Chapter 252: The Public Eye
A few days later Isaac found himself in the last place he’d ever expected to be—the lobby of a reality television producer. He didn’t watch reality TV, he didn’t enjoy it, he generally wasn’t a fan of it. The email he’d gotten had gone straight into the “ignore” folder and that would have been the end of it.
But Arthur had had a great idea, and now he was here, at the offices of Spectacular Productions. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.
“My name is Isaac Thoma, I have an appointment,” he introduced himself at the front desk and was instantly waved in without so much as having his ID checked. Sure, there were people who’d throw an absolute fit at being asked to prove their identity, but basic precautions did save a lot of time and money.
The building itself was a fairly standard office building, containing the administrative arm of several different companies, alongside basic eating arrangements such as a coffee shop on the ground floor.
Isaac had made his way to the elevator and took it all the way up to the top floor, which was apparently entirely rented by this company, and introduced himself there, as the building’s lobby was completely open and lacked a reception desk.
The receptionist led him to the head office, which was open to reveal something that could best be described as the bastard lovechild of a corporate office and a geek’s mancave, covered in little tchotchkes, action figures, monster bits, and weapon models.
It reminded Isaac slightly of his own office, except that was stuffed with functional pieces of equipment and hunting trophies, rather than a random assortment of stuff.
But just taking one look at the place told Isaac that its owner was someone who truly loved this job of his.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Thoma, I’m Daniel Herbert, I’m in charge around here, but you can call me whatever you want, Daniel, Dan, I’m not picky about that,” Herbert introduced himself as he stepped around the desk to shake Isaac’s hand.
“I really can’t put into words how happy I was to read your response, we’ve been trying to set up a meeting with an S-Ranker for months. Really, I think I almost dropped dead of a heart attack when I saw tha- ... you don’t want to hear about any of that, do you?”
“Most people are convinced that cars will explode as seen in movies or on TV shows after a crash. Every single first aid course I’ve ever been to has corrected that misconception, but even I still somewhat believe it.
“Chloroform is an anesthetic that is guaranteed to either kill the victim or cause severe brain damage if used the way it is in movies and TV shows. When used in surgery, you need an anesthesiologist constantly making sure the affected person doesn’t drop dead, and modern anesthesia methods are a billion times safer. But most people who hear the word chloroform won’t know any of that.
“Or how about the way that people falling into water is depicted? Everyone has at least heard of the fact that the surface is going to be as hard as concrete if you fall from more than ... I believe the distance is forty meters? But when you think about it, really think, how do you imagine someone diving off a high place into water ending? Your rational mind knows that should be fatal, but you’ll imagine that person surviving.
“A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is worth a thousand pictures, Mr. Herbert. I want to show the world how [Raid Boss] battles go. I don’t want to mislead people into thinking it’s safe. Considering the severity of the situation, I think my ironclad contract is appropriate.”
Herbert began to mop at his forehead, removing the sweat that had accumulated during Isaac’s speech.
“Your contract basically gives you a veto power for when any of your conditions are even slightly affected.” He said.
“I’m not asking for a general veto,” Isaac pointed out, “Merely an accelerated path of resolution in case of conflict. That’s the only way this will work for me. You’ll have to find someone else if it doesn’t work for you.”
Herbert signed, though he didn’t seem particularly happy about it.
And with that done, Isaac left soon after, grinning internally. That show would be an absolute, unmitigated, disaster. And then the world would get a front-row seat to the devastation a [Raid Boss] could unleash under most circumstances.
Sure, idiots who grossly overestimated themselves would continue to exist, but at least now anyone of reasonable intelligence would have a better idea of what they might be getting into.
He was on his way back to the university when his phone dinged with a news alert, one he’d been waiting on for a while. A ghostly ship had sighted in the middle of the Atlantic, briefly pulling into the port of Jamestown, Saint Helena to resupply before vanishing beneath the waves.
