Takayuki didn't know what the typical image of a manga artist was.
He had only seen the anime and TV dramas "Dream Eater Merry" and "Recovery of an MMO Junkie" in his past life, which depicted manga artists. He wasn't sure if they had a glamorous image.
"Hello, my name is Sankai Tsuchiya."
And this Sankai Tsuchiya before him was the first real-life manga artist he had ever seen.
Wearing a wrinkled beige cotton coat, it was obvious it had been left in a corner for who knows how long before being put on.
With thick glasses and somewhat disheveled hair.
While Daigo Ikeda was excitedly discussing hero stories with Takayuki, Sankai Tsuchiya walked in like a tramp. His appearance was almost close to that of a homeless person.
"Mr. Tsuchiya, you really don't pay attention to your appearance!"
Daigo Ikeda was a little nervous; he was afraid Takayuki would get a bad impression because of this.
So he hurriedly pulled Sankai Tsuchiya out of the room.
What they did specifically after leaving was unknown, but after a few minutes, Sankai Tsuchiya came back wearing somewhat decent clothes.
This time he looked a bit more normal.
His hair was temporarily combed, not as messy as before, and his complexion had improved considerably.
Now Daigo Ikeda finally looked like a normal manga artist.
"Sorry, Takayuki, Mr. Tsuchiya usually lives alone and doesn't care much about personal appearance."
Takayuki shrugged. "It's okay, I don't really care about these things either."
Daigo Ikeda seemed particularly concerned about working with Takayuki.
The rumor about editors being like parents to manga artists didn't seem groundless.
Sometimes they could treat manga artists like their own parents, and sometimes they could take care of them like children.
Without Daigo Ikeda and the editorial department, would Sankai Tsuchiya be unable to manage his life?
Takayuki gained some insight.
Watching the two come in, Takayuki picked up a manga book next to him and said, "Mr. Tsuchiya, I've just read some of your works, they're interesting, and you're the person I need. I'm just not sure if you'll agree to some of my conditions."
Sankai Tsuchiya had the skill in drawing; he had developed his own style, which was quite close to the style of Dragon Quest, a popular game series from his past life.
So when Takayuki saw Sankai Tsuchiya's work, he had already chosen him.
But what he needed was a manga artist who could draw according to his standards, someone who could be somewhat imaginative but still within certain boundaries.
He was worried that Sankai Tsuchiya might be someone not easy to control.
Hearing that Takayuki didn't mind, Daigo Ikeda breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Takayuki, don't worry, Mr. Tsuchiya will surely complete all tasks according to your requirements."
Then he looked at Sankai Tsuchiya again. "Mr. Tsuchiya, this is Takayuki. He is the child of an artist teacher who once did me a great favor. He's currently looking for a manga artist to assist him with some work, as I mentioned to you on the phone."
After saying that, Daigo Ikeda took out the notebook from Takayuki and handed it to Sankai Tsuchiya.
"This is the content Takayuki hopes to have drawn; you can take a look."
In the notebook, besides some text, there were actually rough sketches drawn by Takayuki with childish doodles. However, those sketches were barely understandable, not much better than those of a child.
After all, Takayuki's forte wasn't in this area.
In fact, Sankai Tsuchiya had been observing Takayuki since he came in.
He didn't understand why such a young person suddenly wanted him to create something like a formula book.
But when he received what was handed to him, he was drawn to the name.
Dragon Quest.
The name was simple and straightforward, encapsulating the entire story's essence.
But this was just eye-catching.
He began to seriously flip through the contents of the notebook.
And the more he read, the less willing he was to let go.
"How about it, Mr. Tsuchiya? If you're interested, let's discuss our cooperation."
At this point, Takayuki took out another folder.
There were two contracts in the folder.
One was a fixed monthly salary contract for a year.
The other was a profit-sharing contract.
However, Sankai Tsuchiya was no longer concerned about those contracts.
Everything recorded in this document about the story of Dragon Quest had deeply captivated him.
The stories inside were just synopses of each key point.
But it was like physics and chemistry formulas; with just these formulas, you could almost effortlessly answer questions.
It was like having a fishing rod with a bait already bitten; you just needed to pull carefully, and the fish would be in your bag.
Sankai Tsuchiya didn't look at those contracts; instead, he stared at Takayuki.
"Takayuki, is this the manga outline you've set?"
"Hmm? No, it's not."
Takayuki was still a little puzzled.
Why were they all asking about manga outlines? This was just a game setting.
But a story was a story, whether presented in a game, a movie, or an anime. They were just different forms of expression.
At this point, Daigo Ikeda also smiled. "Mr. Tsuchiya, it seems you've noticed too. That's why I was so eager to have you come over. This might be an opportunity."
Sankai Tsuchiya took a deep breath and then looked at Takayuki very seriously. "Takayuki, you don't intend to produce a manga based on this story?"
Takayuki thought for a moment, realizing what was going on.
He was drawn to the story of his own game.
And then, he wanted to adapt it into a manga?
This might... be a good thing.
This also reminded Takayuki slightly of the stories related to Dragon Quest that he had seen in his previous life.
At first, Dragon Quest didn't seem to be very popular.
The quality of the first generation of games was not very good, which was one reason, and the other was that it didn't have much fame; not many people were interested.
Later, it was through the channels of manga magazines that attention was drawn from people other than players, and sales began to improve.
It could be said that the initial promotion through manga magazines played a significant role, followed by the improvement in the quality of the game in the subsequent generations, ultimately establishing its reputation as a national-level game.
Having a manga work was like having a free large-scale advertising channel.
"Takayuki, are you interested in turning this story into a manga?"
"Is... is that possible?" Sankai Tsuchiya suddenly felt a bit excited.
Compared to the exciting and undiscovered story before him, the income on those contracts wasn't much at all.
Daigo Ikeda on the side also began to help promote.
"Takayuki, Mr. Tsuchiya is a very talented manga artist, but his weakness lies in storytelling. I've always wanted to find him a partner to collaborate on storytelling, but I haven't found the right person. But suddenly, I realized that this story seems really suitable for Mr. Tsuchiya, so if you're willing to authorize Mr. Tsuchiya to adapt this story into a manga, I can represent Mr. Tsuchiya and provide you with any formula books and settings you need for free."
After hearing this, Sankai Tsuchiya also vigorously nodded.
An excellent story was far more important than a little money. Now, Sankai Tsuchiya was unwilling to put down the setting book in his hand.