"...Then, stick it onto a person or object, and everyone else will perceive that person or object as whatever you wrote on the sticker."
"Really?" Before Doraemon could finish, Nobita snatched the stickers from his paw, examining them curiously.
"But..." Doraemon tried to explain the gadget's potential downsides, but Nobita wasn't interested in listening. He excitedly tore off a sticker, scribbled the character for 'Tree' (树) on it, and slapped it onto Doraemon.
Doraemon, who had been about to say something, instantly froze solid, completely immobile, just like a wooden statue.
"It really works! This is amazing! With this, tomorrow I'll be the transfer student!" Nobita beamed, looking between the frozen Doraemon and the stickers in his hand, his eyes shining with anticipation.
...
Meanwhile, Lin Yu arrived home, laden with bags full of manga supplies. It was quite a heavy load for a ten-year-old. Luckily, he hadn't had to carry them too far, so he wasn't completely exhausted.
He heated up a convenience store bento from the fridge, ate quickly, took a shower, and then went to his room. He carefully unpacked the manga tools he'd bought earlier, arranging them on his desk.
Looking at the array of supplies, Lin Yu picked up a pencil, a faint smile playing on his lips. "'Alright, let's see just how amazing this System ability really is.'"
Recalling the panels of Cardcaptor Sakura from his memory, Lin Yu gripped the pencil, picked up a ruler, and began to draw on the manuscript paper. Despite having no actual manga drawing experience, either in this life or his previous one (his only related skill being basic school art classes), the moment he picked up the pencil, his body seemed to move instinctively. Knowledge about manga techniques flooded his mind. It felt as though he had personally gone through years of study and practice; starting felt completely natural.
However, after a full three hours, Lin Yu stared at the single completed page before him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Since he didn't need to brainstorm the story, dialogue, or panel layouts—he just needed to replicate it from memory—his 'creation' process should have been significantly easier than that of a typical manga artist. But looking at his 'masterpiece' now, Lin Yu silently crumpled the page into a ball and tossed it into the nearby trash bin.
He had miscalculated. He thought his [Manga Lv.1] ability, while not outstanding, would at least put him at a beginner's level. Maybe creating original work was too much, but replicating should have been manageable. But he had still underestimated the complexities involved in drawing manga. Simply put: his brain knew what to do, but his hand hadn't caught up.
The creators of Cardcaptor Sakura in his previous life were CLAMP. They were a renowned all-female creative group of four artists who, besides Cardcaptor Sakura, had produced many other high-quality works, like xxxHolic and Chobits. They were truly outstanding figures in the manga world. Compared to them, Lin Yu's current drawing skill was vastly inferior. It was no exaggeration to say that while individually they might be around Lv.3 in manga skill, as a group, they functioned at a top-tier Lv.4 level. But even Lv.3 was far beyond Lin Yu's current capabilities. Even just trying to copy their work, capturing that unique artistic flair felt incredibly difficult.
Sitting at his desk, Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then silently reached into the trash bin and retrieved the crumpled page. Fortunately, he wasn't a typical slob; the trash bin was clean, free of any sticky tissues or other grossness. He carefully smoothed out the crumpled page, lips pressed together, and began to study it intently. He examined what he had drawn, meticulously comparing it line by line with the images stored in his memory.
It was a discouraging start. But Lin Yu wasn't about to give up. He carefully compared his work to the original, identifying the differences, while simultaneously picking up his pencil again and meticulously practicing lines and shapes on a fresh sheet. Whether it was a single hatching line or a small background detail, Lin Yu spared no effort, carefully copying everything. Since his skill level wasn't high enough yet, hard work was the only way to compensate.
Fortunately, manga was still considerably simpler than, say, mastering oil painting. If this were oil painting, it would likely take months just to achieve a basic resemblance, let alone capture any artistic spirit. Compared to anime, manga characters are static on the page; therefore, conveying their emotions relies heavily on careful attention to detail in the artwork. If the art didn't meet a basic standard, then even the best story likely wouldn't be well-received.
Of course, that wasn't an absolute rule. His previous life had Teacher ONE, famous for his deceptively simple, almost childlike art style. But Lin Yu couldn't rely on the luck of finding an editor with the insight to recognize hidden genius amongst a sea of manuscripts. Besides, if his art really ended up looking like that, wouldn't it just become an embarrassing part of his 'dark history' later on?
After meticulously comparing his first page attempt from top to bottom, Lin Yu sighed again. It seemed achieving quick success was going to be more difficult than he'd hoped. For now, he needed to at least manage to draw the first cover page properly. Cardcaptor Sakura had fifty chapters in total. The first chapter alone, including a cover and two illustrations, was twenty-seven pages long. And right now, the very first cover page felt like a major roadblock.
Putting down his pencil, Lin Yu stood up and went downstairs to make himself a cup of coffee. Regardless, for the sake of reaching the pinnacle of life sooner, gaining power sooner, and avoiding detection by the Time-Space Administration Bureau—Lin Yu was determined to pull an all-nighter!
"'I wonder,' he muttered, 'if I pull enough all-nighters to go bald, will I also get stronger...?'"
Returning to his desk, Lin Yu sat down, muttering quietly to himself. He picked up his pencil again, bent over the desk, and threw himself back into the arduous task of 'creation'.
Outside the window, unnoticed, the sky had filled with countless stars. The lamplight in his room cast a shadow on the wall—the silhouette of someone working diligently, looking exceptionally industrious. It almost gave off a sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of ancient scholars studying relentlessly through the night.