Just as the playback reached the part where Old Xing screamed, "The congee's eating people!" from the alleyway, the break room had quietly filled up with people.
Nagasaki Yukikusa strolled in, belly leading the way, and cheerfully announced that recording could begin.
Everyone paused their soap operas, stashed their snacks, and headed to the studio.
It was Yin Ze's second time inside the recording booth, so he had some idea of what to expect. Without being told, he made his way to the corner reserved for extras.
"Alright, let's begin recording for *Dark Reincarnation Fantasy*. You can all briefly introduce yourselves while we finalize equipment checks," said Nagasaki, placing his half-finished coffee on the console.
"I'm Satoshi Hino from Production Baobab, voicing the male lead, Milon Cred. A pleasure to work with everyone." A composed senior with decades of experience set the tone.
"Hello, I'm Rina Hidaka from Osawa, voicing the female lead, Panis. I'm still learning, so I hope I can keep up with you all. Nice to meet you!" The young girl bowed a perfect 90 degrees, her eyes bright and eager.
Huh? Wait—*you're* the love interest I'm supposed to be sworn to?
Yin Ze blinked from the corner. Wasn't she supposed to be an extra like him?
"I'm Kanshi Nakajima from IM. I'm the bandit chief who kidnaps the princess," said another senior in a soft-spoken, almost herbivorous tone.
Then came a round of spirited self-introductions from the supporting cast.
"Also from IM, I'm Satoru Takizawa, voicing Knight Eldore Charles Trivisjesson. I look forward to your guidance." Yin Ze went last. Nakajima gave him a thumbs-up, while the only one who'd vaguely acknowledged him earlier—Hidaka—offered a polite, if strained, smile.
Yin Ze rubbed his forehead.
It felt like mistaking a stranger for a friend on the street, charging up to slap their backside—and realizing too late it wasn't who you thought. Awkward.
Unfortunately, he couldn't run now. The first episode opened with his and Hidaka's characters exchanging lines in a carriage scene, right after the narration.
The red "Recording" light clicked on. On the monitor, the video displayed exact timecodes to the millisecond. The narrator, a deep-voiced veteran, began with solemn gravitas:
"On the distant continent of Aeshibili, land of gods and spirits, the races once flourished in harmony. But with the death of the final Primordial Deity and no heir to the Throne of Order, waves of desire and greed swept across the land. Elves were slaughtered, demons sang in triumph, and humanity struggled to survive."
Honestly, the narration had an epic cadence.
Too bad it was paired with rough sketches, lazy storyboards, hand-scrawled captions like "flame effect," and a demon king's gaping grin that looked suspiciously like that of a startled marmot.
The animators must've pulled an all-nighter, Yin Ze thought glumly.
"Saint Cazar ushered in a new era of peace. But no matter how many centuries pass, conflict endures. Power struggles rage on…"
On-screen, stick figures clashed with toothpick swords. Generals were the only ones granted vaguely detailed close-ups. Text labels did all the heavy lifting for battle effects.
"In Year 258 of the Sacred Era, the nations signed a peace treaty. At last, the divine continent could breathe. But how long would this fragile peace last—?"
A carriage trundled through a dense forest.
Hidaka and Yin Ze snapped to attention.
Their scene was next.
Eyes locked on the screen, they tracked the subtitles and cues. Yin Ze found himself oddly fixated on the knight's crude sketch. It had… charm.
Still, the looming karaoke-style subtitle bar reminded him: it was go time.
"Stop the carriage," Yin Ze said, perfectly on cue. "Your Highness, we've been traveling all day. Would you like some fresh air?"
"I'm not in the mood." Hidaka replied, clutching her script.
"This is a political alliance between royal families. A commoner like me has no say," Yin Ze continued, then paused for effect. "But no matter how thorny the road ahead, Princess Panis, I swear to protect you."
"Don't worry, Eldore. I'm fine."
"...We'll rest here. Please call me if you need anything."
"Eldore."
"Yes?"
"...It's nothing. Continue your watch."
"You're still the same. You never hide your sadness. If I may… I would gladly lend you an ear. You've barely spoken since we left the capital. I'm worried."
Their exchange was solid, clean—no flubbed lines, no mic bites. Honestly? Not bad at all for two first-timers.
Even Nagasaki on the other side of the glass nodded now and then in approval.
The moment their scene ended, Nakajima joined in with gusto. At Yin Ze's cry of "We're under attack!" the next segment began: battle.
Sound effects were voiced manually. Grunts, gasps, sword clashes—it was chaotic fun.
"Are you the leader? With skill like yours, why stoop to such villainy? Who sent you to defy the crown?"
