Chapter 456 - 295: A Food Documentary Forced to Go Off-Topic

Chapter 456: Chapter 295: A Food Documentary Forced to Go Off-Topic

"Alright, that was a good take! Let’s eat!"

The burly man carrying the camera set down the machine, which was worth more than he was, being extremely careful not to bump it.

Photography is a money pit, and this thing was even more expensive.

But it had its upsides. Carrying the camera was a good workout.

"No, I don’t think my delivery was good enough. I can do better."

"Give it a rest, Captain. The total number of books our whole group has ever read is probably less than what a first-grader gets through. What kind of fancy words are you expecting us to come up with?" The cameraman packed away the camera, rolled up his sleeves, and started to eat.

He had once been a Warrior. He used to carry a Warhammer; now he carried a camera.

Honestly, the Warhammer was lighter.

But at least cameramen didn’t have to wear armor.

The worst part about being a Warrior was the heavy armor. It looked cool and impressive on the outside, but underneath, your skin would be pale and pruned from all the sweat.

"I second that. Besides, I don’t think the fact that no one watches our videos has much to do with your commentary, Captain,"

said the Half-Elf, a former Evil Mage who was now their makeup artist and lighting guy.

"Are our videos really that bad?"

the man they called Captain asked.

The cameraman and the makeup artist nodded emphatically.

"We’ve been making videos for two months, sunk over a thousand Gold Coins into this, and have only earned about thirty Copper Coins."

"Not only has no one offered us any sponsorships, but we barely get any views. We have over twenty videos, and our total view count just passed a hundred thousand," the makeup artist added, twisting the knife.

"Wasn’t that thousand-plus Gold Coins mostly for the camera? Besides, this is all just an initial investment! Once we grow the channel, the money will start rolling in. That’s what the experts all say," the Captain argued.

"Your ’expert’ only has ten thousand followers," the cameraman said, stating the brutal truth.

The Captain scratched his head awkwardly.

"All you two do is complain. You both agreed to this career change, you know. Ugh, I’ve lost my appetite."

"Thanks." The cameraman snatched the Captain’s plate with practiced speed.

To fund their career change into video production, the Captain had sold his entire set of gear, including the Holy Emblem that signified his status as a Paladin.

They had once been a small, elite, three-man Adventurer Corps.

Though small, they had all their bases covered.

A Warrior, an Evil Mage, and a Paladin—a unique take on the classic warrior-mage-cleric trio.

They had completed countless difficult quests throughout their careers as Adventurers.

But as times changed, life for an Adventurer grew increasingly difficult.

The number of Dungeons and Relics to explore was dwindling, and the demand for small-scale quests had plummeted. Now, most of the quests offered by the Adventurer Guild required large teams to complete.

As a result, Adventurer Corps began to merge, gradually evolving into large-scale mercenary companies.

Everything was becoming increasingly commercialized.

None of the three liked the idea of joining a corporation, but they couldn’t ignore the fact that the niche for small teams was rapidly shrinking.

So, the Captain, their Paladin, made an executive decision: it was time for a career change!

They would embrace the new craze of the era: the Divine Remains Network.

After a period of market research, the Captain pinpointed the perfect video genre for them.

Food videos.

All you needed was one person to sit there, eat, and talk.

It was perfect.

’Even I can do that,’ he thought.

And so, very quickly, they sold off their gear and bought a camera and a high-end computer for video production.

The problem was, they had been far too optimistic. In a moment of hubris, they bought near top-of-the-line equipment.

Regrets.

Many, many regrets.

Who would have thought that making videos, which seemed so simple, wasn’t a guaranteed way to make a living?

The comment sections of their videos, which averaged only a few thousand views each, were filled with negative feedback.

Some said he ate too fast and looked unrefined; others said he ate too slowly and made the food look unappetizing.

Some complained that he never ate anything high-end; others complained that he didn’t review street food stalls and was out of touch with everyday life.

Some said he just ate without describing the food; others said he talked too much instead of just eating...

It got to the point where the Captain began to seriously doubt himself, wondering if he was incapable of doing anything right on camera.

Meanwhile, the other two were wolfing down their food. To them, a lack of enthusiasm for food was a sign of a troubled mind.

The Captain, however, had no appetite. He was wracked with anxiety every day. After all, his two companions had put their trust in him to start this venture; he couldn’t drag them down with him.

Lost in thought, his eyes drifted to a newspaper lying by the roadside.

"The Villain military has announced the establishment of a safe zone outside the combat area for civilian use..."

Aha!

The Captain slammed his hand on the table.

"I have a great idea!"

The other two paid him no mind, still focused on their food. The Captain had been having a lot of "great ideas" lately, none of which had panned out.

"No, I’m serious! Weren’t we originally planning to go to Augustine City to film their local cuisine?"

"Uh-huh," the makeup artist replied dismissively.

"But we couldn’t go because a war suddenly broke out."

"So?"

"Now that they’ve set up a safe zone, we can film a ’Warzone Cuisine’ series! It’s guaranteed to go viral."

Having spent a few months on YouTube, he had a pretty good idea of what kind of content blew up.

Either you have a unique gimmick...

The Captain knew he couldn’t pull off any of those bizarre stunts.

...or you offer something high-quality or rare.

A series on food in a warzone would be completely unique to their channel. It was guaranteed to grab people’s attention.

"Hahaha, a warzone..."

The cameraman and the makeup artist burst into laughter as if they’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

But when they saw the serious expression on the Captain’s face, they realized he wasn’t kidding.

"You can’t be serious, right?"

The Captain said with great pride, "Trust me, this is a genuinely good idea. The greater the risk, the greater the reward!"

"I think it’s a stupid idea," said the Half-Elf Evil Mage.

"Actually, it’s not that dumb. Compared to selling all our gear to go all-in on making videos, I’d say this idea is decent," the Warrior said, his voice rumbling.