"An experienced and sophisticated adventurer? Preferably one who is a loner with personality issues?"
Alyssa thought carefully about Du Lin's question.
It is absolutely easy to find an experienced adventurer in the North. Not to mention anything else, just Alyssa's teammates during her previous adventurer period are extremely suitable people. Their rich experience as adventurers is enough to write several books.
But unfortunately, if one adds the requirement of being a loner to the requirement of being experienced, the number of people who meet the requirement will drop significantly. After all, most adventurers act in groups, and very few of them act alone without the group. It would be strange if one could develop an aloof character in such an environment.
Therefore, even Alyssa, the leader of the Northern Adventurers Guild, fell into deep thought about Durin's request. After a while, she said, "I have an idea. If it is him, he will definitely meet your requirements, Director Durin, but... To be honest, it is precisely because he meets the requirements that I feel a little troubled. After all, his personality is indeed very special."
"special?"
Unexpectedly, even Alyssa would say such a word, which made Du Lin very interested in the candidate the other party mentioned. Seeing his look, Alyssa knew that she couldn't stop him and answered very straightforwardly: "Anyway, I will give you the contact information and location of that person first, and you will know when you get there."
... ... ..
It was about noon. After crossing a field outside Winter City, a small wooden house standing in the middle of the plain appeared in Durin's eyes. According to Alyssa, the adventurer who met the requirements lived here.
To be honest, in the North, there are very few people living outside towns, because there are a large number of monsters in this area. Even villages with a large population are in danger of being invaded by monsters. Building a wooden house in the wild is almost a death sentence.
However, Du Lin, who originally had such thoughts, immediately erased such thoughts when he saw the design around the wooden house, because it was obvious that the owner of this house must be a person who is very knowledgeable about monsters. The design of those traps and alarms can almost sound the alarm as soon as the monsters attack. There are also some traps around the wooden house that are not easy to find if you don't look carefully, which can trap goblins as small as goblins and trolls as large as monsters.
With his mouth slightly raised, Du Lin knew that he might have found the right place this time. He passed through the trap with the wisdom of a wizard and came to the wooden house and knocked on the door. The next moment, accompanied by a burst of orderly footsteps, the door of the room gradually opened...
"Don't be like that. I came here after being introduced by Guild President Alyssa. By the way, I'm Durin Edward, a magician who is interested in you."
Although Du Lin was not afraid of the dagger that popped out from the gap in the door, he was still a little surprised by the other party's vigilance. The figure behind the door was stunned when he heard the name of Guild President Elisa, and after a while he silently opened the door.
This is a relatively spacious wooden house with almost no furnishings inside. The large amount of space seems to be deliberately designed for easy leaving. There is also a slight fragrance that may make people mistakenly think that this is a girl's room.
Apart from these, the most eye-catching figure in the room was the figure in front of Dulin. For some reason, the other party was always wearing a cloak and a mask, and had no intention of letting Dulin see his true face. But even so, based on the other party's body shape, Dulin could barely judge that this was a young man under 30 years old.
"What can I do for you, Master Magician?"
Finally, the young man who sat in the middle of the living room asked. His slightly hoarse voice proved that Du Lin's guess was correct, but he also found that the young man was not the only one in the room.
Yes, in addition to the other person, there were four or five children of different ages in the room, the youngest was five or six years old, and the oldest was fifteen or sixteen years old. These children, both boys and girls, were somewhat afraid of strangers and hid behind the young man. At the same time, they all looked cautiously in the direction of Du Lin, as if asking about his identity.
Recalling Alyssa's reminder, Du Lin quickly said, "Saeb, the silver-level adventurer, it's you, right?"
"Yes, what's up?"
When he said this, the color that appeared between the gaps in the man's cloak made Durin look surprised, and he asked, "Are you an undead?"
Yes, what Durin saw through the cloak just now was not human skin and pores, but clear blood vessels and flesh. The adventurer recommended by Alyssa did not seem to be human at least in terms of race.
