One day later.
"Next!"
In Fantasyland, Daneel was currently sitting in a closed room with two large display trinkets in front of him.
Eloise, who was sitting beside him, touched the communication trinket in her hand when she heard Daneel say that word in an exhausted tone.
They had been at this for hours, and Daneel was close to his limit.
Right after Eloise sent the message, the images on the trinkets changed. The scene was the same: on the first screen, there was a wooden table with a mug on top, behind which there was a seat where the host was supposed to sit.
The second screen showed an empty area with a wooden pedestal, which was supposed to be the place where the monologue would take place.
Back on Earth, Daneel had always enjoyed a good, smart Late Night Host who put his spin on news to make it both simple and digestible for normal people. Even if there were crass jokes, the relevance that was lent to them due to the issue they represented made it so that even they were accepted to be good comedy.
He wanted something like that here.
His main motive with the new Network wasn't money, or anything else.
It was simple: using the Network, he wanted to build his own brand, which would come in very handy when there came the situation where he had to take over the continent.
Both to earn extra EXP from the system and break the seals on Drakos, satisfaction level was key. And for satisfaction level to rise, people had to be happy with their ruler. No…it had to go beyond that.
People needed to be joyful, lucky and proud that they were being ruled by a said ruler.
Daneel wanted to have that kind of image in the minds of many Angarians as possible. He wanted to inculcate the idea in everyone that he was the one who should be the one ruling Angaria.
When phrased like that, it did sound a little like he was a nefarious villain out to dominate the world, but at the end of the day, that was his end goal.
Regardless of whether it sounded evil or not, Daneel wanted to fulfill this goal, as he knew clearly that that was what made him happy.
Of course, if he was truly nefarious, he could begin running bogus shows about how great he was.
Yet, Daneel had no intention of doing that. He wanted to win people over with the truth, and the Network was just a tool which he was going to use to get that truth across as effectively as possible.
"Hey, folks! Have you heard of the latest news from the Black Raven Kingdom? Apparently, there's a rogue Raven flying around the capital whose past time is to drop its 'goods' on unsuspecting netizens. Reports say that with constant practice, it has mastered the art of even assessing wind direction and speed to make sure that its payload lands directly in the…you know what, I'll leave that up to you."
Pulling his attention back to the second screen which was showing a guy wearing formal black robes reciting this sentence that had been written with Daneel's inputs, the King of Lanthanor shook his head.
"My King, if you're listening, I would really suggest arranging a new game in the next Olympics with this Raven as the star. I'm telling you, no other format can even come close to the level at which such a game would test someone's skill in dodging."
This was supposed to be the punchline, but no laughter was heard from the audience.
'Flat tone. No charisma. Dammit, he even sang the last verse.'
This was the thought that came in Daneel's head before he once again shouted 'Next', making Eloise flinch.
Seeing that, Daneel sighed and said, "Sorry, Eloise. We've been at this for too long. I think that the crowd must also be tired. Let's take a break."
Saying so, Daneel got up while Eloise let out a breath and smiled at him briefly before getting up, too.
Her face had a frustrated expression, which made Daneel understand that she was treating this as her failure.
"No, don't blame yourself. I just had…something different in my mind. Don't worry, we'll find it. Go on, grab some snacks, I'll be right there."
Patting her shoulder gently, Daneel said this.
Watching as her smile spread to her cheek this time as it was a real one, Daneel smiled in return before following her with his eyes as she started to walk toward the door.
Turning around, Daneel viewed the guy who had just been booed out by the audience.
His testing method had been simple: with the help of the writers who generally wrote comedy scripts for plays, he had gotten that line written, which was being given to those who had come to audition for the role of becoming 'Angaria's Sensation'.
That was how it was being advertised among the artist community, and although it had generated quite a lot of buzz due to the opportunity for exposure and the hefty salary, all of the applicants so far had been unsatisfactory.
Each applicant had to walk up to the pedestal and simply utter the sentence in a way which would make the live audience, who had been sourced from all walks of life, to laugh.
At least, even if they didn't laugh because they had already heard it a million times, the audience would score it according to how much they were amused.
Some were too over-the-top, choosing to utter each word in a grandiose tone that was suited to be in plays rather than a show that would air every day.
Some were too low-key and flat, as they were used to having weeks and weeks of time before a show to practice their lines, tone, and actions.
Again, that would simply be impossible for a daily show.
Although Daneel had kept his expectations low, he realized that he should probably push them lower.
Maybe the one he wanted was out there, but it would take time for the community to develop and for talent to emerge.
Until then, it looked like he would have to make do with a more mediocre host in order to get the genre popular first.
Yet, Daneel wasn't happy with that, at all.
The best way to make a genre a hit was to put out the best content possible. So, if he couldn't accomplish that, he didn't know how he was going to make this take off.
Yes, he would stop expecting a Stephen Colbert or a Trevor Noah to magically appear in Angaria and audition for him. Those people had their own style, so he would have to find someone who also had a style that was as entertaining.
Alas, it was easy said than done.
Eloise came back from her break, and they resumed auditions which lasted for a few more hours before ending for the day.
Frustration was building inside Daneel, as this felt like one of the days that was more wasted than any in recent times. He had deemed this to be important, hence, he had allocated a lot of time to make it perfect. Yet, it had all been wasted.
Just as he was about to bid Eloise goodbye and say that he hoped that they would have better luck tomorrow, she froze while touching the communication trinket.
