Chapter 11: Fo Shizzle, Ma Nizzle
Aiden was pleasantly surprised.
He did get one favorable response.
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Blue Dot: Yeah, sure. Why not? Cover art or character art?
Blue Dot: Also, what’s the catch?
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"Thorough I see," Aiden muttered to himself and then replied;
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AidenDraws: I can do both, if you don’t mind.
AidenDraws: Simple. If your book gets popular, or if anyone asks about the art, kindly do me a favor and plug me. I’d also like to advertise it on my social media handles.
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Having sent that message, Aiden moved over to his social media platforms to check the engagement he’d accumulated.
That too also surprised him.
His followers had increased across each individual platform--TweetTalk, Mediagram and FaceSpace--by the higher, single digits.
’Guess I’m moving up in the world...’ he joked, albeit he remained well aware that this was nowhere near the total followers he wanted.
As he was bookmarking the posts he intended to utilize to drive more engagement though, he got a notification ping from the Webnovel site.
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Blue Dot: Alright. That’s fine by me. Also, conditions accepted :D. When can I expect them?
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Mulling it over, Aiden came to a decision;
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AidenDraws: Tonight. Got any reference arts I can use?
Blue Dot: Nah. Just wing it. Anything’s fine as long as it’s good.
AidenDraws: Alright then.
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No sooner had Aiden sent that, he closed the chat and navigated over to the novel to get as much reference as he could from its uploaded Chapters.
Jotting a few peculiar details here and there he felt would really convey the essence of the book, and also the main character’s persona from a glance, he then began working on the illustration.
Just like that, he spent the next couple hours working on said arts, his {Drawing} and {Digital Illustration} skills working in tandem to give it a very professional polish.
Then, utilizing his {Type Designing} skill, he drafted out a rather attractive but equally unique font that eventually cumulated in the final words; The Last Radiant Knight.
By the time evening finally came around, he was done with both the novel’s cover and the character art.
Then, making a couple finishing touches, he zipped the arts and forwarded both to the author.
No sooner had he done that, his father whom had been walking in and out at intervals to grab a few tools here and there, popped in and said;
"Champ. Let’s head home."
"Alright, Pops." Aiden replied and began to pack his stuff.
Soon enough, father and son were on the journey back home, both discussing how their day generally went.
Upon reaching home, both got into the kitchen after resting a bit, and then began prepping their dinner and equally their meal for the morning to come.
A little over an hour later, they had both hit the sack, ready to sleep.
However, just before he dozed off, Aiden’s phone pinged a notification.
Reaching out for the device, a rather happy smile bloomed on his features when he read the message.
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Blue Dot: These... these are amazing! Are you sure you don’t want to be paid?!
AidenDraws: Nah. At least not yet. I need to build a portfolio first so, just honor our deal for now.
Blue Dot: I’ll be sure to do that. Also, thank you. Thank you very much.
AidenDraws: My pleasure.
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Closing the chat, Aiden placed the phone aside and then proceeded to finally get a good night’s rest.
*
(The next day...)
Dressed in his work attire once again, most of his daily quests completed, Aiden awaited the restaurant to open for business.
No sooner had Mrs. Bao flipped the card open, the customers pouring in in a matter of minutes, Aiden’s exclusive quest updated once again, prompting him to pull it up.
Once again, the quest was the same.
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⸢Exclusive Quests
› It’s Haute in Here!
└ Serve a total of 50 customers before your shift is over – [0.5 LP]
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Taking in a deep breath, an exhilarating smile spreading across his lips, Aiden clenched his fists in determination.
’I’ll give it my all,’ he said to himself.
Unfortunately for him, by the time the time his shift ended, he had only managed to serve a total of twenty-seven customers.
Yet, despite failing the quest again, he could only feel motivated to try again tomorrow.
Then the next day came, and he failed the quest yet again.
Even the fourth day was no different, as he failed to meet the quota yet again.
But even then, Aiden’s confidence had grown and his efficiency had improved by a lot.
There was also the fact that the follows on his social media accounts were starting to rack up a steady number in the lower double digits after he posted the art he’d made for The Last Radiant Knight.
In any case, by the time the second week came around, Aiden had hit a new record high of thirty-five customers per day.
Though it wasn’t enough to knock the quest out of the park, it was a gradual progress nonetheless.
Added to that, he was finally paid for his efforts, a total of $672.
Seeing the sum in his bank account, a bank account that rarely saw over a hundred dollars, Aiden was motivated to work even harder.
By the time the third week came around, Aiden had hit a newer record high of forty-five customers, his efficiency akin to a well-oiled machine.
Which was why, as the fourth week drew nearer, he couldn’t help but feel excited at the opportunity to finally knock that quest out of the park.
Today however, was a Friday.
Considering he didn’t go to work on Fridays, he’d decided to invest most of his time in his side hustle for the day and also the weekend.
Having knocked off all his daily quests for the day, he then sat before his system, his expression relaxed as he switched it on.
Upon navigating over to his Webnovel DM’s though, Aiden’s eyes widened, stunned beyond measure as his inbox had over ten messages.
Instantly, he proceeded to search up; The Last Radiant Knight on the platform.
Now currently at the top of the Fresh and Hot rankings, Aiden clicked on the book, only to see, that before the synopsis itself, the author had plugged him directly by writing;
ART WAS DONE BY AIDENDRAWS. AND NO, HE/SHE’S NOT A BOT.
Genuinely grateful for the plug, a genuine smile on his lips, Aiden sent the author a private message.
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AidenDraws: Eeeeiii! Thanks for the plug!
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The reply came almost instantly.
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Blue Dot: It was the least I could do. Your art truly deserves to be seen.
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Appreciative of the gesture, a rather blithe smile touched Aiden’s lips as he replied to the message with a fitting emoji and then, proceeded to sift through his messages.
Opening each one, Aiden wasn’t surprised to see that they were all making the exact same request.
What did surprise him though, were some of the authors whom he’d previously messaged suddenly singing a new tune as they tried to get into his good graces.
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Caeruleum: I rescind my previous comments! Please, make me a flashy cover art! I promise you my book is worth the hassle!
Courting Death: Forgive my previous impertinence, Most Venerable One, for I was truly a frog at the bottom of the well! Please, grant this ignorant young master your Dao of illustrations!
Gooner4Life: I’d like to request for one goontastic cover, dear Sire/Ma. We can let bygones be bygones, right?!
Black Snape: Fo shizzle, ma nizzle! Here’s an Accio Henessy, dawg!!
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Aiden’s lips twitched.
Then he threw his head back and burst into a genuinely hearty laughter, small beads of tears forming at the corner of his eyes.
A minute later after he’d gotten himself together, he then proceeded to respond to the messages favorably, all except for the ’Gooner4Life’ whom he outright rejected.
’There’s no way in hell I’ll ever be caught drawing soft porn.’ he inwardly affirmed, though he did ensure to type his response in a professional tone.
Having done that, he then focused on the other authors, having discussions with each of them over what they wanted.
After sorting that out, he then got down to work.
And just like that, amidst knocking off all his quests over the weekend, Aiden dedicated his time to utilizing his skills in a way that was both fun yet productive for him.
By the time the weekend was over though, each character illustration and cover art done with such distinct exquisiteness and aplomb, Aiden resumed work on Monday, feeling more energized than ever.
More than that, he really felt that he could knock out his exclusive quest, if not today, then certainly before the end of the week.
As a result, he couldn’t help but walk up to Cody, Jermaine, and Mrs. Bao his expression reserved as he politely requested;
"If any of you wouldn’t mind, would you be willing to delegate one of your tables to me?"