In response to Du Lin’s surprise, the man just said silently and vigilantly: “Why, you were called here by Alyssa, but you don’t know my situation?”
"No, she did say you were special, but..."
Du Lin was stunned for a moment, then he thought about it and finally took out the token that Alyssa gave him. He originally wanted to test the other party in person, but now it seems that he can only let the other party explain the current situation to him first.
Soon, after taking the token and examining it, Saeki nodded and said, "Okay, I believe you. Since Guild President Alyssa introduced me here, I will tell you about my situation."
As he spoke, the man slowly took off his mask, revealing a face that was not at all human. He said, "I am not human, or rather, I was human before. But because of a maze exploration in the past, I was cursed by a lich and my body disappeared on the spot. The only lucky thing was that my soul, which was supposed to dissipate, possessed a nearby zombie. Although I survived because of this, I became a half-human, half-ghost appearance and could only survive in the wild as a monster. In the end, it was Guild Leader Alyssa, who I met by chance in the maze, who trusted me and brought me back to the human world."
"But even so, I couldn't go back to my original home, and I couldn't live in the town. So after adopting the children of the adventurers who had explored the maze with me that time, I lived alone in this place far away from the town, and I almost never participated in the adventurers' actions."
After listening to Saeki's words, Du Lin showed an expression of emotion, because the other party's situation was completely contrary to his guess. This was not an immortal, but a living dead!
Although the soul still flashes with light, the body has lost its temperature first. This state between life and death is very similar to that of a zombie. The difference is that unlike an irrational zombie, the other party still has self-awareness and does not seem to be affected by the monster's bloodthirsty instinct.
"I see. But it seems that your strength has not decreased, but increased. In this case, why don't you continue to be an adventurer?"
Unexpectedly, Du Lin could see through his situation. Saeki was stunned for a moment and said helplessly, "Yes, I turned this zombie body into a blessing in disguise. After breaking through the limitations of my original talentless body, I jumped to the fourth-order sword soul level. But even so, I can't find a teammate I can trust with my current condition. Besides, taking care of these children is more important to me than taking risks again."
As Saeki said this, he gently touched the heads of the children behind him. It was obvious that they were indeed behaving like ordinary people who were tired of the adventurer's life.
But in Durin's eyes, whether it was the long sword on the opponent's waist that had been polished countless times and seemed to be able to be drawn out to kill the enemy at any time, or the traps made based on hunting instinct that could be seen everywhere outside the house, it could be seen that this adventurer still had not forgotten the wish engraved in an adventurer's DNA.
So, after thinking for a while, Du Lin slowly took out a bag of gold coins from his waist and said, "Relax, Adventurer Saeki, I'm here to negotiate a deal with you."
Chapter 48 Audition for Goblin Slayer
Chapter 48
"I want to rent you and your house for a few months. This is the deposit. When the deal is done, the actual price will be at least twenty times more than this."
Hearing Durin's words, Saeki showed a surprised expression, because the bag of gold coins that Durin placed on the table contained at least two hundred gold coins, which was a fortune that a silver-level adventurer could only earn after working hard for at least half a year.
"Rent me and my house?"
Before Saeki could make any wild guesses, Du Lin continued, "Yes, I am going to make a movie next, and I want to rent your house as a filming location, and I hope you can play the leading role in the movie."
"???"
Obviously, as a northerner, Saeki had no idea what the word movie meant, and Durin had anticipated this, so he quickly provided additional explanations, allowing the reclusive adventurer to roughly understand the meaning of movies and actors.
And after understanding...
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that, Mr. Dulin."
Saeki refused at the first opportunity, and though hesitantly glanced at the gold coins on the table that were enough for him and his adopted children to live for several years, he finally said decisively: "I don't want to be involved in trouble anymore. My current identity may also cause unnecessary trouble. For these children..."
