Chapter 110: Chapter 109: Zog Is Picking Reindeer

Auditions for *Frozen* were underway at the Zog Film Studio’s temporary branch in Winterfort.

Raul was serving as the casting director, conducting the preliminary screening of actors according to Zog’s requirements.

The actors were trying to make sense of the character backstories Zog had written.

But that raised the question: where was Zog?

Zog was picking out a reindeer.

In the Winterfort stables, a stablehand had brought out several of the Lord’s best reindeer.

Horses, reindeer, and sled dogs were all common and frequently used animals in the Northern Domain.

So, the stablehands here usually raised a few reindeer and sled dogs on the side as well.

’To be honest,’ Zog thought, ’I always figured sled dogs were kind of dumb and reckless, but here in the cold, they’re not like that at all. Guess a CPU really does need good cooling.’

But Zog didn’t need smart dogs. What he really needed was a smart reindeer.

"How’s it going? Can any of them understand commands?" Zog asked the Druid from a distance. The man was a Druid from the Spore Association, the group responsible for making potions and beverages.

So as not to frighten the herd of reindeer, Zog had to keep his distance.

The subtropical Druid was clearly unfamiliar with animals from the Cold Temperate Zone, and his Animal Communication Skill was hitting a few snags.

’Probably because of his accent.’

After a few mix-ups, the reindeer finally began to understand the Druid’s instructions.

But the most complex actions they could manage were simple things like turning in a circle or jumping once.

Anything more complex would cause their brains to crash. They’d just stare blankly, entering a ’whatcha lookin’ at?’ state.

Zog scratched his chin. ’This level of intelligence is definitely not going to cut it for the reindeer in *Frozen*.’

In the story, the reindeer, named St, looked like a reindeer but had the heart of a dog. Aside from not having to speak, its role was nearly as complex as a Human actor’s.

Back when he first watched *Frozen*, he’d been convinced that the two female leads were the canon couple, while the male lead and the reindeer were the real ship.

He still thought so.

Finding the other special-casting roles for this Shadow of Evil was easy enough.

That Snowman Olaf could be a Golem made in his likeness, with an Ice Elemental Essence bound inside and controlled by a Mage.

The same method would work for the giant snowman monster.

As for the creatures in the story—the ones who looked like Elves but were called goblins—they could be played by chubby Underground Dwarves in makeup.

As for the main characters’ childhood selves, they could just use the Transformation Technique to become child versions of themselves, guaranteeing a perfect resemblance.

But what could he do about the reindeer?

"Can you turn into a reindeer?" Zog asked the Druid.

"I can," the Druid replied, "but a natural transformation only works for animals I’m familiar with. I’d need to spend a long time with reindeer to get to know them."

’None of the Zog Group’s Druids were from the North. Everyone has their specialty; a Druid from the Northern Domain couldn’t grow tea leaves, after all.’

’But the question was, where were the Druids of the Northern Domain?’

’He hadn’t seen any near Winter City. The local association must still maintain a traditional lifestyle, far from the city and deep within nature.’

’The cities in the Northern Domain weren’t large, but the mountain forests and untamed wilds were vast.’

’Did he have to activate his high-altitude vision and fly a lap around the area?’

Just as Zog was lost in thought, Assistant Zor arrived.

"Boss, Mr. Raul says he’s found someone who might be a good fit for one of the main roles."

"Oh? Let’s go take a look. I’ll worry about the reindeer problem later."

The Mixed Giant Beast Corps had finished filming their own Shadow of Evil and moved on to post-production editing, which freed up Raul to work on other things.

So Zog had pulled him over to the Northern Domain to handle the auditions. Raul had the authority to cast the ordinary roles himself, only needing to bring Zog in to make the final call on potential main characters.

Members of the Shepherds also came along, tasked with playing characters from the neighboring kingdom in the movie.

Because people from different regions of the Sutton Kingdom looked different, the roles for the "home" kingdom had to be cast from the Northern Domain. After all, the whole point of the movie was for the audience to fully immerse themselves in the imagery of the North.

They arrived at the audition room.

As soon as he walked in, he saw three actors.

A young woman who looked like she’d had etiquette training, a dopey-looking boy whose eyes were glued to her, and another young man who was shivering uncontrollably.

