[Anime Crossover] Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

Time flies.

It's already been almost half a month since Akifumi Mugiho returned to school.

Life at school is pretty quiet.

Aside from studying, my daily routine mainly involves chatting with Kato, who sits next to me.

Maybe this kind of life feels boring for some students, but for Akifumi Mugiho, who's been through all kinds of social drama and the grueling 9-6 schedule in his previous life,

this feels like a luxury, like going to a fancy club for some relaxation every day.

As for Eriri...

Let's just say the impact of our last encounter on her was much bigger than I expected.

Apart from that time I went to her house and said a few words to her, whenever we cross paths at school or elsewhere, she avoids me completely without even giving me a chance to talk.

Akifumi Mugiho just stays calm and doesn't push it.

After saying goodbye to Kato at the school gate like usual, Akifumi Mugiho turned around and left.

We live in different directions, so we don't cross paths on the way home.

It only took half an hour for Akifumi Mugiho to get back home.

For an average student, it would probably take at least an hour.

First thing, I changed into pajamas and grabbed a can of Coca-Cola from the fridge.

"Phew."

Akifumi Mugiho let out a satisfied sigh, his face showing pure happiness.

'Finally, vacation starts today~'

Double the happiness—it's amazing!

I lay down on the couch, turned on the TV, and started messing around with my phone.

Living alone is so simple and so good.

"Hey, are you all ready? The Tezuka Prize nominees will be announced tonight at 8 o'clock~"

Akifumi Mugiho froze when he saw the pinned message pop up.

'Wait, has it really been that long?!'

Thinking about it, it makes sense.

When I submitted my work, it was already near the end of the Tezuka Award period.

It's crazy how quickly time flew by.

"Time really flies!"

Compared to the slow-paced lives of office workers who drag through each day like it's a year, this time passed in a blink of an eye.

I sighed, feeling a bit sentimental, and checked the chat.

"Of course."

"I'm so nervous. I wonder if my name is on the list for this round of evaluations."

"For me, there's no way I'm not making it through this time! I'm totally confident!!"

"Munoya-san, you're really confident! I envy you."

"I think this is Munoya-san's second time participating in the Tezuka Award, right? Having experience is really lucky."

Reading through these messages, Akifumi Mugiho couldn't help but smile.

He casually typed a reply:

"You're all experienced seniors. Teasing Munoya-san like this is a little much."

"The one who should be nervous is someone like me—an actual newbie."

This was a chat group similar to QQ, filled with people who were all passionate about the manga industry.

[TL Note – QQ is one of Chinese social media site, its almost like Reedit]

Most of them were seasoned veterans who had been in the industry for years, with some even having experience with serializations.

Of course, over 95% were struggling, doing odd jobs to support their dream.

After all, compared to light novels, getting into the manga industry is much harder.

To get a better understanding of the manga industry in Japan, Akifumi Mugiho had joined a few random chat groups online.

But in the end, this was the only group he stayed in.

The other groups, though claiming to be for "manga artists," would end up talking about anything from school gossip to the latest hit dramas.

It was like how, in serious game groups, people only talk about games when there's an update.

It wasn't too surprising.

"Thanks for your help, Battlefront-kun! Senpai, stop teasing me. Even if this is my second time, if I had that much experience, then wouldn't the seniors who've participated five or six times be like grandpas?"

??

Whoa, now that's something! If you can talk, you might as well say more!

Veterans who had failed five or six times were already feeling down, and now Munoya-san was rubbing salt in the wound!?

The others who had spoken earlier just fell silent after Munoya's remark.

Whether they were caught off guard or were too nervous to speak, only they knew.

The silence lasted for about two minutes before Munoya broke it again with a new message.

"Eh? Did everyone go eat? The results are coming soon. How are you feeling, Battlefront-kun?"

Akifumi Mugiho snapped back to reality when he saw the new message.

How was he feeling?

Akifumi Mugiho thought about it for a moment, then typed, "A little nervous."

With his skills and the success of other magic anime in the market now, passing the first evaluation was definitely no problem.

But still, it was his first submission in this world, so feeling nervous was only natural.

After Akifumi Mugiho's calming message, others began replying again.

"Ahaha, feeling nervous is totally normal. I remember when I first joined an event like this, I couldn't sleep at all!"

"Yeah, honestly, I wasn't this nervous even when I got my first serialization!"

"I wasn't this excited when my anime adaptation got confirmed either!"

??

Hold on, now they're all comparing experiences!?

Akifumi Mugiho couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Serialization confirmed? Anime adaptation?! Bowing down to the big shots in the front row!!"

"66666"

[TL Note – "6" in Chinese has the same pronunciation as "溜" Which mean cool/brilliant/smooth/awesome, and when you put multiple "6" together is emphasize the meaning.]

"Too strong!! These big shots are terrifying!!"

"Wait, is the Tezuka Award really that hard? People with serialization and anime experience are still worried about passing the first evaluation?!"

"Pffhahaha, this guy is hilarious!"

Just when Akifumi Mugiho had started to feel frustrated, Munoya's sarcastic comment made him laugh out loud.

The two who had been showing off earlier now looked uncomfortable.

They didn't know whether to get mad or just stay quiet.

Meanwhile, the other newbies were trembling in fear.

One side had the super confident newbie who was sure he'd pass, while the other side had the veterans with real achievements.

They were too scared to speak. They didn't dare.

After a few seconds of silence, Munoya once again broke it with a confused message:

"Eh? Did everyone go out to eat again?!"

Akifumi Mugiho stopped smiling and shook his head.

"I really can't tell if this guy is pretending or if he's genuinely this innocent."

Well, if he's being devious, who cares? We're all anonymous here, after all.

But if he's actually that clueless, it's even more interesting.

...

Hours passed in the blink of an eye.

"Ding ding ding."

The alarm clock went off. Akifumi Mugiho put down his work, grabbed his phone, and opened the Shueisha website.

As the page loaded, the clock turned to exactly 8:00 PM.

The first thing that stood out on the page was the big, bold red text:

"First Evaluation List Confirmed."

He clicked it open.