailed up haphazardly out of waste wood everywhere, and the author doesn't know who made it, who put it up, and he can't figure out what it's used for.

After all, he is just an author who buries his head in writing books every day.

As he passed by the bakery, he stopped and found that there were more strong men than before in front of the bakery, and their eyes were staring at him.

"Uh...... I haven't eaten breakfast yet and want to buy some bread, is it okay?" the author asked cautiously.

"Of course. ”

The four strong men gave way to him, and then he saw the baker who was five big and three thick.

Compared to before, his complexion doesn't seem to be very good, as if he has been beaten by someone who doesn't know. One eye was swollen, and his face was blue and purple.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Someone came to rob yesterday. ”

"Robbing a bakery?"

"Yes, it's crazy. Next to me is the bank, and they don't rob the bank and the bakery. How, how much bread do you want?"

"Bring me one, I don't have any money. ”

"Okay. The baker took a loaf of bread from the shelf: "Ten silver coins." ”

"Ten...... The author was dumbfounded: "Are you kidding? Ten silver coins for a loaf of bread?"

"No kidding, that's the price right now. The baker said, "I have made very little." And you see, I'm going to have to hire four bodyguards, so my cost becomes high. Every bakery now has to hire bodyguards. ”

The author swallowed dryly and asked in a low voice, "Can anyone afford to eat ten silver pieces of bread?"

"Of course there is, but this area is running out. Many people have already stocked up on grain, and there is no need to buy and sell at all. If you buy and sell, it will be expensive, and you will have no food. The baker snorted and said, "Now the rich are moving north, and it is safer there." At least not to be robbed. I'm not going to do it for a few days, I'm going to move the store to the north. You want to buy bread again to get north. So, I advise you to buy a little more today. ”

The author took out his money bag from his waist and poured it all out.

"There are only nine silver coins...... It's all my money. Can't it be cheaper?"

"Absolutely. ”

The baker measured it with a ruler, then broke off a tenth of it and put it back on the shelf.

"Nine silver coins. ”

"Okay......" The author reached for the bread, but was slapped away by the baker.

"What's wrong? Didn't you sell me nine silver coins?"

"Yes, but do you want to walk down the road with a loaf of bread like that? I can guarantee you won't be able to walk two streets before the loaf will be gone. So saying, the baker took out a piece of oiled paper, wrapped the bread, handed it to the author, and led him into the bakery, and went around the alley at the back door.

"Anyone who walks out of the main entrance of the bakery will be robbed. So said the baker.

In desperation, the author could only hold nine-tenths of a loaf of bread and his own manuscript, and walk cautiously on the street as if he had just fought a war.

The situation in the Lion King Capital is really, really bad, it can't be worse.

The baker said that no one was robbing the bank, but in fact it was just that the bank next to him was not robbed. Along the way, the author saw at least two banks that had been robbed. And no one was going to fix it at all, and the robbed bank simply turned into a homeless man's residence.

The streets are full of begging children, old people. Prostitutes in broad daylight are coquettish on the streets.

A fairly pretty-looking girl took the author's hand, looked at him with a look of longing, and said, "Just a piece of bread, a piece, and I'll do anything for you!"

"No, I don't have bread, and I'm hungry!" the author was so frightened that he hurriedly hugged the bread in his arms.

The whole city is in the middle of a terrible game of who starves to death first. Everyone's eyes are full of confusion. It was a numb look, but it could become like a jackal, a tiger and a leopard in the next moment.

Holding his own bread, the author is a little scared. If it weren't for the baker's reminder, he would have walked down the street with a loaf of bread in his arms, and the consequences would have been unimaginable. But what will he do when the bread is finished?

"Don't be afraid, I still have the manuscript, and I'll have money soon!" he said to himself.

......

"Lich Paladin?"

"Yes. ”

Leaning back in his chair, the mustachioed editor-in-chief held his manuscript and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?

"No, it's not the Lich dueling with the Paladin. The Lich is the Paladin. ”

The mustache editor-in-chief looked dazed: "In this case, I'll give you a few minutes to briefly summarize what you have written." ”

"Okay. The author hugged his bread and said excitedly: "First of all, I have merged two very different identities of paladin and lich. It's subtle, isn't it? The Lich symbolizes evil, and the Paladin symbolizes the sacred. However, a Lich Knight can also become a Paladin. A lich has come from the underworld, inspired by the divine, and determined to become a knight!

The author said in a colorful voice, and the mustachioed editor-in-chief raised his eyebrows and listened quietly.

"In terms of writing skills, I think it's too monotonous to be just a lich paladin. So, I made up a fictional black cat again. A black cat possessed by a ghost!yes, that makes the plot interesting. And then there's the angel, who has been infected by the lich and allowed the lich to become a paladin, and the lich is persistent in his goal! Of course, after the angel was added, I didn't think the plot was so interesting, and I made up a succubus. Power from hell. The voices of angels and demons rang out in my heart at the same time, fighting, the story of the righteous lich paladins struggling between gods and demons!

"The whole story is quite reasonable, and even after you read it, you will think that maybe the paladin Gray is a lich? That feeling is too subtle, a paradoxical feeling! Think about it, he has never taken off his armor, and you will be obsessed with his secrets!"

"We all know that some of Paladin Gray's actions are difficult to explain, but I have rationalized them all with my own imagination. Not only that, but I continued. After all, Paladin Gray doesn't have many deeds, and I need enough material. So, I made up a war on the Eloi Peninsula, four paladins besieged Paladin Gray, and after the defeat of Paladin Gray, he got the power from hell and defeated the four paladins in turn! Use the power of hell to practice the divine laws! The gray knight struggles between light and darkness, for what he loves, for his ideals, he moves forward tenaciously, in order to become the Holy Spirit who walks the world, and strives to make the whole world a better place!"

