"Participant Rayen, please go up to the stage."
Rayen stared at the cubic monitor where Plotter was watching him with a seemingly friendly smile.
At the same time, his phone vibrated once more, prompting him to shift his attention back to his phone screen.
[Name: Rayen
Singing: S
Dancing: D
Rapping: B-
Team: D
Visual: B-
Life Book Points: 0
Buffs: --]
What's displayed on his screen looked somewhat like a game window. However, Rayen was pressed for time to even examine it. After all, the spotlight of doom was still hanging above his head and everyone was looking his way.
Instantly, Rayen's eyes spotted one button at the bottom of the screen with a logo for scanning a QR code. He immediately tapped on it and pointed the camera towards the QR code at the back of the parchment.
Plotter did not hurry him, only quietly waiting for him to finish his actions with a soft smile.
As soon as the scanning was completed, the parchment disappeared from Rayen's hand, leaving everyone curious.
"What's that?"
However, after waiting for a while, Rayen felt nothing had changed.
'Did it work?'
With furrowed brows, Rayen observed himself, but there was really nothing different. But then, he noticed on the screen of his phone that there was a line added to his status window.
[Name: Rayen de Guzman
--
Buffs: Fertile Ground (Active), Choreographer's Epiphany (Deactivated)]
"....."
There was definitely a change, but...
'I'm screwed. What a scam!'
Rayen's face scrunched up. The Choreographer's Epiphany that he was relying on turned out to be a scam.
It's over. In the end, he still had to rely on himself. However, there's nothing saving his dancing ability. He might as well return to his coffin and burn himself a candle now.
Well, like Plotter would ever allow that.
Determining Rayen's expression as his cue, Plotter cut in at the exact moment of his breakdown session.
"Are you done using your page, Participant Rayen?"
The same flattering tone returned in Plotter's distorted voice, surprising everyone at this sudden change. Rayen seemingly tearfully looked up at the cubic monitor and saw Plotter's soft, good-hearted smile. However, to Rayen, this smile seemed fiendishly grinning at him. It was not at all friendly in his eyes.
'This isn't the time to break down.'
Under the intense gazes, Rayen tried to calm himself down before stepping toward the stage.
"Format~" Plotter ingratiatingly prompted.
Question marks seemed to pop up on everyone's faces.
Why did the host suddenly seem sweet?
However, Rayen wasn't aware of their thoughts. He just continued to calm his panic-stricken mind.
'I need to think of something. Should I do what Glasses Guy did?'
Suddenly, an image of a worm plastered with Rayen's face wriggling on the stage to do a 'body roll' flashed in his mind.
"....."
'No. Definitely no.'
He shook his head to dismiss the cringe that rose from his skin.
'I can't, with my dancing ability.'
Although he hated to admit that fact, his Status Window was also screaming it to his face. He only had a D grade on it. Just two steps down and it would have been a huge F!
Wait. Was there even an F grade below D?
"Format?" Plotter repeated, bringing Rayen back to the present.
Rayen raised his head. "Fine. Separate."
"As you wish. What would you like to do first?"
"Singing first."
As he said that, the monitor went down prompting him to choose his song. But since this was an audition for his second life and death, he didn't just choose anything despite his ability to sing most of the songs on the list.
'I need something charismatic. Something that would let them remember only about my singing!'
Finally, when he arrived at the end of the list, one of the songs there caught his eye.
This....
Immediately, Rayen tapped on it. The monitor receded back to the ceiling.
The music started. The spotlight focused only on the center of the stage where Rayen stood.
'It's now or never.'
"Ahh... Where did I go wrong?
Please let me go back!"
As soon as Rayen's mouth opened, the participants below the stage felt their hair standing on end.
"Let me go back to that place
Where I belong."
Pure but sensual. Melancholic but hopeful. His voice sent chills down their spine.
Just who is this guy?
"This world isn't for me.
Not where you're not."
Rayen prided himself on his soulful voice. Back in his first life, ADRIFT was named after his voice. All the people who would hear it would have their souls drift into a daze.
