episode_0104

For the past few days, I had been staying at an inn.

The Elven Forest was currently inaccessible due to a distortion magic-infused mist.

All I could do was wait for the mist to dissipate.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was idle.

“Done!”

I had finished translating the Shadow Arts Manual.

“That was tough…”

I had the privilege of possessing the Translation Skill, an exclusive perk granted to transmigrators like me.

Not only could I read the continent’s common language, but I could also decipher ancient encrypted texts into Korean—basically functioning as a top-tier translator.

Thanks to that, reading the Shadow Arts Manual itself wasn’t hard.

But.

The Translation Skill was mine alone.

The others couldn’t even read a single letter of the Shadow Arts Manual.

Even my assassin comrade couldn’t read it.

So…

A translated version was necessary.

A version my assassin comrade could read.

That’s why I made it.

A first-draft translation—transcribing the entire Shadow Arts Manual.

Since my handwritten Korean automatically converts into the “Continental Common Tongue,” the written translation could be read.

But.

A slight problem arose.

“Whoa… This is seriously complex…”

Elise, the brains of the Hero’s Party and a book enthusiast, struggled to understand it.

While she could read the letters, the content itself was so convoluted that comprehension was difficult.

Meaning—

My assassin comrade would also struggle.

She might grasp the early sections, but the later portions would be outright incomprehensible, making skill acquisition impossible.

Thus, another layer was needed.

A second-draft translation—simplifying and explaining the first-draft version.

‘To explain something clearly to others, I must understand it myself first.’

That logic was obvious.

How could I explain something I didn’t understand?

So, I studied.

I reread the Shadow Arts Manual repeatedly, dissecting every part.

At first, it was grueling.

There were so many sections where I thought, What the hell is this nonsense?

But.

The more I read, the more I began to grasp it.

Or rather, I realized I already knew a similar concept.

“The Truth.”

The ultimate pinnacle that the Great Archmage Merlin could attain only after dedicating all his talent and time to relentless research.

An ultimate enlightenment so profound that merely realizing it multiplied the power of all magic skills.

The Shadow Arts Manual pursued something strikingly similar—yet opposite.

If Merlin sought the “Truth of Light,” then this book pursued the “Truth of Darkness.”

The same Truth, yet fundamentally different.

‘So, this is how drastically it can diverge…’

Once I grasped that, comprehension followed.

New concepts emerged.

The result?

I could learn every skill inscribed in the Shadow Arts Manual.

‘Though the biggest issue is my lack of mana for most of them…’

Didn’t matter.

All I needed was understanding.

And once I did, I could teach it to my assassin comrade.

With that in mind, I meticulously organized my insights.

“Phew…”

That became the second-draft translation.

‘Normally, this should be enough…’

But ambition flared.

I wanted to make something even better—something easier to digest, more entertaining to read.

‘Should I turn it into a comic?’

I, Junseong Lee—

A veteran of Prophecy RPG,

A best-selling strategy guide creator,

And also…

A creator who once circulated 19+ doujinshi of Prophecy RPG.

‘Quick hands, skilled at drawing.’

Just a hobby, but precisely because it was a hobby, I put my all into it.

‘If I get caught, I’ll die, right?’

It was 19+ Prophecy RPG doujinshi, after all.

Featuring main characters like Ria, Elise, Sophia, and Serena in… ahem… certain scenarios.

If discovered—

Execution was likely.

‘Either beaten to death or… well, other kinds of endings…’

Either scolded for drawing such things or… encouraged for having such tastes.

So—

What awaited me?

‘Squeezed dry to death.’

A horrifying fate just imagining it.

But.

No way I’d get caught.

‘You think I’d be insane enough to upload 19+ doujinshi openly?’

Naturally, I used a pseudonym.

Nobody knew I was that artist.

Not even the other four transmigrators.

So, no chance of exposure.

With that reassurance, I crafted the plot.

‘A story about a ninja protagonist mastering shadow arts and growing stronger… Yeah, that’ll work.’

Taking inspiration (👀) from a certain yellow-haired ninja manga, I outlined the story.

