A super great writer in the second dimension

　He was about to speak when Sanzenin Arashi interrupted him.

　“This is the one in charge of the interviews.” He pointed to Yukinoshita Haruno: “You can talk to her.”

　Ikuta Hideyuki nodded, then turned to Yukinoshita Haruno.

　The recruitment process involves three rounds of screening before the final list of full-time employees is determined.

　The first round, hosted by Yukino Yukinoshita, will filter out those whose personal qualities are not up to standard. Here, "quality" refers to hard skills: including academic qualifications and work attitude, both of which are combined into personal qualities.

　Ikuta Hideichi was clearly prepared. He answered a few questions simply, and Yukinoshita Haruno let him go.

　Then, the second round was hosted by Tomoya Aki.

　As Sanzenin Arashi once said: He doesn't need employees who are too talented; those with average skills are fine. But he needs people who can make games with passion.

　He only needed five people for the entire job fair; the other positions were all manual labor, and he could hire temporary workers from the school.

　Otherwise, Sanzenin Arashi wouldn't have offered such a high salary.

　Shuichi Ikuta sat down in front of Tomoya Aki, nervously shaking his leg as Aki read his proposal.

　When applying for a job in the game industry, the simplest way is to present a project proposal. A project proposal can demonstrate a person's comprehensive qualities in the field, and you can tell at a glance whether they are capable or not.

　In order to get this position, Shuichi Ikuta had actually started preparing long ago.

　He had planned to work in this position a year ago, so he was well-prepared and just waiting for an opportunity.

　Then he saw the tweet on Twitter yesterday and came over today.

　Yes, he is a working professional who graduated a year ago.

　A job with a monthly salary of 300,000 yen would be enough for him to make a living in Tokyo. It's worth noting that many of his classmates who graduated at the same time are now only earning 150,000 to 200,000 yen. When he meets up with his classmates, he's the only one without a job. His family is pressuring him; if he can't find work soon, he'll have to leave.

　Although this studio was established in Chiba, it's not that different.

　He was so nervous that he started to tremble.

　Because he was a graduate of a third-rate university, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at his diploma and, according to Arashi Sanzenin's standards, regardless of academic qualifications, the small studio didn't need to handle too many things. What they needed was personal qualifications and the determination to finish the work even if it meant death.

　A diploma means nothing to Sanzenin Arashi. If he wants talent in this field, he can easily recruit them through his own network. The name Aoyama Arashi means a young genius. His sales performance speaks for itself. Everyone knows that he is very rich, so it is very easy for him to recruit good employees.

　Shuichi Ikuta sat there as if awaiting judgment, his hands clenched into fists, his thumbs rubbing together.

　His proposal had been rejected by many people, and if it was rejected again, he would be finished.

　Seeing this, Sanzenin Arashi twitched the corner of her mouth.

　This person is so insecure. With such thorough preparation, what are they afraid of...?

　“Uh…” Sanzenin Arashi’s gaze was somewhat strange. He glanced at the proposal, and this was clearly…

　This is a project proposal for an online game!

　In other words, Ikuta brought the online game's proposal to the GAL game studio's recruitment event.

　Is this person out of their mind?

　However, as Sanzenin Arashi watched, she began to feel that something was amiss.

　This proposal details the combat style and other aspects, including a secondary job system, but it has absolutely nothing to do with visual novels.

　That's not what's wrong with him...

　Sanzenin Arashi looked at this proposal and it seemed so familiar... After thinking about it carefully, he suddenly realized.

　This...this thing looks so much like Final Fantasy.

　But... Final Fantasy doesn't exist in this world, so what's going on?

　Looking at the bewildered Hideichi Ikuta, Arashi Sanzenin asked, "Did you really come up with this proposal yourself?"

　Ikuta Shuichi was almost in tears, but he forced himself to say, "Yes..."

　..

103. So, you've passed. (whispering)

　Final Fantasy is a very popular game with graphics and other elements that are considered top-notch in the industry. Its transition to online gaming has been very successful, and the international version has an extremely high player base. It's the kind of game where you can see a bunch of people loitering around as soon as you log in, and it can cause severe lag if your computer isn't good enough.

　Moreover, it is a milestone in RPG games.

　At this point, the combat system described in the project proposal was exactly the same as that in Final Fantasy.

　Hidekazu Ikuta's eyes widened. He was so nervous when he heard the person who hadn't said a word since the start of the job fair suddenly speak up that he almost fell off his chair. "You, you mean?"

　Sanzenin Arashi pursed her lips: "I asked, did you write this proposal by yourself?"

　"I wrote it!" Ikuta Shuichi didn't dare to say another word, fearing he would be cut in half at the waist.

　After reading the proposal, Aki Tomoya looked at Sanzenin Arashi with a puzzled expression. He didn't know why Aoyama-sensei had suddenly become interested in this, but in his opinion, the proposal was simply a terrible piece of work.

