Chapter 5: Light Novel Adaptation

(Third Person POV)

"We regret to inform you, but your work didn't pass our assessment. Please look somewhere else."

"Sorry, but your story is unqualified. Please leave."

"You have interesting ideas, Lupo-sensei, but this story doesn't meet the standards of our publishing company. If you truly want to choose our firm, then I suggest you change some parts in there, like replacing most of the technobabble in it and putting more heroines in the story. Then we can reconsider."

"We only accept shoujo series. Please look elsewhere."

"There is no market value in this. Don't waste my time!"

Two years. He has been writing for two years, and not once did he get the chance to shine. He only wrote a single story out of passion, and for a year, he was getting by. His story doesn't garner as much interest due to its topic, but he was truly passionate about it. He managed to put anything he could think of and turn it into a coherent narrative, creating his own world through his own imagination. That made him happy, because he could turn such incoherent thoughts into written form.

Then his father perished in a road accident. His mother was still mourning his loss. His siblings were still in school, and if they ran out of money, they might have to drop out. As the eldest, he understood he had to shoulder the responsibility. So Ookami Sairou made the decision to commercialize his work.

It doesn't work out.

Since he wrote it, his narrative has received little attention. Nobody was interested in a slow-paced fable about an eternally young reincarnator who would transport a whole civilization from prehistoric to modern times. In today's literary milieu, Japanese readers preferred wish-fulfillment stories rather than something that was basically a bunch of written theories as if it were a thesis instead of a story.

However, he was also stubborn. He composed this novel out of passion, and he was fascinated by a scenario in which a person literally elevated cavemen and ushered in the advancement of science in humanity. It was not a popular topic, but he was eager to create and read such a novel. He does not have the heart to modify the plot of his work solely to please the majority. He wanted it to be his work!

So, despite linking his donation pages, he earned nothing for six months after making that decision. Nobody was interested, so why should they help him?

Despite being a long-running series, barely anyone reads it. The handful who did so just remained in the background, and no one could go past twenty chapters before giving up. It was the worst webnovel failure ever, yet he refuses to change anything from it. He also had no desire to write a new work. He does not like the current webnovel trend for Isekai and revenge stories.

So after realizing that he has no future at earning for himself, he decided to submit his work to other publishing firms. He doesn't care if it became a manga or a light novel. He just wanted his story to be recognized.

The problem was the reception. His work was rejected by every publishing firm he submitted the story to. They quickly saw the lack of marketable potential within it. The story doesn't have any hook at the start, like encountering a beautiful heroine or the protagonist suddenly acquiring a power-up and destroying the large beasts around. It literally was a survival story that took too long before they could even get to the part where the MC encountered any person at all.

Sairou felt everything was hopeless. It had been a year since he started doing this, and no one was willing to try his work.

"Should I just give up?"

"Maybe I should just stop and go along with the trend?"

"Maybe I should quit and find work somewhere?"

His heart was filled with doubt, and he was on the verge of giving up his passion. He doesn't want to stain his work with typical tropes such as unexpected power-ups, a huge number of female characters, fodder antagonists, and so on. He just wanted to continue his novel, in which the protagonist creates his own paradise by rediscovering science and technology from his previous life. That was all he wanted to write.

As he was lamenting about his next actions, he suddenly noticed it. In the suggested feeds for him on his homepage at LINE, he saw the username called "Singularity Works Official" announcing their latest volumes for two manga series. Growing curious, he clicked on it, and then he saw it: a site with a dull black background with three gorgeous cover arts for three manga series on their frontpage.

His curiosity turned into intrigue. He randomly chose one of the series and was surprised when he saw that the first volume was free. That shock turned into amazement, and then amazement turned into joy. After that enjoyment, his eyes lit up as he got to the afterword of "The Villainness Quits!".

"An illustrator willing to adapt unknown works?"

He looked at the printed copy of his story that was on the bed. Other publishing houses consistently rejected this manuscript since its contents had no marketing value. Would he have a chance if he submitted his work to Singularity Works?

'This might be my only chance!'

With a sense of both trepidation and anticipation, he reached out to the only person whose social account was written in the afterword. Typing his words carefully, deliberating, and then finally getting the courage to hit the enter button.

[Genjitsu]: You don't have to look anywhere; I'm also in charge of Singularity Works.

Let's talk, Lupo-sensei.

He was glad he reached out to her.

_____________________

(Asane POV)

I found it!

So its official title is "Bunmei no Chichi". I always searched for "Bunchichi" because I only knew its abbreviation.

I see. So, Lupo-sensei wrote it.

The digital manuscript he submitted to me was the same as what I remembered when I read it at Syosetsu from my past life.

