Chapter 440 - Eccentric Genius

"Don’t get too excited just yet; there’s one core issue with this plan," Gaven cautioned to cool off the fervent Regina, "and that is whether the Fear Points generated by these horror shorts will be absorbed by the manor."Regina nodded involuntarily, "This is indeed a problem. After all, the generation of Fear Points is related to the manor’s Special Ability. Speaking of Special Ability, the last time you changed the plan at the last minute, was it because the manor’s Special Ability kicked in?

Does this imply that the Special Ability wasn’t unearthed on its own but was a reward we received in recognition of our efforts?"

"The manor’s Special Ability activated because a large number of people entered and were scared into generating a significant amount of Fear Points.

My Special Ability as the Creator of the Sounds of Fear also emerged after I created the Sounds of Fear and affected enough people.

"Can we infer from this that if we successfully create horror shorts that affect enough people, it will stimulate the manor to unlock new Special Abilities, and our current problem will be resolved?"

Impressed, Gaven replied, "I thought I was forward-thinking and daring, but Miss Regina’s ideas are bolder and more visionary. Indeed, this is not only possible but also highly likely and worth a try.

Even if we can’t unlock a Special Ability to collect Fear Points, this is still a great entertainment venture. We could sell it to merchants or bard groups, allowing them to earn money by showing the shorts.

Eventually, we won’t just be making horror shorts; we could also create corresponding love stories, popular operas, adventure stories, and more. We wouldn’t even need professional actors—we could collect different individuals’ memory images, blend them together, and edit them into a complete story."

"That makes sense. Speaking of adventure stories, we have a ready-made one," said Regina, her eyes gleaming with inspiration sparked by Gaven. Her slender hands danced rapidly across the strings, projecting fragments of the Red Dragon’s memory on a screen of dark mist, and soon, the memories were being cast.

The displayed memories caught Gaven by surprise.

For his own image appeared on the screen, replaying the entire process of him slaying the Red Dragon.

However, the perspective was that of the Red Dragon.

As intelligent as he was, Gaven instantly grasped what Regina intended to do, "Do you want to use this method of projection to show how the Sambiyan merchants despicably colluded with the Red Dragon to invade Battle Valley and the Three Rivers Region?"

"Exactly," said an enthusiastic Regina, "In this matter, we hold an absolute advantage. We have the memory projection belonging to the Red Dragon’s corpse. For those captured, we select a few representative ones and have them help create memory projections from their perspectives. Add yours and Miss Luna’s, and blend everything together, and it’s a perfect story.

It would not only expose the Sambiyan merchants’ villainy but also resonate with the Valley People’s feelings, uniting them in common enmity. Moreover, it would showcase your remarkable bravery and attract more lieges for you. Having a Dragon-Slayer Guardian ensures absolute security for your territory."

Truly worthy of being Battle Valley’s princess.

Regina thought not only of the artistic nature of this cross-era innovation but also saw an opportunity to explore its propaganda and public opinion guidance potential.

Gaven’s experience on Earth taught him that entertainment is not always just for fun.

Especially such highly narrative content can also be used to instill one’s universal values and promote oneself.

Particularly the latter was very useful for him.

"Your idea is excellent, and I will support you with all my efforts. I will comply with your arrangement for resource and personnel allocation," Gaven, seeing the clear benefits for himself, how could he object? He offered his full support, "But I have a few suggestions and requests."

"Please speak, Duke," Regina not only adopted a serious posture for listening but even took out a notebook and a pen, ready to take notes.

Not just her, Daphne and Estelle were doing the same. Since Gaven and Regina had entered, they had been taking notes.

The content the two discussed involved an immense amount of information and such far-fetched ideas that their thoughts could hardly keep up.

They understood every word spoken by the others, but when put together, it rendered them almost incapable of comprehension. The best method was to write it down on paper, to mull over it at leisure, and to gain a lot later on.

Seeing Regina’s demeanor, Gaven couldn’t help but tease, "Why have you all been influenced by Daphne? Is such a full-scale mobilization necessary?"

Regina replied seriously, "The opinions expressed by Duke Gaven usually catch people off guard and carry high value and profound meanings, worthy of being recorded for careful contemplation. Memories might be eroded and altered by one’s own thoughts, but pen and paper will not."

"You see, even the cleverest Mages don’t rely solely on memory to recall spells, but rather keep a substantial number of spellbooks to prevent memory lapses.

And my own thought process often leaps too far, with some ideas being fleeting inspirations. This method is excellent; it can help me record them and reflect on them when I have time."

"After your words, I’m somewhat tempted myself. When I have time, I’ll have to find myself a spellbook," commented Gaven, finding the logic persuasive.

With increased Intelligence, he felt his mind becoming sharper, yet still insufficient. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt

There was just too much to remember.

Spells of level one to three were manageable with some effort relying on memory alone, but those of level four and above involved complex intricacies beyond mere mental recall.

