Chapter 489 - 311: I Beg You, Let Me Read Another -

Chapter 489: Chapter 311: I Beg You, Let Me Read Another Chapter

The original Harry Potter series isn’t that long. All seven books together are just a little over a million words.

For Zog, who had spent years arguing with people online and was now blessed with incredibly high stats, the writing came quickly.

Er, the copying came quickly.

He could pump out nearly four thousand words an hour. Besides his claw speed, the more crucial factor was that it didn’t require much brainpower.

He just had to change a few details of the world-building, and that was it.

If he had to think any more than that, his speed would be quartered.

Zog didn’t plan on changing the overall setting. He would stick with the premise of the Mage community hiding in the shadows while technology became the dominant force in the world.

For the readers of Feilin, this would feel completely novel.

Zog’s claws danced across the keyboard. In the better part of a day, he had written three Chapters.

The plot had progressed to the part where Hogwarts was creatively delivering the acceptance letters.

At this rate, it would still be a few more Chapters before Hogwarts made its appearance.

But he wasn’t in a rush to get there.

He planned to finish serializing the first book in two weeks and then publish a physical edition.

Zog got up to stretch. It was a habit he’d formed back in his days as a planner—always get some exercise after sitting for a long time.

Although a Dragon’s body wasn’t susceptible to things like neck problems, back pain, or hemorrhoids, he had kept the habit.

He took a stroll, then returned to check for typos. After confirming there were no major issues, he used an account with the pen name "Bibiduo Flavor Beans" to post it on the forum.

A post titled Harry Potter and the Magic Stone quietly appeared in the forum’s web novel section.

Zog had no intention of quietly waiting for readers to discover this inconspicuous post on their own.

Dozens of new novels appeared on the forum every day, with at least several hundred already in serialization. For the forum’s user base, there wasn’t enough traffic to go around.

Besides, when it came to being attention-grabbing, the title Harry Potter held no particular advantage.

The moderation on this forum was so lax it was practically nonexistent, so many of the books went the risqué route.

Some even came with illustrations.

’Do they have to be so competitive?’

Authors on the forum had no stable source of income; they relied entirely on donations. And they were providing their own illustrations on top of that?

He had to admit, they were pretty well-drawn.

Zog scrolled through the most popular books on the forum and couldn’t help but sigh. ’These indie creators really don’t hold back on the spice.’

Expecting a children’s story to compete with that for readership was something of a joke.

That’s why Zog had to resort to the ad space.

The forum’s ad space wasn’t just for product promotions; you could also pay to feature your own book.

And so, Harry Potter appeared in the largest, most prominent ad slot.

He received a few replies almost as soon as it went up.

’It’s working this fast?’

"Let’s see which idiot is wasting money promoting their own novel this time."

"Too short, not reading."

"EXP +3."

Okay, so it basically had no effect.

As he’d figured, this type of novel needed time to gain traction. Because Zog had previously churned out fast-paced, instantly gratifying stories, his readers were used to openings with very little setup that got straight to the point.

The opening of Harry Potter, however, spent more than half a Chapter introducing five or six characters, but not the protagonist.

Still, Zog had faith in the quality of the original work. A series that sold hundreds of millions of copies wasn’t your average bestseller. He just needed to be patient.

His break over, Zog decided to type out two more Chapters.

Just then, the diligent Teacher Furin returned.

Perhaps because she enjoyed being a teacher so much, Furin’s desire to share had been particularly strong lately.

Maybe she’d discovered the joy of nurturing those students, and now that they were flourishing, she had to show them off.

"You know, that student of mine, Mark, was able to analyze a Level Two Rune all by himself today."

"Wow, that’s amazing."

The keyboard clattered away under Zog’s claws, but he didn’t forget to respond verbally.

’It really was amazing,’ he thought. ’In the past, you couldn’t even find ten people in an entire country who could do that at his age.’

It was just that Furin shared her teaching progress every single day, and Zog had grown numb to it.

"And another thing! Remember I told you about that kid in my class, Lime, who wasn’t doing so well in Epigraphy?"

"Yeah."

"Guess what happened today?"

"What happened?"

"It turns out he’s exceptionally talented with the principles of Enchantment! Now his dream is to create an automated Enchantment assembly line that doesn’t require the direct involvement of a Mage!"

"Well, hey, that’s pretty good..."

On the subject of being a good listener:

Answer: Watch some talk shows and learn from the sidekicks. Before you know it, you won’t be saying a word.

After Furin had been talking nonstop for half an hour, she finally noticed that Zog had been typing ever since she walked in.

"What are you writing? A new game, or a new script?" she asked curiously.

"A novel."

"A novel? It’s not another one of those stories where some old grandpa is hiding in a ring and the hero stumbles into fortunate encounters wherever he goes, is it?" Furin wasn’t very interested in Zog’s pure power-fantasy stories.

"Er, not exactly. It’s about an unlucky kid who can do Magic having adventures at school, set in a world where Magic isn’t mainstream," Zog explained after a moment’s thought.

’Although, to be honest, Harry Potter also leans into that ’instant gratification’ style,’ he thought.

’He has powerful connections and stumbles into fortuitous encounters all the time.’

"It’s like a fairy tale adventure, mainly for kids and teens, but adults can read it for a bit of fun, too."

"You write fairy tales now?"

Furin was highly skeptical. She couldn’t imagine that Zog, a Dragon whose mind was consumed with how to squeeze the very last copper coin from a person’s pocket, could write a wholesome story.

"If you don’t believe me, see for yourself."

Furin took out her phone and opened the novel forum.

"What’s it called?"