Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!

…..

[Minutes Before Regal joined Keanu and Seren]

…..

Regal's sleepy body stirred awake as his still hazy vision took in his surroundings.

Raising his back, his head surveyed the room, instinctively seeking the familiar presence that should have been there before he closed his eyes.

Instead, all that remained was a piece of roughed up fabric, a remnant of the person who had occupied that space.

He didn't dwell on it.

With a quiet sigh, he sat up, stretched his limbs, and went about freshening up.

….

A few minutes passed by, as he now sat at the edge of the bed, his damp hair clung slightly to his skin.

Running a hand through it, he exhaled softly. "Alright… let's check that message."

He was not just referring to the stacked-up system notifications column, which he had not opened for over three months.

But there is an extra one.

It was a pop up notification that appeared very recently - just yesterday - right when the clock hit the first show of the [Following] began in theaters for the audience to watch and judge.

He remembered it vividly, the abrupt appearance of the system panel, without his conscious intentions.

It was something that had only happened once before - and that was when the system activated for the first time.

And now, it happened yesterday.

Without another thought, he called up the system.

A panel materialized before his eyes.

•-----[INDEX]-----•

[Name:] Regal Seraphsail

[Items]

[Skill Slots]

[Bulletin Board]

ⓘ [EP Available : 10K]

ⓘ [Bulletin Board] ([┘]- 00:02:48 )

ⓘ [Notification] (4)

•-----------------•

His gaze shifted to the notification bar, the small number '4' standing out.

He tapped it open.

•-------[NOTIFICATIONS]-------•

Ⓘ [Solo Leveling:] Web Novel

–> [Completed(✓) - 48 days Ago]

–> [Collect Rewards:] [Y/N]

([┘]- 104 days of Accumulated Rewards)

….

Ⓘ [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint:] Web Novel

–> [Collect Accumulated Rewards:] [Y/N]

([┘]- 104 days of Accumulated Rewards)

….

Ⓘ [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:] Book

–> [Collect Accumulated Rewards:] [Y/N]

([┘]- 104 days of Accumulated Rewards)

….

Ⓘ [Following:] Movie

–> [Collect Accumulated Rewards:] [Y/N]

–> [Achievement Available] (Collect)

([┘]- 1 day of Accumulated Rewards)

•---------------------------•

Respectively, his four creations since arriving in this world appeared.

The first two, his web novels, [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] and [Solo Leveling].

The third is the book - [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone].

And finally, his newest venture, his debut movie, [Following], barely a day into its release.

His eyes lingered on the first two entries.

When it came to web novels, [Solo Leveling] had already reached its conclusion.

Exactly forty-eight(48) days had passed since the final chapter was published, just as the system indicated.

He still remembered the moment the story ended, his fans erupted into a frenzy.

Discussions flooded within the section of the audience corner, becoming the main topic of the forums and even reaching social media, as readers dissected every last detail.

Excitement, nostalgia, and a tinge of sorrow intertwined in their reactions.

Regal had added fuel to the fire by casually showcasing his [Drawing] skills, releasing the character sketches of almost all of the main characters into the public domain.

That only made the fandom even more intense.

Speculations about a comic adaptation had been circulating ever since, whispers growing louder with each passing day.

But for now, Regal had chosen to keep things unofficial.

He had to be particularly cautious of a certain company - [WB Fiction].

Or rather, an editor from that company - Gregor.

The man had been persistent. Too persistent.

Deal after deal, proposal after proposal, Gregor was relentless in trying to secure rights for [Solo Leveling].

It had become a little annoying.

Still, Regal made sure to decline politely.

As for [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], it was still at its midpoint.

If everything stayed on track, it would likely wrap up by the time he began shooting his second movie.

Regal's gaze shifted back to [Solo Leveling] - something about its notification stood out from the rest.

You can see an extra line.

•---•

–> [Completed(✓) - 48 days Ago]

•---•

"So, the system also records the date of the series concussion?" He murmured as if that made sense.

However, he moved and collected the usual rewards, deciding to save the best for last.

