Chapter 91: Bonus - : Popular Phase?

Chapter 91: Bonus Chapter: Popular Phase?

This is the bonus Chapter for 2.5k stones.

I feel like I’ve been at the number 1 spot for far too long. I guess it time to make way for the newer stories.

Anyway, next bonus is at 5k stones.

Get cra...

Good luck.

....

After listening a bit more, John turned the TV off and focused on the next thing he had to do.

Shopping for powers.

His shopping list was quite a mess at the moment as he kept scratching off powers and things he thought would be cool to have.

Still, there were some things that he had decided on buying right now. He had chosen Water Stream Smashing Rock Fist over Niko Style, purely because the former was made in a world full of superheroes and refined among them.

And after reading the stories they were from, the water mouthful fist was the correct option for him, as it also had a breathing technique that could boost his overall stats if needed, among other benefits.

That was one of the reasons he had eliminated the breathing styles from Demon Slayer.

The thing that took the top spot on the list, after his talk with Natasha and after a thorough consideration, was the Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer Physique.

Since he was already on the peak end of Grade 1, the price for the Special Grade Sorcerer Physique was decreased by 10K EP. Coming down to only 20K EP.

’So, the system does change the prices.’ John deadpanned; this thing had definitely hiked the price of that pill in the morning. He was sure of it now.

The discovery didn’t make him feel better, though, just further drove the point of how opportunistic this damned unscrumptious merchant could get if he didn’t pay attention and planned.

Still, his eyes were focused on the Special Grade physique. Seemed like he wouldn’t get a cursed technique since he already had one, and he wasn’t sure if he’d get Yuta level of Cursed energy and output either.

Part of him just wanted to buy Hakari’s Cursed technique, but there was no telling if he could have two techniques unless special circumstances were in the mix, and none of that was in the picture with him.

’Should I just take the gamble?’ John certainly didn’t want to go body hopping or anything like that, not that there were any other jujutsu sorcerers aside from him in this world.

Still, even if he felt very confident that he could handle two cursed techniques at once, John decided to put a pin into that decision for now and scrolled through the shop to find another power he had recently added to his shopping list.

Most of the powers in this category only had the part he wanted as a side benefit, Biokinesis being one of them. But because of extra abilities he would get from that power, it commanded a high price as well.

Then there was the dual cultivation bullshit; skills of that kind came with their own mystical requirements. The yang and yin, dragon and phoenix, and the works.

John didn’t even bat an eye over their ridiculous prices, and found the perfect skill in question after 30 minutes of doomscrolling through the list.

A skill to help him control his fertility rate, nothing less, nothing more. He didn’t want to keep buying pills from the system, as they were expensive and totally uneconomical. Plus, there was no telling what other effects they could have with repeat use.

Even if it wasn’t stated in the system, there was no need not to be cautious.

And it wasn’t like he was a horny monkey who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. So, this skill wasn’t that high on shopping priority for now.

Birth Control

Description: Complete control over reproductive biology

Price: 10,000 EP

’I am sure this system is trying to scam me now that I want this thing.’ His eyes narrowed on the system panel that stayed calm and composed.

"I am watching you, buddy. I am watching you." John poked through the system before looking at his current EP count.

44,678 EP

16K for water stream rock smashing fist. 20K for the Special Grade Physique. And 10K for the Birth Control skill.

46K EP in total was the bill. He was just shy of that total. It wasn’t that big of a deal since he could get it by dinner time. The influx of EP was quite fast, but John wanted more!

The main reason for this was that he found a really incredible ability while window shopping right now.

Just that this one power alone cost 55K EP, probably because it had great synergy with his current fighter profile.

And the second reason was that he saw how cheerful the readers had become in the comments. They were loving the comedy gold that Saiki K was and the hopecore montages of Princess Mononoke kept them going.

Not to mention the buzz around Fullmetal Alchemist. Even if that manga did tackle serious topics, it had a good comedic tone running through it so the story didn’t get too grim.