Zog plopped down into a chair and asked Raul, "What’s the situation?"

"This is Miss Kristen," Raul began. "I think she’s a good fit for the role of Anna. She’s studied some dramatic arts with a local teacher, has a solid foundation, and should be able to adapt quickly."

Kristen curtsied.

’She does look a lot like Anna. Her hair’s a bit light, but small details like that don’t matter.’

’She seems a bit too proper, though. She doesn’t have the original Anna’s clumsy, impulsive feel.’

"Perform a scene from the script," Zog said.

The auditioners received incomplete scripts, containing only disconnected scenes.

This was mainly to prevent the script from being leaked.

Given the Zog Group’s reputation, it was unlikely anyone would dare to leak it on purpose.

But you could never account for idiots.

Idiot-proofing had always been a major challenge in project design.

Kristen took a moment to prepare, then began to perform.

She chose the scene where Anna falls in love at first sight with the Prince from the neighboring kingdom. She had no scene partner and performed it as a pantomime.

Her expressions and movements were a little exaggerated—a common habit for stage actors—but she was very uninhibited in her performance.

"Can you sing?" Zog asked. He preferred to use the actors’ own voices whenever possible.

"I can."

She then sang a piece from a classic musical.

It was surprisingly good.

’A definite plus. Barring any surprises, she’d be playing Anna.’

He then turned to the dopey kid next to her, whose eyes followed Kristen around like a sunflower tracking the sun.

"And you are?"

"Grove! Oh, right, I’m Grove, and this is my younger brother, Little Deer. Haha, I understood the whole script. It’s a really great story!"

’What kind of person needs to announce that they understood the script?’

’Someone who didn’t understand it, of course.’

’It was like a kid who just graduated from elementary school insisting they were now a middle schooler, practically an adult.’

"Alright, since you understood it so well, which character do you want to play?"

"I... I..." Grove’s eyes darted frantically toward Kristen. His only thought was not to make a fool of himself in front of her.

"I will accept any assignment from the organization!"

Grove blurted out, thinking fast.

Kristen covered her face, unable to look. She was suffering from a bad case of secondhand embarrassment.

Zog was stunned. ’Now that’s some political consciousness.’ For a second there, hearing that phrase made him think he’d been transported back.

He shot Raul a look that clearly asked, "Where did you find this guy?"

Raul replied with a confident look. "He’s basically the male lead in the flesh. He wouldn’t even have to act, especially if Kristen plays Anna."

’He had a point.’

"I choose you."

Ignoring the jubilant Grove, Zog turned his attention to the last person: Little Deer.

He was also the one Zog found most interesting.

A Human body, but with furry ears and antlers. ’Definitely a Natural Shifter,’ Zog concluded, ’born because one of his parents was a very... proactive furry.’

Besides the Green-skinned Race, there was another type of Beastman that was more animalistic.

They weren’t reproductively isolated from Humans, and their hybrid children, even if not Druids, could possess a wild-shape ability.

Meanwhile, the trembling Little Deer looked like he was about to burst into tears.

’His grandmother’s prophecy had said that today, his trip to Winter City, would be a fateful day that would decide his destiny.’

’Who could have predicted he’d first meet a group of Beastmen, then an even more terrifying Zor, and now a small yet horrifying Dragon?’

’That Dragon’s eyes were filled with greed, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.’

’Was his destiny to be devoured by a Dragon?’

"Are you a Natural Shifter? What is your animal form?"

’He’s even asking about my animal form! He must be trying to figure out how I’ll taste!’

"Hey! I’m asking you a question! Hello? Moshi moshi?"

’It’s a language I don’t understand! They must be discussing how to eat me!’

Little Deer couldn’t take the terrifying atmosphere anymore.

He had to get out of there.

He unleashed his wild shape, lunging forward as his hands transformed into hooves that hit the floor. He then frantically crashed through the glass and leaped out the second-story window.

"Holy crap! He’s a reindeer! Don’t let him get away!"

The voice of the Evil Dragon echoed from behind him.

’They really are going to eat me!’

Tears streaming down his face, Little Deer ran for his life toward the forest.

’Grandma and the other elders are so powerful. They’ll definitely be able to protect me from that Evil Dragon’s claws!’