《The Otherworldly Filmmaker》 Chapter 1 - Lights, Camera, Action! "CUT! Ramirez, check if Camera 3 is working properly. We''re not getting a signal on the monitor." That was my voice telling one of my film crew to check one of our cameras that were malfunctioning. A remote tropical jungle is hardly the most ideal place to shoot a film¡ªespecially for an indie filmmaker like me. But we had no choice. The screenplay I''m currently working with demanded me to travel to a deep jungle in Java to achieve the most authenticity and shooting with a green screen and adding CG backgrounds in post-production is just out of our budget right now. This is my last chance. If this film fails at the next film festival, I had to go to Law School per the orders of my nagging parents. "God it''s fucking hot...I can probably fill a bucket if I squeezed the shirt I''m wearing right now" I muttered. The heat and moisture of the jungle were starting to get into my head. The equatorial position of this nation meant that this heat will persist 365 days a year. But perhaps it''s also an opportunity for me to go be in touch with my ancestral origins. My name is Brandon Budiman. I''m currently an aspiring indie filmmaker. My dad was from Indonesia. He came to Australia to meet my mom, a Caucasian woman living in Melbourne. Well, my dad was actually an international student in a university there and he expected that he would go back to his native country to find a job after he graduated. But of course, he fell in love with my mom and the rest was history. My dad''s strict and conservative southeast Asian background clashed multiple times with my mom''s liberal first world country point of view. They had a lot of fights throughout their marriage but miraculously they are still together until this day. That didn''t bode well with me though. My dad was quite strict on what kind of profession I should be taking in life. He demanded me to go to law school and be a lawyer. I kind of get where he''s coming from. Being a lawyer, if you''re good at it, will guarantee you a good life and a stable source of income. But unfortunately for him, the film industry has always been my passion ever seen I was a wee boy. But admittedly, I was not some sort of genius who started making films from age ten or something like that. My first interest was actually in animation and special effects. Studio Ghibli films were my jam and ''The Thing'' was my favorite film as a child. As I grew, my taste in films also matured with my current favorite directors being Akira Kurosawa and Wong Kar-Wai¡ªtrue grandmasters of cinema. Although I guessed I am quite partial to Asian cinema since it still exudes the sense of art that many hollywood films lack. Long story short I went to film school after I graduated high school with the support of my mom and the disapproval of my dad. "I fixed the camera! Some problems with the lens." Ramirez shouted back at me. "Make sure all the cameras are working fine! Fuck, we have four $50.000 RED Camera so we''re in super big trouble if we break them! Let''s have some rest. Jimmy, Rachael, you can go back to your van." I told my actors to get some rest and let the crew make sure all of the equipment is working as intended. It was not normal for an indie filmmaker like me to have a film crew and expensive equipment like this. Hell, the actors I''m working with right now are big-time television actors that were nominated by the Emmy. Did I won some sort of lottery? You can say that. Three months ago, I showed my last film, You Who Sat Next to Me, a romance coming-of-age film to some indie film festivals. I had promised my parents that this would finally be my breakout film after many of my films in the past failing to get some traction with the bigtime studios. What comes next was just utter humiliation. My film tanked and received a lot of harsh criticisms. Although many critics said I have some talents as a filmmaker, they all collectively said my film lack the necessary heart and passion. Bullshit. I spent all of my young adult life trying to be a filmmaker. I am now 25 and I have been grinding since I was 18. I have all the passion in the world for filmmaking. Alas, they didn''t share my sentiments.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. But what ensued after that catastrophic failure was what could be described as a miracle. Now, I''m an atheist, always have been since I was a child. I just didn''t believe in any religion despite my dad''s endless nagging of God''s teaching. But what happened was truly a miracle as if God himself reached his hand out to me. What happened was I got an anonymous donation from a mysterious backer. He, or she, gave me a grand total of $2.000.000 to shoot my next film and even sent me some expensive equipment. However, his or her only condition was that I directed a film based on a script he or she gave me. I read through the script while feeling skeptical. While the plot was quite unorthodox, involving some weird stuff like cults and a treasure buried deep inside a tropical jungle, I felt that this was finally going to be my break out film. After convincing my parents that this will be my final film if it were to fail, I finally got the green light to shoot the film. "Director Brandon, I finished checking all of the equipment and everything seems to be fine." Ramirez, the camera operator told me. "Alright. Tell all of the crews to get some rest in the camp. I''m going to stay here a bit longer." I replied to him. Ramirez and all of the filming crew returned to the camp, which is around 500 meters from the current shooting location. I looked towards the surrounding set. What''s left is a white van with customized off-road tires and pieces of equipment scattered throughout the set. ''Those fuckers forgot to put the equipment back in the van'' I thought. I heard the buzzing of the generator sitting next to the van in my ear. The generator is solar-powered and can generate electricity for all of the equipment here. This allows us to stay in this jungle for a few days at a time without returning to civilization. This particular white van is also an oddity. The van was also part of the mysterious backer''s donation and implemented a solar-powered roof. It''s a Tesla Model XYZ, the company branched out from electric-powered cars into making some solar-powered vehicles as well. I walked towards the van and entered it. What I saw was a row of high-end computers that can withstand film editing and special effects rendering. I was under a tight schedule. Films were usually shot first and we would edit it and add effects later in post-production. But the film festival was due next month so I had to shoot my film while editing it at the same time. Hell, my composer was also here composing music directly in the jungle. I turned on the projector outside the van. The projector displayed a moving image towards a white screen. We had brought this projector so all the crew and actors can watch some takes of the film and perhaps watch some other films as well if they''re bored. "Let''s see...Take 23 seems great. Jimmy''s acting is brilliant here but Rachael does not seem to be in her A-game. I''ll tell her to bring more emotions out for the next scene." I muttered as I rolled all the footage. We were shooting the part of the film where the main character would chant a spell to summon a guardian god of the forest. He would then make a deal with the god to cure his mother of cancer. Yeah...the plot is quite convoluted but I believe the finished product would be worth the work. I walked outside with the storyboard in my hand. Storyboards were illustrations that would show how a scene is supposed to be shot. This includes things like camera blocking and what the actors would do in certain scenes. "Jimmy will go down in one knee, raised his hands up in the air, and yelled the chant. I think we should get a medium shot of the location first and then a close up of the actor saying each syllables. Hmm...the lighting should be here¡­" I started to imagine how to direct the scene. I recalled that I have some experience in acting. I went to a film school that required directors to take some acting classes to better understand working with actors. "Eh what the heck I''ll do the scene to see how it would look" I muttered. I decided to act out the scene. I adjusted the camera to where the actors will be and started to act out the scene after reading the script. "Oh Great God Agung! Persembahkan diri anda terhadap hamba mu ini. Aku punya permintaan terhadap keagungan-mu¡ª" I started to speak in Indonesian since it was in the script. Luckily, my father also taught me the language so I had no problem speaking it. Although I think Jimmy would need some time practicing to recite the chant first if he wants to do it correctly though. Suddenly, a bright flash of light started to engulf all of my field of vision. I was transported somewhere else. Little did I know, the chant actually worked. Sort of. Chapter 2 - The Second Act Just like a camera flash, the whiteness of the light went by faster than I could blink. But the powerful force of the light forced my eyes to adjust to the surroundings again. For what felt like five minutes, my vision was blurry. Finally, after countless blinks, I can see the tropical jungle again...or that was what I expected. I was still in an area with a lot of vegetation and trees, that''s for sure. But I was not in a tropical jungle anymore. I was now in a temperate-climate forest with trees that look like pine trees stretching to the skies above. "What the hell? Even the temperature changed¡­" I muttered. I was not using the screenplay paper as a makeshift fan anymore. The temperature dropped significantly to around 16 degrees Celsius. I looked around my surroundings to find that all of my equipment and even the white van is still there. I wasn''t stupid. Being a filmmaker meant that you have a special sense for the surroundings and what was currently happening to me was akin to a Sci-Fi or Supernatural film where the character is suddenly transported to another location. I knew that I was in a different location than I was before. If this was just a prank, then it would certainly be an expensive one. But I knew that wasn''t possible since it had only been a few seconds since the flash of light transported me here. "Shit. Was it the chant I read before? Is this the doing of that mysterious backer!?" Again, being a storyteller and filmmaker meant that you are very familiar with story beats. In a three-act film structure, this would be the end of the first act. The first act is where you introduce the main character and show his or her daily life before the event of the story. At the end of the first act, some life-changing event occurred to the main character that would change the status quo. This would signal the start of the second act, where the main plot of the story will take place. "But why am I thinking that I''m in some sort of story? Shit, this is real life motherfucker." I muttered. I didn''t know if this place was safe. All I knew was that I had to pack up everything inside the van and find shelter or civilization. Luckily, the white van was very large and could fit everything inside it. The van only had two seats at the front to leave more space at the back. I packed up everything inside the van ¡ªcameras, lighting, microphones, the projector and screen, the solar-powered generator, laptops, etcetera. I opened the door to the van and went inside. I looked at the dashboard to see the vehicle''s information and status. "Let''s see¡­.the power is still at 100% since we left it charging under the sun. Ah¡­ food supply¡ª" I looked behind my seat to find several cans of food and gallons of water. "Great. This''ll last me a few days, maybe weeks...fuck I don''t know man. I don''t know how in films the character would just look at some food and water and they could deduce right away how many days it would last them. Well, the plot required them to be like that I guess." Humor is truly the most calming thing on earth...ah I''m not on earth anymore...at least I think I''m not if this were to follow the plot of a story.