Chapter 536: Continent Integration’s Trailer

Chapter 536: Continent Integration’s Trailer

Continent Integration.

There were more than a dozen countries playing Athenae, and every country was represented by a continent, just like how the Korean Server was in the Asgan Continent. As such, there were numerous continents in Athenae. In fact, there were even cases where countries had to start in mountainous areas or even under the sea.

With the Continent Integration, Athenae would be connected and united. That was the difference from the other online games. However, would the servers be connected and integrated so suddenly after an update? That was nigh impossible, even for Athenae. After all, the scenarios and episodes that they had created would be destroyed if they proceeded like that. That was also the reason why everyone was already preparing for the Continent Integration at the same time Athenae launched. Right now, the preparations were almost ready, and integration could happen soon.

If that was the case, then what did they need now?

Of course, they needed a spectacular declaration, one that would announce the beginning of Athenae’s second era! This was so the players that had left before this large-scale update would choose to return and play the game again. And Kang Taehoon chose Beyond the Heavens as the vanguard, the frontrunners of this endeavor.

After waiting for a long time, Minhyuk, who had finished washing up, finally came inside the waiting room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, no. It’s my fault for not contacting you in advance.”

This was the first time that President Kang Taehoon had met Minhyuk in person. He could not help but look at the man in awe, especially with his still-wet hair and large, bright, gentle eyes. Yet, those eyes could turn sharp and fierce like that of a beast in an instant. Even the veins of his forearms were bulging, a testament to how much the man had been working out.

After sitting down, Minhyuk said, “Ah, how about having something to drink...”

“I’m good! It’s alright! No! Really, it’s alright!!!”

“...?”

Minhyuk tilted his head in confusion. He was unaware that President Kang Taehoon was just treated to a tomato party just an hour prior.

Meanwhile, Team Leader Park Minggyu smiled softly and said, “You’ve changed a bit.”

“Yes. It’s a relief, really,” Minhyuk answered with a smile while Kang Taehoon looked at the two alternately in confusion.

“Can I tell him?”

Only after seeing Minhyuk nod did Park Minggyu open his mouth and said, “Back then, you can’t even drink a cup of tea in this place. Even though I lived here for two weeks, I didn’t even drink a cup of basic tea like chamomile or something like that.”

“Don’t tell me the reason is...”

Kang Taehoon whipped his head to look at Park Minggyu in shock. It was Minhyuk who answered.

“That’s right. I can’t stop myself even if it’s just those simple teas. If it was back then, then I would either have probably grabbed the tea in the president’s hands, or sat here sweating in anxiety.”

“Hoo...”

Kang Taehoon looked at Minhyuk in surprise.

‘Are you telling me that it’s a disease where you can’t even drink a cup of tea? Is eating addiction something that terrible?’

Originally, people would never know the pain others were experiencing because they either have not seen it or experienced it themselves. Kang Taehoon wondered, ‘What if I was in his place?’. Just the thought alone made him gulp dryly.

‘He must have felt hopeless every single day.’

But Minhyuk overcame this disease and stood up with his own efforts. He was a living miracle in the medical world.

‘He’s a man that has overcome such a terrible disease with his mental power alone. He’s really amazing.’

Minhyuk looked at Kang Taehoon, who could see from the look in Minhyuk’s eyes that he wanted them to get straight to the point. So, he said, “Exactly forty days from now, on August 22, all of the servers in Athenae will be integrated.”

“So the integration is finally happening.”

Minhyuk could only groan lightly after hearing Kang Taehoon’s words. Server integration meant that they would have a new opportunity to explore a new world and meet other strong people. There were definitely strong people that were on par, or perhaps even stronger than Minhyuk in Athenae. They were just working silently and hiding their existences. This fact was enough to bring both nervousness and excitement in Minhyuk.

“And so, we want the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to be the main focus in the upcoming trailer.”

“...”

Minhyuk found Kang Taehoon’s words to be shocking. The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would become the main focus for the server integration? This meant that they wanted them to become the representative of countless players in the world and appear in their advertisements. This was something that anyone would jump at.

However, Minhyuk’s expression did not even change or shake. He only asked calmly, “What are the conditions?”

If the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would become the main focus of their advertisements, then many people from their kingdom would appear in these said advertisements. Of course, this trailer would be shown in every country where an Athenae Server existed.