One could say that his readers had truly recovered from 5 Centimetre Per Second and Look Back.

That’s why it was the perfect time to launch an attack on their feelings, as they would never see the ambush coming after these good days.

’Time to nuke them.’ John rubbed his hands like a greedy merchant, ready to fleece his fat shee-readers to the fullest extent.

And the story he had chosen for this was just perfect.

I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

"Heh." It was time for the first emotional atom bomb to drop onto the people of Marvel.

There were several things he had to consider before choosing this work specifically.

In reality, John wanted to go for the jugular with Your Lie in April, but that was a story that needed the anime medium to shine along with the excellent music for the emotional peaks.

To anyone who had seen the anime, the manga would still be devastating, but that was due to the Pavlovian dog effect.

Since the reader had already cried over the anime, they get trained to have the same reaction to the scene or dialogue even if it was on a page.

The sight alone triggered their brain and made them remember the first time they had felt that gut punch, making them feel all of those complex emotions even without the full experience.

That music and those emotions would be the reason they cried again, not because the story had the same impact in the manga form, but because their body already remembered what to feel when the bell rang.

John was one of those readers. He was the type to tear up even after watching edits of Your Lie in April, because he knew how it ended and what that music signified.

But to a first-time reader, the manga wouldn’t leave the same level of impact as the anime did.

It was truly a shame he couldn’t start an anime project just yet. Even if he had seen the animation skill in the system, it wasn’t something he could do on his own.

’In the future, for sure.’ He had already started to make a folder in his brain for these anime-only projects.

When the time came, these readers would really learn what suffering in peak 4K was like.

For now, though, he wanted to focus on ’I want to eat your pancreas’. This work was originally a novel, and that version was even more heart-crushing than the anime for some.

The manga served as the middle ground for the emotional peak.

So, John was torn between doing the manga and novel for this work. In the end, he decided to do both, since both were good.

’The manga paired with the soundtrack is gonna be quite good. And the novel will be a great extra attack of devastation for anyone who’ll read it out of curiosity.’ John slowly made his plans for the next work.

Even if it was short and would take one of the precious copyright spots, John was ok with it since it was worth the shot. Plus, he was already moving closer to the money he needed to upgrade the system anyway.

So, for the next few hours, he worked on the first volume of the manga for ’I want to eat your pancreas’. John decided to use the two-volume format the manga had since it was a good cliffhanger tactic.

Writing the novel was something he could do later in one sitting if he really put his back into it.

And the manga part was also getting more efficient the more he drew these days. Although there wouldn’t be noticeable increments to others, John was able to see where the improvement came from and where else he needed more work.

He still found joy in improving and seeing how much faster and more natural it had become. Unlike before, he had started to understand the finer details of the craft and the reasons for most of the lines and choices.

Before, he usually allowed the skill to guide him through the process. But now he was the one actively drawing without needing to constantly remind himself of the pages inside his mind so he could copy them exactly like a printing machine.

Sometimes he even tried to reimagine a page with different panel placements and dynamic movement.

’I may be getting too sidetracked with that though.’ John grimaced while chugging a cup of unsweetened black coffee.

He also had to work on the next few volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist and Saiki K. There was no telling what sort of problem would drop on his head, so it was good to keep some backups to last him a few months.

Even if it did make him worry that Gwen would try to sneak in a read ahead of release, she did try it after breakfast but wasn’t able to unlock the computer. John didn’t plan to let her have her way further.

’If push comes to shove, I’ll distract her with myself.’ She was quite charmed by his abs and collarbones after all.

With a smug look, John finished his work for the day and got up to have dinner.

There was still time before midnight, and he was just a few hundred EP short of the goal, but John looked at the new message Colleen had sent him while he was basting the steak.

Colleen—Drop by the Dojo tomorrow, I’ve got a surprise for you.

First Natasha and now Colleen. Wasn’t he getting too many surprises?

’Am I in my popular phase?’