Chapter 226: Chapter 225: The Industry Calls Shiori Takahashi a Genius, the Other Authors Call Him a Nightmare

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Time flowed on, and the days flickered past in the blink of an eye. By mid-February, the first volume of the Sword Art Online light novel was officially released.

Early that morning, legions of novel fans across Japan rose before the sun. While things were relatively calm in the smaller prefectures, the scene in major metropolitan areas was nothing short of spectacular. In front of every major bookstore, massive queues snaked around the blocks.

These lines were populated by a significant number of dedicated cosplayers.

There were Kiritos in their iconic black leather, Asunas in their Flash knight uniforms, along with Lizbeths, Argos, and Silicas. Although these officially licensed outfits were expensive, often costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of yen per set, wealthy fans did not hesitate to purchase them. Many of these whales could have easily hired someone to buy the books for them, but they chose to dress up and wait in line personally, wanting to showcase their passion and craftsmanship to their fellow fans. This was their hobby, and this was how they expressed their love for the work.

"I heard this first volume includes two exclusive short stories about Sachi," one fan whispered in line.

"Man, Shiori Takahashi is truly heartless for letting her die so early. To be honest, besides Asuna, I think Sachi was the most well-written and moving character in the series."

"She was just a socially anxious girl trapped in the nightmare of SAO, trying her best to plan a quiet life just to survive, only to fall during a quest with Kirito. What breaks my heart the most was her final moment, smiling at him as she faded away."

"Sensei knows exactly what the fans want. That is why he added more Sachi content in the first volume."

"Do you think the second or third volumes will add more scenes of Kirito and Asuna clearing boss floors in the early days? I love the story, but the actual dungeon crawling feels a bit glossed over. The Gleam Eyes fight was great, but we haven’t seen most of the other floor bosses."

"Personally, I just want Sensei to add more scenes of Kirito and Asuna’s honeymoon and domestic life. I know it is a bit cliché, but I am a simple man! I love seeing them happy together."

"Me too."

"We are all simple men here."

"Hehehe..."

As they waited, these strangers bonded over their shared passion, chatting as if they were old friends. Meanwhile, fans of rival publishers like Hoshizora Novels or Seisawa Books, people who had not followed the magazine serialization, were also showing up in droves to get on the bus now that the tankobon was out. Even just standing in line, they could feel the weight that Sword Art Online now held in the light novel scene. It was a true phenomenon with incredible fan loyalty.

Inside the stores, promotional posters of Kirito and Asuna covered the walls from the entrance to the back. At the registers, various small gifts like Asuna charms and Kirito keychains were being handed out to everyone who purchased the first volume.

Under the careful coordination of Kiyozawa Library, multiple television news programs and talk shows featured segments promoting the release.

In some cities, the marketing blitz was so extensive that Sword Art Online posters covered the sides of city buses and the walls of subway stations.

The rest of the industry had taken note; for the ten-day period following the release of Sword Art Online Volume 1, no other major publishing house had scheduled a high-profile release.

They had tacitly agreed to avoid a collision that would surely cannibalize their own sales and marketing efforts. After all, Haruto’s current drawing power was undeniable.

Now, everyone in the industry was watching for one thing: what would the first-week sales for Sword Art Online look like? For several days, bookstores across Japan reported that stock was flying off the shelves, requiring constant communication with distributors for emergency restocks. Readers were also raving about the two Sachi short stories included in the volume.

One week later, the numbers were finalized.

5,030,000 copies.

This was the result compiled by Kiyozawa Library and its distributors. When the data was disclosed that afternoon, a shockwave rippled through the literary world.

To be clear, selling five million copies in a week is not unheard of for an established mega-hit. What made this figure terrifying was that it was the first volume of a new series. Usually, a series builds popularity over time, and only its later volumes hit those five or six million marks.

If the first volume was doing this, what would happen when the story got longer and the hype reached its peak? By the time the next volume hit the shelves, the numbers might be legendary.

