Extra Credits

"Grand Mage Harley accepted our request."

After sending the letter, General Manager Litt began discussing the promotional plans for the Church Of Fiction with Fet, the man in the trench coat. As their conversation reached its peak, a response from the Falling Star World arrived, visibly relaxing Litt's face.

With matters on the other side settled, things here were also more or less wrapped up.

"Mr. Fet, please review this contract one more time. If everything looks good, I believe we can end this meeting."

Fet put down the contract he has been holding and smiled. "Mr. Litt, the contract is fine. The Church Of Fiction really appreciates your generous offer..."

"However, there are a few adjustments we need to make about the content of the printed material."

Litt immediately responded, "No problem at all. The promotion week hasn't started yet. The Sacrifice God's lecture is this Sunday, and it's only Wednesday today, so you still have two days to finalize the content. As long as you get it to me by 4 p.m. on Friday, it will be fine."

"I've also reserved the margin spaces separately. I'll give you a detailed file on the available spaces so you can plan accordingly. This will help you tailor your promotional content to fit. In short, while people are reading about the Sacrifice Pope, they'll also notice your Church Of Fiction's activities."

As Litt continued speaking, he suddenly glanced at Fet with doubt, noticing absent of his remarks regarding promotion. Meanwhile, Fet pulled a booklet out of his bag and handed him the promotional material with a cryptic smile.

"This level of promotion is sufficient for us. We only need to make people aware of our church, that's all. As for the content to be printed, it's already prepared."

Litt took the booklet and spent some time going over it. After a while, he could only make out two words. His face puzzled with confusion as he asked Fet for clarification.

"What does 'online promotion' mean?"

"I'm not familiar with the term, but from your plan, it seems you want to use our printed materials to perform some sort of secondary promotion?"

Litt shook his head repeatedly after putting the booklet down on the table "Whatever it is, that won't work, that's completely unnecessary. Your promotion won't have much of an effect that way."

But Fet maintained his smile. "We're planning to launch our first 'online promotion' this Saturday evening. If you're really curious, you can reserve a front-row seat and experience it firsthand."

"All it takes is for people to focus on our promotional text, and they'll be able to participate in this novel activity. Of course, whether they choose to take part is entirely up to them."

Litt's eyes shuddered at the word 'focus,' as if a critical term had been triggered. His expression grew exponentially serious.

"The God Of Fiction has the 'gaze' attribute? That's... a terrifying trait, it is known to everyone."

"Please don't worry, Mr. Litt. The Church Of Fiction has already got approval from the Steel Church. You can verify this with them later. The foremen at the Steel Church have also participated in a 'rehearsal' of our activity."

Fet interrupted Litt's concerns and handed over a full set of approval documents.

"The light of our god is already preparing to walk upon the land, and it adheres completely to the laws and regulations of the Gray Land."

"I understand why you are worried. Those gods with the 'gaze' attribute hold fearsome powers. I know they abuse it to drive people into delirious illusions, make them vanish from the world, or twist reality itself. But rest assured, the God Of Fictions's gaze does not stem from the divine powers."

"Instead, it is the people themselves who gaze upon the god. The strength of this gaze depends entirely on your promotional efforts. It is controllable by human intellect and judgment, unaffected by any external forces."

"My lord defines this act of gazing as—the focus of the masses."

Litt thought for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Alright, a new god will soon be the focus of the masses, as you say. You've convinced me. How do I reserve my spot for this promotional event?" Litt asked, to which Fet simply pointed at the promotional booklet on the table.

Litt glanced at the booklet, staring at it for just a second.

Suddenly, the words [Reservation Confirmed] appeared before his eyes, as if printed directly onto his retina. Bamboozled, he blinked, and the words vanished without a trace.

"Interesting..." He looked up with excitement. "This seems like a new type of transmutation magic... No, maybe a divine transmutation spell?"

Fet smiled. "If we follow the known classification of magic across different worlds, it can indeed be categorized under transmutation. But from what I understand, it's more of a bridge between divine power and human intellect, built by my lord."

"The exchange of information—both input and output—can only be fully understood by intelligent beings, like my lord."

Litt nodded thoughtfully. "I'm not entirely sure I follow."

Fet smiled again. "It's ok, you'll understand soon enough. Oh, and let me gift you a special arcade pass. You'll soon see the potential of this market."

Litt examined the arcade pass in his hand, his interest clearly piqued. He nodded appreciatively.

"I'll give it a try. Fresh experiences always bring new perspectives."

———

Half an hour earlier, in the World of Falling Star...

The World of Falling Star is one of the prominent worlds, connected to magic. It boasted five prestigious magic academies, recognized as the top educational institutions throughout the cosmos. Compared to other worlds, the people born here had a natural affinity for magic. Unlike the traditional wizarding worlds ruled by solitary tower-dwelling mages, Falling Star was dominated by Academicians.

Academicians were known for their focus on cooperation. In contrast, Tower Mages preferred to isolate themselves in gloomy towers, mulling over ancient tomes and studying obscure, cryptic magic. To the Academicians, such behavior was a waste of time and exaggeration.

Just moments earlier, inside a large lecture hall at Leia Academy, an elderly mage was enthusiastically explaining advanced applications of transmutation magic to a group of new apprentices he was assigned. As he was speaking, a flash of platinum fire suddenly appeared before him.

The flame flickered and burned without igniting anything around it. Instead, it spat out a piece of parchment.

After reading the letter's contents, the old mage quickly penned a response. Before his students' eyes, he demonstrated one of the more basic grand spells—interdimensional mail.

'A promotional event for a church in the Gray World... Not bad. I'll earn a hefty sum for this, and these students will gain valuable field experience.'

And if he hired other high-level mages, he could split the pay among them and pocket a little extra.

The old mage crumpled the letter and casually cast a spell on it. In front of his astonished students, the paper sprang to life, wriggling like a little creature, before sprinting out of the classroom. The students exclaimed in surprised gasps.

"Alright, class, this is the next important lesson you'll be learning. Just as I demonstrated, I gave that piece of paper a semblance of 'life', like a puppet but with consciousness, and made it follow my instructions."

"Now, I just came across a new batch of internship opportunities. Anyone interested in participating, sign up now. We leave tomorrow. And for those who perform well... extra credits will be given at the end of the semester."