After saying everything in one go, the author was so excited that he picked up the cup of the editor-in-chief on the table and drank all the water in one gulp, and then asked cautiously, "How's it going?"

"Is the war on the Eroi Peninsula your fiction?" asked the mustache editor-in-chief, frowning.

"Of course, isn't it?" the author asked rhetorically, smiling.

The mustachioed editor-in-chief casually flipped out a newspaper in the pile of papers next to him and slapped it in front of the author.

Picking up the newspaper, the author was stunned.

The editor-in-chief touched his mustache and said, "This is, the newspaper from three days ago." ”

"Yes...... That's really...... I haven't been out in more than ten days, I ......"

Before the author could utter a full sentence, the editor-in-chief had already stood up. Walked around the desk to the door, opened the door and whispered, "Listen, I don't like dealing with scammers." ”

Saying that, it's a "please" gesture.

"No, Mr. Editor-in-Chief, I really didn't lie to you! You listen to me! It's just a coincidence, and I don't know why it happened!"

"Then go back and think about why it's so coincidental!"

The editor-in-chief has already begun to push the author out of the door, and the author is holding on to the door, just not leaving.

"I don't think about whether it's fiction or not, my story is also good!"

"Yes, hehe, sorry, it sucks! No one likes a story like that. How many people would love watching the Lich as the main character?"

"Don't you find it very exciting for the Lich to go holy?"

"No, I think it's just rotten. He's not even a man, and there's no way to have anything to do with a beautiful woman. What's so interesting about a story like this? I think you're kidding me!"

"No, Lord Editor-in-Chief, please think again!"

"Don't think about it!

The author was pushed out, and the door behind him slammed shut.

Before the author could come to his senses, the door behind him opened again. The author hurriedly turned around. However, before he could prop up his smiling face, a thick stack of manuscript paper had already slapped on his face.

With a bang, the door closed again.

On the empty street, the author stood alone with bread in his hand, looking up at the signboard of the publishing house with a blank face, and then looked at the latest poster published by "Mysterious Paladin" posted next to him. I had no choice but to bow my head and pick up my manuscripts one by one.

"What's wrong with the lich? can't the lich be a paladin? can't the lich be sacred? can't even look at it, it's too much!"

The author walked home with bread and manuscripts in his arms.

Gradually, the wind grew stronger, and there was a roar in the sky, followed by a downpour.

The author was forced to run under the eaves to take shelter from the rain.

He is full of people on the left and right, but they are all vagabonds, and they are all unclothed. There was a snoring sound behind him that hadn't woken up. Of all the people, he was the only one who looked neatly dressed. This is the clothes he specially changed in order to meet the editor-in-chief.

As the rain fell, he stood quietly, staring blankly at the splashes of the rain, glancing at the bread in his arms from time to time, and at the people around him.

"Goo-Goo......

His stomach screamed, and he remembered that he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, only a little bread crumbs, and it was noon.

Quietly finding a corner, he peeled off a bit of oiled paper, carefully covered it, and nibbled on the bread. For fear of letting the homeless people around him see it.

"Brother, I'm so hungry......"

A voice came, and he was so frightened that he covered the bread tightly.

Turning around, he saw a ragged, barefoot child staring at him.

"Brother, I'm so hungry......"

In desperation, the author had to look left and right, pulled the child into an alley, found a place where there was no one, and divided a small piece of bread for him.

The child squatted in the corner and devoured it, and asked as he ate, "Brother, what are you doing?"

The author stood quietly against the door next to him, looking up blankly at the raindrops falling from the sky.

"Written. ”

"Writers?"

"No, impoverished authors. ”

After a while, the child had finished his bread, wiped his mouth, looked at him again, and asked, "Can I still ask you for something to eat tomorrow?"

"No, I can't. The author shook his head: "After eating this bread, I will starve like you." Nothing can be given to you. ”

"Why? Aren't you the author?"

"Because my manuscript didn't sell...... Well, even if you sell it, it's useless. Ten silver coins for a loaf of bread...... I can't eat for long because of the manuscript fee. ”

"It didn't sell because it was poorly written?"

"It's not. Very well written, I think it's probably the best book I've ever written. It's amazing. ”

"Then why didn't it sell?"

"Because the editor-in-chief is blind. If this book is published, it will definitely be liked by many people and will make a lot of money. But he just wouldn't accept it, wasting my hard work. ”

"Then why don't you publish it yourself?"

"Self-publishing?" the author was stunned for a moment.

"Can't you publish it yourself?" the child asked.

"Uh...... Like, yes. Thinking about it, the author suddenly became excited: "Yes, why don't I publish it myself? So that I can not only earn the manuscript fee! Hahahaha, thank you!"

The excited Mr. Author picked up the child, kissed him heavily on the forehead, and then wrapped his own clothes around the precious manuscript and ran away in the rain. Halfway through the run, he turned his head and pointed at the child and said, "If you make a lot of money, I will come back and invite you to eat bread!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you!" replied the child, cheerfully.

......

About an hour later, the author reappeared in the office of the editor-in-chief of Mustache and slapped his book on the editor-in-chief's desktop.

"I use my house as collateral and publish it at my own expense!"

"The house isn't worth much now. The editor-in-chief picked up the book suspiciously, flipped through it, thought about it, and smiled: "However, it is still possible to publish a book." If you make money, you will take eighty percent, and I will take two percent. I won't be responsible for any of the money I lose, and you'll be responsible for it all, how about it?"

"Deal!"

Across the desk, the two shook hands.

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