I kept the basic framework but replaced the protagonist’s techniques with shadow arts.

‘The original ran for 72 volumes… So, I should prepare to draw all 72.’

No plans to overhaul the plot.

Just going to draw it all.

‘The workload… Hmm… No way I can do this alone.’

That manga took 16 years to serialize.

Sure, I could catch up if I spent 16 years drawing, but I wasn’t about to commit like that.

‘I’ll finish it in a week!’

Normally, impossible.

But.

This was a world of magic.

A world with shadow arts—an utterly broken skill!

Meaning—

This was doable.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Countless shadow clones surged from my shadow.

They weren’t perfect replicas—more like black clay-like duplicates.

But their performance? Top-notch.

‘All F-rank, though.’

The Shadow Clone Jutsu produced clones one or two ranks weaker than the user.

The more clones, the weaker they became.

1–10 clones = E-rank (one rank lower).

100–200 clones = F-rank (two ranks lower).

E-rank was roughly adult male-level.

F-rank? Child or elderly-level combat ability—useless in actual fights.

But.

For drawing comics?

Even F-rank could be plenty useful.

“All units—begin production!”

“”””Begin!””””

200 versions of me started drawing.

I summoned more paper and pens, rented extra rooms as workspaces, and even summoned reference copies of the original manga.

Still—

Not enough.

‘Need more clones.’

Despite being F-rank, their drawing skill matched mine.

More clones = faster progress.

But—

Too many clones would drop them below F-rank.

‘Unacceptable.’

Weaker clones wouldn’t even have the grip strength to hold pens.

‘Sigh… If only I were C-rank…’

Absorbing all the Skill Crystals I had could push me to C-rank.

But—

That required time.

‘Can’t digest and absorb Skill Crystals instantly.’

At Serena’s constant requests, I absorbed cooking-related Skills first—but the rest remained unused.

Becoming C-rank would take 1–2 months.

So—

No quick fixes for raising my rank and increasing clone numbers now.

While pondering—

“Main body!”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been thinking—why limit ourselves to hand-drawing?”

“What do you mean?”

“We can do this instead.”

One clone molded its hand into a stamp and pressed it onto the paper.

THUD!

One manga page—complete.

“Well?”

“!!!!!!”

Being shadow-clay puppets, they could reshape their hands into stamps.

“Stamps” was underselling it—these were magic-engraved stamps, borderline printing presses.

Magical printers that stamped images straight from the mind.

The moment I realized—

“Tell the others! We finish this today!”

“Whoo!”

200 clones began mass-stamping the manga.

‘Perfect.’

Thanks to the clones’ genius idea, I completed 72 volumes without issue.

Truly, my clones—

Just like me, brilliant minds.

Satisfied, I dispersed them all.

“Hmph!”

I duplicated the finished books using the Holy Grail of Sacrifice.

One set went to my assassin comrade via parcel.

The other set—

‘Necessary?’

I considered showing it to the others, but—maybe not.

In Prophecy RPG, only one character in the Hero’s Party had talent for shadow arts—the assassin.

For everyone else, reading the Shadow Arts Manual would be pointless.

I was about to stash it in my subspace bag when—

“Kain? What’s this?”

“A manga adaptation of the Shadow Arts Manual. Easier and fun to read.”

“Manga?”

“Yeah.”

“Fun to read?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll try it.”

“Sure.”

I’d already sent a set to the assassin.

And since I memorized the content, no need to reread.

So, I handed all the manga to Serena.

Days later.

I regretted introducing Serena to manga civilization.

“Manga! Snacks! Manga! Snacks!”

“……”

“By the Goddess’s name, I command you—bring me new manga. Now.”

“……”

“Gimme the mangaAAAAAH! I want to read moreEEEEH!”

“……”

“You can use clones, right?! Make one draw manga! Another cook snacks! Hurry!”

“Ugh…”

Just days ago, she was a brat begging for snacks.

Now? A snack-and-manga-demanding, twice-as-annoying brat.

This was a goddess?