Rise To Stardom - Chapter 227

Chapter 227: Meant For This
Hours had turned into days.

Days, turned into weeks.

Weeks, into months.

A total of six more concerts were ticked off, one after the other, alongside multiple music festivals, each one more memorable than the last for Kyle.

And then, finally, on the 11th of June, right on the eve of his last concert ending, Kyle gave his deepest appreciation at New York’s, Madison Square Garden as his crowd of adoring fans, kept screaming and cheering at the very top of their lungs;

“I don’t even know where to start, really. This tour— Your Odyssey— has been one of the most memorable moments of my life.”

“The fact that I get to end it here, in this iconic venue, with all of you? That’s something I’ll never take for granted.”

“From the first show to this very moment, you’ve all been with me… through every city I’ve been in, every song I’ve performed…”

“We’ve laughed together. We’ve cried together. But most importantly, you’ve given me so much to be thankful for. Truly, without you all, none of this would be possible.”

“And that goes for my team, my crew, the guest musicians and most especially, once again, you the fans. Really, you have no idea how much your love and support means to me.”

“Every scream, every sign, every lyric sung back to me louder than I could ever imagine and, it’s a feeling I just can’t simply put into words.”

“So, from the deepest, absolute depths of my heart, thank you so much for being with me through it all. I hope to keep living up to your immense expectations. Goodnight Madison Square Garden! Goodnight, New York City!”

With his long appreciation speech given, one that was met with a resounding wave of fervor and applauds from his fans, Kyle waved them all goodbye as he slowly made his way off the stage.

The Your Odyssey tour, despite being on the much shorter side of the spectrum, had estimatedly drawn over 1.1 million people, raking in a whopping sum of $77+ million.

In fact, if not for Kyle, having Stuart, reduce his tour tickets by 30% of the average $108 per ticket due to him not being comfortable with charging that much for a three-month long tour, the revenue would’ve far surpassed well over $100+ million.

* * *

[12th of June, 2022]

Kyle, despite not checking his panel a single time throughout the entire three-month period he had been touring, save for the very first day, opted to still not check.

This was because, the moment he had settled at his home in New York, he had begun prepping for the shooting of [Tech Wiz: Year One] which would begin in two weeks’ time.

Sure he’d pretty much memorized the script, long before he went for his tour but still, it was a different ball game entirely to effectively understand exactly how to portray Nathan North, the movie’s lead character in a live-action setting.

One that wouldn’t detract from the way he was presented in the comics.

At the same time, Kyle was going to be once again, composing the score and soundtrack of the movie, albeit this time, he was going to be working hand-in-hand with a few professionals in the industry.

Yet, added to all that, there was still a quite a lot he needed to catch up on.

[FortMight], having reached a fully polished state, was finally unveiled at Games Con to overwhelmingly positive responses, particularly with the beta version being available for gamers and critics to experience firsthand.

Otis, Theo and Phineas had been the ones to present their brainchild, albeit still under SpawnPoint Studio’s name as they briefly explained their partnership with the game studio to the audience of curious gamers.

Sharon on the other hand, as per Kyle’s orders, took the stage to present the trailer for [Tech Wiz]’s DLC, surprising everyone at Games Con, both with her appearance et role as Voltress and, the fact that their beloved game was getting 25+ hours of additional content for just $19.99.

That, followed by a thrilling 10-minute gameplay showcase led by Carlos, highlighting all the new content and features in the game, had every gamer’s energy surge in excitement as they revealed the official release date of November 7th.

Originally, SpawnPoint Studios had planned to launch the DLC on August 5th to coincide with the anniversary of the original game’s release.

However, after a strategic discussion between Cassandra, Oliver, Xavier and Carlos, one that they briefly relayed to Kyle via Owen during his tour, they had decided to push the date closer to [Tech Wiz: Year One]’s possible December or January release date.

Promotional synergy, basically.

