When Aiden had first posted about the web novel, a lot of his followers had thought that Aiden's account had been hacked.
After all, he had never written any online novels before. The whole genre was not mainstream and a lot of people even wondered what a web novel is. Aiden also had never talked about it before, so they were a bit sceptical.
All this time he was making another novel after <Behind the scenes> and no one even knew. Going by the amount of chapters already posted, the novel even seemed to be coming to an end.
But as it was free and people were doubting whether Aiden was really the author, a lot of people checked it out and just after a few chapters, they realised that it was indeed his novel and his account wasn't really hacked.
A writer's style is always distinct and although Aiden had written <Archer's Ascension> in a simpler fashion to not look too overbearing, it still carried his distinct style.
A style with an emphasis on flow. It was such that people weren't able to stop themselves from reading the novel.
After posting the links, Aiden got a lot of comments by people who were asking all sorts of questions.
Since when was he writing this? Why had he only just revealed it? And other things. So, Aiden made a separate post to satisfy their curiosity.
[I have been writing this for a few months. It was a personal project of mine and I think it's the right time for me to reveal it to all of you. It's a bit different from my first book, so I wasn't sure how all of you would like it.]
With that, it was clear that his account wasn't hacked or something. A lot of his followers also became more interested as hardly any of them knew about web novels, especially cultivation ones.
Though, those who knew were the most excited. The post actually brought out a lot of silent followers who were readers of web novels.
[Moaning Frodo: So, Aiden read webnovels! Is he the first actor who would understand the mystic daos. Never thought the start of my day would be like this!]
[Daoist snu snu: Aiden is 'The Dreamer'? Damn, I never expected two of my favourite people to be the same person. It's a weird feeling but a nice one. When did he start reading webnovels though?]
[A Spanish cat is better than blue aliens: I think he's always been a reader. At least he talked about anime in a few of his interviews and how he thinks their mode of storytelling is extremely different from Hollywood but more impactful. I think he reads web novels alongside that. Man's a weeb.]
[Top G-hadi: I never read web novels and don't really understand the genre of cultivation. Is it a novel on farming? But it sounds interesting. Anyway it's free and I have time. I will check it out.]
[OP Bald protagonist: Damn, I read ten chapters of it and it's vastly different from <Behind the scenes> and even <Morpheus>. It's just in a very different skin but it's definitely great. Sounds like it doesn't have too much emotional depth as it focuses more on the blood pumping parts. I kind of found myself as the protagonist while reading it.]
[Racist Black Cat: I'm not really interested in it but damn, it seems like a popular novel. I am sure about the quality as it looked to be one of the best on the website and no one even knew it was Aiden's novel before this.]
Those types of comments kept increasing and increasing and a lot of people just tried the novel just to see how it would be. A few gave up after the first chapter but those who read a few were instantly hooked.
After all, web novels are written on a day to day basis and it was important for them to be hooking for readers to continue reading. A lot of Aiden's followers have never read a novel like that, so it was a very different experience for them.
Moreover, unlike other web novels that have a lot of wish fulfilment, <Archer's Ascension> was a lot closer to a balanced fantasy novel. That made it a perfect first read for a person that had never read a web novel before.
With that, one thing that Aiden wasn't expecting was the media catching up on it. Not the top media companies like Vanity or Hollywood weekly but the ones that report on any small thing to keep up with traction on their websites.
They quickly released articles.
<Aiden Silvereye revealed his new novel <Archer's Ascension> on his social media accounts. The novel is free to read and is a passion project from the multi talented individual.
-The Box.>
<<Archer's Ascension>, a web novel by Aiden Silvereye is becoming more and more famous every hour as a lot of people are watching it after the celebrity announced that he was writing it.
-Film Times.>
<Aiden Silvereye revealed himself as the famous web novel author 'The Dreamer', shocking a lot of his fans. His moniker has been writing the novel for a few months and now, it's one of the top web novels on the entire internet. Read to know more about web novels and where you could read them.
-Citra Magazine.>
These articles helped increase the flow of new readers on his web novel. A lot of them were also enjoying the web novel as he was getting tons of positive comments.
That made Aiden more motivated to write chapters.
A few hours later, he opened up the website to know how his novel was doing. His phone was constantly ringing today as a lot of people were suddenly texting him about his sudden reveal.
He had only picked up a few calls and had decided to reply to the messages later after writing.
'Ah, my views have increased a lot.'
He thought as he looked at the screen in front of him. It had gained almost two million views in one day. No ads could generate such a huge growth.
With hope in his heart, he opened up the rankings and there, he saw it.
<Archer's Ascension - 13 million views - 1st rank.>
<I'm the Son of the Villain - 13 million views - 2nd rank.>
His novel was in the first place, finally.
***
'Soulless' couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. How could his novel be in second place?
There was a lot of difference between him and 'The Dreamer'. How could he gain 2 million views in one single day?
At first, he thought it's a glitch but after refreshing, he knew it wasn't.
He quickly texted the guy who handles the ads for his novel.
[Soulless: Double down the ads! Don't worry about anything else. I want to reach the first rank fast.]
He had messaged with an obsessed mind. In the last two years, he had gotten so used to being at the top that it felt very unnatural.
All he wanted was to get back to the top as soon as possible.
He was getting a lot of messages on his phone. That's why, he opened it while thinking how <Archer's Ascension> had gotten so many views in one day.
When he opened up his phone, he noticed that the author's group was buzzing with a lot of people talking about something. He had a hint that they were talking about the sudden shift in ranks.
That's why he started reading the messages.
[Dragon Eternal Sunshine: Did you guys see it? The first rank has a new king. I was not expecting that when I woke up.]
[Lolimon: Yeah, how the hell did 'The Dreamer' do it? I was waiting for someone to dethrone 'Soulless' but he gained almost 2 million views in one night. How's that even possible?]
[Junior sister, you are stuck: He probably cheated. There's no other way. After all, 'Soulless' would never let anyone else get past him.]
Reading that, 'Soulless' thought the same thing. 'The Dreamer' had probably cheated. All those views were surely just bots. There was no way it would be organic after all.
In the past, other people have tried that too but they all have been banned by the website.
'Soulless' was hoping to see the same here. He also calmed down a bit when his mind moved towards that.
But in the next second, a member suddenly revealed the truth. It was the fifth ranked author.
[Anabella maker: There's no cheating or anything that took place. All those views are organic and I have confirmed it. 'The Dreamer' got so many views because his real identity is that of Aiden Silvereye, that actor who was in the news last month. He has tens of millions of followers and all his followers are now reading the web novel, adding to the views. That's why, he got to the top in one night.]
Reading that, 'Soulless' doubted it for a while. After all, a celebrity writing a web novel. That actually sounded straight out from a web novel and these are just wish fulfilments.
But when he actually looked into it, he found out that it was actually true!
Aiden hadn't cheated! He just used up his resources!
