Chapter 63: The Invitation from the Mage Tower
The movie unexpectedly ended with a collective tribute from all the lead actors and crew, a surprise none of the premiere attendees had anticipated. However, upon witnessing this final segment of the premiere, the only sentiment among the audience was that their attendance hadn't been in vain.
Because clearly, such a special segment was a unique treat for the premiere, and there wouldn't be such a privilege once the movie officially premiered. After all, the actors and directors weren't obligated to be present at the cinema all the time.
Due to the unique identities of the Headless Knight and Wiz, they weren't invited on stage this time. However, both of them didn't seem to mind.
With the closing ceremony concluded and the entire Goblin Slayer crew leaving the stage, most of the audience had already prepared to leave. Even if the movie was exceptionally good, they still had to abide by the rules and vacate their seats after it ended.
General Wilhelm and Knight Commander Wilcliff were no exception. Although Ryne seemed interested in staying behind to learn more about the filming crew, the two military men understood their priorities. Their main purpose in the South was to discuss matters regarding the Orc Kingdom to the west with the Duke of the Southern Region.
"Are we just leaving like this? Don't you want to watch another movie?" Ryne asked with a hint of regret.
General Wilhelm chuckled and replied, "Let's come back after we've finished discussing matters with the Duke of the Southern Region. Matters of importance take precedence. We've already enjoyed such groundbreaking performances this time."
Similarly, Knight Commander Wilcliff added loudly, "The general is right. Don't be impudent, boy. Even if this movie turned out more interesting than I expected, it's still just entertainment in our leisure time. We have important matters to attend to now!"
"Understood..."
Seeing the two elders speak in such a manner, Ryne could only sigh and say, "I still wanted to meet that Goblin Slayer. Although my impression of him was poor at first, I never expected a goblin-killing adventurer to be so handsome!"
"Haha, you're inexperienced, Ryne. Most adventurers from the North are like that, meticulous in every task, ensuring they and their companions never face danger. But even I find this Goblin Slayer somewhat inscrutable. If possible, I'd like to recruit him under my command. Such talent is truly rare, especially with a potential war looming between us and the Orc Kingdom."
"Speaking of the director's name on the cast list, did any of you find it familiar? Durin Edward. I feel like I've heard it somewhere..."
At General Wilhelm's puzzled expression, both Ryne and Knight Commander Wilcliff simultaneously showed signs of confusion. Clearly, neither of them knew the identity of the director behind the film. After pondering for a while, General Wilhelm couldn't recall where he had heard that name before, so he shook his head in resignation and dropped the topic.
Soon, they navigated through the crowd of eager moviegoers, discussing the plot of "Goblin Slayer" as they headed towards the designated teleportation station.
Likewise, many of the premiere attendees, in a similar state of curiosity, lingered around, inadvertently divulging snippets of the movie's plot. Thus, even without deliberate promotion from the cinema, news of the new movie "Goblin Slayer" spread rapidly throughout Norsrick. Especially when Durin announced that the official release would commence the next day, with ticket prices remaining at just five copper coins each.
...
The premiere of "Goblin Slayer" was a resounding success, a fact even Durin, watching from behind the scenes, could sense. After accomplishing his short-term goal, he suddenly found himself with some free time.
The promotional efforts for the movie were being overseen by Banil, who was gearing up to expand the Norsrick Cinema to the North. However, due to the significant cultural differences between the North and the South, he decided against rushing into the cinema's design and instead planned to conduct an on-site inspection first.
As for the Adventurer's Guild, the two guild leaders had already begun their urgent work. Influenced by Durin, the previously independent Southern and Northern Adventurer's Guilds had joined forces to work towards improving the Adventurer's Guild for the better.
So, upon realizing that he suddenly had nothing to do after the movie's filming was completed, Durin felt an unusual sense of emptiness. It was this emptiness that made him understand the need to prioritize the filming of his new movie.
Of course, "Goblin Slayer" had just begun its journey, and there was still plenty of time for it to spread. Durin had ample time to slowly prepare for his next project.
Therefore, in this situation, with the rare opportunity to relax, Durin could finally shift his focus to another thing he had been wanting to do for some time.
Edward Castle.
As the teleportation portal shimmered with light, Durin's figure slowly materialized outside the castle gates. Upon returning to the castle, a maid whom he hadn't seen in a while dashed over with an excited expression. "Lord Edward, you're finally back!"
Seeing Winry's eager expression, Durin smiled and gently patted her head. Then, he realized that he seemed to have forgotten to design a teleportation channel between the Edward family and Norsrick. However, due to the enormous magical power required for the teleportation portal to function, it was impossible to use it without someone like Durin, a high-level Grand Magician, serving as a human power bank. No, a human magic power bank.
Of course, this issue wasn't unique to teleportation magic. The failure of Durin's previous plan to sell imaging crystals separately was largely due to the fact that ordinary people simply didn't have the magical power to drive them.
This inability for the convenience of magic to be equally accessible to everyone was a critical issue in many aspects, including the creation of magical alchemical items, which required magicians to channel magical energy to use them.
This disparity greatly stifled the development of magic in this world. After all, technologies that relied on the efforts of a small number of people and couldn't be applied widely in the market would often stagnate.
Durin wanted to change this situation. However, he alone was clearly insufficient. Even though devices like the magical camcorder and imaging crystals indirectly allowed ordinary people to enjoy the benefits of magic, these items were still essentially privileges for magicians because they couldn't be operated without magical power.
The past Durin, along with all the alchemists in this world, had made little progress in enabling ordinary people to harness magic as an energy source. This lack of progress directly contributed to the decline, or rather the stagnation, of magical alchemy studies.
However, Durin believed that his inventions, the magical camcorder and imaging crystals, were not futile. Unlike previous alchemical creations that were mostly rejected, these two inventions had a crucial difference: they could achieve feats beyond the capabilities of even magicians themselves.
This conviction fueled Durin's belief that his technology could revolutionize the world by addressing a fundamental issue—the marginalized status of alchemy within the mainstream magic community.
Lost in these contemplations, Durin had barely settled back into his castle when a surge of magic emanated from outside, startling him. Rushing to the door, he found Roy, Duke Victor's chief magician, standing respectfully.
Without hesitation, Roy handed Durin a letter from Dean Hohenheim, saying, "Baron Edward, this is something Dean Hohenheim entrusted me to deliver to you."
Curious, Durin opened the letter to find only a piece of paper inside. Yet, its significance, not just to him but to all Imperial magicians, was evident—it was an invitation to the Mage Tower's highest academic conference.
This conference held a status in the magical world equivalent to that of the Nobel Prize in another world, if not higher. In this world, almost every Mage Tower's highest academic conference had a profound impact on the field of magic.