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I turned on the van. Of course, since it was solar-powered, the engine didn''t make any noise whatsoever. I am quite glad that we modified the tires to ones that would be able to be driven off-road. I would be screwed if this was a normal car. I started to drive the car deeper into the forest. The forest was unnaturally quiet. Occasionally, I would see some small creatures that I have never seen before. I saw a snake with wings, birds with arms, tortoises with furs, some very weird animals. This fact already confirmed that I am not on Earth anymore. Or maybe I''m in like the Bermuda Triangle or something since they haven''t explored the place yet. I did hear there were aliens and extinct animals there...at least that''s what the internet says and we know that everything we read on the internet is all true. Jokes aside, I was mesmerized by some of the creatures I''ve seen. After driving a while, I found a clearing of grassland in the middle of the forest. There, I saw weird creatures that resemble an elephant with snouts but it had the body of a horse. There''s a whole pack of them. "Wow...I shall call you¡­..Elehorse." I said to myself. I stopped the van around 100 meters where the Elehorses were. I rummaged through the bags behind my seat to find a camera. The Sony a6000 of the alpha series, my go-to camera for photography. It wasn''t the best but it was my favorite camera at the moment. For shooting the Elehorses from here, I pulled out a telephoto 55-210mm lens and attached it to the camera. The telephoto lens allowed me to zoomed in very closely to the creatures while being 100 meters away. Photography was my hobby as well. Being a filmmaker also meant you had to know some basics of photography if you want to learn how to frame a shot correctly. "Alright...here we go" I aimed the camera towards the Elehorses. I waited until a beautiful scene unfolded. One of the baby Elehorse went to its mommy and started to suck the milk from her nipples below her body. I pressed the shutter and took the picture after adjusting the image with the gridlines so the composition is nice to look at. "Ah, it came out great. Nice." I looked at the result and was satisfied. I was walking back to the van when I heard a large roar. I turned back to see the beautiful scene from before destroyed. The baby Elehorse was eaten by a giant¡­.rabbit. "What the hell¡­" I muttered. The sight of a giant carnivorous rabbit was just too ridiculous. The rabbit ate the baby Elehorse in one gulp. Maybe it''s more accurate to say it swallowed it. The rest of the Elehorses ran away towards the forest. "What the hell¡­what an awful mother leaving her child like that," I said to myself and sighed in disappointment. I turned around again to walk back inside the car. However, I heard the roar again. "What?" I turned around yet again to find that the giant rabbit spotted me from the distance and was going after me. Its speed was too ridiculous. I don''t think I could make it inside my car before that thing caught me with its mouth. "Shit...what an uneventful way to die" I complained. Suddenly, an arrow flew by, striking the giant rabbit. The rabbit stopped and gave a painful roar. It then looked towards the left, which was the direction of the forest, to find who shot the arrows. I also did the same to see who it was. What I saw was a group of people in leather clothing, fully armed. When I say fully armed, in earth''s definition, it would be with guns or something. They were armed alright¡ªwith swords, bows, and what seemed to be just a long-ass wooden stick. Chapter 3 - Shaken, Not Stirred The group of people that just came out of the forest consisted of a diverse group of men and women. There were around ten of them if my math is correct. They were wearing what seemed to be black leather clothing and carried various weapons from swords, bows, to just a wooden stick for some reason. Is he going to smack the giant rabbit until it dies or something? One of the groups of people noticed me and screamed something towards me. His face seemed to indicate that he was quite angry that I''m unresponsive. But of course, that''s a given; he was speaking in a language that I can''t understand. It sounded a bit like...German? or French. Either way, I don''t understand a single word coming out of his mouth. He gave up talking to me and focused his attention on the giant rabbit with the rest of his friends. A battle then started with the party of 10 against the giant rabbit. "What the hell...They''re strong" I can''t believe what I''m seeing. The warriors carrying the swords were moving at a speed that I can''t comprehend. The archers were jumping all over the pace in acrobatic movements. They looked like Olympic athletes-turned warriors. But the level of strengths that they were showing is beyond the level of a normal human. The battle was quite incredible with flawless cooperations between different members. The warriors with swords would be the main distraction for the rabbit while the archers strike the back of the rabbit while it''s distracted. "I have to film this..." My first thought after witnessing the battle is to get my expensive RED camera and film the battle. I walked to the back of the van and retrieved one camera from the back. I turned it on immediately while carrying the camera on my shoulder. I then stood in front of my car to film the action. "Ah, fuck I forgot the camera stabilizer...well the genre will be a found footage film from now on" The footage will be quite shaky without a proper stabilizer. I started to film the action as the battle was underway. One of the warriors screamed at me in anger, probably to ask me what I was doing carrying a mysterious device on my shoulder and just standing still. Suddenly, I heard another roar coming from the forest. It was the same roar from before by the giant rabbit. And what revealed itself from the shadows was indeed another giant rabbit. "That must be its mate..." I said. The second giant rabbit ran towards the location of the giant rabbit that was still being attacked. It must want to rescue the other rabbit. I heard some frustration left the mouths of some of the warriors. They seemed worried about the situation. Finally, the person with the giant wooden stick stepped forward and started to say something while raising his wooden stick. "What?" I felt the heat from the equatorial tropical jungle again. The temperature around the area was rising at a rapid pace. What I saw next was a scene I could never forget for the rest of my life. It was magic. Actual magic. Not the ones on earth with clever sleight of hand or misdirection, but magic as in creating miracles that defy the rule of nature. I saw a huge fireball building up at the tip of the wooden stick that person was carrying. After a few seconds, the fireball left the stick at a fast speed towards the second giant rabbit. The second giant rabbit gave a roar after being hit by the fireball¡ªits furs burnt black. But it was not dead, it started to give chase again at a slower speed yet an angrier state. I saw more frustration on the faces of the warriors. They were genuinely worried about their lives now. "Wait...the guns!" Idiotically, I just remembered that my crew brought some of earth''s weaponry to the jungle trip. The jungle was prone to attacks by predators as well so we brought some weapons just in case. I ran to the van, put the camera inside again, and picked up a shotgun. It was a standard pump-action Remington 870.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I started to run towards where the groups of warriors were. They were screaming at me again but I didn''t heed them any attention¡ªI can''t understand them anyway. I pumped the shotgun in my hand and shot the first rabbit. The recoil was too much for me to handle as I was not used to wielding guns so it missed the target and hit its arms. The rabbit roared in pain and charged at me. I quickly pumped the shotgun again and carefully aimed it towards the head this time. BANG. The brain tissue of the rabbit splattered everywhere, including my face. The rabbit dropped dead. The second rabbit roared in anger. It was furious to see that I killed its mate. It focused its attention on me and charged. Fortunately, the rest of the warriors snapped out of their daze after seeing me kill the first rabbit and started to attack the second rabbit again. After being burnt by the fireball before, the second rabbit was already in a weakened state so it didn''t take to long to kill it. ** I was now standing still in the middle of the grassland while ten people looked at me in silence. Occasionally, they would talk with one another. Some of them were even in an argument with one another. That couldn''t be good. They seemed to already understand that I didn''t speak their language. After a while, the guy with the long wooden stick, or perhaps he''s called a mage, walked towards me. I still had the shotgun in my hand. I didn''t know if they were friendly yet so I kept my hand on the trigger. The mage stopped about two meters away from me and started to chant while raising his wooden stick at me. After a while, I saw a glow in my right wrist. The glow was of a tattoo that was shaped like a mouth. The glow started to disappear after a few seconds. "Can you understand me?" The mage said to me. He was a bald man that looked to be in his early 50s. What the hell? I can understand them now. Was that also magic? A magic that allows me to understand their language? That''s incredible. "It seems so. Who are you people?" I answered and asked another question. The one who answered was the person standing behind the mage. A female archer in her 30s with a sharp face and a blonde ponytail. "I think the question is who are YOU? Light-brown skin...green eyes....the traits of a Solarisian." "Solarisian?" I was confused on what that is. The mage answered the question for me. "People from the Solaris Kingdom, a nation in the south. They''re currently at war with many of our allies. What weapon did you use to kill the rabbit back there?" Ah, so it was just called a rabbit. How boring. "It''s a weapon called a shotgun. It''s capable of shooting projectiles towards an enemy and poking holes at them" I answered. "I''ve never seen it before....is it from Solaris? Are you a spy?" The mage asked. I was dumbfounded. Why was I accused to be a spy in the first meeting? "Do I look like I order shaken Martini cocktails?" I muttered. "What?" The mage didn''t get the reference. "*cough* No. I''m not a ''Solarisian'' or whatever that is. I don''t know anything about that kingdom. I''m...a foreigner. I''m currently lost. I''m just looking for civilization and a place of shelter so I can rest. Can you please lead me to your settlement? I''ll prepare some compensation." I pleaded. I desperately needed to get to somewhere safe. Unlike these people, I didn''t have any fighting experience. Sure, I have my guns but the ammunition are not exactly unlimited. "Hmmm..." The mage was pondering something. "No! Marlon, we need to arrest him! He could be a Solarisian spy! " The female archer spoke. "He''s not, Karen. I know Solarisians. I''ve been there when I was younger. They don''t have the same accent and language as him. Besides, have you seen a Solarisian this polite?" The mage said to the group. The group laughed in response. "Right. We''ll believe you for now. We are from a town called Brent not far from here. We''ll take you there