　"Let's not even mention the fact that this guy brought the online game proposal here. The game content alone is terrible, and the plot is abrupt. We have no idea how the female protagonist fell in love with the male protagonist. This proposal of yours..." Aki Tomoya was about to filter out this person when Sanzenin Arashi waved his hand.

　"Have him come to me, and you can go and review the next one."

　“Uh…” Aki Tomoya didn’t know what was going on, but he still had to listen to his boss.

　“That’s it, you can go now.” Aki Tomoya then turned his attention to the next person.

　The job fair proceeded smoothly. It was only then that Sanzenin Arashi took a good look at Ikuta Hideichi. He was wearing a small suit, his skin was unnaturally white, giving him a sickly appearance, and his facial features were unusually soft, but he had styled his hair in a masculine way, which seemed quite out of place.

　Arashi Sanzenin took the proposal and was about to examine it closely when she noticed that the personal resume stamped on top of it read: Ikuta Megumi, female...

　"How come you have this name..." Sanzenin Arashi was speechless. This guy was actually a girl?!

　After learning that the other person was a girl, Sanzenin Arashi took another look and found that she was not bad looking, but her hairstyle was too weird. A woman with such a hairstyle looked like a tomboy.

　"Yes, may I ask what my name is...?"

　“I’m asking you a question,” Sanzenin Arashi interrupted him, “You brought a game design document to the GAL Studio’s recruitment event. What were you thinking?”

　The job applicants waiting in line looked at each other with envy; such exceptional individuals are rare even in Japan, and they never expected to encounter one here.

　“Uh…” Ikuta Hideichi didn’t dare to look up, but said in a low voice, “I want to merge online games with visual novels, but if you remove the combat elements, it can be played as a visual novel!”

　After he said that, people in the queue even laughed.

　"So how are you going to get players to spend money? This combat system is only suitable for time-based subscriptions, but you've incorporated elements of a visual novel..." Sanzenin Arashi realized she'd gone off-topic as soon as she spoke and cut straight to the point: "This proposal is terrible, so terrible I want to throw it in the toilet. There's nothing redeeming about it except the combat system. You've clearly never been in a relationship. Why does the female supporting character fall in love with the protagonist after just one quest? And this female supporting character with absolutely no combat ability appears in a combat game—is she just there for show? And what's with your protagonist? Becoming the kingdom's strongest warrior overnight… Is this really okay for an online game? A dragon-slaying sword given away with a click? Your plot has nothing to do with combat; it's all about school romance."

　Arashi Sanzenin paused for a moment: "Can you tell me why... after the protagonist becomes the strongest in the world, he has to go to school and do F-rank subjugation missions with the students?"

　Sanzenin Arashi couldn't help but criticize this young woman. As a visual novel scriptwriter and programmer, how could she not even come up with a decent plot? What's so commendable about her? No wonder she's so nervous. The plot she spent a year coming up with is just this kind of garbage. There's no way she'll be able to find a job.

　This young woman probably knew she had nothing to offer, and she couldn't utter a word, her face turning bright red. Sanzenin Arashi shook her head and said, "You have thirty seconds to change my mind. If you can't, you'll have to leave."

　Ikuta Hideki immediately became flustered. He opened his handbag, but his phone fell to the ground. When he bent down to pick it up, the handbag was knocked over by his butt, scattering various small props all over the ground. There was even a KFC burger mixed in, which was teriyaki flavor.

　"Ahhhhh!!!" The little girl cried out in a flustered voice, picking up her personal belongings one by one, and then... she stepped on the teriyaki chicken burger, slipped with a splat, and fell flat on her face.

　Sanzenin Arashi's eye twitched.

　Where did this clown come from?!

　Hidekazu Ikuta got up from the ground, quickly put the bag in his arms, and sat back down in the chair.

　“You have ten seconds left,” Sanzenin Arashi reminded her.

　Yukino Yukinoshita glanced over speechlessly. The BOSS was too wicked. Knowing that the other person was extremely nervous, he still did this. It was practically toying with him.

　"Eeeeeeeee!!!" Ikuta Hideichi frantically pulled out a tablet, placed it on the table, and started playing a video. He shouted in a very loud voice, "This is all, all, of my achievements over the past year!!!!!!!!!!"

　Sanzenin Arashi glanced at the PAD and blurted out a curse for no reason: "Damn it..."

　The PAD contains a video. The 3D scenes in the video are decent, and the character portraits... are very beautiful!

　And this art style looks familiar...

　"You're... someone who draws doujinshi?" Sanzenin Arashi asked tentatively.

　"..." Ikuta Hideichi fell silent. Many eyes were staring at her, but she went all out when asked this question: "Because I can't afford to eat, I can only draw doujinshi! It's even serialized in an H magazine..."

　"You passed!" Sanzenin Arashi grasped her hand and whispered in her ear, "I used your notebook..."

　..

104. Why don't you become a voice actor?!

　Ikuta Hideichi's eyes widened, and he scratched his forehead sheepishly. "Oh my, I never imagined that Mr. Urobuchi would be one of my readers... and even use my doujinshi. I'm so excited that someone like you knows my pen name, Ikuta Hideichi..."

