Chapter 95: Recruits [Part 17]
Samantha thought that calling her most talented disciples would be beneficial for Richard and also her own position.
The Philippines was teeming with low level mystics, a product of their centuries old way of life.
Disguised as cultural healers and traditional medicine practitioners, some even went down the route of entertainers and similar jobs.
Aside from working to maintain the national level hypnosis, they also had regular jobs and businesses which they spent most of their time on.
Samantha specifically called for the younger mystics.
Most of the ones she called for were women, among them, half worked in the entertainment industry, some were small time actors, others were part time dancers, comedians and there were even a few influencers.
Of course, Richard is likely unaware of their identity, even in a globalized world, knowing about famous people in another country was difficult unless your home country wasn’t America.
In terms of entertainment, the majority of internationally recognized names came from Hollywood, yet only the top 10% of actors were well known, some were familiar faces and others were just backdrops to the more famous celebrities.
While Asia’s entertainment industry had slowly started to rise in popularity, the recognition was focused heavily on South Korea.
The music industry was being dominated by K-pop boy and girl groups, the entertainment sphere was being dominated by KDrama’s and movies.
China’s sphere was also growing, but the sanctions forced them to use other avenues, mostly yo*tube and specialized platforms that cater solely to China based entertainment media.
Japan was also on the rise with its anime boom, of course, in that sphere, both South Korea and China also placed their stakes on spreading culture and entertainment through such media.
Samantha acknowledges that Richard likely knew one or two "asian celebrities" but most of them would likely be from those three countries.
Moreover, depending on the type of media he consumes, even if his only exposure to Asian entertainment was "offbrand" movies- the faces and names he would remember would most likely be Japanese.
It was near impossible for Richard to be aware of famous names in the Philippine entertainment industry unless he was actively searching for such media.
Of course, Samantha did not drop the possibility of Richard being influenced by yo*tube leading to a growing curiosity of the Philippines but-
’A billionaire won’t have time to doomscroll... right?’
The mass media tried to paint many officials and powerful people as "having too much time" by pointing out their many posts on social media platforms. Samantha personally saw how these "people in power" deal with such matters.
Although it was only in the Philippines, Samantha wouldn’t believe that other leaders and powerful people don’t have secretaries and subordinates who were hired specifically to make posts on social media.
After all, she herself witnessed a self proclaimed "tech-guru" who was off the "boomer generation" struggle to deal with technology.
Even millennials sometimes struggle with new technologies, modern systems and automated functions.
While someone from the older generation could still learn and become proficient with new technologies, there was a truth in the jokes of the older people being "stuck in their ways".
After all, Samantha herself believed it was easier to just go to a store and buy what she needed than her younger cousins and some nephews of hers who were always quick on calling for delivery.
Adaptation to trends was not a question of generation, it was simply a matter of perspective.
Even if older generation speakers and figures talk as if they know and understand the younger generation, most of the things they do are always scripted, manufactured as some would say.
After all, the easiest way to get someone on your side is to make them believe that you are on theirs.
Samantha had already been informed of Richard’s past identity as Damien Dixon,
While she believed that Richard’s past meant that his taste was not that of a thousand year old monster from the west, that was all she was sure of.
Samantha had already informed her people about the potential fate that they will have to endure.
The men were also told to try their best to woo any witch that doesn’t look like they had a strong connection to Richard.
Samantha had grand plans, after all, despite all the fear and pressure that Richard had placed on her. The moment she became bound to him, her thoughts started to return to normal.
After all, humans are greedy creatures and while Samantha did not dare to take Richard’s place as she could never reach his power, no one said anything about the spot beside him.
Samantha was not a simple witch drunk on power, she’s a seasoned veteran of the political world.
To her, dealing with Richard was similar to dealing with the large political dynasties and powerful political families.
But unlike her previous stage, she was not both the actor and director, this time, she was merely an actor but there was no rule that said actors could not also direct a show.
Sometimes, an actor could easily take over if the director was too lazy to move and Richard...
"You’re people are all attractive, but that’s all their worth"
Despite being rather hands off with many things, he sometimes took charge and when he did- that’s when things became difficult.
