episode_0084

The Academy’s working hours were not generally very long.

Of course, depending on how many classes you chose, the amount of time you had would vary greatly, but if you only took the required major and liberal arts classes, you would have quite a bit of free time.

“Edric, we’ll do this.”

“… Okay, then I’ll take care of something else.”

So, most students join clubs to pursue hobbies or study areas they are lacking in.

The cartoon club was now bustling with students who had just finished class.

“So you’re saying that we need to connect this scene to this scene as naturally as possible in 12 chapters?”

“Yeah, the professor said that you have to fill it in by setting the beginning and the end so that you can use it.”

Among the students in the cartoon club, the art students were drawing pictures without rest.

This time, there was no time to waste, as Rupert had said that we should make a 10-minute animation for practice.

At first, the members thought it would only take 10 minutes, but they realized that even that would require a huge amount of work.

Thanks to Rupert’s suggestion that the cartoon club students would not be given homework in their major classes, they were able to focus on their animation work.

-Of course, I will give grades based on the results.

However, I couldn’t help but be more enthusiastic because Rupert said that the evaluation of the assignment would be replaced with the results of the club activities.

“I’m composing the music little by little according to the script, as for the sound.”

The music department students, although just beginning to learn, are able to compose music, so they are creating theme songs suitable for animations.

Although everyone was working hard to present a piece that matched their talents at the end of the first semester ceremony, there were two people who stood out.

“The topic of the story should be short and simple, but leave a strong impression, so let’s go in this direction once… .”

Among those called the Academy Four, Adrian, the second prince of Sylvania, was in charge of the story and wrote the script.

It was a possible mission, as he was more outstanding than anyone else in the club in terms of knowledge and culture, enough to enter the Department of Humanities.

Also, Bluewell’s Young Lady Amelia was using her magical talents to help with the overall work within the club.

“What can we do, Your Highness?”

“We’re useless, let’s go get some snacks.”

Edric and Kyle, who were considered the future top and second top students in the military science department, could only stand blankly in the corner so as not to cause trouble.

‘Is this a drawing of a goblin?’

‘No, I just drew the female protagonist in my own way.’

‘Eww! Sir, I need to use that paper for my work…’

‘Um… I’m sorry.’

Their drawing skills were no different from those of children, but they did not know how to control their strength enough to be entrusted with delicate work.

Since they had already caused several accidents, just keeping quiet was helpful.

Of course, the two of them were embarrassed to just watch, so they occasionally brought snacks and other food.

“It’s a shame, I wish I could make something with my own hands.”

“Just as the prince was born with a talent for swordsmanship, each of the others has their own unique uses.”

Since Kyle had originally joined the comics club following Edric, he didn’t have any regrets about not being able to participate directly in the work.

However, since Edric was very sorry that he could not participate directly, I consoled him in my own way.

however,

“I never thought I had any talent for swordsmanship.”

“Yes?”

Kyle was dumbfounded by Edric’s answer.

He himself was recognized as the most talented person in the long history of his family, but the Third Prince, who beat him in a duel, said that he was not a genius.

This was a remark that went beyond humility and almost felt like mockery.

But Edric’s words were sincere and true.

‘At that time, my sister’s sword had no mana in it, but the overflowing murderous intent was something I could only feel when I faced my master’s sword.’

Edric, who had been severely scolded with a wooden sword by his older sister Iolin when he was young, was able to let go of his pride about swords since then.

And I desperately tried to chase after the sword I saw that day, and I thought that I was only able to do this much because I received the teachings of my master, Geomseong.

“If a genius is someone who can achieve something without putting in effort, then I am definitely not a genius.”

But Edric had something that Iolin didn’t.

“But if someone who achieves something through hard work is a genius, then I am a genius.”

Edric, who had been intoxicated by his own talents until he was brutally beaten by Iolin with a wooden sword, was dead.

From that day on, Edric never let go of his sword for a single day, gritting his teeth and holding on until the scabs turned into blisters and the blisters turned into calluses.

Although no one wanted to challenge the Black Swordsman, it was Edric who charged forward despite being defeated every day for years.

“It’s not that I don’t do it because I can’t do it, it’s that I can’t do it because I don’t want to do it.”