Looking at him, she said, "There's one last applicant, but he came late. You want him to leave and come back tomorrow?"
On a whim, Daneel threw his hands in the air and said, "We're still here. Why inconvenience a citizen? Let him do it."
After all, the entire day had already been taken up by this. What difference would an additional few minutes make?
Sitting down, he watched as a man wearing the formal black robes, which was the standard 'uniform', took the parchment with the line and walked up onto the pedestal.
He read through it three times, before looking into the communication eye with a hesitant expression on his face.
"Err…are small modifications ok?", he asked, which was a first so far.
Play actors, who had been the main applicants so far, were only used to following instructions. So, asking something like this wasn't something that would occur to them.
Intrigued, Daneel told Eloise to tell the one directing the shot to say "Yes".
Hearing the answer, a broad smile spread on the man's face, and as Daneel noticed his features, he saw that although the man wasn't that handsome, he seemed to have a certain…hue to him that made him pleasant to look at.
Putting away the parchment, he first took a moment to think, before spreading out his arms.
What happened next made Daneel's jaw drop.
A transparent Raven appeared out of thin air, before flying into the area above this man's head.
The Raven didn't look that perfect: it had blocky edges and blurry features, which was the sign of weak complexity. This man was definitely just an Eminent Human Mage.
As if forgetting that he had done that, he said, "I'm ready," and looked at the communication eye.
"In the Black Raven Kingdom, a beast is terrorizing the citizens. It…Oh, look! What's that in the sky? Why's there an omelet …oh."
Splat!
A pail of thick, white liquid, which was obviously just water elemental particles that had been made to look like that by manipulating light hit his face, while the Raven he had conjured swooped down and made a laughing sound while pointing at him.
For the first time in hours…the audience burst out into peals of laughter.
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen. No orifice is safe. If you're traveling to the Black Raven Kingdom, I would suggest you carry an umbrella. Well, maybe don't if you want to participate in the next Olympics, where I will personally advocate for a game that involves running away from this uncultured beast. Heavens help us all."
Eloise, who was sitting beside him, was holding her mouth as if she was resisting the urge to burst into laughter, too.
Meanwhile, Daneel was just sitting there, his jaw hanging open, viewing the man who looked genuinely happy but also a little bit shy that he had made so many people laugh.
Yes! This was what he had been looking for!
Yet…his methods had all been wrong.
In an attempt to copy over things from Earth, Daneel had almost caused a disaster. He had forgotten that Angaria was unique in itself: he might be able to carry over a general idea, but the general implementation was best if it was left to Angarians.
With this performance, he had been taught that lesson thoroughly.
Artistic, casual magic that was fun to look at, with a dose of silliness.
This was an act that would definitely be a huge hit here.
Most likely, his vision of a simple host wittily speaking on the podium might have been a flop!
Yes, at least this time, Daneel resolved to remember this lesson. He had to let go of any notion to bring things over exactly as they were. Instead, it might be more fun to see what the Angarians would do with them after he gave them the general idea.
Just as he was going to think on this further, Drakos and the system both spoke in his mind.
"Young King, trespassers!"
[Multiple individuals have trespassed on the Champion level formation that had been set up recently by host.]
His face hardening, he said, "Finalize him. I'll be back," before disappearing from the room.
A few seconds later, he was in the air, protected by Drakos's Hero level formation.
21 individuals led by a dark-skinned man who looked like a farmer were discreetly heading into Lanthanor on foot so as not to trigger the teleportation-detection formation.
Really? Did they think he was that weak?
After Daneel recent foray to Arafell where he had seen that there was a Hero-level detection formation set up there, he had immediately implemented the same in Lanthanor. After all, it would be extremely dumb not to do so after being alerted to it.
Although Drakos couldn't give him the formation that could detect even Hero-level individuals, he was happy enough to offer up the one which could alert him if anyone below the level of a Champion intruded into his Kingdom.
In fact, Daneel had even set up that formation in anticipation for people like these.
Clearly, these were the rogue cultivators whom Marcus had been keeping at bay. Now that he was out of the picture, Daneel had suspected that they might make their way.
Still, he was pretty surprised that they moved so fast.
After analysis, Daneel found out the power levels of this group, and honestly…he wasn't really worried.
The strongest one might be a problem, but with Drakos and the system, Daneel was sure that it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.
If he wished, he could swoop in right now and engage, and this seemed very enticing as he realized that he was itching for a fight after that incident where he had had to run with his tail between his legs from the Queen.
A good old beatdown was just perfect to get rid of frustrations like those, after all.
Yet, Daneel suddenly got an interesting idea.
With the night sky behind him, he watched as the 21 people carefully moved through the terrain of Lanthanor with a destination in mind.
Touching the communication trinket in his pocket, he said, "Eloise, prepare a large, discreet crew for an outdoor shoot. I want all the communication eyes we have. I've just had another epiphany."
Daneel had been trying to figure out what exciting show he would add to the new Network which would quickly make it a household name.
Before the full launch, his goal was to make it a commodity that would be sought after by all.
Now, he realized that he had gotten the perfect show to fulfill that goal.
Also, this would be the start of the ascent of his fame in the minds of the Angarians.
As Daneel flew after the intruders and started to finalize the plans in his mind, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Reality TV was, after all, one of the hottest and most successful genres in the TV industry.
Now, it was time to bring it over here…in Angarian Style.