Chapter Nine(9)

"Don't be stupid, James," I thought to myself.

That wouldn't work. People would start asking questions about where I got it from, and lying wouldn't help the situation.

I couldn't just say I picked it up, because even if most people don't know what real Jadeite or Emeralds look like, they wouldn't ignore them if they saw them lying by the roadside or something.

Selling minerals like that could only happen once I was at least 18 years old or older—by then, people would be less inclined to ask stupid questions.

But then again, by that time, I'd already be extremely rich, so I wouldn't even need to sell them. The resource dimension was truly the best thing I had.

If not for my fear that the Living Tribunal might take notice, I would have used the Tenth Metal long ago.

To warp reality on a planetary level, I needed enough of it to form a breastplate. To go to a universal level, I would need enough to create a full suit of armor.

And I doubted the Living Tribunal would appreciate such a powerful, unknown metal suddenly appearing within his domain.

The man sealed the Starbrand because it was too powerful, and that was something from this multiverse. Imagine what he would do with the Tenth Metal, which is just as powerful—if not more.

I was stuck using my most valuable asset in tiny amounts just to avoid attracting attention. But it didn't matter. Even that was enough for me.

Imagine how powerful a normal computer would be if I enhanced it with just a tiny drop of Tenth Metal.

Of course, it wouldn't become ridiculously overpowered, but at the very least, it would instantly match the most advanced supercomputers in the world.

That was how powerful the Tenth Metal was.

After school, I kept my promise and distributed the latest issue of Dragon Ball manga. This whole process was self-destructive—giving away manga for free meant I was wasting paper I didn't have and gaining nothing in return. But then again, this was all part of the plan.

I was building my first user base. The moment my website went online, these same people would be the first ones to check it out.

They would then talk about it, spread the word, and bring in more visitors, creating a chain reaction until my website gained real popularity.

This wasn't just a giveaway—it was an investment.

"Eh? Sorry, guys, all the copies I had on hand have already been distributed. But from now on, you'll be able to read the manga online," I announced, climbing onto one of the cafeteria tables to address the large crowd.

"Drawing on paper over and over isn't exactly convenient, so just go to SmithComics.com, and you'll find it there. It's free for this whole month, but after that, you'll need to subscribe."

"Oh, come on! I waited for this, you know!" someone complained.

"I'm sorry, I'm doing this all by myself," I apologized, though deep down, I was thrilled to see how many students cared enough to come back for updates.

"But don't worry, by tomorrow, I promise there'll be new updates. You might even get daily releases."

Drawing the manga was repetitive, but it wasn't exhausting. Printing it would have cost more money than I had, so instead, I had torn out the middle pages of an empty notebook and used those as comic pages.

But with my latest plan, I could start uploading the manga online.

This was a game changer.

Instead of drawing multiple copies by hand, I could just upload a single version, and everyone would have access to it.

That would save time and allow me to produce more updates at a much faster pace. My enhanced physiology wasn't just for show—I could draw and color an entire page in just a few minutes.

And with my self-sustaining body, I could work from dusk till dawn without experiencing fatigue.

"You better give us two extra issues to compensate!" a girl at the front said, crossing her arms.

I smiled. "Sure, why not? Now, if you guys would excuse me, I don't want to miss my bus."

I stepped down from the table as the crowd dispersed, returning to their usual activities.

On the bus, I saw Matthew reading his copy, surrounded by several kids peeking over his shoulder to read along. The sight filled me with satisfaction.

I had spent an entire week drawing, updating, and distributing the manga to random students—seniors and juniors alike. And now, people not only knew about manga, but they also loved it.

Instead of interrupting, I gave them space and found a seat elsewhere as the bus started its journey home.

...

An hour later, I was back home—alone.

Mom always came home late due to her job. Or rather, jobs. We had our own house thanks to Grandma, who passed it down to us.

Without it, we would have basically been homeless. Even the laptop I had begged Mom to buy was a used one, sold for cheap because the last owner hadn't taken care of it properly.

But all of that would change soon.

I could finally trash the laptop, which was honestly a scam. It looked brand new on the outside, but its internals were a mess—like the previous owner had patched it up just enough to resell it.

Not that it mattered anymore.

Because with my latest plan, I wouldn't need to rely on old, broken tech. I had everything I needed to build something far better.