“Payment for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will be...”

“However, if we can’t meet the average expected revenue, then we will only give you twelve billion.”

Twelve billion was obviously a loss for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. After all, they were people that could easily generate twenty billion if they set the same time to film for their own advertisements. But, the bet was worth it. After all, receiving a % of the total revenue everytime they exceeded a certain section of the average expected revenue. This meant that they could very well receive two hundred, or perhaps even three hundred billion.

Then, Minhyuk said, “If that’s the case, then I’ll add yet another condition of my own. We will review the scenario that will be presented in the advertisement. If we find the scenario off, allow us to modify it. You have to accept it unconditionally if we can present a far better scenario than yours.”

In an advertisement, there were a lot of important things. Both the cast and the production were equally important. There were times when talented actors would be gathered together in a cast but when the audience had watched the movie they would find it boring and say, ‘Ah, they used good ingredients but made a shit soup.’

President Kang Taehoon thought, ‘If they can exceed and go above our expected average revenue with their revised scenario, then not only will Beyond the Heavens benefit, even we will benefit.’

In other words, it was a win-win situation.

“Alright. I agree. Let’s write a new contract here.”

President Kang Taehoon wrote a new contract then and there.

“Please sign over here.”

Minhyuk was the king of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. That might not be the case in reality but all of the guild members have given Minhyuk full authority with regard to the contracts and deals that the Beyond the Heavens would receive in reality. This went to show how much they trusted Minhyuk and his judgment. Minhyuk signed his name.

Then, the two immediately stood up and shook hands.

“To a good cooperation.”

“To a good cooperation.”

The contract has been signed and sealed.

***

President Kang Taehoon, who was riding in their car on their way back, could not help but burst into laughter every few minutes.

“Can the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom even exceed the expected average revenue?”

“They might be able to exceed it. But I don’t expect them to exceed several of the sections that we will determine. At most they could take 1% of the total revenue. But even that’s a huge amount.”

Team Leader Park Minggyu also agreed with his words.

“Don’t you know it well too?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“There are many people that play Athenae, but in the end there will always be a limit.”

That was right. Athenae might be a game that a lot of people enjoy but there were still a lot of people that did not even want to start playing it. The reason? It was because there were people that were not interested in the game or did not like to play games in the first place. No matter what the team did, they could not change these peoples’ minds. In the end, the number of players that the game and the advertisement could attract would still reach a limit.

Of course, that number was already going to be great for someone that would become the main focus and attraction of an Athenae advertisement.

“Do you think the scenario will be edited?”

“Well, I’m not too sure. But what I do know is that we’ve hired the best screenplay team in our country for this advertisement. Although I wish that we could have left it all to John, that nameless screenwriter that’s popular in Hollywood right now. Unfortunately, he outright rejected my proposal.”

“Screenwriter John? Ah, I also like his movies. I’m actually looking forward to his movie ‘Heroes: The Final War’ that’s going to be released this year.”

“That writer is a genius.”

Screenwriter John was actually an unnamed writer and was only given the name ‘John’ because none of them knew his name, age, or even nationality. There was only one thing that was revealed about him. It was the fact that he was an ‘Asian’. The Hero movie franchise that he released every year in Hollywood had always been a big hit.

As the two rode the car back to their office, they excitedly talked about the Hero movie franchise that Screenwriter John had written.

Meanwhile on the rooftop of Mount Fuji Hospital in Japan, a man was busily tapping away on his laptop. Written on the very top of the man’s document that was opened on his laptop were the words: ‘Heroes: The Returning Hero’. On one side of the man’s screen was a picture showing a boy receiving a baseball glove and ball from a handsome young man in a suit. The man could not help but stop typing for a moment and stare at the picture, a smile blooming on his face.

Then, the man’s phone rang. The name flashing on his phone made the man’s face glow bright.

“Minhyuk, what’s the matter?”

A bright smile bloomed on the man’s face. He looked like he was very happy that he was able to talk with the caller. And over the phone, a voice, Minhyuk’s voice, rang.

[Yuuta’s Dad, can you spare some time to review a scenario for me?]

Minhyuk asked Yuuta’s father, who answered without any hesitation, “As long as it’s for Minhyuk, then I’m always free.”