Chapter 81

Filming resumed without issue. The deaths caused by terrorism were not a significant problem as the investigation had concluded, and it was proven that the production company bore no responsibility. There was a process involving compensation and apologies to the victims, but that primarily fell on the government rather than the movie studio.

Moreover, public servants adhering to the strict standards set by the Gods of Truth and Justice would never shirk their responsibilities.

In fact, the disciples of the God of Justice, who often held dual roles as public servants, might even relish this opportunity. While the incident presented undeniable hardships, it also offered a chance for them to level up their tiers.

Thanks to this, Alan could focus solely on filming without worrying about external issues.

“Jae-yeon-ssi! You need to put more emotion into it! You are following the orders of the pirates but don’t you want to attack your fellow citizens from District 34? Isn’t that right?”

Alan completely revised the script. Unlike before when I had to act as a stuntman and extra, my role now included wielding a sword. It wasn’t just any supporting character; I was both the main villain who turned towards being an ally, significantly influencing the main storyline.

A formidable enemy that couldn’t be easily defeated even by protagonists giving their all. A cold and ruthless antagonist with a painful past…

“No, why should I act…”

“You took the money, so you have to do the work!”

He had a point. People might not realize this, but my contract terms were better than those of the female lead, and even superior to Sungjae, the top star.

‘Of course, my running guarantee ratio is lower than his. When considering Alan’s contract, it has a much stronger running guarantee compared to fixed fees. Strictly speaking, Sungjae’s conditions might be better.’

However, the running guarantee had its full effect only when the movie exceeded the break-even point and became a blockbuster hit. But who could guarantee that the currently filming movie would become a blockbuster? Considering I was a complete novice with no filmography, this treatment was truly insane. It was even more so since 250 million won was already deposited in my account. As Alan said, if I received such compensation, it was my duty to do the work.

“Jae-yeon-ssi! Here’s the next script!” Alan threw me a hurriedly scribbled scenario with his pen.

”…What scenario is this movie shooting?”

“Quickly memorize it. Once again, Do-Gyun’s character is quite three-dimensional. He has extraordinary talent and ambition but was stifled by his environment. As a result, he has a cynical attitude as the base, yet there is also a burning fire within his heart. You understand that feeling right?”

“I don’t know.”

“Eh, stop complaining when you can do it well if asked. Come on, let’s move to the next scene.”

The filming proceeded at a frantic pace. The newly arrived Dreamwalker mages controlled the energy of dreams to create sets while acting took place in front of them.

“Huff! Huff! Director-nim! Despite being called a genius mage, why am I using my body more than magic?”

“We need this scene so do as I say!”

“You are truly a tyrant! Hecck!” After filming a chase scene with Sungjae being pursued by an unidentified monster called Unnamed, he collapsed next to me. His breathing was rough from the strenuous shooting.

“Sigh… You are using people more than usual. How about you, Jae-yeon? It seems like you are doing incredibly well.”

I shrugged while observing the handsome man who spoke casually to me.

“I’m just improvising at best.”

“Nah. You aren’t shaking or making any mistakes. You’re doing great. When I was a rookie, I couldn’t compare. Moreover, your role fits you perfectly.”

As he spoke, one of the staff members approached with a cup containing a drink and handed it to me.

“H-Here…”

“Ah, thank you.”

I smiled as I took the cup, causing the staff member’s face to turn red before they quickly ran away. Turning my head, I noticed several people discreetly watching us from different locations.

‘This… seems more exhausting than I thought.’

During this time, Sungjae managed to catch his breath and spoke up.

“Phew! It’s late, but thank you for saving me during the terrorist incident. I thought you had an unusual aura, but I didn’t expect it to be that intense. Were you perhaps part of a special forces unit or some sort of space mercenary?”

“Nope. Although I was in the military, just a regular soldier.”

Sungjae scratched his head in response to my answer.

“You don’t seem ordinary for such roles… Anyway, I’m extremely relieved that Jae-yeon is here. The previous movie by our director didn’t perform well, causing some unease. If we couldn’t stop these terrorists and had to indefinitely postpone filming, it would’ve been disastrous.”

“What kind of disaster?”

“In the worst-case scenario, he might have had to quit filmmaking and work as an enchanting laborer for five years? Even then, only because he’s a 7th class mage with limited options.” Sungjae chuckled at his own words.

“I suppose once you reach 7th class mage, managing enchantments could be more lucrative.”

“That’s true. He wouldn’t need to constantly worry about whether a film will succeed or fail like now… But isn’t it admirable when someone pursues their passion despite earning less? Once a filmmaker reaches the top, they can make substantial income too.”

He quickly added, “Ah! I’m not saying enchanters aren’t cool!”

As he was a celebrity, he seemed to be careful with his words.

“I guess Sungjae could also choose that path.”

“Oh, enchanting? Unfortunately, I lack those skills. The director is a traditional mage based on intelligence. In other words, he’s what people commonly refer to as a wizard. On the other hand, I’m a sorcerer powered by charisma. Even my current rank only increased because I managed to cast spells above my level. Apart from one spell, there isn’t much difference between me and a 6th class mage. It might sound impressive being classified as a 7th class, but compared to the director, it pales significantly. Despite appearances, he truly is remarkable.”

