The movie set was alive with restless and disarrayed movements.
It was a modest production, a mid-budget film of a second-time lead actor and a senior director who had a hit-and-miss career.
The crew moved hurriedly, adjusting lights, rearranging props, and shouting instructions to anyone within earshot.
"Extras, take your positions!" The young assistant director instructed while the director was discussing something with the cinematographer behind the camera lens.
As if on cue, a handful of people in business attire moved to their designated spots.
Among them was a young man who stood out - not because of anything dramatic, but because he carried himself with a quiet ease and uninterestedness.
His name was Regal Seraphsail - 23 years old.
Next to him, another extra stationed himself near the door, rigid and straight-backed like someone playing the part of a junior employee fresh out of college.
Regal, however, remained still, his sharp gaze roving over the room as he tried to take it all in.
No one had bothered to explain much to him or the other extras.
They had been given simple instructions - stay in character, stay in place, and let the scene happen around them.
With the snippets he had overheard and the setup around him, Regal pieced together the basics.
The setup was simple - the lead actor would walk into a bank, scouting the location for an eventual heist.
For the extras, it wasn't about stealing the scene.
They were just there to make the background feel real - faces that would flash by for maybe three seconds when the lead stepped through the door.
Regal let out a small sigh.
That was fine by him.
All he wanted was to finish this quickly and leave.
Soon, the camera began rolling under the director's instructions.
By the third, the director clapped his hands. "Cut! That's a wrap for today!"
The crew exhaled collectively, the frantic energy dissipating as quickly as it had built. The extras were ushered off to return their rented costumes, one by one receiving the payment they had agreed to.
As Regal tucked the crisp bills into his back pocket, a hand clapped his shoulder. "So, first day on set, how was it?"
He turned to see a familiar face.
It was Darren, a friend from his university days.
Just like him, Darren also dropped out in his final year, and it was through him that Regal had landed this gig.
"It was fine." Regal replied, his tone casual.
"Fine, huh?" Darren grinned. "So, you coming back tomorrow?"
Regal shook his head, a small shrug accompanying the gesture. "Nah. I just wanted to see what it's like on a real set. That's all."
"Your call. Hit me up if you ever want more gigs ." Darren started walking off, throwing a wave over his shoulder.
"Thanks, man!" Regal called after him before turning toward the public transport.
The night air hit him with a faint chill as he walked to the nearest bus stop.
Moments later, the bus pulled up.
Regal climbed aboard, tossed a few coins into the fare box, and slid into a seat by the back window.
He pressed his temple against the cool glass, eyes half-closed, watching the city lights blur into streaks as the bus jerked forward.
His phone buzzed again.
Regal glanced at it, irritation flickering across his sharp features. Another notification.
He tapped the screen and saw it was still 'Cryball'.
Another banal check-in message - 'Still alive, I hope?'
He smirked faintly and typed back.
'Busy. Call you later' before sliding the device into his jacket pocket.
Then, something flickered.
His sharp blue eyes snapped to it - a faint outline, hanging midair.
To anyone passing by, he might have looked like he was zoning out.
The real reason behind why he was suddenly accepted to work on set rather than roaming around studios to hunt for opportunities as a writer like he always did is because this...
The translucent blue screen hovered in front of him, glowing faintly, casting shadows across his tired face.
[Be a part of a film set for a day!] ☑
「Ding! The user has fulfilled the prerequisite for system activation」
「Does the user wish to activate the system?」
The first time it appeared, he had chalked it up to stress or too much screen time in front of his computer.
However, that theory lasted all of five seconds because the screen didn't go away.
It followed him everywhere, like an annoying gnat but quieter and glowing.
Eventually, he stopped questioning it.
Not because it wasn't bizarre, it absolutely was, but because by that time he had already experienced and accepted something even stranger.
The word still hit like a cold splash of water, a reminder of how his old life, against all his wild imagination had ended in the least cinematic way possible.
It wasn't a heroic sacrifice, no tearful farewells, not even a moment to process it.