To summarize, the story was about a physics major who died while doing an experiment with his colleagues. The main protagonist then awoke in a teenager's body, nude and trapped in an alternative universe reminiscent of prehistoric times. This story will then focus upon his survival in this terrible wilderness filled with enormous monsters and other dangers hiding within the environment, while also utilizing his scientific skills to construct his own paradise. Later in the series, he met a group of cavemen, whom he painstakingly befriended before teaching them about various disciplines of science, expanding their overall knowledge base, and, eventually, establishing their own civilization that was a thousand years ahead of their present planet.

Since it is already 2018, it has just been a year since I last read his work. He abruptly stopped updating, so I began to read other webnovels, and I soon forgot the exact title because there were a hundred more intriguing stories that captivated my full attention. Regardless, "Bunmei no Chichi" was one of the most intriguing stories out there. The pace was extremely slow, and each chapter was so large that it felt like Lupo-sensei was writing a thesis rather than a webnovel, but I still enjoyed it because the way he described every detail around his environment was incredibly vivid, and he left details so that readers would intuitively understand what was going on even if he did not explicitly state it.

Another reason I enjoy the novel is that the author includes all of the protagonist's prep work. It was like witnessing a clever person's attempt to survive in another world. Lupo-sensei left details indicating that he was familiar with ecological facts and other scientific information whenever he created rudimentary tools, traps, and other weapons. I remember how the protagonist of this story, Koji, constructed his own rope out of thick vines and then transformed it into a trap to trip fearful monsters who generally roamed around in herds one by one. It demonstrated his ingenuity and made him much more impressive in my eyes.

I always assumed I would not be able to find this story. It wasn't like my favorite stories were only limited to novels that were uploaded this year. I also have a few favorite stories from previous years, including this one. I just did not bother looking for them since I do not remember the title of their stories or who the writers were, and when I do remember some of them, the story has already been erased from Syosetsu.

I'm really grateful that Lupo-sensei reached out to me!

Of course, I would adapt his work. But I have other plans than just adapting it into a manga.

"Say... what do you think about turning your story into a light novel?"

["Huh?"] He looked surprised.

This might sound abrupt, but I truly think that turning his story into a light novel was more appropriate than just adapting it into manga. There are a lot of essential details in his webnovel that wouldn't just translate well into manga. If people wanted to understand subtle cues like why the protagonist does something, how each creature in that world behaved, and other stuff related to that other world, they needed a context behind it.

If I turned it into a manga without changing anything, the [Manga Assistant Tool V2] might just put a lot of narration on each scene, and that was incredibly dull if we are talking about manga adaptations. Manga adaptations were there to show what each scene looked like, not there to give detailed narration of how it was happening.

You might as well read the source material if the manga is like that!

So I explained this all to him without including the part about my [Manga Assistant Tool V2].

["... Is that fine? Do you have any editor in your team?"]

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the light novel too."

["Huh??"]

"I'm the only one working on Singularity Works. Everyone else are authors I just contacted to adapt their work. I also don't mind because I'm confident I can do it."

I actually can't, but I am not worried. I have a cheat ability to help me!

["... But, is that alright?"]

"It's fine," I assured him while waving my hand casually. "So, do you want me to adapt your story into a light novel?"

["... Uh, yes!"]

"Great!" I clapped my hands. "Then, you just submit your draft for the light novel, and I will check it out later. Also, be sure to check your LINE occasionally. I'll be making the manga draft for Bunchichi."

["... Yes, thank you... wait, what do you mean by that!?"]

He looks surprised... Oh, it seems he misunderstood.

"Oh, did you misunderstand? I'm not just going to adapt it as a light novel. I will adapt your story as both a light novel and a manga! I'm sure doing it at the same time will reach out to more audience for your story!"

His eyes are wide as saucers as he gapes at me in astonishment. I just smiled at him.

With a great story like "Bunchichi", I will not spare any effort!

_____________________

After an extended conversation with him, we came to an agreement. Tomorrow we will finalize the contract, because I haven't really made the contract for light novel adaptations yet. I only have the one for manga adaptations.

I just nudge PR-chan to make one on the program. This AI was also the one who helped me make the contract for manga adaptations, so it knew what to do after I told it.

Now, I have to make a draft. I just asked Researcher-chan to scour the "Bunmei no Chichi" webnovel and run each chapter through the [Manga Assistant Tool V2]. Researcher-chan isn't just limited to Coder-chan; it can also interface with my other programs so I don't have to input additional codes for it to do so.

After that, everything is done. I just have to wait and also check my LINE occasionally if there are any updates for my contracted authors.

Just in time when I checked my phone, Shiroko-sensei responded with another set of demands for the latest manga draft for her story. I have to run that too to my [Manga Assistant Tool V2]. Other than that, nothing else happened.

