belamy20

Chapter 2: Dragging Teammates into the Deep End! (Not Really)

Added 2024-09-09 12:23:32 +0000 UTC

In any industry, a “Demon King” refers to someone who dominates their field.

For the Japanese, the term "Demon King" carries a special weight. It’s used to describe someone so powerful that others can’t even hope to compete.

For instance, in the world of table tennis, Zhang Ning's abilities were displayed on Japanese TV, maxed out on every skill attribute.

Now, Oda Shingo’s name is eerily similar to Oda Nobunaga, a historical figure in Japan, known as the "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven" during the Sengoku era.

In this parallel world, Oda Nobunaga also exists, but history diverged after the incident at Honnoji Temple.

“Haha, Demon King?” Oda Shingo wasn’t too impressed with the system’s assistance, but the title caught his interest.

Traveling to a parallel world already gave him a buff. Whether he had the system or not, he was determined to climb to the top on his own!

The system was just a tool to speed up his rise to power, adding a bit of fun along the way.

Oda Shingo was confident: "I will be crowned king!"

**[Ding—Anime Demon King System successfully loaded!]** a voice chimed in his mind.

A light blue screen appeared in front of him.

**[Please choose one of the following professions as your starting role.]**

“What? I get to choose my profession?” Oda Shingo was surprised.

*[Note: The system will enhance your chosen profession based on your own abilities.]**

**[These enhancements can be further improved through rewards from completing tasks.]**

The system would buff his natural abilities, Oda Shingo realized.

The choice of profession would determine the type of help he would receive from the system for a while, so he had to choose carefully.

He looked intently at the screen.

**[1. Illustration Master (Low Difficulty): Drawing skill +50%, Talent: Doujin sales +200%]**

**[2. Animation Expert (Medium Difficulty): Technical skills +50%, Talent: Rendering errors reduced by 90%]**

**[3. Manga Artist (High Difficulty): Efficiency +50%, Talent: Can unlock team-based effect aura]**

The system explained the attributes: "Drawing skill" meant artistic ability, "technical skills" referred to digital tools and techniques, and "efficiency" was the speed of completing tasks.

Japanese manga used to be updated monthly or bi-monthly, though weekly updates were torture for most artists. However, with the rise of manga studios, output speed had improved.

The first profession, Illustration Master, had the most noticeable boost in drawing ability, making it easier to produce high-quality work.

It also came with a bonus to doujin sales—a tempting offer, especially since he was short on cash. But Oda Shingo couldn’t help but think, *Isn’t this just the Doujin Master role in disguise?*

His mind filled with images of various iconic doujin creators, though he quickly shook the thoughts away. *Focus, focus!*

The second profession, Animation Expert, was a solid middle-ground option. But while reducing rendering errors was appealing, who would remember a behind-the-scenes tech specialist?

The third option, Manga Artist, clearly emphasized high output and team synergy.

Since it was labeled as a "starting profession," Oda Shingo figured he could switch later, but his initial choice would impact how difficult his start in this new world would be.

The Manga Artist profession was marked as high difficulty because of the protagonist’s poor background. Without the resources of a manga studio, creating a team would be challenging.

The current anime industry was competitive, and only those with a team could optimize both the quality and speed of their work.

Oda Shingo stared at the Manga Artist option for a while.

The efficiency boost meant that if he could only draw one page a day, with the buff, he’d be able to produce 1.5 pages daily—an obvious advantage.

And the aura? That was just too tempting…

**[Tick-tock, tick-tock]** The system began a countdown. **[Please make your choice within 30 seconds or…]**

“Hah! You think I’m indecisive?” Oda Shingo smirked, “I choose…”

“The high-difficulty Manga Artist!”

He loved a challenge. The harder, the better!

Of course, this wasn’t his only consideration.

Even without the original owner's dream of becoming a manga artist, Oda Shingo himself had been an animation director in his previous life. He knew the advantages of team-based creation inside and out.

The Manga Artist was the only profession that offered the team-aura ability.

Who wouldn’t want a powerful buff like that?

The moment he made his decision, countless stars spun into his body from the screen.

**[Manga Artist profession loaded!]**

**[Current ability ratings (out of 100): Drawing skill 50, Technical skill 80, Efficiency 150 (buffed)]**

He chuckled. The system was being quite fair.

His efficiency rating was 100, and with the 50% buff, it skyrocketed.

**[Warning! Manga artists need teams!]**

**[Due to lack of a team, your talent aura is currently unavailable.]**

Oda Shingo acknowledged the message with a nod. No rush; he would test his skills first.

But before that, he needed a decent living and working environment.

“I can tolerate being poor, but I can’t work in a pigsty,” he muttered, cleaning up his apartment.

Once the room was tidied and organized, it felt almost like it was glowing.

*Alright, let’s test my drawing skills,* he thought, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and starting the timer on his phone.

The original body had some artistic experience, and there were plenty of drawing supplies in the apartment.

“What should I draw?” he wondered.

Before his reincarnation, *Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End* was all the rage.

For some reason, his memory of the manga’s art was crystal clear.

“Let’s draw Frieren,” he decided.

In five minutes, he had sketched a simple, black-and-white image of the character. Her flowing hair, magical robe, and staff were all in place.

The speed was impressive, but the quality… not so much.

Strictly speaking, it was barely passable. The face looked like something out of Masami Kurumada’s rough sketches, and the eyes were spaced too far apart like early work from Kosuke Fujishima. The background looked unfinished, and even the character's posture was off…

“No wonder my drawing skill is rated 50,” Oda Shingo sighed.

His current skill level would likely doom him in the competitive manga industry. Sure, some famous artists had similar drawing styles, but his artwork wasn’t up to par.

Still, this was only his drawing skill. What about his storyboarding?

Most people would be discouraged by poor drawing skills, but Oda Shingo wasn’t the average person. He drew up another sheet of paper and started working on the storyboard.

This time, he took longer, but he perfectly recreated the storyboard from *Frieren*.

“A whole storyboard in under fifteen minutes!” he marveled.

It seemed his reincarnated self had an incredible advantage—he could recall anime scenes with perfect clarity, allowing him to essentially copy them from his memory.

Plus, his natural efficiency, boosted by the system, made his work even faster.

His strength lay in storyboarding, but his drawing skills were a serious weakness. If he wanted to draw something like *One Punch Man* or *Frieren,* his current level simply wasn’t good enough.

“I need a team, especially a main artist,” he thought.

With only a few thousand yen to his name, that was going to be tough.

But he loved a challenge!

**[Newbie gift pack unlocked.]** The system chimed in at the perfect moment.

**[Newbie gift pack opened: Congratulations! You’ve received team recruitment assistance, with 3 opportunities.]**

**[When a suitable teammate appears, the system will notify you and provide help in recruiting them.]**

“What?” Oda Shingo was overjoyed.

A map unfolded in his mind, showing a specific store location.

**[First recommended teammate opportunity!]**

**[Location: Bookstore (Doujin Shop).]**

Wait, what?

**[Recruitment hint: “Miss, you don’t want anyone to know your secret, do you? Then come along quietly…”]**