Just, poof... lights off and curtains down. Check latest chapters at novel⚑fire.net
Yet, here he was, still alive.
Same name, different timeline.
New packaging, though.
This wasn't some magical realm of dragons and knights or a futuristic utopia with galaxy-spanning empires, nor was it a world of epic battles, towering mechs, or superpowers.
Or something annoyingly close to his old yet distinct in fascinating ways.
It was as if someone had taken his life, hit rewind, and decided to have different people leading to remix a few parts of history for kicks.
Also, it is the year 2009 in its last month.
So approximately fourteen years into the past, in a world eerily familiar yet undeniably skewed.
His eyes flicked to the floating screen again.
Regal mentally clicked on [Y].
Then the system began to shift as new sentences and words formed on the blue screen like a video game panel.
All the while, Regal's eyes didn't flinch even once.
「Successfully Activating The [Inkfinity Dex] System」
「↻...Processing Sign-In Bonus...↺」
「Ding! Skill Upgrade: [Director] - [Novice] –> [Advanced]」
「Ding! Ultimate Skill Unlocked : [Insight]」
「Ding! Token Acquired : [Search Card]」
「Ding! 1.5 Million EP credited」
It is gonna take a while.
Regal sighed, still coping up with everything happening in front of him.
When the bus finally came to a halt, he stepped off and started the nine-minute walk to his small fifth-floor apartment.
Once inside, he quickly freshened up, grabbed a light snack, and headed back out.
Time for the night shift at the convenience store, his part-time job.
Gotta feed himself, right?
On his way, he kept fiddling with the system to explore it more during any spare moment he could steal.
With this, two days had passed since Regal woke up in this world.
The first day had been a blur of confusion, trying to piece together his memories, make sense of the system, and survive the night shift at his part-time job.
While the second day was spent on the set before heading back to the convenience store.
Regret lingered. Wasting the entire first day still stung.
By the time he called Darren to check for gigs on anything related to a 'real' movie set, all opportunities had dried up. It was out of his hands.
Today, however, Regal had talked the store owner into giving him a morning shift instead. Now, freshly returned from work, he prepared himself for what came next.
The countdown was nearing its end.
In just a few minutes, twelve hours would have passed since he activated the system after his stint on a movie set.
That twelve-hour mark?
Why? You will see soon enough.
Now, as for the name of the system he had awakened?
Its purpose and functions are simple.
Every set of skills and source of entertainment he had ever loved about in his old world - scripts, novels, poems, comics, even those embarrassing fanfics he secretly binge-read on weekends.
The good, the bad, the painfully cringe-worthy. All of it.
Every story he had ever - read, watched, heard, or ignored was sitting at his fingertips.
For someone like him, who had a borderline obsessive love for filmmaking, this was the jackpot.
So, as he scanned the glowing text on the screen, his lips curved into a half-smirk.
This was a dream come true, wasn't it?
A gift straight out of the heavens, tailored just for him.
Regal exhaled sharply, leaning his head back against the wall. "Yeah, sure. Every script at my fingertips. Yet here I am, in 2009, broke, confused, and still... single. Thanks, universe. Really nailed it."
But even as the sarcasm rolled off his tongue, his gaze sharpened.
True, this wasn't the action-packed adventure of swords, spaceships, or magic he had read about in countless transmigration and reincarnation novels.
But he had never wished for those things.
What life had taught him, in no uncertain terms, was this - you don't get to pick your cards.
You just figure out how to win with the hand you're dealt.
And Regal Seraphsail?
He was going to be a storyteller.
So, if the world wanted to hand him blank pages, he would write his own damn story.
"Two more minutes for the next refresh... I hope that pin or whatever works like the system mentioned."
Regal muttered under his breath, his gaze shifting once again to the screen.
[Name:] Regal Seraphsail
ⓘ [EP Available : 1.5 Million]
ⓘ [Bulletin Board] ([┘]- 00:02:48 )
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