"You should do this for these kids."
Facing Saeki's hesitation, Du Lin confirmed that he was not in trouble for money and said calmly, "You haven't participated in adventure activities for a long time. This money should be able to settle your debts during this period. After completing my commission, you will be able to obtain enough wealth to live on for the rest of your life. In any case, you have no reason to refuse."
"But I am a monster now. Once my identity is revealed, I will be hunted down by the church. If I am gone, the lives of these children will really not be guaranteed."
Seeing the adventurer's dilemma, Du Lin suddenly asked, "So, what if I have a chance to let you return to human society?"
"??!"
"Relax, Saeki. The situation is not as bad as you think. Your current identity has not been exposed, so you still have many opportunities to make choices. What lies before you now is an opportunity. Do you choose to agree to me, take the money and fight for a way to return to human society, or give up this opportunity and go back to a life where these children can only eat black bread and live outside the town in fear? It's up to you to decide."
As he was talking, Du Lin felt that his ability to deceive people had become more and more advanced recently. He even suspected that he was not a director but the leader of a pyramid scheme.
On the other hand, facing Du Lin's deception, Saeki was obviously really fooled. He first looked at the children behind him and showed a conflicted expression.
In response, the oldest girl, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old, smiled and said, "Uncle Saeki, don't worry about us. We all know that you have always wanted to live the adventurous life of an adventurer again. You long to go on adventures, travel all over the mountains and rivers of the empire, and become a legend sung by bards. Now you are like a bird with broken wings or a fish out of water. You are really not like before."
"Nora, you..."
Unexpectedly, this girl who had always behaved very well would say such a thing. While Saeki was stunned, Du Lin in the distance also echoed: "Yes, this child is right. Becoming an adventurer is your wish, isn't it? You should want to hear people call you the powerful legendary adventurer Saeki, instead of hearing 'Hey! Look at that farming Saeki' when people mention you. This is not what you want, right?"
“… … .”
In the end, after putting away the bag of gold coins that could be said to have saved his life, Saeki agreed to Durin's proposal. After all, if he didn't pay back the money he owed, he might not even be qualified to live around the town. Durin's appearance could be said to have helped him a lot in a sense, and this was also an important reason why he agreed to Durin's proposal.
However, at this time, he did not know how much impact the decision he was making would have on his life.
... ... .
In the North, in the Adventurer's Guild of Winter City.
Since Guild Master Alyssa had previously issued a notice here to recruit actors and extras, the adventurers who had passed the first round of auditions were now waiting here. These included several new adventurers from the South Territory, two receptionists from the Adventurer's Guild, and some veteran adventurers from the North Territory Adventurer's Guild.
In addition, Daphne and her guards also gathered here because they received the notice.
"Miss, are we really not going back? If we come to the North without telling him, the Duke will probably be mad to death."
In response to the guard's words, Daphne simply said firmly: "Of course, I finally passed the interview. How can I go back before finishing the filming?! Even if my father finds me personally this time, I will not give up on my own initiative!"
The girl's persistence made it impossible for the guards to say anything to persuade her to give up, and they finally had to turn their attention to the adventurers in the distance. To be honest, due to the regional differences, the adventurers from the North and the adventurers from the South were waiting in different postures at this time, and from the looks of it, both sides had completely different expectations for what would happen next.
"I didn't expect that they would let us use the teleportation magic circle to come to the North to shoot a movie this time! This is the first time I have used a teleportation magic circle in my life!!"
"Me too, me too. And what kind of movie will it be this time? Is it a sequel to 'KonoSuba: God's Blessing for a Wonderful World'? Then will we have a chance to become the protagonist?"
"Haha, protagonist, you're still overthinking. You're lucky to be a supporting character who can participate in the BOSS battle together."
The heated discussion among several new adventurers could be clearly heard, and Daphne, who had already roughly understood the script, showed a subtle expression and finally gave up the idea of telling them the truth.
