Just as Tom had expected, the girl in the animation began fighting the wolves—but what he hadn't anticipated was just how intense and captivating the battle would be.
"Bang~ bang~~ bang~"
The moment the thunderous roar of gunfire erupted, Tom felt his heart jolt violently. A surge of heat rushed through his blood vessels, spreading to every limb. The overwhelming excitement made his entire body feel feverish, as if he himself were standing at the center of a fierce battlefield. Adrenaline flooded his system, driving away all fear as he charged headfirst into a storm of gunfire.
"Damn it! What kind of combat style is this!?"
At that moment, Tom knew he had been struck—his body and mind completely captivated by the unique charm radiating from this 3D animation.
"Bang~ bang bang~ bang~ click—!"
The petite girl had become a crimson reaper of death. Her movements with the massive scythe were both graceful and lightning-fast. The sound of blades slicing through flesh blended seamlessly with the roar of gunfire—each sound signaling the fall of another shadow wolf.
Under the cool moonlight, white rose petals and blood-stained red petals swirled into the air. Like an elf, the girl danced beneath the moon in a style entirely her own, while her partners—the shadow wolves—paid with their lives, staining everything in crimson.
This was the art of slaughter.
This was a waltz of death.
This was true aesthetic violence.
It was as if a door to a new world had been opened. Tom was completely intoxicated, unable to pull himself away from this realm of killing. When the music stopped, and silence fell, only crimson petals filled the sky, intertwining with the sacred glow of the moon. The scene etched itself into his mind, leaving him utterly captivated by the red-cloaked girl.
"Too beautiful! I have to admit, I've fallen for you. To hell with those damn fairy tales and animals!"
As if suddenly realizing something, Tom snapped back to his senses. Despair filled his face as he glanced at the progress bar nearing its end. On screen, the gothic girl in red slowly turned her head, locking eyes with a massive black wolf standing gracefully atop the tomb.
It moved.
With astonishing agility, the giant wolf leapt down from the tomb. Its ferocious jaws, wreathed in black smoke, slowly opened and clamped onto the most prominent greatsword embedded in the grave.
The moonlight was as cool as water, its glow like a blade.
The black smoke burned away the vines and moss clinging to the sword, revealing a sacred jade-like radiance along its blade—clearly visible from Tom's perspective.
Time seemed to freeze. Darkness slowly descended.
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! God, you can't do this to me! Damn it! Trash! It's all garbage! You can't just hook me like this and leave me hanging! You can't cut it off at a moment like this!" Tom leapt to his feet, grabbing the screen with both hands and shouting at the top of his lungs as the image faded to black.
"FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Furious, he raised both hands and gave the screen an emphatic middle finger. That day, the entire office heard the anguished howl of an employee named Tom.
After calming down, Tom replayed the three-minute 3D animation several times. Once his initial excitement subsided, he finally regained the composure of a professional animation critic and began analyzing it from multiple angles.
"How the hell was this 3D animation made? Even if it doesn't match big-budget productions, it has a sense of maturity. The detail work is excellent—but not in the same way as large-scale productions. Instead, it amplifies aspects of 3D that most people wouldn't notice, cleverly masking weaker areas. Fundamentally, it's completely different from other 3D animations—like it's from a different era."
"You can see it in the lighting and rendering, too. Which studio made this? Just these visuals alone are worth millions of dollars. But if it's worth that much, why does it need crowdfunding? With this level of skill, there's no way the creator is unknown in the animation industry."
"The combat is flawless—damn it! It's even more engaging than any movie I've seen. Whoever designed this is definitely a genius!"
"As for the music and sound, there's a slight sense of mismatch. They were probably pieced together from online materials."
That day, Tom spent an entire day deciphering the poorly written English email. At last, he understood why Kamiyā Yuu had initiated this crowdfunding project.
"So it's still unfinished… missing a theme song and background music. Too bad I don't understand that area at all."
"Without a doubt, this crowdfunding project passes!"
"And I'll be the first to join. FUCK! I just hope that damn creator doesn't make me wait too long!"
Tom felt as though he was stepping into a bottomless abyss—but he didn't care. This was the only 3D masterpiece he had ever seen that wasn't based on fairy tales or animals. Its Hollywood-level combat style alone was enough to set his blood boiling.
...
"Dear user Yosuganosora, your crowdfunding project has been approved after review by our administrators. If you are available, our company will arrange for dedicated personnel and a Japanese translator to contact you on the website at 2 PM this weekend to discuss related matters. If you are unavailable, please arrange an alternative time."
The next morning, when Kamiyā Yuu opened his laptop, he was surprised to find that the crowdfunding project—originally expected to take two to three working days for review—had already been approved ahead of schedule. Clenching his fist, he thought excitedly, Great! This also shows how much importance "Fakebook" places on this project!
The discussion would likely take place directly online. Based on what he knew of the process, Kamiyā Yuu understood that the website would send specialists to evaluate his situation and provide an accurate estimate of the crowdfunding target.
No—judging from the tone of the reply, he had a faint sense that "Fakebook" had more in mind than just that. After all, providing a free crowdfunding platform must serve a long-term strategy. Many successful projects on the site were eventually acquired by the platform itself.
Of course, Kamiyā Yuu wasn't foolish enough to sell the full rights to 'RWBY'. However, he could consider selling streaming rights or the rights for merchandise and Blu-ray production. As for game rights—those he would absolutely never sell. The animation 'RWBY' was perfectly suited to be adapted into a game, and someday, he might even turn it into an MMORPG.