but we''ll be keeping an eye on you so don''t try anything strange" The mage, Marlon, said to me. "Thank you thank you! I''ll definitely think of a compensation." I said with gratitude. "Alright, let''s go," Marlon said and started to walk towards the forest again with his group. It''s important to note that they have already skinned the rabbits and carried the meat in their shoulders. But the group stopped after seeing me not following them. Marlon turned around towards me again. "What are you doing? Let''s go." He said in annoyance. "Ah, I''ll be following you guys from behind. I''ll get my vehicle first" I said. "vehicle?" He was confused on what I meant. I ran back to my white van and stored the shotgun in the back of the car. I turned the car on again and drove the car to where Marlon and his group were. "W-what is that!?" A person behind Marlon spoke in shock. "He''s inside that metallic beast!" Another person also said. "Well, let''s go to your town" I poked my head out of the window and said to them with a smile. The World of The Novel The World of The Novel You can find resources about Grandea Continent featured in the novel in the link below: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/grandea-continent-thesilentone Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. This will let you see additional information that you may or may not find in the actual novel like the continent''s map, certain species, location, and lore in general. I will update it regularly as I progress through the chapters to give you more insight into the world. I plan to at least make an engaging lore to set this novel apart from other novels of the same genre. I need to make at least some level of depth in the lore because the main character will be making stories and films based on the actual world itself. There will be times where he will take inspiration from films in our world but the main character is more of a creator than a plagiarizer. Chapter 4 - Se7en I followed the group of warriors back to their town. Although it was quite awkward because I was the only one inside a vehicle and they were all walking. It can''t be helped, I don''t trust them yet until I see the town. It was truly awkward letting them carry those heavy rabbit meat on their backs though so I finally offered to carry some of the meat. Of course, I wasn''t stupid enough to carry the meat inside the van and smell it inside. No, I tied them down on the roof of the van. The solar panels will need some clean-up later though. I popped my head outside the window of the van to ask something. "Hey...the mage...was it Marlon? How long till we arrive in your town?" I asked Marlon who was still carrying the meat on his back. We have been traveling for around an hour. I''m starting to get anxious since they said that the town was near. "Mage? Are you from The Dark Era or something? People call us Magus nowadays. And yes it''s Marlon. Marlon Neester. We''ll arrive at around...another hour from now...I gave you my name, I don''t believe I''ve caught yours?" Marlon replied to me. "Brandon Budiman." I answered briefly. "Brandon? That sounds a bit Sumarian." He replied. "Sumarian?" I didn''t know where that was. "A country south from here...you really don''t know anything do you?" He gave me a frown. I must''ve looked like an illiterate dumbass for not knowing anything. I stopped talking to him after that. The rest of the journey went by quietly...at least inside my van. The rest of the group were talking merrily among themselves. ** We arrived in the town near sunset. The Town of Brent, that was the name Marlon told me. A remote town of 2500 in population situated smack cab in the middle of the Orient Republic. He didn''t tell me much about the town but he did tell me that the current mayor is his younger sister. The arrival of the group was met with a flurry of cheers by the population, especially the little children who were busy jumping up and down while asking the group ''how did the hunt go?''. The town''s architecture reminded me of a Fantasy novel. It also reminds me of the atmospheric role-playing game The Witcher 3, one of my all-time favorites. There was one striking thing that made the town unique though...every part of the town was painted white. This was the most unique places I''ve ever been to and I travel a lot back on Earth as well. I was curious about why they decided on the white paint job. Was it tradition? the current trend? maybe all of the Orient Republic''s buildings are white as well? Many of the town people finally noticed me and my white van. Children were, of course, curious by nature so they started to approach the van until their parents pulled them away. A group of similarly uniformed soldiers in leather clothing approached the group. "Magus Marlon, welcome back. Uh...what is that....thing...and why is someone sitting inside of it?" A soldier asked Marlon directly. His face showed utter confusion. "Ah, that''s someone we found while hunting the rabbits. Don''t worry, I checked him he''s safe. He just wants someplace to lay down for a while I heard. I say we let him stay in the town for a while" Marlon said to the soldier. "But...will your sister approve of this? I must report to her first" The soldier spoke with hesitation. "Since when does Brent refuses visitors? Tch. This is partly why our economy is declining. You can report to her, sure, but he will be staying here for the night. I''ll take any responsibility." Marlon said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "A-as you wish, Magus Marlon. We will prepare him an accommodation." The soldier replied. That won''t do. I don''t know if some criminals were already eyeing me and my white van ever since I stepped inside the city. If I left the car outside while I sleep indoors, I''m afraid someone may steal the van or at least some of the things inside of it. I stepped outside of my car to say something to Marlon. "That won''t be necessary. I thank you for the hospitality but I will be staying inside my vehicle for the duration of my stay" I said in a polite tone. "Are you sure about that?" Marlon asked. "Yes. Just please lead me to a safe space where I can park my vehicle and I''m all set. We can discuss more things tomorrow. I also need to ask you for some information but I don''t want to bother the rest of your day. I''ve been a bother long enough today." I answered.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Marlon stroke his chin. "Alright. I think the city square is probably the safest place to be since there are a lot of guards there. I''ll get one of my men to take you and your vehicle there. " ** A soldier appointed by Marlon did end up leading me to the town square. When you hear ''town square'', your mind immediately goes to things like a fountain or like a big open field. I didn''t expect to see that THING. "What the actual fuck..." I muttered. What''s in the middle of the square was a giant skull of a mysterious beast with a long snout and sharp rows of teeth. I stopped in the middle of my tracks because I was so shocked to see such a sight. The soldier who escorted me here noticed that I stopped. "Ah, that''s the normal reaction we get from visitors here. That''s the skull of a dragon." The soldier said to me. "B-but why the hell do you have that in your town square?" My voice was stuttery since I was still dumbfounded. "It''s a long story. You should ask someone else I''m busy. Long story short, that dragon attacked us ten years ago which caused massive destruction to our town and its population. That thing is one of the reasons why our town''s economy is currently stagnating. We keep the skull there as a tragic reminder of the event." The soldier spoke. "Ten years...ten years ago? What year is it now?" I realized that they may have their own calendar and timeline. "It''s currently 1905 TPE. Why the hell don''t you know that? Who are you?" The soldier was starting to be suspicious of me. "Ah, sorry I just kinda forgot for a second there haha...You can leave now I''ll be fine." I gave a nervous laugh and a poor excuse in hopes he doesn''t pursue it any further. The soldier frowned but his body language signaled that he was about to leave. "Alright...come to the Magus Association building tomorrow afternoon. Magus Marlon still has something to talk to you about." The soldier left. I was now alone in a foreign town. The town square still has some number of people near sunset. Children were playing among themselves running around and merchants were selling their goods. But I can tell that while the children were all smiles, the adults were instead all gloom. The soldier said the economy is currently not doing very well after the dragon attacked. I wondered why. I parked my car in front of an empty building in one of the corners of the town square. "...what now?" I muttered to myself. A lot of things just happened today that I didn''t have any time to emotionally react to any of the events that just occurred to me. I was transported to another world. I''m alone. All of my 25 years of life were on earth. "Can I return?" I don''t know any way to return. "Will I survive?" I don''t have any fighting experience or any sort of survival experience. My life was devoted to cinema. I''m not like some sort of technology wizard that would be able to bring a technological change to this backwater fantasy world. My profession is utterly useless here. I started to think about my parents. We fight a lot and disagree about a lot of things but they were still MY parents. You only know how much you love something after you lost them. That statement is especially true now. The reality was starting to set in my head that I may never meet them ever again if I''m stuck here. "How the hell am I going to make a living here?" As I said, I don''t have any experience with anything other than filmmaking. I can''t even do business or sell anything. Although perhaps my modern knowledge will help me somewhat. "Films...I can''t watch them anymore" On a sudden struck of hard-hitting realization, I finally realized that what I love the most in the entire world, films, were not something I can access anymore. "No more theaters, no more directing...."Fuck. Tears were starting to build up in my eyes. I don''t know how I''ll survive. I hit the steering wheel in frustration. I spent five minutes in silence before another realization came up inside my brain. "But wait...." I still have all of my filming equipment in the van right now. I even have a projector so I can show footage of my films. The solar-powered generator will also power every electronic device I own... "Should I continue making films here?" It was a dumb idea. This was a fantasy world with no modern technology whatsoever. Even on earth, moving pictures or films were invented after other technological breakthrough occurring first like the industrial revolution and the invention of electricity. Should I already be introducing films to a crowd that wasn''t prepared for it yet? The film industry took decades after its inception before becoming a household entertainment. But even if I did try to make a film here, there was an incredible amount of problems logistically. For starters, the storage spaces of my computers and camera were limited. Even if I did try to make films here, I could probably only make a few of them before running out of spaces. There were a couple of other problems as well... My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden ringtone on my phone that signaled a message arriving. The phone was in my trouser''s pocket. I completely forgot to check my phone! Any sane person would check for any sort of signal if they''re stranded somewhere. But my storytelling brain immediately told me that I was not on Earth anymore so that''s why I didn''t check. I opened my phone to see what