…..
[Five Days Later]
[December 10, 2010]
…..
The music orchestra sessions had wrapped up just yesterday, marking the completion of all the significant tracks and even a few different versions.
And starting tomorrow, the filming of the last schedule would begin - a long stretch of seventeen continuous days.
But today…
Regal was in his house -
And the long table in the corner of his room was drowned in chaos.
Papers scattered haphazardly, some overlapping, others half-crumpled, while a few barely clung to the edge, threatening to slip off with the slightest nudge.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than creative disorder. But upon closer inspection, it was anything but.
To say Regal's [Drawing] skill had improved would be a massive understatement. Since upgrading it to [Expert] level using the EP he earned during the shoot, he had essentially become a professional artist.
Currently, his skill panel looked like this.
….
•-----[SKILL SLOTS]-----•
» [Slot-1:] Director (Rank – World-Class) [In-active]
» [Slot-2:] Writer (Rank – World-Class) [In-active]
» [Slot-3:] Drawing (Rank – Expert)
» [Slot-4:] Cinematographer (Rank – Intermediate)
Ⓘ [Unique Skill:] Insight
Ⓘ [Unique Skill:] Polyglottery
….
Meanwhile, during this time, his second novel, [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], had completed its serialization on September 17 with 552 chapters.
It had already been around 84 days since the end.
….
•-------[NOTIFICATIONS]-------•
Ⓘ [Solo Leveling] –> [Completed(✓)]
….
Ⓘ [Following:] –> [Completed(✓)]
….
Ⓘ [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint:] –> [Completed(✓)]
….
Ⓘ [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:] Book
–> [Collect Accumulated Rewards:] [Y/N]
([┘]- 43 days of Accumulated Rewards)
….
•---------------------------•
Currently, he had around 1.7 million EP sitting idly in his pocket, waiting to be spent.
But right now, his focus was elsewhere…
Sleeping, or at least trying to.
Yep.
While the papers scattered across the table were being carefully inspected, it wasn't Regal doing the examining.
It was Gwendolyn and Maggie.
Meanwhile, the so-called creative genius himself was sprawled out on the sofa in his house, utterly motionless, lost to the world in a deep, undisturbed slumber.
If one hadn't noticed it yet, the current location wasn't actually Everleaf's office.
It was Regal's house.
The two women had stopped by at his request, though the situation was slightly less formal than that.
In truth, Maggie had simply ended up as the extra person who tagged along with Gwendolyn today.
Coming back to the papers that were scattered on the table, though each one had a different image on them, at the heart of every piece stood a single figure: a young man, wiry yet strikingly sculpted, his black hair framing a face carved with quiet determination.
And in every one of them, a singular figure stood at the center.
A young man, lean yet impossibly defined, his black hair framing a sharp, resolute expression.
But it was one particular image that caught Gwendolyn's eye.
A dark horde loomed behind him.
Beasts of all kinds, goblins, wraiths, even a dragon twisting through the skies above, each drawn with a haunting level of realism. Their forms, wreathed in shadow, exuded an eerie presence that sent an involuntary chill down her spine.
Yet, it didn't end there.
Gwendolyn pushed aside a partially covering sheet, revealing the full breadth of the illustration.
And then, she saw it.
Beyond the lone figure, stretching endlessly into the horizon, stood an army.
The very same shadowed creatures, an ocean of darkness, standing in disciplined ranks.
Not as adversaries, but as followers - subjects awaiting their command.
At the center of it all, the young man stood, unfazed, his posture relaxed yet unmistakably dominant. One dagger rested casually against his left shoulder, while the other was raised, pointing forward, toward an unseen enemy, toward inevitable destruction.
There was no mistaking the intent behind the image.
This wasn't just a warrior.
He was a ruler.
He was a sovereign.
A king cloaked in shadow.
….
Regal sprawled across the sofa, a study in weary nonchalance. His legs stretched long, one ankle hooked over the other, his head propped on a pillow too askew to be intentional.
A hand pressed against his temple, as if that could fend off the exhaustion etched into the hollows beneath his eyes.
He looked spent - beyond the reach of sleep alone.
Gwendolyn and Maggie sifted through the sketches in silence, their hands methodical as they tamed the mess into a tidy pile.
Their faces betrayed a shared wonder, tinged with a question neither dared voice - until Maggie broke the silence.
"I still can't wrap my head around LIE120 and Regal being the same person." She muttered, shaking her head as she scooped up the last page.
"And seriously - when did you find the time to draw and write all this?" Her eyes darted from the vibrant illustrations to the man, who seemed one breath from collapse.
Regal shrugged, unmoved. "Whenever I had a spare moment."
Maggie blinked, waiting for more.
Regal is acting like 'spare moments' are a thing he has? Between prepping, directing, production deadlines, and whatever else he is buried under, where would one carve out time for this?
In the end, when no response came, she huffed and let it drop.
"Let's just admit it - my junior is absurd." Gwendolyn said, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Maggie shot her a dry look. "Oh, come off it."
Of course she didn't believe her words - Because for a fact, Maggie knows that if there is a person that is more worried about the state Regal currently is in, it would be Gwendolyn.
Right. It had been a few months since the cat was out of the bag. She is well aware of them dating, unlike the rumors of confusion.
On the other hand, Regal shifted, arms stretching behind his head with the ease of someone used to dodging awe.
How could they not marvel?
The proof sat before them: a half completed manuscript of Regal's third web novel, [Lord of the Mysteries], boasting a staggering 800+ chapters, ready to be published at a moment's notice.
To put that into perspective, his previous two works, [Solo Leveling] and [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], had a combined total of 822 chapters.
Yet even with 800+ chapters that Regal is submitting now, the story [Lord of the Mysteries] was only halfway done.
