After hanging up on Yixin, ng Fan started thinking of adding the points.
He only had 10 points to assign. The system already rewarded him with a lot of attributes; it was worth considering how to assign them.
He thought 10 points weren’t bad, but after thinking about it, they weren’t enough!
He should get organized.
ng Fan put the emphasis on attributes related to comics, including Drawing Skill, Hand Speed, Imagination, Scriptwriting, Settings, and as he thought about it, Imagination.
Among these six attributes, his Drawing Skill didn’t need any more points. He was already at 34, not counting the magical pen. If he added anymore, it’d be too much.
Imagination was at 11, which was very crucial, maybe even more than Drawing Skill, Scriptwriting, and Settings. It definitely needed more points.
Scriptwriting and Settings were both at 15; they looked alright, but they could use more points.
Hand Speed was at 19. If he wanted to be finicky, he could add 1 point and make it 20.
Observation was 4. This was an attribute from the [Travelling Deity] task. ng Fan didn’t care about it before. However, recently, after he used accumulated points to exchange for 3 points here, he really reaped a lot of benefits. It was quite useful, and he could use more of it.
In addition, the [Travelling Deity] task wasn’t completed yet. When he did, he’d get 4 in Observation, not to ntion other attributes.
ng Fan reminded himself: When he got back, he’d need to make ti for camping at scenic districts.
After much hesitation, ng Fan made a decision.
Hand Speed 1… When he took a closer look, he realized that when he exchanged points for attributes, he didn’t do any for Hand Speed since he was already pretty fast. Now that there’s over 1,600 points, he’d use 1,000 points for 1 attribute, and make it 20!
Add 4 to Imagination, make it 15!
Add 2 to Observation, make it 6. When [Travelling Deity] is done, it’d be 10!
Add 2 to Scriptwriting and Settings, both increased to 17!
Drawing Skill 34, Scriptwriting 17, Settings 17, Imagination 15, with this foundation of attributes, ng Fan couldn’t wait to draw his manga… Wait, he still needed the drawing paper.
Ding dong.
When the door bell sounded, ng Fan opened the door to receive a big roll of drawing paper. He thanked the hotel employee profusely.
The employee shook her hands, saying it was part of her job, then asked if ng Fan needed coffee or anything else. When ng Fan said he needed a big cup of espresso, the employee was not only unbothered but quite excited.
She’d get to see this charismatic guest again. His voice was simply amazing; she’d never get tired of hearing it.
In a short while, the employee brought over a big cup of coffee, as well as so fruit prepared just for him.
“Thank you.”
When the employee was leaving, ng Fan called out. “Sorry, please wait a mont.”
The employee turned around in surprise. ng Fan brought over a basket of laundry.
“Is there a laundry service here?”
“Yes.”
“Please bring it down for .”
“No problem. Is there anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you.”
“Call the service desk at any ti if you need anything.”
The employee happily took away the laundry. She was even thinking of washing his clothes herself, but it was just a thought. The hotel had a dedicated staff for laundering as well as drying and ironing.
Back in the office area of his suite, ng Fan gulped down a lot of coffee. He turned on the streaming device. The simulated screen showed the raw materials, outline, and picture resources he’d set up before. He started to focus and think.
Before he began the manga, ng Fan had thought and tried a lot. He used up plenty of drawing paper. Now that he’s focused, the attributes began to show their effects.
He didn’t toss all of his drafts. Using the skills he has now, he screened them and combined them with follow-up stories and an outline for a possible opening volu.
The core story in “Legend of the Mountains and Seas” was sothing ng Fan had thought of and tried to perfect for a long ti. The background was inspired by the classic Chinese book, “Classic of the Mountains and Seas.”
“Classic of the Mountains and Seas” is an ancient book about the mythic geography and ancient beasts of China. The creation date was said to be in the early Qin Dynasty, or maybe the early Han Dynasty. The author is unknown. Modern scholars agreed the book wasn’t written in one era, nor did it have a single author. The version available now was compiled by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin of the Han Dynasty.
The 18 chapters currently available covered content including: ancient history, geography, culture, transportation in China and abroad, customs, myths, minerals, and more. Ancient and contemporary scholars had different understanding of the content. For example, historian Sima Qian criticized the content as ludicrous and not worth referencing, while writer Lu Xun thought it related to Chinese shamanism and wizardry. Many modern scholars considered the book to be of geographic value in the early years.
Using “Classic of the Mountains and Seas” as a backdrop, ng Fan referenced so of the fantastic beasts, and even used its geography as a blueprint for the manga.
There were many mountains, lakes, and nations ntioned in “Classic of the Mountains and Seas;” the geographic size was also enormous. Not only did the book record ancient China, it covered overseas areas such as the nation of Fusang, or current day Japan.
ng Fan used the classic book as a blueprint, then added his own creations and supplents to make a world for manga.
The geography, clans, and mythic animals in his manga either ca from or were adapted from “Classic of the Mountains and Seas,” only with the tiline moved to much later — into the Firearms Era.
An era where myths, fantastic beasts, firearms, and machinery co-existed!
In addition, ng Fan used myths from China and other regions as well, such as Japan, northern Europe, ancient Greece, ancient Ro, Egypt, and more. He was quite ambitious. He wanted to use this manga to create a compilation of myths of the world.
Of course, given the scope of this world, it would take a while to explain it all. He needed to use the manga’s plot developnt to gradually introduce it. The part involving myths could be in the mid- to latter phase of the manga. In other words, the world building was to serve as the content.
The protagonist is a young man who accidentally beca involved in the world, which began when he t a dog. The dog’s prototype ca from a creature called the shanhui in “Classic of the Mountains and Seas,” which was first seen in Mt. Yufa.
Shanhui was not a great na, but Mt. Yufa sounded cool. Plus, in the classic book, the creature was described as “likable,” and “smiles at everyone.” ng Fan still wanted to change the na though and decided to call the dog Yufa.
Alright, he’ll call the first volu “Starting Like a Dog.” It was embarrassing.
A sunny young man, an adorable and not-too-smart pet, plus a starting plot which affects the fate of the whole village — it wasn’t a bad way to get into this world.
He revised the outline, added details… the drawing starts now!
While ng Fan was concentrating on drawing his manga, there was much fanfare in the comnt area for the “Legend of the Mountains and Seas,” where there’s only a book title and cover. Even ng Fan’s fans couldn’t stay calm. The various manga forums were also having heated discussions.
The reason? How ng Fan shalessly rewarded his own book a hundred million coins!
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