Chapter 62 - 61

Akira kept scrolling. Ninth place? Another title from Kansai Prefecture. From tenth place onward, the rankings began to spread out—entries from all across the country, covering a wide range of genres and styles. Some had thousands of paid readers; others, only a few hundred. The disparity was clear, but Akira couldn't help feeling a flicker of pride. After all, the rankings had only been live for about two hours, and already eight of the top ten spots were claimed by works from Kyoto. For someone born and raised there, it was hard not to feel a personal connection. And considering Kyoto had only been allowed to submit eight titles this year, the result spoke for itself. It wasn't exactly shocking, though. Kyoto was the most densely populated prefecture in the country, with over 130 million residents—three or four times the population of most other regions. With that kind of scale, it naturally produced a massive number of manga creators and publishers. Outside the capital and the entertainment hub around Tokyo, no other region could compete. While magazines from other prefectures were thrilled to hit a few hundred thousand in weekly sales, Kyoto had five flagship publications that routinely sold over a million copies each week. It was no wonder Kyoto works dominated the Aurora Awards every year. And it wasn't just about volume—the quality was there, too. A fiercely competitive environment and high standards had turned Kyoto into a manga powerhouse. Local fans were loyal, invested, and quick to support their favorites. The selection criteria for the Awards factored in both quality and popularity. A gripping story might attract curious readers from outside its home region—but dedicated fans were the ones who paid early and pushed a title up the rankings. Take Blazing Feather, currently in first place. Nearly 100,000 readers had already paid to unlock chapters beyond the free sample, and Akira guessed that at least 80,000 of them were longtime fans. The rest? Probably curious newcomers checking out the number one title. That's just how the system worked. As long as the rankings weren't manipulated with fake accounts or spam, passionate fan support was perfectly within the rules. And really—how could you fault a series for inspiring that kind of loyalty? With Blazing Feather featured front and center on the homepage, it became the natural gateway for thousands of casual browsers. Once people clicked in, the quality of the story did the rest. They'd get hooked—and of course, they'd pay to keep reading. On paper, the Awards were about celebrating the best manga in the nation, judged by a wide and general audience. But in reality? A strong local fanbase could give a title an enormous head start. With over a hundred entries to browse, most readers just began with whatever was trending. You could create the most brilliant manga in the world—but if it was buried at the bottom of the list from the start, who would even notice? In the end, the popular got more popular, and the hidden gems stayed hidden. With that in mind, Akira didn't hesitate. He clicked into several Kyoto titles and paid to unlock chapters—even ones he'd already read in print. It didn't matter. A vote was a vote. As long as you paid—even for just a single chapter—it counted. Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was on the Aurora Awards site tonight. He wasn't just here to revisit familiar favorites. Akira exhaled slowly, then scrolled back up, his eyes sharp with curiosity. Now it was time to see what the rest of the country had to offer. --- Akira clicked over to the "Filter Options" page on the official site and adjusted the ranking criteria—switching from Total Paid Readers to Average User Rating. It was just a small toggle among several... but it changed everything. While the default filter rewarded raw popularity—momentum driven by loyal fanbases—this one leveled the playing field. It wasn't about how many people paid. It was about what readers actually thought after they read. And there was a twist. Under the rules of the Awards system, readers could support titles from their home prefecture financially, but they weren't allowed to rate them. Akira, born and raised in Kyoto, had subscribed to all eight of his hometown's entries. But when it came to leaving ratings? His account was locked out. The restriction was automatic. During registration, users had to submit personal information—like the phone number linked to their account and the payment method used. From that, the system determined each person's region of residence and blocked them from scoring works from the same prefecture. It made sense. If people could rate their own region's entries, the system would drown in perfect scores handed out purely out of loyalty. That wasn't a contest—that was a fan club. This rule was one of the hard-earned lessons from earlier years. The system wasn't perfect, but it had improved. Especially in this regard. So when Akira refreshed the page, the new list that loaded—based entirely on out-of-prefecture reader ratings—felt like something different. This wasn't about hype. This was feedback from readers who didn't know the creators. Readers with no local allegiance. Readers who probably clicked in with zero expectations. If they liked something, they said so. If they didn't, they were honest about that too. It was the kind of raw, unfiltered response Akira respected most. For anyone trying to find a standout from over a hundred entries, this list was pure gold. A moment later, the rankings loaded. Five of Kyoto's eight titles were still in the top ten. The other three hovered just outside, all within the top twenty. That alone said a lot: even without local fan support skewing the numbers, Kyoto's entries held their ground. But... Akira's eyes narrowed as they locked onto a particular title. Rurouni Kenshin: Remembrance. Rating: 9.8. Just beneath it? Blazing Feather—the high-flying Kyoto blockbuster. Rating: 9.0. He stared at the numbers for a long second. "...What the hell?" A 9.8? He blinked again, then leaned in closer, as if proximity would somehow change the score on the screen. You've got to be kidding me. (TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-atreon.com/Alioth23 for 50+ advanced chapters)