Fudo-sensei was on a break. Well, he already told me that he'd like to take a break for two days to recover his psyche, and I respect that. He has been checking my drafts everyday while also writing his own webnovel, so it is understandable that he will ask for a rest. He can take as much as he wants, actually. It is part of the contract that they can just go on a hiatus whenever they want.

As for Wadokami-sensei, recently he has been a lot busier writing his webnovel than checking the draft I sent. I don't really mind. Like I said, they are free to do what they want.

I don't have anything else to do. So I can just go back and read other webnovels or other manga that I haven't read yet... Oh wait, I do have something I need to do!

I stop leaning on my chair and immediately nudge Coder-chan to help me.

Even though I have read a lot of webnovels, light novels, and manga, I do not know how to write my own stories. If I am forced to write, it will be a copy-paste of another story. I can not think of anything original other than using the same tropes as other authors. I attempted it before in my past life, and the outcome was a mishmash of ideas from my other favorite stories. I attempted it three times and gave up after being strongly attacked by numerous readers for plagiarizing the works of others. There is no need to keep writing crap when everyone dislikes it.

This also applies to my overall writing talents. I did not do particularly well in my literature and language classes. I just know how to read, but I struggle to write or understand any high-level Japanese language. In my past life, I had to occasionally look up disambiguations of those archaic words through online Japanese dictionaries before continuing on. Surprisingly, it helps me learn new topics, and after continuously doing that whenever I read webnovel, I just know how to read more archaic words. It's still not at the professional level, though...

What I want to say is that I am incapable of being an editor for a light novel.

So, once more, I am going to cheat!

The program I am making is simple. It's a program that uses Coder-chan as a base code. Coder-chan writes strings of code and recognizes whether the code will be wrong or not. I just have to expand that into writing itself and create that instance separate from Coder-chan. As I am making a writing tool, it doesn't need a sophisticated AI like the one from Coder-chan and PR-chan. It simply needs to focus itself on corrections, suggestions, and betterment of structure and quality for a written story.

It didn't take long before I was done making it. The [Writing Assistant Tool]. With this tool, I can just simply run a written document through it, write rules that it has to follow and other prompts to further lead its vector to the right path, and then watch as it implements all those changes, making the grammar structure better, the pacing stable, and the paragraphs more intuitive.

Now, I basically have a super editor on my computer. Just a single click, and there will be no need to check. Of course, I have to test it first before actually committing to it. It's still a tool, and with it being its first iteration, it might have some mistakes within it that I might have missed.

But within my mind, I am confident there is no mistake in my programming. Even knowledge for writing programs is also included in the basic package I got from the System.

This is an inspection just to be doubly sure.

_____________________

Yesterday, I spent the entire day searching through several webnovels and running them through [Writing Assistant Tool]. Regardless of how dense the content was, how technical it was, or how distinctive the writing styles were, I confirmed that this tool was able to fix some, provide recommendations that improved the reading experience, and did not affect the unique styles that most authors apply to their stories.

Of course, I might have missed some details. I was not an expert, so it couldn't be helped.

It is not like I will post it as soon as I put it through my writing tool. Just like with manga adaptations, I will ask the writers whether they are satisfied with the adjustments I make for their light novel adaptations before publishing them.

PR-chan was already done with the document for light novel adaptations, so I sent a copy to Lupo-sensei along with the manga adaptation one so he can sign it, and at the same time I also sent twelve different art samples so he can choose which style he prefers for both character and background.

This is what I generally do before beginning drafts for their manga adaptation. The [Character Illustrator Tool] and [Background Modeling Tool] are responsible for the consistent art on both the background and the character in [Manga Assistant Tool]. Both of these programs get artstyles from all around the internet. One focuses on character models, while the other focuses on various background models. After that, I can select whatever style I want, save them into presets, and then group them up into categories.

[Manga Assistant Tool] will then search through appropriate terms; for example, if it is running the story for "Isekai Growth Cheat", it will look through the category with that title and then through any of the presets that are appropriate for the scene it is doing, such as checking if a character mentioned in the written text is in that category. It will then use that character's preset and put their model on the scene. The same is true for the background.

This is why, unlike most manga adaptations, the ones created by my software have such a real feeling of dimensions. Unlike other manga, where characters appear near even when they are explicitly intended to be a hundred meters apart, my manga adaptations allude to how distant they are from the scene's perspective, how they compare to their environment, and many other things. So the art was constant from every perspective.

These three programming tools are all components for a full-dive real-life virtual environment, so it's quite natural that they work together well.

Wadokami-sensei was the only one who immediately chose the first concept art I submitted to him. So the first people who were given a chance to choose their preferred artstyles were Fudo-sensei and Shiroko-sensei. Because of that, the artstyle for the three manga adaptations is quite distinct, even though it still retains that excessive detail it puts on every manga panel.

