The Antagonist's Full Moon

9. Counterattack

"Some of them said this too!"

"Well, agreed! I also feel that the female protagonist has too much ease, while the antagonist from beginning to end seems unlucky!"

"Haha! Yes, nih! The author mostly writes adventure stories times, yes! If in adventure, naturally the protagonist is made too strong. But, this isn't he going to lift the love triangle story that became the conflict, huh? The rival female figure is out of balance! This, after all, can make the reader even hate the female protagonist!"

"True, the author is not becus! Ahaha!"

Dean's hand squeezed the mouse over the table tightly so emotionally. Fortunately, he remembered that his laptop was bought with sweat from hard work. Otherwise, it must have floated into the wall and broke apart because it was slammed.

The negative commentators are criticizing Dean's recent work entitled The Outcast Prince. It's true, it's the first time Dean has taken on the theme of romance, though it's not a mainstream genre. During this time, Dean focused on writing fantasy adventure stories involving the male lead. Dean is an expert in that field. He also wants to try something new, while attracting the most readers market share on the Beetale platform, namely women.

During the course of writing the adventure story, the majority of Dean's readers were men. According to statistics, the Beetale platform is filled with female readers, the editor said. If you want to make even more profit, Dean must be able to get their hearts. One thing Dean knows, female readers love love love stories.

The thing is, Dean has never felt in love before.

He was too busy studying and working so that his self-esteem was not trampled by the people around him, so he forgot to feel his name fall awake with a heart that was stirred up because of the feeling of love. Dean never, never even interested in that one.

Where does he know now, if the experience of love is actually needed in researching the script this time. However, Dean insists on being able to write a love story without experiencing it himself. He studied his newfound knowledge by watching and reading popular love stories. 

Apparently, it's not enough. After the criticism came, Dean had actually realized that he did suck at making a character in a love story. But the man was too proud to admit it.

Now, Dean even opened a chat group containing exclusive readers. Who joined this group at least once paid coins to read his work. Dean took a screenshot of the anonymous critic and other commentators, then attached it to the group.

Without Dean typing a word, a huge fan named Rika appeared and typed in a response.

"Bad of them! Come on, Brother Dean! We have to pay it back!"

"I agree. It is like this if we do not silence from the beginning, it will be rude until later too!"

"Again with Rica! Come on guys, everybody get together! We're making a counterattack!"

Most of those within the group supported Rika's decision to make a counterattack. The reader group was indeed where Dean's fans gathered, and the majority were men. 

Rika is one of those devoted female readers enjoying Dean's work, whatever it may be. He also easily mingled with other male readers, and others also liked the existence of Rika in the group. Dean also appointed Rika as the chairman and moderator of them all.

Led by Rika, they flocked to the comments where the anonymous criticisms were, then began typing in defences and backlash.

"Read for free just want to sue this-that! Know yourself, dong!" type Rica. The girl's comment was immediately greeted by a response in the form of a like button from other fans.

"Really! If you feel like you can write a novel better, just write your own!"

"The name is also a fiction novel, yes like Brother Dean, what would you like to write!"

"Free readers don't know themselves!"

Again, Dean did not have to bother to do anything. His image remained well preserved in front of others, although he was laughing loudly and swearing, "Feel!!"

For Dean, criticism should not come from people who have never done the same thing, especially if the person does not achieve greater than he or she does.

It seems, the counterattack from the exclusive readers was powerful enough to slaughter those negative commentators. For several hours, anonymous critics and loyal readers threw each other scathing sentences in comments. Dean just had to sit quietly watching them all fight for him.

Before long, the negative commentators could not dwell anymore. No more negative replies from them, except one sentence.

"Free guys, let's say how to kayak too. As long as the author himself was unwilling to learn for the better, even letting his hardline readers defend desperately like this. There's nothing we can do. Leave it!"

Furthermore, no more replies emerged from the critics. Victory was reported by Rika in the group. "We won! All those negative comments!"

"Thank you, yeah! You are all the best!" type Dean, then close the group chat app on his laptop

Dean looked towards the wall clock. Time shows at two o'clock in the afternoon. Apparently the war of comment took hours until he forgot to eat. 

"It's like this at this hour, it's really hungry!" Dean grabbed his smartphone, then started looking for an online food messaging app, and started scrolling through the names of restaurants listed there. "What to eat?"

Dean glanced at the remaining plate of chicken satay on the table. Ten empty skewers covered in peanut sauce are still there. Since childhood, all foods in the form of satay is indeed a favorite food Dean. He and his late father often burned satay themselves while still living in the village.

"What's satay again, huh?" muttered Dean. He also typed the word 'Sate' in the search box. Then, the application automatically sort, showing all the satay menus from various restaurants.

However, just now that Dean was about to choose one of his subscription restaurants to order satay, he suddenly felt such a great dizziness.

"Why .... suddenly become dizzy like this, huh? Usually I'm also late to eat, but it never got this way ... ." Dean massaged his forehead, but the pain in his head did not go away.

Dean wanted to take an aspirin from a closet in the corner of the room, to relieve the pain he was suffering. However, just getting out of the chair, the man felt the whole thing in the room swirling around. Dean is still trying to stay sober. However, the dizziness is increasingly attacking.

In the end, the man could not hold on anymore. His body fell down. Both of his eyes were closed unconscious on the floor of his rented room.

***

"This ... where?"

Sitting on the blackish-brown ground, Dean looked around him with a puzzled frown. He really could not remember how he was in this place. Previously, he was still in a rented room. 

"I'm having a dream?" dean asked, rubbing his eyes.

However, the surrounding environment was still unchanged, many times he observed. He also realized that the intense dizziness that had been piercing his head, had disappeared just like it had never happened.

A moment later, Dean got up from a sitting position. He seemed to observe his surroundings filled with tall trees thick and sturdy trunk, and thick leaves. The distance between the trees is quite close to each other. In a moment, a surge of fear began to sweep through his spine. However, the chirping of birds that were mutually unpretentious instantly dampened his fear.

Dean looked up, looking at the lush foliage that made the sunlight only able to break through a little, but at least the light was able to provide lighting for him to see.

Suddenly, as breezy as the cold wind blew, awakening the fine feathers at his nape. Dean rubbed his nape as he continued to observe the surroundings, hoping to find something familiar. 

"How did I get here?" Dean wince in wonder. 

As a child who grew up in the village, Dean often played in the forest with his friends so he memorized it. He thought he was in the same forest.

However, the possibility was pushed aside after seeing a red banana hanging on a bough of a cambium tree that was a few steps from where he stood.

"What fruit is this?" Dean approached the tree and observed the fruit hanging close above the head. He was tempted to taste, but then doubted whether the fruit was safe to eat. Not only bananas are red, Dean also saw there are purple apples. 

Surprised by the presence of these fruits, anxiety immediately attacked Dean. With his heart pounding faster than before, panic shrouded him even more. Dean's hunch seemed to say that something was wrong with this forest.

His solitary existence even casts creepy shadows in his mind. He did not know what kind of danger he was in in the wilderness like this.

“This is crazy! What the hell is going on! Where am I really??”

***