On the other side of the competition—
Though the official start of the match was still ten minutes away, the live broadcast had already begun the moment Akifumi stepped into his assigned room. His fans flooded the livestream instantly.
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"First!!"
"Wait... did I enter the wrong stream?! Why is this guy so ridiculously handsome?!"
"Did you forget about the book signing event? We already found out back then that sensei is good-looking!"
"Wait, that was real? I thought it was just an exaggeration!"
"I assumed it was just overzealous fans hyping him up, thinking he was just slightly better-looking than the average manga artist. But damn, he really is this good-looking! He's practically a celebrity!"
"A celebrity? Please, even most celebrities don't look this good!"
"And he's so young!"
"Damn it! He's handsome, talented, and young! How is life this unfair?!"
"Some people, when the heavens close a window, at least get a door left open. Some have the window shut and the door welded shut. And then there are people like him—where heaven personally feeds them with a silver spoon!"
"I never minded that this guy makes so much money drawing manga, but now that I see how good-looking he is, I feel nothing but pure jealousy!"
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The sheer volume of comments exploded just from a glimpse of Akifumi's face, taking everyone by surprise.
Meanwhile, other livestreams were also bustling with activity, though none could quite match Akifumi's in popularity.
After all, every contestant who had made it through the preliminaries had at least some fanbase. There were a few complete newcomers, but they were fewer than ten in total.
When fans saw the fully stocked room provided for the contestants, complete with notebooks, tablets, laptops, a blackboard, drinks, snacks, and even cigarettes and alcohol—they couldn't help but laugh at Akifumi's reaction.
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"The organizers really thought of everything! If it weren't for the fact that they have to write scripts, this would be my dream room!"
"Wait, are the cigarettes and alcohol real? Isn't Akifumi still a high school student?!"
"For other contestants, these are considerate additions, but for Akifumi, isn't this a little too much?"
"I'm kinda curious to see if he'll actually try using any of them."
"Elsewhere, as the competition neared its official start, the host, Kanae, was interviewing the panel of judges."
"The match is about to begin! Do any of you have contestants you're particularly interested in?"
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As the panelists turned their attention to him, judge Nojima Shinji smiled and said, "I have my eye on contestants #42 and #56."
"Their approach to the preliminary theme was unique, and their thought process was quite refreshing. However…"
"However?"
"However, if I had to pick my top choice, it would be contestant #13."
Before Kanae could even react, the other two judges interjected.
"Nojima-sensei, that's not fair!"
"Exactly! I wanted to choose contestant #13 too!"
Kanae blinked in surprise. "Wait, you all think so highly of contestant #13?!"
Nojima chuckled. "Well, he did rank first in the preliminaries."
Realization dawned on Kanae. "Oh! So contestant #13 was the top-ranked entry from the prelims? No wonder everyone's paying attention to him!"
"I personally loved his submission, CLANNAD." The only female judge, Kitagawa, added,
"At first, we only had the script outline, and I was concerned about whether it could develop into a proper story. But after reading the first volume, I was completely won over. It was everything I ever hoped CLANNAD would be."
Judge Yukawa nodded.
"I've read several of contestant #13's manga. Each one is unique, with a distinct message."
"A contestant like him won't be restricted by any single genre. In a competition with assigned themes, I believe he'll have a strong advantage."
"He'll surprise us!"
Kanae grinned. "It sounds like you all have high expectations for contestant #13."
"Well, he's already famous in the manga industry. Even we old-timers have to admit—his creativity is incredible."
"There are still a few minutes before the match begins. Why don't we switch the feed to Room #13 and see what he's up to?"
"Great idea!"
"I'm curious to see how he's using his preparation time."
The main screen switched to the live feed of Room #13, instantly bombarding viewers with a flood of excited comments.
Kanae glanced at the screen and looked slightly embarrassed before quickly addressing the audience.
"Ahem. Everyone, as we all know, when crafting scripts, writers often use different methods to spark inspiration."
"To ensure their creative freedom, the competition organizers provided a variety of materials and amenities in the rooms."
"However, we overlooked the fact that some contestants are underage."
"We'll make sure to remove those items from Room #13 immediately. We absolutely did not intend to tempt him into using them!"
Hearing Kanae's quick and decisive explanation, the livestream chat erupted in laughter.
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"Kanae is in full damage control mode!"
"LOL, I bet the organizers never expected to have a contestant this young!"
"Wait a minute, now that I think about it, isn't he the youngest contestant in the history of this competition?!"
"Damn! This guy really is something else!"
"Look! He's making his move!"
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On-screen, Akifumi was now actively working. He first searched for reference materials, then wrote two large words on the blackboard: Forensics and 7K.
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"Forensics? 7K? What does that mean? Is this his chosen theme?!"