Especially since casting spells was a matter of great seriousness—an error could prove fatally catastrophic.

This also explained why others found it difficult to associate him with Spellcasters.

He lacked a magic wand, a spell staff, and even a mage’s book; instead, his gear was complete with knight’s armor and warrior’s shields.

Every aspect pointed to him being a warrior, not a mage.

Of course, this was related to the lesser power of his spells in the early stages. Before his caster level reached the Transcendent, he guessed he’d have to rely on his "Death Roar" to conquer.

Why bother with magic when a spear could get the job done?

"Duke, we can start now," Regina interrupted Gaven’s wandering thoughts.

"Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts for a moment," Gaven apologized with a smile.

Regina looked understanding, "It’s normal, I often feel the same way."

"Firstly, these memory projections shouldn’t just be cobbled together. They need to be edited to tell a story. Different projections can interleave with each other, and I need you to remove or blur some sensitive information," Gaven’s idea was not to showcase his power and trump cards to the world, but to use it for propaganda, to enhance his own image, and to promote his reputation.

It was not about declaring his abilities to the world.

"Your suggestion is very good and reasonable, Duke. Which parts require special handling, I will pay particular attention to them. I will do my best to adjust them without affecting the overall coherence of the story," Regina was very judicious in this matter. She was neither a political novice, an art above-all zealot, nor a dyed-in-the-wool idealist. Instead, she was a staunch pragmatist.

Serving herself and her allies was her priority, and only then would she consider the rest.

By alignment, this was the standard behavior pattern of chaotic good.

"Don’t let the Bipedal Dragon’s figure appear. We can find a way to replace it with another aquatic creature. I believe this should not be difficult for Miss Regina. You can use memory alteration magic to artificially replicate the scene and shape the memories," Shanoba was the first one Gaven needed to remove.

If she appeared in the memory projection, it would be tantamount to announcing his connection with her to the world, potentially leading people to track down their relationship.

"Just wait a moment!" Regina, who was also eager to begin, concentrated and, with a thoughtful look, started plucking the strings of her instrument.

However, this time, the sound she played was not the ghastly music of terror but an inspiring war song.

After just a few minutes, a new image appeared on the dark mist screen.

It was still from the red dragon’s viewpoint, but the Bipedal Dragon had turned into a Dragon Turtle, and what it spewed was not Strong Acid Breath but steam breath.

Even after having just seen the original version, they couldn’t discern any real difference between truth and falsehood.

But that wasn’t all.

Soon another new image followed, depicting a furiously angry Dragon Turtle in a titanic battle with a red dragon on the lake’s surface. The clash, though short, turned rivers over seas and was a spectacular sight—this was clearly the same Dragon Turtle from the first image.

The third image followed closely after that, showing only two simple dives. With each dive, the red dragon swallowed a small Dragon Turtle while an enraged mother Dragon Turtle approached, breaking through the water’s surface.

"Brilliant, simply brilliant! Not only have you achieved a perfect substitution, but you’ve also added narrative value. It’s a perfect revenge story," Gaven heaped unabashed praise on Regina. This person was a genius, no, a prodigy.

Full of ideas and capability.

Now, even Gaven, the person involved, was full of anticipation for Felen’s first major film.

Gaven could guarantee that once the first blockbuster was made, Regina would inevitably awaken to new special abilities and, if the impact was broad enough, could even rise to become a Legendary Bard at rocket speed.

"Don’t rush to praise me yet," Regina chuckled, "This segment of memory projection isn’t crafted by me. It’s from the red dragon’s own past experiences, events that truly happened. It just didn’t take place in Yewen Pond but at Lake Seber in Deep Forest Valley. Once we blend them together, nobody will notice the difference."

"So that’s how it is. I was under the impression that a fabricated memory projection could be indistinguishable from reality. If that were the case, memory projections would no longer be reliable evidence going forward," Gaven breathed a sigh of relief, having been genuinely startled by the first memory projection.

If memory alteration reached that level, caution would be warranted for such spells in the future.

"Memory projections should never be wholly considered as evidence," Regina seriously stated, "Even a person’s memories can be tampered with and faked. How could magic projections be entirely true? Especially those of Quasi-Legendary or Legendary Bards, who have even stronger abilities in this area.

Of course, for common commercial use or information of less value, attracting no attention from the powerful is not an issue.

But if it pertains to more high-end matters, I advise you to handle it with care."

"Understood," Gaven realized it was indeed the case.

Once high-level professionals, especially those beyond Legendary status, were involved, it was an entirely different world.

A magic projection couldn’t possibly trouble those legendary spellcasters with myriad tricks up their sleeves.

In the end, it all depended on whether it was worth their while to interfere. They wouldn’t bother with mundane details like local pricing information in a projection, but if it involved a war that could affect the fate of a nation or the world, that would be a different story.