Chapter 3
It is a survival program planned by large corporations that has thrown down the gauntlet in the idol market that is becoming increasingly overheated.
The fact that trainees from major entertainment joined, drew a lot of attention.
In addition, the various hardships that stripped away the participants' mentality like dust, and the direct participation system that further drew in viewers' excessive immersion, were truly vicious.
'This time, I'm going in a direction that will absolutely not fail.'
As the finalist, I had a thorough understanding of the
Which part do I need to focus on?
I still vividly remember which trainees I have to avoid.
Thorough preparation was needed to ensure that the second opportunity, won after many twists and turns, would not go to waste.
I first conducted various tests on Karis' body to determine the level of skill that could be currently achieved.
Because I had possessed this body for a long time, I did not feel any discomfort or unfamiliarity at all, but as expected, dancing and singing were unfamiliar topics to the crown prince, so it seemed difficult to expect much progress in a short period of time.
'The initial stats are too low to begin with. The methods for gaining points are also extremely limited at present.'
Before
After taking a closer look at the system, I found that skill points were earned by completing achievements, as I expected.
However, most of the locked achievements were ones that could be unlocked after the program started.
The only achievements I can break while locked up alone in a studio apartment are those of the 'repeated practice' category.
[Achievement Accomplished!
[Achievement Accomplished!
[Achievement Accomplished!
Currently, my body belongs not to idol trainee Han Ji-hyeok, but to the crown prince of the Kingdom of Walden, Karis von Walden.
In short, I am not yet specialized in singing or dancing like this.
I thought carefully about what direction I should take to make the given situation look good.
It didn't take long for the answer to come out.
'I have the system with me anyway, and I have a skill that can double my stats. When survival starts, new quests will naturally appear. There will also be more opportunities to gain points.'
Also, it seemed like there was no need to worry about early attention, which is one of the most important things.
Because I have a special character that you can't find in any other large agency.
A trainee from Europe, not Asia.
If a trainee from Estonia can speak Korean well, my mere presence is sure to naturally attract considerable attention.
If that happens, the production team will have no choice but to keep Karis von Walden as the main character.
The chances of these gentlemen, who would sell their souls to ghosts for high viewer ratings, abandoning such a rare character in the early stage is almost zero.
First of all, when I thought about the interview and the level test that would follow, I tried to practice as much as possible to create stats that were above the basic level.
'I wanted to make my singing ability above an A, but....'
The process of collecting the skill points needed to level up was extremely difficult.
Because it required more points than you could imagine to raise the stats above B.
It was a realistic and reasonable decision to put aside stats that had grown to a certain level and raise other stats that required less.
Name: Karis von Walden (Han Ji-hyeok)
Age: 20 (28)
Singing ability: B
Dance: C+
Stamina: B+
Appearance: SSS (cannot be changed)
Talent: B-
Trait: Crown Prince of the Kingdom, One Who Subdued the Demon King
Abnormal Status: Otherworldly Being (Possessed)
I knew full well that there were a lot of monster-like guys appearing in
Just thinking about the trainees who made it to the debut stage last time, it was obvious that they would boast abilities far superior to what I currently have in my status window.
One thing to take comfort in is that....
'Is this what it looks like?'
I lived without thinking much about it in
If this status window was so blatantly attached to SSS from the beginning, then that says it all.
For me, it seems like I have additional points that I can utilize.
Additionally, I looked at the skills mentioned by the system.
I got the feeling just from the name.
These skills originated from the crown prince of
['Worship and revere' (C)]
['Genius of Words' (C)]
['The Demon King's Slayer' (C)]
Unlike the SSS-grade appearance, which is similar to the Crown Prince's unique passive, all skills start at C-grade.
And no matter how many times I clicked on the window, no guidance appeared telling me what kind of skill it was.
'Is it telling me to try it out in real life and check it out?'
However, I wish it would tell me in what situations this skill is activated.
It's a system that seems friendly to me, but is also somewhat hardcore.
After carrying out the best plan like that, I went to the interview for
"... That's it."
The entire production crew who saw my stage looked at me with surprised eyes.
