The entire "media training" experience with Allan felt extremely redundant given his knowledge, but Kieran couldn't slip past it without having Allan groan and complain for hours on end.
To save himself the headache, Kieran chose to relent and seem as genuine as possible while answering and "internalizing" Allan's suggestions.
"Great. Great! You did excellently," Allan clapped merrily, wiping the tears away from his reddened eyes.
Kieran performed a noncommittal gesture, wafting his hand through the air.
"Generally, you'd think they give you an early morning window to conduct an interview, but nope. You, sir… are shockingly the 10 o'clock special. I guess the news station understands what we call gamer hours," Allan humorously inputted.
"That's ideal, I guess. Not everyone is willing to devote all their time to Zenith Online. This includes some professional players," Kieran said.
"True true. You must show them that your unmatched devotion is the advantage that will separate you from the meager elites! Flaunt yourself," Allan shouted. After a moment of consideration, he blushed. "Okay. Maybe not flaunt. But don't you dare back down, hear me? You must reveal your backbone at all times!"
"Funny," Kieran deadpanned. "Your advice contradicts all the media training we just performed. And it accomplishes that in the worst way. Are you saying it's pointless to be poised and eloquent then?"
"NO!" Allan sputtered and stuttered momentarily. "That's not what I mean. What I'm saying is… Look. It's like this. Poise and eloquence are necessary, but there will be moments when you must be the militant one in the conversation. Remember, you're looking to appease the best of both worlds."
"Sounds risky and potentially futile to me. What if I'm deemed fake and vain like the rest of the media, giving answers that sidestep what is directly asked. Shifty speech patterns could be eaten up by internet trolls. Others guilds with large influence can also manipulate my words and have them misconstrued," Kieran intoned.
The way he spoke now was as if he were putting Allan through a kind of training of his own. Someone with Allan's years of experience should notice this fairly quickly, which he did.
Leading with a sigh to calm himself, Allan agreed.
"You raise a fair point. But that's where the eloquence comes into play. You must know when to weave firmness into your stance. Rigidity in your beliefs will lead the viewers to believe it's something you strongly advocate. If they pose a counter stance, that is when your use of language must become slippery and shifty while remaining subdued. Riled emotions may suggest a lack of maturity, which is associated with extremely high risk. In other words, you'd become a pariah in the industry."
"Understood. You handled that well," Kieran calmly sipped some water from his glass, placing it down softly. "At least you led by example, showing how to maneuver the questioning."
A moment later, Kieran rose.
A quick glance at the clock on the tablet told him roughly two hours remained until the event. Thus, it was best to make preparations now. Following the event, he'd have an event-packed schedule.
As the gathering point of media and many other large industries, Minence City was known for streamlined access to headquarters, provided that you were famous enough.
Considering Kieran would be traveling in the Gamer Republic's corporate vehicle, fame wasn't an issue for Kieran.
Roughly an hour later, Kieran appeared from his room, wearing a tailored suit. There was enough room in the garments to not feel tight and constrictive. Black in color, the suit highlighted his prominent feats.
Apathetic black eyes and a sharp jawline that seemed to complement the angle of the suit's collar. Tugging on the lapels of the suit jacket, he adjusted it.
As if his appearance was a signal for the others, one by one, everyone appeared from within their room wearing the finest garments, courtesy of Kieran's generous shopping spree.
In the corner, near the door, Allan gave several nods of approval, his eyes resting on Cygnus and the others for longer than he'd like to admit. "Absolutely stunning. Radiant and beautiful like blossoming flowers in an abundance of sunlight."
"Hey, what about me?" Nemean scoffed. "Don't you call me beautiful. I'm a man. So you must tell me how handsome I am."
Allan's gaze seemed focused and intent, likely evaluating Nemean before giving a noncommittal shrug. "You look alright. I've seen better but you're certainly not the worse."
"This guy… Why is he even here? Someone get him out of here!" Nemean grumbled.
A string of laughter came, led by Bastion's uproarious guffawing. "He told your ugly ass. I told you that you're not that much of a looker. But no, when I say it, I'm just a hater."
Nemean's eyes sought blood as he roughed up Bastion, grabbing his lapels and ruffling up his suit. "You shouldn't speak! You have a face that only a mother could love. You damn ogre."
