Chapter 11. Producing the short film Fate/stay night – Holy Grail War!
"Observer Net… sounds pretty impressive."
Raku Sou gently rubbed his chin with his thumb, frowning slightly, his gaze filled with some satisfaction.
The website was still empty, with ivory white as the main color tone. Even though there was no content yet, all the important features were already in place: live comments, sharing, donations, likes...
If it were in 2012, these would be groundbreaking ideas that would certainly leave a strong impression.
For an ordinary person, simply using this website could lead to the establishment of a publicly listed company.
But for Raku Sou right now, nothing was more important than earning Divine Authority Jade.
"Void, materialize NZT-48 with double potency!"
The young man fixed his gaze on the screen and spoke calmly.
On the left side of his vision, silver ripples began to spread out, suddenly separating, revealing a blue NZT-48 pill the size of a thumb.
Divine Authority Jade consumed: 21.36.
Without hesitation, he calmly swallowed the NZT-48 pill with double the potency.
The pill dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth, and a cool sensation spread through his mouth.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The air around him vibrated with thunderous sounds, causing even the ebony furniture to gently tremble.
The young man's heartbeat raced uncontrollably, like a "King Engine," filled with a deadly, oppressive sensation. The soundwaves alone could affect reality.
His circulatory system accelerated drastically, blood rushing through his veins like a torrent.
At the same time, his spirit became extremely excited, his thoughts speeding up a thousandfold.
In that moment, Raku Sou completed his transformation from human to god, though it was only a temporary experience.
His mind became incredibly sharp, and he knew exactly what he needed to do next.
The young man, dressed in a white feathered robe that shimmered like moonlight, spoke calmly into the void:
"Void, use the 'Phantasm Manifestation' function to materialize the story in my mind into a video that can be uploaded online."
"Bzzzt~ (Understood)."
As the silver ripples began to fluctuate, Raku Sou gently closed his eyes and sank into his thoughts.
Now, with the Divine Authority Jade in his possession, he could easily create a fantastical film of excellent quality.
But creating a film that would feel as real as facing a living, breathing world was far more difficult.
It seemed like Land of Steel could achieve that effect, but in reality, it couldn't.
No matter how beautiful the illustrations were, no matter how immersive and realistic the prose felt…
At the end of the day, a novel was still just a novel. In terms of realism, it fell far short of anime and movies.
In his previous life, works like Dragon Ball, Spider-Man, and Harry Potter were famous worldwide, and the merchandise sales alone generated enormous economic empires.
All of this happened for one reason only—humans are visual creatures.
An old proverb has been passed down through the ages: "Hearing is fake, seeing is believing."
Many times, people only trust what they see. No matter how beautifully someone describes something, they still maintain a skeptical attitude.
And Raku Sou's goal…
Was to create a "film" with a level of realism down to the smallest detail, like a documentary, and then upload it to Observer Net.
Then, he would use various methods to attract viewers from around the world.
As long as he could gather a few billion followers, even if only one percent believed...
He would have achieved his goal!
By then, creating the "giant celestial screen that covers the planet" would no longer be an issue.
He had considered many stories, such as the anime Parasyte, which was very popular in his previous life.
It not only had a modern setting, making it easy for viewers to relate to, but also contained deep philosophical thoughts that made people continue to reflect even after the story had ended.
However, in the end, there were two reasons why Raku Sou had to abandon this option.
First, the amount of Divine Authority Jade was too scarce. With his current budget, he could only create a "realistic film" lasting about two minutes, which was far from enough to fully tell a story.
It seemed like he could only produce a short PV (promotional video).
Second, and most importantly...
After Land of Steel began to gain some fame, Raku Sou was amazed to discover something—
It seemed that materializing anything related to Land of Steel became much easier…
For example, if he wanted to materialize one of the Angels from Hundred Kinds of A-Ray, it originally required more than a thousand Divine Authority Jade.
But as more and more people became aware of it, the amount of Divine Authority Jade needed to materialize an Angel Kind dropped by at least 10 Jade!
Although the consumption only decreased by 1%, don't forget that Land of Steel had only been spread for a day.
As its fame grew, the amount of Divine Authority Jade required to materialize an Angel Kind would decrease further.
It could eventually reduce by up to 99% of the consumption.
By then, just 10 Divine Authority Jade would be enough to create a powerful and reliable guardian.
Therefore, he had to carefully consider the story he was creating, because it would affect his future development.
If he made a film about Parasyte that made all of humanity believe in it, but there was nothing worthwhile to materialize throughout the film…
It would be a farce.
When making a film, he had to play the main character, or at least be a very powerful supporting character.
Once the video became popular, the amount of Divine Authority Jade he needed to enhance himself would be significantly reduced.
Considering all the pros and cons, Raku Sou decided to continue with "Dried" Nasu Kinoko.
He would use Fate/stay night as the base and create a live-action film adaptation in his own style.
This work was also called Holy Grail War.
The Holy Grail was a legendary artifact that could materialize any wish of its possessor.
The ritual to obtain the Holy Grail was called the Holy Grail War.
The reason he chose this work, aside from its interesting storyline, was also related to Land of Steel.
Both were works of Nasu Kinoko.
Moreover, Zelretch, a character who had appeared in Land of Steel, would briefly appear in Holy Grail War.
When Fate/stay night was aired, people would definitely connect it with Land of Steel.
By then, someone would surely exclaim:
"Wow! Turns out Holy Grail War and Land of Steel are two parallel worlds!"
Additionally, thanks to the detail that "the Holy Grail can grant wishes," he could significantly increase the credibility in the hearts of the audience.
Everything was ready.
So then… first, let's create a two-minute PV!
Raku Sou controlled Void, and his super-frequency brain constantly emitted streams of thought.
[Begin world-building structure…]
[Setting: Year 2006 AD, Kansai region, Japan—Fuyuki City.]
[World level: Intermediate.]
[Main storyline: Under the choice of the Holy Grail, seven magi (those with mystical power) receive Command Seals. To compete for the artifact that can grant any wish—the Holy Grail, the magi summon Heroic Spirits from ancient times buried in the flow of history, make contracts with them, and transform them into Servants to fight, igniting a bloody massacre!]
[Usually, a Holy Grail War involves only seven Servants.]
[Heroic Spirits descend in different Classes, each Class having its strengths and weaknesses, with no absolute disparities.]