it was. It was utterly odd. Was there a signal? The phone notification showed that I received an SMS message. I opened the app to see who it was. Sender: +627777777 Message: That wouldn''t be a problem. "What the fuck?" I muttered. Who was this? Maybe this was a message that was sent before I was transported and I only received it now due to a bug? I didn''t know the answer. But perhaps it wouldn''t hurt to reply anyway. Who knows, someone might answer. Probably not... To:+627777777 Message: Who is this? What wouldn''t be a problem? I hit ''send''. Oddly enough, the message went through. There must be a signal. After only a few seconds, I received a reply. Sender: +627777777 Message: The problems you thought about before... the logistical issues of making films in that world¡ªthat wouldn''t be an issue. What the fuck? Chapter 5 - Filmography What the fuck? Someone actually replied? I hurriedly started to type more words on my phone. To: +627777777 Message: Who the fuck is this? How are you replying? And again, after only a few seconds, I received a reply. From: +627777777 Message: Hey, no curse words. I''m your benevolent backer. What? Is he....the one who donated money to my film? He did this? To:+627777777 Message: You motherfucker! Send me back! Send me back to my world you fucking piece of shit! He replied again. From:+627777777 Message: That won''t do. I already went the effort of sending you there. You''ll have to continue to be a filmmaker. Is he fucking insane? Did he send me here to be a filmmaker? Out of all the people on Earth you sent a bloody film director to another world? From:+627777777 Message: Yes, I did. And no matter how much you complain, the reality is still the reality. You only have two choices; be a filmmaker or live the rest of your pitiful life in that world. Huh? Can he read my mind? From: +627777777 Message: I have the power to send you there. Of course, I can do something trivial liking reading your mind. So, what''s your choice? But how...? Didn''t you hear what I said before? Why does this world need my film? And how the hell am I going to take care of those logistical issues I talked about before? From:+627777777 Message: There are plenty of reasons why this world needs films. I''ll let you discover that on your own. As for the issues you thought about, check out the app I just installed on your phone. Suddenly, a pop-up message showed up on the top of my phone screen. "Otherworldly Filmmaker Has Finished Installing...". I got curious and opened the app. A black loading screen with a film clapperboard showed up. After a few seconds, I could see what''s in the app. Welcome, Brandon Budiman, The Otherworldly Filmmaker. [SHOP] [STATUS] [FILMOGRAPHY] Heart Points: 1000 What is this? Curiously, I pressed status. STATUS Name: Brandon Budiman Position: Film Director Storytelling: 6/10 Cinematography: 4.4/10 Editing: 5.2/10 Special FX: 3.9/10 Sound Design: 4/10 Production Design: 3/10 This was my evaluation as a filmmaker? I expected something better...There was one thing I wasn''t familiar about in that list though: Production Design. I think I may have missed some classes in film school. I clicked on it to see its description. Production Design: Designing the overall look of the film. This includes set design, props, costume design, makeup, etcetera. Ah, I see. I don''t really specialize in that area. In fact, I don''t specialize in a lot of the things mentioned in the status. For cinematography, I have my Director of Photography. For Editing, I have my team of editors. A director does not really need to be good at everything. But I guess now that I am alone in this world, I''ll have to get better at those things as well.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I went back to the main menu and tried pressing filmography this time. FILMOGRAPHY 1. "The Man Who Stole Everything" Director: Brandon Budiman Genre: Action Thriller Budget:$5000 Synopsis: He lost everything. That man stole everything. He will find that man and make him pay. Heart Points: 5 Overall Evaluation: 1/10 2. "Why?" Director: Brandon Budiman Genre: Drama Budget:$2000 Synopsis: A girl who just graduated college must now learn the true meaning of adult life. The real reason why her parents were so adamant about guiding her trajectory in life. Heart Points: 750 Overall Evaluation: 8/10 3. "You Who Sat Next to Me" Director: Brandon Budiman Genre: Romance Budget:$4000 Synopsis: Rudy is now married with kids. His life isn''t perfect but he''s content with living with his wife and loving children. But recently, there was something that''s always nagging the back of his mind; His high school sweetheart. The crush who sat on the bench next to him for three years straight who he never even struck a conversation with. One day, a new neighbor arrives at the house next door to him. It was his high school crush. Heart Points: 245 Overall Evaluation: 4/10 So this is a list of every film I''ve done. But I was sure I made more films than this...but those were short films I made in film school. I guess the app only takes into account full-feature films rather than short films. However, I didn''t expect "Why?" to be my best film yet. I did put my heart and soul into that project but that was the film that tanked the hardest financially. And yikes...my first film received quite a harsh evaluation. That film was made in the period of my life when I was too arrogant and thought I could become a master director from the get-go. I noticed that other than evaluation, there''s also something called ''heart points''. What is that? I also noticed that I had a total of 1000 of them, presumably from my previous films. Right as I was thinking about that, my phone received a message notification again. From: +627777777 Message: Heart points stemmed from people who were affected by your film on a deep emotional level. You''ll only receive heart points if someone genuinely likes your film and will take the message it has to their daily lives. You can buy various items from the shop if you spend heart points. Check the app again. I did as he told me to do. I opened the ''Shop'' option in the app. SHOP Category: [STORAGE] [COMPUTERS] [EDITING] [CAMERA] [AUDIO] [PROJECTOR].... I tried pressing the camera options. There were a lot of options for filming camera available at different prices depending on their quality. Curious, I sorted the price to the most expensive first. IMAX Camera Price: 5.000.000 Heart Points Holy shit! But I guess that''s a given. Even on earth, you can''t buy an Imax camera as there were only a few of them available worldwide. You''ll have to rent them. And even then, if you''re not some bigtime studios, they wouldn''t let you rent one. And even if you got one in your hand, you''ll have to also purchase specialized audio equipment, projectors, and the silver screen itself to play an Imax film. But the notion that I could own my personal Imax camera is certainly VERY enticing. The RED camera I''m working with right now already has quite a great quality though so I''m content with it for now. From:+627777777 Message: So, are you interested in continuing making films? I''ll send some other directors from your world if not. I can probably send some famous ones as well. I just spared my energy by sending some unknown indie filmmaker like you. Fuck you! Alright, I''ll fucking do it jeez. I''ll prove to you that I''m the most worthy choice of introducing cinema to this world. From:+627777777 Message: Great. Then enjoy your time in that world. I''m going to wait for your results... Suddenly, all of the previous messages were deleted instantly from my phone. I guess this is it... The world outside of my van has already turned dark. The streets were empty but some lights can be seen from inside some of the buildings. The dragon skull looked even more ominous under the night sky. I pulled the recliner of my seat so I can lay down. My mind started to wander off into the distance....what kind of film should I make? Chapter 6 - Purple Noon "Just thinking about it alone is useless." I realized this as my mind wandered off. I can''t just take ideas from my own world and expect it to work in this one as well. Sure, some story structure is universal and seeing that the people here are all humans with somewhat of a similar historical background as people on Earth, I may be able to take pieces of stories from back home. But if I really want to grab the hearts of this world''s inhabitant, I have to get down and dirty with observation. "I''ll start with this town as a test audience. I''ll do some research first" With my first goal set, I turned on my van again in the dead of the night. It''s not like the town was completely deserted at night. In fact, I saw what seemed to be a bar or a tavern just across the city square. Lights and laughter can be heard from inside the tavern. I drove the van again and parked it near the tavern. I opened the back of the van again to retrieve some equipment. The Sony a6000 can be used to record footage as well¡ªI''ll use this to interview the inhabitants. I also brought my laptop just in case. After thoroughly locking the van, I walked inside the tavern. The laughter I heard outside was even louder when I arrived inside. However, the second I walked in the door, the laughter turned into whispers. I realized that it was because I was still wearing the modern clothing from Earth. I was wearing a pretty standard aloha shirt and short trousers. I wore this outfit because of the tropical jungle but this Orient Republic that I am in was probably in the middle of spring currently as the temperature''s significantly cooler. My light-brown skin was probably eye-catching as well as everyone here was white. "Uh..." I muttered. In a sudden struck of realization, I forgot that I didn''t have any of this world''s currency so I couldn''t really buy any drinks from this tavern. I would probably get kicked out if I was just loitering. Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I looked behind to see who it was. "Hey...you''re the stranger...my friend was one of the soldiers who went on the hunt and he said the hunting squad found a strange-looking man riding a mysterious metallic beast. Is it you?" A handsome brown-haired male with blue eyes was the one who called out to me. "....Alain Delon?" The name I just said out loud was the name of a legendary French actor, Alain Delon. The person standing right in front of me looked EXACTLY like young Alain Delon, specifically from the film Purple Noon. He was too attractive. I''m incredibly envious. I muttered the name out loud due to the sheer surprise of seeing someone familiar¡ªespecially a celebrity. "Huh? Who''s that?" Of course, the person right in front of me didn''t get the reference. I coughed to get rid of my awkwardness. "Sorry, you looked like someone I knew" I replied back to him. He smiled in response "Was he handsome though?" This bastard seemed to be aware of his own attractiveness. I ignored his question and answered the previous question he had instead. "Yes, I was the person your friend found in the forest. I just arrived in this town....this continent to be precise. I''m quite lost." I shrugged my shoulder as I was saying that. "Hey, let''s drink! Come here!" He dragged me to a seat near the door. The previous whispering atmosphere returned to normal after everyone saw the man in front of me dragging me to the chair. "Hey, Brad! Hook us up with two Grakos Juice!" The man shouted to a waitress. "Coming right up!" The waitress replied with energy. The man started eyeing me up and down. "You sure look exotic. Tell me your name" He said. I raised an eyebrow. "Isn''t it considered rude to be asking someone''s name without giving yours first?