Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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CEO Kwon Tae-sik's heart was pounding.
'It's been a while since I felt this thrill.'
Ever since diving into the management business, he'd launched countless works.
Some sold exactly as expected, while others exploded unexpectedly.
On the flip side, there were pieces he'd been hyped for that underperformed.
But none had him as excited as this one.
[Return of the SSS-Class Hunter]
It had shattered every record within a single month of serialization.
The final free chapter had surpassed 70,000 views.
Hitting 70,000 views on StoryWorld was nothing short of a miracle.
With paid serialization taking hold, the top view count was 60,000.
And that record had just been broken.
His anticipation was through the roof.
'What will it do?'
Having launched so many works, he could usually predict performance.
'At least 20,000, right?'
Anything over 10,000 paid views was a mega-hit.
Yet Kwon Tae-sik was already thinking 20,000.
That said it all about his expectations for the novel.
'The wildcard is Grape Books.'
It stung that they couldn't get even one free chapter featured daily.
And with simultaneous serialization on both sites, no main banner either.
Promotion was everything on Grape Books, so he felt uneasy.
That's why he was pinning his hopes on StoryWorld's numbers.
"Sir, it's time."
"Huh? Oh."
Yang Team Leader's words snapped him back, and he checked the clock.
7 p.m.
Time to go paid.
He refreshed the webpage, and there at the top of the paid section was the familiar title.
[Return of the SSS-Class Hunter]
"Whew—!"
He let out a deep breath and clicked the page.
Ten new chapters had just gone up.
'Incredible.'
It was a bold gamble, backed by a massive stockpile of drafts.
Kwon Tae-sik checked the view count on the very first paid chapter.
"Huh?"
He couldn't believe his eyes.
[4,255]
It had only been a minute since upload.
Yet the views were already at 4,255.
In other words, 4,255 readers had bought chapter one.
"Hey... Yang Team Leader, is my computer busted? Views are over 4,000 already?"
"Um... mine too."
"It's over 7,000 now!"
At Woo Ki-hyeon's shout, the startled Kwon and Yang refreshed again.
[8,211]
"Whoa...."
"No way."
Only three minutes since upload.
And the views were skyrocketing.
Just like during the free run.
Even more shocking, the counts kept climbing on the following chapters too.
"This has to be a page glitch, right?"
When something defies common sense, people suspect foul play.
At Kwon Tae-sik's words, Yang Team Leader grabbed his phone.
"I'll call StoryWorld!"
"Do it quick."
"Yes, sir!"
He could hear Yang Jong-woo on the line.
Meanwhile, the views exploded exponentially.
It blew past 15,000 in a flash.
'This is a glitch... No way it climbs this fast....'
His doubts grew.
Then Yang Team Leader approached, smartphone in hand.
"S-Sir."
"What? They say it's a glitch?"
"No glitch."
"What?"
"The page is running normally. All views are legit...."
"This purchase count is for real?!"
"Yes...."
"Whoa...."
Something beyond human comprehension.
And it was unfolding right now.
* * *
Once views hit 30,000, the climb slowed a bit.
Finally catching his breath, Kwon Tae-sik couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
"This is a hit for the ages."
"Tell me about it. Never thought we'd see 30,000 paid views on day one at StoryWorld."
"And on the very first day too."
"Final count might even touch 40,000, you think?"
"At this rate? Easily. It'll keep rising over the next few days."
"And to think a rookie wrote this. Still can't wrap my head around it."
"Same here."
Rookie author Jeong Tae-seong.
The records he'd set were unreal.
A massive monster that crushed every StoryWorld record.
"How's Grape Books doing?"
"Over 70,000 now."
"Not bad."
It was a solid showing on Grape Books too.
Without a main banner or real promo, he hadn't expected much.
So 70,000 felt like a win.
Besides, Grape Books revenue was an afterthought now.
StoryWorld's insane numbers meant top earnings were in play.
"Alright, let's call it a day. Feeling good—drinks on me tonight?"
"Sounds perfect."