That was what Cassandra especially, aimed to do by building anticipation and cementing people’s interest in both the game and the upcoming live-action film.

That said, even all these, weren’t the exact reasons why Kyle, ignored something as exciting as checking his system’s notifications.

“Oh wow…” Xavier commented with a widened gaze of interest, same as Cassandra who commented surprisingly the moment she spotted he and Oliver walking over;

“Now that’s dedication…”

To that, Kyle scratched the back of his head with a slightly bashful expression, his smile diffident.

His naturally voluminous raven-hair was nowhere to be found as it had been cut down, dyed dark-brown and trimmed into light, messy, feathered bangs.

“Did you have that done today?” Cass soon inquired, her expression curious.

“Yeah. This morning.” Kyle responded with a light smile, after which he then frowned slightly;

“My scalp’s burning again though…”

“Again?” Xavier remarked curiously, the interest in his cognac-brown irises growing by the minute.

“Yeah. I did something similar during my role for [The Curator]. My scalp stung for days.” Kyle explained to the Director who had a light of realization in his eyes.

The Chaotic 10th, did have quite the stylized hairstyle after all.

Exchanging a few more pleasantries though, all four then proceeded to make their way into the fairly-large, two-storey building before them as they strolled across its parking lot.

Calvin, the Lead Costume Designer for the movie, had literally contacted Kyle, Oliver, Xavier and Cassandra, a few hours ago, informing them that Tech Wiz’s exosuit was done.

And so, upon arriving at the Costume Designer’s office by taking the elevator, Kyle, upon laying eyes on the exosuit a few seconds later, let out an excited, shaky breath, his eyes gleaming with childlike awe.

Just like the concept design he had submitted to Calvin, the exosuit before him had a futuristic and sleek feel, featuring a vibrant combination of orange and blue with glowing neon accents, highlighting certain parts.

It also included a high-tech-looking helmet with an illuminated visor and earpieces, armored gloves which Nathan called Pulse Gauntlets, along with reinforced boots which he termed Grav Boots, and utility pouches.

Yet, at its core, it definitely looked somewhat homemade, fitting the theme of the ‘Year One’ that Kyle had purposely come up with to reflect that Nathan was just starting out as a hero and was new to all these, including how his very first exosuit looked like.

“It’s, perfect!” the young star remarked with an exhilarating smile on his features.

Noticing the same wave of excitement in Xavier, Oliver and Cass’s irises from his periphery, Calvin whom had been watching all four, gestured to Kyle.

“Why not give it a try? You know, just in case it needs adjustments.” he offered.

Without even reasoning twice, Kyle agreed, his fingers practically tingling in excitement.

Just like that, a few minutes later, Kyle was fitted from top to bottom in the exosuit, the helmet, snugly fitting onto his head.

And upon walking out of the changing room a few seconds later, Xavier and Oliver had to remind themselves that although men would always be men, they were still adults who should behave their age.

“Woah…” Oliver muttered first, practically willing himself to not touch the costume as he kept staring in awe.

“Calvin. I salute you.” Xavier on the other stated, tightly clenching his fists in a wave of excitement as the Lead Costume Designer, gave a small bow of appreciation.

As for Cassandra, despite knowing fully well that the two grown men beside her were practically holding themselves back from touching the exosuit, chuckled quietly, returning her attention back to a suited Kyle as she inwardly remarked;

‘He looks like he was meant for this…’

There Tech Wiz was, standing strong and confident, his stance, balanced yet slightly wide to convey a sense of readiness.

His arms and gloved hands also rested naturally at his sides, both suggesting a sense of control and awareness.

Tilting his head downwards slightly to emphasize an even stronger heroic presence, Kyle soon broke character as he chuckled dangerously, his voice muffled due to the helmet as he stated;

“I think I’m gonna faint if I don’t take off this helmet in the next few seconds. The airflow’s practically, non-existent.”

At first, all three remained silent…

Then they exploded alongside Calvin in unified concern!

“Say that earlier!!”