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Hmm? Since when was that the case?.... But I guess we have a different culture so that''s fine. My name is Leo. Leo Denver. I''m a Magus Apprentice training under Master Marlon, who you may have already gotten the pleasure to meet with. Your turn now." Leo motioned for me to introduce myself. "My name is Brandon. Brandon Budiman. I''m a....uh how do I say this...a film director." I decided to just tell him the unknown terminology for this world. He would be the first person ever to hear those words. Leo was quiet for a while but started to reply. "That sounds....neat? What is that exactly? Sorry, I''m just a country bumpkin haha I don''t know those fancy professions they have in the big cities." "Ah, it''s not your fault. Probably everyone in this continent won''t know what it is. Let''s just say that I am a storyteller. But not a normal one that only does it with their mouths or with writings, I tell stories...visually." I came up with a simple explanation so he could understand. "So...like a play? One of those dramas they have in the capital?" Leo asked. I guess that exists here. "Something similar yes....but not exactly. I think I have to show you so you know what I mean." I answered. "Ah, hold your thought. Our drinks are here." Leo said as I also saw our drinks arriving at our table. "Two Grakos Juice served!" The waitress said with vigor as he put our drinks on the table. "Thanks Brad! Put the bill on my tab later" Leo said to the waitress as he left the table. "Holy shit..." The drink in front of me was almost comical for how big it is. The cup was made out of wood and probably around 20 cm in height. The liquid inside of it was a weird brownish yellow. I''m not sure I want to try this. I''m not much of a drinker even back home. "Go on. Try it" Leo didn''t care what kind of face I was making of course. I gulped my saliva and brace myself. I picked up the wooden cup and started to sip a little bit. That was a mistake. I immediately spit out the drink back to the wooden cup. That was bloody putrid. "What the hell that tasted like dirty sweat," I said out loud. I was amazed by how horrible it was. "That''s because it is! Hahahaha! It''s made out of fermented Grakos sweat, a type of animal local to here. It''s an acquired taste for sure but I thought you may end up liking it. Oh well, here we go." Leo immediately picked up the wooden cup and shotgun the whole thing in a few seconds. "Aaaah! That was amazing" Some of the juice was still stuck in his mouth as he said that. I was wasting my time with this hard-to-deal-with guy. I sighed. I should just be straight and ask him what I want. "Listen, Leo. I intend to create a story based on this town. I just arrived in this continent so I want to make this town, Brent, to be a test audience for my job. Can you tell me some local stories or anything that I can use?" I said to Leo with a straight face. "Huh? Why are you so serious all of a sudden hahaha" Leo was evidently drunk now as his speech was tipsy. Well, this was going nowhere. I started to stand up from the table to find someone else. I didn''t want to waste my time with a drunkard. But a hand reached out to stop me. It was Leo. "Wait. Alright man jeez. Sit back down." He still looked a bit drunk but I complied and sat back down again. Leo started to stroke his chin as if thinking about something. "The most famous story in this town is, of course, the dragon attack from ten years ago. I''m sure you''ve seen the skull outside¡ª" "Wait." I stopped Leo. I''ve already gotten the gist of the story. While I would definitely love to create a film based of-of that event, I have some obstacles I need to overtake first. One, budget and time. To create such a large-scale epic of a dragon attack in a city, I would need a lot of cast and crew. This will probably include hiring A LOT of actors and extras. I definitely don''t have the money to hire the townsmen to stay committed to the shooting schedule. And even if I have the money, there is the problem of special effects. A dragon attack would need me to render a CGI of the dragon, which I simply don''t have the experience to make such a complex effect. And two, familiarity. I haven''t established my name and gotten the trust of the people yet. What would you think if some random stranger suddenly took your beloved culture and just appropriating it for their own benefit? People would be pissed. I think I need to create something small-scale first and attain the hearts of the population before I can tackle something more ambitious. "What''s wrong?" Leo was surprised I cut off his speech. "I''ve already heard of that story. Can you tell me something else?...something a bit more intimate?" I asked Leo. "Intimate?" Leo stroked his chin again. "Ah, there is The Boy and The Grakos..." Wasn''t that the drink we just had? Chapter 7 - Tale As Old As Time "The Boy and The Grakos?...can you tell me the story?" I told Leo. "Really?" Leo''s face was unsure. "Well yes, you said this was a story from here, yes? I want to hear it." I answered. "Umm...yes it''s this town''s tale but it''s usually meant for children. We usually tell them these kinds of stories before bedtime. You still wanna hear it?" Leo asked again. "Yes yes, I''m ready. Go on." I remembered to pull out my camera so I could record the story. Of course. Leo noticed the strange device I was holding. "What''s that?" He pointed at the camera. "I''ll tell you later. C''mon." I pressed record. "Alright..." Leo''s face went serious for a moment. He started telling the story in a manner which seems like he''s an old grandpa telling his grandchildren this story by the fireplace in the middle of winter. "T''was an old tale from a land called Brent. A boy once lived in the outskirt of the town. His parents gone and he was alone. A Grakos was his only friend. The animal with a long snout and dark hide. Stupid as it was, affectionate the Grakos felt for the boy. The Grakos was just like the rest, an animal for slaughter and be taken its hide. To be made a leather clothing for all of Orient. But this Grakos was special. Special for the boy. The days lay passed and the two played endlessly. The boy called the Grakos with an affectionate name, ''KosKos'' he named it. Until it came to pass that the Grakos was indeed special. A rare breed for his kind, its leather more precious. The townsmen placed a bounty in the Grakos and the two best friends ran away into the forest. The two went on a thrilling adventure into the woods. They were full of euphoria out of town. There was no one to get in their way, they were happy together. But the boy was still a boy with no knowledge of survival. A rabbit came and attacked the boy. His injuries were severe. The Grakos was sad and the boy was dying. The animal knew that it couldn''t help. So the Grakos carried the boy slowly back to the town of Brent. The townsmen found them and treated the boy. A week went by and the boy finally awoke. The little one realized he was back in the town. He tried frantically to search for his best friend. The boy found a festival went he stepped outside the building. Everyone was cheery and the celebration was magnificent. The boy was confused about what they were celebrating. The boy found out that his friend was slaughtered. The townsmen took its rare hide and sold them off to the capital. The Grakos was precious and it brought wealth to the town. The boy was weeping, but everyone else was cheering. The Grakos brought wealth to the poor town of Brent. The sadness and sorrow of one for the smile of others. The End." Wow. The manner in which Leo told the story was mesmerizing. He was a totally different person than his previous drunken state. I think he may have a chop for acting if he tries. "So, how was it?" Leo said. His face returned to his previous flushed state. "Uh....was that really the ending? The boy didn''t even get a happy ending?" I asked him. I thought it was going to be a fairy tale with a happy ending. "Well...yeah. It''s actually a story told by parents to their children. The main message was that sometimes you have to sacrifice the things you hold dear to your heart for the betterment of the greater community. In this case, the death of the Grakos fueled the town''s economy" Leo answered. I don''t think that''s a message you should be telling children. It may turn them into brutal sociopaths or something. But the story itself was intriguing and perhaps I can turn it into a film. But after hearing the story, I may need a bit of budget to be able to create the film. It''s not a blockbuster but that''s not saying I don''t need to hire the actors and all that. I will need money. "Hello? How was the story?" Leo noticed I was spacing out a bit and called out to me. "That was brilliant. Thank you, Leo." I pressed the camera again to finish recording. "You haven''t told me what that device is. In fact, you haven''t told me about your job. You said you want to show me what you do." Leo replied.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "Ah, alright alright. Follow me outside and I''ll show you." I motioned Leo to follow me outside the tavern. ** The two of us arrived outside of my white van. Leo was, of course, like everyone, amazed by the foreign and futuristic vehicle. "Wow....so this is the vehicle that everyone has been talking about. No animals to pull it, No magic pulse I''m detecting either. Where you''re from must have some incredible technology" Leo muttered. I ignored his ramblings and opened the back of the van. I pulled out a film projector and the white projector screen so I can show him some films. I set up the projector screen in the town square. I was thinking about what to show him. I''m not sure I can show him films depicting the modern world that I formerly lived in. If some powerful forces in this continent managed to get knowledge of the footage, they might kidnap me and interrogate me, possibly with torture, to make me spit out what I know about the place. Perhaps a Western would be good. The scenery in western films usually depicts a desolate wasteland in the middle of nowhere where outlaws rule the town. I think it would be a nice and soft introduction to the world of films for a medieval land. But of course, I''m not going to show him the usual western cowboy films with Clint Eastwood or anything like that. I''m going to show him some Samurai films instead, particularly by my favorite director Akira Kurosawa. Yojimbo should be good. Yojimbo is a Samurai film directed by Kurosawa and starred my favorite actor Toshiro Mifune. It told the story of an unnamed Ronin, a Samurai without a master (Toshiro Mifune), that stumbled into a small town ruled by two different factions that were slowly decaying the town and making the inhabitant feel unsafe. Over the course of the film, the Ronin then tried to save the town by doing all manners of badassery and mind trickery to these two factions. Yojimbo was also in Black and White since it came out in 1961, an era when Japan has not caught up to Hollywood''s use of color pictures in their films. I think this color format might be suitable for someone foreign to the concept of films. I set up the projector in the town square and connected the projector to my laptop where I have the film on my hard disk. "Oh shit, It''s in Japanese" I muttered. I stupidly realized the film''s language was in Japanese. Even if I put an English subtitle, Leo wouldn''t be able to read from it. But then I realized something peculiar from the film''s folder in my computer. "Orientian.srt" it said. It''s important to note that ''.srt'' files are used for a video''s subtitle. Did the guy who sent me here do this? Did he put a subtitle for the language of this country? Well shit. More power to me I guess. Now, Leo and people from this country can also watch the films from my world! I didn''t mind the extra bonus and went on to set up the