Chapter 48 - 48

Chapter 48

It is true that the most restrained target is . In fact, it received a huge response that was comparable to ours.

, with Ji Yoon-chul as a strong support, and Kang Si-yoon's , which received great reviews during the midterm evaluation, are also expected to rank high.

"Honestly, the team is more restrained than ."

Park Jae-hoon, who was quietly drinking water, added a word.

"It's true that Yoon-cheol is good, but I think was better viewed as a team because it felt like they were really moving as one body."

"That seems to be true."

"Siyoon Hyung really works hard. He even taught me, even though I'm not very good."

"I was lacking; is this it? "

"Ah, ah, ah, no! "

When Song Hyeong-bin joked around, Heo Yu-bin was very flustered and got caught in buffering.

The two pupils shook as if there were an earthquake.

"I should have taught you better. I'm sorry, Yubin."

"Please, please! Stop teasing meeeee. I was wrong! "

"Okay, okay. If you tease him any longer, Yubin will faint."

"Ugh."

Soon, the two teams performed on stage.

The first one to appear is group.

Kang Si-yoon, who confidently took center stage, successfully pulled off the refreshing concept.

Even team members with relatively low rankings showed off their clean teamwork with confident expressions.

"Good job."

"The energy is so good! "

"Siyoon Hyung, I believed in you! "

At the appearance of that welcoming face, Heo Yu-bin quickly came out of his pupil earthquake.

I watched with sparkling eyes as my former roommate literally took over the stage.

"Karis Hyung-nim, don't you think Siyoon Hyung is older than before? "

"I think I know why it looks that way."

"Really?"

I nodded while drinking water.

"The concept is more important than other factors. Siyoon has excellent fundamentals and knows his strengths well. If a trainee like that wears clothes that fit him, those advantages will be amplified even more than usual. Just like now."

Unlike Kang Si-yoon's group, Ji Yoon-cheol's group did not show a performance that was as destructive as expected.

I was quietly watching the stage when I felt a sense of deja vu.

'It looks a bit like Song Hyeong-bin's appearance during the first round.'

The team received benefits, and all of their team members were the same as in Round 1, except for one player.

So that means there is no problem with breathing.

"... I have a feeling that Yoon-cheol is the only one who can pull off that concept."

"I agree with you."

As expected, Song Hyeong-bin made a sharp analysis.

Except for Ji Yoon-cheol, the other members felt like they were wearing clothes that didn't fit.

Both the costumes and makeup felt a bit out of place.

Ji Yoon-cheol, standing in the center alone, showed off his destructive presence.

"In Siyoon's case, he did a great job with the concept, but so did the other team members. So the overall level of completion of the stage was high, and he was able to show off his skills at the center with more confidence. However, here, Yoon-cheol was the only one who gave off that feeling... It's a shame."

Song Hyeong-bin had a truly regretful expression on his face.

I was looking at the screen, controlling my expression on the outside, but inside I was sighing in relief.

'At this level, the probability of completing the quest increases significantly.'

I watched the rest of the stage with my fist slightly clenched.

As the final stage ended, a familiar announcement was heard outside.

"Let's go to the concert hall! "

It's time to check the results.

* * *

"It's a little chilly."

"It definitely feels more empty than the first time."

has only 51 people left.

The trainees who returned to the concert hall, where all the audience members had left, felt a relatively bleak atmosphere.

That kind of appreciation is fleeting.

"To all the trainees who successfully completed the second round, thank you for your hard work."

As Choi Sia came up on stage, the chilliness in the studio turned into tension.

"Before the competition started, I mentioned that there would be overall benefits and individual benefits in this round."

"Yes-."

"During the first round, the top three teams were given 5,000 benefit votes. And this second round group benefit is."

Large numbers appeared on the LED screen behind the stage.

"The top 3 teams will immediately receive a 10,000-vote benefit. That's twice as much as last time. And that's not all. The top 3 teams will receive a special benefit of appearing on KNet's music show, Music K Showdown."

Benefit 10,000 votes was a considerable reward, but the trainees were excited about the news of their appearance on the Music K Showdown.

"Hey, it's a music show, a music show! "

"We can go on a music show before we even debut?"

"I don't even want to get first place; I just want to get into the top three. I really want to go on a music show."

It's a great opportunity to get noticed by more people.

Even I, who knew that this benefit would come about, could not help but nod in satisfaction.

Song Hyeong-bin, standing in front of me, looked back and smiled.

"It would be fun to go to Musho [Music Show]."

"If we don't go, who will? It's a must."

"Oh, this is the first time I've heard Karis speak so openly."

Well, I was trying to support you as much as I could because your mental health wasn't good during that time.

I looked ahead with confident eyes.

'I did everything I could.'