"Heh heh heh… As expected of the King's hand-picked knight. But is this strength enough to guard the one you swore to protect?"
Nakajima, gentle in person, now oozed sinister venom.
"Then come and see for yourself!" Yin Ze roared with righteous fury.
The screen showed both characters charging—and then, the knight's arm flying off in glorious slow-mo.
"Eldore!!" Hidaka wailed.
"Stay back, Your Highness!"
"It's over, foolish knight. Gaze upon your end!"
Yet the maimed knight rose again, casting a self-sacrificial spell. When the smoke cleared, only his battered body lay on the ground.
The bandit chief ignored him, grinning coldly as he advanced on the princess.
Yin Ze stepped back from the mic, making way for the true lead.
"Let her go!" One line—and the voice told you the hero had arrived.
The villain fell swiftly. Yin Ze returned to the mic.
"Eldore, please! Don't die! Stay with me!"
"Ah… Your Highness, don't cry. I gave my life to you the moment I swore to be your knight. Unknown warrior… I beg of you… protect her… to Snowpeak Castle…"
"Of course. I swear it. Loyal knight, rest in peace."
The red light dimmed.
"Alright, that's the end of Part A," said Nagasaki.
The booth relaxed in an instant.
"Nice job, newbie," Nakajima said, clapping Yin Ze's shoulder. "Especially that death scream—really sold it!"
"Only because you killed me with such flair, senpai," Yin Ze laughed.
"Rina-chan was great too. Osawa must be feeling pretty good about its future."
"T-thank you!" she stammered, beaming.
"I wanna get complimented toooo," Satoshi Hino whined, hands on hips.
"You're not a rookie anymore, stop acting cute," Nakajima joked.
Far from intimidating, the senior cast members kept things warm and welcoming. Yin Ze thought about heading home to clean the new apartment but decided to stick around and soak in more experience.
Part B focused on building the main couple's bond. Smooth sailing.
Eventually, Nagasaki began flagging minor lines for retakes.
Yin Ze, spacing out, was startled to hear his name.
It felt like being called to the front of class unprepared, only worse.
"Takizawa-kun, rerecord your lines with a totally different tone."
He froze.
No, this wasn't class. This was getting caught smoking and handing a cigarette to the dean—then being dragged to the schoolyard for a megaphone lecture.
Even the other actors stared.
"Uh… is everything wrong?" Yin Ze asked nervously.
"Not at all. You're only here once, and things are going so smoothly. Might as well get an extra take," Nagasaki said with a smile.
"…Alright. How should I change it?"
"Try reading it like *you're* the protagonist. Go big. Dramatic is fine," Nagasaki said plainly.
Yin Ze scratched his head. He didn't fully get it, but hey—client's always right.
"I'll adjust too," Hidaka offered kindly.
"Thanks, that helps."
She grabbed his forgotten script from the couch.
"Don't stress," she whispered. "You seemed caught off guard, that's all."
"Actually, I memorized it. But thanks for the thought," Yin Ze said softly.
"...?"
Before she could reply, the signal came: "Begin."
No flipping pages. Yin Ze just… spoke.
His voice changed completely. Tone, texture, emotion—transformed.
Gone was the generic soldier. In his place stood a noble knight with quiet passion.
Even simple shouts became battle cries from a hero staring down death.
His final words weren't just exposition—they were a solemn farewell from a legend handing the torch to the next.
The last breath… exquisite. Perfectly timed with the haunting soprano of the ending theme.
Nagasaki took a sip of coffee.
"That's the one. Great work."
Yin Ze stepped back, rubbing his throat.
"Didn't expect that voice," Nakajima said, impressed. "That's pure talent."
"So powerful, I feel like I need to re-record mine," added Hino.
Yin Ze waved off the praise, grateful but modest.
His debut session wrapped in three hours. Light work, but only because he had half an episode's worth of lines.
Still—not bad. Time for dinner.
He'd spotted a ramen shop on the way here.
As he turned to leave, humming to himself, he returned his script to Nagasaki.
"Takizawa-kun, sorry to bother you!" Hidaka Rina called after him.
"Eh? What's up?" he scratched his head, still feeling sheepish about their mix-up.
"Can I ask what line you had at 12:05?"
"Sure, but which episode?"
"Um… Episode 1, of course."
"Oh, that one's easy. It's the male lead saying, 'Wait here for me.'"
"Thanks."
She turned and flipped through her script.
The line was there.
Exactly as he'd said.
He really *had* memorized everything.
She had assumed he was just winging it.
As the elevator doors closed, she watched him go, wide-eyed and curious.
*…What a strange guy.*