equipment. I set up the white projector screen and audio equipment. I also have some foldable chairs in my vans so I also set those up so Leo and I can sit and watch together. "Hey, Leo! It''s ready. Come here and sit." I called out. While I was setting up the equipment, Leo was focused on studying a notebook that he pulled out of his pocket previously. I peeked to see its content before and I was sure it had some magical runes in it so I guessed he was studying magic. I didn''t think the dude was the studying type from his previous demeanor but one shouldn''t judge someone''s character from their outer appearance I guess. "Ah yes, I''m coming! Wow!" Leo had a tinge of surprise at the end of his sentence. "What are all of this equipment?" He was circling around my computer and projector to study it closer. He seemed curious. "Nevermind that. Just sit for now and I''ll show you what I do in my line of work. Keep in mind what I''m about to show you might shock you a bit. And also, I didn''t create this particular film that you''re about to see. A master of filmmaking of my world made this" I said to him and motioned him to sit. "You keep saying that world, ''film'', I don''t even know what it means. But alright my curiosity is peaking so I will indulge your request" He smiled and sat down on the chair. I turned on the projector and Yojimbo started rolling. Unlike modern films where the credits were usually placed at the end of the film, older films usually have the film credits at the start of the film instead. "I''m just seeing a bunch of names and... are those their titles? Director? Producer? What?" Leo muttered. "Ssshh. Be patient." I told Leo. Finally, the film started. The opening scene of the film showed the Ronin played by Toshiro Mifune walking along a dirt road. He didn''t seem to have any destination in mind. The road was forking in different directions. He then picked up a wooden stick from the ground and threw it up into the air. After the wooden stick fell, the direction it was pointing at was the direction where the lone Ronin went. That was the iconic opening to Yojimbo, a film that went on to inspire other western films like Fistful of Dollars played by Clint Eastwood. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that Sergio Leone utterly plagiarized Akira Kurosawa''s idea since the Fistful of Dollars was an unauthorized shot-by-shot remake of Yojimbo. Of course, Leo was utterly surprised by this. "W-what!? There''s a person! There''s a person trapped in there!" Leo muttered in shock. What he did next shock me as well. He stood up from his chair and pulled out magic wand (at least I think that''s what it was) and aimed it at me. "Y-you! Are you a demon!? How did you trap him in there!?" As he said that, his magic wand was glowing blue. Oh shit. Chapter 8 - The First Theater "Leo! Settle down!" I raised my hand as if I was aimed a gun by a policeman. I tried to calm Leo down before he does anything rash. I''ve seen what magic could do. Marlon, the Magus who brought me here, had the capabilities to shoot out terrifying fireballs. The effects of magic could potentially be devastating. I knew that I could die if Leo decided to activate his wand. "Answer me! What dark magic did you use to trap that person in there?" Leo wasn''t convinced. His face was sharp although a bit flushed from drinking alcohol. I walked slowly towards my laptop while Leo was still aiming his wand at me. "Hey! Did I say you can move?" Leo warned. I continued my walk anyway. I needed to show him something. Finally, I reach the laptop and I hurriedly connected the camera I was carrying to the laptop. "Leo, look!" I pointed at the screen again to show him another video. It was of Leo''s story time with me back in the tavern. "That''s.....me?" Leo was perplexed after seeing himself on the screen. "Yes, that''s you! You see, my job involves capturing reality and then creating a story out of it. You know that strange device I was carrying? That was used to record you telling The Boy And The Grakos from before! The person you just saw was also the same. That was just a recording of himself that a filmmaker captured!" I tried explaining the concept of capturing a video as simple as I can. Even then, I still found myself using some foreign terminologies that I''m not sure Leo or people of this world would be able to understand. "I...see....so that person from before....was just a....what did you say...a ''recording''? I didn''t know there was such a device in this world. There are some magic crystals in the capital that could show something happening far away but seeing past events? That''s amazing." Leo muttered. At this point, he had already lowered down the wand. "Yes! Although there are some filmmakers that specialize in recording reality as it is, my job is to create stories from these recordings. The footage that I just showed you were also like that! We call it a film." I replied. I''m actually still using English to communicate with him right now. Marlon''s language spell was the one doing the translation. I''m not exactly sure if some words were translated correctly or not. "That''s...that''s incredible! I must show this to someone else! Can I invite people from the tavern to watch?" Leo had gotten excited all of the sudden. After making sure I was not a demon or a dark magic user, it seemed he was intrigued about the technology presented before him. "Sure...but there aren''t enough seats..." I replied. "That won''t be a problem! There are more seats inside we can bring out!" Leo replied right away. He then hurriedly walked back to the tavern and entered. I was left alone outside. I contemplated whether I should just run away right now after almost being murdered by a Magus, but I decided against it. This could be my chance to gauge the townpeople''s interest in films. I changed the video file showing on the projector back to Yojimbo again. Of course, I also rewinded the film back the film to the beginning. After a while, Leo stepped out of the tavern with only five people following him. They were carrying similar leather uniform that the soldiers I''ve met in the forest were wearing but I haven''t seen their faces. "Brandon...I managed to only persuade five of my friends. The rest of the people there didn''t believe what I said....they thought I was drunk. Fuckers." Leo seemed angry that people rejected him. It was understandable though. If someone barged into the tavern and started to tell a crazy story, you would just think he was drunk off his ass.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Is this the foreigner? Why did you bring us outside? Leo, I think you drank a bit too much...." One of the soldiers said. He was a blonde-haired male with squinted eyes. "C''mon Ren you gotta believe me this time! You won''t believe what you''re about to witness!" Leo started to defend his idea of getting them out of the tavern. "What are those...things?" Another person was pointing at the projector and the laptop next to it. He was also quite curious about what it was. "Leo, tell them to set up the chairs. I''ll start the film soon." I told Leo. I was in the middle of setting up the film again. Although the real reason I called out to him was that I didn''t want to explain everything again to Leo''s friends. Leo''s friends had already borrowed some seats from the tavern so they quickly set it up in front of the projector screen. Leo and the others then sat down in their respective seats and the film started rolling again. As the credits were rolling at the start of the film, Leo turned to his friends. "You will about to see someone on the screen in front of you. But fret not, he is not currently trapped inside that screen, but rather everything you are about to see has already occurred in the past!" Leo explained. One of Leo''s friends sighed. "What is this? It''s just a bunch of names...Leo, you owe me my free time in the tavern. Buy me some drinks tomorrow" "Ssshhh! It''s starting!" Leo said. The first scene of Yojimbo that Leo had seen before started again. The Ronin threw the stick up into the air and walked in the direction of the fallen stick. The whole film then started to unfold after that. Throughout the film, I witnessed a lot of shocked and thrilled reactions from Leo and his friends. They were shocked at the scenes were unfolding before them and they were thrilled because the story itself was highly engaging and they seemed to like the main character. Finally, the film ended. There were a couple seconds of silence after the projector screen showed nothing but black again. "....That was incredible!" Leo shouted. "What was the main character''s name? Sanjuro? He was a formidable warrior! I hope to be like him one day" One of Leo''s friends also said with glee. "I want to see more!" Another of Leo''s friends also said. As I saw their various reactions, something struck me. This was this world''s first ever theater showing! And I just realized that perhaps I can make money out of this! Previously, I was already thinking on how to make money in this foreign world to fund my next project. But I forgot that I should just continue to make money the way other filmmakers have done for a century, by showing their films to an audience. I decided to capitalize on this idea. This will be this world''s first ever theater. As I was thinking about the idea, Leo called out to me. "Brandon, can you show us more?" I stood up from my chair and walked in front of where they were seated to announce something. "My friends, I will show you more every night! This was the first time I''ve shown a film about the people of this continent so you had the privileged of a private free showing! I will open my business here in the town square again tomorrow. Although I will show the same film again tomorrow so that more people can see it. Please bring your friends with you! I will consider a discount if you invite more people!" I suddenly turned into a salesman. "I see! So this was your business! That was incredibly entertaining! I will tell everyone and bring more people tomorrow!" Leo''s friend said. "Me too! I have to return to my home now. I will bring my kids with me tomorrow!" Another person said. After a while, Leo''s five friends returned to the tavern and some went home after that. Leo stuck around for a bit. "This film business is a novel idea my friend, but you will need the permission of the mayor to conduct business here," Leo advised me to meet the mayor and get a business permit. Truth be told, I didn''t expect this country to be so organized in terms of business that I need a business permit. Perhaps I have underestimated some things. "What a coincidence,I was invited to meet your master, Magus Marlon, who is also the mayor''s sister tomorrow. I will ask for an audience with the mayor so I can get the permit. Thank you, Leo! I hope you come tomorrow" I told Leo. "I will come with more people tomorrow! I can''t wait to see that warrior in action again!" Leo left the square. I was finally alone again. I packed up everything inside my van again. Suddenly, I felt a vibration from my phone inside my pocket. I opened my phone and the origin of the vibration was the mysterious app. "5 Heart Points Gained! Due to the film shown not being the creation of the user, 90% of the heart points have been deducted. 