Healthy?
[A great weight has been lifted off Anna Marie's shoulders +100EP]
Watching the notification pop up, John sat on his chair, but he wasn't looking at the system panel. His eyes were on the ground with a wry but content smile as if he was ready to move on.
Trying to get the last chapter out as fast as possible, he had burned through his fire, leaving only white ash behind.
'I was terrified when that notification from Anna Marie appeared after the fourth chapter.' His back hit the bed as the notification reappeared in his mind.
[Anna Marie is thinking about how to go on living +70 EP.]
Seeing that, John was covered in cold sweat. Because of that, he had worked extra fast to get the last chapter out. He feared that something big might happen if he didn't do that.
Thanks to that, the reader base still mourning the relationship between Akari and Takaki, alongside Kanae's pure love, were hit with a wave of bittersweetness that completely wiped them out.
Imanahaq—@JohnDoe6769 When I find you @JohnDoe6769
My9mmGoBrrr—How dare you give us hope with the Your Name ending and destroy us like this? I will never forgive you!
JohnDoeHater1—It's one thing for Takaki to still be hung up on Akari. But there was no need, absolutely NO NEED to make Kanae suffer like that, my poor baby.
JohnDoeSimp42—Even we can't defend that stuff; that was straight up diabolical. It's like Kanae's whole purpose was to get heartbroken.
TheRealestRealist—That's just how life is sometimes; you don't get what you want and end up losing what was before you too.
LoveIsAnIllusion—That might be the most realistic depiction of love failing because of distance, self-isolation, and how it hurts others. Truly marvellous.
FourthWallGuy—Did someone say Marvellous?
DammS—Chef's kiss.
Watching the bouncing liveliness of the comment section and the rivers of tears, John felt a bit of relief. The rush hadn't affected the EP collection; it had intensified it.
The combo of Your Name and 5 Centimetres had worked as intended. Watching the coming points, he was curious to see how Gwen would react tomorrow.
However, there was another thing that took his attention.
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
[Anna Marie wants to meet you +1EP.]
"That sounds healthy?" John gave a wry chuckle; he just hoped she only wanted to talk.
'If Rogue touches me, would she absorb everything inside me? Like the memories and the books?' Sweat dripped down his brow. The more he thought about it, the last Marvel character that learned he was in a comic went on a killing spree.
There was no telling how she would react, finding out she was a character in a book in some other world.
"Yeah, I can't get caught." There wasn't any true counter to Anna Marie's ability in the world of Marvel, aside from suppression from someone like Xavier or devices and abilities that dampened her power. She could basically just absorb anyone's power and memories like stealing candy from a kid, even if she didn't mean to do it.
Since he didn't have to worry about the TVA, and apparently the ancient one didn't seem that interested in his existence, John thought of planning how to counter others who might cause him problems. And he just added Anna Marie to that list.
But that all hinged on how much EP he could get. Rivulta was good, but it didn't have that much reach. No publishing house had called him for a deal yet, and he had put a pin in the topic until he had cleared the matter at hand.
The matter being the Sub-system. John had already cleared the mission of crossing 1000 EP for a while; he now sat at 1150 EP. The system had already made him aware of the mission completion, but he was too focused on Anna Marie's situation to check.
But now that he knew that it ended well, somewhat well, he could focus on the rewards.
John clicked on the small red icon that had been a thorn in his heart so far, on the corner of the system panel. The red dot expanded, covering the whole panel, before exploding in an array of vibrant fireworks and ribbons. It felt so real that John felt the ribbons might cover his room if he didn't cover the screen.
'So, this is where all the budget went.' He chuckled dryly as the fireworks died down after 30 seconds, followed by a series of bright blue panels.
[Mission completion noted… tracking the source of EP… categorizing farming routes…]
[Reviewing the Activities done to earn EP… Understanding the Host's needs… Reading his recent wishes… Scanning the module list for the closest match…]
[Match Found!]
The third tab unlocked, expanding in front of John as a projector screen displayed out of thin air. But the quality was crisp like one of those Sony true RGB TVs.
Still, it wasn't anything crazy, but a simple website. But John's expression changed when he saw the Dashboard of this website.
'Converting a file into physical copies?'
The website wouldn't just display everything he wrote in one place; it would even help him sell physical copies of the work. Handling everything from printing to shipping by itself for a fee.
"20% of the money is not bad for that much work." John worried if this system was planning to run a sweatshop in China or something?
He had been worrying about how to commercialize the works all this time, and this website just came to him. It also supported Manga and individual chapter pricing, bringing the payment model he was familiar with to this world in full.
All he had to do was name the website, and it would go online, never needing any maintenance and care on his part, as that would come out of the cut it took. This was System magic at its peak.
"The name has to stay like this." He typed the name and hit enter, then he went to his computer. Opened google and typed in the search bar.
www.JohnDoe.com
The empty website popped up, asking him if he wanted to create an account. When he did that, the interface opened in a clean and sleek homepage. Empty, but calming sort of empty.
There was the search option, download, payment section, bookmarks, and a library function that only had the Novel sub-section for now. It was a simple but practical design.
When John looked back at the dashboard on his System, a new panel had popped up.
[Would you like to import the novels Your Name and 5 Centimetres per second?]
He clicked yes and watched the two novels transferred over chapter by chapter. The synopsis was copied, the chapter names were clearly added, and the tags were applied automatically; there was even a cover section.
When he clicked on 'add image ', it connected to his files on the PC. John had already created the cover for Your Name, the classic image of Taki and Mitsuha standing where they live with a splitting meteor passing by in the sky, one going over Taki and the other over Mitsuha.
And for 5 Centimetre per Second, the younger version of Takaki and Akari were holding hands, walking under the drifting cherry blossoms.
'Knowing the ending, that cover is going to hit hard.' He couldn't help but chuckle at that.
There was the option to price the chapters, but he didn't do that. He had already uploaded everything for free. But he was planning to charge for the paperback version; he had already finished the illustration for both of them.
However, there was another thing he was planning to do alongside that. The movie visuals of Your Name, he could still see them in his mind. Honestly, he wanted to make that movie and give the readers that full experience, but he didn't have the resources for that right now.
And the System wasn't so convenient that it could do that for him either. So, he had to settle for something else.
He scrolled through his PC's files; the illustrations of the schools, plains, mountains, forests, old buildings, Tokyo's skyline, and much more flashed by like a stitched reel.
These drawings connected with the words in the novel, matching the direction of Makoto Shinkai's movie. He wanted readers to understand the beauty of these two novels that words couldn't convey, and he hoped they would enjoy them.
Just then, the system panel flickered, and a series of words appeared.
John Grayson, I wish you well in your future endeavours. May you thrive, achieve your wishes, and make the world a better place under the blessing of the Goddess of Wishes.
—Sincerely, A.R.C.A.D.I.A.
...
The upload schedule is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday if I feel like it. Bonus chapters when the goals are met.
Want to support me and read ahead?
Visit p@treon.com/c/Over_The_Moon69 to read 20 chapters ahead.
Change the @ to 'a' first, though.