His words prompted Sungjae to look at Alan directing the scene. The middle-aged man was currently yelling and harassing his staff members. This made Sungjae wonder:

“By the way, what exactly caused that mana-nullifying zone? For such a high-level mage to be rendered powerless…”

“I’m curious about it too. It’s unheard of, isn’t it? A police officer told me they couldn’t figure out how it happened…” Sungjae murmured with a serious expression before shaking his head and speaking cheerfully, “Well! I’m sure the police will handle it! By the way, Jae-yeon! Have you joined a guild yet?”

“A guild? Oh yes, definitely…”

“What level are you?”

“I’m level six, just for attendance.”

Until now, I hadn’t joined any proper guilds. This was because it was difficult for me to enjoy guild content while working all day. Despite most of Revenge’s content being automated, there were still parts that required human interaction.

‘No, it goes beyond that.’

The true content of Revenge involved auto hunting to meet certain specs and then waging war with those specs. I had been playing for quite some time, and my spending exceeded a certain threshold. Yet strictly speaking, I couldn’t say I was truly playing Revenge. It was just a farming factory used to send equipment to Ardenia.

“Ah! Then there is no problem! Would you like to join our guild?”

“Sungjae-nim’s guild?”

“Yes! The Ares Guild! We are ranked 5th among guilds! Our guild level is 18!”

”…”.

I couldn’t help but gape at his words.

‘A guild level of 18.’

The maximum guild level was 20, and all locks on the guild shop were unlocked at level 15. Guild raids up to legendary difficulty would open, meaning practically everything that a guild could do would be unlocked. After this point, it became extremely difficult to raise the guild level since there weren’t many benefits beyond the guild buffs. Yet, they managed to increase their level by three more steps?

“I think the guild is too high-level for me.”

“Jae-yeon-ssi possesses a Mythical class? Moreover, you attended the user meeting so your spending mustn’t be small either. In our guild, only eight people have reached a level where they can attend such meetings.”

I smiled bitterly at his words. “As you may know from the famous story, I was just lucky to get the Mythical class. Furthermore…my character isn’t that strong.”

“Huh? But Jae-yeon-nim. Aren’t you also ranked as a VIP user with Killian? That means you have spent hundreds of millions won?”

For a moment, I hesitated before speaking. If I didn’t properly explain this fact, misunderstandings would only continue to pile up.

“I don’t give any items obtained through cash payments to my character.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It means all purchased items are deleted.”

”…?” Sungjae couldn’t understand at all. It took me almost 10 minutes to explain the situation fully.

Finally, Sungjae understood my words and his mouth dropped open, “This is the first time I’ve heard that chakra training can have such side effects. Wow… deleting all purchased items…”

“Not just purchased but farmed items as well.”

Sungjae was troubled by my words for a while. Then he seemed to gather his thoughts and spoke, “Then let’s make it so joining our guild serves as compensation for saving my life. As a guild executive, I have the authority to enroll secondary accounts, so we can utilize that privilege. Moreover, despite not purchasing any items, your Mythical class alone surpasses most standards.”

“Huh? But…”

“You said you would delete farmed items? If so, it is much more beneficial to join our guild. Your farming level will be different. This time, we received enormous benefits after upgrading our castle to Mythical grade. And…”

At this moment…

Grrroooar!

Beyond the horizon of the Dreamworld, a massive smoke rose up. Alan, who was filming, became delighted.

“It’s a top-grade nightmare! Good. I needed scenes for Unnamed’s combat, and this can replace them! Sungjae-ssi! Prepare your spell! Can you use Rose Palace?”

“But if every nightmare appearance will be used as combat scenes, why do we need guards…”

“Quickly!”

“Haha…yes. I’m going!” Sungjae replied as he got up and looked at me.

“Apply to join the guild! I will handle it!”

After Sungjae left, an incredible battle occurred nearby. The nightmare exerted an overwhelming pressure that could be felt from tens of meters away. However, with the assistance of over a dozen mages, Sungjae’s 7th class spells pushed back the nightmare with overwhelming force.

’…This isn’t a joke.’

It wasn’t a joke; even I might find it difficult to win if fighting like this. If this is what a 7th class mage can do, how powerful would an 8th class mage be? It was truly fortunate that Bram used a mental spell at the end.

‘I’ve been quite lucky in various ways.’

I anticipated battles, but I didn’t expect an 8th class mage to emerge in District 34 with less than fifty people present.

‘I must acquire the Mythical class just in case.’

With this thought, I turned my head.

“Cheeda.”

The brown cat waddled onto the table at my call. As his fur aligned, the image of Killians appeared, automatically hunting monsters. Then I checked the inventory.

“Oh! Two rare items obtained. It is good to hunt in high level areas.”

I organized the inventory and replenished consumables. This process was now quite natural for me.

“And that Ares Guild… Wow, I didn’t expect to join such a top guild so quickly.”

After applying to join the guild, I habitually checked the stocks.

“I have to buy it someday, but the price keeps rising…”

This was what I found:

Nemesis - 11,927,000 won (-3,261,000 won) ↓

“…huh?”

For a moment, I couldn’t comprehend the situation and just stared at the numbers on the stock program.

“No… why suddenly?”

The stock price of Nemesis…

It was plummeting rapidly.