0.5 Heart Points Gained!" Did I receive some heart points? Chapter 9 - Its Bigger On The Inside It seemed that I would be able to gain Heart Points from showing films I didn''t create as well. Although the 90% deduction was harsh, it was fair. The legendary Akira Kurosawa was truly master though¡ª the five people who didn''t even know the concept of films a few hours ago already loved the film so much that they produced heart points. They must have been truly inspired by the badassery of the Ronin from Yojimbo. It was getting late though. With a tired body and mind, I drove the van to a nondescript corner of the square and parked it. Tomorrow was going to be the real start of my life in this world. ** I woke up the next morning in a daze. It was a dreamless night but it felt like I''ve slept for a whole day. And that feeling was not far from the actual truth¡ªit''s already high noon. My body smelled like I haven''t showered in five days, and that was also true since I didn''t get to clean my body in the forest. I got out of the van and a chill air crept up to me. I was still wearing shorts and an aloha shirt so my clothing didn''t protect me from the cooler temperature. "Ah, Magus Marlon said he wanted to meet me in the Magus Association building or something" I recalled the soldier who accompanied me to the town square yesterday told me this. I turned on the van. I checked to see that the car''s power was still at 35%. I''ll have to charge it under the sun soon. With that in mind, I set out from the city square to look for the Magus Association. It wasn''t difficult at all to find the location as nearly everyone in the city knew where it was. After asking around, I found the Magus Association building after around 30 minutes of driving. Although, I don''t know if it''s even accurate to call it a building. It was more of a tiny two-stories office with a sign that said "Magus Association" at the front of the building. "Ah, I can read?" I seemed to have a bad habit of realizing things too late. I was also able to read the subtitles in the local language when I aired Yojimbo last night. But that''s also odd, so most people here can read? The soldiers from last night and Leo could also read the subtitles. And since I have seen that most buildings and streets in this town have a written name, does that mean the people of this nation are literate? That''s quite impressive and if so, I can''t really compare this country to the classical medieval times of Earth I''m always picturing inside my head. With those swirling thoughts inside my head, I got out of the van and locked the doors. I have also set the van to go to solar charging mode for a while since the sun is out. I started to walk inside the Magus Association building. What I found inside was something incredible, the interior was at least twice as wide as what the exterior showed! "What the hell?" I muttered out loud. The sight of a spacious building inside of a tiny two-stories office is just too surprising. A middle-aged man sitting at the front desk who seemed to be the receptionist noticed my arrival. "Young man, why do you look so surprised? Is this your first time inside a Magusian Building?" The middle-aged man asked me. I just nodded my head as a reply. "This building has been enchanted by a Magus. Most Magusian buildings have also been enchanted. Apart from some features I can''t tell you about, the interior of the building has been expanded with magic pulse. That is why the building looks smaller on the outside but it will be bigger on the inside." The middle-aged man explained. I nodded my head in understanding. That is truly impressive. It seemed magic is highly developed in this nation. "I''m here to meet Magus Marlon Neester. I have been told I was supposed to meet him here." I told the middle-aged man. "Ah, you''re the foreigner! That''s why I found your skin and clothing to be exotic. I see. Magus Marlon is waiting for you upstairs. You''ll find his name embedded in the front of the door to his private room." The middle-aged man pointed at the stairway near the front desk. I said thanks and went upstairs. It was also important to note that I have not seen any other Magus or anyone at all other than the man in the front. The building was oddly quiet and empty. I arrived on the second floor and found the door with Marlon''s name. I knocked on it a few times before I heard a reply. "Brandon. The Foreigner. Come in." The voice of Magus Marlon called out to me. That was odd. I didn''t even say it was me on the other side of the door. How could he have known? But I guess he''s a wizard. Not of the David Blaine variety either, the real deal. Although David Blaine may as well be a wizard with the physical acts he usually performs. I turned the knob and entered the room. It was less grandiose than what I have expected. There was a tall bookcase with old, weathered books lined up and Marlon was sitting behind a wooden desk. There was already a chair prepared in front of it.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Come. Sit." Marlon motioned me to sit in that chair. I sat down and faced the man in front of me. His wrinkled face did not serve to make him look old and brittle but instead give him the aura of a hardened veteran. "How was your first night in Brent? Did the people treat you well?" Marlon leaned back in his chair to wait for my response. "I had a good night sleep. I met one of your apprentices last night. I think his name was Leo." I replied. He started to stroke his imaginary beard which was a feature one would expect a wizard to possess. "Yes. Leo has already told me about you....and your interesting magic." I see. Leo and he thought my equipment was magic. Perhaps it''s better not to tell them the truth and let them think it was magic so I don''t have to reveal the underlying technological marvel behind it. But I also didn''t want to outright admit that it was magic either. "Ah, Leo told me I would need a permit from the mayor to conduct business here. May I ask an audience with her? If that''s alright. I know she''s your sister." I brushed off the topic of my equipment and asked him about the business permit instead. Marlon stroke his chin again to think. "Hmm...that''s right. But unfortunately, my sister has left the town this morning for a political trip to the capital. I''m afraid she''ll be gone for at least a month." Marlon told me. Ah fuck. I can''t last an entire month without a source of income! Nevermind the food, I would need other basic necessities as well if I want to survive. Marlon saw my distressed face and started speaking. "Ah, but don''t you worry. I, as a Magus, can also give you a temporary business permit under the sponsor of the Magus Association. This permit will last you an entire month, just in time until my sister comes home." My face started to light up. "That''s great! I will be in your gratitude!" I expressed my happiness of his generosity. But I also remembered one thing. "But...why did you summon me here again yesterday? Surely it was not just to ask me how I''m doing." Marlon''s mouth formed a sly smile. "But that''s exactly why I asked you here. The people of Brent is famous for their kindness with outsiders. Can I help you with anything else?" He asked me. "Hmm....." I started to think about questions I can ask him. "Can people here read? I noticed that many of the buildings have written signs on them" I asked. "That''s right. The Orient Republic is pretty well-off economically and the demand for literate individuals are increasing. We taught our children from a young age to read so they can compete with people from the big cities. And also, the development of Linguistic Magic by the Magus Association have also helped people to learn how to read a lot faster. This magic is still limited to some languages though. For example, we can''t really use it on Solarisian language. Of course, the full explanation of why a lot of people are literate is quite lengthy so I''m just giving you the summary" Marlon explained. "Uhh....I''m sorry but since you mentioned other kingdoms, I don''t really know them since I''m not from this continent," I said to Marlon again. "Indeed.." Marlon walked up to his tall bookcase and pulled a scroll. He unraveled it on the table and it seemed to be the map of the continent. CONTINENT MAP: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/grandea-continent-thesilentone/map/2046b1fb-d4af-4fef-ab30-fe55b76f4970 "We are in the Orient Republic on the west of the continent. The Solaris Kingdom is in the southeast. They are quite aggressive as they are starting to invade their neighboring kingdom. Sumar Kingdom in the south is a human country and is also our ally, so are Uang Republic in the east. Uang Republic is our economic rival as they produce a lot of high-quality goods but we are allies in the war against the Solarisian''s tyranny. Estavian is a nation of elves, near the holy elven mountain in the east. Unfortunately, they are starting to be invaded by Solarisian as well so we are also starting to give them some aid. Ramol''tar Kingdom is a nation of orcs in the north of us, across the Grand Angker Desert. They are quite isolated geographically so we don''t have any contact with them. There is also Eroberer Kingdom in the far east, a nation that is slowly becoming a colony of Solaris Kingdom as well. I think that''s a short summary of the Grandea Continent. There are quite a few places I haven''t explained" Marlon gave an overall big picture of the continent. I was quite amazed. This continent seemed to be quite large. I don''t know about its scale though. Perhaps if I can compare it to Earth, then this continent is quite similar to Europe. "Thank you for your great explanation, Marlon. I would also like to ask, what is the currency of this nation and what is the general income of this town?" Since I was about to conduct my business, I have to know about this town''s economy. Surprisingly, Marlon''s eyebrows furrowed. He was not pleased with the question. "...Our currency is the Orient Gold. The denomination itself is quite simple. The largest one is the gold, which is worth 100 silver. A silver is then worth 100 coppers. This town''s income is....not great. People here usually only earn 2 silver a month, which is lower than the standards in other towns...To put it in perspective, a day''s worth of meal is already 5 coppers." His face was quite sad as he explained it. "I''m sorry if this is rude...but is this related to the dragon incident 10 years ago? And....why does this town seem quite normal? I haven''t seen any people that seem poor in the streets" I asked. This was quite odd. If this town was having a hard time financially, then why do the people seem fine? "That''s because of my sister''s hard work. She''s been giving a lot of subsidy to the people so they can survive. But Brent''s economy is highly stagnating.....I''m sorry, but I have to work now." He didn''t seem to want to answer any further. He completely ignored my question about the dragon incident. "I see, thank you very much. I will not bother you any further." I stood up to leave but Marlon''s voice stopped me again. "I will tell you about the dragon incident another time....but perhaps it''s better that you hear about it from my sister after she comes back. Also, I will send someone to give you the temporary business permit. I wish you a good stay in this town." I just nodded and left the premises. Chapter 10 - Standing Ovation After the meeting, I walked around the town for a bit to see the sights. What Marlon said turned out to be true¡ªthe townspeople are having a hard time financially. I don''t think it''s as bad as an economic depression as the faces of the people I saw were quite neutral and some were in fact happy. But I discovered that their happiness was just based on an optimistic hope for the future with the mayor''s rule. It seemed the mayor has been doing a great job rebuilding the town''s economy after the dragon incident ten years ago. Although I have not listened to the full details of the event yet. I had breakfast at the tavern from last night. Oddly enough, I expected something more exotic considering I''m literally in another world. But looking at this country''s similarities to medieval Europe, The food is quite recognizable as I just ate regular bread and milk