Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

"Um... okay."

What else could Eri Aragaki say? She could only go along with Masaya Sakurai and then said...

Meanwhile, Natsume Akane and Erina, who were standing nearby, also became curious and glanced at the manga from a distance...

It is clearly not a drawing of the giant.

Then they looked at Eri Aragaki, wondering when she had drawn this manga.

This was, after all, a work created on a whim by Eri Aragaki in her spare time, intended only as practice for her writing.

Moreover, she felt that there was no rush to submit the manuscript, so why should she ask Natsume Akane and Erina for help?

Therefore, Natsume Akane and the others were completely unaware of the creation of this work, "Wu Song".

And so, Masaya Sakurai began to patiently watch the novel "Wu Song" in front of him, from the young hero who returned after fighting the tiger to reunite with his elder brother's family, to the secret collusion between Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian...

Then Wu Song went on another long journey, but when he returned, he could only see his little niece crying and his elder brother's memorial tablet...

Then, in a fit of rage, he drew his sword and charged toward the Ximen residence.

And what Sakurai Masaya saw next was...

Wu Song charged in from outside the door, his blade flashing in an arc under the moonlight. The entire drawing was rendered in pure black ink, without any halftone dots or grayscale; it was just pure black ink and the white of the paper.

But the overwhelming murderous aura and sense of oppression seemed to break through the artwork!

That really makes Wu Song in the comics look like "a demon lord descended from heaven, a true god among men"!

The inevitable outcome was that the arrogant Ximen Qing, Wang Po, and Pan Jinlian were beheaded by Wu Song and their heads were offered as a sacrifice before Wu Dalang's spirit tablet.

Eri Aragaki was too lazy to draw those frustrating and boring plots, especially since she drew these in a super creative state, so she drew them very skillfully, directly hitting the enjoyable parts.

There might be some build-up at the beginning, but the rest of the film is non-stop entertainment until you're completely satisfied.

So even after watching it, Masaya Sakurai was unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

Because he felt a sense of exhilaration he hadn't felt in a long time, the kind of feeling of witnessing Wu Song go from being a spirited young man to the murder of Wu Dalang, whom he considered his elder brother like a father, and then the pent-up frustration he suffered, culminating in a complete release at the end.

He felt the exhilarating sense of revenge, a sense of satisfaction that resonated deeply with him!

He felt a long-lost surge of passion welling up in his chest, and he felt that no one could remain calm after reading this comic.

It took him several seconds to come to his senses.

Then Masaya Sakurai looked at Eri Aragaki and said, "Riri-sensei, you created this manga, right?"

"That's right..."

Eri Aragaki nodded, then said, "Mr. Sakurai, what is this...?"

She had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, and therefore felt a sense of anticipation.

Masaya Sakurai then nodded and said, "It's like this... I'm in charge of next week's short manga section, but unfortunately, the manga artist who was scheduled to be serialized in his work had an accident and went to the hospital..."

"I was thinking that there might be a temporary gap in this week's short comics."

He sighed and said, "So, teacher, you should have realized by now that I just read your 'Wu Song,' and it's of very high quality. I'm thinking of having your comic temporarily take over for serialization next week..."

Teacher, what's your opinion?

"of course can!"

Eri Aragaki immediately nodded excitedly in agreement.

Chapter 58 Niche Sister and Niche Comics

"Hello, could you please help me settle the bill?"

The young bookstore clerk was stunned for a moment when he saw the beautiful girl cosplaying C.C. from "Code Geass".

Her long green hair reached her waist, her white straitjacket was tailored to fit her perfectly, and her makeup was so exquisite that she looked like she had stepped out of an anime.

She was holding a stack of manga volumes and several manga magazines. The one on top was the new volume of "Claymore" that had just been released this month, with a cover showing Claire holding a claymore standing in the snow.

"Hello?"

The girl waited two seconds, and when she realized the clerk didn't react, she called out again.

The shop assistant then came to her senses and quickly lowered her head, pretending nothing had happened, and began to process the girl's purchases.

These are all manga volumes and various manga magazines, including Monthly Shonen Gangan, Weekly Shonen Jump, and LaLa, covering both shonen and shojo manga.

"Hello, in total..."

After he scanned the code and quoted the price, the girl took out a few bills from her exquisite lambskin wallet and handed them to him. After giving him change, she turned around and handed the items to the middle-aged driver who had been waiting quietly beside her.

"Please put it in my car, thank you."

The driver bowed slightly, took the large bag of comics, and walked out of the bookstore first.

Ayano then waved goodbye to her friends who had come to the convention to cosplay.

The sun wasn't too strong in Ikebukuro today. There were people coming and going in front of the bookstore, and just across the street was the venue for the doujinshi convention. You could also see groups of cosplayers taking photos on the roadside.

Goodbye, Meow-chan.