After finishing speaking, Edric sat down at a corner of the desk, holding a G pen in one hand and starting to draw on a blank sheet of paper.

The fingers holding the pen have not yet developed calluses, so it feels a bit unfamiliar.

But Edric knew that by the time his fingers grew calluses, he would be a genius.

***

“The contest period ends tomorrow.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Sangdangju.”

Over the past seven weeks, numerous contest manuscripts have been submitted through each branch of Uren.

Some complained that the deadline was too tight, but that was Rupert’s intention.

‘If you want to serialize in a magazine, you need to be able to produce at least one episode every two weeks.’

Getting a job in Rupert’s magazine meant turning professional, and the single most important factor in separating professionals from amateurs in comics was time.

Even among amateurs, there are quite a few who are good at drawing and telling stories.

But the biggest reason why these people couldn’t serialize in major magazines was because of the extreme speed at which it took several weeks, or at most a month, to produce one story.

Rupert deliberately set a tight deadline to check that part.

For example, if you divide the 3 episodes that need to be submitted for this contest into 6 weeks, you would have to draw 1 episode every 2 weeks to be able to submit it.

One week is for organizing and preparing the work, and six weeks is for working on the cartoon.

So the contest period was set at 7 weeks.

“Of course, 90% of the works were submitted based on the prize money, but it was a truly tremendous topic of conversation.”

Esteban Sangdanju couldn’t stop smiling as he sipped his tea.

The contest became a bigger hit than expected, and just by selling the tools needed to create the piece, we were able to recover far more than the amount we had put into the contest.

In recent times, not only in the capital but throughout the empire, wherever people gathered, it was not uncommon to see someone holding a pen and paper.

As a result, numerous works were delivered to the head office through each branch, and the staff who judged them now get excited just by looking at the pictures.

“Even though I only received what was filtered out in the first round, it was still huge.”

When the upper management gathered and delivered the works that Rupert had filtered according to the criteria he had provided, Rupert had to personally evaluate them one by one.

But surprisingly, it didn’t take long.

Of those numerous works, the majority were dropped before they even made it past the first episode.

So, only three works remained in Rupert’s hands.

Considering the number of works submitted, the survival rate was extremely low.

“I am also very curious since the master has not yet told me the work he has chosen.”

“Well, two works were so outstanding that they had to be chosen, but the other work was chosen because I had a strange feeling about it.”

Esteban was curious as to which piece had been chosen, but he didn’t ask any further questions.

Since fairness is the most important thing in a contest, Rupert, who is judging, could be influenced by other people’s opinions or interests, so he just waited.

‘Lynn and Ishmael.’

Rupert thought back to two works that stood out.

The manuscript sent by a writer named Lin was a comic about a mechanical doll.

‘It was a completely different story from Saint.’

It was the same with the dream of becoming human, but if Saint contained a philosophical discourse.

The work sent by author Lin was a classic boys’ comic in itself.

The fierce and breathtaking fights of the secret society dealing with mechanical dolls immediately caught Rupert’s attention.

Above all, to draw this kind of material as a cartoon, excellent drawing skills were needed to bring the dynamic scenes to life.

‘There are still some awkward parts, but the skill was surprisingly excellent.’

It’s not that my drawing skills are awkward, but it’s probably because it’s my first time drawing a cartoon, so it’s something that can be easily fixed.

Rupert was considering this work as a tentative subject.

Another piece that caught Rupert’s eye was a sea-themed cartoon sent by a writer named Ishmael.

The comic, which depicts a boy from the sea who sets out to hunt the whale that swallowed his father, is full of vivid realism.

In his cartoons, whales were both a wonder of nature itself and something that humans had to overcome.

This cartoon, which begins with a boy struggling to get out to sea, also left a deep impression on Rupert and made him ponder the subject.

‘Finally this is….’

Rupert became slightly thoughtful as he thought about the last of the three works he had chosen.

‘Avenger.’

Not only was the work of art outstanding, but the drawing skills were also superb, and the plot was also exciting and full of tension.

But this was too dangerous.

Because it was a work that was so far ahead of its time, Rupert’s worries could not help but deepen.

Is it really right to choose this work?

Or should we preemptively block unnecessary controversy and disputes, or even the risk of putting ourselves in danger?

Finally, Rupert stopped worrying and made a decision.