According to Regal, there were another 700 chapters to go. To be precise, the entire novel was planned to conclude at 1,432 chapters.
It was staggering.
For most authors, just finishing a novel was a monumental feat. Many didn't even have a clear ending in mind, let alone the exact number of chapters they would need to reach it.
But Regal? He had mapped out the entire thing down to the last chapter.
Maggie and Gwendolyn had studied in this industry for years, yet neither of them had ever seen anything like this.
Especially Maggie.
If this had been his only focus, perhaps it would have made some sense. But it wasn't. Regal was also overseeing a movie as both director and producer, a workload that was already enough to consume a person's entire schedule.
It wasn't just about finding the time to write, it was about the mental capacity to juggle all of it.
Returning back to the discussion, Regal glanced at Maggie, then at Gwendolyn. Finally, he sighed. "Late nights. Early mornings. Whenever my brain refused to shut off."
Maggie folded her arms, unimpressed. "Right. And let me guess, you also managed to fit in meals, socializing, and–"
She didn't get to finish.
"Maggie… I want tea." - the request came out of nowhere, completely off-topic, but Gwendolyn didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Maggie blinked at her.
Then at Regal.
Then back at Gwendolyn, who looked entirely serious.
For a second, it seemed like she wanted to protest, but ultimately, she just sighed. "…Fine. I will go get it."
Just as Maggie was about to leave, Regal's voice stopped her. "Maggie, did you try to contact that guy yet? Gregor."
She turned slightly, her hand still on the door handle. She asked. "The one from WB Fiction?"
"Yep." Regal confirmed.
Maggie shook her head lightly. "We did offer him the deal you mentioned, but there has been no response from him yet."
Regal didn't seem the least bit concerned. "Okay… don't worry. The dude will show up eventually… the deal is not something he can resist."
His confidence caught Maggie slightly off guard. She had personally reviewed the contract details, they were decent, sure, but nothing grand or irresistible.
In fact, from her perspective, if Gregor did accept the offer, it would be more of a loss on his end. Switching companies meant he would be leaving behind everything he had built over the years.
No matter how skilled he was, moving to a new firm meant starting over from scratch, his contributions wouldn't carry over.
But Regal seemed absolutely sure of the outcome.
She glanced at him briefly but decided not to dwell on it.
With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
The moment the door shut behind her, Gwendolyn rose from her seat. She padded toward the door and cracked it open just enough to poke her head out.
Her gaze flicked left, then right, scanning the hall to make sure Maggie was actually gone.
Satisfied, she started to turn back—
Only for a pair of hands to slide around her waist.
Her breath hitched.
"…You are being unusually cautious." Regal's voice was low, almost amused, right by her ear.
While Regal's arms were still on her waist, Gwendolyn turned around rotating, while she herself rested her arms on his two shoulders.
She didn't startle. Instead, she turned in his hold, her hands finding their place on his shoulders as she met his gaze.
For a moment, neither spoke. She simply studied him, as if searching for something in the quiet between them. Then, her lips parted, her voice measured.
"As an author… how would your female lead express her concern for her boyfriend's well-being without seeming overbearing or clingy, Mr. LIE120?"
Regal arched a brow at that, a flicker of recognition crossing his face.
He knew exactly what she was asking.
A question disguised as something hypothetical.
A writer's trick.
One he was all too familiar with.
Instead of answering immediately, he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough to make it feel like they were in their own little world.
"That depends." He murmured, his fingers resting lightly against her waist. "Is she the type to dance around the subject? Or would she just say what's on her mind?"
Gwendolyn exhaled softly, tilting her head. "She's… careful. She doesn't want to nag, but she knows something isn't right."
Regal hummed, his thumb absently tracing small circles against her side. "Then she should be direct. Subtlety has its place, but if she's truly worried, she should say so. No games, no sidestepping."
She studied him for a moment longer before speaking. "And if she knows he's the type to brush it off? To act like he's fine, even when he's not?"
Regal exhaled, shaking his head. "Then she stops trying to be subtle."
Her fingers curled slightly against his shoulders, her grip tightening just a fraction. "So you do understand."
"I always have." His voice softened, losing its teasing edge. "I just never wanted you to feel like you had to worry."
Gwendolyn took a brief pause before speaking again. "To be honest… this entire time, I had no clue what you were really thinking."
Her voice was steady, but there was a softness to it. "Without knowing anything, I just admired your passion for cinema."
She glanced at him, her eyes holding a quiet sincerity. "Back then… I was so caught up with my own life. Before you walked into it, I didn't really know what I was doing. I was just going with the flow, moving forward without any real direction."
Her lips pressed together for a moment, as if sorting through her thoughts, then she continued.
"But when I first met you… I didn't understand why you were so determined. Why did you push yourself so hard? Why did you refuse to stop?"
She exhaled lightly, her gaze steady. "But now I get it."
Her voice was firmer now, resolute. "I may not have started this path out of passion like you did… but I will catch up. I will make this my passion too."
She took a small step closer, her eyes unwavering. "So, don't wait for me."
Her voice lowered slightly, but it was filled with conviction. "I will be right behind you, every step of the way. Support you from here. Do you get it now? Share your responsibilities with me… I am on your side."
One statement.
Just one.
But to Regal, it meant everything.
"Gwen…" He murmured, her name barely escaping his lips.
In that moment, he realized her resolution, and he could tell that no matter the trials or hardships, she would likely put herself to her limit - however they wouldn't be facing them alone.
It was no longer just him.
It was them.
Together.
Thanks to her, he can now smile genuinely.
.
….
[To be continued…]
[Author(Me) : Sorry for the delay upload. Something personal came up.
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