"By the way… Eighteen."
Roy rubbed his forehead.That number really wasn't a name—more like a code.
"How much is that ring you liked?"
A bad premonition crept up his spine.
"It's not expensive. Only two and a half million rings."
Roy: "…"
In the original manga, Android 18's love for money rivaled Nami from One Piece.
Roy suddenly felt that the future of his wallet had turned pitch-black.
...
In the end, Roy moved into his new home two days later.
With a cheerful stroke of the pen, Old Luke directly gave Roy the best property he personally owned, located not far from the magazine office and close to the center of Silver Mountain City very suitable for living.
The city Roy lived in was Silver Mountain City on the Urubian continent.
It was located on the northern side of the continent; though it wasn't as prosperous as Youkexin City in the west, it wasn't shabby either.At the very least, fashion trends and technological entertainment here were among the best across the Six Continents.
Shōnen Magazine was a mid-tier publication specialized in manga, with a certain reputation.
But its manga quality had been mediocre, so sales were only average just enough to survive.
This did come with benefits: they weren't big or wealthy enough to attract jealousy from veteran magazines.
And they had solid local connections, so low-level thugs didn't dare charge protection fees.
The overall atmosphere at the magazine was harmonious.
But all of that changed the moment Roy's Dragon Ball hit the shelves.
...
Two days ago
Lacks was a hardcore fan of Shōnen Magazine, a true manga enthusiast, and he never missed a single issue.
Buying the new issue of Shōnen Magazine was always the highlight of his week.
But today, he was in a bad mood.
"Sigh… Mr. Giselle's Dragon Prince ended last issue. It was so good why not draw a few more arcs?"
He grabbed the new issue of Shōnen Magazine and flipped through it skillfully.
"Mr. Giselle needs months to prepare his next work… and the other current series in the magazine? Ugh, once I read a page, I can already guess the next ten. So boring! I need something new to fill the void left by The Dragon Prince."
...
"Hm? Dragon Ball? Author: Roy? Oh right, Mr. Luke said his prized disciple would be drawing next. Let's see what this is about."
...
"Whoa! Collect seven Dragon Balls to summon a dragon and grant any wish? That's awesome!"
...
"Little Goku is so cute! Haha, Bulma trying to seduce him but Goku probably doesn't even know what a woman is, right?"
...
Time passed unknowingly.Lacks was glued to the pages.
The bookstore owner approached curiously.
Lacks was a regular. Normally, he skimmed for two minutes, paid, and left.
But today he'd been standing there forever.
Since they were familiar, the owner didn't interrupt him.
Other customers, however, didn't get that luxury.
Seeing Lacks so engrossed, they became curious and also picked up Shōnen Magazine.
The moment they opened it—they couldn't look away.
People began crowding around, flipping pages, becoming as absorbed as Lacks.
But the owner refused to let them read for free.He tapped them with a feather duster one by one to wake them up.
Startled, they quickly went to the counter and bought a copy.
Lacks also snapped out of his trance when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Excuse me, could you sell me the copy you're holding?"
A polite young man stood in front of him.
Lacks looked at the shelf and froze.
Every single copy of Shōnen Magazine was gone.He was holding the last one.
The owner was already on the phone frantically ordering restocks.
Realizing the situation, Lacks hugged the magazine protectively.
"Sorry… I'm buying this one."
With regret in the other man's eyes, Lacks rushed to the counter, paid, and left.
...
After the new issue of Shōnen Magazine hit the shelves in bookstores across the city, every customer immediately noticed the gold-plate-position headline: Dragon Ball.
It blew up instantly.
And not just "popular" it was a phenomenon.
Linework, paneling, character design, story structure… everything was decades ahead of the current manga standards in this world.
There was no way it wouldn't explode.
The magazine was now reprinting nonstop, and Old Luke was busier than ever.
Even though he knew Dragon Ball would be a hit, he never expected this level of success.
Plans for the entire magazine had to be rewritten.
Because of Dragon Ball, many magazines and publishers suddenly took notice.
Old Luke received multiple calls daily Envious competitors asking questions, comic industry friends offering congratulations, publishers inquiring about Roy.
His spirits were sky-high.
And he knew it was all thanks to Roy and Dragon Ball.
So when Roy requested a change in housing, he agreed immediately.
Dragon Ball had just begun, and its popularity was only rising.
As long as Roy didn't mess up later,Shōnen Magazine, Roy, and Dragon Ball would all enter legend together.