She shouted at the girl cosplaying as Enma Ai.

Goodbye, Ayano.

The girl nicknamed "Meow-chan" waved goodbye and then walked towards the station with several other cosplayers.

Ayano then turned and walked to the black sedan parked by the roadside, opened the door and got in.

After closing the car door, she leaned back in her seat and let out a long sigh of relief.

Wearing CC's straitjacket, I attended a doujinshi convention all day, posing for photos, signing autographs, and interacting with people. Although I was very happy, I was also quite exhausted.

"Let's just go home."

After saying that to the driver, she pulled out the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump from a large bag of comics on the seat next to her.

As a wealthy second-generation heiress, her biggest hobby is actually ACG culture and cosplay. Who would believe that?

Well... after all, this is Japan, where ACG culture is prevalent, so it's not that hard to understand.

Many of the wealthy young ladies around her are also fans of idol groups, but there aren't many like her who are so obsessed with hardcore comics and personally cosplay them.

Her father had no objection to this. Anyway, his daughter's grades were decent, she didn't cause trouble, and she could buy comics if she wanted and go to comic conventions if she wanted. He even arranged a driver to pick her up and drop her off.

She'd read the individual volumes all at once when she got home; for now, she'd focus on the manga series she was currently enjoying in magazines.

This is also because Ayano Kawakami, as a long-time reader, has developed a rather peculiar reading habit.

If it's a manga that already has a single volume, she'll patiently wait for a new volume to be released before reading it all at once, instead of following the serialization.

However, if she really likes a new manga series that hasn't been published yet, she'll follow it every week until it's released as a standalone volume.

After all, some comics might be serialized for one or two years before a single volume is released, and she really couldn't wait that long.

Recently, her favorite manga is Attack on Titan, which is currently being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.

She initially started following the serialization out of curiosity after learning about Eri Aragaki's pen name.

When she signed the rental agreement that time, she casually asked a question, and Eri Aragaki said that her pen name was "I Don't Eat Pears". At that time, she felt that the name sounded familiar.

I went back and looked through the JUMP supplement I had bought before, found the page with the Tezuka Award-winning work, and confirmed that this "Doesn't Eat Pears" was the same "Doesn't Eat Pears".

Then she started watching from the very first episode, and then she couldn't stop.

Especially since she is actually considered a niche figure.

The anime and comics I like tend to be niche genres... but not so niche that nobody watches them.

For example, she just doesn't like classic shonen manga like Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, but she prefers manga like Claymore, Parasyte, Death Note, and Gunnm.

Simply put, these are suspenseful, dark, and intellectually stimulating comics and anime with deep world-building, characters struggling in the gray area, and plots that can take unexpected turns at any time.

So Attack on Titan really suited her taste.

Humans are confined within city walls, surrounded by giants who are their natural enemies. This sense of despair, like being trapped in a cage, is completely different from those classic adventure stories.

Moreover, the hand that doesn't eat pears and wields knives is no less ruthless than Yagi Norihiro's from "Claymore," making people feel that this world is real, cruel, and substantial.

She couldn't wait to watch this week's Attack on Titan episode.

The preceding plot involved Eren successfully escaping trial due to Levi's deliberate acts of violence.

In the courtroom, in front of a group of high-ranking officials, Levi kicked several of Eren's teeth out, using this simple and brutal method to declare Eren's harmlessness to everyone.

Eren was beaten until his face was covered in blood and he fell to the ground, but at least he survived and officially joined the Survey Corps, specifically Levi's squad.

This is an elite squad led by Captain Levi, the strongest human soldier. Each member is an elite soldier with extensive experience in hunting Titans, and their combat strength is among the best in the entire Survey Corps.

Shortly after Eren reunites with Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and others, the Survey Corps will embark on a new round of investigations outside the walls.

This week's episodes will focus on the upcoming investigation outside the Great Firewall.

Finally, amidst the incomprehension and ridicule of the civilians inside the walls, the steadfastness of the Survey Corps soldiers, and Eren's anticipation, a new round of investigation outside the walls officially began.

A large group of people rode out of the city gate and passed through the archway in the city wall.

The world outside the walls unfolded before Allen's eyes: an endless wilderness, and a vastness he had never experienced since birth.

After reading this part of the story, this episode ends here.

The last frame is a panoramic view of the Survey Corps' ranks marching across the wilderness, their green cloaks fluttering in the wind, and the Wings of Liberty emblem shining in the sunlight.

Ayano Kawa slammed the magazine down on her face and bounced back against the seat.

"Ughhhh, why can't Attack on Titan release two chapters a week? It's just not enough!"

She even has an urge to rush to Eri Aragaki's apartment and force her to continue drawing the rest of the story until it's finished.

After all, she knew Eri Aragaki's address.

Of course, it was just a fleeting impulse in her mind.