Rise To Stardom - Chapter 157

Chapter 157: $69.99
After the events of yesterday, everyone had parted ways, with Lily and Amy, taking Christina along to their hotel instead of allowing her to lodge at hers.

Considering the lady’s cute shenanigans continued throughout the rest of the dinner due to being an extremely light drinker, they figured it’d be in her best interest that they monitored her till she became stone-cold sober.

Having woken up the next day though, the lady, after recalling all that she had done, had the most embarrassed expression on her features, especially when she remembered her interaction with Kyle.

She was so embarrassed she ended up writing a note in French, one that Lily and Amy, both of whom had kept playfully teasing her for it all morning, ended up translating after a quick Eagle search.

– Dear God. Please, have the ground, painlessly swallow me up.

It had been the lady’s very first time getting drunk and she hadn’t even considered the potential possibilities of consuming it by mistake amidst her friends whom had probably consumed it, either knowingly or unknowingly due to probably attending a few Hollywood events here and there.

Considering the lady had just been so happy and so proud of Kyle’s achievements, she never would’ve expected herself to want to make those thoughts clear by getting up close and personal with him under the influence of alcohol!

That said, it was still early morning as of the moment and the birds were chirping, the atmosphere quiet and peaceful in Carl’s million-dollar mansion.

The mansion itself was fairly populated too and was mostly, full of Carl’s team of employees, sleeping like logs of woods in almost every corner of the house that allowed it.

Eyes already open wide though, especially since he had woken up about a minute ago, Kyle who had a whole room to himself, finally pulled open his notifications from yesterday with a mental command.

| You have opened a concert for the first time! |

| You have composed and performed an original song with a superstar! |

| You have performed before an impressive number of people and impressed them! |

| A truly remarkable feat has been achieved! |

| Massive bonus will be applied! |

| You have obtained a massive amount of exp. points! |

| 10,000 exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (35,525) |

| Singing has advanced from level 13 to level 14! |

| Composing has advanced from level 13 to level 14! |

| Dancing has advanced from level 6 to level 7! |

| Instrument Mastery (Guitar) has advanced from level 8 to level 9! |

| Instrument Mastery (Guitar) has advanced from level 9 to level 10! |

| Advancement in singing, composing and dancing will become even harder from here on out! |

| Keep singing, composing and dancing to improve your skills! |

___________________________

{Kyle Kestis} – Exp. Points (35,525)

⸶Skills⸷

| [Soulful Vocals (P)], [Growth Spurt (P)], [Appraisal(A)], [Resonance (P)] – {A}], [Charisma (P)], [Polyglot (P)], [Deep Dive (A) – {A}], [Recollection (P)], [Scene Stealer (A)], [Action & Stunt Mastery (P)], [Bleeding Effect (P)], [Detoxification (A)], [Peak Human Conditioning (P)]…

* Exp. Points can be used to create skills.

⸶Levels⸷

| Singing › Level 14

| Acting › Level 13

| Composing › Level 14

| Dancing › Level 7

| Instrument Mastery (Piano/Guitar) › Level 10/10

* Levels will increase in accordance to your growth.

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‘Oh wow…’ Kyle inwardly commented as he stared at the long string of notifications with a contented smile.

The concert, just as he had hoped, had exponentially boosted his stats.

‘But even then, it’s my first time, seeing a core stat increase by two levels in a single go…’ he mused to himself, after which he then remembered something important;

‘Come to think of it, during my livestream last year, it did inform me that I was very close to breaking through to level 9…’

‘That explains it then.’ Kyle finally understood why it had increased twice.

The massive exp. he had gotten had quite possibly, spilled over from the last level advance, into the next.

Just like the influx of water into the rings of a water tank.

It was a bit of a downer though that the young man, couldn’t exactly pinpoint the criteria that facilitated each actual increase in stats.

One thing that was established though, was that performing before an expansive live audience, whether singing, acting, dancing or playing a musical instrument, explosively facilitated his growth.

‘That said…’ Kyle’s gaze now lingered on the increased level of his dancing stat.

‘This was very much appreciated too.’ he inwardly commented, a satisfactory smile on his lips.

Personally learning to land a backflip and also some simple dance choreography during rehearsals before the concert to perform [Dancin’ On The Edge] alongside Carl had definitely been worth it.

‘Hopefully I can get it to increase by one more level by the time I’m done with my openings for the mini-tour.’ Kyle made a conscious decision to keep raising his dancing stats.

