Chapter 1027: An Absurd Viewing Experience (Part I)
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Suppressing his doubts, Victor followed the seat number on his ticket and sat down at Row 3 No. 10.
"You're that guy from the Lothar family...," someone beside him suddenly exclaimed.
Somewhat surprised, he turned his head towards the voice and discovered that the latter was an elegantly-dressed woman. Unlike Tinkle, she was obviously seasoned in courtship and romance, and could exhibit her most enchanting side at any time. "Victor Lothar. You are?"
"Long heard the name." The woman placed a hand on her chest and smiled. "I'm Denise Payton from the City of Glow. "
"I see, a young lady from the Payton family," Victor replied. "Never thought I would see a merchant from my city in a foreign land."
"Neither did I imagine meeting a legendary businessman here." She then pointed to someone beside her. "Let me introduce you to His Excellency Yorko, who previously served as the Kingdom of Dawn's messenger. It was he who invited me."
"Nice to meet you."
More pleasantries followed.
While chatting with Yorko, Victor also got to acquaint with a few elites from Graycastle.
As he had expected, the people attending the premiere were all extremely wealthy and noble. For example, the front row consisted of powerholders from the City Hall. Based on Yorko's explanation, their tickets were gifted to them by His Majesty, and hence they did not fork out a single royal. The middle and back rows consisted instead of wealthy merchants and guests. He even saw, among the audience, figures from King City's troupe.
The price of 40 gold royals had thus served to turn the theater into a mini banquet of notables. If he could build up connections with these people, the price would certainly have been worth it.
When all attendees had arrived, a dozen or so cart-pushing servants entered the hall through a different entrance and placed weird-looking paper packets in the holders next to each chair.
"Is this meant for us?" Tinkle lifted and examined the packet curiously. "Eh, the word written here is p... "popcorn"?"
"There're also french fries and milk - are these all for eating?" Victor noticed that the packet that was labelled "milk" seemed rather peculiar. It looked like a parchment but felt incomparably soft. For a moment, he was unsure of how it was supposed to be opened. Fortunately, a demonstrative illustration was drawn beneath the label. That many guests had never used a packet like this had, induitably, been taken into consideration.
Following the steps in the illustration, he inserted a transparent straw in the seal at the top of the packet. As he sucked up the milk, he felt an indescribable sense of achievement pouring forth from his heart.
This is way too amazing!
Even the milk, which he would usually find too bland for his liking, tasted sweeter than ever before.
This owed very much to the packet's thoughtful illustration and exquisite design, which were unprecedented. Even if it contained plain water, it would still have sold for a good price!
The person who designed it is surely an outstanding merchant.
Victor also noticed that the design was not simply for novelty's sake. Unlike traditional porcelain and glassware, which came with edges and corners, these two types of packets were not prone to causing injury. This advantage is even more significant after considering the statuses of the guests. Furthermore, the packets fitted perfectly in the holders even if unsealed, and thus there was no worry of spillage.
It was hard to imagine how a perfect fit like this was possible, given that the packets were a brand-new invention.
Just as Victor intended to try out the taste of the popcorn, an ethereal voice was heard in the hall. "A warm welcome to the magic movie theater of Graycastle. The Wolf Princess is about to begin. May everyone kindly return to their seats and listen carefully to the rules which should be observed. If there're any problems during the screening, please act in accordance with the rules in order to prevent accidents from occurring."
There was a brief commotion inside the hall. This was because everyone heard the voice but could not tell where it was coming from.
"First of all, the magic movie's duration is 2 hours and 15 minutes, throughout which there'll be no break. You're not allowed to leave your seat on your own. If you require assistance, simply pull on the string of the bell located under your seat and wait."
"Secondly, this will be an unprecedented viewing experience. Please don't panic no matter what happens, and remember that it's only a very special kind of play, instead of a real event. You'll be held accountable by the Neverwinter Police Department for any harm or loss you cause to a third party."
Victor could not help laughing softly as he heard this. "Whoa, is there really anyone left on Earth who can mistake a play for reality? It's verging on self-praise to use the word 'panic'." He deftly turned his body and took a quick glance behind. As he expected, the guests who were also in the film industry had heavily sarcastic looks on their faces.
However, Tinkle did not seem to feel that the words were any inappropriate. She clutched nervously onto the armrest of her chair.
As if to give the audience some time to digest, the voice only resumed after a rather long pause. "May everyone please enjoy this dreamy moment in time."
"The show shall now begin."
As the words fell, the four clusters of Stones of Lightning gradually ascended and disappeared into the dome, causing the hall to dim temporarily.
"Where's this going? As the widespread popularity of open-air theaters shows, adequate lighting, or its lack thereof, is crucial to the overall effect of the play. How are we to appreciate the details of the play if there isn't any light?" Victor gaped his mouth a little wider. He was increasingly intrigued as to how the play would end up when the introduction was already this mysterious.
However, before he could contain his amusement, he was completely stunned by what happened in the next instant.
A beam of white light flashed by, before turning everything pitch black. This was the blackest black he had ever seen, as if he was now in a deep abyss. He could not even see the chair he was sitting on, let alone his surroundings. The only relief was that he could still feel his butt sitting on the chair, or he probably would have leaped up in horror.
But even more inconceivable things were to follow. Victor noticed that his body had also disappeared into the darkness completely. He could not see his hands if he placed them right in front of his face. He was not able to tell if this was because it was truly too dark, or because he had been robbed of his vision.
The unrest in the hall showed that he was not the only one who was startled. The intermittent screaming and crying made the atmosphere tense.
It turned out that "panic" was not just empty talk.
Had it not been for that warning, there would probably be chaos in the hall by this time.
Just then, a gentle ray of light glimmered from overhead and dispelled the darkness. The hall was once again lit - but instead of calming down, the audience gasped in unison.
"My goodness." Victor's eyes widened. "What's... going on?" The scene in front him was no longer within the theater, and instead had moved into the sky!
He could hear cold wind blowing beside his ears, and could clearly see snowflakes drifting in the sky. There was nothing beneath his feet; he was a few kilometers off the earth, from where the mountains and jungles appeared to be patches of gray and white, just like the doodles of young children. This experience, the like of which he never had before, caused his body to tremble. He clung as tightly as he could on to the armrest and shrunk his body on to the "invisible" chair which now bore his weight vitally, as if one little mistake would cause him to fall through the sky and turn to dust.
"Our story begins in the capital of a mountainous province in the far north, where two lively and adorable princesses reside..." It was only when he heard this assuring and composed voice that he discerned that he was still watching a play, and had not been projected into the heavens.
"Is there really anyone left on Earth who can mistake a play for reality ?"
Victor cried tearlessly. "Who would have imagined that this is what magic movies are like?"
In the next two hours and more, the jewel merchant had the most incredible time of his life.