22 Love is a Scary Thing (1/2)

”I have 122 points right now so... I can consider buying the magic pen now.”

At the moment, the objects that could be redeemed were [Travelling Deity]'s equipment and Powerade. He already had the shoes and the headband, so that was enough for now. As for [Famous Streamer], the only available equipment was the streaming assist device. He really wanted this, but the damn thing cost 1000 points, so the only way he could redeem it in his current condition was if he completed illustration task phase 3, or ran laps until he died.

Therefore, the pen was his only choice.

Buy!

The pen had many functions, but the most important was the +1 drawing skill.

Exchange successful.

Similar to when he traded his shoes and headband, the pen magically 'appeared' from his mind and landed in his hands. It was also very small, only expanding when it needed to be used. One could use it alongside other items, or by itself.

Seeing nobody was around him, Meng Fan's thoughts shuffled and the pen turned to regular size. It looked very average and had nothing out of the ordinary, but the fun began once he began to draw.

”Pencil, hardness 9B.”

”5B.”

”2B.”

”HB.”

”F.”

”Harder, H.”

”Even harder, 2H.”

”Harder...”

Meng Fan toyed with the hardness level on his pen from 9B until 10H, shading a gradient from dark to light. Next, he played with the colored pencil function, then the markers, ballpoint, gel pen, watercolors, etc; anything he could imagine. He experimented with all the sizes and hardnesses he could recall. These also included calligraphy brush, ink pens, UV light pens, gouache, chalk, pastels, and even eyebrow pencils. These pens Meng Fan did not see himself using often, but the change from one to the other came almost instantly once the tool formed in his head.

In the end, Meng Fan shifted his thoughts again and changed it into an eraser. It didn't matter what the original had been drawn from, the eraser could wipe out all traces of it with just a wave of his hand, not leaving a single mark!

”666!”

Meng Fan couldn't resist giving this magic pen a ”live comment”.

As he was about to switch to his usual F pencil, Meng Fan decided to try his drawing skills with the 3 point increase.

”Hey fatty, why are you running! Even if you are going, at least tell us what time you're streaming tomorrow, and what you're going to draw!”

That message came from AiyoNotFat.

”Uhm, I'll announce it on my channel.”

Meng Fan couldn't tell them he wasn't running, but testing his new rewards instead. He sent an array of smiley emojis and rushed to add the announcement on his channel.

”God, (Kemonomimi) animal ear special! I'm lost, you can't draw men can you?”

”My men don't look good.”

Meng Fan responded, then picked up his magic pen and drew a male character from 'Floating Dream in a Millenium'. The concepts had been established already, plus he had drawn a few as well. He was familiar with them, but not too familiar with the magic pen. Several times when he was drawing, his mind was ”aware” but his hand was not, which ended up wasting a lot of time.

Nine minutes.

Not including the background and color, that speed for a character he was familiar with seemed slow to Meng Fan.

”Not bad!”

Meng Fan supported his jaw as it dropped. He sort of regretted submitting the drafts for 'Floating Dream in a Millenium' to Qin Jiao.

If it had been based on his drawing skills now, his work would have a significantly higher chance of getting chosen.

Heh?

It seems as if this male character has some perfect areas, many too.

Is this from my boost in creativity?

Scratch scratch scratch. To confirm his speculations, Meng Fan drew three characters in a row with his new pen. The character retained their original essence, but they felt a lot more developed than before. Yes, even Meng Fan himself thought they were great.

”Lights out.”

Just as Meng Fan was ecstatic to continue drawing, the studio administrator began cleaning the space.

”Should I give this to Qin Jiao?”

Meng Fan wondered to himself as he was packing up.

If he gave it to her, he could explain that he had been forgetful in missing three drawings, but it was not as easy to explain the gap in drawing skill, for a 3 point boost was easy to spot by a professional like Qin Jiao. It too was obvious he wasn't just having a 'good day'.

If he didn't give it to her, he felt that he would regret it.

But if he submitted it, his chance of being selected would increase by a lot. He didn't do it for the pay, but for the ”exposure”; the exposure of doing illustrations for a famous author.

Buzz.

Just as he stepped out of the studio, he received a WeChat message that solved the issue at hand.

”Got it.”