The basement was quiet.
Too quiet.
Avery sat cross-legged on the threadbare rug, laptop open before her. The walls, the cables, the flickering fluorescent light—everything felt smaller than it had the night before, when she had first glimpsed what she was about to unleash.
The Aurelian Vault—her independent site—was live. The domain was sleek: aurelianvault.com. No ads. No trackers. No corporate branding. Just the story. Just the words.
She clicked Publish Chapter 1.
Nothing happened.
No emails. No traffic. No buzz.
"Patience," she murmured.
The System chimed softly.
[Item Detected: Viral Seed – One-Time Use][Suggested Target: Chess and Literary Communities]
Avery's fingers hovered over the keyboard. A plan had already formed in her mind.
She activated the Viral Seed. Instantly, the link to The Queen's Gambit – Chapter 1 spread across a major international chess forum. Simultaneously, it appeared on a high-traffic feminist literature board.
In an instant, her audience grew beyond the basement walls.
[Traffic Spike: 3,000 → 12,000 visitors in 10 minutes]
Avery leaned back, sipping lukewarm tea.
It was subtle at first. One comment. Two comments.
"Who is this A.R. King? The writing is god-tier."
"Chapter 1… I… I'm already obsessed."
Then came shares, retweets, forum threads, posts that cross-pollinated communities she hadn't even considered.
"A girl dominating chess? Sounds like fiction, but the detail… insane."
"The metaphors! The internal monologue! Who is writing this?"
Her System pulsed.
[Prestige +50,000][Influence Expansion: Literary Sphere – Initiated][Follower Growth Rate: Exponential]
Within twelve hours, Aurelian Vault had gone from empty to flooded. Servers struggled to keep up. The site, once a quiet digital tomb, became a beacon for anyone tired of sanitized, shallow storytelling.
Avery watched the numbers climb.
[Unique Visitors: 120,000 → 1,200,000 in 24 hours][Chapters Read: 1 → 6,000,000 pages]
It wasn't just numbers. It was obsession.
Threads appeared across social media. Screenshots of lines went viral:
"She moved pieces like the world depended on them… and it did."
"I haven't slept in two days. I need Chapter 10!"
"A.R. King isn't human. No one writes like this."
Comments poured in from professional chess players, literary critics, university students, and casual readers. People debated, analyzed, argued. They made memes, fan art, even translations.
Her System pulsed again.
[Viral Seed Success: 100%][New Reward: Cultural Shockwave – Active Passive Skill]
Avery's lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Good," she whispered. "Let them see what a ghost can do."
By the next morning, mainstream media began to notice.
"A.R. King: The anonymous author who has taken the internet by storm."
"The Queen's Gambit: Why Everyone Is Talking About This Chess Masterpiece."
"Is A.R. King a pseudonym for a celebrity? Fans are obsessed with the mystery."
Her inbox filled with inquiries. Publishers, literary agents, and journalists begged for interviews. Every major platform wanted access.
And she refused.
Because she didn't need them.
The traffic to her site was self-sustaining. The Viral Seed had planted the first root, but the spread now depended entirely on quality. And her story was irresistible.
Her System notified her of another metric:
[External Emotional Engagement Detected: Global][Interest Level: Maximum][Projected Retention: 92%]
She leaned back, tapping the keys slowly.
The System whispered: "Next wave: strategic influencer insertion. Optional."
Avery smiled.
Not optional. Necessary.
She didn't need viral randomness anymore. She could accelerate it, plant seeds, control the flow.
Chess forums? Saturated.Feminist literature boards? Exploding.University discussion threads? Now active.Fan communities? Emerging.
By the evening, the Aurelian Vault had gone from a hidden site to a cultural event. News cycles were forced to report:
"No one knows who A.R. King is—but the story is unavoidable."
The System chimed again.
[Prestige +200,000][Influence Sphere Expanded: Digital Literary Network][Special Notification: Anonymous Creator Status – Maximum Leverage]
Leverage. Avery's favorite word.
Because while the world obsessed over A.R. King, no one realized who controlled the masterpiece behind the mask.
Meanwhile, in another city, Titan Management stirred.
Julian Vane, once a golden boy idol, sat slouched over a monitor. His team flooded him with screenshots from the chess forums and literature boards.
He frowned.
"What is this?" he asked.
"No idea," one assistant replied. "It's… someone writing a story about a girl dominating chess. Fans are calling her… a genius. It's insane."
Julian's face paled.
"I thought Avery Rivers was gone," he muttered.
"Yeah, the warehouse project," the assistant said dismissively. "Trash indie movie, right?"
Julian clenched his jaw.
"Trash indie? Have you seen these views? These reactions?!"
The assistant shrugged.
"She's anonymous," he said. "Nobody knows who A.R. King is. It's probably… just hype."
Julian's eyes narrowed. He tapped the keyboard. "We… we need to investigate. Track this person. Find them. Now."
Back in the basement, Avery reclined. The laptop screen glowed softly in the dim light. Comments scrolled endlessly. Threads exploded. Fan theories multiplied faster than she could read.
But she wasn't satisfied.
Not yet.
She activated a new System function.
[Influence Vector Deployment – Chess & Literature Boards]
It allowed her to inject subtle suggestions, strategically placed comments that would guide conversations without revealing herself.
She typed a single line into an anonymous account:
"The protagonist's strategy mirrors historical real-world games… fascinating, isn't it?"
Within minutes, thousands of posts debated which games she referenced, and the threads spiraled into obsessive analysis.
By the next day, the Aurelian Vault had doubled its traffic again. The media caught wind, publishing stories like:
"A.R. King's The Queen's Gambit Has Everyone Obsessed—Even Chess Grandmasters Are Talking About It."
"The Internet Is Falling for A.R. King's Anonymous Chess Prodigy."
And as the obsession grew, Avery leaned back, closing her eyes.
She could feel the pulse.
The System whispered:
"Phase 1: Dominance of discourse – complete."
She opened her eyes.
It was time for Phase 2.
Phase 2: Expansion into multi-media.
Music, film, literature—all pillars of culture were already trembling. She had already mastered music virality. She had begun conquering film. Now the literary sphere was hers.
And soon, the public would demand her next move.
Because when a ghost strikes at every corner of influence, the industry has no one to blame but itself.
Avery Rivers—or rather, A.R. King—smiled faintly.
The masterpiece had launched.
And the world hadn't even realized the war had begun.
End of Chapter 17