Kamiyā Yuu lay flat on the soft bed in his room. As his vision sank into darkness, some instinct of his consciousness guided him into a mysterious mental space. Fading, distancing, dimming—what he felt was no longer the five senses of the physical body, but something far more elusive and intangible. As a human, he couldn't describe this sensation with words; it was like a person born blind seeing the world for the first time.
From something to nothing—when he realized he had entered a world of nothingness, Kamiyā Yuu arrived at the boundary of this consciousness space.
"Snap~!"
In the dark void, Kamiyā Yuu snapped his fingers. Instantly, the veil of darkness receded, and the world of consciousness obeyed his will, constructing a material realm. An endless plaza paved with white tiles stretched out, and at its center stood a drawing desk used by key animators, along with numerous professional tools—everything created from Kamiyā Yuu's memory.
His own body gradually manifested, seated before the drawing desk.
"This isn't about using consciousness to directly create key frames. That might produce perfect results here, but it wouldn't translate into real-world skill." Feeling the solid, nearly lifelike sensation of his body, Kamiyā Yuu nodded in satisfaction. Dozens of key animation sheets appeared midair, frozen in place—these were based on his impressions of Uehara Etsuki's work from earlier that day.
"Everything's ready. Let's begin."
Holding the animation pen, he followed the sensations flowing through his body and began creating his own key animation drawings in this world. Every stroke felt stiff and difficult, yet at the same time, he was pleasantly surprised to find a strange sensation guiding him—something that pushed him toward the result he envisioned.
Whenever something felt off in his drawing, this intuition-like sense would tell him exactly what was wrong and how to fix it. This feeling didn't come from anyone else—it was a product of his own knowledge fused with instinct, something that could only manifest within this consciousness space.
"I can clearly feel the improvement in line control… and gain a deeper understanding of key animation techniques."
Kamiyā Yuu rediscovered the feeling he once had when drawing key frames. Guided by a vague sixth sense, he continuously corrected and refined his technique and instincts.
Within this consciousness space, his learning ability far exceeded reality.
Gradually, the stiffness in his strokes disappeared. Whether in thought or movement, everything became fluid. With each line he drew, his mind had already simulated the next—what kind of stroke to use, which pen would be most suitable, how to structure the overall composition.
His body perfectly followed his thoughts, and his thoughts followed the guidance of instinct.
This wasn't a completely new feeling. Back in his previous world, when he worked as a writer, he had often experienced something similar—like a sudden breakthrough in thought. When writing, his hands wouldn't stop, and before he knew it, a long time had passed. When he came back to his senses, he would realize he had written several times more than usual in the same span of time.
But in this consciousness space, that feeling was even more pronounced, clearer, and controllable.
The dozens of floating key frames rotated around him one by one for him to copy. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when the last sheet drifted by, Kamiyā Yuu finally set down his pen.
"Eleven hours… in just eleven hours, I completed three days' worth of practice."
He marveled at himself, looking at his trembling hands. Even though they were sore and numb, he didn't want to get rid of that sensation—it was the most direct proof of his progress.
He organized the drawings he had completed and began reviewing them one by one. With each sheet, he could see the subtle evolution of his style—from the first piece, which didn't even pass muster, to the last, which surpassed his previous level and rivaled veteran key animators with over a decade of experience. The strokes were steady and flowing; even if there were slight flaws in the overall structure, the refined linework masked them well.
"I practiced for eleven hours… which means only about one hour and six minutes have passed in reality. There's still time—I can go further."
Feeling his rapid improvement, Kamiyā Yuu's heart burned with excitement. The floating works had all been created by Uehara Etsuki—like a towering tree just beginning to grow, he had absorbed their nutrients completely. Now that he could no longer gain more from them, why not seek more advanced techniques from the vast resources of the internet? This consciousness space could connect to the internet from his previous world.
With a wave of his right hand, a translucent projection appeared in midair. It displayed the desktop of his computer from his previous world. He clicked open a browser and entered a search engine.
'Japanese Key Animator Drawing Techniques'
'Complete Beginner's Guide to Manga — Character Edition'
'Special Effects in Sketching'
'Composition Design for Scenery'
'Light and Perspective'
…
At three in the morning, Kamiyā Yuu, lying on his bed, twitched his right hand slightly before slowly opening his eyes.
Though it seemed like he had just woken up, he let out a weary yawn. His dull eyes scanned the room, filled with exhaustion.
"I'm back… coming out of that consciousness space really makes you even more mentally drained."
He held his forehead and shook his head. The heaviness and dizziness made him feel worse than if he hadn't slept for days. Looking at his hands, he could clearly feel the warm blood flowing through his fingers—the results of days of practice in the consciousness space seemed to have crossed into reality and overlapped with his body.
After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and sat up. "I can't sleep yet. At least not before I imprint this feeling into my body while the memory is still fresh. If I sleep now, the effort might be half as effective."
Fighting off exhaustion, Kamiyā Yuu turned on the light and sat at his drawing desk, recalling the experience and insights he had accumulated in the consciousness space. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the animation pen tightly and began drawing rapidly across the blank paper.
The feeling was completely different from within the consciousness space. In reality, it was much harder to grasp, and he couldn't easily enter that state.
"Focus! Don't let your thoughts break! Let your body remember that feeling! Let it adapt! Let it search for it!"
Mistakes didn't matter. Flawed composition didn't matter either. There was only one thought in Kamiyā Yuu's mind:
Draw!
Draw with everything he had!
He didn't seek perfection—only to recreate that feeling, to engrave it into his body's instincts, to let his body master those techniques.
Sheet after sheet slid off the desk onto the floor. The numbness in his body and the clumsiness in controlling his strength gradually faded. His thoughts surged like a tide, breaking through the limitations of his body, inscribing the sensations of the consciousness space bit by bit into his muscles, into his fingers.
After a long, long time, when the first light of dawn pierced through the curtains and illuminated his room, he finally stopped.
His gaze rested on the last key frame he had drawn. It was far inferior to the works he created in the consciousness space, yet he was deeply satisfied.
"Success!"
Kamiyā Yuu almost wanted to shout to the sky, releasing both exhaustion and exhilaration. The key frames he produced now might not be perfect, but they have already surpassed his original level and developed his own style. At first glance, they didn't look much different from his previous works—but only experienced key animators could recognize the distinctive qualities within. He no longer needed to painstakingly copy each stroke; every line now existed within a framework constructed by his own thinking.
This was the essential step from animator to key animator—the accumulation of countless experiences and insights. Though still inexperienced in this regard, Kamiyā Yuu had undoubtedly touched the threshold of a true key animator. And as his knowledge and experience grew, it wouldn't be long before he reached a level comparable to masters like Uehara Etsuki.