Chapter 410: The Concept of Wizard Cinema (Patreon)

Chapter 410: The Concept of Wizard Cinema

The entrance to the arena was a long corridor. Torches lined the walls, their bright flames casting light on the mounted beast heads that seemed to contain sealed souls, exuding an indescribable vitality.

Richard walked through the corridor as roars and screams echoed into his ears.

It felt familiar to him.

Since moving to the Garon Wizard Academy, he hadn’t stepped foot in an arena.

Soon, the bright exit appeared before him. As he stepped out of the corridor, the deafening cheers made his clothes flutter.

Inside the arena, a Second Circle Wizard was locked in combat with a tiger whose body resembled swirling mist.

The Second Circle Wizard wore specially designed Magic Equipment that restricted his Spell-casting abilities and Magic Power.

Anyone could kill a Magical Beast with Spells, but what the audience wanted to see was a visceral, bone-crushing brawl.

The tiger he was fighting had also been carefully selected.

This tiger possessed the bloodline of a wind Elemental Creature, allowing its body to briefly transform into wind.

This ability wasn’t particularly effective against elemental attacks, but against physical strikes, it was downright unfair.

The mist-like tiger lunged forward, its body suddenly dispersing into a cloud shaped like a tiger, covering half the arena.

In past battles, Wizards had already demonstrated the consequences of entering that mist.

One such Wizard’s remains had to be scraped up with a shovel.

The entire arena was now divided into two factions—one cheering with bloodthirsty anticipation, eager to see the Second Circle Wizard reduced to pulp, while the other remained silent, watching intently to see how he would handle this seemingly hopeless situation.

"The script is well-written," Richard remarked calmly to the person beside him at the corridor’s exit.

Next to him stood a burly Wizard, built like a black bear, who was eyeing this unexpected guest warily.

As a Third Circle Wizard, he actually sensed a lethal threat emanating from Richard.

"Friend, I heard you were looking for me?" the bear-like Wizard asked cautiously.

"You’re the branch leader of the Fist of Truth Merchant Guild?"

"That’s me."

"Then I’m definitely here for you." Richard extended his right hand. "I’m Richard. I’ve come to collect the Spell the Dean entrusted to you."

The bear-like Wizard froze for a moment before relaxing.

He shook Richard’s hand and grinned. "So it’s Master Richard. I thought someone was here to cause trouble.

I’m John, head of the Fist of Truth’s Hub Branch."

"Cause trouble?" Richard raised an eyebrow. "Who would dare? Need me to handle it for you?"

His tone was casual, but the murderous aura he exuded made John feel an odd sense of familiarity.

There was a time when he, too, had been like this.

"No need, just some minor conflicts," John said with a smile. "There’s more than one arena in City No. 9. We’ve had some small commercial disputes with the others—nothing serious."

With that, he gestured for Richard to follow.

"This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s move somewhere else."

……

Beneath the arena, John led Richard into a plainly decorated room.

The room contained the usual bookshelves and desk found in a Wizard's quarters, along with some small dumbbells for exercise.

It seemed this was John’s study.

John walked behind the desk and pulled out a black scroll from the drawer.

"This thing has a seal placed on it by the Dean, ensuring no one has peeked inside."

With that, John tossed the scroll to Richard.

Richard caught it and, just as John had said, the scroll was covered in a sturdy seal. Without the proper method to break it, even a Great Wizard would need considerable effort to open it.

"How did the master figure out we were prearranged?"

John took out two thick cigars from his pocket and offered one to Richard.

Richard shook his head in refusal and replied, "The performance wasn’t bad—it looked quite impressive from the audience’s perspective. But such flashy moves are obviously impractical. Ordinary Magical Beasts would never use such inefficient abilities unless someone taught them."

John nodded with a smile. "True, this might fool outsiders, but not those in the know."

"Still, the idea itself is quite good," Richard continued. "Most Wizards in the Wizard World only set foot on a battlefield once in their lives.

This kind of thing is more than enough to dazzle them.

You could even make the script more dramatic or the Spell effects more grandiose. Or even—"

"Even what?" John, now thoroughly intrigued, couldn’t help but ask.

Richard stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What if we recorded the arena battles, added voiceovers, and sold them?

Arena tickets must be pretty expensive, right?"

John was taken aback. "Well… projection Crystal Balls aren’t exactly cheap either, are they? And no matter how realistic the projection is, it’s still fake.

Would Wizards really—"

"No, no," Richard waved his hand. "Wizards can afford arena tickets. These recordings aren’t for them.

