Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Illusionary Dream
The scenes in the footage were exceptionally stylish.
Facing Klingel's attack, Isaris leaned back into a bridge to evade. Simultaneously, a flash of white light erupted from his hand, and four white threads pierced into the wall behind him. Using the tension of the threads, Isaris propelled himself backward to create distance.
Then came Klingel's overhead slash from the air. The weaponless Isaris raised his right hand; the gemstone on the back of his hand flared with a crimson light, and flames instantly engulfed Klingel's body.
The next scene featured Elaine battling Jones. At the start, Elaine could only dodge Lance's relentless strikes. Gradually, having observed the rhythm of the attacks, Elaine began to counterattack with the Secret Sword of the Dawn Star-Rail, eventually securing a lethal counter-kill.
Following this were the combat stances of the remaining three protagonists: the boy scavenging trash stood up against his bullies and was scouted by a military officer for training; the girl fiddling with an abacus purged the parasites from her family; and the red-haired boy, bound in chains, slaughtered his way out of prison to escape.
With that, the video concluded.
Lin Qi watched the complete content in a state of bewilderment. His screen time was simply too much. In his previous life, the pilot trailers mostly showcased a variety of strange Sequence abilities and geographical landscapes, with only the latter half featuring the four protagonists. But now?
Judging by the screen time, Isaris was the primary lead; he had more scenes than the four official protagonists combined.
"System, view the bullet-chat comments," Lin Qi commanded, wanting to see the players' feedback.
[All comments will be available for viewing tomorrow.]
Must I wait until tomorrow?
Thinking this, Isaris lay down on his bed. There was much to do the following day. First, he needed to perform some renovations on the manor; at the very least, the aristocratic emblem on the front gate had to be changed.
He would replace the Didier horse with the Roland rose.
He also needed to visit the talent market for recruitment. Currently, there were far too few servants in the manor, making such a vast estate feel desolate. Afterward, he would have to face Viola; he hoped he could make her face reality.
Beyond that, he planned to establish his agency first. After all, system quests were still active. Once the quests were finished, he would see if he had enough experience points to max out his subclass. Any excess skill points would be used to upgrade the Roland Secret Sword.
As for recruiting subordinates, there was no rush. He needed to establish his reputation first. Otherwise, if he remained a nobody, how could he entice people to work under him?
Pondering his next steps, Lin Qi drifted into sleep.
The next day, Lin Qi woke up, washed, and went down to the dining room on the first floor.
Today's breakfast was prepared by Yulian’s parents. Considering they were working with ingredients that had not yet been fully replenished, the meal was quite impressive.
After instructing Kaff to go out and purchase essential supplies and ingredients, and telling Yulian to replace the gate emblem with the Roland Family crest, Lin Qi returned to his bedroom. Yulian’s parents and sister were left to clean the manor.
He had not yet checked the comments.
"System, view the pilot trailer."
As expected, a variety of bullet-chat comments now appeared over the footage.
[Good heavens, brothers, this is far too cool.]
[I know it is cool, but please, do not lose your composure, brother.]
[This character is literally me!]
[Nonsense, that is me!]
[These should be the five protagonists in the game, right? They certainly look impressive.]
[They must be. What kind of ability is that? So stylish.]
[Oh my god! Hubby!]
[Husband!!!]
[Since you are all fighting over Isaris, I will take Elaine for myself.]
[The hell you will.]
[What kind of fan service is this?]
...
Lin Qi watched the comments in silence. As expected, everyone was as absurd as ever. Looking at the scrolling text, he actually felt a sense of nostalgia, as if he had returned home.
Based on the feedback from the comments, Lin Qi’s popularity was currently the highest in the entire game. The next step was to wait for the public beta and leave the players with the impression of a character who was beautiful, powerful, yet tragic.
"Wait, since the pilot trailer has been released, do I have fans now?" Thinking of this, Lin Qi summoned the quest panel.
[Fan Value: 4/10,000]
???
Only four fans?
