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Chapter 2 – The First Step
April 21, 1994
One week had passed since Anshul finished his school exams.
The morning sunlight slowly slipped through the curtains of his room, illuminating the quiet apartment in New York. On the bed, a boy lay sleeping peacefully, his black hair slightly messy from turning around during the night.
Today was Sunday.
For most children, Sunday meant a day of rest. But for Anshul Giri, today was an important day.
Today was the day he would try to serialize his manga.
Ever since his memories from his previous life had awakened, Anshul had been working nonstop on writing and drawing manga. He knew something very important:
He didn't have unlimited time.
If he waited too long, the original creators of those stories might publish them first, and then his advantage would disappear.
So he had to act early.
While he was still asleep, the bedroom door slowly opened.
His mother, Mio Giri, stepped inside and looked at the messy room with a helpless smile. Papers, notebooks, and manga sketches were scattered everywhere.
She walked over to the bed and gently shook his shoulder.
"Anshul, wake up," she said softly. "You said today was important."
Anshul groaned slightly before opening his eyes.
"Oh… right."
He immediately sat up. Today was the day.
After getting out of bed, he went to brush his teeth, took a quick shower, and changed his clothes.
While standing in front of the mirror, he stared at his reflection and thought quietly.
It's already 1994…
I need to move faster.
The Asian financial crisis will happen in a few years. If I don't build capital before that, I'll lose many opportunities.
After finishing his morning routine, he walked into the dining room.
His father, Rajesh Giri, was already sitting at the table reading a newspaper while drinking coffee.
Rajesh looked up when he saw his son.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning, Dad," Anshul replied.
He sat down and began eating breakfast.
After a moment, Rajesh folded the newspaper slightly and asked, "So, how's your manga project going?"
Anshul smiled.
"It's going well."
Rajesh chuckled softly.
"You know, you don't have to rush things. You could always wait until you're older."
Anshul shook his head immediately.
"No. I want to do it now."
Then he added confidently,
"And anyway, school is very easy for me. I have plenty of time."
Rajesh stared at him for a moment before laughing.
"Alright, alright. Do as you want."
Although he sounded casual, Rajesh was actually very proud of his son. At school, teachers constantly praised Anshul's intelligence. Many people already called him a genius child.
After finishing breakfast, Rajesh left for work.
Meanwhile, Mio prepared to take Anshul to the publishing company.
During the taxi ride, Anshul quietly reviewed everything in his mind.
Over the past year, he had written an incredible amount of material.
So far he had completed over one hundred chapters across several manga projects.
For the monster adventure story, he had already finished the Indigo League arc, which contained over one hundred chapters of material.
For the ninja story, he had written through the Land of Waves arc and even began outlining the Chunin Exam arc.
For the pirate adventure story, he had already completed the entire Romance Dawn arc.
He had deliberately prepared a large backlog.
That way, once serialization began, he could easily maintain a steady release schedule.
Soon the taxi stopped in front of a publishing building.
Anshul took a deep breath as he stepped out.
This was the first real step toward changing his future.
Inside the building, a receptionist greeted them politely.
"Good morning. Do you have an appointment?"
Mio smiled and nodded.
"Yes, we do."
She had already arranged the meeting earlier.
The receptionist checked the schedule and then guided them upstairs.
They were soon led to an office where a middle-aged man was waiting.
The man stood up and extended his hand.
"Hello. I'm Sam, the editor in charge of manga and novels."
He glanced at Anshul curiously.
"So… you're the young author I've heard about?"
Anshul met his gaze calmly.
"Yes."
Then he placed a thick stack of manuscripts on the table.
"These are my works."
Sam raised an eyebrow as he looked at the pile.
"Interesting…"
He picked up the first manuscript and began reading.
And within a few minutes, his expression slowly began to change.
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