Then the woman sitting at the end raised her hand and broke the silence.
"Mr. Karis, your Korean pronunciation is really perfect."
Of course, that's natural, since I'm Korean.
"I was a little nervous when I first heard you introduce yourself, but I was surprised when I saw you change 180 degrees when you started singing."
Well, I've been trying to fix this tone for the past few days.
Although Karis' linguistic habits still pop up in everyday conversation, I had trained my tongue to properly convey the lyrics when singing.
"I was worried about your dancing, but you're not that bad. I think you can do the basics to some extent."
"It does feel a little stiff, though... Hmm. But I think you can cover it up with practice until the level test?"
"Could that be possible?"
My biggest concern was the dance that started with a C- stat.
Although I had raised my stat distribution to C+ before the interview, I still felt like a bit of an amateur to the average person.
"I think that'll be okay, right?"
"Well, dancing and singing can be improved with practice, but a face like that is something you're born with...."
In the end, the conclusion was as I expected.
The production team, who had been talking amongst themselves loudly enough for me to hear, told me that I had passed.
Rather than just skills, I think they must have thought that they couldn't miss out on this unique character that you can't find anywhere else.
'I've already passed the first hurdle, but... there are still areas that need to be conquered.'
The production team of
The judges will be looking at my skills with a professional eye. If I take the level test leisurely with my current status window, I don't know what kind of harsh criticism I might receive.
'Even if the achievements are few, I should farm as much as I can.'
This is the beginning of hellish training.
Judging from the production team's impressions, I need to get at least a B stat to hear the evaluation that "the basics are definitely there."
As soon as I returned to my studio, I fixed my phone on the stand and resumed practicing.
Just like when I first trained in swordsmanship with the body of Karis von Walden.
Like when I experienced horseback riding training for the first time in my life.
I practiced tirelessly to achieve the goal in front of me.
The system must have been impressed by my appearance, as it added a message of support every time my stats went up.
[Dance stat increased.]
[It's nice to see you working hard, possessor-nim. On the one hand, I wanted to see you return to
... I was a little confused as to whether it was cheering me on or hoping that I would fail.
* * *
About two weeks passed.
I dragged my almost empty luggage into a training center in Paju where the filming of
Seeing the cameras set up in abundance from the entrance, I felt that the program was really about to start.
"Where are you from?"
"I'm so nervous."
"Wow, you're that young? This is the first time I've seen a 16 years old participate."
The 96 trainees who will participate in
As expected of people who aspire to be idols, there were some who approached each other naturally and started a friendly conversation even though it was their first time meeting each other, while there were others who waited quietly, taking note of the unfamiliar atmosphere.
I stepped into the auditorium without thinking much about it.
For some reason, I felt like the eyes of those around me were naturally following me.
'That's right. I'm here now in a charismatic state.'
Perhaps because of the familiarity with
So, for a moment, I lost awareness of my current appearance.
Well, it's understandable that Koreans would be bewildered to see a white person among them.
I didn't want to attract any strange attention before the program started, so I quickly moved to the most remote spot.
Only after I sat down in a corner where I was less likely to be noticed by people was I able to breathe a little easier.
But that silence was short-lived.
"Oh, there's someone else who likes corners like me! Hello!"
Someone threw his bag on the seat behind me and gave me a friendly greeting.
His tall stature, physique, and refreshing facial features made me feel like I was looking at a model.
When I tried to answer by turning around, the trainee was surprised.
"Wow. You're a foreigner. I just thought you had bleached your hair and started talking to you―"
"Unfortunately, it's my natural hair. It's a shame that it has little melanin."
"Huh, huh?"
In normal situations, the speech style of Karis von Walden comes out automatically.
I worked even harder for two weeks to prepare for meeting the production team and the judges. If I were to answer the judges in this really sick tone....
I might end up being reduced to a worthless trainee before the real survival even begins.
There is a limit to what I can cover as a foreigner.
I didn't want to get knocked out by the public who said that I had a dream to be a K-pop idol but didn't even have basic manners.
