Starting as a Manga Editor-Chapter 93: Manga

Rumi stared at the firm and clear “No” on her screen. Her excitement instantly evaporated and turned into a state of shaking with cold fury.
She was just about to send another message to Tang Yao.
But Tang Yao messaged first:
“The current test version of the game is basically the same as the open beta version, except for the content related to the second singularity which hasn't been added yet. 'Fate/stay night' is the same. And I don’t believe you actually finished both the singularity storyline and the current content of 'Fate/stay night' in one night.
You probably just finished the Observer Route of 'Fate/stay night,' right?
If you really want, I can tell you about it... but are you sure you want spoilers?”
“......”
Rumi stared at Tang Yao’s message, feeling conflicted.
She really had just finished the Observer Route of Fate/stay night up to the current content.
As for the singularity plotline... she hadn’t touched it yet.
She figured most people would go for the Observer Route first... especially those who had already watched Fate/Zero.
But Fate/stay night cut off at the most crucial moment!
It was infuriating.
Still, having someone spoil it with words...
Rumi finally replied:
“Forget it...”
“Knew it.”
“But why didn’t you finish ‘Fate/stay night’?! It’s so good!”
“You’re doing weekly manga updates, and you have the nerve to say that… You’re a mangaka too, don’t you know how time-consuming it is to create art assets for mobile games? My little studio is doing its best. A big-shot mangaka like you, who can drop over a hundred grand just to play a game, probably wouldn’t get it…”
“...Fine.”
Reading that, Rumi thought about the game’s high-quality artwork and found herself unable to argue.
But...
After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly asked:
“Are you short on funds? I can invest. I don’t need much equity—I just want to be part of it.”
Although she didn’t know the actual test data, and many manga readers on the forums were skeptical...
Rumi, as one of the earliest players of Fate/Grand Order, could already see the game’s potential after playing it.
“No need. I’m afraid my investor would get jealous...”
On the other end.
Tang Yao saw the message, hesitated slightly, then turned her down.
If it had been before, she might not have declined.
But now that the test data was in... she had confidence.
Even if she had to crawl, she would crawl to the finish line.
“I see...”
Jealous?
Rumi felt both disappointed and curious.
Are they married? Husband’s the investor?
But she didn’t ask further.
After all, their connection was limited to chatting online, and it was mostly about the game. Now that the wave of excitement had passed, she’d calmed down.
She remembered she was a star mangaka—Tang Yao’s senior in this business... and with that bit of pride, she couldn’t bring herself to press any further.
After all, she wasn’t short on money… and she wasn’t a professional investor. She just thought the game was fun and had potential. How much potential, exactly? She was still kind of fuzzy on that.
So when Tang Yao declined, she felt it was a pity—but just that. Nothing more.
They chatted a bit more.
Then Rumi exited the messaging app, ready to launch Fate/Grand Order.
But right as her finger hovered over the game icon...
Rumi suddenly froze, as if struck by lightning, and slowly lowered her phone.
No way!
This chapter’s manuscript still hasn’t been turned in!
Rumi, oh Rumi, how could you fall this far?! You used to be so self-disciplined! This has to stop now!
You don’t even usually play games! How could you let yourself get so distracted by a mobile game?!
Right.
With that thought, Rumi put down her phone, patted her cheeks, and picked up her stylus.
But even with the pen in hand, she just couldn’t bring herself to start.
...Come to think of it, she’d only watched the beginning of the singularity plot before jumping into Fate/stay night.
The rest of the singularity storyline looked like it was going to be really interesting...
...Just half an hour.
Just thirty minutes.
With that mental compromise, Rumi finished convincing herself, threw down the stylus, grabbed her phone again, and opened the game.
And soon enough—
Two hours passed...
Knock knock.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Her assistant was there to check in.
“Sensei…”
Rumi snapped out of it, looked toward the door, then glanced down at the time in the bottom-right corner of her screen… and felt her soul leave her body.
She was lost in it again.
Rumi picked up her phone and stared at the game on the screen, falling into a deep silence.
...This is terrifying.
She didn’t even want to imagine it.
Once this game officially launched, the damage it would do to the anime/manga crowd...
How much impact this game would actually have on the otaku community was still unknown.
But for now, it wasn’t much...
After all, even if you added everything up, there were only about two thousand testers—barely a blip in the entire fandom.
Still, despite the small numbers, players started sharing their experiences on the second day of the closed beta—lavishly praising the game.
But maybe there had been too many trolls in recent days... most readers had already seen too many people faking insider info, so skepticism was high.
And when they heard it was a mobile game—and a sequel to Fate/Zero—many called BS.
Fate/Zero isn’t even finished yet! With the time it takes to develop a game, did this so-called third-rate artist already plan out the whole ending right when the manga started? And is she seriously sure she won’t change a thing?
But that doubt didn’t last long, because soon a few more beta testers stepped up with screenshots of the game.
When readers saw those gorgeous character illustrations, some of them started to believe. They were stunned: This is a mobile game?
Still, others remained skeptical.
Forums were flooded with heated debates.
And just as the discussions were heating up, Fate/Zero kept going—its newest chapter had just dropped.
This chapter was also packed with drama... from Kirei, the apprentice, betraying Tokiomi, to Kiritsugu killing his own father and revealing why he became so twisted.
It was all gripping, edge-of-your-seat stuff.
On one hand, people were talking about the game.
On the other hand, Fate/Zero’s plot had entered the latter half, and with someone dying almost every chapter, the story was charging ahead at full speed.
The two fueled each other, pushing the popularity of the entire Fate franchise into a rising spiral.
At this point, even readers who didn’t follow Fate/Zero had heard about the manga.
And just as the hype was peaking, the second beta test of Fate/Grand Order wrapped up.
There were quite a few issues...
But luckily, nothing game-breaking.
And in the end, the test data was still amazing—the seven-day retention rate was insanely high!!
Tang Yao felt even more confident. She wasn’t in a rush anymore.
She began to carefully prepare for the third test… setting the stage for the final launch.
At the same time, she sped up the manga’s production.
Because she had decided—
The moment Fate/Zero ends, the open beta for Fate/Grand Order would launch.
Let readers dive straight into the game without missing a beat.