"There are also individual benefits that the trainees have been most curious about. The trainee who receives the most votes from each group will receive 10,000 individual benefit votes. In other words, trainees who make it into the top 3 teams and receive individual benefits will receive a total of 20,000 votes at once."

"This is crazy."

"This way, even if you don't make it into the top 3 teams, as long as you get first place on your team, you're safe."

It was such sweet news.

The trainees exchanged glances with each other, even though they were aware that cameras were rolling everywhere.

You can't help but be captivated by the benefits that bring you one step closer to survival.

"Let's look at the results now. The first team in 1990 . Please reveal the number of votes! "

How many people out of 500 people pressed the O button?

And it was revealed which trainee got the most individual votes.

'On average, it comes out to between 300 and 400 votes.'

As of now, is in first place with a whopping 418 votes.

In addition, Kang Si-yoon, who showed outstanding skills at the center, also received individual benefits.

'Come to think of it, the abnormal condition that occurred during the level test for Kang Si-yoon didn't turn on this time either.'

Kang Si-yoon's abnormal condition is 'atrophy'.

During the level test, the stage balance and composure suddenly collapsed, and mistakes were made continuously.

It is still unclear what caused it.

As I was staring at Kang Si-yoon, he felt my gaze and turned his head directly towards me.

Then he winked.

'This was obviously caught on camera too.'

After passing through the year 2000, we finally reached the year 2010.

"Please, please."

"There has to be at least 400 votes."

Ken Hashimoto and Heo Yubin were holding each other's hands tightly and reciting a spell.

Park Jae-hoon was already frozen, unable to hide his nervousness.

On the other hand, Song Hyeong-bin looked at the screen with a carefree face.

1st place. Must be 1st place.

It's not a problem to be in the top 3 teams; we just have to get first place overall.

At that time, I was desperately hoping that the numbers would be revealed.

[: 441 votes]

"... !"

"4, 441 votes!"

"Hoooooo."

The vote count was overwhelmingly overwhelming.

I felt my eyes widen without realizing it.

And along with the feelings of surprise, a strong sense of relief came over me.

'Okay. This is a safe level.'

As of now, other teams are stuck in the early 400s at most.

441 votes is a number that can be considered a very high score.

[Highest vote-getter: Karis von Walden, 234 votes]

Even in the personal benefit, I won by beating Song Hyeong-bin.

"Congratulations, Karis! "

"Karis hyung-nim!"

"I knew it would be Karis nim!"

While I was grateful for the congratulatory remarks, my mind was only on the votes received by the other teams.

The first hurdle has been overcome.

Now all that remains are and results.

[: 409 votes]

Ji Yoon-cheol's group received relatively low votes.

A figure that is one level lower than .

"Great job!"

"Ah, but still, something is missing."

"You've worked hard, Yoon-cheol."

"...Thank you for your hard work."

Despite the disappointing result, the team gave each other words of encouragement, patting each other on the shoulder.

Ji Yoon-cheol also nodded and told his hyungs that they had had a hard time, but his eyes were slightly wavering.

'He's the guy who always maintains a blank expression.'

Even though he had almost no change in expression, he seemed to have a strong desire to win.

Although he may not show it on the outside, Ji Yoon-cheol needs to have a much bigger impact than he does now in order to maintain his high ranking of 2nd place.

The goal in this competition was to definitely place in the top ranks.

'Now we just need one team to get through.'

As we move into 2020, my heart starts beating a little faster.

There really isn't much time left until the quest is completed.

The sweetness of victory is so close that I can feel it on the tip of my tongue.

But isn't there a saying like this?

Somehow, my bad premonitions always come true.

"It's the last song of 2020. Only the result of group is left. Looking at the table, it feels like it was a close race until the very end. Please reveal the results! "

The numbers that had been spinning around stopped one by one.

[: 443 votes]

'... That's ridiculous.'

I looked at the result, which was divided by only two votes, with a blank expression.

And then, as if to confirm that this situation was real, a system notification popped up.

[You have failed the hidden link quest, 'Get 1st place in the 2nd competition.']

[You cannot obtain the reward.]

[※Warning!!※ Failure to complete the quest will result in a penalty! ]

'Penalty? What kind of penalty is this all of a sudden!'

I almost unconsciously reached out towards the system window.

I looked up at the golden window, barely able to move my fingers.

'I've never been penalized. Not even once! Not even a warning notification―.'

Even though I cried out in my heart that it was unfair, I couldn't do anything about it.

[A penalty has been incurred.]

[Due to the failure of the hidden link quest, one of possessor-nim's stats will decrease by 2 levels.]

[Choose a stat to decrease.... The stat, 'Singing Ability' decreases from B+ to B-.]

'Shit!'

Instinctively, I clenched my fist.

It's a series of absurd things.

Even the singing ability that was barely raised was a randomly selected stat―!

"Ugh."

At that moment,.

I felt something unknown pressing down on my throat.

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