‘And speaking of dancing…’ Kyle, rolled sideways on the bed, halting at its tail end.

‘It’s about time I perused through you…’ he extended his arm towards his bag placed by the bedside on the floor, grabbing it and rummaging through as he sat up on the bed.

Retrieving a thick stack of scripts that Oliver had printed with an intrigued gaze, Kyle read the name of the script out loud while simultaneously appraising it.

“[Level Up 2].”

___________________________

{Level Up 2} – (73%)

Building up on the foundation of what made the first movie a success, the second installation of this dance movie created by Director Danny Rock, follows another ragtag group of tight-knit misfits and street performers in their aspirations of becoming renowned dancers in a high-stakes dance competition.

___________________________

Already having a good feeling about the script, especially since he remembered the script of the first movie he auditioned for, being at potential of 60%, the bump to 73% in this script was a welcome addition.

Added to that, from what his [Appraisal] had showed him, it seemed like the Director wasn’t just making the movie due to the last one’s commercial success but also because he had a good grasp the vision he wanted to bring to life.

Keeping all this in mind, Kyle flipped open the first page, anticipation and excitement in his eyes.

And just like that, after sinking close to over twenty minutes into the script, the moment Kyle, saw the first few lines of the character he was tasked to play, he instantly, burst into laughter.

‘Yeah. I think I’m gonna have a jolly good time playing Lance’s character.’ Kyle inwardly commented, an even more excited smile on his lips as he kept reading the script.

* * *

In an online meeting for the shareholders and investors of GameSoft Studio’s next blockbuster AAA game, [A Pirate’s Odyssey], Griffin was also in attendance, his stocks in the company, nothing to scoff at for an investor like him.

Considering he had also facilitated the large videogame company’s extra spots at Games Con. a month ago so easily, even some of the higher-ups in the company, took notice of him as a potential, long-time partner.

That said, as at the moment, the CEO of GameSoft Studios, Hector Ruffalo, a middle-aged man who had a lot of experience over the years, spoke over the conference call;

[Considering the budget costs, we’ve come to the decision to price the game at $69.99 per copy.]

[Also, to cut down on budget costs, we’ve decided there won’t be any physical copies, although the Collector’s Edition still stands as is.]

No sooner had he said that, the conference call erupted into a string of people, talking over in response, the reception mixed.

[Isn’t that too expensive? The average pricing for a video game is currently $49.99.] a fledgling investor, stated, a noticeable hint of panic in his voice.

[I’m all in with this decision. Less money will be saved on production costs if we just make it all digital. Besides, who even buys physical these days?] Griffin gave his verdict without any rebuttal.

[Well this is an interesting turn of events, one that could potentially backfire if the cards are not played right.] an old investor whom had been in the industry for a long time, commented thoughtfully.

[Hmmm… considering the positive reception of the game at Games Con, I think these decisions won’t pose an issue.] a young shareholder of the company, casually stated, his beliefs strong.

Just like that, a few more comments were being made as Hector, simply allowed for everyone to air out their opinions.

Having given them enough time to make their voices heard, the man then cleared his throat and spoke;

[The sort of advancement in graphics and mechanics for [A Pirate’s Odyssey] is like nothing any one has ever seen.]

[We’re really pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to give players the best immersive sim experience. One that’s purely, and truly, next gen.]

[But all these things, don’t come easy and a lot of money, went into making the game as realistic as possible.]

[To make back, far much more than the money invested, its necessary that we spike up the price.]

Speaking with the eloquence of a true businessman, a skill he had polished to perfection over the years, everyone in the conference call, soon calmed down considerably, believing everything the CEO of the billion-dollar company said.

Truly, his words seemed to be true as even at Games Con, the reception to the game’s gameplay reveal had been met with hype and excitement.

Added to that, considering how much success the company had over the years with most of their games, it was a no-brainer move that they must’ve really thought it through before they proceeded to make such drastic changes.

However, Hector wasn’t done yet as he still had a few more words to say;

[As for the decision to not have physical copies, it’s the digital age.]

[If the OTT music streaming and video platforms are already doing it, why can’t we?] Hector pointed out, something to which almost everyone on the conference call, believed was a pretty valid point.

[No one owns anything media-based these days really. Everyone, mostly, just owns the license to use and enjoy these things.]

[I guess, gamers too, will just have to get comfortable with not owning their games, just like they don’t own any other source of media.] the CEO of the billion-dollar game company, concluded with a dismissive tone.