….
[March 14, 2011]
….
"It seems everyone's hard at work." Regal announced as he stepped into the room.
His eyes drifted over the scattered papers, whiteboards, and monitor-lit faces. There was a casual curiosity in his tone, but his gaze was sharp.
At one of the center desks, a man looked up from a spread of concept sketches, panel drafts, and layout grids.
"Regal. You are here." He said, offering a smile, but the weariness in his posture showed just how deep into setup mode he was.
Regal nodded, stepping closer. "So, Gregor - how is the adjustment going? Settled in?"
Gregor shrugged with a half-laugh. "Still syncing with the workflow, but it's getting there. The team is solid. We are just fine-tuning the pipeline."
Officially, Gregor was now Head of Narrative & Visual Direction in EverLeafe's newly launched comics division - an ambitious vertical aimed at building original IPs through serialized graphic storytelling.
Also it's the same Gregor - the one from the WB who tried every means necessary to get Regal two webnovel's comic adaptation rights.
But in a way it seems he did get them in the end but just a little different in the company he will be working for.
It wasn't an easy decision for Gregor. He had left behind years of work, a leadership post, and a studio he helped shape from the ground up.
Here, he would be starting over, surrounded by unknowns.
But he had taken the leap.
And Regal had made a silent promise to himself the day the deal closed - he wasn't going to let Gregor regret that choice.
"Anyway." He said casually. "How is it going so far?"
"Actually." Gregor began. "I was about to reach out. Wanted to run some of the progress by you before presenting it to the Boss—just for cross-verification."
By the Boss, he clearly meant Gwendolyn.
Gregor was always particular about structure. While he valued Regal's creative eye and feedback, he knew where the final say rested. Gwendolyn was the one signing his checks, and in Gregor's book, that made the hierarchy clear.
And he also knew, without needing to explain, that Regal understood what he was implying. What mattered more was that Regal respected it.
He never made things political, never pulled rank, never interfered.
"Well." Regal said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I am here now. Let's see it."
Gregor smiled and clapped his hands once. "Perfect. But before we dive in, let me introduce you to the team."
He turned toward the cluster of desks, motioning toward each occupied seat.
"This is our lead artist - Alfonso Williamson."
Alfonso, a lean man with a slight streak of gray in his hair despite his youth, glanced up and gave a nod.
Regal stepped forward, offering a hand. "I have heard a lot about you from Gregor. The genius artist."
Alfonso blinked, surprised, then chuckled as he shook Regal's hand. "I appreciate the compliment, sir."
Gregor continued with a small grin. "Next to him is Amanda - our character colorist. She is responsible for giving our cast life on the page. Beside her is Kevin - he handles backgrounds and environmental design. Years of experience in both manga and American comics."
Both nodded as Regal gave a casual wave of greeting.
"And over here." Gregor said, pointing to the next station. "Is Samuel. He is the one adding the spark - visual effects, impact bursts, glow enhancements. You name it."
Samuel offered a peace sign without looking up, focused on adjusting a lighting overlay on one of the panels.
"And finally." Gregor gestured toward the youngest member at the end of the row, "This is Nick, our letterer. Dialogue bubbles, font treatment, SFX. He has got an eye for flow and timing."
Nick gave a shy nod, clearly a little starstruck.
Gregor turned back to Regal. "And everyone - while you may know him as the director… there is one more thing."
He paused.
"This." He said, his voice carrying just a touch of formality. "Is Regal Seraphsail. The author of the novel we are adapting. He will also be serving as the project's editor moving forward."
?!!There was a ripple of surprised murmurs.
Regal smiled faintly, giving a small nod to the team. "Looking forward to working with all of you."
….
Regal spent the next several minutes chatting with them.
Nothing too formal.
Just getting a feel for their personalities, hearing about their backgrounds, sharing a few thoughts on the tone and feel of the adaptation. It was light, easy. Intentional.
After that, he reviewed the progress so far.
Truth be told, there wasn't much.
But that was expected. The team had only officially come together a week ago.
Still, they weren't starting from scratch. The adaptation of [Solo Leveling] had one big advantage: Regal had already provided them with example material - draft panels and stylistic samples he had created during pre-development.