In terms of first-week sales for a debut volume, Sword Art Online had shattered a seven-year record. That afternoon, every major ACG news outlet and media platform ran feature stories on the achievement.

"Sword Art Online: The first debut volume to break five million in its opening week since the Golden Age ended."

"A story about a game sparks a revolution in light novels; SAO breaks five million in a week. How will this change the industry?"

"Capitalizing on SAO’s fame, Death Game themed novels sprout like mushrooms across Japan."

"Initial D’s third volume hits five million, and SAO’s first volume matches it. Shiori Takahashi: The genius making the rest of the industry despair."

The next day, amidst the nationwide praise, Kiyozawa Library held a lavish victory party to celebrate the record-breaking sales. Staff from the talent management, editorial, and marketing departments were all invited.

Haruto, who had been collaborating with Kiyozawa for nearly two years, was meeting many of these people face-to-face for the very first time. Dressed in a sharp black suit, his tall and lean frame made him the undisputed star of the evening. People swarmed him immediately.

"Takahashi-sensei, allow me to propose a toast!"

"Sensei, please, have a drink with us."

"Sensei, how do you write such compelling stories? Are there any secrets you can share? My son loves novels, and I am hoping to guide him down that path..."

"Congratulations, Sensei. SAO’s sales are staggering. It is highly likely that the series will maintain an average of twenty million copies per volume."

Although Haruto was not fond of drinking, he could not avoid it entirely in such a social setting.

By the time the party ended at one in the morning, he was feeling quite lightheaded. A company staff member drove him back to his villa.

He dragged his exhausted body through the front door. By now, his three housemates had already gone to bed. Haruto intended to head straight to his room to collapse, but his sharp eyes caught sight of a bowl of soup sitting on the dining table.

As he approached, he saw a sticky note from Yukino attached to the table.

"I knew you were heading to the Kiyozawa victory party, so I figured you would be forced to drink quite a bit. This is a hangover soup. If you see this, drink it up! It will make sure you do not wake up feeling sick. Sleep well until morning!"

Haruto stared at the note for a moment, and a smile slowly spread across his face. He picked up the bowl and finished it in one go. The taste was honestly quite terrible, but he felt a warm glow of gratitude in his heart. Since his father had passed away years ago, he had rarely experienced this kind of simple, thoughtful care. It was nice to have someone look out for him like that.

Mid-February passed, and by the end of the month, the serialization of Sword Art Online reached the moment where Yui’s true identity was revealed.

Yui was revealed to be an AI program within the SAO system, the Mental Health Counseling Program. Because she had developed human emotions, she manifested as a young girl, lost her memories, and wandered the game until she was found by the protagonists.

However, the system had finally flagged her as erroneous data and marked her for deletion. In a desperate move to save his daughter, Kirito used his high-level system access to strip her core program data before it was wiped, manifesting her as an in-game item, the Yui’s Heart crystal, allowing her to sleep within his inventory.

This arc left the fans, who had been enjoying a month of peaceful domestic bliss, feeling the sting of the author’s blade once again.

During the weeks Yui was present, many readers had projected themselves into the story, feeling as if they truly had a cute daughter of their own.

But just like with Sachi, the novel ruthlessly snatched her away just when she had become most beloved. After the Chapter was released, fans spent days flooding the forums, demanding that Haruto find a way to bring Yui back immediately.

Yet, despite their complaints, their support for the series never wavered. The weekly vote count for this Chapter approached a staggering 3.8 million. By this point, Crimson Abyss, the former rival for the top spot, had seen its votes dwindle to barely a million.

Its die-hard fans were defecting in droves. They were not necessarily stopping their reading of the other series, but in their hearts, Sword Art Online had officially become the best title in the magazine.

As a result, the circulation of Kiyozawa magazine grew by another 500,000 copies this month, reaching a total of 14.5 million. Everyone in the industry knew what these numbers meant.

Kiyozawa Library’s massive investment in the early promotion of the novel had paid off handsomely.

February ended, and March arrived.