　Sanzenin Arashi smirked: "A pen name? You're using a pen name to apply for a job?"

　Where did this idiot come from?

　Arashi Sanzenin questioned how this girl managed to survive in Tokyo.

　"I'm so sorry... I was in a bit of a rush to write this resume. I saw Aoyama-sensei's Twitter update last night, and I was waiting for the new chapter of Battle Through the Heavens. In my haste, I rushed to the printing shop to buy a blank resume, and then got it signed by a former professor this morning. I barely made it to the job fair this afternoon. Even someone like me got a position. I really don't know what to say..."

　Ikuta Hideichi went on and on, and Sanzenin Arashi said, "How could there be a girl with such a name? It turns out it's a pen name."

　And she only came because she saw her own tweet.

　It's not good to be too harsh on fans; this is a common problem for authors.

　Sanzenin Arashi tried her best to appear amiable:

　“Miss Ikuta Hideichi, in order to register your personal file, you must now show your real name. Do you understand what I'm saying?” To this silly girl, Sanzenin Arashi decisively adopted an elementary school textbook approach to asking questions: “Hurry up, I have other things to do.”

　"Ah...yes, yes, yes!" The girl hurriedly opened her bag, which almost slipped from her hands again. With great difficulty, she managed to pull out a card and handed it to Sanzenin Arashi: "Boss, this is my citizen ID card."

　“Just call me by my name, Aoyama Arashi, or Aoyama-sensei.” Sanzenin Arashi reached for her ID card, but upon seeing the name on it, she instinctively blurted out, “Holy crap…”

　This is the second time he has sworn today.

　"Oh dear... Is there something wrong with my name, Mr. Aoyama?" Ikuta Hideichi became nervous again.

　"No, there's nothing wrong with your name. It's my problem, don't worry about it." Sanzenin Arashi's expression was strange.

　Because the name on this ID card is very familiar!

　The three-character kind, it was...

　Shizuka Ito!!!

　No, this is too much information. Let me calm down...

　The photo on this ID card shows someone with long hair who looks very familiar. Sanzenin Arashi can confirm that this is the voice actress Ito Shizuka from her past life...

　Moreover, the photo looks so different from her in person. If it weren't for the fact that she's a bit of a ditz and a little silly, Sanzenin Arashi would have seriously questioned the authenticity of this ID card.

　These are completely two different people, okay?!

　"How...how did you become like this?!" Sanzenin Arashi was speechless. Although Ito Shizuka in the photo was not at the level of Kasumigaoka Utaha, she was only slightly inferior to Aoyama Nanami. Now, she was a complete tomboy!

　Although she wasn't a girl in personality, Sanzenin Arashi had never seen anyone so feminine in her life—at least not in appearance.

　"I'm so sorry..." Ito Shizuka scratched her forehead, "Because I've been too busy making games, I haven't had time to take care of my hair, so I just cut it short and made it into a layered mess. Then I've been staying in my room tinkering with the program every day, and that's how it turned out..."

　Ok……

　This unkempt little idiot really knows how to have fun!

　Sanzenin Arashi summarized the current situation.

　Ikuta no Hideichi's real name is Ito Shizuka. Ikuta no Hideichi is her pen name. She uses this name on Twitter. This name is the name of a respected senior at her school. When Sanzenin Arashi heard her real name, he felt like he was being slapped.

　I was wondering why he looked so familiar...

　Why didn't Shizuka Ito become a voice actress in this world, but instead came to make games?

　Something's definitely wrong with the timeline. Let me think... I wouldn't be surprised if a comedian named Nana Mizuki suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

　Sanzenin Arashi thought to herself, "Knowing this name, I'll still bring this person into my family for love."

　After watching the video, Sanzenin Arashi realized that the game was already finished.

　This game is the culmination of Hidekazu Ikuta's, or rather, Shizuka Ito's, four years of university study.

　Arashi Sanzenin pulled the girl, who was supposed to become a voice actress, aside and asked with cold sweat dripping from her forehead, "You have such great perseverance in making a game, why don't you put some effort into the script?"

　Ito Shizuka nervously rubbed her forehead. "This game's script was written by me and my senior when I was in junior high school. We made a vow back then that we would definitely complete this game, and I didn't change a single word of the script..."

　"Your persistence is commendable, but excessive persistence is just willfulness." Sanzenin Arashi was more lenient with employees who were capable of completing the game: "First of all, your drawing skills are quite good. Secondly, this battle system is commendable. I think if you take the elements of the battle part as a theme and make it into an RPG, using adventure to show the romance between the characters, it will be quite good."

　Just kidding. Final Fantasy's battle system is known for its high quality. The game is so exquisitely made that it's practically the best embodiment of Sanzenin Arashi. With high quality as its main theme, coupled with character switching scenes and fast-paced battle scene transitions, it's dazzling. However, the version made by Ito Shizuka is very rough due to a lack of manpower, making it look somewhat incongruous.