Kwon Tae-sik was in the best mood he'd been in ages.
But he'd made one miscalculation.
Or rather, it was way too early to call.
* * *
The next day.
Kwon Tae-sik arrived a bit later than usual.
He'd tied one on celebrating last night.
"Whoa... is this for real?"
"First time seeing anything like this."
"How is this even possible?"
He heard a buzz as he reached the office door.
This kind of commotion during work hours?
Not great for the boss.
He pushed open the door and saw the staff huddled together.
"What's all the racket?"
He figured they'd scatter in panic at his entrance.
But they were chill.
No, they looked like they'd been waiting for him, pointing at the monitor.
"Sir, you see this?"
"See what?"
"The Return of the SSS-Class Hunter on Grape Books."
"Why?"
Grape Books was all about marketing.
That's why there'd been some worry.
He hadn't set expectations high for the same reason.
"It's not that...."
"Then what?"
"It's exploding."
"Exploding? It crack the top ten?"
"No. Number one."
"What?"
"Overwhelming number one...."
Kwon Tae-sik's eyes went wide at Woo Ki-hyeon's words.
The current fantasy top spot was Reborn Supreme.
It dominated sales and popularity.
And this had dethroned it?
Unbelievable.
He pulled up the Grape Books app on his smartphone to check the rankings.
No need, really.
It was right there at number one.
"Whoa...."
"And check the sales here."
"Sales?"
His gaze shifted to the monitor.
Publishers could track real-time sales for their works on Grape Books.
The screen showed Return of the SSS-Class Hunter's figures.
Kwon Tae-sik rubbed his eyes at the numbers.
"Assistant Woo...."
"Yes?"
"This real...?"
"Yes, sir. If you don't believe me, I can pinch—ow!"
Before he could finish, Kwon Tae-sik pinched Woo Ki-hyeon's arm.
Seeing him yelp, Kwon nodded.
"It's real."
A thick smile spread across Kwon Tae-sik's face.
* * *
A month had passed since [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter] went paid.
Paid views steadily climbed to 50,000 in that time.
Grape Books popularity soared nonstop.
It refused to budge from number one, shrugging off every new release challenge.
Even more amazing: it had landed on Grape Books' main banner.
Thanks to YK Books' sales prowess?
No.
Purely the work's own power.
Insane sales and buzz carried it there.
"Who'd have thought it'd pull these numbers in a month...."
Kwon eyed his screen in disbelief.
YK Books was a solid management firm.
They even had four titles on Grape Books' top ten.
Yet this one work accounted for 40% of the company's monthly revenue.
'No fish this big.'
OSMU offers were already pouring in.
Grape Books had even floated a webtoon adaptation.
They'd invest and line up an artist.
"Need the author's okay first."
OSMU required approval for secondary rights.
Kwon Tae-sik picked up the phone and dialed Jeong Tae-seong.
* * *
Weekend.
Tae-seong checked his bank account.
[Depositor: YK Books]
[Deposit: 53,130,536 won]
53 million won.
Way too much for a first-month royalty.
But given [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter]'s performance, it made sense.
No, it might even feel low.
Technically, it was royalties for just 19 days of serialization.
And Grape Books settles two months later.
So this was solely from StoryWorld.
That made it a staggering sum.
"Nice chunk of change."
Jeong Tae-seong felt no real thrill.
Money's scale didn't matter to him anymore.
He knew the true value of [Return of the SSS-Class Hunter].
So he'd predicted this exact amount.
"Time to get Mom and Dad a gift."
First earnings since his return—perfect for buying them something nice.
Well, something like that.
Not his absolute first earnings ever.
But the first since coming back.
That's why he wanted to treat his parents.
"Better head out."
He had a meetup today with YK Books' Kwon.
"Coming in person on a weekend? Must be urgent."
Tae-seong stood, slipped on his jacket, and left.
The room he'd vacated had only the monitor still glowing.
It displayed a Hangul doc.
Freshly started, the page counter read 1.
At the top, a blinking title.
[Otherworld Chef]
His new work.