Though there were twists and turns, time flowed on nonetheless.
We eventually filmed a few crucial scenes.
One where a gold mine expedition team, including Lee Myung and Violet, reclaims the possession of a gold mine from Ogres and various monsters illegitimately occupying it.
And another scene where they thwart Japanese Imperial spies who attacked the gold mine, thereby completing Wolhee’s revenge.
These two large-scale action scenes would become the highlights of this drama.
“Of course, for the gold mine reclamation scene, CGI will be doing most of the work, not us.”
When we arrived at the set, a cluster of giant green stuffed figures greeted us.
These were the props onto which the director’s motion-captured movements would be overlaid via CGI to portray the fearsome Ogres.
“So, we’re going to capture the director’s motions and apply them to those stuffed figures through CGI, right?”
“That’s correct. Mr. Siwoo will have to bear with us today. Did you memorize the movements?”
“Yes, I’ve got the movements.”
This time, I had to act out the fight sequence alone while assuming that these green stuffed figures would move like large Ogres.
Motion capture had been performed by the martial arts director Jang Soo-hong to establish a general outline of the movements beforehand.
We could see video footage that demonstrated how the virtual Ogre would move, and how far the range of movements would be.
Some adjustments could be made during CGI insertion.
But performing a powerful action scene against a cheerful-looking green lump was quite bothersome.
Not physically, but mentally.
“Are the wires okay?”
“Yes, they’re perfect. Not too tight.”
We were also waiting for the wires for the decisive final scene.
Though the wires were technically unnecessary since I wasn’t relying on them to ascend.
However, we were dealing with a prop over 3 meters tall. Following the plan, even a minor mistake could result in a 3-meter fall.
The wires were a safety measure in case I lost my balance.
Of course, even if I fell from that height, I wouldn’t be injured, but the production crew must always prepare for the worst.
“Alright, let’s go.”
A squad armed with rifles and buckshot ascended the mountain to reclaim the mine.
Their breakthrough unit was devised through a compromise between Violet’s reckless charge and Lee Myung’s insistence on minimum training and practice.
Lee Myung was still dissatisfied.
If he had more time, he believed the monstrous creatures could be dealt with more safely.
“I’ve compromised a lot, you know.”
“I understand. It’s just unfortunate that the timeline is so tight.”
Violet also had her say.
Dragging this out further wasn’t ideal for her or for the Arcane Goldbergh Company. (Violet still doesn’t know the real reason she was sent here.)
She was confident that she could capture the gold mine by herself.
In her view, the rifle-armed force was just there to deal with the minor threats.
Giving them even a little training time was merely an act of courtesy towards her business partner.
“Swine Demon [Orc]. Three!”
“Fire, Squad 1!”
“Bang bang.”
“The monsters are gathering. All form a dense formation.”
“Squad 2, to the left. Small Green Demon [Goblin]. Five.”
“Swine Demons, four more!”
“Squad 1, re-fire!”
After walking for some distance through mountain paths, smaller demons – pig demons and small green demons – started surging out.
To secure the safety of the miners, the surrounding demons needed to be thoroughly eliminated.
Following the training they’d received, they formed tight formations and concentrated firepower to reduce the numbers, then engaged in close combat to secure the area safely.
“Hey, boss. This doesn’t seem as tough as we thought.”
“I told you so. This sort of rabble is nothing.”
“True, the truly terrible creatures haven’t appeared yet.”
“Don’t be afraid. Next year’s today will be their memorial day.”
“…I just hope that happens.”
As the operation went better than expected, the squad’s morale soared.
In particular, Nam Seok-ho, who almost lost his life here before, seemed to relax as he cleaned his axe, stained with sticky green blood, and released a deep sigh.
Though the real threat hadn’t emerged yet, if things continued smoothly, there would be nothing left to wish for.
Violet, maintaining her usual impassive expression while guarding the rearguard, was quite positive at this moment.
“Of course, you should believe me. I’m experienced, you know. An Ogre Slayer. Haven’t seen one yet?”
“Hmph, blue-eyed woman. Don’t wet your pants out of fear.”
“No, how dare you—”
“…Calm down. Are you thinking of pulling out that dreadful weapon here?”
“Tch. This is why random soldiers are only a bother.”
“Who said you were a random soldier—”
“Enough. We haven’t reclaimed the mine yet.”
“…Understood, boss.”
“Yeah, understood.”
Though Violet and Nam Seok-ho had started off like oil and water, they still had a long way to go in terms of cooperation.
“…Something’s coming.”
After a brief pause, the ground began to shake as something massive approached.
Judging by the vibrations, it was definitely the mighty Ogre, the ruler of this area.
“Great! Here it comes, and it’s mine!”
After the soldiers dealt with the lesser mobs, Violet’s all-out assault on the Ogre was the main strategy of this operation.
Lee Myung doubted the operation’s success until the very end, but it was established due to Violet’s strong request.
Because the buckshot can’t distinguish between friend and foe, Violet needed the formation to be reorganized to unleash her firepower.
Naturally, the soldiers retreated behind Violet, ready to guard against any potential surprise attacks.
Beside Violet, Lee Myung seriously watched the approaching Ogre’s movements.
“Definitely… massive.”