So, to some extent, if I mentally prepare myself and build up tension, it seems that Karis's crown prince ego is somewhat offset, but this kind of everyday conversation remains unchanged.
I tried to ignore the trainee's surprised eyes and asked for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Karis von Walden. I come from a faraway country called Estonia."
"Oh, Estonia in Europe? You must have had a hard time coming from so far away. Oh, my name is Kang Si-yoon! Nice to meet you."
The moment Kang Si-yoon smiled brightly, a golden effect appeared.
I slowly recalled my memories while looking at the status window containing his information.
'I thought it sounded familiar.... I remember it after looking at his profile.'
Name: Kang Si-yoon
Age: 20
Singing ability: B
Dance: A-
Stamina: A-
Appearance: B+
Talent: B+
Trait: Practice Bug
Status: Atrophy (Disabled)
He was a trainee who had advanced to the finals just like me in the previous
Since I was never on the same team as him during the survival show, I couldn't fully get to know his personality or skills, but I got the impression that he danced pretty well.
Although we both failed at debut.
'His ability level seems to be pretty good. How could someone like him get eliminated later on? What are the stats of the trainees who debuted?'
Kang Si-yoon seemed like a guy with excellent social skills.
At first, he was quite surprised by my appearance, but soon he got used to my speech and reacted with surprise.
"That's amazing! So you taught yourself Korean? To become an idol? For 10 years?"
"Well, as you can see, I started out with a novel, so I'm used to this kind of speech."
"I think this could also be one of your charms, Mr. Karis. By the way, I didn't ask how old you were. I'm twenty, and you, Mr. Karis?"
"We are the same age."
"Wow, what a coincidence!"
Kang Si-yoon, who seemed to be possessed by the question mark serial killer, quickly narrowed the internal distance between us.
Well, if I have connections that I can talk to from the beginning, it won't be a problem in the later rounds.
I spent time talking to Kang Si-yoon in an appropriate manner.
About 30 minutes later.
A staff member holding a megaphone opened the door wide and made a notice.
"Trainees, let's all move to the filming location! Please move carefully following the instructions of the staff!"
Amid the friendly atmosphere, a faint sense of tension permeated the air.
The trainees entered the large filming set where the first stage of
And welcoming us were five judges who looked calm yet quite scary.
"Hello, trainees."
"Hello!"
"Wow, awesome."
"It is really Senior Choi Sia."
Choi Sia. An all-rounder who has established a considerable position as a female solo singer in Korea.
Originally planned to debut as a member of an idol group, Choi Sia was able to shine thanks to her agency's CEO, who decided that she would be better off as a solo artist.
Her vocals and producing skills are outstanding, but what brought her to the top is her charismatic dancing skills.
That may be why the expression she was making now seemed to be filled with her determination to give the trainees gathered here a taste of hell.
"Welcome to
"Nurturing idols who boast the best skills in all aspects!"
"You remember well. This level evaluation will also follow that introduction. That means we will push hard from the beginning."
As soon as she finished speaking, the lights on the judges' table turned on.
Five screens were created under a long rectangular table.
"The level evaluation system is simple. After watching the stage that the trainees have prepared, our judges will evaluate the level in two categories: singing and dancing. There are four levels in total. Tier 1 to Tier 4."
Choi Sia lowered her voice from here.
As if to emphasize that what follows is the most important.
"And Tier 1 and 2 trainees will ultimately enter the 'mainstream' group. Tier 3 and 4 trainees will enter the 'underground' group."
I felt that the trainees around me were already getting agitated by the word 'underground'.
Choi Sia also felt it, and continued speaking with an unknown smile.
"The important thing here is that trainees who are included in the 'Underground' will not be able to use their own names until the ranking evaluation day. This means that only numbers will be provided to the national managers who will be watching the broadcast instead of names."
"―!"
"What, what did you just say?"
"You can't use your name?"
A reckless warning was given.
If earlier was like the gentle waves of a lake, now it was like a sea hit by a strong wind.
I smiled faintly as I watched the trainees' pupils dilate in real time.
The level test that could result in losing your name has begun.
—