Tomoki Kudo swore that in his five years as an editor, he had never seen such an arrogant newcomer!
New bloggers treated readers like their fathers, afraid they might melt if held too carefully in their palms. They practically wanted to kneel and kowtow on the spot just to beg for follows, looking utterly humble.
When their view counts crashed and burned, those bloggers cried their hearts out.
But this guy did the opposite. He treated himself like everyone's father and practically wanted readers to kowtow to him.
Arrogant!
Freaking arrogant!
After complaining inwardly, Tomoki Kudo clicked on the article without much concern.
He was just a newcomer. Being cocky and having ambitions higher than the sky was common enough.
Once the view count came out in a few days, this newcomer would face reality and stop bragging about his tiny little idea.
However.
The next moment, when the screen shifted to the content of Steel Land...
A grand and majestic panorama unfolded before him. Oppressive, mournful music began to play. Before he had even read a single word, the stunning visuals and BGM had already seized his heart and crushed the breath from his lungs.
Tomoki Kudo froze.
His casual gaze turned blank.
It was as though his soul had been steeped in that desolate atmosphere, and several glittering tears fell from his eyes.
Drip. Drip...
"Am I... crying?"
The young editor lowered his head and stared at the damp back of his hand, his face filled with bewilderment and shock.
His mind had yet to react, but his instincts had already made their choice.
This was simply beyond all reason!
Tomoki Kudo suddenly raised his head and stared fixedly at the computer screen, breathing nervously.
Maybe this newcomer had really written something extraordinary...
"Gulp—."
As the mouse wheel scrolled downward, the contents of the short story were fully revealed.
There were six illustrations and two pieces of music in total.
Every illustration was exquisitely beautiful and deeply evocative; the music was equally breathtaking.
Then came the text.
"This was the true end of the century. Today, the planet that had served as the cradle of all living things in the world died."
Thick white fog swept across the entire world. Amid the agonized wails of every species, all that was brilliant, beautiful, and tragic... all civilization would come to an end at this very moment.
"This seemed to be the divine punishment humanity received after digging its own grave."
A desolate sorrow rushed toward him. Just a few short lines had painted a picture of a hopeless apocalypse. Combined with the music and illustrations, they instantly immersed him in that tragic story, leaving him aching and heartsick.
The low notes of the piano seemed to be weeping.
The performance was filled with delicate emotion, making him feel as though he had wandered into another world.
Before his eyes appeared ravaged mountains and rivers. The world was shattered, corpses littered the land, and cries of grief and screams of agony rang without end. It was horrifying to behold.
The world was dying. It was no exaggeration.
Tomoki Kudo could not help tearing up again. He instinctively reached out, wanting to touch that desolate world, but all he could touch was the cold computer screen.
He was stunned. For the first time, he felt that the power of words could be so deafening!
They made it impossible to distinguish between fiction and reality.
A Huge Uproar on Twitter, a Suffocating Apocalyptic World!
It was so good!
He wiped the crystalline tears from the corners of his eyes, completely immersed in that bleak world.
From the six sisters who stood above hundreds of Alexanders to the tangled grudges between the angel and the Gun God.
Venus UO descended in the form of divine punishment, coldly declaring its judgment upon all primates.
"You struggle so fiercely now, yet you would have been better off dying as victims in that prophecy of the year 2000."
"Now, justice stands on the side of the planet instead..."
The tone was domineering and icy, inspiring a suffocating sense of fear.
But this was only the beginning. More powerful planetary Ultimate Ones descended one after another, bringing destruction and ruin.
Countless races, every living being struggling stubbornly to survive, had their own positions.
Upon the cold, lifeless corpse of the planet, one stirring tale after another unfolded.
Page after page scrolled past.
The final battle on Steel Land was about to begin.
"Gulp—."
The mouse scrolled to the end, but all he saw were the words "To be continued." That grand and magnificent story came to an abrupt stop, with nothing more to follow.
"Huh?!"
Editor Kudo was dumbfounded. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Where was the rest?
Where was the rest of it?!
How could someone write only half a novel?
The feeling of being left unsatisfied rose within him. He clutched his chest and instantly wanted to start cursing.
This kind of half-finished feeling was the worst!
But then, as he came to his senses, his breathing abruptly grew heavier, and his eyes lit up with delight.
From the illustrations to the music to the story itself, Steel Land was world-class in every respect.
If he had to describe it, it could absolutely be called a magnificent "epic masterpiece"!
Not only did it fit the currently popular apocalypse theme, but the characters in the book were also full of heroic spirit. They did not collapse into despair because the world was ending, nor did they run away from reality. They tried every possible means to survive.
