Free Web NovelChapter 190: Chapter 178: Bladesmithing Competition (Part 2)
"Why? Then what’s the point of me being a judge? Don’t tell me there’s someone more qualified than I am!" Bane demanded, disgruntled.
"You’ll find out who’s doing the scoring soon enough."
After sending the two bickering rivals off, Zog started to think about what to do with the two unplanned groups of Dwarves and Elves that had tagged along.
After some thought, he decided to just make them a live audience at a secondary location. They were all in the crafting industry anyway, so they would understand what the contestants were doing. It would keep them from getting too bored, and they might even provide some feedback.
Once the reality show was more established, he’d have to pay to hire such a professional audience. He might as well take full advantage of them now while they were free.
However, the initial plan hadn’t accounted for an audience, so the studio couldn’t fit that many seats. He had to find another open area.
The recording was taking place in Shudian, and there was still plenty of empty space on the island.
The feeds from several fixed cameras in the studio were transmitted to a screen at the secondary location.
The screen was split into several panes for them to watch. It was a makeshift solution, as there was no live director position yet.
"Alright, everyone, applaud."
"Excellent. Now, smile."
"Annoyance. I need you to look annoyed."
"Disbelief! Let’s get a take of disbelief. You’re not quite getting it, are you? Alright, try this: imagine you get home today and suddenly find out your son or daughter has eloped with a Dwarf or an Elf..."
Zog directed the audience to record several reaction shots for post-production editing.
An audience’s real-time reactions were hard to control. Plus, since recording sessions were often very long, audiences would eventually run out of energy and stop reacting, just wanting it to be over.
That’s why recording audience reactions beforehand and editing them in during post-production was a common practice in reality TV.
It was a show, after all. Everything was secondary to the final on-screen effect.
As for "authenticity," that was mostly just a buzzword for promotional materials.
As a graduate of a media studies program, Zog had many former classmates who went on to work at television stations.
According to them, when it came to reality show scripts, the most meticulous ones dictated every single action and line for every segment.
After recording the audience’s reactions, he had everyone on site sign a Magic Contract, forbidding them from revealing any details or results of the competition before the show’s official broadcast.
Magic was quite convenient. It could instantly inflict a penalty on anyone who revealed forbidden information, and it could also pinpoint the leaker’s location.
So, unless an audience member paid a steep price to forcibly break the Contract, the Blade Forging Contest wouldn’t suffer from spoilers spreading all over the web right after filming. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
With all preparations complete, the show’s recording officially began.
"All departments, take your positions. Ready in 3, 2, 1... action." Zog’s command was delivered to all staff on set via a Sound Transmission Spell.
The lighting system flashed on, illuminating the four-hundred-square-meter studio, which had been decorated to look like a workshop.
Four sets of Melting Furnaces, impact Enchantment hammers, manual shearing machines, and grinders were neatly arranged. Handsaws, grinding wheels, tongs, and every other conceivable forging tool were readily available.
It was a mix of Magic Technology, traditional tools, and modern equipment. No matter a contestant’s usual working style, they were guaranteed to find tools that suited them.
As the Zog Group’s first official reality show, it was designed to project one thing: immense wealth and a maxed-out budget.
All the tools on set were the absolute best of the best. Even Bane was clicking his tongue in amazement, admitting that the setup was in no way inferior to his own workshop.
’Of course it is,’ Zog thought. ’I had it copied from his workshop.’
"Host on set."
Once the establishing shots were done, Zog proceeded with the show’s flow.
To ensure the host remained impartial, they had made sure to hire a human.
The host, dressed in work clothes, stepped in front of the camera.
"Welcome to the first-ever Blade Forging Contest, brought to you by the Zog Group! Do you want to see the finest weapon blacksmiths at work? Do you want to learn how a legendary weapon is born? The Blade Forging Contest will give you the answers you seek."
The host had a deep, resonant voice, but he was a little stiff. He used to be a wedding emcee and had never been in front of so many cameras.
"Each competition will feature four contestants. They will be tasked with forging a specific type of blade, using only the materials provided by the show."
