Great Mangaka

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After showering and organizing his notes, time passed unnoticed, past one in the morning.

Kenji looked back and saw that his girlfriend had fallen asleep in bed, and that the "Fate/Stay Night" download on the computer was about to finish. He happily thought: "It's so fast, my expensive internet fee hasn't been in vain."

The 4GB game downloaded in less than an hour, and Kenji was very satisfied.

After downloading the game, he activated the installation program following the instructions. After waiting a while, the game installed correctly.

"What kind of game will it be?" Kenji asked, putting on his headphones and opening the game with some anticipation. "Fate/Stay Night" is a game that costs only 20 million yen, and it should be easy to block the computer.

However, he wasn't planning to block it. Kenji rarely played, and the magazine didn't require it. After all, it was a standalone game, and he could roughly tell if it was good or bad after playing for an hour or two. Then he would write a report and go to the magazine's social newsroom the next day, and Kenji could go back to sleep whenever he wanted.

New employees have no human rights, and these kinds of late-night news always get assigned to him.

Opening the game interface, the game displayed full screen, the screen turned black, and soon background music played.

It's a piano piece, but Kenji isn't sure; he doesn't distinguish the instrument clearly. But he thinks it sounds good. Although it's not as impressive as "Castle in the Sky," it's more than enough as background, and with the flickering text on screen, it conveys an indescribable beauty.

Yes, there are words on the screen: at the beginning of the game, a narration is displayed. Each time you click the mouse, an additional line of text appears.

"Haha. Isn't that a huge slide?"

Kenji didn't look at the text carefully. He clicked quickly, and doubt flooded him. This game is really strange. Does it only tell a story with words? Text adventures, this type of game, if it's text with background music, it's not a senseless game. It's commercial fraud, it has no gameplay!

As Kenji was pondering this, suddenly, a voice like a silver bell resonated.

"—I ask you, are you my master?"

It seemed like a voice that dispelled the night. Kenji's eyes widened in surprise, and the image on the screen changed.

The screen was no longer completely black and speckled with light. A fantastic scene appeared on it: under the moonlight, the knight wore a cyan dress and armor, and her sacred green pupils glowed with calm and serenity. She looked at him, her face slightly uplifted and her golden hair...

"Oh, how beautiful!" Kenji was excited. His computer had a 24-inch screen, and the image quality of this knight was very high-definition. It was as if she were in front of him, displaying her incomparable beauty.

"This must be drawn by Mirai-sensei, there must be no mistake!"

He wanted to jump with excitement. Did the voice from a moment ago also come from this knight? She was so beautiful...

Kenji clicked the central mouse button and found the voice.

"—I ask you, are you my master?"

This time, with psychological preparation, Kenji took a deep breath. This female voice was so beautiful, so crisp, and at the same time contained a sense of calm, like a lotus on the snowy plains of Tianshan Mountain, combined with the computer screen...

The image of a solitary and beautiful knight was vividly etched in Kenji's mind.

He didn't dare to speed up the mouse, but clicked carefully, and the knight's voice resonated.

"I come here to obey your call."

"From now on, my sword will be with you and your fate will be with me."

"—Here, the contract has been fulfilled."

The imposing voice and the wonderful scene were simply a delight for the players' eyes and ears. The knight's words were clearly addressed to the players, but it seemed as if she was speaking to Kenji, sitting in front of the computer. Her figure in the moonlight made his heart pound.

"Is this the heroine?"

Kenji eagerly anticipated it, but the plot that followed left him cold. The knight disappeared after speaking, and the protagonist's perspective turned out to be that of someone else.

"Damn it? Is that knight just here for flavor?"

He was disappointed, and what was even more disappointing was that the subsequent development seemed like a normal story, a girl's daily life.

It turned out to be a game composed of text and images. Kenji confirmed it, reviewed it, and quickly clicked to skip it, disappointed with "Fate/Stay Night."

The music is well done, and the graphics are honestly very good. It can be seen in high definition on the computer screen. It must be said that a lot of effort has been put into it. But can it really be considered a game? Isn't it just an ordinary story?

Kenji read ten lines at a glance. He knew that way of playing was a little incorrect, but it was so late, who would have the patience to read the text slowly? Going to bed early was a king's habit.

After reading the content for a few minutes, bored, the knight appeared again, but disappeared after a brief glance.

He yawned and continued turning pages. Soon, the screen couldn't be skipped, and two options appeared: "1. Help Reika cook; 2. Complete daily practice."

What was this? Kenji became a little interested. This inexplicable game finally had something to play.