I want this to be the standard for any future stories that I will adapt. Every author has the right to choose their own preference to further meet their standards. I believe that if I do that, I can read more high-quality stories, which I will enjoy a lot.

After doing that, I decided to call the three other authors I am contracted with to also extend the same offer I gave Lupo-sensei. It would be unfair if only Lupo-sensei had a light novel adaptation.

Even if I personally think Wadokami-sensei, Fudo-sensei, and Shiroko-sensei's stories are more suited for manga adaptations, they also deserve their light novel adaptations. I already started with Lupo-sensei, so why not?

Talking about that offer to Fudo-sensei and Shiroko-sensei didn't take long. They quickly accepted my offer and said that they would make the draft for the next week.

Wadokami-sensei, though, surprised me when I called him.

_____________________

(Third Person POV)

Since the day he showed his parents what he earned from the manga adaptation of his story, they have finally let him be. Of course, they still advised him to concentrate on his academics and think about his future, stating that he should leave his choices open for other occupations since they were still dubious, but they were at most tolerant of his pursuing his writing career.

And so, with the reluctant support of his parents and with his own earnings, he got a new keyboard, mouse, and even a new CPU, even purchasing other premium apps that would help him with his writing so he could dedicate more of his time to it. Whenever he returned home, he would finish his homework as soon as possible before quickly resuming his story.

It was recently then, when he suddenly hit what most writers dreaded.

A Writer's Block!

There were several reasons why an author would encounter this abstract wall. They either reached the end of what they planned for the story, were dissatisfied with how it was going, were influenced by public opinion, were distracted by other pursuits, had too many ideas they wanted to implement at the same time but could not due to how impossible it was, or had personal problems that prevented them from focusing on what they were writing at all. There were several explanations, but the majority of the time, it culminated in their being unable to write a single letter on their notepads.

Hirohito Yuuma was severely affected by the public opinion. There were many people who praised his work. Almost a thousand people have followed his narrative as a result of the manga adaptation, and "Isekai Growth Cheat" has even risen in the ranks on Syosetsu.

It does not matter because, while there were many positive comments, a very few sharply criticized his work. It spans from some who critiqued his pacing to those who just declared his plot poor in all areas. One comment really hurt him, as they told him that his story was simply another typical isekai trash and that the artist's abilities had been wasted adapting his story.

He has not been able to focus on writing his story since. He had lost his usual passion since those nasty statements kept repeating themselves in his head.

"Is my story really that bad?"

"Do I really deserve to have someone adapt my story?"

"Maybe I should just quit?"

The thoughts persisted in his head, and as a result, he was unable to update his story for a week. He could not even verify the drafts Genjitsu supplied him since he thought he was lacking for it and was only leaving unwelcome work to his artist, who also serves as his publisher.

And now, while he was in a depressive spiral, that same artist called to him once more with another wonderful offer on his way.

She wanted to adapt his story into a light novel too, stating that she had already done so for the others, so she would also give him the choice for it.

He should be happy. He knew, logically, that he should accept. The girl was freely extending an offer his way that could further extend the name of his series to a wider audience.

He didn't accept the offer.

"I'm sorry, Genjitsu-sensei... I don't think I'm ready yet to turn my story into a light novel. My skills still need some polishing, so... can I take some time to build up my skills?"

It was only an excuse. He did not feel comfortable wasting Genjitsu's ability on someone like him. He was only an inexperienced webnovelist who could only produce rubbish fiction.

So does it matter whether he enjoys his story? It makes no difference how much he enjoyed his story if the content is garbage!

Genjitsu stared at him for a moment. He couldn't help but imagine that she was judging him with her stare. It didn't take long before she smiled once more and then offered something.

["... Do you need any help?"]

"Huh...? No, I'm fine. I just need a break to improve my skills..."

He just kept contradicting himself, and he felt ashamed at how pathetic he was being, but the woman behind the screen just waved her hand casually, not even commenting on it as she laughed lightheartedly.

["Don't worry. I really don't mind if you take a hiatus... but I just have to tell you this. Your story is great! I really want to see the continuation of 'Isekai Growth Cheat' and how it will end!"]

Those words shook his heart. Those words were sincere. Even when she said it casually, her eyes were clearly conveying how much she truly meant it.

Such an honest and pure desire directed at his own work moved his heart. He almost felt like crying.

["Don't worry. If you have any problems, just tell me and I'll try to help you."]

"... Alright."

In the end, after she kept reassuring him, Yuuma told her about his problems. He didn't include anything about his lack of confidence in himself or the negative comments on his story. He simply told her about how he needed some help with his writing and whether she had some recommendations so he could improve his writing skills.

Without Yuuma knowing about it, Genjitsu... No, Motogaku Asane was already thinking of solutions within her mind.

'... Maybe I have to learn another Singularity Tech for this...' Those were her thoughts after they concluded their video chat.