He had made it clear they were free to use or ignore it. 'Take it or leave it. Your call.'
But the problem was... the panels were too good to ignore.
The team eventually decided to use Regal's style as the visual foundation - adjusted, of course, to blend with Alfonso Williamson's artistic hand.
Alfonso couldn't just mimic Regal's style. That would never work long-term. It had to feel natural. Organic. His own.
So, the current focus was finding his version of the style.
Right now, they have three variations locked.
All three were visually strong.
Two of them were quite similar, with only subtle differences - facial expressions, anatomical features, the way shadows played across the characters' bodies.
But the third one? A more dramatic shift. Bolder lines, sharper contrasts, a more stylized approach that departed noticeably from the original.
The team stood at a crossroads. They had to choose one.
And it wouldn't be easy.
All three options looked good. But only one of them would fit the story.
And that, more than aesthetics, was what mattered.
Buzz–!
As Regal was flipping through the drafts, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
[Gwen]
Usually, he would step outside to take the call, give the team their space, but this time, he stayed. There was something he wanted Gregor's opinion on anyway.
"Gregor… I am taking this. Just a sec."
Gregor blinked. "Sure…?"
He didn't quite understand what Regal was doing, but he gave a nod.
….
Regal answered.
And almost instantly regretted it.
On the other end, Gwendolyn, his wonderfully chaotic girlfriend, was in full swing with her antics. He was lucky he hadn't put the call on speaker right away. That would have made the room very awkward.
So, as she rattled off her flirtatious nonsense, Regal didn't say a word. Just soft grunts of acknowledgment, the occasional amused exhale.
But eventually, he had to cut in.
"Gwen. I am putting you on speaker. I have got something to ask."
"Oh, okay!" She chirped, then paused. "Wait - where are you? I forgot to ask."
Regal gave a look that said, of course you did.
Gregor leaned in, curious.
Regal turned the phone slightly and spoke. "Have you ever heard of Marvel and DC?"
Even as Regal said it, he grimaced.
The sentence felt wrong. Like a cultural crime.
Have you heard of Marvel and DC?
If he were in his old world, the stares he would get for asking something like that… It would be worse than committing blasphemy in a comic con.
But this world was different.
Gwendoyln scoffed on the line. "Uh, yeah? Where do you think I work? I am literally the CEO of a publishing company. This is my job, you know."
She sounded so proud of herself, and Regal could practically hear the smug smirk over the line.
Gregor nodded along, muttering. "She has got a point."
"Okay, you are brilliant." Regal said with a touch of dramatic flattery.
"Hmm, now that's more like it." Gwendolyn replied, clearly basking in the praise.
But then she remembered - her employees were within earshot.
She cleared her throat quickly, voice shifting back to 'responsible CEO mode'. "Ahem. So… what about them?"
Regal paused for a second, as if weighing the gravity of the words.
Then, calmly - too calmly - he asked. "Do you think you can… buy them for me?"
Silence.
It almost sounded like he was just casually asking her to buy him his favorite candy.
The reaction was obvious - deep silence.
On the other side, Gwendolyn nearly choked on her water. A sputter, a cough, barely managing to not spill it all over her desk.
Gregor, across from Regal, looked like someone had just slapped him with a script titled - The World Ends Today.
Even a few of the team members who overheard froze, stunned.
Regal glanced around, noticing the stares.
Deadpan.
Not because he didn't care about their reactions - but because he didn't expect them to be this strong.
He thought maybe a chuckle, a confused eyebrow raise.
But this?
It seemed… he had underestimated the room.
Just a little.
So he added.
"Of course, I will pay… you just need to act as the publisher."
Gwendolyn arched an eyebrow. "Are you seriously rich enough to invest in something… that unworthy of your time?"
Unworthy of my time, huh? Regal sighed inwardly.
It seemed he had underestimated just how little regard this world had for what, in his last life, were the two most successful cinematic superhero franchises of all time.
Well, guess I should just change it. Regal thought.
He liked the challenge.
In fact, the more underestimated something was - the more people dismissed it - the more motivated he became to prove them wrong.
This wasn't about nostalgia.
It was about potential.
And if no one else could see it…
Then good. That just meant no one would get in his way.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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