Chapter 17: Chapter 16
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Chapter 16: Three Days Left
Today marked the second day of voting.
The online manga contest held by Weekly Shonen Magazine had become a sensation across the Japanese internet. The voting phase would last three days, and there was only one day left before it closed.
Currently topping the charts were flashy, isekai-heavy titles like I Got Reincarnated as an Invincible Brave Man and Started a Harem in Another World, I Saved Elf Slaves in Another World and Built a Super Farm, and I Got Reincarnated as a Beautiful Girl and Went on Adventures with Them. Each had surpassed over one million readers and 50,000 votes.
Online forums and social media were flooded with debates and fan discussions about these top contenders. Rumor had it that Weekly Shonen Magazine had already preemptively signed contracts with the authors of these three works.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura compared the rankings and found that Attack on Titan, the manga created by Lucien D. Blackthorn under his pen name Whale, was languishing at around rank 200—with just over 1,000 votes.
With only a day left, getting into the top 50 seemed like a long shot.
"I'll just have to keep promoting it."
She opened her Twitter account, Kashiwagi Eriri, and scanned through her tweet from the night before. Readers were heaping praise on Attack on Titan, begging for the next installment and urging her to contact the mysterious Mr. Whale.
Realizing how crucial this final push was, Eriri rushed to her room, pulled out Lucien's original manuscript from her bag, and began editing and polishing it.
Hours passed. Once she'd finished scanning and uploading the final chapter of Volume 1 to the official site, the backend displayed the message: Under Review.
Within seconds—approved.
"Eh? That fast?" Eriri blinked, surprised. But with so many entries flooding in, it made sense the editorial team had streamlined the process.
Eriri immediately logged into her Kashiwagi Eriri account and tweeted:
> "Sorry to keep you waiting! The first volume of Attack on Titan by Mr. Whale is now complete and uploaded. Please read, support, and vote!"
She double-checked the link before posting.
Within minutes, the replies rolled in:
@ReaderA: "OMG YES! I just read the first three chapters yesterday and I'm hooked. Thank you, Teacher Kashiwagi!"
@ReaderB: "If Kashiwagi-sensei recommends it, I'm in!"
@ReaderC: "Not my genre, but I voted anyway!"
@ReaderD: "Done voting! Where's Isuzu-chan fan art tho?"
Eriri smiled at the enthusiasm. She knew her tweet wouldn't drastically change the ranking, but at least it helped.
She refreshed the manga page: the number of readers and votes had ticked up slightly.
Below the comic, nearly 100 comments had been posted—almost all glowing. Many readers were even promoting it themselves on social media.
Hope stirred in Eriri's heart. With a full day remaining, word-of-mouth might just give Attack on Titan the momentum it needed.
Feeling a little more positive, she closed her laptop and returned to drawing fan art of Sento Isuzu.
---
Meanwhile, at the hospital...
Lucien D. Blackthorn opened his eyes in the dim hospital room. He was weak, but his mind was focused.
"System, check task progress."
> [Task: Publish a completed manga volume within 5 days and reach 5,000 readers. Bonus: +5 days lifespan.]
[Progress: Attack on Titan, Volume 1 uploaded. Current readers: 4,188. Time remaining: 2 days. Task not yet complete.]
Lucien smiled faintly. "Almost there…"
He was confident. With the quality of Attack on Titan, once enough people read it, the system might grant him even more than five days.
"Ten days... maybe even two weeks. I'll have time to work on something new."
His eyes closed. He muttered: "Eri... you're my lucky star."
But moments later, a sharp wave of pain ripped through his chest.
He convulsed.
Then everything went black.
---
Tuesday morning.
Lucien woke to voices murmuring just outside the ward.
"The patient's condition is deteriorating. Conservatively, he may have only three days left. Please prepare yourselves emotionally…"
> [Host: Lucien D. Blackthorn]
[Remaining Lifespan: 3 days]
[Health: 5/100 – Consciousness Time: 2 hours/day]
Lucien sighed, weakly smiling at the irony.
He'd once wondered how he'd spend his final 72 hours if he ever had them.
Now he had his answer: lying in a hospital bed, racing against time to draw.
"Life is cruel," he whispered. "So fragile…"
He asked the system again: "Task progress?"
> [Viewers: 4,188. Time remaining: 1 day.]
"What? Still the same?" Lucien's brows furrowed.
He assumed maybe the numbers hadn't updated yet. He drifted back into unconsciousness.
---
Two hours later, he jolted awake.
"System! Update the progress!"
> [Viewers: 4,188. Time remaining: 1 day. Task incomplete.]
Panic set in.
"What's going on?! Why hasn't it changed?"
> [Notice: Attack on Titan has been removed from the platform. Status: Unpublished.]
Lucien's eyes widened.
"Unpublished?! What happened?!"
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🎉 A Big Welcome and Congratulations! 🎉
Let's give a warm shoutout to Никита Козлов for joining the journey! Your support means the world and helps keep these stories alive and thriving.
🔥 Want to read advance 18+ chapters before anyone else?
Join my Patreon for exclusive early access and much more!
👉 patreon.com/Forbidden_lust
Every supporter helps me push boundaries and bring forbidden fantasies to life.
— forbidden_lust 💋