Chapter 104
This is precisely why I tried to play the third round without any help from the system.
The third round is just a procedure to go to the final live broadcast.
Today is the day that determines the fate of my debut.
We must pour all our strength and all our means into the final live broadcast.
What I felt while replaying
If only the so-called goddess of fortune would be on my side, I could achieve my desired goals with absurd ease.
However, lucky draw shops follow the law of high risk, high return. It is like gambling, where you have to rely on luck.
If you are unlucky, there is a chance that you will come back empty-handed despite making a large investment, as I did in the second round.
So, I held on somehow to increase my chances of hitting the jackpot.
To be honest, there were more than a few times during each round when I wanted to borrow the power of the lucky draw shop, but I suppressed my desire by thinking only of the final stage.
And now, the time has come to harvest the fruits of that patience.
After finishing the first rehearsal, we went back to the waiting room for a while to regroup.
I calmly waited for my turn and mentally called up the system window.
And without hesitation, I went to the lucky draw shop.
'This gorgeous effect always hurts my eyes when I look at it.'
I slowly exhaled as I watched the connection effect of numerous products passing by before my eyes.
It doesn't have to be an S-grade item like it first appeared, so I hope it's not a dud.
[Would you like to use Lucky Draw Coins?]
I prayed earnestly in my heart and pressed the Yes button.
The gacha machine was spinning noisily.
A prize was rolled out through the slot machine entrance.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the B-grade item, 'Steel Body (1day)'.]
I read the item description; it is an item that immediately increases the user's stamina and reduces fatigue for the day after using it.
In short, it was a really decent item.
'It was a bit tough during the practice, but it wasn't enough to affect the live final broadcast today. Of course, it's good to have physical strength, but it doesn't have the immediate effect of raising my ranking.'
It wasn't an entirely welcome result, but it wasn't as bad as last time, which was a total dud.
I pulled myself together again and used the last coin I had left.
The gacha machine made a loud noise and then stopped.
And then a familiar purple capsule slowly rolled out of the entrance.
I instinctively felt my eyes flash open.
Purple. Apparently, there was a purple capsule before.
Not recently, but quite a while ago.
That means....
[Congratulations! You have obtained an S-rank item.]
I clenched my fist.
Finally, finally, the goddess of fortune has come again.
Now, what's important here is what kind of effect the item has.
[S-Grade Item, 'Audience Overwhelm': The passive skill grade temporarily increases when performing in a place with a large audience.
·When performing in front of 500 or more people, one passive skill is randomly increased by 1 level.
·When performing in front of 1000 people or more, one passive skill is randomly increased by 2 levels.
·When performing in front of 3,000 people or more, 2 passive skills are randomly increased by 0.5 levels.
·When performing in front of 5,000 people or more, 2 passive skills are randomly increased by 1 level.
·When performing in front of 10,000 people or more, 3 passive skills are increased by 1 level
The passive skill level that was increased will be lowered to its original level after 24 hours.]
As soon as I read the supplementary explanation, I felt a shiver run through my body.
'It was worth enduring all the hardships until now. Finally!'
Despite my ability to keep my composure, my heart was racing with excitement.
The item I need most right now has appeared.
There is also an optimal location for using the items.
Increasing passive skills is more efficient than increasing the basic stats shown in the status window.
'I clearly witnessed its power during the first competition.'
The skill 'Worship and revere' grabs the audience's attention and makes them empathize.
There was a time when I went on stage after raising my skill from a C grade to a B grade during the first competition.
And the results were truly devastating.
Every time my part came out, the cheers and screams from the audience were so loud.
Thanks to the overwhelming on-site response, we ultimately won the group benefit and even recorded a vote count that beat Song Hyung-bin's team, which I had been most cautious about.
If only the 'Worship and Revere' skill could rise from C-rank to B-rank this time.
It will be a card that can change the game in the final live broadcast, where all the votes must be collected.
[The current location has been confirmed as 'Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium'. Number of spectators allowed: 7,000 people in total]
[Two passive skills are increased by one level.]
[Choose the passive skill whose level will increase.]
[....]
[Passive skills, 'Worship and Revere' and 'Demon King Slayer' grades increase from C to B.]
I almost screamed the moment I saw the guidance message.
Okay.
Everything worked out for the best.
Not only did I win the song 'Worship, and Revere' that I absolutely had to go on, but I also temporarily got to go on 'Devil's Slayer', which increases my composure on stage.
It was truly unbelievable that I had avoided the 'genius of speech' who was of no use at this point.
It felt like an ominous energy was gathering around me.
* * *
"I have to watch this at home. It can't be this miserable."
"Unni, isn't that the same for me too?"
Pyo Joo-hyun and Pyo Ji-hyun sat side by side in front of the TV.
The clock on the living room wall was slowly ticking toward 10 o'clock at night.
The day of the final live broadcast of
The two naturally applied to attend the live event to see the birth of the debut group, but they ended up giving in to the extremely difficult odds.
They know from the article that more than 140,000 people applied for the final live broadcast.
Considering that the total number of audience members announced by the production team was 7,000, the odds of winning were only about 5%.
They can only watch the trainees on TV while swallowing their regrets.