…

…

…

Crashing onto his bed after a fruitful day of prepping for the upcoming movie, one that involved a lot of sheet music and composing later in the day, Kyle, having taken a shower, took the time to finally view all his notifications.

| Tallying… |

“That’s a new one…” he arched a curious brow as he watched his system compiling all the achievements he had gained over the course of the past few months.

| You have completed your very first tour! |

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

| 75,000 exp. points have been awarded! |

| Total exp. points available (156,505) |

| Singing has advanced from level 16 to level 18! |

| Dancing has advanced from level 14 to level 17! |

| Instrument Mastery (Piano) has advanced from level 13 to level 15! |

| Instrument Mastery (Guitar) has advanced from level 13 to level 15! |

| You are close to breaking through to level 16 in Instrument Mastery (Piano)! |

| You are close to breaking through to level 16 in Instrument Mastery (Guitar)! |

| Advancement in Instrument Mastery will become exponentially harder from here on out! |

| Advancement in Dancing will become exponentially harder from here on out! |

| Advancement in Singing will become astronomically harder from here on out! |

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

___________________________

{Kyle Kestis} – Exp. Points (156,505)

⸶Skills⸷

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

* Exp. Points can be used to create skills.

⸶Levels⸷

| Singing › Level 18

| Acting › Level 14

| Composing › Level 16

| Dancing › Level 17

| Instrument Mastery (Piano/Guitar) › Level 15/15

* Levels will increase in accordance to your growth.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Just as Kyle had expected, he gained almost two levels in all his stats, save for Dancing which ascended three levels.

Still, he wasn’t particularly fazed by this as it was the stat that had been verging on going up by a level, even before his tour.

What had him a bit fazed though, was the ‘astronomically harder’ notification.

“Guess Level 18 upwards’ another ball game of its own…” he muttered out loud thoughtfully, his gaze moving away from his Singing stat to rest upon the other thing that had him similarly fazed.

The staggering amounts of exp. points he had accumulated.

Sure there were a bunch of things he could make with them or stats he could level up but, if Kyle was being honest, he figured it’d be a waste of points in the long run.

So he opted to simply leave it be in case something truly worthwhile came to mind.

As for his Acting stat, which unfortunately was now the lowest, Kyle was looking forward to when filming finally began so he could put in the work to get it to higher levels.

‘But for now…’ the young man closed the panel.

‘I need some shut eye.’ he adjusted his pillows while shutting his eyelids and soon, had himself whisked away to slumberland.

Meanwhile, just as Kyle went into slumber, someone else, somewhere else, opened her big, round, eyes, her jade-green irises captivating yet noticeably tired.

Slowly, the girl in question blinked away her bleariness, and soon, her irises began to wander about the unfamiliar hospital room till it finally, rested on the one person she was extremely happy to see, taking a nap with his head rested on her hospital bed.

“Daddy.” her young yet noticeably hoarse voice came out as a whisper and yet Clint, the moment he heard, snapped awake, his similarly jade-green irises, lighting up like fireworks on the 4th of July.

Clint’s life had taken a sharp turn for the better a few months back, especially with the fact that he’d be starring as the main villain in a blockbuster superhero movie in the coming months.

But even that, couldn’t top the immense wave of joy he felt upon seeing his daughter, hale and hearty.

Hours later, after the doctor had come to examine the young girl, after the father had filled his daughter in on everything that had happened while she was sedated and being treated, Eliza then asked excitedly, her voice still hoarse;

“Are you excited to meet them? You said they’re big people, right?”

“Excited, no. Nervous, definitely.” Clint replied to his daughter’s question with a light smile as he brushed a few strands of hair away from her forehead.

There was that saying after all–– Never meet your heroes.

And for Clint, as someone who felt like he would be in an environment where everyone would possibly be looking down on him due to his background, he was extremely concerned about how he would be perceived.

That said, whatever the case would be, he’d be finding out in the coming week at the table read session.