"Sorry sir, I did my best but all these men and women are the top talents in the country... as you know..."
Samantha continued on with her excuses, though her words were true, she did not say anything about power.
Indeed, these young individuals were talented but there were older individuals with even more talent and power but Samantha can’t call upon them.
After all, the last thing she wanted was to have competitors for Richard’s grace.
"Hm... I see"
Richard pondered for a moment, Samantha’s words were believable, after all, she was one of the "stronger" people-
No, one of "The Strongest" in the nation.
What else could he have expected?
Though his issue was less on their power and talent but more on their attitude.
Although he had yet to talk with one of them, the model he looked at for a bit longer than the rest did shoot him a weird look-
No- he didn’t have to lie-
The model was obviously giving him signals.
Richar- even for him, temptation was hard to resist.
Especially since the model who shot him a look was a former collegiate volleyball player. After graduation she became an influencer and went on to become a model.
It took Richard a couple of seconds to have his bot go around the internet and gather the intel he needed.
Because of that, his mild interest grew when he found that woman who was-
Serenity dela Torre, she started off getting famous when she posted a few vacation photos in a bikini with her collegiate volleyball team.
After that post went viral, she started to post more selfies and in time started her own shorts channel.
By the time she graduated, Serenity had obtained job offers from various modeling agencies but she first started a career as a fashion blogger and influencer.
Coming from a wealthy background and with connections to the mystical world, her future was bound for greener pastures and she quickly became a big name.
Although she didn’t take on the acting business, mostly because the main tenet of the local mystical community was to "be normal", she developed her career in an area that could get her a large fanbase but little serious attention.
As a model, she didn’t need to make statements about politics and since her fame was closely tied to beauty, few reporters tried to target her. All she had to do was avoid the cameras and for a mystic? That was easy.
But that wasn’t what attracted Richard the most.
What caught his eye was the negative press about her which mostly consisted of stalker and how she fended off some crazy fans.
Those small acts turned her image into a "man hater" and while she didn’t actively push for feminist propaganda. Her actions became the symbol of the local movements and even hiding for Serenity was difficult.
BBut that was what made Richard grow an interest in her.
The way she returned his gaze was not similar to that of a hooker looking for their next customer.
She had the eyes of a hunter staring at her prey.
She had pride, she had power and now she caught onto a piece of meat that she wanted to devour.
The thought of taking away her pride...
Richard was not a bastard- at least, that’s what he wanted to believe but most of the women who came unto him were witches under Morgana or women who grew a genuine interest in him.
The conquest of Morgana was one of the few points in his life where he truly felt alive and seeing Serenity awakened that feeling in him.
He called for Samantha for two reasons, one was to question her about the abilities of her people and the second was-
"I understand, while I don’t want to deal with more women, given the current situation, the best way I have to improve the talent and ability of your people is through a procedure involving mystical beings from Japan or the method used by my people which I’m sure you are well aware of"
Richard didn’t outright say what the methods were, but Samantha could immediately tell what he was talking about.
"I see... the second method couldn’t be used on men right? I could talk to them and most of the women should be willing to take on the second method while the men could only take the first method whether they want to or not..."
"If the women don’t want to undergo the second method, they could go with the first method if they want"
"... I believe most would take the second... using the word "Procedure" and "mystical beings" together sounds really painful"
"It is, so you should inform them of that"
"Yes"
Samantha bowed before leaving, she did not try to ask if the procedures were necessary or not.
It was non-negotiable.
They were all under Richard now and the man was not the type who would allow weaklings to be in his group.
It was either submission or death and her subordinates... they were the type to submit. After all, to these people who saw magic as a part of life rather than a secret to immortality.
Techniques to extend lifespan were not something passed down in their system and so, the mystics of the Philippines have a rather strong attachment to life.
Pride was a worthless sin, it carried nothing but responsibility and struggle-
Life? They only had one of it and none were willing to let go of something so precious that easily.
With such thoughts, Samantha left the office while Richard sat there contemplating what he had just done.