He randomly selected one, eagerly awaiting what would appear. But in the end, nothing appeared. Then two or three options appeared. He selected them randomly, and there was no problem.

"It turns out they're just decorations!"

Kenji was even more disappointed. Soon another option came to mind: "1. Renounce the imprint; 2. Join the war...".

"Renounce."

Without hesitation, he pressed "renounce" and continued reading. This time, the plot took a slight detour. Just as Kenji was wondering, the protagonist suffered a miserable fate. His right arm was amputated, and everything from his waist down was destroyed.

Accompanied by a huge "BAD END" text, the game closed in bright red.

"..."

Kenji's face paled. The ending at that moment was terrifying. Although the protagonist's body died, his consciousness could not die. Then, when the loli-shaped enemy announced that she would take him back to the castle to train, the protagonist abandoned reason and thought.

"So dark."

This ending was worse than death. With the harsh background sound, Kenji felt as if he had seen a horror movie and was scared to death. He wiped his sweat and swallowed.

"What happened? Why did he suddenly die?"

He opened the browser and went to Mirai-sensei's home. He saw that a new section for "Fate/Stay Night" had been opened. There were also several people cursing.

"What the hell is this game? It was fine at first, but I died! I was scared to death!"

"It seems there's a problem with the options. If you make a mistake, you die. We all scroll to the end, so the speed is very fast. It seems we have to play seriously. There should be option prompts in the game."

"Did you die because you renounced the imprint? I guess you won't die if you decide to join the battle!"

Seeing this, Kenji realized he had made a mistake.

'No matter, try again!'

He closed the forum. He restarted the game and, after quickly scrolling, he saw the option again. This time, he decided to join the battle, and the plot changed radically.

Kenji breathed a sigh of relief and continued playing. This time he decided to be more careful, but...

Ending 2: His companion was hacked to death, the protagonist's spine was broken, and the loli froze his skull so he wouldn't die. After the loli announced that she would take him back to the castle to train, the protagonist abandoned reason and thought.

"..."

Kenji slapped his head, a little dizzy. This isn't right, why did he die again? Absolutely not right! Furthermore, the first time he died was on the third day of the game, and this time it was also on the third day!

"Shit!"

He simply refused to believe it. Could it be that he wouldn't survive a single day? Open the game again and try again!

—Ending three: The protagonist's left chest was completely destroyed, and his left hand was severed alive before he died.

Ending four: The protagonist was paralyzed by a spinal puncture and bled to death by the enemy minutes later.

...

It was 2:30 AM. Kenji looked at the blood-red font on the screen; his hands trembled. Then he picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, stood up, and walked to the balcony.

"I'd better take a break before playing...".

He looked at the starry sky, took out a cigarette, and smoked it.

The cold night wind blew over Kenji, gradually calming his irritability, and the urge to smash the computer gradually dissipated.

Five minutes later, he regained his composure and returned to the room to continue the challenge.

Until four in the afternoon, when the woman lying in bed suddenly heard a ping-pong sound and sat up with a start.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?"

She looked back and saw Kenji lifting the monitor. The woman, scared, said: "What are you doing?!"

She ran to stop him, snatched the monitor, and put it back on the table: "Are you crazy? This monitor costs over a thousand. If you don't want it, I'll take it!"

Kenji didn't respond. He crouched on the floor, covered in cigarette butts, looking haggard.

"You... what's wrong?" The woman realized something was wrong and softened her voice: "What happened? Is the manuscript difficult to write?"

She knew that a reporter's job was very tough. Her boyfriend used to be unhappy about the manuscript, but that state seemed particularly excessive...

"Fate/Stay Night...". The voice that came out of Kenji's mouth was very hoarse. The woman nodded when she heard it: "I know, what's wrong with this new game by Mirai-sensei?"

She knew her boyfriend had bought it today and planned to play it when he finished.

"What's wrong?" Kenji suddenly laughed. His smile was very twisted. With bloodshot eyes, he said bitterly: "I've died more than ten times in one night. I've never seen such a bad game!"

He played all night. The protagonist died over and over again, and the way he died was different. Kenji's heart was broken. He still didn't know if this game was good or bad, so he kept trying to hold on. He couldn't take it anymore. This was definitely a bad game!

"To hell with 'Fate/Stay Night', I'm not playing it anymore, and tomorrow I'll scold Mirai-sensei in the newspaper..."

"I'm going to bed!"

He turned and walked towards the bed, but that night, there was more than one person who felt the same way he did.