Chapter 8

December 1st.

Before long, the date of the December Comic Market had drawn near by just a few weeks.

“Uh…”

Hayoon realized that something was not quite right with the situation.

-Ding.

-Ding.

-Ding.

-Ding.

Since some time ago, alarms from the banking app had started going off nonstop.

All of them were deposit notifications.

Of course, deposit notifications ringing at any time weren’t strange.

After all, she had also posted promotional posts for the booth on the Girls’ War gallery. So, it wasn’t an abnormal situation. If anything, it was rather a good thing.

-Kim Myung-jeong (RRWEB / M9Bellybutton)

-Kwak Gi-hyun (GirlsWarChan / Super High School Level Commander)

-Jo…

-Baek…

“Exactly how did they find out about this?”

What was truly strange was the fact that people from other Girls’ War communities were finding out and sending money, stating their affiliations.

Moreover, the amounts being sent weren’t small either.

“75,000 won, 75,000 won, 35,000 won, again 75,000 won, 30,000 won, 15,000 won….”

Judging that just watching would give her a headache, Hayoon turned on her laptop upon recognizing the seriousness of the situation.

Filling both laptop screens with banking deposit and pre-paid survey records, she opened up a new Excel file and began earnestly comparing the ordered goods quantities to the real-time deposit amounts.

After investing a few hours and separating the pre-orders which matched the exact amounts, and adding them up using a function, she arrived at…

“Ooh… insane…”

7,015,000 won

An explosive success achieved in just a few days. The once unchecked Status Window was already…

[Current Profit / Target Profit]

10,000,000 won+ / 10,000,000 won

[Alternative Mission Completed!]

[Reward will be provided on January 1st, 2020.]

It declared that the combination of November sponsorship profits and outsourcing profits exceeded a total of 10 million won, promising the agreed reward to be handed on January 1st.

“But, what is the reward anyway…”

Unluckily, she didn’t think it would utter nonsense like “The time you spent trying to make 10 million won is itself the reward”…

With a Status Window so omnipotent that it had erased a properly functioning young man’s life and transformed him into a woman before rewinding time…

“Isn’t it going to give me a fatigue immunity cheat key or something? Sleepless and drawing paintings all life?”

With absolutely no hint of a cake in sight, Hayoon ended up tasting the kimchi water first.

Certainly, the irritating Status Window that had turned Hayoon into a female for not drawing her Furri illustrations – even that thing might have some semblance of a person’s feelings and wouldn’t try to brush her off with such a trivial reward.

“Right? Status Window? Can I expect something good?”

…

Despite gently probing the Status Window, Hayoon received no answer.

Still, to a certain extent, it was necessary to form a bond so that next time the Status Window wouldn’t present such weird missions while betting people’s lives…

But if the Status Window kept silent, this side couldn’t really do much more.

“Alright. You’ll approach me when it’s time, right?”

Now, it’s time to devise a strategy for the Comic Market that was only a few days away.

“Let’s see, the sales table is…”

A pre-paid amount of 7 million won accumulated so far.

The number of Full Package buyers is a staggering 80.

The number of Full Package buyers is far higher than expected.

The Full Package revenue ratio is about 6:1 against other sales, signifying an overwhelming gap.

This was an indicator showing that a majority of users on the verge of opening their wallets were snatched up in mere seconds.

“Ah, well. Given who drew the illustrations, liking them this much is to be expected, right?”

A sly smile lingered on Hayoon’s lips as she glanced through the sales tables on the notebook screen.

Though she claimed not to calculate the production costs, she still accumulated sales of 7 million won and sponsorships and outsourcing amounts of 3 million won, making for undeniable results.

“Good. It’s truly wonderful…”

Compared to her previous life, her financial growth speed is overwhelmingly fast this time around.

A decisive blow to ensure secure loyalty from Girls’ War users seemed necessary…

“Really, maybe I should do the cosplay?”

Having little aversion toward cosplay in the first place, Hayoon didn’t take long to find the solution.

Given the present trend of mounting sponsorships, before the December Comic Market starts, it appeared that around 150 full-package advance purchases would be secured easily.

