Chapter 50: The Real Showdown
The atmosphere in the NextGen Manga Monthly editorial department was heavy.
"Seat of God" Debut Chapter Reader Approval Rating: 68.9%
The conference room was dead silent.
"Look closely," Lee's voice was low. "Not Manga Weekly. It's Weekly Shonen World, the third in the industry. The author is Hiro, last year's Newcomer Award champion, hailed by the industry as a 'once-in-a-decade genius'."
Sue flipped open the file. Hiro, twenty years old, graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts, apprenticed under a top manga artist. Debut work Seat of God—a school battle manga about a boy who can see "Divine Seats" fighting various powerful enemies. Top-tier art, sharp paneling, trendy character designs, and most importantly—
"Debut chapter thirty pages, full color." Kevin Zhang pushed his glasses, face grim. "Shonen World invested heavily this time. Full color printing, top-tier paper, promotion budget double ours. And..."
"And what?" Someone asked.
"And Hiro said some ugly things in his interview." Sue pulled up the interview page, projecting it on the screen.
On screen, a young man with dyed silver-gray hair crossed his legs, smiling arrogantly:
"Alex Walker? Fullmetal Alchemist? Read it, it's okay, just too slow. Twenty chapters and still running around for clues, aren't readers bored? My Seat of God, the protagonist defeats three strong enemies and gets three harem members in the first chapter. Manga is supposed to be gratifying, fast, exciting to read, not for contemplating life."
Reporter asked: "Then where do you think FMA's advantage lies?"
"Advantage?" Hiro scoffed. "Depth? Darkness? Come on, manga is an entertainment product. My goal is to make readers look forward to the next chapter every week, not ponder 'what profound theme was discussed this week.' By the way—"
He paused, smile growing more arrogant:
"Tell Alex Walker, next month I will surpass him in reader approval rating. Not a challenge, a notification."
Interview ended. The conference room was silent.
"Arrogant," Lee evaluated. "But he has the capital to be arrogant. Debut 68.9%, full color, top-tier art, fast pace. Most importantly—" he looked at everyone, "he seized our biggest weakness."
"What weakness?"
"Update speed," Sue took over. "FMA is currently twenty pages weekly. Quality is high, but plot progression is indeed slow. There was a three-week gap between Chapter 16 and 17 because Alex was polishing storyboards. Seat of God is twenty-five pages weekly, pace twice as fast."
Kevin Zhang added: "And Hiro is very active on social media, updating progress daily, interacting with readers, creating an approachable image. Alex's side..."
"Mysterious, aloof, no interaction," Lee finished. "In commercial competition, this is a disadvantage. Readers will feel Hiro is more intimate, more 'fan-pampering'."
"So what do we do?" An editor asked.
"Two paths." Lee held up two fingers. "First, have Alex speed up updates, at least restore to normal twenty pages weekly speed. Second, the next FMA chapter must be brilliant, overshadowing Seat of God."
"But quality..." Sue hesitated.
"That is the problem," Lee looked at her. "Ask Alex if he can speed up while maintaining quality. If not—" he paused, "then we must be prepared to be surpassed."
Ranch, 6:00 PM.
Alex finished reading Seat of God Chapter 1. He read carefully, then called Sue back:
"Read it. Art is indeed top-tier, paneling cinematic, pacing control very good. A strong enemy."
Sue's voice was urgent: "Then what do we do? Chief says you need to speed up, at least restore normal update speed. You are still polishing Chapter 17, already a week later than planned..."
"Can't rush," Alex said calmly. "Chapter 17 is the key chapter for truth revelation; it must be polished to perfection. Rushed work can't fool readers."
"But Hiro is doing twenty-five pages weekly, full color, active on social media..."
"That's his path, not mine," Alex interrupted. "My path is quality, depth, withstanding repeated reading. His path is gratification, approachability, giving readers instant satisfaction weekly. No right or wrong, just different choices."
"But readers will choose him!"
"Let them choose," Alex was calm. "Those who stay are readers who truly understand FMA. Those who leave weren't my target readers anyway."
Sue was silent on the phone for a long time, finally saying: "You are truly... terrifyingly stubborn."
"Not stubborn, sober," Alex looked at the ranch outside. "I know what I'm drawing and why. Changing original intentions for competition is the real failure."
Hanging up, he reopened the storyboard for Chapter 17.
But this time, his hand stopped.
Hiro's words echoed in his mind: "Too slow... aren't readers bored?"
He had to admit, Hiro was right. FMA's plot progression was indeed slow. Twenty chapters in, Edward and Alphonse were still searching for clues, truth revealing bit by bit. Depth was enough, but gratification insufficient.
And current readers wanted fast, gratifying, weekly climaxes.
He stared at the storyboard for a long time.
Then, he made a decision.
Friday morning, Sue received an email.
Attachment: Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 17 complete storyboard—forty pages, double the usual.
Email body simple:
"Chapter 17, forty pages. Truth revealed, pace will speed up. Submit next Thursday, can promote early."
Sue was stunned, called immediately: "Forty pages? Are you crazy? Drawing forty pages in a week?"
"Can finish," Alex's voice was calm. "Even without sleep these days, will finish. Since the opponent says we are slow, we use forty pages of truth to tell him—slow, because we are accumulating power."
"But quality..."