that I''m familiar with. If you''re wondering how I paid for my meal if I didn''t have any money, a local leather-clothed soldier approached me near the town square to send me the business permit and by Marlon''s kindness, he also sent me some money¡ª15 coppers to be exact. That''s already enough for around three days worth of meals and considering that I''ll hopefully earn even more money soon, my situation is already looking quite great. The business permit was in the form of a scroll detailing the Magus Association''s sponsorship of my business in this town of Brent. It had an expiry date of 15 Merde. It seemed that ''merde'' was part of this world''s calendar system. I later found out that it''s currently the month of Eleveen, the fourth month of the year. The Grandean Calendar as they call it consisted of twelve months: Jule, Yaks, Buk''tar, Eleveen, Merde, Nai, Yarna, Yarni, Ikvan, Relt, Ivan, Prun. It''s also the year 1905. Anyway, I did not just stroll around for fun, I also started to plan out for tonight''s first public showing. I have decided to price one ticket for 1 copper. Since the lowest denomination was already one copper as well, I hope this would increase the attendance rate and therefore increase the number of heart points that I obtain and also the word-of-mouth of my theater. Unfortunately, I could not afford to rent a building yet or even place dozens of seats for my audience so they would have to sit on the ground. The town square was quite lively by the day even with the stagnating economy. It''s no wonder as the place was literally the community center of the town. Kids would play around with their friends, shop vendors would sell their goods, and other activities were being held here. I say this again but this was not a sight one would expect from a town that is having a hard time financially. Also, I also tried to ask around for the details of what happened ten years ago with the dragon attack since Marlon wouldn''t tell me. But as soon as I even mention the tragedy, people''s smiles would disappear from their faces and they would refuse to elaborate more. It seemed I would truly have to wait for the mayor to arrive next month. It was now nearing the evening and the skies have turned orange. Nightlife practically doesn''t exist in this town so all of the street vendors here would pack their goods to head back home by the end of the day. This would leave me with a large amount of space I could use for my theater. But that''s also a problem, the night was not a time period where people go out of their houses with the exception of men and husbands who spent their night in the taverns. The street was also not well-lit at night with only a few torches here and there. While the dark was an ideal environment to watch a film, it''s hardly an inviting environment for these medieval people. With a few strange glances on my way, I finished setting up all the equipment I needed. At this point, the street vendors were already packing their goods to head back home. I thought this would be a good time to advertise the theater a bit so I started to shout something. "Attention the generous and happy people of Brent! Tonight, I will be conducting a special entertainment show called a ''film''. This would be a spectacle like you''ve never seen before! You will witness wonderful storytelling, hard-hitting action, and incredible visuals! The price is only one copper for a ticket! Get your tickets now!" I shouted. What I received was instead the bewilderment of the witnesses. They thought I was just another salesman trying to sell something so not everyone truly heard what I just said. But the few that did hear me had varying reactions. "One copper? For something, I don''t even know about? Give me a break. I have a family to feed" A man said with contempt. "Mommy! I want to see the show!!!" A little girl nudged the skirt of her mother. "No! did you hear sweety? the show would be in the night! You know what roams the street at night? scary monsters!" The mother replied. "Aaaaah I don''t wanna go to the show anymore!" The girl said in fright. But there were also some positive reactions from a few individuals. "Entertainment? In this backwater town? Well shit, I might be interested" A middle-aged man said. "He said something about storytelling? Hey, we should go to this show to see how it is!" A teenage girl said to her friends. After my embarrassing advertisement, I was approached by a soldier who was guarding the town square. He was asking for my business permit. Of course, I showed him my business permit and he went on his way. Everyone thought I was crazy, huh? ** The dark night soon arrived and no one has shown up yet. I was starting to become pessimistic. What if no one showed up? The humming of the generator was the only thing keeping me company. I even thought of just starting the film myself. Yojimbo was after all one of my favorite films with endless replayability so I could never be bored with it.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Suddenly, I saw a group of people approaching. It was Leo and his friends again but with more people this time. "Hey! As I promised, I brought my friends!" Leo said cheerfully. "I also brought my children this time! Haha, you wouldn''t believe how hard it was to convince my sons to go out of the house at night. They''re scared of the dark!" A man with three children behind him also said. In total, there were around 25 people this time. A substantial amount of viewers considering I didn''t expect anyone to come. "Thank you so much, everyone! Uh...." I said. I trailed off as it was now awkward that I have to ask them to pay to see the film. "You want us to pay right? Don''t worry, man! I also want to support your business. How much is it? Hey, we''ll pay right?" Leo said and asked the people around him. "Right!" The ones who answered were the five people who watched the film yesterday. As for the other 19 people, they were still skeptical about this entire thing. "It''s one copper for a ticket," I answered. "A copper?" A leather-clothed soldier said with disdain. "Yes. I''m sorry but that''s the price. It''s fine if you don''t want to watch the film..." I said. "Tch. Fine. I got roped into this by these hooligans anyway. I''ll see if their ridiculous claim can be trusted." The soldier replied. Soon enough, they lined up to pay me the ticket. And so the first showing gained me 25 coppers, which was quite a substantial amount. This would mean if I keep a stable attendance of 25 people, I would gain 7.5 silver a month, which was already more than triple the amount of the average monthly income here. But of course, I knew this was also going to be a problem in the long-run. Why was it a problem? Because I have a limited amount of films on my hard drive. I only have 30 films to be exact. And out of those 30 films, I would say only 10 films or so are suitable enough to be shown to a fantasy medieval audience. As I said before, I can''t just show them something like Blade Runner which was set in a cyberpunk world to an audience of medieval peasants. That''s like showing footage of modern cities to a group of cavemen. Back on earth, you could get away with showing incredible spectacle on film since we were all familiar with how films were made¡ªartificially. If I show them something too out-of-this-world, they might turn on me. Films like Yojimbo, which was set in the Samurai Era, could be easily explained as the level of technology is similar. Heck, the setting of Yojimbo seemed even more backward than the Orient Republic that I am currently on. Back on topic, I would surely run out of films to show. Sure, I can repeatedly do re-runs of those 10 films but there would come a time where people would just be too tired of watching the same thing over and over again so surely they would stop watching films entirely and find other things to do. This was also my main incentive on why I should make films in this world as well. Stable income aside, it was also in my blood as a film director be creating even more films. "Hey, mister! Is it ready?" A kid called out to me in an impatient tone. I was too busy with my thoughts while setting up the laptop to show the film. "Yes!" I answered. I walked to the front of the screen to announce something. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I humbly welcome you to my film theater! Of course, many of you here don''t even know yet what you''re about to witness. But I guarantee that you will leave this place today a changed person! You''re about to watch the greatest medium of entertainment in this continent! There will be a time when films will be spread far and wide and YOU people will have the pride of being the first people be entertained by the magical world of films. The film you are about to watch is called Yojimbo, the title itself means Bodyguard. It is a film made by a master of my lands. It tells the story of a wandering lone warrior who stumbled upon a city ruled by two evil gangs! I will leave it at that. Enjoy the film!" I announced with passion. I did have a knack for public speaking back on Earth so I hoped my speech entered the heart of these people. I received some unenthusiastic applause but I just snickered since I knew these people were about to be blown away. I started the film and the credits started rolling. A repeat of the confused reaction by the row of texts at the start of the film occurred again. And then the opening scene of the Ronin''s throwing the stick up into the air started and everything changed. "What the hell!? A person!" A man shouted. "Wow! That man looks really strong daddy!" A kid said to his dad. "Hmph! What can he do with that thin sword? It would break easily!" The man replied. But his face betrayed his sarcastic speech as it was full of wonder. The film went on after that. The ronin''s first fight with the hooligans received shocked reactions from the local soldiers as they admired the intricate swordsmanship. Although those were just clever editing and choreography, they seemed to believe that it was real. The ronin''s clever tricks to fool the gangs also received a few laughs from the audience. When the Ronin was captured and tortured, the audience collectively gasped and started to feel tense. Some even tried to run up to the screen to help the wounded warrior. After the film''s ending, everyone went silent. And then, everyone stood up to give an applause. ".....That was...." A woman soldier muttered. "That was incredible! I want to see it again! Wow!" A soldier shouted in joy. "Brandon! I am still getting goosebumps after seeing it a second time!" Leo also told me with joy. "Daddy! I want to be a warrior like him one day" A kid said again to his dad. "He was truly a worthy warrior for sure!" The father replied. I also had something to announce so I walked to the front again. "Ladies and gentlemen! I will be showing a different film tomorrow! Were you excited about this film? Then you''re in for a treat because tomorrow we will see another journey of the same warrior in a film called Sanjuro!" I announced. Sanjuro was the relatively unknown and very underrated sequel to Yojimbo. Although the cinematography and storytelling was a bit lacking from the original, I found the sequel to be even more entertaining than the first one. "I will definitely come again tomorrow!" Someone said. "So what we just witnessed was called a ''film''? I will definitely spread the word!" A soldier also said. "I will tell all of my friends!" A kid also said in a happy tone. And so, the first public showing of the film theater went extremely well. After everyone left, I was left alone to think about the future''s plan again. I could not be satisfied just yet. Although I have gained some money from tonight''s showing, I need to carefully plan out what''s next on the table.