Back at the competition venue—
"Time's up! All participants, please stop writing!"
At that moment, Kana's voice echoed through the speakers, reaching every contestant in the room.
The majority of them instinctively set their pens down.
Their expressions varied—some sighed in relief, others looked anxious, and a few appeared utterly bewildered. Clearly, some contestants lacked confidence in their work.
On the other hand, there were those who exuded pride and self-assurance, their faces practically glowing with satisfaction.
Just from their expressions alone, the disparity in skill levels among participants became evident.
And then, there was another group—the desperate ones.
These contestants, instead of stopping, frantically sped up their writing, their foreheads drenched in sweat.
They looked like students scrambling to fill in the last few blanks as the exam proctor called for pens down.
A moment later, Kana's voice lost its usual cheerfulness and turned stern:
"All contestants must immediately stop writing. Anyone who continues after this warning will be disqualified from the competition."
Hearing this, those who had been pushing their luck froze, their pens hovering mid-air before they finally dropped their hands in frustration and resignation.
Meanwhile, in the official live stream chat, a flurry of comments flooded in:
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"That's it! The first round is over!"
"The tension was insane! You could really feel the pressure in the contestants' expressions at the end!"
"Of course! This is a competition, after all. Only the best will survive—half of them are getting eliminated today!"
"Survive? Bro, are you sure about that?"
"I was watching a certain someone's live stream, and compared to everyone else… I don't even know what to say."
"LOL, just read out his ID at this point."
"My review? That guy wasn't here to compete."
"Then what was he doing?"
"Taking a nap in a different location."
"….."
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The chat's ridicule wasn't unwarranted.
Unlike the other contestants, Akifumi's live stream had an entirely different atmosphere.
When Kana first announced the time was up, he was lying on a couch, eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
His body barely twitched in response.
It wasn't until the second, more serious warning was issued that he stirred slightly, blinked in confusion, and groggily sat up, yawning.
Disoriented, he rubbed his eyes, looking like a groggy elementary schooler waking up on a bus ride to a field trip rather than a contestant in a high-stakes writing competition.
After sitting there dazed for several seconds, his gaze cleared, and he muttered, "Oh, it's over? Finally, I can go home."
Without a hint of hesitation or sentimentality, Akifumi stood up, stretched lazily, and walked out, leaving behind the work he had spent hours creating.
This scene instantly sent waves through the audience.
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"This guy's mindset is unbeatable."
"Even the contestants who were confident in their work are still hanging around. Meanwhile, this guy just walks out like it's nothing."
"Speaking of confidence, do we even need to debate whether 'Unnatural' is taking first place?"
"Maybe… there's another dark horse?"
"You sure about that?"
"Uh… not really. But hey, surprises happen!"
"…."
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Meanwhile, back at the competition venue, the staff began collecting all the contestants' materials. Kana spoke once more:
"All materials related to the competition will now be gathered by our staff. Contestants may stay to observe or leave at their discretion."
As if on cue, the live stream cut to Akifumi exiting the room.
Kana's eyelid twitched.
She had an overwhelming urge to comment, but professionalism held her back.
In contrast, the other contestants remained seated, watching intently as their work was carefully packed away.
Only when the last piece was secured did they finally breathe out in relief.
A few lingered even longer, striking up conversations with fellow competitors.
Had Akifumi been there to witness this, he would have felt even more justified in his early departure.
Despite his industry status intimidating many, there were always a few daring individuals who wouldn't hesitate to strike up a conversation.
Though exchanging ideas with peers was enjoyable, at the end of the day, nothing sounded more appealing than a home-cooked meal waiting for him.
Back in the official live stream, once the last piece of work had been collected, Kana put on her usual cheerful smile and made the final announcement:
"And with that, today's competition has officially concluded! We'll see you all next week, same time, same place!"
According to the competition rules, today's event was now over.
Scoring and evaluations would be conducted online over the coming days, with results finalized by next Thursday. The judges' critiques would also be published online rather than delivered live, as assessing so many works on the spot would be unrealistic.
Once again, the chat exploded with excitement:
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"First round, complete! Celebration time!"
"Hurry up and upload Warrior of Love and Hope-sensei story! I NEED to read it!!"
"It's been ten minutes since the competition ended, and I'm already losing my mind without 'Unnatural' to read!"
"Guys, you know what we need to do."
"Huh?"
"Go after him and DEMAND updates!"
"Wait, what?"
"That's right! We're forcing him to continue 'Unnatural'!"
"Didn't he already have a ton of unfinished stories?"
"Come on, does the number of stories even matter? The guy starts new ones all the time anyway."
"True. LET'S GO!"
"…"
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Somewhere out there, Akifumi had no idea that a work he hadn't even fully outlined yet was already causing an uproar.
If he found out, he would probably laugh in exasperation and mutter:
"Can't these guys just let me have a break for once? Damn it!"