He had been postponing the reward collection process for a while now - stockpiling as much as possible before cashing in.

It had somehow become a habit, part strategy and part guilty pleasure.

There was a certain thrill in hoarding rewards and redeeming them all at once.

An irrational reason, sure, but the logical one was simple: there was no pressing need for them right now.

Of course, he didn't stop checking the [Bulletin Board] daily - though, to be honest, nothing particularly eye-catching ever popped up.

It left him stuck in a cycle of keeping his one available [Pin] occupied with anything remotely interesting, only to replace it later when something slightly better showed up.

So overall he didn't miss anything big.

"But now I think I have waited long enough."

Regal tapped on the [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] reward first.

The panel shifted.

•---•

「Ding! User successfully collected [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] rewards!」

[Total View Count:] 10,436,000 + ↑15,251,317 = 25,687,317

[Total EP Earned:] 1,525,131

「Your total EP is now: 10K + ↑1.5M = 1,535,131)」

•---•

Next, he clicked on the [Harry Potter] reward.

•---•

「Ding! User successfully collected [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone] rewards!」

[Total Readers Count:] 362,563 + ↑521,081 = 883,644

[Total EP Earned:] 781,621

「Your total EP is now: 1,525,141 + ↑781,621 = 2,306,762」

•---•

And then to the next -

•---•

「Ding! User successfully collected [Solo Leveling] rewards!」

[Total View Count:] 7,804,119 + ↑13,251,317 = 21,055,436

[Total EP Earned:] 1,325,131

「Your total EP is now: 2,306,762 + ↑1,325,131 = 3,631,893」

•---•

Hmm, a total of around 3.6M EP, huh?

Not bad. The reward was impressive.

In fact, if something else hadn't caught Regal's eye, he might have been celebrating jumping in joy right at this moment.

But his focus had already shifted.

To this.

Finally, his eyes moved onto the most intriguing part of the panel -

•--------•

Ⓘ [Following:] Movie

–> [Achievement Available] (Collect)

•--------•

- and tapped on it.

•--------•

「Ding! User collected the [Achievement Reward] received for realising his first movie in theaters!」

「Ding! User received [Title Token] as the [Achievement Reward]!」

ⓘ [Note:] Check the reward in [Items]!

•--------•

[Title Token]?

Was that another type of [Search Token]?

Curious, he opened his item box to check its description.

•-------[ITEMS]-------•

» [Title Token] x 1

[Description : A one-time-use item. The user can redeem this token to unlock the full set of a series, including all available parts under the same title.

ⓘ The User should have one part of the series with him to us this item.

ⓘ User can directly use it by clicking on it.

•---------------------•

Regal's fingers hovered over the screen. His eyes scanned the description again, processing its implications.

"With this... things might finally get a little less complicated."

There is a problem he had been putting off for a while.

[Search Token].

Regal had always expected, or at least hoped, to get one from the system at some point. And despite that not happening, he knew that alone wouldn't have solved his problem.

A single token would only let him purchase one book at a time.

If he wanted the entire [Harry Potter] series - especially the foreign market they were about to tap into - he would need seven separate tokens just for that.

Too inefficient.

Too risky to wait for it.

But the [Title Token] changed everything.

With this, he could acquire an entire series in one go, so long as he had enough EP to cover the cost.

"But, an entire series? Isn't that too vague?"

….

Regal stopped after collecting the achievement.

He didn't collect movie rewards yet, as it has only been a day since its release, and he decided to collect it later.

Just like that, he made his way out of the bedroom, stepping into the main hall.

From there, he headed toward the only connecting door that led to his office - coincidentally, the same entrance to the entire house.

With a twist of the doorknob, he pushed it open.

The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeted him instantly, warm and inviting.

His gaze shifted toward the room's occupants. Seated at the table, one on each side of Gwen, were two familiar faces.

Before he could say a word, Keanu's voice rang out.

"Regal!" - the sudden call made his ears sting slightly.

He blinked, rubbing one of his ears a little, and exhaled. "…You two are here?"

Keanu grinned. "Of course we are!"

.

….

[To be continued…]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

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