Chapter 49 - 49

Chapter 49

Just once.

Karis von Walden, who possessed superior physical ability and intelligence, was almost defeated by an opponent only once.

When an assassin entered my tent due to an unexpected surprise attack by the Demon King's army.

The assassin had strangled me from the neck down to prevent me from screaming when I woke up.

"Ugh."

And now, the moment the system imposed the penalty, the pressure became even more intense than before, squeezing my breathing.

My legs buckled in sudden pain.

When I instinctively reached out and grabbed Song Hyeong-bin's shoulder, he turned around at an incredibly fast speed.

"Ah, how come by two votes―. Wait a minute, Karis? Are you okay?"

My complexion must have deteriorated rapidly.

I tried my best to keep my expressions in check, but I couldn't answer right away because I couldn't breathe.

"Hey, hey. Karis? Are you okay? You're sweating cold right now-"

"Huh.... Phew. It's okay."

After barely catching my breath, I signaled that I was okay.

But the oppression came back again, and I couldn't open my mouth anymore.

'You said that only stats would drop, you didn't mention that this kind of pain would occur.'

Originally, was a game that had a reputation of being a bad game because of its extremely high difficulty.

There were so many penalties and surprise stages that suddenly appeared that it made you wonder if this was made for gamers to break.

I never imagined that I would be subjected to such a physical and painful penalty.

'I didn't want that crappy system of that damn game. I asked for a system that would help me, and how does this seem like a gift that compensates for my hard work over the past ten years?'

It was clearly said that the god of would give beneficial rewards.

A system that helps me achieve my unfulfilled dreams.

It was strange that a system imbued with the power of God contained such malicious elements.

There was no immediate way to find out what was happening.

I was just seething with unspeakable anger.

In terms of simple time, it was only a few dozen seconds.

But these days, with cameras everywhere and having to somehow manage my facial expressions, dozens of seconds feel like dozens of minutes.

The pain in my neck slowly began to subside.

I forced a smile and reassured Song Hyeong-bin once again.

"It's okay. I think I was speechless for a moment because I was disappointed that we came in second place by two votes."

"I was surprised at how pale your face turned. You know it doesn't matter whether we get first or second place, right? It's the same since we will go to Music K Showdown. So don't worry too much about it."

"Yes."

The practical benefit is the same, but I've lost valuable skill points.

Even the vocal stats that had been intensively raised have decreased.

'This is a disaster. I never thought such a disaster would happen....'

I thought I did the best I could.

I took advantage of the stats I had raised and regained the center position.

I even invested the lucky draw coins that I had been saving in preparation for an emergency, in an attempt to increase my chances of winning first place in the second round.

'The problem started with the lucky draw. If other stats had improved instead of appearance, I could have shown something more... No. Was it the right choice to invest the remaining lucky draw coins?'

The despair of the failure right before my eyes only fueled useless thoughts.

I listened to Choi Sia's words as she finished filming, suppressing my feelings of emptiness.

" has concluded its fierce second round. To the trainees who worked hard to show the national managers a great stage, thank you for your hard work!"

We gave each other encouragement and applause for our hard work.

When I turned my head to the left, I saw Kang Si-yoon waving his thumb at me from over there.

"All the results are in. The groups that ultimately received the entire team benefit are , , and . The trainees in these three groups each received 10,000 benefit votes. They also received the right to appear as special guests on the Music K Showdown next week. Congratulations!"

That's some good news.

It will be a great opportunity to raise awareness.

"The next shoot starts in 4 days. Until then, everyone, get some rest. I'll give you a little spoiler in advance: The next shoot will be outdoors. Make sure you come after replenishing your stamina!"

"Yes?"

"Outdoor shooting?"

Leaving behind the trainees' confusing questions, Choi Sia waved her hand and went down the stage.

And with the slate slammed, it marked the official end of the second round of filming.

"I said it before, but I'll say it again. Everyone worked really hard, and it must have been hard to follow a leader who was lacking, but thank you. Let's go to the music show and have fun on stage again!"

"Great!"

"Our group is the best!"

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"

Before leaving the set, the team members hugged each other.

I happened to be stuck between Heo Yu-bin and Song Hyeong-bin, and I was in charge of the last comment.

"Everyone did their best, so this is a natural result. I expected to receive the benefit unconditionally from the first practice. I also knew that I would not meet better teammates. I hope we get good results in the third round as well."

"Hey, what if you give a speech, hyung-nim?"

"I am touched by Karis nim's words!"

"... Where did you read that meme, Ken?"

[카리스 님의 말에는 감동이 있슴니다! = Ken used 있슴니다 instead of 있습니다 which means there is/are.]

"There are a lot of fun things on the Internet!"

Park Jae-hoon shook his head at Ken Hashimoto, who was skillfully using Korean memes.

Song Hyeong-bin laughed loudly and suggested an idea, wondering what was so enjoyable about that sight.

"Before everyone heads home or to their accommodations, how about having dinner together today? I heard there's a special meal coming out to celebrate the end of Round 2."

"Great!"

"Good!"

"Karis will definitely come, right?"

"Huh? Ah."

