Kamiyā Yuu's efforts had not been in vain. As he had expected, the 'Fate/Zero' novels achieved both critical acclaim and tremendous popularity. On 2channel, Japan's famous general discussion forum, threads discussing 'Fate/Zero' far outnumbered those about any other light novel released during the same period.
At the moment, the majority of 2channel's users consisted of office workers and other adults with relatively mature values, which also reflected the primary audience that 'Fate/Zero' was attracting.
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2CH [Breaking News]:
Volume 2 of the 'Fate/Zero' novel will officially go on sale tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
August 8, 2018 (Sunday)
Kimpei-san — August 8, 2018 (Sunday), 12:34
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＼(^o^)／ "Woohoo! Didn't expect to find fellow 'Fate/Zero' novel fans here. Can't wait..."
Anonymous — August 8, 2018 (Sunday), 12:44
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"Light novel-loving otaku? Gross. Please get out of 2CH."
Yoshino — August 8, 2018 (Sunday), 12:45
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"The person above is the truly disgusting one. If you're going to mock otaku, then don't hide behind anonymity!
"And besides, I don't even think 'Fate/Zero' counts as a light novel. What light novel starts with over two million characters' worth of character side stories before the main story even begins?
"I honestly think 'Fate/Zero' has the potential to become Japan's own 'The Lord of the Rings.' The worldbuilding is incredible.
"Also, Director Kamiyā's reputation as a human word processor is seriously unbelievable. According to Chiyo Bookstore's official announcement, Volume 2 contains a total of 400,000 characters split across two books. It's been less than a month since Volume 1 came out. Can somebody explain how Director Kamiyā is simultaneously writing novels and directing an anime?"
Yagi Akiko — August 8, 2018 (Sunday), 12:50
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"We already know. I heard there's going to be another major announcement too. Could it be that the side-story novels are getting animated!?
"As for the previous question, Director Kamiyā explained in an interview with Chiyo Bookstore that he'd actually conceived this novel long before his directorial debut and had already completed a substantial portion of the manuscript. He's only revising and polishing it before publication now.
"After all, there's no way someone could write 400,000 characters in just one month."
If Kamiyā Yuu had seen the comment from the user named Yagi Akiko, he probably would have laughed.
In his previous world, he had personally witnessed web novel authors maintaining a pace of over 20,000 characters a day for months without missing a single update—not to mention the truly monstrous writers who serialized multiple novels simultaneously.
Even so, his own writing speed in this world was monstrous even among professional authors, forcing him to publicly claim that he had actually been writing these novels long before they were published.
...
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2CH [Major Announcement]: Major news regarding 'Fate/Zero' Volume 2: Novelist Kirigami Ruri has reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with Yosuganosora Animation Studio. Barring any surprises, a 'Fate/Zero' side-story novel will be released by the end of the month.
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[Miyasato Akikazu — August 9, 2018 (Monday), 11:23
"What!? w(゜Д゜)w, You mean that beautiful novelist Kirigami Ruri? It's been ages since I've heard about her taking on any commercial projects. No matter what she writes, I'm buying it."]
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[Original Poster: Uchida Shun — August 9, 2018 (Monday), 11:24
"Sorry, I was so shocked that I forgot to mention the rest. In addition to Kirigami Ruri, three manga artists have also reached cooperation agreements with Yosuganosora Animation Studio. Manga artist Irie Naoki will simultaneously adapt Kirigami Ruri's novel into manga, while Matsumoto Kura and Yoshitomi Akihito will each produce manga based on scripts provided by Director Kamiyā Yuu."]
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[Anonymous — August 9, 2018 (Monday), 11:26
"Amazing! Apparently, even making history with 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' wasn't enough to satisfy Director Kamiyā. No matter how you look at it, Yosuganosora Animation Studio is planning something huge."]
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2CH [Compilation Thread]: Discussion Thread for the Light Novel 'Fate/Zero'
[Higashihara Naoya — August 12, 2018 (Thursday), 18:49
"It took me three days after work to finish Volume 2. I won't spoil anything, but I can confidently say it's absolutely worth buying. Combined with the character side stories, I'm even more excited to see where everything goes. Kiritsugu Emiya is seriously awesome. No wonder he's known as the Magus Killer in Director Kamiyā's story."]
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[Ōba Mami — August 12, 2018 (Thursday), 18:52
"Saber hardly gets any screen time... But the way magi fight is unbelievably cool! This is exactly the kind of combat I've always wanted—like ninjas constantly trying to outwit each other. Intelligence, strategy, and combat ability all matter. This novel proves that mindlessly overpowering your opponent isn't suitable for this era anymore! The Church has already issued an extermination order, so Caster will probably be the first Servant eliminated. Seeing little Rin enter that serial killer's territory made me so nervous... Who knows whether Director Kamiyā might actually kill off such an adorable little girl? My poor Mami Tomoe... Lastly— Matō Kariya, do your best~! ( •̀ᴗ•́ )"
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[Anonymous — August 12, 2018 (Thursday), 18:54
"Is 'Volumen Hydrargyrum' basically a slime? I really want a pet like that. It'd be perfect to sleep on during the summer. The fighting style is incredibly unique. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Yosuganosora Animation Studio—the company famous for spending crazy amounts of money on animation—brings those scenes to life."]
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[Anonymous — August 12, 2018 (Thursday), 18:55
"Hey, hey, hey! Isn't this thread kind of dangerous? I'm only halfway through the novel, and I already feel like I've been spoiled just by clicking in here."]
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One week later, the sales figures for Volume 2 of 'Fate/Zero' were finally released.
410,293 copies.
Those impressive numbers were immediately added to the Japanese Light Novel Oricon rankings, effectively doubling the total sales of the series.
Originally ranked fourth in popularity, 'Fate/Zero' instantly leaped into second place, trailing the first-place title, 'Hero's Tale 2,' by only several tens of thousands of copies.
Judging by the additional sales generated by the ongoing anime adaptation, that remaining gap would likely disappear entirely when the Oricon rankings are updated again.