"So you're telling me *it* is the so-called 'Unprovoked Calamity,' the Ancient Red Dragon, Zog?"
On the third floor of Zog's Toy Store, Elsa led Yuno to Zog, who was sprawled on the sofa reading a comic book.
"That's right, it's him. He only looks this small because he used an item that changes his size."
"Oh, that's enough. I'm under a lot of pressure right now, so stop kidding around," Yuno said, a bit impatiently.
"I'm not joking! Zog, hurry and prove that you're Zog!" Elsa urged, waving her hands anxiously. The big, furry paws of her mascot suit swung back and forth.
At this, Zog rolled over and stared blankly at Elsa, a look of pure innocence on his face.
"Haha," Yuno let out a dry, forced laugh. "Great joke. I have to go."
'Seriously?!'
Elsa was dumbfounded. 'Is Zog really trying this hard just to sabotage me?'
"He has an idea for recording scenes, something better than standard recording magic."
"ROAR!"
Zog got so excited he lost control, and a powerful, oppressive aura filled the room.
Yuno failed his Perception check and was gripped by panic.
His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor. He scrambled backward a few feet before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out.
"Uh, I didn't mean to do that," Zog said, scratching his head in embarrassment. "It's a toy store. You've got to have a few surprises, right?"
Fortunately, since his body was small, his roar wasn't too loud, and the room was well soundproofed. Otherwise, everyone downstairs would have collapsed.
The human and the dragon moved Yuno onto the sofa.
SLAP SLAP—
"Want me to hit him harder?"
"You do it, then."
"What if I kill him!?"
"Never mind, I'll do it."
SLAP!
"That's for stealing my toys when we were kids!"
SLAP!
"And that's for putting glow-in-the-dark potion on my clothes!"
"Who is this person? You really hold a grudge against him."
SLAP!
"Oh, my dear brother... Whew, I'm actually getting a little tired from hitting you."
"Huh?"
Finally, Yuno slowly began to stir, his cheeks stinging with a fiery pain.
Opening his eyes, he dazedly saw two dragon heads—one made of plush, and the other... a real one!
"Ah!" Yuno screamed and rolled off the sofa, not forgetting to shout, "Elsa, run! I'll hold it off!"
'My brother still cares about me.' Elsa felt a pang of guilt. Then she pointed beside her and said, "He's the one who slapped you."
Eventually, Yuno was pinned to the sofa until he calmed down.
"So, let me get this straight. You're really the manager of Zog's Toy Store."
Elsa nodded.
"And the secret owner of Zog's Toy Store is really the Red Dragon Zog."
Elsa nodded again.
"So you work for Zog, and now you want to introduce my project to him."
Elsa nodded forcefully.
Yuno rubbed his face, feeling his entire worldview shattering.
"Tell us about your project," Elsa said.
"Is that you asking, or..." Yuno didn't dare look in Zog's direction.
"He's asking. Just go ahead and speak. He can understand you."
So Yuno laid out his entire set of theories, various conjectures, and everything he was currently missing.
Elsa fell asleep three times in the middle of it.
Yuno was exceptionally skilled at using obscure words while simultaneously employing nested clauses within other clauses to turn something that could be explained in just a few words into a long, difficult sentence, much like this one.
'This kid has a real talent for padding out research papers.'
Zog, however, got the gist of it: Yuno wanted to make a camera.
Since this world's technology was still in its steam phase, his device didn't use photoelectric conversion. Instead, it used a Magic Crystal Stone to perform a photo-magical conversion. Essentially, it was still just converting a light signal into another kind of processable signal.
He'd even managed to skip a step and go straight to a color camera.
"So what's the main problem right now?"
"The device can't run continuously. Existing Magic Power supplies are all affected by the Magic Crystal Stone's oscillations. We need a way for the power source to regulate itself actively."
"Why not just have a Mage power it directly?"
'Zog pictured it: in the future, every cameraman would have a Mage trailing behind them, holding a cable. That's another job created. I'm a genius when it comes to boosting employment rates.'
"That won't work. The Magic Power within a living being naturally fluctuates, which would interfere with the Magic Crystal Stone."
"Wait, you said living beings, right?"
"Yes, only living beings can actively regulate Magic Power. Lifeless things..." Yuno didn't finish his sentence, suddenly realizing he was talking to an Evil Dragon.
At this thought, inspiration struck. His voice now carried a hint of excitement. "Theoretically, a conscious Undead could also work."
"Come on. First, go get the prototype and your tools. Then I'll show you a specialty of Dragon Island."
「Half an hour later.」
The two humans and one dragon arrived in the Mixed Residence District.
Yuno was visibly nervous. He'd never set foot in a place like this before; he'd heard it was fraught with danger.
A Beastman came forward to greet them.
"Lok'Tar Ogar!"
Zog nodded slightly. 'Having a Beastman on the payroll is worth it for that line alone.'
Led by this Beastman, the pedestrians in the Mixed Residence District scrambled to get out of the way. Windows were slammed shut, doors were bolted, and even passing dogs tucked their tails and scurried into corners.
They arrived at a large housing area where the doors were marked with a splash of red. This was Zog's base of operations within Twin Tower City.
In the central building, the goblin Xin 104, still in his neat formal wear, stood waiting with a line of Undead.
"Master, everything is ready."
"Excellent," Zog said, turning to Elsa. "Let him pick one."
Yuno was far more efficient at working than he was at speaking. He quickly mounted the entire apparatus onto one of the Undead.
"It's ready to be tested."
'What should we film?' Zog thought for a moment, then said to Xin 104, "Teleport Toto over. Tell her to bring a Yo-Yo she's comfortable with."
A flash of light later, the Half-Elf Toto appeared. In her hand was the "Butterfly Dance," a next-generation Yo-Yo that wasn't on the market yet.
Toto's heart skipped a beat when she saw the scene before her.
'What's going on? Did they find out I take three servings at every staff meal? They wouldn't be that petty, would they?'
'What's that weird device on the Undead? Is this some bizarre ritual where they execute a Half-Elf for sport?'
"For the test, let's just film a Yo-Yo tutorial," Zog announced. 'Since we have to film something, we might as well film something that can generate value.'
"But what about my work at the store...?" Toto asked weakly.
"Put that on hold for now. Cooperate fully with Yuno—this Human here. Your goal is to film a complete set of Yo-Yo tutorials. I'll pay you triple your store salary."
From what Zog knew of Toto, her greed was comparable to a Dragon's. Her work ethic was directly proportional to her income.
After a few tries, the Undead became familiar with how to operate the camera. The only thing was, the way the power supply was jammed into its Spirit Body looked a bit cultish.
On June 9th, 852 of the Third Era, the first film in history was completed. Total runtime: 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The content was the Half-Elf Toto demonstrating how to make a Yo-Yo "sleep" and how to "recall" it.
Soon, a Contract was placed in front of Yuno.
"Quit your job and come work for me. Your sole task right now is to optimize the camera. It needs to be more portable, adaptable to more work environments, and have a longer runtime. If you need any assistants, tell Xin 104. He'll find them for you."
Yuno agreed without a second thought. 'Perhaps working at that research institute was even more terrifying than working for an Evil Dragon.'
The camera's invention came decades earlier than Zog had expected. He was in a great mood.
'Traditional theaters, are you ready for a challenge?'