It could be said to be the opposite of the current apocalypse theory. Though the story's central tone was tragic and oppressive, it praised the golden spirit of mankind conquering fate.
From every person's perspective, no one was wrong. It was simply incredible!
This work would absolutely become popular. Without question, it would become a literary masterpiece. Ideas, depth, scope... it had everything.
Tomoki Kudo felt as though he were watching a documentary. Through Steel Land, he had witnessed a vivid world standing on the brink of destruction.
And as the person who had discovered Steel Land, the editor-in-chief would surely promote him heavily. A raise and promotion would be his for the taking, wouldn't they?
At that thought, Editor Kudo grew so excited that his blood boiled, and the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
It was in the bag. Totally in the bag.
Smiling broadly, he came up with countless flattering words. Just as he was thinking about how to tie this author to his ship, he clicked into Steel Land's author page.
ID: Merlin
Gender: Confidential
Age: Confidential
Occupation: Confidential.
Hometown: Confidential.
Bio: Completion not guaranteed. Plot holes not guaranteed to be filled. Questions refused. Friend requests refused. Publication refused...
I write. You read. Please be quiet.
"?"
Tomoki Kudo was instantly dumbfounded. He sprang out of his chair like a startled crocodile, then stood frozen in place for a long while, as though questioning his entire life.
You're this badass—does your family know?
Gender, age, occupation, and hometown were all mandatory fields. How had he bypassed the backend system and changed them all to confidential?
Were you a hacker or something?!
No, I absolutely can't let an author this incredible slip away!
The young editor gritted his teeth and opened the private message function.
Then his fingers danced across the keyboard, clattering out line after line of praise—what a masterpiece this was, how deeply shocked he had been after reading it, how much he admired Merlin, whether they could exchange contact information...
He hit Enter. With a "thunk," the message was sent, only for the page to display: "This author has disabled private messages."
"Merlin, you bastard!!!"
Tomoki Kudo completely lost it. His face turned red with rage as he punched the keyboard.
You damn cliffhanger bastard, you won't even give me a way to contact you?!
I'm sending you razor blades!!
Tomoki had truly never seen a blogger with this much personality. His teeth itched with frustration.
But no matter what, after calming down for a while, he still approved Merlin's submission.
He even used his once-a-month privilege to put Steel Land on the trending recommendations. Then, fuming, he raised his middle finger at the screen to express his admiration for the author Merlin before beginning his next round of work.
There was still plenty of content in the submission section waiting for his review.
Because it had been placed on the trending recommendations, countless readers noticed the article.
After seeing the title Steel Land, they clicked into it with surprise and curiosity, finding it refreshing.
Most trending posts in the past had light-novel-style titles, such as "Unable to Become a Hero, I Had No Choice but to Get a Job," "As Long as There's Love, It Doesn't Matter If She's My Sister, Right?" and "The Problem Zombies All Came from Another World"...
It was easy to imagine just how impressive it was for such an ordinary title to make it onto the recommendations.
In just two short hours, the Twitter post's comment section exploded with two thousand comments, while the author Merlin gained nearly a hundred thousand followers.
It was clear just how deeply the short story had shocked its readers.
"What a god-tier novel! I'm completely obsessed with Lord Merlin's writing. I read it all in one go, then couldn't stop myself from reading it four more times. I'm addicted! What exactly happens in the final battle? Please update alreadyyyyy!"
"Lord Merlin's writing skills have left this humble one in awe. Update soon!"
"The music is incredible! The moment the BGM started, I got goosebumps all over."
"Author, why did you stop it there? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"An unprecedented masterpiece!"
"No, no, no. An unprecedented giant pit!"
"The visuals are so beautiful! That delicate beauty perfectly captures the pathos of things. I love it!"
"Honestly, the moment the planet died really shocked me. It truly felt like the end of the world had arrived."
"Yeah. My mom is a Christian, and she keeps muttering at home every day about how a great flood is coming and we're all about to return to God's kingdom... It drives me insane. To me, Steel Land is the apocalypse that could actually happen."
"Fortunately, our world doesn't have magicians, so Earth won't be destroyed because its Great Source gets drained dry."
"Poster above, is it possible that the author used magic as a metaphor for technology? That world-destroying magical ritual was humanity's endless exploitation of Earth through technology."
"That makes sense. Damn, now that I think about it, I'm getting a little scared!"
The Leap of Life, Creating Observer Net!
"I really love Steel Land. I love this kind of apocalyptic setting where everyone is helpless, yet there is still a corner of warmth left behind. I'm tearing up."