My youth story, a crossover anime, turns out, is FGO!

Aki Tomoya is a hardcore otaku, a third-year student at Toyonosaki Private School, the founder and representative of the doujin game circle "blessing software", and also the manager of the band "icy tail".

In first grade, he ran to the teachers' office and pleaded with the dean of academic affairs for permission to play an animation at the school anniversary celebration, which even alarmed the principal and made him one of the three most famous people in the school.

TAKI, a popular blogger, is always among the first to update ACGN information and comment on newly released works. Incidentally, he is a huge fan of Kasumi Utako's "Love Metronome," and thanks to his strong recommendation, the sales of this work increased by 30%.

Judging from the various titles and achievements mentioned above, although Tomoya Aki is a hardcore otaku, he has also made significant contributions to otaku culture, and is certainly not simply obsessed with anime and manga.

If we add the upcoming "cherry blessing? The Tale of Megumi" game, Tomoya Aki can be considered a producer with some fame in otaku culture.

However, this man has one extremely troublesome trait: his fanatical pursuit of anime and the supernatural. This is both his strength, allowing him to wholeheartedly immerse himself in otaku culture, and his weakness—once it involves something he's interested in, this guy turns into an extreme egoist who talks to himself.

"Eh??!! Two Eriris and Senpai??!?!" Aki Tomoya's surprise lasted only a moment, then his tone rose, and his eyes behind his glasses began to shine, "This is, this is such an ordinary development—"

"Is it a doppelganger? Or a mirror image? No, no, no, could it be a parallel world! This is so interesting, another version of myself in another world!" Aki Tomoya ran over excitedly, trying to grab "Eriri's" hand, but she shook him off.

"Speak properly! Don't get physical!" Eriri wasn't going to put up with him. Not only did she not like Aki Tomoya now, but even considering their past relationship, this wasn't the Aki Tomoya from their world.

"Tomoya! You can't even recognize the two of us?!" Eriri was furious. Even her parents probably wouldn't recognize her, but the fact that Aki Tomoya couldn't tell them apart still made her very angry.

"We've known each other for ten years, haven't we!"

"You two look exactly alike, how could anyone tell you apart!" Aki Tomoya replied quite directly, showing no remorse whatsoever.

"They really look exactly alike, amazing." Following behind Aki Tomoya, Kato Megumi, who was completely unnoticed, walked in silently without being noticed by anyone. Looking left and right, no one could tell which one was which.

However, her actions were unsurprisingly ignored by everyone.

Aki Tomoya completely ignored Eriri, who was about to explode with anger, and instead focused his attention on the other "Eriri," and began his own enthusiastic state again: "It really is a parallel world! This is so cool, this is also a super awesome game development, such as time travel, which is a timeless theme, and the opposite of it is love between past and present lives."

"Eriri! Okay, Eriri from another world!" Under the glare of the real Eriri, Aki Tomoya reluctantly changed his form of address. "Please tell me, what is your world like? Are there differences between different worlds? Are there different games, manga, and novels? I'm really looking forward to it..." As he spoke, Aki Tomoya's thoughts wandered off course.

"I knew it would be like this..." Eriri sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead. Tomoya Aki's personality hadn't changed at all in the past ten years; he'd even gone from being an otaku to a hardcore otaku.

"How strange, Tomoya-kun." Since she no longer held that special feeling, the way she addressed him changed accordingly. "Kasumigaoka Utaha" crossed her arms and raised her smooth chin with a dignified air: "Is this the kind of talk you should give a club member who has met someone from another world? There should be something more important than the bishoujo games in your head."

Aren't most people more interested in the fact that parallel universes exist, and why these characters ended up here? So why is Aki Tomoya interested in different anime and novels set in other worlds? There should be a limit to this absurdity.

"Right now, nothing is more important than bringing the game in my head to life!" Aki Tomoya answered resolutely, then hesitated for a moment, "What if your world has some super interesting superpowers or something... No, I can't be tempted, I have to make the game better first!" Aki Tomoya encouraged himself with great enthusiasm.

However, he completely failed to notice that Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha, who belonged to their own world, had very fierce eyes and their minds were only on the game. What on earth was this guy thinking?

As for Megumi Kato, she was out of sorts as always.

"Since Kasumigaoka-senpai and Sawamura-kun have become two people, won't they only be able to share identities from now on? It would be very convenient to cheat if they wanted to..." Kato Megumi's thoughts continued to wander, but no one noticed her.

Aki Tomoya looked down and suddenly noticed the sketchbook that "Eriri" had placed on the table in front of him. The familiar signature on it was undoubtedly Eriri's. He picked up the sketchbook quite naturally, opened it, and the manuscript inside was exposed to everyone.

It was a black and white manuscript, simply outlined with pencil lines and shadows, yet it could instantly capture the viewer's attention.

A knight of unparalleled brilliance, clad in azure silver armor.

More radiant than the sun, more sublime than the silver moon, a king who wields a holy sword to vanquish all evil.

On this moonlit night with few stars, he quietly looked back.

That scene was as if time had stood still.

"So beautiful." Even the most amateurish person present, Megumi Kato, couldn't help but exclaim.

Aki Tomoya's eyes lit up instantly.

"Who gave you permission to take my things?!" In contrast, Eriri's voice was extremely displeased. She raised her hand to snatch back her drawing, but fearing she would damage it, she instead held out her hand to Aki Tomoya: "Give it back to me!"

However, Aki Tomoya didn't listen to a word. In his excitement, he gripped the drawing in his hand even tighter. Even though it wasn't a drawing of a beautiful girl, as a seasoned otaku, he could naturally tell the level of the drawing—it was among the top in the current industry, and that was without any coloring.