Portal cities aren’t inhabited solely by Wizards. Subhumans, Great Wizard retainers, and even Wizard Apprentices—those are our targets.

Individually, their spending power might be weak—they can’t afford arena tickets—but their sheer numbers more than make up for it.

We could set up projection halls dedicated to screening arena battles.

Then, with dirt-cheap tickets, we’d rake in their Magic Stones.

Even if the projections are fake, they’re better than nothing.

With a little effort, the projections might even be more spectacular than the live experience."

Richard grew more excited as he spoke. Due to the Wizard World’s social structure, almost no one paid attention to beings below Wizard status.

This overlooked demographic was undoubtedly a goldmine.

"Brilliant idea, absolutely brilliant!"

The more John heard, the more feasible it seemed.

Beings below Wizard status still had spending desires. Projections cost next to nothing to screen, making a high-volume, low-margin approach perfect.

Imagine a projection hall seating a thousand people, with tickets priced at one Magic Stone—that’s one Magic Essence per screening.

A single gladiatorial match lasts no more than an hour at most, and some are as short as thirty or forty minutes.

In a single day, one could earn at least twenty-four pieces of Magic Essence.

If scaled up, the projection theaters could very well be more profitable than the arena itself.

Of course, this was assuming every show was sold out—realistically, things might not be so ideal.

But projection Crystal Balls weren’t expensive, housing in the lower-class residential districts was cheap, and gladiatorial projections had no cost at all.

So this business venture was guaranteed to turn a profit, with no risk of loss!

The more John thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. He immediately pulled out a draft paper, ready to outline a proposal.

But just as he picked up his quill, his hand froze.

He glanced at Richard, who was still muttering to himself about "movies" and "blockbusters"—words John couldn’t comprehend. This idea had come from Richard, and if he wanted to use it, he’d need Richard’s permission.

While borrowing ideas wasn’t considered theft of knowledge in the Wizard World, what Richard had proposed wasn’t just a concept—it was a nearly complete implementation plan.

If he tried to execute it without Richard’s consent, he’d be in deep trouble if Richard ever came after him.

After all, Richard wasn’t just some outsider.

"Um… Master Richard."

John’s voice snapped Richard out of his brainstorming. He looked at John in confusion and asked, "What is it, John? Do you have a question?"

John nervously replied, "The idea you proposed, Master, I think it’s very feasible. So I’d like to ask for your authorization."

Seeing John’s unease, Richard immediately understood and chuckled. "I have my own merchant guild. You can discuss collaboration with its manager. How does that sound?"

John stood up at once, strode over to Richard, and extended his right hand earnestly.

"Thank you for your generosity, Master."

Richard rose to his feet and shook his hand with a smile. "This isn’t generosity—it’s mutual benefit."

……

After leaving the arena, Richard immediately found a public Portal and returned to the Wizard World.

The Far North remained blanketed in snow.

A mere twenty-five years wasn’t enough to bring about any significant natural changes.

But Richard faintly sensed that the concentration of Magic Power in the Wizard World’s atmosphere had dipped slightly.

Still, he didn’t dwell on it. If the sky fell, the tall would hold it up—the messes of the Wizard World were for the Truth Wizard and the Great Wizard to handle.

Back in Far North City, Ellie had returned to the Black Tower Wizard Academy due to Richard’s expedition. As a result, the massive Wizard Tower was devoid of any liveliness.

For the first time in a while, Richard felt a twinge of discomfort.

In the Far North, blizzards raged for most of the year.

Even for Wizards, living in such a place for too long could breed a sense of isolation.

That was why so many Wizards from the Garen Wizard Academy chose to stay long-term in the academy’s experimental zones rather than build their own Wizard Towers in the wilderness.

"Maybe… I should take on another student?" The thought flashed through Richard’s mind.

But he dismissed it just as quickly.

Taking on a student was a serious matter. Doing so out of loneliness would be highly unethical—even if many Wizard Apprentices would jump at the chance to be "unethically" accepted by Richard.

"Forget it, I should take a look at the ritual magic the Dean gave me first."

Richard went to the laboratory and took out the scroll that Grand Wizard Galon had handed to him.

Before leaving the Green Forest World, Jimmy had already told him the method to break the seal.

With a simple tap of Richard's finger on the seal, a faint spell light seeped into it.

In the next moment, the seal broke open, and Richard eagerly began reading the contents of the scroll.

"Dimensional Space Bubble... interesting."

(End of Chapter)