Lin Qi stared at the quest panel in a daze. He then clicked the exclamation mark behind the panel.
[Fan Value represents the real-time follower count of the Isaris account on the player forum.]
Seeing this, Lin Qi returned to the main page of the panel and opened the player forum. Indeed, he saw his own account listed there.
Hoh, it even had a blue verification checkmark.
Upon opening it, he found that nothing had been posted, which explained why there were only four followers.
Presumably, many people did not even know that the game character Isaris had an account on the player forum.
He looked at the forum account and the system’s built-in editing function. A devious thought surfaced in his mind... Could he edit his own highlights and post them to the forum?
Wouldn't that mean...
He could rake in a massive amount of Fan Value before the closed beta even started!
Having figured this out, Lin Qi closed the panel. Although he wanted to start editing immediately, most of his highlight moments had already been featured in the pilot trailer. He would have to wait for new material.
Otherwise, if the players grew weary of the same visuals, they might easily develop a negative impression of him.
Knock, knock, knock. A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
"My Lord, the essentials have been purchased. Should we go and recruit some servants now?" Kaff asked as he opened the door, looking at Lin Qi who was sitting in a chair reading a book.
"Let’s go. To the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce," Lin Qi replied, putting down his book and walking out of the room.
"Yulian, if that girl from the basement comes looking for me, tell her to wait in my room," Lin Qi said to Yulian as he prepared to head out.
"I understand, My Lord."
...
The Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce did not just sell goods; they also provided servant teams for nobles in need. However, it was important to note that this was not human trafficking. Instead, they provided professional servant teams based on the employer's requirements.
The advantage was professionalism. The servant teams provided by the Pactum Mundi Chamber of Commerce were on a completely different level compared to servants an employer might recruit directly from the talent market. Not only did they have clean backgrounds and pleasant appearances, but most importantly, they could meet any specific demands of the employer.
The disadvantage was also obvious: price! The cost of hiring these professional servant teams was very high, and a portion of the fee had to be paid to the chamber.
In other words, the chamber functioned like a premium recruitment agency.
Upon arriving at the chamber, Lin Qi, acting on Link's recommendation, chose a servant team of about thirty to forty people. The team included maids, chefs, grooms, gardeners, brewers, a head butler, and various other positions.
Lin Qi could sense that Link’s attitude was even more respectful than before.
How could he not be? To Link, the previous Lin Qi was merely a wealthy noble and a major client. The current Lin Qi, however, was a legendary powerhouse who had not been killed by the curse of the haunted house!
After signing the contract, Lin Qi and Kaff led the servant team back to the manor.
Truthfully, the ominous reputation of the Didier Manor was still terrifying to these ordinary servants. However, out of professional duty and trust in their employer, they braced themselves and stayed.
"My Lord, Viola came looking for you." As soon as Lin Qi returned to the manor, he received this news from Yulian.
After leaving the servants for Kaff to organize, he entered his bedroom.
Just as Lin Qi stepped into the room, he felt something flying toward him.
Dual Balance of Attraction and Repulsion!
Under the influence of the repulsive force, the flying branch stopped right in front of his forehead.
"You are the leader of these villains! As long as I kill you, I can wake up from this nightmare, right!"
The Viola standing before him was a completely different person from the one he had seen yesterday.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was contorted.
This was a situation Viola had never experienced in recent years. Why could she not wake up from the nightmare? From yesterday until now, she had stayed in this world—which she believed was a nightmare—for an entire day.
Why was this happening?
No!
This is not reality!
This is a dream!
Yes! This is a nightmare!
"Die!" Viola's arm transformed completely into a thick tree branch. Using all her strength, she charged at Lin Qi with a desperate, suicidal intent!
Kill him!
If I just kill him!
I can return to reality!
To my family, to my everything!
SLAP!
A massive force struck Viola’s face. The sheer momentum threw her body off balance, and she collapsed onto the floor.
What happened?
Viola could not comprehend it.
She looked up only to see a pair of cold eyes.
"You fool. This is reality," the owner of those eyes said.