"Help me.
Let me go back.
Into you..."
After the last note, the entire room was silent. It took a while before anyone even reacted.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Rayen turned his head toward the direction of the sound where the guy in glasses stood, smiling at Rayen onstage.
Out of breath, Rayen stared at him for a while before his attention was taken away by Plotter's distorted voice again.
"What a wonderful performance!" Plotter complimented.
But Rayen was not pleased at all. How could he, when the performance wasn't yet over?
"Let's go to the next segment," reminded Plotter.
Hearing that, Rayen froze in place. Once again, the monitor went down from the ceiling and urged him to choose the song to dance.
Raising his hand, he stiffly scrolled through the list of songs. Beads of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.
Now that his vocalist mode had worn off, Rayen's nerves tensed again. His eyes rapidly scanned the songs, but didn't choose one.
'I don't know any dance from this!'
He had been hoping to find the same song he danced to during his assessment, but he couldn't find it anywhere.
Just then, he reached the end of the list. Instantly, his eyes settled on one particular song. His finger stopped moving, hovering at that song.
Gulp.
'I might be saved...'
Rayen closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. By the time he opened his eyes again, it shone in determination. His finger swiftly tapped at the screen.
One second later, the monitor disappeared to the ceiling.
Rayen stood straight at the center of the stage and raised his head.
'It's now or never!'
He repeated his mantra before striking a starting pose.
"Now playing: Fitness Goal"
The music started from the speakers and gradually filled the whole room. The other participants watched this person with such a godly voice intently.
What will he dance? Is he a good dancer too?
Such questions occupied their minds.
However, a few moments later...
"What's he doing?" one participant asked.
"... Stretching?"
At the corner, upon hearing those murmurs, the guy in glasses tried to hold back his laughter but failed to do so. Everyone's attention turned toward him, as well as Rayen's.
Rayen fought the urge to grit his teeth and continued stretching — no, dancing.
Finally, the music's prelude passed. Rayen's movement suddenly changed which caught everyone's attention.
Is he done warming up?
But they quickly realized how wrong they were.
"What is your health goal?
It's fitness!"
Rayen shouted the first few lines with enthusiasm, but regretted it a few seconds later.
'This damn habit!'
He forgot this was supposed to be a dance-only performance! He didn't need to sing!
But this habit was truly hard to get rid of. His mouth instinctively moved to sing the next few lines again while moving his body.
"Have you eaten yet?
Was your healthy goal met?
What is your health goal?
It's fitness!"
The other participants also finally realized why the guy in glasses was laughing as the first few lines of the song rolled in.
"Pfft! Did I hear it right?"
"That's a dance exercise song, right?"
Despite the laughter, Rayen executed every movement without mistakes. It was as if he wasn't the godly singer who received a D grade in his Dance skill.
However, this wasn't because of that scam fertilizer page.
Thankfully, there was this song in the list. If not, he might have said hello to his coffin for the second time. Fortunately, he worked hard to learn this dance back then.
'Thank you, teacher. I'm so sorry for cursing you out when you forced me to perform this!'
If he ever got out of this place, Rayen would make sure to repay his former teacher's kindness from the afterlife.
Jumping jacks, high knees, turn around.
'Really, thank you! I don't even have to struggle with recognizing left and right!'
Well, there's no direction to worry about.
Rayen continued to dance according to the lyrics. When he sang the word "eat," he mimicked an eating movement with both hands. And when it was "health goal," he raised his arms and posed as if to flex his biceps.
"What the hell are those moves?"
"Such flawless movement..."
"Terribly flawless..."
Rayen ignored those comments and focused on dancing.
However, when he arrived at the next routine, he realized something. The next step was to turn around...
But which way does he turn?
Since it had been too long since he graduated from high school, he had forgotten which direction he should turn to.
'Right or left?'
But he couldn't even tell which direction was right and left anymore!
In the midst of confusion, his feet tried to turn in both directions. As a result, his feet crossed.
'... I'm really screwed.'