{Hey, Kaede, are you busy now?} He sent her a message with some hesitance. Arthur knew that at this time, Kaede was most likely busy with her job as a model so disturbing her was something he wanted to avoid as much as possible.
He can't simply forget that the girl he was talking to was a celebrity and a busy person by nature. Both of them had their lives to deal with, after all.
However, surprisingly, Kaede answered almost instantly to his message.
{No, I'm on a break now so I'm free. Also, good evening, Arthur! I missed you!} She replied with an excited emoji.
That energetic response put a small smile on Arthur's face as he exhaled a long breath. He didn't even know why he was that nervous even though he knew Kaede was that kind to him.
{Hahaha, good evening, Kaede. Well, I'm not going to take a lot of your time since I'm just here to tell you something.}
{Hm? What's up?}
{I won't be available for some time from now. I don't know how much time it would take perhaps a few days. But, I should be able to go to school starting next week. Just wanted to tell you.}
{Oh, is everything ok? Did something happen?} Instantly, Kaede replied with a series of worried questions which made Arthur even happier for some reason. His heart was filled with a warmth he couldn't describe.
The feeling of knowing that someone truly cares about you was so new to him and yet he grew addicted to it without knowing it.
{No, no, it's fine. I'm just going to be busy for a while so if I don't respond, that's the reason why.}
{Oh… Is that so? That's unfortunate. But, if you're busy then we can't do much about it. Thank you for telling me.}
{Mmm, I wanted to tell you since we're friends.} He replied.
For some reason, Kaede didn't reply for a while which made Arthur confused. However, she eventually responded.
{Of course, but… Can I still message you even if I'm not expecting a response?}
{Hm? Why?}
{I just want to tell you good morning and good night so that I can feel at ease.}
"How does that make sense?" Arthur tilted his head in confusion reading her message. He didn't understand how messaging him without getting a response would put her at ease but since he wasn't that knowledgeable about the art of communication, he assumed it was something people normally do.
'I need to learn more about communication.'
{Sure, do as you wish.}
{Thank you!~}
{Well, I'm going now.}
{Mmm, take care, Arthur, and please be careful whatever you're doing.}
Arthur halted on that message and raised an eyebrow. Kaede seemed to sense that what he was going to do might be dangerous or at least harmful to some extent.
'Damn, women's intuition is amazing.' He mused before he finally closed the phone and finally took a deep breath and summoned his Divine Pen.
"Well, time to do it I guess."
Tracing the frame of the pen, Arthur summoned the panel that he hadn't opened for the entire month.
[Creation Rank: 0 (0/1)]
[Manga Name: …]
[Manga Type: …]
[World Name: …]
[World Setting: …]
[Initial Idea: …]
[Power System Initial Idea: …]
[Create.]
Looking at each choice, he finally tapped on the first choice, 'Manga Name'.
"The name of the Manga will be: The Journey Home." He murmured.
Immediately, the empty slot in front of the name was filled with the words Arthur said.
[Manga Name: The Journey Home.]
Next was the Manga type which actually didn't seem to be that free for choice as the moment he focused on it, a choice appeared to him akin to someone selecting their gender or birthday except there was only one option which was 'fantasy'.
"Well, fantasy of course."
[Manga Type: Fantasy.]
The world name was the next choice.
"World name will be 'Loberene'."
[World Name: Loberene.]
The world setting was also the same choice as the Manga Type which was a fantasy world of magic and swords since Arthur was restricted to that choice alone.
[World Setting: Magic and Swords medieval setting.]
Finally, Arthur reached the most important part of the whole preparation, the initial idea for the story. Arthur had already thought everything through but still, he found himself hesitating a little bit since he feared the mistake that could occur if this idea didn't work as he wanted it to.
"Ugh, what's the worst that could happen? I have three lives so even if I lose one, I'm going to be fine." Shaking those thoughts away, he finally chose the initial idea.
[Initial idea: a group of heroes go on a journey back home after they defeat the demon king and their struggles till they finally reach their destination. The group is composed of the hero, a mage, a healer, a warrior, and an assassin.]
Looking at what he decided on, Arthur nodded his head. This plotline seemed the most simple, straightforward, and least dangerous idea he came up with. It also gave him a variety of possibilities and significantly less danger to deal with since this wasn't a demon king journey but the result of that epic crusade and the journey back home.
"Well, I at least should be fine." He murmured to himself.
After that, he finally put the last detail in the creator which was the power system.
[Power System Initial Idea: Mana and magic.]
Mana was the most basic power system Arthur could think of that didn't involve any possible complicated diversions. He was writing a one-shot so he needed everything to be short but also precise and impactful. Taking precious time learning the power system would only make readers run away and would also possibly put his life at risk since he was going to be a part of that group.
"Well, I guess that's that." With that done, Arthur finally tapped on the word Create which seemed to have been calling for him for a while now.
The moment he tapped on it, the creator window vanished, and instead, another window appeared.
[Creating the world…]
As Arthur watched the pending creation he thought that he would be transported instantly to the world. However, instead, the Divine Pen in his hand suddenly started shining with a bright golden light.
"Hm?"
Arthur looked down confusedly. That's when he felt a twitch in the arm that held the pen. The twitching started weak before it grew more pronounced and strong till Arthur's arm rose on its own without his control.
"What… the fuck?" Arthur was taken aback by the sudden movement as he instinctively tried to move his arm. However, shockingly, it didn't respond as it continued moving on its own.
The movement continued as Divine Pen's aura suddenly grew brighter and started leaving traces in the air as his hand moved in a gentle and swift motion around. It was akin to the movement of an artist drawing on a white canvas.
The golden lines left in the air grew in number, casting a beautiful light on the room that completely captivated Arthur. It was just so beautiful.
Minutes passed as Arthur's arm drew and drew. Lines upon lines upon lines slowly formed an image that Arthur could finally discern.
"A portal."
What was forming was a golden circular portal, big enough to fit Arthur's body as a whole. The portal was formed purely out of chaotic yet organized lines that made the shape of the portal seem vague yet also brilliantly precise. It was akin to the drawing of a Manga, except this one was made out of pure golden light.
Eventually, Arthur's hand finally stopped moving and the portal was completed.
"Wow… This is… amazing." Arthur murmured with clear awe. The sight in front of him was straight out of fiction, no, even fiction can't realize this masterpiece of an image.
So, standing up, Arthur approached the portal with a dazed look. He just felt attracted to it, as if the portal was calling for him to enter it.
Extending his hand toward the heart of the portal, the golden light within it engulfed his fingers, casting a warm sensation on them. So, Arthur pushed his whole arm inside and then half his body before eventually, he entered the portal completely.
A moment, later, the portal disappeared out of existence, not leaving a trace behind except for the sleeping body of Arthur which the boy himself didn't realize was still there.
[Welcome to MangaVerse.]
[We wish you great luck in your story.]
(End of prologue volume.)