Soon, as the main attendees, Guild President Elisa and Durin walked over at the same time, the heated atmosphere at the scene suddenly cooled down.
Facing the expectant, questioning, or timid gazes of the crowd, Du Lin simply announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet now. Under the arrangement of Guild President Alyssa, I will distribute the performance script and role scripts of this movie to you and let you audition. Once your roles are confirmed and you have memorized your lines, we will start filming this movie directly!"
Because these people were not regular actors, Du Lin did not intend to give them several days to prepare. His only requirement was that these actors could roughly play themselves with the help of suggestion magic.
Chapter 49: Actors in Place
Chapter 49
Since the DVD version of the magic crystal has not been designed yet, the "Goblin Slayer" shot by Dooling this time is naturally still a live-action movie, so he made cinematic revisions to the plot almost from beginning to end, deleting some plots that did not help the plot and compressed the plot into roughly two hours. Although it is longer than "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World", it also adapts more to the original work. At least this time he compressed a full twelve episodes into this movie.
In order to make the plot barely maintain the length of a movie and maintain the coherence and compactness of the plot, Du Lin also deleted a large number of memories and daily plots. And because this world does not have a complete sewer like the Water City, he also made certain localized adjustments to the plot of the Water City. After all, in order to make a movie, he can't forcibly build a complete underground facility in this world.
All in all, this script was the final version that Du Lin spent a long time revising, and now he was sending this final revised performance script to all the extras present.
The result was beyond doubt. After everyone present took a look at the photocopied script in their hands, they were immediately immersed in the story and couldn't extricate themselves. After all, the reality on the first page, which seemed to be written in blood, made them feel the pores on their backs suddenly shrink, not to mention the continuous stimulation that was adapted by Du Lin in the later part without any respite.
Most of the people present had read the biographical adventurer novels that came from the imperial capital, and were almost tired of seeing the protagonists as powerful adventurers doing all kinds of chivalrous deeds, slaying dragons and demons. Therefore, when they saw such a unique and decisive protagonist, they all turned the pages of the script one by one like they were possessed.
When seeing the last battle, where a large group of goblins appeared around the protagonist's house, the adventurers present clenched their fists, feeling a strong fear of goblins, monsters that are actually very weak in reality.
Because even if you are extremely powerful, what about your family? Even if you become a dragon slayer, how will you feel when you return to the village where you were born and raised and find that the village has been slaughtered by a group of treacherous little devils
The story of Goblin Slayer is rooted in such a viewing experience, which instantly pours a bucket of cold water on the adventurers present who more or less have dreams of achieving great things, but at the same time, they are also glad that they were poured with this bucket of cold water.
"Can I keep this script as a family heirloom? I want my son to be able to see this story, too."
As the first adventurer who had finished reading the script made such a joke, the adventurers present gradually got rid of this ups and downs anti-mainstream story. The adventurer who had just said this also woke up after being reminded by the people around him that "a movie is being filmed here, and you will have to watch this story on the big screen in the future", and felt his face getting hot.
The northern adventurer who had no idea what movies were also came to his senses at this time and formed a certain impression of movies.
Right now, even the adventurers in the North who had little understanding of movies felt their blood boiling at this moment, and were looking forward to the moment when this story could be adapted into the so-called movie.
... ... .
After everyone finished reading the script, Durin began training the actors, or adding buffs, and the results satisfied him. Although these adventurers were all very rough and not good at the slightest changes in facial expressions, with the help of suggestive magic, they were able to quickly get into their roles, or they were able to quickly show their usual selves.
When they completely forgot that they were acting, these adventurers' self-interpretations were even better than the actors' acting skills that Du Lin remembered.
After the character selection was completed, Du Lin also found that the actors for the characters in the movie were almost all chosen, including the elves, dwarves and lizardmen who would join the protagonist team later. Because the North is the place with the largest number and highest quality adventurers, even adventurers of non-human races can be found with the efforts of Guild Master Elisa.
