The celebrities were all in a dazed state. Where are we? The sky was dark, storm clouds rolled in the distance with faint thunder, the earth was cracked, and there wasn't even a blade of grass. Was this some reality show?
Even the most rational among them were completely bewildered. It was too unexpected.
The puppet master's background was too overwhelming. Even celebrities who'd attended shooting training hadn't dared bring weapons. Suddenly finding themselves in the middle of nowhere, several small groups quickly formed.
More people waited for others to stick their necks out so they could take advantage.
Constantine, dressed in rags, initially attracted no attention. Not until a certain celebrity prepared to assign tasks and dispatch people to search the four directions for water did anyone notice this guy.
Who was this slovenly fellow? The celebrity circle wasn't large—they rarely didn't recognize each other.
"Who are you?" A rather influential male star asked suspiciously.
Constantine's principle had always been keeping ordinary people far from magic. Now he knew his principle couldn't hold. To make this group understand their situation and deepen the impression, his lips curved in a smile. He looked at the numerous new students with deep affection and used magic to start the first lesson...
Rising air currents lifted him up. The gorgeous female stars' astonished gazes gave him unprecedented satisfaction. He showily posed with frost in his left hand and flame in his right.
Actually quite handsome to begin with, having cleaned up before coming, Constantine's seven-point looks reached eight points under the mysterious atmosphere.
The Hollywood crowd was well-traveled. Several tried hard to find flaws in Constantine's display. In their view, this was mostly light effects or simple sleight of hand.
The San Fernando Valley artists couldn't handle it. They had no stage experience, usually filming indoors. Plus lacking education—many were from poverty or even illegal immigrants—they were completely taken in by Constantine's appearance.
Seeing several familiar artists, Scumbag Con's face couldn't hide his leering expression. He'd originally planned to muddle through for a few days and be done with it. Now he directly changed his mind. This glorious teaching mission—he'd do it until death! Even if Miss Thea tried to drive him away, he wouldn't leave!
"What's the purpose of bringing us here? We'll obey unconditionally." The leading male star still tried to negotiate and extract more information.
Having thrived even in Hell, Scumbag Con's life experience and wisdom exceeded these actors and singers by ten or a hundred times.
But he at least remembered his task and pulled out Miss Queen's script. "Do you know that Earth is about to face a great calamity?..."
Thea's words from that day, with a few words changed, he repeated to the group.
World's end, cosmic evil overlord about to invade Earth—most people found it absurd, but no one dared rebel. Everyone's eyes turned to several stars with high standing in the industry.
These few looked at each other. They were also half-believing. Unlike ordinary stars, they'd worked for years and had deep friendships with their respective bosses. But regarding this assembly, the bosses had been vague, only telling them to obey. When pressed, they didn't know the details either—just knew it was an order from very high up.
How high this "very high" was, these stars who'd reached Hollywood's peak didn't dare speculate. They knew clearly that such high levels could crush them without much effort.
"We understand. What do you need us to do? Please instruct us." Several represented the five hundred-plus people in expressing compliance.
"Smart people. You're truly fortunate. You might learn magic—something previously unimaginable."
These people learning magic didn't require bloodline awakening. Too many people—traditional methods definitely wouldn't work. Thea planned an unconventional approach. According to her plan, these Earth bards needed only minimal spellcasting ability. More importantly, they'd do support work.
Constantine also found bloodline awakening troublesome. Following the profession's design, he went directly from their specialties. Singers sang their hearts out, actors performed like drama queens on their own. Leveraging this continent's high magical energy, they could sense magical power in as little as one day, as long as three.
Singers and actors were easy to handle. The dozens of virtuous-in-art-and-morals artists gave him pause.
They definitely weren't singers. They should fall under the performance category, but out here in the wilderness without even a couch, these artists accustomed to indoor performances didn't know where to start.
Moreover, their usual crews were just a dozen people. Now with five hundred-plus on site, they felt inhibited.
This highlighted Miss Queen's talent for using people. Constantine knew many spells. To keep everyone undisturbed, he directly cast spells to create barriers for everyone. People couldn't help touching the invisible but tangible air walls beside them, finally believing this wasn't a dream. They all began changing their mindset.
When the first singer to sense magical power shouted excitedly, enthusiasm reached its peak.
Constantine paid special attention to several artists. They were truly dedicated—under the open sky, shouting at air. The most outstanding few, fully immersed, faintly produced illusion-like effects.
"Remarkable!" Cigarette in mouth, Scumbag Con observed from nearby, expressing admiration for these dedicated ones.
Half a day passed quickly. This group had excellent aptitude and worked hard enough.
In one afternoon, a full fifty people successfully sensed magical power—exactly one-tenth.
Singers were indeed the true path for bards—a full thirty. The remaining ten were actors, ten were artists.
"Hmph, I still have to provide accommodation. I'm definitely charging her for this." After everyone practiced until their voices were hoarse and movements deformed, Constantine called a halt. He summoned his House of Mystery. This seemingly dilapidated old house could automatically generate rooms and food based on occupants—a gift from the Sage Auk years ago.
The celebrities were exhausted. After eating a bit, they lay down in this magically-styled house, ending their first day on the New Continent.
Meanwhile, in Metropolis on Earth, Thea was also discussing arrangements for the remaining performers with Felicity.
"These eliminated people are limited by aptitude—quite a shame. Since they're idle anyway, let's make a few movies to make ordinary people aware of the danger Earth faces."
Felicity had just returned from vacation and been worked like a mule. She was exhausted and kept yawning.
"Who's the protagonist? Who's the villain?" The former hacker asked drowsily.
This question stumped Thea. Filming herself and Superman and the others fighting Darkseid would certainly work. But as a divine being, she disliked ordinary people mocking Darkseid. There was a matter of divine dignity here.
The evil overlord didn't care if ordinary people spoke his name—he considered it an honor. But connecting his name with entertainment really wasn't a good strategy.
Just borrow from Marvel's playbook...
Thea picked up a brush. With super speed combined with the Arts godhood, she quickly drew several portrait sketches and character designs.
She poked the sleeping Felicity sprawled on her desk.
"The Avengers? Thanos? Did you write this story? Your drawing skills are pretty good!" The former hacker didn't know the difference between Darkseid and Thanos—she just knew they were both evil villains coming to invade Earth, and that was enough.