"Hey, let go!" Eriri's face turned green, but she didn't dare to grab it directly. If it got torn, she would be the one who would be furious.

"Tomoya-kun." Kato Megumi patted Aki Tomoya on the shoulder, and in the moment he was distracted, with the speed and ruthlessness of an assassin, she pulled out the "Eriri" sketchbook and handed it back to Eriri.

"Here you go, Sawamura-kun." Kato Megumi smoothed out the small corner of the drawing that Aki Tomoya had pinched into with his fingerprint, and then handed it back to Eriri.

Eriri eagerly took it, carefully checked that her drawing was undamaged, and then breathed a sigh of relief, sincerely thanking her: "Thank you, Kato-san... Wait, when did you get here?" Eriri felt a long-lost shock, after all, she hadn't met Kato Megumi in a long time.

"Well, actually I've been here from the very beginning," Kato Megumi replied innocently. "My presence is indeed a bit weak."

That's a bit too low!

Those present, completely oblivious to Kato Megumi, were inwardly complaining.

"Did you draw this?" Eriri looked at her other self with a complicated tone. She didn't really need to answer; even with improved skills, her original habits and brushstrokes were still evident. "Why could you..."

Lost.

We lost completely.

As a renowned artist in the world of doujinshi (fan-made comics), Eri Kashiwagi is quite proud of her drawing skills. Even though she is not a full-time illustrator, her doujinshi have always sold very well.

However, compared to Eriri, her skill level seems to be nothing.

Eriri draws not to please others, but rather out of a sense of resentment from her childhood; it's more like revenge than love.

But Eriri is different.

Even from just a fleeting glimpse, Eriri, as the artist, could feel the intense love in the brushstrokes.

That kind of love wasn't the lingering resentment and entanglement left over from a decade of back-and-forth, but rather like a new bud sprouting in spring, full of vitality and heartfelt longing.

She seems to have rediscovered the simple joys of her childhood.

Not only are their feelings different, but their drawing skills have also improved a lot, to the point that they are almost like two different people. They are both "Eriri" and should even be about the same age, so why is there such a big difference?

Eriri was puzzled.

"It's probably because the reasons for drawing are different." After all, it's her, and Eriri can understand the other person's feelings. "As for the improvement in drawing skills, it's because I have a good friend and a good teacher."

Eriri, who dares not reveal that she is a doujinshi artist, is entirely self-taught in the art world. Her ability to become a bestselling author is truly remarkable.

However, the problems are also obvious. Eriri has not received a formal education, so many of her brushstrokes and lines appear messy and incomplete. Her basic skills are terrible, and even her use of color is too "homely" without considering the application of color itself.

However, this is precisely what Shiina Mashiro excels at.

As a young woman who became a world-class genius painter, Shiina Mashiro, no matter how introverted and lacking in common sense she may be, does not lack knowledge of painting and has a very solid foundation. What she lacks as a manga artist is that "otaku" vibe.

Shiina Mashiro perfectly complements Eriri. In fact, after meeting, the two quickly became good friends. After all, they are both otaku culture enthusiasts and love drawing. They can also learn from each other what they lack.

In a short period of time, both of them made great progress.

Eriri herself might not feel it much, but if compared to someone like Eriri who hasn't yet undergone a complete transformation after the game's deadline, it's easy to see a generational gap.

"Aren't you surprised at all?" Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at her other self. Even though it was a different world, she didn't think she could allow herself to lose to Eriri, but she was indeed shocked when she saw that work.

Just like when I first saw Eri Kashiwagi's work, if it weren't for Tomoya Aki, Utaha Kasumigaoka would probably have become good friends with Eriri.

Why be surprised?

Kasumigaoka Utaha appeared nonchalant, almost as if she were about to pull out a cup of coffee and say, "She has her path, and I have mine. I haven't fallen behind either."

Even though they are both in the ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) field, there is still a significant difference between being an illustrator and being a writer.

The game's script was widely praised, and the release of the new work was a great success, successfully continuing and even surpassing the achievements of "Love Metronome". Compared with her counterpart, "Kasumigaoka Utaha" has more confidence and composure, after all, she has already achieved success.

"Eriri, no, Eriri from another world!" Aki Tomoya didn't care about the strange atmosphere among the four of them. He was already moved by the grand vision in his mind. "It's drawn so well! It would be easy to sell millions of copies!"

"To date, no other classic knight manga can compare to yours. If you sold this manga here, you could easily become the best-selling manga!"

Aki Tomoya was generous with his praise, his tone sincere, his words affectionate, and his enthusiasm overflowing. It must be said that this would indeed give creators a lot of encouragement.

Even Eriri, who was a little annoyed, felt embarrassed as she fidgeted with her hair and her cheeks flushed slightly. "It's alright, it's not as exaggerated as you say."

Eriri herself turned green.

Even if they know the difference between the two, this person is on their side, right? Why is she praising "Eriri" from another world so enthusiastically?

Eriri clenched her fists, her whole body trembling involuntarily.

You know, Ren has never praised her doujinshi like that before!

However, Aki Tomoya completely ignored Eriri's death ray. He was quite enthusiastic about the things he liked: "It's no exaggeration at all, Eriri, you are definitely up to that level!"

"Eri, did you and Utaha-senpai ever join my gaming club over there?"

Aki Tomoya's eyes sparkled.

“Yes, there is…” Eriri couldn’t quite figure out what Aki Tomoya was thinking.

"Are you done?" Aki Tomoya pressed on.

"It's done..." Although she paid almost no attention to it afterward, Eriri felt inexplicably weak.

"please!"

Aki Tomoya clasped his hands together and suddenly lowered his head: "After our game is finished, please let me play the game you made! This is my lifelong request!"

Ah... You said so much just to play games, as expected of you, Aki Tomoya.