Chapter 2 - 2

Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes, it wasn't an unfamiliar ceiling...

After spending 10 years in the , my memories of the past are a bit hazy, but I still remember the ceiling of the one-room apartment where I lived.

I got up from bed and quickly looked around.

'The room is the same, the structure is the same, and the furniture is the same. I really came back to the place I used to live.'

It's a slightly touching moment.

It is incomparably shabby compared to the luxurious castle and spacious rooms granted to him as the crown prince of the continent of Arcadia.

Still, I achieved my long-cherished goal.

I came back to South Korea.

I was so excited that I stopped for a moment when I saw myself in the bathroom mirror.

"Ha... Haha. This is really my face."

Golden hair that flows elegantly.

Dark brown eyes and a fairly high nose.

A sharp yet powerful jawline.

This appearance, which creates a noble atmosphere without saying a word, is undoubtedly that of Karis von Walden.

One of the main characters of , and the crown prince of the Kingdom of Walden.

When I heard that I had no choice but to return to my original world with this body, I was honestly skeptical.

Karis von Walden is a real character in the game.

I wondered how it would be possible to descend into the real world.

However, the power of god to manipulate the world line seems to be much stronger than I expected.

'Wait a minute. This body really came to South Korea.'

I recalled the contents of the novels I had read before entering .

And while playing the game, I tried reciting the words I had memorized countless times in my mind.

"... Status window."

Then, a golden status window appeared before my eyes, giving off a beautiful effect.

It was a very similar design to the system that the shabby god had been checking with his beard fluttering just a short while ago.

I tried to erase that gag-like scene from my mind and checked my current state.

Name: Karis von Walden (Han Ji-hyeok)

Age: 20 (28)

Singing ability: C+

Dance: C-

Stamina: B

Appearance: SSS (cannot be changed)

Talent: C+

Trait: Crown Prince of the Kingdom, One Who Subdued the Demon King

Abnormal Status: Otherworldly Being (Possessed)

The moment I saw the stats, a sigh escaped my lips.

"What kind of crappy stats are these? "

Let me remind you again that I did not return to South Korea for any other purpose.

I came here to challenge myself again with the dream of becoming an idol, something I dedicated my school days and youth to.

Although I failed to make it to the final debut, I must have had skills that I had honed over the past six years.

Why are the essential stats for becoming an idol so miserable?

As I stared at the status window with a look of bewilderment, a small message window soon appeared.

[Welcome, possessor-nim 'Karis'. Now, I will begin the grand quest guide specially given to you.]

[The grand quest given to possessor-nim is to 'Debut within 365 days'. Can we proceed like this? ]

It felt like the system was alive and moving.

When I clicked the Yes button, the message window disappeared and a huge system settings window appeared.

[Currently, the possessor-nim is using a special entity, 'Karis von Walden'.]

[Because it is an entity that did not originally exist in the current world, there are restrictions on its time of use. Additional time of use will be granted when this Grand Quest is completed. If the Grand Quest is not completed within the given period, the current entity will return to his original world.]

"Wait a minute. Going back to the original world, does that mean I'll be back in Arcadia as a possessed being?"

When I saw the word 'going back' and asked urgently, I received an immediate answer.

[You understood correctly. If possessor-nim fails to complete the quest, you will be transferred to the original world in the body of 'Karis von Walden'. Since this is the world line of Earth that you have returned to with difficulty, please approach it with sincerity to avoid failing the quest.]

"No, I didn't want a system that imposed such penalties―."

[I will now explain the current status of the person in question.]

My pitiful cries as I was suddenly injected with a bomb were of no use.

I tried so hard to escape this damn world.

If I fail here, I will enter the again.

The system, which seemed to be far superior to high-performance AI, ignored my words and continued with a basic explanation.

[The possessor-nim is 100% synchronized with the body of 'Karis von Walden'. In other words, all abilities, biorhythms, and habits are set according to the body of 'Karis von Walden'.]

'Does that mean that even though my mind is mine, my body is this crown prince?'

It's starting to make sense.

The crown prince, of course, had no musical talent at all. From the beginning, the concept of was a game where you prosper the kingdom, build a force that rivals the Demon King's army, and then conquer it.

It was only natural that the essential stats to become an idol in South Korea were close to being a dud.

[However, since the soul of the possessor-nim is also synchronized, the skill point acquisition ability related to a specific field can grow at a rapid rate.]

[I have given you 1 skill point as a tutorial reward, so I recommend you try it out.]

This system was no different from a normal game.

It's natural to give points needed to increase stats as a reward for clearing quests.

I used the points for my C+ singing ability without any hesitation.

Then, with a flashing effect, the singing ability went up to B-.

'The effects are really dazzling.'

I slowly assessed the situation while checking the remaining stats.

These are ratings that immediately seem outrageous at first glance.

Points are essential for raising stats, and the most efficient route would be to first secure a source of points.

"If I keep practicing, the achievements will come out naturally. If I increase my stats with points, it won't take long to reach my original state."

The moment I found myself mumbling to myself without realizing it, I realized another thing.