The younger brothers answered that they were already going energetically.

If I say I am not going here, it'll be very noticeable.

'Food isn't important to me right now.'

I tried my best to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry. I don't have an appetite right now. Would it be okay if I rest in my room for a bit before I go?"

"It's tiring now that the stage is over. For some reason, your face was really pale earlier. Get some sleep and come down. We're not going right away today."

"All right."

After waving to my teammates once, I quickly headed towards Cell 12.

Then I went into the bathroom, where there were no cameras installed, and took a deep breath.

'Status window.'

Today was the first time I found myself hating the look of this golden effect.

Name: Karis von Walden (Han Ji-hyeok)

Age: 20 (28)

Singing ability: B- (22/30)

Dance: B (16/30)

Stamina: A- (10/60)

Appearance: SSS (cannot be changed)

Talent: B (18/30)

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

Abnormal Status: Otherworldly Being (Possessed)

The singing ability stat has really dropped to B-.

I washed my face with cold water and tried to get my mind in order.

'I can't turn back what's already happened. It's inevitable, but I have to accept it. If I had used a more certain method to achieve first place, this unfortunate incident wouldn't have happened.'

In the end, it was I who was to blame for being so complacent.

I looked in the mirror with water dripping from my hair.

'The problem is that not only is the stats dropping, but it is also accompanied by physical pain.'

I stroked my neck.

It is true that when my singing ability declines, I get pain in my throat, where my vocal cords are.

So, what if, by chance, I fail the hidden quest again and another stat like dance or stamina drops....

'It's not just the neck pain that's the problem; I can't even imagine what kind of strain it would cause to my body.'

It would be even worse if something like this happened during the filming of a program.

I was able to somehow endure the excruciating pain with my mental strength and not let it show on the outside as much as possible.

If my heart or other organs are under pressure, it can be very difficult to stay calm.

In short, there is now one more variable to consider.

I wiped my face with a towel and gritted my teeth.

'The Crown Prince's abnormal status is something that can occur at any time. And I have no idea which stats will randomly decrease due to the hidden quest penalty. I also don't know how that penalty will affect my body.'

I thought that once I got the system, everything would work out fine.

But the reality I face now is not like that at all.

Rather, these are elements that I should think about more than before.

It feels like there are more obstacles to overcome.

But it doesn't stop there.

'Yes, what can I do when variables arise? Just prepare perfectly, as I always do, plan a strategy, and don't fail the quest. Let's learn from this failure.'

As my mind becomes calm, a smile appears on my face.

As the confused and resentful emotions in my head cool down, a calm, competitive spirit gathers.

Adversity and hardship have always been by my side.

Even in , I didn't win every battle.

Even though everyone said that the route was impossible to conquer, I didn't stop trying and actually cleared it.

Even when the commander was tricked into a trap by a dirty spy from the demon world,.

Even when the supply units in the rear were hit by a surprise attack and were desperately short on resources,.

In the end, I won and succeeded in beheading the Demon King.

Is it because of that experience?

Rather, I feel grateful for these interruptions.

'If it's too smooth, it's not fun. Now, now, little by little, I feel like something is burning.'

Because there is suffering, there is joy.

Because there is adversity, there is fruit.

Contrary to my burning desire to win, my head and heart grew cold, and a system notification window popped up.

[The trait 'The One Who Subdued the Demon King' is activated. Your judgment and cool-headedness increase dramatically.]

I only saw the phrase that a passive skill was activated, but this is the first time I've seen my trait activated.

'There was a skill with a similar effect to this in passive skills.'

'Demon King Slayer' is a skill that greatly increases composure and calmness.

But there is a clear difference between this skill and my exclusive trait.

'Demon King Slayer' is used to prevent nervousness when on stage.

On the other hand, the trait 'The one who subdued the Demon King' gave the strong feeling of quickly regaining composure when faced with failure and despair.

Is this the effect of coolness?

Without thinking, I immediately opened the system achievements window.

Just blow away the skill point rewards.

If the stats themselves have dropped by two levels, the way to overcome this is simple.

Farming skill points further restore stats to their original state.

And a lot of skill points are sleeping as rewards within this achievement.

There were still mountains of achievements that had not yet been broken.

Among them, I can break it at a fast speed.

I also looked into what achievements have tasty rewards.

And then, as it happened, two achievements caught my eye.

[: Appear on an official music broadcast and make your name known! (Reward 5 Skill Points)]

[: Win the various minigames that occur in the survival program! Current progress: 1/3 (Reward 8 skill points)]

* * *

The second round of ended at a very late hour, 11:20 PM.

Hommas, who brought cameras, needed time to organize their previews.

There were many who wanted to write detailed reviews, but first a reorganization was essential.

So by the time it hit 12 a.m. sharp, there were only really short stories posted and no detailed spoilers yet.

Just as the national managers were anxiously waiting for rice cakes,.

A piece of news that they had slightly forgotten about suddenly burst out.

―Guys, guys, here's a quick update!! The second global vote has opened, but f*ck, check this out

It was the appearance of 'Fever Time' that became the biggest turning point in the second round of voting.

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