novelraw Chapter 85: A Mobile Game?
Chapter 85: A Mobile Game?
Li Xue had once given Tang Yao a suggestion:
“Why not invite mangaka to draw card illustrations?”
On one hand, it would ease her personal workload. On the other, the mangaka’s fame could help generate hype for the game.
Tang Yao had thought it made perfect sense and gave it a try—She sent a private message to the legendary Rumi-sensei.
And then… nothing.
The message vanished into the void.
Soon after, Avalon Studio entered a phase of expansion.Chu Yuxin’s arrival had lifted a huge burden from Tang Yao’s shoulders, and she’d even introduced several new team members.
So, Tang Yao eventually forgot about it.
But who would’ve thought… after she let it go—
Rumi-sensei actually replied. “Is this what they call a message-in-a-bottle?”Tang Yao muttered to herself as she stared at the message on her phone. She was about to just put the phone down and pretend she hadn’t seen it.
After all, the first batch of card art was already complete. It was too late to get Rumi involved now.
Also…Not that she held grudges, but come on.She’d been ignored for months.Wouldn’t hurt to leave Rumi hanging a few days in return.
But just as she was about to put her phone down, her eyes landed on the closed beta document she had just drafted.
Suddenly, a thought struck her—
Wait a second…
She still hadn’t decided what to draw for the commemorative card…
But why did she have to draw it herself?
She could ask someone else to design it.
Like… Rumi-sensei.
She could have her design her own Heroic Spirit—Tang Yao would simply manage the stats and balance.
It could also serve as a test run for future collaborations.
If the result resonated well with players, they could even add more of Rumi’s work in the next version.If the game really took off, they might even consider a full IP crossover event with her manga.
With that thought, Tang Yao’s hand froze mid-motion.Eventually, she picked the phone back up and typed:
“Hi.”
After all… money matters.
On the other end, Rumi-sensei seemed to have been waiting with her phone in hand.A reply came almost instantly.
They chatted briefly.Rumi, seemingly aware that her late reply was a little impolite, apologized a few times and kept a friendly tone.
But social media wasn’t exactly the best platform for conversation, so Rumi suggested they add each other on an instant messaging app.
Tang Yao hesitated briefly, then agreed.
She sent her contact info over. A notification came moments later—Friend request accepted.
Rumi’s profile picture was of her manga’s female lead—but drawn with more seductive flair than her published art.It looked good.
As Tang Yao was studying the avatar—
“...You’re a girl????”
Rumi messaged her, clearly stunned. She even threw in four question marks:
“You’re the author of Fate/Zero? You’re the one behind Third-Rate Artist?!”
“……”
Tang Yao froze slightly.
She’d forgotten that her social profile listed her gender as female.
But considering they might work together soon, she hesitated for a second and then replied:
“Aren’t you a woman too? It’s not that unusual…”
“No, that’s not what I mean! Then why’d you pick a name like ‘Third-Rate Artist’?”
“It was random…”
“So you really are a girl?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… this is the first time I’ve met a female mangaka who draws male-oriented manga this well.”
“Thanks… but your work is even better.”
“No, I’m not just being polite—I genuinely love Fate/Zero. Especially Saber! She’s such a fierce and cool woman! I feel like if I suddenly hugged her, she’d have such a cute reaction!”
“...?”
Tang Yao slowly typed a question mark.
This time, it was a real question mark.
Wait a second… what’s going on here?
“Ahem. Don’t you think so too?By the way, do you plan on doing a swimsuit chapter? Not that I’m pushing, I’m just wondering—have you drawn Saber in a swimsuit yet?”
“Sorry, no!”
Feeling that the conversation was quickly going off the rails, Tang Yao urgently steered things back on track.
“Rumi-sensei, actually the reason I contacted you before was to invite you to help draw illustrations for my game.”
That finally got Rumi’s attention.
“...Game?”
Tang Yao sent a brief explanation.
There was a pause.Rumi didn’t reply right away.
Then—
“?????”
“So what you’re saying is…You drew Fate/Zero just to make a game?!And now you want to invite me to design a Heroic Spirit and draw a character illustration?!”
“Yes.”
“...And you refused magazine serialization also for the sake of the game?”
“Yes.”
“…………”
Tang Yao knew her strategy might be a bit hard for a traditional mangaka like Rumi to accept.
But she didn’t try to explain too much.She just followed up:
“I know this might seem sudden, but… what do you think?”
Rumi was silent for a bit, then finally replied:
“I’ll agree.But I want to meet you in person.”
“Huh?”
“Can we meet? In real life.”
“I mean… sure. But it’ll have to wait a bit. The game’s about to enter closed beta, so I’m super busy right now…”
“Beta test?”
“You can think of it as… the game is playable now.If you’re interested, I can send you an invite code.”
“Okay, send me one.So… can we meet? I’m in Modu. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can come find you.”
“Uh… I’m in Modu too.”
“Even better. Just pick a time.”
“Okay…”
Tang Yao hesitated a moment, but didn’t refuse.
I’ll bring Miss Li along.
We can talk more concretely about collaboration.
“Right—You said you want me to design a Heroic Spirit and draw the artwork. Any specific requirements?Should I follow the style you’ve used on the website?”
“No, I’d like you to draw in your own style.No need to match our visuals.”
“As for specifics, I mentioned earlier—The card will need four stages of artwork.”
Tang Yao continued:
“Also, I should let you know—the illustration you create will be gifted for free to players who spend money during the closed beta.Would you be okay with that?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you so much.”
“No need to thank me.I’m really looking forward to meeting you.I honestly thought you were just serializing Fate/Zero online out of love for manga—but to think it was all for a game…”
“By the way, what kind of game is it?A visual novel?”
“No, it’s a mobile game.”
“…What do you mean by ‘mobile game’?”
“A game for smartphones.”
“?????”
Elsewhere in the city.
Inside a spacious—no, luxurious—studio…
Rumi-sensei, wearing loose pajamas and round-framed glasses, her curvy figure settled comfortably in her chair, stared blankly at the screen.
After a long moment—
She finally blinked, looked again at Tang Yao’s message, then picked up her phone and checked the term herself.
And then she blurted out:
“Smartphone game!?You know what, maybe just come serialize in Young Comic instead—who the hell plays this kind of game?!”