Perhaps it was because of the friends she made in a new environment, or perhaps it was due to a long-standing wish, Ise Yu Yuzhijin, who was thriving in the doujin circle, resolutely chose to enter the manga industry.
Shirakawa Sawahei wasn’t sure how much influence he had on Ise Yu Yuzhijin when she made this decision, but it was certain that, as a friend, the doodling girl cared deeply about his and the Calligraphy Club members’ thoughts and feelings.
"Opportunities and such... haven’t they already disappeared?" The doodling girl said with teary eyes, "With my current ability, there’s no way I can complete the upcoming manuscript..."
"There’s already a risk of being cut, and now I’m behind schedule... Shirakawa, I’m out of options..."
"There are always solutions; it just depends on whether you’re willing to take action."
The girl’s eyes were red, with tears not yet dried, looking pitifully at Shirakawa Sawahei, seemingly seeking her anchor. Shirakawa Sawahei didn’t respond to her gaze but instead looked at the manuscript and pondered in silence for a moment.
"If you now reduce the workload of drawing by half and focus solely on plotting, would you have a chance to complete the next issue’s manuscript?"
"Only draw half?" Ise Yu Yuzhijin was stunned and replied, "That’s impossible... The next issue is the anniversary special, and the manuscript content was originally supposed to be the equivalent of two Chapters... Even if it’s halved, it would still be the original workload..."
"Besides... there’s no one to help me, even Sister Yin would need to adapt to the modified art style to help... otherwise, there would be a severe discontinuity in the art style..."
"Finding a manga artist with a style that matches mine in such a short time to help is already an impossible task..."
"So, is this issue’s manuscript unavoidably going to be shelved?" Shirakawa Sawahei estimated his own skill accrual speed and felt that reaching the same level 4 as the doodling girl in two days was indeed quite challenging.
"Pretty much..." Ise Yu Yuzhijin sighed, seemingly resigning to fate, and said, "I can only apologize to Miss Morihara first... It’s a manga that’s already close to being cut, and yet such a delay happens; no wonder my work is not well-liked..."
"That’s where you’re wrong."
Shirakawa Sawahei lit up the phone screen showing online comments, which he had just searched. Apart from those saying the plot was dull, there were many positive comments as well, such as stunning character designs and a very cute female lead, which occupied a large portion as well.
"Although many say your plot isn’t good, you should know that most readers silently read manga without commenting. If you care too much about the opinions of a handful, your creativity might get affected."
Ise Yu Yuzhijin instinctively asked, "Shirakawa, do you mean... there are still many people who like my work?"
"Of course, do you think the magazine is a charity? If the performance is bad, it would have been directly cut; the editor’s efforts are only part of it. If you were truly beyond hope, how could they easily let you continue serialization?"
"Then why don’t they say so..." The doodling girl wiped her tears, "If there were more positive comments for me to see, I certainly wouldn’t be so negative about myself."
"Those who like your work typically do so silently, but those who dislike it won’t do so silently. Whether in manga or other creative fields, it’s the same principle."
"Readers remain silently observant; while those who like your work aren’t few, in the magazine’s data collection, there’s certainly been a decline in your work’s figures, which is why there’s the notion of cutting."
"Then... what should I do?"
Shirakawa Sawahei pondered for a moment and replied, "There’s no way to overhaul this issue’s manuscript. Instead of using a subpar manuscript to continue dragging the figures down, it’s better to use this time to reorganize your work and find that romantic feeling readers want to see."
"So... I shouldn’t submit the next issue’s manuscript first? Just take a break for one issue?" The doodling girl asked dazedly, "But that’s the anniversary special... fans will all buy it, won’t it have a bad impact..."
"Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. Didn’t you say you couldn’t draw a satisfactory manuscript now?" Shirakawa Sawahei said calmly, "So, undergo a rebirth like a phoenix, rising from the ashes."
"You make it sound like you’re the protagonist in a hot-blooded battle manga... My job is a mangaka, not a fighter; there’s no way to suddenly explode just like that..."
In this inadvertently lengthy conversation, the girl’s mood seemed to gradually calm down and she began to tease Shirakawa Sawahei. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "So... how should I find the feeling of romance?"
"That’s for you to figure out; you’re the mangaka, I’m just an assistant," Shirakawa Sawahei said irritably, "Watch more works of the same genre and look for inspiration."
"If inspiration were that easy to find, there wouldn’t be so many bald mangaka and light novelists. If I were—eh? Wait a second..."
"Shirakawa... did you just say..."
Shirakawa Sawahei nodded.
"You heard correctly."
"From now on, until your manga’s risk of being cut is over, I’ll be your assistant."
[Target selection succeeded, generating talent and corresponding information panel, related rewards have been issued]
[Title: Wearing the ’Cooing Pigeon to Offer Ambition’, effect doubled.]
[Fortune-Filled Intuition: In the fields of artistic painting, literature, script creation, and so on, there’s a 30% chance to enter a state of inspiration explosion, achieving perfect quality.]
[Muddling Through: In team collaboration, the probability of being noticed is reduced by 50%, the probability of making mistakes is reduced by 50%, and the probability of being scolded is reduced by 50%. The probability of taking the blame is reduced by 50%.]
Undoubtedly, to help Ise Yu Yuzhijin, one must acquire her artistic talent through the system, as only this way can one rapidly achieve advanced drawing levels to help the girl get through this work suspension crisis.
With the selection of the learning target, the corresponding talent bonuses are naturally indispensable. The doodling girl’s first talent bonus is quite formidable, almost opening a path of domination in the art world for Shirakawa Sawahei, who possesses the little loli’s "immersive" talent.
A 30% chance may be insignificant when enhancing weapons in gacha games, but in real circumstances, it’s an almost guaranteed trigger probability as long as the work isn’t completed in a single day!
Such a strong talent appearing on Ise Yu Yuzhijin unavoidably left Shirakawa Sawahei feeling a bit bewildered, however, the talents that appeared afterward led him to secretly nod in approval.
Indeed, these are Ise Yu Yuzhijin’s talents.