My speech was exactly like the speech of Karis von Walden in the game.

The arrogant tone of voice spoken by nobles in common fantasy stories is exactly the same as if it were copied and pasted.

I wondered if perhaps the words came out unconsciously as I continued to be the crown prince in .

So I tried to move my mouth while speaking in the same way I used to speak in Korea.

"Bring me some water!"

"Hey, stop talking; it's so noisy! "

"What a hopeless human being! "

Can not be done.

I even tried to swear on purpose, but my tongue wouldn't obey the command.

It's like encountering an unfamiliar language for the first time.

I pulled out my hair for a moment.

Of course, since I am Korean, I had no problem listening or speaking.

This way of speaking, which seemed to have been patched in a strange way, was a huge stumbling block.

'Is that what it meant when it said that biorhythms and habits are set according to the body? '

For a moment, my head was spinning.

Even if you speak normally, idols can easily fall into the abyss, especially if you're not careful.

If I were to do this kind of accent in front of a camera, something I only see in novels....

It's dizzying just thinking about it.

While I was internally racking my brain, the system proceeded to the final stage of the tutorial.

[Please check the skills given to the possessor-nim in addition to the stats.]

[Lastly, setting the status of 'Karis von Walden' that will be used in the current Republic of Korea. If you fill in the items below, I will modify the world line to match the contents.]

I looked at the information window, which was divided into items as detailed as a self-introduction, and thought for a moment.

'Just a moment. I could set the background of this body the way I want....'

Rather, wouldn't it be possible to use the ridiculous habits of Karis von Walden in reverse?

I immediately opened the laptop that was lying around in the room and connected to the Internet.

Then I searched the world map and looked around Europe.

'Where is a country that seems somewhat plausible? '

* * *

"Is this the end? "

"Yes. I'm done with those documents."

"Oh my."

KJ E&M building in Sangam-dong.

The writer, who had been reading application documents late into the night in a meeting room on the 8th floor, rubbed her tired eyes.

Today is the last day of the final recruitment for , which was produced with great ambition by the headquarters.

Originally, they were planning to recruit a total of 100 trainees, but some of them dropped out midway through their application, so the quota was finalized at 96.

Well, those from big agencies already showed their intention to participate shortly after the application period opened, so it was extremely rare for them to get in before the final deadline.

This time, applications kept coming in right before the deadline.

The writer put her glasses back on and looked at the documents the junior writer had handed her.

"Is this the last kid to apply just yesterday?"

"Yes. It says 'individual trainee' so I thought it wouldn't be anything special, but when I looked into it more closely, it turned out to be a very unexpected character. How many foreigners were there among the applicants? "

"Foreigners? Maybe three."

"They are all Japanese or Chinese."

"Yes."

"Isn't this our first time encountering a European? "

Among the 96 applicants, individual trainees made up an extremely rare proportion.

Individual trainees themselves are rare, and foreigners are even rarer.

In a situation where he has both of those attributes, is he also a European citizen?

The writer was bewildered by the series of dizzying words.

She was worried that the junior writer's eyes might have become blurry due to fatigue, so she looked closely at the trainee's profile.

"Es, Estonia? "

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it either, so I checked again, and it turns out he was really born in Estonia. His background is also interesting. It says that his great-grandmother [father's grandmother] had Korean blood in his veins, so he naturally started studying Korean and then became interested in K-pop."

The writer glanced over the profile that read "Karis von Walden" a couple more times.

First of all, there were so many places where the background could have drawn attention, but the photo attached to the application was the best.

"Blonde with black eyes. Wouldn't it be okay to say he's mixed-race? "

"I would have to see the mixed blood myself to know. But for now, I think we will definitely have a solid grasp on the marketability of the face."

"Well.... If the photo is like this, I can't guess what the real person will be like."

The junior writer opened her eyes slightly as she watched her diligently turn her pen.

"Senior, why is the person who was dying just now so excited? "

"Of course. There is a smell. You know it's a rule in audition programs like this that unexpected talents make surprise appearances? "

"Are you talking about the time of ? That was already a few years ago. It's been more than three years."

"But didn't the kids who debuted there do well, and our company jumped into this market? And with the support of a huge company?"

She put down her pen after reading through Karis's application form.

A faint smile appeared on her tired face.

"Anyway, my 10-year experience tells me this is either a hit or a bust."

"What if it's a bust? "

"What can we do? We should use editing to increase viewership by drawing as much attention as possible. And then we should boldly abandon it around the middle. Isn't the current program format optimized for provocative editing? Then it's the perfect card."

As the title suggests, boasts a format that appropriately mixes survival programs and game elements to induce excessive immersion on the part of viewers.

She had a feeling from the moment the main PD, who cast her, first introduced this project.

She thinks it will be a format that really exploits the emotions of fans who are obsessed with idols.

Missions that will make you exclaim in admiration, and a highly speculative reward system to match.

In a program with so many features, the more cards that can be used on either side, the more beneficial it is for the production team.

"Please pass this on to the PD. I've finished checking all the applications, so let's have an interview and test."

"Okay."

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