The moment a HK-M4 outfit is posted on the hanger along the announcement of “As soon as we hit 150 Full Package Buyers, I’ll do the cosplay!”…

This would spread within the community, generating insane promotional effects.

This Comic Market booth was going to be a tremendous success indeed.

“At this point, I need to place the additional order to meet the timeline…”

After swiftly resolving the ordering issues, Hayoon immediately entered the websites selling cosplay costumes and props.

Since this part also takes time to deliver, it was safer to order early in advance.

“Ugh, there are just so many pretty ones.”

Hayoon’s mouth stretched into a wide smile as she browsed through the cosplay shops.

The ultimate fandom is becoming the character oneself, and Hayoon was certainly capable of it now.

#####

A week passed after Hayoon ordered her cosplay attire.

December 8th.

“Ah, this one!”

Finally, the full package pre-orders reached 150.

Not only that, but there were 150 full-package pre-buyers!

Even when accounting for those who just bought a few things like acrylic stands, the pre-order revenue already amounted to a staggering 15 million!

“Who am I! Of course, I need to bring in this much!”

Ever since her illustrations ranked on Pixiv, Hayoon’s work hadn’t left the top 100 list. With quite a loyal sponsorship base, she had been consistently receiving support roughly equivalent to a salaried employee’s monthly income for several years.

Revenue of 15 million at the Comic Market, a top-tier doujin event?

That’s considered normal, folks.

“Alright. Done and done…!”

Hayoon, clenching her trembling fists, couldn’t hide her smile as she accessed the Girls’ War Gallery web page.

She soon opened a post and inserted a screenshot of her cosplay costume, still in transit.

“Thanks to the support of Girls’ War users, we’ve hit a total of 150 full-package buyers.”

Out of gratitude, I’ve ordered a cosplay costume and hope to see you all at the year-end event.

Since I’m unfamiliar with other Girls’ War communities, I’d appreciate it if you could share the news with them.

Tap, Tap, Tap…

Hayoon made every effort to appear unfamiliar with other communities while clearly conveying her desire to reciprocate their support.

Fan loyalty isn’t filled by other sources. Intermittent events for sponsors are necessary to solidify the loyalty base.

“Is this enough?”

After carefully crafting and posting a lengthy thank-you message over about an hour, Hayoon grinned as she saw the comments quickly streaming in.

-Wow!!!! Artist!!!

-Cosplay!!! The best!!!

-Please take pictures with us. XD.

-But why are these guys excited? They only know this person is a woman, and we still don’t even know what she looks like?

└Mouth it, buddy. Mouth.

└Anyway, you have no clue.

-See you at the Comic Market!!

Though one odd comment slipped in, it didn’t matter much since those types rarely contribute much to pre-orders anyway.

On the contrary, the presence of such critics often fosters a counter-reaction that increases support for Hayoon.

With a satisfied grin, Hayoon pulled out the December calendar and began calculating the next schedule.

“First, the M4 cosplay accessories should arrive by around the 12th. Interestingly enough, on the two days following that, specifically December 14th and 15th, the largest domestic subculture event, Anime & Game Convention (AGC) will be held.

This event, a prominent subculture festival, is another heavily trafficked destination for cosplayers, not too different from the Comic Market event.

“Should I go to the AGC and cosplay as well since I’m doing cosplay anyway?”

It suddenly struck Hayoon that attending the AGC herself wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea.

Even being an avid fan with deep fandom (“chibiduck”) herself, Hayoon had attended AGC events multiple times in the past. There, during photo sessions, she often distributed items like QR codes with URLs linked to her Instagram.

“I might as well make plenty of QR codes sharing my Pixiv address… Giving them out to 100 people, if 50 visit Pixiv, 25 follow, and 5 become sponsors…”

600,000 won!

It’s an increase in annual income of 600,000 won!

“Why not do it?”

Though she intended to cosplay anyway, simultaneously creating an opportunity to recover the expenses on cosplay accessories wasn’t a bad idea.

With her newfound wealth obsession, Hayoon searched for ways to make QR codes and spent the night thinking about the design and layout of printing paper.

The day for the final battle was fast approaching.

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