Of course, after a detailed chat, Durin learned that the adventurer who played the elf was not actually an elf but a half-elf with human blood, and the adventurer who played the lizardman was naturally not a real lizardman, but just a sub-human after mutation. After all, the relationship between the Empire and the Orc Kingdom has become increasingly strained in recent years, and its relations with all alien races have not been very good in recent years. Therefore, except for sub-humans with a certain human blood, there are almost no other alien races in the Empire.
The situation of these subhumans is not very good either. Except for the North where strength is supreme, they can hardly survive in other places. This is also the main reason why Lawrence had always asked the orc girl he adopted to stay at home and not run around.
At the same time, when Du Lin announced the role she was going to play to Guild President Elisa, who had always thought she didn't have to perform, a certain guild president suddenly showed a panicked expression and shouted: "Director Du Lin, you want me to play the role of the Sword Saint? But I'm not suitable for it, and I can't act..."
In response to the other party's words, Du Lin just smiled and replied: "Do you think anyone here can act? Anyway, don't think too much. You are the best candidate for the Sword Saint Girl in my mind. No matter your appearance or temperament, you are the best!"
"But... ... ."
As if she didn't know how to explain her resentment about playing the role of the Sword Saint, Alyssa stood there for a long time without being able to utter a word, and Du Lin made the decision directly: "Guild President Alyssa, have you forgotten what you said before that you are willing to do anything to make this movie? If you can't even do something like this, I'm really disappointed in you..."
"No, this... OK... Okay, I'll act, I'll act, okay?"
Although he felt that bullying was not a good thing, when he saw the beautiful guild leader showing such a pitiful expression, Du Lin couldn't help but have a sadistic experience.
Quickly shaking off this bad idea, he turned around and said, "Okay, everyone, next, please remember the roles you are going to play and what you are going to say. I look forward to your wonderful performance."
As Du Lin finished speaking, all the actors, including Saeki who was late because of custom-made armor, patiently read their scripts and gradually got into their roles.
While Durin was getting ready for the filming of Goblin Slayer, the South Territory's KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World had already been aired and had a new impact.
Chapter 50 Promotion of the Southland Film
Chapter 50
Tanzania is a city located at the southernmost tip of the southern border. Although it is called a city, it is actually just like an ordinary small town. Due to its remote geographical location, there are almost no merchants coming and going in this town, and naturally there are no tourists coming and going.
The only road outside of Tanzania leads directly to Northrick, a large city in the south. But even so, people on both sides rarely come and go, because Tanzania is a self-sufficient border town. For the people here, as long as they can barely maintain a life of food and clothing, they are already very happy, and naturally they lack the courage to travel between towns.
As for merchants from other places, they seldom come here because Tanzania is geographically remote and there are no valuable local specialties.
It is also because of this that the residents of Tanzania often cannot keep up with the changes in the world. Even when the royal family of the empire changes, they rely on the descriptions of people who occasionally come into the city, or listen to what the merchants who travel between towns say.
But in this small town, changes that have never happened before have taken place today.
Doyle is an apprentice of a blacksmith in Tanzania. Today, as usual, he was helping the old blacksmith in the blacksmith shop and then rushing home. However, when crossing the street, a lively crowd attracted his attention.
"What's going on? Why is it so lively?"
Seeing a familiar painter's apprentice in the crowd, Doyle quickly walked up to him and asked, "What happened here?"
"Oh, it's Doyle, look, that's the team from Northrick, and there's said to be a magician in it!" The painter's apprentice said with a smile, "I heard they seem to be from some theater troupe. I don't quite understand, but it should be a stage play or something like that. But we don't have any theaters in Tanzania City, where are they going to perform?"
"A stage play?"
Showing a disappointed expression, Doyle glanced at the figure in the center of the crowd, and finally shook his head helplessly.