"Get your hands off me," Bastion exclaimed, exasperatedly slapping Nemean's hands off of him.
Within seconds, their words devolved into tussling, rolling around on the luxurious carpet with grunts of exhaustion echoing in the suite.
The click of heels beating against marble floors approached Kieran from behind as he stared at the two grunts rolling about on the floor before him.
"It is always like this, you know. They never fail to find a chance to bicker and fight. It's cute, actually. Maybe it's because they're so much alike. Might be some form of that 'opposites attract' and yadda yadda," Dr. Riley said, her willowy voice tickling Kieran's ear.
"Unfortunately… now isn't the time."
All of a sudden, Nemean and Bastion froze, shuddering as cold sweat began to trickle down their backs. A feeling like the eyes of a predator being beset upon them triggered a primal fear in these men.
Audible gulps and frightened grimaces happened next as they turned to look at Kieran's icy glare freezing them on the spot.
"Get up," he ordered, his tone leaving little room for disobedience. It was like a stern father berating and commanding his children.
Off to the side, Altair chuckled but also analyzed Kieran's expression for disappointment.
The role he was given was akin to a disciplinary force within the guild—the guild's sole disciplinarian. Likewise, it was up to Altair to manage the behavior of the guild members to embody the pride of Sanguis Requiem.
An incident like this in public could potentially hinder how well-received the guild would be in the circle of feared and reputed guilds.
"Apologies, boss, it won't happen again."
"Yes, sir. I concur!"
To their statements, Kieran raised a hand. "It'll happen again. I don't really care if it does. I would personally appreciate it if you could retain this part of yourselves. We're not just teammates; we're something greater. But, in the eye of the public, it is imperative that you portray the image of an elite—silent, calculating, and observant."
"Ohhh! So you mean become Altair. Yeah, we got it. We can do that. Right Bastion? Of course, we can."
Following this brief reminder, Allan led Kieran and the others out of the hotel, boarding the corporate vehicle with a direct route to the broadcasting station.
As antsy as he was, Allan couldn't help but give everyone a brief refresher in case they were targeted with questions.
It wasn't long before everyone departed the vehicle, laying eyes upon a skyscraper requiring them to crane their neck to see the top.
Situated atop the skyscraper, however, and clearly visible, was the antenna of what many assumed was a fairly large satellite.
Contrary to expectations, the sliding doors opened, and a smiling brunette welcomed them at the door. Her name tag read Jessica, and looking at her, the name fit. She seemed chatty and also wore tight garments to lure eyes and attention.
"Welcome! We've been expecting you. Your segment is up next, so let's put the final touches on you all before sending you on air."
The final touches included make-up to improve what the vain media community viewed as imperfections. It wasn't overboard to where it looked like a caked-up mess. The subtleness acquired over the years was evident.
With a few techniques, their entire visage looked staggeringly different while maintaining what made them… them.
But after all the preparations were done, Kieran arched a brow, looking askance at Allan. "Did you know about this beforehand?"
"U-uh… I… did not," Allan muttered, gazing at the other groups of people. A cursory glance was all Allan needed to recognize some of the people present.
Was this not an exclusive interview?
Soulless, Daedric, and a few other people were present.
Whereas Kieran kept a disinterested expression, Soulless' jaw clenched when laying eyes upon Kieran. Others might not be able to put two and two together, but he had stared into eyes just like those recently.
Not to mention, the cohort behind Kieran aligned with the team he moved with inside Zenith Online.
He'd be a blind fool not to see the similarities. But, he'd also be a fool to act here in public. Soulless could only swallow his fury whilst motes of ghastly cool energy flickered across his fingertips.
Allan quickly stepped off to get some answers regarding the current situation. He had to move mountains to acquire this interview segment which only served two purposes: attracting attention to Zenith Online and increasing the reputation of Aatrox and Sanguis Requiem.
Evidently, the latter was partially foiled by having other strong players present.
Returning with a displeased frown and scornful eyes, Allan led Kieran to the side and gave him a message.
After listening closely, Kieran chuckled. "As I said, they're vain. Anything for an increase in viewership. Can't knock the way they do business, though. Let's just play their game."
And so, the cue for the beginning of the interview sounded.
