"You're right, Nanako. Lin-kun treated us last time. It's our turn now," Kanda Torinobu said with a firm nod, completely on board with Nanako's offer. The two had actually agreed in private—once Lin Yu's manga made it into serialization, they would take him out for a celebratory meal as both a gift and a thank-you.
Seeing how insistent the two girls were, Lin Yu couldn't possibly pretend not to understand their intentions. But instead of arguing, he simply nodded with a grateful smile.
After all, they'd known each other for quite some time now. They were friends. There was no need to split hairs over who paid the bill.
Still, Lin Yu quietly made a note of their kindness and thoughtfulness.
"Then I'll graciously accept."
With Lin Yu's agreement, Nanako and Kanda exchanged a satisfied smile, the air around them practically humming with cheerful energy.
———
Late at night.
Lin Yu returned home alone.
A faint trace of alcohol clung to him, but his eyes were bright and focused, showing no signs of weariness.
After getting off work, he'd gone out to dinner with Nanako and the others. They had a great time. A few drinks were shared—just enough to warm the mood.
Even though Nanako and Kanda had low alcohol tolerance and barely sipped at their drinks, laughter flowed easily as they toasted and joked around the table.
Lin Yu, for his part, remained controlled. He didn't drink too much.
After escorting the girls safely home, he finally returned to his small apartment, excitement practically crackling in his chest.
Today marked the official debut of his manga. The surge of reputation points had exceeded all expectations.
He'd been planning how to spend them all day.
After a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Lin Yu sat cross-legged in front of his low table, summoning the familiar system panel in his mind.
The interface remained as simple as ever, but his reputation points had climbed once again since he'd last checked after work—now brushing close to the 180,000 mark.
Staring at the ever-ticking number, Lin Yu couldn't help but let a grin stretch across his face.
He was no longer that broke, struggling newbie. He could finally stand tall, spend freely, and stop drooling over system upgrades he couldn't afford.
Still, despite the temptation to blow everything on a big lottery pull, he stuck to his plan—first and foremost, he needed to improve his art skills.
After all, this was the world of Crayon Shin-chan. While the movie plots could be downright dangerous for ordinary people, there shouldn't be any major threats for now.
There was time to delay the gacha.
He needed to solidify his foundation first.
"System, upgrade my art skill."
In the system, art skill was an umbrella term.
For a mangaka, there were at least seven or eight specialized branches—line work, perspective, anatomy, backgrounds, and more. Each focused on a different area of technical ability.
If someone were to max out every branch, they wouldn't even need a famous IP. With solid planning and execution, they could create a world-class manga entirely on their own.
But Lin Yu was far from that level—at least for now.
What he needed at this stage was speed. Just faster drawing. No need to waste points on panel layout or storytelling branches yet, since he was still just copying Inuyasha.
Based on the system's grading scale, each skill level ranged from 1 to 10. Lin Yu was currently stuck at Level 1—the absolute beginner tier.
To level up from 1 to 2 cost 10,000 reputation points. From 2 to 3? Double that—20,000. And so on.
After some mental calculations, Lin Yu decided to go big.
Level 5. He would boost his art skill all the way to Level 5.
It would cost a whopping 150,000 points—most of his current reserves.
But he didn't hesitate.
With how things were going, reputation points would only keep pouring in. As long as he kept delivering quality manga, he wouldn't have to worry about running out.
As he confirmed the upgrade, Lin Yu watched the number in his panel plummet like a waterfall.
In mere seconds, his stash dropped to just under 30,000.
But in exchange, his mind flooded with knowledge and muscle memory—decades' worth of experience crammed into his neurons in an instant.
From a newbie barely scraping by, he'd instantly become a seasoned veteran with years of art training under his belt.
He opened his eyes slowly, a smile tugging at his lips.
Grabbing a pen, he immediately began redrawing the first page of Chapter 1—the one he'd practiced the most.
Previously, it had taken him a full hour to complete. Even with all his familiarity, the precision required still bogged him down.
But now?
Every stroke flowed with ease. Even the details that had once taken painful effort came effortlessly. His lines had gained a clear personal style.
In under 20 minutes, he had a finished page. And it was beautiful.
Compared to his earlier version, the quality was like night and day. Anyone could spot the difference.
Staring at his freshly inked masterpiece, Lin Yu felt a surge of joy well up in his chest.
He didn't stop.
Next, he jumped straight to Chapter 3—a page he hadn't even practiced yet.
But now, with his upgraded skills, there was no struggle. No hesitation.
The page took about 30 minutes, clean and crisp. He nailed it on the first try—no redrawing needed.
Thinking back to his snail-like pace and clumsy strokes from before, Lin Yu couldn't help but laugh.
If he could, he'd go back and redo all his old drafts.
But there would be time for that later. For now, he had leveled up. And the future? It looked brighter than ever.