"The competition consists of three rounds: forging the Blade Embryo, finishing and Enchantment, and a final week-long custom weapon challenge. One contestant will be eliminated in each round, with a champion crowned at the end."
"And of course, at the end of the season, all our champions will return to compete for the title of Forging King! The winning creation will be added to the show’s collection, and the display rack itself... will be forged from the melted-down works of the losers!"
He’d borrowed that particular rule from those ultra-rich guys who are famous for their headcloths and immense wealth.
To be fair, while those guys ran their competitions with terrible technical support and constant hardware failures, the entertainment value was off the charts.
The winner gets to brutally humiliate the loser, which really ramped up the tension.
"And now, allow me to introduce our panel of judges."
"Hailing from Twin Tower City and Furnace Castle, a leading figure in Dwarven craftsmanship, the inheritor of the Furnace title, and one of the creators of the game console... Master Bane Furnace!"
The camera cut to Bane at the judges’ panel. Before taking his seat, he pounded the clan Totem on his chest with a fist and then raised both arms high, exuding a powerful presence.
But as Zog watched the monitor, he couldn’t help but feel something was off about the old Dwarf. It was like he was having trouble walking.
"Did he hurt himself during the script read-through or something?" Zog asked the executive director.
"No, but he stuffed several layers of insoles into his shoes back in makeup," the executive director replied.
Zog took a closer look and almost lost his composure.
Bane’s heels were practically popping out of his shoes. ’So he’s one of those prideful Dwarves,’ Zog thought.
’Using shoe lifts, huh? What’s the point? Even with all those, he won’t even reach Antinoya’s chest.’
’For those two judges to see eye-to-eye, either Antinoya would have to squat, or Bane would have to wear stilts.’
"Why didn’t he just wear high heels?" Zog suddenly asked.
High heels weren’t yet exclusively for women. Though the trend was heading that way, plenty of men who were particular about their height still wore them.
’If he’s going to stuff his shoes so much his feet are coming out, he might as well just wear heels.’
"Uh, he tried. But the heels couldn’t take his weight. There are several pairs of shoes with broken heels in the dressing room right now."
"Fine. Just make sure he pays for them."
Such a frugal Red Dragon.
After Bane took his seat, the host introduced Antinoya.
However, this veteran craftswoman from the Silver-White City State had never worked on anything as high-profile as the game console, so her list of titles sounded a little less impressive.
But it didn’t matter. Zog was confident that her face alone would win her plenty of fans.
Even with the Elves’ typical attitude of looking down on all other races, they still managed to attract plenty of "Spirit Elves." It just went to show that the world was full of simps who judged everything by looks.
History was even full of bizarre incidents where criminals were so handsome that crowds of people would petition to have their sentences reduced. It was a classic case of morals being trumped by good looks.
"And finally, we have our scoring referees."
"In charge of strength testing, the Beastman Warrior, War Axe!"
"In charge of verifying the craftsmanship from a scientific perspective, Zog Group Engineer, Xin 104!"
"And, in charge of judging the Enchantment effects, the Zor Priest, Hadarai!"
The moment these three appeared, the atmosphere on set grew tense.
A Beastman, a goblin, and a Zor—their races were certainly... "renowned," a very Zog Group-style lineup.
Zog had handpicked them to be the scoring referees for a reason.
War Axe was the obvious choice. He was a master of all kinds of melee weapons and, within the Zog Group, belonged to the highest tier of strength right below Zog himself—perfect for strength testing.
As one of the first goblins to become an Engineer, Xin 104 now specialized in material science and mechanics. He could provide a very professional and intimidating perspective—one that was hard to understand but sounded incredibly impressive.
As for the last one, the Zor Priest Hadarai, there wasn’t anything particularly special about him. He was from the Enchantment School and had dabbled in the craft.
The main reason Zog chose him was that, as a Zor Elf, he hated both Dwarves and Elves equally. ƒrēewebnovel.com
’Perfectly impartial!’
"The Blade Forging Contest... now... officially... begins—"
The host drew out the last word, holding the note until it was almost uncomfortable. The four Melting Furnaces roared, spewing sparks. Everything was ready.