“Alright, alright. Black Dragon (a nickname for her Gatling gun). It’s your time to shine.”
When the giant Gatling gun reappeared,
“…What’s that weapon?”
The terrors of the mine expedition team lost their words at its sight.
Then came a roar,
“Roooaaaar!!!”
The towering figure of the Ogre emerged, breaking through the forest.
It was a grotesque creature, over 3 meters tall, with thick muscles acting like steel armor.
“But what is this Ogre…”
Though it was a little different from the Ogre Violet had imagined,
“Who cares!!!”
Firmly believing in her firepower, Violet pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the Black Dragon began to roar violently.
“Da-da-da-da-da!!!”
After unleashing a long stream of fire which ran out due to a lack of remaining bullets,
From among the tense soldiers who were nervously swallowing saliva, some whimpering sounds emerged.
Because after withstanding all the gunshots by curling up its body, the Ogre slowly began to raise its head and stared at them.
“Oh no, how can an Ogre be…”
Violet herself was the most shocked.
Violet, who had already hunted Ogres several times with the same method, couldn’t comprehend this situation at all,
And didn’t know what to do as the Ogre slowly approached.
“That’s enough. I can handle the rest.”
“What…what? Wait…Wait!”
Despite failing to kill the Ogre, Lee Myung considered this a sufficiently good result and charged toward the creature.
The top priority was to control its mobility.
If the Ogre charged violently, he couldn’t guarantee the safety of the soldiers waiting behind.
Monsters are fundamentally different beings from humans, but some of them, like the Ogres and Pig Demons, resemble humans in their behavior.
And monsters like them often share physical traits with humans too.
Cutting the tendons in the legs will prevent them from moving quickly.
“Haa!”
The Ogre, which suffered quite a bit from the barrage of bullets, was obviously exhausted.
Taking advantage of the Ogre’s thick arm being out of the way, Lee Myung lunged at him, cutting the tendons in its legs as he narrowly passed by.
The enraged Ogre tried to strike him with its hands, but Lee Myung dodged again.
This time, jumping onto the Ogre’s arm, he soared up and stabbed its heart with a scimitar, then performed a backflip toward the Ogre’s head.
Twisting his body in the air to dodge the Ogre’s punch once again,
“Rooaaarrr!!!”
He brought down his sword and decapitated the creature.
“Wow… crazy…”
When Lee Myung landed on the ground with the Ogre’s massive head, all Violet could do was let out a gasp.
Despite having encountered various monster hunters, Violet had never met someone who used a single sword to slay an Ogre like this.
Her new business partner was even crazier than she thought.
“What… how…?”
“Did you sharpen the scimitar?”
“No way.”
“My goodness.”
The production staff were equally astonished.
Even stomping around and hopping on the giant puppet, showcasing incredibly nimble movements, was impressive.
But slicing off the giant puppet’s head with a prop that wasn’t even sharpened was nothing short of shocking.
“Oh, I’m too excited.”
As a matter of fact, he was very excited.
No, the thrilling performance by Heavenly Yuah, frantically blasting away with a Gatling gun, was too intense.
It looked so real that you’d believe it was a genuine monster hunt.
In that moment, I couldn’t help but pour out genuine feelings of my own.
With or without a blade, the simple act of slicing along the seam of such a tattered puppet sends its head flying.
Isn’t this an NG moment?
The decapitation of the Ogre wasn’t in the script.
“No, it’s even better. It’ll look even prettier when we enhance it with CGI.”
“I’m relieved.”
“And the action was beyond expectations. Wow, how did you manage all that…?”
“Timing just worked well.”
The action-loving director was evidently pleased with my somersault over the puppet.
The action director, Jang Soo-hong, nodded and clapped, clearly satisfied.
The youngsters, especially Moon Suyeon, had eyes as big as (OO).
They really do resemble sisters this way.
Meanwhile, Yang Yuli, who’s actually part of a sister duo (though not by blood), was just smiling broadly.
“Isn’t that too much strain?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Didn’t you drop from up there earlier? You’ll hurt yourself doing that.”
“Shouldn’t you be talking? You were swinging that axe pretty roughly before.”
“Yeah, but I gotta earn my keep.”
As soon as the shooting ended, everyone, from Heavenly Yuah and Nam Seok-ho to the stuntmen from the action school acting as monsters, gathered around.
“Wow, the master hit it out of the park. The rest is just gravy.”
“I expected to do this scene at least ten times.”
“You’re lucky! Lucky!”
Despite the shock during the hand-to-hand combat, the rapid end of filming seemed to please everyone.
After all, there’s nothing more exciting to a working adult than an early dismissal.
It’s common knowledge that action scenes involving dozens of people usually require multiple retakes, yet the most important part was accomplished in one take.
Now, the minor details can be added, and the shooting will end faster than expected.
“Alright, let’s take a short break and move onto the next scene!”
“Oooh!”
“Just one more and we go home!”
Of course, there was a more complicated scene with more people yet to come.
“Speaking of which, the production staff sure are ruthless. There’s no way we can leave early with this.”
And the next scene, unfortunately, was prone to requiring numerous retakes.
Even though the outcome is predictable and they’re mentioning an early dismissal, we’re reminded once again of the simple truth: you can’t trust network types.
