With everyone’s eyes on him, Zeno made a rash decision.
‘Activate,’ he thought.
[Draught of Immersion Activated. Shall inactivate until the scene is deemed satisfactory.]
Zeno hummed. He had no idea what the booster might bring, but immersion was what he needed. This seemed to be the right decision.
“How much time does he need for this scene?” the staff began to whisper.
“It’s only his first scene, but he’s already having such a hard time.”
Oska and Daniel enjoyed this a little too much, while Risa felt like she was the one being tortured. How could they say such cruel things about him? Everyone was a new actor once. She was even worse when she just started out!
“Alright, let’s do it again,” Daeshim PD said, giving Zeno the benefit of the doubt. “Scene Twelve… Take Six!”
The cameras started rolling, and Zeno closed his eyes for a moment. However, the second he opened his eyes, he felt that something was different.
He looked at the two thugs and saw an evil glint in their eyes. Were these the same guys who refused to hit him a little bit harder for the scene?
“You’re Hajin, right?” they asked.
“Yes,” Hajin responded, confused.
Zeno still nailed the first part of the scene, and he was even much better than the previous takes. Daeshim nodded. However, he couldn’t feel fully satisfied until they were finished with the ‘beating’ scene.
“What are you doing?” Hajin asked as one of the thugs raised the plank high in the air.
The thug smirked. “What does it look like I’m doing, Prince?” he asked in a mocking tone.
“Let go of me,” Hajin began to struggle against the ropes, wincing as the roughness rubbed against his already sore skin.
“I think you have the wrong person.”
“We most definitely not,” the two of them chuckled. “You’re the bastard everyone knows about—the illegitimate son of Crown Prince Wang Suk.”
“Wang Suk?” Hajin exclaimed. Why the heck were they saying such ancient names? “Look, brother. Did I somehow get caught in an acting set? I’m really not the person you’re looking for.”
“Shut up!” the thug said, hitting Hajin’s shoulder.
At that moment, Zeno froze.
Why did that… hurt?
He looked at the thug, wide-eyed and in disbelief. However, before he could utter another word, the other thug hit him—this time on the head. His body responded immediately, feeling himself grow dizzy with the impact.
Meanwhile, the crew turned quiet. Daeshim’s eyes brightened as he watched Zeno through the monitoring screen. This was exactly what he was looking for!
The genuine hurt and confusion! It seemed like he truly didn’t expect to be hit!
“Hey,” Zeno said, out of character for a moment, while holding onto the back of his head. But then, he quickly caught onto the situation.
Draught of Immersion.
Did that mean he was stuck in a real situation?
‘Crap,’ he cursed inside his head. Zeno took consecutive hits.
He had to quickly retract the thought that he had a high pain tolerance. Being beaten with his hands tied was almost as bad as being waterboarded in one of his past missions!
The two of them weren’t his definition of ‘fun.’
He pursed his lips to prevent himself from screaming, yet that made his acting even more authentic.
Risa’s worries slowly began melting away, and she was once again mesmerized. She even had the urge to call out the two thugs to stop them from beating him. That was how believable this was.
Oska and Daniel watched the scene with furrowed brows.
Meanwhile, Yuan nodded in satisfaction. Zeno took the criticism and crushed it all by showing them how it needed to be done!
A small smile appeared on Daeshim PD’s lips. He shouldn’t have doubted Zeno at all. He was nailing this scene!
Zeno felt like his entire body was detached from his head. He found himself wanting to close his eyes. However, he fought it. That was once again captured well on the screen.
He still needed to break through from the two of them!
The modem Hajin, to escape from the mediocrity of his life, took up many hobbies to fill the void. One of them was martial arts. So, with the skills he had gained from his previous life, he began to escape from the hands of the thugs.
He broke away from the ropes with the thugs’ blade, and he stood after much difficulty, swinging the blade left and right, startling the two of them.
The thugs turned to each other before pouncing on him once again.
Zeno felt their impeccable speed. With the pain he was feeling, he tried his best.
It was seamless! His expertise was seen along with his struggle.
Daeshim PD’s serotonin levels were increasing more and more by the minute. The cameramen captured every angle well, feeling that this scene was too good to miss!
Zeno momentarily glanced at Daeshim PD, cursing him inside his mind. When was he going to call ‘cut?’ His body was in so much pain!
Finally, Zeno broke away from the two of them, running for his life. He bumped with the props, causing them to topple over. It once again added to his pain.
However, he didn’t slow down at all. He raced through the sea of extras, and those watching from the side were surprised by his speed. It looked like he was running for his life!
In truth, Zeno truly wanted to get it over with.
After what seemed to be an eternity, it finally ended.
“Cut!” Daeshim PD exclaimed, satisfaction heard in his voice even with the single word.
[Draught of Immersion Inactivated]
Zeno sighed in relief. However, his mood quickly dampened when the effects of the beating remained. He inspected his body and found that there weren’t any bruises or other marks; however, the pain was still there.
He clicked his tongue. Did Avalis hate him that much? But then again, going through this was much better than the Pain Trial.
He didn’t have plenty of time for his missions, so he needed to get the hardest one done soon.
With that, he turned back to the small hut where he last saw Ryeo Wang.
However, he wasn’t there anymore.