'I wonder what rank Karis will debut in.'
She may have been drinking kimchi stew from a bowl [something to happen before it really happens], but it was already a done deal that Karis von Walden would make his debut.
Unless some truly absurd catastrophe occurs, the chances of him, who finished third in the third ranking announcement, being pushed out of the top seven are close to 0%.
The question is what final ranking he will debut in.
"Hey. Be honest, what rank do you think Karis will debut at?"
"Hmm, hmm. Should I tell you this factually, or should I tell you from my subjective point of view?"
"You figure it out."
Pyo Ji-hyun said as she quickly put down her cell phone.
"To be honest, I think it's obvious that he'll get at least 3rd place. The only criteria we can use to judge him is the 3rd round of voting, and even here, the gap in votes between Yoon Chul and Song Hyung Bin wasn't that big. It's true that he has a lot of core fans, and it seems like he's gained more international fans? It really does seem like he could get 1st place, like you wanted."
"Right? Karis being number one isn't just nonsense, right?"
"Of course, as someone who supports Yoon-chul, I'm praying that Karis will stay in third place. Let's go for first place, Yoon-chul!"
"Look at how selfishness is immediately revealed."
"It's the same for you too, Unni. You're making it feel like it was unfair."
While the sisters were chatting amongst themselves, the final episode of
[96 boys who confidently stood before the national managers to achieve their dream of becoming idols.]
[The boys' journey was very long.]
Narration by the judge and MC Choi Sia.
Following the narration, the records of the trainees running for 11 episodes passed by at a fast pace.
A 237-day journey.
1,096 hours of practice.
A record-breaking number of cumulative votes exceeded 100 million.
And then all the trainees' profiles flew away in an instant, like tiles.
[Where will the story end, and who will be the winner?]
[Tonight. The seven brightest boys will achieve their dreams.]
The screen changed with Choi Sia's meaningful comment.
As the outside of the Jamsil Indoor Stadium, brightly lit at night, appears instead of the recorded screen, the words appear at the bottom.
Soon, Choi Sia appeared on the screen, standing under bright lights.
[A global project to nurture the best idols,
[Who will be the final winner who will have the last laugh? ]
The stage suddenly became dark.
The camera that had been focusing on Choi Sia zoomed out, and the slender new models taking their places on the center stage were revealed one by one.
And soon, the accompaniment that had made many national managers' hearts beat began.
"Hey hey, the kids are wearing their uniforms! "
"Where is Yoon-chul? Where is Ji Yoon-chul?"
The trainees were wearing the same clothes they had worn when the video was first released on YouTube.
The 14 boys stood up with sharp timing and sang powerfully in unison.
[Yes, I'm the Winner!]
Pyo Joo-hyun quickly rolled his eyes to figure out where Karis was.
Looking at the formation, it appears to be lined up in the order of the 3rd ranking announcement ceremony.
So it didn't take long to find Karis, standing in the second row of the triangle formation.
"Oh, it's half-bangs Karis again today. I love it."
"Certainly, he's better with half-bangs than completely down."
"Isn't it? I think it's right to see a little bit because the forehead and eyebrow bones are fraudulent."
It's been a long time since they've seen the stage.
In reality, there has never been a time when trainees performed a theme song on a live broadcast.
Because the video uploaded to YouTube was recorded in advance,.
It felt special because they even sang it all live.
'Everyone is very motivated.'
Since it's the finals, everyone's mindset is different.
I will do my best not just because I want to debut but also because I want to leave a good impression on the fans who supported me until the end.
Although Pyo Joo-hyun was a bit late to the
"It must have been a while since they learned the choreography, but the sharp dance moves are amazing."
"They must have practiced a lot."
"Ah, I want to see the mission song on stage soon. This time, it was not like before, so there were no spoilers. What's important is who they team up with."
What is the concept of the final mission song, and which trainees made up the team?
However, it was more important for the national managers, including Pyo Ji-hyun, to quickly release the VCR of the practice process.
After the opening stage ended, the live screen went dark for a moment.
A short video explaining the final voting method followed.
[Oh, what do I do?]
[I don't know what to do.]
[...Ha.]
[EP 12: Final Round]
The practice session video that people have been waiting for has begun.
From the beginning, they could hear the trainees screaming, and they were really curious about what was going on.
[The final round mission is 'Debut Showcase'. The number of trainees who survived is 14, and the number of trainees who will achieve their dream of debuting is 7. You have to come up here and choose one of the two songs created by the best composers in the country. However. Unlike before, you don't just come up and choose a song.]
Choi Sia, who was announcing the notice to the trainees gathered in the auditorium, paused for a moment before announcing an additional special rule.
[As soon as the trainees choose a song, they stand for the part they want to do. Above them are the main positions, such as center, main vocalist, main dancer, and main rapper. The order of choosing the song and position starts with the trainee with the lowest ranking based on the 3rd ranking announcement. And there is a special rule for this round. That is, pushing out.]
The moment the word "push out" was mentioned, dozens of cameras zoomed in on the trainees' faces.
Among them, there was one trainee who seemed particularly anxious.
[Baek Si-hwa: ... I think I was really flustered when I heard the word push out.]
It was Baek Si-hwa.
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