"By the way, Eigh—…teen."
That name really was awkward. It didn't even feel like a proper name.
"So, that gemstone you picked out—how much does it cost?"
Roy suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Not expensive. Just two and a half million Jenny."
Roy: "..."
In the original story, Android 18's desire for money was on par with Nami from One Piece.
Roy felt like his bright future had just gained a faint layer of darkness.
…
In the end, Roy still moved into his new place two days later.
Old Luke was very straightforward—he waved his pen in a big, decisive stroke and transferred the best property under his name to Roy. The house was not far from the magazine office and was also a bit closer to the core area of Old Silver Mountain, making it extremely suitable for living.
The city Roy lived in was Old Silver Mountain City on the Yurubian Continent.
It was located on the northern side of the Yurubian Continent. While the city's overall style and economy couldn't compare to Yorknew City in the west of the continent, it was still fairly decent.
At the very least, its basic fashion trends, technology, and entertainment were all at the forefront of the Six Continents.
Shōnen Magazine was a mid-tier magazine company that mainly focused on manga and had a certain reputation.
However, the overall quality of its manga wasn't very high, so its sales were neither great nor terrible—still enough for the company to operate in a normal, stable state.
That also came with a benefit: since the magazine company wasn't big, it didn't threaten the profits of the long-established major publishers.
And because Shōnen Magazine had its own connections and reputation, it also wouldn't get shaken down for "protection fees" by the bottom-dwelling scum.
So the overall atmosphere at the magazine company was quite harmonious.
But all of that changed drastically after Roy's Dragon Ball began serialization!
…
Two days earlier.
Lax was a loyal reader of Shōnen Magazine, and also a manga enthusiast. He never missed a single issue.
Every time he bought Shōnen Magazine was a genuinely enjoyable moment for Lax.
But today, he was in a bad mood.
"Sigh… Giselle-sensei's Evil Dragon Prince already ended last issue. It was really good—why didn't they draw a few more chapters?"
Lax walked to the shelf out of habit, picked up Shōnen Magazine, and started flipping through it.
"Giselle-sensei won't have anything new ready for a few months. And the other series currently running in Shōnen Magazine… I don't really like them. I can tell what's going to happen on the next page just by reading the previous one—so boring! I can only see if there's any new manga to fill the gap Evil Dragon Prince left behind."
…
"Huh? Dragon Ball? Author: Roy? Oh right—Luke-sensei said he'd let his proud disciple take over as lead artist for the next manga story. Let's see how the story is first."
…
"Whoa! Gather all seven Dragon Balls and you can summon Shenron to grant any wish? That's so cool!"
…
"Little Goku is so cute! Hahahaha—Bulma actually tried to use seduction on little Goku. He probably doesn't even know what a 'woman' is as a creature!"
…
Time passed second by second, and Lax didn't notice at all. His eyes were glued to the pages.
The bookstore owner, curious, walked up behind him.
Lax was a regular customer here. Normally he would casually flip through a little, pay, and leave.
But this time, he'd been standing there for a long time.
The two of them were familiar with each other, so the owner didn't chase him away.
However, the other customers in the store didn't get the same treatment as Lax.
When they saw how absorbed Lax was, their curiosity was sparked too, and they started picking up Shōnen Magazine to flip through it as well.
The moment they did, they couldn't tear their eyes away either—just as hooked as Lax.
But the owner wasn't about to let them read for free. He grabbed a feather duster and smacked one customer after another back to their senses.
The customers snapped out of it, then all paid and bought their copies of Shōnen Magazine.
Lax also came back to his senses—because someone called out to him.
"Sir, could you transfer that copy of Shōnen Magazine you're holding to me?"
A young man stood in front of Lax, speaking with an embarrassed expression.
Lax glanced at the shelf and realized Shōnen Magazine had sold out—what he was holding was the last copy in the entire bookstore.
Meanwhile, the owner was already at the counter on the phone, urging the supplier to rush more stock.
Seeing that, Lax immediately understood what was happening. He hugged Shōnen Magazine to his chest and said, "Sorry. I'm buying this one."
So, while the young man wore a face full of regret, Lax hurriedly paid and left the bookstore.
…
After the new issue of Shōnen Magazine hit shelves across bookstores, every customer who came to buy it naturally saw Dragon Ball in the golden feature section.
So, unsurprisingly, Dragon Ball blew up!
And it wasn't just popular—it was a massive hit!
Whether it was linework, paneling, character design, story flow—everything was ahead of the current manga industry by a huge margin!
How could it not become popular?
Right now, the Shōnen Magazine company was scrambling to print more as fast as possible, and Old Luke was so busy he could barely keep up.
He knew Dragon Ball would be a hit, but he never expected it to explode like this!
Next, Shōnen Magazine's development plans would have to be adjusted.
Because Dragon Ball's popularity had also drawn the attention of many magazine companies and publishers.
Old Luke had to answer several phone calls a day—jealous industry peers calling to probe for news, friends from the manga world calling to congratulate him, and publishers beating around the bush to find out information about Roy.
He was riding high!
Of course, he also knew that none of this would be possible without Roy and Dragon Ball.
That was also why, when Roy shyly came to ask about changing residences, Old Luke agreed without hesitation.
Dragon Ball was only at the very beginning and it was already this popular. As long as it didn't crash later, Shōnen Magazine, the magazine Shōnen Magazine, and Roy himself could all become legends overnight!
(End of Chapter)
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[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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