After hanging up on Yixin, Meng Fan started thinking of adding the points.
He only had 10 points to assign. The system already rewarded him with a lot of attributes; it was worth considering how to assign them.
He thought 10 points weren’t bad, but after thinking about it, they weren’t enough!
He should get organized.
Meng Fan put the emphasis on attributes related to comics, including Drawing Skill, Hand Speed, Imagination, Scriptwriting, Settings, and as he thought about it, Imagination.
Among these six attributes, his Drawing Skill didn’t need any more points. He was already at +34, not counting the magical pen. If he added anymore, it’d be too much.
Imagination was at +11, which was very crucial, maybe even more than Drawing Skill, Scriptwriting, and Settings. It definitely needed more points.
Scriptwriting and Settings were both at +15; they looked alright, but they could use more points.
Hand Speed was at +19. If he wanted to be finicky, he could add +1 point and make it 20.
Observation was +4. This was an attribute from the [Travelling Deity] task. Meng Fan didn’t care about it before. However, recently, after he used accumulated points to exchange for +3 points here, he really reaped a lot of benefits. It was quite useful, and he could use more of it.
In addition, the [Travelling Deity] task wasn’t completed yet. When he did, he’d get +4 in Observation, not to mention other attributes.
Meng Fan reminded himself: When he got back, he’d need to make time for camping at scenic districts.
After much hesitation, Meng Fan made a decision.
Hand Speed +1… When he took a closer look, he realized that when he exchanged points for attributes, he didn’t do any for Hand Speed since he was already pretty fast. Now that there’s over 1,600 points, he’d use 1,000 points for 1 attribute, and make it +20!
Add 4 to Imagination, make it +15!
Add 2 to Observation, make it +6. When [Travelling Deity] is done, it’d be +10!
Add 2 to Scriptwriting and Settings, both increased to +17!
Drawing Skill +34, Scriptwriting +17, Settings +17, Imagination +15, with this foundation of attributes, Meng Fan couldn’t wait to draw his manga… Wait, he still needed the drawing paper.
Ding dong.
When the door bell sounded, Meng Fan opened the door to receive a big roll of drawing paper. He thanked the hotel employee profusely.
The employee shook her hands, saying it was part of her job, then asked if Meng Fan needed coffee or anything else. When Meng Fan said he needed a big cup of espresso, the employee was not only unbothered but quite excited.
She’d get to see this charismatic guest again. His voice was simply amazing; she’d never get tired of hearing it.
In a short while, the employee brought over a big cup of coffee, as well as some fruit prepared just for him.
“Thank you.”
When the employee was leaving, Meng Fan called out. “Sorry, please wait a moment.”
The employee turned around in surprise. Meng Fan brought over a basket of laundry.
“Is there a laundry service here?”
“Yes.”
“Please bring it down for me.”
“No problem. Is there anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you.”
“Call the service desk at any time if you need anything.”
The employee happily took away the laundry. She was even thinking of washing his clothes herself, but it was just a thought. The hotel had a dedicated staff for laundering as well as drying and ironing.
Back in the office area of his suite, Meng Fan gulped down a lot of coffee. He turned on the streaming device. The simulated screen showed the raw materials, outline, and picture resources he’d set up before. He started to focus and think.
Before he began the manga, Meng Fan had thought and tried a lot. He used up plenty of drawing paper. Now that he’s focused, the attributes began to show their effects.
He didn’t toss all of his drafts. Using the skills he has now, he screened them and combined them with follow-up stories and an outline for a possible opening volume.
The core story in “Legend of the Mountains and Seas” was something Meng Fan had thought of and tried to perfect for a long time. The background was inspired by the classic Chinese book, “Classic of the Mountains and Seas.”
“Classic of the Mountains and Seas” is an ancient book about the mythic geography and ancient beasts of China. The creation date was said to be in the early Qin Dynasty, or maybe the early Han Dynasty. The author is unknown. Modern scholars agreed the book wasn’t written in one era, nor did it have a single author. The version available now was compiled by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin of the Han Dynasty.
The 18 chapters currently available covered content including: ancient history, geography, culture, transportation in China and abroad, customs, myths, minerals, and more. Ancient and contemporary scholars had different understanding of the content. For example, historian Sima Qian criticized the content as ludicrous and not worth referencing, while writer Lu Xun thought it related to Chinese shamanism and wizardry. Many modern scholars considered the book to be of geographic value in the early years.
Using “Classic of the Mountains and Seas” as a backdrop, Meng Fan referenced some of the fantastic beasts, and even used its geography as a blueprint for the manga.
There were many mountains, lakes, and nations mentioned in “Classic of the Mountains and Seas;” the geographic size was also enormous. Not only did the book record ancient China, it covered overseas areas such as the nation of Fusang, or current day Japan.
Meng Fan used the classic book as a blueprint, then added his own creations and supplements to make a world for manga.
The geography, clans, and mythic animals in his manga either came from or were adapted from “Classic of the Mountains and Seas,” only with the timeline moved to much later — into the Firearms Era.
An era where myths, fantastic beasts, firearms, and machinery co-existed!
In addition, Meng Fan used myths from China and other regions as well, such as Japan, northern Europe, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Egypt, and more. He was quite ambitious. He wanted to use this manga to create a compilation of myths of the world.
Of course, given the scope of this world, it would take a while to explain it all. He needed to use the manga’s plot development to gradually introduce it. The part involving myths could be in the mid- to latter phase of the manga. In other words, the world building was to serve as the content.
The protagonist is a young man who accidentally became involved in the world, which began when he met a dog. The dog’s prototype came from a creature called the shanhui in “Classic of the Mountains and Seas,” which was first seen in Mt. Yufa.
Shanhui was not a great name, but Mt. Yufa sounded cool. Plus, in the classic book, the creature was described as “likable,” and “smiles at everyone.” Meng Fan still wanted to change the name though and decided to call the dog Yufa.
Alright, he’ll call the first volume “Starting Like a Dog.” It was embarrassing.
A sunny young man, an adorable and not-too-smart pet, plus a starting plot which affects the fate of the whole village — it wasn’t a bad way to get into this world.
He revised the outline, added details… the drawing starts now!
While Meng Fan was concentrating on drawing his manga, there was much fanfare in the comment area for the “Legend of the Mountains and Seas,” where there’s only a book title and cover. Even Meng Fan’s fans couldn’t stay calm. The various manga forums were also having heated discussions.
The reason? How Meng Fan shamelessly rewarded his own book a hundred million coins!