….
December 30th, 2009.
.
Tring–! Tring–!
The sound of his phone arm sliced through the silence.
Regal's eyes flickered open, barely registering the arm as he turned his gaze toward the desk, where his phone y.
His blurry focus shifted to the clo the wall.
Of course, it was only….4 in the m.
heless, his hand reached out to the table and silehe arm with a deliberate tap, the sound cutting off mid-ring.
"...why am I tinuing to wake up at this hour?"
For a moment, his mind wandered.
He saw a younger version of himself, a boy hunched over a desk in the predawn hours, scribbling stories in a notebook before the grind of part-time jobs swallowed his day whole.
That boy had dreamed big, fueled by caffeine and hope.
The memory was fleeting, fading as quickly as it had e, leaving behind a hought.
Ag on impulse, Regal grabbed his phone and fired off a quick message to his employer.
It was brief and direct - he wouldn't make it in today.
That made two days in a row.
Yesterday, he had skipped work for something that felt like a long shot, a meeting with his so-called 'editor'.
What he thought would lead to a predictable string of rejes had snowballed into something much rger - an impromptu versation with the CEO of the publishing house.
And now, here he was.
Late st night, he got a text from the pany.
Short, to the point - they liked the book and wao meet again.
Today.
They hadn't explicitly said anything crete, but Regal had a gut feeling.
Unless some catastrophic disagreement about the tract blindsided him, this was it. Things will move forward.
From the start, he hadn't been chasing fame or somethiravagant with his writing career.
He wanted just enough reition to carve out his space, maybe a few million to fund his first big project.
It wasn't unreasonable… right?
When that happened, he knew life would get hectic. So -
"...Maybe it's time to quit." He whispered.
He was referring to the part-time job that had kept him afloat all these days, the ohat helped pay froceries, rent, and the occasional splurge when he dared.
His employer had been kind, even uanding during his tougher days.
But now, things are ging. If he was going to leave, he owed them at least ohing - respect.
A proper resignation, delivered in person.
"But first, I o stretch." Regal let out a sigh, stretg his arms above his head. "My body feels like it's been through a blender."
He didn't waste time. After a quick wash, he ged into something fortable, and he was out the door.
His room, tucked away on the fifth flave him pead quiet, but the ck of aor made his trek dowairs an unpleasant routine.
Today, it felt even worse than usual.
Stepping outside, he caught a breath of fresh air.
The kind that felt sharp and cold. It was early enough that the streets were mostly deserted, save for the distant hum of traffic.
The park wasn't far, and the m air cleared his head a little.
As he reached the park, he slowed to a walk.
The path ahead was empty, save for a few joggers that looked like athletes.
Regal noticed a benearby and decided to sit for a moment, taking in the calm around him.
He closed his eyes and smoothed his rough breathing of chest, letting the cool breeze mess with his hair.
It was almost peaceful.
But the thoughts crept in again.
The step.
What came after all this?
The meeting time is set today… for [10:30] today at the same office.
…..
.
After the quick jal returo his apartment.
He headed straight to his room, pulled off his damp shirt, and tossed it onto a chair before stepping into the shower.
Mier, feeling a little less like a sweaty mess, Regal emerged, hair damp and clothes far more fortable.
A slice of dry bread, some jam, and a half-hearted attempt at breakfast.
He plopped into the creaky desk chair, chewing absentmindedly as he powered up his old puter.
The desk around him was a quiet mess, scattered notes, a capless peering on the edge, and a cup stained with old coffee rings told the story of tless te nights.
Regal pulled the keyboard closer, chewing another bite of bread, eyes on the s.
Lately, Regal had been sc the [Bulletin Board] for a solid side hustle to earn some mueeded EPs.
Ever since ing up the final draft of＜Harry Potter＞, and even before that, it had bee a habit of cheg the system [Bulletin Board] every now and then, hoping something worthwhile would pop up.
And, well… a few things had.
Some of them were ht insane.
Take the＜Avatar＞script, for example.
Yeah, that James Cameron magnum opus project.
Regal had stared at it lohan he cared to admit, his hand h dangerously close to the [Pin] button.
The thought of direg something so iic made his heart race.
But deep down, he knew better.
Making＜Avatar＞his debut project?
That wasn't just ambitious, it was suicidal.
The funding alone would be astronomical.
Money he didn't have and wouldn't have anytime soon.
Could it be his sed project?
A pipe dream, at best.
He hadn't even locked in his first project yet, so tying up his one and only [Pin] on something so uain was out of the question.
With a heavy heart and a sharp pang ret, he let it go.
Instead, Regal turo something more practical - the [Web Novel] se.
It was the only thiely within reach of his meager 68K leftover EPs.
He needed something low-risk and high-yield to tide him over.
After all, it would be at least a month before his book hit the shelves and started geing ine.
Acc to the system, EP came from ohing - eaining people.
So the pn was simple: find a det web novel, pour his efforts into it, and earn.
After some digging, Regal nded on two mastercsses ever written in this form. And unlike＜Avatar＞, he doesn't have to holdbabsp;here.
The first,＜Omnist Reader's Viewpoint＞, is about a man who bees the only person aware of a world that shifts into a game-like reality, using his knowledge to survive and navigate the dangerous new world.
The sed,＜Solo Leveling＞, tells the story of the weakest hunter who gains the ability to level up alone, growing stronger with each challenge he faces in a world full of monsters and dungeons.
One is [Rank: S], while the other is [Rank: A].
This happened right after he applied for the chts for＜Harry Potter＞, exactly twenty one days ago.
Within a week, Regal had ed out three entire volumes for each story.
Seventy-five chapters per eae.
It was an iput.
Once he deemed the tent suffit, he started uploading.
He hit every major Webform he could find, leaving no stourned.
Top five ptforms? Check.
He wanted maximum reach, even if it meant some readers might find it annoying seeing the same book on multiple sites.
He didn't care.
The response? Explosive.
It didn't surprise him.
Regal was a seasoned WebNovel writer in his past life.
He kly what hooked readers - sistency.
Readers preferred to follow a story that updated frequently rather than waiting endlessly for sporadic brilliance.
Three chapters a day, uploaded in the m.
Eae is over 1,800 words.
It was a moal output.
And he didn't lock the chapters either.
Regal wasn't about to limit his audience.
EP, the system currency, was earned by eaining people.
Log tent might gee a quick buck, but exposure was the real goldmine.
Pirate sites would steal and upload the chapters anyway. Fighting that battle ointless.
So he leaned into it, letting the stories spread as far and wide as possible.
Readers noticed.
Fans poured in day after day, their numbers growing with every upload.
Some readers were so ied they offered to donate money, eager to support him. Regal didn't hesitate, he quickly set up a Ko-fi at, streamlining the process.
Before long, both novels domihe top charts aultiple ptforms, despite only having fifty chapters released.
Regal's reputation exploded.
Website owners even reached out with exclusive deal offers, eager to monopolize his tent.
He turhem down without hesitation.
So yeah, his sistency, volume, and quality were winning him an ever-growing audience.
Just minutes ago, he had uploaded today's quota of chapters.
.
….
[To be tinued…]
★─────??★??─────★
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