"Moshi moshi~"
"Ito-san... I know it's you. Just tell me what's going on," Hayashi said, stretching his stiff, aching muscles.
Ayumi Ito froze for a moment before replying, "Oh! Aoyama-sensei! I have some fantastic news! In the latest reader popularity poll, 'Edgerunners' moved up to 14th place! That officially makes it the number one ranked series among all the new rookie works!"
Hayashi let out a long, slow yawn. "Ah... is that so?"
Hearing his casual, borderline indifferent tone over the phone, Ayumi's voice became frantic. "Sensei! This is the very first time 'Edgerunners' has taken the top spot among the newcomers! Don't you feel even a little bit excited?"
"It's alright, I guess. It's just the top of the rookie's heap, after all. I'm not that surprised," Hayashi replied after a moment of thought.
In reality, why should he be surprised? As a transmigrator with a literal cheat system, and a professional copycat at that, the fact that he hadn't immediately taken the entire magazine by storm was actually a bit of an embarrassment to the transmigrator community.
At this point, 'Edgerunners' was officially up to... Chapter 6, he thought.
The early plot, featuring David finally installing the 'Sandevistan,' getting his revenge on the school bullies, and the introduction of the heroine Lucy, had already been published. The story had also covered David and Lucy's initial encounter, where he used the Sandevistan to catch her, leading to their somewhat tense agreement to steal corporate chips together.
The plot was finally beginning to pick up steam. Next up was the sequence where Lucy shares her dream with David (albeit with mixed intentions) and David's eventual, accidental membership in Maine's crew of Edgerunners.
While the story started as a slow-burn, the middle and later stages of 'Edgerunners' were notoriously intense and hard-hitting.
It was the kind of story that left the audience in a state of profound emotional devastation--effectively turning the viewers into "socially-induced cyberpsychos" by the time the credits rolled.
Hayashi remembered that in his past life, after binge-watching the entire anime in a single day, his absolute first priority had been logging back into the video game he hadn't touched in months just so he could brutally execute Adam Smasher.
And it hadn't just been a one-time thing. For several days following the finale, he had been obsessed. He'd hunted down Smasher while wearing David's jacket, and then did it again using Rebecca's iconic shotgun.
By the fourth day, he had finally stopped killing Smasher.
But that was only because he'd become preoccupied with a new obsession: tracking down every single real-world location in the game that had appeared in the anime.
"Anyway, I've got to run, Ito-san. I'm actually in the middle of moving house right now," Hayashi said.
"Huh? You're moving, Sensei? Where to?"
"Nowhere far..." Hayashi replied, scratching the back of his head. "I'm just moving into another rental unit managed by Uncle Azuma. It's a much larger three-bedroom apartment."
Over the past three months, he had managed to earn a significant amount of money through 'Edgerunners.' With six chapters published and an average of 15 pages per chapter, he had already banked well over 30,000 Yen.
With a monthly income hovering around 10,000 Yen, he really didn't see any reason to keep living in that cramped, 20-square-meter shoebox of a studio.
He had decided it was time for an upgrade. Luckily, two months ago, one of the landlord's long-term tenants hadn't renewed their lease, choosing instead to move back to their hometown.
This left a standard three-bedroom, one-living-room (3LDK) apartment vacant. Even in the suburbs, the rent was a staggering 4,000 Yen per month--a testament to just how expensive living in The Metropolis truly was.
But for Hayashi, that was a price he could easily afford now.
Moving into a 3LDK was more than just gaining a bit of extra space.
With three separate rooms, he could finally designate specific areas for a dedicated art studio, a proper bedroom, and a separate entertainment room. It would make his daily life significantly more comfortable.
He had made the decision to move as soon as the unit became available, and today was finally move-in day.
"I see... In that case, I'll let you get back to it, Sensei," Ayumi said with her usual politeness.
"By the way, now that I'm moving, using the fixed-line phone here at the shop won't be as convenient anymore. I'm planning to buy a new mobile phone and get a personal number later today. I'll give you a call once I have it set up," Hayashi added.
His previous rental unit had been located directly behind the landlord's convenience store, so using the shop's landline had been easy enough.
But now that he was moving further away, walking back and forth just to take a call would be a major hassle. He had decided it was high time he got his own private mobile phone and number.
"Of course, Sensei. That sounds perfect."
Ayumi agreed immediately. Having a direct line to her author would certainly make her job a lot easier as well.
...
"Hmph!"
Hayashi set down a large storage box overflowing with manuscripts and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Woof!"
Pochita, who was carrying his own dog bed in his mouth, trotted into the new apartment right behind him.
"Good job, Pochita. Thanks for the help."
Hayashi helped the puppy set down his bed before giving him a fond pat on the head.
Three months had passed since they had first met, and Pochita had grown quite a bit. He was no longer the tiny, helpless puppy Hayashi had rescued from the river.
However, he still very much possessed the look and energy of a young dog.
His breed appeared to be a local variety of pastoral dog native to the Federation. He was incredibly intelligent, well-behaved, and remarkably obedient.
Both Hayashi and Akane had grown incredibly fond of the little guy.
"Woof! Woof!"
Pochita gave Hayashi's palm an affectionate nuzzle.
Hayashi chuckled. "Alright, now I just need to head out and grab that new phone and SIM card."
"But speaking of new things... System!"
At his command, a high-tech virtual interface--visible only to his eyes--suddenly materialized in the air before him.
[Host: Hayashi Aoyama]
[Abilities: Hard-Drive Memory (Diamond), Cinematic Storyboarding (Platinum), Artistic Kaleidoscope (Master), 100% Luck (Silver)]
[Points: 650]
[Current Tasks]
[Nobody: Create a work of any genre and receive praise from 3 people. Progress: 3/3 (Completed)]
[Rising Recognition: Create a work of any genre and receive praise from 10 people. Progress: 10/10 (Completed)]
[Growing Fame: Create a work of any genre and receive praise from 100 people. Progress: 72/100 (Reward: 500 Points)]
[Niche Success: Let 10 people know your name and leave a lasting impression on them. Progress: 10/10 (Completed)]
[Rising Star: Let 100 people know your name and leave a lasting impression on them. Progress: 11/100 (Reward: 200 Points)]
[Innate Talent: Showcase your talent and change the world! Different levels of world-change grant different milestones of rewards! (Phase 1: '100% Luck' Ability Granted. Phase 2: In Progress...)]
"Whoa... I haven't checked this in a while. I've gathered a ton of points, and I even have a new ability?"
Hayashi's eyes lit up as he scanned the screen.
After he opened the task list, the completed tasks were automatically archived, leaving only the in-progress ones and the multi-phase 'Innate Talent' mission.
"What exactly is this '100% Luck' ability anyway?"
He peered curiously at the new entry. It was only a Silver-tier ability, which suggested it likely wasn't anything game-breakingly powerful.
With a simple thought, he expanded the details of the '100% Luck' skill.
[100% Luck: Permanently increases your base luck by 5%. On the day of your Zodiac Constellation, your luck is increased to a guaranteed 100%.]
(End of Chapter)
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
T/N: 100% Luck (幸运百分百) - The title of the chapter and the name of Hayashi's new system ability.
T/N: 3LDK - A standard Japanese real estate term for a 3-bedroom apartment (3 Bedrooms, Living, Dining, Kitchen). Used here to localize the "Three rooms and one living room" description.
T/N: System Tiers - Maintained the RPG-style rarity tiers (Diamond > Master > Platinum > Silver).
T/N: Adam Smasher / David's Jacket / Rebecca's Gun - Meta-references to the 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' anime and the 'Cyberpunk 2077' video game from Hayashi's past life.