"Quality won't drop," Alex said. "Storyboard polished for three weeks, I know it by heart. Now just execution. Trust me."
Sue was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Okay. I'll arrange promotion immediately. Next week, we let everyone see—what a real royal flush is."
Saturday, NextGen Manga Monthly official announcement:
"Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 17, 40-Page Special, Truth Revealed. October 28, Stay Tuned."
Only one sentence, but the number "40 Pages" detonated discussion.
Forum flooded instantly:
"40 pages?! Did I read right?!"
"Alex Walker exploding update!"
"But 40 pages... can quality be guaranteed?"
"I trust Alex! If he says he can, he can!"
On the other side, Hiro posted a smiley face on social media:
"Oh? 40 pages? Looks like someone got provoked. But don't drop quality, I'm a strict reader [Smile]"
Provocation full on.
Supporters counterattacked immediately:
"Who are you? Qualified to evaluate Alex?"
"Fast food work like Seat of God deserves comparison with FMA?"
"Waiting for Alex to slap faces!"
But Hiro had many fans too:
"Fast food? At least we read happily!"
"FMA finding clues for twenty chapters, anxious to watch!"
"Support Teacher Hiro! Speak with works!"
Fans fought, heat climbing.
Everyone waited for October 28.
Ranch, Alex entered a crazy creation state.
Sleeping only four hours a day, rest time all drawing. Eating at work table, Sarah cried distressed but dared not disturb.
"Al, your body can't take this..."
"Mom, it's fine," Alex didn't look up. "Just this week, done after finishing."
Pen flew on paper. Chapter 17 storyboard complete in mind, just drawing it out.
This chapter would be the truth revelation chapter.
{Edward and Ling Yao found the Philosopher's Stone origin record deep in the Eastern Forbidden Ground. Not simply "transmuted with live humans," but a huge conspiracy spanning five hundred years.
And the core of that conspiracy was the embodiment of seven "Sins."
Ling Yao looked at the record, face pale:
"So... we were wrong all along. The Philosopher's Stone isn't the goal, it's a byproduct. The real goal is refining 'God'."
"What God?"
"The 'Perfect Existence' refined from Seven Sins," Ling Yao's voice trembled. "And Edward... your brother Alphonse's body is the last container."
Scene froze on Edward's shocked face.
Then flashback—from Chapter 1 Human Transmutation, to Tucker incident, to Fifth Lab, to Northern Border, to Eastern Forbidden Ground... all clues connected, pointing to one truth.
Alphonse's body was a chosen container from the start.}
Forty pages, information explosion, pace breathless. Truth revealed layer by layer, every twist unexpected but logical in hindsight.
{Last page, Edward stood deep in the forbidden ground, looking at the huge transmutation circle ahead, whispering:
"So... every step we took was in someone else's calculation."
Calm voice from Alphonse's armor:
"So what, Brother. At least we know the truth now. Knowing allows us to fight."}
October 28, Saturday.
Magazine released.
10:00 AM, first batch of readers finished Chapter 17.
Forum appeared strangely silent.
For three whole minutes, no new posts.
Then, exploded.
"Holy sh*t!!!!!!!"
"40 pages! High energy all way!"
"Truth is like this?!"
"Alex I kneel! This foreshadowing buried twenty chapters!"
"This info amount... need to read again!"
Reader survey data out at 2:00 PM:
78.3%.
Not only broke FMA's own record, broke industry record, raised it by 2.6 points.
Same period Seat of God Chapter 2 approval: 66.7%, down 2.2 points from debut.
Gap widened from 7 points to 11.6 points.
Domination.
Real domination.
Forum homepage full of FMA Chapter 17 discussion threads. Seat of God discussion pushed to page 3.
Hiro's social media, latest post full of mockery:
"Teacher Hiro, finished FMA Chapter 17?"
"40 page special, quality didn't drop a bit [Smile]"
"Your fast food work deserves to be called 'Seat of God'?"
"Suggest renaming to 'Seat of Mortal' [Dog Face]"
Hiro didn't reply.
Weekly Shonen World Editorial Department, Chief's face ashen.
"Gap 11.6 points... how to fight this?"
Hiro sat opposite, silver-gray hair messy. He finished reading FMA Chapter 17, carefully, three times.
"I lost," he said frankly. "Not in art, not in paneling, but in scope. He is playing a big chess game, every step has deep meaning. And my work..." he smiled self-mockingly, "indeed just fast food."
"Then what? We invested so many resources..."
"Continue drawing," Hiro stood up, eyes sharp again. "But goal changes. Not surpass FMA, but become another choice besides FMA. He goes depth, I go gratification. He draws epic, I draw hot-blooded. Market big enough for different good works."
He paused, adding:
"But at least, starting today, I won't underestimate any opponent. Especially an opponent like Alex Walker."
Alex slept for a whole day, just woke up.
Dozen unread messages from Sue on phone:
"78.3%! Record broken!"
"Hiro deleted post!"
"Industry all discussing Chapter 17!"
"Chief says double bonus!"
"Did you see? Reply me!"
He read one by one, then replied:
"Saw it. Chapter 18 storyboard next week, restore normal 20 page update."
Sue replied instantly: "Not celebrating? 78.3%!"
"Nothing to celebrate," Alex typed. "Just finished a chapter that should be finished. Next chapter, counterattack begins."
"You really... fine. Rest well, don't get too tired."
To be Continued
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